“Ottzia!” Dex shouted.
The sweeping spell was usually effective in knocking an opponent’s legs from under him, but the big man Dex aimed at was already on the ground. The magic rolled him completely over, waking the big man, but also tangling him in the animal skins he slept in.
There was shouting and confusion as people around the camp got to their feet. Dex jumped onto Titan, levitating the saddle bags at almost the same time. He dropped the bags behind his saddle and snatched up the reins, just as the big stallion raced forward. There had been a time when Dex would have fallen from the saddle or been forced to clutch madly at the pommel in a desperate attempt to stay on the horse, but after months of working with Titan he could sense the animal’s intent. He leaned forward, his feet pressing back in the stirrups to help secure him as Titan broke into a fast gallop.
The moonlight was just bright enough to allow them to see the rocky ground in front of them. Titan could avoid the big boulders easily enough, but Dex worried that the horse might step into a hole or run into a crevice as they raced through the darkness. Bliss dove toward the camp, screaming a terrifying wail as she flew over the heads of the frightened Greeg warriors.
“Whoa!” Dex said, pulling back on the reins. “Time to slow down, boy. We’re safe for now.”
The horse slid to a stop then neighed and pranced to the side, anxious to keep running. Dex knew Titan was a powerful animal, but he also knew there wasn’t much foliage in the Greeg Lands. Odds were good that the horse hadn’t eaten much the last few days.
Dex slid from the saddle, stroked the horse’s jaw, and pulled three carrots from the bag of rations that Reegan had sent with him. The horse gobbled the carrots down eagerly, then drank some of the water which Dex poured into a small pan that would have to serve as a cooking utensil, as well as a serving dish for Dex and Titan. A moment later Bliss landed on the saddle and cooed. Titan neighed and shook his big head happily. Dex couldn’t help but laugh. His raid had been successful, it was time to head north and find his father.
Chapter 16
Dex walked through the night, only stopping to sleep for a couple of hours just before dawn. The Greeg blanket smelled as if something had died and been wrapped in it for a month, but it kept out the cold. The next morning Dex rode on Titan, while Bliss circled overhead. She kept an eye out for food, but also for any signs of other Greeg tribes that might cause Dex trouble. Twice she swooped down, squawking, and Dex hid Titan behind some boulders until the phoenix calmed down and he felt it was safe to proceed.
During his periods of rest, Dex worked on the dear skin. He wasn’t a tailor, and the only knife he had was the silver dagger, but it was enough to cut a square hole in the deer skin big enough for Dex to poke his head through. He wore the supple hide like a poncho. In his saddle bags Dex found two dozen flat bread loaves which the Greeg made using some type of grain that Dex wasn’t familiar with. He tasted the bread, which was mealy, as if the grain had only been roughly ground, and didn’t have much flavor. Still, they filled his stomach and left him feeling satisfied. The other saddle bag had his belt, more of the grassy twine, and what looked to be a floppy straw hat. Dex used the hat to keep the sun off his head, and his belt to secure the deer skin around his waist.
Just before dark on the second day since retrieving Titan, Dex stumbled upon a small oasis. There was a spring, patches of grass, two big deciduous trees, and some shrubs. Dex had been carefully rationing their water supply, but upon finding the spring they drank their fill. There was enough wood from broken tree branches to build a nice fire. While Titan grazed on the patches of grass, Bliss brought a large hare to the camp.
Skinning the rabbit was difficult, but Dex managed to get the hide off and most of the meat too. He made a stew and ate his first hot meal since being rescued by Reegan. The next day they continued north, and the landscape began to change. The arid, rocky terrain slowly transitioned into rolling hills with tall, waving grass. There were patches of snow in the valleys between the hills, and the wind picked up considerably. Dex rode with the stinking blanket wrapped around him, and made camp that night in the well between three hills. There was no fuel for a fire, but Bliss lay close to Dex and kept him warm. The next morning, as Dex and Titan crested a small hill, they spotted the towering wall that separated the Greeg Lands from the northern kingdoms.
