Pages

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Rollalong Hill {Part 4 of 6}--edited

Rollalong Hill part 4

The moonlight from the two great masses in the night sky provided so much light reflecting off Hallow lake that everything glowed firey blue. Sparkling and still, the lake was known to produce an anti-magic within close proximity. No one had ever drawn energy from the water, the depths below it or anywhere near it’s shore.
Allen’s great uncle had chosen this lake for that very reason. He would have built the work shop in the lake had he been able to find a way to keep the water ferrets from attacking the lumber he placed as support beams into the soft gewy ground. Water ferrets were not aggressive, and avoided humans at all cost, but in this lake, just as in any other parcel of land that bore no magic, the creatures of the earth held their territory at any cost. Out of the ground and silently approaching the large shack, Allen could see the orange glow of fire from torches on the other side. Men were conversing, soldiers.
A loud voice roused the soldiers into silence. “We rest, and head to Roll-Along. One guard every hour needs to patrol the barriers border.” Allen snuck through the open back door of the workshop nearly knocking over a bench full of tools. There were hammers and strange turning devices. Some of the metal that Allen had sensed from underground was spilled like dust out of a glass jar. He did not need magic to smell the potency in those small granules. Without the magic he could not determine their use, but knowing his uncle it was something dangerous.
The leader of the small band held a small device in his hand. Allen looked in the small crowd for Stewart. If his uncle had been captured, it was not willingly or without a tussle. The large wrinkled old man was tied to the great Yellow maple that grew by his forge. Stewart had taught Allen to blacksmith as a young man, but Allen could not see the purpose in working so hard without magic at that age. Now he thanked his uncles teaching on a daily basis, and started to feel guilty that he had never shown him proper appreciation. The Unitary soldiers had his uncle bound and stretched onto the tree as if they had been torturing him.
Allen felt rage well inside him. He was too close to the lake to do any damaging magic, and seven men was more then even he could take on without the earth’s help. He needed something sharp.
The moons shimmered through a cloud sending streams of light into the room. Allen recognized the mirror like reflection of swords in a large rack in the corner. He would have to remember to ask his uncle why he was creating so many weapons. As far as Allen knew only a bandits nest would need so much un-magiced force. When Allen pulled a long light blade from the metal rack, he noticed that it was not only the racks filled with swords, but chain mail hanging from the beams, and some kind of mechanized bow, twenty of them at least hanging on pegs on the adjacent wall. He grabbed two of those for good measure, along with a sack of tiny arrows that belonged with them.
He needed to release his uncle quickly, but he wanted to avoid unitary. He needed a distraction. Without use of their powers, the soldiers would find a Gnat a very big distraction. He had to find Jinx and Nattalie.

Jinx held Nattalie back. She protested silently kicking gently at the massive paw set down in front of her.
“But Jinx!” She pointed to the old man tied to the tree. “That has to be him, and they are going to kill him!” Jinx sniffed at the air. “Allen is there, we wait for him.”
“I’m sick of being left out.” Nattalie walked back into the curtain of trees where Jax landed with an awkward thud from out of the sky. “Are you all right Jax?” Nattalie helped him up as he brushed off the pine needles sticking into his silk pants.
“I’m fine… that damned lake and it’s anti-magic.” Jax could feel Jinx staring disapprovingly at him from the shadows of the large trees barely disguising his mass.
Jax smiled at Nattalie. She didn’t use magic, she used her own powers to survive. He tumbled and fumbled whenever he was around her, not just because he couldn’t use the air to steady himself, but because he could see a beauty in her nature. Beauty was only a magiced disquise in the woman he had met at Unitary.
Nattalie felt herself blushing. She had grown up in a town where her tomboy attitude and non-use of magic was revolting to most of the boys in town. She had few friends, and never a boy that smiled at her that way. Her heart echoed softly against her insides.
“Jax, do be more careful.” He snickered at her, and she shook her finger at him. “A sky glider indeed. More like a ground thumper.”
A soldier was sent out to patrol, and Jinx watched him with his lids fully drawn. Gnats had two sets of eyelids. One was for sleep, the other was for protecting the eye from daylight. With both drawn he could see far more distance than that of almost any creature alive. His brown pools now shimmered a deep blue. His sisters would claw his ear off for what he was about to do, but he could see Allen on the other side of the lake searching for them. The soldiers would discover Allen if they looked out from their small camp.
Jinx had glided over to Jax and Nattalie. “You two will have to do your mating strategies later.”
Jax about choked, and Nattalie looked like she wanted to faint. Jinx pointed out to the lake. “A soldier is coming, and I have to help your father. Make her stay here Jax,”
Nattalie started to whine, but Jinx pulled out his long thumb claw. “Jax,” Jinx waited for him to look into his eyes. “No human knows the true extent of our ability to kill.”
Jinx’s fluffy dog like tail seemed to extend and grow a large scorpion stinger on the end. The Gnat swung it onto the ground in front of the two. “Don’t make me show you how it works.” Jinx could see that Nattalie was once again angry, and Jax a bit terrified, but the young human would not let Nattalie come to harm.

