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

by Jack D. Albrecht Jr.

  “What is so important that you would just take off like that?” Kenneth demanded.

  “Look, this situation…” Osric sighed, and paused to gather his thoughts. “We are dealing in magics never before explored. I was not asked to do this, it was forced upon me. I do not have to answer to anyone for the performance of my office; no one but the Ryhain of Stanton. It is reasonable to assume, with all we are learning, that situations may arise that demand my immediate attention. You deserve an explanation, but I did not deserve to be assaulted upon my return!” He considered each face as he finished speaking.

  Pebble was the only one satisfied by his return alone, but his argument had struck a chord with his companions. Their faces softened, and Kenneth reached out a hand and helped Osric to his feet. Osric steered the conversation back to where he had intended when he arrived.

  “Toby contacted me almost the moment I arrived on that mountain. The information he shared with me changes everything. We need to prepare to leave. Now that we are all able to travel without Greyback, there is nothing preventing our departure, but we will not be journeying to the irua. You should all sit down. I will explain everything, and you will understand why I left so suddenly.

  * * *

  Osric climbed carefully over the jagged rocks to the next ledge. It had taken some convincing, but he had managed to persuade the others to go along with his plans. He had one more thing to do before they continued on with their journey. He needed to prepare the return trip that the Konsult would be expecting, but he had personal reasons for doing it as well. He wanted the dragons on his side, after all.

  Greyback was laying with her good wing stretched out in the sun, the other still wrapped in poultices and bandages, and she started at the sound of his footsteps. Osric spoke softly as he approached her, “Greyback, I know you have not completely healed, but we are preparing to leave today. You will remain here and the eagles will take care of you until you can fly again. I plan to rescue your ancestors.”

  She followed his movements with her eyes, and though she did not respond, her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared at his words.

  Osric walked slowly toward her, aware that if she did not believe him, she could easily kill him. He approached her head and spoke in soothing tones.

  “I want you to know, that before Ero shared your history with us, we knew nothing of your enslavement. We, as commoners, had no knowledge of the imprisonment of your kin. I truly believed that you flew for us for the payment, but now that I know the truth, I want to set you free. I want to set all of the dragons free! I have found a way to travel quickly without the aid of the dragons, and I can prove it to you.” Osric stood near her head, and pointed across to a nearby mountain. “Do you see that clearing between the tallest trees? Watch closely, and you will know that I speak the truth.” Osric took a deep breath, and vanished.

  Greyback scrambled to her feet and her eyes went wide with disbelief. She looked around the ledge, and stepped forward nervously to the space where he had stood. When she failed to encounter his invisible form, she looked over to the clearing he had indicated. She could make out his small figure easily, standing on a large rock and waving. She sent a bout of flame up into the air, so he would know that she had seen him.

  Osric reappeared in a crouched position, and Greyback stepped backward quickly in surprise. He stood before her with a wide grin.

  “I do still need your help, Greyback, but I will not demand that you obey me. You are free, and I am going to go and free the other dragons. Will you help me, please?” Osric pleaded with Greyback; he did not want anyone else to know that they could travel without her, so he would need the dragon's help getting back to Stanton.

  Greyback leaned in and sniffed him, then craned her neck around to look behind him. She eyed him closely, and said, “You are a walker, and you are not supposed to be able to fly. How did you do that?”

  “I have unlocked the secret of a lost magic, and it allows me to travel long distances with great speed. So, I will not need you to fly us to our next destination; the Braya Volcano. I am going to free your kin, or I will die trying.”

  “I believe you, Osric,” Greyback laid her head on the stone at his feet, “how is it you wish me to help you, if not to fly you there?” There was an edge of fear in her voice, “I cannot fight the walkers.”

  “The dragons will not have to fight, but I do not know who is involved, and so I cannot let anyone know about my new, um, abilities. When your wing has healed, will you meet me, and take us into Stanton?” Osric knelt before her in supplication, “I will not force you to help us, but I am afraid that without you, we will be in grave danger upon our return. We need to know more to prevent the war, but by freeing the dragons, we can buy us the time we need to investigate further.”

