“What do you want here?” he asked them.
Arwhon, now able to speak and understand Cheshwonese, answered for all of them.
“Sir, if your stones have lost their Power, it is my fault.”
Most of the monk’s hands involuntarily reached for the pouches at their throats as there was a collective intake of breath. The Head Shaman regarded Arwhon more closely.
“What do you know of the Power of the stones?”
Arwhon decided to tell the Head Shaman the whole story. Whether he would be believed or not was another matter. He didn’t know if the man even knew the complete tale.
“Many years before Man came to these lands, probably during the time of the Guardians, a large rock fell from the heavens. Parts of its outer skin shattered when it hit the earth. This scattered stones all over and through the surface layers. These became your Shaman Stones.”
The Head Shaman appeared unimpressed.
“So. What has that got to do with the Power leaving the stones?”
Arwhon considered the man for a moment. Here was a person used to wielding ultimate Power in his own domain. It wouldn’t be an easy task to talk him into what they wanted to do. Maybe a small demonstration might help. Fire blossomed from the ground in front of the Head Shaman and rose as a column high into the air, well above the height of the temple before reducing to something more man size. The fire slowly toppled sideways and writhed across the ground to the line of monks standing in front of the temple. They rushed to get out of the way but couldn’t avoid that line of fire. It writhed over and around their feet and the monks were amazed that the sinuous line of fire was not hot. They were less amazed when they realised they were now bound by it. All except for the Head Shaman. Arwhon turned his attention back to the man in the blue robe who now appeared intent on what Arwhon had to say.
“The rock that fell from the heavens was not an ordinary rock. It was a being who was raised in a molten state in a sun and was sent out to find another home. A new sun. Instead, that being fell here, into the ground behind your temple and has been trapped in the same place for many thousands of years. The way your Shaman Stones worked was the being’s attempts to gain more Power by sucking it from ensorcelled people. It knows no other way to obtain what it needs and there was no one to show it how. I don’t know why your Guardians didn’t help it.”
The Head Shaman stood quietly as Arwhon removed the cold flame bond from the monks, who couldn’t help but discuss their confinement by cold fire with each other. Eventually the leader of the monks seemed to make a decision.
“You had best come inside. All of you and we will talk on this some more. As you say, we still have our magic but we lost a lot when the stones went dull a couple of weeks ago.”
Arwhon’s Ring gave no tingle or warning of dishonesty so Arwhon signalled to the others and they dismounted. Monks came to take the reins and lead their horses away to buildings at one side of the temple. The four travellers and Krissi followed the Head Shaman inside and were shown to a smaller room where monks rushed about to provide cushions for the seats arranged around a low table, obviously a place where the few discussions with outsiders or initiates were held. Food was brought and herbal tea. Cringle tasted all the dishes and the tea pronouncing them safe so they set to with relish, hungry after a long morning ride.
The Head Shaman observed them as they ate, seeing a young man in chain mail with a Tarkent style blade strapped to his back and a young lady in wondrous green armour, both with strange, alien eyes, wearing cloaks the like of he’d never seen before. Their companion, the one who had checked the food, seemed to be an unremarkable young man with Cheshwon blood who was also wearing a cloak of the same manufacture as the others. And there was Zin, who had lived at the temple for part of his training. What was even more remarkable was the gryffon sitting quietly near the one who named himself Arwhon. Zin caught the Head Shaman looking at them and pointed to Cringle.
“Sir, I don’t know if you have been told yet but Furoshiko is dead, as is Geng. They will be a bane on the North no longer. Nyaka, Tarsega’s full sister has taken over the rule of the North of Cheshwon leaving Kenjida in power in the south. This man here is Tarsega’s only son. The rightful King of all Cheshwon but he has renounced the throne. His mother, Yletta, remains in Naejang as an adviser to Nyaka.”
As all the important names were reeled off, the Head Shaman realised that looks could be deceptive. He regarded Cringle with renewed interest and saw, once he had taken time to really look, that the man had an air about him of restrained power.
