The Wand-Maker's Debate: Osric's Wand: Book One

by Jack D. Albrecht Jr.

  Toby wasn't sure if he should even keep reading. He had known that Thamas was a careful man, but he had always thought him logical. Conspiracy? Toby couldn't believe that Thamas had been concerned enough to document it, but had never said anything to him in the seven years they had worked together. He turned the page to encounter a list of supplies. They were the type of standard items typically issued to transferred recruits. The page was dated just over two months after the first entry. Below the list of inventory, Thamas had listed the names and some information of three recruits; Toby remembered two of them. They had been in the recruit class seven years earlier; the same year that Toby had accepted the promotion to Profice, but neither of them had completed their training to join the Vigile ranks. Thinking back, Toby couldn't recall what had happened to them. He had just assumed that the training had been too much for them, and they had quit and gone back home.

  Standard issue tan tunic; two sz three, one sz two

  Standard issue tan breeches; two sz two, one sz three

  Boots; three pair.

  Short sword; three, with scabbards.

  Travel rations; three packages, six days each.

  Shawn ~ Hometown: Stanton. Parents deceased.

  Grayson ~ Hometown: Rowain. Unknown family line.

  Thom ~ Hometown: Unknown. Mother deceased, Father

  Imprisoned.

  Toby had only seen Shawn a few times during his training. He remembered him as a quiet boy, tall for his age and not very intelligent. He had no idea who Grayson was, but there were a lot of recruits every spring, and Toby didn't always have a hand in each of their training. Thom, however, he remembered well. He had joined the recruit class his nineteenth spring, several years later than most boys. He was an angry and antagonistic young man, often picking fights with other recruits or taunting vendors in the market district. There had been multiple complaints filed about his antics, and Thamas had told Toby that he was expelling him from the training. Paperwork for the expulsion had never come across Toby's desk to sign, so he had assumed that Thom had just left. The journal seemed to indicate something else entirely. The next page confirmed Toby's suspicions.

  Twenty first day ~ Fifth month ~ Twenty second year of Turgent Bartholo's Rule.

  Contacted by Konsult for three more recruits. Each has been issued gear and signed transfer papers to Braya. Transfer papers filed in blue box and merchant wagon contracted for travel.

  Toby had never heard of recruits with incomplete training being transferred, and he had no idea what a blue box was, but he was fairly certain that Braya must refer to the Braya Volcano. It was a remote volcanic area on the northern peninsula of the elven realm, surrounded by a large mountain range and dense tropical vegetation. As far as Toby knew, the area wasn't even populated by anything other than tree sprites and elementals. The merchant wagon didn't make sense either. To reach the elven realm, you had to either cross by ship or dragon flight. Why would the recruits travel with a merchant wagon when they could have contracted a dragon from Stanton? Toby flipped through the journal, scanning page after page of inventory lists and groups of two to five missing recruits, followed by Thamas' brief explanations of their undocumented transfers.

  The last entry was dated two days before Thamas had gone missing.

  Twenty sixth day ~ Sixth month ~ Twenty ninth year of Turgent Bartholo's rule

  I overheard a conversation between the Konsult and Domnal's scribe. I cannot stay and watch a corrupt system endanger innocent people. I will seek out an explanation where the fires burn hottest. Ahh, Archana… please let me place my trust in those who will not abuse it.

  Toby let the mysterious book drop heavily onto the desk, laced his fingers behind his aching head and leaned back in his chair in contemplation. What now? He certainly couldn't show the journal to anyone. It seemed that Thamas had started asking questions and he hadn't been seen since. He didn't think leaving it on the shelves in the records room was a very good idea either. How could Thamas leave something like that just tucked away on a bookshelf? In the wrong hands, it could be considered an assault on the Turgent himself. Accusing a Konsult, one of the inner circle of the Turgent's advisers, of corruption could have led to charges of treason. With few options presenting themselves, Toby stood and slipped the journal into the waistband of his breeches. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he strode out of the room and headed for the palace grounds. He would see the floor of the throne room by nightfall, or he would have someone's head!

