Only three other Ghosts were able to come to the settlement. They rode in after the humans’ third night as Derse had predicted.

None of those visiting the village felt too comfortable with the meager turnout.

"Mighty slim pickings if you ask me." Kirn said grimly.

"They still don’t believe in the dragon," Said Turoth. "So they probably don’t see this trip worth the effort of more than a few extra people."

Derse however did make good on his word about the care of the horses the humans had ridden in on. They had been fed and looked after throughout the stay. Now they were saddled and ready to go back on the trail.

The Ghosts had their own mounts on hand for the journey. The wizards, both elf and human, kept in a close group as the Ghosts bid the townspeople goodbye.

"Lorinth," Derse called down to elf guard who had brought the humans to the colony. "While I’m gone, I want you looking over this place’s affairs. Take care of matters as I would."

"No problem, Derse." The sentry affirmed. "But still, I’d feel better if some armed fighters went along. Something about what the humans say may ring true. There could be a threat in the mountains."

"Doubtful." Derse waved a dismissive hand. "There’s nearly fifty of us traveling. And if anyone is willing to take on that many wizards, I feel a great pity for the fools looking for trouble."

"Hey, you’re the mayor." Lorinth hitched up his breaches then scratched at his pointed ear. "This place depends on you."

"I’m sure you’ll be able to hold things together fine while I’m gone. Make sure to check up with Genty Sunbark. She’s getting on in her years."

"Will do."

"Ready?" Turoth beckoned to Derse as the Spirit pulled himself into the saddle.

"Set." Derse answered.

After some further conversation with milling residents, the assembled party made their way out.

The Ghosts’ knowledge of the forest was helpful to say the least. They navigated the group through the woods with ease, finding paths that would put the least strain on the horses while still keeping them moving steadily towards their destination.

Kirn and Sera found the elves’ presence to be discomforting. Unlike the regular villagers from the settlement, the immigrant mages seemed to keep a distance that was more from attitude than physical placement.

The idea of the cold, elven ruling class doing future business with the human race held a dark image in the siblings’ minds. The Ghosts were efficient, sharp-minded, and concerned with the bottom line. Somewhere along the way, it was like a certain passion had been lost in their lives that set them apart from other elves.

Ormer had been the first to try to initiate a friendly chat with one of the Ghosts who had arrived at the settlement that day. But the elf said little more than a few sentences about the need to ensure the safety of his homeland.

The Spirits might have been isolationists, but they at least had some normal degree of personality. Each one was an individual with quirks and characteristics, while the Ghosts seemed to all act exactly the same.

It was almost creepy enough to make the humans reconsider having the elven mages join up for this run. Fortunately, Derse showed a more positive nature. It was probably just for the sake of being polite, but his open demeanor helped offset the unsettling quiet from the elven section of the party.

The three Ghosts who had come from afar that day looked disapprovingly at Derse when he spoke with the humans. Almost as if they thought Derse’s communicating so casually with the outsiders was demeaning to the entire elven race.

Kirn reasoned that the contemptuous glances came from elves of the more conservative mindset.

Still, knowing that the extra magicians were coming along on this operation gave the humans a bit of added confidence in their success.

It was about midday when the army of wizards emerged from the forest.

There, they came upon the welcoming sight of a beautiful landscape. A stream came down through the rolling hills and pooled into a pond that sparkled like crystal in the sunlight. The water then flowed out of the pond and into a brook that ran for a quarter mile before being lost to the eye in the tall grasses.

It would have been a perfect place to make camp for the night. But there was still a good half of the day to go, and the group wanted to keep moving while it was still light out.

The horses’ hooves splashed noisily in the shallowest part of the stream where the wizards rode across.

Their pace was kept steady during the day, and camp was made on a green prairie. As far as one could look, there was an unending plane where the grass grew wild. The wind pushing the long emerald blades made for a serene setting in which to rest for the night.

Days and nights passed as they rode on their journey. Throughout the marches, Derse continued to prove to be the most talkative of the Ghosts.

