Wizard's Quest: Book Two Chapters Nineteen and Twenty

All works copywrite Jay D Evans 2013

CHAPTER NINETEEN

 

Sitting on his bed, cross-legged, Richard was doing his mental exercises. Since he came to Castle Crauford he had been instructed in the intuitive arts of meditation, SWEET (soft warm expanding energy technique), GCB (ground, centre, breathe) and the Chakras. All this had helped him on his quest, both for the Great Power Stone and in finding his friends. With all that he had been going through, he had lapsed in his exercises. Now, with things being really wound up with Kahnlin, he needed to hone his intuition to its fullest. He needed to rid himself of all the negative energy that had built up in him since returning to the castle from his first quest.

Master MacCorkadall insisted that he take a few days to rejuvenate and clean himself out. He would need everything he had to win the battle with the Trelf and his intuition was his most powerful weapon. He had used it his entire life without knowing it. It was only when he did not listen to that little voice in his head that he lost. The day he was caught shoplifting in the market his little voice had told him, “Don’t do it, Richard” but he did not listen. The grocer, Argyll Campbell, had caught him and called the local constabulary. When the voice told him to wait on top of the mountain and he decided to continue down, he lost half his company, his soul mate among them.

Now it was time to get his intuitive senses back to full strength. With that, he would know what to do and when to do it, letting the Universe guide him. He had learned to trust his instinct instead of logic. Things progress in a harmonious way once a person uses the intuitive side of the brain. Most of the world discounts the right side and only uses the left side of their brains. Logic will fail at the most inopportune time while instinct, the intuition, will seldom fail. Proven to him more times than he could count since learning of his magickal abilities, he trusted his intuition.

Doing his SWEET exercise was always fun. Visualizing the energy in his gut as a soft, warm, fuzzy ball, he moved it up and around his chest. There, around his heart, was a huge black blob. Losing Mary for the second time had placed this block there. He knew it was his fault that Kahnlin had taken her. Dissolving this block was difficult. It took time for the magick to work but after a while, it disappeared and the energy ball continued up through the rest of his body and back down to his feet.

Once he had cleared away all the energy blocks, grounding was in order. GCB, ground, centre, breathe. Visualizing standing beneath a waterfall, the young wizard let the negative energy wash away from him like dirt in a shower. Once the bad was gone, bringing back in the positive energy was easy, centring it, once again, in his gut, all the while breathing deeply and evenly to calm his shattered nerves.

Finally, feeling lighter and refreshed, he checked the seven chakra centres, making sure they were clear. Finding them as they should be he was satisfied that he could now take on the Trelf prince and win the day, mentally at least.

As for whether he had the ability to win, he knew that Kahnlin had years, centuries, of experience over him. The Trelf was cunning as a fox and had no moral character. This, in itself, was more than enough to beat him. With his caring nature for other living things, he was more apt to hesitate to harm than his adversary was. Kahnlin had no qualms of killing for the sake of killing. Richard had magick that the half-breed did not. This was his advantage. It would take his unwavering belief in his winning that would turn the tide. The Law of Attraction would work for him if he believed strongly enough.

“Are you ready?” Richard had not heard Master MacCorkadall enter the room.

“Aye, Ah am. At least as ready as Ah kin be.”

“Good. I have utmost belief and faith in you, Richard. I know you will persevere. You are stronger than you think you are.” Smiling at his protégé, the old man put his arm around the boy’s thin shoulders.

Looking up into the ancient eyes and seeing the truth behind the words, Richard smiled back. “Ah will dae mah best, Master.”

“I know you will.” With that, the old man led the young boy out the door. Instead of entering the hallway, they were standing in the Valley of Trolls on Syrus. “This is as far as I go with you, my boy. Good luck.” Then he was gone.

