Book 2 Chapter 44: More Challenges, Part Two

Tristan

"Kariperos, get your ass working and make us a portal, or so I swear, you're dead!" Sam yelled. "This is all your fault."

"Without me, you'd be my evil twin's thralls by now," the fake king crossed his arms. Even if their species had changed, his prideful demeanor remained.

"That was a long-term plan, idiot! Like all evil plans, it would have leaked," Sam snorted. "Because of you, we've been caught unprepared. Now, less talking and more portal building. Or else."

"I agree with Sam," Tristan said calmly, but intently, staring at Kariperos with the most evident violent intentions in mind. "Better get moving."

"Fine, Fine. I didn't say I won't do it; it was just clarification," Kariperos yelled back, extracting a bunch of totem sticks. "Empfi, Honey, go home and secure the magical vault access before it changes code."

"See you soon," the Queen said, giving the former fake king a hug and frowning at Sam and Tristan, before going away. Sensibility duplicated the gesture, striding after her mother, who was taller and walked faster.

Kariperos placed a few sticks in a wide and general circle pattern, thirty yards wide, then shouted, "Everybody who wants to go back to their homes, come near me, inside the circle. Hurry. I can make one more portal; that's it. Where do you want it? Earth or the Realm?"

"Realm," Sam ordered. "Those who go to Earth will take the tunnel."

Tristan's patience, already stretched thin, snapped, and his ire against Sam reignited. If the portal between the Realm and Earth collapsed again, he would be cut off from Caterina, the love of his life. The thought was unbearable.

"You're not my boss anymore to give us orders. Don't listen to him, Kari. Do the portal to Earth. Make it to Sicily, outside the tunnel site, so those who go on the Realm could use it before it destabilizes."

"Starting the channeling," Kariperos said, beginning to make a second circle with his smaller totems. "It will take about five minutes."

"Stop just there. I said, the Realm," Sam hissed. "What if the portal breaks again and we get stuck on Earth?"

"Then you find your own way back home," Tristan replied, breathing hard, his nostrils widening. "It's your fault we got into this mess in the first place."

"Yeah," Kariperos nodded, evidently happy he wasn't the target of the blame anymore.

"I have a wife and a kid to go to." Sam rested his hands on his hips.

"And I have a fiancée."

"Wives are more important than fiancées. They're a certainty. You youngsters could break up on a whim. Now you're all smooches, but who knows—"

"Take back those words!" Tristan yelled.

"Make me!" Sam wrapped his fingers around his katana's hilt, leaning forward.

"Are you sure about that, jerkhole?" Tristan hissed, inventing an insult on the spot while flourishing his spear. "If I remember well, my Dark is countering your Time skills."

Sam relaxed for a second, rubbing his chin, then sneered, "Then let's see if you have some honor. What about this: we duel to the first blood. I won't use Time skills; you don't use the Dark."

"Fine," Tristan growled, mirroring the gesture, taking a defensive stance, his spear ready. "Let's get over with it."

They waited, weighing each other. To Tristan's surprise, nobody tried to interfere, appealing to reason or trying to offer arguments for or against making the portal to Earth. Isolde, Dorian, inside Koshchei, and every single member of the Chaos team moved twenty yards behind him.

"We're in this with you, boss," Cedric said. "Show that bastard who's better."

"Hey, I'm your duke!" Sam sneered.

"Sure, beloved comrade Stalin," Koshchei said. "Go, Tristan. Shove your fist up that bastard's… never mind. Just beat him into a pulp."

"Go, Tristan!" the Chaos Company yelled, all as one.

Sam's Mana flared, discreetly, but not stealthy enough for Tristan not to notice. His opponent was preparing to channel. Sam's Warp Dash was fast and hard to counter, so Tristan tried to spot a shadow, to use his Dark Step and avoid the movement skill, preferably in a spot where his spear could have enough reach to get Sam.

Not the original source! This chapter was copied here from the author's official page with no approval from them.

A slithering motion in the grass made him freeze, cursing profusely. He had forgotten about Sam's rope. A direct hit could draw blood. The Warp Dash had been a distraction. The surprise made Tristan lose focus, but even if his moment of uncertainty was short, it was long enough against an opponent with fast reflexes. There was no way to parry both the Warp Dash and the rope. The string snapped up at the same time Sam launched himself forward.

Tristan's mind screamed at him to duck, but his instincts took over: he activated the Dark Void in a small radius around him. Devoid of magic, the rope fell on the ground, inert, while Sam hit the outer envelope of The Dark with an ouch, face first.

Verdamnt! Tristan cursed. He had used a forbidden skill. The duel was lost. Dismissing the AOE, he sighed, gesturing vaguely toward Sam, signaling he was the winner. The protocol demanded bowing, but he was too upset to give Sam the honors.

With a smug expression, the duke summoned his rope and turned toward Kariperos. "You're making the portal to the Rea—"

Before he managed to finish his words, Sam hiccuped, shoving the white of his eyes, then collapsed on the grass, unconscious.

