Grishel's Feather

by Guy Antibes

  Corina called a serving maid over who cleared the plates and soon returned with a meal for Jack.

  “No choices at this time of night,” the serving maid said with a smile at Jack, who felt he had to smile back.

  Fasher’s wife let Jack eat for a few minutes. “Don’t let Fasher get to you,” she said. “He is very impressed by your accomplishments, and it takes a lot to impress my man.”

  Jack stopped eating. “He has a practiced way of making me feel foolish.” The comments about the bridge still burned within him.

  “Isn’t he right about the bridge?”

  Was Corina going to start in on him, Jack thought?

  “The burning bridge has good points and bad points. I was thinking about giving us some time to get farther up the road. Honestly, asking anyone when we were last seen will prompt the Black Fingers to turn back east.”

  “You may be right. Fasher has his own mind.”

  “Don’t we all,” Jack said. “I don’t mean to gripe. He gave me the chance to do something with my life.”

  Corina smiled. “I know that. You gave me the same chance, and here we are. He will return once he has made some inquiries and then—”

  “And then?” Fasher said, standing right behind Corina.

  “And then we will leave the inn immediately? Am I right?” she asked.

  “As usual, my love. Get your things. There is a fort a bit more than half a day’s ride to the east and then to the north. We will set a trap for our pursuers. We can’t have them following us all the way to Raker Falls, and we can’t fight them alone, regardless of what visions of grandeur dance in our heads.” Fasher said the last sentence looking at Jack.

  Fasher changed their names at the inn’s register to their real ones before they mounted again and traveled eastward in the night. Fasher and Corina created floating lights that illuminated the way for their horses in the dark. They stopped the few people they passed to exchange a few pleasantries. Jack wasn’t used to traveling to draw attention, but he soon got the hang of it.

  Breakfast consisted of bread, meat, and two jugs of ale purchased at an inn after the sun rose. Fasher made sure he called Jack and Corina by name when ordering the food and drink.

  Before noon, Fasher took a right turn at a village crossroads. He made sure the innkeeper knew they headed south, but Fasher led them around the village back to the north. Less than an hour away, they came to a fort nestled in a wood on one side of the road with a large parade ground cut out of a wheat field on the other side.

  Fasher headed straight to the administration building, the only two-story building within the rock stockade. They tied up their horses and entered.

  “Argus Chickadee,” Fasher asked the duty officer.

  “I’ll see if he’s in.”

  “No need,” an erect gray-haired man said, walking down the stairs. “Fasher, it has been years.”

  “Indeed it has, Argus. Let me introduce you to Corina, my new wife, and my helper, Jack Winder.”

  Argus looked at Fasher. “A real helper?”

  Jack’s mentor nodded. “As real as one can get.”

  “I’m glad to meet you, Jack,” Argus said, extending his hand.

  Jack took it and saw the man smile as he felt Fasher’s friend pull out some energy.

  “You talked to him last night?” Jack asked Fasher.

  “I did. Let us talk. I don’t know how much time we have to relay our story and get prepared for an ambush.”

  “The Royal Corandian Army doesn’t do ambushes,” Argus said.

  Fasher raised his hand. “Just listen to us.”

  “Upstairs,” Argus said.

  The fort commander, Argus, and three other officers heard Fasher and Jack talk about their three recent experiences with Black Fingers in Corand.

  “I hadn’t thought they would be so bold, so soon. Their organization is growing, of course, but this is anarchy,” Argus said.

  “The Black Finger Society has no respect for Corandian law,” Fasher said. “They can’t be allowed to ride from place to place to murder people.”

  “Fifty riders, you say? All wizards?” the fort commander asked.

  Jack nodded. “At least.”

  Fasher told them of their flight from the inn the previous night.

  “So you want us to obliterate them? I’m sorry, the army doesn’t slaughter the citizens it has sworn to protect in the name of the king of Corand,” the commander said.

