The Omen, page 32
part #5 of Eden's Gate Series
“End this now!” Eanos cried. “Can’t you see you’re defeated!?”
I glanced to Eanos’ status bars and saw that he was nearly out of mana, and it was still trickling down as he channeled the water he was standing on. I wasn’t sure what other tricks he had up his sleeve, but I wondered if he might be bluffing with his confidence.
“Never!” Solomon yelled.
Eanos grunted and raised his staff as if he were going to send a ball of energy towards Solomon, but there was a sudden bright light that burst out of the All-Seeing Eye, causing Eanos to throw his arm over his face. Even Solomon’s men seemed blinded by the light and paused their attack.
Eanos stumbled and almost fell off the spout.
“Shit,” I cursed. I turned to Xandree. “We’ve got to help him.”
Xandree simply squawked, tilted her head, and I shook my head in disappointment. She wanted nothing to do with me.
I needed to get close and cast Divine Sight on Eanos so that he could see.
Eanos held out his hand blindly as I started sliding down the hill as quickly as possible, nearly losing my footing during the rush.
Solomon shot a beam from the eye, and as if Eanos could hear the magic, he jolted his hand out in the direction of the magic, and a translucent wall of energy formed in the path of the rushing beam.
But the beam was too strong, simply crashing through the magic wall, then connecting with the base of the waterspout that Eanos was standing on. Solomon held the beam through the spout for several seconds, causing the spout to sever. Eanos yelped as he fell awkwardly to the ground below.
“Eanos!” I yelled again. I ran as fast as I could, trying my best to get in range.
When I was in distance, I raised my hand to cast Divine Sight on Eanos but continued running towards him when he showed no signs of movement. I could tell that he wasn’t dead from the 20% of health that was showing in his health bar, but I didn’t know if he was bleeding, unconscious, or worse.
“Reborn!” Solomon shouted right before he blasted a beam of energy towards me which forced me to dodge and divert my run into a circular motion to avoid getting hit. I raised my hand and cast Divine Sight on myself, just in case he did the flashing light ability again.
Eanos groaned and started pulling himself up, but just as he made it to his knees, one of the men—a Faithsworn with a sword—regained his sight and lunged for the old man. Eanos saw the attack coming and quickly reached down to grab his staff, but when he lifted it up to block, the staff split in two. It had apparently been damaged during the fall.
The man slashed down, knocking the broken staff out of the mage’s hand and connected hard with the base of Eanos’ forearm. The old mage groaned, jerked back, and squeezed the cut with his other hand. The man swung again, this time a completely unfettered attack, and connected with Eanos’ wrist, severing his hand completely from his arm.
Eanos screamed as blood poured from the wound, but in an impressive act of willpower, he used his last bit of mana to cause energy to burst from his body, knocking the attacker several meters back and to the ground. Eanos fell on to his back and writhed in pain as he held the base of his severed wrist. With no mana and no more than 5% of his health left, I was doubtful that he’d survive the bleeding.
I ducked under the beam of energy, switched my trajectory, and suddenly dropped down and slammed my hand into the ground. If I was going to save Eanos—or save myself for that matter—I needed help. “Sora!”
Almost immediately I heard her feet coming from somewhere.
The man with the beam, I immediately projected. Be careful. He’s powerful.
Yes, Father.
Before I could even see where Sora had emerged from, I heard Solomon scream, and the beam suddenly stopped as he tried his best to fend a massive, raging panther from his back.
I ran back towards Eanos, pulling my sword from my back. With my other hand, I once again focused on channeling a Firebomb. The man who had been knocked back from Eanos was getting back to his feet, and the remaining men were starting to regain their bearings as well.
It was odd feeling the magic energy growing in my left hand while I held my sword in the right. I had been used to having the ability to hold my sword with both hands or move it back and forth between hands, depending on the direction of my attacks or my use of magic, but while channeling or holding a bomb, I was limited to only one.
I slashed my sword down on the man returning to his feet, then swung again, swiping up—which again felt strange and a bit weaker than normal while limited to only one hand, but it seemed to do the job. The man fell to the ground in a heap and made no further movement.
The remaining group of men were running towards Eanos and I, so I dropped my sword, tossed the Firebomb from my left hand to the right hand, and lobbed it at them with all my strength.
They all eyed the swirling blue ball of energy as it flew through the air towards them, but they seemed oblivious to what it was. One of the men actually flung his flail at the bomb as it fell down overhead, and when he struck it, it exploded in between them all, causing their bodies to fly everywhere.
You have reached level 11 in Fire Magic!
You have gained 1800 XP!
I grabbed my sword off the ground, feeling more confident now that I could use both hands, and rushed towards the men. Some of them were dead, but a few of them were groaning and trying to ignore their torn and burnt flesh. I ran to each one, driving my sword tip into their chests or slicing the blade against their throats, ending the last of the army.
You have gained 2800 XP!
I looked across the field of countless bodies to see Solomon on his back with Sora dragging him across the ground. She swung her head from side to side, which was causing Solomon to become disoriented. Somewhere during their tussle, Solomon had dropped the All-Seeing Eye, and it was setting idly, several meters away.
