The Horn of Moran - Forman Mark L. Страница 16

His thoughts shifted to a frozen plain where two figures carrying staffs struggled to move forward against a howling storm. His vision zoomed in on the figures, and in his mind’s eye, Alex found himself looking into his own eyes. The face was an older version of himself, the older Alex from his dreams.

“Alex?” Cara said softly. “Is everything all right?”

“I will hope with you for the wizard’s appearance,” Alex answered as he forced his thoughts back to the present. “However, if this legend is to come true, there is something you must do.”

“Oh? What is that?”

“You must tell Indigo and Lilly about this legend. And you must tell Indigo that she may one day have magic of her own,” Alex answered. “You must also tell Skeld and Tayo about this. Now, before the weddings take place.”

“Why trouble them with this, now?” Cara asked in a slightly alarmed tone. “They are in love, they want to be married—why disturb their happiness?”

“Because they have a right to know,” said Alex. “Cara, I can’t really explain why. I know you don’t want to upset them, but I must insist. They must know about the legend, or I will be forced to stop the weddings from taking place.”

“You would do that? You would take this happiness from your friends?”

“You see only a hope of having a wizard in the Tower of the Moon, but I see more. You said the wizard would take control of the magic and save his people. If the people need to be saved, there must be some great danger they need to be saved from. I will not let my friends walk into that danger blind.”

“You saw something,” Cara said slowly. “As I told you the legend, you saw something.”

“Yes.”

“I . . . I never thought about the danger.” She paused, then nodded. “You are right. They should know. I will do as you ask.”

“Don’t worry,” Alex said in a reassuring tone. “I’m sure the weddings will still take place. I just think it is for the best to let them know what their futures might hold.”

* * *

That night, when he was alone in his room, Alex wrote a second letter to Whalen. He explained what had happened with Otho, including his feelings of being watched and the strange voice inside his head. He wondered if Whalen would be angry with him for threatening to turn Otho into an ox, and he worried about what Whalen would say about his near loss of control.

It was a longer letter than normal, and Alex had a lot of questions that he hoped Whalen would have answers for. He asked about any legends that Whalen might have heard or read about the Tower of the Moon and about the magic of Norsland. Alex knew that there were centers of magical power in other lands, but he didn’t know much about them. When he’d finally finished writing his letter, and had sent it with a geeb, he lay awake on his bed. His mind was still looking for answers, but until Whalen wrote back, he knew the answers would not come.

The days leading up to the weddings passed swiftly, and they were not all full of fun and parties. Bregnest ordered the company to pack items for their journey, and he insisted that they not spend all their time wandering around the city. Luckily, packing the food didn’t take long, and there was little to discuss about the road they would be following. Alex tried to find as many maps of Norsland as he could, but sadly none of the maps he found were any better than the map in his Adventurer’s Handbook.

The day before the weddings, Alex and Halfdan returned to Elwig’s shop to collect Alex’s gifts. Elwig was delighted to see them again, and even more pleased when Alex praised the work he had done. His smile flickered only when Alex insisted that Elwig keep the rest of the true silver as payment for the work.

“You are too generous, Master Taylor, I cannot,” said Elwig with a deep bow.

“Perhaps you would consider a trade,” Alex suggested. “After all, I’m sure you could craft wonderful things from the true silver, and it does me little good in my bag.”

“If it’s a trade, perhaps we can make an arrangement,” said Elwig, stroking his gray beard.

After a long debate, and Alex’s continued praise of Elwig’s work, they finally settled on a price. When Alex and Halfdan left the shop, Alex had five hundred gold coins in his magic bag and a beautiful golden brooch to go along with his other gifts. Alex planned to give the new brooch to Andy’s mother for her kindness to the company during their stay.

“You drive a hard bargain, my friend,” said Halfdan. “And I’m afraid you bargain against yourself.”

“It’s a fair price,” Alex replied. “And I’m sure Elwig will make beautiful things with the true silver, so that’s good enough for me.”

Halfdan shook his head as the two of them made their way back to the Goodseed house. It was obvious that he thought Alex was far too generous, but Alex didn’t mind. His mother and stepfather had taught him about generosity, and he knew that it had little to do with money. It was more about helping others, and giving Elwig some true silver to work with would only help the smith improve his craft.

That night at dinner Alex showed Elwig’s work to the rest of the company and Andy’s family. They were all impressed by the brooches Elwig had made and with the design Alex had come up with. The two brooches were almost identical and were made of true silver in the shape of a dragon’s head. The head was edged with gold and each brooch had a large gem set as the dragon’s eye. Lilly’s brooch had a large white diamond, while Indigo’s had a dark blue sapphire. Around the edge of each brooch were eight small rubies, which Alex explained represented each of the members of the adventure they had been on.

“I may have to find a wife myself if you give such fine gifts,” Andy joked, his voice lowered so his parents wouldn’t hear him.

That night in his room, Alex took some time to put a spell on all three of the brooches he’d received from Elwig. The spell was a simple one designed to protect the brooches from loss or theft. When that was done, Alex took the two true silver brooches in his hands and focused his mind and his magic on them. He formed a link between the two brooches, a magical connection that would let him know if his friends needed him. He hoped the spell would let him know if Cara’s story ever came true.

* * *

When the wedding day arrived, Alex felt a bit nervous and out of place in his new blue clothes as he walked along the streets of Oslansk toward the main town square where the ceremony would be held. It seemed as though the whole city had been invited.

Fortunately the wedding ceremony was simple, and all Alex had to do was offer the rings to Skeld and Tayo when they asked for them. It was after the ceremony, as the festivities were about to begin, that things got interesting.

Just as Alex was sitting down, the feeling that someone was watching him came once more. Trying not to be obvious, he scanned the crowds, hoping to find the source of the feeling but there were too many people and too much excitement and movement for Alex to really see anything. Whoever—or whatever—was watching him had chosen the perfect time and place to do so.

“I hope you can dance,” Sindar commented.

“Wh—what?” Alex asked, his eyes stopping on a figure on the far side of the square. Alex thought there was something suspicious about a man wearing a heavy cloak on such a warm spring day.

“Dance,” Sindar repeated and paused. “What is it?”

“I need to check something. I’ll be right back.”

“But the festivities are just starting.”

“This won’t take long. Enjoy yourself. If anyone asks for me, tell them that I’ll be back shortly.”

Alex moved away before Sindar could ask any more questions. The figure he’d spotted was also moving, walking slowly to the edge of the square. Alex tried to keep the dark cloak in sight, but with so many people it was difficult.