The Dungeons of Arcadia by Dan Allen

Author:Dan Allen [Allen, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Future House Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11: Biting Wind

“In this dry climate, I’m afraid this balloon will only last a few hours,” Ruby explained as the pink bubble carrying the explorers soared swiftly over the desert sand. “Pray to the Goddess that we reach the Desert Drop Oasis before it pops.” She gave a second tiny burp, and a small bubble escaped from behind her hand. It drifted around the bubble as if exploring, nearing each adventurer in turn before settling in front of Gork and landing softly on his nose.

Ruby gave it a look and it popped instantly.

“How is she controlling this bubble?” Nyan-Nyan said in a low voice.

Gork shrugged as he watched the fourth princess of prophecy shift her gaze from the cloud of dust behind them to the open sea of empty sand that was once the grand realm of Arcadia.

All his life he had heard of the prophecy. Even when he was still a child at the age of thirty, there were whisperings about the fact that King Jasper III’s wife had already given birth to two daughters: Sapphire and Emerald. As far away as the halls of the Hearthsworn Dwarves, rumors had circulated that this could be the beginning of the end for the Dark Consul.

As a child, Gork had given the matter little consideration. He had been more interested in exploring the vast underground network of caverns beneath the Frostbyte Reach. As he reached adolescence at age thirty-five, there were two more princesses: Citrine and Ruby. The birth of the fifth—Amethyst—brought grand celebrations across Crystalia. The entire mood of the battle against the monsters of the Dark Realm shifted.

No longer was it a struggle against an inevitable doom. When the princesses were grown, they would stand with the armies of Crystalia against the Dark Consul, banish him, and restore the Goddess of light. Gork’s clansmen forsook their doubts and joined with the freyjans in the fight to save the Frostbyte Reach. Elves joined with humans, driving back the forces of darkness in the Fae Wood. Even the capricious gnomes in Clockwork Cove had begun to support the effort. Their clockmaker’s golems entered the battles, standing against the tide of evil beside centaurs. Every race once again stood as one.

There was hope.

Gork looked at his dusty hands and back up at Ruby. He hadn’t thought that finding one princess would make such a difference. Now he was quite sure that nothing else mattered.

Many times, the Hearthsworn prince had imagined standing in the presence of one of the humans destined to end the Dark Consul’s tyranny, but being with Ruby hundreds of feet in the air—it was like standing next to a star in the heavens. Gork’s heart beat stronger in his chest than ever before. His muscles, which ought to have ached from his difficult journey, seemed to be no trouble at all. He had a strange wish that nagged at him like a child in a classroom raising their hand and waving it. Look at me.

Ruby’s gaze shifted instead from the foothills of the Frostbyte Reach across to the distant Colossus and beyond.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.