After Jinx snuck off into the woods, Nattalie plopped to the ground annoyed. “Why are there so many secrets!” Jax took up Jinx’s spot at the trees, starting to wonder if he really would find out why Allen had kept so many secrets.


Allen knew Jinx had seen him. The glimmering blue flashes of his eyes reflected the light of the moonlight like two gigantic fireflys behind the trees. It was the only clue any man would ever see when a Gnat stalked at night. Jinx swept up behind him. Allen whispered, “I need a distraction. A big fierce hairy one.”
Jinx snorted a little. “Did you know Allen,” Jinx was glad he did not have to pretend he was feeble at speaking anymore. “My sisters would love to eat you.”
Allen nodded in the dark. He was not Jinx’s master, and he could not pretend to be anymore, especially in these wood. “I’m sorry friend. Please forgive me.”
Jinx snorted again. “Is the old man the one you need free?” Allen nodded.
Jinx grumbled as he strode up to the soldiers, hackles raised. “Another damn human…Good thing I love your pup Allen.”
The soldiers were quite surprised when Jinx’s growl turned into a screaming howl. Standing and clawing at the air, there was only high pitched yelling and dust left when the men escaped as quickly as possible. Only Allen’s uncle remained, passed out and hanging from thick sailing ropes tied to the tree.
Jinx stomped into the dirt, a bull ready to charge and left to make sure the men did not venture back.
Cutting the ropes with the sword he had taken from the workshop Allen caught his large muscular uncles limp body before his head cracked against the ground. Allen gathered up an old tent cloth and some spears. Stewart woke long enough to say “I’m so sorry Nattalie.” and was back asleep being dragged on a make-shift gurney to where Nattalie and Jax were supposed to be.

[[[[ Dilema… do I want Natt to be captured by Unitary and make this story longer then I intended, or do I want to keep it within the 5 days so that I can actually finish it without making it another unending project?]]]]]]


