“It’s good to see you again, my friend. I worried about what you might find out there alone.”
“There seems to be less danger when you aren’t around,” replied Erion, with a smile. “I’ve no doubt we can follow the exact same route I checked out yesterday and you’ll find all sorts of traps and danger, while I found none.”
Leilas had to admit he was probably right. He wasn’t the Chosen One. He wasn’t the one the dark masters were watching. “Did you see the temple?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Yes,” replied Erion, “though I didn’t attempt to go inside. “It seems quite simple from the outside.”
“That seems to be Sylph’s style. Although I imagine I’ll find yet another task once I get inside.”
“I think this is where we’ll find the last piece,” said Garabaldi, joining them.
“No more clues to follow?” asked Leilas. “No more ghouls to fight?” Leilas laughed. “I may hold you to that prediction, gnome.”
Garabaldi sniffed in indignation. “I didn’t say you wouldn’t have trouble, just that this was the location.”
Growing serious, Leilas took a sip of her tea. “I sense there are still hurdles to cross, as well. But let’s eat Kai’s wonderful food and worry about the trouble if and when it arrives.”
CHAPTER 38
The temple was on the shore of the cove where Kreel was lolling. It was a simpler version of the temple at Jovan’s End. Leaving Erion and Kai on the beach to keep watch, Garabaldi and Leilas approached the door. All the other temples had warned everyone away who weren’t the Chosen One. She wasn’t sure how Garabaldi fit into this last step, or if he even did have a role to play. He was convinced he did. It wasn’t her place to tell him otherwise.
Placing her hand lightly on her axe, Leilas pushed open the wooden door cautiously. The interior of the temple was lit by tall windows set at equal distances in each wall. The diffuse light told Leilas and Garabaldi that the temple was empty of intruders intent on stopping them.
It also showed Leilas that there was no platform or seer stone, at least not in this room. There was a door in the north wall and Leilas strode through the room and stopped outside the door. She was anxious to find the last piece of the staff and find the way to join the pieces together. If her experience with the swirling cloud was any indication, the staff would be a powerful tool in their fight against Rengailai and Dredrac. With it, she knew she could face Gidron Frey on equal footing.
Garabaldi hadn’t followed her to the door. He’d stopped in the middle of the room. “Are you coming?” Leilas asked him, waiting at the door.
“No,” replied Garabaldi. “You must do this part alone. I’ll be here when you return.”
Leilas knew that was true, without knowing how she knew. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she pushed open the door. Or, at least, she tried to push it open. It resisted her attempts to gain entry into the chamber. Leilas ground her teeth in frustration then took a step back to analyze the situation. “Any suggestions?” she asked the dark crafter, still standing in the middle of the room.
“Ask to be let in the room? Use an opening spell. You are a crafter after all.”
“It just seems that every time I use my magic, something bad happens.”
“But one of the reasons you are the Chosen One is because you are a crafter. If you’re unwilling to embrace that part of who you are, then perhaps you won’t succeed.”
Leilas frowned at Garabaldi’s rather harsh words. It seemed he was always pushing her to use her magic. Was that because he knew that there were those looking for her particular magic so they could track her? Or was it because he knew she was reluctant to use her talent?
Turning back to the door, Leilas raised her hands and spoke the word of opening she’d used in Rengailai’s dungeon. The door to the inner chamber opened silently as the magic reverberated through the room. Not waiting to see what consequences would come from using her magic, she stepped into the inner room. In the center of this dark room stood a platform made of green crystal. On the platform was a seer’s stone made of the same stone. Climbing the stairs, Leilas stood in front of the east face and touched the rune carved there. Once again, she heard the ominous warning. Again, she stood her ground. A green mist emanated from the stone and began to swirl around her. She’d only been in the mists once before with Gidron Frey in the School of Sky. As the mists swirled, she wondered what Sylph would show her. Anhj had showed her all the wrongs she’d committed in her life. Crog had shown her all the things that caused her regret in her life. Solein had made her relive her disappointments. Pictures began to fill her head as the mist engulfed her. The first picture was of her sisters and her brothers leaving their home one by one. Then, this picture was replaced by her mother, Brenth and Joshuas leaving her in the forest. Next, she was reliving the moment Erion and Joshuas lost her on the way to the Southern Plains.
