Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza

by Forman, M. L.

  If I let this spell take me, if I can make Magnus believe he has the upper hand, I might be able to discover more about the Brotherhood he works for, Alex thought.

  A risk, Alex’s O’Gash warned. You don’t know how strong Magnus’s magic is.

  Some risks are worth taking. If I can discover more about the Brotherhood, if I can learn who is part of it or who is controlling it, I might be able to stop them. I can save other lands from what Nezza is going through now, Alex reasoned.

  Would you gamble with the lives of your friends—with your own life? his O’Gash questioned.

  If the Brotherhood isn’t stopped, none of the known lands will ever be safe, Alex pointed out.

  Then protect yourself as much as you can before walking into this trap, his O’Gash answered.

  In the dim passageway, Alex worked his magic. He pulled all the wizardly magic he could inward, wrapping it up inside his mind to protect his thoughts from Magnus. With his first barrier in place, Alex did something more. He remembered the fear he had felt in the dungeons of Karmus, the magic Magnus had used that had almost destroyed him. Calling on the power of the dragon, he created a second barrier around his emotions and his heart. He put his emotions in the care of the dragon, and then he stepped into Magnus’s trap.

  Alex hardly noticed Magnus’s magic as he moved forward. He walked down the slope, all his senses alert, and found himself at the edge of another round chamber. This chamber was much larger than the last. The ceiling was a high dome, and there were no passageways leading out of the room except the one he had just come down. Torches were lit all along the walls of the chamber, and there were candles burning everywhere, filling the room with light.

  Alex saw Rallian as soon as he entered the chamber. Rallian was tied up and gagged, lying on the floor near the wall to Alex’s left. He wasn’t quite halfway across the room, and it looked like he was still drugged. There was a pale green light around Rallian, like the light that had been around the lockbox in Magnus’s rooms. Alex took a few steps toward Rallian and stopped, his staff up, ready for battle.

  “You’ll not need that, at least not yet,” said Magnus, appearing from the other side of the room.

  “I’ll decide what I need and when,” Alex answered, shifting his position to put himself between Magnus and Rallian.

  “Yes, of course you will,” said Magnus with a smile. “I thought we might talk a little before things get out of hand, that’s all.”

  “Talk?” said Alex. “I have little to say to you, Magnus. I am here to call you to account for your evils, and to save the true king of Nezza from whatever fate you have planned for him.”

  “Save him?” Magnus laughed. “What terrible fate do you think I have planned for the young king?”

  “I don’t know, but I know you need him alive,” Alex answered. “I won’t allow you to make him your puppet, Magnus.”

  “My puppet?” Magnus repeated. “Oh, no, nothing like that would do for the true king of Nezza.”

  “You said you wanted to talk, so talk,” said Alex, shifting closer to Rallian.

  “Put down your staff, young wizard. Put down your staff, and I will enlighten you,” said Magnus, his voice calm and soothing.

  Alex felt his left arm drop to his side. He didn’t try to fight Magnus’s magic; he let it work while at the same time putting his own magic to work. His magic touched the edges of Magnus’s mind, slowly, gently asking questions, looking for the answers that only Magnus could give him.

  “Relax,” Magnus’s voice said. “The knowledge I’m about to give you will change the way you see the world.”

  Who belongs to the Brotherhood? Alex thought. Who is Gaylan, and what part does he play?

  Alex’s staff clattered to the floor. He felt like he was falling asleep, but this wasn’t sleep, it was better than sleep. Slowly he dropped to one knee, his head lowered and his eyes closed.

  “I don’t know what the council of wizards has told you about us, but I’m sure they have lied,” Magnus went on. “They don’t agree with what we are trying to do. They don’t want things to change in the known lands.”

  “The council doesn’t know who or what the Brotherhood is,” said Alex. “They don’t know what you are doing, or why you are doing it.”

  Who belongs to your group? Who does Gaylan work for? Alex’s thoughts pressed into Magnus’s mind.

