Shaping Magic (20 page)

“When I first arrived on the other side of the barrier, I noticed that the barrier was being fed off the land. The trees and the grass all looked like they were dead or dying, and the city itself seemed to be wilting under the drain of energy. Following the source, I made my way to the center of the city. I found a stone tower, with runes similar that was on Fenella's house, but mixed in with them were other runes that were darker, more sinister, and out of place.

  “Fearing that if it went unchecked it would keep draining the life of the surrounding area, I used the power of the tower against itself and destroyed it. Afterward, I was inspecting the area to see if it had stopped draining the land when I heard a strange noise. I started running back toward the barrier, not wanting to be there for whatever killed the Elves to find me. When I was near the barrier, I looked behind me and found a creature about to grab me. It was an Merrow.”

At the name of her former masters, Nara gasped and all the color drained from her face.

Lindon once again ignored her outburst, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was. “He has some kind of power that makes you want to surrender, to not fight and let him win. Even the look of them has the same effect. I was close to surrendering when the same voice that I had heard in Donovan's home told me to protect myself. Fearing being lost, I brought up magic that I was holding from passing through the barrier.

“We fought for a while but I could feel the magic in me weakening so with some effort I was able to get past his guard and cut him. For as strong and as fast as he was, he wasn't a very good swordsman. If it weren’t for his power over my mind I would have killed him. Anyway, the surprise of the cut allowed me to jump into the barrier where he couldn't follow.”

When Lindon was done telling Aina and Donovan what had happened in the Elven homeland, it was Nara that spoke. “You make master bleed?” she asked in awe.

“Yes, Nara, I did. They bleed like everyone else. It is only their magic that makes them strong. Take that away and anyone can beat them,” he said, trying to help her understand that her former masters were mortal and not worth worshiping.

“Was he the one that killed my people?” Aina asked.

“I believe he was. He didn't admit it but he was the only thing alive inside the barrier,” Lindon told her.

Donovan turned to Aina. “We will hunt him down and take our vengeance on him.”

Knowing he meant well, Aina simply thanked him. “I need some time alone, if it's all right.” She turned and entered the tunnel.

Lindon looked after Aina as she walked away, his heart aching for her loss. “We should go.”

Donovan answered, “Yes, we should; I will bring down the tunnel entrance once everyone is through.”

“Come, Nara, we have to go now,” Lindon said.

“Yes master,” she answered.

Lindon stopped and stared at the Ork. “I am not your master, Nara. I am your friend; never your master. As long as you are with me you are your own master, understand?”

Nara looked back at Lindon, seeing the intensity in his eyes. “Okay, I sorry, I not used to being on my own,” she answered.

“That is okay, Nara. I only want you to start thinking for yourself and see that you are your own person, that your thoughts and feeling are important and that you do not belong to anyone but yourself.”

Taking her hand, he led her down the tunnel to join the Dwarfs.

Chapter 20

When they first joined the Dwarfs, there was anger at her presence, but their respect for Lindon and a word from Donovan put an end to it before it got out of hand.

Walking the tunnels was hard for Nara. Like the Humans, Orks could not see in the dark but a kindly old magus made a light for her to see her way.

They had been walking for what seemed like days. Underground, Lindon didn't have a very good sense of time. On what he assumed was the seventh day of traveling, he turned to Nara. “Do you mind if I ask you where you were born?”

“Not at all,” she answered. After having spent time with the Dwarfs she was in a great mood; never before had she traveled without the abuse that was common among her own people. The females of the Dwarfs were not slaves to the men but valued members of their society.

“I was born many miles north of where you found me. I remember walking for many months to get there,” she said.

Lindon was amazed at her progress. In only a short time among the Dwarfs, she was able to speak clearly, no longer speaking in part sentences.

“What was it like there?” he asked.

“It was cold. In the summer months the sun would never leave, and in the winter it never came, but in many ways I miss it. Sometimes it gets so hot here that it is hard to do anything and it feels like my skin is on fire.”

Lindon smiled at Nara. “Yes, I know what you mean. Sometimes when it was really hot outside, I would just sit under a big tree on the farm and dream of adventure. Of course, now that I have had them, I think back on those days with fondness; it was a simpler time without everyone trying to kill me.” He paused. “Can I ask you another question?”

“Lindon, you can ask me anything, you have saved me from the only life I knew and have given me so much,” she replied, full of emotion. She owed this Human so much that she didn't think she could ever repay his kindness.

“Why were you in that wagon at the barrier?” he asked, not wanting to bring back bad memories for her, but he thought it might be important.

She looked down at the ground before answering. “I was accused of sleeping with a male who my father didn't approve of, but it wasn't true. My father didn't have any choice. He had to sacrifice me on the word of the master to save face with the other tribes.”

