Red Wizard of Atlantis

by Ravek Hunter

  “We rest here until Aelrindel returns.” Havacian yawned and tried to hide it. “He should return before morning if he doesn’t kill his horse at the speed he left here a couple hours ago.”

  “Very well, let us rest until he returns.” Qel’s words were more for the benefit of his friend than himself. After hearing the likely fate of the residents of this fine house, he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink.

  ~~~

  The crack of lightning brought Qel fully awake and sitting up in his bed despite the pain. He found himself looking into the eyes of Aelrindel. Havacian was in the background, looking just as startled, in the lounge chair where he had been sleeping.

  “Good morning.” Aelrindel was calm. His demeanor alone settled Qel’s anxiety. “Are you able to stand?”

  To Qel’s utter surprise, he thought he could. The pain in his hip was no more than what he would have felt from a deep bruise rather than a severe injury from a hand-length thorn. “I think so.” As if to prove it to himself as much as anyone, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood steadily as if he had never been injured at all.

  “Good.” Aelrindel poured himself a cup of water from a pitcher on the side table. “We can leave now.”

  “Is it morning?” Havacian yawned and stretched his limbs.

  “It is almost noon.” Aelrindel looked like he needed a bath. There was dirt on his face, and there were greenish-brown stains on his cloak and tunic. Qel detected the scent of rotten foliage and smoke, but that could have been from his own clothing as much as the elf’s.

  “Are we returning to Avalon City?” All Qel wanted to do was go back to the inn and wash.

  “We are if the healer I brought back with me did his job well and you can stand a few hours of riding.” Aelrindel was in a serious mood. Considering what they had been through, Qel supposed that should be expected.

  “I feel fine, just dirty and tired.” Qel’s stomach rumbled as he spoke. “And hungry. Otherwise, I look forward to returning to the inn to wash up and order a warm meal.”

  Havacian was rummaging through his pack and produced a link of preserved hartebeest meat. He handed it to Qel. “Hopefully this will take the edge off.”

  “OK, let’s go.” Qel chewed on the meat as they exited the room. “By the way, is it raining? I thought I heard the crack of lightning.”

  Aelrindel laughed. “That’s the wizards clearing the remaining spiders from the house.”

  “Wizards?” Aelrindel didn’t have to respond. The house was full of Elves of every sort—wizards, warriors, priests, and even a few human Druids. None of them paid them much attention when the trio departed the house.

  Outside, the scene was even more astonishing. At least a hundred Elves and a dozen Tree Guardians occupied the open area between the Grove House and the lines of apple trees. Qel was astounded at the presence. There were even Elves mounted on enormous Rocs, both on the ground and in the air. It looked as if Aelrindel had returned with a small army. We could have used them last night, Qel thought to himself bitterly.

  Aelrindel must have read his mind. “They are here to cleanse this place and the entire grove. It must be clean for nature to repair itself. Soon the High King will appoint a new family to manage the groves, and this experience will be but a memory.”

  “Do you have any ideas about why the Old Haig came here in the first place?” From what Aelrindel told them earlier, the witch should never have been able to come so far from the water, and that was a very disturbing detail in Qel’s mind.

  “Maybe.” The elf appeared distraught. “Let’s move away from here, and we will talk more about it where there are fewer ears.

  They retrieved their horses and rode away from the Grove House in the same direction as they had arrived the previous day. Aelrindel led the trio without a word or a glance backward, leaving Qel wondering what could have disturbed the sturdy elf so grievously. Yes, the battle with the Old Haig was dangerous and nearly killed them all, but there was something more only Aelrindel knew, and he was unwilling to speak about it until they were alone.

