She all but bounced around the deck as the ship docked in the beautiful harbor. She impatiently helped unload the cargo and a split second later, she slipped away to explore the town. Tearon was a wondrous place, a virtual haven for mystics of all sorts. Sorcerers, sorceresses, healers, and prophets roamed the streets with a curious awe that only one born of magic can possess. She hadn't even noticed Sinbad at her heels. "Where are you running to?" he asked. She spun startled, with her fists raised. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Sinbad, Doubar, Firouz, and Rongar wearing very confused expressions.
"Oh, I just... well, I thought that..." she stammered but never finished as a woman with long auburn hair and a short cream-colored dress approached timidly.
"Bryn?" she whispered. Her jaw dropped and tears filled her eyes as she scanned the familiar face and the dark hair and dark, laughing eyes. "It is you," she cried, throwing her arms around Bryn and embracing her warmly. "I figured you for dead," the woman said, softly.
Bryn felt so comforted by the woman's embrace that she regretted pulling away from her. She looked at the woman's easy smile and warm gray eyes and hated what she had to admit. The woman looked at her hopefully and all Bryn could say was, "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"
"It's me, Cerys," the woman said, seeming somewhat offended that Bryn didn't recognize her. "Bryn, what's the matter? Don't you remember me?"
Bryn met the woman's teary gaze and shook her head. "I hardly remember anything of my life. I'm so sorry. I wish I remembered you. Somehow I feel like I should."
Cerys gazed into Bryn's warm brown eyes and saw a glowing encasement of pure magic surrounding her old friend. She waited for the image to fade before saying, "I remember enough of you for the both of us. I could tell you so many things. We spent most of our childhood together on the Moonlit Isle. I only remember it fondly because of you."
Bryn found herself smiling at the comment. She had once brightened someone's day. If only she could remember... Then she noticed Cerys was looking at the four large men who stood behind Bryn. "These are friends," Bryn said with a giggle. "This is Firouz," Bryn indicated a man with wild hair and laughing eyes. Cerys shook his hand and met with a vision. He vigorously stirred something in a small bowl. He appeared haggard and distressed. Cerys let go of his hand as Bryn moved on. "Rongar," she said. Cerys again shook hands and again saw a vision. The man lowered a body wrapped in a dark blanket into a deep grave. She could almost feel the pain of his loss. She drew back her hand slowly as Bryn said, "Doubar." Cerys reluctantly shook his hand and saw him lift and carry a still form that appeared to be the man who stood at his side. Cerys turned slowly to the final man, fearing what she would see as Bryn said, "And this is Sinbad," and Cerys took his hand.
She saw the others standing around a motionless figure in a bed... but not this one. The wild-haired man that Bryn had called Firouz spoke quietly. "It was worst than I thought. I'm sorry." Cerys broke the vision and stared into eyes as blue and untamed as an early morning sea. She pulled back her hand quickly. She had never felt such pain in her visions and she had never seen what she was certain was the death of the handsome man before her. She noted the way Bryn and the others looked at him. They adored him. Cerys knew she would go to any length to prevent what she had just seen.
Cerys put on a cheerful smile and turned back to Bryn. "I want to tell you everything," she said, emotion flooding her words. "I'm so glad to have you here that I might never shut up." Bryn and Cerys both laughed. As Bryn laughed, she felt a peace she couldn't remember ever feeling before. She liked it and as she felt Cerys' hand slip into hers, she eagerly clasped it. Finally, she had a link to her past.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The group entered a tavern and there, they split into two groups. The four men went one way to eat, drink and be merry. The two women went to their own table. They sat near the men but off to themselves. They seemed lost in a private conversation. The auburn-haired one chattered endlessly and the raven-haired one listened intently. They both laughed easily.
"It's more mystical than Tearon if you can imagine," Cerys said, enthusiastically. "The only trouble is that the Moonlit Isle attracts all kinds. Evil breeds there with the same ease as goodness. We used to run through the square in our mothers' dresses, howling like banshees and dancing." Bryn laughed aloud at that image. "We would grab the young boys and drag them off to this field out yonder and force them to marry us."
Bryn tried to control her laughter but she hadn't felt so giddy in ages. She breathed deeply and took a huge swallow of wine to silence her laughter as she asked, "So, how did we drift apart?"
Cerys grew quiet and drank a few gulps of the wine before speaking. "We didn't drift apart. We were torn apart. A wicked sorcerer came one day and captured you. We never saw or heard of you again." Cerys' eyes filled with tears as she quietly said, "I should've warned you."
