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Galadria and Fletchen - along with around two-dozen other slaves, both male and female - had been assigned to one of the most difficult tasks in the underground kingdom - breaking rocks. The strenuous nature of the task, which involved smashing sledge-hammers down on rocks brought by the wheelbarrow-pushers, meant children were rarely assigned to it - it was bad enough for adults. Forcing herself to continue despite her aching arms, Galadria attempted to joke with Fletchen.
"They haven't really thought things out very well down here, have they?" she remarked with an ironic smile. "I bet Cryotek could get through this lot in half the time it takes us."
But Fletchen was not in the mood for banter, especially after everything that had happened today. She had not seen Feryl, Dagan, Pallenne or Yilly since they arrived in the workings and had been led away to their various tasks. And, even though Arzon's wheelbarrow-hauling meant he had contact with both areas, so far it had been impossible to speak to him without the guards overhearing. In addition, Delven's taunting of her on the first day of her captivity - glibly informing her that Gleering was dead - had been preying on Fletchen's mind all day. Somehow, she had pushed it to the back of her mind during the long march, but, now that the slaves had reached their destination and all hope of freedom seemed forever out of reach, it was hard to avoid thinking of the things she had lost.
"Sorry, Galadria," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I was just . . . thinking about my father - I still can't quite believe what Delven said was true . . ."
"I'll never forget my father either," Galadria told her. "I was six years old when he died so I can only just remember what he was like . . ."
"What happened?" Fletchen asked, seeing that the event clearly still pained Galadria slightly but needing to know the circumstances behind it. Galadria paused for a moment, in her mind at any rate - her arms continued the task of breaking through the piles of rock various wheelbarrow-pushers brought to her.
"It was a tidal wave," she said simply and matter-of-factly. "A big one that engulfed nearly all of Androsia - I remember Father struggling to get us to high ground. But he - he didn't make it - the wave took him just as he was climbing the safety tower. Fletchen, I hate tidal waves!"
"Galadria, I'm sorry." Fletchen looked into her friend's troubled blue eyes, a sympathetic expression on her face. "Do you still miss him?"
"I still think of him even now," Galadria went on, nodding slightly as she spoke. "He - he used to call me Gladdie - it was my childhood nickname and . . ."
She never finished her sentence for, at that moment, she cried out and sank to her knees clutching her head as the image of a dolphin on her chest-plate began pulsating oddly. Fletchen, concerned by this sudden turn of events, could only watch helplessly as some unseen force levitated Galadria into the air as far as the chains would allow and left her there for a few seconds before slamming her brutally against the floor. Nearby, several other slaves watched dumbstruck, aghast at the sinister forces that seemed to be at work and at least six guards were hurrying across to see what was wrong.
It was then that the source of the trouble became clear. One of the guards chanced to glance at the pile of rocks Galadria had been working on and the first thing he noticed was a glint of purple in among the rubble. Eagerly, he grabbed it and cleaned it off on his clothes, revealing a brilliant Crystal the size of a human hand.
"Over here!" he called. "The first Crystal has been found!"
Galadria was physically exhausted, her energy drained by exposure to a Crystal of Power. She did not know what had caused it, only that it had to be some kind of extremely dangerous magic, magic that had to be stopped at all costs. But, when she tried to move, she immediately sank down again; even her energy reserves were gone and all she could do was look at Fletchen helplessly.
"Fletchen . . ." Galadria gasped, her voice barely audible. "Help . . . me . . ." She slumped forward and lay still.
A guard promptly moved in to beat her, but one of the other restrained him. "Save your cat - she's had it," he whispered. "Such a shame on her first day . . ."
"Aye," the first guard added, looking into Galadria's serene features for a moment. "She was a pretty thing too. Oh well - better get her unchained."
Forcing the Darkling Lords to walk ahead in order to give "early warning" of any booby traps, Leoric and his followers entered the Lost Shrine. Getting inside proved surprisingly easy - "too easy" was how Ectar described it - and they did not meet anyone until they found a phalanx of guards barring their way.
"Which of you is called Leoric?" demanded the group's self-elected leader, a muscular man who had chosen a red bandana as his badge of office.
Leoric decided the best course of action would be to make himself known immediately and stepped forward, barging Lexor and Cravex out of the way. "I am," he replied. "And we intend to enter this Shrine."
"Not without Sanofainus's permission you don't!" the guard retorted, convinced that would make this insolent knight back down. Unfortunately, he was only used to dealing with slaves so weakened by hours of constant work that they barely had the energy to fight back - Leoric was an entirely different proposition.
Leoric knew instinctively that the best way to handle braggarts like this was with a show of force. Wasting no time, he uncoiled his whip and swung it threateningly. "Then tell Sanofainus you have my permission to get out of our way!"
With that, he charged headlong into them; unused to sudden retaliation, the guards were quite literally bowled over. Then, getting over the initial surprise, they regrouped and surrounded the intruders, cat-o'-nine-tails raised ready to strike.
