by Rick Brown
“This is impossible!” Abi wailed.
“You’ve spent most of your nineteen years blocking your magic,” I explained. “It’s going to take time to break down all the walls you’ve built.”
She rode back over to the trees and grabbed another stick. Once again, she focused on it. “I just don’t think... OUCH!” She yelled as the stick ignited in her hand.
She looked at me, shock written across her face. “Did you do that?” I shook my head no, smiling proudly at her. “I did it?” She looked at the ash on top of the stick. “I DID IT!” Riding Dreamer next to me she reached over and kissed my cheek. “I can’t believe it Lee! I started a fire with magic! On Purpose!”
“Now, if I can just do it again.” She sat frowning at the stick. It was slower this time, but after a minute it started smoking. Soon a controlled flame lit the top of the stick. “I think I understand now, it’s like pushing… I don’t know, SOMETHING into the wood.”
“That SOMETHING is magical energy. You used your will to start the fire.”
“Can I try something else?” She asked enthusiastically.
“Well, most things aren’t safe to try while riding a horse. For now, just play with your fire. Tonight we’ll find another toy for you to play with.”
She let Dreamer fall back a few steps as she practiced relighting the twig.
Bri casually rode up next to me. “So,” She stated.
“So?” I questioned.
“So, Abi just kissed you. What did you think of that?”
My head had been doing flips, but I wasn’t about to admit that to Brianna. “Oh, she was just excited. It didn’t mean anything.”
“Funny. Whilhoit and Lenux were closer than you. I don’t think either of them got a kiss.”
“And neither of them was her teacher. I see what you’re doing, it’s only been a week since we left and you’re already playing matchmaker.”
She shrugged, “I’m bored.”
“There’s smoke up ahead,” Farloc warned.
I didn’t see it right away, but Farloc was right. There was smoke. “Lenux!” I called. He trotted up next to me, peering at the distant smoke. “Be careful,” I warned first, “But go find out what’s going on.”
He nodded, booting his horse into a gallop.
“How far away,” Abigail asked.
“It’s a few miles ahead of us, Lenux should have time to investigate and get back to us before we get too close.”
The minutes passed, as we got closer. Lenux came charging back up the road. “It’s a wagon caravan under attack! Six wagons, only a mile ahead. It’s Dommerian raiders.”
“How many?” Barad asked.
“I estimate twenty attackers. The wagons are trying to defend, but they won’t last long. It’s one of the wagons that’s on fire.”
I turned and looked at Barad. “Come on Lee! I know we are supposed to be on a mission, but we can’t ignore this.”
“He’s right,” Bri agreed.
“Ok. Abi, Ryan, stay in the center of the group. Don’t engage anyone.” They both nodded and move to the center of our riders.
“Let’s go!” Nudging my horse Mabel, we started our charge down the road. It took only a few moments before we spotted the wagons. Even from here I could see bodies lying in the road.
“The wagons still stand! I yelled back. I’ll create a distraction. Let’s head for the wagons and make our stand with them.” Raising my hand toward the road, I used my magic to sweep up the loose dust creating a cloud as it grew. I pushed it into the Dommerian archers that were attacking the wagons. The cloud engulfed them like a sandstorm. I held it there spinning over them.
Riding up to the wagons Barad Yelled “Peace! We are here to help!”
The merchants were armed with their own bows and slowly lowered them when they saw we were not Dommerians. As we approached I saw Master Randolf, who we had traveled with to Vennean.
“Good gods, is that Captain Eberon?” he asked, relief in his voice. “Bless you for coming!”
“How many are there?”
“We’ve counted twenty-two. Our archers have killed three. I’m afraid all my guards are now dead.”
“Anyone with a bow, get it ready. I’m going to have to drop the sand.”
“We’re always ready, Lee. Just give the word,” Barad replied.
