Zombie Mage (15 page)

Denlik lowered his head. "Look, I didn't mean to
rile you and yes, perhaps I may be presuming too much but all I would ask is
that you take your time and be careful in your search. The cosmos is a
dangerous place to roam and you're our only hope."

Olligh regained his composure and nodded.  "I
accept your apology."

  "Good.  Although you can't die, you aren't
going to be much use to us if you go missing or return without a head.” 

Denlik handed the large crystal to Olligh.  It
glistened with a light blue energy.  "The information you need is stored
in here.  You should be able to extract and follow the individual soul paths
using one of your incantations. Once you've left to find the Walkers, we'll
place a barrier over the re-entry point to the crypt which will deny you entry
unless you return with all five lost souls."

"What? Why would you need to do that?"

"This is purely in case my previous assumption
was correct. We don't want you returning here and attempting to end it all once
again."

"How dare-"

"And," Denlik continued, "if I'm wrong,
and I admit that sometimes I do make mistakes, there'll be no problem and
you'll be back here in a blink of an eye with all five Walkers."

"Hrmph!"

"Would you agree to this?"

 Olligh gazed hesitantly at Denlik, pondering the
situation. "Very well, it appears I've got little choice in the matter. 
I'll find all five Walkers and bring them back safely to you but in return I
want one of your potions and to rest next to my wife in peace until the
transition is complete."

Denlik nodded sharply.  "Good. We have an
agreement then."

It didn’t take long for Olligh to recover the information he required
from the crystal. In his mind’s eye, he now knew how to connect with each of
the Walkers and how to follow their spiritual trail through the cosmos. What he
didn’t know was where the trails would take him and if the cosmos would somehow
prevent him from forcibly following them.

“Are you ready?” Denlik asked.  He watched Olligh with
a curious expression on his face.  Olligh stood with his arms outstretched,
preparing to summon and manipulate the cosmic energies.  He began by
concentrating on the first missing Walker, willing for the trail to appear
before him.  Before long, he felt a connection to the trail however, the
familiar dizzy sensation returned and the bright, flashing colours threatened to
overwhelm him.  He tried to maintain complete focus on the trail as it shifted
from left to right, swirling through tunnels of pure energy.  He felt a heavy
pressure in his head as he managed to successfully grab the trail and force
himself along it.  At this point, he knew he'd left Denlik and all familiar
territory far behind. 

Unlike before, rather than lose consciousness and be
swept away to a new location, Olligh was faced with a far greater difficulty;
he had to stay alert and awake.  He realised that if he was to lose consciousness
there was no telling where he might end up and that was one predicament he
didn’t wish to experience.   The journey itself was most unusual.  His eyes
were a blur of bright colours and rather useless in helping him navigate
through the cosmos.  He was left to visualise with only his mind's eye and the
longer he travelled, the more tiring and difficult it became. He twisted and
turned, trying to keep to the path, but eventually it all became too much for
him.  He sped along the trail and the pressure pounded in his head until it
became too much and he succumbed, veering off course.  A flash of red light
erupted in his mind's eye and all went blank.

* * * *

"Olligh!" called a woman.  The voice sounded familiar.
"You're safe now. Wake up, my sweet."

"Lara?" Olligh asked, opening his eyes. 
Everything looked blurry, so he rubbed them. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, you silly fool.  Who else
would it be?"

Olligh opened his eyes again and noticed a translucent
face directly above him.  It was definitely Lara.  Her green eyes, long blonde
hair and soft, welcoming smile certainly couldn't be mistaken... but, once
again, she looked ever so youthful.

"Lara? What are you doing here?"

Lara giggled and reached over to stroke his head. 
"Oh, my dear, curious Olligh.  I'm looking for you, of course. What would
I ever do without you?"

Behind her, everything was green. Olligh glanced to
his left and right, hoping to spot something familiar but there was no sky, no
buildings, no trees and no other people - just green.

"I... I feel a bit strange.  Where am I? Are we
floating?"

"You're in limbo, my sweet.  Lost in the
cosmos."

Olligh sat upright and groaned.  He felt light-headed
and a dull ache pressed against his upper back.

"But, how are you here?"

"Oh, I don't know.  Perhaps I'm not really here.  The
mind's a funny thing.  I heard you calling in my sleep."

"Do you know a way out?  We need to get out of
here."

"You just need to concentrate on what you want,
Olligh.  That's how I found you.  I miss you ever so much."

Olligh noticed a tear form in her eye and watched
helplessly as it ran down her cheek. 

"Oh, Lara! I know things haven't worked out as
planned but we'll be back together soon, I promise.  First, I just need to find
some people like us who need our help.  Once I've done that, I'll return and we
can spend our final days together."

"Olligh! Something's wrong.  I don't feel too
good. Everything's hazy."

Lara's face flickered briefly, her image becoming
distorted.

"Lara?"

 "I'm being pulled back.  Don't be long, Olligh. 
I need you here with me.  I feel so alone and I’m not sure how long I can hold
on."

Olligh reached out for her hand but it faded from
sight, leaving him to grasp only emptiness.

"Lara!" he yelled.

Her face continued to flicker until it became a splash
of bright particles, eventually becoming one with the great cosmos itself.  In
the distance, he heard her speak one last time; it was a voice of desperation
and sadness.

"Why did you leave me, Olligh?"

* * * *

The limbo was a place of quiet solitude and contemplation for Olligh. 
He continued to float in the green abyss, pondering over his life and mulling
over recent events.  He remembered quite clearly the vision he'd experienced in
Ekelton village and the various faces that visited him.  He now realised that
Denlik was one of them - the bearded face with the gash on his cheek.  Although
he wanted to trust the Dark Cloaks, he felt ill at ease and wary of them and
their practices.  He also felt a simmering anger while thinking about Denlik. 
Something had once happened between them but that particular memory continued
to remain elusive.

