The Orb of Wrath (The Merchant's Destiny Book 1)

by Nic Weissman

  The prodigious archer armed her bow again but before she could fire again, something happened that Erion didn't expect. The spider bent its abdomen slightly at an odd angle, orienting it to the group and a strange white substance was thrown at them. The substance exploded, forming a million thin white threads, completely covering the elf and Mithir. It was like a giant spider web. None of them could move. The spider had also caught the young man. One of his legs had been almost completely covered by those infernal threads. It seemed he could move the rest of his body, and even use his mace, but he couldn't move. He hit the web with his mace, but the threads seemed tough and also had some elasticity. After a couple of attempts, he failed to break free.

  Erion drew his short sword and headed for the young man. The edge of the blade maybe could do a better job against that spider web. He thought a moment about Mithir, but he and the elf were so thickly covered by that swarm of threads, that it was obvious that it would take a while to free them. It seemed more effective to help the young man. As he walked toward him, sword drawn, the knight seemed to understand his intentions because he nodded gratefully as he raised his long sword. Then he lunged against the monster, leaving the protection of the circle and, a moment later, he dealt a powerful blow, breaking one of its huge paws. The spider was limping, but still moving briskly on its remaining seven legs.

  Erion slammed the threads that held the young man's leg. In the first attempt, he just ripped a few. He kept hitting as hard as he could and repeatedly, and very slowly, the filaments began to ease. He bent to continue cutting the filaments that now covered only the young man's knee. It was then that when he had a new and unpleasant surprise. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back. A fourth spider had crept through the tents and approached him. It had entered the clearing through the back of the camp, and with so much confusion, no one had seen it.

  The poison flowed quickly from the fangs of the spider, and Erion fell to the ground. His face was pale. He did not lose consciousness, but he couldn't move a muscle. The monster walked without stepping on him, and moved towards the young man, who at that time only had a foot immobilized. Erion could closely see the horrible creature. The stench it gave off was hard to describe. If he hadn't been paralyzed, he would have probably vomited with nausea. The shell hairs seemed more horrible at that distance. And its head, with the thousands of eyes, fangs still dripping poison and its jaws moving incessantly ... If he survived, he didn't think he could see a spider in the same way again. Spider hit a few times with one leg the boy, who could not keep his balance and fell. Erion felt tremendously frustrated to see the entire scene and not be able to do anything.

  Meanwhile, the knight kept fighting the other spider. The monster hit him with its legs and he nearly fell. But after, he launched a powerful strike, breaking another of the spider's front legs. Although the creature was still moving deftly over its six legs, its head was far more exposed. It was easier to approach it. The knight knew what he was doing.

  After his last stroke, the knight had let his guard down slightly and the spider, enraged, stepped towards him, lifting its fangs. But before it could reach him, the man raised his sword again in a lightning movement and nailed it between the jaws of the animal. The spider moved with spasms, furious, while the knight roared with the effort of trying to prevent the creature from making him drop the weapon. He stopped for a moment, regained his strength and then dug the sword even deeper, through the monster's head, which finally fell lifeless.

  The last spider pounced on the fallen young man. And when it seemed that everything was going to end, the young man began to sing another song. The spider's legs furiously went down upon him, but an invisible force prevented them to touch him, by barely a few fingers. The young man continued to sing, very concentrated. His eyes were closed and apparently he couldn't do anything else. Erion understood that this was some sort of spell, but of a different nature than Mithir's. The boy had to be a cleric. The yellow circle, which had already vanished, had to have been another of his spells; probably a protective magic.

  While the spider, who did not understand what was happening, was trying to hit the cleric, the knight came from behind and, after picking up the mace that was left on the floor, hit the monster in one of its fangs. The impact was so strong that the tusk broke and the poison jet fell everywhere on the ground. The monster turned and retreated. Spiders ran faster than men, and the knight knew he could not reach it. He picked up the crossbow that was close to Erion, cocked it and shot the animal, which had almost reached the edge of the clearing. The shot missed, and the spider got lost in the woods.

  “Ithelas, I think it is over,” Erion heard the knight saying. “Check the young man, while I try to free Samar and the other young one.”

  Ithelas stopped his song, stood up, took a backpack that was in the camp and went to Erion. He pulled a small package from his bag and took some herbs, which he placed in the mouth of the young man while singing a concentrated whisper.

  At the same time, the knight picked up an ax that was in the gun rack and began launching powerful strikes against the web. Erion saw that the knight managed to cut the threads much faster than him. But even at that rate, it would take an hour.

  After a minute, Ithelas stopped his murmuring. Erion was beginning to feel somewhat better, but he still couldn't move. That's when he saw Mithir's gestures.

  “Fire! Apply fire on the spider web!” the young man begged.

  Although Mithir was completely immobilized, the knight had cut the threads enough so Mithir could move his head and hands again. Erion reproduced his words with great effort.

  “But they will get burnt!” the knight replied.

  “This spider web will burn very quickly. It is quite flammable. We may get burnt a little, but nothing major. No severe burns,” Mithir clarified.

