In Between Dragons

By

Ithinkadrianne

Disclaimer: Patricia C. Wrede owns the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I own Ivis. I'm making him up as I go along, but I'm starting to grow attached to him. So yeah, hands off.

Chapter Six: In Which They Find How and Where

Telemain ran forward and looked Morwen in the eyes as if an answer suddenly showed itself in them. Morwen jumped back and threw her hands up. "I've been pinged? What is he talking about?"

Telemain ignored her. Instead he looked to Ivis and asked, "just now?"

"No. Days ago. Maybe even weeks. Now back up boy! You're scaring the wits out of her!"

He shook himself and backed away from Morwen. "Sorry Morwen."

She took her own step back and gave him a warning look. "Think nothing of it."

Once again, he ignored her and turned back to his mentor. "You're sure Ivis?"

"All the signs are there."

Morwen shook her head in confusion, exchanging a look with Amory. "Wait a moment! How was I pinged? I've never felt a thing! Can someone feel it? I'm completely confused."

Ivis leaned his staff against the wall and crossed his arms. "You could have been asleep at the time. It's not exactly something that one expects really. And a good spell caster can even go so far as to avoid being detected if they really wanted. That might've been your case."

She became very uneasy. "Does that mean that someone's been spying on me?"

"It could be. At times, someone can be pinged when they're venerable. A good example is when someone is feeling stress or drama in their lives. If they can't sleep, so much the better for the spell caster."

Morwen locked eyes with Telemain and he nodded. The bad dreams, he thought to himself. She's the leak.

"So does this mean whoever stole the sword found out it's location through me?" she said closing her eyes in defeat.

Ivis tilted his head. "Sword? What sword?"

Telemain ran a hand through his hair in exhaustion. "We better have a seat Ivis. This may take a while to explain."

"Oh! Of course! Where are my manners? Hope you excuse the place. Don't get many visitors out here and I haven't even had an apprentice in three years."

Ivis backed up and welcomed everyone over the threshold. Telemain looked around and wasn't surprised to see that the shack hadn't changed much since he had last visited. Despite how much it looked like it would fall in from the outside, the inside was rather comfortable. Ivis had a large, scrubbed table in the middle of his living room with two long benches on either side. It would have easily sat ten people comfortably and fourteen if people wouldn't mind less elbow room. Why he had it when no one visited him, Telemain never understood. Stacks of books and paperwork lied here and there throughout the space. The room had three doors leading off in different directions. Through the left door was a rather cluttered library. Through the center looked to be a comfortable, but rustic kitchen. The right door was closed, but Telemain knew it lead off to living quarters for more than one guest. Everything around them was lit with warm candlelight and a fire in the stone furnace in the corner of the room. Telemain suddenly felt at home just as he had when he was eighteen.

Ivis disappeared into the kitchen, only to return with a tray of food. "Guessing you lot must be famished after trekking all day. It's half passed eight after all. Let's have some eats!"

The tray was full of fresh wheat bread, grapes, strawberries, and a mild cheese that Telemain couldn't quite put his finger on. Ivis went over to the sideboard and produced an ancient bottle of wine. As he searched the drawer for a corkscrew, he said, "so tell me what brings you out my way Telemain. This isn't exactly a family reunion."

Telemain took a seat next to Morwen. They exchanged a quick look before he launched into his story. "What was the last you heard about the King of the Enchanted Forest?"

"What, that boy Mendanbar? Got married didn't he?" Ivis found the corkscrew and set to work on the bottle.

"That was a few years ago, yes. There have been developments since then, however."

And Telemain told Ivis about the past eight or so years and what it had meant for the Enchanted Forest, from the Society of Wizards attacking the castle, to Cimorene and Daystar going into hiding. When Telemain got to the missing sword of the king and the antibellum being found in it's place, Ivis grinned in amusement.

"So this is what brought you out all this way! You remembered I'm from the north and studied them."

"Precisely," Telemain replied with doubt. "It isn't in vain, is it?"

Ivis waved his hands. "Of course not, of course not. I still keep up with some of the older traditions."

Brandel didn't look convinced. "So that means you'll help us?"

"I'd be a rather petty host if I didn't." He looked over to Amory and mumbled, "my goodness dear girl, you are right. Your cousin is rather tactless." Brandel gaped for a moment, unable to take in what the old man had said as he held out his hand. "Where's the antibellum?"

Telemain looked to Morwen as she reached into her sleeve and pulled out the silver amulet. She gave it a once over, then handed it to the wizard.

Ivis carefully ran his fingers over the antibellum's many edges. He seemed to take every bit of it in by touch before he removed the black band covering his cyclopes like eye. It fluttered for a moment, blinking his vision into view, then focused in on the silver surface.

Everyone waited with baited breath as he turned it over in his hands for another few moments. "Well now," Ivis finally mumbled. "This is definitely from the north end."

"Do you have a current registry?" Telemain asked, rising from his seat.

"Not current, but it's only five years old. And these things don't exactly change much anymore."

"Where is it?"

"If I remember right, in the study, case on the right, second shelf."

Telemain rose up and went into the other room. Ivis put the black band over his eye once again as Jack considered for a long moment.

"What is it Gypsy man?" Ivis asked. "Something on your mind?"

Jack was a little startled. "Just curious, that's all. I've never met a soothsayer before, let alone a cyclopes."

"Ah, you're curious about the eyes, eh?" Ivis chuckled warmly.

"Not to seem rude, but I wouldn't mind knowing myself," Morwen added crossing her arms. "You're not exactly a common race among us, whether here or there you understand."

