“They should’ve killed him,” Bodrin said.
“Imagine the lives lost trying to find him in those catacombs,” Saxthor said. “I bet the wizards thought him defeated to the point he couldn’t recover to pose a serious challenge again. That’s what happened, isn’t it, Tournak?”
“Yes, thinking the Dark Lord utterly broken, the wizards dismantled the Crown of Yensupov, as you know.
“Once again, the Dark Lord controls enormous power, greater than the current kingdoms want to believe. He’s not taking chances this time. He’s using stealth to infiltrate southern defenses and disable resistance before he strikes. With no one listening to the warnings, the only hope is in the Crown of Yensupov’s power.”
The troupe exchanged glances.
“It would seem the Dark Lord is almost prepared to overrun the South again. This time the wizards and most elves are gone. The dwarves have retreated within their mountain strongholds and aren’t likely to oppose the Dark Lord again. That makes the Crown of Yensupov even more critical when this challenge arises in the near future. The Dark Lord will surely seek the crown before he starts a war again,” Tournak said, looking at Saxthor. “He’s either searching for the crown and its jewels, or he knows you’re searching for them. He may be waiting for you to collect them before he grabs you and the crown. His only other option is to kill you before you gain control of the crown.”
Saxthor was somewhat sorry he’d asked the question. “We’d better get moving again; no time to lose.”
Late the next day, the travelers emerged from the forest and got their first glimpse of the Wizards’ Hall’s incredible ruins.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, even as ruins,” Saxthor said.
“Wizards used magic as well as labor to build the enormous fortress that housed hundreds of wizards and countless support staff,” Tournak said. He looked down on the ruins that still held his imagination. “The fortress was larger than any large city of its age. Those massive outer stone ramparts were sixty feet thick at the base and rose seventy feet high at the first battlements. The stones were polished by magic and fit together without visible seams.”
“The foundations and rubble boggle the mind,” Bodrin said.
“Three sets of walls, with huge circular guard towers, surrounded The Hall with moats between them. The Wizards’ Hall had its own springs for water. The walls circled a park where they grew food for the defenders under attack. The central keep, you can see there now,” Tournak said, pointing, “was massive and towered over the rest of the fortifications like a mountain within those concentric walls.”
“That massive tower must have been a city in itself,” Tonelia said, staring.
“The castilyernov alone housed more than ten thousand defenders. No army would’ve attacked it without extreme power and magic. Those ruins attest to the Dark Lord’s incredible destructive energy.”
Saxthor shuddered. “For generations, the local people avoided the Wizards’ Hall for fear of its latent power. When we were in Graushdemheimer, I talked with a servant who said the locals avoid it because of ghosts and ghouls that prowl the remaining battlements. No one knows if they’re searching for something or if they were just soaking up the energy concentrated there.”
Tonelia turned to Tournak. “You think the locals have seen ghosts down there recently?”
“You know how tales get distorted, could be imagined.”
“And we have to go down into that place in search of a jewel hidden within its walls?” Tonelia asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Saxthor said.
“I can pick’em.” Tonelia turned back to look at the ruins again as the sun set. “I had to pick this group to run off with when I had a nice, safe dungeon to spend the rest of my life in.” She turned away. “I guess we camp somewhere back in the woods where we can at least cook a last meal?”
From their position on the hill overlooking the plain, Tournak pointed out where the vast armies of orcs, ogres, and trolls encamped for the siege.
“They covered the whole plain to the west and south of the fortress. See there, the road from the southeast is still visible. Ironbound oak wheels of heavy wagons carrying supplies to the defenders created those deep ruts in the road, where nothing will grow to this day. Depressions from ruts are still visible after generations.”
“It’s awesome,” Bodrin said.
“We’ll camp here on the hill above the plain tonight,” Saxthor said. “We’ll go into the ruins with the light of morning. That should keep trolls, ghouls, and ghosts at bay for a while.”
That evening they spotted two wraiths wandering the fragmented battlements.
