The Xalinor Chronicles

The captive

Previously, the warlocks seemed to be the greatest threat in Jake’s eyes. But now, it became crystal clear that they were just pawns in the hands of the mecha Overlord named Zeroth. He pondered over the shocking scenes which he had just witnessed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t connect the dots. He just couldn’t understand who had created those killing machines. A disturbing thought surfaced in his muddled mind. What if the mechas were sentient beings? What if they were intelligent machines capable of functioning independently?

He had to find out more about the mechas in order to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses. From what he had seen, it was safe to conclude that they could easily wipe out entire armies within a few minutes. As of now, it didn’t seem wise to attract any unnecessary attention. Though he had easily managed to take out the blood hounds in the forest, he still wasn’t ready to fight the elves and the warlocks, let alone the all powerful mechas. His first priority was to acquire more knowledge about this world. Next on his list, was visiting the human kingdom of Valenwood. Strangely enough, the thought of returning to his own world didn’t cross his mind even once.

For the first time in his life, he felt like he had a purpose. When he used to work at Limac Corporations, his very existence revolved around the most mundane day-to-day tasks. He had been caught in an endless loop of repeating meaningless chores over and over again. The young software developer had buried all his dreams and desires to be accepted as a functioning member of society. He hated his job, his colleagues and his godforsaken existence. Things were different now. People actually cared about him. He wasn’t just another nameless face in a sea of business suits. Yes, he was no longer an ordinary human, but the Goddess’ chosen herald!

At the present moment, his first priority was to find out more about the different intelligent races who inhabited Xalinor. He remembered that Zill had told him something about a special book which was in his father’s possession. Since it was already too late, he decided to peruse the book in the morning. That night Jake had the same dream as before. Just like before, he found himself standing in the middle of a bloody battlefield. Previously he had only seen the corpses of warlocks on the battlefield. But this time there were mangled bodies of elves as well. Unable to sleep, he turned about in his makeshift bed of leaves and feathers.

It wasn’t the nightmare which was keeping him awake at that dying hour. There was something else on his mind. He was thinking about that other human who had been teleported to this world. Zill had told him that the person had been captured by the elves. In this strange land, that human was his only kinsman. Having experienced elven hospitality firsthand, he was certain that person’s life was in grave peril.

When the gnomes woke up, Jake went straight to Zill. There was no time for any greetings so he got straight to the point.

“You told me about another human from my world. Can you tell me where that person is being kept?”

“I don’t know where she is being kept now. I only managed to overhear a conversation between Illanor and his men as they were loading her onto a cart”, replied Zill, rubbing his sleepy eyes with his tiny fingers.

“It’s Illanor again! I’ll teach that bastard a lesson!” Jake muttered, grinding his teeth. He couldn’t stand the idea of humans being treated as property. It made his blood boil with rage. “We have to free her and in order to do that, we must first find Illanor.”

Yolen had overheard the entire conversation. The old healer steadied his stooping frame upon the walking stick and approached the two friends.

“Elves don’t keep humans with them for too long. Either they send them to the arena or they sell them to the warlocks,” he explained.

“Do you know where the human girl was taken?” asked Jake.

“I seldom leave the warren. My eyes only observe the incidents which occur inside this cave.”

Jake was rather disappointed by the old gnome’s reply. He had thought that since the healer could show them the past perhaps he might also be able to locate the girl.

 “Can’t the bonfire show us where the girl is being kept?” he enquired with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

Yolen smiled and replied, “The bonfire can only show us the history of our world, nothing more and nothing less.” There was a slight pause before he continued, “If you want to find the girl, use your skill.”

“But I already used my Eagle Eye skill inside the forest. How can I use it again?”

“That was yesterday. When the day awakens, so do your skills. It’s a new day today, which means you can use your skills once more.”

Jake had almost forgotten about the one-day rule. He was still getting used to his new powers.

“I will go outside and summon the spirit eagle,” he announced confidently and headed towards the opening. Zill followed close behind.

The morning sun smiled brightly from its celestial abode, dispersing the wandering clouds with gentle ease. Jake breathed in a lungful of fresh morning air and stretched out his arms. Since he hadn’t been able to catch a wink of sleep last night, he felt rather drowsy in the morning. Zill offered him some cold water in an earthen mug. After splashing it on his sleepy face, he took a small sip. The cold liquid had a fruity taste to it.

“Zill, what did you put in this water?” he asked.

“I added a couple of moonberries to it. We gnomes drink this in the morning so that we don’t feel sleepy anymore,” replied the little gnome.

“We have something like this in our world too. It’s called coffee.” Jake was now beginning to notice quite a few similarities. The gnomes weren’t all that different from humans.

Though he compared this drink to coffee, it was actually more potent than the dark brown beverage. Just one sip was enough to drive away his sleepiness.

Yolen arrived just in time to watch Jake summon the majestic eagle once again. As the bird alighted on his arm, he commanded it to locate the girl from his world.

Soaring across the sky, the eagle offered a magnificent view of the vast stretches of lush green meadows interspersed with small rivulets. It glided elegantly upon the winnowing wind, greeting the fluffy clouds on its airy path. Up ahead in a distance, a small village appeared on the horizon. Jake saw through the eagles eyes, two rows of one-storied buildings neatly arranged on either side. In the center of the walled town, burned a wooden effigy shaped like a man. A cold sweat trickled down his neck, as Jake realized it was the same town where he had been tied to a stake.

The eagle gradually lowered its altitude and flew towards a three storied building on the northern boundary of the small village. It was about to enter through an open window on the top when suddenly it collided with an invisible wall and burst into flames.