by Terry Spear
"You had to go into the cave with the poisonous spiders beyond the door that carries the symbol of poison, right?"
"Yes, but I can no longer open any of the doors. Sarazan took my amulet away from me, thereby removing my apprenticeship."
"Do you know what he was going to do with the poison?"
"Make a potion. You know he befriended all elves and many others, but I suspected the poison was meant for someone who he couldn't befriend. Someone who caused trouble for the elves."
"We can access the doors," Eloria said.
"You…you are the wizard's new apprentice?"
"Uh, sort of. If we can open the door to the spider's cave, can you make the potion?"
"I can make the potion. I just can't extract the poison from one of the spiders."
"Okay, we'll do it and you make the potion."
"But what good will it do? The wizard's already dead."
"That might be true. Or maybe not. What if we could learn who he was going to use the poison on? And we could finish his work?" Eloria asked.
"Maybe it was in his journal. I can help you get to it," Reynaldo said.
"We didn't see a journal," Eloria said. "I guess we weren't really looking for one either."
"He had it well-hidden. If it's still in the same place where he had tucked it away, I can find it."
"Can we help in any way?" Persephonice asked.
"No, thanks though," Viator said. "We were supposed to go to the high elf's castle tonight, but it's going to be too late."
"You can stay here," the dragon king said. "It sounds to me that you will have your work cut out for you when you leave here in the morning. We will provide a dragon escort for those who cannot fly."
"Thank you," Viator said. "We appreciate your generosity."
With that, the king had some of his dragons prepare beds of warm furs for the night and the elves and the langolars ate some of the food that the shadow elves had sent along with them. Afterward, they slept together in the great hall, contemplating all that they'd done and all that they still had to do.
26
The next morning, the dragon king said he'd received a message from the giant king. They could eat all the sturgeon they wanted.
The elves and Eloria and Persephonice cheered. The dragons smiled.
"If you ever need our help, let us know," the king said. "We would serve you morning meal, but I don't believe you'd relish what we eat."
"We appreciated the beds for the night. And we had food with us that we ate this morning. May all remain well with you." Viator bowed low to the king.
Everyone else did the same and the king had four of his dragons carry some of them to the shadow elf realm and the high elf to the green wizard’s memorial.
"You will come see us, won't you?" Persephonice asked Eloria before they parted ways and headed to their destinations.
"We will. As soon as we can complete our tasks. I just hope your father doesn't send anyone else to try and track you down."
"Oh, Jupiter, what if my father put tracking devices on your clothes or your backpack?" Persephonice asked.
"I'll get rid of my clothes." Eloria hated to leave her clothes behind—which made her an individual among the elves, if the rounded ears weren't enough. If the commander had ordered tracking devices tacked onto her clothes or backpack, when the ship returned, he could send trackers to locate her. Why hadn't she thought of it before?
"Maybe you could put them in the cave of spiders. No one would ever be able to get into the cave, but if they managed somehow, they'd never come out," Balen said.
"But then they would be near your kingdom, searching for me."
"True," Viator said.
She pulled the backpack off that Helena had given her while she held onto Viator's back with her legs and he held her legs with his arms to keep her nice and secure. She began pulling clothes out of her backpack and dropping them to the snow-covered forest while everyone hovered in place to wait on her. She truly was leaving her langolar life behind. She tossed her backpack last and then she pulled Helena's backpack back on her shoulders. "All done."
Persephonice sighed. "Are you all right?"
Eloria smiled. "Yeah. It's time to make a stand. This is my home now." She swore she heard Viator let out his breath in relief. "We will see you as soon as we can!"
"See you soon," Persephonice said.
Then they parted ways and Viator asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yes. I feel like I'm shedding the last of my life onboard the ship. It's something I knew I'd have to do, but it still feels like a big step." She hadn't been here long enough to feel like she was part of this world. Everything was so new and different, and there were so many creatures here she'd only read about in myths and legends that made it a fascinating place to explore.
Viator smiled. "It's a good thing for me. I will make sure you have all the clothes you ever need."
She laughed, thinking about her friend who lived for clothes. "On the ship, we have very little space for clothes. It just wasn't a priority for me."
"You will have room galore for your clothes and whatever else your heart desires."
She still couldn't believe that here among the elves, she was someone special, loved even, well, at least Viator loved her. His parents were a different story. And she wished she could cast a spell to make the river elves and blue elves peaceful, rather than so wicked.
"I'd say we could drop by my castle, but I'm afraid my parents wouldn't be happy," Viator said.
Reynaldo said, "The high elves may not be pleased to see me either, if we went there instead."
"We have plenty of food at the green wizard's memorial, if everyone wants to eat there," Balen suggested.
"All right, we'll go there." Viator headed in that direction and when they finally reached the memorial, they all landed.
Reynaldo leaped off the dragon's back and thanked him.
Eloria spoke to the dragon also, thanking him for helping them out.
"You saved our little ones from a certain death. Our thanks can never be enough." The ice dragon bowed his head and then took off for the northern reaches.
