As expected, the dragon turned its great head to look directly at Aiden. It seemed as startled to see him as Aiden was to be witness to this entire scene. It spread its wings, and the air around it crackled and sparked with a build-up of power.
A flash of white light suddenly engulfed the battlefield. A blast of energy engulfed Aiden, who fully expected to die.
A stillness came over the field. Aiden slowly looked up to see a colossal hole carved out of the ground, easily fifty yards across and just as deep. It was almost a perfect hemisphere, and even went inside the bailey of the castle itself. The outer gate and part of its walls cleanly sheared off where the hemisphere met them.
Aiden, no longer appearing as a soldier in the army, slowly stood, looking at the devastation before him, and felt at peace. It was an odd feeling, considering what he had witnessed, but there it was, regardless.
The scene around him began to fade and turn a curious shade of purple. Then it was all swept away in a swirling sea of blue and violet light, a vista that appeared flat and featureless, yet seemed to stretch on to infinity at the same time.
Aiden could no longer see his body in the dimness, and felt as though he were floating in water. He simply drifted with the flow, pushed about by eddies and currents of the great ocean.
After an interminable amount of time, a shape began to form from the surrounding formlessness, a piece of rocky ground beneath his booted feet. Aiden touched down lightly upon the surface and watched as the fog of violet and blue slowly receded before him to reveal an immense creature.
Its great head lifted slowly and Aiden saw it was the dragon from his nightmare, manifest before him in all its terrifying size. But it wasn’t quite the same.
Its great wings had wasted away to mere skeletal frames, covered in aged and worn skin. The golden scales adorning its hide were lackluster, and the eye that was now looking down at Aiden from the great head was bleary and dull. Aiden felt no fear of this creature, and was instead filled with a sense of pity.
Welcome, Aiden, a powerful voice intoned, although the mouth of the dragon had not moved.
“Where … what is this place?” Aiden replied, his voice small in the vast emptiness around him.
You are standing on a small pocket of reality amidst the Aether, a dimension adjacent to what you know of as Aeos, your world. Do not be alarmed; you are quite safe.
“How can you talk without moving your mouth?”
My jaws are not capable of reproducing mortal speech patterns, the dragon replied patiently. I am communicating directly with your mind.
“I see,” Aiden said timidly, struggling to comprehend everything that was happening. The air seemed normal here, though perhaps a little stale. Although he appeared to be standing on solid ground, he felt lighter than air, as if he could float away at any moment.
He took a few steps, noting that the great eye of the dragon, only yards away, followed his every move. The dragon’s bulk took up most of the space on the small pocket of land, but there was a structure of some sort behind it.
Peering closer, Aiden could see that it was a castle gate and part of a stone wall, with crumbling edges that stopped just short of the edge of the ground. Chains were lashed across the front of the gate, which appeared to be locked tight.
Do not go too close to the edge, the dragon advised. It was quite an effort to catch you in the first place, and I do not want you to again fall into the Aether.
“Is that a castle I see behind you?” Aiden asked, trying to put all the pieces of this puzzle together.
Yes, I brought it with me, the dragon said cryptically. Pay no heed to such things for now; your needs are more pressing. What is the last thing you remember?
“I ... was on a battlefield, watching great iron monsters attacking Aielund soldiers at the Battle of Fort Highmarch,” Aiden breathed, his memory distant and difficult to fathom. “But I have dreamt of that over and over for years, and never before has this happened.”
He looked at the dragon, its expression cryptic and its eye locked upon him, but no answer was forthcoming. “I recall Sayana saying something to me, something about it not being a dream,” Aiden mused aloud, his memories slowly clearing. “In the vision, she screamed when you looked at her. Why? She had done nothing to you—”
He was cut off by the dragon’s voice and was startled by its reaction. They are not your dreams, Aiden. They are mine, it informed him, its voice betraying powerful emotions within. She was not invited.
“If they’re your dreams, how is it that I see them every few nights? What is going on?”
Time flows differently here, the dragon explained. Every time I sleep, I walk in my memories of that last battle and wonder with regret whether or not I made the right choices; and through our connection, you walk through the battle with me.
You would have had the defenders drop their weapons and run? This was a poor choice — there was no retreat from the fight. I doubt there was any way to avoid the outcome you witnessed.
“Connected? How are we connected?” Aiden asked, imploring the dragon for an answer.
The dragon shifted its weight slightly, and brought forth one of its great claws, clenched tight around an object. Aiden took an involuntary step backwards, but the claw stopped before it reached him. It slowly opened, and within its palm was a glass orb, ridiculously small for the dragon to be holding, but about the right size for a human.
You recognize this, the dragon stated, observing Aiden’s reaction. It is the result of unequalled artifice, beyond the talents of even my own kind. They came in pairs, and allowed for communication across any distance, even across time.
“The glass sphere,” Aiden breathed, realizing the orb he held in that cave years ago was the partner to the sphere being shown before him now. He unconsciously reached for the shard hanging around his neck, but to his surprise, it wasn’t there.
