Raina nodded. “It’s a small scroll. What a pretty bird.”
The bird flew up and when Marcus put his hand out it dropped the scroll. It fit in the palm of his hand with room to spare. He unrolled it and read.
Marcus, the Staff of Herding must be destroyed.
I have been given permission to contact you from
the other side. Such permission has never been
granted before, that’s how important it is for you to
destroy the staff.
Adorok
Marcus looked at the king. “Father it’s a message from Adorok but I’ve never even heard of the Staff of Herding. Wand can you tell me the location of the staff?”
“Unknown.”
Marcus shook his head. “That’s just great. Father how will I be able to destroy the Staff of Herding when I don’t know where it is? And the book says that it is not easy to break a magical item. Why can’t I just have an ordinary day? When am I ever going to get time to build my own castle? I can see it in my head and it’s going to be very impressive but the way things are going it just might stay in my head.”
Raina nodded as she was thinking about their wedding.
The magpie suddenly flew back into the hole and disappeared, returning a short time later with yet another scroll.
Those underground wizards have the staff.
Do not underestimate the power of three
against one.
Adorok
The magpie flew back into the darkness and then with a sucking sound the portal vanished as well. It had accomplished its task. It was such a pretty bird that Raina would have liked to keep it as a pet, as the king keeps his raven. The sorcerer stared unhappily at the ground where the portal had been.
An archer from high up on the wall called down. “We are under attack! Niiwu!”
Marcus ran and mounted his horse, angry at the fact that he would be called to action once again. The boy and his golden knights rode out to meet the niiwu head on, furious at their nature and effrontery. Outside the walls of the castle there were at least a dozen of them, including Kromska who was carrying his two remaining balls of fire, spells that he had been taken from the slain wizard and that buoyed their courage to attack. A battalion of regular knights rode out as well to face the enemy who were attacking with swords, axes and spiked flails.
Kromska threw one fire ball and then the other but Marcus blew them out of the sky before they could touch the ground, they broke into fragments and those pieces turned to dust in puffs of smoke, disintegrating into nothingness. Kromska stopped in his tracks realizing that if his magic didn’t destroy them they were in trouble, but the others continued on with thoughts of destroying the humans. Brother cut one of the niiwu in two with his sword and then was knocked down by another and bludgeoned, denting in his visor. Kadyn severed both heads of the niiwu sending them rolling on the ground. The more than two dozen golden knights surrounded Marcus to protect him and it was quite a sight.
Marcus hit one of the creatures with a bolt of lightning which went through him and into two others, killing all three of them. Three archers put three arrows in one just after he had launched himself, falling dead though knocking one of the knights off his horse and knocking down the horse as well. Talmai took down two of the monsters with his speed and adeptness with a sword. One niiwu picked up a knight horse and all, tossing it, killing the knight when the horse landed upon him.
One of the female niiwu launched herself at Marcus but his golden knights made quick work of her, no one would be allowed to get close to the sorcerer. Two knights were run through with swords, killing the knights before Marcus dispatched them with a fiery bolt that set them both alight, one dropped dead as the other ran screaming.
A battle axe was thrown at Marcus with incredible strength and accuracy, Kayden jumped up and deflected it, sailing within a hand’s thickness past the wizard’s head and would almost certainly have been a mortal wound.
Kromska turned and ran into the opposite direction and several others commenced to retreat as well, discovering that the magic they had found was not enough to earn them victory over the humans.
“Come on!” Marcus commanded. “We march on the village!” He was determined to beat them back into the forest where they belonged, or better yet kill them all.
As Marcus and the knights approached the village he wished that he had Stone by his side but he remained weak from the loss of blood; he would have preferred to let Stone lead. He had neither the experience nor the talent to lead knights in battle and felt awkward doing so, not wanting to have their deaths on his conscious.
The niiwu started amassing in front of their dwellings as they observed the knights approaching, ready to defend. Marcus commenced to launch huge balls of purple fire, each one hitting a hut and setting it alight. Without magic on their side the beasts were now weary of attacking a wizard. Marcus circled his wand overhead and launched a million arrows at them, with some of the niiwu receiving more than a thousand arrows, collapsing into death where they stood.
With their homes burnt to the ground the wizard noticed several niiwu in the treeline in the distance, fired a bolt of lightning toward them which didn’t reach but frightened them enough to make them run further into the woods.
Marcus took an arrow in his right shoulder from an unknown source; he pulled it out and healed it with his wand but now he would also need some rest to recover.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
ALEXA, OBED AND MERRILL were led by Melfelfa to a castle with instructions that the sword was beyond it but that they had to go through they couldn’t go around. The princess was getting more annoyed by the minute, nothing was the same from the last time she’d seen the weapon, and obviously magic had gotten its grubby paws on it, infusing it with some magical ability. She thought that under some circumstances magic almost appeared to have its own intelligence as if it could think for itself; she wondered how it worked but had absolutely no idea.