Ivis gave another bark of a laugh. "Not at all, not at all! Ask away my dear."

Morwen studied his face for a long moment then asked, "I don't understand how you can see. You're eyes are so…" Words failed her.

"Messed up?" he offered with a grin. "Only the human ones." Ivis removed both bands again, all three of them blinking to life. He pointed to the two lower ones. "The human eyes are dead to me and basically just sit for show. I got the cataracts a few years back and I haven't been able to make out hide nor hair of anything with them since. Rather than battle with them, I just keep them covered to begin with." He tied the lower band back as the remain eye blinked rapidly at them all. "The cyclopes eye is the money maker. Not only can I see the world around me when I need to, I can also see beyond, if you understand what I mean. Just like with miss Morwen here. As soon as I focused on her, I could sense something was amiss."

Morwen looked more startled than ever. "You mean…you can see the magic around me? Around anyone?"

Ivis shrugged his shoulders as the eye focused on her. "Not see so much. But I could figure out your emotions rather easily."

"Get out of town!" Jack exclaimed, clearly entertained with the new acquaintance. "What can you tell about me?"

Ivis snorted. "You try to be a hard one to peg, but that's only because you're well traveled. Truth is you're completely love struck and this young idiot," he said pointing to Brandel, "does not approve in the least." Brandel's eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent. Ivis looked over to him, the cyclopes eye focusing in. "You are very angry because you feel you are in competition with everyone. It's sad because while you put up a front, you fail to see the people around you who care so much for your foolish heart." Ivis then turned to Amory. "You, young lady, sense what he can not. In turn, you exalt that feeling onto others, if maybe, a little too much." Taking a breath, he looked to Morwen. She shifted a bit and he said, "I don't mean to alarm you Morwen, seeing into your life and all. I can just sense so much about you with barely a look. I think it's because you are one with the world around you. Very natural and in tune with nature. I sense the feline in you and the smell of herbs."

Morwen gave a half smile and ran her hand down Aunt Ophelia's back. The cat purred warmly. "And?"

Ivis sighed. "And I can sense you have a heavy heart." It didn't surprise Morwen to see everyone focus on her so intently. She ignored it and simply listened to Ivis. "You've seen loss around you recently. Not death, but close. And you worry for those you love around you. You worry that the same could happen to those who are still close to you, both friends and family." Ivis replaced the second band over his third eye. "And now I've added to those worries because you fear you're the tattle-tail in all of this sword flim flam business."

Jack leaned forward with a grin on his face. "And what about Telemain?" he asked. "What can you tell us about him?"

Ivis looked up just as Telemain walked back into the room, paging through the registry. "Telemain? He's simply a maniac, that's all."

The group laughed, Morwen absentmindedly stroking Ophelia. But Telemain ignored them all, immersed in the thick volume. After a frustrated moment, he shut it with a snap. "Ivis, I have no idea how to read this thing. It's a all a jumble of letters, numbers and symbols."

"Give it here," Ivis replied holding out an old scabbed hand.

Telemain handed the book over and Ivis skipped half of the pages in the front. He eventually continued his search with his right hand while holding the antibellum with the left. Several minutes of silence passed while the wizard worked diligently.

Amory helped herself to another strawberry. "Are you having trouble finding what you're looking for?"

"A bit," Ivis replied. "The problem with antibellums is they are an alphabet all their own. And the real unfortunate thing is the alphabet has no real order. So it's more of a point and shoot when looking up a specific amulet. Plus, if you don't know what wizarding family or lineage you're looking for, kiss at least an hour of your life goodbye."

Telemain and Morwen exchanged a look of worry when Ivis finally exclaimed, "wait a tick! I knew this seemed familiar!"

"What's that?" Telemain asked, leaning forward with interest.

"The antibellum isn't from a lineage at all. It's part of a legacy!"

"Oh good lord!" Telemain exclaimed jumping up out of his seat. "You mean the person who took the sword is nothing but a treasure hunter?"

The table nearly exploded.

"What do you mean?"

"You still don't know who took the sword?"

"A treasure hunter?"

"Settle down!" Morwen bellowed over everyone. The room went silent at once and she caught her breath. She sat back down in her seat and looked from Telemain to Ivis. "Now what on earth does the antibellum being a legacy have to do with treasure hunting? I'm about as confused as anyone right now."

Telemain merely moaned and rested his head on the table. Ivis went on flipping through the book and found the page he was looking for. "When an antibellum represents a legacy, it doesn't necessarily represent a certain person. It instead represents a belief. So basically someone leaves one of these at the scene of the crime, they're calling out on their whole congregation."

"It's like the Masons," Telemain moaned into his arms. "If they left an amulet of a hammer, you wouldn't know who to hunt down. They all have that same symbol."

Willin looked positively sick by this news. "So the sword is gone…forever…"

"Of course not!" Ivis snapped. "I say, you lot are greatly impatient." He turned the register book around and pointed to a diagram of a antibellum. The design didn't match, but it was, however, very close. "This is the Antibellum of the Lost Princess. Now, it's not an exact match for what we have here, but I believe whoever made this physical one just decided to embellish upon it a bit. Plus, there's good news in this. Those who are followers of the legacy of the Lost Princess all live in a rather centralized location."

Telemain's head shot up from the table. "And that's where?"

"The kingdoms of the northeastern coast." Ivis grinned and placed the antibellum back down on the table between Telemain and Morwen.

…to be continued…