Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (23 page)

“From what you’ve told me, Lord Zelroth wants something important from the High Temple in Lamuria. I’m guessing there’s another Guardian book there,” Lusam said, but was interrupted by Renn.

“No, there is no Guardian book in the High Temple. If there was, I would know about it,” Renn said with conviction.

“Okay, so not a Guardian book, then. Maybe something else he covets greatly. Something he is willing to spend decades, possibly even centuries to obtain,” Lusam replied.

“Possibly, but what that might be, I do not know,” Renn said.

“How can he or anyone else have been doing anything for centuries?” Alexia asked confused.

“He’s incredibly old. Some say he even lived during the time of The Dragon-Mage Wars. Others, that he was born shortly afterwards, but all agree he is extremely old indeed. Nobody knows for sure how he extends his life, but many scholars believe it’s linked to his twisted use of necromancy. And it’s not only restricted to Lord Zelroth. His Darkseed Elite and his Inquisitors are said to be almost as old as he is. Most likely the one you just killed was many centuries old himself,” Renn replied.

“Well… there must be something in the High Temple that he wants badly. You already told me that his forces were sporadically attacking the High Temple even before you left to come and find me. And we know they’ve stepped up their attacks massively from what Hershel told us when we were at The Sanctum of Light in Stelgad. Whether or not Lord Zelroth believes there is a book within Helveel or not, I doubt he will change his plans for attacking the High Temple. He has far too much time invested in it, and far too many of his forces committed to it,” Lusam said.

“So what are you suggesting, lad?”

“If I had to guess where Lord Zelroth came from when he appeared in Coldmont’s book room, I would have to say somewhere within the Empire. If I’m right, that would mean he only had two options available to him. The first would be to walk all the way to Lamuria—which I think you’ll agree is slightly absurd. The second option would be to return to the Empire. Either way, it would take him and his Darkseed Elite guards a long time to reach the High Temple, that’s even if he wished to make the journey himself.

“So that leaves only his regular forces attacking the High Temple right now. If we can reach the High Temple before he sends further reinforcements, I believe that I might be able to inflict heavy losses on his forces.”

Renn laughed loudly, then slapped Lusam on the back. “Having seen how you easily dealt with those Empire agents outside Coldmont, I dare say you could at that, lad.”

“Then we’re agreed. We will stay here tonight, and possibly tomorrow night to rest. We’ll buy horses and provisions for our journey here in Helveel, and that way we will arrive much sooner at the High Temple than if we set off right now on foot—without rest or provisions. Not to mention the fact that we should arrive there in much better shape to fight,” Lusam said, turning away and walking out into the main chamber.

Renn looked at Neala, his jaw slightly slack, and she simply shrugged her shoulders at him.

“I know… I know…” was all she said, turning and following in Lusam’s wake. Alexia chuckled to herself, and followed close behind, leaving only Renn in the darkened corridor, to contemplate how and where he actually lost the argument.

Lusam walked directly to the enchanted wall within the large chamber. He placed his hand flat on its surface and refilled his own magical reserves to maximum capacity. It felt good. It was like a cool drink of water after a long run, or a dip in the river on a hot summer’s day. As he drew the magical power from the wall, it sparkled red all around the room.

“What was that?” Alexia asked from behind him.

“It’s something I discovered by accident when we first arrived here. I think this chamber was used by the monks who lived here to practice their magic. Watch this,” Lusam said, creating a small fireball in his right hand, and then sending it at the wall. Just as before, when the fireball struck the wall, it radiated a red pulse outwards from the impact, dissipating all around the room.

“Whoa!” Alexia whispered.

“There’s one just like it in Coldmont. After I read the book there, I began to understand more about how it worked. The wall absorbs any magic used against it, strengthening itself in the process. Over the centuries it must have absorbed huge amounts of magic from the monks who used to live here. I don’t know how or where the magic is stored, but I do know it’s used to heat, cool and strengthen the building automatically.

“Once the knowledge from the book in Coldmont began to establish itself in my mind, I discovered that I was able to draw magical power directly from the wall, and fully recharge my own reserves with it. I don’t know if that function was intentional, or if it’s simply due to my better understanding of how magical power works after reading the second Guardian book,” Lusam said.

Renn knew that the High Temple in Lamuria possessed several walls very similar in nature to this one. Although they were considered to be secret, it was common knowledge amongst the paladins who had trained there. Occasionally, during particularly energetic training sessions, a wall may be accidentally struck by a weapon, creating a very similar effect to the one he had just witnessed—only not as pronounced. Renn guessed that it must have been commonplace to enchant walls like this in the past—when there were many more magi around to train within their confines—but now, the knowledge of how to create them had no doubt been lost to time.

Lusam had noticed the strange writing on the wall when he had first arrived there, but now he realised that he could actually read it. He stood looking at the words, trying to figure out what their true meaning was, but it seemed to be some kind of riddle.

“Is there something wrong, lad?” Renn asked, wondering why Lusam was staring at the wall for so long. Lusam looked over his shoulder at Renn and shook his head.

“Can you see those words on the wall, Renn?” he asked.

“All I can see are some strange glowing symbols. I do recognise a few of them, however. I think it’s written in an ancient language that’s used by a select few within the High Temple. I believe they use it to communicate secretly between one another. Can you read it, lad?”

“Yes. It says:
The final five created five—the five creates one—and one you must possess to seek the five, and then become one,
” Lusam said.

“Hmm, well, I would say the first part is obvious: ‘
The final five created five
’ more than likely refers to the final five Guardians who created the five books. The rest I’m not sure about. It could mean many different things,” Renn said, still pondering over the words in his mind.

“I guess you’re right,” Lusam said, remembering something else Renn had said earlier. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see the painting on the ceiling here?”

