Fate of the Crown

by Paul J Bennett

  "Or something else is occupying their mind," suggested Aldus.

  "Like what?" asked Hayley.

  "I don't know," admitted Aldus, "but I'm thinking the temple will tell us what we need."

  "Did you see the scholar?" asked Revi.

  "Yes, he was talking to one of the guards. Their leader, I should think."

  "Could you tell his mood? Was he angry?"

  "No," replied the ranger, "quite the contrary, actually, he seemed quite pleased with something."

  Revi looked to Aldus Hearn who nodded gravely.

  "We need to get into that temple as soon as possible," said Revi. "I know it sounds trite, but they could be on the verge of a monumental discovery."

  * * *

  By the time the sun set, they were in position. The rune stone was in Heward's possession, the better to safeguard it should they be discovered. He waited some distance away, ready to charge in if he should be called. The other four were back to their original position, behind the pile of dirt, with Hayley peeking around it, watching the dig as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

  "The workers are leaving now," whispered the ranger, "though for some reason they've left all the torches lit."

  "Convenient for us," said Revi.

  "A little too convenient if you ask me," said Beverly. "It could be a trap."

  "I don't think so," said Aldus Hearn.

  "Why do you say that?" asked Beverly.

  "You remember I mentioned Mezin earlier?"

  "The sage?" said Revi.

  "Yes, I was apprenticed to him for some time, long before I discovered the magic within me. He was obsessed with the great Archmage Meghara. Have you heard of her?"

  "You mean THE Meghara," corrected Revi. "Yes, we've heard of her, or rather all of them."

  "All of them? What do you mean?” said Aldus in surprise.

  "We learned from the Orcs that Meghara is a title, not an individual," said Beverly.

  "Fascinating," mused Aldus, "you must tell me more of this."

  "You're getting off target," said Hayley. "You were telling us about the sage, Mezin?"

  "Yes, that's right," the elderly mage continued. "Anyway, Mezin was obsessed with finding her tower."

  "Her tower?" said Hayley, turning to Revi. "It appears that you're not the only one missing a tower."

  "How does one misplace a tower?" asked Aldus.

  "It's not missing," replied Revi, "but my master, Andronicus didn't have a chance to tell me where it was before he died."

  "How unfortunate," said Aldus.

  "Please," said Beverly, "can you keep on topic?" She turned to Hayley for help, "Are all mages this easily distracted?"

  "I'm afraid so," the ranger replied, "it must be in their blood."

  "Master Hearn," said Beverly, "concentrate. You were talking about Meghara's Tower."

  "Yes," the old man continued. "Scholars have been searching for it for years. Mezin thought he'd discovered the location through an old tome he found in the great library at Shrewesdale, and so we set off on an expedition. His set up was very similar to what we see here, though perhaps fewer people."

  "I see," said Beverly, "but how is this relevant?"

  "Well," continued Aldus, "he kept the dig lit at all times. He would often wander down there at night, while the workers were sleeping. He said it was easier to concentrate without all the distractions."

  "So you're saying there's a chance that our scholarly friend might wander down there tonight?" asked Beverly. "Why didn't you just say that?"

  "I just did," defended Hearn.

  Beverly shook her head, "All right, so we'll have to be on the lookout for this man, Summers. Anything else we should know?"

  "Not that I can think of," said Hearn.

  "Nor I," added Revi.

  "Hayley?" asked Beverly.

  "All set, Bev. Give the order, and I'll lead the way."

  "Consider it given," said the knight.

  Hayley rose, making her way around the mound of dirt. The ground dropped where the earth had been removed to reveal the temple, but the descent was gradual, more of a slope than a drop. Hayley led, with the others following, keeping to the shadows where possible.

  It didn't take long to reach the entrance. The expedition had not only removed all the dirt from around the temple, but they had also removed the doors. Hayley could see the strange indents where the door used to pivot on its centre.

