Three Quest Deal (Tales of Former Dragons Book 1) (16 page)

The group traveled east for four more days until they came upon a solid black wall in the early afternoon. The wall stood twenty feet tall and extended two hundred yards in each direction. The surface shone like a piece of black glass.

“What’s this?” Toshen asked. He dismounted his horse, removed his glove, and felt the texture of the wall. It felt cool and smooth to the touch.

“It’s the wall surrounding the Temple of Beziel,” Drakor said. “The entrance is on the south side. Once inside, the Altar of Sacrifice is in the center of the temple.”

“Do you think Nashara is expecting us?” Xan asked.

“I think she knows we’re coming.”

“Then we’re walking into a trap,” Aesus said.

Drakor nodded. “We’ve run out of time, so we need to get to the altar tonight. I don’t want to fight our way in, but we need to be prepared for anything.”

Toshen took a few steps back and looked at the top of the wall. “It’s too bad we can’t climb over this wall.”

“If we build a ladder, we can,” Tess said. “There’s more than enough wood to make one. We just have to lash it together. Then we can lower a rope on the other side and climb down. But I don’t think we have enough rope.”

Toshen took out his dagger and dug next to the wall. “Maybe we can go under.” When he reached a depth of six inches, he hit solid rock. He tapped it a few times with his blade and then stood. “This won’t do.”

“What’s rope made of?” Xan asked Tess.

“What’s it made of…?” Tess asked. She put her hand over her face, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

She walked to a straight, slender tree about her height, took out her dagger, and stripped off a thin strip of blackened bark. She peeled off the outer layer, cut the inner layer lengthwise twice, braided the three pieces together and pulled the braid tight between her fists.

“Now we have enough rope.”

Toshen and Aesus gathered wood to construct the ladder while Drakor, Xan, and Tess made short and long lengths of tree bark rope. After a few hours, they had enough material to construct the ladder and the rope to climb down on the other side of the wall.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Drakor said. “Let’s eat something, rest until dusk, and then climb the wall.”

“What about the horses?” Xan asked. “If we leave them here, the wolves might get them.”

“We’re not leaving someone behind to guard them.”

“We won’t be able to get out of the forest without them,” Toshen said.

“That’s a chance we’ll have to take,” Drakor said.

“Let’s at least put our food in a tree,” Tess said. “Then we won’t starve if something happens to the horses.”

Drakor nodded. “Agreed.”

They removed the provisions from the horses and hid them in a tree away from the wall. They tied the horses to another tree close by.

It was dusk by the time they finished eating their meal of dried meat.

“Help me with the ladder,” Toshen said.

The group leaned the ladder against the wall and Toshen climbed to the top. He peered over the edge and saw a pyramid-shaped building in the center of the temple grounds. It had the same black mirror finish as the wall. Two white obelisks marked the south entrance. A walled area extended north behind the pyramid and connected it to a rectangular building. Two rows of black braziers lit the walkway that led to the obelisks, with additional lit braziers spaced around the entire structure. He didn’t see anyone moving about.

“It’s clear,” Toshen whispered down to the others. He threw the rope over the other side and climbed down.

One by one, they climbed over the wall. Toshen kept a watchful eye, bow out and arrow drawn. Once they were all inside the wall, they moved slowly toward the temple, Drakor and Tess with their swords drawn, ready for the slightest sign of trouble. They reached the southwest corner of the temple and hid behind a low wall.

“This is too easy,” Toshen whispered. “Where is everyone?”

“Maybe they’re inside,” Tess replied.

“How do we get to the altar?” Toshen asked.

“Through the front or around the back by the holding cells,” Drakor said. “I don’t suggest we go through the front.”

“Lead the way,” Toshen said.

Crouching to avoid casting any large shadows from the braziers, Drakor slowly headed north along the west temple wall. The others followed. He turned a corner, followed the wall to a large open portcullis, and entered. Two rows of large holding cells led to another open portcullis. The area was lit with torches, which revealed the cells were empty. He paused for a moment, glanced at the others, and continued toward the far end.

After they passed through the second portcullis, both gates closed behind them.

“We’re definitely not leaving the way we came,” Toshen said.

“Indeed,” Aesus said. “The trap has been sprung.”

“Let’s keep moving,” Drakor said.

The group stepped into an amphitheater with a waist-high platform at its center. The Altar of Sacrifice. It was rectangular, three yards in length and two yards in width. Below its three-inch-thick, smooth surface were rows of outward-facing skulls.

Five figures stood in front of the platform, the pyramid behind them. Nashara was in the middle. The others with her were dressed in dark-purple robes, the hoods drawn over their heads.

The group walked up to the platform in a line: Drakor in the middle, with Xan and Toshen on his left, and Aesus and Tess on his right.

“I knew you would come,” Nashara said. “Welcome.”

“You’re not going to try to kill us this time?” Drakor asked.

“I underestimated your skills and overestimated ours during our first encounter. There are so few of us left in the order. I can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. Why are you here?”

“You might as well tell her, Drakor,” Aesus said.

“Drakor?” Nashara asked. “Not the dragon Drakor. You can’t possibly be him.”

“One and the same,” Drakor said.

Nashara grunted. “This becomes even more intriguing as it unfolds. I was here when you were… our guest.”

“Prisoner.”

Nashara shrugged. “All right then, prisoner. Why are you here?”

“We need to place a staff on the altar, and have you read the spell of fusion.”

“Spell of fusion? You have an enchanted crystal?”

“We have a crystal.”

“And once you fuse the crystal, what’s supposed to happen?”

“We don’t know. Maybe you can tell us.”

