The Hidden Realm: Book 04 - Ennodius (30 page)

“You are young yet, Elerian,” cautioned Ascilius, “and you have much to learn. Great power and great pride can lead even those of upright character to follow a dark path. This has been proven many times down through the ages of the world.”

“I have already received the same warning from Dymiter, Ascilius,” said Elerian gravely. “I know the dangers inherent in the ring that I wish to make, but I also know that I have no desire for dominion over others. A peaceful world and wide forests all around me to share with Anthea are what I desire most.”

“That may change once this thing is on your finger,” said Ascilius darkly.

“If you still have doubts, then I do not ask that you help me, only that you do not hinder me,” said Elerian as Ascilius continued to hesitate. The Dwarf’s words had only increased his determination to make his ring.

“There is an opportunity here that will never come again,” thought Elerian to himself. “I had best make this thing now or put it out of my mind forever.”

Ascilius remained standing where he was, leaning with both hands on the handle end of his bright hammer. “Will you be able to draw on the forces the ring takes in?” asked Ascilius finally.

“Yes,” said Elerian. “I will be able to draw on its power as I wish, but you need not be afraid, Ascilius. I have no desire to follow in the footsteps of Torquatus. I have found a way to alter Dymiter’s spells so that the ring will only be able to accept power that is freely offered, not take it by force as Torquatus’s ring does.”

“That seems a small difference,” said Ascilius doubtfully.

“It will be a weapon for our defense like the hammer you hold in your hands, nothing more,” Elerian insisted.

Ascilius still looked unconvinced.

“My hammer will not put the whole of the Middle realm under my heel, for its power is limited by the forces in my body. This ring could set you in the place of the Goblin King,” said the Dwarf softly, almost as if he was talking to himself. “How will you fill the ring if not by stealing power from others?” he suddenly asked with a penetrating look in his dark eyes.

Elerian frowned and a triumphant look crossed Ascilius’s face. “You had not thought of that, I see.”

“A way will present itself,” said Elerian confidently.

“So, I must I must trust you in this, whether I will or no,” replied Ascilius.

“Your trust will not be misplaced,” replied Elerian. Sensing that Ascilius’s opposition was weakening, he drew out a small leather pouch which contained some small scraps of argentum left over from making his knife handles. “Let us dare the great spells one more time together,” Elerian said solemnly.

THE RING

As Ascilius watched, his disapproval plainly written on his blunt features, Elerian emptied the argentum in the pouch into the forge. Raising his right hand, he started a small red mage fire. At his command, the flames engulfed the argentum, softening it so that the pieces of bright metal ran together to form a small, gleaming pool in the center of the forge. Casting a charm with his right hand, Elerian lifted the shining metal out of the forge and spun it slowly in the air, just above the flickering red flames of the mage fire, the silvery argentum reflecting the ruddy flames below it. Keeping the heat of the magical fire contained in the metal so that it did not scorch his flesh, Elerian used his long, clever fingers to form a ring of argentum, like a potter forming wet clay on a wheel. When he was done, he surveyed handiwork with a critical eye, but he could find no fault in his work. A small circle of silvery metal hung now hung in the air above the forge, its smooth, rounded sides taking on a ruddy cast from the flames of the mage fire burning beneath it. A sudden urge to discard his altered spells suddenly swept through Elerian.

“The opportunity to form another ring will never come again,” he thought to himself as he stared at the gleaming circle of argentum spinning in front of him, awaiting his spells. “Why not use Dymiter’s original spells? I can give this ring the ability to take in power until it rivals the lightning in strength, a weapon that will destroy or scatter all of my enemies. With this ring on my finger, I can order the Middle Realm as I wish, bowing to no one.” Calling his spell book to his right hand, Elerian hesitated, deliberating for a long moment on which set of spells to use.

“Hold fast to your original plan, Elerian,” whispered his common sense. “If you use the mage’s original spells, you may be taking the first steps toward one of the evil futures Dymiter refused to reveal. You must have a ring which you can control, or in the end, it will alter your nature in ways that you cannot yet imagine.”

“Hold yourself ready Ascilius,” Elerian said suddenly, “for I may require your help.”

His choice made, Elerian opened his spell book. In a clear voice, he began to recite the spells on ring making which he had carefully altered, untried spells which might well cause his death and that of Ascilius, too. Each time he completed a spell, he raised his right hand, and a shining golden orb, visible only to his third eye, struck the ring as it spun slowly in the air above the crimson flames of the mage fire, briefly enveloping it in a golden film of light as the spell worked its purpose on the silvery argentum. The charms came easily at first, but gradually, a great fatigue began to well up inside of Elerian. The words in his book suddenly blurred, and his voice faltered. Inside him, he felt the energies of the uncompleted spell testing the limits of his control. He tried to continue the charm, but he lacked the strength to shape the words.

