The Legend Of The Wizard's Apprentice (Book 1) (23 page)

chapter ten

THE TREE OF LIFE CRUMBLES

Over the next few days the questions Kerwyn had diminished and he started to accept that things were as they were and that he didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. He was either going to get the new Tree of Life reborn or he would die trying.

Looking out into the courtyard, he saw the Cyclopes practicing with their weapons. Celie was sparing off against her husband, Byamee, and neither one of them were pulling any punches. Kerwyn stood watching them behemoths in mock battle and it was very impressive and they were getting fancier and better everyday. When they first were learning how to use their weapons, it was mostly a slash and strike attack as though they were still swinging clubs. But now they were dogging and paring with counter attacks, spinning slash attacks and roundhouse kicks added to the mix. They were so perfectly matched with this style of fighting that, as a team, they would be deadly. The elves had taught all of them how to handle themselves in battle. Kerwyn was watching closer as he noticed that Byamee was really starting to push the battle; Celie was having trouble keeping up as Byamee’s speed doubled and now he was moving so fast that he was a blur of motion. Celie was backing up trying to stay clear of his blade and she was losing ground. Further and further back she moved but Byamee didn’t look like he was slowing down at all. Celie called out to stop the fight and Byamee took one last attack and knocked her blade from her hands and caught it before it hit the ground. Kerwyn just stood there mesmerized that a creature so big as a fifteen foot Cyclopes could move so fast. Byamee was smiling with a huge grin that said to his wife, ‘I win.’

Celie shook her head and said to Byamee, “I didn’t think you were going to stop that time. You were moving so fast that you almost cut me a few times and I was lucky that I was wearing my Elvin chain mail shirt today or you would have had a very mad wife indeed,” reaching out she took back her Elvin broad sword from her husband’s hand.

Byamee spun his giant Elvin scimitar with sweeping motions, spinning it end over end and sliding it into his back holder with just the handle sticking up over his head for quick reach. Celie preferred the traditional style of having her sword at her hip in its holder.

Byamee reached out and grabbed his wife. He pulled her close, giving her, a great big hug and kiss while whispering something into her ear. Celie punched Byamee in the shoulder and said, “Not now, Byamee, Kerwyn is watching. You are such a bad cyclops.” She said this with a huge smile and a mischievous twinkle in her eye and then said, “Later if you are a very good boy.” Giggling, she and Byamee walked arm in arm, back towards their room in the Tree of Life looking like they had enough sparing for today.

Kerwyn went looking for his other friends. He found Baldred over on the other side of the clearing, practicing with his bow and arrows. He was not only shooting from a stationary position like Kerwyn would have expected but Baldred was doing somersaults and different acrobatic moves while firing his big bow. He was doing flips and cartwheels all the while shooting his bow at the hardest part of a manoeuvre. Kerwyn was impressed that each time the bow went
twang!
There was an arrow quivering in one of the five targets that he had lined up to represent a troll.

Baldred caught sight of Kerwyn and called for him to come over and talk. Baldred was breathing quite heavily and the smell of his body was a little sharp. But Kerwyn didn’t comment on that fact as he only stood just six foot one whereas Baldred was just less than fifteen feet tall. Baldred was the shortest of the Cyclopes but being that tall you and big you wouldn’t really notice unless they were all standing shoulder to shoulder. Looking around Kerwyn asked Baldred where Elden and Durin were.

“Master Sernett, Elden and Durin have become very fast and good friends. Elden is helping Durin court the dwarf cook, Ardwinna. I think our little dwarf friend; has a crush on more then just her cooking,” laughing, Baldred thought that he had made a very clever joke. "Elden is there for moral support as Durin is still a little shy and he feels self conscious about not having any facial hair. Could you imagine being with a woman that would have had more facial hair then you did?

Now a cyclops woman has a fine coat of hair across her chest so a male cyclops can cuddle in at night time and get a good night’s sleep. The hairier her chest, the more popular she was with the males.”

Baldred started to laugh at Kerwyn’s facial expressions, “Ah, that’s right, Master Kerwyn likes a woman to be as bald as a newborn baby. You humans don’t know what you’re missing with a woman who has a hairy chest.”

