by Clayton Wood
“Uh, how did you kill the Dead Man?”
“I cut off his head,” Darius replied evenly. Kyle rolled his eyes.
“I mean, how did you cut off his head?” Before Darius could respond with another glib remark, he added “...I mean, your sword should have bounced off his shields.”
“I removed his shields first,” Darius answered. He placed the long green crystal into the recess of his armor, then retrieved something small and shiny. He tossed it at Kyle, who caught it. It was a blue crystal set in a silver metal setting, with a delicate chain on one end.
“What's this?” Kyle asked.
“An amulet a Runic made for me,” Darius replied. “Gets rid of those pesky shields.”
Kyle frowned, looking at the crystal a little more closely. He concentrated, trying to feel the magic within the crystal. A slight vibration came from the gem, but nothing more.
“There's barely any magic in this,” Kyle pointed out.
“The Dead Man had a lot of shields,” Darius shot back.
“Can I see it?” Kalibar asked, holding out a hand. With crusted blood at his temples, and drying blood trailing from his ear, Kyle was amazed the man was so lucid. He'd been splattered with acid, had struck his head on a rock, and been viciously attacked by the Dead Man for good measure. It had been a very bad day for the former Grand Weaver.
“Here,” Kyle replied, handing Darius's amulet to Kalibar. Kalibar held it up to her forehead, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. “I still don't understand how that thing worked on the Dead Man,” Kyle admitted.
“Well,” Kalibar replied, “...I suspect the gemstone in his forehead was a runic device itself...like that piece of quartz I used to fight him.”
“Oh, right.”
“I spent days inscribing the runes in that crystal,” Kalibar continued. “I designed it using what I learned the first time I fought him...and by observing his gemstone every time he visited me in my cell.”
“Wait, he visited you?”
“Oh yes,” Kalibar replied with a grimace. “As did...others.” He sighed, handing the amulet back to Kyle, who gave it to Darius. “I only had a few days to work on my crystal. All I had to do was unlock it with my magic, and it did the rest, weaving a few dozen patterns in a matter of seconds.” He gave a rueful smile. “I'm a poor substitute for a Runic, however. Whoever made that amulet was a very skilled Runic. It's quite an elegant piece.”
Kyle offered the amulet back to Darius, who took it, then shook his head.
“You take it,” he stated. “Might come in handy some day.” The bodyguard put the amulet's chain around Kyle's neck, tucking the amulet under Kyle's shirt.
“Wait,” Kyle interjected, turning back to Kalibar. “How can a Weaver ever beat a Runic then?” After all, if a runic device could weave dozens of patterns in a matter of seconds, what hope would a Weaver have?
“The amulet only worked for a moment,” Kalibar answered. “If Darius hadn't struck when he had, the Dead Man would have adapted to the situation, and won anyway...like he did with the runic I made.” He rubbed his temples, grimacing slightly. “Anyway, we should get going.”
“Agreed,” Darius said. He turned away from the mouth of the cave, walking up to Kalibar, who leaned on his shoulder. The bodyguard turned back to Kyle and Ariana, who stared back at him silently. “The Dead Weavers are going to come looking for their master,” Darius explained.
“Um...they're called 'Death' Weavers,” Kyle corrected. Darius walked by the Dead Man's head, kicking it as he passed by. It rolled a few yards, into some brush.
“For now,” he replied.
* * *
The forest quickly engulfed them as they made their way from the mouth of the cave, the sun shining through the rustling leaves in a hundred shimmering rays that danced over the forest floor. The sunlight sparkled merrily off of the surprisingly large waves rippling across the surface of a large lake on their right, just beyond the tree line. Like Crescent Lake, its waters were crystal clear; but it was much deeper, making it impossible to see the lake bottom. Kyle felt a chill run through him as he stared at its depths. He'd always been afraid of very deep water, unable to help himself from imagining what terrible things might lurk below, hidden from sight.
Kyle turned away from the lake, focusing on the path ahead. Darius and Kalibar led the way, occasionally talking amongst themselves, though about what, Kyle couldn't make out. He and Ariana followed a few feet behind. Ariana was still dropping bits of dust between her feet as she walked, even after she'd spent a few minutes away from the group to remove her half-burned shirt. She'd had to run to catch up with the group, as Darius hadn't been considerate enough to stop for her. Kyle couldn't really blame him. After all, if the Death Weavers caught up with them...
