Shaping Magic (Mistakes Return)

by Michael Dalrymple

  “No, this happened many years ago; a major earthquake collapsed the tunnels. From what I can sense, there is no one around for many miles; at least nothing moving. We will have to go back a couple of miles until we are closer to the surface and then I can open a tunnel. We will just have to travel above ground for a while.”

  Chapter 21

  Lindon was enjoying traveling above ground, but he could sense the unease in the Dwarfs. Their world was below ground; most of them had probably never even been to the surface.

  They were making good time, moving in a straight line toward sanctuary instead of following the maze of tunnels below ground.

  “At this rate we should make sanctuary in three days. If you look there, you can see the beginning of the Capshaw Mountain Range. It's not as big as Sorolan and Corhan's, but it is still quite impressive. Sanctuary is in the shadow of the largest peak, you can't miss it. It is the largest mountain in either mountain ranges,” Aina told the group.

  Lindon was looking where she had pointed and could see, even from this distance, the towering peak of the mountain. It made the surrounding mountains look small in comparison. Seeing his goal in sight, Lindon started to think about what he was going to say to his grandmother when he saw her. Should he confront her about not telling him everything or should he just accept the fact that he had to learn about himself on his own? As much as he wanted to blame her for everything that had happened, Lindon was smart enough to figure out that if he didn't go on his own he would have depended on her and Arden to make the decisions for him.

  Lindon decided that when he saw them he wouldn't make a big issue of it but he still needed answers from his grandmother and Arden, like who were his father and mother. He also needed to know what happened to them. His answers were three days away. He had waited this long. To wait until then wouldn't hurt him.

  Putting the thoughts out of his head, he looked back they way they had come. Seeing the entire Dwarven nation marching behind him brought to mind the Merrow. How could they hope to defeat such powerful creatures? It had taken every bit of power he could find just to escape with his life from just one of them. What would happen if they met with an army of them? Lindon shuddered at the thought.

  Approaching the Capshaw Mountain Range, Lindon was struck by the sheer size of the mountain jutting up far above the others. It was at least twice the height of the largest one. When Aina had first pointed it out three days ago it looked large, but now that he was closer it was almost beyond comprehension.

  As Lindon was standing there slack jawed, Aina approached. “Big isn't it?” she said with a knowing grin.

  “It has got to be by far the largest mountain in the world. I can't imagine anything ever coming close to it for sheer size,” he answered, awe in his voice.

  “As far as I know it is, but then again I haven't been everywhere in the world, so who knows.”

  “Are you going to have any problems finding our way to sanctuary?” Lindon asked.

  “No, it's pretty straightforward; there is only one way in that I know of.”

  “Isn't that a little dangerous, only having one way in? What if it's attacked?”

  “I said that there is only one way in, but I didn't say it was the only way out.”

  “I don't understand if there is another way out. What's to stop people from entering the same way?”

  Aina gave a little chuckle. “You will have to see it for yourself. If I told you it would ruin the surprise.”

  “I want to tell you—when we start in to the pass, stay close to Nara. My people may take one look at her and think we are the enemy.”

  “You mean they might harm her? I will not allow it,” Lindon said with some heat.

  “I know; that is why I said to stay close to her until we can show she isn't a threat.”

  “I understand; I will stay close to her. Thank you for the warning. I know it must be hard on you, being around her. Your people have been fighting hers for longer than Humans have been around.”

  Aina looked off in to the distance before she said, “To tell the truth, when you first brought her, it took every ounce of willpower not to attack, but now having gotten to know her, I can honestly say I am glad to have had the chance to be around her. She is not what I would have expected from an Ork. There is something about her that is hard to describe. I think it's her eyes and the way they seem to look into you, and the innocence about her. One thing for sure, she seems to have won over the Dwarfs.”

