CHAPTER FOURTEEN (cont.)

Eric's Passing

Reality pulsed and fluctuated; it twisted and spun. He felt like he was spinning, spinning as fast as a tornado. Hues of red became hues of blue, and then he was standing on bare dirt with the open night sky above him. He was alone again here, but where was here? He looked down at himself, startled to discover he was no longer fatally injured. More than that, he once again wore the robes of a Dungeon Master!

"What tha�? Aw, this is too much!" A rumble in the distance made him look around, and a sense of urgency gripped him. "Oh, no," he whispered in blood-chilling dread before he bolted for the falling tower . . . the Tower of Darkness.

He knew where he was now, and when. He had to get there in time! Why couldn't he have landed closer? he wondered. But then he remembered the power of the crystal he wore. Never slowing, he grabbed it in both hands and tried to touch the power as he had before, when the real Dungeon Master had made him his replacement for a day.

Nothing happened. "Come on! Work! I have to stop him! I have to stop . . . me!" He tried rubbing it, gripping it harder, he even pressed it against his head, but to no avail. He was forced to rely on his legs alone, but he found he did not tire. He was able to run on without stopping for breath. Without caring how it looked � no one was looking, anyway � he hiked up the long red robe to allow his pumping legs more freedom of movement.

It had taken forever to reach them, but he'd made it! And there he was! There I am! The lock was already broken. He saw himself pull the pin from the lock of the Box of Balefire and let it fall like it was no more important than a used toothpick. He was about to open it!

"Stop!" he cried out to his other self, who jumped with a yelp, as he ran down the ruined steps to stop him. "Don't open that box! Don't let it open!"

"Uh, th-thi-this isn't what it looks like, Dungeon Master. W-W-We were just�"

A horrid growl came from within the Box of Balefire. Eric the Cavalier stumbled backwards in fear and confusion.

"Put the lock back! Hurry! Lock it!" Eric nearly screamed.

It was maddening to watch the other palming around for the discarded bits of the lock. But then he himself saw the lock's pin. Quickly, he reached for it, but the other snatched it up first. However, his counterpart was shaking too much to get it in place in time. The Box's lid flew open, throwing a blindingly bright column of white light to an imperceptible height in the clear night sky.

Damn it! No! Not again! He ran over and shut the Box, grabbed the pin from where the Cavalier had dropped it, and shoved it back into place. But he knew it was too late, he knew what it had been, and he knew what was about to happen.

The Cavalier cried out again and said, "Wh-What was that?"

He remembered what Dungeon Master had told them well enough. And it did look like he was meant to play out that part. But, he swore to himself, this time it would turn out differently. It had to!

"It was . . . a messenger," Eric the Dungeon Master began, unable to bring himself to call them his pupils, as the real Dungeon Master had done. "You have released the signal to a being more powerful than any you have ever faced before." That was pretty good, he thought with the tiniest bit of pride. "And now he knows that we are here," he finished.

And then it came to him, laid out before him in his mind's eye. He must not find the Box of Balefire! But . . . what if this isn't even real? If it isn't real, it doesn't matter. Can I take that chance? But if this is real, and if No-Name finds this box, then he'll be able to find the other box. And that can't happen! He gulped. There wasn't much time!

"We must hide the Box!" He turned to Hank. "H�" He stopped, remembering himself. "Ranger! Use your bow to blast a pit in the ground, there!" he shouted, pointing.

To his credit, Hank didn't hesitate to summon an arrow. But as he rose from his crouch to aim from his full height, a strong wind caught him and knocked him off balance. He accidentally loosed the arrow, which went wild, zig-zagging over the others' heads.

"Hey! Watch it!" Diana shouted.

"Take it easy, Hank," Sheila said right after her.

Hank quickly took aim again, with a firmer stance this time, and fired two arrows into the ground. With that done, Eric took the bow and the club from Hank and Bobby as, together, they lifted the Box of Balefire to carry it to the pit.

"This way! Hurry!" Eric yelled to everyone. He had to keep them all close.

"I thought only crooks buried their evidence!" the Cavalier shouted. Eric had forgotten he'd said that. How wrong he'd been, he now thought. Just as the real Dungeon Master had, he let the quip go unanswered.

