Chapter Two: Song of the Cicadas

2: The Song of the Cicadas
Draida’s eyes blinked open. He’d fallen asleep. The sound of dripping water echoed near the mouth of the cave, and the room was otherwise silent besides the faint sound of Sylvia’s own rhythmic breaths. Draida sat up rubbing his eyes, wondering how long he’d been asleep. He slid down from the boat and stretched. The torches had burned out leaving the cavern to the golden glow of lumishrooms.
“Sylvia!” Draida called. “Wake up!”
Sylvia grumbled something inaudible. Draida glanced around surprised that the sound didn’t come from the direction of Sylvia’s bed. He soon spotted her sitting up on the floor.
“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” Draida asked walking over. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, fine.” Sylvia replied with a bewildered expression on her face. “Why am I on the floor?”
Draida had no answer. Sylvia got to her feet and grimaced. “I feel like I hit my head.”
Draida stared at her for a moment as she tenderly caressed her forehead. “You think that the sweet bread that we stole might have been poisoned?” he asked walking over to the table. “I wonder if maybe the baker was ready for us after all…”
“That makes no sense.” Sylvia responded. “He couldn’t have known which loaves we would steal.
“What if he poisoned them all?” Draida said, sniffing the bread.
“Yeah, because that’d be good for business.” Sylvia replied in a sarcastic tone.
“It doesn’t smell funny.” Draida sighed tossing the loaf onto the table.
Sylvia had made herself busy trying to light a nearby torch. “I honestly don’t know how these torches all went out. We couldn’t have been asleep for that long.”
“Asleep? Or poisoned?” Draida asked in a sinister tone.
He frowned at the sweet roll as if expecting them to attack.
“Then bring it over here and then maybe we can see if something’s wrong with it,” Sylvia replied as the torch flared to life.
The torch was lit, but instead of the normal reddish-orange flame, the torch burned in a deep purple. “Weird…” Sylvia muttered stepping away from the flame. “Draida?”
Draida was staring hard at the table, his eyes wide. “Sylvia, over here!”
“What is it?” she asked running over.
“Writing on the table.” He replied, pointing. The writing matched the color of the torch and seemed to writhe in the dancing torchlight.


Meet me in the gardens near the Magic Quarter.
Tonight: 11’o’clock.
Use the cloaks on my bed.
You’ll really like them!
Say “thank you” and try them out.
-Raskas

“Raskas!” Sylvia exclaimed happily. “He’s alright!”
Draida grinned up at her but immediately peered back at the writing. “I’ve heard of this.” He began. “It’s not really magic at all. You just put a special powder on an unlit torch and that changes the color of the flame. And then you write your message in a certain ink and when the torch is lit; message delivered!”
“You’re beginning to sound just like Raskas.” Sylvia replied dryly. “Couldn’t he have just told us this in person?”
“Where would the fun in that be?” Draida laughed. “He probably just wanted to show off his latest magic trick. You know how he gets whenever he finds a new one.”
Sylvia seemed thoughtful for a moment before conceding to Draida’s reasoning.
The purple torch flickered momentarily before it reverted back to the normal hue of yellows and oranges. Raskas’s message vanished from the table the instant the color changed.
“See that?” Draida asked pointing at the torch. “Once the powder’s burned up the message is erased. Even if you applied more powder, the message would never come back.”
“Sounds handy.” Sylvia muttered, impressed. She crossed over to Raskas bed and returned with two onyx bracelets. “No cloaks over there.” She said. “Only these…”
Draida slid his on immediately and stood up expectantly.
Sylvia watched with a mild curiosity but nothing happened. Draida began wiggling his arm slowly with a strained look on his face.
“What are you doing Draida?”
“I’m… trying to… activate it…”
“I don’t think that’s going to do much good.” Sylvia laughed.
Draida stopped his crazed dancing and leaned against the table. “I think you’re right about that,” he agreed “but how?”
Sylvia pulled her bracelet on and shrugged. “I’m not sure. Did the note say anything about how to work these things?”
