by T G W Becker
“I just like to be sure, and since we’ve met up with this rather interesting pair, I like to be doubly sure.”
Satisfied, he got up and packed his blankets away. Arthure stood where Drake had left him last night. He stood watching the world go by, not a care in the world. If only he knew how much danger we could be in at a moment’s notice, Drake thought.
The half-elf was still wrapped up tightly in her blankets, so Drake left her to sleep.
“It’s nice to see that, despite the situation, sleep can come so easily to some.”
“Do not be too quick to judge youngling. We know little of what they have been through and how long it has taken them to find us,” Zeek answered, looking for the best in this new pair of companions. The trio had only been as such for four days now, yet it felt oddly as though it had been ten times that long. Glancing across again at the sleeping Nethalie, Drake smiled, and then set about preparing a fire for the Bluecap’s inevitable return.
Sure enough, though after quite some time, Rossa finally returned. She made her way back into the camp almost silently, startling poor Arthure. They had set themselves up around the ruins of the dwell at which they had all first encountered one another. Rossa lent smugly against a rather large stone block, brandishing her spoils. Four large wild fowl eggs, a handful of edible mushrooms and two large sour apples.
“Not bad for a morning’s haul. The eggs gave me some trouble, but well worth it,” Rossa spoke as she placed the food on top of her blankets.
“I can just see how those poor defenceless eggs put up a gruelling fight,” Nethalie taunted, finally awake.
“You know what I mean,” Rossa snapped back, which was a little out of character. Usually she would have some witty reply, Nethalie thought.
“Everything okay otherwise?” she asked, eyeing her friend for any sign of a misleading answer. Perhaps she was unhappy with their findings at the holding, or maybe she didn’t see why they were sticking with Drake.
“Sorry,” Rossa smiled, “it was a long trek to find all this. Eggs don’t grow on trees, which is a real shame by the way. At least the sour apples still do, I almost imagined they grew on a walking shrub and I would have to chase them through fields and forests.”
Nethalie and Drake both laughed, the momentary worry alleviated.
“Drake has a fire going. Why don’t we get those eggs cooking and start looking though what we borrowed from the holding,” she patted her saddle bag, “we could do with a new direction to go in.”
After hungrily devouring the fried eggs and mushrooms, the trio sat around a pile of unrolled maps and scrolls: large stones held down the corners to stop the parchment from curling. They sat in silence, looking at the map and occasionally at each other; at least, this is what any unwelcome onlooker would see. In actual fact, Zeek was discussing his thoughts and translations with everyone.
“This map appears to mark the locations of all the major holdings that the mages had in use some 200 years after Oriomus’ death. Once I managed to translate the dialect, the key is written in, all the rest fell into place,” he took a moment to pause before continuing, “it would seem that Oriomus’ followers became very busy following their leader’s demise. Indeed, I believe a little too busy. It would seem that there were preset orders to undertake, following the death of Oriomus. Either this is the case, or a truly well organised underling took charge with great efficiency.”
“From what I have heard about him, I wouldn’t rule out orders from beyond the grave,” Rossa broke the silence in the ruins,“ he seems to have maintained a great deal of power.”
“More than you could know young Bluecap, much, much more. It took all of my strength and a great deal of stored energy to destroy that foul being.”
“Anyway..,” Drake interrupted, not wanting to delve too far into Zeek’s past right now, “…the map?”
“My apologies. The map not only marks the locations of the holdings but, thanks to the text Rossa discovered on the activity of the elite mages, it is safe to pick out which holding is most likely to hold the piece of my Ecliptica. Unfortunately, it seems that this hold is underneath one of the great temples of worship and almost certainly still being used by the mages today. Therefore our plan is simple..,” Drake could almost hear the smile in Zeek’s voice as he spoke, “we need to acquire three sets of grey robes.”
~ 25 ~
It took three days and a few near scrapes with various scavenger groups to travel through rough terrain before finally reaching the ruins. It seemed Rossa was rather useful to have around as she managed to persuade more than one of the groups that they were simple travellers with nothing of value and no knowledge to be interrogated. All Drake and Nethalie had to do was stand with the ponies and keep quiet.
“She has definitely done things like this before,” he mused to Zeek on the first occasion it happened.
“It would appear so, but let us be thankful for her skills. If every encounter had been a battle we would not have managed to come so far so quickly and with all of our supplies.” Zeek could see the worth in having both these two new travelling companions. Not only was an expanded set of skills most useful, but Zeek was also pleased that Drake now had other physical beings with which to talk to.
The three grey mage robes had been a stroke of genius on Zeek’s part, initially at least. However, it quickly dawned on them that to aquire a robe, let alone three, would be nigh on impossible. As it turned out, blind luck was coming their way.
They decided to head straight for the hold and hope that an opportunity to acquire the robes presented itself on the way. The scavengers they encountered most certainly did not have any mage robes. At the end of the second day of travel however, fortune turned her head their way and gave them one of her biggest smiles.