They reached the pit, and Hank and Bobby tossed the Box to the bottom.

"Quickly, Barbarian! Cover it!" said Eric, as he returned the club to Bobby. Eric watched as Bobby filled the hole with one mighty downswing that brought the surrounding dirt and rock down to bury the Box of Balefire.

And now, it was time to change history � if any of this was actually happening. He desperately hoped so.

He knew what he would do because he knew what not to do. They would not run. Nor would he waste his Dungeon Master's powers by futilely transporting them all to the other side of the Realm and back. And he would also waste no time fighting the Evil. With only six of the thirteen Objects of Power, it was hopeless, he knew. He couldn't imagine why the real Dungeon Master had even tried it, except that he must have felt that same desperate hope Eric himself now felt, but for different reasons.

"Now, everyone, gather close to me!" He waited until all sat in a circle around him. In his best Dungeon Master voice, he said, "Listen to me. This is not a being that we can run from, nor is he one that we can fight. Our only hope is in escape."

"Are you kidding? We've been trying to escape this place since we got here! Now you're telling us we have to escape now?"

Damn, I could be such a jerk! Sometimes. . . .

"Come on, Dungeon Master, who is it . . . or-or what is it?" Bobby asked.

Here, too, Eric felt that Dungeon Master's original answer would serve. He found he remembered the words as though he'd heard them a hundred times.

"His name is not for your ears, Barbarian. He is not life as we know it." And don't I know it! "He has many identities on many different worlds. But all know him as 'Evil.' He is the ruler of many universes, but his goal is to rule the entire cosmos with evil."

As if on cue, the sky darkened with black clouds, the winds blew harder.

"He has found us! We have one chance. If you will give me your weapons. . . ." They all obediently placed their weapons before him. He could feel how they trusted him, but not him. They trusted Dungeon Master. He prayed he could live up to their trust.

"This is all just some kind of a-a test, isn't it, Dungeon Master? I mean, you are going to save us, aren't you?" Diana asked. Eric hated hearing such fear in her beautiful voice. It had struck his heart with renewed fear when he'd heard it the first time. Now, it only served to strengthen his resolve. Yes, Diana, that's exactly what I intend to do.

Now, he had to concentrate; he couldn't fail now! His timing had to be perfect. No Name had to believe that he'd killed them. And he first must warn them all not to look up and into its face.

Just as Dungeon Master had done, he summoned the powers of the weapons into himself, combined them with his own power, and enveloped them all in a protective white light.

"Listen carefully. The instant before he strikes, he will reveal his face. No matter what happens, you must not look upon it!" And then he added, "You will be trapped here in this realm forever if you do!"

And so there was the Cavalier's needed reason. Now, he knew he would not look. The rest was arranged. He felt the great powers of a Dungeon Master open to him, and he knew the binding rules of the Balance enough to bend them . . . just a little.

No Name approached and stopped short of plowing through them. He could smell the burning of the Realm in the wind.

"What's that thing waiting for?" Presto cried.

The Cavalier responded, but not in the way he had before. "Stuff it, Presto!" he shouted at his friend. "And keep your head down!"

It was much better than the idiotic thing he'd said the first time, thought Eric the Dungeon Master.

The moment had come. He knew that Evil had just revealed its face. If he looked up now, he would see it. He was tempted to turn a defiant eye up at it, but no. That was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. It would be stupid to make the same mistake twice. Instead, he looked around at his friends. No face was turned toward the cosmic evil in the heavens above.

Eric took a deep breath. Goodbye, guys.

He felt the torrent of negative energy descending. No more than a second, he calculated. No sweat. Plenty of time. Eric the Dungeon Master then made the slightest of folds in the temporal fabric of the cosmos. The changes he had influenced would remain in place. In almost the same instant, he relinquished his role to the real Dungeon Master and transported them to the Underworld. He knew they would proceed in the Underworld much as they had before.

But it wasn't enough to have saved his younger self and the others. The sacrifice must still be made. And now, the Eric of a different time was ready. He thought of Diana's courage, of the kiss they had shared, and was able to smile before the might of He Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken was upon him.