He reconsidered. Devius might take exception to that claim. His anger mounted. Until the dragon attack, he had been in a position to rival Imrynn. Especially now that he had the scrying bowl.
Taking several deep breaths, he forced himself to concentrate on the matter at hand. Despite the obvious setback, the biggest threat to his plans was the Windwalker. Without the scrying bowl, there was little chance of locating her unless she came within a few leagues of the Serpent’s Eye. The odds of that were slim in such a vast kingdom.
That left the dragon campaign.
Nodding, his pent-up frustration eased. That was it. Rid the realm of the last dragon colony and the rise of the Windwalker became a moot point.
The more he thought on it, the more he realized that Duke Ryonin’s insurrection was the best thing that could have happened. Once Draakvuur fell, his father would no doubt order him to sack Castle Svelte in retaliation for the duke’s traitorous action. The royal army at his back would render Thunor Carmichael’s resistance futile.
A slow smile broke through his melancholy. All he had to do was devise a plan to take out the duke’s army before they reached Draak Home.
There was nothing quite like a forced march at the crack of dawn to get the blood flowing—particularly while riding a horse at the back of a long column of a marching army as commanders barked themselves hoarse keeping the troops moving—most of the men and women recently returned from mopping up the Wyrm Colony deep in the Altirius Mountains. The destitute look on their faces was the price they paid for being low born.
J’kwaad rode at the head of a large contingent of cavalry with Calor beside him—knights and lesser nobles dressed in shining plate armour and fancy surcoats rode four abreast behind the dark heir’s elite troops. A long baggage train lumbered along at the rear of the procession, protected by squires and pages wearing little more than cotton jerkins and leather pants. Wagons bearing mobile ballistae, more numerous than the provision carriers.
It was good to be prince. Despite the heavy burdens of his crown, days like these made him glad to be the leader of the army. Out from beneath the king’s thumb and his brother’s scrutiny, J’kwaad was free to make any decision he wished. A role he was born for. If everything went according to plan, by this time next year, he would appoint someone else to the lead the army while he issued commands from the comfort of the Ivory Throne.
He wasn’t naïve. Arcanium would pose its own difficulties, but after routing three dragon lairs, he was sure his army would be up to the task. Smiling inwardly, he appreciated the sound of that. His army.
“My prince!” A commander on horseback fell back from his place alongside the footmen.
J’kwaad merely raised his eyebrows.
“A good part of the army is still recovering from their march two days past. They seek to lessen the pace to a medium walk.”
J’kwaad ran his tongue between his teeth and his upper lip. “They do, do they?”
“Yes, my prince. At least until the high sun break.”
J’kwaad looked at Calor. “Who said anything about a break?”
Calor shrugged.
The prince’s gaze fell on the commander. “Seems Calor doesn’t recall anyone mentioning a break. Do you commander?”
“N-no, my prince. B-but—”
“But what? You’d like to relinquish your horse to one of your men so that they may enjoy an easier march?”
“No, my prince. It’s just that…” The commander swallowed; his face ashen.
J’kwaad raised his eyebrows. “Do go on.”
“Sorry to bother you, my prince.”
“No worries at all, commander. Keep up the good work.”
“Aye, my prince.” The commander heeled his horse to leave.
“Oh, and commander…”
The commander reined in his black charger. “Yes, my prince?”
“Since you brought up our pace, see that it picks up. The horses are growing restless.”
The commander gaped, clearly wanting to question the order but was smart enough not to.
The prince’s gaze took in the ranks of men and women marching six abreast in front of him. A taller man in South Fort regalia caught his attention. “If you’re finding it hard to keep the troops in line, I can have Captain Batkin relieve you of your duties.”
The commander’s face went purple. With obvious restraint, he kept the venom from his reply. “That won’t be necessary, my prince.”
J’kwaad faked a half-smile and nodded.
The rest of the morning proceeded in relative quiet aside from thousands of booted feet marching rapidly down the roadway toward the northern border of Zephyr. Several times the column veered around a fallen foot soldier.