“I still can't believe you're okay,” Kyle remarked when she caught up with the group. He'd lagged behind a ways so that Ariana wouldn't get lost, keeping an eye on Kalibar and Darius as they'd moved on ahead. He remembered feeling the enormous heat of the flames as they'd engulfed her. Her legs should have been charred beyond hope.
“Me neither,” Ariana replied. “I thought I was going to die.” Then she shuddered, casting her gaze downward. “I wanted to die...at the end, I mean.” Kyle nodded in mute understanding. Better to have a quick death than to be slowly burned alive.
“It doesn't make sense,” he muttered, absently kicking a small pebble that happened to be in his way. “The fire almost burned me, and I was a few feet away. Why weren't you burned?” Ariana shrugged.
“Maybe the Dead Man didn't really want to kill me,” she replied. “Maybe he was just punishing me.”
“Punishing you?” Kyle asked. Ariana nodded.
“He knows how much I hate fire.”
“Oh,” Kyle said, not understanding at all. Ariana hardly noticed; she became very quiet, staring down at the ground in front of her as she walked. Kyle realized she was looking at the soot still falling from her clothes. He stared at the dribbles of blackened powder silently, not at all convinced that the Dead Man had been trying to spare her.
“I wish I'd been the one to kill him,” Ariana muttered bitterly.
They walked in silence then, following Darius deeper into the forest. The bodyguard kept a quick, steady pace, forcing the others to keep up. It was a not-so-subtle reminder of the danger behind them, the Death Weavers that would almost certainly come looking for their fallen master...and for vengeance. The thought of the Death Weavers made Kyle walk faster, falling into step only a few feet behind Darius. The forest floor began to angle downward, slightly at first, then rather steeply. Kyle nearly slipped more than once, but with Ariana's help, he managed the treacherous terrain without falling. After what seemed like an hour – the front of his thighs burning from walking downhill for so long – the terrain leveled out.
Onward they went, no one saying anything, the only sound the rhythmic crunching of their footsteps on the fallen leaves and twigs littering the forest floor. The sun gradually swung past high noon overhead, throwing steadily longer shadows as it continued westward across the sky. Despite burning legs and lungs, Kyle kept going, having long ago fallen into a trance. He heard the gurgling sound of a stream nearby, and after a time it came into view. Perhaps ten feet wide, and quite shallow, it flanked them on the right. Kyle wondered if it came from the lake he'd seen earlier, near the mouth of the cave.
Suddenly Darius slowed, then stopped. Kyle nearly walked right into the bodyguard's back, snapping out of his reverie and looking around. The forest a few dozen feet ahead came to an abrupt end, leading to a rocky ledge, with only blue sky visible beyond. Darius continued forward, walking out of the forest onto the ledge, and after a moment, Kyle followed. The sound of rushing water grew louder as he neared the forest's edge.
“Where are we?” Kyle asked the bodyguard, not for the first time wondering if the man knew where he was going. Or how he would know where he was going. But Darius merely walked to the very edge of the rocky ledge, stopping
there and gazing down, Kalibar at his side. Kyle sighed, following Darius up to the ledge, then looking down.
He gasped.
There, in a sheer drop nearly fifty feet below, was a large, crescent-shaped lake. It was bordered by a sandy shore, with the treetops of a dense forest beyond. And there, to Kyle's right, not thirty feet away, the stream they'd been following flowed off of the rocky ledge, forming a large, glittering waterfall to the lake below.
“Kalibar!” Kyle shouted, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest. He laughed out loud, staring at the shore far below, spotting the top of a small carriage there. “Kalibar, we did it!”
“Did what?” Kalibar asked.
“We made it to Crescent Lake!”
* * *
The trip down from the cliff to Crescent Lake was relatively short, Darius leading them leftward down a steep slope to the shore below. Kyle already knew the way, having walked up the path to get to the top of the waterfall with Kalibar during their time experimenting with the feathergrass extract. Once on shore, they made their way quickly to the carriage. It was, to Kyle's surprise, completely intact, including the wards surrounding it. The horses, however, were nowhere to be seen.
