Ok, spoiler tags aren't working, so I'm not revealing what exactly falls in chapter 24. But chapter 23 is here, and it will hopefully bring a couple of surprises.
Chapter 23: Unexpected welcome
The pain had stopped. Actually, all physical sensations had, even numbness. Now, all that was left was darkness. Fortunately for this entity, it felt at home in the dark. Even now as strong, invisible forces last at its very essence. Trying to drain it, take everything from it. It? No... her. That was right, they were trying to strip her of her identity. She wouldn't let them. She could play that game. Taking, absorbing, gathering more power for herself. Whatever that meant. Nothing made much sense then. It was only her, the forces... and the struggle. If she gave in to the confusion, the forces would get her. But things were slowly becoming clear now. She couldn't see or feel anything, but she could hear her own thoughts; as well as other voices. Voices that kept telling her to give up, saying there was nothing to fight for. Oh, but there was, wasn't it? Power was a good reason in itself. And the sheer fun of it. But there was even more. There was someone waiting for her outside. Whatever 'outside' meant in a space which wasn't a space at all. She couldn't fail him. She wouldn't leave him alone. Scenes were now beginning to form in her mind... painful memories. Thoughts of others who had hurt her and made her early years miserable. And worst of all, they had hurt her brother.
"Is that the life you want to go back to?," the voices whispered. "Is that the identity you struggle so much to keep? What do you really want? Isn't it power? Join us and you'll be filled with power. Give yourself away and you'll be power. Sheer power. Invincible. Immortal. You'll never suffer again."
The offer sounded promising, yet deceitful. Still, she was drained by the memories and her will was starting to give way. There was too much pain. More than she could handle. Those who should have loved her...
"Don't think about them anymore. Let them stop existing. That way, they lose."
"Everybody loses that way," she replied in thoughts. She had no voice to speak.
"Life is full of losses. Let this be your last loss. You won't regret it. You'll never suffer again."
She stopped struggling for a moment. She was too weak to fight. But then, something changed. There was a light. There was sound. Not the voices that haunted her mind. Real sound. Young female voices... singing... chanting. The forces turned away from her for a moment, a moment she used to recover her strength. She didn't care who the others were. They were just a distraction. She knew who she was, and that was what mattered. The forces returned eventually, but she was determined not to let them in again. They were just empty promises. That, and energy which she could get for herself. Negative magic could be really useful, and death magic was particularly strong in there. Sucking life was suddenly quite an easy task. Still, the voices weren't silenced.
"You can't go back, no matter how hard you try," they said to her. "You have no way to win. You're already one of us."
She was startled. Had she had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. The voices were right.
*************************
The travelers were able to move much faster now that the weather was normal. They had a few calm days, which made Erin more uneasy than usual, since that meant - according to her - that their enemies were gathering more forces to attack them with. At least they did manage to get some training done. That, and share some campsite stories: Ralph seemed to have quite a few stories to tell, and Timper caught up with the mood and told some of his own. The shifter was more cheerful than usual, now that he had found out the secret of the lurians and that Erin was finally opening up to him.
The rest of the journey towards Ralph's village went on without incidents aside from a light snowfall, during which Ralph offered protection to the young faerfliyes. At first Jim wasn't too pleased, especially after his sister confessed the human had distracted him during their first training session by telling her she was pretty. But it was too cold and Ralph's coat had warm and comfortable pockets, so he accepted in the end. After the fourth day, however, he had to say goodbye to the warmth.
"My village is right behind this hill," Ralph announced.
"I guess it's time to say goodbye, then," Eric said. "It's been nice to have you with us, even for such a short while."
"Yes, it's been great for me too. I won't forget you guys... and girls. Thanks for all your help."
"You're welcome," Erin replied.
"Hey, would it be ok if I went down there with you?," Timper asked. "Only for a moment, to make sure everything's alright and to take a look. I've never seen a human village from a human's perspective."
