Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza (7 page)

Alex hesitated as something unexpected caught his eye. Savage appeared from behind the stoic, moving like a skater over the smooth ice. The former adventurer held a massive two-handed sword over his head. The sword glowed deep red, as if it had just come out of the forge. With amazing speed, Savage slammed his glowing sword into the frozen stoic, filling the air with steam and a loud hissing noise. The magical creature exploded into thousands of little pieces, and Savage glided to the stream’s bank.

Alex was going to say something about his friend’s good timing, but he didn’t. Savage’s eyes were glowing like the dying embers of a fire, and as they came to rest on Alex, he lifted his sword once more. Alex could see the hunger in those eyes, and he knew what he needed to do.

Alex’s staff hit the ground with a loud thud, like a massive stone being dropped from a great height. He felt his magic form around him, crackling like ten thousand electrical sparks, all of them jumping from place to place and forming a globe of raw energy. A few magical sparks jumped from the globe to Savage, and Alex gladly let them go.

“Josephus Sebastian Savage. I am not your enemy. Put away your sword until it is needed once more,” Alex commanded.

Savage hesitated, looked at the sword in his hands, and then slowly lowered the blade. Once the sword was back in its scabbard, Savage looked at Alex. His eyes were still glowing embers, but the hunger was gone. He turned away, then spoke in a low, gravelly voice.

“Rest now, if you can, wizard. Your questions can wait until daylight.”

Savage walked away, and Alex let him go. He had many questions, but not all of them were about the sword Savage carried.

The power of the dragon hadn’t been there when he’d called for it, and he didn’t know why. Was there some dark power that had kept his dragon magic from coming to him? Only Whalen knew that he could take dragon form, and he was sure that Whalen would never tell anyone. What force could stop the power of the dragon?

You’ve only yourself to blame,
Alex’s O’Gash whispered.

“Myself?” Alex asked. “How? Why would I do this to myself?”

Alex waited in the darkness for an answer. Finally, when the eastern sky was changing from black to dark blue, his O’Gash whispered once more.

All talents and abilities must be used or they will fade.

Alex thought about that for a long time, and he knew that it was right. He had only used the power of the dragon when he’d been forced to use it. He hadn’t worked with it, hadn’t tried to discover what it could do, hadn’t even thought about it in his everyday life. He knew that would have to change. He would have to accept this power and make it part of everything he did. The idea worried him because the power of the dragon would change him, and he didn’t know how.

Alex was sitting in the sun and writing a letter to Whalen when Savage returned to the stream. Alex didn’t look up, and Savage didn’t say anything until Alex had finished his letter and, after two tries, summoned a geeb to take it away.

After another moment, Alex said, “Your sword? Is it a demon blade?”

“Yes, it is,” Savage answered. “It is a weapon from myth and legends. A weapon not meant for this world. It found me on my last adventure.”

“It is the reason you stopped going on adventures,” said Alex. It was not a question.

“The blade has a hunger for battle and for blood. As you saw last night, it doesn’t always care about who is friend and who is foe.”

“Which is why I have given you a small part of my magic,” said Alex.

“Is that what I felt last night? But how can you give me part of your magic? Why would you . . .” Savage fell silent.

“It is said that such weapons change the person who wields them, and not always for the better. You are a good man, you have kept this blade safe, and you have not allowed its hunger to overcome you. The magic I have given you will help you control the sword’s hunger. It will make it easier for you to remember who your friends are, and it will help keep the sword from making you do something you would regret.”

“A great kindness,” said Savage, bowing slightly. “Though I think it best not to test your magic. I will continue as I have been and only use the weapon in times of greatest need.”

“Yes, your timing was very good last night,” said Alex.

“Hardly,” Savage replied. “If I had waited a few moments longer, you would have defeated the monster. I only used the sword because I thought you had used up your power and had nothing left but the will to fight.”

“That is true,” said Alex.

“But you froze the entire stream, you—”

“Magic can be strange,” said Alex, not explaining how or why he’d regained his power so quickly. “We need to consider the question you asked last night: Who were the stoics after, and why?”

“We should also consider who created them,” said Savage.

“I think Magnus must have created them, but I don’t know when he would have done it or why,” said Alex.

“You don’t think they were sent after you?” Savage questioned.

“Creating a stoic takes planning and work. Until two days ago, I didn’t even know I would be in Nezza. I can’t see why they would be after me,” said Alex.

“And to send two such creatures after one man does seem a bit foolish,” said Savage.

“I agree,” said Alex. “I do have some ideas about why the stoics turned up here.”

“And?” Savage asked.

“I think they might have been sent to come after anyone who entered Nezza through the invisible barrier. I’ve been thinking about that barrier, and I don’t think just anyone could get through it. I only managed to enter Nezza because of my magic, and so perhaps the stoics were sent to destroy anyone magical enough to get through the barrier.”

“I can see that,” said Savage. “If Magnus is behind this, I’m sure he would not want anyone with magic running around loose in Nezza.”

“Still, as you said, two stoics is a lot of power to send after any one person, unless . . .”