The sun was at its zenith and as hot as ever. The only thing that made the heat bearable was the lack of humidity. This world was dry, dead. Nothing grew on the surface of Syrus thanks to the war between troll and elf that occurred here three centuries ago. Only the wisdom of one troll and one elf did the world survive at all. When Oberon married Lin El-Raney, the two races were forever bound and the war ended. What was left was a dying world. Oberon had been wise enough to know that life could continue underground in the caves where water was still plentiful, with shafts to the surface, sunlight would filter in, and things would grow. Life returned to Syrus, albeit in a different way. When Kahnlin was born, the celebrations went on for weeks. Troll and elf, alike, were overjoyed at the new life born out of a very unique joining.

Challenges were overcome repeatedly with the first Trelf. It was not until the boy came of age that the real challenge showed itself. It was then that the old prejudices came out once again. The heir apparent hated his parents, his heritage and especially his world. He believed that he did not belong to either race and that the Trelf should rule Syrus. With a handful of followers, he planted the seeds of hate between troll and elf once again. The celebrations of two and a half centuries ago were forgotten and replaced with distrust between the two pure races. Fights occurred daily. Perpetrators, cast out and forced to live on the surface, banded together forming small guerrilla groups.

The day Kahnlin strolled casually into the throne room and murdered his father and mother was the day the Syrians realized just what had been happening for so long. Only the weak minded, mostly trolls, continued to follow the Trelf. Since then, battles have been fought between the rogue citizens and the ones that believe in what Oberon had taught. Because of this, the surface of Syrus has remained a dry, dead place inhabited only by those that believe in killing for the sake of killing. Richard stared out at this world of death wondering where the Trelf had hidden his soul mate.

The mountains, majestic simply because of their shape and size, loomed behind him. That is where the search for Mary had to start. Kahnlin would more than likely hide her deep within the caverns of the trolls. He envisioned the trek to the very heart of the Troll Nation as if he had walked it a million times. He been there only twice before, once by chance and once by design but he knew, without doubt, the very trails he needed to traverse. The dangers were many and deadly but he would prevail over them. Turning to look at those mountains, he did not waver as he had done in the past. Confidence welled in him as never before. He would persevere and win the day.

Wanting to wait for the cover and coolness of nightfall, Richard constructed a small stone hut as he had done so many times before on this rocky plain. The exponential growth of his power over the past few months made things like stone manipulation seem like child-play now instead of the intense drain of strength it caused earlier. With a wave of his hand, the hut was a palace inside while the exterior was nothing more than a three-metre square block. The walls, smooth as glass, shone from within to bring light to the dim interior. He had even created a small table with stool, hearth and ledge on which to rest. Shafts of light shone down through small air holes just beneath the roof creating the ambience of a stage with spotlights highlighting important areas of the stage.

Resting until the twin moons were high in the dark night sky, the young wizard ventured out onto the barren plain once again. Listening intently to the quiet night for any sign of danger, he stood motionless. Using all his senses, including his intuitive self, he detected nothing but the darkness that surrounded him. The full moons gave off no light as if they were not shining at all. He would have to use his inner senses to find his way this night, which was fine with him. This would make it as difficult for any enemy to see him as it would be for him to see them. The one advantage was that his intuitive self was much more evolved that that of the indigenous people of this world.

He wanted so much to teleport to the troll caves but knew that if he did it could turn disastrous. He could appear in the middle of a gathering or he could pass by some unknown shaft where Mary, being held captive, would be missed. Walking was the logical choice if not the most expedient. Making his way through the scattered boulders and various obstacles the miles went by much more quickly than expected. The Valley of Souls lay before him before he realized how far he had gone.  Now he stood, staring at the scattered boulders that reminded him of silent sentries guarding a valley of death.

Shivering from the thoughts racing through his mind of those imaginary soldiers attacking him, Richard took a deep breath. Several minutes went by before his heart stopped pounding as if trying to escape his chest. Once calm, he felt his way around the valley with his senses trying to determine if there were any enemies waiting for him. Sensing nothing, he continued his trek toward the caves. Always watching over his shoulder and feeling the air around him, his energy drained quickly. Before reaching the far end of the valley, he was exhausted. As the sun came up over the eastern horizon, he collapsed onto the sand, barely able to keep his eyes open. Knowing he needed protection from attack and the scorching heat of the three suns, all he could do was conjure a small hole beneath his limp body and cover himself with sand.