Kerwyn started to gag at the thought of Erlina being all covered in think black hair. Changing the topic Kerwyn asked, “Baldred do you have a wife at home waiting for you?”

Baldred went deathly quiet and said, “No, Master Kerwyn, my wife died some four winters ago. It was a hard winter and she got really sick and she couldn’t get better even with our healer giving her medicines. No, Master Kerwyn, I am no longer married, and there is no one waiting from me back home. The only family I have left is Celie my sister.”

“Baldred, I didn’t know that Celie and you were kindred,” said Kerwyn.

“Oh yes, Master Kerwyn, and Elden is Byamee’s brother. Maybe you didn’t know that Elden was the runt of the litter, and that’s why he is so tall and lanky. Byamee got all the cyclops good looks and strength.

But Elden has surprised me, he has become a master with his spear and he is so funny and fun to be around. I never knew that Elden had such a good since of humour, and he loves that big silly hat he wears. I think he likes it because it makes him feel good. When we were at home you would hardly ever see Elden smile or laugh. It is good that he has made such a good friend as Durin. At home he is a loner and an outcast because he is so skinny for a cyclops. The women cyclopses all make fun of him and none want to have him share a bed at night so he can stay warm.”

“Hmmm, ok, let’s stop and not start that topic again,” Kerwyn said, laughing, “I know that cyclops women have hairy chests, I saw Celie remember?”

“Anyway Baldred I think I’ll let you get back to practicing. I am going to go to the kitchen and see how Durin is making out with Ardwinna. Talk to you later,” Kerwyn waved at Baldred as he left making his way to the kitchens.

Kerwyn turned the corner and entered the kitchen. There he saw Ardwinna, Durin and, towering over everyone, was Elden. Durin was sitting very close to Ardwinna and they were almost touching but there was just enough space between them to say they weren’t.

“Aye, Kerwyn. How are ye today? We was just sitting here with Ardwinna while she has a break. Elden has put in a special request in for a cyclops dish tonight for supper. It has three types of meat, wild boar, beef and venison where you keep stuffing the one into the other and cook it in a roaster with potatoes and turnips,” said Durin and Elden was nodding his head while licking his lips making the plume on top of his helmet bob back and forth like it was a tail of a peacock. Kerwyn had to smile at the thought of a giant peacock sitting on top of a Cyclops’s head.

Elden thinking that Kerwyn was likening the idea of the dish said, “Kerwyn like meat, cyclops food good. Ardwinna really nice, she makes for me.”

Kerwyn thought that Elden seemed a little slower than usual and reasoned that it must have been because of that hit in the head by the troll a while back.

“Durin, how is your training coming along with the hammer? Baldred said that you were getting really good with it and that you, Elden, were really good with your spear. I would like to see the both of you using your weapons. I saw Byamee and Celie sparing today and it was amazing. Byamee has super speed; he was moving so fast that he became a blur of silver. Celie said that it was a good thing that she had on her Elvin chain mail or Byamee would have cut her as she was unable to keep up with his scimitar today while he was pressing his attack.

Then I saw Baldred practicing with his bow and he was doing some really cool tricks where he would do a somersault or a back flip and still hit the targets. It was really something to see.”

“We should get going, Ardwinna, as your break must be over by now, I’ll see you later,” Durin said to Ardwinna and just before moving away from her, their hands made contact for the briefest of moments. Smiling, Durin left the kitchen with Kerwyn and Elden.

“Did ye see that Elden? I touched her hand and she didn’t pull away. Maybe she does likes me?” wondered Durin.

“Of course she likes you,” said Kerwyn, “She was sitting so close to you I thought that she was going to fall into your lap at any moment.”

“Please don’t ye tease me, Master Kerwyn. I'd be heartbroken if I found out that she didn’t like me. Are you sure that ye thinks she likes me?” pressed Durin. He looked at Kerwyn for some sign that he was either teasing or that he really did think that Ardwinna did in fact like him.

“Oh Durin, I might not be the most romantic guy but even I can see that she thinks that you are one special dwarf. Trust me, she likes you,” said Kerwyn.

Smiling even more Durin said to Elden, “Well Elden, Master Kerwyn wanted to see some amazing things; shall we spar and show him how well we’re doing with our training the elves have given us?”

