by Mike Shelton
“You will bring this to the highway crew master. It contains instructions stating that for the remainder of the month, before the Academy starts again, you will be part of the road crew working to maintain our highways between the cities.”
Darius couldn’t believe it. “What do you mean? You are sending us away?” Darius raised his voice.
“Yes. Your trouble stems from having too much free time on your hands,” Richard said. “I have already cleared this with Kelln’s family and talked to your mother. Maybe keeping busy will keep you out of trouble.”
The councilor turned around, his back to the boys, a clear sign of dismissal. Darius grabbed Kelln by the arm and moved to the doorway.
“And Darius,” his father added, “change your clothes first. You both stink. And say goodbye to your mothers. I won’t have them mad at me for something you provoked.”
Out in the hallway, Kelln turned to Darius with a broad smile on his narrow face. “This is fantastic.”
Darius raised his eyebrows at his friend and glanced back at the guard walking behind them. “What are you saying? Didn’t you hear? We are going to be out working on the roads. You’ve seen those guys; criminals, grimy, dirty…”
Kelln flapped his skinny arms around. “But we get to see the Realm, Darius. Isn’t that what we both want? This is a real adventure, and you won’t be in trouble for it.”
Darius understood what his friend was saying. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He had wanted to visit more of the Realm if he was going to help protect it when he got older.
As they left the castle, their chatter grew louder. They discussed the endless possibilities of where they could be sent. Coming down the hill, the great city of Anikari sat before them. Darius’s stomach growled at the scent of a nearby bakery. The two boys hadn’t eaten since early in the day. Coming up to a crossroads, Darius turned uphill, following the cobblestone streets to the noble section of the city, while Kelln continued walking down the hill to where his father’s house and forge stood in the eastern part of town.
With plans to meet up early the next morning at the office of the highway master, the two boys bounced away from each other with thoughts of a new adventure in their step.
* * *
Chapter 3
A week later, Darius sat with Kelln on the banks of Crystal Lake, to the east of Anikari and just west of the blue Sea. They sat off by themselves, eating a dinner of fried fish caught from the lake, along with fresh bread and summer squash that had been purchased at a nearby village. It was a more appetizing meal than they usually enjoyed.
“My arms are killing me.” Kelln complained, rubbing his right forearm with his left hand. “How are you not sore?”
Darius shrugged. “I was the first few days, but I must be getting used to it.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.” Kelln groaned and took a huge bite of bread. “Remind me to find a profession that has less manual labor.”
The two had been in a work group of 10 other men clearing the roads of debris between Forest View and Crystal Lake. An intense summer storm the previous week had knocked down trees, scattered limbs, and made ruts across the hard-packed dirt road. Darius, due to his larger size for his age, had been swinging an axe for the past week, while Kelln had been shoveling and spreading dirt across the road.
“Not quite the adventure we hoped for, huh?” Darius nodded to his friend. “Only two more weeks though.”
Kelln moaned and laid his head back on the soft grass. “I don’t think I’ll make it.”
Darius laughed and threw another log on their small fire, not as much for warmth as for light. The two kept clear of the rest of the group, many of whom were hardened criminals working off their penance of crimes. They had all been given a few extra hours of relaxation at the end of the week.
A soft orange glow above the lake still hinted at the late summer sun’s demise an hour before. The lake was blue and clear, with water from the Gold Mountains in the north that eventually streamed out to the Blue Sea.
“I’m going to walk around the lake a bit.” Darius swatted away a few mosquitos. “I need to stretch my legs. Coming?”
Kelln stood up and stretched his back. “I guess so.” His face was pained.
“Oh, come on Kel.” Darius motioned with his hand. “It’ll be good for you. Remember this will be fantastic.” He mimicked his friend’s words.
The two walked away from the camp of men and around the southern side of the lake. Soft grass grew under their feet, between the lake and a nearby copse of trees. A bird flew overhead and landed with a light rustle in the tops of the huge oaks.
“Darius?” Kelln pointed to a soft glow of light shining through the trees.
Darius shrugged, not knowing what it could be. A small campfire maybe.
“Let’s go find out.” Kelln tugged on Darius’s arm.
“Kel, we can’t,” Darius said. “You know we have to stay close to camp. That’s the rules.
“Since when has that stopped us?” The familiar gleam grew in Kelln’s eyes.
“It’s stopped me plenty of times.” Darius set his feet firmly in place. “You know my father.”
“But he isn’t here,” Kelln negotiated. “Just a few minutes. I only want to see what the light is. Please Darius, you owe me an adventure out of this.”
“Owe you?” Darius laughed. “Oh, Kel, how are we even friends?”
“Because deep down inside, you want adventures like I do.”
“All right,” Darius put his hands up in the air. “You win. We check out the light, then rush back to our camp.”
When they entered the trees, it grew darker, twilight barely hanging in the air. A half moon and stars began to light the air above the trees, little of it filtering through, but it was enough to avoid large pitfalls.
