Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (10 page)

“I’m afraid so,” said Malachi soberly. “The tower can’t heal those who are already affected. When this disease spreads, people will turn to us for help which we won’t be able to give. Moreover, if too many clerics fall ill before a cure is found, the chance of recovery will be hindered further.”

“How is the water on the grounds here at the tower?” asked Della. “If it becomes contaminated as well -.”

Malachi raised a hand to interrupt. “No. Our water is still clean. As you know, we use it constantly for healing purposes. The source of the water is deep within the earth. It is the cleanest water in the land. Its magical properties make it more immune to exterior impurities. We expect - and hope - that it will remain pure, even if the rivers and streams around us get contaminated.”

“I hope so,” murmured Della.

“Did you notify your people, Della?” asked Malachi, changing the subject.

“Yes,” responded the elf. “They have representatives en route as we speak to meet with you and work with your clerics toward a cure for this disease.”

“Excellent,” said Malachi. “We can use all the help we can get.”

“Speaking of help,” put in Kazin, “what can I do?”

Malachi considered. “Well - other than finding out what you can about the conditions north and east of here, I can’t think of anything you can do to help at this time.”

“I’ll begin first thing in the morning,” said Kazin.

“Very well,” said Malachi, rising. “You can stay in one of the wards on the first level. We still have some room - for the time being.”

“Thanks,” said Kazin. He and Della got up. “Incidentally, I noticed a paralyzed man near the entrance. The cleric said he was paralyzed by a half-human, half-cyclops.”

Malachi grinned sheepishly. “That’s right. A number of years ago we took him in. His mother passed away and he was an orphan with nowhere to go. He was adept at tending our gardens of herbs, so we put him in the care of our head gardener. Apparently the gardener wasn’t a very pleasant man to work for, and the cyclops wasn’t very well treated. I guess they finally had a disagreement and Cyril - that’s the cyclops - finally lost his temper. The head gardener was paralyzed and Cyril ran off.” Malachi shook his head sadly. “That cyclops was always so mild-mannered. It must have been pretty serious for him to get so angry.”

“Did he paralyze people often?” Della asked.

“On occasion,” answered Malachi, “but always by accident.”

“How long does the ‘paralyze’ spell usually last?” questioned Kazin. “That cleric didn’t seem to be able to free the gardener.”

“That’s another mystery,” Malachi answered. “Normally, it takes only a few minutes to cancel the ‘paralyze’ spell, depending on the skill level of the clerics assigned to that task. This time, however, even our best clerics were unable to cancel the spell. I even tried myself, with no effect. I suspect that it had to do with the fact that Cyril was angry and had paralyzed the gardener deliberately.”

Kazin nodded. “You could be right. Frame of mind can alter magic of that nature.”

Malachi suddenly snapped his fingers. “I just remembered! One of our prized pupils has left the tower in pursuit of the cyclops. She had just received her magical healing ring; a symbol of her upgrade from apprentice to a level one cleric, when news of the cyclops reached her. A strange look had come over her face and she had run out of the lecture hall. Only later were we able to discover where she had gone. Her roommate had found a note on her pillow.” Malachi loosely waved his hand to the side. “Anyhow, if I recall correctly, she is the one who handed us a letter of recommendation made by you, Kazin. Her name was Vera.”

Kazin’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“I believe so. She’s from your hometown of Marral.”

Kazin nodded. “That’s her alright.”

“Who’s Vera?” asked Della, suddenly jealous.

“Frosty - I mean Max’s younger sister,” answered Kazin.

“Oh yeah,” said Della slowly. ‘Frosty’ was what Kazin had called his childhood friend Max, who was adept at freezing spells. Max’s younger sister was interested in healing magic from a very young age after losing her brother early on.

“I’ll see if I can find out where she went when I’m scouring the countryside north of here,” commented Kazin. “The cyclops most likely headed for the mountains, and Vera probably went there to look for him.”

“It’s possible,” conceded Malachi. “Bring her back safely if you can. She has considerable talent with white magic. I’d hate to lose her, especially if things get busier around here with that new disease and all. If you see Cyril, bring him back too. Tell him I’m not angry with him. He’s still welcome here.”

“O.K.” said Kazin.

