Chapter 37
Isabel led the way through the forest with Slyder flying from treetop to treetop ahead of them. Alexander marveled at how she moved through the woods. She was silent and surefooted. She always seemed to know where to place her feet to find solid ground and to avoid crunching twigs and other forest debris underfoot. After a while, Alexander also began to notice that she left very little evidence of her passage. He felt clumsy by comparison. He could clearly see where he’d stepped and knew that he was making enough noise to alert every animal for miles around to their presence.
He started to emulate her. He stepped where she stepped and tried to move the way she moved. At first he didn’t understand why she moved as she did, but after a while he started to see the advantages of her selection of foot placement and the path she took through the forest. There were times when she stopped and looked for the best way through the brush or a stand of trees. Sometimes Alexander thought he knew which way she would choose only to be surprised by her path. He never argued or questioned her but instead took the opportunity to learn from her fluid, confident movement through the forest.
They made good time descending from the cold altitude of the fortress gate and into the warmer, thicker air of the forest floor in the foothills of the barrier mountains. Late in the evening, Isabel found a little clearing with a brook flowing past it and they made camp. She reported that Slyder saw no threat anywhere nearby so they built a little cook fire to prepare their evening meal.
As darkness fell, colors began to glow slightly brighter in Alexander’s vision, illuminating the forest in a soft cacophony of living light. It was beautiful and haunting all at the same time. He’d never felt this kind of connection to the world around him before. With his second sight he could see the web of life and energy that penetrated and connected everything.
His view of the world began to subtly shift. He’d always been very much an individual but he was coming to see the connections between all living things. He watched his companions when they moved near large plants and trees and could see the colors of their living auras bend and flow into the surrounding aura as if their basic essence was somehow mingling. He felt a deep sense of peace and tranquility in the forest with all of the life surrounding him and wondered if the life energy of the plants all around were the cause of it.
After a quiet dinner, he rolled out his bedroll and lay down to look at the stars peeking through the meadow’s gap in the forest canopy. Isabel tossed out her bedroll beside him and lay down. She looked at him for a long time while he stared into the sky, pondering the nature of his magic and his second sight.
“You’ve been quiet,” she whispered softly. The others had already lain down for the night except Jack, who drew the first shift at guard duty. Lucky was already snoring softly.
Alexander turned on his side to look at her in the dim light of the fire and the stars. He could see her colors more clearly than he could see the features of her face.
“I’ve been thinking about magic and responsibility.” He paused, almost afraid to ask the question. “Are you worried about Erik?” he whispered very quietly.
She was silent for a long moment. “Yes, but I know he’s proud to do his part.”
“I have no doubt of that, but I hate the fact that his life is in danger on my command. I never wanted this kind of responsibility. How can I even justify it? What right do I have to send others into battle?” He fell silent in frustration. The sound of the forest filled the void for a moment.
“I’m much more willing to follow a king who doesn’t want power than one who does,” Isabel said. “Truss would be king if he could. He would rule in his own self-interest. He would wield power to bolster his self-importance and he would use his power to inflict harm on the innocent for his amusement. Such a man shouldn’t be trusted with power of any kind, but he wants it with all his twisted little heart and would gladly kill for it if the chance presented itself. I suspect Phane is no different. You’ve been given power that many men would kill for and you’ve had the weight of the world placed squarely on your shoulders in the bargain. You’re being hunted by the most powerful mage to walk the Seven Isles in two thousand years and the concern you put words to is for the safety of my brother. Whether you want this responsibility or not, you have it, and I believe it’s well placed.” She spoke quietly but with firm conviction.
“I hope you’re right,” he said.
She reached out slowly and briefly touched his cheek. “I am,” she whispered firmly. “And don’t worry too much about my big brother. He can handle himself.”
He took her hand and held onto it. Her presence calmed his mind and soon he was sleeping soundly.
The next few days passed without incident. They traveled through the woods moving as quickly as they could manage on foot through the dense underbrush. The few natural dangers they might have stumbled into were easily avoided. Isabel made a habit of scouting the area ahead through the eyes of her forest hawk. She stopped them at one point and warned of a bear about a mile ahead and then guided them around the area downwind of the bear to avoid any confrontation.
