First Comes The One Who Wanders

by Lynette S. Jones

  The maid came again and took her clothes, leaving food in their place. Leilas ate quickly then fell into a dreamless sleep. When she awoke the next morning, her clothes had been returned. She dressed and stepped outside to find Erion and Kai waiting for her.

  “I thought perhaps you were going to sleep the whole morning away,” teased Erion, as she approached. “We’ve been waiting for hours. The ship is being stocked. Garabaldi is overseeing the lading. We should be able to sail with the tide.”

  “I’m anxious to be on our way. I have a feeling that time is getting short.”

  “The news from Solea is grim,” said Erion. “Messengers came while we were away.”

  “I thought from Frey’s departure something must have happened,” replied Leilas.

  “Reinforcements reached Barat and fortified the city. The elves weren’t sure how many or what sort of creatures made up the reinforcements, but some were crafters because they felt the magic they used.” Leilas nodded. She’d seen Joshuas and Ariel in her dreams. “Brenth has been leading forays from the forest against the enemy around Barat. They’ve had some success in disrupting the enemy, but not any of consequence. The effect the gaunts have makes it hard to lead a sustained attack. The gaunt masters have gathered near Barat. The messengers believe the dark masters are about to begin a massive attack there. If they succeed in defeating the city, they’ll have all of Solea.

  “All the gaunt masters are at Barat?” asked Leilas.

  “All but the two who hold Dirth and Andresia.”

  “Then the two that were with Garabaldi have returned to Barat, as has Gidron. Now I understand his haste in leaving. The defeat of Solea is more important than stopping me, right now.” She felt a small ray of hope. “If we found a way to stop the gaunt masters, we could have sweeping victory at Barat.”

  “If we could find a way,” agreed Erion.

  “We need to finish what we have begun, so we have complete success then,” said Leilas, feeling lighter than she had in a long time.

  Erion cast a puzzled glance at Kai, but said nothing. Leilas knew he probably thought she’d finally lost her mind. But she had to believe Joshuas’ and Ariel’s arrival in Barat meant they had a plan to defeat the gaunts.

  “If you’re ready, we’ll go to the ship,” said Kai. “We waited to accompany you.” Leilas retrieved her new pack, the old one having been left at Solaero, and the three of them left Nereid for a second time, heading for the inlet and Sylph’s ship.

  Garabaldi was on deck, ordering the elves loading supplies around self-importantly. The elves let him believe he was in charge, while they continued stocking the ship. Kai went to confer with some of the elders, while Leilas and Erion boarded the ship and stowed their gear below. When the ship was stocked, the elves disembarked, saying their goodbyes as the tide began to turn. Of its own accord, the ship moved down the inlet toward the open sea. The small group of travelers stood at the stern and watched the open sea approach, wondering what would come.

  Garabaldi still looked a bit green, but his bout of sea-sickness had finally subsided. This was the first day in a week he’d braved the open air. “Gnomes were never meant to travel the sea,” he remarked, gripping the rail tightly.

  “The dark tunnels of Crysalis are more to your liking?” asked Leilas.

  “At this point, any dark tunnel on dry land,” replied Garabaldi, his cheeks puffing out with a suppressed belch.

  “Kai says we should reach the first island of the Outer Reaches in a few days.”

  “What do you hope to find there?”

  “The true temple of Sylph and the last piece of the staff,” replied Leilas.

  “And?” asked Garabaldi, knowing this was not all she hoped to find.

  “The way to the Chasm of Ceryk,” she added.

  “A place we have all heard of, but no light creature has ever seen,” said Garabaldi, staring out onto the water. “Or any dark creature who does not embrace Rengailai’s evil. I won’t be able to accompany you there.”

  “Then what were you sent to do, Garabaldi?”

  “To help you assemble the staff,” replied the dark crafter. “That’s my destiny.”

