The
Virtual
Realm

Chapter 3

The Flame of Truth

‘Well,’ said the Magician, only half-managing to hide his smirk, ‘there’s one weapon that can withstand magical fires!’

Eric glared at his friend. Ok, so it was true, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen it coming. But did Presto really have to rub it in with such enthusiasm!

The others stared at him too, even Thom. They all had that look. He hated that look!

‘Ok, Ok! I get the idea!’ the Cavalier snapped. ‘It’s my turn!’

The Key section was on a pedestal in the middle of a ring of fire at the end of the Treasury. Eric wondered at the wisdom of having flames so close to all those nice, inflammable books; but he guessed the people who had set this up were smart enough to have considered that!

It all seemed straightforward enough; use the Shield to get through the fire, get the Key and get back. He was feeling good, even after all that had happened. That asprin had really helped. Well, he was not gonna need a pep talk from Hank this time; or prompting from Diana; or a kind word from Sheila! He could figure out what he needed to do without them this time!

He took a small step forward, and the fires around the Key suddenly flared much higher than before; the heat was incredible. Everyone took a couple of steps back.

‘Um… We’ll wait for you here,’ said Presto, as he backed away.

‘Yeah, good luck!’ said Sheila.

‘I’m sure you’ll be fine, in that lovely armour, and with your Shield,’ added Diana with a clever smirk.

The Cavalier didn’t bother to answer back. He wasn’t in the mood to fence words with the Acrobat at the moment. The Shield began to glow, and he took a few tentative steps forwards, as everyone else hurried to the safety of the shelves nearby.

Again, the fire burned up fiercely as he approached. The heat was almost overwhelming, and the Cavalier swayed slightly. This can’t be a good idea! If it reacted to magic, shouldn’t he leave the Shield behind, like Diana did with her Javelin? But do I really want to jump through fire without my Shield?

It was too late anyway. He glanced back, and saw the fires had already crept round behind him. The flames seemed to be making a proper wall, and it was as if he were pushing against a stream of water; thanks to Presto he knew what that was like!

Eric winced, gripping the straps of his Shield as tightly as he could. What had ever possessed him to do this! But instead of panicking, he managed to take another few steps forward through the flames.

It seemed to be getting easier…

Afterwards, he only told his friends the abbreviated version of what happened; it was only much, much later that he told the whole truth, and then to only one person.

Very suddenly, it went ice cold, cold enough to see the breath in front of his face.

Eric almost fell over, as the force he was pushing against unexpectedly disappeared.

‘What the…?’

It was white everywhere, and he had to narrow his eyes against the glare, as the room was so bright and pure. The flames had gone, and so had everything else except the Key on the pedestal.

He lowered his Shield cautiously. This was weird. Even for the Realm, this was weird! To his left, a something moved forward, seeming to shift disjointedly in the light. As it came closer, he saw it was a figure wearing armour and a high-plumed helmet. And the figure had a sword. The next thing he knew, the sword swung up, and then down towards the Shield at a great speed. Eric ducked behind his weapon and braced himself.

Nothing happened.

For a few seconds, he stayed still anyway. Just in case. Then he cautiously peeped round the Shield’s side. The sword and the armour were gone. Instead, a man clad in simple robes was standing in front of him. Much to Eric’s surprise, he recognised him; he was the Knight from the picture, the one Thom had spoken of, the one who’d died splitting the Key in two.

The Cavalier stared, but the man stood, waiting.

For a few long, empty moments, they stayed still, staring at each other.

‘Um… Hi?’ said Eric at last. ‘Um, who are… um… you?’

Way to go, Cavalier! he thought bitterly. Is that really the best you can some up with in the circumstances?

The figure gave a small bow.

‘If you have come this far,' he said, 'then you have defeated all the other tasks that were set by my kinsman before he died. But you have one final trial to withstand.’

Eric gulped, imagining all sorts of different, and extremely unpleasant “trials”. He would have backed away, but there seemed to be nowhere to go.

‘Tell me, adventurer, why do you desire the Key?’ asked the man softly.

‘We wanna get home,’ replied Eric, looking back at the man. There was something odd about this; and the Knight just seemed to gaze through him.

Suddenly, a pure light rose up all around the Cavalier. It was so pure, and so perfect that it was painful. It grated against him; he wasn’t perfect; he was small, and flawed and ugly compared to it. He would have cried out, but that would only have made it worse, so he stood in silent agony until it stopped.

