Shaping Magic (10 page)

  Slightly embarrassed, Lindon thanked him and went back to Aina to tell her where to go. As he left he could hear one of the Dwarfs whisper to Kailid, “I don't see how that boy could have possible saved Donovan; he doesn't look like he even knows how to use those swords he carries.”

“I don't know either but if Donovan said he did, that's what I will believe. Now get back to work setting up camp; we will be leaving early, and we have a long day tomorrow.”

Smiling a little to himself, Lindon walked back to Aina. He saw that Donovan had taken the magus aside and was quietly talking to him.

Not having any way to tell the time underground, Lindon was awoken by the noise of the Dwarfs breaking camp. Lindon didn’t know whatever Donovan had said to the magus but the Dwarf no longer tried to get him alone to talk to him.

They had been walking in near darkness for about an hour when they were stopped. Donovan came back to where Lindon and Aina had been trailing behind. “We are about to come to a place that's a little difficult to cross, but it's either this or spend an extra day walking around it.”

“What do you mean by difficult to cross?” Aina asked.

“It's sort of a chasm, with a very narrow and winding path way along one side. It leads down and is not for the faint of heart. We will have more than enough light; when we get there the magus will cast a large spell that will light the whole area.
Lindon you have to try and not draw any of it toward you. Do you think you can control it?
”

“
I don't know, I have never tried to not do something. Usually it just happens, but I will try.
”

“
That’s all I ask; we wouldn't normally go this way with other people, but it’s the fastest way.
”

“
Do you get many visitors?
”
Lindon asked.

“
No, not many, but we do have some trading partners and the like. But only a select few.
”

“
Just do your best not to attract any attention to your ability
.”

“
I will try
,” Lindon said as they came to the chasm that Donovan mentioned. Lindon was momentarily stunned. As the light increased, it took a little bit for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he almost turned around and refused to go down.

What Donovan said was a little path was an understatement; it was about half as wide as the one that they had used when they had first left Mentell and started this journey. Lindon couldn't see the other side, the light that was produced only lit up about fifty feet of the path then it trailed off into nothingness.

As the first Dwarf stepped onto the little ledge, Lindon watched as he made his way. He moved with ease like he had done this a hundred times. One by one, the Dwarfs stepped out on it, and all went with confidence. When it was Lindon's turn to go, he took one last look into the giant hole, wondering if he fell how long it would take to reach the unseen bottom.

With Aina and Donovan coming behind him, he felt the pressure to take his first step. When he placed his foot on to the ledge, he was trembling with fear. He was about to turn back and admit defeat when Aina stepped up behind him and gently guided him forward. Realizing that he had no choice, he started down the narrow path.

Lindon made his way slowly; he was so intent on his footsteps that he almost didn't realize that the people in front of him had stopped. He looked up from his feet and saw that the path in front ended. It looked like rocks had fallen from above and hit the path, leaving a gap of about twenty feet or so of empty space before it started again.

“How are we supposed to get past that?” Lindon asked, not looking forward to going back up the path. Going down was bad enough, but he doubted he would even be able to climb his way back up.

From behind, Donovan said, “Now you will see what makes a Dwarf love being underground so much.”

Lindon watched the Dwarf in front remove his pack and take out a hand-sized pick and hammer. Handing his pack to the person behind him, he went to work. As Lindon watched, the Dwarf started to dig and chip in to the side of the cavern wall. He could see a very faint reddish glow coming from the pick and hammer. With the magic of his tools and the skill of one that has done this before, rock chips began to shower down. Before long, he had a path the same width as the one they were standing on, carved out and joined with the other side.

From behind him, he heard Aina say, “Amazing. How can he move so much rock so quickly?”

“That is what it is to be Dwarf; we love the stone. We shape it, we mold it the same as you would clay. It is part of us.” Lindon looked at the Dwarf as he spoke, he could see the love of it in his eyes. Lindon vowed that he would try to see Donovan's world through his eyes and look for the beauty that he saw.

It took another couple of hours to reach the bottom. Standing at the bottom looking up, Lindon was truly is awe of the cavern, and the Dwarfs’ means of traversing it.

When they started to move to one of the tunnels, their bright light dimmed to just enough to see a short distance. He had been trying to put the magic light out of his thoughts the entire trip down, and as he looked at the dim light once again, he could feel the slight pull from it but did not reach for it with his thoughts. Lindon believed he could now be around it and not affect it, as long as he didn't try to pull it to him—more like he wished it to stay away from him.

As they were walking, Kailid slowed to walk beside Lindon. “You were the first Human in a very long time to have made that trip down Calig’s Trail. Usually the thought of all that empty space and only a narrow ledge to walk on turns most humans away, but you faced it head on. It’s hard to impress Dwarfs, but your courage today has won over everyone here.”

“Thank you Kailid, but I don't know if I would call it bravery. To tell the truth, at the beginning I had thoughts about turning back, but realized that we had to move forward so I didn't really have much choice.”

