Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web (The Complete Epic Fantasy)

by Thomas J. Prestopnik

  “Oh?” Caldurian remarked. “Now you have me intrigued.”

  “But you’ll be pleased with the result,” Madeline chimed in, her willowy body warmly wrapped in a cloak lined with fox fur. Strands of flaming red hair peeked out beneath her black kerchief.

  “Indeed you will,” Mune continued. “By happenstance, Dell Hawks spotted the King’s granddaughter, Princess Megan, in that area. He followed her to the Plum Orchard Inn the day before my arrival. Dell informed Madeline of this and attempted to kidnap the princess, though failed.” He noted the incredulous look on Caldurian’s face. “Trust me, I’m sober. It was the princess. We arranged for her kidnapping a few days later in Boros before taking her to our meeting spot above the grasslands with Commander Uta. I’ll provide the particulars later, but Princess Megan is now in the capable yet reluctant hands of one Captain Tarosius Lok of the Northern Isles.”

  “The princess was taken to the Isles?” Caldurian asked, both delighted and stunned by the unexpected bit of information.

  Mune smirked. “No, even better. Since the Islanders are sending troops and supplies to Vellan up the Lorren River, they’ve confiscated a small island near the mouth of the Lorren from which they direct their operation.”

  “Karg Island. Yes, I know of it,” the wizard replied.

  “That is where we left the princess,” Madeline explained. “She’s being held prisoner under Lok’s supervision, if or until you should need her.”

  Caldurian raised an eyebrow and smiled. “She’ll yet be a useful bargaining piece, even twenty years later. You’ve redeemed us from our dreadful error in the past.”

  “I thought that, too,” she replied, pleased with his reaction.

  Dooley, meanwhile, watched with bubbling curiosity as he listened to their story. This was the second time he had heard about Princess Megan’s kidnapping. The first time, however, was from the princess herself when she recounted the story while he was hidden among the rafters in the war council chamber two weeks ago. While there, he also learned that a girl named Ivy had traded places with Princess Megan and had been accidentally kidnapped instead. Apparently Madeline and Mune never learned of this deception. He felt suddenly empowered knowing that he possessed vital information of which they were not aware. When he returned from Morrenwood, Dooley told Farnsworth that he had heard Nicholas Raven and the princess speak after the war council and planned to tell Caldurian tonight. He looked forward to deflating Mune, Madeline and the wizard’s sense of superiority by informing them that they had kidnapped the wrong girl. He glanced at Farnsworth, silently acknowledging what was about to unfold.

  “There was nearly a slip-up,” Mune continued, sensing the wizard’s concern, “but I only mention it because all turned out well in the end. The princess was briefly rescued from her tent by two men before we got her back and took her aboard Uta’s ship. I don’t know who they were since Princess Megan refused to tell us.”

  “But she is safely on Karg Island?” Caldurian asked.

  “Most definitely,” Madeline assured him. “Mune and I sailed there ourselves with Commander Uta and dropped her off. On the return trip, Uta and Captain Burlu, along with a hundred of their finest soldiers, were dropped above the Trent Hills and are making their way south toward Morrenwood. They’ll hide out there until you need them.”

  “You have done your jobs admirably,” the wizard replied.

  “All in a month’s work,” Mune said with a satisfied smile. “The ship later dropped Madeline and me above the Wetwood Forest and then continued sailing east where I suppose it joined up with your little invasion party in Montavia. Can’t wait to hear all about that adventure.”

  “In good time,” the wizard said. He turned to Dooley who sat quietly hunched upon his crate. “But now it is time for our spy to speak. We were fortunate to be able to have him slip into the war council.”

  “Exactly how?” Mune wondered aloud, unable to imagine someone infiltrating King Justin’s secret council. After the wizard explained that Dooley had replaced Nicholas Raven at the gristmill and made deliveries to the Blue Citadel, Mune settled back on his seat of flour sacks, expecting an intriguing tale.

