by N. Saraven
If it caught the bright’s attention, he did nothing. He rather listened to his companion.
“A female could travel to the other side, but she hardly made it back. I remember the day it happened, as if it were yesterday. The skies were cloudy, the wind howled and made the lake raise huge waves in anger. She could manage to conquer the elements, but she was too exhausted by then. We tried to help her, really did, but were too late. She was lost under those waves in an instant.”
Indrek paused for only a moment. It sounded like he really cared for that female. Cameron became more and more curious about the end, as he glanced at the calm stronghold under them.
Still no sign of movement.
“But she had a passenger, whom we could bring ashore. Anyhow, we named the lake after her; she was called Anaca.” Indrek fell silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and looked around. He finally seemed as if he returned to the present. “Well, they are obviously not here. But we should look around, just to be sure.”
Cameron obeyed and flew lower. As he approached the stronghold, they saw a figure standing in the middle of the main square.
“Neila,” gasped Cameron, which made Indrek frown.
“What are you waiting for? Attack!” ordered the Ruler, so the bright flew closer, but he did not attack. He could only see those golden eyes. He could not turn away from that gaze, in which something just broke in two, seeing him with the Enemy.
The truth now struck Cameron, brighter than lightning. He landed as if he were pushed down by a massive force.
“Cameron …” whispered the mage. Tears poured down her cheeks.
The reptile just stood there, not knowing what to do or say. But Indrek did not let the matter go that easily. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
“Why …?” asked Neila almost inaudibly, which made her friend drop his head.
He did not know what to say. There was nothing to say.
Suddenly anger flooded him with such force, nothing could stand in its way. The dragon’s mind became overwhelmed by this unstoppable fury. His red gaze hardened.
“Because I will serve justice!” he announced sternly, almost cruelly.
He took a deep breath, then released his deadly ice-attack. He thought of nothing in that moment, just did what his wrath demanded of him. No thoughts of consequences or feelings of betrayal remained in him.
But Neila’s figure only disappeared when the ice struck her.
“Well, it was worth a try. She only left her body with her mind,” murmured Indrek at the obvious.
“Apparently …” echoed Cameron grumpily.
“We should go now. We have work to do still,” said the Leader, so the bright took off.
Cameron flew calmly home. He always feared that he would regret his actions towards Neila in the end. What if he wanted to go back to her, but could not? He never would have wanted that pain.
But now, when he finally turned against her, he felt nothing. No joy, no excitement, nothing. He became as calm and smooth as the sea on a crystal-clear day.
“So where now?” asked the reptile, almost numb.
Indrek answered with only two words. “The Tower.”
Cameron nodded, then started a faster pace.
23. Varomor
Neila straightened up in her seat, shaking. She seemed to be in pain, although she pulled herself together quickly.
“What happened?” asked Halgor, seeing the fear and pain in her eyes. He gave her a cup of water, which she sipped absentmindedly, maybe trying to sort her thoughts.
“He changed sides, didn’t he?” asked Agony, although it sounded more like an announcement. He turned away from the window, where he had looked out until now. He would never forget that night …
The night when the unimaginable had happened—Cameron turned on them in fury and chose Indrek’s side. Agony remembered perfectly how powerless he felt. Under the starlit skies, they had looked at each other for an answer.
Only one thing was certain—they had to leave immediately. The moment they found their headquarters, they needed to be on the move again. But Agony started to fear even more when he saw Veilon just as puzzled and uncertain by the happenings as the rest of them.
He remembered when he asked the ‘now what should we do?’ question, which made the mages exchange knowing glances. They obviously had a last-resort-only plan, but they also wanted to avoid it at all costs. Yet the situation did not let that happen.
So Agony waited for them to begin with whatever they wanted to do. He always hated surprises when he had no clue what would happen next, especially when magic was involved. He could not say a word, however, because suddenly everything became dark.
The warrior sighed and tried to let go of the memories which ran him over uninvited. As Neila tried to get herself together for an answer, he turned back to the window, looking out, yet saw nothing but that darkness in his mind. A chill ran down his spine which made him wince. Every time he remembered that terrible blackness, he shivered, and he did not want the others to see that.
Somehow that darkness was different from any other he had encountered before. It swallowed him whole, and offered no way out, filling his heart with fear. Agony hated mages and magic altogether. He detested even more when somehow magic was used on him. He would never make friends with a mage, and the few existing exceptions just made this ‘law’ stronger.
He looked up to Neila, seeing her as his leader, although she had to prove first that even if she had absolutely no power, she would still be a great mind and commander.
Because of his hatred towards mages, Agony became upset beyond reason when that thick darkness sat on him. Even more so when he came around after it lifted and realised where he was.
Agony sighed as he still stood by the window, remembering. He just could not let go of the happenings, not yet.
After that black fog, he could see a nice ceiling, as he was lying on the ground. He immediately put his hand on his sword hilt, as he scrambled to a half-kneeling position. He looked around, ready to fight, although he could hardly stay straight because of the dizziness. He blinked rapidly, trying to regain his sight. After a few moments, he managed to notice that all his friends were there too, some even in worse shape than him. They all seemed to be in a cosy room, safe, as far as he could tell.