Tiring of the increasing number of dropouts, J’kwaad ordered the mounted troops to carry on as if the fallen were nothing more than a bump in the road. Most of the horses stepped around them, but by the time the supply wagons passed, there was little left to discern the person’s identity. It wasn’t until well past high sun that the next man dropped.
Watching an exhausted soldier disappear beneath his mount’s hooves, J’kwaad took note of his apprentice’s face. “What is it Calor? You look like you disapprove of my tactics.”
Calor kept his eyes straight ahead.
“It’s okay. You may speak candidly.”
A long while passed before Calor licked his lips. “Do you think it wise to push them this hard, my prince? We’re losing valuable men.”
J’kwaad had been waiting for this. He reined his horse to a stop—the ranks behind scrambling to keep from bumping into them. The marching troops kept tromping down the roadway.
“What value will any of these men be if Duke Ryonin reaches Draak Home before us?”
Calor didn’t respond.
“It’s with great restraint that I allow this march of sufferance as it is. Tomorrow, I expect them to do better. If not, I’ll personally take over the commander’s position.”
Hell’s Furnace
Junior ran his fingers through his hair, not pleased with Reecah’s decision to venture into the depths of Dragon’s Tooth. “You have to let me come with you.”
“We’ve been over this.” Reecah grabbed his hands. “We need you to stay with Nelly in case something happens.”
Nelly grunted. “Please. What’s going to happen up here? If a dragon can barely get to this point, I’m sure I can handle the odd spider that might thaw and skitter across the floor.”
Reecah flashed Nelly a frustrated glare. “You’re not helping.” She sighed and released Junior. Gathering up her gear she waited for Devius at the back of the cave, taking the time to peer into the darkness beyond.
Devius had come out from the crevice bearing a small leather sack Reecah hadn’t seen before. Stopping in front of Nelly, he dropped it at her feet and they bent down to inspect its contents.
Ignoring them, Junior asked Reecah, “Why are you taking all of your weapons?” He ran his fingers along the bow and quiver strapped to her back.
Thankfully, he hadn’t been awake when Devius had told her of the dangers they might encounter within the depths of the mountain. She shrugged. “Who knows what we might need down there? Perhaps I’ll have to shoot a rope across a chasm.”
“Or,” Junior held up a finger, “perhaps there are monsters.”
Reecah prided herself with the fact that she wasn’t a liar. Coupled with her temper, that noble trait had gotten her into trouble more than once in the past, but she wasn’t about to start lying now to ease Junior’s mind.
“Please, just do as I ask. Devius says it’s at least a two-day trek to the mountain’s heart. If we encounter any difficulty, I need to look after myself.” She upturned a palm, conjuring a small fireball—its light pushing away the darkness.
Nelly and Devius looked up from whatever they were doing. Seeing the cause of the sudden light, they looked away again.
“Besides, I’ll have the high wizard of the Great
Kingdom to protect me.”
Junior grunted, muttering under his breath, “Fat lot of good that did you at Headwater. You said he’d been incapacitated almost straight away. If not for Aramyss and his brother you would’ve been taken.”
“I heard that,” Devius said, not bothering to look up.
Reecah snorted. “A lucky shot got through.”
“Luck or not, where you two are travelling, there won’t be anyone coming to save you if something goes wrong.”
A wet smacking sound announced Devius and Nelly’s parting kiss. The old wizard slipped the leather satchel inside his robes. The bulging sack disappeared like it wasn’t there at all.
Grabbing his staff, Devius hobbled past Reecah and Junior, a faint glow emanating from his staff. He stopped just inside the fissure and faced the wall closest to the cave’s interior, intoning a battery of strange words. The phrases sounded foreign when spoken in quick succession, but concentrating on the individual words, Reecah realized she understood most of what he said.
The wall shimmered briefly and then disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.
