The Stones of Magic

by A.W.Chrystalis

Chapter 6

  Mach, whom had eaten more than his fill of food, was beginning to nod off in his seat. The meeting ended before he could fall asleep and it was with heavy legs that he rose from his seat. He found himself walking off a bit of the food before he could even think of reporting to his quarters to sleep. He knew that he was not going to be able to fall asleep once he found his bed in his current state.

  He walked the battlements that looked out across the lands all around. He could see far in almost every direction, the exception being east through the woods. The light coming from above illuminated everything beyond the wall with a gentle glow. To the north and west, he could just make out the faint glow of small fires, their lights reflecting dully off the waters between him and the fires. Selane.

  Would he be able to see the port from here in during the daylight? Had the soldiers of the fort seen the attack?

  “I heard your tale from Bastra, Mach. It is one that I would not wish on anyone, especially someone as young as you.” He turned to find their guide standing only a few feet away, he hadn’t even heard the man approach. “A gold piece for your thoughts.” The man looked as though he actually cared about what Mach was thinking and how he was feeling.

  There was a pleading look in the man’s eyes that Mach could not resist. “I just I wish I had found my mother before coming here. But I also know I would have been useless in trying to find her.” Mach admitted, unsure why he was opening himself to this man. “I would probably have just gotten in the way anyways.”

  “I see where you are coming from. Seriously, I really do.” The man said gently. “Wanting to help, but yet, knowing you may interfere with the work and make things harder and more dangerous for others. It has happened too many times in my own life. Best thing to do is step back and let those that are skilled take care of the task at hand,” the man said nodding his head slowly. Then in an even softer, more grievous tone, “You know, I was at the shore when the attack hit.”

  Mach looked up at him with such quickness pain shot through his neck.

  The man sighed heavily. “I was having myself a swim when it happened. I heard the shots fired. Couldn’t see how the villagers were going to get away. Those people against a weapon that was only supposed to be a rumor.” He said softly, looking as though he were remembering that day as vividly as Mach had been. “I figured, that if I could not see them from where I was, that it was likely they could not see me either. In that way, I also figured that I could do nothing except watch and report what happened to Captain Kenry. Shortly after, I moved up the coast and I saw a good many of them trying to swim across the bay. Those bastards opened fire on them. I have no clue if any survived it or not.”

  Mach saw that there were tears behind this man’s eyes that he would not let fall. He was too proud to let them through, but they were there nonetheless.

  “You should know, don’t tell the other two, but I had a friend or two in that town. An old friend of mine, went by the name of George, was among them. Good man, generous, a good blacksmith, from what I hear.” Mach was astonished that this man knew George. “But I know that old man is dead now, there is no way he would have ran, or hid. He would have taken as many of them with him as he could. But he would have been outnumbered too severely to have survived it.”

  Keeping his voice down to a whisper, Mach explained what had happened, “That’s exactly what he did. He told me to run, and then he charged straight at them.” Mach was looking out to the north again remembering what had happened and tears burned at his eyes.

  “You are a strong man, Mach,” the other said after a long silence, a silence in which they both had to pull themselves together. “I don’t know many adults who could have done what you have, let alone anyone who has barely become old enough to leave their homes. You were able to act when most would freeze in place. Granted, you needed someone like George to yell at you, but still, I think you are as strong as your father was. He was as brave as any I had known. Hell, he had to be with the work he did.”

  Mach flushed with that last remark. He was not entirely sure what he meant by 'the work he did', but he knew it was meant as a complement. He stared out to the bay, this time not seeing the small fires of what was his home, but remembering the ships with as much detail as he could. He would find those ships and burn them down if he could. He would find the owners of those ships and make them pay for what they did. That much he swore to himself. After a few more moments of silence, he realized that he did not even know this man's name. “What is your name?”

  “My name? Oh hell, I forgot you were not there when the introductions were made.” He looked startled, and then amused “My name is Sehto.”

  “Sehto, how long are you going to be with us?” Mach asked suddenly.

  “As long as I can, why do you ask?”

