Smart Alec in the Dark Lands

by Donald Wigboldy

  Shaelamee waved to the ox man with a smile receiving no real response by the time Alec had passed through the opening with the genasi. Not surprised by the stoic nature of the minotaur, the novice assumed that Shaelamee was just teasing with the gesture anyway.

  Once more out on the plain of Naeren, as Alec had learned it was called, the novice looked at what was left of this area of the world. He had never been told for certain that this valley had been struck by this black dust that they had spoke of a few times. Alec still wasn't completely sure of what it really was, though by description this weapon of the Ciemnosci appeared simple enough. It was pure time. In dust form, he had been told that whatever was touched by it would age and decay in moments. Only keeping it from touching you would keep you safe, and that meant having enough warning to ward off the magic with a spell of protection capable of resisting its power.

  Glancing at the red and dark gray skies swirling overhead, Alec wished that he could see the sun. It wouldn't be Arcturas as his people had named their yellow light, but after all the talk of death dust these clouds felt like a warning of more to come. Grass, reddish in coloring, dotted the ground here and there. It was among the only living plants that he could see in the valley. A strange hedge of stones stood to the east of the keep walls. Made of black jagged stones, he wondered if it was natural or manmade. Looking at the silver dragon man, Alec changed the thought to dragon made.

  There were dozens of the jagged stones with little rhyme or reason to their organization. It was almost like a forest of stunted stone trees.

  "Are those stones some broken walls or something?" the boy finally asked as he continued searching the red tinged world around him.

  "This was once a forest. When the time dust struck this area, some trees rotted away becoming dust of a more normal nature," Shae said after a moment's wait. Helios appeared uninterested in answering their guest this time, so the girl happily jumped in to talk with him. "Since the aging was forced, other trees started to break down, but essentially fossilized instead. So the surrounding forest is now more of a maze of stone created from the dead trees than formed from the ground."

  Helios pointed to an oddity amongst the stone trees. Black leaves sprouted from one of them. He supposed that there could be more like it, but listened to the dragon man state, "There is still life in some of them. The stone served to protect the trees here and there. After enough time, they are beginning to show a renewed life."

  "We've found others and there are other places with more life. There are even animals where the wizards were able to protect the land during the war. Other kinds of living creatures were simply lucky enough to have ancestors which were missed by the patterns of the black sand entirely."

  The conversation lapsed and the young wizard continued to observe as they rode. He spotted a few other trees showing signs of life, but they were few and far between. Only the grasses spread out as Atropos' magic slowly began to return and restore the life on its surface.

  Heading in the direction that he was told was south; the three riders crested a small hill revealing a waterway. Alec had caught partial glimpses as they had moved out from the keep, but it was only from the hill top that the young wizard could tell that this was a reasonably healthy looking river weaving its way through the hills. It also flowed to the north not too distant from the walls of Naermere from what he could tell.

  "The castle taps into the river through underground tunnels so we never need fear running out of water," Shae stated noticing his eyes taking in the view. His salamander barely slowed beneath him as the creature seemed to ignore much of his imposed directions through the reins anyway. "We can follow the river to Catliss Lake through these hills. It's a short cut to the Soyanne."

  "Hollows seem to stay away from the water for some reason that we have yet to discover as well," Helios added showing that he was listening to their occasional conversations.

  "Do they fear water?" Alec questioned curiously at the concept. The hollows were supposed to be dead. What would they have to fear from water, he wondered?

  Shae shrugged and replied, "Like Helios said, no one knows. We've used water spells on them just to see and that doesn't do any more or less damage to them as far as we can tell."

  Looking at the water, the novice noticed green plants under the surface. Movement darting in and out of the shadows indicated that fish or the local equivalent had survived here as well. It was something to consider if he was ever confronted with the black dust. While he couldn't stay under water long, perhaps diving beneath the surface would serve to block the effects long enough to escape.

  Their path wove through the hills, but it also followed a steady incline. They were climbing higher than Naermere and the valley it was inside. Once they rode over a hilltop and Alec looked back noticing the dark walls of the keep. He also noticed a strange darkness to the west.

  "What's over there?" the boy asked yet another question and thought that he noticed Helios sigh.

  "Naermere sits near a cliff where the valley ends," the blue girl answered seemingly unaffected by his questions. Alec wondered if his ongoing need to catch up to his surroundings was driving his need to question everything Atropos had to offer. He was a stranger here and didn't even have a basic grasp of what this world was like. "The river goes over the edge making an impressive waterfall before its spreads out from the wall. It feeds the Borameys Swamp.

  "It extends for miles along the base of the cliff and outward to the west. We've found hollows there rarely as well, though admittedly few patrols bother to check it. The swamp is pretty dangerous for salamanders. They tend to sink into the muck and in certain areas it will swallow them up completely."

  "Careless hunters and scouts too," Helios added. "The swamp supposedly had a reputation before the war and the black dust didn't do anything there to change it."