Draida raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I think it was… cloaks on my bed, you’ll like them…” he recited slowly “...say thanks and try them out…”
“Sounds like another of his riddles.” Sylvia muttered. She walked over to Raskas’s bed and stepped up onto it. “Cloaks on my bed…” she repeated. She stared at the onyx bracelet but still nothing happened.
“I’ve figured it out, Sylvia!” Draida cried excitedly. “‘Say thank you and try them out’! ‘Thank you’ is the command word that activates them!”
Sylvia looked towards the table but didn’t see Draida. “Where’d you go?” she called. “Over here!” he replied. The voice seemed to be coming from a cluster of stalactites and stalagmites, but she couldn’t see Draida there.
“Keeping looking!” Draida called again, laughing gleefully. “You’re looking right at me.” Sylvia squinted, as the shadows seemed to move off of the stalagmites and expand across the floor. “Now watch what happens when I go too close to the light.” Draida called.
Sylvia watched as the shadows grew closer to the torchlight and then suddenly a very hazy outline appeared there.
“Can you see me?”
“Yeah I think so…” Sylvia replied. “You’re still pretty hard to see though.”
“I know!” Draida said gleefully. “This is amazing! You’ve got to try this!”
“‘Thanks’ is the word?” Sylvia asked.
“Thank you!” Draida called as he disappeared again into the shadows. “Both words.”
Sylvia watched the bracelet in pure fascination as she said the trigger word. The bracelet was warmer for an instant and then a cold opaque mist engulfed her entire body as she vanished from sight.
“This will be handy.” Sylvia said.
Draida laughed gleefully.
“The baker can’t stop us now!”
* * *
A rare smile crossed Draida’s face and he laughed quietly. “We spent hours hiding from each other, and messing around in the forest after that; trying to sneak up on animals and such.”
I would think that such a gift would certainly require an important purpose.
Did you not wonder how Raskas had acquired Shadow Cloaks?
Or why?
Draida sighed and shook his head. “We knew nothing of Shadow Cloaks back then. To us the cloaks were merely another magical toy that promised adventure and excitement.”
Only the Pipers use Shadow Cloaks, and they don’t hand them out freely.
Draida stared down at the city intently. “We were naïve and ignorant of the Pipers and their dealings. To us, the world seemed more innocent, a place where the Pipers couldn’t hurt us. We thought ourselves to be clever little thieves, but for all of our childish tricks and schemes, neither Sylvia nor I understood how dangerous the Pipers actually were, or how well they already knew us.”

* * *

Draida and Sylvia were completely invisible under the cover of night, Raskas’s magical cloaks worked magnificently. The stars were hidden behind the final remnants of the day’s earlier storm system and the air was thick with humidity and the streets were littered with dark puddles. A wispy fog had formed over the streets as the temperature began to drop. The sounds of the city were accompanied by the usual orchestra of nighttime insects that rose and fell to the rhythm of an unseen conductor.
Draida and Sylvia had crossed the Sonets River as dusk fell and were stealthily making their way through the streets of Lydia, but it wasn’t easy.
Frequently, Sylvia would stumble into Draida or step on the back of his ankles. It was infinitely more difficult to travel quietly while unable to see where to step. Since originally becoming invisible, the pair had been unable to reverse the effect.
“I don’t get it.” Sylvia complained. “When I first put this bracelet on it was way too big for me, but now I can’t seem to pull it off.”
“It probably can’t be pulled off while the enchantment is up.” Draida guessed.
So far, progress had been frustratingly slow. After entering the city, they had crossed paths with several guards. Whenever this happened, the pair would have to skirt silently passed them, often losing each other in the process. They had to resort to using strange, indiscernible sounds to finally find each other without attracting unwanted attention. After one instance of losing each other entirely, they had agreed that holding hands was the best way to keep up with one another.
“Your hand is cold.” Sylvia whispered.
“I was thinking the same of your hand.” Draida laughed.
“Don’t you think it’s weird?” Sylvia asked. “We should be sweating, but I feel almost cold.”
“I think it’s an effect of the magic in these bracelets.” Draida replied. “Raskas told me once that some magic types would affect how you felt.”
“What do you mean?”
