Chapter One

As he promised the Golden Dragon, Jaascin was setting out on his quest to find the third dragon jewel. He had no idea where that quest would take him. Normally in a quest, one would know where he must go. Jaascin had no idea, where he might find that jewel. He did not even know if he could acquire that third jewel, when and if he found it. He had no idea what would happen if and when he acquired that third jewel. The only thing Jaascin did know is approximately what it would look like. He already had the other two. He did know they had great wizard power, although just how great that power was, he was yet to discover. All of this did not greatly concern Jaascin, but that was Jaascin. His wanderings had taken him to some exotic and sometimes dangerous places. It was late spring, when Jaascin said goodbye to Syalai.

“I said I would stay until late spring. It is time I set out on my quest,” Jaascin told Syalai. Syalai gave him a sad smile as she came into his outstretched arms. “Give my best regards to your mother and father. Give the council my thanks for the wonderful treatment I received this past winter. Let the heads, of the University and the School of Mages, know that I have left. They all knew I would eventually leave your country,” Jaascin told her as he held her.

He was leaving the city in the North Country. Here is where Jaascin had finally found his friend Triantez. It was not the forbidding frozen country he thought he would find. He found an advanced culture he was not prepared to find. It was also here that he met the Golden Dragon and gave his word he would search for the third dragon jewel.

The story had grown that Jaascin had convinced the dragon to leave the country. As far as everyone was concerned there had been only one dragon. Only Jaascin, Syalai and her parents knew there had actually been four dragons, two of which were golden dragons. Syalai did nothing to refute that story. Actually, Syalai was convinced that really was the case. He had agreed to their request, therefore they had no reason to come back. Jaascin did admit he met with the dragon, but he refused to claim he was responsible for the dragon leaving. The council voted him a handsome reward, which Syalai advised him to take.

"They would be terribly hurt if you refused to accept this reward. It would be the diplomatic thing to accept. It would make me look wonderful for having assisted you in this task," Syalai told him with a sly smile. "Besides, this way everyone will welcome you back when you return."

"The important thing is, will you welcome me back?" asked Jaascin with a smile when he bid her goodbye. Syalai gave him a hug and a kiss.

"I will await your return." She then watched as he turned his horses and rode out toward the desert. She did not let him see there was a tear in her eye. She would definitely miss this strange, unusual and wonderful man whom she also knew could prove to be a fearful opponent. She still didn’t really know him or who he really was, but she knew she could trust him. She knew that the gold and jewels, he left with her to keep for him, would not draw him back. Wealth was not important to Jaascin. He made do what he had.

He planned first to head south, to again find and visit the Elven forest. He had promised the beautiful Princess Cyrellai he would return. The vision of a beautiful Elven Princess had never left Jaascin. He was looking forward to seeing Cyrellai again. He promised the Elven Queen he would come with Cyrellai to visit the palace. The King and Queen wanted to introduce him to their court. He might be able to find some information, in the Elven King's city, that would help him in his search.

Jaascin planned to go through the desert to the sea, rather than back through the land of the dwarves. That is the way he had come to discover this Northern Country. He sent word to Shekim, now well established as a Duchess, to send his Elven horses south. He had left them with her when he set out across the land of the dwarves. He had not wanted to take them into the frozen north country. Shekim was able to contact the Northern Elves. These Elves had helped Jaascin in his war to win back the Duchey for Shekim. They promised to take the Elven horses to Cyrellai's home. There they would be well cared for until Jaascin arrived. The arrival of Jaascin's horses would let Cyrellai know he was coming.

Jaascin was leaving a very wealthy man. He had never been in this position before. The last year had been a wonderful period, and a reversal of his prior years. He could now live like the noble everyone claimed he seemed to be.

It would take him four days of hard riding to reach a coastal port. He was traveling with a group of merchants who were going on a buying expedition for the Association of Merchants. They did not anticipate any trouble on their trip to the port. They were taveling through a desert country where no one could really live. True there were watering holes along the way that provided camping sites where trees grew and there was green grass. The rest of it was dry sand and rocks except when the wet winds swept in from the sea and the desert became alive with beautiful flowers. Most of the rain, however fell on the mountain areas beyond the desert. Part of it was a high desert plateau before it descended down to the sea. None of the merchants had any trouble before. They had traveled this way for many years. They took only a small band of guards with them so they could travel fast.

