by Des Pensable
‘Yes and No.’ said Ignatius. ‘Rock elementals use an aura of phasing energy that sort of liquefies the rock around them allowing them to move as if they were in water. If they were smart enough they could probably get through but generally they’re not, which is rather fortunate, as they’re not all that friendly.
They created a mindlink and then Ignatius advised Aquitain to change to a small Rock elemental body and adjust the phasing frequency to match his and he passed through the gateway to the force bubble set deep in the strata under the volcano. Qan, formed the body made the changes and Qin, the driver advised Astaria that he wouldn’t be gone long and followed.
The sight was simply awe-inspiring. They were in a cool, air filled bubble set into dark brown igneous rock. Flowing like water over part of the surface of the bubble was liquid lava varying in colour from bright orange to dull brown but no heat penetrated the bubble.
‘Amazingly beautiful, isn’t it?’ said Ignatius, ‘but incredibly deadly at the same time. If the force bubble were to burst, then we’d be dead so quick we wouldn’t even know it.’
‘The dragons come here and dump their loads of crystalline magic essence. It can freely pass through the bubble wall into the lava to super heat it. The lava then spurts out releasing heat energy into the air, warming Moonmist. Neat isn’t it. This was my contribution. I built this.’
Both Qin and Qan had to admit this was engineering far beyond anything they could have imagined. ‘I’m impressed.’ said Qin and he really was. ‘I bet it impressed your colleagues when you built it.’
‘Not really.’ said Ignatius. ‘Only a couple have ever been here to have a look. They’re all too busy with their own creations.’
Both Qin and Qan could clearly sense a tone of disappointment, almost bitterness in Ignatius’s voice. Here was an engineering masterpiece and his colleagues couldn’t be bothered to see it.
‘Let’s get going. Just phase slowly through the force field into that dark rock then relax your mind and the Rock elemental vision will cut in. Then we’ll swim off and have a look at the quartz shelf. By the way, there could be a few other elementals around. Keep a good thirty paces distance from them and we should be okay. If an unforeseen problem occurs then head back here.’
They passed through the bubble wall into the rock and a form of vision very much like his crystal vision allowed him to see off into the distance as though the rock was translucent shades of grey rather than opaque. The rock here was warm like a hot day on Mudrun. He turned and could see the turbulent swirling flow of the larva only a few paces away. With Rock elemental vision it looked black rather than bright orange as they didn’t have colour vision like Newmans although they could see the purples of magic.
The edge of the quartz shelf was only a few paces away and extended off into the distance. It glowed a deep purple colour. Qin swam over to the shelf and touched it. Magic essence flooded into him. The feeling was ecstatic, the most beautiful feeling he had ever felt. The power was exhilarating. Suddenly it stopped as Ignatius broke the connection.
‘Are you trying to kill yourself?’ he said. ‘Elementals might be able to drink in pure magic essence but we can’t. I’m surprised you haven’t exploded already. You better get rid of that essence before you change back or you probably won’t survive.’
‘Qin looked internally at their source and was shocked. It now shone ten times brighter than any spirit aura that he had ever seen. How could he actually hold this much power, it scared him but he felt thirsty for more. It was the most addictive feeling he had ever felt. He wanted more. He fought for control.
‘Help me.’ He yelled to Qan who moved their body away and said,
‘Get a hold of yourself, will you! There doesn’t seem to be any danger. I think the elemental dragon half of our ancestry allows us to hold more magic essence than any Newman. That’s probably why they are using dragons to transport the magic essence through Astaria.’
‘You’re right.’ replied Qin. ‘and that’s why our source is so large.
‘Maybe I should get some more and see how much we can really hold.’
‘No. Let’s just be content with what we’ve got at the moment.’ said Qan. ‘Ignatius is correct. We don’t know our limit and could explode.’
‘Okay.’ said Qin quite disappointed.
‘I guess you’re right. By the Powers, that stuff’s potent. What are we going to do with all this power? Should we dump it like Ignatius suggested?’
