“Alexander,” she whispered in astonishment. “Your fever’s broken.”
Alexander answered, “I didn’t break it, mum. I promise.”
The nurse didn’t remove her mask, but Alexander could tell she was smiling. “Well, maybe you did and maybe you didn’t, but there’s one thing for sure…it’s a miracle.” She backed away from the boy, finally pulling off her mask. Her smile was as big and broad as Alexander thought. It made him smile as well. “It’s a miracle!” she repeated and ran off through the curtains, calling, “Doctor! Doctor! Come quickly!”
Alexander lay there smiling. He wasn’t sure why. He felt good, that was for certain, but after all, it was only a dream. He thought he would wake up soon enough, to be right back where he’d started, shivering and in pain. His only hope was that this glorious dream would last a while longer.
He shifted his weight to get a better view of the window overhead. That’s when he felt it. There was something in his hand. He hadn’t noticed up until then because he hadn’t moved much. But when he went to pivot his body, he realized that something was in his right hand. He squeezed it. It was hard, like a small stone. Or a marble. A shooter marble. But he didn’t remember bringing a marble to bed with him, and the nurses definitely wouldn’t have allowed it. With more than a little curiosity, Alexander used his left hand to pull the thin blanket away. He didn’t need it anymore. He was plenty warm enough. Once the covering was gone, Alexander lifted his hand to see what the mysterious object was.
His first thought was that it was beautiful. He had never seen anything like it. It wasn’t a stone, or a marble. Not even close. There was some fine workmanship involved in making this treasure. It had to be valuable. No doubt about that. Did it belong to one of the doctors? Why would they give it to him? Alexander raised the object up to his face to give it a closer look.
It was a silver ring with a large gray stone set in the center. Surrounding the stone were markings-ten in all. They were like no letters Alexander had ever seen. They were more like ancient characters from some unknown language. He turned the ring over in his hand and stared at the gray stone. It didn’t look like a valuable jewel. It was definitely cut and polished, but the stone itself was gray and drab.
Though not for long. As he looked at it, the stone began to sparkle. This didn’t frighten Alexander, or even surprise him. The stone transformed from opaque gray to brilliant crystal. The light that flickered inside it seemed alive. Alexander looked deep into this magical gem, and smiled.
“Maybe it is a miracle,” he said to himself.
He would have continued staring into the flickering light if something else hadn’t grabbed his attention. Another shadow flashed by the window overhead. This time it didn’t continue on. Alexander looked up to see that something had stopped to rest on a branch just outside the glass. It was a large black bird. A raven. Alexander couldn’t tell for sure, but it felt to him as if the dark bird was looking down at him.
“This isn’t a dream, is it?” he said softly in the general direction of the bird.
As if in answer, the raven let out a sharp caw! and flew off.
DENDURON
Alder made his way quickly towardthe Milago village, trying not to be seen by anyone who might know him. He needed to understand what was happening before being swept up in the activity. Better yet, he wanted to avoid anything to do with this kind of activity. He was still a Bedoowan knight, and the knights were assembling for battle. He would be expected to join his troop. Worse, he might be punished for not being there already. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to be on his own. Whatever was going on, he was absolutely certain that it had something to do with Saint Dane and the battle for Halla. The reappearance of the quigs on top of the mountain had told him that. He had to think like a Traveler now, not a Bedoowan knight. For that, he had to steer clear of his comrades.
Alder found a spot in a grove of trees not far from the edge of the forest that led up into the mountains. From there he had a clear view of the activities below. Hundreds of knights were assembling in the large area between the Milago village and the ruins of the Bedoowan castle. They marched in formation, forty at a time, locked in step. Some carried spears and shields. Others had bows, with quivers of arrows strapped to their backs. Two troops of knights on horseback appeared and took up positions on either side of the assembling army. They were followed by a long line of what looked to Alder like cannons being wheeled in and positioned to the rear. This last was the most disturbing image of all. There weren’t supposed to be cannons on Denduron. The weapons they used were primitive. Spears, arrows, rocks, wooden staves-all were common to the Bedoowan knights of Denduron. Cannons were not.