Nashara grinned. “Let me tell you a tale.” She paced as she spoke. “When we captured you and the other three dragons, we found a glowing crystal in the lair of one of the other dragons. We sensed its magical energy, but we didn’t know how to extract it. After doing some research, I crafted a spell to corrupt it. The spell allowed me to absorb its energy, but it broke the crystal into several pieces. I was surprised that the pieces still glowed, meaning there was more energy to extract. I tried to corrupt the smaller pieces, but I couldn’t. So I crafted a spell to make the crystal whole, so I could corrupt it again. That spell is the spell of fusion.”

“Will you read the spell for us?”

Nashara laughed. “Is that what you have that belongs to me? The enchanted crystal corruption and fusion spellbooks? I have those spells memorized.”

Xan pulled the books out of her satchel and offered them to Nashara.

Nashara took the books from Xan and ran her hands over the covers. “I have not seen these in a long time.” She looked up and scanned the group. “None of you know how to read these? What are you doing with these books?”

“Obtaining
The Book of Fusion
was the first quest,” Drakor said.

“And the second?”

“Obtaining Grand Master Shaman Raah’s staff.”

“You have Raah’s staff?” Nashara said in disbelief. She scanned the group. The wrapped staff Aesus wore across his back caught her eye. “It’s said to hold half of the enchanted crystal used by Baldazar the wizard.”

“We have the staff and it does have a crystal at the end of it.”

“And what of the other half?”

“We don’t have the other half.”

Nashara frowned, tossed the books aside, and stomped her foot on the ground. “What good is the spell of fusion if you don’t have the other half of the crystal?”

“The third and last quest is to place the staff on the altar and read the spell of fusion. That’s all we know.”

“You have half of an enchanted crystal, you came all this way, and none of you can read the spell? What fool gave you this quest?”

“Baldazar.”

“Baldazar lives? That’s impossible. Everyone knows he was killed in battle by Raah. That’s how Raah came to possess half the crystal.”

“No one ever found Baldazar’s body,” Tess said.

“How do you know this?” Nashara asked Tess.

“I read about the battle in a book. Raah defeated Baldazar during the siege of Wolford I’s castle. After Baldazar was defeated, the dragons fled and we defeated the undead army. Baldazar’s body was never found.”

“I can’t believe he’s still alive after all these years,” Nashara said. “Whatever that old fool is up to, it can’t be good. I’m not reading the spell.”

Xan looked into the night sky and saw the rising full moon. “You must help us.”

“Why?”

“Our lives are tied to the completion of the quest. If we don’t complete the last quest, we’ll perish.”

“And how is that my problem? Actually, I’d be doing myself a favor by not reading the spell. Not only will you die, but you’ll fail in Baldazar’s quest as well.”

Aesus stepped forward. “As you said yourself, we only have half of the enchanted crystal. Reading the spell won’t do anything, and we’re only expected to read the spell, not actually fuse any pieces together. Once you read the spell, the quest will be complete and we can leave.”

Nashara squinted at Aesus. “But what if something does happen? What if the crystal becomes whole?”

“Then the crystal is yours,” Drakor said. “We have no interest in the crystal, just completing the quest.”

Nashara stared at Drakor. There was a long pause before she spoke. “I’ll read the spell as it is written in the book. After reading the spell, no matter what happens, I get the crystal and all of you leave the temple and forest. Do you agree to this?”

“Agreed,” Drakor said. “I speak for all of us.”

Nashara gave the other elves instructions to open the portcullises and allow the group to leave freely after she read the spell.

The group stood on one long side of the altar, an arm’s length away from it. Nashara, flanked by the four robed dark elves, stood on the opposite side. Aesus stepped forward, placed the unwrapped staff on the altar, and stepped back.

Nashara held
The Spellbook of Fusion
open in front of her and whispered the spell as written.

The crystal on the staff shone brightly, and to everyone’s surprise so did the circular gemstones around the necks of Drakor, Xan, Aesus, and Toshen. The gemstones separated from their leather cords, levitated to the altar, swirled around the crystal on the staff, merged with it, and became a single clear crystal. The crystal shone even brighter, and everyone shielded their eyes.

When the light from the crystal dimmed, a body was visible, lying on the altar. It was Baldazar, his arms crossed his chest, holding the glowing crystal. His hair and beard were gray, his face wrinkled and worn, just like it had been in the Cave of Origins. But within seconds he transformed into a younger man in his thirties. Short hair as black as night. Face without a hint of old age, adorned with a well-groomed mustache and beard.

“No!” Nashara shouted. “This can’t be.”

She cast a frost bolt at Baldazar, but it bounced off his body and shot up in the air. She pulled out her sword, held it high with both hands, and was about to strike when two arrows from Toshen’s bow struck her in the chest. She released the sword and it dropped behind her. She looked at Toshen with a pained expression, took a step backwards, and collapsed.

The four dark elves standing next to Nashara shimmered, turned into shadows, and disappeared into the night.

Baldazar sat up on the platform and faced the group. “You’ve done well, my dragon friends. I put my fate in your hands when I transformed you. I had faith you would succeed.” He looked at the moon. “What full moon is this?”

“The third,” Drakor said.

“The third? Oh my.”

“We have many questions.”

Baldazar put one foot on the ground, got his balance, put his other foot down, and stood. He put his hand to his forehead and sat back down on the platform, looking dazed.

“I’m sure you do,” he said, “but I have better things to do than just sit here and answer your questions.”

“Why did you send us on these quests?”

“Didn’t you hear me? You held up your end of our arrangement. You are free to go. Now go away.”