by D G Palmer
Jarl began the performance with a few chords before Teresa joined the melody on her flute. The music was wonderful! Mavis was happy with the deal she had made but it wasn’t until the girl from Sisoara began to sing that the tavern owner really saw the gold coins in her eyes.
Her voice was like nothing they had heard before, it was ethereal, otherworldly, even the well-travelled Tristan sat up and took note. The other patrons of The Dog stopped what they were doing, even merchants deep into their bartering paused to pay attention to the singing. It was a mesmerising, hypnotic sound and everyone was enthralled by it, everyone that is except Trinity.
As Teresa continued to sing, Jarl walked among the people in the tavern lightening their loads of money, jewels and whatever other valuables they had, unchallenged by anybody. Mavis didn’t even flinch when Jarl pilfered the small coin bag she had hidden in her bra.
The thief moved towards his final victim, the red-haired girl that sat alone. As he got closer, he scanned her from head to toe, focusing on any rich pickings, the diamond stud in her nose, the bracelet on her wrist, and the one around her ankle. That’s when he realised that unlike everybody else in the establishment, she wasn’t even watching his partner at all, she was eating.
‘That’s pretty disappointing,’ Trinity said as she finally finished her breakfast. ‘You guys are actually really good, but then you turn out to nothing but petty thieves. That’s a shame. So, you’re sound mages? You use your music and singing to enchant and mesmerise your victims, then you move on to the next town.’
Teresa had joined Jarl, bringing his lire with her. ‘And why didn’t it work on you, might I ask?’
‘You both have quite a bit of Essence but you don’t control it well, as if you’ve never had any formal training. As soon as you came in, I could feel it, and when you started playing and it amplified, I knew something was up. So, I took the necessary precautions,’ Trinity explained as she showed them her magically sealed ears as they returned to normal.
‘Ah, of course,’ Teresa smiled, ‘well, played. You seem to know a little of our abilities but they go well beyond simple mesmerism.’
The singer started again, a different melody this time, which garnered different results. Trinity suddenly felt severe nausea, so bad that she dropped to the ground and wretched. Her mind was in turmoil. Her eagerness, bordering on arrogance, to stop the criminals made her overlook the potential dangers they could present. She had shown her hand too soon and now she was paying for it.
Damn it, Trinity! What’s wrong with you? Sweat dropped down Trinity’s face as she berated herself. You slipped up, girl. Get your mind back in the game! Think, think, think, what do you know about sound attacks? Ok, sound attacks can be used to hypnotise, obviously, and cause vibrations, which is probably what she’s doing to cause this motion sickness. But the highest practitioners can use it to cause internal haemorrhaging and death. Let’s hope she’s not one of those, and end this quickly.
As Trinity struggled to cast her spell through the nausea she immediately came upon a new problem. Her voice had been muted; Jarl had retrieved his lyre and was playing.
‘Oops, did you think I was the only one that was a sound mage? What a mistake to make. Let’s get this over with Jarl. This is a big city, we have a lot of coin to make here,’ smiled Teresa.
Good, the nausea is passing, Trinity discovered. It seems the vibration spell needs continuous singing. That’s her mistake.
Trinity didn’t need to recite a spell or use hand gestures to transform into animals, just a clear mind, and with the motion sickness gone, that’s exactly what she had. In the blink of an eye she had turned into a red Mozambique spitting cobra and sprayed her venom at Jarl, hitting him in the eyes. He fell to the floor in a silent scream and his music ceased.
‘Jarl, my love!’ Teresa rushed to aid her fallen comrade. The venom had reddened his eyes and seeing this infuriated the young woman. ‘Do not worry, I will make her pay for this dearly.’
But it was already too late. With no hindrances holding her back, Trinity, didn’t intend to be caught out again. With quick and precise gestures, she cast a spell to gag her and another to bind Jarl’s hands. She then created a cloud within the tavern which floated above everyone in turn and rained on them, the magical properties of its water dispelled the mesmerism that Teresa and Jarl’s music had put on them.
