CHAPTER 5: NOT A SECOND TIME

When Gorken woke up the sun was still rising. Aldous was sound asleep and Malia was no longer where he had last seen her the previous night. It was Bayard's turn to keep watch, so Gorken questioned him on her whereabouts.

“She’s working out near the pond. I told her not to wander off too far.”

“Working out? Now?”

Bayard shrugged, “She’s been at it since she got up.”

“I'll go look for her, you wake Aldous up.” Gorken tied up his hair.

“…Is that an order, boss?” Bayard inquired resignedly. Aldous was a heavy sleeper with the unfortunate habit of locking his arms around anyone who attempted to rouse him. There had been a time when Bayard had found that trait to be endearing; that time was long gone.

 “It is.” Gorken confirmed with a regretful smile, “If we leave now we can arrive at headquarters before sunset.”

When he spotted Malia she was still training; she was so focused that for a moment he felt tempted to wait until she was done. Even so, he didn't want to waste any time. The two demons that had appeared the night before had left him worried; something was not normal in the forest, and he wouldn’t risk spending another night in it. “Malia, we’re about to leave.”

“Good morning Gorken.” She adjusted her vest, suddenly aware of how sweaty she was, “I’m ready to go!”

Once again, they walked for long hours through trunks and foliage. “We’ve been going deeper into the forest since this morning,” Malia noted, “are the headquarters of the rebellion hidden in the woods?”

“Not exactly... You will see when we get there.” Gorken’s answer only confused Malia more, and she kept thinking about it as she marched forward.

Their route took them to a stream. Above it, two trees bent towards each other as if embracing, their joined branches serving as a bridge to cross the small river. Malia couldn’t decide whether she found the plants’ hug natural or unnatural. They couldn’t have positioned themselves like that on their own, could they? And yet, the thought of someone binding nature to their will in such a manner was even more abnormal. No magic can do that… so what could?

Since the forest had hidden it from her eyes, it took Malia a while to realize they had been heading towards a massive hill completely surrounded by the woods: the Green Mountain. “So headquarters are at the top of the mountain then!” She declared proudly.

This time, it was Bayard who answered her. “No, that’s not it.”

Aldous laughed, “Just follow us! The boss said it: you’ll get it when we get there.”

They circled the mountain until they found a narrow cave. At first nothing could be seen on the inside, but as they kept walking deeper into it, the light of a lonely torch set on the wall gradually illuminated their path. They were still advancing when Malia noticed something, “Are those... stairs?” Carved into the stone, as if they had always existed, there were steps leading to a giant stone door. Likewise, the gate seemed oddly natural, just another part of the cavern walls. Opening such a heavy door would have normally been a daunting task, but Gorken simply knocked twice with his fist while holding the handle of his sword with his other hand. Then the door opened by itself.

Malia couldn't believe what she was seeing. The unsealed portal revealed a vast space, akin to the entrance of a castle, with high ceilings and rows of pillars to the sides; here however, everything was made of stone. As far as her eyes could see she discerned intricate architecture, passageways, hallways, stairways, as if an enormous maze had been carved on the inside of the Green Mountain. Despite the marvelous structure, what surprised her the most was how fresh the air was, even though they had arrived through a cave and there were no signs of windows nearby.

As she admired the view that had appeared before her, she hadn't failed to appreciate that the place wasn’t empty. On the contrary, there were many men walking around inside, some of them carrying weapons, some carrying papers, others tools. Regardless of what they were doing, their stares had all gathered at the door when it had opened. And none of them had hidden their excitement when they had seen Gorken, Aldous and Bayard.

“The boss is back!” many voices echoed. They were abruptly surrounded by a crowd of young men, all talking over each other, “Boss, how did you escape?” “Did Bayard and Aldous help you?” “Are you unharmed?”

“Everyone, calm down.” Gorken’s deep voice placated them, “You’re acting like a bunch of kids. I escaped with the help of our new member, Malia.” He stepped aside when he spoke so that they would see her.

