| SORCEROUS SIGNALS |
| Written by Mark Fewell / Artwork by Lee Kuruganti |
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| The Dwarven Statue |
That Saturday afternoon was the first time I had been in this hangout of hers. I was hoping to find some used
fantasy or science fiction books to read during a trip I had planned to the Bahamas. While I thumbed through old
books, Melissa rummaged through an odd assortment of jewelry.
“Hey, Owen, over here,” Melissa yelled. I walked over to her without putting down the book I had in my hands.
Melissa was holding the gaudiest-looking piece of jewelry I had ever seen.
“You’re not buying that, are you?” I already knew the answer.
“You’re buying that, aren’t you?” She pointed at the book in my hand.
“Yes, I am,” I don’t know why I answered that way, but would later believe it had something to do with magic.
#
After we got back to our apartment, I set the book down on the round handmade table in the living room. It stayed
there for two days before I got a chance to look at it.
The book turned out to be a photo album. I flipped through the pages and saw the people in the photographs
moving. It looked like a miniature motion picture.
While flipping through it, I noticed the photograph of a lynching. I reached out to touch the surface of the photo with
my fingertips.
The walls of the apartment disappeared.
I fell from ten feet up in the air.
As I landed with a thud, I found myself surrounded by a mob yelling something about demons. They ran away when I
stood up, leaving me with the man they were going to hang.
“Thank you for saving my life.” The man spoke English.
“Who are you? And why were those people trying to hang you?” I asked.
“I’m Waldorf, but my friends call me Wally. I happen to be a wizard, and those people don’t like wizards.”
I had more questions. Would Melissa believe I met Wally the Wizard? was only one of them.
“If you’re a wizard, why didn’t you use magic to stop that mob?”
“I didn’t want to hurt them. I knew you would be here.”
“You knew what?”
#
You would think Wally being a wizard would have some magical means of transportation. That same day we
journeyed twenty miles. It was the first time I had walked that far since army basic training. At the end of the hike,
we came to a cliff lined with caves.
“Hello, friend,” yelled one of the caves’ inhabitants. I wasn’t sure whether he was talking to me or Wally. As he
stepped from the darkness of the cave’s entrance, I saw he was only three feet tall and had a long, white beard.
“Who is this?” the dwarf asked. This time I was sure he was talking to Wally.
“Owen Phillips,” I answered.
“Welcome, Owen Phillips, to Koltan, city of the dwarves. I am Tinn, official welcomer.” At least, he wasn’t Danny the
Dwarf. I don’t think I could have handled the alliteration.
As we walked into the caves, I noticed all of the dwarves were wearing bright colors, mostly reds and greens. They
reminded me Santa’s elves. I wondered if there were elves in this world. I, also, made the observation that all the
women had beards.
#
That night at a dinner prepared for me, a dwarf clad in bright blue (the official storyteller) told the story of the
prophecy.
“A long time ago,” he began, “man and dwarf lived in peaceful coexistence. Hodan, Master of Evil, Lord of Night, and
Lord of Shadows, came into the world. He stole the gold statue of Esvar, greatest of kings. Man and dwarf blamed
each other for the theft, and their peaceful coexistence came to an end. It was prophesied a man would appear who
would retrieve this statue, and this man would fall from the sky above Haxfar Meadow. That man is here with us
now.” I choked when I realized he was pointing at me. The realization this wasn’t some bizarre dream happened to
strike me at the same moment. Like a sledge hammer.
#
The following morning Wally came into the more than adequate quarters the dwarves had supplied me with. “Get up,
friend Owen, we must supply you with armor and sword before we start our journey.”
“I don’t know how to use a sword. Wait a minute! What journey?” There wasn’t any coffee for me to drink.
“The one to recover the Esvar’s stature, of course,” Wally said.
“I don’t know how to use a sword,” I repeated the lie. I had been on the fencing team in college, but I hadn’t been
good.
“You’ll learn.”
“I was afraid you’d say that. Why don’t you need a sword?”
“I’m a wizard.” I was afraid he’d say that.
I spent the next seven days with dwarven warriors who attempted to turn me into a combination, or, at least, a
reasonable facsimile of Errol Flynn and the Grey Mouser.
The day came when Wally said it was time to leave for the famous statue. We left the following morning. Along with
us came Tunk, Tinn’s brother, who was the best archer in all of Koltan (or so I was told).
After four uneventful days of travel, we met a spider that stood five feet tall, was eight feet in diameter, and talked.
“Hodan commands you to go back,” the spider said.
“Screw you.” I drew my sword and lunged forward to attack. During my lunge, the spider tripped me with one of its
legs. I did a forward somersault while trying to regain my balance and ended up counting the number of teeth coming
at me. I dodged the teeth, but one of its legs pinned me to the ground.
Tunk drew back his bow, hoping to draw the attention of the spider to himself, and it might have worked if not for the
flying lizard. The huge reptile grabbed Tunk as he released the arrow, disrupting his aim. The arrow fell short and
almost hit me. The spider turned its attention towards the direction the arrow had come from and allowed me to get
to my feet.
Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt struck the spider. All this did was anger it, and cause it to chase after Wally instead
of me. I had a clean shot at the creature’s underbelly. I thrust my sword into its stomach and a green ichor came from
the wound, pouring over my body. The thing took two more steps and fell dead.
“Let’s go,” Wally said as if nothing had happened.
“What about Tunk? We have to save him. He tried to save me.” What I really wanted to do was to get the green
gunk off me. It stank like weeks-old roadkill and felt sticky.
“There is nothing we can do. I don’t even know which way the gorker took him.” Wally walked away from me. After a
few seconds, I followed. I didn’t like the way our meager force had been cut down to two-thirds.
