Forbidden Places
By Richard LeBlanc
Chapter Eleven: the floating isles
Things had quieted down substantially since the near explosive confrontation between Enchanter and Toy Maker. Enchanter kept himself busy - contemplating his next move. Toy Maker busied himself repairing the artifacts that had self-destructed. Lord Arachnid quietly waited for Markys to return with any new pertinent information.
"I've been meaning to ask you insect - where did our humble guide disappear to?" Toy Maker asked curiously. Arachnid slowly looked up at the artificer and smirked.
"Insect - you are the insect. Mind your tone when talking to me." Arachnid retorted.
"My most humble apologies. I had no idea your ego was so fragile. Now where is our guide?" Toy maker repeated. Arachnid effortlessly hopped up and landed gracefully landed on the table Toy maker was sitting at and glared at him with contempt.
"She informed me that she was taking a bath - and that she did not wished to be disturbed." He stated.
"You're a real sweetheart. If it was going to happen like that - answer me this - how are we supposed to find what we seek if she is napping?" Toy Maker asked seriously.
"Ask me if I care. She said that she didn't want to be disturbed - and she won't be." Arachnid replied coldly.
"I love it when they listen to reason." Tuly commented.
"Indeed. Fair enough. Did our guide happen to mention where our next stop might be?" Toy maker asked.
"Said something about floating isles. That's all she said - that's all I need say." He replied calmly.
"Floating isles you say? I don't think we'll need a guide to find them. Look ahead." Enchanter stated from the front of the boat. The others turned and looked in the direction that they were heading. Sure enough - in the distance - several floating islands could be seen.
"Huh. Imagine that." Toy Maker commented.
"What can we expect to encounter in that innocent looking place?" Arachnid asked.
"Quite a few things actually. The Lords of Life - The Temple of the Avatars - the Evil wizard Lokaan - a few other things too - but I don't want to ruin the surprises you might encounter." Tuly replied calmly.
"Avatars - just wonderful." Arachnid muttered.
"What of this wizard?" Toy Maker asked.
"What about him? He's a big player in these parts and knows almost as much about this place as Markys - but don't tell her I said that." she replied as she adjusted the stuffing from between her talons.
"It just gets better and better." Toy Maker muttered as he returned his attention to his work. After a few seconds - he realized that Arachnid hadn't left.
"Problem?" Toy maker asked.
"Not yet - but soon." Arachnid replied with a wicked smile. He hopped away from the table and landed gracefully on the deck below.
"Can you deal with both of them?" Tuly whispered.
"No. Hopefully - it won't come to that. If it does though - I will have to be ready." He answered as he resumed what he was working on.
A few hours later - the boat drifted gently into the shore. The small band of travelers exited from the boat and looked around at the paradise before them. Within the lush forests they could see flocks of Birds of Paradise flying without worry or care. On the open plains normally predatory animals rested with animals which otherwise would be prey. Above them - were the floating isles - dozens of magical islands that sparkled when the light hit them the right way.
"This - is where an evil wizard lives?" Arachnid asked in disbelief.
"I agree. This place is so - perfect." Enchanter added.
"Lokaan isn't a black mage - his primary source of power is green. And as you might have guessed - green is very powerful here." Markys replied calmly as she took out the map.
"I can believe that." Enchanter and Arachnid stated together.
"Pardon - the skepticism but Lords of Life - don't exactly sound green." Toy Maker stated. Markys looked over at the artificer and smiled.
"You are quite correct. Their power is born of white mana. They don't come down here - it is beneath them. Their place is atop the floating isles." Markys replied calmly as she turned away from him.
"Arachnid old boy - you fancy yourself a dark wizard. If you were this Lokaan fellow - where would you be?" Enchanter asked casually.
"Somewhere else." Arachnid replied curtly.
"Useful." Toy Maker muttered as he looked over to the side. Just for a brief moment - he thought he saw a purple flying hippopotamus with wings.
"Problem?" Enchanter asked curiously. Toy Maker looked over - but what he saw was gone.