"So tell me of this Earth." The elf would say. "You said it was a modern world. In what way?"

"I thought you didn’t believe our story." Turoth said. Kirn could tell the Spirit was working to keep from sounding suspicious.

"I never said that I did." Derse shook his head. "But you described things about this place the Spirits visited so vividly that I find the idea intriguing."

"Like a fireside tale?"

"Exactly."

"Alright then." Turoth decided to humor the elf. He repositioned himself in his saddle to ease the aches in his backside. "First off, there are only humans on Earth. We were never able to figure out why, but the other races are simply non-existent there."

Kirn turned away from his ease dropping. The tale of Earth was known to both of the Stormpheonixes.

"This is the day." The lower mage said to his sister. "I thought you should be the first to know."

"I’m not surprised." Sera replied over the clomping sounds made by her horse’s steps. "It’s one of those things I could just feel coming up. Kind of like a birthday or big holiday, don’t you think?"

"Uh-huh. Something like that."

"So how soon will it be?"

"See that ridge?" Kirn pointed over a green hill. "We’ll see the first signs of our destination once we crest it."

"Then let’s get there and do this once and for all."

Brave to the end. Kirn said mentally. Or just stubborn. I could just use my magic. Cast a spell to make her sleep while the rest of us go to work. No. She’d just throw herself against the dragon once she woke up. Besides, this is her decision. I’ve already made mine.

The horses carried the group over the ridge. And it was there that the Steel Mountains were visible to them for the first, and what was expected to be the last, time.

Huge cones of rock jutted out of the earth as if they had been thrown up from the very underworld. The vast open field that had been the constant landscape for days now ended. Grass went from vibrant green to a dead brown over a span of four yards and then it simply ended. The ground became dry and cracked. It was as if life itself ended in this place, with the dried grass acting as the threshold of death.

"I never expected to come here of all places." Kerbel said, wiping the sweat from his balding head.

"Then again, none of us expected to leave the library." Ormer put in.

The lifeless vegetation crackled as the horses trotted over it. Yet, no sooner than the first wizards crossed that line, they pulled their mounts to a sudden halt. The mages all looked around in every direction as if they were sniffing the air with something other than their noses.

"I take it we’re close." Sera assumed.

"Magic has been focused here." Turoth said. "It’s at a level unlike anything I’ve known."

"This goes beyond our experience." Derse admitted. His calm genuinely interrupted. "Whoever’s responsible for this must be expending a tremendous of power just to keep the energies here camoflauged from the rest of the world."

Even Sera could feel a tingle all over her body. It made her think of walking into a swarm of mosquitoes the moment before being bitten. Was this how wizards sensed magic, she wondered.

"So what now?" The treasure hunter asked.

"This way." Turoth turned his horse up towards a rocky trail. "I think we can track the energy to its source from here."

Slowly, they rode on the path.

The breeze whistled over the lifeless terrain. On both the left and right, the stony ground sloped up to form the foundations of jagged peaks. Stories used to tell of vast veins of iron running beneath this barren land, thus the origin.

"Ethern must have had a terrible time running out of here." Kirn commented. "In a snowstorm, no less."

More and more rugged, the road grew. With measured steps, the horses treaded carefully, though it was becoming apparent that they would soon be unable to navigate the rougher areas up ahead.

"We’d better go on foot from here." Turoth said before dismounting.

The other humans followed suit.

The Ghosts remained saddled and looked at their companions as if they were watching ignorant children.

"So who is supposed to remain and watch the horses?" Derse ventured.

"We don’t plan on coming back for them." Turoth said solemnly.

"You really are serious about believing in a dragon, aren’t you?" Derse remarked with astonishment.

"We know something is endangering the Realms. Whatever can create a threat of such magnitude is sure to destroy us in a battle. We’ve come here in hopes that the rest of Existence might live if we can end the danger at its source."

