“Seriously?” she snapped, pointing a finger at Teeand. “You put me in HIS pack? Was that REALLY necessary?”
Teeand chuckled. “Aye, figured that would get some of it out of his system,” he answered. He turned his attention to Sath. “Shall we plan our attack?” he asked, striding over and looking up at his old friend.
“Aye, Tee.” Sath sat down on the floor, taking a place on the complete opposite side of the stone circle from Tairn. She sat down where she was, and after digging into his pack to produce a map, Teeand joined her. He rolled the map toward Sath, holding one end and securing it with a mug, also produced from within his pack. Sath put his pack down on the other end, and then got on all fours to lean in close to the map.
“So, where are they exactly?” he said, cutting his teal eyes around at Tairn.
“How should I know?” she snapped back, glaring at Sath. He growled at her and she shifted her gaze to the floor quickly. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry, I’m not precisely sure where they are, I just know that he wanted her so that he could get control of Bellesea Keep but I don’t know after that.” The joined groans from Teeand and Sath silenced her for a moment. “He sees through me, not the other way around you know.”
“Should we round up Hackort and Elys?” Teeand asked.
“I wouldn’t even know how to start looking for them,” Sath said. “I don’t want that gnome stealing my kill anyway.” He turned his attention back to Tairn. “Any ideas, Tairn?”
“I can’t do any illusions that will get you into the Keep, but I can be helpful in terms of crowd control on the way in, I suppose,” she said, keeping her eyes downcast as she pointed at the lowest level of the Keep. “I think that’s where we need to head though. I haven’t heard him in my mind for days, but I know that he is still there.”
“If that’s what we know, then that’s all we need to know,” Teeand said. “Well, a few potions for healing would help since I think we’re fresh out of healers, but other than that, I think we’re good to go. Sath?”
“All I need is my staff,” Sath replied. Teeand recognized the cold tone in his friend’s voice and frowned. This was becoming a suicide mission for Sath, and that would not bode well for anyone’s safety. “Now, who do I take off my list of people NOT to kill?” He cracked his knuckles again and, as before, Tairn startled. “Relax, Tairn,” he said, beaming a toothy grin in her direction, “you’re still on the list for now, until Tee tells me otherwise.”
Teeand ignored Sath and consulted the guild’s vaults for any spare coin or potions granting healing or invisibility. Once he had his pack full, he returned to the others. “Let’s go, Sath,” he said, extending his hand to Tairn to help her up off the floor.
“Wait, is she gonna go all glove again?” Sath said, smiling maliciously at Tairn. “I’ll need to make room in my pack if…”
“ENOUGH!” Teeand shouted. “One more remark, Sath, and I will forget you’re my friend and leave you here.” Sath turned around slowly to face the dwarf, his teal eyes narrowed and sparking with anger. “Don’t think I won’t. We have a mission here, an objective, and I’m not going to let you - or your wounded pride - keep us from rescuing Gin.” The Qatu took a knee so that he could look his old friend in the eye.
“That, Teeand, is the last time you will address me in that manner,” Sath said. “I am the Rajah of Qatu’anari and…”
“Right!” Teeand turned on his heel, grabbing his pack in one hand and Tairn’s hand in the other and headed for the door. He nearly pulled her arm out of the socket in his haste. “Go with us, don’t go with us, up to you,” he said without turning back around. “Just don’t pull that Rajah bit on me again and don’t get in my way.” Teeand swung the door open, shoved Tairn through it, and pulled it shut with an almighty bang behind him. Once through the door he pulled Tairn to a stop. “Invisibility, NOW,” he snarled. She spoke the words of the spell including both their names, and they faded from view and made a run for the exit.
“Oh, no…no you don’t,” Sath shouted, running over and almost face planting into the door. “You’re not getting my kill, dwarf,” he mumbled, yanking the giant oak door open and running through it to find them already gone. Roaring madly, he ran toward exit and out into the night air of the Outpost. “All you’ve done,” he hissed as he ran, “was give yourself a bit of a head start, dwarf.” Sath sailed past Tairn and Teeand down the path and the dwarf pulled Tairn to a stop.
