by J. K. Barber
“Let’s cut to the chase,” King Morgan said, dispensing with formalities. “Captain Veldrun here will stand in for Lord Cewin Frey since my general is currently occupied with trying to regain Snowhaven from the Empress.” The captain nodded his acknowledgement of his liege’s words as he spoke. “Frey’s son should be arriving today so he can pass any decisions we reach here on to his father when he returns to the front.” King Morgan gestured to the Captain, and Veldrun stepped forward.
“It should not need to be mentioned, but I will do so simply for clarification. Anything and everything said within this chamber is to be considered privileged information and as such is not to be discussed with anyone else. Are there any questions on that matter?” Captain Veldrun looked around the room, quickly passing over anyone wearing a white tabard and resting for several pregnant moments on the other people in the room. Everyone quickly shook their head and the King’s Guard continued. “Good. I think we are all agreed that our main concern at this point is the disposition of Snowhaven.” Veldrun placed his finger on the map, indicating the border town that nearly half of the room’s occupants called home. Reaching out with his hand, the soldier removed several red and blue wooden markers from the map. The majority of the people around the table let out barely audible gasps as he did so. Jared stopped leaning against the wall, taking several steps forward to see what had caused the stir. The hunter now stood next to Talas, still a handful of paces from the table. “Yes, as you may have surmised, the battle to regain Snowhaven is not going well. A hundred of the King’s Army has been killed and they have bought nothing with their lives so far, except perhaps a few dozen dead ice orcs. Snowhaven is solidly built, strongly defended and well supplied. An extended siege at this point would be all but pointless. As such, General Frey has ordered his men to fall back and defend the valley south of Snowhaven so that the Empress’ forces do not intrude further into Illyander.”
“Which leads us to why some of you have been summoned to this meeting,” Veldrun indicated Branden, Mala and the twins with a short wave of his hand. “You four know the defenses of Snowhaven the best. We would welcome your input on how best to take the town back.”
Branden and Mala looked at each other for several moments. Jared, as he moved closer to the table, could see that the smith and the Swordmistress had looks of consternation on their faces, as though warring with themselves and each other over some matter. More than a few seconds passed as the two tried to reach a decision between themselves while not saying a word aloud.
Before anyone could ask what it was that caused so much anxiety, King Morgan gently spoke. “I understand that we are asking you to tell us how to conquer the town which you have defended so bravely for so long.” The monarch’s voice was colored by actual concern, Jared noticed. “However, in order to help secure the safety of the kingdom as a whole, I must ask that you volunteer any information you think would be helpful.” Jared noted the way that King Morgan had phrased his request. The king could have easily ordered Branden and Mala to divulge whatever knowledge they had of Snowhaven’s defenses and they would have been compelled to obey. But, the King of Illyander had asked. Jared found himself respecting the sovereign just a little more than the day before.
“Yes, Your Majesty, of course,” Mala said. Branden nodded to the swordmistress and she continued. “There are a small number of tunnels that lead from the south here,” Mala indicated a point just south of the border town, “into Snowhaven.” Katya and Sasha suddenly looked at each other and then at their father, expressions of surprise on their faces. Had Jared not been looking right at the twins, his hunter’s eyes drawn to the abrupt movement of their heads turning, he doubted he would have been able to read their emotions at all. Branden continued looking at the map. “We, of course can’t know how many of the tunnels, if any, have been found by the enemy, but they are well hidden. Hopefully, some of them will still be undiscovered. A small force may be able to slip in and open the gates from the inside.” Mala leaned back from the table and crossed her arms over her armored chest. The older woman was clearly conflicted about having to reveal such a secret about the town she was sworn to defend, but she understood the necessity of it.
“That plan will not work, Mistress Mala,” the Magus chimed in. Jared felt his lip curl involuntarily as he looked to Lucian. The Master Sorcerer wore a barely veiled look of condescension on his face.
