Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza (3 page)

Only change yourself at need and never for very long,
Whalen’s voice echoed in Alex’s head.

Whalen had given him good advice on the subject of changing his shape. The transformation was not difficult, but it could be dangerous.

“You will find that you enjoy taking another shape,” Whalen had said. “There is great freedom in the shape of a bird, rest in the shape of a tree, strength in the shape of the bear. But be careful—the longer you remain in a shape that is not your own, the more you risk forgetting who and what you are. If you forget yourself, you may remain changed for the rest of your days.”

Then there was the dragon form. On his last adventure, Alex had met Salinor, the oldest living dragon, who had told Alex he could change into a dragon at will without any risk of losing himself. Alex was in fact part dragon, and while taking the form of a dragon might allow him to reach Karmus faster, it was a shape that terrified most people. It might be one of his natural forms, but Alex thought it best not to become a dragon unless he really needed to.

After walking about a mile along the main road, Alex moved into a small grove of nearby trees. He looked to make sure he was alone before once more taking the shape of the eagle. He moved upward, soaring in the afternoon sun. He enjoyed this shape and had spent quite a bit of time in it. Now he focused his mind on the task at hand and sped off to the south, where the great arch waited.

Long before he had grown tired of flying, Alex was circling downward. The arch was only a few hundred feet below him, and he could see the spring where he’d filled his water bags on other adventures.

Landing and taking his own shape, Alex splashed some cold water from the spring on his face. It took a few seconds before the sense of freedom from being an eagle left him.

Retrieving the empty water bags from his magic bag, Alex filled them at the spring. When he was done, he looked at up at the sun, trying to judge how much daylight was left. He had traveled from Telous to the arch in less than an hour, a trip that would have normally taken half a day. It was just after noon, and he thought he could walk through the arch and still have plenty of daylight left to find a camping spot for the night.

Alex paused for a moment before walking toward the arch. He wondered if he should arm himself with his sword as he had done on his previous adventures. He knew there was trouble in Nezza; it would be foolish for him to walk into it unarmed.

Best to be prepared,
the voice of his dwarf friend Thrang echoed in the back of his mind.
Never know what you might meet on the other side of the arch.

It was good advice, but if the lords of Nezza didn’t like adventurers, then the less he looked like an adventurer, the better. If he carried his wizard’s staff, however, he might be able to pass as a simple traveler. After some more thought, he left his magical sword in the bag but withdrew the dagger that he’d had since his first adventure.

Taking a final look around the spring, Alex started along the road. He was nervous about going into a new land alone, but he didn’t have a choice. He knew that if he had been in trouble and had sent a message to Skeld asking for help, Skeld would have come as quickly as he could. Alex also remembered a promise that he’d made on his last adventure—a promise to always help his friends when they needed him.

“I just hope it’s nothing too serious,” Alex said to himself.

Walking wasn’t as much fun as flying, but Alex focused on his surroundings, watching as he moved forward and looking for the change in landscape that would let him know he was in Nezza. The change between lands was barely noticeable, though as Alex passed beneath the great arch, he felt a small tingle of magical power pass through him.

The ground ahead of him suddenly had a few gently sloping hills, and Alex climbed one so he could look west into the land of Nezza and still remain hidden. He looked at everything, especially at the road that led west. The land was green and covered with small groves of trees separated by open grassy areas. A short distance from the hill there was a camp that was full of what looked like soldiers.

Clearly, the soldiers were there to stop anyone coming into or leaving Nezza, but what would they do with the people they caught?

Alex didn’t want to deal with soldiers, at least not yet, so he moved down the hill to the south, away from the road. Without warning, Alex found himself lying flat on his back. It felt as if he had walked into a solid wall, his own momentum bouncing him backward into the dirt.