About a day and a half out, Jaascin was surveying the area ahead for danger. He had a habit of doing this now that he had the two gems and was beginning to learn how to use their power. No one could detect what he was doing. He had not expected to find any danger. Suddenly he felt a probe of energy. Someone, mage, wizard or sorcerer was searching them out. For what reason Jaascin did not know. Jaascin immediately called up an enchantment to make it look like they had a large contingent of guards with them.

When the probe was called back, Jaascin followed it back. The Mage directing the probe was a relatively powerful mage, but a kind of a renegade. He was not quite on the par with the power Triantez now had, but probably close to the best of the Mages in the city. Jaascin sent a gentle probe of his own and learned there was a small, armed group of outlaws with the Mage. Jaascin easily penetrated the shield this Mage put up. They were looking to surprise a rich caravan of merchants and rob them. Jaascin figured his enchantment would keep the merchants with him free from attack. The outlaws would think it too dangerous to attack this large a guard force.

Jaascin decided to have Triantez, in league with Suieyana, launch a wizard attack on this Mage and destroy most of his power. This Mage was not completely evil. He was with the outlaws to build his wealth. Then, using this, he could again find an honorable position with some noble. For this reason, Jaascin did not want to destroy this Mage, only temporarily destroy some of his power as a warning. Jaascin had become aware that Suieyana had more power than he originally thought. Besides, her power was somewhat different from that of Triantez. It was a power Jaascin knew little about, except he knew it was not evil.

That night, when they made camp, he made contact with Triantez. He made some suggestions to Triantez and Suieyana how they could best proceed. Using Jaascin's knowledge of where the Mage was, they could launch a surprise attack before he could put up his defenses. The Mage would never know from where the attack came. Jaascin also asked Triantez to contact Syalai and tell her to have one of the major Mages accompany any caravans from now on and to send adequate guards.

Jaascin then put this problem out of his mind. Triantez would do a good job and it would enhance his standing with the council. Getting information so soon from the caravan, would also raise Syalai in the eyes of the council as well as the merchants. Everyone would be sure that Jaascin, with his wizard power, had contacted Syalai. He had informed her of the brigands and the Mage waiting to ambush merchant caravans from the city and returning to the city. They would have no idea how he contacted her, but they would have no doubt that he did. With the information, she had put together a plan to take care of that problem. No one would doubt that this is what happened.

Jaascin and the merchants reached the port city without further incident. Only the three chief merchants knew that Jaascin had foiled a possible attack on them. They would confirm Syalai's story when they returned. That is all he had told them. This would, of course, make everyone sure that Jaascin had contacted Syalai.

Within a week after they reached the seaport, he found a ship that was planning to land at a port farther south. From there he could go overland to reach the Elven Forest's northern boundary. He figured, when he finally reached that boundary, Aphrael would inform Cyrellai where she could meet Jaascin. Jaascin knew he could seek the safety of the Elven Forest and find Cyrellai. The two gems, he now knew, would work anywhere. Even within the magic energy of the Elven Forest. They were very powerful gems.

During the week he spent in this port city, Jaascin was not idle. Ships from many places called at this port. This was a major port in this area and the only one that served the North Country. It was a very colorful, bustling place filled with people from all over the known world. Jaascin frequented the taverns along the waterfront. These were the places the sailors and other travelers could be found. Here he could get information from all over the world.

As usual, Jaascin could make friends with all kinds of people. He had done this all his life. He really was a seeker after knowledge. His natural charm overcame the reticence of even the most suspicious and the most bashful. He found an old Sorcerer who had just come from the east. The master of the ship had hired him to sail with them to ward off any evil. The ship was in port for a week, getting cargo to carry to another port. Jaascin, showed the old man enough of his power, so the old man became friendly. He had some wonderful tales to tell of the countries he had traveled and the sights he had seen.

