Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (39 page)

“A representative of the lizardmen contacted our people some time later, claiming we had reneged on our agreement. But he was told to check their dead. Not one was killed by a skink warrior’s arrow. They couldn’t argue with that! Nevertheless, the lizardmages threatened to find us and wipe us out completely. But they would have had to turn themselves into our form to find us underwater, and that they weren’t prepared to do! From then on, skink warriors did what they could to hinder both humans and lizardmages.”

“That explains your peoples’ appearance in the latest battle against the Tower of Hope!” said Sherman. “You were there to prolong the battle!”

Olag smiled. “I’m glad to see my people are still doing their job. It’s been several generations since we’ve had a chance to do battle.” He looked at the humans’ worried faces before him and his smile was replaced by a concerned frown. “No offence intended, of course.” His smile immediately returned. “We are temporarily allied by a power superior to our own. I assure you, I and my crew bear no malice toward you or your friends.”

“I hope that will remain so,” said Sherman warily.

“As the oracles wish,” responded Olag.

“One thing puzzles me about your story,” said Kazin after a moment. “Your people retaliated over their physical change. Surely that was a small price to pay to have a safe place to live?”

Olag hissed. “Safe place? We have many dangers in this new world of ours!”

“Like what?” asked Sherman. “I don’t know of anything threatening living in the water.”

Olag hissed again. “You live on land! How could you know?” He shook his head. “First of all, there are the mermaids, who don’t like newcomers any more than the humans did.”

“Mermaids?” asked Sherman. “You’re joking!”

“Yess!” said Olag. “Land people like yourselves who see them usually never return! In any case, we’ve had many pitched battles between our people. They strike at our communities and then swim quickly away, too quickly for us to follow. So far none of our people have been able to find their lairs upon which to counter strike.

“Then there are the pirates, but those we can handle. Indeed, they’re more useful than we had originally suspected. Many of them are convinced their loot is safe among the Haunted Shoals. We often lie in wait for them and wait for them to stash their hauls. After they leave, we seize their cache of goods for ourselves. We don’t always take it, though. After all, we want them to come back again. Some pirates even act as go-betweens to help us exchange goods for currency and vice-versa. What better way to finance our people without coming out in the open?

“Finally,” continued the skink warrior with a frown, “there are the oracles. They are not to be trifled with. Whenever the never-ending dispute between ourselves and the mermaids gets out of hand, the oracles draw both parties to their island to make us do penance by doing various chores for them. If we’re lucky that is. If we’re not, we have to be in each other’s presence and try to get along. Have you ever tried to get along with a mermaid? Flying with boulders tied to your ankles is easier!”

“I didn’t even know mermaids existed until now,” said Sherman.

“Be thankful,” said Olag distastefully.

“How long before we reach the oracles’ island?” asked Kazin. “We’re on an important mission and a delay could prove disastrous.”

“We’ll be there this evening,” said Olag. He drank the last of his tea. “I enjoyed this little chat,” he continued, rising, “but I’ve got some other things to attend to. If you’ll excuse me.”

“What did you find out?” asked Milena later when the mage and warrior returned to their room.

“You first,” said Kazin.

“We found the room with the weapons,” said Harran.

“But it can’t be entered,” said Milena. “The magic is similar to mine, but much more powerful.”

Kazin nodded. Then he and Sherman related the events that transpired in Olag’s room.

“That explains a lot,” said Harran thoughtfully. “But it still doesn’t help us decide what to do next.”

“We’ll have to wait until we see the oracles,” said Kazin. “Any comments?” He looked at each of the companions.

“I hope they’re worthy opponents,” grumbled Zylor. He was obviously distressed at being prevented from fighting the skink warriors.

Harran hid a smile.

Chapter 34

T
he overcast skies dissipated as the afternoon wore on and Sherman watched as the sun glided slowly westward, outlining the tree line of a small island directly ahead of them. Despite the headwind, Sherman suspected they would reach the island within the hour. He heard footsteps behind him and turned. It was Zylor.

The minotaur nodded and grunted, “Sherman.”

