by Lyndon Hardy
Alodar bent down and gently shook him awake. In the quietness of the night, Alodar explained what had to be done and then listened attentively as Kelric provided the detailed instructions. In an hour, he had memorized the cantrip and returned to the shelter amidship.
Alodar climbed wearily to the roof, made himself as comfortable as possible, and began the charm. Had he been fully alert, he would have spoken the words with great care, fighting the increasing resistance a measured step at a time. But both his mind and body were dulled. He rattled off the three repetitions like a schoolboy reciting his pledge to the queen. In an instant it was finished. He blinked in surprise at how mild was the internal reaction.
Alodar slowly scanned a full circle from where he sat and then closed his eyes against the scene. An image of what he had just seen sprang into sharp focus as if lighted by the noonday sun. He willed his thoughts forward and, like a great-winged bird, he seemed to spring from the boat. Soaring low over the water, his mind raced ahead of the bow, straining for the horizon and sight of ship or land. The miles sped by, but the scene remained an unbroken circle of water as far as he could see.
Gradually the rush of his thoughts began to slow; though he strained all the harder, the waves dissolved into an indistinct haze, and the sky dimmed. His pace slowed to a crawl and then, at the moment he seemed to stop, the scene blacked out from view. Instinctively Alodar realized he had reached the limits of his vision and brought his thoughts back to his inert body sitting on the shelter roof.
With his eyes still closed, he turned his head and sought to port, again sailing over the waves far faster than any ship could take him. He breathed deeply as he finally slowed, hoping to see a landfall of Arcadia before the scene faded away. But when the blackness came, the ocean looked as unchanging as it had from the bow, and Alodar returned a second time to begin the search anew. He turned to starboard and saw over the horizon in a heartbeat. Before he even noticed any slowing, he saw a line of low hills pushing down to a sandy beach. Land, he dimly thought in his trance, land to the west and not far away.
He willed his thoughts to return so that he could break the spell and head for shore; but to his surprise, the rush in his mind continued onward. Up into the hills his sight took him, past smouldering campfires and huddles of sleeping figures. On and on his thoughts raced, to higher and rougher ground. The mountains were cleft and folded, fissured and cracked with jumbles of boulders strewn about. Alodar's attention wandered over the scene but then focused upon a slender spur of rock that soared before him. A monolith of cold granite, it stood like a giant spike thrust into the contours of the hills and seemed to challenge even the peaks beyond for height.
Alodar recognized the spire as the one he had seen when he tried to use the sorcerer's eye. As before, he felt himself drawn inside into a tomblike room. In the very center stood a stone coffin with a thick glass lid, and Alodar's thoughts rushed forward to peer inside. He saw a man of middle age, eyes peacefully closed, and mouth curled up in a haughty smile. The hands were folded across the chest over a robe sprinkled with many small, stylized logos of flame.
Alodar tried to look about the room, but the scene suddenly went black. He felt himself slowly pitching forward from the roof of the boat's shelter. He quickly blinked his eyes open and grabbed at the mast to steady himself. A moment of vertigo washed over him and then a hot fever that turned his limbs to rubber. Alodar clutched at the mast to gain support and gradually the feelings subsided, leaving him weak and lethargic.
Slowly Alodar climbed down into the hull and picked his way aft. For a moment, he puzzled at his vision but then pushed it aside, too weary to expend the effort when there were more important things to be done. The coast was not that far away; perhaps by late morning, they could be safely ashore.
Alodar nodded his head with decision, loosened the boom and cut hard on the tiller to aim the small craft landward. The wind hit the sail at a flatter angle. With gathering momentum, the boat began moving towards the shore. Alodar leaned against the after railing, holding the craft on course and staring into the darkness.
The hours passed, and gradually the sky brightened, until the boundary between sea and air could be discerned in all directions. Alodar watched the west. Finally a second hazy line appeared above the first. As the boat approached, it resolved into individual low hills that began to loom higher and higher on the horizon. Eventually the sound of breaking surf mingled with the whistling of the wind. Alodar saw a row of whitecaps racing up towards a sandy beach.
