Chapter 1-The Seven Masters
Bear looked out through the night across the land. He sneered at the thought of other tribes fighting and ambushing each other. He turned from the view and walked back to his own tribe.
He was in a terrible mood. He walked through the Barbarians that shrunk from him, pushing away those who didn't move fast enough and slaying one goblin. He moved to the tent next to his and barged in. "Cheetah, why aren't we closer to the Great Temple?!"
The half-naked theif didn't bother to cover herself. She was used to him interrupting her at moments like this. "We are going as fast as we can, Cheif Bear, but there are children and old ones that need to be taken care of."
He didn't like the answer. His response dripped sarcasm. "Oh, is that all? Well then, why don't we just go at a pace that works for them and arrive months after some other tribe?" His voice hardened. "Let the children ride with the warriors and kill any old ones that start falling behind. I want to reach the Pyramid in two fortnights, do you hear me?"
She bowed slightly, emphasizing her bosom. "Yes, Cheif Bear. It will be as you say."
He left the tent, leaving her to cover herself.
A corsair ship sailed along the coast looking for a spot to land. One sailor came up behind the captain. "Captain Aphrodite, we are nearing Torrentt."
The captain left off from watching the sea serpents in the open sea fighting and looked to the woman in front of her. "I know, Melusina. If you look to the coast, you can see the kraken escorts moving toward us."
Melusina looked out into the night. Sure enough, two large objects were moving toward them. She started to turn back, but something caught her eye. She looked again and noticed bright lights on the top of the shapes. Fires! In the light of one, she could notice a large man dressed in red armor pointing at them with his sword. She called to the captain, "Those aren't Kraken! They're Fire Ferries!"
A bright light shot from one of the ships and hit the manta carrying the wooden frame. It screamed and the ship bucked beneath her feet. "They've got a mage!"
Aphrodite was already sterring the ship away from the ferries, but the wounded manta slowed. "Why by the waves of Synora did this have to happen when we were returning from spying on them?!" she swore.
Another shot slammed into the wooden frame of the ship. The flames began to spread. Soon every sailor on the ship was trying to dodge the enemy fire and put out the flames. Another shot hit the mast and it began to fall.
Melusina watched as it started leaning towards Aphrodite. "Move it! The mast is falling!"
Aphrodite looked at her. Her face glowed eerily in the light of the fires as she said, "It's the unwritten rule of sailing. The captain always travels to Synora's kingdom with their ship."
The mast came crashing down on her. Melusina had no time to greive. Another shot had hit the manta in the face. It started to sink as its eyes glazed over. She ran to the side of the ship and lauched into the air.
Everything happened at once as she sailed through the air. A burst of light from the ferry. The wooden frame exploding in flame, then collapsing in on itself. The manta screamed feebily one more time, then sank to the bottom of the ocean, never to rise, carrying the crew of the corsair ship.
Melusina looked at the two ferries, listening to the cries of victory, before heading towards land.
"Good news, everyone! Two of our ferries just sank a corsair ship!"
Everyone in the tavern cheered at the news. More than one soldier bought drinks for everyone. Even a dwarven theif did, and they were reputed to be especially stingy towards gold.
Edygor went back to the bar for the seventh time. He tripped more than once and almost hit a table. He leered at the serving girl. "Hey, honey, can you get me another drink?" She ignored him. He asked more forcefully. "Can ya get me the damn drink, honey?"
She looked at him disdainly. "Honey can get you a drink if she wants. If you want to talk to me, it's 'Hey, Miss.' Can you handle that?"
"Why sure, honey. Now go get me that drink."
She sighed and gave it to him. He barely made it back to the table, and then realized it was the wrong one. He started moving towards his own table. He tripped and the mug of beer flew through the air, shattering over a large soldier's head and drenching him.
Edygor lurched to his feet and looked up into the angry man's face. "Why are you all wet? Is it hot outside or somethi-" The rest of the question was lost as the big soldier punched him in the face.
He staggered, then came back, fists flying. The punch had completely sobered him. He dodged another swing and punched the other in the stomach. He followed with a quick uppercut to the jaw. The soldier grunted in pain as he staggered backwards, then steadied himself and drew his sword.
Edygor could tell that the man was very drunk. He would probably try his best to kill him. The man charged at him, sword raised. He dodged and the sword cut into the table. He kicked the soldier in the face. The man flew backwards and smashed through a table. He fell to the floor unconcious.