“Look at that, Titan,” Dex said, halting the horse momentarily. “That’s Torgyl’s wall.”
They rode all day and still didn’t reach the wall. The next day they continued north and came to the towering edifice just after midday. Rumors said the wall was a thousand feet high, but Dex guessed it was around one hundred and fifty feet. The wall itself was constructed of huge rectangular blocks. No one knew how the wall had been made. Most assumed magic had been used to move the massive stones, but the wall ran from coast to coast, right at the throat of the dragon isle. It was impossible to guess how many thousands of stones had been used or where they all came from. Dex didn’t want to know what the massive wall had been made to keep out. What could be so dangerous that it would warrant the building of such a massive barrier? The cost in time and man power alone was staggering.
“I could get over myself, but I don’t think levitating you is a very good idea,” Dex told Titan. “We weren’t meant to fly. Besides, Maslow had to get through here somehow. If we find the way through, perhaps we’ll find a clue as to where he went, too.”
They were at the base of the towering wall, riding east, looking for a gap in the ancient structure. There were holes in the stones, some as large as doorways, and almost all showed signs of animal habitation. Dex had no clue what types of creatures had made the massive wall their home, but his imagination wouldn’t stop conjuring images of nightmarish beasts. Dex did his best to shake the images from his mind, but riding along the huge structure made Dex feel small and alone.
When Bliss landed in front of Titan, flapping her wings and screeching, Dex felt as if the world had gone mad. Titan, startled by the big avian, reared, forcing Dex to grab onto the pommel of the saddle with one hand and a fist full of the horse’s mane in the other.
“What’s going on?” Dex shouted. “Settle down, Titan!”
The horse backpedaled as the phoenix continued screeching. The big stallion turned, preferring to move away from the crazed bird, and as Dex struggled with the reins, trying to get Titan back under control, he noticed a large boulder nearby. He searched his memory but didn’t recall seeing the massive stone as he passed, but he had been focused on the wall. It was possible that he had ridden past without noticing the stone, but he got a bad feeling just the same.
As Titan moved closer to the boulder, Bliss stopped screeching and took to the air. Titan was skittish, and Dex decided he would rather walk than deal with the nervous horse. The last thing he wanted was to be thrown and injured, not when he felt he was gaining on his father once again.
Dex walked to the stone, the ends of the horse’s reins in his hand. The boulder looked as plain as any rock Dex recalled seeing. He wasn’t in the habit of noticing stones, but it had the familiar, craggy surface, and even some moss growing on one side. Still, there was something odd about it too, not the least of which was the fact that Dex didn’t remember seeing it, even though he must have ridden past it. He reached out and touched the boulder. To his surprise, it wasn’t hard like he expected. The stone was dense, but with a slight flex to it, like a ripe apple, or even a head of cauliflower.
Instinctively Dex took a step back, his mind trying to process what his hand had felt. He had touched the stone, not the moss, yet it wasn’t rock-like at all. When the stone began to move, Dex almost felt relieved, but his fear rushed in and filled the void left by his retreating wonder. The boulder rolled away from Dex, and like an armadillo uncoiling from its shell, a huge rock troll unfolded. It had been curled in a ball, and what Dex had touched was the creature’s back. The massive head was covered with dull, green moss, and it had short, thick legs a
nd long powerful arms. The troll was oddly proportioned, with a short, wide body, and an abnormally large head.
The eyes opened and fixed on Dex. Titan jerked the reins free from Dex’s hand and the big stallion bolted away from the troll. The young Marshyl stood transfixed, his mind struggling to believe what he was seeing, his heart filled with fear. The troll was twice as tall as Dex, and it looked as if its entire body was made of stone. The creature grunted as Dex took hold of the silver dagger in his belt. When the troll lunged for him, Dex darted away, the magical dagger giving him a boost of speed.
The troll was as fast as Dex, even with the aid of the silver dagger’s magical speed, and began pursuing him. The big, stony feet were surprisingly quiet for such a large, heavy creature. In the distance Dex could see Titan, still trotting away. Bliss screamed a piercing avian call, then dove at the troll, but the creature was unfazed by the phoenix. It waved a hand as if it were shooing away a pesky fly.
