Through the Valley Part 2

True to her word, Alissa got them to the mouth of Sun Down Valley by nightfall. They set up to camp under shelter of the last of the mountain range. Alissa lit a small campfire to keep them warm, and produced a rabbit from one of the saddlebags to cook for supper. 1

“I caught it this morning, before you woke.” She explained, seeing his questioning glance. 2

“How far through the valley is it to the cave?” he asked, as she turned the rabbit on the fire. 3

“It’s at the far end.” Alissa replied. “About three days ride.” 4

“Three days?” Joby poked the fire with a stick. “It didn’t look that far on the map.”5

“Directly speaking, it’s not.” Alissa explained. “But we can’t take the direct route. We have to go carefully, avoid certain parts.”6

“Why?” Joby knew he would regret asking.7

“Sun Down Valley is a resting place.” Alissa told him in a low voice, as though she were afraid of being overheard. “Many a great warrior lays here. To cross their tombs is to disrespect them. We must stick to neutral ground.” 8

“Ah.” Joby understood. Respect for the dead was a big part of Winlay culture, as far as he knew. 9

10

11

Awaking with a start, Joby opened his eyes to Alissa shaking him. 12

“Joby, quickly! Get up!” she heaved him roughly to his feet. 13

“Alissa, what’s going on?” 14

“Belheim’s men. They must have followed us. Either that or they got hold of another map. I saw a light an hour or so ago. I followed it while you were sleeping. It was a campfire. There’s about twenty of them half a mile or so behind us. We have to move.” 15

Joby rubbed his eyes, still blurry with sleep.16

“Now, Joby! We have to move now!”17

“But surely they will be sleeping? We can be miles ahead before they start moving again.”18

“No.” Alissa shook her head. “They are trained in stealth. Where they are now is only a pit stop. They favour travelling by the cover of dark. Within an hour they will be on us. We have no choice but to cross the tomb lands.” Her eyes were dark and determined as she spoke. 19

Mounting the horse again, they set off through the valley. Alissa remained silent as they rode. Joby sensed her anguish at trespassing on hallowed soil and didn’t try to strike up conversation. As dawn light began to creep through the darkness, they became aware of the sound of hooves echoing behind them. A look backwards told Alissa that they were in sight of Belheim’s men. Joby followed her glance. He could see the dust clouds kicked up by their horses. 20

“Alissa!” He cried out in despair.21

“I know, Joby, I know.” Alissa kicked her heels into the stallions’ flanks, spurring him on faster, but she knew they were no match for a trained army. 22

The troops closed down on them in no time. An arrow flew past Joby’s head, missing by inches. Alissa steered the horse into a crop of rocks, a temporary shelter from the enemy. She leapt from the horse. 23

“We have no choice but to fight.” Her words flooded Joby with dread. 24

“But Alissa! We can’t! They have twenty men!” his words flooded out in panic. “We can’t possibly win.”25

“Then we will have to even up the numbers a bit.” Alissa replied, her voice strangely detached and ethereal. Joby watched in awe as she dropped to the ground, her eyes shining like the Orb of Drakken itself. Her voice floated around his ears.26

“Live…… live again….. live.” She sat suddenly straight, her mouth tipped to the sky, open in a silent plea. As he watched, a stream of light flew from her lips and arched like a rainbow to the ground of the valley. The earth began to shudder beneath his feet. Alissa sank like a rag doll to the ground, exhausted. 27

“Gods forgive me.” She whispered in a ragged voice, as Joby rushed to cradle her in his arms. “Gods forgive me for what I have done.”28

Joby clung to her as the ground shook harder beneath them. 29

“Alissa, what did you do?” he asked.30

“Watch.” She raised one shaking arm to point to the valley beyond their hiding place. Joby leaned around her to see. The sight took his breath away. From all over the valley floor, ephemeral shapes were rising. The spirits of the fallen warriors were returning for one last battle. 31

“Joby,” Alissa’s hand tugged at his sleeve. “Help me back onto the horse. The restoration won’t last long. It took too much energy. We have to move.” 32

Joby gathered her slender body in his arms, and found the strength to lift her onto the horse. Wasting no time, he jumped up behind her, and reached round for the reins. Kicking his heels as he had seen her do, they rode across the valley as fast as they could, leaving the unearthly battle behind them. 33

Still weakened from the magic, Alissa directed Joby, letting him steer the horse. She was slumped against him, still trembling. 34

“It won’t take long to get to the cave now.” She told him. “Not now we are taking the direct route.”35

“Will we make it?” he asked.36

“I don’t know.” She replied softly. “I'm not sure how long the restoration will last.”37

It seemed that their luck was to hold out. They made it to the cave within hours, the sound of Belheim’s men getting more distant as they rode. 38

“This is it. The Orb is inside.” Alissa spoke with trepidation. Joby gazed into the inky blackness of the caverns mouth and shuddered. 39

“I'm guessing it’s not going to be easy to retrieve.” 40

Alissa shook her head. “No. I restored a few guardians when I placed the Orb inside. Permanently restored them.”41

