Not just thrown, as they seemed to have a volition of their own, and all were making a direct heading for Petram. The flapping limbs buffeted his face and torso, like the wings of a bat, and as he brushed one away, another would take its place. They covered him as he continued to fall and wrapped him in a cocoon as he began to be smothered.
The banging on the room door woke him up, and his sweat-stained sleep had caused the thin blanket to become wrapped around and stuck to him. Kiandra entered without waiting for Petram to ask her in. She held two mugs by their handles in one hand and set them on the table next to the dinner plate. “Get up ya lazy bastard,” she said though there seemed to be a small bit of warmth underneath the stern tone.
“Ay, Kiandra, had the most horrible dreams,” he said sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands.
“You’re about to have another one if you don’t pay attention.”
“Did ya find something out already?” he asked, unable to contain his excitement.
Kiandra took a sip from one of the mugs and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Kind of. The name sounded familiar, though I didn’t remember hearing it before, so I went to see Cassabell at the library, and she said there was supposedly a diary written by Da’Nel which may have clues.”
“Do ye have it?”
“Hang onto your squirter, no we don’t. She’s not sure where it is. She thinks, thinks mind you it might be somewhere in the ruins of Killgarter.”
Petram’s excitement vanished, and he hung his head. He knew exactly where the ruins were, and it was way on the border between Bernholdt and Arnisia, a solid week’s ride if not more. “I’ve got to go there then,” he said standing up. “Tis a considerable journey, and as it is, I won’t be back in the time I was given.”
Kiandra looked at him rather confused. “Time you were given?” she repeated.
Petram sat back down on the edge of the bed. “Yes, I only have a week from tomorrow to get the info and be back.”
“Sounds like you might need some help,” Kiandra said. “Word has it, the court mage can transport people in the blink of an eye.”
“And? Even Todrick can do that but not very far.”
Kiandra shrugged. “Walk then, see what I care.” Kiandra drained her mug and started for the door. Petram jumped up and stood in front, trying to block her way.
“Wait! Alright, I’ll try it, when can I go?”
“You mean we.”
Petram looked at her, confused and then it slowly dawned on him what she meant. “I can’t have you coming with me, Kiandra, it’s apt to be dangerous.”
She laughed in his face, and said, “That’s my condition. You want help, I go with you.”
“But why?”
“I have my reasons, as for when, any time you’re ready.”
Petram continued to stare at her, “I don’t know what to say, Kiandra. I appreciate the help, more than you know. Not only me but for the King and Tularen as well.”
“I care not for the King or Tularen, I don’t even care for you, I do it for me, and me only.”
“Well, whatever the reason woman, I’m glad of it.”
“Enough lollygagging, let’s get going, and be done with this.”
Petram nodded in agreement and left the tavern following Kiandra to the Mage’s Tower.
9: Ruins of Killgarter
Kiandra and Petram wasted no time in making their way to the mage's tower of the castle. In spite of, or maybe even because of, the recent events and long journey, Petram felt awake, alert and on top of everything. As darkness enveloped the town, and activity on the streets dwindled, few people took notice of them and they made their trek in peace.
Unlike Tularen’s castle, the castle in Dernheld wasn’t surrounded by a moat. There was enough firepower of Dwarven design on the high walls to repel almost any invader should they be foolish enough to try. The construct and design were similar, but that was about as much as the two shared. Rather than go through the main doors, the pair walked around to the side, where there was an overgrown hedge concealing a small trap door. Petram opened it and allowed Kiandra to go down first. There was a drop of about four feet and she landed on her flat feet with a grunt. Petram followed suit but lost his balance as he landed and fell on his behind. Kiandra smirked and gave a hand to help him up.
“As graceless as ever I see,”
“Ya never said that in bed,” Petram said with a bit of venom.
“Tis because it was over before I could say a word, now hush and let’s get going.”
Petram’s face began to turn beet red. He wanted to say something, but Kiandra was walking away and about to disappear into the underground labyrinth and he hurried to catch up. As it became darker, Kiandra moved her finger in the air, in the shape of a rune, producing a moderate amount of light from a shining ball that hovered in front of them. It not only illuminated the pathway but seemed to guide them to their destination, as after a few moments they reached the door to the mage’s tower and it flickered out as quickly as it had appeared.
Petram went to open the door and noticed there was no handle, and he looked at Kiandra, who placed a finger on the door and traced another rune on the wood. It opened slowly, and Kiandra pushed Petram through and then nudged him up the winding staircase. The circular series of steps seemed to go on forever, and as he became more winded from the climb, the harder Kiandra nudged him up. “Keep up! You’ve gone soft I see!”
“Are insults all you’ve brought with ye?”
“It’s all ye deserve you fat bastard, now up with ya!”
With a new determination, he put a bounce in his step and when they came to the top, he did all he could to not collapse on the floor. Where he expected to see another door, he only saw the outline of a doorway, with a violet light that acted as a buffer. Kiandra walked over to it and made a brief wave. The light dissipated, and she walked in, with Petram following her.