Edygor stood, breathing heavily. He calmed himself, ran a hand through his hair and walked back up to the bar. "Hey, honey. Can I have another drink?"
The junior wizard ran up to Engbert. "Sir, I've found something that might help us learn that new spell!"
The senior wizard looked back at him. "You mean that spell that can let you see farther? What was it called, 'Falcon's Eye'?"
The junior nodded. "I found a volume with a weird code in it. It has one piece that I can understand. It tells of a wizard using it in the past."
Engbert smiled. "Good job, Alisandre. Let me see this book."
They walked across the mage library. Alisandre picked up the book and turned it to the right page. He handed it to Engbert, who stood studying it for some time. Finally, he looked up from the book. "This isn't the Falcon's Eye spell."
Alisandre slumped into a chair. "I knew it wouldn't be it."
Engbert continued. "This is something much more important. This says that it is possible for spirits of ancient knights to be resurrected. If we can find something else on this spell, we could finally have a good weapon against the Barbarians!"
It took a moment for the full impact of what was said to strike Alisandre. He jumped out of the seat. "Then we can finally get rid of those marauders that keep on striking Symmett!"
Engbert nodded, smiling at the young ones enthusiasm. "And once we do that, maybe we can have a lord again, and order will be restored, as the Triad would will it."
Alisandre closed his eyes and looked to the sky. "Time, Energy, and Space, each in its proper place, each doing its proper task. And we shall do as they, under the Lord of Order."
Engbert looked at him and smiled. "You will be a proper Archon soon. Now, lets get to the Mage Tower and find someone to help us.
Acaikor stood in front of the throne, listening as King Atmos finished his orders. "Now, go to the Sky Tower and regain it from those marauders, or you will be executed."
He bowed to the king and left the room. He left the palace and walked through the streets of Atmos. He was tired of this tyrant ruling the High Places. Naming himself king and even changing the name of the main city, Thond'r, to his own. /Soon,/ he thought, /I will force him off the throne and do a great thing for my people.
He walked to the entrance of the Theives Guild. Two fairies blocked his path until they recognized him. He stormed into the center of the guild and announced, "By the order of King Atmos, I have been told to get the best thief and the three best fae slingers to accompany me to the Air Great Temple! These four, stand up and be recognized."
Four fairies walked up and bowed before him. He gave papers to two of the slingers. "You, I want to go to the Mage Tower and tell the sorcerers to conjure up a will o'wisp and an air elemental. You, I want to go to the Barracks and get a storm warrior, three eagles, and three windriders. Hurry back so we can journey as fast as possible."
The two departed and the three remaining went to the gates of Atmos. The sun rose over the city.
Feriam walked away from the man he had just talked to, who remarked to his companion that halflings are almost good for nothing. He smiled as he counted how much gold the person HAD had in his purse. /Good for nothing except thievery./ he thought.
He walked back through the crowd. He looked at all the carts in the market. He finally spent some of his new gold on food, and the rest for a new dagger.
He walked through the streets, looking for someone else to steal from. /Noplace has more gold in it than Klay./ He started looking for dwarves, for they were said to hoard the gold that they own.
Finally, he spotted one. He moved closer and noticed a large pouch hanging from his shoulder. He moved up next to him and tried to distract him. "Good day, kind sir. Is it too much to ask for a piece of gold?"
The dwarf stopped and looked at him for a second. He started rooting through his pouch. Finally he brought out a gold coin. He handed it to Feriam. "Here you go, halfling. Last of my money. Use it wisely."
Feriam looked in shock at the coin he held in his hand. He ran after the dwarf. He caught up and asked suspiciously, "Why are you doing this? Dwarves have a reputation of not giving a copper piece even though they might have tons of gold."
The dwarf looked at him sideways. "Will be of better use to you than me. I have to visit the Forbidden Forest tomorrow, and I'm not sure that I'm coming back." He hurried away, stopping once to call, "By the way, my name is Torin."
He nodded once, answering, "Feriam!" Then Torin was lost in the crowd.
"Anymir? Anymir!"
The elven enchantress looked around. Why couldn't she find him when she needed to? "ANYMIR!!"