“The locals were right about there being evil in and around the place,” Tournak said, watching a wraith shimmer just above the central wall ruins.
“With wraiths in sight, no fire tonight,” Saxthor said.
Tonelia slumped but said nothing.
“We’ll eat a cold meal, and after we draw lots for a shared watch tonight, we’ll get some sleep.”
Bodrin was already searching the packs for something to eat. Tonelia rapped his knuckles with a stick, and he pouted until she kissed his hand. It tickled Saxthor as he turned back to monitor the ruins. During Saxthor’s watch, he noted a green magic fire on one tower’s ruins. He poked Tournak. “What’re they up to?”
“The wraiths are invoking dark magic to aid in their search for whatever they’re after. Who knows what they’re searching for.”
“I wonder if they know about the jewel hidden there, or are they attempting to draw on the incredible power still concentrated in the ruins?” Saxthor said. “I hope they’re not looking for the crystal.”
Sunrise softened the menacing power of the Wizards’ Hall before they crossed the plain and took on the complex.
“We can’t delay any longer,” Saxthor said. They hiked to the ruins. “We’ll spend the morning investigating the place to ensure evil things aren’t watching us. As far as we know, no one but ourselves, Memlatec, and Hendrel know of our mission. We must remain undiscovered.”
When they approached the outermost wall, the spectacle overwhelmed Bodrin. He was looking up at broken keep taller than any fortifications he’d seen.
“You do realize these ruins are too vast to investigate in less than a week. Three sets of walls, and I can’t see how we’re to get over this first one.”
“You’re right,” Saxthor said. “We’ll go to the highest ruin and search that. There’s no way of knowing who’s watching us?”
The trek across the first two concentric walls and two moats was exhausting. They had to rest before they crossed the last wall within sight of the center tower.
“We’ll never get to the central tower, find the jewel, retrieve it, and get back out before dark,” Tournak said.
The prospect of spending the night in the ruins with at least two wraiths gives me the creeps,” Bodrin said.
“Are you suggesting we spend the night in this place?” Tonelia asked.
Saxthor saw the terror on her face.
“What’re we going to do, Saxthor?” Bodrin asked. He voiced all their concerns. “We don’t know what forms of evil are in here.”
“Let’s not allow the dismal prospects to frighten us to the point of inaction,” Saxthor said.
“Too late,” Tonelia said.
“What’s your opinion, Tournak? If we’re all going to risk the danger, we should all have a say in what we ultimately do.”
“I think we’ll have to spend the night in this place, no matter what we do. We should move as quickly as possible before dark to find a hiding place in the central keep and conceal ourselves there for the night. Then we can find the jewel tomorrow morning with first light and escape before a wraith rises again tomorrow night.”
Tonelia paled, looking at the keep looming over the ruins. “You’re sure we have to spend the night in there?”
“There’s no way to get in and out in a single day, Tonelia,” Sax
thor said. “There’s no sense in your staying in there tonight, though. How about you taking Delia and Twit and staying back at last night’s camp tonight?”
“That does make more sense, Tonelia,” Bodrin said. “I don’t want you exposed to the danger. Delia will be a problem to keep hidden and quiet at night with wraiths about.”
“I’m not afraid to go with you men, as I’ve demonstrated through the journey. Nonetheless, you don’t need me, and I could be an added burden here.”
“You’ve earned your place in the group, Tonelia; pride isn’t at issue,” Saxthor said. “There’s no need to take such an unnecessary risk. You could help us more by taking care of Delia and Twit in this situation.” It dawned on Saxthor; it was the first time he’d complimented her as an equal in the troupe.
Tonelia looked Saxthor straight in the face. “I’ll take Delia and Twit and wait for you at the campsite on the hill.”
Delia wanted to stay with Saxthor but left with a whimper when, through Saxthor’s stern glare, he ordered her to go. Twit was old and no match for wraiths. He went without argument. Tonelia, Delia, and Twit headed back over the two outer walls as the three men headed over the innermost one into the central fortifications.
