Under the cover of the table, Trev’nor put a hand over both of hers and squeezed. She started in her seat, coming half out of it, head snapping around. “Relax,” he murmured to her, for her ears only. “There’s no need to be nervous.”
“Sanjar Trexler is not a good opponent,” she whispered back, voice shaking. “He’s a petty sort of man with an ugly temper. He’s coming with the largest army that you’ve ever seen, I promise you that. Few can stand in his path.”
“You’ve met this man before?”
She shook her head roughly. “Not face to face. I was working on the defenses for Trexler when he walked by. I saw him from a distance. He’s a cruel, spoiled man.”
“Good. Spoiled men make stupid mistakes.” Trev’nor had to smirk when she gave him that patented ‘are you joking’ look. “Azin, I’m not worried about defeating his army.”
The room was still enough that his words carried past the table and he could hear people creeping in closer. To bolster their morale, he repeated in a louder voice, “I’m not worried about defeating his army. Five Mages alone are an army by themselves. That doesn’t even include the dragons. Plus, this idiot was foolish enough to leave his protective walls and come out in the open to lay siege against us. He’d have lasted a little longer behind them.”
“The only thing we’re worried about is leaving you defenseless while we’re gone,” Nolan stated, glancing up from his study of the map. He was leaning half over the table, but straightened enough to look around the room in general. “I think the dragons will protect you, in case this march of Trexler’s is a diversion to draw us out, but we want to make sure that nothing happens to you while we’re fighting.”
They’d made that mistake once. No one cared to make it again. “Can we do a ward here?”
“Well, we can,” Nolan admitted, although his tone indicated doubt. “But it will interrupt trade if we do that and I’d rather not impact the city’s economy that way. I mean, if it’s a temporary thing, say a day or two, then I don’t think it would do much harm.”
“Ward?” Ehsan repeated the foreign word carefully, mouth maneuvering around the syllables.
“A protective shield that will cover the city as a whole,” Nolan explained. “It will keep enemies out.”
“Only people the ward recognizes can go in and out,” Trev’nor sought to further explain. “We left a ward on Rurick to keep it protected.”
Danyal made a sound of enlightenment. “Is that what that is?”
Trev’nor cocked a brow at him, still holding onto Azin’s hand, although she was losing some of her nervousness under their calm discussion. “You know what we’re talking about?”
“Yes, I do. Warlord Trexler was very angry about it. He wanted to retake Rurick but couldn’t get any men through.”
That was interesting news. They’d assumed, as they hadn’t seen any evidence of it, that the warlord was not interested enough in Rurick to come and reclaim it. Apparently he had tried only to be rebuffed so thoroughly by the ward that he was forced into a retreat. At least a temporary one. Still, to not even leave a few scouts? Was the man that arrogant, or what?
“Wards make him mad?” Becca gave a happy sound of evil delight. “Then I vote yes. Wards?” she asked, holding up a hand for agreement.
Nolan lifted a hand immediately. “Wards.”
“Wards it is,” Trev’nor finished with a lifted hand. “Hey, do either of you know if a witch or wizard needs a focusing wand for the ward spell?”
Becca ventured uncertainly, “I don’t think they do…?”
“They don’t,” Nolan stated with certainty. “The spell itself is their focusing tool. Why? Do you think we should include everyone in this?”
“Wouldn’t that make the ward that much stronger?”
“Can’t disagree with you there.” Nolan thought about it a second before offering, “And actually, that’s a really good thing to teach them before we leave.”
It really was, now that Trev’nor thought about it. It was the ultimate way to protect themselves even if they didn’t have the means to fight. “Then let’s do that today. Alright. What do we know about his way here?”
“He will take the trade route,” Danyal informed them, tracing a finger along the road. “It’s the most direct path.”
“How long will it take?”
“Three days.”
Nolan asked, “How big of an army? Do we know?”
“It depends on what is happening up north. Also how many he chooses to leave behind to guard Trexler. I would venture a guess of three to four thousand.”
“What about this land? Is it flat? Rocky?” Becca asked.
“Yes, both of those,” Danyal confirmed.
Azin found her voice enough to speak up. “I’ve traveled up there a few times. It’s mostly flat, with some craggy sections and a few minor hills that are mostly sand dunes. There’s no one living in that section. Water is impossible to find.”
“Perfect place for a battle, then,” Trev’nor observed. Judging that Azin had summoned up her courage, he let go of her to tap the map. “We don’t have to worry about hurting people or damaging anything out here. We can cut loose.”
Becca eyed the map as if envisioning the landscape. “So if that’s the case…still no tornados?”
Nolan glanced up at her from under his eyebrows. “Bec. I’ll let you discuss that with your dragon and see what she says.”
“Oh,” Becca said with dawning realization. “Right. Tornados and flying would not mix well, would it?”
“Understatement, Bec, complete understatement.”
“Shrieking hinges,” she swore. “I did not think of that. Alright, no tornados. So what do we do?”
“First, we need to divide this up.” Nolan tilted his torso to look at the man hovering at his side. “Commander, how much of that army is likely mounted?”
