by AJ Martin
He started forward, following the direction of the dragon’s flight. The creature swept down towards the buildings below and flame burst from his lungs. The buildings turned to smoke and the scene altered, and Matthias was standing elsewhere in the city. There was an almighty explosion and then the sky erupted above him. Around the dragon energy struck him in many forms: lightning bolts and piercingly sharp icicles rained down onto his back from the clouds. Flashes of power lit up the darkness and forced the creature down to the ground. He could not make out the beast’s features from where he stood: he was a dark shadow in his mind’s eye. Against his black form a hundred lassoes of power wrapped around the beast, looping his neck, grasping his arms and legs and tightening around his tail. Sikaris strained against them, ripped several from his body, the energy shattering as they broke pulled him to the ground. All around the dragon wizards conjured up more of the vibrant energy ropes and pinned him down. The beast roared and tugged the restraints as the men approached him and began to place their hands all across his body. From their palms, sandy-light rippled outwards with a crunching noise until they covered the entire beast’s form. The energy glowed and the wizards stepped back. Sikaris broke free from the restraints and flapped his wings. He bent down to survey the people beneath him and roared, and then, with a whoosh the light around his body faded and the creature turned to stone, petrified.
A knock at the door pulled Matthias out of his meditation suddenly. He beckoned entrance and a maid came into his room carrying a tray of fruits and a porcelain teapot, steaming from its spout.
“Compliments of the king,” the maid advised, before bowing her way out of the room.
Matthias smiled at the teapot. “He must have had some squirrelled away,” he pondered to himself. “Though why would you show such generosity to me now after all the events of the day? Unless it’s poisoned, of course!” He shook his head and smiled, raising the cup to his lips. But before he took a sip he paused and lowered it again and then, rifling in his bag again, pulled out a small wooden strip and dipped it in the liquid before removing it again and shaking it several times. He held it up to the light. The wood turned pink and he breathed a sigh of relief. No poison. At least none he was able to detect. He shook his head again. He was being foolish. He cast the wooden tester aside and took a sip of the tea. The beverage had a mild taste, though with a spicy tang of cinnamon which struck the back of the throat as he swallowed, and he let its aroma soothe him as he sat back into a chair, cup clasped in hand on his stomach, and, finally satisfied that he was not about to die, admired his surroundings. He had been too distracted before to fully appreciate the room. It was compact full of elegant touches. The bed - posts were painted golden, the rug on the floor made of a fine fur: wolf, he thought, by its feel. The chair he sat in and its companion opposite were magnificently upholstered. As he continued his survey an object caught his eye resting on the top of a cabinet. It was a small, golden, carved looking glass. He reached a hand out and flicked a finger, his eyes momentarily shimmering blue. The looking glass lifted off the top of the cabinet and hovered through the air into his waiting palm. He admired its craftsmanship and then turned it over to the reflective glass front, looking at himself in the mirror. Gingerly he felt up at his cheek and he smiled with a half-hearted chuckle at the image before him.
“What would you have all thought eh? Your son in a quest to save the world, time and an age from when we all were together?” He looked at his eyes with great deliberation through the slightly wavy surface of the mirror and his smile faded. He lowered the glass. “Foolish old Matthias,” he whispered and set it aside. “Talking to the dead again.” He looked at the backs of his hands. “So much still to learn, it would seem.”
He yawned suddenly and rubbed at his eyes. He knew he was tired, but his head suddenly seemed as if it might fall off and roll away from the floor, it felt so heavy. He placed his hands to either side of the chair to push himself up. Time for sleep, he said to himself. But he couldn’t muster the strength to rise again from the chair. He fell back into the comfortable hold of the chair. Oh well, perhaps I will just rest here then…
He didn’t remember falling asleep, but the next he knew he was being awoken by someone kicking his right foot. His eyelids opened under duress. It was night! How long had he been asleep? Shadows flitted about in the gloom, cast by the light of a dozen candles sitting in a candelabrum on the table to the far side of the room. As his eyes focussed, the shadowy figure of Thadius emerged in his vision, sitting in the chair opposite him. He sat up in surprise.
“Did I wake you?” Thadius asked.
“Yes!” Matthias exclaimed, trying to wake up quicker than his body would let him. “But don’t let it bother you!” he said with distaste.
“Oh, I wasn’t bothered,” Thadius replied.
“What… what are you doing in here?” the wizard asked.
Thadius leaned forward, “Tea?” he beckoned to Matthias, picking up the pot. Then, feeling the lack of warmth on his hand, added: “Cold tea?”
“No, thank y-,” Matthias began and then stopped just as abruptly. Realisation dawned. “Oh. So it was poisoned?”
“Not poison,” Thadius said. “Just something to help you sleep.”
“But I tested it for contamination!” Matthias retorted, running his hands through his hair.
“Well perhaps we have some of our own tricks up our sleeves,” Thadius smirked.
“Why?” Matthias asked angrily.
“Because the king wanted me to check you didn’t have anything else on you that could be used against us. He was hoping there might even be something on your person that would cast your stories into doubt.”
