Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (29 page)

Kazin nodded. “How many people are in the party?” he asked.

“Fourteen, including the mages,” said the young soldier.

After a brief rest, Kazin and his friends planned to climb the mountain and camp near the tunnel so they could enter first thing in the morning. They wanted to be well rested when they entered the mountain, just to be ready in case of trouble.

They left their horses in the care of the soldiers at the base camp and began the long trek up the mountainside. It was late afternoon and the sun beamed down on the trio with the ferocity of a mid-summer sun, even though summer was still a week away. The cool west wind was a godsend to the climbers, cooling their bodies as they crept ever closer to the cave.

Harran pointed out some other cave entrances and asked whether they would be exploring them all. Kazin told him it was not likely. Their objective was to see if the scouting party had found signs of the retreating lizardmen and if they were the ones who had stolen the tower’s books. Harran nodded but looked yearningly at the unexplored caves from time to time.

Up they climbed, higher and higher.

Sherman, despite his strength, had the hardest time keeping up. His incredible bulk made the going difficult. He was getting a little anxious. “Are we there yet?” he asked repeatedly, panting heavily. Perspiration beaded his forehead.

“We’re five minutes closer than the last time you asked,” grumbled the dwarf. “And ten minutes closer than the time you asked before that.”

“I’m just a little nervous about heights,” said Sherman.

“Don’t look down,” suggested Kazin. Now he knew why Sherman was so edgy.

“Easier said than done,” responded the big warrior, looking down as he did. He stumbled and nearly fell.

“Take it easy,” said Kazin, catching hold of his friend and steadying him. “Maybe it’s time we took a short break. We’re three quarters of the way there. We still have a few hours of daylight left, so we don’t have to rush.”

Harran harrumphed.

Sherman slumped to the ground, exhausted. “Good.”

Kazin sat next to him. “I’m tired too. I’m not used to this kind of exercise.”

After a few moments of silence Kazin spoke. “Sherman?”

“Yeah?”

“Does the word ‘Guardian’ mean anything to you?”

“Not in particular. Why?”

“Those guys who ambushed us told us they wanted the ‘Guardian’ and that Harran and I could walk away unharmed.”

“They called me a Guardian?” asked Sherman. “Of what?”

“I don’t know,” said Kazin. “I hoped you would.”

Sherman shook his head. Then he brightened. “Hey! Whoever is after me isn’t likely to have people in the mountain waiting for me. They don’t know I’m entering the mountain. I didn’t even know that until we reached the base camp. I’m free of that worry for a while!”

“I suspect you’re right,” said Kazin. “But I also expect trouble of a different sort once we enter the mountain. To be ambushed in a mountain full of goblins and orcs is a high probability.”

“Kazin’s right,” said Harran. “We’re entering a mountain full of unknown dangers. Who knows what creatures roam the darkness?”

“At least I’ll be killing ugly beasts instead of humans with families and friends,” said Sherman sadly. “I’d hate to face the families of the people I’ve killed so far, even if they were assassins and thieves.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” said Kazin, rising. “Let’s go kill some creatures instead.”

The rest of the climb went more smoothly than expected and they reached the cave entrance with another hour of daylight left.

“Well?” asked Sherman. “Should we camp inside or outside?”

“It’s going to be a mild night,” said Kazin, “and we might not see daylight or stars for a few days. I’m inclined to sleep outside tonight. How about you, Harran?”

Harran was already nearly out of sight in the cave’s opening. “Huh? Whatever you say, Kazin.” He was too preoccupied to pay any attention to the conversation.

“I’ll get the fire started,” said Sherman. “I saw a little ledge a short way back where it should be relatively comfortable. It’s out of the wind and there’s some dead brush nearby.”

“Good,” said Kazin. “I’ll collect some wildhorn leaves in case we need them.”

“Some what?” asked Sherman.

“Wildhorn leaves,” spat Harran, returning from his short excursion. “You need them to see in the dark. Just keep them away from me. I’m allergic.”

“What did you find out?” asked Kazin.

“The search party went in there alright,” said Harran. “So did some orcs and lizardmen. We’re on the right trail.”

The trio rolled out their blankets and settled down for a quiet evening. Kazin gave Sherman instructions on the wildhorn leaves, cautioning him not to eat too many at once.

