Dawn of Darkness: Book 1 - Full (Where The Shadows Stalk)

by Adam Watson

  “T–Ten … gold … pieces. That’s like … like … well, more money than I’ve had in my entire life!” Magmus nodded knowingly, he knew that was a lot of gold for someone like Aiden.

  “Yes, that’s right Aiden. Think of it this way, this could be just the beginning. Do you really want to live the rest of your life poor, owning nothing of value and having people look down at you? I don’t. I wish to be a great sorcerer, but to do that I need gold … lots of gold, even the entry fee to get into a school of magic is expensive … let alone learning anything. Fulfilling proclamations is the quickest way to get that gold, that’s the only reason I’m doing it. Surely you have a dream too, this could be your chance to fulfil it.”

  Aiden thought on Magmus’s words for a moment. He was right, Aiden did have dreams, Aiden did want to have riches and to be respected by all - imagine if he went back to Thorngrove a rich man, imagine how proud his parents would be.

  “You’re right, let’s do this … Sorcerer.” Magmus gave Aiden a very understanding smile.

  ***

  A week later, during the late afternoon, Aiden and Magmus found themselves riding through Valen’s Forest. They had been riding in silence, each man withdrawing into themselves, contemplating the situation, wondering what their next move would be.

  “Magmus, are you sure that Ooh’lag is still in Valen’s Forest?” Aiden was beginning to have doubts, he didn’t think that it should take a week to track down a troll, after all, he was a very experienced hunter and he knew how these things worked. Trolls were much bigger than boars, if he was still in the area then there should have been some sign of him by now.

  “All the latest sightings have come from merchants travelling through Valen’s Forest. Yes, trolls do tend to roam, but not very fast and from what I’ve heard they only like to spend a few months in one place before they move on.”

  Aiden sighed, he still had his doubts, but he decided to leave it at that - for now.

  “Well Magmus, I guess this is as good a time as any to get to know each other … seeing as how we are partners now. So tell me, who are you?” Magmus’s eyes lit up with a sudden surge of adrenaline, he had been waiting for this question for the entire week.

  “Who am I?” Both horses stopped dead, and suddenly Magmus was no longer on his. Aiden looked around startled, when he looked back to the path ahead, Magmus was standing in front of him; his legs at shoulder width and his hands on his hips. Raising his arms dramatically he proceeded to speak, his voice boomed and echoed throughout the forest.

  “I AM MAGMUS, THE MIGHTY SORCERER!” As he spoke, he slowly ascended into the air. A fiery aura glowed red around him, building up into a huge ball as he drew power into himself. He spread-eagled in mid-air sending huge flames away from his extremities in all four directions.

  The wind swirled and blew, heat could be felt on Aiden’s face, and the air around them turned into a tempest – it was all very dramatic. The flurry subsided, and Magmus dropped to the ground; his cape cascading around him. Suddenly, he was gone in a whiff of smoke and reappeared on the back of his horse again. The horses continued on as though nothing had happened. Aiden looked at Magmus suspiciously.

  “That didn’t just happen, did it?” asked Aiden, unimpressed.

  “Er … no, no it didn’t.”

  “That was an illusion spell, wasn’t it?” Magmus felt a bit deflated, he had put on rather a good show and thought that Aiden would be more impressed than he was.

  “Yes, it was just an illusion spell.”

  “Well then, if you’re quite finished playing the flashy magician, can you please tell me your story? Why are you out here hunting a troll and not off learning magic?”

  “All right then Aiden, here’s my story,” Magmus began. “There are two things I want in this world. The first is to learn magic and become a powerful Sorcerer and the second is to rid the world of evil by using my powers for good.”

  “A noble ambition,” commented Aiden.