Draida thought for a moment. “Some spells can make you feel happiness, or make you become really tired, or mess with what you see or hear. Some can even affect the area around you, but that’s mostly in powerful illusionary magic. But still, that’s probably why we’re not getting hot.”
“Did you learn all of that from Raskas?” Sylvia asked.
“I read his books sometimes.” Draida replied.
He pulled at Sylvia’s arm. “This way.”
They took a familiar shortcut behind a lively pub called the Crescent. The muffled voices and laughter echoed from within as they passed.
The sounds of the Crescent soon faded into the distance behind them and the fresh scent of summer rain was replaced by the familiar odor of fish. They crept down a short and decrepit wooden staircase before coming to Fisherman’s Point.
It was the largest dock in Lydia and several dozen ships were moored here at any given time. Here and there, deep voices could be heard from among the ships as well as the sudden gurgles and splashes from unseen river creatures that lived in the darkness beneath the pier.
“Look Draida.” Sylvia whispered tugging on his arm. “It’s the Leviathan!”
“T-the flying ship Leviathan?” Draida sputtered with astonishment. “What’s it doing here?”
“No clue.” Sylvia whispered. “There must be something important going on if they’re here...”
The Leviathan was the most famous battleship of the land, and rightly so, because it was the only working airship in the world.
The Leviathan sat silently in the water. Although none of its cabin lights were lit, the entire ship glowed eerily in the darkness. Perhaps it was the silvery material it had been made from, or perhaps a protective enchantment placed over the ship. Either way, Draida was completely bedazzled at the sight of it.
“I’d bet they’ve got some great things in there.” Draida said slowly. “If we could just—”
“What are you thinking?” Sylvia shot harshly. “That’s the Leviathan! You wouldn’t stand a chance of getting on board without getting caught.”
“We’re invisible!” Draida said, a little too loudly. A few confused fishermen glanced in their direction but lost interest when they saw nothing.
“For how long?” Sylvia hissed, “What if we get on board and the magic runs out? They would put us under the prisons for something like that. That goes without saying that we haven’t gone five seconds without running into each other.”
“I was just saying,” Draida added in a barely audible whisper, “that it’d be interesting.”
“You never just say anything is interesting, Draida.” Sylvia replied skeptically. “Besides, we still need find Raskas. We’re already running late.”
“You think he knows it’s here?” Draida asked. “If he knew…”
“Are we still talking about this?” Sylvia asked scrupulously. “Look at it, Draida. Do you really think it’s possible? Even Raskas wouldn’t try it. I doubt even the Piper’s would.”
Draida sighed as he stared at the glowing form of the Leviathan. “You’re right.” He admitted at last. “Let’s go find Raskas.”
“Good idea.” Sylvia replied.
The pair turned from the pier and hurried on their way. The path was dark and overgrown, and the Sonets River flowed quietly on their left, and an old stone wall ran along to the right. The path gradually rose away from the river and a cobblestone street replaced the tall grass. Draida and Sylvia slipped over a low place in the wall and soon spotted Raskas. He was sitting on the stone wall sifting through a tiny leather pouch. His auburn hair was matted to his head, and his clothes were completely drenched.
He grumbled to himself as he sifted through the tiny bag. His eyes flickered in Sylvia and Draida’s direction for an instant, and in an exaggerated motion, Raskas reached around his waist as if to scratch an itch, and with a flick of his wrist the tiny leather bag had vanished from sight.
“Who’s there?” he called.
“It’s just us.” Draida answered. “We’re using the cloaks.”
“You’re welcome.” Raskas said aloud.
Draida felt a gentle breeze passed over him, and the air seem suddenly warmer.
Raskas smiled and waved at Draida and Sylvia.
“I wondered when you two would finally get here,” he said. “Are you enjoying the Shadow Cloaks?”
Sylvia and Draida shared a moment of shock as they realized that they were completely visible again. Raskas seemed to be amused by their puzzled expressions. “You’re welcome.” He repeated slowly. “That’s the command word to deactivate the power of the bracelets.”
Draida and Sylvia shared a moment of humility.
“So that’s the word…” Sylvia groaned, eyeing the onyx bracelet around her wrist.
