by Des Pensable
He became the master magic artificer. He had always been taught to do the best job possible. He was absolutely determined to make these bodies his finest creations. So he threw all his knowledge, all his experience, all his imagination, creativity and skill into the job.
The first was the body of a spider about as big as a Newman hand. He carefully modelled it as close as he could to the shape of a Llanllean and turned the mind clay to stone, like that of a stone construct.
It should be almost impervious to magic but also have some of the properties of a memcrystal; the most important being sharp vision and the ability to communicate using mindspeak.
Normally a construct would be imbued with a special ability or power but he had too little power available to do that. So he modified the properties of the container so that it could absorb the power of magic cast at it. That would mean that he and Yllandril would actually benefit from offensive magic or mental powers cast at them. They would be able to use the absorbed magic energy to activate their own powers.
The second body he modelled on the memory of himself as a Newman. It seemed such a long time ago that he was Newman. Then instead of stone he reformed the clay as crystal. He knew everything about crystal. He breathed and thought and lived crystal. He could see the structure of crystal with his crystal sight.
He made his body of the aquamarine. Why that type of crystal? He wasn’t sure but it somehow felt right. It looked bluish in some light and at other times more green like emerald, it was physically hard, durable and would be immune to most magic except that designed specifically to target crystals. His crystal body would hold, absorb and slowly regenerate lost magic essence until full. He was ecstatic.
‘The bodies are ready. Do you want me to smash the soul crystal.’ asked Glammer.
He was suddenly worried. Yllandril had been very quiet. What if she didn’t want her new body? To escape, the soul crystal would need to be broken. If it was broken both of them needed a new body or they would die.
‘Are you ready to go Yllandril. I have made you a body.’
‘I’m not sure. I’m scared. I might die.’ she said hesitantly.
‘You’ll certainly die or go mad if you remain here. This is your chance to live again. It’ll be different but surely any body is better than none.’
‘I’m not sure, Aquitain.’
He was really disappointed. To be able to create such marvels then not have them used. It was the ultimate insult to the artisan. Yet he couldn’t force her to go.
‘Please Yllandril. I’ve crafted you a beautiful body. It would be a shame to waste it. Think of your children, your husband, and your friends. This may be your only chance to recapture your life. It’s my gift to you. I ask nothing in return.’
Yllandril was silent for a while then said.
‘You’re right Aquitain. I’ve been selfish. I do want to live again. Smash the soul crystal!’
Glammer heaved the soul crystal off the shelf it was on. It tumbled as it dropped to the dirty stone floor then bounced over the top of the two small bodies lying on the floor awaiting their owners. It bounced a second time but never looked like breaking. It rolled and stopped an arm’s length from the wire cage holding Ansidian in his snake form.
He sat dejected. He was annoyed with himself. He blamed himself for getting caught in the first place and he blamed himself doubly for not being able to help Aquitain. He had tried to warn him but that was not enough. The malign spirit had easily overcome Aquitain and now he was trapped in the soul crystal. It was all his fault. He had failed Lithgala, he had failed AG and now he had failed Aquitain. It was not one of his best days.
The sound of the crystal hitting the floor shattered the silence. He hadn’t noticed anyone enter. He looked up and saw the soul crystal skid to a halt within arm’s reach but he didn’t have arms. He had a snake like body and wings. If only he was in his Newman form he could easily have reached out and picked up the soul crystal. But what then? He couldn’t get Aquitain out.
Then again he had heard the activation word the malign spirit had used. If only he wasn’t in a dead magic area and had arms to reach the crystal he could pick it up and swap his own spirit for that of Aquitain. He would willingly give Aquitain his body and await his own fate in the soul crystal. In a fit of despair he shouted.
‘Gracious Lady Lithgala, I implore you. Please hear me. Give me the power to overcome this dead magic area. Give me the power to change to Newman form so that I might absolve myself of the guilt of my failures. Merciful Lady allow me to change form so that I might help Aquitain escape the crystal prison. Let me suffer for my failures.’
