The Corgi Chronicles Page 6

  I nearly forgot what I was supposed to be doing when I saw the first bison. My Corgwyn kin have herded sheep and cattle with the humans for generations. The bison was like an overgrown fuzzy cow, and I was entranced. Aliiana had to tap me on the top of my head to remind me of our task.

  I shook myself and trotted to catch up with Bak. Suddenly, I caught the unmistakable odor of troll—the fetid opossum scent I had tracked in Montana.

  I barked to get my friends’ attention. “The troll! I’ve got his trail.”

  “Excellent, Pippin,” said Aliiana. She and Birgitte were still on my saddle as I took the lead with my nose to the ground.

  Bak was excited about the adventure. “What’s a troll?” he asked. Without waiting for a response, he continued, “Are they easy to fight? Do you think they like ferrets?”

  Aliiana sighed and turned to the weasel. “Bak, we’re going into a very dangerous situation. It will probably be best if you stay back, out of danger. And stay away from the troll—it would eat you as a little snack.”

  The ferret wrinkled up his tiny snout. “I’m tougher than I look,” he said, and ran off in front of us. He pouted for the next few miles. He ran ahead of us, although he stopped every minute to make sure we were still following.

  The troll scent grew stronger as we wound around the banded plateaus and rock outcroppings, deeper into the heart of the Badlands. Despite the spring tourism season, we didn’t encounter any humans.

  “We’re getting close,” I said. “The smell is getting strong.”

  As we walked, everyone fell into silence, anticipating the confrontation with Angarath. Barrol ranged out twenty feet in front of me, his hackles raised. Gornak drew his axe, and Nelathen strung his bow and checked his sword in its scabbard. From the shifting movements of my riders, I could tell that Aliiana and Birgitte were preparing magic spells. Even Bak ran close to us and was quiet.

  “Magic,” growled Barrol. “There’s a ward here, I can feel it.”

  There was nothing visible to mark the first ward, but as we crossed a patch of reddish rock, I felt a slight coolness vibrating against my skin. It was like walking through a waterfall—the chilly sensation started on my nose and traveled down my spine as I walked forward. The emerald pendant around my neck felt cold.

  “Humph,” grunted Gornak. “It’s a safe bet that Angarath knows we’re here now.”

  The troll scent was so strong it made me sneeze. The trail wound into a narrow chasm that was shaded by pinnacles and spires above, and dead-ended at a blunt rock face. “It’s here,” I said quietly.

  Everyone stared at the rock.

  “It’s booby-trapped,” said Nelathen.

  “Well, then we know for sure we’re in the right place,” said Gornak.

  Birgitte leaned forward over my ears. “I sense dwarven and elven spells, and dark magic, too. It’s definitely Angarath’s work.”

  Gornak pulled out the miniature axe. “I’ll try to cancel the dwarven ward, then you can work on the elven ward.” He slowly approached the mesa and scratched a small rune in the rock. He said a word in Dwarvish, and a larger rune suddenly glowed white on the rock face. “Hmm,” he muttered to himself. He looked back at the small rune he had carved, and added a few more lines and circles.

  Aliiana whispered to me. “He can’t erase Angarath’s rune without risking the spell backfiring, so he has to modify it to a different symbol.”

  I realized my heart was pounding. The glowing white lines and circles of the large rune rearranged themselves, shifting around to form a new pattern. At last, Gornak stepped back and coughed a few times. “I still don’t have all my energy back from drowning.” He wheezed a few more times, and added, “But I’ve disarmed the first ward. It won’t hurt us when we pass it.”

  Nelathen paced back and forth in front of the rock face. I couldn’t see anything, but he seemed to be scrutinizing something. “No,” he said suddenly. “No, it can’t be. Never!”

  “What’s wrong?” Aliiana asked, hopping off my back to approach Nelathen.

  Nelathen dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands. “No, no,” he said. I realized there were tears in his eyes when he looked up at us. “This elven spell… It’s an incredibly complicated warding. It has the same signature as a ward that was cast years ago when humans encroached on the elven community in the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest. There were several maelathier trees—sentient trees that are thousands of years old—that had to be protected at all costs. And that ward was cast by Baern.”

