The Elder's Curse Andrew Walbrown (red scrolls of magic .TXT) 📖

don’t fret, we do not need to go all the way to the mountains in order to get black dragonroot. It grows in abundance at the base too. There’s a river that cuts through the mountains and pours into the valley below; that is where we will find the tall grass with the dragonroot. Come on, let’s get going. We should be able to reach the river before nightfall.”

Kona trudged forward, Amantius following shortly behind. Though he had seen it time and again, Ulam was surprised by how quickly his foster-brother could strike a friendship with someone. From “mouse-person” to “friend” in less than a week, if only everyone were as accepting as you, Brother.

They continued towards the river valley at a quicker pace, hoping to reach its waters before sunset. As they drew near, Ulam felt a slight tremble underneath his feet. At first, he ignored it, assuming it was only sand shifting from the pressure of his heavy footsteps. But the vibrations continued to grow until his entire lower body began shaking, eventually forcing him to come to a complete stop. What the hell is happening?

Suddenly everyone else stopped moving as well, all staring at the ground in confusion. Even Kona appeared bewildered, which Ulam did not take as a good omen since she was the most experienced of the group. Fear spread to the camels as well, causing them to become so skittish that they broke Kona’s hold on their reins. They tried running away in the direction of Yawan, but before they could the whole area was cloaked in ash, as though geysers erupted from the ground and spewed the coarse grains into the air. Ulam’s whole world became a whirlwind of beige and gray, his vision reduced to only what he could see immediately in front of him. He reached out for Nilawen’s hand, felt her soft fingers squeeze his massive palm, and kneeled to the ground with her. He assumed Kona and Amantius were doing the same, though he did not know where they were. He shouted for his foster-brother, but the explosions of ash and the wind’s fury muted his voice.

Suddenly Nilawen’s limp body fell into his lap, a gash across the side of her head caused by a rogue stone. As blood trickled down the side of her face Ulam reached into his backpack and pulled out a bandage, struggling to keep the cut free of ash as he applied the cloth to her forehead. When he finished he cradled her head to his chest, using his big arms to safeguard against any other objects.

Stones of various sizes, as well as dislodged plants, began pelting Ulam from all sides. Though some of the debris was large enough to knock out the average person, most of the pain he felt was minor, no more than the average mosquito bite. Even the most jagged of stones and the thorniest of bushes were not going to make him abandon Nilawen, so determined was he to defend her from further harm. Ulam was so focused he did not notice Amantius and Kona had somehow found him in the middle of the chaos.

From somewhere in the storm came a noise so deafening, so harrowing, the blood in Ulam’s veins ran ice cold. It was unlike anything he had ever heard before, a roar made by some great beast, its voice shaking the ground beneath him. Out of the veil of ash came a claw larger than Ulam himself, a nightmare that snatched Amantius from the ground and pulled him into the storm. Then another claw appeared and grabbed Kona, the Kalikki’s screams quickly drowned out by a chorus of roars.

“Amantius! Kona!” Ulam yelled their names over and over, but the world around him was so loud he could not even hear his own voice. He felt powerless, shackled by his inability to fight whatever horror had taken them away. An urge to stand and wildly swing his axe into the raging storm swelled from deep within him, but with Nilawen unconscious in his lap, he had to remain still.

A shape formed in the ash once again, identical to the first two. Unlike the previous claws, Ulam saw the third one coming. He tried reaching for his axe, but because of the awkward angle he could not bend correctly to grab the handle, so instead, he pulled a knife from his boot. Time nearly came to a complete stop as Ulam waited for the perfect moment to strike. When the claw was fully extended he lunged forward, using as much of his brute strength as he could to pilot the blade into the soft tissue between the individual talons. He heard a great roar as the iron bit into the beast’s flesh, and watched as a stream of warm blood colored the ground red. However, his knife had been too small to truly harm his attacker, the damage inflicted nowhere near enough to be a deterrence. Seconds later he felt Nilawen’s limp body being ripped from his grasp, as they both were vaulted into the sky.

At first, Ulam struggled in the beast’s grip, trying and failing to break free. But his will to resist quickly faded as he was pulled higher into the air. No longer did he want to escape the beast’s clutch, because if the creature wished, it could kill him easily by dropping him to the ground. He tried his best not to panic, reasoning if the monster wanted him dead he would already be, although that thought brought him no comfort. He did not like leaving his fate up to the beast that plucked him like a flower. He would much rather be on the ground, axe in hand, because at least then he would be the master of his own destiny.

Ulam turned his thoughts to Nilawen, fearing for his wounded friend’s health and safety. He squirmed a little in an attempt to locate her, praying the monster did not let him go of