The War of Stardeon (The Bowl of Souls)

by Cooley, Trevor H.

  The Bowl of Souls: Book Four

  The WAR of STARDEON

  By: Trevor H. Cooley

  copyright © 2012 Trevor H. Cooley

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover art © Renu Sharma | www.thedarkrayne.com

  Map by: Michael Patty

  The Bowl of Souls Series:

  Book One: EYE of the MOONRAT

  Book 1.5: HILT’S PRIDE

  Book Two: MESSENGER of the DARK PROPHET

  Book Three: HUNT of the BANDHAM

  Book Four: The WAR of STARDEON

  Book Five: MOTHER of the MOONRAT (Upcoming2013)

  Dedication

  To my father, Wayne Cooley, who has been one of the greatest supporters of my writing, reading every chapter as I finish it and giving me his thoughts and opinions. He is an inventor and musician. It is his universal card game that is used by the characters in my books. Of all the influences in my life, he has been the one who showed me how to dream.

  This one is for you. Thanks, dad.

  Acknowledgements

  Once again, there are many who helped and supported me during the writing of this book. Special thanks go out to my beautiful wife and editor Jeannette. My brother Jared edited the Bowl of Souls series review trailer and is currently directing a live action trailer for the series. He is also the face of Ewzad Vriil on this cover, a fact which gives me an endless amount of glee and amusement. Renu Sharma took my ideas for a cover and once again made them a beautiful reality. Also a special thanks to Michael Patty, who designed the map in this book. Check out http://trevorhcooley.com/ for a high resolution version.

  Also thanks to all the readers who have visited my site and the Trevor H. Cooley Facebook page. Please join us. There are many exciting things to come.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty One

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  The events in this book have been a long time coming. I have been eagerly waiting to write many of them for over ten years. Now that I have, I find a great weight off my shoulders and an excitement at the thought that you, dear reader, are about to experience them. In addition, if you have not yet had the chance to read book 1.5: Hilt’s Pride, please do so. The events in that book tie directly into this book’s narrative and you will have a greater understanding of the characters and motivations that take place herein.

  Thank you for reading,

  Trevor H. Cooley

  Prologue

  “You truly expect us to believe that Lord Protector Vriil is behind this siege? Hmph! Preposterous,” said a man Willum had never seen before. The man stood with arms folded and spoke with calm measure but his round face had grown quite red. It was not a good look for him. His nose had been bulbous and dark when Willum had started his report and now it looked positively purple.

  “This is what my father said, yes,” Willum replied. He looked around the Battle Academy council table but no one leapt to his defense. The reason he had been brought in was to retell his story for the members of the newly assembled War Council. He hadn’t expected to be interrogated. The first time he had told the council of his father’s warning, the table had been supportive and full of questions. This time they just sat quietly and listened. Even Tad the Cunning said nothing. He was watching the stranger’s reaction over steepled fingers, his elbows resting on the council table.

  The War Council was put into effect whenever the academy came under attack. The members were comprised of the leaders from the different factions held within the academy’s walls. The members included the regular Battle Academy council, the Training School Council, and Demon Jenn, the mayor of Reneul.

  “Hearsay. And it comes from a man living in another kingdom. That is what the Queen would say if I told her this rubbish,” the stranger said. He was short and stocky and wore an expensive puffy shirt of silken brocade with collar and cuffs made of flowing lace. Willum thought the outfit looked itchy. Perhaps the man was a noble or merchant or something. But that still didn’t explain why everyone was listening to him.

  The stranger sat down in his chair and leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. “Why are we even considering these accusations?”

  “Master Coal is a named wizard and a friend of the academy,” said Hugh the Shadow, head of the academy’s Assassin Guild. “We have no reason to doubt his word.” Hugh gave Willum a pointed look as he spoke and Willum felt his face flush with embarrassment. The council hadn’t exactly been happy with him when he had revealed his father’s identity. Hiding the identity of one’s father wasn’t uncommon, but it was frowned upon, especially hiding it from the council. He had been keeping it a secret, determined not to let Coal’s status be part of the factor determining his entrance into the academy. He had wanted to succeed on his own. Willum was just glad that they didn’t know the identity of his birth father. That would have complicated things greatly.

  “And Master Coal has with him sworn witnesses to Ewzad Vriil’s actions,” said Sabre Vlad, head of the Swordwielder’s Guild.

  “Oh, right. The witnesses. An elf, a dwarf, and an ogre. An ogre? Please.” Despite his nonchalance, the mystery man’s nose was getting even purpler.

  “There is also Sir Edge,” Willum added. “He is the named warrior who was imprisoned by Ewzad Vriil for a time. He saw Ewzad Vriil use magic. He even saw him call an army of goblinoids to fight for him.”

  “More hearsay. Tales from a named warrior no one has ever heard of, talking about a battle in the Lord Protector’s keep that supposedly released hundreds of prisoners and yet no one has heard of the incident!” There was definite anger in his voice now and he was scowling. A vein throbbed on the man’s temple and his nose had become so engorged Willum feared it might burst.

