Folksburywoods

They stood silent, fearing to breathe as the moon moved before the setting sun. The wizard spoke, “We will not allow the dark to rise and take this land. We will fight for what is ours.”

Mörken the Dark One had tricked the necromancer Myzhur into joining his forces, assuring him he could do with the living as he wished.

In truth, the Dark One only wanted Myzhur’s dark magic to remove hope from the Waldvolker, making their defeat more manageable.

“My dark friend, I have no interest in those scuttling bugs. Wipe them out at your leisure once we have defeated the allied forces,” Mörken said with a smile.

Mörken needed the forest folk as enslaved people and would remove the necromancer after the war, but until then, let the mad sorcerer have his dream of annihilation.

“I shall summon the demons of Hell, and together we shall remove the light from this land and with it all hope of defeating us,” Myzhur arrogantly claimed.

Ashitaka the Kirin was able to warn Hendrik, who quickly gathered his team and prepared for the event.

Fern was livid and wanted to strike the necromancer down using Teutonic magic. The wise woman cautioned her to allow the dark forces to make the first move.

“Why should we give them any chance to control this engagement? Strike now,” said the marsh wizard.

“The wise woman is correct. Arrogance will show their weakness, and that’s where we strike,” remarked Hendrik.

The sky darkened until the last light rays left the land black. “Wait for it,” said the wizard.

The stars began to pulse brighter and brighter until their glow covered the land with a soft white glow like moonlight. “Hey, that’s Teutonic Magic,” remarked Fern.

“Quite right, I sent word to your mentor, Thosis, and asked for help. He was eager to try some long-forgotten incantations. He did mention that you would be in a snit when you found out,” said the wizard.

“As long as it denies Myzhur his victory of total darkness, I could care less,” retorted Fern.

“Now the real work begins. Franny, you and Izba go to the forest’s southern edge. Fern, you, and Hendrik go to the north. I will signal you when it is time to perform the incantation. Remember, we get one chance at this,” instructed the wise woman.

The pairs headed to their appointed locations as Ursula prepared the charm to cancel the necromancer spell. When the moment arrived, the wise woman lit the fuse of a skyrocket, which raced skyward and then exploded.

Moments later, bolts of blue light shot up from either end of the forest. At their zenith, they collided, causing a shower of blueish-white sparks to rain down upon the land.

“It’s done now. Time to open the door and let the elementals rid the forest of those demons,” said the wise woman.

“The fools tried to stop me. Ha ha ha, when will they learn Myzhur is the master? No one can defeat me,” said the necromancer.

The sun rose the same as it had since the beginning of time, “How is this possible? My demonic incantation should not have allowed peasant magic to defeat it,” cursed Myzhur.

Mörken began to think the necromancer may not be needed after all. However, he would wait before disposing of him.

“I bet the two demons were speechless when the sun rose this morning,” giggled Franny.

“Yes indeed. Now, about opening the door,” said Ursala as the three enjoyed tea and muffins on their way to meet the wood witch, Griselda.

All hope lay in the hands of the old forest guardian, who would attempt the opening during the next full moon; until then, there was much to do.