Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

Ryson grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it from its sheath. The windows of the tavern let in starlight for the blade to reflect, enhance, and magnify. The clamor of other patrons died away as everyone looked to the shining blade. The light would not harm their eyes in any fashion. If anything, it was almost pleasant to behold. The blade showed the way… and it did so for Ryson Acumen.

"We have to go with her. I'll get two horses and we'll leave at first light."

With Ryson running alongside the horses-guiding them through Dark Spruce, avoiding danger, and finding the clearest paths-they crossed the forest quicker than Heteera ever hoped. They broke through the dense trees of Dark Spruce and reached the badlands that would lead to the outer reaches of the LacobianDesert while the sun still hung fairly high in the western sky. The horses moved even faster upon solid ground with fewer impediments. The brush and thicket which covered the edges of Dark Spruce diminished and eventually disappeared in the harsher, dryer climate-just as the trees became scattered, standing more like distant sentries spread too thin to cover the horizon sufficiently. The land opened up before them to reveal large clearings surrounded by boulders, bluffs, and intriguing rock formations of intricate design.

Ryson remained vigilant for threats, understanding that despite their abilities-a delver, a sorceress, and a human immune to magic-they still might invite an ambush from a desperate predator. The presence of any such threat, however, continuously eluded him, and that in itself invited concern.

The badlands did not harbor as many dark creatures as Dark Spruce-the forest offered more prey and more shelter-but many beasts still preferred the open and dry regions. The badlands were also the last refuge before the totally inhospitable desert. Ryson would normally sense at least some predators in the distance, smell or hear them even if he could not see them. As if to present more of a puzzle, he could not sense any threats in the area. What he did perceive confused him.

"It's empty, but it's not," he revealed aloud.

Heteera understood, but Linda could not grasp the seemingly inconsistent revelation.

"What do you mean?" his wife asked.

"There are plenty of caves, crevices and ravines along the land, but there's nothing there. No creatures. There's plenty of hiding places for them, but they're just not there. It's like they all just left." He paused for a moment to sniff the air and turn an ear to the warm breeze." But something else is here. I felt it in Dark Spruce, but it's stronger out here." He turned to the sorceress. "This is what you want us to see, isn't it?"

She simply nodded.

Linda, who could not utilize the magic in any way, pressed Ryson for details.

"What do you feel?"

Ryson tried to put into words what he could not completely describe.

"It's like water going down a hole. Water goes in, air gets pushed out. I'm getting the same feeling, but it's not water and air. It's like something's rushing in and out of… I'm not sure where it's coming from. It's there and then it's not."

"It's magic," Heteera offered, "but it's not just being pulled from the land. It's crossing dimensions."

"Is it going in or out?" Ryson wondered.

"Both," Heteera answered. "That's why Enin wouldn't notice it from Connel."

"But you said the threat was like the sphere. The sphere absorbed all the magic."

"Only in the beginning. At the end, it was emitting the energy, but as poison."

"That's right, poison to the elves. Is that the threat?"

"I believe the elves will be the last in danger," Heteera replied.

Then Ryson considered his encounter with the swallit, and more of the puzzle came together.

"I ran into a swallit during a scout. It was heading east, away from this place. It was trying to escape what's out here, wasn't it? That's why there aren't any creatures around."

This news did not sit well with the sorceress. As it was, she fought off waves of discomfort. The predicament she could not speak of openly weighed upon her as they now closed upon their intended destination. She also was not comfortable on the back of a horse, not a natural rider or a seasoned expert with much time spent in the saddle. This new revelation offered by the delver added to her troubles.

"If that's true, then he's adding to it," she claimed with little explanation.

"Adding to it? Adding to what?" Ryson demanded.

"He's seeking other creatures, expanding the reach."

"Who?"

"You'll have to see."

"You know, I have to admit, I'm getting tired of hearing that."

"You will not have to wait long. It's just ahead, by that rock formation to your right."

The delver leapt quickly ahead of the horses, took to the lead even as he moved on foot. He spied nothing ahead.

"There's nothing there."

Heteera pulled back on the reins and slowed her horse.

"We have to stop here."

"There's nothing here," the delver repeated.

"Give it time. It does not stay open or closed indefinitely. It fluctuates. We shouldn't have to wait long."

As if in response, the air shuddered. The afternoon light at first grew brighter and then dimmed, with no passing cloud the cause. The ground itself appeared to sway in and out of focus, like a mirage that would fade and return.

"What's happening?" Ryson demanded.

"The portal is reopening. As I said, it won't stay open or closed, not for long."

"A portal?To where?"

"To nightmare," Heteera responded with a pained expression. "To a place you have seen before… a realm where dark creatures breed."

It was as if a hole opened in the very air, a shallow tunnel that turned and twisted in every direction at once, but existed in a controlled space only slightly taller than the delver and perhaps three times as wide.

Looking upon it produced a sensation of incompleteness, as if it was not possible for such an opening to actually exist. It was a tear in reality.

Ryson peered into the opening, but only for a moment, and then he looked away. It was a nightmare, and he had seen it before.

Another such opening was created by Enin in the magical dimension during their conflict with Baannat. It was a gateway to a tormented world, a gateway from which monsters leapt.

"Why didn't you just tell me this was here? I've seen this kind of thing before. I would have believed you. We need to get Enin here to close this."

Heteera stared into the anomaly.

"Would you have believed that if I had not brought you here to see?"

Ryson did not want to look again, but he had to follow the sorceress' gaze. Looking over his shoulder, his eyes fell upon a figure exiting the rent.

Immediately, his hand flew over his shoulder to his sword as he crouched low. Any creature crossing over from the dark lands would be a danger to them all, but Ryson never drew the Sword of Decree. The single form who stepped out of a nightmare was a friend to him.

Despite the fact that the figure was all shadow and no true substance, was of a single gray pallor, Ryson recognized him immediately. He knew the elf, Lief Woodson, very well.

"Lief?"

The apparition tilted his head as it looked upon all three. It seemed to glare at the sorceress, but then drew a softer expression as it glanced upon Linda and finally Ryson.

"You look well, Ryson Acumen."

"You see?" Heteera managed, while struggling to keep her horse calm. "It's not the portal. It's who's using the portal."

"But you're dead," the delver exclaimed, disregarding the sorceress but unable to believe what, or rather who, was before him.

"And you are surprised in what you see now?" the ghostly form asked with an expression of both surprise and amusement.