Elijah, Ganis, and Max stand by the wall and watch as the townspeople drag the mutated goblins' corpses to the bonfire. They had salted the ground and wood before making the fire, and now they salt the corpses before throwing them in.

  The battle had ended some time ago, and Max had retrieved his bow and gathered a full quiver’s worth of arrows from the ones scattered about. He didn’t remove any from the corpses in fear it would allow the dead goblins to mutate into more monsters.

  Ganis had wrangled the horses from wherever they had gotten off to, while Elijah had checked on the other knight. Turns out he was the ruler of this town; he managed to survive the mage’s attacks but was badly injured.

  “Why do they keep using so much salt?” Having waited long enough without anyone telling him what they are doing, Max finally just asks.

  “Eschaton uses a special kind of magic that appears to be tied to the Dread Wastes. We do not fully understand anything about the Dread Wastes, but we have learned that the creatures affected by its energy mutate. Even just leaving the corpses where they are or burying them would spread this corrupt energy.”

  “The ground would begin to be corrupted, following plant life, insects, and then working its way from smaller to larger creatures. As with the goblins, they become highly aggressive and dangerous. For the longest time, the problem was that there was no real way to stop it from happening.”

  “After a lot of deaths and a large portion of the continent being corrupted, we managed to piece together a few things.” Elijah pauses and looks at Max.

  “A special type of silver that is mined in the Northern Mastiff has a repelling effect. Anything touched by the corruption will smoke and burn if touched by the metal. It is one of only three ways to deal with it.”

  “The second way is fire, it will burn away and purify most of the taint left behind by plants and creatures touched by the corruption. It isn’t absolute; if we just burned the bodies, the ground around the fire would at least still be contaminated.”

  “Third, salt seems to have a binding or containing effect. If you cannot completely destroy bodies, you can heavily salt and bury them. It might not stop the corruption from spreading completely, but it will slow it to the pace of a crawl. We found that if you salt the fire and whatever is corrupted, that this combination seems to work best.” He looks back at the townspeople burning the bodies.

  “So, Eschaton are the bad guys then?” This question has been bothering Max since he first heard Elijah use the name when the goblins mutated. Just who are these Eschaton people, and why were they attacking the town? He just doesn’t know enough about what is going on in this world.

  “Back when the corruption first started spreading and mutating, a group appeared calling themselves The Order of Eschaton. They preached that the end of days were on the horizon and that the world would be wiped clean of all living things. Only those who embraced the corruptive energy would be able to evolve and be able to see the new world that would be born.”

  “They never had a large following; most people believed them to be just as insane as they turned out to be. Once the kingdoms began to realize how to ward against and stop the spread of corruption, the Order of Eschaton reemerged, but this time they actively sought to spread the corruption, helping it get past the wards and defenses the kingdoms had begun to depend on in order to save their new world that would someday be born.”

  “The kingdoms banded together and tried to eradicate them; for the most part, they succeeded. Every now and then, some fraction or another will pop up claiming to be The Order of Eschaton. Most times it's malarkey, just some fools trying to obscure who they are and frighten people. Sometimes, though, like here, it actually is the true Eschaton.”

  “This is the first time I have seen them, or even for that matter, heard of them, mass turning a species into mutants to use as weapons. They have been known to turn themselves into mutants as a last resort, but nothing like this.” Elijah rubs his hairless chin, thinking about what this could mean for the future.

  “So… are we going after them?” Max looks up at Elijah, unsure of what the man intends to do.

  Ganis gasps and looks at Max, shocked. Not hearing Elijah immediately shoot down the idea and refuse, he turns and looks dumbfounded at him. “While I still stand by what I said that you are our primary concern, this is very worrisome.”

  Hearing Elijah, Ganis’ brow furrows. They cannot be serious! We almost died; the whole town almost died! Yet these two are actually considering hunting the culprits down! Do they have a death wish!?

  “Fifty goblins had to have left a trail, and a clear one. We could track it back to wherever they came from. It could be Eschaton’s camp or just wherever they captured the goblins at. At least there, they might not have used that wind to hide their trail, and we could try and find them from there.” While he did suggest this course of action, Max is hesitant.

