An Adept's Duty: The Scepter of Maris: Book Two

by James R Barnes

  "It is alright. I will not let him get hurt. Just think about how you put him to sleep. Do not act on it, just hold it in your mind. Think of the way you shape the energy right at the moment you command the target to sleep. It is not just about what the flows of Spirit are doing, it is also about what you desire the outcome to be. Do not just see... feel as well. Now, instead of sleep, just concentrate on waking him up."

  "You already figured out how she does it? Unbelievable." Miles looked frustrated.

  "Sorry, Miles. Until you can feel the magic, this will be impossible for you. It is a balance between seeing and feeling. If someone tried this without being able to feel-"

  She stopped speaking when Meric jerked awake. The man appeared to be wide awake, and looked around before speaking.

  "I take it that you were successful?"

  "Mmhhmm. And you did not even drool."

  This caused Anna to giggle, and Dhuren saw her shoulders relax at the same time. The little one must have been a bit worried.

  "Well that is a relief." Meric started to rise, but Alyssa held up a hand.

  "Just a few moments more."

  It looked like he was going to say something, but before he could he slumped back over with Alyssa's hand guiding him back to a comfortable position. Anna looked at her in shock, Borden went wide-eyed and Miles laughed out loud.

  "I would never do that to him if he had not already given me prior approval, Anna. I am sure Miles has stressed this, but you must never use the Gift on someone, even a friend, unless they grant permission. Self defense, or defense of another is different and I will leave those lessons to Miles. Experimentation, however, is not something to do lightly, and never without supervision. Understood?"

  "I understand. Miles lectures me about that a lot. I know it's not a game. I'll be careful."

  "Very well. Now... try again, but this time more gently."

  Dhuren and Barclay were distracted from the experiment before them by William Stanton.

  "Lord Dhuren, I must thank you for the opportunity to study the Scale. It is... amazing... I truly do not know how to express it in words."

  "It is now your King's to use as he sees fit. I just informed him that you would not be able to damage it just from studying it. I honestly believe that you could not hurt it even if you tried. Though the art of making them was lost, everyone who has examined them agrees that they would be near impossible to destroy."

  "Still, you and your people have been most generous with your sharing of knowledge."

  "That is why we are here, Lord Stanton. A mutually beneficial friendship. Once we get through the current crisis, I have a feeling that many Dwarves will want to visit these lands. I know that Barsta has already extended an invitation to your King, as well."

  "Indeed she has." Roderick Marten's voice came from the doorway, and all three men turned to see him smiling. "And I intend to take her up on that some day. I have already returned the courtesy, and looked forward to meeting more of your people. I also know that Alyssa plans on going back to Doanimar, eventually."

  Before Dhuren could start a proper bow, the King waved him off.

  "I would like to meet with the three of you, if you have a moment?"

  Dhuren followed the others out as the King led the way.

  #

  Barclay stood in the center of the many people that were scrambling about the courtyard, and he was amused at the carefully controlled chaos. To the untrained eye, it would appear if people were running around in circles with no direct purpose. To him it looked efficient, though he allowed it was a harried efficiency. Wagons were being loaded with supplies, stable hands readied horses, and last minute orders were being disseminated. It may have looked chaotic, but his people knew what they were doing.

  There were actually three separate parties being assembled in the huge courtyard. His command staff and a company of soldiers were preparing to head out for Carter's Landing to the north. Meric Vettor's group was getting ready for a trip to the south, and hopefully to recover the Scepter. The last was to travel east, into Rennick. This group was much smaller, and would be commanded by Silas Tarrint.

  Barclay had approached Tarrint and Vettor at the end of a meeting the previous morning to discuss his idea about "lending a hand" to the rebels fighting Xavier. Since there had been no official declaration that Rennick's King was Glendon's enemy he could not act openly. However, if Silas wanted to return to his home country with some friends, who was Barclay to tell him no. In the end, both men eagerly agreed with the idea, though Meric would not be going himself. Barclay approved for a handful of volunteers chosen by Tarrint to go with him. What had surprised him was when the Dwarves heard and also volunteered six of their number. Maikus had to choose the ones to go, because nearly all of them were interested. Dhuren just nodded sagely and said they were itching for a good fight.

  Eleven people were following Tarrint out the gate even as Barclay looked on. He silently wished them success, and turned his attention to the other group. His daughter and son were both standing beside Meric while their gear was being loaded. Meric, along with the other two Rennick natives, was watching the man they all three thought of as family, until he rode out of view. Barclay arrived in their midst right at the moment Meric shifted his attention away from the gate.

  "Commander Vettor. Do you have everything you need?"

  "I believe we do, Lord Marshall. At least everything we can think of. I am sure there will be any number of things that will come up once we are long gone from here."

  "That is most often the case. Good luck to you, and watch after my children." Barclay raised a hand up as both Alyssa and Charles began to protest. "I know very well that you two are quite capable, but I am still your father, and will be until the day I die. Deal with it. That is an order."

