Dagger & Deception

by Jeremy Dwyer

  Then, Daven started to have hope. He remembered his own joy, when there was a reason to be joyful – when he still had his parents. He remembered the songs that he sang that were uplifting for others, giving them encouragement despite their difficulties. He also remembered Taesa’s Let Many Suns Shine Down song, and how it had power so great that the skies lit up and showed them the way to this island. He didn’t have perfect clarity, but he was becoming focused, more and more. He had to find her. He just had to find her. He could find her. He couldn’t allow the illusions created by Madeline’s cruelty to get the better of Taesa or anyone else – good had to come out of this evil, and hope had to come out of this fear and desperation. Daven was now determined, so he drank the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean that he kept in a vial on a chain around his neck. He was energized, and the words began to flow to him and musically through him. Daven began to sing:

  Let no false light mislead me.

  May my eyes see dark instead.

  Far better that I see nothing,

  Than this deception by the dead.

  Illusions shall not lure me.

  All visions must be proven true.

  Unreal things now stand before me.

  Glaring lies designed by you.

  (Refrain)

  All of your creations,

  Everything that isn't really there,

  Are from your cruel imagination,

  Yet those who see the truth, you cannot scare.

  The wicked pictures that you painted,

  Mirroring your twisted ways,

  Have no place, ever, in my presence,

  Upon them I refuse to gaze.

  Dispel these lies and bring the end.

  Your vile stories must not be told.

  In the pages of your horrid life,

  Are written wicked tales so bold.

  (Refrain)

  Banish all these false sights.

  In their trap my eyes will not be caught.

  I disbelieve in all these tricks.

  Their ill intent will come to nought.

  Rewrite your life with silence,

  If the truth eludes you still,

  Prefer to be an empty page,

  Like the wisdom of a quiet sage,

  Before the just unleash their rage,

  Of the truth alone, we shall have our fill.

  (Refrain)

  The song was powerful, and Daven’s own innate potential was multiplied by the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean that he just drank. The song changed things, or at least how they appeared.

  The illusions were dispelled all around them, albeit for a short distance of perhaps a hundred (100) feet in every direction.

  “That is more than impressive,” Claudia said, astonished at the power of the music.

  “That is a very useful application of music,” Pradrock said.

  “Sing us out of here,” Akylas said.

  “You should have been a singer – that’s way more useful,” Akantha said to her brother.

  “I hear the stars! I help find the way a lot of the time. Doesn’t that count as useful?” Akylas asked.

  “Never mind. Now that I think about it, you can’t even hum a tune,” Akantha said.

  “Lead the way, please,” Claudia said.

  Daven led, continuing to sing his music, which created a sphere with a one hundred (100) foot radius around them where there were no illusions. The path ahead was clear for the six (6) of them.

  “How do we find Taesa?” Pradrock asked.

  “We can go back to the estate, and work from there,” Daven said.

  “Yes, after I get him to a safe place. He’s still in danger. And I’m still assigned to protect him,” Claudia said, pointing toward Pradrock.

  “We can’t forget about her!” Akantha said.

  “You’re not going to forget about her. You’re going to remember the danger that we’d all be in if some power hungry tyrant gets hold of our favorite captain, and takes control of him. Then, that ghost crew of his is going to turn the world into a bigger disaster,” Claudia said.

  “Where do we need to get him?” Akantha asked.

  “Back to the ship. Where else?” Claudia said.

  “I agree. Unfortunately, my situation is a bit more precarious. Not for my own sake, but for yours, I need to leave this place,” Pradrock said.

  “Good. We agree now,” Claudia said.

  The group worked their way back toward the Meticulous, and met up with a large man who was carrying a heavy sword, a thin woman who was carrying an archer’s bow, and another man with a book, who was probably a Chronicler of the Oath. They looked like they just stumbled out of a maze. The woman had her bow drawn, but saw them and did not fire.

  Claudia saw the archer woman and readied her knives. However, her telepathic and empathic abilities detected no malice – at least not towards anyone in her group – in any of the three (3) people approaching.

  “Where did all the trees go? There’s just a few here; nothing but trees back there. And over there. And over there,” the large man with the heavy sword said.

  “What were you singing? We heard your song,” the thin woman with the archer’s bow asked.

  “Music has power. Sometimes, what we hear is more powerful than what we see,” Daven said.

  “You mean your music knocked down the trees?” the large man with the heavy sword asked.

  “No. The music dispelled the trees that were illusions. The real trees remain,” Daven said.

  “Too bad. I thought you could knock down a tree with songs. That’s almost as good as an axe. Oh, I’m Brant,” the large man with the heavy sword said.

  “Daven,” he answered.

  “I’m Zoe,” the thin woman with the archer’s bow said to introduce herself.

  “I am Ovid, Chronicler of the Oath, of eight hundred thirty-two (832) years,” the man with the book said.

  “Where are you coming from?” Zoe asked.

  “Back that way,” Claudia said, pointing toward the estate. In the distance, all they could see were trees, because the radius of the effect of Daven’s magical song was only one hundred (100) feet. The song had ended, but the effect persisted around them, at least for now.

