Chapter 63

Wil dragged the stunned Astrid with him as they stumbled up the slope to the surface. Marali, the white swan, was about the snap at the young man for grabbing her master, when a blurred figure slammed into the swan from behind.

The pair become a rolling ball of snapping jaws and grasping claws, as they struggled on the ground. Not waiting to catch a good look at their attacked, Wil shouted to the Elemental.

“Help the bird!”

The figure of the black sand elemental erupted from the ground, its limbs already reaching for the two beasts still wrestling on the ground.

Snatching them apart with its massive, earthen hands, it hurled the swan towards Wil and Astrid, before gripping the struggling monster in both hands.

The last sight Wil had of the cavern before they escaped was of a scaled, snake like creature with a dragon’s face, raking its claws heavily against the elemental’s body, its jaws already closing around its head.

The creature, a small Wyrm, was only a few meters long, and from its strength and ferociousness, Wil didn’t hold much hope that the elemental could hold it for long.

“Come on! Move it if you want to live!” Wil shouted, dragging the silver haired young woman by the hand as the noise of the conflict behind them drowned out his voice. The angry roar of the young Wyrm chased them as they climbed the scope, the injured swan stumbling behind them as she tried to keep up with the blistering pace.

They almost made it to the exit, when they heard a loud crash, followed by a rumbling noise. The tunnel behind them began to collapse, the cavern walls caving inwards. Reacting quickly, Wil gripped Astrid tighter as they disappeared in a flash of mana.

“Marali!” Astrid yelled, reaching out for the Swan. Before she could grab the white bird, they were gone, reappearing on the surface.

Off balance, Wil stumbled to the ground, Astrid landing on the hard packed salt flat under him.

“Get off me! Marali!” She cried desperately, as a cloud of sand and dust shot out from the cleft in the ground. Just when she was losing hope, the Swan, now black with sand and dust, stumbled up from beneath the ground.

Astrid pushed Wil away, running to her companion.

Letting out a croaking cough, the Swan nuzzled into her chest with its head, while tears ran down the silver haired woman’s face.

“I’m so glad tha-” Astrid began, running her hands over the swan’s head.

“No time!” Wil interrupted, running towards her.

The ground in front of the entrance exploded outwards, spraying sand and salt around them. The Elemental had the Wyrm’s jaws held open as the creature pushed the pair out of the ground and into the open air. The small monster was as strong as a Dragon, and Wil could see the struggle the Elemental was having in matching it.

“Fly! My elemental won’t be able to hold it back!” Wil shouted, pushing Astrid onto the swan’s back before she could argue. The injured creature staggered ahead for a few steps, before collapsing under her weight.

“Shit!” Wil cursed, looking from the Swan to the Wyrm.

The rampaging beast had wrapped itself tightly around the elemental, contracting its powerful tail while biting its head. Wil could feel the mana of the summon fading, it would only last a minute or so more before being forced back into its emerald container.

There was no way the swan was going to be able to fly, and Astrid wouldn’t leave it. Wil didn’t have much of a connection to the pair, but he wasn’t going to leave them to die.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the Clockwork Owl, immediately channeling a massive amount of mana into the metallic bird. It came to life, ruffling its feathers and taking to the skies right away, its wings flapping quickly.

“Take the Swan and the girl to safety!” He commanded it, pointing to the pair. Astrid was stunned by the small, metal Owl as a burst of mana from its body enlarged it to twice the Swan’s size

“Get on and leave!” Wil shouted, pushing Astrid onto the Owl’s back. Not waiting, Wil’s companion leapt into the air, grasping the tired swan in its claws, the silver haired woman shrieked in terror at the speed it was moving.

In moments it was high in the air, circling the sky above in moments to gain altitude, far out of reach of the Wyrm below.

Wil didn’t watch it leave, already dashing towards the Elemental. Not a moment too soon, as its magic failed, its sandy body crumbling as it sank back beneath the ground. In a flash of light, Wil reappeared over the emerald, his hand already scooping it out of the ground.

The Wyrm, distracted momentarily by the elemental’s demise and the mana rich, Clockwork Owl flying overhead, was a moment to slow to catch him with its jaws as Wil ran as fast as he could, already pulling more mana from his core, preparing his final spell.

The creature behind him roared in fury and frustration. It drew in a deep breath, and Wil turned to see its belly turning a deep blue, a deafening roar like a furnace coming from its throat.

A beam of blue fire burst from between its jaws, streaking towards Wil just as his next spell was ready.

