Fredin would not send his own Dungins to either town. He could control them, and even with their overwhelming numbers, hundreds of orcs were going to die in each town. This was just another way to ensure that the orcs’ bloodlust was satisfied, and that his tribe remained the largest in the horde.
Chapter Five
Magic
Anwar had everyone mounted by the time the sun was up. They had ridden the first day until they the sun was completely down, and it would have been dangerous to ride the horses any further. Grundel had struggled to get off of his horse, but he had done well after a hard day’s ride.
Anwar had taken the last watch, spending it trying to suppress the magic that had been released inside of him. Thoughts of Mariah consumed him and helped suppress the magic, but when he sat still, the magic inside of him roared. It felt like it was tearing him apart. He needed to use it before it overwhelmed him.
During his watch he had decided not to put Mariah back up on the horse. He would levitate her litter next to his horse as he rode. With the amount of power inside him he would be able to do it easily. When Grundel and Navaeh went to lift Mariah he stopped them. “Don’t.”
They both looked at him, confused. He knew he had to explain to them what was going on, but he didn’t want to answer a bunch of questions. He didn’t have the answers to give even if he wanted to. “I am going to carry her with magic. When I went after Delvidge I opened myself to more magic than I could have ever known was available. It is nearly unbearable. I need to use magic right now.”
Rundo was with them now. All three of them looked at him with concerned expressions. “Don’t worry, I can handle it, and yes, I can carry her. The amount of magic inside me is indescribable.”
They all still looked concerned, but they did not question him any further. Rundo ended the discussion for him. “Well, if he says that’s what he needs to do I don’t think any of us are in a place to debate the needs of a mage, unless one of you has more experience with magic then you have let on.”
Grundel laughed and shook his head. Navaeh gave Anwar a look that said she wasn’t convinced but went and tethered the packhorse to her own. They all waited while Grundel struggled to mount his horse. They all knew better by now than to offer help to a struggling dwarf.
Once they were all mounted, Anwar used his magic to lift Mariah’s litter. It took less effort than he had anticipated. He didn’t even feel the pull of magic inside of him that he had always felt when he used magic before. Hopefully using the magic all day would calm it down. He suppressed it the best he could and focused on the mission at hand.
They rode all day. When the sun had passed overhead they stopped at a stream to refill their water, rest the horses, and eat. Anwar didn’t have to rush them. No one complained and they all moved quickly. They were in as much of a hurry as he was. She was important to them, too; he had to remember that. He was pushing a hard pace, and he had Grundel, the heaviest of the company by far, rotate to the extra horse. It wasn’t carrying Mariah now, so they might as well rest the horses as best they could. They rode the rest of the day without incident. When the sun was all the way down and they couldn’t ride any further, Anwar finally called them to a halt. Everyone struggled out of the saddle now. They had ridden from sun up to sun down for two days straight. Anwar set Mariah’s litter down.
Just the act of releasing his magic made him think about how much was boiling inside of him. While the others hobbled the horses and set up camp, Anwar stacked some wood in a pile. He ignited the wood with his magic. Creating a small flame never caused much pull on his magic, but the amount of magic inside of him was making him crazy. He needed to release it. Before he even realized what he was doing, a column of fire three feet wide shot into the sky. Anwar watched as it continued up. When it was at least a hundred feet in the air he threw his arms wide. The fire spread out across the sky. Finally he felt the pull of magic, even if it was the same amount of pull lighting a candle would have had on him a week ago.
“Anwar!”
He snapped out of his trance and released the magic, leaving a scorched circle of earth on the ground in front of him. When he turned around all three of his companions was staring at him. They were afraid. He knew that all three of them must have been yelling at him.
“I’m sorry. I had to do something. I had to feel something.”
Grundel was the one to save him. “No harm done. I mean, everyone for a hundred miles probably saw that fire, but I doubt anyone wants to get close enough to whatever made it. I am sure there will be rumors of dragons spreading through the area now. You magic men are always so emotional,” Grundel said as he slapped Anwar on the shoulder. “Next time, just let us know you need to let it out first, will ya?”
