Vol. 2 - Another Typical Day, Too (The Wizards of Eredwynn)

by Daniel Harris

  Fifteen minutes later I heard my door open softly and feet moving to the other side of the bed. I opened my eyes to see Chloe, dressed in her nightgown, slip under the covers. I smiled at her and she slid over and put her head on my shoulder.

  Chloe said, “Having some trouble, David?”

  I sighed, “I don’t know. I just have this feeling of dread about this mission. I don’t know why. You know my new abilities and I can’t think of anything that I can’t face, but just when you start thinking that life will trip you.”

  “I don’t feel anything physically wrong with you that could be causing that, why did you ask for me?” Chloe asked.

  I chuckled, “Does there have to be something wrong with me to want to be with you? It didn’t used to be that way, if you’ll remember. Actually, I felt like being cuddled and talked to. I didn’t necessarily want to do what the new consorts would want to do. Understand?”

  She laughed softly, “That is all they’ve been talking about with Isa and Alice this morning. They are trying to figure out when they will spend time with you again.”

  I smiled letting my fingers slide down her side, “What they still don’t understand is that they’ll have a better chance of spending time with me if they learn to talk and be understanding. Being my first consort, you know how I am.”

  Chloe giggled, “I do know how you are and I’ve become able to feel changes in a person. Things that might need healing, or in this case, just taken care of. I feel that your mood is changing My Lord.”

  I rolled on my side and kissed her. “Since you came to talk, would you be offended if something interrupted us?”

  “If you are talking about what I hope you’re talking about, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest. I would, however, not mention it to your new consorts!” Chloe smiled happily.

  18.

  Not Your Normal Mission

  I smiled at Chloe, “We do have to go on this mission. Your father asked me to and I want to stay in good with dad.”

  She giggled, “Dad. He would pass out if he ever heard you say that!”

  I grinned evilly, “Don’t tempt me. I might like to see that!”

  I started getting dressed while she pulled her nightgown back on. I know the maids would hate me for having my bedding changed so often if I didn’t pay them so darn well. Chloe slipped out of my room and moving so innocently she looked guilty and made it to her door. No one was on the floor so she didn’t get caught. I walked back into ‘my’ living room and stuck my head into ‘my’ bedroom. I asked the crowd that was still in there if everyone was ready to go. There was a general shuffling as people stood up to leave. I said that they should pass the word and meet me between the dorm and the target range. I said to have them out there in an hour. I was going to be working on a Master Wizard spell and didn’t want anyone close for an hour. Everyone agreed and looked confused. Alice caught my eye, nodded and smiled. I went to the balcony, wondering why I bothered since I was going to be using Master spells, and arrived at the place of the gathering. The happy couple was sitting on the grass near the range and waved. I waved back and yelled to keep clear of the area. I then spun in a circle with a finger out to indicate a huge space. They nodded and I began to relax.

  I focused on the area in front of me and a location near the river. I could see both spots but thought it would be a good starting point for a test. The air close to me started to swirl and turn translucent. I stole an image straight from some sci-fi story about a wormhole, and mentally made a connection between the circling gateway in front of me and the location by the river. I missed. I saw the gateway open at the other end, but it was on top of the canyon wall a hundred yards from the spot that I’d targeted. I released my focus and both gates dissipated. I sat on the spot and thought for a minute. It was only moments before I realized my mistake. In the story I’d pulled up in my mind, the wormhole wasn’t straight. The curves and bends must have translated into distance when I’d used it for my spell. I tried again, ignoring Elaine and Dristan staring at me. I opened the gate closest to me and when it was stable mentally sent a straight line tunnel to the place I wanted to go. The translucent spot showed up exactly where I wanted. Now for the untried, possibly dangerous part. I plucked up my courage and stepped through the translucent gate and was instantly walking out of the gate by the river. I grinned happily and walked back through, coming back to where I started. I closed the gates and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to use my Master skills very often, but Alice had been right about not being afraid of using them sometimes.

  There was a line forming behind the dorm but no one wanted to approach while I was doing something they didn’t understand. That is probably a good practice to put into law. I waved everyone over and prepared to send them to the hill that Elaine and I had gone to using the gateway I’d just learned to create. I rarely used the word ‘cast’ when talking about Master spells anymore. I didn’t feel like I was casting spell but creating an effect. Maybe it was just terminology, but I understood what I meant.

  As everyone arrived I pulled Alice, Chloe, and Alba aside. I told them that they should all be used to babysitting by now and if everything went to plan, that’s all they would be doing. I told them that I’d handle the attack and the younger ones were there to watch. They all nodded in understanding. Next I said something that I wasn’t sure they would understand.

  “Ok everyone. We’re about ready to go and we’re going to travel a different way than normal. We’ve all become accustomed to traveling using recall but this time I wanted to be the one that created the spell. This is going to be a different type of spell and one that you can’t do yet. I hope some day you can, but until then, don’t nag me to teach it.” I winked at Alba and was rewarded with her sticking out her tongue.” I said, “Everyone line up and follow me.”

