Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three

by Dean Cadman

  “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting,” Lusam promised Renn, smiling at the disappointed look on his face. Feeling slightly guilty, Lusam tried to change the subject.

  “How come you packed your ‘things’ away?” he asked, nodding towards the bundle that contained Renn’s blessed sword and shield.

  Renn seemed to check that none of the crew were in earshot, before moving closer to Lusam and answering quietly, “You’ll find that sailors are a superstitious lot, lad, if you spent enough time around them. Most worship Deas, due to the fact their lives and livelihoods are so entwined with the sea. I doubt any would openly object to my presence here, not until something went wrong during the trip, of course, and then the superstitious whisperings would no doubt be aimed my way.”

  “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Lusam replied quietly.

  “Aye, lad, I am. And it’s not something I’d wish to repeat anytime soon. If it hadn’t been for the Captain’s intervention on my behalf, I’m sure I’d have had a very long swim back to shore that day,” Renn said in a serious voice. Lusam knew he was deadly serious about what he had just said, but he found it difficult keeping a straight face at the thought of Renn being tossed overboard and forced to swim back to shore.

  “I’ll be at the front of the ship if you need me for anything,” Lusam informed the others. He had discovered a small secluded spot at the bow of the ship the previous day. It was sheltered from the sea spray and wind, but it also allowed the sun to warm him there, unlike the aft deck, which was perpetually in shade from the ship’s sails. Nobody had objected to him being there the previous day, so he decided it would make the most comfortable place to read some more of the journal. No one gave him more than a cursory glance as he made his way forward towards the bow of the ship. Once there, he settled down and began to search for any other interesting entries in the journal.

  Judd II—Sixth Cycle—Second-day—Two

  It has taken us several weeks to construct the room within Ula’ree to the exact specifications required by the High Temple. The excavation work went swiftly, but the room’s interior took a great deal of magic to complete, draining many of our monks to near exhaustion in the process. The intricate spells we were taught at the High Temple have been woven into the walls, floor and ceiling of the room, creating what would be a powerful shield indeed, if we but had a power source capable of maintaining such a shield.

  Judd II—Sixth Cycle—Fourth-day—Two

  Our stonemasons completed the massive door to the room yesterday, and the magical locking mechanism was finished today. It has been designed to look like nothing more than a regular wall from the outside. For what reason, nobody truly knows. No one here speaks openly about their speculation as to what may ultimately be hidden within the room, but one thing is certain: whatever was placed inside, would become invisible to the entire world beyond should the spells be activated.

  Judd II—Seventh Cycle—First-day—One

  Today was indeed a joyous occasion for all of our brethren at Ula’ree, for the mighty Guardian Lucius has blessed us with his presence this day. Although the delegation who recently travelled to the High Temple, myself included, were made aware of a future Guardian visit, no one, however, expected one to arrive unannounced, and in the manner he did. Apparently Guardian Lucius has journeyed alone from Coldmont, disguised as a mere travelling merchant, and sleeping on the ground outside each night. One must only assume the importance of his mission dictates such a degrading method of travel for one so revered by everyone in Afaraon.

  Judd II—Seventh Cycle—Second-day—One

  The reason behind the great secrecy and the Guardian’s visit has finally been revealed to all at Ula’ree. It has been ordained by Aysha herself that our brethren at Ula’ree will become the keepers of one of five books created by the Guardians themselves. Each of the five remaining Guardians has constructed a book of great power, each with its own portion of the Guardian’s immense knowledge contained within. Aysha has decreed that the Guardian line will end with the final five who still remain. Such power was never meant to be in the hands of mere mortals, and was only brought to pass by Aysha in direct response to the actions of her brother, The Dark God Aamon. Since Aamon is trapped in the Netherworld and no longer a threat to the world, Aysha is now duty-bound by an agreement with her brother Driden to end the Guardian line. The immense knowledge of the Guardians will remain however, hidden, and in the form of these five books, in case the world ever has need of it again. We pray to Aysha that such a scenario will never come to pass.

