The Stones of Magic Page 9

  Chapter 9

  Mach woke the next morning feeling more at ease and much more talkative. He could see the tracker sitting a little ways away staring out onto the open areas below. He was up and keeping guard as Bastra had been when they had all gone to sleep. Climbing out of his sleep wrap, he went to sit next to the old tracker.

  They sat there for a few moments in silence, both of them looking over the terrain and trail below them each one not bothering to look at the other. It was Mach who finally broke the silence. “You know, the other day, when you told me about your…gift?” he said quietly so that the others would not overhear.

  Sehto nodded. “Nice word usage. Sounds better than magic, I think.”

  Mach grinned and took that as an opening to continue. “Well, when you came over, you woke me from, I don’t even know what to call it...a vision I guess.” Sehto sat quietly listening. “Well...” Mach was finding it harder than he had thought it would be to talk about it. Not surprising but if there was any one member of the group he felt he could confide in it was Sehto. The old tracker reminded him of his father.

  He swallowed several times before finding the right words. “I think I saw my mother. And she was alive.” He tried to put as much emotion into his words as he could and still keep his voice to a whisper. His voice cracked without him wanting it to.

  Tears were already forming in his eyes as he pictured her laying on that bed. “She was badly hurt, but there was a man taking care of her. He may even be one of those healers of the herb. There were all kinds of odd plants in and near his cabin.”

  “Is this why you have been silent the past day?” Sehto asked him, turning and looking him straight in the eyes. There was something in the tracker’s eyes, a kindness that reminded him of the looks his father use to give him so long ago. And that was almost enough to make him break down in tears. He had lost his father and now it looked like he may well lose his mother as well.

  Why did I come out here! He scolded himself mentally. He nodded, “She is hurt, hurt badly. There was all this blood on her clothes and her chest. And her head was…” he could feel the tears burning his eyes and he forced them back, crying was not going to help him out here. “She looked at me, I know she did. It was as if I was there, as if I could have touched her if I had tried. I saw it in her eyes, she thinks that I am dead, like I was a ghost or something standing beside her.” His voice was beginning to rise.

  Sehto took a deep breath and sighed, “Was it really her? Can you be sure of it? I will tell you what Mach,” Sehto said as he put an arm around Mach’s shoulder. That only made him want to cry all the more. He had not had anyone care for him like a friend or a son for a very long time. He suddenly felt a longing to be back home, back in his house and all the things that were familiar. “When we are finished with what we are doing here, and you get back to Selane, I will do what I can to help you find your mother.”

  He and Sehto sat in silence until the first sunrise had come and passed. Mendoll woke up and had begun to prepare a quick breakfast for them soon after and though they only had dried meat, it was rather refreshing to toast some of it on an open fire before eating it. Neither he or Sehto spoke again of their conversation but Mach knew that the tracker was thinking about it as much as he was.

  They started out right after breakfast was consumed. Sehto was able to find what they had been looking for soon after breaking camp after Mendoll commented on sensing something odd ahead of them. The tracker left on his own and when he came back he reported that there was a cave just ahead.

  The cave was easy enough to spot as they rounded a corner. The entrance was small and hardly anything Mach had expected. Bastra had to crouch down to his knees in order to enter but once inside there was more than enough room for the Gargoyle and all of them to stand in.

  It had looked normal enough until they tried to enter it. Mach had only gotten a few steps inside before he found himself blocked by some unseen force. There appeared to be some kind of invisible barrier barring the way forward.

  They gathered in front of the invisible wall, each one touching the barrier as if it might fall to their touch. Mendoll sat down on a large stone and sunk himself into his own thoughts. Sehto began pacing the cavern, while Bastra walked to the cave entrance staring out the way they had come.

  Mach simply stood there, glancing from one person to the next waiting for something to happen. He somehow knew that magic was going to be used and though there was the slight fear of being witness to such a thing, there was the sense of adventure that was overwhelming.

  With the speed of someone far younger, Mendoll leapt to his feet and moved toward the barrier, placing one hand on the invisible wall and another gripping his staff tightly. He began muttering words that Mach could not understand, words that were from some foreign tongue that was nothing like what he could ever remember hearing.