#
It was another two days of travel before we came to the bottom of a large mountain. (And yes, I did get a chance to
wash the spider’s blood off. Thanks for asking.)
“There is where we want to go.” Wally pointed at the mountain’s top.
“I don’t climb mountains.”
“You do now,” Wally said.
The climb turned out not to be as difficult as I thought it was going to be. A well-worn path led up the side of the
mountain. After a three hour climb, we came to the darkest cave I had ever seen.
“We’re not going in there, are we?” I had a slight case of claustrophobia.
“Of course, we are,” Wally said.
“Don’t we need a flashlight or something?”
“What’s a flashlight?”
I didn’t see any reason for answering his question. Wally realizing I wasn’t going to answer him, started mumbling,
and the cave’s entrance filled up with light. It was definitely better than having a flashlight.
“Follow me, and don’t touch the walls. The yellow plants on them contain a corrosive substance.” Wally walked
through the passages as if he had been in them before. I followed being careful not to touch the walls of the cave.
After twenty minutes of walking, we came to a fork in the passageway.
“What do we do now?” I had hoped for some kind of direction-finding spell.
“We flip a coin.” So much for hopes and wishes.
Maybe, the coin will be magic, I thought. The coin flew from Wally’s thumb into the air where it bounced off the ceiling
and one of the walls. “Heads.” It landed between my feet. “Heads,” I repeated as I looked down at the coin.
Wally and I walked down the right passage into a dead-end. I turned when I heard a crash. A wall blocked the path
behind us.
“Do you have any way of getting out of this?” I asked.
“Not yet.” The floor started to fill with water.
“Could you hurry and think of a way? Please?”
“I got it.” Wally pointed at the wall, and it exploded. The blast blew me against the far wall of the cave. The impact
jarred my arm.
“Come on,” Wally said. “We must hurry. I sense Hodan drawing near.”
“Hodan?” My collision with the wall had left me dazed.
“What do you think I need you for?”
“Huh?” I said, still dazed.
“Legend says only a being from another world can defeat Hodan. I have the utmost confidence in you, Owen.”
If only I had the utmost confidence in me.
We journeyed back to the fork and found the left passage strewn with skeletons. Wally told me they were people
who had tried to recover the statue before us. Some had been heroes. Some had been bandits hoping to make their
fortune by melting down the statue.
As we neared the end of the passage, I shivered from the ice cold temperatures. A man-like shape emerged in front
of us. “I am Hodan.” It appeared to be no more than shadow. I withdrew my sword from its sheath. My right arm hurt
too much for me to properly balance the sword. I switched hands and took a swing at Hodan. While I tried
unsuccessfully to cut Hodan into little pieces, Wally threw all manner of spells at him. Blue light, red light, heat,
lightning, cold, thunder. Hodan laughed at us.
“Wally, throw that light spell directly at him!” Maybe Hodan, being a creature of darkness, would be affected by light.
The spell worked. Hodan faded out of existence. This was too easy.
The gold statue stood in front of us with nobody guarding it. “How do we get it out of here?”
Wally walked over to the statue and said some strange words. “We have it follow us.” Sure enough, it tagged along
behind us, hovering three feet in the air. Whenever we stopped, the statue would set itself on the ground.
#
When I went to sleep that night, I dreamed of Melissa. Soon I could spend my time trying to find a way home, having
completed my mission in this world. Maybe, Wally could send me magically.
#
“Get up, Owen.” A foot nudged my side.
“Uh...what?” I said half-awake.
“The statue’s been stolen.” That woke me the rest of the way up.
“Who would have done that?”
“Bandits,” Wally answered. “They’re headed west as far as I can tell. I should have had one of us guard the statue
while the other slept.”
“No use crying over spilled milk. We’ll have to go after them is all.”
“What’s this have to do with milk?”
“Figure of speech.”
#
We took off heading west. Towards Voltan according to Wally.
“What’s in Voltan?” I asked.
“Ratana. Best tracker in the world plus an expert on the ways of bandits, being that she is one.”
She?
#
Later that day we reached Voltan, the streets filled with people. Short people, fat people, skinny people, tall people
dressed in all manner of colorful clothing. The noise was tremendous.
Wally led me through the streets the large city, stopping at the entrance of one of the buildings. The sign above the
door read THE SLAUGHTERED OGRE. The place was a bar like any other bar in any other large city. Only here all the
clientele wore weapons.
“Hey, Wally!” A an eight-foot tall man, carrying a huge battle-ax, made his way towards us. “What are you up to?”
“If you must know, I’m looking for your sister.”
“You’re always getting her in trouble.”
“Your sister is the best in the business.” His sister? We were looking for a giantess?
“Wally!” A petite and incredibly beautiful woman threw her arms around Wally, giving him a bear hug and a kiss. She
had dark brown eyes with matching hair and a smile that assured me she could have any man she wanted.
“Owen, meet Ratana,” Wally said.
“Hi, Owen.” Ratana hugged and kissed me. “Call me Rat.” I was going to find it very hard to call anyone so beautiful
by such a name.
“When are you going to introduce me?” the giant asked.
“This is Ratana’s brother. Owen, meet Overon,” Wally said.
“What do you want with my sister?” Overon asked.
“We need her help tracking bandits.”
“I’m going with you.” Wally didn’t argue with the giant.
#
We spent that night at one of the local inns. I finally got to sleep in a bed after having spent days in the wilderness.
Ratana shouted from outside my door. “Owen, time to get up!”
“I’m awake.” I struggled to get out of bed, not wanting to leave it.
I walked downstairs to the dining room of the inn where I was served the best breakfast I had ever had. I couldn’t
recognize the meat, but it was sweet and juicy. “What kind of meat is this?”