‘I suppose we could wait a while and see what happens.’ said Qan.
‘Okay.’ replied Qin and refocused his attention externally.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Ignatius.
‘I’m sorry I should have warned you about that danger. Rock elementals seem only concerned about two things, certain types of rock crystal, which they eat to grow larger; and sources of magic essence, which they drink and use as food. You must have just had a banquet as you’re glowing brightly with magic essence.’
‘Oh. I think you’ve attracted some attention. Some elementals have moved in behind us. Let’s just swim casually on and see if we can circle around back to the gate.’
Unfortunately, this didn’t happen as more and more elementals appeared, blocking their way and slowly shepherding them away from the gate and further under the magic essence saturated quartz shelf.
‘They seem to be herding us.’ said Qin. ‘That shows intelligence.’
‘Yes and I don’t like it. I’ve never seen this many here and some of them are much larger than I’ve seen before. If they become hostile we can teleport away I suppose.’
‘I can’t teleport without a ring.’ said Qan quickly.
‘That’s okay, I can take us both, but we might as well find out what they’re up to. I must say this is rather exciting, they’ve never shown the least bit interest in me before.’ replied Ignatius.
They kept moving guided by an increasing number of elementals. As they moved further under the shelf the elementals became larger and brighter although Aquitain’s body outshone all of them. After several minutes they came to a semicircular line of elementals, which joined up with those herding them. Both Qin and Ignatius looked around. They were completely surrounded by hundreds of elementals of all sizes.
‘I think that we must have accidentally walked into a party or convention uninvited.’ said Ignatius. ‘I hope someone speaks our language.’
A minute or two later the Qin and Qan noticed the ring open to admit two elementals, both were very bright but one was physically enormous, at least twice the size of any of the others. They headed straight for Aquitain stopping about twenty paces away.
Suddenly, both Qin and Qan found themselves as a pair of avatars in a mind arena. They were in their green crystal half dragon form standing beside an avatar of Ignatius in his Newman form. The two elementals looked like piles of rock hewn into a roughly Newman shape. One was larger than the other.
‘I am the Brightest, who are you that wishes to challenge me?’ said the large one in a deep bass voice using low draconic. ‘You are not of our kind.’
‘Let me handle this.’ said Qin suddenly.
‘I am the Warden of Moonmist but I am not here to challenge you Rock brother.’
‘Then why are you here burning so brightly.’ asked the large bright one.
‘I am here to examine the quartz crystal shelf above. Being unused to this body form, I accidentally drank too much magic essence. I also do not know your customs and did not know that this would cause offence. I ask you to accept my sincere apology and will lessen my brightness if you wish.’
The two elementals discussed what Aquitain had said for a couple of minutes then the larger one said.
‘I have heard of you favourably Warden and accept your apology if you will lessen your brightness.’
Qan quickly shed magic essence reducing their Rock elemental body’s brightness to similar to that of Ignatius.
‘Why are you interested in our oasis above?�
� asked the large one.
‘We believe that it is becoming saturated with magic essence and is likely to turn from a solid form to a liquid form. If the liquid were to break through to the surface then much magic essence could spill forth starting a storm which would cause immense damage to those that live above.’ said Qin.
‘That is of no concern to you.’ said the smaller elemental. ‘If our god Pellum wills it then it will happen.’
‘Who are you?’ asked Qin.
‘I am the Wisdom of Pellum. Our god shares his thoughts with me. He foretold us ages ago that this might come to pass. We eagerly await this great event so that it will purge the evil surface dwellers from above.’
‘Why do you seek their deaths? What have they done to you?’ asked Qin.
‘They hunt and capture our young and take them away, never to be seen by us again.’ replied the Brightest.
‘Is this true Ignatius?’ asked Qin.
‘Err ... sort of.’ replied Ignatius.
‘Some of the Mentarin artisans use rock elemental spirits to power magic items like fountains and bridges. Others use fire elemental spirits to power weapons.’
