Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (41 page)

“What about this quest you’re sending us on?” asked Sherman. “Is it dangerous?”

Amelia nodded. “Getting to your destination will be hazardous, but you must have faith in yourselves. Unfortunately, your cleric will not join you until after the quest is over. Her invitation into our guild is far too important to interrupt. However, I will send five of my own servants to assist you in your journey. They will have to suffice.”

“How soon will we return?” asked Harran.

Amelia sighed and glanced at Kazin. For a moment she said nothing. “You will be back before it begins. I wish you could stay and visit longer, but you must leave immediately.”

The druid rose shakily and Kazin helped her to her feet. “Thank you,” she murmured. Amelia raised both her arms and chanted a spell Kazin could not even begin to comprehend. A blue aura left her fingertips and radiated throughout the room they were in. Sherman braced himself but when the aura engulfed him, he felt refreshed and relaxed.

“A little refreshment before your journey,” explained Amelia when the spell was complete.

The door opened and Olag appeared. “You called?”

“Ah, Olag,” said Amelia. “Lead our guests to the ship and prepare to set sail. Then contact Shawna and Sheena. They’re to join you on this journey, along with two others of their kind.”

Olag frowned. “Why, my lady? What do we need them for—if you don’t mind my asking?”

“They have their orders,” said Amelia stiffly, “as do you.”

Olag shrugged resignedly and nodded to the companions. “Pick up your weapons, fellas. We’ve a ship to catch.”

They equipped themselves, leaving only Milena’s staff in the trunk.

“I’ll take care of that,” said Amelia.

Kazin nodded and smiled uncertainly.

“Do not fear,” admonished Amelia, immediately comprehending Kazin’s expression. She smiled sadly as she watched the four companions follow the skink warrior from the room.

When the door closed behind them her smile slowly vanished and she sighed. She wearily dragged her frail old body to the fireplace and cast a spell on the hearth, causing it to erupt into a roaring fire. She held her wrinkled hands over the hearth and rubbed them together rapidly. “Ah! It is so difficult to keep warm in this ancient body!” she said quietly.

Her gaze swept up the contours of the fireplace and finally rested on the painting of the wizard shooting his lightning bolt. Amelia raised both her hands and gently stroked the painting. “Such power!” she whispered. A tear came unbidden to her eye and she brushed it aside furiously. “No! No tears! My wish has been fulfilled. That is enough.” She paused. “Isn’t it?” Her heart welled up inside her and she kept the rest of her thoughts to herself as her eyes filled with tears once again.

Chapter 35

S
hadows loomed in the forest as the companions followed Olag and the treemen back to the ship. The sun was now near the horizon and the shadows danced playfully in the woods around them. The trip was the same as before except that all of them could have sworn they were going back by a different route than they had come. The gathering dark and the uncommunicative treemen didn’t help matters any. Nevertheless the companions followed willingly, eager to get off the island.

“I sure hope Milena’s alright,” said Sherman.

“I think she’ll be O.K.,” assured Kazin.

Harran harrumphed and stomped doggedly onward.

Zylor said nothing. He seemed to be content with warily watching the treemen both ahead of them and behind. Though they were tall and emotionless, they seemed to be giving the minotaur a wide berth. They even kept their distance from Harran. The minotaur wondered if it was because of the weapons they carried; axes versus tree men. He grinned inwardly. It was a possible weakness. He restrained himself from experimenting with his theory.

It was not long before they arrived at the dock where the magical ship was moored.

As they reached the ship’s plank, Zylor pulled out his axe as if to examine it. Instantly the tree men nearby sprang back a step. Kazin and the others looked at him questioningly. Zylor grinned back at them. Satisfied with his discovery, he re sheathed his axe and followed them aboard the vessel.

On the starboard side of the deck was a small swimming pool that was not there earlier. How it got there was unknown. In the pool lounged four beautiful mermaids. They smiled sensuously from their temporary home and waved in open invitation.

“Ughh!” said Olag in revulsion. “I wish we didn’t need them along on this trip.”

“Why are they coming?” asked Kazin.

“How should I know?” spat Olag. “I’d just as soon have left them behind. The oracles have their own reasons for allowing them to come along.”

“Did you know that there is only one oracle on this island?” asked Kazin.