  “Thank you,” answered Magmus. “This desire started when I was a child, you see Aiden, I come from a family of great sorcerers - the Ashel’mars. My grandfather headed the Ashel’mar School of Magic in the north of Ravona until it was laid siege to by the Empire. By the time the Empire finished the assault, my entire family was dead … only my grandfather and I survived. He later told me that I had the potential to become one of the greatest of all sorcerer’s and started teaching me what he could at that time. Out of the eight major schools of human magic - Abjuration, Alteration, Conjuration/Summoning, Enchantment/Charming, Divination, Illusion, Invocation/Evocation and Necromancy, the easiest for me to learn was illusion and because of that my grandfather concentrated on teaching it to me first. During that training he was called away to a battle in the North from which he never returned. I taught myself what I know of Charming and as the Empire moved south so did I, that’s how I found myself in Amalicia. Even further south is Men’hoven’s Academy of Magics, my grandfather told me that is where I should train if anything happened to him. The only problem is that it costs twenty gold pieces to join the academy.”

  “What!” cried Aiden. “Twenty gold pieces! … That’s outrageous!”

  “Yes, magic is very expensive, and before the North Wars, my family was a wealthy one. I had almost lost hope of raising the money, and then King Aurien pledged to rid the land of evil and the proclamations began. Now there is a chance to get that gold and that … is basically my life’s story. What about you?” Aiden thought for a moment and then proceeded with the abridged version of his life.

  “My father was a soldier in the Royal Army until he retired and decided to become a blacksmith and a farmer. He taught me how to hunt and how to fight - the only things I’m good at. I came to Amalicia City with my doglover of a brother, seeking a fortune by fulfilling proclamations. Then the scum abandoned me and took all my things.”

  “What?” exclaimed Magmus, your brother, stole all your things?” Aiden nodded.

  “If that’s what you want to call him … I prefer the term fetid doglover, because of him I’ve been living on the streets. Thank the gods you came along with this proclamation when you did, now I can show that doglover brother of mine how a real hero does things, and that Sorcerer is my story.” Magmus studied Aiden, he smiled and seemed pleased with what he had heard.

  “Good fortune smiles on us, not the bit about your brother, of course, but his loss is my gain. I’m going to need to do more than one proclamation Aiden and to do that I need someone with me who can fight.”

  “I agree, your magic skills will make fulfilling the proclamations a lot easier for both of us.” Confident that they weren’t working separately, but now as a team, the morale of the two travellers had lifted dramatically - they travelled on more determined to fulfil the proclamation than ever before.

  ***

  A few days later Aiden and Magmus were still travelling through the forest. It was night time, and they were travelling by the light of their flaming torches. They had decided that since trolls were nocturnal creatures that they might have better luck finding him in the darkness.

  They were watching the ground in front of them, as they had been for the last five hours; it was the only thing they could really see. Nothing but grass and shrubs, on and on, the same old thing - it was all starting to look like a blur of green. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, huge footprints appeared. They were travelling in a path perpendicular to their own - they both stopped dead.

  “Troll tracks!” Aiden whispered excitedly, this is what they had been searching for. “And they’re fresh!”

  “Yes, Ooh’lag is near, we will find him this night,” replied Magmus. Aiden was elated, after almost two weeks without a single sign of a troll anywhere, their determination and steadfast doggedness was about to pay off.

  “All right, hand me the sword,” he said, extending his hand. Magmus looked down at Aiden’s hand, perplexed.

  “What sword?” he asked, with a look of bewi
lderment on his face.

  “What do you mean, what sword? The sword in that bundle,” replied Aiden, pointing to Magmus’s saddlebag. Magmus looked down at the bag.

  “What … this? This is just blankets and supplies.”

  “Blankets and supplies? Where’s the sword then?” asked Aiden. Magmus shrugged.

  “I haven’t got one.” Aiden’s eyes narrowed. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the bridge of his nose and slowly shook his head in disbelief; this was going be fucking Greegan at Talems Bend all over again.

  “Why … do you not … have … a fucking sword?” he asked, forcing himself to remain calm; all Aiden wanted to do was lash out and punch Magmus in the nose. First his brother had forgotten the weapons, and now this robed buffoon had done the same thing. Pure … fucking … incompetence.

  “Well, because they cost too much,” answered Magmus, as if that was plainly obvious. Aiden shook his head in disbelief again. Cost too much? It’s basic shit people! You’re going out into a dangerous environment, BRING SOME FUCKING WEAPONS! Aiden took another deep breath to calm himself, as angry as he was, they had come way too far to do anything about it now.