Reynaldo waited while Viator, Eloria, and Balen went into the memorial first, as if he felt he wasn't welcome.
"Come, Reynaldo. You know where the wizard's journal is. Maybe that can give us a clue as to what we must do next," Eloria said.
"I cooked all Sarazan's meals," Reynaldo said, still slow to join them.
"Good," Viator said. "We will assist you."
Before long, they were sitting down and eating wild boar and pickled greens. Eloria hadn't thought she'd like these fresh meals that were so different from what their food simulators produced. But it was great. Tasty, not bland. She did wonder if they were getting all the nutrients they needed. The food on the ship had all the required supplements designed specifically for each member.
She finished her food and then opened the journal that Reynaldo had found while they were waiting for the food to cook.
She was reading through the journal, mostly just near the end so she could see what had happened to him.
She read about the issues he'd had with his apprentice and sending him away.
"He wrote about me, didn't he?" Reynaldo asked, sounding dejected as he cleaned up the dishes.
“Some. He was disappointed, but more so in himself. He couldn’t get the poison from the spider either. It doesn’t say why he needed it though.” She read through a few more pages. “Wait, here. He needed a potion.”
“Right. I know how to create it, if we can just get the poison.” Reynaldo shook his head. “One bite from the spider and you’re dead. There are all kinds of creatures, big and small, in the cave that have died because of the bite of the spider.”
“Maybe I can talk to them.”
Reynaldo looked at Eloria like she was crazy.
“She might be right,” Viator said. “She can talk to creatures that we can’t.”
“Do you want to risk losing her?” Reynaldo looked upset that they would want to send her into the cave with the venomous spiders.
“I must do this. If it’s important to aid the green wizard.”
“If he’s alive, Eloria. And if it truly is important,” Viator said.
“It is. For the elves. He was trying to make peace with the creatures of the island of the mist, but they wouldn’t agree, according to his journal. He had one alternative. Use the potion on their leaders to stop them from taking the elves hostage. We have to do it. We have to finish his work. I can do this.” She hoped. “None of you can come with me.”
“I don’t want you to go in alone,” Viator said.
“I should go. It was my mission,” Reynaldo said.
“Together then with Reynaldo,” Eloria said.
Viator drew her into his arms. “What if this doesn’t work? What if you and Reynaldo die?”
“We have to do this. I’m sure of it.”
They all left the wizard’s quarters after that. Reynaldo had grabbed a flask to use to extract the spider’s venom. They went straight to the door that had the poison symbol and it glowed, just like Eloria figured it would. “Just Reynaldo and me.”
“Are you sure you want to do this without us?” Viator asked, kissing Eloria.
“Yeah. I can talk to them. Hopefully, I will be able to convince them we only need a little poison”—she glanced in Reynaldo’s direction to see if he was agreeable—“and then extract it. Since it’s his duty to Sarazan, he should do the extraction.”
Then she opened the door, but before she went into the light-filled cave, she began talking. “I’ve come on a quest to obtain a small amount of poison for the green wizard. He needs it for a potion to aid the elves. Would you be willing to give us some?”
“No one has ever entered our cave and asked for our poison,” something said from the dark.
“Are you okay with it?”
“Why did the green wizard never come for some on his own?”
“Could he speak your language?”
“You are the first.”
“Maybe that's why. Will you allow us to gather some of your poison? And is there anything we can do for you?”
“Now, this is another first. An elf offering to aid my kind.”
She didn’t tell him she wasn’t all elf. If it helped to encourage goodwill between the elves and the spiders, she had done a good thing.
“Come into our cave. We will talk among ourselves about what you could do for us. I will give you the poison you need.”
“Thank you. My friend, Reynaldo, was supposed to take the poison. Is it okay if he does that?” Eloria asked, not wanting Reynaldo to upset the balance, since they seemed to be getting somewhere.
“Can he not ask me himself?”
“No. I’m the only one, possibly a friend of mine also, who can speak with you.”
“All right. But you will come with him and continue to talk to me?”
“Yes.”
“Come in then.”
Eloria and Reynaldo entered the cave and she kept looking around at the wet, mossy walls, searching for any sign of the spiders. She should have thought to ask Reynaldo if he knew how big they were. But then she saw a spider about six feet tall and just as wide, standing half-hidden in the shadows. She nearly had a heart attack.
“Are you the one I spoke to?” Eloria asked.
“Yes. How do you want to do this?”
“Reynaldo has a flask that we can carry the poison in.”
“Then he will have to get closer.”
“Come on, Reynaldo. You must do as the green wizard asked. We have to do this together.”
Then he moved with her, looking as terrified as she felt.
“The other elves don’t want to join us?” the spider asked.
“No. I asked them to stay behind.”
The spider exposed his fangs.
Reynaldo held up the flask with shaking hands.
The spider said, “If he cannot do this, then you should.”
“He can do this.” Eloria knew Reynaldo had to, to prove to himself he could be a great wizard himself someday.
