“Actually,” said Brachia, “I think she just says that when she gets tired of arguing. I wish I could say it and stop the arguing. I’d say, ‘Dren, you must clean my room. This is the way it must be.’ Wouldn’t that be funny?”
Brachia broke out in a fit of laughter. Richard smiled. Dren did not.
Finally, they came to an elaborately carved set of double doors that were made of wood so aged it had turned black. The doors were massive, but Brachia opened them easily with a single push.
Richard followed the children inside. They walked into a large room with a polished marble floor and a high, dome-shaped ceiling. The room was a full fifty meters across and twice as long. It was well lit with overhead lighting. The room’s only accoutrements were two large floor pillows at the far end of the room. A small boy sat on one of the pillows. Richard didn’t think he was older than ten.
Richard started to walk forward, but he halted when he noticed the children had stopped.
“Is that the Oracle?” Richard said.
“Yes,” said Dren. “He wants to talk to you alone. Brachia and I would like to start working on the staff. Would you mind summoning the gate device? Nickelo, can you give Rick the specs?”
“I have them right here,” said Nickelo.
An image of an arm-length rod appeared on Richard’s heads-up display along with a series of cryptic codes.
“Okay,” Richard said, “but I’m not sure this is going to work. It looks like pretty advanced technology. I may not have enough Power.”
Removing his pack, Richard pictured the device in his mind. Richard sent the image to his dimensional pack. He did not feel any Power leave his reserve. Without much hope, Richard opened the flap on his pack. A thin, whitish, glass-looking tube was inside. Richard pulled the glass tube out. The whitish tube was warm to the touch.
“Is this it?” Richard said. “It looks smaller than I expected, and I don’t sense an unusual amount of Power radiating from it.”
“That’s the gate device, Rick,” said Dren. “One of the gems you brought will supply the Power.”
“Here,” said Brachia as he handed his gem back to Richard. “I think you should put this one in your pack as a backup. We can use Dren’s for the staff.”
“Are you sure?” Richard said. “What if it gets lost in the pack somehow?”
“We’re sure,” said Dren. “It’s more likely to get lost if you keep it in that pouch on your belt.”
“You know,” Richard said, “when we first started this mission, I would never have thought I’d be taking orders from a six year old boy and a twelve year old girl. But times have changed me, I guess.”
Richard placed Brachia’s gem in his dimensional pack and closed the flap. He reopened the flap. The gem was gone.
“Well, for better or worse, it’s done,” Richard said. “Is that all you need?”
“No,” said Dren. “We’d like to take Nick with us if you don’t mind. We could use his help modifying the staff’s connection to work with the gem.”
“Yeah,” said Brachia. “And, could we take your dimensional pack as well? I know it only works for you, but Nick could send you the specs for any tools or equipment we might need. Surely you could summon them from a distance, and we could pull them out of the pack without you being there. I mean, after all, the pack is just a fancy teleport device attuned to you.”
“Nick?” Richard said.
“That would work, Rick,” said Nickelo. “Only you can summon items with your pack, but I believe anyone could remove them. It would certainly save time if we could be working on the staff while you are talking to the Oracle.”
“Alright,” Richard said as he removed his battle helmet and dimensional pack and handed them to Dren. “I want them back, you know.”
“I’ll take good care of them, Rick,” said Dren.
“Me too,” said Brachia as he snatched the battle helmet out of Dren’s hands and stuck it on his head.
“Look at me,” Brachia shouted. “I’m a wizard scout pirate.”
He took off running out the door and down the hallway.
“Brachia,” Dren shouted as she ran to catch her brother. “Nick’s not a toy. You need to grow up.”
Richard stood still until the children’s footsteps faded away. Finally, he turned and walked towards the boy on the pillow. The boy said nothing. He just sat there watching Richard with a slight smile on his face. When Richard was only a few steps away, the boy spoke.
“Welcome, wizard scout. We have been waiting for you for a very long time. Please have a seat,” said the boy gesturing to the pillow opposite him.
Richard shrugged his shoulders and sat cross-legged on the empty pillow. When he was settled, he said, “You said, ‘we’. Are there more than one of you?”
“Oh, yes,” said the boy. “There are many of us. We have been on Portalis for a very long time.”
“I see,” Richard said. “I have to be honest. It’s strange seeing a small boy as the Oracle. I was expecting someone a little more, how shall we say… mature.”
The boy smiled. “I understand, wizard scout. Perhaps you would like to wait seventy or eighty years until this body is old and decrepit, and until I have white hair and a long beard. Would that make you feel better?”
If someone else had said those words, Richard might have taken it as an insult. But, the boy said them in a tone that was jovial as well as friendly.
“Yes, that would probably make me feel better,” Richard answered back with a smile of his own. “However, I don’t think we have seventy or eighty years to spare.”
“No,” said the boy more seriously, “we do not. I sent the High Priestess Remozorz to the ruins to find you weeks ago. I had been expecting you. I’ll admit the children were an unexpected surprise. As it turns out, they have proven to be as important to our task as you.”
