The Stones of Magic

by A.W.Chrystalis

  Chapter 8

  It was late at night, the twilight hours just after sunset had come and gone. The hall was pitch black with the only exception being one torch at the entry of the great hall. It had been a strenuous day. His entire plan had been for nothing and he had come back completely empty handed and he was not in a cheerful mood.

  Moreover, after spending money on a wild goose chase, the last thing he wanted to hear was any depressing news. It was just his luck that this meeting was going to be like this day. He rubbed his temples as his head began to pound.

  A soldier, one of the dock Captains, was kneeling before him. The soldier looked up at his king, fear etched on his face and his body rigid with fright. The dock Captain looked up into eyes that were blacker than night, up at the disheveled long black hair. King Rubious stood glaring down at the dock Captain. He was shaking with rage and hatred.

  The king’s black robes were slowly swaying in the breeze coming through the open window. The slow movement of the cape was enough that it made it look as though his very aura was creating the movement. Surely at some point later that night the servants would say that very thing. Exactly the kind of rumors Rubious loved. A little fear and admiration from his subjects was exactly what he wanted. The king’s crest displayed on the left side of his chest. A black raven on a gold shield sat glittering slowly in the thin torch light as he looked down at the cowering man.

  “Would you care to say that again, just so I understand you perfectly?” The king said, his anger barely suppressed as he massaged his left temple. Already his vision was turning red with fury.

  “Well, sire,” the Captain said, his voice quivering with utter fear and barely above a whisper. “Your ship, the one you had us prepare for tomorrow’s departure, the one you were going to take on your voyage, Sire, has been...stolen.” The man was beginning to babble.

  “Would you care to explain to me how a ship guarded by thirty of my men could have been stolen in the very city where I have thousands of soldiers?” His voice was rising with his anger, he could feel the growl in his voice that would only make his head throb more. The man kneeling on the floor winced as though a whip had struck him.

  “Well sire, I think there was a...um...apparently a group of men caused a big scene near one of your other ships, Sire, you see. The dock soldiers...they were bested and one of the city guards saw the incident and called for backup,” the Captain said, his fear growing and his voice becoming more and more frightened with every word he said. “Sire, backup was called and every available man went to aid our fallen soldiers. The sailors in question are being held if you wish to question….”

  The captain was cut off before he could finish, the king’s voice continuing to rise until he was screaming. “You mean you all went to have a little fun! Is that what you are telling me, because it sure as hell does not take an entire squad of eighty soldiers to deal with some drunken bastards!” The Captain was edging back as best as he could on his knees.

  “My lord!” The Captain begged as the king stepped toward with a murderous look on his face. “My lord, please, no...”

  Without a single warning, the king unsheathed his sword and thrust the blade into the captain’s chest, piercing his heart. The man had not even seen him draw the steel from his side. “This is the last time you will fail me, Captain. I promise you that.” As the man began to fall backward, the king eased his blade from the man’s chest and wiped the blade on his cloak and yelled into the dark hall. “Get me another ship ready!”

  Mach woke with a start, sweat soaking through his clothes. His heart was beating somewhere near his throat and he felt as though he may throw up at any moment. That was the most realistic dream he had ever had in his life, far more than any of the others had been. It really felt as though he had been standing right next to that man with the black cloak, as though he could have touched the man if he had wanted to.

  He slipped out of his bunk and went straight for the small curtain blocking the porthole to his room and moved it aside. The day was as clear as he had hoped. The suns were rising somewhere in the west casting a wonderful glow upon the waters.

  He breathed deeply to steady his mind. Today he would be continuing his training with Sehto. For the past five days, Mach had been training with all his strength, strength that seemed to be more fragile than he would have expected.

  Sehto was indeed an arms master with great skill. The scout pushed him in all the right ways and only gave mercy when he could not possibly take any more. He wanted Mach to become a better swordsman and it was apparent with every lesson just how much care the old tracker took in his work toward his student. Mach’s father had been adept with the sword, so why not the boy? He dressed quickly and left his room after making sure that his training sword was tied to his side.

