The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde

by Brian S. Pratt

  “Ahhh!”

  The spell was broken as Kevik cried out in pain. He could almost feel the severing of the finger in his own hand. Holding his hand before him, he checked to make sure all was as it should be. Great relief filled him when he saw that his hand was unchanged. “That was somewhat…interesting,” he mumbled to himself.

  He thought about the vision and decided the ring may have something to do with fire.

  Whether it was resisting it or causing it, he couldn’t tell. Picking up the ring, he placed it with the others as he grabbed the box containing the two identical rings.

  The two rings lay upon a red cushion that had withstood the passage of time better than it should have. It may have some magical properties itself to have kept it preserved for so long. He removed the two rings and gave them a once over. Both were made of gold and were plain, simple bands. No markings marred their surface.

  As they were found together and seemed to be a pair, he decided to do them at the same time. He again readied himself then let the magic flow. As the rings began to glow blue, the image came to him:

  Molten gold from the same source was poured into molds. Two rings were made…

  Kevik felt as if time had passed, then, Two men, miles away from each other, bore a plain golden band upon their hand. One man was beset by those who would kill him, the other was racing to his aid…Then the scene flickered to, Darkness, cold darkness.

  As the spell faded away, Kevik shivered. Whether from the cold of the tower or the cold darkness of his vision he was unsure. He looked to the rings and felt they were connected in some way. Maybe Chad and Riyan could figure it out more. He didn’t feel anything malevolent about them. After replacing them back in their box, he shut the lid and put the box on the table next to the ring he had just done.

  The wand and small book with the two spells, he’ll pass on as they were likely to be geared towards magic users, and thus, him. He chose instead a small ruby of average size.

  Back when he first checked for magical auras on all the items they had brought from Algoth, he had almost missed it. Its glow had been very subtle and only the keen eyes of Bart had noticed it nestled in with the other gems.

  Thunk!

  He could hear where Riyan or Chad had begun splitting wood once more. Kevik felt sorry for them working out in the storm but there wasn’t much he could do to help at this point. None of the spells he knew were of any use where cutting wood or keeping warm was concerned.

  Returning to the matter at hand, he again calmed his mind and began the spell: A room full of injured men, fighters by the look of them. They had just come from a battle. Limbs were missing, blood covered the floor as others moved among them trying their best to save the wounded men’s lives…Red light flared from where a gem sat upon an injured man’s chest. The wound began to close…A purse cut, the gem was lost.

  “That was pretty cut and dry,” he said to himself. The gem obviously was one used by healers in the healing of wounds. This would definitely come in handy. He placed the gem over on the table where the rest of the identified items sat.

  This time he picked out one of the necklaces. It was done with diamonds in the shape of a blossoming flower. Masterful craftsmanship went into the forming of this necklace.

  It was a thing of beauty. Just looking at it gave Kevik a feeling of peace. Laying it before him on the table, he cast his spell.

  “Man it’s cold out here!” hollered Chad. The wind was whipping him good and he was finding it difficult to remain outside. “Think we have enough?”

  “Maybe,” replied Riyan. He had an armful of wood of the proper size for Kevik’s fireplace. “I hope he appreciates what we’re doing for him.”

  “He better,” stated Chad. As Riyan took his load of wood into the tower, Chad picked up the half dozen pieces left on the ground. The tree was only about a third gone. If they didn’t finish it today, it would lie there before the tower rather unsightly until their next ten-day when they could finish it. Chad really didn’t think Kevik would care, much less notice that it still lay there.

  Riyan held the door as Chad passed through then closed it to cut off the wind. When the door slammed shut, the ground floor of the tower grew abruptly quiet. They could still hear the wind as it whipped around outside, but it was almost silent in comparison.

  “How about some more of Kevik’s tea?” he asked Chad with a grin.

  “Gah!” exclaimed Chad. “He better find something better if he wants us to come back on our next ten-day.”

  Riyan grinned and patted him on the back. They headed up the stairs and as they came to the third floor, Riyan hollered, “How about some of that tea now?” Then he grew quiet when he saw Kevik was still engrossed in one of his spells.

  He turned to Chad and put his finger to his lip, “Shhh, he’s working on the items,” he whispered. Chad nodded.

  They moved slowly and quietly from the stairs and crossed the room until they came near the table where Kevik worked. Riyan could see the flower shaped necklace on the table before him glowing with the blue glow that manifests whenever Kevik was using his identification spell.

  “Riyan,” Chad said in an odd voice.

  Riyan turned to his friend and saw the concern in his eyes. “What?” he whispered.

  “Look at his face,” he replied and pointed to Kevik.

  Riyan turned back and saw that Kevik’s eyes were open and staring at the necklace before him. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and his face looked like one locked in a struggle.

  “Kevik?” Riyan asked. When no answer was forthcoming, he said a little louder,

  “Kevik?” Still no response. He glanced to Chad who only shrugged.

  “I think something’s wrong,” Chad said.

  Then the words Kevik had said came back to him.

  “Keep in mind though, that some of these ‘treasures’ may in fact be traps for the unwary.”