"I must be seeing things. I thought I saw a purple hippopotamus with - wings?" Toy Maker stated hesitantly.
"What color is the sky in your world again?"  Arachnid asked.
"You must have seen a Pheldegriff. That's a good omen for travelers." Markys replied.
"A what?" Toy Maker asked.
"It isn't overly important. Any useful feedback Arachnid?" Tuly stated and asked.
"About what your boyfriend asked? I still stand by my answer. But if the boy is here - it would have to be someplace big and menacing - or whatever passes for menacing around here." Arachnid replied goadingly. Tuly was about to fly at the spider wizard - but Toy Maker held her back.
"We've been through this before - no killing off the hired help." Toy Maker commented as he walked away from the others.
"We staying here all day or are we actually going to attempt to make some progress?"  Toy maker called out to the others.
"I vote we feed him to my brothers." Arachnid stated coldly.
"Nah - probably just give them indigestion. Let's get going. The sooner we find what we are looking for here - the sooner we can make for bigger and better things." Enchanter rationalized as they picked up their pace to catch up with the artificer.
Mere moments later - the small band found themselves in a lush green magical valley. Both Arachnid and Enchanter could feel the power within the land - but Toy maker and Markys were ill at ease in this place.
"I don't like this place." Toy maker commented.
"Neither do I. We should go - now." Markys added.
"Why? There could be something powerful here." Enchanter asked.
"Dangerous isn't always powerful. Most likely all that this place has hiding in it are leprechauns - and I for one am not eager to encounter those foul creatures again." Toy maker replied seriously.
"You must be joking." Arachnid began. Just then a demented laughter echo through the valley. Toy maker shook his head. Too late.
"Sure I am." He muttered in disbelief. For once - both he and Markys were on the same page.
"He isn't joking - this isn't a good place to be." Markys added hesitantly.
"Leprechauns - do not frighten me." Arachnid stated as he traced his mark in the air facing the valley.
"I agree. I've been around for years and have had no trouble with them. all in all - we get along great." Enchanter added as he did the same.
"You will not get along with us!" a shrill voice stated. The small bunch of travelers looked over and saw a leprechaun mage perched in the branches of a tree.
"Swell - a mage." Toy maker muttered lowly.
"Oh just die." Arachnid muttered as he cast a black bolt at the tiny mage.
"I - don't think so." He replied. With a wave of his hand - the spell fizzled out. It was then that Arachnid noticed the Life Force talisman around the mage's neck.
"Would you care to surrender now - or later? Later - would make us angry." The mage offered.
"Us? I only see one of you." Enchanter commented. Just then - dozens of leprechaun thieves and warriors emerged from secretive hiding places and aimed weapons at them.
"Not just me - I have friends." He stated smugly.
"So it would seem." Enchanter added as he looked at the angry mob that was surrounding them.
"I have a plan - play along." Enchanter whispered to his temporary allies.
"If we are to surrender - it must be to your king - not one of his lackeys." He stated seriously. The answer caused waves of angry to swell within the surrounding horde.
"Silence! You wish to surrender to the master - so be it."  The mage replied. before they could react - a sparkling dust fell over them. seconds later they all began to become ghostlike until they completely vanished from the valley.
Mere seconds later the travelers found themselves within a large cavern that was filled with treasure. As they looked around they saw how the pile sloped upwards. At the top of the mountain of treasure - sat the Leprechaun Lord - the ruler of the entire valley.
"Why are there outsiders in my presence?" the scarred Lord asked - with a feral growl.
"They desired to surrender to you my lord - punish them accordingly." The mage replied.
"Wait!" Enchanter called out - his eyes locked onto those of the Leprechaun Lord.
"You don't want to do anything hasty - do you?" he asked as green mana pulsed and spiraled around Enchanter in hypnotic patterns.
"I hope he knows what he's doing." Toy maker muttered.
"You are trying to bewitch our king." The mage called out.
