Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza (6 page)

After a few more minutes went by, Alex crawled out from under the tree branches and got to his feet. Lifting his staff, he caused the end of it to ignite with a brilliant white light.

“I am Alexander Taylor, wizard and friend of the council of wizards. What is your business here?”

There was no reply. The creature stood still for a moment, and then it seemed to bend forward slightly, like it was bowing. Alex tried to get a better look at it in the light of his staff, but his light did more to show him to the creature than it did to show the creature to him.

The creature suddenly moved, charging forward at Alex.

Jumping to his left, Alex caught his foot on a dead branch and half stumbled, half rolled out of the way. He was back on his feet as an ear-splitting crack filled the air. It was the sound of stone striking stone, and it sounded as if at least one of the stones had broken.

Alex looked over at Savage. He had managed to get out of the way as well, though he appeared to be tangled in a nearby bush. Not waiting for the creature to make another charge, Alex sent a ball of flame crashing into it. The fireball exploded on impact, filling the narrow rocky space with light.

His fireball didn’t harm the creature, at least not as far as Alex could see, but the light was useful. The creature appeared to be made of stone that had been carefully carved into the figure of a giant man.

The creature bowed again, and Alex knew it was about to charge. He cast a binding spell to hold the creature in place and was stunned when he felt his magic slide off the stone creature like water. He changed his magic to a tangling spell, hoping to keep his attacker in the narrow space between the giant stones and to give himself time to think.

His tangling spell had taken the form of a mass of heavy vines wrapping around the creature’s body and pulling it back into the gap. The spell was working, but only just. The creature was incredibly strong, and Alex had to add more power to his spell to keep the monster from breaking free.

As strong as the earth,
a voice said in the back of Alex’s mind.

The voice was Alex’s O’Gash, what most people would call his wizard’s sixth sense. He had heard the voice many times in the past, and it had always helped him when he needed it most.

“Oh,” Alex said out loud, suddenly realizing what the creature was.

It was an earthen stoic, a creature summoned by magic and given a human form. Stoics were hard to create, even for a wizard, and harder to destroy. The creature wouldn’t get tired, it couldn’t be reasoned with, and it had only one task to complete before it would be free. Alex knew he had to force the stoic out of the shape it had been given in order to destroy it, but how? As he desperately tried to find an answer, his O’Gash spoke once more.

Heat can crack the hardest stone; water can wear it down. If heat and water work together, what will happen?
said the voice.

“Heat and water,” Alex said out loud. He began searching for a stream or a well that he could use against the earthen stoic.

There wasn’t a stream on the hillside, but there was a great deal of water just the same. Pouring more magic into his tangling spell, Alex added another spell as well. He poured dragon fire into the narrow gap between the rocks; the deadly, almost liquid fire was one of a dragon’s most deadly weapons. The stoic vanished in the flames, but Alex knew that it wasn’t dead yet.

“Do you think making it hotter is a good idea?” Savage asked from behind Alex.

There wasn’t time to explain what he was about to do, so his answer was a short one. “Find some cover.”

Sending his magic out in every direction, Alex worked as fast as he could. Trees creaked and groaned as his magic touched them, and the plants at his feet withered and crumbled to dust. When he thought his magic had gathered enough water, Alex pushed his magic into the body of the stoic. His mouth went dry as he let the magic go, diving to the ground and throwing his arms over his head for protection.

The night was silent for a moment, and then a whistling hiss filled the air. The sound of escaping steam lasted only a second before an explosion ripped the silent night apart. The ground shook under Alex, and he could hear bits of stone flying through the air. After a few seconds, he looked up. The dragon fire had gone out, and the narrow gap between stones where his enemy had been was empty.

Alex got to his feet and leaned on his staff, trying to draw in enough air to fill his lungs. He felt like he’d run for miles, and his dry throat made every breath painful.

Savage walked up beside him, holding out a water bag. “I’m glad you said to take cover, but the noise will let everything for miles around know where we are.”