Sherman returned the nod and cast his gaze back over the bow of the boat.

“I have observed your weapon skills since we first met,” said Zylor.

Sherman looked at the minotaur but said nothing.

“I would like to learn those skills,” continued Zylor.

Sherman still said nothing.

“In exchange,” pressed Zylor, “I am willing to give you some pointers in hand to hand combat which I’m sure you will make use of.”

“I’m not sure I should teach you anything,” said Sherman at last. “Our people are at war, after all, and—.”

“You don’t trust me,” finished Zylor. “And if my guess is correct, you’re even a little afraid of me. Is that right?”

Sherman sighed and nodded. “I just can’t believe a minotaur is on our side. I know the things you’ve done so far prove you’re with us, but I just can’t quite bring myself to believe it yet.”

Zylor nodded. “I understand. I have a similar dilemma myself. Here I am among humans, yet my race is at war with you. I may not live long enough to see my people again. In the end, I may be the only hope to end this war before it gets out of hand. I was just hoping you might help, that’s all.” He turned and began to walk away.

Sherman hesitated. Then he made up his mind. “Zylor, wait.”

The minotaur turned to face him.

Sherman located a couple of loose planks on the deck upon which they stood and yanked them free with his massive hands. He tossed one to the minotaur who deftly caught it out of the air.

“Let’s see what you need to know,” said Sherman, stepping forward to confront Zylor. Somehow the minotaur seemed even larger when he was the opponent.

Sherman began to think this might not have been such a good idea when the minotaur struck at him with a lightning quick motion. Sherman instinctively batted the plank away and dodged aside, bringing his own plank into the minotaur’s hairy abdomen. Zylor was overextended with his initial swing and tried unsuccessfully to block the warrior’s blow. He grunted as it struck him and stepped back momentarily to catch his breath.

Sherman lowered his plank. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard!”

Zylor grinned viciously. “Nonsense! What better way to learn!” He lunged at the warrior again and Sherman did the same thing again, this time dodging to the other side. The minotaur was not expecting this reverse maneuver, and though he parried the blow this time, he staggered off balance and exposed his side to a well-placed counter strike by the warrior.

This time Zylor did not step back and pressed on the attack instead, swinging his plank back and forth trying to strike the warrior. He succeeded in grazing the warrior’s shoulder several times but left himself exposed after each successful strike. The warrior pounded him firmly and repeatedly with his plank, taking advantage of every opening.

By now, several of the skink warriors were standing a short distance away, unable to determine what the two combatants were fighting about.

Finally, Sherman stepped back and shouted, “No, no, no! Don’t bring your weapon straight down like that! Bring it down in an arc and use its momentum to step aside, that way you strike, parry, and move away all in the same motion. You should always be in motion—you’re standing still and fighting! That makes you an easy target! You may be tough, but your agility needs work. Physically weaker people like Kazin need to be agile to survive, but tough people like yourself need to be agile to defeat quicker, stronger opponents. Otherwise, no matter how tough you are, you’re going to be beaten down eventually.”

Zylor nodded, breathing heavily. “I understand.” He lunged at the warrior and the battle ensued.

Kazin came on deck and looked around for Sherman. Toward the bow he saw a gathering of skink warriors outlined by the mountainous background of the oracles’ island. Towering above the skinks was the great horned head of the minotaur. A plank of wood came whizzing down toward Zylor’s head and he spun away, bringing a plank of his own up to knock it to his left. As he stepped aside, he revealed the determined countenance of Sherman as the warrior raised his plank to strike at the minotaur with a backhanded sweep. They were fighting!

Kazin cried out inwardly and ran to the battleground. Milena was just coming onto the deck behind him and he heard her gasp of astonishment.

Kazin pushed his way past the skink warriors and viewed the battle up close. The combatants were exchanging blows viciously; sweat glistening on the warrior’s forehead and the minotaur’s upper body. They grunted and heaved, struggling to gain a dominant position. Kazin didn’t know what to do. A sleep spell would undoubtedly fail, since the adrenaline level of the fighters was obviously high. His mind raced for an answer.

