Albrek's Tomb

“I will be as the snow,” said Alex. “I will move like the wind and arrive at the necromancer’s cave without being seen.”

“It is too dangerous,” Thrang argued. “Couldn’t you ask your dragon friend to take care of this, or at least go with you?”

“Dragons care little for the troubles of other races, even the good dragons like my friend,” said Alex. “He has promised not to let me be used by the necromancer, and that is as much of a promise as I will ask of him.”

The others were silent as they moved through the city, but Alex knew they were all trying to think of ways to make him change his mind. When they reached the city gates, he was surprised to find Turlock waiting for him.

“Volo said you might be going today,” Turlock said, bowing to Alex. “I thought I would wish you luck, as I have little more than that to offer.”

“It is enough that you have come, Lord Turlock,” said Alex with a bow.

“Is there anything I can do for you before you go?” Turlock’s eyes were full of sorrow.

“Watch after my friends while I’m away,” Alex answered. “One way or another, the curse will be removed from Neplee before I return.”

“Then I will thank you now, and thank you again when you return.”

Alex smiled and walked to the gate. The guards bowed to him before swinging open the giant stone doors, and then stood back to let him pass. An icy wind rushed into the city, snowflakes swirling with it.

Taking a deep breath of the cold, clean air, Alex turned to look at his friends. “I will return as soon as I can. If I am not back before spring, don’t look for me.”

“Don’t say such things,” said Thrang gruffly.

Without another word, Alex turned and stepped into the snow, vanishing from sight in an instant. It was a spell he had been practicing since the first snows began to fall, and he knew it was his best chance to reach the necromancer’s cave undetected. Whalen had warned him about wasting his strength trying to reach the necromancer, and moving up the mountain without fighting whatever monsters the necromancer could send against him seemed like a good idea.

Becoming a gust of wind was not terribly difficult, but it was dangerous. When Alex had first worked the spell, he’d had difficulty returning to his own form. The wind was so free that all of his worries slipped away. It was only when Volo had started yelling at him for almost blowing out his forge that Alex had returned to his own natural shape.

Not wanting to lose himself in the shape of wind, Alex focused his attention on the land around him and began working his way into the mountains. He had only a general idea of where Nethrom’s cave would be, and he was worried it would take a long time for him to find it. He didn’t want to remain a gust of wind for too long, but he also didn’t want to become vulnerable on the mountainside in his own shape; and he didn’t want to start fighting until he had to.

By midmorning he was well into the mountains, and he let his mind search the land around him, looking for any wild creature that might help him find the necromancer. The land was empty, and Alex wondered if it was the winter weather or the necromancer that had driven away the wild creatures. He continued searching as he moved higher and deeper into the mountains.

It was late afternoon before Alex saw something moving in the snow below him, and he drifted closer to get a better look. He stopped himself from touching the creature’s mind when he realized it was one of Nethrom’s undead creations. A giant bear, making its way down the mountainside in winter was out of place, and Alex was glad he had taken the form of wind and could remain hidden. Alex followed the bear’s tracks deeper into the mountains.

When the last gray light of day was fading, Alex stopped in a large grove of trees. He checked to make sure that none of Nethrom’s creatures were nearby, then he changed back into himself. After a quick meal, he studied the trees around him. Slowly he let his mind slip into the thoughts of the trees, and with a simple command, he changed forms once more, this time becoming a giant pine in the middle of the grove.

It was in the shape of the tree that Alex discovered where to look for the cave of the necromancer. The tree’s thoughts were slower than his own, slower than any living animal. The trees were very much alive, however, and they knew things about the undead land around Nethrom’s cave.

When the sun touched the mountainside once more, Alex changed back into the wind. The new day was bright, and the clouds that had covered the mountains for weeks had blown away in the night. It was easy for Alex to see where he was going, and with the knowledge he had gained from the trees, he quickly found the entrance to the cave.

For a moment Alex thought about entering the cave as the wind, but then he thought Nethrom might notice the breeze and possibly capture him before he could change back into his natural form. Instead, he stopped a short distance from the cave’s mouth and returned to his own form on the wind-blown path. He looked around at the crushed and packed snow around him and suspected that Nethrom had recently sent a great many creatures out of the cave.

Moving toward the entrance of the cave, Alex paused. A large treelike creature was rooted in the center of the path in front of him. At first, Alex did not realize what it was. He had only noticed the strange creature because there was no snow or ice on it. As he approached, two great serpent heads swung around to watch him, their red eyes shining brightly in the cold morning air. Without waiting for the creature to attack, Alex sent a ball of fire toward it, but it bounced off, hissing loudly as the fireball sank into a nearby snowdrift. He thought about freezing the creature, but since it didn’t seem bothered by the winter wind, he didn’t think a freezing spell would have any effect. Moving forward carefully, he drew his sword. If magic could not harm this creature, perhaps the edge of his sword could.

One of the serpent heads struck down at Alex as he approached, its reach much greater than he’d expected. Alex spun away, dodging the first head and watching the second. The second head was only a few seconds behind the first, but Alex was ready for it when it came. Sidestepping the attack, Alex brought his sword down directly on the creature’s neck. The head went bouncing across the snow and burst into flame at the side of the path.

Stepping back so the remaining head could not reach him, Alex was shocked to see two new heads growing from the flailing stump. He was facing three heads instead of two, and it seemed he would face more if he continued to attack.

“Hydra,” said Alex under his breath. He remembered the story of Hercules, an ancient Greek warrior who had defeated a hydra by cutting off its heads and burning the necks before new heads could grow. Unfortunately, Alex didn’t see how he’d have time to burn one neck before one of the other heads attacked him. It seemed impossible, and he wondered how Hercules had managed it.

Alex moved away from the hydra, wondering what he should do. It was only a matter of time before Nethrom or one of his other creatures became aware of him. Now that he was so close to the cave, he had to move quickly, but the hydra was something he had not expected. Alex leaned against his staff and looked around the snowy path, hoping to see some clue of how to defeat the hydra. Icicles hung from the rocks on one side of the path, and Alex jumped when he saw his own reflection in them. He looked around to make sure it was only his own reflection and not some other creature moving behind him. Then the idea hit him, and he smiled at the simplicity of it.

Moving forward once more, he stopped just beyond the hydra’s reach. He gripped his sword firmly in his right hand and turned the end of his staff into a blue-white flame. Closing his eyes as he worked the magic, he concentrated on what he needed to do. When he opened his eyes again, he laughed as six copies of himself looked back at him.