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

by Jack D. Albrecht Jr.

  On the far side of the cavern, three people were standing together facing the wall and speaking in hushed tones. A petite woman in dusty brown robes was pointing at something high up on the wall, but Osric was sure it was nothing they could see with their eyes. The shorter of the two men was nodding as he listened to her speak, and he turned quickly at the sound of Osric and Pendres approaching. He smiled and interrupted the discussion about the wall, and he politely introduced his companions to Osric.

  “High-Wizard, welcome. This is Dorim and Elana. They are both incredibly talented in the use of our gift, and they have become invaluable to my work. Dorim can see further through the stone than any Sight I have met, and Elana catches minute discrepancies in the stone that even I miss. We have made excellent progress on the excavation of the new levels recently. Are you here to inspect our work?”

  Osric introduced Pendres as well and greeted the two Stone-Sights warmly.

  “Actually Gareth, I was hoping I could speak to you. I have a great need to utilize your maps. Would you mind if I borrowed them for a while?”

  “I don’t normally like to lend them out, seeing as the project is not completed, but of course I will make an exception for you. Is there anything I can assist you with?” Gareth asked.

  “Yes, I believe there is. Can we speak for a moment alone?” Osric smiled at Dorim and Elana. “Would you excuse us for a moment? I don’t want to interrupt your work here, and I won’t keep him long.” Dorim and Elana nodded silently, slightly awed by Osric’s presence and the mystery of his visit. Gareth followed Osric and Pendres back across the cavern and then led the way to a small, empty room just down the hall. A door had not yet been put in place for the chamber, but no one was around and Osric nodded that the space would do. The three men entered the room. Gareth stood more than a head shorter than Osric, and he was more than twice as old. His black hair was salted with grey, clipped close to his head, and his greying beard was trimmed short and even. His dark skin crinkled around sharp, dark brown eyes when he smiled.

  “Gareth, I am hoping I can use your maps to determine the flow of strands within Archana. In order to do this, I need to figure out if there is a correlation between the density of strands and the material it flows through. I will need you to work with me, help me, but first I need something else.” Osric paused, his brow wrinkled with hesitancy. “I need some of your blood.”

  Gareth and Pendres both stared at Osric, mouths slightly open and eyes narrowed.

  “My… My blood?” Gareth stammered.

  “I know it is a strange request, and I can’t really explain everything to you as to why, but I would ask that you trust me. It’s complicated, but I assure you it is of dire importance. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it would make a difference in the outcome of this war.” When Gareth nodded his consent without reservation, Osric was relieved. “Thank you. I am glad that you have Elana and Dorim here working with you. They are going to need to take over the project for a day or two. I will need you with me as a teacher and a guide while I learn how to identify the flow of strands. After mid’day, meet me at the front entrance to the barracks after your meal. I will explain what I need then.”

  “Of course. Um…” Gareth paused for a moment. “How do I, um…”

  “The blood, of course, sorry.” Osric glanced around. “Pendres, may I have your water skin please?” Osric took the pouch of water from him and unscrewed the cap. He held his right palm upward before him and slowly poured a thin stream of water from the skin. As it pooled in his palm, Osric used the Water Elementalist ability to form the water into a small ball, continuously swirling in on itself to maintain its shape. He drew his knife from its sheath on his belt and handed it to Gareth. “Just a few drops will do.”

  Eyeing the blade in his hand with distaste, Gareth drew it across his forearm and made a short, shallow cut. He allowed a small amount of blood to well from the wound and then scraped the blade across his arm to collect it. He handed the knife back, and Osric slowly passed the blade through the swirling globe of water. The blade came out clean and the water turned a light shade of pink. Osric sheathed the knife and drew his wand. He cast a small shield around the water globe, keeping it intact and in place, hovering at chest height in the air before him.

  “Let me see your arm.” Osric held Gareth’s wrist in his hand, activated his Wand-Maker ability, and drew a single strand up from Archana, much as he had when binding Pendres in the training arena. “I’m not sure if this will hurt, but I hope it won’t.” Gareth nodded, and Osric quickly used the strand to sew the small cut closed on Gareth’s arm. Osric stitched the wound tightly and then anchored the ends on either side of the wound to Gareth’s skin. He glanced up at Gareth’s face with a questioning expression.

  “Didn’t feel a thing. What did you do?”

  “I stitched it closed with magic, just as a healer would with thread. It should heal quickly and cleanly and avoid infection. Thank you for your sacrifice to our mission.” Osric released Gareth’s arm.

  “If that is all the blood I shed for our mission, I will be luckier than most. It was little to ask when so much is on the line.” Gareth smiled. Osric nodded and turned to leave, using his wand to guide the shielded globe of blood-tinged water along at his side.

  “I will meet you on the grounds just after the mid’day meal. Keep up the good work down here.” Osric and Pendres made their way back up through the winding corridors and stairs to the training grounds. Osric was fairly sure he could find Kenneth sparring with his Vigiles at this time of day. The sun was growing warmer as it climbed higher into the sky, and Kenneth was standing bare-chested and barefoot in the center of the arena. Three Vigiles stood around him in offensive stances particular to DuJok, a form of unarmed combat that all Vigiles trained in from an early age. Osric approached the railing, where several new recruits were watching the sparring match, and he located Elmeric, a seasoned veteran who had helped train Osric when he first joined the elite group of Stanton’s defense force.

