Markus was also surprised. “So, he had this planned all along, that clever fool.”
“He was no fool. Tolen was the wisest person in all of Gallenor.” Donna would always defend Tolen.
“If Tolen was so wise,” Crystal said, “why didn’t he do something about this long before now? He must’ve been very powerful.”
“I don’t know. I’ve asked myself that a thousand times over the past four years. The only conclusion I can draw is that there’s a specific timing to all of this. I just hope we aren’t too late,” Donna said.
Markus took the book up in his hands. “No, I won’t believe that. We still have a chance to do something. I’ll find the Citadel, the Dragonwand, and finish what he started. While we’re still free, we have the opportunity to put an end to this.”
Donna looked directly at Markus. “Let me tell you one last thing Tolen told me. The King’s mad, as is his head wizard. His goals and plans aren’t for anyone’s good but his own. Don’t trust him or any of his loyalists, and know he’ll do anything to stop you from completing this mission.”
“We know of the King’s madness,” said Crystal. “One of my own kind overheard him discussing plans to destroy all the wizards held in the Labyrinth and use them to cast some sort of ancient, wicked spell.”
Donna slowly put her hand over her mouth as the news sank in. She had only known that the King was mad, but she had no idea how bad it was. “Oh, no. All my friends, my family.”
Crystal nodded. Then she turned her face away as she tried not to become terribly depressed, thinking of her parents being killed like that. “My family, too.”
Markus took Crystal’s hand. “I won’t let them do that. For you, I’ll believe we still stand a chance. Otherwise, we’ll all be lost in regret and fear.”
Donna smiled at Markus. “You know something, kid? You’re pretty wise.”
“Thanks. I’ve heard that most of my life. The farmers I lived around always said I spoke with the voice of someone much older than I. Maybe that’s why Tolen liked me; I sound like a wise old man some times.” He opened the book and looked at the signature. “You know, I know that Tolen planned all of this—at least, our part in this journey. The wand, this book, meeting you . . . the coincidence is too great. I think the only part he forgot was teaching me how to read this stupid book.”
Donna stood up, her knees creaking a little. “Don’t be too sure about that. Tolen was very wise, but sometimes those wise old fools also liked riddles. I suspect he gave you what you need; you just need to figure it out.”
Chapter 15: Time to Go!
Treb and Kiin walked through the marketplace and found part of what they needed. Treb purchased another sleeping mat, another traveling bag, and some dried foods. Kiin got a map from someone she hoped was a reliable source. She wanted to have something handy when they went into the mountains. The back of the Codex had a general map of Gallenor, which mostly showed basic features, but not an in-depth map of specific locations.
“Are you sure you can read that?” Treb asked his wife while carrying his purchases.
Kiin opened the map a little more and turned it over a few times. She looked at a strange script of mostly long lines and some dots. “Sure, I . . . think I can. I haven’t looked at Shlan script in a long time, but I know the basics.”
“Great. Now we have two maps we can’t read,” Treb grumbled
Kiin snarled at him and showed him the map, holding it up so he had to stop walking or he would not see where he was going. “Look, at least we can determine the paths and ledges from this. The language is just added material for the traveler. I bet it’s nothing more than tips on camping and a general almanac to the temperatures of the mountains during the year.”
“You bet?”
She closed the map in such a way that her hand nearly hit his nose. “Fine, we can just go on blindly.” Kiin walked on ahead of him.
“Honey, don’t get mad.” Treb ran along behind her with all his loot still cluttering up his arms.
Kiin stopped and turned around. “Don’t worry. This map will be fine. And if it is that important to you, I have an idea . . . HEY!” She waved down a Shlan woman that was walking by.
The woman gave both Rakki a confused look and stopped walking. She didn’t get any closer, but gave a slight smile to acknowledge them.
Kiin ran over to her. “Hi, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need someone who can read this.” She opened the map.
The woman gave Kiin a funny look and then looked down at the map. “It’sss a map of the mountainsss.”
“Oh, I know that. But, I don’t know what this says exactly. My Shlan is a little rusty.” Kiin tried to be as pleasant as possible, because the Shlan weren’t overly fond of Rakki, generally speaking.
The woman looked at the words and then thought for a second. “In common tongue, it ssssayss: Warning, impssss presssent. Higher you go, more impsss are sssseeen.” It wasn’t easy translating directly from Shlan basic to Gallenorian.
Treb looked at the map, and he sort of frowned at his wife. “Imps? Really?”
The woman nodded. “Yesss. I wouldn’t go there. Have good day.” She hurried on her way.
Treb looked at his wife with an I told you so look. “Temperature almanac.”
“Fine. At least we have a warning. Now that I know what this says, I think I can remember more of these words.” She looked deep at the maps other small notes here and there. “That says something about water, and that . . .”
Treb bumped into her on purpose to get her attention. “Kiin, look!”
Kiin looked up to see Captain Morris and three of the city Guards inspecting people at the end of the block. “Oh, no. I know exactly what that means.”