"Sure," Ralph accepted. "If anyone asks, I'll say I met you on my way home and you're just stopping by."
"Cool. Maybe I can even get some food and other things for our journey. Tell me, do I look human?," Timper asked as he transformed.
"Not in those clothes," Ralph replied.
"Why does everyone complain about my dressing style? Ok, I guess I'll copy your clothes instead. Maybe just a bit darker so that they don't look identical."
"They still look like they were made by the same tailor, but I guess they're fine. Come, I'll show you the way."
"Ok. See you soon, everyone. I'll be back in an hour or so. Normally I'd stay longer, but there's no way I'm leaving you guys alone."
"Just go!," Erin chuckled.
"He's lucky," Gallead commented as Ralph and Timper walked away. "He can go anywhere without catching anyone's attention."
"It's Timper we're talking about," Erin told him. "He can't open his mouth without getting everyone's attention."
"Maybe, but he knows when to keep it closed," Pura pointed out, having already had a talk with Erin about his discovery.
"I don't think he has it easy," Eric said. "From what he told us, many have refused to accept him just for being a shifter. Which is quite stupid, if you ask me."
"All sentient beings have the capacity to be smart and sensible, or really stupid," Gallead stated. "The latter is easier to achieve."
"Well, it would be easy for a shifter to deceive others, or do things like spying or stealing," Erin commented. "And power often leads to temptation, so the general distrust towards shifters does have a base in reality. Timper's not like that, though. He's too blatantly honest for his own good, so he's bound to keep suffering for his race's reputation."
"We don't choose the abilities we're born with, but we do choose what we do with them," Gallead said. "I think Timper's made a good choice."
"What will Timper think if he finds out you're all talking about him behind his back?," Mariel pointed out.
"He should have nothing to complain about. Everyone's flattering him," Erin told him. "I bet it would be quite a boost to his ego, not that he needs it."
"Ok, but this is getting too awkward. Do you start talking about everyone who leaves?"
"This is the first time I can recall," Erin told her.
As the faerie spoke, she was hit by a bright green spot of light.
"Oops! Sorry," Timper's voice said. "I've never tried this before, I must learn to control the speed."
"I see. What caused you to dash back like that anyway?," Erin questioned him.
"The village. It's all wrong. It looked empty, but then we opened a door and were attacked right away. They were many. Ralph told me to come for help."
"Who attacked you?"
"They looked human in shape and build, but their skin was pale and their eyes were red. They didn't say a word and seemed to attack mindlessly."
Erin's own face went pale for a moment, her pupils shrinking to their limit. It was just a second. Then her eyes went back to normal and she started issuing commands.
"Mariel, have you learnt how to cast protection spells yet?"
"I haven't mastered the protection domain yet, but the last shield spell I cast did work," Mariel replied.
"Ok, then you have the power to do it. Cast a protection spell on all of us, don't hesitate and it will work. Timper, go back to Ralph. Don't let them hurt him, or you. It will be best if you can transform into something that has no blood while you're fighting them. Pura, go with him and hit them with as much light as you can manage. Don't let them touch you either. The rest of us will join you as soon as we can catch up."
Timper and Pura knew better than to question Erin when she looked so serious, and sped towards the village.
"What's going on?," asked Mariel. "What kind of protection spell do we need?"
"One that works against death magic. We're up against shadows. Even a small wound allows them to penetrate the victim's bloodstream and pull out its soul. That makes them dangerous even if their attacks are hardly coordinate. They've taken down entire cities that way."
"I've heard that," Mariel nodded. "I'll try to combine a shield spell with some life magic. I've never tried that before, but I'll do my best."
"Good. And if you can use life magic against the shadows, it will be a powerful weapon. Even more so than light, but if you can't use it that way, light magic will be good too."
"I'll do what I can," Mariel promised, concentrating to cast the protection spell.
*************************
In the meantime, a meeting took place between Haggaus and Jor.
