Rise of Shadows (16 page)

“Too risky,” said Spectra. “We could definitely win the fight, but it would take a long time to cut them down, and they could get help in that time.”

“Let’s not forget, if they have sorcerers on board, then they could gate to the Dust Dragon just as easily as we can get to them,” I said.

“Oh, that would not be good,” said Flame.

“We need to make the first move, and it needs to be decisive,” said Spectra.

“You have something in mind?” I asked.

“Yes, you and Phoenix gate into the ship somewhere other than the engine room, and create a distraction. Once you have their attention, I gate some antimatter torpedoes directly into their engine core,” she said.

“Ok, that is definitely direct and decisive,” I said. I was very impressed by her plan. My biggest problem with it was that I had not thought of it. It was brilliant.

“But then we would not know who set the trap,” said Flame.

“It is too dangerous to sit around and let them find us,” said Spectra.

“She has a point,” said Phoenix.

“Yes, but it also leaves us open for a counter-attack here on the Dust Dragon,” I said. “If we were to do this, Phoenix, you would need to stay behind and get shields up to hinder any boarding attempt. Flame would take your place on the attack,” I said.

“That still leaves us not knowing who this is,” said Flame.

“True,” I said. I thought about that for a bit. She was right. We needed to know who set the trap. Grandmaster Vydor suspected a third player in this game to control our realm, and this battleship could be one of theirs, if they exist.

“Shadow, can’t you sneak around like Dusty?” asked Flame.

“Yes, but I am nowhere near as good as he is,” I said.

“Do you need to be?” asked Spectra.

“Probably not,” I said. I thought about it for a bit, and then said, “Okay, here is what I think we should do. I will sneak over there and get what information I can, then Flame joins me, and we create Spectra’s distraction while Phoenix keeps the Dust Dragon safe. She then sends over the torpedoes, and Flame and I bail out.”

I looked over my team and wondered how they would fare if I died during the boarding. My navy training was screaming at me that the leader needed to stay behind. They lacked the experience and skills to carry on without me, but without Dusty, I was the only one that could accomplish the mission. I sighed and then said, “Look, if something should happen to me, get out of here and call Alpha Academy for help. Do not try to rescue me or get vengeance, just get out.”

“But, Shadow…” started Flame.

“No buts. Get out of here and get help. If I am taken, then we are outmatched,” I said. I knew this was hard on them, but we were at war. War would require them to become hard, and that was the worst part of this mission: teaching them to be hard. “All right then, I would rather not wait until they discover us. I will head over now and stay in touch with our telepathic network. The rest of you, prepare for the boarding. I plan to take an hour at most to see what I can learn, then we will attack.” I knew Flame would want to argue more, so I simply turned to my left and stepped into jump space.

“Here, drink this, Dusty,” Shea said.

“Thanks,” I said. I was sore from all the fighting and running the night before, and sleeping on the rocky ground just made everything hurt that did not hurt already. I wondered if it would have been smarter not to sleep at all. As it was, I was sure I was worse off than before I slept. We had run through the night and found a place to camp after the sunrise. Once the camp was ready, Craig told me to get some rest while he kept watch.

As I swallowed the drink I felt strange. I was not sure what was going on, but I felt an odd power pass through me, and everywhere it touched pain went away. My head cleared up, and I felt as if I had slept soundly for many hours in a fine room. “Whoa, what was in that?” I asked.

“Ginseng, spider silk, and garlic mainly,” she said.

“What?” I asked as I looked at the empty bottle that I had just drunk from.

“Isn’t that how you make a healing potion where you come from?” she asked with a very puzzled expression.

“Healing potion? I have never heard of such a thing,” I said. “I thought you were giving me water.”

“A wizard who knows the healing arts and never heard of a healing potion? How can this be?” she said.