“So good to see you Kiandra!”
“As well as you Alec, and this is Petram Grimfoot, representing the Tularen Empire.”
Alec gave Petram the once over. “Ohhh, yes, I remember him.” He went over to Petram and was close enough that he could feel Alec’s breath on his skin. “That beard! Amateur potion making at best! Does Tularen not have a real Wizard?”
Petram bit his tongue and said nothing. Alec could see the capillaries in his cheeks burst and redden his skin and gave a smile. “Well, my friend, be that as it may, what I have here is more Dwarven ingenuity and brilliance than magic. Though some magical elements are present.”
“Right, get on with it,” Petram said, voice gruff and impatient.
Alec raised one eyebrow and looked over to Kiandra who was now doing a slow burn of her own. “As I was saying,” Alec continued, without so much as acknowledging Petram’s request, “If you look at the metal disc on the floor over there, by standing on that it will transport you to where you want to go.”
“How will it know?” Kiandra asked, more for Petram’s benefit who she knew would never admit he didn’t know how something worked.
“That!” Alec exclaimed, “That is where the magic comes from. I’ve taken the liberty of drawing a map, a crude design mind you, I’m not an artisan that way, of the castle here,” he pointed to an area on the parchment that was filled with a childish drawing and illegible writing. “And where you wish to go, here!
“By a process too complicated for you to understand,” he looked directly at Petram as he said this, “The map interacts with the device, and moves you from one point to another.”
“And how do we get back? It seems to be a one-way trip if you ask me,” Petram said looking to find any flaw in the mage’s work.
“Fortunately, no one did ask you, now pay attention. You will bring another disc with you, as well as this empty parchment and this quill. When you are ready to return, you simply draw the map in reverse and you will arrive back here.”
“Why can’t we just turn th
is one upside down?” Petram asked, not out of curiosity but simply to aggravate the mage.
“It burns up through the travel,” Alec answered. “Now, I know of no one who has been to the ruins in many an age, and those who were there spoke of the undead and unholy beings throughout. Be very cautious while there.”
“Do ye know the whereabouts this book is located?”
Alec shook his head, “It may not be there, it may even only be a myth. But I can be certain it will be deep within the ruins. That seems to be where all these tomes end up.”
Petram scowled.
“I would imagine that you’ll feel some sort of pull from it the closer you get. If it truly was Da’Nel who wrote it, and it truly is there, there will be some potent magic surrounding it.
“I’m sure I can handle it,” Kiandra said. “You’ve taught me well Alec, and I will have your intellect to draw from.”
Petram rolled his eyes, “Ancestors help us all in that case,” he said.
“You first,” Alec said to Petram, his voice as cold as the stone floor they stood on. Without another word, Petram went to the metallic disc and stood on it. Alec took the crude map he’d drawn and rolled it up into a small tube. He put it into a gap in the disc, and in a flash of light, Petram was gone.
“Your turn m’dear,” he said to Kiandra. “Watch him, he’s a dangerous one.”
Kiandra looked at Alec, “He broke my heart once, there’s nothing worse he could do.” She stepped onto the disc and in another flash was gone.
When she arrived in the ruins of Killgarter, the first thing she saw was Petram on his hands and knees, retching uncontrollably. She could understand the feeling, as being transported through magic always left her feeling nauseous, and a bit less there, as if there was some minute piece of herself that went missing in the journey. “You’ll be fine; it takes a minute or two to feel normal, so come to think about it, you may never feel it.”
Petram stood up on shaky legs, wiped at his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, and gave Kiandra a cockeyed look. “Never again,” he said, voice harsh and dry from the incessant coughing. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life! I’d sooner walk back than have to do that again!”
“Since when did a little dizziness ever stop you from anything,” she said with a small laugh. Kiandra looked away from Petram and was studying the ruins that lay before them. “Look,” she said pointing to the crumbling stone and wood buildings.
Petram followed the way her finger pointed and saw nothing unusual, not for a ruin anyway. “What is it?” he asked.
“Ya honestly don’t see it? Look at the sky above the ruins!” her voice was raised, but whether from anger or exasperation only she knew.
Petram looked up and shook his head, unsure he was seeing something and not just imagining it. The sky above the ruins was a canvas of red and black ribbons. They swirled in all directions and in and through the decayed and broken structure. They seemed to have some weight, though for all that Petram could see there was nothing solid about them. Where the perimeter of the ruins ended, roughly fifty feet all around, the sky was as dark as when they left. When one of the ribbons ventured toward the night sky it bounced back as if it were hitting an unseen wall.
“I’ve not seen the likes of that before,” Petram whispered, almost afraid the ribbons would hear him. “What kind of magic is this?” he asked, though more to himself.
“Something far stronger than we know. And I would say far more than Alec or your court mage would.”
Petram began to approach one, then paused to look back at Kiandra who hadn’t moved from her spot. “Come along woman, we have business here. The sooner we take care of it, the better. Much as I hated that transport, that sky is even worse.”
Kiandra nodded in agreement. “Almost like it’s alive,” she said.