Matthias gritted his teeth. “I don’t have anything to hide here! I’ve told you everything you need to know!”
“Oh I know, I searched your bag while you slept,” Thadius advised. “I suspected that we wouldn’t find anything else of note there.”
“You think I have hidden something then?” he asked irritably.
Thadius shook his head. “No, I don’t. Believe it or not, I think you really have told us everything. But the king wanted to be sure. He is worried about sending his daughter off with you wizard. Very worried. And I did as I was ordered. I put you to sleep and checked your belongings. If it puts the king’s mind at ease then more the better.”
“He should be more concerned with the people who are out there trying to bring the dragon down on us!” Matthias exclaimed, grabbing the teapot from the table and pulling off the lid. He sniffed the liquid tentatively. “Oh. You used turtleweed! Of course.”
“Impervious to your testing methods. Or so the king told me.”
“It’s also incredibly rare in these parts.”
“The king knows some well-travelled people,” Thadius shrugged.
Matthias shook his head. “You are quite the devious ones yourselves,” he said and stuck his finger in the drink. His eyes flared blue and a sliver of energy wound down the wizard’s outstretched digit.
“What are you doing?” Thadius asked.
“Neutralising the plant so I can drink this tea! I’m thirsty!” he huffed. “Luckily enough a friend showed me how.”
Thadius shook his head and chuckled. “Look Matthias, I went out on a limb for you earlier, when I backed you up in front of the princess. The gods knows why I did that. I believe your stories, even if the king does still have doubts. I must be mad, but I believe your tales.”
“I’m grateful you stepped in for me with the princess.” He poured a cup of the tea and then set the pot down carefully. He picked up the cup and began circling a finger around the rim slowly, watched diligently until steam began to rise from the reheated liquid before sipping it. He sighed. “Better.” Matthias set the cup on his lap. “You could have searched my things and departed and I would have never known what you had done. I was so tired I would have never suspected you’d send me to sleep.”
“So what am I still doing here?”
the soldier asked. Matthias nodded. “I have stayed because of that which we spoke of earlier. Trust. I believe in your stories but that doesn’t mean I believe in you. Not fully.”
“How can I prove myself to you further?” Matthias asked. “All the proof of my intentions I have is words.”
“The only thing I can think of… is that.” He pointed to Matthias’s pendant.
The wizard looked down, and then felt to the medallion dangling from his neck. “Oh no,” Matthias said. “I can’t.”
Thadius shrugged. “I know how much it means to you, now I know what it contains. To keep something of such personal worth to you... now that, I think, would convince me further.”
Matthias swallowed, clutching tightly to the metal beneath his palm. He wore a pained expression on his face as he looked at Thadius. But then, hesitantly, he took his hand away, and slowly reached around the back of his neck and undid the chain’s latch. The pendant swung free as he drew it away from his body and gingerly held it out.
“If you lose it…” Matthias said.
Thadius reached out an open palm and Matthias dropped it into his hand. His neck felt naked without it. Lighter. He felt half a man!
“Now you have something precious of mine to look after, and I something of yours,” Thadius said. His fingers curled around the pendant, and he drew it to him, before attaching it around his own neck.
“There. How does it look?” He asked Matthias, who had gone slightly pale.
“It looks… strange, on someone who is not a wizard,” he said.
“The only way someone will get this from me is if they cut my head off,” Thadius advised him.
“Then I have to protect you as well, it would seem,” Matthias said with a half - smile.
Thadius chuckled and then rose from the chair. “Thank you,” he said. “I think now we finally might understand one another. Now we both have something of the other’s in our care that we never want to lose.” He moved to the door. “I have a dozen men preparing for our coming journey.” He pointed to Matthias as he opened the door. “You should get some rest. You look tired,” he chuckled, and closed the door.
The Dark of Night
115th Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)
Matthias sat in his room for several hours that night, pondering matters silently. He became aware after a while that he had been instinctively running his hand along the bare spot on his chest where his pendant usually lay against his skin. He lowered his hand to the chair’s arms and pushed himself up.
At least I can manage that this time, he thought wistfully to himself. Turtleweed. He shook his head and chuckled at the ingenuity. There’s none of those wild plants growing anywhere near Rina for the king to have harvested such a sedative. How did he even know it couldn’t be detected by our testing sticks? It’s almost scentless too, unless you know that it’s there and even then, it’s only the slightest whiff that gives away its presence. He pulled off his shirt and placed it carefully over the back of the chair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the looking glass again, lying face-up on the table. He picked it up again and angled it to look at his bare neck. The skin had a slight sheen where the chain had sat for so long and was less tanned than the rest of his body. He grimaced in the flickering candlelight and cast the mirror on to the chair cushion, making his way to the bed and slipping beneath the covers. He waved a hand and the candles all went out, and darkness shrouded the room. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost instantly.
A chiming sound stirred him from his slumber and he opened his eyes to a pulsing light. He sat up with a sharp intake of breath. The communication orb.
