Vegenrage: The Magic User (4 page)

“Wow, that’s intense, Logantrance, but if Alluradaloni defeated Swallgrace and absorbed his power, that makes her Behaggen’s master, and no Bag of Holding can consume its master.”

“This is true for all except Behaggen. Behaggen is the first Bag of Holding and waits for the master of his choosing.”

“What makes you think he will accept me?”

“Faith, Robert, faith.”

“The one thing that I do not yet understand is this talk of feeling. Feeling a presence, feeling a magical aura or magical item. I do not feel things. I just do, I act and react.”

“You feel them. You just do not know how to process the feelings yet, and in time, you will learn to process them most efficiently.”

“So do you have a map of this world Wherlerria for me? It must look different now than what I have studied in my books.”

“No.”

“Well, how do I know where to go? How do I find these people and dragon?”

“This is the beginning of your journey, your quest to become a magic user. Once on the world of Wherlerria, you must find Xanorax to get the Staff of Barrier Breath, then you must pluck a scale from Blethstole, then you must acquire the magical items of Alluradaloni. Once you have completed this, use the Rose Unbar Key to return here. The Rose Unbar Key also releases Wherlerria from the bottle and all back to the real world of Kronton. This is no easy task, and if you are not on your guard at all times, you may not succeed. I know not how the world has evolved and changed, and once there, you will be on your own. I cannot enter Wherlerria. All my magic is used to maintain the bottle. I cannot go inside. The only knowledge I have is whether Swallgrace’s essence is released through his magic, and it has not been. The only knowledge I will have of the surface of Wherlerria is what you bring back to me. I cannot believe I am sending you here so soon, but you have the ability to succeed. The only question is, do you have the mentality?”

“Well, Logantrance, let’s find out. Send me in.”

“That is the second time you have said send me in, and I find myself hesitant. But you are right. It is time for your journey to begin. Here, I have one very powerful item for you.” Logantrance reaches into his Bag of Holding. He reaches his arm all the way to his elbow when the bag is not even large enough to hold his hand, so it appears. “Hmm!” he sighs. “I know it’s here somewhere.” He reaches to the left side of the bag then to the right side of the bag then to the front. “Ahhh! Here it is.” He pulls his hand out with a wristband in his hand. He holds it out to Robert. “Here you are, this is for you.”

Robert takes it from Logantrance and looks at it. It is a brown leather band with thin gold lace for tying it secure to a forearm. It has a dark-red ruby in the center of the band, almost black in color with four solid gold very thin letters forming the word
life
to the north, south, east, and west of the ruby. Robert lays the band on his left forearm, and the gold lace magically ties the band to his forearm and disappears.

“Logantrance, a Band of Life. I cannot repay you for this.”

“If you should run into deathly trouble, this band will restore your life up to three times. I hope you do not need it at all, but it is a very nice security. Don’t let this give you any false sense of daring. Just be smart, and if need be, you have it.”

“Thank you, Logantrance.”

“Thank me when you get back. Remember, keep your guard up at all times. The foulest, most deadly beasts are here along with the vilest characters anywhere. If you are not cautious, you will be eaten or slain.”

“Well, that’s very encouraging. How do I get in?”

“OK, you will be the first to go to Wherlerria under his own accord. I am going to remove the security wax and the cork. When I do, you just levitate in and let Wherlerria’s gravity bring you to land.”

“All right, let’s go.”

“Robert, stay safe. Good luck.”

Robert smiles and shakes Logantrance’s hand. “No problem.” Robert takes a step back, raises his hands to his sides, and closes his eyes. He begins to shrink, and as he does, he hovers, shrinking smaller and smaller.

Logantrance motions his hands around the top of the bottle, concentrating and chanting, “Opoosen Cormout Waxofven Holtactin Worloff Wherlerria! Opoosen Cormout Waxofven Holtactin Worloff Wherlerria!” The wax around the cork of the bottle softens and comes free of the bottle. The cork slowly twists and gently lifts free from the bottle. Robert has shrunk to a mere half inch in size and levitates to the opening in the bottle and drops in. Logantrance chants some more words, “Nesolk Moutrok Faxovew Holtactin Worlon Wherlerria! Nesolk Moutrok Faxovew Holtactin Worlon Wherlerria!” The cork slowly gently twists back into place, and the wax gently molds to the crease between the cork and bottle and hardens. “Good luck, my young magic user.”

