But a shout interrupted him.

  “I have something to say,” a man shouted, coming forward. He addressed Golin: “And you will want to hear about it, Sir, before you leave.”

  “It’s Bellin!” someone said in surprise.

  A general sensation ran through the crowd. Bellin was a scout, and he’d been away for a week, traveling north beyond the Dark Forest.”

  “Bellin has returned!” someone shouted.

  “I returned hours ago,” he retorted. “You were too distracted to notice, but that is understandable. Now, let me tell you my news.”

  Everyone parted, and Bellin strode over to Tex and bowed.

  “Thank the gods you’ve returned, Lord Tex! I’ve spotted Skrillings. Big camp of them. Must be 150. They’re half a day’s journey away on the other side of the Dark Forest. And they’re new; I’ve never seen this group before.”

  “Do they wear armor?” Tex asked.

  Bellin frowned. “No, Lord Tex. I’ve never seen Skrillings with armor.”

  Golin’s face became increasingly irritable. He turned to his men. “Right. We’re off.”

  “Wait,” Bellin said. “You’ll want to hear this. There’s another group, even larger, just outside your village.”

  Golin turned. “I thought you’d just come from the far side of the forest? There’s no way you had time to go to my village, unless you sprouted wings and flew.”

  Bellin pulled out a rolled-up piece of birch bark. “I was not there, but Hin was. He left his account at the checkpoint.”

  He tapped his finger on the birchbark. “They were there three days ago. I hope nobody remains in your village.”

  Golin looked at the paper, and there was a brief twinkle of gratitude in his eyes. “No. We brought everyone here.”

  “And what do we know about that group?” Tex said, referring to the second group of Skrillings. “Are they new, too?”

  Bellin nodded. “Yes. And they have two witchdoctors.”

  “Solis’s balls!” Broden said in disgust. “The island’s crawling with Skrillings, then.”

  “There’s probably more, too,” Bellin added. “It looks like they’re traveling through the Outland Pass, so they must be landing in Bulig’s Bay. I expect we’d find more there.”

  “But why would they land on the opposite side of the island?” Golin said. “Why not station themselves closer? It’s not like them to be shy. If they wanted a fight, I’d have thought they’d just come straight here.”

  “Maybe it’s because of Lord Tex’s reputation,” Steelfarr said. “They’re taking a more cautious approach, building a base, waiting for reinforcements.”

  Good, Tex thought. Now they’re engaged.

  “Perhaps that’s true,” he said. “Or maybe they have another priority. Bulig’s Bay is on the other side of the mountains, isn’t it? Near the foothills.”

  Broden grunted. “It is. When you’re standing in the bay, you can see the foothills of Gol Mountain.”

  “That’s where they are,” Tex said. “They’re mining for Dargild. I saw it in Shayla’s scrying glass.”

  Brodin frowned. “What do they want with Dargild? It’s no use against us.”

  “It’s useless against us, but it can destroy The Necromancer. Remember, he’s a Sundvarr. Or at least, he was one.” Tex glanced at Emi and Neesha.

  The elves squirmed uncomfortably at the reminder.

  Everyone murmured in surprise.

  Steelfarr’s eyes widened. “Are you saying he can be killed?”

  Tex nodded. “Yes. And the proof is in the fact that he’s so desperate to scoop up all available Dargild.”

  Steelfarr cast his eyes around. “Then we must attack the Dargild mine soon and take whatever they’ve acquired!”

  Utu suddenly strutted forward angrily.

  “Oh, really? I thought you were leaving? Don’t you remember? Tex is a fraud — that’s what you said.”

  She jabbed her spear at him. “Go ahead, leave! Go away and hide in the forests and pray the Skrillings will leave you alone!”

  Tex took Utu by the shoulders and pulled her aside. “Baby, please calm down. I’m handling this.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. They make me so angry. The things they said about you… ugh!” She squeezed her spear.

  Tex rubbed her arms. “Don’t worry, Utu. People are fickle. But I’m gonna get them back on our side. I have a plan.”

  He turned back to the others, settling his gaze on Steelfarr. “What’s your name?”