Glammer heard his shout. She was invisible to him, but he wanted to help. He was trapped in one of those silly fake antimagic zones and didn’t know it. She could see he was bound by fate with Aquitain so why not let him help. She loved these dramatic moments.
In a loud beautiful melodic voice she said ‘Ansidian, this is Lithgala, I give you the power to overcome the antimagic zone, change to your Newman form, gather the soul crystal and smash it with all your might.’
Tears of joy flowed down his serpentine cheeks. She had heard him. She had spoken and he felt energized. He changed to his Newman form reached in and picked up the soul crystal and hurled the crystal at the floor with all his strength.
There was a brilliant explosion. One moment Aquitain was confined in the crystal prison then the next there was a bright flash of light and he was floating free in the crypt. The light flash dazzled his senses temporarily blinding him after the absolute darkness of the soul crystal.
He couldn’t see the small Newman shaped crystal body on the floor that attracted his spirit like a magnet would attract iron. He floated towards it and was sucked in. The feeling was wonderful.
He had a body again. He was almost overcome with the seductive sensory feel of it and he had only been out of one for a few days. He waited half a minute for his sense of vision to return. He was on his back so he stood up and the whole room spun around. He was disoriented.
He heard a cry of mental panic from Yllandril.
‘Aquitain, this body won’t work. The legs all move at the wrong time and I’m seeing too much. I can’t feel anything and I can’t smell anything.’
He gathered his thoughts. He could see and hear. He couldn’t feel his body and he couldn’t smell anything. He quickly thought back about the design and remembered.
‘Yllandril, your new body is like that of a construct. It has no nerves going to the body surface therefore you can’t feel anything. It also has no nose so you can’t smell. However, the whole body surface is sensitive to light and sound so you will have extra sensitive vision and hearing.
It might take a bit of time to get used to as you have been without a body for a long time. Your legs will work but you will probably have to relearn how to use them. You will also discover that you will have no emotions. I’m sorry but it’s the best I could do with what I had available.’
‘I’m sorry Aquitain. I don’t want to sound ungrateful but it’s just so strange. I’ve forgotten what it was like to have a body. It’s all so wonderful but confusing at the same time. How can we get out of here if I can’t move or see properly yet?’
‘Let me worry about that. Just try to get your legs working, try raising one at a time until you can work out which is which.’
Aquitain was having a similar problem. Too much light input from every direction. It was disorienting. He had to work out which way was forward and back, up and down.
He imagined if he was in a real Newman body what would he see in front of him. His hands and arms of course. He moved his arms out in front of him and mentally fixed that direction as forward. He then mentally fixed all the other orientations relative to his arms. He could now make sense of everything.
He took a step then another. The legs seemed to work okay. He walked around with his two arms pointing forward and mentally concentrated on the view between his arms that he knew to
be forward. He stopped when he saw something moving in front of him. It was huge. It was a rat scurrying across the floor. It stopped momentarily looking in his direction then continued on its way.
‘Of course, I need to shape change to something more familiar until I can get used to this new body.’ he thought.
He quickly looked internally at his source. It would hold plenty of magic essence but unfortunately he hadn’t had time enough for it to charge up. Now if only someone would use a power on him and his new body should absorb the energy and charge up his source.
‘Glammer, are you around here somewhere?’
No answer. He was on his own. Think Aquitain. How can you get some power? Then it came to him. He had embedded two of his powerstones out of sight in his chaos matter leather looking collar. If the Glammer had brought the collar here the two stones would be lying on the floor somewhere. He oriented his vision to the floor and walked around looking and finally spotted one near Yllandril who was still struggling to work out how to use her legs.
He walked over to the powerstone placed a foot upon it and mentally sought its identity. It was his stone that held two charges of charm. He manifested the power on himself and as the stone released its power felt a warm glow as his body absorbed it. He then released the second charge absorbing its power as well. Now that felt better! He checked his source and it held enough power for him to change form to that of a miniature Newman, but the power failed.
