Chapter 4: Evading Guards and Imps
Donna ran through the forest heading south. She was disheveled and tired. Unfortunately, she had not been able to grab her own pack when she escaped from Morris back in Stillwater. All she had with her were a few of her potions and the clothes on her back.
It was dark and the imps were out, making the chances for a dangerous encounter almost certain. Although the Blue Forest provided protection from the Guards patrolling the roads, it was equally dangerous with all the nasty creatures lurking nearby.
“Where's a Rakki when you need him?” she muttered from a large stone she hid behind to evade a groups of imps.
Once they passed, she began her trek once more. Where she was going she really didn’t know. Donna was uncertain where the next Rakki settlement was, or if the Royal Guard would be there doing an inspection. By the strong presence of the Guard on the roads, she feared no town or village was a safe hiding place. How could she survive out here with nothing but a few potions and her magic? She was an experienced wizard, but magic can only take you so far.
The thought crossed her mind: head north and try to regroup with Treb and the others. It was the obvious play, but Morris and his men would undoubtedly be heading in the same direction. With her luck, she’d encounter them first along the way.
As dangerous as it seemed, she had to make it all the way to a sizeable settlement. “I've gotta head for Riverton,” she affirmed.
She jumped behind a tree when she heard a Commander shouting orders. She had not seen the troop of soldiers riding up the road, since the forest and road blended together. Thankfully, no one had noticed her; at least not from what she could tell.
They lingered a few minutes and when they finally rode off, she was in the clear. She avoided the road as far as she could and headed into the forest. The imps were unforgiving, but so were the Guards and she rolled the dice at risking a battle with the former, thinking she’d stand a better chance.
She literally tip-toed for the next two miles; keeping a watchful eye of her surroundings as her heart raced at a feverish pace. She was sick with fear. “Get a hold of yourself Donna, you're a master wizard.” she muttered. “What is that?” she whispered, listening to a loud buzzing sound, similar to that of an imp but tenfold.
Walking a few more steps into the forest she frowned and wondered why the canopy seemed to grow denser. The slivers of moonlight were gone and it was much darker. She looked up to discover a large imp hive overhead attached to five trees, blocking out the light. Constructed from mud and natural debris, it was a nest of dark magic from where those little beasts were made.
“Oh, crud,” was her only response before she turned back and ran.
Dozens of imps poured from the holes of the nest and flooded the dense forest floor on a B-line for Donna. She wouldn’t win a foot race with them and she knew, especially if they started wielding magic from behind. She had one option, but it was risky.
“Damn, damn, damn,” she screamed, furious at what she was forced to do. She stopped and turned, raised both hands above her head and shouted, “kveykva!” The light spell produced a brilliant glow, nearly as bright as the sun. Imps hated bright light, and fortunately this kind of light was enough to blind anything, but would in turn signal her position to anyone in a ten mile radius.
Once the incredible light faded she could see the imps fleeing and rubbing their eyes. They wouldn’t flee for long with the light gone. She had to take this opportunity to gain her bearings and put some distance between her pursuers. The buzzing returned, with a group of imps back on her trail. Pulling out a vial of potion, she tossed it in the air and kept running. When it smashed into the ground it created a dense white fog. It was mere water vapor, but might hide her from their peering eyes.
Out of breath and exhausted, Donna stopped and leaned against a trunk. She gathered the courage to look back to make sure they hadn’t followed her. To her relief there wasn’t an imp in sight.
She sighed.
“Hey, you!” A hand reached around the tree and snatched her by the arm.
***
Captain Morris rode his horse into the Barren Mountains. On either side of him were four Shlan warriors, deputies of the Royal Guard. They were a special force that could scale mountains better than humans.
“Ordersss, Captain?” one of the green scaly skinned snake men asked the armor clad human.
Morris looked at the night sky above, “We are to find those Rakki and that human boy. Simple as that.”
“What do we do with them?” another of the Shlan asked.
Morris glared at the darkness in the distance between the mountains. “Kill all of them. Bring me back any wands they carry.”
“Asss you wissssh.” The Shlan warriors seemed happy to oblige. Morris was wise to bring Shlan fighters along, knowing full well their hatred for Rakki was only matched by the elation they experience from killing them. And, this time, it was by decree so it was legal murder.
Morris kicked his horse and started into the mountains with the Shlan. As soon as they got to the walls, the snakes slithered upwards flawlessly. The mountain loving race was able to handle the rocky terrain in seconds, unmatched by any of the other races in Gallenor. Morris followed along merely as an observer. He wanted to see to it these snakes did their job, and it wouldn’t hurt him at all to watch. To deny the King was a death sentence in Morris’ mind and he took pleasure in exacting that punishment by any means necessary.
***
Markus walked through the valley of his home. It was dark and cold, yet he could see the fields in full bloom in the distance. His journey for the Dragonwand was a distant memory right now, he was going home and it felt good. A deep, nostalgic portion of heart belonged there, begging him to return and see his parents. He was here, he was home, and he could go and see them just this once. They fought often before he left, but he never told them he would miss them or how he loved them. And it was about time he did.
“Markus!” His mother’s call filled the air. He could smell her cooking on the breeze. The aroma was a feast to his nose.