Your possessions remain with your body, the dragon remarked, confusing Aiden more than he already was.
“But I’m standing right here,” he insisted, patting himself to be sure.
You are seeing what I want you to see, the dragon explained. Your real body is not here, unfortunately, as it was too damaged to hold your spirit any longer.
Aiden thought about that for a moment, and then came to a shocking realization. “Do you mean that I’m dead?” he asked dumbly.
After a fashion, yes. An unfortunate accident separated you from your body. You were wise to keep the shard of the scrying device with you, Aiden, for it was through it that I was able to witness your demise and retrieve your energy from the Aether.
“You’ve been watching me?” Aiden inquired.
In a limited fashion. The shard you carry around your neck carries only a fraction of the power required for a more direct link between us, though it was this that allowed me to intervene and bring your spirit here.
“So … I’m not really dead after all?” he asked, with a sliver of hope in his voice.
No, I caught you on your way past. I shall return you to your body and mend it enough to restore you to life. It is a shame that you broke the sphere, Aiden. Had it remained intact, we could accomplish great things together. As it happens, you will have to do this alone.
“Do what alone?” Aiden hedged, not liking the direction this conversation was heading, even as he was relieved to know that he was going to be all right.
You have many questions, Aiden, but your time here is nearly up. I cannot leave this place, yet there are important matters you must take care of for me.
Time works differently here than it does on the mortal plane. If you stay any longer, I fear your companions may not survive. Suffice to say, I serve a purpose here, and my time, too, is running short.
You will travel to Fairloch and find a man named Desmond. Speak my name, Salinder, to him, for he will have means of contacting me again.
“Wait, what do you mean—” Aiden began, but the scene before him was fading even as he spoke. Hi
s vision began to swim, and he felt fainter as each second passed. The dragon and the ground upon which it lay faded into the violet storm surrounding them, until both vanished altogether.
Aiden felt a sensation of falling a great distance, and the ground began to coalesce around him once more. This time it was much darker and far, far colder.
* * *
Aiden jolted awake, a throbbing pain in his head and a burning sensation upon his chest. He reached a hand up and pulled away the shard from its contact with his skin, for it was glowing red hot, leaving a small burn mark.
Glancing around, he was dismayed to see it was completely dark. A bitter wind howled across the frozen landscape, chilling him to the bone. His mind was still addled from his bizarre experience, but the memory of his demise was coming back to him faster than he would have liked.
Reflexively reaching a hand to his head, Aiden felt the place where he had been struck by the axe, only to find the weapon had been removed and the wound closed. His momentary relief was immediately overwhelmed by the realization that he was lying amidst a pile of bloodied corpses, half-covered by the snow, and his friends and allies were in trouble somewhere nearby.
Aiden slowly began to rise, keenly feeling the cold through his body. He wrapped the winter cloak tightly around himself and checked to make sure his gear was still intact. His armor was gouged in several places, but it would serve for the time being. His sword was gone, which didn’t come as a surprise, but made Aiden’s task that much more difficult.
Reaching into his backpack, he frantically fished around for anything that might come in useful and pulled out the strange pair of lenses, fixed to a leather strap. He remembered what they were, and recalled the night he had gone through the treasures of Ferrumgaard with Sayana.
A momentary feeling of dread overcame Aiden as he realized she too had been captured, despite his assuring her that he would protect her. She might well be suffering the most of them all. He quickly pulled the lenses over his head and was instantly able to see across the land around him, as if it were lit by a full moon.
The first problem solved, Aiden then rummaged around and pulled out the ornate enchanted scepter. If he’d remembered he had it, he might have chosen to leave it behind to save weight; but just as well, for now it might turn out to be the thing that saved them.
Setting aside the scepter, he retrieved the arcane scroll cases and opened one up. The lenses that allowed him to see in the dark didn’t provide light, however, so he couldn’t make out what was written on the scrolls. He briefly considering lighting a torch, but didn’t want to risk being spotted.
Girding himself for the journey across the frozen wastes, Aiden could see the heavy footsteps of over a dozen people in the snow, and knew he was on the right track. Yet the prospect of facing hundreds of Akoran warriors in order to free his friends weighed heavily on his mind.
Chapter Eighteen
He traveled for an hour and more across the snowy ground, with the bitter mountain winds assailing his every step. Tiny dots of light began to appear at the edge of Aiden’s enhanced sight — the campfires of the Akoran horde. There were at least thirty of them, and more appearing by the minute. He began to worry that Colt and the others had been taken into the middle of a vast encampment, yet as he continued on, the trail veered to skirt around the camp.
Movement could be seen amongst the campfires. Aiden surmised that only a few unlucky souls were forced to keep watch during the winter chill, which was the sort of good news he had been hoping for. His sight was better than anyone’s, and he was able to move around and keep the enemy at the edge of his vision, remaining undetected.
Aiden peered through his lenses at the scene before them, seeing two Akoran warriors huddled against the cold at the mouth of a cave. Several torches lit the area, and a large brazier flared with fire to help keep the two men warm. The heavy tracks Aiden had followed all this way led directly into the cave.