  These people are far more dangerous than anything he has ever even dreamed of encountering. Looking around and seeing all the wounded and destroyed buildings, he knows that this is more important than him reaching Ashbury. These people threaten this whole world. If he can help stop even a few of them, he knows it was worth the risk.

  Steeling himself, Elijah nods. “We will set off in the morning then. I will send word to Ashbury of what we have found and our plan of action. We will follow the trail to wherever the goblins come from; if it is not Eschaton’s camp, then we will reconsider if it is worth looking further for them or resuming the original plan of getting you to Ashbury.”

  “I will have to trouble you to feed me the rest of the journey, or we will have to stop to hunt. I plan to replace the knives I lost today, and I’m sure that will be the end of my coin.” Rubbing his head, Max grimaces at the thought of the knives he had forged.

  Elijah sighs, “That is fine, we will most likely have to start hunting, given that we will need supplies too to take on Eschaton.”

  Max breaks away from the duo and begins hunting through the town to see if any vendors remain for him to try and get the things he needs. To his surprise, he actually finds a single clip point knife for sale; the rest are all similar to the dagger he had forgotten, the one he keeps behind his back.

  After he gets the knives, at a discount since it turns out that word of him figuring out how to kill the creatures has spread, he spends the remaining coin he has on cloth, the strongest alcohol he can find, and a torch.

  He meets back up with Elijah and Ganis, and together they find an inn to stay in for the night. Alone in his room, Max cuts and affixes cloth to the necks of all the bottles of alcohol he had bought. If corruption is weak against fire, that just means I need fire.

  He adds salt to each bottle as well as the top of the torch that he bought. Max dips his new knives in water and then coats them with salt before setting them out to dry. It might rust the metal and weaken them in time; any advantage he can get, he will take.

  ? ? ?

  The trio sets off at first light, they have stabled their horses and have been given a place to store their unused gear. The town is very thankful for their help. If they defeat or even just find the group behind the attack, it will benefit them the most, so they are happy to help anyway they can.

  The tracks are easy enough that even someone untrained can follow the way the goblins have come. Ganis is the only one of the group who is tense, as if he is about to be set upon by monsters at any moment.

  Elijah and Max walk calmly and relaxed through the woods. The only indication that they are hunting dangerous foes is that Elijah's hand never leaves the pommel of his sword, and Max carries two arrows in his hand with his bow and uses his index finger to keep a third strung.

  Noon comes and passes, the group skips the midday meal and keeps to the trail. The day is mostly spent when they crest a hillock, in a basin below, they see a large camp. The three quickly get to their stomachs and look over the encampment.

  At the end closest to them, the land steeply drops off. To enter the basin, you would have to travel down the hill they were on, then up another in distance before a path down can be seen.

  Directly below them, a platform has been built, and upon it is a six-foot-tall indigo crystal that widens from a point to about three feet before tapering quickly to a rounded bottom. It looks like a teardrop, only less pointed. Spread out from the platform, there are all sorts of makeshift huts.

  “If they sleep two or three to a hut, I would say they probably have another twenty goblins here.” Elijah scans the encampment, outside of the tents, which he assumes are for the five hooded figures. There are about twenty-five huts and a lone fancier tent. “Whoever is in charge of this operation is probably in the fancy tent; the other five probably sleep in those plain ones. Now, is the leader the mage we previously met or someone else?”

  Max shrugs, “No clue, but even if it is only twenty goblins, if they can transform, it is far too many for us to deal with."

  "I doubt that they can transform; if they could, then they would have brought them with them to attack Summit Oak. There would have been no reason to leave them behind since they hadn't anticipated us to be able to defeat them. They probably weren't gathered last night either, which means they are here for a different purpose. Maybe they are using them as labor or to gather other goblins." Disagreeing Elijah shakes his head.

  "If that is the case, we could make short work of them, but it would still alert the camp. We should probably strike at night while they are asleep and vision is poor." Max suggests remembering that night and morning raids are things the Native Americans he read about would regularly do.

