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CHAPTER 3 - JOURNEY'S BEGINNING, PART 3: THE WAR ZONE

"Hey, Draig! Wake up! This is your 6 am. alarm call!"

The Wolven Knight stirred from his slumber. The first thing he saw as he awoke was Max leaning over him.

"You!" He managed to growl, just before a pounding headache set in. "What happened?"

"How much do you remember?" Max asked.

Draig thought about it, in spite of the pain in his skull. "There was a fight, that Malign creature..."

"Yes." Said Max. "He threw you at me and knocked us both through the dimensional hole I'd opened up."

"I remember that much." Said Draig. "But not anything after that."

"I'm not surprised." Said Max. "You were pretty out of it when we got here. Blood loss, I suspect. You were barely able to walk far enough to get under shelter here before you collapsed. I bandaged your wounds as best I could. Had to tear strips from my shirt to do it, though."

"Where are we?" Draig asked as he tried to sit up, Max helping him. "Another world?"

"Got it in one, big guy." Said Max. "And not a particularly nice one, either."

Draig only had one thought on his mind. "You've taken me to another world? Leaving my grandfather alone with Malign?" He snarled.

"Relax." Max tried to calm the wolf-man down. "Malign was after me. The moment I left, he would have followed. Reyeck is fine."

"How can you be sure?" Said Draig.

"Because I saw Malign here." Said Max, seriously. "It was less than five minutes after we arrived. I guided you to shelter. You collapsed and passed out. Moments later, I glanced outside and saw Malign. He was obviously searching, but passed us by."

"Where is he now?" Draig asked.

"Can't say for certain." Max shrugged. "Probably still in this area of the city. You were only out for about four hours."

"City?"

"Well, 'city' is perhaps too generous a description." Max mused. "Large collection of ruins suits it better."

Draig thought about this. "You're not making much sense."

"Strangely enough." Said Max. "People tend to tell me that all the time."

"Please." Draig sighed. "Just tell me where we are."

"Isn't it obvious?" Max explained. "We're in a room."

This was very true. But it wasn't much of a room. Crumbling stone walls, cracked and barely standing. Piles of rubble and various debris lay scattered about. Daylight streamed in through the wide, oddly shaped doorway at one end, it's door lying in fragments nearby.

"I meant the city." Draig snarled, angrily. The headache wasn't doing his temper any favours, and vice versa. "Where are we?"

"Can't say really." Said Max. "This place seems like it was a city at some point. But it looks as if it's been wrecked in some huge battle or something. Most buildings around here are either in pieces or barely standing. And I'm guessing all this destruction happened pretty recently."

"How can you tell?"

"Well, there are two big clues." Said Max. "One, there are still fires raging out there, bits and pieces of this city are still burning. And two, the locals haven't begun decomposing yet."

"Locals?"

"Oh yes. There's one over there."

Max pointed to a corner. There was a corpse, partially buried under rubble. Draig stared at it.

"That's disgusting." He eventually said.

"You've never seen a dead body before?" Somehow, this idea surprised Max.

"I don't mean that." Draig said in exasperation. "I mean... is that really what the inhabitants of this world look like?"

"I suppose so." Said Max. "Although I don't see your problem. They're basically human, like me. Except for the tail. And the three legs. And the green skin. And the eye stalks."

Draig gave the human a disbelieving glare. Max glared back for a few moments, before giving it up.

"Okay, so they look disgusting." Max admitted in a huff. "Happy now?" He sat down beside Draig.

"Yes." Said Draig.

"Good."

"Okay."

There was a silent pause.

"By the way, you did a pretty good job on my wounds." Draig complimented, examining the makeshift bandages.

"Oh, it was nothing."

Another silent pause, slightly longer than before. Max ended it with a sigh.

"So what do you think we should do now?" He asked.

"You're the Traveller, aren't you?" Said Draig. "Isn't sorting out problems your department?"

"So now you decide to believe I'm the Traveller?" Said Max.

"Slipping through a dimensional hole into another world tends to change one's perspective on things." Draig explained.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Said Max, sheepishly. "I didn't mean for you to get dragged along on this."

"Wasn't your fault." Said Draig. He braced himself against the wall and stood up. He grimaced slightly as his injuries ached.

The wolf-man padded over to the door and glanced outside.

