Siege of Pailtar

by Robyn Wideman

  “You are going to school, Rose. You don’t have time for that sort of foolishness,” said Avera.

  “She’s right, Rose, you have to go to school. Someday you can come help me, but first you have to go to school,” said Ava.

  “Fine,” said Rose. “I will go to school, but if you learn any new spells today you have to promise to show me later.”

  “I’m not sure I could show you. But if I learn something that I can show people, you will be the first one I show. I promise.”

  “Deal,” said Rose with a smile.

  “Are you done breakfast, Rose? It’s time for us to get going,” said Avera.

  “I need to get going too,” said Ava. “Come on, Rose, I’ll walk with you and Avera for as long as I can.”

  Rose quickly finished up her oatmeal and left with Avera and Ava.

  Finally, thought Nathan, I can finish my oatmeal in peace.

  That’s what you think, Nathan. Enjoy your oatmeal! Ava smiled as she read his thoughts and responded.

  Nathan looked at his oatmeal suspiciously. Hunger overcame caution and he ate it. Nothing was amiss. There were no bugs in it, no surprises at the bottom of the bowl. She had worried him for nothing but fun. He wondered how he was going to return the favor, hiding his thoughts so he could prank her. Ava was keeping him on his toes. He smiled and refilled his bowl.

  …

  Breon Poultin watched with amazement as Nathan worked at the forge. A northerner, Nathan was as big and strong as any young man. Breon knew a few men who might be stronger, but none could work the metal the way Nathan did. Nathan’s giant’s blood heritage and his strong magical connection with the earth were a perfect combination for a blacksmith. Breon wasn’t sure which factor, his strength or his magic, most influenced his smithing ability. But it did not matter, the results were all that mattered.

  Today, they were making swords. Normally, his apprentices would take turns on the forge hammering the metal into shape, but when Nathan was working, they simply left that task to him and Breon’s apprentices focused on sharpening the blades once Nathan had them shaped. In a day they would make three times as many swords as normal when Nathan assisted them. “Take a break, boys. I brought you some cold water.

  Nathan ignored Breon’s words. He was almost done forging the weapon and to stop now was a waste of effort. Making swords was tedious and boring work for Nathan. He knew it was necessary and important work, but he would much rather be making jewelry or fancy ironwork. Nathan hammered the blade a few more times and then inspected it. It was good. He could make better with the right materials, but witchwood and phosphorus were not common in Balta. Nathan still had some of his supplies from his trek through Northern Solotine, but certainly not enough to arm the entire army. Satisfied that the blade was ready, Nathan put it down and went to get a drink of the cold water that Breon had offered.

  “I wish I could get you here everyday,” said Breon. “I know the apprentices certainly enjoy having days where they don’t have to do the hammering.”

  Nathan laughed, “Sorry, I wouldn’t be able to do this every day. I’ll stick to making jewelry.”

  “As you should,” said Breon. “Your black steel jewelry is excellent. Well worth the exorbitant prices you’re getting for them. That doesn’t change the fact that it would be better for me if you made swords every day.

  Nathan laughed again.

  …

  “Ava, could you grab the red spell book from the third shelf of the fifth bookcase. I recall it might have something of use,” said Balthazar as he studied the tomes of the Red Order.

  “Right away,” said Ava. So far this was the eighth trip to the library for a spell book that might be of use. So far none of them had helped. The Red Order had used a dead language for the spells and so far Balthazar had not been able to decipher much of it. Cyrnic, the one mage with the most experience studying the Red Order had perished during the attempt to retrieve the tomes, and his knowledge regarding the ancient tomes was now lost. Cyrnic’s notes had been less than helpful.

  Ava grabbed the red spell book and took it back to the workspace Balthazar was using. When she got there she was surprised to see the king and one of his knights talking with Balthazar.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness, there is no easy way to decipher the tomes. Whatever secrets they hold will take some time to reveal themselves. Cyrnic studied for years before he understood enough to track down the tomes. Hopefully some of his findings will help guide us, but so far I have nothing to offer you.”

  The king was obviously frustrated by this answer. “Then why were the Darcarions so insistent on finding the tomes. King Ganus won’t wait years before he attacks. Why would they risk so much for tomes that would take so long to understand.