“Could it have been more obvious…?” Draida muttered.
“You couldn’t have just told us the word, could you?” Sylvia sighed. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to become visible for hours!”
Raskas grinned crookedly in response. “It’s more fun my way. Besides, you needed some practice. I couldn’t have you two stumbling around all night and getting us caught, now could I?”
Raskas slid down from the stone wall and landed with a splash.
“Did you take a swim?” Draida asked, noticing out the puddle at Raskas’s feet.
Raskas glanced down at his clothes for a moment and pursed his lips. “Well…” He replied. “The storm—”
“—Was over hours ago.” Sylvia interjected. “Why then would you still be wet Raskas?”
Draida could tell that Raskas was trying very hard to avoid looking directly into Sylvia’s piercing gaze.
“Well…”
Raskas seemed to be suddenly interested in a firefly that bobbled around his head.
“I knew it.” Draida said slyly. “You were checking out the Leviathan, weren’t you?”
Draida nudged Sylvia. “I told you.”
With an innocent smile in Sylvia’s direction, Raskas shrugged slightly.
Sylvia glared at Raskas and then Draida before finally throwing up her hands in disgust. “You two are hopeless!” she groaned.
“Calm down, Sylvia.” Raskas said gently. “We are not going after the Leviathan.”
Draida hung his head woefully.
“While I will admit; I’m extremely tempted,” Raskas continued, “I certainly don’t have a death wish.”
“You promise that you won’t?” Sylvia asked. Her almond eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at Raskas—one expression that Draida was all-too-familiar with.
“I promise.” he said genuinely.
Draida sighed. “Well, now that we’ve sworn off the heist of a lifetime, tell me: Why did we come here tonight?”
“Oh, that.” Raskas answered with a wink. “Follow me and I’ll explain.”
He had barely taken a step when he paused and turned to face them again.
“I’d almost forgotten; thank you.”
At the command word, the three onyx bracelets tingled and a chilled air surrounded the trio. Hidden once again under the opaque veil of shadow, Raskas started down the street.
Sylvia and Draida had no problem following the invisible Raskas because a firefly had conveniently landed on his head and it remained there, blinking in its own lazy little rhythm. Right away, Draida felt Sylvia’s hand close around his once again, and a silent smile crossed his face.
“Stay close now.” Raskas whispered as they moved gradually into more brightly lit areas of the city. The buildings around them became larger and more extravagant. Beautiful flowers lined the streets, and the trees sparkled with magical multi-colored lights. In the center of the largest garden, there was an enchanted statue that was crafted entirely of water. It bore the likeness of a beautiful mermaid. She would periodically outstretch her watery arms and shower the flowers that surrounded her, but arms were currently crossed as if she was upset at the stormy weather for taking her job away.
The Lydian guards here were greater in number, and seemed to lurk around every corner, but they seemed more casual than others that Draida was accustomed too.
“The guards here aren’t used to any action.” Raskas whispered as they spotted a pair of them chatting idly on a bench. “There is never any crime here.”
“Why?” Sylvia wondered aloud.
“We’re in the Magic Quarter; there are magical barriers up everywhere.” Draida replied. “People are much more afraid of magic than the city guard.”
“What about the Pipers?” Sylvia whispered. “Don’t they usually go for magical--?”
“Quiet!” Raskas hissed. A second pair of guards strolled out of a corner directly in front of the trio. “Do not say that name here!
There was a momentarily silence before Raskas spoke again.
Did you two hear that Archmage Demus was attacked a few days ago?”
“Yes.”
“It was them,” Raskas said. “Since then, the archmage has enchanted this whole area so that no Piper can pass—”
Raskas cursed under his breath.
“Now Sylvia has gotten me saying the name,” he muttered. “Anyway, since there are barriers up that specifically target them, maybe it would be best if we didn’t go around saying the name. Saying it might activate some spell, and I would really rather not have to deal with any spells cast by an archmage.”
Raskas moved ahead and he was careful to stick to the shadows wherever possible. In the light, Raskas’s distorted outline could be seen, but in the darkness he became quite invisible. Draida was thankful for the fascinated firefly that followed Raskas. It had become an invaluable ally in following his invisible leader.