  “Well…” Dooley softly said, nervously clearing his throat, “I did manage to sneak into the council before it convened, thanks in part to some unknowing assistance from Len Harold. He’s a member of our village council who attended the meeting,” he added, glancing at Madeline and Mune, though receiving only stony expressions in return. “Anyway, as I relayed to Caldurian through Gavin, I didn’t learn many specifics at the council. King Justin and the others had agreed to send forces to the war in Rhiál and to counter the recent invasion in Montavia, but the details were to be hashed out at a later, private meeting,” he lied, happy to be partially hidden in the shadows. For an instant he feared that Caldurian might be able to read his mind and discover that he had fallen asleep in the rafters.

  Mune grunted with contempt. “So after all that planning and infiltrating, we learn that King Justin’s grand plans are to counterattack? Brilliant work on your part, Mr. Kramer. I could have told you exactly that while sitting beside a fire with my feet up and enjoying some ale. Do you know when he plans to launch his offensive? From which direction? How many men? Armaments?”

  “Maybe you found out what color banners they’ll be waving when they make their charge,” Madeline dryly added.

  “Let him finish,” Caldurian said, raising a hand to signal them to retreat from their verbal attacks.

  Dooley, his face warm with disdain, took a deep breath and exhaled before answering, knowing they were looking down upon him, waiting for him to slip up. “As I said, those technical issues were to be discussed at a later meeting that I wasn’t able to worm my way into. However, I did learn some interesting news immediately after the war council concluded. After nearly everyone had left, King Justin remained behind with a handful of people. Soon afterward, four individuals arrived with the most unexpected news.” He remembered his surprise upon hearing Nicholas’ voice in the King’s chamber and his shock that he was apparently good friends with Princess Megan. But Dooley planned to withhold that information for a little while longer, savoring the announcement.

  “Tell them what you discovered,” the wizard said.

  Dooley glanced at Farnsworth for encouragement before going on. “To make a long story short, the key to the Spirit Box was rediscovered and brought to the Citadel.”

  “Do you mean the enemy has it now?” Madeline asked. “How did that happen? How is it possible? I learned from Mune that after the Enâri were released from the Spirit Caves, a disloyal servant to Vellan ran away to search for the key.”

  “And he found it,” Caldurian said, explaining how Jagga had stolen the key and killed Arthur Weeks in the process.

  “It was melted down into a lump of metal afterward,” Dooley continued, “and fashioned into a medallion that was presented to King Justin after the council had concluded. They discussed how the medallion was to be secretly delivered by two people to the wizard Frist to be reforged into the key.” He couldn’t conceal a grin as he sat up straight on his crate. “Luckily, I overheard a few particulars about that mission and sent them on to Caldurian while he was in Montavia.” Dooley looked at the wizard with wild expectations. “Can I assume that my information proved useful?”

  Caldurian nodded, offering a hint of a smile. “Tell you what, why don’t I let him explain everything,” the wizard replied, indicating the man standing silently in the corner shadows. “He’ll let you know precisely how useful your information was.”

  “Wonderful!” Dooley said, feeling at ease for the first time.

  “Yes, the message you had delivered helped me immensely,” the man said, stepping out of the darkness. Standing in the dim light, tall and of stern expression, was Maynard Kurtz, his silvery-black hair rolling over his shoulders. “Your information assisted me greatly in tracking down the wrong two people!”

  Dooley’s smiled sudd
enly sagged. “Wrong two–what?”

  “You heard me,” Maynard said, glaring at him. “I followed the two who had left the Citadel at dawn, traveling south. I searched their campsite on the edge of the Ebrean Forest one night and didn’t find the medallion. I then tracked them through the woods to a small cabin, but they denied they possessed the medallion. After I slew one of them, the younger boy admitted that two other people were delivering the medallion to the wizard Frist, though he claimed not to know the wizard’s whereabouts. Before I left, I searched both bodies and the cabin, but found no medallion.”

  Dooley swallowed hard. “Both bodies? You killed the other one, too?”

  Maynard smiled grimly, his eyes cold and distant. “I pushed the second one out a window. He was breathing when I left, so he may have survived. I cared not. All I sought was the medallion, but it was not there. Your information was false.”

  “That’s impossible!” Dooley said.