  For several minutes he stood speaking to the air. A flare of light suddenly brightened the cavern room. Mach was instantly blinded as the light flooded the darkest reaches of the cave room and as the glare began to subside, a sound resonated from somewhere beyond the room.

  It was not unlike a massive beast breathing heavily in the growing darkness.

  The cave beyond was now pitch black, the only source of illumination came from the mouth of the cave. Mach peered into the blackness and was suddenly overcome by a sense of dread. There was something down there, he had no doubt that there was. He did not know how he knew, but he definitely knew something was alive, something that could destroy them all in an instant if it chose.

  He heard Mendoll’s voice muttering something in the same language as a moment before. A moment later, light flooded the cave as the crystal on Mendoll’s staff glowed white. The Healer took the lead and them through the cave, sneaking along as silently as possible. Every step echoed faintly off the walls even with the softest of footsteps, every breath was as loud as a scream and the beating of his own heart was like a drum beating in the distance.

  The walls inside the cave were composed of the same type of red sand as the exterior. A fact that may have gone unnoticed to Mach had they used the red light of a torch. But the pure white of the glowing crystal on Mendoll’s staff glowed like sunlight. The smooth stone and rock of the tunnel made him wary, though he wasn’t sure why. It did not look right to him, the way the walls of the cave appeared to have been carved.

  He could hear the pattering of some kind of creature, a creature that must surely have several pair of legs, and though the light from Mendoll’s wand flooded the cave, there were no signs of what lay lurking in the shadows around the next turn. Something leapt out of from behind a wall and darted down a corridor of stone. Mach had only caught a glimpse of a long, pale tail and an indistinct shadow.

  He looked back at Sehto, who merely laughed. “Be thankful those rats are small, lad. With the numbers in which those things live in normally, it is likely we would be their next meal.”

  He personally did not care to find out what they looked like and was thankful that the light was so limited. The group walked for what felt like an entire day before stopping to rest. His legs were beginning to shake and he longed for a soft bed and a warm bath. Without anything to orient themselves with, it was hard to tell if they were going up or down into the mountain but the one constant was that their movement was steady.

  Sehto found a short extension that led to the side of the cave tunnel and led the group inside the offshoot to rest. The passageway gave way to a cavern just barely large enough for all of them to sit or lay down comfortably. “It does not look as though anything comes down this way, at least not often enough to leave any trails. This should be as safe as it gets in here.”

  “It will have to do.” Bastra said dropping his pack near the entrance against the wall. The quick meal of dried foods they had brought did little to alleviate the hunger that was building in Mach's stomach. He was beginning to miss his mother's cooking by the time he finished the bland p
iece of meat he had been chewing on.

  They sat talking about what they might find when they reached the end of this cave and every idea that came made the thought of turning back increase in his mind. From what they knew so far, it was one of the Stones of magic from the time before the Damnation. However, it could very well be empty space that they found at the end of the path and an entire trip wasted.

  Mendoll wasn’t sure what these Stones were supposed to look like, or what exactly they could do. He only had what the legends said they could do. But he was convinced that they would find one of the Stones when they reached the end of this cave. “I can feel either the Stone or something at least as powerful as the Stones.” Mendoll said as he tried to explain how he felt. “It is as though there is someone down there calling to me, and I am compelled to heed to their call no matter what the cost. Perhaps it is not so much being called. Maybe more of a yearning to seek out what lay behind the next bend. I cannot really tell what it feels like. I just know that we will get answers to some of the questions when we reach the bottom.”

  Mach thought he understood. He used to feel a little like that when he stood on the docks back home and looked out into the open waters that surrounded the village. Something tugged at his heart whenever he looked out over those blue waters. He felt that way now as he thought of home. Homesickness. That was what George would have called it.

  The worst part was that the feeling did not leave once he walked away from the water. Even down here in this cave he could still feel the open water calling to him. Trying to get him to return to where he belonged.

  Mach fell asleep as he sat there waiting for time to go by, but it only felt like an instant before he was woken up again. He had just leaned back when Sehto began gently shaking his shoulder. After another brief meal, this time in complete silence, they continued their march into the heart of the mountain.

  The cave loomed on before them, never changing in shape or feel. After an hour of walking the cave finally changed, opening up into a cavern that could have fit an entire city within its walls. Before them was a gaping hole that dropped down below into black nothingness.

