Chapter 20
Mach walked purposefully up the mountain path to the town of Madtu. There was no reason to dawdle out here in the woods, he had a mission and he wanted to complete it as soon as possible. He prayed to the great unknown that his mother was still alive. He did keep an eye out for anything resembling the elements in his dreams just in case, he did not want to accidentally pass it by accident.
Halfway up the mountain he began to feel the same sensations that he felt when Mendoll would cast his spells, but he knew better than that. The old Mage was too far away and this feeling only came about when someone or something was working the magics. The forest seemed to be silent in comparison to when he had traveled this way after the attack on his home. Though he had a group with him and they were making the kind of noise he would expect from a force a hundred times this size, there should at least be the minimal sounds of bugs or the call of a bird's warning. But the silence that followed them through the forest paths were all but deafening.
He reached Madtu well after halfway through the day. The Captain of the village Guard, who was another of the Gargoyle race, greeted them warmly and although he was shorter than Bastra, he still towered above anyone in his group. Unlike Bastra, this Gargoyle favored a broadsword instead of a spear, which was strapped to his side instead of his back, as it would have been used by a normal human being. His skin was more of a brown than the grey that Mach had gotten used to seeing on Bastra.
His face was more homely than Bastra's had been, however, there was more joy and laughter in the Captain’s eyes then Bastra had ever shown and when he spoke there was a little less gruffness to him. “Welcome to Madtu. I am Besthren, leader of the Guard here in Madtu. Your companions sent word to us that you would be coming, although we have been expecting you for some time. I am glad that you came at this time, we found something interesting the other day but have not been able to fully investigate it. Come this way, I will take you to see our Elder, he has been anxious to meet you since the attack.”
He was unsure of what the gargoyle meant by ‘something interesting’, but he was not going to argue or ask questions. Perhaps they had found his mother already.
Besthren led the way through the town. Much like any other small town full of normal people, the streets of Madtu was full of the Gargoyle race, each one going about his or her own business with little care to the passerby. Children ran around like children from any other city. The marketplace was at the height of activity with fruits and meat being sold along with jewelry and pottery. Mach even recognized a few of the items his mother had owned.
They reached the home of the Elder around halfway through the town. It was one of the smallest and humblest that Mach had seen so far in the village. That alone said a lot about the kind of person this Elder was. “Please come with me, Mach Derune. You may bring one other with you, if you so wish.”
Miatsu was standing beside Mach before he could even turn around to choose, though he had to admit, the imp might have been there the whole time anyways. He saw the others slowly fan out to wander the market while four of the men stepped up beside the hut's door as silent sentries. It was clear that they intended to guard him even if they were not allowed entrance.
Mach entered the hut and stepped straight into a sitting room. Sitting comfortably on the floor were three Gargoyles that were of great age. The Eldest sat in the middle and beamed up at him as he entered. The other two sat on either side of him, but they did not share the same smile with the Elder. At a second glance, Mach saw that they were different from all the others he had seen around town.
He stood directly across from the Elder Gargoyle, and folded his hands in front humbly and respectfully. The Elder cleared his throat to speak. “Ah, I am glad to see you have come here at last, young man. Now that you are not running off on some grand adventure, you have come to speak to us, hmm? I am Elder Basteiar, father to the man you have been fighting alongside these last few weeks. It is a pleasure to meet you at last, son of Dan Derune.”
This Gargoyle is the father of Bastra! The Gargoyle had never mentioned his father was the Elder of Madtu! Granted Mach never thought to ask him about his personal life. Still, it would have been nice if Bastra had said something about this.
“These two here, I would like you to meet, Mach Derune. They are not entirely of my own race, neither are they entirely of yours. They are both Mages in their own right. Though they are weak in their given skills, they are able to sense the Mage's gifts within others.”
Mach took an involuntary step backwards. Was this some kind of trap? Did they bring him here just to trap him? his hand automatically went to the hilt of his sword. If they were going to try to take him, then he would die fighting!
“Easy, young one,” The Elder said calmly, raising his hands slightly. “Not a single being here in this village would ever betray one of your people. We have the highest respect for your race and we know the truths of the past. If you trust Mendoll, permit me to say that you can trust us as well.”
His race? What the hell was this old man talking about?
