Chapter 33
Gavin ushered Telanna, Elayna, and Sarres into the Citadel’s meeting room for the Conclave and conjured three chairs for them. Then, without missing a beat, he activated the mechanism in the meeting room that would summon the Conclave of the Great Houses. While he waited, Gavin looked at the tabletop, saw its surface decorated with the Glyph of Kirloth, and he couldn’t help but wonder how all the Archmagisters down through the centuries felt about using this table when Kirloth was supposedly long dead. Heh, if they had only known the truth.
Torval Mivar was the first to appear. Then, Lyssa. Sypara and Carth arrived at almost the exact same moment. As soon as Carth and Sypara vacated their beacons, Wynn and Braden arrived. They scanned the room, and their eyes soon spied the three elves sitting off to one side.
Lyssa spoke first, cutting through all the pleasantries as she said, “What has happened?”
“I’ve just been informed that Nirrock has taken Lillian and Mariana prisoner,” Gavin answered.
“And that’s not all,” Telanna announced. “Nirrock and a sizable portion of the elven government are dark elves.”
The new arrivals all stared at Telanna in silence, shocked by that revelation.
“How?” Torval asked at last. “How did that happen?”
Telanna offered a very human shrug. “It is assumed that Nirrock was the first and slowly moved others into positions of power. As you know, dark elves are physically indistinguishable from those of us who do not follow Milthas. It has only been in the past day and a half—perhaps, two days—that everyone has shown their true allegiance. If a government official follows Nirrock without question, especially in his capture of two Heirs to the Great Houses, it is fairly safe to assume they are dark elves as well. The bulk of the populace is frankly horrified at what he has done, and they are now calling for us to resume our traditional authority.”
“Us?” Gavin asked. “Perhaps you should explain that. I, for one, have no idea who you are referring to.”
Telanna gave a small smile. “Some of you may be aware that I am a druid—essentially a priestess of nature. What you may not know is that all elven druids are members of the Sylvan Synod, much like arcanists are members of the Society. In ages past, the Sylvan Synod served as the government of the elves, but over time, the Synod invested more and more civil authority in Nature’s Protector. We have already determined that Nirrock will be the last Nature’s Protector once this situation is resolved, and the Synod will resume its traditional authority in full. The key now is to resolve this situation without fracturing elven society any more than it already is.”
“Why come to us?” Sypara asked.
The elves each looked to one another before Telanna gave an almost apologetic half-smile. “Forgive me, and please do not take offense, but we did not come to the Conclave of the Great Houses. We did not even come to the Archmagister. We came to Gavin.”
Elayna looked at Gavin, and her lips quirked in what might have been a smile if allowed to mature. “I’m afraid I was not wholly honest with you when we first met, Gavin.”
Gavin frowned as he searched his memory for that meeting.
“Yes, you had just saved our lives,” Elayna continued, “but when you asked why we were traveling through Tel, I told a slight falsehood. I said we were on our way south to our embassy in Vushaar. We were on our way south, but we were seeking you. Grandmother told us that we would find the man to help rid us of the dark elves in Vushaar. Before we had the opportunity to plead our case to you, Bellos asked you to take on the mantle of Archmagister.”
Gavin chuckled. “Yeah…that certainly complicated things.”
“Wait…so, you’re saying Xanta sent you to Vushaar to look for Gavin?” Carth asked.
Elayna and Sarres both nodded.
“You’re taking this rather in stride,” Lyssa remarked, looking at Gavin.
Gavin shrugged. “Both Valthon and Bellos have meddled in my life already, even before Bellos dropped the gold robes on me. Why not Xanta, too?” He turned to Telanna. “So, how are we going to get my friends back?”
“We feel the first step is returning to Arundel with us,” the druid replied. “Once you’re there, you can better evaluate the situation and determine a course of action.”
“It’s all on me, huh?” Gavin asked, his lips quirking into an almost sardonic grin.
The elves looked to one another again and shared slightly uncomfortable expressions.