With more seamanship and alertness, he might be able to bring the boat smartly about and drop sail and anchor. But such detail was beyond what little energy remained. Holding his course, the craft sped directly onwards and, with a sudden lurch, ran aground.
The sleeping men scrambled awake with surprise. "You there," Alodar shouted, "to the shelter and rouse the queen. And you on the left, give aid to the sorcerer. He is too weak even to walk on his own."
The men sluggishly complied and, one by one, dropped overboard to head for shore. Water began to bubble in through the hull. The longboat sagged gently to one side as she slowly filled. Duncan arose from a position in the bow. With shaking legs, he staggered to the queen.
"At last, my chance to protect the fair lady," he croaked through lips cracked from the salt air. He withdrew his sphere from the small bag at his waist. After several moments, Alodar could see a shimmering bubble of translucence which engulfed Duncan and Vendora. His two followers rolled the bubble up on the bulwark and tossed it into the waves, tumbling Duncan and Vendora together in a confusion of cloak and gown. Obviously, from its motions, the bubble could not be used in any rough sea. Alodar watched as the attendants jumped in after and began pushing the two landward, untouched by the chilling water. He saw Aerial come back to join him, as the last two, they jumped overboard and waded to shore. Watersoaked and fatigued as they were, simple foraging and lighting a fire took the rest of the day. Only Alodar's curt commands and steadfastness kept tempers in line and limbs moving until it was done. As darkness fell, the small band huddled in close about the flame, seeking at last dryness, warmth, and rest from their ordeal.
"Now that the emergency is over," Feston said, rubbing his hands together and then touching the hilt of his sword, "we can, I feel, revert to our original chain of command. And my first direction is that we should abandon this beach and quickly search out a cave in the hills, so that the night can be spent in some sort of shelter."
"There is no strength left for that, Feston," Alodar said. "We have already endured the elements for four full nights. Another will tax us less dearly than a search without light over the rough ground."
"I have given a directive," Feston growled. With a savage gesture, he withdrew six inches of blade from his scabbard. A sudden rumble of disapproval checked his action, and Feston looked quickly about at the men who circled the fire. "You there, by your insignia, you are royal marines. Follow the orders of your commander," he said.
"We serve the person of the fair lady," Grengor said quietly in reply. "Until she gives us direction otherwise, we will follow the command of master Alodar. You bail as well as any man among us, lord Feston, but it is lady Aeriel's page who has seen us safely through the storm."
"And that is the truth, Vendora," Aeriel cut in. "Just as at Iron Fist, the thaumaturge has proven his worth to the crown of Procolon. Let the deed and not the station be your guide, my fair lady."
"I am not so dim of sight or slow of mind as you sometimes make me, Aeriel," Vendora said, pulling erect and drawing her robe about her. She looked slowly about the ring of Alodar's marines, each grim-faced and with a hand on sword hilt. "I observed with care the events of the past days. Indeed, the man has acted well in behalf of the crown. But tell me, Alodar, how did you know, when none else did, that the barge would founder?"
"In truth, my fair lady," Alodar said, "I do not know that it did. The helm may have been repaired or the patches held. The barge still may be p
lying the seas, having ridden out the storm as well as we. Yet, to determine with certainty the seaworthiness of the vessel could well have been fatal. I made the decision that I felt I had to."
"And then, instead of possible comfort in my stateroom on board, where has your decision brought your liege?" Vendora said.
"To the uplands north of Bardina?north of the boundaries of Procolon itself?my fair lady," Grengor cut in. "I campaigned here in your father's time and recognize the black oak which creeps down from the hillside."
"My fair lady," Basil said, "perhaps this makeshift alchemist has served you well these past days, but we are by no means safe from major peril. Our voyage was for aid to stop the forces that threaten to overrun the kingdom. In the west we fight no less than demons, and our army makes no headway in dislodging the grip of their crazed servants from the land. And from the south march even more, to stab at the heart of Procolon."