"Am I early?," Jor asked, noticing the absence of everyone else in the team.
"You're on time, no one else is attending," Haggaus replied.
"This will be quite a small meeting! Too bad, I wanted everyone to hear about the success of my mission."
"They'll find out sooner or later, and congratulate you if they're in the mood. I for one am glad to hear that. After the recent fiasco I was starting to lose faith in our group. Did they put up a good fight?"
"I'd be disappointed if they hadn't. I managed to stay hidden, so they didn't know what they were fighting against, yet they kept me at bay for weeks! Even with the amulet you gave me it was hard to block their attempts to identify me and counter their attacks. As it was, I needed days to recover my energy and the stone's power was exhausted, but it had an interesting effect in the older ones. I could say they were petrified by my amazing display of power."
"If you feel the need to flatter yourself about what you've managed to pull out with the aid of my power, at least be kind enough not to make jokes about it. Now, will you please return my amulet?"
"Oh, sure," Jor said, taking off the black chain with a large, opaque grey, diamond-shaped pendant. "But as I said, it's run out of power," he repeated as he handed it to his partner.
"I know. If it's necessary, I'll take the time to recharge it. I hope it doesn't come to that, though. If we manage to build up a good team, not one of us should be forced to perform such an 'awesome display of power', as you just said."
"I said 'amazing', but I guess 'awesome' might be a better word to describe it."
Haggaus glared at Jor. "Stop it. I don't want to lose another member of our group just because he's too full of himself to think clearly. Celebrate your victory if you must, but don't lose track of the big picture. And finish your report before you go out and indulge yourself in whatever pleasures you think you've earned as a reward. You said the amulet petrified the older ones. What happened to the others?"
"I don't know if they were smart or terribly stupid. They saw their impending doom and tried to escape through a portal. Sadly for them, it was a portal I'd set up, which led to the Chamber of the Restless. By now they've either died or become the kind of raw energy you feed the orb with."
"The kind of raw energy I don't want to lose, I remind you. Never open a portal to the chamber of the restless without my explicit permission. You don't know what you're dealing with. Some of that energy's not as raw as it seems. It may escape through your portal, and we need every last bit of it if we want to succeed. So from now on, don't be so careless as to mess with things you don't completely understand."
"It was open for just a couple of minutes and it got the job done. It was the only place I could open a portal to that would spell certain death for them, and as far as I can tell, you haven't noticed an energy loss, so stop complaining, and stop bossing me around. Deciphering a prophecy doesn't make you a leader. You elves have a reputation for feeling superior to everyone else, but we're partners and you'll have to live with that."
Haggaus directed a burning glare at Jor, but did not reply. After all, he did eed him. He knew he'd never be able to reach his goal on his own, and for all of Jor's annoying personality traits, he'd proven to be more effective than most at dealing with powerful enemies. Especially more effective than the two allies they'd already lost.
"Now, may I ask where everyone else is?," Jor inquired.
"The Savalls are patrolling the border for anyone who attempts to intrude. Wilson's on a mission much like the one you've just come back from. Miranda has recovered from her wounds and is out their spreading chaos in the best way she can; we need to keep her entertained. As for Day, he was feeling too angry and frustrated over the loss of his sister to attend the meeting."
"You mean Night is dead?"
"If she's not, she will be soon. She and Day had a clash with a rather heterogeneous group which, according to Day's description, could be the enemies the prophecy speaks of. Night came out of the battle with fatal wounds. She'd lost too much blood and her vital organs were damaged beyond repair. Day couldn't see that, and insisted that I did something to save her. All I could do was feed her to the Orb of Souls and tell him there was a slight chance that she would survive; which technically wasn't a lie, but it's an infinitely remote possibility, and even if it does happen, she won't be restored completely."
"But you don't think she'll make it, right?"
"So far only Kharchek managed to make it out of the orb alive, and only the first time. And he was an elf. I know what you think, but elves do generally have a stronger willpower and self-awareness than other races, and without those traits it's impossible to survive the Orb. Night was just a whisterel. It would make things easier for us if she made it, but I honestly doubt it."
