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Alex tried to clear his mind as he rode, but his worries persisted no matter what he did. Absentmindedly he patted Shahree’s neck, knowing that he might have to ride her into battle for the first time.
“I must move swiftly, my friend,” Alex said softly to the horse. “I do not willingly take you into this fight, but it seems I have no choice.”
Shahree snorted at his words, as if unconcerned by the thought of battle. Alex patted her neck again. He was glad that she at least didn’t seem worried about what was coming.
Reaching the place above the meadow where he would create his illusion, Alex dismounted and looked toward the gully where his enemy was waiting. He couldn’t see much except for an occasional flash of sunlight on steel. Obviously the goblins had set a watch at the mouth of the gully, and Alex hoped they were paying attention.
As the last rays of sunlight left the meadow and the sun touched the treetops, Alex mounted Shahree once more. He was still nervous and worried, but it was time to set their plan into action.
“Let us hope for the best, my friend,” Alex said to Shahree.
Shahree snorted in excitement, and Alex let loose his magic, sending an entire grove of pine trees into flames. The trees burned like matchsticks, and as the flames reached into the sky, Alex created his illusion.
A huge red dragon exploded out of the burning trees. Alex let loose a thunderclap spell that sent flaming branches flying in every direction. He let his thoughts slip into the illusion, which allowed him to control it and see the world through the dragon’s eyes. A wild sense of freedom filled him, taking his breath away as the illusion lifted into the darkening sky.
For a few seconds the dragon hovered over the meadow, and in those seconds Alex fought to keep himself from becoming part of his own illusion. He had known that creating illusions could be dangerous, but he had not known how dangerous. The beauty and power of the dragon filled his mind, and he longed to have the complete freedom that the dragon shape offered.
Shahree snorted and reared slightly, shaking Alex from his thoughts. Alex could still see through the eyes of his illusion, but the desire to become part of it was gone. Refocusing his mind, he sent his dragon diving toward the meadow and the unsuspecting goblins.
The dragon breathed out a ball of flame as it dropped toward the gully, and in the firelight Alex could see that his idea was working far better than he’d expected. Goblins ran wildly out of the gully, fighting past the slower goblins in front of them. The dragon flew over the gully before lifting back into the air and turning slowly toward the meadow.
“Now, my friend,” said Alex as he urged his horse forward. “We need to reach the others before any more trouble finds us.”
Shahree whi
Alex set his illusion to circling the meadow, allowing the circles to grow larger and larger with each pass, as though the dragon was hunting.
As Alex rode into the gully he called out to Sindar, “Are they all right?”
“They are alive,” said Sindar. “Though they’ve had a rough time of it, and were treated none too gently.”
Alex jumped from his saddle and ran forward to help cut the ropes from the rest of the company. He left the unknown three men tied up for the time being. His friends all looked pale and tired, but unhurt, and that was a huge relief. Alex wanted to cheer, but then he saw the fear in his friends’ eyes. He turned to see what they were looking at and realized that they could see his illusion flying past the gully.
“Didn’t you tell them about the illusion?” Alex asked.
“I tried,” Sindar answered. “But a few of the goblins were still in the gully when I arrived—trying to hide from your creation, I suspect. I dealt with them quickly enough, but there hasn’t been time to explain the mischief of a clever wizard.”
Alex sent his illusion into a wider circle, using it to search the land for any possible enemies while he and Sindar explained things to their friends. It took some time for all the questions to be answered, and while they talked, Alex started a campfire. He knew that it was safe for them to stay here, at least for tonight, and he thought a meal would do everyone some good.
“Our weapons?” Bregnest asked.
“We recovered them before starting after you,” said Sindar, reaching for his magic bag. “We had great hopes of returning them to you.”
“And your hopes have proven true,” said Bregnest, taking his weapons from Sindar. “We are all very much in yours and Alex’s debt.”
“We did what we had to do,” Sindar answered, handing out the rest of the weapons. “But there are other matters we need to discuss.” Sindar’s eyes moved to the three men who were still tied up.
Bregnest turned to look at the men and nodded. Alex saw his friend stiffen in the firelight, and without asking, he knew that Bregnest recognized the uniforms the men were wearing.
“You are a long way from home, brothers,” Bregnest said slowly. “What brings soldiers from the house of Domina to Norsland?”
“Lord Bregnest,” one of the men answered, bowing his head slightly. “Our lives are in your hands, so it would seem an honest answer is the only one that will do. I fear, however, that honesty may cost us what little we still have left.”
“Speak freely,” Bregnest answered calmly. “If there is any way to repay your honesty, I will find it.”
“So be it,” said the man with a sigh. “We were sent by Lord Kappa to follow you and your company. In following you, we ran into a host of goblins. I fear the rest of our men were destroyed, and we three were unlucky enough to be captured by the foul creatures.”
“How many men were with you?” Bregnest questioned. “And what were your orders concerning myself and my friends?”
“There were forty of us—a full company,” the man answered. “Our orders were to follow you at a distance and not interfere or help you in any way. If you and your company appeared to be returning to Alusia before the spring festival, we were to detain you and escort you back to Kappa at a relaxed pace.”
“The spring festival,” Bregnest repeated. “Yes, that makes sense.”
“What is the spring festival?” Alex asked.
“It is the end of the rainy season in Alusia and the start of the planting season,” Bregnest answered as he rubbed his nose.
“And how long before the festival starts?” Sindar asked.
“Almost seven months from now,” said Bregnest. “So it appears we know how much time we have to finish our quest.”
“That’s all fine and well,” said Val, “but there are more important matters to consider. The goblins may have run off, but they’ll be back soon enough. We have a long way to travel and little time to watch after prisoners. It would be foolish to take these three with us, and reckless to simply let them go.”
“You would have us kill defenseless men?” Sindar questioned.
“They’ve told us a bit about why they are here, but I doubt they’ve told us everything,” Val replied. “I think they were sent to waylay us on our journey, like bandits. I think they would have killed us if the chance had appeared.”
“That is not true,” one of the bound men said hotly. “We were ordered to capture you, not to kill you. We are soldiers, not scum.”
“Capture or kill, it comes to the same thing,” Val said coldly. “But there is no need to risk our honor by killing these three. We can simply leave them for the goblins to find. That would be a much more fitting punishment than a quick and simple death.”
Alex was concentrating on his illusion and searching for danger, but when he heard Val’s suggestion, he turned his attention back to his friends. The idea of killing the men turned his blood cold, but the thought of leaving them tied up for the goblins to find was even worse.