‘You speak the truth,’ said the Knight, as the light faded. Eric would have answered back, but the echoes of the pure light helped him hold his tongue.

‘But that is of no consequence,’ continued the man. ‘The power of the Locked Portal is too great and coveted by Evil. Do not risk so much, for so little.’

Anger rose inside the Cavalier, overcoming his restraint. Going home was NOT little! Going home was the only important thing they had to do in this crummy place! No one was gonna talk him out of it!

‘We’ve been stuck in this dump for years!’ he snapped, pointing a gauntleted finger in the Knight’s face. ‘We’ve missed so many portals that I’ve lost count! We have to get home! We deserve to get home!’

His impassioned speech left the man unmoved, and Eric suddenly realised what was odd. The man wasn’t real. He wasn’t really there. It was like a memory enshrined in magic. The thought filled the Cavalier with sorrow. This was all that remained of the brave Knight; that and a few pictures. He’d given up his life to protect the portal and defeat the evil creature that had tried to consume it. It wasn’t much of an epitaph.

Decisively, Eric stepped forward towards the Key. He wanted to get home!

‘Beware, adventurer,’ said the man, his voice heavy with sadness and grief. ‘For those who would use the portal there is very great danger.’

Of course there is! thought Eric sourly. Dungeonmaster sent us to find it, didn’t he! He doesn’t send us any place where everything is easy!

‘Evil is now bound to it, always and forever; the Evil that never sleeps. And if you take the Key its shadow will be upon you. So beware, adventurer. Beware of the truth of the Evil that will haunt you. Beware.’

The Knight stepped back towards the white walls, and seemed to fade. The Cavalier stared after him, confused. For a few moments, Eric struggled to remember the story Thom had told them of the Knight and his fight against Evil. He wasn’t certain, but he thought Thom had said it was imprisoned. Where? And how? And why?

He would have asked more questions, but the Knight took one more step back, and vanished and Eric was left alone with the piece of Key.

The whole experience was profoundly unsettling. It seemed there was much more to this Portal than they could have thought; no other one they’d been to had such a warning attached.

Just in front of him was the second bit of Key, sitting on the pedestal. But for some inexplicable reason, Eric hesitated.

This was stupid! He had every right to take it! They deserved to go home. But the more he tried to strengthen his resolve, the more it seemed to weaken.

If he told the others he almost didn’t take it, they would have gone nuts! It was their way out, their only way out now. If he didn’t take it they would be stuck in Ur for years, and they would never get home. But some part of him was deeply affected by the Knight’s speech. Maybe whoever made all these traps was counting on that. Maybe all those traps and tests were there for a reason, to deter anyone from taking the Key. Maybe all those tests were there to stop Evil from using the portal.

Minutes passed, and the Cavalier just stared at the Key, his thoughts swirling around, making his indecision even worse.

It was the thought of the others that finally made him move. They did deserve to get home. And thanks to the Ratmen, they had no other choice now, as they couldn’t get back in time.

He took a deep breath, and stepped forward to pick it up, half expecting something weird or dangerous to happen. But nothing did.

It was just sitting there, on the pedestal, waiting for him to pick it up and get home. It was simple. Just pick it up! So he did.

As soon as the Key was in his hand, the whiteness changed abruptly, and he was back in the Treasury as if nothing had happened.

‘Oh! Eric? What happened?’ asked Sheila.

He looked around, surprised at their sudden reappearance.

‘You’ve been ages!’ she said anxiously, coming up to him and taking his arm. ‘We were really worried!’

He frowned at her. Ages? He’d been a couple of minutes at most!

‘Did you get it?’ asked Thom from the side.

Eric didn’t answer; the Cavalier didn’t like Thom. No surprises there, but he got a really uncomfortable feeling whenever the creature even looked at him. Perhaps it was because the creature was so like Dungeonmaster in size and form; perhaps it was because the creature was so like Venger in attitude. Perhaps it was just because he was so creepy!

‘Did you get the Key?’ asked Presto, and Eric had the sudden urge to tell them to check for themselves. He glanced back, but the pedestal, the flames; everything was gone.

‘Weird,’ he murmured.

‘Eric!’ Hank said. The Ranger was holding out his hand.

The strange, awkward feeling was back again, and he almost turned away, denying what had happened. But instead, he held out the section of Key and dropped it into Hank’s outstretched hand.

‘Way to go, Eric!’ cheered Bobby.

‘Alright!’

Even Diana gave him a quick hug.

