Albrek's Tomb

“For what?” Thrain asked.

“Treasure, of course. The nagas could not easily move items from carts and wagons,” Thrang said. “It would be best for us to make a complete search.”

The others did as Thrang asked, dismounting from their horses and begi

“We’ll need torches,” said Thrang.

Alex smiled, and with a wave of his hand, conjured up several weir lights and sent them into the cave.

“Yet another good reason to bring a wizard along,” said Thrang with a grin.

“I find them easier than torches, and faster,” said Alex.

“Halfdan said you used them to great effect on your last adventure together,” Thrang said.

“They have many uses,” said Alex. “Right now they will make our search quicker. I don’t want to spend any more time in this cave than we have to.”

“Nor do I,” said Arco

Thrang nodded his agreement and led the way into the cave. The weir lights moved ahead of them, lighting the cave better than a dozen torches. Fortunately, the cave did not extend deep into the hill. It took only a minute or two for the three of them to find the main chamber, and when they did, they stopped in surprise.

“You said these creatures hoarded treasure, but I did not expect this,” Thrang said to Alex.

The floor of the chamber was covered with wealth. Gold and silver coins were scattered everywhere, making it appear as if the cave floor was solid metal. The weir lights reflected brightly off the treasure.

“It will take at least two days to get all of this out in the open,” Thrang declared.

“Yet well worth the labor,” Arco

“Yes, but I do not wish to remain in this dark place for two days or more,” said Alex.

“So you would leave all of this behind?” Thrang asked, stu

“That is not what I said,” Alex answered. “If you will allow me, I can quickly move all of this into my bag, and then we can find a better place to do the sorting and dividing.”

“Not going to try and put one thing in your bag at a time, then.” Arco

“You two have taught me well,” said Alex with a bow, remembering the trouble he’d had the first time he’d used a magic bag. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind standing back—I wouldn’t want to accidentally add the two of you to my bag.”

Thrang and Arco

“I’ve never seen that done before,” Thrang said, an astonished look on his face. “Piles of bags or stacks of wealth, yes, but never an entire room in one instant.”

“Useful, if you are in a rush,” said Arco

Thrang insisted on checking every corner of the empty cavern, so Alex sent the weir lights dancing around the room as Thrang searched. He even made a couple of them circle Thrang’s head. Arco

“Well, it seems you’ve done your work well,” said Thrang at last, swatting at one of the weir lights that had returned to circle his head. “Let’s get out of this hole and see what the others have found.”

They left the empty cave, and Alex put out the weir lights as they returned to the bright morning sunshine. The others were having more difficulty with their search than Alex, Thrang, and Arco

“Any treasure in the cave?” Barnabus questioned.

“A fair amount,” answered Thrang. “Master Taylor has put it in his bag for now, thinking it would be best to sort and divide later.”

“There is wisdom in that,” Nellus said, lifting a broken cart to see what was under it. “The bones of the dead are all around this place.”

“The sooner we are away from here, the better,” said Thrang. “What have you found so far?”

It turned out the others had searched about one-third of the clearing. Alex, Thrang, and Arco

“Magic books,” said Thrang, holding up a large, leather-bound volume. “A strange find, and something you should have a look at.”

Alex took the book from Thrang, looking at it for several minutes before noticing the pile of nine or ten other books that Thrang had recovered from a broken-down wagon.

“With your permission, I would like to add these to my bag,” said Alex slowly, looking at Thrang.

“They are yours, of course,” said Thrang. “None of us has any use for magic books, and they should not be left about for just anyone to find.”

Alex bowed to Thrang and began looking at the books more closely. After several minutes, he put the books inside his bag and began walking around the clearing in a wide circle.

“What are you doing?” Thrang questioned, dragging a heavy chest out from under one of the wagons.

“Looking for something,” Alex replied.

As the others finished their search, Alex continued to wander back and forth, across and around the clearing.

“Well, that’s done,” said Thrang, loudly enough for Alex to hear him. “Now if Alex will add all of this to what we’ve already taken from the cave, we can find a better place to do our sorting.”

“In a moment,” said Alex, finally spotting what he was looking for and hurrying toward it.

He moved carefully into the trees on one side of the clearing, and when he returned, he was carrying two staffs.

“The nagas was even more dangerous than I thought,” Thrang said in a whisper.

“We were lucky to defeat it,” Nellus added.

“But a wizard?” Barnabus questioned.

“Perhaps,” said Alex. “It is a wizard’s staff, but the person carrying it may not have been a true wizard.”

“How did you know it was there?” Kat asked.

“The books,” said Alex. “They are too advanced for most, and I thought it unlikely that just anyone would be carrying them.”

“But a wizard would stand a fair chance against the nagas,” said Barnabus.

“A true wizard would,” said Alex. “We do not know who carried this staff, so we ca

“Alex is correct,” said Arco

“Yes, but a staff,” Thrain said breathlessly.

“A staff is a tool and a symbol of a wizard, not the power of the wizard,” Alex explained, looking at Thrain. “The power is in the wizard, not in his staff.”

“What will you do with this second staff?” Thrang questioned.

“I will take it with me,” said Alex, “and send a message to Whalen and the counsel of wizards. They might be able to tell us who the staff belonged to. If they can’t, then I will have to assume the person who carried this staff was a pretender.”

“Very well then,” said Thrang, looking at the staff with interest. “We should move on, so if you will add this pile to what we’ve taken from the cave . . .”

“As you wish,” said Alex, reaching for his magic bag.

They moved back to the road and continued to head east.

At midday Thrang began looking for a spot to camp. He wanted to sort the treasure they had taken from the nagas, and he wanted a good place to do it. After a half an hour of searching, he found a spot that suited him, and they set up camp once more. Barnabus began cooking a meal for them, and Alex marked out an area to gather their treasure for sorting.