by Pam Uphoff
"As the volcanoes cooled, the wizards' power cooled with them. And we weren't needed, as we had been needed to ripen crops, to bring light to grow the crops, when the days were too dark." He shrugged. "I should have walked away then, instead of sitting in the middle of a swarm of wizards, fighting over the disappearing pool of power from the volcanoes. In the end, no-one needed power and we were all cast out or killed. The last spate of volcanism wasn't bad enough to bring magic back into control. The regular kings could still control the magic workers. The bad times were over so quickly that when the magic workers rebelled, they could be killed—they weren't needed. I heard about a few half-trained wizards in the last Auralian war, but I could never find any of them."
"When you were in power, was that the first 'bad period' after the comet fell?"
"No. The second good period, actually. The first is when the Gollian wizards that had survived the Fall re-organized, way down in the south; they were cast down some time after the dark ended. The Wizards ruled well out into the good climate period after, before we got so obnoxious the people threw us out. I ‘spose the first dark age was caused directly by the comet and the immediate volcanism. Then the skies cleared, for maybe fifty years. The third dark period started after about two hundred years of good weather and normal growing seasons. It was shorter, and not so bad. Bad enough that few records exist prior to it, mind you. Hence all the myths. The comet fall and the three waves of volcanism have all gotten rolled into a vague memory of 'dark ages' as if there had been only one."
The wizard studied the colonel. "Why the interest in history?"
"We're trying to understand what's happening with these goat wizards. What they want. Why they want it. What they might be planning in the long run. I don't think this helped."
The Sheep Man frowned. "In a way they are my fault. I suppose I should help corral them."
"Tell me about them."
"There were numerous factions in the Scoone court. Maleth. The Org brothers. Mon Sant. Raide. Neet. Deldrious. A lot more, but those are the important ones. Oh, King Nihility. Mustn't leave the Tyrant out. All told about sixty strong wizards ganged up to take down the Wizard King. The King took out eight of them. Wrapped them up in a web of spells, the first and foremost of which was a transformation spell."
"He turned them into goats?" Bail boggled.
"Yes, very large nasty ones. Then Deldirous and the other fifty or so forced a chain spell on the King. Limited his ability to either collect power and to expend it. Tossed him in the dungeon and started maneuvering for advantage against each other, because they'd never dreamed that Maleth, Raide and Orgaphos Org could all be taken down."
The colonel rubbed his forehead. "Are you saying that these wizards are very powerful, trained wizards from the days before we even have written records? Just myths and tales?"
"Yes, but they are still just men. The Inquisitor General killed Maleth. Oscar and Bran killed Raide and Mon Sant. All you have to worry about is the Org brothers—three of them—and Neet, who's a nasty backstabber; a powerful wizard but not much of a leader."
"That's only seven. What about the eighth?"
"Maleth had a young apprentice." The Sheep Man shrugged. "Once Maleth was dead, he was free of any bindings that could have made him a problem. I've been keeping him busy doing useful things."
"Excuse me." Colonel Negue straightened. "I don't believe I properly caught your name."
"Nihility."
The colonel closed his eyes, as if in pain.
"And no, I don't and never did, eat babies. I mostly herd sheep. Very relaxing."
"So. What do you think these wizards are up to?"
Nihility interlaced his fingers and propped his chin on them. "Take the most arrogant, insufferable noble you've ever had to work with. Make him smart. Make him able to use magic, and able to feel it slipping away, and him getting weaker. Lock him up for a nice long time, and then let him out."
"They want physical power—the ability to grant life and death. They want magical power—from the Sun and other sources of Fire, such as volcanoes and large foundries. Lightening. They know they are the best, higher than the nobles, and they expect the World to view them as such. I'd say, to treat them like gods, except the gods mostly just want to be treated like people."
He unwound his fingers and tapped them on the table. "They are afraid of me. They know that I had them in my power for a long time, and still have layers and layers of spells wrapped around their souls."
"You can control them?"
The Sheep Man shook his head. "I can fight them. When I defeated them before, I was on top, with the best power sources. It took sixty of them to bring me down, and I still took eight of them with me."
The colonel stood, paced around then retuned and sat. "So they are looking for power, both for itself, and to use to defend themselves against you. Will they be looking specifically for a defensive position? Or is power more important?"
"Umm, once they have the power, they can make the physical defenses that will limit what I can do to them," the old wizard king frowned. "Are there . . . do you know of any currently erupting volcanoes in Auralia? Or anywhere else for that matter. That is where they will go. And good riddance, as far as I'm concerned." His mouth twitched in a suppressed smile. "I know where they are, and they know where I am. They stopped in Ferris for two months, then moved on after that failed attempt to boost Rivolte. Stayed for six months in Tehat, and are currently moving west at about thirty miles a day. I've been wondering about boats."
Bail nodded. "The ports for trading ships that go to the Cove Islands. I've talked to sailors. They all say there are several volcanoes there, and almost continual eruptions of one volcano or another."
