Close Encounters of the Magical Kind

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  The cauldron began to heat. Steve leaned over and stared at the bubbling golden liquid. How hot was he supposed to heat it? And for how long? Had either of them said?

  “Umm…”

  “Just keep raising the heat,” Ria answered, before Steve could ask. “I’ll know when you get it hot enough. Once you reach the right temperature then it must be maintained for a very specific amount of time.”

  “And how long will that be?” Steve wanted to know.

  “I’m not sure,” Ria confessed. “I’ll just know it when it happens.”

  A few minutes later, as Steve was slowly increasing the temp of his flames, Ria suddenly smiled.

  “There. That’s what we need right… no, you’ve gone too far. Now it’s too warm. Lessen the… perfect. Right there. Can you hold that temperature?”

  “For how long?” Steve asked, peering down at the heated cauldron sitting in his flaming hand.

  “Until I say,” Ria answered. “It shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. Provided you can maintain that precise level of heat. The more the heat fluctuates then the longer the pollen will take to process.”

  In actuality, it was less than two minutes. Steve’s nose reported the purification process was done several seconds before Ria informed him the pollen was ready. He pulled his jhorun back from the cauldron, allowed it to cool, and started to hand it to the queen. Noticing the shakiness of Ria’s hands, Steve switched gears and handed the cauldron to Thinian.

  “Okay, what’s next?” Steve asked.

  Ria smiled gratefully at the two of them. She held a hand up and waited for Steve to gently pull her to her feet.

  “Now it’s time to save our…”

  There was a sudden disturbance behind him. Steve and the two Fae turned to see Sarah standing there, looking bedraggled and completely worn out. Cradled in her arms was something that instantly drew everyone’s attention. Steve stared at the sight before him, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Sarah was rocking back and forth, all while softly singing. Steve nervously cleared his throat.

  “Umm, I think you’ve got some ‘splaining to do.”

  Sarah looked up and smiled at him. She sighed, sank down onto the closest chair, and returned her attention to the small form she was carrying.

  “Umm, there’s been a slight change of plan, dear.”

  Chapter 12 – Unexpected Twist

  Sarah had teleported herself straight to R’Tal. She wasn’t too sure where she needed to start looking for Nyx’s cub but she had a really good idea who she wanted to ask. She just had to hope he hadn’t gone to sleep for the night.

  Sarah looked around the Great Hall. Neither the king nor queen were present, which wasn’t too surprising. By her estimation, it had to be past ten in the evening. In fact, the only people in the throne room were a few servants cleaning tables and two stationary guards positioned at either end of the room. Sarah motioned one of the guards over.

  “Nohrin,” the guard said, nodding his head. “What can I do for you?”

  “It’s imperative that I speak with the king. Do you know where he is?”

  “His majesty has retired for the evening,” the guard informed her.

  “Well, un-retire him,” Sarah ordered. “He gave me implicit orders to ask for help if I needed it. Well, I’m asking.”

  The guard nodded, “Captain Pheron gave us explicit instructions that if either of the Nohrin were to appear then he should be notified immediately. A moment, if you please. I will send word.”

  The guard hurried off. Sarah began to pace around the room. What if she couldn’t find the cub? What if she found the cub but it was too late? What was she going to do if she couldn’t keep her promise to Nyx?

  Sarah angrily shook her head. She wouldn’t allow that to happen. She had to find the cub. If that meant waking up every single person in this castle then that was what she was going to do. She looked around at the nearly empty Great Hall. What if it took too long to wake the appropriate people up? Should she take matters into her own hands?

  Thankfully the guard returned a few moments later, followed closely by an exceptionally tall soldier who was hurriedly donning his uniform. Sarah broke out into a smile. It was someone she knew well.

  “Pheron! Am I ever glad to see you!”

  “Lady Sarah. A pleasure, as always. I am relieved to see you are well. What can I do for you?”

  “Please, there isn’t a moment to lose. I need to talk to the king and I’m going to need Gareth, Shardwyn’s apprentice.”

  Pheron held out an arm, indicating she should head to the Antechamber.