“You think there are more creatures like this one out there?” Alex asked after taking a long drink.

“I don’t even know what this one was,” Savage answered.

“A stoic,” said Alex.

“Not easy to create something like that I’d guess,” said Savage in a thoughtful tone. “It’d take some time and know-how to do something like that.”

“Weeks, maybe months, of work and planning,” said Alex, nodding. “Why?”

“I’m just wondering why it showed up here—tonight,” said Savage.

“I don’t understand,” said Alex.

“Was this creature sent here to destroy you—or me?”

“A good question,” said Alex, taking another long drink. “I don’t think we should stay here to find the answer though. Is there a stream or a pond close by?”

“There’s a stream about two miles southwest of here. Why?” Savage asked.

“Because I don’t think I can work that same magic twice in one night,” said Alex. “I’d like to have some water close by, in case another earthen stoic shows up.”

Savage nodded and started walking. Alex followed close behind, not wanting to get lost in the darkness. His legs felt weak, and he knew it was because of the magic he had used. Magic had a price after all, but Alex thought that weak legs and being dead tired were a small price to pay for escaping the stoic.

They walked for almost a mile before Alex had to stop. The magic he’d used to destroy the stoic had taken more out of him than he’d thought, and all he wanted to do was to rest.

“Wait,” said Alex, reaching out to touch Savage’s shoulder. “I need a few minutes to catch my breath.”

“This isn’t the best spot to be sitting and resting,” said Savage.

Alex looked at the hillside they were standing on. There were no trees and only a few small bushes. He suddenly felt very exposed.

“We should find better cover. But I’d like to rest and perhaps talk for a few minutes before going on,” said Alex.

Savage nodded and headed down the hill. Alex followed slowly, each step a little harder to take than the last. He paused after only going about fifty yards, focusing his mind and using the elf magic he had learned to help him rest. Alex’s body relaxed, his muscles loosened, and he continued on more quickly. The elf magic would let his mind and body rest, almost like he was sleeping, but he could continue to move and talk just the same.

It wasn’t long before Savage stopped and sat down on a fallen log. They were surrounded by pine trees, and Alex found a comfortable spot at the roots of one of them. He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.

“What did you want to talk about?” Savage questioned.

“The order of Malgor,” said Alex. “I want to know why you were surprised when you thought they had sent me here.”

“Let’s just say the order isn’t what it used to be,” Savage answered.

“They aren’t able to get things done the way they used to?”

“I’m not sure they get anything done at all these days.”

“Why do you think that is?” Alex asked.

“I don’t have to think—I know,” Savage answered in a fierce tone. “There are too many lazy people in the order, making decisions about what is and isn’t important. Not enough information is getting to the top levels of the order anymore. Nobody checks up on things because it’s easier to say there isn’t a problem than it is to find out what the problem really is.”

“Don’t you send your reports to a central location?”

“I used to, but they changed things a few years back, just after I started working for them,” said Savage. “There were rumors that someone with evil intentions was interfering with the order, maybe even trying to kill the leaders of the order, so the order became more secretive.”

“I can understand the concern,” said Alex. “I’m sure the order has made a lot of enemies over the years.”

“Not as many as you might think,” said Savage. “The order has never played favorites, so today’s enemy might be tomorrow’s friend, if you follow me.”

“Yes, I understand. The order passes information to the people who need it, even if those same people have been a problem in the past.”

“Exactly, so I don’t see the reason for their fear,” Savage continued. “Whatever their reasons, all the reports have to pass through levels. At each level, a person or a group of people decides what is important enough to pass on and what isn’t.”

“That’s the problem?” Alex asked.

“No, the problem is that I don’t know who’s reading my reports and what they are passing on,” said Savage. “If I say that it looks like all of Nezza may soon be at war, someone higher up might decide that Nezza has been at war for years. They might think that war in Nezza is normal, but they’ve never been here and they don’t know what it’s really like. But they pass on the message that everything is normal in Nezza, and nobody higher up knows that there is a problem.”

