Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy

by Carey Scheppner

  Milena stood up. “Well, since we’re not getting anywhere with summoning, let’s concentrate our energy on healing the sick.” She turned to Adriana. “What have you discovered so far regarding the herbs?”

  Adriana shrugged. “The only thing that seems to work is the faelora herbs. They tend to lessen the pain when I use the right spell incantations. It doesn’t eradicate the disease, but it makes the patients more comfortable.”

  Milena turned to Martha. “And you?”

  Martha sighed. “I’ve studied the books on wildhorn leaves until my eyes practically fell out. Not one book mentions wildhorn leaves that are fermented. Leave it to a dwarf to come up with such a preposterous idea.”

  “That preposterous idea could lead to the cure we need,” stated Adriana. “We need to create a similar substance to experiment with.”

  “Do you know how long it will take to ferment wildhorn leaves?” retorted Martha. “Not to mention, we’ve got a very small supply of it in our stores. And even then, we still need the ingredients to make the ale.”

  Adriana nodded. “I see what you mean.” She rubbed her chin. “I guess we’ll have to settle for what we’ve got. The quantity of faelora in our stores will last for a while. I suggest we use it to keep our patients comfortable until we come up with the right spells and components to cure them.”

  “Agreed,” said Milena. “The next things I think we should try are fermented forms of the herbs we have. Maybe something other than the wildhorn leaves will have the right healing properties.”

  Martha rose. “I’ll start looking for spells that are known to cure poison. There are a few books on detoxification that I haven’t looked at yet.”

  “Good idea,” said Milena. “Let’s get at it.”

  Just as they re-entered the tower, the clouds rumbled ominously and the rain came down in torrents.

  Chapter 28

  The chanting grew louder as the trio crept along the bank of the river. The path was narrow and rocky, and the going was tough. In the distance, light could be seen reflecting off the poison river’s surface. The ceiling here was lower, and the stench was compressed in the confined space, making breathing difficult. At last the dwarf called a halt. She stroked her hand through her hair and the silver streak shone in Vera’s staff light.

  “If we wish to continue,” said the dwarf quietly, “we’ll have to get our feet wet.”

  Cyril shook off his right foot. “I’m already wet anyway.” He had slipped into the water several times already.

  Rebecca addressed the cleric. “Do you want to go on?”

  Vera looked down at her muddied white robe. “We might as well. It looks like we’re headed in the right direction. If we want to find the source of the poison, we have to keep moving.”

  Cyril looked back the way they had come. “I don’t think I want to go back that way if I can help it. It was a long walk.” They had travelled for several hours without finding any routes that led away from the river. It was pointless to go back. Cyril turned forward. “I’m with Vera. I say we go on. We knew we would have to face lizardmen eventually. I for one will do what I can to stop them from their mad experiment.” He clenched his mace so his arteries protruded from his arm.

  “Alright then,” said Rebecca. She turned to lead the others into the water. She was not happy about getting wet - dwarves rarely were - but ahead was where they would find their answers. If it meant getting wet, so be it.

  The going was even slower as they waded through the water. They constantly helped one another to their feet when one of them stumbled. As luck would have it, they rounded a bend in the river and found a dry surface at the edge of the river to walk on again. The trio paused to shake the water off of them and continued.

  A chanting noise could be heard ahead and the companions knew they were getting close. Judging by the sound, the chanting was that of the lizardmens’ magic. Light now flickered off the walls as well as the water. There was even enough light that Vera could put out her staff light.

  The river curled around to their left and the trio crept along slowly, straining to see around the bend. At last they caught a glimpse of a well-lit cavern ahead. They stopped and surveyed the scene in awe. A vast cavern housed the source of the river, which widened out closer to the center. Around the circumference were numerous torches, and a set of stone-carved stairs rose up and away around the edge at least as far as they could see from where they stood. Several small tunnels could also be seen, leading away from the area at just above the water level.

  Around the water’s edge were several dozen lizardmen and lizardwomen. They were the source of the chanting that could be heard. About a dozen of them chanted in unison, directing their attention to the object in the water. The object in question was breathtaking in its beauty. It was completely blue in colour, as bright a blue as one could imagine. Although easily five times the size of a human, its features resembled that of a human woman; but not just any woman. This creature was the image of perfection. From the smooth cheeks, finely curved chin, and slender nose, to the literally flowing long hair, to the perfect shapely figure beneath the head, no man could stare at her without falling in love. Some who had witnessed this creature claim that it was by her that mermaids were created.

  Vera gasped. “That must be the water elemental!”

  Cyril could only stare with his jaw agape. “She’s beautiful!”

  They watched for a few minutes and saw the elemental pushing the water, which came out of the ground in front of her, downstream in the direction of the companions. As she did so, the water turned brown and dirty. Although beautiful, her expression showed genuine fatigue. She was half-heartedly contaminating the water. It didn’t take the companions long to realize that the lizardmen were controlling her actions.

  Rebecca was the first to come to her senses. She nudged the others back out of visual range of the cavern. “Do you see what’s happening?” she whispered.