Reynaldo took a fang and milked the venom into the glass vial. “Thank you,” Reynaldo said to the spider.
“Thanks. We’ll return later and you can tell me what you want in exchange for aiding us.”
The spider agreed and Eloria guided Reynaldo out of the cave. He was still shaking with fright, and her own heart was still pounding. When they left the cave, Viator shut the door and wrapped his arm around her waist.
“I think the spider took years off my life,” Viator said.
“Mine too,” Balen agreed.
“You weren’t even as close as we were.” Reynaldo headed into the green wizard’s quarters. “I can make the potion now.”
“Then what?” Viator asked.
“Fire,” Balen said. “We haven’t gone through the door with the fire symbol.”
“But what do we do with the potion?” Eloria asked.
“Well, according to the journal, it has to do with the island of mist,” Viator said.
“I have the potion.” Reynaldo joined them, showing them the flask of blue misty liquid.
“Are you ready to check out the door with the symbol of fire?” Balen asked. “I think we need to complete one or two more quests and we’ll have transparent wings.”
“Yeah, let’s do it.” Viator glanced at Eloria to see if she was ready.
She agreed.
They headed for the fire symbol door, but it was gone. In its place was the door with the symbol of mist.
“The island of mist,” Eloria whispered.
“I have really bad feelings about this,” Balen said.
“But the island is gone. For years,” Viator said.
“I suspect we can reach the island through that door.” Reynaldo was still holding onto the flask.
“Okay, let’s do it.” Viator opened the door and they walked into a room. “This…this place looks familiar.”
Eloria frowned and whispered, “No, it’s…it’s the castle on the isle of mist. How can it be?”
Balen said, “This is not good.”
“What if we’re supposed to rescue more people?” Eloria began looking for a trapdoor in the floor like the other room had but there wasn’t one.
“I don’t see another trap door.” Viator looked out the window. “We’re on the ground floor.”
Balen looked in a closet and said, “Here. A passageway down.”
They followed him into a tunnel that led downstairs. They were using dimmed elven lights, the men’s swords ready when they came to a door.
They all stared at it for a moment, unsure as to what to do next. But then both Eloria’s crystal and Viator’s glowed lightly.
“Be ready,” Viator whispered.
“Let me open it,” Eloria said softly.
He allowed her to open the door and she gasped. An old man was sleeping on a bed, surrounded by a green misty light. It was the green wizard from Eloria’s dreams, his nightshirt of green, his cloak and tall, pointed hat sitting at the foot of the bed, his hair and beard long and white. What was he doing here? On the island of mists?
“Sarazan,” she whispered to him, knowing it was probably a bad idea. What if he had been the one to steal her away to this place earlier? And had her locked up?
But the old wizard turned to her, his green eyes widening. “Oh, Eloria. You and your companions have come to save me.” He frowned at Reynaldo. “No longer a rat, eh? Someone must have shown you some love.”
Reynaldo pulled out the flask. “The potion you requested I make.”
The green wizard smiled.
27
Eloria couldn’t believe that the wizard who had guided her throughout this venture had needed her to save him. If he was a powerful wizard, why wouldn’t he be able to free himself?
“They’ve put a spell on me to keep me here. F
or now, the island is beneath the sea. I made it possible for Eloria to reach me through the crystal and the tunnel in the memorial, but I knew she’d need another to break their spell.”
“What do we do?” Eloria asked.
“You see that vent on the wall? Pour the contents of the vial into the grate. The winged elf and Eloria have done the rest.”
Reynaldo hurried to do it.
The crystals Eloria and Viator were wearing began glowing brightly and the green light surrounding the wizard was fading fast. Once it was gone, Sarazan said, “We must hurry. I can seal the tunnel from the memorial, but we must leave here before they catch us. They’ll get rid of your amulets, and we’ll be stuck here for the next sixty-six years.”
He didn’t need to say another word as they were hurrying through the tunnel to the room where they could reach the door to the memorial. The wizard seemed spry, despite how old he looked with his long white beard and hair.
“I may look decrepit,” he said to Eloria, as if he could read her mind, “but I’m physically as young as you are.”
When they reached the room, she expected alarms to go off, but nothing happened.
“They don’t believe I could set all this in motion to facilitate my escape. Hurry, before they catch us at this though.”
They went through the doorway and ended up in the room of doors. When the wizard shoved the door closed, it disappeared. “You see, it doesn’t exist. They have no way to reach us.”
“Why were you there?” Eloria asked.
“I went there with the notion of making peace with them. I’d heard for years they captured hostages to study while they were under the sea. I’m afraid even I, who have a reputation for making peace with all different kinds of elves, couldn’t with these creatures. The potion was my chance at turning this around, but I couldn’t get to it. I’d left a way out, if you ever returned to us.”
“How long were you there?”
“Too long. Twelve years. I could only contact you through your dreams and hope that someday you would return to our people. I had word that the islanders had taken you hostage, but I couldn’t get to you. They were furious when two winged elves saved you. I still hoped you would come back for me.” Sarazan led them into his living quarters.
