Smart Alec in the Dark Lands

by Donald Wigboldy

  "We could use stone walls and the fence to give us a stronger defensive position. They won't be able to jump over a fence even with help from the others."

  "Well, whatever. You're in charge after all, but it had better be something good. Alec is feeling fidgety back here and I can't say that I am much better.

  "If this was a certain type of place on my home world, I would say that this place is inhabited by spirits as well as the hollows. Too many people died here not to feel that way," Shae spoke the feelings that Alec had as well and relayed them surprisingly well.

  "Much of the world died to the dust and Ciemnosci, but there are no such things as ghosts. My people may believe in an afterlife, yet they are also too practical to remain behind," Helios said before turning back to the confusing mix of tracks as he tried to unwind the patterns he was seeing. They were all virtually as fresh with each pattern as if their quarry had come back to the spot repeatedly to head in every direction possible around the same time.

  Helios led the three to the right first and exhausted the tracks without finding anything.

  "I think they are deeper in the city," Alec said quietly into Shae's ear. "The other directions are just bait to slow to slow us down."

  "How can you know?" she asked sounding more curious than resistant to his opinion.

  "Often men trying to throw off pursuit will attempt to do this on a manhunt, I've heard. I read that most still wind up going straight ahead or only veer slightly. Here they only have three choices at each crossing.

  "We followed the right and it was a dead end. Most likely following the left is going to give us the same result."

  Shaelamee looked over at Helios already leading them back to the crossroad. "They were his people. Perhaps his instincts and those in the hollows are more in synch than trying to compare them to your race."

  Not wanting to argue, and not holding the reins anyway; Alec let her turn back to follow the Zmaj sorcerer. She didn't voice the boy's opinion to Helios and the dragaoin tried the left in spite of what Alec had said.

  It was another dead end leaving straight ahead as the only possible direction to follow. At the next crossroads, the hollows set up the same pattern. They had a significant lead on the three pursuing after having to wait for Shaelamee to recover as well as they seemed to be able to continue on never resting even at night.

  Being mortal and alive, Alec thought that the hollows did have certain advantages over the living.

  Again Helios searched the paths to the right and left with the same results. At the third, the hollows had just continued straight validating Alec's opinion so far.

  The dragaoin began looking up at the sky almost as often as he looked at the ground. Finally Helios gave up the pursuit and retraced their steps to a solid looking tower they had passed earlier to set up their next camp.

  "We'll continue to look for these hollows in the morning. It will be dark soon enough. We had better set up camp to make certain that we aren't easy marks tonight. This trip has already been slowed too much by what happens when we try to rest."

  Shaelamee put her hands on her hips and stuck out her lower lip as she pouted. "I made a mistake that lost us time, but it isn't like this mission was a certainty as to its duration, Helios."

  Blinking at the girl curiously, the silver scaled man tilted his head as he halted in his retrieval of the rods for the fence. "I never stated that your mistake was the problem. We lost sleep and a salamander the first night. We've been chasing these hollows, but they are also the ones which have ambushed us each time."

  The dragaoin stopped seeming to consider something a moment before going back to retrieving the rods.

  "Are you giving them the credit that Alec has?" she asked in a neutral tone. The novice wizard was uncertain if the girl was still weighing the question for herself.

  The first rods were set up at the open gateway in a stone wall surrounding a tower that looked to be about five stories tall from the young wizard's perspective. As Helios walked his salamander to an empty door frame, the dragaoin seemed to ignore her as he said to Alec, "When the black sand is released, it will consume all things organic. Plants, animals and intelligent races are all equally at risk when a cloud of time sand rolls into a city.

  "Any doors that were on this tower were likely wood and would have rotted in seconds."

  After the others were inside along with both mounts, Helios set up the next rods but didn't activate them right away. "I think that I saw a well. Can the two of you check it and see if you can bring water here for the salamanders. If there are enough plants in the courtyard, bring them too. We don't have an inexhaustible amount of food and drink for them, but we need them alive and well."

  Shaelamee saluted mockingly and walked back outside without saying a word to the dragaoin. Alec followed her both because Helios had ordered it as well as because he felt like he should remain close to the smaller girl. It was a stupid feeling since magic strength had little to do with physical size and he had witnessed Shae's power already. She was as powerful as he was and old enough to be better trained too, the boy had to admit at least on the inside.

  Walking around the open courtyard with quite a few plants rising out of the ground with little rhyme or reason to their pattern, Alec could see that time was beginning to erase the marks left by this black sand he kept hearing about. The stones looked marred by wind and time, but they appeared solid. This place might have been destroyed by the Ciemnosci, but little signs of actual warfare remained to be found. If Atropos had been attacked decades ago, certainly the elements could account for much of the look. Even if this had been his world where there had been no attack of time sand, Alec supposed an abandoned city might look this barren and worn.

  "That lizard's been acting a bit odd today. I don't know if you asked him too many questions and he lost it, or if it is something that I can't see. Still he isn't acting like himself, the way I usually see him in the fort," Shae said as she looked over a short wall that came up to her stomach. It looked like the outer wall of a well, but anything wood had likely been eaten away like the doors of the tower. Unfortunately that also meant any buckets to haul water or ropes to lower them were gone also.