Treb nodded and started to back away. “He’s bound to recognize us.”
“Hurry, let’s get back to the shop. Hopefully he’s too busy inspecting people to notice us right now.” Kiin turned and followed Treb back the other way toward the potion shop.
Markus sat at the dinner table with the Codex open. After Donna left the room to check on the girl she hired to run her booth every other day, he decided he might try to figure out what would be the key to decipher the text.
Crystal read a manual containing instructions on creating magical potions Donna had lying around. It was a basic text used by the students of the college when she had taught. Crystal knew one like it was in the Rakki library, but she hadn’t gotten to potion making yet in her personal studies. Lowering the book, she looked up to see Markus writing something on a piece of paper. Maybe he had an idea about deciphering.
“Hey, Markus, I do know a little about magical ciphers—something I read in the library of my village. Maybe I could help.” She set the potion book down.
“No, I . . . don’t need your help.”
This drew her attention all the more. What was he hiding from her? She felt it was not something terribly secret, or he might not be doing it out in the open like this. So Crystal got up and quietly strolled over to him to take a look over his shoulder. When she did, she found something she had not expected. He wasn’t working on the Codex; in fact, the book was closed. He was writing a letter.
Dear Mom and Dad
It has been a month and a week since I left home. I am in Stillwater, a town in the foothills of the Barren Mountains. I haven’t told you yet what I am doing. I don’t think I am ready to. I wanted to tell you I do love you and miss you. I . . .
Markus suddenly realized someone was reading over his shoulder. He quickly stopped and hid the letter. “Crystal! This is private.”
She stepped back, but did not leave. “It’s okay to miss your parents. Of all people, I know how it hurts.”
Markus slowly moved the letter back out. “I . . . I realized a while back I hadn’t really given thought to how they might feel. I was prepared to come home on a break or something and just tell them how great I was doing and they would be proud. At least, I would’ve if I’d gone to schoo
l and all this hadn't happened. When I thought about how much you would love to be able to speak to your parents again, I discovered there was still a little kid in my heart who missed his mom and dad. So I started writing them letters.”
“How many have you written?” Crystal pulled over a chair and sat down beside him.
He took out the folded envelope from the Codex and lifted it to show her the stack of letters. “I started them back in your village. I didn’t know how to mail them and got swept up in leaving and going on this journey. I expected to find a way to mail them in one of the villages when we would stop. I hadn’t expected to be running from the authorities.”
Crystal stated the obvious, but with great care. “You know, if you send those, and any of the Royal Guard catches on, they’ll track them to your parents. I hate to think of what they would do.”
“I thought of that and considered I would stop writing them. But I don’t want to stop. It gives me the hope of seeing them again. Even if I have to hand these letters to them myself, I will.”
Crystal smiled at him and rubbed his ear, something Rakki did to one another as a sign of affection. For Markus, it was just an odd sensation. “You really do have a loving heart. Even though you and your parents were angry with each other over the past few years, I know they love you. And I’m sure they know you love them as well.”
He rolled his shoulders because she was sort of tickling him. “That feels weird,” he said.
She quickly took her hand off of his head. “Oh, humans don’t rub ears?”
“Not that I’m aware of. We whisper sweet nothings in them.” He was trying to flirt, but his reference made little sense to her. So, he got sweet. He reached into the envelope and slid out a sheet of blank paper, one of the few he had left. “Why don’t you write your parents something? So when you see them, you can give it to them as well.”
She looked at the paper with a little curiosity. “What would I tell them?”
“Tell them what you have been doing these past four years, how much you like Treb and Kiin, and how good they have been to you. Tell them you love them and miss them. I know you will tell them all this when you see them, but writing it out sort of relaxes your heart and helps you prepare yourself for that wonderful moment.”
She slid the paper back over to him. “No, not now. But I’ll give it some thought. Perhaps when I’m ready, you can help me. I’m no good at writing anything that isn’t technical stuff.”
Markus took the paper and placed it back into the envelope. “Sure, any time you want.”
Just then, Donna came in, carrying a book in her hand. “Hey, I have something for you guys.” She sat down at the table with them and set the book in front of Markus.
He looked at it and realized it was a wizard’s personal spell book, not unlike the little book that Crystal kept all her important spells in. “What’s this?”
Donna opened it and revealed all the spells she had written into it. “This is my working spell book from when I went to the college. You can learn a lot from the notes and the spells. It isn’t a replacement for a good spell library and instructors, but it might prove useful on your journey.”
Markus was thrilled and humbled. “I can’t take this. A wizard’s personal spell book is special to them.”
She insisted by pushing it closer to him. “I want you to have it. It hasn’t done me much good over the past few years, and I bet you could use a few lessons in magic. You said you didn’t feel very prepared for this. This book is the collected lessons I kept when I was a student. Maybe you can be the student as well when you look at them.”
Markus was very eager to take it, so his humility took a back seat. He pulled the book closer, ready to pore through it. “I’ll try to do your gift justice.”