The conflicted grimace on his face must have been enough for the Elder to realize what was going through his mind. “Any person with the gift of the Mages is by extension a Mage,” the Elder explained, attempting to sooth Mach. “It matters little what your ancestry is. Mages have been deemed non-Mages by not having any signs of the gifts, while others whose blood have never revealed the presence of the Powers as children have become some of the strongest Mages known in the silent history of your people. You are a Mage, Mach Derune, that much is easy to tell for my people. Therefore, you have our kindness and honor. To be honest, every man, woman and child here among my own race is a Mage in some sense. That is neither here nor now. When the times come for a change in which Mages no longer need to hide from the people they once lived amongst, there are several here that can be counted to aid in that change.”
Miatsu stood there, nodding the whole while. It seemed that the forest imp agreed with every word that the Elder was saying, though Mach still did not understand why. It took a while for him to process everything that had just been said. He had never heard of the Gargoyle race ever having any kind of magic. It was true that they could fly with apparent ease, but had always assumed that was just because of the size and strength of their wings. Now that he thought about it, when Bastra attacked Rubious, was that explosion of earth and soil more than just the effect of the impact?
“Now, to change the subject. You are here, I presume, to determine if there is any information regarding your mother. Yes, my nephew brought word of your plight to me when you met Bastra. As I am sure that Bastra had promised, scouts were sent out into the woods to find her and any others that might be lost. I am saddened to say that no one with your hair color has been found. A few were rescued from wolves and the like, but none of them were your mother.”
His heart sank at those words. He had been hoping against odds that they would have found her since the last time he had seen her. Or that his dreams were not real and she had been here with the Healers of Madtu all along.
“Have you ever seen a hunter in the woods? A kind of medicine man or hermit, perhaps?” Mach asked, the knot in his stomach growing.
The Elder nodded softly in understanding. “There are a few who live out there far from either of our two villages but none that I have talked to know where they reside, but I would not assume any of them are the one you are looking for. None are hunters that I am aware of. However, there is news that may interest you and I dare to say, may be what you are asking about.” Mach looked hopefully at the Elder as he spoke. “There is a section of these woods that our scouts have not been able to get to. It has only happened in the last few weeks or so, for I am told that many have gone through this area many times before now. Some kind of barrier has formed around the area that some have said was never there before. Many have tried to enter it, though so far, not a single scout has been able to get past that barri
er. Supposedly, there is a woodsman that lives somewhere in that area, though no one has been able to contact him.”
If that really was the case, then his search would end before it really began. The only problem would be getting past that barrier. Unless of course the woodsman was responsible for the barrier, he could not think of how it would have formed otherwise. He had never seen the woodsman do anything that might be remotely Mage-like. However, he was not there all the time. This was interesting and hope-filled news indeed. He only hoped that this barrier-covered area was truly the place that his mother was inside.
“Shall I send my scouts with you? They can guide you to where they found the barrier. If your mother is here in the forest, I think it is most likely that she is there. What do you think, young Mage?” The Elder's eyes twinkled kindly as he awaited an answer.
Mach did not need to think about it. “Please, yes. The help will be greatly appreciated. I must find her quickly, forgive my rush and thank you.” He bowed his way out. Once outside the Elder’s home, Besthren stepped inside and Mach spoke with the four men guarding the entrance. Before he could finish explaining what he had found out, Besthren stepped back outside.
“I will be your guide to the barrier,” The leader of the Guard said quickly. “I have been there and alongside your companion Bastra, I am one of the strongest in the village. That is of course, if you will have my help.” Besthren placed his right fist over where his heart would be and bowed his head slightly.
“You are most welcome to guide me there.” He bowed respectfully in return, mimicking the movements of Besthren.
They were out of Madtu before the first sun began its descent into the horizon. The area they were going to was not far from the village and was less than an hour away at a brisk walking pace. They headed into the west with the sun diving into the afternoon sky behind them. The trees grew thicker as they walked, as did the feeling of power he had felt on the way up to Madtu. Whatever it was that he had felt earlier, it was coming from this direction. Perhaps the woodsman out this way was a Mage after all.
As the second sun was beginning to set, Besthren stopped dead in his tracks. “Here it is, no one has been able to get past this point.” Drawing his blade, Besthren slowly lifted his arm and pointed his sword directly in front of him. A few feet away the blade stopped completely, although Besthren was clearly trying to force it forward. Blue sparks of lightning-like tendrils shot from the tip and traveled up the blade. An unseen force reacted to the blade touching the barrier and Besthren stumbled a step backwards. The energy was as silent as death and as quick as an arrow. If anyone were to accidently fall against it, the individual would be seriously injured if not killed.