  It reminded Mach of the holes used for planting support poles for buildings. Round and deep only on an extraordinary scale. Even with Mendoll’s magically lit staff, the hole seemed to be bottomless and the distance to the other side seemed horribly far. When he looked up, there was no sign of the ceiling that should have been there. It was as endless as what lay below them.

  At first he thought they had come to a dead end, that there was no way for them to continue. Sehto’s skills as a tracker proved invaluable as he pointed out a narrow path along the wall of the cavern that sloped gently downward. The path was only large enough for them to walk in a single line, and even then the slightest misstep and someone would end up falling.

  Taking extreme care not to lose their balance, the group cautiously crept down the path. Eventually an alcove opened up along the wall onto wider ground and the confines of another tunnel led them away from the crevice.

  He gladly entered the cave path praying never to enter such a perilous place again. Between the noises of the rats echoing off of the walls and the utter silence of the cave, he was quite ready to give it up as a bad job and turn around. Though he knew that real adventures were nothing to laugh at, that quests often required uncomfortable areas to be explored, this was not one of the ones he would have normally have wished he could experience.

  The path led noticeably and steadily downward, circling and twisting through the earth as the group kept both ears and eyes open for anything other than rats. The prayers of never finding another chasm were punctured an hour later when their cave opened up into another cavernous hole. Sehto made a whispered comment to himself that this was the same one they had left behind and Mach was inclined to agree.

  He could not be sure of anything at this point, with all the different directions they had taken over the time spent underground. But the depth of the hole they had been at and what they were now looking at were so similar he did not think that this could be anything other than the very same.

  If that was the case, and this was the same hole then he was glad he had been able to keep his footing steady earlier. There would surely be no living through any fall that would occur and that was if there was a bottom at all. For all he knew, the chasm below went on forever and he did not relish the idea of what may happen to someone who fell forever.

  The temperature climbed steadily with every corner they took. Mach had already removed his gift from George to keep himself cool. His own weakness was showing as the ground leveled out and a faint glow emitting from further down the tunnel brought his mind back to the moment.

  Whether it was daylight or something more sinister, he was not concerned with it at this point. All he wanted was to return to the inn and rest, or even the bunk he had on the ship. As a precaution to what lay ahead the group moved toward the light stealthily, not knowing what they would find or if they would have to run for their lives the moment they got there. In close quarters like this, it was possible that one person could stay behind and fight a large force if it came to it so that the others could get away. If the idea had crossed his mind, it would surely have crossed the others’.

  As they reached the source of light another cave opened up and the sight that he saw before him was amazing. The light coming from below blinded him for a moment as he first traversed from tunnel to cavern. Molten rock flowed like a river all around them, flowing underneath the wall that they stood beside without any sign of stopping.

  This would explain the increasing heat they had been experiencing but the amount of heat was very little from what Mach understood of such things. Such a place would surely burn the flesh off of a living person within moments of getting near it. Why was it that not only every person of the group was still alive but other than a little sweat there was not a single thing wrong with them?

  And why would their path take them here? Was it possible that this magma river had destroyed the path that led to where the Stone lay? Could it be that the Stone had once been here but had been swallowed up by the molten rock that now flowed like water? He looked around at his surroundings more closely for the answers to his own questions and found himself speechless at what he saw.

  The cavern was huge, far larger than anything Mach could remember seeing. Surely the entire capital of Eldour could have fit within the walls of this cavern, with enough room for a few smaller towns to sit beside it. Rocks sprouted from below, great platforms of stone rising from a river of fire. Fire Salamanders lay upon the rock, content with the heat rising around them and resting comfortably as if in was the noon day suns.

  Fire-birds soared high above them on the thermals rising from the molten rock, happily chirping and squawking at each other with no care of who or what was around them. He thought he could see some kind of plant growing from one of the rocks that protruded out of the flaming river.

  There was an entire ecosystem below the mountain in an environment that should not be able to support life at all. This was a wonder to behold and for a moment, as he looked out at everything that he was surrounded by, he forgot about the Stones and about what had happened to him in the last few weeks.

