Chapter 15: As it Tends to Do

Sara woke up in blackness on top of the cliff. For crying out loud! I’m getting really sick of this place.

She climbed down the cliff without the aid of a light, hitting bottom and waiting for Nanashi. They always said I heard voices…never thought they were right.

The voice floated out. “You’re growing stronger. Soon you won’t need any of them.”

Talk like that made Sara nervous. “I’ll always need my friends.”

Nanashi’s response was hard mocking laughter. “You called them friends. Do you really think they are? You think you need them?”

Sara didn’t have to answer. Nanashi’s voice turned thoughtful. “Apparently you do. Interesting. Well, our time for this is over. Enjoy the waking world.”

Sara said nothing as the pain began, concentrating on dissipating it.

“Sara, you must stop fighting it and give in to make it go away.”

She laughed, but it came out as a hoarse gasp because of the pain. “If you had…told me that at the…beginning…I might’ve…believed you then.”

The pain eased and the light came, turning her vision to white, and then darkness.

She opened her eyes to more darkness. A brief moment of panic at not being able to move her legs set in, which left when her light revealed a pile of sand on her lower body. The sand was easily moved, and she extended the light to wherever she was.

It looked like a tunnel. The sand two dozen feet above her head looked solid enough, but so had the sand beneath her feet up on the surface. Now she was completely disoriented, and had no idea where to go. Either follow the tunnel up, or follow the tunnel down. Going up means fresh air, freedom, and possibly the others.

She started the trek. The tunnels were a bit steep, but she never had to climb. Time raced by, not heeding the struggle. She got to what apparently used to be the hole they fell through…only to see it end in sand. I don’t dare try to dig up…a cave-in is the last thing I need. Well, if the others survived…She mentally avoided thinking like that. …then they can’t have gone up here, so they must be down there.

She looked around. There was a piece of wood in the tunnel. It appeared to be an old signpost. The engraving was too hard to make out in the dim light, so she put it to the best use she could think of.

Sara flew down the tunnel, standing on the board, effectively surfing the sand down the tunnel for the better part of an hour, until a wavering light in the distance slowed her down.

Getting off the board and taking it with her, she crept closer to the light, which now appeared to be moving towards her. She tensed and readied a defensive spell.

A torch lit up a familiar face. “Milar?”

Milar’s shoulders sank with relief. “Yes. We’ve been looking all over for you. We’re all here, and we’ve found a sort of shelter. Let’s go.”

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the “shelter.” Sara craned her neck, looking upwards. The tunnel roof sloped up and disappeared into darkness. A tall building, clearly old in design, rose out of the sand and formed an excellent place to rest.

She walked up the steps to the main floor. Tall pillars supported a heavy marble roof, which must have been incredible to behold before the sand wore it down. The tents were set up in the middle, and the rest of the group sat in a circle talking in hushed voices. When they saw her they rose to their feet, welcoming Sara back.

After thanking them for the warm reception, it was time to figure out what was going on. “What is this place?” Darren turned to her. “I wish I knew. This thing looks like an old meeting place or something. We can’t really go anywhere, so we’ve been discussing what options we have.” He noticed the piece of wood in her hand. “What’s that?”

She held it up, staring at it as if seeing it for the first time. “I don’t know. Something I found further up in the tunnel, near where we got sucked in. I used it to slide down here.” Everyone smiled except Darren. He was busy examining the writing on the board. Sara handed it to him. “I couldn’t make out what it said.”

Darren grinned. “There are ways of taking care of that.”

He stood the board up against one of the pillars and stepped away, motioning to Acerin. A bright flash of searing flame from Acerin burned the board completely away and etched the word FIMAS into the marble. Darren sat down heavily on the floor. “Fimas. The resting point at the end of the desert.”

Sara looked at the others, then back at him. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

Darren looked up at her. “It means the desert is constantly expanding, and even swallowing towns. That’s why we couldn’t get past before night fell. The desert was bigger. And that explains why this place looks familiar. It’s part of the town.”

Sara looked towards the back. “What’s back there?” Fraydon shrugged. “We don’t know. It seemed too unstable to explore safely.”

Sara began to walk towards it, Milar calling after her. “Where do you think you’re going? It’s unstable!” She looked back, shaking her head. “No, it’ll be fine. It’s stable.”

Milar looked at Darren for help. Darren got the same response. So he asked “But how do you know that, Sara?” “I…don’t know. I just do.”