  I focused on a spot in front of me, watched the translucent gate form and connected it to the location Elaine and I had been to earlier. I then checked to see if everyone was lining up and walked through the gate onto the hill above Castle Kethos and the cave. I turned back to the gate and made sure everyone kept moving after they came through. I didn’t want a pile of wizards making an appearance. After everyone was through I told them that I’d leave the gate open and if something unexpected happened they could go through.

  There was a small herd of cattle tied in an area just outside the scuffed up turf that Elaine and I had noticed earlier. I didn’t see any people tied down there and that was a good thing. If I had to kill monsters I didn’t want to have to rescue people too. I ported myself down to the cattle so I could try to see into the cave. I then flew up twenty feet and made a cautious semicircle around the mouth. The volume of the roar was shocking!

  An enormous female creature with two heads rumbled out of the cave as I flew away and up. My gamers brain yelled ‘ettins’ at me and I had to agree. What I knew about ettins could fit in a thimble. While my gamer brain and my wizard brain were deciding what to do, a male of the species came grumbling from the cave. I decided that since I had quite an audience and the king had ordered them dead that I would just kill them the way I’d killed Orcs. I focused on the monsters and then pictured them dead. I released my visualization and…watched them watching me fly around. This concerned me a bit. I moved within forty yards of the male and pulling my wand, cast Flamestrike. The creature shook his head to extinguish his hair and roared at me. I brought down lightning! It looked like the lightning didn’t want to touch it! My gamers’ brain started scanning information. Creatures resistant to magic: Giants. Oh, great! Send a wizard out to kill a creature that is resistant to magic! I’m sure that isn’t information that the king is privy to and I should have known better. Maybe I did and that is why I hadn’t been in a hurry to get out here. Resistant, not immune, so I had to try something. I moved to within thirty feet and started firing energy bolts directly into an eye of the left handed male head. The damage was enough to make him roar with rage but not enough that I thought he wou
ld ever be blinded.

  I heard the female ettin roar loudly. I backed off and turned toward the sound in time to see little Janae casting energy bolts into the face of the right-handed head of the female ettin. She was out of grabbing range but I was bothered that she was out in the fight at all. I tried to grab the male ettin by the leg with telekinesis to knock him down. As I did, I glanced at Janae again. She had given up on her attack and was drifting slowly back to where she should be. What neither she nor I were aware of was that the female ettins right hand held a javelin and she was an expert marksman. We both became aware of this at the same time as the javelin impaled Janae through the back. I instantly transported her to Chloe’s feet and then turned back to the fight. The female had given me an idea. I teleported to the hill and asked Alice to come with me. She and I flew to a group of pines. I told her that we should make a couple giant spears out of the trees. We plucked one thirty foot tree each, stripped them of their branches and roots and I sharpened the points. Alice said that she was going after the female and I almost argued, but decided that as long as she died I’d be happy. She floated her spear to the far side of the cave and I lined up on the close side with the male. She signaled with sparks and we both launched the tree-spears through the chests of the creatures and flew up to a hundred feet. We watched them die and I couldn’t bring myself to feel remorse. They had injured, maybe even killed, one of mine.

  When the creatures stopped moving I landed in front of the cave and was joined by Alice. I turned to her and said, “Alice…” and that’s all I could say. She wrapped her arms around me and said, “Chloe has her. If anything can be done it will be done. Let’s finish this chore and go check on her.”

  I walked into the cave and looked around. There were several large chests inside. Most of the chests had junk but one had quite a collection of valuables. I told Alice that I would send it to her room if there was no one there and we could go through it later. She said that there would be no one in her room and that would be fine. I then asked her what we could take to the king to prove that the creatures were dead. She suggested that we take the right ear from every head, and she’d get the females. We found a bag for our grizzly trophy and flew back to the hill. The girls there were still in shock over the attack on Janae and Chloe had recalled home with her so she could work more comfortably. I told everyone that we were done and should go home and escorted them to the gate. After everyone was through except for Alice and me, I broke down crying. Alice held me but I already knew the news waiting for us on the other side of that gate. I straightened up and shook myself a bit. I told Alice that I was sorry for using her for comfort like that. The last thing I wanted was to upset her. I was warned that if I used the term ‘delicate condition’ again that I wouldn’t have to recall to the castle, she’d just toss me there! I took a deep breath, told Alice I loved her and followed her through the gate. I closed it when we came out the other side. I didn’t think that we needed a permanent passage to an unknown castle.

  Elaine, followed by Dristan, came running over when she saw Alice. She said, “I saw everyone come back through and most of them looked like they were crying!”

  Alice answered, “Janae was impaled by an enormous javelin and we don’t know if she’s going to make it.”

  “Oh my stars! How did that happen? David is always so careful when it comes to dangerous missions to keep the novices out of the way!” she said.

  Alice sighed, “David was careful and gave very specific instructions about staying out of the fight and out of the way. She didn’t listen and thought she would help, regardless of her instructions.”

  I took a deep breath and said, “Dristan, I’d like you to meet Alice and Alice, Dristan. Alice is one of the girls that won’t be running off.”

  Elaine put a hand on Alice’s tummy and said, “She has everything she wants, of course she’s going to stay!”

