by Dean Cadman
“Looks like it might be a while before we set sail,” Zedd said in a pleasant tone to the man in charge. He simply gave Zedd a suspicious look and grunted.
“Is there any chance I can send this letter to my wife before we depart?” Zedd asked, holding out the open letter for him to see.
“No,” he replied without even looking at Zedd, or his letter.
The man was actually subordinate to Zedd’s rank of Baliaeter, and only carried the lesser rank of Vintenar. If they had been anywhere else, Zedd would have killed him where he stood for the disrespectful tone he had just used. Here, outside Azmarin, it was a different matter entirely though. Zedd had to simply swallow his anger, and hope that Cole was doing what he did best, and manipulating the man’s mind to agree with his request.
“Oh, come now… what harm can be done by me sending my wife a simple birthday greeting?” Zedd asked with a disarming smile on his face. He saw the uncertainty in the man’s face grow, as if he was fighting with conflicting thoughts about whether or not to let him send the letter.
“Who knows, it might be the last thing she ever hears from me, especially if I’m consumed by one of those Netherworld creatures,” he added.
“Give me the letter,” the man said, suddenly snatching it from Zedd’s grasp. For a moment Zedd’s heart lurched in his chest. He thought the man was going to destroy the letter, but instead, he read the contents and handed it back to Zedd in one piece. The man glanced over towards the communication office, then back at the ship still loading its supplies.
“Come with me,” he said, and started heading towards the communication office. Zedd smiled and began to follow behind him.
“But, sir… our orders were to escort them both directly to the ship,” one of the men called out to his commanding officer. The man in charge halted mid-stride and turned to face him. His face showed the conflicting thoughts that must have been going on in his mind, but Cole seemed to have it all under control, when the Vintenar called for his man to stand fast and guard Cole until he returned.
“Yes, sir,” the man called back to his superior, and gave Zedd such a look of contempt, it instantly put him on Zedd’s list of people he would like to kill on the dockside that morning.
There was only one other person in the communication office when they arrived, and soon Zedd’s letter to his family was safely on its way. He had no doubt that whatever Cole had done to the Vintenar’s mind would eventually wear off. He did doubt, however, that the Vintenar would openly admit to one of his superiors that he had allowed Zedd to send a letter before boarding the ship. If he did, and they tried to trace the letter through the vast communication network, it would be far too late to do anything about it. His wife would immediately recognise the significance of the letter, and hopefully be long gone by the time anyone came calling at their home to seize her and the children.
When Zedd and the Vintenar returned to the docks, the ship was ready for them to board. Zedd simply walked past the men who were still guarding Cole, and onto the gangplank of the ship, his smile widening further with every step he took.
Chapter Seven
Neala sat motionless on the edge of her bed, listening intently for any signs of trouble coming from Lusam’s room down the hall. Ever since the dragon nightmares had begun, she would often hear him whimper or call out in his sleep. It wasn’t uncommon to hear blood-curdling screams either. But what she was really listening for, were the signs of him using his magic while he slept, like he had done when he destroyed their room within the Royal Palace.
Fortunately, there were no other people staying in that part of the barracks to injure, but that wouldn’t stop him injuring himself, or even worse. Secretly, she feared he would set alight his own room, and perish in the flames before she could ever reach him. She knew that even the pain of being burned would not stir him from the dragon controlled nightmares.
So all she could do was listen and wait.
Neala knew that Lusam hadn’t slept for several days even before she had given him the Nodding Silk-weed. He had then managed to stay awake for a further eight days under the influence of the Nodding Silk-weed. Now his body had become all but immune to its effects, and when she had just left him moments earlier, he was struggling to even stand upright in her arms. She had expected him to be already in the grip of the dragon’s torment even before she’d reached her own room, but there were no sounds coming from within Lusam’s room.
Neala thought he must be fighting the urge to sleep with every fibre of his being. Not sleeping for so long, then fighting the body’s need to sleep would have been incredible enough, but to do so after using Nodding Silk-weed, well, she had thought that was simply impossible.
Twice Neala left her own room and quietly walked the length of the hall to Lusam’s door. She stood silently outside listening intently for any signs of movement within, but she heard nothing. Now she sat on the edge of her bed again, her mind racing at what might be happening to Lusam within his nightmares. Then a single thought suddenly struck her, taking her breath away.
What if the dragon had somehow managed to kill him?
She began to struggle to breathe through her rising panic. Her heart raced in her chest as she dived for the door, then ran the length of the corridor towards Lusam’s room. She burst through the door and into his room, then stood frozen to the spot as she noticed Lusam completely motionless on his bed. She watched his chest for any signs of life, while her own heaved to breathe past her panic.
His chest didn’t move.
She took two quick strides towards him, then almost collapsed with relief when he suddenly took a large intake of breath, then began quietly snoring. His chest moved up and down in the rhythmic movements of deep sleep, while she stood by his side visibly trembling with relief. She couldn’t believe how peaceful he looked. She knelt down quietly by the side of his bed, not wanting to disturb him from his precious sleep, but not wanting to leave him just yet either. Her hand brushed over something hard on the floor by her leg, and when she looked, she saw his mother’s amulet. She picked it up and placed it safely on his bedside table, knowing that he would be looking for it when he awoke.