  Steelfarr’s eyes widened. “Oh, uh, pardon me, Lord Tex. I am Steelfarr.” He bowed.

  Tex nodded. “Well, Steelfarr, I like your boldness. That’s exactly what we need around here.”

  Steelfarr puffed his chest out.

  Tex continued: “However, I know something the Skrillings don’t: there is no Dargild in those hills. I have it from Shayla.”

  Broden elbowed Tex in the ribs. “Sounds like she was eager to help you. You must have put her in a good mood.”

  The men chuckled approvingly, and the women perked up, hoping to catch some juicy gossip.

  Tex smirked, but ignored the comment. ”Steelfarr is right, though. We need Dargild. And we know exactly where to find some.”

  “The witchdoctors,” Broden said.

  Tex nodded. “Right.”

  Golin narrowed his eyes. “And I suppose you want to send us off to get it for you, is that it? You want us to go slog around the island, battling Skrillings, while you wait here with the women.”

  “Shame!” Miss Weevol said, aggressively pointing her bosom at Golin.

  “That’s not what he said at all! You shouldn’t put words in people’s mouths, you know. It’s an unseemly habit, and it doesn’t speak well of the man who does it.”

  Golin winced. He gave Weevol a sidelong look. Her daughters stood at her side, hands on hips or arms crossed. Their noses were in the air.

  Golin cleared his throat. “I … wasn’t putting words in his mouth, Miss Weevol. I just… thought… er…” He cleared his throat again.

  Tex threw Golin a lifeline. “It’s alright, Golin. It’s smart of you to be cautious. You don’t even know me, after all. But I’m not asking you to go after the Skrillings … I’m gonna do that myself.”

  A frown creased Golin’s brow. “What … You mean alone?”

  “Yes. And I’m leaving just now.”

  “Now?”

  Tex smiled nonchalantly. “Yes, now. I will locate Skrilling groups and steal their Dargild — as many as I can find.”

  Golin sneered. “And you will do this alone?”

  Tex grinned. “How many times do you want me to say it? I’ll try to be back before morning.”

  Everyone stared at Tex. Some men’s eyes flashed with hope. He spoke with such breezy confidence that some — especially the younger ones, like Steelfarr — felt sure he’d do just what he said.

  Others, however, eyed Tex apprehensively, apparently wondering if he’d gone mad.

  “I just ask one thing of you,” Tex said, looking at Golin and then at Steelfarr. “Stay here until I get back. Help guard the village.”

  Golin only frowned at Tex. But Steelfarr looked around at his men, and they all nodded in agreement. “Alright,” he said. “We will!”

  “Good,” Tex said, raising his hands. “Everyone shelter in the village immediately. Leave the tipis; we can deal with them later. Pray to Lorelei; maybe her woods will give us some degree of protection.

  “Now. I only need one thing before I go: my axe.”

  Several young bachelors eagerly volunteered to fetch it, and one of them ran off towards the village.

  Tex smiled to himself as he looked around at the crowd. Many faces looked at him with renewed hope. Many others had definitely concluded that he’d lost his mind.

  No matter. I’ll prove them wrong. Unless …. Well, unless I don’t. Maybe they’re right; maybe this is crazy.

  Turning his thoughts towards the task ahead, he felt his stomach turning with apprehension. It was a gamble.

  Sure, he had Dirt Magic; but he was a novice. He would be vastly outnumbered by the Skrillings.

  Perhaps he’d be able to escape them easily by flying. But if he returned empty-handed, with no Dargild, he’d lose credibility.

  On the upside, he didn’t actually need to fight them — at least, that wasn’t the goal. The goal was simply to steal their Dargild.

  If he could do it with minimal fighting, he would. But maybe that was wishful thinking.

  Chapter fifty-four

  CLUTCHING HIS AXE, Tex pushed against the ground, launching himself into the air. Astonished shouts sounded out beneath him as he soared over the field towards the Dark Forest.

  The field rushed past beneath him rapidly. The speed at which he could travel was incredible. Passing over the forest, he looked down at the tops of the oak trees and watched them rapidly pass by.