“Dimensional Door!” Wil screamed in panic, as the beam of fire was almost on him.

The spell took hold at the last moment, and with a soft ‘pop’ he vanished, the fiery attack burning a hole deep into the sand. The Wyrm slithered forward quickly, looking at the spot where the human had disappeared. All around where its fire struck, black glass glowed red from the heat.

With another roar, this one of frustration, the Wyrm watched the owl fly far away. Unable to catch it, the creature dove beneath the sand, returning to its cavern below.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Astrid clung to the back of the Clockwork Owl, high above the Midnight Desert’s black dunes, when Wil teleported back into existence with a soft ‘pop’. Appearing just above the Owl, he landed with a heavy ‘thud’ on the owl’s back, nearly collapsing at the awkward footing and his own exhaustion.

Wil was coated in sweat, his face smudged with soot like black sand. He lay on the owl’s back for a moment, panting, before he smiled at her.

“Alright?” He asked, his smile turning into a cocky grin. He pulled a white handkerchief from his bag as he spoke, wiping his sopping wet brow, before tucking the now dirty cloth away.

“Yes, but what the hell is this thing?” She asked, terrified as the owl banked through the sky. For a moment, she swore it looked back at her and laughed!

Hooting loudly, the Owl leveled off, righting itself, and its head swiveled back to look at the horizon. Astrid’s consternation grew when Wil chuckled at her attitude towards the metallic beast.

“He’s an owl, obviously. His name’s Bitey, and let me tell you, he earned it. Watch your fingers if you ever want to pet him.”

“I know it’s an owl!” She said primly. ‘Bitey? Ludicrous name.’ She thought to herself.

“I meant, what is it? Is it some kind of machine?” She asked, burning with curiosity. This was exactly the kind of experience she was looking for when she left home. Meeting strange, wonderful creatures and people. It was terrible that things had gone so horribly wrong the last few days.

“He’s my friend.” Wil responded, shrugging his shoulder at her question, and patting the owl on the back with a metallic ‘clang’. It was as if that was the only answer that mattered to the young man.

“Anyway, we need to pick a direction to travel. Bitey can’t fly for long, I only gave him enough mana for a few hours at most, and I don’t have any left to give when it runs out.”

“I have enough, I didn’t do much back in the cavern.” She said, suddenly ashamed for her lack of action.

“I suppose you could feed him. But we still need a navigator. Here, catch!” Wil said, suddenly tossing her an emerald gemstone. She fumbled for a moment, trying not to drop it, before she got a firm grip on it.

She could sense the summon within, a being of power, connected to the earth below, and the young man in front of her.

“Your elemental?” She asked, looking up from the emerald at the young man. He had already turned away, pointing at a spot below for the owl. The clockwork bird began to slowly descend in a long spiral towards a sand flat below.

“It can be a bit of a handful, but if you channel your mana inside and call out to him, he should respond.” Wil said, as the Owl settled on the ground. Hopping off, he held a hand up to her to help her climb down. She was shocked by his gentlemanly attitude, as she accepted his help to climb down.

“What? I’m not a barbarian.” Wil said, his grin back and as wide as ever as he guessed what she was thinking.

“You certainly smell like one.” She responded, giving a distanful ‘sniff’ when she walked away on the hard packed desert ground.

Ignoring his response to her comment, she lifted the emerald in her hands, closing her eyes and focusing on drawing mana from her core. Visualizing a wide, crystal clear lake of mana that stretched to the horizon, she imagined drawing the water with her hand, pouring it into the gemstone.

She expected the elemental to reject her, but she was shocked when the creature within eagerly drew on her mana, taking as much as she offered. Surprised, she cut of the flow after only a moment, and the emerald dropped from her hands, hitting the ground.

In moments, a small, child sized earth elemental made of black sand was standing in front of the pair.

“Not. Master.” It rumbled disapprovingly, looking at Astrid for a moment, before turning to Wil.

“Master.”

“Sorry about that, I’m pretty dry on mana at the moment. That’s why we need your help. Do you sense any more places like that cavern nearby?” Wil asked, kneeling down in front of the elemental and looking it in the eye.

It didn’t respond for a long minute, slowly turning its body as it scanned the horizon. Finally, it raised its small arm and pointed into the distance.

“Water. People. Conflict.” It rumbled, before its mana ran out and its figure collapsed. Wil scooped up the gemstone, placing it back in his bag as he stood up.

“Wonderful. Three of my favorite things.” He said sarcastically, shaking his head as he turned back to the owl.