The Silver Dwarf (Royal Institute of Magic, Book 4) (23 page)

“How are we going to track down the dwarf?”

“We have to go back to the cave where we found him. If we enter the void there, we should be able to pick up his trail.”

Ben’s shoulders slumped. “So we are going to be lying in the cave while we do our search?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

The idea of his body lying on the cold stone floor did not appeal, and that was to say nothing of the danger – what if the dark elves came back? They’d be
sitting ducks.

“Natalie will watch over us,” Charlie said, when Ben voiced his concern. “Our bodies are safe while in the void, remember? But when we came out, we’d be in
trouble, unless Natalie can somehow haul us to safety.”

“Can’t see that happening,” Ben said.

“Nor can I. So we have to hope the dark elves don’t come.”

There was going to be a lot of hoping on this adventure, Ben realised.

“What about getting the dwarf out of the void?” Ben said. “We’ve got the brooches, but he doesn’t have anything. Do you think we should have tried to buy
something for him?”

Charlie shook his head. “No. He’s been in there too long; an artefact like that wouldn’t work. To be honest, I’ve got no idea how we’ll get him out. I’m
hoping that the dwarf mage will know that.”

Ben frowned, but left the obvious question left unsaid. If the dwarf mage knew how to get out, why hadn’t he done so?

They found Natalie sitting in the main reading area of the library. She stood up and waved as they entered. Ben instinctively turned to Charlie, but he
didn’t react. Research mode had taken over, casting aside the incident with Natalie.

They worked quietly but efficiently, searching for any last dregs they could find on the void in the most remote of bookshelves. A quiet tension had formed
between the three of them. The magnitude of their journey was starting to dawn. It ended up taking less than an hour before Charlie declared himself
satisfied he had learnt everything he could. They headed back to the reading area, and spent another hour planning.

By mid-afternoon, they were ready. They decided to enter the void the following morning. They attempted to do some apprenticeship work for the remainder of
the day, but soon gave up, unable to take their minds off tomorrow. They left for home early, agreeing to meet at the Dragonway tomorrow at ten o’clock.
Ben was eager to find out everything Charlie had learnt, but Charlie shook his head.

“If I tell you now, you won’t get any sleep,” Charlie said without humour. “And sleep is vital before entering the void.”

Despite Charlie not divulging anything, Ben still had a hard time sleeping that night. He stared up at the ceiling, his mind in full flow. He kept trying
to envision what the void would be like. Would it really be like hell? If thirty minutes really was the life expectancy of a “voider”, then it must be
close. But Ben had his doubts, especially as many of the dire warnings came from the Institute, and they clearly didn’t like not having any control there.
Was the dwarf mage still alive? Inevitably, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, his attention turned to his parents. He might not go actively
searching for them, but what if he stumbled upon their tracks? The thought made his whole body tingle with possibility, and it was some time before he
found sleep.

*

Despite the late start, Ben couldn’t sleep past seven o’clock. He got up, made breakfast, and started packing everything he’d need, based on the list they
had made yesterday. He ended up with a full backpack and a sleeping bag, and took them up to his room, where he spent an hour attempting to kill time by
surfing the internet.

He met Charlie outside the house at ten o’clock, and immediately noticed the bags under his eyes. “Blimey, Charlie – did you even sleep?”

Charlie rubbed his forehead. “I think so, though I can’t be sure. I kept going through my notes, making sure I had everything committed to memory. You
never know what you might need.”

“So, can you tell me about it?”

Because they left after rush hour, they were fortunate enough to find an empty carriage on the dragon, and Charlie spent the next hour going over the basic
rules and laws of the void. Ben had thought he’d done his own extensive research, but he soon found out it was nothing compared to Charlie’s. From climate
to landscape, from cultures to creatures, Charlie had covered it all. Several times Ben wanted something repeated, thinking he had misheard. By the time
they reached Alexia Bay station, he was no longer sure the Institute was exaggerating.