“What about you?” asked Sherman. “You’re not a dwarf, you know.”

“I’ll take some along,” said Kazin, “just in case. Remember, I’m carrying the staff, so I’ll have light even if I get separated. You won’t, and fights won’t necessarily be in close quarters. You’ll almost certainly be drawn away from the light should fighting break out.”

“True,” said Sherman. “But don’t think I’ll get too far away from you, either. I’m hired to protect you, remember?”

Kazin smiled. “Maybe that’s why you’re known as the ‘Guardian’.”

Harran was still excited about entering the mountain at first light so he volunteered for first watch. Sherman took second watch and Kazin was given the morning shift.

It seemed like Kazin just fell asleep when the warrior aroused him for his shift.

“Your turn,” yawned Sherman. “Everything’s clear and quiet so far.”

Kazin rolled over and winced. He had slept on his arm and it was asleep. “O.K., Sherm. I’m awake now.” He crawled out of his blankets and was surprised to see that Sherman had already slid into his. Kazin was just rolling up his blankets when he heard the deep snoring of his partner. “I wish I could fall asleep like that,” he murmured quietly. Then he stood up, alarmed, and did a spell check. Nothing. He relaxed. For a moment he was afraid someone had cast a sleep spell on Sherman.

Kazin put a few more logs on the fire and went to a remote area of the campsite. He cast a shield spell around the area and sat down. Then he pulled out the magic book he had received at his graduation. It had proven itself useful twice today. It was too dark to read so he lit his staff. He had to keep the study session short, however, if he wanted to save his energy for the tunnels. He memorized a few more spells and made a mental note to gather the proper ingredients for them. He was glad he had a hefty supply of white pigeon feathers and quartz for the numerous light spells he needed to cast in the tunnels.

After he finished studying, he was about to put out his staff when he remembered the page from the Book of Prophesy. Since he was memorizing things, he might as well memorize the page in case it should become lost. He pulled it out and began memorizing. When he was sure he knew it by heart, he folded it and put it back into his pocket. He was about to cancel the light spell when the staff’s orb began to undulate. Examining it more closely, he was able to make something out in its shifting colours.

First, he saw a white cloak, followed by an abandoned graveyard. Skeletons rose and moved forward carrying rusty weapons. A beautiful queen dressed in colourful clothing smiled as she watched the undead legions. Then she looked directly at Kazin and frowned. Kazin shuddered as he looked into her dead eyes. In a flash she was gone, replaced by the mermaid fountain in the square on Sorcerer’s Isle. The fountain moved and the mermaid sprang into its depths, disappearing from view. Several weapons flickered in and out of view. First a shiny silver sword, followed by a lethal, steaming axe, followed by a flying dagger, and finally, an arrow of elven make. These images wavered and vanished, leaving a light luminescent glow on Kazin’s orb.

Kazin cancelled the light spell on his staff and thought about the images he had seen. They seemed unusually vivid, as though they were real. Yet they were not. There was also a sense of urgency about them, as if they were really important. Kazin could only guess as to the meaning of most of the images, but one thing seemed evident. The weapons at the end related to the page of the Book of Prophesy that he had in his pocket. If just he had more pages of the Book of Prophesy handy! He was sure it would help explain the images.

Suddenly the orb began to glow again of its own accord. Surprised, Kazin looked into it and saw an image of a book. It was the Book of Prophesy! It was opening! Several pages flitted by and it stopped on one page. Kazin read as quickly as he could. It read:

‘The dragons clashed, but the son struck true.

The old dragon was blinded, and then he knew.’

The pages flipped again and Kazin cursed. He couldn’t read that fast! The pages stopped again and Kazin read quickly:

‘In urgent haste the heroes fled,

To slay evil in the field of dead.

The ghoul was slain, the sword was found

Inside its tomb below the ground.’

The pages flipped again:

‘The horn must hone its skill to fight

To honourably gain the right

to suppress the evil with strength and skill

And be victorious with a kill.’

The pages flipped again:

‘The key to the present is in the past

Or the way of the future will never last!’

