Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series

by Williams, Christopher

  “Why do you summon me?” Ziteul asked. Its voice was low and raspy, sounding like something out of a person’s worst nightmare.

  “It can talk!” Flare blurted out in surprise.

  Ziteul clinched its little fists, the anger unmistakable in his expression.

  “Ziteul,” Mortimer repeated, this time he put more emphasis on the name.

  The imp took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Then, to Flare’s complete astonishment, he bowed. “I have come as summoned and I acknowledge that yours is the greater will. I will do as you bid.”

  Chapter 15

  They reached the Silver River early in the afternoon. The river was broad but was slow moving at this point. Heather called a halt and stared out over the peaceful waters.

  The trip had gone smoothly. They left Emtown around noon on their second day in the small town. It had been the first day that Kappie had traded with the townspeople and the locals had been rather absorbed in trying to get a good deal. It had been rather easy for the Guardians to buy provisions from the townspeople, and Kappie had provided them with several changes of clothes and new boots.

  They had left Emtown while the people were still in a furor over the trading. They hadn’t escaped completely unnoticed. Several of the local vagabonds, undoubtedly excited by the exuberance of their compatriots, tried to follow them. Heather sent Atock and Enton to dissuade them. One look at the massive warriors caused any and all followers to disappear.

  They made good time in their trip north. The local constable had told Aaron correctly and they encountered no serious obstacles until they reached the Silver River. The travelling had been easy, if not pleasant. The rolling hills and dispersed copses of trees had provided plenty of shelter, game, and firewood.

  Standing there, looking out over the river, Heather couldn’t help but wonder if the lands they were about to enter were cursed. Was it simple superstition? Or was it something more tangible?

  As they stood there on the shore looking over the water, they each turned to look at her. Even Atock, who wasn’t technically under her command looked to her for guidance. The two sorcerers didn’t bother looking at her or even offering advice, both of them had been withdrawn and quiet for a while now.

  “What do you think?” Atock asked, moving closer so that he wouldn’t have to shout.

  Heather considered for a moment. It wouldn’t do to cross this late in the day. They would only have to make camp on the far bank and they weren’t even sure it was safe. Besides, how would they cross? “I think we make camp here for tonight,” she said after a moment. “We’ll make floats and rafts tonight and cross the river in the morning.” She lowered her voice, “We’ll have to make sure the sorcerers make it across.”

  Atock nodded silently. His gaze turned towards where the two sorcerers stood talking. Agminion shouldn’t be a problem. He was still young and his family owned a shipping business. Undoubtedly, he would be able to make it across the river.

  It was Dagan that he worried about. Dagan might be a powerful sorcerer, but this trip was taking a toll on the old man. Several times, already, Heather had been forced to call a halt to let him rest. He seemed constantly short of breath and grumpy. Well, truth be told, he always seemed a bit ornery, but he hadn’t always seemed this tired.

  As if reading his thoughts, Heather said, “We’ll make a raft for him to hold onto and we’ll have to make sure that raft reaches the other side.”

  Silently, Atock nodded.

  Later, with the men out gathering wood for a fire and for the rafts, Heather stood looking out to the north. The constable in Emtown had warned Aaron not to cross the river and once again she worried about what they might find there. Once, these lands had belonged to the Faerum, but that had been long ago. The Faerum had been completely wiped out in the Third War of the Races and these lands had been a wasteland ever since. Like Aaron, she had wondered why no humans ever came here. It would seem a great place to make a home. The land was fertile and there was plenty of game in the mountains. Regardless, the wastelands had remained empty. And now here they were.

  Hearing a sound behind her, Heather turned to see Dagan approaching. He looked tired, but this had been a rather exhausting trip for such an old man. He waved his hand across the water. “What do you think we’ll find over there?”

  She smiled, unsure of how to answer. “I thought you were the historian. What do you expect us to find?”

  The old sorcerer didn’t answer right away. “Honestly, I’m not sure, but I did want to warn you.”