When Allen arrived at the site, his uncle in tow, Natt was no where to be seen. He hurried and set the gurney down when he realized Jax was laying in the shadows twisted and still. Allen scooped him up and carried him away from the barrier of the lake to heal him. Jax had to know where she had gone. Once the energy had seeped from Allen’s own flesh to tell Jax’s bones to mend, he finished cooling and soothing the knot on the boys head to wake him. Someone had thrown the boy against the tree and cracked his skull.
Jax woke in a sudden startled, “Nattalie!” but quickly realized he was alive thanks to the Admiral once again. “The Gnats took her Admiral!”
Allen shook his head. “You amaze me sergeant.” He was not sure why the gnats had taken her under their protection, but there was no one safer then someone welcomed into a Gnats litter.
Jax just looked at him perplexed. “The gnats! We have to get her.”
Allen wondered suddenly how attached this young Unitary soldier really was to his daughter. “She will be fine Jax.” His big arms scooped Jax up into the air pocket that Jax had instinctively created. “You are one lucky kid, those gnats would have definitely loved your taste.” Jinx had always said that humans rarely tasted good, but a human male wasn’t too bad when the hunger took over, and a human sky-glider was irresistible. Female of any species was very indigestible to Gnats, but in a pinch would be better then nothing.
Allen felt the earth for Jinx. He had been using his magic long enough now that it didn’t sweep over him from static build. It was like filling a cup of water, once you got used to it, there was no effort. It simply flowed now. Allen could feel Natt and Jinx’s sisters moving quickly, and even further north. Jinx was coming from the south dragging his uncle.
He walked up too them, dropped the gurney and licked a small wound on his hind leg. Jinx sighed. He coughed like he had a hairball and spit out a soldiers belt. “They taste better cooked.” Jinx coughed another piece of clothing up and sniffed loudly at the breeze. He knew Natt was with his sisters. She would be safe for now, and he motioned at the old man lay snoring in the contraption he dragged from the lake side.
Allen lay his hands to the earth below Stewart, tucking one firmly below his head, and the other firmly under his back. Like someone had poured ice cold water over him, the man sat up fists swinging.
He almost clocked Allen in the jaw before Jax had time to make an air wall to protect him. The old man’s fist pulled out of the invisible shield like a stick from deep bubbly tar.
“Allen!” the old man threw his hands down to the ground and sprung up like a jumping horned beetle. Stewart paid no attention to the Gnat staring quizitively at him from the end of the gurney. The old man’s joy turned dark quickly. He spit in anger at the Admiral, “The Unitary is planning on attacking the peaceful tribes of the north! They want to wipe them out!”
Stewart had pulled a dagger from inside his boot and held it accusingly in Allen’s face. Jinx stood and growled. Stewart waved his hand dismissingly at Jinx. “You’re not going to scare me any more then your litter tried to Gnat.” Jinx’s head shot sideways and he sat loudly grumbling under his snorting.
“Tell me you don’t have anything to do with this Allen!” The old man was stronger then Jax’s air shield. It couldn’t be possible… The knife steadily, and slowly cut through the air toward Allen as he protested.
“Uncle Stewart!” Allen reached up but was having more difficulty pushing through the shield then his 40 years elder uncle. “They kicked me out before Nattalie was born, I have no love for Unitary, only for my family.”
Stewart pulled the knife out of the shield effortlessly and dropped it into the boot. The strange little family had now become even more deadly. “An Admiral, A gnat, and a sky glider…” Stewart picked himself up and whipped up air and water wisking away the dried blood and dirt that covered his cloths. Stewart didn’t hate magic, he just believed that wasting it needlessly was abuse of the world that provided anything a man needed without magic.
Stewart pulled out a wet stone and some small knives. “Why are they off to kill my best customers, and why are they after Maria?” Stewart stood sharpening his daggers as Allen explained. He pulled them from many different cubbyholes of his leather overalls. Jinx still pondered the many ways he could barbecue the tender thick meat dripping from the old mans bones.
Allen seemed a bit worried when he heard Jinx utter “Delicious.”
His stomach and lack of sleep where getting in the way. Jinx was worried about Nattalie. He knew she would be protected, but they were taking her to the Relic Beasts. Jax was smelling awfully tasty too.
Ignoring Jinx Allen explained as he set out the weapons into a pool of the moonlight shining through the trees. “Necromancer Leon has told me that Unitary wanted Maria and I to have a child.” Jax gasped.
“Leon?” Stewart pulled out a larger crossbow from the pile and a handful of arrows, giving no sign he cared one way or another about Leon.
“Did you know he was Maria’s father?” Allen couldn’t accept it, but it was still there nagging.
“Leon has been fighting with the Rebels of the deadland Relic tribe ever since Unitary sent me to assassinate him when Maria was three.” Stewart had been in Unitary for a very short time, and dropped off their records as ever have existing. Allen joined Unitary to spite his Mother for rejecting magic knowing that she hated her brother for having joined. She only forgave her brother on her deathbed shortly after she received word that Allen was disbanded and returning home. He never made it home to tell her that she had been right. He never got to tell her he was sorry.
Stewart suddenly stopped and put a oversized hand on Allen, “I’m sorry Allen, they had a device that pulled the truth from me no matter how I tried to lie. They know about Nattalie.”
Jinx had spit out a large compass like device coated in gold and soft carved wood. Stewart looked down at it disgusted. “I had no power over it,” Stewart kicked it in front of Jax. “Unitary scum bags.”
Jax gasped again. “But those can only mask the truth.”
Allen picked it up admiring its detail. “Uncle…” He put the device into his cloak pocket. “They know about Nattalie?”
Stewart hung his head nodding. Allen knew that his uncle would never have told them willingly.
Jinx was already standing and ready to snapp a nice chunk of dinner from the mans arms. Allen had to think, but he had to rest. They were no good to anyone without sleep. “Jinx, do you know a safe place to rest before we head out to find Natt?”
“Not far north.” Jinx looked up at the second smaller moon and yawned ferociously. “Sky glider can show you, at the base of the mountains.” Jinx stuck his big wet nose into Jax’s face. “You’re lucky it was my sisters who have her.”
Allen and Stewart gathered up their things and prepared for the long walk up to the mountains. Unitary would know soon what was happening, and they had to find Nattalie. Selfishly Allen only wanted her to know the truth before she found out anymore of it from strangers. The Relic beasts never lied, and they were incapable of deception. Nattalie would dig the truth out just by asking the right questions.
Jinx had run off into the woods and came back with a dangling leg still sticking out from his massive mouth. He gulped it down like a bird would a fish, and spit the boot from between his teeth. He stopped briefly in front of Allen licking the blood from his chin as he spoke. “I need to be with Natt.”
Allen reached up patting his old friend tightly in the chest. “I know. I won’t be far behind.”
Jinx had turned to leave but stopped to say, “That boy loves her.” And then he ran off into the wood. He would clear the valley and catch up to his sisters very quickly. Female gnats were more dangerous, but male gnats could outrun even a glider if they needed to.
Allen watched Jax gather up his wind and steady himself. He floated in the air just as any man would stand sturdy on the ground. “I’ll be rate back.” Jax waited for Allen to nod and shot off into the sky.
Stewart was ready to go, and pointed back at the workshop. “We need to go get some things from the shop, I have an order to fill with the Relic tribe.”
Allen went with him, knowing that the men would not come back to the lake, he could hope that Jinx had eaten all of them, but Jinx would have told him if he had. Among the things Stewart collected in a large wagon his old stallion was pulling were three small caskets of the deadly powder, a huge pile of swords, two suits of oversized chain mail, and a shining copper chain net. It was a giant web of thinly stranded metal wires. “What is that?” Allen’s curiosity had overwhelmed him. As a child he never could resist asking his uncle what the odd items were that hung in the workshop. He felt like a kid again, amazed at the craftsmanship and artistry his uncle was capable of.
“Do you remember the fable of the farie fire?” Allen couldn’t remember all the details, but his mother had told him the tale any time he wanted to protest her ban of magic in their home. He wished he had not forgotten it. Nattalie would have loved the tale as a child.
Stewart finished loading the cart and began shutting down his forge fires. “The faries are extinct now, but they could have saved themselves.” Stewart pulled some magic from the air and began creating a large ball of flames from the dieing fire inside the furnace. “We humans, just like the faries think that magic is a singular ability. We think that the fire I am creating is only for me, and that I alone control it. The faries believed that they only need protect their own fire to be safe.” Stewarts flames where turning slowly as they grew. “ The fable said that each farie in the tribe had created a fire that made them immortal. As long as their fire glowed safely, they couldn’t be harmed.” Stewart pointed at the furnace “Make your own flame Allen.”
Allen obeyed. It was the size of Stewarts when he continued, Allen listened intently. “That is not your fire…” Stewarts flame came slowly closer to Allen’s. “This is not my fire.” Stewart grabbed a bucket of water he used for cooling the blades. The flames were licking in the air at each other violently. “Let go of the fire Allen.”