  Our leader, and all future leaders of Ula’ree are to gain the knowledge of our new book, but not before they undertake an extended period of preparation and meditation, which is to be set out by the Guardian himself. By doing so, we will create a leader capable of defending the book against any mortal mage intent on stealing the book from Ula’ree, should it ever be discovered. We have been assured that anyone trying to read one of the Guardian’s books without such preparation would surely die, and even with it in some cases. The Guardian has told us that only the strongest of mages have the capacity to absorb all the knowledge within a Guardian book, and we should therefore choose our future leaders very carefully. It is a great honour indeed that Ula’ree has been chosen as one of the keepers of a Guardian book. One that all of our brethren feels a deep sense of pride over. I cannot help wondering, if my old friend Isidro has found himself in a similar situation, and that was also the reason for his visit to the High Temple. It would be wonderful to share the news with my old friend, but alas, we have all been sworn to utter secrecy until we part this world.

  Lusam sat bolt upright. The implications of what he had just read almost overwhelmed him. Had he just discovered the potential location of another one of the Guardian books? Or was this just the ramblings of an old man missing a childhood friend? Quickly, he thumbed back through the journal until he came to the entry where he had read the name of the location mentioned. “Lohlaen, on The Pearl Island,” he said out loud to himself.

  “Long ways from ’ere that is, boy,” a voice said in a thick accent, making him jump. Lusam hadn’t even noticed anyone approach whilst he read the book, but now found that there were three men on the foredeck with him, coiling ropes and stowing equipment. The man who had spoken was quite possibly the oldest man Lusam had ever seen. How he was still working aboard a ship, Lusam had no idea. His unruly white hair and silver stubble stood out in stark contrast to his dark wind-beaten skin, and his ice-blue eyes seemed almost ancient as he looked at Lusam. After his initial shock, Lusam began to realise what the old man had just said.

  “Do you know where The Pearl Isle is, sir?” Lusam asked the old man.

  “No, boy. But I knows where Lohlaen is, I do. And that be on Monmeriath Isle, boy.”

  “Could you tell me where that is, please?” Lusam asked, excited that the old man might actually know its location. The man paused, turning his head slightly, as if he had heard something that caught his attention. Then after a moment he turned his vacant gaze back to Lusam.

  “Yes,” he said simply. Lusam waited for him to start, but he turned away and started coiling the ropes again, as if forgetting Lusam was even there. The other two men laughed loudly, startling Lusam again.

  “Don’t put paid to anything old Lamar tells you, boy, he’s a few sails short of a full set o’ rigging, that one,” one of the men said loudly, making his colleague burst into laughter again. Lamar didn’t seem to notice, or care that he was the butt of their jokes, and just kept coiling the rope onto the deck.

  “Cap’ain only keeps him aboard as a good luck charm, he does. Says the twice he left him behind on shore for not pulling his weight, terrible luck they ’ad all trip. Won’t take the chance ’nay more. So ’ere he is, as old as the sea ’erself, and as useless as a two-pound anchor,” the second man said, nodding towards Lamar, and eliciting even more laughter from the first man.

  Lusam
smiled at the men—even though he didn’t find the treatment of their fellow crewman amusing at all—then pretended to go back to reading his journal. He kept glancing at the old man, hoping the spark might return to his old eyes and they could continue their conversation, but he seemed different now somehow; as if part of his mind had shut down, and only left him with enough capacity to perform his basic tasks. It wasn’t long before the two younger men finished what they were doing and left the foredeck, leaving Lusam and the old man alone at the front of the ship.

  Lusam tried rousing his attention by speaking aloud the place names again, but this time there was no reaction from the old man. Lusam wondered if the old man was simply crazy, or if he was suffering from some kind of age-related problem. ‘He must have been a capable sailor at some point in his life, or why else would he be aboard a ship?’ Lusam thought to himself. He wondered if he could search the mind of the old man for the information himself, then immediately felt guilty about even thinking about it. But, surely if the old man truly knew the location of where one of the Guardian books were possibly hidden, it would be an acceptable thing to do. He doubted the old man would even realise, given his current condition. Lusam decided to at least try, but soon realised that he had no idea how to go about it. When the Inquisitor had tried to gain access to his mind in Coldmont, he had done so along an almost hair-like strand of power he had created. Lusam had no knowledge of how to create that hair-like strand of power between himself and the old man. He had been able to send a pulse of magic along the connection, killing the Inquisitor, but he simply couldn’t create a link of his own.