  “If you can free us, I will help you.” Greyback lifted her injured wing, and winced. “It is still very sore, but I will be able to fly soon. I will need to recover some of my strength before I can fly with passengers. How long will it be before you need me?”

  “Nine days, maybe ten. I must get back to Stanton to prevent anyone involved from suspecting I know more than I should.” Greyback nodded her head at him.

  “I will be ready. Where should I meet you?”

  “We flew over a small town, about two hours east of Stanton, remember?” Greyback nodded in acknowledgement. “Lothaine does not have a dragon platform, but there is a large clearing in the forest just south of the town. We will meet you there. Thank you, Greyback. After all of the wrongs done to your kind, I do not deserve your help, but I promise you I will see an end to the captivity of your Elders.” He stood and ran his hand along her neck, then turned to rejoin his companions in the cave. Before he could cross to the next ledge, Ero landed in front of him.

  “Osric, I beg an audience.” He bowed to show respect, and Osric felt rather uncomfortable with the display.

  “Yes, of course, Ero.” Osric was relieved when Ero straightened, “Please, tell me what you need, and then we must go.”

  “Go? Greyback is in no shape to fly, you cannot make her carry you with her injury!” Ero spoke rapidly, glaring angrily at Osric.

  “Yes, I know. We will be traveling without her while she recovers. I have unlocked the secrets of Argan's magic.”

  “I knew you would be the one to fulfill the prophecies.” Ero looked at him with pride, and bowed low in reverence. “I bring you news. While on our hunt, I witnessed an army of walkers. Their numbers are greater than I have seen in all of my days. The dragons tell me that they are bound for Angmar, and that they plan to exterminate the irua and the weasels. At least a hundred thousand will be on the move in two weeks.

  “A hundred thousand!” Osric was astounded by the news, and Greyback looked terrified at hearing about the walker army. “Archana's bones, how could they have an army that size getting ready to leave already? It has only been a little over two weeks since the attack!”

  Osric ran his hands through his hair, and gathered his thoughts before he continued. “This changes nothing. We will still leave today to free the dragons. That will slow the army's movements until we can discover who is behind all of this.”

  15 – The Elven Realm

  “Thank Archana your dad brought you to De'assartis that summer.” Osric said. Their interactions were once again friendly and humorous, as he had forgiven Kenneth for his sore jaw. “It would have taken us much longer to make our way to the elven realm, if you weren't able to remember these woods!”

  “You are lucky that you didn't have to come here the way I did. I was sick all seven days that we sailed.” Kenneth set down his gear and sat on a fallen tree to recover from the trip. “I felt the effects of the spell this time, my head is spinning.”

  “Are you sure you are alright? Maybe you shouldn't have tried to take us this far so soon.” Osric placed his roll of bedding and the book on the ground as well; concerned more for his friend's welfare than his sleeping arrangements.

&n
bsp; “Yes, I just need a moment to adjust, but I will be fine.” His breathing was coming easier.

  “Should I stay here for a few minutes?” Osric sat next to him on the tree.

  “No,” Kenneth smiled, “Gus is probably running around swearing with the amount of time you've been gone already. Before you go, though,” He stood and walked a few feet away, drawing a large circle on the ground with his foot. “Appear in this area, the last thing I want is for one of you to land on me when you return. That I may not recover from.”

  “Alright, but you sit down and wait until I get back.” Osric stood and walked to the center of the circle to get a sense of the area and make sure he could arrive in the same spot. Kenneth sat back down and grinned at Osric.

  “If Gus gives you a hard time, just levitate him for a minute or two; that should shut him up.”

  “Yeah, that would make the rest of this trip pleasant!” Osric grinned back, closed his eyes, spoke his spell and vanished.

  When Osric opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the relieved faces of Gus and Bridgett.

