The Xalinor Chronicles

Shadows

Jake had completely forgotten about the book. There were far too many things occupying his mind and each of them was intertwined with the other, forming a complex web of problems. It was like being born again and having to learn the basics from the beginning. Everything about this mystical new land appeared to be both strange and yet somehow familiar to him.

A few minutes later Zill returned with his father, who held the scarlet bound book tightly in his right hand.

“I value this book above my own life,” he said, looking into Jake’s eyes.

“I really need it. Only this book can help me learn more about my skills,” pleaded Jake.

“We gnomes usually don’t trust outsiders, but you helped to save my daughter. I can’t refuse your request after what you did for us all.” Zill’s father slowly walked up to Jake and handed the book to him with a word of caution. “This book must never fall into the wrong hands. It contains the knowledge I have gathered over a lifetime.”

Jake thanked him graciously and assured him that the book would be safe in his custody.  A rush of excitement flooded his heart as his trembling fingers lifted the scarlet cover. The book was written in a peculiar sign language and smelled like old leather. Even though Jake had never come across such a language before, the words made perfect sense to him. Reading this strange language felt like child’s play to him. Somehow, he just knew what each sign meant. One by one, he kept flipping through the frail old pages which had turned brown at the edges. Eventually, he found what he had been looking for: a chapter on the elven Sages of Xalinor.

Jake scanned through the tilted lines, reading every word with careful concentration until he came across the ‘skills’ section. Almost 15 pages had been dedicated to the skills of the elven Sages. Every skill had been explained in great detail. He quickly jumped to the page detailing the skills of the adept Sages and began reading furiously.

When he was done reading, he handed the book to Yolen instead of returning it to Zill’s father.

“I have finished reading everything about the adept Sages. Keep the book with you. There are still many things that I would like to learn about, when the time is right,” he said.

Yolen glanced at Zill’s father before putting the book inside his satchel. He then took out the Skill Shard and placed it in Jake’s open palm. 

While reading the book, Jake had come across a couple of special skills which could be used to deal with barriers and arcane shields. After thinking for a while, he finally made up his mind. The violet crystal emanated with a mystical energy as Jake clutched it tightly within his palm and whispered the name of the skill he wanted to unlock. Soon, the skill shard began to vibrate and he felt the strange burning sensation upon his skin once more. Another set of letters appeared on his forearm and instantly the crystal turned to dust.

“What skill did you learn?” asked Yolen, fixing his gaze upon Jake.

“See for yourself,” replied Jake, showing him the glowing letters on his arm which read:

Skill unlocked: True Silence.

The 3 gnomes stared at the burning letters in amazement. They had never seen someone acquire skills in this manner.

Before Yolen could ask more about the skill which Jake had just acquired he began explaining his plan to rescue the captive.

“I am going to need Zill for my plan to work. His invisibility skill is a key part of my plan. We are going to infiltrate Valinos under the cover the cover of darkness. Most of the warlocks will be asleep at that time and the guards won’t be expecting any intruders. We are going to get inside the warlock college and free the girl who is being held there.”

“I would like to accompany you on this mission. You might just need the help of a healer,” said Yolen, declaring his intention to assist Jake in any way possible.

“It’s going to be very dangerous out there. Are you sure you want to join us?” asked Jake in a concerned voice.

Yolen chuckled softly and replied, “I have been in more dangerous situations than you could ever imagine. Though I am old now, I am still an expert Digger.”

After a bit of hesitation, Jake reluctantly agreed to allow the old healer to tag along. Jake spent the rest of the day, carefully analyzing the map of Valinos and counting the Vanguards stationed inside. By evening, he had memorized their positions and patrol routes quite thoroughly. Since the village of Valinos was quite a long way from the warren, they decided to head out before dusk.