Of particular interest to Jaascin was his story of an unusual pure white gem he had seen around the neck of a young woman. It had been the gift of a young merchant who had found it at a street bazaar in an eastern country. It had looked pretty so he had bought it for this woman he was courting. This had happened many years ago according to the old man. He thought the woman would be at least in her mid-years by now. The old Mage did not indicate he felt any power from this jewel. He had remembered it because it was an unusual gem. Jaascin filed that story away in his mind. He would have to check that out, in spite of the fact it happened many years ago. An unusual gem like that should attract some attention because it was different. However, because it was different, it might not be considered of great value. If that was the case, it might make it easier for Jaascin to obtain that gem when he found it.

Jaascin also got into conversation with the master of another ship. Jaascin invited this captain to dine with him. Jaascin told him he was a merchant looking for rare items from many countries. Jaascin said his clients were very particular in what they bought, but they were willing to pay good money for what interested them. One of the things, Jaascin said he was looking for, was any unusual jewels. In the Captain's stories, that night at dinner, he told about seeing a beggar woman trying to sell, a white jewel on a chain, to a merchant. It was a very unusual jewel. The merchant decided not to buy it. He said it made him nervous, and he doubted if he would be able to sell that for a decent price. The locale of this story was many thousand miles from the locale of the first story of the white jewel. It was also not as many years ago.

Jaascin filed this information away in his mind. He would have to check this out also. At least he was hearing about white jewels, and apparently if it was the right one, no one seemed to have realized its power. Jaascin was wondering why some powerful sorcerer had not felt its power and realized its value. This did not seem to be the case. Jaascin knew that stories of a powerful jewel of this kind should have surfaced. Most sorcerers were not like Jaascin. They would have tried to use it to enhance their standing and the wealth they could acquire through its use. They would have made this increase in their power known. It would soon become widely known that the jewel supplied the power.

That night Jaascin started thinking back on how he came to have the two jewels. The red one was the only thing he stole from the old sorcerer when he fled his house. The sorcerer had said he thought it had power, but the old man had never tested that power. He just kept it hanging in the room where he worked. One night, Jaascin had freed a young woman, who the sorcerer was keeping imprisoned. The sorcerer had bought her from pirates. Jaascin had bought her passage on a ship, sailing that night for her home country. Jaascin knew the sorcerer would immediately suspect Jaascin.

That night Jaascin stole into the sorcerer's workshop, stole the jewel, and fled. He had been attracted to that jewel. He didn't know why at that time. He thought he might get some money for it sometime. He could never bring himself to sell it, even when he could have used some money. Jaascin now suspected the gem would not allow him to sell it. However, it was not until much later that Jaascin began to realize the gem really did have special powers. It took him even longer to begin to test those powers.

The old Mage, who had given Jaascin the second jewel, had said Jaascin was the only one who could detect the power coming from the jewel in the box. The Mage had it for a long time yet never saw fit to give it to anyone else or to try to sell it. Jaascin wondered if only certain people could detect the power of the jewels. He knew that not even Triantez could detect the power of the red jewel he wore always hidden under his tunic. But why him. Jaascin was not the usual Wizard. He didn't even particularly want to be a Wizard. He had fun with the little wizard tricks. They had gotten him into places he would not have gotten into otherwise. The power, he was coming to realize he had, came in handy many times in his life. At those times he had not hesitated to use that power.

He actually enjoyed the power and knowledge of the healer, much more than the power of the Wizard. His actions, especially the early years of his life, could not be said to be blameless. At times he really had been a scoundrel and a knave. He never robbed the poor. Nor did he knowingly hurt those who were relatively helpless. He actually tried to lend a hand. However he had not been so honorable regarding the rich and the powerful, especially those who took advantage of others. Now, of course, it was becoming easy to be honorable. Well, honorable to a certain point and in certain instances at least.

He thought back to his conversations with the Golden Dragon. There did not seem to be any hurry for the third jewel to be found. It was more that they wanted him to look for it while continuing his wanderings. He wondered if the dragon knew the jewel would only reveal its power to him. Maybe he had been chosen because he was who he was. If the dragons decided to take back the three jewels, when he finally found the third, who would mark his passing? He was an orphan and a wanderer. A man without a country or family. If he turned up missing, who would know? Jaascin laughed to himself. For some reason this thought did not bother him in the least. In fact it seemed to Jaascin to be rather humorous. He had faced that situation all of his life. Yet he continued to live and actually was now prospering.