  “Does this have anything to do with the top secret mission the king is privy to that I am supposed to know nothing about?”

  “Umm…”

  “Don’t answer that. I’ll fetch the king. Wait here, milady.”

  Less than five minutes later Pheron was back, accompanied by the king. He was still pulling on his robe as he hurried through the door. Kri’Entu inclined his head at his desk and promptly sat down. After running his hands through his graying hair the king finally looked at Sarah and nodded appreciatively.

  “Lady Sarah. Thank you for including me. How may I be of assistance? Captain, you are dismissed.”

  Sarah held up a hand, “Wait! This doesn’t have to do with… what we talked about earlier. This has to do with something else.”

  Captain Pheron paused, spun around, and waited patiently for Sarah to explain.

  “I need information,” Sarah hastily explained. “I need maps. I need to speak with someone who knows the kingdom’s topography better than anyone. And I need Gareth.”

  Kri’Entu stared at her for a few seconds before turning to Pheron. The king motioned him over and indicated a chair next to Sarah’s.

  “Have a seat, captain. Lady Sarah, please explain.”

  “Long story short,” Sarah began, “there’s a griffin cub somewhere out there that doesn’t have much time left. There was a landslide. The cub’s mother sacrificed herself in order to save her cub. I promised the cub’s mother that I’d find her baby. That’s it, in a nutshell. Please, we have to locate this cub. I don’t think he’ll survive another night.”

  “Captain Pheron, send word to Mister Barrett, of cartography. Get him here, on the double. And tell him to bring a selection of his best maps. Go.”

  Pheron nodded, “Aye, your majesty.”

  Kri’Entu summoned one of the guards standing silently outside the Antechamber doors.

  “You. Come here. Shardwyn’s apprentice, Mister Gareth. His extended leave of absence is not due to start until tomorrow morning. He’s spending time with his father underwater,” Kri’Entu gently explained, seeing the look of confusion on Sarah’s face. “The boy has not departed yet. You’ll find him in his quarters. Fetch him here at once. Oh, I would advise you to knock first to announce your presence. It’s never a good idea to surprise a wizard.”

  The young soldier nervously nodded and departed. As soon as the doors swung shut, and the two of them were alone, the king sat back in his chair and sighed. He looked over at Sarah and smiled.

  “I’m sorry for waking you up,” Sarah began.

  The king dismissively waved his hand, “Think nothing of it. Can you tell me why you search for this cub?”

  “We made an agreement with the cub’s mother. She agreed to help us if we agreed to try and save her cub.”

  Kri’Entu stared at her for a few moments before chuckling and shaking his head.

  “I envy you of your experiences. How many people can say that they have visited other worlds, have journeyed to forbidden islands, and have a jhorun which could make a wizard envious?”

  “It’s not as fun as you might think,” Sarah said. “All Steve and I wanted to do was have a nice, quiet vacation here. Did we get it? No. We’re going to need a vacation after this. Talk about stress!”

  “You have definitely earned your down time,” Kri’Entu observed, with a smile.

 
; “I would like to say again how appreciative we are that you built that cabin for us.”

  “Mikal may have had a hand in its creation,” Kri’Entu said with a smile. “He was the one that suggested…”

  The door to the Antechamber opened just then and the young guard from earlier appeared, leading one very groggy teenager. One look at the poor boy wearing a rumpled jerkin, trousers that were on backwards, and mismatched shoes had Sarah slapping a hand over her mouth. There was someone, Sarah decided, who wasn’t a night owl, even though it wasn’t that late at night.

  “Oh, Gareth, I’m so sorry to wake you up like this.”

  The guard plopped the teenager down onto the closest arm chair, saluted, and promptly resumed his post in the darkened corner of the room. Sarah hurried to Gareth’s side and gently shook his arm. When the young wizard still refused to answer her, even after 20 seconds of her shaking his arm had passed, Sarah put her hands on her hips.

  “Gareth, I need you to wake up. I have an emergency and I need your help.”

  Gareth yawned, stretched his arms, and looked at Sarah with unfocused eyes.

