Lost City Page 14

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  It took the Council of Elders less than two hours of deliberation to determine an expedition to locate Nar was warranted. After all, if it was true, and the boy’s back did contain a map to Nar, would Borahgg not benefit greatly from its discovery? The fabled armor alone would fetch kingly sums and sustain their economy for many centuries to come. What warrior wouldn’t want a suit of impenetrable armor to protect them when they walked onto a field of battle? If they could unlock the secrets of Narian metallurgy then their economic future was guaranteed.

  As Maelnar had reminded them, armor wasn’t Nar’s only contribution to the people. Powerful tools, enhanced by unknown means, had the capability of outperforming any other tool in existence. The Narian power hammer, it was said, could pulverize any rock with a single blow. And the forges! Their forges could melt any metal with minimal effort, regardless of its composition. That was technology that Borahgg desperately wanted to get its hands on.

  The problem was the Council was certain other clans would love to unlock the secrets of Nar, too. Maelnar’s recommendation that no word of the expedition was to be mentioned, to anyone, was upheld. As it was Maelnar, the celebrated Strathos, or keymaker, who had brought the discoveries to the attention of the Council, it was left to him to determine who would be allowed to go on the Nar expedition.

  Later that day, Maelnar was back in his study and was again addressing the same faces from yesterday, with one addition: his only son, Breslin, was present.

  “Venk! Athos! Nice to see you again, lads!”

  The two dwarf brothers bowed. Venk thumped his son on the back of his head to get his attention and waited from him to follow suit.

  Breslin approached father and son and returned their bow. “Ah! Would this be the collector of dragon scales?”

  Lukas smiled at the boisterous newcomer. “Aye. Madisonia and I still fight over who has the better dragon scale. I do, of course.”

  Breslin grinned. He winked at Venk as he went down on one knee to regard the underling at eye level.

  “Word has it that Venk here went to great trouble to acquire those scales. Value them well. The dragon he stole them from was enormous!”

  Lukas smiled. He already knew his father had been given those scales by Pryllan, a very friendly green dragon. She was mate to Kahvel, who was dragon liaison to the human king. Lukas knew that Pryllan and her mate had been involved in the huge human skirmish last year, which was the same skirmish that his father and uncle had participated in. What their roles had been remained unclear to him as fighting and killing monsters did not interest him in the slightest. Collecting fascinating souvenirs, such as dragon scales, did. Therefore he elected to smile and nod his head as everyone expected him to.

  “So what’s the word?” Athos asked. “Are we going on this expedition or not?”

  Maelnar nodded. “The word is, it’s a go.”

  Tristofer’s eyes opened wide. He thought for sure Maelnar would be telling him that yet another expedition he had fervently hoped would come to pass had been abandoned. He could only hope his name was one of those that were allowed to go.

  “I have been tasked with determining who will go. Since this expedition has been sanctioned by the Council, I have to wonder whether or not we should send an armed presence? Or is discretion better? In the end, we decided the expedition should remain small. Unnoticed.”

  Tristofer had started to twist his beard through his fingers.

  “The members are... Lukas. Clearly the bearer of the mark must go. As such, his father and uncle will also go.”

  Venk and Athos both nodded.

  “Since we are dealing with a time and place that hasn’t existed for many years, a scholar would prove to be useful. Tristofer, you’re invited to go, but I can’t speak for your clan. I encourage you to contact the Kla Rehn as soon as possible, or if you tell me who you’d like me to contact on your behalf, I’d be more than happy to do so.”

  Tristofer formally bowed. “I’m sure the Kla Rehn wouldn’t have any objections. There’s really no need for you to contact them. I know they’d want me to go.”

  Maelnar raised an eyebrow. “Indeed. Very well. The final member of the team will be Breslin. As my son, and the newest member of the Council, he will speak on its behalf should the situation call for it.”

  Breslin nodded his approval. Shardwyn gave a little cough and cleared his throat.