"What will happen when Day finds out?"
"I suppose he'll feel the urge to take it out on someone. We just have to make sure that someone is not us."
"So you're planning to deal with him in the same way you've been dealing with Miranda?"
"I like to stick with that which works. He's bound to be even easier to drive than the shifter is. He has the killer instinct she still lacks."
*************************
The group followed Timper into the nearest house with an open door. The first thing they saw was four of the 'humans' Timper had described. They were all closing into Ralph, who was barely keeping them at bay with a torch. Timper immediately assumed the form of a trask and started lashing at Ralph's attackers with his front and middle legs. Ralph looked a bit shocked when he saw him, but he seemed to understand it was him. After a few strikes, his opponents' redeyes opened widely and their human bodies collapsed on the floor.
"They're running away," Erin stated. "They're bound to come back with reinforcements." She then turned to Timper. "That's not a bloodless form as I'd suggested, but I guess it did the trick this time."
"Sorry," Timper replied returning to his natural form. "I needed to ask fast and I couldn't think of anything that had no blood and at the same time could put up a good fight, so I went with something that's hard to draw blood from. I assumed that was what you were trying to avoid."
"You assumed correctly. Now we need to leave this place."
"We can't," Ralph told her.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened to your town, I really am," Erin said to him, "but there's nothing we can do here at this time. We'd better go before more shadows attack us."
"You don't understand. We're not alone here."
"Are you saying there are survivors?"
Erin's face, while still worried, seemed to shine with a glint of hope.
"There's a girl," Ralph said. "She found me after Timper left and gave me this torch. She then said some words in a strange language, told me to be careful and ran out of the house."
"It feels like a part of a protection spell," Mariel commented. "But it's still incomplete. I think she was trying to protect the whole town by pronouncing a part of the spell in each of the houses, or at least in a selection of spots."
"We need to find her," Ralph decided. "Even if she's able to cast spells, I don't think she can handle a horde of zombies for a long time."
"Zombies?," Mariel asked with a puzzled look.
"Those things that attacked us."
"They were shadows," she explained."Life elementals, from what I've heard. One of the few kinds of creatures who can take souls away from their bodies against their will. They can only interact with the physical world by possessing bodies."
"Where did you learn all that?," Erin queried, quite puzzled.
"A sorcerer named Selinur told me that. He taught me the basics of elemental magic and other things."
"All the more reason to protect her," said Ralph. "I wouldn't forgive myself if she got killed after she saved me. And I didn't even get her name!"
"I'm not going to ask what her name has to do with anything, but you're right, we must help her," Erin agreed."Did you see the direction she headed to?"
"She turned left after crossing the door, and then I lost her. She could be anywhere by now."
"If I use connection magic to find her, I may attract the shadows," Mariel said.
"They're onto us anyway," Eric told her. "We'd better take them out fast."
"As fast as we can, yes, but I don't think we can handle them all at once."
"Then we should get out of here because there are more of them heading this way," Pura alerted the group.
"How about we split?," Eric suggested. "That way we'll force them to split as well."
"That may or may not work, but it's the only plan we have so far. Alright, you and Mariel go together. Timper, go with Ralph. Pura and Gallead, I think the shadows will have a hard time hurting either of you, so each of you can go on your own. I'll stay with the kids."
"Will you please stop calling us kids?," Jim complained. "We can fight just like the rest of you can, we'll show you."
"Sure. Just stay close to me while you do, and don't do anything stupid like charging against a shadow on your own."
"You're mean."
"If it keeps you alive, I'll be as mean as I have to."
So, the group split up, leaving the house in different directions. Only the faerfliyes stayed as a welcoming committee for the second wave. Needless to say, they all encountered trouble. Timper turned into a trask again and managed to fend of the first group of shadows, but as more of them kept coming, and especially after one of them managed to scratch his thick skin with a knife, he realized his current form wasn't strong enough to defeat all of them.