  “I want revenge on whoever did this, for my mother, for my friends.” He said earnestly, in a voice that was barely a whisper. “And for George, and if you were a friend of George’s, I want you with me, we will find them together, and pound them to dust.” he pounded his fist on the wall in front of him hard enough that he broke the skin open of his hand on the stone. A tiny smear of blood stained the grey of the stone in the torchlight.

  Sehto said nothing for a long moment, he just leaned against the wall looking out to sea with Mach. Finally the scout broke the silence. “I am not sure revenge would be best, but I ain’t in your shoes either. Go and get some sleep lad. Tomorrow we begin our hunt.” The scout placed his hand on his shoulder for a moment. It felt like many things were passed between the two of them in that one moment. Sehto walked away from him in silence. He stood there staring out across the dark lands beyond the walls.

  Indeed, his hunt would begin soon.

  Mach went to bed shortly after, thinking about what just happened. He liked Sehto, more than he had liked any of the others. Was this how it felt to have a war companion?

  So many of the travelers that came to Selane would talk about their times in a battle or skirmish, or just fights with men they barely knew but held in such high regard that they were almost like brothers.

  He wasn’t sure, but there was something he liked about the man. He was too tired to know for sure but that was all he knew or cared about at this moment. He had one ally to hunt with.

  The room he had been given was a small one and that was fine with him. It was not as though he had been expecting anything marvelous. This was a fort after all and he was only going to be here for this one night.

  He slept restlessly, his mind was trying to make sense of all the things that had happened and it seemed impossible that he would ever be able to sort out his feelings. Each time he would come close to an understanding of an event, another thought would rear its ugly head and he would have to start all over.

  Despite all that, he woke in the morning feeling a little better than he had the previous day. As he left his room for his breakfast, he realized just how sore and stiff he was from the training and riding he had done the previous day, his body did not want to do what he told it too. He figured he would just eat with everyone else in the camp, just as he had been about to do the previous night.

  He found Mendoll and Bastra sitting at one of the meal hall tables. He greeted the two with a quick wave, Mendoll waved back while Bastra merely nodded. Sehto wasn’t around and when Mach asked the soldiers that were serving the meal about him, he was told that Sehto did not eat with the other men even when he was around. The rest of the time he was gone before the first signs of dawn would approach and tended to find his own meals out beyond the walls anyways.

  They all finished their breakfasts quickly and gathered their gear together so they could leave. He was the first ready having barely even opened his pack once in the time they were there. He pulled his armor and leggings out for the journey ahead though. He would be sure to use them this time. The last thing he needed was another wound when it could be avoided.

  He got to the gate just as Sehto was
walking back in. The scout was dressed in the same clothing he had worn the previous night. The scout greeted him with a pat on the shoulder and a nod. Mendoll and Bastra came up behind them a moment later, their gear hanging across their backs. It was only then that the early morning silence was broken.

  “We can leave the horses here, or turn them loose. Either way they cannot come in the forest with us.” Sehto said

  “My Chariine is already gone, the others can stay here. They were the guard’s horses anyways so it is only right that they stay with the fort.” Mendoll commented.

  “Very good. And you, lord Bastra, I wish you to walk along with us. If those wolves are to come back to the woods to gather more for their pack or seek their revenge, it will be good to have your spear with us.”

  “I take it I won’t be able to see from above?” Bastra asked.

  “No, not enough to see clearly. Granted you would be able to reach the other side quickly, probably within only a few minutes. But it will take a while to get through on foot and I would rather all of us together in case those wolves come at us or worse still, if that hydra shows up.” Sehto replied.

  Bastra nodded his understanding. Sehto left to give his final report to Captain Kenry leaving the three of them to stand around and wait. By the time he returned Mendoll and Bastra were anxious to leave.

  “A straight shot to the river bank would only take an hour or so on foot. However, with all the twists and turns that make the paths in there, I would not expect us to reach it until past mid-day.” Sehto said.

  “Let us get moving then, before the day grows hot.” Bastra said.

  The company of four left the fort and headed straight for the woods that bordered the kingdom. It did not take long for them to reach the forest, the first sun still only just rising in the west. However, as they entered the forest Mach saw that Sehto had been right. This forest did have numerous twists and turns and it would take a long time for them to find their way over to the river. They would surely have been lost inside an hour had they come here without the scout’s help.

