Songbird

Chapter Nine - Ruins

Kal trudged along behind Corvin as he and the Black Hounds crested yet another hill. They were in the highlands now, an ethereal expanse of plains, jagged grottos, and rolling hills. Fog had enveloped them for the past several days of their journey, damping their clothes and hair and making the peat soil slippery beneath their boots.

Something loomed out of the fog nearby, and Kal jumped back, but Corvin chuckled.

"What, never seen aftermagic, kid?"

Kal shook his head as he passed the object that had appeared, a boulder bigger than he was that floated several inches off the ground. It spun in lazy circles amongst many others like it.

"No, never. Aftermagic, you called it?"

The Hound nodded, pushing through a cloud of smaller rocks, similarly suspended in midair. "That's right. See, when mages fight, their magic gets all mixed up, and when they've gone, it settles. What's left is who-knows-what kind of phenomena."

"Fascinating..."

Leah huffed from behind them, brushing aside a strand of hair that had escaped from her bun. "You only say that because this is the harmless kind."

Kal glanced around, the back of his neck tingling. "It can be dangerous?"

"You have no idea," she said. "We're lucky it's only rocks here and not golems or elementals."

"Golems?" Kal asked.

"Magical killing machines," Leah said. "Clay men enchanted with superhuman strength and resilience."

Kal shivered. "Magic can make things like that?"

"I've seen them before," Raven said. "Suits of armor that move and fight on their own."

"Just hope you never have to fight one," Leah said.

"But I—I read that magic can't create life," he said. Wren had taught him some of the basic principles.

"Golems aren't alive," Corvin said. "Not in a manner that we would understand. It's more like they're given a set of instructions, and move accordingly."

"I see..." He wondered if Wren knew about such things. And how the mercenary did. "Can anything be enchanted?"

Corvin nodded. "Any inanimate object. There are artifacts to be found with traces of magic, items that grant all kinds of powers to even ordinary folk."

Quin whistled from behind Leah. "Speaking of," he said. "Got a reaction, boss."

He held up a contraption known as a dowser that Kal had seen him fiddling with on a few occasions. Most of the time it took the form of a polyhedron composed of small triangular pieces held together by some unknown force. It gave off a dim glow now, hovering just above Quin's palm, and the triangles had rearranged to form a point.

Corvin held up a fist, and they all stopped, crouching among the mist-wreathed rocks as he spoke in a whisper. "Location?"

"One o'clock," Quin said. "Seems static."

Kal held his breath, head swiveling. Was there something here with them? Corvin was placid as ever, but Leah had her hand on the pistol holstered at her hip, wary eyes searching the fog.

"Strength?" Corvin asked.

"Faint, for now. And steady, no spikes or dips."

Their leader nodded, standing, and Kal finally let out his breath as the others relaxed.