  A single stone pathway wove its way above the molten rock. The path took near an hour to reach the end, but as the path rose higher above the river leading up to a platform on the other end of the cavern, they saw that their destination was at hand.

  Mach was sweating heavily enough by now that his clothes was sticking to his back as it would if he stood outside on the scorching summer days with the suns beating down on him. Carefully placing each footstep, the group slowly made their way further onto the platform.

  The platform of stone was vacant but for a single object sitting on the far end. By the glow of the molten rock the object glowed fiery red and gold. The dancing flames made it shimmer and the heat waves around it made it look other worldly
.

  A dais stood before them, fused seamlessly with the ground underneath it. A feeling of Power drew Mach’s attention to the center of the dais, like a light at the end of a tunnel that someone who was lost would pray to see. A soft light pulsed nestled in the center of the dais, reflections from the world around. The other three were staring at the small orb sitting directly in the middle of the dais.

  The orb was the size of a small fist and was an opaque red. As he watched, he thought for a moment he could see the red light glow faintly within the orb, but an eye blink later it vanished.

  The glow had been so soft that he began to doubt he had even seen it. He had to admit to himself it may have been a reflection from one of the firebirds above, or the molten rock below them. But there it is again. The orb glowed on and off, on and off. The soft light intensified and dimmed rhythmically, like a drawn out heartbeat.

  From the orb, he thought he could also hear something. It was so soft he thought it was merely the hissing of the molten rock, or maybe a whisper from someone behind him. It was just as soft as the glow coming from the orb and could easily have been Mach's imagination.

  Mendoll placed a hand over the orb without touching it and muttered words Mach did not recognize. From behind and below the dais, a rock twice the size of Bastra rose into the air out of the magma and floated several feet in front of them. The rock slowly melted away like water eroding mud until the form of a female body remained.

  Mach was no novice toward women. He had played with the hearts of a few of the village girls, and had been played himself. But this was a body he had never thought possible. The kind of body that Mach could only describe as that of a Goddess. She was easily twice the size of a normal woman, but so elegant that Mach thought she might shatter if she were to be struck. There was a powerful radiance to her that made him want to bow to her will. She was everything that he had imagined a Goddess to be.

  Her skin seemed to flow around her body like the molten river below her. Though she was nude, there was nothing to define her that would make her female, like a doll made of stone or wood.. Even her breasts seemed to be featureless except for the flowing of her skin.

  Long, flaming red hair fell below her feet. Hair that had a life of its own as it swept around her and moved freely as though she were immersed under water. Beauty Mach had never witnessed before in his life.

  Sehto and Bastra were each frozen in place, neither able to move a muscle. Bastra had his hand over the handle of his spear, but he seemed incapable of either drawing or releasing it. Mendoll was the only one able to react to the presence of the woman before them. He cleared his throat softly and stepped away and beside the dais and bowed humbly to her. “My dear Guardian, Lady Sytie. I am honored to be in your presence.” He said with a bow of his head and kept it there in submission.

  A voice echoed thunderously, not around the cavern, but inside Mach’s head. The feeling was a little unsettling, but relief washed over him at the same time. “YOU ALL HAVE TRAVELED FAR, YOUNG ONES. YOU HAVE COME HERE IN SEARCH OF MY POWER, HAVE YOU NOT?”

  “Yes and no, milady.” Mendoll said carefully, finally raising his head to look at her. The Healer looked up into her face with both fear and admiration. “I cannot say that I would not welcome your knowledge and power, but that is not the reason we are here. I do not know if you are aware of what is happening in the world outside, I do not know the vows and promises made between the last king and yourself. But I have come to collect the item he left in your care.

  “The Stone of fire is not safe as once was believed. I mean you no disrespect, Milady. I know your power is beyond any mortals’ comprehension. However, I do know the hunger for power of the enemy that comes for this very Stone and the others. I do not know whether you could stop him or not, or he, you. I believe that the only way to truly guarantee its safety is to move it to a new location, or to keep it moving.”

  “I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN, TRAVELER. NEVERTHELESS, I CANNOT SIMPLY GIVE YOU THAT WHICH I GUARD. I WAS PROMISED THIS STONE TO APPEASE MY ANGER FOR THE ONE WHO CALLED ME TO THIS WORLD. I WAS PROMISED ITS LIFE UNTIL THE NEEDED DAY. I HAVE YET TO SEE THAT DAY COME.”