“About half. It is routine for every force to be half-mounted, half on foot. Our tactics work best that way.”
Nolan turned to the rest of the table. “I can dismount them and cause some havoc in the ranks first thing. I’ll be in charge of an aerial attack. Also, I think I should be point of contact for everyone as I can communicate with all of the dragons.”
That made sense to Trev’nor. “Shall I create some fatal funnels, then? Break up the ranks, give us some dividing lines so that we know who should be attacking which part? I’d rather we didn’t bumble into each other.” Bad things would follow.
“Sounds good,” Nolan agreed. “You do that before the army even gets there, I think. Then fight as you see fit. Becca?”
She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, her focus was on the other two mages at the table. “I think we need them to get their feet wet with this. Azin, what can you do?”
The Elemental Mage looked jarred to be suddenly called out and was not one bit thankful for it. She stammered, eyes darting anywhere but to the person speaking to her, and paused for several long and awkward seconds. “Um, weapons?”
“Oh? Good thought, that one. Disarming them will help us later.”
Azin blushed at this small praise and sat a little straighter. “I will deal with their weapons.”
Nolan nodded in approval. “Ehsan, from the description of this place, I’m not sure if you’ll have any water to work with. We might need you to go ahead with Trev’nor and create some water traps.”
Becca negated this with a shake of the head. “My storm will give him all of the water he needs. He can fight with the rain I call.”
Trev’nor was very glad she offered that as he felt like Ehsan would be a formidable fighter, given some more experience and practical application with his magic. “In that case, you two better stick close to each other and coordinate what you’re doing.”
The man didn’t give any overt signs of relief, but the way he relaxed into his chair instead of sitting at the very edge of it gave his emotions away. Ehsan was ready to fight at any time but that didn’t mean he ha
d any confidence of how to go about it.
Danyal lifted a questioning finger. “What can we do?”
“Help us after we’ve defeated them,” Becca answered promptly. “Once they’re disarmed, round them up, take charge of them. Our magic can’t be sustained forever. It’s best if we hit them first and you handle cleanup this round.” She must have seen the slightly dissatisfied look on his face as she assured him, “We can learn how to fight with each other for the next battle later, after we deal with this situation.”
“I understand, Raya. I will explain this to my men and make preparations.”
“I think we more or less know what to do, then.” Nolan stabbed at the map. “Here. I think we need to meet him about here. It’s a day away from Trexler and Tiergan, so the odds of us accidentally damaging anything is very low. That also gives us the rest of the day to prepare before leaving. On dragon-back, we should be able to catch the army about noon tomorrow. Any objections?”
“Wait, you think we can teach magical novices a warding spell in the space of an afternoon?” Trev’nor protested.
“If we can’t, we use the people that do know how to do it and move on. We don’t have a lot of time here, Trev.”
Well, granted, that was true but still….
Nolan was already moving on. “Ehsan, Azin, we need to talk to the dragons and see who is willing to give you a ride there. You’ll need to be on dragon-back while you fight so I suggest you learn how to ride one today before we leave.”
Trev’nor half-expected an objection from Azin, but instead her lips parted with an expression of wonder.
“I can ride one?” she breathed, hands clasped at her heart.
“If you ask, yes, I’m sure one of them will let you.” Nolan gave him a pointed look.
Oh, right, in order for them to ride one Trev’nor would have to create more saddles.
“With them, we need the soldiers who agreed to fight with us to also learn how to ride,” Becca added.
“Now wait one minute,” Trev’nor objected. “I can’t create that many saddles all at once!”
“Do as many as you can,” Becca urged. “Those that can’t ride this trip can be carried over, but it will be easier on our dragons to fight without shielding a passenger or landing with only three paws.”
She really made too much sense for him to argue with her. Trev’nor resigned himself to making saddles. Quickly. If he enlisted some help from Azin and some of the leatherworkers in town, then he should be able to make more in a few hours. “I’ll get on that. Ah, I take it you’ll explain the battle plan to our winged friends outside?”
“They’ve been listening in,” Nolan assured him off-handedly.
Becca propped her chin in her hand, leaning over the table. “Just how good is their hearing, anyway?”
“Like you would not believe.” Nolan gave her an enigmatic smile. “Becca, I think you’re the only one free to teach people the warding spell.”
“It looks like I am. Alright, I’ll do that, then. Ehsan, come with me. I know you can’t stay for long, you have riding lessons, but at least help translate so that they understand what it is I’m trying to teach them to do.”
“Certainly,” Ehsan agreed readily.
Nothing went smoothly, of course. Plans never do. Nolan ended up borrowing his and Trev’nor’s saddles and putting the new riders on Llona and Garth for the lessons so that the dragons could half-teach the riders. Trev’nor worked feverishly in gathering all of the supplies and making the saddles while that was going on, cursing whenever he hit a snag and cheating outrageously with magic whenever possible. One would think, after making three of these, he would now more or less have the system down. But nooo, things kept going wrong at every possible turn. Likely because he was rushing. Things always went badly when a craftsman tried to rush.