Draig imagined that the city must have looked pretty amazing, before whatever battle had torn it apart.

The blasted, skeletal shells of various alien-looking skyscrapers reached toward the smoke-filled sky. A street covered in debris lay just outside. Fragments of stone, wood and metal were strewn about in large, haphazard piles. Draig guessed that some of these piles of rubble used to be buildings themselves.

Fires raged here and there, filling the air with the smell of ash and death. Black smoke was billowing up to the sky. Draig spotted several more corpses littering the street. The only sound outside was the crackling of the fires. Everything else was silent.

"Well." Said Max, joining Draig at the doorway. "All I can do is promise to try and get you back to your home. But since the Device works randomly, it's going to be difficult, and it'll probably take some time."

Draig nodded. "One of the requirements of a Wolven Knight is to be a good judge of character. I believe you're honourable and will do what you can to keep your promise."

"Anyway." Said Max. "Since you're going to be travelling with me, it's only fair you have a say in how we do things. So, any suggestions as to what we do now?"

The knight considered this. "We do have a number of options open to us." He said. "One, we wait here for Malign to find and kill us."

"Okay." Said Max. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that is not a good option."

"Two," Draig continued, "we go out there, try to get away from Malign, in the process running the risk of Malign finding and killing us."

"Again, not exactly a great option." Said Max.

"Our final option." Said Draig. "Is that we go out there, find Malign, and kill him."

"Whoa!" Said Max, shocked. "You're suggesting we go commit murder?"

"Think of it as survival." Said Draig, firmly. "It's him or us. Even if we avoid him long enough for the Device to recharge, it'll just be a matter of time until he follows us to the next world, and then the next. I'm suggesting we put a stop to Malign now, rather than spend our time running from him."

"Whichever way you may want to think of it," said Max. "It's still murder. No matter what you say, a life is a life, something inherently valuable. I will not be involved in taking a life."

"Fine." Sighed Draig. "I'll do the taking. Where's my sword?"

"Against the wall over there." Said Max. "I dragged it in here along with you."

"Good." The wolf-man retrieved his weapon, examining the long blade for a moment before putting it back into its scabbard across his back. "This sword is extremely valuable. Wouldn't want to lose it."

"Why?" Said Max. "Can't you be a murderer without it, or something?"

"No." Said Draig, calmly. "Whenever someone becomes a Wolven Knight, they have their sword custom made to suit only them. My sword was forged by an old friend who happened to die soon afterwards. Its value is purely sentimental."

Max suddenly felt very guilty. It wasn't like him to be so callous. "I'm sorry." He said, meaning it.

"You think I don't know how valuable life is?" Draig said, wearily. "Believe me, I do. Perhaps even more than you. But I also know, from personal experience, that sometimes you have to fight, and even kill, in order for yourself or others to survive. It's never pleasant, it's never excusable, but sometimes there is no other way."

"I won't believe that." Max shook his head. "There has to be an alternative, some other way out of this."

Draig chuckled. "I used to think like that, in my younger days. It doesn't matter, let's get going." He stepped outside.

Max followed the big wolf-man "So you still want to kill Malign?"

Stopping in the middle of the cracked and broken street, Draig looked around, sniffing at the air. "Yes." He said. "If I thought for a second that he might listen to reason, I'd try that. But it's plainly obvious that he won't."

"I don't want to be involved." Said Max.

"I can respect that." Draig nodded. "Besides, let's face it, you wouldn't be able to do much against Malign, would you?" He turned and walked away down the street, having to clamber over a few piles of rubble as he went. Max followed quickly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Said the human.

Draig stopped for a moment, looking back at him. "Just that you're, well... a bit small. A little scrawny."

"Scrawny?" Max couldn't believe he was hearing this.

"Don't take offence." Draig continuing on his way. "I'm just stating a fact."

"Well, just don't, okay?" Said Max, moodily.

The pair continued on in silence for a time, negotiating their way slowly through the ruined, burning city.

They made their way through several streets, finding devastation all the way. They continually had to climb over or around piles upon piles of wrecked wood and fragments of stone.

Dead bodies of the locals were a frequent sight, many badly maimed or sporting horrific wounds. There were no signs of survivors. If any of the population had survived whatever terrible battle had taken place here, they must have left, leaving the ruins deserted.