“I'm afraid I might not be as useful protecting you from the Death Weavers,” Kalibar stated, standing at Darius's side by the carriage. He was clearly frustrated by that fact. “We're going to need a few items from the trunk if we're to stand a chance against them.”
“Which bag?” Darius asked.
“The one with the suit of armor on top,” Kalibar answered. Darius walked up to the back of the carriage, lifting the door to the trunk. He searched through a few packs, then picked one up, setting it on the ground beside the carriage. Then he took Kalibar's arm, guiding him to the pack. Kalibar knelt down, reaching inside and rummaging around for a moment. “This is the pack,” he confirmed. Lifting something silver and shiny from the pack, he handed it to Darius. It was a metallic breastplate. A pale blue crystal was set in the center of it.
“What's that?” Kyle asked.
“The Cuirass Gravita,” Kalibar answered. “Armor worn by Ancient infantry. It detects an incoming attack, and generates a burst of gravitational force to repel the attack. The greater the force of the attack, the greater the repelling force. Put it on,” Kalibar instructed. Darius handed it to Kyle. It was shockingly light, almost weightless. He lifted the breastplate up, dropping it over his head onto his shoulders. It covered his chest and back more than adequately, having clearly been designed for someone larger.
“Why is it so light?” Kyle asked.
“Ancient magic,” Kalibar answered. “It continuously senses gravity and velocity, adjusting to nullify the inertia of the suit. Darius, if you could demonstrate?” Kalibar asked. Darius picked up a small stone from the ground, and tossed it right at Kyle. The stone smacked into his chest with a dull ringing sound. Kalibar smiled.
“Now send a stream of magic to the crystal on your chest piece,” he commanded. Kyle did so, and immediately felt a humming sensation all around him. Darius picked up another stone, and threw it at Kyle. This time, the stone never struck him, coming to a stop a fraction of an inch in front of him, then flying away at incredible speed.
“Cool,” Kyle murmured. He felt the Cuirass Gravita cinch inward, and realized that it was shrinking to fit his body. Ancient magic, no doubt. He watched as Kalibar rummaged through the pack again, pulling out a sword. It had a straight silver blade about two feet long, with a dull edge on both sides. The handle was black with silver symbols carved into it.
“This is the Spatha Luna,” Kalibar said. “The sword of the moon. Its blade is dull, but when activated, its edges light up with the power of lightning, effortlessly cutting into almost any substance.” He handed the sword to Kyle hilt first. Kyle took it gingerly, afraid that he might cut himself. Thankfully, Kalibar gave Kyle a sheath for the blade, which could be tied onto his back.
“How do you activate these?” Kyle asked.
“Just push magic into the main crystal on each item,” Kalibar replied. “You don't need to weave a pattern. After the first activation, the armor recognizes that the magic comes from you, so only you can activate it while you're wearing it.”
“Wait, why didn't we use these earlier?” Kyle pressed.
“You need to send a continuous stream of magic to keep them activated,” Kalibar replied. “...and you weren't able to do that yet.”
“Oh,” Kyle mumbled. “Right.”
Kalibar brought out a few more items, this time for Ariana. One was a magical dagger, the other a black suit. Ariana accepted both eagerly...particularly the suit. Having worn nothing below the waist but the tattered black cloak, she was undoubtedly ready for real clothes. She walked off into the forest to change, appearing a few minutes later. While the suit looked a bit too big for her at first, it soon shrank to fit her body, making her look remarkably fetching. Kyle found himself staring, and looked away, blushing furiously.
“Your dagger is similar to the Spatha Luna,” Kalibar explained to Ariana. “And your armor generates a form-fitting shield that repels attacks...although not as effectively as Kyle's. It will also allow you to vanish at will – just activate the diamond on your chest piece.” Ariana nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she vanished into thin air. A few moments later, Kyle felt a tap on his right shoulder. He spun around, and found Ariana standing behind him, a mischievous smile on her face. He smiled back, suddenly wishing that his suit could make him disappear. Useful magic indeed!