There was a pinkish sky behind the castle and so far no one to be seen, in fact in was eerily quiet, not even the sound of a single bird. The only sounds that they heard were their own. They sat atop their horses and were silent for a time, just staring at the castle, thinking that it wasn’t going to be as simple as going through. Alexa was beginning to rue this quest, but that was the thing about adventures, one never knew what one would face, always challenges to overcome.
Obed was tired of the silence and the gawking but didn’t want to be the first one to speak; he looked at Merrill as if to say what the hell? And he didn’t want to disrupt Alexa’s train of thought hoping that she was going to decide to turn around, and should he say they should turn back he knew she would most likely do the opposite. Should he say they’re wasting time and should get on with it she would probably agree. Women! He had to admit that the sword had belonged to a notable knight but he didn’t want to die in an effort to retrieve it.
Alexa turned to say something to Melfelfa but discovered that he had disappeared. “Let’s head in.”
Obed showed Merrill a look of disgust but then showed the princess a disingenuous smile. They were not in a position to refuse her orders, unless they were going to run off and never return to Leeander and that wasn’t going to happen. Merrill removed his helmet and scratched his head vigorously; he was perspiring which made his scalp itchy, letting out an audible sigh.
“Are you knights or little boys?” said Alexa.
Obed grunted. “Bah! Boys would have enough sense not to go off in search of a magical sword. Actually I guess they probably would.”
“Yes well the last time I saw the sword it wasn’t magical; it was an ordinary sword stuck in a tree that no one could remove.” Then again a sword that couldn’t be removed was suspicious. Perhaps it had been magical all along although it hadn’t saved him from the niiwu. The princess turned back and watched as Merrill disembarked, grabbing his bow and quiver; he had about as much enthusiasm as a knight off to face a dragon
with a stick that wasn’t enchanted.
“Stone would not have agreed to pursue such a weapon as a gift,” said Obed. “He wouldn’t risk our lives for a stupid sword.” He knew he was out of line talking to the princess in such a manner and so decided not to say any more on the matter, he would most likely be dead soon in any case.
The entered the castle only to find another door immediately inside. It was elaborately carved with a circular shield attached to it, being sectioned into thirteen different colors, each color contained a number but they weren’t in the proper order. 7, 1, 3, 9, 12, 11, 2, 4, 5, 8, 6, 10, 13.
Alexa looked all around the small chamber; the ceiling was high with wooden beams. There was a statue by the door beside an obelisk. The statue was obviously of a king as it wore a granite crown with eight points that were as sharp as a spear. Merrill pushed on the door but it wouldn’t open, and then he banged on it to see if there was someone inside that might let them in but there was no response. They tried for some time to figure the number combination but were stumped.
“I have never seen such a magnificent door,” said Obed. And then for whatever reason they were compelled to stare up toward the ceiling where a large red feather was slowly floating toward the ground. Obed attempted to catch it but missed and as soon as it hit the floor a flash of red light spread across and almost the entire floor before it opened up and they all fell hard into a small dungeon cell.
They hit the solid rock floor with a crash, the weight of their armour making them fall harder that they would have had they not been wearing any but with a degree of protection. Merrill had the wind knocked out of him but otherwise they were okay. Although several sconces were burning the light was quite dim, as if the light sources didn’t have much life left in them but at least they continued to flicker. There was an unpleasant damp smell mixed with a scent of sulfur. Through the bars of the cell there was a long empty hall, large enough to permit a dragon and that’s what worried all of them.
“That was most unexpected,” said the princess. She got up and walked to the bars staring down the hall and in the distance she could see the remains of several skeletons, charred black is what they were. “Oh I think there’s a dragon down here.”
“Of course there is,” said Obed matter-of-factly. He was tempted to say something about how they should have turned back when they had the chance but decided that there was no point to it.
Merrill looked up from where they had fallen realizing that they would never get back up there, even if they could stack themselves three high they still wouldn’t be able to reach, not even close. He envisioned someone tossing down a rope but there was no one up there to do so.
Alexa tried the cell door, shaking it with all her strength but of course it was locked, then outside the cell she noticed a key against the wall, almost completely obscured by layers of dust. “Look a key!”
They all stared out at it realizing instantly that it was beyond their grasp and so the brief spark of excitement quickly turned to dismay. All three were pressed against the bars as they stared at it and then they heard the footfalls, they were certain it would be a monster and a green dragon with bright yellow eyes stuck its head out from a side tunnel and looked toward them.
“Hello,” said the dragon. “I’ll have to burn you if you get past that line just like I burned the others.”
Obed shook his head. “I’m not going out there to be burned alive.” He went to the opposite wall and commenced to feel and push against the stones hoping for a secret door, desperate for another way out but if there was one he couldn’t find it.
“Alexa, what do you think happens if I hit the key with an arrow?” Merrill really didn’t think it would work but they had no options so he may as well try something.
Alexa shrugged. “I’ll think it’ll end up further away from us but I guess it’s worth a try, we can’t reach it where it lies.”
