The King's Sorcerer (The Caldronian Guild Book 3)

by Andrew G. Wood

  Alec was the only one of the Caldronian guild members to be afforded a chair, as he was lucky enough to sit the other side of Prince Kellan. All four sorcerers would be once more expected to stay alert and on guard for the remainder of the celebrations. The thought of having to watch other people enjoying themselves and not being able to join in was actually quite depressing. At least from under the cover of his hood, nobody could see how disappointed he looked.

  Chapter 13.

  Since Oribe had taken up residence in the Caldronian palace, things had not gone quite so smoothly as he had hoped. Any thoughts he had once had of things getting easier since achieving his main goal of taking Surmont, had long since gone. Each day appeared to bring further problems or disappointments, none more so than his armies lack of movement.

  With the hope of having subdued all Caldronia and made in-roads in to Farasavia before the onset of winter, now all but gone, he was left with the sombre thought of having to make do with what he had got. Since taking the capital and disposing of the Caldronian King, he had suffered more defeats than victories. One small success had been in securing many of the nation’s major towns, with many of them merely surrendering when the news that Surmont had fallen reached them.

  Oribe had actually been quite impressed by how many of the smaller towns and villages had prepared themselves for a fight. However, since the death of the king and the prince long since fled, the people had no leader to fight for, and merely laid down their arms. This had seemingly been a scenario that had been repeated several times over, except for one larger town of note.

  In the north, Oribe’s forces had been somewhat less successful. One town of note was a place called Riverdale. A place defended by formidable walls and a wide river that meandered around it, leaving only a narrow strip of land to access the main gates. The small group of soldiers he had sent to take control of the town had been easily brushed aside, meaning Oribe now had to send out a much larger force. It was delays such as this that were causing the lack of progress against his next major target Farasavia. However, he supposed that with those plans now looking unlikely to happen soon, it would at least leave him with the bulk of his army to deal with Riverdale.

  In Surmont, the guild building had been of particular interest to Oribe. Although the famed library had as yet been very disappointing as to its lack of content. He had been led to believe this building was the envy of the world, having a multitude of rare books and scrolls. However, when examining the items therein, he had since discovered the information stored there was no more-greater than that he already processed. Certain there must be a secret horde of these rarer books somewhere, he had even tried torturing some of the captured Literary guild members. Either these people did not know of such a place or they were hardened to even the harshest of treatment. Whichever way, Oribe and his men had come up blank.

  There had also been some resistance in the city itself. This had been something he knew would happen and was slowly getting a grip on. After he had publicly killed the king, there had been a sudden rise in attacks on his own men; alarmingly some made by sorcerers. Since that time though, he now had dozens of raiding parties scouring the buildings of Surmont. Utilising his own magicians, especially those with the skill to detect magic in others, he had achieved some successes. Aside from capturing a handful of black-robed guild sorcerers, all of whom he had since put to death, he was certain he had driven those remaining, away from the city. With his sorcerers now in position on each of the city gates, checking everybody that entered or left, he had probably seen the last of that irritation.

  Standing in the office that once belonged to the previous occupant of the Caldronian palace, Oribe gazed out of the window. He watched the drizzling rain outside before focusing on a single drop running down the glass, picking up momentum before it disappeared off the bottom. Taking a sip of herbal tea from his fine porcelain cup he turned as a knock at the door sounded. After calling for the person to enter, Oribe was greeted by a young messenger boy, who duly bowed subserviently in his presence. “A report from Arandor Sire,” the boy said in a voice that had not quite yet broken. Oribe did not thank the lad, but after snatching the folded note from his hand merely waved for him to leave.

  Oribe sighed as he read the new report. More bad news had reached him, probably the worst he had received so far. The aging, frail queen of Arandor had died, and her grandson had taken the throne. Despite having dozens of operatives in the palace, most had been killed, even those he had sent with magic. According to the letter, the Arandorian prince had received a handful of guests. These not only contained Caldronian sorcerers, which had been used to devastating effect in taking the palace, but the young prince and heir to the very nation he had just conquered.

  The news that guild sorcerers were aiding the new King of Arandor was of little consequence. Oribe was certain his own magicians were far more skilled than anything Arandor could muster, not to mention his superiority in numbers. As strange as it seemed the worst piece of news on this note was the young boy prince making his way to Arandor. Moreover, now this boy was seemingly being aided by the newly crowned king, he became a threat, a very big threat.

  After throwing his tea cup to the floor in anger, Oribe paced his new study. Walking back and forth at speed with his head dropped, thinking of a way forward. Despite his efforts, Arandor had a new king in place, that much he could not alter at the moment. Although he knew he had the greater number of sorcerers, he was well aware Arandor had the potential to muster up a large regular army. Whilst that in itself was not a problem against his own forces, he now needed to think of his next move carefully.

