Malik the Bard: Legend of the Crystal Dragon

by Scott Moore

  “At least some of them,” Khris added.

  “Can you imagine how many of them there are? We can’t even see the city walls and they are packed up next to one another like spawning fish,” Malik said.

  If Malik had to venture a guess, he would have said there were more than seven thousand men and women just a quarter mile ahead of them.

  “Do you think they have scouts out?” Khris asked. “I read in my war history books that armies always place scouts to find spying eyes and attacking armies,” he said.

  “I don’t think that they care about us,” Malik said.

  Although, he was not fully confident about that; he would have never guessed Sweet Tongue would know and want Abrie.

  “I still think we should keep our eyes open,” Mollie said.

  Malik scanned their immediate area. He did not see any stragglers, scouts, or sentries. There was not a single soul watching this pathway up toward the city.

  “I wonder how King Bently is enjoying his newfound company?” Malik chuckled.

  Even a king would be nervous at a foreign force this close to his castle walls.

  “I can’t imagine he was too comfortable when the Tempre told him about their plan,” Malik added.

  “I do not know the king, but I do not think this would have occurred without his blessing,” Khris said.

  Malik had seen King Bentley several times during his life. Abrie had played in Gray Waters hundreds of times and Malik had joined him on several of those occasions. He had never directly talked with Bently, but he had played on stages where Bently had been present. Bently was of medium stature, not imposing, but no slouch either. His face had been baby smooth the last time Malik had seen him. His hair was slicked back and kept short. Malik tried to imagine him fencing with Sweet Tongue and the other Tempre but found it hard to imagine.

  “We have to avoid the city gates and this mob,” Mollie said.

  Malik had no intention of running headlong into this massive group of mercenaries. He also had no intention of riding off into the city gates of Gray Water, but something told him that Abrie would probably be there.

  “What if we can save Abrie?” Malik said.

  Mollie turned to him. She was shaking her head, but not to reprimand him, it was more out of sorrow. “I don’t think that will be possible. What we can still possibly do is retrieve this relic before the Tempre do. Maybe then they will leave Luberg behind,” Mollie said.

  Malik shook his head in turn. “How exactly does that help Abrie?” Malik asked.

  “I don’t know how that helps Abrie. We would be saving hundreds, maybe thousands of others though. Wouldn’t Abrie want that?” Mollie asked.

  Mollie was probably right. Abrie was self-righteous and pious. He was practically a Saint himself.

  “I don’t know what Abrie would want because Sweet Tongue took him. He is not here to ask his opinion. I know if it were me in that same predicament, he would be there by my side. You all don’t have to agree with me, or come, but I think we should at least find out if Abrie is in the city,” Malik said.

  No one spoke for several minutes. Everyone was looking out into the horde of mercenaries only a small way away. Even Malik knew the thought was crazy. He doubted that they would get within ten miles of the city at this rate. He knew that many of these people would never see the tournament, let alone be a part of the festivities. Still, he wanted to try. At least to say he had given it his best effort. There was no use getting everyone killed for a pointless mission, but what were they on now? A mission that no one had a clue about. They had received word from a strange, old man in a cabin and then they scurried off to do his bidding. Maybe, the old man was right. Maybe, the fate of the world depended on the Tempre not retrieving some historical relic, or maybe the old man was crazy.

  Malik knew for sure, even if he did not know where, that Abrie existed. Abrie was a real and true person that was in trouble. A person who also happened to be his friend, Malik could not bring himself to just leave it.

  “You all can carry on,” Malik said. “Maybe you can beat the Tempre to the relic and then you all can save the world. I don’t know if that will happen, but I won’t stop you. I need to do this though. Abrie is the only reason I am still in this world. Without him, I would have died a long time ago.” Malik did not look toward the group. He was not sure he could keep his emotions in check if he did.

  Malik did not expect anyone to come with him. There was no reason for Khris or Embre to join him. Neither of them even knew who Abrie was. Abrie was gone before they met either of them. Even Molliewho had liked Abriehad no major reason to sacrifice everything for him.

  “I will understand,” Malik said, letting them all off the hook.

  “I will go,” Embre stepped up beside Malik. “I do not know Abrie, but I will go. Family is important. I only wish I had been able to tell Tempre goodbye. I hope you get the chance to see Abrie again,” she said.

  Malik held in his smile. Embre would not be of real help. He was glad she had volunteered, but he knew she would only be emotional support.

  “I am not sure it is a good idea,” Khris interjected. “I am not trying to be rude but is Abrie more important than the fate of the known world?” he asked.

  Malik could only answer that question for himself. To him Abrie was more important than any other living soul. Abrie was the one parent figure he had left.

  Khris looked to each in turn. “I mean I am sorry,” he added.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Mollie said. “It is a real concern. However, it is not a question I need to answer. I know what it feels like to lose those I cared about to the Tempre. Malik, I will go with you, we have already lost enough to the Tempre. At some point, it becomes pointless to save a world that you yourself have already lost. I want to act like I am a selfless hero, but I started this with one goal in mind, to kill the Tempre for what they did to my family.”

