Chapter 203: A battle of shadows
Irwin jolted upright, a hammer appearing in his hand as he tried to figure out what had awoken him. Had something just poked him?
A soft laughter made him look up, and he saw Greldo standing a few steps away. He blinked away the sleep from his eyes. It wasn't Greldo who was laughing, though he was grinning. The laughter came from Ambraz, who was sitting on Greldo's shoulder.
"Seriously? Couldn't you wait till morning?" Irwin snorted as he shook himself awake and rose on his elbows.
Greldo's grin faded, replaced by worry. "I found the Bablibon. It was looking for a portal which was hidden in the Sultur Crevice and-"
Irwin listened quietly as Greldo explained what had happened. Halfway through, he got up while Ambraz flew to his shoulder, metal lips pursed tight.
"Dammit," Ambraz snorted. "I have no idea what that Bablibon thinks the portal can do, but it's definitely not going to be good."
Irwin grunted in agreement as he looked up at Glint. "Glint, tell Bronwyn what you just heard if you haven't already," he said. "I'm heading to Lord Rhym to warn him."
The massive owl nestled near the ceiling gazed at him before it lowered its head.
Irwin looked at Greldo, who looked weary.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," Greldo said with a sigh. "It's just that teleporting that much, especially that last jump, takes a large chunk out of me."
There was a moment of silence as Irwin looked at his friend, then he nodded. "Take it easy, and try to regain some energy. There's no way of knowing what might happen, but as Ambraz said, it's probably not going to be good."