Now, Gavin grinned fully. “Well, I’m afraid it’ll have to be more than just me. Despite what you may think, my success is built—in part—by the people around me. Wynn, Braden—I’d like you to accompany me. I’ll send for Declan as well. Besides wanting to chronicle this for posterity, I’m sure he’ll have some valuable insights. I would take Xythe, but Holly has become rather enamored of her.”
“Jasper could watch her,” Wynn said. “He and Xythe have become surrogate siblings—if not parents—for her.”
Gavin nodded, struck by how well Wynn knew his apprentices. Turning back to Telanna, he asked, “Is that large a group feasible?”
“It is possible, though I would caution trying to bring too many more.”
“I honestly can’t think of anyone else I’d want to bring,” Gavin remarked, “but once I’m in Arundel, I can teleport back and forth if there’s someone else I need.” A thought occurred to him, and Gavin called out, “Nathrac!”
A column of fire that neither burned nor radiated heat erupted from the floor, delivering the Chief of the Citadel Guard.
“You called, Milord?” Nathrac asked, his deep voice resonating against everyone’s bones.
“Yes, thank you,” Gavin replied. “Nature’s Protector in the High Forest has taken Lillian and Mariana prisoner. I’m going to sort that out, and as long as I’m outside of Tel, you are responsible for carrying out the duties and authority of the Archmagister in my absence.”
“Of course, Milord. Such is as we already agreed.”
Gavin grinned. “I know. I just wanted to reiterate it before these witnesses so there would be less reason to question you.”
“Milord, I am a dragon over seven thousand years old. Do you really think anyone will go searching for reasons to question me?”
Now, Gavin laughed. “Perhaps not, but I try to head off trouble where I can.”
“When will you be leaving?”
Gavin looked to Telanna but got no answer from her, so he shrugged. “I’d assume within the hour.”
“Very well. I shall be ready.”
With that, another column of flame consumed Nathrac, and he vanished from the meeting room.
“Okay, that’s done,” Gavin remarked. “Wynn, would you collect Xythe while you and Braden get what you need for the journey? I’ll take care of rounding up Declan.”
Wynn nodded as he and Braden stood. They each invoked the Word of Transmutation to create a gateway, as each had different destinations, and vanished from the meeting room.
Gavin looked at his remaining associates. “Thank you for coming. I felt you needed to know the current situation, and I’ll do everything I can to bring them home safely.”
“None of us doubt that last part, Gavin,” Torval replied. “You’ve more than demonstrated that you always take care of your friends.”
“Right, then. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find a bard.”
Gavin strode through the door, the elves following in his wake as the Heads of the Great Houses teleported home.
* * *
Arundel was a striking sight. While Tel Mivar and the other province capitals were a testament to the power and foresight of Kirloth and the Apprentices, the elven capital was a study in crystal architecture. Gavin grinned like a child looking at a mountain of presents as he saw how the city’s structures acted like massive prisms for the sunlight, separating it out into its component colors.
“This is beautiful,” Gavin said. “How do you ever get anything accomplished? I’d want to
sit around looking at all the light rays.”
The three elves shared a look before turning back to Gavin. Telanna offered a very human shrug as she answered, “I guess we’re accustomed to it. Yes, of course, it’s beautiful…but we also grew up around it.”
“Right, then,” Gavin remarked, forcing himself to turn away from the optical splendor. “What’s next?”
“The Sylvan Synod would like to discuss the situation and how you want to handle it,” Telanna answered.
Gavin grinned. “I don’t know what they have in mind, but how I want to handle Nirrock capturing two of my people is very simple. He can return them to me unharmed, or I’m prepared to re-enact Kirloth’s duel with Milthas.”
Elayna and Sarres directed looks at Telanna as if to say, ‘Told you,’ while Telanna worked her jaw, clearly at a loss for words.
Braden gave an awkward cough and said, “Gavin, Kirloth’s duel with Milthas leveled half the city before it was over.”
Gavin turned to look at his former apprentice, his face devoid of any expression as he replied, “So?”