“And why is that, Magus?” Mala asked. Jared noted the snarl on the mistress’ lips as well and inwardly smiled to himself. It seems I’m not the only one who has no use for Magus Lucian.
“Because,” Lucian returned, mild impatience in his tone, “by all accounts ice orcs see just as well at night as we do during the day. Anyone who snuck into Snowhaven at night would simply be putting themselves at a disadvantage while not inconveniencing our enemies at all.”
Mala opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Veldrun gestured impatiently to the King’s Guard at the large wooden doors, indicating the soldier should investigate the interruption. Jared watched Veldrun’s hand slip to the hilt of his broadsword and Branden reached out, grabbing the haft of his maul. The woodsman was certain that both actions were done unconsciously.
The door was unbarred, opened a hand’s span and the King’s Guards spoke back and forth quietly for a moment. Jared was sure he read surprise on the soldier inside the room’s face before he closed the door. The guard then crossed the room to whisper into Veldrun’s ear. Now it was the captain’s turn to look surprised before replying, “Yes, yes, of course. Let him in.” All eyes turned towards the door as the King’s Guard returned to his post and opened the door wide.
Walking into the room, showing no sign of irritation at having been kept waiting, Administrator Tomas calmly approached the table, nodding his head once to King Morgan then to the Magus and Katya. Both Lucian and the young sorceress bowed their heads solemnly, intoning “Master,” as the Administrator approached the table. Jared was surprised by the obvious amount of respect in Lucian’s voice, not having seen the Master Sorcerer show such deference for anyone, short of the king himself.
The Administrator turned his attention to the map of Northern Illyander. “My apologies for being late, Your Majesty.” Tomas’ voice and body were that of a young boy, just beginning its journey into adolescence, but there was a power and age to his tone that was sharply at odds with his appearance. “Please continue.”
Jared was amazed. He had heard stories about the Administrator before, but to see him in the flesh was entirely unexpected. This… boy, for that was what the hunter saw before him, is the Administrator of the Snowhaven Sorcerer’s School. By all accounts he is an ageless master of the arcane arts, perhaps the most powerful magician ever to have lived, maybe the only person to have seen the Empress of Ice up close and live to tell the tale, and he just walks into the room like nothing more troublesome is going on than he was a little bit late to a meeting; a meeting with His Majesty, King Morgan of Illyander, who showed a palpable amount of respect to a boy who didn’t look old enough to grow hair on his chin. Jared looked around the room seeing similar signs of respect and surprise on the faces of those around the table. Jared’s instincts warned him to be wary of the Administrator. Here, in Tomas’ presence for the first time, the woodsman felt the hair on his neck stand on end. There was a feeling he couldn’t quite define. It reminded Jared of being in the woods when he knew a large storm was approaching. He could smell the coming rain and lightning in the air, even if he couldn’t see the storm clouds.
King Morgan was the first to speak, pulling Jared’s attention away from the young boy. The woodsman was somewhat embarrassed as he realized he had been staring. Tomas showed no sign of noticing. “Yes of course, Administrator Tomas, we understand that you have duties to which you must attend. It is I who must now apologize to you. Had I known you would be coming I would have…”
Tomas stopped the monarch by raising his hand, gently but respe
ctfully interjecting. “Unnecessary. I know that my visit is unannounced. There is no need to stand on ceremony in these uncertain times, Morgan. There are more important matters to which you must attend. Please, proceed. I am only here to observe.” The king turned to Veldrun, who wore a slightly bewildered look on his face. King Morgan motioned for the captain to continue.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the man intoned. “I believe Magus Lucian had just said that Mistress Mala’s plan would not work. That the ice orcs see just fine at night and a covert raid under the cover of darkness would place our men at a disadvantage.”
“And I was about to point out,” Mala replied curtly, addressing Lucian, “that I had not said we should sneak in at night. I am well aware of the capabilities of the ice orcs, having fought them for most of my adult life.” The swordmistress looked daggers at the Magus. There were words unspoken hanging in the air, but Mala kept her tongue. Jared wondered if there was a history between Mistress Mala and Magus Lucian, but this was neither the time nor the place.