CHAPTER 4
Wherlerria

Robert falls to Wherlerria, landing in a wet stinky bog. It is nighttime, and it is dark; however, the bright moon shining its silvery blue light does give limited visibility. There is heavy tree and vegetation growth all around, broken up by the small pools of stagnant water. The ground is soft and marshy, mostly saturated.

Aug, of course I have to land in a smelly wet bog
.
What is that stink?
He sinks to his knees in the soft muddy earth. Of course, he lands his feet from dry land and uses his arms to help his body wade through the mud until he can reach dryer, more stable ground. There is a soft white light from the moon that casts dark shadows, and he can see a few yards before his vision is taken away by the blackness. He pulls himself onto the mossy earth, which can support his weight, and stands brushing the muck and sludge from his arms and legs. He feels squirming all about his body, which turns to painful bites.
Au, what the heck!
As he inspects his arms and chest, he notices Bore Worms all over him. These are flesh-eating worms that bore into their host and feed on the flesh. The muddy waters of the bog are infested with Bore Worms, and he is now on the menu for many tens of them that have latched on to his skin and are now feeding on him.

“Well, I got a little surprise for you, nasty little worms,” he says as his body shrinks and transforms into a Bondlagorm. A Bondlagorm is a small four-legged animal about two feet tall with webbed feet like that of a duck on its two hind legs and small dainty, dexterous hands on its front legs like that of a squirrel, with long thin claws perfectly adapted for stabbing and digging bugs out of their borrows. Its tail is long and slender and smooth in appearance, but it can extend quills the entire length of the tail; and when in danger, it swings its tail at a threat. And if a would-be predator is struck by these quills, they detach from the Bondlagorm’s tail, sticking to its enemy, injecting small amounts of painful poison into it. Its body is slender, and its head thin and narrow with stereoscopic eyes and a long snout with sharp canine teeth in the front of its mouth and strong crushing molars in the back of its mouth.

The Bondlagorm begins to feast on the Bore Worms that were previously feeding on Robert. The Bondlagorm is well adapted to these surroundings and moves off through the bog easily, swimming through the stagnant pools of water and walking over the soft marshy land. There are bugs and insects of all different kinds here, and the Bondlagorm rarely has an empty stomach. This is a deadly bog, and before something finds the Bondlagorm a tasty delicacy, he turns into a bog owl and flies up through the forest and soars atop the canopy. He flies over the thick, bushy trees through the warm moonlit air.

The canopy is thick, with lush large leaves absorbing the air’s humidity and soaking up the sun’s rays during the days. The owl that Robert is, is more adapted at flying through the trees, able to make quick bursts of speed and tight maneuvers. He transforms into a longer, more slender bird able to cover great distance with ease like a gull. Robert soars for miles with very few openings in the trees where he can actually see the ground, and when he can, it’s just a pool of water. The most surprising thing is that he sees no life, but he knows it is there.

Finally, after many miles of flight, he comes to the end of the bog and lands on one of the top branches of one of the last trees. Now he looks over an endless grassland with rocky growths in the land here and there. Still he sees no sign of life. He looks around for many minutes, enjoying the moonlit night. It is dark yet warm, creepy yet exciting, the unknown ahead and behind him, and he loves it. Where to go and what to do, he has not a clue, and this does not bother him at all as he takes to the wing and explores this very exciting adventure.

He flies high and straight across the endless grassland. His eyes enable him fantastic vision, and he can see clearly for many miles in every direction. He finally spots life, a large herd of herbivores far off to the right, resting through the night. He flies on straight ahead and notices three large Graybazelles racing straight in his direction. They are carrying three riders, which he cannot make out yet. A few quick flaps of his wings and he can now see three men are riding the Graybazelles. Two of the men have short bows strapped to their backs, and one has a crossbow. They all have swords attached to the saddles on their Graybazelles, and they wear light leather armor.