  Heather exhaled deeply. “Warn me about what?” she asked in a flat, tired voice.

  Dagan smiled. “If we know where the armor was last seen, then you can believe that the Church also knows, as does Zalustus.”

  That was an unpleasant thought. Scratching her cheek, Heather regarded the old man. “You think there will be agents of the Church there?”

  Dagan shrugged. “It’s just a guess, but it would make sense. They have to sense the times we’re living in. I would also guess that either Zalustus will be there, or perhaps one of his lieutenants.”

  Great! Heather thought. “What can you tell me about the destruction of the Faerum?”

  “Not much,” Dagan answered after a brief moment. “It is believed to have been a surprise attack, although I have never heard of the like before. Each of the Faerum cities was attacked at the same time, and before they could get off a warning.” He shrugged, “The Faerum were always more friendly with the dwarves than with humans. It’s a pity that we don’t have a dwarf to ask.”

  “I thought they were attacked by goblins,” Heather said.

  “Yes, that’s correct.” Dagan replied.

  “All the Faerum cities were attacked by goblins? At the same time?” Heather said, a look of disbelief appearing on her face. “Surely goblins wouldn’t be able to do such a thing.”

  Dagan shrugged. “You forget that goblins attacked Fort Mul-Dune and it was believed that they would never be able to mount such an attack.”

  Heather had to concede the point. There had been more to the attack on Mul-Dune, and she could only assume there was more to the attack on the Faerum cities. She was saved from having to answer, by the sudden reappearance of the other Guardians, each weighed down under armloads of tree limbs.

  They spent the rest of the day making small rafts. The rafts weren’t big enough for a person to ride across. In reality, the rafts were a collection of tree limbs tied together. The purpose of the rafts wasn’t to enable each person to ride across the river, instead, the point was that a person could hold onto the raft and then work their way through the distant waters.

  The next day dawned cool but clear. Heather was relieved to get started. She had spent a sleepless night imagining all the possible things that could go wrong. It was relief when they each grabbed a small raft and waded out into the waters. The plan called for her and Atock to stay near Dagan, to make sure the old man made it across safely. The old sorcerer showed them that he was once again full of surprises. Immediately upon entering the water, his small raft of limbs took off and almost flew across the river. Heather and Atock, despite their frantic attempts, could not keep up.

  The cold water fought them, trying to carry them to the west. Despite their best efforts, they were soon spread across a wide swath of the river. Heather and Atock, perhaps because they had tried to remain close to Dagan, wound up coming out of the water within half a mile of each other. None of the others were in sight. It wasn’t surprising and they had planned on this very possibility. It made sense that the river would push them to the west, so they had picked a spot on the far shore and all they had to do was travel east along the shore until they reached that point. The point they had chosen was a small cove with three large trees having fallen out into the river.

  Heather and Atock emerged from the water, leaving their rafts to float away, and began walking east. As a precaution, Heather had told Aaron to watch Mikela and Enton to watch Agm
inion. She had seen Aaron, Mikela, and Cassandra float farther to the west, but she had lost track of Enton and Agminion.

  Luckily, they hadn’t travelled too far to the west and they reached the small cove in less than a quarter of an hour.

  Dagan, Agminion, and Enton were already there. The three men were gathered around a small fire. Enton looked less than pleased to have been stuck with the two sorcerers.

  Heather stopped just short of the group, the glare she gave Dagan was the first sign of her displeasure. “What did you do?” she asked in a calm cool voice.

  Dagan leaned back against a bush, he was looking rather pleased with himself. “Whatever do you mean?”

  Fighting the anger that threatened to rise up within her, Heather tried rephrasing the question. “How is it that you managed to beat us here?”

  Dagan actually had the audacity to smile. “I used my ability,” he answered calmly. “I know that you think I’m little more than an old man to be coddled, but there is more to me than you might imagine.”