‘What happened? Inside the fire?’ asked Sheila.

‘Yeah we couldn’t see,’ added Presto.

‘I’ll, um, tell you later,’ said Eric, feeling strangely nervous inside at the prospect. ‘Can’t a guy have a little rest after walking through flames? It was hard work, you know!’

The quip had the desired effect and the others seemed to loose interest in him and his experiences. They were looking at the bit of Key in Hank’s hand.

‘Well, Hank, what about this one?’ said Diana, holding up the box and giving it a little shake. The other Key section was still inside. Eric rolled his eyes, he wasn’t gonna bother repeating himself, and Hank took the hint.

‘Let’s break it,’ the Ranger said.

Diana shrugged, and dropped it on the ground, letting the crystal box around the first Key section shatter into hundreds of sparkling shards of light. Hank stooped down and picked it up, holding one piece in each hand.

As they stood looking at the two pieces, a glow of light came from them, like a halo, and it pushed out to surround them. For a moment, it hovered there pulsing, then it was gone.

Eric rubbed his eyes, feeling slightly dizzy; he could have sworn the two bits of Key were a little shinier than before. Hank fiddled around with the sections for a moment, then seemed to give up.

‘We’ve got the Keys,’ he said, his eyes gleaming with hopefulness. ‘We can fit them together on the way. Now all we’ve gotta do is find the Locked Portal! And then we go home!’

‘We don’t have much time left,’ muttered Presto, giving Eric a dark look. He scowled back. He had no idea what they were talking about! What had he done wrong this time?

Hank turned to Thom, barely able to contain his hopefulness. The little creature smiled; Eric liked him even less when he smiled.

‘The Locked Portal is close by. It’s here, in the Palace.’

‘Thank goodness,’ Sheila muttered.

‘But we will have to walk quickly,’ Thom added. ‘We don’t want to be late.’

Without waiting to hear what the kids had to say, Thom moved forward, walking past where the pedestal had been and through the rest of the Treasury. He led them straight through, ignoring everything to the left or right until they reached the far wall, and another door.

This time, it opened out to somewhere they recognise; they were back in the tunnels very near where they’d fought the Ratmen and the statues.

Eric scowled as they walked past the debris of the fight.

‘Hey!’ he called to Thom. ‘Why couldn’t we have taken the short way the first time?’

Thom turned, glaring at him.

‘The doors only open outwards,’ he replied, in a tone that Eric took to imply that he was stupid just for asking the question! The Cavalier scowled at Thom’s back.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Presto from beside him. ‘I was just gonna ask the same thing.’

The Magician’s comment made Eric smile.

They crossed the hallway to the wide, spiral stairs at the far side, and started to climb them. Presto and Eric were at the back, and they climbed the stairs together, not talking as they both grew out of breath very quickly. Thom almost ran up the stairs, never pausing. Diana was the only one with any chance of keeping up, but he eventually outpaced her.

She tried to call out, but the little creature didn’t slow down.

‘What are we going to do, Hank?’ Eric heard her ask.

‘Keep following!’

‘Looks like we’re going to have to speed up,’ Presto said, not looking pleased at the prospect. ‘Let’s run for a while.’

‘A short while!’ Eric said.

They started to run up the stairs, trying to gain some ground on the others. Fortunately, the others had paused.

‘Where’s… Thom?’ gasped Eric.

‘He’s ahead,’ said Sheila. ‘He won’t slow down!’

‘You sure we’re going the right way?’ asked Bobby. Beside him, Uni looked tired, and was nuzzling into the Barbarian, probably hoping to be carried.

‘There’ve been no doors,’ said Hank. ‘I guess we just keep on going up!’

‘Great,’ murmured Eric, as loudly as he dared.

The group kept on going, winding upwards all the time. Eric was exhausted and feeling more despondent every minute. No amount of asprin was gonna help when you were climbing endless stairs with plate armour on! But more than that, there seemed to be a dark shadow looming behind him; maybe it was because he was tired or maybe it was because of the fires, and the Knight’s puzzling warning.

Keeping his eyes on the steps in from of him, he kept on plodding upward. He couldn’t even talk anymore. It was embarrassing, even after so long in this stupid place, he still lagged behind the others! Even Prsto had outpaced him this time!

Diana and Hank were in the lead, and at last, after what seemed like hour and hours of climbing-torture, there was an excited shout and Eric realised they must have reached the top.