  Toby walked quickly and purposefully through the halls of the barracks. The plain stone corridor was a fitting visual for his frame of mind. He felt personally affronted by Contege Thamas. He had never wanted the responsibility of leading the Vigiles. Osric was a good man, but he wasn't experienced enough to handle the politics of his new position. If Thamas hadn't decided to start asking questions, or go looking for trouble with the Turgent's advisers, then he would still be there doing his job, and Toby would be at home with his family. Yet, Toby had to admit that if Thamas was right, and there were corrupt men advising the Turgent, then something had to be done about it. Toby had no idea what Thamas had overheard, and he couldn't even guess where he had ended up. For the moment, he would focus on unburying the rest of the palace, and leave intrigue and politics alone. He hoped that Osric was making good time on his trip, and as soon as he knew the status of the palace, Toby would contact him. Sometime before then, he would have to decide if he would tell him about the journal.

  As he stepped through the doorway of the barracks, Toby cringed at the bright morning sunlight. He had spent far too much time in the dark office. The training grounds stretched out before him; an expanse of trampled ground, bordered by the DuJok arena and a complicated and muddy obstacle course off to his left. A wide dirt path curved to his right, leading to the main road to the palace grounds. It felt good to stretch his legs and he covered the distance to the palace in less time than he expected.

  As he approached the palace grounds, he was pleased to see all of the activity taking place. There were several groups of people surrounding the palace ruins, all working diligently together to lift slabs of fallen stone with their wands and dropping them into large piles scattered between the trees around the palace. At the nearest pile of rubble, a giant was working alongside a stone mason. The giant was sorting through the pile, pulling out large slabs of stone and placing them side by side in front of the craftsman. Toby watched, intrigued, as the man used his wand to meld the slabs of stone together into a seamless wall, preparing for the reconstruction of the palace. Several men were loading wagons with items recovered from the palace rooms as they were uncovered. Obviously they had recently discovered the pantries, as Toby could see casks of spices and bags of flour in the closest wagon. At least not all of the palace supplies had been destroyed.

  Toby veered off of the road and crossed over to a group working along the south edge of the palace. The men saw him approaching as they placed a large piece of stone on a nearby pile. They bowed slightly in respect and returned to their work. Gordyn was overseeing the group, and he stepped away from the others to greet the Profice.

  “Profice Toby, we're makin’ good progress.”

  “I am glad to hear that, Gordyn, what have you found so far?”

  “Well, we ‘ave been working on clearing this section of wall all mornin', but it be awful deep. About an hour ago, we sent in a few o' the prairie dog scouts to see what we're up against. They scampered back an' said that the throne room is just beyond this layer, but the damned roof collapsed on top of it, so it's difficult to remove pieces without causing another cave-in. Those two cave-ins yesterday were bad enough, you don't want to have to do the paperwork on a bloodied ambassador.” He grinned mischievously, but Toby knew the cave-ins had scared everyone into being more cautious.

  “Did the scouts report finding any survivors?” Toby asked, hoping for some good news.

  “Yes, a few lucky bastards between the wall and the head table were tr
apped but not injured. It's gonna take more work than brushing a magrog's teeth to create an opening for them. Those little imps squeezed through a crack in the stone and got to ‘em. They ‘ave enough food and water, but it might be a day or two before we get ‘em out.”

  “Good work, I am sure they would like to get out of there soon. I will see if I can get you some more men to help out. Work quickly, but carefully. Let's get them out in one piece.” Toby nodded at the rest of the workers and turned back to the road. He was sure that there must be more people available to work than what he saw there. If the Union agents had his men doing menial paperwork, like they had tied him up with, they would find that he wasn't as easy to deal with as they had thought.

