Chapter 4: Time moves on

Grall

Grall stumbled out of the portal, Tyril leaning heavily on his shoulders. The group, who had just passed through seconds before, stared at Grall in confusion.

"How did you find Tyril?" Imp asked, he stared at Grall suspiciously, as if he didn't trust his actions.

"I didn't find him," Grall said as he lay the unconscious man down, "he found me."

"Explain." Grodak said in an angry voice.

Grall sighed as he sat down, he could feel the shadow world reconnecting with him now that he was out of hell. "There's not really much to say." Grall said not wanting to talk, but when the expectant eyes lingered on him still he let out another sigh and continued. "After all of you passed through the portal, I struggled to get free of the demon. Everytime I managed to push it back, it would manage to come closer. This went on for a few minutes until finally Tyril showed up and killed it."

"Why is he not conscious then?" Imp asked, he readied a spell and tried to hide it from Gralls eyes, but failed. Grall could see the spell as clear as day and even knew what he was planning to cast.

"I don't know." Grall said, to which most of the party wasn't satisfied with. "Look, all I know is that he passed out as soon as the demon was slain."

"Exhaustion?" Grodak asked as he looked to Imp for answers. Grall hid his smile from the party, knowing full will that they would believe him.

"It appears so." Imp said as he looked Tyril over.

Tyrils body was covered in bruises and cuts, most done by Malik when Tyril refused to follow him, but only Grall knew about that. Grall stood up and looked to the group, half expecting them to just ignore him and half expecting their eyes to be on him. Thankfully it was the former as the group talked amongst theirselves and eyed Tyril. Grall smiled and let the shadow world pull him in.

As Grall entered the familiar plane, he noticed something had changed. This was peculiar because a change in the shadow world takes years to happen and would never happen over the course of a few days. As Grall tried to pinpoint the cause of the change Wreag appeared before him.

"So," Wreag said, a smile lingered on the edge of his lips, "you have finally returned."

"How much time has passed since I was last here?" Grall asked as he started to walk through the dark space.

"If by time," Wreag said, "you mean the mortal realm, then I'd say six years or so."

Imp

Imp stood over Tyrils unconscious body using a potion he had concocted on the spot to heal him. He knew Grall was lying, he didn't know how far Gralls lie went, but he knew these wounds weren't the same wounds as what Cassandra had. Imp had decided to keep his thoughts to himself as he stood up and looked around. Grall was gone and the rest of the party was mulling about around Tyril and Cassandra.

"I'm going to return to my tower," Imp said to Grodak, "there is something I need to do."

"Alright," Grodak said as he lifted Tyril up in his arms, "but before you do, can you drop us off at Whitewater?"

"Of course." Imp said and no sooner then he spoke, Grodak and the rest of the group found theirselves in Whitewater and Imp in his tower.

As Imp took a step, his mechanical companion, Dorothy, appeared. "Master." She shouted, her mechanical arms wrapping around Imp. "You finally returned. I was so worried when you didn't return after a year of absence. I thought you had abandoned me like my former masters."

"Of course not, now why-" Imp paused for a moment then looked to Dorothy, then around the room he was in. "A year?" Imp asked, Tyril did say that there was no telling how much time would pass in the material plane, but a year!

"Six years, three months, twenty-five days, and two hours on the dot." Dorothy said with confidence.

Imp let out a sigh, then mused how he is starting to sound just like Grall and Grodak with all the sighing he's done recently.

"Is there a way to make my connection with the tower stronger, Dorothy?" Imp asked, pushing his thoughts to the side and focusing on what he needs to do.

"Oh, do you mean making contracts with the other towers as will?" Dorothy asked, a quizzical look reflected off of her metallic body.

"There are other towers?" Imp asked in astonishment.

"Yes," Dorothy said, "five to be exact."

"Do you know where they are?" Imp asked reaching his stub arm out to take hold of her, only to realize he no longer had his arm.

"I can but," Dorothy said as she stared at his blood stained stump of an arm, "we need to take care of that first, master."

