Deliverance (11 page)

They nodded and stayed their ground as
Crystal walked down the hall, knocked on Blaze’s door, and said,
“Blaze? Are you dressed yet?”

“Yeah,” she heard him say from inside.

Crystal took a key out of her robe and
unlocked the door. Inside, she saw Blaze sitting on his bed and
leaning back against headboard with his arms folded across his
chest and one of his legs crossed over the other. At first, she did
not recognize him, because his new outfit, not to mention haircut,
made him look completely different.

“Oh, you cut your hair after all!” she said
with a little smile. She then noticed the pile of his discarded
hair on the floor in front of his mirror. She then added, “Wow,
that’s quite a mess.”

“Well I didn’t have any way to clean it. I’m
stuck in this room, remember?” Blaze remarked.

“Well, it’s nothing that a broom can’t fix.”
she stated, “We are about to hold a meeting downstairs about the
Gaull shards and we could use your help.”

“Why? I don’t know anything about that
stupid gem,” Blaze retorted, a little annoyed.

“I was actually hoping you could tell us
what you think Bogdan will do so that we may find the shards before
he does,” Crystal corrected.

Blaze grunted. “So you don’t know where to
go and need me to light the way for you? You’re a clever one,
aren’t you?”

Crystal ignored his rude remark and
responded, “Well, it will give you a chance to get out of your room
anyway.”

“So the dog gets to go for a walk? I don’t
have to wear a leash, do I?” he asked, clearly trying to annoy her,
but she didn’t let it get to her.

“Let’s just get going, shall we?” she
replied. Before turning out of the room, she then added, “By the
way, I like it better that way.”

“Like what?”

“I think your hair looks better shorter,”
Crystal replied with a smile.

As soon as she turned around, Blaze rolled
his eyes, shook his head, and muttered under his breath, “As if I
care what you think.”

Crystal led Blaze to the meeting room and
the rebels who accompanied her before followed close behind them.
As soon as they all walked into the room, the enormous crowd
waiting inside instantly became silent. Crystal became
uncomfortable, even though she knew that they weren’t silent
because of her. She glanced at Blaze, who was straight-faced and
looking around the room.

Crystal cleared her throat and spoke, “Thank
you for coming, everyone.”

“What the hell is HE doing here?” a man
standing near a group of dwarves blurted out.

“We’re from a village that he had burned
down! He ordered Daldussan soldiers to kill everyone! Why are you
allowing HIM to wander among us?!” added another man who was
standing next to the first.

“Many people died in that village! CHILDREN
even!” the first man shouted.

“I understand how you all feel.” replied
Crystal, “Although I by all means do not condone Blaze’s past
actions, he has agreed to help us defeat Bogdan. Therefore, we
should at least give him the chance to redeem himself.”

“How can he EVER redeem himself after that
massacre?” the second man yelled.

“You realize I never actually killed any of
those people myself, right? I never kill anyone that weak. It’s too
easy,” Blaze countered, glaring at the two men.

“But you ordered your men to! You are just
as guilty as they are!” stated the second man.

“Please, rebels,” Crystal interrupted, “This
goes for everyone here. Blaze is far from being a saint, but we
could really use his help! I am your leader for a reason, now trust
my decisions.”

Everyone remained quiet. The two men
grudgingly stepped back into the crowd. After a momentary pause,
Crystal spoke again.

“Now then, we need to figure out how we will
find the shards. There was a huge flash in the sky and five
different beams of light shot into five different directions, so I
believe that some people may have seen where they could have
landed. I believe that if we send scouts into the surrounding
areas, we may learn a few things. Maryn, Taryn, can you bring
halflings to scout the areas?” Crystal said.

“Sure, Boss,” replied Taryn.

“We’ll ask around in the nearby villages,”
Maryn added.

“Good. Now, I believe we need to keep an eye
out for Daldussan activity as well. Blaze can help us there,”
continued Crystal.

“Yeah?” muttered Blaze, without looking at
Crystal.

“What do you think Bogdan will do to find
information? What should we look for to see if they have discovered
the location of one?” asked Crystal.