  A large tent had been erected near what had been the entrance to the palace, as command center for the recovery operation. Toby could see the large oak doors, still intact, leaning against a nearby tree. There were several voices coming from within the tent, none of which sounded pleased. Toby recognized the deep timber of James' voice, and his cart was parked just outside the tent entrance. Just as he reached out to pull the tent flap aside, James came storming through the door and almost knocked him to the ground. Toby sidestepped at the last moment and reached out to steady the angry man before he toppled over.

  “Whoa, James, easy man! What's going on in there?” Both men were solid on their feet, but the expression on James' face looked as though he may knock over a tree, or the tent.

  “How can such an incompetent man rise to such a high position? I've spoken with men of limited intelligence before, but none with his arrogance! If I never have to deal with that man, it will be too soon. Where is Osric, anyway…” James continued to rant as he stomped over to his cart and began wheeling it down the hill, in total disregard for Toby and his questions. Toby could only shake his head; he thought he knew who had caused the vendor such distress. He sighed to himself, pulled the tent flap aside and stepped inside.

  The inside of the tent was dimly lit by a lantern on a small table. The three men standing inside looked up, startled by his entrance. Toby knew the two irritating Wizardly Union agents all too well, but he didn't recognize the third man. The stranger was very tall, his head nearly brushing the angled roof of the tent. Long silver hair hung down his back in a tight braid, in stark contrast to the black robes draped over his heavily muscled frame.

  “Ah, Profice Toby, I am glad you are here.” The small wiry official spoke with a nasally drone. Toby doubted very much that he was happy to see him, but he kept a pleasant expression on his face.

  “I need to know where the rest of the Vigiles that are supposed to be working on the palace are. They need more men to help excavate the survivors.” He noticed that the younger agent had turned away from him and was fumbling with a stack of paperwork on a desk at the back of the tent.

  “Yes, er, all of the available workers have been assigned to their respective tasks, but I will look into reassigning some more men to assist them on that.” He pushed his spectacles up higher on his crooked nose and stepped closer to Toby. “I would like to introduce you to the Turgent's Konsult, Dredek,” indicating the tall stranger on his left, “he has come from Rowain with good news.”

  “Good news is always welcome.” Toby shifted to his right in an attempt to get a better view of what the other agent was doing. “Konsult Dredek, allow me to thank you for coming, I regret to say that I was not informed of your impending arrival or I would have greeted you sooner.” He glared at the Wizardly Union official, bowing slightly to the Konsult and sweeping his arm gracefully before him.

  Konsult Dredek acknowledged his gesture with a nod, and stepped forward, his height causing him to hunch slightly in the confines of the tent. His eyes were a pale grey, closely set above a sharp nose and a thin down-turned mouth.

  “Profice, I have come to inform you that we have in custody the culprit responsible for the tragic attack on the Peace Ratification Signing,” there was a strange inflection to his voice that Toby couldn't place, “the Turgent will deal with him personally.”

  “Well, that is good news. How did you apprehend the suspect so quickly?” Toby was amazed that they were able to find the person responsible before they had even arrived at the palace where the attack took place.

  Konsult Dedrek stepped around Toby to the door of the tent without his intense gaze ever leaving Toby's face. “Walk with me, Profice, and perhaps we will find these men you need to assist you on the palace.” He stepped outside the tent and Toby had no choice but to follow him. The Konsult moved slowly, and his long heavy robes created the illusion that he was gliding over the ground, rather than walking. They crossed in front of the palace, observing the work still in progress, and veered off into the dense trees that bordered the east wall.

  Toby stayed a pace or two behind the Turgent's advisor, not sure where they were headed, and not getting the impression that the strange man planned on answering any questions. They had been headed northeast into the forest for several moments, further from town with each step, when the Konsult suddenly stopped. Toby knew that there were men in the trees around them. He had too much experience from his years with the Vigiles, and hunting with his men, to miss the distinct sounds of footsteps on the soft carpet of pine needles nearby. For a moment, he wished he had Osric's ability to sense danger. It was an ideal situation for an ambush, and Toby was starting to wonder what exactly the powerful man had planned for him.