Telanna’s eyes widened just a bit, and her expression became one of barely contained terror, as if she wanted to ask what she’d gotten her people into but was too polite to say it.
Gavin turned to Telanna and shrugged. “Look…I don’t blame the Synod or the elves in general for the conduct of Nirrock and his faction. I’m not about to exact retribution on the entire elven people, but if I have to lay waste to a section of the city to get my people back safely, it’s not even a question for me. In truth, I shouldn’t be Archmagister because I’m Kirloth, the guy who’s supposed to serve as the silent threat to make everyone behave. You and I both know exactly what my mentor was, and you should have some idea of just how he would’ve handled this situation. I guarantee you…it wouldn’t have been pretty or restrained. Let’s go greet your Synod so I can shake their hands and make nice for a little bit, before I visit Nirrock and see how he wants to play this.”
Telanna looked to Elayna, her non-expression finally slipping. Elayna simply grinned.
“I tried to tell you how he’d react, sister,” Elayna said, still grinning. “Sarres and I saw it when the slavers took Kiri in Vushaar. He’s already made one object lesson for anyone who contemplates threatening anyone under his protection, and I’m thinking he’s considering making another one, since word obviously never reached Nirrock.”
“So, Telanna, where’s this Synod we’re supposed to meet?” Gavin asked.
“I…I think that it might be best if we show you where to find Nirrock,” Telanna replied.
Gavin shrugged again. “Fair enough. Let’s go.”
Telanna, Elayna, and Sarres led Gavin, Wynn, Braden, Declan, and Xythe through the streets of Arundel, drawing more than the occasional look. Eventually, they arrived at the charred and ruined Temple of Milthas that the elves had left undisturbed since Kirloth’s duel during the Godswar.
“Several years ago, Nirrock decided to start operating out of the ruined temple,” Telanna said while they walked down the wide boulevard that led to the massive structure.
“And no one considered that might mean something?” Gavin asked.
The elves shared a look between them, and Elayna said, “At the time, he had what sounded like good reasons for doing so.”
Gavin and Declan shared their own look, and Gavin managed to hold his tongue on any number of replies he could’ve made.
The elves stopped a hundred yards from the temple.
Telanna turned to Gavin. “We will go to ready the Sentinels of Nature. No one believes Nirrock will peacefully relinquish power. When the battle is joined, create a gateway, and we will assist you.”
“Keep Elayna or Sarres close,” Gavin responded. “I don’t know that I’m familiar enough with you for the gateway to work, but they traveled with me for several weeks.”
They nodded and left Gavin and his friends standing in the thoroughfare.
“Well,” Gavin said, pausing for a heavy sigh, “let’s go deal with this idiot.”
Chapter 34
Gavin led his friends into the ruined Temple of Milthas. The charred structure had long since aired out and no longer smelled of burned material or death, but the visual artifacts of Kirloth’s duel with Milthas still spoke to the raw energy and exigency of the battle.
“Where do you think we’ll find this guy?” Braden rumbled from his position off Gavin’s right shoulder.
Gavin scanned the corridor ahead of them, clicked his tongue once, and then a second time. “The primary shrine or sanctuary. That’s where he is.”
“What makes you say that?” Wynn asked.
“It’s where Marcus confronted Milthas,” Gavin replied. “I read that in his journal.”
“Marcus, is it?” Declan asked, and when Gavin turned, the bard regarded Gavin with a slight quirk of his lips that might become a smile.
Gavin shrugged. “It’s still difficult to think of him as Kirloth, sometimes. Besides, according to the old ways, I am now Kirloth, so it seems to me that it could get a bit confusing if I referred to him as Kirloth as well.”
Declan chuckled. “I think he’d prefer you think of him as Marcus more than anything else.”
The group fell into a companionable silence as they traversed the long corridor to the temple’s shrine. The layout of the temple made Gavin think it was designed to place Milthas at the center of attention and ensure he was at the forefront of everyone’s mind. It wasn’t long before they strode through the doors of the shrine, and Gavin wasn’t really that surprised to see that the statue and altar to Milthas had been restored and was well maintained, striking a sharp contrast against the rest of the ruined structure.