“Mom! I’m home!” he said, racing across the fields and through the waters of the river.
“Hello?” he cried as he got to the edge of the community, noticing that while the water wheel still turned and lights were on, no one was out.
“Markus!” his mother called again.
“Mom, where are you?” He looked and looked but no one was to be found. He ran to his home and found his mother standing in the front yard with his father. “Mom, Dad, I’m so glad to see you.”
“Markus, where did you go? We are so worried about you.” His father asked, speaking in a tone as if he wasn’t even there.
Markus opened the little wooden gate in the fence and entered. “I'm out with friends. We're helping save the world, I think.” The scream of a dragon could be faintly heard in the distance. “What was that? Did you hear that?” Markus asked, as he looked up into the sky. His ears perked up as he locked on to the sound off in the distance.
“Honey, why did you leave?” his mother asked, echoing his father’s words. Pain filled her eyes, lost in her voice, and the disappointment was tangible.
Tears welled in Markus’ eyes, “Mom, I haven’t forgotten about you. I think of you every day. Look, I wrote letters.” He held out his hand with all the letters he had written. “See… I wanted to send them, but I couldn’t find a way.”
“Those aren’t letters.” His mother shook her head, confused as to what he was presenting her.
He looked down and found the Codex in his hand. “Oh, this is….a book. I think I'm trying to learn its secrets.”
His father cocked his head. “But, the answer is in your hand.”
The book was gone, replaced by the wand Tolen had given him. “The answer?”
He sat up on his mat on the cold stone floor. Suddenly everything he’d pondered before he dosed off made sense
. “The key!.....This is the key! The Wand!”
Kiin approached him with a finger over her mouth. “Calm down, don’t wake the others,” she said in a low whisper.
Markus stared at his clinched fist as if something was in it. But the wand wasn’t there. “I know the answer,” he murmured.
Kiin raised an eyebrow. “The answer?”
Markus rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”
Kiin looked out and then back at him. “It is close to sunrise. Why don’t you get some more sleep?”
Markus wanted to wake Crystal and tell her he believed he had the answer, but didn’t want to interrupt her. “You’re right,” he said, and lay back down. Kiin returned to her bed and Markus stared at the ceiling contemplating the events of the night.
***
A Shlan warrior slithered down the high slope of the mountain and crawled across the floor of the ravine, sniffing the ground, blending into the shadows so much that Morris had a hard time keeping track of them.
Two of them converged on the same trail. “Do you have something?” Morris asked, noticing their behavior.
“Here! I think Rakki are nearby,” another cried out in the distance.
They all ran over to the Shlan scout holding up a broken bit of wood.
“A twig,” the scout said.
“That’s not twig, it’s an arrow,” Morris said.
“Rakki ssshot arrow at imp here,” another Shlan confirmed.
“Where did you find it?” Morris asked.
“Here,” the scout said, pointing at the ground. A tracker surveyed the area and his eyes traced out a path nearby. “They go north, along narrow ledge,” he said pointing.
The lead Shlan scout motioned the group forward. ”Sssshk!” They scurried off in the direction the leader had indicated.
CHAPTER 5: Unlocking Secrets
Markus sat up against the rock wall with the Codex in his lap gazing deeply at the inscriptions. Crystal sat next to him. Her presence was a welcome one and although the chances of getting closer to her were increasing with their travels, the eminent danger they’d no doubt be facing together soured the mood.
“How might the wand interact with it once you figure it all out?” Crystal inquired.
“If I figure it out,” Markus replied.
She smiled. “You will.”
The morning was still very fresh and Treb was barely awake enough to start packing up the stuff, so Markus took advantage of the time by tapping each page with the wand and closing the book on it like a bookmark. He even spoke a few decryption spells through the wand’s moon top but nothing seemed to work.
“Did you try an unlocking spell?” Crystal asked.
“I tried that two days ago. I don’t think it would be so obvious. Let me try something else.” He thought for a moment and then looked at her. “Did you study the old tongue, the language in which spells are written?”
Crystal nodded. “Sort of. I read about it at the library.”
“What is the word for key?”
She bit her lip, thinking. “I think it’s lykill… or that could be the spell for lock.”
“Can’t hurt to try.” Markus pointed his wand at the ground. “Lykill!” Everyone in the little rock alcove looked at the ground in expectation, but nothing happened. “Rats.”
Crystal laughed at him, in a friendly nature. “Well, it was worth a try.”
Markus set the book on the ground and opened to the middle. “I just don’t get it.”
“It’s okay. This was a good idea, but maybe it wasn’t correct. Maybe I can…” She went to take the wand out of his hand to give this a try, but her hand went right through it. “What the?”
Markus smiled at her. “The wand will only respond to me. No one else can take it.” He sat the wand on the book and shook his head. “I guess this is not the answer.”
Crystal stood up and brushed some of the dirt and small rocks from her tail. “I wish I had the answer for you.”
Treb stuffed his belongings into a bag and when it was full, he picked up another to finish the rest. “Well, we need something to go on. The further we travel into these mountains puts us further away from society and supplies. I don’t want to wind up lost.”