After Trinity had explained to Mavis what the southern pair had planned, the tavern boss sent word to Eamon Wolff.
‘And who might Eamon Wolff be?’ Trinity asked Eveline as Mavis returned to her room in the back.
‘Eamon Wolff is the thief Guildmaster, and also Mavis’ ex-husband,’ explained Eveline. ‘He was making it in the thieves guild, she got this tavern because she wanted to go legit, and they went their separate ways. But she still has his protection, which doesn’t bode well for these two.’
‘Because they tried to rob Mavis?’
‘Because they didn’t follow protocol. It’s custom to announce yourself to the guild, if they had, they would have known that The Dirty Dog was a no-go area. That’s a major no-no.’
‘Forget about them, Trinity, their days are numbered now. Since you are warmed up for action and adventure now why don’t we go and see what Hyasda has to offer? Then Daniel will be well and truly off your mind.’
Trinity reluctantly followed Tristan, still wary around him. She knew that what he said would never happen, and what he didn’t know was that she was expecting to see Daniel again very soon. This little distraction would be welcome for the time being though.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, or what could be considered as such on Salamida with its perpetual darkness, Gydion stood by the window and watched Sayyidah as she slept. He had never expected that reconciliation would be a possibility between them, but once he had seen her, the old feelings had rushed back, in truth they had never left him.
Looking at her sleeping peacefully, he couldn’t help but feel like nothing had changed, like the war had never happened, like he hadn’t banished her. Just to be able to pick up where they had left off was perfect...perhaps too perfect.
Maybe it would have been better if he had brought Trinity along after all, then perhaps things would not have escalated so fast. Good grief! I had almost forgotten Trinity! And why have I come to Salamida? It’s like something is clouding my memories.
Gydion closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He internalised his Essence and used it to cleanse his body. Something definitely was trying to block his memories, but who had done it? Sayyidah?
As if aware that she was in someone’s thoughts, the Egyptian mage slowly roused from her slumber. ‘Good morning, my dear. I hope you slept as well as I,’ she said with a stretch and a smile.
‘Yes, I did, thank you.’
‘Then what are you doing over there? Come.’
Gydion walked over to Sayyidah and took her outstretched hands as he slid onto the bed next to her. He ran his hand through her dishevelled hair and drew her close to him.
‘We need to talk,’ he said before leaning in to kiss her.
‘If we must.’
‘We must. I know nothing about this place.’
‘Very well,’ she replied with a petulant sigh. ‘What do you want to know?’ She draped herself across Gydion’s lap and waited for his reply.
‘I want to know everything.’
‘There is that thirst for knowledge that I loved in you,’ she smiled up at him as if she had been expecting him to be tempted by her offer. ‘Fine, I will tell you what I have learnt, but I still think Salamida has many secrets still to reveal. In fact, I am not even sure if this area is the original Salamida.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘This place is like no realm I have been to before,’ she enthused. ‘Sometimes I think it is alive, sentient. It grows! It absorbs other realms into itself!’
Gydion was astounded. He had never heard of a realm actively seeking to ex
pand itself. Was it even possible, he wondered, then he remembered what he had seen and couldn’t explain, ‘The Naavidian homes?’
‘Yes, that was a relatively recent addition.’
‘When I did the post-cognition spell, I saw Wyvern searching for something.’
‘From my understanding, it uses them to find where the mystical heart of a target realm, where its energy resonates the most.’
‘The ley lines.’
‘Exactly; it seems to take it, add its mass to its own and feed on the energy.’
‘Much like the Shade feeding on Essence,’ Gydion mused, ‘who also just happen to reside here. So, if you are correct, Salamida is in effect an Essence vampire, only on a planetary scale.’
‘And we could tap into that power; become omniscient, become like gods, more than gods!’
‘Is that even feasible?’ he asked suddenly alert from his contemplation.