“Thank you Zin. We hadn’t heard the news. That changes everything. Are you here of your own free will?”
“Sir, I was disgusted by Geng’s misuse of her Shaman power in Furoshiko’s employment and although I was apprenticed to her I couldn’t stay. Once I had my own shaman stone I fled to join Nyaka who was living in the mountains and resisting Furoshiko. It was the Mage Arwhon who robbed Geng of her Power and ended up finding out the truth behind the Power we use and finally silencing the stones. I don’t know if it was right to do it but he talks of a strange being trapped beneath the earth of the Field of Stones.”
The Head Shaman nodded in response. It was a hard story to believe but the young man who controlled the fire must be a powerful mage to quell the Power of the stones and if his story was to be believed, they would have to visit the stone field to confirm it. Much as he wanted to lead them out there right now, it would make far more sense to start in the morning. He cleared his throat.
“I think the morning would be a good time to go to the stone field. Evening approaches and there are not many hours of daylight left. We could have a full day there tomorrow. You can all bathe, rest from your travels and visit the temple proper if you wish.”
Arwhon concurred. A rest would do them no harm and tomorrow would be a big day. For all of them.
During the night a storm quickly moved in and they could feel the temple grumble as it was battered by fierce winds. Arwhon felt Krissi through their bond, as, buffeted by the wind, she left her perch on the roof of the temple seeking shelter. Arwhon nearly arose to assist her but the clever gryffon pushed against the stable door and lifted the bar inside by pulling on the cord which trailed through a hole in the door. Once it opened Krissi immediately entered the stables and after shaking the rain off her feathers, turned around to shut the door by pushing firmly against it with her shoulder. The bar rose on the sloping catch before dropping into the notch which secured the door. She was glad to be inside.
Next morning at breakfast the Head of the Shamans wore a long face. He was disappointed that he wouldn’t see a demonstration of magic that day due to the storm which still raged but Arwhon and company seemed quite cheerful. At one stage Arwhon asked Cringle if he could cope with it and the reply was affirmative. Cope with what, the Head of the Shamans wondered to himself. He soon found out. Right after breakfast Arwhon and his party wrapped themselves in their cloaks and headed for the door. The Head of Shamans thought they were crazy but still joined them. When they stepped outside the air became still all about them and the rain fell elsewhere. It was now dry just where they stood and for about fifteen feet in all directions. As they moved, so the dry zone moved with them. Magic. Real magic. The Head Shaman was relieved now that he hadn’t argued with these people.
They small group walked behind the Head Shaman as he guided them to the centre of the field, stepping over small inactive shaman stones they now knew to be cast off parts of a being from the heavens. The storm outside the protective shield Cringle deployed was diminishing in intensity and as they arrived at the depression in the ground which signified the place they needed to be, the rain stopped altogether and the wind which was blowing the clouds away subsided. Cringle removed their cover and they felt cool air rush into the still place they had been in a moment ago.
Arwhon stood in the depression and felt down with his mind, looking for Power. He found it buried deep in the ground below and a
s he examined it he once more felt the presence he’d met previously when he’d silenced the stones.
“I’ve come as I promised I would,” he said in his mind, hoping the other would pick it up. “We have to find a way to send you back to the heavens.”
The entity replied in its slow way.
“If I had Power, I could help. Once I get a certain distance up from the ground, I will be able to start flying using Power.”
Arwhon thought about what could happen if he provided Power to a malign force but his Ring of Truth was not indicating any form of trouble or trying to convey warnings to him. ‘Sometimes you just had to take a chance,’ he thought as he probed deeper into the earth and used his Firemagic to link into a Power source. He joined with the being in the rock and sent Power into the huge stone. He felt the astonishment, then the hunger as the being drank down the Power it was being fed, enough to start heating the rock and the soil around it. Arwhon eventually cut the link and felt gratitude emanating from the being before he looked about him.