  He was holding his own against Sehto now, even if it was only for a short while. Bastra had commented that soon the Gargoyle himself would join Sehto in practice and together they were going to increase the difficulty level for Mach. Which was fine with him, after all if he really was going to find the one who attacked his home he was going to have to fight to get there and still have enough strength to kill that murdering bastard. The only way to do that was to gain the skills needed through practice.

  He reached the top deck and walked into the blinding light as he pushed the door open. They were nearing their first destination, The city of Kyrie. When they arrived, they were going to try to find what was referred to as the Stone of fire which was said to be held by the Guardian Sytie. The Four Guardians were known by most people in the Empire Seas region, but what they guarded was a mystery. If Rubious was planning on coming here, Mendoll felt it was safe to say that one of the Stones was indeed somewhere on the island.

  As his eyes adjusted he could see Kyrie just over the horizon and with luck they would be there before mid-morning.

  Bastra stood at the helm, his eyes fixed on what lay ahead. “You ready!” Sehto's voice came from behind him in a whisper. This had been the routine for the last few training sessions. Mach had only a moment to move before Sehto dropped down from the mast behind him. The moment the tracker landed he swung one of the training blades with enough force that Mach could hear the whistle as it sped through the air between them. Granted the blades were dull, but a blunt hit to the head had rendered Mach unconscious the first day they had trained out here on the open water of the Seas.

  However, this time he was ready with his hand on the hilt of his blade and before Sehto had recovered from his landing he had his sword drawn. The scout lunged at him and the two went clashed blades for a good candle mark, each one delivering blows that rattled the bones. Mach was able to parry a strike from Sehto and with the very same skills the scout had taught him, he brought a hidden practice dagger from behind his back and made a slash that would have slit Sehto's throat had the blade been real.

  “Good,” Sehto said breathlessly. “Very good, I must say that last attack was a good move and well timed. Had you connected, it would have been the end of the fight. Even that dull blade can crush a man’s throat. Remember though, that anything can become a weapon of some kind. Even your bare hands can punch a man in the throat and bring him down to his knees. Or the railings of this ship can be used in one form of another.”

  Mach felt as tired as Sehto looked but he did not dare allow it to show. In the short time that the scout had been training him, Sehto had become infamous for striking at the most opportune time, catching his opponent when he was most disadvantaged.

  They stood staring each other down, each holding their postures. Finally, fatigue caught up with him and as his blade strayed from the ready position that he had been trying to hold, Sehto instantly noticed and made his move.

  Unfortunately for Mach, he had decided to close his eyes for a moment of thought and fatigue when the tracker struck. A heartbeat later he found himself on the ground with a lump on his head and the wind knocked out of him. “Never drop your guard, lad. Tha
t is what makes you dead.” Sehto said as soon as he was sure he was out of Mach’s reach.

  He saw an opening of his own and took it the moment after Sehto finished speaking. He got to his feet, lunged at Sehto while he threw the blunted knife at his trainers head and began his onslaught all over again with a series of fast swipes. The attack was only meant to keep the tracker off guard long enough to find an opening. Even with the diversion of the small knife, he just could not get the upper hand and found himself face down on the ground breathing shallowly with another lump on his skull.

  Sehto called a truce at that point, saving Mach the embarrassment of calling it himself. That was the way the last few days had been. A truce could only be broken by the trainer, never the trainee but it could be called by either. So far, if Sehto called for the truce he knew that he had a day to rest ahead of him. But if he called for one, as he had the first day out here on the open waters, than before mid day was upon them there would be another session whether he was ready for it or not.

  Kyrie could be seen clearly in the distance and was only an hour or so away. The city was not very big, even Selane was double its size. But it was a spot for sea travelers to stop at before heading out into the Great Sea. The city climbed slowly uphill from the sea toward the base of a single mountain that rose straight up into the air. From where he stood, he could actually count the number of buildings from the deck of the ship. Smoke was spewing from the tip of the solitary mountain, with gray, puffy smoke that curled its way upward with the movement of the winds. It reminded him of a sea snake slipping its way through the waters.

  The ground was odd compared to what he had always known. It had a reddish color to it as if it were on fire. And the glow from the suns on the earth made the trees and brush take on the same fiery glow.