She found his steed at the top of a hill. The lizard adknowledged her with a flick of its tongue and pointed down the hill with his tail. Below, Anymir was praying to Llyanwylln. She called down to him again.
Finally, he looked up to the enchantress above him. "Can't you wait until I'm finished before you need me?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Then you should give me no reasons to need you. Like that brownie that you sent to me last week, for instance. I am sick and tired of that thing hanging around me and annoying me! If you don't send him away..."
He sighed. "I'll get him out of there in a second, Elentari. Just let me finish."
He completed his prayers and climbed up the hill. He petted the lizard's head then mounted it. He rode alongside Elentari, towards Thryv.
The brownie spotted them coming and immediately headed for Elentari. She groaned as he got nearer. "Oh, no, here it comes again."
He reached them and immediately started talking rapidly. "Hey, how are you doing? Where were you guys, leaving me alone like that? I was looking for you all over the place. You really have some nerve leaving me like that. If you keep that up, I might stop hanging around with you guys. Oh, what am I saying? I would never leave you guys. You're just too fun. Hey, wanna see a new trick I learned? It's really neat. Maybe I'll show you later. So how are you doing? Where were you guys, leav-OW!"
He sat down hard, rubbing the spot where Anymir had just hit him over the head with his staff. Anymir dismounted and said, "Listen. I sent you to Elentari as a joke, OK? You don't have to keep on bothering her anymore. In fact, you should have stopped at the end of the first day."
The brownie looked up at him. "Oh, the first day? I thought you meant the first fortnight. Boy, that's a really big lizard. How much does it weigh? Is it a boy or a girl? It's really big. I wonder how much it weighs?"
Anymir asked, "How much do you weigh?"
He replied, "Oh, about one stone. Why?"
Anymir's eyes narrowed. "Well, it weighs about ten stones now, so I guess it will weigh about eleven stones in a second."
The brownie's eyes widened. It managed a quick "Bye-bye" as it ran for its life.
The two elves looked at each other for a second, then started laughing so hard that they could barely stand up.
"Hahaha, you could see the moment that he got the message, hoohoo!
"Heeheehee, did you see his eyes? They were, haha, as large as he was!"
The sunset lit the sky with brilliant colors to match the friends' moods.
Bear looked out through the night across the land. He sneered at the thought of other tribes fighting and ambushing each other. He turned from the view and walked back to his own tribe.
He was in a terrible mood. He walked through the Barbarians that shrunk from him, pushing away those who didn't move fast enough and slaying one goblin. He moved to the tent next to his and barged in. "Cheetah, why aren't we closer to the Great Temple?!"
The half-naked theif didn't bother to cover herself. She was used to him interrupting her at moments like this. "We are going as fast as we can, Cheif Bear, but there are children and old ones that need to be taken care of."
He didn't like the answer. His response dripped sarcasm. "Oh, is that all? Well then, why don't we just go at a pace that works for them and arrive months after some other tribe?" His voice hardened. "Let the children ride with the warriors and kill any old ones that start falling behind. I want to reach the Pyramid in two fortnights, do you hear me?"
She bowed slightly, emphasizing her bosom. "Yes, Cheif Bear. It will be as you say."
He left the tent, leaving her to cover herself.
A corsair ship sailed along the coast looking for a spot to land. One sailor came up behind the captain. "Captain Aphrodite, we are nearing Torrentt."
The captain left off from watching the sea serpents in the open sea fighting and looked to the woman in front of her. "I know, Melusina. If you look to the coast, you can see the kraken escorts moving toward us."
Melusina looked out into the night. Sure enough, two large objects were moving toward them. She started to turn back, but something caught her eye. She looked again and noticed bright lights on the top of the shapes. Fires! In the light of one, she could notice a large man dressed in red armor pointing at them with his sword. She called to the captain, "Those aren't Kraken! They're Fire Ferries!"
A bright light shot from one of the ships and hit the manta carrying the wooden frame. It screamed and the ship bucked beneath her feet. "They've got a mage!"
Aphrodite was already sterring the ship away from the ferries, but the wounded manta slowed. "Why by the waves of Synora did this have to happen when we were returning from spying on them?!" she swore.
Another shot slammed into the wooden frame of the ship. The flames began to spread. Soon every sailor on the ship was trying to dodge the enemy fire and put out the flames. Another shot hit the mast and it began to fall.