  The others nodded. “Lizardmen are making her contaminate the water!” whispered Vera hoarsely. “That’s the source of the poison! We have to stop them!”

  “There are quite a few of them,” commented Cyril. “I doubt we can kill them all, and I doubt I can fool enough of them to paralyze them first.”

  “Maybe we can interfere enough to allow the elemental to escape,” suggested Vera. “I know for certain lizardmen can’t cast more than one spell at a time according to some magic books I’ve read.”

  “Good idea,” said Rebecca, “but we’ll have to act quickly. Once they turn their magic against us, we’ll have to get out of there fast! The safest way is back downstream. We know there’s no one down here for miles.”

  An idea occurred to Vera. “How well would we do if we were against non-magic users?”

  Rebecca gave the cleric a sharp glance. “What have you got in mind?”

  A small grin crept across Vera’s lips. “It’s just a thought. It might not work, and I won’t be able to protect us with my shield.”

  “That’s O.K.” said Rebecca. She winked at Cyril, who turned away just in time. “I’m sure Cyril and I can handle a bunch of lizardmen on equal terms.”

  Vera rummaged through her pockets and successfully found the components she needed. The only thing lacking was her confidence.

  The pressure was on. The entire world counted on her spell to succeed. It was a difficult spell to master, even for an experienced cleric, and Vera had never attempted it before, and certainly not on such a large scale. Surprisingly, she remembered it from her text book back at the Tower of Hope. Having it come to her at such a critical time was a stroke of fortune she would not soon forget. The cleric readied herself and looked at the dwarf.

  “Ready?” asked Rebecca.

  Vera nodded nervously.

  Cyril got up and stepped ahead of the dwarf. Rebecca sprang after him, but knew too late that the cyclops had taken the honour of being the one to lead the charge. Once again, she was glad he was on her side.

/>   The lizardmen were unprepared for the unexpected interruption in their magical spell. As they chanted, the water elemental slowly stopped what she was doing. She turned to regard her captors with curiosity.

  A tall lizardmage standing off to one side straightened. “I didn’t tell you to stop!” he snarled. “Get back to work!” A number of lizardmages in the second row began to chant, joining their voices with those of their partners in the first row.

  The elemental turned to look at the speaker, whose blue-green robe wavered in the light of the cavern. “I shall not!” she retorted, her voice shaky and exhausted.

  “Continue to poison the water!” ordered Relg the lizardmage. He shook his gnarled staff as he spoke. The third row of lizardmages added their magic to the others. There was no effect.

  “I am tired,” stated the elemental wearily. “I am going to rest. I am leaving you.”

  “No!” cried Relg. “You cannot disobey! You are under our control!” More lizardmen pitched in with their magic.

  “I am not under your control,” intoned the water elemental. This time her voice had an edge to it. She was getting angry.

  “No! It cannot be!” shrieked Relg. He began chanting himself.

  “Fools!” muttered the elemental. She began to sink into the river.

  Unusual sounds and cries of pain at the edge of the gathered lizardmages drew their momentary attention. The elemental paused to see what was going on.

  “Concentrate on the summoning magic!” cried Relg. He could not afford distractions. The elemental should be easy to summon within sight of them all.

  By now, most of the lizardmages were trying with all their might to regain control of the elemental. The rest - the ones who were closer to the commotion, directed their attention that way.

  Bashing through the ranks of lizardmages was an angry cyclops and a ferocious dwarf. Instinctively, some of the lizardmages tried to cast spells against the intruders. Their spells failed to materialize. They tried several different spells, all without success. The mace and dagger silenced their babbling faces.

  Vera was overjoyed that her ‘silence’ spell had worked. Not only did it free the elemental, it prevented the lizardmages from counterattacking with their magic. The cleric ducked out of sight to let the fighters do the battling. The initial rush was successful, but the lizardmages had regrouped and started to gain the upper hand by surrounding the cyclops and dwarf, who had moved too far from the river’s exit.

  The angry lizardmages were restricted to jabbing with their staves. Their weapons were cumbersome, but their strength in numbers was superior by far. They soon landed blows with their staves and pressed in from all sides. Vera wished she could help her friends, but knew her spells would also fail.

  By now Relg knew what was happening. He saw the fighting and knew that was a diversion. He was too intelligent to miss the fact that someone had cast a silence spell on him and his helpers. He looked around for tell-tale signs of a spell caster and spotted Vera peeking around a large boulder. Her mostly white cloak had given her away. Relg’s pointed snout spread into a sinister grin. He pushed past the other lizardmages, some of whom were still trying to regain control of the elemental, and worked his way toward the undefended cleric.

  Things were looking dire for the companions, when several fireballs blasted into the crowd from above. High up, at the top of the stairs that wound around the cavern, was Tyris!

  “Tyris!” exclaimed Vera in a whisper. The fire elemental had come to their rescue! Her joy was cut short when she brought her gaze back down to the chaos below. Right in front of her stood Relg. His shimmering robe seemed to be blacker and more forbidding up close. He seemed even more fearsome since he wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the fire elemental’s fireballs.

