by Sam Ferguson
The ploy worked.
Two bolts ripped through the stone wall in rapid succession. The first one narrowly missed the cloak, but the second struck it, ripping it away from Seidrif’s spell and then exploding in a ball of fire that obliterated the cloak.
The sentinel had come around the corner now, and Seidrif was able to counter. He sent a jarring bolt of lightning through the air and struck the sentinel in the chest. The metallic warrior staggered back and then fell to a knee. Seidrif spun around, gathering his power as he shouted his incantation. He gathered a great ball of air and lightning and then launched it at the sentinel.
The machine let out a great cloud of steam as it pushed back to its feet. Seidrif saw it raise its empty hand, and then the ball of crackling lightning blasted into it. The sentinel was ripped apart. Gears and bolts popped out and limbs flew away from the body as the chest and head crashed into the stone wall, cracking the rock and then crashing down to the floor. The two green gems rolled out of the head and onto the stone floor, signaling that the threat was over.
Seidrif sighed with relief, smiling and nodding at the destroyed machine. Unfortunately, he had not noticed that the sentinel had fired its own magical attack until it was too late. A small, yet strong dart of fire coursed through the air and pierced Seidrif’s right shoulder, tearing and burning through the joint until it erupted out the other side with a flurry of smoke and blood.
The bearded wizard fell backward to the ground and cried out in agony.
*****
Kiska whined again and pawed at the door.
“I’m going out,” Garrin said finally.
William shook his head and stepped between Garrin and the split-tail. “You don’t know what is out there. If that thing comes back, it could kill us all.”
Garrin shook his head and patted the crystal which was now back in his pouch. “If that machine had wanted to kill us, it would have done so by now. My guess is it is connected to this place, like the crystal. That means it is fighting off an intruder.”
Another explosion sounded from beyond the hallway.
“You shouldn’t go out there,” William pleaded.
“If the machine is fighting the wizard, then now is the best time to attack.” Garrin moved forward and swept the smaller man out of the way with his left arm. With his right hand, he shoved Kaspar’s canister into William’s chest. “I’ll leave him with you, just in case.”
William nodded and slowly took Kaspar in his hands.
Garrin let out a sharp whistle. “Let’s go, girls.”
Kiska and Rux tensed and watched the door, eagerly waiting for Garrin to open it.
“Follow my lead, Kiska,” Garrin commanded. The animal didn’t look at him. Garrin paused, his hand on the door and his eyes fixed on Kiska. He whistled two sharp notes. She looked up to him anxiously. “Follow my lead,” he told her.
He opened the door and rushed out, spear in hand. The two split tails flanked him, keeping pace with him easily, but not running ahead. Light was pouring in from the marketplace. It was bright enough that the entire hall was partially illuminated, making for easy running while Garrin kept his gaze trained on the sentinel. It paused in the hallway and turned its head toward him. The green glow upon Garrin and the split-tails intensified.
The sentinel looked back and raised its hand. A small, fiery spark left its palm and then a terrible sphere of blue lightning coursing and crackling around a dark ball blasted into the machine. It was torn apart in seconds, its lifeless limbs and body crashing to the floor.
Garrin didn’t slow his pace. He was counting on the element of surprise. The wizard would surely not be expecting them to take the offensive now. With any luck, perhaps the wizard even thought the machine had already killed them.
A moment later, a man cried out in pained screams that echoed off the walls.
“Come on,” Garrin said through his teeth as he sprinted through the hallway.
He and the split-tails rounded the corner to see a bearded man struggling to stand. His left hand was grasping at his right shoulder, and a heavy amount of blood was soaking his tan tunic. The sentinel had wounded him.
Garrin ran straight for the man, while Rux and Kiska each broke into a full run out toward the sides. Garrin knew their tactics. They would come in from the sides while he ran in straight. He readied his spear and charged in.
