Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

"Still, he's got a head start on us. Will we be able to track them?" Sy wondered.

"I do not expect problems in that regard, either. Lief is a spirit and will leave no trail, but his creation has distinct physical characteristics. It has multiple limbs and should leave a clear trail. It is also something that dark creatures will naturally avoid, and we can use that to help locate it. I honestly don't think finding it will be difficult."

As if to punctuate Holli's confidence, the rift slowly reappeared. The air rushed by in unnatural gusts, brushing back and forth across them all in varied temperatures. The view of the landscape behind the reemerging portal lightened. A transparent haze formed before them that blurred what they could see in the distance, but then the horizon faded completely out of view as if a cloud suddenly appeared. A swirling mist marked the boundaries of the portal. Initially, it blocked sight into the dark realm, but only for a moment. The mist dissolved leaving a clear view through the break. The portal took hold between dimensions, hovered in the air slightly above the ground and created a bridge between existences.

Each member of the party looked deep inside the rift, prepared to battle anything that might wish to gain entry into their land, but the gateway remained empty. They could see a clear path into the bizarre and twisted world that waited on the other side.

The soldiers, though they would have entered had it been their duty, could not deny a sense of relief that it was not their burden to walk the realm beyond the portal. They did not lack the courage to endure the hardship or the desire to meet a challenge, but they faced life with brutal honesty and deeply held convictions. Entering a land of nightmare is not something any of them would truthfully acknowledge as a welcome adventure.

Ryson had already looked into the tainted realm. The strange lands beyond did not beckon him, did not excite his delver instincts and entice him to explore. If anything, the gateway forged the opposite effect. It repulsed him and burned a deep yearning in his soul to race away with all possible speed. He buried his dread to the best of his ability and stepped up to the portal.

Holli and Sy moved up alongside the delver and braced themselves. In unison, the three comrades who had faced many trials, fought dangerous enemies, and defeated powerful foes, stepped into the opening with monumental determination. For all three, it felt as if they willfully entered an open grave. It was one of the hardest things any of them ever had to do.

Once through the rift, they stood upon rocky ground somewhat similar to the badlands of the world they left behind, but that was where the similarities ended. Although they breached a thin wall of haze with but a single insignificant step, they now walked a plane of existence beyond their complete understanding. This was a land of shadow and terror, a godless underworld, and the dark realm encased their senses.

The delver was struck the hardest and the sickening smell almost drove Ryson to the ground. He fought off the stench only to be assaulted by horrifying screams in the distance. The shrieks rolled in like waves from an ocean, continuous and unyielding, roaring with both ferocity and turmoil. Simply put, there was no peace in this existence. There was only mayhem-constant, terrifying, soul-crushing chaos.

Sy and Holli moved quickly and spread themselves apart so as not to be clustered together. Using Ryson as the third point, they formed a small triangle and gazed across the bleak lands.

Ryson finally gained greater control of his senses and washed the initial sickness from his being. He allowed himself the opportunity to look back into the rift, to gaze back upon a much more welcoming place. Even the harsh landscape of the badlands appeared like heaven from the perspective of this twisted dimension. He wished with all his heart he could turn back, run and find Linda, but he restrained the desire to race back to safety and turned his focus back upon the ground they traveled.

Beyond a sickening warm moisture, he felt nothing upon his skin-not chilled air or a dry, hot wind. Still, something stirred at his core. He felt a cold emptiness, but it chewed at the pit of his stomach, not at his exposed face or hands. He thought he might break into an uncontrollable shiver, but his nerves held and he finally steadied himself.

The sky was dark, but not black as night. It was a dirty gray with no stars. There was enough light to see, but it came not from the heavens, Instead, the land around him glowed from pits of smoldering fire that appeared like trapped lava bubbling up to the surface from an angry core. At times, it appeared as if half-dead trees simply combusted into flames and flashes of bright light burst in the distance.

Yes, there was light, but he found nothing of comfort in this place, and reflexively he pulled the Sword of Decree from its sheath on his back. He hoped the blade might offer some reassuring radiance, but the blade remained dark-not from some magic spell, such as the illusion cast by the swallit, but from the simple truth of the weapon's very nature. The enchantment of his sword reflected the natural light of stars in the sky. It would not augment the diseased illumination of this realm. The delver understood that as he gripped the handle.

In his hand, the sword offered a new enlightenment, as well as growing confusion. The delver suddenly felt as if he was being torn in two. Conflicting messages, powerful and uncontrollable, burst forth in his mind. He saw the danger, but he also understood the mission. There was no doubt in either, but he could not understand how he could avoid one and complete the other. His body convulsed at the divergence and he almost dropped the blade. It took all his willpower to retain a grip on the weapon and remain on his feet.

Both Sy and Holli immediately noticed his anguish.

"Ryson, what's wrong?" Sy asked.

The delver could not speak.

Holli made the connection between the enchanted weapon and the delver's dismay. She did not dare touch the sword with her hand, but she used her bow to guide the blade to the ground. The hilt remained in the delver's hand, but the point of the blade rested upon the dark rock.

Ryson could find no reassurance in making contact with the alien ground, but he felt the divisive pull of the sword diminish, as if the demands placed upon him were now shifted to the ground itself. Eventually, he found the will to speak.

"We shouldn't be here,"

"Tell me something I don't know," Sy stated in another failed effort to break the tension.

"No, I mean the sword made it clear that we shouldn't be in this land," Ryson responded. The conflicting images from the weapon slowly began to retreat, but he held the underlying meanings in his mind.

"Are you saying we need to go back now?" Holli demanded. As an elf, she would not dismiss a message from a sword enchanted by her race. Although it never offered such wisdom until it came into the possession of the delver, the Sword of Decree was forged by the elves during the time of legends. It had become something quite more in the hands of Ryson Acumen, but every living elf understood its power.

"I don't know," Ryson stated honestly.

"The sword should have made it clear," Holli stated as she looked toward Ryson expecting some kind of explanation.

"It did make it clear. We shouldn't be here."

The elf needed no further direction.

"Then we will return to Uton at once."

"We can't," Ryson insisted. "The vessel… we have to destroy that thing. We can't let it grow more powerful."

Holli shook off that concern.

"That's what Enin said, but he did not know of this information. The sword can not be ignored."

"The sword made that clear, too." Ryson explained. "It showed me both… at the same time. We shouldn't be here, but we have to destroy what Heteera's spell created."