"He is doing no such thing." The Leprechaun Lord stated lowly. Toy maker looked over at Enchanter and could see that he had used a puppet master spell on the Lord. The artificer silently pondered just how strong he had to be to be able to ensnare so powerful a creature so fast.
"Majesty?' the mage asked.
"I am fine - leave me. I will deal with these pests." He replied with a growl. On that note - all of the leprechauns that were hidden in cave began to vanish.
"He won't easily forget what you are doing Enchanter." Toy maker whispered.
"I will deal with him in my own good time. Majesty - we have come to this place in search of a wizard - he goes by the alias - Lokaan. We know that he is not here - but would you know where to find this man?" Enchanter replied calmly and asked. The Lord looked vacantly at the wizard and then looked at the roof of the cave.
"He came here once - many were dead - more were permanently scarred. It took us ten years to cleanse his stench from the valley - but it was done. You seek him? Look to the sky. He resides where the Avatars pass judgement. I will say no more. Enchanter - I have heard of you. I now know you. I will never forget what you have done this day." He replied with an evil grin. Enchanter looked at his hands - the spell that had the leprechaun lord bound - was gone?
"You have amused me though. You may pass through the valley - this one time. after that - heh - I will deal with you personally - as you so thoughtfully offered." He stated as they all vanished in the blink of an eye.
Seconds later - they once again were above ground and found themselves on the other side of the valley. They looked back and could almost hear the sound of taunting - voices daring them to return.
"Did you see some of that stuff?" Enchanter asked.
"It's not worth it."  Toy Maker replied seriously.
"Not - worth it?" Enchanter repeated.
"You have dealt with leprechauns before - yet you have no inkling as to what you have faced. Yes. There was a great deal of wondrous treasures in that cave. Many of them were artifacts that date back to the antiquity wars and are in perfect working order. But I also know that everything in there bares their taint. If you took anything from there - it would lead them - and their king - right to you. First they would take everything you value - then they would take everything you own - then they would take what is left. As I said - it's not worth it." He answered and clarified.
"Speaking from experience?" Arachnid asked curiously.
"My - wife - her brother had the misfortune of finding a leprechaun's lair. He only took one gold coin - thinking it wouldn't be missed. He was quite wrong. After losing his home - his family - he went ad and ended up taking his own life. So in a manner of speaking - I guess I could say yes."  He answered seriously.
"Sound's rough." Enchanter commented.
"Don't worry about it. It doesn't concern you." He replied seriously. It was then that he noticed something whisper on the wind - it was faint - yet distinct. He listened again - yes - there it was - a quiet hypnotic song. It was something he had heard before - but where?
I know that song. He thought as he looked around. It was then that he saw Enchanter and Markys beginning to sway to the hypnotic melody.
"Bewitching Tree Sprites - I should have known." He muttered as he watched Markys and Enchanter stagger away towards the source of the music.
"You going to do something?" Arachnid asked.
"I'm thinking about it." Toy Maker replied.
"Our guide is going with him?' Arachnid pointed out.
"Ungh. You've got a point there. This is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth." Toy maker stated blue mana swirled around his gauntlets. He then emitted two blue bolts at the staggering mages. Arachnid watched as the energy passed right through the two and took on the dimensions of Enchanter and Markys. The two snapped out of it and watched as the two illusions continued to stagger off. Enchanter looked over his shoulder and saw Toy Maker controlling the spell.
"A shadow mage spell?" he asked curiously.
"It has it's uses." He replied coldly.
"You saved - us?" Markys asked in modest disbelief.
"I saved you - don't remind me that he was a part of the package. Come on. That spell won't occupy those sprites for long." Toy Maker replied as they made their way through the forest.
Almost a day and a half later - the small group had searched most of the lands below and had found a way up to the floating isles. After what seemed like weeks of searching they finally found themselves outside of a city that appeared to be made of solid gold.
"You would think a city made of solid gold would be easier to find." Enchanter commented. Arachnid stepped forward and looked at the shining buildings. The entire place looked so pure that it began to make him feel nauseous.