“Keep in mind that your dagger will be visible unless it is kept in your suit's sheath,” Kalibar warned Ariana.
“Are there any more invisibility suits?” Kyle asked. “If we're all invisible, the Death Weavers will never be able to find us.”
“Unfortunately no,” Kalibar replied ruefully. “This is one of the few left in existence...and no one knows how it works. If we could reverse-engineer that suit, our military would be unstoppable.”
“Oh,” Kyle muttered. He glanced at Ariana's suit, suddenly wishing he'd been given it. Kalibar continued rummaging through the pack, pulling out another breastplate identical to Kyle's, and put it on himself. Then he pulled out a pair of black boots, putting them on.
“What are those?” Kyle asked.
“An extra pair of gravity boots,” Kalibar answered. “Not that I'll make much use of them, being blind,” he added ruefully. “We could make it to Stridon in a few hours if I had my sight. I don't have a pair of gravity boots for you, unfortunately,” he continued. “But there should be regular boots for you and Ariana in another pack.”
Before Kyle could begin to search, Darius was handing Kyle the pair of boots. Kyle took off his acid-worn footwear, slipping the boots on. They fit perfectly.
Kalibar rummaged through the pack again, pulling out a long, curved sword. “This,” he explained, “is for you, Darius.” He held out the sword in front of him, clearly uncertain as to where exactly his bodyguard was.
“No thanks,” Darius replied. Kalibar frowned, but didn't push the matter.
“Your Ancient runics are extraordinarily rare – and hopefully more powerful than anything the Death Weavers will have ever seen,” Kalibar explained. “If they catch up to us, these will help even the odds.” He summoned Darius to his side then, placing a hand on his gilded armor. “We should go,” he stated. “...and quickly.”
Darius picked up the pack – which was by no means empty – and placed it back into the trunk of the carriage. He rummaged through the other packs again, and took one, lifting it from the trunk and slinging it over his broad shoulder. Kalibar gestured for everyone to move away from the carriage, and then stood motionlessly for a moment. Kyle felt a subtle vibration in his head; Kalibar must have activated wards to protect the carriage. With the Dead Man gone, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to break past them.
“Ah,” Kalibar stated suddenly. “My staff...I almost forgot. Darius, can you find it?” Darius se
arched the camp, finding Kalibar's staff lying on the ground a ways away. He handed it to Kalibar, who accepted it gratefully. They left the camp then, striding across the sandy shore to the forest beyond. They were soon surrounded by trees, the air much cooler in the shade of the leaves overhead. Darius led them over the uneven terrain, marching at his typical quick pace. Kyle and Ariana walked side-by-side as usual; Kyle found himself stealing glances at her more than once. With her tight black suit contrasting with her pale skin, she looking quite fetching. Luckily Ariana didn't seem to notice his furtive glances, seeming to be lost in thought once again. He wondered what she was thinking.
After a long, silent hike, the sun began to set, sending a splash of pink and purple across the sky. The forest became darker, the leaves on the trees starting to glow faintly. Kyle and Ariana marched together in the growing darkness, dodging trees and avoiding rocks and roots that threatened to trip them.
“We should make camp soon,” Kalibar suggested, stifling a yawn. “And I need to eat after using all of that magic.”
“I'll find a spot,” Darius replied. They walked for a few more minutes, and then Darius stopped. “There,” he said, pointing forward, and slightly to the left. Kyle peered off into the darkness, but couldn't see anything. Darius moved forward, motioning for Kyle and Ariana to follow. Soon Kyle saw what Darius had been talking about: a clearing in the forest, covered with sparse tufts of tough, short grass. Darius led Kalibar to the middle of the clearing.
“Let's eat,” Kalibar said.
Darius dropped the pack he'd been carrying onto the ground, and reached inside to pull out a few loaves of bread and some powdered soup mix. Kyle's stomach growled, and he realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day. With Darius's help, Kalibar filled some cups with hot water, and soon all four of them were sitting on the ground, dipping their bread into hot soup and eating it zestfully. When they could eat no more, the cups were put away, and Darius put Kyle and Ariana to work gathering branches for a fire. When they'd accumulated a fair amount in the center of the clearing, Darius turned to Kalibar.