Allen did not know what was going to happen. He watched and released. The two flaming balls expanded and consumed each other. They wisped and stuck long ravenous tongues to the table beneath them. Stewart had already released his magic. “The faries selfishness destroyed them. They never realized they could work together and so died.” The fire swelled even more and cascaded down onto the table in a frenzied freedom. Stewart threw the water over it and smoke was quickly swept away by a strong wind. Jax had found them from the sky and was landing close behind. “If their tribes had worked together, their fires could have glowed for eternity.” Stewart held out a small copper web. “Just touch it.”
Allen poked at it and felt a zap. Stewart let out a small laugh. “Ok now grab it.” Allen wondered if the old man would kill a Unitary Admiral, nephew or not. “It won’t zap you if you hold it.” Stewart continued knowing the Unitary soldier now listened closely. “If just two had found a way to share their flame, they might not have been wiped out by a breeze.” No one knew how the faries had all died, but many speculated their immortal fires had extinguished in a war.
Allen grabbed hold of the copper web. Suddenly Allen could feel not only his energy drawing toward him, but the energy that surrounded Stewart like a massive pulsating fog. “Now we both draw the flame.”
It was so simple, like rowing a boat, the two energys combined in a current that massed the flames in front of them. It was as if the two of them weren’t using separate energies. Stewart answered his unasked question. “Maria would have told you… It’s just energy and form. One man can give it purpose, mankind can give it a greater purpose.” The fire started to grow too large to control. Stewart slapped the copper web out of Allen’s confused hand.
Stewart put a finger up to his lips and motioned at Jax to come closer. The flame ball had burst onto the ground and been quickly snuffed out by the shield Allen created around it. “It is never separate, it all belongs to this world.” Allen was surprised by his own ignorance once again. He did not know the magic could overpower his control and gain it’s own will to expand.
Jax stepped into the faint light of the embers glowing in the forge furnace. He sounded sad as he said, “At Unitary they teach that the faries died out because disease had corrupted their fire. Disease snuck into their magic because they would not help Unitary bring peace to the world.”
Stewart sighed. “Do you know why you can fly and others can not young soldier?” There was clearly distaste for Jax’s uniform in Stewarts tone. Jax shrugged. He just could. Gather up the air like a wall and let it carry him away, that’s what he did. Stewart poked at Jax’s chest with the dagger he had silently drawn from yet another hiding place. No one but those close to Stewart would know he was once Unitaries deadliest assassin. Not because of magic, but because of his skill with a blade. “You fly soldier, because the earth lets you.” Stewart stomped his foot on the ground. “My place is here, and your place is up there.”
Stewart sliced at the air around Jax. If he had never met Allen, Nattalie and Jinx, the old man would have seemed a cruel crazy joke, but he stood respectfully as the man sliced his rank badges from the uniform and then the ruby beads from his front dreadlocks. Stewart could have sliced him to pieces with or without the air shield. Jax watch him slip the knife back into a secret poket of his overalls. “You fly because Unitary has not decided you are enemy and poisoned your soul.”
They traveled silently for rest of the dark night up into the caverns that Jax had found. There was an anti-magic well deeper in the caves, a place safe from magician and unitary alike. Jinx had said it was safe by leaving his saddle at the entrance way when he ran under Jax to point it out. He only looked up once to acknowledge that Jax had seen him then he headed north to find Nattalie. Jax had debated following Jinx from the sky, to leave the Admiral and his uncle to fend for themselves. The two old ox’s could probably take out two troops of unitary single handedly without magic.


