Day 81

Looking them over, she turned to Kai and said as she pointed, "You should find clothes that fit you over there." She then turned to Caleb smiled, and said, "You're about the size of my late husband, those clothes over there will fit you."

Stunned that the treatment they were receiving, especially how casually Dalia had shared such a private detail of her life. Caleb asked, "Excuse me, I mean no insult, but why are you being so nice to us? Why are you treating us like old friends?"

She seemed surprised at the question, as if the answer was somehow obvious, but answered anyway, "How else would you have us treat you? It's not everyday we get visitors here, let alone from the dark forest, at night!" She shook her head and laughed, then went on, "There are a lot of curious people who want to know all about you."

Day 80

The humid heat was almost too much to handle at first, but given the cold lashing they'd just been subjected too, it wasn't all that bad. The two men who'd led them there said goodbye and left, closing the door behind them.

Unsure of what do do, they just began to wander inwards; when they were quickly intercepted by a large woman with rosy cheeks and a friendly smile. She was clearly busy, and apparently in charge, as she was interrupted multiple times by various workers whilst she was talking to them, "Hello! You must be the two strangers they told me to expect! Welcome!"

Kai and Caleb were certainly surprised, and a little intimidated by the large woman at first, but her kind expression and friend, if brusque, manner quickly won them over.

She led them through the large room, casually the work being carried out at the various stations they passed. Eventually they reach what seemed to be a storage area of some sort, large shelves lined the walls and the shelves were filled with neatly folded clean clothing.

Day 79

The shock of the freezing water splashing off his head and down his back made Kai scream like a little girl; which prompted Caleb to break down in laughter, the day's tension releasing all at once. As he was bent over, howling his amusement, he too was the target of a splash. The laughter stopped abruptly, but then started up again, this time joined by Kai.

Once they got used to the cold water, it became a pleasure to wash off the foul mud, and the cool liquid actually soothed the various mosquito bites. Eventually they were clean, soaking wet, but clean. One of the stable hands directed them towards a small wooden door in a wall a few steps from where they were standing.

Given the size of the door, they were rather shocked when they opened it an stepped through. Inside was a massive hall, with what seemed to be hundreds of people, mostly women, engaged in the various stages of the castle's laundry service.

Day 78

The guard led them around a wall in the courtyard; on the other side were several horses tied up to metal rings set into the stone. Two men dressed in simple peasant clothing were washing the animals using water from a large trough nearby.

The guard smiled and said to the men, "Here you go, I've got another two for you. When they're clean send them to Dalia."

The two men nodded and went back to scrubbing the horses. The guard then turned to walk away, but first looked back and said, "They'll wash the stink off of you, then you can get some clean from the Dalia. Once you're presentable we'll see what we do with you."

Caleb opened his mouth to thank the man, but he was already walking away, engaging in banter with another guard. He was about to comment on the whole situation to Kai, when one of the two men whom had previously been washing the horses threw a bucket of cold water at his face.

Day 77

As they were about to justify themselves, the guard motioned them across the threshold and through the massive gate; he seemed uninterested in their explanations.

As soon as they stepped through, they were overwhelmed by the shear scale of the massive structure they found themselves in. The small doorway they'd stepped through led into a courtyard of epic proportions, shear stone rising up into the sky on all sides.

The interior of the castle was crawling with human activity, which was in stark contrast to the seemingly primeval jungle they'd just come out of. Stable boys led horses along the edges of the courtyard, kitchen servants carried food in various stages of preparation, and several people seemed to just be congregating in the the area, casually discussing the day's events.

As they walked to where the guard was leading them, Kai leaned over to Caleb and whispered, "Can you believe it? This castle is bigger that some cities!"

Day 76

The man's face was lit by the light coming from the lantern he held up in his right hand. They could see he wore a helmet, and the iron tip of a spearhead shone above his left shoulder.

