Not only was the sorcerer frightened but he was also experiencing motion sickness from being tossed around causing him to vomit inside his protective bubble. He ended up stuck inside the pterocrit’s left nostril as if his situation wasn’t bad enough.
FORTY-NINE
BERHTRAM FOUND HIMSELF IN THE FOREST surrounded by trees, walking through the woods and having no idea which way to go; he was aware that because he couldn’t fly he was in danger. Anything bigger would be able to take care of him now that Blackie had run off with a piece of his tail missing; he had become fond of the dog because he had been feeding him meat, and because of it he was regaining his strength, unfortunately he remained unable to fly. He missed flying as much as any child would miss running if he or she wasn’t allowed to do so, had dreams of taking to the air, and dreamt of filling the king’s bedposts with bread but when he awoke reality was disappointing.
The bird stopped near some pink and purple wild roses to rest. He longed to see Darius again but a noise to his left caught his attention, it was an unwelcome sight, might be the last thing he ever saw. A red fox was trotting by with a dead rat in its mouth and it stopped suddenly, it had picked up another scent, Berhtram’s scent in fact. It sniffed the air appreciatively and liked what it smelled but didn’t want to drop his rodent lest someone else get the tasty morsel. Two simultaneous meals was an unexpected treat.
The raven didn’t dare move; he remained exposed in the open, and all the fox needed to do was to look to its right and he would be in grave danger, the fox’s sensitive ears would likely hear him. The sound of the woodpecker made the fox look up and the raven tried to hop behind the rose bush but it was too late, the fox spotted him and charged, pinning him down with his two front paws. Berhtram vigorously flapped his wings desperate to escape but it was too late, the fox had him but was unwilling to release the rat, pawing at the poor bird. It was a peculiar situation for the fox to be in.
The raven was at the mercy of the carnivore, a single bite and he would be dead but the fox refused to drop the rat, having had quite a chase to get it. The large rat had gone into the base of a tree and it had taken more than an hour to get him out. The fox supposed it was a good predicament to be in, two meals at the same time because yesterday he had gone hungry. Things were looking up.
Blackie appeared and charged the fox, barking loudly and fox dropped its rat but when the dog lay down for the raven to get up on its back, the fox quickly returned, grabbed the rat and ran off, now feeling lucky to get away with the dead rodent. Berhtram was relieved to see his friend return and just in time.
The dog made its way out of the forest, resting and drinking out of a pristine brook, with a small waterfall flowing over mossy rocks. Blackie lay down and went to sleep with Berhtram doing the same beside his friend, both glad to have each other’s companionship. They awoke to the sound of heavy footsteps, Blackie stood up and stared at Brother and Kadyn walking by; he smelled them but for whatever reason they’re scent wasn’t human, which really puzzled him. He watched as the sad looking knights continued on their way, their posture giving away their emotions.
They next morning they were on the move once again with Berhtram riding on top of the dog. Blackie was heading for another village and could already smell the scent of meat cooking in the distance, which was making him hungry. Hopefully it would be an easy meal.
FIFTY
STONE MADE THE DECISION TO HEAD BACK to Leeander. There were so many of the enemy around it was going to be impossible to capture any of them. He couldn’t guess at their numbers but he imagined it wasn’t favorable. If King Darius insisted upon a prisoner then he would have to send out at least a hundred knights and maybe more, with perhaps many lives being lost in the process. Maybe it was an idea that for now should be abandoned.
Stone knew they were being followed by the Dwagord but to what purpose he was uncertain, perhaps they were looking to be led back to Leeander, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to head straight back. The more he thought about it the more it made sense. He hated to think about Leeander being overrun by these bastards, if only Marcus could get a hold of that wizard thing. There was a time when Adorok’s reputation was known far and wide and no one dared to start a fight but now all that had changed.
“Stone, we should be going,” said Alexa. “I want to get back home to Abbey.”
Stone shook his head. “Plans have changed. I think they want us to lead them back to Leeander. We’re going to camp here until I’m convinced they’ve moved on.”
Lance took a bite of the rabbit that they had cooked a little too long, a little burnt but not too bad. “I’ll wager that we end up being their slaves before that. Or maybe our heads will be on their pikes.”
“That’s the way to think positive,” said Alexa.
Lance looked at Alexa and then back at Stone. “How long are we going to camp here?”
Stone shrugged. “As long as it takes. We know little about them; they could be a hundred thousand strong. Our shield only works sporadically, we have no wizard, well we have Marcus.”
“He’s no wizard,” said Alexa. “He’s useless is what he is. I’m more of a sorcerer than Marcus.” She stood up and looked to the west, seeing a single rider on a brown horse fast approaching, one of the Dwagord carrying a shield and a battle axe. “Look, here comes another one.”
They all stood up as the enemy approached. He was a scraggly looking fellow with several teeth missing and an evil looking smile if ever there was one. They could tell that his battle axe was enchanted by its glow and he smelled musky as the wind blew his scent to them, an unpleasant smell.
“I am Poole of the Dwagord. You are outnumbered and surrounded. Surrender and we’ll consider absorbing you into our army should any of you be worthy. Refuse and we will hear your screams long into the night.”
