CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER THREE
Both Casper and Isomere were unchained from the wall by some Dark Elves. The Elves shouted “exercise” at the pair as they hauled them into another cavern.
“I have an idea. You know Magpies have magical power within them,” whispered Isomere to Casper.
“Since Malcolm revived me I don’t have any power without him any more,” said Casper.
“I think you still have power. I may be able to tap into it to transport you away from here. It will probably destroy me, but it will be worth it if you can help defeat Diablo,” said Isomere.
“What do I need to do?” asked Casper.
“You need to let me hold you,” said Isomere.
“I hope this isn’t some sick trick for a cuddle,” said Casper.
“I’m too old and fragile for cuddles,” responded Isomere.
“Teach me the spell for freeing the Penguins,” said Casper.
“That’s easy. It’s Liberatto,” answered Isomere.
“What? One word?” said Casper.
“It has to be cast in front of the frozen Penguins. I doubt you can find them though,” said Isomere.
“How could you not know where they are?” said Casper.
“While I may have been immortal, my memory is still limited,” said Isomere.
“Anyway, they are taking us back. Whatever you are going to do, do it now,” said Casper.
With that Isomere reached and grabbed Casper and chanted for several seconds. The Dark Elven guards were caught off guard as Casper disappeared and Isomere turned into an old deformed corpse and fell to the floor. The guards assumed that somehow Isomere had destroyed Casper and committed suicide magically. Thankfully for Casper this is what they reported to Diablo.
Back in the palace in Asperios, everyone turned and looked at Trelio.
“Can you track the key?” said Malcolm.
“Normally I would say no, but with this wand I probably can. It helps to do this kind of spell which I’ve never been very good at on my own,” said Trelio.
Roubar wondered about the wisdom of Trelio using some random wand he’d found in the Vault. But decided they needed to track the key.
Trelio started chanting and waving the wand around. He suddenly fell to the floor and looked like he was having a convulsion. The pupils of his eyes turned bright red and his body stopped moving.
“Is he dead?” screamed Hilary.
“I hope not. Look, his eyes are moving,” said Roubar.
Trelio’s eyes spun around frantically and then suddenly stopped. His pupils turned back to their normal colour and he sat up.
“I know where it is!” said Trelio.
“Are you all right?” asked Hilary.
“Yes, I’m fine. The spell was a bit more intense than I expected,” said Trelio.
“Is that whole falling on the floor and having a fit thing normal?” asked Malcolm.
“Apparently yes. I had to leave my body to find the key,” said Trelio.
“So, where is it?” asked Roubar.
“You remember Larros, the tunnelling Gnome?” said Trelio.
“Yes” said Roubar.
“He has the key. He’s heading into the Underworld. At the moment he’s in the Goblin Kingdom,” said Trelio.
“We need to get after him,” said Roubar.
No one had noticed that Toluk had entered the room.
“I don’t know what is happening here, but I need some of you to help me get some new allies for the inevitable next assault on the Castle. The troops from Ridon have gone,” said Toluk.
“They’ve gone?” asked Roubar.
“Yes. We all know they were the only reason we won,” said Toluk.
“Who else can we ask for help?” said Krolith.
“I want you to go and ask the High Priest for assistance, Roubar,” said Toluk.
“But we need to go somewhere else,” said Roubar.
“We don’t all need to go,” said Krolith.
“No, a smaller party makes sense going into the Underworld,” said Trelio.
“What do you suggest?” asked Roubar.
“Why don’t I go there with Krolith and Kolan and find the key?” said Trelio.
“O.K. the rest of us will try and find new allies for Asperia. Though I am worried that the High Priest won’t help us,” said Roubar.
“The Crusade is lost, so there must be some crusaders who are available to defend Asperios,” said Toluk.
“Or to defend Yalon,” said Roubar.
“Perhaps, but there aren’t many other people left to ask, are there?” said Toluk.
“Yes, we will ask,” said Roubar.