"Okay - if I was a sinister sort of wizard - where would I be?" he asked himself as he looked at the odd looking structures. After a brief visual scan - he pointed to a building that was a fair distance before them.  as they mingled through the crowd on their way to the building they noticed a note that was pinned to the solid metal door with a dagger.
"He left us a note - how thoughtful." Enchanter commented as he passed the note to Arachnid.
"...so sorry that I couldn't be here to greet you at this given time - but I looked at my calendar and realized that I was overlong for a vacation. Maybe we can talk the next time you happen by this way - signed - Lokaan." Arachnid read aloud.
"He could be anywhere." Enchanter stated.
"I know someone that might  be able to help." Tuly stated.
"Don't keep it secret - share." Markys replied.
"The Elder Librarian - she lives in the Temple of the Avatars. If the Lords of Life don't object - she could tell us where to find him." she suggested.
"Avatars - Lords of Life - are there any other options?" Arachnid asked hesitantly.
"Yeah - look under every rock until he turns up." Tuly retorted.
"Fine then but where is this magical place? There are a lot of islands that we overlooked while searching for our missing friend." Arachnid asked. Markys and Tuly pointed to the island that was floating over the island they were on. The others looked up and saw another magical island. From this island flowed four perfect waterfalls.
"Only the most obvious place - figures." Arachnid muttered. as the group made their way towards the floating island they noticed that the waters from the waterfalls didn't flow down - they flowed up.
"So - we swim from here?" Arachnid asked as he looked at the lake before them. Toy maker and Enchanter looked at the waters at the base of the falls.
The waters look calm above the surface. Toy maker thought. he closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened his eyes again he could see that the base of the lake was littered with bones - and swimming near the bottom were dozens of huge schools of piranha.
"I wouldn't advise it." Enchanter stated as he traced his mark over the lake.
"The power in her comes with a price - a price of pain." Toy maker warned.
"I know - I can take it." Enchanter retorted.
"So how do we get up there?" Markys asked.
"Allow me." Enchanter replied. with a wave of his hand - they all vanished - courtesy of his Teleport spell.
Seconds later - they reappeared once again to find themselves before a gigantic, colossal - Temple of the Avatars. Before the large, open golden gates stood two rows of guards that numbered in the high hundreds.
"That - is quite a place." Enchanter commented.
"Are those guards going to try something foolish - like stop us?" Arachnid asked.
"These people are followers by nature. They will not act unless bidden to do so." Tuly replied calmly. The answer didn't make much sense - but they made their way between the two rows of guards. Sure enough - none of the guards moved as they made their way towards the temple.
"This is almost creepy." Arachnid muttered as they entered the gates to the temple. Just then a white flash of light exploded around them. when it faded they found themselves in bright place. Around them were dozens of giant pillars. On each sat what could only be described - as a god!
"Who dares enter the Temple of the Avatars?" a loud voice boomed.
"We are travelers from afar on a quest. We seek a wizard by the name of Lokaan." Toy maker began.
"Lokaan is not here." Another voice boomed.
"We know that - but we were informed that the Elder Librarian might be able to aid us in our search." Toy maker justified - he was about to add to his argument when he noticed one giant whisper something to the giant beside him.
"Very well - you may have an audience with her. But make your visit brief." A voice boomed. A flash of light exploded around them. the group found themselves back in the nonethereal portion of the Temple.
"That went well." Enchanter commented.
"Could have been worse." Arachnid stated. Just then - the door at the end of the hall before them began to slowly open.
"Do not just stand there and stare. By all means come - enter. I have been expecting you." A soft voice called to them. the group made their way down the hall and slowly opened the door. On the other side was an elderly angel that was sitting a table covered with books.
"You know why we are here?" Arachnid asked.
"I know of everything that transpires on these islands - and below. everything that is this place - is see and touch. So yes - I know why you are here." She replied rationally.
"Can you tell us how to find this wizard Lokaan?" Toy Maker asked seriously.
"I can - and I will. I just hope you will be ready for what you encounter when you meet him." she answered as a book magically opened up to the page she desired.
To be continued...
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