  “Thank Archana you are in good shape, boy.” Gus walked around Osric, inspecting him closely for signs of injury. “Did Kenneth manage to get you two there with all of your limbs intact?”

  “Kenneth was tired from the experience, but we arrived safely. I needed to make sure he was alright, sorry for the delay.” Osric helped Gus to climb onto his shoulder. Bridgett had already collected Pebble in her hands and was standing close by.

  “I know you haven't slept yet, but for my sake, I hope you have washed your shaggy hair lately or this will be a miserable trip!” Gus huffed as he climbed up Osric's shirt sleeve.

  “At least you don't have to carry an overgrown, filthy rat on your shoulder. Imagine how I feel.” Osric jabbed back at him.

  “Keep talking, boy,” Gus spouted back, “but try to say something useful and get us to our destination in one piece.”

  Osric took Bridgett's hand with a smile and spoke the words he had been practicing for over a day.

  “Eo ire itum.” There was only the slightest sensation of falling and forward movement, and then it was over. Osric had landed right where he was supposed to, and Kenneth sat smiling, in the same place he had been when Osric left.

  “How long was I gone, Kenneth?” Osric looked up for an indication of what time it was, but the sun's location in the sky was obscured by the dense tree cover.

  “Not long at all. As far as I can tell, it didn't take any longer than when we were using the spell to look for you on the mountain side. Distance does not seem to matter. We traveled almost straight south, and slightly west, across the ocean and deep into this forest. Technically, it may even be earlier here than it was in the caves!” Kenneth chuckled.

  “Across an ocean! Boy, are you mad? You really need to start being more careful, you could get one of us killed.” Gus began gathering leaves to place his blanket on. “The only bright spot of all this is that it is not winter here.”

  “I hope you like rain, because we will get some tonight if my experience holds true.” Kenneth started piling wood in the center of their clearing to establish a campsite. “It rains in this forest all year, and the insects are relentless. I will teach you all the spell my dad taught me to keep them away from the camp.”

  “Kenneth, in that case, can you scare us up something to eat before it gets too dark and wet?” Osric asked.

  “Yes, I seem to remember these woods crawling with animal life. I won't be long.” Kenneth grabbed his bow from where it was leaning on a nearby tree and took off into the forest.

  “Don't get too comfortable Gus, you and I are going to figure out this wand if it kills me.” Osric could feel the effects of two days without sleep, but he needed to understand why Gus could see no difference in it before he slept.

  “If you two are going to work together, you had better learn to get along. The last thing I want for dinner is prairie dog meat.” Bridgett said, as she dug in her pack for a pot and some bread to go with their meal, and then started a fire burning with her wand. She shot them a playful smile as she sat down on the fallen tree that Kenneth had waited on for their arrival.

  “What makes you think it wouldn't be human we eat?” Gus looked at her with an arched eyebrow, and his chest puffed out. Bridgett giggled at his attempt at a joke, and then laughed harder at the scowl that appeared on Gus' face.

  “You need to focus on this,” Osric tossed him his wand, “and leave the jokes to us.”

  “I could tell you all day that there is nothing different about this wand, and you would not listen,” Gus shook his head, “but since you have the gift as well now, I guess I can show you.”

  Osric was grateful to see Bridgett smiling, and he found himself staring at her.

  “Stop gawking at the pretty lady and get over here, we have studying to do!” Gus was still upset, though not at anyone in particular. He did not like having his understanding of magic challenged, and that had been happening far too frequently of late.

  Osric blushed as he turned to face Gus, and he changed the subject quickly. “Alright, you are going to have to run through the gift activation with me again. Let's try to do this without being rude today. I haven't slept in a while and would hate to accidentally hurt you.”

  Gus looked at him with disdain, and then began the lesson, “You have to look past the wand,” he laid the wand on the ground before him as Osric nodded in agreement, “and you have to look right at it, as well.”