In a land a few hours flight away, the vice general of Unitary council sat listening to his sky-gliders report. She was the only other sky-glider left in Unitaries army. The rest had been shot down while spying on the Relic tribes gathering in the mountains. She wore stretched silk bottoms and fine Rubies hanging from her braided hair. She waited patiently for instructions. As he had just found out, the other sky-glider was about to go into enemy camps.
The General walked to a locked ornate box that stood by the fireplace of his acquired accommodations. The family in the home had been glad to stay at a relatives house when the Vice had told them he would be staying with his army in their town. People this far away from the capitol had more respect for Unitary. Those that could smell the decaying land close to the great temple, were growing rebellious. The fires of rebellion had to be extinguished. The Vice General had his orders, and the uprising had to be annihilated at any cost. He handed a small vile of green sparkling vapor to Renice. She would obey, like a good soldier.
“You must open this under Sergeant Jax’s nose.”
She did not ask why or what. “You will be rewarded greatly if you bring back the girl.”
Renice smiled. Her thick long blonde braids dangling as she saluted. “Yes sir.” She was off the balcony and headed back to follow the Gnats.
Vice bellowed down to the guard at the front door. “Bring me the Aunt.” He twirled a small parchment in his hand as he sat. The magic that hid the secret message had been easily deteriorated by poison, and he could see the exact gathering place for the mighty Relic Beasts and their human tribe.

No comments:

Post a Comment