  When he reached the Dark Forest’s southern edge, he spotted the Skrilling camp. It was bigger than he expected. Maybe 150 of them.

  This was a disheartening sight. A large Skrilling camp, less than a day’s walk from Fimm! And there were many more on the way, too.

  If most of the Aramantha were planning on bailing, there wouldn’t be much of a resistance when the siege inevitably came.

  Tex gripped the axe. On second thought, maybe I should revise my plan.

  Let’s see how many I can kill.

  Swooping towards the Skrilling camp, he slowed his descent, hovering conspicuously above them. He wanted to be seen.

  Not one of them was idle. All were busy gutting animals, cooking food, sharpening weapons, arguing, or otherwise engaged.

  Finally, one of them shouted. Tex spotted him, pointing, yelling, his hoarse voice cracking with surprise. More joined in, jumping and screeching.

  Tex alighted on the grass just outside the camp as the Skrillings ran towards him haltingly.

  These were not the same ones he’d encountered before. But they’d certainly heard the stories about the Prophesied Hero.

  Tex’s entrance must have confirmed everything they’d been told and then some.

  Don’t congratulate yourself yet! Tex thought. Shock and awe, shock and awe. Just like before.

  Three Srillings flung spears.

  Amazingly, Tex could feel the rock spearheads in the air, sailing towards him; it was almost instinctive for him to raise his hand and push hard against the stones.

  The spears abruptly bounced back as if they’d hit an invisible shield. This produced cries of astonishment from the Skrillings, but they moved ahead nevertheless, forming a horseshoe around Tex.

  Raspy cries came from behind the crowd. They quickly parted, and a wizened witchdoctor came through. His long staff went well above his head. Tex’s eyes flashed when he saw the glinting Dargild at the top of it.

  The witchdoctor hobbled forward, uttering some hideous litany and waving the staff in front of him. He grinned maliciously.

  Purple light emanated from the Dargild stone, and wisps of shadow floated from it. The Skrillings all watched intently as the witchdoctor inched closer. He pointed the staff at Tex, extending it as far as he could.

  Tex simply gazed at the witch doctor, unaffected by the magic stone.

  The shaman’s grin faded, and a confused frown troubled his brow.

  Tex grinned with amusement. “I’m not an elf, dumbass.”

  Murmuring spread among the Skrillings. Their simple brains could hardly process the fact that Tex stood tall instead of crumpling the way an elf would.

  The witchdoctor moved closer. Surely, distance was the problem!

  Tex allowed him to creep forward. He remained still, right until the witchdoctor thrust the Dargild right in front of Tex’s nose.

  Then Tex snatched the staff.

  The witchdoctor clung to it, howling. He fell to the ground, trying to use his weight to prise it away from Tex.

  Tex let go of the staff and raised his axe. He heard gasps of shock as the blade came down and lopped off the shaman’s head.

  As Tex predicted, the Skrillings’ morale took a visible blow. Many of them staggered back in disbelief.

  But one stout fellow salvaged the situation. He raised his spear and thundered the rallying cry:

  “Kdar Tol!”

  “KDAR TOL!” the others responded.

  A hail of spears sailed towards Tex. Rather than trying to deflect so many spears — a feat he doubted he could pull off just yet — he pushed off the ground, sending himself upward and back.

  As he slowly floated back to the ground, holding his palm out, he hastily attempted to feel for whatever surface-level rocks were scattered on the ground in front of him.

  Yes … he could perceive them — grasp them, almost. Hundreds of rocks varying in weight.

  “Kdar Tol!” the brave Skrilling leader bellowed again, leading the charge forward.

  With his feet still floating a few feet off the ground, Tex heaved the rocks upwards, and then maintained a push on them, holding them in the air.

  He continued this process until he’d collected enough stones and dirt to fill a garbage truck, and he held them all in the air.

  I feel like Magneto! Tex thought, as his feet landed on the grass.

  At the sight of this sorcery, the Skrillings halted and gazed in amazement at the ominous cloud of stones and dirt that floated into the sky. Half of them began backing away.

  With a grunt of effort, Tex sent the debris pouring down onto the Skrillings. Then, when they were in disarray, he launched into the air, landing in the midst of them.