  “I just see more trees. What’s behind those trees? And then those trees behind them?” Zoe asked, curiously. She could see around things, but not infinitely far, and had to know where to look in this maze of real and illusory trees.

  “A large estate. A woman with lots of money. And she went from pretty to ugly, fast,” Akylas said.

  “A master illusionist,” Zoe said in conclusion, knowing that those who can change their appearance are the ones who drink the waters of the Lujladia Ocean.

  “Why are you even on this island? You look like you came for a fight,” Claudia asked.

  “We did. That woman – Victoria – with the killer headpiece. We want to smash it, and her, before she tears the world apart,” Brant said.

  “We didn’t find her here,” Claudia said.

  “I don’t think she is here,” Pradrock said.

  “I didn’t detect anyone, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t shielded telepathically. What makes you doubt that she’s here?” Claudia asked.

  “I think this entire island is a deception, meant to lure everyone here who might be looking for her,” Pradrock said.

  “What makes you come to that conclusion?” Claudia asked.

  “It’s the most logical thing for her to do. Have her enemies waste their time here, possibly damaging or destroying each other. Then, Victoria can wait out the solar alignment until the tiara becomes powerful. At that point, the world is weaker than it was before, and less able to resist her,” Pradrock said.

  “I wish you would have thought of that before,” Claudia said.

  “I suspected it, but I needed to know if you detected her presence here, and you didn’t. That strongly suggests – although it does not conclusively prove – that she is not here,” Pradrock said.
/>   “Nice experiment, professor. Where next?” Claudia asked, with biting sarcasm.

  “The illusions are meant to hide something. That could be a sign that Victoria is here,” Zoe said.

  “The illusions are hiding the illusionist. She murders people for their money – that’s just a sign of her own greed. She saw that our singer here was dressed well enough to be a rich man, and decided he might be worth a kill, if only for a few extra coins in her treasury. That’s when things got ugly, literally,” Claudia said. She had, through observation and cynicism, deduced Madeline’s motives, without ever having had the chance to read the woman’s mind, because of the telepathic interference she encountered.

  “If we kill her, we end the illusions, and see what’s really on this island,” Zoe said.

  “Madeline will be glad to invite you in for dinner. Just watch out – there’s a telepath in that estate who will sense you coming from a distance. If he reads your intentions, they could easily escape before you so much as knock on the front door,” Claudia said.

  “Then we won’t knock on the door. We’ll knock on the walls instead,” Brant said.

  “Brawn. Impressive…if you can throw something from a greater distance than the telepath can sense, then you’ve got something. But that’s a real long distance, big boy,” Claudia said.

  “I’ll take my chances,” Brant said.

  “You won’t find the estate in this forest – a lot of the trees are illusions, but you still can’t see through them,” Claudia said.

  “Then we’ll have to sing our way back, won’t we?” Brant asked, looking toward Daven.

  “And she’ll never see or hear that coming, right. Besides, we need to get back to our ship. The captain here is not going anywhere near that house. Too far inland for a man of the sea, if you know what I mean,” Claudia said.

  Pradrock looked at her, wondering whether this was sarcasm or an attempt to conceal the reason for the protection order. Neither made sense, as many in the world knew of his ghost fleet which he commanded, albeit indirectly.

  “We do have to get back to the ship,” Pradrock said.

  “Then, you can take Daven here on a musical march right back to her house,” Claudia said.

  “We’ll wait for you to get back to your ship. Then we’re going to where she is. That is, if we can have a little fighting music,” Brant said.

  “We’re going back. With or without him. But with him would be easier. We could really use the power of that song,” Zoe said.

  “Wait, think and be cautious. You need to use your voice sparingly, because the sound will carry. You have to be careful not to be heard, or seen, as we don’t know who else may already be on this island. They may or may not already know we’re here. You don’t want to lead them directly to you,” Pradrock said to Daven.

  “Good! He finally learned what caution is! If anybody else is on this island, and they hear you approach with that song, you’re likely to be captured or killed,” Claudia said.

  “Great. A singer who’s not allowed to sing,” Brant said.

  “At the proper time and in the proper place, the song will be of use. This is neither. Wait until you get close,” Pradrock said.

  “I suppose that is for the best,” Zoe said, considering that she didn’t want to add to their risks.

  The group made their way back to the Meticulous with the help of the effect of the song that was still with them, even after Daven had finished singing it. It was growing weaker with time, and the radius of effect diminished to just thirty (30) feet ahead and then dropped off further, but it lasted long enough.

  However, another temporary effect of a powerful song was also diminishing: the two (2) yellow suns in the sky – the ones that had earlier burned much brighter and guided many ships through the visual distortions caused by the Ikkith Tar Ocean – were no longer nearly as bright.

  “The bright suns are fading. The visual distortions of the ocean are now prominent again. We’re going to have a difficult time navigating back,” Pradrock said, looking up.

  “I’ll try, again, to navigate by the suns. But it’s always harder in these waters. I’m not sure that it can be done safely, just yet,” Akylas said.