  “Kevik!” he hollered loudly and came forward. He placed his hand on Kevik’s shoulder and could feel the tightness of the muscles beneath. Riyan shook him and hollered again, “Kevik! Come out of it!” Still no change.

  “What are we to do?” asked Chad.

  Riyan shook his head and turned back to Kevik. The necklace! That must be the source of whatever was happening to him. “We have to destroy the necklace!” he suddenly exclaimed to Chad.

  “But that could do more harm than good,” Chad argued.

  “I don’t see that we have much of a choice right now,” he replied. “Go get one of the axes.” As Chad turned to race for the stairs, Riyan hollered after him, “And hurry!”

  “Hold on Kevik,” he said. Riyan removed his knife and moved the tip toward the necklace. With a flip of his wrist, he caused the tip of the knife to catch on the blossoming flower and fling it off the table to the floor. It hit the stone floor and came to a stop.

  From the stairs he heard Chad’s footsteps rapidly returning. A second later he appeared from the stairwell with an axe in hand.

  Riyan indicated the necklace on the ground and yelled, “Smash it!” Chad came forward and raised the axe high over his head. Then with all his might he swung the axe down. The edge of the axe hit the blossoming flower and shattered it.

  From the table Kevik cried out before slumping unconscious in his chair. As Chad raised the axe for another blow he said to Riyan, “Take care of him.” Riyan nodded and picked the unconscious Kevik from out of the chair and carried him to the adjoining room with the cot. Behind him he could hear Chad repeatedly smashing the blossoming flower, over and over.

  He laid Kevik on the cot then knelt down beside him. “Kevik,” he said softly as he shook his chest. “Come on man, don’t be leaving us now.”

  “How is he?” Chad asked from the doorway.

  “He’s not coming round,” Riyan replied. Returning his attention to the unconscious magic user, Riyan yelled, “Kevik!” and slapped him hard across the face.

  Giving out with a groan, Kev
ik’s eyes flew open. They had a wild look to them, it was almost as if he wasn’t using them.

  “Kevik!” hollered Riyan again and patted the side of his face gently a couple times.

  Kevik blinked once, then again. His eyes seemed to come into focus as they turned towards Riyan’s face. “Riyan?” he asked.

  Riyan nodded.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Riyan replied. “We came up here for more of your gruesome tea and found you unresponsive.” Riyan went on to explain about smashing the necklace and how that seemed to break whatever spell he had been under.

  “Are you okay now?” asked Chad. Coming forward he stood next to the cot.

  “I think so,” he replied. Then he groaned and said, “Except for this horrible headache.” He moved his hand to his head in an attempt to assuage the pain. “I must have stumbled onto a trap of some kind. Thanks for getting me out of it.”

  “Hey, no problem,” Chad said. “Anything we could do for you?”

  “Actually there is,” Kevik replied. When Chad looked to him questioningly, he said,

  “Split more wood.”

  Riyan laughed and Chad had to chuckle too. They knew he was going to be alright.

  Chapter Ten

  _______________________

  The following morning when Kevik awoke, his head was still splitting from the effects of being caught by the trap. He couldn’t recall anything from the time during which he was affected by the now broken necklace, but he sure could feel it.

  Last night Chad and Riyan had stayed as late as they dared to make sure he would be alright. Before they left they brought plenty of wood up to his workshop for him to keep warm. Though curious, they didn’t question him about what he may have found out about any of the other items before triggering the trap. They said he could tell them about it when they returned on their next ten-day.

  He sat up on the edge of the cot and put his feet on the floor. Even that much effort sent pulses of pain through his head. Several minutes went by as he sat there with his head in his hands but the pain didn’t get any better. He started to worry that more may be wrong than just the after effects of a backlash of power, which is what he suspected happened to him when they smashed the amulet.

  The wind could still be heard blowing outside, fortunately not with the ferocity it had last night. An urgent need to visit the jakes was the only thing that convinced him getting out of bed was a good idea. So bracing himself for the pain that getting up was going to bring, he girded himself and then stood up.

  Pain. Pain worse than the night before threatened to crack open his head and he almost thought it was going to cause him to vomit right then and there. Somehow though he managed to control the urge and began shuffling his feet along the floor to the stairs.

  Three floors of agony awaited him if he didn’t want a mess in his workshop to clean up later.

  Moving slowly and avoiding any sudden actions helped alleviate the pain to a more bearable level. He made his way out of the room with the cot and entered his workshop.

  He saw the table where he had left the items the night before. Chad and Riyan hadn’t so much as touched them, they had been too afraid of something similar happening to them.

  On the floor he saw where they had left the shattered remains of the blossoming flower necklace. It looked like some of the floor had been chipped away by the force of the axe’s blow when Chad had used it to destroy the necklace.

  He began crossing to the stairwell when his eye caught sight of the ruby sitting in among the other magical items. A thought crossed his mind and he came to a stop. If that ruby had in fact been used by healers and held healing magic, then perhaps it would help him. Deciding he had nothing to lose, he shuffled over to the table and picked it up.