He paused and looked about the landscape. "We cannot chance another voyage across a sorcerer-watched sea in such a little craft. And little time remains to return to Ambrosia for one more seaworthy. Our one hope now lies in recruiting to our cause the barbaric nomads who aimlessly roam these lands. And only by statesmanship and bribery can we bend their primitive passions to our will. Fortunately for you, my fair lady, watersoaked though this tunic is, it still safely protects many a jewel of great value. Appoint me leader, and I will see you safely home in triumph."
"If the danger is as black as you paint it," Duncan said, before Vendora could reply, "then a handful of jewels will be no guarantee against the treachery of these simple-minded ones. Permit me to be always at your side, my fair lady, and with my sphere and command of the others about me, no matter what happens, your safety can be assured."
"Enough, enough!" Vendora cried, with a hint of irritation in her voice. "We must deal first with the matter of Alodar's recompense for services duly rendered. I doubt that any of you would act with such decision, faced with the question of abandoning ship. Indeed you did not. Such boldness must not be stifled, but rather it should be encouraged. Tell me Alodar, what boon do you wish from your queen?"
Alodar breathed deeply and then replied with a rush. "You speak of boldness, my fair lady, and it encourages me to speak of my driving quest."
With a sweep of his hands, he turned and addressed the entire assemblage as well as the queen. "You all know that lord Feston accompanied the fair lady from the confines of the siege at Iron Fist, and for his effort he was made no less than suitor for her hand in marriage. Then Basil the apothecary, armed with the treasures secured at real peril from the Fumus Mountains, earned like status for his aid to the power of the throne of Procolon. And finally, Duncan of the Cycloid Guild offered the fair lady protection most magical; and for this, he too is suitor for her hand. My fair lady, though my deed may in your mind not compare with these, my desire is yet no less. I too seek your most royal favor and your hand."
Vendora threw back her head in a peal of laughter. "Ah Alodar," she said at last. "You do lighten the weariness that hangs so heavily upon me. But stay, your words are well chosen, and by logic's laws you have saved and prospered the life of the queen as well as any. Stand forward by the fire so that I can note you better."
Alodar slowly rose and approached the queen, his heart pounding with the little energy that remained in him. He felt every impulse to glance away as she stared, but he held his gaze level, looking back at her squarely.
"You are comely looking enough," Vendora said, as she turned to face the others. "My good company, may I present Alodar, suitor for the hand of the queen of Procolon."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Alodar Enchanted
ALODAR stretched his legs and smiled. The weariness of their journey still hung over him, and the meager morning meal did little for his hunger, but he was content. He flexed his fingers in the coarse sand just inches away from Vendora's arm. He looked about the camp. Only Grengor and a few of his marines remained. The rest were away, scouting the surrounding hills for signs of the nomads. Down the beach, Aeriel stood alone, staring out to sea. Behind a nearby dune, Kelric had yet to stir from his slumber.
Alodar shot a sideways glance at Vendora while she idly scraped a bit of beach tar from her gown. He had come this far from the most humble beginnings, spurred on only by hopes and dreams. To rank finally above them all must be within his grasp, if becoming a suitor ever was. It was only a matter of seizing the opportunity.
Alodar looked to the north and saw the line of hills slowly converge upon the sea. The beach narrowed to a slender ribbon and then terminated abruptly against a rocky point that cut off the view. Back to the west, a sprinkle of vegetation dotted the slopes, chokecherry and spicebush still green beneath the bare branches of oaks and dogwoods that yielded to pines and cedars as the elevation climbed. At the limit of vision, a hint of snowy whiteness mingled with the hazy purples of the great mountains that thrust into the interior.
Alodar lazily scanned the panorama a second time. As he looked to the lower hills, he caught sight of one of the scouting parties that had left at dawn. He squinted into the morning light, trying to resolve some detail, and decided finally that the specks slowly bobbing his way must be Basil and his retainers. As they drew closer and confirmed his guess, he sat upright and then pointed at the approaching figures.