“Wow.” Junior’s long and drawn out exclamation matched her own.
Tucked within an alcove that hadn’t been visible moments before, a large, iron-strapped chest met their gaze; its rounded lid reaching Devius’ hips.
“I’d be grateful if you two would be kind enough to drag it into the cave.”
Reecah looked from the chest to Junior and shrugged. ‘Sure.”
Grabbing hold of an old leather strap on one side, Reecah yanked on the chest, barely moving it. She feared she had torn her shoulder out.
“Careful, child. It’s heavy.”
She rubbed her shoulder, casting him an annoyed look. “You don’t say?”
Junior wiggled his arm into the alcove to grab the opposite strap and grunted with the exertion it took to scrape the chest into the narrow passageway. “What’s in it? Rocks?”
Devius smiled. “Something a little more precious than that. Books mostly…amongst other things.”
“Books?” Junior asked, dumbfounded. “Made out of stone?”
“Not a bad idea.” Devius chuckled. “They’d be more durable.”
Reecah rolled her eyes as she tugged at the strap. “Don’t get any ideas. I won’t help you move those.”
“Put it against the wall by the fire.”
Devius wasted no time after Junior and Reecah placed the chest where he instructed. Crouching stiffly, he intoned, “Patefacio.” The locking mechanism clicked and the lid popped open, its bulk bumping to a rest against the cave wall.
Reecah stared at the contents. Tomes of all sizes lay haphazardly amongst colourful glass vials and several scrolls scattered on top.
Devius rummaged through the contents, struggling to pull out books larger than his abdomen and discarded them on the cave floor.
Raver fluttered to land on the edge of the upturned lid, watching him.
Reecah was about to ask Devius what he was looking for, but could tell by how he examined the cloth in his hand that he had found it.
“Ahhh. There you are.” He held aloft a pile of grey suede and brown leather.
Standing, he presented the bundle to her. “Well, child. You ready to look like a wizard?”
She relieved him of his burden and let it unfold—a knee length suede tunic, complete with an etched leather belt and shining silver buckle along with a matching baldric. “This is for me?”
“Aye lass. It’s time you showed the world who you really are.”
“Really are! Really are!” Raver squawked and dropped down on the far side of Nelly to peck at something in a crack on the floor.
“But I’m just Reecah. I don’t care to be anyone else.”
“To you and Junior, you’ll always be just Reecah, but the land is in dire need of a champion. As a Windwalker, your presence will unite the factions loyal to the edicts of a once better time.”
She turned the tunic around, inspecting its back and caught Junior nodding his approval. “Okay, I’ll try it on. Help me out of my gear.”
She turned so that Junior could grab her bow and quiver. He put them aside and accepted her hefty sword belt.
“Stay here.” Slipping back into the fissure, she didn’t dare conjure a fireball lest she burn her clothes as she worried the laces free of her old tunic. A deep cold wafted up from depths unknown, raising goosebumps on her skin. The welcoming warmth of the heavy suede would certainly help keep her comfortable while flying Lurker.
Conscious of how she looked, she straightened the hem over her green leggings, took a deep breath, and walked back out into the light.
Junior stood with crossed arms and raised his eyebrows. “Wow. You look great.”
Her cheeks reddened. “You really think so?”
Devius answered for him, “You look like the Windwalkers of old. The world will lay itself at your feet.”
She swallowed, not sure she cared for the sound of that.
“Grab your weapons and let’s be off.”
Junior tried to help her with her sword belt, but the cummerbund didn’t sit well over the layered suede. “You’ll have to use the baldric.”
Skeptical of how the shoulder belt felt over her left shoulder, she allowed him to cinch it.
Junior attached her scabbard and tugged on the leather strap running down her back. “How’s that feel?”
She shrugged a couple of times. “Not bad, actually. Hand me my bow.” Slipping her bow and quiver over her opposite shoulder, she walked around the fire, testing the new arrangement.
Raver squawked, jumping in a flurry of wings to avoid being trampled.