  There was little signs of life despite the abundance of vegetation. That was a little odd to Mach. There should be more than this! There should be some sign of that hydra, shouldn’t there? Or at least birds or squirrels or something to make their presence known.

  Several times he had thought he had heard movements in the distance, just out of sight as though there was something following them. Not wanting to be thought a coward, he kept his fears to himself and marched closely behind the others. After all, Bastra and Sehto seemed to be fine and it did not appear as though they had noticed anything. So why should he be concerned about something that was not there.

  Sehto called a halt around mid-morning. They had entered a clearing that seemed to have been made just for this purpose. “We are being followed.” Sehto blurted out. “Hunted more like. Ever since we entered the woods.”

  Mach’s heart seemed to leap into is throat. “Followed!” How in the world were they being followed? The calm this man was showing was simply astonishing, especially with the fact that they were being hunted!

  “You are sure?” Bastra asked gravely, his eyes looking all around trying to catch some sign of what the tracker had commented on.

  “Yes, five, maybe eight wolves.”

  “Could be the ones we ran into the other day. After all, this is the area they would have had to come to if they were to regroup and hide.” Mendoll suggested.

  “Could very well be, and the most likely answer.” Sehto added.

  “What are we going to do about them?” Mach asked suddenly.

  “Nothing yet,” Sehto said, “We would not do well to try and take them right now.”

  Mach said nothing. He took a long drink from his water pouch and looked around wary of any movement. Sehto allowed only a few moments to pass and they got to their feet and started out again.

  This last portion of the forest was even quieter than the last. Much quieter if that was even possible They only got about a hundred yards or so further when Sehto stopped the group.

  “I want you to wait here.” He said dropping his pack and rummaging through it, pulling ropes and bits of metal and stashing them in his shirt “I am going to slow them down a bit. Wait for me here.” Than the scout ran off back the way they had come without another word.

  “Why is he so worried about five or so wolves?” he asked, “We took on fifty and made it fine, now we have an extra hand and much less to face?”

  “Because now we are in their element,” Bastra answered calmly, “and we are out of ours, close quarter combat is not as efficient as a good sneak attack. In this fight, in this area, they could hide and strike without our knowing until it is too late. They will have a distinct advantage over us. Last time we had the warnings from the horses and enough time to make some kind of plan, even if it was only a few moments. However, here they will be able to get around us and outflank us. We do not have the wide view we had last time either. For all we know there could be a group ahead of us waiting for the ones behind us to make the first strike. They may only be animals, but you should never underestimate them. The odds are just stacked too far against us to be practical to stand and fight.”

  He only had a few moments to ponder what Bastra had said. Sehto returned and signaled to them to keep quiet and to follow him quickly. They followed a small hidden path at a speed close to jogging. It had been so well hidden that he would never have seen had Sehto not pointed it out.

  They went through the last of the forest trail in complete silence, even their footsteps seemed to be as silent as the wind. It was only them and the forest, the wolves seemed to have lost their trail.

  They reached the river a little after mid-day. They walked out of the trees to bright sunlight and a stunning and frightening view of the bank across the way. The river was wide and fast moving. The forest boundaries came right up to the banks and into the river in a few spots. At others, the forest trees were a bit further back. The channel was at least half a mile across.

  The other side, at least the little that he could see from where he stood, looked as if it had been recently burned. There was not a single sign of a green leaf or any bright colors in sight.

  How were they going to cross? Surely they could not try swimming across, that would be suicide even without a giant beast lurking somewhere nearby that would kill them if it saw them. Bastra could carry them one by one, but if one group was attacked while he was with the others that party could end up dead within minutes.

  Sehto stopped and looked around quickly. It was clear that he had been here before it only took him a moment to get his bearings. After the moment’s pause, their guide moved on heading northward along the bank too where a cluster of trees went right into the water. As he reached the trees, he cautiously moved into the water and into the tree line searching as he went.

  He disappeared from sight for only a few moments, emerging from the trees a few feet from where he had entered. He was no longer wading through the water though, instead he was aboard a small raft paddling his way down to them along the bank.

