5 Voice
#5 of Voice
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The bleach-white stones were blinding and hot. Birds circled overhead, faces naked and grotesque, grey claws ready, teeth sharp and rancid. These birds were the reason that Hunter did not fly to the mountain, despite being able.
Some of the stones moved. Their movements became more apparent the deeper they were in the fields, and Giarien was becoming fearful of them. Were the moving stones dangerous? Were they the footsteps of invisible monsters? Were they the scattered pieces of a rock lord, sensing their presence and preparing to assemble? After a while, Hunter picked up one of the stones and extracted an insect, tossing it into his mouth as if it were a casual snack, and they continued on walking.
Hunter suddenly stopped and stared at the space in front of him as if in awe. Confused, Giarien looked around. She felt a tingling in her ears, indicating a nearby expression of magic, but did not see anything of interest.
"Step forward, Giarien." Hunter beckoned her forward. "Look."
She stepped forward, and her vision was suddenly seized by the most grand of temples she had ever seen. It was tall, and impressively crafted out of what appeared to be white quartz and some pale green mineral. What was such a construction doing in the middle of the rocky fields? And hidden through magic!
"Let's investigate," decided Hunter out loud.
"No, no, It's too dangerous. We don't know what motives the spell-caster could have had. Perhaps it is a creature luring us into its nest for food with an illusion."
Hunter placed a wing on a round pillar. "It seems real to me." He traced the material with his claws. "I can feel where they switch between the stones used to make this. The pillar was made of tiles from both rocks and smoothed so that it was cylindrical.
Hunter climbed up the steps, and entered the main chamber. Giarien followed him hesitantly. The inside was large, and every footstep echoed softly. A figure sat cross-legged in the center facing away from them. It was difficult to tell if it was awake or asleep. Giarien couldn't even tell if it was breathing. Draped across its body were deep green robes.
Before Hunter could do anything rash, Giarien approached, and quietly spoke, "Excuse me."
It turned around slowly, and grunted as it stood up, before sighing tiredly. They could see now that it was an avian, male. His feathers were a similar brown shade to Hunter's, and he had light markings on his face. He bowed his head respectfully, and Giarien returned the bow. His voice was raspy and deep, clearly aged. "Welcome, child of Pangrandin. What brings you to my temple?"
"I'm going to the mountain to free the voice," explained Giarien. "This is Hunter, who has come to help me." Hunter observed the conversation, waving when he was addressed. He seemed disinterested in conversation.
The old man sighed again, this time seeming saddened. "It would be a shame to see a magic being waste herself to the jaws of Dumow. Turn back, I implore you. He does not deserve saving."
Giarien protested, "I am no magic being, just a dragon like any other."
"Pangrandin does not always make it apparent to her children what gift she has given them or why. I can ask her for you what your purpose is, if you would like."
Giarien first asked, "Why is this temple in the middle of nowhere?"
The old man explained, "Pangrandin has blessed me with the magic power to keep Dumow in the mountain with a barrier. The temple is nearby so that I can maintain it."
"This is all a lot of information."
He smiled the best an avian could, facial feathers angling upwards sweetly. "I know. I will ask Pangrandin, if you will just wait for a few minutes. Sit down, if you would like."
Hunter and Giarien sat down. He also sat, returning to his cross-legged pose. Giarien realized that she had forgotten to ask: "What is your name?"
"I am not a significant person... my name is Jade, if you need to call me something." He smiled again, but his eyes were not in it.
"There is nothing to trust about this man," whispered Hunter not-so-quietly.
If Jade heard the younger avian, he did not comment. His eyes glowed a soft green for a moment before he closed them. Sensing that he should not be disturbed, Hunter and Giarien remained quiet for a long few minutes. Hunter fidgeted, smoothing out some of his feathers. Giarien wondered if he was bored or distracted. His expression said that he was unhappy with the situation.
Jade's eyes opened, and he spoke, "I'm sorry for the wait, I talked to Pangrandin for longer than I had expected to."
"And what did she say?" inquired the dragon.
"She said that you are the one who will decide whether Dumow lives or dies. There is nothing complicated or mysterious here. Quite simply you may enter the mountain and judge his character, and if you think that he has changed over time to become worthy of release than he may live. Well, I say it isn't complicated, but he is a deceptive creature."
"How so?"
"Naturally if you are his exit from the mountain, he will want to get on your good side. I can tell that you have a protection charm with you. Hand it to me for a second."
Giarian fished the charm from her bag and handed it to him. "You can tell that it was in my bag?"
"I have used magic long enough to detect subtle things like that, yes."
"Does that mean that you were also able to hear him speak?"
"Faintly, but not loud enough to tell what he was saying. Pangrandin has given you an affinity for him, so to speak." He held the wooden item up and focused on it. It pulsed with green energy, and Giarien had to look away lest it burn her eyes. When he returned it, she saw that the etchings had changed from birds to reptilian scales. "I have given this some limitations in order to increase its protective power. It will only protect you, and it will only work if Dumow is the one being protected from. This is one way to increase the efficiency of magic. I can teach you more later, but for now I suppose you have a job to do."
"But how do I do it?"
"Pangrandin will help you after this. I can't really explain to you how to use magic until you use it for yourself. It will happen naturally, do not worry." He gave another sweet bird-smile. His appearance was hawk-like, but his demeanor seemed to be more that of a songbird, or a calm swan. He added, "The entrance to the mountain is along a path. If you head straight to mountain from here you should have no trouble finding it.
"I think that is our cue to leave," said Hunter.
Giarien hesitated, still wanting to ask more questions, but they really were pressed for time. Reluctantly, she shared another bow with Jade, before she and Hunter exited the temple. She caught Hunter sending an annoyed look backwards.
"He was a nice fellow," said Giarien to Hunter.
"I remember his name from some stories. I assure you, he is not as pleasant as he seems."
"Really?" Giarien was surprised.
"Mm yes. He was leader of a bandit group when he discovered that he had magic. He used it to secure more territory for his gang, my village included. He slowly became more and more extreme and dastardly, murdering enough townspeople for it to become engraved in legend. He killed his closest friends, before disappearing. I would think he would be dead by now, that was several decades ago. It seems that he lived, and I am not thrilled to see him." Hunter was clearly not thrilled.
"Oh." She wondered if this was true. She always preferred to make character judgments on her own, but this really was vital information...