Sands of Nezza

by M. L. Forman

  “Yes, of course,” Mr. Clutter agreed. “I suppose you don’t even have time for a spot of tea.”

  “Not today, thank you,” said Alex.

  “You know,” said Mr. Clutter, “I might be able to help you in another way.” He moved to one side of his office. “Let me see. Yes, his name begins with a J, I’m sure of that.”

  “Whose name?” Alex questioned.

  “What’s that?” Mr. Clutter asked as he opened a huge drawer full of files. “Oh, he’s a retired adventurer that I know. As I recall, he moved to Nezza when he stopped going on adventures, and if he’s still there, he might be a great help to you. Now let me see . . . Jacob? Joshua? No, it wasn’t a common name.”

  Alex didn’t want to wait while Mr. Clutter sorted through the seemingly endless files. He was about to say something when Mr. Clutter triumphantly pulled a file from the drawer.

  “Josephus!” Mr. Clutter shouted. “Josephus Sebastian Savage. I knew he was in here.”

  “Josephus?” Alex questioned.

  “Well, everyone calls him Joe,” said Mr. Clutter. “Can’t say that I blame him. Now, let me see, my notes say he was living on a small farm a day or two from the great arch. South of the main road into Nezza, on the east end of some hills.”

  “And you think he’ll still be there?” Alex asked.

  “I would think so. Oh, now that’s odd,” said Mr. Clutter.

  “What?”

  “There’s a note here that says he’s become something of a hermit,” Mr. Clutter answered. “Strange—I remember him being a friendly, outgoing sort of fellow.”

  Alex thought the land of Nezza didn’t seem like the kind of place an adventurer would retire to, considering all the wars and other troubles there. Mr. Clutter could be wrong about Joe, and Alex didn’t want to waste time searching for someone who might not even be there. Still, if there was a retired adventurer in Nezza, he could tell Alex everything he might need or want to know.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have more information,” said Mr. Clutter. “I’ve written to him a few times, but it’s difficult to find geebs that are willing to go to Nezza. Then again, Savage was quite serious when he told me he was retiring. The last letter I did manage to send was returned unopened.”

  “I see,” said Alex. “So he might not be too happy if I turn up asking questions.”

  “Oh, I’m sure if you are able to find him that he’ll help you in any way that he can. You’re a wizard after all, and not many people are foolish enough to be rude to a wizard.”

  “I don’t care about that, just so long as he can answer my questions,” said Alex.

  “Now, I know you’re in a rush, so I won’t keep you any longer,” said Mr. Clutter as he moved to the back wall of his office. “I’ll just open the door for you, and you can be on your way.”

  “You have been both kind and helpful,” said Alex. “You have my thanks.”

  “No thanks needed,” said Mr. Clutter. He knocked three times on the stone wall, and the hidden doorway opened. “When you get back from Nezza, I’ll find a proper adventure for you to go on.”

  Alex nodded and stepped through the door into the green fields outside the village of Telous. The door closed, and the silver outline vanished with a small pop.

  As eager as Alex was to head directly to Nezza, he knew from his previous adventures that he would need some supplies before he left. Instead of changing shape and flying back to the great arch, Alex started walking toward the village, his mind spinning with thoughts.

  Savage might be helpful—if he really was in Nezza, and if Alex could find him. Alex didn’t have time to waste searching for him; Skeld was in trouble. Alex figured he wouldn’t be noticed by the people of Nezza, at least not until he reached the city of Karmus. If he flew most of the way to Karmus as an eagle, he would only need to blend in once he reached the city.

  “I can find my own answers as I travel,” Alex said to himself, but he wondered how much trouble finding those answers might be.

  As Alex walked into the streets of Telous, he mentally made a list of the items he’d need for his adventure. He would have to buy food and maybe some more water bags. He’d also need some new clothes, including some good walking boots.

  His shopping trip went better—and faster—than Alex had expected. The shopkeepers were all keen on helping him, and he suspected it might have something to do with his recently becoming a true wizard. He purchased a large supply of food and several dozen water bags, and he even picked up a few items at the apothecary’s shop.

  While eating the midday meal at the Golden Swan, Alex considered his plans. He was worried that he didn’t know enough about Nezza or what was going on there, but he reminded himself that his biggest problem was finding and helping Skeld and his company of adventurers.

  It won’t be as easy as you think, Alex’s sixth sense said in the back of his mind.

  Chapter Two

  The Road Is Closed

  Alex paid for his meal and left the Golden Swan. He collected his supplies from the shopkeepers and made sure he wasn’t forgetting anything. His plan was to change into an eagle as soon as possible, then fly to the great arch. After passing through the arch, he would camp for the night, and then tomorrow he could take eagle form again and look for the eastern end of the hills that Mr. Clutter had told him about. If he could find Savage quickly, he would get as much information from him as he could before moving on; if not, he would have to find his own answers as he traveled.

  As he walked down the road, Alex’s thoughts returned to Skeld and the company of adventurers he was with. Skeld had said they were in the city of Karmus, and Alex wondered how long it would take for him to make his way there, and how much longer it would take to find the group after that. He’d studied the map of Nezza and knew that Karmus was a fair distance from the great arch. He couldn’t hope to reach the city quickly on foot, but he didn’t plan to walk. He would transform himself for most of the journey, and, if things went well, he would get there in a few days.