  "They are nocturnal by nature; they only attacked Summit Oak during the day because they were forced to. They have very good night vision as well, so sneaking up on them most likely would be a terrible idea. We would need to wait for at least dawn; the goblins should be asleep by then, and the people might not yet be awake. That is, if they don’t have wards.” Confused for a second about why Max wouldn't know about goblins, Elijah raises an eyebrow but doesn't bring it up.

  “Wards?” Tilting his head, Max stares at Elijah, never having heard the term before.

  “Magic symbols that a mage can lay forming sort of a net around something. Usually, wards are not used aggressively but as alerts or for far-seeing. That doesn’t mean they cannot be used as dangerous traps.” Ganis pipes in, seeing the exasperated look Elijah is giving Max.

  Not ready to give up on attacking them, Max inquires, "What do you suggest then?”

  Thinking for a moment before answering, Elijah gives his suggestion. He doesn't even realize that he is no longer treating Max as a burdensome package but as an equal. “We should try to stay hidden and watch them for now. They might show an opening, or we can learn when they are weakest. They don’t appear to be going anyplace anytime soon, given how they have set up shop here.”

  “They will just gather more goblins if we wait, and then the odds of us being able to raid them will decrease.” Shaking his head, Max pokes a hole in his plan.

  "That they will, but the only other option is a frontal assault. You already saw how powerful magic can be; if given time, the mage will kill us before we reach them." Elijah shrugs; he cannot think of a better strategy at the moment.

  "Then at dawn. We rush in as fast as we can, past the goblins, and make for the tents. Once we are near, we can light some of the huts on fire before they notice, we will even set their tents ablaze. In the confusion, you can go after the mage. I can try and take a shot at him, but it would probably be best for me to distract the others." Max hadn't suggested this earlier simply because he had never seen the hooded men fight and is apprehensive as to why they were hiding their appearances.

  "It will be five on two; your odds are too low even if they don't just ignore you and rush to help the mage." Not even considering his suggestion, Elijah shakes his head.

  "If they rush to help the mage, I assure you at least two will fall, leaving it three on three until the goblins or whoever is in the fancy tent joins in." Knowing this objection was coming, Max has an answer prepared.

  "Are you sure you can take two?" He turns to Max, raising an eyebrow, trying to judge if Max is being arrogant and overconfident. During the attack on Summit Oak, he saw the weird fighting style of the boy and how he fearlessly fought the creatures, better than half the men there. Elijah knows that mindless creatures and people were two different stories.

  "When I chanced upon bandits in a similar position, I leapt from above, killed two of the seven before they knew I was there, and killed another before the closest two could engage me. Then I got two at once as the other two had headed into some woods. It will take at least two of them to tie me down if I am just trying to cause trouble and not kill them. If they leave only one to face me or if they all run, I can make quick work of them." Explaining his past fight against the human bandits who had attacked Chester and his family, Max assures Elijah he can do it.

  "They will be stronger than bandits, but I take your point. Ganis, you will have to stall at least one of them. In the confusion, even if it is a mage and another, I have a good shot at removing the mage before the unknown in the tent arrives." Elijah turns to Ganis this time, and he only now notices the boy has mostly been silent the entire time.

  “It would be great if the unknown is just the mage.” While Ganis hesitates to answer, Max voices his wish.

  "It would, but we cannot assume that." Elijah shakes his head, looking back at Max.

  "I believe, if it is only stalling one, I should be able to for a short time." Ganis interrupts the two of them, his voice showing how little confidence he has in what he claims.

  ? ? ?

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  The trio, having firmed up a plan, begin to make their way towards the path leading into the basin. The distance is long, and daylight is waning. Night has fallen by the time they reach their destination; so far, they haven't seen a soul and are far enough to risk sleeping. Ganis takes the first watch, and Max takes the last. Elijah takes the harder middle watch.

  The night passes with only some strange, distant sounds. Max wakes them before the first rays of light, and they edge down the path to the basin. The goblins seem to sense that the night is over, and they all begin to head back to their huts. With the sudden decrease in number, they no longer have to share. The trio creeps through the camp as dawn's first rays of light break the night's sky.