  When his fingers touched the gem he didn’t feel anything happen. He then raised it to his forehead where the worst of the pain was originating from and pressed it to his skin.

  A minute passed by and still nothing happened. He tried saying, “Heal,” but that didn’t do anything either.

  “What am I doing wrong?” he wondered aloud. Pain flared from the vibration his vocal chords made from even that much speech. He thought to himself how much he would like for the pain to go away.

  Suddenly the red gem flared in his hand. It surprised him so much that he almost dropped it in shock. He brought it down to in front of him and he could see a glow emanating from deep within the gem. Not sure what had caused the glow to manifest, he returned it back to his forehead where he began feeling a warm sensation. Gradually the pain began to diminish as the light emanating from the gem increased.

  The need to go to the jakes weighed heavily upon him but he wasn’t about ready to break the spell which was taking away his pain. Crossing his legs, he fought the urge as the gem continued to reduce the throbbing agony in his head.

  When at last the light from within the gem faded away, the pain in his head had vanished. He kept the gem in his hand as he took a step, expecting the pain to once again flare up. But the pain did not return. Emboldened by the lack of pain, he set the gem back on the table and practically flew down the stairs and out the door at the bottom. He just hoped he would make it in time.

  Once he was finished with what needed to be done and back within the tower, he picked the gem up once more. This would definitely come in handy. He then glanced at the other items lying on the table that he had yet to attempt to identify and decided that he’d done enough for awhile. He gathered them and brought them into the room with his cot where he placed them in the chest that was in there. Maybe on Riyan and Chad’s next ten-day he’ll work on the rest. It was clear that it would be best if he had someone around when he attempted to identify them on the chance he again encountered a trapped item.

  He shivered when he thought about what might have happened had they not have been here.

  Trying to put the experience behind him, he went to the fireplace and encouraged the embers that were left from last night’s fire back to life. After placing more wood on and getting a warm fire going, he went to the nearby shelf and grabbed the tome that contained the far-seeing spell he had been working on.

  Bart was due back soon and he would wait to see what he may have discovered before working further on his staff. Opening the book to the page that explained the spell, he grabbed a piece of stale bread lying nearby and chewed on it as he resumed his studies. If he was going to be of any further help when they went in search of the final two segments of the key, he had to be ready with better spells.

  Drills went well and neither Riyan nor Chad made any mistakes which would have resulted in extra practice. They seldom did anymore. After they put their wooden practice swords away at the end of the day, they returned to their barrack and cleaned up a bit.

  Once they had their swords buckled around their waist, as they were required to have on at all times when not in drills, they headed for the mess.

  Riyan’s mind was occupied with thoughts of Kevik, wondering how he was doing and with the Archives. There wasn’t much he could do about Kevik until his next ten-day. When they left him last night he seemed to be recovering well. He couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for what had happened to him, seeing as how he and Chad had pushed him into it. Next time he’ll heed Kevik’s warnings about such things.

  The Archives was another matter entirely. Each day after practice he would get a bite to eat then head up there. Most of the time Stryntner wouldn’t be there when he arrived, some days he never showed at all. Another few days and he will be done with the tome he’s transcribing. Riyan wondered what he’ll be copying next, hopefully something a bit more interesting.

  His search for the coats of arms had yet to yield results. On the days when Stryntner wasn’t there when he arrived, he would hunt through the various stacks of tomes for the information he sought. Unfortunately, he hadn’t come across any book that even remotely talked of coats of arms. On an earlier
excursion through the Archives, he had found a door that was almost entirely blocked by one of the free standing bookcases. The bookcase had been pushed against the wall and now only a few inches of the door was visible. He had asked Stryntner what lay behind the door and the old man told him that it was just an unused storage room.

  That reply had stilled his curiosity at the time. But now that his search among the tomes had produced nothing, he began to wonder if perhaps there wasn’t more behind that door than simply an unused storage room. For that matter, what had been or possibly still was stored in there?

  They arrived at the mess and sat down with their food. A few minutes later Chyfe came running in. “Bart! Chad! Come on!” he said excitedly when he saw them there.

  “What is it?” Riyan asked.

  “Sandlun has been razed to the ground!” he exclaimed. Others seated at nearby tables ceased their conversations at his declaration.

  “Sandlun?” Chad asked.

  “It’s to the south, just north of the border with the Moran Tribes,” Chyfe explained. It was into absolute silence that he said, “A band of Tribesmen crossed the border and sacked the town.”

  “This demands retaliation!” a man from a nearby table shouted.

  Chyfe waved for them to follow him as he said, “There’s a man in the foyer who just came from there. He’s telling everyone about it!”

  Riyan and Chad jumped to their feet, as did everyone else in the mess, and hurried after him toward the foyer.

  It was packed with just about everyone associated with the Guild, as well as others who had come to hear what was going on. An angry murmur went through the assembled crowd as they entered the foyer. They could see a soldier of middle years standing at one end. Their Guildmaster whom they’ve met but once, as well as their Drillmaster, stood next to him as he finished taking a drink from his flagon.