  They loosed the sails as they neared the port and crept the ship into port. It took only a few moments to tie off. It was not that long ago that he would have thought it impossible for a crew of four to run and manage a ship of this size. But now, having obtained a ship through chance, left a port with it and sailed for several days on it, Mach was beginning to believe that not only could it be done, but that this group may be able to do far more. Maybe even help him exact his vengeance on the one responsible for all that he has lost.

  “So, shall we get going?” he asked eagerly, looking out into the town. This was the first time that he had been away from home other than Madtu and he was beyond elation at finally being out on the open waters.

  Despite everything that had happened, at this moment he was not overly concerned with all that still lay ahead of him. This was a beginning of a grand adventure in its own right.

  Both Mendoll and Bastra looked at each other and smiled broadly, nodding to each other as though sharing a private joke. He wondered only for a moment if they had some kind of mind speech with each other before turning his mind back to the city beyond.

  Mendoll led them straight to an inn that sat in the middle of town. They dropped their gear in the rooms that had been rented and Mach left instantly to see the village in its miniature glory. Other than his hometown and the cities that he had seen since the attack, he had never been to another town in his life.

  The day was hot and cloudless. He walked through the town trying to take in everything that he could. This may not be the last time he came to another city, but he wanted to remember it as if it were.

  He sensed that there was a peace in this town that ran deeper than it simply being a small town. The city with the lack of size, was full of people. There were double the people here than he would have seen in Selane on any normal day. The population was large enough that Mach could not understand where they all slept.

  Surely there were not enough inns in this tiny town to support this many visitors, nor were there enough homes if these people lived here permanently. Even the shops held items that normally were only found in larger cities.

  That day passed by in a blur as he went through street after street looking at the various shops and stalls that seemed to spring out on him as he turned the next corner. For such a small town it took a long time to get around it.

  As he strolled around the quaint feeling of a small community reminded him of his home. There was such similarity between his home and this place that if he closed his eyes to the bright red sand that surrounded him, he could swear he was back home. The smell of the open sea in his nose, the sound of waves crashing against land in the distance. Even the murmurs of the people walking the streets and the smell of the occasional pub was enough to make him think he was back home.

  It wasn’t until late in the day that Mach returned to the inn. When Mendoll reassured him that they would not leave the city until first light on the next day, he took a walk to the docks to think. This was yet another thing he would do at home.

  As the day was coming to its end, everyone seemed to disappear into their hidden homes. That alone set this place apart from Selane. Though things did quiet down as the day came to a close, the people never truly seemed to leave the streets and conversations were like the lullaby of the city. He felt sick in his stomach as he was reminded of the conversations he himself used to have with the people he had lived with for so long.

  By the time he reached the wooden piers the last sun had begun its final descent in the east. He sat down on the edge of the pier with his legs dangling over the edge and looked out into the sea.

  This all seemed like some kind of a nightmare to him. Yes, he was on an adventure he never thought he would find, and that was something he had longed for his whole life. It was true that he was enjoying his time out here, as well as the company of his new companions.

  But when he compared all that to what he had lost, what there still was to lose if something had happened to his mother. Well, there just was no comparison. The home that had been in his family's possession for several generations was most likely gone. The town that his family had come to ages ago was certainly in a state of utter destruction and the people in despair.

  All that piled onto the disappearance of his mother and the uncertainty of whether or not she was even alive. All that seemed to overshadow the joy he had been feeling on this journey.

  He thought of his mother. How her golden hair shined like his own in the suns' glare. How she was kind and gentle, even when she needed to discipline him. How even in her angriest moments she had been kindhearted to him and to others.

  He did not know what he would do if he found her after she had died. If she was not dead already. He should be looking for her right now, he should be trying everything he could to see her again.

  His vision went black. Perhaps he merely nodded off, perhaps not. There was little that he could do as he felt his breathing slow. His sight returned and he was no longer sitting on the wooden pier, but was instead standing in a forest. The suns had set and the little light in the sky that was left was fading fast. The trees reminded Mach vaguely of the ones back home, the ones that he used to play in when he was younger, large and full of leaves no matter the season.

