Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy

by Scheppner, Carey

  “It’s too late to worry about it now in any case,” said Milena.

  “Speaking of late,” said Frosty, “let’s get going!” The mountain goat surged through the shielding trees Milena had strategically placed and led the way down the mountain on a parallel course with the one used by the previous night’s visitors.

  The companions made good time, since the north and west side of the mountain was more of a gradual slope, making the hike considerably easier. Even Sherman felt comfortable with this portion of the trip, so long as he didn’t look down too often.

  It was late in the day and they were at a lower altitude when Sherman discovered the tracks of horses.

  “Do you think they’re ours?” he asked.

  “Yes,” answered Zylor unexpectedly.

  “How do you—?” Sherman held up a hand. “Never mind. I already know the answer to that.”

  “I smell it too,” said Frosty. “By the strength of the scent, Perenia and the horses are only a couple of hours ahead of us. We must hurry.”

  Milena sat down. “I can’t go any further right now. We’ve marched right through the day without even stopping for a lunch break. I’m hungry and tired. I’m not accustomed to this kind of travel. Why don’t some of you go on ahead and catch up with her? The rest of us should reach you a short time later and we can make camp.”

  “We shouldn’t split up,” said Harran. “We’re safer as a group.”

  “Harran’s right,” said Kazin. “Frosty, why don’t you go on ahead and catch up with Perenia. You can travel much faster without us to slow you down, and you can track her from here easily enough. The rest of us will stop and have a quick bite to eat before proceeding. We have enough skill among all of us to track you down.”

  “Very well,” said Frosty. “I’ll leave signs in the trail for you to follow if the terrain becomes confusing.” He turned and bounded through the undergrowth in mid-transformation and was gone.

  Perenia was cleaning her blood-stained arrows when she heard a noise behind her. She spun around and prepared her bow in a single, fluid motion, her eye peering keenly down the length of the salvaged arrow. A moment later she relaxed and lowered her bow.

  “Hello, Frosty! I’m glad you’re back. How’d it go?”

  Frosty trotted up the centaur in his original form. “Reasonably well! I came to warn you—what have you got there?” he asked suddenly, peering at a greenish object behind her.

  “Just a couple of stray goblins,” said Perenia. “Dissenters, I guess.”

  “I was just about to warn you to be on the lookout for such things,” said the unicorn.

  “These days, I’m always on the lookout,” said Perenia. “Where are the others?”

  “They’re on their way,” said Frosty. “We should find a good place to make camp and prepare for their arrival.” He looked around. “Where are the horses?”

  “They’re safe in that grove over there,” said Perenia. “I led them there and told them to be quiet when I heard something coming. It turned out to be a couple of those pesky goblins. Some arrows made quick work of them.”

  “Very good,” said Frosty. “Let’s get that camp ready and I’ll fill you in on what happened last night.”

  About two hours later Kazin and his company arrived and Perenia came up to them and greeted them warmly. The uncertainty and concern that had ridden her features since she had joined up with them was now gone. That was replaced by happiness and respect.

  “You’ve done it!” she exclaimed, prancing in front of them as a young pup would its owner. “You’ve stopped the hordes of evil from pouring out of the mountain!”

  “Settle down,” laughed Kazin. “We’re only part way through this mess. We’ve still got to deal with the ones that are here. That won’t be an easy task.”

  “We will prevail!” cried Perenia exultantly. She was unfazed by the dangers that lay ahead. Her race had suffered defeat at every turn. Here was a victory worth celebrating.

  They prepared a meal of grouse and rabbits that Della had shot along the way, as well as some preserved boar meat Zylor still carried in his pack.

  As night began to approach, Frosty contacted Kazin mentally and told him it was time for his training.

  The mage excused himself and followed the unicorn into the bush.

  “Don’t get into trouble this time,” Sherman called after him.

  “Don’t worry,” Kazin called back. “This time Frosty will keep an eye on me.”

  When they were far enough from the camp, Frosty instructed Kazin in the methods used by the mages in the past on how to transform into a dragon at will.

  Kazin was familiar with concentration techniques from his studies in the mage academy, but the concentration he required here was on a much higher level. After a long spell of failures, he finally succeeded. Within seconds, he transformed into a majestic, leathery-winged and long-tailed dragon.

  He looked at himself in surprise and awe. It wasn’t that difficult after all, he thought.

  The voice inside his head gasped in astonishment. It quickly recuperated and began its maddening laugh, causing Kazin’s belly to burn. He looked down at the almost inconsequential unicorn.

  “The voice is inside my head again,” said Kazin in a hoarse, throaty rasp.

  “That is merely the remnants of the original dragon’s mind and thoughts,” said Frosty. “You must learn to suppress it when it is not needed.”

  “I never need it!” rasped Kazin angrily. “It only goads me to anger!”

  “You might have need of certain advice from time to time,” said Frosty. “That voice can provide you with it. Take last night, for example. Did it tell you anything?”

  Kazin thought back. “Well. It kind of guided me there.”

  “You see, you need only harness its thoughts by making it believe it is in control. Then it will tell you what you want.”