“On our ancestor’s names, don’t say such a thing! You’ll have us cursed for sure!” Kiandra caught up to him, Petram with his hand on his ax, and Kiandra ready to dispel some fireballs if needed. “Wish you’d brought a weapon,” he said.
“I did, I have you to do the dirty work though,” Kiandra said and cackled.
Petram said nothing and led the way, He walked with a slow, deliberate gait, through dirt, rubble and what looked to be broken glass. There were occasional piles of books, most burned beyond being of use, though a few seemed to be unscathed. Large columns reaching nearly thirty feet in the air were shattered. Petram didn’t see any that were intact. Some had only the tops shorn away, others halfway, while still more were nothing but stumps laid low enough for Petram to sit on should he decide to take a rest. The air carried no dust, merely motes of light that seemed to emanate from the cloud-like ribbons. And then there was the quiet. The only sound was the occasional crunch of gravel beneath their feet or their voices, but there was nothing else. No bird song, no slithering of snakes, or light footsteps of a wolf or desert cat. Kiandra tapped Petram on the shoulder who jumped at the touch. Kiandra rolled her eyes and said, “Over there, stairs.”
Petram with his ax still at the ready moved in that direction. Looking above he saw the black and red ribbons still drifting aimlessly yet somewhat slower as if watching them.
As the duo approached the steps, they looked up to see where it led, and at the top was an entrance into a building that had been blown open. If there had been a doorway, it was long gone. “Notice something?” Petram asked.
“Aside from the quiet, lack of animals, and bugs?”
Petram nodded. “No vegetation. Tell me how a ruin doesn’t have at least one weed poking up somewhere?”
“I can’t Petram, and I really don’t wanna find out. You’re right, we have to finish this soon as we can.”
Without another word, Petram climbed up the stairs until they reached the top step. He put a hand up, motioning for her to stop. “Wait here just a moment,” he said. Petram brandished his sword and closed in on the entrance. The darkness seemed thick with malevolence, and Petram thought he could see something stir in the ruins. “Can I have a light?” he asked Kiandra standing on the threshold.
She traced a quick rune in the air, and as she finished, Kiandra heard Petram give out a scream. When she looked up at the opening, Petram was gone.
Kiandra ran up the steps, not paying attention to the ground and as she stepped over the threshold she fell into the same hole that Petram had. The fall was far but not enough for serious injury.
Petram stood up and began brushing himself off when Kiandra plummeted down and was a whisker away from landing on top of him. She gave out a heavy oof! as the floor met her well-proportioned and very ample behind. Petram turned, saw her bunched up on the floor and went to help her up. “Are ye okay?”
Kiandra nodded. “Would take more than that to hurt me.” She said, trying to hide her wounded pride.
“Did ye not hear me say stay there?”
Kiandra looked him in the eye and gave him the evil eye. “Do ya think if I did, I’d be down here with ya, you stupid bastard? All I heard was ya screaming like a little girl!”
“That wasn’t a scream, I was warnin’ ya to stay away!”
“Now what?” Kiandra had her arms folded across her chest and tapping her right foot.
“Would help if we had some light,” Petram said, voice subdued and strained.
Kiandra created her mage light again, and it floated in front of and a few inches higher than her head. She held her hand out and the ball of light landed on her palm, pulsating as if it was a purring cat. Petram watched in disbelief. “Is it alive?” he asked
Kiandra looked at him and gave a frown. “All energy has life in it, that’s the essence of magic. It’s training the life in that energy to do what you need to.”
“So yer saying it’s an animal to be trained?”
Kiandra looked shocked, “No! They do it willingly, most of the time. Treat it with respect and they’ll be receptive to do your bidding.”
Petram’s face was a blank
. He didn’t know magic, didn’t trust magic, and didn’t like being around magic. Even if he had a basic understanding of the relationship between a mage and magic’s energy, he still wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Petram’s only magic was swinging an ax until the blood of his enemy squirted skyward like a fountain.
“Don’t worry that empty head of yers Petram Grimfoot. Just know it works and be satisfied.” With that said she held up her hand and turned around in a circle. She dipped her finger into the ball of light and made a swirling motion. It then lifted off from her hand, shot up in the air a few feet and began to enlarge until most of the area could be seen. The room was circular and every few feet were bookshelves, though most were broken and unusable much as the books which remained were. The only entrance which either of them could see was blocked by a cave-in from the floor above.
Petram walked to the nearest of the bookshelves and began to circle the perimeter, looking up and down as he went. While far from methodical he did take his time and when he found himself where he began after a few moments, let out a slew of choice curses. “We’re trapped,” he said. “Got any magic for that?”
Kiandra walked over to him, hands curled into fists, and above the light followed her. “I’ve got some fists for your mouth,” she said. Petram backed away, putting both hands up in front of him. He had managed to pivot away from the shelves and was now headed to the middle of the room as Kiandra stalked him. While he continued to walk backward, his boot heel hit something stuck in the floor, and he tripped, falling once again.
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