“I don't mean to bring up bad memories, but are you telling me that your own father sent you to die like that?” Lindon asked, shocked that anyone could do such a thing.

“Yes, that is the Ork way. If the masters tell them to do something, they do it, but I think it was another reason the master told him to do it.”

“Why do you think they wanted you dead?”

“One day we were in a valley, the rains come, and without warning a big wave of water was rushing toward us when I sang it away so it wouldn't kill all of us. And since then, the master would watch me all the time; never say anything to me, just watch. I had a bad feeling about it, but there was nothing I could do. The people liked that I saved them and for a while treated me good. That is until I was accused and sacrificed. It was the master that ordered them to put me in the wagon and then dipped in and out of the barrier, until my legs melted. I think the day you found me they were going to put me in for the last time.”

“What do you mean you sang the water away?” It was Aina that asked, coming up behind them during her story.

This was the first time that Aina spoke to Nara, having avoided everyone in her grief over her people.

“I don't know how, and I am the only one of the tribes, but ever since I can remember I have been able to help water move, where I want it to go, even the snow. When I was young, I would make carvings in the snow,” Nara told the Elf but wouldn't look directly at her. She felt nervous around her. It was not that she was scary. There was just something intimidating about her and the stories she had been told about the Elves were just too hard to dismiss.

Aina looked at Lindon. “That's not surprising; our Lindon here has a habit of finding the things he needs when he needs them.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Lindon asked.

Chuckling, she responded, “What are the chances that you would find the water shaper on your trip to my homeland? Let's face it, not very likely, and yet that is exactly what you did. If I would have to guess I would say that something is helping us to fulfill the prophecy.”

Lindon walked in silence for a bit, thinking on Aina's words before answering. “You might be right; if we are to succeed in ridding the world of the Merrow, then we will definitely need all the help we can get.”

“Tell us more about your encounter with the one behind the barrier. What was he like?” Aina asked.

Lindon took a minute to think. “The elves are beautiful. Of course, I have only met one,” Lindon said with a shy smile. “But from all that I have heard, all the elves are, right?”

“That depends if you like the skinny type with no meat on their bones,” Donovan answered with a chuckle. “But yeah, I know what you mean. Their features are sharp and I will admit it, pleasing to the eye. Just don't tell my people I said that; they might think I have gone insane.”

Lindon smiled at that. It was good to see his friends teasing each other. It meant that they cared, and to include Nara, also meant that they had accepted her into their group.

“And yet as beautiful as the Elves are, compared to the one that I fought, they would look plain and ordinary beside him,” Lindon continued. “There is something so compelling about how they look that it makes you just want to give up and do whatever they ask. If it weren’t for the voice in my head and the barrier I was able to put between my thoughts and the Merrow, I would have fallen.”

“I doubt if they would have the same effect on a Dwarf,” Donovan boasted.

“I don't think you understand, my friend. It was magic, the most subtle and the most powerful I have ever encountered.” Looking to Aina, he continued. “Don't forget, Donovan, the Elves fell to just one of them, and they have had experience with them before,” Lindon said with a little shiver, remembering the Elves lying in the street.

“It took every bit of magic that I had absorbed from going through the barrier, and it was a lot; more than I have ever carried. It was like I was hit with a hundred bolts from the magus, and I was still only able to fight him for a few minutes. Their power is incredible. I don't know if I can find a way to prolong it when facing them. I didn't have much chance to experiment with it, but the more I think about it, I might be able to use less power next time and be able to last longer, but I don't really know if it will work.”

One of the Dwarfs approached Donovan. “Sire. Kailid sent me. The tunnels ahead are blocked.”

“What do you mean blocked?” Donovan asked.

“They are collapsed, and we can go no further. It looks like this area had an earthquake sometime in the past and from what we can tell it's the same for many miles,” the Dwarf told Donovan.

“Damn. Take us to Kailid.”

When they approached, Kailid said, “We will have to travel above ground until we get past this, it looks like it goes on for quite a long way; too far for us to dig.”

Donovan walked to the collapsed tunnel and placing his hand on it, he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he turned to Lindon. “He's right; there is no way to dig our way through. It would take months to open the tunnel.”

“You don't think this is a trap to bring us to the surface?” Lindon asked.

“No, this happened many years ago; a major earthquake collapsed the tunnels. From what I can sense, there is no one around for many miles; at least nothing moving. We will have to go back a couple of miles until we are closer to the surface and then I can open a tunnel. We will just have to travel above ground for a while.”

Chapter 21

Lindon was enjoying traveling above ground, but he could sense the unease in the Dwarfs. Their world was below ground; most of them had probably never even been to the surface.