Caleb and Kai glance at each other, apprehension in their eyes; was it safe to just walk up to an armed soldier in a strange world? alas, they didn't have much of a choice and so Caleb took the initiative and shouted across the black field, "Good Night! We are just wayward travelers looking for shelter."

The soldier's expression became even more confused looking; he must have deemed them nonthreatening however, as he waved them closer and said, "Come in, quickly, it is not safe to be out at night!"

They shrugged and made their way towards the small door in the massive gate. As they approached, the guard twisted his nose and shifted away from them as he said, "My goodness, you smell foul!"

Day 75

The light's apparent proximity spurred them into a run; unfortunately the light's were no where near as close as they seemed in the jungle night, and by the time they arrived at the gates, not only were they exhausted, they were now drenched in a mixture of mud and sweat which would frighten away even the most fiendish of monsters.

Tired and foul smelling, Caleb and Kai stood there staring up at the gargantuan castle gate, walls and towers. Mouths agape, neither had ever seen anything of similar scale and, at the moment, neither was sure they weren't dreaming.

They were shaken from their state of shock as a small door in one of the large gates opened with a creak, and a man walked out and called to them, "You there! What's your business? Why are you traveling at night?"

Day 74

Now covered in stinking mud from head to foot, Caleb and Kai continued onwards towards the massive spires jutting out over the jungle canopy. The few hours of sunlight that remained were rather blissful, but then night fell, and with it came the bats.

At first, one or two bats flew by overhead and were the topic of interested discussion between the two travelers. Then, a few more flew by, then more, then ever increasingly more, until the entire sky above was blotted out by the dark cloud.

"What hellish place is this?" said Caleb nervously as his gaze darted around the swarm above.

Kai shook his head and replied, "I don't know, but I don't like it any more than you do." He look ahead and said as he pointed, "Look! Those lights ahead must be where we're headed."

Day 73

Kai immediately sunk in waist deep. The thick brown mud was warm and even more foul smelling than he'd imagined, but the pool wasn't excessively deep and could trudge along at a decent pace. He heard Caleb jump in behind him; the mud making a sickening sucking sound rather than a splash. Caleb caught up to Kai, and when they reached the other side they decided to cover themselves in the mud in order to keep away the mosquitoes. A quick submersion was more than enough to ensure a uniform coating.

Kai placed the satchel on the bank before pulling himself out of the pool. Caleb just sort of rolled onto the shore, eager to get out of the muck. Caleb stood and made a face of disgust as he said, "No wonder the mosquitoes keep away, this stuff is rancid!"

Kai smiled and nodded, but said, "True, but notice that? That's how it feels to not be attacked by blood sucking parasites."

Day 72

They ran towards the tree, grabbing onto and tearing off branches and large leaves as they made their way. As soon as they got to the tree they realized the plan would never work, and so kept moving, now using the newly picked branches to swat away the mosquitoes.

Eventually, they came across what seemed to be a large lake filled with horrendously dirty stagnant water, but then realized it was actually a thick brown mud with a fetid stench.

Since the lake was in there way, and it seemed any way around would delay them far longer than they would like, the both turned to each other and said at the same time, "We go through?"

His time in the army provided Caleb with a certain pragmatic take on situations such as these. Kai, on the other hand, was horrified at the thought of wading through the sludge. The final motivation came when he noticed the mosquitoes avoided the mud; he held his satchel above his head and jumped in.

Day 71

As the day progressed the weather became less oppressive, the sweat eventually stopped flowing, the heat less debilitating. Unfortunately, with the evening came the mosquitoes; large, almost grape-sized black demons, hellbent on draining their victims of blood. At first, Kai and Caleb tried to swat them off as they came near, but this tactic soon proved useless.

Eventually, desperate to escape the onslaught, Kai turned to Caleb and screamed, "I can't stand this anymore, I feel like I'm being eaten alive!"

Caleb grimaced in pain as he was bitten yet again, swatted the offending insect off his arm, then turned to Kai and replied, "Let's try and find a cave or something; maybe we can cover the entrance with some leaves and branches to keep them out!"

