Lances and Daggers

20. Archidox

Zeke Yuchi said that he had been waiting for me. I was needed, but I didn't know why. How could the way out of the Seventh Labyrinth be related to me? How could I be the key to escaping this nightmarish landscape? I was just an adventurer; even magic was beyond me.

"I'll explain everything. But we should leave the forest first," Zeke said. "Ascotosh, I need a portal to Belphegor's Peak."

"Yes, Master." The wooden man stepped out of a tree trunk and bowed with unaffected respect. Then he placed his hands on the bole and remained still for a while, transferring his power to the decaying wood. He looked like skilled mages when they tried to cast convoluted spells. In the end, he lowered his arms and said, "The passage is ready."

"This tree is now a portal to our destination," Zeke said.

Erica placed her hand on the tree. Her fingers disappeared into the wood as if they had been cut near the middle. But when she pulled them out, they were unharmed. "It works. I could feel the wind on the other side," she said and walked into the portal, vanishing from the forest. Alex was next. The wooden thorns and splinters left his wounds and returned to Ascotosh's body. Then he jumped into the tree and disappeared like a mirage. It was my turn now.

"I won't have any extra branches on the other side, right?" I looked at Ascotosh.

"It's only a portal."

Zeke nodded and said, "Trust me."

I jumped into the tree and immediately came out of another. When I landed on my feet, Erica and Alex were by my side. The forest was behind us, and we stared at the bizarre landscape that replaced it. There was a mountain surrounded by rivers of black grime. Several meandering paths went up to a shiny summit, where a temple was barely visible, and giant rocks floated in the air, wheeling around the area as if in a religious ritual.

"This place keeps getting stranger," Alex said.

Before I could comment, a thunderous roar shook the ground. Neither animals nor Aberrations could've made this eruptive sound. We looked behind us and found the forest shaking. A typhoon-like wind was threatening to topple the trees.

Something's coming this way. I covered my face and looked up.

"Do you see what I'm seeing?" Erica said.

But Alex and I couldn't reply; we were speechless.

A white dragon flew above our heads, flapping its large wings toward the mountain's summit. It had sheep horns but seemed nowhere near as docile. Its giant jaw was crowded with fangs, and its long tail whipped the air with the force of a thousand lashes.

"Archidox was bored by the wait." Zeke emerged from the tree behind us.

"The Dragon of Origin?" Alex blurted out. "What's it doing here?"

"Waiting for Lance," Zeke replied as the dragon disappeared behind the mountain. "Let's move. The summit is our destination."

"It'll take ages to reach there," I said.

"Time and space are distorted because of Archidox," Zeke said. "The trip won't be long."

The ascent began. I had come seeking a way back to Ashenbrook, but I was being pulled deeper into this fantastical realm. I didn't know what to expect next. The Seventh Labyrinth seemed to be heaving with unsolvable mysteries and age-old secrets, like a forgotten box of family heirlooms, and even if I had guessed what awaited me at the precarious summit of Belphegor's Peak, I wouldn't have been able to tell how it would affect my future.

As we walked, Zeke cleared his throat and began, "I've kept you waiting long enough, and I should start explaining why Lance is needed."

"We're listening," Erica said.