“Dragon,” the inn’s proprietor answered. “We serve our guests the best. Yes, sir. That’s our motto.”
We left right after breakfast. The lack of noise made the empty streets seem eerie.
#
Within minutes of leaving Voltan, sweat drenched the four of us. I breathed heavily, not being used to the weather. I
was, also, having problems keeping my eyes off Rat’s frontal anatomy.
We had only traveled a short ways from the city before breaking camp.
“Won’t the bandits get ahead of us?” I asked.
“They’re just as hot as we are. Besides there are twenty of them and only four of us. We can travel faster than
them,” Rat said.
“Yeah, my sister knows what she’s doing,” Overon said. I looked at Overon and decided not to ask Rat how she knew
there were twenty bandits.
That night we set up shifts. I had the second one—right after Rat.
Tired of sitting by the fire, I decided to take a walk into the surrounding forest. Something bumped into my leg
followed by another bump. I looked down to see what hit me and saw two little furry gray men standing at my ankles.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“We’re Thing One and Thing Two,” they said in unison.
“Thing One? And Thing Two? You’re Things?”
“We’re Things That Go Bump In The Night,” Thing One said, or was it Thing Two? “Who are you?” they both asked.
I told them who I was, and what I was doing.
“Can we join you?” they asked.
“Sure.”
The Things followed me back to camp. Overon was already awake for his shift. “What are those?” He pointed at the
Things.
“It’s just one Thing after another,” I answered.
The next day Rat doubled-back and found some tracks leading towards our camp. “There are wolves following us,”
she said. “I only hope they’re normal wolves.”
That night Wally woke us all up. “We’re being attacked!”
Ratana, Overon, and I rushed to Wally’s side. Wolves surrounded our campsite. They were black as a night without
stars or a moon. Wally threw lightning bolts at them, and they dissolved into the darkness instead of falling over
dead.
I drew my sword and entered the fray. Why let Wally have all the fun? The closest one to me attacked. I managed to
slice through its head. Its blood poured over my body. Seeing no other wolves near me, I went to Rat’s side. The two
biggest wolves of the pack double-teamed her. They separated at my approach. The biggest one leaped at me and
sunk its teeth into my shoulder. My blood mixed with the blood of the wolf I had slain. I punched the wolf with my left
hand, flinging it from my body. It landed feet first and resumed its attack. The wolf knocked me over. Its forepaws
were on my chest. I was sure I was a goner. All of the sudden, an arrow stuck through the wolf’s chest pointed at
me. Nobody in our group carried a bow. Maybe the cavalry had arrived.
I stood up and saw all the wolves had been slain. In the distance, I saw a dwarf who looked like Tunk; it had to be
his brother Tinn. “Tinn,” I yelled.
“I’m Tunk.”
“How did you escape the gorkers?” Wally asked.
Tunk began his story without waiting to be introduced to our four new companions. “The gorker flew me to its nest in
the Ashanti Mountains, setting me down in its nest so I could be gorkie food. Gorkies are baby gorkers.” He said this
more for my benefit than anybody else’s. “Mother Gorker flew off to do some hunting. Fortunately for me, gorkers
aren’t too bright. I was left with my bow and five arrows. The rest of my arrows had fallen from my quiver in the flight
to the nest. I took an arrow from my quiver and used it as a sword to fend off the three gorkies. I stuck the arrow
into the thick skin of the closest one. Pulling my arrow from the body, it broke. The arrow, that is. One dead, two to
go. Four arrows left. The two remaining gorkies were coming at me. I took another arrow from my quiver. One of the
gorkies pecked into my arm. The arrow fell from hand, down the side of the mountain. Three arrows left, and I had
been wounded. I ignored the pain and grabbed another arrow. I threw it like a spear into the one that hurt me.
Slaying him, I managed to withdraw my arrow without breaking it. I quickly stuck the arrow into the third and final
gorkie. The gorkie fell over the side of the nest taking my arrow with it. Two arrows left, and Mother Gorker would be
coming home anytime now. I hid in the nest, waiting for her return. I didn’t want to fight her while climbing down the
mountain. Several hours later she returned. I shot an arrow at her. I missed. One arrow left. I knew I had to make it
count. It hit her, but it didn’t slay her. She made it to the nest. I pushed her with my bare hands, causing her to fall to
her death. Now that I felt safe, I climbed down the side of the mountain. Walking back to Koltan, I noticed some
strange-looking black wolves. Being the curious dwarf, I followed them and ended up here.
“That leaves you with zero arrows yet it was an arrow that saved me,” I said.
“I made more on my way back.”
#
We traveled the next few days with little food or rest. “This doesn’t look good,” Wally said.
“Why not?” I really didn’t want to know the answer.
“This trail leads to the Mountains of Darkness.”
“Mountains of Darkness?”
“It is said only creatures of the night can live there,” Overon said.
“Why would bandits go there?” Rat asked her brother.
“Perhaps they work for Hodan.”
“But Wally destroyed Hodan. I saw it happen.”
“Only you can destroy Hodan, friend Owen. Have you forgotten why you were drawn into this world?”
“No.” I hadn’t, but I wanted out of this world so I could have Melissa beside me again.
“I’m not so sure I’ll be able to track the bandits in the Darkness,” Rat said.
“But we can,” one of the Things said.
“I suggest we get going,” Wally said.
#
We continued our journey in silence. After a few miles, we came to a spot where the sunlight ended in blackness.
“Come on, let’s go,” the Things said. They walked into the black and disappeared. “Come on, let’s go,” one of the
Things repeated as he popped back into the sunlight. The rest of us reluctantly followed.