Eventually, they were forced to stop, unable to go any further. A tall building had apparently collapsed relatively intact, and now lay on its side across the street ahead of them, blocking their path.

"Well." Said Draig, shaking his head. "Either we turn back, find another way through the ruins, or we take our chances and try climbing over it..."

"Or," Max interrupted, "we can take this opportunity to rest a little first." The human had already sat down against the wall of a half-standing building at the side of the street.

"You're right." Draig agreed. "We should conserve our strength a little, no matter what our next move."

The big wolf-man joined Max, sitting beside him against the wall. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment.

"How are those bandages holding up?" Max asked, after a moment.

Draig answered without opening his eyes. "Fine. We should probably try and change them soon."

Max nodded and silence returned once more between them.

Unnerved slightly by the silence of the ruins around them, Max groped for something to talk about.

"What was that friend of yours like then?" Said Max. "The one you mentioned earlier, who made that sword for you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Asked a surprised Draig, opening his eyes to stare at the human.

"Because I'm curious." Max replied.

"And?" Draig sensed there was more.

"And," said Max, hesitantly, "because I don't like how quiet it is around here."

The wolf-man smiled. "I don't like it either."

"Well...?"

"His name was Trayeb." Draig began. "He hadn't wanted to be a swordsmith originally. He had wanted to be a Wolven Knight, like me. But he failed some of the physical tests and examinations."

"How long had you known him?" Max asked.

"Since I was very young." Draig replied. "There was a period for awhile when we didn't speak, him being bitter that I was accepted to be trained as a knight, whereas he hadn't. But he eventually got over it. In fact, he offered to make my sword for me as a way of saying sorry. He did a good job on it, as well. It's a very resilient weapon."

There was a pause as Max took this in.

"Well?" Said Draig, eventually. "Aren't you going to ask how Trayeb died? I can tell you want to."

"Yeah." Max admitted. "But I thought it might be a little insensitive."

"Not at all." Draig went on. "It's been several years now. He died as a result of a malignant brain tumour."

"I'm sorry." Said Max, sadly.

"Why?" Said Draig. "It's in the past, it can't be changed. I grieved, I accepted it, and I moved on. Simple as that."

"That seems a little... cold." Said Max, distastefully.

"I don't see why." Draig was puzzled. "Trayeb dying was terrible. It was rough on me for awhile, but I got over it..."

The big wolf-man trailed off, suddenly alert, glancing around, ears pricked up, listening.

"What is it?" Said Max. "What's wrong?"

Draig didn't answer. He just kept listening.

Listening for himself, Max tried to hear whatever it was his furry companion was hearing. He gave it up after a few moments, not detecting anything out of the ordinary.

"Move!" Said Draig, suddenly. He shoved Max to one side and immediately rolled away in the other direction.

A split-second later, the wall against which they'd been resting shattered outwards. Fragments of stone flew through the air. Max protected his face with his hands for a moment as dust billowed all around. Then he looked back.

It was Malign. He'd smashed through the crumbling wall with his axe. He was now gazing impassively at Max. His prey.

Draig reacted instantly. He dived forward and grabbed Malign's axe just below the blade. He yanked it forward, sudden and hard.

This move caught Malign off-guard and the huge monster stumbled forward, unwilling to let go of his weapon. Draig took advantage of this. The wolf-man punched Malign across the face. He followed this with a quick, savage kick to the chest.

Off balance, Malign defended himself, lashing out with a powerful fist, catching Draig on the chin and knocking the wolf-man away.

Draig landed roughly among the stone debris. Several pieces dug into his body at odd angles. The injuries from his previous fight with Malign began to ache horribly. A reminder that he wasn't in the best of shape right now. He did what he could to ignore the pain and get to his feet again.

Meanwhile, Malign had turned his attention toward Max. The human was still picking himself up, coughing through the dust.

Draig snarled and darted forward, tackling Malign from behind. The monster and the wolf-man tumbled to the ground together. Malign's axe slipped from his grasp.

Malign tried to roll, to throw Draig off. But Draig held on, trying to get an arm around the monsters throat in an attempt to throttle him.

Max watched this struggle, backing away at the same time. A part of him knew this could only end with a death. Another part of him wanted there to be another way.