  There were no singing Druids on their return through the grove, and the hour it took in the filtered sunlight to reach the other side was spent in silence. It wasn’t until they entered the forest again that Aelrindel broke his silence.

  “Qel, I’m sorry I had to leave you back at the Grove House when I went to find help,” Aelrindel spoke the words but did not look at Qel.

  Qel had thought nothing of it. “What choice did you have, Aelrindel? I was injured and unconscious.”

  “It is true that you probably would have died if I had tried to bring you with me, but that is not the only reason I abandoned you with such urgency.” Abandoned? The elf’s voice was genuinely sorrowful, and still he refused to look in Qel’s direction, as if ashamed to meet his gaze.

  “Aelrindel, you didn’t abandon anyone. You left me in a safe place with my friend to care for me. I needed help, and you flew like the wind to find a healer for me.” Qel was incredulous at the conversation they were having. “You saved me.”

  Aelrindel swung his horse around to face him then, and they all stopped abruptly in the middle of the road. “I ran!” the elf yelled forcefully. “And I am ashamed of it.”

  “Aelrindel, relax. You are among friends.” Havacian tried to calm the elf. The look on Aelrindel’s face was pure distress.

  If Qel didn’t know the elf, he might have thought he was about to lash out and strike him, but he knew that was not in his nature. Something was terribly wrong. “You had nothing to run from,” Qel assured him. “Havacian told me you finished off the Old Haig and the few remaining spiders went into hiding. If anything, you are a hero!”

  Aelrindel dropped his head to his chest and spoke more calmly, “You don’t understand. There was something else. Something I have never experienced before, and I fear my people may not be finished with it yet.”

  “Tell us,” Qel implored. “Tell us so that we may know your fear and share your burden.”

  Aelrindel sat in silence for a long while before he finally looked up with an expression that Qel could only define as . . . defiance? His eyes were red from exhaustion, and he smelled of earth from the dust his mount had kicked up in the previous hours. This proud elf had not had one minute of rest since they left Avalon City the day before, while Qel had been at rest in a comfortable bed for hours because of a damn thorn in his side! Qel suddenly felt the burden of shame that Aelrindel had admitted to, and it was his own to bear, not that of the elf who sacrificed health to save Qel’s.

  “Havacian was correct in what he told you. I did cut through the dead vines and strike the head from the Old Haig to ensure she could no longer threaten us.” Aelrindel paused; his shoulders shook. “There was . . . a black void. It rose from her lifeless body, and I experienced fear like I have never felt before in my life. It was all I could do to find a safe room for you and Havacian before I fled.” The look in his eyes had changed from determination to shame again as he spoke, reflecting the elf’s misery.

  “What was it?” Qel didn’t know what to say. He had never heard of anything like it before. “Did it do anything?”

  “It left. It didn’t dissipate or evaporate in the air. It simply went away, and I am certain it will not be the last Avalon will know of it.”

  “Then there is nothing you can do about it.” Qel couldn’t understand Aelrindel’s fear—he didn’t experience it himself—but he knew they were powerless to do anything about it unless they were confronted by it again.

  Aelrindel nodded his agreement. “That is likely true, but I must inform my father so he can warn the High King and the wizards of this potential threat. I don’t know why, but I believe that the thing will return in some other form and harm more of my people. That is my concern.”

  “Then let us return to Avalon City swiftly so that you may unburden your fears to your father, and then we shall sail to Ys.” Qel snapped the reins of his horse and took the lead, n
ot waiting for Aelrindel’s response. To his relief, both the elf and Havacian quickly followed behind him.