  “You are a fool!” snarled Relg. “You think you can just come here and stop us so easily? When you are dead, my minions will once again be able to cast spells. Your feeble attempt to hinder our plans will amount to nothing. I will enjoy killing you!” He raised his staff and swatted Vera with uncanny ease. She flew back and landed in the river. The strike, combined with the ice cold water, knocked the wind from her lungs. The cleric tried feebly to pull herself back to the river’s edge.

  Relg took a step forward to finish the cleric, but froze when he heard a menacing voice behind him. “Pick on someone your own size, you slimy lizard!”

  Relg spun on the speaker and swung his staff at the same instant. His staff flew through open air. The only thing he saw when he came to a stop was a sword pointed at his chest.

  “Nice try,” said the voice venomously, “but not good enough.” The sword plunged into the lizardmage’s chest and twisted around. All Relg could do was gurgle as he dropped to the ground. He dropped his staff and his greenish blood flowed into the river, poisoning it further.

  Invisible hands grabbed the cleric firmly by the arms and pulled her ashore. “Wait here.”

  Vera knew the voice but was too winded to respond. She merely nodded. Alric had shown up just in time. She would thank him later.

  Meanwhile, the tight quarters that Rebecca and Cyril had experienced had lessened off a bit. Many lizardmages were escaping down some nearby tunnels, while others were more interested in doing away with the intruders. By now most of the lizardmages had given up the summoning spell to help their friends or save their own skins. Fireballs continued to rain down on them from above, and some of them rolled into the water, making the water elemental hiss in agony. The clash between the elemental forces coming into contact with one another caused instant steam. Within minutes, the majority of the cavern became a dense fog. This made fighting difficult for both sides.

  Alric moved stealthily among the lizardmages, killing as he went. Rebecca and Cyril continued to fend off attackers with their backs to each other.

  Tyris stopped casting fireballs into the fray, sensing he was hurting the water elemental unintentionally. He did not notice the figure who had snuck up behind him from the portal. The summoning magic was so swift and methodical that Tyris barely had time to cry out. Before he knew it, he was trapped between the tines of a trident.

  Brind chuckled. “This time you won’t escape, my fiery friend.”

  Watching him from the shadows was a black-cloaked figure. Had Brind seen how weak and frail that figure was, he would have stayed and fought. A lightning bolt struck the trident from his hand with the same ease that he had used to capture the fire elemental. Brind was torn between fighting with the shadowy figure, retrieving his trident, or escaping.

  Some more lightning bolts flew at him, but his hastily erected shield fended them off. Because Brind had to cast the shield spell, his summoning spell was negated and the elemental surged out of the trident and turned on his aggressor. Left with no other choice, Brind canceled his shield spell and opened the portal. He dove through the portal and vanished. One thought went through the lizardmage’s head. Shouldn’t the human mage be dead by now?

  On the other side of the portal, Kazin was already unconscious.

  Tyris hovered over him, painfully aware that he was unable to do anything to help. He was as helpless as the mage.

  Back at the river, Vera caught her breath and got to her feet. The fog gave her an advantage with her white cloak. It wasn’t perfect, being wet and dirty, but it wasn’t bad either. Screams echoed eerily through the fog as the cleric crept toward the water elemental, making sure to avoid being seen by the lizardmages, most of who were on the other side of the river contending with her friends. At the river’s source, the cleric could just make out the decaying form of the water elemental. Unafraid, Vera jumped into the water with the elemental and waded out to her.

  Suddenly, the elemental raised her head, ready to destroy the intruder in her space. She would have drowned Vera with a simple flick of her wrist, but stayed her hand, surprised to see a human cleric before her.

  “Are - are you alright?” stammered Vera. The fierce blue eyes washed away her courage l
ike a tidal wave. The elemental was fearsome to behold when angry.

  The elemental sighed. “I have done a terrible thing,” she moaned.

  “The lizardmages controlled you,” objected Vera. “You had no control over that.”

  “I should have resisted,” countered the elemental.

  “You can’t resist summoning magic,” said Vera. “That’s beyond your control.”

  The elemental shook her head.

  “You’re free now,” said Vera consolingly. “Can you fix what you were forced to do wrong?”

  The elemental looked up at Vera with a sad expression. The expression was so intense that Vera’s eyes watered. “I cannot interfere with the goings on in the world unless I am summoned,” said the elemental. “That won’t be for some time, as I need to recover.” She spotted Vera’s staff. “But I can help you make a start if you wish it. I owe it to you for rescuing me.”

  “I would like to help you any way I can,” said Vera. Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably now. This gentle giant was so awe-inspiring that Vera’s emotions were in turmoil. She wanted to hold the elemental and weep endlessly.

  The elemental took hold of Vera’s staff and her hand seemed to caress it and meld into it. The white colour washed out of the staff and swirled down the river, leaving it devoid of any colour whatsoever. “Simply touch the staff to any contaminated water and it will be cleansed,” said the elemental.

  Vera raised her transparent staff out of the water and examined it with curiosity.

  “I must go now,” said the elemental.

  “Thank you,” whispered Vera as the giant water elemental sank into the water and became one with the river. A great sense of loss swept over the cleric and she wept.