The trio left Malachi’s office and encountered a younger cleric who stood a short distance away. When he saw them exit the room, he stepped forward and gave a short bow. The cleric had short brown hair and blue eyes. His face was youthful and pleasant. He directed his attention to Kazin and spoke somewhat shakily. “Begging your pardon. Are you Arch Mage Kazin?”

“Yes,” answered Kazin. He was still not used to being called ‘Arch Mage’, but had no choice but to put up with it.

The cleric produced a note from beneath his pure white robe. “I was instructed by a - a griffin to give this to you.” He hastily handed the note to Kazin.

“A griffin?!” exclaimed Malachi in surprise. “Are you sure, Gilmar?”

“Y-yes, Sir,” stammered Gilmar. “It spoke with a deep, rumbling voice.”

Malachi looked at Kazin in shock. “A griffin?”

Kazin was as astounded as Malachi. Griffins were extremely rare birds. Only seafarers sailing to distant lands claimed to see griffins from time to time. Most people believed the sailors were seeing things and must have been drunk to make up such stories. Mages, on the other hand, knew they existed, and were willing to pay dearly for the feathers of a griffin. The feathers were extremely useful for a number of more complicated, high level spells.

“Griffins,” said Della dreamily. She had once seen a griffin when she was a child. She had been standing on a mountaintop overlooking the ocean to the east of the elven lands. She had run excitedly to her parents who stood nearby talking. By the time she had gotten their attention, the griffin had already flown out of sight into the rising sun. Her parents didn’t believe she had seen a griffin, and told her it was probably just an eagle. Della had tried in vain to convince them it was a griffin. She stood there for long moments afterward staring at the horizon. In her mind she could still see the majestic creature. Its golden wings shimmered in the sun. The head and beak stared straight ahead, certain of its course. The fur on the underside of its body also glowed with a golden sheen. The four legs hung loosely beneath the torso, and the tail waved back and forth with each stroke of the wings. It was a sight she would never forget.

“Is it still here?” asked Kazin.

“No,” answered Gilmar. “It flew away after it gave me the note.”

Malachi sighed. “That’s too bad. I would have loved to see it.”

“Me too,” echoed Kazin and Della in unison.

“What’s in the note?” asked Della. She craned her neck to look at the note in Kazin’s hand.

Kazin opened the note and read it aloud. “Kazin - urgent - come to the Tower of the Moon at once. Adriana & Martha.”

“Who are Adriana and Martha?” asked Malachi.

“They are druids who live in the Tower of the Moon,” explained Kazin.

“You know where the Tower of the Moon is?” asked Gilmar incredulously. “That tower was thought to have been lost generations ago!”

“I was there a number of years ago,” said Kazin.

Gilmar gasped. “Really?” He looked at Malachi in disbelief.

Malachi grinned and patted the young cleric on the shoulder. “I’ll explain that story to you someday. But right now, you’d better get ready for your next class.”

“Uh - yes, Sir!” stammered Gilmar. He bowed quickly to the guests and departed.

Malachi turned to the others with an apologetic smile. “He’s a good pupil. His healing skills are quite remarkable, and will likely be outstanding if he’d pay more attention to his studies instead of looking outside and daydreaming all the time.”

“At least his daydreaming paid off this time,” commented Kazin. “I’ve been told that griffins are not very patient. If no one approached it to take the note, it could very well have flown off without delivering it.”

Malachi laughed. “I suppose you’re right at that.”

“We’d better get ready to go,” interrupted Della.

Kazin looked at the elf sternly. “I didn’t see your name on the note.”

Della gave Kazin a glowering look. “It didn’t say that you had to go alone, either.”

Kazin’s own serious look gave way to a fit of laughter. “Of course you can come! I was only teasing!”

Della turned red and punched Kazin in the arm. “That was mean!”

Malachi chuckled. “I’ll let you two get organized. I have much work to do.” He patted Kazin on the shoulder and re-entered his office.

“I only have one problem,” murmured Kazin as he and Della headed for the blue circles.

“What’s that?” asked Della.

“I don’t know exactly where the Tower of the Moon is.”

Della looked confused. “But I thought you were there?”