Joby gulped nervously. “I suppose we better go then, hadn’t we. Those soldiers won’t take too long in catching us.”42

It was Alissa’s turn to nod silently. She could feel her energy returning slowly, but she was still severely weakened. Pulling a stunt like restoring a valley full of dead warriors had drained her. She was out of practice. She just hoped she could still lift her sword. 43

The cave smelt of damp, and Joby could hear water dripping from the walls. The place was illuminated with a strange bluish glow, emitted from intricate crystal outcrops in the walls. 44

“I’ve been meaning to ask. What exactly does the Orb do?” Joby asked, as they picked their way cautiously through the cave. 45

“Well, as it is, it doesn’t do much. It’s what’s inside it that does something.” Alissa’s voice echoed eerily through the cave as she spoke. “Count Belheim is a Changer, you see. He has the power to take things from others and change himself with them. Until now, he has been satisfied with ruling a city. It would appear, however, that he has bored of that now. The Orb of Drakken contains the very essence of Lord Drakken. Many hundreds of years ago, before even my time, Drakken ruled over all the land. He was a powerful magician. He somehow discovered the secrets of necromancy, and changed into a lich. When he was slayed by a great warrior named Xavier, his spirit was trapped inside the Orb. In the wrong hands, the Orb is lethal. With it, Belheim can change into a lich even more powerful than Drakken was.” She finished speaking, and looked at Joby. 46

“But why now? If he has known of the Orb, why has he waited so long to find it?”47

“He needed the power.” Alissa explained. “Opening the Orb will be hard enough, but using the power for Changing will be even harder. He needed time to become strong enough, I suppose.”48

A scratching sound ahead of them broke off the conversation. Alissa drew her sword, her arm steady despite her fatigue. 49

“It’s one of the guardians.” She whispered. 50

Joby pulled his own weapon. “I suppose now isn’t a great time to tell you I’ve never used one of these before?” he joked weakly.51

“No. Neither would it be a good time to develop arachnophobia.” Alissa replied gravely. 52

“Arachno what?” Joby asked. 53

He never got his answer. A huge spider scuttled out from round the corner. It was taller than any man Joby had ever seen, and it looked hungry. Alissa wasted no time in leaping at it with her sword flashing. Her blade found its target, and slashed through the creatures’ abdomen. It let out a bloodcurdling scream before rearing up on four legs, the others waving dangerously at Alissa. Joby saw great, sharp talons at the ends of each one. 54

Deftly dodging the first strike, Alissa rolled out of reach. By the time the spider had turned around, she was ready with her blade once again. This time, she aimed for its leg. The sword sliced neatly through, unbalancing the monster. As it staggered unsteadily, Alissa let rip with another mighty attack. Two more legs fell to the cavern floor. 55

Joby had stood petrified throughout the fight. Suddenly, he was filled with a rush of adrenalin and leapt forward, his sword in front of him. The sensation of piercing the creature’s flesh made him retch. He staggered backwards, the blade slipping from the spider’s flesh with a sickening wet sound. Doubled over and heaving, Joby took a moment to register Alissa’s words.56

“You did it, Joby. You killed it.” 57

He slowly looked up. Sure enough, the creature was laid in a crumpled heap, blood spewing from a wide wound in its head. He smiled shakily.58

“Not bad for my first time, eh?”59

“Not bad at all. We’ll make a warrior out of you yet.” She returned his smile as she offered a hand to pull him up. Her hand was freezing in his.60

“Alissa? You’re still not OK, are you.” 61

“I’ll be fine Joby. We have to find the Orb. Come on.”62

She led him through the labyrinth of caves. Every scuttling they heard, they pressed back into the shadows until it had passed by. Alissa had pointed out that leaving a trail of dead guardians behind them would make it easy for Belheim’s men to follow. They wouldn’t fight unless they had to. 63

The narrow cavern tunnels eventually gave way to a great chamber. A high rocky plinth stood in the centre, with roughly hewn stairs leading up from all four corners. A light, the like of which Joby had never before seen, lit up the centre of the plinth. 64

“The Orb.” 65

Alissa nodded. “Yes.”66

Joby walked towards it, moth to a flame, awed by its beauty. A gentle crackling sound emitted from it. Colours of every hue and tone shone like a halo. He was halfway up the steps when Alissa suddenly crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. Landing with a thud, she screamed, and Joby saw an arrow sticking from her breast. 67

“Alissa!” He cried, scrambling to his feet and to her side. 68

“Never mind me, get the Orb!” She shouted, pushing him away. Her hand was already at her sword. Pulling herself to her feet, she started running towards the chamber entrance. Joby was aware of the sound of voices and footsteps. Belheim’s men had found them after all. 69

“The Orb, Joby! Get the Orb!” Her voice carried like a banshees. Joby picked himself up and raced as fast as he could up the steps. He stopped at the top and turned to look back. Alissa was hacking through the guards as they came swarming through the cave. Although she was a fearsome warrior, she was horribly outnumbered, and Joby knew he didn’t have long. 70

