Accidental Archaeologist

by Kathryn Wells

  'Plenty of people are still like that,' Vey said. 'Isn't that why you came here? To educate people so that they know there is no difference between the abilities of wizards regardless of how they were born?'

  'Yes,' Thordric said, pushing his fork around his plate. 'And I failed.'

  Vey laughed quietly, making Thordric and Hamlet stare. 'Had it not been for the current situation below us, I might have agreed with you. However, I should point out to you that you've barely been here a week and, in that time, have found three half-wizards, two of which now know that they can come to the Council for training should they wish too. Not to mention that the Wanderers, apart from Tome and Yim, have all agreed to come back to the Council to see the changes for themselves.'

  'They have?' Thordric said, blinking. Then he remembered how close the trees had been to their hide out last time he was there. 'Wait, we need to go and get them on board too; the forest was—'

  'Relax, Thordric,' Vey said. 'They're already onboard, on this ship too, I believe. We picked them up before we got to Valley Edge. Many of them helped us with the rescue, but unfortunately they'd all retired to their cabins by the time you came out.'

  'So everyone should be safe for a while?' Hamlet said, pushing his empty plate away.

  'Yes, for at least a few days, but there should be enough provisions on board to last us a week,' Vey replied.

  They were all silent for a moment. The dining room emptied around them and soon they found themselves alone. At last, Thordric spoke.

  'Do you really think that Kal could be Kalljard's son?'

  Vey frowned, tugging his beard again. 'Perhaps, but I do find it hard to believe. Still, I think I know someone who might know, though it might be best not to summon him until we've cleared up this mess first.'

  'Who?' Thordric asked, now calm enough to eat.

  Vey grinned at him. 'Just a past friend of yours and, incidentally, the boy's uncle, since Eliza and Jal adopted him.'

  Thordric stared. 'Rarn? He would know such a thing as that?'

  'As someone who made it his business to haunt Kalljard everywhere, I'm sure a rather indelicate detail like that would hardly have slipped passed him.'

  They finished their meal and left the dining room too, making their way back to 'The Rookery'. The corridors were silent now and they had seen no-one on their way there. Vey left them once they had reached the cabin, telling them specifically to get some rest and not stay up all night trying to figure things out.

  They had both told him adamantly that that they had no intention of working any more that evening and, satisfied, he had strolled off. As soon as he had gone, however, Hamlet took out the pyramids again and opened his books.

  Feeling rather useless, Thordric took out the books he had brought with him for the trip; the potion book and plant identification book that had both been written by Lizzie's husband.

  He opened the book on plants, wondering if there was anything in it about rapid growing trees that he might have missed, but somehow he ended up staring at the very last page. It depicted one of the Watchem Watchems; small creatures that lived in forests that disguised themselves as bushes and sometimes trees. He had seen them before, during his training with Lizzie when she had taken him to her country house near Watchem Woods, named after them.

  Staring at the sketch showing the long, branch like limbs and pointed fingers, he realised something. He had seen a picture of them recently, though not as detailed as this one. It had been simplified into just the basic shape, but he knew it had definitely been one.

  He got up and picked up one of the pyramids, making Hamlet jump and fall off the bed. Looking at the symbols carved into each side, he blinked. There it was, the symbol for the Watchem Watchems.

  Now the question was, what would a Watchem Watchem have been doing in Neathin Valley thousands of years ago, if not more?

  'Hamlet,' he said, as Hamlet tried to pick himself up, accidentally treading on a book and ending up sliding forwards into a split. 'Have a look at this.'

  He pulled his friend up and showed him the picture in the book and the symbol on the pyramid.

  Hamlet stared, confused at first, but then he cried out and hit his head with his fist. 'How could I have been so idiotic?' he said, choosing some curse words that even Thordric had never heard before.

  'What is it?' Thordric asked.

  Hamlet sat down and flicked through the book on ancient cultures, finding the page he wanted and holding it out for Thordric to see. There was a picture of a Watchem Watchem, though it was slightly different to the ones Thordric had seen before. It looked taller and its hands were larger too, but it was still clearly one of them.