A gallery looked down on the shrine from the floor above, and an elf attired in finely tailored clothing stood at the center of the altar. Ten more elves stood along each wall that curved back toward the entrance, totaling twenty. As Gavin and his friends approached, the elf at the altar smiled and clapped.
“Hail and well met, I am Nirrock, Nature’s Protector and High Priest of Milthas. It seems the world truly has come full circle. Kirloth and his Apprentices walk upon the earth once more, and now, you face the wrath of the one, true God of Magic.”
Nirrock snapped his fingers, and the doors to the shrine swung closed, the clicks of the locks echoing throughout the space.
“If you beg for mercy,” Nirrock said, “I may choose to grant it. After all, you cannot escape us now.”
Gavin scanned the elves arrayed against him and his friends, and a smile slowly curled one side of his lips. “Nirrock, there’s something you seem not to have fully considered.”
“Oh? And just what is that, Kirloth?”
“You are correct; we are locked in here with you,” Gavin replied. “But that also means you are locked in here with us. If you return Lillian and Mariana to me unharmed, I will settle for turning you and your associates over to the Sylvan Synod.”
Nirrock sneered. “The primacy of you and your old alliance is over. I have come to restore my people to the worship of their rightful god. We outnumber you four to one, and there is no one coming to save you. Surrender, Kirloth, and declare before everyone that Milthas is the one true God of Magic, and I may spare your lives.”
“Four to one? You really should’ve brought more friends,” Gavin remarked. Closing his eyes, Gavin reached out into the ambient magic with his skathos, seeking Lillian’s and Mariana’s resonances. It was a gamble, yes, but it paid off. They were above him and to his right. Focusing on their resonance, Gavin cleared his mind of everything but his new intent. He would bring Lillian and Mariana with their clothes but not any restraints and simultaneously open gateways for the Sentinels. He didn’t think it would be as brutal as teleporting nearly five hundred people to the courtyard of the Vushaari palace, but…well…needs must.
“Well, Kirloth? Have you decided?” Nirrock demanded.
“I have,” Gavin replied and, tak
ing a deep breath, invoked the composite effect. “Paedryx-Paedryx.”
Lillian and Mariana appeared next to Gavin, their expressions full of bewilderment, as two massive arches of crackling sapphire energy appeared behind Gavin and his friends. Telanna, Elayna, and Sarres led twenty Sentinels into the shrine, all carrying readied weapons.
“Damn you,” Nirrock snarled. “Kill them all!”
More elves wearing Milthas’s colors streamed into the shrine through doors behind Nirrock, and both the Sentinels and Xythe erupted into action. Archers stepped to the edge of the gallery and readied their bows.
“Archers,” Gavin said.
Before any of his friends could react, Gavin formed his intent in his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it to invoke a composite effect, “Stynohs-Thraxys.”
Before the archers could even ready their bows, they and several of their compatriots died. The Divination Gavin pared with the Interation identified all those on the upper floors who could serve as reinforcements, including them as targets of the Interation as well. Gavin felt a little unsteady in the wake of the invocation, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.
Gavin turned to his former apprentices. “Stay close. We’re not fighters, so we’ll cover the galleries and watch for other archers or arcanists.”
Lillian, Mariana, Wynn, and Braden gave sharp nods and shifted their positions to watch the quarters of the shrine and gallery railing.
Gavin wasn’t sure whether the Synod wanted Nirrock alive or not, and he watched the elf for any sign he was about to bolt or cast. Nirrock’s expression grew increasingly desperate as the Sentinels and Xythe cut down more of his people, and he threw his hand up, crying out, “Milthas, the time of your revenge is at hand! Your children need you!”
The shrine rumbled, and Gavin felt something through his skathos, unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Within moments, the rumbling was so fierce that the melee in the shrine all but stopped, and Gavin couldn’t quite believe his eyes when the statue of Milthas took a ponderous step off its pedestal.
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