Looking around it quickly became clear that there weren't going to be any caves in the jungle. Just when they were about to despair, Caleb pointed out a large tree the was bent over in such a way that created a small nook that might serve their purposes, "There! I think that'll work!"

Day 70

Once the excitement of seeing the massive castle began to wear off, the oppressive heat made itself known. As they walked down the hillside they had appeared on, sweat almost immediately beading on their faces.

The jungle canopy provided shadow, but the heat within seemed all the more oppressive, the greenhouse effect coupled with the incessant buzzing of flies created an environment that made them wish for the burning sun.

As they walked, Caleb wiped a thick layer of sweat off his face, then turned to Kai and asked through labored breathing, "So, what's our story?"

Kai did the same, wiping his sweat-soaked forearm on his trousers, then answered, "I've found that people don't ask too many questions of you claim to be a poor traveler."

Caleb nodded and replied, "If you're poor, of what interest could you possibly be?"

Kai smiled, "Exactly."

Day 69

When he saw what Kai was looking at, Caleb's Jaw dropped and he whispered, "My god! What on earth is that? That has got to be the single largest man made building I've ever seen!"

Also speechless, Kai could only nod his agreement as he stared at the behemoth towering over the horizon.

Caleb tore his gaze away from the glorious castle, and asked Kai, "I suppose you’ve never been here before, or seen anything like that either, right?"

Kai continued to nod his silent agreement.

Caleb grabbed Kai's shoulder and said, "OK, we have to get moving, towards the castle seems like the way to go, right?"

Shaken out of his daydream, Kai thought about it and agreed, "Yes, if there's anywhere we are going to find someone whose has heard of any stories that may lead us to another portal, it seems like it'll be there."

Day 68

The brightness faded and the world began to come into focus. Gone was the dry northern landscape, in its place a lush green tropical jungle. Kai's eyes were wide with wonderment, he screamed, "It works! It works! I can't believe it actually worked!"

Caleb was equally stunned by what had just happened, but his reaction was to stand quietly and stare at his surroundings in awe. He'd believed that the portals existed, sure, but to actually travel through one, by holding on to an artifact no less, was, to say the least, terrifying.

Making a huge effort to speak, Caleb asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kai continued to jump around and proclaim his joy, but stopped when he saw a large building on the horizon, tall spires towering above the jungle canopy.

Day 67

Caleb was certainly not convinced and was started to look around for something they could use as a rope, when Kai interrupted him.

Kai said, "Just hold on to the artifact. Please."

Caleb dismissed Kai with a shake of his head and continued his search, but was interrupted again.

Kai repeated himself, "Hold onto it please, I think I've got it."

Caleb just ignored him, bending over and grabbing a piece of dry vegetation that might serve as the beginnings of a rope.

Kai insisted, "Grab the damn stone will you?!"

Shocked by the ambassador's outburst, Caleb decided to indulge him; the sooner they got this out of the way the better.

The moment Caleb grabbed the artifact, he felt an odd energy flowing through him; as if he were being flooded by light. The world grew brighter and brighter; until all that remained was a bright white oblivion.

Day 66

"The legend that tells of the artifact and the way it glows stronger the closer you are to the final portal; it also says that of you are close enough to a portal, you can use the artifact itself as a portal." exclaimed Kai.

Caleb stared at Kai, an incredulous scowl on his face. He looked at the artifact in Kai's hands, not much larger than a man's fist, then looked up and said, "How on earth are we going to use the artifact itself as a portal, it looks like I can hardly fit my hand in there, let alone my entire body!"

Now it was Kai's turn to scowl at Caleb. He held out the artifact, and said, "Clearly you don't walk through the artifact as if it were a doorway. Like I said, I've haven't had a chance to try it yet, but theory goes if you touch the artifact and in your mind's eye see yourself passing through the portal, it transports you."

