Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Two (2 page)

“That's easy enough. Stelgad is south of here. As long as we keep the moss that grows on the north side of the trees facing us, then we are travelling south. Eventually we will see the road that runs through Stelgad, “ Renn replied, still maintaining his pace.

“Okay, that makes sense I guess, but how will you
know which way to travel on the road to reach Stelgad, when we eventually find it?”
Renn laughed and replied, “That's easy too, there is a river that runs alongside that road. If it's clean we turn west and follow the flow of the river, if it's full of refuse we turn east and follow it back to Stelgad.”

“I see,” was all Lusam managed as a reply.

Lusam wasn't sure how long they had been running when Renn slowed to a walking pace. He guessed maybe a couple of hours at least while varying their pace from running to a slow jog, and then back to running again.

“There is a stream up ahead. I suggest we drink what we can and rest a while. I have only one waterskin, so we will have to share between water sources,” Renn said walking towards the small stream. Lusam had noticed several berry trees growing near the stream, and decided to collect some berries after he had first quenched his thirst. During their long run Lusam  found it difficult to think about anything else apart from rescuing Neala.  His mind was still full of the same thoughts as he knelt down and started absent-mindedly collecting the edible berries, and placing them in a large leaf he had removed from a nearby tree. He couldn't help thinking about what would happen to Neala if he didn't reach Stelgad in time. He remembered the story Neala had told him about the night she had been
forced to flee Stelgad for her life, and the fate of her fellow guild members.
He was in no doubt her life would be forfeit to this man Shiva, should he fail to rescue her in time.

Lusam didn't hear Renn walk up behind him, and when he placed a hand on his shoulder he was abruptly startled out of his torturous daydream.

“Don't worry lad, we'll get her back,” he said gently squeezing Lusam's shoulder, before taking a seat beside him on the bank of the stream.

“I hope you're right. I really do,” Lusam said quietly.

“I see you know your berries,” Renn said, nodding towards the small pile Lusam had collected. He knew Renn was only trying to take his mind off Neala by changing the subject, and he was grateful for it.

“Yes, I know most of the edible plants and berries in the forest. I spent  most of my childhood visiting the forest with my grandmother. She taught me what I could and could not eat,” Lusam replied, smiling at the fond memories. Memories that seemed so distant now; like another lifetime.

“Your grandmother?” Renn asked looking puzzled. “Oh, you mean Asima your
Hermingild.
” He took a small amount of berries from the leaf and started eating them.

This time it was Lusam's turn to look puzzled as he asked, “I knew her name was Asima, but what is a
Hermingild
?”
At that moment Renn realised just how little Lusam must know of his own situation, and of his possible future potential. Nor did he know how incredibly important he may be in the fight against the evil hordes of Aamon, now washing over the land he called home. There wasn't enough time for Renn to answer all the questions that Lusam would surely ask if he continued with this conversation. He wasn't sure it should even be him that gave Lusam that information. He knew enough of Lusam's family history to fill in some gaps, but not everything.

Deciding to try and change the subject back to the matter in hand, he turned to Lusam and offered him the waterskin,

“Here, drink some of this lad. We need to get moving again before the light fades. We'll need to make camp well before nightfall. This forest is filled with many dangers at night, and we need to be ready for whatever comes.”

“Dangers? Do you mean wolves?” Lusam asked, forgetting about the strange reference made to his grandmother.

“No. Not wolves lad. There are far more dangerous things that wander this forest at night than wolves. Let's not waste the daylight we have left.” Renn retrieved his
waterskin, refilled it quickly at the stream, then resumed his run in a southerly direction without another word.
Lusam scrambled to catch up and matched the big man's pace for the rest of the afternoon.

It was about two hours later when the light noticeably began to fade fast. The shadows of the now huge trees began to merge into one, as the sun began to disappear beyond the hidden horizon.

They continued to run at what seemed an even faster pace for the final few minutes, before Renn abruptly came to a stop. He turned to Lusam and said, “Here. We'll make camp here for tonight lad. I have enough food for us tonight, but tomorrow we must hunt for fresh supplies.”

Lusam looked around at the spot Renn had chosen as their camp for their first night in the forest, and was a little confused. Apart from a large fallen tree, it looked no different from the countless miles of forest they had been running through all that day. He quickly decided not to question the merits of the location Renn had chosen, as he was more than ready to stop running and rest for the night. In fact, he was so tired he thought he could sleep for days given a chance, until the reality of Neala's situation once again entered his mind, then he was equally sure he would get no sleep at all that night.

Renn started to clear an area of ground where they
would later sleep, removing the fallen branches and rocks.
Lusam followed his example and in no time at all they had a good size area clear of any debris likely to cause discomfort. Lusam then started to collect the fallen branches closest to camp as firewood. He intended to collect enough to see them through the coming night when he was stopped in his tracks by Renn's hushed voice,

“No fire tonight lad. We don't want to be advertising our location to anyone, or anything that may be nearby when it's dark.”

From the look on Renn's face Lusam knew he was serious when he said no fire. It was warm enough this time of year that he doubted he would miss the warmth of a camp fire while he slept. The thing that confused him most was the contradictory signals Renn was giving out. Not long ago he had told Lusam there were dangerous animals in this forest, even more dangerous than wolves. Now he didn't want to light a camp fire. Everyone knew animals are scared of fire, surely it would be their best defence whilst they slept, against any wandering beast that may fancy them as a midnight snack.