Holding the sand up was tiring. With a thought I sent it pounding to the earth. The Dommerians were as caught off guard from the sudden disappearance of the sandstorm as they were when it first hit them. Four of them were exposed, standing with their hands protecting their eyes. Within moments they all had arrows through their chests. The others were wise enough to stay low.
Stealing an idea from Abi, I pushed up from the ground where they were hiding. An explosion knocked one in the air and sent others scurry, only to fall to the arrows of our archers. As I did, flames suddenly shot towards the wagons we were hiding behind.
“No one thought to mention the priest!” I yelled.
“I never saw him!” Lenux yelled.
I looked at Randolf who just shrugged. “I wouldn’t know a priest from a milkmaid,” he explained.
Using my magic, I quickly starved the fire of air, extinguishing it. “I’ve got an idea. Archer’s be ready!”
Knowing they wouldn’t like it, I didn’t wait for arguments. Instead, I stepped out from behind the wagons and started walking out onto the road. Soon arrows started striking my shield, depleting its strength, but for each arrow shot at me, I saw the archer fall dead. I ignored their shots, walking towards the priests hiding place. My energy dropped further as flames engulfed me. The flames suddenly ended as I stepped out in front of a very shocked priest, driving my sword into him.
I had to be careful now, as my energy was dangerously low. I grabbed the dead priest and used him as shield instead of my energy. I walked back toward the wagons, finally dropping him and putting my shield back up long enough to get behind the wagons.
“What the hells, Lee!” Barad yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to do?”
“Because then you wouldn’t have let me!” I responded.
“You’re damn right!” Barad yelled furiously.
“How many are left?” Bri asked. “Does anyone have a count?”
“I believe most of them are dead,” Randolf replied. “I think there are only five unaccounted for. I’m not sure what you did, Captain, but it seemed to work. Can you do it again?”
I shook my head. “I can only do it for so long.”
“Brianna, Lenux, and I can sneak over there and find them,” Farloc volunteered.
I looked to Lenux who shrugged, “It’s kinda what we do.”
I didn’t like it, but I didn’t see an alternative. “Ok, but be careful.”
The three quickly disappeared in the bushes. Even though I watched them leave, I could no longer see them.
“Just because something moves, don’t shoot it. It might be one of ours,” I ordered. The wagon drivers nodded in agreement.
I looked over at Abi, who was nervously hiding behind a wheel. “Abi,” I called. “Come here.”
She rose from her spot and scurried over to me. “Do you see the grass sticking out of that little ravine?” Her eyes followed my finger and she nodded. “Can you light that on fire from here?”
“I just lit my first twig five minutes ago!” She reminded me in a panic.
“And that dry grass will ignite much faster than a twig. I think one of them is hiding in there. We can flush him out for our people.”
She took a deep breath as she stared at the grass. After a few moments a fire burst in the grass, sending three choking soldiers climbing out of the small ravine. One quickly fell to an arrow from Barad. Another made it a few steps before Bri appeared from nowhere and struck him down. She immediately vanished again. The third disappeared from our view, but it was soon followed by a short scream. Farloc raised his hand briefly to let us know he had handled it.
I took her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. “That was not you. Our soldiers killed those men. But, I want you to think. They were going to kill everyone here. At some point you may have to fight.”
She nodded and I pulled her into a hug. “You did good. It’s hard to use your magic in a chaotic situation like this.”
I let her go and continued to scan the other side of the road for attackers. After a few anxious minutes, Bri, Farloc and Lenux stood up from their hiding places and walked back across the street. “Bri,” I called. “Report.”
“We’ve killed the three flushed out by the fire. Good idea, by the way. Lenux killed another that was concealed over there,” She stated as she waved further away. “We believe there was one more that fled before we could find him. Farloc believes he can track him.”
I spent a moment considering our options. “Not with a skeleton crew, and not with our timetable. I’m afraid we’ll have to let him go.” Bri gave me a disappointed nod.
