Serpent in the Mist

by Cleave Bourbon

  “Not a soul,” Kimala answered.

  “Do you think your friend did this?”

  “It’s possible, I suppose, but I have never known Devyn to be destructive like this. The only fact I know for certain is that he came this way.”

  “There isn’t much around Signal Hill,” Kimala stated. “There are only two possibilities—North to Lux Enor and Naneden’s army or east to Symbor, the Vale of Morgoran, or Brookhaven.”

  Trendan thought for a moment. “If I had to guess, I would say he went to Brookhaven or the Vale of Morgoran. We should go east.”

  “If he did destroy this village, I say he went north to Lux Enor,” Kimala said. “There is a small village not far from here on the edge of the Borderland Forest, which lies between the Blight and the fields of Enoria. Tippen’s Landing, I believe it’s called. We might find our answers there.”

  “No, we head east,” Trendan insisted. He collected his pack and his provisions and walked out into Signal Hill. The embers of the buildings around him had begun to die out. Something nagged at his mind while he surveyed the landscape, and he turned to the girls, who were already directly behind him.

  “I have changed my mind. We head north. I don’t want to believe Devyn did this, but I know he was here. If he did do this, he would not go home. If we go north, we might be able to pick up his trail before getting too far out of Signal Hill, before going too far out of our way.”

  IT TOOK MOST OF THE day to reach the village of Tippen’s Landing. Trendan let Fayne do most of the tracking so he could keep an eye on Kimala. His alliance with Fayne and Kimala remained an uneasy one, but he felt that it was better to have Kimala in front of him, in view, than skulking behind him somewhere in the shadows. Trendan figured they would stay the night in Tippen’s Landing but was surprised when Kimala led them to the outskirts of the village.

  “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted to take care of business in the village,” Trendan commented to Kimala.

  “I never said that,” she retorted. “I only said we needed to get here.” She let out a heavy sigh as if she was irritated that she must stop and explain. “If it will stop all the fool questioning, there is an ancient site hidden near here. The wielders of old used to use these places of power to travel long distances.”

  “Like a dragon stone?” Trendan asked.

  “Aye.” She looked at him with malice. “Not everyone is best friends with the dragons of Draegodor. It is a rare thing for the more common folk, even wielders, to carry around a Lora Daine.” She looked around for a moment. “This way.” She headed off the path in a new direction. “The portals of Migarath were mostly destroyed, but a few remain. In the old days, there were several portals scattered throughout the lands. The ones that remain are now largely forgotten.”

  “Do they allow you to travel anywhere?” Fayne asked.

  “Unfortunately not. They only let you travel between portals. That means we are limited to only the portals that remain.” Her mouth curled in a wicked grin. “There is one other advantage. If the portal has been used recently, we can see where the user traveled.”

  “You think Devyn somehow used the portal? That’s preposterous. How would he even know it existed?” Trendan scoffed.

  “Simple, the portal field is unique. I have not felt it for a while, but it’s unmistakable. Someone used it recently, and Fayne has been tracking Devyn right up to the stop we stand on. It looks like he was told about the portals, or by some other means, he knows about them.”

  Trendan looked up at the fading light. “How much farther, then? We are about to lose the light of day.”

  Kimala kicked at the ground and then bent down and dusted the area with her hand. “Stand back,” she commanded as she stood upright and raised her hands in a circular gesture. The ground that was there before was gone, and a rectangular opening big enough for a person to get through appeared parallel with the ground. Dust from the opening fell inside onto steps leading down. “Move quickly, the opening will only remain for a few moments.”

  Trendan stepped inside. He had a difficult time suppressing the feeling that Kimala was somehow leading him into a trap. It was pitch dark inside, and as soon as Fayne and Kimala followed him down the steps, the opening closed and the chamber became absolute darkness.

  “There used to be magical illumination that would light up in the presence of someone entering the chamber,” Kimala explained.

  Trendan readied his bow and reached for an arrow. If it was a trap, he would be prepared.

