Chapter 29 Sprung
SPRUNG
The dragon trailed behind the wagon as Thunder and Giant pressed deeper north into the forest. Lark sat atop Ingamar, while Venrick walked beside them.
Lark glanced up, scanning for potential threats from an enemy rider among the floating rock islands in the center of the Everburning Forest. Carpets of green moss coated cliff walls, sending trickles of water cascading off jagged edges.
The water vaporized into a fine mist far overhead.
“How does this tracking charm work?” Lark asked, sensing no immediate danger.
“The magician uses an item that’s recently been touched by whomever you’re trying to locate,” Venrick explained.
“The magic user collects a copy of the person’s aura.
That copy longs to become part of the whole once again.
It will try to get back to its host. When trapped by a rune, the aura guides whoever holds it to the person whose aura has been tapped.
The catch is these copies of auras don’t last long. ”
“That’s why we’re hurrying to Ezra’s underground passage,” Lark nodded.
“Tracking charms only last the length of the day they were created.”
“I still think we’d be better off risking the flight. I am strong enough to fight if needed,” Lark said.
“If we knew where the Hyalite was, I would agree with you. But if Sasja had already sold it off, we might scare off any potential leads by arriving on dragon back.”
“But this charm just points us north. How do we know that she’s in Red Lodge and not farther north? I could fly ahead and find out.”
“It’s too risky. You could be seen, or you could spook whoever has the Hyalite. They could take it anywhere with their willingness to harvest souls to teleport. Maybe they would be reckless enough to tap into the Hyalite and try to use the immense amount of power before we can stop them.”
“It seems risky to assume Sasja is in Red Lodge and not somewhere even farther north,” she repeated.
“If you think you know where the person you’re looking for could be, and you have a map of that area, you can hold the charm to the map. It will show a glowing dot if they’re anywhere on it,” Venrick added.
“And if you don’t find a dot or they move?”
“The charm still points the way, but it only lasts the day or until the power from the Yogos runs out.”
“I thought you said it was trapped in a rune?” she said, perplexed.
“The rune only binds the aura to the object, otherwise it would drift off through the ether and instantly return to the host. The magic from the Yogos keeps the charm active,” he explained.
“Asking around in towns, or being a good tracker seems like a better way to locate someone. The Yogos could’ve been used for something else we may need. We don’t know for sure that Sasja still has the Hyalite.”
“Tracking charms have their place, but if the person wards against them, they’re useless.”
“You can ward against them?” she asked, nearly exasperated.
“Yes, most higher-ranking soldiers, and all Knights, their Squires, and the Paragons ward themselves against use of their auras. If they didn’t, they’d be assassinated more easily by any enemy. I bet you’re warded against them. If you aren’t, one of the Kings’ Paragons would’ve found you by now.”
“They did find me, multiple times,” she argued.
“I’d wager those were by happenstance. You probably would have been attacked by an enemy rider right away,” Venrick said.
“Maybe it’s you and Ingamar that have shielded me. The attacks stopped once I started to travel with you," she said.
“Maybe,” Venrick said, raising an eyebrow.
Ingamar slowed to a stop alongside the wagon.
Lark stood on the balls of her feet, raising herself in the saddle to see over the top of Ingamar’s lowered head.
Before them, set into the hillside, covered in ferns and overgrown with brush was a set of stone stairs.
The thick granite slabs laid the path up to a twenty-foot crag that cut along the slope for fifty yards.
The widely spaced trees here grew around the structure as though it were once well maintained.
“Welcome to the Gosmer Mine,” Ezra said to them.
“A mine? That’s your secret passage?” Lark asked, dismounting Ingamar.
“I knew there were mines under the Everburning Forest, but how will this lead us to Red Lodge?” Venrick asked.
“There are hills, rough terrain, and small mountains to cross if we continue traveling overland. The distance to Red Lodge from here, as the crow flies, isn’t that far.
Since flying will expose us, we can take the mine shafts.
They’re straightforward, have sturdy paths, and cut right through the rough terrain.
I used to travel these mines when I was a young dwarf.
I can lead us through to the entrance near Red Lodge.
From there, it’s a short way out from the northern edge of the forest to town,” Ezra replied.
“Don’t you need access to these entrances?” Venrick asked.
