Chapter 38

“Can’t see the attraction,” Darras murmured to Tiruk.

“Me either,” Tiruk smiled. “Then again, I was a town dweller, not a desert dweller.”

“How come you know their customs?”

“My now-deceased wife was a desert dweller, and she taught me their ways and customs,” Tiruk replied. “Essentially, Danaib is encouraging them to endure, knowing there’s a better life waiting, despite not really knowing.”

“And this entertains them?”

“For given values of entertainment,” Tiruk chuckled. “Mostly, it strengthens resolve to not give in to despair.”

“Erren’s never mentioned anything other than being judged by the Allfather,” Darras shrugged.

“Never even discussed it with Crannok,” Tiruk replied, also shrugging.

‘I don’t know either; it’s just that he judges, ‘ Erren confirmed Darras’s statement. ‘Though he does remove the irredeemable ... according to Serulon.’

“Have to ask her next time she pops in,” Darras chuckled after informing Tiruk of Erren’s comment.

“Might distract her avatar, true,” Tiruk chuckled.

“Yes, they are human, so have human responses,” Darras nodded.

‘I’d be interested to see how she reacts too, ‘ Erren added.

“Probably get angry and tell us to mind our own business,” Tiruk laughed.

“Yes, she does seem the type, though I suspect it’s just a façade,” Darras mused.

‘You may be right, ‘ Erren replied. ‘I occasionally feel that her character is hiding many things.’

“He’s on the move,” Tiruk warned as the crowd dispersed.

“Time to go shadow hunting,” Darras nodded.

“True. Let’s find somewhere safe to leave the donglats and find out where he spends his days when he is not preaching.”

Danaib was easy to track initially until he moved past the rolling foothills and entered the tortuous gullies that formed the base of the Spine of the World. There, Darras and Tiruk were hard put to track the man over the hard rocky ground, though Crannok and Erren helped them.

“Glad Crannok is the guider of destiny,” Darras murmured to Tiruk as they carefully scouted the entrance to yet another gully.

“Does help in situations like this,” Tiruk quietly chuckled.

“True, he could not have found a better hiding place if he tried.”

“Sensing a shadow,” Darras warned.

“This is where you come in,” Tiruk replied.

Not seeing or sensing anyone other than the hint of a shadow, Darras moved silently into the gully and began to trace its location. Several caves were to be seen, carved out of the limestone rock by the occasional violent rainstorms that made it over the Spine of the World. Darras paused at the entrance to each, though other than a feeling the shadow was close, he could not sense its location yet. Still, the unease caused by a shadow’s presence steadily grew until it peaked at the entrance of a cave mouth that looked no different to any of the others.

‘In there, ‘ Erren confirmed.

“Still only the one?” Darras asked.

‘Yes, but be careful. I sense it’s powerful.’

“I will,” Darras replied before slipping into the cave.

Despite the darkness, his enhanced eyesight enabled him to see clearly, though Darras could not see Danaib yet. Yet the sense of the shadow’s presence grew greater at each step, to the point that it was almost overwhelming.

“So, you’ve finally come,” came a hissing rasping voice.

“Of course I did; you’re interfering with Erren’s vision,” Darras replied, turning a corner to confront the possessed Danaib.

“You’ll not find me so easy as those lesser scales!”

“Possibly, but I’ll still deal with you,” Darras replied.

“You won’t get close! Kill him, servants of darkness!”

The darkness in the cave congealed into a throng of shadows, many holding bladed weapons and a few clubs. Yet, despite the surprise, they did not find Darras unready. Despite the blows and stabs, they discovered their nemesis could reach out and grab individuals and force their demise. Finally, though, Darras grabbed the last one and caused its dissipation before facing Danaib again.

“Not impressed,” Darras threw at the shadow, feeling a little sore from his wounds.

“Pah! They are but the soft underbelly of our species; despite your bravado, they did their task well,” the shadow replied. “They readied you for death!”

“Just another day out in the world for me,” Darras chuckled. “Nice that they didn’t run away, though, or was that you?”

“Die!”

Darras was narrowly able to avoid a fireball spell, though only because Erren aided him. He then threw himself forward to grab Danaib’s throat and rip the shadow from the man, causing Danaib to collapse. Unexpectedly, though, the shadow batted Darras away contemptuously, though Darras saw the signs of his attack on its body.

‘Be careful, my love, ‘ Erren warned. ‘This one is strong.’

“And can do magic,” Darras replied, dodging in to attack by grabbing at the creature.

