Meric the Storyman: Rega and the Dragonstones
Chapter 19: Effron

After they had gotten a little distance between them and the museum in central Leafbourn, Rega turned to Lobaki and asked, “What happened?”

Lobaki thought a minute before answering. “I cast my spell on the door, but I knew right away that it wouldn’t hold. As the door started falling, Barg warned me about another spell being cast. It seems that a mystery spell-caster cast a Hold Portal spell that had enough power to be able to hold the door so you could get out. I am still unsure of whom this spell-caster is and where he or she cast the spell from. I could only feel the raw power.”

“Maybe Soliat or one of his friends helped out.” said Lano.

“It could be.” said Rega.

They rode in silence during the remainder of the trip back to Stice’s and Lano’s home. It was very late when they made it back.

Before going into the house, Rega walked over to Stice. “We should be leaving soon.” he said. “If not tomorrow then the day after, at the latest.”

Stice agreed.

The next morning was uneventful. At breakfast, Rega nodded to Dexir, letting his friend know the mission was successful. After eating, they got together to discuss plans for leaving.

“We could get another wagon-load of tobacco.” said Stice. “It does provide a good cover.”

“That will be fine.” said Rega. “We still need to find where the next Dragonstone is located.”

“Maybe when we return to Estu there will be more information.” said Dexir. “The elves seemed to have more knowledge about them than anyone else we’ve met so far. Soliat might even be waiting there for us.”

“Sounds like a plan.” said Rega. “We go tomorrow morning.”

Later that afternoon, word finally made it out to the farm that the Emeraldstone had been stolen. Stice and Lano’s parents were shocked. Everyone else also acted shocked, but in all actuality just hoped to get away in time.

They left the next morning after breakfast. Stice and Lano hugged their mother and father goodbye. Their father then walked over to Dexir.

“You stop by and help again.” he said. “I enjoyed working with you. I am also going to try that suggestion of yours on my crops. It seems like a sound idea.”

“It was my pleasure.” said Dexir.

As they were leaving, Rega asked his friend, “What was your suggestion?”

Dexir answered, “I remembered about the farmer who used to stop by the guard shack back in Ractah. He would always take the ashes left over from the different fire pits. One day I asked him what the ashes were for. His reply was it helped keep snails and slugs away from his crops. He would sprinkle the ashes lightly around them. I just passed this information on to Kaneld.”

Then they were on their way. They headed to the main road, retracing their path from several days earlier. As they neared the halflings’ girlfriends, Rega rode up to the wagon.

“Did you get a chance to say goodbye to them?” he asked the brothers.

“Last night.” replied Stice while stretching and yawning. Lano was fast asleep next to him.

They made good time. The weather was still very nice. It was an excellent day for traveling. Everything seemed to going smoothly until around midday. It was then that they noticed two halfling soldiers on the road. One of them was looking through a pouch of a man looking to be in his fifties.

“They must be a border patrol.” said Stice.

Rega nodded.

The group continued.

As they neared the soldiers, one of them walked up to meet them.

“Good day.” he said. “We have orders to search all people leaving the Leafbourn area. I apologize for any inconvenience.”

“What is this all about?” asked Stice.

“Someone stole the Emeraldstone.” the soldier answered. “We are here to make sure it doesn’t leave through this point.”

When the halfling finished searching through the man’s belongings, he came over to assist his fellow soldier.

“I’ll start in the wagon, you can start with the men on horseback.” he said.

Rega noticed that the man had not left yet. In fact, he was looking back at them. Then, Rega saw him take something out of his pouch. He then rolled whatever it was into a little ball with his hands. Finally, he spoke a word.

The halflings stopped moving. The elder man walked over to them and whispered something in their ears. He then started walking away.

A few seconds later, the lead halfling soldier walked up to Stice. “You may go now.” he said. “Have a good trip.”

Stice thanked the soldier and started the ponies moving.

Up ahead, Rega could see the man waiting for them. He rode up next to Lobaki.