 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

 

Awakening just after the suns had fallen behind the Western horizon, Richard shook the sand from his clothes. Watching the small grains of rock fall to the ground, he saw that the Trolls had been busy. At least four dozen sets of footprints, embedded deep in the sand close to where he had been lying, told him they had been out in number. The probable reason being Kahnlin assumed that he was here searching and had ordered extra patrols. Careful observation and discretion would be of utmost importance this night if he were to gain entry into the Caves. That was the easy part; the hard part would be finding Mary and getting back out.

 Thinking long and hard about the Caves the young wizard realized there were a myriad of tunnels that lead nowhere, hundreds that lead to hundreds more and at least one that lead to the Elvin world. It was to be a daunting task for one person to find one person amongst all those miles of darkness. The Troll guards would be extra careful at every sound. How was he to find her? Think, you git. Think!

Out of the early morning stillness there came a small sound, barely audible. At first Richard thought he was imagining it but it persisted in his mind. The inner eye. Use your inner eye.

Of course! This was one of the first lessons MacCorkadall had taught him when he returned from the first quest. Every person had what the Master had called an ‘inner eye.’ By using intuition, a person could actually ‘see’ things that were not visible to normal sight. A simple exercise in using one of most basic forces the Creator had given Mankind. All he had to do was concentrate on Mary and where she be hidden and he could find her location within minutes. Getting there and getting back out with her without being caught would be the harder part of it. If only he had a way to become invisible.

Concentrating on the face of his soul mate, Richard closed his eyes. He saw her in his mind. Pulling his vision back from her the chamber she was in became visible. This was not the same one that Elizabeth had been in, this one was much more sparse, barren. There was only a small fire in the pit in the centre of the room, no other illumination or decoration. Mary did not even have the luxury of a skin to lie on or cover herself. Kahn-lin had taken her from Crauford Castle in the night while everyone was sleeping so all she had on was her short, lacy nightdress. Shivering with the cold dampness of the cave, filthy from almost a week of not bathing, she seemed exhausted.

Pulling back further, the young wizard placed her amid a tangle of tunnels that led nowhere, twisting around crossing each other repeatedly. Kahn-lin had made sure that if she tried to escape, without knowing the correct path she would end up back where she was. The myriad tunnels were a maze with one way to freedom. The good news was that she was only about a kilometre from the tunnel to the Elvin world, straight through the solid granite of the mountain. By tunnel it would be much further. That’s when it came to him.

While fighting the Dragon Riders in the Troll/Elf war he had learned how to manipulate rock easily. Going through, building a tunnel, would be more difficult than building small huts or camouflage Never having tried more than that uncertainty entered his mind. Would he be able to do it?

Opening his mind to position the Trolls within the caves, he found the path was clear to within a hundred metres of Mary. He could ferret his way that far then tunnel through to his lover. It would be exhausting to him so the effort extended needed to be as little as possible. This would make it easier on him, and then they could escape to the Elvin world and rest there. The plan was perfect. Nothing could go wrong.

Turning to go back down the tunnel Richard spun into complete darkness.  Not knowing what was happening he became scared.  As suddenly as it started the darkness became light.  Standing before him, in the middle of the field heather, a blue sky overhead and a loch down below with its’ blue waters reflecting the field and mountains around, was his mother.

“What’s going on here,” the young wizard looked confused.

“Oh, me wee bairn, you’d be in need of some motherly advice.”

“Mum, I thought you said you would be gone for good.  That I didn’t need you anymore”

“Richie, you will always need your mother.  Now more than ever.  You’re planning to do something foolish and dangerous.  You need to rethink your strategy.”

“But, Mum, I need to rescue her and this is the only way I know how.  I cannae just leave her to the trolls.”