  “Why is that necessary?” asked Kazin. “I own the orb now. Shouldn’t the voice be gone?”

  “No,” answered the unicorn. “The voice is the lingering thoughts of the original dragon. It probably sounds mad or insane, but that is because it is disembodied now. That means those thoughts drift without guidance. You must guide it by controlling it. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that the voice may sound insane because it is insane. The mind of the original dragon is merged with the mind of the mage who originally controlled it, so the thoughts are distorted. If the previous mage succumbed to the pleasure of being a dragon and remained that way too long, he might never recover, and his mind would lose itself in the power at his command. He would then deteriorate into a dragon’s mind set. Power and greed would consume him.”

  “That’s really motivational,” muttered Kazin sarcastically.

  “The voice is there for a reason, Kazin,” said Frosty sternly. “So long as its thoughts are there, it should always remind you that you are never going to control the orb completely. It is a magic of its own, and you are only being allowed to use it because you are presently powerful enough to control it. Your power can easily weaken or become degraded. Many times in the past, someone has come across the power of a dragon orb, only to succumb to it. That often resulted in the rampage of a dragon against the races. Those dragons were eventually destroyed, along with their orbs, by the vengeful races who suffered from its bloody attacks. That is why there are hardly any known dragons alive today. Most of them are dead.”

  “I see,” said Kazin. “So I’ve got to harness this voice or it will drive me insane eventually.”

  “That’s right,” said Frosty.

  “I’m hungry,” said Kazin suddenly.

  “Go find a boar or something,” said Frosty. “Then come back here and I’ll teach you how to turn back again—this time without water.”

  “Very funn
y,” said Kazin. He spread his wings and sprang gracefully into the air. Belatedly, he remembered he should have asked the unicorn how to land properly.

  “There you’re on your own,” said the unicorn’s thoughts in response.

  Kazin climbed only a short way into the air when his nostrils sensed a large food source a little higher up in the mountain. He circled once and flew over the spot. It wasn’t a large food source so much as a bunch of smaller ones. A cave opening, set in an inaccessible cleft in the mountain, contained a family of boars who milled about its entrance. They were unaware of his presence. He circled once more and came down to make his attack. He swooped down and timed his attack just right. In each extended claw he grasped a boar and without stopping soared back into the sky. The boars shrieked and struggled but to no avail.

  Kazin chose a long, gravel-covered ledge lower in the mountain for his dining area. Before landing, he dropped the half-dead boars and then extended his feet and expanded his wings to slow his descent. He landed at a dead run but skidded to a halt before the ledge ran out.

  Satisfied, he turned and waddled back to his dinner. He ate in peace, the voice mercifully dormant. When he finished, he decided to go for a leisurely flight. He spread his wings and rose into the air, circling higher and higher, and inhaled the chilly fresh mountain air in huge gulps. This was freedom, he thought.

  A cloud temporarily blotted out the moon and he looked around for a landmark. Far below, just south of the mountains, he could see the lights of hundreds of cook fires.

  Curious, he circled down for a closer look. His heart leaped to his throat when he got closer. It was an army! More than that, it was an army of goblins, mercenaries, rock trolls, wolves, mages and zombies! Kazin’s heart pounded at the sight of the massive army. For the first time, he felt small and insignificant as a dragon. Perenia was right. They were too few!

  He circled as close as he dared, the darkness his friend. He eyed the camp warily, memorizing their positioning and defences. How could they possibly defeat such a large force? What was he thinking anyway? How could they even attempt such a thing?

  He soared back up into the sky and thought about what he had just seen. There had to be a way to destabilize this southern threat. Perhaps the unified efforts of the elves and centaurs could drive off these hordes. But getting the elves involved was a tricky task, and time was rapidly running out. Something had to be done, and it had to be done very soon, or the centaurs would be wiped out, leaving the elves battling an enemy for so long that the north would be long lost by the time help arrived.

  Kazin swooped down to his starting location where the unicorn waited for him. He skid-hopped to a stop not far from where the unicorn stood.

  “Not bad,” commented Frosty. “A few more times and you’ll get the hang of it.”

  “I’ve gathered some important information about the enemy,” blurted Kazin.

  “I figured you might,” said Frosty. “But first, let’s concentrate on getting you back to normal.” The unicorn then stepped Kazin through a series of concentration techniques that allowed Kazin to change back into a mage.

  On the way back to camp, Frosty asked Kazin what he had seen. Kazin told him everything.

  “Are you going to tell the others?” asked Frosty. “They’ll want to know how you gathered such detailed information.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted Kazin. “I think I’ll wait until we get there. That’s only twenty-four hours away.”

  They arrived at camp and saw Zylor training Sherman in hand to hand combat again. Milena sat not far away with a frown on her face. She was obviously not happy about the training sessions.

  Rubin smiled when he saw Kazin, his teeth white in the firelight.

  “He lost at dice again,” said the sailor. “Now he’s taking it out on Sherman.”

  Harran sat off to the side and was showing Della how to play the addictive game.

  The elf turned and smiled at Kazin. “Would you like to play, Kazin? It seems like a fun game.”