The mists continued to swirl and Cephom was walking off on the road to Barroon. Adrian’s face flickered in and out of her consciousness. Then, she was facing Joshuas in Menas. Tears were running down her face as she relived all the loss in her life, but the mists still swirled. Garabaldi’s face swirled in and out of her mind, but the picture including the gnome seemed to be out of focus.
Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by thousands of people coming into her mind, touching her thoughts with their lives then fading away. Falling to her knees, Leilas buried her face in her hands and began to sob uncontrollably. When she had cried until she couldn’t cry any more, the mists were gone. The door in the leg of the platform was open waiting for her. Rising wearily to her feet, she reached into the alcove in the platform leg and retrieved the last piece of the crafter’s staff. She had to smile when she saw Sylph’s addition to the staff. It was Kreel’s missing tooth and it formed the foot of the staff. Closing the door to the alcove, Leilas returned to the main room of the temple where Garabaldi was waiting.
“Did you find the final piece of the staff?” asked Garabaldi, taking in her appearance, but not commenting. Leilas held up the large dragon tooth.
“I did wonder what happened to his tooth,” cackled Garabaldi. “I suppose he was willing to sacrifice it for a friend.”
“Not just a friend,” said Leilas, “the crafter who created him.”
“Did you discover how to put the pieces of the staff together?” Garabaldi came back to the reason they were in Sylph’s temple in the Outer Reaches of Preterlandis.
“There was nothing revealed by the stone,” replied Leilas. “So, I suppose it’s up to us to discover the secret.” She took the pieces of the staff from her pack where she had placed them. Her pack wasn’t as safe as wrapped around her waist, but her burns were still tender and she wasn’t willing to risk being burned again.
Laying the pieces of the staff on the floor in the order she thought they went together, she stepped back while Garabaldi bent down and studied the four pieces. After several minutes, he nodded in satisfaction. “That looks right. Now what?”
“You’re the one who said you had some part to play in the joining of these pieces together. I thought you had some idea what you were supposed to do, because I didn’t have any indication you were involved.”
“Okay,” said Garabaldi, pacing around the pieces, tapping his hands together behind his back. “Give me a few minutes.”
Leilas sank to the floor and sat cross-legged while Garabaldi paced. She was willing to give Garabaldi time, since she had no idea how to proceed.
After several minutes of pacing, he began to mutter. Suddenly, he stood still and Leilas knew he had the answer.
“Which two pieces came from Anhj and Crog?”
Leilas picked up the orb and the piece that looked as though it was made to hold the sphere.
“There is a spell of binding, do you know it?” asked Garabaldi, taking the two pieces from her hands.
“Yes, of course,” said Leilas. “Even novices know that spell.”
“B
ut novices don’t have the power or the control needed here,” replied Garabaldi, “despite the simplicity of the spell. You’ll need the pieces given to you by Sylph and Solein.”
Leilas picked up the remaining two pieces and held one in each hand. When Garabaldi gave the signal, she began the process of binding the two pieces together, while he did the same with his two pieces. Leilas could feel the staff resisting her will and channeled more power into her words. Sweat broke out on her forehead, but she continued to speak the words of the spell, while she drew the two pieces closer together.
The closer the pieces came to each other, the more power she needed. At last, when she thought she had nothing left to give, the pieces melded together. Falling silent, she let her chin drop to her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart and catch her breath.
Soon, Garabaldi’s harsh chanting stopped. He, too, was panting from the effort of his exertion, but his two pieces were melded together as well. “The first part is done,” he said at last. “Now comes the difficult part.”
Leilas groaned softly. She was drained. If that hadn’t been the hard part, she wasn’t sure she had the power to accomplish what came next, although, she had a good idea, now, what needed to be done.
Rummaging through her pack, Leilas found the bottle of beer Erion always stored there. He did know about crafters, she thought, as she drank the rejuvenating beer. She offered some to Garabaldi but he declined her offer finding some lichen in his bag to chew on instead.
