Eric asked, “What’s that good for? Won’t it melt?”
“Yes, but I can reform it as dragon ice, which differs from regular ice. I don’t know how, but some spells call specifically for it, and that’s where it gets interesting. Dragon ice killed this Lord Voth. I may be able to use one of several spells on him because I now have this. I had some time to choose spells, based on what we know of the Lords of Fear.”
The rogue asked, “Like what?”
“Something to slow poison if the assassin strikes with a blade. And this sorcerer might freak out if I make him covered in boils or something. I might need something better than that for him.”
“Yeah. Keep looking.”
Anna cleared her throat. “I used my time as well to reach Aryll, the Goddess of Life. She understands we are facing a necromancer and an undead knight, neither of them from this world, and she is not pleased. We can expect her help.”
Ryan asked, “Any idea what form it will take? More than healing?”
“Yes. I sense I can be a, uh, weapon this time, if I see something and call on her and she doesn’t like it.”
Eric smiled at her. “Time to get your hands dirty.”
Anna rolled her eyes and quoted an old line. “I’m a healer, not a fighter.”
Ryan turned to Ogren and asked, “What about Brazin? Are you okay with him being here?”
The mayor looked to Jolian, who said, “He cannot shift back to dragon form and his magic is suppressed. He should be no trouble, but I would keep the truth about him known to only those who must know. One of your wizards may need to suppress his magic again. I will show them how.”
Looking doubtful, Ogren agreed, and the conversation drifted to less important matters, the mayor drafting a few letters for Talis, who left to get ready and tell others to prepare. Knowing that the Mind Shield spell did not exist on Rovell, Matt made a copy of it and felt glad that they had captured far more of the sparis fish than they needed for themselves. Back outside the Kirii Cave, while they had been waiting for Eric and Jolian, Ryan had removed the eyes from all the fish and put them in vials. Matt hated handling them, prompting some good-natured ribbing from Ryan. He now had multiple small jars of fish eyes and had them and the spell brought to Talis, who would convince wizards of Ortham to use the spell as needed. This could significantly improve their chances of impeding the Lords of Fear and their approach to the Hall of Worlds.
“That’s great,” said Eric, looking him in the eye.
Matt flushed a little at the approval. Part of him wished he was as good at planning as the martial artist. He suddenly realized he loved his friends and would do anything for them. Maybe he should admit to how much he appreciated Eric’s plans. What if his friend felt unappreciated and taken for granted?
As the night wore on, with another day of unknowns looming, Matt just wanted to be left alone to study. The four agreed to share one large room for safety reasons, extra cots being brought in, Jolian taking the next room over after some brief flirting with Ryan to see if he wanted to join her, but he looked both intrigued and intimidated and had demurred, to the amused smiles of his friends. That only prompted him to ruefully tell them all to shut up. He settled for cleaning the leviathan blood from his armor.
Matt went in early so he could memorize more spells either for use before returning to Earth or so he could write them down once home. This business of not being able to take the spell books back was an irritant. Sometimes he felt like every minute away from home, he needed to be doing this. He’d been tempted to pull out a book on the flight to the Kirii Cave but had known that was ridiculous and he might drop the precious book. But now he stayed up longer than he should have, the others going to sleep one by one until he finally blew out the lamp. He drifted off to thoughts of how to cause dread in the Lords of Fear. He and Eric especially needed to surprise these bastards.
In the morning, they ate a quick breakfast of porridge and bread with little fanfare and ensured they were ready. The Mind Shield spell only lasted a few hours, so they had already agreed to stop southeast of Ortham so Matt could cast it on all of them, including the dragon. They soon took to the sky, Matt feeling secure in the saddle behind Anna. Ahead of her was Eric, who made a show of being comfortable without a saddle. Matt suspected he did this to mock Ryan, who was behind the saddle and holding on to it for dear life even though Jolian’s magic would keep him on. The big guy had looked suitably nervous, no assurances from Eric able to relieve his concerns.
With the morning sun behind them, they rose over Valegis and quickly left it and a crowd that had gathered to see a dragon behind, soaring over the mountains until the foothills and plains replaced them. The trip was quiet, a calm before the storm, and Matt spent his time mentally reviewing every spell he had memorized, the words, gestures, and which pocket a needed ingredient was in. Before Ortham came into view, they landed on an open plain and had a quick snack of fruit. He couldn’t help wondering if it might be their last meal. They consulted one last time about the plan before taking to the sky again, and what they soon saw threw their plans into disarray.
Ortham stood just north of a river