  “Maybe later,” said Kazin. “I’m a little tired from my own training right now.”

  “It’s not hard,” insisted Della. “Just one game?” she pleaded.

  Sherman’s previous words came to Kazin: ‘Sometimes you have to live for the moment.’ He thought about the danger that lay ahead. It could very well be the last time any of them would play dice together. “All right,” said Kazin at last. He sat down and, before he knew it, he had played several games. Rubin then came over and joined them and Perenia, who was bored talking to the horses (she could sense their thoughts), came by to try her luck as well.

  After a few more games had passed, the minotaur and warrior called it quits and came over to join in the fun. This time neither of them suffered any major wounds. Sherman admitted he was learning something and Zylor confirmed it, commenting, “He’s much stronger than he thinks.”

  Milena, not wishing to be left out of the fun, joined them as well and in the end she had the most fun, winning most of the games.

  Zylor, as usual, lost heavily each time. Finally he growled and rose, muttering something about all the beginners’ luck making his own luck that much worse. He stalked off to take watch duty, claiming luck with his axe was always better.

  Chapter 46

  The next day consisted of a long trek southwest around the base of the second finger of the Five Fingers Mountains and then circling south and then southeast around the third finger, which was the highest of the Five Fingers.

  By nightfall they came within sight of the vast expanse known as the Waste. Kazin knew that the enemy army was nestled against the mountain just around the corner and stretched up to the western edge of the Rocky River, where they undoubtedly utilized its endless supply of water for their own purposes.

  “Tonight we have work to do,” said Kazin bluntly after they had settled down from their weary trip. “I suggest we have some dinner, take a one hour rest, and then head out.”

  “What’s the plan?” asked Sherman. “You sound as if you know what to expect.”

  “I do,” said Kazin. “It’s what we do when we get there that I’m not sure of.”

  “I hope it involves some fighting,” said Zylor emphatically. “I’m tired of playing games.” He looked at Harran pointedly, who in turn looked away. Kazin caught the stifled grin on Rubin’s face.

  “I’ll prepare dinner this time,” offered Milena. “I can make a small fire that shouldn’t be seen by others.” She began unpacking the cooking gear.

  Just over an hour later Kazin was being shaken awake by Rubin.

  “It’s time,” whispered the sailor.

  Kazin looked around at the others who were still asleep or snoozing and nodded. “Let’s go,” he said, rising.

  They aroused the others and packed lightly as per Kazin’s orders.

  “What about the horses?” asked Perenia.

  “We’ll leave them concealed here,” said Kazin. “We’ll come back for them later. Stealth is of primary importance right now.”

  The companions followed Kazin through the woods skirting the mountain and within two hours reached a small plateau overlooking the Waste to the south and the Rocky River to the east. The river trickled in the distance with a silvery aura.

  But the scene that brought a gasp from some of the companions was not the silvery water. It was the sea of campfires covering the ground between the river and mountain.

  An army was sprawled over the entire area, legions and legions of goblins, rock trolls, mercenaries and more.

  “What a huge army!” exclaimed Sherman. “It’s about three thousand strong!”

  “I passed through the far side of the mountains on the elven side,” said Perenia worriedly. “I missed seeing the army from there. Had I seen them, I would have gone back and warned the othe
rs of my kind! Up until now, there have been only isolated battles with wolf riders and mercenaries. Now rock trolls have been convinced to aid this army! Just look at the size of it! My people are doomed! We are lost!” She began to cry and wail.

  “Don’t count on it,” said Frosty soothingly. “We’ll think of something.”

  “What’s that?” asked Harran suddenly, pointing southeast. “I see some lights near the river.”

  Kazin squinted and spotted the lights. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “They’re too far away.”

  “This might help,” said Rubin. He produced a ship’s looking glass from his pack and handed it to Kazin.

  Kazin took the glass and focused on the lights in the distance. “It looks like an army of some sort. Yes. It’s an army of wolf riders and mounted mercenaries.”

  “We’re doomed!” repeated Perenia.

  “But wait!” said Kazin sharply. “I see some centaurs; lots of them. They’re in the middle. They’re—,” he broke off.

  “What! What is it?” demanded Perenia.

  “They’re prisoners,” said Kazin sadly. “I’m sorry, Perenia.”

  “Let me see!” demanded the centaur. She snatched the looking glass out of Kazin’s hands and scanned the lights for herself.

  “Prisoners,” she whispered hoarsely. Then she gasped and her hands began to tremble.

  “Perenia!” said Milena in concern. She lifted the looking glass out of Perenia’s hands and handed it to Sherman. “Perenia, what is it?”

  The centaur shook her head and began to bawl openly.

  “Perenia!” said Milena, grabbing the centaur’s hands. “Get a hold of yourself! What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “They have him!” she blubbered. “We are surely doomed now!”

  “Who?” asked Milena. “Who do they have?”

  “Mython!” cried the centaur. She continued bawling.

  Della gasped and everyone looked at her.

  “Mython is the king of the centaurs,” said the elf, her eyes wide in fear.

  “And my father,” added Perenia in despair.