When they’d both finished, Leilas picked up her part of the staff and Garabaldi picked up his. “I’ve enjoyed our time together,” said Garabaldi when he was standing face to face with her. “I want you to know that I’ve never turned to Rengailai’s evil. There are thousands of dark creatures who honorably serve the Creator. It’s because of those faithful people that I’m here to help restore the balance that was destroyed when Rengailai introduced his evil to the creatures of the dark magic. I’ve always had your best interests at heart and hope that those of us who helped you get here taught you well and taught you all that you need to know.”
“You sound as if you don’t believe you’ll see me again,” said Leilas, with apprehension. “What are you expecting to happen?”
“I’m expecting the staff to come together and for you to continue on your journey to the Chasm of Ceryk,” said Garabaldi, sadness in his voice.
“What about you? Aren’t you coming with me on the next part of my journey?”
“No. I won’t be able to accompany you when you go. But my thoughts will be with you and my hopes for the future.”
It saddened Leilas to know that the dark crafter, who had been her companion and become her friend, wouldn’t be accompanying her on the rest of her journey. But perhaps they would meet again, after the balance had been restored.
“Are you ready?” asked the gnome, holding his piece of the staff in front of his body.
Leilas nodded, holding her piece in a similar fashion. Together, they began to chant. Each time they said the spell they moved the staff closer. Leilas felt her thoughts moving closer to Garabaldi’s as they chanted. It was only when the two pieces of the staff were touching that she could see his thoughts and knew what was going to happen.
“No,” she screamed, as the staff began to glow as it drew together.
“It must be this way,” said a voice she didn’t recognize, but she felt Garabaldi’s gladness.
“No,” she said again in a whisper. The staff glowed brightly, illuminating the dim room with a blinding light. Garabaldi screamed in pain and then fell to the ground. Leilas was frozen to the spot where she stood until the staff dimmed. Dropping the staff to the ground, Leilas ran to her friend and cradled him in her arms. She knew he was dead. There was only silence in her mind as she probed his for some glimmer of life.
“You must leave my little servant to me,” said the voice. Leilas looked up through her tears to see who was speaking to her. A crafter stood in the room, emanating dark magic. He wore the green robes of the masters of Land. Still holding Garabaldi in her arms, Leilas shook her head.
“No. I can bring him back. It isn’t his time to go.”
“He’s done his service to me and to Jovan,” said the crafter. “He’s ready to come with me.”
“He shouldn’t have to die to help me accomplish my goal. If anyone should be sacrificed, it should be me.”
“But your work isn’t yet done, Chidra. I’ll take good care of Garabaldi.”
Leilas looked at Anhj standing there and knew whatever was in store for Garabaldi on the other side of death was nothing she needed to fear. Laying the gnome on the ground gently, she rose to her feet. The mists had predicted this, had she understood them. Sylph had been warning her that there was more loss in the future.
“I know you will, Master Anhj,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Anhj gathered Garabaldi into his arms. “You now have the tools you need to face the challenge of Ceryk. Garabaldi gave his all to ensure that was true. Honor him. Go to Ceryk, face Gidron Frey and embrace your destiny. It’s what Jovan has planned from the beginning.”
Leilas wasn’t sure what destiny awaited her at Ceryk. But she bowed to the dark crafter who’d been with the Creator in the beginning, gathered up the staff, gave one last look at Garabaldi, touched his arm and turned toward the door.
“Go, knowing the Creator is with you,” said Anhj, then he and Garabaldi were gone from the temple. Leilas sighed, squared her shoulders, stepped out to meet Erion and Kai and tell them all that had happened.
Kreel allowed them to climb on his back and took them to the beach where they’d left their water barrels and launch. Leilas could understand Kai’s elation at riding with the dolphins and seals after riding on the dragon’s back, though the pleasure of the ride was dimmed by her sadness over losing her friend.