They followed the light and soon found themselves in front of a small, one room cabin, hidden deep in the trees. Moving with care around the outside of the shack, they stopped at one of two windows in the place. Ducking down under it, they sat still for a moment. Muted voices could be heard inside.
Peering up slowly above the bottom of the window, the two boys surveyed the inside of the rough cabin. An older man in his forties, with long hair and a thick beard stood in front of a blonde boy, three or four years younger than Darius and Kelln. The room held a small lamp, illuminating a crude table, and a pair of chairs. On the table sat a small wooden cup.
The two put their ears closer to the window to try and distinguish the words.
“Try again, boy,” the older man yelled with a light cuff to the side of the boy’s head. “I know you have magic.”
The boy shook his head, tears glistening in the dim lamp light. “I can’t do it.”
“I saw it before,” the man said. “I know it was you in town that knocked over that man’s ale.”
Kelln glanced at Darius, but Darius just shrugged. He couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Those in the east give good money for boys like you,” the man said gruffly, then lowered his voice to a whisper and Darius strained to hear him.
The young boy brought his hand out in front of him, pointing to the table and closed his beady eyes. His small nose and freckled face scrunched up in concentration. After a few moments, the cup on the table wiggled slightly, then shook and fell over.
The man moved around behind the boy and put his beefy hand on his shoulder with a look of appreciation.
“He just did magic,” Kelln whispered. “That’s fantastic.”
“Let’s go, Kel.” Darius motioned. He didn’t want to be involved with anyone having to do with magic. He didn’t care one way or another himself, but he knew his father didn’t like anyone showing hints of magical powers. The wizard uprising 150 years earlier still soured people toward magic.
“A few more minutes,” Kelln begged.
They snuck another look back in at the window. The boy was closing his eyes once again. This time the cup
floated up in the air. He held it there for ten seconds before it crashed back to the table and bounced onto the floor.
The man picked up the cup and slapped the boys back. “I told you, you could do it, Astil.”
“But I don’t want to go to the east.” The boy looked down at his worn shoes.
“Your parents are gone, boy, and with powers like that, you will not last long in the Realm, especially this close to Anikari. You know how those nobles think of people like you.” The man seemed more sympathetic than before. “I’m doing a favor for you. You will learn to use your powers there and become a great wizard.”
Darius gasped outside the window and the man turned and glanced at the window. Darius grabbed Kelln’s arm and moved back behind some trees. The man opened the door and came outside a few steps. He shielded his dark eyes from the light within and gazed around. After a few minutes he grunted, apparently satisfied nothing was there.
Darius let out a long held breath and began to pull Kelln away with him, when suddenly a shadow ran from the other side of the small shack and back out through the trees. The dark outline was highlighted by a small flame held out in front of it. It didn’t seem to see Darius or Kelln.
“What was that?” Darius said. He could barely make out Kelln’s eyes in the dark.
“I don’t know.” For once Kelln seemed worried. “Let’s get out of here.”
With quick steps, they faded back into the trees, the darkness growing thicker. Bushes scraped against their legs and they ducked under branches. Thirty minutes later, they came back out next to the lake and paused to catch their breaths.
“Wizards!” Kelln exclaimed. “Just like in the old days. I told you this was going to be a great adventure.”
“What do we do now?” Darius asked.
Voices drifted to them from the camp and the two boys hurried back along a path until they reached the rest of the men. Right in front of them another figure emerged from the woods and joined in.
Darius eyes squinted, his brow wrinkled in worry. Was this the same shadow they saw running from the cabin? The man was one of the crew. He didn’t know much about him, but if he truly was carrying a flame, he could be dangerous. As they moved over to the other men, Darius and Kelln tried to pick up on the conversation.
“Merek, where’ve you been?” asked their crew master.
“Just taking a leak, Sir,” the man smirked and the rest of the crew laughed, ribbing each other.
“Quite a long leak,” said the crew master.
“Well, maybe it was more than that,” Merek said. “Sometimes things take a while.”
“And you two,” the crew master now pointed at the two boys. “I didn’t see you tending your fire.”
Darius tried to remain calm. A few of the crew were in their older teens, but many of them were in their twenties and thirties. “Took a walk down by the lake.”
“Both of you,” the crew master said. “Together?”
Darius nodded.
“How sweet,” another crewman said. Again the rest of them joined in laughing.
Darius and Kelln blushed with the attention and tried to walk back to their camp.
“Don’t walk away with the fire burning again, boys,” said the crew master.
“Yes, Sir,” said Darius.
Once back at their campsite, Kelln asked, “do you think Merek is a wizard?”
Darius signed. “Kelln, what is this obsession you have with wizards?”
Kelln pouted. “You don’t have to get all angry with me, Darius. Wouldn’t you like to be one?”
“One what?”
“A wizard.”
“No,” Darius said, unwrapping, his bed roll. “I would definitely not want to be a wizard. You know how mad my father would be.”
Kelln laughed. “That would be funny though. I mean, to see how your father would react.”
“Not so funny, if you were in my shoes.” Darius did smile. “Now what are we going to do about the boy? We can’t just let someone take a twelve year old kid and sell him to the East. We need to set him free.”