  “So you refuse to protect those who the Black Fingers choose to kill? Don’t you see a problem here?” Jack said.

  Fasher shot him a peeved look, but Jack couldn’t believe the commander refused to do anything.

  “I see a problem, but my hands are tied.”

  “But Black Fingers? Are you afraid of them?” Jack said.

  The commander turned red. “I’ll not be lectured by a boy barely old enough to carry a sword in my forces.”

  “The boy helped turn back twenty Black Fingers in Rockedge. He is intemperate, to be sure, but he has killed more Black Finger wizards than you have,” Fasher said.

  His sudden defense surprised Jack. Fasher continued, “I will communicate with my contacts in Dorkansee. They will be able to let Argus know what the king thinks.”

  The commander looked at Argus. “He can do that?”

  Argus nodded. “He can. You might want to reconsider and specify rules of engagement. Your forces don’t have to attack the Black Fingers. If what Fasher says is correct, they will start any conflict on their own.”

  The commander looked at his officers. They looked like they supported Argus’s approach. “Very well. We will visibly station two units. One ahead and one behind the Black Fingers if they take the road toward Tesoria.” He looked at Fasher. “You get your way this time, Fasher Tempest.”

  “I can give compliments to Dorkansee as well complain, Commander,” Fasher said.

  The commander only grunted and left the room with Argus staying behind.

  “You still don’t want to participate in the fighting?” Argus asked Fasher.

  “Jack can represent me in any conflict. I will be there, ready to heal, protected by my lovely wife, Corina,” Fasher said, smiling at her.

  “I congratulate you. I will make sure we have one hundred fifty troops and all of the thirty wizards in the fort on the road within four hours. We haven’t had enough action to keep everyone on their toes. Even if the Black Finger wizards don’t fight, it will be a useful exercise. You can rest in here while you wait. I will send in some refreshments.” Argus grinned. “I’ll make sure the commander is behind our operation.”

  Jack watched the door close behind the army wizard. “One hundred eighty troops against fifty Black Fingers?”

  Fasher nodded, but he didn’t smile. “There will be loss of life, just as there was in Rockedge,” he said. “I’m not particularly happy we have to do this, but it is necessary. If the Black Finger Society is allowed to roam Corand, the country will be turned into a shadow of itself.”

  “I saw it first hand,” Jack said. “They nearly succeeded in Tesoria.”

  “And they prevailed in Kadellia. The world can’t let that sore fester, but there is little I can do about that,” Fasher said. “Today, our focus is here, mustering the troops and getting them in position.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  ~

  A rgus provided better armor to Jack, Fasher, and Corina including shields. They sat on their horses in the back column, watching the entire Black Finger column ride by. Jack counted sixty-three wizards in the group. With army armor and helmets on, the wizard column wouldn’t have recognized Fasher, Corina, or Jack.

  The Black Fingers passed the marshaled forces standing in groups with just a few of them mounted, as Jack and his friends were. The wizards’ hands were on their sheathed wands. Jack could feel the malevolence in their stares.

  Argus had gone ahead and would let Fasher know if the Black Finger’s attacked. They would only have to
wait a few minutes.

  “At least the commander now knows they were after us,” Corina said.

  “I doubted that would be the problem.” Fasher gazed down the road and then closed his eyes. “We need to move forward.” He looked around. “Officer? The wizards have chosen to fight. We need to help your fellow soldiers.”

  Jack checked the chinstrap of his helmet and took a deep breath before clutching Eldora’s box at this neck. It was time. He followed the lead of the officer Fasher had talked to and galloped to the front of the clearing.

  They reached four Black Finger riders heading north, away from the conflict, and quickly dispatched them. Jack didn’t have to take part in that action, but soon they caught sight of the fighting in the road ahead of them, and a few wizard bolts headed their way, splashing harmlessly as they rode through.

  The horses began to slow up as the intensity of the wizard bolts increased. Jack dismounted more conventionally than he had in the village and walked toward the conflict. Jack held out his shield as he advanced on the wizards.