  Mendoll bowed submissively again but kept his voice loud and clear. “And I understand your plight, Lady Sytie. But the fact remains I must still retrieve this Stone to further protect it. Give me what trial you will. Put me through what ordeal you must. But I swear, milady, I will obtain the Stone. I must.”

  Sytie floated before them, gazing intensely into Mendoll’s eyes. The silence was broken only by the soft popping of the molten rock, the calls of the firebirds above and the low growls of the beasts lounging on the rocks. There was an air about her that told Mach she was ancient. That this ‘Guardian’ was older than anything in this world. Yet, he also felt that she was young. That she was somehow no older than he was. “MAGE, TELL ME THIS. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DESPISE? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WILL NOT STAND FOR?”

  Mach had no clue what this ‘Guardian’ was talking about. He stood there pondering the question himself as he waited for Mendoll to answer her. Something touched him, not physically, but in his mind. It was different from the speech in his head but yet it felt the same. It was a gentle brush that felt oddly comforting. The caress of a lover? Or perhaps something more like family? It felt remarkably like a touch to the back of his head, the kind his mother would do to him when she was about to tell him something particularly bad and wanted to distract him.

  As he tried to think of a way to ‘touch’ back, he saw the Guardian Sytie look at him and the two locked eyes for a moment. He did not blink or turn away, he couldn’t. Something passed between the two of them that confused him. It was as though he knew her now, as if that simple ‘touch’ had made them old friends.

  She had touched his mind, that much he was sure of. A softness that was reflected in her eyes was a softness that seemed almost human. Sytie only turned her eyes away when Mendoll spoke. “My lady, to answer a question like that on such short notice is difficult. However, I believe I have my answer for you. I despise those who prey on the weak. Those that willfully hurt others that cannot defend themselves. Those that intend harm to the innocent.”

  “IS THAT THE ANSWER YOU WISH TO GIVE? DO YOU THINK THAT IS THE CORRECT WAY TO ANSWER, WHITE MAGE?” The Guardian Sytie glanced once at Mach before turning her eyes back to Mendoll. “I WILL NOT GIVE YOU THE STONE. THERE IS ONE TRIAL THE OLD KING ASKED OF ME TO GIVE TO ANY WHO WISH TO RECOVER IT. I SHALL GRANT YOU THE KNOWLEDGE OF MY POWER. USE IT AS YOU SEE FIT. ONCE YOU HAVE MASTERED IT, RETURN HERE AND THEN I SHALL JUDGE YOUR ACTIONS AND LOGIC IN THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU USED MY KNOWLEDGE. ONLY THEN WILL YOU RECEIVE THE CHANCE TO OBTAIN THE ORB. COME TO ME, HEALER AND KNEEL BEFORE ME.”

  Mendoll stepped forward and Sytie reached out her hand, palm upturned, A tiny wisp of fire flickered to life in her hand like the flame of candle. He knelt to the ground, his head bowed in obedience. Sytie brought her hand towards the crown of Mendoll's head. She turned her hand downward and placed her hand and the flame on his head.

  Mendoll stiffened suddenly as though a bolt of lightning had struck him the moment the flame touched his white hair. His mouth gaped in anguish and he screamed without uttering a sound. But as quickly as it had begun, the Healer regained movement and slumped forward onto the floor gasping for breath. Without another word, Sytie backed over the edge and fell back into the depths of the fiery pit. Mach never heard the splash of her returning to her home of molten rock.

  Mach inched over to Mendoll, who lay almost motionless on the floor. Sweat covered his face and his hands shook terribly. The Healer did not respond to him when he tried to ask how he was. Sehto and Bastra pulled themselves together after the ‘Guardian’ vanished. Sehto began pacing the platform while Bastra rushed to Mendoll’s side. The old Healer did not respond to Bastra’s questions either. With one swift movement, the Gargoyle picked Mendoll up and carried the old Mage back the way they had come.