  Leilas looked at him in surprise. It had never occurred to her that she would need help assembling the staff. Yet, she knew it to be the truth as soon as he spoke it. It was a staff made from both light and dark power. Though she had both light and dark within her, her magic was only light. That was why none of the pieces would fit together. It was the last portent that the time was right, when both light and dark sought to restore the balance, not one force hoping to use the staff to destroy it.

  “If you help me do this, your masters will kill you,” said Leilas, turning to him with concern in her eyes.

  “Didn’t you accept your destiny knowing you might not return from the journey?”

  “So, we’re very much the same, you and I.”

  “No, I’m but a servant. You are the Chosen One.” Garabaldi turned back to the sea. “A gnome should die in the darkness of a well-constructed cave.”

  “So he should,” agreed Leilas, falling silent. They stood looking out to sea in silence until Erion joined them. He stood at the rail and looked in the direction they were looking.

  “I see nothing different from what I’ve seen for the last seven days,” he said at last.

  “Nor do I,” said Kai, coming to join them.

  “That doesn’t mean there aren’t yet undiscovered truths to find out there beneath the waters.” Leilas turned to face them. “Garabaldi and I were just standing here discovering truths.”

  “Hopefully, he told you some, finally,” remarked Erion. “Like what he’s really doing here.”

  “I have always answered you truthfully, my elf friend. I’m here doing my master’s bidding.”

  “That has always been the part that worries me,” retorted Erion. “I can’t imagine your master’s bidding bodes any good for the rest of us.”

  Leilas was about the set him straight, but a slight shake of Garabaldi’s head stopped her. She didn’t know why he didn’t want the rest of their group to know his real reason for being here, but she respected his wishes.

  “Rengailai and Dredrac don’t have your best interests in mind,” agreed Garabaldi, “or Gidron Frey for that matter.”

  “Why would you even include him with Rengailai and Dredrac?” asked Erion.

  “Because he has become very powerful since he found the Book of Rengailai,” replied Garabaldi. “He still has an important part to play in all of this.”

  “Not a good part,” said Erion.

  “Look out there,” Kai drew their attention away from the brewing argument to a small speck off to the side of the ship.

  “What is it?” asked Leilas, her apprehension rising in response to the tension she felt in Kai.

  “I can’t be sure,” the elf maiden replied, the excitement rising in her voice. “It looks like Kreel. I haven’t seen him for years. I wonder what brings him back.” Kai had stopped running back and forth and was studying the growing dot on the horizon.

  “Perhaps this is where he lives,” suggested Leilas, having a good idea as to what Kai was referring, even though she couldn’t see it yet.

  “It would be a nice place to live,” agreed Kai. “There are many seals, dolphins and whales here. They’re safe because so few come this way.”

  “Perhaps Kreel protects them,” said Leilas, watching the spot on the horizon grow as it came closer.

  “Protects a whale?” said Garabaldi, incredulously. “Why, it would have to be a sea dragon to be able to do that.”

  “Exactly,” said Kai and Leilas together.

  “Sylph’s contribution to the sea,” added Kai.

  “I tried to talk with Kreel, but he didn’t seem very interested,” said Leilas. “But he followed us for almost a week, up near the Isle of Mer.”

  “He doesn’t usually roam so far north,” said Kai. “Perhaps he was asked to protect you.”
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  “That’s what I thought,” said Erion. “Leilas wasn’t as sure.”

  “He must be our guide to the temple,” said Kai. “How wonderful to spend time with him again.”

  Leilas wasn’t sure spending time with a sea dragon was something she’d consider wonderful, but she was relieved that a light crafter had sent Kreel to protect her, rather than Frey or Rengailai sending it to fight her.

  The ship slipped quietly through the water as Kreel moved in a direction to intercept them. The island was in sight when Kreel came close to the ship. “Kreel, ya me to vi,” said Kai, to the creature who dwarfed their ship.

  “Ya me to vi,” said the creature, in a deep echoing voice. “Ya ti fo Neireid.”

  “Yes, we are a long way from home,” replied Kai in the common tongue, so everyone was included in the conversation.

