The Wizard's Council

by Cody J. Sherer

  *

  Rolin glanced back at the troops that were behind him. They had been riding hard for the better part of two days and looked terrified. The enemy had been following closely. So closely that the only thing that stopped them from overtaking the small Carmalian force was Paul. He fought off several attacks by surging Galimdorian knights. His prowess in battle coupled with his powerful magic had held them at bay each time. Rolin could tell that the attacks were wearing Paul down. Never one to be classified as cheery, Paul was looking even less happy than usual. He was hunched over more than usual, and his stoic expression was replaced with a scowl. Rolin reined in his horse and joined Paul at the rear of the force.

  “Take the front position, Paul. I will hold them off. We are almost to safety,” Rolin said as he got within earshot of Paul.

  “They are right on our tail, the villagers will be slaughtered unless we hold them off!” Paul yelled.

  “I sent a messenger ahead of us, James and Melissa should have that taken care of. Get to the front of the convoy and lead us to safety.”

  Paul nodded and spurred his horse faster, leaving Rolin to defend their flank. The Illusionist expert smiled when Paul looked back one last time. This old man has some fight left in him, Rolin thought as he looked back over his shoulder at the massive army that was following them. The brunt of the army was at least a day away, but the Galimdorian knights had kept up with the fleeing Carmalians with relative ease. When they saw Paul leave to the front of the convoy, they charged forward at Rolin. They hoped that the replacement defender was significantly weaker than his predecessor. Rolin smiled and turned his horse to face the charging knights. He was no match for Paul in melee combat, but his repertoire of spells was nearly unmatched.

  “I think you’ll be greatly disappointed when you find that I am not so easy prey!” He yelled as he raised his staff.

  The elderly mage lowered his staff until the tip hit the ground. A low rumble started at the point where his staff touched the ground. The earth began to shake and quiver as it made a small mound just under his staff. Rolin slowly raised his staff up as high as he could reach it. The earth continued to grow until it reached up to almost twelve feet in the air. Several more mounds began to form around the original as it took on the form of a large humanoid. Seven in all, the large mounds of earth all took on different forms. They ranged from larger humanoid figures that resembled humans, orcs, elves, and even dwarves to quadruped creatures that resembled a bear, a wolf, and a lion.

  “Feel the wrath of the elements. The Wizards will not be so easily be broken!” Rolin yelled as he twirled his staff in the air, engulfing each of the earth creatures in fire.

  He turned his horse and began to ride toward the back of the Carmalian force. As he rode back to his small army, he let his staff drag on the floor behind him. Water poured out of the staff, turning the dirt to mud. Rolin quickened his pace until he arrived at the rearguard of the Carmalians. The rearguard had taken the brunt of the first Galimdorian retaliation. They were exhausted and frightened. It frustrated Rolin to see the troops in such a condition. The Galimdorians were especially brutal in their assaults, and it was beginning to show. Rolin had to wonder at what would cause the Galimdorians to be loyal in such circumstances. There was little time for him to ponder the thought as his earth creations were already engaging the knights.

  The largest of the creations slammed its fist into the first of the charging knights, knocking him off his horse and engulfing him in fire. All three of the earth animals lunged forward and knocked three more knights off their horses. The other humanoid creatures fought against a handful of knights that were charging forward. Though stronger than the knights, the earth beings were severely outnumbered and quickly outnumbered. It wasn’t long after they were outnumbered that they were defeated. The knights rushed forward into the mud and were bogged down by Rolin’s trap. Several of the knights were able to go around the mud and take up pursuit of Rolin and his men. The Archwizard took notice of this and whipped his staff around in circles in the air above his head five times. Each time he finished a circle, a small whirlwind formed behind him. The whirlwinds grew and began to head for the oncoming knights.

  “How much further to the castle?” Rolin asked.

  “We should be there within the hour if we keep up this pace,” One of the soldiers answered.

  Rolin sighed as he looked back to see several more knights had gotten out of the mud and were closing in. Why can’t they give it a rest? Rolin thought as he turned around again. He glanced at the landscape around him. For the most part, they were surrounded by grasslands, but there was a hillside up further ahead. Most of the Carmalians had already made it past the hill, but there were still a dozen or so that were lagging behind. Rolin raised his staff in the air and a blinding light flashed out of it, distracting the charging knights. He held it there for several seconds, hoping to gain enough time for the rest of his small force to make it past the hillside. The light dimmed as he started to lose energy. His army was just making it past the hillside as the knights closed in on him. He took off toward the rear of his army and hoped that his horse would be able to hold up at a full gallop. The Galimdorians were right on his tail when he raised his staff to the side and started tearing pieces of the hillside apart and caused them to roll down into the small valley below where Rolin was being chased by the knights.