Darren shrugged helplessly and followed her into the darkness. Milar followed him after a moment’s hesitation. Thendat and Fraydon looked at each other and followed, shaking their heads. Acerin hung back for a little while, then realized how bored he was and went as well. Legerra trailed, muttering. “This is crazy.” He raised his voice. “I hope you all know that! This is craziness!”

Sara walked forward, still not understanding why she felt the urge to keep going. The pillars formed a hallway, the roof now slanting downwards. Normally she would feel trapped, but this was hardly normal. The others caught up to her and continued to follow, casting dubious glances at her and the environment.

Darren whispered just loud enough so everyone could hear. “Keep it down. The less noise we make, the greater our chance of getting out.”

Sara continued to walk. The hallway hit a dead end. In a small alcove stood a large statue of a man with hood cast over his face, and hands hid inside his robe.

Sara stopped and looked around. “There’s something here. Something important.” Legerra leaned on a pillar. “Well, how can we find it? It’s not like we have some kind of radar that-”

Darren pointed to the statue. “It’s behind there.” Legerra rolled his eyes. “Or…maybe we do have some kind of radar. Whatever.”

They now had a new dilemma, which Fraydon voiced. “How are we supposed to get the statue down, or break it, without bringing down the whole tunnel on us?”

Thendat crept closer to the statue. “It looks too solid to break. We’d have to move it somehow. Darren, Sara, Acerin, you guys have magic. What could you do?”

Acerin looked at him and then resumed shaking sand out of his boots. “Nothing. I destroy stuff, I don’t move it.”

Sara and Darren looked at each other and shrugged. “I guess we could try something. Sara, lift it very slightly off the ground and I’ll move it straight out.” Sara nodded.

The two concentrated, the glow amplified by their combined efforts. The statue rumbled slightly, dropping a few loose grains of sand down on their heads. But they couldn’t stop. The statue lifted an inch off the ground, its head less than that from the roof.

It flew out, barely missing Darren and almost crashed into a pillar before Darren stopped it. “Whew. Had to get it out of there quickly. Let’s find out what’s behind. Sara, you seem to know what you’re doing, and although I don’t like the idea, you should probably check it out.” Sara nodded again and stepped into a small space, stepping out quickly. “There’s a book on a pedestal there. I don’t know if this place has any traps or anything.”

Darren shook his head. “No. It should be fine. We’ll back you up.” The book was retrieved and laid on the floor gently. Sara blew the dust off the cover. “No need to destroy this one, pyromaniac.” Acerin sat down, clearly disappointed.

The book was written in a foreign language that only the three with magic could read. There was no memory of it, but they could read it like it was being spoken to them. The cover read “Magic of the Spoken Word.”

Darren jerked his head up. “It’s a spellbook! Do not read anything out loud. Even those without magic, say nothing.” The group agreed not to, and crowded around, trying to read what they could not.

The handwriting was all looping curves and flowing script. It had definitely been made with care, as it was easy to read and gentle on the eyes. Sara scanned the pages, noting how well preserved the book was. Attack spells, defensive spells, it’s all here and even more. Some of them seem harder to pronounce and require some kind of movement. Interesting.

Acerin pointed to a specific spell. “We can use this one to escape.” Darren looked where he was pointing. “We could. But we don’t know where it’ll take us, and there has to be a lot more effective spells than a simple escape spell.” Acerin smirked. “You don’t know it, do you?” Darren glanced at him, a hint of annoyance in his eyes. “I choose to focus on the ones I do know, practicing and making them better. What are you, a multi-purpose tool? You know this one?”

Acerin’s face turned red. “No. But it can’t be that hard to figure out.” Darren held his gaze for a second, and then turned back to the book. “Very well. You cast it, then. Get us in this very spot, but on top of the sand.”

Acerin rolled his eyes. “Oh, right. So if anything goes wrong, you can blame it on me. A good way to save your reputation from the fire, no doubt.” Darren grinned. “That’s one way of looking at it. Or you could look at it as a challenge, a way to prove yourself, and a way for you to stop complaining that I’m doing all the work.”

Acerin thought for a moment. “Fine, I’ll do it. The spell has to be cast in close proximity to all the people escaping, so nobody move.” He traced the spell with his finger, burning it into his mind, mentally pronouncing it over and over, tone and inflection perfect.

“Alright, here goes.” Acerin took a deep breath. “Krytht menehaes plythe!”

A cool wind spread from the pages, enveloping the group and shielding them as blue light surrounded them and prevented sight. A moment later the wind turned dry and harsh as the light disappeared and the desert surrounded them once more. Acerin couldn’t help but look smug. Darren let him enjoy the moment for a little while longer before asking him which direction they should go.

