Happy Friday, fantasy readers! Here’s Chapter 13 Part 1 of Saving ForeverLand.

This week I have a paywalled post (the first part is free). Next week will be a continuation of the free DnD backstory. If you didn’t get a chance to check out the intro to that, feel free to skim it over here.

Now, without further ado, here’s the first part of Chapter 13:

Earlier that day…

The half-portal displayed the girl with her companions, but Hadoo couldn’t make out the background. It was like the centaur, the boy, and the girl were floating in space. He knew the two of them - Josh and Omor - Elozar’s men, but Hadoo was focused only on her. She is bursting with power. I could feel it when she portaled out of here. But where did she come from? The backdrop became clearer, and Hadoo finally recognized their location. They’re in the Heart of Leisata. He smiled as a new plan began to form in his mind. I need the girl. Hadoo paced back and forth in the kitchen of his cottage, eyes locked on the window to Leisata. Knowing he didn’t have much time to waste, Hadoo forced his brain to go over the plan.

Then there was a blur of motion. They were on the move. Hadoo froze as he watched the three benders head into a tunnel. Where are they going? He wondered. Hadoo hadn’t been back to Leisata since the day he was taken all those years ago, and watching now, he almost couldn’t recognize where the tunnel was heading, but it finally hit him - they were heading underneath the Chiefs’ Office building. Since when is there a passageway under there? So much had changed over the past 50 years and Hadoo didn’t want to miss any of this. His face was glued to the edge of the half-portal as if he was under a spell.

Though he wanted to keep his eyes focused on the three benders, he couldn’t help but look around at the rest of the scenery. The Heart of Leisata was deserted other than the benders, giving off an eerie feeling. Why weren’t there any other people? But that’s when he saw it - in the back corner, maybe a block away from the tunnel - one of The Chiefs was peeking out from behind the edge of a building. “Hmmmmmm, it seems I’m not the only one tracking the girl,” Hadoo announced to his audience of none. Realizing he wasn’t the only one tracking the girl, Hadoo grew more interested in The Chief whose eyes were laser-focused on his target.

What would he want with her? He wondered, but then he watched the man appear from his hiding spot with a large machine in his arms. Glowing chains were sticking out of the top and a vacuum-like tube which were protruding from the front. Hadoo had never seen something like that before. The glowing chains - those were a telltale sign of magic - but as far as Hadoo knew, there was no magic in Leisata. That’s what he was told, at least. Hadoo watched the chains emanating the same green light that he created with the Gladerin water, and his insides boiled. If there was indeed magic in Leisata, then why was I forced to go to ForeverLand? It didn’t make any sense - if the Chiefs used magic, then Hadoo should have been welcome to stay when his powers developed. It all comes back to that monster, Elozar, he told himself, confidently. He lied about everything from the beginning.

Noticing The Chief’s predatory stance, Hadoo decided that he had no choice but to track both him and the girl. New plan, he thought. I’m portaling to Leisata and following the Chief. By waving his arms in the appropriate pattern over the window to Leisata, Hadoo transformed the half- portal into a full one. He was sure that this would lead him to the Chief, and ultimately the girl. Maybe he’d even find out more information on the way. With one last look at the empty cottage, Hadoo stepped through the portal to the Heart of Leisata. Not at all bothered by the quick pressure and heat the lack of space brought upon him, Hadoo kept his eyes open throughout the darkness, barely flinching as the world came back to life.