They didn’t bother looking for fresh water. From what they’d seen of the island, they didn’t believe they’d find any fresh water nearby. Instead, they loaded the empty barrels into the launch and rowed back to the ship. Once aboard, they lowered the barrels and filled them with sea water. While the ship began to magically move out of the harbor, with Kreel as a companion, Leilas began to purify the sea water. Tears slipped quietly down her cheeks as she performed her task. Tears for her friend, who’d died helping her accomplish her goal. A goal for which he’d been willing to give up his life to ensure it happened.
When Leilas finished the purification, she picked up the assembled staff and studied it. Once the pieces had joined together, runes had appeared on the pieces. The markings were old, from a time almost forgotten by most of those who dwelt in Preterlandis. But she’d learned most of them from Solein in Neothera.
This was the staff of power, created by the four who had been with the Creator in the beginning, to be used against the twisted magik in the Chasm of Ceryk. If she had doubted her dreams before, there was no doubt, now. They were true. The runes also told her how to find Rengailai’s addition to Preterlandis. Once they’d left Kai in Nereid, She and Erion would head for the mountains of Crogmanland and their fated meeting with Gidron Frey.
Kreel stayed with them the entire journey. Although most of the time he ignored Leilas’ overtures to talk, once he answered her question.
“I know little of what happens to crafters once they die,” replied Kreel, when she asked him the question. “It’s of little consequence to an immortal leviathan what happens to puny crafters.”
“Would you tell me even if you did know?” asked Leilas.
“There are some things it’s better not to know,” said Kreel.
“I miss Garabaldi,” said Leilas, not attempting to trick the answer from the sea monster.
“He was an honorable crafter, true to his master,” agreed Kreel, rolling to one side. “The Creator will deal honorably with him.” Leilas nodded, hoping that was true.
Erion and Kai spent the time on the return journey lost in talk. Leilas lef
t them to their new found feelings, trying to quiet the longing inside her to have someone close to her. Her thoughts too often turned to Joshuas.
The days were restful, filled only with daily chores and beautiful weather. When she wasn’t busy with the ship, Leilas spent her time trying to discover and harness the power of the staff. She could feel the power within the pieces of stone and bone. But despite her best efforts, she hadn’t been able to call on the power to do even the simplest magic.
Thinking back to when the staff had reacted, Leilas tried to determine what had made the staff respond. There had been a need to protect people. There had been the presence of lost souls and evil. Did the staff only react when the Dark Lord’s evil was near? She thought about her dreams of the Chasm of Ceryk. In her dream, she didn’t feel the presence of the Dark Lord, yet the staff had clearly responded. Gidron Frey had been there and Rengailai. Had one of them been the force behind the swirling cloud of lost souls, rather than Dredrac?
Leilas turned the staff in her hands doubtfully. She hadn’t felt the presence of either in the cloud. But there had been the lost souls. There were lost souls in the Chasm of Ceryk. Did the power of the staff have something to do with those lost souls?
She was no closer to an answer as they approached Seal Haven and Kai’s home. Kreel left them as the ship turned into the inlet. Kai thanked him for his help in her native tongue as her people jumped on the backs of dolphins and raced to welcome them home.
CHAPTER 39
Brenth gave the signal and his people began to move swiftly and silently through the forest toward the rear edges of the Dredracians surrounding Barat. The soldiers of Barat and the dark soldiers had been engaged in battle for most of the afternoon. Though Brenth and Adrian had been preparing for this moment, it still took them the better part of the afternoon to gather their people and get through the forest.
Most of the fighting consisted of arrow volleys back and forth. The dark masters had conjured a mist to obscure their movements. Joshuas and Ariel had done their best to dispel the fog, but only the area directly around the walls had cleared. The dark masters were old and their magic was very strong. Infused in the mist was a spell that spread fear. Although dark creatures weren’t affected, any light creature who ventured into the fog would feel the effects. The scouts Brenth had sent forward first had quickly explained the fear they’d felt while they moved inside the mist. After warning his marauders of the dangers, Brenth had sent them to their positions. The signal had been given and they’d do all they could to help those in Barat.
First Comes The One Who Wanders Page 61