Inside the three colossal, defensive barriers were a veritable village of buildings that had supported the daily business of the Wizards’ Hall institutions. The three men had to cross this labyrinth of decaying structures with caution, lest they surprise something evil hiding in the rubble.
They checked their weapons and started across through a hole in the nearest shop’s back wall. There was little light. Lots of debris hampered their way through the shop. Then they crossed a street and slipped through a stall on the other side. They passed through two more shops and finally went down an alley and scaled the end wall to get to the grassy park between the shops and the central park.
“So far, I don’t think anyone has seen us,” Bodrin said.
Once past the commercial district, the three men looked at the large open green.
“Anything watching for intruders can easily see us crossing that open space,” Tournak said from the shadows.
“How can we get to the keep and find a suitable place to hide before the wraiths emerge at dusk?” Bodrin asked.
“It’s a frightening prospect,” Tournak said. He was looking up, studying the keep overshadowing the park below.
“Let’s get going, this is going to take the rest of the afternoon under the best of circumstances,” Saxthor said. “We’ll have to take our chances. Stay close by me, and keep your eyes open for any sign of movement.”
They scurried through the tall grass to the central keep.
“We only have an hour of daylight left to find a hiding place in the keep,” Saxthor said. “Bodrin, you search to the left; Tournak, to the right. Look for a way into the structure.”
Being independent, Twit left Tonelia and Delia and returned to the ruins, watching from a higher vantage point. He scouted for potential trouble, then proceeded to locate a door in the keep. The clever bird did his wing fluffing and attracted Tournak’s attention to the gate. Thus, Tournak returned first. He and Saxthor waited in silence for Bodrin to return before entering the keep.
Bodrin snuck back late. Saxthor was about to admonish him when Bodrin slapped his hand over Saxthor’s mouth.
“Hush.” His eyes blazed.
The three moved along Tournak’s course to the cracked door and slipped inside. Bodrin held them just inside the door, where he watched the crack. In a moment, a large ogre came bumbling along and passed on around the keep’s perimeter.
“Apparently, it’s on guard. I would’ve surprised and killed it, but if it went missing, the disappearance would alert the wraiths to intruders.”
“We have to avoid detection,” Saxthor said. “That was clever of you, Bodrin, but next time don’t knock my teeth out. Twit, glad you disobeyed and came back. Thank you for finding the entrance just in time. Please keep an eye out, so nothing sneaks up on us.”
Twit did his bobbing dance of superiority.
They turned and started up the stairs that circled the massive keep’s outer wall. Moving slowly, they tried not to make a sound or disturb the grime more than necessary. There were ogre footprints in the dirt.
“An ogre might notice our smaller footprints,” Saxthor said.
Twit fluttered just over a track, and dust settled over it.
“That works, Twit.”
The men crept up the stairs until they got two floors from the top. They entered the keep’s interior and searched for a hiding place among the many rooms.
“Be careful of squeaking, rusty hinges,” Saxthor said. “Try to find a room with a window on the staircase. If there’re wraiths up here, they’ll be in interior rooms avoiding daylight.”
Each man picked a door and tested it for noise. Tournak’s chamber seemed the most suitable, so the men snuck inside. When Bodrin started to take food from his pack, Saxthor stayed his hand. They ate dried foods out on the staircase so that patrolling ogres wouldn’t catch the scent in their room.
An exhausted Twit half-flew, half-hobbled up the staircase, huffing and puffing, having flapped dust over his companions’ crater-like footprints. He double-checked and was visibly annoyed at the men’s sudden efficiency. After all his hard, unappreciated work, the oafs didn’t leave him a crumb. The disgusted bird squawked an unmentionable bird-word and left to find some bugs. Saxthor saw Twit all aflutter. “Wonder what old Twit is so cheerful about?”