Elden nodded his head again, making the plume bob. He smiled and reached for his silver Elvin spear. Taking a piece of leather from his belt pouch, he wrapped the head of the spear so that he wouldn’t accidentally hurt Durin with that wickedly sharp point. Durin, being smart, said to Elden, “Oh, no need to do that ye over grown turnip; ye has to hit me first!”

The four foot four tall dwarf and the fifteen-foot plus cyclops squared off and started to spar. Elden was faster and more flexible with his spear and was incredible to see. Kerwyn thought that he was watching the cyclops dance, as Elden was moving as if in a trance.

Durin, being one-third the Cyclops’s height, was small enough to be a hard target for the cyclops to hit. But Durin, being a dwarf, was made for frontal assaults and was not flexible and quick. He made up for it by the quick use of his massive silver hammer. He would parry and twist Elden’s spear one way or the other preventing Elden from getting a hit on him.

They battled on for more then twenty minutes and a crowd was gathering to see who would win. At first everyone though that the cyclops had an easy victory as he had the size, strength and reach with his spear over the much smaller dwarf with the huge hammer that looked too big. But Durin was amazing in his own right and he wasn’t only holding the cyclops back but was starting to press the attack.

Kerwyn couldn’t understand how Durin could wield that hammer the way that he was doing. Durin made it look like he was swinging a hammer that was much smaller and Kerwyn wondered if that was part of the magic with Durin’s hammer. He knew the dwarf was very strong as with their entire race, but that hammer looked to be well over three hundred pounds of solid silver. As the sparing raged on the crowd started to call out for the one they wanted to win and soon bets were taken. Durin was the present underdog of the betting and Kerwyn couldn’t understand how the crowd didn’t see that Durin was actually going to win this fight. He could see Durin start to twist the spear a little further outside Elden’s strike zone and then went in for the final blow. Durin almost threw his hammer straight into Elden’s chest, knocking him back and, tripping over his feet, the cyclops went down. Elden held up his hand in defeat and Durin went over to grasp his friend’s hand and congratulated him on a fight that showed skill and honour.

The crowd erupted with cheers and the side that had bet on the cyclops paid up to the winners and then they all dispersed with little less in their pockets then they had before.

“That was amazing to see you sparring like that, you’re both fantastic warriors and I am proud that you are on my side. I would really hate to be the opposing group that met up with the two of you. Thank you for showing me what you have learnt from the Elvin warriors. Durin, may I see your hammer for just a moment,” asked Kerwyn.

Durin passed Kerwyn his hammer by the handle so Kerwyn could take it and Kerwyn found out really quickly as it dropped to the ground that it was far too heavy for him. But even though it was still too heavy for him to wield, the fact that he could almost pick it up showed Kerwyn that his assessment of the magic making it lighter for the wielder was correct. He left the hammer where it was and Durin came over and picked it up as thought it was as light as a feather. He smiled at Kerwyn and told him that one day he would be strong enough to wield his hammer if the need arose. Smiling back, Kerwyn said to Durin that he hoped that day never came, as he was a wizard not a warrior.

Over the next couple of days things seemed quite the same, the Cyclopes and dwarf took turns at sparring with different partners and Baldred kept practicing with his acrobatics while firing at the targets.

Kerwyn and Master Sernett started back into Kerwyn’s studies and resumed his apprenticeship while they had time to relax and Kerwyn got a chance to let Hernes go exploring out the tree. Hernes came back one night and woke Kerwyn up and said to follow him that, he had something very important to show him. Kerwyn got up and followed Hernes through the old Tree of Life. The imp stopped at a door that was locked and said a few magical words. Kerwyn heard a click and the door opened. Inside there were all sorts of treasures and items of interest and the one item that Hernes wanted to show Kerwyn was a fancy knife. Kerwyn examined the knife and found written on the handle in spidery text were the words Ghost Hunter. Feeling that the item was infused Dark Magic, Kerwyn almost set the knife back down but the evil inside Kerwyn wouldn’t let him. Sliding the knife into a pocket, Kerwyn looked around at some of the other items. Not finding anything else that was magical, Kerwyn grabbed some gold and silver and put them into his pocket, as he knew that he would need them in the coming weeks. Just then in his belt pouch he could hear a chiming and reaching in, he could see Erlina’s face in the broach.