‘I have found ancient texts, older than anything Master Penwyll had in his possession, they suggest it is. And it was actually attempted but was stopped before the spell could reach its conclusion.’
‘By whom?’
‘His name was Baelthorn. It is written that four of the Tuatha, the four that would become the elemental gods of the winds of Ariest...’
‘Boreas, Eurius, Notus and Zephyrus?’
‘Yes, they combined their strength to defeat and imprison him.’
‘That must have been an epic battle.’
‘It was. Apparently, many of the known realms were created by the fallout of the conflict, including Ariest.
‘I need to see these ancient records. I need to find a way to stop this... this whatever it is before it can send more Shade to Ariest.’
‘There is Shade on Ariest?’ Sayyidah was shocked by Gydion’s revelation, then she paused as things became clear to her and she sat up. ‘That is why you are here, because you suspected... me.’
‘I had to investigate. I had to be sure. You must understand why you would be the principal suspect.’
‘And yet you still made love to me even though you did not trust me? I suppose you are just like any other man in that respect. Am I supposed to be flattered by your weakness? Flattered that my feminine whiles still hold sway over you?’
‘No, I made a mistake, I was wrong to accuse you, I see that now. Even I am not infallible.’
‘Well I guess some things have changed. I cannot remember you ever giving an apology before...such as it was.’
‘Put it down to the wisdom garnered through old age.’
‘So, what was your ‘mistake’ down to? The petulance of youth?’
‘I suppose when you are over two thousand years old there is not much that could not be described as such.’
‘Then it is lucky for you that I have a penchant for younger men.’
‘Then I am forgiven?’
‘For now.’
‘Then we can leave for the temple so I might study these texts?’
‘All in good time,’ she replied as she caressed his face, ‘there is no need to rush. Unless of course there is somewhere more important you need to be?’
Gydion thought hard for a moment as if trying to remember something, but nothing came. ‘No, there is nowhere I need to be, except here with you.’
Once more Gydion sank into the arms of Sayyidah, and once more she couldn’t hold back the sinister smile that crept across her face.
‘This is it, we have arrived,’ Sayyidah told the expectant Gydion.
The Archmage had been sitting silently whilst they had been travelling to the temple in Sayyidah’s carriage. He had felt his mind being assaulted again and it had taken his complete concentration to fend it off, and it only seemed to be getting stronger.
‘Are you ok?’ his wife asked.
‘Yes, I am now. Maybe something in the air is affecting me.’
‘Come on, the quicker we can get to the texts the quicker we can return home.’
She took his hand and walked toward the temple. It looked completely out of place surrounded by the cracked granite and dark mountain ranges that made up the desolate landscape of Salamida.
To Gydion’s eye it looked similar to an ancient Babylonian Ziggurat. It was built in seven receding tiers on an oval platform and reached some ninety metres into the blackened sky. It seemed to be made of solid gold except for the silver structure placed on the buildings flat top. On one side were a series of golden ramps leading up to different levels and one long path, at a shallow incline, taking you ultimately to the summit.
‘What you seek is in the shrine at the top,’ Sayyidah explained as she began the trek up the ramp.
At the peak the silver shrine stood proud in the forsaken landscape. But Gydion still didn’t understand why it would be there at all. Did the Shade have gods they worshipped? Were there other unknown races living on Salamida? The mysteries surrounding this realm just kept on growing, and Gydion was intent on finding answers.
The shrine had an open archway as its entrance. There were strange symbols and hieroglyphs surrounding it that were beyond even Gydion’s understanding. He traced his finger around the ciphers and prepared to cast a spell, so that he might translate their meaning, but before he could Sayyidah rushed him along stating that she thought he was here for an ancient tome, not to read graffiti. He was tempted to cast it anyway but she took his hand, headed towards the archway and the pair duly entered.
