Lore of Eternal Shadow: The Fugitive King

Chapter Twenty-Five

Zicone flew out of the portal still attached to the Vampirex. The gateway through dimensions sealed itself up as Zicone landed roughly in the land of Galgaroth... or rather more specifically, he landed on the Vampirex. After a few seconds he spat, "Get off me, boy!"

Zicone had gotten used to the air of the Zey^Rey Dimension and acclimating to Galgaroth was taking him a few rounds of deep breaths. He took note that the air was fresher here, even in the Zey^Rey district of Narbon. Everybody had arrived in varying states of disarray, sprawled out on the cobblestone streets nearby. Zicone was thankful nobody had materialized halfway inside the ground...

The quiet murmur of the city around them was assaulted with a new sound, aethereal in nature. Zicone, Jannick, and the others looked up and saw the portal was opening again. "Damn it!" cried Zicone, "we have to get out of here!"

"Where?" asked Alyssa, "Where can we go on foot that they can't follow?"

"We're going to have to teleport," said Zicone.

"You don't have the energy after that time spell," Lauren said to Zicone.

"Not to mention teleportation is near impossible without a crystal," added Salgan.

"You all are insufferable," scoffed the Vampirex, "I will do it... I will require some help. You there," he pointed at Salgan, "assist me."

Salgan rolled his eyes but complied. The two Zey^Rey chanted their calculation in unison, one a terribly ancient immortal dictator, the other a Sussurri country bumpkin. "Everyone, gather around, quickly!" cried Zicone. The party huddled together in a circle around the Vampirex and Salgan. Their calculation was complete and the eight figures disappeared from Narbon.

The portal opened and the Zey^Rey landed softly on the street. Horatio and Tiziano were fifth and sixth to land. As Horatio surveyed the quiet city streets, he swept the surrounding cracks in the universe for any sign beyond the range of his eyes. He found none. "Damn it," he uttered. His boy, the Galgarothian renegades, and the hated dictator of old were traceless.

***

Zicone looked around. They'd arrived in a forest that was nearly up against a mountain to the west. "Where are we?" asked Zicone. The group of them slowly came into a circle, observing the world around them.

"West of Mordal is my guess," Salgan replied, "five-hundred or so miles northwest of where we were."

"You are correct," said the Vampirex, "though precision in our location is not something I can provide."

"Do you think they'll be able to track us as easily as they did before?" asked Runa.

"Not easily at all," answered the Vampirex, "the Zey^Rey's dimension is so clear of natural anomalies that they could hone in on anything 'wild' as easily as it is to enter into a crack in the universe. This place is far more alive. The aether here is like a thick forest. They are out of their element here and tracking us to this place would be as likely as a blind man finding a locket inside a thousand acre forest at night."

"So we're safe for the moment," concluded Zicone.

"For the moment," repeated the Vampirex.

"Safe enough to make camp?" asked Jannick. They all still looked a crusty, tired mess.

Before the Vampirex could speak, Zicone said, "If you say no, I think they'll kill us both."

The wilderness here seemed luxurious compared to the Toxicon. There was a stream a bit of a walk away but the idea itself of bathing was an incredible relief. Everyone was tidily asleep from exhaustion hours before the sun set.