  Now Malik did smile. He could not hold it back. “Thank you, Mollie,” he said, turning toward her.

  “Don’t thank me yet.” Mollie was still overlooking the horde before them. “We may not make it out of this alive,” she said.

  Malik knew that was the truth of the matter. Abrie may not even be in the city or near it. He may be hundreds of miles away in any direction. He may even already be dead. There was no way to really tell, but he still needed to check. Malik still needed to know for himself.

  “What do you plan then?” Khris asked, with a defeated tone.

  Malik laughed, not because of the question, or the situation. He laughed because he had finally seen Khris on the other end of the numbers game.

  Chapter 25

  Mercenaries

  Malik sat down with the others to determine a plan. After a few hours of debating, arguing, and silence they all came to one conclusion.

  “So, we have nothing?” Khris said, standing up to stretch.

  Malik was at a loss of something that would get them into the city. Thousands of others were already pressing through with the title of mercenary tattooed on their resume. They would need something different. They would need something special to see them through the gates. So far, they had nothing that made them stand out. They were just more faces in a sea of people. They would be stopped at the edge of the masses and if they tried to bypass it, they would be killed for cutting in line.

  “Maybe we just keep going like we had planned. We tried to think of a way, but there is nothing to it,” Khris was running his hands through his hair.

  “I told you all, you can go any time you like,” Malik spat back.

  Malik was getting tired of hearing Khris say this same statement every fifteen minutes.

  “We are not going anywhere until we have exhausted every idea,” Mollie said.

  Malik was glad she still had his back on this; even if they really had nothing to go on. Khris may have even been right. What were they going to do? Every minute sitting on this patch of land meant they were open and exposed. I
f a single party tripped over them, then they would be hog-tied and taken straight to the city gates and handed over to the Tempre Warriors. Malik paused in his thought.

  “I know what to do,” he said

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused their full attention on him. Malik felt the uncertainty creep into his idea. Maybe he was wrong, and this was just another way to get them killed. Was Abrie more important than Mollie or Embre? Did he have the right to ask them to sacrifice their lives for his request? Malik swallowed, trying to wash away the dryness of his throat. They knew the risks involved. Malik had told them several times that they could continue their own path. He was not forcing them to stay. He just needed to remind himself of that. Everyone had the ability to make their own choice and live with the consequences of those choices.

  “Well what is it you thought of?” Khris asked, growing impatient.

  Malik stopped battling his own thoughts and spoke, “three of us in this party are wanted criminals of the Tempre, correct?” Malik asked.

  Mollie nodded and Khris said, “how exactly is that going to help us?”

  Malik ignored Khris’ sarcastic undertone.

  “If we are caught by anyone, especially a mercenary, wouldn’t the Tempre want to see us? Sweet Tongue would have told the others of who we are and for whatever reason, he seems very interested in finding us,” Malik said.

  “Again, how does getting caught help us? Doesn’t that just make us all prisoners?”

  “If you would shut up, then I will get to that,” Malik said.

  Khris almost spoke and then bit his tongue on the question.

  “Like I was saying, we would be taken straight to the city gates. However, as genius Khris pointed out, we don’t want to get caught. That won’t help us at all,” Malik was saying before Mollie interjected.

  “So, what is the plan to make sure we can help?” she asked.

  Malik let a smile creep onto his face. “That is the easy part,” he said. He lifted his hand and pointed toward Embre. “She captures us and brings us into the city,” Malik said.

  Embre’s face dropped into pure and unfiltered panic. “What do you mean I capture you and take you into the city?” she stumbled over her words.

  Malik held back his excitement. His idea would work, it had to work. “You tie us up, loosely of course. Then you march us right through the growing mercenaries and you take us into the gates. Once there, you will let us free and we can explore the city,” Malik said.

  Embre shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she stammered.

  “Yes, you can,” Malik said, letting the smile take over his features. “It will be simple,” he said.

  “Yeah simple,” Khris did not look pleased with the plan. “Simple all the way up to the point where the mercenaries just kill Embre and take credit for finding us,” he said.

  Malik’s smile dropped off his face. He hated Khris in that moment. There was not one redeemable quality he could find he enjoyed about Khris. Why did Khris even still travel with them? Malik should have insisted that he stayed in the first village they had passed. He was sure Mollie would not have gone for it though.

  Malik thought yet another plan had been defeated. Was there no possible way of getting into the city streets?

  “The entire plan is not bad,” Mollie said.

  Everyone looked to her. Khris let the smug look drop off his face.

  “What do you mean?” Malik asked, trying to mask the hope that was building in his chest.

  “I still think Embre can capture us,” Mollie looked to Embre, “I believe you can be that brave,” she said.

  Embre did not respond, but she did give a nod.

  “Khris does bring up a good point though,” Mollie continued.

  Khris nodded his head in agreement, thinking that Mollie was coming back around to seeing things his way.

  “I just think we are forgetting something we have with us that can be a resource,” she looked down into her arms.

  Malik looked down to meet what she was looking at. Egg was curled up on her lap, still sleeping.

  “What can he do to help us?” Malik asked.

  Malik was losing hope that Mollie was going to come up with a plan to help them.

