Erica Olafson, Rise of the Dark One (Vol 10)
Copyright© 2019 by Vanessa Ravencroft
Chapter 17: The Last Token
What the two women called a Sky wagon was a strange contraption with a big propeller on top. It somehow looked to me as if someone designed a flying machine with an insect as inspiration. While there were no insects on Nilfeheim, I remembered my Union school lessons. I also recalled our instructor at Camp Idyllic, Lt. Aurelius. In one of his xeno tech classed, he showed us a similar contraption and he called it a helicopter.
Beliga, motioned to the machine that whipped up quite a gale as it landed on the water. “Come quick, sister. The Knights of Avondur will soon know that three of their creations will not return, and investigate. When they do, they come en masse.”
While I had many questions, I decided to follow them. I didn’t have all that many options and I decided to trust them.
The noise level inside the machine was bearable but not low enough to carry any meaningful conversation. Neither Beliga nor Umati had joined, but I could see them outside keeping up with the flying machine,
The thing was piloted by a man, but thankfully he was busy piloting the fly machine. The only other passenger was an older woman who smiled at me and then offered me a colorful blanked, which I thankfully used to cover myself.
The flight lasted about ten minutes. First, we had followed the river upstream. The landscape did not change much, but then the purplish tree vegetation thinned out and made way to tended fields. Something that reminded me of Jarsumat as well.
The alien sun mostly obscured by gray clouds was about to settle behind a not so distant mountain range.
There was a settlement, a small town or village ahead of us, but the machine swung to the right and gained altitude as it followed the upward slope of a mountain. Moments later it landed on a narrow ledge and was immediately pushed inside by a group of men and women.
The racket of the motor died down and the old woman said. “Sister of Earth, we can get out now. We are all eager to hear how you ended up here on Avondur. There aren’t any others of you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I am not certain. Others wanted to come here, but I don’t know if they made it. The last thing I remember was a hotel terrace on N’Ger and then I woke at the point of that ice cage.”
A young woman with an arrogant, quite hostile demeanor stepped before me just as I climbed out. “I think you are a spy of the Avondur-Knights. That cave is forbidden to anyone. It is a passage they say, to the realm of the Judge. No one has ever emerged from there.”
“I don’t give a hoot what you think, Ma’am. I am here by invitation. I can leave.”
“You can not leave, you know where our hideout is, I warned them to bring you here.”
I was about as annoyed as can be. “Listen good, girl. I am cold, hungry and quite angry. I do not know where I am, but I assume I am many million light-years from my home, my ship. I am in this situation because of a dirty rotten brother of mine. If you don’t want me here, fine. By Thor’s mighty hammer don’t you dare stand in my way.”
She blinked with her pointed skin trust upward. “I am a warrior acolyte and the daughter of Kaliha, you are naked and must obey.”
The two-winged women that I encountered first had landed and came close.
Beliga said, “She needs our help, and she defeated an Ice Demon on her own. Go back to Kaliha and remember your place.”
I said. “Whatever outfit you run here, I don’t think I belong here. Thanks for the ride and the rescue. I find a way home. Have a nice day.”
The young woman drew a sword. “I only take instructions from my teacher. Kalhia express...”
She could not say more, I had stepped into her reach, whacked her wrist holding the sword with considerable force. She dropped the sword and like a first-rate, amateur tried to reach for it.
That left her wide open for an Aikido throw wich sent her to the rocky ground. I took the sword. “Bad idea, introducing swords to a fight with a Neo Viking.”
Beliga spread her arms. “Sister, don’t judge us by that. She is an unruly hot head. You are welcome here, please let us find you something to wear and food. We then will gather so you can tell us who you are and we will tell you about us.”
“You sure have a weird way of showing hospitality, I’d say, but okay.”
Meeze noticed a second flash of light behind him. Something went through that Nexus Point he had just used, but there was nothing visible.
He knew of several technologies that could cloak or render an individual invisible. He drew his small TKU, a gift from Circuit and dialed it to max. “Show yourself, Meeze is not stoopiz!”
Out of thin air, a gray empty suit appeared. “I am Tyron, don’t be alarmed.”
“Meeze hops through a trans spatial gate to someplace I never been. Then something invisible comes after. You are a little biz stoopiz, Meeze is very alarmed.”
“I saw you sneak out, right after Captain Olafson. I know we are in a world of trouble for doing that, but I too am very concerned about the Captain.”
Meeze was no longer angry at the Seenian Suit. “Meeze not cares about the troubles, Meeze wanz the Captinz back.”