  A few moments more and two blue crystals on stands, about the size of a man’s head, illuminated a rounded, standalone archway at the center of the room, carved with a frieze of animals, forests, lakes, and mountains around its circumference. There was no indication of an active portal within the circular structure. Footprints in the dust led up to the opening, and sure enough, one boot print had the telling mark that gave it away as belonging to Devyn. Trendan was perplexed. Being half-elven, and in spite of his appearance, he was far older than Devyn, and he had never heard of the portals.

  “All I have to do is reactivate the portal and it should open directly to the portal, on the other side, last traveled,” Kimala said. “Trendan, the footprints in the dust, do you agree they belong to your friend?”

  “Aye, I do.”

  Kimala nodded and closed her eyes, obviously concentrating on the portal. At first, only flashes of a milky blue light covered the opening like sheepskin pulled over a drum, but it flashed and disappeared. Kimala stopped and gasped for breath. “This is harder than I thought,” she said. She poised herself to try again.

  “Mother, rest a moment. There’s no reason to strain.”

  “Fayne dear, I’m fine. I just need to concentrate.” Kimala closed her eyes and tried again. The milky blue sheen again appeared but was not covering the entire opening. A vein in Kimala’s forehead grew and throbbed. She clenched her teeth, and just before Fayne was about to step in, Kimala let out her breath in one last big gasp and the portal lit up with the milky blue turning to a brilliant, swirling blue, and the outer edge of the circle began to illuminate in golden light as each of the carved images moved one be one. Kimala collapsed to her knees. Fayne went to her, but Kimala put her hand up to stop her. “I am all right, dear.”

  “Now what?” Trendan asked.

  “Now we step through. Just let me catch my breath for a moment,” Kimala answered.

  “Where does it lead to, can you tell?” he asked.

  Kimala looked up at the golden frieze. “It appears that it leads to Lux Enor. Your friend went to the highlord’s keep.”

  “What did he go there for?” Trendan blurted out. “It’s occupied by the enemy!” He cut his eyes at Kimala. “It’s too dangerous for us all to go. Let me go and find him—alone.”

  “Not a chance, scout. I know Naneden far better than you. It would be to your advantage to take me along.”

  “What about Fayne? How would she fit in at the highlord’s keep?”

  “I would fit in about as well as you!” Fayne retorted.

  On impulse, Trendan pushed the girls back and leaped into the portal. He was sure he could find a way to collapse the portal when he reached the other side. He had thought the ride would be instantaneous, like that of a Lora Daine, but it wasn’t. His head immediately began to swim, and it was as if he had to walk through a tunnel. The dragon magic of the Lora Daine is a much better way to travel, he thought to himself. No wonder the dragons made their own portal device, this one is nauseating. At the end of the swirling tunnel, Trendan could see Devyn. He was standing at the exit portal looking directly at him. Devyn was shaking his head.

  “Not yet, my friend, it’s too dangerous for you here.”

  “Devyn, wait!”

  Devyn held up his hands, clenched his fists, and opened his fingers in a sweeping gesture. The portal jumped to the next destination, and Trendan came stumbling out into darkness. The crystals on both sides lighted, and then Kimal
a and Fayne also came stumbling through the portal. The opening fell apart behind them as the portal closed.

  “What just happened?” Fayne asked, picking herself off the floor. Kimala sat nearby, rubbing her head.

  “The portal jumped to the next destination,” Trendan answered.

  Kimala shook her head. “How? I have never heard of such a thing. The portal is fixed on the same location until it is changed by the wielder opening the portal, and I didn’t change it.”

  Trendan leaned against the wall of the chamber. “I saw Devyn at the end of the tunnel. I saw him do something with his hands and sweep aside the portal exit. He made it skip to the next destination. I don’t know how he did it, but it was obvious.”

  Kimala shook her head. “That doesn’t seem likely. The essence involved would be staggering. Last time I looked, Devyn was a mere novice.”

  “Something must have changed because I know what I saw.”