Merrill let loose with an arrow and it missed, deflecting off the wall, the arrow sliding quite a distance. The dragon watched as the arrow slid in front of her, then closed her eyes and went to sleep. The second arrow hit the key and it took a peculiar bounce, ending up against the opposite wall, but no closer, no further either. The third arrow hit the key dead on, sending it flying down the hall where it was now almost impossible to hit with another arrow, which would accomplish nothing in any case.
Obed went and sat against the wall. “How long do you think it’ll take to starve to death? I mean after we run out of food?”
Merrill shrugged. “A week perhaps? Actually I think we’ll die of thirst before that.”
Alexa shook her head. “That’s the way to be optimistic.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
RYXA FLEW DOWN IN PURSUIT of her falling egg, scraping her right wing against the cliff on the way down, but then lost sight of him because of ground level mist. It was a mother’s worst nightmare and could make some temperamental dragons go on a killing rampage but she was not of that type. She heard the thump as it hit the forest floor below her, making her gasp; she didn’t know if a baby dragon could survive such a fall or not. Inside a normal egg he would be dead for sure but he was inside Marcus’s fortified creation and those magical properties just might save him. The thought of ending up with a single egg, of losing Daganth might be more than she could take. And if he did survive would he end up brain damaged or with some other terrible affliction. It was enough to make a mother go insane with worry. Both of her hearts beat faster than they ever had.
And if the situation wasn’t bad enough her remaining egg was now unguarded.
The egg hit the forest floor and bounced; cracking and rolling and down an incline teetering on the edge of a mound overlooking a brook, and when Daganth adjusted his position it was in the wrong direction so the egg started to roll towards the moderately fast flowing water. It was a rough ride and he repeatedly flipped head over heels but fun too. The baby dragon was now dizzy, unsure of what had just happened and could see trickles of water floating into the egg as he floated downstream. Lifting his feet to try and get them out of the cool water he soon realized that it was an impossible situation, and then tumbled upside down again and then right side up. Now the water was up to his knees and a small pretty red fish was floating around with him; never having seen a fish before he was fascinated by it. Instead of being frightened he was having a great time, more fun than just being stuck in a nest.
Ryxa hit the ground with a thud and commenced to frantically search for her precious egg, hoping that she wasn’t going to find all that remained of her little one was just a mash of blood and guts. She scanned the area as best she could but with the fog she couldn’t see very far; it just had to be foggy. She took a deep breath to try and calm her breathing; she needed to be clear headed and not just run around in a panic but it wasn’t working.
“Daganth! Answer me! Where are you!” And then Ryxa listened for the sound of movement, hearing a crow flying overhead but not much else; she heard the sound of large wings, either another dragon or maybe even a pterocrit in the sky. She quickly flew back up to her nest to find a pterocrit staring at her sole remaining egg, she grabbed it by the neck killing it then flew back down to continue her search.
Daganth was already miles downstream and now the water was up to the little one’s chest; he continued to enjoy the ride but he was aware that he wouldn’t be able to breathe water. He tried to kick the egg open but something hurt, it was his left wing. The little one already had the instinct to fly but now worried that he wouldn’t be able to, and where the heck was his mother? Or father for that matter.
Ryxa attempted to fly low to the ground and perhaps blow away the mist but it didn’t work, although it did displace some of the fog it was simply replaced by more of the white stuff. If anything it appeared that it was getting thicker. In frustration she launched a burst of flame and discovered that it did vaporise some of the fog, at least temporarily until more rolled in, but still no sign of her little one.
>
Daganth was more than three leagues from where his mother was searching and the water was up to his neck, and for the very first time in his young life he was really frightened and started to cry. “Mother help me! Father?” Daganth commenced to thrash in a panic as he swallowed some water and coughed.
The black dragon flew back up to her only remaining egg to find that it was okay; the dead pterocrit had a stupid look on its face and its tongue hanging out awkwardly. She cried briefly but knew there would be more time for that later if she didn’t find her little one, now was the time for action. If only that damn fog would lift. What if she never found him? She would have that on her conscience for the rest of her life.
“Mother?” It was the female inside her remaining egg.
“I have to go find your brother sweetheart but I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” The baby girl stretched as best she could and then cracked her own neck.
Ryxa launched herself, flapped several times and then circled as she slipped through the air, launching more fire so that she could see better. She listened intently and sniffed in an attempt to pick up his scent but it seemed the mist was even interfering with that. When the fog finally dissipated she would get others to help her search but it might be too late by then, if it wasn’t already.
Ryxa again landed with a thump and started to walk around hoping that luck would be on her side; she walked and sniffed with her huge nostrils and shouted but it was no use. Until the fog lifted she may as well go back to her nest and wait, as difficult and as maddening as that would be. And so the black dragon flew back up to her den and sat on her egg and cried.
Daganth’s egg sank to the bottom of the brook, which was just deep enough to completely cover the egg.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Knight of the Sword (of Knights and Wizards Book 3) Page 11