  ~~~

  Qel had been waiting with Havacian in the common room of their inn in Avalon City an hour past when, the day before, Aelrindel said he would meet them.

  “He should have been here by now.” Qel was irritated at the elf’s delinquency. Everything seemed to annoy him lately, and Aelrindel was no exception. He was feeling the weight of responsibility like never before since their encounter with the Old Haig. He could sense the change in Havacian as well. Neither of them joked or even laughed in the two days after their return, and that was completely unlike either of them. Qel wondered if this was the change all wizards of the Imperial Order went through on Discovery and if maybe they were suddenly maturing faster because of their recent experiences. He knew it would happen eventually. Over the years he watched many young wizards depart the Enclave on Discovery, and those who returned were always changed—solemn and wizened.

  “He told us he might be late, Qel.” Havacian was the vision of coolness, sitting calmly on the opposite side of the table with a cup of Mekali wine in his hand. “Especially if his father took his concerns about the black void he encountered seriously.”

  “True enough,” Qel conceded. “I am simply restless to move along to the port of Andlang.”

  “Do you still think the Order will summon us home? The innkeeper said no one had come looking for us while we were away.”

  Qel barked a soft laugh. “Pontus knows why, after our performance at the Tower.”

  “Ah.” Havacian was looking toward the entrance to the inn. “Guess who has arrived.”

  Qel turned to see Aelrindel walk up to their table. He still had a haunted look in his eyes that had not diminished since they departed the Grove House, but at least his smile had returned.

  “I’m sorry to be late.” The elf sat on the bench next to Havacian. “Are you boys ready to leave?”

  Qel stood right away. “We are. The stable should have our horses ready.”

  “Good.” Aelrindel stood, and so did Havacian. “Then let’s get underway before the day is lost to us.”

  Travel on the northeastern road to Andlang was easy going, although the merchant traffic going both ways was far busier than they experienced on the road south of Avalon. Aelrindel had told Qel that he expected the journey to take no more than two and a half days, and he hoped the elf would return to his old self at some point along the way. Although it seemed to him that despite what he wished, meeting the Old Haig changed them all undeniably.

  The quiet hours on the road gave Qel time to consider some of the changes he was feeling. Indeed, they were not unexpected. Every Atlantean went through them around his age, and much of the time they were welcomed. At least by the older folk who had already gone through them. The difference with him was that these changes felt as if they were happening much more rapidly than they should. He noticed the change in Havacian as well. His friend was also unmistakably going through a very rapid maturing, and it concerned them both. So far, there was little discussion about it, although Qel knew that they would find some comfort in the fact that they were going through much the same thing together. Until then, he would try not to brood on it and enjoy the beautiful land they passed through. Who knew when the next time would be that they were here again? Or for that matter, when they would return to the Emerald Isle?

  Just before dusk, Aelrindel silently led them off the road and a short into the forest. Qel didn’t need to ask why; they had done this several times in their travels. Before long they found themselves dismounting in a narrow clearing to set up camp for the night.

  “There is a stream nearby,” the elf muttered while he sharpened the end of a stick he picked up off the ground. “If you two will prepare a fire and clear the area, I will see about catching us something to eat.”

  “Would you like company?” Havacian cast his gaze around for another stick.

  “Not this time. I’ll be back shortly.” Without pausing for a response, Aelrindel disappeared into the forest.

  “I hope he talks to us soon.” Havacian was clearing a space for the campfire while Qel collected fallen branches nearby. “He is hiding something more than what happened at the Grove House.”

  Qel dropped an armful of branches next to the clearing and began to break them into smaller pieces. “Something to do with his father, I would bet. He was determined to speak with him as soon as we returned to Avalon City.”

  Qel started a comfortable fire and gathered a stack of dry branches ample enough to last through the night by the time Aelrindel returned with a string of large silver fish over his shoulder. The evenings were a little chillier the farther north they traveled, and the warmth of the fire felt good on his skin. This was the first night since before they arrived in Avalon City that the three of them made camp together, and the scent of burning wood under a clear starry night made him feel at ease.

  Within an hour, they had cooked and consumed the fish down to the bone, and then they sat in silence around the campfire. Not much was said after Aelrindel returned with the fish, other than what needed to be said to adequately prepare their meal. It was a striking change from the laughter and playfulness of previous camps, especially since Havacian was not asking a million silly questions. Qel missed those days. He was feeling a little nostalgic and a little sleepy from the belly full of fish he had eaten.

  “I’m not supposed to discuss this.” Aelrindel’s voice startled Qel from his lethargy. “But I need to speak to someone about it, and I know I can trust the two of you, my friends.”

  Qel nodded in agreement. “We are your friends, Aelrindel. After what we have all been through together, I think we share a deep bond that few others can claim.”