“This is what we have come up against and nothing we can find in our texts relates to anything like it. Thankfully, no one has been harmed by it. It is most peculiar really,” Besthren wondered aloud. “This is the only place that this has come up in, the only place that we have not been able to search within a few miles near this mountain.”
Many of the men took a step backwards, fearful that the barrier would lash out them just for being near it. Mach didn't need to look at any of them to know that their eyes were wide with fear, as if the barrier might suddenly morph into a beast and charge at them. He looked around carefully. There had to be a way through this. He could feel it in front of him without even touching it. He could almost see the hazy distortions like heat rising from buildings during mid-summer. It felt so familiar to him, more than the kinship he felt with Mendoll, almost as if it was a part of him…
He reached out to where the barrier would be. In the split second before he could touch the barrier, Brethren's hand snapped out and stopped him from touching it. In the moment it took for Mach to turn his eyes to look at Besthren, he heard the roar of something massive behind him. He turned his head to find that something much larger than Besthren was standing there. It was more than twelve feet tall and as wide as an oak tree, and its skin looked as thick as a dragon's hide. Mach only looked long enough to see that it was human in shape before turning back around.
He looked Besthren straight in the eye. The Gargoyle seemed to be weighing his options and leaning towards drawing his sword, his hand twitching near the hilt of his sword.
“Let go of me or it attacks.” He said calmly, though he could hear the threat in his own voice. Besthren hesitated and the humanoid beast roared in response. “I will say it one more time. Let go of me or it will attack.”
Besthren released his hand and heard the audible sighs of the thirty men that were with him, followed by a faint pop behind him where the beast had been. Besthren looked down at him with a mixture of fear and caution.
Mach, however, turned his attention back to the barrier. It was powerful, sure. But, why did it feel so familiar to him? Granted, when Mendoll casted his magic, he felt a kinship to him but this was almost as though it were a part of him. A limb lost in battle or... Slowly he reached out again and placed the palm of his hand on the invisible wall. He felt a small jolt run through his body, though it was nothing like he had expected.
He had thought that the barrier would react as it had with Besthren's sword. He thought that the blue lightning would strike at his unprotected hand and thrust him away. But what he thought would happen and what occurred were two different things completely.
As he concentrated on the barrier, his hand gently pulsing with the invisible current of Power felt under his palm, a ring of green light spread out from where his hand touched the barrier, like waves rippling across the epicenter of an earthquake. As the light spread across the barrier, he thought he saw something like glass shatter and fall, only to disappear before it even got a few inches from where the wave of light had passed.
Mach looked at his hand as it moved through where the barrier had been. Though he should have been startled, he did not feel surprised that the barrier had vanished at his touch. It felt like he had always known that it would yield to his touch. As though it were natural for him to dissolve a barrier made of magic by touching it.
There was muttering among his men but that did not concern him. What mattered now was that the way ahead was open for him and if these Gargoyle scouts had been thorough with their search, this was the only place left that his mother could be. He stepped forward carefully and found no resistance. With Miatsu by his side, he led the way forward, his men following reluctantly. The familiar clearing opened up before him as he walked around a large tree and on the other end, he saw the hut hidden by trees and brush.
Slowly, a door creaked open and he saw someone’s head poke out of the brush. “What is it you want?” The hidden figure yelled across the clearing, his voice strained from little sleep but still strong. “I have done nothing to warrant an arrest. Be gone with you lot and never darken my...” The man’s eyes rested on Mach for a moment then grew wide in recognition. “You!”
More muttering came from behind him, though this time as if he had aroused their interest. He did not pay any attention to them, but focused his mind on what was before him. Everything was as he remembered it, even the man that hide halfway in his doorway was the same. This was it, he would find out now whether he truly had seen his mother in those visions or if he was insane.
“I know you! Or at least I think I know you! You have been here, but you haven't, but I know it was you!” The man was babbling. All the while, he was stepping out of his hut and walking toward him, the man’s eyes wide not in fear but in astonishment. “I knew you would come, she knew you would. By the gods, I thought that thing I saw was familiar, and now you are here. By the Goddess of Life, thank you Kriasta!” He said speaking to some unseen person above him.