  The man looked at the elf, and then at Mithir hesitating, not knowing what to do.

  “Trust me. I know what I'm doing,” the magician said with his gestures.

  The knight took one of the burning logs from the campfire by one of its ends, being careful not to burn himself, and ignited one of the web's corners. The threads began to burn rapidly, and within seconds, the fire spread throughout the web. In an instant, the filaments were consumed, freeing Mithir and the elf. Mithir's shirt caught fire by a sleeve, but with a few quick blows, the magician managed to extinguish the small fire.

  Erion began to feel his toes again. He felt he could move them, but the rest of his body was as stiff as a board. The others approached him and raised him to bring him close to the fire. Ithelas gave him a strange brew to drink. Erion felt comforting warmth. Just a few minutes later he had recovered his mobility, but he still felt dizzy and had a terrible headache.

  Mithir fetched the horses, which hadn't gone far. Samar accompanied him. In the next moment, they all briefly described who they were, but nothing too deep: their name, where they lived, what they did and how they got there. Erion obviously didn't detail part of his occupations. He explained that he was a merchant who occasionally accepted jobs to earn extra gold; and that his brother helped him and always went with him.

  A lone figure stepped into the clearing. Samar, Ithelas and Thost immediately got up, taking their weapons. Erion also got up and raised his hand.

  “There's no danger,” he told them.

  The figure was an elf, totally dressed in black. His dark skin, and the fact that there was not plenty of light in the sky that night, made hard to distinguish his features. But Erion knew who he was. When he arrived at the fire, where they were, everyone could see his face and his disturbing red eyes. He was a dark elf.

  “Who are you?” Thost asked.

  “His name is Phoroz, and it is he who seems to have brought us all here tonight,” Erion clarified.

  “True,” the elf confirmed. “I see you've finished off my welcoming committee without major consequences.”

  That completely surprised Erion. Although this character was glo
omy, he had never played them a trick like that. Although, on second thought, he hadn't had many opportunities to do so. This was the third time they saw him.

  Phoroz's surprising statement infuriated Thost and Samar. Thost lowered his weapon when Erion asked him to, but did not release its handle at any time. It was obvious he did not trust that character. Thost took two steps forward, standing just a few fingers away from the dark elf.

  “What do you propose? Speak!” the knight demanded.

  “What I have already told you all. I have an assignment for you. The reward is excellent. I have to warn you that it is a dangerous mission and therefore I have summoned you all. Separately, either group wouldn't stand a chance on a mission like this.”

  “What is it exactly?” Erion asked, angrily. “But before, speak. Why this trap? Those monsters could have killed us!”

  “I had to make sure that this group was equal to the mission. This is an important order that my master has made,” the elf explained.

  That infuriated he group even more. Erion certainly was not satisfied with the explanation.

  “And who is your master?” Samar asked.

  “That does not concern you,” Phoroz said.

  “I remember that at our first meeting, you mentioned that you lived in Deepcliff. Your master is probably a figure of the court or any of the rich based in the capital,” Mithir explained by gestures.

  Before he could reproduce his words, Erion had yet another surprise. Phoroz began speaking with sign language, which almost no one knew, and told Mithir he had a very good memory, that he did not expect him to remember that, that he shouldn't have said it anyway, and that he was smart. But that if he repeated it again to anyone, including the rest of that group, he would cut his throat. Then he looked intently at Erion, to make him understand that this was also meant for him.

  “In a remote place, to which you will arrive by means that I will provide, there is a castle. In it dwells a powerful undead, a vampire,” Phoroz continued.

  Erion could see fear is etched on the faces of all those present. Everyone had heard stories of vampires since childhood. They said they had become a terrible plague in the Duchies Carition long ago. Now it seemed that the number of attacks had reduced, but they kept happening without anyone being able to do anything about them.

  “The castle holds an important treasure that the vampire had accumulated over centuries. You could keep everything you find there; everything except the object of our mission. Someplace in the building, he keeps a silver box that has an elaborate design of a hill on its cover and a shield with a dragon on its sides.”

  Phoroz paused and looked at the group.

  “You must bring that box to me, intact. You must not open it, although you probably won't be able to, anyways.”

  “You talked about an important reward,” Thost said.

  “True. Each one of you will receive two hundred platinum coins, half of them now, and the other half when you deliver the box,” the elf explained while he handed Thost a bag.

  “It's quite a sum; it must be a really dangerous mission,” Mithir reasoned through gestures, while Erion reproduced his words.

  “It is. In addition to that reward, as I said before, you can keep whatever you find. But I warn you that, maybe, the smartest thing would be to get the box as quietly as possible and get out of there, leaving everything and everyone behind.”

  “What do you mean?” Erion asked.

  “The reward is one thousand platinum coins to be shared amongst those who return. Anyways, if the vampire manages to catch one of you, the best thing you can do is run.”

  Ithelas snorted, uncomfortable.

  “The castle is in a remote place and is hard to reach. Also, it is a very well-protected space. There is a path, through a cave, that will take you to the valley where the castle stands. You must have hiking gear. This map describes the valley and where you can find the entrance to the cave,” he explained, as he handed them a large parchment.

