by Gerard Bond
“Why would they be counterattacking? Drexus is dead, you allowed that information to get out didn’t you?” Madeira nodded.
“Yes I did, but the others out there also know we are a very small force and there is a sorc by the name of Alexis that has aspirations of her own to be Queen. She was second only to me in the hierarchy and right now she is making her play for power.”
“She mustn’t like you too much then.” Madeira shook her head.
“That hasn’t got anything to do with it. Her and I are friends but in Isogorr when an opportunity like this arises you go for it and this sort of opportunity has never existed before.”
Wollfen and Dark returned to the rest who were standing around. Some of them were in conference with others around the tower but most of them were waiting for Madeira. She addressed them,
“Alexis and her troops will come crashing through that door at any moment. I expect they will hit us first with her soldiers and then a magical attack on our minds. I know we can resist the magical attack but the troops I’m not so sure about. There aren’t many of us armed here.” Luthein stepped forward.
“Do not worry, all my elven brethren here came fully equipped.”
He signaled them and they all reached behind their backs. From under their cloaks they slid out swords hidden away. They all stood there at the ready.
“We will give a good account of ourselves.” Luthein turned to Wollfen, “I do not expect you to forgive me for what I have done Aerassis, but all along we have known it was necessary. We are still on the same side and intend to see this through.”
Wollfen gave a cautious nod at that comment and made a condition of his own.
“When all this is done, you will give an explanation of your reasons for killing Drexus.” Luthein nodded in return.
“It shall be so.”
It was as if the opposing forces had been waiting for that agreement to come to pass, they waited no longer and a battering sound started coming from the main doors. The seven elves including Luthein lined up facing the doors as they shook and creaked. Wollfen stood to one side, as did Dark with Loranda on the other side. Night had her swords out too.
Finally the doors gave way with a crash and a wave of Isogorrean troops poured in. They ran headlong at the waiting elves and just before they reached them fell to the ground. As they did more troops behind fired their crossbows at the line of elves cutting them down where they stood. Wollfen did not hesitate and hacked into them. He swung Cerendell with brute strength and no other blade or armor could stand up to it. Whatever Wollfen hit was cut down and the room was filled with screams of agony. Dark and Loranda were busy too, not quite as effective but holding their own in dispatching some of the attacking soldiers.
More soldiers poured into the room and most of them made a beeline for the four combatants fighting like demons. Some of the soldiers approached the sorcs standing their ground but were held back by sheer mental willpower by them. It couldn’t last long though as their magic reserves were already low. Alexis entered the room followed by her own loyal sorcs while the fighting was still going on and she approached the staring Madeira who was locked in the task of holding back the soldiers in front of her. A call went out from the ground.
“Now!”
The seven elves sprung up and attacked. Six of them attacking the rear group of soldiers in battle with the four and Luthein ran up behind the sorcs swinging his blade. Two were cut down with a single strike. He swung again a second time killing a third. Then Alexis turned realizing what was going on and sent out a mental blast against this attacker but nothing happened. A fourth sorc went down in a spray of blood and Alexis gave out a shriek of fear as Luthein bore down on her, but he did not kill her. He simply hit her in the head with flat of his blade and she was knocked out. He then went to work and struck a number of the soldiers frozen to the spot in front of him until enough were killed to enable Madeira and her followers enough energy to mind blast the others. They rest crumpled on the spot. Luthein turned with his sword at the ready as another wave of soldiers entered the room and Madeira placed her hand on Luthein’s arm.
“It is okay, these are the ones loyal to me.” She turned to Captain Serhatnan standing at the door. “Wollfen and the others are being attacked! Give him support!”
Immediately he barked orders and the men hit the other soldiers from the rear joining the elves already in the fray. It didn’t take long after that to win the day.
Turning to Luthein standing by her side Madeira was wondering how the elves survived the hits by the crossbow bolts, Luthein pulled open his shirt a little and she looked in,
“What you see, is mithril, it is a metal so hard and light it is impervious to any steel weapon. We have it weaved as an under cloth for us to wear.”
“I am very impressed Luthein, it is almost magical.”
She turned and looked down at the unconscious Alexis lying on the ground and Luthein came up beside her.
“What do you intend on doing with her?” Madeira sighed.
“By all accounts I should have her publicly executed as an example to others to show my total power, I don’t really want to do that though.”
Luthein bent down and held the woman’s head feeling it and using his own mental powers to explore her. Finally he stood up.
“She is a powerful sorc in her own right, it would be a shame to waste such a talent. Do you suppose it would be alright if I took her back to the enchanted lands?” Madeira continued to look at her.
“What would you do with her? You must understand, I personally have nothing against her, I don’t think she should be punished. If our roles were reversed I would have acted in exactly the same way.”
“You have no worry about that. I have no intention of seeing her suffer. The most that may happen to her is that she will feel homesick.” Madeira considered what he had to say.
“Very well, when she awakes I will tell her she is exiled from Isogorr until such time that I believe she can be taken back, would that suffice?” Luthein nodded.
“Yes, that will do fine.”