  Something was different.
Mach could not put his finger on it but the moment they left the cavern it seemed to him that the tunnels had changed. For some reason, the return trip was shorter. The hole had somehow vanished as well. There were no signs of them ever having passed through, though Sehto was sure that they were heading in the right direction. In what seemed like only a few short hours, they were already exiting the caves and out into the open air under the clear night skies but this was not where they had first entered.

  They set camp inside the cave entrance to shelter themselves from any weather.. Mendoll was still delirious as they sat around their camp fire and heated what was left of the rations they had brought with them.

  The Healer muttered incoherent phrases to himself and wildly batted his hands at nonexistent objects in the air. Mach and Sehto watched carefully, periodically asking him questions but Mendoll would not respond to anything outside his own mind. Mach had a wild thought that the Healer was not mentally present. That somehow that ‘Guardian’ had muddled his brains when she touched him and what the Healer saw was nothing of this world.

  Bastra took guard as Mach and Sehto rested, both watching Mendoll closely for any changes. Neither of them wanted to argue over the watch, especially since Bastra was so insistent that he guard them and was almost frantic with worry, even though he refused to admit it.

  Morning took too long to come for Mach’s liking. As the sun rose on the horizon storm clouds began to roll in, the skies rumbling ominously. Dark and sinister though they were, Mach felt the clouds expressed his own emotions at the moment. Their exit to the cave seemed to be further down the mountain than from where they had initially entered. That was a blessing in itself. With the promise of rain high above them it was good to know that they would have less of a walk to reach their destination.

  He found Sehto standing outside some distance from the cave entrance, watching the path below them. The tracker turned and nodded to him and he moved closer to the tracker making sure he was out of earshot from the others. He had wanted to talk to Sehto alone for a few hours now but never found the chance to do so. “Good thing we camped inside, huh?” he said glancing up at the grey clouds. “Would hate to have to move camp right now.”

  Sehto began to stroll along the path leading the two of them further away from the others, both of them staring out onto the lands that lay around the base of the mountain. “I hear ya lad. But still, might have been nice to sleep beneath the stars. Might not be able to do that for a while.”

  “Sehto? Did you, umm...” he hesitantly started to say but was unsure of what words to use. Sehto did not look at him but continued to observe the island and sea beyond the cliffs surrounding them waiting patiently for Mach to find the right words.

  As they walked along the path, he tried to formulate the correct words. He noticed again that there was only one sign of land out beyond the green-blue of the sea. It was off to the west and he could just make out the black of land rising up from the sea surface.

  “Say, Mach. What did you make of that thing Mendoll talked with?” Sehto asked suddenly. He was not sure how to respond at first. That was exactly what he had wanted to discuss. “I mean, what the hell was it?”

  “Well, Mendoll called it a Guardian. He and Bastra refer to themselves as Guardians too. I was thinking that the two of them had something in common with her.” He answered.

  “I don’t think they have anything in common. See, Mendoll and Bastra are Guardians by the laws of Eldour. Fact is, the previous king of Eldour was actually the one to give them that title. It's honorary is all it is.” Sehto explained. “I really don’t think that they have any real connection to that thing.”

  They both stopped and looked out over the cliff at the city that lay to the south. Kyrie was a thing of beauty as the early sun peaked through the clouds in the west. Both stood in silence as the suns drifted up and into the clouds. Mach gasped suddenly at the same time Sehto gripped his arm tightly.

  They both had seen it at the same time. Ships were drifting into the docks of Kyrie. Ships that looked ominously like the ones that Mach had seen when Selane had been attacked. Sehto had recognized the ships as well. “Is that what I think it is?” He snarled softly.

  They turned together and sprinted back the way they had come. This was just not possible. They had only been out here for a few days, so how was it possible that those ships were here at nearly the same time they were? Could these ships be a scouting party for that king? Perhaps they were sent out here to investigate for him?

  Whatever the case was, it would not be good for the group if those soldiers were to find their king's personal ship sitting in the docks, nor would it be good for the group if they were to find the individuals who had sailed on it. There was no guarantee that the people of Kyrie would not turn them into the soldiers’ custody, inadvertently or not.

  He and the tracker rushed into the cave at full speed, almost tripping over Mendoll in the process. Bastra was on his feet, spear in hand, ready to kill. Mendoll had been sitting up when they entered but was already on his feet gathering his gear around him.