Solomon reached his hand back and released a stream of electrical energy from his hand, causing Sora to release her grip. She jerked back and shook her head wildly, then pounced forward and clamped down on Solomon’s arm.
Solomon yelped in pain, but again sent a shock of energy into the side of Sora’s head with his other hand. Sora yelped, and again she jerked away.
I clenched my teeth and ran for the fight to try and help, but when I saw that Solomon was scurrying across the ground to retrieve the eye, I switched my trajectory and started to intercept him.
When it was clear that Solomon was going to reach the eye before me, I shot a Fireblast that missed, then released a magic missile that caused Solomon to jerk and stumble to the ground on impact. He glanced at me, and unperturbed by the attack, continued to scramble for the eye, basically on his hands and knees.
There was a sudden, ear-shattering scream from overhead, and I paused and looked up as a shadow caused the ground nearby to become overcast.
A large, red dragon was hovering above and started flapping its wings as it descended to the ground below.
The dragon’s feet thumped as it landed right in front of Solomon, and I paused, not knowing if I should run or where I could hide.
Solomon rolled to his side and looked up at the dragon, raising his hand in fear. “Nooo!”
The dragon snorted and reared back on its hind legs before falling back down again with a thundering thump. It turned its head from side to side as if searching for something or someone, and seemed totally confused as to what it should do.
“No!” Solomon cried again. He looked over to the eye that was only a few meters away from him at that point and then turned back to the dragon. When he turned back towards the eye, he started half-running, half-crawling in its direction.
The dragon’s eyes followed Solomon as he scurried across the ground, and the moment that Solomon’s hand grabbed on to the eye, the massive creature lunged down and snapped Solomon up between its sharp teeth.
Solomon cried out as he was raised into air between the dragon’s massive jaws, and the All-Seeing Eye fell out of his hand and back to the ground. The dragon flipped its head up and released its jaws, throwing Solomon into the air before clamping back down on him again and again.
The eye had rolled a little bit closer to me, and with the dragon distracted by Solomon, I saw a brief window that I might be able to recover the eye. It was risky to move closer to the dragon, but the only other option was simply to run away, and even that was dangerous.
Sora! I projected.
My Great Panther was looking up to the dragon in bewilderment and fear before she turned and sprinted my way.
Sensing my intentions, she lowered herself slightly as she approached, and I grabbed on to the saddle, pulling myself up without her even stopping.
The sphere on the ground, I projected. As fast as you can.
I know, father.
Get me as close as you can, then we’ve got to get away.
I leaned to the side of Sora, holding the saddle tightly as she approached the eye in a sprint, and as she passed it, I scooped it up with one hand. Great energy passed from the eye up my arm, and for a brief second, I thought I saw something flash in front of my eyes—an undecipherable image.
You’ve received: The All-Seeing Eye. 1-2 Attack Damage. Requires 30 Intelligence. Durability: 402/1000. Quality: Poor. Rarity: Ancient. Weight: 1.0. +20 Intelligence. +40 Wisdom. +15% Magic Damage. Grants the capability of inexplicable sight beyond the physical realm. On Cast: Lumen Ray: 320 Charges Left. On Cast: Blinding Flash: 234 Charges Left
You’ve completed all requirements for the quest: Retrieve the Eye! Return to Eanos for your reward.
Almost as soon as I touched the eye, the dragon behind us released Solomon from its jaws, and the old prophet fell limply to the ground. The dragon shrieked and turned its attention to Sora and I.
“Go!” I yelled. “We’ve got to go!”
As Sora ran with all her might, I flipped open my unburdening bag, and dropped the eye inside. The dragon took two more steps towards us then stopped and turned its head back and forth in confusion once again.
The dragon shook its head wildly, reared back on its hind legs, and let out a shrieking roar. But then it simply stopped what it was doing and leaped back into the air. It hovered above the scene for a few more seconds, and then it flew away.
It seemed that the dragon had been searching for the eye or was trying to destroy it, and once I placed the eye in my bag—which led to the Otherworld—it was no longer able to sense that it was with me.
“Holy shit,” I said with a huff as Sora slowed down. It was only then that I realized that my legs were trembling.
It’s gone? Sora asked. What just happened?
I ignored her question, and when she came to a complete stop, I scanned the clearing. Bodies in purplish-maroon robes were lying everywhere, and the ground was covered in scorch marks, weapons, blood, and water. It looked like a vicious war scene out of a movie.
“Eanos,” I whispered. I urged Sora to where I last remembered seeing the old man. “Quickly to the mage.”
When we reached the old man, he was sitting down, leaning awkwardly against the bodies of two fallen Faithsworn. He was breathing heavily, sitting in a pool of blood, and there were five empty potion bottles sitting beside him.
“You’re alive!” I said as I jumped down to the ground.
You have completed the quest: Retrieve the Eye!
You have received 10,000 XP!
Advancement! You have reached level 24 and gained 3 ability points. To assign your ability points, open your status page. You can also increase any of your known skills by 1 level. Choose wisely, as your choices cannot be undone.
You have gained 10 MP!