  'When I looked before,' Hamlet explained, 'I only thought to look for human tribes in the area. It didn't occur to me that another species would be involved.'

  'But how would the Watchem Watchems have survived in Neathin Valley? They live in forests and depend on them entirely,' Thordric protested.

  'Neathin Valley hasn't always been so barren. When all the tribes lived here, around six thousand years ago, there were plenty of forests. The Ta'Ren used to gather most of their food from them. It's believed that they had a close bond with the Watchem Watchems.'

  'Then how did the Valley Flats become how they are now?' Thordric asked.

  'There was another tribe living there at the time, called the Neathers. They wanted more land and, during a war with the Ta'Ren, burnt all the forests down. Without the trees to hold the water, the land dried up. Eventually they took over and became the ancestors of most of the people living in Neathin Valley today.'

  'That still doesn't explain this magic, though,' Thordric said.

  'Actually,' Hamlet said slowly, a spark in his eyes, 'I believe it might. I still need to check, but I think the Ta'Ren and the Watchem Watchems created it together, to restore the forests,' Hamlet said. 'But if they were all killed before they could activate it, then that would be why the Valley Flats stayed barren.

  'Then…that's why this magic feels so different to ours,' Thordric gasped. 'It's because it wasn't made by humans at all.'

  Hamlet smiled, rather wearily. 'It still doesn't tell us what these pyramids are for, though,' he said.

  'No,' Thordric agreed. 'But I think I know how to break through those roots covering the main excavation site now.'

  He dashed out of the room before Hamlet could say anything and hurried along the corridors, looking for Vey's cabin, but soon it occurred to him that he had no idea where it was.

  Hoping to find one of the other Council wizards, he made his way up on deck. Apart from a few sailors on their night watch, it was empty, but he saw light coming from the Captain's cabin and so decided to ask him if he knew where Vey was.

  He knocked politely on the door. Jal opened it and, when he saw Thordric, a grin spread across his face. 'You're looking for the High Wizard, no doubt?' he said.

  'Yes, actually…'

  Jal opened the door wider, beckoning him in. In the corner of the cabin, tucked up in a tight ball on the floor, was Vey. He was snoring rather loudly. 'Your reverence,' Jal said, prodding Vey gently on the shoulder. Vey groaned sleepily. 'Your reverence, young Thordric is here to see you.'

  Slowly, Vey sat up, his eyes bleary. 'You should be in bed, Thordric,' he said, letting out a long yawn.

  Thordric grinned at him. 'You won't say that after what I've got to tell you,' he said.

  Vey raised his eyebrow. 'Go on, then,' he said, standing up and stretching with yet another yawn.

  Thordric told him about what he and Hamlet had discovered, so rapidly that Vey had to stop him several times to go back over certain things.

  'So these Ta'Ren were working with the Watchem Watchems?' he asked, once Thordric had managed to finish.

  'Yes,' Thordric said.

  'And you have a plan to break those roots covering the excavation site where you think this magic is coming from?' Vey asked, intrigued.

  'I think so,' Thordric replied.
'I need to find the Watchem Watchems and ask them to come with me.'

  'The ones from Watchem Woods?'

  'Yes, they know me, after all,' Thordric replied.

  'In that case, we need to find some way of getting you there and back quickly.' It was Vey's turn to grin. 'Come with me. I think you'll find what's in the cargo hold most interesting.'

  Chapter Twenty Two: Dinia's Jewel

  Vey led Thordric into a corridor that he had never been down before; the wooden walls were painted red instead of the standard purple decorating the rest of the ship.

  At the end was a large set of double doors, filling the entire wall. It was inlaid with precious gems and, carved in the middle where the doors joined together, was a detailed impression of Kalljard's face, shaped down to the individual hairs on his beard.

  'Impressive, isn't it?' Vey said, stopping in front of it. 'Though I don't care for the subject much. Still, I've got plenty of time to have it changed.'