  “Baern, the elven wizard who…” Aliiana began.

  Nelathen nodded. “Yes. Baern, who was abducted and robbed of his magic.”

  Chapter 9

  “But that’s impossible,” said Gornak. “No one could steal another’s magic.”

  “We don’t know what might be possible to a user of dark magic,” said Birgitte. “There were ancient races on this planet that consorted with demons. There may be dark spells that are beyond our imagining.”

  Everyone was silent, sitting or standing, staring at the mesa. How could we hope to defeat a dark wizard who had stolen the powers of a great elf?

  “If Angarath was able to steal Baern’s magic, might he also have stolen a dwarven wizard’s power?” Aliiana asked.

  “We can only guess,” said Birgitte. “Do you know of any incidents, Gornak?”

  Gornak shook his head. “Those of us who guarded the Gem weren’t in close contact with the rest of the dwarves on this continent, except for sending status reports to the King.”

  Aliiana turned back to Nelathen. “Can you disarm Baern’s warding?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll need help.” He looked around, making eye contact with each of us. “Even with help, it may not be possible.” He stood up, took a deep breath, and turned to face the rock wall.

  He held his arms straight out to the sides and chanted in Elvish. Faint streamers of greenish-yellow light spun off the ends of his fingers, weaving toward the rock. The ribbons of light twisted around as if they were tying and untying knots. Aliiana, seeing what spell he was attempting, stood next to Nelathen, and soon strands of light from her hands joined his.

  The strands twisted and turned, but kept bouncing back from the rock. Birgitte, still on my back, said, “Pippin, I need to get close to them.” I trotted up behind Aliiana and Nelathen. Birgitte stood up on my shoulders and threw tlaelar dust on them while singing in Elvish. With Birgitte’s strength, the green-yellow ribbons of light grew brighter and pushed harder against the rock.

  I wished that I had magic to contribute, but Corgwyn can’t cast spells. We do have a spark of fey magic in our being, though, so I pushed my cold wet nose against the back of Nelathen’s leg and willed my strength into him. I felt a tingle from the Prince’s emerald pendant, ringing through the silver necklace to my skin.

  Suddenly, a red streamer of light burst from the rock face. The red ribbon twisted around the green-yellow one, like two snakes fighting each other. The red light slashed from side to side, and Nelathen and Aliiana’s lights dimmed. Birgitte threw some more sparkling tlaelar dust on them, and their lights grew brighter and stronger.

  The red and green light snakes continued to writhe, back and forth, closer and farther from the rock. Finally the red ribbon dimmed and Nelathen’s light approached the rock.

  In a last burst, the red light broke away from the rock and hurtled through the air, straight at Nelathen. It smacked him hard on the chest, knocking him back off his feet. I was still standing behind him, and he flew over my head and crashed on to the ground behind me.

  I scrambled over to Nelathen and poked my nose against his neck. “I feel a pulse,” I said.

  Birgitte jumped onto his chest and lightly ran up to his face. She pulled open one of his eyelids and peered into his pupil. “That wasn’t just elven magic,” she said. “There was dark magic incorporated into the elven spell, and it was the dark magic that hit him.”

  “Will he be
okay?” I asked.

  By this point, the others had joined us, forming a circle around Nelathen’s body. Birgitte looked up. “He’s in a coma. I can’t detect even a tiny piece of his consciousness. But his body is alive.”

  “We need to find a healer,” Barrol growled.

  “No,” objected Aliiana. “We need to remember our mission. The wards are broken now, and we won’t have much time to get into the mesa to find the Gem before Angarath attacks us.”

  “Aliiana is right,” said Birgitte. “We’ll have to leave him here and find a healer after we retrieve the Gem.”

  “I won’t leave him,” said Barrol.

  “We’ll need your help,” I said to Barrol. “Remember, there’s a troll in there.”

  Barrol snarled, showing his huge white fangs. He looked from me to Nelathen, then suddenly spun around. “Bak!” he growled.