  Lindon couldn't agree more, looking over at Nara as she walked with a group of older Dwarfs, he was struck by how easily they seemed to accept her. They were chatting with her the same as they would a small child, listening to her endless questions and answering with an understanding of people who enjoyed teaching younger generations all that they could. It didn't seem to matter to them that it was her people as well as some humans that had attacked their home and forced them to leave. All they seemed to see was a young person in need of education and they were happy to supply it.

  The acceptance of Nara on the part of the Dwarfs was never more poignant when Lindon saw that Kailid was no longer hovering in the background keeping a careful watch on her. Ever since she had come back with him, the surly Dwarf had taken it upon himself to watch her in case she decided to cause trouble, despite the fact that Lindon had told him she could be trusted. Seeing that his words would not dissuade him, Lindon had let him keep his watch until he was satisfied. She had taken Kailid's attention in stride, seeming to understand his need to care for the safety of his people, and not taking offense to his scrutiny. The days and nights of Nara simply being who she was had allowed the Dwarfs and even Kailid to accept her into the fold and no longer see her as a threat.

  Entering the pass that would lead them to where sanctuary was, Lindon walked beside Nara. He kept himself between her and any that might wish to harm her just because she was an Ork. It didn't take long for the party to run into the defenders of sanctuary.

  A group of Elven archers suddenly popped out of the surrounding hills. There were perhaps a hundred archers in total. It was hard to tell for sure—many easily blended into their surroundings and a good portion of them had their weapons pointed directly at Nara. Lindon kept Nara behind him and was surprised when it was Kailid leading a small group of Dwarfs to stand beside him, keeping Nara protected from all sides.

  Their leader stepped forward. “Why are there so many Dwarfs here and in the company of the enemy?” he asked the group.

  Lindon was about to answer when Aina stepped forward and lowered her hood. “Those are questions best suited in private,” she said.

  “Your Highness, my apologies, we did not know you were there,” the Elf said, slightly shocked at seeing their queen traveling with the Dwarfs. “Please continue. We will inform them that you are coming.

  The Elves dispersed, disappearing as quickly as they had arrived. Lindon couldn't see any trace of them but he had the feeling that they were still there and watching, so he and the Dwarfs kept their position around Nara, just in case one of the Elves took it upon themselves to remove her as a threat.

  Lindon and the Dwarfs walked another three hours winding their way through the mountain pass. He could feel the magic that was coming from the left of the trail. It seemed to be everywhere. Looking around for the source, he was about to send his thoughts out into it when standing on the trail in front of them was Arden with two Elves on either side of him.

  Lindon had to suppress the urge to run to him. He didn't realize how much he had missed his teacher’s calm presence. Ever since he had to leave him and his grandmother, Lindon had been longing for the days when he felt safe and protected in their company. They were the ones that would make the decisions, but now it was Lindon that had to, and there was no going back to the way things were.

  Lindon walked up to his former teacher with Donovan, Aina, and Nara beside him. The smile on Arden's face reassured Lindon that maybe not everything had changed. “It is good to
see you, Lindon. You’re looking well,” he said.

  Lindon let out a small sigh of tension at his words. “And you as well, Arden; how is my grandmother?” he asked.

  “She is well; she would have come to meet you but she is a little busy at the moment.”

  “Enough of this prattle,” one of the Elves standing beside Arden commanded. “We did not come here to hear about a peasant boy and his concern for his granny.”

  Lindon flashed him an annoyed look. The arrogance of the Elf seemed to ooze from him, and rubbed Lindon the wrong way. He wanted to teach the Elf humility but realized that now was not the time.

  Aina, seeing that Lindon was close to objecting violently to her old mentor’s words, decided it was time to head it off before it got out of hand. “Hello, Piran, we are here for sanctuary. Our story is not one of good news but will be better told in the presence of everyone involved. Take us to Aodhan,” she commanded the arrogant Elf.

  At first it looked like he was going to object, but the stern look on his queen's face told him now was not the time to go against her wishes.