The forest was alive all around and Alexander made a deliberate effort to let the power of it sink into him. He felt invigorated by it and at times forgot what lay ahead and simply marveled at the ancient beauty of the place. He learned as much as he could from Isabel about the forest and tried to improve his ability to move more quietly. At dinner he quizzed her about the way she walked, how she chose her path, and the dangers inherent in the forest. Abigail and Anatoly listened intently and occasionally added questions of their own. Lucky seemed to be at home in the forest even though he looked totally out of place in his simple grey robes. Jack did his best to tolerate his surroundings and he never complained, but it was clear to Alexander that he was far more comfortable in the palace court than he ever would be out in the wilds.
Not long after breakfast on the third day from the north fortress gate, Lucky stopped excitedly and rushed off the path to a patch of odd-looking flowers.
“Alexander, Abigail, come look!”
He stood before a patch of strange-looking plants and smiled broadly. Each plant had a cluster of broad, bright green leaves at ground level with a single stalk jutting out of the center about a foot tall and as big around as a man’s finger. The top three inches of each stalk was covered with dozens of dark little purple flowers all hanging by threadlike stems. There were probably a hundred plants in the patch.
Everyone came up alongside Lucky and looked somewhat dubiously at the flower patch. Alexander was studying the look of the aura around the flowers. It had a swirl of colors that gave him an uneasy feeling like they possessed a great but hidden power.
It was Jack who asked the question first, “What are they?”
“These are called deathwalker root. They are highly prized by alchemists. The leaves and flowers are important ingredients in a number of complex potions, but the root itself is the most valuable part. It’s the main ingredient in healing potions and salve. In fact, the root can be prepared into a rudimentary healing salve fairly easily, but it must be done when it’s fresh.”
Lucky carefully grasped the stalk of one of the flowers and firmly but gently pulled it straight up out of the ground. The root was the diameter of man’s thumb and about five or six inches long. It looked like a small white carrot.
“Help me gather about half the patch, working from the outside,” Lucky said while pulling up another.
“Why only half?” Jack asked as he bent to remove a deathwalker root from the edge of the patch.
“These are rare and valuable. It’s important to leave enough of the patch so that it can replenish itself. If we take them all, this patch will die. If we take half, it will remain for others to use in the future,” Lucky explained.
They worked for several minutes, carefully pulling the odd-looking flowers up by their roots until they had a neat little pile. Lucky laid out a square cloth and set out two empty jars
.
“Pluck the flowers one by one like this.” Lucky used his fingernails to cut the threadlike stem of each flower without damaging the delicate little purple pouch. “Be careful not to burst the flower sack. The powder inside will make you sleepy, and it’s the ingredient we want. Lay them on this cloth. Next, pluck the leaves at the base of the plant and put them in this jar. Finally snap off the root, brush off any remaining dirt and put them in this jar.”
In minutes, Lucky had them organized and working. Alexander was always eager to learn and was so familiar with Lucky’s teaching style that he didn’t even think about the time lost. The fact that the deathwalker root could be used to make healing salve far outweighed any delay. Alexander had experienced the value of such magic firsthand. They worked quickly, with Lucky supervising their efforts. Once they were finished, they had a jar full of leaves, another full of the root itself, and a pile of delicate little deep-purple flowers on the cloth. Lucky carefully pulled the corners of the cloth into a pouch and tied a piece of string around it, then gently slipped it inside a metal canister.
“Once we make camp for the night, I’ll show you how to cook the roots down into a healing salve,” Lucky said. “It’s not as effective as one I could make if I had a lab to work in but it’ll do in a pinch and it can be made by anyone with the knowledge. The more powerful version requires a few other ingredients and preparation by an alchemist. The leaves are similar to numbweed but not quite as potent and they’ll make you drowsy. The powder in the flower sacks is a potent sleeping agent. Mix the contents of one flower into a cup of hot tea and you’ll soon fall deeply asleep and wake rested and refreshed eight or nine hours later. The contents of four to five flower sacks mixed into a tea are a deadly poison. With proper preparation by an alchemist, the powder of the deathwalker flower can also be made into a dust that can render a full-grown man unconscious in a matter of seconds if it’s blown into his face.”