  Phoroz then stepped closer to Mithir and kept talking.

  “The castle is located in a remote country. You have to quickly prepare for the mission, and then travel there through a portal that will take you to the aforementioned place,” Phoroz explained, as he handed two other small scrolls to Mithir.

  The group looked at the dark elf with a mixture of distrust, interest in the mission and fear of the dangers that would follow. Mithir was shocked. Only a very powerful spell could open a portal that could transport adventurers such a huge distance. Probably very few magicians in the World of Oris could do such a thing. The scroll he held in his hand were probably very hard to find and extremely expensive.

  “The second scroll opens another portal that will bring you back with the box. Don't try to come back without it. I ordered the scroll so the magic doesn't open the portal if you don't have the box with you. Any questions?” Phoroz asked.

  That was a lot of information to process. But before anyone tried to say anything, Phoroz nodded, turned around and left. Before disappearing through the forest, the dark elf turned towards them one last time.

  “I had forgotten a small detail. If you manage to get the box before midnight, four days from now, there will be five hundred more platinum coins waiting for you,” he explained, before completely disappearing.

  Everyone in the group was tired. It had been a long, hard and very interesting day. They took shifts to keep watch during the night and went to rest in the camp tents.

  "Tomorrow is another day", Erion thought.

  CHAPTER 9: THE ROYAL PALACE

  Zyrhaz sat in the great parlor of the Industrial Association of Bor and waited impatiently. The IAB was one of the most powerful institutions of the country, and grouped a significant part of the private businesses; of course the large ones, but also the small ones that had been coordinated in cooperatives or associations. Also, a myriad of artisans and small independent businessmen existed and functioned on their own. They were too small for them to be integrated into the Association, but nothing was lost by not doing so, because these independent entrepreneurs had little power or influence.

  The carriage should have arrived already. It was very important to get to the palace early and secure a privileged place in the King's table. Especially considering he had paid a small fortune to a secretary of the King to enjoy that privilege. A butler approached him and confirmed that the carriage was at the door. He practically jumped up and crossed the huge and luxurious living apace. He left the Association building and climbed into the carriage.

  He had always liked that building. It was one of many that the Association had throughout the Kingdom, but this one was special. To begin with, it was the headquarters and, therefore, the place where important meetings were held. It was also the first that the Association had purchased and also was a singularly beautiful classical building located in the best area of the capital, near the Royal Palace. It had excellent service which included rooms for the major entrepreneurs who may be visiting the capital, a high class restaurant where you could arrange business lunches and large salons available if you wanted to organize any meeting. In theory, only the members of the Association had access to the building, but they could invite others to their discussions or deals. It was one of the most exclusive places in the capital.

  But none compared to the Royal Palace, to where he was now headed. In Bor, the Crown held a very considerable power. And most of the decisions that the Crown controlled were decided within those walls. The King was holding a complimentary lunch today, for a diplomatic delegation of Darphem, the kingdom of the dwarves. The exchanges between the two kingdoms, both politically and commercially, were very limited. Some members of the Court, as well as in other nearby circles, aspired to improve the relations.

  Zyrhaz had been lucky to have been able to get a chair at that lunch. Actually, neither he nor the Association had any special interest in the dwarves; but the Association urgently needed to access the King and participatin
g in this meal was the only way he found to gain a foothold on his agenda. Normally you needed to notify the royal secretaries over a month in advance and you also had to have, obviously, something of importance to discuss with the King. This time, he had only a few days to spare, so his very presence in the meal, and in the same royal table, could be considered a great success.

  Zyrhaz was restless. The anonymous letter to the president of the Association, which they had received that same weekend, had caused quite a stir. The informant explained to them that the Chamber would have a meeting with the king the following week with a single item on the agenda: the deregulation of the quarry and stone sector. The objective of this measure was to significantly increase the competition in the sector. In the kingdom of Bor, the Central Chamber of Commerce managed and controlled most of the trade, which was led by the sixteen most wealthy and influential merchants.

  At first they had their doubts about the letter; but the author gave some very specific information about the Chamber and the Association itself, which proved he was very knowledgeable. So they concluded that they should assume the worst and think that everything that was being said was true. The nervousness increased when the next day, they were able to verify that the meeting of the Chamber was indeed on the King's agenda. It was then when the President of the Association called him into his office and explained what was happening.

  He had a mission: to find a way to meet up with the King before the reunion with the Chamber and make an attractive enough proposal so that the merchant's encounter wouldn't be held. Some members of the Association participated in this process, especially Pieter Mason. His family owned the largest stone company in the country, which had numerous quarries in various counties and controlled most of the business. Mason led the company with skill and a steady hand. His family had strong ties with the conservative wing of the Chamber and, through them, found out that traders had decided to take this step, despite the opposition of their allies. Pieter Mason sent an urgent email from Kiyats to the President of the Association, which proved to be the final confirmation. The mail had arrived that morning. If they had not received the anonymous tip previously, they wouldn't have had time to react.