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.This gives the bat things even more spirits to control.The more malevolent the spirit, the more tenacious the zombie, the more deaths that spirit can cause if it prevents its own premature death and goes on killing in the real world.”“How does the zombie take over the new body?” asked Olag.“Once it gets hold of the new body, the spirit residing within the zombie’s body slips into the new host and drives out the living spirit within,” answered Amelia.“Usually there is a battle for the host body, but the attacking spirit is powerful due to desperation, and the original spirit is unprepared for such an attack.It gets ejected and fed to the bat things, who give it a zombie body to inhabit for eternity, because it has received an untimely death.”Sherman shuddered.“That’s not a fate I would want to endure.”“Me neither,” said Harran.“That’s the price you could pay for wanting to go back in time,” said Amelia.“You take a great chance if you want to alter things in the past.”After they had eaten, Kazin suggested they rest for a while as he needed to regain his strength before carrying on.He explained that traveling in the late evening was best since they would be less noticeable as he flew around in dragon form.Amelia agreed, pointing out that if they were in the right time in history, dragons were known to be seen frequently and many villages had sentries watch for them in order to alert their archers and mages to spring to the defense of the city should one be spotted.Once near a city, they would be wise to land before being spotted, and then walk the rest of the way like ordinary travelers so as not to attract more attention.Kazin agreed and found a comfortable spot to lie down.In minutes he was asleep.Harran agreed to take the first watch and made his way a short distance back up the mountain so as to have a better vantage point.He chose a location where he could oversee the camp and any access points should an intruder come along.Amelia volunteered to clear up the dishes and then climbed up to join the dwarf.She found him to be more amicable than the others and wanted to get to know him better.She sat down beside him on a moss-covered log and sat silently for a while.Then she broke the stillness - the wind had died down somewhat - and asked him about his name.“Harran, is your last name - Mapmaker - related to your career?”Harran turned to regard the young spell caster.“It was.Several generations before me also had that name.We were gifted with an exceptional ability to make maps of the underground passages in the mountains.Our skill with map making was highly sought after by high-ranking dwarves.I was the king’s personal mapmaker - a distinct honour among my people.”“You said ‘was’,” said Amelia.“Don’t you make maps anymore?”Harran chuckled.This girl was young but astute.“I do, but only as a hobby.I am the leader of my people now.”“What do they call you now?” asked Amelia.“King Dracon.”“What does that mean?”“It’s short for ‘dragon conch.’ It’s an artifact I acquired that, when blown, calls all dwarves within earshot to arms.It is powerful enough to break any spell any dwarf is under and rallies them to my side.”“So your name changes with your job,” concluded Amelia.Harran nodded.“My earlier ancestors were known as Tunnelmaker before we switched specialties and became Mapmakers.”“Do you have mapmakers that work for you now?” asked Amelia.“Yes,” said Harran.“One of my chief mapmakers is called Rebecca Mapmaker.She happens to have an uncanny ability to find gem deposits.”“That’s interesting,” mused Amelia.She lapsed into silence to digest this information.They shared other stories for a few hours before Harran tensed and pointed into the distance.“Is that what I think it is?” he asked suddenly.Amelia looked where he pointed and squinted.“Yes,” she said finally.“That appears to be a dragon.”A moment later, the beast dove to an unknown destination and disappeared from view behind some trees.A few moments later it reappeared and flew around in a tight arc and descended again.Then it reappeared and repeated its tactic.After it rose from the treetops the next time, smoke could be seen rising after it.The dragon did not give up.It dove two more times before departing the scene.It appeared to have a large object in its mouth as it flew away.By now the black billows were rising from the forest floor.“We should alert the others,” said Harran, rising.“One moment,” interrupted Amelia.She took out her orb and concentrated.The milky surface swirled but Harran could not make any sense of the patterns and designs it emitted.After a full minute of watching the orb, Amelia looked up at the dwarf and shook her head.“We won’t be able to do anything about what just happened without altering things.It’s best to let it be.”“I’ll let Kazin decide that,” growled the dwarf.He tromped down the mountainside.Amelia got up and followed.She was surprised at the trust the dwarf had in the old mage.She concluded they must have been through a lot of adventures together.The camp was aroused and Harran relayed what he had seen.Kazin looked across the forest below and could see what he was talking about.The black smoke was rising and blowing to the southeast.He listened with interest as Amelia told him what her orb had relayed to her.Then he nodded in satisfaction.“Amelia’s right.We can’t run to the aid of everyone who is in trouble like we are used to doing.It is not up to us to interfere, even though it feels wrong.That’s going to be the hardest part of this quest.We are not supposed to be here, so we shouldn’t intervene.”Sherman was about to object but Kazin raised his hand.“We can, however, investigate what happened and learn from it.We might even be able to offer minor assistance as long as it doesn’t change history.” He looked questioningly at Amelia, who nodded.“I can determine in advance if that’s acceptable.The orb has allowed me to do minor things before without incident.”“That settles it then,” said Kazin.He glanced across at the smoke, which was not as black and billowing as before.“It would be safer to walk from here.I’ll fly us down to the base of the mountain.The sun is on the other side of the mountain now, so we will be covered from being spotted by its shadow.” He turned to Sherman.“How long do you figure it will take us to reach that village?”The warrior squinted in the direction of the smoke.“I’d say we will arrive at sundown if we leave right away.”“Alright,” said Kazin.“Let’s pack up [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]