“I was,” said Kazin. “But the druids brought me there using their magical ship. It was impossible for me to determine our speed or direction.”

“Well, if they need you so badly, they’ll probably use their magic again,” stated Della. “You’ll just have to guess where the Tower of the Moon is and fly in that general direction. At the very least they can use their magic to direct you.”

“I hope so,” said Kazin. “If I’m going to fly over open water with nowhere to land, I’m going to have to get a few hours rest first. Then we’ll leave right away.”

“You’d better not even think of leaving me behind,” said Della sullenly. “If you do, don’t bother coming back!”

Kazin chuckled and kissed the elf on the cheek. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Della gave him a sinister look.

“Honest!” pleaded Kazin.

Chapter 9

C
aptain Rubin looked across the deck of his ship ‘The Griffin’. He could scarcely believe that it had already been more than five years since he had purchased the swift schooner from a merchant in Rist. His former captain, Captain Durango, had reluctantly helped his first mate with the financing. Durango was a wealthy seaman who was not thrilled about Rubin going his own way. Rubin was like a son to him. But like any good father, he could not stand in the way of his son’s dream of becoming captain of his own ship.

And so it was that Rubin became the proud owner of ‘The Griffin’. As captain of the new vessel, Rubin had a choice of what he could do with her. Instead of transporting goods from one port to another like Durango, he opted for the more dangerous task of finding pirates in North Lake and bringing them to justice. This was no easy task, considering pirate ships outnumbered bounty ships by at least ten to one.

Rubin had a secret, however. He had strange ties to the mythical sea-creatures known as mermaids. These mermaids were visible only to him. His eyesight was exceptionally keen, particularly in bright sunlight. As a result, he could see them far out in the distance where even someone equipped with a spyglass would have difficulty spotting them. Rubin’s eyes were altered a number of years ago when he had experienced the magic of the mermaids during an adventure with the dragon mage, Kazin.

In any case, the mermaids always guided The Griffin to where pirate ships were hidden - mostly among the Haunted Shoals. These shoals were notoriously treacherous for any ship to navigate, yet Rubin had always managed to guide his ship around any obstacles both above and below the surface. This had earned the unfaltering respect of his crew. Furthermore, Rubin had always found pirates wherever he went. Even if he aimed his ship in an unusual direction, he seemed to know exactly where the pirates were. The more experienced crew members never asked Rubin why he chose a certain direction. They knew he would lead them to some pirates eventually.

Along with unerring navigation and successful pirate hunting, Rubin’s crew never lost a battle. Each time they encountered pirates, the pirates were disorganized and unprepared. Only Rubin knew why, but he would not say. Nobody bothered to ask, since they always won every battle hands down. Rubin had quickly gained a reputation for being undefeated and new recruits waited at every port in the hopes of being enlisted aboard The Griffin.

Every so often a sailor would respectfully look over at the bald, dark-skinned captain, who wore no armor, but bore a knife sheath diagonally across his chest. At his side he wore a holster with a rapier for close combat. He looked like an ordinary sailor, but his regal stance and keen dark eyes made him look like a man to be reckoned with. He was a leader who would give his all for any member of the crew and would not expect anything in return. He didn’t need to. Most of the crew would gladly sacrifice their lives for this great captain. His goal was an honourable one, and with him to lead them, they would not fail.

That particular day, Rubin aimed his ship out to open water. The crew quickly adjusted the sails and the wind took care of the rest. The Griffin surged through the water with a vengeance. No one asked Rubin where they were going or why. They knew pirates would be waiting at the end of their journey. The only preparations they occupied themselves with were the readying of weapons; open seas usually meant a sea battle or a pursuit. Swords and knives were cleaned; arrows were sharpened. Rubin didn’t have to give any orders. His crew knew what to do and they did it well.

Despite the state of readiness, Rubin was uneasy. The mermaids far ahead of them were beginning to outdistance even The Griffin. Within a few hours, they disappeared entirely. Rubin was perplexed. Why did the mermaids suddenly abandon him? Something was amiss. He turned and was about to shout the order to turn around when the wind suddenly died completely. The sails sagged, The Griffin slowed, and all was still.

A few of the less experienced sailors looked questioningly at their captain. What happened?