“Oracles, druids, they’re all the same if you ask me,” said Olag. “Better not to be mixed up with them in the first place.” He led them away from the mermaids and toward the captain’s quarters. “We’ll make ourselves comfortable inside. The ship will take care of itself.”

As if in response, the ship silently glided away from the dock. With remarkable speed, it churned through the water and soon the bay in which the dock was located was only a hazy outline in the twilight. The entire island disappeared from sight not long afterwards.

“What about the mermaids?” asked Sherman as he followed the others inside. He glanced back over his shoulder at the smiling girls.

“Bah!” said Olag. “They can sit out there and rot for all I care! Leave them be. You’ll be better off for it.”

Sherman closed the door behind him and turned to face the skink warrior. “How can you say that? If the druids trust them, why can’t we?”

“Because I know them, warrior. Once they have you, you belong to them—permanently!”

“I don’t know,” said Sherman, unconvinced.

“Yet the druids think we might need them,” said Kazin objectively. “They are probably as dedicated to fulfilling the druids’ wishes as you are, Olag. Obviously the druids have a hold over them as well. Otherwise, we would all be victims of the mermaids by now. Not to mention, we have no reason to trust skink warriors any more than mermaids anyway.”

“He’s got a point there,” said Harran. “What’s your part in all of this, Olag? Why are you under the druids’ spell?”

“I told you before,” growled Olag. “I’m paying a debt for a wrong I’ve committed. Our feud with the mermaids flared up one too many times.”

“Have you ever tried a peaceful solution?” asked Zylor, who had been silent until now.

Olag stared at him as if he had never seen him before. To hear this from a minotaur had caught him off guard. The others were surprised as well.

“You cannot reason with a mermaid,” said Olag at last. “They’re the ones who are striking at our villages for no reason!”

“Have you talked to them about this?” asked Kazin.

“With our weapons!” stated Olag contemptuously.

“Next time try words,” said Kazin. “Tell them your situation. Maybe they’ll leave you alone.”

Olag hissed in laughter. “Surely you jest?”

“No,” said Kazin. “In fact, why don’t we talk to the mermaids in the pool and see what they have to say about the subject?”

“Never!” hissed Olag.

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” said Sherman. “Come on, we’ll protect you if you’re worried about them.” He clasped the skink by the shoulder.

“Nooo!” shrieked Olag, wrenching away from Sherman’s grasp. “I will not go near those creatures!”

“What are you afraid of?” asked Sherman, grasping Olag’s shoulder again.

The skink warrior hissed and twisted away from the warrior again. Suddenly he found himself up in the air.

Zylor held Olag in a firm grip and grinned at him evilly. “Let’s give it a try, shall we?”

“Nooo!” Olag screamed. He squirmed but couldn’t free himself this time.

“This hold is one of many I will teach you, warrior,” said Zylor, addressing the warrior. “See how he squirms but cannot break free?”

Sherman nodded.

“Let’s go,” said Harran. He opened the door to the deck. The sun was now beyond the horizon and the sky was beginning to darken. The night would be a mild one.

They went over to the mermaids who were overjoyed to see the company had changed their minds and accepted their invitation to join them. They glanced at the skink warrior with distaste only once and then turned their entire attention on the humans and dwarf. They even smiled at Zylor, although it was obvious they were not particularly interested in him.

Zylor didn’t mind. He was holding the squirming skink warrior and he took that task seriously. The others would have let their resolve weaken in the presence of the mermaids, thereby letting their captive go; but not he. They brought Olag to confront the mermaids, and confront them he would.

Sherman was already undressed to his shorts and he climbed swiftly into the pool. Harran was not far behind. The mermaids swarmed around the two and called for Kazin to follow. Kazin smiled and declined the offer. His disciplined mind gave him a greater resistance to their overwhelming allure.

Finally they resigned themselves to the two who were in the pool with them.

Kazin glanced at the minotaur, who nodded. The mage looked back at the mermaids and cleared his throat. One of the mermaids glanced hopefully in his direction.

“We came here to talk about something,” said Kazin uncertainly. It was hard to keep his thoughts coherent while looking at the mermaid’s beautiful face, large brown eyes, and shiny red hair flowing over a sensuous upper body. Even in the twilight, she looked beautiful and vibrant.

