The Mage's Quest


by C. Edwards


Part 1: Voyage of the Osprey

All around the ostentatious dock, in the shadow of a huge, triple masted vessel, the people were solemnly preparing to leave their homeland. From the hilltop, Erstam watched as the last of the supplies were carried into the ship. From the heavy step and sad faces of the Moon, Fawn, and Montor folk, it was clear none were pleased with the impending exile. None among them, however -- not even the brave knights of the Montors -- were willing to stay and face the daemons of an unjust king. Though they would not admit it, Erstam knew they were stricken by the fear of imposed ethics, and the horror of potential slaughter for their disloyalty.

Two figures now approached him on the hill. Erstam's eyes lit as they met those of his mentor, the kind and wise Armand. The old mage was clearly just as glad to see his apprentice, his charismatic smile beaming as he strode towards him. The other, a familiar girl a few years older than he, was not as happy at the reunion. Erstam felt the feeling to be mutual as he met her tired, worn eyes. To his surprise, she took a deep breath and spoke first.

"Erstam," she greeted, her face brightening slightly, "It has been a long time."
"Indeed, Jenna," he returned with a quizzical look.
"It is time thou didst resolve thy differences," Armand explained, "After all, thou wilt both be on the same voyage."
"Thou art coming?" Erstam asked, taken by surprise.
"Yes," Jenna replied, "As soon as I heard of Magincia, I decided to join the rebellion against the tyrant." She then quietly asked, "Mother?"
Erstam solemnly shook his head. "All in the proud town are gone," he said.
"Such is why the leaders of Fawn, Montor, and myself came to this decision," Armand said, gesturing to the people working below, "I dare say that most of them do not believe in thy plan to find a new land, Erstam. They are here out of desperation."
"I am certain we will find the Serpent Pillars," Erstam said determinedly, "Thanks to thine help, mine research has shown how the Osprey may find our new home."
"I hope thou art right," Jenna said.
"So do I," Erstam said under his breath.

A tall, powerful warrior clothed in brightly decorated plate armour now strode up to the three.
"It is nearly time to go," he announced, "Thou shouldst all get on the ship."
"Very well, Kalad," Armand said as he prepared to follow the knight, "Our destiny awaits."

Erstam and Jenna carefully walked beside each other as they came to the huge vessel. Each eyed the other questioningly, afraid the bitter family arguments of times past would return. Finally, as they stepped onto a wide boarding plank, Erstam broke the tense silence.
"We can put the past behind us," he said, "Mother would want us to."
"Perhaps we can," Jenna smiled slightly.

They came onto the crowded deck, joining Kalad and Armand at the port rail of the Osprey. All eyes turned for one final look over the now abandoned city of Fawn, the many beautiful marble houses and palaces stripped of their belongings and inhabitants. Kalad and the other knights of the Montors turned their thoughts to their mighty fortified villages, which also lay unmanned, while the mages remembered the simple huts and shops of Moon.

Several fighters drew in the large planks. With a heavy jolt that rocked the whole ship, mighty oars on the middle of the three lower decks thrust against the dock. The Osprey began her long journey, at last setting out on the ocean. While the crew fought with heavy ropes and pulleys to unfurl the huge sails, the passengers looked to the stern, silently watching the coast grow smaller against the midday horizon.


The Osprey spent a long month on the open sea without great incident. Though she had encountered several squalls, the sturdy vessel held well against the fierce waves and strong winds. Thanks to the quick reactions of her well trained crew, the ship had never taken on any great amount of water, and had successfully navigated each of the small storms.

The passengers passed most of the time in their quarters, only meeting three times each day at the long table in the mess hall. Though minor arguments and fights between folk of differing origins often resulted, the clearer minded mages and knights had so far quenched the squabbles.

Erstam found most of his time spent with his books and scrolls. All held some mention of the Serpent Pillars; a few even claimed knowledge of the land beyond. Most of the earlier works were little more than the ramblings of drunken sailors, but over the years following the Second and Third Ages of Darkness, more and more stories of the great artifacts had appeared. The most recent came from mages who had actually seen the pillars, using their magic in attempt to ascertain their properties. Over the last five years, Erstam had gathered their logs from across the lands, with the gracious help of Armand.

