by Ron Root
Sully’s youthful energy had the boy up and exploring. “How about you search for bird’s eggs,” he told him, “while I try to spear us a meal.”
The skies were darkening by the time he finally speared one. He cleaned it, started a fire, and dug his cooking pan out of his gear. Once it was fried, he speared a piece on his knife and took it to Rayna as a peace offering.
“I’m not eating that horrible thing,” she said, turning up her nose.
“I’ll get you something from the food bag, then.”
After doing so, he joined Sully and Hagley by the fire. Hagley nodded toward Rayna. “What’s wrong with her—she seems mad?”
“I have no idea,” he said, shaking his head. It was then he noticed Sully looked even less pleased than Rayna. “What’s wrong, little soldier?”
“I think this be the place where I seen a monster eat a man.”
Gresham chuckled. “How could that be, you told me you’ve never been anywhere other than Stalwart and Portsmouth. How could you possibly have seen this place before?”
Sully scoured the water. “I seen it in my sleep.”
This time Gresham laughed outright. “You mean you saw it in a bad dream.”
“No!” Sully shouted, jumping to his feet, his anger genuine. “No, it was real! You’ll see,” he barked, stomping out of camp, heading up the hill.
Rayna finally joined them, warming her hands by the fire. She brushed her fallen curls out of her face. “Couldn’t you at least humor him?”
Uh oh. At least she was speaking to him now. “Humor him? He had a nightmare. I was just trying to ease his fears by pointing out that it wasn’t real.”
She turned her face away.
“This isn’t about Sully, is it? You’re angry with me, aren’t you?”
She sat quiet for a bit, before twisting to face him. “I thought you were my guide!”
He spread his arms. “Isn’t that what I’m doing?”
She tucked her knees to her chest, glaring at him. “You left me all by myself back there. All of you did,” she said, glaring at Hagley. “What if I’d fallen and hurt myself, or had some other mishap. You’d never have known.”
Gads, they had deserted her, if only briefly. Rayna had confessed to having a temper, and this was the second time it had been directed it at him. He hoped it’d be the last. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I was so intent on finding us a place to camp before it got dark that I…” He stopped mid-sentence. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She brushed it away. “A promise too late.”
Sully’s shout from above disrupted their icy conversation. “This cave be beauteous. Anyone wanna search it with me?”
“Should we see what he’s found?” he asked Rayna, hoping a distraction would calm her.
“You go; I’d prefer to be alone right now.”
‘Right now’ sounded promising. Maybe leaving to explore the cave was what was needed. He climbed up thirty or so paces before reaching its opening. Seemingly as anxious to escape Rayna’s wrath as he was, Hagley followed along. Not knowing what they might encounter inside, Gresham brought the crossbow with him. Maybe they’d find something edible.
From below, the cave looked like one would have to crawl on hands and knees in order to get inside, but it turned out to be overgrown brush blocking what was actually a rather tall entryway. Brushing it aside, he ducked inside.
His mouth dropped.
Hagley bumped into him, and looked too. “Amazing.”
The cavern was four times his height. Most astonishing was the oddly shaped stone pillar that stretched from floor to ceiling. It had bulges like knotty wood on an old tree. Sully had already scaled it. He sat there, stretching his arm above him. “I can touch the top!” he bragged, pressing his hand against the ceiling.
“Here, this should help us see,” Hagley said, casting a light globe, revealing a long hollow tunnel that stretched as far as Gresham could see.
Hagley grinned. “It’s so good to have my magic restored.”
Gresham found the comment puzzling. “What do you mean, restored?”
“I created so many light globes last night, it drained my aethers. One can only hold a spell so long before that happens. After that, you need rest to restore them. Sunlight makes that happen more quickly.”
There was so much about the arts Gresham didn’t understand, he doubted he ever would. That was for another time, however. Right now, the cave had his interest.
Thanks to Hagley’s globe, they could see some distance down its tunnel. Light shimmered off its rounded walls, sparkling shades of black and gray. Sully jumped down and ran down it to explore. A rocky bulge ran the entire length of the walls on either side. Chest-high to Sully, it looked as if a river had flowed through the tunnel and suddenly turned to rock.
Sully looked back over his shoulder. “Can you be making more light, Hagley? I can’t see no farther.”
Hagley looked at Gresham. “I think Gresham should.”
“Me?”
He laughed. “You heard me. You said you wanted me to teach you how to do it. What better time? You learned all you need to know on our trip to Portsmouth; it’s time to try casting something.”
Gresham took a deep breath. Cast a spell? Butterflies rippled through his gut.
Hagley fell into tutor mode. “A light spell is what we call a rudimental—the easiest kind of spell to master. Since light is basically aethers, changing them into light is the simplest of all spells. Any magus can master it, regardless of his specialty.” He raised a finger. “Watch and listen. I apply the Law of Association, recite its words, and trigger the spell.”
“I don’t remember that law.”
“If entities share a common element, their patterns interact through that element. In this case, the common element is light.”
Hagley uttered the rudimental. Instantly a second globe burst into view. “Maintaining two at once is draining, but a single one requires little effort.” A snap of his fingers and his second globe vanished. “You try it.”