Dusk was hovering over the land, eager to give way to the blanket of night when they stumbled, in a rather haphazard fashion, across a small camp that was barely off the beaten track. Keeping a very cautious distance, Rossa and Nethalie went in to investigate. There was certainly no question as to whether these were friends or foes in this realm, all were most definitely foe.
Scouting the camp and retuning quickly, the pair excitedly announced what they had found. Six mages, all set up for a night’s rest. What was more, their robes were all laid out, freshly cleaned, drying around the embers of a fire and unguarded. And why should they be? Who in their right mind would go up against six mages to steal their clothes?
“Zeek and I should take a look at the camp, to make sure that there are no traps or barriers.”
“We have encountered a mage since entering the realm. They are powerful and posses a strong knowledge of magic,” Zeek added.
“Then if you give us the all clear, Rossa and I can borrow the robes from the mages; then we can go ahead with Zeek’s plan. Besides, I don’t see us getting an opportunity this good again anytime soon,” Nethalie smiled at Rossa, “You can use your little disappearing trick to get in close and quickly.”
Rossa looked at Nethalie, “I may not have to; they seem to be almost dead to the world.”
“Either way,” Drake jumped in, “we need those robes. This won’t take long.” With that, he quickly made his way to the path, his feet treading softly as he went. Quickly he reached the edge of the clearing and bent into a crouch in some oversized bushes. His eyes flicked around the site, checking the flow of magic for any signs of unusual drawings. The mages did not appear to be drawing any magic to themselves and neither could he see any signs of barrier spells or traps.
“All seems clear,” he said to Zeek, “just like Rossa said. They must be very confident of their ability and reputation as shadow mages to not warrant the use of any spells around their camp.”
“It would seem that fortune continues blessing us with her radiant smile this night. Let us hope it continues for long enough for the Bluecap to retrieve the robes. We should return to the others quickly and waste no time with our next move.”
Less than a half hour later, Rossa and Nethalie returned triumphant. Three sets of robes in hand and not a single woken mage following.
“Like taking sweetened sugar drops from a baby,” Nethalie smiled away as she met back up with Drake.
“Even better. Like taking them from a sleeping baby, who left them out on a silver platter for you,” Rossa added, the two giggling quietly.
“Let us make haste and move away from here before morning rises and they discover the missing attire. The more distance we can cover, the better,” Zeek quickly lay out the next course of action; his sense of urgency to get the group away from so many collected mages quickly was a sobering one. The robes were tied up and strapped to various packs and they swiftly departed the clearing of sleeping mages.
. . .
The ruins of the temple were more intact than Drake had considered they might be. The brown forest of dying trees opened suddenly and without warning, onto a huge expanse of black and red stone. Zeek explained how the red colouring was magically imbued into the stone as it was cut. There were several domed shaped structures, placed across the land that were definitely showing signs of age. As they walked cautiously around the ruins, Drake counted nine of the smaller domes. These were all placed around a much larger central dome. The smaller domes did not appear to have any entrances or exits and Zeek could shed no light onto what the purpose of them might be. At first, they considered the domes might be holdings of some kind; perhaps of artefacts collected over the time when the shadows had been a strong and organised force.
“Only one way to know for sure..,” Rossa mused as the trio made their way around the site for the third time. The sheer size of the area meant that it took almost a full hour.
“I know, but I still don’t like it. It all feels too exposed and for all we know there could be hundreds of mages inside there,” Drake was very aware that the whole complex of buildings appeared to have several ways in and out again.
“Youngling, try to put your thoughts to rest. The robes we have in our possession will allow us to pass unnoticed. It might be wise to don these sooner rather than later. It is possible that we may not encounter any other mages inside; we do not know to what extent the tunnels and chambers may run. The greater risk however, is delaying any further outside and a large force coming along, delaying our exploration.”
The great dragon seemed impatient to Drake, but he also knew he was right. It had been quiet since they had arrived and there had been no signs of any others; robed mages or anyone else for that matter. Yet he still didn’t like it.
“Just one more loop, in case we missed something,” Drake muttered, hoping either of the others would go along with him.
“No Drake, four is enough. I say we don our robes and go knocking at the stony gates. Besides finding out how many steps it will take until one of us beats you over the head with a large stick and drags you inside, there is nothing else we can learn out here.”
He took a moment to look at her and, once he decided she was probably not joking, gave in. “Fine, but we go slow. I don’t like the idea of getting lost or trapped in there!”
. . .
I look ridiculous!” Nethalie moaned. The long grey robes hanging loosely from her much smaller body. Clearly her mage had been a more portly man.
“Speak for yourself. I’ve had to fold and tuck this thing so many times; it makes me look as though I’ve eaten a whole herd of cattle.”
Nethalie had to admit, Rossa did look worse than she did; her lack of height really didn’t help matters in this case.
