“Shal-ram, you have returned,” said Jin.
Shal-ram heaved a sorrowful sigh, realizing the fruitless efforts he made to insure Mankind on Kaül. Jin, his head mage and trusted comrade, gazed back at his Orb of Farsight. His velvet, plum-purple and blue robes swayed about him as he turned. Jin was a big man for a mage, having both physical strength and strength in the Craft. He was one of many Humans who practiced the Craft, since he was not born with the gift of magic. Jin gazed into the magical orb and saw three figures fazing out of the side of a rocky mountain. Two were male and one was female, all were human. Then, Jin’s golden eyes lit up, seeing that one of the boys was carrying a golden key.
“Shal-ram,” he began, cocking his head up at the dragon. “It’s the Key.”
“I know,” said the dragon. “Tüll must have been successful in bringing Allan through.”
“Allan?”
“I heard the boy’s name though the Eye of Dürgth,” he said.
“So, Tüll truly has the Eye of Dürgth?” asked Jin. “What should we do?”
“First, you must tell me everything about the Dragon Key,” Shal-ram said.
Jin nodded as he motioned for the dragon to follow him. Dürmount was a vast underground fortress, built by the help of the Good Dragons. The Good Dragons only numbered very few, since most of the Great Wyrms worked for Tüll and his Host. Shal-ram gathered all that he could, assembling a flight of his brethren. Now, the Key has appeared. Shal-ram knew that Allan and his friends were in danger if Tüll got a hold of them first. Shal-ram cringed by the thought of the evil sorcerer could do to the helpless humans.
Jin walked to the bookcase filled with tomes and spell books that were vital to their cause. He brought out a book bound in deep blue velvet and trimmed with gold. Long black and red bookmarks marked places important to him and other mages. This book was known as the Tome of Darr. He slowly opened the book, flipping through the ancient pages. Then, he found what he was looking for.
“Information on the Dragon Key,” said Jin.
“You are a miracle worker, Jin,” said Shal-ram. “What does the Tome of Darr tell us?”
“The Dragon Key,” began Jin. “A magical object with the power to create portals from ordinary doors. It was created from gold mind from the Mountains of Göl and was forged from the fires of the volcano—Mount Bali. It was formed by the magic of an all-powerful sorcerer. He was said to be the first of the Gandmal Sorcerers. Yet, the name of this being is unknown.”
“How did Allan activate it?” asked the dragon.
“The sorcerer was attacked by Tüll, the traitor of Gandmal,” he said. “The unknown sorcerer used the Key to escape Tüll to another world. This world, by some strange coincidence, could be the world Allan is from. There is a probability that he could have a descendant. Only the sorcerer can activate the Key.”
“Or his direct descendant!” Shal-ram concluded. “Allan is the descendant of the Unknown Sorcerer.”
“We could test him,” said Jin. “Take a skin sample.”
“When we get a hold of him,” Shal-ram said. “We must do it quickly before Tüll takes hold of the boy first.”
“Only Allan can touch the Key,” informed Jin.
“A hellish coincidence,” sighed the dragon. “Tüll needs the boy to use the Key.”
Jin turned back to the Tome of Darr for more information. He contemplated that the boy would want to go home after this adventure. He flipped through the pages again, trying to find how the boy might get home. Then, he finally ran across the answer.
“Shal-ram,” Jin began. “In order for the boy to return, he must use the Key on this side of the door he came though.”
“What does that mean?”
“For him to return, he must return back the way he came.”
“We have no time to find out what to do about it,” growled Shal-ram. “Where’s the boy now?”
Jin got up and slowly walked over to orb and waved his hand over it. The orb began to with vibrant light. Like little diamonds, sparkling stars appeared on the face of the magical globe. One wave of his hand and the images of Allan and his friends appeared. Shal-ram looked closely, studying the area around the humans. Jin’s golden eyes glanced up at Shal-ram and he smiled.
“They are in the town of Imshire,” he informed. “Across from the River of Mauli.”
“Then, we must ready a small group of spies,” Shal-ram ordered. “Tell them to go to Imshire and find this boy and his companions. Find them before Tüll does.”
Jin nodded and looked back at the orb. He watched the boy walking around the stores, seeing what was for sale. The three humans looked slightly parched. He watched them closely as Shal-ram began to brief his spies on the features of the new comers and their location. Then, he turned back to his dragon brethren and gave them coordinates they needed to transport the spies to Imshire. He sighed as he saw the spies mount the dragons. A giant door opened at the top of the hangar, opening to the peek of the mountain.
Shal-ram snorted as he made the decision to go with them. He spread his great, green wings and launched up into the air, following quickly behind. He trumpeted to them, letting them know that he was tagging along to make sure they do their job properly.
Imshire
The three humans gazed around with wide eyes as they filed through the crowd that was roaming the streets. Derak sniffed the air, cringing back at the stench of the meat hanging in the market strip. Karen was weary-eyed of the alien surroundings, finding them unfriendly and haunting. She shivered from a chill of being in a strange place. Allan coughed from the musty, chilly air. He studied the attire of the village people. They were dressed like characters in a movie about the medieval times.