She was startled at first; she had been merely watching the scene without really feeling she was a part of it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you… all.” She greeted them awkwardly. Before the members of the rebellion could come up with a reaction more elaborate than clueless silence, a man stepped forward. He looked at Gorken with disdain, and then he spoke, “The Council of Elders requires your presence immediately. You may follow me.”

The man turned around, strolled away, and the atmosphere around the crowd darkened. Many seemed to murmur as one, “Council dog…”

Gorken couldn’t allow a conflict to spark there and then, “Relax, guys. I'll go.” As he followed the man, he whispered to Malia, “Stay close to me.” Aldous and Bayard trailed behind them as well. They walked briskly through the stone hallways until they reached a big hall that reminded Malia of the courtroom of the northern palace. There were six seats on a podium, but only five were taken; they were occupied by old men, all of them donning grim expressions.

As Gorken stopped and his friends after him, the man on one of the two highest seats addressed him, “You need to explain your actions. Why did you surrender yourself to protect a base as insignificant as the one in the village of Algus?”

“There were members of the rebellion gathered there. Insignificant or not, it would have meant a great loss for us to let them be killed by the immortals.”

“And why did the members left in charge leave without consulting us, the Council of Elders?” The old man spat back at him, “Such recklessness is unforgivable.”

Aldous was unable to hide his indignation, “You were too scared of even lifting a finger to help him, so we…!”

“I take responsibility for Aldous’ and Bayard’s actions.” As Gorken talked, Bayard placed a hand on Aldous’ shoulder, calming him down.  Then the old man noticed Malia observing the scene, “And who would that be? She doesn’t look like a newly awakened human. Identify yourself, girl!”

“My name is Malia Daimonlance.”

All the elders gasped, almost in unison, and tense silence fell upon the room for a few seconds. They looked at each other with incredulity and then the head of the Council, the man who had been interrogating them, raised his voice in anger: “Is this a joke?! What could you have possibly been thinking?! …Bringing an immortal to our base?! Guards, take her away now!”

Gorken stepped in front of Malia and drew his sword. “I won’t allow that.” Not again. Every fiber of his body screamed at him, obfuscating his sense in favor of instinct. Consequences and rationale abandoned his mind, and only two words echoed in their place. Not again. Not again. Not again.

The Council head could feel cold sweat making its way across his face, “Y-you can’t be serious! Get a grip of yourself! Look at what you’re doing… Drawing your sword in front of the Council of Elders?! Gorken!”

Gorken’s lack of a reply caused the elder to flinch without meaning to, unable to mutter another word. The threat of imminent violence burdened his tired shoulders, his dry lips seeking a sound that refused to come. The old man knew the rebellion would crumble the moment the rusted, frail chain of command finally fractured one of its links. Nothing would be left then. Nothing at all.

It was Malia’s voice that shattered the icy pressure that enveloped them all, “Wait, it’s fine.” She walked towards the guards and allowed them to put the shackles on her wrists.

“Malia…”Gorken uttered as if defeated, but she smiled at him in response, silently vowing not to allow his terror to invade the new present they had recovered. Now she could protect it. She wouldn’t let the same thing happen again either. Not again.

They were still looking at each other when a loud voice came from the corridor, “It’s an emergency! A rock demon attacked the southern gate!”  The one yelling was a budding member of the rebellion, struggling to catch his breath.

The elder strained himself to regain his composure, and then answered: “Then there is no need to panic. A rock demon won’t be able to enter through the southern gate. We just have to seal it. I’m sure Gorken will see to it.”

The young man faced the head of the Council in despair, “But the guards that were on duty are still out there! They were attacked by the demon, we can’t abandon them!”

The elder sighed, genuine sorrow furrowing his brow, “…It will be a necessary sacrifice in order to protect the rebellion, boy. There’s nothing we can do. We can’t risk the demon entering headquarters.”

The young man was about to start crying when he felt Gorken’s hand on his shoulder, “It’ll be alright. I’ll save them.”