Yet the warrior stood up warily, as he motioned away Neila’s help, who then looked after the others. He saw a window across the room, so he stepped to it and looked out. Somehow he could not believe that he was in a nice little cottage, somewhere in a forest. It just did not fit Neila and Halgor …
Agony dropped his mouth open when, looking out, he saw a forest way under where he was at the moment. A forest which was kept out by a billowing, black something, like a fence. What should be a garden around the building now was covered with shadow dragons. They were smashed together in the little space they had and ought to behave carefully to not touch the Mist.
The warrior rushed to open the window, then looked down. He could not believe his eyes when he stared at black, sparkling stones which made the Tower, from where he now was hanging.
Agony turned to the Masters, demanding answers, but he could not decide whether he was angry or filled with fear.
“This is the Tower of Mysteries … THAT Tower!” he whispered hoarsely with widened eyes. As he started to put together the pieces in his head, his fear grew stronger. He too heard many stories about this place, enough for him to avoid it at all costs. To get inside … he had never, ever imagined that.
Agony inhaled deeply, then let the air out slowly as he returned to the present. All of this happened almost a couple days ago; it was no use thinking about it anymore. In that time, the Masters explained a lot. The warrior could hardly believe any of it, yet he saw the proof with his own eyes. And the story suited Halgor and Neila perfectly. They were just that kind of people, who could pull off things like this.
Even more interestingly, when he learned that he was not alon
e, that he still had his friends around him, he could calm down. Maybe he was in a magical place, of which he knew less than nothing, but he was surrounded by his friends. He had to protect them; some of them were weak compared to the Masters and himself. So he needed to be calm and logical.
After all this shock, Agony did not even blink when the mages told him that the Tower of Mysteries was actually Varomor, the legendary dark mage caste. Even he, a plain fighter, had heard tales about that order.
Agony was brought back to the present by the clearing of a throat. Only a few moments had passed since Neila returned to her body. He turned around again, leaning against the sill, cross-legged and arms folded.
“Yes, he turned,” whispered the mage. She seemed very pale, almost sick.
“This is bad, very bad. He can tell everything about Varomor,” scolded Veilon, which made the Masters of Varomor exchange worried glances. It seemed a valid option.
“You knew this would happen, did you not?” Halgor suddenly turned to Enargit with stern eyes.
The dragon was looking around amidst the many books on the shelves, sometimes snorting. When he heard the question, he paused for a moment; his paw stayed in mid-air. But then he continued the motion, taking down a book, flicking through the pages. He paid no attention to the others’ demanding stares at his back.
“Yes, I knew this and that.”
“Then why didn’t you do anything about it?” asked Agony, whose hand unconsciously slipped to his hilt. The shadow dragon glanced at him as if he were going mad or something. Then he shrugged.
“I did nothing because I could not have done anything,” he answered. With no further interest in the subject, he put down the opened book and started for the door. Nobody followed him; everybody knew where he went and why. He was the only one who could make the hundreds of dragons stay calm in the garden.
The reptiles proved to be very peaceful and kind in nature, but they were nearly at their wits’ end due to the circumstances after a while. The four-hundred-feet-diameter garden, a huge part of which was occupied by the Tower itself, turned out to be small for such an event. The dragons had to live in terrible conditions; they could hardly move a muscle, only crouch in one place like statues. Furthermore, they almost completely destroyed the garden, which meant a great loss. Only the Gods knew how the most valuable herbal gardens managed to survive.
As a hurried solution, Enargit mentioned the valley where they had first arrived, suggesting putting his subjects back there. But the Masters argued against it, saying that they did not know how loyal Cameron would stay. They could not risk an attack from Indrek, if the bright talked.
Moreover, every leader wanted to keep an eye out for the dragons, so they forbade them to be outside the Mist. They were too naïve, too untrained, not to mention tender, to just camp in the wilderness so close to Nar.
The whole thing became a truly harsh situation, which made the leaders speak of almost nothing else. They must solve the problem as soon as they could.
Anyhow, as the dragon left the room, Veilon and Halgor instantly stepped to the book. They held out their hands at the same time, then both paused in mid-air. The rivals stared at each other firmly, forgetting everything else for a moment. Seeing them, Agony gave a faint smile, but Neila just rolled her eyes and snorted angrily. Before the mages could do or say anything else, she intercepted the book herself and started to read the pages.
Everybody thought that the reptile left the book there on purpose—probably as a help, although he would sooner pull out his teeth than admit it out loud. So he found another way.
Neila read the pages thoroughly. She knew the book, of course, very much so. But she never thought this part to be particularly important. Usually she jumped over it. Yet now she tried to find what could be so valuable. Maybe something between the lines …? She paid no attention to the men behind her, still staring at each other.
After Neila finished, she just swayed her head and gave the book to Veilon. She found nothing, but if anybody could, it was the kobold. The paragon flashed a contented smile at Halgor, who just frowned in return. However, the Ruler had the same results as Neila. After Halgor got a look at the pages, he too rolled his eyes.