After eating, the men returned to the selected room. Just as the sun set, they hid behind a large screen, the only furniture left there. It was a long night. Through the window, the intermittent sounds of creatures large and small reminded the Neuyokkasinians that unknown things inhabited the ruins after all. Bright moonlight shot through the old keep’s windows, illuminating the spiral staircase. Some light passed through the staircase and into their chamber.
Standing watch, Saxthor thought how peaceful the night was. He looked at the intricate light pattern that shone on his sleeping friends. Tournak rolled over in his sleep. His head was at an angle, and without warning, Tournak snored. All three men jerked alert, but the sound had escaped the room.
“They can’t trace the one snore, but it could alert things to the presence of intruders,” Saxthor whispered.
“Sleeping ogre?” Bodrin said.
Tournak frowned. “Thanks.”
“Hush!” Saxthor said.
The men sat silent and motionless, listening for footsteps. A break in the delicate light tracery startled Saxthor. Someone is on the staircase, he realized.
The men froze. Saxthor clutched Sorblade’s hilt. A wraith could sense energy field variations, if close by looking for the snore’s source, he thought. An ogre could hear us breathing or pick up our scent.
Bodrin’s straining head bobbed. “Can you see what it is?”
Saxthor waved him down.
The entity hesitated on the staircase for an eternity, then moved on.
“Don’t move.”
Saxthor didn’t know if it continued up the staircase, or had come in to investigate the rooms. They remained motionless until Saxthor spoke again.
“I’ve worked out a plan should something discover us. If a wraith, Sorblade and Tournak’s wizard-fire will be our only useful weapons.”
A sudden noise out in the hall interrupted his thinking. Saxthor noticed Bodrin’s white knuckles. The sound of fighting would undoubtedly bring others.
“We must destroy a wraith before it can alert others, or we’ll be lost. If an orc or ogre, we must subdue him without a sound before he warns his masters.” Saxthor analyzed the situation while watching the light pattern on the packs for any sign of more intruders on the staircase.
The haversacks, Saxthor thought. The wand! At the bottom of my pack is Queen Merritak’s, Peldentak Wand.
He lifted the backpack, careful to make no sound as Bodrin watched. His face was q
uizzical. After checking to be sure that nothing was on the staircase, in slow motion, Saxthor nudged aside the satchel’s contents, feeling for the wand’s case.
They’re wondering what’s possessed me, Saxthor thought. I see Bodrin’s hand on his sword. His sword won’t stop a wraith, but it would make a quick end of an orc or ogre.
Saxthor slowly withdrew the wand case. In the dull, filtered light, his companions’ faces scrunched, staring at it. Tournak’s eyes sparked with his grin.
A sudden sound on the staircase made the men freeze yet again. The light coming from across the staircase into the room’s window flickered. A small crunching sounded from the stairs.
Footsteps are coming up from below, and there’s more than one source, Saxthor thought.
Each was recognizable as they crushed bug parts Twit had left on the landing. The sounds stopped outside at their floor’s entrance. Saxthor’s heart skipped a beat.
Maybe the previous sentry suspected something and sent others to search this floor, he thought.
While Tournak and Bodrin remained motionless, Saxthor rose slowly against the wall. He put his finger to his lips, hearing searchers working their way down the floor’s interior passages.
They’re only doors down from us, he thought. They’ll be here in less than a minute.
A drop of sweat ran in his eye and burned. He wiped it away with his sleeve noticed the taste of iron.
The taste of fear, he thought.
He slipped the Peldentak Wand from the delicate case and raised his arm, pointing it down at the wrist.
I hope I remember Queen Merritak’s instructions correctly. A mistake will bring the searchers down on us in a flash. He concentrated on invisibility and saw a faint ripple of energy in the moonlight. He traced a pattern around them and their belongings. His stomach ached.
The Neuyokkasinian Arc of Empire Series: Books 1-3 Box Set High, Epic Fantasy on a Grand Dragon Scale! Kindle Edition Page 49