Robert has to inquire with them, so he swoops toward the ground, angling his body to slow his momentum, and just before he lands, he transforms to his human self and jogs to a walk. The Graybazelles are quickly upon him, and he remembers talking with Logantrance about not being able to feel presence and Logantrance saying, “You feel it, Robert. You just don’t know how to process the feelings yet.” He strongly feels fear as the Graybazelles circle him and breathe heavily in his face.

Graybazelles are basically very large greyhound dogs that stand six feet at the shoulders. Their hips and shoulders are very powerful, like that of a lion, and they have the head of a gazelle. Fortunately, they are herbivores, but they have enormous antlers that grow up from above their eyes, forming a shield protecting their head, circling twice then growing away from their head and around to very sharp horns extending three feet in front of their head. This makes them very dangerous, and only a desperate predator would attempt to ambush this very able herbivore.

Robert is at a serious disadvantage. Although Graybazelles are a very docile animal, with the command of one of the riders, they could very easily impale and kill Robert.

“Corksez, this is him. This has to be him.”

“Calm down, Johans.”

“Johans is right, Corksez. We should kill him now.” The third rider draws his crossbow and points it at Robert.

“Rowann, put your weapon away.”

Robert does not hesitate. He quickly pushes his open right hand at Rowann, and like Rowann was hit by a sledgehammer of a twenty-foot-tall giant, he flies in an arc through the air, landing a half mile away. The Graybazelle that he was on takes a few steps back. Robert points his hands at the other two men and closes his fists. The arms of the two men are clamped to their bodies, as if giant fists grabbed them, and they are raised off their Graybazelles and are levitated to the ground right in front of Robert. He waves his hand in front of Corksez, and he falls asleep.

“Johans, I did not come here to kill anyone, but you now have my complete attention. Who sent you after me, and why?”

“I don’t know. You have to ask Corksez.”

Robert looks at Corksez and raises he fist, squeezing his fingers together. Johans watches as Corksez is crushed by an invisible hand. He hears his bones breaking, and blood squirts and oozes from his crushing body. Robert raises his left hand above his right hand and claps them shut. Johans watches as Corksez’s head and feet are crushed together through his body. Robert then squeezes his hands together, like he is packing a snowball, and Corksez’s entire body is compacted to a snowball-sized ball. Blood and body fluids are dripping as most of the fluids in Corksez’s body are squished out.

Robert turns away from Johans and throws Corksez’s body like he is throwing a baseball, and Corksez’s remains are thrown through the air, out of sight. Robert looks at Johans. “I would ask Corksez, but he is dead!” He clinches his fist, and Johans feels his chest and back compressing.

“OK! OK! Please don’t kill me. I’ll tell you.”

Robert relaxes his grip.

“Mournbow sent us. Mournbow called Corksez, one of his best captains, to take two men to find a stranger. We don’t know his name. We don’t know anything about him other than he is human and may have magical ability.”

“Who is Mournbow, and how does he know I am here?”

“How he knows you are here I don’t know, but he answers only to Xanorax. He would not have sent us after you unless Xanorax ordered it.”

“This Mournbow, he ordered you to kill me, just like that?”

“We are to bring you back, dead or alive.”

“What about this Xanorax, where do I find him?”

“You don’t find Xanorax, he finds you.”

“Oh yeah! Then why are you here and not Xanorax?”

“You would be wise to watch your tongue, stranger. You may have some magical ability, but Xanorax will tear you limb from limb if you are still alive when he finds you. Xanorax is all–seeing, all-hearing, and all-knowing. He knew you were here.”

“OK, so he can find me. I just want to speed the process up a little. Maybe this Mournbow can help me find him.”

“Help you find Xanorax, you are crazy. You want to die. Mournbow will have your limbs and head torn from your body for killing a captain of his guard and first lieutenant.”

“Johans, I have killed no one.” Robert snaps his fingers, and Corksez appears right next to Johans, just as he was still asleep. He points his hands toward Rowann and concentrates. He looks at Johans, smiling. “He’s out there pretty far.”

Johans looks at Corksez and turns his head to see Rowann floating toward him and lie on the ground at his feet. “Is he dead? Did you kill him?”