  “Very few come this far,” said Kreel. Leilas began to wonder if he’d been sent to lead them to the Temple of Sylph. He didn’t sound as if he’d been expecting to find them in these waters. Yet, it was the same sea dragon that had been following the Silver Seal. She recognized him by the missing tooth.

  “They fear running into you my friend,” replied Kai.

  Kreel laughed a bubbly laugh that was more frightening than reassuring. “So they are,” he laughed again. “Rightly so. A sea dragon can be a formidable foe.”

  “Or an invaluable ally,” replied Kai, not put off by his words.

  “What is it you seek in Sylph’s ship, so far from home?” asked Kreel, rolling a bit closer to the ship.

  “What lies at the end of this journey,” replied Leilas.

  Kreel bubbled in the water again. “Game playing is for dragons, Chosen One. We’ve been doing it since time began. You will not win if you choose to play.”

  “We seek the Temple of Sylph,” replied Leilas, after considering the dragon’s words.

  “You won’t find it where you’re headed.”

  “If that were true, why would Sylph bring us here?” asked Leilas in return.

  Kreel rolled over until just his red eye was visible above the water. Then, with a flick of his tail, he moved away from them. The ship continued toward the island. The four on deck watched Kreel until he came to rest in a cove about five miles by sea from their destination.

  “What do you think that was about?” asked Leilas, turning to the others.

  “Kreel is a friend to the sea elves and to Sylph,” said Kai. “Whatever that warning was about, it was given in friendship.”

  “A warning not to explore this island,” agreed Leilas.

  “We need to replace our water supply, at the least,” said Erion. “Perhaps do some hunting for fresh food. Besides, we aren’t controlling this vessel. If this is where it stops, I’m not sure how we are going to make it go somewhere else.”

  Leilas had been thinking along those lines. This boat had been their guide for quite some time. They’d trusted it was taking them to the last piece of the staff. If they chose this moment to begin to doubt that, would they even find the temple? “If the ship stops here, then there must be a reason,” said Leilas. “Even if it’s to get water. Maybe Kreel is speaking the truth and the temple isn’t here. That doesn’t mean we begin to doubt we’re following the proper course.”

  “We should remember that dragons like to play games and make people guess at riddles,” added Garabaldi.

  Kai frowned at the direction the conversation was taking, but refrained from saying anything. Leilas turned to her and crossed her arms. “Is there something you wish to add? After all, you are part of this group, now?”

  “I don’t believe Kreel misleads us. If the ship stops at this cove, then I believe something is wrong.”

  “Unless he speaks in riddles,” said Garabaldi, again.

  “Then we’re agreed,” said Erion. “We’ll go ahead cautiously.”

  “I don’t see that we have many other options,” said Garabaldi.

  Leilas had to agree with him. Although Kai didn’t look happy, Leilas could see that she’d also agreed they didn’t seem to have any other choice but to go where the ship took them, unless Kreel was willing to take them. Leilas shook her head at the thought. The sea dragon hadn’t seemed inclined to do much of anything for them. Yet, he was here, watching them.

  The ship began to slow as it reached the island then slowed and headed for the natural harbor of the island. Kai was looking toward the cove where Kreel was resting, a frown crossing her beautiful face. Leilas couldn’t help but worry. Why would Sylph have his ship come here, then send his dragon to tell them this was the wrong place?

  The ship came to a stop in the harbor. The four on deck looked at the beach suspiciously. What had been hopeful anticipation a few hours ago was now anxious worry. Loading several of the water barrels in the launch, they lowered it to the water then climbed down the ladder and settled themselves in front of the oars. Within a few minutes, they were pulling the launch onto the shore and securing it. When the water barrels stood in the area where they’d made camp, they looked around the beach for the most promising direction for finding water then started in that direction.

  “Do we get back on the ship after we get the water and see if it takes us somewhere else? Or do we explore the island?” Leilas asked Erion.

  “That was the question I was going to ask you,” replied the elf.

  “Great,” said Leilas, under her breath, trudging on behind the other three.