Day 65

"Why is it glowing?" Caleb asked.

Kai seemed enthralled by the artifact, but he managed to look away and answer, "Part of the reason the artifact is so important, is that it glows when in proximity to a portal! That way my people can use it as a sort of guide through the portal network; they say it glows brighter the closer you are to the final portal: paradise."

Caleb nodded, but was still a little lost, "And how does that help us in this situation exactly?"

Kai seemed irritated by the question, "That doesn't help us exactly, it's what else the artifact does that is going to help us! I mean, I've never tried it before, but the legend spoke of the glowing, so we can assume the rest is true as well."

"The legend? And what exactly can we assume?" Caleb was, once again, completely lost.

Day 64

"I don't know, but we have to do something. If we just try and run, we've seen what happens." answered Caleb.

"Well we can't just jump into the hole, can we?" shrieked Kai.

Just as they were about to give in to desperation, Caleb noticed something in Kai's satchel. It was glowing! More specifically, something inside was glowing.

"The artifact!" explained Caleb.

Kai grabbed his satchel from his back and said, "What about it?"

Frustrated, Caleb pointed to the glowing satchel in the man's hands and grunted, "Look at it man! It's glowing!"

As Kai pulled the artifact out of the satchel and into the open, his face lit up, both from the light emanating from the artifact, but also from what appeared to be shear joy.

After a moment of thought Kai burst out, "Of course! I'd completely forgotten! That’s the answer!"

Day 63

Caleb swiveled on his left heel and quietly screamed, "Kai, run!". Without checking if Kai was following, or if he'd even heard, Caleb sprinted off back towards the bridge and chasm. Kai did hear, and after a few moments of confusion and a quick glance down towards the farm, he too sprinted off after Caleb.

Caleb slowed slightly to allow Kai to catch up to him. As the two ran side by side, they took subconscious turns looking back towards the farm. Between deep breaths, Kai managed to say, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Caleb let out a sigh as he ran and replied between labored gasps, "It is not your fault. You are not the bad guy. And someday we'll find a way to pay them back. For everything they've done. But for now...We need to get away."

They came to an abrupt stop as they arrived at the bridge. Bent over, with a hand on each knee, Kai asked, "How are we going to get down? We don't have any rope."

Day 62

"What do you mean they aren't men? What else could they be?" blurted out Caleb?

Embarrassed he'd kept the true nature of their pursuers from Caleb, Kai looked at the floor as he began to speak, "Well, it is said that they are embodiments of Morguloth's will; tireless immortal bloodhounds hell bent on hunting down their quarry."

Caleb went pale, "And you didn't think to tell me this when we were trying to distract them with fake footprints?!"

Kai began to to reply but then trailed off as he realized how ridiculous he sounded, "It seemed to work at the time..."

Caleb was watching the farmstead, lost in thought, unable to make a decision, when he saw something that made his decisions for him: Two man-sized figures, standing in the middle of a courtyard between buildings, staring right at him.

Day 61

As they approached the farm, they both realized something was wrong. There weren't any people around, in fact, there weren't even any animals around.

Kai asked, "Do you think your friend left? Abandoned his farm?"

Caleb replied with a grave tone to his voice, "Never. He had settled here, this was were he wanted to live out the rest of his days, he had a family here, a home."

Realization hit Kai like a hammer smashing into a blacksmith's anvil, "Oh god Caleb! What if Morguloth's men arrived here before us?"

A look of panic came over Caleb's face, "But, how is that possible, we watched them walk of in the opposite direction?"

Already feeling responsible for the death's of yet another friend of Caleb's, Kai cold hardly speak; but he managed to say, "Morguloth's men aren't exactly, 'men'."

Day 60

The continued walking towards the farm in what had now become their usual fashion; silently and deep in thought.

As they crested a small hill, the first buildings of the farmstead became visible; they looked old and worn, but strangely solid. A thin wooden fence marked the borders of the property; property which seemingly stretched out to the horizon.