“All we need to do is get inside and not draw any attention to ourselves. As long as we don’t act suspiciously, we should blend in. I’m sure they have shorter members than Rossa. Perhaps we will come across a fitted robe inside and you can slip into that instead,” Drake joked hoping to lighten the nervous mood.
“I hope there is, because if it comes to doing any running in this robe, I’m not sure I’ll get anywhere fast.”
~ 26 ~
The decent into the ruins was filled with the smell of damp and age. The trio descended slowly, but trying to act as natural as they hoped returning mages might. Wide stairs of the largest dome were lit by large torches, showing signs that there must be someone in the ruins, even if it was just a caretaker of sorts. The depths of the ruins were confusing at the best of times and just downright strange at others. Chambers and anti-chambers seemed to have been carved into the surrounding rock as needed. The long staircase which they had initially come down seemed to be the first of many. The temple itself seemed to keep burying itself further and further into the ground. As they walked the corridors, Nethalie could not say how far below the surface they were now. She was, however, very grateful indeed for the light globes that both Drake and Rossa each had floating above them.
The corridors were wide enough to walk three abreast, with room for a fourth. The generous space was matched by the height with the ceilings being way beyond the reach of even the tallest person. The same black and red stonework that they had seen outside now made up the block work of the inside, though it had been cut with magic to give a smooth polished surface. The multitude of rooms which came off of the main corridor varied in height and style greatly. Some rooms had great wooden doors, whilst others had simple archways carved lazily in stone.
“Looks like the designer took a few days off here and there whilst they were expanding,” Drake thought aloud as they wandered. A wander it was indeed, since no one had the faintest idea which way to go. The main corridor that they had first met at the bottom of the initial staircase was duplicated on each floor below, zigzagging back and forth like a great snake with chambers attached at uneven intervals.
The third level down appeared to be set aside for living quarters. There were many large rooms set off to each side, each with a good handful of rooms spurring off.
“Looks like there could be rooms for over a hundred mages down here. I wonder why they are all empty of people and belongings?” Nethalie mused, knowing full well that the others had no idea why. Even Zeek seemed to be at a loss as to why such a grand, and obviously key, structure seemed to be abandoned. When they reached the fourth level below the surface however, it became clear they had reached the cause of the emptiness.
. . .
“Hold Brother. State your intent and reasoning for being so discourteous with your intrusion this late into the ceremony,” the shadow mage who now stood in front of them, towering a good half height again over Drake, demanded in an official manner. It seemed that this entire floor was a great open room for worship and they had walked straight into the middle of some kind of ritual. Massive columns of the same red and black stone lined the outside of the room, with one, much wider obelisk, set in the centre. Detailed and intricate carvings of events in history were etched into the columns, outlined by the red veins of the stone.
At least we know where all the local residents have gotten too, Nethalie thought to herself, making sure to keep her head tilted forward. The last thing they needed now was someone to find her elven ears and raise the alarm.
“Remain calm and we shall all make it through this situation,” came Zeek’s soothing voice. “Remember that they believe that only mages are present. So let us maintain our pretence of being mages. Drake, since we do not know if females are allowed to become mages, you must communicate our intent to this individual.”
“And what, pray tell, is our intent? I very much doubt an honest approach would work here. ‘Good afternoon sir, we are looking for a piece of Ecliptica, it’s about yay big and silver. Could you take us there and hand it over like a good chap’ I doubt they have a sense of humour about these sorts of things,” Drake replied hurriedly, not wishing to raise suspicions any higher.
“We are making our way to the grand hold to retrieve items of various natures for the upcoming ritual,” Zeek replied.
“I say again Brother, state your intent and reasoning for being so discourteous with your intrusion..
.”
Drake cut the man off, doing his best to emulate the man’s tones and strains. “We three are to proceed to the grand hold to retrieve items for the upcoming ritual. These items are to be brought without delay and without question,” Drake was pleased with himself, but could gain no visible reaction from the mage, who stood unmoving.
“The Channeller gave no such mention of any further rituals today.”
Drake took this new information to mean that The Channeller was the head mage who was leading, or at least preaching, to all the rest. Best to use this name to make sure we seem important enough to let by, he thought.
“Then Brother, I would suggest that the knowledge of the ritual is for a select few only and, to avoid any of the more imaginative consequences of the Channeller’s displeasure at delay, you would kindly aid us on our way.”
For a moment, Drake wasn’t sure whether the man was going to question them all further about the validity of these orders or know they were suspicious and raise the alarm to the guards. Straightening himself, the mage looked down at him.
“Accept my most humble apologies Brother. My over caution at your presence was a mistake. You may continue and I shall give notice to the guardsmen of your approach to the holds below,” he raised a hand, fingers together and palm facing inwards. Within moments, a significantly smaller mage appeared and made the same gesture.
“The Channeller has requested items from the grand hold. These three have been selected for the task. I charge you, underling, with notifying the guard of the hold of their approach. Go.”
The small underling mage nodded his understanding and quickly left. Drake made sure to watch the direction in which he headed so they would know which route to take.