  “The Red Order was a powerful organization, they had members in many cities. Perhaps Meron or another city of Morthon had temples of their order. Perhaps his mages have studied the language and only needed to get ahold of the tomes. I don’t know what King Ganus was thinking, other than the legends state the tomes contain powerful spells, ones that could change the balance of power in Mithbea. I would assume a man like King Ganus would want the tomes regardless of how long it took him to gain their knowledge.”

  “I suppose,” Said King Verbon. “I had hoped you would be able to provide something soon. Something we can use to defend the kingdom against Morthon’s armies.”

  “I, too, hope to accomplish that goal, finding the Red Order’s secrets is my highest priority.”

  Boom! An explosion rocked the room. Everyone in the room was knocked down by the violent blast.

  Ava opened her eyes. The explosion had sent her flying into the wall. The room was smoky and hot. Ava blinked and tried to clear her eyes. When she finally was able to focus, Ava watched in horror as four Darcarions rushed into the room. Ava instantly recognized the tattoo-covered bodies and tried to put up her magic shield. But something was wrong with her back. She could not move her hands or arms, and her brain was still fuzzy. Fear was coursing through her body. Something was paralyzing her body.

  The Darcarions moved swiftly. The shock wave had worked perfectly. The spy had told them that Balthazar had removed many of his normal protective spells in this room so they would not interfere with any spells they learned from the tomes. Once the spy had snuck them into the city it had been easy to hide out and wait for the signal that the king was with Balthazar. They were more than happy that they would be able to take out all of their targets at once, and retrieve the tomes. Fortune had smiled upon them.

  Balthazar assessed the damage the powerful blast had caused. While he had taken down the majority of his magical wards, he had kept on his ring, a powerful talisman that absorbed much of the magical damage of the shockwave. The Darcarion mages were already in the room and about to finish their job. Three of the mages sent spells at Balthazar while the fourth attacked the king's knight with a wicked looking blade. The knight, groggy and still stunned fell to the Darcarion’s blade. The mage then turned and struck down King Verbon who was trying to stand up, with what looked like a bolt of lightning. Balthazar needed all of his energy to block the spells being cast at him. Helplessly, he could only watch as the king died.

  Balthazar knew his own death was imminent. He could not withstand the attacks for much longer. The only thing that mattered now was making sure the Darcarions did not take the tomes. His own life, even that of his king, did not compare to the cost of letting the Darcarions retrieve the tomes. Looking around for a course of action, Balthazar found a full wineskin and threw it across the room. The Darcarions watched in amusement as the wineskin flew past them. Balthazar had not even come close to hitting them.

  The Darcarion mage leader smirked at Balthazar. “The great Balthazar, and all you manage to do is throw away good wine. How disappointing. I expected more from such a legendary mage.”

  Energy fading and wounded, Balthazar knew he would not be able to defeat the four mages. Balthazar now had a
choice to make. He could save himself or the kingdom. With his remaining magical energy, Balthazar cast his last two spells. The wineskin burst into flames and a shimmer of blue light surrounded Ava. The Darcarion mages, focusing on Balthazar and the burning wineskin, did not notice the magical shield he placed over Ava.

  The Darcarion mage turned and looked at the burning wineskin. He finally realized that Balthazar had not missed with his throw. He had not been aiming at them, he had thrown the wineskin on top of the tomes of the Red Order. The valuable tomes were now destroyed by the flames!

  The Darcarion leader screamed in anger. They had failed again to retrieve the tomes. King Ganus would never accept this outcome. He would kill them and everyone they ever knew. The only thing the Darcarions could do was make sure Balthazar died. The leader barked a command at his fellow warrior mages. The four mages clasped hands, stood in a circle and started their last spell. One they had hoped to never use. With a few words, the Darcarion mages started to glow and then a spark of energy erupted in the center of their circle. The spell used all of the magic of the four mages and created a powerful explosion, blowing them up along with everyone else in the room.

  17

  NATHAN FELT AVA’S PAIN as the initial shockwave attack hit. He could feel her confusion and then her fear as she realized the Darcarions were attacking.

  Nathan dropped the hammer and sword blade he had been forging and grabbed his own weapons belt and ran out of the smith shop.

