The Weaving of Wells (Osric's Wand, Book Four) by Jack D. Albrecht Jr., Ashley Delay Page B

could not see or hear me. The land where the ship docked was lush and green, and I followed an old stone road, half buried in moss and underbrush, deep into a forest. I walked uphill for most of the day, and at the peak I realized I was on an island. There was water on all sides, and the mountain I had climbed was at the very center of the landmass. The only structure I saw was a tower at the peak of the mountain. It sat in a small lake nestled in a crater, and it almost felt as if no other lands existed but the one small island. There was no door to the tower. When I approached the tower by way of a rickety bridge, a glowing entrance appeared and I was able to go inside by crawling through. Inside was a stone basin in the floor, about three strides in width and half that in depth.” Serha spoke calmly but her voice conveyed her excitement and awe as she remembered how invigorating it had felt to stand near that circle of stone. “When I peered into the basin, a dark shadow crept across the floor and I felt as if I were suffocating. The closer it came to me the harder it was to breathe.
    “Just before I would have fallen unconscious, a strong wind blew through the tower and knocked a book to the floor. As the pages of the book fluttered in the wind, the shadow retreated from me and went into the bowl on the floor. Once inside, the darkness seemed unable to exit the circular area, but it grew much darker as it pooled in such a small space. The book looked similar to this one, but it had distinctively different markings on the front.
    “I knelt and looked closely at the shadow. Up very close, it looked like a massive army in marching formations. When I touched the book, it was obvious that my hand was not of my own body, but rather I was seeing everything through someone else’s eyes. When my hand made contact with the page, a bright light washed across the floor and the army of shadows dissolved.” Serha fell silent as she completed her tale, and she looked up to find genuine fascination and concern in the eyes of her companions.
    “I agree with you that you did not see the Well of Strands.” Eublin pushed his spectacles up his nose and scratched his head as he spoke. “From what Bridgett has described, it doesn’t fit with what we know. However, we have been researching other areas of concentrated power. Smaller, less powerful regions. If we can identify enough of the elements of your vision, perhaps we can pinpoint the location of the well you saw.”
    “The area you described does not sound like one of the locations we have identified from the journals and maps in Eublin’s collection. Tell me again what you saw before you entered the structure.” Aridis stared at the book’s well-worn binding as he listened to Serha speak.
    “Lush greenery along an overgrown stone road leading to the highest point at the center of the island. The tower sat at the center of a small lake in a crater on the top of the mountain.”
    “It sounds like one of the islands off the west coast of the Elven Realm. That might explain why it was an elven book that triggered the vision.” Aridis tugged on his beard and then looked up at Osric. “What do you think?”
    “I think we have a trip to pack for. If the vision is correct—and we have every reason to believe it is, after all that has happened—we need to find the other wells before Dredek does.”
    “What do you think it means?” Serha looked at the other three people in the room with a serious expression, asking for their interpretation even as she formed her own.
    “I would say it means our only chance of defeating Dredek’s army is in using the Well of Strands against him, but the smaller wells may be our key to understanding how to accomplish that.” Osric was already making a mental list of who he would need with him on the search for the well Serha had seen.
    “Perhaps it can tell us more than that. It is interesting that it looked like an army, but I believe the