‘Damn’ he thought. ‘This body is immune to magic. It looks like I can’t shape change.’ So he decided to explore around.
He strode off boldly across the crypt floor but after a few Newman sized paces come to a sudden halt when he spotted a Newman sitting on the floor of a steel cage peering towards him in the darkness.
Who’s that? He looks like a prisoner. Ansidian was in that cage before. I wonder what happened to him?
‘Hello. Who are you?’ he asked using mindspeak.
The Newman quickly stood up and started looking around to see where the voice inside his head was coming from.
‘Is that you Aquitain? I can’t see anything it’s too dark. I thought that when I shattered the crystal you would die.’
‘Why did you want me to die?’ asked Aquitain.
‘That’s just it. I didn’t want you to die, but when the goddess said to smash the crystal I thought you would. It seems she has blessed you with yet another body. Lady Lithgala you are truly a wonder!’
Aquitain ignored the comment about the body. It didn’t matter. There were more important questions to ask.
‘I’m getting a little confused.’ said Aquitain.
‘Who are you? There was a snake creature in the cage when I was captured but I have no idea how long ago that might have been.’
‘I have several forms and names. You will have heard of me as Alin Amber and you met me a few days ago as Ansidian. I am sorry about what happened there I was possessed by that wretched spirit. Its intent was to destroy you. I think you have something it wants. It currently inhabits another body and has saved me for another part of its malicious scheme. You must escape.’
‘Who are you working for?’ asked Aquitain.
‘That is difficult to explain. The person I work for has disappeared. I came to Moonmist to find him but unfortunately the spirit that lives here captured me. It possessed my body and attacked you in the cave with Somanller and the other Llanlleans a few days ago. Fortunately, I was able to help you then by limiting its power. You must leave here as this is where it is most powerful.’
‘Don’t you want me to release you from that cage?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Of course, but will you forgive me after all I have done?’ asked Ansidian.
Aquitain thought for a few moments. He must know more about this person. ‘Will you let me mindlink?’
‘It will not work. I’m in a dead magic zone. Your link will not get through.’ replied Alin Amber.
Aquitain could see clearly that there was no dead magic zone and guessed that the malign spirit had used the same magic trick as Llalorax.
‘What you believe to be a magic zone is no more than a very strong compulsion created to give the feel of a dead magic zone. You should be able to mentally block it out. Disbelieve it as if were a visual illusion.’
‘Isn’t Lithgala wonderful? She changed an antimagic field to one more manageable. I can now escape.’ he replied.
Aquitain wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that comment so he didn’t. If this fellow wanted to believe that his goddess went around changing the world just for him who was Aquitain to deny it.
He created the link and saw the spirit aura of Alin Amber. He was a Yith. At the same moment Alin Amber saw the spirit aura of Aquitain, he prostrated himself on the floor of the cage.
‘Forgive me Lord. I did not know.’
Aquitain was shocked. What was a Yith doing helping him? But he recovered quickly. This might be a chance to find out some interesting information.
‘You did not know what?’
‘I did not know A.G. was your father.’
This was where Aquitain made the mistake. He could have asked almost anything and learned a lot but he said. ‘Tell me about A.G.’
Alin Amber looked up at him tried to talk, his eyes glazed and he fell unconscious.
‘Damn those Geas effects. Why is everyone trying to keep me in the dark? If I’m an Agent of Chaos would it be too hard to let me find out what I’m supposed to do? Obviously not, I’m just supposed to wander around ruining everyone’s plans without the slightest clue of what I’m doing.’
Aquitain waited for a couple of minutes until Alin Amber became conscious again.
‘What happened?
‘You blacked out. You must be getting a bit weak from hunger.’ lied Aquitain. ‘Now how about you shape change to a small animal and leave the cage.’
‘I can’t do that my Lord.’ he said ‘I’m in a dead magic zone.’