What had happened since he’d left with Pendragon for Ibara? How long had he been gone? By his own clock, Alder had only been gone for a few days. But when he left, there weren’t this many Bedoowan knights on Denduron. Now the number of armored knights looked to have tripled. Alder thought he saw some Milago farmers in uniform, as well as the white-skinned Novans, who seemed to have been pressed into service as well. And then there were the cannons. Weapons like that could not be developed from scratch in a few days. No, Alder was beginning to realize that he had returned to Denduron at a time far into the future. But how far? Why had the flume done that? Why were his people preparing for battle, and with whom?
He remembered the final image he saw floating in space before the flume set him down. He saw another army gathering. The primitive tribe that lived on the far side of the mountain from the Milago village were known as the Lowsee. There was never trouble between the Lowsee and the Bedoowan and Milago, yet seeing that image of the Lowsee in armor and waving spears made Alder fear the worst. Were they about to attack? Or were the Bedoowan knights preparing to march over the mountain and invade the Lowsee? There were so many questions, and only one answer as to why all these changes had occurred.
Alder felt certain he knew what that answer was.
Boom!
He jumped at the sound of a far-off explosion. Had the battle begun? He looked to the assembled knights. Nobody seemed to be concerned about the eruption, They kept in line without moving. The first explosion was followed by another, and another. Alder realized the sounds were coming from the training ground, where the Milago had prepared to battle the Bedoowan so long ago. Whatever was happening there, it was only training. The explosions confirmed Alder’s fears. He didn’t know why the Bedoowan were preparing for war, but he knew what lit the fuse. Tak.
He had helped Pendragon and Siry use the incredible digging device from Zadaa to find a new vein of the explosive compound beneath the surface of Denduron. It was the only way to battle Saint Dane’s army of dados-the only way to save Ibara. The gamble had worked. Ibara was saved. But what of Denduron? Tak was as tempting as it was powerful. When the Milago miners originally discovered it, they had planned to use it against the Bedoowan to win their freedom. But that wouldn’t have been the end of it. Rellin, the leader of the miners, spoke of tak as being the tool that would create a powerful empire. The Milago had lived for generations as slaves. They were angry, and justifiably so. Their anger was not going to dissipate once they had defeated the Bedoowan. They planned to march on the rest of Denduron, conquering tribes and putting them under the rule of the Milago. But they never got the chance, for the Travelers realized that the discovery of tak was the turning point for Denduron. Saint Dane wanted the Milago to use tak. The Travelers didn’t.
The Travelers won. Pendragon exploded the tak mine in such spectacular fashion that it not only destroyed the Bedoowan castle, it shattered the Milago village as well. With both their worlds in shambles, the Milago and the Bedoowan were forced to end their rivalry and rebuild, together. Most important, the eruption buried the vein of tak so deep that it ended any temptation to create an army that could use its destructive power. The explosive tak was unreachable by any tools or methods known to Denduron.
Until Pendragon and Siry showed up with
a dygo from Zadaa.
Was it possible that the unearthing of the tak had created another turning point for Denduron? Had all that was accomplished, all that was risked to end the bitter dispute between the two tribes been for naught? Did Saint Dane get a second chance? From where Alder stood, it looked sickeningly possible.
He crept cautiously closer to the parade ground, keeping to the safe shadows of the trees. As he grew closer, he saw two people arrive on horseback to address the knights. One he recognized instantly as Rellin, the chief miner of the Milago who had led the revolution against the Bedoowan. For his strong leadership, Rellin was elected to lead the Milago during the rebuilding process. Alder’s heart sank when he saw that Rellin wore the armor of a Bedoowan knight. Worse. His armor was decorated with bright yellow stripes on each arm. Under his left arm he held a leather helmet that had a bright yellow plume of feathers attached to the back. Rellin looked as rugged as Alder remembered, but now his hair was combed back and neat. His horse was beautiful, with its own leather armor gleaming in the sun. Rellin looked every bit like a proud general who wore armor for show, rather than for protection.