More light would help. Hagley walked him through the spell sequence. Confident he was ready, Gresham attempted his first rudimental.
Nothing. He was crestfallen, his first spell officially a failure. Wanting something and making it happen were clearly two different matters.
“Nobody succeeds on his first try. Do it again.”
Gresham couldn’t; he’d already forgotten the words. He now understood why Hagley rehearsed his spells before casting them.
Under Hagley’s coaching, Gresham tried again; and again, and again and again. After uncounted unsuccessful efforts, he was about to give up when a second ball of glowing mage-light showered the cave. He’d done it! He’d cast a spell. He was a magus. He let out a whoop. The globe vanished.
“You lost your concentration. Don’t worry, it happens to everyone. Later, when you get the knack, you’ll learn to do other things and still be able to maintain a spell this simple. When you’re learning, even that’s hard. One more time now.”
Gresham tried again, and another globe burst into existence.
“You did it again!” Sully yelled. “We be having two magic men now.”
Gresham couldn’t contain his grin. “I did, didn’t I?” He shook his head in disbelief. Amazingly, the globe still held, even though he’d spoken.
“Good job. It takes most new students a fortnight to do this well,” Hagley said, slapping his back.
His globe vanished when they heard Rayna’s scream.
So frightened she could hardly breathe, Rayna stood, frozen in place. There, hovering near the shoreline not fifteen paces away, was the most grotesque creature she’d ever seen. A dull gray, it was gigantic; its length thrice that of a man. Huge eyes flanked its monstrous head. It had jagged teeth and too many arms to count. Worse, it looked poised to strike.
�
��Rayna! The trees!”
She snapped her head around. It was Gresham, crossbow in hand. Thank the gods, the men had returned.
The instant she dove for the trees, the thing struck. Something wrapped around her ankle. Its grip tightened, tripping her, the pain in her foot so awful she was sure it would be torn apart, or worse, that she’d get dragged into the creature’s maw.
Fortunately, something was preventing that from happening. She looked. The beast had snared not only her leg, but the stout root of a nearby bush. It was all that was saving her.
The beast let loose with a beastly roar. It swung to face Gresham, a greenish-red ooze bubbling out its eye from a bolt wound. She tried to pry herself loose while the thing was distracted but couldn’t.
“I’ll do it!” Sully yelled, racing toward her, his cutlass waving above his head. Dodging under the beast’s wildly flapping arms, he slashed at the limb that held her. Green gore splattered, and her leg broke free. Grabbing the boy’s hand, she dove into the brush, pulling him with her.
They scrambled out the far side of the stand. The beast bawled its objection, slashing at them with other arms, but found only tree limbs, not theirs. The wooded grove had saved them. Howling, it ripped at the trees, leaves and branches flying every which way.
Tugging Sully along behind her, she ran up the hillside, getting as far from the threat as she could.
“The cave!” Gresham yelled, barely audible over the creature’s howls.
Bolstered by her fear, she scrambled over rocks that would have seemed impossible to climb only hours ago. Heart racing, she clambered higher, distancing herself from that horrible monstrosity. Only when she’d reached the cave did she stop to catch her breath. “Are you all right, Sully?” she asked, turning to find him. Gods! He wasn’t with her.
“I got the map!” he yelled, running through camp, waving it over his head.
With a new target in its sights, the serpent lunged at him, arms reaching to grab him. Somehow, the nimble scamp dodged their grasp, running for the cave. Before it could strike again, a second monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Gods! How could Sully escape two of them?
Seeing this new rival, the first beast attacked the second, embedding its powerful beak in its neck.
Hagley was standing just out of reach of the dueling behemoths, his hands dancing as if operating a puppet. He made a grabbing gesture with his hand. The new beast moved in concert with his motion, lashing, open-jawed, at its attacker.
Once Sully made it to the cave, Hagley ceased his gyrations and the second monster vanished.
Hagley looked up the hill. “Get our gear!”
The monster launched itself at Hagley, but before it could strike, a second Hagley appeared. Then a third, and a fourth. While the beast attacked those closest to it, Gresham dragged their bags out of harm’s way. The original Hagley slipped behind a rock, hands still waving, his eyes riveted on the beast.
“I have them!” Gresham yelled, once he was well out of the creature’s reach.
All the Hagleys but the one behind the rock dissolved, leaving only the original running toward the cave. Once he got there, they ducked inside.
Hagley dropped to one knee, wheezing, his chest heaving, looking strangely excited. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Rayna plopped herself against the cave wall, wondering if her heart would burst. “Me either!”
Gresham rushed to her side. “Are you injured?”
She held his hand, trembling. “My foot hurts a little, but aside from that, I think I’m all right.” She shook her head, “I was sure I was about to die!” She frowned. “What happened to that second monster?”
Hagley sat up, beaming. “It wasn’t real. Like those other me’s, it was illusion to distract the real beast.” He clenched his fists. “I just tried two new spells, and both worked on my first try.” His eyes sparkled with a fire Gresham hadn’t seen in them before.
Rayna went over and hugged him. “Thank you, my wonderful magic man,” she said, kissing his cheek.