“See, that is the kind of thing I am talking about: You could have just said it was no problem and everyone would think you meant it and most men would have. You, on the other hand, admit your fear and are not ashamed of it. The important part is you were able to overcome it and not let it rule you. Well done, Lindon. I am starting to see why Donovan respects you.”

Lindon was not prepared for the sight of the Dwarven home. When they came around the last turn in the tunnel, he had noticed it was getting brighter, and as they came out on a ledge with the city below, he was amazed at what lay before him.

Hovering above the city was a miniature sun, its glow lighting the entire cavern. Starting at one end of an enormous cavern was a great waterfall. It cascaded down into a large lake with a permanent rainbow hovering over it. There were trees and flowers lining both sides and large grassy areas scattered in between them. He could see small figures moving throughout the area.

The lake emptied into a river that wound its way through the city. There were bridges made of stone crossing the river at equal intervals the entire length of it. The buildings were neatly placed along the streets in straight lines, all of them made of stone. Close to where the lake went into the river, there was a castle; its battlements could clearly be seen from where Lindon stood. The sight of it was almost too much for Lindon to comprehend; his experience in large cities was limited but what was spread out below him was one of the most beautiful and clean cities he had ever seen or heard of. There didn't seem to be the same disorder that the Human towns and cities seemed to thrive on.

Aina, standing beside him, was equally impressed with the Dwarven homeland. She had thought that living underground, there wouldn't be any natural beauty, but here spread out was both natural and manufactured beauty. She was truly grateful that she had the opportunity to see such a sight. She turned to Donovan and saw the pride in him at being able to show this to them. She did something no other Elf would ever dare to do: She hugged him and with a teary voice said, “Thank you.”

Donovan, also with tears in his eyes, hugged her back and simply said, “You are welcome, and thank you for allowing me to show it to you.”

Lindon was watching the faces of the Dwarfs who were gathered around and was surprised to find not a dry eye among them. Every one of them was wiping their eyes at the sight of Aina, an Elf, hugging and thanking a Dwarf for allowing her to see their home. Every one of the Dwarfs would have more likely thought the sun would never rise again than to see the day when Elf and Dwarf could show affection toward each other without caring what others would think.

Donovan broke the hug and turned to his fellow Dwarfs. “What are you all staring at? Let's get moving. I would sleep in my own bed tonight.”

The Dwarfs turned and started down the stairs that were carved into the side of the rock face. Once again, Lindon was amazed at the level at which the Dwarfs could manipulate the stone. It was not just a simple set of stairs; they were carefully carved with precision, and along the wall, there were murals of Dwarfs in various settings the entire length of the stairway.

As Lindon descended, looking out at what the Dwarfs had accomplished, he couldn't help but hope that one day humans may also achieve the same level of harmony with their environment instead of fighting against it, trying to force it to their will. If only they could learn to live with it and gently shape and guide it. He thought that if they could learn to do that, war and strife would disappear into the past, and the people could all live free and happy.

Reaching the bottom, Lindon was struck at how clean everything was—no garbage lying around, no waste. He wondered how they were able to keep it clean as he followed the others making their way through the city.

As they walked through the city the Dwarfs whom they had traveled with began to leave, each wishing them well as they left. The only ones that carried on with them were Kailid and the magus. They passed all the houses and were now heading for the castle that Lindon had seen from the tunnel.

When they approached the gate, two heavily armed Dwarfs stepped out of the guardhouse. “Halt, state your business.”

“You’re kidding me, right? Kieran, you know bloody well who we are,” Kailid said defiantly, stepping toward the guard.

“Of course, Kailid. What we don't know is who the Elf and the Human are.”

Donovan stepped out from behind Kailid. “Enough. Open the gates. Our business is our own.”

Both Dwarfs stared in disbelief, their mouths open. “Of course, Your Highness,” the guard stammered.

“Then why is the gate still closed?”

“Sorry sir; right away sir.” Turning around he shouted, “Open the gate, Prince Donovan has returned!”

Lindon leaned toward Aina. “Prince Donovan? I think someone has been keeping secrets.”

Donovan turned to them and said, “Don't you two start. To both of you, I was just plain Donovan when you found me and as far as you two are concerned, I will always be just Donovan.”

Lindon could see the pleading in his eyes that he needed them to be his friends, not people to bow to him or to stammer at him like the guards did.

“Fair enough; you are our friend and nothing has changed, but why did you feel the need to leave that part out?”

“When you rescued me, you didn't do it because of my title; you did it out of compassion. And as time went on, you treated me as your friend, and I came to consider both of you my friends and didn't want to jeopardize that. Can you forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive, Donovan. What about what happened in—” Lindon started to ask, but Donovan cut him off.

“
That still stands. I meant every word, and I stand by my oath, but for now, nobody needs to know about it, okay
,” he said in Lindon's head, but out loud all he said was, “Thank you, Lindon, you are a true friend.”

“
Okay, it is our secret; I am more than fine with that
,” Lindon responded in his mind.

“What about you, Aina? You haven't said anything since we arrived,” Donovan asked.

“ I have just been thinking of home, and how long I have been away, but yes I am good with that too. You don't need to worry, we are your friends first and foremost.”