  “Do you think he can handle all three of them? He has gotten older and a bit wider since I last saw him spar.” Osric laughed as the surprised and outraged expression on Elmeric’s face quickly morphed to amused laughter when he saw who had made such an accusation against the Vigile Contege. Elmeric slapped Osric’s shoulder familiarly.

  “If those three can’t take him, then I’m not training ’em hard enough.” Elmeric laughed. “What brings you out to watch the sporting?”

  “Actually, Kenneth has my sword, and I find myself in need of it. Do you know where his things are?” Osric asked. Elmeric nodded and pointed at a neatly folded tunic and a pair of unlaced boots lying next to the door to the armory. Osric’s sword was in its sheath, leaning up against the wall next to the clothing. Osric smiled in gratitude and walked over to retrieve his sword. He grabbed his sheath in his free hand and stepped into the armory, carefully guiding the levitating water globe with his wand. He closed the door, not ready to explain to his men what he was about to do, including Pendres.

  Osric pulled Legati from the sheath and slowly drew the blade through the bloody ball of water. By focusing carefully, he could discern the moment when the Stone-Sight gift merged with his other abilities as a fully formed and functional gift. He knew that with the new ability, the amount of power he had to channel the strands of Archana’s magic also increased, and he briefly felt awash with a mixture of euphoria and revulsion. How easy it would be to allow himself to be overwhelmed by the power, by the ability to gain more and more power by taking more gifts from others. The revulsion came from the method of acquisition: the blood of another person was feeding his power, and Osric’s stomach twisted at the idea that he could feel euphoria from such an event. When it was done, Osric was surprised to see that the globe of water was no longer tinged with the pink of Gareth’s blood. It seemed the sword had absorbed it somehow, taking the substance itself from existence in order to bequeath its innate power to Osric through the magic
of the unicorn horn. Now the water was only water, and Osric was something more than he had previously been. He shook his head in wonder, dried the sword on his breeches, and slipped it back into its sheath. Osric stepped through the door and returned the sword to its resting place near Kenneth’s clothes. He still kept the ball of water hovering at his side as he returned to where Pendres and Elmeric were standing. Osric leaned against the railing and watched his oldest friend beating three men at once in combat. It was an impressive sight.

  Osric grinned and glanced at the water globe. He began twirling the tip of his wand in a small circle, causing the ball of water to spin and swirl rapidly. He used his Fire Elementalist ability to slowly draw heat from the water until it grew slushy and then gradually more solid. When it was ready, he waited for the opportune moment. Kenneth had one man in a complex headlock that Osric had always had trouble breaking free from whenever his friend managed to secure the hold. The other two were looking a bit dazed and catching their breath with their hands on their knees. When it looked as though they had mostly recovered, Osric launched the ball of snow into the arena and it splattered against Kenneth’s back, dripping from his long, black braided hair. The heavily muscled man was so stunned by the attack that he lost his grip on the Vigile and turned to seek out his attacker. The other two Vigiles used the opportunity to orchestrate a collaborative attack and managed to flip Kenneth onto his back, pinning him securely. Osric burst into laughter as Kenneth caught sight of him in the crowd and scowled, though the angry expression soon turned to raucous laughter, and he congratulated the men on using their resources wisely.

  The sun was almost directly overhead, and Osric waited for Kenneth to don his tunic, lace his boots, and belt Legati around his waist. The two of them headed into the barracks with Pendres and Elmeric for the mid’day meal. Osric’s stomach had settled and was now rumbling, looking forward to the delicious meal that was surely awaiting them in the dining hall. He wasn’t disappointed; the aromas that greeted them as they entered the large room promised herb-roasted chicken, wild rice, and fresh-baked bread. The four men enjoyed a leisurely meal while discussing Kenneth’s chilly defeat. Nothing was mentioned about Osric’s request for a man’s blood or his ambiguous claim to have found a solution to the use of the wells, though Osric noticed Pendres eyeing him curiously several times during the meal. When they had finished eating, Kenneth and Elmeric excused themselves to head to a scheduled training exercise for the Vigiles in the woods east of the palace. Osric and Pendres made their way to the main entrance to meet Gareth.

  While they waited for the Stone-Sight to arrive, Osric gazed at the stone bricks that made up the bulk of the barrack’s construction in an attempt to activate the new ability. He stared at the wall, focusing intently on the small cracks and crevices in the stones, but he could not detect anything unusual or different from what he could see with his eyes only. He turned around when he heard Gareth’s voice behind him addressing Pendres.