“Do you think he could be our mystery spell-caster?” he asked.

“I’m not sure.” said the young wizard. “If I am correct, the spell he used is not one for novices. So that means he has some power, but the power controlling this spell didn’t feel the same as what I felt in the museum.”

They rode nearer to the man. He appeared to be in no hurry. He just stood there waiting patiently.

When they were almost upon him, he spoke. “I saved your butts back there, I did. You fools should have left yesterday instead of waiting.”

“What do you mean? asked Rega.

“You know very well what I mean.” said the man. “Once you got the Dragonstone, you shouldn’t have delayed. You gave the halflings a chance to block all ways out from the Leafbourn area.”

“Well, we are in your debt...” said Rega.

“You can call me Effron.” said the man. “Now, let me up on that wagon. We have much to talk about.”

Stice and Lano looked over at Rega. Rega nodded. The halflings then moved over, giving the man enough room to sit.

Effron climbed up and sat. “Thank you.” he said. He then started sniffing the air around him. “Is that Redbottom Leaf I smell?” he asked, while taking a pipe out from his pouch.

“Yes it is.” said Stice, reaching back into the wagon. He then offered the man some of the tobacco.

Effron put the tobacco into the bowl of his pipe. He lit it and took a deep puff. “Excellent.” he said. “Now, where was I?”

“You were about ready to tell us about why you know so much about us.” answered Dexir angrily.

“Dex, take it easy.” said Rega to his friend. He then turned to Effron. “My apology. You said we had much to talk about.”

Effron gave Dexir a dirty look before continuing. “Oh, yes. That is right. Let us get farther away from those halfling soldiers first.”

They traveled for about an hour before the man finally started talking to them again.

“You have done very well.” he said. “You have three of the Dragonstones already. All that is left is the Topaz and the Diamond.”

“How do you know this? We have never met.” said Rega. He then looked at the man a little more closely. “You are not Soliat, are you?”

“No, I am not Soliat.” answered the man. “As I said earlier, my name is Effron. As for your other question, I will let you know soon enough.”

Effron continued. “Now, I’m sure you are wondering where to go to next? Correct?”

Rega nodded.

“I will tell you. The Topaz Dragonstone can be found in the city of the gnomes. The Diamond Dragonstone is safely kept by the High-Wizard of the Makloran Wizard’s Guild.”

“I will direct you to where the gnomes are living. After that, you can get on the main road and head to Makloran. By the way, I’m getting hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

Rega took this as a hint to stop and take a break. The horses and ponies were glad to be stopping. There was plenty of grass for them to eat. Everyone else had some fruits and muffins that had been freshly baked that morning.

“Just to get an idea of your current skill level, we will start with an entry-level cantrip called Flare.” said the druid responsible for the initial phase of training with Doman. “Are you familiar with this lesser spell?”

Doman said he wasn’t. His mother, Latala, only taught him a few spells to interact with animals. She also taught him the Entangle spell that had been used on Eraston, just in case. This spell wasn’t meant to do harm upon any animal. It was for ensnaring them to enable Doman to get away.

The druid trainer continued, “Flare won’t really harm the individual or creature being cast on. It is meant to temporarily blind them. Let me demonstrate.”

Doman saw his trainer wave a hand while saying “Flare”. The next instant a bright light flashed in front of Doman’s eyes. Sure enough, things became hard to see. It took almost a minute until the effects fully wore off. Doman rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times just to be sure.

“As you can see, no pun intended, this cantrip can be very useful when cast on a target needing their sight for something.” said the druid trainer. “Cast it on an archer about to let loose an arrow or a wizard about to cast a spell. The uses are plentiful. The effects don’t last long and in some cases the target can even continue unaffected. Anyway, here is what you need to do to cast it.”

He explained to Doman “This spell is formed in the caster’s mind. The caster finds a nearby target, envisions a ball of bright light directly in front of the target’s eyes, and finally releases the magic with a word. I like to use a hand gesture for a bit of dramatic flair, but it isn’t necessary. So, use myself as a target, envision a ball of bright light in front of my eyes, and then release the magic with a word.”