“As a former clan member, I have access to open the wards for entry. These routes will take us very close to Red Lodge. Traveling through the mine is much faster than going overland through all this timber,” Ezra said.
“Maybe for you, but if we use brismil, couldn’t we just meet you and Hardin at the other side?” Lark asked.
“When Cheyanne showed me her map, Sasja was in Red Lodge. Even with good pathways, you running there using brismil to aid your speed would be cutting it close. The forest here hasn’t burnt as often; in fact, it’s been decades.
Consider the mountains and hills through this dense forest without a trail.
Then you’ll run the chance of running into group of Nordraven troops patrolling the northern parts of the forest. We don’t have enough time with the charm without flying or taking these tunnels under the forest.”
“If this is the fastest route to Red Lodge will we need to leave Thunder, Giant and the wagon here?” Hardin asked.
“Unless Ingamar wants to carry them,” Ezra said.
Ingamar’s upper lip quivered as he released a low growl.
“That’s not happening,” Venrick said.
“Then we’ll need to leave them and come back. I don’t plan on staying in Nordraven after we retrieve the Hyalite. Tel’s runes warding the wagon and horses will keep them safe until we return,” Ezra said.
Lark’s necklace tingled. She glanced skyward. Clouds were building in the distance, threatening a firestorm. Something in her memory jogged and she recalled an anecdote. “Don’t evil creatures lurk in these mines?”
“Not in this mine,” Ezra said, hoisting his belt up over his waist. “The last time I was here, the mine was thriving. They were sending ores to both sides of the forest, to Lamar and Nordraven.” Ezra cracked a smile. “No, there won’t be anything that can breach a dwarven ward down below.”
“When was the last time you were down there?” Venrick asked, scanning the area.
“How long has it been now?” Ezra said looking up in thought.
“It does look abandoned,” Hardin said, pulling back a thick fern bowing over the doorway.
“This access point was never a main entrance,” Ezra said.
“If the wards were breached, this shaft could be a death trap,” Venrick said. “Tel never trusted traveling in the mines. He always chose another way for his troops to pass through the forest.”
“Tel Roan was a sky boy. He didn’t have the stomach for the tunnels, and we don’t have much time to waste. If we want to retrieve that Hyalite before it gets into the wrong hands, then we need to go this way,” Ezra said. “Now come on, I’ll lead us in.”
Venrick gently gripped Lark by the elbow and said to her, “I’m going to say farewell to Giant and Thunder. Make sure you either take the brismil scale from the wagon or Stormbreaker from the saddle before we enter the mine.”
“Before we enter, I will,” she assured him.
“Good. You should bring an enchanted chest. It could be useful beyond having it later to secure the Hyalite. Those runes contain powerful magic,” Venrick said before turning to tend to the draft horses.
“Don’t worry, Lark,” Hardin said. “Ezra is a dwarf. He knows these tunnels better than any of us. Besides, I have a feeling that you’re more dangerous than anything we could run into down there.”
Lark gave him a weak smile. She approached Ezra, who was cleaning the overgrowth away from the mine shaft door. “Are you sure this entrance has been used recently?” she asked.
“Look here, there’s a deposit of some kind that’s been spilled,” Ezra said, pointing with his boot to an oily slick that pooled near the corner of the decorated door frame. “That tells us that a group recently brought some of the riches to the surface and harvested them.”
Lark helped him scrape away the remaining greenery, exposing the liquid tar that spread from the base of the door.
It trickled out, filling the cracks between stone slabs that formed the landing they stood on.
Lark snapped off a branch from a nearby tree and poked it into the substance.
The stick bent as she pushed it into the resin-like liquid.
It hissed, smoke spewing from the tip of the branch that had prodded the sludge.
“I don’t think this is something that you mine for, is it?” she asked.
Ezra was busy searching the stone with his hands, feeling it and muttering under his breath, “Where is that darn handle. I can never find it when the wards are acting up like this.”
“Wow, check this out,” Hardin said from behind them. “Is this the Hyalite?”
Lark’s eyes turned to Venrick, who was rushing over from Thunder and Giant. His face contorted with horror as she shouted, “No Hardin, don’t touch tha—”
The ground under Lark’s feet opened up. Her stomach lurched into her throat as she caught a fleeting glimpse of Venrick, his arm outstretched but much too far away to grab her. The forest disappeared above the rim of the surface as she fell into the chasm.