Wollfen approached from the other side of the room, he was having trouble negotiating all the blood on the floor and kept slipping. When he had swung Cerendell, it dismembered the soldiers in his path and made a large bloody mess. He looked down at Alexis who was still lying on the floor.
“What is your intention Madeira?”
“I will hand her over to Luthein. He has suggested she go to the enchanted lands.” Wollfen turned to Luthein.
“What do you want of her? What do you expect to be able to do with her?”
Luthein decided it might be an opportunity to set some right for his earlier action.
“I am offering sanctuary, so in some small way I can make reparations for having taken a life this morning by offering her own back.” Madeira also added her weight to the argument.
“This works well for me. With her gone I can tell the sorcs that I have taken power here and there is no one to stand against me. We can exile her and I won’t have to publicly execute her. That act would still strengthen my position as new Queen but at the same time there won’t be bad blood from putting her to death.”
Wollfen couldn’t argue with the logic but he still felt the elves had another reason. He was sure they wouldn’t divulge it openly to him anyway, they had kept the decision to kill Drexus from him.
“Well Madeira, you have consolidated your power, what needs to be done now?”
She looked around at the mess and ordered Captain Serhatnan to have it cleaned up, then she turned back to Wollfen.
“I will need to address the hierarchy of sorcs. These will be the sorcs that hold positions of authority within the clique. It will be in front of them I will make my claim and demand for any to come forward who wish to challenge. Now that Alexis has been dealt with I do not expect there to be any problems. We will have to hold it in the emissary hall though, this one is too much of a mess. After the meeting is held
, a messenger will need to be sent to the King to request an audience. The request itself will be but a formality but it will be there that I will have to stamp the authority of the sorcs on the royal family so that they understand that we are no weaker than before. If they for any reason get it into their heads they could take us down we could have a small war of our own here in this country.” Wollfen thought on that and offered a suggestion,
“It may be impressive if you use a teleporting crystal to arrive at the court of the King. He would not be familiar with that power and as such will certainly have to concede you are stronger than the previous Queen. It may even help you to argue to cessation of hostilities in the Kingdom. We already know he has no intentions of stopping in Kassandrea should it fall.”
Madeira agreed and made an order for one of the sorcs loyal to her to take a message to the King of what had happened. She also told the sorc to remain at the King’s court so Madeira could focus on her beacon for teleporting purposes.
“Wollfen your idea is so good I’m going to use it as a sign of my own power in front of the other sorcs too. When we leave the meeting here to go to the King, that will have a similar effect on the sorcs watching here.”
Madeira left them to go organize things and Wollfen looked about. He went back to Drexus’ body and knelt once more beside her, the one saving grace was she was no longer possessed and finally in a happier place in the afterlife. He wondered about that, what happens when people die and have more than one love?
A sorc came up beside him and looked down. He stood up and regarded her, the sorc was looking at his chest plate.
“You must be Wollfen, Madeira has spoken a lot of you.”
“I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage.” The sorc smiled.
“My name is Iris, I think Madeira has mentioned me to you?” Wollfen bowed his head to her.
“Yes she has, I am pleased to meet you Iris.”
“As am I Wollfen. I am intrigued by the man that has made Madeira so happy. Tell me, what was it like to take her virginity? Did you like it as much as she professes herself?”
Wollfen looked at her in surprise. She was being totally open and obviously had no understanding of the etiquette of sex when it came to discussing such intimate matters. He could only chuckle.
“I’m afraid one does not discuss the details of sexual liaisons with strangers.”
“Oh, that’s disappointing. I have been wondering what it is like. I think I’d like it done too and I know you are good at it.” Now Wollfen laughed.
“It takes a lot more than just deciding to do it my lady. Um, if we had the time I would explain. I tell you what. Let me introduce you to a friend of mine. Her name is Loranda and she would be more than willing to fill you in on a lot of details.” Iris smiled.
“That would be nice.”
The sorc meeting did prove to be a formality just as Madeira had predicted. In fact many were relieved that she now held the reigns of power. Drexus had become more and more erratic and it had been having a destabilizing effect on the sorc order. Many of the older sorcs were looking forward to things returning to normal, if only they knew.
Madeira returned to Wollfen and motioned to speak with him.
“I would like you to be with me during the meeting with the King of Isogorr but I think it would prove to be more difficult to gain his subservience if he ever gets the idea that there is some sort of cooperation between me and foreign forces.” Wollfen agreed.
The King wouldn’t stand for it and they would end up in a bloody civil war, sorcs pitted against Isogorrean soldiers and it wouldn’t be a definite that the sorcs would win such a battle.
“I agree with you, Take with you your five best and most loyal sorcs as bodyguards, all of you appearing before him will put the wind up him.” Madeira smiled.
“You really think it will intimidate him that much?”
“Oh yes, one thing I do know from your society, even though I haven’t ever met the man. I can tell you this, the King fears you and that is the only reason he subjects himself to your rule. Remember that Madeira. He must fear you.”
Madeira understood Wollfen’s reasoning. There was no sharing of power in Isogorr. You either had it or you didn’t.