It was well past midnight when the trio reached the village. An abyssal darkness covered the sky, painting it in a hue of black. They hid behind a bush and observed the sentries from a distance. Every single Vanguard was armed with a steel sword and dressed in silver plate armor. Jake remembered that the Vanguards who had beaten him up were wearing red plate armor. He realized that the difference in colors probably signified that they belonged to a different unit. Perhaps, the ones donning the red plates were Malkoth’s men and these silver plates were just the ordinary sentries who were in charge of guarding the town of Valinos.

“Zill, there are two sentries on each gate. According to the map, there must be 10 more positioned inside the town. There is also a patrolling party of 6 Vanguards patrolling outside the walls. Use your skill and turn us invisible. That should allow us to bypass the sentries easily,” he whispered his instructions to the little gnome.

“Okay, leave that to me, Jake,” replied Zill. “Just don’t touch anything while you’re invisible or else my skill will stop working.”

“Alright, we should all stick together and quietly make our way to the warlock college.”

Zill waited for the patrolling party to pass before using his invisibility skill. As soon as the way was clear, Jake stepped out of the hiding spot and stealthily made his way to the front gate. The two gnomes followed quietly in his footsteps. With feline poise, Jake made his way inside the town without alerting any of the guards.

No one dared to breathe, as they tiptoed their way around the Vanguards stationed inside. Jake avoided looking at the Vanguards as he feared that they might trigger his horrifying old memories. The cautious game of hide and seek, finally came to an end when they reached the college located on the northern part of town. Jake and his companions safely glided into the shade of a large tarnazine tree near the college. The blue-leafed tree was laden with orange fruits shaped like little pyramids and cast an enormous shadow on the ground. It seemed like a safe spot to catch their breath before proceeding forward.

When they had steadied their nerves, Jake stepped out of the shadow. He was about to walk up to the college when Zill uttered a muffled cry.

“My skill is no longer active! We are visible now!”

A cold shudder passed through Jake’s body when he heard those alarming words. He took out the old map from his left pocket and hurriedly glanced over the positions of the nearby sentries.

“Yolen, do you know where they keep the prisoners?” he asked.

“I have heard that warlock colleges have lockups below the ground. She must be in one of those cells,” replied Yolen.

“Alright, here’s the plan. We have to sneak into the college and make our way to the lockups without raising any alarms,” whispered Jake.

Yolen didn’t appear to be too convinced with Jake’s plan. “There will be guards inside the college. I don’t think we can get past them unnoticed.” He shook his head in despair and added, “Have you forgotten that there is an arcane shield protecting the building? How do you plan to get past that?”

Jake’s eyes flared up in excitement and he replied with a grin, “Leave that to me.”

He cautiously walked up to the door, mindful of his surroundings and stopped just a few paces short. Zill and Yolen watched on with pounding hearts, as Jake shut his eyes and whispered, “True Silence”. Slowly, he raised his right hand and pushed his open palm towards the invisible arcane shield. As his fingers inched closer to the shield, his palm became engulfed in lilac flames which danced on his finger tips. A momentary distortion in the surrounding space revealed the arcane shield for a few brief seconds. As soon as his flaming fingers touched the shield, it instantly dissipated into the midnight air.

Jake turned around with a triumphant look on his face. “I have silenced the magic ward. The shield has been deactivated.”

The 2 gnomes stared at Jake in amazement. Yolen realized that Jake had mastered one of the most high tier skills which enabled him to silence a warlock’s ward without breaking a sweat. This was the first time Yolen had seen a non-magic user disable a ward with a skill.

Jake quietly crept up to the main door and turned the knob. “It’s locked! Darn it!”

“I can pick the lock,” said Zill. He took out a jagged lock pick from his left shoe and walked up to the door. Yolen still stood under the shadow of the great tarnazine tree and kept a lookout for the guards.

After turning the lock pick inside the keyhole for almost a minute, Zill faintly heard a little clink. He knew what the sound meant. The little gnome jammed the metallic pin firmly in the hole and twisted it in the opposite direction. Soon, a prominent click registered in his ear, indicating that the deadbolt had been unlocked and the door was ready to be opened. He was about to open it when he felt a firm grasp on his left shoulder.