“Now who’s looking for adventure?” Kelln said.
“It’s not adventure, its justice. It is the right thing to help him -- and so we should.”
“Hmmm.” Kelln appeared to be thinking. “How long we staying around here?”
“Only another day or two.”
“All right.” Kelln smiled. “I have an idea.”
Darius rolled his eyes, wondering once again what he was getting himself in to.
All of a sudden Kelln fell backward onto the ground and began to moan, holding his stomach tight.
Some of the men from the camp glanced up from their larger fire and Darius rushed to his friend’s side.
“What’s wrong, Kel?”
Kelln winked at him. “Just part of the plan.” he said softly.
Darius just shook his head as Kelln continued his wailing and moaning.
* * *
Chapter 4
Darius didn’t know how Kelln kept up the charade all night long – but by morning time, the men were sick and tired of his groaning and whining. The crew master instructed Darius to take his friend to a doctor or medicine woman in the closest village. It was back at the crossroads of the north-south and east-west roads.
Darius picked up their bedrolls and packs and slung them over his shoulder, while Kelln tried to keep up his show. Heading back west on the road, away from Crystal Lake and the nearby Blue Sea, Darius helped his friend out of the camp.
As soon as they were out of sight of the rest of the men, Darius stopped at the side of the road.
“Here,” Darius threw Kelln’s pack at him, with his bedroll flying in soon after. “I’m not carrying all your junk.”
Kelln bent over at the waist to pick up his things with a loud groan. “But I’m so sick, Darius.”
Darius laughed and Kelln joined in. Kelln lifted up his own pack and bedroll and Darius shifted his around to carry it better.
“Maybe you should go into play acting, Kel.”
“A traveling troubadour.” Kelln pretended to be deep in thought. “Kelln El’Han, actor extraordinaire. I like it.”
Darius slapped his friend on the back. “Definitely adventurous.”
“I would like to travel more of the Realm,” Kelln said.
“Maybe someday you will,” Darius said. “But what is your plan for now?”
Kelln pointed south of the road. “We go away from the road and circle back around to the trees where the small cabin was.”
“And then what?” Darius asked, wanting to have things planned out in advance.
“We improvise.” Kelln grinned and patted the sword on his hip.
Darius groaned, but double checked his quiver. He had a suspicion he might have to use his bow again before the day was over.
Keeping clear of the roads took them most of the morning. The high summer grass made the going slower than Darius would like. Luckily it was open terrain without any farms and so they didn’t come in contact with any other people. The salty air became stronger as they moved closer to the coast. An early morning fog had lifted to a bright and sunny day.
After the road work the previous week, Darius realized his leg and arm muscles had indeed been strengthened. Early in the afternoon, they came around to the south side of the great copse of trees. A sparkling river running from Crystal Lake to the Blue Sea ran in front of them. Walking up and down the river, they found some larger rocks that would make crossing the small river easier.
The trees were different from the night before, less creepy and dark. The oversized oak leaves rustled the air. In fact, the warm weather, blue sky, and slight sea breeze lent a cheery feel to the afternoon.
Soon, through the bright forest, the back of the cabin came into view. Darius put his finger to his lips to quiet Kelln’s loud footprints and slowed their steps. They crouched down low and peaked in through the same window from the night before.
Da
rius’s heart fell. He had never thought about the man and boy not being there. He gave a questioning glance to Kelln and his friend stood back up. They walked around to the front door and pushed on the worn wood. A soft creak ensued and the door swung open. There were no signs anyone had actually been there.
Kelln plopped himself down on one of the wooden chairs with a sigh. “What do we do now?”
Darius shook his head. He sat his pack on the table and joined Kelln sitting in the other chair. “That poor boy. We have to help him, Kelln. It’s not right for anyone to be sold. That’s against the law.”
Kelln nodded. “What about his magic? That’s against the law, too.”
“Not really. There is no law against magic, Kel. It’s only what the nobles want you to believe. They don’t like anything challenging their authority.”
“But your father is one of them.” Kelln said.
A dark frown ran across Darius’s face. “That’s why I don’t want to follow in his footsteps.”
Something alerted Darius and he moved to the window. Peering out from the edge of the window, he thought he saw someone move behind a tree. He motioned his head for Kelln to grab their things. The door was on the opposite side of the cabin from the window, and the two of them quietly exited the building and slid behind a group of bushes.
They waited and watched the cabin. Soon, they saw a man approach – Merek from their crew. He glanced in the window and proceeded to open the door and look inside. He soon emerged with a look of concern on his bearded face. Walking a few steps east, he bent down to the ground and studied it closely. Moving a few feet further, he touched a few leaves that had been bent.
“He’s tracking them,” Darius whispered in Kelln’s ear.
Kelln nodded. “Cool.”
Merek moved away from them through the trees and soon Darius and Kelln stood back up.
“What does he want?” Kelln asked.
“I don’t know.” Darius shook his head. “Did we really see him do magic?”