  “Nathan, what is going on?” asked Breon, but Nathan just kept running.

  Breon grabbed one of the freshly sharpened swords and yelled at his apprentices. “Everyone grab a weapon and follow Nathan. Something is amiss.” The three apprentices and Breon scrambled to follow Nathan.

  Nathan ran as fast as he could towards Balthazar’s house. It was on the outskirts of the city. After Cyrnic had almost blown up Balta, it had been deemed that all mages must live away from the masses. As Nathan ran he tried to communicate with Ava. “Are you okay? What is going on?”

  But Ava was too weak to reply. Her thoughts were jumbled and filled with fear. Nathan ran faster towards Balthazar's house. He could see four knights standing at the door of the house, trying to break it down, but a magical barrier was preventing their entry.

  As Nathan reached the door, a powerful explosion knocked him and the knights back. Nathan watched in horror as the entire second floor of Balthazar’s house blew up.

  Nathan suddenly felt a void in his being. Something was missing. Nathan feared the worse. He desperately tried to sense Ava to see if she had survived the blast, but he could sense nothing. Where he had been able to sense her fear and confusion seconds before, there was now a void. No emotion no nothing. Ava was gone.

  Tears filled Nathan’s eyes as he watched the building burn. He was stunned.

  “The king is in there!” yelled the knights as they tried to break down the door, but the flames were already working their way down the walls and entry into the building was impossible. No one could save the king, Balthazar, or Ava now.

  More knights arrived along with Breon and his apprentices. Breon yelled at everyone. “Buckets of water, everyone grab buckets of water and someone fetch an elemental mage from the castle.”

  One of the knights yelled, “I’ll get the mages, everyone else get some water.” The knight ran off to the castle while the rest of the crowd scrambled to get buckets of water.

  Nathan just stood watching the building burn. He knew that Ava was gone and no amount of water would bring her back. Nathan could feel the intense heat of the fire on his face,but instead of backing up Nathan just let the heat hit him. The pain of the heat was nothing compared to the numb, abysmal void. Ava was gone. He forced himself out of his daze and calculated how to best help fight the fire.

  Soldiers and citizens started bringing buckets of water and dumping them into an empty barrel one of the soldiers had grabbed. Nathan helped passing buckets of water. Tears continued to flow.

  “Fill the barrel,” yelled the soldier as the bucket were brought to the fire.

  Minutes later the first soldier returned with an elemental mage in tow. The mage wasted little time starting to cast his spell on the water in the barrel. The water rose and formed a tiny rain cloud over the burning house.

  “Keep filling the barrel,” said the mage as he concentrated on his spell.

  Nathan stepped out of the bucket line. His thoughts became more coherent. He walked purposefully to the mage. He grabbed the mage's shoulder and pushed his own magical energy into the mage. The mage used Nathan’s power to amplify his spell, increasing the size of the raincloud over the house. Soon a torrent of water rained down on the house, slowing the burning down. Thick black smoke bellowed as the fire hissed and crackled. As each bucket of water was added to the barrel more rain fell onto the burning house.

  Nathan focused on pushing his own energies into the elemental mage. When he felt his own reserves start to deplete Nathan drew on reserves stored in the magical ring he was wearing, and then Nathan grabbed his dagger and drew upon its energy reserves. When all his own energies and those stored in his gems was gone, Nathan drew upon the very earth itself. Nathan started to shake as he strained to send more energy to the elemental mage.

  Finally, someone grabbed Nathan and pulled him away from the mage. Nathan looked up. It was Aunt Avera.

  “Stop, Nathan, you are using too much energy. You can’t save them.” Blood was dripping from Nathan’s nose, the strain pushing so much energy into the elemental mage had caused him to start bleeding.

  “She’s gone, Avera. Ava’s gone.”

  Avera hugged Nathan. Her own eyes filled with tears. “I know.”

  “Let’s go home. I need to tell Rose, and then we need to start figuring out what happened.”

  “Where is Verin?”

  “He was on patrol in the forest. All rangers have been signaled home, he will be here in a few hours,” said Avera.