  “And why didn’t you tell me of this?” Heather demanded. “Could you have helped others across the river?”

  “Perhaps,” Dagan answered, “but to be honest the thought never occurred to me.”

  Taking a deep breath, Heather fought to keep her anger under control. “You ignorant ass!” she shouted finally. “You might have helped others, but instead you were too worried about yourself.”

  Dagan tensed. “How dare you?” he began, anger twisting his face to where it was almost unrecognizable.

  Heather didn’t allow him to continue. “Either you become a part of this group or you can stay behind.” She talked over him, but it was in a very calm voice.

  “Really?” Dagan asked, looking surprised. “And what would you do without me?” he asked.

  “Travel a lot farther and faster.” Heather thundered back, her calmness all gone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aaron, Mikela, and Cassandra approach. They hung back, sensing this wasn’t a good time to interrupt.

  Dagan’s lips curled into a sneer. “And what about the first time you needed my abilities?”

  Heather pointed at Agminion without pulling her gaze from Dagan. “I have a spare sorcerer,” she shouted, “I’m sure he can more than do what needs to be done.”

  Dagan did not answer, but instead he sat there staring daggers at Heather.

  “Atock,” Heather said after a moment, “get us ready to move out.” She paused just a moment, “No breaks until we make camp,” she added with an angry glance towards Dagan. If the old man thought he was so important, then she would just have to run him into the ground.

  They travelled north at a furious pace. The terrain on this side of the river was similar to the south bank; rolling hills with a smattering of trees. The trees were slowly getting thicker than they had been on the south bank.

  They pushed hard into the afternoon. The pace put an immense strain on Dagan and he soon began to fall behind. The other Guardians noticed it and gradually slowed their paces. Heather was forced to slow hers too. As the day wore on, Agminion and Mikela also began to lag behind. Despite her anger, Heather couldn’t help but notice what the pace she set was doing to the others. Finally, in spite of what she had said earlier, she called a halt. The sorcerers and the magician threw themselves down onto the ground, sweating and panting. This only increased Heather’s feelings of guilt and she turned and caught Atock’s eye. He moved over and spoke quietly.

  “They can’t keep up this pace for long. I’m surprised Dagan’s still with us.”

  “I know,” Heather answered, “but I just couldn’t let him get away with what he did.”

  Atock shrugged and looked over to where the old man lay wheezing on the ground. “I don’t think he’ll be a problem any time soon.”

  Heather followed his gaze. The guilt she felt intensified at the sight of Dagan. He might be an ornery old bastard but that wouldn’t excuse her marching him to death.

  “We need to slow down for another reason,” Atock said slowly. He leaned in closer to make sure that no one else heard. “We’re in the Faerum wastelands. No one has been here in a very long time. We need to go slow and be careful about what we’re walking into.”

  Heather nodded. “You’re right, of course.” She glanced to the west. At most they might have another two hours of light. She hated to waste time, but it was better to be safe. Turning from Atock, she raised her voice. “We’re going to make camp. Aaron, I want you to find us a safe place.” She waited for Aaron’s nod of acknowledgment and then turned away, pretending not to notice the looks of absolute relief that flooded over the two sorcerers and Cassandra.

  They made camp that night in the depression formed by two small ridges. Trees grew thick in this area and they provided shelter from the elements. Watch was actually kept from the branches of the tallest tree on the ridge. From their perch, the guard was able to see beyond the ridges in all directions.

  The night passed rather peaceably. Encouraged by the seclusion of their camp, Heather permitted them a small fire. After such a hard days march, a warm dinner was welcomed by all.

  Heather and Dagan kept their distance from each other that night. He had been wrong at the crossing of the river and she had been wrong in the pace she had set. Even though she knew she had acted rather childishly, Heather was determined not to apologize first. She told herself that her pettiness had only been in response to his initial pettiness.