Acerin, of course, had no idea and was instantly deflated. Darren pointed east at the rising sun, which Acerin turned to face. They had only been in there for a night, and most of them were rested. “Which way is south?” Acerin mumbled something under his breath and pointed to his right. Darren grinned. “Good. Let’s get out of the desert.”

A few hours later they hit blessedly solid ground. Legerra smacked the side of his head a few times, knocking sand out of his ears. “Bleh…I never want to come this way again.”

Darren frowned. “The sand shouldn’t be moving at all. A whole town…all those people forced out of their homes. They’d have to find shelter. But…the nearest town is…” Instead of finishing the sentence, he started walking again.

Sara walked ahead of him with Fraydon, as usual. She looked over her shoulder at Darren and whispered “What’s up with him and the nearest town?” Fraydon looked straight ahead and whispered back “It’s where he grew up.” Sara looked confused. “Shouldn’t he be happy, then?” Fraydon looked at Sara, then at Darren. “There are a lot of things he should be.” She smiled at her own cryptic response. “He was happier when he left than ever before. Not only was he mocked for his gift, they tried to destroy it altogether. A year passed between the time he left and the time we met. He was aging normally then. And he’s never told us much else other than that.”

Sara took it all in quietly, stealing glances over her shoulder at Darren, who would normally be talking and laughing with Milar and Legerra while practicing with Acerin. Now he walked silently, avoiding eye contact with everyone else, his hood thrown over his face.

They reached the town as the sun started to sink below the horizon. A sign had been painted over, now saying WELCOME TO FIMAS in bold lettering. Darren’s step and body language revealed nothing as they walked past it. A huge iron gate barred them from entering. A watchman came out of a small booth in the side, looking at the seven with a large amount of suspicion. “Well, well…we don’t get travelers in these parts much anymore…what with the sand and all. What’s your business here?”

Sara looked at Darren, who said nothing. Milar stepped up. “We’re on our way to Pilosh, and we were hoping to stay inside the town tonight. We wish no harm to anyone.” The watchman looked them all up and down. “Sounds good enough. And it’s a pretty quiet town, Fimas is. Not much happens here. So rest up and continue.”

Milar thanked him and they traveled through the archway as the rusted gate squealed open. They were greeted by more suspicious eyes. Parents gathered their children closer. Someone in fancy dress clothes came out to meet them in the town square. Word traveled fast in Fimas.

The man stepped forward. “On behalf of the people, I want to welcome you to Fimas. I am Governor Zerach Kinsley.” There were sharp intakes of breath from Thendat and Milar. Fraydon almost fell over. Legerra and Acerin were staring open-mouthed. Sara couldn’t believe it. He has family still alive?

Zerach didn’t appear to notice their reactions and was still talking. “…nice to have to all here. May I have your names?” Again, Milar stepped in for Darren, who was still hiding his face under his hood. “Well, I’m Milar. The women are Fraydon and Sara. This is Thendat, and the young man over there is Acerin. Oh, this is Legerra. And…”

Darren stepped forward and threw back the hood. “My name is Darren…Kinsley.” He spoke the last word like a curse, almost spitting on the ground after saying it.

Zerach stepped forward, incredulous. “Darren? Is it really you?” Darren smiled without humor. “No, it’s all a trick. I’m not really Darren; I just came here to fool you.” Zerach laughed. “It is Darren! I don’t believe it! Welcome back, brother!”

The other six blinked. Had they heard right? Brother? Darren spoke between clenched teeth. “Which way to the inn, Governor?” Zerach was either really dense or just didn’t care, because he kept smiling and chatting away with Darren like they were old pals. If Sara hadn’t known Darren, she would’ve said he was being rude and sided with the well-dressed man. But Darren did everything for a reason. She knew that much by now.

Eventually Zerach bid them good-day and left. Darren replaced his hood and walked quietly to the center of town, where the inn was. The rest of the group followed, talking amongst themselves in hushed tones as the townspeople stared at them. I’m not deaf, people. I can hear you.

Darren practically threw money for a few days’ stay at the desk and took the keys without a word. He looked down at them as he walked. Both rooms at the end of the hall on the second story. Figures.

He chose the room at the far end, leaving the door key for the room across from his outside in front of the door. No-one’s going to take it.

He didn’t bother locking the door after slamming it shut. No-one’s going to bother. He flung himself onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Except…
- posted by Nick @ 4/28/2004 05:06:00 PM