"Its fine." Imp said dismissively. "We need to strengthen my connection with the tower first. Now where is the closest tower?"

Grodak

Grodak found himself in front of the gates to Whitewater, vines had covered the newly built walls and lush farm lands that wasn't present before he fell ill scattered around the outside walls. How long have I been gone, Grodak wondered, it couldn't have been more then a few days and yet it appears to have been years since I last stepped foot in Whitewater.

"Thats new." Adrian said as he supported Cassandras weight.

"Indeed," Grodak mused, "all of this is new."

"Must be because time moves differently while we are in hell." Adrian said, to which Grodak gave him a puzzled look. "Time here and there could easily be like a day there equals a second here or even years, or at least that's how king bro explained it."

Grodak let out an annoyed grunt as he stepped forward. "So," he said, "the only question we need to ask now is, how much time has passed."

"I can answer that." A sweet and musical voice spoke up from behind Grodak.

Grodak turned to find the one person he did not expect to see, but had hoped to, Xierma, the elven queen. "Xierma?" Grodak asked, his eyes taking her in and absorbing every movement she made.

"Yes, Grodak, it is I, Xierma." Xierma giggled as she spoke, loving the attention Grodak gave her. She felt odd, even though Grodak had gone through a change and now looked different, she just knew it was him.

"Xierma." Grodak said as he embraced her.

"Get a room, wouldja." Adrian shouted, he still held his usual smile upon his lips but appeared to be a little flustered.

Grodak, blushing under his thick green skin, pulled away from Xierma and apologized to Adrian.

"I guess," Grodak said as he started to step into the castle wall, "I should tell the surviving council members I'm back." A small chuckle echoed in Grodaks throat as the last words left his mouth.

Grall

"So," Wreag said in disbelief, "you asked Malik, the same human who almost brought the world to an end because he was having a bad day, to help you find his son, that bastard Tyril. Am I missing anything?"

Grall looked up from his exercise, a small grin plastered his lips. "You and I both know it wasn't because Malik was, and I quote, 'having a bad day.' He had lost his mind to madness, and those powers of his didnt help matters. Also why do you hate Tyril so much?"

Wreag grunted in disgust, he never wanted to admit that out of everyone he had ever fought against, Tyril was the only one he ever lost against.

"I just don't like weaklings." Wreag said, his voice full of venom.

Grall paused in his exercise and looked Wreag up and down. "I am still weak compared to you, though."

"That maybe true," Wreag spoke low, low enough that Grall had to strain his ears to hear what was spoken, "but, at least you are training to get stronger, and soon you shall surpass even me in strength."

Grall let a real smile spread across his lips for a moment before returning to his exercise. Moments went by in silence, the only sounds that could be heard were that of Gralls grunts as he continued to push his body.

"Thats enough." Wreag said as he turned away from Grall. "Its time to continue your God training."

Imp

Imp looked over the map of Xeno-Movia, pondering which tower he should visit first. The closest one was in Juten, a city that was named the dead city for a good reason. Undead walked the streets killing any and all that approached it, but the undead wasn't the problem.

"Is he still there?" Imp asked, his voice carried the curiosity and wariness of an expert adventurer.

"Let me check." Dorothy said, she was staring at a screen that had the picture of the town pulled up. "It appears so, master."

"Will," Imp said, the curiosity vanishing from his voice, "guess it'll be best to just go in and say hi."

"Are you sure, master?" Dorothy asked, sparks flew in her voice, expressing her worry.

"Even if we avoided him now," Imp said, his wisdom and intelligence showing strong, "we would have to approach him soon anyways. Its best to get this over with asap."

Dorothy didn't say anything, she kept her worries to herself as her thoughts raced. The only thing she could think of was how she would save him if he was in danger. Her eyes glancing at the tube to her left, the project she had been working on for the past six years was almost complete, but if he were to die before it was completed.... Dorothy shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts.

"I won't be gone for long." Imp said as he opened the portal that would take him into the town. He had no way of transporting himself into the tower. The tower itself had a protective shielding that kept out intruders, magical or non, so he would have to find a way in on the ground.