“Barely,” he said. He held his arm up, showing his missing hand. His robe was torn, and he had a tight rope of fabric tied tightly below his wound. “I’ve slowed the hemorrhaging, but I’m still bleeding and have no other health potions.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out the only large bandage I was carrying.
“You’re a healer?” Eanos asked.
“No,” I said shaking my head. “But I know what to do about grievous wounds. I’ve had a similar thing happen before.”
“My hand,” Eanos groaned, lifting it off the ground and handing it to me.
The severed hand was a bit swollen and purple, and it felt cold to the touch when I grabbed it from him. I was a little bit grossed out about it, there was no time for me to have a weak stomach in the situation.
“Be still,” I said as I aligned Eano’s hand with his arm and started wrapping the large bandage around his wrist.
“Aren’t you supposed to remove the tourniquet first?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know…”
When the large bandage was fully wrapped around the wound, I felt a bit confident that I had succeeded, but then I saw blood begin to seep through the fabric. Both the bandage and the hand slipped off and fell aimlessly to the ground.
You have failed to bandage your target’s wounds!
“Damnit!” Eanos snapped. “I should’ve known you’d be of no use.”
“What do I do?” I asked. “I have no more large bandages.”
Eanos raised his working hand above him and closed his eyes, and within a few seconds, Xandree flew from the hill she had been perched on and was down on the ground beside Eanos. “I won’t live to make the flight back to town. I’ll need to recall to the Mage’s Hall and hope that Darion can help to save my hand. I can’t cast a portal here, so you—“
“I can recall too. I have the spell.”
“You can recall?” Eanos asked.
I nodded.
Eanos shook his head. “Then don’t come with me. Go now to the Eternal Ravine and return the eye to the Old Ones.”
“Now? Alone?” I shook my head in confusion. “I wouldn’t know how to get there, and the King’s advisor said that I’d need to be at least level 30 to survive.”
“You’re brave, Gunnar, and you are a Reborn.” He turned to the bodies scattered on the ground. “I saw you fight wisely even when you were outmatched. And look at you. You’re basically unscathed!”
I smiled shyly and shook my head. “You did all the work, Eanos.”
Eanos lowered his eyes. “You found it in yourself to snatch the eye right under a dragon’s nose. If you’re that brave, I’m confident you can find your way to the Old Ones.” He paused and after a brief silence where I said nothing back, he added, “Find it in yourself to save the world.”
You’ve received a timed quest offer: Into the Ravine!
Eanos has asked you to return the All-Seeing Eye to the Old Ones. This quest must be completed within 1 Day.
Reward: 5,000 XP
Do you accept this quest? Accept/Decline
“I’m willing to help, but how? There’s no way I can get there quickly.”
Eanos carefully reached into his robe and pulled out his thick, hardcover book. He held the book out to me, and I took it out of his hand.
You’ve received: Eanos’ Runebook. Durability: 77/100. Quality: Great. Rarity: Legendary. Weight: 0.1 kg
“Open to page 105, and you should see a rune for Hallowhaven.”
I flipped the book open to the indicated page and saw an intricate rune scribed on the page. “This says ‘Starrypond’,” I said as I read the writing below the rune.
“Show me,” Eanos ordered.
I flipped the book around to him, and he frowned. “Turn back one page.”
I did as he said, and immediately saw the Hallowhaven rune. “It’s here,” I said with a nod.
“As I was saying… On page 103, you’ll find a rune to Hallowhaven.”
I looked up to him and smirked as his inability to admit his mistake.
He cleared his voice and continued. “It’s a zone right outside of the Eternal Ravine. Head straight east from there, and you’ll know when you’ve found it. Now turn to page 3.”
I flipped back to the beginning of the book.
“That’s a rune for the Mage’s Hall. Once you return the eye, you can meet me back there. Can you do this Gunnar?”
I had no idea if I could, but I nodded anyway. “I’ll try my best.”
You have accepted the quest: Into the Ravine!
Eanos flinched and gritted his teeth in pain. “Hold the runebook out for me. I must go now or it’s my end.”
I nodded, and held the book out, still turned to the page with the Mage’s Hall rune.
Eanos stroked his free hand on Xandree’s leg. “Go, my love. I’ll summon you back again soon.”
Xandree tilted her head to the side for a moment then flew into the sky, disappearing over the hills.
Eanos looked at me one last time and gently said, “I have faith in you, Reborn. Just...” His voice suddenly turned harsh, and switched to the crabby shopkeeper I was familiar with. “Just return my damn Runebook, or I’ll have your head on a stick.”
He focused in on the rune, and after a few second of channeling, the gruff mage had disappeared.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
2/6/0001
I stood there and basked in the silence for a moment after Eanos had left. It had been a long, troubling day, and the light in the sky was slowly starting to disappear.
I scanned the area around me, and like any other person who had ever played an RPG and found themselves surrounded by a countless number of unlooted bodies, a tinge of excitement came over me. I knelt to the first man, checked his belongings, and all I found was 20 gold and a small bandage. I repeated the process with thirty or more of the bodies ‘til I heard a light groan that caught my attention.