Bryn's face twisted with confusion. "Warned me?" she queried. "How could you have known..."
"Another thing you've forgotten," Cerys interjected. "I'm a prophet. I knew someone would come for you. I knew he would take you and I did nothing. I never even told you." A single tear traced the curve of Cerys' cheek. "No wonder I lost you."
Bryn felt tears in her own eyes as she said, "I'm here now." She tried to comfort her friend. "Besides, we were children. What would children know of danger? Let's forget about the bad things and dwell on the good. We're together just as we were years ago. Maybe we can find some local boys to marry us." They both laughed and all tears were forgotten.
The two laughed until the sky had darkened into velvety black and the last drop of wine had been drunk. Then they went to the Cerys' modest home and laid on huge pillows and laughed themselves to sleep. The men dropped onto the floor in the room next door and slept off the effects of a few too many grogs. They all slept deeply, unaware of what waited deep in Tearon's lush forest...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Of all the luck in the world." The vision of the two sleeping women faded as the man laughed maniacally. "Both together and so unaware of what they have. The power of the ages lies within my reach. I must only find a way to snatch it." The man's dark eyes glittered with his evil agenda as he wrung his hands greedily.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sun barely lightened the edge of the horizon when a tall, thin figure dressed in black and gold slipped into the modest home. Three others followed. The figures carefully circumnavigated the four sleeping men and approached the room where the two women slept. The four leapt on the women but didn't count on Bryn's quick sword or Cerys' quick feet. The two women easily held them off while the four men stumbled in from the other room. The intruders ran and the two women glared at the four men, who held their heads in their hands.
"Thanks," Bryn said pointedly. The men seemed not to hear as they returned to their spots on the floor and passed out again. Bryn and Cerys giggled and then dropped back onto their pillows. "I wonder what that was about," Bryn queried as she and Cerys snuggled deep into the covers.
"A band of marauders more than likely," Cerys said. "They'll probably leave us alone now that they know we have four big strong men to protect us." They both burst out laughing at this. "It's strange. They don't usually bother me since I live so far from the main town," Cerys said, her voice drifting off. She shrugged lightly and fell back to sleep. Bryn closed her eyes but fell into a restless sleep, certain there was something very strange about their attack.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Deep within the forest, in a dank fortress, the thin man with the evil laugh spoke to his cohorts. "Station yourselves near that house and if anyone emerges alone, seize them and bring them to me," he commanded. "They seem fairly attached to one another. If we have one, the others will come... and I will have those two and all their powers. The power of the ages will be mine." The three men rushed out to return to the house and wait. The leader remained.
He slowly eased off his heavy black cloak and dropped it over a table. His dark hair was streaked with silver and hung past his shoulders. He smoothed his black sleeves and straightened the golden shield over his chest - a swirling infinity symbol. One hand touched the deep creases fanning out around his dark eyes. "I need that power now," he said softly to himself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The golden dawn found Bryn and Cerys laughing and preparing breakfast for the men. The men still lay on the floor. Doubar was still sound asleep; Rongar had only begun to stir. Firouz was awake but didn't dare move for fear the contents of his stomach would empty onto Cerys' floor. Sinbad also didn't move as he held his head in his hands and clamped his eyes shut, trying to stop the room from spinning. The two women's laughter filled the room and the men groaned loudly, which only made the women laugh even harder. Sinbad stumbled to his feet and made for the door. "I need some air," he mumbled. Bryn and Cerys tried to stifle their laughter as he fumbled with the door and finally managed to open it.
Sinbad cringed as the sunlight hit his eyes. He breathed deeply of the cool morning air and felt a bit better so he did it again. He finally opened his eyes to the dawn and looked towards the distant town. The white-washed walls shone in the golden light making the entire town appear to be only a desert mirage. Sinbad stretched a bit and then started to wander around Cerys' small home. He rounded the first corner and walked right into three tall fierce-looking men. In the early morning haze and with sleep still clouding the edges of his mind, he didn't even put up a fight as one man clubbed him from behind and the other men carried him into the nearby forest.
