by Rain Oxford
Merlin frowned at me, but it was Gmork who spoke. “After all that, you want to give up and leave them to the beast’s mercy?”
“No. The monster will choose the most beautiful girl and take her back to his cave. We’ll just have to make sure that’s me.”
“But you are not a girl… are you? If you are, I am very confused.”
“I’m not a girl, no, but I can dress up as one.”
“It would not even be the first dress you have worn,” Merlin mused.
Gmork gaped. “Maybe I am not the one confused.”
“The monster will take me into his den, and that’s when I will defeat him. I’ll transport myself here afterwards.”
“You want to face the monster alone?”
“I’ll summon my dragon if I have to. If I can’t handle it, I’ll just magic myself out.”
Merry and three other women immediately agreed to the plan and prepared a bath for me. Merlin reluctantly agreed on the condition that I save myself if anything went wrong. After my bath, Merry put a wig and makeup on me while the others dressed me in a brilliant blue silk dress with silver ribbons.
A male sorcerer would never wear something like this to help people. Of course, he would never help people, either. I was a curse breaker; I could make my own rules. It wasn’t like anyone from my world would see me like this anyway.
When I went outside and Merlin saw me, he didn’t look surprised. Gmork gaped. “You need to tone it down or the mountain monster will have to fight other monsters for you.”
“That’s disturbing. You make it sound like I’m a piece of meat.” I did my best to tug the hem of the dress down. My wand was strapped to my inner thigh, so I had to be very careful about how I sat.
Merlin sighed. “That is a pitfall of being a beautiful girl; monsters just want you for your body. Now zombies, they have scruples; they are only interested in your brains.”
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” I suggested.
“Only for the poor sap that volunteered to play the damsel,” Gmork said.
* * *
Half of the men in the village accompanied me to the mountain, along with Merlin and Gmork. I thought being the bait would be a matter of sitting on a boulder and waiting until the monster emerged. Unfortunately, my part required a lot more active participation. I was instead bound to the two stone pillars.
“The monster likes a performance rather than just taking the sacrifice.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“No, I wouldn’t joke about this. He prefers it if they beg and scream a little, too.”
“What kind of perverted monster is this?” I shouted.
“Are you changing your mind?”
I wanted to, but they still needed help and I knew I could do it. I sighed. “No. How will I take my staff?”
“You will have to leave it behind.”
I really didn’t want to do that. I couldn’t summon my dragon without it.
I waited as night fell and the single moon glowed brightly in the sky among strange stars. Even on the cusp of danger, on a foreign world, with an enemy at my side, I realized this was what I wanted.
I was born a sorcerer with light magic in a family that could never accept me. On Caldaca, I made a place for myself as a curse breaker. Off of Caldaca, however, I was free to be anything I wanted.
My arms were hurting, though, and while I could kneel, I couldn’t relax. When the villagers started beating the drums, I knew it was time to pretend to be a helpless girl. I didn’t want to go through all this trouble and then not be able to coax a monster from his cave.
I had a very strange life.
“Help,” I called halfheartedly. “Don’t sacrifice me to the monster. I want to live. Please, someone help me.”
I glanced at Lionus and he smiled widely. “You’re doing good.”
I looked at Merlin. “Kalyn had better never hear about this.”
Merlin smirked. “I will not tell a soul. That would make it much harder to tease you.”
With as much enthusiasm as I could muster, I continued calling for help. When the monster finally emerged, I fell silent. It resembled a beetle that was as tall as me with slimy gray skin. It walked on six legs, but from its underbelly were a few dozen tentacles that writhed and squirmed.
I really, really wished it had been a giant spider.
“Keep shouting,” Lionus insisted.
“Not a chance.” They continued beating the drums. The monster’s eyes roamed over everyone until they locked on me. I didn’t scream.
But that’s because I was holding my breath too hard.
One of the tentacles wrapped itself around the rope holding my right wrist. I shuddered as its slimy skin brushed my hand. The rope snapped, but the creature held onto the rope. When it broke the other rope, a third tentacle wrapped around my waist and picked me up above its head. I was afraid it would drop me, but it was so much nicer than being pressed against it.
Merlin lunged at it, but one of the tentacles lashed out and hit him. He was thrown back with a yelp. Gmork, not surprisingly, did nothing. The monster took me into the cave and through the center tunnel. He must have squeezed through, but as it was completely dark, I couldn’t see how.
Soon, the space opened up and I was set down. It felt like I was on a pile of clothes. I heard clatter a little ways away and it sounded like the creature was leaving. It fell silent, but it still took a while before I felt safe enough to pull out my wand. Light. My magic responded easily and the tip lit dimly.
The creature was still there, but it was facing away and didn’t react to the light. The cavern was full of junk. I was on a pile of beautiful dresses. All around me were jewels, trinkets, gold, silver, and colorful fabrics. Stolen goods.
“I’m alive and he’s not eating me for now,” I said in Merlin’s mind. I felt a wave of relief from him.
An idea struck me and I started scouring the clutter for the scroll piece. I wanted to use magic to make it easier, but I was afraid of angering the monster. In the pocket of a brilliant blue blouse, I found the pearl ring. The scroll wasn’t there, though. Disheartened, I slipped the ring in my boot to give to Merlin.