“Make the Cat sleepy,” he said, “like you did before.” Tairn frowned but hurtled magical butterflies at Sath. They watched as he skidded to a stop, swatting at them like a housecat. “Good, now let’s go,” he said as he grabbed her arm and took off running again. “Try to keep up.”
“Why aren’t we taking him with us? Why are you intentionally making him angry?” Tairn pulled Teeand to a stop. “I don’t understand the plan here, Tee, just help me understand and I will do as you say.”
“We can’t have Sath turning up there like a jilted lover and getting himself killed, now can we?”
“Well, no, but…”
“No buts. You have not traveled with him enough to recognize when he swings from merely itching for a fight to full on bloodlust, and the latter is what I just saw in his eyes. We need to get moving or he will catch up with us again.” Teeand started walking but Tairn hesitated so he turned around to look at her. “Now what?”
“What’s our plan when we get there? Run in, sneak past an enormous dragon, grab Gin by the hand and thank Taeben as we run back out the door? You haven’t thought this through, Tee. You’re as bad as he is! Let’s get Sath back and you two can plan your strategy. I will remain quiet, I swear.”
“No. End of. Come on, let’s get moving before he wakes up,” Teeand hissed. “I’m trying to save both of them here.” Tairn sighed loudly, refreshed the magical butterflies, and then followed Teeand along the trail.
Eleven
Taeben strolled up to the entrance of Bellesea Keep, with Gin following a few paces behind. She had thought at one point it might make the journey better if she brought out her old companion and steed, Beau, but Taeben had forbidden it. Her feet were numb from walking which was probably good, as the temperatures in the Outlands surrounding the Keep regularly soared during the day, and the soles of her leather boots were wearing thin. These temperatures were a far cry from those during the days she had longed for her fur lined boots in the Volcanic Mountains. She’d stopped a few times to heal them with magic, only to be yanked back to walking by Taeben, who was levitating a few inches above the scorching surface.
“Feels good to be home, doesn’t it?” he asked, leering over his shoulder at her.
“This is not my home,” she said quietly. Cursing under her breath in Qatunari, she looked past Taeben’s arrogant face at the crumbling façade of the Keep. It had surely been a fine palace in its day, but in the time since the Forest Wars, it became nothing but a ruin. She pushed away thoughts of her time there with Dorlagar, and focused instead on times prior to falling in with Taeben, when she had traveled as one of the Fabled Ones. Many wyverns had fallen to their combined might, and they had spent countless nights laughing around campfires in the woods that bordered the desert.
“You’re right, of course, Pet,” Taeben said. “This hunk of crumbling rock isn’t nearly grand enough for us. It is but a stop along the way to our eventual home on the island of Qatu’anari.” He paused, expecting a reaction, but got silence instead. “I have sent word ahead to my Master that we are on the way. He just can’t WAIT to see you.”
Gin shuddered, but kept silent. The images in her head of her former companions were warming her soul, and she focused her attention there rather than on Taeben’s diatribe. The memories filled the spaces that the wizard tried to invade and kept him out, and she reveled in the protection. An image of Teeand pushing Sath into a stream crossed her mind and she giggled at the memory, then immediately wished she hadn’t.
“Something funny, my
love?” Taeben said, stopping suddenly and spinning around so that Gin crashed into his open arms. She instinctively tried to free herself from his arms, and then fell silent and still once again. Taeben hooked a slender finger under her chin and pulled her gaze up to meet his. She could almost see the old Ben in his eyes, mischief lurking where now there was only anger.
“No, Ben,” she said. “I’m sorry. You must have misheard me.” He looked down at her as though trying to push into her mind, frowned, and then turned and resumed the trek toward the Keep’s entrance. At least she had managed to keep that barrier up and keep him out of her thoughts. It had worked, she was certain, because the emerald dragon at the temple had placed some sort of a stronghold in her mind against Taeben. The memories! Gin silently thanked Perryth for giving her the means to keep him out, and imagined that she felt him respond in kind. She was concerned, however, that Taeben had not tried to break the barrier, at least not yet. She wondered if he was simply not strong enough to control her mind and Tairn’s at the same time, or if he had noticed the barrier at all? She decided it was a matter of strength, as Taeben was looking more and more tired the closer they got to the Keep.