  “I apologize if it seemed like I disregarded your question. We have men whose objective it is to locate criminals. They are good at their job.” It was not exactly an answer, but Toby understood it was the best one he would get. “How many of your recruits are surrounding us, Profice Toby? The ones you are aware of will be reassigned to assist you on the palace walls. Those that are beyond your perception will be assigned elsewhere.” Toby could feel Contege Thamas' journal rubbing uncomfortably against his lower back. All of those recruits had been ‘assigned elsewhere'. He suddenly trusted the man much less than he had when they were introduced. The Turgent's Konsults were men of great power and persuasion. They advised the Turgent on all matters of running his realm, from the allocation of treasury funds to the succession of Ryhains. One of them was responsible for secretly transferring dozens of incompletely trained Vigile recruits out of Stanton, and Toby didn't need Osric's ability to suspect which one. Fortunately, Konsult Dredek would have no way of knowing that the journal existed, nor that Toby had read it and had reason to mistrust him.

  “Elsewhere, Konsult Dredek?” Toby was focusing all of his senses on the forest around him, seeking any sign of his men. He had no intention of allowing Dredek to reassign any of his recruits. He didn't want to miss anything.

  “The Turgent's personal guard is always looking for good men. The ability to conceal themselves from you will earn them the opportunity for further training. They will return with me to Rowain.” The Konsult's pale eyes were boring into Toby's, seemingly daring him to challenge his explanation. Toby briefly wondered what the adviser's magical ability was, afraid that he could read his thoughts about the journal.

  “We passed twelve recruits on our way here, but only eight of them are still south of us. Two of them joined five others in the woods to the east. There are four men on the ground to the west, and another three north of us. Six are up in the trees above us, and two are concealed beneath the pine needles near your feet. I count thirty recruits in all.” Toby made a silent plea to Archana that he hadn't missed anyone.

  “I am impressed, Profice Toby, you are most perceptive. Those thirty recruits will return to the palace and assist your Vigiles. The two which you missed will be reassigned.” Konsult Dredek called out to the recruits and ordered them back to the recovery efforts. They emerged gradually from all sides, seven men dropping silently from nearby trees, and three rising from the humus at their feet.

  “Andru and Belle, congratulations. You executed your concealment with efficiency and stealth. I was unaware of your pr
esence, and your efforts will be rewarded. Report back to your unit leaders and await further instructions.” Andru shot Belle a wide grin, which she returned excitedly as she shook dirt and pine needles out of her short cropped red hair. Toby hoped that their excitement would not be short lived when they arrived at their new assignment. He had no idea what was in store for them. He certainly felt like he had failed them, but he showed no sign of it as he turned back to Konsult Dredek.

  “They are both good recruits. The Turgent would be lucky to have them in his guard.”

  “Yes, I am sure that he would.” Toby was growing tired of the Konsult's cryptic responses, and gestured that he should lead the way back to the palace. Dredek stayed where he was and regarded the Profice.

  “We have been unsuccessful in contacting Contege Osric since the palace fell.” Toby nodded in response.

  “His wand was lost in the collapse of the castle, I would be happy to contact him on his new one.” Konsult Dredek headed back through the trees towards the palace, not bothering to look back to issue the order.

  “Tell him his investigation is no longer necessary and he should return immediately. I have responsibilities in Rowain that I would like to attend to as soon as possible.”

  * * *

  Toby found himself staring once again at the stone walls of the small office in the barracks. His head was reeling from everything he had learned. He knew he had to contact Osric, but he had no idea what to tell him. He cradled his pounding head in his hands. He slipped the journal from his waistline and laid it before him on the desk. He hoped that Osric had good news, because he didn't expect to have any himself with Konsult Dredek awaiting the Contege's return. He held his wand before him and focused on reaching out to Osric. A pale light started to emanate from the tip of his wand as he felt it link with Osric's. The image of a rocky mountain side appeared as the light became more defined. Toby could see Osric standing on a rock outcropping, and he couldn't imagine where he might be.