Tales of the Sword: Short Stories of a Fantastic Nature

by Todd Shryock

  "The boy had a killer's eyes, druid. If you had looked deep enough, you would have seen it. Even now, my master's corpse lies upstairs in flames. I saw it all through a secret panel, but I was instructed not to interfere."

  He turned and started down the overgrown brick walk. She took one last look at the flames that now licked the ceiling of the room, and quickly went outside. She could see flames coming from every upstairs window, and black smoke billowed in a large column into the sky.

  The servant stopped and turned back to the druid. "Don't worry. Curthor the annihilator always has his revenge. That apple he ate was laced with poison. He will die a slow and painful death by nightfall." The man laughed a deep, evil laugh, then turned with his bags and continued down the long walk towards the road.

  Chrysala watched the flames eat away the insides of what had once been a beautiful sight. She walked through the orchards, the smell of smoke permeating the air, and shook her head in disgust. With a handful of earth, she took the form of a raven and headed home.

  This was not going to be a good evaluation.

  ###

  Jump, Blue Jay, Jump

  Sarien sat at his small wooden desk, sipping an orange-scented tea, studying the box his human assistant had placed in front of him. A steady drizzle fell outside, leaving him to indoor pursuits on this summer afternoon.

  "Where did this come from?" asked the elf to his assistant as he inhaled the rich aroma from his drink.

  "When I traveled to Gaergoth, I saw it in the stall of one of the animal dealers, who had picked it up from a merchant caravan the week before. I thought it looked interesting and might have some sort of magical properties, so I bought it."

  The elf raised an eyebrow at his assistant when he said the word "magical."

  "Then again, maybe it's just a nice bird cage," he stammered, fearing a tongue lashing from his master.

  The elf laughed. "You give up too easily. It has some interesting features."

  The human smiled. The intricate box-like bird cage had not come cheaply.

  He watched as Sarien studied the object. The box was about the length of a man's forearm on all sides, and was made of a light colored wood that was very hard. Small runes covered most of the wood frame, and panes of a thin glass made all the sides save for the bottom, which was also wood. Through the glass you could see a common blue jay. The cage was divided into two levels, an upper, where the bird sat, and a lower one. There was some sort of powder or fine sand almost filling the lower portion, while the upper level had very little of it. Connecting the two levels was a small spiraling glass tube -- too small for the bird, but plenty big for the powdery substance.

  "How do you get the bird out?" asked the elf as he slowly turned the box around before him.

  "Uh, I'm not sure. There doesn't seem to be a door of any sort."

  "Indeed," mused the elf. "There also doesn't seem to be any way of getting food or water in or out of the box. There also isn't any waste from the bird visible."

  "A self-maintaining cage that never needs cleaning perhaps?" the assistant ventured, thinking how useful such a device might be when the elf summoned those damned ravens each fall.

  "Perhaps," said Sarien, his voice flat as his eyes darted from rune to rune, searching for meaning. He slowly turned the cage again, then suddenly stopped.

  "What is it?"

  "Tern, what does this look like to you?"

  The human crept closer, wary of what secrets the cage might hold. The elf's thin finger was pointing to a rune that was a single verticle line with three intertwining lines wrapped around it at various points. He shook his head and grimaced. "If I had to guess, I would say it was a waer symbol."

  "And you would probably be correct," said Sarien, studying the symbol more closely. "It is of ancient elven orgin, or at least something similar."

  "But I thought you knew the ancient language?"

  The elf laughed and looked up from the cage. "Tern, there are several hundred dialects, some of them practically separate languages in and of themselves. I know the base language because many magical writings are composed in the ancient tongues. I do not have the expertise to decipher all of these runes on my own."

  Tern frowned.

  "But," Sarien continued, "I know someone who does who will be excited to hear about our recent acquisition."

  Tern smiled.

  "Yes, Striverse will be very pleased to take a look at this one. Now go and send for her."

  Tern spun around and raced from the room, heading for the tower stairs that would take him to the pigeon loft. The small rooms and doorways blurred by him as he raced up the steps of the tower, excited at the prospect of not only seeing the beautiful Striverse again, but also of having acquired something that both her and Sarien find interesting.

  The human knocked the small door aside that accessed the pigeon loft, creating a startle from the two dozen or so birds kept in cages inside. He crossed the room in a few steps and opened the wooden shutters before returning to the cages. His hand entered the cage and gently lifted one of the birds out while his other hand gently stroked it, calming the creature. He held it before him and spoke the magic words Sarien had taught him many years ago, and finished the enchantment with a name: Striverse. The bird's plain grey color immediately turned to an irradescent red that looked blue when viewed the right way. The enchantment had taken hold.

  Tern walked to the window and with a gentle toss, set the bird flying through the drizzle. He watched the creature fly over the small clearing surrounding the castle, then disappear into the woods. The weather would slow it down, but he expected Striverse would arrive no later than the morning, assuming she was home. If not, the bird would seek her out until it did find her. With the excitement passing until the other elf arrived, Tern closed the shutters and headed back down to the laboratory to continue his studies and to watch over several experiments Sarien was performing.