  “Don’t be a fool. Of course they know what we are doing and why,” said Magnus. “They love to be thought of as wise. They love the praise of men and dwarves and even elves—but what do they do to deserve that praise? When trouble comes, they say, ‘Yes, we thought this would happen,’ but what did they do to stop it from happening?”

  “They do what they can,” said Alex, his voice a whisper. “They try to protect the known lands from evil.”

  “Ha!” Magnus laughed. “They protect themselves and do as little as they can. They hide their power and allow lesser, weaker men to lead. That is what we are fighting against. We are tired of watching the destruction and waste that weak leaders bring to the known lands. We can put an end to this foolishness. We are working for a greater good, if only you could see that.”

  “I . . . I don’t understand,” said Alex.

  Who is Gaylan? What does he look like? Who does he serve?

  An image flashed in Alex’s mind of a face that had once been handsome but now the left eye was half closed by a scar that ran from his eyebrow halfway down his cheek and then turned sharply back toward his ear. The image’s right eye was dark and cunning, but the left eye was milky white and cold.

  “We, and I include you in this, have been given power,” said Magnus. “It is our duty to use that power, not to gain the praise of men and dwarves, but to use it for the greater good. We must use it to take control, to create order in the known lands. What good is power if it is not used? What good comes from replacing foolish kings with new kings who are just as foolish as those who came before them?”

  A new vision flooded into Alex’s mind, a vision of the future that Magnus had planned for Nezza. The kingdoms of men were united and there was peace, but preparations for war continued. Everything in this new, united kingdom was done with war in mind. The army would grow larger and stronger, and in time, it would march to the east.

  In the far east of Nezza were the dwarf realms. Magnus’s armies would enslave the dwarves, and they would serve in the war machine he was planning to build. Individuals did not matter, only the greater good mattered—and the greater good was centered in war. When Nezza was fully under the control of the Brotherhood, the armies would march to other lands, spreading like a cancer.

  “The greater good,” said Alex, his voice slightly stronger than it had been.

  Alex had heard things like this before. “The greater good” was just a twisting of words, something to make evil sound good and noble. The real meaning was simple. Those with power should rule; those with power should force the people to obey. It was the Brotherhood’s plan to rule the known lands, not for some greater good as they claimed, but simply for the sake of power.

  “Tom, no!” a distant voice called.

  Alex’s eyes snapped open, and his left hand closed around his staff. His head slowly turned to the left, and he saw Tom trying to use his own magic to free Rallian from the ball of green light that surrounded him. Alex couldn’t find the strength to move, and he couldn’t look away. The green light shifted like a living thing, pulling back from Tom’s magic and then slamming forward into Tom’s chest.

  “Fool,” Magnus said to Tom. “You should not interfere with things that are beyond you.”

  Alex’s right hand curled into a fist. His mind cleared as Magnus’s magic slipped away, and then the rage of the dragon filled him. In one quick movement, Alex stood up, his right arm coming up so sharply that his fist slammed into Magnus’s chin. The old man stumbled backward a few steps and then fell down hard. Magnus’s eyes were glassy, and it looked like he was about to pass out. The s
tunned look on Magnus’s face told Alex that being punched was one thing he had never expected to happen.

  Alex turned to his left, looking for Tom. Virgil was there as well, holding Tom up and looking almost as surprised as Magnus did. Colesum was standing just inside the room, his sword in his hand.

  “Get Rallian and Tom out of here,” Alex ordered. “Get all of the men out of this crypt.”

  Alex didn’t wait to see if Virgil and Colesum obeyed. He turned his full attention to Magnus. The magic he had used to pry into Magnus’s thoughts was still there, and now Alex put all of his power into that magic, squeezing Magnus’s mind like an orange.

  “What was your plan for Rallian?” Alex demanded. “What evil magic were you going to work?”

  “We . . . we were going to take his body,” Magnus answered with a shudder. “It was a spell of great power, some ancient dark magic I don’t understand. It would rip his soul from his body and allow us to replace it with mine. I would become the king of Nezza, and our plans could move forward.”