This struggle continued, but not for much longer. Malign managed to twist an arm around, ramming his elbow squarely into Draig's face. The wolf-man let go and fell to the ground.

A moment later, Draig was up again, blood streaming from his nose. He was just in time to be on the receiving end of Malign's fist. The monster delivered blow after blow. Draig refused to fall, but his own attempts at an attack were blocked time again.

Finally, Malign grabbed Draig by the throat with one hand and threw him aside effortlessly. Draig's limp form sailed through the air, crashing down among the wreckage with a sickening thump. He lay motionless.

Malign glanced about, looking for his axe. He spotted it lying amongst the stone and wood fragments a short distance away. He started towards it.

"Hey, Malign!"

Malign stopped and looked. Max was calling to him.

"Why waste time getting your axe?" The human was shouting at him. "I'm right here. You're strong enough to crush my skull with one hand. Why not finish this right now?"

If Malign was in any way suspicious of Max's sudden desire for death, he didn't show it as he stomped toward the human.

As for Max, he nervously watched Malign approach. The idea he'd come up with was extremely risky, but with Draig down, maybe even dead, options were limited.

"This ends now." Said Malign, reaching forward with his left hand

"Damn right it does." Max replied. Malign was right in front of him now. His hand coming down toward Max's head.

Max grabbed Malign's huge hand with both of his own, trying with all his strength to keep it back. He found himself staring at the Device covering Malign's hand as it inched closer, despite his best efforts. Especially the green gemstone at its centre...

Suddenly Max glimpsed movement out of the corner of his eye. Was it Draig? He couldn't be sure, what with all his attention focused on Malign's Device and his risky plan.

"Malign!"

Draig was alive. Malign looked round as his name was called, shifting his attention away from Max.

The wolf-man looked awful. Blood was splattered across most of his fur. His clothing was torn and ragged. The bandages Max had applied now hung loosely from his body. He was holding Malign's axe.

"Isn't this yours?" He taunted. "Want to try and take it from me?"

With Malign distracted, Max seized his chance. The human dived away from the monster, putting some distance between them.

Malign glanced back and forth between Max and Draig before seeming to decide that his best bet would be to get his weapon back first.

The monster was halfway to Draig when Max called out to him.

"Yo! Malign!" He said. "I think you forgot something here!" He held up a small object for the monster to see. It was a green crystal, about four inches long. Malign recognized it instantly.

As he held it up, Max noticed his own Device. Its red gemstone was glowing. It was recharged.

"Perfect timing." He muttered to himself with a smile.

Malign was examining the Device on his left hand. Or, to be more precise, the empty hole where it's green gemstone should have been.

The monster started toward Max. Realising he had to get Malign distracted for a few moments in order to open a dimensional hole, Max quickly turned to his companion.

"Draig!" He shouted, throwing the crystal. "Catch!"

The wolf-man caught it easily with one hand. Now Malign's attention became focused solely on Draig.

"Now I've got two things you want." He snarled at the hulking monster. "Let's see you try and take them."

Malign charged at Draig. The wolf-man swung the axe around with both hands, managing to strike Malign across the face with the weapon's handle. He then swung it back. The flat side of the axe blade slammed against the side of Malign's head. This sent the monster reeling and he fell to the ground with a crash.

"Draig! Let's go!" Max's voice drew Draig's attention. The human was standing in front of a black hole in mid-air. Their way out of this world.

He looked briefly down at Malign. The monster was starting to get up again. He considered finishing him with the axe then and there. But he discarded the idea. There was simply no need to kill him anymore.

Draig jogged over to Max. "You still got that crystal?" The human asked.

"Right here." Draig showed it to him.

"The let's get out of here." Said Max, shoving Draig toward the dimensional hole for emphasis. The wolf-man jumped into it, disappearing.

Max took one last look at Malign. The monster was on his feet now.

"It's over now." Max told him. Then he turned and leaped into the dimensional hole.

A few moments later, the hole was gone. Malign was alone in the ruined city. He sunk to his knees.

He knew his journey was at an end.

* * * * * *

"Finally this Device takes me somewhere nice!"

This was Max's first comment as he surveyed the new world upon which he and Draig now found themselves.