Having spent most of his childhood in and around a forest very similar to this one, Lusam decided he wasn't unduly worried about any wild animals that may, or may not reside within its borders. He knew animals given a choice
would avoid humans at all costs, unless cornered, injured or extremely hungry.
He had seen a large amount of game animals and evidence of them during his long run through the forest that day, so he doubted very much that any predator could be hungry enough to attack them because of hunger alone. He decided Renn's warning of dangers hidden within the forest were more likely down to his lack of knowledge of his surroundings, and his decision not to create a camp fire only strengthened Lusam's opinion.

Lusam sat with his back against the fallen tree trunk and watched Renn as he made a few final changes to their chosen camp site. Once he appeared to be satisfied with the area he removed his large shield from his back, and stood it against the fallen tree next to where Lusam guessed he would sleep. Renn then walked five paces from their camp, removed his sword, and with an audible grunt plunged his sword into the earth just outside camp. Lusam cringed at the thought of the damage that may have been caused to Renn's blade, and was about to ask why he would do such a thing when he saw him kneel before his sword, bow his head and begin praying to Aysha.

Lusam watched in silence for several minutes as Renn remained on one knee, head bowed and in prayer, before deciding to join him in a silent prayer for the safe rescue of Neala. After all, what harm could it do if you had a God on your side, as well as one of her paladins.

As Lusam sat there with his eyes closed, praying to Aysha for a favourable outcome to his quest to save Neala, he felt a wave of calm wash over him like a warm ocean wave. A great sense of well being infused him, creating a euphoric feeling, the likes of which he had never felt before. The feeling vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him grasping at the memory of the sensation. Seconds later he remembered to breathe, and gasped for air as he opened his eyes to find Renn standing in front of him, looking down on him with a knowing smile on his face.

“What was that?” Lusam whispered to himself.

“That my boy was Aysha's light, I too felt her presence within you. You are indeed truly blessed to have felt her light Lusam. Many of her most devout priests and paladins go through their entire lives without ever feeling Aysha's light upon them. I have never heard of anyone other than a priest or paladin of Aysha receiving  such a blessing before today.” Renn knelt down at Lusam's side and put his hand once more on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Remarkable. Truly remarkable.” Then, still smiling at Lusam he stood slowly and went to claim his sleeping area, not far from his sword, that still remained buried in the earth.

Lusam remained in a sitting position with his back against the fallen tree for what seemed like a long time. His
mind was trying to make sense of what he had felt during that brief encounter.
He had always prayed to Aysha throughout his life, but he would not have considered himself an especially religious person. In fact, thinking about the times he had prayed during his lifetime, he now realised with a certain amount of guilt, that he had only ever prayed to Aysha during his times of need. His mind simply could not accept that he had just encountered a true God. Neither could he deny the fact of what he had just experienced.

Lusam found himself staring up at the stars, but he couldn't remember changing position and lying down to do so. He could see the twinkle of the stars through the dense canopy of trees as they swayed in the breeze high above; a breeze  that never reached the ground below where they both lay. As he looked at the stars he smiled to himself, knowing somehow everything would be all right, and they would rescue Neala in time. After all, why would Aysha have come to him like that if it wasn't true. He closed his eyes, and almost immediately fell into a deep restful sleep. His dreams were filled with a strange far away magical land, filled with even stranger creatures, but throughout it all he felt happy and safe, because Neala was there beside him.

Chapter Three

In his dream Lusam could hear the terrible inhuman wailing of a creature approaching. Mixed in with the other-worldly noise of the creature he could hear someone calling his name, over and over. The voice sounded very close, but also very distant; like a dream within a dream. He felt a hand close over his mouth as he was shaken awake from his slumber by a man kneeling over him. It took him a few moments for his mind to recognise Renn in the almost pitch blackness of the forest night.

Lusam could just about see Renn put a finger to his lips, indicating that Lusam should remain silent. He wasn't sure where the small amount of light was coming from that enabled him to see even that much, until he sat up and saw it with his own eyes. Renn's sword still remained upright in the ground where he had placed it earlier, but now it glowed
with an eerie soft blue light.
Lusam thought he could even hear it making a sound like a very low humming noise, barely loud enough to hear, but he couldn't be sure above the loud inhuman wailing noise coming from somewhere very nearby in the forest.

Lusam had never heard any forest creature make sounds like that before, or anything else for that matter. It wasn't just the noise either. The sound seemed to pull at the very core of his being, as if whatever it was out there was trying to pull his soul straight out of his body. He shuddered at the very thought of what kind of creature could make him feel that way. Instinctively he knew that it was no creature of this world. His mind raced with any other possibilities, and each were dismissed as impossible as quickly as they materialized.

As the sounds of the wailing grew nearer, the glow from Renn's swords grew brighter. Lusam was now standing next to Renn, and both of them were bathed in the blue light from his sword. Lusam needed to remove the sword, and bury it under something to hide its light before they were spotted, and fast. He took a quick step towards the sword and stretched out his hand, ready to remove it from the ground. Before he could touch the sword Renn intercepted him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him around to face him. He just shook his head slowly and put his finger to his lips again, signalling that Lusam should remain silent.

The sword was now glowing so brightly he was sure everything in the forest for at least a mile around would see them for sure. Still they both stood there bathed in its light for all to see. It was then Lusam saw it, and felt it. A huge shadow passed just in front of their camp. No, it wasn't a  shadow, it was far darker than a shadow. It was nothingness. A perfect void. It pulled all light and heat into itself as it moved towards them. All light except the blue glow from Renn's sword that is. The air temperature plunged, and ice formed in its wake as it passed over the floor of the forest. Plants wilted and died as they came in to contact with the hideous creature.