The certainty with which the Spirit spoke made Derse and several of the other elves uneasy as they cast worried glances to the mountains around them. Turoth’s words sounded so measured and confident. As if disbelieving his tale of dragons and realms was more irrational than going along with what he claimed.

"For safety’s sake, then, I suggest that we go in prepared for the worst." Derse announced to the other Ghosts.

"Surely you can’t take this human seriously." One male elf argued.

"Our first responsibility is to the Kingdom." Derse said. "Therefore, it is our duty to safeguard the motherland’s intentions by leaving nothing to chance. In the best interest of our people, I advise we use the utmost caution."

"So be it, then." The man grudgingly agreed. "As for the horses?"

"Unlike our suicidal friends here, I say we tether them here the best we can manage. If we go more than an hour without making a complete search, we’ll turn back and send word home of what we have detected so far."

That seemed to sit considerably better with the Ghosts.

So they corralled the horses together on the trail with the elves making a wide circle around the animals. The Spirits stood out of the Ghosts’ way while they did their work.

Raising their hands to the sky, the elven wizards chanted an incantation.

The horses were becoming fearful, but the elves didn’t pay them any attention.

Magic quickly made its presence known as the ground began to rumble and crack. Shafts of green shot up around the cluster of horses to a height of eight feet.

Sera was able to see that the shafts were in fact stems of plants the Ghosts were conjuring up from the earth. Vines extended up from the sides of the stems to intertwine with each other. In less than two seconds, there was a fence of vegetation around the horses.

The terrified animals folded their ears back and shrieked at the vegetal circle that had sprung up so suddenly around them. They were all packed fairly close together, so none had room to try jumping over the high vines entrapping them.

The elves and humans waited patiently for the animals to slowly calm down. With the spell concluded, Derse wiped away the sweat from his brow.

"Some of that forest magic we’ve heard about." Turoth noted.

"It works nicely from time to time." Derse replied. "The land here can’t support plant life, so the fence will rot down before night falls. We should be back well before then."

The humans exchanged no words about the Ghosts’ actions being needless. They had already made use of their time to speak.

Tightening the straps of their packs, the army of mages began walking once the horses had grown settled.

Sera couldn’t tell what direction they were supposed to be headed in, but everyone else seemed to know where they were going.

At the base of one of the smaller mountains, the party was forced to start climbing. Hand over hand they pulled themselves up the high slope. Years of living in the library had made the Spirits grow out of shape, and it showed as they panted and groaned their way up.

Kirn, Sera, and the Ghosts were used to the exertion and found themselves only slightly winded.

The climb ended with a massive outcropping of rock that was large enough for the forty something individuals to sit down and catch their breath. At the other side of that stone platform was the mountain wall continuing to reach for the sky. There, in the center of that surface was a black hole.

Ethern hadn’t been exaggerating when he described the size of the thing. Indeed, it did look wide enough for thirty men to walk through shoulder to shoulder. The height of the entrance easily rivaled the width, leaving a huge circle of darkness boring into the mountain.

"It would seem that our quarry is well fortified." Said Derse while looking up to the higher peaks that extended up around them.

" ‘Quarry’ is a poor term, elf." Faira whispered harshly.

Sera caught the remark and knew the sorceress was probably right.

"Then the time is now." Turoth announced as he stood up to his full height.

With a gesture of his hand, a glowing ball of light took form to illuminate the fading afternoon.

"Forward." He ordered the sphere, which advanced into the cave.

Their way being lit, the gathered forces of some of Neddel’s greatest spell casters went in.

Inside the cave, the stone floor was unnaturally smooth, obviously sculpted by magic. The cavern was spacious enough to make Sera wonder if the entire mountain was hollowed out.

They walked through the area that had once been Orth Ethern’s temporary campsite.

Turoth’s orb of light coasted forward, heeding only the rock walls of the mountain’s interior.

By this time, all of the Ghosts were looking thoroughly unnerved. They were rulers who had woven a blanket over their own people. Being this close to a power so foreign to their own knowledge was not something they were handling well. Meanwhile, the Spirits were silent as death itself. They had been expecting these moments for some time now.