Chapter One

As he promised the Golden Dragon, Jaascin was setting out on his quest to find the third dragon jewel. He had no idea where that quest would take him. Normally in a quest, one would know where he must go. Jaascin had no idea, where he might find that jewel. He did not even know if he could acquire that third jewel, when and if he found it. He had no idea what would happen if and when he acquired that third jewel. The only thing Jaascin did know is approximately what it would look like. He already had the other two. He did know they had great wizard power, although just how great that power was, he was yet to discover. All of this did not greatly concern Jaascin, but that was Jaascin. His wanderings had taken him to some exotic and sometimes dangerous places. It was late spring, when Jaascin said goodbye to Syalai.

“I said I would stay until late spring. It is time I set out on my quest,” Jaascin told Syalai. Syalai gave him a sad smile as she came into his outstretched arms. “Give my best regards to your mother and father. Give the council my thanks for the wonderful treatment I received this past winter. Let the heads, of the University and the School of Mages, know that I have left. They all knew I would eventually leave your country,” Jaascin told her as he held her.

He was leaving the city in the North Country. Here is where Jaascin had finally found his friend Triantez. It was not the forbidding frozen country he thought he would find. He found an advanced culture he was not prepared to find. It was also here that he met the Golden Dragon and gave his word he would search for the third dragon jewel.

The story had grown that Jaascin had convinced the dragon to leave the country. As far as everyone was concerned there had been only one dragon. Only Jaascin, Syalai and her parents knew there had actually been four dragons, two of which were golden dragons. Syalai did nothing to refute that story. Actually, Syalai was convinced that really was the case. He had agreed to their request, therefore they had no reason to come back. Jaascin did admit he met with the dragon, but he refused to claim he was responsible for the dragon leaving. The council voted him a handsome reward, which Syalai advised him to take.

"They would be terribly hurt if you refused to accept this reward. It would be the diplomatic thing to accept. It would make me look wonderful for having assisted you in this task," Syalai told him with a sly smile. "Besides, this way everyone will welcome you back when you return."

"The important thing is, will you welcome me back?" asked Jaascin with a smile when he bid her goodbye. Syalai gave him a hug and a kiss.

"I will await your return." She then watched as he turned his horses and rode out toward the desert. She did not let him see there was a tear in her eye. She would definitely miss this strange, unusual and wonderful man whom she also knew could prove to be a fearful opponent. She still didn’t really know him or who he really was, but she knew she could trust him. She knew that the gold and jewels, he left with her to keep for him, would not draw him back. Wealth was not important to Jaascin. He made do what he had.

He planned first to head south, to again find and visit the Elven forest. He had promised the beautiful Princess Cyrellai he would return. The vision of a beautiful Elven Princess had never left Jaascin. He was looking forward to seeing Cyrellai again. He promised the Elven Queen he would come with Cyrellai to visit the palace. The King and Queen wanted to introduce him to their court. He might be able to find some information, in the Elven King's city, that would help him in his search.

Jaascin planned to go through the desert to the sea, rather than back through the land of the dwarves. That is the way he had come to discover this Northern Country. He sent word to Shekim, now well established as a Duchess, to send his Elven horses south. He had left them with her when he set out across the land of the dwarves. He had not wanted to take them into the frozen north country. Shekim was able to contact the Northern Elves. These Elves had helped Jaascin in his war to win back the Duchey for Shekim. They promised to take the Elven horses to Cyrellai's home. There they would be well cared for until Jaascin arrived. The arrival of Jaascin's horses would let Cyrellai know he was coming.

Jaascin was leaving a very wealthy man. He had never been in this position before. The last year had been a wonderful period, and a reversal of his prior years. He could now live like the noble everyone claimed he seemed to be.

It would take him four days of hard riding to reach a coastal port. He was traveling with a group of merchants who were going on a buying expedition for the Association of Merchants. They did not anticipate any trouble on their trip to the port. They were taveling through a desert country where no one could really live. True there were watering holes along the way that provided camping sites where trees grew and there was green grass. The rest of it was dry sand and rocks except when the wet winds swept in from the sea and the desert became alive with beautiful flowers. Most of the rain, however fell on the mountain areas beyond the desert. Part of it was a high desert plateau before it descended down to the sea. None of the merchants had any trouble before. They had traveled this way for many years. They took only a small band of guards with them so they could travel fast.