  They reach the point that they had planned, and Max takes out his flint & steel and strikes it a couple of times until the torch catches fire. Elijah and Ganis didn’t have a torch, so they had made makeshift ones while they waited for morning. They spread out with Elijah in the center and begin to light the huts on fire.

  Moving as quickly as they dare, they try to light as many of them on fire as they can before the first shouts of alarm ring out. As soon as the panicking goblins start screaming and rushing from their huts, the trio charges at the tents. Ganis only manages to light the one closest to him, but Elijah lights his and then throws his torch to the next nearest tent. They both draw their swords and prepare for battle.

  Max lights the tent in front of him and dashes towards the last normal tent; he has no intention of throwing his torch. The plan he intends to use will require it. As he lights the tent in front of him, he drops the torch at his feet.

  He already holds three arrows, two in his left hand holding the bow, and one in place already notched with the pointer finger. He unslings the pack he is carrying, where his spear usually is, and places it on the ground near the torch; the top is already open. He aims at the previous lit tent that he ran from and draws back the string.

  As expected, the occupant exits the tent, bewildered by all the shouting and the flames in his tent. Max’s first arrow hits him just below his left clavicle. He spins, facing fully toward Max as the second takes his heart. The sword falls from his hand, and he falls to his knees. It looks like he is trying to say something, but just falls flat on his face.

  The resident of the tent he is standing in front of climbs out of the tent and, looking to the right, notices his fallen friend. Max reaches into the pack and pulls out a bottle of alcohol, and bending over, he lights the cloth around the top of it. He steps around the tent and swings the bottle at the man.

  Reacting faster than his friend did, he raises one of his twin blades to try to block. The bottle shatters, spraying the man with the contents. Because Max has made the cloth on the bottles long, it doesn’t catch fire as soon as it breaks. He tosses the bits of bottle and flaming rag at the man, setting him on fire as he swings his sword at Max.

  Rolling out of striking distance, Max takes aim and puts three arrows into the flaming man. He readies more arrows in his usual fashion before checking on how the others are doing.

  ? ? ?

  Ganis is shaking next to the tent he has just set on fire. There comes shouts from inside, and he prepares to rush as soon as the person exits the tent. As the man exits, he strikes as hard as he can, trying to end his life in one blow.

  A loud bang can be heard, and the sword reverberates in his hand as if he had hit a tree. Both of them stare at each other; Ganis is bewildered as to how the man could have possibly survived, and the mage is bewildered at where this child has come from and why it is trying to kill him. The blow has removed his magic shield, which takes a while to cast but would last for a day, so he always keeps it active.

  After a moment, they both start moving at almost the same time. Ganis tries to stab the man while he tries to get away from his tent. It is almost comical the way the mage throws himself on the ground while Ganis swings wildly. Of course, the mage has to be in the tent I chose; it couldn’t go smoothly as planned and wind up in one of the ones Elijah went after.

  The mage isn’t in much better of a mindset. Who is this child!? Why is he so hell bent on killing me? What in the hells is going on? I can’t get my footing or get a block ready with the rabid way he is attacking me.

  ? ? ?

  Elijah calms himself and waits for someone to emerge from one of the tents. Finally, one does, and he wastes no time engaging her. She uses two small scythe-like weapons that are single-handed and uses a fighting style he has never encountered before, which uses a lot of spins and rolls similar to Max’s. The battle takes too long, and soon the other occupant emerges; it is another woman, this one wielding two daggers.

  It is all Elijah can do not to be overwhelmed, and he is completely on the defensive. The one with the scythes pushes him hard while the one with the daggers waits for openings and strikes at the worst possible moments for him. He is glad he has encountered these two; even if the mage is elsewhere, he feels Max or Ganis would not have been able to hold their own against either one of the women.

  ? ? ?

  Looking around the battlefield, Max is thankful the goblins still are scattered and seemingly unaware of their presence, simply trying to put their flaming homes out. The fact that Ganis seems to be handling the mage shocks Max, even more so when he notices how bad of a situation Elijah is in. Nodding Max takes a second to put a knife into both the men's heads just for insurance.