I noticed then that she was much stronger and looked as if she had weeks of time to rest and heal. I looked again at the potion bottle and then recast my magical awareness spell. Soon I saw that there was residual magic in it, and when I looked up at Shea, I noticed the colors in her aura matched the potion. That told me that she must have made this potion herself. “Where I come from we do not have anything like this; can you explain it to me?”

“Sure, we have a while before Craig returns with dinner, so I can even show you,” she said. She took off her sash and laid it down on the ground in front of her. The sash, like much of her clothing, was infused with power, and when she let go of it, it stiffened into a small table, which she then knelt in front of. She pulled out some ginseng, spider silk, and garlic from a pouch into which I had put all the herbs I had gathered back in her town. She also pulled out a stone and said, “Normally, I would use a mortar and pestle, but this will have to do until we get to a town where I can buy a new set.”

She pushed her long, strawberry-blonde hair back out of the way and then used the stone to mash up the ingredients in a bowl while adding a little water from our canteen. I could only barely make out the tune she was humming while she worked, but I could clearly see power building around her hands and mixing with the mixture. Slowly it turned into a light red liquid that she poured into the bottle.

“There,” she said as she put a stopper in the top of the bottle. “A perfect healing potion in case you need it again.”

“That is amazing. I have not even heard of anything like this before,” I said as she cleaned up.

“Surely you jest,” she said.

“No,” I said.

“You used healing plants to help me when we first met. How can you not know about alchemy?” she asked.

“I was making medicine, nothing magical about it,” I said.

“I see,” she said.

I was not sure she believed me, so I decided to change the subject and ask, “If you do not mind me asking, what is your relationship to Craig?”

“Oh, he is my brother,” she said.

I thought to myself,
What an amazing coincidence that the only two survivors of a raid on a town happen to be brother and sister.
I really wanted to trust them, and certainly I could not make it without them, but the whole thing was still suspicious.

Before I could question her any further, Craig came back into the camp with some strange animal that he had killed. As he started to prepare to cook it he said, “Ah, good, you’re awake. It will be dark soon, and we will have to be on guard. From now till we reach Bamtan’s crossing we will have to travel by night.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Goblins and the other predators in these woods travel by night, so it is not safe to sleep. Better to be on the move,” he said.

“Where are you heading to?” I asked.

“Just past Bamtan’s crossing is a small trading outpost. There we can buy horses and then push on for Syncillia,” he said.

“What’s in Syncillia?” I asked.

“Everything. It’s a pretty major city. From there we can book a caravan to travel north where we have family. I assume you will want to get to Syncillia also,” he said.

“Honestly, I have no idea where to go,” I said.

“Well, you said you are a wizard on the run from some powerful sorcerers. In Syncillia there is a wizard’s school, so you should be able to find help there,” he said.

That sounded perfect. Once at that school, surely someone there could reach Alpha Academy, and they could get me home. The only problem was that there was no way I could get there alone. The last couple of days traveling here with Craig and Shea had shown me that. “That sounds great. Can I tag along with you until we get there?”

“Did you think we would leave you? You saved my sister’s life! On my honor, I will see you safely to that school, or die trying,” he said.

He seemed offended by my question, so I said, “Sorry. I am a long way from home and do not really have much of an idea where I am or what your customs are.”

He relaxed a bit and said, “Yes, of course, I keep forgetting just how much of a stranger you are. Where are you from, anyway?”

I was not sure how much it was wise to tell them, but it seemed like a fair question. “I do not know how to describe it in your language, but basically I am from a wizard’s outpost very far from here.”

“It must be, I have not seen your race before,” he said.

“We are a seafaring people, and come from an island chain far out in the ocean,” I said. I wanted to get the conversation away from me, so I asked, “I hope you do not mind me asking, but how is it you two survived the massacre?”

“Shea survived only because you saved her, and I was not in town. I had been traveling and arrived only a few hours before you came back for supplies,” he said.

My instincts said I could trust him, but I could not help thinking how convenient this all was, and that had me doubting my instincts. Still, I could not make it alone here. It was just too dangerous. I needed them, and that meant I had to trust them - to a degree.