Swishing robes and shuffling feet made the only noises in that haunting place. The humans and elves followed the cavern until it rounded a corner.

"Just like Ethern described." Kirn said.

It was all so disturbing, walking in that cavern. To have the same anticipating fear that Ethern must have had when he had been here.

Derse, Turoth, Kirn, Sera, and Faira were the first ones around that corner. What they had found was not unexpected, but none the less shocking.

The light from the orb glinted with the telltale shine of gold. A veritable mountain of wealth in the form of coins, scraps of colored paper, and items Sera couldn’t even put words to was spread over the floor of this room. This cavern itself was easily equal in size to the main study in the Library of the Spirits, and this trove stretched from wall to wall.

Derse fell back a step at the sight. But it wasn’t the treasure across the floor that had almost floored the Ghost.

Lounging amongst the exotic carpeting was a creature only myth still acknowledged. For light from Turoth’s orb reflected off blood-red scales that looked more like crimson steel.

At first, trying to describe the beast with mere words seemed impossible to Sera. While it was curled up at the time, Sera estimated the monstrosity to be about eighty feet in length from nose to tail.

The snout of the dragon came to a needle’s point. From there, the red scales formed a hellish mask of a face. A cluster of tiny horns grew at the top of the head like some kind of crown. A larger horn projected from each side of the face based at the jaws and extending up past the crown. Teeth like curved scimitars poked down from upper lip of the cave’s sole occupant.

Sharp bone protrusions poked from the dragon’s spine to run from the base of its neck to the tip of its tail. The flesh of the body itself was all muscle, with four powerful legs curled up against the torso.

The dragon had become aware of his visitors by the glowing orb. At first it darted its head in the direction of the cavern’s entrance. The sight of the intruders brought a bored hiss to his reptilian lips. Casually, the monster rolled to its feet. With a better view of the body, they could see a set of black, leathery wings folded against the creature’s back.

By the time the other mages came around behind the five ahead, there were more than a few startled gasps.

It was then and there that nobody on either side moved. The humans and elves were only able to stand in awe of the gruesome majesty of what stood before them, while the dragon just seemed to wait for the people to do something interesting.

Within a few seconds the dragon took the initiative.

"I had a feeling someone would eventually come." The dragon spoke in an unholy voice that seemed to resonate from the very walls. "But I certainly didn’t expect it to be enough to bring elves and humans together."

He talked, Sera realized, the damn thing actually talked. Then again, she hadn’t been completely sure the dragon even existed until now. Whether the gender of the dragon was male or female, the dark resonance of the voice made her assume this monster was male.

Contact had been made and it was up to somebody to respond.

"Then you know why we’re here." Derse said. The elf had a lot of gumption to take those steps towards what was probably the most powerful creature on Neddel, Sera thought to herself.

"Most likely," The dragon his lips back in a mockery of a grin. "But humor me. What can pull you together and bring you all the way out here?"

"A spell." Turoth stepped up beside Derse. "A spell you constructed to bring about a collision between the three Realms. You performed it four years ago as a trial, an experiment to see if you could pull off the same feat on a greater scale."

"Give the human a cigar." The dragon laughed.

What the hell does he mean by that? Sera questioned. She’d never heard anything like that before.

"But why?" Demanded Turoth. "You seek the destruction of Existence itself."

"I think the question you should be asking is how long it will take me to kill each and every one of you here."

"So it’s going to come down to this then?" Derse asked, still hoping to reason with the beast.

"Of course." The dragon brought up a front foot to display a gnarled set of claws. "You truly think that the efforts of something as insignificant as humans and elves would dissuade me?"

"Then our power against yours." Turoth stated.

"Perhaps." The dragon crouched down low. "But then where would be the fun in that?"

With those words, the scaled demon sprung forward. The speed was incredible for such an immense being. A roar echoed out as powerful jaws snapped out and down on a brown robed human in the back of the crowd.

