Part XIX

Branwen was throwing a few things into her rucksack, preparing to ride Rain back to the Topian village at top speed. She was frantic.

Wigliff was watching her, eerily calm.

She straightened up and yelled at him, "Why aren't you getting ready?"

"There's a faster way," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, impatiently. "Walking takes way too long, with the horses..."

"No," Wigliff explained. "You can jump off a cliff."

"Great," she said, exasperated. "Now you're insulting me when we need to... oh," she ended, realization dawning.

"It's happened to me," Wigliff told her. "I know it works. It's awful, but there's no faster way back to the village."

"Oh... crap," Branwen replied, deflating. "I really don't like this idea."

"Can you think of a better one?" Wigliff asked.

"Cube? Can you..." Branwen started.

"No, I'm really sorry Branwen," the Cube replied, chagrinned. "I CAN teleport people, obviously, but nothing that precise... more dimension to dimension for me. I can make sure there's clothes and weapons there for you though," it offered.

"I guess that'll do," Branwen said aloud, disappointed. "Do you know of a good cliff closeby?" she asked Wigliff.

"Yeah," he said. "Leave your stuff here, it'll just wind up in a pile at the bottom anyway."

Branwen and Wigliff ran out of Morrowind, along a winding path that led up a large hill. They were panting from exhaustion by the time they reached the top.

"Rest a minute, you'll be even more tired once we get there," Wigliff cautioned.

Branwen looked down over the side of the cliff. Below, there was a rocky shore along the edge of the sparkling ocean. "Nice view," she said, sarcastically.

"How did it happen, the first time?" Branwen asked, hoping to postpone the inevitable.

"Damned skeleton riding a spider. I was so surprised, I just stood there while it stuck me with an arrow. I didn't know skellies were that smart," Wigliff replied, with grim humour. "You ready?" he asked.

Branwen giggled nervously. "Nope."

"Me neither," Wigliff agreed, and took hold of Branwen's hand. "On the count of three. One..." Branwen jumped, pulling him over the edge with her.

"HOLY CRAP!" Branwen yelled a few seconds later, sitting up suddenly on the cold stone floor of the meeting hall in the Topian village. "That's AWFUL."

"Can't argue with that," Wigliff agreed, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, look, Cube left our clothes right here..."

"Oh, right," Branwen said, starting to blush.

"Don't worry," Wigliff said, averting his eyes. "I won't peek. Do you smell smoke?"

"Yes," Branwen answered worriedly, as she pulled on her pants and yanked a shirt over her head. She fumbled around in the pile of clothes, finding a nicely made sword. "Thanks Cube," she said.

"Welcome," it replied. "Now go find Adol!"

When the two of them ran out of the meeting hall, they discovered that the little town had been decimated. Only a few buildings were still standing. Most were in smoking ruins. Adol's beautiful old tree looked like it had been ripped out of the ground by some immense, unknown force. The trunk was splintered and crushed. There were no bodies, of course, but some traces of blood.

"Where is everyone?" Branwen whispered. "If they were killed, they'd have come back..."

"They were captured," the Cube explained. "Adol says they're being marched somewhere, every last one of them."

"But what did this?" Branwen gestured to the devastation. Rubble was everywhere. The fields were burning. There were no trace of the animals; she figured they were stolen along with the villagers. The grassy ground was gouged and scarred by something huge and heavy.

"Adol can't explain it," the Cube responded. "He says that they're big, and made of metal, and that they're loud and they stink. Any idea?"

"Something mechanical," Branwen started.

"Paril." Wigliff stated grimly.

More Blogs by creeperCaroleView All