  “Well, what do you expect me to kill the troll with then?”

  “This!” exclaimed Magmus, pulling out a knife from his robes, he held it out to Aiden.

  “Is that a fucking bread knife?” Aiden’s eyes were wide with shock.

  “No, it’s not a bread knife. This is a deadly weapon.” Magmus was confident that the troll could be killed with the blade despite its small stature.

  “What … in the Seven Hells … am I meant to do with that?!” yelled Aiden. “Make sandwiches?!” Aiden couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “Aiden, you need to calm down. Remember my spell, my magic will have this troll writhing on the ground like a helpless babe. All you have to do is walk up to Ooh’lag and stab him in the heart – he’ll be dead in an instant.”

  Aiden contemplated Magmus’s words and remembered back to what had happened at the Lucerne Hammer - that pain would have the troll writhing on the ground, that pain would immobilise him. He contemplated the knife for a moment. To say it was less than ideal was an understatement, but then a burning image of his brother entered his mind. Yes, Greegan would just love it if he gave up and went home, wouldn’t he? Aiden could just see the smirk on his brother’s face when he found that out. He reached out and snatched the knife from Magmus’s hand.

  “It’ll have to do.” With that, they started riding again.

  ***

  Later that night, after some hours of following the tracks, they found themselves at the edge of a small clearing. In the centre of the clearing was a campfire and in front of the campfire sat a huge troll; his mouldy, green back facing towards them. He appeared to be feasting on some sort of wild animal - most probably a wild goat from what Aiden could determine.

  They dismounted from their horses, tied them to a nearby tree and then extinguished their torches. They then went back and hid in some bushes at the edge of the clearing to get a better view.

  “I’ll approach him,” began Aiden. “When I give the signal.” Aiden held his left hand out to the side, then let it drop. “You cast the spell.”

  “All right,” replied Magmus. “But remember, this is a delicate situation, be careful.”

  Aiden got up, and made his way into the clearing behind the troll. He took up a stance, feet at shoulder width apart and his hands on his hips. Despite Magmus’s advice to be careful, he shouted out as loud as he could.

  “Hey, Ooh’lag!” The troll grunted, and slowly turned his head towards Aiden.

  “That’s right, I’m talking to you!” he continued, pointing a finger at the troll. When Ooh’lag spoke, his voice was deep and guttural.

  “Ooh’lag kill human.” Aiden put his hands out in front of him and motioned Ooh’lag toward him.

  “Come on then!” he shouted, provoking the troll. “COME ON!” Ooh’lag slowly began to approach Aiden, giant footfalls thundering with each step. Aiden gave a bored sigh and lazily gave the signal - nothing happened.

  So again, Aiden lazily gave the signal - and again nothing happened. Ooh’lag was approaching Aiden a little faster now, gaining momentum; the footfalls thundering a little quicker with each step that he took. Aiden gave the signal several times, in quick succession, just to make sure that he was, in fact, giving the signal - but still nothing happened. Tired at this folly, Aiden turned around and walked over to Magmus.

  “Are you casting the spell?” Aiden asked, irritated.

  “Yes, yes I am,” answered Magmus calmly. Aiden splayed his hands outwards, mystified.

  “Well, what’s going on then?” he asked. “He doesn’t appear to be writhing on the ground.”

  “No, he doesn’t does he?” answered Magmus, a little distracted. He was trying to concentrate on his spell casting, but there was a salivating troll coming straight for him.

  “Are you sure the spell works on trolls?” asked Aiden. He was beginning to have serious doubts and wondered if he should start questioning Magmus’s ability.

  “I’m sure,” replied Magmus, eyebrows in a furrow.

  “Are you absolutely sure?” asked Aiden, a little louder, and a little more urgently.

  “Absolutely,” Magmus shouted back.

  “Well, it doesn’t seem to be working on him,” Aiden shouted, even louder.

  “No, it DOESN’T!” Magmus yelled even louder, partly because Aiden was shouting and partly because Ooh’lag was getting seriously close. Aiden turned around, and they both stood there frozen, watching Ooh’lag stomping his way towards them - closer and closer.