"Well, Colonel, there you have it. Most likely they are headed for the Cove Islands, to establish control over a power source for magic. They will most likely take political control as well, although whether that will be obvious or subtle is impossible to say. Once the wizards are there, their ability to affect the rest of the World will be fairly limited. Not zero, but perhaps not enough to be worth starting a war over. A magical war, mind you, which none of The King's officers know how to fight." Nil hunched his shoulders unwillingly. "If his majesty does decide to fight them, my services are his to command, under certain circumstances. Mainly that I have tactical control, because I know the sorts of weapons they will have available."
Bail sat back and thought about a magical war. Not good. He automatically took inventory of the room.
The two Ash boys were gone, no doubt off with old friends. The two lieutenants were smirking at two women who had joined them at their table. They didn't actually look like locals, the brunette had the distinctive tawny Veronian skin and the one with the lustrous black curls had the slanted eyes of many Cove Islanders. Ash was growing. It had an actual dry goods store. A school. Babies everywhere.
The three other troopers were at a third table, with female company, of course.
Elegant had a two year old daughter with dusky skin that made one wonder if the father wasn't, perhaps, a certain officer from Farofo. And the young woman called Never had a girl as blonde as she was, or Lieutenant Lord Byson Trehem. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't been hearing stories about that wine for three years now. In a small village like Ash, the herd of two year olds was quite noticeable.
A couple of the young ladies who had eaten in the Tavern were very pregnant. Looked a bit young for it, in his opinion.
Speaking of Elegant . . . "Captain, a pleasure to see you again. This is my colleague, Happy." Another of the local blondes, this one in her thirties. He wondered if she was related to Never. The blonde hair and blue eyes contrasting with even darker skin, rendering an attractive face strikingly beautiful.
Bail introduced the colonel, who was staring at Happy. "If you'll pardon my asking, you two are both witches?"
"We are."
"Join us, won't you? Neither of you were on the trip from Havwee to Karista."
Elegant nodded. "My daughter Justice and granddaughter Question told me all about it."
Bail turned to Happy, "As often as I've been through the village, I've never stayed long enough to figure out who is related to whom."
"We're all the descendants of three witches who survived the Auralian war. Answer is my mother, Never is my daughter." Daughter!
Elegant smiled, "Blissful is my mother, and also Glorious's. Delight is Answer's other daughter. Our third ancestor is no longer alive. Zero was the mother of Furious and Curious."
"You each have two daughters?"
They both laughed. "That wine! Old Gods, how that wine has gotten around. Two or three daughters each." Elegant tossed a look at the foreign girls. "Plus we've found some talented youngsters. We should probably try harder to find more. You've met my daughter Justice, and now I have a three year old, Bid."
The colonel nodded. "That wine. I was stabbed through the lung and dying. Two tiny sips and I'm up giving orders and fighting to not get fresh with someone else's wife." His eyes twinkled. "If only I'd realized at the time that the ladies were witches and not married to the men."
Happy snickered, and poked the Sheep Man. "Justice has been known to act rather married."
The Sheep Man looked smug.
The colonel nodded. "And I've envied you that daughter, ever since that trip. Your granddaughter, madam is an extraordinary young woman."
Elegant blinked. Not used to people praising the girl? Bail wondered.
"How do the witches feel about these goat wizards?" Rufi just laid that one out there and sat back.
Elegant got quite still for a long moment, and Happy frowned. The Sheep Man tilted his chair back, then grinned. "I'd better go check the kids, then these two can be frank."
"Thank you," Elegant nodded, as he left. She sighed. "The goats were a fixture in the valley. We didn't really know what they were . . . I suppose we all sort of knew 'the Sheep Man' was a chained wizard, but he was under some genuinely wicked spells, one of which made him a drooling idiot most of the time. My daughter broke that spell just seventeen years ago. The man you know is profoundly different than the tragic figure we older witches grew up around."
"The goats always avoided witches." Happy took over. "I know of only two times there were problems. Once a witch tried some experiments on one, and, umm, the goats took umbrage. The other was during that party three years ago, with half the valley incapacitated. The Sheep Man got extremely incapacitated. That's when three of the goats escaped."
Elegant eyed the men. "Do you understand that deflowering a virgin brings a burst of raw power? Especially a virgin with magical potential. Apparently it's a way to break a spell by brute force. I hadn't realized that, and perhaps the wizards didn't know either. Several days after that party, with everyone dragging around and still exhausted, four youngsters, all virgin, took a bottle of that wine, up on a hill, and wound up raped by goats."
"That . . . that sounds nasty. We've heard from the women in Ferris that the wizards raped, that said they generally did it as goats. Did your youngsters survive? Have babies?"
Happy nodded. "They did. So. Three goats escaped that night. They encountered some Ba'alists that were on their way up here. They assaulted the advance party." She steepled her hands. "Understand that we acknowledge the supremacy of King Rebo. But we defend ourselves against bandits, even when they wear the tabards of a church. We understand that the King has to be careful around the Ba'alists, they are a formidable power block."
Rufi nodded. "I understand a century of Church Troops disappeared into thin air. Surely not three goats?"
"No. The whole village turned out for the fight. And the five goats that were still here mixed in as well. They are large strong goats, with a man's understanding sort of in control. The Ba'alists have a habit of celibacy. The goats were stopping in mid-battle to rape virgins before they killed them. All the goats escaped."