“Master Randolf. Are your wagons functional?” I asked the wagon master.
“Yes, just a little burned, but they still roll. I have a dead horse I need to cut away, but that won’t take long.”
“How far are we from a safe location?”
Randolf thought for a moment. “We were heading towards Guilliny up in Tiber, but that seems too far now. Not without any guards.”
“Aren’t we near Lord Faluth’s lands?” I asked.
“One moment,” Randolf requested. “Let me get my map.” Climbing up into his wagon, he dug around until he pulled out a parchment map. “Yes, he said as he looked it over. I say if we take off now, we could reach there my nightfall.”
I sighed as I considered the time lost, but I couldn’t leave them here unprotected. “Then let’s do that. We’ll follow you.”
“Thank you again, Captain,” he said as he shook my hand. “You saved all of our lives.”
I walked over to my friends, who were gathered around Abigail. “You did what was needed,” I heard Brianna explain. “It would have been much more dangerous for us if we had to attack them in that ravine.”
“Lee, did you see how Abigail was able to save everyone WITHOUT walking into a middle of a battle and leaving his friends behind?” Barad asked.
“Yes, I saw. She was incredible,” I agreed.
“Yes, she was incredible,” Barad continued. “And she did it all right from the safety of the wagons. Not once giving me a heart attack.”
“Ok, ok. You’ve made your point,” I answered, exasperated. “We are going to Lord Faluth’s manor. I’m afraid we are going to lose today’s travel.”
“It’s all right, Lee,” Father Yagen said. “We all know it’s the right thing to do.”
Even Farloc nodded. “It would be a shame to have saved them, just to leave them behind for another attack.”
“Glad we all agree. We should get there this evening. Maybe we can even sleep in warm beds tonight.”
It was evening as we rode through the town outside Lord Faluth’s estate. We escorted master Randolf and his wagons to a local inn and started our way up the road leading to the Lord’s manor. Similar to his estate near Vennean, the area around the manor was allowed to grow wild. I’m sure it had to do with the Lord’s love of hunting.
As we rode up the drive Lord Faluth himself came out to greet us. “Your Majesty! What a pleasure to see you again. I didn’t believe my eyes when I saw you riding up the road.”
“Your Majesty?” I heard Abigail whisper behind me. Uh-oh, I forgot about that.
“Lord Faluth,” I replied as I dismounted. “I apologize for just appearing like this. We were forced to detour by some raiders and it brought us to your estate.”
“Then I must thank those raiders,” the Lord replied with a grin. “So long as no one was hurt.”
“Just them,” Barad answered.
“Ahh, excellent then. Please come in and we shall have some wine.”
Once again, I could hear Abi whisper behind me, “Why did he say ‘Your Majesty’?” I glanced behind me to see Brianna lean over and whisper something to Abigail. As they talked Abigail’s eyes went wide. I suspect I will have some serious explaining to do later, I thought to myself.
Chapter 13
(Abigail)
Even with everyone’s reassurances, I had to wonder if I was responsible for those men’s deaths. It’s not that I doubted it was the right thing to do. They were attacking innocent people, after all. Still, it seemed so wrong that, on the first day I willingly used magic, it was used in the aid of killing people.
As I looked up, I noticed I had ridden forward and was now next to Lee again. I found I did that more and more as the days passed. This time I didn’t pull back on Dreamer. His calm presence was reassuring, and I needed that right now.
We were riding behind Master Randolf’s wagons, the smell of smoke still drifting off of them. One had a charred wheel that was in desperate need of attention from a wheelwright. The bodies of the guards had been placed in the back of the Master’s wagon. He insisted on seeing to them himself. I Liked Master Randolf, he seemed like a kind man.
I pulled my cloak tighter, both for the winter chill, and in an attempt to block out the memories of this morning. Gazing up, I could see once again a dusting of snow fall from the sky. I subconsciously brushed away some flakes that had settled in Dreamer’s mane. Once again, I raised my stick and quickly lit a small flame on top. Sighing, I blew out the flame.
