Shaping Magic (16 page)

When Lindon reached the pool, he knelt at the edge, dunking his face into the cool water to help shake his dream from his mind. The water was cool to his touch but not unpleasant. Sitting back, he looked up to the ceiling of the cavern. “How am I to battle creatures such as these? I am just a simple man.” he said out loud.

Not expecting an answer, he fell back as a small Dwarf appeared beside him. “If not you, then who?”

Lindon scrambled to his feet; he was about to pull his swords but something stayed his hand. The Dwarf did not make any move to attack, so Lindon released the pommels of his swords. “Who are you?” Lindon asked.

“I am one who has come to bestow my gift onto you; my brother has given his, and now it is my turn.”

“I don't understand; do I know your brother?” Lindon asked the strange Dwarf.

“It is okay not to understand, only that you receive the gifts as they are offered.”

Remembering the old blacksmith in the Dwarven city and the lesson about gifts from Dwarfs, Lindon decided he would follow his wisdom and accept whatever he was offered and would ask Donovan later if it were right to accept things from people he didn't know. “I would be honored to accept your gift.”

“Remarkable, to see the spirit of a Dwarf reside in a Human; you just might succeed after all.” The strange little Dwarf seemed to float across the ground as he approached Lindon.

Lindon could not explain later why he did it, but as the Dwarf approached, he knelt down and bowed his head toward him.

“For my gift will be twofold: the first, you shall no longer be in the dark, and for the second, you shall be granted the strength of stone.” As he finished he laid his hand on top of Lindon's head.

Lindon was starting to think this Dwarf wasn't all there in the mind, when a blinding pain shot through his body, starting from the point where the Dwarf had laid his hand. When it was over, Lindon lay gasping for breath. With one last look before he blacked out, he could have sworn that the Dwarf was glowing—not with the glow of magic but with a soft white glow that seemed to ease Lindon's soul.

He awoke for the second time that morning, but this time to the face of Donovan and Aina bending over him, their faces full of worry.

“Praise the gods, he is awake,” he heard Donovan say.

Sitting up, Lindon looked around for any sign of the Dwarf who had been there. Seeing no trace of him, he started to stand. “I am alright; I was attacked, or at least I think I was. I am not entirely sure of what happened.”

“What do you mean you think you were attacked? I told you in this cavern violence cannot happen. It is not only Fenella that guards this place; it is also the sacred carven of Gal Nola! No one would dare attack you here.”

“As I said, I am not entirely sure of what happened,” Lindon told his friends.

“What do you remember and how did you end up lying on the ground?” Aina asked.

Lindon, not feeling too stable on his feet, sat back down and told them of the strange visit from the Dwarf. When he finished, he was looking at Donovan, who had lost all color in his face as Lindon told his story. “Do you know who it was?”

Donovan was trembling when he answered. “I believe you have been visited by none other then Gal Nola and he has granted you his favor!”

“But what does it mean about not being in the dark and strength of stone? I don't understand.”

“The ways of the gods are not for us to understand, but you did the right thing in accepting his gift as a true Dwarf would.”

“If you say so. I would just like to have not been knocked out receiving them,” Lindon smiled. No sense in harping on it, what was done is done and no amount of worrying about it would help. “Let us have our breakfast and then be on our way.”

“Where to from here?” Aina asked.

Lindon looked off into the distance, “We should go back to the Dwarven city and then from there to the sanctuary, where I hope to find my Grandmother and Arden. It’s time for some answers that have been too long kept from me.

Chapter 14

It didn't take long for Lindon to find out what it meant by no longer in the dark. Shortly after leaving the witch's cavern, Lindon found out that like the Dwarfs and the Elves, he could now see in the dark “This is truly amazing; I can see everything—not just the cave walls but even see where we have walked,” Lindon said in an awed voice.

Chuckling, Donovan said, “Now you can see the beauty of the underground, for with no light you can see the marvels of my world.”

“But how can I see where we have already been? How is that possible?”

It was Aina that answered. “With night vision, it is not so much that you can see in the normal way, it is more that you can see the heat that whatever you're looking at gives off.”

“I will have to take your word for it; all I can say is that it is amazing!” Lindon said with wonder.

Neither Aina nor Donovan said anything, only gave each other a look of amusement. To see the childlike joy in Lindon's eyes made them both remember their youth and the pleasure at learning new things and seeing the wonder in the world.