“I don’t scream,” said Merrill. “I make people scream.”
Alexa looked around and couldn’t see anyone else. “What are you an army of one?”
Poole smiled derisively. “We are cloaked for now. We have portable enchantments that can be cast by non-wizards.” He was attempting to impress their superiority over them.
Lance was tempted to kill him but would follow Stone’s lead. “Where are you Dwagords from? We’ve never seen the likes of you around here before.”
Poole grunted. “I ask the questions I don’t answer them. What is your response?”
Stone shook his head at Poole’s attitude, an aggravating son-of-a-bitch. “Well you should get the hell out of here before I put my sword in your ass. And trust me you won’t like it in there.”
Poole again shook his head. “It’s your funeral.” The Dwagord turned and rode off as Stone nodded to Merrill, who nocked an arrow and sent it flying through Poole’s neck, a fatal wound. The warrior tumbled off his horse, shuddered and then remained motionless.
“Your funeral first,” said Stone.
Alexa turned to her husband. “Do you think that was wise?”
Stone shrugged. “They’re going to kill us, maybe torture us as well. One less Dwagord is better than one more. We have fresh horses let’s ride and see if they can keep up. Hopefully their horses are not so fresh.”
The dozen knights mounted and followed Stone as he rode his stallion as fast as it could run and they maintained the pace as long as they were able. They rode hard for almost four miles before they eased up on their horses, but when they stopped they could see the Dwagord behind them, only a dozen of them had managed to keep up their pace and there were no archers amongst them.
“Archers ready your bows,” Stone commanded.
As the enemy approached within range arrows were launched, Merrill killed two of them within a few seconds. Soon the dozen Dwagord were down to five, being picked off one by one, halting as they realized how few of them remained, the others having run their horses into the ground. A discussion ensued as another took an arrow in his back and into his heart. Stone and the others surrounded them,
forcing them to yield. King Darius would now end up with four prisoners if Stone could manage to get them back safely to Leeander.
The knights continued to ride their horses at a much slower pace, wanting to put even more distance between them and the enemy. He had several knights ride west even though they were heading east and built a huge campfire to catch the Dwagord’s attention, and that night Stone was happy to see that they had managed to catch up with the camp, and could see that the fire was still burning on the horizon.
After two days Stone finally decided to head back to Leeander but were soon surrounded by more than two hundred of the Dwagord.
FIFTY-ONE
“Dragon!”
CHAROX CAUGHT AN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE of more than a hundred of the Dwagord riding their horses in the middle of nowhere and it made him smile as he flew over; it was going to be a very bad day for them. They knew they were in big trouble as soon as they saw the grey, no horse could outrun a dragon, their options were limited and in fact they couldn’t think of any. Charox made sure that he flew high enough to be out of the range of their arrows and then swooped down behind a ball of fire that purposely didn’t reach the ground and then he urinated on them, burning their skin and eyes.
A dozen arrows were launched skyward but they soon realized that the beast was again out of reach, their arrows dropping back down to earth without doing any damage; they could hear him laughing. It was unsettling to hear such a menacing laugh. They realized that death was most likely coming for all of them.
Charox launched a huge ball of fire and deliberately missed the Dwagord, though making it close enough so that they could feel the heat. The dragon liked seeing the horses panic, throwing several of them off their backs and running off. That gave him what he believed was a superior idea, he could hit the ground with fireballs and scorch them without killing them outright, make them suffer.
“Take that you little bastards!” Charox screamed.
The dragon exhaled a huge burst of fire that hit the ground a little closer than he had intended, burning and killing four of the Dwagord and their horses, scorching the skin of several others. When he launched another stream of fire some of the Dwagord rode into it, preferring to get it over quickly. Although Charox was having fun he decided to finish them off and search for more and so he incinerated the rest of them, turning them to ash. A wave of dizziness came over the dragon like nothing he’d ever experienced before.
FIFTY-TWO
MARCUS HAD WHAT REMAINED OF THE PALM TREE on the floor in his chamber, chopping frustratingly at it with his hatchet, managing to cut pieces out of it and not wanting to damage the wand; he wanted it out of there. The closer he got to extracting it the more excited he became; he could feel the anticipation it in the pit of his stomach, now desperate to know how it was going to affect his abilities. Would he instantly become an adept sorcerer? That would be so wonderful he could return to Leeander and no one would ever dare attack their kingdom with such a powerful sorcerer on guard.
He was tired and his hands were blistered but he wasn’t about to stop until he removed the wand, not able to see it yet but its pull was now incredible making him feel warm inside. They could see the occasional sparkle of light originate from the wand and float up toward the ceiling; he knew he would soon have his hands on it.
Raina looked on as Kevin sat in the corner motionless, perhaps asleep if the golden knights could sleep, or maybe just waiting for Marcus to go somewhere so that he could follow and protect. She wondered if they would ever see Brother and Kadyn again, funny how someone could get so attached to a thing that wasn’t theoretically alive; she couldn’t be sure about that because they sure acted human, at least to a degree.