  Maynard advanced a step. “There was no medallion!”

  “Perhaps they hid it. You might’ve overlooked it.”

  “You doubt me?” he sputtered, ready to erupt. He suddenly raised his arms high in the air like vulture’s wings and his body swiftly transformed into the wizard Arileez, the shock of his dark, lifeless eyes, his skeletal face and his deathly white hair pummeling Dooley into temporary silence. The other onlookers were aghast at the preternatural display. “I ask you again, Dooley Kramer. Do you still doubt my word?”

  “No!” he replied, shielding his eyes with a raised hand, the word barely able to escape his lips.

  Caldurian stood up. “All right, Arileez. You’ve made your point. We don’t need raised voices this night. We are here to discuss, not to argue.”

  Arileez locked gazes with him, glowering at the assault upon his trustworthiness from one of the wizard’s underlings. A moment later, after his breathing settled and the muscles in his face relaxed, he reverted to his former manifestation and was once again Maynard Kurtz. He stepped back into the shadows.

  Caldurian sighed, taking his seat. “When Arileez returned from the cabin and reported to me, he mentioned that the two boys, both blond, had called each other William and Brendan. I can only assume that they were the sibling princes of Montavia, sent purposely as decoys or accidentally caught up in matters of which they had no knowledge. But none of that makes any difference now. So have you anything else to say, Dooley?”

  He looked up, and though the sudden appearance of Arileez had rattled him, he knew he was not to blame for his failing to recover the medallion. Yet he did feel responsible for something else. Though Arileez had murdered Brendan, Dooley felt responsible for the boy’s death as his information had led Arileez directly to him. He gazed into a dark corner of the room, his shoulders slumped and his throat tightened, tuning out the words of the others for a moment as a wave of guilt swept over him. “I do not doubt Arileez’ account,” he finally said, “but while eavesdropping on the council, I had clearly heard that the two people with the key would be leaving at dawn on the fourteenth day of Mid Autumn, a little over three days after I departed the Citadel. I told Gavin that very thing, instructing him to remain behind and follow the pair when they left before sending word back to you.”

  “He did speak those very words to me,” the crow gruffly muttered from above.

  “I did my part!” Dooley snapped. “In fact, more than I was supposed to. If it wasn’t for me, none of us would even know of the key’s whereabouts.”

  “But we still don’t have it,” the impostor Maynard complained. “So what good did you accomplish?”

  “Let me think for a moment,” Caldurian said, attempting to calm the stir of ill feelings. “If what everybody said is true, then we were just outsmarted. No sense in arguing about it further.”

  “Still, all is not lost,” Farnsworth said, hoping to put a positive spin on dreadful news. “If the medallion was taken away to be remade into the key, it’s only logical that it will be brought back to the Citadel. At least we still know where the key will end up.”

  “Yes, right alongside the Spirit Box,” Mune said defeatedly, “waiting for King Justin to use it and destroy the Enâri with a turn of his wrist. How convenient for him.”

  “Now now, Mune,” Caldurian said. “Have a little faith. We aren’t defeated yet. Part of the reason I have Commander Uta and his troops wending their way down to Morrenwood is to retrieve the Spirit Box. No reason they can’t swipe the key as well if it’s returned. You and Madeline will go there to take possession of the items once the deed is done. However, I’d like to be guaranteed possession of at least one of them. Let me think for another minute,” he said, holding up his hand for silence as he pondered things. “Gavin, since you followed the decoys south, let’s assume that the real mission to find the wizard Frist went in a different direction.” He mentally wandered for another moment or two. “I had met Frist a few times on the road before our perilous encounter in Kanesbury twenty years ago when he cast the Enâri into a deep sleep. He often mentioned his fondness for the Dunn Hills region in the west and spent much time there wandering along the lakes and climbing the mountains.”

  “Do you think that’s where his guide was instructed to take him?” Madeline asked.

  “Perhaps. If the key went east, it would be going deeper into Arrondale. North would take it to the Trillium Sea. I don’t think Frist would have journeyed in either of those directions,” he said. “I can almost guarantee they are heading west to the Dunn Hills.”