  Only change yourself at need and never for very long, Whalen’s voice echoed in Alex’s head.

  Whalen had given him good advice on the subject of changing his shape. The transformation was not difficult, but it could be dangerous.

  “You will find that you enjoy taking another shape,” Whalen had said. “There is great freedom in the shape of a bird, rest in the shape of a tree, strength in the shape of the bear. But be careful—the longer you remain in a shape that is not your own, the more you risk forgetting who and what you are. If you forget yourself, you may remain changed for the rest of your days.”

  Then there was the dragon form. On his last adventure, Alex had met Salinor, the oldest living dragon, who had told Alex he could change into a dragon at will without any risk of losing himself. Alex was in fact part dragon, and while taking the form of a dragon might allow him to reach Karmus faster, it was a shape that terrified most people. It might be one of his natural forms, but Alex thought it best not to become a dragon unless he really needed to.

  After walking about a mile along the main road, Alex moved into a small grove of nearby trees. He looked to make sure he was alone before once more taking the shape of the eagle. He moved upward, soaring in the afternoon sun. He enjoyed this shape and had spent quite a bit of time in it. Now he focused his mind on the task at hand and sped off to the south, where the great arch waited.

  Long before he had grown tired of flying, Alex was circling downward. The arch was only a few hundred feet below him, and he could see the spring where he’d filled his water bags on other adventures.

  Landing and taking his own shape, Alex splashed some cold water from the spring on his face. It took a few seconds before the sense of freedom from being an eagle left him.

  Retrieving the empty water bags from his magic bag, Alex filled them at the spring. When he was done, he looked at up at the sun, trying to judge how much daylight was left. He had traveled from Telous to the arch in
less than an hour, a trip that would have normally taken half a day. It was just after noon, and he thought he could walk through the arch and still have plenty of daylight left to find a camping spot for the night.

  Alex paused for a moment before walking toward the arch. He wondered if he should arm himself with his sword as he had done on his previous adventures. He knew there was trouble in Nezza; it would be foolish for him to walk into it unarmed.

  Best to be prepared, the voice of his dwarf friend Thrang echoed in the back of his mind. Never know what you might meet on the other side of the arch.

  It was good advice, but if the lords of Nezza didn’t like adventurers, then the less he looked like an adventurer, the better. If he carried his wizard’s staff, however, he might be able to pass as a simple traveler. After some more thought, he left his magical sword in the bag but withdrew the dagger that he’d had since his first adventure.

  Taking a final look around the spring, Alex started along the road. He was nervous about going into a new land alone, but he didn’t have a choice. He knew that if he had been in trouble and had sent a message to Skeld asking for help, Skeld would have come as quickly as he could. Alex also remembered a promise that he’d made on his last adventure—a promise to always help his friends when they needed him.

  “I just hope it’s nothing too serious,” Alex said to himself.

  Walking wasn’t as much fun as flying, but Alex focused on his surroundings, watching as he moved forward and looking for the change in landscape that would let him know he was in Nezza. The change between lands was barely noticeable, though as Alex passed beneath the great arch, he felt a small tingle of magical power pass through him.

  The ground ahead of him suddenly had a few gently sloping hills, and Alex climbed one so he could look west into the land of Nezza and still remain hidden. He looked at everything, especially at the road that led west. The land was green and covered with small groves of trees separated by open grassy areas. A short distance from the hill there was a camp that was full of what looked like soldiers.

  Clearly, the soldiers were there to stop anyone coming into or leaving Nezza, but what would they do with the people they caught?

  Alex didn’t want to deal with soldiers, at least not yet, so he moved down the hill to the south, away from the road. Without warning, Alex found himself lying flat on his back. It felt as if he had walked into a solid wall, his own momentum bouncing him backward into the dirt.

  Alex scrambled to his feet. He couldn’t see anything that looked out of place, but something was blocking his path. After a few careful steps forward, he encountered the invisible wall again. Reaching out, he put his right hand on the surface of the barrier; it felt both cold and damp. He pulled his hand away and looked at it, but it was clean and dry. Alex pushed against the barrier, and it seemed to stretch as if it were made of rubber. It was magic, of course. That would explain the surge of power he’d felt when he’d passed through the arch.

  Alex felt along the edges of the barrier with his magic and realized it wasn’t just a wall. It was more like a three-sided box, the walls forcing him toward the road and the back of the box blocking him from reaching the great arch. It appeared that he had no choice in the direction he would travel.

  Alex thought about using his magic to open a hole in the barrier, but he decided against it. Using magic might alert the soldiers guarding the road. Removing the barrier completely wasn’t an option either, because whoever had created it would know the moment the spell was broken.

  Alex wondered who could have created this barrier. There weren’t any wizards in Nezza as far as he knew, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other magical people. His first thoughts were about the Gezbeth, the group of magical people he and Whalen had talked about at the end of his last adventure. The Gezbeth had caused a lot of trouble in other known lands. They could have done this, but why?