Robert waves his hands over Rowann, closes his eyes, and concentrates. “Well, he is hurt pretty bad, but he is not dead.” Rowann’s ribs pop out to their correct shape, and his bones snap back into place. Rowann takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. Robert waves his hand over his face, and he falls asleep.

“I can see why Xanorax wants you.”

Robert stands up and looks at Johans. “Yup, and you’re going to take me to him.”

Robert walks over to the Graybazelles, which are patiently standing close by. Robert bends down to the ground and holds his hands over the earth, concentrating, and three large carrot-like vegetables grow, which he pulls from the earth. He brushes them clean and feeds the first Graybazelle. Its head is about a foot higher than Robert’s head. He pets the side of its head and neck, saying “Good boy,” and rests his left ear to its side. The Graybazelle turns its head to look at Robert with its big brown eyes as it chews on the snack Robert gave it. Robert repeats this with the second and third Graybazelle. On the third Graybazelle, Robert reaches under its saddle and removes a burr that has been causing it a lot of discomfort.

Robert walks over to Johans and looks at the two sleeping men. “OK, boys, ready to take me in?” And he smiles at Johans.

The sun has risen high in the sky, and the people of Valvernva are going about their daily routine. Corksez and Johans are riding their Graybazelles side by side, and Rowann is behind them. Robert is wrapped in a blanket and tied to the Graybazelle behind Rowann’s saddle, and no one can tell that he is a man, nor do the people of Valvernva pay any attention to the Graybazelle riders. The people actually avoid the riders and do not make eye contact with them. The dirt road the riders are walking down goes right through the center of town, with side roads and walkways going to the left and right of the road between the houses, shops, and inns.

The grassland is wide and open for hundreds of miles, unchanged until it hits the road leading into Valvernva. There is a stone barrier to the left of the road and to the right, which is about six feet high and goes for many hundreds of feet until it reaches a forest on both sides of the town. The road through town goes straight about six miles to the base of a mountain, which gradually grows up and up for about a mile. The town stretches about three to four miles on either side of the main road, and there are about three hundred people living here. The town has hunters and trappers. Some of the people have small farms along the grasslands, growing fruits and vegetables, and there are innkeepers and shop owners. There is no real money here, although they will accept gold and jewels for services, but trade is the main exchange for goods and services here.

The Graybazelle riders ride right through town and head up the mountain. The mountain rises slowly up into the clouds. You can see it from very far off in the grasslands. This is a huge mountain with many plateaus on it that can be seen for miles, and from town, you can clearly see that on the third plateau from the bottom, there is a castle with high stone walls protected by the mountain from above and the walls that surround it. The Graybazelle riders head up the clearly visible trail that winds up the mountain to the settlement. This is an all-uphill walk and at times very steep. Even the very well-adapted Graybazelles breathe heavily, carrying the riders up the mountain. It takes them about four hours, and they finally reach the gate to Mourbarria.

Mourbarria is Mournbow’s castle, the castle on Mytek Mountain. From far away, you cannot tell just how formidable this castle is. The stone wall rises some thirty feet, and the wall wraps around the mountain, built right into the wall of the mountain on either side, much too steep to move on.

“Gatekeeper, it is I, Corksez. Open the gate.”

The gatekeeper looks down and sees it is Corksez, captain of the first brigade, and orders the gate open. Eight men on the left side of the wall and eight men on the right side of the wall push on beams extending out from a very large wooden wheel that pull larger-than-man-sized chain links, which pull the gigantic doors to the castle open. The left door pulls to the inside of the castle wall, as does the right door to the right side. When the doors open wide enough for the riders, they enter the castle, and the doors close behind them. The riders are quickly greeted, and the reins of the Graybazelles are secured by men on the ground.

“Corksez, your travel through Terrashia went well.”

“Yup, no problems. We found our quarry, and he is on Rowann’s steed. Let’s get him to Mournbow.”

“Did you have to kill him?”

“He gave us no choice. He struck Rowann, so Johans put him down. Get a stretcher so we can take him to Mournbow.”

“Yes, Corksez.” The men return with a stretcher, and Robert’s body is brought down from the Graybazelle, unwrapped from the blanket, and laid back down on the stretcher. There is an arrow in Robert’s chest that is broke off, apparently piercing his heart.