  With Farasavia and Arandor being large countries, even more so than his own, taking on both together whilst still not having the Caldronians completely subdued would prove to be a foolish move. Oribe stopped suddenly in the middle of the room as an idea popped into his head. With the Farasavian attacks being put on hold, he would spend his time focusing on moving the last of the Caldronians, whilst sending a much smaller team to remove the young heir. Moreover, if he could remove the newly crowned king of Arandor at the same time, it would effectively end both nations royal line. That being the case, Arandor especially, would likely have too much internal squabbling deciding whose lineage had best claim to the throne, effectively affording him sufficient time to revert to his initial goals.

  The use of assassins had proved useful to him once before, when he had first taken the throne of Belaria. Removing the noblemen who held power had proved to be a great success in subduing the masses. With a renewed sense of purpose, Oribe hurried out of his study and down the corridor to where he knew his advisors would be. With his force already departed to deal with Riverdale, he needed to get a team of assassins dispatched as soon as possible.

  Feeling better than he had, Oribe thought he deserved a treat and headed down the main staircase towards the servant quarters. Having decided to keep a handful of Caldronian staff for menial tasks, such as washing and scrubbing floors, he thought he might enjoy the company of one as his reward. The first two women he saw were on their knees with brushes in hand, scrubbing what already looked like a perfectly clean floor. They both peered up at him as he stood over them, but both quickly averted their gaze as they realised who it was. Oribe decided neither woman was what he was looking for, and made a beeline for a much younger girl who was stood at a sink cleaning pots. Without further ado he had grabbed the terrified girl by the arm and led her back into the corridor, before dragging her upstairs to his chambers. Despite her struggles, the girl, probably no older than her early teen years, was no match in strength for the man holding her.

  Chapter 14.

  Kian had been fortunate enough to escape Surmont before the battle had concluded. In one last heroic stand, the king and other senior members of the guild had brought him enough time to gather dozens of young apprentices and lead them to safety. After spending several hours without provisions, squeezing through a labyrinth of narrow
winding tunnels, they had found themselves some considerable distance away from the city walls.

  After making their way further north, they had taken refuge in a barn, where they had found a friendly farmer who had given them food and water. With no pre-made plans, Kian had tried to think of what was best for the youngsters he had managed to get out of the city. The thought of heading to Riverdale was one more of practicality than for any tactical reasoning, and yet it had proved a perfect choice.

  On their arrival, the Guild Master had informed the town’s major and garrison commander of what had taken place. Within a matter of minutes, the entire town was placed on full alert, and within a few hours, preparations were being undertaken against attack.

  With Harvest season being close, labour was currently plentiful. Kian, as a respected member of the guild was allowed a say in the planning of their defence, and just as importantly any attacks they might make. All the apprentices were made welcome, although housing them all had initially proved problematic. With the garrison already at capacity due to the recent troubles all over the country, there was no building that might suit their purpose.

  However, the major had soon come up with a solution, and although by no means perfect would at least see each and every apprentice suitably housed. The call was given out to the citizens of Riverdale for those that had a spare room in their homes. Kian had been pleasantly surprised by how many people actually stepped forward and offered their services; more than was actually needed.

  Each apprentice was allocated a foster home, where they would be afforded a bed and food. He had a mixture of apprentices from all the factions, but mainly sorcerers, rangers and warriors. Those few who had tagged along from the alchemy and healing side of things were put under the guidance of the town’s own medical expert. Here, Kian hoped they might gain some further skills. As the only Guild Master his knowledge of those factions was limited at best.

  The warriors and rangers were easy to allocate as they would easily join the ranks of the town’s guard. Although for some of his plans he would need the services of the latter to join the sorcerers. These, he could help train, and for this purpose, the major had allocated the use of the town hall and the garden area to the rear of the building.

  The narrow strip of land that allowed access to Riverdale was their immediate focus of attention. With Kian now knowing just how the Belarians operated, he knew keeping them away from the protective walls was the only way they would survive. If he and the others could stop the attackers placing explosives nearby, then he was sure Riverdale could perhaps succeed where Surmont had failed.

  With the town being almost completely encircled by a slow moving, wide, lumbering river, it made the entire job of defending the town much easier. With only a small area to focus on, he was confident they would be ready long before any major attack was sent their way. Quite how long Riverdale could hold out he was unsure, but neither he nor the town’s major had any intention of giving up without a fight.

  Within just a few days of Kian’s arrival, his defences had been set. The strip of land that allowed access to the main gates had been laden with a multitude of traps. So many had been placed that those inside the walls now had to use the small fleet of fishing boats to cross the river to gain access to the surrounding lands. Kian was quite certain the Belarians would not even consider bringing boats with them, and why would they? They were in a landlocked country after all.

