Halfstone: A Tale of the Narathlands (14 page)

Aldrick grinned. “Yes, it sure is. How in all hell did you find us
here?”

Kaal wiped his pale face and sat himself back on the ground. “I
tracked horses… Aldrick, what happened just then? Didn’t you see? I was lifted
into the air.”

Now Aldrick tried not to grin. “That was some of Jon’s magical
powers. Sorry, he didn’t recognise you.”

Kaal’s face was void of expression. “Magical powers,” he repeated.

“Yes. He is a wizard, remember? I mean wielder.”

Kaal didn’t respond. He looked beyond Aldrick to where Jon stood
in the grass, dressed in his robes, holding his staff.

Aldrick took the reins of Kaal’s horse and started walking back to
the others. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

They congregated where they had first sat to rest. Kaal kept at Aldrick’s
side, visibly uneasy.

Jon came and embraced him. “Kaal, it has been too long. Sorry for
lifting you off your steed just now. I wasn’t expecting it to be you. What a
pleasant surprise this is.”

“You… you are truly a wielder, Jon?” Kaal asked him in awe.

Jon grinned. “Yes indeed… surprise!”

Aldrick took a breath. Now was as good a time as any. “I am too,
as it turns out…”

Kaal stared at him.

“Oh, really? That’s good,” he said vaguely. He was in deep shock
now. His pupils were wider than Aldrick had even seen them.

“I suppose it is.” Aldrick gestured to the others. “These are
aeras, hired to protect me—Sinin, Aru and Télia. Télia you already know, of
course.”

Kaal nodded at them but avoided eye contact.

“This is your brother, Aldrick?” Sinin stepped forward and opened
his arms to Kaal. Kaal didn’t move.

“He is.”

“Obviously not a blood brother, right?” asked Aru obnoxiously.
“Otherwise you wouldn’t be so special.”

“No he isn’t.” Aldrick thumped Kaal on the back. “But we are
brothers all the same.”

“Why is he here?”

“No, why are you here?” asked Kaal, regaining control of his
words. He glanced round at them all. “I was expecting to find Aldrick at Jon’s
house.”

Aldrick was unsure of how best to respond.

“We are kind of… on a quest,” he said, almost as a question.

“To rid the world of an evil wielder,” added Télia.

“I should have guessed,” Kaal said, flinging his hands in the air.

“I know how you’re feeling, Brother,” Aldrick reassured him.

Aru leant in close to Jon. “We don’t have time for this, and we
certainly haven’t space for another in our company. There is little he can
offer us.”

Kaal had overhead her.

“I am here for my brother,” he said firmly. “I’m sticking with him
wherever he goes.” He turned to Aldrick. “Father sent me to watch over you
after he returned. He failed to mention any quests, though.”

“Well, there have been some recent developments.”

“You didn’t think to come home before gallivanting off across the
Narathlands?”

“I did, but we are pressed for time, very pressed.”

Kaal glared at him with a firmly locked jaw for a time, then
sighed and crossed his arms. “So what’s going on? Tell me more about this ‘evil
wielder’ your mystery woman mentioned.”

After convincing the others there was time to spare, Aldrick tried
his best to enlighten Kaal to the whole story so far, emphasising his sole
ability to drain Malath’s storm in an attempt to justify his partaking in the
quest. The whole time Kaal listened in silence, as he himself had when Jon told
him much of this.

When Aldrick finished speaking Kaal simply said “Uh ha,” before
continuing with “So, I guess finding this half stone thing is a reasonable
move, considering Malath sounds like some kind of maddened god. But in all
honesty, it sounds as though we are screwed either way, going on what you’ve
said.”

“I like your positivity. It’s inspiring.”

Kaal managed a grin. “Do you feel like you’re up to the task? Will
you actually be able to absorb Malath’s… storm power stuff?”

He shrugged. “We’re all hoping so.”

Jon came to them. “It is time to go, lads.”

