Albanto was no longer white,
It’s walls shone not as purely,
The red sun setting in the West
Made them all turn to blood.
Andryl and Tumble were sleeping
But Andryl slept not so well
As others did in the city,
His dreams haunted his sleep.
* * * * * *
He was sitting in the forest,
Picking flowers all alone,
And overhead he saw a cloud
Blacker than the night sky.
It stopped directly above him
And a growl echoed from it.
Lightning shot down all around him,
No matter where he ran.
And then a bolt did strike him down,
He could feel his flesh burning,
And a face did float down to him,
And hovered by his face.
“I am who they call Sektom Veer.
Though you do not know my name,
I know that your name is Andryl,
And you shall join me soon.”
“The time of man is now over,
And soon I shall rule you all,
You alone I have chosen, boy,
To join me in my reign.”
Andryl felt his skin start to pull
Off of his body towards
The demon that did summon it,
His soul being stolen.
“The more you fight, the more shall die
Until you give up yourself.
Then I shall spare many more lives,
To be slaves, but alive.”
Andryl fought, and he fought some more
To escape from this monster.
And finally he broke away,
And fell back to the ground.
“Thou art such a fool young Andryl,
For you men shall never win!
Your King and fearless Fortero,
Now march into my trap!”
With that the demon disappeared,
And Andryl woke from his sleep.
He then awoke Tumble as well,
And went to the window.
He knew that something must be wrong,
For out the window he saw
Fortero and Novacus ride
Behind the armies rear.
“I fear that trouble is afoot,”
Andryl said to him in fear.
“They ride to meet an enemy
That brings death to us all.”
Tumble frowned and said to Andryl:
“If that be so, we must ride
To warn them all of the danger
They don’t know awaits them.”
The boys both ran out of the inn
And mounted two small ponies.
They rode towards the gates full speed,
Which were closing for night.
The made it through, though just in time
As the gates shut tight behind.
And they sped into the distance,
To warn the King of doom.
* * * * * *
Fortero and the King rode on
Towards Gonora Quarry,
The army of men so frightened
For that which was to come.
The army and their king soon passed
The river of Yolfago,
Which meant their trek would be done,
Just another day’s march.
The mountains closing in on them,
And the sun now setting low,
They made camp along the shoreline,
To help protect their flank.
They lit their fires and pitched their tents
And all began roasting meat.
Fortero pitched his tent beside
That of the King’s and slept.
After the men lay down to sleep,
And silence came over all,
Into the camp did sneak that night
Some stealthy intruders.
They crept between the tents with skill
That none did hear them enter,
Towards the tent of Novacus
They snuck their silent way.
As they reached the door of the tent
And slowly pulled back the mesh,
Soldiers, including Fortero,
Surprised them from behind.
The soldiers grabbed the intruders,
And put steel to their throats.
Fortero paced in front of them,
And brought a torch for light.
To the surprise of everyone,
Both soldiers and intruders,
Fortero began laughing so
That it scared all around.
“Men, you may let them go!” He said,
“For they are no enemy,
‘Tis only Andryl and Tumble,
Boys of Helfuntur Front!”
The guards released their prisoners,
All still a little confused,
And the boys ran to Fortero,
Embracing with a hug.
“What, in the name of all Refis,”
Fortero said to the boys,
“Are you doing here among us,
When I said stay at home!”
Andryl told him so hurriedly
That he must speak with the King.
He had a message for them both,
One that could just not wait.
Fortero saw dread in his face
And knew that it was no joke.
He brought the boys to the King’s tent
And the four all sat down.
Novacus did not like the look
Upon their tiny faces,
And asked them what the message was,
That seemed urgent to him.
Andryl recalled his dream to them
And what Sektom Veer had said,
The two leaders both looked alarmed,
Their wits did fail them both.
“But who,” he asked, “is Sektom Veer?”
“And why does he haunt my dreams?”
Fortero stared towards the king
Waiting for his reply.
“Sektom Veer,” Novacus began,
“Is the destroyer of men.
For he is not of this world born,
And hates all things with life.”
“Sektom Veer was bred of hatred,
From the realm known as Wrathor.
