The Weaving of Wells (Osric's Wand, Book Four)

by Jack D. Albrecht Jr.

  After a moment, James replied, “You trained two paun? That’s incredible!” He approached with a wide grin.

  “It was much easier to train them than I thought it would be.” Osric ran his hands down the backs of the two creatures.

  “Amazing! I had a hard time believing they were real, even after hearing the stories of your two encounters with them.”

  “Most people would be dead after one encounter, and Osric can find trouble better than most,” Gus chimed in with a disapproving tone. “But he has a knack for surviving his unfortunate luck,” he sighed.

  “That raises a good question.” James spoke enthusiastically, lifting Vesh’s foreleg while examining her. “Why do you suppose you have run into paun on multiple occasions while most folks are fortunate enough to still believe they’re a myth?”

  The Aranthians out training on the grounds had begun to take notice of their activities. Trainers and students began to drift slowly closer while the conversation continued. The forge had emptied and loud whispers carried over to the group as the paun became the center of attention.

  “I’ve given that a great deal of thought.” Osric shrugged. “The only thing I can think is that it has to do with the amount of travel I’ve done over the last year. And based on what I’ve seen, I don’t think there is a large population of paun on Archana.”

  “Really? Based on their bodies, they would be perfect hunters. They are muscled like nothing I’ve ever seen, and I don’t see any pores, so I doubt they have an odor—or a very slight odor, if so. Without an odor, they’d simply smell like whatever they come into contact with while walking through the forest. They should have no trouble finding food to sustain a population.” James continued to examine them, not breaking eye contact to have the conversation.

  “I hadn’t noticed their lack of odor,” Osric replied. “But then again I’ve only had these two with me in cold weather, so I guess the lack of smell didn’t seem strange to me. They don’t live in large groups, though. At least the four I’ve encountered don’t share much company, and these two were much smaller, probably just babies when I fought the paun they were with. I guess having no particular odor could be one of the causes of a low population. If they can’t find each other, they can’t mate.”

  “The fact that we’ve only come across them in large, unpopulated regions could show that they avoid busy roads and cities as well.” Gus furrowed his brow, thinking.

  “So they like to be alone, or in small groups, and they don’t sweat.” James spoke mechanically. “I don’t see any visible, external genitalia either. What made you introduce this one as female?”

  “Oh, well.” Osric scratched his head. “To be honest it was the shape of her. She’s less bulky when compared to Kane, and her personality is a bit less forceful. I know it’s little to go on, but considering I had to come up with names to train them, it was as good a guess as any.”

  “Evidence does suggest that you were correct in your other assumptions, so let’s just assume you’re right until we know more.” James ended his examination and moved to stand in front of Osric. “Now, the only question I have is this: Why did you bring them here?”

  “Ha!” Gus exclaimed.

  Osric shot an angry glare at the prairie dog. Then he met James’s gaze with a shy smirk. “I brought them here because I couldn’t just leave them out there. If I left them alone, they would just go back to what they were: feral creatures that kill anything they come across. And some mix of the gifts I have… Some pull that I don’t understand leads me to believe this was the right move. But beyond that”—he winced—“I have no idea why I brought them with me.”

  “Great!” Gus rolled his eyes and addressed the paun. “Just don’t kill the rest of us while he’s learning to interpret his gifts.”

  21 — Fire

  “I can’t believe you trained two paun.” Toby shook his head. “I mean most of us have nightmares about them, hoping to never see one and that the stories about them are just that: stories. But you spent enough time with them to train them?”

  Osric frowned. This was, no doubt, another example of words being spoken about him that turned into wild rumors about his unbelievable magic and heroism. The whole thing wasn’t half as impressive as it sounded—the paun had just taken to his training. They had shown a tremendous amount of devotion to him immediately following his battle with their mother in the cave, so it only made sense that they looked to him as the head of their pack. Their easy training was a natural outgrowth of that instinct to follow him, nothing more. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to convince others to see it for what it was.

