Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Redeemer (II)

Kan Golge had used the remains of an old project to create a substance that he could inject himself with and gain great power. In the past, he had created the Blood Knights as faithful soldiers, without a mind of their own.

Unfortunately for him, he had had to leave them behind after an attack by his enemies. Gjaki had found and freed them in a dungeon, accompanied by her reptilian friends. With this, she had fulfilled a promise made in the game, and had earned the title of Redeemer. She had also felt moved, and furious against whoever was behind.

As soon as the barrier had disappeared, the vampiress had immediately recognized the nature of the aura. In addition, for the first time, she had understood that her title meant something more, she could feel it. Gjaki was the liberator of the Blood Knights, so she had a special connection with their power.

"Aaaaaaaaaargh!!" the vampire screamed in pain.

From his nose, eyes and mouth, blood gushed out in torrents, or rather, the liquid he had previously absorbed. The newly gained power left him, and the red liquid gathered in front of Gjaki.

"Time to rest," she murmured.

That wasn't a Blood Knight, nor did it have any spirit inside to release, they were only remnants of their power. Still, they seemed to have a consciousness of their own, as they obeyed her command. The liquid faded away little by little, as its power also dissipated. In just a few seconds, nothing remained.

"Damn you!" he shouted, while breaking a necklace that hung from his neck.

"Not again!" Eldi exclaimed.

However, he couldn't prevent the vampire from fading away, disappearing from the room. His Boomerang axe only reached the void.

"That... He's escaped again..." Gjaki cursed.

"He's not far," Goldmi reported, as she took out some kind of portable radar from the inventory.

"Did you put a tracker on him!? Ha, ha. That's my third favorite elf!" Gjaki hugged her.

"I guess I can't be jealous of my daughters," Goldmi smiled.

"Shall we go now?" Eldi urged them, as he took out a huge shield.

"Stop playing," the lynx complained.

"Boooom!" an explosion was heard.

"He left us a surprise at the exit..." the vampiress looked at the door with some apprehension.

The explosion had destroyed her Blood Hound. Eldi, with Great Guardian, had protected them with the shield. Despite hugging Goldmi, the vampiress had communicated with her companion. She hadn't made the hound advance until he had been ready.

Goldmi stepped forward with Detect Mana, Detect Energy and Life Detection.

"There's nothing else," she assured.

Still, distrustful, they opened the door carefully. A Blood Hound even cross first again. When they got out, they discovered that they were near one of the entrances to the city, the northern one.

Suddenly, an albino bird appeared next to the elf, flew up to her shoulder, and rubbed her head against her sister's cheek. After leaving the girl, the goshawk had returned though Always With You, thus avoiding the attacks of the losts.

"Menxilya is inside. The guardians are resisting, but they won't last long. We have to trust the girl and Maldoa. Let's go for him," Goldmi informed.

The goshawk then took flight again and headed in the indicated direction. They had to find and watch their enemy. Although nothing prevented her from carrying a small snack in her beak.

Maldoa emerged from the ground, strangely relaxed. She had buried herself in the corrupted ground, which she found extremely unpleasant. However, the explosion of the purifying projectile hadn't only eliminated the vampires. Many meters around, everything had been purified, including the soil where she had hidden.

The purifying power wasn't a problem for her, quite the opposite. She found it pleasant, refreshing. However, it would have been dangerous to expose herself directly to the shock wave or the sheer force of the explosion. Therefore, she had taken shelter underground.

Her companions had gone in pursuit of Kan Golge, but she had another mission to fulfill.

She walked towards the door, while her roots explored the ground. They had already caused two explosions, which had forced her to create others. The damage it caused was annoying, unpleasant, and difficult to restore in that corrupted land. There were no plants, and the blast radius hadn't reached the door, so the corruption had soon surrounded her again.

She took out the purple key Eldi had given her, and placed it in the hole where it fit. Nothing happened.

"Did I do something wrong? Is it damaged?" she worried.

"Clack"

"Click"

"Chunk"

Metallic sounds began to spread, as their quantity and frequency increased continuously. Finally, after a slightly louder sound, the door began to open with a creak.

She took the key and ran in, without waiting for it to open completely. As soon as she did, the sounds stopped, to resume again an instant later, as the door began to close. When it closed completely, there was no one left outside.

Maldoa looked around sadly. That had been a beautiful underground garden, where simple mechanisms of glass and mirrors brought light from the surface. Now, there was nothing left but stagnant air and traces of miasma. For some unknown reason, it wasn't very dense there.

Without hesitation, she approached the ruins of a small building in the center of what had once been the garden. It had been just four columns and a dome, where people used to have a snack, or just sit and contemplate the garden.

She felt the familiar presence exactly where it was supposed to be, and prepared to force her way in. To her surprise, it opened, as if it had been waiting for her.

"Is she awake? Have the others contacted her?" she wondered excitedly.

However, when she entered the Origin, her enthusiasm crumbled. Although intact, the vegetation looked wilted, something that shouldn't happen even if the dryad was asleep. That could only mean one thing, and tears flowed from her eyes. The dryad who resided there had long since died.

She had never met her, but she had seen some of her sisters' shared memories. That dryad had been a somewhat serious one for a dryad, but also extremely sweet and kind. They all liked her, but now she would never be with them again.

She stood silently, as her tears watered the earth and her roots spread. It was necessary to return energy to the Origin, if only as a tribute to the dryad Calenwua.