Matt Hale & Paul Yeoh
From the young adult’s novel based on
The Mysteries of Arklan
In the dim light of the passage beyond the enchanted doors, the party heaved a collective sigh of relief. They could still hear the angry cursing of the two fire giants who had come so close to killing Val, Falco, and Caedmon. No, the fiery guards had butchered Val and Caedmon, thought Teal—it was only the quick revivifying spells of Erione and Falco that had snatched their friends from the very mouth of death. He winced to think how close to tragedy they had come: what if Ari hadn’t teleported Falco to Caedmon’s side in time?
Still light-headed from the scorching atmosphere that pervaded the city, Teal could hear Val coughing softly ahead and Pantaghion curse as he stumbled in the unevenly lit chamber. Teal glanced remorsefully at his beloved friend. He had employed a potent healing spell that should have restored Caedmon’s strength, yet his breathing was labored and he leaned heavily on Teal as everyone took a moment to recover from their ordeal. Teal was beginning to feel extremely self-conscious about the film of sweat that seemed to envelop his entire body; in the uncomfortable heat, the fins on his arms and calves gave off a distinctly fishy odor.
He had felt weary since they reached this city suspended above the caldera, but now his ennui was accompanied by the dull ache of frustration. One last mission to help secure the Queendom’s future, they said. Let’s turn into wispy clouds, they said, we’ll be in and out before they even know it! Floating along as clouds was a stealthy and convenient mode of travel, of course, but they had not calculated on the time it took to regain humanoid form once inside the large cathedral at the center of Kangaxxian’s floating city. Tilia was the only farsighted one who had remained a wisp to taunt and tease the fire giants, and their canine companions had swiftly detected the presence of the other intruders. In the interval needed to revert from cloud to their original forms, the giants and hell hounds had savagely attacked those who had been discovered—and unfortunately two of the most vulnerable were among them.
Once the joy of feeling Caedmon’s reviving pulse had subsided a little, Teal was assaulted by a crushing sense of guilt. I let him die, he thought. In my confusion and haste to mount a suitable defense against our assailants, I squandered my chance to heal you and let your life-force slip through my fingers like water. He forced himself to focus on their current situation. Caedmon was alive, that was what mattered, he would do everything in his power to protect him now. He put his face close to Caedmon and whispered, “If we get out of this alive, I’m done with these death-defying quests—done with saving Arklan from the next world crisis. I don’t want to die for the Queendom. I want to live for you … for us.”
In and out of consciousness by his side, Caedmon couldn’t help but think of the lights … was it multiple lights or just one? He wasn’t sure. The moment, so lucid but a moment ago, felt like it was slipping away as a dream melts into nothingness upon the first blink of the eye in the waking morning.
At the words “death-defying,” a shiver went down his spine and he let out a cough of ash and sulphur. Slowly opening his eyes, the world spun around him. Managing to sit up, he wiped blood from his face. “Fuck the queen. I’m here for you. I couldn’t let you go without being there for you. I’d rather die by your side than sit on the sidelines like a ship captain’s spouse—waiting to see if their partner comes home or is swallowed by the depths.”
Sitting in the silence of the short rest that followed, he mulled it over. Was he really here only because of Teal or was it his ego? This wasn’t the first time he had let his imagination expand beyond his merit. Nor the first time he had thoughtlessly gone off in search of glory and valor worthy of song. With a shudder that turned into another cough, he thought … but it might be my last.
UNOMAHA D&D 