  Those crops that were close to being ready were harvested anyway, and brought into the town for storage. Livestock that was allowed to freely graze on the rich pastures just north of the town were slaughtered, and their meat smoked and salted. Those left to breed for the next year were brought across the river and into the towns walls. Here they were housed in hastily made pens, and although these were not ideal, they would suffice.

  Those citizens who usually worked the nearby mines, were the ones responsible for the defences, as well as taking basic training with a sword and crossbow. The latter particularly more so, as it meant keeping any attackers at arms-length. If it ever came to battling with swords then it probably meant the walls of Riverdale, like those towns before it, had been breached.

  Kian, not only wanted to keep a good solid defence, but also initiate any attack he thought low risk. Using the few skilled rangers at his disposal, he had the road north of Surmont watched, giving him early warning of any forces being dispatched his direction.

  Knowing the Belarians were vulnerable whilst travelling, he wanted to cause them as much difficulty as he could. The only problem being, it meant risking his very young and very inexperienced sorcerers. Some of the magicians he had escaped with were barely into their teenage years and had probably had no more than a few weeks of tutoring. Despite those lessons being intense ones, most would not withstand against a well-trained enemy sorcerer. However, Kian hoped that grouping several together they may have a good chance in succeeding for what he had in mind.

  The morning sun gave off little warmth, a sign that the autumnal months were upon them. Marcus, a young sorcerer who had been in the guild for just a few weeks when the attacks had come, was honing his skills. Kian, as the only master, was trying his best to concentrate on the abilities each young apprentice seemed best at. In Marcus’ case, that was his offensive ability. At just thirteen years of age, he was one of the youngest to have escaped, and yet would now be one of the ones expected to fight back. A well-groomed and polite boy, he always tried his best, and although his skills were somewhat basic, Kian thought he was good enough to send out.

  Although Kian may have been the only master, he did have one or two older apprentices to help him. One such lad was Charlie. He was nineteen and had been well into his second year, meaning he had a very wide range of abilities. Kian hoped by pairing a lesser experienced apprentice with one that was more so, it might just give them a good chance of surviving.

  Kian had also selected two young rangers, a twin brother and sister. At seventeen years old these were probably his best trained guild rangers, and although he would have preferred to use them in separate groups, he somehow felt obliged to keep them together. Both had been with the guild for two years, and Kian had no doubts both would be prolific killers.

  The last member of this particular group was a young warrior named Theo. This lad had been on the same selection as Marcus and so was already familiar with at least one other member. At just sixteen years old he was particularly taller than his age might suggest. With a lean, but well-toned body, he was more than capable with the sword and shield usually wielded by warriors. If it came to any close quarter fighting this lad would be in his element, and someone whom Kian hoped would protect the two sorcerers if it came to that.

  The group of five were the second such bunch to leave, with Kian planning at least four more. The Guild Master watched the boat carrying them across the river, and the five youngsters disembarking, before they scurried off into the distance and out of sight. The boat had already returned to his side of the river before he eventually turned away and headed back to the town hall; his temporary base of operations.

  Charlie, the older of the two sorcerers had been given the job as leader, which the others had readily accepted. Having to move on foot, the brother and sister team of rangers, took it in turns to scout ahead before letting the other take the next run. Theo remained beside the two magicians, every now and then checking behind them that the coast was clear.

  Despite ditching the black robes normally worn by the guild sorcerers, both Charlie and Marcus found the pace difficult to maintain. Fortunately, the two rangers were quite understanding and eased up, occasionally slowing to a walking pace to allow them to catch their breath. Making sure they stayed amongst the trees as opposed to using the road, they stopped briefly on a couple of occasions to take light refreshments.

  With their directive to only engage the enemy if it was deemed to their advantage, they pressed further south. By late afternoon they had spotted the first signs of
the enemy. Moving slowly and rather disjointedly northwards was a Belarian force numbering several hundred in number.

  Will, and his sister Lana, kept their distance as they peered through the trees trying to work out exactly what they would be up against. Spotting dozens of figures in robes, they knew these to be the enemy sorcerers. Kian had ordered these to be the focus of any attacks. Quite how they would get close enough to strike, and get away again without being pursued by hundreds of enemy soldiers, they had yet to figure out.

  With the hours of daylight fading fast, as the disappearing sun sat low in the sky, the temperature started to drop. The Belarians called a halt beside a stream, and started to set camp. Will, chanced to get a little nearer using his skills and stealth, as well as the camouflage afforded him by his ranger clothes. After climbing a tree, he sat in silence and watched just a few hundred paces away from the nearest enemy soldiers. He was surprised by the Belarians lack of precaution, only setting a few guards around the perimeter. He quickly dropped down and scurried off back into the trees to find his colleagues. Will had decided on a plan of action, and now needed the others to help carry it out.