  A stack of unlit torches and a lantern sat beside the entrance. The ranger took one, entering the dark corridor before her. She waited till she was down the hall and around the corner before stopping to light it. Beverly saw the sparks as steel met flint and then a small flame leaped to life as the fire took hold.

  "You know I could have used my orb of light," Revi reminded her.

  "It might draw attention," said Hayley. "It's too bright."

  "That's the trouble with being a powerful caster," said Hearn, "it's so hard to reduce magical effects."

  "It is, isn't it,” agreed Revi.

  "Here we go again," said Hayley, shaking her head.

  "Yes," agreed Beverly, "this mutual admiration is getting a little thick, don't you think?"

  The ranger led the way, the two mages following while Beverly brought up the rear, keeping an ear open for any activity.

  "There should be a four-way intersection just up here," said Hayley, holding the lantern before her. "We'll cross through and head into the waiting room. Just beyond that should be the room with the magical flame."

  "How do you know it's a waiting room?" asked Hearn.

  "We don't," said Revi, "but we had to call it something. It seemed logical that people would wait somewhere before stepping through the portal, so the name made sense."

  "I'm surprised there's no glow here," said Beverly.

  "I'm not," said Revi. "All indications are that the flame here was extinguished. I believe that's why we couldn't open a gate to this location."

  "Here we are," announced the ranger. "Watch your step, there are stones all over the floor."

  "Time for my spell, I think," said Revi. "We're far enough into the temple now, no one will notice." He uttered an incantation, and a ball of light appeared, hovering over his hand.

  In Uxley, there had been a pedestal of stone with a green flame floating above it, but here it was disassembled. Instead, the stones were spread about the floor, their runes facing upward. Some had parchment beneath them with hastily scribbled notes.

  "What's this?" asked Hearn.

  "I think they're trying to decipher the meaning of the runes," said Revi.

  "By the looks of it they've had some success," added Hearn. "More than three-quarters of them are labelled."

  "Indeed," agreed Revi.

  Aldus Hearn turned his attention to the rest of the room. "What's down this corridor?" he asked.

  "That leads to another chamber," replied Beverly. "In Uxley we found slates there."

  "Slates?"

  "Yes, it's how the Saurians kept records. Thin slabs of stone with writing on them. Sometimes the writing is scratched, other times painted, but always in their tongue."

  "Fascinating," said Hearn, "I should like to take a look if I might."

  "I'll take you," said Beverly. "Hayley, give me the lantern while you stay here and look after your mage."

  "I like that," said Hayley, handing over the light. "Revi, did you know you're my mage?"

  "What?" asked Revi, still staring at the rune stones.

  "Never mind," said Hayley, "I can see that you're busy."

  Hearn stepped through the archway that led to the other chamber, which was the same size as the flame room. At some point in time, there must have been a structure here for evidence of a shelf remained, its wood mostly rotted away.

  "There's a casting hall down there," said Beverly, "and then it dead ends. We think it was used to train mages in ranged magic." She pointed at the corridor that ran to the east.

  "There seems to be
something glowing," observed Hearn. "Let me shield this." He stood before the lantern, blocking its light. Sure enough, a blue glow emanated from the casting hall.

  Beverly drew closer, and Hearn, who had now placed the lantern on the floor, followed. At the end of the short corridor was a glass cylinder with metal caps at each end and a glowing blue liquid held within.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  "Essence of magic," said Hearn in awe, "or mana, if you prefer that term." He turned to call out, "Revi, you must come and see this."

  It didn't take long for the Life Mage to appear, Hayley quick on his heels. Revi brought his orb of light, revealing the cylinder in more detail.

  "Good Gods," said Revi in astonishment.

  "I don't understand," said Hayley. "What, exactly, is it?"

  "It's pure magical energy," said Revi, "the same thing that gives a mage their power. It's the essence that's within us."

  "Where would they get that from?" asked the ranger.

  "They presumably took it from a mage. I can think of no other place it exists."

