they tried to get it off of him, then he felt the straps being severed by a knife just before it was taken.
“You shouldn’t be messing with a magic user’s stuff,” a voice said.
“Shut up and keep watch on the prisoners,” another voice said.
From the way Kevik had been deposited on the ground, all he could see was Chyfe’s back and a little bit of the sky. Who had his pack and what they were doing with it, he didn’t know.
“Anything good inside?” asked a third man.
“Not for you,” the first man replied. There was a pause, then… “Must be his spell book.”
“I hear they always have magic traps on those,” Second Voice said.
“I know that,” First Voice replied. “I’m not stupid.”
Another moment of silence as they continued rummaging through Kevik’s pack.
“Looks like a wand,” Third Voice said. “Could be worth a few golds.”
Then… “You better not open that,” said Second Voice.
“What?” asked First Voice. “Are you afraid a demon will jump out and steal your soul or something?”
“You can never be too careful when dealing with magic users,” Second Voice explained.
“Oh come on,” said Third Voice. “Open it.”
A couple seconds of silence pass then… “There’s nothing but gray powder in here,” complained First Voice.
“Maybe it’s a spell component,” Third Voice said. “You can get a lot of coins for some of them.”
Kevik felt control of his limbs return. Before him, he saw Chyfe’s back move ever so slightly. Working his jaw, he found that it moved. The spell holding them was gone! “Keep still!” he quietly urged the others.
He desperately needed to know where their enemies were in relation to him and the others. Ever so slightly, he rotated his head to try and acquire a better look at their surroundings.
It seemed like forever, but he saw where half a dozen Tribesmen were going through their packs. All their belongings were strewn across the ground.
A plan began to form. He needed to neutralize everyone at once, and he needed to do it fast. There was only one way. “Listen,” he said to the others, “on two, take a deep breath and hold it.” Unable to ascertain if they understood or not, he quietly whispered, “One…two.” On ‘two’, he took a deep breath and sat up.
“Hey!” one of the soldiers exclaimed. “The spell’s worn off.
As Tribesmen and Byrdlon soldiers turned their attention toward him, Kevik focused on a spot nearby where the majority were congregating and cast his spell. A yellow fog enveloped the men who quickly succumbed to its effects. He cast the spell again in a different area, this time taking out most of the Byrdlon soldiers.
Once more, arcane words issued forth as Kevik watched three soldiers with swords drawn coming straight for him. Before the soldiers could reach him, he, as well as the oncoming soldiers, were enveloped by another of the yellow sleep clouds.
Kevik took a moment to see if the cloud would affect him and the others lying next to him. He hadn’t been entirely sure that holding one’s breath would work. But as he was still conscious and all the soldiers were not, he had to conclude that it would.
He nudged Chyfe into motion as he quickly came to his feet. To his relief, Chyfe, Chad, and the twins were getting up. They had heard him and were holding their breaths. Kevik turned toward where the soldiers had been going through his pack and saw that the small box which contained the gray powder was closed. He knew it would be, otherwise his spells wouldn’t have worked. For when the box was opened, the gray powder absorbed nearby, active magics.
Chyfe grabbed him and indicated he should get out of the cloud.
Kevik shook his head vehemently. He first had to retrieve his staff and other items which lay before him. Pointing to them, he shrugged off Chyfe’s hand and hurried forward. As he rushed to gather his things, Chyfe came with him and helped.
Once everything was back in his pack, Kevik picked it up and raced for the perimeter of the yellow fog. His lungs were desperate to expel the old air, but Kevik kept them under control. When he at last broke into fresh air, he started gasping. Next to him, Chyfe hit the ground as he too, began drawing in deep breaths of fresh air.
Off to their right, Chad and Soth were dragging Seth out from the yellow fog. When Chad noticed Kevik looking their way, he said, “Seth couldn’t hold his breath.”
Kevik nodded then looked around the area. From the number of motionless forms lying in the yellow fog, he figured to have affected them all. Further examination of the area revealed that they were the only ones moving.
“How long will that last?” Chyfe asked, indicating the yellow fog.
“Not that long I’m afraid,” he replied.
“Damn,” cursed Chyfe. “Is there any way to prolong it?”
“Not with the spell I’m using, no,” replied Kevik.
By this time, Chad and Soth were bringing a recovering Seth over to join them. Now that he was out of the fog and taking in fresh air, the effects were beginning to dissipate.
“Your goo spell lasts for awhile,” suggested Chad. “Hit them with that.”
“True,” agreed Kevik. “But it would still only give us a little more than an hour before they would be free again.”
Soth laid his brother down on the ground and knelt next to him. “You never could hold your breath,” Soth said.
Seth tried to respond but the affects of Kevik’s spell still hadn’t worked its way through.
“As soon as Seth is recovered,” Chyfe began, “we need to go after Riyan and Bart.”
“They won’t kill them, will they?” asked Chad.
“Probably not until the Horde is opened,” replied Chyfe. “But after that…?”
For five minutes they waited until Seth was sufficiently recovered to be able to walk on his own. Hopefully by the time they caught up with the others, he’d have thrown off the last vestiges of Kevik’s spell. During the time they waited, Chyfe and Soth made forays into the fog enshrouded area to reclaim the rest of their equipment.
Once Seth was recovered and ready to travel, Kevik began casting his goo spell on those lying motionless within the fog. Over and over he cast it until they were confident every body out there was covered to some extent. Once that was accomplished, they picked up their packs and followed the trail left by the group Riyan and Bart were leading.
Coming to the berry patch, they saw where the vines had been cut back revealing the gaping hole leading down into the earth. Chyfe took the lead with Kevik right behind. As Kevik followed Chyfe through the hole, the tip of his staff flared with light as he cast his light spell. The last through the hole was Soth. His brother was still a bit unstable and had to be assisted down to the bottom.
“Which way?” Chyfe asked Chad. As the only one to have been down there before, it fell to him to lead the way.
Pointing to the left, he said, “This way.” Moving out, he took the lead. Somewhere far beneath them were Riyan and Bart. Quickening his step, he hurried to the rescue.
The last time he had used these steps, he was struck by a poisoned dart. If it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of Riyan and Chad, he would be dead.
Bart paused as he approached the first step, his eyes scanning it and the next one for the pressure plate he triggered last time. When at first he didn’t find it, he knelt down and began running his fingers lightly over the surface of the bottom step. He closely examined a two foot section before proceeding to the second. When he failed to locate any, he put both hands on the bottom step and pressed. Repeating the process with the second step, he finally came to the conclusion that the area he just checked was free of traps. The one he tripped previously must be elsewhere.
“Would you hurry up?” demanded Lord Kueryn.
Bart glanced back to him and could see the impatience the man felt in his face. “If I make a mistake,” he said to the lord, “it could have severe repercussions. You are more than welcomed to do this yourself.”
“Upstart!” he yelled. Then he brought his emotions under control as he knew none other than Bart had the expertise to do this.
Turning back to the task at hand, Bart moved up and knelt on the top step. From there, he began examining the dais for pressure plates. True, he was taking longer at this than he normally would. Aside from the pleasure