Closing his eyes momentarily, he forced himself to go faster, the thought of home helping to keep him going. It was further than he’d anticipated; he must have fallen further behind than he’d thought.

At the very top of the stairs was an open door; the others had already gone through by the time he’d reached it. He looked into the room beyond while leaning on the doorframe, trying to catch his breath.

It was unusual by its emptiness; there were no murals or paintings, only a few faded tapestries on the far wall. The floor was made of stone, as were the walls. There were no window and no other doors that he could see. It was dark, and cool and peacful.

The object that caught his attention immediately was behind a huge set of glowing silver gates: the portal. It was unmistakable, the swirling mass of colour, and the unmistakable feeling of magic. It should have taken his breath away; it would have done if he’d not been so out of breath anyway.

No far away, his friends were standing together.

‘Nice of you to join us, Cavalier!’ said Diana. She grinned at him so happily and infectiously that he had to grin back. They had done it: they had made it all the way through Ur to find the Key and find the portal. They were gonna get home! He could almost smell the hotdogs and pizza already!

The others were looking at something in Hank’s hand, and Eric realised that it was the sections of Key. Hank still hadn’t managed to fit them together.

The Ranger fumbled with them for almost a minute before looking at his friends.

‘Um, anyone else want a go?’

Eric watched with growing impatience as Sheila, then Presto, then Diana all tried to fit the two Key sections together with no success.

He could see very clearly what they had to do; there were two little rainbow-like stripes that twinkled with a soft light, one on each section of the Key. It was obvious that they had to lock together with the stripes in line!

It was odd, now he thought about it. At first, in the Treasury, he hadn’t noticed them, but now they were beside the Locked Portal itself, the glow was now very distracting and he couldn’t look at the pieces without seeing it. He couldn’t understand what was wrong with the others. Why didn’t they just fit them together? It was simple!

‘Oh, please!’ he said at last. ‘Are you all blind and well as clumsy!’

‘Well, if you’re so clever, Er-ic, why don’t you try it then!’ Diana snapped back at him, and held the sections out.

‘Finally! A good idea!’ He had enough self-control to stop himself snatching the pieces out of her hand.

Eric looked at the two sections, one in each hand, held between a finger and thumb, and hesitated. It had looked very simple before, and he could still see the twinkly lines of colour, but he had a really funny feeling inside.

He’d done some pretty stupid things in his time in the Realm, and that wasn’t even counting the great, overwhelming and total mess he’d made of that business with the Box of Balefire. But the important thing was that he had learned. He’d started to pay attention to the signs and the situations, and he knew when he was about to do something really dumb. Ok, so it didn’t always stop him from doing it, but the point was that he recognised those moments now, rather than blundering around at the mercy of his ego.

And, most importantly, now was definately one of those times; notwithstanding the fact that this Key was the only way out of Ur they had left, and that if they didn’t get out, they would be trapped inside the city.

He didn’t know how he knew, but he did: It was a really bad idea! The Knight was right.

The Cavalier hesitated for another few moments, about to mention his fear and doubts to the others. But in the end, they needed the Key to get them home; he had to fit it together, in spite of his reservations. they had to get home.

‘It’s ok, guys,’ he muttered, ‘I think I’ve…’ For the first time in a few moments he looked up, expecting his friends to still be watching him. The rest of the sentence stalled, and the words stuck in his mouth.

It wasn’t the hundreds of Ratmen that caught his attention, or their glinting swords, or their dull yellow fangs.

It was the figure standing in front of them.

It was Venger.

They hadn’t seen Venger for months; it would have been nice to think that they had forgotten about him, but they hadn’t. Above the icy fear that took his breath away, he was suddenly very angry.

This whole set up had smelt of Venger! Eric had known something was odd about this place, he’d felt it the moment they’d stepped inside. The feeling they were being followed, or watched, the odd feeling of magic around everything. It was the same feeling as when he’d been Dungeonmaster, and it had been Venger following them then too!

He should have said something sooner, he should have mentioned his fears to Hank, and made him listen! He should have known; he recognised that feeling now. Damn it, he DID know, he just didn’t THINK!

And now they were trapped!

Venger smiled at them all, his mocking gaze lingering for a moment on the Cavalier. Eric clutched the Key sections tightly and tried to think up a way of hiding them, or at least getting rid of them for long enough to fight the Arch-Mage.

Just in front of him, Hank lifted the Bow, and pulled an arrow. Eric had to admire the way Hank tried to stay in control of the situation, even if it was hopeless.