  Here was the proof that he had crossed these waters in the past. It was wooden, only large enough for a dozen people or so if they crowded together. A large pole rose from the middle that could be used to attach a makeshift sail if one had been available.

  When the scout reached the group, both Mach and Mendoll looked at the raft suspiciously. On the other hand, Bastra looked a little smug. The raft did look sturdy enough to hold all of them, though looks could be deceiving.

  Sehto beckoned them to the raft. “Alright, you two get on here. Bastra we need an aerial watch. Never know what these waters have in them and it will be good to have a wider view if anything comes at us from underneath.”

  Bastra did not bother to ask question, he obeyed the order, took flight, and immediately started to circle the river looking carefully at everything he could see as Mendoll and Mach climbed unste
adily onto the raft.

  The moment Bastra waved to the group that the way was clear Sehto pushed off and gave Mendoll and Mach a paddle each. Together they steered themselves across the river. It was difficult for them to get into the right rhythm and several times Sehto had to call a stop. It took a while to reach a point halfway point across.

  Bastra’s voice came from above, almost silent, as it was lost in the noise of the wind and water. Mach looked up in time to see Bastra snapping his wings open inches from the raft, Sehto was throwing something into the air a moment before dropping to the floor. He and Mendoll mimicked the Sehto a moment later and held on as if their lives depended on it.

  Mach glanced up long enough to see that Bastra was now pulling a rope behind him that was attached to the front of their raft. The raft gave an almighty lurch as the Gargoyle pulled with all his might, beating his massive wings with everything he had. Mach gripped the wood tighter as something massive broke through the water right where they had been a moment earlier. Water sprayed everywhere as the thing dived below the water.

  Whatever it was, it was far larger than anything Mach had ever seen in his life.

  Bastra towed them across the remaining distance within a few moments, his wings beating furiously on the air. They hit the bank hard enough that it threw the three men from the raft and onto the sand. Bastra landed between them and the water a moment later, spear in hand his back turned to them.

  “Everyone into the woods, now!” Bastra panted, his breaths coming in short gasps as he began to step backward toward the safety of the forest.

  The three men gathered their packs quickly and ran for the concealment of the woods. Breathing heavily, Bastra was a step behind them as they reached the edge of the woods.

  “What was it?” Sehto asked.

  “I am not sure, but it was massive, much larger than any crock I’ve seen.” Bastra said his breathing already becoming more stable. “Whatever it was, we need to move deeper into the woods and out of sight.”

  “Probably that damned hydra!” Sehto said as they half ran into the forest.

  “You really think that it could have been?” Mendoll said thoughtfully between breaths. “Whether it was or not, we need to get moving and quickly. If it struck once it may decide to give chase.”

  “You are right, anything that big won’t give up easily.” Sehto said, “And if it was that hydra, those things are smart enough to not only make plans and but to execute them as well. A sneak attack from below sounds like the kind of thing a hydra would do. I just hope that it decides we are not worth its time.”

  The group hurried their steps into the woods and toward the suns that had just begun their descent into the east. Unlike the woods they had just left, which were still green and full of plant life, this side of the forest was dead.

  According to Mendoll the trees here had died long ago, far before the Great Wars had even started. There were no obvious signs of life but Sehto claimed that the creatures living here were very good at hiding. The scout could see the slight signs of life everywhere he looked. Mach was clueless as to where these signs were but he trusted Sehto’s skills. If he said there were signs, then there must be signs.

  The earth was the color of ash as if the ground itself had been burned long ago. The only water around was not usable, most of it came from small ponds that looked unclean and unfit for drinking.

  Small clouds of mist flowed between the trees as though they were a living entity. Mach felt as if it might very well be alive, the feeling of being watched increased as more and more of the misty clouds came into view. It felt as if they were being watched by thousands of eyes and more than a few times Mach thought he could hear something whispering within them. If the rest of the group felt the same, no one said a word about it.

  The day had turned dark with heavy clouds and though it was only just after mid-day the light above was gloomy and almost non-existent. Their trek had gone quickly that morning through the border woods, with little in their path to truly get in their way.

  Here on the other side, where trees lay dead across paths and a feeling of being stalked was more intense than ever, progress slowed to a crawl. Several times Sehto had to leave the group and search out a new path because something was in the way of the one they were on. Each time they stopped he felt as if they were going to be attacked by the unseen creatures that lurked just out of sight.