Try to imagine walking into your worst nightmare, and the nightmares of all the other people in the world coming to
join yours in some macabre wedding ceremony. If you can do that, you have a good idea of what the Darkness
looked and felt like. In the distance, we saw moving shadows. Some were man-shaped, and some weren’t. None of
them came towards us. Maybe they didn’t want to chance slipping into the sunlight, or maybe they didn’t care that we
were there.
The Things took the lead, their eyes were best suited for this strange Darkness. Wally and I followed in the middle
with Overon and Rat bringing up the rear of our formation. The farther we advanced in the Darkness, the more
shadow creatures we saw. The creatures started to advance closer to us; so far none of them attacked.
“There.” The Things pointed at a tower in the distance. “That’s the direction the bandits have taken.”
“Are you sure?” Wally asked.
“Yes.”
“I have heard of a tower that sits in a sea of eternal Darkness. That must be the Tower of Night. Hodan’s home.”
The rest of us remained silent while Wally and the Things discussed the quickest way to get to the tower. After their
discussion with Wally, the Things took their place in the lead and signaled for the rest of us to follow. The creatures
would reach out and almost touch us, but as long as they didn’t want a fight, we didn’t want a fight. We were still
sore from the last one.
We travel until a gorge blocked our path.
“Which way do we go?” Wally asked.
“Perhaps we can walk around it,” said one of the Things.
Perhaps we could have walked around it, but we weren’t able to find out. Shadow creatures surrounded us on four
sides, the gorge on the fourth. Wally immediately tried using a light spell to scare the creatures away, but the spell
proved to be ineffective in the Darkness. There were seven of us, and thousands of them. We had to find some way
across the gorge. Overon picked up the Things, one in each hand, and threw them across the gorge.
“You’re next.” I barely missed landing on one of the Things. Wally followed me across. As Overon threw Rat, one of
the creatures grabbed his arm. Rat didn’t clear the gorge, but she managed to grab the edge. I dove, grabbing her
hand as her fingers lost their grip. Wally grabbed my feet. Together we pulled Rat to safety. Tunk was the sixth and
final member of our party to make it across.
We looked on in horror as the shadows ripped Overon apart. Rat turned away from the rest of us, crying. I walked
over to her. She saw me and turned to hug me. I started crying not because I missed Overon, but because I missed
Melissa.
After a moment of silence for our lost comrade, we continued our journey to the Tower of Night. A hundred feet from
the gorge, we came to a valley that let sunlight into this realm of Darkness.
“We should rest here for the night. We’re all tired,” Wally said.
That night Melissa woke me up. I was back in our apartment lying in bed. “You won’t believe the dream I just I had.”
Melissa smiled as she climbed out of her clothes and got into bed with me. I never got to tell her my dream.
When I woke up, I was back with everybody else; Melissa had been the dream.
“I had an unusual dream last night,” Rat said. “I dreamed Overon was alive, and we were at our parents’ house. It
seemed so real. Except my parents...and Overon are dead.” She was crying again.
After a brief discussion, we discovered all of us except Wally had had some type of dream. “This must be the Valley of
Lost Loves,” Wally said.
“I thought it to be a story told to small children,” Rat said.
“Apparently not.” Tunk had dreamed he was back in Koltan with “a fine dwarven lass who had emerald eyes and a
beautiful black beard.”
It seemed all of us except Wally had someone we loved or had loved. Even the Things had dreamed they had been
with other Things. I seemed to be the only one who noticed Wally never mentioned a dream. Perhaps he had never
loved or maybe it hurt too much to talk about it. At that moment, I felt kind of sorry for him.
#
After a short walk, we stepped out of the sunlight of the Valley of Lost Loves. Shortly after that, we came to the
Tower of Night.
“We won’t go in there,” the Things said.
“You brought us to the Tower. You’ve done enough. Go,” Wally said. The Things took off into the Darkness. There was
only four of us left. I was reminded of Tunk’s story. Three down, four to go.
We searched the Tower’s base until we found an entrance. There was some writing beside it which none of us could
read. I was sure it said something like “BEWARE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.”
Wally and I took the lead up the stairs of the Tower with Rat and Tunk following behind us. Halfway up the stairs a
trapdoor opened behind Wally and both Tunk and Rat fell through it, the top closing over them. I tried prying it open
with my sword.
“Come on, we can get them out on the way back,” Wally said. Not seeing any way or reason to argue with him, I
followed him the rest of the way up the stairs. We came to a room at the top of the Tower. The statue was in it, but
not Hodan.
“Let’s hurry up and get out of here before Hodan shows up,” I said.
“I’m already here.” Wally had disappeared and in his place stood Hodan.
“What did you do with Wally?”
“I am Wally.”
“Why were you helping me?”
“So I could trap you in the Darkness where I am all-powerful. The spider, the wolves, the bandits, even the Things
were all part of my plan. It was the only way to stop the prophecy from coming true.”
I drew my sword. I could barely lift it.
“Tired, are we? The Valley of Lost Loves tends to do that to some people.”
I threw down my sword and attacked him with my bare hands. He backed away from me.
Everybody had been telling me I was the only one who could defeat Hodan. Even Hodan (Wally) himself. Could I do it
by touching him? I had to try. I dove headfirst at him. My body touched his legs, causing him to howl in pain. All I had
to do was touch him. I chased him into a corner. He had thought himself invulnerable in his Darkness. He faded away
at my touch. The Darkness disappeared with him.
I returned to the trapdoor. It took awhile, but I pried it open with my sword, and dragged Rat and Tunk out of the pit.
The three of us dragged the statute down the stairs and back to civilization.