  "More than one mage, I suspect," added Hearn. "It would take many to fill a container of that size."

  "Agreed," said Revi.

  "How would they do that? Remove it from a mage, I mean?" asked Hayley.

  "A good question," said Hearn. "Through a spell, I would suspect. We know that Necromancers can leech power from other mages, perhaps it's a variation on that."

  "Why is it here?" asked Beverly. "You don't think they found it here, do you?"

  "No," said Revi, "this cylinder looks more recent."

  "Yes," agreed Hearn, "though I cannot fathom where it came from, its purpose seems clear. They must have thought to use it to power the flame."

  "Would that even work?" asked the ranger.

  "They likely thought it would," said Revi.

  "How rare is that stuff?" asked Beverly.

  "Very rare," said Hearn, "perhaps the rarest of all liquids. It must have taken a lot of work to gather so much."

  "Then we take it," said Beverly.

  "To do what?" asked Hearn.

  "To deny it to our enemies, they must value it highly. If we take it, it will cripple their plans, don't you think?"

  "I do," agreed Revi, "though we must take care when transporting it. There's no telling what might happen if the container were to break."

  "What do you mean?" asked Hayley.

  "That is raw magical energy," said Revi. "It could open a rift or bring forth foul creatures beyond our understanding."

  "Or it could just make a mess," added Hearn. "They are all possible outcomes."

  "You're not exactly filling me with confidence," said Beverly, "but we need to get moving. We can't linger here all night."

  "I'll take it," the ranger said, pulling off her cloak.

  "Wrap it carefully, Hayley," said Revi.

  "Yes," said Hearn, "we don't want it to break."

  "You've made that abundantly clear," she replied.

  "Let's go," said Beverly, "we need to get back to camp and make some plans."

  * * *

  Heward held the cylinder, examining its contents. "This is quite the discovery you've made. Do we return to Tewsbury now?"

  "No," said Revi, "we need Summers."

  "You have these, isn't that enough?" asked Heward, hefting the cylinder and looking to the rune stone before them.

  "Yes," agreed Revi, "but we don't know how much has been passed on to Penelope."

  "And," added Hearn, "we need Summers' notes."

  "Then let's attack their camp in the morning and take them," said Heward.

  "He might have time to destroy his notes," pleaded Hearn.

  "I have a better idea," said Beverly.

  "We're listening, Bev. Tell us what you're thinking."

  "Revi, imagine you're this scholar, Summers. Your camp is attacked. What is the first thing you do?"

  "I grab my research and run," said the mage.

  "Wouldn't you be more interested in getting away?" asked the ranger.

  "Without my research?" Revi replied. "I think not!"

  "Precisely," said Beverly. "What I propose is that we have Heward and the horsemen attack the camp from the west. We'll deploy Hayley and the Orcs to the east. They'll keep an eye out for Summers fleeing the scene."

  "Wouldn't he just go after a horse?" asked Hayley.

  "I can take care of that," offered Hearn. "Rest assured, he won't be riding anywhere."

  "That's it then," said Beverly. "First thing tomorrow morning we'll carry out the operation."

  "The princess always likes to name her operations," said Hayley. "How about operation 'Rock and a Hard Place'."

  Beverly grinned, "I like it. Now, let's get some sleep, people, it's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

  Twenty-Eight

  The Raid

  Summer 962 MC

  Heward and Beverly sat on their horses, waiting for the early morning mist to dissipate.

  "How much longer?" asked the Axe.

  "Till we see Shellbreaker," Beverly replied. "When he circles the camp, we'll know the others are in position."

  "What about Hearn?" he asked.

  "What about him?"

  "How do we know he's in position?"

  "Revi will know, he can see through the bird's eyes."

  "I still can't get used to these mages," said Heward.

  "They're not so bad once you get to know them," she replied.

  The mist grew thinner, and soon they could make out the shapes of tents in the distance.

  "Any time now," said Heward. "I can see a group of people over by the fire. One of them looks like that scholar of yours."