After walking for three and a half days, they had made good time. Walking late and waking early had brought them close to the Dwarven city. When they were no more then an hour away, Donovan froze in midstride. “Something is wrong!” They watched as the Dwarf got a look of pure terror on his face. “My people are under attack!” he shouted and started running.

Both Lindon and Aina looked to each other, then took off running after the Dwarf. When they caught up to him, he was standing at the cave entrance into the city. The sight before them stopped them in their tracks; the city was burning, and they could hear the screams of anguish coming from people in terror.

As they ran into the city, Lindon stopped his friends. “Listen, Donovan. You need to get to the castle and find out what is going on. Aina, go with him; he will need your support. I will try to help the people escape; you will need to tell me where to send anyone I find.”

Donovan was about to argue when Lindon stopped him. “There is no order here; no one seems to be in command, only you can lead your people to safety. Now hurry, your people need you!”

Seeing the logic in what Lindon told him, Donovan nodded and started running toward the castle.

“Be careful” was all Aina said as they took off after Donovan.

Left on his own Lindon made his way toward the closest screams. When he found them, he stopped, the blood draining from his face. The sight before him was more horrific thea he could have imagined. There were three of the Ork creatures tossing a small cloth-wrapped bundle that was crying. On the ground before them were two Dwarfs pleading for their child's life. Beyond the three creatures were four Humans laughing and cheering the Orks on.

In all of Lindon's short life, he had never fought when he was truly angry, but the sight before him shocked him to his core. With pure rage he charged the creatures that were tormenting the Dwarven family.

Lindon was on them before they knew he was there, and with only three swings of his blades, they were dead. Before the bundle could hit the ground, he caught the child and without missing a stride, he planted the child into its parents’ arms and was past them to attack the Humans that had been cheering the Orks in their cruelty.

The Human men tried to organize a defense but Lindon moved with speed that was fueled by anger. The pitiful men didn't stand a chance. Moving faster than they could respond, Lindon seemed to attack all the men at once, and one by one they fell.

When the last one lay dead at his feet, he turned his attention to the Dwarfs. “Are you alright?” he asked them.

They stared up at him with terror, not able to talk. “
Donovan
,” he called in his mind, “
where can I send the people I find
?”

Donovan's voice came to him “
Tell them to make their way to Organack; they will know where to go.”

Turning back to the crying Dwarfs, he said, “I am a friend of Donovan Steel-Heart. You need to make your way to Organack. Do you understand? You must go to Organack,” he said again. “And tell anyone you find to go there!”

His words finally started to sink in, and the woman got up from the ground. “Yes, we understand. Thank you,” she said between sobs. “We will do as you ask, friend of Donovan Steel-Heart.”

When they were safely away, Lindon started to make his way farther into the Dwarven city. Everywhere he looked; he could see smoke billowing out of buildings. The smoke was collecting at the top of the cavern, faster than the vents could release it.

Lindon was running toward the center of the city when from a building, he heard more screams. Rushing in, he found another group of Orks tormenting more defenseless Dwarfs. This time they were an elderly pair. The male was trying to hold them back from his wife, who was already bleeding from a gash on her forehead.

When Lindon burst into the building, the Orks turned to him, but they assumed that he was part of their attack. “You in time for fun,” one of the Orks said to Lindon, grinning and showing his rotten teeth. They didn't react in time when Lindon cut them down from behind, showing no mercy to the creatures.

He approached the helpless couple. “Quickly, we have to go. I am a friend of Donovan's,” he said to them. “You have to make your way to Organack!”

At first, they thought that Lindon was one of the attackers, but hearing the name Donovan and Organack, they realized he was there to help. “Thank you. There is another upstairs; she can't walk,” they told him.

Lindon headed up the stairs two at a time. Seeing the injured Dwarf, he approached her and told who he was. “Is it okay if I carry you?” he asked.

The injured Dwarf only nodded, in too much pain from the wound to her leg to speak.

Lindon picked her up as gently as he could. He realized that he couldn't carry her the entire way and there was no way for the old ones to, so he sent healing energy into her as he came down the stairs. He feared becoming exhausted from healing and didn't completely heal it, but by the time he reached the bottom stair he could set her down, and she could limp along with the others.

Shepherding the trio out of the door and into the street, he guided them to the nearest tunnel that would lead them to safety. When they were safely away, Lindon turned back to the city to look for more survivors. He was surprised to find that there weren't more than the few he had already found—not even dead ones in the street.