Doman did as asked and the cantrip worked perfectly. After a minute, the druid trainer rubbed his eyes and continued, “Nicely done. This is but one of many useful cantrips. Some can be used to heal minor abrasions, detect poison, or even walk on snow without sinking in.”

He handed a small book to Doman. “Take this book and study the cantrips within. Knowing these are crucial to continuing with other spells. For example, the method in how you did the Flare cantrip is similar when casting Faerie Fire, Flaming Sphere, or even Solar Flare. The difference is in the hand gestures, material components and the amount of stored magic from within you use. All start with the visualization of what you want. The magic comes from the earth itself. As druids, we call upon this magic to help keep Dacarn in balance. Shaping the magic is what you strive to learn. Do you have any questions?”

Doman replied that he didn’t, so he was sent to his room to study the cantrips for the rest of the day. He took a break for lunch and again for dinner, but by the end of the day he was well-versed in casting the different cantrips. He was also very exhausted and slept well that night.

Training continued, each day with a new trainer. Surprisingly, Doman’s magic reservation was more than most new druids, so they were able to train him some of the more advanced spells too. It was explained that as he gained experience with casting spells, his body was able to adjust to storing magic better. This would allow him to be able to store more magic.

There were some drawbacks. Only so much magic could be stored and then released each day. The training mainly consisted of theoretical lessons, but when it came time to test what was learned, these more advanced spells required Doman to use his stored magic. Once that was gone, the trainers could only again go over theoretical simulations.

This gave Doman the opportunity to see the druid circle’s daily routine. He was assigned daily chores. In his case, due to his larger size, he helped with repairs to fences and other structures.

Word finally came one evening that his friends were near and would be arriving soon.

As they rode nearer to the Elven city of Estu, they were again met by Fisor and his group of elven archers. This time there was not the secrecy and urgency as before.

“We welcome you back.” said the elf to Rega. “We trust everything went well in Leafbourn.” Fisor then turned to Effron, bowed and said, “Welcome, great one. King Motagula would like to speak with you upon arrival.”

The old man nodded in acceptance.

Rega asked, “What news do you have of Doman?”

“Ahh, the half-orc.” replied Fisor. “He has made a great impression upon the druid circle...or so I am told. He is anxiously awaiting your arrival as well.”

They moved on and in a short time they were coming up on Estu. They were led through the city gates and directed to the main castle building. Standing outside was Doman.

The half-orc greeted each one with a welcome and a clasped hand as they walked up. He even greeted Effron, bowing his head and saying, “Nice to meet you, great one.”

They were all lead to the King’s reception hall. King Motagula and Queen Tulina were both present, sitting on their thrones.

The King rose and bowed when he saw Effron and said “Welcome back to Estu, my old friend.” He then asked Effron and Rega to join him and the Queen in his private quarters. Rega looked at his friends, but followed the King. The rest of the group was already deep in conversation with Doman.

“Congratulations, Rega.” said King Motagula to Rega. “We did not have to wait long to hear the news. I do have a special request. May I see the Emeraldstone?”

Rega took out his miniature bag of holding and took out the gem. He then handed it to the King.

“It is exquisite!” exclaimed the King, turning the gem over while inspecting it. I can see why it was one of the chosen gems. He handed it back to Rega and continued, “You are doing well. It is beginning to look like we may just pull this off.”

Effron nodded in agreement.

The King said to Rega, “There are things I need to discuss with Effron. Please go visit with your friend. He has made significant progress and surely wants to speak with you. We will meet once more before you continue on your task.”

With that, Rega took his leave of the two men and the Queen. He rejoined his group, already enjoying a nice meal. The King was correct. He did wish to speak with Doman, and not just about his training.