  His troops turned to see the commotion. The majority of the hillside had collapsed on the small pathway below it. It was impossible to tell whether or not the elderly mage had survived. The rockslide stretched to the sea on the other of the pathway, completely blocking the incoming Galimdorians. Paul and the others were unsure of exactly how many knights had been caught in the landslide, but the majority of the army would arrive in less than a day and clearing the landslide would be easy for them. The Carmalians couldn’t afford to stop and see if Rolin was ok. They had to move on and get to the castle as fast as possible. Paul could see the castle in the distance and informed one of the other soldiers that he was going to ride forward to the castle alone to warn them of the coming army.

  The Carmalians put up no protest. Rolin’s actions had delayed the Galimdorians knights enough that they didn’t need to worry about anyone catching up to them. It put them at ease, and they slowed their pace to a more comfortable one. Paul took one last look at the after effects of the landslide before proceeding to the castle. He passed the main town on his way to the castle and saw that everyone had already been evacuated. Seeing the Carmalian Conclave caused him to pause for a moment. We’ll need to choose one or the other, he thought as he looked from the castle to the Conclave and back again. Both of them had their advantages and disadvantages, but Paul knew that it wasn’t up to him to choose where they would make their final defensive stand against the invading Galimdorians. He continued on to the castle.

  “The Galimdorians are no more than a day out, we need to ready our defenses!” He yelled as he rode into the courtyard.

  “Quickly, this way,” James called out as he exited the keep.

  “Where is the king?” Paul asked as he joined James at the entrance to the keep.

  “He is just inside.”

  The keep was much grander than Paul had expected. Carmalia wasn’t known for being lavish or rich, but they took pride in their castle. Unlike the neighboring castles, the Carmalian castle was a testament to the simple lifestyle of the people of the land. It reminded Paul of a hunting hall, except it was much larger and made of stone. He made his way across the great hall to an area off to the side of the throne. The King, Melissa, and several other advisors were gathered around a table with maps on it. Paul recognized some of those gathered from the Conclave, but the King’s advisors were foreign to him. James took up his spot next to the King and motioned for Paul to fill in the gap next to Melissa. Everyone looked to Paul as he entered the circle.

  “What can you tell us of the Galimdorian army?” The King asked.

  “Their knig
hts are the real force to be reckoned with. They’ve been harassing our flank since we first began out retreat nearly a week ago. I would guess their number to be at least seven thousand strong. The brunt of the army is made up of foot soldiers numbering in the ten thousands. Their biggest weakness is their small force of archers. By my count, they have no more than five hundred. They kept their siege engines at the back of their force. I saw several rams, a catapult, a trebuchet, and two siege towers. We should be able to take out their siege force with a concentrated attack. Once we manage that, it will be a long time of them slowly wearing us down with their significantly larger army,” Paul explained the situation without missing a step.

  “What is Rolin’s take on the defense of Carmalia?” James asked.

  “We lost contact with Rolin when he created a rockslide to hamper the advance of the Galimdorians knights. We are not even certain he is alive.” Paul looked down at the table as he spoke.

  “This is grave news. Rolin is one of the keys to the survival of the Conclaves. If he is truly lost then we will have a much harder time mounting a defense and counterattack against Galimdor,” James replied.

  “Grave news or not, we still need to figure out a defensive strategy. Does anyone have any suggestions?” The King asked.

  “I think we should be able to use the Conclave to hide some troops so we can flank the Galimdorians and destroy their siege engines. The Conclaves are light mazes to outsiders. We could easily send a force out and return them back without needing to worry about the enemy retaliating,” Paul said.

  “Paul is correct, with a mage leading them, they can stay in the Conclave for months without being found. We can even set traps for the Galimdorians in case they decide to give chase. In the event that the Galimdorians are able to get into the Conclave itself, we still would have a great advantage over them. Our Conclaves are designed to be difficult to conquer,” James interjected.

  “It seems that we have a sound plan. Now we prepare and wait for the impending battle.” The King ran his fingers through his beard as he examined the maps on the table.

  *

  “You were the last one to see him alive!” One of the Galimdorian King’s aides shouted.

  “Are you insinuating that I had something to do with his death?” Arcantos snapped back a question at the aide.

  “The two of you were heard arguing about something.”

  “You saw the letter. We were arguing about upping his defenses. He refused to believe the mages would resort to such a tactic. I tried to change his mind, but it was no use. The King was too proud to increase the number of guards stationed at the castle. I tried my best to warn him that the Wizards were a devious group.” Arcantos did his best to display emotion as he rolled out lie after lie.

  “The evidence points toward thieves being involved. How can you assume the Wizards are involved?” Another advisor asked.

  “What makes you think the Wizards wouldn’t hire thieves to do their dirty work? They’ve lost their foothold in Galimdor, how else could they have gotten into the castle?”

  “I don’t see them working together, Arcantos. I think you’ve been duped by whoever wants us to think the thieves and Wizards are responsible for the King’s death. This seems like an inside job. We’ll launch an investigation immediately.” The Captain of the Guard joined the conversation.

  “Ambrose, your dedication to your job is admirable, but we need to get things moving forward. The Carmalians refused to give up the two fugitives, and their actions have led us to war. We need your men to keep the peace while we bring those criminals to justice through whatever means necessary.” Arcantos appealed to Ambrose’s sense of fairness.