Sully scrunched his face. “I be thanking you too, Hagley, but I ain’t kissin’ you.”
Rayna wheeled on the boy, grabbing him by the shoulders. “You foolish boy!” she scolded, hugging him close. “If Hagley hadn’t used his magic, you’d be dead.”
He twisted away, looking hurt. “But I saved you.”
“Yes, you did,” she admitted, squeezing him to her. “But don’t do it again! I don’t want harm to befall you because you’re being my hero.”
“She’s right, little man,” Gresham said. “One of my old sergeants had a saying: there are two kinds of soldiers, old ones and bold ones, but you’ll not find any who are both. A good soldier must carefully choose when to be bold if he’s to grow old.” He squeezed Rayna’s hand. “That said, this time you chose wisely.”
Rayna wiped her eyes. “Thank you …all of you, for saving my life.”
Hagley cast another spell, and debris started filling the cave’s entrance, clogging it so that nothing else could get in, including light. He resolved the latter with another of his light spells.
Deciding the cave was the safest place to sleep, they spread blankets and turned in.
Gresham tossed fitfully all night, and was first to waken. A sliver of sunshine shone through the cave’s opening. He removed enough debris to peer outside. Spotting nothing dangerous, he squeezed through the opening. Crawling out, he inspected the area.
Tracks were everywhere, many where they’d planned to camp. They were freakishly large, made by something dangerous. As horrible as the beast’s attack had seemed at the time, it was most likely a blessing. What fate would they have suffered had they slept out here?
He scouted their intended route. Boulders blocked every avenue. There was no way forward. They’d either need to figure a way to cross over to the ocean side or return the way they’d come—and they hadn’t food enough to do that. Their chances of reaching A’ryth or even returning to Portsmouth looked grim.
As he was pondering their plight, an idea struck him. He returned to the cave. Kneeling beside Sully, he nudged him awake. “Hey little man, how deep did you explore these caverns?”
Sully sat up and yawned. “Hagley made me a torch. I went way far after you was asleep.”
“Did you find an end, or did the cave keep on going?”
“It be going on forever.”
Gresham nodded. “I thought so.”
Their chatter had awakened the other two. Gresham stood. “I just scouted outside. The path forward is impassable. It only gets more treacherous. Worse, there are tracks all over our camp. Big ones. I’ve not seen the likes of the creatures that come out at night here. Now I understand why the trail on the map was on the ocean side. We need to get over to that side, and I may have figured out how we can do it.”
He had everyone’s attention. “Last night Sully explored that tunnel. He never found its end. With luck, it might go all the way through the mountain—to the ocean side.”
He stooped down and picked up the food pack. “This is all that remains of our food—one or two days’ worth at best. We have two choices; hike back to where we landed and try to either find some way over that cliff, or back to Portsmouth. I don’t like our chances of doing either. Our other choice is the tunnels. I like the latter, but you all have a say. What should we do, explore or backtrack; what say you all?”
“I wanna go the tunnel way!” Sully offered.
Hagley disagreed. “We have no idea how far or where these tunnels go. It makes more sense to backtrack and find our way to Tanner Point.”
“There’s no way I’m going back the way we came,” Rayna moaned. “I barely made it here when I wasn’t tired and exhausted.”
“When aren’t you tired?” Hagley complained.
“Oh, like you weren’t,” she snapped.
“Besides, I don’t know how long I can maintain my light spell,” Hagl
ey added. “Think how happy it’ll be to be caught under a mountain, unable to see.”
It was the first time he’d seen Hagley show anything but deference to Rayna. Judging from her response, she was as shocked as him. She looked Gresham’s way. “You’re our guide, you decide.”
Hagley’s comments made sense, but there was no way Rayna could hike all the way back to Tanner Point. Besides, siding with Hagley would draw her ire. “How about we compromise and spend one, and only one day searching the caves. If we fail to find an ocean outlet, then we retreat to the quay.”
Hagley and Rayna looked at one another. Eventually each nodded.
Decision made, each ate half of a ration and got ready to leave. “Since Hagley says there’s a limit to how long a globe can be maintained…” he paused, grinning, “I’ll help him out.” He cast his newly learned spell, and glowing light appeared just over his head.
Rayna’s jaw dropped. “You just made light!”
He winked. “A little trick Hagley taught me.”
Everyone grabbed gear and they were on their way. Hagley led. Sully walked beside him, with Rayna and he right behind them. Gresham tapped the boy’s shoulder. “Sully?”
“Yeah?” he said, looking back over his shoulder.
“Did you see caves like these in any of those bad dreams of yours?”
“No.”
“Good. If you have any more nightmares, be sure to tell me about them.”
Rayna sidled up closer, entwining her arm in his. “Hey, Soldier Boy, you didn’t tell me you could make magic.” She flashed that wonderful smile of hers. “And searching the caves was clever. I’m most impressed.”
They continued, arm-in-arm, yesterday’s transgressions hopefully forgiven.
They hadn’t gone far when their tunnel forked. Which to take? “Since the ocean’s to the west and were heading south, let’s go right at every fork.”