Inside, Gydion and Sayyidah were greeted by the sounds of moaning voices. It seemed to be thousands upon thousands of them, some human some not. To Gydion’s well-travelled ear the sounds were from citizens of several different realms, but there was no body anywhere; the sounds just seemed to come out of the air.
‘What is that?’ Gydion asked.
‘Apparently the sounds of the dead, or that’s what I’ve been told.’
‘Told? By whom?’
Sayyidah didn’t reply just smiled knowingly as they walked into a marble large chamber. It was empty except for a single door opposite them, but as Gydion examined the room, the door suddenly slowly opened and a thin bald man emerged.
‘That ‘whom’ would be me,’ he stated. ‘My name is the Keeper and I urge you now to turn around and leave this shrine, or your voice shall join those of the ones who have trespassed and fallen.’
Gydion looked from the keeper to Sayyidah and back again to the newcomer. ‘I mean no disrespect; I just came here to learn more about Salamida. I was told there was a book...’
‘There is. I am the Keeper of the Book of Secrets and none have seen its pages for millennia and none shall while I live. Your friend knows this.’
‘Sayyidah?’
‘You said you wanted to know more? Well, he has everything you need, everything we need. And if he does not relinquish it then we shall have to take it by force.’
‘You have tried this before,’ Keeper said to Sayyidah, ‘several times, in fact, and you have failed each time. And it will be no different now. You should turn around and leave now. No more lives need perish because of your futile ambitions.’
‘We should go Sayyidah,’ a stern Gydion stated. She had obviously hidden certain information from him and he didn’t like it; after all, if she had hidden the fact that she had attempted to get to the book before and the presence of the Keeper, what else was she hiding?
Gydion began to make his way back to the entrance, an action that distressed Sayyidah enough to make a desperate choice. She couldn’t stomach the thought of being this close to her goal again and falling short yet again. And now that her hand had partially been exposed, she knew that there would be many questions for her to answer back at her home. She looked at the impassive Keeper and then at the quickly departing Archmage before she made the rash decision to charge the protector of the Book of Secrets.
The Keeper was astonished to see the unarmed woman rushing towards him. In all the times he had seen her here she had never been so reckless, always sending a companion to attack him
, and when they had been promptly defeated, she would leave. Why was this time different he wondered?
No matter, he had a job to do, a job he had been honoured to be chosen for, and a job with a simple mandate; protect the Book of Secrets and defend the shrine. He had been unwavering in his task to date and that wasn’t about to change now with this attack.
As Gydion walked down the passage he suddenly heard Sayyidah scream and then silence. He turned and ran back to the chamber room only to find her unconscious body crumpled against the wall, the smouldering traces of a magical attack rising from her.
Chapter Twelve
The dream: a succession of images, ideas, emotions and sensations that involuntarily occur in the mind during sleep. Some believe they are manifestations of one's deepest desires and anxieties, a connection to the unconscious mind. In many ancient civilisations’ dreams were always held to be extremely important for divination. Ancient Hebrews believed dreams were the voice of god. But one interpretation rang truer for Daniel than the others. That of Herodotus who in his The Histories wrote, "The visions that occur to us in dreams are, more often than not, the things we have been concerned about during the day."
He sat on the edge of his bed in the familiar surroundings of his own bedroom and sighed. He could have sworn that, since his introduction to Essence and the world of magic, his dreams had become more vivid.
The setting of Daniel’s latest foray into the land of nod was Almedia. He had walked arm in arm with Trinity one side and Finn the other. Everyone was happy and smiling. They arrived at a landscaped park area where they lay beneath a large tree and talked and laughed.
All of a sudden, the sky darkened and Bobby Brinkmeyer appeared. He terrorised the citizens of Almedia and destroyed their property. Eventually the people turned to Daniel to save them but he couldn’t. He couldn’t use magic; he was too scared.
Then a dryad materialised from the trunk of the tree and began to berate Daniel. Trinity and Finn joined in, laughing at him and calling him names.
‘You are such a coward,’ Finn laughed.
