The Apprentice Sorcerer: The Caldronian Guild

by Andrew G. Wood

  The rangers opened fire, but their arrows were merely deflected aside, as the soldiers advanced under the cover of a magical shield. With their own sorcerers all but used up, the defenders prepared for the inevitable hordes to force their way in through the gaping hole where the gates once stood. That did not mean the rangers gave up trying to find targets. Skilled with bows, they aimed to make the enemy sorcerers use up more of their own power, by having to keep shielding. With the enemy numbering so many, keeping them all under the cover of such a shield was not an easy task.

  Just as the first approached the destroyed gateway, one of the rangers struck a hit. The rider had ridden too far ahead of the protection afforded him, and the arrow shaft thumped through his chest. Just as all looked lost, and the town looked to all as it would be breached, a second group of riders thundered from the other direction. Nearly forty in number, and containing several sorcerers, the attackers were hit in the flank.

  Blasts of energy took down a number of riders at the back, causing the chaos in the ranks of the attackers. The enemy sorcerers quickly turned about, as did the imps and soldiers with them. The warriors in the town, mounted and ready for a fight, charged the few that had made it to the gate, and the sound of ringing of sword against sword filled the air, as the enemy attempted to retreat in haste. Having depleted much of their energy against the defending sorcerers, they were in no fit state to withstand an attack from such a large number. For now, they needed to escape, lick their wounds and recover, in the hope of fighting another day.

  The party of newcomers that had saved the day did not give chase however, but were just glad they had reached their destination in time. Flying the banners of Caldronia, they had already pushed their horses to the point of collapse, to enable them to get there in time, and the poor creatures would not be able to give much more. These were the reinforcements that had been promised by the king, just a few days before, and the timing of their arrival could not have been better, or more fortuitous.

  At least six of the imps had been slain, as well as nine enemy soldiers, but more importantly, one of the enemy sorcerers had been captured, after being thrown from his horse amidst the chaos, and knocked unconscious from the fall. However, keeping such a prisoner as this was not without its problems, and would tie up the services of some of the magicians who had just arrived.

  The towns healers got to work on the exhausted sorcerers, who had so valiantly held the defence long enough. In time, they would recover, but two of the three had given virtually every ounce of their power, and had barely enough left for their bodies to even carry out the basic tasks; Fortunately, guild healers were highly skilled in treating such things. Two of the soldiers who had engaged the enemy in the gateway had suffered injuries in the ensuing battle, and were also treated accordingly.

  For now, the prisoner was kept incapacitated, by a guild herbalist, by using a fine needle and tube, a drug was pumped directly into the man's bloodstream. This caused no lasting harm, but did have the effect of keeping him unconscious. However, this naturally meant the man's power source was also recovering, and should he awake, he could be a danger to all. Those in charge at Hexley Cross knew that a decision needed to be made, and quickly.

  A messenger bird was sent immediately north to the capital Surmont. This was not only to tell those in power of what had happened, but for another reason also. The question was asked if they could gain permission for them to drain the prisoner of power, and thus keeping him from being a threat if he awoke. As this was a practice outlawed in Caldronia, it could only be carried out with permission from the very highest authority, and only in special circumstances. Moreover, the prisoner could not be questioned whilst continually sedated, and hence, when they eventually allowed him to wake, they needed his power source to be depleted. However, this draining of another’s power was in no way the same practice being carried out by the enemy. The Belarians drew the very life force from a person, killing them; all the Caldronian sorcerers wanted to do was to keep the source of the enemy’s power drained.

  The enemy dead were piled up, with two of the imp creatures being taken for examination, the rest were set alight outside the town walls. By lunchtime, the townsfolk were moving around as if nothing had happened. The traders in the market square, may have missed a few hours trading, but they still did brisk business; Even more so, those selling food supplies. With so many new faces at the town's garrison, the quartermaster for one, needed to stock up.

  Workmen were already plying their trades to fix the southern gateway, as a team of carpenters were cutting lengths of thick oak, ready to be stuck together. Metalworkers were tasked with new hinges, and struts to strengthen the new gates, and two stonemasons were working on the parts of the wall that had succumbed to a little damage. These people were Caldronian, proud and hardworking, they would not dwell on what had happened, and would seek to improve their defence to make sure it was even more difficult should an enemy try again.

  The now smaller group of enemy riders slowed, as they realised they were not being pursued. The leader amongst them was a middle-aged man, a sorcerer himself, he felt considerably weakened. He needed to rest, as did the others of his kind amongst them. With no prisoners to drain and recharge their powers, they would have to let them do so more naturally. Moreover, it was also clear that the Caldronian king was strengthening his southern towns, and this was something that he needed to relay back to his own leader. As a result, he headed back south, across the small river that acted as the border between Belaria and Caldronia. At least here, he could rest safely, and join other groups to make a much larger attack force if needed. The imps with him could not recharge as sorcerers did, and once they had used up their power, they merely keeled over and died, used merely as a kind of disposable weapon.