“Just do your best. That’s what I told every one of my students. When you learn, do your best, for anything less is cheating only you.”
Markus was already reading the first page. Crystal read over his shoulder, and Donna realized she was not the center of attention any more. But just as she stood up to leave, Treb and Kiin rushed through the door.
“He’s coming!” Kiin said.
Crystal gasped, but mostly at the surprise of her parents bursting through the door. “Who’s coming?” she asked.
Kiin quickly came in and began to gather their stuff. “Morris.”
Treb added, “There are guards everywhere, and Morris is leading them.”
Markus was stacking up his books “Did he see you?”
“No,” Kiin answered. “But, they’re scouring the city. It won’t be long before they get here.”
Crystal looked at Donna. “This basement is hidden, right? We just have to stay down here. He won’t find us.”
Donna shook her head with a sympathetic frown. “Honey, I can’t promise you’ll be safe down here if they come looking.”
“We can’t stay,” Treb reiterated. “If they discover us down here, we’ll have nowhere to run. Now, get your stuff together, we have to move.” He held up a bag for Crystal to help pack.
“I have an idea,” Donna said, then ran up the stairs to her potion shop.
Markus tucked the Codex deep into his bag so it would be even harder to see. He asked, “What happens if they come across us out there? We can’t fight all the city guards.”
As Kiin tied her bag closed, she answered, “Let us worry about that.”
Just then, Donna ran back into the basement den with a vial of potion. She headed straight for Crystal and Markus. “Here, take this,” she urged them.
Markus looked at the nearly clear liquid. “What is it?”
She took the cork out and poured a little into her hand and carefully dabbed it on Crystal. “It’s my potion that disguises you from the sensing stones. I only hope it works.”
Crystal rubbed her hand on her fur where it was the wettest and spread it around a little. “You hope it works?”
Donna looked very afraid for them as she started working on Markus. “I formulated this for me, and I’m not all that powerful. I don’t know if your magical abilities are too strong for this batch. But . . . it’s the best I can do.”
Treb handed Markus a bag to carry on his back, then looked at Donna. “Thank you for all you’ve done for us.”
Donna still had a hard time looking him in the eye, though she didn’t have a hard time looking at his chest. “Oh, we’re not going our separate ways just yet. I’m going to lead you out of the city.”
Kiin shook her head as she slid her arms into the straps of her pack. “We cannot put you in any danger.”
Donna laughed at them and then started applying the potion to herself. “Listen, Tolen gave me a mission—a mission to help you. My responsibility to the wizards of Gallenor does not stop here. I will see to it that you’re safe as far as I can.”
Markus asked, “Does this mean you’re going with us to the Citadel?”
“Yes. I have to help.”
Treb shook his head. “No, that is simply not acceptable.”
Donna drew a little closer to him and softly said, “I know we had a little mix-up, but I can help. This is important.”
Treb whispered right back, “It has nothing to do with last night.” His voice lifted so that everyone could hear him then. “It is simply not possible to have you following along. This journey is bound to be filled with dangers.”
Donna laughed and patted his chest. “Honey, I can handle myself. I am, after all, a master wizard.”
Kiin came over then. “Treb, she has a point. Besides, I think she could help the kids learn about magic along the way. I’m sure a teacher wouldn’t be unwise.”
Treb rolled his eyes, but agreed. “Fine. Just make sure to keep yourself safe.”
“I am the only instructor of the college who is not dead or in that damned Labyrinth. I think I can handle myself. Now, let’s get out of here as quickly as possible.”
The potion master opened the secret door and led them up the
stairwell to the main room of her shop. Treb was right behind her with Kiin on his tail.
Markus looked over to Crystal and saw fear bubbling in her eyes. She was still afraid of Morris and wasn’t sure what to do from there. So, he softly took her hand and smiled at her. The fear seemed to simmer down when she returned his smile and followed him, her hand firmly kept by his.
Donna took a few potions from her shelves and packed them into Treb’s and Kiin’s bags. “When we get out of here, the best route is to go the same way you came in,” she explained. “That door is hardly used and barely watched. Once we get outside of the city wall, we run like hell.”
Treb watched the door carefully for any sign of the Guards coming in. “What if they have stationed Guards outside the city walls?”
Donna grinned and handed him a potion bottle. “This is a unique potion called bottled fear. Throw it at the Guards, and it will explode into a great cloud. Once they inhale it, you will look like a giant monster attacking. If they have any self-preservation in their blood, they’ll flee like flies from a swatter.”
Kiin took one of the bottles and gave Donna a less than enthusiastic glance. “Won’t it do the same to us?”
Donna nodded. “Yup, but you know it’s just an illusion; they don’t. I know it’ll be hard, but you’re warriors. Show courage, and the fear potion won’t be much of an obstacle.”
Treb tucked the potion away where he could get to it quickly. “I just hope we won’t need to use it. Let’s move.”
Legacy of Dragonwand: Book 1 (Legacy of Dragonwand Trilogy) Page 17