"Perhaps I need to trust my instincts more,"
he said. "I'll find these Walkers and return to Denlik but he'll face my
wrath if I so much as suspect the faint taint of betrayal."

Olligh rubbed his face and gazed up at the clouds of
mist.

 "Damn everything!" he yelled. "I
didn't ask for this!"

There was no reply to his outburst.  The green mist
continued to float around him, oblivious to his frustrations.  Olligh lowered
his head and sighed.

"Now I'm talking to myself again.  I'm probably
going insane.   Is this real?  Is anybody here? Is anybody on vacation?"

Nothing. There was no sound and no movement except for
the swirling green mist.  The abyss was a place of calm and tranquillity at a
time when he didn't have much time to spare to enjoy the solitude.  He stood
and walked through the green, searching for a way out of his predicament. 
Unfortunately, he soon realised there was no way of determining which direction
he was travelling and with no land markings to help judge distance, he soon
gave up. 

"I bet you find this amusing!" he yelled at
the mist above him. "Dropping me from place to place on a whim and now
keeping me here like this.  What sort of sick depraved gods would do this to
someone?"

As expected, there was no answer. The gods remained
quiet in their distant abodes, obviously dealing with more pressing issues.

"Fine, I'll use an incantation to get out.  Who
needs you, anyway?"

Olligh reached out and began to focus on the energies
once again.  All around him, the green mist began to shimmer and thicken.  As
he continued, he noticed everything in the void was beginning to turn darker
and darker until nothing was left but black clouds of mist.  Trying to not let
this deter him, he felt the pull of power and attempted to locate the trail of
the Walker.  A bright flash in the distance broke his concentration, followed
by a loud and terrifying rumble.  The dark clouds directly above him loomed
ominously as if taunting him to continue with his incantation.  Olligh felt a
cold chill crawl down his back.  He shuddered as another louder rumble seemed
to shake the entire abyss.  Just as he felt the urge to run, lightning erupted
from the bulging clouds.  It struck him instantly, wracking his body with a
shattering pain.  He screamed and writhed in agony, cursing those responsible
for his suffering, but it wasn't over yet.  Another jolt surged through him and
he was flung through the darkness, left to fall into nothing but bleakness.  As
he drifted helplessly through the cosmos, yet another bolt of energy shattered
into his body.  The pain was too much to bear. He felt himself about to lose
consciousness.  As he squirmed in relentless agony, he noticed a glowing trail
floating towards him; it was a way out but too far to reach. What a way to
die.  Mocked by the very gods themselves.  Darkness then overcame him.

Olligh found himself face down in a field of corpses.  After overcoming
the initial shock of the situation, he quickly felt his body to ensure that
everything was still in one piece.  Thankfully everything appeared to be in
working order and, as a further bonus, he realised that he wasn’t in pain
anymore.  He struggled to his feet and observed the surrounding area.  Wherever
he was, a battle had recently taken place.  The bodies of soldiers were strewn
across the grass, a mixture of weapons scattered by their sides. Some were clad
in dark blue robes but the majority wore yellow which Olligh thought a rather
unfortunate choice of colour; the robes were blood soaked, reinforcing the
severity of the battle.

Apart from the plaintive cry of buzzards soaring
overhead, there was no other sound.  It felt surreal.  A warm breeze touched
his face and he gazed around at the tragic loss of life, wondering who they
were and what they were fighting over.  As he walked between corpses, he
remembered his mission.  If he'd been taken to the right place, somewhere near
here was another Walker and he had to find this person.

“Hello!” Olligh yelled. “Is anyone here alive or in a
persistent state of transit between worlds?”

A bird squawked to his right and flew off from a
corpse, some entrails clamped firmly in its beak.  The corpse stared blankly at
Olligh, an axe planted firmly in its skull.

“Obviously, I don’t expect much of a response from
you.  Although efficient, an axe in the head isn't one of the most elegant ways
to die.”

A sudden thought intrigued Olligh.  He knelt down by
the corpse and pressed his hand against the soldier’s head, hoping that the
cosmos hadn't already claimed him.  After a moment’s deliberation, he whispered
the words of power and focused on the energies of the cosmos.

Ashvontic Sementoc!

His hand glowed faintly and the corpse began to
shudder violently.  Olligh raised his hand slightly and the shuddering
gradually slowed to a halt.  The soldier’s eyes flicked open and fixed on him,
a fearful expression on his face.

“Can you hear me?” Olligh asked.

The soldier’s eyes widened. “Man’dreda condonic
shetri!”

He turned his head from side to side, gazing at the
bodies of his fallen comrades.  “Ord matrondi.  Dreda condo shetri!”

Olligh shook his head. “Sorry, my friend.  I don’t
understand you.  Perhaps I should’ve chosen a different corpse.  The wound in
your head seems to have diminished your intellect rather severely.”

The soldier turned his head to one side and began to
cough and choke, retching bile mixed with blood.  Olligh snatched his hand away
and stood, aghast. The corpse shuddered one last time and groaned loudly before
returning to its previous state.

“Disgusting." Olligh wrinkled his nose.
"Remind me not to do this again, anytime soon.”

He continued walking across the field, stepping over
the corpses until he reached a dirt track which led up a large hill to a
fortress in the distance.  With no clue where to go, he decided to follow the
track.  If anything, he was relieved to be leaving the scene of the battle and
especially grateful that his nose no longer worked.