The Lachrymose Quest

Chapter 4

Icy droplets drizzled from a grim sky onto the shoulders of two unslept travelers. Onward they slogged over a surface of muck that grabbed and sucked and their mounts' hooves, slowing their pace to a miserable crawl. The prince shivered, clutched his cloak tightly to his chest in an attempt to stay warm. Zelda took notice.

"They'll hear you chattering from miles away, here-" she rummaged for a particular pocket and produced another of her enchanted stones. She held it aloft and with a gentle oscillating wave of her hand she transferred a stream of energy from the stone. Magical power darted and flowed into the boy's cloak. As it moved it appeared like a thousand bubbles of pure gemstone, each with its own unique color and character. The garment slowly began to warm and radiate a soft heat into Zephyr's chilled body. The raindrops striking him now puffed away in tiny eruptions of steam. Zelda repeated the process for her own cloak, then the horses' coats. Eustace gave his mane a satisfied shake. "That will keep us warm for a while," Zelda said, "but I don't have much magic stored. I'll need time and rest to replenish."

The prince considered this. "Maybe if I learned some more I could help."

"You were working on levitation, right? Let me see your stone for a moment."

He held out the pebble in his palm. She laid a finger upon it and concentrated briefly.

"It seems you were successful, you've stored a significant amount of magic in the stone."

"I have?"

"Yes, now all you have to do is release it, slowly! Hold it away from your body and try to keep it under control."

The prince again focused on the stone. This time instead of willing it to move he probed the rock with his mind, searching for the pent up energy - and set it loose. The pebble rocketed instantly into the sky.

They craned their heads upwards, mouths agape. "Well," Zelda said, "not bad for your first casting. I suppose you'll need another pebble, though." She produced a small cluster and dropped them into the prince's hands. "Let's try a different kind of magical energy. See if you can charge these with light, like we used in the fortress."

Feeling more confident now, the prince stared down the stones. The stones were getting nervous now, though they didn't show it. He tried to focus his mind on images of pale blue light like he had seen the night before.

As the two riders continued onward the landscape shifted from a grassy mud puddle to a grimy pool dotted with wilted crops.

"What is this?" asked the prince.

"Looks like it used to be a field of bere," said Zelda. "Even out this far, there is famine."

Zephyr surveyed the depleted field grimly. "Why is this happening?"

"No one seems to know. It began sometime last year. At first it was just a few farms near Barlowe's Crag, then it spread across the plains."

The wilted stalks of barley hung their heads like so many ashamed children.

"What're ye doin' there!"

The riders whirled their horses a quarter-turn, expecting to face another enemy.

"Yer tramplin' the crops ye numpty!"

The riders flushed red. "Ah, our apologies sir," Zelda said, looking down and around herself, "but... well there's no helping this crop now, is there?"

"Don't ye think ah know that? Bah! Look at ye, standin' out in the rain. Are ye stupid, or desperate?"

Zelda silently noted that while she was perfectly warm and dry, the farmer appeared to be getting soaked, though he took no notice of it. "I suppose we're desperate."