Alex scrambled to his feet. He couldn’t see anything that looked out of place, but something was blocking his path. After a few careful steps forward, he encountered the invisible wall again. Reaching out, he put his right hand on the surface of the barrier; it felt both cold and damp. He pulled his hand away and looked at it, but it was clean and dry. Alex pushed against the barrier, and it seemed to stretch as if it were made of rubber. It was magic, of course. That would explain the surge of power he’d felt when he’d passed through the arch.

Alex felt along the edges of the barrier with his magic and realized it wasn’t just a wall. It was more like a three-sided box, the walls forcing him toward the road and the back of the box blocking him from reaching the great arch. It appeared that he had no choice in the direction he would travel.

Alex thought about using his magic to open a hole in the barrier, but he decided against it. Using magic might alert the soldiers guarding the road. Removing the barrier completely wasn’t an option either, because whoever had created it would know the moment the spell was broken.

Alex wondered who could have created this barrier. There weren’t any wizards in Nezza as far as he knew, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other magical people. His first thoughts were about the Gezbeth, the group of magical people he and Whalen had talked about at the end of his last adventure. The Gezbeth had caused a lot of trouble in other known lands. They could have done this, but why?

Someone with strong magic had created this barrier, but Alex didn’t know if the barrier was meant to keep people in Nezza or to keep outsiders away. It was clear, however, that traveling in Nezza was going to be more dangerous and difficult than Alex had thought it would be.

Alex moved back down the hill, pausing to work a little magic of his own when he reached the road. He wanted to avoid the soldiers ahead of him if he could, and a simple invisibility spell would solve his problem. He made his way forward, being careful not to make any noise as he went. The invisible walls were soon behind him, and he turned south, away from the main road.

As the sun slipped below the horizon, Alex started looking for a spot to spend the night. After a little searching, he found a small hollow surrounded on three sides by trees, with the fourth side opening to the south. He collected wood for a fire but didn’t bother setting up his tent. The air was warm, and he guessed it was late spring or early summer here in Nezza. He was worried he had not moved far enough away from the arch and the camp of soldiers, but that couldn’t be helped.

After cooking a small dinner, Alex wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and sat staring into the fire. He usually enjoyed sitting next to the fire on his adventures, but this one was different. He was alone, and he wished he had someone to talk to. Before, he and his companions had laughed and told stories around the campfire, but there were no stories to tell or hear tonight. Tonight, only his own troubled thoughts would keep him company.

Alex was almost asleep when he heard the sound of horses moving in the darkness beyond the light of his fire. He thought about putting out the fire with a word, but that would be pointless. Whoever was out there already knew where he was. He closed his eyes and listened, trying to estimate how many people and horses there were. The horses stopped moving, and Alex could feel someone watching him.

Could they be bandits, preparing to attack a lone traveler in these wild lands? Alex stood up and leaned on his staff. He gazed into the darkness. There was no sound for a long time, and then a voice called out, “Hello the camp. Are you friend or foe to Lord Bray?”

“I am neither,” Alex called back. “I do not know Lord Bray, but I have no quarrel with him.”

There was silence again, and then the voice called out, “Stand still and do not run. If you try to flee, we will regard you as an enemy.”

Alex waited. Slowly, three horses approached, shadowy figures appearing at the edge of the firelight. They looked like the soldiers he had seen along the main road earlier that day. If their master, Lord Bray, was the one trying to block the road, they might be able to tell him all kinds of interesting things.

“Warm yourselves,” said Alex in a kindly tone as the riders approached and stopped their horses. “You look as if you’ve ridden far.”

“Far enough,” said a grim-faced man who was obviously in charge. “But we’ll not share your fire—not until we know where things stand.”

“As you wish,” said Alex, taking his seat. He laid his staff across his knees and watched the three men.

“You say you do not know Lord Bray, yet you travel his lands,” the grim-faced man said.

“I travel many lands,” said Alex offhandedly. “I did not know that these wild lands had a master.”

“Lord Bray rules the lands from the Silver River to the magic arch,” the man declared.

“I’ve never seen a magic arch so well protected,” said Alex.

“We guard our lands and keep the evils from other lands from entering ours,” said the man.