The pages flipped again and the book slammed shut. The orb dimmed and went out. This was followed by an eerie laughter that echoed in Kazin’s head. Kazin’s stomach began to burn fiercely, almost bad enough for him to cry out. He quickly drank from his wineskin to douse the fierce fire that raged inside. This eased the pain somewhat. The voice laughed again and then vanished. Only the dull pain remained, making the young mage uneasy.

Kazin wondered if he was going insane, but the images were real. The pain inside could not be ignored. He settled down for the rest of his shift, going over the images in his mind and repeating the pages of the Book of Prophesy he was fortunate enough to see. He would have written them down but didn’t want to wake Harran just to ask to borrow some of his parchment.

Chapter 27

B
efore long, the sky began to lighten and Kazin woke his partners to prepare for their trek into the mountain. They had all their gear ready when there was the loud crack of a twig not far away.

“Wait for my spell,” Kazin whispered as they stealthily dodged for cover and waited to see who was coming their way.

After a minute or two a group of lizardmen came upon their campsite. They moved forward cautiously, prodding the still smouldering campfire with sticks and staves.

Kazin chanted and cast a sleep spell in the lizardmen’s general direction. Unfortunately, lizardmen are partially immune to most magic so only the three located in the middle of their group fell to the ground in slumber. That left three on either side of the campsite.

Sherman dashed out of cover to attack the three closest to Kazin while Harran took on the rest.

Sherman’s rush caught them off guard as he easily dispatched the first, parried a slash by the second, and stabbed the third in the heart in the next move.

Harran, meanwhile, got into trouble as his three lizardmen quickly surrounded him. He feinted toward one, causing it to back up, startled. Then he spun to strike at a second, slicing into its arm. It screamed loudly while the third lizardman advanced from behind, prepared to run him through with a dagger.

Suddenly, a brown, hideous beast bellowed as it charged out of nowhere to pounce on the third lizardman. The lizardman only had time to shriek once before its scaly hide was rent by the beast’s bare hands and flung several yards to either side of the clearing. The remains of that lizard barely flopped to the ground before the beast assaulted the dwarf’s first lizardman. The creature only gaped at the impending doom and did not make a sound as a hairy fist shattered its skull with a powerful blow.

Sherman, after cleanly slicing off the head of his last victim, turned in time to see the beast looking at the dwarf. He sprang to the dwarf’s aid but stumbled on a sleeping lizardman near the campfire, falling on top of it with a crash. His sword went flying.

Harran, taking advantage of the confusion, took a mighty swing at his last lizardman, slicing it in two. He turned to the beast, smiling, but the smile instantly vanished as he shrieked, “Stop!”

The beast whirled to face the direction of the dwarf’s gaze, but Sherman was already in motion, charging like a crazed bull. The two titans clashed, bouncing off each other and crashing to the ground. The beast jumped back up, its fists clenched. Sherman merely sat up with a dazed expression.

Kazin stood nearby, prepared to end the life of the beast with a lightning bolt spell, but he waited for Harran to make the next move.

The dwarf sheathed his axe and walked bravely up to the beast, extending his hand. “It’s good to see you again, my friend,” he said.

The beast shook his hand. “Likewise, friend.”

Harran turned the beast to face Kazin. “This is the friend I spoke to you about, Kazin. This is Zylor.”

The minotaur grinned a toothy grin.

Kazin gazed at the enormous horns on the minotaur’s head, which were, ironically, outlining the rising sun directly behind him. “The head of horns,” he whispered.

Sherman merely sat on the ground and gaped. He had just attempted to attack the biggest minotaur with the largest horns he had ever seen—with his bare hands—only to find it was a friend of the friend he was defending in the first place! His head swam.

Zylor and Harran quickly dispatched the sleeping lizardmen while Sherman retrieved his sword. He was still in a daze. Until now he never really believed Harran’s story about the minotaur.

Zylor was leery of Kazin at first but Harran eased his concern with details about their previous adventures where Kazin intervened on the dwarf’s behalf and vice-versa. Harran assured him that Kazin was honourable.

“What of the warrior?” asked Zylor, appreciatively eyeing Sherman up and down. “He tried to intervene on your behalf as well, and with his bare hands! Not even ogres can knock me off my feet, but this human has done so with little difficulty. He would be a prized fighter in the arenas!”