Apparently they were fooled. There was nothing between the lines, or anywhere else for that matter. Maybe Enargit was just sloppy. It would not be that surprising, even from him …
So the mages picked up the thinking where they had left it. Somewhat later Kira and Rita joined them in the study, then Talek. They all spent their time mostly amongst the shadow dragons, trying to keep them calm and happy as much as they could.
“Cannot keep much this conditions any longer, they space must have,” said Rita, still faulty, although nobody minded. She had only lived amidst them for almost twenty days. Every eye was on her now, which made the girl blush.
“We are working on it. You don’t need to nag me all the time!” snapped Neila, who stood at the window, looking out.
Agony and Talek stood up in Rita’s name immediately, albeit the girl did not seem offended by the mage’s tone. The men, however, defended her as if she did, complaining in perfect harmony, as if they had practised it. Although one stern glance at them by those golden eyes made them mute. They then stared at the mage’s back disapprovingly when she turned away again.
Neila felt those glances, of course, yet she dismissed them completely. She was in no mood for that kind of quarrel; she would have even put Setal out the door if the God had appeared. She felt terrible; her feelings swirled around like a tornado, tormenting her mind and body. She had lost her best friend.
The war had not even started, yet their side already suffered serious casualties. This situation made Neila think like she had never before—almost with pure logic, not minding the costs. She started to form a plan, which she knew nobody else would like. They would probably think she had lost her mind. Maybe she had, maybe she had not; Neila did not care at all. The painful facts were that their sort-of-an-army was small and terribly weak compared to Indrek’s forces. They had no chance in fighting at the moment. They needed to stall.
As she mused upon these things, her golden eyes became foggy, as if the hot metal had been cooled down.
Neila was startled by a grab on her arm, which made her blink as if she had just awoken. She apparently did not hear a word of the others’ argument.
“We’re trying to come up with a solution, care to join in?” asked Agony angrily, so she looked at him. From the warrior’s upset behaviour, it became obvious that he and the kobold were at each other’s throats again.
Every time it was the same. First, they argued furiously, which Veilon and Halgor enjoyed a little too much to calm them. Then, at one point, the mages started complaining, which led to their quarrel. Now it was Talek and Agony who cheered in the background, as they poured another drink for themselves. Meanwhile, Rita and Kira tried to be invisible, not getting involved. It proved to be their best move in these situations.
It had happened the same way ever since ‘the heroes’ came together again. ‘Heroes’, who always had the job to clean up the mess others had made, just because they could not stand to see some happenings in the worlds.
Neila snorted as she watched the elven and paragon start to bicker. We are everything but heroes. We do nothing more, just pick up every person whom we stumble across wherever we go, she thought to herself, which made her twist her mouth. Then she started to listen to what the others were saying.
Apparently, the elven had the point that they would need to find another base, while the kobold mentioned his home. Since they could not make the garden of the Tower bigger, he said. As an answer, the dark elven started to raise all sorts of reasons why the paragon was wrong, and so on. Of course, Agony and Talek just smiled at each other in the background, enjoying the ‘show’.
Neila rubbed her temple with her right hand as she watched. Nothing had ever changed in this scene, neither the players, nor their ‘order of appearance�
�. And this really started to annoy Neila. Suddenly she felt as if her mind had left her body, just watching everything from a distance. So she could make decisions that otherwise she would not.
This suited her, better than everything since Cameron left.
“We will expand the Mist, making the garden bigger,” she said, interrupting the rivals. Even though her voice was soft, it made everybody fall silent, looking at her as if she had lost her mind.
“Come again?” asked Veilon.
“We will expand the Mist, making the garden as big as needed. Double it, for example. That would be enough for the dragons, even if not truly comfortably,” she repeated.
Halgor opened his mouth to complain, but the dark golden gaze stopped him with a glance. The elven almost took a step back from that gaze. It seemed as if a deep, golden well was looking at him. He gulped.
“You know it can be done. So be done with it.” Neila spoke with a soft, even tone. Halgor tried to complain again, but she motioned him to be quiet. She continued, not even looking at him anymore.
“Then you ought to go to your Homeland and ask the elvens for help. If they do not wish it so, at least make sure they have a steady front line.”
Halgor’s eyes widened. Everybody knew he left his people a long time ago, never wishing to return. So why on earth did she want to send him there?
“And you.” Neila turned to Veilon, who almost stiffened, as if his Commander called for him. “You will do the same with the kobolds. Both of them.”
The companions became so stunned by these orders that they forgot to complain. After nobody raised their voice, Neila walked out of the room. She could not care less about the looks she got, nor the astonished whispers behind her back.
She had enough.
24. Falling apart
As the warm weather came to stay, Indrek’s army started to move also. As soon as the Ruler came back from Lexénia’s stronghold, he summoned his troops immediately. There was no time to spare; he needed to move right away.
Scÿta, werewolves, all of them lined up in order, found their places without too many complications. Most of them could hardly wait for the fights, for them to get everything under their rule—under Indrek’s Order of Shadows, who promised them clarity and a quality of life.