On the horse next to him was a woman Alder didn’t recognize. He moved a few yards closer to get a better look and stopped short, unbelieving. The woman wore a flowing white dress, with a ring of yellow flowers in her hair. The flowers surrounded a simple silver crown. It was Kagan, queen of the Bedoowan. What surprised Alder was how she looked. The Kagan that Alder knew was, by all accounts, grotesque. Everything about her was huge. Her eyes, her nose, her hands and feet-all freakishly immense. Not anymore. This queen had lost a lot of weight. By Alder’s estimation, Kagan had lost an entire Kagan. She wasn’t pretty by any means, but she was no longer beastly. Just the fact that her clothes were no longer covered by greasy food stains helped her to look more human. It also helped that she wasn’t constantly stuffing her face with various meat products. She sat on her horse with a serene expression as she watched Rellin address the troops.
Alder got his feet moving again and saw one more surprise: Rellin held his helmet under his arm for a reason. On his head was a small crown. What? Had he married Kagan? Was he now the king of the Bedoowan as well as the leader of the Milago? There was nothing good about what Alder was seeing. He was still too far away to hear what Rellin was saying to the knights, but every so often a raucous cheer erupted from the troops. Whatever Rellin was saying, he was firing them up.
“Alder!” came a surprised shout.
Alder bent his knees, ready to be attacked. He turned to see a Bedoowan knight jogging toward him along the treeline. Alder wished he had thought about the possibility of there being guards in the woods. He would have been more careful. Now it was too late. He crouched, ready to fight, until he saw that the knight wasn’t in attack mode. If anything, he looked happy to see Alder. The guy had a big smile on his face. Alder relaxed. Slightly.
“Where have you been?” the knight called to him excitedly.
Alder recognized the man. It was Graviot, one of the knights from Alder’s troop. Graviot was a friend, though he knew nothing of Alder’s calling as a Traveler. Graviot reminded Alder of himself… or at least of the knight Alder used to be. Graviot was younger by a few years. He was also big and clumsy and absolutely honest to a fault, just as Alder had been so long ago. It pained Alder to think that he himself was no longer as honest and naive. He had seen too much of Halla to be able to hold on to the person he once was. He had a moment of sadness for the loss of his own simple life, but shook it off quickly. Alder knew he had to be careful with the knight, friend or not. Too much had happened since he’d been gone to assume anything.
“I traveled with Pendragon and the boy Siry,” Alder answered. “Remember? We unearthed the tak to help a tribe far from here.”
“Of course I remember,” Graviot answered. “We did not think you would be gone for so long. Many things have happened. We will soon be at war.”
“Why is that?” Alder asked. “What has happened? Have we been attacked?”
“In a way, yes,” Graviot answered.
“The Lowsee attacked us?” Alder asked, surprised.
Graviot’s eyes narrowed. “How would you know of the Lowsee problem if you have been away?”
Alder couldn’t admit that he’d seen images of the Lowsee preparing for battle as he flumed through time and space. He had to come up with a plausible response to keep Graviot on his side.
“I never trusted the Lowsee,” Alder answered quickly. “It was only a guess.” It was also a total lie, but Alder was getting used to being less than honest.
“You were wise not to trust them,” Graviot continued. He bought it.
“Yet I did not expect them to attack us,” Alder added. “They are a peaceful tribe.”
“They did not attack us with weapons,” Graviot continued. “But they are trying to crush us just the same.”
“How?”
“By withholding their triptyte” was Graviot’s answer.
