The Xalinor Chronicles

A surge of power

News of Jake’s recovery spread across the gnome warren like wildfire. They were initially quite afraid of him since the humans of Xalinor always mistreated the tiny gnomes. However, Jake soon won them over with his charming smile and friendly nature.

The gnomes were fascinated to hear about Jake’s encounter with the blood hounds. Their eyes glimmered in excitement as he told them about his meeting with Goddess Vaari. Most of the younger gnomes were eager to know how he had managed to slay the zolvan. Jake was happy to narrate the story in vivid detail. Gasps of astonishment were heard from the kids in the crowd as he recounted how Zill had activated his invisibility skill just in the nick of time. Defeating a zolvan without any magic spells or hunting weapons was an incredible task. When the adventurous tale came to a bittersweet end, the cave resonated with applause. For the gnomes gathered in the cave, Jake and Zill had become the perfect heroes.

Zill’s mom had prepared sugarberry cakes and grape tarts for them. The two friends greedily gobbled all the food which was offered. When the meal was over, she poured them each a cool glass of fresh spring water. Life in the new world didn’t seem all that bad after all. Jake was pretty happy that he didn’t have to spend his day listening to the complaints of his several clients and being mocked by his colleagues. Though Xalinor had its own share of threats, it wasn’t as mundane as his own world. He no longer had to worry about paying his bills on time and meeting his project deadlines. Perhaps, this was where he truly belonged.

Zill was about to get up from the table when a thought occurred to him. He turned towards his mother and asked, “Where is Nelly? I wanted her to meet my new friend. Is she still outside?”

Nelly was Zill’s younger sister. They used to be inseparable when Zill was just a kid, but the tragic events of the past few years had changed him completely. He often spent most of his time lurking outside the warren and trying to become stronger. Nelly on the other hand took care of their parents and helped out with the daily chores. Though Zill really cared about his family, he barely had the chance to spend time with them. Most of the time he was busy trying to get his hands on Level Books and Skill Shards. It had been almost 6 months since he had last seen Nelly.

“I have sent her to collect some mushrooms. She should be back soon,” she replied.

Jake noticed that Zill’s father was unusually quiet. Something seemed to be bothering him. He walked up to Zill and whispered, “Your father seems to be worried about something. Maybe you should ask him what’s wrong.”

When Zill looked at his father, his smile faded away and his heart sunk within. The elderly gnome had a concerned look on his face. His brow had developed little furrows which were lined with drops of sweat.

“Father, are you alright? Is something wrong?” Zill asked in a feeble tone.

An anguished sigh escaped from his father’s lips. “I am worried about Nelly. It can’t take so long to gather some mushrooms from the nearby forest.”

“You worry too much, dear. Maybe they decided to collect some berries too,” Zill’s mother tried to comfort him.

“It’s going to be dark in just a couple of hours. She might be a child but there are adults with her. They couldn’t possibly have stopped to gather berries at such a late hour. I fear something bad might have happened to them.”

“We should go look for her,” said Jake. He felt it was his duty to help Zill’s family. After all, they had cared for him so selflessly.

“It’s too risky to send a search party so late. We might not be able to make it back in time.” Zill’s father did not want to trouble a guest with his own problems. Besides, it wasn’t a good idea to venture into the woods at night.

Jake however was determined to find the little girl. He walked up to the elderly gnome and looked into his eyes. “We can’t just sit here and wait for her to return. She and the others might be in trouble. Instead of talking, we should go out and start looking for her.” This was the perfect opportunity to repay his debts. It was still possible to locate Zill’s sister before night fall if they hurried.  

“I think Jake Riley can help us father,” added Zill.

All 4 of them exchanged knowing glances before finally agreeing to head outside. They all carried torches with them to scare off the wild dogs and eagles. This time Jake didn’t feel nervous or frightened like before. Instead he was excited to put his powers to the test. Only one thing bothered him, he still hadn’t found a way to activate his powers.

Yolen decided to accompany them on their search because he felt they might require the services of a healer. Jake and the gnomes exited the cave and started walking towards the woods. The sun was drifting closer to the horizon with every passing second. They knew they were running out of time. When the great orange orb of light finally kissed the horizon, they reached the woods.

Dusk was slowly drifting into the dark night and the birds were flocking to their midnight homes. Ancient trees gazed at the outsiders who sought to enter the dense forest. Jake and Zill led the way, lighting the path ahead with the flaming torches. As the sun sunk below the horizon, darkness enveloped the skies. It was as if someone had suddenly turned off the lights from above. The forest looked rather treacherous in the dark as strange shadows rushed passed them. Owls hooted eerily and cicadas buzzed all around.

Suddenly Jake stopped dead in his tracks. An ominous howl echoed in the darkness. It came from deep within the woods. Everyone knew what the howl meant. Blood hounds roamed the woods at night, searching for prey.

“We have to find Nelly and the others before the blood hounds do!” exclaimed Zill’s father.

“If the blood hounds are nearby, we should proceed with great caution.” Yolen knew that a party of gnomes was easy prey for the ferocious beasts. “If they ambush us, we won’t able to escape!”