It must have taken a lot long than it seemed for this transfer to take place because the air was now clear and there was not a cloud in the sky.
“How long?” he asked.
“Its well after lunch time now Arwhon. We were becoming concerned about you but you seemed fine, apart from the vacant look on your face,” Shiri told him. “What’s happening?”
Arwhon regarded his two companions for a moment.
“Deep beneath the earth is the stone the being is in. Shiri. I’ll need you to bring it to the surface. Then we have to work out how to send it back up into the heavens. If you need Power Shiri, just link with me. I’ll stay right where I can draw it up.”
Shiri concentrated and sent her awareness into the earth beneath her feet. She found the spherical rock a long way down and mentally ‘grabbed’ it before hauling upward. She actually found it easier to divert earth and rocks into place beneath the stone to effectively push it up. It took time, quite a lot of time and now and then she had to pause to take extra Power from Arwhon but bit by bit, fighting the resistance of the earth piled on top of the stone, she eventually brought it, steaming, to the surface of the earth.
The Head Shaman had not been much impressed by Arwhon just standing in one spot for a few hours but as the soil erupted in front of him and a huge, jaggedly spherical rock started to emerge from the depression in the ground, he changed his ideas regarding these strangers. Just how big the rock was became evident only when Shiri relaxed and stepped back.
“Can you lift it?” Arwhon asked her.
The hot rock rose from the ground and hovered for a moment before descending again to rest on the damp soil, its weight squashing some muddy dirt out of the way. They all felt the presence now, even the Head Shaman and his eyes closed as the being that was once the source of his power made contact with him. His face took on a dreamy expression and he stood motionless. Arwhon smiled and said to Shiri.
“How high do you think you can get that rock to fly?”
Shiri thought for a moment.
“It depends on how much Power I’m able to access. Linked to you, I could push it a long way up but the further away it gets, the less push I have.”
Arwhon turned to Cringle.
“Do you think you could help move this rock?”
Cringle grinned, his Cheshwon face creased with his amusement.
“Did you forget about Escarion, Arwhon?”
Arwhon looked chagrined.
“Sorry.”
“No problem. Yes, I could put some serious movement on that rock with dense air pushing up from below. Do you want me to work with Shiri?”
“Yes. I have to leave this for you two to do as flame doesn’t have the ability to move physical objects much and it’s your expertise that will get this thing airborne. Once it’s high enough, it’ll fly by itself. I’ll leave you and Shiri to work it out between you.”
The sky was darkening as dusk fell and Arwhon stepped back, extending a hand to pull the Head of Shamans out of the way. Zin took the man’s robe in hand and held him back as Arwhon walked forward to stand beside Shiri. She placed her hand on his arm.
“We’ve worked out how to do it. Ready Cringle?”
Cringle nodded and the stone began to move upward, a thick cushion of air forming beneath it. It gathered momentum as it rose more and more rapidly, still under the attentions of both Mages. As they observed, the rock headed straight up at an ever increasing velocity becoming smaller and smaller with the distance.
“I don’t know what Cringle is doing but that rock is becoming easier to move the higher it gets.” Shiri reported.
“I’m not doing anything miraculous but yes, I agree with you.” Cringle rejoined.
As the rock climbed to a height where it was almost invisible to the naked eye, a little spark was released. Then another. Then a lot more of them, joining together. The rock was out of sight now but the tail it was developing wasn’t and soon they could see a faint trail in the heavens above. The effort on Shiri and Cringle’s faces diminished as the rock disappeared and soon, all of them felt the strange ‘thank you’ in their minds before there was a burst of fire and the rock was gone, becoming just another visible speck in the sky against the star field before finally disappearing from view altogether.
They regarded each other, a little tired but happy they had helped that strange being to recover its life. The Head Shaman woke as if from a dream and shook his head.