  “It is simple. Once we are tied up, Embre needs a reason to be let through. If she is alone, the mercenaries may well kill her and take the credit. If Egg is by her side, most of the men will believe her story,” Mollie said.

  Malik scrunched his face in confusion, “I am not sure what story we agreed to tell?” he asked.

  “We give Embre a simple note. A note that says Embre is to move to the front of the gates with her captives and that Sweet Tongue has given her a prize to show her worth. We use the mercenaries’ fear of the Tempre and their desire to be a part of them to help our cause. They will be too scared to touch a girl that Sweet Tongue himself has deemed worthy of a gift such as Egg. With no one knowing what Egg is, and those who do thinking him a man-eater, then it will prove Embre is special,” Mollie said. The entire time Mollie stroked the top of Egg’s head, and he purred just like a house kitten.

  Malik rolled the idea around in his head. It was not much different than the plan he had come up with. He tried to see the holes in it. He could see many. Maybe the mercenaries would still not care, and they would flay Embre alive, Egg or no Egg. However, maybe their fear and pride would hold them in check.

  “I think it is worth a shot,” Malik said. “It has its own set of risks, but I am willing to try it.”

  Mollie and Malik looked to Embre. She was the most important part of the plan. Sweet Tongue knew about Malik and Mollie, and somehow he knew about Khris, but he had not yet found out about Embre and Egg. Embre was not quick to react to their request. Malik could not blame her. He would not be keen to run this if Abrie were not at stake.

  Embre finally nodded. “I will do my best,” she said.

  Khris’ shoulders visibly sank, and he turned to stare back out over the mass of mercenaries. Malik could almost sympathize with him. He could almost understand the resistance that Khris was putting up, but something in Malik just could not like Khris.

  Mollie stood up and walked over to Khris. She placed her hand on his shoulder for comfort.

  “It will hopefully only take us a few hours, at the most. We can get into the city, find out if Abrie is even there, and then move on from there. If he isn’t here, then we continue toward the relic. If he is here, then we try our best to save him without getting ourselves killed in the process,” Mollie said.

  “I will go with you guys,” Khris said, but his voice did not sound convinced.

  Malik was not convinced fully of the plan either, but he was sure he still had to try it.

  “Let’s tie up the mules and get this show on the road,” Malik said, standing to his feet.

  It only took a few minutes to gather the supplies from the packs on the mules. The old man had given them almost everything a traveler could ever be in want of. Malik and Mollie ran through the plan again with everyone. Khris, Mollie, and Malik would be tied together in a line. The rope would be loose, just in case they needed to fight their way out of a situation. Embre would be holding the line in one hand and walking Egg with the other. On her back, Mollie’s sword would rest in easy reach for Mollie. Strung across her shoulder would be Malik’s bow, just in case they needed some shooting to get out of a sticky situation. Malik was not confident he would be able to shoot the bow, but at least it was there.

  “So again,” Embre said. “Just to be completely clear, we are just going to walk right into the city?” she asked.

  Malik figured that was the simplified version of it. He tried to find a few reassuring words, but his throat was dry from the fear.

  “This is the only time I will ever hope that this creature eats someone,” Malik said.

  He was looking down to Egg and found that the only encouraging words he had were, “Eat the biggest ones first.”

  Egg blinke
d a few times and turned to Mollie. Mollie bent down to talk to Egg as if he were a human.

  “I want you to follow Embre’s commands. There is no reason to balk at a request from her. You pretend that she is me and then you follow what she says. We are depending on you to help us through this situation, okay Egg?” Mollie was concentrating on Egg’s face as if he were giving her some type of answer. Egg purred and Mollie nodded, as if she were happy with his answer. “He will follow you. Just keep things simple with him,” Mollie commanded.

  “I will do my best.” Embre turned to Malik to see if she was the only one feeling crazy at the moment. Malik gave her a shrug to let her know she was not alone.

  “Well, if we are going to do this, then let us get it done and over with,” Khris said, cinching some of the rope around his wrist. Mollie stepped into the middle and tied her rope. Malik took the front of the line and gently tied off his own cuffs. Embre took up the leash and started off down the path.

  “What if I mess up? Or if I stumble over my words? What if I forget something?” Embre asked Malik.

  Malik just smiled at her. “You will do great. Now put on a serious face. You are not supposed to be the one who is scared. That is our job, we are supposed to be the ones getting taken into captivity. You have caught us, and you have a monster. Plus, you have a written decree by Sweet Tongue to be let directly into the city gates. Everyone will be in envy of you, just pretend you are a very important person coming for a casual appointment,” Malik said.

  Malik could see Embre sweating from panic and fear. He could not blame her for it. His own insides were roiling and a few times he hoped to not lose control over his bowels. Although, that may not be so detrimental to their hopes; if the mercenaries thought him truly afraid, then they would believe Embre’s story even more.

  Embre took a deep breath and then tightened her grip on the rope. She stood taller, puffing out her chest, and put a scowl on her lips. Malik held back a laugh; he had to get into character too. It would be pointless of Embre to do well, if he gave up the gig with an inopportune chuckle.