  He put his hand on Kalljard's nose and pushed against the wood. The doors opened slowly to reveal a large black space within. With Thordric following, Vey went inside and closed the doors again behind them. Then he summoned four great white fires and put them in each corner, revealing a large room with unpainted beams.

  'This is the cargo hold?' Thordric asked.

  'Indeed. I was surprised when I found it, for I thought it was empty at first,' Vey replied.

  Thordric blinked. The room certainly looked empty to him. Vey caught his look and smiled.

  'Look closer,' he said mysteriously.

  Thordric did so, even walking over to each corner and checking the ceiling to make sure there wasn't anything small or painted that he'd missed. 'I still don't…' he began, but then turned and walked to the middle. The metallic smell of strong magic hung in the air.

  He put his hand out and it hit something hard.

  'Well?' Vey said, watching him.

  'It's an illusion to make the object look like part of the room. There's not even a shadow or anything. It's perfect.'

  'Thank you, it took me quite a few hours to get it right,' Vey said, grinning. 'I lifted the original to see what was underneath, you see, but I wanted to know what you made of it so I replaced it. I suspect that the original was cast by Kalljard; it was much stronger than that one.'

  'So what's it hiding?' Thordric asked eagerly.

  'Why don't you find out?'

  Thordric did so, feeling for the edges of the illusion and tugging at them gently. Nothing happened, but then he hadn't really expected it to, knowing Vey. He tugged again, much harder this time, and the shape of something large began to show through. With one last tug, the illusion broke completely.

  He stood back and gaped. In front of him was a pleasure boat, small in comparison to the giant Ships of Kal, but filling most of the room nonetheless. Thordric wondered how he hadn't walked into it when he had been inspecting the room.

  It looked as though it had been crafted from the same fine woods as the ship and had carvings all around the side. At the prow, acting as a figurehead, was a life sized wooden statue of Kalljard.

  'Thought a lot of himself, didn't he?' Vey said, rolling his eyes at the statue's severe stare. 'Anyway, she's also a floating vessel and I tinkered with her elevation fluid the same as I did with the fleet. Since she's smaller, she might be able to go faster. We could get to Watchem Woods and back in a day.'

  'We?' Thordric asked, surprised.

  'Of course. I believe I'm right in saying that out of the two of us, I'm the only one who can sail.' Thordric scowled at him briefly, making Vey chuckle. 'Then it's settled. You, Hamlet and I shall disembark first thing tomorrow. Now, please go to bed and rest. I know how grumpy you get in the mornings.'

  'You're no better yourself, particularly if you plan to sleep on the floor of the Captain's cabin again.'

  'Precisely,' Vey said. 'There's no sense in both of us being in a foul mood, is there?'

  The three of them rose early the next morning and met down in the cargo hold.

  Hamlet swooned when he saw the boat, rubbing his hand along her hull and then climbing aboard to do the same to the mast and rigging. 'She's beautiful. What's her name?' he asked, looking for it on the side.

  Thordric choked. He had had no idea that Hamlet liked boats so much, considering how seasick he had been when they had first met onboard The Jardine.

  'Strangely, she doesn't have one,' said Vey, levitating their belongings onto her deck.

  Hamlet frowned. 'I heard it's awfully bad luck to sail a boat that has no name,' he said.

  'I heard that too,' Vey said, climbing aboard himself and helping Thordric up after him. 'Why don't you name her?'

  'Me?' Hamlet asked. 'But I have no idea what to call her.'

  Thordric shrugged at him. 'Make something up,' he said, unhelpfully.

  Vey shot him a merciless look. 'Call her whatever feels right,' he said to Hamlet.

  Hamlet stood on her prow, looking at every detail of her. 'How about…Dinia's Jewel?' he said at last.

  Thordric and Vey looked at him. It was perfect, as though it had been her name all along somehow. 'Shall we paint it on then, Thordric?' Vey asked.

  They got back off and looked at her side, discussing how big to write it and in what style. In the end, they each took a side and painted it on in slanted, bold writing in solid black.

  'We shouldn't have any problems with her now,' Vey said, standing back to admire her. Then he looked at Hamlet and Thordric. 'Shall we set sail then?'

