Michael Mathias: The Wizard and the Warlord

“Who is Pin, and why does he seek the fountain of Leif Repline?” Borg asked Mikahl when he strode back into the yard. “I think your queen spelled me,” the giant continued, “…for I just promised I would look out for this person while he makes his way through our land.”

“His name is Phen,” Mikahl laughed. “She calls him Pin. He and his dwarven pal, Master Oarly, are fools of the first order. Phen’s is a long story which I’ll share with you over supper. I’ve ordered a feast prepared in your honor.”

“The whole city of Dreen will want to celebrate once they see the gift I’ve brought you,” Borg boasted.

Just then, Lord Gregory came out of the castle and smiled broadly up at Borg. “Well met, Southern Guardian,” the Lion Lord said, using Borg’s official title. “I hope my warning about the loosed demon reached your people in time.”

Borg nodded and smiled, then picked up the sack he’d brought. He dumped the hideous demon’s head out of the bag onto the castle yard, the demon that had recently torn through Dreen. His big face split into a huge grin and the whole pack of great wolves howled out in pride.

The light that carried through the sea into the Serpent’s Eye from outside was fading as the tide rose. Phen cast a spell. A small sphere of light the size of an apple appeared in his open palm then slowly rose and hovered at a point about a foot over his head. He looked around the cavern. Oarly was standing with his feet planted. He was weaving slightly to and fro with the slack bow line of the dinghy held loosely in his hand. Most of his bulbous face was buried in his tangled beard.

“Oarly,” Phen said a little loudly. “Tie the line around that stalagmite and let’s make ready.”

The dwarf jumped at the mention of his name, as if he’d been in a daze, but after a snarl he settled back into his standing stupor. Phen huffed with frustration and then bent down and picked up a loose pebble. He threw it rather hard and it bounced off the side of Oarly’s head. The impact sounded like the thump of a ripe melon. Oarly rubbed the spot absently and sneered at Phen. Three heartbeats later the hairy stump took a step back and yelped loudly. “By Doon, lad,” Oarly rubbed his head briskly now. “What was that for?”

“You’re drunk,” Phen returned. “Now tie off the skiff.”

“I’m not even close to drunk, lad,” Oarly boasted as he finally tied the line. When he stood back up he pulled his axe from his back and puffed his wide chest out. “Now where’s this serpent?”

Phen made an expression of pure terror and pointed beyond Oarly into the darkness. “It’s… It’s right behind you.” His voice was trembling with fear.

Oarly looked at him for a long moment and then let out a huff. “Bah! You’ll not get this dwarf that easily.”

Phen smirked and grabbed a burlap sack out of the boat. Oarly glanced back over his shoulder, just in case.

The natural-formed cave looked much the same as it had the last time they’d been in it. The large, rough chamber had two passages leading up and away from the sea pool that took up nearly half of its rocky bottom.

Phen started down the smaller right-hand tunnel. As soon as he was a dozen paces ahead, Oarly pulled a new flask from his boot and took a deep swig. Phen just laughed at him and carried on. A wave made a loud smacking-sucking sound against the rocks as the tide side seal broke in a wave’s valley. Phen laughed because the sound sent Oarly stumbling quickly to catch up with him.

The narrow tunnel was about a hundred paces deep. Phen knelt at the end of it, looking curiously at the ancient skeleton on the floor. It was that of the elf he called Loak, whose ring and journal had helped Phen track down and destroy the Silver Skull of Zorellin.

He thought about all that had led to his being turned into a statue. Only Claret’s powerful magic had prevented him from remaining an immobile monument for eternity. He and the dragon had more or less saved the day at the battle of O’Dakahn. Phen achieved his goal of becoming a hero like Hyden Hawk and King Mikahl, though he hated passionately the name he’d earned for himself. He hadn’t ever intended to be known to the people of the realm as the Marble Boy. Oarly wouldn’t let him forget the title.

Phen couldn’t wait to get his pigment back. He hoped that Claret’s suspicions about the pool in the Giant Mountains were founded. It was a long and treacherous journey to undertake, and there was no certainty it would help, but it was a risk he was willing to chance. He would do anything to rid himself of the stony skin, and the title Marble Boy, and besides that, he just wanted to be plain old Phen again.

“All right, ease back to where we can see the entry chamber,” he said. “Once the serpent slithers out to feed, I’ll put on the ring and go get the emerald. Then I’ll come back here.” He squeezed past Oarly and started back out of the tunnel. “All you have to do is warn me if the serpent returns.”

“I’ll do more than warn ye, lad,” Oarly bragged drunkenly. “I’ll have that sea snake on the fire when you get back.”

“Aye,” Phen laughed. “Fight the beast, if you want to, just be sure and warn me if it returns.”

Back near where the tunnel opened onto the main chamber, Phen dropped the contents of his sack out onto the floor. A small bundle of dried meat, a wheel of cheese, and a cord of dried wood spilled out of it. Oarly snatched up the rations while Phen used a flaming finger spell to start the dwarf a fire. Once he was done, he extinguished his magical light. Unlike the dwarves who had returned from the underground cities to aid in the recent battles, who could see as well in the dark as they could in the sun, Oarly had been among the dwarves who’d stayed on the surface and lived in Xwarda. Without the fire’s light, or Phen’s orb, he wouldn’t be able to see at all.

With the fire lit, Phen stood at the mouth of the tunnel, waiting for the serpent to leave.

“Here,” Oarly handed Phen a long dagger. “Take this, just in case.”

Phen looked at it. It reminded him of the dagger Hyden Hawk had given him before they went into the blue dragon’s lair. He took the weapon with a nod of thanks. If he hadn’t lost Hyden’s dagger on a zard ship, at least a thousand lives could have been saved. He could have run it through the Dragon Queen’s heart before she let loose all those demons into the world.

He made to slip this new knife into his belt, but realized that his clothes, and his belt, were as stony as he was. There were only two things on his person that he could remove: Loak’s ring, and the medallion that held Claret’s dragon tear, and even they looked made from marble.

A scraping sound drew his attention to the other tunnel.

“What is it that I’m supposed to do?” Oarly asked with a blank expression on his face.

Phen turned and looked at him severely. The dwarf grinned devilishly back at him.

Phen shook his head and went through the motions of sucking in a breath. A green phosphorescent glow was wavering at the mouth of the larger tunnel. Soon, the large viper-like head was hovering above the floor as the thing’s bulk slid out of the opening. The room was filled with the strange green-tinted glow. The head darted instantly toward the mouth of the smaller tunnel, where Phen stood. Only the fact that the opening was smaller than the thing’s skull kept it from snatching Phen up and swallowing him. Its milky, pupil-less eyes narrowed peevishly. A forked tongue shot out and flickered across Phen’s face. Oarly was holding his battle axe’s blade up over his face to keep his eyes from settling on the creature.

Phen felt the tingling of the dragon tear medallion around his neck. He could see it in the reflection of the serpent’s eyes, showering out a fountain of prismatic sparkles. The flickering tongue shot out at the dragon’s tear and tasted the air around it. For a long moment the serpent held its head there, as if it were deciding what to do about the intruders. Then it finally eased back. Phen glimpsed the rows of palm-sized suction cups that ran the length of its undulating body as the triangular head moved away. Only when the thing was over the pool did the serpent take its strange gaze off of Phen. When it did, it slithered right into the water and its glow eased quickly out of the cavern and through the now submerged opening. It had to be a hundred paces long from tip to tail. Phen let out the breath he’d been holding and slipped Loak’s ring onto his finger. Immediately, he faded from sight. He glanced at the dagger in his hand to make sure it had vanished too. It had.