  He lights another bottle and runs towards the melee, arrow in teeth. Once he is within fifteen feet or so, he tosses the bottle high in the air toward the woman with the daggers. Quickly, he pulls the arrow back that is on the bow and takes aim. He waits until it is just about right and lets the arrow fly.

  The arrow shatters the bottle, dousing the woman in flaming liquid. She lets out a blood-curdling scream, drawing both Elijah and the scythe woman's gazes. Right before their eyes, they see two arrows tear through her chest, one right after the other, silencing the flaming woman.

  Following the path of the arrows, Elijah notices Max releasing another arrow aimed almost at him and quickly moves out of the way. The scythe woman has also noticed and blocks the arrow in time. Ignoring the bewildered Elijah, she runs forward toward Max.

  “Save Ganis,” is all that Max says as he throws the bow to the ground and draws his tomahawks.

  The way she moves is too quick and unpredictable. There is no way I would be able to get anything more than a single shot off as she approaches, and even then, I doubt I would land it. It is better to just go headfirst against her. The blade looks like it is on the inside of those things, so she will try to attack from the sides with the tip or to slash toward herself once the over extends them. I need to keep my distance.

  She leaps into the air and slashes down with the scythe; Max spins in the direction of the arm she was slashing with. He brings both tomahawks across horizontally, aiming at her side. She throws herself backward, barely getting out of range. They both come to a stop in a very similar stance and eye each other.

  She goes to slash with her left arm, and Max counters with his right, and slashes with his left, making her counter with her right. They are close to one another; she is crouching slightly and grimacing. Where did this kid learn to fight? His moves are very similar to my own. It's almost scary. Before she can continue to analyze, Max promptly headbutts her as hard as he can.

  When she recoils back, he drops his right tomahawk and pulls a knife from his vest and slashes her across her left forearm. Involuntarily, she drops the scythe, her arm bleeding badly. “Not bad, kid, with a little more time you-” Max throws the knife at her before she can even finish her sentence. As she knocks the knife away with her remaining scythe, Max grabs the fallen tomahawk and presses forward.

  “Rude!” I was commending you on your skill at such an age and going to tell you in time you would be a great fighter, but now you won’t, for I am going to kill you right here! Between losing a weapon and being pissed about the way Max fights dishonorably, she finds herself constantly losing ground.

  ? ? ?

  Ganis is struggling against the mage, who finally gets to his feet. He gives the man no time to cast any spells and forces him to continually block with his staff. “Stop. Smacking. My. Staff!” The mage snarls and swings the staff as though it were a club.

  Ganis dodges and tries a horizontal slice but misses. How is this mage so good at close combat!? He switches his stance and readies an overhead chop when the mage smiles.

  “You slowed down.” A blast of magic fires from the mage's hand, holding the staff, and strikes Ganis, flinging him a dozen feet. When Ganis hits the ground, he even loses grip on his sword.

  About to celebrate, the mage feels something is wrong and jumps to the side. Elijah’s sword barely missed him. Damn, there is another one!? Wait, I recognize him! He’s the man who knew about Eschaton when we attacked Summit Oak. What is he doing here!?

  ? ? ?

  Max glances at the ground as he slides forward.

  “You shouldn’t look away while you are fighting!” The scythe-wielding woman presses hard, trying to take advantage of the small mistake the boy made.

  Max only grins and, following the direction of the slash, rolls cleanly away. “Maybe if you talked less, you’d fight better.” Max’s simple taunt works wonders. She growls and charges at him while he is kneeling on the ground. He had never stood after the roll.

  Fool, I looked down. Did you never think to ask why? He waits for her to close the gap before chopping the tomahawk into the loose dirt and then up in her direction. The cloud of dirt hits her straight in the face.

  She swings wildly where she believes Max to be and starts rubbing at her eyes with her free hand. She shouts. “Damned sonuva cheating bastard!”

  As soon as he hits the dirt, he rolls right past her and comes up behind her. With a simple chop, he brings the tomahawk through her spine near her shoulder blades. She drops helplessly to the ground and can’t even curse before the second tomahawk takes her life.

