Taragon Stein: The Search For The Soul Crystal

by Jason L Crocker

  I placed the map back in my saddle-packs, while a sudden rumbling in my stomach reminded me that I had missed my breakfast. We had ridden for almost two hours now in the relentless mist but had only travelled northwards for about three or four miles from our previous night’s campsite. I toyed with the idea of waiting until our visibility was better due to our unknown landscape, but since our estimated position was a mile inland from the sea, I at least did not have to worry about the possibility of a morning’s swim!

  Although I could not see much of it, what I could see of the landscape about me reminded me of the good open flat country land that was abundant in southern Kantaria, it was mostly made up of good flat grassy earth with outcroppings of rocks and a splashing of trees here and there. It was the type of land that if you knew well you could travel great distances in a relatively short amount of time. But for now at least, I was happy to continue at a more leisurely pace.

  Another growling sensation from the depth of my stomach reminded me that it was not going to be silent until I had eaten.

  I turned casually behind to see Jaramel and Baram riding side by side a short distance away. For the past day and night, I had noticed a disconcerting quiet descend upon our small group. Where we once used to ride three abreast, it now seemed convenient for me to lead the way, with Baram and Jaramel now constantly pairing off together whenever the opportunity presented itself. I knew our morale was low. It had been ever since we stepped onto this side of the Nazoran battle plains. Come to think of it I do not believe that I helped matters much in this respect. It was just that I was not used to having company when undertaking a job. Since Baram and I went our separate ways over two years ago back in Ranak-Lore, I had become used to being on my own. In fact, I think I preferred it. It was much easier when I only had myself to conceal in the shadows or make a hasty retreat if called for. But now Baram was back, and to be honest I was still concerned that the comforts of Ranak-Lore had dulled him somewhat. Then there was this apprentice boy wizard who had also been placed in my charge. Quite powerful, yes, but I still had doubts to whether he would act accordingly when the time arose. It was just that he was always so damned quiet, more content to meditate, or read his blasted book of his than join in on a conversation that Baram and I were engaged in. I sighed under my breath as I thought about the sneaky suspicion I had, believing that his quietness came from his youthfulness, and being far from his pampered home. But as I dwelt on this further I shook my head. Probably not I told myself, he was just being a wizard! Whatever our circumstances and like it or not I had been appointed unofficial leader of this little expedition. Therefore it must inevitably fall on me to boost our morale as well. Oh well, there was no time like the present…

  I tugged at Storm’s reins, and he started his turn, our packhorse dutifully turning with him. As I journeyed back to rejoin my companions, I thought about ways of boosting our morale. First, I suppose I could apologise to Baram about the hasty words I had said to him this morning. After all, they were only trying to let me rest.

  Baram frowned in puzzlement as I neared. Jaramel’s face, as usual, was concealed by his hood. It was then that two dark shadows passed quickly by each other in the shadowy mist behind them!

  Anvil must have sensed them too, as Baram’s horse had now begun to neighing wildly at the mist whilst turning in tight circles in a panic! I reached for the strap on my leg that would loosen my bow as Baram once again fought for the control of his horse. With crossbow now in hand, I called out to them just as Baram swore his second foul curse at Anvil.

  “To ARMS! We are not alone.” Baram’s head immediately swung up upon hearing my anxious call. He then literally jumped from Anvil to the ground as I joined them. Making a frantic grab for Anvil’s loose reins, I swung Storm about and threw them towards the startled mage.

  “Here! Secure his horse.” Without waiting to view whether or not he had, I turned Storm once again to cover our front, while hoping that Baram was watching our rear…and waited.

  Nothing! I was staring into the quiet cloud of mist with my heart pounding in my chest and blood quickening through my veins when Baram’s voice called out from behind.

  “Taragon! Wolvern!”

  Baram was right. The two shadows had returned and were now circling threateningly around us much closer than when I had first spotted them. Their silhouetted characteristics detailing extended snouts pointed ears, and arched backs were easily recognisable to any of those who had encountered such beasts before. The speed of the animals was dazzling to behold, and it was a Wolvern’s main advantage. Wolverns had slightly smaller forelimbs, used for mainly rendering and tearing, but highly developed back legs that allowed them this great speed.

  I drew my sword with my free hand as the Wolverns added snarling to their circling, much to the annoyance of our horses.

  “How many do you count,” I shouted back in question.

  “Just the two,” came Baram’s confident reply from behind.

  This was good. Wolverns were generally quite wary of humans unless totally confident of victory, they would rather avoid an outnumbered confrontation. So it now seemed to me as if these two had come out of curiosity more than anything. The smell of our horses had probably drawn them to us and had they been generally serious about their attack it would have happened by now.

  I lowered my guard as I turned to Jaramel.

  The apprentice wizard was holding onto Anvil’s reins with his left hand while his right was bathed in flames held outstretched towards the mist.

  “No!” I called out alarmed. “Do not hurt them!”

  Jaramel’s glowing eyes turned questionably to mine.