Inside, Doubar, Rongar, Bryn, and Cerys ate, while Firouz moaned and rolled around on the floor. "Is Sinbad coming back?" Cerys finally asked. The room grew silent suddenly as they all exchanged nervous glances. The silence was broken when they all leapt to their feet, picked up their swords and dashed towards the door. Near one corner of the house, the grass lay flattened as though a number of people had stood on that spot for a time. They could make out faint footprints leading into the forest and they blindly followed them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sinbad awoke slowly. His head ached worse than before and for reasons he couldn't understand, his arms and neck were sore too. He slowly opened his eyes and realized his dilemma. His arms hurt because they were tied up over his head and his neck ached because of the odd angle it had hung at while he had been unconscious. His eyes adjusted to the heavy darkness and his ears caught the sound of voices in a nearby room. The voices were muffled but someone was clearly angry while the others tried in vain to apologize.
Sinbad placed his feet squarely under him and stood to take the weight off his arms. He quickly noticed his ankles were chained to the floor. He felt an unpleasant twisting deep in his gut and hated himself when he recognized it as fearful panic. He forced it back and grasped the chain holding his right wrist. He threw his full weight in the opposite direction but the chain only creaked in protest. He pulled twice more before trying the same technique on the other side. He sighed heavily as he realized he had accomplished nothing, save warning his captor of his actions.
"How nice of you to finally awaken," said a deep, husky voice. A man stood in a doorway off to Sinbad's left. He turned to the man, contempt glowing in his blue eyes as the man approached. The man regarded him as one scolding a child. "You're the one chained and you dare look at me like that." The man raised one hand and brought it down squarely on Sinbad's cheek. "Glare at me like that again and I promise you'll wish you hadn't," the man said.
Sinbad swallowed thickly as he considered the stinging in his cheek. He appeared suddenly docile as he queried, "Who are you?"
"Much better," the man said, folding his thin arms over the golden shield. "My name is Inarus. You have something that I want."
Sinbad looked innocently at his person, noting that his sword and dagger had both been taken, then he calmly said, "I have nothing. It seems you've already taken everything I own." Inarus punched him in the stomach, harder than one would've thought given his sickly appearance.
"Speak back to me even one more time and I won't be the one to deal with you," he said, his eyes darting to the three large men who had captured Sinbad. He watched as Sinbad's eyes scanned the three men then dropped to the dirt floor. Inarus took this as a sign of compliance. "Good," he said. "Now tell me this, where are your two lady friends?"
Sinbad's blue eyes came instantly to Inarus' black ones and he held his emotions carefully in check as he said, "What do you want with them?" He hardly knew Cerys but he knew that she already meant a great deal to Bryn and that he already felt very protective of her.
"That," Inarus hissed, "is nothing you need to concern yourself with. Tell me where they are and you might not be harmed." Sinbad looked again at the three men standing in the doorway. 'Let them do what they will with me,' he thought. 'I won't give them Bryn and Cerys.' Sinbad pursed his lips and offered Inarus nothing more than another harsh glare.
"Fine, have it your way. Guards," Inarus said. The three men stepped forward. Inarus threw Sinbad one final glance. "Break him," he said, as he left, slamming the door behind him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Once they entered the forest, the footprints became harder to follow and shortly, they lost them altogether. The group turned desperate eyes to Cerys as Bryn asked, "Do you have any idea where someone might take him?" Cerys shook her head as tears pooled in her gray eyes. Bryn regarded her for a moment before nodding to the other to give them a few moments alone. "Cerys, what is it?"
"We have to find him," she said softly. 'If we don't, I'm to blame for everything that happens to him,' she thought.
Bryn nodded and lightly touched her arm. "We'll find him," she said, her voice echoing a confidence that was faltering. "You just have to tell us where to look." Cerys shook her head and dropped to the ground. She sat with her thighs against her chest and her chin resting on her knees. "There's more to this," Bryn guessed. Cerys nodded. "OK, tell me," Bryn gently urged.
"If we don't find him, he will die," Cerys said. Bryn didn't question this. She said nothing, but her eyes pleaded for Cerys to continue. "When I met him and the others, I saw his death. Even as I recognized you and ran to you. I embraced you and I saw you in a cage of magic, helpless. It only got worst with the others." Cerys explained what she had seen as she had shook hands with each man and she knew that Bryn trusted each word.
"How will he die and when?" Bryn said after a few moments of thought.
"That I don't know," Cerys admitted. "Usually things happen pretty quickly after I see them." Her voice grew distant and thoughtful as she said, "He took you only two nights after I saw it." Bryn watched a single tear trace the curve of her cheek and she turned Cerys gently to face her.
"You aren't to blame," she said. "I don't remember what happened but you played no part in it. I can't blame you. You gave me back a childhood I was certain I'd lost forever. I have a friend again." She put one arm around Cerys and hugged her. "I haven't laughed so hard in... as long as I can remember." They both laughed lightly.