  “What? Those are two completely different things. You might as well ask me to swim in water, and walk on it at the same time.”

  Gus hung his head with a sigh. “I can see this is going to take some time.” He looked up at Osric with impatience. “You need to learn to think differently. I am asking you to look, not only with your eyes, but with the gift as well. You must look directly at it with your eyes, but into it with your gift.”

  “Ah, but how do I activate the gift so that I can ‘look into it'?” Osric's mocking tone emphasized the irony of the statement. Osric looked over at Bridgett, and she shook her head and smiled at him, but Gus resonated with annoyance.

  “Extollo!” Gus shouted at Osric, and he was turned upside down by the spell.

  Rage filled every inch of his being while he hung in mid-air, humiliated. He imagined several ways to kill a prairie dog, as he waited for Gus to drop him.

  “You need to focus boy! Can I have your attention long enough to teach you this, or not?” Gus thrust his chin up, and propped his paws on his hips.

  Defiantly, Osric crossed his arms to appear comfortable in the air. “I can do this all day, but can you teach me while I hang here?”

  “Demitto!”

  Osric was lowered gently down, his face was tense as his feet rested back on the ground.

  “Now, if I can direct your attention to the wand.” Gus turned abruptly back to the object of their study. “Try to focus on this,” he pointed at the wand, “instead of where your desires take you.”

  “It's is like lookin' at da fishies in da waters.” Pebble answered, while pulling worms out from under a rock behind a nearby tree, obviously hungry.

  Both Osric and Gus looked confused for a moment. Pebble peeked around at them with a grin as the light from the campfire grew in the coming night.

  “When you's is lookin' for fishies, you's can'ts just looks at da waters, you's gotsta looks behinds it.” He shrugged as if to say it were simple, and he had no idea why they did not think of it first.

  Osric smirked derisively at Gus. “Why can't you be as wise as your son?” Osric crouched next to Gus and attempted to do as Pebble had instructed.

  Almost instantly, the vivid nature of the strands became visible with the insight Pebble had provided. The fibers within shone with all the colors of a rainbow; a complex weave of dozens of them twisted throughout the wood.

  “This is amazing!” Osric marveled at the sight of it.

  “Don't get too carried
away, boy, we are working here.” Gus laid his own wand on the ground next to Osric's.

  “It's beautiful.” Osric stopped looking long enough to steal a fleeting glace at Bridgett and smile.

  “Focus boy!” Gus barked

  Osric returned his attention to the wands, and a thought occurred to him, what do the magical fibers within someone look like? Then, without thinking, he turned his gaze toward Gus, to be greeted with a shower of dirt thrown at his face.

  “Ah!” He fell to his side, rubbing grit from his closed eyes, completely caught off guard by the attack.

  “You don't look at another with the gift, unless they are infants, or they give you permission, boy!”

  “Why didn't you just say that!”

  Gus smirked menacingly at a very angry Osric. “I could tell you all day, but will you ever forget now?” He turned toward Bridgett and added, “This is more fun, anyway.”

  “Gus! What is wrong with you?” Bridgett demanded, as she watched Pebble from her perch on the fallen tree.

  Once the pain had eased and his eyes were clear of enough debris to open them, Osric stood up. He managed to overcome his desire to do bodily harm to Gus, and brought his attention back to the wands.

  “Look at them,” Gus indicated the two wands lying side by side, “they are virtually identical. The weave is the same. The constriction is at the same point, and they are even made from the same wood. There is nothing remarkable about your wand!”

  He was right, other than Osric's wand being slightly longer, they looked exactly the same. Osric stood there, peering within the wands, for what felt like an eternity. He lost himself within the gift, but no matter how hard he looked, he could not find the answer. Osric couldn't understand it; there had to be something different about his wand. It didn't make any sense. He had heard the prophecy; he knew that it was special; he just couldn't see it. He glanced up at Bridgett, and looking at her seemed to ease some of his frustration. She had an introspective look on her face.