‘Stay back, Venger!’ said the Ranger, his voice surprisingly calm.

‘Or what, Ranger?’ replied the Arch-Mage. ‘You will fire?’

Hank gulped, but didn’t lower the arrow.

‘I don’t think you’ll be able to stop them all, Ranger,’ continued Venger. ‘Do you?’

‘I’m happy to try!’ Hank said defiantly.

‘Very well!’

There was a blinding flash from Venger’s hand, aimed directly at Eric. Fortunately, the Shield caught the main force of the magical blast, but the Cavalier was unprepared for it and, unbalanced, he was knocked backwards.

He must have lost consciousness for a few moments.

The first thing he realised was that he was on the ground, had a thumping headache again, and now his chest hurt like he’d been hit by a Golden Dragon.

There were noises of a fight going on around him, but his mind was too foggy to really understand what was happening. Yet again, he was lying sprawled on the floor when he should have been standing, helping the others. His eyes were closed and it seemed almost impossible to open them. He wasn’t sure he could move at all, but from very close by he could hear the screech of Ratmen and the clash of metal. The others were all shouting, and that didn’t help the headache at all. Then he felt the rumble of the Club striking the floor.

‘Get away from her!’

‘Hank, stop them!’

‘Look out!’

‘Scatter!’

‘Somebody get across there!’

‘Look OUT!’

Sheila screamed those last words so loudly that Eric forced his eyes open and looked round. The room slid into view.

Of the others, only Bobby was free. Ratmen had taken hold of all of the others. But the Barbarian was surrounded. As Eric watched, Bobby was grabbed from behind, and the Club viciously pulled out of his hand. He was pulled over to where the others were being held. Sheila hugged the young boy tightly. They all looked as terrified as Bobby, even Hank. Around them the Ratmen snarled and snapped, licking their lips.

Eric glanced up at Venger, now stood very close by and towered over the fallen Cavalier. On his face was a terribly smug and cruel smirk.

‘So, Cavalier,’ said Venger. He waited, but Eric made no reply. Even if he could have thought of something clever to say, the blast had knocked the breath out of him, and he struggled to take in air, let alone actually talk!

‘So, Cavalier,’ repeated the Arch-Mage, with a hint more malice in his voice, ‘I cannot believe that you, of all people, have nothing to say.’

Slowly, Eric pushed himself up to as sitting position, never taking his eyes off Venger. Why hadn’t the Arch Mage just destroyed him while he had the chance? That Venger was playing some malevolent game was obvious enough, but if he wanted the bits of Key, why didn’t he just take them?

One of the Ratmen scampered forward, holding the other five weapons, and he laid them in Venger’s arms.

The Arch-Mage looked at the Cavalier, still waiting for a response.

Eric did manage to reply that time; with two words he wouldn’t normally have used in front of Bobby or Sheila. But if he was ever going to be justified in using them, now was the time!

But Venger laughed at his bravado.

'How amusing that you, of all people, should be the only one who can fit the Key together!' he said. 'How very amusing!'

The Cavalier scowled at him, deeply insulted at the tone of Venger's voice.

‘You will join the two sections together, Cavalier, or your friends,’ Venger gave this word a special emphasis, ‘will suffer the consequences.’

A wave of sickness washed through him, and he felt cold, and alone, and very, very scared. It was an impossible choice. If he didn’t, well… he didn’t want to think about it… but Venger would, no doubt think up something really horrible!

‘Eric! No!’ called out Hank. ‘Don’t do it!’

The Cavalier looked up at Venger and saw the cold, calculating look in his eye. Venger couldn’t be trusted… remember Kelek…

He had a sudden, insane thought; so insane that he almost laughed out loud.

He moved slightly, looking down at the sections of Key that were sitting on the ground beside him. He was insane to try it. There was no way Venger was going to fall for a bluff, not at this stage! But what do I have to loose?

Slowly, he lifted the Shield above the Key, its pointed tip right above the larger section.

‘Set them free,’ he said, wishing his voice wasn’t so wobbly. 'Set them free, or I'll destroy it.'

Venger looked amused.

‘You try to bargain your way out now, Cavalier?’

‘Set them free!’

‘I do not believe you,’ purred Venger in a soft voice, gently mocking him. ‘I do not believe you could destroy it; their only way out.’

His hand was shaking so much that it must have been obvious to everyone that he was terrified. What was he doing! There wasn’t even any guarantee that the Shield would do anything except bounce off!