"Gotcha," Maverick said, appearing in the spot previously occupied by the Duke, holding a metal bar in her hand. "Hehehe, you didn't think I had Stealth, or a mind of my own, did you? Make the portal to Earth. C'mon, everyone, let's move," she yelled, then threw the bar down and clapped to extract the witnesses from their general stupor.

"Note to self, if that kid ever gets mad at me, run," Eliza said philosophically.

Flabbergasted, Tristan took a step back. The magical rope slit to Sam, poking his cheek like a dog checking on his master, then wrapped itself around his arm. Koshchei and Dorian, along with the champions, moved away, and so did Vaelzryth and Juniper. They were staying there. Cedric simpered, and so did his paramour. They were both crying as they looked into each other's eyes. There were no words, but the meaning was clear: she had a duty toward her tribe.

Like Romeo and Juliet on live, but they get to live, Tristan thought. They're young; it will pass, he thought, without realizing he was repeating the same words Sam had told him.

"Whoever's still out, get inside the circle; there's only one totem more to place," Kariperos yelled.

All the travelers rushed to squeeze themselves together. The former elf took a step out of the circle, then gingerly stuck the last enchanted stick in the grass. And then, the wormhole appeared and disappeared in less than a second. The scent of the sea hit Tristan's nostrils together with the light. They were back in Sicily, and it was early morning.

"Aaaand cut!" someone from a filming crew yelled. Cheers erupted, and people started giving each other high fives.

Tristan went to sit a bit further on the grass, taking his head between his hands. There were so many things he had dismissed from his mind as unimportant, and now they were starting to weigh on his conscience. The Forest Elves that remained in the city, the enclave, the portal. That was not the proper way to complete a mission. He felt ashamed of himself, but still happy to be where he belonged. The first to approach him was Maverick.

"Hey," she said.

"Thanks… Well done."

"'It was nothing. Being a kid helps; no one takes you seriously until it's too late."

"Why did you take my side?"

"Just because," she said.

"The girl I spent three days with in a cell doesn’t do things just because."

"Us, we have magical powers. Being stranded on Earth is easier than being stranded in the eighteenth century for some rich and TV people. How do you think Earth would react if… Never mind that. Do you know something about a Main Quest?"

"Not really… I occasionally got a notification or two. Big XP every time. Why?"

"Got to second tier after I knocked Sam out. The notification said: For teaching Sam the Samurai a lesson in humility, yada yada, ten out of ten targets cleared. You think I broke something in his brain?"

"Probably in his ego. Are you going through?"

"Yeah."

"Take care, kid."

Maverick nodded and went away.

Eliza approached next, squeezing his shoulder and leaning toward his ear, whispering: "I came to say goodbye. We'll visit. I can't tell you how, but we can."

"Vampire stuff?"

She mimicked a zipper over her mouth. "My lips are sealed. Realm guys, move, move, move. Sound the alarm," she then screamed toward the guards. "The portal is at risk of closing again."

Pops came and hugged him, and so did everyone in turn. Isolde fondled his hair.

"Truth be told," she said in a low voice. "I wish your Mental stats to reflect your true self. It might take some time."

"Are you staying with the Company?"

"Maybe."

"Can you take care of Good Boy for me? He's yours, if you want him."

"I'll take care to find him a good master. I have a new mount now," she gestured toward the Warg. The monster had a knack of minding his business and disappearing whenever he wasn't needed. Now he was allowing a random filming guy to pet him, his tongue out.

Cedric came last, still sobbing. For him, Tristan made the effort to get on his feet.

"I name you the new Chaos Company captain," Tristan said solemnly, after the hug. "Take care of everyone, elf."

"Bwhaaaa…." Cedric erupted in tears. He left Tristan, grabbed Sam from the ground, threw him on his shoulder, and darted into the tunnel.

Tristan waited for a few minutes until the agitation subsided. Then, a short shock in Mana, like a vacuum being filled, told him that the portal was off. Max was the only awakened who had remained on Earth besides him.

"Need a lift?" some rich guy asked. In the far distance, a line of taxis approached. The billionaires and the crews had kept their phones and used them to call for transportation.

"Can you leave me near the airport?" Tristan asked.

The man laughed. "I meant, a lift to Nice. I live in Monaco. I'm about to book a charter."

"How do you know I need to go to Nice?"

"I'm a friend of Mario."

"Much obliged," Tristan nodded. "What about you? Do you want to stick with me or go your way?" he asked Max.

"Stick, boss," Max said. "At least for now. By the way, I have your share of loot with me."

"Great. Excuse me, I have to make a call."

Walking a few steps away, he took his phone out. With trembling fingers, he dialed Caterina's number.

"Yes?" a sleepy voice asked.

"I'm back, princess," he said. "I'm coming home."

"Love you," she said, and then he heard a soft, slow breath. She had fallen asleep again.