“Ozztia!” Dex called, swinging his hand where the opal stone had bonded to him.
He felt the magic rushing toward the troll. It should have swept its feet out from under the creature, but the troll was so heavy that the spell failed to do more than make the troll falter. It quickly corrected without falling, and continued chasing Dex.
“Ecclass!” Dex shouted, casting the paralysis spell, but the troll shrugged off the curse as if it were nothing more than a stiff breeze. “Whuzzat!”
Red light from Dex’s hand ripped through the leather glove covering the platinum and opal, leaving it in tatters. The spell hit the troll in the chest. The creature shuddered and moaned, but kept running after Dex, who pulled the ruined glove from his hand and flung it away.
The young Marshyl’s heart was pounding and his breath was coming in ragged gasps. Normally he could run for miles, but fear was impeding his efforts, and all he could think of was what would happen when the troll caught up with him. He couldn’t keep the image of being smashed out of his mind.
He tried to remember everything he had been taught about rock trolls by Keeper Yeager. They hadn’t spent a great amount of time on rare magical creatures. Dex knew that troll bones had magical properties. The Lord Marshyl’s sword was forged with dwarf beard and elf tears, giving it two powerful intrinsic spells. The elvish ending curse paralyzed the victim for days unless lifted, and the dwarf beard gave the sword a powerful kinetic spell called bone basher. Troll bones on the other hand lent a strange, mental magic. The intrinsic magic was a spell called troll terror, that could drive a person insane with irrational fear. Dex felt like he was understanding that terror first hand; his own mind was gripped with intense fear. The creature chasing him was not just big and powerful, it seemed unstoppable.
Dex knew he had to do something, so he cast another spell. Saultia was a common spell, one he could cast with the silver dagger or the opal embedded in platinum across his knuckles. It sent Dex flying up and flipping backwards over the troll, who was a fast runner but had slow reflexes. It tried to grab Dex, but missed. Then it took the troll even longer to halt its momentum and turn back.
The young Marshyl had gained a little distance from the creature, and he forced himself to think. He knew that rock trolls were simple-minded creatures, that they preferred stealth and sneak attacks to outright battles. Dex was furious by the fact that Keeper Yeager had omitted any details about how to defeat the rare, magical monsters.
“Stop this,” Dex said. “I’m not your enemy!”
The rock troll didn’t show any signs of understanding what Dex had said. Perhaps, like the Greeg, the troll spoke its own language, but more likely the creature didn’t communicate at all. Dex reached out with the opal’s intrinsic magical power. Opals were capable of controlling air, which made them powerful levitators. Dex could have lifted himself up to the top of the great wall, but he refused to abandon Titan. Instead, he lifted the troll. The strain was one of the hardest physical exertions of his life. But the troll came off the ground a few inches, before toppling onto its side with a resounding crash.
“Stay... down!” Dex ordered, as he struggled to catch his breath.
The troll screamed in fury, the look in its eyes was even more determined. The fall had hurt the creature and it didn’t like that. Taking a deep breath Dex tried another tactic.
“Umblatt!”
Orange fire sprang from Dex’s hand, a long sinuous length of ropy fire, which he swung around his head before snapping it into the troll’s face like a whip. The troll reached up and touched its cheek, although the spell had left no visible mark.
“Go!” Dex shouted. “Get out of here!”
The fiery spell snapped and cracked, as the troll staggered backward. The big creature seemed confused by the spell, and unsure what to do. Dex kept shouting, moving closer and closer, feeling as if he were making progress at last. And then, to his dismay, the troll roared in furry and lunged for him.
“Chashuh!” Dex shouted.
The evasion spell snuffed out the fiery rope in the blink of an eye. It slung Dex to the side, helping him avoid the troll, but trapping him between Torgyl’s Wall and the huge monster intent on crushing the life out of him.
“Saultia!”