Aldrick looked to the others, who were waiting on horseback. Aru
looked very impatient. Télia appeared the contrary. Her eyes were closed and
she was singing a soft song to herself. Her hair was caught in the breeze and
danced gracefully around her face. He couldn’t make out any of the lyrics to
the song, but the melody was beautiful and somewhat haunting. It almost sounded
like a lament.

When he and Kaal had mounted their horses, the six of them set off
down the lower mountainside. At its base they picked up their pace and began a
swift journey across the undulating fields of the Lonely Province. The wind was
now at their backs, spurring them forward. Jon led but De’ama frequently
galloped ahead, whinnying stubbornly in response to Télia’s efforts to slow
her. She was a free spirit.

Shortly before sunset, Aldrick noticed some strange objects
bridging the horizon ahead of them. Haphazardly spaced between two broad hills,
they rose from the ground; some wide, some thin, all the light tones of marble.
It soon became apparent that these were the ruins of some ancient city, the
nearest of which being one half of a great archway. Upon reaching this, the six
companions slowed to a trot and proceeded into the ruins.

Covering the ground was a plethora of blooms of colours ranging
from the deepest of reds to faint blues and tepid yellows. Some species Aldrick
recognised from gardens in Rain, but others were unknown to him. There was also
an abundance of leafy fruit trees, all of which displayed an impressive crop of
well-ripened pome fruits. Many served as host to vines which twisted their
stems firmly around the tree’s trunks and dangled their fragrant bouquets of
blossoms at head height. Jon picked a selection of these as they wandered by
and presented them to Aru.

“Thanks,” she said stiffly.

“Was this Prithe?” Aldrick asked, trying to distract Jon from the
awkwardness that followed.

“Oh no,” Jon replied, seemingly unfazed by Aru’s reaction. “No, Prithe’s
ruins lie to the northeast. This was Alimare, The Fruitful City.”

“Named so because of all the fruit?” asked Sinin, before taking a
hearty bite out of a pear he had just picked.

“Because of cultivation in general. Here the soil is deep and
healthful. Old books account this city as the storage place for all winter food
supplies for every city and township west of the ranges. Many of the ruins you
see around you were likely the great storehouses which sheltered it.
Unfortunately, they offered no shelter from an army that sacked the city months
before taking Prithe, which by then was suffering from malnutrition and
disease.”

“I have never quite understood why this land remains deserted,
even after so long,” said Télia. “It offers wealth and wonder.”

“Well, there are two reasons,” started Jon. “Firstly, the majority
of settlements which grew after the demise of Prithe did so close to the
coastline. And secondly, people believed this province to be cursed after the
cities fell. They believed that evil had seeped into the soil from Blackbed and
fated it to be so.”

Aru snorted.

“Foolish thinking,” she remarked. “Nothing but groundless
superstition.”

“
Ground
superstition,” corrected Sinin, winking.

There was a silence.

They were soon in the heart of the ruins. A small stream wandered
across their path, shallow enough for the horses to cross with ease. Along its
edges, clumps of lush grass grew and the nearby trees stood tall, offering
shelter from the breeze. Strangely, there were few birds to be heard singing.

“We will camp here tonight,” Jon said, coming to a halt and
looking around.

They dismounted, unsaddled their horses and left them to roam
free. Aldrick realised he had brought only a pillow and no blanket but decided
that his cloak, along with the bulky grass would keep him comfortable when he
rested. Both he and Kaal were well accustomed to spending a clear night under
the stars. They had often done so as children, waiting patiently for falling
stars and pondering the nature of Solemn, The Pale Moon.

“Ahh, camping is the very best thing.” Télia dropped her things
and spun around with her arms outstretched. “We should have a fire tonight!”

“Yes,” agreed Jon. “A light to honour the peoples who once made this
city a marvel.”

“We still don’t have any wine,” grumbled Sinin, unenthusiastically
opening his flask of water.

After he had also refreshed himself, Aldrick turned his attention
to Kaal, who had neither spoken nor smiled since they left the ranges.

“Are you all right, Brother?” he asked, walking to his side.