"Ralph, can you use a sword?," he asked.
"I've had some practice," the human replied.
"Good, you're going to have some more. Don't worry, I'll guide your hand."
With this, the shifter turned into a thick sword that resembled Eric's. Ralph picked him up, and together they defended themselves from the attackers, Ralph still holding the torch in his left hand until the shadows closed in. Then, he threw the torch at the group of shadows in front of him, causing them to back off. The torch went out when it hit the ground. Ralph was a bit surprised by this, but stranger things had happened to him during the last few days. So he didn't give it much of a thought, and kept fighting.
Pura, as Erin had predicted, didn't seem to have much of a problem dealing with the shadows. She moved much faster than they did and, while her attacks weren't strong, her ability to attack continuously while evading any blows coming her way gave her the upper hand. Gallead, however, was having more trouble than he had expected. His wind form made it impossible for the shadows to strike him, but it also made it hard for him to weild his sword against them. Swift moved fast, but was hardly accurate when held only by air currents. Besides, something else was making it hard for Gallead to focus. He had a pressing feeling that he should be somewhere else, that he had headed in the wrong direction when he left the house. After a few minutes of futile attempts to get rid of the shadows, he decided to follow his instincts and turned back, blowing in the direction he felt was the right one, without being sure of why he felt that way.
Mariel and Eric had entered a large hall, which seemed like a place where important events could be held. It had two doors on the back, and a large one on the front. There were pictures on the wall, most of them showing human faces. And there was also a fireplace, but the fire was out. The place looked calm, but Eric kept his guard up.
"Why aren't any shadows here?," he inquired. "Does this have anything to do with your protection spell?"
"I don't think so," Mariel replied. "The spell can make it harder for them to hurt us, but it can't stop them from coming to us. Something else must be keeping them away from here."
"Magic?"
"Let me check... Yes, I feel some protection magic in this place. But it's not powerful enough to keep all the shadows away. It's a similar spell to the one I'm using."
"That must mean someone else is fighting the shadows. It could be the girl Ralph saw. Maybe the shadows left this place to chase her."
"That makes sense."
"But then what's stopping them from coming for us too?"
"Err... nothing?"
Mariel said this as the two back doors opened and six shadows walked in through them. Eric readied her sword and Mariel attacked them with her lightballs. The light seemed to hurt them, but it didn't stop them.
"What did Erin mean when she said light magic would help?," Mariel sighed. "They're not more vulnerable to it than our previous enemies."
"In my book anything that can hurt them helps," Eric replied. "But is it right to hurt them? I mean, those bodies they're using belong to someone else."
"I don't think the rightful owners of those bodies can return to them. We can try to stop them without killing them, but we must be careful not to end up like them."
The shadows closed in on the elves, armed with knives, sticks, jars and just about anything that could be found in a human village and could be used to cause damage. They didn't move like fighters, and they weren't focused, but they were many. Eric's sword and Mariel's lightballs could barely contain them, as pain didn't seem to slow them down. While the young elves were trying to fend off the shadows ahead of them, four more came in through the front door. One of them managed to scratch Mariel's left arm with a nail on a stick. Mariel held her wound with her right hand. Luckily her spell had prevented it from bleeding, but it was enough to enrage Eric, who turned around and sank his sword into the shadow's chest. The human body collapsed, just like the ones at the house had done before.
"Are you alright?," Eric asked Mariel.
"Yes. You?," she asked back.
"I'll think of that when it's safe."
It was hard for the two to put up a fight while being surrounded by nine enemies, even if said enemies did little more than attack blindly. Mariel managed to pull out a Glare spell and actually blind the shadows for a few seconds, but they recovered before she and Eric could reach the back doors. The elves where surrounded again, but then, all of a sudden, something came zooming in through the front door and one of the shadows dropped to the floor face first. Ericand Mariel could see a familiar sword stuck on the body's back. Eric pulled it out and threw it into the air, where it was caught by its owner.