“Yes, I did. I’d love to see it, in fact,” Renn replied enthusiastically.

“It’s over here,” Lusam said, walking over to the spot directly under where the incredible work of art was painted high above on the ceiling. Lusam created a second light orb and sent it up towards the ceiling, illuminating the intricately detailed picture.

“Gods! That’s amazing,” Alexia half-whispered looking up at the painting.

“Well, lad… I thought Coldmont looked impressive when we first saw it in its current state, but after seeing that picture, apparently it used to look a
whole
lot more impressive with all its dragons, fountains and ponds. And just look at that glass dome on top of the roof—it’s a work of art,” Renn said, sounding overawed at the image.

“Coldmont,” Lusam said, chuckling to himself slightly, then he repeated the word again. “Coldmont.”

“Yes, I think we’ve established it’s Coldmont,” Alexia said jokingly.

Lusam looked at her as if he had only half-heard her words. Then realising he was the butt of her joke he replied, “No… I mean yes… of course it’s Coldmont, but it actually says the word ‘Coldmont’ up there on the ceiling. I just couldn’t read it before,” Lusam said excitedly.

“I don’t see why that’s so important any more. We already know about the book in Coldmont now. So how can reading about it now excite you so much?” Neala said, confused at Lusam’s reactions.

“Don’t you remember the other picture in Coldmont?” Lusam asked Neala.

“Sure, what about it?”

“Maybe that has a name on it too. Maybe I could…”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Neala said, cutting him off mid-sentence. “There’s no way you’re gong back there just to check if some long-dead artist decided to write a city name on the ceiling or not. For all we know, Lord Zelroth could still be there waiting for you, or he may have set a trap for you. Not to mention the fact the whole building could collapse at any moment. I don’t suppose you’ve even given it any thought as to why Lord Zelroth and his men turned up just as we got there? I somehow doubt it was just a coincidence.”

Lusam flushed at Neala’s words. He knew she was right: Lord Zelroth must have had some way of knowing they were there. He knew the Empire agents outside Coldmont couldn’t possibly have communicated over such a long distance. It was obvious they couldn’t even communicate as far as Stelgad, or the whole mountain would have been full of Empire agents. But if Lord Zelroth
had
known they were there, why did he take so long to arrive? Lusam had been unconscious for over two hours when he read the book. That would have been more than enough time to gather his forces and arrive in Coldmont. It was then he noticed the scowl on Neala’s face: she obviously expected an answer—and it better be the right one.

“I know… I know, I was just thinking aloud, that’s all,” Lusam said defensively. Neala stared at him intently for a moment, trying to detect any signs of deception, but relented when she became convinced he was telling the truth—much to Lusam’s relief.

“I guess we better announce our return to Mr Daffer and Lucy,” Neala said, starting to walk towards the main stairs that led to the shop above.

“Wait!” Lusam called out after her. “We can’t simply walk into their shop and announce that we’re back.”

“Why not?” Neala asked, shrugging her shoulders. “They already know about your magic, and they did say we were welcome back at anytime.”

“Yes, I know, but—look at us! If we walk into the shop from their basement looking like this, and they were dealing with important customers there…” Lusam began to say, then he realised there was a much more important reason not to simply walk in on Mr and Mrs Daffer. “Besides, the last thing we want to do right now is create any gossip within Helveel. If anyone saw us emerge from their basement dressed like we are, and then witnessed Mr and Mrs Daffer’s reactions to our sudden appearance, well… let’s just say we might as well hang a sign above their door for Lord Zelroth—“
Guardian book this way
.” Not to mention the potential danger we would be putting them both in.”

Renn grunted. “He’s right. Which is exactly why I suggested we shouldn’t stay here in the first place. The longer we’re here, the more chance we have of being spotted. Don’t forget one thing: the Empire agents can read people’s minds. Once a description of us has been circulated, they don’t even need to see us themselves. They can simply take the information straight out of the minds of people in the streets. Anyone who had seen us coming or going could unintentionally betray us to the Empire agents.”

Everyone remained silent for what felt like a long time. All knew that Renn’s words were true, and nobody doubted the effectiveness of the Empire agents to gather information. They would have to tread very carefully while they remained within Helveel.

“May I say something?” Alexia said, breaking the extended silence.

“Sure, Alexia,” Neala replied, with both Renn and Lusam also nodding.

“I’m sure Lord Zelroth and his men never saw my face. After Lusam asked us all to join hands, I turned my head away towards the wall. I guess I was a little nervous about what would happen to us when Lusam touched the pedestal. A moment later we were all frozen in place, and then the pain started. I never saw any of them. So if I were the one who went to buy our supplies and horses, nobody could possibly link me to the rest of you,” Alexia said.

“Are you sure none of them saw you?” Renn asked.

“Yes, completely sure.”

“Okay, that’s one problem solved. What about our impromptu arrival here in Helveel. How are we going to announce our arrival without creating any unwanted attention?” Renn said.

“I think I might have an idea,” Lusam replied, still deep in thought. He had been thinking about the problem even before Renn had brought it up: how they could make sure nobody was in the shop before they entered it. Lusam thought he had discovered an answer amongst the new skills he had acquired from Coldmont’s Guardian book. He realised that it wasn’t only his shield he could now extend much further, but his mage-sight too. He walked over to one of the huge stone pillars that ran down the centre of the main chamber and hid behind it, blocking his view of the others. Then he activated his mage-sight. At first, the only difference he noticed was the expected appearance of various glowing symbols and words on the walls and ceiling. But when he concentrated on pushing through the stone pillar with his mage-sight, he found he could clearly see his three friends on the other side, almost as clearly as if the stone pillar wasn’t even there.