  "Keep an eye on him," she said, "while I watch for the bird, we don't want to miss the signal." A moment later Beverly spotted Shellbreaker, his black wings letting him coast on a current of air. "I see him. It's time to move forward."

  They rode forth, the other Bodden horse to left and right forming a ragged line.

  "Loosen up the formation," she called out, "we're supposed to be raiders, not professional soldiers."

  The horses drew closer to the camp, the distinctive jingle of their harnesses breaking the stillness of the early morning air.

  Someone, perhaps a guard, shouted out a warning and soon the call was taken up throughout the camp. Men were running back and forth, seeking weapons. Beverly's eyes locked on the scholar who rushed towards a tent. She adjusted her angle of approach to give him some time, and her men followed suit.

  Heward had already drawn his axe, and now he spurred forward. A sentry tried to spear him, but the knight's weapon cut through the flimsy wooden shaft and buried itself into the man’s chest. The knight gave a mighty heave, freeing it, and continued his advance.

  Beverly stabbed out absently, cutting into a soldier's arm. The man fell back, clutching the wound while she scanned the area once more for the scholar.

  She spotted him emerging from a nearby tent, a book tucked securely under his arm. He looked around wildly in a state of panic. Beverly cut to the south then roared a challenge. Summers heard the sound and fled northward, toward the horses.

  Aldus Hearn looked across the field to where the horses grazed. He heard cries of alarm in the distance, so he raised his hands and began casting. The familiar buzz drew closer and then he released the spell. He felt the wave leave him, could almost see it as it travelled across the field to the waiting horses.

  One moment they were grazing happily, the next they were looking up in his direction. He continued the incantation, and the beasts started trotting toward him, beckoned by his magic. The horses were quite cooperative, but the guards were less so. A cry of alarm rang out as soon as the mounts started moving. Moments later, two soldiers came running toward the Earth Mage.

  Hearn watched them come closer, his spell of animal summoning now complete. Holding his hands up in the air again, he used the words of power. Small lights gathered around his fingertips, an
d then he lowered his hands, pointing them at the ground before him. The lights sank into the earth, to be replaced by four figures of light that gradually took form.

  The guards slowed as they witnessed the power of his magic, then stopped as the lights coalesced into the forms of wolves. It didn't take long for the guards to react; they quickly turned and ran in fear. Hearn thought to send the wolves in pursuit but decided against it. After all, they might be needed elsewhere.

  Revi's eyes were shut while Hayley waited beside him, watching the camp from the east. "Can you see him?" she asked.

  "Yes," he said, his head bobbing up and down. "He's heading north toward the horses, then again, maybe not."

  "Why, what's happening?"

  "Someone's running south, toward him in a panic. They're waving him off."

  "Aldus must be doing his part," she mused.

  "He's turning toward us," said Revi. "You'll see him any time now. In fact," he opened his eyes and pointed, "right about there."

  On cue, Summers appeared, running for all he was worth, but instead of heading for the woods, he picked a large fallen tree to dive behind. He turned his back to the woods and watched the camp.

  "What's he doing?" complained Revi. "He's supposed to run into the woods."

  "He's scared," said Hayley, "he's looking for help."

  "Well, I'm not waiting any longer," said the mage, and began casting his spell. The air buzzed with energy as he called forth the magic within him.

  Hayley had seen it all before, of course, but never tired of watching him exercise his arcane power. A moment later the scholar fell to the forest floor in a deep slumber.

  "Go," yelled Hayley, pointing. Four Orcs leaped to their feet. Two ran with their bows notched, ready to take down any opposition, while the other's headed straight for Summers. Soon, they were standing over him, binding his arms and legs. They hefted the unfortunate scholar into the air, carrying him back to the wood line as the others covered their retreat.

  "We have him," said Hayley.

  "Good," said Revi. "Get him back out of the way, and I'll give the signal." His hands began to move again, and the familiar orb of light rose into the air.