After everyone had their fill, they were shown to their rooms for the night. Rega had mentioned to Doman that he wished to speak with him in private, so they were the last two remaining. Both were seated at a table. Rega was nursing a mug of elven ale.

“King Motagula told me you did well while here.” said Rega to the half-orc. “I am glad you made a good impression on these people.”

“The elves here have been very kind and supportive.” replied Doman. “It almost made me forget about my particular heritage. But somehow I get a feeling that you want to discuss something else?”

Rega pulled his chair closer to Doman, took a sip of ale and answered “There is.” He paused a couple seconds gathering his thoughts. “Look Doman, we are only two more stones away from completing our task. Running into Effron has made me more nervous than normal. I hate to bring this up, but I really need to make sure you are with us. I need to know you have my back, even if I make a decision that may seem strange.”

Doman looked at Rega. “I fully understand your concern. I truly do. You have nothing to be worried about. I think of you, Dex, Lobaki, and the halflings as my close friends, and I never had friends before. I had nothing but what I brought with me when we first met. You accepted me and even kept your trust in me after the orc incident. I will always be loyal to you and the group.”

Rega smiled. “That is what I was hoping to hear.” He then moved closer to Doman and in a whisper said “I have some thoughts about our task I would like to discuss further, but this isn’t the place for it. We will talk later when I know there aren’t other ears nearby.” He glanced in the direction of the King’s chamber and saw Doman understood his meaning.

Doman stood up, stretched, and wished Rega a good night. He then left to go to his room.

Rega finished his ale and sat in thought for a few moments more. If everything went well, in the near future all five Dragonstones would be gathered together in a building full of wizards.

“What a scary thought!” he said to no one in particular and then went to his room.

Five days later, they neared the mountains west of Esapha. Fortunately, no encounters on the road slowed them down.

The brownies, Certi and Ardi, did get a chance to stop and see the Brownie King. The Brownie King had insisted on coming out to meet the halflings again. Once again, he was given a gift of Redbottom Leaf.

Effron, on the other hand, had gotten on everyone’s nerves. He was a talker. He would start a conversation on just about any subject. He also made a dent on the halfling’s supply of Redbottom Leaf.

“I will be leaving you soon.” said Effron, as they were almost to the mountains.

Dexir and the halflings used all the effort they could to keep from shouting for joy.

“The gnomes are located straight ahead. Go between the first mountain over there and the one to the left of it. You will then be able to see their entrance.”

“Rega. I have something to give you. It is a Ring of Illusion Detection. The gnomes keep the Dragonstone safe by using illusions intermixed with physical barriers. The gnomes know that illusions can be as deadly as the real thing if the person believes it to be real. This ring will let you know if the danger is illusion or real, with a little concentration.”

Effron gave Rega the ring. Rega put it on his left hand.

“I recommend that you go in by yourself. The gnomes are usually very busy at work, so a single person should be able to get around in there and avoid detection.”

“To get to the Topaz, go to the third entryway once you have entered their cave. The barriers will begin soon after that. Good luck.”

Rega thanked the man.

Effron turned to the halflings. “Thank you for the ride and the use of some of your tobacco. Although it pains me to part with it, I am going to give you something to show my appreciation.”

He then opened up his pouch and took out a beautiful pearl-colored stone. “It is an Ioun Stone. Your wizard friend should be able to explain its purpose to you.”

Stice and Lano accepted the gift.

“Now for you, warrior.” he said to Dexir. “Don’t be too harsh to judge someone by their outward appearances. There are creatures so powerful that even your Sword of the Warrior would have trouble defeating them.”

Dexir suddenly felt a chill go up his spine.

Effron started walking north. Then all of a sudden, Dexir understood the man’s comments. They all watched as he started changing into another creature.

Where there once stood a man, there now was a large brass dragon. The wings were more triangular than those seen on other dragons. They were longest at the shoulder and continued down to the tip of his tail. His head included a large curved plate, tapering to points on the top. He took flight without looking back.

“I hate it when they do that.” said Rega.

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