  Most of the Black Finger attention was on the soldiers ahead, but when Jack began to shoot at the thighs and buttocks of the Black Fingers, more of them turned around and began to throw fire and wizard bolts.

  The spears of fire didn’t reach the army wizards, but the bolts began to splash against the soldiers’ shields. Jack’s head snapped back a bit when a bolt hit his helmet square in the forehead. The time for playing games had passed.

  He slapped bolts and thin threads of fire, not Takia’s fire, at the Black Fingers facing them. The army wizards began to throw everything they had at the Black Fingers, followed by a close attack by the mundane soldiers.

  The fighting became bloody as the soldiers converged from both sides on the Black Fingers. Jack started using the red-cuffed bracer to put out fires on Corandian soldiers. He was tempted to wade into the fray, but saving the soldiers’ lives seemed to be just as important when the army was doing such an efficient job of destroying the Black Fingers.

  He paused and looked at a few Black Fingers who were more effective with their magic. The losses were piling up for the army, and that meant that Jack would have to move closer. A small cluster of Black Fingers mercilessly sprayed fire spears at the soldiers. Jack would give them a more generous taste of their own medicine.

  He grasped the warded box at his throat and lifted his sword and incinerated the wizards with Takia’s fire. The wizards tried in vain to put the fire out, but they all fell to the ground. Those Black Fingers must have been leaders since their demise seemed to take the fight out of the wizards, and they began to surrender.

  By the time Fasher arrived with the army healers, Jack had figured there were only between ten and fifteen Black Finger wizards to save. Jack looked at his sword and sighed. The guard would need repair again, and he knew there wasn’t anyone skilled enough in Raker Falls to do the work, so he would lose access to Takia’s fire for a while. After looking at the charred wizards, Jack was okay with that. He could see why Fasher could turn away from army wizardry. Unfortunately, Jack thought, he had a tougher stomach than his mentor about such things.

  Jack sat on the ground among the soldiers talking about the fight. This was the first real action for half of them. Some were shocked by the violence of the battle, and others were nervously excited that they made it through the skirmish alive.

  “Armor really helps,” one of the soldiers said. He sported a wrapped upper arm that was hit by a wizard bolt. Luckily he wasn’t that close to the wizard who shot it.

  Jack was surprised by the lack of aim, even using wands. No one noticed any wizard who could steer their bolts like Jack did. He guessed it was another advantage of being a helper, but one day, he would face someone with the same power as he had but who possessed more skill. Still, all of them, including Jack, didn’t come through the fight with the Black Wizards without some wound, even if it was a slight burn.

  “I’m glad that swords can kill them,” another soldier said.

  “If you don’t die getting near enough to fight,” a woman said. “That’s why we need army wizards to help us get close.”

  “Shields,” Jack said. “Armor protects you from wizard bolts and some of the fire,” he said. “The fire is the worst, but they have to be close to use it.”

  “And that leaves them vulnerable,” a soldier said.

  Jack listened to them swap tips, now that they had been through a fight with wizards. He wondered how many more there would be.

  An hour later, Fasher and Corina found him still talking it up with the soldiers.

  “Time to go. The commander told me to thank you for your work. He would have prevailed regardless, but at a greater cost to the army and to Corand,” Fasher said.

  Jack located his horse, which had carried his bags from the fort and mounted up. Argus rode back to their position and said goodbye.

  “Your helper proved himself today,” the army wizard said.

  “He usually does, when he has to,” Fasher said.

  Corina bumped her husband. “He did really well.”

  Fasher shrugged. “He led the rear forces. Jack really didn’t have a choice. Right, Jack?”

  Jack nodded. Fasher was right, but Jack took the “usually does” as a compliment. They rode out with the wizard contingent that waved to the trio when they turned right at the crossroads, and the army continued north.

  “We took care of them,” Corina said.

