Wielder of the Flame (32 page)

He shrugged, “You had the ability to voice your disagreement
or act on your thoughts but you let things happen anyway. I think perhaps I
will return to my room and let my very capable two blade wielding friend know
we might have bad company downstairs and see if he handles the problem as well
as he did the others in the forest.”

Jaeic was trying to read the young man but found it a bit
difficult to see through the boy’s cool façade.

Jaeic feinted at unease at the boy’s words. He really wished
to avoid facing the Kilik Dualis and was happy he had cornered the boy alone at
the bar. He raised his hands again, desiring to avoid a conflict.

“There is no need to involve him in this,” Jaeic said
coolly, “I only want what is best for your family.”

“What do you mean?” Puck continued to play along.

“I mean, if you come with us now, no fighting, no bloodshed,
I will personally convince Krynn Remos to call off the hunt for your father.”

“You want me to just give myself up?” Puck wanted to grin at
how they were playing right into his plan, but he acted defensively and
incredulously.

“You seem like a smart young man,” Jaeic continued, “I can
guarantee the safety of your family if you come,” he paused, “If you fight,
well, perhaps you could kill me and the others and delay the Krynn’s plans, but
you could also wind up dead. There are no guarantees if you fight.”

Guaranteed I would skewer you with magicked metal less
than halfway through a duel between us
. Puck thought, but remained silent,
as if considering the man’s option.

Jaeic gave a small shrug and a sort of frown that said
you
should consider my deal, why not?

Puck wanted to answer but pretended to struggle with the
idea.

“Do the right thing, think of your family,” The man said.

Puck glared at him, reinforcing his bluff, then replied,
“Fine.”

The man nodded, clearly pleased with the choice.

“Let me tell my friend goodbye.”

Jaeic shook his head, “That was not part of the deal. Who is
to say you will not return with the Revenant in full force, or simply retreat
from a window? Out the door, now, no struggle.”

Puck shrugged, “Fine.”

The Revenant?
Puck thought, had the man meant Drake?

He had meant to leave a note for the young swordsman. He had
been a fine companion and it seemed rude to leave him in his drunken stupor,
asleep on the bed with no formal parting word.

But there was nothing he could do now, he was starting the
first part of his plan and had to focus.

It would be several fortnights of travel to return to
Terragur from Biarlin, and from what he could remember of Ironwald on a map it
was far up north, another several fortnights on the road. It would be a long
journey, but at the end, he was sure he would be face to face with the one
responsible for the injury caused to him and his family and friends.

For Ranasa,
he thought.

The image of Ranasa’s Mother’s inert body flashed across his
mind.

And for your mother.
 

What Puck did not know, was that his
friend was not out cold from drinking a bit of light ale at all.

The darkness of the room was thick and oppressing. The
candles on the table had long burned down and had extinguished themselves.

Drake’s body was uncannily still but for the smallest of
breaths.

He lay there like that, for a long time.

Then his eyes opened.

His pupils did not hold their glowing fierce green color as
before. Instead they now bore a hellish red hue.

He smiled a dark and sinister smile and sat up.

Tremos sat up suddenly, fully awake
and alert.

He had fallen asleep against the Summoning Stone again.

His wounds were not fully healed and he continued to order
the Great Dome emptied of occupants so none would see him in his weakened state
as he gathered energy from the Crystal.

That feeling once more.

Being so physically close to the Crystal and so in tune with
the pulsing rhythm of magic everywhere he was able to feel the more intense
bursts of magic far and wide. And feel it he had indeed. Three times now. The
first being the greatest. So fierce and so strong it pierced straight through
the eye of the Crystal and shone through as a bright beam of light. He did not
know what caused it, but whoever had released the magic was either very
powerful, or very foolish, or both.

The two that followed had not been as strong, but he
recognized them, not at first, it took some time for him to realize what he had
sensed, but after many tries he was able to remember.

The Oracle.

Long had he sought her, to destroy her, and long had she
remained hidden.

He could only guess now why she had chosen to risk revealing
herself.

He could only guess that it had something to do with the
surge of great power.

But he was good at guessing, and he was always right in the
end.

He stood up and paused, leaning against the Crystal. He was
still not quite ready to go off and investigate things for himself. But he
would send Omech, and a few other competent and loyal warriors to travel in his
stead. Tremos had not anticipated the change that had occurred to Omech during
the transfer, and he had almost obliterated the young sorcerer immediately
after the transfer had been completed. But he had stopped himself when he felt
the bond that had been created with Omech. Tremos had a sort of power, almost a
control, over Omech now, and he could use that to his advantage. He probed the
magic around him and even at that moment could sense Omech somewhere within the
fortress. He pressed further and without hardly any effort he could locate the
young sorcerer’s whereabouts. The young man was in his study in the east wing,
pouring over a thick tome of ancient magic.