  "This city could throw anyone off. He probably just has a lot on his mind with this chase and we aren't even supposed to be chasing a specific batch of hollows. Aren't we supposed to find what is making them act so strangely?" her companion asked as he searched inside the well.

  He could see water reflecting the light from the sky. It was almost as smooth as a mirror and Alec could see both shadowed silhouettes looking down from the top.

  "That is what Ediyem said, but the exact interpretation was left to our judgment... well, his judgment anyway," the girl said lifting her head to look around them. Spotting a metal container that might have been used as a small trough once, Shae started to walk towards it beckoning Alec to follow her. "It is odd that she sent us away like this though. Usually the captain has more... precise directions for us to follow. Half the time she acts like we can't think for ourselves and makes instructions to follow like a road map."

  The two of them lifted the open metal container. Runner like legs held it off the ground about a foot. Three foot long and perhaps two wide, it would be heavy if they could fill it completely. Alec was uncertain just how much the two of them could move even if they dragged it along the ground. Of course, that still begged the question of whether they could fill it without a bucket and rope.

  "Put it here," the girl directed even as she helped him slide it into position beside the well. Waiting as he felt a rise in her magic, Alec was soon surprised to see a thick tendril of water lift out of the hole. Like she was using a hose to draw the liquid up and over the stone wall, Shae used her spell to fill the trough to about halfway.

  "Do you think that we can move that?" the girl asked moving the remainder of the tendril back into the confines of the well before releasing it. A few seconds of water splashing back down could be h
eard like a small waterfall until the gallons had returned to the pool below.

  Scratching his head, Alec considered the task. "Can you continue to control the water to keep it from splashing out of there? We could just drag it or even try using a rope tied to a salamander."

  "In case you missed it, water and I have a close bond," Shaelamee replied with a smirk. "I can control it, but maybe I should make you pull it by yourself if I have to do all that work."

  Before he could argue or otherwise say a word, the girl pointed for him to start pulling the trough while she physically pushed it from behind. Her magic could be felt by the young wizard and Alec knew that she was also holding the water inside the trough at the same time. It barely shifted inside when normally such movement would have likely sent much of the contents sloshing out onto the ground.

  It was a longer walk back to the tower than he had realized. By the time the two had made it back dragging the trough across the ground, Alec was starting to sweat. Shae's skin looked moist again, but he was probably worse, the boy thought looking at her. The genasi must be controlling the water in her body as well, Alec believed, though he could only see her use her power on the trough.

  Helios wasn't in sight, but signs of his handiwork could be seen. Two windows were sealed with a pair of rods with the wind screen already rippling between them. The dragaoin's magic had triggered the spell as it had at most of their camps so far, while the small box with more wires were connected to the separate screens keeping the effects powered. Alec could almost smell the difference in the magic from the wizard kind he knew. While Helios was working with wind, it felt different from most wizards he had worked around in Southwall. Shaelamee's magic was different again, and not just because she was good at manipulating water.

  Looking up, Alec could even see the ghosts of more rod sealed windows in the floors above them.

  "Plants, Alec," Shae stated simply wiping at her forehead. Her head tilted as she suddenly gazed at him.

  When she moved closer, Alec inadvertently took a step back in surprise. She didn't comment but waved her hand in front of his face. Droplets from his forehead lifted away and she repeated the process with a little more moisture on his forearms. The salty liquid moved through the air to the sash tied around her right thigh. It hadn't been kept around her waist since the lake, but the girl seemed to prefer keeping it there while wearing her battle skirt.

  His sweat seeped into the sash darkening the cloth. It wasn't as full as it had been when she had shifted her water away from him to the cloth previously, but the girl sighed as it met her skin through the sash.

  "What...?" he began in confusion.

  "If you don't need it, I might as well conserve your water."

  "You could have pulled more from the well," he reminded her.

  Giggling, the girl shook her head swishing her dark blue hair back and forth. "Why didn't I think of that then?" She sighed. "Well, then I guess that I look silly now." Grabbing his hand, Shaelamee added, "Anyway, let's grab some plants for the salamanders to eat. Then Helios can set the lower doorway and we can start dinner."

  The salamanders remained on the first floor below their riders. Too heavy and large for a climb up the old stone stairs, the creatures were settled with enough water and plants to keep them content for the night. Helios, Shaelamee and Alec ate as well. When it grew dark, the three settled in as they had the previous nights. The dragaoin would take first watch before turning it over to Shae and her to Alec for the last of the night.

  Though it was the silver dragon man's watch, Alec found that he couldn't sleep right away. Shaelamee's gentle breathing could be heard, but any sounds of Helios were too far away. The sorcerer had gone up the tower to watch over the surrounding area from the greater height.

  Alec was uncertain that it was the safest option, but said nothing of the sorcerer's decision. There were windows that might serve as well in the lower parts of the tower or he could have even stood on the first floor with the sleeping salamanders watching through the front door.