They were on the shore of a vast lake of crystal clear water. All around lay rolling green hills with the occasional group of trees dotted here and there. On the distant horizon, a huge mountain range could be glimpsed, with a set of snow-capped peaks.

A deep blue sky hung overhead, with an occasional cloud drifting by. All was sunny and warm. Birdsong could be heard nearby. A herd of some docile-looking animals grazed on the undergrowth beside the lake a short distance away.

Max stood there and took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air. It felt very good.

"I should remind you," said Draig, "that one of the places that Device has taken you is my home." The wolf-man was looking around at the scenery in awe.

"No offence." Said Max. "But for me personally, a snowy wasteland doesn't even qualify as 'nice place to visit'."

"Don't worry about it." said Draig, as he sat down on the grass beside the lake. Actually, 'collapsed' was a better way of describing it, his legs no longer willing to support his weight. "It's a good enough place to rest for awhile." He dropped Malign's axe down beside him.

"Especially since we won't have to worry about Malign following us anymore." Max grinned, joining his companion in sitting down to rest.

"Oh, yes." Said Draig, tiredly. "That was very clever of you." He tossed the green crystal from Malign's Device to Max. The human caught it.

"It was just a sudden idea I had." Max explained. "The Device's power source crystal thing can only be removed by the person possessing the Device. I just thought that maybe it wouldn't be too picky about exactly which Device that person possessed. Luckily, I was right."

"I did wonder why you suddenly developed a death wish." Said Draig. "Asking Malign to crush your skull."

Max shrugged. "I needed a way to get close enough to Malign's Device. Of course, there was a risk he'd use his right hand. Or that he'd kill me before I succeeded. But things worked out okay." He looked at the battered wolf-man. " I mean, apart from all your injuries."

"I'll be fine." Draig reassured him. "Injuries heal. The blood will wash out of my fur. I just need some time and rest." He lay back, stretching out on the grass and closing his eyes. Max noticed him grimacing slightly.

"You in much pain?" He asked.

"Not much." Draig told him. "Nothing I can't endure."

"Still," said Max, wanting to do something to help, "we should at least wash your wounds, get them bandaged."

"I know." said Draig. "Give me a moments rest first, okay?"

So Max let him be. For a moment.

"One question?" He asked.

"What is it?" Draig was slightly annoyed at this interruption of his attempts at rest.

"Why did you bring Malign's axe with you?" Max was eyeing the big weapon where it lay.

"I didn't really think about it at the time." Draig said. "But it might be useful."

"Yes, that's fantastic." Said Max. "We now have two weapons, both of which only you are capable of using."

"Fine." Said Draig. "Then we'll trade the axe for some new clothes, or some supplies or something. As soon as we meet some locals."

"Yeah. That's a good idea."

"Okay."

The quiet that followed lasted only a few seconds.

"There is one other thing." Said Max.

Draig sat up and sighed. "What is it?" He asked, abandoning any hope of getting some rest anytime soon.

"I was just wondering what you think we should do with this." Max held up the green crystal.

The wolf-man paused, biting back an angry response. He then answered. "Now that you mention it, I'd like to deal with it."

"Go ahead." Said Max, handing him the crystal.

Draig stood up. He took a moment to look at the crystal's multi-faceted shape. Then he threw it up into the air.

From where he sat, Max watched as the crystal went up. Draig's hand went for his sword. The crystal started to fall. Draig's sword flashed through the air in a powerful swipe.

The blade struck the crystal. There was a flash of green light. The crystal shattered into a thousand tiny sparkling fragments.

"Wow." was Max's comment. "That really is a good sword. And you're pretty quick with it."

"Thank you." Draig accepted the compliment with a nod. He stuck his sword into the ground and leaned on it. "Can I ask you a question now?"

"Go ahead."

"The power crystal is destroyed." Draig said. "With his Device powerless, Malign is no longer a threat, being unable to follow us. If I understand things right, there's still a long journey ahead of us, fraught with all sorts of possible dangers, before you're able to get me home. So, Traveller, what's going to happen next?"

"What, you think I know?" Said Max. He lay down on the grass, smiling. "We'll just have to wait and see, and make things up as we go."

Draig restrained himself from getting too annoyed at the human. Instead, he sat down beside his sword and muttered to himself.

"Oh, give me strength..."

To Be Continued...