  “Fear not, wizard. I have not forgotten. Last night Shardwyn and I touched upon the subject of extra precautions, in case any unpleasant situations are encountered. Since it was originally suggested to send along a contingent of armed guards, we realized that extra help would be beneficial. Shardwyn volunteered to provide several spells which can be invoked by anyone regardless of their level of jhorun.”

  Confused, Athos turned to his brother and nudged him. “Did he just say that we have to use jhorun?”

  Venk elbowed him back. “Were you not listening? He said that the wizard will give us some spells to use in case we encounter any difficulties. Even if we don’t have any jhorun, which none of us do, we will still be able to use the spells.”

  “I don’t want anything to do with it,” Athos stubbornly said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Dwarves don’t use jhorun.”

  Venk shoved his brother aside and faced Shardwyn. “Pay him no mind, wizard. Anything you can give me so that I may protect my son will be much appreciated.”

  Shardwyn nodded. He pulled a small white sack from within his robes. Opening the drawstring silk pouch, he withdrew a white sphere the size of large pebble. On the sphere was a symbol that had been etched onto the surface with what looked like maroon ink. The symbol on the sphere in Shardwyn’s hand was a quill.

  “There are five spells in here,” Shardwyn began. “One for each of you. This one is for sending a message. Note the quill. All you have to do is to have a message planted firmly in your head, invoke the spell, and speak the name of the person you wish to give the message to. Somebody hurt? Need to call for help? Use this spell to send word.”

  “How many times can we use it?” Breslin asked, taking the small circular object from the wizard.

  “Just once, good sir,” Shardwyn told him. “Use it wisely.”

  “Are all of these only allowed to be used once?” Maelnar asked, frowning. This wasn’t the type of help he had envisioned.

  Shardwyn nodded. “Aye. Do not let that concern you. I have considered all possibilities and I do believe I have you covered in any type of emergency.”

  Bemused, Maelnar smiled. “Indeed. Very well, let’s see what other spells you have to offer.”

  “Of course. As I said, this one is for sending a message.” Shardwyn opened the pouch and placed the other four spells out on the closest table. He selected a sphere with a several wavy lines etched on the surface. “This one, when properly invoked, will bestow the powers of levitation upon its caster. If you find that you must scale a tremendous height, or else descend a ravine or canyon, this spell will be invaluable.”

  “How long will the effects last?” Breslin asked.

  “Enough to get the task done,” Shardwyn answered as he turned to retrieve the next spell. He selected the one with a tear drop on its surface. “Ah. Here’s one I’m very proud of. This will conjure water. Parched of thirst? Need to quickly douse a campfire? This will do it.”

  “How much water will it summon?”

  Shardwyn smiled at Breslin and tapped his right ear. “When you ask a question, you really need to speak up. Lately I find that I’m becoming hard of hearing. Now, let’s see what else we have.”

  The next spell to be selected had a picture of a shield.

  “Protection,” Shardwyn told them, smiling patronizingly as he did so. “Perfect for protecting campsites for the night.”

  “But for only one night!” Athos complained.

  “You really
need to speak up, Master Venk. I am having a terrible time hearing you.”

  “I am Athos. He’s Venk.”

  “My sincerest apologies. Now, listen carefully. The last will probably be the most helpful.”

  Catching sight of the symbol, Maelnar nodded. “Fire.”

  “Aye. The holder of this spell can summon fire. It’ll be perfect for lighting campfires to chase away the chill of the night air.”

  “But it can only be used one time!” Athos complained again. “What if we need to use it on more than one night?”

  The wizard’s condescending expression remained on his face. “Would you rather I just hand you a map and say here’s where you need to go?”

  Athos returned Shardwyn’s frank stare. “That would be lovely.”

  “Balderdash. Those spells are meant to be used when all other avenues have been explored.”

  “We will use them only when we have no other recourse,” Breslin assured him.

  Satisfied, Shardwyn turned to Maelnar and shrugged, as if to say he has done all he can.

  “Get some rest, lads,” Maelnar told everyone. “Be ready to depart by sunrise.”