Anwar nodded and looked at Navaeh and Rundo. “I really am sorry.”
They touched him as they walked past. They felt bad for him. They were scared, but they wanted to help. They just didn’t know how. He knew that.
They all gathered more wood. Anwar saw that Rundo was about to start the fire but he put a hand on his shoulder. Rundo and Navaeh backed up, but Grundel stepped closer. Anwar looked at him. “Thanks.”
He created a small flame in the center of the pile of the wood. He sat down and the others joined him around the fire. He lifted Mariah’s litter and brought her closer to the fire. It wasn’t very cold, and she was covered in blankets, but it felt better with her close to them.
Anwar knew the questions were going to come; he just wasn’t sure who would be the first to ask them. It was Navaeh.
“Anwar, about earlier. What is going on with your magic? What did you mean you needed to feel something?”
Anwar knew they were worried, and he owed them an explanation. “I know you all deserve an explanation. The truth is I don’t really understand it all myself.”
“Just tell us what you can. We are all here for you, and we will help you figure it out,” Rundo said.
Anwar stared at the ground the ground for a minute. “All I know is that I reached down inside myself to grab hold of all of the magic I could to attack Delvidge. When I did I opened myself up to more magic than I knew was even possible. I mean, it was enough to take hold of a god. Now all of that power is inside of me. I have to constantly try to suppress it. I can control it, it is just kind of overwhelming. That pillar of fire took almost no effort. I just used enough magic until I was able to feel the pull inside me. I used that much power and it felt like I had only used enough to light a candle. It’s unimaginable how much power is inside me. Once we get Mariah back and finish this fight with whatever Delvidge has sent against Evermount, I am going to have to spend a lot of time training myself to deal with this power. I am just going to have to figure it all out on my own. There is no one who could train me to use this kind of power.”
“You must be nearly as powerful as the Father,” Rundo said.
“At least as powerful I’d say,” Grundel said.
Anwar looked at all of them. “Who is the Father?”
Navaeh shook her head. “The Keeper, The Father, The Protector, The Immortal, The Human God.”
Anwar understood. “Are you saying that The Keeper of Balance is real?”
Navaeh just smiled. As powerful and capable as Anwar was, she often forgot how little education Anwar had actually had. “Of course he is real. The Father is the most powerful mortal. He is more powerful on this plane than even the gods. See, when the gods project themselves on this plane they are only at partial strength. They are stronger in the immortal planes. But if they come to this plane, they can be killed. They say the father has traveled between the planes to the planes of heaven and hell. He could travel to the immortal plane and be a god. There are people who worship him, but worship and praise can only strengthen a god in the immortal plane. It is said that The Father is thousands of years old, and he stays on this plane to maintain balance and keep the gods in check. If there is anyone who could help you with that much power, it would be The Fath
er, but I have no idea how you would find him.”
Rundo butted in before Anwar could respond. “I don’t think you will get any help from any of the gods finding him, either. The gods aren’t particularly fond of The Father since his whole purpose is to keep them from having too much effect in our world.”
Anwar really wanted to learn more, but now wasn’t the time. “Thank you. I need to process all of this, and we need to get some rest. Anyway, we have enough to worry about right now. I can try to figure out how to find The Father after this is all done.”
Anwar took first watch. He had a lot to think about, and knew that, even as tired as he was, he wouldn’t be able to sleep with all this on his mind. He made sure Mariah was covered up, and then he walked to the edge of the firelight so that his eyes could adjust to the darkness. He watched the area, and tried to process everything that was happening.
