Untold Tales

Dire Circumstances

Zorlon slowly opened his eyes; he had been recovering the almost the whole day. He then sat up from his recovery bed, aching while he did so; his muscles (and for that matter some of his bones) were a bit sore from the head on ram Kymraw did on the ship.

"Great Gygax." He groaned, clutching his abdomen. He then saw his staff and duster coat on a nearby chair. Slowly getting out of the bed, he gathered his coat and staff and made his way to the door.

Upon exiting, Zorlon noticed that the sun wasn't as bright as it usually was. In fact, the lighting seemed somewhat green. It wasn't until he looked up when he realized that the dome was up and running. At this point, he knew what happened... the Dark Queen had returned.

Zorlon then heard some commotion going on in the lower deck. There were Em, Piper, Zarya, and Malvaron talking amongst themselves, their tones sounding like panic. Curiosity setting in, the weakened mage decided to investigate, using his staff like a walking stick.

"What the hex are we gonna do?!" Em hysterically yelped.

"What are you getting all worried about?" Piper inquired. "All we have to do is wait it out, and all is right with the world... right?" She turned to Zarya, hoping for confirmation.

Zarya stood silent for a minute, staring at the horizon with a somewhat blank expression. "I don't know, Pipes. I just don't know." She finally said, her tone unsure.

That made worried looks on both Em and especially Piper's faces. Piper was use to Zarya seeing all the angles, no matter how dire a situation was. If she was unsure, they knew they were in trouble.

"Everyone, just stay calm!" Malvaron forcefully said; he had been acting as solon in Zorlon's absence. "Look, I know things are bad right now, but that's all the more reason to keep a level head. It's like Zorlon always tells me, "it's only when your mind is at ease when you can see all the solutions".

"Glad to see some of my training rubbed off on you." Zorlon said, as he approached the group. Malvaron quickly whirled his head to see him walking down the steps. Smiles filled the girl's faces, for they were glad that at least Zorlon was alive and walking.

"Zorlon!" Zarya said excitedly, rushing over to him and hugged him tight. This moment was cut abruptly short though, as the poor mage yelped pain a little, causing Zarya to recoil. "Sorry" She quickly said.

Em was rather shocked at the sight. Sure, Zarya had shown some affection before, yet this was something she expected from Piper.

"How're you feeling Z-man?" Malvaron said, still concerned for his master's well being.

"A little worse for ware, but I'll manage." Zorlon assured, sitting down on a nearby barrel. He then looked up at the mystical dome. "Is it true then? Necrafa is free?"

Everyone simply nodded their heads yes, rather somberly no less. Zorlon then gave a huge sigh; the moment he long dreaded was finally here.

"Then our worst fears are realized." Stroking his beard, the wise mage then had a look of resolve in his eyes. "It's sooner than I'd like, but it's time for the next level of your training to begin."

"Next level?" Piper asked, tilting her head a little bit.

"Yes, sooner or later we're going to have to take the fight to Necrafa. All four of you will need to..." It suddenly caught up with Zorlon the that someone was missing. There was Zarya, Em, and Piper... but no Arkayna. "Where's Arkayna?" He asked, worry filling his tone.

Malvaron simply looked down, his expression ever so dismal. The others too for that matter. Not a good sign.

"Malvaron!" Zorlon shouted, not wanting to be kept in suspense. "Where is she?"

The younger mage winced a little; he knew whatever he said next would likely upset his master. Frankly, he was not happy to report it. "Arkayna stayed behind at the archipelago. Her parents fell overboard during the fight, and she made it clear that she wouldn't leave without them. By the time she came back, the dome was almost up, then she was knocked off her griffin and..." Malvaron's voice quaked a little at the last part. "We don't know what happened after that."

"She'd be right here if you'd have let me save her!" Zarya snapped, not wanting to leave that one detail out.

"You wouldn't have made it, Zarya." Malvaron defended.

"You don't know that!" Em added "Zarya was probably this close to saving her until you held her back." The disheartened dwarf then crossed her arms at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "And to think I thought you liked her."

Malvaron was about to retort, only for Zorlon to intervene. "That's enough, all of you." He said firmly. "What's done is done, we can only look to the future now. Arkayna's decision to stay behind led to yet another example of the fortunes of war. Try as we might, we can't save everyone. All we can do is the best we can." He then looked to his students, strong and sure. "That's exactly what you've all done, the best you can."

Still feeling down, Zarya went to the other side of the ship to look on. Kitty took notice, having overheard the conversation. Hating to see Zarya upset, she decided to go to comfort her.