  They were both tense, almost shaking. Magmus was on the verge of screaming, but his voice box wasn’t working properly. Ooh’lag got within striking distance when the scream finally emerged from Magmus’s mouth.

  “RUUUUUN!”

  The duo bolted, running side by side as fast as they could, straight for the dense growth of the forest. Ooh’lag was right behind them, and they could hear his thunderous footfalls. CLONK, CLONK, CLONK, CLONK!

  “Split up!” cried Aiden, pushing Magmus away from him. Now Ooh’lag had a choice to make; to follow Magmus or to follow Aiden - running right past Magmus, he chose to chase Aiden.

  “Thank the gods,” Magmus whispered under his breath. He knew he was out of danger for the moment, but he needed to think of something fast.

  “You fetid doglover! I knew you were going to pick me!” yelled Aiden, he had half hoped that the troll was going to go after Magmus.

  Despite the fact that Aiden had a massive, raging beast chasing him, he knew it was probably for the best – he was far more agile and had a much better chance of evading the troll than Magmus did. Clumsy wizard! This is what happens when you don’t bring a sword with you.

  Aiden bolted in between the dense growth of the forest trees on the outer edge of the clearing. Ooh’lag was right behind, but his concentration on Aiden was so intense that he didn’t see the thick branches of the overhanging trees and caught his neck upon one. His stumpy legs went flying up, and he landed on his back with a loud THOD! Mud spraying out in all directions from the impact.

  “Use the knife!” shouted Magmus, from his relatively safe spot on the other side of Ooh’lag. Aiden quickly stopped, turned around and threw the knife straight into Ooh’lag’s stomach. Ooh’lag stood up, pulled the knife out of his stomach and threw it away as if it were a mere irritation. Aiden and Magmus looked at each other in disbelief, then bolted in different directions into the forest. Ooh’lag unsure of which way to go, stood there scratching his head.

  ***

  An hour later Ooh’lag was walking down a forest path, clearly searching for something. That something being two somethings - Aiden and Magmus. Aiden was busy hiding in a bush, three bushes back from Ooh’lag, shadowing the troll’s every move. He peeked over the bush for his latest update on what Ooh’lag was doing, when unexpectedly, he saw Magmus crawli
ng past in front of him trying to make it to the next bush without being spotted.

  “Psst, Magmus, over here,” he called in a loud whisper, making Magmus jump.

  “You almost scared me to death, you crazy bastard!” Magmus’s heart was racing a million miles an hour. Aiden moved over to the next bush with him.

  “I thought you said that the spell worked on trolls,” Aiden stated in a heavy whisper.

  “It does,” replied Magmus. Aiden closed his eyes, he couldn’t actually believe that Magmus had just said that after an hour of ‘troll evasion’. It was enough to get Aiden’s blood to instantly boil.

  “Well, why then … if that is so … mighty illusionist,” asked Aiden in very sarcastic tone. “Is there this great, big, huge, LUMBERING TROLL AFTER US?!!”

  “Shhh!” shushed Magmus, bringing immediate silence. He was looking around all panicky. “What was that?” he continued.

  “What was wh …” Aiden started.

  “Shhh!” There was a moment of absolute silence. Magmus eyes were wide open in the unnatural calm. “MOVE!” he shouted, dive-rolling into the bushes on the left. Aiden immediately jumped into the bushes to the right. A split-second later, Ooh-lag came rushing into the space they were just occupying; rampaging, tearing every bush, shrub and tree apart. He was busy biting into his third tree when he realised that Magmus and Aiden were no longer in the vicinity, so he moved on.

  ***

  It was nearing dawn when Aiden finally ran into Ooh’lag again. The troll was still searching for them, at the moment he was looking for them behind a tree. You’re persistent, aren’t you? Aiden thought. It had been nearly eight hours since they had first run into Ooh’lag and now he just wanted it to end. All right, enough is enough. Aiden scanned the nearby shrubbery until he found what he was looking for - a big, heavy tree branch.

  “It’s no sword, but it will have to do,” he quietly muttered to himself. He picked up the heavy branch and looked back at Ooh’lag. All right, he’s still searching that bush. Aiden held the branch out like a cudgel – a big cudgel. Oh, you’re going to get it now.