Lydia’s Magic Quarter was lit by torches every few yards, some of them burned a deep shade of blue, and Raskas seemed to go to great lengths to avoid them. “See the blue flames Draida? Those are enchanted to dispel magic. If we get too close, our bracelets will fail.”
Draida’s mouth was agape beneath his cloak. He was lost somewhere between caution and fascination. All of the talk of magic and enchantments, the beautiful but treacherous Magic Quarter, and the onyx bracelets; Draida was captivated.
“I’d give anything to be able to do cast spells like these.” He wished quietly.
“If this place represents what can be done with magic, then I agree.” Sylvia whispered beside him. “You’ll be a great sorcerer one day Draida.” As Sylvia said this, Draida felt her thumb gently side across his, and his stomach rolled over.
The trio had moved into the center of the Magic Quarter where every alley was illuminated by the enchanted blue torches so they had to risk moving among the guards and the many illuminated areas on the main cobblestone street. Here the street made a great circle around a lake. Guards patrolled the streets and several more stood silently at the edge of the water. In the center of the lake, Draida noticed a small island with what looked to be a shrine built on it.
A speck of light appeared from behind the shrine as a boat slowly drifted into view. A lantern hung from the front of a small boat that was manned by three men.
“More guards, probably.” Sylvia said.
“Why do they have guards in the lake?” Draida asked.
“Why indeed…” Raskas replied cryptically. “Perhaps because that’s where we need to go.”
A single wooden pier extended a short distance into the lake. Raskas seemed to expect the pair of blue torches that stood at the end of it because he moved immediately into a tall growth of cattails on the water’s edge.
“We’ll have to swim out from underneath the pier.” He whispered as he waded out further. “Move as quietly as possible.”
Steam rose from the lake’s warm water, and tiny black beetles darted here and there in random patterns. The trio slid deeper into the water under the shadow of the pier. Shortly after the three of them had moved safely into the darkness under the pier, Draida felt suddenly warmer and Raskas appeared in front of him.
Raskas spun around, wide-eyed. The blue torches on the shore exploded into a brilliant white flame, which illuminated the entire area.
Raskas glanced around frantically as several guards hurried in their direction.
“This way!” Raskas said. “Quickly!”
Raskas began pulling himself through the water using the bottom crossbars of the pier. Draida and Sylvia followed suit and they began moving as quickly as they could away from the revealing lights. From where he was, Draida could see that the guards’ boat was also moving in the direction of the pier. Raised voices echoed from all sides as the trio moved toward the safety of the darkness.
Raskas came to an abrupt halt, and with a raised palm, he signaled Draida and Sylvia to do the same. Someone was running across the pier above them. Draida slid a little deeper into the water as the footsteps passed overhead.
“They haven’t seen us yet.” Raskas whispered. “Move slowly, follow me.”
Two torches flared to life in the boat as the guards searched the lake. The three guards in it didn’t appear to have seen the trio enter the water. Draida’s eyes followed each tiny ripple caused by his movement through the water. He held his breath as they drifted out from underneath the pier and into the light, where unfriendly eyes might notice them.
Someone was shouting on the opposite side of the lake but Draida couldn’t make out the words. Raskas paused where the pier was closest to the water, separated by only a couple of inches. He looked at Draida and Sylvia and raised a finger to his lips.
Draida heard more footsteps overhead. His own thundering heartbeat was so ferocious that Draida found himself wondering if the guards would be able to hear it. More guards were on the bridge now; one of them came to a halt directly above them.
The three of them clung to the underside of the pier in a circle. Raskas seemed to be completely focused on the guards above, but Sylvia’s face wasn’t as calm. She closed her eyes and took deep, slow breaths. It was something that she had always done to calm herself whenever she was frightened. Draida turned his attention towards the boat as it drew nearer to the pier. One of the men was standing and waving a lantern in the direction of the guards that stood on top of the bridge.
“Something set off two of the wards, but we didn’t see anything.” he called.
Above the trio, a guard called back. “Could it be the Pipers?”