‘By the Powers, you steal their spirits to make magic items. No wonder they’re upset.’ said Qan.
‘We didn’t think they were intelligent enough to know.’ said Ignatius.
‘Did anybody bother to find out?’ asked Qin quite annoyed.
‘I don’t know.’ said Ignatius. ‘It isn’t my area of responsibility.’
‘If I were to stop the hunting and stealing of your young and procure the release of any recently captured young, is there any way that you could bleed off some of the magic essence and release it elsewhere so that this shelf, your oasis would remain solid.’
The Brightest and the Wisdom conferred for some time then the Brightest said.
‘The Wisdom is not happy with this deal as it may go against our God’s wishes. He will have to consult with Pellum.’
‘Why have you forsaken K’wala?’ asked Qin suddenly.
‘You know of K’wala?’ asked the Brightest.
‘We did not forsake K’wala. He died. This we were told by Pellum. He has taken K’wala’s place. He now advises us.’
‘That’s interesting!’ said Qan.
‘How long will this take?’ asked Qin.
‘Not long.’ replied the Brightest and the Wisdom began spinning like a top until a rainbow hued sphere formed around him. He stayed in this sphere for five minutes communing with Pellum then the sphere dissolved and his spinning slowed to a stop. He talked with the Brightest for some minutes and the Brightest then talked with Qin.
‘It seems that Pellum has no particular argument with the surface dwellers, however, he points out that we have been the victims of unjust treatment and should seek reparations for this ill treatment. If the surface dwellers were to supply us with certain types of crystal on a regular basis then we might be able to bleed off the excess magic essence to stop it becoming hazardous to them.’
‘They’re bloody well trying to blackmail us.’ said Ignatius.
‘No.’ said Qin. ‘It’s called sweetening the deal. They have the advantage. They’ll help to avoid a catastrophe, but at a cost.’
‘But, it could mean that we will have to supply them with crystals for years.’ said Ignatius. ‘I don’t know whether the Council would accept that.’
‘Do they have a choice? Your Council caused the problem in the first place.’ replied Qin. ‘Besides if we can find a way to fix the problem at the dragon end then you may not have to pay up for too long.’
‘I suppose that you’re right.’ said Ignatius. ‘I will put the proposal to the Council as a temporary solution while we work on a more permanent one. They will probably accept it that way.’
Qan told the Brightest that his proposal sounded reasonable and that they would put it before the Council of surface dwellers. He found out the type and quantity they wanted and the location where to put it. If it was placed there within seven days, they were no longer hunted and any recently captured young ones were released then the agreement would be sealed. They would bleed off any excess magic essence to prevent the shelf from becoming unstable.
They returned to the gateway and passed through into Astaria in high spirits. After changing back to their Newman forms, Ignatius said.
‘I must say that ploy of yours claiming to be the Warden of Moonmist worked incredibly well. I wouldn’t have been game to try that one. The bastard might hear about it and be offended.’
‘It wasn’t a ploy.’ said Qin. ‘I am the Warden of Moonmist.’
Ignatius stopped walking and turned and looked at him with a horrified look on his face and said.
‘But ... the Council said that you’re our enemy!’
‘From what I’ve heard your Mentarin colleagues have split into two factions. One favouring the Dark Lord and one Lord Borse. Which faction do you belong in.’ asked Qin.
‘I’ve got no time for politics. I stay out of it all. It’s all a bloody waste of time if you ask me.’ he replied.
‘Do you know Katarina?’ asked Qin.
‘Yes of course. She’s a friend of mine.’ he replied carefully.
‘After we check out the dragons can you ask her to meet me here?’
‘Yes I suppose I could.’ he replied.
Chapter 33 Miranda Grows Up.
Miranda and Darkmantle teleported to his guards camp near the private portal to Moonmist
Shortly after arrival and while his guards were packing up their camp, Miranda told Darkmantle about Aquitain’s plan for her to find her nanny, the powerful wizard Allalanllea and get her aid to hide Tigerlilly in a safe haven.