  “But I have summoned the flame,” Jaramel breathed with some alarm, “to dissolve the flame now will be… difficult,” he added.

  “Then use it near them, BUT NOT ON THEM!” I called out my warning whilst turning my head to the sound of an unexpected nearby growl.

  As the hazy blur of a Wolvern passed quickly before my eyes, a bright flaring light drew my attention in a different direction. What I saw was the magically created fire raging fiercely in the fog. The flames were about ten paces away and burned with such intensity that I had to shield my eyes from its glare.

  The Wolvern that was closest to the flames shrieked in alarm at the inferno’s sudden appearance. Finding itself suddenly caught within its light, the grey rugged fur creature gave a final snarl of disapproval before disappearing into the depths of the mist.

  After a couple of moments, the magical fire dissipated into nothingness and the horses once again became still...the Wolvern had gone.

  “They’ve gone,” confirmed Baram whilst still keeping one eye upon on the mist.

  I nodded my head in agreement.

  “But why would you not let me use my magic on them?” Jaramel asked accusingly as he handed back the reins of Anvil, “I was concentrating on the larger of the two, it would not have escaped my flame.”

  “My good Baram,” I started in calm and relaxed tones, with a hint of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, “will you please explain to Jaramel why it’s not such a good idea to kill a Wolvern, especially when you are trying to remain as hidden as possible.”

  Baram cleared his throat with a cough before he began.

  “Yes…of course,” With his weapon back in place, and once again astride of Anvil, Baram turned to Jaramel who waited patiently.

  “You see Jaramel...the very last thing a Wolvern will do before it dies will be to use all of its remaining strength to howl.”

  “Howl?” Jaramel repeated a little bemused.

  Baram nodded his head. “It’s the last thing they do. It is said that it is done in an effort to let its pack know where it has fallen. Unless of course they are already with the pack, then it just simply dies.”

  Jaramel seemed suddenly to understand the situation, but I decided to press it further… just to make sure that he understood the real seriousness of his near fatal mistake.

&n
bsp; “You see if you had killed that Wolvern, every northerner for miles around would have known that one had been slain, and since man is the greatest threat to Wolverns, it would then have been a minor concern for a nearby northern patrol to investigate.” Jaramel’s hooded head moved dropped forwards.

  “Forgive me…I was not aware of this.” Baram smiled at me verifying that he was happy that Jaramel had learnt his lesson. But I still had not reprimanded him for his magical fire, since nobody would have needed to hear a Wolvern’s cry when they had a six-feet beacon of flame to guide them through the mist! However, I decided against it. I suddenly remembered why it was I was on my way back to them in the first place. Well… this one was for morale then I told myself.

  “Forget it,” I smiled, “you were not to know.” Jaramel lifted his head almost in surprised disbelief.

  I had one final look around. It was still early morning, and we had a long way to go. “Come, let’s make haste. Two Wolverns are nothing to be concerned about, but if they return with the pack, then thirty of them would be a different matter.”

  Baram and Jaramel both nodded their agreement as we set off once again, this time three abreast, and forever northwards.

  After that, things seemed to be going much more smoothly for our group. For the past two miles since our encounter with the Wolvern, all of our moods had lightened somewhat. This was partly thanks to Baram, who had suddenly recalled two foul jests that he remembered concerning a Wolvern and a milking maid, and then decided to share them with us while they were still fresh in his mind….

  Jaramel joined in by laughing at Baram’s jokes, and even I was pleased. Not by the jests, but by the speed and quickness that Baram had reacted when confronted by danger. He had never been one to fight on horseback, and his weapon actually demanded him to be on the ground, and there he had been as quick as you like with axe in hand, just like the old days. Most of my doubts concerning his battle capabilities were silenced when I had seen this, even the fog was starting to lift! Visibility was now a clear fifty paces in all directions and getting better all the time. I felt my spirits lifting with the fog, and we were just leaving the grassy area that we had been travelling over to pass through a group of trees up ahead when we heard it...it was the piercing scream of a Wolvern’s death howl.

  It sounded as clear as day maybe a mile or so behind us. We had all stopped as soon as we had heard the terrible death scream. I turned Storm about to face the direction from whence we had come. A second piercing scream suddenly filled the air to follow the first. A cold shiver ran through my veins as thoughts and feelings that I had suppressed until now resurfaced.

  “Taragon?” It was Baram. He had turned Anvil around and now joined me in my observation of paths trodden. Jaramel also approached from my left.

  “I suppose now is a good time to tell you both…we are being followed.”

  Chapter Eleven:

  “Followed!” repeated Baram astonished.

  I confirmed it with a nod. “It is more a feeling than anything. I have kept watch to the rear when able, but have only managed to spy the occasional glimpse of a shadow every now and again.” Turning my head, I looked once again into the dissipating mist.

  “I did not want to alarm you with my concerns until I was sure...but now I am. Whatever killed those Wolvern is not far behind us, I also believe they travel alone, or the Wolvern would not have attacked, and now they know that we are aware of them.”

