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

by Scheppner, Carey

  Malachi spotted Kazin and came over to him with a weary smile.

  “You have done a remarkable service for the Tower of Hope, Kazin,” he said. “Without your help, and the help of your friends, we would have been the ones to fall tonight.”

  Kazin shook the high cleric’s outstretched hand. “It’s my pleasure, High Cleric Malachi. I just wish we could have arrived sooner to avoid so much bloodshed. The Tower of Strength was in a similar predicament before we arrived to stop the battle.”

  “What?” asked Malachi in surprise. “You came all the way from the Tower of Strength?”

  “Yes,” said Kazin. “It’s a long story. We used the lizardmages’ magical portal to teleport to the mountains north of here.”

  “Of course!” said Malachi. “Good thinking! But how did you manage to activate the portal? The clerics and mages here studied it for weeks without success.”

  “It’s another long story,” said Kazin.

  “Another time, then,” said Malachi. “When are you leaving for the Tower of Sorcery?”

  “I suppose as soon as my companions are up to it,” said Kazin. “Why?”

  “Haven’t you heard?” asked Malachi. “There is a large force of undead approaching Skull Lake! They’re reported to number in the thousands!”

  “What?!” exclaimed Kazin. “When? Where did they come from?”

  “They were sighted exiting the Spike Ridge Cliffs in the north a couple of days ago,” said Malachi.

  “The Spike Ridge?” asked Kazin in bewilderment. He suddenly remembered Sandor’s dire warning of the black tide coming out of the north. At first Kazin thought he meant the battle at the Tower of Strength. Then he figured he must have meant the battle that had just ended. It wasn’t that at all! It was the battle that was still coming! Sandor was right! The Tower of Sorcery was now exposed!

  “How?” asked Kazin. “That cliff face is so solid that the dwarves can’t even penetrate it with fire sticks!”

  “I don’t know,” said Malachi. “I guess it could be another magical portal or something. You’ll have to ask Krendal for more information—which reminds me, he wants you to contact him right away. With all the commotion in the past twenty-four hours, I forgot to tell you!”

  Kazin and Malachi entered the orb room a few minutes later and the high cleric activated the orb.

  A mage Kazin hadn’t seen before answered and left to inform Krendal. A few minutes passed and Krendal’s face appeared in the orb. His face was lined with worry and bags were under his eyes, evidence of lack of sleep.

  “Krendal!” exclaimed Malachi. “You look awful!”

  “That’s about how I feel,” grumbled the arch mage. “You don’t look so great yourself.” He brightened when he saw Kazin. “Ah, Kazin! I see you found a way into the hornet’s nest!”

  “It wasn’t easy,” admitted Kazin, “but we managed.”

  “He’s being modest!” exclaimed Malachi. “Kazin and his allies fought against overwhelming odds and, with the help of the tower’s defenders, drove the enemy back into the mountains! The war over here is over!”

  Krendal brightened at the news. “You’re kidding?”

  “It’s true!” said Malachi.

  Krendal smiled at Kazin. “You have done well, Kazin. Once again, you have proved yourself as a conscientious and valiant representative of the black tower. I will see to it that your deeds are recorded and made known in the next arch mage elections which are coming up in about a month. With three positions already in need of filling, you will have a good chance to fill one of them.”

  “Make that four,” said Malachi sadly. “We lost Arch Mage Grenier early this morning. He lost too much blood from his chest wound. I shouldn’t have allowed him to join the cavalry in the early stages of the counter attack earlier today.”

  Krendal shook his sadly. “Don’t blame yourself, Malachi. If anyone is to blame for this, it’s me. I made a serious tactical error sending too many forces to the Tower of Strength, and now I’m trying to correct that mistake with very little to build on. I left both the Tower of Hope and the Tower of Sorcery far too undefended. Now we are all paying the price.” He looked at Kazin. “Kazin is turning out to be a real godsend. He helped end the war at the Tower of Strength, and was instrumental in driving the hordes away at the Tower of Hope. Moreover, his effort to convince the elves to join us was successful, if belated. If I get out of this alive, it’s thanks to Kazin.”