  “‘We’?” Alex questioned. “Who are you working for?”

  “Gaylan was going to assist me,” said Magnus. “I don’t know the magic, but he does.”

  “When is Gaylan coming, and how?”

  “He should be here now. The portal, I—”

  “Portal? What portal?”

  Alex’s eyes scanned the chamber, but there was no magic to be seen. The dark magic Magnus was talking about would need to be done in a place of death, a cemetery, which explained why Magnus had brought Rallian here.

  Magnus shook his head and tried to fight off Alex’s magic. He sent a weak lightning bolt toward Alex. Alex deflected it with his staff, but the magic had done its job. Magnus had distracted Alex long enough for the magical portal to start opening.

  Alex had never created a magical portal, but he did know something about them. They connected two places together, creating a passageway that could be used to move from one distant place to another. If Gaylan used this portal, then Alex was about to be outnumbered. He couldn’t let that happen, not if he wanted to stay alive. Gaylan, Alex was sure, would be a much more dangerous foe than Magnus was.

  As the portal opened, Alex sent a wave of dragon fire into it. He hoped the magic would stop Gaylan from entering Nezza, and he also hoped the magic that held the portal open would be weakened by his spell. If he could throw enough power into it, the portal would fall apart and close.

  “Yah!” Magnus screamed, charging toward Alex with an ancient spear in his hands.

  Alex knocked the spear away with his staff, then sidestepped Magnus. He managed to kick out and trip the old man as he rushed by. Magnus tumbled across the floor, and Alex turned back to the portal to let loose another wave of dragon fire.

  This time, the fire stopped at the edge of the portal and then bounced back into the room. Alex managed to turn the flames back toward the portal, blocking this side of the passageway, at least for now.

  Hot wax splattered across Alex’s hand as something flew past his head. He turned to see Magnus snatching up candles to throw at him. The old man’s face was almost purple with rage, and it seemed he’d forgotten how to use his magic.

  Alex pushed out his right hand, and his magic sent Magnus crashing into the wall.

  He turned back to the portal just as a ball of blue light came flying out of it. The ball hit him squarely in the chest, forcing him to take a few steps back. The true silver chain mail he wore kept magic from doing any real harm to him, but Alex still felt like every hair on his head was standing straight up.

  The spell spun around his body for a moment, then bolts of blue lightning suddenly flew off the chain mail in every direction.

  Alex dropped to the floor as the lightning struck the walls and ceiling. Deadly bits of shattered stone filled the air and bounced wildly around the room. Alex jumped up and sent a freezing spell into the portal, then a ball of fire, and then a lightning bolt. He sent more power into the dragon fire that still burned in front of the portal. Then he turned to look for Magnus.

  The old wizard was not on the floor where Alex thought he would be. Instead Magnus was crouched like a cat close to the flames and the portal. His face was twisted with rage and hate, but his eyes were fixed on the portal. The magic of the portal was falling apart; the opening was starting to close.

  “You may have won today, wizard, but I swear that one day I’ll have my revenge,” Magnus yelled.

  Before Alex could stop him, Magnus leaped forward, diving headfirst into the shrinking portal. Unwilling to let Magnus escape, Alex threw his right hand out as if he held a whip. A rope of flame wrapped around Magnus’s left leg, stopping him halfway through the portal. Alex pulled on the flaming rope with all his strength, trying to drag Magnus back into Nezza.

  Suddenly, a different power took hold of Magnus from the other side of the portal. Alex could feel a power trying to pull the old wizard away. The strange magical tug-of-war lasted for only a few seconds, Magnus’s body moving in and out of the portal as each side pulled hard. Then a surge of power pulled Magnus almost all the way through the magic passageway. Alex’s rope of flame was snuffed out. A strangely muffled, echoing scream of pain filled the room but stopped as the portal snapped shut.