I could have escaped then, but that would have meant I wasted my time. Instead, I aimed my wand at the monster, focused my mind, and said, “Turn it to stone.” My magic shot out, struck it, and… bounced off. Like the snakes, its skin was impervious to magic.
The monster turned on me. I headed for one of the tunnels, but I heard hissing from inside it before I reached it. I would rather take my chances on one huge target than a dozen tiny ones. I could have transported myself out. That was the smart thing to do. I wasn’t a hero.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t help people, and the people who lived in this village didn’t deserve to be tormented. I aimed my wand at it. A tentacle flew out to strike me, but my magic reacted by ripping the shirt I was standing out from under me, causing me to fall and dodge the appendage. Before I could get back up, I spotted a shiny shield that I had ignored earlier. I rolled to get it, but a tentacle wrapped around my ankle and pulled me away.
My first thought was to summon the shield, but I acted on instinct instead. I twisted onto my back as the monster pulled me close. It opened its mouth surprisingly wide and I pointed my wand to the back of its mouth. “Turn it to stone!”
Magic shot into its mouth. The inside of its mouth instantly turned to stone. Its thick skin was impervious, but the inside of it wasn’t.
The creature thrashed and screeched, its tentacles flailing wildly. When the thrashing caused dirt to fall, I covered my face and hoped that I wouldn’t be buried alive. I stayed down and out of the way until it was calm and quiet. Unfortunately, I had lost my wand in the commotion, which meant the magic had faded and it was completely dark.
Panic tried to push its way into my mind. It was too much like being trapped, which was worse than being about to be eaten by a monster. “Merlin?”
“I am here
, young sorcerer. The snakes are no longer a threat. Which tunnel are you in?”
“Don’t come in. There could be more tunnels and you could get lost.” Disappointing Merlin by dying in this cave after destroying the monster was not an option. This gave me the strength to push aside the fear and feel around for my wand.
I found it just as I heard the nearly silent footsteps of a wolf. I lit the wand again and saw that the monster was stone and Merlin had found me.
“I told you to wait outside.”
“Oh, did you? What I heard was ‘Please, someone help me!’ and ‘I want to live!’. What kind of wizard would I be to ignore a damsel in distress?”
I rolled my eyes and we made our way out. The snake holes were all gone. When we reached the villagers, I told them their monster wouldn’t be attacking them again. They cheered and rushed back to the village to tell the women, leaving Gmork, Merlin, and me alone at the cave. “It’s a good thing I’m not interested in fame,” I said after a long moment of awkward silence.
“You achieve fame when you please others. It is only yourself you have to face in the mirror. You can look back on today and know that you made the world better.”
“I didn’t know if you wanted it, but I thought you should have it over the monster.” I pulled out the ring. Then it suddenly transformed into a piece of the scroll, very similar to the other one. “I didn’t do that.”
“I know, young sorcerer. I am sure the ring is long gone, destroyed by time as Madelyn was. It is the way of nature. The only things that are meant to last are memories.”
I held the crystal over the scroll. Surprisingly, I saw the syrus. “So we have to go back to Gmork’s castle?”
Merlin considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “The significance of the syrus is not that I was trapped in it but that I was released from it. The fairies made sure you got the syrus because they knew you could help me.”
“We need to go back to the beginning, where I got the syrus?”
“Or the spot where you released me. We will start in the village and go from there.”
Chapter 13
We arrived on Caldaca, in my homeland, as the sun peeked over the horizon. The small, peaceful Akadema village was barely recognizable without raiders running around. I took off my robe and turned it inside out. The only Rynorm on Akadema was my father, but that didn’t mean they’d never heard the family name.
“Minof,” I whispered to the robe. The interior cloth instantly changed color and texture to mimic the Minof lineage robe. It was ivory-colored cotton with pearlescent threads and family crest. It didn’t look right on me, but even with my mother gone, I didn’t want to be recognized.
There wasn’t an inn to sleep in or tavern to get information at, as the village was too small. We approached a man as he was organizing his vegetables to sell. “Hello. We’re looking for a powerful object of magic.”
He frowned at me. “You must be lost and confused. Major quests like that take place in large villages.”
“What is he saying?” Gmork asked. I slipped the Siren off and put it around his neck.
“But this one is personally relevant,” I told the man.
“Oh, then that makes sense. Were you born here?”
“No, I was given a magic chest here.”
“I see. Then you need to find the person who gave you the chest. I can offer you a side quest, but it will not be worth your time.”
“Is he serious?” Gmork asked. “Is that how things are done here?”
“Welcome to Caldaca, where every magic, myth, and monster cliché is legitimate.”
“Have you spoken to a mage about your quest?” the man continued, ignoring the talking wolves.
“I haven’t, no.”
“Well, if you happen upon one, I suggest doing so.”
“I will, thank you.” Mages always knew the best way to complete a quest.
“You’re welcome. Be careful now, it’s not safe after sunset.”
“It’s morning. And what’s wrong with sunset?”
