The Xalinor Chronicles

The All Seeing Eye

Jake unfolded the mystical map and placed it on the ground. For the moment they were all concealed by the several rows of mulberry bushes in front. The map showed 6 glowing red dots nearby. They were all in a state of constant motion except one.

“They are covering the roads but we can make our way through the thickets on either side of the road. The patrolling sentries are coming this way. Let’s go” said Jake.

He was about to take a final look at the map when suddenly the red dots disappeared all at once.

“Yolen, what happened to the map?”

“Grevlin had warned me that something like this might happen if the warlocks sensed that anyone was spying on them.” Yolen peeped over the mulberry bush to scan the road leading out of the village. His eyes widened in disbelief as he beheld the horror which had been unleashed. The old gnome ducked back in and explained in a muffled tone, “There is an Elementalist among them. He is using an anti-detection ward.”

“We should be fine if we stay away from the road,” replied Jake.

“No! We can’t avoid them so easily now. Have a look yourself and you’ll see!”

As Jake looked over the mulberry bush once again he quickly discovered the reason behind Yolen’s fear. Hovering a few meters above the ground, was a deformed, rotund eyeball, almost the size of a football.

“What the hell is that thing?” he asked.

“It’s the All Seeing Eye,” answered Yolen. His fingers twitched nervously as he tried to string his words together. “It is a powerful conjuration spell which can only be used adept Elementalists. The Eye is used by them to hunt escaped prisoners. If...if its gaze falls upon any non-magical being, that creature is instantly turned to stone! They used it to hunt the gnomes who tried to run away during the purge!”

“You shouldn’t have come for me. This is all happening because of me,” sobbed Emily.

“There was no way I was leaving a fellow human to die at their hands. Just listen to me and I promise we will all get out of this alive,” said Jake.

He gestured for them to come closer. It was evident from the sound of his voice that he had a plan in mind. “All we need to do is stay as far away from the eye as possible. Stay low and hide inside the bushes if the Eye comes this way.”

Jake peeped through the bush to get a final look at the Eye. It was now moving right towards them.

“Get down and hide!” he exclaimed in a hushed tone.

All 4 of them quickly crouched inside the nearby bushes at once. Their hearts began pounding in fear as the Eye stopped directly above the spot where they were hiding. No one moved a single muscle or even twitched an eyelid. Through the tiny gaps between the leaves, Jake could see the grotesque eyeball. It was throbbing spasmodically and searching for any signs of life.

A rustle of leaves was heard in the distance. Jake shifted his gaze towards the source of the noise to find a small fawn scampering towards the forest. He watched in horror as the All Seeing Eye turned towards the animal, instantly turning it to stone.

Zill was about to let out a cry when Yolen covered his mouth with his palm.

“Shh....be quiet.”

Time crawled like a snail, splitting the passing seconds into a million fearful moments. The fear of death kept gnawing at their hearts as Jake and his friends waited silently inside the bushes. Eventually, the Eye glided towards the other side of the road. Sighs of relief escaped from their dry throats as they watched the monstrosity disappear behind the trees on the other side.

They kept close to the bushes and crawled on all fours. Slowly but steadily they made their way to the nearby woods, crawling through the tangled vines and soft shrubs which choked the ground. The glaring summer sun was almost overhead when they finally reached the woods.

Jake sprang to his feet and ran into the forest, pulling Emily with him. Zill followed them through the dense foliage, as fast as he could.

“We should be safe here,” said Jake, as he came to a halt, gasping for breath.

Suddenly Zill cried out frantically, “Yolen!”

The old gnome was no longer with them.

“Jake, we have to go back for him,” said Zill.

Jake readily agreed and they started tracing their footsteps to the outer rim of the forest. An icy chill passed through their bones as soon as they reached the edge of the forest. Yolen had been turned to stone. The old healer stood there like a lifeless statue, his face distorted in horror and his walking stick lying on the ground.

“Yolen! No!” Zill ran towards the petrified old gnome but was tackled to the ground by Jake.

“There is nothing we can do for him now! If you go back there, we all are going to die,” whispered Jake, pinning him to the ground. “We have to head deeper into the forest so that the Eye cannot see us.”

When he had calmed down, Jake pulled him up. A numbing sensation of grief overwhelmed them as the 3 of them quietly made their way deeper into the forest.

Deep inside the sea of green, Jake spotted a cave.

“Let’s get inside that cave and rest for a while,” he suggested.

Jake was the first to enter the cave followed by Emily and Zill.

It was pitch dark inside and the walls were covered with moss. Zill looked towards the ground as something cracked under his feet.

He had just stepped on a human skull. As his eyes trailed deeper towards the cave, he discovered several piles of small skulls of different shapes and sizes.

The little gnome slowly looked up and ran towards Jake. He pulled his right arm to get his attention.

“Jake, this is a karkan’s lair!”