Neala stayed by his side for several more hours. While she watched over him, she had half-expected him to start screaming, or thrashing around in his sleep again at any moment, but he never did. Instead, he simply slept peacefully, thankfully oblivious to her presence there.
’Never before have I been so happy to hear him snore,’ she thought to herself smiling, as she quietly left his room, and headed for the comforts of her own bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so relaxed about going to sleep herself, and not having to worry about Lusam. She said a silent prayer to Aysha, thanking her for whatever had caused Lusam to be cured of his nightmares, then closed her eyes and let sleep take her too.
Neala woke early the next morning, but felt more rested than she had done in weeks. She listened carefully for any movements coming from Lusam’s room, but all was thankfully quiet. She remembered very clearly suffering the after-effects of Nodding Silk-weed, and she didn’t envy Lusam one bit when he finally woke up. It had left her feeling lethargic for many days, and she had struggled to keep down any food in the first couple of days too. Irving, one of her old guild members, had suggested drinking hot brandy to cure her nausea, but just the thought of it had made her retch violently, much to his amusement.
After getting dressed, Neala went to check on Lusam. She found him in almost exactly the same spot she had left him the night before, and he still slept soundly. As she closed his door again, the main door of the barracks opened at the far end of the hall.
“So, did you miss me?” came a familiar voice.
“Renn!” Neala said, quickly going to greet him, and giving him a hug.
“Is everything alright?” Renn asked, sounding a little concerned by Neala’s sudden show of affection. She had missed Renn since he’d been gone, but not nearly as much as Lusam had.
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br /> “I think so, now. But a lot has happened since you’ve been gone,” Neala replied.
“Oh, like what? And where is that lad of yours?” he asked, peering over her shoulder to see if he could see Lusam.
“He’s asleep at the moment.”
“It’s not like him to sleep so late. Not ill I hope?” Renn said, beginning to sound concerned again.
“Not exactly ill, but it’s the first sleep he’s had in very a long time, so I’d prefer not to wake him if possible. If you’ve not eaten already, why don’t we go to the mess hall for some breakfast, and I’ll try to explain everything that’s been going on while you’ve been away,” Neala said. Renn nodded slowly, obviously worried a little by her words. He had never said so, but Neala got the distinct feeling that Renn almost considered Lusam as his own son. She knew that Lusam certainly looked up to him as a father figure, and in a way, she guessed she had done too, recently.
The mess hall was very quiet considering the time of day, for which Neala was grateful, as she wanted to speak with Renn without being overheard if possible. Renn had no idea about anything that had transpired since he’d left on his rescue mission to Prystone, and its surrounding towns and villages. Apparently, he had just arrived back in Lamuria that very morning. He had first gone to report his findings to Hershel, but found his office empty. After discovering Hershel was currently out of the city on training exercises with the new recruits, he had gone straight to the Royal Palace to meet up with Lusam and Neala. When he had been told that they were no longer in residency there, and no one would tell him the reason why, he had rushed straight over to the barracks to make sure everything was alright.
He was shocked to hear the news that Lusam’s mother was still alive and being held captive by Lord Zelroth in Azmarin. But not as shocked as he was to find out that Lusam intended to try and rescue her. When Neala explained about the nightmares Lusam had been having, and how badly they had affected him, he became even more concerned at Lusam’s decision to visit Thule. Neala explained how he had unintentionally destroyed their room at the Royal Palace whilst he slept, and how that had led to them staying at the disused barracks. And finally, she told him about their attempts to find the answer to Lusam’s nightmare problem in the High Temple’s library, and how Lusam had been forced to take Nodding Silk-weed for eight days straight whilst he searched through the books there. By the time Neala had finished, Renn looked completely overwhelmed by her news.
Renn whistled quietly. “Eight days on Nodding Silk-weed. I’m not surprised he’s still asleep,” he said shaking his head slightly.
“I guess you’ve heard of it before then?” Neala asked, sounding a little surprised.
“Nodding Silk-weed? Yes of course. I’ve never used it myself, but I know of several recruits in the regular army who did in the past. I have to say, it never ended well for any of them. Even the ones who didn’t die from it—and there were a few of those—paid a hefty price for using it. Apparently, even if it’s only used for a day or two, it leaves the user feeling more than a little worse for wear, once it wears off. I dread to think how bad Lusam will feel after using it for eight days straight,” Renn replied, grimacing at the thought.
Neala nodded to his words. “Yeah, I can testify to that. I once used it for three days, and trust me, I hope I never have to use it ever again,” Neala said passionately.
“That bad, eh?”
“Worse than bad. I couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt after its effects wore off,” Neala replied.
“Poor kid. He always seems to get the raw deal out of life,” Renn said chuckling to himself.
“Oh, I don’t know… he got me didn’t he?” Neala replied in jest. Renn laughed and nodded at her joke, then tucked into his breakfast with renewed gusto.