  Before him was a clearing large enough for several homes to sit in but completely vacant. A large clump of trees and brush sat in a far corner. Amongst all the brush he thought he saw the vague outline of a cabin hidden beneath everything. As he looked harder, he could make out a simple window through one of the low hanging branches of a tree. It blended in so well that Mach almost overlooked it as merely part of the brush.

  Whoever owned it did not want to be found.

  He could feel a presence here, almost as if there was someone watching him. He looked carefully through what light there was, wondering if he should not hide behind one of the trees behind him. As he looked around he saw across the clearing was a man in clothing that blended in with the surrounding environment. If it had not been for the exposed skin of his head, he would have thought the man to be nothing more than a shadow. All Mach could see were the man’s face and neck. He could not make out any details,
though he had a feeling that he had seen this man before…somewhere.

  Slowly the man stepped forward into the clearing, carefully scanning everything that lay ahead with each step. Though Mach stood out in the open the man’s eyes past right by him without any hint that he had seen anyone. This must be the man’s home but Mach could not help but wonder why a man would live like this, so seemingly scared of his own shadows.

  The man’s clothes reminded Mach of the kind that trackers and woodsmen would wear. For a moment he thought that he had seen this very same kind of clothes in a shop in Madtu a long time ago. Over the man’ shoulder lay the body of a blue-tailed deer. He had seen that species the mountains near Madtu. But he had to admit to himself that those deer could live elsewhere in the world.

  Besides, this could all be just my imagination, he told himself as he kept his eyes on the man. He watched warily as the man moved slowly toward the hidden cabin. Mach approached on tiptoe, forgetting that the man had looked right through him a moment before without reacting to his presence.

  He crept up close behind as the man reached a door hidden between two large bushes. The man took one last look at the clearing behind him, as though he were getting ready to bolt into hiding, quickly opened the door and quietly slipped in. Mach followed a second before the door shut.

  It was dark, but the illumination coming from an open window allowed Mach to take in what was around him. It was not a large cabin. From what he could see there was only the one room, with a small section walled off for an apparent bathroom and another section built up to form the kitchen.

  The living room, bedroom and dining room were all in the remaining section of the large room. He looked around and was not surprised to see that there were furs in a corner that had been made into blankets and coats. A couch in the middle of the room stood facing a fire stove. A table and chairs sat nearer the kitchen area, an old chest lay underneath. He grew curious as to what items may lay in the chest and had started to move toward it when the man moved again.

  The woodsman put his kill down on the table in the corner with great care to not make any noise and went straight for a bed against the wall. That was when Mach noticed that they were not alone. Someone was laying there in the bed covered with a blanket. When the man reached over and touched the person's head, there was a soft responsive moan. The man went and fetched a candle from a shelf and lit it with an ember from the fireplace. He put the candle down long enough to pull the blankets off the resting person.

  In the dark, it was hard to see who it was. He half hoped it was someone from the village and that this man was here to help them, but what were the chances that this was anywhere near his home?

  Mach could see that it was a woman who lay there by the shadows that formed around her body. Even in the dark, he could see white bandages soaked in dark liquid. The man reached for the candle and brought it closer to the woman’s body and in the candles light Mach saw the dull shine of golden hair.

  He could not have expected this! His heart raced suddenly, his knees almost gave out on him as he stared at the woman laying in the bed. Here, laying in this man’s house, was his mother. Could this really be her? Had he really have found her this easily? He reached out to her, wanting to touch her, to let her know he would come for her, to tell her to hang on. The woman’s eyes opened, but they did not look at the man. They stared right into his.

  A hand touched him on the shoulder, making him jump and everything went dark. He blinked his eyes quickly, trying desperately to get his sight back, to clear the tears that threatened to come. He wanted to know for sure who that was! He wanted to know if that really was his mother!

  He could see the water before him, dark as everything he had seen. His eyes were burning with tears and he felt himself shaking horribly. Had he really seen that? Or was it just his imagination? He could still see those eyes, those scared, pain filled eyes.

  “You alright, lad.” A gentle voice came from behind him. He merely nodded without bothering to see who it was. He did not want to show the tears that he was trying so hard to restrain so he kept his eyes on the sea.