  “What is it?” Bastra asked them warily lowering his spear.

  Still panting from their run, it took a moment before they could relate what they had seen. “I swear it looks just like the ships that struck his home.” Sehto said to Bastra, his breathing still heavy.

  “Are you sure of this?” Mendoll asked and Mach nodded his confirmation.

  “Than we must move quickly. I had left a spell on the ship, to conceal its identifying marks from prying eyes, But if anyone were to climb aboard the spell would be broken instantly.” Mendoll explained as he gathered up the rest of his gear. He and Sehto began making quick work of their own gear. “If they discover that ship, we are going to be stranded here while they search the island. If those really are Rubious’ men…Well, let’s just say it might get a little interesting for us.”

  The group had broken camp and were marching down the mountain within a few moments. The day was cool but humid with the smell of rain thick in the air. He was very thankful for that. The sweating was enough to wear him down but if it got any hotter out, he might pass out from heat exhaustion.

  Sehto mostly kept them off the trails after they left the mountain foothill and travelled through the few patches of shrubs that dotted the land. He and Bastra were already discussion the possibility that the Gargoyle would have to leave their party and fly ahead to the ship to ensure that it was still under their control.

  That made Mach nervous but he kept his thoughts to himself. Though he had Sehto and Mendoll by his side, if it came to a fight, it would be comforting to have someone like Bastra who was over ten foot tall with muscles the size of tree branches by his side.

  Despite his wishes, by early evening Bastra was forced to leave their group. Soldiers were prowling the roads near the city. He thought that maybe they were looking for them until Sehto pointed out their demeanor and how they were treating the people outside the city walls.

  They were not actually looking for anyone, but causing trouble for the populace of Kyrie seemed to be a game for them. Several times when the group ducked behind a bush, the group had to sit and witness the troubled exchanges between the soldiers and the native citizens.

  Mendoll was barely kept Sehto and him steady with his constant words of caution and a firm hand. Both of them were all too eager to rush out and strike down the soldiers causing the trouble. Or to cry out in delight as a few of the civilians fought back and managed to win.

  The security that now resided at Kyrie was incredible. It looked as if an entire army had arrived to take over the city. With Bastra gone from the group it was simpler to enter the town. The absence of the Gargoyle’s considerable size permitted them to sneak around the side of the city with fair ease. The city was not fortified with tall walls and with the help of Sehto, both Mach and Mendoll were able to scale them without difficulty or being seen.

  There was a feeling of relief when they f
ound their ship untouched, though there were five other ships surrounded it. At first look it appeared that none of the occupying force had even noticed the ship in any significant way. It was being ignored as if it were just any other ship that could be found at any old port.

  They hid behind the wall of an empty building and looked out to the docks. “Shall we try and get to it now?” Mach whispered.

  Sehto shook his head slowly as he peered over the wall. “Too dangerous. We should wait 'til night comes and then try to sneak on board. Bastra had suggested this before he left and I agree with him all the way. It will be too easy for them to spot us and if they have done any kind of blockade out there I highly doubt that we would be able to make it out of here before someone notices.”

  The wait for was excruciatingly slow but the moment the shadows were dark enough the three moved through the darkness swiftly. They snuck one by one behind walls and buildings, hiding from the ranks of soldier that were on guard to their ship. It was heart pounding every time Sehto signaled from them to freeze. If they were caught out here there was no telling what may end up happening to them.

  Bastra was already half way through the preparations by the time they clambered onboard. With extraordinary luck they managed to get their ship ready without any of the soldiers guarding the docks saw them going about their preparations. Or perhaps they simply did not care. Mach glanced over at Mendoll who was quickly untying one of the dock lines and kept eyeing the soldiers on the ship beside them, muttering words under his breath.

  Or perhaps it was his doing?

  The night sky was clear of clouds and three moons shined down on Kyrie. Though the moonlight aided their work, Mach continuously looked over his shoulder at the docks, praying that the horns would not sound in the night to bring reinforcements

  The group sighed with relief when the ship pulled away from the dock and they were on open sea without raising any alarms. Mach lay back against the wall of the cabin staring west into where they were heading. They had gotten through one problem by the skin of their teeth, now it was time to sort out the next one.