Sera jumped away from the attacking giant. Her sword and dagger were in out of their sheaths once she landed, for all the good they could do.

Thrashing, clawing, and biting, the killing continued as ill-prepared mages tried to defend themselves.

Kirn’s hands and staff erupted in emerald light as he brought his energies to bare.

"Gaku-mitos!" He shouted as he swung his free hand in a horizontal arc. A wave of magical energy discharged from his hand and struck the dragon squarely in the rear right leg.

The dragon howled in pain and turned his attention to Kirn.

The uninitiated mage was already strafing around the creature, trying to get an angle for another shot.

"You should all know my name before you pass over." The dragon said harshly. "Deathblaze. Here’s where the title came from."

Right there, the beast called Deathblaze opened his mouth. A stream of flames came from that maw to incinerate a pair of Ghosts who were just completing the incantations of their offensive spells. Shaking bodies that were little more than burnt skeletons and a molten pool of gold were all that remained in the spot where two brave souls had stood.

Watching the slaughter, Sera felt utterly powerless for the first time in her life. The wizards had spells to cast, a means to at least hurt this thing like Kirn had. And here they were getting cut done one by one. What did she have? She was no magician.

To hell with magic! The treasure hunter resolved. The dragon is exterminating us like insects. Well, this insect can still sting!

She charged at Deathblaze from the side with reckless abandon. Her dagger flipped over in her hand so she could stab downward more easily.

Deathblaze had a half dozen Spirits cornered up against a stone wall. He began butchering them with tooth and claw, oblivious to the human coming at him.

Up close, Sera hardly even stood knee high to the dragon. That didn’t matter to her one bit. All she wanted was to hurt this terror as much as possible before he killed her.

She jammed her dagger ferociously between scales the size of her hand.

More cries of agony came from Deathblaze as a glob of black fluid oozed out of the wound.

Sera heard the screams go from pain to rage.

This is it, then. She realized while looking up to the gaping maw descending upon her. The young woman’s heart raced, and she began to question just when she was supposed to start seeing her life flash before her eyes.

A shouted incantation and a flash of light made the dragon’s jaws rise back. In the howl of anguish that followed, Sera could smell the fetid breath billow her way.

Looking about for her savior, the treasure hunter caught sight of Turoth. Wisps of energy trailed down from his hands.

"Go!" He yelled out. "Get out of there!"

Sera took the advice to heart immediately. Nimbly, she darted out from underneath Deathblaze while the dragon took a stumbling step. Coins sprayed everywhere as Deathblaze stomped down on a large mound of wealth.

"Biting rodents!" Deathblaze yelled in disgust.

Deathblaze’s front leg swung out almost faster than the eye could see. In a blur of red scales and brown robes, Turoth was cast up from the glittering floor. Batted like a person swatting at the mosquito, the leader of the suicide expedition soared through the air.

It was that spectacle that made everyone in the room go quiet. Sera didn’t even realize that she had been holding her breath as she watched in horror.

The man who had become a visionary for so many people crashed against the cavern wall then fell twelve feet to the floor.

Silence was broken once the event had fully set in upon the mages.

"For the Realms!!!"

Faira was the one to rally the call. Her hair and robes were caught up in a maelstrom of power while a bolt of magic arced between her upraised hands.

Before the spell could be released, Deathblaze proved to have enough fight left in him to last the day. He snapped down with his mouth. Rows of teeth the length of a man’s forearm pierced the sorceress’s body and blood showed. The light that had been gathering around the Spirit was extinguished, as was her life.

It might have all ended right there for the mages. But the others would not die without first following the example of their peers.

Derse was among the first few remaining to ready a spell. Magical flashes illuminated the cavern brighter than Turoth’s light spell, which was still active.

Incantations triggered streams of raw power to strike against the dragon.

Deathblaze was thrown into a frenzy by the onslaught. It was as if the monster allowed pain to fuel his bloodlust.

