Chains of the Forest

by Darin Niemann

  With that said, Archmage Endrik left the room in his usual calm and collected manor. I found it strange that the man could so quickly change his personality in a moments notice. The servant offered to lead us out and we departed as we had entered. The guards at the gate had the utmost respect for Braddick as we passed, with no sarcasm to be found in their actions. Again, I found it strange that such people could change their ways in mere moments.

  Little was to be said as we made our way back to the Keeper’s tavern. We stopped at a few places along the way for things we might need for the trip east. Braddick said he had enough food for us so we didn’t have to spend money on that, although with the treasure we had it wouldn’t have been a problem at all. Braddick also had us stop to purchase horses, although Braddick chose a smaller pony to ride.

  That night, we retired early after preparing as best we could and rested. The following morning we ate together before departing for the eastern gate. Outside the wall, a sizable party awaited us. The guards and citizens that were up and about at the break of dawn pointed in wonder at the large gathering of mages. Indeed, in all my days spent within the town of Greypoint I hadn’t seen more than a mage or two together at any single moment. Now though, a contingent of mages along with their mounts gathered alongside the road, all prepared to follow the orders of the Archmage Endrik. The man himself stood about speaking with a few other mages and directed orders. Braddick approached Endrik while Elana and I trailed behind.

  “It be good ye ain’t takin’ the situation lightly.” He commented as he glanced around at the group. There appeared to be at least thirty or forty mages ready to head out with us. I was impressed at the amount of firepower we now had. Even if the beast had somehow awakened and gained power, we had a small army of mages at our backs. It made me wonder if the lost dwarven city had fought with their own mages as well.

  The Archmage nodded, “It would be foolish to let such a creature grow in strength. As such, the other Archmages and I have agreed to lend a sizable amount of strength. I will of course be the only Archmage within the group.”

  Braddick, for once, had a genuine grin on his face as he faced Endrik. The dwarf shifted his own pack on his shoulder. “Once an adventurer…”

  The old dwarf trailed off, only to have the old mage smile and finish, “...Always an adventurer.” The two of them chuckled.

  “Though if I have to say, I hope it to be the last one. I'm getting much too old for traversing the wilds.”

  Braddick nodded, “Aye, I can nay argue with that.”

  The Archmage finally turned and introduced his companions. “These two here are my apprentices. Rex and Delroy. Apprentices, meet Braddick, Ruvaen, and the lovely Elana.” Rex had red hair and dark eyes while Delroy had brown hair with grey eyes. The two apprentices wore the same white robes as all the other mages. Although, unlike Endrik’s five black bands, their sleeves contained four. From what I remembered Amara telling me, it meant that Endrik was an Archmage and the other two were Mages. The two apprentices nodded respectfully at us and we returned the gesture.

  After the greetings, the Archmage commanded the apprentices, “Let us depart. We have a creature to find.”

  With that, the apprentice named Rex sent out a small jet of fire straight up into the sky. The nearby mages, seeing the signal, grouped up and prepared to ride. Everyone mounted and away we went. The Archmage and his apprentices took the lead while Braddick, Elana, and I followed immediately after. The rest of the mages followed in an orderly fashion, apparently having been split into smaller groups beforehand.

  The journey to the forest’s edge was roughly three to four days on foot so we could likely make it in half that time on horses if we pushed it. And we did. We would sprint our horses for a while before slowing them to a trot and kept rotation that way. During the more leisurely trots, the Archmage plied his supposed charm upon Elana with countless praises and compliments. Braddick would grumble all the while, while Elana tried her best not to laugh at the old man attempting to woo her. Even the apprentices of Endrik were giving sympathetic looks to the the elven woman. She would politely accept whatever compliments the Archmage showered on her and didn’t let it bother her. I even saw a slight smile on her face as we traveled.

  That night, none of us had to take watch as the Archmage assigned a group of mages to lay down a magical circle around our large camp that would warn the casters of any attempted intrusion. It was a handy spell and I commented such. Delroy said that it was mostly done using earth magic. I began to think of training myself more fully with another element after the Devourer had been dealt with. I fell asleep that night thinking of the other elements that would be useful to have access to.

  Our journey to the edge of the forest was without trouble. Perhaps that had to do with the fact that we traveled with over thirty mages as companions. I couldn’t imagine that anything would purposely start a fight with this many mages. It made me feel safer with chasing after the Devourer. Once we entered the forest, I found it hard to recognize the place. It had changed drastically from my long stay in the past.

  No longer was the forest dull and muted with grey hanging about and the endless, sunless days. Color showed from the various trees, foliage and fauna around. The various animals surprised me the most. Rabbits, squirrels and birds flitted about on occasion. It wasn’t overly populated with such creatures but the fact that the forest contained them at all astonished me. Before there had been no sign of life other than the muted trees and the lazy, sluggish fish within the rivers. Within me, I was torn between feeling glad that the forest appeared more bountiful while on the other hand being reminded of the fact that I had unleashed the Devourer from its prison.

  Eventually we reached a clearing within the forest that was sizable enough for the entire party and their horses to rest. A small stream ran through as well, which the horses drank at while the riders filled water pouches and canteens upstream from them.

  The Archmage called us over along with his two apprentices.

  “We shall do a scrying here. It will track any magic essence within a range, which we will use to locate the creature. Even in its weakened state it should have trace amounts within it.”

  The apprentices and Endrik made some preparations that meant little to me. Specific materials were brought out of a securely fastened, obradian lockbox and mixed together. They were then placed within an eight sided glass cylinder and sealed with a stopper. After the preparations were made, the Archmage chanted under his breath while holding a hand over the cylindrical vial containing the materials. At the end a flash of light from a pure flame came from within the vial. After, Endrik lifted the vial into the air and spoke a word so softly that I couldn’t hear. The ingredients within the vial, now a sort of red ash or dust, immediately rushed to one side of the vial. The Archmage turned the vial but the dust move to always be closest to the same direction.