  Sehto sat down beside him and looked out to the open water without looking at him once. From where they sat, they could see land rising in the west, dark and ominous on the horizon. They sat there for several moments, neither one speaking.

  He went over what he had seen in his mind. Could that really have been his mother? Or was it just a coincidence that the woman he saw had golden hair? Could he merely have day dreamed it? Could he, having prayed for some sign of his mother, had created that whole thing in his mind?

  He turned his mind to different questions as the sound of waves crashing into the shore echoed over the open water. What the hell was going on? Why was he seeing these things at all? He had never had any kind of dreams like the ones he was experiencing lately. He had never really had daydreams, let alone anything near the one he just experienced.

  His first thought was that he was cracking. That his mind was beginning to give out on him after everything that had happened. The next thought was something far worse. Something that would surely lead him to ruin.

  It was known that some of the Mages of the old world before the Damnation had abilities to see into the future and at great distances. Could that be what was happening to him? Was he seeing things that had yet to happen? Was he a Mage? He thought of Mendoll's eyes, silver like his own, silver like the Mage’s of old.

  As if reading his mind, Sehto broke the silence, “You know Mach, I was talking to the others today while you were out.” He nodded slowly only to show he was listening. Even though they were completely alone, Sehto continued to speak in a softer tone as if making sure only the two of them could hear. “I was asking them what they thought of the Mage laws. Mostly about the ones placed directly after the Damnation.”

  Every thought that had been with him instantly left in a flash. Did they really think he had some kind of Mage powers? Could that even be possible? More importantly, were they going to take him to the king? Or worse, kill him on the spot? Was Sehto here to shove him into the sea and let him drown? By the laws laid out after the Damnation, any one of them had the right to do so without hesitation.

  Sehto’s voice was a little odd as he spoke, but there was nothing in it to warn him of his impending doom. All the more reason to be wary. “Well, it would seem that the two of them don't much care for the laws placed on Mages. They seem to have a lot of friends that they have helped out over the years. Friends that are not normal like most folk.”

  He was beginning to wonder where this was going, but his mind was circling itself with fear. Sehto glanced over at him and looked him straight in the eyes. “I know that you are like your father. In the way that you don’t much care for laws, I mean. Am I right? Even though you have never really met anyone who could be a Mage, until recently that is.” Mach nodded his agreement, unsure of how to respond.

  Sehto stared at Mach as he spoke, the trackers eyes searching his deeply. “Lad, I knew your father better than I knew my own brothers and not nearly as well as I would have liked. Me and him did a bit of traveling long before he died. He knew as much about me as I knew about him. I trusted him with my life on more than one occasion, I would like to extend that trust to you. Is that possible?” Sehto asked.

  He still was not sure what this was leading to, but he nodded anyways. If it was true that Sehto and his father had been as close as he claims, than why not. If his father could trust this man with his life, than Mach felt no reason to doubt that Sehto was trust worthy.

  “Mach, I would like to tell you something that I have not revealed to anyone except the very few that I would trust with my life. The thing is…is that I have one of the gifts that might get me killed if it were to be known. I can…see things that people can't. Colors and such. Kind of like a trail made by people or beasts passing. It is really hard to explain, I don't understand it all, but it was your father that helped me understand what lit
tle I know about it. He helped me to learn what it was that I was seeing and he helped me to control and use it to my advantage. He helped me to learn how to single out the individual trails amongst hundreds and how to pick up the faintest of them with ease. So far as I have ever found, he took my secret to his grave and for that I am forever in his debt.”

  Mach was unsure of how to react by Sehto revealing this kind of information. He had no clue what to even say. He wasn’t sure whether or not he should be afraid. This could very well be some kind of trap to get him to admit to what he was seeing. The tracker could be waiting for an opportunity to kill him.