  Back up in Sarien's quarters, the elf continued examining the box. His fingers glided lightly over each rune, and his earth-brown eyes darted over every minute detail of the box, probing for secrets. The blue jay cocked its head and watched him, barely moving, even when the box was spun around. The bird would just cock its head at a new angle to keep watching the elf.

  After an hour or so, Sarien slumped back into his padded chair, the smell of leather drifting past as he slouched further into the seat. The blue jay watched as a frown crept onto the elf's face, a face that was almost two hundred years old, but by human standards barely looked twenty.

  "What secrets do you hold?" Sarien asked the blue jay, reaching for his orange tea, only to find it empty. Disgusted, his frown deepened and he slid the cup back onto the desk with a thud. "Why would someone put a bird in a box, then cover it with runes?"

  The bird was silent. Sarien had already compiled a list of books to pull from his library while he had been studying the device. As he tried to gather enough energy to retrieve them from their shelves, he thought of the possibilities. Tern's self-maintaining bird cage seemed plausible, but the amount and type of runes that went into the box seemed to eliminate that possibility almost immediately. Whoever made this magic box spent a considerable amount of time crafting it both in its construction and its magic. While he couldn't read the runes, the sheer number of them meant there were some very powerful magics placed on it, far more than would be needed for just a self-maintaining cage. That left the elf with only one working theory. The cage must have been crafted specifically to keep the blue jay inside.

  "But why?" he said aloud, slightly startling himself. The bird cocked its head at a different angle again and said nothing.

  There must be something powerful about this bird, Sarien figured. Something so powerful that it required a great amount of magic to keep it inside. Could it be some sort of ultra-powerful creature disguising itself? Great wizards had been known to be imprisoned using all kinds of means, and morphing them into something harmless then confining them wasn't
uncommon. It was much more difficult for a wizard to work his or her magic when confined to the body of some small creature.

  "Are you a great wizard, little bird?" Sarien sighed. The box was from ancient times, maybe even before history for the other races began. A wizard trapped in the body of an animal still had the lifespan of the wizard and would eventually die of old age. Even if the wizard were an elf, the bird should have died and turned to dust a long time ago. But someone wanted to keep it alive, and so now it sat on Sarien's desk, rescued from an animal dealer who bought it from a passing merchant caravan. "How many places have you been? How many owners have passed their hands over this cage trying to decipher the secret of these runes?"

  The elf sighed again and began searching for the books he thought might hold some clues. He hoped that when Striverse arrived, she might be able to further refine his search or even offer something he hadn't thought of. Until then, the bird would have to wait.

  ***

  Striverse sat in a utilitarian wooden chair, it's surface scarred and scraped by countless instruments and intrusions over the years. Her violet eyes were framed by pale blond hair that cascaded down her youthful face, but like Sarien, she was nearly two hundred years old -- still youthful for an elf. The violet orbs watched as her human apprentice worked on magically controlling two wooden rods the length of a man's forearm. One stood upright and unmoving, while the other sat across it gently spinning untouching by anyone.

  "Increase the speed," Striverse ordered. The dark-haired girl furrowed her brow and squinted her eyes and the top rod began to spin faster. "Good. Now reverse the direction of the spin." The elf watched as the top rod slowed, then stopped, before reversing direction. "Excellent. Now keep it going for the next hour." The elf picked up an hour glass from the small table next to her and turned it over, starting the sand pouring through to the bottom.

  Magic required the greatest concentration. For some, the magic came almost naturally, which was the case with her apprentice. The hazard of getting something too easily was a loss of concentration. Making the girl perform the relatively simple trick would require a great deal of concentration and test the limits of her endurance. The elf picked up a book from next to the hour glass and began to look for her bookmark. As the pages flipped by, a musty smell caused her to lift her head back from its pages.

  "Some of these books just plain stink," she said to herself, ignoring her apprentice and the spinning rods. A light knock came at her door, which she recognized as that of her apprentice's sister. "Come in, Tyla."

  The door opened revealing a young human child of about six years with plain straight brown hair. "Sorry, missus, but you have received a birdy."

  "Bring it here child."

  The little girl walked into the room and handed her the pigeon she had cradled in one hand.

  "Thank you, Tyla." The little girl bowed and ran from the room. Striverse looked at the pigeon and studied its colors. The color pattern told her what she needed to know. It was from Sarien and he wanted to see her urgently. The elf frowned. Sarien wasn't exactly her best friend and they were from rival factions within the elven tribe. He never asked her advice on anything unless he was absolutely befuddled. The pigeon meant he had some issue or object that he did not know what to do with and hoped that she would be able to help. Her frown turned to a smile. She loved knowing things Sarien didn't.

  "Forget the rods for now, Tiera," she told her apprentice. "Have my horse readied and send a request to Lord Gaul for an escort to Sarien's tower. It's too far to fly and I really don't feel like having to fireball every brigand between here and there."

  The rod stopped spinning and both lowered gently to the table. Tiera nodded her acknowledgement and left the room to complete her mistress' orders.