  “Have him come to the house. The three of us need to talk. We can’t trust anyone else.” Nathan was going through his recent memories. Ava’s thoughts had been scattered during the attack, but he had seen and heard her thoughts, now he needed to put them together and figure out what happened. One thing was a given. Duke Evollan had been right. King Ganus was not stopping, and they needed to figure out who the spy was before anyone else died.

  Avera, despite her own shock and grief, noticed the way Nathan spoke. His words were lacking emotion. He was focusing his energy on finding out what happened. As much as they both needed to mourn the loss of Ava, Balthazar, and her brother King Verbon, there was no time. Avera shook herself mentally, took a deep breath. They were facing an enemy who could kill their king and his most powerful mage right in Balta. Nathan was much too young to have to suffer so much adversity, but he was better equipped than most. He already survived the loss of his parents and survived the grief that followed. He was a smart boy, entering manhood with the experiences and maturity of someone much older. Avera looked at Nathan with hope. While Soron and Velaina had raised him in a small village, they had raised him to be inquisitive and open minded, caring and loyal. They had obviously taught him about inner strength, and helped him build it. He would need every bit of that inner strength to survive this.

  Ava gently nudged Nathan towards home. Even with the help Nathan had provided the elemental mage, the house had burned to the ground. Even without talking to Nathan about Ava’s thoughts, Avera knew strong magic had been involved in the explosion and ensuing fire. It was not like any natural fire she had ever witnessed. She shuddered.

  …

  When they arrived home, Rose knew something was wrong. She could see Nathan’s tear streaked soot covered face and the burn marks where sparks had hit his cotton shirt. “What happened to you, Nathan? Where is Ava?”

  Avera grabbed Rose’s hands and kneeled down so she could look the young girl in the eyes. “Rose, there has been a fire. I’m afraid Ava was in the build
ing that burned. She is not coming home.”

  Rose started to sob. She had been with Avera when one of the knights told her about the attack. She had seen the way Avera’s face had turned white. She had not believed Avera when she told her that it was nothing. She could see the thick black smoke, and when Avera ran off, Rose knew something terrible had happened again. When Avera and Nathan came home, Rose took one look at Nathan’s face and knew it was Ava. Tears flowed as Rose held Aunt Avera tight. It wasn’t fair. Why did everyone she love have to die? First her parents and now Ava. Rose felt like she was cursed.

  Nathan watched as Avera consoled Rose. He wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything would be okay, but he couldn’t. If he broke down now he might never get it back together. He had to be strong. He had to figure out what happened. He needed to be thinking of Ava’s last thoughts, not how he would feel without her around.

  Leaving Rose and Avera, Nathan went to his room and sat on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling and replayed what happened. Ava had been helping out Balthazar when the shock wave slammed her against the wall. He had felt her pain, she had been dizzy and confused and her legs and arms weren’t working. A back injury or magic? There had been images of men in the room. Nathan focused on the images, her blurry vision made the memories confusing but she had recognized the tattoo’s of the Darcarions. They had been the men in the room after the shock wave. The next thing Ava had seen was Balthazar throwing something at the Darcarions. No, he had thrown it past them on to the table where the tomes had been. Ava had watched Balthazar burn the books. She had then seen the Darcarions stand together in the middle of the room and holding hands. She had seen the spark start as the four mages killed themselves to create a massive fireball. The Darcarion mages had killed themselves in order to kill Balthazar and King Verbon. When the fireball exploded, Ava had seen a blue light, and then nothing. Her memories, thoughts and feelings all stopped going to Nathan after the blue light. Had that been her dying? Wouldn’t she have felt a great deal of pain or had it happened quick? The blue light and the way he felt disturbed Nathan. But he put those feelings aside. He had learned what he needed to. Someone had snuck four Darcarions into Balta, they waited until the king went to see Balthazar and they attacked. When the tomes were destroyed, the Darcarions killed themselves and everyone else in the room. Nathan couldn’t help but wonder what drove the Darcarions. They had Balthazar wounded, and the king was likely dead already from sword wounds, why blow themselves up? Was the burning of the tomes what caused them to kill themselves? Whatever their reasons, the fact that four powerful mages had sacrificed their lives to hurt his friends was sobering. How many more mages did King Ganus have under his control?