“All those years this temple has been here and the Shaman monks never knew.” He regarded the three tired Mages in a new light. “We owe you all so much, even though you killed our magic off. Thank you.”
They all retired to the temple where the monks regaled them with food and wine before showing them to rooms where they could sleep.
Over breakfast Arwhon and Shiri informed Cringle they were going to go back to the Darkwood, as they had accomplished all they had set out to do and more. The Head Shaman overheard.
“Where is this Darkwood?” he asked.
“To the west of The Broken Lands, Arwhon replied. “We’re going to take the old Trade route to the north of Tarkent. The same road Yletta used all those years ago. We’ve already travelled part of it on the other side of Tarkent.”
The Head Shaman shook his head.
“It will snow soon and become very cold. If you go that way, you will be caught in the grip of some very bad weather before you have a chance to get through the high pass. It would be more sensible to head due west and up into Tarkent. It will still be cold but far more bearable.”
Arwhon and Shiri looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Chalc and Lareeta. It would be good to see old friends again. Cringle just sat regarding them, happy they were going home and very grateful they had helped him find his mother. He had news of his own.
“Give my regards to Chalc and Lareeta and tell Chalc I took his advice. As you know, I won’t be coming with you. I have a responsibility to the Kin of S’Ria. Every opportunity to increase the knowledge of the Kin must be taken and I have so much information to impart to the librarians of the College of Mages in Lynbrook. It will disappoint Yletta that I have to leave so soon after we found each other but I can soon return to Cheshwon after I’ve fulfilled my duties to the Kin.”
Arwhon regarded his Servant with obvious affection tinged with a slight amount of worry.
“How are you going to cross the seas? Jalwynd has long sailed and may even be on her way back to Belvedere by now.”
Cringle was being quite mysterious as he got up from the table and went over to one of the woven rugs that dotted the smooth stone floor of the Shaman’s Temple. He sat on it.
“Moving that rock yesterday gave me an idea for a new way to travel,” he said as he made a slight gesture.
The carpet beneath him quivered and then rose into the air, hovering about eye height with Cringle sitting comfortably on it. He got to his feet and walked around on the floating surface.
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“For a long flight, I would need a larger and stiffer carpet but it’s no effort for me to do this with a tiny amount of Airmagic and my Powers are constantly renewed by the movement of air.”
The carpet moved off and Arwhon, Shiri and the Head Shaman felt the breeze as it wafted around the room, transporting Cringle on its surface. Arwhon marvelled at the control Cringle had of the Airmagic he was using. His Servant had truly integrated with Escarion now and it all came so easily to the man. Flying carpets. What next?
“Any thoughts on what to do with Vixen?” Arwhon enquired as the carpet wafted past in front of them again.
“I thought you could maybe take her up to Tarkent with you and give her to Chalc and Lareeta as a present from me. Lareeta will know what to do with her.”
Arwhon considered it for a moment, it was a good idea. Lareeta had originally acquired Vixen for Cringle in Belvedere, back when he was just plain Cringe and frightened of his own shadow.
The Head Shaman spoke up, addressing Arwhon and Shiri as he did so.
“I’m sure one of our brothers would be more than happy to guide you along the road up to Tarkent. It’s not difficult to find but would be easier for you if you were shown where to go. He can return when he’s finally put you on the right path.”
Shiri gave the Head Shaman a warm smile and he felt it travel through his body, curing minor aches and pains and leaving him with a feeling of well being.
“Thank you Sir, we really appreciate your help and warnings. Our journey will give us a chance to meet old friends, which we look forward to.”
Arwhon knew Shiri wanted to go home. To her home, the Darkwood, where she’d lived for the first seventy or so years of her life. It was only because of him she’d had to leave it. The carpet floated down to the floor and Cringle got off it to sit at the table again.
“You should leave tomorrow. Our work here is finished and we all have things to do. I’m sure even Zin would like to get back to Nyaka’s side and help with the rule of Northern Cheshwon.”
Were of the Drakon Page 22