The tensions between man and dwarf have ended, and I’m a great hero in this world. The dwarves have promised to
help me find the magic that will send me home.
That will send me back to Melissa.
fantasy or science fiction books to read during a trip I had planned to the Bahamas. While I thumbed through old
books, Melissa rummaged through an odd assortment of jewelry.
“Hey, Owen, over here,” Melissa yelled. I walked over to her without putting down the book I had in my hands.
Melissa was holding the gaudiest-looking piece of jewelry I had ever seen.
“You’re not buying that, are you?” I already knew the answer.
“You’re buying that, aren’t you?” She pointed at the book in my hand.
“Yes, I am,” I don’t know why I answered that way, but would later believe it had something to do with magic.
#
After we got back to our apartment, I set the book down on the round handmade table in the living room. It stayed
there for two days before I got a chance to look at it.
The book turned out to be a photo album. I flipped through the pages and saw the people in the photographs
moving. It looked like a miniature motion picture.
While flipping through it, I noticed the photograph of a lynching. I reached out to touch the surface of the photo with
my fingertips.
The walls of the apartment disappeared.
I fell from ten feet up in the air.
As I landed with a thud, I found myself surrounded by a mob yelling something about demons. They ran away when I
stood up, leaving me with the man they were going to hang.
“Thank you for saving my life.” The man spoke English.
“Who are you? And why were those people trying to hang you?” I asked.
“I’m Waldorf, but my friends call me Wally. I happen to be a wizard, and those people don’t like wizards.”
I had more questions. Would Melissa believe I met Wally the Wizard? was only one of them.
“If you’re a wizard, why didn’t you use magic to stop that mob?”
“I didn’t want to hurt them. I knew you would be here.”
“You knew what?”
#
You would think Wally being a wizard would have some magical means of transportation. That same day we
journeyed twenty miles. It was the first time I had walked that far since army basic training. At the end of the hike,
we came to a cliff lined with caves.
“Hello, friend,” yelled one of the caves’ inhabitants. I wasn’t sure whether he was talking to me or Wally. As he
stepped from the darkness of the cave’s entrance, I saw he was only three feet tall and had a long, white beard.
“Who is this?” the dwarf asked. This time I was sure he was talking to Wally.
“Owen Phillips,” I answered.
“Welcome, Owen Phillips, to Koltan, city of the dwarves. I am Tinn, official welcomer.” At least, he wasn’t Danny the
Dwarf. I don’t think I could have handled the alliteration.
As we walked into the caves, I noticed all of the dwarves were wearing bright colors, mostly reds and greens. They
reminded me Santa’s elves. I wondered if there were elves in this world. I, also, made the observation that all the
women had beards.
#
That night at a dinner prepared for me, a dwarf clad in bright blue (the official storyteller) told the story of the
prophecy.
“A long time ago,” he began, “man and dwarf lived in peaceful coexistence. Hodan, Master of Evil, Lord of Night, and
Lord of Shadows, came into the world. He stole the gold statue of Esvar, greatest of kings. Man and dwarf blamed
each other for the theft, and their peaceful coexistence came to an end. It was prophesied a man would appear who
would retrieve this statue, and this man would fall from the sky above Haxfar Meadow. That man is here with us
now.” I choked when I realized he was pointing at me. The realization this wasn’t some bizarre dream happened to
strike me at the same moment. Like a sledge hammer.
#
The following morning Wally came into the more than adequate quarters the dwarves had supplied me with. “Get up,
friend Owen, we must supply you with armor and sword before we start our journey.”
“I don’t know how to use a sword. Wait a minute! What journey?” There wasn’t any coffee for me to drink.
“The one to recover the Esvar’s stature, of course,” Wally said.
“I don’t know how to use a sword,” I repeated the lie. I had been on the fencing team in college, but I hadn’t been
good.
“You’ll learn.”
“I was afraid you’d say that. Why don’t you need a sword?”
“I’m a wizard.” I was afraid he’d say that.
I spent the next seven days with dwarven warriors who attempted to turn me into a combination, or, at least, a
reasonable facsimile of Errol Flynn and the Grey Mouser.
The day came when Wally said it was time to leave for the famous statue. We left the following morning. Along with
us came Tunk, Tinn’s brother, who was the best archer in all of Koltan (or so I was told).
After four uneventful days of travel, we met a spider that stood five feet tall, was eight feet in diameter, and talked.
“Hodan commands you to go back,” the spider said.
“Screw you.” I drew my sword and lunged forward to attack. During my lunge, the spider tripped me with one of its
legs. I did a forward somersault while trying to regain my balance and ended up counting the number of teeth coming
at me. I dodged the teeth, but one of its legs pinned me to the ground.
Tunk drew back his bow, hoping to draw the attention of the spider to himself, and it might have worked if not for the
flying lizard. The huge reptile grabbed Tunk as he released the arrow, disrupting his aim. The arrow fell short and
almost hit me. The spider turned its attention towards the direction the arrow had come from and allowed me to get
to my feet.
Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt struck the spider. All this did was anger it, and cause it to chase after Wally instead
of me. I had a clean shot at the creature’s underbelly. I thrust my sword into its stomach and a green ichor came from
the wound, pouring over my body. The thing took two more steps and fell dead.
“Let’s go,” Wally said as if nothing had happened.
“What about Tunk? We have to save him. He tried to save me.” What I really wanted to do was to get the green
gunk off me. It stank like weeks-old roadkill and felt sticky.
“There is nothing we can do. I don’t even know which way the gorker took him.” Wally walked away from me. After a
few seconds, I followed. I didn’t like the way our meager force had been cut down to two-thirds.
#
It was another two days of travel before we came to the bottom of a large mountain. (And yes, I did get a chance to
wash the spider’s blood off. Thanks for asking.)