“Regardless,” the bald-headed sorcerer continued, Mala’s animosity apparently below his notice. “A handful of soldiers are not going to be able to overcome scores of orcs, battle their way to the gates and open them for the King’s Army to come marching in. It would be suicide.”
“It’s a risk we’d be willing to take, Your Majesty,” Branden said, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. “Any citizen of Snowhaven would gladly give his life if it meant ridding our home of those creatures.” As the huge smith spoke, his hand still on the haft of his massive battle hammer, Jared could see the man’s knuckles turn white with the force of his grip. There was a fire in Branden’s eyes that was unmistakable. The King’s Guard was willing to do anything to retake his dead wife’s birth village. Jared looked to the twins and saw similar fervent expressions.
“Besides,” Mala added, “augmented by our warrior-sorcerer pairs, we would be able to succeed where simple soldiers could not.”
“I do not doubt the abilities of you or your compatriots, Mala and Branden,” the king said in reply to the pair’s declarations. “But I will not sacrifice the life of any of my people, unless we have exhausted all other alternatives. We will keep the option of the tunnels into Snowhaven open for now, while we explore other ways into the city.”
“What about the path that the Empress was going to use?” Captain Veldrun asked.
“Lay siege to Snowhaven from the north?” Sasha inquired, the tone of her voice indicating what she thought of the idea.
“No,” Veldrun replied. “How did the Empress plan to get her warriors into Aeirsga without us knowing?” The Captain of the King’s Guard continued before anyone could reply. “Could we not use the crystal in the catacombs to send our troops into Snowhaven, into the Sorcerer’s Tower?”
All eyes turned towards Tomas, but Magus Lucian was the first to speak. “Surely, if such a thing were even possible, I would know about it,” smugness permeated the Master Sorcerer’s words. “I am sure that is why the Empress’ attempt to infiltrate the city was unsuccessful.”
Jared bristled, knowing that he and his friends had shed blood preventing the invasion of Aeirsga. Chyla’s father had died to save people that didn’t even know his race existed. “You self-righteous little worm,” Jared began. “If we hadn’t …”
“That’s enough of that!” King Morgan barked. “The capital is safe. That is the important thing.” His Highness’ tone and Talas’ hand on the hunter’s arm silenced Jared. Lucian looked at the woodsman, an expression of self-satisfaction on the Master Sorcerer’s bearded face. Katya, standing beside the Magus, wore a different expression. She widened her eyes, silently imploring Jared to be quiet. The hunter relaxed and looked at Talas. The priest shook his head slowly, looking furtively down at Jared’s hand. The hunter followed the older man’s gaze and then quickly pulled his hand away from his belt. Looking quickly around the room, Jared did not think that anyone had noticed the gesture. All eyes were either on the King or on the Administrator.
“Well Administrator Tomas?” Captain Veldrun asked. “Is such a thing possible?”
The young boy replied as though nothing untoward had happened. “Let it suffice to say that such a means of ingress is not open to you.” Tomas continued before anyone could ask the next obvious question. “The Ice Queen was mistaken in what she believed about the crystals beneath Aeirsga and in Snowhaven. Her plan would not have worked.”
“See?” Magus Lucian began, before the Administrator cut him off.
“However, the actions of her minions would have done irreparable damage to the crystal, and ultimately it would have led to Aeirsga’s destruction, though not in the way she had originally intended.”
Lucian had the decency to look mildly abashed, at least until he next spoke, his earlier haughtiness returning. “Besides, if anyone of such magical prowess were to have attempted to enter the palace, my wards would have at the very least alerted me to their presence, if not stopped them completely.”
“Then how is it that you were just as surprised to see Administrator Tomas as the rest of us, Magus Lucian?” Mala asked, looking pointedly at the Master Sorcerer. Lucian glared at the swordmistress for several long uncomfortable moments.