Blaze let out a long sigh and at the end of
it, answered, “If I know him well enough, he will send his best
warriors for something like this, if he didn’t actually go himself.
I can imagine he will send one of his two generals, Perun and
Orodan. If you see either of them and possibly an impressive amount
of soldiers in any small towns or villages, then they are most
likely heading to where a shard may be found.”

“I believe that Saitar may be there as
well.” replied Thaddeus, “He disappeared with Bogdan, so it
wouldn’t surprise me if that traitor stayed with his master.”

“Thaddeus may be right, so I would like for
a few groups of rebels to travel through villages asking if anyone
has seen them. Just try to keep a low profile about it,” Crystal
explained, “What do the generals look like, Blaze?”

“Perun is a dark elf from Dwyp and Orodan is
a well over seven-foot-tall warrior covered in scars and who
carries an axe that is too big for anyone else to wield. They are
both impossible to miss,” replied Blaze.

“Very well, and for anyone who has never
seen him, Saitar has thin, gray hair that is brushed out of his
face and is very thin and pale. Do not confront these people if you
see them; just send someone to report it to us and trail them
carefully. Leave at the first sign of danger and do not risk being
exposed. Any volunteers for this mission may report to me or
Gavril,” Crystal said. She then nodded in Gavril’s direction and he
raised a hand slightly to acknowledge his presence. Crystal then
ended with, “Once anyone hears any credible news, report it back to
me immediately. I will then assemble a team to find the shard.”

“I will be preparing things for you here,
Crystal. The elders gave me some holy magic books for you to study,
and I will be ready to help you when you get to them,” said
Thaddeus.

“I would appreciate that, Master Thaddeus,
thank you,” replied Crystal, “So everyone begin preparations
immediately. As soon as you are ready and rested, head out.”

With a “yes ma’am!” everyone in the room
began to leave to do their assigned jobs. Crystal approached Blaze
after they began to file out of the room.

“I am sure you would like to train while we
wait on any news,” she said, “If you follow me, I can show you
where the training grounds are.”

“Fine,” replied Blaze.

****

The rebels went an entire week without
hearing any news. In the meantime, Blaze trained heavily every day.
Everyone was amazed at his sword skills, and some people whispered
that it may have even rivaled Gavril’s, which of course did not
please the formal general to hear. After witnessing Blaze’s tactics
firsthand during a training session, Gavril considered the prince
to be a brutal and dishonorable warrior.

Blaze on the other hand, was extremely
irritated to have so many people watching over him. He knew that
they still didn’t trust him, and frankly, he didn’t care if they
did or not, but having just one person, much less several people,
constantly looking over his shoulder was starting to get on his
nerves. He could not make a single move without someone grasping
the hilt of their sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of
Blaze making a break for it.

Sigurd and the other dwarves crowded around
the training area and never gave him a peaceful moment. Blaze
glared at Sigurd as a warning for him to back off, but the dwarf
simply glared back and continued his own training.

The terrain was extremely rough and rocky,
and Blaze could tell that he was in the mountains somewhere. He was
never told where the hideout was after he awoke, probably because
if he tried to escape, he would be unfamiliar with the area and get
lost easily. The rebels, who lived and scouted in the area on a
daily basis, would easily find him if he dared to run off.

Since there were so many dwarves around,
Blaze concluded that he must have been in the Dwarven Mountains in
southern Cierith. He knew that the soldiers had checked the area
before, but it seemed that it hadn’t been checked thoroughly
enough. Blaze had tried for several years to discover the location
of the hideout. Now that he was actually there, he couldn’t care
less if Bogdan found out, but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell
him.

As the day went on into the afternoon, Blaze
trained alone with several wooden dummies. He took his anger and
frustration out on several by slicing the dummies in half with each
one move, and he eventually gave a larger dummy a brutish beating
rather than using his actual skills. After slicing it several
times, he noticed several people staring at him. He stood there
awkwardly and gave a cold stare again, but it apparently only
seemed to work on the soldiers he used to order around.