The guard in the boat shrugged. “We haven’t seen any movement in the waters.”
“Keep looking,” the bridge guard ordered. “The rest of us will search the area nearby.”
Draida couldn’t hear what was said next, footsteps thundered past overhead as the guards went to search elsewhere.
Raskas waited until the boat had moved farther away before signaling Draida and Sylvia to move again. Sylvia’s eyes popped open as Draida pulled himself past her.
“Close call,” she whispered.
Draida nodded. “Yeah, but we’re not out of the water yet.”
Sylvia grinned. “Literally.”
Raskas was perched on a submerged crossbar at the end of the pier. He was watching the little boat move about the lake. “This could become quite difficult.” he muttered as Sylvia and Draida came up behind him.
“What do we need to do?” Sylvia asked.
Raskas sighed, “We need that boat. Only, how do we get it?”
“There are three guards in there.” Draida whispered thoughtfully.
Raskas grinned suddenly and turned to Sylvia. “I have a plan,” he declared. “Sylvia, swim over to the island and lay on the shore so that they can see you. Draida and I will use the cloaks to take the boat when they notice you.”
Sylvia seemed confused, but she knew not to question Raskas, his plans always worked brilliantly. She waited for the boat to disappear behind the shrine before swimming away. As soon as she left, Raskas produced a tiny leather bag. He pulled what appeared to be two small stones from it before tucking it away again.
“Take this,” he said handing one of them to Draida. “When I say so, toss it into the boat.”
“What does it—?”
“You’ll see.” Raskas promised. “We should be out of range of those pesky torches now.”
He was right; at the command word the pair of them vanished again under a vale of opaque shadow.
“Now we swim.” Raskas said. “Stay close.”
Draida kicked off of the pier behind Raskas. It was easier to follow Raskas in the water because of the trail of ripples he left behind. While the cloaks worked in the water, it became quickly apparent that they weren’t designed for it. Raskas looked like a strange human-shaped bubble in the water. If not for the dark, an observant eye could have easily seen them.
“Sylvia made it.” Raskas said.
Draida could see her dark shape lying on the island like a shipwrecked sailor. Now it was up to Raskas and Draida. The guards appeared around the shrine in their little boat and would soon notice her. Raskas and Draida stopped in the shallows around the island and waited.
“Now we just have to hope they see her and not us.” Raskas whispered.
Draida watched the boat drifting nearer, guided by lantern light. There was a shout and then the lantern rose higher into the air.
“It’s working.” Raskas chuckled.
The boat changed course and began moving quickly towards Sylvia. Soon enough it would pass close to Draida and Raskas.
“Get ready…” Raskas whispered as the boat came upon them. “Toss it, now!”
Both of the stones landed perfectly in the boat and a thick cloud of gas engulfed the startled guards before they could cry out. Through the cloud, Draida heard three distinctive thuds as the guards fell into the boat.
“Grab the boat and help me pull it to the island.” Raskas said once the smoke had cleared. “Sylvia, get up!”
Draida moved around to the back of the boat and looked down at the guards. They all appeared to be sleeping quite pleasantly, even though the awkward angles that they had fallen would suggest otherwise.
Once Raskas and Draida had pulled the boat to shore, Raskas reached in and grabbed the nearest guard. “Help me pull them out.” He said.
Draida and Raskas lifted the first guard, but his lolling head rolled back and caught the corner of the boat with a sickening crack. “He’ll feel that tomorrow.” Raskas said with a grimace.
Sylvia looked down at their limp bodies and turned on Raskas. “What did you do to them?” she asked.
“The same thing I did to you and Draida this morning.” Raskas replied as he and Draida placed the second guard on the sand beside the first. “They’re sleeping. It’s harmless enough.”
Sylvia glared at him.
“What?” Raskas said throwing his hands up defensively. “I had to test it!”
“Not on us!” Sylvia growled pointing to a bruise on her forehead. “I hit my head! And it still hurts!”
Raskas slid the third and final guard down on the beach, and began unfastening his tunic.
“How long were you two asleep?” Raskas asked.
“Hours.” Draida replied.
“Good.” Raskas finished a pulled the tunic off of the guard. “We’ll have plenty of time before this bunch wakes up.”