  "Atropos wasn't a tame world before the Ciemnosci came," Shaelamee seconded the opinion from her view.

  Giving a grunt, Helios didn't appear to want to confirm or deny the genasi's statement.

  They had ridden for an hour when Alec was surprised to see several stone buildings ahead of them. Built onto the hills or into them in places, they appeared to be mostly intact.

  "Do people live here?"

  Shaelamee shook her head sadly. "No, the stone survived, but the people here weren't as lucky for the most part."

  A few minutes later, Helios pointed to a dark tower. Gaining perspective on the land around it after crossing another hill, Alec could see an outer wall that was about twenty feet tall. The tower standing fifty feet high was centered inside of the walls with maybe thirty feet of space surrounding the tower as well. Though it looked worn, the dark tower still appeared to be reasonably solid.

  "One of the old hedge wizards protected those who could run to his tower. A spell kept the death dust at bay no matter how many times the dark elves released their weapon. Eventually the Ciemnosci came to the survivors and offered to take them to Cenestraya. The wizard became one of the first to join them after the war when the elves extended a truce between our peoples."

  Alec wanted to ask how the old sorcerer could have given in so quickly to the people who had destroyed so much of his world. It was a question that he kept inside this time. There was no way that he could see it making the situation any better and he had already begun to exhaust the dragon man's patience for questions that were less painful than this one might be.

  They rode past the old wizard's tower and more stone buildings until the hills finally parted to reveal a large lake.

  Chapter 7- Lake Encounters

  Catliss Lake was the first real place that felt alive since Alec had arrived in this world. While he had been told that some places had survived the plague of black dust, this was the first place where he had seen something that lived on land. The strange call of a bird hidden in the dark leaves of one of many trees carried on the air to his ears as well.

  They were far enough away that no creatu
res were likely to react to their approach and the boy was able to see a couple deer like beasts near the shore. Legs in the water, the creatures drank occasionally and enjoyed the cooling touch of the lake. They also appeared alert to approaching predators.

  One of the deer looked in their direction as the three riders began to follow the river once more towards its genesis. It didn't run, but it bumped its head into the other animal by its side encouraging it to walk further to the south placing the curve of the lake between them by the time the salamanders arrived.

  Using a vision spell, Alec looked at them closer. They were still far away, but magic made the distance fall away to a point. It was enough that the young wizard could make out antlers with several points on each. The eyes which watched the riders weren't those of the deer he knew in Alus. These had black pupils in tall, thin slits. He could even make out a double lid that likely protected their eyes when they were in water, but the boy thought it odd when they didn't appear aquatic.

  Even their skin was different, though the basic shape of their bodies was similar to deer. What looked like hair at first was a multitude of slim, brown, overlapping scales.

  Something moved in the trees not too far from the lake making the deer turn their heads as one. Whatever was there spooked the deer more than the riders' approach. Alec watched as the scale hair stood up making defensive spines, though as they bounded away to the west around the lake before disappearing into a different grove of trees, he thought that their speed might have been defense enough.

  "There are still predators for them to worry about?" the stranger to this world asked yet another question.

  Helios nodded and pointed up at the cloudy sky. "Even before the black dust, Atropos was said to have strange weather. The plants and animals grew hardy enough that those which survived the war were able to make do with what was left here. Some plants likely withered without enough sunlight and the animals wouldn't have all been able to live without enough food, but there is life here."

  "That hedge wizard, or whatever he was, might have helped if he had remained here," Shae commented.

  "Or he might have died from a lack of food or even from a lack of magic," the dragon man retorted with a frown.

  Sighing, the blue woman turned Helios' words back against him by saying, "Your people come from here. Maybe he would have been strong enough to live on like these beasts."

  Blue eyes stared at the smaller genasi riding her salamander. "Not all of my people left, but if they all had remained more would have died of hunger. This world was decimated. Cenestraya was able to support those who followed the Ciemnosci to their world."

  Shrugging, Shaelamee added, "Well, your people fought to stay here, so I would have thought more would have remained behind."

  "Your people didn't put up much of a fight at all," the silver scaled dragon man retorted.

  Alec thought that she might take offense, but the blue girl didn't seem to mind as she answered, "The fire genasi and earth faced them at first. When the Ciemnosci exposed one of their armies to the black dust, the others stopped fighting. My ancestors knew when they faced an enemy that they couldn't defeat. They wouldn't have survived."

  "Your people lived on more than one world, but they all surrendered."

  Wet blue hair swayed with her nodding. Shae's green eyes wandered to Alec as she replied, "By surrendering Gamrahna, they left us the moons untouched."

  Alec wanted to inquire about Shaelamee's world with this revelation. Having only heard a brief tale of her home world, the novice had as many questions about her home as he did about this place.

  Suddenly Helios pulled on his reins making his mount stop. Shaelamee followed his lead easily while Alec did his best to mimic the others.

  "What is it?" the girl asked searching the trees in the direction in which the dragon man frowned.