Another chop on the palm removed yet another slice and Marcus danced because he could finally see it through the crack, it actually cast a glow. He would remember this moment for the rest of his life. The wand was luminous, a deep sky blue. Marcus tried to touch it, finally getting his pinky on it, pleasantly warm to the touch. He lit up when he touched it, turning as blue as the wand but quickly returned to normal. Raina’s mouth hung open as she watched backing away from him, such powerful magic might be unpredictable. He chopped faster, ignoring the pain from his blisters. In no time he would be holding it and he just had to get it out.
Raina shook her head. “Easy Marcus if it’s made of wood you don’t want to chop it in two.” She had just gotten the words out when he hit the wand dead on with the axe, making him gasp. He closed his eyes not wanting to see if he had destroyed the wand, when he slowly opened them he discovered that it was fine, in fact it was indestructible though he didn’t know it.
Marcus was so relieved. “I think its okay not even a scratch on it. That scared me though. Imagine after all that cutting the wand in two.”
Finally he dug the wand out and held it as if it was the most precious thing in the world, showing it to Raina. Although the glow around the wand was a dark blue, he could see the beautiful red wood beneath it and a single blue garnet gem in its base. The gem had tiny crystals swirling within; perhaps it was the source of its magic.
“It’s beautiful!” said Marcus. “It’s heavier than it looks. Raina you want to hold it?”
Raina shook her head. “I better not. It’s a wand meant for a wizard but it is beautiful. You should remember this moment Marcus; maybe even write it down on parchment because it is a part of history.”
“I never thought of that. Come on lets go outside I want to see if I can do anything with it.” Marcus ran ahead and Raina and Kevin followed, she was happy for him. She hoped that the wand would be all that he desired and exactly what he needed because often things didn’t go precisely as one wished.
Outside the castle walls Marcus aimed his wand at a nearby oak tree and a huge bolt of lightning emerged from it, hitting the tree and disintegrating it, all that remained was a pile of ash. That first release of excess energy from Marcus through the wand made him feel great, lighter even. “Oh my I didn’t mean to do that. I thought it might take a piece out of its bark.”
“Marcus you destroyed that beautiful tree.” It had been an exquisite tree over a century old and now it was nothing but a pile of ash. Raina was disappointed in him
“Sorry Raina I didn’t mean to do it.” He went over to the tree and stared down at the ash that remained and sighed.
Raina screamed as she ran because Marcus was accidentally pointing his wand at her. “Marcus the wand!”
“Oh I’m so sorry.” He felt stupid for being so careless.
It was the first time that Raina had been scared of him. “Don’t be sorry. You need to be smarter with that thing. I don’t want to end up a pile of ash. Don’t aim it at anything you don’t want to kill.”
“I’ll be more careful,” said Marcus. He felt another release of excess energy even though there was no lightning bolt, realizing that the wand was already helping him but he would need to be vigilant with such a powerful tool. Its also made him feel less tense and something else, a little more clear headed. He then felt the wand vibrate and dropped it. As it lay on the ground he saw a word suddenly form on it. “It talks?”
“Hello?” the wand showed him.
Marcus picked it up and spoke to it. “Hello?”
“You are my wizard?” wrote the wand.
“I am.”
“That is amazing!” said Raina.
“Do you have the book?”
He looked at Raina and then back at the wand. “Book? What book?”
“For the best results you’ll need to use me in conjunction with Astowyth’s Book of Enchantments.”
Marcus shook his head. “Oh no! Don’t tell me! Where do I find this book?”
“One moment as I attempt to locate it.” The words disappeared and then a moment later the wand wrote. “I have its location but there is a problem. You’ll need to kill the evil wizard Nydarien as he has bonded to it. And really he should be killed.”
Raina gasped. “Nydarie
n is a monster Marcus; he’ll kill you on sight. His evil deeds are legendary. He destroyed the kingdom of Savannah by casting a terrible spell that made all their children stillborn. It’s completely abandoned now because of the magic that lingers there. At night you can still see its green glow from a distance.”
“Yes I know. I don’t know what to do. I’m more of a wizard’s apprentice than a true wizard even with my wand. How am I supposed to kill an adept wizard with decades of experience, maybe even centuries for all I know?” Marcus stared at his wand. “Where is Nydarien now?”
“He’s in the valley of skulls.”
The wizard shook his head. “Of course he is. He couldn’t be in the Valley of Roses or the Valley of puppies, oh no, he has to be in the Valley of Skulls. Why not the Valley of Swords in my Ass?”
Raina giggled.
Marcus frowned. “Wand, will I be able to kill Nydarien?”
“Unknown. I cannot see the future.”
Marcus wondered if he would be the youngest wizard ever killed should it come to that. “Am I more powerful than Nydarien?”
“You are. However he will not hesitate to kill you. Should YOU hesitate it could mean your life. Do you understand?”
Marcus nodded and felt like going to bed and never getting up. His exceptional mood was now ruined. He looked into Raina’s beautiful eyes. “Sounds simple doesn’t it. All I have to do is not hesitate but I’m not a killer and no matter what I think or say you know and I know that I might hesitate. I don’t know what to do. Wand, how good of a wizard will I be without the book?”
Knights of the Wizard (of Knights and Wizards Book 2) Page 16