  As true twilight came, they ceased their march and made camp. According to Sehto, it was not wise to trek any forest at night, let alone this one and there was no reason not to believe him.

  They ate a dinner of dried meat and cheese and washed it down with some of the water they had brought from the fort. It turned out to be a enough of a satisfying meal that Mach found his stomach at ease for the first time that day. Although, the silence that surrounded the camp made everyone feel uneasy.

  When Mach used spend time at night in the forests around Selane, the very trees seemed to be alive with noise. Birds would sing, bugs would buzz, wind would rustle leaves. In general, there was so much noise at night in the woods he was used to, that sometimes he could not sleep unless it was present. But here in Sirunre, here the woods were as silent as death itself. That lack of noise made it difficult to sleep even with exhaustion overwhelming his senses.

  “Do you think those wolves will make it across?” He asked quietly after they had all finished eating. They were all sitting around a tiny fire that had been built, the heat coming from it doing nothing for the chill that kept washing over him as his mind and eyes played tricks on him all around.

  “Yes and no,” Sehto answered just as quietly. “Yes, because they made it over to Eldour, that means they can make it back to this side. However, I say no because that hydra lost one meal when we slipped by. It will be on full alert for trespassers and not hesitate to strike as it did with us. The wolves will have to swim the entire way, while we were pulled by Bastra.”

  “Will that thing come after us all the way out here?” he asked.

  Mendoll answered calmly. “I doubt it. If legend holds true, than that hydra will not leave an area that it has superior advantage to give chase to something that is not a guaranteed meal. They are smart enough to know that they are slower than most prey on foot. Their size also gives away any chance of surprise attacks. It would not be profitable for it to follow us.”

  “And hunting us won’t be easy for it now that we are so far inland.” Bastra added. “It will have an easier time waiting for something to come across that river. Besides, if it really gets hungry there are plenty of aquatic animals that it can chase down easily enough.”

  They all laid their bed rolls down as a slow steady wind picked up, moving the branches like a nightmare coming to life. Bastra took guard duty again by sitting himself outside of the firelight with his back to the group, he seemed to prefer it that way and no one was going to say anything against it.

  It was not long until Mach was fast asleep. His dreams were haunted once again by the morning of the attack on Selane. The smell of the smoke was thick and the fierce beating of his heart, how it seemed to skip a beat every time one of those shells hit something. The constant fear that came with the whole ordeal seemed to overwhelm him in his sleep.

  Mach stood in a field surrounded by smoke and mist. He could see the three suns above, all three looked crimson red through the smoke in the air.

  Then the laughter came, the laughter that made him shiver in fear and hatred.

  “You think you can take me on boy?” The voice laughed somewhere in the smoke beyond. “You don’t have a chance.” The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time as though the speaker was in a thousand different places at one time.

  “I will stop you!” Mach yelled into the smoke, his anger and fear mixing within him to give him strength he did not feel he truly had. His eyes darted one way than another, searching for any sign of his adversary. For any sign of where the attack would come from. “If not for
my own personal revenge, then just to stop you from hurting anyone else.”

  The laughter grew louder, as though whoever it was out there was directly in front of him. “Your father didn’t stand a chance against me and neither do you!”

  He could feel himself shaking with rage. This man, he knew his father did he? Suddenly, from out of the mist a human shape shot out at him with inhuman speed, a sword glinting on the dull sun light. He raised his sword and blocked the attack in time to prevent being struck down.

  The enemy’s face, so distorted by smoke, haze and his own fear, was right up against his. He could smell the putrid breath and the only thing that he could make out clearly were the wild red eyes glaring into his, making his skin tingle with fear.

  “You will never defeat me, you are weak, just like your father. He was no match for my blade, what makes you think you are!” The man’s voice snarled into his face.

  His rage peaked and he prayed for power he did not know how to use, power that felt so familiar yet so alien. In an instant of thought his blade burst into flame before him, the light so bright that he had to close his eyes against it. His rage made physical. His anger turned to living flame.