Chapter Six
Black Dragons
One of Vingaza’s underwizards had just returned from Kampar, where the Black Dragons had agents. Yesterday Vingaza had been told than Anwar had been in Ambar. Supposedly he had only been here for a short time. He had brought someone here, though. Whoever the man was, he was staying in Anwar’s house. To the best of his knowledge Anwar had only ever been to Kampar and Ambar before running off to save the dwarves. He had sent one of his wizards to Kampar with a description of the man. The king there was very greedy, and greed was easy to use. For a small sum the king would do almost anything. He hadn’t even needed to tell them where to look. When he heard the description he had identified the man as Anwar’s brother. Anwar had changed his name while he was at the wizard’s guild. Apparently the king hated Anwar and his brother. Not enough to turn down the Black Dragons’ gold of course, and now they had an ally. They had many other agents in Kampar, but now they had the king, and once the Black Dragons have you, they never let you go.
He had thought hard about this and figured out a way to use the situation to his best advantage. He was going to send agents to Kampar to track down anyone Anwar had ever been associated with, friends, family, everyone. He would use the king to have them all arrested. Then he would start killing them one at a time. In the mean time, he would deal with the brother. Hopefully all of this would pull Anwar away from Evermount so that he could not interfere there. With enough dragons in Kampar they could even capture him when he came. A quick death was not an option for Anwar Alamira.
Now Vingaza stood at the front of a room full of the most powerful wizards in the world draped in the black robes of the Black Dragons guild. It had taken two days for them all to arrive in Ambar, but they were finally here. The lower end of the group really weren’t that powerful. I mean, you could only get so many people of power together. Fifty wizards together was a big deal, but fifty wizards of this caliber was really something special. Vingaza raised a hand and waited for the room to quiet. It took a minute for all of the private conversations to die down. Finally he had their full attention.
“Dragons! We have been granted an opportunity. Delvidge, the great god of chaos, came to me not two nights past. It was on his orders that I have summoned all of our power here. Delvidge has united the orc tribes of the north and sent them against the dwarves of Evermount.”
“Why should we care about the orcs or the dwarves?” one of the Dragons standing in the back shouted.
Vingaza raised a hand and black inkiness shot from his fingertips. The dark energy punched right through the Dragon sewn into the wizard’s robe and ripped through his chest. The wizard collapsed to the ground and died silently.
“I am relaying the command of our god and I will not be interrupted. If it happens again it will not be quick or painless. Now, does anyone else have anything else to say before I finish?” He stood there looking over the Dragons for a full minute.
When no one said anything he continued. “As I was saying, the god of chaos has united the orcs of the north to attack the dwarves of Evermount. The orcs will attack the mountain but will have no chance of breaching the mountain on their own. We will assist them in getting up the mountain and suppressing the dwarves while the orcs make their way up. Once the orcs have breached the mountain we will leave the fighting to them. As to why we are even getting involved, your first and most important reason is because it is the will of Delvidge. Second, the uprooting of the dwarves’ capital city will create chaos. Finally, because of Anwar Alamira.”
Vingaza waited to see who would be brave enough to ask the question. He had made his statement by killing one of the Dragons, but Anwar had made many enemies in the Black Dragons. It was too personal for someone not to ask how he was involved.
Vingaza was proud that it was one of his own Ambar Dragons that was first to gather enough courage to ask. “What does Anwar Alamira have to do with the siege of Evermount?”
Vingaza allowed himself a smile. It was a controlled smile, and he enjoyed watching how it unsettled most of them. “Anwar Alamira has defied the god of chaos. Some of his companions are at Evermount. Delvidge has decided that everyone Anwar cares about will die before he does. Most of us have our own grievances with Alamira. This plan will feed all of our revenge, create chaos, and serve our god.”
Vingaza watched as some of the Dragons began nodding their heads in arrogance, while some were laughing and making jokes about Alamira. But he was happy that at least half of the room controlled their emotions.