One of them swung at Ectar, but he saw it coming and shapeshifted into his Fox form just in time to avoid the nine vicious lashes. The guard seemed taken aback at striking nothing but air - then it dawned on him that these were no ordinary strangers, that they must have some bizarre powers that enabled them to change their forms.
But their leader was not about to retreat. "Get after him!" he ordered as Ectar disappeared down the corridor. "We're going on a fox-hunt!" Then, as the rest of the guards charged after the Spectral Knight, he made the tactical error of joining them rather than staying to hold off Ectar's companions. Leoric, his whip still poised for battle, watched them go.
"Good - while Ectar's got that lot distracted . . ."
"We'll capture you!" finished Darkstorm as his followers drew their weapons and circled around Leoric's.
"Yes," Mortdredd smirked. "Lord Darkstorm had this planned from the start - we would pretend to call a truce with you and, when the time was right . . . pow!" He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand to emphasise his words.
Leoric, however, was not about to be taken without a fight. He nodded to Witterquick and Cryotek as the three Spectral Knights drew their weapons and stood poised to battle - they knew it would not be easy with only the three of them against the seven Darkling Lords, but they had to try. For the sake of Galadria, Arzon, Feryl and the others enslaved underground, they had to make a stand against their long-term enemies.
"Watch your back, Cryotek!" Leoric shouted as Cindarr raised his club against Cryotek while the latter was occupied with parrying blows from Virulina.
Leoric's words proved to be a more-than-adequate warning and, before the slow-witted Cindarr had chance to react, Cryotek pulled him off his feet and flung him hard against Mortdredd, putting both Darkling Lords temporarily out of action. "Two for the price of one!" Cryotek declared triumphantly as he whirled his bola in preparation to launch an attack on the next Darkling Lord who felt like trying something.
Witterquick vaulted over Reekon's head, assuming his Cheetah form as he landed and darting back into the fray to knock Virulina off her feet. She countered by pulling out her knife and, with a evil laugh, slashed at the Cheetah who barely dodged the blow before disarming her and turning his attention to Lexor.
Seeing Witterquick crouching in his animal form, his tail swishing as he prepared to attack, was enough to push the cowardly Darkling Lord over the edge. Lexor had not wanted to come down here and it was only a direct threat from Darkstorm that he would be subject to a terrible (and unspecified) fate if he refused that had persuaded him to join the others. Even so, it did not take much to make him shapeshift into his Armadillo form and crouch in a tight ball, bracing himself for the incoming attack.
With a quick tap of his paw, Witterquick sent Lexor careering into his fellow Darkling Lords and knocked them down like skittles. Before they could regain their feet, the three Spectral Knights quickly surrounded them, keeping their weapons drawn ready for any trouble - even Gawalar and Atla took up position despite the fact they were unarmed.
"Let's have a recap, Darkstorm!" Leoric said, breathing heavily. "Something about leading us into a trap, wasn't it?"
Darkstorm scowled and muttered several words that would have made even the coarsest warlord blush as he realised the Spectral Knights had outwitted him again. As soon as they were through dealing with their enemies, he would make examples out of the useless blunderers he called his followers . . .
"Oh no you don't!" Cryotek informed Darkstorm when he saw the Darkling Lord start to move. "All of you - go sit over there!" He pointed to a low rock a few feet from where they had encountered the Shrine's guards. "On your hands - and don't even think about following us!"
Having neutralised the Darkling Lords - for the time being at least - Leoric and his party continued into the Lost shrine. As they rounded a corner, they saw Ectar emerging from a side room where he had hidden to shake off the guards, breathing heavily and trembling with shock.
Leoric knew immediately that whatever his friend had seen had to be something unbelievably vile - Ectar simply wasn't the sort to be easily spooked. "Take it easy, Ectar," he urged. "What's in there? What did you see?"
Forcing himself to speak coherently, Ectar explained. "It - it looks like some sort of charnel house . . . bodies everywhere," he stammered. "Mostly slaves by the look of them - how could anyone have such scant regard for human life? Galadria . . . Galadria . . . by the Three Suns, don't let her be dead!"
"Galadria?" Leoric asked, hoping against hope that Ectar's worst fears were not about to be realised. "Are you saying she's . . ."
The two Spectral Knights looked at each other helplessly, refusing to believe that they could already be too late to help one of their captive fellows. Then, Leoric's instincts as a leader took over - they needed to see for themselves what had happened to Galadria before they gave her up as lost, besides which, there were still other slaves they might still be able to free. "Cryotek, you get Galadria out of there," he instructed in the firmest voice he could muster.
"Well?" Atla asked as Cryotek emerged from the room - used by the guards as a tomb for those slaves they had, quite simply, worked to death - with the motionless Galadria in his arms. "Is that her and is she alive?"
"Aye - just," Cryotek said shortly as he placed the comatose young woman on the floor and gently brushed a lock of her hair off her face. "Leoric, I hope this wasn't caused by what I think it was," he added, staring into his leader's eyes with a troubled expression on his face.
"What exactly does that mean?" demanded Gawalar, who was anxious to get to the main workings and look for his lost son. And then there was the "small matter" of a certain wizard . . .