  Dristan bowed and said, “An honor to meet you my lady and congratulations to you and your husband!”

  I smiled; Elaine and Alice almost fell over giggling. Elaine said, “That isn’t her husband that’s the father of her baby! She’s his consort, because she wanted to be.” she smiled at me.

  Dristan said, “Pardon my error, I have heard of Lords and consorts but know nothing about them.”

  I said, “Don’t feel bad, my friend. I didn’t either and was a bit stunned when my wife came to me to chose a consort. That isn’t how things worked where I came from. But, I get to spend time with wonderful women like Alice.”

  We all chatted for a bit and then I asked Elaine if she had ever been to Wodor. I told her that my strange master wizard sense was telling me I’d need to go there soon. I know that a lot of the novice girls are from Wodor but considering the hold Gildon had on them I don’t want to risk running into him again. She said that she thought she had an image of Wodor and would get me there if I needed to go. I asked where she would be staying, in case I needed to get a hold of her. She blushed and said that she would be moving her stuff from her room and taking it to Dristan’s if I had no objections. I shook Dristan’s hand and said congratulations while Alice and Elaine hugged. I then said that I needed to take Alice inside and told the happy couple good afternoon. I ported us to the balcony and I asked Alice to go first. My room wasn’t my room anymore and until we built a nursery I didn’t think it ever would be. She came back out a couple minutes later and told me to leave my emotions on the balcony. She let me know that I was walking into an emotional gathering.

  I walked through the door and Chloe came from my bedroom. She put her arms around me and sobbed. When she got her voice she told me that she had done everything she could but she was dead before she was placed in front of her. She said that the spear had severed her spine and gone through her heart. She said that it was quick and she was sure that it was painless, but knowing that didn’t make her feel any better. I comforted Chloe as best I could and then got Isabel’s attention.

  When Isa came over I told her that I was going to my room. I would prefer not to be disturbed but if something happened that called for my attention, let me know. She said that she had known when she heard the news that I would take it hard and that she would pass the word. I kissed Chloe and Isa and went to my room.

  The bed was made and the sheets were clean. I had such a wonderful maid staff. I lay in my bed and watched the shadows lengthen on the wall. A maid opened the door quietly to light the candles and lamps and jumped when she saw me. I said that I’d get the lights, waved a hand at the wall and the lights burst into a cheery glow. The maid smiled, nodded and backed through the door. I was tempted to call her back to talk with me since I wasn’t a fan of magic at the moment. I didn’t know how that would go over with the consort rules.

  Another hour passed and my door opened again. I didn’t think the maids came in the rooms after dark and I was a bit irritated. I heard footsteps and then Della crawled into bed with me.

  I smiled and said, “What happened to waiting because of my wife’s wishes?

  She sniffed and said, “She was my roommate you know, and my best friend.”

  I said, “Sweetie, wait here for me and I’ll be back.”

  She nodded and I walked out of my room and into my living room. Isabel was sitting there on a couch talking to some of the other girls. I leaned over and said, “Della is with me in my room.”

  Isa looked confused and said, “If that’s what you want. I guess with your status eleven would be ok.”

  I smiled, “Do you know how much I love you? It’s just that Janae was her roommate and best friend. She’s hurting and needs comfort, not sex. She didn’t come to me as a consort, but as someone in pain.”

  “I understand, you big softie and I love you for it. I’m glad you told me though because I would have been quite confused to have gone to check on you and found her there!” Isa said softly.

  “I thought you’d like to know, but I better get back.” I said.

  “Good night, my love
. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Said Isa.

  I returned to my room and laid back on my bed. I said, “Hurting really bad, little pixie?”

  She came to me quickly and buried her head in my shoulder, sobbing. I held her close and ran my fingers through her hair. I didn’t know what to do or say, I was hurting and fighting tears myself.

  “Is there anything that I can do to make you feel better? Any place you want to go?” I asked hoping that something would help.

  “Do you like to fly, David? I really like to fly. Could we go flying tonight and look at the stars?” Della asked.

  I said, “Do you really want to pixie? It’s getting chilly and you’re in your gown.”

  She said, “If you don’t want to go you don’t have to make up a reason. I know a shield with your master magic would keep us warm. You could hold me and fly us high enough to see the stars.”

  “So you’re an expert on my ’master magic’ are you? You’re right and I can do that and will if you want me to.” I said chuckling.

  Della surprised me again with, “I know that when my magic grows that I’ll change from spells to intent too. I’m just not there yet and that’s how I know you could do it!”

  I was stunned, “Little pixie, how do you know that?”

  She gave me a sweet little smile and shrugged, “you don’t tell me everything either.”

  I kissed her on the forehead and said, “Let’s go flying!”

  She stood up on the bed and I walked to her side. She held out her arms to me and then jumped off the bed with her arms around my neck. Holding on to her I ported us to the river bank and wrapped us both in my shield. I made it warm so she wouldn’t be chilled and flew straight up. There was a light cloud cover so I climbed to six thousand feet to get above it. The sky was clear and the moonlight bright. I laid on my back and helped her roll over onto her back so she could see.