  “Try,” Claudia said.

  “Yes, please do make an attempt, to at least gauge navigability,” Pradrock said.

  Akylas drank from the waters of the Atrejan Ocean that he kept in a vial that he wore on a chain around his neck. He was energized, and listened to the positions and movements of the suns above. What he heard was cryptic, and the positions and movements of the yellow suns were difficult to ascertain, unlike any time he had listened before. Worse, this made it hard to read the other suns in the sky – the red and blue ones, which were usually clear and predictable.

  “I can’t get a clear reading. The yellow suns are indecipherable. There’s just confusion, and it’s somehow preventing me from reading the red or blue suns clearly. I can’t navigate at all from what I’m getting now,” Akylas said.

  “If you can’t read the sky, maybe a song could change the sky? Or is that too much to hope for?” Claudia asked, looking first to Akylas and then to Daven.

  Daven considered this, and wondered if he should say what had happened earlier. The true answer was that a song could change the sky. But not everyone was that powerful. He didn’t think he was.

  “It can, if a powerful enough person sings the right song,” Daven finally said.

  “Well?” Claudia asked.

  “I’m not powerful enough,” Daven said.

  “How do you know?” Claudia asked. She wanted to get Pradrock off of this island.

  “The same way that a person looks at a heavy object and knows that they aren’t strong enough to lift it. You know what your own abilities can do, and can’t do,” Daven said.

  “If you know that you can’t do it, then how do you know it can be done? Do you know someone, specifically, who is powerful enough to light the sky with a song?” Claudia asked.

  Daven considered this, and decided to tell. He said: “Taesa can. When we were approaching the island in the darkness, she sang, calling for the suns to shine down. And then they did.”

  Claudia was astonished to hear this. She looked toward Akylas, Akantha and Pradrock, who were surprised to hear this, as well.

  Torin was shocked, as well. “I knew she had a mouth on her, but that’s just too wild to believe,” Torin said.

  “Believe it, even though it is amazing,” Daven said.

  Brant and Zoe heard all this and were shocked to hear the strangeness of this tale of songs and suns.

  Ovid wrote down the claim they stated. He saw the change in the sky, but he did not hear the girl sing the song and he could not correlate that to the change in the sky.

  “Find Taesa,” Claudia said.

  “Are you up for this?” Brant asked Daven.

  The singer considered it, and thought that it would be dangerous to go back. But the illusions were too dangerous to be allowed to continue, and they caused Taesa to get lost, and it might be possible to find her after all, after dispelling the illusions.

  “Find Taesa. Search diligently. Use a song if you must, just try not to help anyone else to find you,” Pradrock said to them.

  “Yes. I think I can find her – that’s why I’m going back,” Daven said.

  “Good to hear. This Taesa you mentioned – she was a companion of yours and got lost, right?” Zoe asked.

  “Taesa is one of my students. She was, anyway. She knows as much as I can teach her and then some. She’s tenacious, and musically very powerful. She got separated from us in this forest of illusions,” Daven said.

  “Help us to find that illusionist. We’ll knock her out: that’ll make this fake forest disappear and that should make it easier to find your companion. We’ll even help you,” Zoe said.

  Ovid considered that seeing an illusionist in action might be informative and said: “Under the authority of the Oath, I will accompany you
.”

  At that, Brant, Zoe, Daven and Ovid all headed back into the thick forest.

  ~~~

  The Jenaldej fleet scouted around Udovedaj-Pren Island, but found nothing of interest. They saw no signs that Victoria was there, but did find signs of a few people. The brought their ships to the shore and began deploying troops onto the island. There, they found a thick forest, and slowly made their way through it. They had no reason to believe that the trees were illusions, so they did not test for this, and simply walked through the narrow passages they saw in the forest. They encountered a few frightened animals, and easily killed some of the creatures, while the other animals simply ran away.

  ~~~

  The Ihalik fleet brought their own ships to one of the shores of Udovedaj-Pren Island and deployed their troops onto the island. They also moved slowly through the thick forest. Likewise, they had no reason to believe that the trees were illusions, so they did not test for this, and simply walked through the narrow passages they saw in the forest. The few animals they saw were easily killed or frightened away.

  ~~~

  Fallavakara brought her ships to one of the shores of Udovedaj-Pren Island and deployed her undead army by pointing the cursed ruby dagger in the direction she wanted them to move. They moved under her guidance, and she saw the thick forest, not realizing that it was largely illusions, with a smaller percentage of real trees. They proceeded slowly through the forest. The few frightened animals she saw were struck with the ruby dagger, turning them undead and bringing them into her service.

  ~~~

  Lavakara was able to move through the forest of illusions with ease, by way of the spirit world, in a way that the armies could not. They saw the false trees as being true, not suspecting the illusions. Lavakara knew better, having overheard the conversation between the illusionist woman and the telepath. Also, the illusions did not affect the spirit world in which he walked. He could return to the material world anywhere as he pleased, and he could also wait in the spirit world, spying on the armies. Spying was what he did while waiting for the time to strike. He was looking for his prize – the warrior mighty enough to defeat him.