Again, the shadow batted away Darras’s attacks, each blow slamming Darras hard into the cave wall, though other than bruising, it did not disable him. Darras had noticed that the creature was avoiding hitting him on any bare flesh and, other than the one magical attack, had not used any others against him.

‘I think it’s limited as to your proximity,’ Erren explained. ‘There’s no time to cast without a serious risk of you grabbing it.’

Darras said nothing, simply nodding as he dodged in, trying to get at the creature but taking a blow to his arm. However, he was able to punch the creature himself, causing it to screech and pull back. After that, Darras continually dodged in with weaving attacks to land blows or occasionally raking it with his fingernails. In doing this, Darras took some hefty blows himself, though in this, he was armoured, nor did the creature’s form cause him any distress, unlike his blows to the creature. Still, the creature’s blows were powerful, and as yet, Darras could not get a good grip on the shadow as the creature was strong enough to throw or beat him off.

Still, Darras felt that he was causing the creature far more harm than the creature was with him. However, Darras was aware that he would ache for several days until he returned home, a thought that Erren confirmed. The pair continued to trade blows, each looking for a chance to get in a disabling strike. Finally, Darras saw an opportunity to pin the creature, leapt forward to grab what he considered the creature’s throat, and hung on despite discovering it had been a trap. Several times, the creature slammed Darras against the cave walls, though despite the pain, Darras’s grip did not falter until finally, the creature collapsed and seemingly boiled away into nothingness.

The glowing form of Erren then stepped from Darras’s body as he sat down wearily, went over to Danaib, and placed a fingertip on his brow before returning to Darras. Darras then rose unsteadily to his feet and staggered out of the cave system, guided by Erren. He found Tiruk waiting to hold him up and guide them to where the donglats were tethered. There, Tiruk hoisted Darras into the saddle and proceeded to tether his frame to it before mounting his own and leading the pair back towards the palm groves and the road back to Pruch.

‘You’ll need to get him to Pruch quickly, ‘ Crannok informed Tiruk. ‘He’s been magically cursed, and Ducloman doesn’t have a priest high enough to channel either Erren or Hallis.’

“I will,” Tiruk replied. “Good job, he’s built tough.”

‘One amongst many reasons Erren chose him.’

Darras did not remember anything of Tiruk’s mad dash across Ducloman as he was unconscious for the journey. Erren kept his body functioning with her spirit form and held the curse at bay, though she later admitted she was gradually losing ground. Darras awoke briefly after appearing on Erren’s lawn to be met by her and Hallis, who floated him away from Tiruk before Darras lost consciousness again.

“Welcome back, my love,” Erren greeted Darras when he awoke in their bed. “You did well, but that was an unexpectedly nasty opponent you faced.”

“First time I’ve faced one that was able to really fight back,” Darras admitted.

“Yes, Pelegard and I are looking at your armour to see what, if anything, can be done, though as you can’t use magic, protecting you is going to be ... complex,” Erren admitted.

“What did it use?”

“Curse magic,” Erren replied. “It imbued its ... form with a spell that caused injuries it inflicted not to heal.”

“Nasty,” Darras nodded. “If I’d been alone, I’d likely be dead.”

“Yes, you would,” Erren agreed. “Now get dressed; our guests are waiting.”

“Yes, my love.”

The gods and their agents, including Sorella, who supported Erren, sat around an extended pergola and applauded Darras when he appeared.

“Thank you, my friends,” Darras said when it ended. “And thank you, Tiruk, for getting me home.”

“What are friends for?” Tiruk smiled. “You need to thank Lady Hallis for lifting the curses.”

“Thank you, Hallis,” Darras nodded, turning to a smiling goddess.

“You’re welcome; I’m just glad Erren and Tiruk helped get you here alive, as that was a very nasty set of curses,” Hallis replied.

“Which is why I’ve gathered you all here to see if there’s anything we can do about that,” Erren added. “Not that it isn’t good to have you all here.”

“I’ve been speaking to Hallis, and there might be a way to imbue his armour with a thin layer of blessed silk,” Pelegard replied.

“It won’t be perfect,” Hallis admitted. “Though it will be much better than what he currently uses, not that there’s much that can get past that, other than magic,” Hallis added.

“Will it mean Erren can bless me before I set off?” Darras asked.

“Yes,” Erren confirmed. “The lining will be within your armour, but not touching any part of your skin, as that would immediately cancel the effect.”

So, hands, face, and feet vulnerable?”