“I think you’ve had enough for today,” said
Gavril, who was the only person daring enough to approach him.

“Get lost, old man,” Blaze barked.

Ignoring Blaze’s comment, Gavril continued,
“Maybe you should try practicing with another fighter, rather than
destroy all of our training equipment.”

“I work alone,” Blaze retorted and then
sheathed his sword and stormed off. Two rebels approached him as he
walked in their direction and Gavril walked up behind him.

Gavril grabbed Blaze’s arm, pulled him
forward, and stated, “If you aren’t going to train any more, then
we will take you back to your room.”

“Leave me alone!” shouted Blaze as he shook
Gavril’s hand off of his arm. The crowd of onlookers that were
distracted from their own training then readied their weapons at
Blaze, which agitated him more.

He was about ready to start slashing his way
out of there when Crystal came running onto the training field and
shouted, “Everyone stop!”

“Crystal?” Gavril replied. The crowd
dispersed as she walked onto the field. Gavril approached her and
she stopped about a foot away from him.

“Gavril,” she whispered, “I know that we
need to keep an eye on Blaze, but we also need to gain his trust so
that he can help us. Restricting his freedom isn’t the way to get
him to trust us.”

“What do you suggest then? We can’t let him
go freely about the hideout. He knows too much!” Gavril argued.

“Actually, Thaddeus may have found a way for
us to do just that, but still rest easy knowing Blaze cannot give
out our secrets,” replied Crystal.

Confused, Gavril asked, “What are you
talking about?”

“Thaddeus has come across a spell that could
give Blaze all the freedom he wants, but that can guarantee that he
won’t get far if he tries to escape,” Crystal explained.

“What kind of spell?” Gavril probed.

“It’s called a tracking mark. It’s small and
is placed on a person’s skin. It does take a lot of magic energy
and supplies to use, but Thaddeus thinks he can handle it,”
explained Crystal. Gavril pondered for a moment and then spoke.

“Well then, let’s bring him to Thaddeus,”
Gavril said. He then ordered the two rebels to grab Blaze and
follow him, much to Blaze’s distaste.

When they finally arrived in Thaddeus’s work
room in the main building of the hideout, they saw him thumbing
through an old book. He wore the oddest pair of what looked like
spectacles that any of them had ever seen. There were a few layers
of lenses piled in front of his eyes that were attacked to a
leather band that was wrapped all the way around his head. The old
mage turned around when he heard them enter and nearly startled
them when they saw how much the glasses magnified his eyes.

He laughed when he saw their faces and said,
“My apologies! I needed to prepare a special powder and must be
able to see the minerals very closely to get it just right! My eyes
are unfortunately not what they used to be, so I needed this device
to see the powder correctly. I am finished now though.” He then
took off the strange device and blinked his pale eyes several times
until they adjusted properly.

“So what is it you wanted to try out,
Thaddeus?” Gavril asked.

“It’s quite an amazing spell!” the old man
exclaimed. Crystal and Gavril then sat Blaze down in a wooden chair
under Thaddeus’s instructions and they both stood on each a side of
him. Blaze was of course very annoyed by this and didn’t bother
trying to hide it.

“So what’s going on? I’m a lab experiment
now?” he asked loudly.

“We are trying to help you get more freedom
and privacy, Blaze.” Crystal answered, “After this, we won’t even
have to lock your bedroom door.”

“Like hell I won’t lock his door,” Gavril
retorted.

“Now Gavril, I assure you, we won’t have to
treat Blaze like a prisoner anymore after I do this,” replied
Thaddeus.

“And what ARE you doing, exactly?” asked
Blaze.

“Well, I am going to put a tracking mark on
you.” Thaddeus explained, “Once I cast the spell, the mark will
alert me if you venture further than a set distance from me. I will
have visions of where you are and I will be able to alert the other
rebels to find you. If I am awake, I will get the images in my head
and tell the nearest person what I see. If I am asleep, I will be
instantly awakened. Therefore, even if you leave in the middle of
the night, you won’t get far.”

Blaze rolled his eyes.