“There is where we want to go.” Wally pointed at the mountain’s top.
“I don’t climb mountains.”
“You do now,” Wally said.
The climb turned out not to be as difficult as I thought it was going to be. A well-worn path led up the side of the
mountain. After a three hour climb, we came to the darkest cave I had ever seen.
“We’re not going in there, are we?” I had a slight case of claustrophobia.
“Of course, we are,” Wally said.
“Don’t we need a flashlight or something?”
“What’s a flashlight?”
I didn’t see any reason for answering his question. Wally realizing I wasn’t going to answer him, started mumbling,
and the cave’s entrance filled up with light. It was definitely better than having a flashlight.
“Follow me, and don’t touch the walls. The yellow plants on them contain a corrosive substance.” Wally walked
through the passages as if he had been in them before. I followed being careful not to touch the walls of the cave.
After twenty minutes of walking, we came to a fork in the passageway.
“What do we do now?” I had hoped for some kind of direction-finding spell.
“We flip a coin.” So much for hopes and wishes.
Maybe, the coin will be magic, I thought. The coin flew from Wally’s thumb into the air where it bounced off the ceiling
and one of the walls. “Heads.” It landed between my feet. “Heads,” I repeated as I looked down at the coin.
Wally and I walked down the right passage into a dead-end. I turned when I heard a crash. A wall blocked the path
behind us.
“Do you have any way of getting out of this?” I asked.
“Not yet.” The floor started to fill with water.
“Could you hurry and think of a way? Please?”
“I got it.” Wally pointed at the wall, and it exploded. The blast blew me against the far wall of the cave. The impact
jarred my arm.
“Come on,” Wally said. “We must hurry. I sense Hodan drawing near.”
“Hodan?” My collision with the wall had left me dazed.
“What do you think I need you for?”
“Huh?” I said, still dazed.
“Legend says only a being from another world can defeat Hodan. I have the utmost confidence in you, Owen.”
If only I had the utmost confidence in me.
We journeyed back to the fork and found the left passage strewn with skeletons. Wally told me they were people
who had tried to recover the statue before us. Some had been heroes. Some had been bandits hoping to make their
fortune by melting down the statue.
As we neared the end of the passage, I shivered from the ice cold temperatures. A man-like shape emerged in front
of us. “I am Hodan.” It appeared to be no more than shadow. I withdrew my sword from its sheath. My right arm hurt
too much for me to properly balance the sword. I switched hands and took a swing at Hodan. While I tried
unsuccessfully to cut Hodan into little pieces, Wally threw all manner of spells at him. Blue light, red light, heat,
lightning, cold, thunder. Hodan laughed at us.
“Wally, throw that light spell directly at him!” Maybe Hodan, being a creature of darkness, would be affected by light.
The spell worked. Hodan faded out of existence. This was too easy.
The gold statue stood in front of us with nobody guarding it. “How do we get it out of here?”
Wally walked over to the statue and said some strange words. “We have it follow us.” Sure enough, it tagged along
behind us, hovering three feet in the air. Whenever we stopped, the statue would set itself on the ground.
#
When I went to sleep that night, I dreamed of Melissa. Soon I could spend my time trying to find a way home, having
completed my mission in this world. Maybe, Wally could send me magically.
#
“Get up, Owen.” A foot nudged my side.
“Uh...what?” I said half-awake.
“The statue’s been stolen.” That woke me the rest of the way up.
“Who would have done that?”
“Bandits,” Wally answered. “They’re headed west as far as I can tell. I should have had one of us guard the statue
while the other slept.”
“No use crying over spilled milk. We’ll have to go after them is all.”
“What’s this have to do with milk?”
“Figure of speech.”
#
We took off heading west. Towards Voltan according to Wally.
“What’s in Voltan?” I asked.
“Ratana. Best tracker in the world plus an expert on the ways of bandits, being that she is one.”
She?
#
Later that day we reached Voltan, the streets filled with people. Short people, fat people, skinny people, tall people
dressed in all manner of colorful clothing. The noise was tremendous.
Wally led me through the streets the large city, stopping at the entrance of one of the buildings. The sign above the
door read THE SLAUGHTERED OGRE. The place was a bar like any other bar in any other large city. Only here all the
clientele wore weapons.
“Hey, Wally!” A an eight-foot tall man, carrying a huge battle-ax, made his way towards us. “What are you up to?”
“If you must know, I’m looking for your sister.”
“You’re always getting her in trouble.”
“Your sister is the best in the business.” His sister? We were looking for a giantess?
“Wally!” A petite and incredibly beautiful woman threw her arms around Wally, giving him a bear hug and a kiss. She
had dark brown eyes with matching hair and a smile that assured me she could have any man she wanted.
“Owen, meet Ratana,” Wally said.
“Hi, Owen.” Ratana hugged and kissed me. “Call me Rat.” I was going to find it very hard to call anyone so beautiful
by such a name.
“When are you going to introduce me?” the giant asked.
“This is Ratana’s brother. Owen, meet Overon,” Wally said.
“What do you want with my sister?” Overon asked.
“We need her help tracking bandits.”
“I’m going with you.” Wally didn’t argue with the giant.
#
We spent that night at one of the local inns. I finally got to sleep in a bed after having spent days in the wilderness.
Ratana shouted from outside my door. “Owen, time to get up!”
“I’m awake.” I struggled to get out of bed, not wanting to leave it.
I walked downstairs to the dining room of the inn where I was served the best breakfast I had ever had. I couldn’t
recognize the meat, but it was sweet and juicy. “What kind of meat is this?”