The others were watching him, all with the same horrified expression. Geez, what am I DOING?

‘I-I’ll do it, I-I swear,’ he said. ‘I’ll destroy the Key if you don’t let them go!’

Venger was looking at him; actually, Venger was smirking at him. He hated that look. It was the same as when they’d faced off at Darkhaven. What in God’s name was he doing?

‘You are willing to choose death, Cavalier? And imprisonment in Ur for your friends?’

Eric stared at Venger, confused, but only for a moment. Then he remembered what Thom had said about the Key, and the last person who had tried to destroy it. He’d died. The Knight he’d seen in the flames… he’d died.

The Shield wobbled but somehow Eric kept his nerve.

‘I see you are,’ continued the Arch-Mage. ‘How amusing!’

What if Venger called his bluff? What if he really had to do it? It was impossible to describe the feeling: It wasn’t despair (he was familiar with THAT feeling by now!); it wasn’t even fear. It was something else. Something greater. And something better. For a second, it felt like his heart stopped, and his blood ran from warm to cold and his hand tightened on the side of the Shield.

Venger wasn’t gonna play.

His bluff was called.

He only had one option left.

He had to destroy the Key!

And what surprised him the most was that he knew he would.

= = =

Curse that Cavalier! He hated him, almost as much as he hated the Ranger!

Venger was beyond furious. How dare a whelp such as that dictate his actions! They stared at each other, and Venger was sorely tempted to strike out and kill him with a single flick of his hand. How ironic that the Key should have chosen him to be its keeper, to be the only one who could fit the two pieces together! This pitiful, weak, cowardly child, with no more idea of his place in the Realm than a leaf; or a mote of dust! It was contemptible! It was obscene!

And it was typical!

Since those children had set foot in the Realm, nothing went as he had planned. How many time had he tried, and failed, to be rid of them? It was a pity the Flames hadn’t killed him. It was a pity he couldn’t set the Ratmen on him. How often must he, Venger the Dark Ruler of the Realm be defeated to by a child!

He remembered Darkhaven; it haunted his waking dreams. True, there had been other times when the Cavalier had personally thwarted his plans, but Darkhaven was the worst. To be defeated in such an ignominious manner, by this cowardly, weak child was beyond an insult. As Dungeonmaster, the boy’s powers had been erratic at best, but he had still managed to banish him and destroy the Grimoire before he could use it!

Venger looked down at the Cavalier, seeing the boy's hands shake.

But there was something that he’d missed before. Yes, the boy was terrified beyond reason. And yet, that was not going to stop him. Not even the death was going to stop him. He was at the very brink of destroying the Key, regardless of the personal consequences.

And Venger knew for certain that was exactly what he would do would, if trapped. The realisation came as a great surprise: Somehow, the young man had grown up.

Very slowly, always watching the Cavalier and his reactions, the Arch-Mage lowered his hand, forcing the anger as far inside him as he could.

‘Very well, Cavalier,’ he said. ‘What do you suggest?’

The young man almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing; that was obvious. And would give Venger the advantage. Inside he smiled. This was going to be easy!

‘Release us, and leave!’

Venger laughed. The Cavalier might have won on bravado, but he would fail with bargaining.

‘I cannot do that, Cavalier. And you know it.’

He stated it as fact, and saw the young man glance to he friends, possibly for help or inspiration.

‘Let us go, and I’ll give you the Key,’ he said.

‘But I will keep you weapons! All of them!’

‘No!’

‘Yes, Cavalier! I will have the Key and the weapons, or I will ensure your friends are ripped to shreds before your eyes. I will give you your life, and that of your friends, in return for the Key. And your Shield.’

The boy looked like he was going to argue, but Venger cut in.

‘You cannot win, Cavalier,’ he said. ‘If you try to fight, you will all be destroyed. It you destroy the Key, your friends will die as well.’

The Cavalier seemed cowed by this. He kept glancing to the other for help. Deliberately, Venger moved to stand between them, looking down at the young man in as calm and majestic a manner as he could.

There was silence for a few seconds.

‘I… I don’t think I trust you,’ the Cavalier stammered.

Venger fought off the urge to laugh. This one had indeed grown up a great deal since he’d first come to the Realm. No one else would dare say that to his face!

Venger paused, then gave a small bow with a flourish.

‘Then I give you my Word! And so the choice, Cavalier, is yours!’

= = =

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

The Point of No Return Part II

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(Fan Art for Venger vs Eric )

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