As they approached, the wyverns inclined their massive heads to Taeben, and then eyed Gin hungrily once Taeben was past them. She found herself inching closer to the wizard whether she wanted to or not. Soon, they were over the drawbridge and up the stairs toward the cells and the chambers that had once belonged to Dorlagar. Again, Gin’s mind filled with images… Ripping the hood off the strangely short wyvern and finding it to be Sath… Hackort running toward her, axe held high, bellowing like a warrior ten times his size when he thought Sath was charmed… Elysiam’s voice joining with hers to cast the evacuation spell that she’d stepped back from at the last minute… Feeling tears pricking behind her eyes, Gin lingered in the images for a moment before she pushed those memories away and focused on not falling down the steps as Taeben led her toward the arena. She would never see those friends again now, so no point in causing herself unnecessary pain. After asking the All Mother to watch over all of them, she slammed the mental door on those thoughts once and for all.
“Ah,” he said, pushing open the enormous stone doors that lead into the arena. “Memories. Do they warm your heart as they do mine, my love?” Gin wisely chose not to answer, and glowered at him instead. His words bounced off the smooth stone walls that she knew from experience gave no purchase to anyone trying to scale them in order to escape. Taeben ignored her glare and turned toward the end of the arena where Lord Taanyth’s private chamber was, pointing his staff in that direction. “I am here, m’ lord, will you not receive me?” he said loudly.
A rumbling, hissing roar sounded from the private chamber. Gin felt her knees weaken at the sound, and she studied the back of Taeben’s robe as she tried to regain her self-control. “Wizard!” screeched the antediluvian dragon as he flew through the door and came to a stop just in front of where Taeben and Gin stood. What gains Gin had made in standing upright and still were nearly undone by the massive winds being created by Lord Taanyth’s leathery wings. “What is the meaning of this? Why do you address me thusly?” Fiery, angry eyes glowed against the greenish tinge of his skin as the giant lizard glared down at them, magical sparks flying off the tips of his scaly wings followed by black puffs of smoke.
Gin did not look up at Lord Taanyth, but instead remained focused on the back of Taeben’s head. She was surprised to notice a slight tremble in his shoulders. She had not seen fear in Taeben since they found him in the tower with Lady Salynth so long ago, and even then, Gin was certain he loathed her more than feared her. “Is that the druid behind you, Wizard?” Lord Taanyth peered over Taeben’s head and caught Gin’s gaze. She immediately dropped her eyes to the floor, causing a great rumbling laugh from the ancient dragon.
“It is, Master. I have brought you Ginolwenye of the Trees and in return, I ask that you keep our bargain,” Taeben said, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly. “I will take the spell and test it for you.”
“Oh, was that our deal, Wizard?” Lord Taanyth hissed, turning his attention fully back to Taeben. “I’m afraid I have nothing for you but disappointment then. You see, I grew tired of waiting for you as you played out your intrigues with our Ginolwenye there. I have been in your mind, wizard, I know your plans. I only need her because she is a Guardian, and she is my leverage to be freed from this wretched place.” He floated closer, his enormous teeth quite close to Taeben’s face. The wizard gulped. “But now I find myself with an uninvited guest. What shall I do instead?”
“We had a deal, Master. I WILL HAVE THE SPELL.” Taeben’s fists shook at his side, and Gin could see that this time it was anger, not fear. She knew that if there was one thing that Taeben couldn’t stand, it was to lose…at anything, even a gamble that might cost him his life. It made him a fierce wizard to contend with in battle, but sometimes caused him to take things well past the point of conventional “too far.”
“I don’t make deals with elves,” Lord Taanyth said, his eyes boring holes in Taeben’s face. “I make slaves! You have brought me the Guardian, and for this I am grateful, but it is too late for you to claim any rights to the spell.” Gin wondered for a moment if either of them would notice if she just transported herself out. Her musing ended, however, when she saw the sparks beginning to shoot from the tip of Taeben’s staff. Surely he did not mean to take on Lord Taanyth on his own?
“Ben, what are you…” she whispered as she touched his arm. Taeben shook her off his arm and resumed facing Lord Taanyth.