  Someone with strong magic had created this barrier, but Alex didn’t know if the barrier was meant to keep people in Nezza or to keep outsiders away. It was clear, however, that traveling in Nezza was going to be more dangerous and difficult than Alex had thought it would be.

  Alex moved back down the hill, pausing to work a little magic of his own when he reached the road. He wanted to avoid the soldiers ahead of him if he could, and a simple invisibility spell would solve his problem. He made his way forward, being careful not to make any noise as he went. The invisible walls were soon behind him, and he turned south, away from the main road.

  As the sun slipped below the horizon, Alex started looking for a spot to spend the night. After a little searching, he found a small hollow surrounded on three sides by trees, with the fourth side opening to the south. He collected wood for a fire but didn’t bother setting up his tent. The air was warm, and he guessed it was late spring or early summer here in Nezza. He was worried he had not moved far enough away from the arch and the camp of soldiers, but that couldn’t be helped.

  After cooking a small dinner, Alex wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and sat staring into the fire. He usually enjoyed sitting next to the fire on his adventures, but this one was different. He was alone, and he wished he had someone to talk to. Before, he and his companions had laughed and told stories around the campfire, but there were no stories to tell or hear tonight. Tonight, only his own troubled thoughts would keep him company.

  Alex was almost asleep when he heard the sound of horses moving in the darkness beyond the light of his fire. He thought about putting out the fire with a word, but that would be pointless. Whoever was out there already knew where he was. He closed his eyes and listened, trying to estimate how many people and horses there were. The horses stopped moving, and Alex could feel someone watching him.

  Could they be bandits, preparing to attack a lone traveler in these wild lands? Alex stood up and leaned on his staff. He gazed into the darkness. There was no sound for a long time, and then a voice called out, “Hello the camp. Are you friend or foe to Lord Bray?”

  “I am neither,” Alex called back. “I do not know Lord Bray, but I have no quarrel with him.”

  There was silence again, and then the voice called out, “Stand still and do not run. If you try to flee, we will regard you as an enemy.”

  Alex waited. Slowly, three horses approached, shadowy figures appearing at the edge of the firelight. They looked like the soldiers he had seen along the main road earlier that day. If their master, Lord Bray, was the one trying to block the road, they might be able to tell him all kinds of interesting things.

  “Warm yourselves,” said Alex in a kindly tone as the riders approached and stopped their horses. “You look as if you’ve ridden far.”

  “Far enough,” said a grim-faced man who was obviously in charge. “But we’ll not share your fire—not until we know where things stand.”

  “As you wish,” said Alex, taking his seat. He laid his staff across his knees and watched the three men.

  “You say you do not know Lord Bray, yet you travel his lands,” the grim-faced man said.

  “I travel many lands,” said Alex offhandedly. “I did not know that these wild lands had a master.”

  “Lord Bray rules the lands from the Silver River to the magic arch,” the man declared.

  “I’ve never seen a magic arch so well protected,” said Alex.

  “We guard our lands and keep the evils from other lands from entering ours,” said the man.

  “I did not know the land needed protection,” said Alex.

  “Then you know little of this land,” the man answered, looking surprised. “Much evil has already come into our lands from the outside—or at least that’s what we are told.”

  “Come, sit down and let us speak of this,” said Alex, waving his hand.

  All three men climbed off their horses and moved forward to sit by the small fire. They looked tired, as if they were about to fall asleep.

  Alex mumbled a few words, casting a spell to relax the men in front of hi
m. The magic would not force the men to tell the truth, but it would make them comfortable enough that they would speak freely.

  “Tell me what evils you fear,” said Alex. “Tell me why so many men have been sent to watch the magic arch.”

  “Lord Bray has commanded us to watch the arch and stop any travelers who enter our land,” the man replied in a monotone voice, completely under Alex’s spell. “He tells us that there are dangers beyond the arch and that we must prevent those dangers from entering our lands. He says that all the wars of Nezza have been fought because of evil from beyond the arch.”

  “But you do not believe what he says?” Alex prompted.

  “There is enough evil in Nezza. We need not look outside this land to find what troubles us,” the man answered. “Bray is weak and only repeats what Lord Lazar of Karmus tells him.”

  “Tell me about Lazar of Karmus.”

  The man’s expression changed to one of contempt. “Lazar claims to be king of Nezza, but his claim is false, and the people know it. He is an evil man who only wants power and riches for himself. He has killed many people to gain his power, and some say he has even killed members of his own family to keep the power he has. With his nephew Prince Rallian missing, perhaps those stories are true.”

  “Bray does as Lazar commands?” Alex questioned.

  “Bray fears Lazar and does all that Lazar commands him to do. It is said that Lazar knows dark magic and has used it to control Bray and others. There are many stories told of Lazar and what he can do, though I have never seen him do more than bully those who serve him.”

  “Tell me about Prince Rallian,” said Alex.

  “He is, or was, a good man,” the soldier answered. Sadness replaced the contempt on his face. “Many of the noble houses of Nezza recognized his claim to the kingship, though he never made the claim himself. He has recently come of age, and if he was not missing, he would become the lord of Karmus, removing Lazar from power.”