Tonight, though, Erstam found his mind turned to another pursuit. Setting aside the writings of the pillars, he reached in to the small dresser beside his bed, extracting a small rectangular chest from the top drawer. He then pulled his mother's locket from a small pouch tied around his simple robes. Carefully, he opened the locket, revealing the tiny portraits of his mother and father. With his fingernail, he dug into a small notch carved between his father's picture and the golden shell. Prying the picture from the shell, he revealed a tiny, dull gray key. Pulling this out, he slipped it into the lock of the chest. It fit perfectly. With a slight turn, the chest popped open for the first time in two decades.

Inside, a black leather-bound book bore his father's name in runic across its dusty cover. He had placed the locket, key, and chest inside the drawer, preparing to open the book, when a sudden knock on the door startled him.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"'Tis only I, Armand," came the reply.
"Do come in," Erstam said. Armand entered the small cabin, sitting next to Erstam on the cot.
"What is that?" the older mage indicated the book.
"It is a journal of mine father's. I have become quite interested in his experiments."
"Ah, yes, he was a bright man. More than a little impetuous, as I remember," then with a slight smile, "Much like thee."
"Oh, but I did prove thee wrong," Erstam said with a chuckle.
"And never have I been happier to be disproven!" Armand exclaimed, "I decided to fuel thy search for the Serpent Pillars despite my disbelief. I was so proud when thou didst return with so much proof."

The two talked long into the night, as they had many times before. As always, Erstam listened intently to the stories of his father, in the days before his tragic mental decline. When the morning sun was only a few hours away, Armand at last stepped from the young mage's quarters, allowing him some much needed sleep. Not yet feeling tired himself, he wandered to the stairs at the end of the hall, climbing up onto the deck of the gently swaying ship.

There, at the bow rail, Jenna stood in her night gown under the bright glow of Trammel and Felucca. A slight wind tugged at her thin garment and fine red hair as she turned a thoughtful gaze to the starlit horizon.
"Greetings," she said as she noticed his arrival, "Please, join me."
"Art thou not cold?" he asked as he approached.
"I hardly notice it," she shrugged, "I believe I have too much else on mine thoughts."
"Erstam, I would imagine."
"Yes," she nodded slightly, "And our family."
"Thou shouldst speak with him more."
"Our quarrel is an old one," she said with a deep sigh, "But thou art right, of course. I have hardly talked to him at all since I left home." Thoughtfully, she added, "Tell me, what is he like?"
"Much like thy father," Armand said, "I know Erstam barely knew him, but he does seem to take after him. Why, when I visited tonight, I knew I would find him reading late. Thine father always did."
"That is what I was afraid of," Jenna said, "That he is becoming our father." Just then, a sudden thought struck her. She turned her eyes directly into Armand's, asking sternly, "What was he reading?"
"Actually, it was your father's own notes," Armand replied uneasily, "What is wrong?"

With a wince of pain, Jenna turned her gaze back to the sky, filling her lungs with a deep, careful breath.
"It appears," she said evenly, "That I will have to have a chat with mine little brother in the morning. Thank thee, Armand."

A startled Armand could only watch as she turned sharply, storming down into the lower decks.


