by M. L. Forman
“A metal worker?” Turlock asked in response. “We have many metal workers in Neplee, though there is little for any of them to do these days.”
“Who is the best metal worker in the city?” Alex asked.
“That would be Volo Silverforge—”
“Volo Silverforge lives here?” Thrang interrupted. “His work is well-known and much prized, even in Benorg.”
“Where can I find Master Silverforge?” Alex asked.
“I can have someone take you to him,” Turlock answered. “Though I doubt he will be willing to help you. He has taken an oath, and refuses to make anything that might please or aid Nethrom. He has done no work in the past three years.”
“I would like to come along,” Thrang said, glancing quickly at Alex. “If I may.”
“I think I should go alone at first,” Alex said to Thrang. “It will be less imposing, and I may be able to convince Volo to aid me.”
Thrang reluctantly agreed, though Alex could see that he wasn’t happy about it. As soon as they were done eating, Turlock had one of his servants lead Alex through the city to Volo’s workshop. Alex asked the dwarf to leave, and then he stood for several minutes looking at the door and wondering what kind of dwarf Volo Silverforge would be.
Alex knocked loudly on the workshop door with his staff, but there was no answer. Alex wondered if Volo might not be in his workshop, but then he heard movement behind the door. He knocked again. He could clearly hear the sound of shuffling feet behind the door, but the door remained closed. Smiling to himself, Alex raised his staff and knocked a third time.
“Volo Silverforge, if you do not answer your door after I’ve knocked three times, I will blast it off its hinges and turn you into a dormouse,” Alex said loudly.
Slowly the door creaked open, and an ancient-looking dwarf stuck his head out from inside the workshop.
“No need to get angry,” Volo grumbled, looking closely at Alex. “I’m closed for business, so you can take your threats and your knocking someplace else.”
“You prefer to leave the city to Nethrom, then,” said Alex as Volo moved to close the door.
“I prefer to be left alone,” said Volo sharply, opening the door a little wider.
“So your peace is more important to you than your friends and neighbors are,” said Alex, leaning on his staff.
“We are all in the same boat here,” said Volo, opening the shop door all the way. “There is no escape from the curse, and no point in searching for false hope.”
“If that’s how you feel, I must have come to the wrong place,” said Alex. “I thought Volo Silverforge would be the dwarf who could aid me in riding Neplee of its curse, but it appears I was wrong. You should go back to gathering dust like your forge; I will find someone else to assist me.”
“No need to be rude,” said Volo, taking a step out of his shop to get a better look at Alex. “I’ve never had a wizard knock on my shop door before, so the least I can do is offer you tea.”
“Then you are willing to discuss a job I need done?”
“I don’t know about that,” Volo answered, turning back toward his shop. “Come inside and have some tea. I’ll listen to what you have to say before I tell you that you’re mad.”
Alex smiled and followed Volo into the shop, closing the door behind him. Volo shuffled his way across the room and placed a large copper kettle on top of his forge, pumping the bellows a few times. Alex took the chair that Volo offered him, sitting silently while Volo made their tea.
Chapter Eighteen
Necromancer
You’ve been working with Volo for weeks. Are you going to tell us what you’re up to, or are you going to leave us sitting in the dark?”
Thrang was in a bad mood, and for a moment Alex considered telling him what he had planned. Fortunately, Nellus spoke before he had to answer.
“Sitting in the dark is right. If I don’t feel some wind on my face soon, I think I’ll die.”
“The snow is five feet deep around the city gates. The guards have to shovel it away every night and morning just to open and close the doors,” Barnabus said.
“There is little snow once you move away from the mountains,” Arconn said.
“That’s fine for an elf who can move easily on top of the snow,” said Thrang, disgruntled. “The rest of us cannot move so easily. And what were you doing so far from the gates anyway?”
“Looking,” Arconn answered. “Feeling what is there.”
“Elves,” said Thrang, shaking his head and poking at the fire. “You’re almost as bad as Alex. If you don’t want to say what you’re doing, fine, but don’t tell us how nice it is to be out in the fresh air.”
“You asked,” said Arconn with a smile.
“How deep is the snow as you move toward the mountains?” Alex questioned.
“Five or six feet in most places, deeper where it has drifted,” Arconn answered after some thought.
“You had a package with you when you came in last night,” Thrain said, suddenly turning to Alex.
“Yes,” said Alex.
“Then you’re going to face him soon,” said Arconn, stating what everyone else in the room was thinking.
“I was thinking of going today, if the weather is bad,” said Alex, trying to sound hopeful.
“If the weather is bad?” Thrang questioned.
“Bad weather will make it harder for Nethrom to see me coming. I’ll need every advantage I can get.”
“And how will we get up the mountains in six feet of snow and bad weather?” Kat asked.
“You won’t,” Alex answered.
“If you think you’re going alone, you’ve got another thing coming,” said Thrang in a defiant tone. “I forbid you to go by yourself.”
“That is something you have no say in,” said Alex. “But I thank you for the thought.”
“I will come,” said Arconn. “The snow is not a problem for me, and I can help you defeat this evil.”
