The Wonder Worlock: Warfarin and Peace, Part 2

The Wonder Worlock: Warfarin and Peace, Part 2

(Cover by Bulent Sarilar, Ben Weetman and Sash Scott)

PART THE SECOND

One moment, the deep space of the extra-dimensional Degaba Empire is calm: worlds revolving, stars burning.

The next moment: havoc!

A star gate appears suddenly, and through that star gate comes a Neptunian armada led by the Good Fellow, piloted by Captain Gar, and the Wonder Worlock!

“Gar to all craft,” comes the call across the comm. “Laser cannon fire coming from the fourth world of yon binary star. Clear a path aft where the Still Waters and the magician can make their way around that moon, and then toward the surface. Still Waters, protect the dark cloak at all costs. I promised the Queen.”

Photon torpedoes answer the fire of laser cannons on Degaba. Unhappy with the rule of Travel, it did not take a refurbished Warfarin a long time– mere weeks, in fact– to gather a rag- tag army with enough strength to challenge any attack from the Circle of Allies.

Neither he nor Ymok could have foreseen a rogue attack from the interfering shaman and his extra-dimensional underwater friends.

TTHHHOOOOOMMMBBB!!!! TTTTHHBB!!!

Warfarin’s lasers fall on deaf ears, so to speak, as they strike superior Neptunian shields and the Shield of Synaster.

To their credit, as ground troops beam surfaceward, Warfarin’s pirates charge forward, fighting all the harder against the strength and superior muscle of these invading mermen.

“Fly, my pretties, fly!” Warfarin screams as his current body parts literally separate and take wing.

The challenge is met!

*****

On the dark side of Degaba, beneath the protection of the Neptunian warbird Still Waters, the Wonder Worlock hovers over the quiet landscape, explosions in the distance, and opens his third eye.

Suddenly his physical eyes are filled with stars as the wizard’s cosmic awareness pinpoints Warfarin to the north … and someone unexpected less than a mile away: the familiar form of Ymok!

“Zootalaris! What is the Troll King doing here?!!” the Dark Mage says to no one in particular.

Like a hot knife through butter, the Wonder Worlock dives through the clouds and towards the hulking Troll King below.

“The Wonder Worlock? Here??!” Ymok says with a start. “Wha …?”

“I have been fighting your old pal, Thaumaturge, Ymok, and he is still looking for you for the murder of his wife,” the Dark Mage says.

“Fie on Thaumaturge! Fie on all light makers and necromancers!” Ymok says. “You and he are old news, dark cloak. The new regime I will help Warfarin build in this alien dimension will rival anything I was able to accomplish in our own. I am just glad you were able to see it… before your death!”

Ymok grabs the dangerously-close cape of the Wonder Worlock and pulls the floating wizard right from the skies. Before he can become intangible or invisible, the shocked mage finds himself in a grip of iron, the grip of a Rock Troll!

By Randak! How have I come to such a predicament?the Dark Mage thinks. I have been emulating Rock Troll battle so often of late, how…?

And then the answer: WWYD? What would Ymok do? He would sink into the ground, and the Wonder Worlock does just that.

“You are not a Rock Troll!” Ymok screams. “How dare you battle like a Rock Troll!!”

The iron bands of Ymok glow with cosmic power as his mighty fists, known to crack small moons almost in half, drive deep into the earth after his quarry

Suddenly behind Ymok– bamf! — the Wonder Worlock reappears, wrapping the troll in the strong imprisonment of the Roving Rings of Randak. And before he can sink into the terra firma, the magician summons the Seven Suns of Synaster, from white to deepest black. The heat and light weaken the troll, holding him firmly in place as an aperture forms.

Ymok is once again sucked into … the Dungeon of Doom!!!

WWWHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHH!!!!!!!

“Noooooo…! ” is the monarch’s final word in the Threlkellian dimension.

Only the maddening cackle of the Rock Troll Mork can be heard as the aperture closes.

*****

With cover from the advantage of space, the Neptunian and Oceanan land troops have Warfarin’s men on the run.

As Warfarin’s mechanical birds of death arrive, new sonic blasters provided by the Goff Empire prove too much for the aerial weaponry.

As the birds fall like rain, neither Captain Gar nor the tacticians in orbit notice as one low energy bird flies silently out of the battlefield.

BBBOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!!!

Suddenly the ebony blade Memorell slices through the walls of time and space.

“Have at thee, Warfarin, vile usurper!” the Emperor of this dimension yells.

The tired troops of Gar just stare at the warrior king, but Warfarin’s captured loyalists and the Wonder Worlock himself share a hushed laugh.

POST-GAME

In a puff of purple smoke, Gar and the Wonder Worlock return to the Nursery Royal on Oceanus, giving a start to both Prima Dona and Smoke, who have been joined by fellow SBs Wolfin and the sub-mariner Aquataine.

“And what subject has occupied Queen and guests for the last 12 hours?” Gar asks. “Worried about yer men in battle, are ye?”

“No sir,” young Smoke answers frankly. “We were trying to get Landry to say Aquataine’s name.”

Gar turns and exits the room, silent as Davy Jones’ locker.

FINIS

(Editor’s Note: Byron Brewer’s mother, Rosemary, recently passed away. Artist Israel Huertas created the following Wonder Worlock tribute image. Cosmic Book News would like to offer our sincerest condolences to Byron and his family)

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