“Unless what?”

“How many people know about your demon blade?” Alex asked.

“Only a few,” said Savage. “Just the adventurers that were with me when I found it—or when it found me—but they’ve all been sworn to secrecy about the blade.”

“Did you tell anyone else? Did you maybe mention it in one of your reports to the order of Malgor?” Alex asked.

“Yes, I mentioned it to the order,” Savage admitted after some thought. “When I first came here—what is it, ten? fifteen years ago?—I told the order I had the blade. I expected them to say something about it. At the very least I thought they would tell me never to use it, but . . .”

“You never heard anything about it,” said Alex, nodding.

“Never. It’s possible the information about the sword may not have been passed on, or at least not passed on to trustworthy members of the order.”

“You think there are traitors in the order?”

“Perhaps,” said Savage. “Or perhaps only misguided people who don’t know where their reports are going. I think it is also possible that not everyone in the order keeps their secrets as well as they should.”

“And if Magnus heard about your demon blade?” Alex questioned.

“If he believed it was true, and if he knew I was in Nezza, he would want me out of the way,” said Savage.

“Or he would want to tempt you. He might want to force you to use the demon blade so that it would change you into something he could use later,” said Alex.

“Yes, that is possible,” Savage answered in a thoughtful tone.

“Evil seems to be more organized in all the known lands these days,” said Alex. “I wonder if Magnus has someone passing him information from outside Nezza.”

“Possible, but I have doubts,” said Savage. “You’ve seen a little of what Nezza is like. You said yourself that a barrier has been created to keep outsiders from entering this land. Why would Magnus be working with someone outside of Nezza?”

“Because I think he is part of a group that the council of wizards is calling the ‘Gezbeth.’”

Chapter Five

The Dungeons of Karmus

Two days later, Alex arrived in Karmus. He’d felt the need to hurry, so he’d flown most of the way. He had explained the idea of the Gezbeth to Savage and given him enough supplies to get by before leaving. In return, Savage had repeated his earlier advice: if Alex managed get Skeld and the other adventurers out of Karmus, then the best thing to do would be to get out of Nezza entirely.

“If you can’t get out of Nezza, then go north,” Savage said. “The lords of the north are not as afraid of outsiders, or of magic.”

Alex appreciated Savage’s advice, but he wasn’t sure what he would do once he’d rescued Skeld and his company. The rescue would be difficult enough. Deciding what to do after that would have to wait.

Karmus was an impressive city. It was divided almost in half by the River Pol, and in the middle of the river was an island that rose up like a small mountain and overlooked the city. On the island there were tall buildings that looked like they had once been grand houses and palaces, but now they were uncared for and unused. A high stone wall encircled the entire island, and while it might have once been richly decorated, now it looked more like a prison wall.

Alex spent the morning near the riverbank, studying the island fortress. Few people were allowed onto the island unless they had some official business with one of Lazar’s ministers. He was certain that Skeld and his companions were somewhere on the island.

As the day wore on, Alex walked away from the river and found a little-used alleyway behind some empty buildings. He moved a few old boxes and boards that were there, making a hidden spot where he could not be seen even if someone did happen to wander into the alley. Once his hiding place was finished, he stepped into it and transformed into a small swallow.

In less than a minute, Alex was flying over the island. There were more soldiers than he’d expected to find, possibly more than in the rest of the city. He continued to search the island. It didn’t take him long to find the entrance to the dungeon, and when he did, he wasn’t happy.

The dungeons of Karmus was a solid stone building with few windows. A square tower sat on top of the main building. A quick inspection revealed that there were only two narrow doors to the entrance of the dungeon. One door, at the front of the building, was open, but it was guarded by more than a dozen men. The second door was at the back of the building and closed; four armed men stood close by. Alex guessed there would be more men inside the building, and more still in the dungeon.

Alex wasn’t sure how he would get into the dungeon, but then he saw a way. Around the outside of the building were several oddly shaped pits, and when Alex flew closer, he saw that they were windows. The windows were half underground and had heavy iron bars over them, but no glass. Alex guessed they were designed to let sunlight and fresh air into the first level of the dungeon.

Having found a way to get into the dungeon without being seen, Alex returned to his hidden place in the alley and took his human form again. As the sun began to set, Alex made his way to one of the many taverns that lined the main road leading to the island fortress. Getting into the dungeon wouldn’t do him any good if he couldn’t find Skeld and the other adventurers. He hoped he could learn something more about the dungeon from the locals.

Alex entered a tavern and his heart sank. The main room was filled with soldiers, and there were only a few people who were not wearing uniforms of some kind. Skirting around the crowds, he made his way to a shadowed table at the back of the room. For several minutes no one paid any attention to him, but eventually one of the servers made his way to the table and asked what Alex would like.

Alex ordered a drink and waited, listening to the men around him talk. He soon learned that all of these men, and many more as well, were guards for the island fortress. The information surprised him, because he knew that the inner kingdoms of Nezza had been at war for years. It seemed odd that so many men would be called away from war to protect a fortress that was already surrounded by a river and a wall.