"Look, Grengor," he said. "Basil does not return empty handed. He left with two followers but there seem to be four men marching back to camp."
"And by the looks of the last," Grengor replied, "he journeys as a captive rather than a friend. It is not an auspicious beginning, if we are to convert all of these wild northmen to our cause."
Everyone turned to watch Basil's progress; several minutes later he puffed into the camp. "My fair lady," he said, as he rushed to the queen, "already I prove the great worth of my wealth to your crown. Behold, I bring forth your first new subject from the wastelands."
Basil paused to catch his breath, and Alodar looked at the captive. His hair was matted in snarls; even though no breeze was blowing, Alodar caught the pungent odor of his body. His chest and legs were bare. The muscles trembled in his arms as he strained against the cords which bound his hands together behind his back. He looked around the circle of armed men, and his expression stiffened into a mask of defiance when he returned Basil's stare.
"The barbarian's mouth dropped when I showed him a few samples of my gems," Basil continued. "Great treasures were back in his camp and a fair trade for a few of the jewels could surely be made, he claimed. And while he fingered them, it was simple enough for my followers to overpower him from behind and drag him here."
Basil stopped and looked at the dying embers of the fire. "And I think that there is sufficient means in camp to make him tell us the rest of what we must know." His eyes widened and he licked his lips as he pushed a coal aside with his boot "Where the rest of his group is hiding and how many they may be. It can be found in a few hours, if you know how."
"But the gift of one of your pretty stones would have been simple enough," Grengor interrupted. "And far less trouble than torturing one who probably would have dealt in good faith. I do not care for how you have acted in behalf of the fair lady, apothecary, and even less for what you propose to do."
Basil turned and faced the marine. "The temporary success of your master has weakened your judgment, sergeant," he said. "As you apparently have forgotten, Procolon is in grave danger of being overrun. We do not have time to barter for days with each scattered tribe that we meet. We must convince them in haste to harken to our banner, using whatever tools prove most expedient. And the fair lady will reward the suitor who provides the army to save her crown, not the one who labors over some petty distinction for what is just." He stopped and looked back at the prisoner. "Besides, he is as likely to be a treacherous brigand as a simple wanderer. There is no other way in which we may proceed."
"What about enchantment?" Alodar said suddenly. "He could hold nothing back if
under the charm of a sorcerer. If his tribe proves friendly, then he can be freed."
"Kelric would attempt no such feat when fully in health and in the comfort of Ambrosia." Basil waved the words aside. "He certainly will not try such an adventure now."
"I was not thinking of Kelric," Alodar replied coldly. "I have studied enough that I am willing to give the charm a try."
"An idle bluff," Basil shot back. "The fair lady will not be fooled by such blatant attempts to win further favor."
"It is not a bluff," Alodar said. "I have been successful with far-seeing. There is no reason why I cannot enchant as well."
Before Basil could reply, Vendora rose and extended her palm for silence. She looked at Alodar and smoothed a loose curl in place. "Kelric never wavered in expounding the difficulties of his craft," she said. "And even in his prime, his enchantments numbered less than a dozen. Can you really perform as you claim?"
Alodar looked back into Vendora's eyes. "I have never attempted it before, my fair lady," he said, "but my studies thus far have increased my confidence so that I feel there is a reasonable chance of success. If you would prefer touching the nomad's mind, rather than tearing his body, then I shall attempt it."
Vendora's eyes narrowed, and then she looked back at Basil. "If Alodar indeed can effect such enchantment, then it is a skill which I can employ well in my service," she said. "I thank you, Basil, for your efforts in my behalf, but I judge it is in my best interest if you turn the prisoner over to the aspiring sorcerer."
Basil's scowl deepened, and he stood silently for a long moment. Finally, with a wave of disgust, he spun and tromped off to the other side of the firepit. His followers pushed the barbarian forward, and the nomad pitched to his knees at Alodar's feet.
"Get Melab," Alodar said to Grengor, "and prepare to hold the prisoner steady. I will consult with Kelric and learn what I must know."