"It's good to have you here, my friend!," Eric said, looking up to the point where Swift was floating in circles. Then the sword moved in his direction, and Gallead materialized at his side.
"Thanks, but I haven't been too helpful. I'll try to fix that," the ferwill said.
Now it was three against eight. Mariel, Eric and Gallead faced different directions and attacked the closest targets. Mariel managed to create an opening in the direction of the nearest back door, and took her chance to get through it, promising that she would be back. Eric tried to stop her, but the shadows didn't give him the break he needed to go after her.
"Let her go, we must keep up the diversion," Gallead told him.
"What do you mean?"
"Keep the shadows from reaching her. She knows what she's doing."
"And how doyou know that?"
"I don't know, I think I've been developing a sixth sense lately."
"Oh, thanks, I feel so much calmer now!," Eric ironized, but he decided to trust Mariel. So far she'd never let him down.
As for Mariel, sliding through the back door was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. For a moment, everything looked fine. She walked along a corridor and down a set of stairs without encountering any shadows nor other difficulties. But then, as she reached the basement, a larger wave of shadows came to greet her. The place was crammed with them. They seemed to have their attention fixed on something else, but they started turning around as she got closer.
"I'm not afraid," she said, half to the shadows and half to herself. "I have what it takes to defeat you."
She put her hands together and a bright light began to shine between them. But instead of shooting it at the shadows, Mariel led the light into her heart. Soon, her whole body began to glow, and then the entire room was engulfed in a bright light. The shadows looked around, seemingly confused. Some of them shook slightly, but they didn't take long to realize that not much was going on. Angry, they faced Mariel again and threw themselves on her. But before any of them could get her, they tumbled. Mariel sighed with relief. She had taken a big chance, but fortunately her plan had worked.
Not yet defeated, the shadows started getting up, but this time Mariel's lightballs were enough to down every shadow they touched. She didn't even have to deal with them alone, as more lightballs came from the other side of the room following the sound of creaking hinges. It didn't take long before all the shadows were down and the two friends could greet each other.
"Mariel! Your sight is such a blessing for my eyes!," exclaimed Jamie. She was wearing a white dress and her pigtails were undone, but it wasn't hard for Mariel to recognize the human witch. Both girls were breathing heavily.
"I can say the same," Mariel replied. "You finished the spell right in time. Speaking of which, what was it?"
"Spiral of life. It's a powerful life and protection spell. It is also very hard to cast. It takes at least two casters who must pronounce each part of the spell at a different key location. And it must be at least four locations or else it won't work. All the locations must form a spiral and the last part of the spell must be pronounced at the center of it."
"Which in this case happened to be a wardrobe?"
"It could have been the spot right above it in main hall, but I thought the basement would be safer. It wasn't safe at all, but at least I did find the wardrobe. How did you find me?"
"Half through magic and half by chance. We came to this village escorting a human boy we found in the snow, we didn't know it had been taken over by shadows. How did you end up here? Where's your family?"
"It's a long story, and I'd rather tell it just once to the whole group and with Mildred by my side. Is Gallead still with you?"
"Yes, he's in the main hall. The group has grown in numbers since we last met."
"Great! Let's go and gather them all. We need to get Mid, she's somewhere in the village. We split up to cast the spell."
"Was she the one who gave the torch to Ralph, or was it you?"
"Hm? It must have been her, I lost my torch in the ice passage and I haven't met anyone else since I got here. Other than the fallen, of course."
"I assume that by 'fallen' you mean the shadows, but what's the ice passage?"
"I'll tell you everything later, I need to find my sister. And everyone else."
"I'll go with you."
Mariel and Jamie ran up the stairs and back through the corridor up to the main hall, where they found Eric and Gallead surrounded by a pile of lifeless bodies. Eric looked shocked, but Gallead couldn't hold himself and ran to Jamie's side as soon as he saw her, holding her tight as if to never let her go again.