  “People have been questioning my sanity for years.” Osric attempted to play it down. “Gus brings it up almost daily.”

  “Well, if there is any truth to it, we’re lucky that your skills in evading the grave exceed your mental deficiencies.” Toby relaxed into his chair, studying Osric with a smirk.

  “Indeed,” Osric replied.

  “So, what are you going to use them for? I don’t think they will be very effective as gardeners or midwives.”

  “Actually, I’ve given this some thought, and I think they would be of great use in helping us keep our people fed.” Osric leaned in with a serious expression.

  “You don’t mean you want to eat them?” Toby’s face contorted, signifying his distaste for the idea.

  “No.” Osric closed his eyes and shook his head. “I mean I think I could train them to join with the Aranthian hunters. With all of the new arrivals to Stanton, I think we will need another food source soon. We have several rooms available in the old Vigile barracks that could be easily modified into a butcher shop, maybe even another dining hall.”

  Toby’s face took on a worried expression. It was gone in a flash, but Osric knew why he was worried.

  “I know, I know. You’re worried about me letting them venture out alone, but I would never do that. And I wouldn’t let them out of my sight in a population without knowing for certain they wouldn’t try to hunt our citizens.”

  “That will be a tough promise to keep. Some of Stanton’s citizens live outside the city proper. Some of the animals that live in the woods would consider themselves Stanton citizens as well. How will you guarantee to keep them all safe?”

  He had given that very thing a lot of thought. Part of his struggles had to do with the way the hunt operated. Osric needed to give all of it a great deal more thought before it was put into action, but how they would help in the hunt without complicating the trend in its reformation was easy.

  “I can guarantee they won’t be in danger because the paun will only be taken on deer hunts.” He met Toby’s gaze. “There won’t be any need to honor last wishes when their prey are lower animals.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Toby looked a bit surprised by the idea. “But I don’t think you’d have to limit it to just the deer. There are many animals outside our walls that have no magical sentience.”

  “No.” Osric shook his head. “I’d like to keep the prey limited to one species of animal, to eliminate any mistakes that could take place by making the paun uncertain what they are supposed to attack. It just makes more sense to keep the targets limited, at least until I can be sure they can differentiate between what they can and can’t kill.”

  “I can see you’ve spent some time thinking about this. I’m impressed.” Toby bowed his head in a gesture of respect.

  “I have. The more time I spend around the Aranthians, the more I am reminded that every choice has a consequence. Never have I felt the weight of my responsibilities more than with these paun.”

  “They are deadly animals,” Toby replied.

  “Gus almost had a fit when I brought them in.” Osric smiled.

  “Gus has fits over lots of things, but I hear that barking prairie dog learned how to laugh and play?” Toby leaned in with great interest.

  “Oh.” Osric was taken aback. “With everything that has been happening, sometimes I fo
rget who to tell these stories to.” He chuckled. “Yes, it seems that Gus does have a softer side under all of his razor-sharp words. It was the damnedest thing to see his ears twitching wildly, and then he just started tumbling around the training grounds with Pebble, giggling and laughing as if he were a young pup. I didn’t notice a hint of his limp or hear a trace of his normally gruff demeanor.”

  “No?” Toby looked at Osric with skeptical eyes.

  “I swear. The old codger is changing. He seems to walk with a bit of a spring in his step. I can’t begin to tell you how often we all hear him bragging about his famous son. These days, it’s almost difficult to find him without a smile on his face.” Osric met Toby’s gaze.

  “I never thought I would see the day.” Toby just shook his head.

  “Never tell him I told you this,” Osric said, “but I found him playing with Trevar and Pebble in the wand shop a couple mornings back. They were playing with the spelled rocks from one of the vendors in town, and they weren’t trying to figure out how they worked either.”

  “He was actually playing?” Toby was dumbfounded.