Just as his fingers reached for the Orb, Joby felt a sharp pain ricochet through his skull. As he fell, he saw the figure of Lord Belheim looming above him. 71

“It’s mine! The Orb is mine!” he screamed, diving onto it. The lights swirling from it became blinding as he raised it from its resting place. Holding it high above his head, Belheim chanted an incantation in a tongue foreign to Joby. As the pain in his head subsided, Joby struggled to his feet once again. I can’t give up, he thought, not now, not when I'm so close!72

With a cry of determination, Joby lunged for Belheim. A split second before they connected, the Orb exploded in a dazzling spectrum of light. A shower of sparks sent Joby reeling backwards. 73

“Finally! The power of Drakken is mine!” Belheim no longer looked human. Joby, dazed and scared, cowered at the edge of the plinth, with no idea of how to stop the Lord. 74

“Alissa!” Desperately, he called for her. 75

“Joby! I'm down here!” He followed the sound of her voice, and saw her. She was slumped against a wall, blood dripping from her head. Several arrows and sword wounds covered her body. 76

“What do I do, Alissa? What do I do?” His voice shook with pure terror and desperation.77

“Close the Orb, Joby! Close it!”78

“How?” 79

“Look inside yourself! You will find the way!” 80

Joby closed his eyes. In his mind, he pictured the Orb. He could see the swirling colours clearly. He began to reach into it, remembering his father’s words to him as a boy. ‘All things can be Closed, Joby. You just have to let them.’ He saw inside the Orb, he saw its centre, its essence. Piece by piece, he put it back together like a jigsaw. He imagined it becoming whole again, sealing within it all that had escaped. When Belheim screamed, he knew it was done. 81

Opening his eyes, he saw the Orb, resting once again in its rightful place. Belheim lay dead before it. 82

“Alissa!” He clawed his way to the edge of the plinth and searched the chamber for her. Sword still in hand, she lay prone on the floor.83

His shaking fingers found a pulse. She was still alive, although barely. 84

“Joby, you did it. I'm so proud of you.” Her voice was hoarse, and strained.85

“I need to get you back to Winlay. You need a doctor.”86

Alissa silenced him with a gentle finger to his lips.87

“Shhhh. It’s too late for me Joby.”88

“No! Don’t say that! You’ll be fine! You have to be.” Joby cradled her close, stroking her silky hair. 89

“I’ve fought my last battle. “ She looked tenderly up at him. “Joby, would you do something for me?”90

“Of course, Alissa. Anything.” His voice shook with sobs.91

“Take me to the Valley.”92

Joby emerged from the cave into blinding sunlight, Alissa held in his arms. Stumbling through exhaustion and emotion, he carried his comrade to the Sun Down Valley. Gently, he laid her on the ground, cradling her head on his lap.93

“Thank you, Joby.” Alissa could barely speak, she was so weak. 94

“No, no….” Joby’s tears fell fast onto her cheeks. He felt her sag beneath him, the last of her strength ebbing away.95

“You are a hero now.” A soft smile played on her lips. 96

“No, it is you who is the hero. Without you, I would never have done it.”97

Alissa coughed violently, a small trickle of blood flowing from her mouth. 98

“You closed the Orb. You defeated Belheim. People across the land will know what you have done for them.”99

“NO! I will make sure they know it was you.”100

“Us, Joby. It was us.” She reached one frail hand to grasp his. Their eyes held for a moment, mutual love and respect passing between them.101

“I will go back to Winlay. I will tell them all about how wonderful and brave you were. I will stay there, and make sure they never forget you.”102

“Joby, you must make your own path, not follow mine.” Alissa spoke with conviction in her voice despite drawing her last breaths. “And mine is taking me somewhere else, now.” 103

As Joby sobbed, his face pressed into her hair, Alissa looked for the last time at the sky, before closing her eyes. 104

It was a long time later, when the stars had come to pay their respects to the fallen Alissa, that Joby dried his eyes and looked up. The Sun Down Valley sprawled before him, and he wasn’t alone in it. The figures of hundreds of warriors stood before him, opaque in the dusk. The spirits of the fallen heroes moved forward slowly. Unafraid, Joby knew what he had to do. Letting go of Alissa’s body, he stood back, and watched as the spirits came to welcome another noble warrior to their tomb.105

A beautiful fiery glow began to shine from Alissa’s body as the ghosts advanced. The glow took her shape, until it was Alissa’s spirit that stood in front of him. It turned and raised a hand to the others, who stopped, heads bowed. Turning back to Joby, the spirit raised one delicate hand, and he felt a warm caress on his cheek. 106

“Good luck, Joby Trevai. Your father will be proud of you.” 107

And with that, Alissa was gone, to join the ranks of the great heroes that lay in Sun Down Valley. 108

Joby picked up his fallen companions sword, and stuck it into the ground. A marker for Alissa. With one last look at the stars, he began to make his way home.109