The bearded wizard looked up and glared at Garrin. The wizard’s left hand shot out. Garrin ducked under a bolt of lightning, but then felt a heavy force knock into his chest, throwing him backward and onto the ground. He turned over and struggled for breath as he pushed up to his knees.
“You come at me with a spear!?” the wizard shouted. “I am Seidrif Vontier, Chief Battle Mage and high advisor to the king! How dare you insult me by attacking alone?!”
Garrin turned, using his spear to push himself up. “I’m not alone,” he spat.
The trapper watched as the split-tails closed in. Their cougar-like paws had made no sound upon the stone, and the wizard had no idea what hit him. Rux went in low, biting and ripping at Seidrif’s knee while Kiska lunged high, hitting the wizard in the torso and closing in on his neck with her jaws. The three of them spun in the air for a moment before landing on the stone floor with a heavy tha-thump!
Seidrif twitched once, but Kiska pulled and shook with her head and jaws. The wizard’s neck snapped easily in her powerful mouth, the sound echoing off the wall.
It was over.
The wizards that had been hunting them were dead.
Chapter 12
The group got a late start the following day, choosing to sleep in a little longer and then take a leisurely lunch before finding their way out of the ruins and into the forest. Garrin took some time on their journey out from the tunnels and halls to search the rooms for any supplies that might be useful. There wasn’t much they could use. They had used all of the rope in making their traps the night before, and they were now frayed and torn. The armor would only weigh them down. The trapper did, however, find a tattered map that seemed to indicate another Punjak ruin within two days journey on the way to Geberron Pass.
When Richard and William weren’t looking, he also checked the dead wizard. He found a strange green stone, a white crystal, and a book about Kossin ruins. He flipped through the pages and might have discarded it had he not seen a few maps inside with notes scrawled along the pages. One map in particular lined up almost perfectly with the map he had found that indicated there was another Punjak ruin nearby. He stuffed the book into one of his larger pouches, along with the green stone and white crystal. Then he followed the others out the door.
Though Garrin was slightly disheartened by the lack of other usable resources, he almost sighed with relief at not having extra weight to carry when they returned to the stable and found their horse dead upon the ground.
“What do we do now?” Richard asked as he moved to the horse and crouched low, stroking it.
“We go on foot,” Garrin said.
William nodded. “Well, let’s get moving then.”
“The worst should be behind us,” Garrin said. “We can make camp early tonight, so I have time enough to build the lean-to and get a good fire going before the darkness sets in.” The trapper didn’t fail to notice William’s sour face. It was an expression that told him not all danger had yet passed.
The crystal stayed quiet in the pouch, neither moving nor glowing as they made their way through the snow. The trees seemed to bend and wave toward them as they walked, which was unusual for there was no wind blowing through the mountains. In fact, the weather was as perfect as it could be in the wintry mountains. The day was cold, but the sun was bright and the sky was clear. It was more than the weather though, for Rux and Kiska were playing in the snow now, bouncing and jumping around as they snarled and playfully swiped at each other.
The snow crunched rhythmically under foot as Garrin watched the split-tails play alongside the group. Even Kaspar poked hi
s head out from his canister and chirped away happily, his head bobbing with each step Garrin took.
Yet, despite everyone else’s high spirits, William kept glancing over his shoulders and up at the trees. Garrin looked up to a black pine and it appeared to sway slightly, bending toward them and dropping a bit of snow.
“I’ve never seen them do that before,” Garrin commented. “Not without wind, that is.”
William just offered a short nod and continued glancing over his shoulder every few paces, as if expecting an ambush.
“I only saw three,” Garrin said. “And we have slain all three.”
“William nodded twice this time, but his gray-blue eyes went up to the dark pine tree and he arched a brow suspiciously.
*****
Zek watched the servant set a silver tray of fruits, bread, and ham steak upon the round table in his bed chamber. The servant kept his head bowed, never looking up to Zek.
“Anything else?” the servant asked.
