Gesturing toward one side, away from the river valley below, the speaker said, “If you are ready, lords and lady, it is important that we quickly get out of sight.”
“Are we in danger?” Eric asked, scanning around them.
“Not precisely. All will become clear in a moment. Please follow us.”
Ryan and Eric went first, leaving Anna beside Matt, whose concerned eyes were on her. She hooked one arm with his as they followed.
Amid the summoning spell, they were always facing each other so far these three times, and sometimes they arrived in that position, but once they had been turned in the same direction so that they faced what she thought of as the opening of a Quest Ring. This is where they went now, and she noticed this ring was once again different from the others in various details. It reminded her of Greek architecture, with white pillars of equal height all around, each one standing on a stone wall and supporting a matching, circular top that was open to the sky. Three steps at the front led them to a marble path. The way continued straight, where the castle waited in the distance, a town before it, but they turned away and followed a branching path into the trees. Twenty paces away awaited a two-story stone building, vegetation partially overgrowing it.
No one spoke on the way, giving Anna time to assess their companions. Her eyes went to a tall, regal, striking woman in tight-fitting red leather that matched her wavy, red hair. She oozed intelligence, sophistication, and strength as she strode ahead of them. Two similarly dressed men trailed her. One wore deep blue, his hair stark white. The other man wore dark green and had brown hair. They seemed to defer to the woman. None of them carried anything, and yet Anna sensed they were very dangerous. She was certain they were magical in some way they would likely reveal.
The wizard who had summoned them had a gravelly voice, a balding head of graying black hair, and walked with a slight limp, but she couldn’t tell much else from behind. His brown wooden staff thumped on the marble as he went, a purple robe brushing the stone.
A slender but muscled man in silver plate mail sauntered beside him, a sword at one hip, a dagger on the other. A helmet with a white plume of feather had been tied to one waist. Short brown hair and a close beard framed a rugged face with sharp eyes. Anna sensed he held a high rank compared to the dozen, less ostentatiously dressed warriors behind her and Matt. No one else was present, including anyone who seemed like royalty. Due to this and the attempt at getting them out of the castle’s line of sight, she questioned whether someone did not approve of their summoning.
As they approached the building, Anna saw several very large saddles on the ground, similar to ones for horses but so large—the size of a compact car—that she wondered what enormous creatures they could be for. The leather-clad trio entered first without a sense of danger, followed by the wizard and the silver-armored knight, the four Earth friends, and finally most of the other warriors, two remaining outside and guarding the doors, which were left open.
The building’s interior seemed comprised of a single principal room, two open doors leading to smaller ones not much bigger than a closet. A staircase ascended to the upper level, old tapestries flying from the walls, no other decorations in sight. The room was functional and from the proximity of the Quest Ring, she wondered if it had been designed specially for them, and whether they had ever summoned the real Ellorian Champions before. No one seemed to second guess their identities, so maybe not.
They remained on the first floor, where a broad, rectangular table with cushion-less wooden chairs around it filled the center. Everyone stayed standing but the champions, wizard, and silver-armored warrior, who spoke first.
“I am Novir, Commander of the King’s Guard,” he began, voice confident until he added with a frown, “or what’s left of it. The wizard is Derin. You stand in the Kingdom of Minari, on the planet Rovell, near Castle Arking.”
Ryan said, “I assume you know us, but I am Lord Korrin.” He then introduced the others and asked, “What happened to the King’s Guard? How many of you are left?”
Novir answered, “The rest of the guard still live, we think, but their minds are not their own anymore. More will become plain as we tell you what has led up to your summoning. Those you see with us here are not the King’s Guard, but the most trusted men from among our other forces.”
The wizard Derin spoke up. “First, I must apologize for our haste in leaving the Quest Ring. The king has not been informed of your summons and would not be pleased, but we have done the right thing and he cannot see it, with good reason.”
“Is his mind also not his own now?” Eric asked.
“Yes. The Orbs of Dominion have enthralled him.”
Anna grew alarmed. Would they find themselves similarly enthralled, whatever that meant? They had already lost control of their physical lives, but now their minds might be taken over, too?
“We are not familiar with these Orbs of Dominion,” Ryan said. “Please tell us more.”
Derin nodded. “Of course. No one is certain who invented the orbs, but there are believed to be two, a master orb and a slave. Legend says that
