S1E3 - A Dark Reunion

“A Dark Reunion…”
Fire was erupting into the tavern from stage right billowing like tendrils of amber along the ceiling like writhing snakes. The age-old varnish taking The coarse acrid smoke from burning bloodwood, tar, and oak beginning to fill the hall.
“Cordelia !” Sophie yelled at the woman on stage. “Jump!” Cordelia was shocked. She looked back at Avar . The small man blew her a kiss and waved mouthing out goodbye with a smile on his face, tears welling in his eyes before he dove into the stairwell to the backstage. Nimbly dodging the burning debris falling from above blocking the way for larger people than he.
“Now! we don’t have time!” Elloveve yelled. Snapping back Cordelia nodded, her eyes narrowed slightly as she jumped off the stage into Sophies arms. Zorin was shoving a few panicked stragglers out the door

“Move!”
“I uh what's happening”
“The world is ending what does it matter; move or you will too!” With a final shove, he pushed them out of the way as a firey beam crashed to the floor where he once stood. “Holy mother of… HEY OVER HERE!” he waved at Elloveve and his sisters. They pointed at the exit adjacent to him along the smooth stone brick wall.
The bitter smell of the smoke burned the throat and the greasy texture hung close to the body and Zorin made his way to the exit. Coughing, a hand grabbed his and pulled him free of the smokey room into the night air.
The air cooled his lungs immediately but then his ears filled with the screams. The roar from above sounded like 100 lions and the huge wings that blotted out the night sky beat heavily in his ears as it passed overhead to land by the fountain. Astride his back was an Orc clad in black scaled armor. She yelled gutteral commands at the Dragon . The dragon was everything Zorin had seen in a nightmare. Its twin horns pointed forward and down its skeletal snout. Green smoking acid dripped from its maw as it drooled looking at the people running from it in the square.
“Get down behind the barrels!” Sophie still had his arm and was roughly joining Cordelia and Elloveve behind the large casks on the side of the Pig and Turtle .

“Where’s Benedict ?”
“I… I don’t know.” Fear overcame Elloveve as she realized she didn’t know where the young man had gone. That realization was echoed as each of them looked at each other in turn.
Elloveve looked around, she was too level with the ground she needed a better vantage point.

“Zorin. You know how to get to Viridian from here, yes?” Zorin nodded puzzled.
“I’m going to see if I can see Benedict from above.” She pointed to the long roof behind them. “If we get separated go to Viridian, the first port on the coast is Akeshbahlol …”
“First Port? Is that the..”
“Yes.” She smiled happily, he recognized the port city. “That’s the common name for it. First Port. From there we sail West to Bellz .”
She took a deep breath seeing their puzzled face. “It is time for us to move on. We can find more answers in the Ivory Library .” Cordelia’s eyes grew wide.
She had heard stories of the Ivory Library and the vast knowledge contained on its endless shelves. Supposedly every bit of history, science, technology and magic was documented here and guarded by the legendary Stone Monks . The stone monks were not cruel or righteous. They were avid guardians of the cosmic balance.
Elloveve looked at Sophie and smiled before darting to a stack of crates bounding effortlessly up the rough cut wooden planks to the roof. Never disturbing a single one as if she were a bird's feather on a gentle breeze.

More roars rang out above followed by one from the Black Dragon in the square. The deafening thunder from those leathery wings kicked up dust and embers from the street causing Sophie to shield her eyes from the gusts.
Another Dragon , this one with deep blue scales and a yellow smooth underbelly landed with a lurch as it whipped its tail into a street cart filled with vegetables. This was followed by a much larger crimson scaled wyrm with a dark black beard of horns and scales around its chin. Two horns shot up and back from its skull as it whipped its head to the side to roar at some scurrying terrified people.
Cordelia was frozen. She was horrified and entranced at the same time. Here in the flesh were dragons. Those great dragons of legend her father told her about so many years ago.