Three Spirits fell at once as Deathblaze pounced upon them.

Sera began to make another run at the dragon, when she found herself trip over something soft.

Getting a bit of traction on the sliding coins beneath her, she turned to look down and see that she had fallen over the body of Ormer. The archmage’s eyes were staring sightlessly. A long gash torn into his stomach and chest had been the grisly cause of death.

It was then that Sera found out that the floor under her was as slick with blood as it was with coins.

"Sera!" A hand clamped down on the woman’s shoulder to snap her away from the sight. The voice was barely audible over the sounds of carnage filling the place.

Kirn was there at her side. Sweat was pouring from his haggard face. Spell casting in this lost battle had taken much out of him.

"Everyone’s dead." Sera said simply.

Her voice was too low to be heard over the noise, but Kirn seemed able to read her lips.

Even knowing what had been coming all this time had not prepared her for this kind of slaughter.

"Come on!" Kirn called out. "I think Turoth is still alive!"

"What?" Sera had thought Turoth had passed on soon after hitting the floor.

"Over there!" Her brother pointed to where the Spirit lay. There, Turoth was moving, making futile attempts to get back up. He was only managing to get to his knees as he watched his friends die before him.

"We might be able to get him to safety!" Kirn reasoned. "There still might be hope if he’s still alive!"

The screams had died down to but a few terrified voices. No longer did the wizards cast their spells as the fight wound down to its final moments.

With what little strength they still had in them, Kirn and Sera ran to Turoth’s side. Lifting up the Spirit by his arms took both their efforts. Especially with their burden feebly trying to push the two away.

"Leave m--… me heeere." He groaned weakly.

"This fight is hopeless!" Kirn argued, pulling Turoth’s arm up across his shoulders. "There has to be another way to end this."

"But… I can’t." Turoth turned to look at the gruesome scene.

Sera followed where Turoth’s eyes rested and found Faira’s mauled body. Her robes were now little more than tattered rags soaked in gore.

"Nothing can be done for them or against that." Kirn darted his eyes to Deathblaze who was hunching over a shrieking human. "We might be able to fight that thing better at another time, but we’re not going to pull that off with us dead on the ground."

That seemed to bring Turoth around. He stole one last look at the ghastly cavern and bowed his head.

"I’m sorry, everyone." He whispered to the dead who could no longer listen.

Turoth proved unable to move under his power. The siblings had to drag him along. All the while, Turoth assisted in pushing himself along with one leg. Using the other made him wince.

The three of them hadn’t been able to get far. Shortly after they rounded the corner lead out of the cavern, they all collapsed in a heap. They were still in much danger, but for the time being, they were out the light of Turoth’s spell, which still glowed stubbornly back in the room with the dragon.

"Last one alive, eh?" Deathblaze was heard asking.

For a moment, the three humans were startled, thinking that Deathblaze had followed them out. But the voice was still too distant for that.

Sera cautiously left Kirn who was taking stock of Turoth’s injuries. Peeking around back into the dragon’s room, she stole a view of Deathblaze squatting over someone. The gray robes made it apparent that the person was a Ghost. The elf was beneath one of Deathblaze’s enormous front feet. Struggling to escape, the mage turned his took gaze up at his captor. From her vantage, Sera saw that the last living person with the dragon was Derse.

"Now let’s see if you can answer a question for me." Deathblaze questioned with that unholy voice of his. "What do you know about the Shadowed Ones on Earth?"

Derse proved either too weak to answer, or too strong to let the dragon intimidate him into giving what limited information he had on the subject. He just lay there silently, waiting to die.

"My patience is limited, elf." Deathblaze threatened.

It was then that the elf gave a response. He laughed. It was a tired, wheezing laugh, but its content was clear.

"You are… afraid of… what the humans created." Derse said between forced gasps.

"I fear nothing of your kind or theirs." The dragon growled.