  “Thank you, Qel, well said.” The elf poked his fishing spear into the fire, stirring the embers. “What I am about to tell you must be held in the strictest of confidence.” Aelrindel looked a little embarrassed before he continued, “I know that I didn’t have to say that.”

  Qel said nothing, waiting patiently for the elf to come around to what he needed to say. He appeared to be struggling with something in his mind as he methodically shoved his fishing stick into the ashes of the campfire like a poker. Havacian looked over and raised an eyebrow uncertainly, as if he wanted to say something, but Qel responded with a quick wave of assurance to maintain the silence.

  The poker prodding suddenly ended with the stick shoved forcefully into the fire, where it ignited with a flare of anger. Aelrindel was looking directly at Qel, and then he shifted his gaze to Havacian and back again. “I told my father everything that happened at the Grove House and with the Old Haig . . . after.” He paused a moment and swallowed. For a few seconds Qel feared he would not speak again, and then the elf recovered himself. “You don’t know my father. I expected him to dismiss what I saw as my imagination, tell me that I was seeing things, or blame it on the fog of battle. What I didn’t expect was that he would take my words seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he immediately took me to speak privately with High King TatharonCalithIlon, Ruler of Avalon.”

  Qel was astounded. He secretly thought some of the same things that Aelrindel mentioned when he first heard the story. He was glad now that he kept those comments to himself.

  “So what happened?” Havacian was leaning forward on the overturned log, thoroughly engrossed in the elf’s tale. He hasn’t lost his curious nature. Qel smiled; he hoped that would never change about his friend.

  “Have you ever heard of the Nine?” Qel wanted to laugh, but the look on Aelrindel’s face was grave. The Nine were a children’s tale, nine powerful beings who met secretly to determine the course of world events.

  Qel glanced over at Havacian. His friend had the same look of surprise on his face that Qel must have had. “The Nine are a children’s tale in Atlantis. What does that have to do with the Old Haig?”

  “They are a children’s tale in Avalon as well,
or so I thought until last night. The Nine are real. Your Emperor, my High King, the Dvergr Mountain King, Wodanaz, and his brother Myrllin are among them.” Aelrindel sat back, quiet again. Qel didn’t know what to say. Had the elf lost his mind?

  “The High King told you this?” Qel did his best to keep the skepticism out of his voice.

  “That and more.”

  “What more?” Havacian sounded incredulous.

  “During long hibernations, Myrllin has visions about the future, which he shares with the others.” Aelrindel was pacing now. “Not long ago he awoke with a vision about evil unleashed across all the lands of the world. He cautioned them to stay vigilant and keep watch in their kingdoms for strange occurrences. The fact that the Old Haig attacked the Grove House, that she was able to leave the water to do so, and what I saw when she died qualified as one of those strange occurrences.”

  “What is the evil Myrllin spoke of?” Qel’s heart was racing. He had learned in the span of a few moments that the Nine were real, Myrllin had visions, and they had come face to face with unspeakable evil and managed to survive.

  “The High King didn’t say, and I was in no position to press him.” Aelrindel was shaking his head as he paced. “He did say that what I saw would not be the end of it and to stay vigilant.”

  “What are you to do now?” Qel was standing now, and so was Havacian, as if they would all mount and rush off in pursuit of evil somewhere. “Can we somehow track and follow this thing that was in the Old Haig?”

  “I don’t know. I was thanked and dismissed with no instructions at all.” Aelrindel shrugged. “The only reason I was allowed to know the little they told me was because my father is one of the High King’s closest confidants. My father advised me this morning to go ahead to Ys as planned. What we experienced here may have links to the strange events taking place there.”

  Qel settled back down and stared into the fire. “Then that’s what we shall do. When you promised adventure the first day we met, you certainly delivered.”

  Finally, there was a laugh from the elf, a laugh like one expected from him just a few days before. “It has been just as much of a surprise for me as for the two of you. And unless I misinterpreted the High King’s dire warning, this is just the beginning.”