“You know, it has peaceful uses too,” Lee said, startling me.
“Like what?” I asked. “Fire burns, it’s just destructive.” Even to myself I sounded petty. I took a deep breath, telling myself I should be better than that.
“Well, for one thing, it can heat your bath water. If you are in an enclosed room, it can heat the air. You can even learn to pull the heat out of something. With that you can have your wine chilled.”
I had to admit, a warm bath sounded really good. “What do you use it for?”
“Well,” He said as he thought. “To be honest, it has mostly been carnage. I was at the front for years. There wasn’t much need for niceties.”
“What about your shield? Can you teach me how to do that?”
He took a long pause before answering. “I’ve been lucky enough to have access to magic others cannot, like elf magic for instance. I have some elf blood in my family. That allows me to use other magics most humans cannot. My shield is one of those.”
“Alright,” I said trying a different tactic. “So, how does a soldier become the King’s diplomat?” I finally asked. It was odd, as much time as we were spending together, Lee has kept his life very private.
“A diplomat? I wouldn’t call myself a diplomat,” he replied evasively. “We are just escorting Ambassador Farloc to Illiner.”
“I’ve never even heard of Illiner before you arrived at the manor. I don’t even recall it on maps.”
“It would have to be a very old map. Illiner has been closed to the human world since the fall of Alsselya.”
“Is that why you have Alsselyian Priests with you?” I asked.
“Not originally, it has just worked out that way.” He took a moment to think before saying more. “You deserve to hear the whole story about how we all came together and what we are doing, but let’s do it tonight, when we can relax.”
Finally, I thought. “Of course, I can wait.” Bringing my stick back up I once again lit the tip. At least I would finally get answers.
The town outside the estate seemed a happy one. It was much bigger than the one outside what was my uncle’s estate, now belonging to Lord Waith. Even in the late evening, there was a lot of activity.
I waved goodbye to Master Randolf as we started to ride away. It seemed so sad to leave them like this. Those poor guards having died in a senseless raid.
Light was fading as we started up the path a shopkee
per had indicated led to the Lord’s manor. I was surprised to see it so overgrown, and wondered why the Lord allowed it to grow like this.
Ryan must have seen my confusion, because he rode up next to me. “Lord Faluth is an avid hunter. He likes to keep the land wild around his manor to keep the game near.”
“Oh, have you met the Lord before?” I questioned.
“Yes. Lee, Barad, Whilhoit, and I traveled with King Kendrick and stayed the night at Lord Faluth’s house near Vennean recently.”
“The four of you met the King?” I asked, surprised. Other than the fact that this group was far more important than their appearance would indicate, I had learned little else about my new friends.
Ryan suddenly looked flustered. “Well, my father was Lord Albright, so I had often seen the King.”
I sighed. “Don’t worry. Lee promised to give me the whole story tonight.”
Ryan visibly relaxed. We continued to ride along in silence until the manor finally came into view. As we were riding up a gentleman with a military bearing came down the stairs.
“Your Majesty! What a pleasure to see you again. I didn’t believe my eyes when I saw you riding up the road.”
“Your Majesty?” I repeated. Who was he talking to?
“Lord Faluth,” Lee said while dismounting. “I apologize for just appearing like this. We were forced to detour by some raiders and it brought us to your estate.”
I was looking around at the others in confusion. Why was a Lord calling Lee ‘Your Majesty’? I noticed Bri had dismounted and was watching me. They all seemed to be watching me.
“Then I must thank those raiders,” the Lord continued to talk. “So long as no one was hurt.”
“Just them,” answered Barad.
“Ahh, excellent then. Please come in and we shall have some wine,” The Lord said to Lee, but Lee continued to glance over his shoulder at me.
I walked over to Brianna. “Why did he say ‘Your Majesty’?”