“Dragon,” the inn’s proprietor answered. “We serve our guests the best. Yes, sir. That’s our motto.”
We left right after breakfast. The lack of noise made the empty streets seem eerie.
#
Within minutes of leaving Voltan, sweat drenched the four of us. I breathed heavily, not being used to the weather. I
was, also, having problems keeping my eyes off Rat’s frontal anatomy.
We had only traveled a short ways from the city before breaking camp.
“Won’t the bandits get ahead of us?” I asked.
“They’re just as hot as we are. Besides there are twenty of them and only four of us. We can travel faster than
them,” Rat said.
“Yeah, my sister knows what she’s doing,” Overon said. I looked at Overon and decided not to ask Rat how she knew
there were twenty bandits.
That night we set up shifts. I had the second one—right after Rat.
Tired of sitting by the fire, I decided to take a walk into the surrounding forest. Something bumped into my leg
followed by another bump. I looked down to see what hit me and saw two little furry gray men standing at my ankles.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“We’re Thing One and Thing Two,” they said in unison.
“Thing One? And Thing Two? You’re Things?”
“We’re Things That Go Bump In The Night,” Thing One said, or was it Thing Two? “Who are you?” they both asked.
I told them who I was, and what I was doing.
“Can we join you?” they asked.
“Sure.”
The Things followed me back to camp. Overon was already awake for his shift. “What are those?” He pointed at the
Things.
“It’s just one Thing after another,” I answered.
The next day Rat doubled-back and found some tracks leading towards our camp. “There are wolves following us,”
she said. “I only hope they’re normal wolves.”
That night Wally woke us all up. “We’re being attacked!”
Ratana, Overon, and I rushed to Wally’s side. Wolves surrounded our campsite. They were black as a night without
stars or a moon. Wally threw lightning bolts at them, and they dissolved into the darkness instead of falling over
dead.
I drew my sword and entered the fray. Why let Wally have all the fun? The closest one to me attacked. I managed to
slice through its head. Its blood poured over my body. Seeing no other wolves near me, I went to Rat’s side. The two
biggest wolves of the pack double-teamed her. They separated at my approach. The biggest one leaped at me and
sunk its teeth into my shoulder. My blood mixed with the blood of the wolf I had slain. I punched the wolf with my left
hand, flinging it from my body. It landed feet first and resumed its attack. The wolf knocked me over. Its forepaws
were on my chest. I was sure I was a goner. All of the sudden, an arrow stuck through the wolf’s chest pointed at
me. Nobody in our group carried a bow. Maybe the cavalry had arrived.
I stood up and saw all the wolves had been slain. In the distance, I saw a dwarf who looked like Tunk; it had to be
his brother Tinn. “Tinn,” I yelled.
“I’m Tunk.”
“How did you escape the gorkers?” Wally asked.
Tunk began his story without waiting to be introduced to our four new companions. “The gorker flew me to its nest in
the Ashanti Mountains, setting me down in its nest so I could be gorkie food. Gorkies are baby gorkers.” He said this
more for my benefit than anybody else’s. “Mother Gorker flew off to do some hunting. Fortunately for me, gorkers
aren’t too bright. I was left with my bow and five arrows. The rest of my arrows had fallen from my quiver in the flight
to the nest. I took an arrow from my quiver and used it as a sword to fend off the three gorkies. I stuck the arrow
into the thick skin of the closest one. Pulling my arrow from the body, it broke. The arrow, that is. One dead, two to
go. Four arrows left. The two remaining gorkies were coming at me. I took another arrow from my quiver. One of the
gorkies pecked into my arm. The arrow fell from hand, down the side of the mountain. Three arrows left, and I had
been wounded. I ignored the pain and grabbed another arrow. I threw it like a spear into the one that hurt me.
Slaying him, I managed to withdraw my arrow without breaking it. I quickly stuck the arrow into the third and final
gorkie. The gorkie fell over the side of the nest taking my arrow with it. Two arrows left, and Mother Gorker would be
coming home anytime now. I hid in the nest, waiting for her return. I didn’t want to fight her while climbing down the
mountain. Several hours later she returned. I shot an arrow at her. I missed. One arrow left. I knew I had to make it
count. It hit her, but it didn’t slay her. She made it to the nest. I pushed her with my bare hands, causing her to fall to
her death. Now that I felt safe, I climbed down the side of the mountain. Walking back to Koltan, I noticed some
strange-looking black wolves. Being the curious dwarf, I followed them and ended up here.
“That leaves you with zero arrows yet it was an arrow that saved me,” I said.
“I made more on my way back.”
#
We traveled the next few days with little food or rest. “This doesn’t look good,” Wally said.
“Why not?” I really didn’t want to know the answer.
“This trail leads to the Mountains of Darkness.”
“Mountains of Darkness?”
“It is said only creatures of the night can live there,” Overon said.
“Why would bandits go there?” Rat asked her brother.
“Perhaps they work for Hodan.”
“But Wally destroyed Hodan. I saw it happen.”
“Only you can destroy Hodan, friend Owen. Have you forgotten why you were drawn into this world?”
“No.” I hadn’t, but I wanted out of this world so I could have Melissa beside me again.
“I’m not so sure I’ll be able to track the bandits in the Darkness,” Rat said.
“But we can,” one of the Things said.
“I suggest we get going,” Wally said.
#
We continued our journey in silence. After a few miles, we came to a spot where the sunlight ended in blackness.
“Come on, let’s go,” the Things said. They walked into the black and disappeared. “Come on, let’s go,” one of the
Things repeated as he popped back into the sunlight. The rest of us reluctantly followed.