"Thought the Sheep Man said he still had one?"
"Dydit is no longer a goat. Whether he is a nice person, is debatable." Happy scowled.
Bail blinked. Dydit? He remembered the young man who'd driven into the Fort in a Traveler's wagon. Who'd reported on the Veronian Princess, before Lefty returned. One of the Goat Wizards? And stepping out with Never, who is her daughter. No wonder she's scowling.
Rufi sat up. "This goat wizard is still here? We can see him?"
"Sure, c'mon out to the wizard's tower." The Sheep Man returned. "Are you done ruining my reputation, or shall I leave again?"
"Go away, Nil. We'll send them out in the morning. It's too late for anyone but you to go tromping through the snow."
He laughed and departed, following Rufi's officers out the door with their new friends. Bail thought briefly about warning them, but they'd proven to be such arrogant toads . . . and Elegant was smiling at him . . .
And Rufi was back to studying Happy, "Have I met you before? Wallenton, umm, guess it would have been in, umm, last half of 3427 that I was stationed there. They post young officers all around the kingdom, familiarize us with each province." Then he shook his head, "Actually you're too young, err, never mind."
Happy eyed him in return. "Oh, I get into Wallenton every year or two, but it's highly unlikely . . . "
"I'm sure you would have remembered, I was a nasty royal snot back then. Even Bail, here couldn't stand me."
"You do look a lot like a certain Ruffian I ran around with for a few weeks."
Bail snickered. "Do you know, I'd forgotten that was your nickname." He got up and followed Elegant out. Rufi was on his own.
***
Oscar rapped on the door apprehensively. He stepped back a bit so he stood shoulder to shoulder with Bran.
"Yes? What . . . Oscar?" Fava stared at him and then Juli slipped up beside her and stared equally hard at Bran.
"Umm, we, umm, thought we ought to . . . "
Fava sighed. "Come in you two. We might as well get this over with."
Bran gulped. "Juli, look, we were fifteen."
"We thought we were going to go up on a hill and maybe kiss a little." Oscar said. "We weren't planning on anything else. Whatever we may have dreamed."
Juli shook her head. "We were both sixteen, and angry because the Circle wasn't letting us grow up and take our places. We talked it over and decided we could choose who would deflower us, and, and . . . "
"And they were already saying things about that wine." Fava said. "I don't think they realized, about the fertility magic being so strong. We weren't planning on babies, just you two. "
Oscar boggled a bit. "You were planning on going all the way?"
"Yep. It never occurred to us that our blood spells to prevent pregnancy just simply wouldn't work. But it worked out very well for us, actually." Juli waved around at the house. "We wanted our own homes, where we'd be out from under our mother's thumbs, and we did realize that it came with a husband, whether we wanted him or not. With, with everything that happened, well, we refused to marry, and the Witches decided to build us a house. So the Mages had to help or look really bad."
"It's a great house." Fava said, "C'mon, I'll show you."
So they got the tour. The spacious kitchen, the basement stuffed with shelves and filled with jars and barrels and sacks, the childrens' room, with four toddlers sound asleep.
Oscar stepped carefully over toys on the floor and studied the four children. Two with black hair, one with red, one with blonde.
"We figure my little girl Vala is probably yours, and Juli's little boy Brad is Bran's, although the way we were all carrying on, it could just as easily be the other way around. Kett and Cor—well I guess we all know where that black hair and honey eyes came from, don't we?"
Oscar winced. "That was such a nightmare."
"But Juli and I can't run away and pretend it didn't happen."
Oscar winced again. "Bran and I are in the Army. We can't be here, to help or, or anything."
"We could send mone
y." Bran frowned at the little red head in the crib.
"Oh, Old Gods. We’re working. We’re teachers at the school. Did you see the school? We don’t want your money and we can’t go back to being giddy girls swooning over your useless looks. Will you two please just go away? We didn't any of us want this, but we’ve got it, and made it as good as we can. You two . . . have lost any claim on us. And frankly, I don't want to add either of you to my list of dependents." Juli stomped out.
Oscar swapped shrugs with Bran and followed her. Fava brought up the rear, and the two women stood shoulder to shoulder in the door as they walked away.
"Well," Bran said, "They didn't throw the crockery at us, nor ask us to marry them."
"Is that what we wanted? Do we look like leeches or something, to be called dependents?" Oscar glanced back at the snug house with the lantern's glow in the windows. Turned away. "Let's get some dinner."
***
Lieutenant Lord Beni Kestle leaned over to Lieutenant Lord Gode Denacil and whispered, "I'll never again complain when a common officer drags me out to a provincial village."
Gode nodded. "I've never seen such a high density of good looking cunts in my life." Coming from a man who regularly attended royal balls, that was quite a compliment. Beni agreed, entirely.
Zammara shook her shining black curls. "I wish it was summer, we could show you the hot springs. Not that they aren't still hot, but it's cold for a walk." A little smile crooked the corner of the girl's mouth, "we generally bathe nude."
The mere thought was enough warm him up. "Walking through snow would be a bit, umm."
"Oh no!" Catti said, all wide eyed. "We keep the path clear."