“I thought you were a prophet,” Richard said. “Do you mean you don’t ‘know all and see all’ with your crystal ball or whatever you use?”
The boy’s eyes sparkled with amusement, and he laughed.
“Hardly, wizard scout,” said the boy. “We know much and see much, but even so, it is only snatches of the future. We have to make a lot of assumptions. On most days, we would be hard pressed foretelling what we will be having for breakfast the next day. Still, we do see enough to make useful suggestions on occasion.”
“So,” Richard said, “do you have a suggestion, or should I say a prophecy, for me?”
“We think you already know much of what we wanted to tell you, wizard scout. We foresaw you would be the one to acquire the energy source for the staff. We had a plan to send you to the spiritual dimension, but the master demon sent you there first.”
“Well, it all worked out for you then, didn’t it?” Richard said.
“We shall see, wizard scout. We would not have teamed you with those spirit wolves. While they are not instruments of evil, they are not instruments of good either. Whether having them as your allies will turn out for good or ill, we cannot say.”
“I thought you saw into the future,” Richard said. “Don’t you know what will happen?”
“No, wizard scout,” said the boy with a shrug of his shoulders. “How would we know? We see possibilities, but we do not know. You are from our future. Perhaps you are in a better position to tell what will happen than we.”
Richard didn’t think he was in any position to know what would or would not happen. In any regard, he was growing tired of the conversation. It was past midnight, and he just wanted to sleep for a few hours.
“Why did you want to see me?” Richard said. “I’m a little tired to tell the truth. I imagine the children are as well.”
At that moment, an image of some complicated instruments and tools popped into Richard’s mind. He sensed his battle computer behind the images. Dutifully, Richard imagined the items. He felt Power leave his reserve.
“We see that we are boring you, wizard scout,” said the
boy. “Very well, we will proceed. We believe you will champion our people’s cause from time to time as the years go by.”
“I’m no champion,” Richard said. “I try to mind my own business whenever I can.”
The boy smiled again. “A true champion is ever modest. You helped the High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen retrieve the seed. The fruit of your efforts now guards one of the gates on our world.”
“Are you talking about Shandria?” Richard said. “We helped each other. The master demon told me she died thousands of years ago. Was he lying?”
“Ah,” said the boy. “What is truth? The High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen no longer exists in body on Portalis. Her reign as High Priestess ended in tragedy eleven thousand years ago. She remains only in spirit and in the hopes of our people.”
Richard felt sadness sweep over him. He’d hoped the master demon had lied about the elf. He would like to have seen and talked to her again. For some reason, an image of another female elf kneeling before him flashed in his mind. Richard felt peace replace the sadness.
“Would you like to see the elf again?” said the boy. “The High Priestess left a message for you.”
“I thought you said Shandria was dead,” Richard said. Hope filled his heart again.
“We said she existed only in spirit,” said the boy. “But, surely your world has ways of recording the words of others long after they have passed onto the next great adventure.”
“You mean like a video?” Richard said.
“We are not familiar with the term video,” said the boy. “However, we believe the concept is the same as that of which we speak.”
The boy pulled a small piece of crystal from underneath his pillow. “The High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen gave this to one of my forbearers. We have preserved it for the time of your coming. Just hold the crystal in the palm of your hand and think of her.”
The Oracle handed the crystal to Richard who eyed it suspiciously.
“Now, we shall leave you to your thoughts. We do not think we shall meet again in this form, wizard scout. I suspect when you next return, my body will have long turned to dust. But, you will be welcomed by my successor, I have no doubt.”
The boy stood up. Richard stood up as well.
“When you are done here, seek the children out. They have their ponies ready to go. You have three days to take the staff to the gnome. If you fail, then the inhabitants of three galaxies are doomed. Farewell, wizard scout.”
The boy turned and began walking towards a small side door.
“Wait,” Richard said.
The boy stopped and turned back around. He smiled knowingly.
“Is that it?” Richard said. “I thought you were going to help us.”
The boy continued to smile. “You have many who are willing to help you, wizard scout. I am not the only one. Sometimes, you get help when you least expect it and from the least expected source. I will tell you this, wizard scout. ‘The One’ is not your enemy nor is ‘the One’ your friend. ‘The One’ just is.
The boy paused to let his words sink in before continuing.
“Wizard scout, there are many who would like to form you into their tool. But always remember, you have freewill. No one controls you. They may control your circumstances, but they cannot control your actions. Be true to yourself, wizard scout. I wish you well.”
The Oracle turned and walked through the door. Richard watched him go without saying another word. Once the Oracle was gone, Richard looked at the crystal in his hand. He held it flat in his palm and thought of the elf Shandria. For the first time since they had parted company, he had a clear vision of her in his mind. He gasped. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was.
A thin fog appeared before him. A presence formed in the fog and took substance. It was an elf. She looked old, almost ancient. But even in her old age, she was beautiful. It was Shandria.