‘What! Doesn’t he trust even the Queen of the Crin!’ he exclaimed rather surprised.
‘Not at all.’ she replied. ‘We both know that she will guard her as well as she can but they have no magic users there. Aquitain believes that the unusual birth of Tigerlilly has somehow upset the plans of the Powers. I didn’t really believe it until this morning. Now I do. That means she will be very dangerous to be near as there may well be assassins after her. It’s best that no one knows where she is.’
‘And you believe Aquitain is right?’ asked Darkmantle curiously.
‘At my trial we had a visitation from the Lady or one of her avatars. That is extremely rare. It was her interest in Tigerlilly. She has changed her plans. She took away Snowbelle’s druid abilities and blessed me with greater abilities. She thinks I am ready to be Queen.’
‘By the Powers, so do I!’ said Darkmantle. ‘I think you’re ready to be Queen and I’ll do my best to make sure you are!’
‘However, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of your mother. If she’s upset the Lady enough to have her druid abilities taken away then that means she’s made friends with one of the lady’s enemies and that is sure to be bad.’
‘Hmm. I haven’t had time to think about the possibility yet but I’m sure that you’re right.’ replied Miranda thoughtfully.
‘Thank you father, have a safe trip home.’ And she changed to her eagle form and flew off towards Kami’s little people village.
She landed near Kami’s hut changed to her old Miranda body form and went to find him. The villagers told her that the village council, Kami the shaman and many of the warriors were all absent. They had left for the Wolf Clan village to join up with the other tribes for a council of war. They had heard that invaders from another world had arrived and attacked the druids. They were meeting to discuss the situation and were unlikely to be back for several days. There was only one old council member left and he was out in the jungle with a visitor and several youngsters collecting ingredients for healing balms.
‘By the Lady, this is terrible.’ she thought. ‘If they try to fight the Yith alone they’ll be slaughtered.’
‘I will have the birds find him.’ she said and moved to an open area in the centre of the village. All the villagers and their childre
n came out to watch hoping to see the druid do something special and that was exactly what was in her mind. It didn’t hurt occasionally to display a little druid power.
She asked all the people to sit in a circle around her and asked for the children to be quiet and not to harm or chase the birds.
Miranda stood arms outstretched and began singing the Song of Birds. This was the first song her mother had taught her. She could still vividly recall the thrill it had given her the first time that she had sang it. This song was the reason that she had become a druid. The song dramatically showed the bond between the druid and nature. The villagers hardly needed to be told to be quiet they were hypnotized by the melody and then transfixed by what they saw.
As Miranda’s beautiful voice wafted up into the trees and off into the surrounding jungle, birds came from all directions. Brightly coloured parrots flew down onto her outstretched arms and one or two onto her head. Small, multi-coloured birds of all types flew in circles around her. Larger birds like turkeys and brush hens came running across the ground and stood near her enchanted by the song. Eagles and other birds of prey landed on the hut roofs and on nearby tree branches.
When more than a hundred had collected, she changed the song. Any magic user would have felt the jolt of pure magic as she implored the birds to seek the councillor and tell him to return to the village urgently. As her song tapered off, the birds took to their wings, flying off in all directions to deliver her message.
The children were excited and shouted for her to do it again. Many of the older villagers smiled. The song brought back fond memories of when they were children and the first time they had heard the song. It had raised their morale and given them wonderful dreams for weeks.
‘I am thanking you, Miranda of the druids!’ said one of the oldest. ‘It reassures us to have the druids as good friends.’
A few minutes later, the Councillor and his visitor, an elderly female purple scaled little person hurried into the village and headed for the headman’s hut. Miranda was sitting out the front surrounded by children all excitedly asking her questions about her and Aquitain the spirit bear. In a way it was relaxing. She had been through so much in the last few weeks. The normal almost seemed unreal.