Erstam yawned widely as he collapsed into his seat at the small table. He slowly dug into his breakfast, tiredly watching as the mess soon became crowded with the rest of the ship's waking passengers. The other seats at his table were quickly filled, as a group of Montorian knights placed their hefty helpings around him.
"Good morning, mage," a voice boomed from across the table.
"Good morning, Kalad," he muttered, recognizing the large figure.
"Well, 'tis another, bright, peachy morn, isn't it? Not a Pillar in sight!"
Erstam simply continued eating, ignoring the loud laugh of the other knights.
"Tell me Erstam; didst thou not say we should see them by now?"
"We are close," Erstam calmly explained, "We shall find them in a matter of days."
"We have been out for a month now!" another knight yelled, "I cannot wait another day!"
"Yes, I think our little mage here has led us on a wild chase," Kalad said, "For thy sake, worm, we had better find something!"
Erstam now jumped to his feet, striding around the table to the leader of the knights. Bending down, he brought his face dangerously close to Kalad's.
"I do not take well to threats," he said quietly, "Or insults."
"What, exactly, wilt thou do about it if I continue?" Kalad asked, now standing to tower over the mage.
"Stop it!" a voice yelled from across the room. Turning to look at the rest of the mess hall, Erstam and Kalad saw that a small crowd had formed, many eagerly awaiting a good fight between the warrior and mage. At the head of the spectators, though, Armand calmly stood with several other passengers who had volunteered as security guards.
"We cannot fight amongst ourselves," Armand continued, "The Pillars shall be found only through our cooperation."
"They shall not be found at all! We must return, or perish out here at sea!"
"And face the beast British?" Erstam quietly challenged.
"Better than dying on thine foolish quest!"

Kalad thrust his fist into the mage's chest, sending the young man to the hard planks of the floor. As the other knights jumped from their seats, the guards charged over to subdue the violent Kalad. Their attempts were met with the well trained kicks and punches of the Montor knights. Other fights soon broke out among the rest of the passengers, as those who agreed with Kalad struck in outrage against those who endorsed the continued search for the Serpent Pillars. The entire room was quickly consumed by the brawls, the guards helplessly caught in the middle of the violence.

Pain searing through his back, Erstam slowly stood. Nearby, several guards already lay unconscious at Kalad's feet, as the warrior's rage tore towards Armand. Erstam flinched as he saw his mentor receive a mighty kick in his stomach. He didn't get the chance to see Armand's counter; a flying fist of one of the other knights impacted heavily on his right ear. Erstam yelled with the pain, but quickly turned on the young man with a viscous punch to his face. Before the stunned warrior could recover, Erstam sent him to the floor with a quick kick to his stomach. As an idea suddenly came to the mage, he left the winded man and climbed on top of the nearby table.

Standing above the melee, Erstam grabbed a small package from one of the many pockets inside his mage's robes. As he carefully unwrapped the parchment paper, revealing a finely ground blue powder within, he heard a loud metallic ring among the shouts and blows of combat. The knights had drawn weapons. Quickly, Erstam recited a series of arcane words, completing his spell by blowing into the powder. The small cloud of dust quickly expanded as it floated away from his hand, sprinkling a glittering rain of blue dust over the fighting crowd.

Though the dust quickly vanished, its powerful spell was quickly felt. Drawn weapons fell from the hands of suddenly fatigued soldiers, violent rage dying away to tired yawning as the sleep enchantment took effect. Armand and Kalad stopped their exchange of blows as many around them simply dropped to the floor, so tired they had nearly fallen asleep where they had stood. Soon, the only left standing in the room were the elder mages and strongest fighters among the passengers. Armand left an astonished Kalad, carefully stepping over the sleeping bodies as he walked to Erstam's table.

"Good work, lad!" he said with an appreciative smile. As he helped the young mage down from the tabletop, Kalad stormed angrily to Erstam.
"Damn thee and thy foul magic!" Kalad cursed. Before Armand could act, a heavy blow from the great knight sent Erstam a fate similar to that of his powerful spell.


