“Yes, down with greenery and vegetables! Let’s cheese that broccoli!” Jaxon finished his inspiring speech, getting roaring approval before turning to Joe. “You needed something?”
“Jaxon, Cleave, come with me. This isn’t right. This was too easy. They knew we were coming, so why didn’t they do something about it?” Joe veered off the road, heading for the crystal tree that was still flashing with an intense light.
“You think this was too easy?” The Dwarf sounded shocked. “Breaking into a volcano, fighting a true horde of Wind Spirits, and toppling a major fort? I… I look forward to the opportunity of seeing what you consider a hard fight.”
“We’re a pretty big deal.” Jaxon wrapped his arm around her shoulder, helping to guide her toward the building Joe had zeroed in on. “Did you ever hear why Joe got exiled from Midgard? He killed… like… a couple hundred thousand people over and over? I think he’s wearing white clothes so people don’t think of him as a dark person. Turning over a new leaf, and all that. Hey! If we are in the Shoe, and this place is hot and painful, does that mean Gramma’s ankle is inflamed?”
“Not now, Jaxon.” Joe stepped through the unguarded illusion of a door, entering into the cavernous room filled with foci, stabilizers, and as it turned out: Elves. He came to a screeching halt as they all turned to stare at him. Jaxon and Cleave stepped through, a similar reaction of panic crossing the Dwarf’s face, while Jaxon waved chipperly.
“Hello! Have you heard the benefits of chiropractic services? I’d be more than happy to hold a seminar, perhaps be on whatever panel it is you’re watching?”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Four Ritual Orbs popped out in front of Joe, and he double-checked that his Exquisite Shell was at full power. He was about to leap back and out of the building, when he realized that not a single Elf had made a move on them, nor cried out. Peering closer, he could see that their normal smug expressions were gone, replaced with a strange hollow stare that he had only seen in the most drastic of battles.
Captain Cleave hissed in a sharp breath, her hand jabbing forward to point out the thick layer of ‘smoke’ that swirled around their feet. “They’re golems! Don’t move.”
Joe felt sick, but forced himself to stay still. “You really meant it when you told me that it can use any material, huh?”
“I try to use every word to maximize my truthfulness,” Captain Cleave stated in a hushed tone. “They have not attacked us yet, which I take as a good sign, but I don’t know why-”
“Francine, please just listen to reason!” Havoc’s cataclysmically loud voice shattered the unnatural stillness of the area. “If I kill you here, you’ll lose so many more levels than you would if I got you into the capital first!”
“You still think you can kill me, you old monster?” A too-familiar Elven voice snapped back, followed with a ray of multi-colored light that caused spots to break out all over Joe’s vision. “I’ve been breaking chunks off you since we got started!”
“I just don’t want you to suffer more than you need to, Francine.” Havoc’s voice was almost laughter. “You need to suffer, don’t get me wrong, but when you’re back where you belong, we can finally-”
“I. Am. Elfreeda!” Each of the words were followed by blasts of lightning that seemed to come from the walls of the building itself. Havoc came into view with the light show, his appearance so grotesque that Joe was almost sick once more.
“For now, Francine. For now.” Havoc’s face had been pulled and stretched until it was almost flat. His defining features were affixed in the center of the chest of a huge golem, so large that Joe had initially mistaken it for the nearest wall; it put the Guardian of a minor fort to shame. A hand swept through the air too fast for Joe to see, but a bright firefly dodged it and sent another light burst at the golem that Havoc had turned into. “Why not give in? There’s no escape from here; I’ve ensured that.”
The ‘firefly’ resolved into the flying form of Elfreeda; they were just so far away that she seemed tiny. “You ensured that? Ha!”
The stark laughter felt like a gut-punch to Joe. He knew that this had been a trap. The Elf continued a sudden monologue, “This building is failing, thanks to your minion. What do you think happens next, Dwarf? You think the Prismatic Evergreen will simply shatter and have no repercussions? The main force of the entire Legion is within this hollow space, with only one thing holding back every. Single. Volcanic eruption… that should have occurred over the last few years! Every bit of fire, lava, and pressure that mounted as we grew this place from the crystal seed!”
That did seem to impact Havoc, but instead of putting fear in his heart, his flat smile widened fractionally. “Isn’t it so good to speak with each other again? I have so many stories to tell you! What an eventful half century it has been, Francine.”
“Stop saying that name! It means nothing to me!” She flew backward, the air shifting in the colossal space. Lightning rained down on her outstretched hands, and the room dimmed as every spectrum of light was drained into the area in front of her. “Let me tell you what is going to happen, Havoc!”
“You die, the building shatters.” Havoc recited calmly, his uncaring words ensuring that the Elf fell deeper into despair. “The energy that had been going into sustaining this tree is diverted into the outer walls, closing