The red dragon took an uneasy step towards the stack of barrels they hid behind. Zorin ducked low with the other two and motioned a single finger in front of his lips to indicate absolute silence.
“GRRRRRR”
The dragon’s head swept by the barrels with a single yellow eye of curiosity. The black slit of an iris dilated slightly
“Fury ! Let us discuss the plan for this GREAT city.” A deep shout came from his back. The dragon swung its head back to the dragons in the square. It was Zorin’s turn to be shocked. He, wide-eyed, craned his neck over the barrels with Sophie and Cordelia.
“Is that…”
“None other…”
Zorin saw the huge man drop from the back of the red dragon with a crown of dragons on his black haired head. He held a huge sword in his hand. His heart was pounding deep in his stomach. There was a silver dragon turtle pommel with 2 red eyes glowing in power.
“Hello… Father.” he spat restrained behind clenched angry teeth.
Lord Pallus strode to the center of the 3 dragons. The orc rider nimbly slid off her mount to join him. The dark chains shook like chimes as she walked. The third rider was shrouded. The pale hands clutched the haft of a large studded mace. Their eyes shone out like two orange-red glowing embers from behind the dark veil. They too dismounted and joined the other two riders for the conference.
“With this Kur is ours along with Bloodwood and most of Viridian .”
“Most..Not all.. rotten elves still hold access to the dark reaches.” the Orc snarled.
“No matter we are victorious. They will soon fall.”
“They hold fast though, we must…”
“Silence!” The dark figure hissed the dark shroud of his face falling away to show a single sunken cheek. “This is defeatist prattle!” He turned to Lord Pallus. “What now my lord?”
“We will raze the town for supplies and set up a garrison. Then we make our assault on Viridian.” He grew very cold as he thought deeply. “Our underground allies must be freed. They will be key to my ascension!”
The orc leader laughed and pulled a horn from her belt sounding it. From the shadows, orc armies began to appear and flow as a single chaotic mass into the square and shops from Cordelia’s right.
“Zorin?”
“Hmm.” He was still intent on his father, the source of 10 years of hate from that night, and a loveless relationship before then. The night he lost his best friend.
“Zorin!”
“What?!” oh uh?”
“Move!” Sophie stood and shoved Zorin out of the way as a huge cleaver like blade crushed the barrel they were behind. Zorin rolled and stood on his feet his rapier deftly in his hand. He moved to Cordelia who was cupping a small bolt of fire in her hands that slowly began to grow.
Sophie swatted the Great Axe to the side as she drove a shoulder to the Orc knocking him backward. Her eyes closed and she mumbled some arcane words before throwing it at the Orc in front of Sophie. It met its mark exploding in a shower of sparks sending the orc back on his heels to the ground.
They darted across the courtyard towards an open alley the orcs hadn’t reached yet. The red dragon roared and swung a tail at them as they scattered barely missing the muscular tree trunk-sized limb. Zorin rolled under it feeling the breath of wind as it sailed mere feet from his body smashing into the store face for a bakery sending flour dust in a plume out of the gaping wound of the wall.
“Go!” He shouted at Cordelia who was wide-eyed next to him. Rising up he heard a shout. Standing on the rooftop was a figure. Her flame-red hair cascaded from her shoulders keeping time with the fire now surrounding her. Elloveve calmly drew an arrow to her cheek before sending it lose. The arrow sailed across the courtyard slamming into an Orc pursuing two other figures.
She recognized the armor of one. Definitely was Benedict, but the other ran alongside him... two crude orcish daggers drawn.

They continued to run to the alley.
Elloveve felt the heat of the fire dancing across her back as she fired arrow after arrow covering their escape.
“Cordelia.”
Arrowshot
“Zorin”
Arrowshot
“Sophie”
Arrowshot
“Benedict”
Arrowshot.
She saw the figure next to Benedict running. She saw him whip around an Orc and in the same fluid motion cut him down with those two daggers. Whoever he was, he was on their side therefore she had him too.
Arrowshot.
The flame grew higher and hotter.
“Just a minute longer. Please. Just a minute.”
She fired. “AHHH!” The flames could reach her arms. It burned but the children were almost safe.
She fired again and again. Ignoring the searing pain in her arm. The smell of smoke and burning was nauseating. Tears welled in her eyes. She would do this. She would do this last thing. They reached the alley.
She sighed. They had made it.
She saw the shrouded man look up at her. With one arm raised in acknowledgment. She knew those eyes.. was it really… and with a nod, he disappeared. At that moment something familiar washed over her, a memory at the forefront of her mind. "Could it be?"
Tears flowed as she looked at the rising face of Fury. his face glowing with a bright red fireball in his mouth. Glowing and growing. She laughed as she inwardly to herself dropping her bow to her side. She thought of all the happiness she shared in this life. It was a good day.

She thought of her love and their lost friends hoped they would meet again in the next life. She took a deep breath of the smoky air smelling past the smoke, past the salt sea to her soft sweet smelling trees. She smiled wide and closed her eyes remembering her promise.
“I held the oath Erebus. May the Knight and Maiden watch them now.”
Throwing out her arms, she embraced the white-hot fire of the Dragon.

The children shot into the alley the sounds of the city being taken down slowly dimming as they made their way in the dark musty alleys to the edge of the city.
“Wait…” Zorin Panted “Wait…”
“Who are you?” He pointed at the shrouded man.
“We don’t have time… but soon I..”
Sophie's eyes grew wide. “No…”
She stepped forward and the man looked away quickly. “You don’t understand… I uh”
She reached out “is it…”
As her hand closed on the hood the man’s hand clasped hers gently. His eyes were pleading with her, not because of fear of her knowing but of him finally leaving his shroud of 10 years of fear and pain. He sighed and pulled back his hood.
“I… I dreamed of seeing you again everyday Sophie.”

“Oh my gods… Zane.” Sophie embraced him with hot tears cutting paths in her soot-stained cheeks.
And Zane wept too as Zorin, Cordelia and Benedict joined them all together in the dark alley of Port L’For.

Friends Forever, Now Together.

|CAST|

| Sophie - Sarah Jenkins
| Cordelia Shieldheart - Joleen Fresquez
| Benedict Shieldheart - Brian Dowling
| Zorin - Cody Miller
| Zane Shieldheart - Storm S Cone
| Elloveve Hawklight - Jessica Atchley
| Squib the Crusher - Piper Cleaveland (World Forge Podcast)
| Dekkion the Dark Cleric - Matthew Bianchi
| Lord Pallus - Ian Wilkinson
| Terrified Citizen - Sam Wiegel (World Forge Podcast)
| NARRATOR - Mike Atchley
All Music/Production by Mike Atchley