  I’d rather be a cheating bastard than dead in the dirt. Max thinks as he pulls his weapons free. He takes one of the knives from his boot and plants it in her skull as well. He turns to find the one he set on fire when he sees a man dressed in leather armor with a sword and dagger holding a teenager hostage.

  “I know what you are, Echthrós! I also know your weakness!” The dagger presses against the teen's throat while he points the sword at Max.

  ? ? ?

  Elijah and the mage fight a brutal fight. The mage is skilled with his staff and some small magics that can be cast if he is left alone for even just a few seconds. Elijah continues to press him, slowly cutting him time and again. Unlike with Ganis, no matter what he tries, he can’t break away long enough to use any magic, and the elven knight keeps striking him as if his staff isn’t there.

  Damnit, Damnit! The boy might have been rabid and relentless, but at least his blows were easy to block or dodge. This filthy elf just seems to be able to dance around it. If I don’t do something soon, he is going to kill me. This is going to hurt. The Mage slams the staff into the ground in front of him, and a pulse issues forth. He begins saying the alien language he uses to cast spells as quickly as he can while blood drips from his lips.

  Elijah is staggered by the sudden pulse but recovers quickly. He brings his sword down at the mage, expecting him to dodge, and he readies a follow-up. Instead of being dodged, his blade bites into the man's shoulder, severing his arm. Even as the agony courses through him as his arm is severed, the mage keeps chanting. He finishes the spell, and a torrent of magic pours at Elijah, flinging him into the air and away from him.

  The mage cannot help but smile. “‘Bout damn time. Had to lose an arm, but at least I won.” He moves the staff across him, placing the head of it against his bleeding wound, before he can chant a spell, Ganis’ sword emerges from his chest. His eyes bulge as he looks down at the blade; it is the last thing he ever sees.

  Ganis pulls his blade free and rushes over to Elijah, who is lying on the ground. “Sir Elijah! Please get up!” He shouts while shaking the knight.

  Elijah’s surcoat is blasted away, and a large hole is in the center of his breastplate; even the chainmail below is gone except for around the edges of the wounds where it is melted to his flesh. A large burn decorates his flesh. After shaking him for some time, Elijah's eyes finally open. He stares up at his squire.

  “The mage?”

  “Dead.” Ganis hugs him tightly, causing him to moan.

  “And Max?” Ganis glances over and sees a man standing between the large indigo crystal and Max while holding a teenager hostage. He is pointing and saying something to Max, but he cannot make it out. Instead of trying to describe the scene, he simply helps Elijah to a sitting position so he can see.

  “No! That is Connor Healy!” Elijah tries to stand; pain fills every fiber of his body. He doesn’t know what the mage cast, but it nearly killed him. With Ganis’ help, he makes it to his feet in time to see as a blinding light leaves the giant crystal.

  ? ? ?

  Max stares at the man. Echthrós? What the hell is that? “I don’t know what this Echenthroes is, but I’m not it. Who are you?”

  “Try and hide it all you want. I can feel the energy inside of you. The crystal feels it.” The man points the sword at the crystal behind him. “We knew one day you would come. We never thought it would be so soon. It is good that you are here. I can deal with you here, and now, so you are no longer a threat to us!”

  Tensing Max grips his tomahawks tightly and gets ready to move. I don’t know what it is he thinks I am, or why he is holding the kid, but when he makes his move, I will only have one chance. “Who are you? And what is this ‘Echenthroes’ you speak of?”

  The man's eyes widen at this. “You don’t even know, do you?” He stabs his sword into the ground beside him and pulls a knife out from behind him. “It doesn’t matter if you know, you’ll soon be gone!” With that, the man begins carving a strange symbol onto the youth's head while chanting something. “O Megále Theé, ákouse tin paráklisí mou.”

  Damn, he's a mage. I shouldn’t have given him time.

  “Dóse mou ti dynami kai ti dynami na to dióxo apó tis sfaíres mas gia pánta.”

  No longer caring about the teenager, Max rushes headlong at the man, hoping to reach him before he can finish casting whatever it is.