Kiin corrected him. “We do have that map I got from the Shlan merchant.”
“Much good it will do us in finding this Citadel,” Treb added, being a practiced grumbler.
Markus let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t have any ideas at the moment. Perhaps a little….” He glanced down at the wand and book. Something caught his eye.
Crystal must’ve noticed the look on his face. “What is it?”
Markus leaned over and peered into the clear marble on the end of the wand. “It couldn’t be.”
Crystal leaned over to him. “What, did you find something?” she asked, excited.
He slowly picked up the wand and looked through the marble more deeply, like he was looking through a tiny magnifying glass. “I can see something. The words, they're changing.” He strained harder. “Gah! This is hurting my eyes.”
Crystal gave it a try. “I can’t see anything.”
Markus shook his head and gave it another try. “It changes the words, but they still don’t make sense. They are in common tongue now, but still garbled up strangely.”
Crystal, remembering a part of her studies in the library, exclaimed, “I read somewhere that some of the ancients puzzles used a double method.”
“Double method?” He looked away from the wand for a second and blinked his straining eyes.
She nodded. “To solve the puzzle, you have to figure out two co-dependent solutions. Did Tolen give you any other information about where to look?”
“He didn’t even tell me about the book.” Markus huffed, then paused for a moment. A thought tickled the back of his mind. “Wait, he did say something to me just before Morris arrived.” Markus thought hard about that moment. “He said ‘The wand I gave you. It is endowed with ancient knowledge. Use it and you will learn secrets of the past. But, remember, the only place to start is the beginning’ “
Crystal suddenly blurted out, “That’s it! Go to the beginning of the book!”
Markus quickly flipped the pages over and found the very first line of the book. He pressed the wand into the page and held the marble as close to the words as possible. With a growing smile he read, “He who wishes to read what is within, must always start at the place to begin. Twist your eye to read this book, but do not twist the head to have a look.” He sat back with a frown. “Great, a riddle. Let’s see, twist my eye, but not in my head.”
Treb tried to help. “Why don’t you turn around once?”
“Daddy,” Crystal exclaimed, as though he had just made the world’s most foolish suggestion.
Treb shrugged. “Hey, I don’t hear any solutions from you.”
Crystal considered the wand closely. “We had a crystal globe in the library that was called the wizards eye. The historians think that the eyes were used for communication and magic.”
“So?”
“The name for it came from its inscription, meaning it was called an eye by the ancient wizards.”
Markus caught on. “This marble isn’t just a marble, it’s a tiny crystal eye!” He reached up with two fingers and slowly turned the marble. The middle of the wire loop that held the marble in place to the tip of the wand glowed and the words were exposed on the page. Now everyone could read it through the wand like someone might look through a magnifying glass.
“You did it!” Crystal gleefully yelled and then kissed him on the cheek.
Treb frowned while Kiin grinned.
Markus blushed. “Oh, I had a lot of help.”
Treb continued packing the bag. “Well, what does it say?”
Markus ran the wand over the first page. “Dear reader, I praise you for your wisdom and insight in solving this book's riddle. This book and its conten
ts are destined for one person and if that is not you, you will be dead by the time you finish reading this sentence... ” He jerked back with wide eyes, and then realized he wasn’t dead. “Congratulations, you are not dead. If you are reading this, then Gallenor is in great danger and you must do what you can to put an end to that danger. I am afraid I cannot tell as much as you need to know in this book, for this information is too valuable to allow in just anyone's hands. But, this book will lead you to those answers. Through these pages are many ancient spells, lessons from foolish times, and information about dealing with the darkness of evil wizards. But, most importantly, this book contains the location of the Dragon Citadel. Go, with haste, and stop that which threatens the freedom of all whom live and breathe. Sincerely, Tolen the foolish.”
Crystal frowned. “Foolish, I thought he was considered wise?”
Markus nodded with a thoughtful smile. “He is and that is why he calls himself foolish. I do not know how or why, but I believe he felt great guilt for whatever happened to Gallenor all those centuries ago and what is happening now. He probably didn’t feel wise when he wrote this book.”
Treb plopped Markus’ filled bag next to him, “Fascinating. Now, where is the Citadel?”
Markus turned the pages of the book quickly. He scanned each one to see what it was. “This is amazing, ancient spells, recipes for long lost potions, information about battling trolls, imps, goblins….I didn’t know there were ever goblins in Gallenor.”
“The map,” Treb said mildly, as he strapped his quiver of arrows on his back.
“Right, right, the map.” Markus flipped to the back of the book and placed the wand over it. What was just a rather artistic rendering of northern Gallenor and the Barren Mountains transformed into a detailed map of intricate pathways. “Here it is… a path. I can see it. There is a line drawn through the mountains that leads right to…..HA there it is, the Citadel. There is an inscription: It is between two tall mountains, at the base of both. When looking between the peaks one will see the dragon’s breath. It says here the Citadel is hidden from sight and will only reveal itself to the person who knows the spell to enter. That spell is….on page eighty,” he said, amazed at how he deciphered the notes written on this hidden map.
Legacy of Dragonwand: Book 2 (Legacy of Dragonwand Trilogy) Page 3