“Hmm. Not bad. It’ll take a bit of getting used to.”
Junior watched her, his chin in hand. “How’s the rest feel?”
“Okay, I guess”
“We must go, my child,” Devius said, leaning on his staff.
Reecah looked at Junior. “Come here.” Embracing him, she leaned her head against his. “It’ll be alright. You’ll see. We’ll be back before you know it.”
“I know, but I don’t have to like it.”
“Like it! Like it!”
Leaning her head back to stare him in the eye, she smiled for his benefit. “As long as you love me, that’s all that matters.” She gave him a deep kiss and let him go. Without looking back, she conjured a small fireball and disappeared beyond the fissure.
“This stuff is dreadful.” Junior’s face twisted in revulsion as he examined what was left of the chunk of dried bread Nelly had been feeding them over the last couple of days. “You sure it’s still good?”
Nelly’s plump cheeks worked away at her portion. She spat as she spoke around it, “Wizard’s bread lasts forever.”
“Where did you say he got it from?”
“I didn’t.”
“Who in their right mind would actually buy bread like this? I think I chipped a tooth.”
“He didn’t buy it. He conjured it.”
Junior was about to put the last piece in his mouth but stopped to inspect it. “He did what?”
“He used magic to produce it.”
“So, it’s not real?”
“Oh, it’s real alright. Real awful.”
Junior almost choked on what was in his mouth. Getting to know Nelly better, the old witch proved to be pleasant company. Throughout the long hours of inactivity, she had entertained him with anecdotes of Devius’ exploits over the last hundred and some odd years. He had to admit, if half of what Nelly told him bore even a smidgeon of truth, Devius was a remarkable man. The stories had helped him feel a little more comfortable about Reecah venturing into the heart of Dragon’s Tooth with only the assistance of an old man.
“What possessed him to conjure it in the first place?”
Nelly raised a waterskin to her mouth. Wiping her lips, she said, “Interestingly enough, he came up with the idea a few years before his last foray here. Not being a
big fellow, he lamented he wouldn’t be able to carry many provisions on such a journey.”
“What about that bag of his? You said it allows him to carry way more than its appearance would suggest.”
“It has its limitations. The old fool keeps it stuffed with books and such. Ones that he claims he daren’t leave unprotected.”
“Aren’t the books heavy?”
“Aye. He can barely lift some of them, but in the bag, they lose their physical properties.
“I don’t understand.”
“Nor would you even if I spent the next few days explaining it. If you aren’t trained in the occult, the things that are normal to my kind will seem outrageously impossible.”
“Why didn’t he just put that crying bowl in there? Isn’t that what he said he lost in the fire?”
“Scrying bowl,” Nelly laughed. “Its magic is too strong to be contained within another magical field.”
“Huh?”
“Exactly.” Crunching on her last piece of wizard’s bread, Nelly winked. “You’d better get used to it if you intend on enjoying a long-term relationship with Reecah. Not only is she an unwitting member of the arcane society, she possesses something unheard of in the last few decades.”
‘Dragon magic,’ Junior mouthed the words.
“Exactly. You’ve got your hands full with that one.”
Perspiration soaked Reecah despite the cold permeating the underground channels she and Devius travelled. The suede tunic didn’t breathe nearly as well as her old clothing. It had chafed her upper arms and the base of her neck long before the first day was out, and now felt as if it generated its own heat.
By the time Devius had called a rest to their arduous descent through steep channels of rock that first day, some so narrow they had to turn sideways and walk with their feet pointed in opposite directions, she had been ready to quit.
At one point during the second day, they had been confronted by a tunnel just big enough to crawl through on their elbows. Her sword hilt had snagged itself against the uneven stone, making her fear she might be stuck as crawling backward was out of the question kitted up with her bow and quiver as she was. She knew then why Devius wanted Nelly to remain topside. She doubted Junior would have made it through.
Legends of the Lurker Box Set Page 85