  “But that’s a vast region,” Mune said. “How would we ever locate them now?”

  “Our chances are slim to none,” Caldurian reasoned, “so we won’t be tracking them. But since men from the Northern Isles are traveling up the Lorren River to Kargoth, it would be but a little imposition for some of them to scout about the area on the off chance of finding the travelers. It is worth a try. Gavin!”

  “Yes, Caldurian,” the crow said, flapping its wings and settling down upon a sack of flour.

  “If the two were supposed to set out from Morrenwood on the fourteenth day of Mid Autumn as Dooley said, that would be about a week and a half ago,” he calculated. “By giving or taking a day regarding their actual departure in light of the decoys, our travelers are probably just reaching the Lorren River now, more or less, preparing to enter the Dunn Hills. The nearest villages on the river west of Morrenwood are Woodwater, White Stone and Pierce, so I’ll guess they would enter the Hills after visiting one of them for supplies.” Caldurian glanced at Gavin. “After this meeting, fly to the mouth of the Lorren and contact whatever ship is anchored there from the Isles. If they can spare a dozen men to watch the three villages and the surrounding main roads and possibly fan out into the Dunn Hills from each location, we may get fortunate and stumble upon the medallion–or the key–depending on which form it is in at the time. It may be a futile effort, but I’ll regret not taking the chance. I can’t send Arileez again as we are ready to proceed with plans both here in Kanesbury and in Morrenwood.”

  “Speaking of plans,” Mune jumped in, “are we finally going to get the remaining details about your grand design to take the Blue Citadel? Since Madeline and I have taken great pains to set your ideas in motion–”

  “–you think it’s about time that I let you in on the secret?” Caldurian added, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Rest assured, Mune, before this gathering departs, you will know all that I know–or nearly everything. There are many threads in this tapestry. But before I delve into the details, let us allow Dooley to finish.”

  “Yes, continue,” Madeline said. “I’d like to know more about how that medallion came to King Justin’s doorstep. I can’t imagine that that traitorous Enâr willingly brought it there himself. Did someone steal it from him?”

  “No,” Dooley said, pushing his melancholy aside. “Apparently Jagga–that is the Enâr’s name–befriended a somewhat eccentric woman on the road named Carmella and–”

  “Carmell
a?” Madeline blurted out the name in shock. “A woman roughly my age? A wildly dressed, pretender-of-a-wizard?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” he replied. “She said that Jagga had met her on the road and gave her the medallion as a gift. Apparently Carmella provided him food and the lofty position–at least in her eyes–as her personal driver.”

  Madeline fumed. “That insufferable poser! A wizard she is definitely not. My cousin is a fake. A fraud!”

  “That’s right. She’s your cousin,” Dooley said. “I remember now, Madeline, that your name–and even yours, Mune–were both mentioned at the council.”

  Mune furrowed his brow. “My name. Why would Carmella mention that? I’ve never met the woman.”

  “To be accurate, Carmella didn’t actually speak your name. Someone else did. You see, besides Jagga, three other people had accompanied her to the Blue Citadel,” he explained. “They were the ones who provided some enlightening facts about you and Madeline and your brilliant escapade above the grasslands.”

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Mune fired back.

  “Yes, tell us,” Caldurian calmly added, though fearing the worst. He sensed that Dooley was far too eager to reveal the forthcoming details.

  “Happily,” he said as he stood up, feeling the control of the meeting flow his way. “I would have mentioned this sooner when you talked about kidnapping Princess Megan and shipping her off to Karg Island, but I didn’t want to interrupt until I had heard everything.”

  “Meaning?” asked Madeline with impatience.

  “Meaning,” Dooley continued, “that Princess Megan herself was one of the three people who accompanied Carmella to the Citadel. She and two other gentlemen, the very same men who attempted to rescue the woman you actually did kidnap.”

  Mune shook his head, at a loss for words. The incredulous look upon his face, coupled with Madeline’s stony expression, brought a silent joy to Dooley’s heart. Now they were failures in Caldurian’s eyes and Dooley was only too happy to dish out subtle insults as eagerly as they had a short while ago.