Suddenly Zylor broke past Sherman’s defence and struck him a solid blow to his left arm. The warrior winced and went down, dropping his weapon.

“Enough!” cried Milena, surging through the spectators to stand between the two fighters. “What is the matter with you?!” she demanded, glancing from one to the other furiously. “Can’t we settle this in a more humane fashion? Fighting will get us nowhere!”

Suddenly Sherman smirked. Then he laughed.

Milena turned on him with a stern look. This caused the warrior to laugh even harder.

Kazin was as confused as the cleric. Here was the warrior, knocked down in a vicious battle, his arm bleeding openly, and yet laughing as though a funny joke had been told.

The skink warriors who had watched the battle didn’t know what to make of this either, not understanding what the whole escapade was all about to begin with. They returned to their duties with silent mutters and shaking heads.

Finally Sherman stopped laughing. Even Zylor was grinning openly—something he didn’t do often unless it meant there was about to be a fight.

“What’s going on?” inquired Harran, coming to the scene at that moment.

“We were training,” said Sherman.

“Training?!” exclaimed Milena. “With planks?”

“We would have used our weapons if we had them,” said Sherman innocently.

Milena gave him a withering look. “It’s a good thing the weapons are locked up.”

Zylor stepped forward and pulled the warrior to his feet. “Thank you, warrior. I have learned much. One day I will fulfil my part of the bargain. We have battled enough for one day.”

Sherman nodded and slapped the minotaur on the shoulder. “Somehow, I know you’ll be true to your word.”

The minotaur pounded his chest with his fist in the dwarven fashion and walked away without saying another word.

Harran followed, obviously curious as to what had just happened. He half walked, half ran, to keep up with the minotaur’s long strides.

Meanwhile, Milena treated Sherman’s wounds, complaining that she didn’t come on this expedition just to treat his wounds. One day she would not be there for him.

Kazin felt the presence of someone behind him and turned to see Olag.

“Did I miss something?” asked the skink.

“It’s a long story,” said Kazin.

“Another time, then,” said Olag. “We will be docking in about ten minutes.”

The magical ship glided gracefully into a small lagoon on the south-eastern side of the island. Trees and thick vegetation flanked both sides and birds chirped happily in the undergrowth. Ahead, a long dock protruded from the shore with small figures scurrying hastily along its length preparing for the new arrivals.

In the water heads could be seen bobbing, and when the ship was close enough, Kazin was amazed at the sight. All of the swimmers were females, and all of them had long, flowing hair of varying shades. Most were red headed, but some had brown, black, and blonde hair as well. But what stood out the most were the lower portions of their bodies as seen through the clear, blue water. Glittering silvery beneath the surface were tails similar to a dolphin’s.

Kazin and the others gaped. None had ever seen a mermaid until now; very few people ever had. There were those who even considered them a fairy tale. But here they were, real and in the flesh.

Kazin glanced at Sherman who grinned and raised an eyebrow. He was not the only one who considered them beautiful to look upon.

The ship pulled slowly up to the dock and Olag ordered the skink warriors on the dock to make the ship fast. After this was done, Olag gestured for the companions to follow him down the plank to the dock.

When they stood on the dock, Sherman whispered to Kazin, “Men would die just to spend a day in this place.”

As if in response, a mermaid swam to the dock and gave the big warrior an enticing smile.

Sherman reddened and grinned like a fool.

Milena gave him a scathing glance but he didn’t notice.

The mermaid splashed some water at him playfully and dived underwater again.

Olag hissed. “Horrible creatures!”

Sherman stared at him in shock.

“No sooner than you follow her into the water, then you never return,” explained Olag. “No human has ever returned after following the lure of a mermaid. Horrible creatures!” he repeated.

Sherman gulped and looked at the mermaids not far away. Could that be possible? But they were so beautiful!

Olag must have seen his look. “Be thankful the druids are in power here, warrior. Otherwise, you would have fallen victim by now.”

Sherman gulped again.

“Where are we going?” interrupted Harran, “and when do we get our weapons back?”

“All in good time,” said Olag. “Follow me.”