  Kazin looked away, his face red from such high praise by the arch mage.

  “We’ll be sending some forces at once to aid you,” said Malachi suddenly. “General Larsen is preparing to start out early tomorrow with those who are fit to travel.”

  Krendal snapped to attention. “What? No! I won’t make the same mistake again. I’m not leaving the Tower of Hope undefended just to save our tower!”

  “You won’t be,” said Malachi. “The skink warriors will be guarding our walls. They are excellent archers, and they can—.”

  “You can’t trust skink warriors!” blurted Krendal. “They have no allies!”

  Malachi looked at Kazin, then back at the arch mage. “You can thank Kazin for that too, Krendal. Somehow, he and his companions have made a deal with the skinks. They’re on our side now.”

  Krendal looked between the two mages. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he murmured.

  “Do you want me to come to the Tower of Sorcery?” asked Kazin.

  “I suppose,” said Krendal, “but by the time you get here, don’t expect too much to be left. If the Tower of Sorcery is in enemy hands by then, return to the Tower of Hope. At that point, hope will be all that’s left.”

  “O.K.,” said Kazin. “First, I have to return to the mountains to activate the portal so that Emperor Zylor and his force of minotaurs, along with the group of dishonoured dwarves, can return to their lands. Then I’ll catch up with General Larsen’s group.”

  Malachi gasped. “Did you say the minotaur emperor?”

  Kazin looked at the high cleric and grinned. “Yes. He’s the one that accompanied me last time I was here. He merely returned a favour. You healed him, and he paid you back. He is as honourable as a dwarf.”

  Malachi shook his head in stupefaction.

  Krendal coughed and drew their attention. “I keep thinking I’m on top of things, Kazin, but you never cease to amaze me. When you’ve sent the emperor and his group home, return to the Tower of Sorcery. It seems you bring luck wherever you go. We could sure use some right about now.”

  “I’ll do my best,” said Kazin.

  Chapter 64

  Kazin and the others were overwhelmed by the stench of the bodies in the portal’s entrance. The dwarves guarding the inside of the entrance had done well, killing ten times their number. Their own bodies were found a good way back into the tunnels.

  Horst had his dwarves bring their bodies outside for burial. He vowed to document their brave deed when he returned home.

  After this was done, the dwarves and minotaurs bid farewell to Kazin and the others, and Zylor vowed to find a way to get his army through the dwarven mountains to aid the humans beyond.

  “I’ll get there as soon as I can, Kazin,” said the emperor.

  “I appreciate the effort,” said Kazin. “Good luck to you, Zylor.”

  “And you,” said the minotaur. He entered the portal for the last time and Kazin waited until Zylor had plenty of time to make it through. Then he let the portal close and pointed his staff at the spot where the outline of the portal still shimmered. He concentrated for a few minutes and felt the magic course through his body, into the staff, and out into the portal.

  The portal imploded and ceased to exist. The blast was loud and shook the ground where the companions stood, but the rumbling diminished after a moment and then all was
still.

  Kazin transformed into a dragon and Sherman, Milena, Della, Rubin, and Perenia—in the form of a human warrior—, climbed onto Kazin’s scaly back. Kazin soared into the air and headed east for the Tower of Sorcery. He ignored the rumbling of hunger in his belly and flew quickly.

  During an overnight stop in Castor, Kazin found out that they were well ahead of General Larsen’s army. Not wishing to wait, the companions departed early the next morning for the last leg of their journey.

  They reached Sorcerer’s Island that evening and Sherman told Kazin he had to go home to sort some things out. He booked passage on one of many ships transporting goods from the mainland and departed within the hour.

  Perenia, Della, and Rubin booked rooms in an inn on the island and spent their time exploring the multitude of shops set up in the Square.