Tremos pulled away, returning back to himself, and yet he
could still feel the bond between him and Omech, as if from a far away
distance, but still present.

He returned his attention back to the feeling which he had
discerned to be some portion of magic used by the Oracle.

Now is the time
. He thought.
She and that damned
Keeper, despite their pitiful attempts to stop me, have forced my hand.

He quickly called forth his beast, mounted it, and rode it
from the Dome back to his chambers.

Back in his chambers he accessed the magic to communicate
with his grahk luminary Sklan.

“Master,” Sklan said in the mind bond.

“It is time.” He stated simply.

“As you command it, so shall it be done.”

Satisfied, Tremos severed the connection.

Yes, it was time.
He thought silently.

And so it begins.

Laura awoke to the sound of rushing
water.

She lay on the ground underneath the waterfall, alone. Marc
was nowhere to be found. She sat up and looked around. The entrance to the Fae
Ones’ dwelling was no longer there.

Was it all just a dream?

But then she saw was the bracelets and necklace on the earth
next to her and realized that she too wore the trinkets the Fae Ones had given
her.

A message was scrawled in the dirty nearby.

Kolima.

It read.

Kolima? Itherin’s capitol.
Marc had written it, she
was sure.

What did he mean by it?

She tried to think but her stomach growled with hunger pangs
and she felt her throat was very dry. She needed to eat and drink something
soon. She stood up quickly, too quickly. Blood rushed to her head and she fell
to one knee, grabbing her head. After the wooziness passed she stood, more
slowly.

She needed to relieve herself, and soon. After finding a
suitable spot she did so and turned her attention to her other bodily needs.

She made her way down the path she had brought Marc up. The
sun was low in the clear sky, swathing her surroundings in deep oranges. It
would be dark soon. The failing light made her descent down the cliff slow as
she moved cautiously. Finally she made it to the dwelling she had constructed
in the time she had come down from the cliff and had met the first few Fae Ones.
They had given her fruits and nuts and had helped gather large fern leaves for
her bed.

She went quickly to the food and sat down and ate.

She drank water from a strange leaf water holder the Fae
Ones had helped make her.

Her thoughts raced on with deeper topics as she did the
simple tasks of sitting and nourishing her body. She thought of Marc and of the
vision she had shared with him and the Fae Ones. It had been so powerful and
overwhelming but also joyous beyond description. She could still feel the soft
but firm touch of Marc’s hand in hers. She had drawn energy from him, and
somehow knew that without him with her during the vision she would have been
consumed. Even with him by her side her body and forces had been drained
considerably.

It was as she ate and thought, with the sun creeping lower
on the horizon and the sky darkening, that she was able to make out a light
slowly approaching her from within the nearby woods in the valley below by the
river.

More Fae Ones?
She thought. But she knew, even as she
thought it, that it was not so. This light approaching her now was more
brilliant, and low to the ground. At first she felt frightened. In her current
state she could not defend herself if the owner of the light proved hostile.

She ultimately did not move, her feet were too tired to run.

The light grew brighter, and as it drew nearer she felt a
sense of calm come over her.

Her fear slowly began to fade.

And then, materializing from the forest was a creature of
the likes she had never before seen. Its presence and aura was one that drew
great reverence from her very soul. It was without a doubt one of the Exalted
spoken of in the legends of her beliefs. It was a large benevolent creature,
standing on four powerful legs with hoofed feet. Soft beige colored fur covered
most of its body with a massive mane of flowing auburn locks covering its long
neck and lower leg joints. Two large curved horns and two impossibly enormous,
intricate antlers came out of its head behind two large ears. It had a long muzzle
ending in a shiny black nose. Two black and green glowing eyes stared down at
her from its man-sized head. A glowing luminescent power of green and white
pulsed all around its being.

She dropped the food from her hand and slowly fell to her
knees. She was humbled, even more so than with the Fae Ones.

A nervousness began to rise in her. So many intense and
awe-inspiring things were happening to her all at once. The death of Doyenne
Carlata, her awakening of her abilities on levels she had never before experienced,
the appearance of Marc, the vision with the Fae Ones, and now this. The
realization of all that had occurred to her in such a short period of time
began to catch up with her and she began to panic and shut down.

She was not worthy of a visit from this being of such
pureness.

She began to cry, the tears tumbling down her dirty cheeks.

The creature let out a low sound in its throat and its
glowing power surged slightly. A small shockwave slowly traveled forth from the
creature like a wave on the shore. It washed over Laura. Immediately the
negative feelings faded and she felt empowered. Her hunger, which had barely
even been sated by the fruit, disappeared entirely and her thirst was fully
quenched.