Melusina watched as it started leaning towards Aphrodite. "Move it! The mast is falling!"
Aphrodite looked at her. Her face glowed eerily in the light of the fires as she said, "It's the unwritten rule of sailing. The captain always travels to Synora's kingdom with their ship."
The mast came crashing down on her. Melusina had no time to greive. Another shot had hit the manta in the face. It started to sink as its eyes glazed over. She ran to the side of the ship and lauched into the air.
Everything happened at once as she sailed through the air. A burst of light from the ferry. The wooden frame exploding in flame, then collapsing in on itself. The manta screamed feebily one more time, then sank to the bottom of the ocean, never to rise, carrying the crew of the corsair ship.
Melusina looked at the two ferries, listening to the cries of victory, before heading towards land.
"Good news, everyone! Two of our ferries just sank a corsair ship!"
Everyone in the tavern cheered at the news. More than one soldier bought drinks for everyone. Even a dwarven theif did, and they were reputed to be especially stingy towards gold.
Edygor went back to the bar for the seventh time. He tripped more than once and almost hit a table. He leered at the serving girl. "Hey, honey, can you get me another drink?" She ignored him. He asked more forcefully. "Can ya get me the damn drink, honey?"
She looked at him disdainly. "Honey can get you a drink if she wants. If you want to talk to me, it's 'Hey, Miss.' Can you handle that?"
"Why sure, honey. Now go get me that drink."
She sighed and gave it to him. He barely made it back to the table, and then realized it was the wrong one. He started moving towards his own table. He tripped and the mug of beer flew through the air, shattering over a large soldier's head and drenching him.
Edygor lurched to his feet and looked up into the angry man's face. "Why are you all wet? Is it hot outside or somethi-" The rest of the question was lost as the big soldier punched him in the face.
He staggered, then came back, fists flying. The punch had completely sobered him. He dodged another swing and punched the other in the stomach. He followed with a quick uppercut to the jaw. The soldier grunted in pain as he staggered backwards, then steadied himself and drew his sword.
Edygor could tell that the man was very drunk. He would probably try his best to kill him. The man charged at him, sword raised. He dodged and the sword cut into the table. He kicked the soldier in the face. The man flew backwards and smashed through a table. He fell to the floor unconcious.
Edygor stood, breathing heavily. He calmed himself, ran a hand through his hair and walked back up to the bar. "Hey, honey. Can I have another drink?"
The junior wizard ran up to Engbert. "Sir, I've found something that might help us learn that new spell!"
The senior wizard looked back at him. "You mean that spell that can let you see farther? What was it called, 'Falcon's Eye'?"
The junior nodded. "I found a volume with a weird code in it. It has one piece that I can understand. It tells of a wizard using it in the past."
Engbert smiled. "Good job, Alisandre. Let me see this book."
They walked across the mage library. Alisandre picked up the book and turned it to the right page. He handed it to Engbert, who stood studying it for some time. Finally, he looked up from the book. "This isn't the Falcon's Eye spell."
Alisandre slumped into a chair. "I knew it wouldn't be it."
Engbert continued. "This is something much more important. This says that it is possible for spirits of ancient knights to be resurrected. If we can find something else on this spell, we could finally have a good weapon against the Barbarians!"
It took a moment for the full impact of what was said to strike Alisandre. He jumped out of the seat. "Then we can finally get rid of those marauders that keep on striking Symmett!"
Engbert nodded, smiling at the young ones enthusiasm. "And once we do that, maybe we can have a lord again, and order will be restored, as the Triad would will it."
Alisandre closed his eyes and looked to the sky. "Time, Energy, and Space, each in its proper place, each doing its proper task. And we shall do as they, under the Lord of Order."
Engbert looked at him and smiled. "You will be a proper Archon soon. Now, lets get to the Mage Tower and find someone to help us.
Acaikor stood in front of the throne, listening as King Atmos finished his orders. "Now, go to the Sky Tower and regain it from those marauders, or you will be executed."
He bowed to the king and left the room. He left the palace and walked through the streets of Atmos. He was tired of this tyrant ruling the High Places. Naming himself king and even changing the name of the main city, Thond'r, to his own. /Soon,/ he thought, /I will force him off the throne and do a great thing for my people.