  He opened his eyes slightly and through it he could see the man in front of him, red eyes, sun tanned skin and jet-black hair. The flames of his sword seemed to make his opponent more human, it made the enemy seem…weak. The look of fear was thick in the man’s red eyes, a look that quickly turned to rage.

  Mach stood beside a river. The night was dark, thick clouds were covering the moons high above but the light was still just enough to see by. He looked around cautiously and witnessed something pulling itself out of the river, tired and almost weak from its exertion of swimming.

  Slowly he moved closer and realized it was a wolf. Not just any wolf though, but the same breed of wolf that had attacked him a few days before. More wolves were swimming toward the shore, coming slowly but steadily. They had waited for the cover of night to cross the river. He assumed the wolves thought that they could out maneuver the beast of the river and still be able to catch their human prey.

  He watched as one by one the wolves crawled onto land and as the last wolf got out of the water, it shook its coat to dry itself. He heard one of the wolves growl loudly and though he could not understand exactly what the wolf was saying, he somehow felt what it meant. No you fool! Not that close to the water!

  Before the last of the growl faded, a long snakelike head shot out of the water. He could only make out the flash of white teeth before it and the wolf were gone below the water’s surface. There were screams of outrage from the other wolves as the splashing faded With a swiftness that only wolves could produce, the remaining four beasts ran for the deep trees. With a splash of water and a crash of trees falling, the hydra was up and out of the water giving chase.

  This hydra was not going to let them get away. It had lost one meal already, it was not about to give up on this one. The single wolf had apparently not been enough to sate its appetite. The beast was huge, ten times larger than Bastra, Five heads stuck out from the base of its thick neck, each with teeth the length of a sword.

  The beast crashed through the trees and rushed at the wolves. Fleeing for their lives, Mach was only barely able to keep up. However, this beast was slightly faster and was catching up to them exceedingly fast. With hunger driving it onward, the hydra seemed to have all the energy it needed to hunt on land.

  It caught another wolf with one of its jaws and it did not bother to stop and devour its catch, instead it kept charging with the other three heads reaching for more while two ripped the wolf it had caught in half to swallow the halves whole.

  Mach woke with his heart beating frantically. He could hear something massive crashing through the dead trees. Bastra stood just a few feet from him, the Gargoyle was looking back the way they had come, one hand over his shoulder gripping the shaft of his spear tightly. Mach leapt to his feet, sword in hand, and ready to fight. The sudden sound and movement woke the other two and in a heart’s beat Mendoll and Sehto were standing half asleep ready to defend themselves.

  “What is it?” Sehto whispered.

  “It’s coming!” Mach said, completely out of breath as if he had been running from the thing himself. “The hydra, its coming!”

  Mendoll looked at Mach oddly for a moment before returning his stare at the forest before them. The Healer’s eyes held several different emotions in them. The most prominent that Mach could sense was confusion.

  “Don’t anyone move.” Mendoll said, as he lifted his staff. No one dared to breath as Mendoll hit the end of his staff onto the ground. Immediately the pearl crystal that rested upon the tip of his staff lit up like one of the stars above. The moment the light flared he felt something coming from within it. He could not describe what it was, but it felt as if he could feel a heartbeat coming from the staff itself, as though it were alive and calling to him.

  Once again he felt something like kinship, something like finding a long lost cousin or uncle with the Healer. Mendoll’s eyes turned as white as the crystal light from his staff and he began to whisper words under his breath. The group waited impatiently as Mendoll performed whatever magic he was doing.

  As quickly as he had started the spell he stopped it. A look of worry and fear was in his silver eyes.

  “We need to move to a better spot, we need to get out of sight and quickly. It would seem that the wolves tried to cross the river thinking that hydra was asleep. It has already gotten two of them and it is moving this way fast.” Mendoll ran over to the other end of the encampment where a giant tree stood half split open. The tree was old and dead like everything else in the forest but the inside of it had been hollowed out. Everyone climbed in it quickly, including Bastra and his considerable bulk. It was a tight fit but luckily everyone was able to fit awkwardly inside of the truck.

  Mendoll placed his staff to the ground again and the crystal lit up. It lit up brightly for a moment before falling dim again. At the moment the staff’s light went out the entrance to their hiding spot became hazy, not unlike what one would see if they were in looking out across the hot seawater’s during the height of summer.