“I did not know the land needed protection,” said Alex.

“Then you know little of this land,” the man answered, looking surprised. “Much evil has already come into our lands from the outside—or at least that’s what we are told.”

“Come, sit down and let us speak of this,” said Alex, waving his hand.

All three men climbed off their horses and moved forward to sit by the small fire. They looked tired, as if they were about to fall asleep.

Alex mumbled a few words, casting a spell to relax the men in front of him. The magic would not force the men to tell the truth, but it would make them comfortable enough that they would speak freely.

“Tell me what evils you fear,” said Alex. “Tell me why so many men have been sent to watch the magic arch.”

“Lord Bray has commanded us to watch the arch and stop any travelers who enter our land,” the man replied in a monotone voice, completely under Alex’s spell. “He tells us that there are dangers beyond the arch and that we must prevent those dangers from entering our lands. He says that all the wars of Nezza have been fought because of evil from beyond the arch.”

“But you do not believe what he says?” Alex prompted.

“There is enough evil in Nezza. We need not look outside this land to find what troubles us,” the man answered. “Bray is weak and only repeats what Lord Lazar of Karmus tells him.”

“Tell me about Lazar of Karmus.”

The man’s expression changed to one of contempt. “Lazar claims to be king of Nezza, but his claim is false, and the people know it. He is an evil man who only wants power and riches for himself. He has killed many people to gain his power, and some say he has even killed members of his own family to keep the power he has. With his nephew Prince Rallian missing, perhaps those stories are true.”

“Bray does as Lazar commands?” Alex questioned.

“Bray fears Lazar and does all that Lazar commands him to do. It is said that Lazar knows dark magic and has used it to control Bray and others. There are many stories told of Lazar and what he can do, though I have never seen him do more than bully those who serve him.”

“Tell me about Prince Rallian,” said Alex.

“He is, or was, a good man,” the soldier answered. Sadness replaced the contempt on his face. “Many of the noble houses of Nezza recognized his claim to the kingship, though he never made the claim himself. He has recently come of age, and if he was not missing, he would become the lord of Karmus, removing Lazar from power.”

“The people would have accepted Rallian as their king,” Alex said, more to himself than to the soldier.

“Most of the people would accept Rallian,” the man answered, sounding determined. “But he has vanished from this land, and Lazar remains in power.”

“What reason has Lazar given for Rallian’s disappearance?” Alex questioned.

“Lazar claims the prince has gone on a quest, but he won’t say anything more.”

“Do many people believe that story?”

“The servants of the prince have all vanished as well, so there is nobody to ask if the story is true.”

“I see,” Alex said, filing the information away in his mind. “Now, tell me about travelers who come from outside Nezza. What does Bray command you to do with them?”

“If they surrender themselves to us, we take them before Bray,” the man answered. “Then Bray sends them to Lazar. What Lazar does with them we do not know, but no travelers have ever returned from Karmus.”

Alex pondered the soldier’s words, looking deep into the fire as he thought. Was Lazar a dark wizard trying to take control of Nezza? Was he simply an evil king who bullied people into doing what he wanted? What had really happened to Prince Rallian? Did any of this have anything to do with Skeld and his fellow adventurers? He was here to help Skeld and his company, not to change things in Nezza, but something in the back of his head told him he needed to know as much about this land and its people as he could.

“Have you caught many travelers from outside of Nezza?” Alex asked.

“A group of adventurers about a month ago,” the man answered. “They surrendered to our men and were taken.”

“How long would it take them to reach Karmus after your men caught them?” Alex asked. He hoped that Skeld and his company had not been in Karmus for long.

“Three, maybe four weeks to reach Karmus on foot. All prisoners must walk to Karmus—that is the order of Lord Lazar.”

Alex considered this information. If it had taken three or four weeks for Skeld and his company to reach Karmus, then they couldn’t have been there long. What would Lazar do to them when they got there, and how soon would he do it? He forced his worries out of his mind and returned his attention to the men sitting around the fire.