Caleb turned to Kai and asked, "So, what happens when we go down? Does it hurt?"

Kai let out a small giggle then replied, "No, nothing like that. It's just like a regular doorway: You simply pass through to the other side."

Caleb took this in then asked once more, "So, when we get to the bottom, we'll be in another world?"

Kai smiled and said, "Exactly. I'm not sure which world, as each portal leads to a different destination; but certainly closer to where we want to go, and further from the men pursuing us."

Day 59

"I suppose those are things most people would have lying around in your average farm house." mused Kai out loud.

Caleb pulled Kai up off the ground with a quick heave and began to walk off in the direction of the farm whilst Kai dusted himself off. Kai jogged to catch up with Caleb, then settled into the brisk walk Caleb seemed to enjoy.

Shortly after the incident at the bridge, the farm came into view. It was a relatively small collection of wooden buildings, arranged into a square formation, creating a central 'patio'. The midday sun burned bright on the rooftops, creating a glare that made it difficult to look directly at the compound.

Kai turned to his companion as they walked and asked, "And what makes you think they're just gonna give us what we need?"

Caleb smiled and answered, "Let's just say Jarvis isn't my only friend in these parts."

Kai wondered more about Caleb with every passing moment. He was the exotic traveler from another world, but to him, Caleb was fascinating. Perhaps it was because, as many worlds as he had visited, Kai still felt a little lost in life, and Caleb seemed to be so sure of everything. But no, Kai couldn't say he was jealous of the man; after all, he did just witness the death of his wife.

Day 58

"Do all the portals portals induce fear to whomever come close?" asked Caleb.

Kai thought for a moment then replied, "No, not all, but many of them do; specifically the ones under the influence of an Elemental. It's certainly a pretty good indicator of a portal."

Half-joking, Caleb asked, "So what, we just jump in?"

The color drained from Kai's face, the unnatural fear still weighing heavily on his mind. He swallowed then said, "No. No, we go back to town, get some supplies and come back."

"Supplies?" asked Caleb.

Apparently lost in thought, Kai took a while to reply, "We'll need rope to climb down... and lanterns; yes lanterns."

Caleb held out his hand in order to help up Kai and said, "Actually, the farm is much closer and probably has anything we may need, so we might as well just keep going and come back later."

Day 57

Kai pulled his gaze away from the pitch black void below and stared at Caleb's hand. Why was he so frightened? He'd never had a fear of heights before, and Caleb had just crossed the bridge without any problems. Mustering all his resolve, he slowly peeled his hand off the railing and desperately grasped Caleb's outstretched limb.

Caleb pulled Kai off the bridge and onto solid ground once more, and the man's sigh of relief was quite audible. Kai sat on the floor, panting like a man who'd just come up for air after being under water for several minutes.

Caleb watched Kai recover and said, "Now you know why people believe strange things about the crack in the earth."

Kai looked up at Caleb with bloodshot eyes and said with a tone of sudden realization, "Mr. Caleb, it seems we've found our portal."

Day 56

Kai jogged to the edge of the crevasse and peered into the dark depths. The bridge did not inspire confidence. As Caleb crossed, the wood creaked beneath his feet, and debris dislodged and fell down into the abyss.

Caleb screamed over his shoulder, "Don't worry, it's much safer than it looks!"

Kai screamed back as he took a slow first step onto the bridge, "It better be!"

As soon as Kai's foot touched the first board, and the entire thing didn't collapse, he felt slightly reassured; the decision to take the second step wasn't much easier however.

Caleb reached the other side and turned to watch Kai make his way across. He could see the sweat streaming down the ambassador’s face; in fact, Kai was shaking with nerves. Partly to save time, partly because he felt sorry for him, Caleb stepped back onto the bridge, reached out his hand and said, "Here, give me your hand, you're almost there."