“Zill, don’t open it now!” whispered Jake. As the little gnome turned around nervously, Jake showed him the map. “There are two Vanguard sentries standing on the other side of the door. We should wait for them to pass.”

Zill nodded in acknowledgement and they all fixed their gaze upon the glowing red dots on the enchanted map. The 3 of them waited patiently for the dots to shift from their original position. After almost 15 minutes had passed, the dots inside the building finally started moving. Jake waited for the sentries to reach the other side of the room before finally opening the large wooden doors.

“Quick, get in and stay close.”

Once inside the room, Jake’s gaze fell on the enormous chandelier which hung from the ceiling, flooding the entire room with light. It was a large and spacious grand hall, supported by 8 magnificent white marble pillars on either side. High up on the opposite wall, was a grand conical pendulum clock carved out of pinewood. A lavishly decorated red carpet covered the granite floor. Jake realized it would be impossible to cross the room under the bright lights of the chandelier. The sentries standing on the other end would be able to spot them quite easily in the lights.

Jake motioned with his right hand, asking the gnomes to stay still. He knew that one false move could jeopardize the whole plan. As he was analyzing the grand hallway, his eyes fell upon the flowerpots peeping through the gloomy shadows cast by the marble pillars. The tiny flowerpots placed behind the pillars were barely visible from a distance.

“I have an idea, guys,” said Jake. He pointed towards the nearby pillars and explained, “Look at the flowerpots. They are barely visible from here due to the shadows cast by the pillars. If we want to cross this room and go to the stairwell leading to the basement, we need to stick to the shadows. Follow my lead and don’t step into the light.”

Quietly, Jake made his way to the nearest pillar and merged with its shadow. He could see the sentries standing at the door on the other end. They seemed to be having a solemn conversation about some serious issue. Jake’s heart began pounding so rapidly that the sound of his heartbeat felt like a blacksmith’s iron hammer striking an ancient anvil. He crouched on all four and slowly crept up to the next pillar. Since Zill was an expert Sneaker it would have been quite a regular routine for him but he also needed to help the old healer sneak past the guards. Without taking his eyes off the sentries, the little gnome clutched Yolen’s hand and guided him through the bewildering crisscross of light and shade.

Just ahead, Jake could see the stairway leading to the underground holding cells but the guards near the door were also looking in that direction. It was too risky to make a run for it.

The sentries didn’t seem to budge and it was about to be dawn in just an hour. Zill realized that one false move would give away their position. . If he had been alone, he could have managed to sneak past the Vanguards but it was impossible to do so with Yolen by his side.

They waited with anxious hearts, for the Vanguards to change positions. The slow ticking of the fatal hands of the grand clock resonated with their icy heartbeats.  An hour passed in silent anticipation and still the sentries didn’t move. A few moments later, they heard the ominous crowing of the rooster, which ushered in a new dawn. 

Eventually, the Vanguards moved. They marched towards the other end of the room to open the main gate. Zill knew that soon the warlock students would be pouring into the college with their spell books and tomes .There wasn’t a single moment to be wasted. As soon as the guards opened the main door on the other side, Jake signaled his companions to follow him and rushed towards the staircase. Luckily, the sentries were too far away to hear their footsteps. Jake made his way down the first flight of the ancient wooden stairs which creaked under his feet. He stopped midway to check the map. There was another Vanguard stationed downstairs. It was the warden himself, who was in charge of guarding the prisoners. Jake took off his worn shoes and tiptoed his way to the bottom of the staircase. He peeked around the corner of the wall and found the warden seated on a stool, in the narrow passageway between the two columns of lockups on either side. The warden sat there as fixed as an immovable boulder, his eyes transfixed upon the lockups in front.

 Zill’s ears twitched in alarm as he heard the sound of footsteps upstairs. The students were entering the college now. It was only a matter of time before the warlock professors decided to come downstairs to inspect the prisoner.