“So, how did your trip to Prystone go?” Neala asked, between mouthfuls of breakfast. Renn finished chewing his food, whilst he thought of how best to answer her query.
“It wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for, if I’m honest. We did find a handful of people in Prystone who had returned from an extended fishing trip, only to find their town devastated and their families gone. We also came across eight more nearby villages which had suffered a similar fate, but each of those held few survivors. We managed to convince about twenty of them in total to join us and return to Lamuria. Some were more than willing to join us, offering to fight in any way they could against the enemy who had slaughtered their families. Others simply had nothing left to stay for.
“The outlying towns and villages were very different. Sure, they had also lost some people to the Empire, but mainly at sea, and not nearly in as many numbers. Their towns and villages were mostly intact, and could easily be repaired. But the biggest obstacle we came across, was the fact that they all worshipped the God Deas, and not Aysha. So trying to convince them to join the High Temple of Aysha as trainee magi, was just about impossible. You have to understand, these people have lived and died by the will of the sea for countless generations. In their eyes, Deas has a hand in everything they do, every day of their lives. It’s by his will that the men who go out to sea every day, also return home safely to their wives and children each night. Many simply believe that if they abandon their God, he will punish their families for that betrayal.
“We put our case forward to their elders, that Afaraon desperately needs their magical strength to survive, but it did little good at first. Later, a man named Durlan stepped forward to suggest a compromise. He was one of the survivors we had found in Prystone, and he had lost everything to the Empire. I believe his passion in telling his own story moved the elders into making the concessions they did. He pointed out that every town and village up and down the coast was vulnerable to attack. Not only that, every ship that went to sea was also a target for the Empire. And unless they learned to defend themselves, more towns and villages would meet the same fate as Prystone, and more men would lose their lives at sea to Empire attacks.
“He suggested that instead of abandoning their homes and beliefs to be taught magic in the High Temple of Aysha, that the teaching should occur in their own towns and villages. Each elder should select two candidates to travel to Lamuria and become a magi at the High Temple. When those candidates graduated, they would return to their home town or village to teach the others within their communities. That way both sides would get what they wanted. The coastal towns and villages would gain the power to teach and defend themselves, whilst Afaraon as a whole would gain a coastal defence which would always be on guard.
“We eventually returned to Lamuria with twenty refugees from the destroyed villages, and a further thirty volunteers from the other towns and villages we visited. A long way from the hundreds I was hoping for, but enough to hopefully make a difference in the short term at least. In the longer term, who knows, it might just work. It’s certainly better than what we had before.
“I’ll make a suggestion to the High Temple that each candidate should set up a permanent lookout and warning system when they return to their own towns and villages. There’s no point in training an entire town or village to use magic, if its neighbours are being attacked and they don’t help, simply because they don’t know about it,” Renn said, obviously a little disappointed with the results of his trip.
“Well, I think you did a great job, Renn. Fifty potential new magi will go a long way towards keeping the High Temple’s power crystal fully charged. And when they do go back and teach the others how to use magic, having a coastal population of trained magi will certainly put off any random raids by the Empire’s ships,” Neala replied.
“I’m sure you’re right, lass. But as soon as the Empire realises that there are trained magi in our coastal towns and villages, I’m sure they’ll soon be working on a way to destroy them, directly or indirectly. We would simply have no way to protect them,” Renn said.
“Hmm, I see what you mean,” Neala replied.
“So, did I miss the unveiling of Lusam’s statue?�
� Renn asked, changing the subject completely.
“Actually, no, you haven’t. It’s supposed to be unveiled in just over a week’s time, at the end of the month. That’s if Lusam is awake by then, of course,” Neala replied chuckling.
Chapter Eight
Lusam awoke to the strong sunlight streaming in through the window of his room. Even though he still felt tired, he felt more rested than he had in weeks. He stretched out his arms, and yawned widely, as his mind became more aware of his surroundings. He looked down and noticed that he was still wearing his trousers, then it all came flooding back to him.
The dragon.
He had actually fallen asleep without the dragon attacking him in his dreams. He couldn’t remember what he had dreamt about, but he knew with absolute certainty it wasn’t the dragon. He smiled, as he dared to consider that his torment might finally be over, relief washing over him and energising him for the new day. Maybe now, finally, he could begin his plans to rescue his mother. His hand subconsciously reached for his mother’s amulet, but only found his bare chest. He felt a sudden rush of panic, as he frantically searched the bed either side of him for the missing amulet, only to notice it safe and sound on his bedside table a moment later. He picked it up and refastened it around his neck, before retrieving his shirt from the chair opposite the bed.
He was incredibly hungry and thirsty for some reason, and was grateful to see that someone had refilled the pitcher by his bed with fresh water. His tongue felt like a piece of toughened leather inside his mouth, as he poured a large glass of water for himself. He drank three full glasses before his thirst was finally quenched, but when he attempted to return the cup to his bedside table, he didn’t quite place it right, and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter. ‘I guess I’m not quite fully awake yet, after all’, he thought to himself, as he bent down to pick up the cup.