by Eric Vall
“I see.” Makar stroked his beard. “Of course, I would be happy to assist. Unfortunately, my camp is too far for these people to travel to without the proper supplies. There is, however, a smaller secondary camp closer to your current location. Send them back in the direction from which you came, and I’ll have my men meet them halfway and escort them the rest of the way safely.”
“That will be fine,” I said. “Thank you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” the rebel leader said earnestly as he bowed his head slightly. After he had spoken, his face slowly began to defragment into the colorful ribbons. The pieces wove in and out of each other and spun around until they disappeared, and the glass orb was once again colorless.
“That’s a pretty handy device.” Carmedy looked at the translucent sphere in awe. “Can I have one too?”
“Maybe later, Carmedy,” I said with a smile to the petite feline before I turned to speak to the jovial crowd of humans.
“Everyone, may I please have your attention?” I attempted to shout above the noise.
The crowd didn’t seem to hear me as they continued to cheer and talk amongst themselves excitedly. I couldn’t blame them. They had been granted freedom, I knew as well as anyone how priceless that was, but I needed to get them on their way so that they could meet with Makar’s men.
“Everyone, I need your attention,” I yelled once more, but this time I added a bit of magic to my voice.
This time, several heads turned and after some elbowing and hushing, the throng of humans was silent and waited expectantly for me to speak. I quickly went over the discussion that I had just had with Makar, and the people seemed grateful and very pleased with the arrangement.
“What direction do we follow?” a woman asked. I hesitated for a moment. We only had one compass, and both we and the human prisoners had need of it. As my mind began to muddle through possible solutions to our problem, Carmedy stepped forward.
“Here, use this,” the green-eyed woman said as she reached a hand into her robe pocket and pulled out a compass. She walked over to the woman who had spoken and handed it to her. “Just make sure the needle is always pointed south, okay?” The cat gave the woman a smile and made her way back over to us.
“I did not know that you carried an additional compass,” Morrigan said once Carmedy had rejoined us.
“Rana gave me one too, she said just in case Annalíse lost hers or something.” The feline shrugged.
“Oh, for the love of…” Annalíse muttered and rolled her eyes.
“You all had better get going,” I said to the crowd.
“Thank you for all that you’ve done,” the woman with the compass said. “We are ever grateful to you.”
Several other echoed their thanks and once we had given them some water to take on their journey, the group began to move back in the direction of Ficcha. As they walked further and further from us, their excited voices began to fade into the wind, and the mass of people appeared smaller and smaller until they were just a mere speck in the distance.
As we began to wring the water from our robes, I turned back to look at the oasis. I still found it interesting that from here, the body of water only resembled a small lake while an entire other world laid beneath it.
“I don’t believe it, the treasure is here,” Annalíse breathed from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder to see the swordswoman standing underneath one of the palm trees and at her feet were well over ten large wooden chests. The princess lowered to her knees and hesitated for a moment before she pushed back the lid of one of the boxes. There inside were numerous items of precious metal, gems, andother trinkets.
“I guess he didn’t lie to us after all,” the swordswoman said quietly.
“Didn’t I tell you not to concern yourself?” I said with a dry chuckle. When I had seen that the treasure was nowhere to be found where the golden city had once stood, I had figured that the old god had sent the treasure to the surface with the last of his power.
“Yes, you did tell me that didn’t you?” Annalíse said with a small smile as she began to remove some items from the chests. “I’m going to start looking through these things. I remember the descriptions of the sacred objects that Rana gave us. Let’s hope there’s one amongst all of this.” The female warrior gestured to the mass of gold and silver goods within the box in front of her.
“Morrigan, why don’t you help Annalíse look through the chests?” I suggested. “Carmedy and I will fill up our water skins and any other containers we have with water from the oasis.”
“I will aid her shortly.” The tattooed elf nodded as she continued to squeeze the water from her long white hair. Macha beat her wings and shook her head in an effort to rid herself of the dampness.
“Maybe we can contact Makar later on and tell him about this place,” Annalíse called out as she scooped some coins out of one of the wooden boxes. “Now that it’s safe for humans to be near it, I’m sure the Valasarian people could get good use out of it. That place was practically a freshwater ocean. With that much water, the people here would never go thirsty again.”
“Hey, that’s a great idea,” Carmedy said brightly as she walked over to the sand sled to retrieve the water skins. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to hear about it.”
“That they will,” I said as I turned toward the sand sled. Suddenly, Morrigan grasped my arm.
“The oasis, it… it is…” the pale elf uttered in disbelief. The rest of us turned to see what she was talking about, and to my surprise, the oasis began to fade away. The whole of the body of water began to shiver and sway as though it were a mirage. The vibrant blue of the oasis gradually disappeared and within seconds, it was gone without a trace, leaving only sand behind.
“H-how… why did…?” Annalíse stammered.
“Magic,” Carmedy gaped at the place where the water had once been.
“I suppose we will not be informing Makar about this place after all,” Morrigan said flatly, her eyes still focused on the now empty space of sand.
“It is unfortunate,” I said grimly, “but the people will have their water soon enough w I ddal with Alistair.”
“That is true,” Morrigan said as she turned around to face me.