"And if… you… are fearful, then… you can be destroyed." It was obvious by his voice that Derse was expiring. He probably only had a few moments more left in him.

"Useless." The dragon’s scaled brows knitted together. His being mocked instead of answered showed how far Deathblaze’s patience truly went. He drove his claws into the elf’s body before time could do the job of taking the Ghost’s life.

Slowly, Deablaze began to look about at all the bodies littering his lair.

"There are a couple humans missing, it would seem." He said.

Sera quickly ducked back as Deathblaze showed the first signs of turning to her direction.

"I know you’re out there." The beast announced. "But I want you to run and tell those who will believe you that I will not be kept from my paradise. As for the Shadowed Ones, they will fall before me just as easily as your friends did. I fear nothing."

That promise from Deathblaze made Sera’s blood run cold. Maybe all chances of saving Existence were lost. Perhaps, the dragon was an unstoppable monster that was destined to destroy everything.

But for now that was unimportant. Turoth had taken a severe beating at the hands of Deathblaze. If they were going to try to organize some new plan, they would need him alive and functioning.

"How is he?" Sera asked once she had returned to the mages. She kept her voice low knowing that Deathblaze was aware of their presence.

"Not so good." Kirn answered.

Turoth groaned and tried to sit up. His bottom lip was split wide open and drying blood rimmed his whole mouth.

"Easy there, teacher." Kirn pushed the archmage back down to the damp stone floor. "We need to find out badly you were smacked around first. Does it feel like anything’s broken?"

"I can’t move my right arm, and my leg on the same side hurts more than the rest of me."

Sera touched the limbs gently and saw how the Spirit hissed out.

"Looks like they’re both broken." Sera noted.

"Best news I’ve heard all day." Turoth said sarcastically after briefly being overcome by a spasm. "You should have left me."

"You were the only person alive that we could save." Kirn looked back towards the dragon’s cavern before closing his eyes. "Besides, I still hate myself for running out on the others like we did."

"You weren’t as ready to die as you thought." Said Turoth.

"No." Kirn admitted. "I guess we’re not as brave as we thought."

"Neither of you are cowards." Turoth insisted. "You both fought and put your lives on the line like the rest of us."

"For all the good it did." Remarked Sera.

"Derse was right, you know. The dragon can be destroyed."

"How?" Kirn argued. "We put over two score of the world’s top mages against that thing, and we’re all that’s left."

"We weren’t expecting a fight like this." Explained Turoth, clutching at his side. "We went in thinking that the battle would come down to magic against magic. There’s a reason it turned into to such a physical confrontation."

Kirn’s face immediately lit up.

"He’s conserving his power to continue the enchantment on the Realms."

"That’s my theory. But Deathblaze doesn’t want to let on that he’s potentially vulnerable. That’s why he’s letting us live. To make us think fighting him is hopeless and have us tell that to anyone else on Neddel who might try to come here."

"Let’s just hope we’re far enough out of earshot for you to state such a hypothesis." Kirn said.

"If we weren’t, he would have killed us five seconds ago."

"So he’s that scared of the Shadowed Ones." Commented Sera.

"They have the potential if they live long enough for their powers to surface." Replied Turoth. "But they don’t know what we do. They don’t know that a dragon is behind all this and what he’s capable of. They have to be warned."

"But how?" Kirn asked. "You said back at the library that Arkin’s spell book held the only means to travel between realms."

"The dragon will be going to Earth soon. He must have allies there to be able to carry out his spell in a city like New York. Someone has to follow him through the portal and find the Shadowed Ones."

"I’ll go." Volunteered Kirn. "If these two men are enchanted like you say they, I should be able to seek them out. Sera, you’d better help Turoth get out of this place."

"I don’t like the idea of you going off alone, Kirn." Sera protested. "Maybe we can get some more mages from the library. Form a brigade."

"No." Turoth put the argument to rest. "Too many good men and women have died this day. I don’t want my students being sent out like some kind of soldiers. Also, we need to send somebody through while Deathblaze is still rattled by this attack. It would be useless to try this kind of stunt with all his resources at the ready. And I would feel better with two people going. You can watch each other’s backs on Earth."