“You may go,” Zek replied. The wizard watched the servant leave and then he rose from his bed and tied his robe about his waist. He pointed a finger to his door, and the lock turned slowly, slithering and scraping the bolt into place. The wizard looked to the food, but went to the scrying pool instead.
It was odd that Seidrif had not yet made contact. He had expected the wizard to wake him another time during the night. He padded softly over to the stone pedestal and cocked his head to the side as he stared down into it. He saw his own reflection, as one might with any pool of liquid. He studied his face for a moment and then he set his right index finger into the warm, black liquid and stirred it counter-clockwise until he could just see a swirling funnel forming in the center.
He reached into the liquid with his mind, calling out through the astral plane to Seidrif.
Seidrif did not answer.
In fact, he could not even find Seidrif’s life force.
Zek bristled and took in a breath. He tried to contact Bolgrif. Bolgrif was not as adept a wizard as Seidrif, but he was capable enough to use the astral connection. Zek frowned when he was met with the same results. The wizard then reached into the pool one last time. His mind stretched through the astral plane, calling for Hagrif. Hagrif was normally the worst choice for communicating with. In the past, Zek had found connections with Hagrif to be unstable because the wizard’s mind was constantly wandering, and lacked any semblance of the focus required to establish a secure connection. Had Zek first tried to contact Hagrif and found no response, he would have assumed Hagrif was at fault, but now that he had already tried both of Hagrif’s brothers, he feared the worst.
Zek turned and moved to a desk off to the left. He pulled a small glass vial out of a drawer and then turned back to his scrying pool. He opened the vial and poured a mixture of pine needles, sage, powdered bone from a bear, and dried mountain goat intestine into the liquid.
Blue and purple bubbles foamed up around the powder as it fell into the liquid and disappeared. A lavender mist rose up from the scrying pool as it made a soft hiss. Zek gripped the sides of the scrying pool in his hands and spoke softly as he reached out through the astral plane, calling upon an ancient magic.
“Trees of the mountain, pines of the Kossin, heed my call and show me all.”
The scent of a pine forest filled his nostrils as he breathed in the mist rising from the dark liquid. He closed his eyes and focused his mind. All at once, he saw images blurring past him as his mind was carried away into the mountains. Snow-covered trees whisked under him as he soared through clouds above great, jagged peaks. The sun went back in its path, turning back the time and showing Zek a vision of the past. His mind dropped down upon one mountain slope, and then his vision became as it were looking out from the trunk of a large pine tree. He could see the still snow below him, as well as a dark cave nearby.
In the darkness of night, he saw a group enter a cave. A strange, red crystal floated in the air before them. They entered the tunnel and disappeared. Time then lurched forward, nearly causing Zek’s stomach to flip as the stars and moon swirled above him. When everything slowed down to normal, he saw Seidrif entering the tunnel.
Zek’s mind went to Hagrif and Bolgrif. Where were the other brothers?
In answer to his question, time spun backwards once more and his vision was rent from the large pine tree and he flew back through the air. He came down near dusk, landing inside another tree and looking out over a hill where the traitor and another man were setting an ambush.
Zek watched in painful detail as Bolgrif and Hagrif were murdered upon that icy trail.
The wizard would have ended the vision there, but he had to know what had become of Seidrif.
He directed his focus back and returned to the pine by the cave. He watched Seidrif enter, and then waited as time spun forward again. He fought the nausea in his stomach and waited for the vision to slow back down. Dawn came and went in seconds. The soon rose up as the wind made the trees move and bend to its will.
Then, out came the group of travelers. The traitor, the mountain guide, and the child.
Zek knew that Seidrif was slain.
The wizard moved from tree to tree, bending closer to the group as they walked through the snow. He saw large split-tails bouncing and playing while the humans walked along the trail. Somehow, they had defeated the three brothers.