Kaal was somewhere far off in the distance.

“Everything is changing, isn’t it?” he asked after a time. “The
world has found us, and it’s bigger than we ever imagined.”

Aldrick sighed. “It is.”

“And whoever thought that you’d be its saviour.”

“I wish it wasn’t so.”

“And what else do you wish was never so?” Kaal asked, now turning
to meet Aldrick’s eye. “Should Braem and Phelvara never have raised you? Should
we not have been brothers? Should you have lived the privileged life of a
wielder in the north?!”

Aldrick was taken aback by Kaal’s words, but only momentarily. He
understood that, like himself, Kaal was finding recent revelations difficult to
come to terms with. He didn’t wish to give his brother the impression that he
was actually enjoying any of this, which, truthfully, he wasn’t… except perhaps
for being in Télia’s company.

“I was content with life before the ka-zchen attack, you know
that. I am here now because I can help, and because I wish to avenge my birth
parents. Somehow… I miss them. But that doesn’t mean I resent having the family
I do now.”

Kaal didn’t reply. He looked at the ground with an expression of
indifference until Aldrick walked away, annoyed. He went and stood by Jon,
where he sat beneath an old apple tree.

“Hello, my boy,” Jon said warmly. “How are we?”

Aldrick shrugged.

“I’m fine,” he fumed, then, feeling motivated, “I have to learn
more, Jon—my mother’s ability.”

“Indeed.” Jon heaved himself to his feet. He plucked an apple from
a branch above him and ignited it with storm. “Go on—take my storm and starve
the flame,” he challenged.

Aldrick watched the fiery fruit for a moment then cocked his head
from left to right, preparing himself. He knew he could take Jon’s storm and he
was going to take Jon’s storm. He pointed both palms directly at Jon’s chest
and willed it from him… nothing happened. The apple continued to burn a bright
yellow and spit boiling juice.

“You can do it, Aldrick,” encouraged Télia.

He tried again, concentrating without falter. The apple went on
burning. Suddenly part of it popped and sizzling skin flew into his face. He
let out a cry of pain and wiped it from him. The apple fell to the ground,
smouldering.

He stared up at Jon. “Did you do that?”

Jon was smiling down at him. He shook his head. “No my boy, you
did.”

Télia and Sinin clapped and cheered.

“You’re almighty now, Al,” Sinin said in jest.

Aldrick felt woozy. Such a fleeting success had drained much of
his energy. He sat. “I’m hun—” His words were cut off as a fresh apple fell on
his head. “Thanks, Jon.”

While he ate, Aldrick reflected on the achievement. They had been
correct yesterday when speculating that a purpose was needed in order for him
to wield the ability. He needed to feel threatened and self-protective, just as
his mother had. Perhaps this would prove easier in the presence of Malath, who
would likely be bent on crushing him or turning him into a human torch on sight.

Télia walked up to him carrying two swords, one of which was his.
“So your wielding is coming along nicely, but how handy are you with a blade? I
will teach you now.” She spoke in an assertive voice that made him briskly leap
to his feet and take his sword. Its blade almost met the ground when she
unhanded it.

She focused on teaching him basic defence. First, rather
embarrassingly, she showed him how to grip the hilt correctly, and then a
number of blade motions and allied body stances which she promised could
deflect the most basic of attacks. All of these moves had peculiar names which
he failed to remember, so Télia resorted to yelling them out as numbers when
she came at him so he could react accordingly. It was obvious to him that she
was talented with a blade. Her attacks were swift and fluent. This prompted him
to focus on quickening his own pace.

They were able to continue into the dusk as Sinin and Aru, with a
little help from Jon, had built an impressive fire that spilt warmth and light
across the campsite.

While Aldrick knelt during a brief break Télia had reluctantly permitted,
Jon came and stooped beside him so their heads were near. “You know, wielding
storm and wielding weapons don’t necessarily have to be separate practises, my
boy.” He said it not as a whisper, but quietly enough that Télia did not hear.