  Alyssa tried to look cross, but it fell apart after a few seconds and she stepped up to hug him. Charles extended a hand when Alyssa stepped back and Barclay pulled him into a hug as well.

  "You watch your sister's back, and both of you come back in one piece."

  Charles nodded and Barclay turned once more to Meric, who was joined by Dhuren and Fastil.

  "Gentlemen. Good luck, and do not dawdle."

  This lightened the mood a bit as he had hoped, and after shaking hands with the two Dwarves, Barclay turned back to his own preparations. They would succeed, because they had to.

  #

  The noise from all of the people bustling about in the courtyard quieted for a moment as the King and Queen made their way down the steps at the keep entrance, but quickly picked back up as Roderick waved them on. It appeared he was not interested in ceremony, and just wanted to see them off. Alyssa could appreciate that they made the time for them, but she was anxious to get on the road. Her party had a monumental task in front of them, and she wanted to get started. The sooner they were on the way, the sooner they could complete their task.

  Mostly, she just wanted to be moving, to be doing something that could keep her mind off of the fact that she was riding away from the approaching enemy, and her father was riding towards them. She knew her father well, and while he would remain at the back and in command, she also knew he would not hesitate to lead from the fore if the situation demanded it. He had a lot of good people surrounding him, and she was somewhat comforted that Miles would be watching his back, but that did not mean she would not rather be there herself.

  Duty was often more complicated than it should be. The principle was simple and straight forward: this is your job; you just need to do it. Your loved ones, or any other people you cared about, were not supposed to factor in. Alyssa let out a sigh and went to her horse, checking the cinch one more time to give her something to do.

  A tug on her sleeve caused her to turn in time to receive another hug from Briannah. The Queen squeezed her tight and then pulled back to look her in the eye.

  "I know you inherited your fathers sense of adventure, but can you not find something other than ch
arging headfirst into danger to satisfy that urge?"

  "Hah! You are just upset that you will not be coming along." Alyssa smiled at her friend and hugged her once more. "I will miss you... tell Sara and Teresa I will be back soon. Once all of this excitement calms down, I plan on taking a few weeks just to spend time with them."

  "Do you? I assumed you would be locking yourself away with a certain Commander..."

  Alyssa swatted her on the arm and tried not to look at Meric. She had no idea where that whole situation would lead to, but was sticking with her decision to just enjoy what it was. Briannah knew all of this, of course, but the woman was almost as bad as Charles when it came to teasing her.

  "Stay safe," Briannah said, seriously.

  With a firm nod, the Queen walked away to join her husband. Meric's hand on her shoulder brought her focus back to their preparations.

  "We are about to move out."

  "Good. I am ready to get going. All of this waiting was starting to get to me."

  He just smiled at her and then turned to give Brody a sharp nod.

  "Mount up!" Brody's bellow echoed around the courtyard and brought the rest of the crowd to a hush. It was to an almost eerie silence that Alyssa and her group rode through the gate.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  The Horde

  The cold wind whipped wet spray into his face as it came off of the river, but Veesha paid it little notice other than an absent-minded wipe to clear most of the moisture away. He and the few other learned men he had brought along had spent the better part of two days looking for the ancient site that would be used to get them across the wide expanse of swirling waters. Many of the warriors were getting restless; some of them even beginning to quarrel amongst themselves as the horde sat idle, waiting on the ones they always looked upon with contempt. There were grumbles about the scholars leading them to a dead end or a fool's errand, and trying to sabotage their glory.

  They were the fools, all of them. Most of these warriors did not have a capacity for higher thought, so he forced himself to reign in his anger. Choss and Supreme War Leader Morsha were keeping them in line for the time being, but he needed to find the ancient Dwarven mechanism soon. They were once more searching along the river's edge at the southern-most area they had estimated the old outpost would be located, and he was starting to feel his confidence erode. They had been so certain that the bridge was in this area, and he began to fear they had miscalculated when a shout came from one of his men.

  Veesha rushed along until he reached a copse of trees dense with underbrush, but still with some stone peeking out in places, barely identifiable under the snow. The patch of growth was only separated by a few yards from the rest of the thick forest hugging the riverbank along the stretch of land they had been searching in, but now that he was looking at it the shaping done to the stone was obvious. As he approached, Bassa was easing his way out from among the foliage, and grinned at his Chief.

  "This is it, I'm certain of it." The slender Orc stood aside and held the brush back so Veesha could slip through.

  After having to tug his wolf-skin cloak free from snags more than once, Veesha finally crawled past the last of the winter-blighted shrubs barring his way. He rose up to nearly his full height and shook to discard the dead twigs and snow he had accumulated during the crawl, then looked at the small structure before him. It was not much more than an alcove, and half of the small space was filled with detritus collected over two thousand or so years. He began pulling the trash from the inside and passing it back to Bassa so the markings he sought would be revealed. After he had cleared away enough debris he wiped his hand across the smooth surface of the pedestal that stood in the center of the space, clearing the last of the trash and snow. Veesha inhaled the cold air and then let it out in a satisfied sigh. This was it.