“We are done,” Elerian thought wearily to himself as, a few heartbeats from death, he struggled to control the powerful energies he had released but not bound. “I have caused my destruction and Ascilius’s too.”

Sensing trouble, Ascilius suddenly stepped forward and clasped Elerian’s left arm firmly with his powerful right hand. At once, Elerian felt new strength flooding through him, helping him to contain his uncompleted spell. Carefully, he spoke the last words he had written, casting the final charm that would change the fabric of the warm argentum spinning in the forge, altering it to suit his desires. Exhausted by the effort, Elerian extinguished the mage fire and released the ring, which fell into the forge with a clear chime of metal on stone.

Elerian felt a wave of weakness wash over him and would have fallen had Ascilius not grasped him by the shoulders, holding him up as if he weighed nothing at all.

“We should have waited one more day,” grumbled the Dwarf as he carried Elerian up the stairs and laid him in a bed. “It was too much to attempt another set of spells on the same day.”

“At least it is done,” said Elerian weakly. “A cup of water if you please, Ascilius,” he said with a wry smile. “I feel a bit faint.”

Quickly, Ascilius brought Elerian water in a stone cup filled from the spigot in the bathroom. After he took the cup in his left hand, Elerian passed his right hand over it while whispering the spell Dymiter had given him for aqua vitae. The amount of power needed to work the change surprised him.

“This is surely a potent substance,” thought Elerian to himself as the water in the cup became brighter, as if lit from below, and took on a wonderful clarity. He brought the cup to his lips with both hands and drank a small amount of the unknown liquid. It had no taste that Elerian could detect, but new strength coursed through his veins at once, driving away the weakness that had sapped his vigor. Elerian offered the cup to Ascilius who sipped suspiciously before eagerly quaffing the rest of the aqua vitae in one draught. The Dwarf immediately dropped the empty cup on the floor. Beads of sweat appeared on his wide brow as he sat down in a chair, fanning his face with both his broad hands.

“Ascilius are you all right?” asked Elerian, his voice filled with concern. “That drink is meant to be taken in small quantities.”

 “Warn me first, next time,” gasped Ascilius. “I was almost certain for a moment that I would burst into flame!”

Rising from his chair, he returned to the bathroom, plunging his head into the cold water of the basin several times in succession, before toweling himself off. When he returned to Elerian’s side, he looked himself again, except that his eyes had more than their usual sparkle, and there was an added spring to his step.

“I feel strong enough to take on Eboria with my bare hands,” he said in his deep voice.

“Leave the dragon alone for now and bring me the ring,” said Elerian with a smile. He still looked pale, but Ascilius was satisfied that his companion had taken no harm from his ring making.

“I will return in a moment,” he said before walking back down the stairs.

Approaching the forge, Ascilius stared thoughtfully for a long moment at the lustrous silver ring lying on the blackened stone at the bottom of the forge. He made no move to touch it.

“Dare I give it to him?” he asked himself softly. “In time, this thing might make him like the Dark King himself.”

For a long moment, Ascilius stood still as stone. Then, slowly, he took the ring between the thumb and first finger of his right hand. It felt wondrously smooth against his rough fingers, possessed of an unexpected weight. A sudden desire welled up in Ascilius’s breast to keep this beautiful creation for himself.

“What wonderful things might I make with the power of this ring to aid me?” he thought to himself.

With a great effort, Ascilius pushed the thought away. “For good or ill, it is Elerian’s to use as he sees fit,” he thought to himself resolutely. Walking quickly, the ring held gingerly in his fingers as if it was still hot, Ascilius returned to the bedroom upstairs.

Elerian was now sitting up in the bed. Ascilius walked over to the bedside and dropped the ring quickly onto the palm of his lean right hand, as if he could not be rid of it quickly enough. Taking the ring between the thumb and index finger of his right hand, Elerian examined it carefully. It was a perfect circle, rounded and full, without marks or design of any kind, plain but surpassingly beautiful. Except for its weight, it was not that much different from his invisibility ring.

“I hope that I have wrought well,” thought Elerian to himself as he slipped the ring onto the third finger of his right hand. No coward, he knew that he would not dare a second attempt if there was a flaw in this ring, for he and Ascilius had both been brushed by death’s dark shadow down in the forge room. They might not be so fortunate during a second attempt.

Heavy and cool, the ring shrank at once around Elerian’s finger, gripping it snugly. He still had no idea whether it would work as he had planned, so he tried feeding a little of his own power into it. As he watched with his magical eye, the ring, which appeared dead black when seen with his third eye, immediately absorbed the thin thread of golden energy he directed at it from his left hand. A band of swirling golden energy, very like the shade of a living creature, appeared around Elerian’s finger, stored inside the ring and ready to flow back out at his command.