When he awoke, Erstam found Jenna's worried eyes looking down into his own. As he sat up, surprised to find himself back in his quarters, a cold, damp cloth fell onto his lap. Now noticing the heavy throbbing in his skull, Erstam brought the cloth back up against his bruised forehead.
"Thou didst take quite a beating this morning," Jenna said quietly.
"So did quite a few, as I understand," Erstam replied, "Wert thou hurt?"
Jenna shook her head, saying, "I try to avoid the mess when the Montor men are in there. Mostly because I am tired of their constant propositioning!" She laughed slightly, but quickly became serious again, "I heard it took Armand and the others several minutes to subdue Kalad in his quarters after he knocked thee. We can only expect more violence if the Serpent Pillars are not soon found."
"We should be entering the area I triangulated on mine map by tomorrow morning," Erstam said, reaching into the bottom drawer of his dresser. He pulled out a cloth map, handing it to Jenna. An ink circle covered a large area of ocean far to the east of the known Sosarian lands, Erstam's shaky writing marking it as the most likely location of the Serpent Pillars.
"That is a fair bit to cover," Jenna said, "It will take a week just to cross the breath of thine mark."
"Hopefully, we should see them before that," Erstam said. He then asked thoughtfully, "Why art thou here?"
"I talked to Armand," she said, meeting his eyes with an intent gaze, "He told me thou wert reading a certain journal."
"What of it?" Erstam shrugged, "I read what I will."
"Thou art seeking the answers Father could not," Jenna said sternly, "I know thou hast sought to continue his foolish research for many years."
"Thou knowest nothing of me!" Erstam protested.
"Then why art thou bothering? Thou knowest Father died in his pursuit!"
"I would find out how!" Erstam cried, "Mother wanted me to! She would have given me the locket..."
"That old story!" Jenna exclaimed incredulously as she jumped from her chair, "The truth is, Mother was waiting until she was sure thou wert old enough to handle the facts of our Father's death. She wanted to be sure thou would not tread the same path."
Erstam stood as well, facing his fuming sister. "I have no intention of dying as our father did," he said evenly, "I feel I have a right, however, to find out exactly how he perished. It is a shame thou hast never trusted me -- it would appear our mother did not fully believe in me either."
Jenna flinched, tears streaming from her eyes as she realized the harsh truth to her brother's statement. Very carefully, her voice lowered once again, she asked, "Thou wilt not do it then?"
"Of course not. Thou hast mine promise."
"I will give thee a chance then," she smiled slightly, "As thou said, thou dost have a right to know. Perhaps, in due time, I can tell thee what little I knew of our father. Armand was his best friend though; I am sure he has already told thee far more."
"Actually," Erstam returned the smile, "I would appreciate that."
"I should go now," Jenna said, finally allowing herself to relax, "I will visit again."


The following days each seemed an eternity as the ship searched the area Erstam had marked. Though he wisely stayed away from the mess hall during its most crowded hours, Armand brought Erstam many reports of further violence, each incident quenched mere seconds before blood would have spilled. The mages, taking after Erstam's example, had begun to come more prepared to the room, having several nonviolent spells at their disposal. The restless warriors and other sea-weary passengers managed to cause more and more havoc each time, though, and soon people would suffer before the mages could act.

Jenna passed most of her time on the ship's bow. More frequently, though, she had visited Erstam, at long last trying to reconcile with the man. Though their brief conversations were tainted by many tense moments, Jenna had managed to reveal snippets of her ten years on her own. Most of it had been in the beautiful city of Fawn, where she had found employment as an aide to Lady Fawn herself. Though many of the pompous residents had often been a pain to deal with, Jenna had to admit that, at first, she had been somewhat flattered by their adoration of her beauty. After the Lady's passing, however, she had soon grown tired of the superficial values upon which the town was based, and had fled to the Montors. Though many of the men here were even more difficult to bear, she had managed to learn some fighting skills by the time she had heard of the plan to leave Britannia.

As two more weeks slowly passed, the crew's careful search of the ocean revealing no sign of the pillars, the bold plan seemed to be for naught. Now, most of the passengers and even many among the sailing crew felt their best hope lay in a return to the mainland. Even Jenna and Armand had discussed the prospect and come to the same conclusion; with heavy storms looming on the horizon and Osprey's rapidly dwindling food supply, there were simply no other choices.