  With a finial look at the Dwarfs, Lindon, and Nara, he said, “Very well. Follow me.”

  As the Elf turned to go, Arden gave Lindon a wink, as if to say don't let the blow hard get to you. Lindon returned the wink with a smile to say he would try.

  Walking behind the Elves, Lindon was not prepared for what was ahead. The trail opened up onto a plateau that stretched across for a mile or more; then, the biggest mountain jutted straight up for thousands of feet of sheer rock. To Lindon it looked like a bad place to get caught at if an attacker decided to come. With only the one entrance that he could see, there would be no way to escape, but remembering Aina's words that there was possibly another way to out, Lindon would reserve judgment on the place, until he found out.

  Without turning around, the Elf said, “Tell your Dwarfs to make camp over there.” He waved his hand in the general direction of one side of the camp.

  Giving her general a look of irritation, Aina said to Donovan, “Where ever you think is best set up camp.”

  He chuckled. “Now that's the way we thought Elves behaved,” he said with a wink at Aina to take the sting of his words away.

  “Yes, well, he and I will be having a talk about his behavior,” she said loud enough for Calum to hear.

  The Elf didn't react to Aina's words. Instead he led them to a large tent in the middle of the camp. Lindon could see the camp of the elves on the right side of the tent. Everything was neat and orderly. The same could not be said for the camp of the humans that was there. It was an unorganized mess. No one seemed to be in charge, and with no leadership, they just put their tents in a haphazard way, with garbage piling up anywhere they wanted to toss it. There was a small training area where some of the men were training with weapons, but with no real organization, nothing was really being accomplished.

  There was a small group in the Human camp that was organized, but it was off by itself with no connection to the main camp. Lindon couldn't understand why someone didn't take charge of the men and organize them. Watching the Dwarfs set up camp was like night and day compared to the Human camp. The Dwarfs worked together, and as one unit their camp was being assembled with ease. Before long it would be up and running.

  Lindon wanted to go to the camp and kick them in to shape but he couldn't leave Nara alone and he didn't think it would be a good idea to take her with him into the mess of the camp. Turning away, he followed the others into Aodhan's tent.

  Chapter 22

  Aodhan was lying on a cot with Cora hovering over top of him. Lindon could see that he was in poor shape.

  When Lindon walked into the tent, Cora looked up. “He is in bad shape. He has an infection in his lungs, but there is nothing we can do,” she said with sadness.

  Aina looked at Lindon. “Is there anything you can do for him?”

  He looked around the tent at the faces of everyone, and through the confusion on everyone’s faces, became aware that not everyone knew about his healing powers. He said, “I don't know; I will try, but I don't have any power to start.” He moved beside the bed. “Grams, I will need you to supply me with the energy to try.”

  She was not understanding what Lindon was going to do, but the look of gratitude on Aina's face convinced her that this would be their only chance to save the dying man. “What do you need me to do?” she asked.

  “I need you to send magic at me,” he said. “I may need a lot of it, so if you think you need help, send for another magi.”

  Cora turned to the man that had led them to the underground training facility when they had first met Aodhan. “Annan, please send for Devin.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he turned and left the tent.

  It didn't take long for Devin to arrive, and when he did Lindon told both him and his grandmother, “I will need both of you to supply me with magic to try and help Aodhan. Start slow and when I ask for more, increase slowly if you can. I don't know how much I will need, but keep it up for as long as you can.”

  The magus, not sure of what Lindon meant by supply magic, turned to Cora. “What does he mean? If we hit him with raw power, he will die a very painful death.”

  “No, actually he won't, but I don't know what he intends to do. If we do nothing, though, Aodhan will be dead soon. There is nothing we can do. If Lindon thinks he can help, we will do as he asks,” she asserted.

  “Okay, I’m ready, just keep the magic directly on my back. Do not let it move off or someone could get hurt,” Lindon told the pair. “Arden, make sure no one interferes once we start.”