Alder knew about triptyte. It was a mineral the Bedoowan had used to create light within their castle. Before the castle was destroyed there was an elaborate system of tubes that snaked across every ceiling. When darkness fell, triptyte glowed brightly. It was a clean source of light that was much safer than fire. It was also a cause for shame, because the Bedoowan had not shared the technology with the Milago. They kept the Milago in the dark. Literally. When the Bedoowan castle crumbled and the Milago village was rebuilt, that changed. Triptyte lights were erected throughout the village. It was an incredible step forward, allowing the Milago village to continue operating into the night without the fear of an accident caused by fire. Many said that triptyte was what helped create a modern Milago.
Alder also knew that the triptyte came from mines on land that was controlled by the Lowsee.
“Why would they withhold the triptyte from us?” Alder asked.
“Because we are no longer mining glaze,” was his answer. “The triptyte was paid for by glaze. Once the Milago stopped mining, we could no longer trade with the Lowsee and-”
“And now we are going to war to take what we need,” Alder said gravely, finishing Graviot’s thought.
“It is a wonderful opportunity!” Graviot said enthusiastically.
“How can war be wonderful?” Alder asked, incredulous.
“Once we defeat the Lowsee, we will not stop there. Glaze has been discovered in the lands beyond the Lowsee. Once we control those lands, the glaze will be ours.”
Alder shot a harsh glance at Graviot. “You are saying that we plan on mining glaze again? How can that be? It is deadly to mine that mineral. Have you forgotten?”
“Of course not,” Graviot scoffed. “But we will not be mining it. That will be the task of the Lowsee…once they have been conquered.”
“And whose plan was this?”
“King Rellin’s of course!” Graviot answered, as if it were a ridiculous question to ask.
Alder winced. It was coming full circle. Rellin once began a revolution to fight the barbaric practice of forcing his people to dig and die in the toxic glaze mines. Now that he had achieved power, he was willing to go to war to force another group of unfortunates to do the exact same thing.
Alder looked at Graviot and said sadly, “So dying for glaze is acceptable, as long as it is somebody else who is dying?”
Graviot shrugged. “The strong survive, Alder.”
Alder wanted to scream. All they had been fighting for on Denduron, all they had achieved was about to be wiped out.
“Why do you look pained?” Graviot asked. “You should be proud! None of this would have been possible if not for you and Pendragon.”
Alder gave Graviot a steely glare.
“Do not be modest,” Graviot chided. “You and Pendragon brought that wondrous machine to unearth the tak. If not for the tak, none of this would be happening. Besides, it may save your life.”
“Save my life?” Alder asked, stunned.
Alder struck without thinking. He uncorked a punch that Graviot never saw coming. The unsuspecting knight probably didn’t even know he had been hit. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Alder felt a twinge of regret. Not that he had decked Graviot, but that the attack had come from an outburst of emotion. It wasn’t professional. Alder was a professional. He wouldn’t let emotions rule his actions again. There was too much at stake. He had work to do.
He dragged the unconscious knight back into the trees, away from curious eyes. There he stripped the knight of his new, modern armor. He took off his own armor and lashed on Graviot’s. It was good that they were the same size. Now Alder could walk among the Bedoowan without attracting unwanted stares. Remaining hidden was suddenly more important than he had realized. He had been gone a long time… too long. Enough time to be charged with desertion and treason. He couldn’t be arrested. That would be disaster, because he had a mission and he could not fail.
The Traveler knight stopped for a moment and took a breath. He was tired. He had just fought a war against an army of dados. There was nothing he wanted more than to sit down, sleep, and heal. Alder was strong. He knew he could keep going physically. It was his mental state he was more concerned with. Would he be able to bring himself to do what needed to be done to save his territory? The tak mine had to be destroyed. If he was successful, the Milago village might be destroyed along with it. Could he bring himself to do that?
He didn’t have a choice. The future of Denduron was at stake. The future of Halla was at stake. He had to go into battle once again. He picked up the long wooden stave that was the weapon of choice for Bedoowan knights, spun it once, and held it close to his side. He was on familiar turf. He left the trees and headed for the village, prepared to destroy all that was left of his former life.
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