  Lusam thought about it for a while, and eventually came to the conclusion that it was quite possible that the ability to read minds was something Lord Zelroth had discovered by reading his own Guardian book at Irragin in Mount Nuxvar, and since, had taught the spell to his fellow agents. But whatever the reason was, Lusam knew that he could not do it himself, and that frustrated him no end. The only way that Lusam could enter the old man’s mind, was to be in physical contact with him, and that would look very strange to the rest of the crew if he was seen doing it for any length of time. Eventually, Lusam decided he would approach the old man under the guise of offering to help him coil his ropes. That way if anyone was near enough to pay him any attention, it shouldn’t look too strange—he hoped.

  Lusam stood up from where he had been reading the journal, and approached the old man. Once he was close enough he placed his hand on the old man’s shoulder, then asked, “Would you like any help with that, sir?” He didn’t expect an answer, and he didn’t get one either. The old man continued his slow methodical coiling of his rope, paying no attention to Lusam whatsoever. Lusam quickly delved into the old man’s mind, but what he found left him in no doubt about his true mental state. His mind was a disjointed jumble of all his lifelong experiences. Lusam was unable to locate a single coherent thought within his mind. It was no wonder the old man was so confused and paid no attention to his fellow crew members’ jibes. Disappointed that his potential discovery of another Guardian book had only been wishful thinking, he made his way back towards the others at the rear of the ship.

  When Lusam reached the aft deck he found Renn and Alexia playing some kind of board game. Apparently one of the ship’s crew had taken a liking to Alexia, and offered to lend her his game board and pieces. Neala was sitting quietly at the opposite end of the deck, watching them play, but obviously had something else on her mind, as she never even noticed Lusam’s return. Lusam crossed the aft deck towards her, and was almost by her side before she noticed his approach.

  “Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t see you come back,” Neala apologised.

  “That’s fine,” Lusam replied smiling at her. “What’s on your mind?” he asked sitting down next to her.

  “How do you know there’s something on my mind?” Neala asked a little defensively.

  “Because you’re sitting over here all alone, staring blankly at Renn and Alexia’s board game with no real interest,” Lusam replied. Neala didn’t reply straight away, but she did take hold of Lusam’s hand and gave it a small squeeze, which was nice, but it somehow made him feel nervous that she was about to tell him something he didn’t want to hear.

  After what felt like an awfully long time to Lusam, Neala turned to face him and blurted out, “I just feel useless!”

  “What?” Lusam asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember when we were on the road to Coldmont, and we were attacked by those undead-agents?”

  “I wish I didn’t, but yes, I do. Why, what about it?” Lusam asked.

  “Well, I was completely useless to you all back there. You have your magic, Renn has his blessed sword and shield, and even Alexia has her blessed bow now, but me…” she said, trailing off her sentence. “I couldn’t even defend myself against those things, let alone help defend you and the others against them. And the same thing applied to the Empire agents for that matter. I’m scared, Lusam. I’m scared that I am going to get you killed, or one of the others. I’m just a liability to you all now, just someone extra for you or Renn to protect with your shields. And who knows what we will be up against when we reach Lamuria?” Neala said, sounding more and more upset with each word.

  Lusam squeezed her hand gently, looked into her eyes and replied, “We’re a team, remember? You will never be useless, or a liability to me, Neala. Besides, I’ve already given some thought as to how I can magically upgrade your knives and make them more effective against those creatures.”

  “You have?” Neala replied, sitting up a little straighter and eagerly awaiting his reply.