“Since there isn’t any water to collect, we can all help Annalíse sift through the treasure,” I said to Morrigan and Carmedy.
The two women nodded in agreement, and we walked over to the tree beneath which the princess sat with the chests. Like Annalíse, we too remembered the descriptions of the sacred objects that Rana had outlined for us, and we busied ourselves with the task of finding one.
Given the amount of loot we’d received from the underwater dungeon, it took longer than usual to look through everything. Nearly an hour had gone by, andno one had unearthed anything that even remotely resembled one of the sacred objects, though the piles of gold, silver, and jewels were impressive in and of itself.
“I guess there’s nothing here either,” Carmedy said dejectedly as she closed the lid to the chest in front of her. “Rana’s going to be so disappointed. She was so sure that there was going to be one somewhere in one of Valasara’s dungeons.”
“We’ll keep looking for them, and we won’t stop until we find them all,” I said with the utmost confidence.
“That’s right,” Annalíse said with determination, andshe too lowered the lid to the box she had just finished searching. Morrigan, however, didn’t close the chest that sat in front of her. Instead, she gazed into it intently and furrowed her brow.
“Morrigan, did you find something?” I asked her.
The elf said nothing but slowly reached her hand into the chest. The rest of us leaned in closely as she removed what had caught her attention. She held out a golden necklace in her pale hand for us all to see. At the center of the chain hung a solid golden orb, and around it were two thin overlapping rings. On the rings, swirling symbols were etched into the metal.
“I do believ
e that this is one of the sacred objects,” Morrigan said quietly. I removed the piece from the lover’s hand and squinted my eyes as I held it up to the light.
“It does indeed fit the description of one of the sacred objects,” I said to the others. “Well done, Morrigan.”
The mage-marked elf nodded in gratitude. “Shall I contact Rana to let her know what we have discovered?” She gestured to Macha.
“Why don’t we wait till she gets here and surprise her?” Carmedy said excitedly.
“I think that’s a good idea.” I smiled at the petite feline. “Rana will be very pleased.”
With that, we finished replacing the rest of the loot into the wooden containers and placed them onto the sand sled. After we fed our riding lizards some dried crickets, we were on our way. We decided to travel for a few more hours as the sun had already started to descend in the clear blue sky. It would be sunset soon, and hopefully, by then, Rana would have returned with information on how we could infiltrate Alistair’s palace.
Our damp robes temporarily kept us cool from the sun’s relentless rays, but our garments quickly dried, and once again we were at the mercy of the desert heat. One by one, we each took the cooling powders that Carmedy had given us, and the temperature became more tolerable, enough so that we could press on through the day.
At the first glimpses of the onset of the setting sun, we stopped to make camp. In short order, our tent was set, a much easier task now that we were familiar with it, and we settled down to rest inside. I reclined with my back against Basilisk and gazed out the open tent flap as the sky shifted into vibrant pinks, oranges, and yellows. My minions set about preparing our meal, andsoon the smell of roasted zendabii meat drifted to my nose, and my mouth began to water.
Once the food was ready, I closed the tent flap, and we all sat around the fire that Carmedy had lit and proceeded to talk amongst ourselves. We had only been eating for about ten minutes when I saw the silhouette of a person approaching outside of the tent.
I raised a finger to signal the others to stop talking and pointed to the figure. We silently watched the shadow grow larger as it drew closer and closer to our tent. Annalíse instinctively gripped the handle of the sword at her hip, and Carmedy clutched at one of the pouches on her belt. Morrigan and I knew who it was already, but kept the smile to myself as the shadowy figure reached the tent flap and started to pull it back.
Chapter 19
“Hey guys, miss me?” Rana popped her curly red-haired head into the tent and grinned at us all.
“You scared me, Rana,” Carmedy said as Rana joined us beside the fire and helped herself to the food we’d prepared. “We thought you might be a bandit or something.”
“Who, little old me?” Rana chuckled as she led Anu into the tent. “And just what were you planning to do to me? Attack and roast me over that fire there?”
As she spoke, Fea flew from the fox’s shoulders and fluttered down to rest on Morrigan’s shoulders.
“No, silly, I’d never eat fox! You’re not plump and juicy enough.” Carmedy giggled, and she wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
“Very funny, Carmedy.” Rana said mockingly, and she shot the small black cat a wry grin.
“So, did you find out what you needed in Ficcha?” I asked the fox.
“You bet I did,” Rana said as she grabbed some of the cooked meat. “It’s, uh, going to be a little trickier breaking into the palace than I expected.”
“Even for a world class thief like you?” I asked with a twisted smile.
“Yes, yes, I’ll admit the defense that Alistair has got going is going to be a challenge.” Rana waved her paw. “Not just for me, for all of us,” she added.
“How so?” Annalíse said as she reached for another piece of bread.
“So, I was thinking the palace was going to have tons of guards around the perimeter archers posted on the battlements, maybe a moat filled with ten-foot-long poisonous snakes,” Rana started to explain.
“It doesn’t have those things?” Carmedy spoke through a mouthful of food and tilted her head to one side.