  They were all tired and most fell asleep quickly after dinner was done. Aaron had the first watch and Heather wandered off into the trees. She climbed the northern ridge and stared out at the Faerum wastelands. While the settlers of Emtown may have believed that no human had set foot here in two thousand years, Heather believed differently. If the Church suspected the armor might be here, then they most assuredly would have sent someone to investigate. She shivered at the thought of crossing paths with Zalustus or one of his lieutenants. It was very possible that they were looking for the armor as well.

  Studying the night sky and the land for as far as she could see, Heather was amazed at how normal everything looked. If she didn’t know better, then she would have thought this was just like one of the forests where she grew up. She really hadn’t known what to expect.

  “Doesn’t look cursed, does it?”

  Heather nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around and pulled her belt knife in one fluid motion. Her heart was beating wildly and she held the knife out in front of her. The point of the knife was aimed right at, “Dagan?”

  The old sorcerer stood several feet out of her reach, which was probably lucky for him. He stood downhill on the small ridge, so he was looking up at her. He did not look startled by her outburst, instead he just stood there looking amused. “I was curious if you planned to set the same pace tomorrow as we followed today?”

  Lowering the knife, she did not put it away. “How did you get that close without me hearing you?” The man was no woodsman, she had seen enough proof of that, but somehow he had sneaked up on her in the quiet of the woods.

  The old bastard actually smiled. “Sorcery, my dear. There are many things I can do if I wish.”

  Heather’s eyes flashed at the reminder of the man’s power. “Like what you did at the river crossing?”

  “Uh, yes.” Dagan answered with a small sigh. The amusement disappeared and he actually looked abashed. “I must admit that I did not consider the consequences of my actions.”

  It took Heather a moment and then she realized that Dagan had just apologized to her, or at least as close to an apology as she would get. She finally slipped the knife back into its sheath and smiled down at Dagan. “I hope that you will think about the consequences next time.”

  “And your answer to my question,” Dagan prompted. “Do you plan to set the same rapid pace tomorrow?”

  Heather resisted the urge to lie and say they would move as quickly tomorrow as they had today. She held his gaze for several moments bef
ore she answered. “No. We’ll be going slower tomorrow.” Dagan slumped and Heather had to resist the urge to chuckle. “Do you have any idea what might be in the wastelands?”

  Dagan shook his head. “No, but we really only have to skirt around the edge. We really don’t have to go too far in.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “The city of Saprasia did not lie far into the Faerum lands. The wastelands are bordered on the north by a mountain range. The range starts far off to the northeast and run to the southwest where it gradually turns almost due south.”

  “And?”

  Dagan pointed out to the north. “We’re almost due south of the tip of that mountain range right now. Travel north until we hit the mountains and then follow the eastern side of the range for several days and we will come to where the ancient city of Saprasia once stood.”

  “Well,” Heather said, beginning to feel better about this trip, “that doesn’t sound too bad.” The smirk on Dagan’s face was not all that encouraging. She sighed. “Tell me the rest.”

  “Well, if the Faerum were destroyed by goblins, then I would expect the mountain ranges to be near to overrunning with the foul creatures.”

  Letting out a small sigh, Heather nodded. Goblins were not much for the forests. They tended to prefer the safety of a nice mucky hole or cave in the mountains. And since their party was headed to the mountains, they would have to be extremely careful.

  They broke camp at dawn the next morning. There was a routine to their camp life and, for the most part, they each did what they were supposed to without being told. However, departing from the normal routine, Heather called them all over for a brief word.

  She waited until they were all gathered around, most still blurry eyed. “We’re travelling due north till we hit the mountain range and then we’ll follow the mountains to the northeast. Last night Dagan warned me that he expects the mountains to be overflowing with goblins.” There were several looks of surprise at this last announcement, and Heather assumed they were more surprised by Dagan and her talking than at the fact they would find goblins in the mountains. “As I am the best woodsman, I will take the lead. I want you all to move with the utmost caution and,” she hesitated before stressing the final word, “silence.”