  Kimala stared into Trendan’s eyes, and he could tell she was thinking, perhaps formulating a theory.

  “Lux Enor is close to the Blight and the Blight would have the essence required for a novice, but someone like Devyn drawing that much essence over the distance between the Blight and Lux Enor would likely do harm to himself or others. We need to get the portal connected back to Lux Enor.”

  “Wouldn’t the portal still be connected to Lux Enor?” Fayne asked. “I mean, if you opened it again from here.”

  “No, it would be connected to the portal chamber at Tippen’s Landing. Give me a few moments to regain my strength, and I will try to open it again and change the destination to Lux Enor,” Kimala said.

  Trendan inspected the doorway out of the chamber. “Take all the time you need. I will go outside and see if I can find out where we are. How does this doorway open?”

  “To open it without the use of magic you need to find the circular pattern on the door. It should be under a tree icon; just put your hand on it and push up. The door should swing out and open.”

  Trendan nodded. “I see it. So you can open this door without magic?”

  “Aye, it’s designed that way from the inside so no one would be trapped if they were unable to wield.”

  “That makes sense, I guess,” Trendan said while pushing up on the circular pattern. The door pushed out and opened as Kimala said it would. Trendan cautiously exited the chamber. The building surrounding the portal chamber was in ruins. From the look of it, Trendan surmised the building that contained the chamber had been in ruins since before the War of the Oracle. Some of the ancient pillars had signs of being out in the weather for hundreds of years. Only stone-carved furniture remained, and the roof was gone and open to the night sky.

  Outside of the ruined windows, he could see other structures, some crumbled but many still standing. He stood in an opening and surveyed his surroundings. He climbed up some stone stairs to stand on the second floor of a stone construction nearby. The silver moon shed its light upon a vast, ruined city as far as Trendan could see in the moonlight with his half-elven eyes. It appeared that the portal chamber was located in some sort of central complex, like a palace or some other kingly dwelling. He shivered as a cool breeze blew over the unprotected second story upon which he stood. Gauging the streets below, Trendan was struck with the eerie feeling that he was in the middle of a graveyard.

  In the distance, he could make out a faint light coming from inside one of the crumbled dwellings. It gave the impression of being the fading embers of a campfire. Trendan descended the stairs and went to the open portal chamber.

  “Any luck with the portal?” he asked.

  “I am still trying. It won’t budge from the Tippen’s Landing connection. I think it’s bonded there permanently now, courtesy of your friend. I don’t have the ability to open it anywhere else.”

  “I saw something in the distance. It looked like a campfire. I am going to go scout it out. Keep trying, and I will return shortly.”

  “Do you need me to come along?” Fayne asked.

  “No, I am not going to get too close. I just want to see what’s out there. From what I can see, we are in the ruin of a city.”

  “Aye, this portal has the name of the city engraved on it. Just a moment.” Kimala scanned the portal frieze for the name. “It’s By’temog, in Ishrak, the old capital.”

  “By’temog! I thought By’temog was cursed,” Fayne recalled.

  “I’ll be careful,” Trendan said. “I am going to close up this chamber just in case.” He pushed the portal chamber door down until it sealed.

  Trendan deftly sidestepped the ruined debris and headed toward the fading firelight in the distance. He stalked through the streets with a deadly silence. Occasionally he startled a rat or rabbit, which scurried off in a hurry, but otherwise he moved without incident. He had heard the stories of the cursed kingdom of Ishrak, but he never bothered to travel there. Without a reason, the trip was not practical, and the stories were, no doubt, exaggerated over time until they took on mythic proportions.

  At last, Trendan arrived at his destination. Just around the corner, he could see what looked like the dying flicker of a campfire against the inner wall of a ruined dwelling. He stalked to a nearby building, climbed up the vine-covered exterior to a partially destroyed rooftop to get a better view. Inside the building, lodged into the wall, was a stone about the size of a human torso. It pulsed and flickered by its own light. He observed the pulse for a few moments and then scanned the area, but not a soul stirred. He went in for a closer look. It is a stone. What harm could it possibly be to get a closer look? he thought. Trendan entered the room with the stone embedded into the wall. The light was soft and warm. It called to him somehow, making him feel safe and secure.