As Impartis stepped through the portal, he was immediately assaulted by the undead. These undead, however, were weaker then anything Imp had ever faced before and he tore through them with ease.

Imp proceeded to the tower, expecting stronger foes to approach but found none. As Imp stepped foot in front of the tower, he found a magical seal placed around it, one that was meant to block all entry. He began to follow the seal, looking for any weak points, and came across a worn path that led to the side of the tower, but not to the entrance.

"There has to be a way inside." Imp said to himself as he felt the wall for any possible passage. As he did this, his arm finds an opening that is hidden by magic.

Imp entered the space only to be confronted by the one person he feared to ever meet. Malik stood in front of him in a spector form, his sword drawn as he eyed Imp.

"Who are you?" He asked Imp, his voice icy cold as he lifted his sword and pointed the tip to Imps throat.

"I am Impartis, the master of the tower of knowledge."

Malik looked Imp in the eyes, trying to see if he was telling the truth. "Tower of knowledge?" Malik said as he pulled his sword away from Imps throat. "What does the master of the tower of knowledge want with the tower of magic?"

"I was informed that I may be able to strengthen my abilities by using the powers this tower has." Imp spoke quickly, trying to figure out a way to get to the main computer. Once there, all he would need to do is execute the programs and take control.

"Ok." Malik sheathed his sword and turned to leave.

"Wait." Imp, to his surprise, called out to Malik. "Aren't you going to fight me?"

"Why would I fight a weakling that wouldn't last a minute against me?" Malik asked as he continued to walk away. "Go and claim this tower as your own."

Imp wanted to say more but malik had already disappeared, so Imp continued to the controls and, after meeting the robotic companion of this tower, sacrificed a leg for a golem leg.

Grall

Grall stood up from his meditation position and raised his hand, he had spent the past twenty-five hours meditating and now his mind had reached the calm he felt only when in battle. As Grall raised his hand he called on several names and the ghostly specters appeared.

"Good, good." Wreag said as he watched Gralls progress. "You are becoming sharper and are now able to summon multiple specters. Soon you will not have to call out their names aloud."

Grall stood in the center of the specters for a moment, taking in the feeling of being surrounded by the spirit realm for once, then just as quickly as he had summoned them, he sent them back.

"Wreag," Grall said as he got dressed, "I should go and see if I can get help for the others training."

".... I am not sure that is a wise idea." Wreag said in a gruff voice.

"What makes you say that?"

"Grodak doesn't know you're a God yet, and if he finds out that you, a God, wants to help him become stronger....." Wreag paused in the middle of his sentence but he didn't need to go any further. Grall knew what would await him if Grodak found out he was a God.

"He's not the ones I need to help train." Grall said simply as he turned and opened the portal from the shadow world to where Sakurako and Cassandra are. "Its those that don't train."

Cassandra was laying on a cot with Sakurako sitting beside her. Grall stepped through causing Cassandra to jump and Sakurako to stand.

"Ah!" Cassandra screamed as the pain tore through her. Sakurako immediately turned her attention to Cassandra, worry and anguish contorted her face.

"Don't move." Grall said as he approached Cassandra. "I'm here to ask you a simple question. Do you want to get stronger?"

Cassandra looked into Gralls bandaged eyes. "How would I be able to even achieve that?" She asked, her voice low because of the pain.

"I would ask your father, Malik, to retrain you," Grall said to Cassandra's surprise, "and to help you, Sakurako, better prepare yourself for far worse wounds."

Cassandra remained silent for a moment, thinking on the choices Grall presented. "Fine." Cassandra said, her voice gave off a defiant tone.

"So be it." Grall replied as he called upon Malik.

Grodak

Grodak awoke with a start, he could feel a strange sensation over coming his entire being. Fear, dread, and sorrow over took him as a heavy presence came over the castle.

"Are we under attack?!" Grodak shouted as he threw the covers off his naked body.

Xierma, who was sleeping next to him, looked up at him. "What are you talking about, love?"

The powerful presence vanished almost as soon as it appeared, leaving Grodak even more frustrated and confused.