“Regardless,” King Morgan said, coming to the rescue of his Magus. “We cannot use the crystals to infiltrate Snowhaven, nor can the Ice Queen use them to invade Aeirsga. However, she can do harm to the capital through them, which is why the guard I have placed in the catacombs will be doubled.”
“I will see to it,” Captain Veldrun stated crisply.
“Now, returning to the matter at hand, how do we retake Snowhaven?” King Morgan asked.
Talas stepped forward from where he stood beside Jared. “Your Majesty, if I may?”
“Yes Brother Talas, what are your thoughts on the matter?” the King asked.
“With all due respect to the strategic and emotional importance of Snowhaven,” the newly returned priest nodded towards Branden and Mala. “I think there might be a larger matter to consider here.” The people assembled around the table wore matching expressions of curiosity. King Morgan motioned for Talas to continue. “Should we recapture Snowhaven, there will still be the matter of the Empress of Ice herself. It is my… belief, that she represents a larger threat to Illyander specifically and Aronshae in general than I think we are taking into consideration.”
“Surely you don’t think that one sorceress, powerful though she may be, is a danger to the entire kingdom, much less the entire world.” Lucian said. Though diminished by Mala’s earlier rebuttal, the Magus’ arrogance was still plainly heard in his words.
“Perhaps you should listen to Brother Talas’ words, Lucian,” Tomas interjected calmly. Jared noted that the Administrator used Talas’ formal title, while using the familiar form of address with the master sorcerer. Come to think of it, he didn’t use King Morgan’s title either. Jared’s thoughts on the matter were interrupted as Talas continued.
“Thank you, Administrator,” the priest said, inclining his head to the young boy. “There are those within the Order of Knowledge who believe that the Empress of Ice, in her ambition to garner more power, may be doing harm to Aronshae herself.” Talas regarded the Administrator. “There is some indication that the Empress may have also been a student of yours at one time, Administrator Tomas. If this is true, do you think it is something within her capabilities?”
The young boy cast an appraising look at the priest, a glint of what might have been approval in his eyes before replying. “Without going into too much detail, your brethren are correct. The Empress of Ice does represent a danger as you suppose. I do not know how far reaching her ambition will become, but it would be wise to stop the Ice Queen before she does too much damage.”
“Well then, we’ll kill two birds with one stroke when we retake Snowhaven,” Captain Veldrun said.
“Excepting that she can simply travel from Snowhaven back to her strongh
old in the Frozen March if Snowhaven should fall.” Katya spoke for the first time since the meeting began. A fact that registered with her as she added, “But I’m sure you’ve already thought of that, my lord.”
“I doubt they’ve considered that as of yet, my child,” Tomas intoned, approval in the sound of his voice as he looked at the raven-haired sorceress. To her credit, Katya managed not to blush, though she did not look at the Administrator as he spoke. Jared gave the young woman an appraising look, knowing of the hidden strength there below her nervousness.
“But,” Magus Lucian interjected. “You said that travel between crystals wouldn’t work.”
“No, Lucian,” Tomas replied, his tone flat and unreadable. “I said such a mode of travel was not open to you….” Jared noted the way the young boy left his sentence unfinished. Tomas continued before the woodsman could think on it further. “The Ice Queen can travel between crystals, should the proper conditions be met. What those are, I cannot say.”
“The ritual!” Katya blurted out, a look of realization breaking out suddenly across her face. “The one we stopped. The ritual itself wasn’t meant to open a portal.” Nervousness forgotten, the young sorceress rushed on in her declaration. “It was meant to damage… no, that’s not the right word. It was meant to… to… corrupt the crystal.” Further shock registered on her face as one mental connection lead into another. “That’s what I felt while they were doing the ritual. I felt the corruption seeping into the crystal and the magic around it.”
Magus Lucian looked as though he were about to respond, but Jared purposefully spoke over him. “So how do we stop her, if she can just disappear as soon as we get near her?”
“She doesn’t disappear, young man…,” Tomas replied, leaving his sentence unfinished and hanging in the air.