  Before he could answer, a beast barely half the size of one of the salamanders leaped out snarling. At first Alec thought that it was a predator daring enough to try to attack the scouting party, but it turned its back to them almost as soon as it was out in the open. It was vaguely like the amalgamation of a wolf and a boar rolled into one beast, the boy thought as he watched the creature curiously.

  It didn't take long for them to see why the animal was wary and not of them. From the trees a withered looking lizard man emerged following the animal. It was too fragile looking for Alec to make him think that it should frighten the larger beast, but then two more walked out stalking the creature who gave ground.

  "Are those hollows?" the boy asked thinking that the ones he had seen had been both larger and more dangerous looking, but perhaps that had just been because they had been attacking him.

  Nods were the only responses from his comrades and Alec wondered if they needed to prepare any spells.

  A fourth and fifth hollow emerged from the forest making the beast turn and run. It fled in the direction of the deer and the novice wondered if that would in turn make the other animals keep running as well.

  Much faster than the hollows, the beast left them behind quickly disappearing into the next bit of cover. The hollows started forward after their quarry for only a few steps before stopping. One of the creatures started to turn in their direction. It didn't immediately run towards them and indeed seemed to almost be considering if it should.

  One of its fellows turned and followed its gaze towards the riders.

  "If they're just animated flesh, do they actually have enough of a mind to think things through?" Alec asked. "The first one, if it was just driven by a desire for flesh or magic, should have started for us already; don't you think?"

  Helios held his salamander steady as they watched the small pack of hollows begin to look at them one by one. The dragon man considered his question aloud. "Normally they just wander around. If one of our people is nearby, they attack. This is a bit unusual."

  "Is Alec correct? Are they actually reasoning whether or not to attack us?" Shaelamee added to the questions concerning this group of hollows.

  The five hollows had all stopped to look at the three riders now. Strangely enough, the creatures turned away from the riders to disappear into the trees from which they had previously emerged without even bothering to start towards them. There were no last looks either before the lean looking figures disappeared.

  "That is so odd," Shae murmured loud enough for the other two to hear.

  "Is this part of what Ediyem sent us to find?" Alec wondered.

  A low rumbling sound could be heard coming from Helios. It was echoed by his mount oddly enough and a moment later Alec felt the reverberation in the animal beneath him as it answered their sound.

  Helios stopped and the salamanders settled down in short order after. "They are acting strangely. I don't like that these abominations grew from what was done to this world, but the way they are acting... It is almost like..." the silver man stopped unable to finish his thought.

  "What are you trying to say?" Shae asked almost appearing annoyed by the dragon's indecision. "If you have a thought on this, then share it already."

  Frowning at her, Helios replied, "We have always been told that these hollows have been a byproduct of the magic here in Atropos, but no one has understood why. What if their creation isn't just a coincidence of our world's magic and the ties of my race to it?"

  Shaking her head in confusion, the girl asked in a different way, "Now you don't believe that these hollows are just a response of Atropos' magic?"

  Helios rubbed his chin as he growled, "I wish I knew. Ediyem sent us here a bit vaguely. She wanted to see if we could find something funny going on in the valley. The Soyanne is still several miles away, but it isn't too far from here. I would also say that this might qualify as something strange."

  "Should we try following them?"

  Sighing, the silver scaled head nodded. "We can follow from a distance. I can track them with my magic easy enough, I am certain."

  "What if there are more of them in
there?" Alec asked feeling a bit of worry. Five might be dangerous for the three of them, but they had the salamanders also and their magic which could be fired from a distance. Three wizards, or whatever the others might call their kind of magic, should be able to destroy the monsters even if they were physically stronger than they looked.

  "That's why we approach carefully," Shaelamee replied sounding unconcerned. "A couple arcane bolts can tear them up fast enough that you boys should be able to finish the rest. If there are lots in there, we run."

  She finished by patting the green hide of her salamander looking confident in her judgment.

  Continuing to follow the last length of river to the bank of the Catliss Lake, the three riders began to skirt it in single file as they moved towards the forest where the hollows had disappeared from sight. Alec was in the back and noticed as Shaelamee's attention seemed to be distracted from the trees by the sparkle of the water in the large lake. Small waves lapped at the shore and Shae slowed her mount more.

  "Hang on a moment, Helios," the girl said slipping off of her salamander. Gesturing with her right hand in a vaguely magical way, a thick tendril of water rose from the lake. Like the neck and head of a long neck lizard, it lifted towards the genasi's hand.

  Cupping her hands together, Shae scooped out some water but didn't immediately drink from it. Sniffing the water in her hands instead, the girl seemed to search for a scent. Her face showed her consideration as she appeared to deliberate on the quality or for some other reason that Alec couldn't otherwise discern.

  "We should continue," the dragon man stated but didn't push the genasi to stop what she was doing. Alec wondered if Helios had a better idea of what she was trying to accomplish here.

  "Just a moment," she replied. "Since we are here, I really would like to take a moment to refresh myself. That dried out keep we stay in has begun to make my skin crawl."