  “Actually playing. A rock pulled him halfway across the room before he saw me. He tried to tell me he was helping the children cope with the recent loss of two friends, but you should have seen him laughing and shouting about how unfair it was that he weighed so much less than either of them. They seemed to get a perverse pleasure out of tossing him about the room with the help of those rocks.” Osric smiled. Then, something caught their attention.

  Raised voices sounded from the hall outside the office. More than one person shouted, but it didn’t sound like an argument. One of the voices was looking for the Ryhain and shouting to gain entrance while the guards insisted he had to wait until he was out of his meeting. Both Toby and Osric stood up, looking at the door.

  “Are you getting anything on this?” Toby looked at Osric for some hint of what was coming.

  “There is portent. Not immediate danger to us, but there is danger somewhere in the news.” As quickly as possible, Osric summed up what he sensed.

  Toby nodded and stepped out from behind his desk. Two long steps carried him to the entrance and he flung the door open to reveal the scene. At the opposite side of the hall, the two guards were holding another man up against the wall. He was a young man, a messenger, and he looked at Toby with pleading eyes.

  “Sir, I’ve been sent with news. Rowain was attacked by dragons!”

  One of the guards raised a club threateningly to silence him and the messenger covered his head in anticipation of a blow.

  “Stop!” Toby ordered the men. “Give him some space.”

  The club was lowered and they stepped aside, allowing the messenger to gather himself where he stood.

  “Who sent you with this news?” Toby inquired.

  “Your spies reported in as the attack was underway. They are still talking to the scouts via wand and I was sent here to bring you news, but the guards don’t know me. I’m still new.” His words came breathless from his mouth.

  “Take me to them.” Toby motioned for the lad to lead the way.

  The young man turned and headed down the hall. The boy looked nervous, turning anxiously to be sure the Ryhain was following him.

  “I recently arrived in Stanton from Rowain. I just started a couple days ago, but this was my first task,” he mumbled as he led the way, while Toby and Osric exchanged uncomfortable glances.

  “You did good to find me and report quickly. Now, let’s get to the office as fast as possible. We need to know what has happened.” Toby interrupted the boy’s ramblings and they traversed down the stairs to the main floor in silence. As they rounded the corner, they found the men running the scouting operation talking in the halls.

  “We need to soften the blow. There are going to be a lot of worried people as it is, and it will be chaos if we tell them the truth.”

  “What truth is that, Jacobs?”

  “Ryhain Toby,” the short, slender man replied from behind a set of wire-framed, half-moon glasses. He fidgeted nervously at being overheard as he searched for his next words. “The damage is much more than we thought it would be, but the attack is over. We are still waiting to hear a final count, but it seems that the palace and all surrounding buildings are a total loss.”

  “Get word to the late Turgent’s family that we are sending aid. Osric, could you spare a few more men for security, until we can get men there to help rebuild?” Toby began issuing orders in a methodical and ordered tone.

  “We can spare some men, and I’m sure Kenneth could spare a few of his better-trained Vigiles. I think he has men to spare since recruiting so many of the refugees that have been streaming into Stanton.” Osric nodded.

  “Good.” Toby turned back to the troops. “Get on your wand and let them know we are sending Aranthians and Vigiles to aid in security. Also, let them know that we will be checking in with other areas to see how much food and coin we can spare, but we will send everything we can.” Their expressions had turned to panic as they looked back and forth between Toby and Osric.

  “I’m not sure you understood, but there is no one to talk to. The palace and all surrounding buildings have been leveled, burned beyond repair, including the Turgent’s palace. We’re not even sure any of the Turgent’s family has survived to claim the throne. There is no communication coming from Rowain that doesn’t come from our scouts.”

  The truth hit Toby hard, and it took him a few moments to gather his thoughts. More time passed as he considered the appropriate course of action, and his gaze quickly turned to Osric.

  “Could you get us to Rowain and back tonight?” Toby’s question had more to do with the amount of power it would require for Osric to use the traveling spell over such a great distance than anything else.