  They were heading toward a canyon that lay between two cliffs rising up about a half-mile back from the shore. It seemed likely they’d find water there. Erion had one of the barrels strapped to his back. If they did find a water source, they would have to find a better way to get the barrel back to camp.

  As soon as they entered the canyon, Leilas could feel the magic. It was old and strong. She couldn’t tell if it was light or dark. For once, the magic seemed to step outside those bounds. She took two more steps before she realized it was a trap. Garabaldi recognized it at almost the same moment. Their shields of protection went up simultaneously. At the rumbling, they all turned and began to run out of the canyon. The earth began to shake and rocks began to fall from the cliffs. The four scrambled through the canyon, avoiding boulders coming to rest in their path or bouncing past in front of them. When they reached the beach, Leilas stopped to catch her breath, her hand on the stitch in her side. “That was a bit too close for comfort,” she said in-between gasps.

  “Not at all natural,” remarked Garabaldi, gasping almost as much as Leilas.

  “I didn’t recognize the magic,” said Leilas.

  “Nor did I,” replied Garabaldi. “Though it could have been–,” he stopped and frowned.

  “Kreel,” Kai finished the sentence. “He’s warning us not to explore this island.”

  “Is that what that was?” asked Leilas, sarcastically. “A warning?”

  “Kreel is a friend and a servant of Sylph,” replied Kai, stubbornly. “So yes, a warning.”

  Leilas rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue. Instead, she started back for the spot they’d chosen to spend the night. The wood was already laid, so she conjured fire and touched it to the kindling. Dropping her pack, she followed it down. She was tired, angry and torn, not quite knowing how to proceed. If they were going to go back to the ship to wait, they needed water. If Kreel wouldn’t let them search for water, then perhaps they weren’t supposed to go back to the ship. Nor were they to search in the direction of the canyon. The only other logical direction was toward the cove where Kreel was waiting.

  Leilas declined Kai’s offer of food and closed her eyes. One way or another, they were going to meet Kreel again. Better sooner, than later, as far as she was concerned.

  CHAPTER 37

  Leilas was resolved when she arose the next morning. They would hike to the cove from here. It had only been a half a day’s journey by sea. She wasn’t sure how far by land. She wasn’t willing to chance re-boarding the ship, only to have it set sail
for Seal Haven and her empty-handed.

  Explaining her plan over breakfast, the others agreed the plan seemed reasonable. They hid the launch and water barrels and struck out across the shore of the island. As the harbor turned back out toward the sea, they turned inland and began to trek through scrub brush and rock as they made their way across the island. The breeze from the ocean kept them cool until they slipped down into a sheltered valley. Here, the air was humid and hot, insects were everywhere and the smell of decaying vegetation was cloying.

  They talked little as they traveled. A need for stealth seemed to have gripped them, though Leilas could find no reason for their concern. Kai came to a halt at the edge of a marsh that seemed to go on for miles.

  “There’s a path through here. Follow close and don’t deviate. The water is deep and deadly if you make the mistake of falling.”

  It didn’t look like water and it didn’t look as though it would be deep, but Leilas took the warning to heart and stayed close behind the other three. Even with Kai and Erion pointing the way, it was hard work finding footholds that didn’t give way or allow her to sink up to her knees. They’d barely gone half a mile before she was exhausted and covered in muck from the swamp. The others didn’t seem to be having the same problems, perhaps because they were smaller and surer of foot than she. Slowly, she was getting farther behind. The others didn’t seem to notice and she was too busy finding her way to call out to them to wait.

  When she did finally try and get them to stop and wait for her, they acted as though they didn’t hear her and continued walking. She stopped, cupped her hand to her mouth and shouted louder. This time, it seemed to her, the marsh swallowed up the sound as soon as she uttered it. Now, she was beginning to worry. It seemed as if some force was purposely trying to separate her from her friends. Removing her axe from her belt, she continued slogging her way through the muck. Whatever trail the others were following had long since disappeared.