"Tell me you're really here," he said. "Tell me this isn't an illusion, or another dream."
"I'm here," she affirmed. "And this time I'm not going to watch you leave. I'm going with you."
"But why? What happened?"
"I have nowhere else to go, that's what happened. The threat we were trying to keep at bay took over Shadowy Meadow. Our parents..."
Jamie could not continue. She burst into tears, wetting Gallead's shoulder. He hugged her and stroked her gently, trying to make her feel safe.
"I'm so glad I've found you," she countinued once she could speak again. "I had to keep fighting, keep the hopes up for both Mildred and myself. But I feared I would never see you again. Or anyone. When we went through that tunnel filled with deadly forces, and then the ice passage with its blizzards, and then the deserted grounds, the empty villages, and worse, this one which was occupied by enemies... If I hadn't felt there was something good on the other side, something I could reach out to if I tried hard enough... If I hadn't known you were there somewhere..."
"It's over now," Gallead assured. "You'll never be alone again."
"I need to find my sister."
"I think that won't be a problem," said a voice coming in through the front door.
There she was, standing with a smile on her face and her brown curls falling over a white dress. Behind her were Ralph, Timper and Pura.
"You're both dressed in white?," Eric commented. "I thought your family always dressed in black."
"Most of the time we do," Jamie said. "Black is to get in touch with the forces of nature and the energies of the world. White is for protection, something we've needed desperately since the last battle at Shadowy Meadow."
"How did you manage to escape?," Eric inquired.
"Through a portal," Mildred explained. "One which our enemies had opened to send negative energies to our home, I must add. Since the beginning I knew it was a stupid idea, but it was our only chance. I wouldn't go through that again for my life, but I'm glad we made it. Just as I'm glad we've found you guys. I hope you don't mind us tagging along for the rest of the journey."
"Your presence couldn't be more welcome," Gallead assured.
"Judging by how you handled the shadows back there, I'll think you'll be more useful to the group than I am," Ralph commented. "Though I think you'll all have to put up with me as well. Now I have no home to return to and I want to see the guts of the one who did this."
"I'm not looking forward to seeing anyone's guts, but I understand your feeling," Mariel told him. "You're welcome to join us."
"I was wondering..." Eric said. "Who makes the important decisions in this group?"
"It seems to me that everyone does," answered Pura. "Everyone who has an idea, anyway. Maybe we could use some more organization, but I'm not against a flat hierarchy as a concept as long as we don't have arguments during life or death situations."
"Right, during those situations we do what Erin says. The rest of the time we do the opposite of what she says," Timper joked. "Shouldn't we get her and the children now?"
"Yes, we should," Eric agreed.
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Previews:
"Let me tell you why our last battle was easy," Erin spoke to the group, much to everyone's shock.
"Because you don't both say crazy things in the name of love, right?"
"We say different kinds of crazy things. Wait... did you just say love?"
"I think we should set the watches for tonight. We're eleven, so maybe 4 pairs and a trio will do, if the sisters are fit enough to get a shift."
"We need to find out what that is," Mariel decided. "It could be vital. The way it pulsates... as if it were calling us. As if it had been calling us since before we left on our quest, and only now we stop to listen."
"Just... no matter what happens, don't get lost."
"What's going on?," asked Gallead.
"A crossing," Mariel said.
And in case that ominous word doesn't mean much to you... Crossing is the title of chapter 24.
Quest of Twelve ~ a fantasy fic (chapters 1-22 linked, chapters 23-32 posted)
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Right now I'm at an Internet cafe in Savonlinna, Finland (enjoying a cup of blue fruit tea as I type, we don't have that in Argentina). So I'm afraid I won't be able to start typing my next chapter until I get back to Argentina. But over the last 2 days I've been thinking of the details about the fall of... (Spoiler:) 
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