And he has conquered many worlds
And destroyed everything.”
“Wrathor was a relatively
Peaceful place until Sektom
Raised an army and took over
The world and enslaved all.”
“Now he travels from realm to realm,
Killing and destroying all.
And it seems that he is coming,
Our world is next in line.”
The men and boys lowered their heads,
For this was no easy news
To take in all at once for them,
Especially the boys.
Novacus declared, “You must stay.
All of us will spend the night
Together in this tent of mine,
To keep an eye on you.”
He had his servants prepare beds
For the three that now would stay.
He and Fortero both knew that
They needed to watch him.
During the night he dreamt no more,
And slept soundly in his bed.
But Fortero and Novacus
Slept not one wink that night.
Novacus said to Fortero,
“If Andryl’s dream is correct,
Then Sagu had no idea
How bad things will become.”
* * * * * *
The cock crowed and the morning rose
Far behind the waking camp.
They rose and packed up their supplies,
And started on their march.
Andryl rode forth with Fortero
Novacus rode with Tumble.
They were still another day’s march
Away from the quarry.
Novacus had sent messengers
To the armies of allies,
So Skeltoran and Cervias
Would know of the vision.
Later that day they received word
From the two ambassadors,
That they requested a council
With Fortero and King.
“Speed to Monwans’ek and Drolok,
Our emissaries to them,
And advise that we will all meet
Under the trees of Lorne.”
The message was sent back to them,
To all meet that day at noon,
Under cover of Lorne forest,
A holy wood of peace.
The King and Fortero rode on,
And left the army behind,
They took the boys along with them,
To tell of the vision.
With them they took ten other men,
Brave and gallant warriors,
To guard them from unseen attacks
And ensure privacy.
They arrived with the sun on high,
Just before the others came.
A mass of men rode on horseback
Into the Wood of Lorne.
The General of Skeltoran,
Fenkor, rode in with Drolok,
Who was ambassador to them,
And he greeted them all.
The head of Cervias’s men,
Fayre, approached with Monwans’ek
The emissary to their King,
And bowed to Novacus.
They stationed their men around them,
So that none could overhear
And Andryl told them of his dream,
What Sektom Veer had said.
The council became very grim,
And many faces wore frowns.
Novacus stood tall before them,
And he decreed aloud:
“My dear friends, if this dream be true,
Our chances of victory
Diminish rapidly I think,
And we must make new plans.”
Drolok stood and said, “I believe,
Our attack should be postponed
Until we have more evidence
If Sektom Veer is back.”
To which Fayre did challenge, “But no,
I would have to disagree.
For the army of darkness nears,
And our people will die.”
The King said, “With Fayre I concur.
If we return to our homes,
The villains will not slow their march,
It will be worse than now.”
So thus decided the council,
They would continue their trek.
They sat to devise a new plan
To defeat the goblins.
When suddenly they heard a noise,
From deep within the forest,
And a shadow they saw lurking,
Behind the looming trees.
Novacus nodded to his men,
And into the wood they ran
To catch any creeping villains
That might be there to spy.
They sprinted between the tall tress,
And found seven goblin spies
Each of the goblins throats they slit
So they could not return.
But one of the spies escaped them,
And had overheard their talk,
And then returned to his masters
To tell them what he’d learned.
The allied men knew not of this,
Nor did the men that chased them,
But they returned to their meeting
And set a larger watch.
Novacus planned, “Listen, my friends,
We must now act with great haste.
Who knows how long they have listened,
Let us decide quickly!”
The men then made a decision,
To continue their marching.
But the army of Cervias,
Would take another route.
While the armies of Skeltoran
And the legion of Refis
Marched on to their destination,
Fayre took another path.
He led his army to the west
Around the Genora ridge,
While the rest entered into it
To attack the goblins.
And then while the goblin army
Thought their victory was set,
As they knew the original
Plan that was decided,
Cervias’s men would flank them
And cut them down with great force.
Thus the plot was set by them all,
And they returned to camp.
“Let us hope the goblins still think
That we will follow our plan
That was designed before the spies
Intruded on our talk.”