The creature lowered its head, looking more closely at her.
Then it turned its face away in a motion that said,
Look over here.

Laura looked up to where it had directed her, to the ruins
of Zheund.

She nodded but remained silent, not sure what it desired of
her.

It turned and began to walk towards the ruins. Then it
stopped and looked behind, bobbing its head once in the direction it was
headed, seeming to say,
come, follow me.

Laura stood up, a feeling of calm inside her compelling her
to follow.

The sky was soon dark. Night had fallen upon the world.

But the creature that walked before Laura lit up their
surroundings with its brightly glowing aura. It was such a large thing and yet
traveled so nimbly up the cliff side. The falls where Laura and Marc went under
to see the Fae Ones was only a small semi-separated portion of the true falls
that fell under the ruins of Zheund. The path that the creature chose to climb
led up the long mountain range where the river spilled over down into the
valley below, beneath and between the two mountain pillars that held up the
ruins of Zheund. Laura followed as quickly as she could, but she was soon
tired. Every time that she needed to stop the creature would let its power
forth in that sort of motion like a wave going forth from the creature’s
center. Every time the power washed over her she was strengthened and moved
onward.

It was light again by the time they reached the top of the
falls. 

The sound of rushing water was almost deafening.

And yet it was beautiful and soothing.

She stopped, tired again, and breathless, and sat down next
to the creature.

Just then the sun rose over the valley, casting bright
orange and golden light over their surroundings. They stood at the tip of the
falls, two different silhouettes touching as one, their shadows cast before
them as the sun hit their backs.

Laura looked down on the valley below and was absolutely
breathless at the wondrous sight before her and the company of the magnificent
creature at her side. Although the climb had been a difficult one the
subsequent view was more than worth it. She was glad to have followed it. The
golden light hit the many bridges and arches of the ruins of Zheund. The
buildings and structures sparkled stunningly.

It bent down, leaning near her face.

She gave a smile, comforted by its presence. It was such an
angelic being, light shining from it, its fur lustrous, its eyes twinkling. It
had a look on its face that invited her to touch it.

She reached out a hand and gently caressed the creature’s
head, right on its cheek.

A light flashed in her mind’s eye and the world around her
was replaced with a glowing white aura. Then images rose from the whiteness, as
if she was floating from a slightly higher perspective than her own. She
quickly realized that she was viewing things through the creature’s eyes. The
creature was looking at the Zheund Ruins. Suddenly the vision was moving and
she leapt forward, towards the ruins. Then she was on the largest bridge in the
middle of the two pillar-mountains. The bridge led to the large castle-like
structure in the center of Zheund.

Laura felt herself look down and she saw the creature’s foot
stretch forth and plant itself deliberately on the floor before it. A glowing
streak of white remained from the creatures touch, pointing the way forward. 
The vision moved across the bridge and through two large doors, every now and
then the creature marked the path. It moved quickly, just enough for her to
catch some general feelings of her surroundings in the vision, but not enough
to study intricate details. Inside Zheund was a massive city to rival that of
any capital in Lyrridia. Curved walls came up but did not close entirely,
leaving a large opening for a ceiling that was covered with an intricately
detailed webwork of covering. In-between the lattice of dark material there
seemed to be empty space. It was architecture from the Illuminated Era, a
mixture of magic and brilliance. It was just as awe-inspiring on the inside as
it was viewed from on the mountain above. Trees and plant life grew all
throughout the interior of the structure unlike the trees and undergrowth found
in the valley below. From afar Zheund appeared to be made of a shiny stone
material, but this close to the ruins it seemed made of a material unlike
anything Laura had seen.

The vision navigated many paths and stairs leading to more
archways and bridges, always leaving a trail with the white markings. In the
center of Zheund was another large castle. Brilliant golden sunlight cast into
the city.

Laura was expecting for the vision to slowly make its way to
the center, walking through the many passageways and bridges leading up that
way, but after a short time the vision jumped forward. She stood before the two
large doors of the center of Zheund. The doors opened into a vast chamber built
like a throne room. At the center of the throne room was a large chair that sat
before a large pedestal. The vision moved again and she stood before the
pedestal. Upon its surface was a crystal about the size of her fist, a dark
shiny black. A glowing protective aura surrounded the crystal.

The vision moved and she was at the doors again, facing
outward to stare down at the city. Then time began to shift, slowly at first,
and then more quickly. It was at the moment that the sun hit the high point in
the sky that Laura realized that what she thought at first to be empty ceiling
was in fact massive panes of glass. She was once again breathless at such
masterwork craftsmanship. The ceiling sparkled as the sun moved to the west and
finally disappeared over the horizon. Bit by bit the city was swallowed in
shadows. Time returned to normal as blackness enveloped the city.