They met up with Natalie just outside the Dragonway and walked to the taxi station. Soon they were flying over Alexia Bay, towards the hill with the secret
door. Ben was glad for the breeze; it helped shake away the slightly sick feeling Charlie’s void briefing had brought about. None of them talked, but Ben
was fairly certain by Charlie’s and Natalie’s increasingly haunted looks that they were all thinking the same thing. They were about to enter the void.
Assuming they managed to get in within the hour, they could be dead before lunch. Ben felt like slapping himself for the negative thought, but his hands
were tied up with bags. They would be fine. They would find the dwarf mage, and get out of there pronto. He kept repeating that mantra, but it had trouble
sinking in.

Shortly, the taxi landed on the soft hillside and the driver gave them a polite smile before he left.

“Enjoy your camping trip,” he said, as he took off again.

They all watched him, almost forlornly, as he disappeared over the hills. Finally, and very reluctantly, Ben turned to the hill with the concealed door. It
took him a moment to spot the faint outline; the keyhole was entirely covered with grass. He took the key out of his pocket, and pried the grass out the
way.

“You guys ready?” he asked. His voice was soft, lacking its normal vibrancy.

“Ready when you are,” Natalie said, attempting a smile.

Ben pushed the door open and immediately got a whiff of the decaying bodies. He saw Charlie put a hand over his mouth to suppress a gag reflex. Ben pulled
out his spellshooter and cast a lighting spell, causing the tip to flare. He started down the long, dark path. Their bags made for slow progress,
especially when the path narrowed or rocks jutted out, forcing them to squeeze through. Ben could mark their progression by the smell, and it slowly went
from bad to horrible. Ten minutes of silent walking passed before Ben spotted the dim light at the end of the tunnel. He slowed, his heart rate suddenly
going up a notch. He turned back to Charlie and Natalie and put a finger over his lips. Ben dismissed the light spell from his spellshooter, so that he
would be ready to use it, if necessary. The great cave had been devoid of life before, but was it still deserted? And, more importantly, was the dwarf mage
still alive? These were the questions rolling round Ben’s head as he approached the end of the tunnel. He held his breath as he took the last remaining
steps out of the tunnel and into the cave, spellshooter at the ready.

Ben cast his eyes over the dimly lit battleground, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach and searching quickly for any sign of danger. Nothing moved. He
turned his attention to the very back of the cave, and sighed with relief. The dwarf mage was still there, protected by the transparent dome, which could
mean just one thing: the void hadn’t taken him just yet.

“He’s still alive!” Natalie said, showing the first bit of optimism from any of them since they had arrived.

Ben led them down the stairs that connected the tunnel to the floor of the cave. He picked his way through the bodies, trying to ignore the lifeless faces
of the dwarves and dark elves. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on his target: the dwarf mage. He was still sitting cross-legged, with the orb on his lap. Ben
was pleased to see that it was still glowing, as if this might be a sign of his survival. There was a small cut on his lip. Had that been there before? The
clotted blood on his torn trousers certainly hadn’t.

“The injuries you suffer in the void are reflected on your body,” Charlie said.

Natalie stared at the dwarf with something approaching admiration. “He must be strong to have survived this long.”

That was true, Ben conceded. He was a strong one. Could he have inherited that from his father – the Silver Dwarf? Or was their whole theory a red herring?

They stared at the dwarf mage far longer than necessary. Even Ben was reluctant to take the next step, but eventually he forced the words out. “We should
get going, Charlie. Let’s get set up.”

Charlie closed his eyes, and nodded. “I guess there’s no point drawing this out.”

They put their bags down, and set out their sleeping gear next to the dwarf’s dome. The rest of the bags’ contents were for Natalie, who would need food
and water for the next twenty-four hours. She moved them away from the predicted dome Ben and Charlie would create.

Charlie took his shoes off, but kept the rest of his clothes on, as he slipped into his sleeping bag. He pinned one of the brooches they had purchased from
the goblin shaman onto his shirt. Ben clipped his own brooch on, but remained standing, and drew out his spellshooter. He had two spells: one for himself;
one for Charlie – there was no margin for error.

“Take as long as you need,” Natalie said in a soft, soothing voice.