  “We will be fine in here for the time being,” Mendoll whispered. “Let us hope that it follows the wolves through here and does not stop to inspect what we left behind at camp.”

  Everyone fell silent and no one dared to speak as the sounds of the hydra’s coming grew louder. He saw Bastra glancing at him with a most peculiar look on his face along with Mendoll, who kept glancing through the darkness at him. The feeling it gave him deep down was beginning to make him feel a little uneasy.

  The sounds came to its pitch and they could hear the sounds of dead trees falling as though they were standing beside them. They all saw the wolves dart away from their hiding place, running for their lives. A moment later, there was an almighty crash as the hydra came through their camp, scattering what little gear that got in its way and continued on through the trees knocking down anything that was in its path.

  Once the sounds of trees falling and snapping faded in the distance, Sehto broke their silence. “Let’s get our gear quickly. If it comes back and notices that there is gear left it might get the idea to stick around and see if anything turns up to collect it.”

  “Do you really think that it is that smart?” Mach asked.

  Sehto shrugged. “No, they may not be that smart but do you want to chance it? I personally don’t. As strong as you all may be, I really don’t want to test my skills against something like that.”

  No sooner had they retrieved their gear that he heard the sound of something crashing through the forest coming toward them. Mendoll recast his spell the moment all of them were back in the half-rotten tree. They all waited in silence to see what would happen.

  The saw the hydra as it came right up to the tree the four were hiding in. He gasped as one of the beast’s heads came right up to the entrance, sniffing t
he air. Its wide, black eyes searching for something that it could smell but not see.

  Sehto put a hand on his shoulder just as he had been about to pull his sword from its sheath to lash out if the hydra came any closer. The scout shook his head in silence when he turned to him. They watched with rising apprehension as the eyes of the hydra searched the hallowed tree. Deciding there was nothing there that it could eat, the hydra gave a low grunt and stalked off into the night. Mendoll let out a sigh of relief and Mach could not help but feel as though he needed a new pair of pants.

  “Good to know that the spell works.” Mendoll said calmly.

  “Indeed, that is good to hear.” Bastra said mockingly.

  “Good to hear, what the hell you mean by, 'good to hear'? You mean to tell me that you did not know that would work?” Mach asked frantically, surprised at what he was hearing.

  Mendoll chuckled slightly as he answered him. “I had a good feeling it would. Besides, if it had not, we wouldn’t be here to worry about it. Now would we?” Mach looked at the Mage incredulously. How the hell could this man be so calm after what just came through here sniffing for them?

  The night passed too slowly. He was too wound up to be able to sleep and all he could do was to sit there staring up at what sky through the only opening available. No one wanted to leave the safety of the tree in case that hydra came back and he was not going to say anything to contradict their decision. The experience he just had would surely give him nightmares, he dared not try and sleep for he knew that the dreams that would come would not be pleasant.

  As the first signs of morning came into their tiny hiding place, he found himself staring out into the forest for any signs of either of their visitors.

  As they climbed out of their hiding space Mendoll stared off toward where the hydra had stalked off. “I doubt he is still around. Even if he had thought he found us, he would have made a move by now. They are smart, and patient. But that is only up to a certain point.”

  Regardless, they left camp in a hurry. They made far better time as they neared the edge of forest where the thickness of trees thinned out considerably. By the time the third sun was cresting the horizon, they came out onto a small hill overlooking a land that he pitied instantly. Eldour was beautiful for all its faults. Its low rolling hills were green and the trees grew all over the place, even if they were sparse. You could see animals, and there were so many different species you couldn’t see right away it would be highly difficult to record all of them.

  However, this place looked like Hell come to earth. There was not a single sign of life, not even worms or ants could be seen anywhere. The ground was blank of plant life. Nothing but grey stone and grey sand covered every inch of every hill. The land was completely lifeless.

  Now it was time to make their trek into the lands he had never thought he would ever visit. It was time now to begin the duty he swore to himself that he would do ever since the attack on Selane. If this truly was what Mach thought it was, then the time had come to truly begin the hunt for the man that took his life away from him.