  “I’m right here,” said the little ferret.

  “I’m going into the cave with the others,” said Barrol. “You stay here and guard my master’s body.” He leaned down and opened his jaws wide. “If anything happens to him, I’ll eat you.”

  Bak seemed pleased to have a job. He hopped onto Nelathen’s chest and stood up on his hind legs. He saluted the cougar with a front paw and bowed. “I swear I will protect him with my life,” he said solemnly.

  Gornak hefted his axe and strode toward the mesa. I trotted behind him, with the fairy and sprite on my back, and Barrol followed me. Gornak tipped the axe head toward the rock face and it slipped through. The rock looked solid and impenetrable, but it was a harmless illusion spell. We all passed through the illusion and found ourselves in a tunnel, dimly lit by a few battery-powered camping lanterns. The stench of troll was overpowering, and the air bristled with magic.

  “Strange,” whispered Birgitte. “The Gem should be straight ahead of us, but I still feel it to the east.”

  We slipped quietly down the tunnel. Angarath hadn’t detected us yet. After about thirty yards, the tunnel widened out into a chamber. It appeared to be some sort of magical laboratory. There were racks of potions—various glowing fluids and gels in glass containers and silver dishes. Along one wall stood a large copper device with many twisting tubes and funnels. Silver mist seeped out of a large black cauldron, and a purplish haze clung to the rough-hewn rock ceiling.

  Gornak had just stepped into the laboratory when an enormous, smelly, furry beast leapt out from the side, snarling at us. The troll swiped a huge paw at Gornak, who barely ducked out of the way. The troll’s claws glistened as they swooshed over the dwarf’s head and hit the cave wall, knocking off chunks of rock.

  I was petrified with fear. The troll stood twenty feet tall, with a head the size of a small car, and had twelve-inch-long yellow teeth that dripped rancid, gooey saliva. The troll took another swipe at Gornak, which he tried to meet with his battleaxe. The axe blade bounced harmlessly off the troll’s hide.

  Barrol jumped over me and darted in toward the back of the troll’s knee, trying to bite at him.

  “Pippin, move!” Aliiana’s voice broke my fear. I scurried forward, zigzagging to evade the troll. Aliiana spoke in Elvish and I knew she was casting a spell. A bolt of white light blasted through the air above my ears and hit the troll’s arm. His fur sizzled a bit where the bolt had hit, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Try to get closer, Pippin,” said Birgitte. I knew that if she had been able to fly, she would have been fluttering high above the troll, but I had to be her wings. I wove around the troll’s legs, running as fast as my short legs would take me. Birgitte threw her tlaelar dust at the troll’s hairy leg, and where the dust touched the troll’s fur it congealed into a dark green gel. The gel spread along his leg, hardening as it went. He seemed to feel no pain, but the hard green crust on his leg limited his movement somewhat.

  With the troll’s movement hindered, Gornak was able to slash upward with his axe. He made contact with the troll’s hip, opening up a foot-long wound. The troll finally noticed this injury and howled with pain or fury, putrid spittle flying from his mouth and dark brownish-red blood spraying from the wound.

  The troll spun around, slamming a huge paw into Gornak’s side, sending the dwarf crashing into the copper tubing.

  I continued to dash around the troll’s feet. Remembering my encounter with the giant centipede, I nipped at the troll’s heel, but only got his thick fur, which left a nasty taste in my mouth.

  Aliiana hurled more magic bolts at the troll. Most just sizzled in his fur, but a few reached his hide and did some damage. Barrol landed a few more bites. The troll seemed to be weakening, but was still swiping at us with his dangerous claws.

  The troll swung at me again, coming from the side. I dodged but wasn’t fast enough and Aliiana was knocked off my back. She landed hard on the stone floor and didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if she was hurt or just stunned, but didn’t have time to find out. I stood over her to protect her with my body.

  “I need a distraction, Pippin,” Birgitte said to me, slipping off my back. She ran on tiny feet around behind the troll. I couldn’t leave Aliiana, so I did the only thing I could think of to distract a ferocious troll—I barked.