"I'm sorry, love." Grodak said as he got dressed. "I need to check something out."

Xierma nodded her head as sleep took her once more. Grodak left to wonder the castle, trying to find the source of the feeling from a moment ago.

Grodak wondered into Cassandra's room and, to his astonishment, found her standing, fully healed. "I thought the healers said you would need a month to heal?" Grodak asked as he looked Cassandra over in confusion.

"There many ways to heal, Grodak," Cassandra said as she tightened the armor she wore, "one of those ways just happened to be something your healers don't know."

"Was that the cause of the ominous feeling I felt?" Grodak asked, his voice sounding more patient then he felt.

Cassandra paused for a moment, pondering her next words before speaking. "Yes." She said buckling her sword onto her waist. "Someone, an acquaintance, had used some powerful magic to heal me."

Grodak was now intrigued, a magic that is even more powerful then his healers peaked his interest. Grodak, before saying anything, stopped himself. Why do I suddenly want to learn more? He asked himself, the confusion and conflict must of showed on his face.

"You just went through a change that most do not survive," Cass said, a smile spread across her lips, "this change affected you both mentally and physically, so don't let past prejudice interfere with who you are now. Besides, most casarns live off of souls."

That last sentence sent chills down Grodaks spine as he turned away to think. He found himself wondering the castle once more and arrived in his forge where Grall stood waiting for him.

"Brother," Grall said as he stood up from his seat, "I believe it is time for you to meet my teacher."

Jaxale

Somewhere in another source, a young Dasari and his dragon companion have set out to find their riches.

Jaxale and Dronde arrived at Whitewaters gates after accepting the request, the request that was sent far and wide.

"What do you think Dronde?" Jaxale said as they stood outside the gates. No words were needed, Jaxale knew that Dronde was fine with anything Jaxale wanted.

"Will let's go in." Jaxale said as he started for the gates.

"Hold." A voice shouted. "State your business, Dasari."

"We are here for the quest." Jaxale said looking at the guard with amusement.

"Ah." The guard looked unnerved as he noticed the dragon behind Jaxale. "Then it is the king you wish to speak to."

"Yes," Jaxale said hiding a smile, "that sounds about right."

"This way then." He led Jaxale and Dronde through the busy town and stopped in front of a spiraling castle that looked almost magical. "Wait here," the guard said as he stepped in, "I'll announce your arrival."

After a few moments the guard returned and motioned for them to follow him.

The castle was filled with many wonders, treasures that mystified Jaxale, but what mystified Jaxale the most was a young man sitting on the thrown. His hair was as white as the castle walls, eyes deep crimson red, his skin was as white as snow. He appeared young, maybe twenty-five, but his eyes shown years of experience.

"So," he said in a honey sweet voice, "you two wish to take on the quest to rid us of a small problem."

Jaxale, lost for words, just nodded his head in affirmation.

"Then," the young king said as he sat up, "you are prepared for the test, correct?"

Jaxale had heard about the test. No one knew exactly what it was but many would be warriors had fallen prey to it. Jaxale looked to Dronde for reassurance, Dronde responded with a nuzzle of his snout.

Jaxale smiled, with Dronde at his side, he could do anything. "Yes," Jaxale said with confidence, "we are ready."

The young king pressed a small button on the arm of his thrown. Three hounds came out and lined up in front of Jaxale.

"Begin." It was a simple word, but the young kings voice carried such command that Jaxale acted before thinking.

Jaxale swung his sword in a wide arch catching two of the hounds unaware, as Dronde attacked the third with his lightning breath, effectively ending the battle before it began.

As Dronde finished the hounds off, there was a slow clap echoing through the halls. Jaxale looked to the young king as his applause stopped.

"Congratulations, young warriors." The king said. "I am Tyril, the king of Whitewater and I invite you to join us in the map room."

Jaxale and Dronde began to follow Tyril, as they moved Jaxale felt an odd sensation and the room began to spin....

Jaxale and Dronde now found theirselves in the middle of a wooded area just outside of a set of castle walls.