Zek pulled back and ended the spell. He turned and nearly retched, his arms shot out, seeking something to steady himself with while he regained his bearings. Ultimately, he leaned over his bed and took in deep, slow breaths as he fought the urges in his stomach. Using the trees to scry the forest was an ancient, nearly forgotten art, and it was one that did not sit well with Zek. It took him nearly twenty minute before his flushed skin returned to normal and he could stand without feeling light in the head or heavy in the stomach.
Unfortunately for him, he was about to have a far less pleasant time. It fell to him to update the king. That meant scrying again to connect with Nor. Zek frowned at the scrying pool, seriously considering what he might be able to do to fix the situation so as to spare himself from informing King Nor that they had failed.
There was nothing to do.
Zek took in a breath of courage and went back to the pedestal. He called through the liquid to his king. Nor did not respond right away. Instead, there was a mental block. Wherever the king was, he was not receiving Zek at this time. So, the wizard waited beside the scrying pool, hoping his king would not keep him waiting too long. In times past, this had usually been a quick affair, just long enough for Nor to reach a secluded room, but on occasion Zek had waited for hours on end, not knowing when he would be contacted.
This time was somewhere in between. The king reached out about an hour after Zek’s initial contact. His face came and hovered above the scrying pool, menacing and scowling as always.
“I bear ill tidings,” Zek said after the king announced himself.
“Speak,” the king replied.
“Seidrif, Bolgrif, and Hagrif are dead. The traitor lives.”
King Nor grew silent. The eerie floating head closed its eyes and the frown turned into a snarl. “NO!” Nor shouted at last.
Zek bowed his head to the misty figure and nodded. “I am afraid it is so. The traitor found a Punjak ruin, and they used it to ambush Seidrif.”
“Then, he must be getting help,” Nor replied. “Who is this mountain guide? What do we know of him? Is he a wizard?”
Zek shook his head. “No, my king, he is only a mountain man. I have seen him. I used the trees when I could not find Seidrif. He appears to have no magical abilities, but he is competent, and crafty.” Zek decided to leave out the part about the floating crystal. “I will say this, though, the guide has a pair of unusual companions.”
“What do you mean?” Nor said.
“He travels with two split-tails. They appear to follow him the same as a domesticated dog might accompany their master.”
“Then he
must have some kind of magic. Animal kinship is not something one can develop with mundane blood.”
Zek bowed his head. “I have an idea,” he said. “I have watched their trajectory and I believe I know where they are headed. I know there is another Kossin Ruin in their path. Command me, and I shall send more men.”
“Send three parties,” Nor said quickly. “Send a group of warriors from behind them, send another into the ruin in front of them, and then you personally lead the third. Try to pick another assault point so they can be surrounded. They may be crafty, but they will fall if you overwhelm them.”
“Yes, my king,” Zek said.
Nor’s head vanished as if a wind carried it away and the mist dispersed.
Zek sighed and turned to his map. He and Seidrif had spoken at length about the Kossin ruins the historian from Cherry Brook had found. He would have plenty of points to attack from. However, he wasn’t about to take any chances. He looked to his shelves and immediately began gathering the ingredients he needed to create a blizzard over the traitor’s camp. Now that he knew where they were going to be for the night, he was going to freeze them in place if possible. With any luck, the mountain, or perhaps the frost trolls, would finish them off before he got there.
*****
Richard was off standing near the trees with Kiska and Rux next to him while William gathered wood to build the fire up with. Garrin squatted next to the budding flames, leaning in to blow on them and feed them smaller bits of wood until they grew big enough for the larger pieces.
“It seems he has a bit of your gift,” William said as he nodded back toward Richard.
Garrin smiled. “He’s a good kid. Animals can tell.”
“I suppose,” William said as he placed the wood next to Garrin.
“Tell me, who were those men?” Garrin asked. “When you first came to me, I thought perhaps you were just another privileged noble seeking to help a relative escape military service. Later, in the cabin you tell me a bit about what happened, but even that doesn’t explain three wizards.”