He was beginning to become confused and worried. Yes, he had thought the man had seen him, but what did the man mean that he knew Mach would come?
“Come inside, please. She has been waiting for you for a long time. Just you!” The man sharply said as the others moved forward before coming to a complete
halt. Miatsu, however, did not stop. He was not going to listen to anyone but Mach. And that was fine with him. He was not sure if this guy could be entirely trusted, though he had a strong feeling he could. The man said nothing of Miatsu following him, but merely stepped aside for them to enter his home.
He stepped into the cabin and found it in much the same way it had been the last time he had ‘visited’ the place. Although it was day outside, it was dark within the confines of the cabin. The soft light from the fire in the fireplace was the only light that illuminated the room. On the other hand, it was far cooler inside the building than he would have expected.
Laying on the bed was his mother. Her golden hair laid spread out around her head. The wraps around her head had been removed with new ones sitting on a table beside her. It looked like the man might have been changing them when he came to the door. He walked to her side and looked down at her. His whole body was shaking with anticipation as he stared down at her. There did not seem to be much pain on her face as he looked at her features. Though she was as white as a ghost, she looked more at ease than he could remember ever having seen her since the attack.
“I saw you, here, just as you are now. I thought you were a ghost or something,” the man began babbling again, “that is until I remembered the picture she asked me to get from her house. I was not even sure I had seen you at all. But after you vanished, she seemed to have gotten better and began talking about seeing you above her. And then there was that thing around my home. It showed up right after we saw you. Her pain seemed to have lessened by a considerable degree as well. She has even been feeding herself even.” He looked down at his hands regretfully. “I am sorry, though. I still can’t do anything for the wounds she sustained on the inside. The outer wounds are all healed as much as herbs and time will allow, but there was nothing I could do. I sent a message bird to the capital. I know a great Healer there that was once an old friend of mine. But sadly, I have not received a response yet.”
He listened with only half his attention. He was focusing on her and on the state of her wounds and thinking that he should have asked Mendoll to come with him. By now, the Healer Adept would be across the bay and heading to the capital.
“Sir, are you a Mage?” The woodsman asked quietly for fear of being overheard from outside.
“If I am, I am a poor Mage indeed. I can’t even begin to heal the scrape on her palm.”
“But sir, you must be a great Mage, I mean to say that you took away her pain when you came here last and that barrier, I was watching from the window and I saw…”
“Then you saw wrong! KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!” Anger swelled up in him for no apparent reason. He looked at the man, who could only stare back fearfully. Mach softened his expression and his tone and sighed wearily. “Look, you know the laws, even if you don’t bother with them. You know what will happen to me and I am not following a king of any land.”
He walked over to the bed and knelt down. He reached out and moved a lock of hair from her forehead. She seemed at peace right now and he thought he could see her eyes moving in the pale fire light. He held her hand lightly. That reminded him of the time his father had died and had come home wrapped in a death wrap. He remembered it now. She had almost fallen over in her grief. Someone had sat her down on a chair.
One of the sailors had done it...it might have been George. Maybe it was someone else. He could not remember. All he did remember about that day was that he had knelt beside her, holding her hand as he was now, giving her all the strength he could muster. Telling her that it would be ok, that the two of them would get by and together they would survive. That there was a silver lining to all this and the two of them would make it. He had only been six but he had prayed then to be far older and much more experienced.
“Tell the men to go ahead and leave. Tell them to return to Selane. I don’t dare move her now and I don’t want her to be left alone.” Mach commanded softly.
Miatsu left to give the orders to the men outside. He would be fine here with his mother, at least for now. If George argued the point, he could deal with it. He heard Miatsu’s high-pitched voice telling the men to tell George of the beast he had summoned. That would be enough of an excuse to follow Mach’s orders. He heard one of the men comment on wanting to stay and another one said that they had their direct orders from their Captain and they should follow them and leave. They eventually left the clearing and silence enveloped the hut. Nothing but the sound of the crackling fire and his and his mother’s breathing.
The final sun set in the east and with it came the night. Whatever happened out in the world mattered little to him. He was here, with his mother. He was where he was supposed to be and nothing short of his death would remove him from her side.
The Stones of Magic Page 20