  “It’s a hearthstone,” a voice said behind him. “It is a magic stone for warmth and comfort.” Trendan spun around in one fluid motion, producing his bow and nocking an arrow with blinding speed. At the point of his arrow stood a man of middle age, with greying hair and the beginnings of crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. He was dressed in a tabard, with a flowering rose embroidered on it, and trousers.

  He held up his arms. “Forgive me. I did not mean to startle you. I noticed the stone as well, and I came to investigate.”

  “Who are you?” Trendan asked. “You bear the markings of Trigothia.”

  “Yes, the Trigothian kingdom of Arasyth,” the man replied.

  “Arasyth, you mean Sythia? No one has called it Arasyth in ages.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed as if in anger. “It will always be Arasyth to me, young man.” Trendan noticed men approaching in the doorway.

  “I asked who you are, sir,” Trendan repeated.

  “Forgive me, allow me to introduce myself. I am called Brenlan Sythril, and these are my men, the Knights of the Rose.”

  Chapter 20: One Idea Too Far

  Soaring through the air, and buffeted only with magical essence, the ship aptly named The Shooting Star lurched forward, rocked back and forth, dipped in a rapid dive, and leveled out again, a haggard Ianthill at her helm. Just to the left of Ianthill, Gondrial clung dearly to the side rail of the bridge, his eyes wide with fright. Kyrie was dancing with joy behind Ianthill and chortled with glee every time the ship dipped and dived. Gondrial had no idea where the girls were, but under the freezing conditions on deck, they must have gone into the ship. Wherever they were, he was sure they were terrified.

  “Fawlsbane’s teeth, it’s cold!” Gondrial managed to say between shivers.

  “Cast a warming enchantment,” Ianthill told him. “And do you have to cling to that railing like that? You are making me nervous.”

  “Aye, I do!” He gripped the railing tighter. “How long ago did you say you used to do this? Flying, I mean.”

  “Longer than I want to admit.” Ianthill sharply turned the wheel, and the ship lurched and dove again. Kyrie laughed with delight.

  “What in your mother’s kitchen . . .” Gondrial swore as the ship again
dived and finally leveled out.

  “Stop your swearing; that makes me nervous too.”

  “I’ll stop swearing when I am firmly on ground. With all this jolting about, I think you are going to split my knife wound open. And why do we have to travel so fast?”

  “I have not seen Sanmir since we left, and he is controlling the wind in the sails. You could go find him.” Ianthill clenched his teeth. “And Kyrie healed your knife wound perfectly. I don’t want to put up with your infernal attitude any longer.”

  “I am not leaving this rail for man nor beast! You say you have done this sort of thing before?”

  “Aye, it’s been quite a while. I just told you!”

  “I can certainly tell,” Gondrial said, clinging to the rail even tighter as the ship dipped again.

  “That’s enough! I’m setting her down in the water below. It’s been too long. I can’t concentrate well enough to keep us aloft.” He glared at Gondrial.

  “What are you glaring at me for? Do you expect me to protest?”

  Ianthill let the ship descend through the clouds. “Well, that’s unexpected.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Gondrial pulled himself up to look over the side. All he could see was dry land. “Where is the Strait of Adracoria? Where is the water?”

  Ianthill shrugged his shoulders. “We must have made a turn toward the north. You were the one who was supposed to be navigating.”

  Alarmed, Gondrial pushed the dancing, gleeful Kyrie aside and went to the aft railing. There was only dry land behind them as far as he could see. He observed the same on all sides of the ship. He lurched forward while the ship dipped and grabbed ahold of the stationary compass. The needle pointed north. “We should be able to reach water to the west. If nothing else, we can set down on the Isheva River. Turn the ship west.”

  Ianthill took a deep breath. “You better go find Sanmir or Shey. I can feel my grasp on the essence slipping.”