He waited a few moments for everyone to have his or her private conversations before raising his hand again. “Each of you may bring three Dragons with you. It is up to you whether they are wizards, assassins, or priests. We will leave from Ambar tomorrow and meet up with the orc horde on their way to Evermount. Before you all go there is one more thing. We have discovered that Anwar has a brother, and that brother is here in Ambar. I am already taking care of that issue. With this news I realize that we have an opportunity. We will need one of you to go to Kampar. You will take as many agents as you feel necessary. Anyone who is not going to assist in the fight at Evermount will be at your disposal. You will use our agents there to locate everyone with a connection to Anwar. The king there hates him as well and will help in capturing them. When Anwar hears what I have done to his brother, and that people are being killed in Kampar because of him, he will surely come running. Then you will spring your trap and capture him. Do I have a volunteer to take this on?”
One of the wizards in the front of the room stood. “I will do it.”
It was Stregone. His brother had been with Nemitz at Istan. Anwar had killed both of their brothers on the same day. “Stregone it is, but remember you are not to kill him. Take as many Dragons as you need to capture him. Anyone he may have ever befriended will be taken, and you will kill one of them each day until he comes for them. I will ensure that he hears of it. The rest is up to you.” With that he turned and left the room.
When he returned to his office he sat down in front of his desk. He had fed them the seed of revenge. They all had at least known someone who had gone after Anwar and failed. It was much more personal for him. He sat there thinking about the brothers he had lost. Anwar had taken his family from him. Delvidge had promised to take everyone from Anwar. That one thought turned his pain into happiness and determination. He had been planning his revenge on Anwar since Anwar had killed his youngest brother in Kampar. Now the time had finally come.
Chapter Seven
More Orcs
Fredin had watched the two war parties split up and head toward the towns were they would feed their bloodlust. Now he stood on top of a huge hill staring to the west. It was a few miles away but he could see the town. It was bigger than he had expected, but still only a town. There couldn’t be more then a couple thousand people there. A log palisade surrounded the town, sharpened poles stuck out of a deep ditch around the wall, and more of the poles poked through gaps in the wall. But the walls and the defenses had been neglected.
Fredin had to admit that it wasn’t a town orcs would norma
lly attack. Orc clans rarely ever moved as a whole. Hunting parties or raiding parties were constantly out, but they would normally hit smaller farmsteads. A hundred orcs together was a lot to be found outside of the camp, and they would never engage a town like this. But against thirty thousand orcs, the defenses wouldn’t have stood a chance even if they had been maintained.
Fredin watched as the mass of orcs ran toward the town. To their credit, the townsfolk attempted a defense. But it didn’t take long before the main gate was breached. Soon after that a large section of one palisade was knocked down. Hundreds of people were escaping south, most of them probably women and children. Half of them would likely be run down by nightfall. It would be hours before the orcs had finished sacking the town. Fredin was about to leave when he saw something that surprised him.
Fire. The biggest difference between orcs’ and humans’ way of sacking a town was that orcs would not use fire. Orcs hated fire. They weren’t trolls. Fire didn’t cling to them, but they could die just like anyone else, and they feared fire. It was a primal fear, and no matter how much an orc tried to fight it he couldn’t overcome it.
Fredin was interested to see how this would play out. He stood watching as the townspeople lit rows of homes and buildings on fire. He hadn’t noticed it before but the town was set up in a grid. It was smart. Three lanes of houses were now burning in front of the orcs. They were at a standstill. More and more of the people were escaping out of the town to the south. Then he realized it.
The town wasn’t set up in a grid. It was set up in three sections. As the fire reached the end of the lane everything, toward the north of the town caught fire. Soon the northern third of the town would be surrounded with fire. The orcs in the town wouldn’t even realize what was happening. Each section of the town was separated by at least a hundred feet, so that when one burned it would not light the other. After about thirty minutes, all of the orcs who were already in the town had been surrounded by fire. Slowly, buildings inside the grid began to catch fire. Fredin noticed that everything inside the grid was built close together so that not only would everything catch fire, but also there was no escape. Fredin knew that if orcs would just run through the outer perimeter of fire they would make it through with only minor burns. Even knowing that information, Fredin doubted he would be able to force himself to do it. He would likely have burned to death inside that grid because he would be too scared to run toward the flames. Watching all of this, Fredin was then surprised for a third time.
Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen Page 3