Day 55

The bridge appeared unexpectedly, previously hidden from view by a small copse of tall red trees. Beyond the trees, the land dipped slightly, leading down to an old wooden bridge that spanned a narrow, but seemingly deep, crack in the ground. The crack appeared to bisect the entire landscape, stretching from as far as the eye could see from the east, to the horizon in the west.

Kai stared and said, "Amazing. What is this? It is as if the very earth parted in two here."

Caleb nodded and replied, "Indeed. No one knows exactly how it came to be. Most think it is the result of a particularly strong earthquake of some kind; others believe...a variety of stranger things."

Kai thought about that for a moment, then before he could could ask exactly what stranger things, Caleb had already moved on and was carefully crossing the old bridge.

Day 54

They arrived at the gate shortly after, the morning sun illuminating the battlements. The garrison was small, even for a town of this size, which only reinforced overall feeling of peacefulness. The guards let them out with a smile and a wave, wishing them luck and good weather for their journey.

Kai thought to himself how it was, against all odds, a rather pleasant morning. Even Caleb seemed to be relaxing a bit; he would sometimes close his eyes as he walked and enjoy the light on his face.

After some time, Caleb turned to Kai and said as he pointed into the horizon, "Up ahead we cross the bridge, then the farm is just over the first hill."

Kai wondered whether this would actually turn out to be a portal to another world, or just a drunken farmer's tale; the more he thought about it, the latter seemed significantly more likely. He was a hopeful sort of fellow though; the artifact in his satchel a testament to both his positive attitude and his perseverance during tough times.

Day 53

Kai and Caleb walked out the front door of the Boar's Hoof and headed towards the north-eastern gate of the town. A hearty breakfast in their bellies, they almost forgot the worries of the past few days; almost.

The town was already bubbling with morning activity, early bird shoppers and ambitious merchants lining the streets. Kai was just about to comment on the activity when a large cart being drawn by two large oxen almost ran him over and Caleb had to push him out of the way.

As he stood up and brushed dirt off his shirt and pants Kai smiled and said, "Well, that’s a great start to the day isn't it?"

Caleb stared at Kai, face stoic, and replied "Please, try and be more careful."

Slightly embarrassed, but still amused, Kai said, "I'll try and pay more attention, but you have to lighten up."

Day 52

 ***

 Kai opened his eyes. At first everything was pitch black and he almost panicked, but then he remembered where he was and his eyes grew accustomed to the low light. He looked around the room and saw he Caleb wasn't in his bed.

Caleb sat on the window sill, his legs hanging over the edge, staring out into the night, crying. Kai was comforted by these moments when Caleb showed his humanity.

***

The banging on the door woke them both with a start. Looking out the window, Caleb noticed it was the very crack of dawn. Jarvis opened the door and walked in carrying two large satchels.

He looked over the two travelers still in their bed, and shook his head as he said, "I'd assumed you two were gonna want to head out early, I prepared these for you." He put down one of the satchels he was carrying and opened the other to show them the contents.

Caleb got up and headed to the wash basin. As he splashed cold water on his face, he said, "You're right, we should head out early, thank you."

Day 51

Jarvis replied with a wry smile, "If you have spare coin, I have spare room."

Caleb shook his head and snickered, "Still the same Jarvis I see."

Kai was shocked at how Caleb was keeping up this facade of normalcy; as if he hadn't watched his wife be decapitated a few days ago.

Jarvis managed to say through his chuckling, "A man has to make a living, right?" He stood up and continued, "Don't worry, you always have a room in my inn, you know that. I'll have them get it ready."

A few minutes later, Caleb and Kai walked into their room for the night. The old wooden floorboards creaked as they made their way inside, reminding Caleb of his stairs at home. The room was small and modest, with room for little more than the two single beds and tiny washbasin.

Kai looked around, smiled, and said, "It's no palace, but it's certainly better than sleeping in the barn."

Caleb nodded and as he sat down on the side of one of the beds, he replied, "No doubt about that, no doubt about that."