  It was a simple device for such a monumental task. He stood still looking down at the ever-glowing rune engraved into the raised tab centered on the pedestal. After a few seconds of letting the moment sink in, he reached forward and laid his hand on the dimly lit, green symbol. Before activating it he glanced over his shoulder at his companion.

  "Go to Morsha... tell him to prepare to cross the river."

  Without waiting for an acknowledgment, Veesha turned back to the Dwarven artifact and studied it for a few more seconds. The slight nervous feeling was dismissed with a mental shove and then with one more deep breath Veesha activated the pedestal.

  There was an immediate reaction from the Dwarven construct. The green glow intensified, and the round disk depressed into the marble around it. There was also a throaty gong that seemed to come from everywhere followed instantly by a deep rumble that came from underfoot. Veesha quickly worked his way back out of the trees and rounded the obstruction until he was a few feet away from the river that the Humans called the Gannett, and whose original Dwarven name had been lost to time. Though the rumble continued, there did not appear to be anything happening for several thudding heartbeats. Then Veesha noticed further south on the river the already churning, grey water became a cloudy white in a few spaces. The white spread even as some of it was carried away and fanned out, stretching as far as he could see. Choss stepped up next to Veesha and both of them watched the spectacle curiously.

  Since their gaze was drawn south, it took a few extra seconds for them to notice what was happening directly in front of them. The railings of the massive bridge breaching the surface of the Gannett, and the water level immediately south of the bridge dropping suddenly and then frothing violently caused both of them to whip their heads around. There was a deafening roar as the water was driven through channels under the rising stone monstrosity, but it only lasted a few seconds until the bridge was fully elevated. The raging Gannett quickly eased back into its previous fast flowing chaos, but the color stayed a cloudy white where it swirled around the pylons underneath and washed away from the structure they had just raised; Veesha was sure it would continue to do so for a day or more.

  The High Chieftan wiped at the drool leaking from the ruined half of his mouth, but did not stop the grin that he knew was making it even worse. If Choss had not been so focused on the bridge, the hideous sight might have even made the tough old warrior flinch. Veesha turned his gaze back to the structure and looked on in triumph. His thoughts drifting to the two Humans they had caught scouting their path through the foothills in the north, and grinned even larger as he remembered their deaths. With no one to warn them, the Humans would expect the Orcs in the north of Glendon, and that would be their undoing.

  Choss finally tore his attention from the bridge, and looked at Veesha. The old warrior did not say a word, but did afford his Chief a bow of respect. By this time their army was arriving, and Choss turned to them and began shouting orders to make the crossing more organized. Veesha felt the elation smoldering in his chest grow even while a quartet of Orc-ridden wargs weaved around him and pelted across the new pathway spanning the river.

  #

  Dillon laughed and chased after his son. A few minutes more, and he would send the boy and Claire back to the house, and inside with the warmth. For the moment he took a break from his current chore to play with his little one. After catching William up in a hug, he passed the four year old to his wife, and planted a kiss on her cheek. With an ax propped across his shoulder he headed back to work. They had followed him out to the edge of the field where he began quartering up a tree that had fallen across the fence. They were all bundled up for the cold, but Dillon had shed his jacket while he worked the saw. The old mare Blackie was waiting patiently for him to finish, and then the sections would be tied to her harness and drug up to his splitting pile.

  Once done with that he would work on cutting and splitting the pieces into sizes more manageable for the fire place and wood stove. The fence repair work could wait, since there was nothing in the snow covered field for any animals to get at. The fence was really only up to keep deer from eating his crops, and since there had never b
een anything more dangerous than an ornery buck in the area he had never bothered with more.

  Dillon had just picked up one of the smaller limbs that had managed to blow several yards away when he heard Claire scream. He whipped around to search for her, just in time to see her pick up Will and begin running toward the house, screaming his name all the while. Without knowing exactly what had spooked her, he spun in place looking for anything that did not belong. It did not take long to spot them.

  Galloping across the fallow field beyond the one they were in now and closest to the edge of the woods was a creature out of nightmare. Two creatures, he amended as he began running for his family. Even though he was much closer he knew he would never make it. The beast looked like a cross between a wolf and a bear. Its shoulders were chin high to his six feet, with slavering jaws big enough to swallow his head whole. Perched atop the beast was another creature that must have come straight from the Underworld. Greenish-grey skin and long, lean limbs moved easily with the black-furred monster that he was riding like a horse. While he tried to figure out what they were, his mind was quickly locking up in horror. He was not going to make it. The scream that tore from his throat was one of pure despair, agony and rage.

  It did no good, and the beast reached his wife while Dillon was still yards from them. Thankfully the bulk of the animal blocked what was happening, and from the way Claire's scream cut off he was better off not seeing. Through a haze of red he swung his ax using the full weight of his body to power the swing, and felt a brief moment of satisfaction when the trusty tool buried halfway into the monster's side. The feeling was very brief, lasting only as long as it took for the creature to whip around. The last thing Dillon saw was a shred of Will's jacket hanging from the thing's bloody maw, and then darkness as the jaws closed over his head. Sweet oblivion came immediately after.