  Milena and Kazin entered the Tower of Sorcery (how Milena managed to enter the black tower Kazin didn’t know, and the druid refused to explain), and they ran into Arch Mage Valdez sitting at a desk.

  “How’s the arm?” asked Kazin.

  Valdez looked up. “Kazin!” He rose to his feet and embraced the young mage. “It’s good to see you again!” He flexed his arm and smiled. “It’s as good as new!” Then he noticed Milena and bowed deeply. “A druid! It’s a pleasure to meet you! I am Arch Mage Valdez.”

  Milena smiled. “Hello. I’m Milena.”

  “Welcome to the Tower of Sorcery,” said Valdez. Then he frowned. “How did you get in here? You weren’t on my list of authorized guests.”

  “You’d better check your list of unauthorized guests,” joked Kazin. “Druids have a way of getting in where you least expect them.”

  “To be sure,” said Valdez. “Come. Arch Mage Krendal waits eagerly for your arrival.”

  He led them to three blue circles in an alcove and they disappeared into another level of the tower.

  Valdez led the others into a lecture hall where black mages of all ranks were gathered. Krendal stood on a dais at the front of the hall addressing the mages. Valdez quietly led Kazin and Milena to one side to wait until the speech was over.

  Valdez leaned over and whispered into Kazin’s ear. “He’s almost finished.”

  Kazin nodded.

  “As you know,” said Krendal, “our main body of soldiers is still several days away. We have few clerics and soldiers available to aid us, and the civilians are ill-equipped for war. That means it is up to us to bear the brunt of this attack. With the Tower of Hope now secure, a force under General Larsen marches east to come to our aid, but that help may come too late. Already, the outlying areas east of here have been laid to waste, and scouts report that the enemy will be within striking distance of Marral by the day after tomorrow

  “The fire sticks have been strategically placed in the outlying sectors of Marral,” continued Krendal, “and mages will be positioned there to help the townsfolk in the defence of the town. But even with these preparations, we will likely lose the town in a matter of hours. The enemy forces number greater than thirty thousand, and most of those troops are undead—not exactly our specialty. Fortunately, most of the people from the east have been evacuated to the city of Arral, and some have offered to stay and help defend Marral.”

  Krendal cleared his throat. “Some of you will be sent to Arral to lend what support you can. You can use the portal to Warral and then rent horses and carts from there for your journey south. We chose that route since the enemy will not be in the vicinity to give you any trouble. If the enemy chooses to move south to attack Arral first, they will get more opposition than they bargained for. Arral will not fall easily.

  “As for those selected to defend Marral,” continued Krendal, “we will hold out for as long as we can before pulling back. When defeat is imminent, we will have to destroy the fire stick factory and the town’s port before leaving. Those places are strategically valuable to the enemy, so don’t let them get their hands on them. The mages will withdraw to Sorcerer’s Island via the portal, and the civilians will board ships that stand ready to take them south to bolster Arral’s defences.”

  Krendal took a deep breath. “One final thing. The Tower of Hope claims the enemy who attacked them had use of a magical ring, smoky in colour, and with three quarters of a circle etched into it. These rings are known to hold a magical power strong enough to eat away any magical shield, disintegrating it within minutes. The clerics and mages at the Tower of Hope reported using an interesting tactic to combat this weapon. While some of them held a magical shield in place, others stood poised to strike at the enemy with magic as soon as the shield collapsed. They bombarded the enemy with fireballs and lightning bolts until the shield raisers were ready to recreate their shield. If our enemies are equipped with these rings; and I assume they are; we will use the same strategy to fight them off. Remember to keep an eye out for chimeras when you use this tactic. The enemy is reported to have a few dozen of those creatures in their ranks, and they are ridden by mages.