"It means," said Witterquick, deciding the best course of action was to be direct and call a spade a spade, "that Galadria more than likely saw one of the Crystals of Power - and we've got to find Arzon and Feryl before the same thing happens to them." With that, he made to head for the main workings.
"No," Leoric told him firmly. "First, we must try to cure Galadria or her own magical powers will kill her." He pulled out his Power Staff as he uttered the words that summoned the Owl of Wisdom:
"Whispered secrets of a shattered Age
I summon you, renew this sage."
A magical Owl emerged and hovered in mid-air, although it did not appear to flap its wings. "Sometimes, destruction brings rebirth," it said before winking out of existence. The Owl of Wisdom never gave concrete information, just vague hints on what the Spectral Knights' next move should be. But, without the Bearer of Knowledge or Arzon to call on it, there was no other option.
"Destruction brings rebirth?" mused Witterquick, furrowing his brow as he tried to think what the Owl could mean this time.
"I can't figure it out either," Cryotek said from where he knelt beside Galadria. "And every second we try wastes time . . . unless!" he interjected as something occured to him. It was a long shot and there was no way of knowing if it would succeed until they tried it. "Leoric, if it was a Crystal of Power that did this, could destroying it remove its hold over her?"
Leoric had been thinking along much the same lines, that getting rid of the Crystal might be the key to saving Galadria. "I think you might be right, Cryotek," he said with the faint trace of a smile on his face. "The power of that Crystal caused Galadria's magic to turn against her, so - if we destroy it . . ."
"None of us can do it," Ectar said, frustrated by the seemingly unworkable advice. "The second we see that Crystal, we'll end up . . ." He nodded towards the unconscious Galadria.
"Maybe, Ectar," Leoric replied. "But it won't affect Gawalar and Atla . . ."
Sanofainus stepped back to admire the Crystal and imagined how things would be once he had all Seven. When that happened, he would be absolute ruler of Prysmos, everyone on the planet living only to serve him. The first thing he planned to do was set his slaves to building a tower - a magnificent marble structure spiralling into the sky - and he had plenty of other projects in mind as well.
But his plans did not allow for the possibility of a slave rebellion - nor did they allow for the sudden arrival of Gawalar and Atla.
Gawalar kept Sanofainus distracted while Atla snatched the Crystal from its place on the altar. Doubling his fist up, he rammed it into the tyrant's face, causing Sanofainus to recoil from the impact as Gawalar moved in for another blow. "How do you feel now?" Gawalar mocked, bearing down on Sanofainus as he spoke. "Do you like the taste of the humiliation you've meted out on so many? And did you know those Crystals you seek might be dangerous? One of your slaves is unconscious because of them . . ."
"I - I . . ." Sanofainus tried to say as he struggled to back away. Gawalar seized him by his robe and pulled him towards him so that their faces were only inches apart.
"What do you care if that young woman dies?" he demanded angrily. "She's just a beast of burden to you! This," he added, punching Sanofainus in the stomach, "is for Galadria! And this . . ." Another punch followed. " . . . is for my son, Dagan!"
Winded from Gawalar's beating and taken completely by surprise at being attacked in his own stronghold, Sanofainus staggered away just as Atla darted past with the Crystal in her hands. It did not take him long to realise what was happening and, with a yell of fury, he made a grab for the Crystal Atla was holding. She stepped to one side, causing the tyrant to lose his balance as he failed to compensate for her change in position.
"Give me that Crystal, woman!" Sanofainus ordered as Atla struggled to keep it out of range of his grasping hands.
"Never!" Atla retorted. "I will not allow Prysmos to be tainted by your evil!" With that, she stepped back a pace and, before Sanofainus could stop her, hurled the Crystal against the far wall . . .
Immediately, the Crystal exploded with a blinding flash of light that forced Gawalar, Atla and Sanofainus to close their eyes to avoid being blinded. A screaming hurricane tore through the room, accompanied by the chanting of a crowd of unseen speakers, as Sanofainus groped round for the horn he used to alert his guards. Five short blasts would be all it took to summon reinforcements and teach these intruders a lesson they would never forget. Unfortunately, he did not realise he was standing at the top of the stairs until it was too late . . .
Gawalar and Atla did not stop to watch as Sanofainus fell; they headed straight back to where the Spectral Knights waited for them. Galadria was awake and on her feet, albeit leaning heavily on Cryotek, the threat to her life removed along with the Crystal and seemed in remarkably good spirits.
"How are you feeling?" Gawalar asked her. Galadria responded by pulling away from Cryotek and taking a few unaided steps, faltering at first but growing more confident as her strength returned.
"Fine, considering the last thing I remember is being thrown about like a piece of waste paper," she said with a slight laugh. "Now, let's get back to the workings and rescue the others."
Leoric held his whip ready to fight, his eyes narrowed as he silently renewed the vow he had made on the day his friends were taken. No matter how insurmountable the odds seemed, he would not leave the Lost Shrine until they were freed and the evil regime that had stolen them was crushed.
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