“No,” said Alex, his tone almost a command. “This is something I must do alone. I know that you would all go with me, even if I did not ask, but I must go quickly and alone. That is the only hope I have to defeat the necromancer.”
Arconn refused to accept Alex’s decision, and none of the others were happy about being left behind either. They all knew they could not go into the mountains in bad weather, not with so much snow already on the ground, but Arconn was inflexible in his decision to go along.
“At least, if you fail, I can bring word to the others,” Arconn argued.
“If I fail, you will see the dragon,” said Alex, reaching for the long cloak Turlock had given him. “There will be fire on the mountains, and you will know the curse is broken.”
Alex walked quickly to the door, wanting to get on with his plan. The others followed him out of the common room, continuing to argue against his decision.
“If we all went, Nethrom wouldn’t know who to attack first,” said Nellus, but unconvincingly.
“And one of us might be able to attack him. Or at least distract him long enough for you to break his power,” Barnabus added.
“No,” Alex repeated. “I must go alone, and I must go now.”
“How will you manage in the snow?” Thrain questioned.
“I will be as the snow,” said Alex. “I will move like the wind and arrive at the necromancer’s cave without being seen.”
“It is too dangerous,” Thrang argued. “Couldn’t you ask your dragon friend to take care of this, or at least go with you?”
“Dragons care little for the troubles of other races, even the good dragons like my friend,” said Alex. “He has promised not to let me be used by the necromancer, and that is as much of a promise as I will ask of him.”
The others were silent as they moved through the city, but Alex knew they were all trying to think of ways to make him change his mind. When they reached the city gates, he was surprised to find Turlock waiting for him.
“Vol
o said you might be going today,” Turlock said, bowing to Alex. “I thought I would wish you luck, as I have little more than that to offer.”
“It is enough that you have come, Lord Turlock,” said Alex with a bow.
“Is there anything I can do for you before you go?” Turlock’s eyes were full of sorrow.
“Watch after my friends while I’m away,” Alex answered. “One way or another, the curse will be removed from Neplee before I return.”
“Then I will thank you now, and thank you again when you return.”
Alex smiled and walked to the gate. The guards bowed to him before swinging open the giant stone doors, and then stood back to let him pass. An icy wind rushed into the city, snowflakes swirling with it.
Taking a deep breath of the cold, clean air, Alex turned to look at his friends. “I will return as soon as I can. If I am not back before spring, don’t look for me.”
“Don’t say such things,” said Thrang gruffly.
Without another word, Alex turned and stepped into the snow, vanishing from sight in an instant. It was a spell he had been practicing since the first snows began to fall, and he knew it was his best chance to reach the necromancer’s cave undetected. Whalen had warned him about wasting his strength trying to reach the necromancer, and moving up the mountain without fighting whatever monsters the necromancer could send against him seemed like a good idea.
Becoming a gust of wind was not terribly difficult, but it was dangerous. When Alex had first worked the spell, he’d had difficulty returning to his own form. The wind was so free that all of his worries slipped away. It was only when Volo had started yelling at him for almost blowing out his forge that Alex had returned to his own natural shape.
Not wanting to lose himself in the shape of wind, Alex focused his attention on the land around him and began working his way into the mountains. He had only a general idea of where Nethrom’s cave would be, and he was worried it would take a long time for him to find it. He didn’t want to remain a gust of wind for too long, but he also didn’t want to become vulnerable on the mountainside in his own shape; and he didn’t want to start fighting until he had to.
By midmorning he was well into the mountains, and he let his mind search the land around him, looking for any wild creature that might help him find the necromancer. The land was empty, and Alex wondered if it was the winter weather or the necromancer that had driven away the wild creatures. He continued searching as he moved higher and deeper into the mountains.
It was late afternoon before Alex saw something moving in the snow below him, and he drifted closer to get a better look. He stopped himself from touching the creature’s mind when he realized it was one of Nethrom’s undead creations. A giant bear, making its way down the mountainside in winter was out of place, and Alex was glad he had taken the form of wind and could remain hidden. Alex followed the bear’s tracks deeper into the mountains.
When the last gray light of day was fading, Alex stopped in a large grove of trees. He checked to make sure that none of Nethrom’s creatures were nearby, then he changed back into himself. After a quick meal, he studied the trees around him. Slowly he let his mind slip into the thoughts of the trees, and with a simple command, he changed forms once more, this time becoming a giant pine in the middle of the grove.
It was in the shape of the tree that Alex discovered where to look for the cave of the necromancer. The tree’s thoughts were slower than his own, slower than any living animal. The trees were very much alive, however, and they knew things about the undead land around Nethrom’s cave.
When the sun touched the mountainside once more, Alex changed back into the wind. The new day was bright, and the clouds that had covered the mountains for weeks had blown away in the night. It was easy for Alex to see where he was going, and with the knowledge he had gained from the trees, he quickly found the entrance to the cave.