They were making good time, moving in a straight line toward sanctuary instead of following the maze of tunnels below ground.

“At this rate we should make sanctuary in three days. If you look there, you can see the beginning of the Capshaw Mountain Range. It's not as big as Sorolan and Corhan's, but it is still quite impressive.  Sanctuary is in the shadow of the largest peak, you can't miss it. It is the largest mountain in either mountain ranges,” Aina told the group.

Lindon was looking where she had pointed and could see, even from this distance, the towering peak of the mountain. It made the surrounding mountains look small in comparison. Seeing his goal in sight, Lindon started to think about what he was going to say to his grandmother when he saw her. Should he confront her about not telling him everything or should he just accept the fact that he had to learn about himself on his own? As much as he wanted to blame her for everything that had happened, Lindon was smart enough to figure out that if he didn't go on his own he would have depended on her and Arden to make the decisions for him.

Lindon decided that when he saw them he wouldn't make a big issue of it but he still needed answers from his grandmother and Arden, like who were his father and mother. He also needed to know what happened to them. His answers were three days away. He had waited this long. To wait until then wouldn't hurt him.

Putting the thoughts out of his head, he looked back they way they had come. Seeing the entire Dwarven nation marching behind him brought to mind the Merrow. How could they hope to defeat such powerful creatures? It had taken every bit of power he could find just to escape with his life from just one of them. What would happen if they met with an army of them? Lindon shuddered at the thought.

Approaching the Capshaw Mountain Range, Lindon was struck by the sheer size of the mountain jutting up far above the others. It was at least twice the height of the largest one. When Aina had first pointed it out three days ago it looked large, but now that he was closer it was almost beyond comprehension.

As Lindon was standing there slack jawed, Aina approached. “Big isn't it?” she said with a knowing grin.

“It has got to be by far the largest mountain in the world. I can't imagine anything ever coming close to it for sheer size,” he answered, awe in his voice.

“As far as I know it is, but then again I haven't been everywhere in the world, so who knows.”

“Are you going to have any problems finding our way to sanctuary?” Lindon asked.

“No, it's pretty straightforward; there is only one way in that I know of.”

“Isn't that a little dangerous, only having one way in? What if it's attacked?”

“I said that there is only one way in, but I didn't say it was the only way out.”

“I don't understand if there is another way out. What's to stop people from entering the same way?”

Aina gave a little chuckle. “You will have to see it for yourself. If I told you it would ruin the surprise.”

“I want to tell you—when we start in to the pass, stay close to Nara. My people may take one look at her and think we are the enemy.”

“You mean they might harm her? I will not allow it,” Lindon said with some heat.

“I know; that is why I said to stay close to her until we can show she isn't a threat.”

“I understand; I will stay close to her. Thank you for the warning. I know it must be hard on you, being around her. Your people have been fighting hers for longer than Humans have been around.”

Aina looked off in to the distance before she said, “To tell the truth, when you first brought her, it took every ounce of willpower not to attack, but now having gotten to know her, I can honestly say I am glad to have had the chance to be around her. She is not what I would have expected from an Ork. There is something about her that is hard to describe. I think it's her eyes and the way they seem to look into you, and the innocence about her. One thing for sure, she seems to have won over the Dwarfs.”

Lindon couldn't agree more, looking over at Nara as she walked with a group of older Dwarfs, he was struck by how easily they seemed to accept her. They were chatting with her the same as they would a small child, listening to her endless questions and answering with an understanding of people who enjoyed teaching younger generations all that they could. It didn't seem to matter to them that it was her people as well as some humans that had attacked their home and forced them to leave. All they seemed to see was a young person in need of education and they were happy to supply it.

The acceptance of Nara on the part of the Dwarfs was never more poignant when Lindon saw that Kailid was no longer hovering in the background keeping a careful watch on her. Ever since she had come back with him, the surly Dwarf had taken it upon himself to watch her in case she decided to cause trouble, despite the fact that Lindon had told him she could be trusted. Seeing that his words would not dissuade him, Lindon had let him keep his watch until he was satisfied. She had taken Kailid's attention in stride, seeming to understand his need to care for the safety of his people, and not taking offense to his scrutiny. The days and nights of Nara simply being who she was had allowed the Dwarfs and even Kailid to accept her into the fold and no longer see her as a threat.

Entering the pass that would lead them to where sanctuary was, Lindon walked beside Nara. He kept himself between her and any that might wish to harm her just because she was an Ork. It didn't take long for the party to run into the defenders of sanctuary.