Derak shook his head: “Were the hell are we?”
“It looks like we’re in a movie about King Arthur,” said Allan.
“It stinks here, Allan,” he said. “Does anyone know what soap is?”
Karen shuddered when she caught the sight of a drunken man belching at a table.
“They don’t know what manners are either,” she said.
“Okay, I’m ready to go home now,” Derak yelled.
“Ditto,” said Karen. “Allan, use that thing and take us home!”
Allan nodded as he moved over to a door. He was suddenly shoved back by an obese lady with too much make-up and moose.
“Ey, bloke!” she cried. “What are ye doin’?”
“Sorry, ma’am,” Allan quivered as he sank back from her sight.
“Did she sound a little drunk?” asked Derak.
“She sounded British,” said Karen.
“We are not making a good impression here,” said Allan. “Since we are sort of representing Earth.”
“They don’t know that,” said Derak. “Besides, we need to find our way home. I’m hungry.”
“Is that all you think about? Food?” asked Allan, gritting his teeth. He shrugged and glanced around. Allan approached a merchant standing beside a fruit cart. The cart was filled with various assorted and strange-looking fruit. He tapped on the man’s shoulder and smiled. The man’s eyebrow rose as he stared annoyingly back at Allan.
“Excuse me, sir,” Allan began. “Could we buy some fruit?”
“A silver piece per fruit, boy,” snorted the merchant.
“Silver?”
“Aye, silver,” he said. “As in—coins. No money no fruit!”
“Sorry,” Karen interjected. “We don’t have that kind of money.”
“Then, ye ain’t getting any fruit!” the merchant cried, infuriated.
Karen pulled Allan away from the merchant. Derak glanced around the gray-blue sky, wandering if the weather was changing. He saw the twins suns fade away behind murky black clouds.
“Hey, guys,” he began. “I think we need to take shelter. It’s going to rain.”
Karen and Allan raised their heads to the sky and glanced around with tired eyes. The sound of thunder rumble across the blackened, sunless sky like the roar a of lion. The sound grew louder as a storm neared the village. People scattered through the dirt filled streets. The hierarchy of noble men mounted their steeds, taking no heed to the peasants that they nearly trampled. The three teens ducked back into the shadows as a wall of rain rammed into the village. The dirt turned to mud and the village turned into a ghost town.
Allan shivered as cold wet droplets pattered on his back. Derak breathed into his quivering hands, rubbing them together to keep them warm. Karen rubbed her shoulders.
“I can’t remember how we even got here,” she said.
“What do you mean?” asked Allan. “You two drug me through the portal.”
“Huh?” asked Derak with wide eyes. “I said not to! And I was right!”
“You insisted! You said we would be the first Earthlings on a different planet!”
Derak ground his teeth: “I said no such thing, Allan! You’re putting words in my mouth.”
“Actually, Derak,” began Karen. “You did say that.”
“And so did you, Karen,” inputted Allan. “You were the one who pulled me through.”
“Then, why don’t we remember?” Karen asked—stumped.
The spy glanced around the corner; his eyes caught the forms of the outsiders. He turned back to his dragon and nodded. Then, the spy snapped his head quickly in the other direction when several guards of orcs and trolls marched down the street. The leader of the group was a dark elf—riding on a wyvern proudly. The spy knew the emblem the elf bore on his breastplate of his dark armor. The emblem was a sphere sitting on a crooked stand with outstretched dragon wing behind it. This was the emblem of them sorcerer Tüll. The spy knew that these soldiers were looking for the Key Bearer. Then, he turned his eyes to the three huddled together. He knew he had to get them out of there before one of the soldiers discovers them. Silently, he made his move towards the outsiders.
Allan felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned to find a dark skinned man with a gaunt face and dressed in dark clothes behind him. The man motioned for them to follow him. With some reluctance, they followed. He led them away—out of sight and into the darkness.
Dal-gay dismounted his wyvern. The reptilian creature panted in the cold, damp air as wisps of vapors escaped its mouth. Its black and mud brown scales twitched as the drops of rain splashed on its back. Dal-gay patted the creature. Then, he turned to the lot of lackeys who call themselves soldiers. A twisted smile crept up his face as his lavender and almond shaped eyes roved over them. Then, an orc waddled to him.
“Commander,” he began with a grunt. “We’ve checked everywhere in this providence. There are no signs of these outsiders.”
“Tüll gave us the orders of their whereabouts,” began Dal-gay. “They must have known we were coming.”
“Sir, what do we do?”
“I shall not return to the camp without them,” he said. “Keep searching!”
“Yes, sir,” sighed the orc.
The soldiers marched on as Dal-gay mounted his wyvern. He glanced around, his pointed; elven ears caught the sound of wings fluttering off into the sky.