  “Afíste to lamperó fos tis kátharsis na ton xeplynei paírnontás ton píso apó ópou írthe.”

  He gets halfway to the man before he throws the dagger to the side, smiling widely.

  “Afíste tin akatharsía na xeplytheí. It is too late for you!” He removes the Dagger from the kid's throat and grabs him by the back of his head with his free hand. Throwing that dagger as well, he lifts his hand open to the crystal behind him. “Exontóste aftón ton akátharto ECHTHRóS!”

  A beam of indigo light stretches out from the crystal and touches his hand. His head is flung backwards, his mouth open in a silent scream, and the same light bursts forth from his eyes and mouth. The teen screams in agony as his eyes become a solid indigo, and the symbol shines with the same light.

  After a second, it fires from the symbol on his forehead and strikes Max in his chest. Max screams out; he has never felt this kind of pain before. He grabs both sides of his head, tears streaming down his face.

  It feels as if every atom of his body is being torn apart. He feels like he is losing his mind as the pain continues without an end. Through his tears, he looks at the teenager whose face is also twisted in agony.

  ? ? ?

  “What is that light!?” Ganis shields his eyes, looking away from the bright light striking Max.

  “Some sort of corrupt energy. I have never seen anything like this.” Elijah's eyes water as he squints to see what is going on.

  The energy of the crystal rolls across the entire basin. The goblins feel the energy wave and tremble in fear. They watch in horror as the beam arcs through the man and youth into the child across from them.

  They give up on trying to put out their homes, or even going to stop the intruders, and instead turn and run from the basin with all their might. To the goblins, it feels as if a god itself is reaching down through the man to smite the child. They have no idea what that child had done to invoke such wrath, but they were not about to stay around and become collateral damage.

  “It's getting hotter!” Ganis shouts and begins to back away from the light.

  “We have to save Max!” Elijah grits his teeth and looks around to try to find something he could use to try to save the boy.

  “He is already dead!” Ganis shouts, shaking his head. He walks away, leaving Elijah, the energy is too much for him.

  Elijah cannot find anything, and Ganis is not wrong; a strong heat is radiating from Max. “Damnit.” Elijah coughs up some blood.

  The energy from the mage that is still within him is acting up in response to the energy wave. “I’m sorry, Max.” He turns and follows after Ganis; there is nothing he can do, and if he stays, he will only die as well.

  ? ? ?

  Max pulls his right hand away from his head. He is on his knees looking at the teenager. They both have tears streaming down their faces. Max clenches his teeth so hard he feels as if they might shatter.

  His hand closes around the handle of his tomahawk. He uses every ounce of strength he has and stands up with one leg. He flings himself forward, throwing the tomahawk as hard as he can.

  The tomahawk appears to be moving in slow motion, and it spins through the air before hitting the teenager right in the chest, the blade piercing his heart. The instant it does, the Symbol on his head blinks out, his eyes going white.

  The energy wave ripples through the man holding the teenager by his head. It starts in his hand and travels down his arm into his chest, the very center of his being, before continuing down his other arm and to his hand pointing at the crystal. The energy beam between the man and the crystal swells for a second before the crystal explodes into tiny particles.

  ? ? ?

  Lady Elizabeth screams out; she has never felt such pain before in her life. The crystal in her chest feels as though it has become the sun cooking her. Energy flows out of her eyes and mouth as she seizes. The mutated people fall to the ground and curl up in pain.

  The creature that was staring at Lady Elizabeth releases a pain-filled howl that echoes through the halls of Zenith Stronghold. Pain burns within its body in response to the energy. The image of a small boy throwing a tomahawk enters its vision. Lady Elizabeth clutches her heart and collapses as the energy stops flowing through her mouth and eyes.

  ? ? ?

  Lady Rosalee is having breakfast with her parents, and they are talking about the things she plans to do and learn today. She stands to reach something on the table when she suddenly screams and grabs her chest above her heart. She falls to her knees, crying.

  Her parents rush over to her to see if she is alright. She holds them sobbing, not knowing where the pain comes from and why her whole body seems to hurt. She is also filled with a great sadness without knowing why.