The Seekers (The Fourth Age Dark Shaman Book 2)

The Seekers (The Fourth Age Dark Shaman Book 2) by David N. Pauly

Book excerpt

Emedius left the healer hall, walking briskly to speak with Lord Marcellus. Waiting in the audience room, he remembered when the two thrones were not empty but occupied by Aradia and her husband Justinus; now, only their son was left to provide wisdom and rule over the Elves.

Marcellus entered the room and saw where Emedius was looking and said, 'I miss them too, Emedius; perhaps they will return to us someday.’

'Aradia, perhaps, as she has gone overseas, but I have not heard any word of your father after his disappearance in the early battles with Magnar.’

'Neither have I, but there is little I can do now by remembering our sorrow and loss; how can I help you?’

'I need to depart Phoenicia to find out the fate of the Gracies and their mission; I will suspend my training of your guard in my martial arts indefinitely.’

'You do not need my permission as you are a lord of the realm and may go as you wish; there must be something else you desire.’

'Yes, I need twenty Elves to reinforce the guards I left in Platonia. Their magical protectors, the Bubblers, were being destroyed by the powers of the alchemist and his magic. Something I had never heard or seen before in my travels in Nostraterra.’

'The magic was quite puissant, unbelievably powerful, and seemingly designed to destroy all life it had contact with. Trust me when I say that if this alchemy is not found and destroyed, it could kill anyone or anything in Nostraterra. Once I have ensured that the Gracies survived and completed their mission, I will set out to track the origin of the alchemist.’

'Well, you can undoubtedly take twenty Elves with you, but you might overestimate the alchemist's danger. From what you have described, the attack was on a small portion of the river, not exactly a weapon of mass destruction.’

'True, but if the alchemical magic can be mass-produced, then the poison could be used against anyone.’

'Well, you must do as you think best; when do you plan on leaving, and where will you go?’

'The last that anyone heard of the Gracies was their journey back from Eldora into Kozak and presumably eventually to their homes. To answer your first question, I will leave tomorrow, but now I will go and seek twenty volunteers with horses and supplies. I will journey to Kozak first and hear the news, and then go on to the east shore of Platonia; from there, I will have to wait for further developments before I proceed in my investigation.’

'Make sure you take an experienced healer with the salves and herbs used to save your life here if you wind up facing the poison again.’

'A good point,' said Emedius. 'While not as good as having the healing chamber at my disposal if something dire were to happen to me, it would undoubtedly be helpful.’

With that, Emedius took his leave of Marcellus and proceeded back to the healer hall, passing Krandar, Bruno, Lithir, and the other Dwarves in the process, and spoke with Fabricius.

'Where are you headed now?' asked Emedius.

'Krandar, having surveyed the crystal tower defenses, will return to the barracks where they will dwell until Krandar is fully healed.' responded Fabricius. 'Bruno and Lithir are returning to speak with Lord Marcellus to propose an addition to the trade treaty that will help both Dwarves and Greater Elves. I will accompany them and help them prepare for their journey to the Great Forest. How about you?’

'I leave on the morrow to follow the Gracies back home to see how they fare. Well, take care of yourself until we meet again.’

'You as well,' said Fabricius.

Emedius returned to the healer's hall and asked the chief healer, 'I need a healer to accompany me on a long journey and will need the healer to bring the herbs and salves necessary to combat the poison I had in my body in case we reencounter them.’

'Certainly, we will send one of our senior healers equipped with wands and supplies in case you or others fall into danger.’

'Excellent, have him meet me outside of my quarters.’

'A female elf will accompany you; she is talented and intuitive. She was the one who formulated the herbs that combated your poison; without them, your chance of survival, even with using the chamber, would have been in doubt.’

'Excellent, then she will be quite welcome on our trip.’

Emedius then went to the guard's barracks and briefly told the watch officer of his needs; he was presented to the dining hall, where fifty Elves sat down to dinner. Joining them at their meal, he waited until they were finished to put out his request. All fifty Elves volunteered at once, and Emedius smiled as he was able to make choices based on his prior knowledge of their military skills.

'Besides warriors, two of you must be expert trackers, a skill I do not possess equivalent to my military skills.’

Two Elves then raised their hands and said, 'We are not arrogant, but we have the most experience tracking animals, Elves, and birds, so we would be best suited to aid you in your journey.’

'Well and good. Please meet me outside my quarters at dawn with enough horses to ride and pack food and drink for our journey.’

'How long will we be gone?’

'I do not know, but we should be able to replenish supplies in Kozak as this will be our first stop on our journey, and then we will go to Platonia to find out what happened to the Gracies that you have heard about from my last mission.’

'We will see you on the morrow,' said one of the Elves. 'We had better get busy to prepare for our mission.’

Emedius and his party rode out at first light, headed first to the great south road where they would ride north and cross into south Eldora. The weather was mild, sunny days with the occasional shower overnight. They used the great North-South Road after traveling out of Phoenicia on a secondary route. They encountered curious looks from most other travelers, as a troop of Greater Elves had not been seen outside Phoenicia in living memory—except those who escorted Marcellus on his recent journey.

Many days passed as they made their way north into Eldora. Paying the usual road tolls, they made good speed, crossing the river in the old, ruined City of Estellius before turning west to Kozak, camping when their horses were tired, not needing to rest much. Crossing the border from Eldora into Kozak, they encountered less traffic, with Emedius wanting to meet with the Kozaki, where the Gracies last reported.