  Fasher turned back to look at Jack, who followed them, leading the packhorse and raised his eyebrows. “Do you think we did?”

  “Sixty less Black Fingers to fight tomorrow, but all we really did was end the immediate threat,” Jack said.

  Fasher nodded. “Jack is right. We have reduced the population of Black Finger wizards, but there are many left in Corand and even more outside the country.”

  “Will they all be after us?” Corina asked.

  Fasher shrugged. “Hard to say, but one thing is certain, we aren’t through with them.”

  ~

  Jack had to grin when they passed the last town before they took the road to Raker Falls. The road had been quiet all the way from where they fought the Black Finger contingent, but as they approached Raker Falls, he got an uneasy feeling. They stopped a mile from the village at Jack’s urging.

  “Something isn’t right. There should be people out in the fields,” Jack said. “We haven’t passed anyone I know.”

  Fasher nodded. “I’m afraid getting into Raker Falls might not be as easy as I had hoped.” He looked at Corina and pulled her to him. “We will get through this,” he said.

  “We shouldn’t enter the village on this road,” Jack said.

  “You know the back ways of the village better than I do.” Fasher grabbed onto Corina’s reins. “We should hide the horses and proceed on foot.”

  Jack was about to suggest that, but Fasher beat him to it. His mentor was the senior person in their group, from an age, an experience, and a magical standpoint, but Fasher wouldn’t be the one to fight. This time, Jack didn’t have an army or even Fasher to back him up. So he nodded and took the reins of his horse and the packhorse and took off on the left side of the road where there would be more cover.

  Once they were in the wood that skirted the north side of the Raker Falls, Jack noticed a few villagers scurrying from place to place, but there should have been five or six times more people going about their business.

  “We will go to the Ephram house,” Fasher said.

  “Not until we look around,” Jack said. “If you were a Black Finger, wouldn’t you commandeer the best house in the village?”

  Fasher nodded. “Then what do you suggest?”

  “We can tie our horses up in the back of my father’s workshop. It’s on this side of town, and the river bends on the village side of it so we won’t have to cross a bridge.”

  Jack led the way to an open shed that his father used to dry wood. There generally was an open ba
y, so that was where they tied their horses and put on their armor.

  Jack’s brother-in-law was messing about in the yard, but he was the only one. Jack called out to him to come to the fence.

  “Bill. Over here!”

  Bill trotted over to the fence. “Jack! What are you doing out there?”

  “I just returned, but what is going on? Are there Black Finger wizards in town?

  “Ten or fifteen. They arrived three days ago from that cave you went to. They haven’t killed anyone yet, but there have been threats aplenty.”

  “Where are they staying?”

  “That I do know. They kicked the Ephrams out of their mansion…” Jack looked at Fasher, who grunted, “They had to move into the inn. A few Black Fingers are staying at Fasher’s house. Some woman just joined them,” Bill said.

  “Myra Pulini.”

  “That might be her name. The mayor told everyone to stay inside their houses, but your father ordered me to clean the yard while he worked on some projects that need finishing.”

  That sounded like his father, Jack thought.

  “Where is Penny Ephram?”

  “She is in our house with Tanner Simple. They turned the monk back into a Black Finger, might have done the same with the woman. They are the ones staying at Fasher’s house. What are you planning to do?”

  “Take back the village,” Jack said. “Go on about your business and don’t tell a soul that we are here, or you will incur the wrath of Alderach.”

  Fasher barked out a laugh behind him. Jack looked back and shrugged. “Alderach might be watching over us.”

  “I’m sure he is,” Fasher said. “One never knows. It is funny to hear you invoke him.”

  Jack left the fence. “We will go to my father’s house. I know a back way, but we will have to cross a rickety bridge my father built a long time ago.”

  “I think we can handle a bit more danger,” Corina said.

  The levity was a welcome relief for Jack. If they could wake up Penny, they would have another wizard to help. They would need every bit of help to save the village.