  “That does it. I really do hope you can forgive me for this, Gareth.”

  The boy wizard disappeared. Moments later they heard a splash and a loud screech of indignation. In the blink of an eye he was back. Dripping wet. The king’s mouth quivered as he fought the urge to laugh.

  “What the blazes did you do that for?” Gareth sputtered, jumping to his feet and hurrying over to the fire. “It’s the middle of the night. I’m supposed to be sleeping. What did you expect me to be doing?”

  “It’s nowhere close to the middle of the night,” Sarah disagreed. “My 85 year old grandmother stays up later than you. Now, are you awake or would you like another dip in the moat?”

  Kri’Entu managed to keep his face supremely devoid of any emotion.

  “I’m awake!” Gareth cried, lunging forward to grip the hearth’s mantle, as if that act alone would be enough to thwart her jhorun. “Sorry. I had a long day. Now, what’s the matter? What’s with all the urgency?”

  The doors opened again, this time admitting a tall, stocky man lugging a bag full of rolled up parchments. He bowed as soon as he noticed the king. His eyes lit up with recognition as he spied Sarah.

  “You must be Lady Sarah! It is a pleasure, milady. I am Barrett, head cartographer. How may I be of assistance?”

  Sarah hurried over to the king’s desk and beckoned the other two over as well.

  “Barrett, is it? It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry, I’d love to hear more about your work but I have an emergency that I hope you can help me with.”

  “A map-making emergency?” Gareth stammered, trying to keep the disdain out of his voice.

  “Of sorts,” Sarah agreed. “Don’t laugh, Gareth. He’s here to help me. You are, too.”

  “What do you need?” Gareth asked.

  Sarah faced the cartographer and tapped the king’s desk.

  “Can we see your most detailed map of the kingdom?”

  Confused, Barrett looked over at the king.

  “Do as she says,” Kri’Entu commanded.

  Barrett nodded, rifled through his bag of scrolls, and selected one. He carefully unrolled it and placed the map on the desk. Sarah nodded. There was a reason Barrett was the best map maker. His maps were exquisite. Sharp lines, stark colors, detailed mountains and landmarks; all were represented on the map. Sarah briefly wondered why the map wasn’t on display somewhere.

  “Will this do?” Barrett hopefully asked. “I’m still putting some finishing touches on it.”

  “It’s perfect,” Sarah assured him. She faced Gareth. “Okay, Gareth. I need you and Barrett to listen to what I’m about to say. We need to find a very specific location and we need to do it quickly. I’m looking for a trapped griffin cub.”

  “Oh, my,” Barrett exclaimed, surprised.

  “Poor thing,” Gareth murmured.

  “Exactly. You two are going to help me find him. Now, the mother said that she had been killed by a recent landslide and it wasn’t in her normal territory.”

  Gareth blinked a few times and hesitantly raised an arm.

  “The mother was killed and yet you –”

  “Let the matter drop, Mister Gareth,” the king quietly instructed.

  Gareth nodded sagely, “It’s dropped.”

  “Excellent. Lady Sarah, do continue.”

  Sarah nodded, “Right. As I was saying, the mother said she had stashed her cub in a cave at the base of some cliff while she hunted. She finished her hunt, after making a few kills, and then returned to the cave. The problem is, an earthquake hit, causing a landslide.”

  “An earthquake?” Gareth asked, frowning. “Is that another name for terra tremor?”

  Sarah nodded, “Yes. A terra tremor. Nyx had said something about a lake being nearby, trees to the north and south, and the beginnings of the mountains to the east.”

  “Which mountains?” Barrett wanted to know. “The Bohanis or the Selekais?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarah answered. “I would think it’d be the Bohanis, but how can we be certain? She never did say. What do you think? Is this enough information to go by? Can you guys find out where I need to go?”

  Barrett briefly glanced over at Gareth before leaning forward to study his map. After a few moments he sighed heavily and gave the king a frustrated stare. The king held up a hand and signaled the cartographer to wait.