  In Hexley Cross, the corpse of an imp was laid out on a table, and stood around it were one each of the guild's Healers, herbalists and Alchemists, and sat just to one side, one of the literary members made notes and sketches. The strange creature had been cut open, to reveal insides similar to those a human being might have.

  "It appears to draw its magical force from its own life source," the healer said cutting into the heart of the beast. He showed them how this particular imps organs, were deteriorating.

  "So the creature would die anyway?" the alchemist asked cutting away a tissue sample and placing it in a test tube.

  "Yes, I believe so. I would doubt these creatures have a very long lifespan even when not using up their own power," the healer added.

  After they had gotten all the samples and information they could about the imps, they ordered the bodies to be burned. The notes then needed to be written up properly and duplicated, and a copy would need to be sent back to the Guild Library. Here it would be copied again, and distributed amongst the Guild Masters. Knowing your enemy was important, knowing how it died just as much so.

  Chapter 7.

  It was late afternoon, and Haldar was sat in his study listening to the latest report. A message had been received by bird just a short while ago, and news that one of his southern towns had successfully repelled an attack had come as small consolation. Fortunately, the extra personnel he had sent to reinforce the town had arrived just in the nick of time. The report also mentioned a prisoner, and this he knew, he would have to have the guild sort out.

  After weighing up his options the king decided on a bold decision, he had thought long and hard about it, and now would put his plans forward. He knew his southern towns were the ones most at risk, and in order to ensure they stayed safe, he was going to release the majority of his forces from the capital Surmont. He would not leave it completely undefended, and if the worse was to happen he would still have the guild masters at his disposal.

  He ran the idea by his advisors, who naturally questioned it, although he had already considered the questions they asked. "What if we are attacked by a country other than Belaria?" one said. "What if they bypass the southern towns and head stra
ight for Surmont?" another asked.

  "It is a risk we must take," he told them. He was not willing to sit by and let his people be mercilessly slaughtered. The south needed defending, and he had the means to help and was going to do so. If that meant a few sleepless nights worrying about what might or might not happen, then so be it.

  After he had dismissed his advisors, with his new orders to carry out, Haldar set about writing a letter to the guild. He would need the Masters of Sorcery to help him interrogate the captured prisoner currently being held in Hexley Cross. Firstly, however, he needed to have a bird send a message there, giving permission for his own sorcerers to drain the man's energy. Keeping him sedated and devoid of any notable power should make the prisoner easier to transport.

  However, he would need the guild to assist in the interrogation, not only to keep his power drained, but also keep him shielded. Quite what they would do with the man when the questioning was over, he was not yet sure. Due to the nature of what the prisoner was capable of, keeping him devoid of power and shielded long term would not be a feasible option. It was likely, that the man would have to be put to death, even if he cooperated.

  The first week for Leo had gone quickly, and he had surprised himself, as he had made many new friends and settled in nicely. He had spent the past couple of evenings after mealtime going to the library, where he met with Alec, the Literary Apprentice, who was helping him with his writing. This naturally seemed to annoy Mia, who told him she would have done the same thing, only much better.

  Their classes with Aryan, the Master who taught them offensive and defensive spells, had not gone entirely to plan. As a group they soon found out creating a shield was much trickier than they had first thought. Mason was the only one of the them to manage even a small flicker of one, but due to him having control issues, it was either too strong or dwindled to nothing. Some of the others seemed to struggle producing enough power to create a shield, although they were told this was perfectly normal, as now they were using the small power source, their bodies would regenerate it, which should not have been a problem for Leo. As it was something the body was now using regularly, meaning as a result, it would be become stronger. Aryan used the similarity to a muscle to try and explain, in that the more you worked with it the bigger and stronger it became.

  Only once they had mastered shields would they be able to move onto using magic as a weapon, and this was the one thing some of them were looking forward to most of all. Once they could muster shields and blasts of energy they would be able to duel, although Aryan had told them in the previous day’s lesson that they were all still way off that stage.

  That afternoon's lesson had been with Trenton, and the elderly man was the teacher of healing, although not in respect to the way the Healers worked, but using magic to assist them. He explained to the class, that by using the smallest amounts of energy it was possible to do many things. Using their power, they could detect damage to a patient's nervous system for example, by running a miniscule charge through the body.

  Despite Leo finding the lesson interesting, it was evidently clear one or two were not so enthralled at the description of how the human body worked. Mia for one seemed more intent on staring at the wall than actually listening to what was being said; something that annoyed Leo a bit. He saw this as a great once in a lifetime opportunity for them to do something special with their lives, and as a result intended to work hard at everything the guild threw at him. Another thing he had also started noticing was the way certain guild members spoke to, and treated, some of the serving staff in the dining room. He could not quite put his finger on it, but it was as if they considered themselves more important, and hence it somehow gave them some divine right to treat people that way; something he himself did not like to see.