  Chapter 10

  I yapped as high-pitched and loudly as I could. The troll bent down and snarled, his face close enough to mine that I could have counted every one of his teeth. His tongue was dark purple with waving fronds of flesh on the top. A long glob of saliva dripped onto my head. I knew I was about to be eaten when an orange light flashed all around us.

  The troll stood up, squealed, and tumbled over onto his back, falling in slow-motion, knocking over potions and glassware.

  I was panting and my heart was pounding. It was a few moments before I could move. I stepped to the side and looked down at Aliiana. She blinked and smiled, slowly rising to her feet.

  “Are you all right, Mistress?” I asked.

  She nodded. “He just knocked the wind out of me.” She looked around at the others. “Go check on Gornak.”

  I hurried over to where Gornak lay in a pile of copper tubing. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t trying to move. “Are you all right?” I asked.

  He moaned. “My side hurts where the troll hit me.”

  I barked, and Birgitte hurried over. She gently laid her hands on his side, feeling for internal injuries. “It’s going to bruise badly but I think you’ll be okay,” she said. She sprinkled some of her tlaelar dust on him and said a quick spell.

  “Thank you,” he said, standing up gingerly.

  Aliiana had recovered from the fight and was inspecting the magic laboratory.

  “Acids, absorption potions, diamond-tipped burrs,” Aliiana said, looking at items on a workbench.

  “And over here are transmutation and dissolution potions,” said Gornak.

  Birgitte peered into the cauldron. “This potion is radiating dark magic. Don’t get too close.”

  “But where’s the Gem?” I asked.

  “And where’s Angarath?” asked Barrol.

  I heard a faint clatter in a far corner of the room and ran over to investigate. There was a small wooden door set into the rock wall. I pushed at it with my nose but it wouldn’t budge. I can’t turn doorknobs with my paws, so I barked to the others.

  Gornak hurried over. “What have you found?”

  “I heard a sound behind that door.”

  Gornak tried the doorknob but it was locked. He shoved at the door with his shoulder, then shrugged and hefted his axe. With one swing of the axe, the wooden door shattered and broke away from its hinges.

  An arrow flew out through the remains of the door and clanked off Gornak’s steel helmet.

  “Get back!” he shouted, ducking around to the side of the doorway. I jumped around to the other side.

  Gornak swung at the door again, bringing down the rest of the wood fragments. It was completely dark beyond the doorway.

  Another arrow hurtled out but passed over Gornak’s head. “Come out,” he
shouted at whoever hid in the dark. The only reply was another arrow.

  The others had joined us, standing to either side of the open doorway. “We need some light,” Gornak said quietly.

  Aliiana stepped back a few paces to get the right angle and tossed a glowing orb of white light through the doorway. The orb hovered, illuminating a small room furnished with a bed and desk. A figure crouched behind the desk.

  “Come out, Angarath!” Gornak shouted again. “We have you surrounded and we’ve killed your troll.”

  A faint voice said, “He wasn’t my troll.”

  “Where is the Gem?” Aliiana asked.

  “You can’t have it.”

  Aliiana pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips angrily, even though Angarath couldn’t see her. “We won’t let you destroy the Gem.”

  Another arrow burst out of the little room, whizzing past my shoulder.

  Time for a stunning spell, Aliiana’s voice echoed in my mind. She climbed up onto my back. I need you to be very fast, Pippin, and run through the doorway.

  Yes, Mistress.

  “Now,” she whispered. I rushed forward, keeping as low as I could. I even tucked my ears flat to make a smaller profile. As I burst through the doorway a blue light shot over my ears, smacking the figure behind the desk.

  Aliiana hopped off my back and hurried to the figure, the glowing orb following her. The figure was short, with green skin and pointed ears.

  “A goblin?” Aliiana said. I could hear the surprise in her voice.

  The goblin was frozen stiff, except for his eyes, which darted back and forth between Aliiana and the doorway. Our friends now entered the small chamber.

  “Can you release the spell on just his head so he can talk?” Gornak asked.

  Aliiana waved a hand and the goblin’s head lolled over.