For a moment Alex thought about entering the cave as the wind, but then he thought Nethrom might notice the breeze and possibly capture him before he could change back into his natural form. Instead, he stopped a short distance from the cave’s mouth and returned to his own form on the wind-blown path. He looked around at the crushed and packed snow around him and suspected that Nethrom had recently sent a great many creatures out of the cave.
Moving toward the entrance of the cave, Alex paused. A large treelike creature was rooted in the center of the path in front of him. At first, Alex did not realize what it was. He had only noticed the strange creature because there was no snow or ice on it. As he approached, two great serpent heads swung around to watch him, their red eyes shining brightly in the cold morning air. Without waiting for the creature to attack, Alex sent a ball of fire toward it, but it bounced off, hissing loudly as the fireball sank into a nearby snowdrift. He thought about freezing the creature, but since it didn’t seem bothered by the winter wind, he didn’t think a freezing spell would have any effect. Moving forward carefully, he drew his sword. If magic could not harm this creature, perhaps the edge of his sword could.
One of the serpent heads struck down at Alex as he approached, its reach much greater than he’d expected. Alex spun away, dodging the first head and watching the second. The second head was only a few seconds behind the first, but Alex was ready for it when it came. Sidestepping the attack, Alex brought his sword down directly on the creature’s neck. The head went bouncing across the snow and burst into flame at the side of the path.
Stepping back so the remaining head could not reach him, Alex was shocked to see two new heads growing from the flailing stump. He was facing three heads instead of two, and it seemed he would face more if he continued to attack.
“Hydra,” said Alex under his breath. He remembered the story of Hercules, an ancient Greek warrior who had defeated a hydra by cutting off its heads and burning the necks before new heads could grow. Unfortunately, Alex didn’t see how he’d have time to burn one neck before one of the other heads attacked him. It seemed impossible, and he wondered how Hercules had managed it.
Alex moved away from the hydra, wondering what he should do. It was only a matter of time before Nethrom or one of his other creatures became aware of him. Now that he was so close to the cave, he had to move quickly, but the hydra was something he had not expected. Alex leaned against his staff and looked around the snowy path, hoping to see some clue of how to defeat the hydra. Icicles hung from the rocks on one side of the path, and Alex jumped when he saw his own reflection in them. He looked around to make sure it was only his own reflection and not some other creature moving behind him. Then the idea hit him, and he smiled at the simplicity of it.
Moving forward once more, he stopped just beyond the hydra’s reach. He gripped his sword firmly in his right hand and turned the end of his staff into a blue-white flame. Closing his eyes as he worked the magic, he concentrated on what he needed to do. When he opened his eyes again, he laughed as six copies of himself looked back at him.
The hydra could see the seven different versions of Alex, and its heads began to move back and forth, trying to watch all the images at the same time. The hydra didn’t know which of the figures to attack, and the closer the figures got to it the faster it moved its heads.
The hydra stuck at one of the images to Alex’s left, but the serpent’s head bit nothing but snow and ice. Alex shifted his images, moving them around the hydra slowly and sometimes toward it. The hydra struck a second time on the far side of the path, and Alex knew he would have to wait to launch his own attack.
Five times the hydra attacked Alex’s false images and five times it found nothing. On its sixth attack, Alex struck his own blow, slicing off one of the heads with his sword and holding his burning staff against the bleeding neck before two new heads could replace it. The hydra recoiled from his staff, but the work was already done. Now there were only two heads for Alex to watch, and only two heads to watch the seven images of himself.
Alex continued moving his illusions arou
nd the hydra. One head almost managed to bite Alex as he was preparing to attack the other head, but he managed to slip away. The hydra seemed to realize that it had found something real to bite this time, and the second head swung around quickly to attack. Alex distracted the first head by having three of his images rush forward at the same time. He cut the second head from its neck and once more pressed his burning staff to the wound.
The final head spun around wildly, trying to defend its body from the seven attackers surrounding it. Alex almost felt sorry for the hydra, but he knew he had to finish the task. He sent five of his images rushing one side of the hydra, forcing its last head to turn and face them. As it turned, Alex rolled forward, swinging his sword with all his strength, and cut the hydra’s body off as close to the ground as he could. The long neck and head of the hydra burst into flames as it fell, and Alex applied his burning staff to the stump that was left in the ground.
The mouth of the cave was open, but the darkness inside it was forbidding.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Alex waved his hand and his six duplicates faded into mist. He wished he was not alone, but he knew that the danger was too great for any of his friends to face. Taking another deep breath of the cold morning air, Alex stepped into the dark cave and paused, allowing his eyes to grow accustomed to the twilight world he had entered.
The cave was not completely dark, and once Alex was away from the bright entrance, he was a little surprised by how light the cave actually was. Only one path led into the mountain and Alex stepped carefully; if Nethrom was already aware of Alex’s approach, and if he had managed to gather too many undead creatures to defend himself, it might be impossible to reach the necromancer at all.
Alex moved slowly, listening for anything else that might be in the cave with him. All he could hear was the sound of dripping water somewhere ahead of him. He continued on, growing more nervous as he went. The cave seemed empty and quiet, and Alex felt even more worried.