"But what about you?" Sera debated. "We can’t just leave you here."

"There’s little choice in the matter, my lady. I think I might be able to manage if I can get back to the horses before that spell Derse and his associates threw up expires."

"With as many broken bones as you have?" Kirn put in.

"My well-being should be the least of your worries. The Realms are at stake here."

The logic was cold, but both Kirn and Sera knew what had to be done.

"So who are we supposed to be looking for?" Kirn asked. "What are their names?"

"Look for Robert Thompson and David Whitman. They are the ones we enchanted."

"Strange names." Said Sera.

"It’s Earth you’ll be dealing with. The rules will be different."

"We’ll go." Kirn resigned himself. "But until the dragon departs, we’re going to try to patch you up a bit. You’ll need a fighting chance to get down this mountain."

Kirn unloaded his pack from his shoulders. He rummaged out his spell book and set it off to the side. Beneath the book, he had kept some spare clothes. Taking one of the shirts he normally wore under his robes in hand, he soon began to tear the garment into strips of cloth.

Sera helped in the work of applying the makeshift bandages.

They had managed to get the Spirit’s leg into a splint, and the bleeding had stopped from the more notable injuries. Still, the odds of him making his way out of this place without breaking his neck on the way down the mountain, being attacked by some local predator, or falling prey to any of the other countless dangers of this territory did not invoke much confidence.

The light from the orb left in the room had faded somewhat, but there was still some ambient light to see well enough by.

All the while, Deathblaze had been remaining quiet. And that disturbed all three of the humans.

"So where on Earth is the other side of the portal supposed to open at?" Kirn needed to ask.

"That’s unknown to me." Answered Turoth. "It will be the first problem you’ll have to face."

"What?!" Sera kept her shock, and the volume of her voice, in check with the knowledge that Deathblaze was still dangerously close.

"Where the portal will lead is anybody’s guess." Turoth said.

"So we could be walking into something worse than this place?" Sera whispered.

"I hardly see how that could be possible, much less likely." Kirn nodded back towards the cavern they had escaped from.

The time for arguments was put aside as a new sound arose. The dragon’s voice rang out with the phonics of incantations. For the first time that the humans had experienced, Deathblaze was using his magic.

"The chant’s new to me." Kirn said. "But I can venture a guess."

"It would probably be right." Turoth agreed. "He’s readying himself to leave this realm, as you should."

"Still don’t like this." Sera remarked.

"You sound like Thompson and Whitman before they were changed." Turoth said good-naturedly. "Remember those names. I can’t overstate that."

A white glow ebbed from the area that was Deathblaze’s lair while the Stormpheonixes shouldered their packs.

"Wait until Deathblaze enters the portal before you approach it." The Spirit explained. "The inside will be dead silence, so he won’t hear you coming once he’s in. But you’ll have to hurry. The gate to Earth won’t stay open long."

"Anything else we should know?" Sera inquired.

"No. Just… good luck."

"Same goes for you, Turoth." Added Kirn.

Sera poked her head around the corner. The glowing fog that Ethern had described before his death was there. The strange, illuminated mists were beautiful with their flowing movements.

Deathblaze finished his chant and kept his wings tucked in extra tight to fit through the portal.

Kirn joined his sister at the corner. They checked back over their shoulders to Turoth laid back on the cave floor.

Ducking his head, Deathblaze tromped through.

"Let’s go." Kirn said.

The siblings ran back through the lair to the glowing doorway. Sera did her best to keep herself from looking at the bodies still littering the gold-covered ground. She failed when she caught a glimpse of Faira’s mangled body. The young treasure hunter kept running, refusing to let the corpses stop her.

Charging forward, Sera and Kirn were caught in the shrinking portal and then surrounded by a field of white.

Deathblaze continued to move on in front of them, while their worlds were lost to silence.

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