That night, as the two once again watched the night sky, many heavy thunderheads could be seen in the northeastern horizon. Slowly emerging from the hatch to the lower decks, Erstam joined them, head bowed as he silently spoke.
"I have heard of the plans to face the Beast."
"We have little choice, my friend," said Armand, "If we only had more time, more rations, perhaps we could locate the Pillars."
"Assuming they do exist," Jenna added with a slight bitterness.
"Thou dost not believe in me?" Erstam asked with a quiet sigh, "Actually, I can not blame thee. We have been searching long with no sign they were ever here."
"Then thou dost agree that we should turn around?" Jenna asked.
"One more night," Erstam said, "Allow the search to go on until morning. We shall turn back before noon tomorrow."
"Erstam, my lad," Armand said, "I am glad thou hast made the right choice; I know how important the pillars were to thee."
"I have seen and felt the ravages of this voyage," Erstam said solemnly, "Mine head doth still ache from Kalad's mighty blow! Frustration doth tear at this crew -- if the violence were to kill, I would feel the heavy burden upon mine own shoulders."
As he slowly turned back to the hatch, he stopped short, feeling a gentle hand placed upon his shoulder. Looking back, he met an appreciative smile from Jenna.
"Wilt thou be okay?" she asked kindly.
"Of course," he returned the smile, "Thou see, there should be other islands of which Lord British has not heard; I shall devote my new studies to finding their location."

Jenna and Armand watched the man calmly disappear into the lower decks.
"He has taken this far better than I would have expected," Armand noted, turning back to Jenna, "His research was the most important thing in his life."
"Actually, there was one other," Jenna said softly, "I just hope he doth have the strength to resist its lure."


Late that night, Jenna suddenly sat up in her bed, a terrible shiver running through her spine. She felt a deep tingling in her gut, one she had felt many, many years ago as a young girl. Though she was no mage, she had always felt a mysterious ethereal connection to the last man who had cast a spell similar to the one she was surely feeling now. As the feeling slowly died away, her mind came to a horrible, yet undeniable conclusion. Her brother had cast one of her father's spells.


Though awakened at an early hour, Erstam eagerly followed the messenger up to the torrential downpour on the deck. All around, crew were struggling to furl the huge sails, a heavy wind roughly tossing the ship from side to side. Having great news for the captain, he quickly followed up the short flight of stairs to the bridge, where the old seaman stood at the ship's wheel.

"Hail, mage," he shouted over the howling wind, "We've run afoul of a great storm, as thou hast surely noticed. It'll get worse yet if we continue on this bearing -- Osprey will never survive its full fury." He gestured to the messenger, who obediently ran off to aid the other sailors.
"Captain, I know where the Serpent Pillars are!" Erstam exclaimed, "I found them with my magic last night; we must head northwest!"
"Northwest!" the captain exclaimed, "That'll take us straight into the storm's heart!"

Just then, a drenched Jenna ran up from below. With an angered look at Erstam, she yelled, "I hope thou art telling him to turn around!"
"No, lass," the captain said, "He just told me he knows where the pillars can be found!"
"Oh, dost thou," Jenna placed her hands on her hips, "Would that have something to do with Black Magic?"
"How couldst thou..."
"How couldst thou, dear brother?" she screamed, "Thou didst promise!"
"It was not a dark spell!" Erstam stammered, "''Twas only a simple scrying, to help me see into the Ether!"
"'Tis but the first step upon the Foolish Quest!" She cried heavily, sharply turning her back to Erstam as she made her way back to the bow.

Before Erstam could go to her, two more figures appeared on deck. The young mage was more than a little shocked as Armand and Kalad also came to the bridge.
"Hail, captain! I have roused the knights as thou ordered," Kalad proclaimed, "They now man the oars."
"Good work, but we'll also need men strong of arm to work the pumps," the captain said, "No doubt we'll take on much water if he head into that tempest!"
"Head in to it?" Armand exclaimed incredulously, "Why?"
"I have found the Pillars!" Erstam exclaimed again, "I saw them with mine magic."
"I thought this was settled, mage!" Kalad bellowed, "Even Armand and I now agree it would be our best course!"
"But, the magic doth not lie!"
"I do not trust thy magic!" Kalad brought his reddened face dangerously close to Erstam, "We shall go home now!"
"I agree! Home to New Sosaria," pushing Kalad away, he turned to the captain, "Thou heard me; if thou dost wish to live a new life, far removed from the tyrant British, thou shalt have this ship turned to the northwest!"