“Can’t I get some sleep without being poisoned or interrupted?” he grumbled. He rose out of the bed again and flailed towards the orb that sat on the table. It was still dark outside, so it was fortunately nowhere near morning yet – although that also meant that he had probably only been in bed for an hour or so at most. He grasped the sphere and clutched it tightly in his hand, before falling backwards on to the duvet and closing his eyes. Purple light swirled around his arm as the Orb made contact.
“What is happening?” the voice asked anxiously. “I have not heard from you in ages!”
“I’m sorry Master Pym,” Matthias replied. “The kidnapping didn’t go as expected. I was caught.”
“Caught!” The voice snapped. “How?”
“That doesn’t matter now,” Matthias said, inside his head. “All you need to know is I have told the king and the princess about her abilities and the full reason for my being here. They have agreed to help of their own free will, as we had originally intended to be the case.”
The voice was silent a moment and then it continued. “That is good news. Something I have had little of lately. Well done.”
“Thank you. I apologise I didn’t contact you sooner. It has been an… eventful day.”
“No doubt. In any case, I have also contacted you for another reason. There has been a change.”
Matthias’s heart jumped. “Another one?”
“The Council has reviewed their conclusions of the seeing stone’s premonitions and have found that the dragon’s prison is much closer to destruction than we had anticipated.”
“How much closer?” Matthias asked and held his breath.
“We believe it is now in the very final stages of being unlocked. There are but a few weeks of work to dissolve the petrification.”
Matthias exhaled heavily. “But that isn’t enough time!”
“Then you will proceed quickly to Olindia. You must teach the princess how to use her power in the time you have left.” Matthias was silent. The voice continued. “You are an able wizard, Matthias,” the voice said, with a hint of warmth in its disembodied tone. “Perhaps a little too headstrong, even after all I have done to rein you in! But I am confident that you will find a way to train her. I will be at hand to talk to for advice if you need me. Then we will see where fate leads us all.”
Matthias nodded, forgetting that Pym could not survey his movements. When he spoke again it was with hesitation. “I promised that the princess would be free from restraint when she is done with her task,”
“Let’s hope that is a possibility.”
“I gave her my word,” Matthias said. “I will keep it.”
“I must go,” the voice said suddenly. “There is a great deal to do here as well. Get the princess to Crystal Ember and help her to reinforce the dragon’s prison. Maybe then the Council will see reason. We will speak again soon, Matthias.” The voice disappeared again with a plop. (Perhaps a different word to plop as makes me think of poo.... can’t think of alternative but perhaps pop?)
Matthias sighed. He was sweating. He sank back into the bed, letting the glass ball fall away from his palm onto the quilt. He lay there for a while staring up at the carved wooden canopy of the bed. Suddenly his head was bombarded with a blinding flash and an image of the city outside filled his vision. He sat bolt upright and hissed. Another flash and a creature shot briefly across his gaze, meandering across a cobbled yard in the thin moonlight.
“Oh gods no, not now!” he whispered. Something had just tripped two of the markers he had laid earlier.
He flew up out of bed, the sheets cascading to the floor as he grasped his shirt from the back of a chair and pulled it on hurriedly, before shoving his belongings into his bag, grabbing the orb from the bed and shoving it into his pocket. He jumped into his boots, threw on his coat and opened the door.
Two guards in purple livery turned to face him, lances sliding across to bar his way.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the first, on the right said in a common, Aralian accent.
“I have to get to see Thadius. The Princess is in danger,” he panted.
“Danger?” the second one said. “The only danger she is in is from you from the way we hear it. Now go back inside until morning. We’ve got orders not to let you roam the halls at night.”
“You don�
��t understand!” Matthias cried. “I have seen creatures in my mind! They are on their way to the palace!”
The men looked to one another, and then back to Matthias. “Of course they are. Now go back inside and we will give the king your message.”
Matthias looked to them both, jaw clenched tightly. Then he took a breath. “I’m ever so sorry. I really am.”
“Wh-” the first guard said, but before he could finish Matthias threw out both his hands and plunged his fists into both guards’ stomachs. Sparks shot from Matthias’s knuckles and the men shuddered, their bodies contorting, before falling to the floor like limp fish, their weapons jangling onto the floor. Matthias stepped over them, rearranging his bag and staff where they rested on his back and shoulder. “I really am sorry,” he said again to the two men who were both unconscious, slumped in a heap on the floor.
Matthias ran down the corridor, throwing his head to look behind himself at regular intervals as he went. The corridors were mostly dark the way he went, though now and again there were stand - lamps burning with their oil - soaked wicks. He saw no – one along the way, save for two serving women who he heard coming along one corridor, gossiping as they walked. He flew into them and sent the trays they carried flying. They screamed as their contents crashed to the floor.
“Sorry!” he cried back, but he didn’t stop. He eyed every shadow warily as if it might leap at him and tear his head off, and he embraced the earth power once as he ran, ready to strike at what turned out to be no more than a rat scurrying across the corridor.