“Ilvera Dracre, the most powerful sorceress of Akadema, has disappeared.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”
“No way. Now that she’s gone, many sorcerers have moved here and are causing problems trying to prove themselves to be the strongest.”
I nodded. “I definitely don’t want to get caught up in that. Thank you for the warning. Just out of curiosity, what is the side quest?”
The man straightened and turned away from his vegetables, giving me his full attention for the first time. “The prince of a nearby kingdom had a ball recently to choose a wife. Unfortunately, the woman he chose disappeared before he could announce it and he can’t remember what she looked like.”
“How could he not remember what she looked like?”
The man shrugged. “The prince isn’t very bright. He is, however, very rich and wants to marry the woman right away. He can’t find her because he doesn’t know her name, where she lives, or what she looks like. He has flyers out looking for her, but there have been no true leads yet.”
“She is a servant,” Merlin said with a bored tone.
“Why a servant?” I asked.
“If she were royalty, she would refuse him to his face, not flee. Since she has not responded to his search, she either did not receive the news, was embarrassed to reveal herself, or she was prevented from announcing herself. All three possibilities indicate she is of low status.”
“The prince would never fall for a servant,” the merchant said.
“Did she leave anything behind that he could track her with?” I asked.
As if he had been waiting for me to ask, he pulled a scroll out of his vest pocket and unrolled it to show me a drawing of a boot. “She lost one of her shoes as she left. The prince is going to have every pretty woman in Akadema try it on until he finds the owner of the boot.”
“So if the shoe fits…”
“He’ll marry her.”
“Don’t you think there might be more than one woman on Akadema with that shoe size?”
He opened his mouth to speak before hesitating. “That’s a good point.”
I turned to Merlin. “Should we help---”
“No.”
* * *
We searched the village until we found the man who had given me the syrus. He was, unfortunately, a plain and forgettable man, so I wasn’t sure it was him until he recognized me, set his bucket of apples down, and smiled. “You’re the Dracre who saved our village from raiders!”
“Yes, but I’m not a Dracre anymore. In fact, I gave up being a sorcerer and now I’m a curse breaker.”
“You stopped being a sorcerer? Is that possible?”
“It was for me. I’m Ayden Rynorm now. This is Merlin, the monster who was trapped in the syrus, and Gmork.”
“I am Maro Hiyo,” he said politely to Merlin and Gmork. Then he leaned towards me and whispered, “I thought wolves were extinct.”
“Merlin is a wizard and Gmork is a necromancer.”
Now he looked very confused.
“I’m looking for a magical item, and since you gave me the syrus, we think you might have this other item.”
“Actually, I do have a mysterious object. What is it you are looking for?”
“A piece of a scroll.”
“Oh. I have a jar that appeared a month ago.”
“The scroll could be inside,” Merlin suggested.
“That’s a good point. I didn’t look inside.”
“Why not?”
“It wasn’t my quest.”
“Well, if you give us the jar, we can look inside,” I suggested.
“I’m afraid I can’t just give it to you,” Maro said. “You will have to prove your wisdom.”
“Seriously?” Gmork asked.
“That’s normal for Caldaca,” I said.
“Then travel west to Silver Stone Mountain,” Maro said. “Be careful not to get it confused with Beig
e Boulder Mountain; that’s a very different quest.”
“Thank you.” We left and took the road going west. “I wonder what quest it will be.”
“Probably something that will take all day, and it may not even be the scroll,” Merlin said.
We traveled until the sun was setting, when we arrived at a split in the road. There were two signs on the ground, one of them for Silver Stone Mountain and one for Beige Boulder Mountain. Unfortunately, they had been knocked over so that we couldn’t tell which one had pointed in which direction.
I sighed. “Why can’t this be easy for once? Any idea which one to take?”
“The Silver Stone sign is slightly to the left of the other sign, so we will try the left path. With luck, there will be another sign shortly to tell us if we are on the right path or not.”
* * *
We walked well into the night and I wanted to stop for food. Just as I opened my mouth to suggest it, Merlin and Gmork froze.
“We are surrounded,” Merlin said.
“How?”
“They stayed downwind until the last second,” Gmork explained.
I transformed my staff into a sword and pulled out my wand, ready to fight. Then I felt a strange current through the air and groaned. “They’re professionals. They put up an anti-magic ward,” I said, putting my wand away. I was surprised and relieved that my staff didn’t change back.
Five men emerged from the forest to surround us, all dressed in black metal armor with swords and axes. “Halt,” one of the men said. “This is the end of your journey.”
At least if I couldn’t use magic, they couldn’t, either. Fortunately, I had my sword. “How foolish do you have to be to challenge me?” Gmork asked.
“Can you call Veðrgramr?” Merlin asked in my mind.
“Maybe. If dragon magic is stronger than the anti-magic ward. Do you think we need him, though?” I was afraid asking him to fight five bandits would insult him.
“Perhaps not, but be prepared in case we do.”
Gmork attacked two of the bandits, which was a bad move on his part because he wasn’t impervious to blades. I would never be great at sword fighting, but thanks to extensive training from experienced warriors, I was better than people expected me to be. Working together, Merlin and I fought off three of the bandits while Gmork fought another two.