  Within two hours, Striverse was astride her grey horse drawing the attention of all who saw her within Castle Lakehaven's courtyard. Her long pale blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and onto her chainmail which shone even on this overcast day. A longsword with a golden hilt was strapped to her side, and an elven bow carved of some exotic wood was hung from her saddle. Her apprentice provided the perfect contrast as she wore a plain brown dress and rode an old nag, but no one noticed. Their eyes were riveted to the elven warrior mage. With her escort of a dozen lancers from Lord Gaul's small garrison, they trotted through the main gate and out onto the road. The hour was getting late in the afternoon, but with a hard ride they would make it there by nightfall.

  ***

  The small group had long turned from the main road and onto the trail that led through the forest to Sarien's tower when Striverse noticed something. They had slowed to a walk because the winding trail had too many falls and low hanging branches to ride any faster. The first time she caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, she attributed it to a bird or some other woodland creature moving rapidly on the periphery of her vision. But after seeing the movement twice more, she knew something was shadowing them. Whatever it was remained deep enough in the forest to not be seen clearly.

  She glanced around at the soldiers to see if they had noticed. Most were barely paying attention to the trail, let alone anything beyond it, but the sergeant, a tough veteran from who knows how many wars and riding directly in front of her, was carefully scanning the woods on either side of them. He had seen it too, but didn't want to let the shadows know he had seen them, so was only throwing the occasional glance off the trail. Striverse nudged her horse up beside his on the narrow trail.

  "So you saw it too?" the sergeant asked.

  Striverse nodded, her eyes still carefully searching the forests with each casual glance.

  "Any idea what it is?"

  "I'm afraid not," she said, her voice low. "Certainly not orcs or goblins. It's too nimble and clever."

  "Agreed." His hand moved to push back his black cloak away from his sword, his other hand holding his lance. The long weapon was of little use in the confines of the forest with its grasping branches and treachorous roots. "Do you think they know we are aware of them."

  "I would think so."

  The sergeant scowled. "Ground lances." Half his troops jerked as his sharp voice startled them out of their daydreams of harlots and dice games, but all of them quickly spun their lances so the tip was pointing to the ground and drove them in, leaving a small forest of pikes behind them. They began glancing about anxiously. "There's something in the woods following us," he said loudly, making sure whatever it was would hear him. If they thought they were alert to its presence, perhaps it would not attack.

  The group rode nervously for several more minutes until the trees suddenly opened up, revealing a tall square stone tower devoid of windows and doors on the ground floor. The dark shape reached to the emerging stars as the last rays of sunlight disappeared, leaving them in deepening twilight.

  Striverse reined in her horse at the base of the tower as her escort closed in around her, looking nervously at the woods. A growl that turned into a bone chilling scream echoed through the forests. The men around her drew their swords and formed a defensive circle around her with the tower at their backs.

  Silence greeted them. The horses shifted, afraid, their riders breathing hard.

  Striverse kept looking at the woods. She knew she could see much better in the dark with her elven eyes than the humans.

  "Let us in, Sarien!" she cried, wondering where he was.

  A small humanoid shape emerged from the woods. She could see that it was only about knee high, but its features were poorly defined. Long claws extended from several fingers on each hand.

  We wants it, came a voice in her head. She looked at the humans, but they had obviously heard nothing. She concentrated on speaking back to it in her mind.

  Who are you?

  A deep rumble came from the small beast, a roar that did not fit a creature of such small stature. The horses screamed and bucked as the humans fought to regain control of their mounts. Not important. Give us the box, for it is ou
rs for the keeping.

  I don't know of what you speak.

  The creature let forth a scream so loud it hurt the ears and echoed through the forest for miles. Striverse saw the creature take one step towards them, then was blinded by a flash from the top of the tower.

  A streak of magically charged lighting hit the creature in the chest, knocking it over. A human voice cried from above, urging them to climb up. Striverse looked around to see a rope ladder dangling from a second-story door and the face of Tern peering down at them.

  "Get your men up the ladder," she screamed. The sergeant was already dismounting, urging his men on. One man paniced and bolted with his horse into the darkness. Striverse looked back to the woods. Another bolt of lightning lit the night sky, sending the creature back again, but what frightened her was that in the momentary flash of light, she had seen hundreds, maybe thousands of the creatures.

  It was if the forest were alive with them. "Quickly!" she urged. The horses fled into the darkness leaving them at the base of the ladder. Men were climbing up, but not nearly fast enough. Striverse quickly wove an enchantment around her and floated up until she was even with the door. She then began magically lifting the men on the ground up into the tower. The sergeant was the last man into the doorway, and Striverse floated in behind him. A magical fireball erupted somewhere on the other side of the tower. Sarien was buying them time.

  Tern pulled the rope ladder up as fast as he could, but when the last few rungs cleared the edge, one of the creatures was clinging to it. It hissed, but before it could move the sergeant swiftly kicked it in the head, sending it back over the edge. Tern slammed the door shut and bolted it as the sergeant dropped to the ground in pain, holding his leg.