  “I could have you there and back a dozen times, if needed. I’ve got everything I need with me, so just tell me when,” Osric replied, knowing that his power growth hadn’t slowed in recent months.

  “Let’s see if we can lend a hand wherever possible.” Resignation blanketed Toby’s face. “Maybe we can find a few survivors.” Osric nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder as the corridor of men and women watched. He spoke the familiar words and they vanished.

  Fire danced into the dark, windless sky of Rowain. Osric had taken them as far into the town as his memory would allow without too much risk. The streets were nearly vacant in the aftermath of the attack, except for a few slow-moving merchants packing gear into wagons.

  Through the ash-filled air, cries for help drifted like echoes in the vast, empty streets. On top of the pleas, low grumbling moans of discomfort carried like drum beats far off in the distance. Even from their position, a half-dozen streets from the palace, they could hear the creaking timbers heaving as their burden became too much to bear. Stone broke in loud, violent collisions upon weakened foundations, as endless shouts of horror rang out.

  Osric and Toby followed the sound as quickly as their legs could run, each keeping pace with the other. Blue flames licked at the sky as Toby and Osric rounded the last corner and came to a sudden stop in front of a horrific scene. A flaming figure of a woman approached them, begging for release in pained, garbled shrieks. They looked at her in horror as they realized she was carrying what had once been two infant children in her arms.

  Nothing could be done for the woman, or her children, and they fell in a lump of melting flesh at their feet. The screaming faded to a whimper as flames crackled and sparked, dragging along with them the last hopes of a young family. Osric drew Legati to end the suffering of the three, but Toby stopped him before he could.

  “No.” He shook his head once as a tear ran down his cheek.

  “I can’t let them suffer,” Osric replied, attempting to hold back sobs of his own.

  “I know.” Toby motioned to Legati. “But you will carry this moment with you a lot longer than I. Let me do it.” He pulled out his own sword and Osric looked away.r />
  Two portions of the palace’s eastern wall stood as markers to the dead and dying amongst the rubble. The scent of burning flesh made them both cover their faces with their sleeves. Though it wasn’t safe, they began to climb on top of the rubble and survey the wreckage for signs of survivors

  They took separate paths, careful of each step, trying to avoid bringing down some small opening that could house survivors below. He searched dozens of hidden locations with no luck before a few men dressed in Rowain guard attire joined the search from the opposite side of the rubble. Then, looking over at where Toby was, Osric saw the Ryhain digging frantically in the broken stone.

  In a moment, Osric appeared beside Toby. He could see immediately why the Ryhain was digging where he was. An ash-covered hand was reaching out of the ground below them, and panicked shouts, though muffled, wafted out of the same hole.

  “We’re here. I’ll get you out. Just stay calm.” Toby dug with his bare hands, careful not to let any of the rubble slide inside the widening opening. “Keep anything from falling in, and by my bones don’t let me fall in either.” Toby looked Osric in the eye, the sweat trickling down his brow leaving streaks in the ash smeared across his face.

  With both Legati and his new Pebble wand in hand, Osric held Toby from falling in and kept even the smallest rock from finding its way inside the hole. It was delicate work, but with both of them working together, soon Toby was helping a man out of the opening. And then a woman, a young girl, and a bewildered-looking black cat exited the rubble. Without missing a beat, Toby lowered his head inside to examine the expanse for more survivors, but there were none. From the look of their clothes, they were servants who had been lucky enough to be in the right place when the attack occurred.

  “Do you know where the Turgent’s family would have been?” Toby asked the three dazed evacuees. The older gentleman pointed towards the deepest part of the smoldering stacks with a shaky hand. Then he withdrew the gesture with terror still covering his face. His eyes darted from point to point as if searching for more signs of danger. When he found nothing but the burning wreckage of the Rowain palace, he covered his eyes and a high-pitched moaning escaped his lips. He fought the breaths of panic for a few short moments before his eyelids slammed shut. Unconsciousness took hold and he crumpled to the ground.