The whole process took about an hour and then they were back on their way. Alexander made a mental note to look more closely at the aura of the plants he saw around him for that quality of color that made him uneasy. He was starting to develop a greater understanding of the subtleties of the living aura now that his second sight was a constant part of his vision. He’d long known how to tell if someone was lying or how to determine the basic nature of a person’s character from the look of their colors, but he was starting to learn how the colors reflected a person’s mood and emotions as well. He found that he could also tell when a plant was sick by the muddy look of the colors surrounding it or healthy by the clear bright nature of its aura.
He was also getting better at moving through the woods. Isabel had gracefully slipped into the role of instructor, offering her knowledge freely and without judgment. She was patient and exuberant all at once. She took delight in showing Alexander details about the forest. Abigail, Jack, and even Anatoly listened attentively to her brief lectures when she came to something of interest. One time it might be how to cross a patch of ground without leaving tracks, the next she might point out a plant to be avoided or kneel to inspect a set of animal tracks. Lucky occasionally nodded his approval at the information she offered and even added a detail or two, but never had cause to correct her. She was never offended at his additions but instead took the information as a gift and added it to her deep understanding of the forest.
Alexander was happy to be the student and discovered a deeper respect for Isabel with each piece of information she offered. He’d spent a great deal of time outdoors but most of it was out on the range with cattle. The forest was a whole different place. It was more three-dimensional. The trees above created a canopy of life that wrapped all around them. Isabel seemed to be much more aware of the three-dimensional nature of the forest than most due to her connection with Slyder. She often stopped to look through her hawk’s eyes and it gave her a perspective of the terrain and their surroundings that was more complete. She was able to set a course that avoided difficult obstacles without having to backtrack because she could literally see them coming miles away.
They’d been pushing hard all afternoon and it was nearing dusk when Isabel stopped and closed her eyes while tilting her head back slightly in the way she did when she was looking through Slyder’s eyes. Her eyes snapped open. She looked around quickly with a calm urgency that sent a tingle of warning racing through Alexander. He unslung his bow and nocked an arrow before she found what she was looking for. She pointed at a large tree with a few low-hanging limbs.
“There, make for that tree and climb quickly,” she said.
“What comes?” Anatoly demanded, slipping his war axe free from the strap that held it across his back.
“Wild boar, over a dozen,” she said over her shoulder as she headed for the tree.
Alexander heard the first squeal a few hundred feet through the brush. He didn’t waste any time running for the tree. Anatoly was the last into the tree and he was just in time as a dozen wild boar charged through the woods squealing in fear or anger, Alexander couldn’t tell which. They moved so much faster than Alexander would have thought and the bigger ones were easily four hundred pounds. He’d grown up around hogs on the farm, but they didn’t move like this and they certainly didn’t have five-inch tusks.
Isabel balanced herself between two branches like she’d done it before and smoothly loosed an arrow into a smallish-looking boar. Her shot drove cleanly through the boar’s rib cage and into its heart. It squealed in pain and tumbled to a stop. The rest of the boar kept going into the brush.
Alexander gave her a quizzical look. They had plenty of food. He didn’t understand why she would take down a boar. Then he heard a crashing noise coming toward them through the forest. Isabel’s face went slightly white and she motioned urgently for silence. Everyone fell dead quiet as they waited for the noise coming toward them. Alexander broke out into a cold sweat and froze in place when he saw it.
It stood nine feet tall and weighed at least a thousand pounds. It had the head, barrel chest, and long powerful arms of a giant gorilla and the feet and tail of a large reptile. Its back was armored in grey scales and there was a row of eight-inch bone spikes running down its spine. Its belly and neck looked like the leathery skin of a reptile and was a leafy green, the color of new shoots in spring. As if the sheer size and power of the thing wasn’t bad enough, Alexander could see in its colors an unnatural twisting of auras that looked like two creatures forced to coexist in one space. Its tortured colors stood out in stark contrast against the clear and vivid living aura of the forest all around.
It crashed through the brush and pounced on the dead boar, pinning the carcass to the ground with one of its clawed hind feet. It stopped and got very still, like it was listening for prey. Everyone in the tree froze, all eyes fixed on the beast.