  Letting out a deep breath, the young wizard tried the breathing he used for meditation. It was a practice taught to students at White Hall, but Alec heard of few others who would meditate outside of the classes where it had been taught. A practice used to settle the mind; it was something that most of the teenagers didn't appear to have the patience to do. Alec found it calming, as it was meant to be, and had used the breathing technique to settle his mind and emotions especially when the world around him seemed to grow too chaotic at times.

  When Helios wandered down to check on those left to his watch, the novice feigned being asleep. As the dragaoin debated on how long to wait before waking Shaelamee, something other than the sounds coming from the three occupants suddenly drew the dragaoin's attention before he could decide to awaken the girl.

  A glow appeared and the visage of a red Zmaj dressed in scholarly robes seemed to just manifest in the air near the middle of the room.

  "What are you? Who are you?" Helios demanded, yet only in a quiet voice. He was tired and perhaps he was just imagining things the sorcerer thought. Too little sleep could certainly mess with one's mind, he knew.

  "Why do you ask, son of dragons? Can you not see what I am with your own eyes?" the ghostly looking dragaoin questioned in turn. He was calm, unlike the silver guardian. "You come here with these alien trash to destroy the ancestors returned from death and yet you are the one demanding questions."

  "Are you a ghost?" Helios asked zeroing in on what the incorporeal form might be.

  "Does it matter?" the red Zmaj retorted giving him no answer. "The more important question is; why are you here, son of dragons?"

  Grinding his teeth in annoyance as he struggled to get any answers from this ghost, the silver dragaoin answered, "We are here to find out why the hollows are acting so strangely."

  "What is so strange about them? They act as they should."

  "We are used to them attacking singly or in small groups, but now they work together to overcome obstacles and set traps. It is if they are learning or can think," Helios answered feeling more like he was answering his own thoughts, as if seeing this ghost was merely a delusion he was suffering. To his surprise, the red Zmaj frowned at him and replied, "Why do you believe them incapable of thought? These are your people. Can't you reason and think?

  "You have seen this in them yet you come to destroy the ancestors. Haven't they suffered enough? The dark elves came and destroyed our world and now you have thrown in with them? You aid our enemies, son of dragons, how can you forsake your people like this?"

  Taking a step towards the apparition angrily, Helios demanded, "Why do you call me 'son of dragons'? How could you know this is what the other Zmaj used to mockingly call me even after I started to show signs of magic?"

  "Only a son of dragons would have such magic. We have seen you. Your breath of cold is fierce for one so small. Even a dragon would be impressed, I think."

  "Other dragaoin have dragon breath powers. It isn't so unusual."

  "It is true that others also carry the blood of dragons in them. Perhaps some are even more fierce, but you come here serving the enemy and use your gifts against the Zmaj!" the ghost chided him again angrily.

  "We lost the war, but our two races have joined together as allies," Helios tried to remind this creature in front of him. "I don't serve the enemy, but those who gave our people new homes when our world wasn't enough to keep us fed."

  "But they destroyed it. They gave the weaklings homes so that they could have slaves!"

  This time it was Helios who looked angry. "That isn't true," he said defiantly. "We are allies. They won and as our people have often done, we joined the victors hoping to become stronger."

  "Our people did that fighting our own," the apparition countered. "Our people grew stronger together, but they never destroyed the world around them as these aliens have done. They stole our magic and now that it returns our people to life, they expect you to serv
e and destroy our people once more."

  "They are already dead!" Helios hissed as if to keep his voice from waking the others still sleeping. The dragaoin wasn't certain that, if his companions were awake, this ghost would continue speaking with him. He didn't even know why he wished to continue discussing these matters with someone who was likely not even there, but Helios did his best to not awaken them as the two continued to speak.

  He wondered if they could even hear the ghost. Perhaps this was all a figment of his imagination. There had often been times that he had felt guilty for destroying the hollows. It was as this ghost said. That he felt like he was killing his people all over again.

  "Atropos was nearly killed by these dark elves," the apparition stated as if giving a lecture to an uneducated student. "Now the world recovers and with it come the hollows. Are they dead or are they just beginning to form, son of dragons? If you give them time, perhaps you will see the life of your people return."

  Again Helios frowned, but this time it was more from the ghost telling him things that he had wondered at for awhile. He had been in Fort Naermere, a former fort of the Zmaj repurposed by the Ciemnosci, for several years now and he had destroyed many hollows. Most had attacked him first so that felt justified, but then again he had put himself in their way. Maybe he was at fault more than these unthinking creatures. Worse, if they could grow and learn; then perhaps he wasn't killing unthinking creatures but more like children growing and learning with time as living beings had to do.

  "If we leave the hollows unchecked they could overrun this world," he gambled on his response.

  "It is their world. Why shouldn't they have free roam?"

  "It is the Zmaj's world."

  "It was, but the living left and Atropos brought back those that it loved," the ghost replied without waiting a beat. "Besides those you call hollows are just the Zmaj returned. Listen to them next time; perhaps your dragon heart will hear an answering response that sounds familiar.