About a day and a half out, Jaascin was surveying the area ahead for danger. He had a habit of doing this now that he had the two gems and was beginning to learn how to use their power. No one could detect what he was doing. He had not expected to find any danger. Suddenly he felt a probe of energy. Someone, mage, wizard or sorcerer was searching them out. For what reason Jaascin did not know. Jaascin immediately called up an enchantment to make it look like they had a large contingent of guards with them.

When the probe was called back, Jaascin followed it back. The Mage directing the probe was a relatively powerful mage, but a kind of a renegade. He was not quite on the par with the power Triantez now had, but probably close to the best of the Mages in the city. Jaascin sent a gentle probe of his own and learned there was a small, armed group of outlaws with the Mage. Jaascin easily penetrated the shield this Mage put up. They were looking to surprise a rich caravan of merchants and rob them. Jaascin figured his enchantment would keep the merchants with him free from attack. The outlaws would think it too dangerous to attack this large a guard force.

Jaascin decided to have Triantez, in league with Suieyana, launch a wizard attack on this Mage and destroy most of his power. This Mage was not completely evil. He was with the outlaws to build his wealth. Then, using this, he could again find an honorable position with some noble. For this reason, Jaascin did not want to destroy this Mage, only temporarily destroy some of his power as a warning. Jaascin had become aware that Suieyana had more power than he originally thought. Besides, her power was somewhat different from that of Triantez. It was a power Jaascin knew little about, except he knew it was not evil.

That night, when they made camp, he made contact with Triantez. He made some suggestions to Triantez and Suieyana how they could best proceed. Using Jaascin's knowledge of where the Mage was, they could launch a surprise attack before he could put up his defenses. The Mage would never know from where the attack came. Jaascin also asked Triantez to contact Syalai and tell her to have one of the major Mages accompany any caravans from now on and to send adequate guards.

Jaascin then put this problem out of his mind. Triantez would do a good job and it would enhance his standing with the council. Getting information so soon from the caravan, would also raise Syalai in the eyes of the council as well as the merchants. Everyone would be sure that Jaascin, with his wizard power, had contacted Syalai. He had informed her of the brigands and the Mage waiting to ambush merchant caravans from the city and returning to the city. They would have no idea how he contacted her, but they would have no doubt that he did. With the information, she had put together a plan to take care of that problem. No one would doubt that this is what happened.

Jaascin and the merchants reached the port city without further incident. Only the three chief merchants knew that Jaascin had foiled a possible attack on them. They would confirm Syalai's story when they returned. That is all he had told them. This would, of course, make everyone sure that Jaascin had contacted Syalai.

Within a week after they reached the seaport, he found a ship that was planning to land at a port farther south. From there he could go overland to reach the Elven Forest's northern boundary. He figured, when he finally reached that boundary, Aphrael would inform Cyrellai where she could meet Jaascin. Jaascin knew he could seek the safety of the Elven Forest and find Cyrellai. The two gems, he now knew, would work anywhere. Even within the magic energy of the Elven Forest. They were very powerful gems.

During the week he spent in this port city, Jaascin was not idle. Ships from many places called at this port. This was a major port in this area and the only one that served the North Country. It was a very colorful, bustling place filled with people from all over the known world. Jaascin frequented the taverns along the waterfront. These were the places the sailors and other travelers could be found. Here he could get information from all over the world.

As usual, Jaascin could make friends with all kinds of people. He had done this all his life. He really was a seeker after knowledge. His natural charm overcame the reticence of even the most suspicious and the most bashful. He found an old Sorcerer who had just come from the east. The master of the ship had hired him to sail with them to ward off any evil. The ship was in port for a week, getting cargo to carry to another port. Jaascin, showed the old man enough of his power, so the old man became friendly. He had some wonderful tales to tell of the countries he had traveled and the sights he had seen.

