the Stranger

"How old ARE you?" asked Magdum.

"Over 13,000 of your earth years," said Thurin. "I have seen 13,651 revolutions of your planet around its sun, over 50,000 seasons of flower and seed, of birth and death, of growth and decline. I have seen your race grow greatly in knowledge, but without the wisdom to employ the knowledge appropriately. I fear that knowledge without wisdom is the hallmark of your species. But I am troubled by what you tell me about Don Desmond. If its true he has seen the map, then we may not have much time left. We must go quickly, and even then it may be too late!"

"To late for what?" asked Magdum, who's feet hurt and stomach was crying out for a good meal.

"Too late to save your world from the same fate that befell mine!"

"If only I'd known the map to the treasure would lead me to this mess I would never have......"

"You had no way of knowing what was involved! It's no use worrying over what might have been done differently, the path is chosen. Save your strength for the journey that leis ahead."

"It's no good. I can't go on."

"You must go on! You have been chosen by fate to carry the key and the map! You must find the treasure and use the artifacts to destroy the evil things. Alright, you can rest a little while here. For now, my powers can still protect you, but you are going to places where even my powers can not reach."

"I don't want any part of this, why don't you take the map and the key and just leave me out of it? Here..." Magdum tried to hand the unwanted artifacts to Thurin, but Thurin jumped back in horror.

"Don't be a fool!" he hissed. "The wraiths would still swallow you alive! Do you think they would allow you to live after you've seen the map and know the location of the treasure? It's only the tiny golden key that hangs around your neck that protects you now from their icy fangs! Now stop talking nonsense and rest. I have work to do."

Thurin whirled and disappeared into the darkness that surrounded them. Magdum shuddered from the fog and tried to sleep. He imagined voices crying out to him in the darkness, mocking him, laughing at him, whispering his name. He awoke stiff and cold in the morning, and the dead glare of the sun offered no warmth. Thurin was nowhere to be found.

 Magdum gathered sticks and brush for a fire, but then he remembered his matches were lost in the storm that wrecked Thurins boat. So he sat on the sand, his elbows on his knees, his chin in his hands. He waited. The sun grew warmer, then hot and Thurin still had not returned. Mist began to rise and coalesce into a fog that surrounded the island and enveloped Magdum. It became so thick that he could not see his hand in front of his face.

In the fog Magdum heard voices. At first they made no sense to him, just a jumble of mixed up syllables and meaningless phrases. They whispered to him, they called out his name in a long siren song that hypnotized his mind and captured his thoughts.

Suddenly the mists parted and Thurin reappeared. He grabbed Magdum by the arm and led him away into the fog. Gradually the voices grew fainter and the fog dispersed, and Magdum found himself seated in an English Drawing room, seated in a comfortable chair of red leather. He was in a library. There was a warm fire burning in a fireplace, and Thurin was tending it with an ornamental fire poker.

"Welcome to my library. I'm sure you have no idea the honor I do you my making you my guest, however, I assure you that I too am honored to serve as your host. Allow me to introduce you to Victorian London, circa -61. You should be safe here, at least for awhile. However, don't open the door for anyone! I'm going out now and will be back as soon as possible."

"I'm going with you!" said Magdum.

"Don't be ridiculous! Assassins are laying in wait for you. Do you suppose you could survive for two minutes outside of the protective enclosure of this household? They nearly found you on the island when you became entangled in their voices! Don't listen to them! That is how they will destroy you, with your own thoughts.....I cant even be sure one of my servants is not an agent sent long ago to kill you. One of them might have been planted centuries ago if this event line had been foreseen."

"What do you mean?" said Magdum.

"My enemies are far more prescient than I, unfortunately. They may have foreseen that you would become the key bearer, and if so it is logical that I would be drawn to you. The shipwreck was not an accident, nor were the voices you heard in the fog your imagination. It appears as though our moves have been anticipated in advance. The only question now is to discover which event line will allow us to destroy the evil thing and usher in the new age of Thurin. What I have seen is dim and full of horrors, but I have seen winding through the doom a golden path that must be our road to victory."

"Wait here!"

Thurin whirled on his heels and disappeared out the door, leaving Magdum to his thoughts.

David W Clark 

(716) 553-4915