“Come into the pool and we’ll talk,” said the mermaid seductively. The other mermaids were playing and splashing with the warrior and dwarf, oblivious to their surroundings.

“No,” said Kazin unconvincingly. “This is important. It concerns your on-going dispute with the skink warriors.”

“You mean that stink?” said the mermaid, pointing at the squirming Olag. “Stinks are evil. They must be destroyed. They stink!”

Olag hissed. “Abominable creatures!”

“Why do they have to be destroyed?” asked Kazin, almost ready to laugh at these outbursts. “What makes them so evil?”

“They invade our homes!” said the mermaid. “We share with no one!”

“Why not?” pressed Kazin.

The mermaid wrinkled her nose. “Would you share with that—that stink?!” She pointed at Olag again. “They come out of nowhere and just move in! They are invaders!”

“Maybe you should find out why they moved in,” suggested Kazin. “Maybe you’ll realize they had no choice.”

“They transformed themselves on purpose—to invade our homes!” The mermaid was adamant. “We do not trust them!”

“Now just a minute!” exclaimed Olag. He stopped his struggling. “You think we turned ourselves into this,” he pointed at himself, “on purpose? Are you mad?!”

The mermaid nodded. “That way you could breathe under the water and invade us.” A large splash of water suddenly hit the mermaid from behind and she spun around. She gave a sharp, high-pitched scream and the others all stopped their playing.

Sherman was laughing almost childishly and Harran was breathing heavily. It took a moment for both of them to realize where they were and what they were doing.

“We cannot have them!” shouted the red-haired mermaid to the others. “Would you have the full wrath of the oracle upon you?”

The others looked chastised.

“Sorry, Shawna,” mumbled one.

“We didn’t mean—,” began another.

“Shut up!” interrupted Shawna. She turned back to Olag. “What have you to say for yourself, stink?”

Olag looked at Kazin.

“Tell her what you told me the other day,” said the mage.

Olag sighed. “You can put me down, minotaur.”

Zylor complied.

Olag sat down on the deck where he was, preferring to talk across a distance rather than be within splashing distance of his sworn enemy.

“I know you won’t believe any of this—,” he began.

“Probably not,” spat the mermaid. “Just talk and be done with it.”

So Olag delved into the history of his people and explained his version of events. The mermaid listened attentively, albeit with sarcastic comments meant to cause Olag to lose his temper. Kazin and Zylor needed to restore order several times but finally Olag was finished. Meanwhile Sherman and Harran had managed to dry themselves off and get dressed.

“Your story has merit,” said Shawna. “But your atrocities against our people shall not easily be forgiven or forgotten.”

“It has to start somewhere,” said Kazin.

“Yes,” agreed Shawna. “I will speak to my people. Perhaps in time we will come to an arrangement. Perhaps we will succeed where humans have failed and live peacefully with the stinks.”

“Skinks!” corrected Olag. “You can start by learning to pronounce that word correctly!”

“Whatever,” dismissed Shawna.

Sherman went over and patted Olag on the shoulder. “And you said they couldn’t be reasoned with,” he chided.

Olag rose with a hiss and stalked off for the captain’s quarters, mumbling about humans and unreasonable mermaids. It was obvious he was relieved to have this conversation over with.

“Come,” said Shawna. “Stay with us for a while.” There was no sensual inflection in her voice this time. “Let us get acquainted.”

Kazin sat by the edge of the pool and introduced his group. Zylor stood to the side, aloof as ever, and Sherman and Harran stood uncertainly a good distance away. Both were aware of their recent experience with the mermaids. Upon entering the pool, their senses of pleasure nearly drowned their identities. They would have lost themselves completely if the mermaids hadn’t stopped toying with them. Now they were extra cautious. They sat down on the deck several feet away.

“You needn’t sit so far away,” insisted Shawna, upon seeing their discomfort. “I give you my word. We will not harm you.” The two warriors moved only marginally closer. A couple of the mermaids giggled and Shawna gave them an icy stare. “On second thought, maybe you should hold your distance.”

The girls in the pool gave Shawna a chastised look. Satisfied, Shawna returned her attention to Kazin. “I’d like to know more of those whose lives we are to save.”