The Road To Kalbakar, Wyrms of Pasandir #1

CHAPTER 15 - KALBAKAR KEEP (Part 2)

Naudin heard Kellie sigh and he cocked an eye at her.

'We can't stay away forever,' she said. 'The folks at home will be worried by now.'

'Do you want to go back?' Eskandar said contritely. 'I know I'm asking a lot from you two. Say the word and I'll port you to Seatome.'

Kellie shook her head. 'I don't want to desert you and Amaj. Let's take the keep first, learn what we can about those monks, and then go home.'

'Good,' Naudin said. 'I wouldn't want to leave the adventure half finished.'

'It's a deal,' Eskandar said. He turned to the keep below. 'That's one mighty strange tower.'

'It was Kambish's spire,' Amaj said. 'I suppose it's yours now.'

Eskandar turned his head. 'What?' he said blankly.

'Well, you're Kambish's grandson,' Amaj said. 'Stands to reason you inherited all his things. The stories say the Wyrm Spire at Kalbakar was built by your grandfather's grandfather. Mazuun can't deny it's now your home.'

'My home,' Eskandar said slowly. 'I never had a home. Never had anything, actually. Even my clothes are navy property.' He tore his eyes away from the tower. 'Now we must take Kalbakar back.' For a minute, his face was strangely sad. Then he relaxed and turned to the others. 'I have a plan.'

'Tell us,' Naudin said. He'd followed the play of emotions on Eskandar's face and marveled at the boy's self-control. Must be painful, he thought, digging up the pieces of your broken past. He looked so alone just now.

Eskandar waved his hook. 'We take that caravan, change into their clothes and have the keep monks let us in. Once inside, we take the shield down. Then Mazuun and his people can retake the castle.'

Naudin balled his fists. The way Eskandar said it, made it seem easy, but it wasn't, of course. It was dangerous, scary madness, and they were stupid kids to even consider it. He bit his lip. No! It's an adventure like my dads and Aunt Maud had. They were scared, too.

'The problem is the shield.' He took off his glasses and polished them on a slip of his tunic. 'I've been thinking.' He squinted at Eskandar, seeing only a gray blob of a face. 'It must be a thing.'

'What kind of thing?'

Naudin shrugged. 'Don't know how it works. I thought of our teleportals; those are things, constructs working on their own. They collect wild mana from the world and store it somehow, to use when one ports.'

'Wild mana?' Eskandar said, frowning.

'Unclaimed mana,' Naudin said. 'It's not the stuff humans use, but what's normally in Nature. Some places have little wild magic, others have a lot. Places like my home at Spellstor or at the warlock center of Casterglade are awash in wild magic. I know that, but not those things; they are technical. Such is not only a different School; it is a totally different discipline. M'eldest sister Argyra would know, or perhaps my dad Basil; not me.'

'Well, we can't ask them without exposing ourselves,' Eskandar said. 'We'll have to find out when we're inside.'

'If it is a thing, they must have someone to look after it,' Naudin said. 'Teleportals need a lot of maintenance; else you would start losing travelers fast. So mad or not, the monks must have someone technical.'

'That sounds hopeful,' Kellie said brightly. She turned to Amaj, who was still staring down at his ancestor's keep. 'Stop that brooding, mate.' She took the broom she'd made the other day. 'Here, I'll show you how to ride. Then we'll surprise your brother with your new skill.'