  Swinging his axe with god-gifted might, Tex lopped off limbs and spilled guts. Spears and daggers sailed through the air, but Tex was a battering ram. Unstoppable.

  Twelve of them met their doom before they could overcome their surprise and regroup. Tex had done well, but he felt the tide turning. He knew it would be foolhardy to think he could kill 150 savages, however invincible he felt.

  So he launched himself out of the fray, sailing backwards. As he did so, he cast his eyes over the receding ground and spotted the witchdoctor’s staff.

  It was easy to locate because he could feel the dark emanations of the Dargild stone. He yanked it towards him, pausing mid-air until it came into his hand.

  Then, as the shouting of the Skrillings was drowned out by the wind in his ears, he headed towards the mountain range on the other side of the island.

  For many minutes, he almost forgot where he was going and what he was about to do. The sight of the green fields, the streams and lakes, the dangerous forests — it was all too dazzling.

  And all he could think about was the fact that he was goin to leap over mountains.

  The experience lightened his heart, and he laughed joyfully as he soared over a thick forest towards the mountains which, until now, he had only viewed from a distance.

  Soaring above the rising slopes, he ascended up to the rocky heights and laughed again when he finally landed on a gusty peak. The wind tossed his hair as he looked out at the dazzling ocean.

  Peering down the mountain’s slopes, Tex saw Bulig’s Bay, and the dusty foothills where he knew a group of Skrillings were busy mining for Dargild.

  Dargild they’ll never find, because it isn’t there.

  Still, where there were Skrillings, there was at least one witch doctor. And where there was a Skrilling witch doctor, there was a Dargild stone.

  Tex pushed off the mountain peak and soared over the slopes towards the foothills, clutching his blood-stained axe.

  ***

  It was deep into the night when Tex returned to Fimm, but the village did not sleep. Torchlight flickered around the huts, and many people paced around outside, waiting.

  A flurry of excitement broke out as Tex landed among the huts, holding four Skrilling staves.

  His harem ran towards him, but he raised his hand. “Stay back,” he said, giving a stern look to Emi and Neesha.

  The elves looked at the Dargild staves, and their eyes widened. They backed away.

  Tex turned towards the gathering crowd and held up his axe.

  “Look at the blood on this axe. I can say without exaggeration, this axe cut down more Skrillings in one night than have ever been killed on this island.”

  The men stood stiffly, almost like soldiers at attention, and watched Tex with wonder. He raised the staves.

  “I have here the staves of four witchdoctors. That’s from three separate Skrilling groups.”

  The men cursed under their breaths. “Solis’s balls, he did it!”

  Broden came up first. “Only four? You’re slacking off.”

  Tex smirked, and Broden grinned broadly. He squeezed Tex’s shoulder. ”Fucking amazing, my friend.”

  Steelfarr walked up, staring wide-eyed at the Dargild. His friend followed.

  “Solis’s balls!” Steelfarr exclaimed. “Skrilling staves!”

  Emboldened, more men came closer. All of them were eager to see the staves up close.

  But Tex raised a hand. “I just have a few words to say. Many Skrillings died tonight. But many more survived, and even greater numbers have yet to arrive.

  “More than that, the Necromancer is coming; I have looked through Shayla’s scrying glass and seen his fleet.

  “They will take over this island unless we stop them. I need your help. We can defeat them together.”

  Steelfarr and other youngsters watched Tex eagerly. He could see they thought he was bad-ass and they would gladly follow him.

  But most of the men still looked skeptical.

  Golin watched with a scrutinizing expression. He looked doubtful, but intrigued.

  “If your claims are true, then I respect what you’ve done. But you will not defeat The Necromancer of Darkoveld, and our help won’t make the slightest difference.”

  “It will make a difference,” Tex said. “Because you will fight the Skrillings while I deal with Kdar Tol.”

  Golin’s eyes widened, and then a friendly chuckle escaped him. “Is that so? Well, he has confidence, I will say that.”

  Tex could see that although Golin still did not believe Tex would defeat Kdar Tol, he had at least earned his respect.