Dex had hoped to spring over the troll once more as it lumbered toward him, but the dull-witted creature was capable of learning. It anticipated Dex’s flip and while it wasn’t fast enough to snatch him out of the air, it did manage to swat him. It was only a grazing blow across his back, but it felt to Dex as if he’d been hit with a limb from a tree. He fell hard, and only a last-second summoning of the opal’s levitating power kept him from getting hurt. He rolled on the ground, struggling to get back to his feet. The troll turned, sensing victory, and bellowed triumphantly, then suddenly exploded into hundreds of small rock shards.
Dex had to duck and cover his head as the stones pelted him and rained down on the grassy hillside around him. When he looked up, what he saw astounded him. Standing by the massive wall, a heavy-looking hammer in hand, was a dwarf.
Chapter 17
“Yur daft fightin’ a rock troll without a weapon,” the dwarf said. “Magic is no match fur good steel.”
“Thank you,” Dex said, wiping the dust and dirt from his face. “I was in over my head.”
“That’s a fact,” the dwarf replied.
“I’m Dex. I’m on a quest for the Marshyl Guild.”
“Yur no Marshyl. A bit young fur a ring mage, though.”
“I’m a Marshyl, but my armor was stolen,” Dex said. “I’m pursuing a man named Maslow, but he’d also be known as the Elusive Executioner.”
The dwarf laughed. “The names humans conjure up.”
“We didn’t know his real name until recently,” Dex said. “He’s killed several Marshyls.”
“I didn’ realize the Marshyls sent pups ta catch killers. An’ if he stole yur armor, well then, I suspect yur outmatched, boy. Best run home befur yur hurt.”
“I just need help getting through the wall,” Dex said. “I don’t suppose you would know a way through.”
“I live here, pup. Torgyl was kin, though he’s long dead now,” the dwarf said. “I know everythin’ about the wall from one end ta the other. She’s got secrets, she does. And I’ll not be the one ta give her up.”
“I’m not looking to explore the wall,” Dex said. “I just need a way through.”
“And what do ya have ta trade for this information?”
“I’ve silver,” Dex said.
“That’s a worthless metal ta me, laddie. It’s no more valuable than that platinum on your knuckles.”
Dex started to hide his hand. He felt self-conscious about the metal and opal that had bonded to the flesh over the top of his knuckles. But the dwarf wasn’t a Marshyl and didn’t seem put off by the metal.
“What would you value?” Dex asked.
“Are ya really a Marshyl?”
“I am.”
“Then give me your word that when you return this way yo
u’ll bring me a keg of good ale.”
“You have it,” Dex said. “I’ll bring you ale when I return.”
“A keg of it. Not some little cask.”
“A full-sized keg, you have my word.”
Dex looked up to see Bliss herding Titan back toward him. The bird was clever, and while Titan didn’t seem to mind when she was smaller, the stallion had grown skittish around the phoenix since she’d returned.
“Wonders will never cease,” the dwarf said. “A phoenix herdin’ a horse isn’t somethin’ ya see every day.”
“That’s Bliss,” Dex said. “I raised her from a fledgling. And Titan is my horse.”
“Are ya a Marshyl or a zookeeper? Humans are daft creatures if ever there was one.”
“Do you have a name?” Dex asked.
“I do, and I don’t share it with just anyone.”
“Oh, okay,” Dex said, a little shocked by the dwarf’s reticence.
“Surely ya know the power of a name,” the dwarf said in his strange brogue. “The Marshyl’s ’ave forgotten more magic through the years than they know these days.”
He turned and walked in a slow, ambling gait back toward a small hole near the bottom of the wall. Raising his hammer he slammed it into the stone, causing a multitude of sparks to spray out in every direction like the explosion of a firework. When he lowered the hammer there was a charred spot that looked like a sunburst.
“That’s my mark,” he grumbled. “Bring the ale back here and I’ll find ya.”
“What about getting me through the wall?” Dex said.
“We’ll be traveling a fair distance ta reach somethin’ big enough for your beasts ta get through. And night is no time ta be wandering along the great wall.”
“So we’ll make camp here tonight?” Dex asked.
“You can camp, I’ve a home ta return to.”
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