  “Arcantos is correct, don’t take too much time to find the King’s killer until we can settle these wars. Unrest will be high as we continue to pursue the Wizards in their insubordination. Our primary concern is to bring the Wizards to justice,” One of Arcantos’ men said.

  The group had argued for several more minutes before Arcantos got annoyed and left. He knew it wasn’t the smartest move, but some of his men were there to make sure nothing important happened in his absence. I have much more important things to do than bicker over a King who couldn’t rule his own people, Arcantos thought as he stormed out of the castle. Reports had informed him that the Druids and their allies were significantly hampering operations in the Old Forest. He still had several other pieces in play. The Holy Order was making a move toward the Spire of Dead to inspect the Conclave there and try to curtail any activity by the Necromancers. He had convinced the pirates to step up their raids on the Gloomvale Isles. They had yet to report on how successful this action had been. His final moves were to incite the Barbarians to join the fray and bring the southern kingdoms into the war. Once these two parts of the plan were in motion, he could focus on his master plan.

  “Darrin, I need you to meet with the Barbarians under the guise of the Wizards. We need to try to bring them into the fight against one of the major players. It really doesn’t matter whom we get them to attack, we just need them involved.” Arcantos turned to one of his men who happened to be guarding the entrance to the castle.

  “As you wish, sir. How might I be able to get a hold of you?” Darrin asked.

  “I need to head south to Carmalia. The army needs some extra firepower, and I will be providing it.”

  *

  Emily stood at the bow of the ship, hold her staff high above her head. A beam of light was coming out of the tip of the staff and breaking through the darkness just ahead of the ship. The visibility was low, but without the magic it was impossible to see anything. Janessa and Emily had furled the boats sails, slowing it down significantly. For the past couple hours, they had slowly drifted toward what they hoped was land. Emily was getting tired of providing the light, but there was little alternative. Janessa was the only other mage onboard, and most of the remaining crew members were severely injured. Emily glanced back at Janessa as if to ask how much further until they reached land. Janessa shrugged and motioned for her to drop the anchor.

  “Are we stopping for a bit?” Emily asked as she took the anchor and dropped it over the side.

  “Yes, you need a break and the others need to be tended to. Why don’t you find something to eat from the captain’s quarters?” Janessa placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder and squeezed lightly.

  Emily smiled and squeezed Janessa’s hand before heading into the captain’s quarters. I wish I had a sister like her when I was growing up, she thought as she rummaged through the cabin. It was one of the least impressive captain’s cabins she had ever seen. There was a small storage locker on the other end of the room. She found several different ingredients inside. With a smile, she gathered up what she needed to make a stew for the entire crew and headed for the kitchen. The kitchen was unusually bare, but Emily was able to find what little ingredients she still needed. She had a pot over the fire and was cooking the stew within minutes. Satisfied that the stew was settling how she wanted it to, she left the kitchen and proceeded to find Janessa.

  “Just a while longer and we’ll be able to get you the care you need on the Gloomvale Isles.” Janessa was sitting among the injured when Emily found her.

  “I’ve got a stew in a pot over the fire in the kitchen. There is more than enough for all of us,” Emily announced as she joined Janessa.

  “That is most kind of you. We all need our strength for the upcoming war. I only hope that we arrive on time to be able to help out the Carmalians in their time of need. Once we’ve gotten everyone to safety, we can travel to the Conclave and check in with the others. After that, we can focus on recruiting some troops to help out the cause.”

  “I’ll check up on deck before bringing dinner around. We can’t be too cautious in these waters.” Emily stood and turned for the door.

  She made her way up to the deck and began looking around. The darkness was never something she could get used to. It seemed to infest everything it could, leaving
the ship completely engulfed. She relit several of the lamps on deck and headed up to check the aft part of the deck where the wheel was located. Maybe Janessa will let me try steering when we get back to open waters, she thought as she ran her hand along the wheel. It made her feel important, as though she were the captain of some ship whose mission was vital to the survival of a kingdom. Being an Archwizard was a great honor, but Emily still didn’t feel she deserved it. She preferred her fantasies to reality. In her mind, she could be anything, so anything, go anywhere. The possibilities were limitless.

  Her daydreaming was interrupted by a loud thud. Something had struck the front of the boat. She rushed to the front and thrust her staff in the air, sending a small beam of light outward. Whatever had made the noise was no longer there. Emily turned back around and walked toward the passage to the deck below. Her hands shook as she opened the hatch and climbed down to the room below. She made her way past Janessa and the others until she reached the kitchen. I’ll look into it later, she thought as she started pouring the stew into bowls. After several minutes of carting bowls in to the wounded soldiers, Emily brought in the last two bowls. One was her own, and the other was for Janessa. They all sat in silence while they ate. There was something altogether eerie about the feel that day. Though it was no later than midday, nobody could tell the time due to the black cloud.