  “Yes. In fact, I’m quite sure they will be very effective against any reanimated undead creature once I’m done with them. However, there will be two slight limitations with them, ones that I cannot do anything about, I’m afraid.”

  “What do you mean by limitations?”

  “Well, here’s what I came up with, so you can judge for yourself. After reading the book in Coldmont, I now have a much better understanding of how magical power is transmitted between objects, both animate and inanimate. I’ve known for a long time that all things living hold a certain amount of magic within them, and even some inanimate objects do to a certain degree. When a person or creature dies, its magic is released back into the world, and if a mage dies, that release can be large enough to be felt many miles away by other magic users. So when an Empire agent reanimates a corpse, he or she has to imbue that corpse with a small amount of their own magic to give it life again. The amount of magic required is very small, which is why a single mage can reanimate multiple corpses without suffering any ill effects themselves.

  “I still have no idea how the Empire agents control their minions from a distance, but I believe that should have no bearing on my plan to upgrade your knives. All I have to do is give your knives the ability to quickly absorb magic upon contact. That way, when you strike any undead creature, it should kill it almost instantly. Now, here come limitations. Firstly, because your knives are only made of steel, they will only be able to absorb a certain amount of magic before they become saturated, at which point they will become ineffective once more. I can easily drain the magic back out of them if you’re close enough to me, but you’ll just have to bear that in mind, and not get yourself cut off from me during a battle. The second limitation is that they won’t be effective at all against any Empire agents. The amount of magic that the knives will be able to hold is relatively small, and if you even touch one of their shields, it will become saturated instantly without doing any damage at all to the Empire agent.”

  “How many undead could I kill before each knife becomes saturated?” Neala asked, sounding a lot more upbeat than she had only a few moments ago.

  “I’m not sure. I would guess ten or twelve, but there is no way to know for sure until we test them in battle,” Lusam replied.

  “Well, that’s a damn sight better than what I can do right now,�
�� Neala replied grinning at Lusam. Then she began to frown a little. “I do have one question, though.”

  “What’s that?” Lusam asked.

  “You just said all living creatures have magic within them, so what happens if I touch them?”

  “Hmm, good point. I hadn’t thought of that. But the answer is, you would saturate them with your own magical power reserves. They wouldn’t be able to take enough from you to kill you, but you would render your own knives useless. Fortunately, the charms I’ve already placed on your knives keep them sharp and free from corrosion, so I guess you’ll just have to avoid the temptation to take them out and play with them from now on,” Lusam said smiling at her.

  “Very funny… but seriously, how can I even hold them without making them useless?” she asked looking a little confused.

  “Oh, that’s not a problem, I will only enchant the blade, not the whole knife. And as long as they don’t make direct contact with your skin, they will be fine. Just remember, they need to penetrate the undead’s clothing to be effective too,” Lusam replied.

  “Great! How long will it take you to do?” Neala asked enthusiastically.

  “I can do it right now if you pass me them,” Lusam replied, nodding towards her knives. Neala unbuckled her knife belt and handed it to Lusam, who took each knife out in turn, and placed them on the deck in front of him. He picked up the first knife and concentrated hard on the enchantment he wished to imbue the knife with. First he would have to rearrange the centre of the blade to act as a small storage device for the magical power, then imbue the actual blade with a magical power draining spell. He tried several variations—testing each one on himself—before finding the best combination of enchantments. He repeated the enchantments on the remaining knives, but not before Alexia noticed what he was doing, and came over to investigate.

  Lusam found himself repeating much of the conversation he had just had with Neala, and unsurprisingly, discovered that he suddenly had a request to enchant a second pair of knives for Alexia. He didn’t mind really, and when he thought about it, it made a lot of sense to also enchant Alexia’s weapons. After all, bows were great for long range combat, but of little use at all in a close quarter hand-to-hand battle. Alexia thanked Lusam for her knives, then returned quietly to her game with Renn, leaving Lusam and Neala alone once more. Lusam was grateful for this, because Neala seemed a lot happier now, and snuggled into him as they sat in the corner of the deck together, holding hands, and whispering sweet nothings to each other.