  “Well, think about that alright. I am not sure of my own feelings on this topic. I have been thinking of telling Mendoll about it and seeing if he can't help me a little.” Sehto changed the topic suddenly. “What are your feelings toward them? Do you think that they can be trusted, I mean, you have known them a little longer than I have. I thought maybe you would have a better view of their loyalties and maybe even their personalities.” Sehto stood up suddenly and walked away without waiting for an answer, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

  He looked off to the east where the last glimmer of light was fading from the sunset. Night jays were coming out to hunt now. Birds of a beautiful dark blue and yellow, they were small but very agile. They were not much larger than a person’s hand, but they were excellent fishers. They dove into the waters to catch fish swimming nearer the top. Mach sat there listening to the splashing of the night jays for a long while.

  He felt overwhelmed, more so now than he had ever been before. There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers. For the first time since leaving the capital city of Eldour, Mach felt that he had made the wrong choice. Maybe he should not have let himself be carried away by Bastra. Maybe he should have stood his ground and had gone to find his mother with or without the aid of the village of Madtu.

  But there was one question that kept popping up in his mind as he asked himself why he let himself be taken away from the mountain.

  What could I have done anyways?

  He was not all that strong, he wasn’t very skilled in fighting. The fight with the chimera was enough to show him that. What could he actually have done to find his mother that all those trained people could not do?

  It had felt right. That was the answer that kept coming to him, like a whisper in his ear he heard it over and over. It had felt…right. He only now realized that there was a part of him that had wanted to go with Bastra, because he somehow knew that it would be through Bastra that he may be able to find out who had attacked his home. More than that, now that he thought back to everything that had happened, he felt sure that there would be some way for him to gain the skills needed to find and kill the one who was responsible.

  Or was that all just how he felt now? He buried his head in his hands, allowing the chill of his hands to ease the ache in his head that was beginning to form.

  He got to his feet and took one last look at the sea. Sytie, the red moon of fire, was low in the sky to the south while the blue moon, he had been taught was Watesa, was rising in the west. Mach thought back to the times when he and his father had sat at the docks in the evenings before he would leave on a journey. Each time his father would tell him about the past, about the differences between those times and how things were today.

  Sometimes, Mach felt as if he had lived through those stories himself. It had been his father who had taught him about the names of the moons and their significance in the world around them. One more thing that Mach had forgotten.

  Each moon was supposed to have control over a specific element. For instance, Sytie was the moon of fire, as she shined fiery red above the land. Watesa was supposed to be the element of water, her soft blue glowing all around. It was said that certain animals would only breed when certain moons were present in the sky.

  There were only two moons that showed themselves this night, but there were seven in total and Mach vaguely wondered when they would cross each other in perfect unison again. It had been too long since the last time he had seen it.

  There was great power in those moons, or so the legends said. More than once he had imagined that he could feel the power coming from them, radiating down on him like the rays of the suns. He knew it was all merely fancy, day dreams of a young man wanting to explore the world.

  But what if?

  Each one of the moons had been around before man could remember. Legend spoke of the Goddess Kriasta creating them for the Mages before time itself began. At least that was what his father had said. Though, his father admitted that he did not know when they had been named.

  Mach turned his back on the sea and as he started walking back to town his mind wandered to other thoughts and he began to question what he would actually do if he were to confront the man responsible for the destruction of his home. Would he even be able to fight, much less win? Would he try and find a way to silently kill the man, like an assassin? Regardless of the many choices of action that came to him as he walked, he still had not figured it out by the time he reached the inn. It may just be something that he would have to wait to see what will happen.

  Sehto and Mendoll were sitting at a table in the dining hall of the inn when he walked in, each enjoying a round of ale. The two of them waved him goodnight as he walked to the stairs and went straight to his room. Without any memory of how he got undressed, Mach fell instantly asleep.

  He woke up, sweating. Again that dream had tormented him. The same one with the demon man that frightened him so much. He tried to remember when he began having this particular dream, but it was almost instantly lost as the dream itself began to fade away. He did not remember getting to his bed, much less the inn the previous night. For some reason, his mind was blank from the last few hours before night fell.

  Perhaps it was something he ate, perhaps not. Maybe Sehto found him and had herded him back inside. Maybe he had been asleep the whole afternoon?

  A note sat on his bedside under a small mug of water, something else he did not remember getting. He knew how to read, for the most part, but he was not terribly good at it. His teachers had tried to get him to learn more, explaining that even sailors needed to know how to read and write but Mach was not one to sit and listen to their lectures.