Try to imagine walking into your worst nightmare, and the nightmares of all the other people in the world coming to
join yours in some macabre wedding ceremony. If you can do that, you have a good idea of what the Darkness
looked and felt like. In the distance, we saw moving shadows. Some were man-shaped, and some weren’t. None of
them came towards us. Maybe they didn’t want to chance slipping into the sunlight, or maybe they didn’t care that we
were there.
The Things took the lead, their eyes were best suited for this strange Darkness. Wally and I followed in the middle
with Overon and Rat bringing up the rear of our formation. The farther we advanced in the Darkness, the more
shadow creatures we saw. The creatures started to advance closer to us; so far none of them attacked.
“There.” The Things pointed at a tower in the distance. “That’s the direction the bandits have taken.”
“Are you sure?” Wally asked.
“Yes.”
“I have heard of a tower that sits in a sea of eternal Darkness. That must be the Tower of Night. Hodan’s home.”
The rest of us remained silent while Wally and the Things discussed the quickest way to get to the tower. After their
discussion with Wally, the Things took their place in the lead and signaled for the rest of us to follow. The creatures
would reach out and almost touch us, but as long as they didn’t want a fight, we didn’t want a fight. We were still
sore from the last one.
We travel until a gorge blocked our path.
“Which way do we go?” Wally asked.
“Perhaps we can walk around it,” said one of the Things.
Perhaps we could have walked around it, but we weren’t able to find out. Shadow creatures surrounded us on four
sides, the gorge on the fourth. Wally immediately tried using a light spell to scare the creatures away, but the spell
proved to be ineffective in the Darkness. There were seven of us, and thousands of them. We had to find some way
across the gorge. Overon picked up the Things, one in each hand, and threw them across the gorge.
“You’re next.” I barely missed landing on one of the Things. Wally followed me across. As Overon threw Rat, one of
the creatures grabbed his arm. Rat didn’t clear the gorge, but she managed to grab the edge. I dove, grabbing her
hand as her fingers lost their grip. Wally grabbed my feet. Together we pulled Rat to safety. Tunk was the sixth and
final member of our party to make it across.
We looked on in horror as the shadows ripped Overon apart. Rat turned away from the rest of us, crying. I walked
over to her. She saw me and turned to hug me. I started crying not because I missed Overon, but because I missed
Melissa.
After a moment of silence for our lost comrade, we continued our journey to the Tower of Night. A hundred feet from
the gorge, we came to a valley that let sunlight into this realm of Darkness.
“We should rest here for the night. We’re all tired,” Wally said.
That night Melissa woke me up. I was back in our apartment lying in bed. “You won’t believe the dream I just I had.”
Melissa smiled as she climbed out of her clothes and got into bed with me. I never got to tell her my dream.
When I woke up, I was back with everybody else; Melissa had been the dream.
“I had an unusual dream last night,” Rat said. “I dreamed Overon was alive, and we were at our parents’ house. It
seemed so real. Except my parents...and Overon are dead.” She was crying again.
After a brief discussion, we discovered all of us except Wally had had some type of dream. “This must be the Valley of
Lost Loves,” Wally said.
“I thought it to be a story told to small children,” Rat said.
“Apparently not.” Tunk had dreamed he was back in Koltan with “a fine dwarven lass who had emerald eyes and a
beautiful black beard.”
It seemed all of us except Wally had someone we loved or had loved. Even the Things had dreamed they had been
with other Things. I seemed to be the only one who noticed Wally never mentioned a dream. Perhaps he had never
loved or maybe it hurt too much to talk about it. At that moment, I felt kind of sorry for him.
#
After a short walk, we stepped out of the sunlight of the Valley of Lost Loves. Shortly after that, we came to the
Tower of Night.
“We won’t go in there,” the Things said.
“You brought us to the Tower. You’ve done enough. Go,” Wally said. The Things took off into the Darkness. There was
only four of us left. I was reminded of Tunk’s story. Three down, four to go.
We searched the Tower’s base until we found an entrance. There was some writing beside it which none of us could
read. I was sure it said something like “BEWARE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.”
Wally and I took the lead up the stairs of the Tower with Rat and Tunk following behind us. Halfway up the stairs a
trapdoor opened behind Wally and both Tunk and Rat fell through it, the top closing over them. I tried prying it open
with my sword.
“Come on, we can get them out on the way back,” Wally said. Not seeing any way or reason to argue with him, I
followed him the rest of the way up the stairs. We came to a room at the top of the Tower. The statue was in it, but
not Hodan.
“Let’s hurry up and get out of here before Hodan shows up,” I said.
“I’m already here.” Wally had disappeared and in his place stood Hodan.
“What did you do with Wally?”
“I am Wally.”
“Why were you helping me?”
“So I could trap you in the Darkness where I am all-powerful. The spider, the wolves, the bandits, even the Things
were all part of my plan. It was the only way to stop the prophecy from coming true.”
I drew my sword. I could barely lift it.
“Tired, are we? The Valley of Lost Loves tends to do that to some people.”
I threw down my sword and attacked him with my bare hands. He backed away from me.
Everybody had been telling me I was the only one who could defeat Hodan. Even Hodan (Wally) himself. Could I do it
by touching him? I had to try. I dove headfirst at him. My body touched his legs, causing him to howl in pain. All I had
to do was touch him. I chased him into a corner. He had thought himself invulnerable in his Darkness. He faded away
at my touch. The Darkness disappeared with him.
I returned to the trapdoor. It took awhile, but I pried it open with my sword, and dragged Rat and Tunk out of the pit.
The three of us dragged the statute down the stairs and back to civilization.
The tensions between man and dwarf have ended, and I’m a great hero in this world. The dwarves have promised to
help me find the magic that will send me home.
That will send me back to Melissa.
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