“Oh no, it has those things,” Rana went on. “I mean, not the moat of poisonous snakes, but the other stuff, yeah, but there’s even more than that. There’s some seriously strong magic surrounding the palace to protect it. Apparently, Alistair had some magic muckety-muck set it in place after the uprisings started with Makar’s group. It’s supposed to be nearly impossible to get past.”
“This is unfortunate news,” Morrigan said blankly as she stroked Fea’s feathers.
“Now hold on,” Rana said with a devilish grin. “I said nearly impossible, not impossible.”
“So how do we get in?” Annalíse asked the fox-tailed woman.
“By finding the weak spot,” the red-headed thief replied.
“Weak spot?” Carmedy wrinkled her nose in confusion.
“Like everything else in this world, magic has its imperfections,” I explained as I already knew of what Rana spoke. “Magical barriers always have a weak spot somewhere in the structure, you only have to find it.”
“Exactly.” Rana nodded. “There are some murmurings going around about the weak spot amongst Valasara’s, shall we say, less than honorable citizens. Everyone has a different theory about where it is.”
“No person has ever located it successfully?” Morrigan questioned.
“Nope.” The fox shook her head, and her messy red curls bounced in response. “Those that have ventured over to the palace and tried to find it were quickly stopped by the guards. Even if they had been able to get inside, there would have been more of the king’s goons waiting right behind the barrier.”
“I see,” I said slowly, and I started to mull over our options. Like Rana, I hadn’t expected Alistair to have such a formidable defense, but it wasn’t unconquerable. With some careful planning, we could get past it. The five of us sat quietly for a few moments as we each thought possible strategies.
“I think we’re going to need some distractions,” Annalíse finally said with a devious smile.
“What have you got circling around in that braided head of yours?” Rana raised an eyebrow.
“I say we divide their forces by creating distractions in other areas around the perimeter of the barrier. I think a well-crafted explosion or two might draw their attention,” Annalíse said with a wink aimed at Carmedy.
“Ooh, sounds like fun.” The petite alchemist clasped her hands together excitedly.
“Then maybe Master can create some illusions and send them to another area of the barrier,” Annalíse continued.
“That’s an excellent idea,” I said to the swordswoman. I felt a surge of pride as Annalíse laid out her plan. Under my guidance, the impulsive princess that I had first come across in my dungeon was turning into quite the strategist. “I can also use my magic to determine the barrier’s weak spot.”
“Perfect.” Annalíse nodded. “Once you’ve done that and all our distractions have been set in motion, we can infiltrate the palace. Between the five of us, we should be able to handle any remaining soldiers that are patrolling the perimeter as well as any that are waiting for us once we’re inside.”
“Then after the guards are out of the way, we can get rid of good King Alistair,” Rana said as a smile spread across her face.
“Precisely,” Annalíse replied.
“I see no fault with this strategy,” Morrigan said nonchalantly. “You have my approval.”
“Mine as well,” I said to Annalíse before I turned to Carmedy. “If we time everything right, it should work perfectly. Is it possible for you to leave one of your explosive concoctions in one area of the barrier and delay its reaction until we’re ready to infiltrate the barrier? You’d, of course, have to be with us when we went inside.”
“I think I can work something out,” Carmedy said, and her green eyes shone with exhilaration.
“So, what have you guys been up to all day?” Rana said as she reached
for another piece of bread. “How was the water dungeon?”
“It was amazing,” Carmedy said, and she enthusiastically began to tell the fox about our adventure beneath the water. Rana’s eyes grew wide as the cat told of the bubble helmet that she’d created. The fox’s eyes grew wider still as Carmedy described the golden city within the dome and how the water demons lived off the energy of humans. When the petite feline finally relayed the account of the sea titan, the red-headed woman gaped in surprise.
“Sounds like you guys had quite an eventful day.” Rana shook her head after Carmedy had finally finished. “I don’t think I would have been too crazy about battling it out with a sea titan, but I do wish that I could have seen what it looked like beneath the water. It sounds incredible. Too bad it all disappeared.”
“Oh, that reminds me, we have something to show you,” Carmedy said to Rana.
“What is it?” the fox said curiously, andshe looked around at each of us in anticipation. Carmedy, Annalíse and I exchanged smiles but silently waited for Morrigan to remove the gold necklace that she’d found from her pocket. The pale elf clutched the piece in her fist as she rose to her feet and quietly walked over to Rana. Morrigan slowly opened her hand to reveal the sacred object that she held.
Rana’s blue eyes grew wide in shock. “Is… is that…?”
“It is indeed,” Morrigan said softly. The white-haired woman gently took hold of Rana’s paw and carefully placed the gold necklace in the fox’s furry grasp. The curly haired thief gulped as she looked down at the item that she held. With quivering paws, she held it up closer to her face and scrutinized it.
“I can’t believe it,” Rana finally whispered. “Thank you, all of you.”
“We all helped look but Morrigan was the one who found,” I gestured to the tattooed woman.
“Thanks, elfy,” Rana said as she reached an arm around Morrigan and blinked rapidly to hold her tears back.
Morrigan opened her mouth and then hesitated. I gathered that she had been about to remind Rana how much she disliked that nickname, but she seemed to decide against it.