“I do as well. I was there when she disappeared. She left me behind and all her things. Where did her body go? I have been closer to her than anyone, I know that man that supposed to be Eric Olafson, is not the same as Erica. I am just a machine, but I simply know.”
“Meeze knows too, he feelz not the same.”
“Where are we going Mr.Meeze?”
“We goes after that Captinz and ask him.”
Tyron scooped up Meeze and said. “We can move faster this way and I can extend my cloaking abilities around you as well.”
Morning dawned over the city of Sandakaar. The Tomradi troops had settled down where they stood. The old Estrella compound, still engulfed in that purplish force field, armed and armored troops of the First Emperor standing at the ready behind the ramparts.
Crimsor and the vast hordes of Demon creatures also settled down but milling around restless and eager to tear in all these living things of this plane.
None of the usual market activity, none of the locals had come out to set up their stalls and conduct their daily business, Right here at the eastern entrance to Sandakaar, the city appeared like a ghost town. Everyone was hiding, knowing that something utterly profound was about to happen.
Sata himself, Balkurs the servant of Baal and Crimsor had approached Lumis together; they waited. Lumis was nervous as can be. “The Dark One, he has arrived has he not?”
Sata, really looked like many believed a Demon Lord should look, with bright red skin. Piercing, flame engulfed horns from his forehead flame yellow eyes and emitting a feelable scorching heat. “Yes he is here, I sensed his arrival in the early hours of this day.”
“Then where is he? And where is the WEAPON?”
The Demon lord answered. “He is not yet complete, one believes he is searching for that last token.”
Crimsor pointed his gauntlet fist towards the mountains. “The WEAPON has just arrived!”
Sata cackled evilly. “All is not lost, Lumis. You control the WEAPON and the Dark One can be slain.”
Lord Lumis liked the sound of that. “Then let us secure that WEAPON.”
Stahl and his group had traversed to Avondur.
Luci Fera, the demon daughter said to Stahl. “This is Avondur. It is here the first spark of this Universe has been ignited. It is here where all psionic energy emerges and it is here where thousands of rifts connect to other realities.”
Luci just finished her sentence, when an invisible force blew much of the cave walls aside as if they were made of insubstantial dust. Three humanoids hovered a few feet above the ground.
The one in the middle wore a gleaming armor of silver that shone in brilliant light. The left one wore a red armor, while the right one had the appearance of the Devil himself.
Lord Lumis instantly recognized Alice to be the WEAPON. He thundered. “Minuscule humans hand her over.”
Admiral Stahl never to be intimidated or too surprised by anything had his battle suits shield activated. “Guys find cover. These clowns are serious.”
Alycia reverted to her true form, a seven meters tall winged demon. “Lumis, you stand against me, the first of the Coven.”
“I am the daughter of Lucifer. Come then Sata and match thy power with mine.”
“I killed one of your kind before and I will do so again.” Har-Hi proclaimed.
Shea drew her sword, just as Egill did.
The three Narth stood close together and instead of speaking, a visible beam of pure psionic energies hammered into Lumis, and pushed the Lord of light with force away, while Stahl fired his main suit weapon. The QNP blast burned right through Sata’s chest. “Don’t mind if this minuscule human roasts your ass, demon.”
Crimsor realized that this group was far from minuscule.
Sata was not killed, but shaken; just like Lumis who just emerged from a pile of rubble. His shiny armor damaged once again.
Sata recognized Luci, and knew he was in for a fight. Why did she stand against him? Wasn’t her father one of the entities that had to face the wrath of the Dark One, if that Dark God could not be stopped?
While he summoned his army of demons, he yelled. “Luci Fera, why are you on their side?”
She answered with a firey blast! “ Because my heritage does not define me, not even once, as I found acceptance with them.”
Lumis did not want to waste time and energy on this fight, he was so close. He had underestimated them, Crimsor also called for fighters and the battle raged.
These ten individuals posed a bigger challenge then he anticipated. Crimsor called the young woman that was the WEAPON, she fought with telekinetics on an unprecedented level. She smashed house-sized boulders like titanic hammers on the advancing hordes. “Crimsor call her and let us leave.”
Crimsor yelled in an ancient language and it did make the young woman stop. She staggered forward and Sata engulfed her in the reddish light of a netherworld portal.
Alice disappeared before her friends could react, as they all were engaged in combat.
“I got her!” Sata yelled.
The three entities fled, while their summoned hordes covered their retreat,
They had given me, clothing to wear. It consisted of a tunic-like belted dress and soft calf-high flat-heeled boots. I was taken to a meeting room.
The older woman I had met in the flying machine turned out to be some sort of community leader. While there were about twenty people gathered, both men and women. I had a clear notion that it was the women that dominated this group.
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