Aiden crept in closer, confident he was invisible to the guards for the time being. Getting past them would be a different matter, but thinking of invisibility gave him an idea. He retrieved the arcane scrolls he had found at Ferrumgaard from his pack and unfurled them as delicately as he could, being careful not to tear the ancient parchment. The light from the nearby fires was barely enough to read by, and he quickly scanned the contents.
His pulse quickened as Aiden leafed through the collection. The old wizard from Ferrumgaard had accumulated an assortment of incantations that would transform Aiden into a devastating combatant — for about fifteen minutes. Strength, armor, speed, and yes, even the power of invisibility was his to command.
The only problem was, he’d never tried this sort of thing before. Although he could read the cryptic language that guarded the secrets of wizards, one tiny slip-up could have disastrous results.
But first, he raised the scepter and once more practiced the odd inscriptions upon its length. He’d encountered most of the arcane markings in his research over the years, and it proved to be an easy study.
Much like the glove he had found in the mountains, the scepter was activated by a single command word, at which point interesting things would happen. What, exactly, he wasn’t sure.
With that out of the way, he took a deep breath and read out the incantation on the first scroll. The words sounded strange and exotic, but were infused with an essence that was difficult to describe, let alone understand.
As he reached the end of the scroll, the inscribed runes vanished from the parchment, which dissipated through his fingers into a pile of smoldering ash at his feet. Aiden assumed that was supposed to happen and continued with the next one.
He was halfway through reading out the arcane script when the parchment itself ignited with a flash, momentarily blinding him and causing an eruption of flame.
Aiden dropped the fiery parchment and flattened himself to the ground. He had definitely mispronounced something in that convoluted incantation, and might well have given away his position to the Akorans as a result. The guards nearby were looking around, as if unsure what they had seen; but they held their positions, which was both a good thing and a bad thing, as they were sure to be even more cautious now.
Aiden waited for them to relax back into their routine once more and went back to reading the scrolls one by one. After three more successful attempts, he looked down and noticed he couldn’t actually see his body anymore. He lifted his left hand in front of his face, yet it was completely transparent.
With rising confidence, he stood and began softly creeping towards the cave entrance. His heart thudded in his ears, for although he was truly invisible, the prospect of passing within a few feet of the two fierce guards set him on edge. He briefly thought about the footprints he was leaving behind, but it was dark enough that they wouldn’t see them until sunrise.
Aiden quickened his pace, keeping tight to the side of the hill into which the cave entrance was set. The Akoran guards were watching the darkness intently, no doubt keeping an eye out for any reoccurrence of the strange flash of light. Aiden was thus able to move past them without their noticing and over the final few yards, he held his breath in case they might hear his breathing.
The gusting wind must have helped cover any noise he had made, for he managed to get inside the cave without being noticed. Carefully drawing breath once more, he noticed a thin piece of torn white cloth on the ground and recognized it was part of one of the winter robes Pacian had gotten for them all.
The cave extended inward for ten yards beyond the entrance before branching off. There was no further sign of Akoran guards as yet, something Aiden was silently grateful for. Torches were placed every few yards along the length of the tunnel, making the place seem as bright as day to his enhanced sight.
He crept to the junction ahead, and after checking for signs of life, moved to the right. Perhaps it was the result of the terrible cold outside, or an after effect of the near-death experience he’d gone through, but he coul
d barely stop shaking.
Gathering up his courage, Aiden delved deeper into the complex, battling the urge to rush inside before the power of his magic was played out. He had a distinct advantage, for while they couldn’t see him, Aiden was able to see everything around him as clear as day. Expecting some sort of rough-hewn cave, he was surprised to see the tunnel was more like a purpose-built underground complex, with walls made from some kind of metal which showed no sign of rust.
Storing this information away for later, he kept moving through the tunnel. He was growing uncertain as to whether this was the correct path when a faint echo of a woman’s scream could be heard to his right. With a feeling of dread, Aiden followed the sound through the twisting tunnels, certain that he would have become lost without it.
The air in the cave was becoming thick with smoke and the smell of roasted meat. Turning a corner, he spied several warriors in a large alcove, lounging around open fires in stone pits, and cutting chunks of meat from a deer carcass hanging from a spit over the flames.
They chuckled at the sounds of suffering from further in the complex, adding to Aiden’s growing rage. He longed to strike from the shadows and cut them down, but couldn’t risk being overwhelmed in a fight. He had to press on.
The sounds of men and women in distress grew closer as he turned a corner, setting Aiden’s neck hairs on end. Fearing the worst, he ran forward and bowled headlong into someone who had been crouched in the darkness.
Aiden recovered and brought his scepter up high, almost lashing out before he noticed familiar blond locks on the man’s head. Pacian, confused and bedraggled, also regained his footing. He looked around in near-panic, trying to figure out what had just hit him, with a dagger gripped tightly in one hand.
His leathers were torn, and he’d discarded his white cloak so he could hide in the darkness. He shivered in the freezing cold of the tunnels.
Soldiers of Avarice Page 29