  “By Thundar’s Hammer,” said Baram whilst scratching his head.

  “Do you know who it is that follows us?” asked Jaramel calmly.

  I shook my head. “No, but I intend to find out.”

  “I propose moving a mile further to lie in wait for our Wolvern killing friend.”

  “And then?” asked Baram.

  “And then we shall see,” I replied as I urged Storm on.

  “Wait!” Jaramel called. As we watched, the apprentice mage began examining the ground carefully until he apparently found what he was looking for. Whilst Baram and I exchanged bemused glances with each other, Jaramel picked up two similar shaped stones and closed his hands tightly around them as he stood. He then brought his cupped hands to his mouth, closed his eyes in brief concentration, and blew into a small opening between his hands. A bright white light instantly emanated from within his grasp. Once he had finished his strange ritual, he then placed one of the stones carefully back on the ground whilst keeping the other in the palm of his hand. Upon remounting Udos, we awaited an explanation.

  “The stone I hold will glow brightly should any man travel with within a fifty pace radius of the other.” Jaramel saw our eyes questionably upon him.

  “It will give us a little more warning should our pursuer pass it by.” He added.

  I gave a nod and a grin to show my appreciation before turning Storm northwards. It did not seem long after that when Jaramel’s voice called out from behind.

  “Taragon!” Turning in my saddle, I looked past Baram to see the brown robed apprentice cantering towards me as easily as if he was sitting in a chair. In his left hand, he held his horse’s reins, in his right, his palm lay open to reveal a small glowing white stone.

  I nodded my head solemnly as I kicked at Storm for more speed. If we were going to continue with our plan we needed to put more distance between us and our following pursuer.

  A little further northwards and out overland route came upon a road. To the right, the road continued for miles eastwards across open land only to disappear in the far into the distance. Whilst northwards, it led through a small wooded area before quickly being lost to the trees. But the best thing about this location was the huge sloping rock that was perfectly positioned on the corner of the bend. Twenty feet high at its summit, with a gently sloping incline at its rear; it would be the ideal place to observe from without being seen.

  “Excellent,” I said to myself before turning to both Baram and Jaramel. “Dismount from your horses and meet me at the top of that rock. I shall join you after I have the horses secured.”

  They agreed with a nod and dismounted.

  “And be quick!” I hastened as I took hold of the all the reins, “for I don’t think our friend is far behind us now.”

  Whilst Jaramel and Baram moved off at speed towards the rear of the rock, I darted amongst the trees and continued through them until I was sure that our horses would not be seen from the road. Once happy, I secured them to a fallen tree before heading quickly and stealthily back to the road.

  The smell of the cold stone filled my nostrils as I lay on my belly to crawl the last six feet up the sloping incline to where Baram and Jaramel awaited on theirs.

  “Anything yet?” I asked in hushed tones as I crawled between them.

  “Nothing as yet,” replied Baram, “but the view is good. Should anyone pass by this way, they will not escape our eyes.”

  I nodded in satisfaction. “Now all we have to do is wait...”

  Why is it that when you are waiting for something to happen, time always seems to last much longer than it really does? To me, the past twenty minutes had seemed like twenty hours as we all continued with our vigilant watch upon a mist-free landscape. I scanned the view before me yet again. Nothing! Not a thing, a definitely no sign of any would-be pursuers. In fact, the only things that moved were the clouds in the sky and the wind in the trees. Baram had been right about the view, even though the landscape dipped and rose in tune with the land, a clear five miles could now be seen around us. Even so, by now we should have at least seen something of our mystery guest. I was beginning to become apprehensive of ever seeing our shadow’s appearance, so I cast my sight to the edge of my range in the hope of seeing something anew… and was not disappointed.

  Tiny dark coloured dots on the distant horizon were all moving down the side of the hill as water upon a windowpane. I nudged Baram in the ribs to gain his attention.

  “There Baram! Do you see them?”

  “See what?” came the re
ply.

  “On the side of that hill there, about four miles away, ” I guided Baram’s sight by the point of my finger.

  “I see nothing,” came his reply.

  “Wait, they are just about to come over the next rise,” Baram waited and then made a sigh of recognition as he too spied the objects of my scrutiny.

  “Ahh, the Wolvern pack,” he finally announced, “look at the size of it. Nearly fifty strong I would say.”

  “You do not think they will come this way?” asked a slightly nervous sounding Jaramel.

  “I would not say that,” I cooed in return “But you are right. We are near to a road that smells of man so I would be very surprised if they strayed too far from the wilds.”

  “Probably reacting to the other two,” Baram speculated.

  I nodded my head in agreement before turning to Jaramel.

  “But perhaps they now seek a magic user.” I jested.

  “Taragon!” laughed Baram quietly as Jaramel turned his stony stare back to face the wilds.

  “Well I don’t think our friend is going to show, and we cannot waste any more time here.”