  The lesson continued, as Trenton revealed on the desk at the front of the classroom, an object covered by a white cloth. Although nobody had really paid it much attention, until Trenton said he would show them what he meant. With a wave of his hand, the cloth flew off revealing the carcass of a sheep.

  "Is it dead?" Mia gasped.

  Trenton chuckled, "Yes my dear, it is quite dead. I am only using it to show you how the nervous system works."

  "We'll be having that for supper tomorrow," Corey joked.

  "Ooh I hope not Amber," cringed. "Poor thing," she added feeling sorry for the animal.

  Trenton explained, looking around the room at his apprentices as he went. Firstly, he ran the smallest of charges down to his fingertips. He then told them that when energy ran through the nervous system it causes the muscles to move, and this he proved to them as he placed his finger on the sheep's side. Even Leo was quite amazed as the leg of the dead animal twitched a little. "There you go. We will practice on this sheep until you get it right," Trenton told them lifting his hand away.

  "It might well have festered away by the time I get it right," Leo mumbled doubting his abilities, much to the amusement of his friends.

  Knowing Leo was the strongest of the group by some considerable margin, the elderly Master thought it best he went last. One by one, the others stood and placed a hand on the dead animal, trying to emulate what Trenton had showed them. The females of the group seem to get to grips with what to do, far easier than the lads, with the only exception being Ewan. Trenton gave his theory that was because they probably had a gentler touch, although the boys in the group seemingly did not agree.

  When it was Leo's turn, he stepped a little nervously up to the dead animal; having watched all the others, and told to wait his turn had put extra pressure on him. He concentrated on the source of his energy, and attempted the finest and smallest trickle of power he could manage. He gingerly held his hand out and placed it on the sheep, and was immediately disappointed when nothing happened. Not one to be beaten easily, he thought he must have not been putting enough energy through, and with all eyes upon him, he took a deep breath and tried again. This time he thought it best to release just a little more power, and repeated the process.

  The rest of the apprentices ducked down as pieces of the animal flew around the room.

  "Oops," Leo said trying to make light of the situation.

  For a few moments, he thought Trenton was going to shout in anger, as the old man's face was covered with sheep's entrails. Rather than lose his temper Trenton just started chuckling, and eventually that small chuckle then erupted into a fit of laughter.

  Trenton patted Leo on the shoulder, "It will come," he said still removing bits of sheep from his robe, though Leo just grimaced and thought it best to help clear up the mess.

  "Remind me if I ever need healing, not to let Leo near me," Corey quipped.

  With the group left with nothing to do but clean up, they at least, all managed a good laugh. Leo may have been the brunt of most of the quips but he did not mind, and in fact, he thought them quite funny as well, and ended up laughing along with them.

  By evening, the king's orders were being carried out, as hundreds of Warriors, Rangers, Sorcerers, Healers, Herbalists and Alchemists slowly fell in behind the large train of supply wagons. They were to be split into three, with each group further strengthening a southern garrison town. Their job was not only to help defend the local area, but go on the offensive if need be.

  Once they arrived at their respective locations, groups of rangers would be sent out to scout the local area. If there were small armies of enemy soldiers around, they would find them. Skilled in stealth and camouflage, the ranger teams would search not only their own side of the border, but across into the Belarian side as well.

  The sorcerer captured at Hexley Cross lay incapacitated on a bed, as a Guild Herbalist administered a further dosage of serum to keep him that way. Permission had just been received from the king, allowing them to drain the prisoner of his power, to keep him weakened. Two guild sorcerers kept guard over him, just as a precaution, as a third leant down and placed his hand upon the man's chest. He closed his eyes, and searche
d for the power source, but quickly pulled his arms back shocked by what he found.

  "I cannot take that," he gasped, stepping away from the prisoner, as his two colleagues looked at him, somewhat confused. He gestured for one of them to try, what he had just done, "See for yourself." A second man stepped forward and mirrored the actions of the first, and he also stepped back, "I see what you mean. I have never seen such a thing."

  The three decided they needed to send word to the guild, deciding the prisoner would have to be transported there for questioning. All they could do now was keep the man sedated, although the Herbalist told them, if they continued doing so for too long, he would likely die as his body would start shutting down.

  Without waiting for further orders, they made the decision to send the man northwards to Surmont. The guild would be better equipped at looking after him, and have the facilities to keep him from causing harm. Those in charge, sent one sorcerer and one herbalist back with him, to make sure he remained no threat.

  After the evening meal in the dining hall, Leo made his way to the Library, and Mia had decided to tag along, even though he had told her she did not have too. She had told him, that there was some work she needed to revise, and therefore they may as well go together. The lamps in the corridor gave a flickering light, as the two slowly walked along them. Mia, as had become habit, linked her arm with Leo's, as if she were claiming him as hers, although he was still unsure as to her motives. Leo had tried to understand his own feelings for Mia, and although he thought she was quite attractive and sometimes funny, her moods and snide remarks somehow made her much less so. As a result, he had decided to just let her carry on, and maybe it might lead to something more, maybe not, only time would tell he guessed.