“Yeah, I’m in no hurry,” Charlie said.

For a full minute Ben did nothing but clear his head, and concentrate on breathing regularly, purging all distractions from his mind. It was a technique he
had recently learnt during his third-grade studies in the Spellsword Department, and he found it extremely useful. When he finally felt ready, he turned to
Natalie, and gave her a smile.

“We’ll see you soon.”

For an awkward moment, Ben thought Natalie was going to get emotional, but she just returned his smile.

“You guys will be fine. I know you will. Just remember, you only have twenty-four hours before you have to use the brooches. Please don’t forget that.”

“We won’t,” Ben said.

He lifted his spellshooter, and pointed it at Charlie, who instinctively flinched. Ben had no more need to focus; he was practically in a zen-like place.
He pictured the void as it had been described, and focused on placing Charlie within it. The pellet started a slow descent down the orb, fighting Ben’s
will every step of the way. Even for a fourth-level spell, this one was difficult. A drip of sweat ran down his forehead, but Ben barely felt it. Slowly,
painfully, the pellet reached the edge of the barrel. But instead of pulling the trigger, he let the spell hover there, and dragged the second spell down,
so it lined up behind the first.

Ben pulled the trigger.

A black spell the size of a tennis ball cannoned into Charlie. Immediately Ben turned his spellshooter and fired the second spell into his own chest. It
was like being punched – the impact made him grunt. He barely had time to recover, when he felt ice coursing through his veins, freezing his entire body.
His stomach started groaning, and he started to feel sick and dizzy. Somehow he managed to stagger into his sleeping bag, where he rolled up, shivering,
just about resisting the urge to vomit. He was dimly aware that Charlie was doing the same. The icy feel receded, but the dizziness got progressively
worse, until he started seeing black spots. He blinked, and he found his vision starting to blur. Dimly, he was aware that he was losing consciousness.
With a cry of pain and confusion, Ben slipped away.

When Ben came to, he found himself lying on his back, staring up at a red canvas. For a terrifying thirty seconds, he struggled with his own identity. It
was only when he sat up and saw the chubby boy beside him that something clicked, and his memory came flooding back.

Charlie sat up a moment later with a similar blank expression, which also disappeared the moment he spotted Ben.

They had made it.

Realisation dawned on them quickly. They scrambled to their feet, and instinctively went back to back in a defensive position.

Ben half-expected something to jump out at them, and he immediately scanned the area for signs of danger. The sky was blood red and streaked with black.
The landscape was dry, barren, and devoid of life. They found themselves on a narrow dirt path, which wound its way through the thin, wispy grass that
surrounded them. The grass swayed gently, despite the lack of wind. Next to them was a leafless tree. Its trunk was scarred and much of the bark was gone.

“Roolers,” Charlie said, pointing at the red sky. “I bet they’re waiting for us.”

Ben looked up and saw a couple of large birds circling at such altitude they were hard to make out except for their long, hooked beaks.

“They’re like vultures, except they feed on the dying as well as the dead. They specialise in targeting the wounded.”

Ben allowed himself to relax, just a fraction. Bar the roolers, they were alone. In fact, the place was so dead and barren, it felt like they were the only
people alive.

“The dwarf mage must have done his research,” Charlie said, who also seemed less on edge. “We are on the southern path – one of the least dangerous places
in the void, simply because nobody bothers coming here. There are no resources, and the land is worthless. The trouble will come as soon as we start
heading north.”

Charlie stared down the path into the distance.

Ben knew they would have to get going soon, but questions were exploding inside his head like fireworks. “You look exactly like your body, down to the
clothes you were wearing this morning. You’ve even got the brooch.”

“The brooch physically transferred from home into the void,” Charlie said. “As for the physical representation, that is something our minds mock up
subconsciously.”

“I’ll take your word for that,” Ben said, running a hand through his hair. It felt real enough. “So, now what? This is where the dwarf mage started, right?
I don’t see a trail anywhere.”

Charlie was staring hard at the path. “It’s there, somewhere.”