While I pondered that he said, “Dinner is ready. We should eat while it is still light. I would like to get a little distance from here before nightfall. The scent of the fresh kill will draw unwanted guests.”

“Sounds good,” I said. While we ate, I was thinking that I would soon have recovered enough power to cast Night Form, and then I could easily travel safely. The only problem is I had no idea where to go, and the spell might not last quite until dawn. “How far is it to the crossing?” I asked.

“Now that Shea is able to travel again, we can probably make it in two days, three at most,” he said.

That meant three more days of walking through the woods and sleeping on the ground. I did not know if I could make it. Last night it was only adrenaline that kept me going, and if not for Shea’s healing potion I doubted I would be able to walk right now.

“Dusty, these woods are dangerous, so please forgive me asking, but we need to know: have you recovered enough to use your spells if we are attacked?” asked Shea.

“Good question, and the answer is: I am not sure. I just don’t have enough combat experience to know how much power I need. I have some and can definitely help in a fight, but beyond that … I can’t say,” I said.

“I see,” said Craig. “How long until you are fully recovered?”

“By mid of night, perhaps a little longer, I would guess,” I said.

The next two nights of walking passed without much happening worthy of note. Each morning when we camped, I used the time to learn as much as I could from them about how to live out here in the wild. Craig taught me how to prepare a fresh kill for eating, which was a messy but simple ordeal. Shea educated me on the local edible plants and the ones with medical traits. I tried once to create a potion like she did, but it appears it works like all the other magical gifts; you can only do it if you were born with the ability.

As we walked along on the third night, Shea and Craig were chatting randomly about topics I could not really follow when I saw something ahead on the trail. “Stop!” I called out.

Craig and Shea froze in place, and then Craig looked at me and asked, “What do you see?”

“Ahead about five meters, it looks like some kind of magical trap,” I said.

“How far is a meter?” asked Shea.

“Well, I am a little shy of two meters tall,” I said.

They relaxed a little, and then Craig asked, “What kind of trap?”

The magical awareness spell I kept up at all times only showed me that there was power there, not what the power was. “I don’t know. All I can see is that something is there. It might not be a trap, but what other reason can there be for the ground to be enchanted?” I asked.

“Out here? None,” said Craig. He then went over to the trees by the side of the road and broke off a large branch from one of them. He then carried it over and said, “Stand back,” as he threw it in front of him. I watched it land in the magical field, and at first nothing seemed to happen, but then as we watched the branch started to age and rot away. Within a short period of time the branch had changed from lush and green to nothing.

“You just saved our lives again, Dusty,” said Shea with a gasp.

“The trees on either side of the trail are fine. Does the trap extend into the woods?” asked Craig.

“I’ll check,” I said and walked over to the side of the trail. “No, the power stops at the tree line, so we can easily walk around it.”

“Clever,” said Shea.

“Clever? How so? Seems easy to avoid,” I said.

“If it extended into the woods, the dying vegetation would give the trap away, but since it’s limited to the trail, it’s easy not to notice,” she responded.

“Yes, now let’s get moving before whoever set this trap comes to check on it,” said Craig as he started walking through the woods, giving a wide berth to the trap.

After a bit of walking I said, “Okay, this is far enough. We can return to the trail now.”

As we returned to the trail a man appeared in dark robes. He held up a staff and called out a spell that sent dark bolts of power our way. We dove clear, and when I looked up, I saw the charred remains of trees and bushes where his spells had hit.

Off to my left I saw Craig draw his weapon and begin to move towards the sorcerer. Shea crouched down behind him and pulled something out from her robes. I decided to stay where I was hiding to see what they were up to.

“Pity you avoided my trap. It would have been a much less painful way to die,” said the sorcerer. He then cast another set of bolts at Craig, who stood his ground in the face of them. To my amazement, Craig used that overly large knife to defend himself from the incoming bolts. The weapon seemed to cut right through the bolts and dissipate the power.