It was nearly sunset when he finally fitted the last saddle to the last dragon. Tired, grumpy, beyond starving (he’d skipped lunch entirely trying to get the saddles done), he thanked the craftsmen that had helped him and trudged back toward the inn. They had managed to make fifty in all, a number far outside of his expectations, but Trev’nor knew that it wouldn’t be quite enough. It just would be mean less for the dragons to carry by claw. Hopefully it was sufficient. He was out of materials and energy, so it had better be.
As he walked, he heard the opening note to the warding spell and looked up and around, trying to pinpoint the source. Spaced around the wall in almost even intervals were all of the magicians. Becca stood a little behind and to the right of Ehsan, standing with what looked like a mirror held up to her mouth. Trying to project strongly enough through the mirror so the other side could hear her? Smart.
In one accord, over a hundred voices opened their mouths and started to sing one of the oldest songs, one of the most ancient of spells, in a hauntingly minor chorus. With the sunset gilding their silhouettes, it made for a stunning image that seared its way into his eyes and memory. They sang with the purest of intentions, and as the words came out of their mouths, the air shimmered with magic.
Every person in the street stopped dead as they saw the air bend and glow golden in tones different from the setting suns. Even Trev’nor, who had seen more wards than he could possibly remember, felt awed at the sight. It was like the barrier in Q’atal, it shone with so much power. He’d never thought he would see another ward that could rival that one, but this one did. It possibly outshone it.
The spell came to a close, the last word spoken more than sung, and the ward solidified into a firm presence with an almost audible hum of its own.
A woman behind him clutched her toddler to her legs and stared at the ward with trepidation. “Is…that…?”
“A ward,” Trev’nor answered her. Seeing that most of the people on the street looked petrified, he sighed and made his voice loud enough to be heard by most of them. “That is a ward! It will protect the city from attack! Do not fear it!”
The toddler was the only one brave enough to ask him, “Won’t hurt?”
“Even if you touch it,” Trev’nor assured him. “Won’t hurt.”
They didn’t look sold, but he didn’t try to add anything more to this. Experience and time would show him right.
Becca caught a quick lift from Cat, cradled against her scaly chest long enough to alight on a nearby rooftop and be lowered to the ground. Fortunately Khobunter liked flat roofs. The dragons had many options for landing pads. “What do you think?” she asked Trev’nor before her feet were even properly under her. “Isn’t this amazing? I’ve never seen a ward this strong.”
“It is amazing,” he praised, meaning every word. “How did you teach them all that fast?”
“I actually had a few that gave up. They just couldn’t pronounce all of the words well enough, so they left it up to the ones that could.”
“It is a lot of foreign words to learn in a short amount of time.” Trev’nor, in their place, was not sure if he could have managed it. Back when he was still a student, they’d been given a week to memorize this spell.
“Don’t I know it,” Becca responded, sounding tired. “But it was definitely worth the effort.”
He couldn’t argue there. “Dinner?”
“Dinner sounds great. I skipped lunch trying to do everything. Did you get the saddles done?”
“By some miracle, yes.”
“I’m sensing some frustration there. I take it things did not go well.”
“Let’s say I’ve had better days making something and leave it at that, shall we?” Trev’nor grumped. “How do you think Nolan did?”
“I’m perfectly willing to track him down and ask, but only after I get food.”
Deserts were very strange, temperature-wise. It could be blazing hot during the day, so much so that it felt like you were baking, and then when the suns set it was cold enough to feel like winter. Becca disliked the extremes, as it played havoc with her system, and she was never sure whether to put on extra layers or doff
them. It became even more of a guessing game when riding on dragon-back. Flying like this made it colder but at the same time, the suns were just as strong and heated her up. Especially on her right side.
Azin and Ehsan had been more than a touch nervous mounting on dragons that morning. Not to mention all of their soldiers. A half hour of practice didn’t an experienced rider make. What eased everyone’s minds was that they could communicate with the dragons vocally if they needed to, and the dragons knew where to go and what the plan was. They didn’t really need much in the way of direction. If it had been otherwise, they’d never have gotten Azin on.
Master Sosa and Rikksha Yasmina had volunteered to go as well. Rikkan Akbar was deathly afraid of heights and absolutely refused to go, which was just as well, as he and his wife were needed in Tiergan more than with them. The city was still in upheaval. But the others would be the judges for Trexler after the battle. They’d also help sort through the soldiers. Becca had no desire to lock up thousands of soldiers at a time. That would drain their resources drastically and be a waste of time and manpower to boot. She would rather send all of them home, if she could.
They flew straight north for nearly four hours. Becca ate and drank sparingly as there wouldn’t be any chance for a bathroom break until late this evening. She drank enough to keep from being completely dehydrated, ate enough to keep her stomach from growling, and made do with that.
The day warmed quickly, and by the time it hit noon, she sorely regretted her choice of wearing a light jacket. But shrugging it off would be impossible as she had nowhere to put it later. She wasn’t about to try tying the sleeves around her waist, the wind force would whip it off again. Oh well, sweating wouldn’t make her melt.
“See them,” Cat informed her, loud enough to carry over the wind in her ears.
“How many?” Becca shouted back.
“Lots,” the dragon answered truthfully, if unhelpfully.
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