“It seems to work as I planned, but it will be of little use unless I can fill it somehow,” thought Elerian to himself. “Ascilius was right to point that out as a flaw in my design.” Closing his magical eye, he looked up and saw that the Dwarf was watching him with an expression that was at once worried and guilty.

“You felt the pull of the ring when you handled it,” Elerian said shrewdly.

Ascilius flushed red. “I am ashamed that the thought of keeping it even crossed my mind.”

“Do not blame yourself,” said Elerian. “It has a strange allure despite its simplicity.”

“I would not touch it again now that you have awakened it,” said Ascilius firmly.

 “It seems almost alive,” said Elerian softly as he regarded the ring on his finger with his clear-eyed gaze. “Out of all the magical objects that I have seen, this ring, alone, seems to possess a shade, like living creature.”

 “I would not trust it,” said Ascilius, giving the ring a dark look. He was about to say more but held his tongue when Elerian lay back down and closed his eyes. A moment later, his deep, regular breathing told Ascilius that he had fallen asleep.

When Elerian awoke sometime later, he sat up in his bed and saw that he was alone. Rising lithely to his feet, he walked lightly into the sitting room where Tonare was sleeping by the fireplace. The dentire had avoided the lower apartment since the first day, distancing himself from the smells and noises associated with fires and metalworking.

“Ascilius is downstairs,” said the dentire when he saw Elerian. “He is packing.”

“Then I will pack, too, replied Elerian, picking up his knapsack, and stuffing his cloak into it. Despite careful rationing, all the food it had contained was gone, even the last few biscuits. When he descended the stairs with Tonare at his heels, he found Ascilius in his hidden room, a small mage light suspended above his head to give him light.

“We are done here,” said Ascilius when he became aware of Elerian standing behind him. “It is time to move on, for our food is gone.”

“I am packed and ready to leave this instant,” replied Elerian, showing Ascilius his knapsack.

“I will be ready soon,” said the Dwarf. He had already placed his tools and his scrolls into a leather backpack that he had taken from one of the chests in his hidden room, but there were still a number of bundles wrapped in dark, oiled linen laid out on the floor around his feet.

Taking the wrappings off one package, Ascilius exposed a long sleeved shirt made of small, interlocking steel rings that rippled like water in bright sunlight in the rays of his mage light. From another set of wrappings, he took a supple brown leather shirt, quilted and thick from the padding between the stitches, to go under the mail. The shirt was followed by a round helm with a leather strap. Next, Ascilius unpacked a small steel crossbow and a quiver full of steel darts. Last of all he took out a small round shield. When he pulled off its leather cover, it was mirror bright underneath, the raised figures of a war hammer with a crown above it worked into its center.

“These will do for me,” said Ascilius to Elerian. “Let me see what I can do for you now.”

From a second large chest against the wall, he took another round shield, slightly larger than the first, with a running horse worked on the front. The shield was followed by a short, recurved bow of laminated wood and horn. A leather quiver full of black feathered arrows went with the bow. Finally, Ascilius pulled out another mail shirt and a leather undershirt that appeared to be a good fit for Elerian. Last of all he took out another round steel cap with a nosepiece that was a twin to his own.

“These things were made at the order of a Tarsi knight and never delivered,” said Ascilius to Elerian. “He was more slender than many of his countrymen, so they should fit you well enough.”

After handing Elerian the war gear, Ascilius pulled a scabbard for Acris and two smaller sheaths for the knives Elerian had made from another of his chests. Then, from yet another trunk, he took an odd looking mail shirt with four short sleeves, a thick leather collar studded with sharp spikes the length of Elerian’s long fingers, and a small steel cap.

“You will be armored as well,” said Ascilius to Tonare as he fit the mail shirt on the dentire, leaving only his legs and head exposed. Ascilius then strapped the collar around the dentire’s neck and fastened the steel cap over his broad head.

When Elerian put on his new gear, he found that the soft leather undershirt shirt fit like a glove and that his mail shirt slid on easily over it. His cap was also a good fit. The bow and quiver, he fastened to his pack and slung over his back, along with Acris. His knives he fastened to the leather belt around his waist. His shield went on his left arm.

Ascilius arrayed himself in a similar fashion, except that he held Fulmen in his right hand and had the leather pack holding his precious tools and scrolls draped over his right shoulder along with his empty knapsack.

“We are all properly equipped now,” he said to Elerian in a satisfied voice. “With our new gear, we are now three of the most dangerous creatures to walk the face of The Middle Realm,” he said grimly. “Let our enemies beware.”