  Lindon knelt beside the bed. Placing his hands on Aodhan's chest, he told them to start. First it was his grandmother who started, then with a look at Cora and then at Lindon's back, the magus shrugged his shoulders and mumbled to himself about the insanity of some people. He slowly started to let the flow of raw magic into Lindon’s back.

  Once both of the magi's magic was flowing, Lindon slowly let the power start to flow into Aodhan. Letting his mind flow with the power, he could see the fluid in his lungs and the deterioration of all of the other organs. Old age was the main problem but there was something else not natural. He was confident that he could cure him and prolong his life. He called to both of the magic users to send more power into him and let more flow into Aodhan.

  He didn’t know how long he had been healing when he could sense someone fall behind him, and the magic he was using was cut in half. He knew that he didn't have much time left, so he finished what he could do with the power he had left just as his grandmother collapsed from the effort of sustaining the constant flow of magic into Lindon.

  Lindon rose unsteadily to his feet. “I have done all I can for him; with the power I had to work with, we couldn't use more magi. It would have been too hard to control that close to Aodhan. He should be awake soon, but he will still be weak. Take my grandmother and Devin to their tents and let them rest,” he told the group of stunned onlookers.

  The look on the arrogant Elf was no longer one of derision; instead there was a look of fear and apprehension of what to make of a Human that could shape magic. Lindon had no energy to worry about it and pushed his way past him and out into the fresh air.

  He had no other place to go, so made his way toward the Dwarven camp when Aina, Donovan, and Nara took up positions around him and helped him find his bed that had been set up beside Donovan's.

  When he was on the bed he turned to Donovan. “Watch out for Nara; not everything is well in this place,” he said as he passed out.

  Lindon slept the sleep of the exhausted. When he woke, the sounds of arguing were coming from outside his tent. Wearily he got up and buckled on his swords, and shielding his eyes from the morning sun, he stepped outside. There was a group of humans confronting Donovan and the Dwarfs.

  “We demand weapons. You have them and we want them, and if we have to, we will just take them,” one of the men screamed at Donovan. />
  “Listen here, boy, if you try, you will die. We will not allow anyone to take what is ours and will defend ourselves if necessary,” Donovan calmly answered.

  The looks that the humans were giving each other were a mix of fear and desperation. Lindon could see that this could get out of hand very fast. Stepping up beside Donovan, Lindon said, “What's going on? I am sure there is no need for violence.”

  “These men have it in their heads that we should just give them our weapons without paying or even trading for them, and we happen to disagree with them,” Donovan told Lindon.

  “Is this true?” he asked the leader of the mob. In Lindon’s head, an idea was forming—a way to get the humans organized and onside with the coming war.

  The Human at least had the decency to look ashamed for his actions, but Lindon could tell that he wasn't going to back down.

  “We need them to fight; we don't have many weapons, which we’ll need when the king and his monsters come for us. Most of us have lost loved ones to them, and we want to strike back, but we can't without swords,” the man said in a rush.

  “I see. As strong as your need is, this is not the way to do it. If you just try to take what isn't yours then you are no better than them,” Lindon said, loud enough for everyone in the mob to hear. “The ones that have taken your homes from you and killed your people are the same ones that took the homes of the Dwarfs you see here.” Lindon paused, letting that sink in before he continued. “We have traveled a long way to get here and they need time to rest and mourn the ones they have lost.”

  Lindon looked around at the faces of the men and could see the plight of the Dwarfs hit home; they had suffered the same as them. “We will all be fighting these invaders, as one. Whether you're Human, Elf, or Dwarf, we have to work together to defeat them, or if we don't then they will win and not only will we be dead but so will be everyone you care about. We are not only fighting for our homes but also for our right to live in this world.” Lindon finished, afraid he may have gone too far in his description. Most of the people here would not believe the true threat unless it was standing here staring them in the eye, and even then, some would probably still not believe it.