“Wrong answer!” Taeben shouted. He raised his staff higher, aiming now for the center of the dragon’s giant forehead. Speaking quick words in what sounded like a mix of Elvish and Eldyr, he caused a static bolt to discharge from his staff into Lord Taanyth’s head. The dragon tumbled backward to the ground, hissing and spitting, as the force of the blow caused Taeben to stumble a bit as well. He quickly regained his footing. “I have had QUITE ENOUGH double crossing from your kind! Now, Ginny, what was the spell you and that other druid used to do to shake things up? A quake would be helpful right now if you don’t mind?” The words he spoke this time were familiar to her, and she found herself joining in to call up the power of the ground beneath them as the dragon again rose up from the floor and into the air, but he was not fast enough.
The floor of the arena pitched and rumbled, causing Lord Taanyth to lose his focus and fall back to the floor. A few wyverns came stumbling into the arena to see what the commotion was about, but Taeben stopped them in their tracks with well-placed lightning strikes. He moved with a precision that Gin had forgotten he had, casting spells to slow the giant dragon’s movement followed by all sorts of curses and damaging spells on his grand enemy. Not wanting to draw fire from the dragon - or Taeben, if she was honest, she moved to the side of the arena and simply watched for a few moments, her earlier thoughts of escape lost in her rekindled admiration for Ben, the one she’d known her entire life and the greatest wizard she’d ever seen.
The exchange of magic continued for a long time. Each spell cast was answered. Lord Taanyth was weakening, slowly, but so was Taeben. For every well-placed spell from Taeben that caused the great dragon to stumble, there were several that did the same to the wizard. Against her better judgment Gin summoned up the most healing energy she could muster and focused it on Taeben…who responded by looking over his shoulder and smiling at her at just the wrong moment. Lord Taanyth took advantage of Taeben’s distraction threw all of his energy into a horrible spell called Haal’pryn, and Taeben crumpled to the ground.
Gin knew that spell - she had seen it so many times when she was a prisoner of the dragon - and knew that it meant ‘the touch of death’ in Eldyr. In that horrifying instant, something primal snapped inside of Gin. All of the disappointments, all of the pain and suffering both here and out in the world away from the Keep, all of the negative experiences, all of it just boiled over within her soul and overt
ook her. The shy wood elf druid who would not harm an insect was filled with a new rage and a new sense of purpose - to destroy the mad dragon that hovered before her, broken and wounded but still grinning maniacally. She was now the only thing standing between him and the rest of Orana, and it was time to act.
Straightaway, she turned on Lord Taanyth, unleashing all the magic she had within her. It was as though an army stood behind her, bolstering her magic; she knew it to be the spirits of the Guardians gone before her. Joining the chorus of spell casting in her mind, Gin caused enormous magical roots to twine around his legs and hold him fast. She sent fire raining down on him followed by enough ice to freeze him solid. Tiny stinging insects seemed to stream from her fingers and attack him, while the very breath of Kildir knocked him off his feet and onto the floor in a heap. The magical roots reformed over his massive body and held him fast to the stone floor.
Her rage still not abated, Gin sent lightning bolt after lightning bolt into his body, until he no longer responded and merely lay still, twitching now and then due to aftershocks from the amount of electricity still coursing through him. She stood still a moment, and then dropped to her knees in exhaustion. Lord Taanyth was dead.
The spirits of the Guardians, now visible to Gin first as a mist that solidified into translucent bodies, surrounded her and held her as they worked to summon more defensive magic against Lord Taanyth, finally enclosing her so that she couldn’t even see his body. An icy blast of air startled her, strange and familiar at the same time, and she soon felt Beau nudging her in the back of her neck until she stood up to climb into the old, familiar saddle and onto his back.
The defensive wall of magic faded a bit and Gin could see Lord Taanyth - or what was left of him, anyway - in a heap across the arena from where she sat astride Beau. Backing him up and away from the giant corpse, she drew close to Taeben’s broken form. From her perch atop Beau, she couldn’t tell if the wizard was breathing or not, but she cast the best and strongest healing spell she could in his direction. She then sat back in her saddle to see if he would revive, marveling at the lack of any real emotion toward her childhood friend turned captor. She had just killed the mate of the Mother Dragon, and the strength of the Guardians long passed from the world still churned through her and around her. There was no need to fear Taeben any longer. In truth, as she looked down at him, all she felt was pity. There was no need for Gin to fear anyone ever again. She was the Nature Walker.
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