Raskas threw the tunic at Sylvia. “Pull that on.”
Raskas went to work unfastening the second tunic. “You’ll two will have to get in the boat and paddle around so that the guards on the shore don’t get suspicious.”
“Here,” he said, passing the second tunic to Draida. “I’ll signal you when I’m ready for you to pick me up.”
“What are you going to do?” Sylvia asked.
“I’ll explain it later,” Raskas answered as he began unfastening the third tunic for himself. “You two need to get that boat back into the water before the guards spot us.”
Draida pulled the tunic on over his shirt and he and Sylvia pushed the boat back into the water and started off. Draida found a paddle and adjusted the boat the get a better view of Raskas. “What’s he up too?” Sylvia wondered aloud.
Draida was wondering the same thing. There was nothing on the island aside from the small shrine, and even that was nothing more than a roof supported by four slender pillars. “Beats me.” Draida muttered. “But you know Raskas; he’s always got a plan.”
He turned away from Raskas and began alternating his paddle strokes on either side of the boat to get it back on course.
Sylvia’s gaze shifted toward the shore. “Do you think anyone noticed?”
“If they did, I think we’d know by now.”
Sylvia smiled and she closed her eyes. She dangled her hand over the edge, twirling her fingers in the water.
Draida watched her as he continued to paddle. From her calm expression, Draida found it hard to believe that only moments before, they taken this boat by force.
Sylvia opened her eyes and noticed Draida staring.
“You seem peaceful.” Draida said grinning.
“I love being on the water.” She muttered. She stared up into the cloudy night sky. “Maybe one day, I’ll have a ship of my own. I’ll sail the world and feel the wind in my hair, and smell the sea...”
Draida’s smile faltered.
“Goblins didn’t steal the boat.” He confessed suddenly. “But it didn’t float away either.”
Sylvia smiled back at him, but didn’t speak.
“I took it.” Draida continued. “I wanted to make it special for you—something like your dream ship. I tried to attach a sail but it was too big—and too heavy—and it sank… I was too embarrassed to tell you.”
“Don’t be embarrassed.” Sylvia replied. “It was a sweet thought. Besides it didn’t actually sink. I found it a few days later. The current carried it downriver, where it got caught on some rocks.”
Sylvia went back to swirling her fingers in the water.
“It’s still there too.”
“Maybe I’ll try again.” Draida said with a quick shrug.
“Let’s do it together.” Sylvia replied brightly. “Besides, if I’m going to be a respectable captain, I can’t have people knowing that my very first ship sank.”
“Captain Sylvia.” Draida mused. “It has a certain ring to it.”
Sylvia grinned at him.
“And you would be, Draida… the witch!” she said, dramatically.
Draida made a face. “Archmage Draida.” he corrected.
Sylvia giggled and began swirling her fingers in the water again.
“It has a certain… ring to it,” she said before closing her eyes again.

* * *
Draida absently prodded at his small campfire. The sun had fallen beyond the horizon long ago, and Lydia glimmered peacefully in the distance.
Your dream came true… Archmage Draida.
“This was not my dream.” Draida replied quietly. “Not at all.”
Draida stared intently at the fire. “There is still time to make things right.”
You mean to go through with your plan then?
Draida didn’t answer.
You will not succeed. No witch, wizard, or even archmage has ever succeeded in this endeavor.
“Then I will fail.” Draida muttered. “But at least I will know that I have tried.”
This attempt will likely cost you your life. Are you aware of this?
Again, Draida did not respond.
Try then, if you must, though it would be wise to remember, that your time is severely limited.
“I am well aware.” Draida replied with a thoughtful glance towards the Sonets River. It appeared a pale blue in the moonlight as it snaked its way around Lydia and out of sight among the dark trees. A long silence passed as Draida considered the possibility this might very well be the last time he’d gaze upon Lydia in the twilight.
Draida rubbed his eyes and stretched out on the grass. The night air was filled with the chirps and songs of countless insects. That song would always play during Lydia’s summer nights, whether he was here or not. At least some things never changed, Draida thought before he fell asleep.