The King of Isogorr sat on his throne in shock. The six sorcs had appeared before him as if out of nowhere and now one threw back her hood and looked at him. It was Madeira and he watched her warily, as she stepped forward she addressed him as one would talk down to a servant.
“I am the new Queen in the tower of Sorcs. I can tell you that all sorcs serve me now and that total order is in place. There is no need for alarm my King. The power of the sorcs is even stronger and more focused than before. You have no fear of any enemies making inroads into our empire.”
The statement held a double meaning. Not only was the statement meant to reassure the King of the sorc power still being able to serve the empire, but it also impressed on him the fact that he would not be able to do anything to them either. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t test the truth of it. The King bowed his head just a tad towards Madeira.
“Tell me Queen Madeira, how can I know that this be true? I may not want you as high Queen. It may please me to replace you.”
It was a direct challenge to her to see how she would react. And react she did, Madeira looked to one of the King’s personal guard, the Captain in fact. He was the King’s most trusted. The man took out his dagger and walked up to the King and held it to his throat and stopped. The King didn’t move, Madeira spoke,
“Don’t think for a second you are safe in any way or at any time King. I am in control, do you understand?”
King Eunadees nodded as much as he dare. Then the captain collapsed at the foot of the throne.
“Don’t make me show you my true power King. I am not that interested in your personal desires or intrigues. We will leave you alone as much as you leave us alone, do you understand?” Again the King nodded.
“Perfectly.”
He was already gaining a dislike for this new queen, but he dare not do anything, what else was she capable of?
“Now down to business, I have decided that the time in the Kingdom is a waste of resources. The former Queen misled you. There is no grand treasure in Kassandrea and as such you are throwing away the lives of many Isogorreans for nothing.”
The King started, the entire campaign was based on a huge reward at the end of the war. They had committed more than they could afford. The royal household was in huge debt with no way of repaying it if there was no return.
“The former Queen promised me, you do not understand, if we don’t return with those promised riches it may very well bankrupt this nation!” Madeira stood there thinking about what the King was saying. If it were true it put Isogorr in dire straights.
“That is disturbing news, I cannot comment on that part of it as I was not privy to what was agreed to between her and you. All I know is that the goal she had in mind was not gold or jewels. On this I know she lied to you.”
They were both taken aback by the exchange of information. It placed both of their orders in a precarious position. Not only was the sorc clique in danger but so was the royal house too. If the economy collapsed, they would be a sitting target for their enemies. Madeira gained an appreciation of the situation just before the King and addressed him,
“We are both in danger of losing everything. I think it may be prudent we work together to come up with a solution.” The King nodded.
His head was in a spin, he thought about what Madeira had told him, she had nothing to gain by lying.
“We need to withdraw our forces immediately, but it will take six months to get word to them, by then it may be too late.” Madeira shook her head,
“No I can teleport directly to the Kingdom just as easily. Give me a high ranking officer with personal orders from you to end the war and return immediately.” Now he saw hope.
“Yes we can do that. The only thing will be that th
e convoys already on the water will still be arriving there after the last lot sailed, that was two weeks ago.”
“I will organize to travel to the Kingdom within three days. Have your emissary ready then and I will take him to our Warlord in Port Cholandra. From there we can get word to the siege at Kassandrea.”
“How do you know Kassandrea has not been taken? Warlord Aristeides was under strict instructions to take it before winter.” Madeira looked at him directly once more.
“Do you really think that someone who can teleport between countries doesn’t know what’s going on there right now?”
She could see he had no idea. Drexus had been very guarded about what she had told the King,
“What had Drexus told you of the campaign to date?”
“Only that progress was being made and that all goals were being achieved, nothing more.” Madeira felt it was time he was let in on some facts. It would also ingratiate herself with the King to some extent.
“Then you need to be filled in on some important information my King. Right now Isogorrean forces are laying siege to Kassandrea but the toll to this point I believe has been the cost of twenty thousand soldier’s lives. That in itself is not the problem. The Kingdom is preparing to strike and the forty thousand around Kassandrea will be eliminated. The Kingdom has the elven army to count on, believe me, we are not in a good position.”
She was a little loose with the truth but she wanted to drive home the helplessness of the situation. Madeira really didn’t want him having second thoughts about pulling out. He could only shake his head.
“We need to get our forces out as soon as possible.” He looked up at her, “You will help in doing this?”
Madeira nodded. She could see this having benefits. If they could develop a new closer cooperation between the sorcs and the rest of Isogorr it could only help.
“I will leave you now King, you have much to organize as do I. In three days we will travel to the Kingdom and get our men back.”
The King nodded and Madeira bowed her head a little then the other sorcs took hold and they disappeared into thin air. It left the King surprised again. The new circumstances had thrown up a whole bunch of challenges though. If Madeira was right about no riches to be had, the next couple of years would be testing not only for her and her clique but for the King and his family too. He decided she could keep. He would have to make sure of his own position first before thinking about total power. There were too many other families that would vie for ascendancy in the near future.