  With all three of them aboard Dinia's Jewel once more, Vey and Thordric used their magic to release the panel in The Jardine's bow, ready for them to sail out. Taking the ship's wheel and activating her elevation system, he led her out of the cargo hold and into the bright clouds below, immediately soaking them all.

  They reclosed the panel and set off, going below the clouds to make out the direction they needed to go. As they sailed above the treetops, they saw that Valley Edge had been completely overrun. It barely looked like a town anymore.

  Not long after they had started moving, Hamlet's seasickness made its appearance and he had to retire to the cabin with his books, as all the potion that Thordric had given him had been left at the dig site with the rest of his belongings. Only Vey and Thordric were able to stay on deck, though at the speed Dinia's Jewel was moving, they both found it difficult to stay standing.

  In the end, Vey summoned chairs from the dining hall of The Jardine and magically stuck them to the deck so that they didn't have to keep picking themselves up off the floor.

  The mountains and rivers that Thordric remembered floating gently over on his way to Neathin Valley had become no more than a blur. He didn't think he had ever seen anything move so quickly as Dinia's Jewel.

  By the time the afternoon arrived, he found that they were already nearing Jard Town and, as Watchem Woods was only a day's carriage ride away, they would reach it in a matter of minutes.

  They passed straight over the Wizard Council's crescent moon shaped building and the station house without slowing, though Thordric had been tempted to ask Vey to stop at Lizzie's to tell her what was going on. Still, there wasn't time for that and soon Jard town passed under them with Dinia's Jewel not even slowing for a moment.

  They reached Watchem Woods barely ten minutes later. Vey thought it best to anchor the boat next to his mother's house, near the very mouth of the trees. As soon as the boat stopped moving, Hamlet appeared again, still slightly shaky on his feet. He saw the house beside them and stared.

  Thordric wasn't surprised, for he had done the same thing the first time he'd seen it.

  The house was so long that it extended into the woods themselves, though Thordric knew it only went a short way in, and it was several stories high. Inside, though you couldn't tell from looking at it, there were so many corridors and rooms that it was easy to get lost. Thordric had done that too.

  'Shall we go?' Vey asked, smiling slightly as he looked at th
e house. 'It's been an awfully long time since I've been here,' he remarked. 'Perhaps I'll take a short break here after this is all resolved.'

  He sighed wistfully and led them away into the woods.

  It was nice being amongst trees that didn't try to trap them, Thordric thought, and he couldn't remember the woods ever being as vibrant and full of flowers and bushes as they were now.

  Every plant was a different colour, ranging from bright red stalks with small, black flowers to long grasses coloured a fine silver. He saw that one of the plants he'd often collected here, a spindly dark green one that grew large purple bulbs instead of flowers and was named Big Man's Nose, had spread everywhere. There were also a great many bushes of blues, purples and yellows growing in each direction.

  Finding the Watchem Watchems, whose favourite game was to disguise themselves as foliage, might not be as easy as he'd thought, particularly when he remembered that aside from Vey's father, he was the only one that had ever seen them up close before.

  They walked further and further in; Thordric trying to remember the exact spot where he had seen them last and hoping that they hadn't forgotten him. If they had, then he could forget asking them for help.

  Suddenly there was rustling all around them. They stopped and stood still.

  'How did you get them to come to you before?' Vey asked, while Hamlet shook slightly next to him.

  'I didn't. They just appeared,' he replied.

  'They're not…aggressive, are they?' Hamlet asked quietly.

  Thordric laughed and a strange gurgling sound answered him. Everyone looked around. 'They're here somewhere,' he said, searching the bushes for any sign that they might be something other than they looked. 'And no, they're not aggressive. They do have sharp fingers, though.'

  A bush wobbled in front of him. He grinned and went over to it, making it look as though he was about to pick one of the leaves. The bush shuffled away from him, quivering even more. The gurgling sound came again, and he found himself surrounded by more bushes.

  Vey and Hamlet leapt back from him, eyeing the bushes with a mix of fear and curiosity. Thordric looked over at them, and then down at the gurgling bushes.