Shandria smiled. It took years off her aged face. Richard saw a hint of the young elf he had known when they’d fought the demon for possession of the seed during his freshman year at the Academy.
“I had hoped that I could see you once more before I passed from this world, Rick,” said Shandria. “The Oracle hinted that I would, but alas, such is not to be. Even the bodies of long-lived elves wear out eventually as you can see.”
Shandria spread her arms as if to show herself to Richard.
“I regret you were unable to accompany me back to this world, Rick. There was much I would like to have shown and taught you. In my village of Silver, you would have been an honored guest. You helped save my people, Rick. Before you were taken, you gave me the last part of the seed as you promised. You kept your word as I knew you would. The seed was planted, and it has grown in both size and Power. The tree will guard the gate for a hundred thousand years, Rick. Both my people and yours are protected because of you.”
Shandria slumped as if tired. A male elf, as ancient as Shandria, stepped into the image and placed a padded chair behind Shandria. She looked at him gratefully as she sat down. The look and smile she gave the male elf told Richard volumes about their relationship.
“This is my bondmate, the High Lord Carndador.”
The male elf looked at Richard as if he could see him. The elf bowed.
“A high sounding title for such a minor position,” said Carndador. “I thank you, wizard scout, for saving my bondmate’s life and for aiding her in her quest. You have my eternal gratitude. You will always be welcome in our home and village as long as I am the High Lord.” With a smile as if at a private joke, he added, “And by the way, I do know I am the luckiest male in the galaxy to have Shan as my bondmate. But, alas, my duties call, and I must say my goodbye. I regret that we will never met, wizard scout. I like to think we would have been good friends. I wish you all the best that life has to offer, Elf Friend.”
Richard watched as Carndador raised Shandria’s hand to his lips. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds as if sharing thoughts. Then Carndador released Shandria’s hand and walked out of the image. Shandria continued to watch her departing bondmate until Richard heard a thud as if the shutting of a door. Shandria turned and faced Richard again.
“We do not have much time, Rick. The creating of a message crystal is taxing and takes much Power, especially when it may need to endure for thousands of years.”
Shandria sighed as if regretting the years that separated them.
“I do not know the circumstances of your return, Rick. I must assume it is at a desperate time for the people of my world. I am confident you will not fail in whatever task is before you. I do not believe you know how to fail.”
Shandria smiled. “You know, Rick, I still begrudge you for looking through my pack without my permission. One thing you should know about elves. We have long memories. I had hoped to pay you back in some way.”
Shandria laughed as if reliving a memory. “But even so, as Carn said, you will always be welcome in our home. Our village of Silver is only a small place, but the Oracle tells me it will one day be a great city. I wish you could see it now, Rick. You would be welcomed and honored by all. The High Lord and I have declared you Elf Friend. You are the first, and in my opinion, you will undoubtedly be the best.”
Sandria laughed again. “The title may not mean much to you now, Rick, but it really is a great honor. If you were here now, you would be showered with honors, you as well as Master Nick.”
Sandria grew more serious and said, “I regret that your reception among my people may be less than cordial by the time you return. While you would be honored by the people of my village now, the humans of my world are already pressing our borders. Animosities arise. I fear your reception will be less than your deserve. I ask, as your friend, that you help my people nonetheless. The elves really are good at heart, Rick. If you are ever in a position to spend time with them, please do so. I have no doubt they will grow on you and you on them.”
Sandria looked at something in her right hand
. It was a small crystal.
“Alas, our time grows short, Rick. I can only give you a few words of advice. You may trust the Oracle as you would trust me. No matter who holds the position when you are there, the Oracle has continuity. You may always trust the Oracle. I am told you will be brought back to our world to aid my people when needed. I am also told you will be there at the final battle for our worlds. I wish I could be there to fight by your side, Rick, but I fear my body will be dust long before that time arrives. Still, the Oracle prophesizes you will not be alone. You will have friends and allies.”
Sandria looked at the crystal again. She spoke quickly as if trying to get a few final words in.
“Goodbye, my friend. My prayer to the Creator is that you will find the other half of your soul as I have found the other half of mine in Carn. May the Creator bless and keep you, Elf Friend Richard.”
The image shimmered, and Shandria faded from view. The fog dissipated. Richard looked at the palm of his hand. The crystal was but a sliver. The last bit of crystal melted in his hand like ice. Then it was gone. Richard looked around the great hall. It was empty.
Richard felt very alone.
Chapter 31 – The Undead
____________________________________
“Hurry,” Richard yelled to the children. “Meet me at the top of that ridge. And stay off the skyline when you get there.”
They had ridden from sunup to sundown and through part of the night for the last three days. While Richard pushed the children hard, they rarely complained. They knew the stakes as well as he. They had to reach the gnome in time or all was lost. If the ponies had not required rest, Richard believed the children would have ridden even longer hours. They were tough kids, and Richard respected them for it.
Wizard Cadet (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 2) Page 36