The old man’s sadness was quickly replaced by exasperation, “Gorken! You cannot keep defying the Council’s orders! We cannot risk losing our strongest warrior… I forbid you from fighting that demon! Leader or not, you must learn to respect our authority! Order exists for a reason! ” The Council elder and Gorken locked eyes, none willing to yield.

“Then I’ll go.” Malia concluded, all gazes in the hall converging upon her as she spoke.

“B-Be… Be quiet, immortal.” One of the elders who had stayed silent until that point admonished her, “If it’s a ploy to get your shackles removed, give it up. We’ll never fall for it.”

“I didn’t say anything about removing the shackles.” She gestured with her hands, “I can go just as I am.”

The head of the Council stared at her, confused, “Do you intend to die?”

“No. I won’t die.” She assured him and everyone else in the room.

Gorken couldn’t hide his concern, “Malia, are you sure about this? A stone demon is not an easy opponent…”

“Gorken,” she beamed at him, “trust me.”

He nodded, trying his best to squander his fears, “Let’s go then.”

The Council watched expectantly as they both rushed towards the exit, followed by Aldous, Bayard and Amsel, the young man who had given the alert. The southern gate didn’t face the woods, as the one Malia and her companions had used when they arrived; instead, the view that spread out before them when they turned up was the dry scenery that lay beyond the Green Mountain.

And in the middle of that view they saw it. A giant creature made of rock that resembled a lizard. It didn’t have any eyes, but as soon as they got close it began sniffing around, aware of their presence. “I can see the passed out guards over there.” Malia said, “Could you take care of them while I deal with the demon?”

“That’s why we’re here.” Aldous replied.

Amsel was watching the creature from a distance, his body shaking uncontrollably, “Aren’t you afraid? That’s a stone demon!”

The silent pause that followed gave Amsel enough time to feel ashamed of himself. He lowered his gaze, unable to stop his hands from trembling. Gorken placed a firm hand on the young man’s head and ruffled his hair affectionately, “Whether we’re afraid or not is irrelevant.”

Amsel nodded, struggling to make their courage his own.

As Aldous, Bayard and Gorken approached the passed out guards, Malia dashed towards the stone demon. She jumped on the demon’s head knocking it down, and twirled back to the ground. Aldous and Bayard took the chance to watch her fight and analyze her movements. They noticed that just like with the forest demons, she had targeted the head right away. She usually jumped to add to her own enhanced physical strength the force of gravity. Her combat style seemed conceived to fight opponents much larger than herself, relying on swift movements and heavy impacts.

As she was about to land, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. I guess I was too cocky. I can’t move normally with my arms restrained.

Embarrassment made her wish no one had seen her clumsy fall, but those worries faded as she turned around to block a heavy attack from the demon’s massive stone tail, just on the brink of time. Her blow had not been enough to defeat the creature, and now she was in a difficult position. She was blocking the demon’s tail with her shackled arms, and the giant creature continued to push her backwards toward a big rock.

Amsel was the one to break the silence that had formed around Gorken, Aldous and Bayard while they witnessed the fight intently, “At this rate she’ll be crushed! We've got to do something!”

Gorken answered without removing his stare from Malia and the demon, “No. She’ll be fine.”

Malia gathered as much magical energy as she could on her legs, so much that they shone. Then she jumped to the side, removing herself from the path of the demon’s tail and allowing the massive limb to shatter the stone that was behind her. Briefly, the dust resulting from the destruction of the rock hid both Malia and a part of the demon from sight.

Then, she appeared on top of the demon’s back. Her legs still glowing, she jumped and landed on the demon’s head, crushing it. In the midst of it, she felt uneasy, as if she was doing something terribly wrong. What was supposed to be the smashed corpse of the demon became simple rocks lying on the dirt around her. As her feet touched the ground, she lost her balance once again and stumbled backwards. But this time something stopped her from falling.

Gorken was standing behind her, supporting her, “We can’t let the same thing happen twice, right?”

She turned toward him and grinned, “Yeah, not a second time.”