  Alex stared at where the portal had been. There was no trace of magic now, and no way for Alex to know where Magnus had gone. Magnus’s lower left leg and foot remained in Nezza, sticking out of the wall at an odd angle. Alex lifted his staff and tapped the boot that had been left behind. The leg and boot turned to dust, crumbling and leaving no trace of the old man they had belonged to.

  Dropping to the floor, Alex wiped his face on his sleeve. He was tired and sore, and nothing sounded better than lying down and going to sleep.

  What about the others? Alex’s O’Gash questioned.

  Alex jumped up, his desire to sleep vanishing as his mind filled with new worries. Tom had been hit by Magnus’s spell, and Alex had no idea what that spell had done. How had Virgil and Tom found him? Had they fought through all of the black guards in the first chamber? Was Rallian all right? Was Nezza in danger of losing its new king?

  Alex started to run, but running wasn’t fast enough. He changed midstep into a raven and flew down the passageway that would lead him out of the crypt. The torches still burned to show the way, but now the floor was littered with the bodies of dead men. Most of the dead looked like black guards, but Alex didn’t take the time to check. He flew though the tunnels, looking for the living, looking for his friends. He found them just outside the doors to the crypt.

  “We have to go back,” Rallian said hotly.

  “He said to get everyone out,” Colesum answered.

  “We can’t just leave him there alone,” said Rallian. “There might still be black guards lurking in the passages. Magnus may have some deadly trap that Alex doesn’t know anything about.”

  “Or Magnus may no longer be in Nezza,” said Alex, taking his own shape in front of Rallian.

  “Alex!” Rallian shouted in surprise. “Thank goodness, I thought, well, I . . .”

  “I’m fine, and Magnus is no longer in this land. You appear to have recovered as well, but where are Virgil and Tom?”

  “Here,” called Virgil from behind Colesum. “Quickly, Alex. It’s Tom—he’s . . . I think he’s dying.”

  Alex almost knocked down Colesum in his rush to get to Tom. Virgil was kneeling next to Tom, holding his hand and trying to get him to talk. Tom didn’t move, his eyes closed and his face calm. Alex put his hand on Tom’s forehead and a groan escaped him. Tom’s skin was already growing cold. Alex didn’t know how much he could do for his friend.

  “The spell seemed only to stun him at first,” said Virgil. “He could almost walk, and he could talk, but . . .”

  “It’s draining his life away,” said Alex. “I must go to him.”

  “Go?” Rallian questioned from behind Alex.

  Alex didn’t answer. He took Tom’s hand i
n his own, quietly working the magic that would take him to the shadowlands. Almost before he’d finished saying the words, Alex found himself standing on the shaded hill looking down into the land of shadows. Tom was only a few feet away, a confused, lost look on his face.

  “Tom,” said Alex, moving closer.

  “I . . . I don’t understand,” said Tom.

  “What don’t you understand?”

  “When I was here before, when you brought me here the first time, I saw him,” Tom answered. “I’m sorry I lied to you, but he was so close. He was just beyond the wall, waiting for me. Now the land is empty. He isn’t there anymore.”

  “Who isn’t there?” Alex asked, knowing already who Tom was looking for.

  “Richard,” said Tom. “I . . . I thought that . . . I don’t know what I thought.”

  “You thought your time to cross the wall was close and that your brother would come to lead you into the shadowlands,” said Alex.

  “Yes.”

  “Now you feel betrayed, lost, because your brother is not there,” Alex went on.

  Tears ran down Tom’s face, and he had lost the ability to say anything.

  “It is not your time, Tom,” said Alex. “Come back to the world of light. There are things you still need to learn and work that only you can do.”

  Tom let Alex turn him around and lead him up the hill toward the light.

  After a few minutes, Alex found himself kneeling beside Tom. He could feel the warmth returning to Tom’s hand, and he gently laid that hand on Tom’s chest.

  “Is he gone?” Virgil asked in a troubled voice.

  “He is not,” said Alex. “He will sleep for now, and he will recover in time.”

  “Then you have done myself and my company another great service,” said Virgil.

  “It was not his time,” Alex answered as he stood up. “Now, what else remains to be done?”