  He carefully looked it over and tried to remember every lesson he had been taught until he finally understood what had been left for him to find. The note said simply, “When you wake, find us at the north end of town, we will be waiting for you there...Sehto.”

  Mach got dressed, feeling far better than he had the day before. He felt as if a huge burden had lifted from him, as if all his pain and hardships had vanished. He knew they had not, but he felt better all the same. This was the beginning of something incredible and he could not help but feel that good things were to come. He strapped his sword to his back instead of his side and left the inn with his chin held high.

  His steps were lighter than they normally were almost as though he were a child again going on his first adventure into the woods that were outside of Selane. Though this mountain was completely different from the one that led up to Madtu, it still felt like that familiar trek back home.

  First sunrise was over, the second already happening. Mach breathed in heavily, the air was cool with a gentle sea breeze. If he closed his eyes he could imagine himself back home, waking to an early sunrise and taking care of his little garden in the backyard. Or walking the town every morning to collect things for his mother. Or simply laying in the grass outside the town and enjoying the simple things in his life. The life he had then was a good one.

  He shook his head as he reached the north end of town and found Sehto, Mendoll and Bastra waiting for him. No one said a word about him sleeping in instead they simply nodded to one another before turning their attention to the path ahead.

  Mach was not too surprised to see that it was not only the sun that gave the earth its red glow. The sand itself w
as actually red. Most of the trees even had a natural red tint to their trunks which only enhanced the look of them being aflame.

  Though someone who had never visited Sirunre and only heard about it by rough description could have mistaken these lands as that horrid wasteland, he could see the many differences. For one, there was actual vegetation growing. Not much, but enough to offer shade to a small variety of animals. Which even now held an abundance of life within them.

  Small birds and rodents darted from bush to bush. Snakes and reptiles roamed the hot earth in search of passing prey before sliding into the brush or under a rock to cool down. In the distance, Mach could see a few dog-like beasts running around, though they would vanish from sight before he could get close enough to see what they were.

  A halt was called around midday which Mach was personally thankful for. Though the base was not far from the village, only a few hours’ walk at slow speeds, it was steep. Far more so than the mountain back home. Between that and the heat his strength was diminishing with incredible speed. He was very glad for the water skins that they had brought from the ship and the cool liquids they provided.

  Sehto took the lead as they began their climb onto the mountain itself. His skills as a scout and tracker were more evident with every moment that past. Several times the tracker had walked off by himself, telling the others to stay in place. Each time he would return after only a few moments to continue further up the trail.

  As the day wore on, Sehto had checked dozens of trails with each one apparently not leading them where they wanted. Mach was beginning to wonder if they would ever find what they were looking for. He wondered if there was even a path that would lead them where they wanted.

  As the last sunset began and the sky blossomed into golden light, Mendoll announced the end of the day’s long trek. They were somewhere near the top but with the failing light that was quickly fleeing the land the Healer felt it was too dangerous to continue.

  They set up camp at the edge of a small cave. Sehto and Bastra took the initiative and checked the inside of the cave to find it to be empty. Caves were seldom empty and if they were, it was by no means somewhere a person wanted to sleep. No one wanted to have a bear or lion creeping up on them in the middle of the night after all.

  Mach chose not say much as they ate their dinner, choosing to sit by the side of the fire, deep in his thoughts. Either everyone noticed but decided to let him be, or they were too wrapped up in their own thoughts to notice. Either way, he was not going to talk unless asked a direct question. He was exhausted after a hike that spanned the entire day and he did not really want to speak for fear of saying something that he may regret later. The memories of last night's dream were still replaying in his head, something that was a first.

  He finally crawled into his sleep wrap and lay silently looking at the large fire. They did not know the area and they had no idea how cold it would get in the middle of the night, or how quickly for that matter. So for safety they had brought thicker bags and extra fuel for the fire.

  They had no real fear of the fire being seen way up here. If anything attacked, there were only two directions it could come from and Bastra was watching both directions.

  Mach’s thoughts drifted to his conversation with Sehto as he fell asleep and he began to wonder if the tracker had spoken to Mendoll and Bastra yet.