Lindon hoped that meant that they had escaped before the invaders attacked. Lindon used the mind communication to call to Aina. “
Is there any way you can tell if there are more survivors in the city
?” he asked her.

After a few seconds, she answered. “
I can feel a large group about two streets to the right from where you are now.
”

Lindon didn't waste time answering. He took off running toward the group Aina said was there. What he found was a group of about a hundred Dwarfs—women and children mostly—backed into a corner in what was a market square. Surrounding them was a ring of about fifty Dwarven males fighting to keep the Orks and Human attackers away.

Again, the rage that had spurred his last fight overwhelmed Lindon, and with no thought to his own safety, he attacked from behind. Without mercy, he killed Humans and Orks alike, seeing no difference between the two.

Lindon seemed to flow between the invaders and where he went, they died. At first, he didn't meet much resistance, but before long they started to turn toward him as their comrades died. When Lindon finally broke through the attackers, he was able to get a closer look at the Dwarven defenders.

Seeing Kailid as one of the defenders, he fought his why too the Dwarf.

Kailid was shocked at seeing Lindon burst out from the attackers, “Lindon! What are you doing here? Where's Donovan?” Kailid said as he used his hammer to smash one of the attackers in the face.

“I sent him to the palace to see what was happening and came here to help.” He ducked under a clumsy swing from an Ork. As he rose, he gutted the creature and blocked a blow from another.

“Well, as you can see, we seem to have an infestation of vermin here.”

“Where did they come from?” he asked as he decapitated another of the foul creatures.

“They came from the same tunnel that we used when you first came and there seems to be no end to them,” he said and nodded to the great staircase where all the carvings were.

Risking a quick glance toward it, Lindon got an idea that may just slow the attackers down a little. “
Donovan, can you hear me?
” Lindon asked in his mind.

“
Yes, Lindon, is everything alright?
” he answered.

“
How far away do you have to be to work with stone?
”

“
I don't know exactly, why
?”

“
There are more attackers coming down the staircase, the same one we used when we first got here, and I was hoping you might be able to bring it down and give us a little breathing room.
”

“
I don't know if I can do so from here, but I will try.
”

“
Do what you can
.” Lindon hoped that the Dwarf could do it; if not, they were going to be overrun very soon.

He ducked out of the way as one of the attackers threw an axe at his head, missing by inches. From behind he heard a scream, and looked quickly over his shoulder. One of the Dwarven females collapsed, the axe that had been meant for him protruding from her chest.

Lindon screamed with rage; that axe was meant for him and had hit an innocent. With the newfound anger that seemed to course through him, he attacked. Lindon exploded into action; he flowed between attackers. Kailid was close behind, the two of them working in perfect unison. Where Lindon would attack high, the Dwarf would attack low; the creatures and men didn't stand a chance against the pair.

Seeing the line of attackers start to fall apart, the other Dwarven warriors soon followed Lindon and Kailid's lead. When he had first arrived, the attackers were closing the ring tighter and tighter around the badly outnumbered Dwarfs, but as Lindon went on the offensive, they were starting to fall back, giving the Dwarfs the advantage. With one last great push forward from the Dwarfs, the invaders broke and fled from the berserker Human and the tough Dwarven fighters.

Lindon wasted no time in celebration. Turning to Kailid, he said, “We need to get everyone out of here; they will be back with more warriors! Donovan said to tell everyone to go to Organack.”

“That is where most of the people have already fled to; these were some of the last ones to go.”

As he told them to start moving a great crashing sound came from above. Lindon saw the large ornate staircase break apart and hundreds of invaders fall to their deaths. “Let’s go!” Lindon yelled.

The group of scared and tired Dwarfs made their way to a tunnel that Lindon assumed would lead them safely out of the city. As the last one went into the tunnel Lindon sent his thought out: “
Aina?
”

“Yes, Lindon
?” her voice came back.

“
Can you see if there are any more Dwarfs left in the city
?”

After a moment, Aina voice said, “
No you are the only ones I can sense in the city except for the ones still left in the castle.
”

“I am on my way!
”

Turning to Kailid, Lindon said, “Is this the only way to Organack?”

“No, there are many ways to get there. This is but one.”

“Good. Can your men bring down this entrance?”

“Yes, it will only take a couple of minutes. All the tunnels are set up to bring down easily.”