“Yes, I see,” said Alex. “But couldn’t you send a message to someone higher up and tell them what’s going on?”

“That’s where the new security becomes a problem,” said Savage. “I don’t know anyone higher up than my contact.”

“What?” Alex asked in disbelief.

Savage shrugged. “Oh, I know a few other agents, but looking at it as a sensible man, I have to wonder if I’m even working for the order of Malgor. I have no way of knowing for certain. I know my contact has a pendant with the symbol of the order on it, but that’s all. I have to trust that I’m working for the order and hope that I’m doing some good.”

“I’m sure you are,” said Alex. “I wish there was something I could do to help the situation.”

“Maybe you can.”

“How?”

“Talk to your wizard friends,” said Savage. “I’m sure some of them must know members of the order, members who are higher up in the chain of command than I am. Maybe they can point out the current problems and get things changed.”

“I’ll do what I can,” said Alex.

After a few more minutes, they continued on. The campsite Savage had mentioned would be a good place for a longer rest, and Alex was still a little worried that another earthen stoic might turn up. Having a larger source of water nearby would be useful if one did, but he’d used a lot of magic already today. There were limits to every wizard’s powers.

When they came to the campsite, Alex liked it at once. The mountain stream fell noisily over a nine- or ten-foot waterfall, filling a deep, wide pool before continuing down the hillside. Alex walked to the stream’s edge and stuck his head into the falling water. Shaking the water out of his eyes, he turned back to look at Savage. The cold water had refreshed him, but the look on Savage’s face turned his bones cold.

Turning back to the stream, Alex saw a creature in the shape of a man standing in the center of the pool, seemingly floating on top of the water. The moonlight reflected off the water stoic’s body. Its skin seemed to flow like a fountain in the middle of the stream.

Alex didn’t need his O’Gash to tell him how to deal with this stoic; the answer was obvious. He could turn the stoic into ice and shatter it with a blast of lightning. He lifted his staff and spread his feet, then sent a freezing spell into the creature’s liquid body. Ice formed over the surface of the monster, but before Alex could work any other magic, the ice seemed to melt and fall away. The fluid nature of the stoic’s body was drawing warmer water up from the stream, and the ice Alex had created was only on the outer surface of the creature.

Knowing that his magic was almost used up, Alex reached out for the power of the dragon, a power that had saved him more than once in the past. He knew his dragon powers would restore his magic and make him stronger, but when he reached for it, he found nothing. The power of the dragon simply wasn’t there. Nothing answered his call.

Panic filled Alex’s mind and heart. The power of the dragon had never failed him before. It was always there; it was part of him. He turned, looking for Savage. He wanted to yell for him to run, but Savage was gone.

Before Alex could start running, a stream of water hit him like a fire hose, sending him tumbling across the ground. He tried to get back on his feet but slipped on the wet ground and fell into a muddy puddle.

A second blast of water rolled him out of the puddle and across the ground. Alex managed to get to his knees and look at the stoic. He knew he couldn’t stop this creature with the little magic he had left. He gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet. If he was going to die, he would die standing, and he would put up as much of a fight as he could. Maybe he could slow the stoic down, giving Savage more time to escape—maybe.

Alex took a step forward, lifting his staff. There was no way out of this fight. He didn’t have any hope of winning, but he would fight just the same. He took a second step, and the stoic lifted one of its arms, preparing to hit him with another blast of water. Alex started to take a third step but froze in place as the power of the dragon flooded into him. He let loose the magic without thinking, knowing what he wanted it to do. Snow and mist filled the air as he took another step forward. His clothes were stiff with frost, and Alex was surprised by how powerful his spell had been.

The water stoic was a blue-and-silver statue at the center of the frozen stream. There was no sound of falling water; the waterfall had turned into a solid wall of ice. The power of the dragon filled his mind, and Alex lifted his staff as a growl of rage escaped him. He, a dragon, had been attacked for no good reason, and now his attacker would pay for its foolishness.