Of particular interest to Jaascin was his story of an unusual pure white gem he had seen around the neck of a young woman. It had been the gift of a young merchant who had found it at a street bazaar in an eastern country. It had looked pretty so he had bought it for this woman he was courting. This had happened many years ago according to the old man. He thought the woman would be at least in her mid-years by now. The old Mage did not indicate he felt any power from this jewel. He had remembered it because it was an unusual gem. Jaascin filed that story away in his mind. He would have to check that out, in spite of the fact it happened many years ago. An unusual gem like that should attract some attention because it was different. However, because it was different, it might not be considered of great value. If that was the case, it might make it easier for Jaascin to obtain that gem when he found it.

Jaascin also got into conversation with the master of another ship. Jaascin invited this captain to dine with him. Jaascin told him he was a merchant looking for rare items from many countries. Jaascin said his clients were very particular in what they bought, but they were willing to pay good money for what interested them. One of the things, Jaascin said he was looking for, was any unusual jewels. In the Captain's stories, that night at dinner, he told about seeing a beggar woman trying to sell, a white jewel on a chain, to a merchant. It was a very unusual jewel. The merchant decided not to buy it. He said it made him nervous, and he doubted if he would be able to sell that for a decent price. The locale of this story was many thousand miles from the locale of the first story of the white jewel. It was also not as many years ago.

Jaascin filed this information away in his mind. He would have to check this out also. At least he was hearing about white jewels, and apparently if it was the right one, no one seemed to have realized its power. Jaascin was wondering why some powerful sorcerer had not felt its power and realized its value. This did not seem to be the case. Jaascin knew that stories of a powerful jewel of this kind should have surfaced. Most sorcerers were not like Jaascin. They would have tried to use it to enhance their standing and the wealth they could acquire through its use. They would have made this increase in their power known. It would soon become widely known that the jewel supplied the power.

That night Jaascin started thinking back on how he came to have the two jewels. The red one was the only thing he stole from the old sorcerer when he fled his house. The sorcerer had said he thought it had power, but the old man had never tested that power. He just kept it hanging in the room where he worked. One night, Jaascin had freed a young woman, who the sorcerer was keeping imprisoned. The sorcerer had bought her from pirates. Jaascin had bought her passage on a ship, sailing that night for her home country. Jaascin knew the sorcerer would immediately suspect Jaascin.

That night Jaascin stole into the sorcerer's workshop, stole the jewel, and fled. He had been attracted to that jewel. He didn't know why at that time. He thought he might get some money for it sometime. He could never bring himself to sell it, even when he could have used some money. Jaascin now suspected the gem would not allow him to sell it. However, it was not until much later that Jaascin began to realize the gem really did have special powers. It took him even longer to begin to test those powers.

The old Mage, who had given Jaascin the second jewel, had said Jaascin was the only one who could detect the power coming from the jewel in the box. The Mage had it for a long time yet never saw fit to give it to anyone else or to try to sell it. Jaascin wondered if only certain people could detect the power of the jewels. He knew that not even Triantez could detect the power of the red jewel he wore always hidden under his tunic. But why him. Jaascin was not the usual Wizard. He didn't even particularly want to be a Wizard. He had fun with the little wizard tricks. They had gotten him into places he would not have gotten into otherwise. The power, he was coming to realize he had, came in handy many times in his life. At those times he had not hesitated to use that power.

He actually enjoyed the power and knowledge of the healer, much more than the power of the Wizard. His actions, especially the early years of his life, could not be said to be blameless. At times he really had been a scoundrel and a knave. He never robbed the poor. Nor did he knowingly hurt those who were relatively helpless. He actually tried to lend a hand. However he had not been so honorable regarding the rich and the powerful, especially those who took advantage of others. Now, of course, it was becoming easy to be honorable. Well, honorable to a certain point and in certain instances at least.

He thought back to his conversations with the Golden Dragon. There did not seem to be any hurry for the third jewel to be found. It was more that they wanted him to look for it while continuing his wanderings. He wondered if the dragon knew the jewel would only reveal its power to him. Maybe he had been chosen because he was who he was. If the dragons decided to take back the three jewels, when he finally found the third, who would mark his passing? He was an orphan and a wanderer. A man without a country or family. If he turned up missing, who would know? Jaascin laughed to himself. For some reason this thought did not bother him in the least. In fact it seemed to Jaascin to be rather humorous. He had faced that situation all of his life. Yet he continued to live and actually was now prospering.