A group of Elven archers suddenly popped out of the surrounding hills. There were perhaps a hundred archers in total. It was hard to tell for sure—many easily blended into their surroundings and a good portion of them had their weapons pointed directly at Nara. Lindon kept Nara behind him and was surprised when it was Kailid leading a small group of Dwarfs to stand beside him, keeping Nara protected from all sides.

Their leader stepped forward. “Why are there so many Dwarfs here and in the company of the enemy?” he asked the group.

Lindon was about to answer when Aina stepped forward and lowered her hood. “Those are questions best suited in private,” she said.

“Your Highness, my apologies, we did not know you were there,” the Elf said, slightly shocked at seeing their queen traveling with the Dwarfs. “Please continue. We will inform them that you are coming.

The Elves dispersed, disappearing as quickly as they had arrived. Lindon couldn't see any trace of them but he had the feeling that they were still there and watching, so he and the Dwarfs kept their position around Nara, just in case one of the Elves took it upon themselves to remove her as a threat.

Lindon and the Dwarfs walked another three hours winding their way through the mountain pass.  He could feel the magic that was coming from the left of the trail. It seemed to be everywhere. Looking around for the source, he was about to send his thoughts out into it when standing on the trail in front of them was Arden with two Elves on either side of him.

Lindon had to suppress the urge to run to him. He didn't realize how much he had missed his teacher’s calm presence. Ever since he had to leave him and his grandmother, Lindon had been longing for the days when he felt safe and protected in their company. They were the ones that would make the decisions, but now it was Lindon that had to, and there was no going back to the way things were.

Lindon walked up to his former teacher with Donovan, Aina, and Nara beside him. The smile on Arden's face reassured Lindon that maybe not everything had changed. “It is good to see you, Lindon. You’re looking well,” he said.

Lindon let out a small sigh of tension at his words. “And you as well, Arden; how is my grandmother?” he asked.

“She is well; she would have come to meet you but she is a little busy at the moment.”

“Enough of this prattle,” one of the Elves standing beside Arden commanded. “We did not come here to hear about a peasant boy and his concern for his granny.
”

Lindon flashed him an annoyed look. The arrogance of the Elf seemed to ooze from him, and rubbed Lindon the wrong way. He wanted to teach the Elf humility but realized that now was not the time.

Aina, seeing that Lindon was close to objecting violently to her old mentor’s words, decided it was time to head it off before it got out of hand. “Hello, Piran, we are here for sanctuary. Our story is not one of good news but will be better told in the presence of everyone involved. Take us to Aodhan,” she commanded the arrogant Elf.

At first it looked like he was going to object, but the stern look on his queen's face told him now was not the time to go against her wishes.

With a finial look at the Dwarfs, Lindon, and Nara, he said, “Very well. Follow me.”

As the Elf turned to go, Arden gave Lindon a wink, as if to say don't let the blow hard get to you. Lindon returned the wink with a smile to say he would try.

Walking behind the Elves, Lindon was not prepared for what was ahead. The trail opened up onto a plateau that stretched across for a mile or more; then, the biggest mountain jutted straight up for thousands of feet of sheer rock. To Lindon it looked like a bad place to get caught at if an attacker decided to come. With only the one entrance that he could see, there would be no way to escape, but remembering Aina's words that there was possibly another way to out, Lindon would reserve judgment on the place, until he found out.

Without turning around, the Elf said, “Tell your Dwarfs to make camp over there.” He waved his hand in the general direction of one side of the camp.

Giving her general a look of irritation, Aina said to Donovan, “Where ever you think is best set up camp.”

He chuckled. “Now that's the way we thought Elves behaved,” he said with a wink at Aina to take the sting of his words away.

“Yes, well, he and I will be having a talk about his behavior,” she said loud enough for Calum to hear.

The Elf didn't react to Aina's words. Instead he led them to a large tent in the middle of the camp. Lindon could see the camp of the elves on the right side of the tent. Everything was neat and orderly. The same could not be said for the camp of the humans that was there. It was an unorganized mess. No one seemed to be in charge, and with no leadership, they just put their tents in a haphazard way, with garbage piling up anywhere they wanted to toss it. There was a small training area where some of the men were training with weapons, but with no real organization, nothing was really being accomplished.

There was a small group in the Human camp that was organized, but it was off by itself with no connection to the main camp. Lindon couldn't understand why someone didn't take charge of the men and organize them. Watching the Dwarfs set up camp was like night and day compared to the Human camp. The Dwarfs worked together, and as one unit their camp was being assembled with ease. Before long it would be up and running.

Lindon wanted to go to the camp and kick them in to shape but he couldn't leave Nara alone and he didn't think it would be a good idea to take her with him into the mess of the camp. Turning away, he followed the others into Aodhan's tent.