  “We know it isn’t much to go on, Mr. Barrett,” Kri’Entu began, “but hopefully it’s enough to trigger your memory. You know the country better than virtually everyone. Can you pinpoint the griffin’s location?”

  “Well, it all depends on the size of the lake,” Barrett finally decided, turning to look at Sarah. “Do you know about how big it is? How many gallons of water would you estimate it has?”

  “Now how in the world would I know that?” Sarah asked, perplexed.

  Barrett was silent as he was thinking. Sarah looked helplessly at the king but saw that Kri’Entu was staring hard at Gareth. She glanced over and saw that the young wizard had his eyes closed. He hadn’t gone back to sleep, had he?

  Sarah smiled. Gareth’s lips were moving. He was chanting! She could only hope he was coming up with some type of spell that would help her pinpoint where the landslide had occurred.

  “I need some markers,” Gareth suddenly said, snapping his eyes open. He quickly stood and looked around the room.

  “Markers?” Barrett repeated, horrified. “You are not going to desecrate my map with any type of marker, young man.”

  Having experienced several of Gareth’s spells firsthand, Kri’Entu started searching his desk for some suitable objects. Three small figurines, reminding Sarah of pawns on a chessboard, were placed on the desk. The king looked up at Gareth with a questioning look on his face, wanting to know if the boy needed more. Gareth shook his head no and gathered up the objects, placing them just outside the map.

  “What are you going to do?” Barrett hesitantly asked. “You aren’t going to damage my map, are you?”

  “If he does I’m sure you can create another,” the king told him, growing impatient. “Your work is exquisite, Mister Barrett. If something happens to the map then I will personally commission another. In fact, I will even commission… that is to say, I will officially request…”

  After the king had trailed off for the second time, Sarah came to his aid.

  “How about a map which shows all the islands off the western coast of Capily?”

  Barrett gasped with alarm and gave the king a horrified look.

  “Do you have any idea how many islands there are?” the cartographer sputtered. “It would take weeks, if not months to properly chart.”

  Sarah paled. Dynwe was on one of those islands. The last thing she wanted was to draw any extra attention to the Fae and their home. Thinking quickly, she decided she should add an addendum.

  “Then perhaps just the
islands that are visible from the shore. We saw the map that Constable Fensham had in his office. While nice it was nowhere near as nice as this.”

  Kri’Entu nodded, “An excellent idea, Lady Sarah. Mister Barrett, consider that your next paid commission.”

  “But that will take…” Barrett trailed off as his eyes took on a wistful gleam.

  “An exceedingly long time,” the king finished for him. “For which you will be compensated.”

  The cartographer finally smiled.

  “Maybe I could include a…”

  “Got it,” Gareth suddenly announced.

  Sarah whirled on the young wizard.

  “You found the cub? That’s fantastic, Gareth! Where do I have to go?”

  “No, I haven’t,” Gareth quickly apologized. “I finished my spell and have the first set of results.”

  “What do you have?” Sarah eagerly asked. “What does your spell do?”

  “I checked for recent terra tremors,” Gareth explained, battling valiantly to hold back a yawn. “I checked back as far as a week. There have been six terra tremors.”

  “Where?” Barrett asked, interested.

  Before he could ask, Kri’Entu placed three more items on his desk. A pen cap, the stopper to a bottle of ink, and a ring he pulled off one of his fingers joined the three figurines already waiting patiently to be used. Gareth nodded appreciatively, closed his eyes, and chanted once more. All six items zipped across the map and stopped at their designated areas.

  The small group fell silent as they studied the map. Two of the small figurines landed in the northern Bohanis. The pen cap landed near the Zylan River, almost dead center in the kingdom, while the third figurine, the ring, and the stopper all ended up in various locales in the southern Selekais. Kri’Entu stared at the two figures located in the northern half of his kingdom.

  “I would think it would be one of these two.”

  “That’s assuming the nearby mountains are the Bohanis,” Sarah pointed out. “Look at the map. There are three markers in the Selekais. The odds are the cub is somewhere south, provided we knew where Nyx’s flock resides.”

  Gareth snapped his fingers.