"I know a place but I don't know that I can find it," Cerys finally said.
"You can," Bryn said. "I believe in you." The two stood as one and went to find the others and tell them where they might find Sinbad.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When Inarus again entered, he smiled at the sight that greeted him. Sinbad's full weight hung on his arms again. The guards had broken both his legs and beaten his face until his eyes were nearly swollen shut and his jaw was broken. The guards had used his sword to cut his vest from his body and had whipped him until his shirt hung in bloody shreds, barely covering his bruised body.
Inarus approached one of the guards and hissed, "Well?"
"He still refuses to speak," the guard said. Inarus turned from the guard and looked at the determined sailor, hanging in a dungeon only half-conscious and only half-alive. Inarus dismissed the guards and then stood, regarding Sinbad yet again.
"Why don't you just give them up?" he whispered in the Captain's ear. "Are they really worth this?" He smacked Sinbad again. The sailor swam in a red sea of pain. He thought he couldn't speak even to save his life. His broken jaw and the pain in every breath forbid it, but he managed to shake his head. "I will find a way to get to them," Inarus spat. "And all this will be for nothing." Sinbad hardly heard this as the pain eased and red faded into black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"This way... I think," Cerys said. It was the third time she had used that phrase and each time she did, panic twisted in her companions. Bryn hadn't told them why they needed to follow Cerys or why they needed to hurry but her voice had said that they wouldn't understand or believe the answer anyhow.
"How much farther?" Doubar asked, his tone harder than he intended.
"I don't think much farther," Cerys replied, her eyes darting between any gaps in the trees until she finally found what she sought. Her eyes brightened and she nearly squealed. "There!" She took off running. She bounded between trees and over roots as swiftly as any deer. Bryn and Rongar followed her with little consequence. Firouz and Doubar had a bit more trouble and found themselves tripping over the roots and crashing into the trees in their hurry. They came up behind Cerys, Bryn and Rongar as the three gazed at the foreboding ruins of a once invincible fortress.
"Here?" Firouz queried, his skepticism evident.
Cerys nodded, "Here." She missed the looks that passed between Firouz, Doubar and Rongar as she stepped out of the forest and walked towards the ancient structure. Cerys walked right up to the heavy wooden door with the others close behind. She shoved with all her strength but the massive doors didn't give an inch.
Bryn took her arm and pulled her back. "This is why we have him," she said, indicating Doubar. Doubar walked up to the door and with seemingly no effort at all, forced open the door. Cerys looked impressed but Bryn just laughed at her friend's expression.
They entered into a huge musty foyer. "Now where?" Firouz asked, ever impatient.
"Down," Cerys answered. "A dungeon." Firouz shrugged at the practicality of such a suggestion. They followed her down winding corridors and finally to a dilapidated staircase. Rongar lifted a few torches from the walls. Firouz used a tiny stick to ignite them and handed them around.
They had scarcely entered the stairwell when a scurrying sound echoed up to them. They stopped and exchanged glances as it faded. "What was that?" Bryn asked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Inarus," the guard called out. "Inarus." The tall thin man stepped out of the shadows, from seemingly nowhere. "They're here. Upstairs. They're coming," the guard stuttered.
Inarus turned and saw a vision of his two ladies standing on a familiar staircase. The staircase leading to the very dungeon he stood in, waiting for them. He turned back to the guard. "Thank you," he said. "Gather our guest from his quarters." Inarus stood alone. He smiled his twisted grin and clasped his hands. "They come to me. Much better than trying to make that stubborn brat talk," he thought aloud. "Come to me."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The stairwell grew lighter and they knew the end was near. They slowed as they saw the ground even out and found the source of the light. Doubar shoved past Bryn and Cerys and held one arm protectively in front of them. He left the stairwell and entered a dark room, empty except for a single man standing and, it seemed, waiting. When no incident occurred, Cerys, Bryn, Rongar and Firouz also stepped into the room. The man took a few steps forward and as the torchlight hit his face, the group saw his wicked grin. "You've brought them to me," he said. They all exchanged looks of stunned confusion. "I never really wanted him in the first place. I have always wanted the girls. I just needed a means to get to them."
Just then, two guards emerged from a shadowed door. Sinbad hung between them. They cringed in sympathy when they saw him. He didn't even move as the guards dropped him unceremoniously on the hard dirt floor. Doubar moved forward but Inarus raised one hand and froze him on the spot. "Ah, ah, not so fast," he said. "I propose a trade."
t.b.c.