Before any of the stunned three could respond, Erstam fled back to the deck, placing his hand on Jenna's shoulder as he approached the young lady. His hand was tossed aside as she spun on him.
"Thou traitor!" she cried.
"Jenna, I will keep mine promise!" Erstam explained, "I only cast a simple..."
"'Scrying spell'," she interrupted, "Yes, I know what thou said, but how can I believe thee? Thou said thou wouldst not cast any of his spells."
"I said I would not follow mine father's path!" Erstam corrected.
"The spell is the first step, dost thou not see!" Jenna screamed, "Thou knowest this is wrong; our mother knew this was wrong!"
"How wouldst thou know?" Erstam challenged, "Thou never knew Mother! Thou never loved her!"

Erstam's felt his face suddenly explode with pain as her fist impacted. Before he could act, a second blow to his chest sent him down hard against the wet, rocking deck.

As Jenna stepped back, astonished at what her anger had done, Kalad stormed onto the deck, drawing a large sword from a scabbard on his great leather belt.
"Step aside, woman," he growled, roughly pushing her away as he advanced on the fallen Erstam, "I shall finish this for thee!"
"Kalad, no!" Armand yelled from the stairs as he rushed down, though he knew there would be no way to reach his apprentice in time.

Seeing the brutal man standing over her brother, about to deliver a fatal blow, Jenna sprang into action once more. She sent her foot high, connecting with a dull thud against Kalad's thick neck. The warrior yelled out, clutching at his throat with his left hand, as he turned on his attacker. He thrust violently with his sword, but she quickly sidestepped, sending her fist at his face. The punch was deftly blown aside by his well-timed left arm, while his left sent the sword toward her abdomen. Just as the sword came within a hair's breadth of its mark, he suddenly stopped its motion, instead bringing his left hand around into her ribs.

"I do not wish to kill thee, fair lady," he explained, as she doubled over at the crushing blow. Leaving her, he strode back to Erstam, now standing firmly against the swaying of the deck. As Kalad strode to him, he noticed the all too calm expression on the mage's face. Too late, he realized why; the mage brought his left hand, which he opened to reveal a small amount of blue powder, to his lips and gently blew. The resulting dust filled his lungs with a soothing aroma as it blanketed his body. As the tension drained from his muscles, he found himself falling to his knees, his sword falling from his limp hand as he fought to suppress a wide yawn.

"No," Kalad protested, "Thy magic... I cannot..." It was all he could manage before the full impact of the spell collapsed his body into deep slumber.

Erstam had little time to rejoice, however. The wind around the ship was gathering strength, blowing heavy waves against the hull. As Osprey tipped more violently now, those on deck quickly ran to the ship's rail, grasping for support. A recovered Jenna was helped to Erstam, Armand and the woman taking hold next to Erstam.
"Erstam, we should get out of here!" Armand said.
"No, look!" Erstam shouted, pointing to the northwest.
"I see, nothing, Erstam!" Armand yelled.
"Look with thy magic!"
"Very well." Armand closed his eyes and concentrated. Intoning a simple spell, he suddenly saw the ship in his mind, far below as if he were seeing from a hawk's viewpoint. The image shifted as he sent this mind's eye to the northwest, the vision piercing through the gray storm clouds, giving a clear view of the seemingly endless ocean. Suddenly, he stopped, sensing something strange. A great magical power seemed to reach out to the eye, drawing the mage's mind down to and below the water's surface. There, many feet below, he could make out a large shape against the dark, murky water. It was a serpent's head.

"By the gods!" Armand exclaimed, opening his eyes, "Why could I not detect that before?"
"Thou hast first to know where to look," Erstam said, "Only my father's spell..."
"I'm sure there would have been another way," Jenna protested. Then, calming, "But I will not argue with thee now. If the Pillars are there we must go to them now."