Sadness and concern showed in Carolyn Evans’ deep blue eyes. “Richie, my beautiful boy. You’ve learned so much, been through so much. Yet, you still refuse to use your head when it comes to matters of the heart.”

Anger started to well in his voice. “What dae ye mean? I daenae use me head wi’ matters o’ th’ heart. I cannae leave her there. What am I supposed tae dae? Jest walk me way through them Trolls an’ be a git? I’m nae a chanty wrassler an’ I willnae leave her tae die.”

“Son. I didn’t say leave her. I said you weren’t using yer head. Think aboot it. Dae ye really think tha’ Kahn-Lin wood leave her there, all alone li’e that? Unprotected?”

Understanding came to him like a sledge alongside the head. Of course, the Trelf wouldn’t leave her to where he could get her to freedom easily. Even though hidden deep in the caves, she would not be left unguarded. Kahn-Lin would have enchantments and spells around her to keep him away or to let the Trelf know that he was near. This would be a challenge to overcome that he had not taken into account until now.

“Mum, dae ye think Ah could get tae her through th’ walls without bein’ caught? Ah’ve learned a lot since Ah last spoke wi’ ye.”

“The chanty-wrassler jest might no think o’ tha’. He’ll be expectin’ ye tae gang down th’ tunnels. But, don’ jest go bustin’ in like yer William Wallace at Sterling. Stealth, my wee bairn. Stealth is what ye’ll be needin’.”

Richard turned to look at the granite wall behind him and testing his ability to bore through it. All he would have to do is make sure that once he was close enough to the cavern where Mary was not break through like an explosion. When he turned back around, his mother was gone. With sadness in his soul for missing her, he went to work on his own tunnel. He would free her, he would get her home and he would protect her.

He was exhausted when he stopped to see how far he had gone. Finding that there only a few inches remained before his tunnel was complete, he rested. If Kahn-Lin was there, guarding her, he would need all his strength to fight him. It didn’t matter to him, he wanted to kill the Trelf for what he had done, not just to him and Mary, but to all those innocent people that he had killed just to get to him. Returning to his work he gently pushed his will through the remainder of the granite wall and watched it crumble, silently to the floor.

Peering out into the dark cavern, hoping nothing would attack him, there was Mary, huddled against a far wall, almost invisible in the blackness. Excitement overtook the young wizard and he rushed to her, oblivious to anything but his soul mate; a mistake that almost cost him his life. It was only his speed across the rock-strewn floor that saved him from the lightning bolts that rained down, narrowly missing their mark. The hair on his arms and neck stood on end as the electricity arced from ceiling to floor, burning the air with ozone. As he reached the huddled mass that was Mary the bolts stopped. As the ropes fell from around her, Richard heard a voice in the darkness behind him.

“So, the little upstart has come to save the damsel in distress. How quaint. I am so glad you didn’t disappoint me, Richard. I had so hoped that you would do something like this.”

“Ye’ll be needin’ more’n wha’ ye got tae stop me, Kahn-Lin.” Richard stepped forward aggressively.

The Trelf stood his ground without flinching a muscle. Suddenly he laughed. “Are you…? Say it isn’t so! You are threatening me in my domain? Really, Young Wizard, you can’t be serious.”

Without thought or warning Richard cupped his hands before him and threw an energy ball at the snickering Trelf, hitting him square in the chest, sending him back into the cavern wall where he slid to the floor, dazed. Shaking his head and standing, Kahn-lin looked at the boy menacingly. “That was not at all polite behaviour.” Advancing quickly he threw his arms forward then up toward the ceiling. Richard and Mary both flew into the air and the darkness stopping centimetres before hitting the jagged roof.

“I hope neither of you are afraid of heights,” Kahn-Lin laughed.

Struggling against the magick, Richard grabbed Mary’s hand and reached out to the rock above him. As he pulled with one hand and dragged his soul mate with the other, the young wizard fought the elemental that held them in the air, hoping he knew enough to keep them from falling to their deaths when he countered the spell that held them.