Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [84]
Ember elbowed Dougal. “I thought you had been here before.”
“We came through the Shiverpeaks,” he replied. “In any case, that was before all this.”
Killeen goggled at the scene. “How terrifying,” she said softly, “and yet starkly beautiful.” When she saw the others staring at her, she asked, “A dragon did this?”
“Yes,” Kranxx said, once more perched atop Gullik’s shoulders, “and without any effort at all. Its name was Kralkatorrik. The creature is such an aberration that this is what happened to the land it simply flew over. It didn’t even have to touch it.”
“Bear, Snow Leopard, Raven, and Wolf,” said Gullik. He spoke quietly, as if his voice might invite more destruction.
“It’s horrific,” said Riona, aghast. “A crime against nature.”
Dougal nodded. “This is why we’re doing this, right? If we don’t find a way to work together, we don’t stand a chance against the creatures that did this.”
“Statistically, we don’t have much of a chance no matter what we do,” said Kranxx. When Riona scowled at him he added, “But uniting the peoples against the dragons would elevate us from ‘No chance at all’ to ‘Very little chance’ instead.”
Without a word, Ember did the one thing that every fiber of Dougal’s body screamed at him not to do. She launched herself down the hill and toward that raw, crystal-packed wound in the world. A moment later he found himself loping after her, along with the rest of the group.
The path to the Dragonbrand was wide and easy, the smoothest going since the team had left Ebonhawke behind. The sun shone down on their heads, and the grasses around them swayed in the gentle wind like waves in the sea. It felt good to be out in the open air and sunshine again.
Dougal glanced at Killeen. She had seemed a bit off after having had to spend so much time in the darkness of the night and then in the shade of the cave. Now, though, she grinned from ear to ear, seemingly one with the nature through which she passed. Looking at her, Dougal couldn’t help but smile himself.
It did not take long to reach the Dragonbrand. It seemed as if the corrupted landscape sensed they were coming and gathered itself closer to be able to entrap them faster. Or maybe it was just how Dougal tried to treasure his last few moments in the untouched land that made that time slip by so fast.
Ember came to a halt on the edge of the Dragonbrand, just before she reached the border of the purplish, crystalline obscenity. The others fell into rank alongside her, each of them staring out across the twisted atrocity to wonder what horrors it might hide from them.
Then, after drawing a deep breath, Ember stepped into the weird landscape, and the others followed.
The glassy grass crunched to dust under their feet, and soon the shards of it became deep enough to cover their ankles. The air crackled with electricity that made Dougal’s hair lift up. Although he could see no threats, he sensed danger from every angle. He drew his sword and saw the others ready their weapons too.
“This is fascinating,” said Killeen. “It’s as if all these plants have been frozen in this state between life and death. Do you think they still grow?”
“Not after we step on them,” said Kranxx.
“I wonder how this works,” the sylvari said. “It’s so curious.” She picked a sapphire bloom from an amethyst bush and watched it slowly crumble in her hand.
“Let’s keep moving,” said Dougal. “The sooner we’re through this place, the better.”
“Bear’s blood!” said Gullik. “This is all very strange, but it can’t be worse than Ascalon City itself, can it?”
There was the distant, faint sound of an explosion, and something skipped off the ground in front of the norn’s feet. Once it had been a standing pool of water, but now cracks spiderwebbed from where the bullet had shattered it.
Dougal spun about to see where the shot had been fired from, but Ember had already spotted the source. “There!” she said, pointing back the way they had come.
A charr warband stood on the edge of the Dragonbrand,