  “And beware!” admonished Krendal sternly. “If you encounter one of those smoky rings, destroy it at once! If worn, it will corrupt the mind and inevitably destroy you! We have had one of those rings in our possession here at the tower for some time now, but haven’t been able to figure it out. All we know is that the mage who originally wore it is now insane and bereft of his original magical power. Don’t allow yourself to end with the same fate!

  “The fight before us is daunting,” admitted Krendal. “If we hold out long enough, the forces coming to our aid will be able to make enough of a difference to help us repel this ruthless enemy back to where it came from. Good luck!”

  Krendal left the dais and looked up to lock eyes with Kazin. He paused in surprise for a moment and then came forward and shook the young mage’s hand.

  “Welcome home, Kazin!” said Krendal. “You got here awfully fast!” Krendal turned to Milena and bowed gracefully. “Milena!”

  Milena smiled and gave the old arch mage a hug. “Krendal. It’s an honour to meet you in person.”

  “It is a shame it’s under such circumstances,” said Krendal wearily. The strain of the last few weeks was obvious in his eyes. Krendal quickly hid the fatigue and smiled, placing a hand on each of the mages’ shoulders. “Come! Let’s chat in my study! It’s far more comfortable in there.” He turned to Valdez. “Valdez, see to it that the mages are all certain of their assignments and know when to depart.”

  “Yes, Sir,” said Valdez. He went to the back of the lecture hall where the last of the mages were just leaving.

  *

  Rubin slowed his pace and told Della and Perenia to go on ahead. They had just finished their inspection of the artifact shops, and the girls were eager to visit the herb and ointment shops. Rubin had little interest in herbs and chose to remain behind to sit by the mermaid fountain in the Square.

  Several benches close to the food shops were occupied, but no one was near the fountain where Rubin was seated. He was alone.

  The sailor looked up at the dismal grey sky and wondered if the clouds would shed water that night. It had rained hard in the west, but the clouds here looked just as ominous and threatening. His gaze drifted over to the mermaid fountain standing solitary in the late evening greyness. The mermaid had her hands extended as if to welcome him into the pool. Her frozen gaze encompassed him as though he were the one she sought.

  Rubin chuckled dryly. “If you could really see me,” he said quietly, “you certainly wouldn’t be looking my way. I’m just a sailor with scars all over my body and one missing eye. I’m nothing much to look at.”

  The sailor suddenly yearned to have his missing eye back. For him, the battle back at the Tower of Hope was an awkward situation. He constantly missed his opponents because his depth perception was out of kilter. The backup provided by the skink warriors had saved his hide many times. He wish
ed he knew how his eye had been lost and how he had been washed up on shore miles from where he had fallen off the Lady of the Sea. It was a mystery that nagged at him constantly.

  He rose and walked over to the statue, resting his arms on the stonework surrounding the pool. He looked down into the pool’s surface and saw his reflection mirrored there. His eyes stared back at him like two shining orbs.

  Eyes? Rubin’s heart leaped. Quickly, he reached up to feel for his missing eye, but made contact with the patch instead. How could his eyes be reflected in the water when he wore a patch? He looked into the water again and this time saw his true reflection—one eye and one patch.

  Inwardly Rubin was angry with himself for seeing the impossible. Tears of rage welled in his eye. His other eye was gone. There was nothing to be done about it. He could wish all he wanted. Rubin saw the glint of coins at the bottom of the pool and grunted. “Why not?” He withdrew a coin from his pouch, made a wish, and tossed it in. The coin flickered to the bottom to join the others. Nothing happened. He sighed. So much for the wish.

  The sailor reached out to catch the water cascading from the mermaid’s breasts and washed his face. It would not do to be seen weeping in public. He blinked the water from his eye and reached out for some more water. Instead of water, however, he contacted someone’s hands.

  Startled, he looked up to see that the mermaid statue was not a statue, but real!

  She looked sadly down at him and squeezed his hands gently. “Do not lose heart, brave sailor,” she said softly. “One more difficult task lies ahead. When you have completed that task, you will be brought here and your wish will be granted.”