He walked to the entrance of the Theives Guild. Two fairies blocked his path until they recognized him. He stormed into the center of the guild and announced, "By the order of King Atmos, I have been told to get the best thief and the three best fae slingers to accompany me to the Air Great Temple! These four, stand up and be recognized."
Four fairies walked up and bowed before him. He gave papers to two of the slingers. "You, I want to go to the Mage Tower and tell the sorcerers to conjure up a will o'wisp and an air elemental. You, I want to go to the Barracks and get a storm warrior, three eagles, and three windriders. Hurry back so we can journey as fast as possible."
The two departed and the three remaining went to the gates of Atmos. The sun rose over the city.
Feriam walked away from the man he had just talked to, who remarked to his companion that halflings are almost good for nothing. He smiled as he counted how much gold the person HAD had in his purse. /Good for nothing except thievery./ he thought.
He walked back through the crowd. He looked at all the carts in the market. He finally spent some of his new gold on food, and the rest for a new dagger.
He walked through the streets, looking for someone else to steal from. /Noplace has more gold in it than Klay./ He started looking for dwarves, for they were said to hoard the gold that they own.
Finally, he spotted one. He moved closer and noticed a large pouch hanging from his shoulder. He moved up next to him and tried to distract him. "Good day, kind sir. Is it too much to ask for a piece of gold?"
The dwarf stopped and looked at him for a second. He started rooting through his pouch. Finally he brought out a gold coin. He handed it to Feriam. "Here you go, halfling. Last of my money. Use it wisely."
Feriam looked in shock at the coin he held in his hand. He ran after the dwarf. He caught up and asked suspiciously, "Why are you doing this? Dwarves have a reputation of not giving a copper piece even though they might have tons of gold."
The dwarf looked at him sideways. "Will be of better use to you than me. I have to visit the Forbidden Forest tomorrow, and I'm not sure that I'm coming back." He hurried away, stopping once to call, "By the way, my name is Torin."
He nodded once, answering, "Feriam!" Then Torin was lost in the crowd.
"Anymir? Anymir!"
The elven enchantress looked around. Why couldn't she find him when she needed to? "ANYMIR!!"
She found his steed at the top of a hill. The lizard adknowledged her with a flick of its tongue and pointed down the hill with his tail. Below, Anymir was praying to Llyanwylln. She called down to him again.
Finally, he looked up to the enchantress above him. "Can't you wait until I'm finished before you need me?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Then you should give me no reasons to need you. Like that brownie that you sent to me last week, for instance. I am sick and tired of that thing hanging around me and annoying me! If you don't send him away..."
He sighed. "I'll get him out of there in a second, Elentari. Just let me finish."
He completed his prayers and climbed up the hill. He petted the lizard's head then mounted it. He rode alongside Elentari, towards Thryv.
The brownie spotted them coming and immediately headed for Elentari. She groaned as he got nearer. "Oh, no, here it comes again."
He reached them and immediately started talking rapidly. "Hey, how are you doing? Where were you guys, leaving me alone like that? I was looking for you all over the place. You really have some nerve leaving me like that. If you keep that up, I might stop hanging around with you guys. Oh, what am I saying? I would never leave you guys. You're just too fun. Hey, wanna see a new trick I learned? It's really neat. Maybe I'll show you later. So how are you doing? Where were you guys, leav-OW!"
He sat down hard, rubbing the spot where Anymir had just hit him over the head with his staff. Anymir dismounted and said, "Listen. I sent you to Elentari as a joke, OK? You don't have to keep on bothering her anymore. In fact, you should have stopped at the end of the first day."
The brownie looked up at him. "Oh, the first day? I thought you meant the first fortnight. Boy, that's a really big lizard. How much does it weigh? Is it a boy or a girl? It's really big. I wonder how much it weighs?"
Anymir asked, "How much do you weigh?"
He replied, "Oh, about one stone. Why?"
Anymir's eyes narrowed. "Well, it weighs about ten stones now, so I guess it will weigh about eleven stones in a second."
The brownie's eyes widened. It managed a quick "Bye-bye" as it ran for its life.
The two elves looked at each other for a second, then started laughing so hard that they could barely stand up.
"Hahaha, you could see the moment that he got the message, hoohoo!
"Heeheehee, did you see his eyes? They were, haha, as large as he was!"
The sunset lit the sky with brilliant colors to match the friends' moods.