The Legend of Karzatin Ch 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Tas and Madfrent are joined by the others, the party questions the legend further...

   Palin was in the middle of a peaceful dream when he heard voices. He couldn't tell if it was part of the dream or not. He was sitting on the shore, looking out to sea. The view reminded him of the view he had seen back from the coast of Southern Ergoth. But then, he heard those voices again. Where were they coming from?
   Palin blinked his eyes open and heard the voices a third time. He sat up and saw Zackara and Kreya eating breakfast.
   "Oh, good, you're up." Kreya said. "Have some food quick! Tas and Madfrent are gone."
   "Gone? Where?" He asked, taking a bowl.
   "We woke up a few minutes ago and noticed they left and took all their stuff with them. They must have left to go to the caves!"
   Palin looked at Zackara. "Do you know which cave they went in?"
   "I believe so." She responded and quickly returned to eating. Palin then remembered to not stare at her too much and started eating. He couldn't help himself, unfortunately. He watched her put her armor on and gather her stuff together.
   Minutes later, they left. It was rather difficult to keep up with Kreya and Zackara's swift movements, but Palin understood their testimony for walking quickly.
   "We have to catch up to them before they get into any trouble they can't handle." He heard Zackara announce.
    Finally, they arrived at two caves standing directly to each other. Zackara thought for a moment and walked towards the cave on the left. Kreya and Palin followed.
   "Shirak!" Palin exclaimed as they walked inside and his staff lit up. Kreya smiled at him but Zackara wasn't paying attention. She let her staff lean on the ground.
   "Alright, Quentos. Watch this." Zackara then closed her eyes.
   "Quentos?" Palin asked. He remembered her mentioning the name before but he wasn't paying much attention at the time.
   "That's the name of her staff." Kreya replied. "Quentos also has psionic powers and now that Zackara has had Quentos for a long time, they are empathically linked."
   "Interesting." Palin whispered. "So, what is she doing?"
   "Maybe she's trying to contact Tas and Madfrent." Kreya suggested.
   Palin watched in fascination. Whether she liked him or not, he still couldn't help liking her. Watching her face focused in concentration caused his despair to be washed away.
   A moment later, her eyes opened. "I found them. Come on." Zackara trudged ahead, but at a slower pace in order to keep clear of any protruding rocks. She used her staff for support, although it was obvious that she didn't really need it.
   They walked for some time and Zackara kept her gaze on the ground. Palin moved to walk alongside her with his staff so she could see. He kept his gaze ahead to make sure they didn't bump into anything.
   Suddenly, Zackara halted. Palin let the staff's light reach the floor. There was a hole in the ground. Zackara edged closer and looked down, Palin with her. "What is it?" Kreya asked with her hand on her sword hilt.
   "It's the entrance!" Zackara stated excitedly. Palin shined the staff through the hole. "Hey, there's Tas!" She added.
   "Hello up there." Tas returned and waved. Madfrent, who was with him, moved into view and looked up.
   "We're coming down." Zackara announced. "Here, catch Quentos." Madfrent blew out the candle and handed it back to Tas. With little effort, Zackara let the iron staff fly free. Tas caught it, but he shook his hand out. "This thing is heavy!" He called.
   Palin had noticed that himself. Being an iron staff, it was heavier and thicker than his staff. But that did not mean that it was better. It had different powers; the staves were incomparable.
   "I'm coming down now!" Zackara jumped without hesitation and landed on her feet. Kreya quickly moved to follow her.
   Palin stood over the edge. He wasn't crazy about jumping down but it was only a few feet. Everyone moved out of the way, but Zackara stood closest to the hole and extended her arms. "Come on, it should be alright. "I'll try and catch you if I can."
   Palin wondered if the promise was an empty one. However, just the idea of her saying it made him pleasantly surprised. He dropped his staff down and Zackara caught it. She then handed it to Kreya. Palin sat down and let his legs dangle over the side. He gave a lift off and landed with no problem. And what was even better, Zackara's arms were around him, steadying him from the jump. Palin sighed softly and caught the elf smiling at him. He blushed and shyly looked down at the ground.
   Zackara then released her hold, took her staff, and handed him back his. While she was doing so, he was able to ponder the thought of her being able to touch the staff as well as Kreya's ability to do it. He had also remembered Tas' being able to touch it. Yet the Nightlord had not been able to do so right away. He then wondered if Quentos had that ability as well. He had no problem touching it.
   Zackara turned towards Tas and Madfrent. "So, how did you manage to get through the entrance? I noticed that the entrance door wasn't opened..."
   "Correct!" Tas replied. "We cut through it. I used this magic axe..." Tas took the axe from his sack and held it out. The light of Palin's staff reflected off it with a yellow tinge.
   Zackara glanced at it and let her free hand grace its blade. "Fascinating..." She murmured. "That axe must be able to cut through anything."
   "Probably." Tas retorted. "I got it from a derro."
   "Derro?" Kreya piped in.
   "Yeah, we got into a little trouble on the way here." Palin explained and everyone glanced at him.
   "We ran into him two times!" Tas added. "But Palin cast this really cool spell and sent them back in time."
   "Are you sure you're a low-level mage?" Zackara kept her eyes on him. "There's no reason to be ashamed of being powerful."
   "It's true. I used a scroll to cast the spell." Palin said regretfully.
   "It doesn't matter whether you're low-level or not. If you have the potential, that's what counts." Zackara grabbed Quentos closer and started walking.
   Palin understood her point but it once again turned him towards the question of why she was so interested in wizardry. 'There must be something she's not telling me,' he thought.
   "Kreya, stay in the back. I'll lead. Come behind me, Palin, so I can see where I'm going. Tas and Madfrent, you two stay in the middle." She continued. Kreya nodded and took out a lantern. She lit it so she, Tas, and Madfrent could see in front of them. It would also be needed, if they were to have any problems in back of them.
   "So, what made you decide to come on this adventure?" Tas demanded. "I never thought to ask."
   Kreya answered this one. "Me and Zack have been adventuring on and off. We decided to take it easy for a while. And then we got bored so we decided to come here. We never really considered it until now. What about you?"
   "The same thing, practically. How did you get the map?" The kender then asked.
   "My dad's dwarven friends gave it to us." Zackara responded. "They never believed the legend themselves! But they knew about our adventurous natures and gave us the map. They said if we wanted to go and look in a million caves for nothing, then we were more than welcome to it!"
   "That's probably why no one has come to look for it." Palin
declared. "No one believes it, not even dwarves. I wonder how the story got started."
   Zackara chuckled. "Some dwarf probably made it up a while ago and told it to his people. They probably liked it and told it to their kin. Then it caught on all over Krynn. So, how did you come across the map?"
   "My Uncle Trapspringer gave it to me for my coming of age. He went on a lot of adventures too, yet he never used this map. Maybe the trip was too far for him. Kendermore is on the other side of Krynn." Tas asserted.
   "Interesting. So, now we have two possibilities." Zackara assessed in response. "Either no one at all believes the story or no one has gotten into the entrance because the only map close enough to reveal the location of it has been in the hands of kender who never put the map to use. After all, the legend is not that old." She turned her head and winked at Palin, who in turn smiled and removed his gaze. "According to the dwarves, Karzatin is only around two hundred years old."
   Palin had to wonder at that. Were they actually the first group of adventurers to test the verity of the legend?