  Endrik smiled and gestured at the vial. “It seems the Devourer lay in that direction.” He indicated the direction the red power seemed to want to move in.

  Elana was the first to question, “How does it know what magic to find? We are surrounded by mages.”

  The Archmage grinned broadly at the question from the elf. “An excellent question, Elana. The answer here is that magic requires intent. In fact, it is the most important part of using magic. Without intent, magic can be a wild force, unpredictable and unstable. Mages are those who simply give intent to the magic flowing within us.”

  It was my turn to speak up, “So you intended for the magic to ignore our group and find another source?”

  Endrik nodded, “Exactly.”

  Braddick grunted, “Let’s just find the beast an’ be done with it.”

  The Archmage nodded in agreement and called for the party to prepare to move. As the forest was fairly large, it took us another day of traveling to find the source of the magic marked by the scrying spell. We knew we had arrived when we entered a modest sized clearing that contai
ned a small pool of water. Endrik, Braddick, Elana and I all stopped at the water’s edge. The red dust within the cylindrical vial had finally settled to the bottom of the container. Looking out over the pond, fish dotted the surface of the water. They were clearly dead, floating lifelessly atop the pool.

  Elana looked around with questioning eyes, her bow held at the ready. “Is it here?”

  The Archmage looked worried as he called over his apprentices and they began to prepare for another scrying ritual in the hopes of finding the Devourer nearby. Braddick had a scowl on his face as he gazed out over the water. Unable to answer Elana, I anxiously awaited the word from the mages as they cast their scrying spell once again. After some time, they finally had prepared another vial and recast the spell. This time, though, the red ash at the bottom sat still and unmoving.

  The Archmage’s face looked troubled as he approached us once again. “It seems that the creature is gone. No trace of it could be found within the range of the spell.”

  Stunned, I asked. “It’s not here? How is...”

  Braddick interrupted me as he spat, “It’s gone, boy. We be too late. By the looks of them there fish, it no doubt left the forest days ago. And who knows how fast it can travel.”

  “Where did it go?” I asked, concerned that I had failed in the task the goddess had set before me.

  Braddick shook his head, “I ain’t got a clue but I can tell ye this much.” He paused then finally turned to face the rest of us. His eyes hardened as he spoke. “It be hunting now.”

  Epilogue

  The hunter wiped his sweaty brow as he paused in his hunt. He had been tracking this deer trail for a few days now. At first, he thought it would be an easy kill but it seemed that the deer had an uncanny ability to always sense when he was near. The problem was that the deer had begun to approach orc lands. If he didn’t catch it today he would be forced to return home empty handed. It was too risky to head deeper into orc territory and chance an encounter. He was no warrior. Even if he was a decent shot with his bow, fighting an orc hunting pack was impossible for a single man, or so the hunter thought.

  His thoughts were interrupted by a sound off to his right where the trail lead. The thick foliage prevented the hunter from having sight of whatever it was that made the noise. He readied his bow. Surely it had to be the deer. His luck was finally turning up. Perhaps the deer had backtracked along its own trail. Sometimes it happened. Or so he had heard from other hunters.

  He approached the thick foliage, seeing very small opening that would lead him through. Squeezing through, he found himself on the opposite side in a tiny open space bereft of any of the surrounding trees. He knocked an arrow and aimed at the first thing he saw but a confused look crossed the hunters face. His bow slackened as he looked upon the deer before him. It lay on the ground, though it appeared untouched as if sleeping. He noticed that, after a few heartbeats, the deer wasn’t breathing. Dead then. But how? As he asked this question he heard another noise again from his right. He turned again raising his bow but he nearly dropped it in shock. A hideous creature he had never seen before stood before him.

  The creature was nearly black with a slight red hue. It had a pair of leathery wings upon its back with horns sprouting from its head. Standing on two legs, it had the clawed fingers and toes similar to that of a wild beast. The thing appeared naked though it had nothing of note to define its gender. It looked at the hunter with glowing red eyes as it licked its lips and smiled, providing a glimpse of its numerous yellowed fangs.

  It began to approach the hunter with heavy steps while the man stumbled back in fright. He desperately drew back his bow and fired. The arrow went wide and the beast grinned even wider still making his way patiently towards the hunter. The hunter panicked then, dropping his bow and turning to run. He only made it halfway into the bush before his movement was suddenly stopped. He also couldn’t breathe. The hunter looked down to find four blackened claws piercing his chest. It had stuck him as a pitchfork sticks into hay and lifted him into the air. The hunter’s sight slowly faded as he felt something pulling at him. Soon, all became darkness.

  Afterword

  Well, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed reading about Ruvaen’s adventures! If you want to read more from me you can check out my other book, The Student. And, even though I’m not the best at communicating with you all, I set up a twitter so that I could announce future book releases. Find me @niemann_dl.

  Also if you could take a moment and leave a review on Amazon I would really appreciate it. As a self-published author, it’s my main form of advertising.

  For those of you who read the first book and are still here, I thank you. Know that I read every review because, at the end of the day, I write these for everyone's enjoyment and your opinions matter to me. It may not be the best book in the history of mankind, but if you enjoyed the read then I feel as if I have accomplished my goal.

  And last, but certainly not least, I wish to thank a few more people. First, my small group of ‘beta’ readers who took the time and effort to fix many of the flaws in the novel It wouldn’t be what it was without all of your help. I won’t be naming anyone, but you know who you are. Then there is Brian Stivers, a good friend who also happens to be a talented artist. He drew the cover art for this novel and I am extremely happy with it.