 Jake closed his eyes and tried to imagine Vaari’s face. He kept chanting the Goddess’ name with fervent concentration. A minute passed and still nothing happened. Now more than ever, he needed the power which she had granted him. The memory of that terrifying night resurfaced in his mind like a dreadful nightmare. He vividly recalled the meeting with the Goddess. All her words echoed in his ears, “A fraction of my power”, “blood pact” and “blood will have blood”.

Suddenly, Jake opened his eyes and shouted, “Goddess, I seek blood!”

As soon as he uttered those words, his feet were lifted off the ground by some unseen force and a dazzling white glow radiated from him. He felt a surge of power rush through his body as his worn linen was replaced by a silver gray chain mail. A mystical bow and a quiver appeared in front of him. Jake reached out for the weapon with his right hand and grabbed the quiver with his left. His raven black hair turned silver white as he touched the bow with his fingers.

Zill and the others looked at Jake in astonishment. He no longer looked like an ordinary human.

Yolen cried out in excitement. ”The Goddess has granted you an extraordinary power. You are now an elven Sage! Their skills in archery are unparalleled in Xalinor!”

Immediately Jake felt a burning sensation in his left arm. When he looked at his arm, the following words appeared on his skin:

Elven Sage.

Level: Novice.

As soon as he touched his arm, the earlier words faded away and were replaced by a new set of words which read:

Passive Ability: Perfect Archer.

Skill Unlocked: Extreme Agility.

The burning letters soon seeped into his skin, leaving no trace on his arm. While he was still busy staring at his arm, the blood hounds had caught their scent. The whole forest resonated with their howls which were followed by aggressive barking noises. Jake could hear their footsteps loud and clear as the beasts ran towards them, crushing the fallen twigs under their paws.

“Zill, you need to turn yourself and the others invisible.” Jake pulled out an arrow from the quiver and held it against the bowstring. “I will take care of the blood hounds.”

Though Zill could easily turn himself invisible, he had never tried to use his skill on more than 2 people. Including himself, there were 3 other gnomes in the group- his mother, his father and the old healer Yolen.

“I have never turned so many people invisible. I don’t know if I can do it,” cried the frightened little gnome.

Jake turned around and asked, “Don’t your parents have invisibility skills?”

“They are Diggers. Only gnome Sneakers can use Eternal Shade,” replied Zill.

Zill’s father knew they had to act quickly or else they all would die. “Son, you don’t have to worry about us. Use your skill on yourself and run.”

“I am not going to leave you all behind,” saying this; Zill raised his right arm in the air. “Eternal Shade!” he shouted the words with absolute determination. One by one, Zill and the others turned invisible. His skill had done its job but it had taken a heavy toll on the little gnome who started reeling with dizziness.

The barking noises started growing louder with every passing moment. Jake understood that the wolves were nearby. Large blue eyes glowed behind the blueberry bushes. The blood hounds had them surrounded from all sides. Zill and the other gnomes took shelter behind a massive moonleaf tree which had fallen on the forest floor.

Jake could hear his heart pounding rapidly inside his chest. Suddenly, the blood hounds jumped from behind the bushes and trapped him in a circle. This was a larger pack than the one he had encountered earlier. There were 10 adult blood hounds and an overgrown pack leader with fangs twice as large as the others.  Jake pulled the bowstring back and shouted, “Activate skill: Extreme Agility!”

As soon as he uttered those words, a wave of energy flooded his entire body. Without taking his eyes off the alpha, he leapt into the air and landed gently on the highest branch of a tall yelen tree. Since the blood hounds couldn’t climb trees, it gave him a huge advantage. Before the blood hounds could react he released the bowstring. The iron arrow whizzed through the air and pierced the target with ease. The wounded blood hound curled up on the ground in pain.

“One down, more to go,” whispered Jake.

In a flash he reloaded his bow and shot another wolf through the heart. The blood hounds panicked and tried to scamper to the safety of the bushes but Jake was onto them in a heartbeat. He kept shooting one arrow after the other, jumping from tree top to tree top. In a matter of minutes he had managed to kill all the blood hounds except the alpha. While he was busy killing the other blood hounds, the alpha of the pack had managed to run past him.

When all the blood hounds had been killed, Jake began chasing the alpha. The wolf ran at lightning speed and darted out of the forest. His eyes followed the beast as it ran towards the dusty road leading out of the forest. He knew he couldn’t let the pack leader escape. Chasing it down was impossible, now that it was outside the forest. Instead of going after the beast, he stood still and took aim with his bow. Unfortunately the target was too far away and moving too fast. He knew he couldn't stop now so he closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh midnight air. Slowly, he raised his bow upwards at an angle and focused his gaze on the running animal. Not a single muscle in his body moved as he calculated the distance and the arrow's trajectory in his mind. Then, he finally pulled the bowstring back to its very limit and let lose the impatient arrow.

The iron arrow tore across the sky, tracing a curved path towards the target. The alpha was almost out of sight when the arrow whizzed through the air and pierced the beast’s flesh, staining its hide with blood. Jake grinned with satisfaction as the wolf curled up on the ground and breathed its last. With his new found powers, Jake had managed to eliminate the whole pack in an instant.

After scanning the surroundings one last time, he jumped down from the tree and made his way back to where Zill and the others were hiding. As Zill’s invisibility skill faded away, they all gradually re-appeared. Jake turned towards the group and exclaimed triumphantly, “I have killed all the blood hounds. We should look for Nelly now.”