As the ship now temporarily came back into balance, several crew now gathered on to deck, having successfully brought the huge sails in. Overhearing Jenna, the captain ordered several of them to go below deck and help the Montor knights with the oars. Two others grabbed Kalad from the starboard rail, which had saved him from the cold ocean during the ship's great rocking. Not long after they disagreed under the deck, the ship began to turn against the terrible blowing.

The effort of the strong men slowly pushed the ship further into the storm. The passengers had all been roused from their quarters by messengers from the crew, each instructed to help as they could. Buckets were passed out from emergency holds around the vessel, as the exhausted men below were having little success bailing the torrents of water with the ship's pumps. The heavy waves and driving rain brought still more water, though; the battle to keep the ship afloat was a losing one. Already, the Osprey was riding low in the raging sea.

Then, with a deafening boom, mighty sprays of water suddenly shot from the water ahead of the bow. From the deck, two large eruptions of foam could be seen through the thick storm clouds. The ship was shaken even more violently than before, those on deck clinging desperately to the rail as Osprey tipped sickeningly up and down in the water. Two large stone columns suddenly shot up out of the water, quickly rising far above the tallest mast of the large ship. Finally, as they rose a final height nearly twenty times that of the mast, the ship was once again left to only the storm's ravages.

It was a small relief, but allowed a large group of passengers to make their way up onto deck, marveling at the huge structures as they dumped buckets of water back into the sea. Though the ship still carried much water, and took on more by the second, all simply stopped and awed at the huge Serpent Pillars as the ship at long last drew toward them. Though the tired workers below were now taking a much needed rest from their rowing, the ship was mysteriously gaining speed as she approached.

As the stone serpents entwining the Pillars loomed closer, many screamed and wailed in fear at the imposing, lifelike beasts. A loud hissing sound grew louder by the second, and some even thought they could see great forked tongues flicking in and out of the creatures' mouths.

Seeing the panic around him, Erstam turned to address the crew, shouting above the loud din.
"Please, be thou calm," he said, "According to the legends, the Serpents are merely guardians -- they will not bar us if we doth come in peace."

Though his words did little to reassure the frightened passengers, all were quiet as the bow of the ship came between the Pillars. A blue-white glowing formed in the air around the ship, bathing the ship from bow to stern as more passed into the gateway. In seconds, nothing could be seen but the magical light. It then grew so bright that many thought they would be blinded, and then, just as suddenly, vanished altogether. And the world around changed forever.


The clear sky showed a new set of stars, and neither Trammel nor Felucca could be seen anywhere. A young mage quietly stood under this new sky, reflecting on his long journey.

As soon as the last of the water had been bailed into the now calm sea, most of the passengers and crew had retreated into their quarters for much needed rest. The clear sky showed no signs of further trouble for miles; sailing further in this new world would simply have to wait until all were refreshed.

The rogue knight Kalad had been confined into his small room by the others of Montor, and would surely face a harsh judgement as soon as their new society was founded. Already, he had been stripped of all title and rank for his crime of attempted murder.

Erstam's sister had not spoken to him since they had arrived in this alien ocean. Though he knew their bitter argument would no longer continue, neither would any further attempt to reconcile their many differences. Thankfully, Erstam still found Armand to be as kind as ever; the old man was indeed proud of his apprentice now, having overseen the young mage's plan from its earliest seeds to this new, unbelievable achievement.

Late into the night, as Erstam stood alone at the rail overlooking the fruits of his labour, he pulled a familiar gold locket from his pouch. He had closed and locked his small treasure chest, and the gray key now lay back in its shell. The locket, which now brought only sad memories of a distant land, now slipped between the fingers of his outstretched hand. He could barely hear the splash as it disappeared into the water.


A loud cheer could be heard the following morning, from all the weary passengers and crew of the Osprey. Not more than half a day's sail to the east, New Sosaria, their home, awaited.


© 1998 Chris Edwards
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© 1998 Chris Edwards


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