Aquitain cursed silently and then came up with a new plan of attack.
‘Remember your goddess changed the antimagic field so that you could help me.’
‘That’s right. I remember now.’ He replied and then shape changed to a rat, escaped from the cage, and reformed as Alin Amber outside the cage.
‘We must escape, my Lord.’ he said desperately. ‘I think the horrible spirit put my teleport ring on the table over there. We can use that to escape.’
‘Good. Pick me up and carry me, also pick up the small stone spider on the floor then get the teleport ring and we’ll leave.’ said Aquitain.
Alin quickly picked up Aquitain, searched around until he found the stone spider, grabbed it and ran to the table. The moment he picked up the ring an alarm went off.
‘Quick teleport to this location’ said Aquitain and he gave Alin a mental picture of where to go. Alin had no sooner activated the ring than the malevolent spirit returned. It yelled a string of obscenities in a feminine voice that sounded remarkably like Miranda but was too late. They had escaped.
**
Time passed and then suddenly Miranda’s vision returned. She could see again, hear again, and feel again. The spirit had left her body. It was dark she was in some type of crypt.
She could smell the dead air, the smell of death. She felt around. Bars. She walked around hand over hand feeling for the bars. There were four corners. She was in a cage. She was about to use one of her druid prayers but felt the feeling of the anti-magic zone. It would be a waste. She would have to bide her time. Wait and listen and with luck after a while her eyes would adjust to the dark and she might see a little more.
‘Hello Miranda.’ said Slivver into her mind. ‘I am here to help you. Keep positive and we’ll survive.’
‘Who are you?’ asked Miranda feeling a little better that she wasn’t the only one trapped. ‘Was it you that said that I didn’t kill the little girl. Where are you?’
‘Our fates seem to be intertwined at the moment.’ replied Slivver.
‘Sleep and gather your strength. I will watch over you and alert you if anything happens.’
Chapter 26 Warden of Moonmist
Alin Amber materialized in a small room that looked like a cell. He could feel the draining effect of the dead magic zone. The door was wide open.
‘What have you done? This is a dead magic zone we won’t be able to get out.’
‘Settle down.’ said Aquitain using mindspeak. ‘We will be okay.’
‘How can you use mindspeak in a dead magic zone?’ replied Alin with a surprised look on his face.
‘It must be my new body. Put me down and follow.’
Aquitain marched off down the corridor of the cellblock and noticed Llalorax sitting in one of the rooms using a bucket of water as a makeshift scrying bowl. So he went in.
‘Hello Llalorax, I thought that I’d drop back for a visit.’
Llalorax in Llanllean form was obviously concentrating so much on the bucket that he hadn’t heard them come in. He looked up with a start to see a Newman holding a stone spider and a small crystal statue of a Newman standing on the floor. He quickly shifted to his Newman shape.
‘Er … one of you is Aquitain I presume, but which one?’
Yllandril suddenly moved her legs. Alin Amber got such a shock that he dropped her on the stone floor.
‘Don’t you recognize me you scruffy looking idiot of a mage.’ she said.
Llalorax went rigid as he looked at the stone Llanllean then raced over and picked it up.
‘Is it really you? I thought you were dead. I buried your body.’
‘Well I’m not, thanks to Aquitain, although I’m not quite as pretty as I used to be and I’m very annoyed with you. Aquitain, meet my husband, the archwizard Llalorax, Protector of the Queen of the Elendari but can’t protect his own wife.’
Llalorax looked devastated.
‘I’m sorry my sweet. I searched for weeks when you disappeared. I had the whole clan and half the Queen’s troops searching for you and then you started attacking the villages and killing the people. I didn’t want to believe it was you. Finally you were killed in one of the attacks. They paraded your body in front of the Queen. It was terrible. I think that’s when the Queen and her people started losing faith in me. My information sources dried up. Old friends ignored me but I never lost faith in you. Tell me what happened?’