  “What is he doing?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. He’s just been standing there staring at the wall,” Pendres responded. Osric smiled, slightly embarrassed, and indicated that they should walk with him as he headed up the path toward the main road. As the three men crossed the boundary of the enclosure spell around the barracks, they were startled by the drastic change in the temperature of the air—and the change in scenery. Within the protection spell, it was perpetually early summer. The bright, warm sun was perfect for growing crops in the massive gardens in the barracks courtyard. Outside the spell, Stanton was chilled by the light winds and low clouds of late fall. Their breath formed small puffs of steam and they picked up their pace to stay warm. Osric used his wand to cast a silence shield around them, ensuring that no one would overhear their conversation as they walked past the palace and headed west toward the rocky hills just outside of town. Along the way, Osric explained his plan briefly.

  “Gareth, the drops of blood that you provided allowed me to acquire the Stone-Sight ability.” Both men glanced at Osric with surprised expressions, but neither interrupted him. “I need you to teach me how to use it. Once I have control over the gift, I am going to try to identify a correlation between the substance underground and the volume of magic that flows through it. If I am correct, I might be able to use your maps to identify the currents of magic that supply certain areas of Archana with a greater concentration of strands. If I succeed, your maps will be the key to our success in this war.” Osric looked over at his companions, pausing for a moment. “If I am wrong, I will have to start all over on thinking up a solution to our problem. So, let’s hope I am correct.”

  “So that’s why you were staring at the wall when I arrived. Were you able to use my gift?” There was no hint of resentment in Gareth’s tone, but Osric again felt revulsion at having stolen another person’s gift, even if he hadn’t hurt him badly to do so.

  “Unfortunately, I was not. I’m hoping you can help me trigger the ability. Simply staring at the stone didn’t seem to accomplish anything other than you two thinking I have gone daft.” Osric smiled and the two men laughed with him.

  “I’ve never really thought about how I use my gift. Every Stone-Sight I’ve ever met knew how to use it, even if they weren’t very good at it.” Gareth frowned as he thought about how to teach the High-Wizard to use an ability he wasn’t born with. “Regardless, we will find a way for you to gain the knowledge you need. I will not be the reason your plan fails.” Osric nodded and they continued in silence, allowing Gareth time to think of the best method for instructing Osric.

  The land grew more uneven as they passed by the palace grounds and continued on away from Stanton. Pendres wondered if the chamber they had been in with the Stone-Sights was somewhere beneath them, but he was sure they were too far away from the barracks for that to be the case.

  “Osric, the corridors beneath the barracks, do they extend out this far? I noticed the ceiling in the chamber was unfinished, but I don’t recall seeing anywhere on the grounds with holes in stone.”

  “Gareth and his crew are studying the effects of the protection spell on the surrounding area. We still don’t know much about how it works, which is why I have his team focused on that chamber. The space is located outside of the protection spell, but the majority of the corridors are directly below the area within it.” Osric tried to think of an explanation for what the Stone-Sights and the others working on the construction had discovered so far. “If you enter the old barracks, the building that is on the property and accessible if you have not been invited into the protection spell, those lower levels do not exist. The construction is technically occurring in the past, since the protection spell isolates the area inside of it from the passage of time. Yet, we don’t know how far down the spell extends. We are still trying to determine if that chamber that is being constructed outside the perimeter of the spell is somehow contained within it, because we have yet to locate the chamber outside the circumference of the spell. We know where it should be, but it doesn’t seem to be there. We will need to do a lot more research before we fully understand it.” Osric looked over at Pendres, as if he were going to say more, but he remained silent and returned his gaze to the rocky terrain they were walking over.

  “So, if you are altering that area of Archana in the past, wouldn’t that cause the area to be altered from that point in time forward? I don’t understand.” So stunned by the idea of Osric using magic that removed space from time, Pendres forgot to put one foot in front of the other and stopped walking. It sounded too much like the magic that had been used on him, severing his life from time and causing him to lose everyone and everything he had ever loved.

  “That’s what we wondered originally, when we began the construction, but it is as if the old barracks and the new barracks are the same space existing simultaneously in two different times. We have only altered one, and the other remains unchanged, so we can only assume that the spell completely separates the new space from the o
ld.”

  “What happens if the spell fails?” Pendres sounded curious about how such a spell could work, and he didn’t seem to realize the implications of his simple question.

  Osric hesitated to answer, but eventually he took a deep breath and spoke.

  “From our past experience with this type of spell, we believe that the new space would disappear if the spell were no longer active. Then, only the original barracks would exist. That is part of the reason we are trying to learn more about the spell’s extent and effects, and why we are expanding the area beneath the barracks. We aren’t sure what would happen if the spell were to falter and people or objects were to exist in the same place in the old and the new space at the same time.”

  “Oh, bloody blades, it could be an instantaneous massacre!” Pendres’s eyes were wide and he was silent for a while. Then he glanced at Osric with narrowed eyes. “You said from ‘past experience.’ What do you mean? You have used this spell before?”

  Osric sighed, remembering his choice to use the protection spell around the Grove of the Unicorn to end the battle with Aron. He cringed at the recollection of the fear and anger he had caused the Maiden of the Unicorn and the other residents of the grove, including the desperate terror Bridgett had felt when she found out the grove had vanished.