  “What I think would help is if you could show us the letter in your father’s hand,” said Demon Jenn. “Or perhaps you could produce some kind of signed statement from the witnesses?” Jenn was an academy graduate, as most of the mayors of Reneul had been over the years. She had earned her name on the battlefield and was well respected, but the years had not been kind to her. Her face had been disfigured by a goblin dagger while protecting a caravan in her youth and as she had aged, the scar had shrunken and puckered, leaving one lip pulled upward in a permanent sneer.

  “I am sorry, ma’am. That isn’t possible,” Willum said. “My-.”

  “Hmph! Again, the lack of proof.” the stranger said. “I still don’t see why we are listening to this.”

  “This information didn’t come by letter,” Tad the Cunning said, speaking up for the first time sinc
e Willum had entered the room. His eyes remained on the fancily dressed man as he spoke, “Willum, please explain to everyone how you received your father’s message.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Willum couldn’t tell them of the true nature of the bond he had with Coal. Bonding magic was rare and unknown to most of the wizard community and the rest of the world was completely ignorant of its existence. Instead, he recited the story Coal had concocted the first time he had asked Willum to pass a message on to the council.

  “When I left home, my father wanted to be able to keep in contact with me, so he used a spell to set up a . . . mental connection. Even though he is very far away, if we are both concentrating, we can communicate to each other with our minds. It’s not easy. I-I can usually only accomplish it at night, sir. When I am laying in my bed after all my tasks are complete, for instance.”

  The story wouldn’t have held up if a wizard had been in the room. As far as Willum knew, no such spell existed within the realm of elemental magic. There were objects enchanted to carry people or items over long distances, but to send one’s thoughts was a more difficult task. Only spiritual magic could accomplish that.

  The man smirked and opened his mouth to retort, but Tad spoke first.

  “I have a piece of evidence to back up his claim.” He picked up a scroll and slid it over to Demon Jenn. “This scroll arrived from the Mage School not long before the attack. They had received a similar communication from Master Coal and urged us to heed his warnings. They vouch for his words and his methods.”

  The mayor opened the scroll and nodded appreciatively. For a woman that made her name in battle, she seemed to put a lot of trust in paperwork. “This is signed by Master Latva himself.” She directed her gaze to the stranger. “This eases my mind.”

  “So one wizard vouches for another? What does that change? Let me see that. Do they include any new evidence to support his claims?” The man snatched the scroll away from her and poured over it with his eyes.

  Tad cleared his throat. “You are ignoring another fact. Many of Master Coal’s claims have already proven true. His witnesses knew of the army amassing in the mountains. He warned us that an attack could be coming. If he had not warned us through his connection with his son, we may have been caught unawares.”

  Willum’s shoulders sank in relief. Finally Tad was backing him up. The tension in the room had been giving him a headache.

  The man stood, his face twisted in anger, more purple than ever. “I-!” He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. His shoulders quivered briefly and he blinked a few times before clearing his throat. He raised one shaking hand and smoothed back his thinning hair. He saw everyone staring and smiled apologetically before sitting down. Much of the extra color had drained from his face.

  “Are you okay?” Tad asked. “Can we get you some water or something?”

  “No, I’m fine, fine. Uh, your point is well taken, Tad. However, just because this Master Coal was right about the invasion does not mean that his witnesses are right about everything else. A man can be right in some cases and wrong in others. I for one still refuse to believe that Lord Protector Vriil had anything to do with this attack. I will need to see better evidence than this if I am to send a message warning the queen.”

  “I understand your position.” Tad’s eyes left the man and moved to Willum. “Has your father told you anything new to report, Willum?”

  Willum hesitated. He was already dreading the stranger’s reaction to his news. “Yes, he has gathered a small band of . . . warriors and along with Sir Edge is traveling here to help in whatever way he can. As they began their journey, they were attacked by several of Ewzad Vriil’s altered beasts. They lost one of their number but were able to defeat the beasts and have since continued on their way.”

  “And when was this?” Tad asked.

  “Two days ago, sir.”

  “Beasts made by the Lord Protector? Surely you don’t expect us to believe- . . . Never mind,” the stranger said with a shake of his head. The color was flooding his face again and his voice was loaded with sarcasm as he asked, “Well, why don’t you describe these horrible creatures for us?”

  Willum swallowed. He knew that his description would sound outlandish to say the least. “There was an armored orc that spat acid, a large plant-like beast with razor sharp whips, and a huge red beast that flew like a dragon and radiated heat from its very skin. Father called it a bandham.”

  The stranger laughed in derision, though to Willum, it seemed that his eyes weren’t laughing. The man’s eyes were watching him with calculating intensity. Thankfully no one else in the room found it funny.

  “Thank you, Willum, son of Coal,” Tad said with a nod. “Please keep the council informed of any new developments.” He looked back to the rest of the council. “I believe Stout Harley has a report on our current supply situation. If you will excuse me for a moment?”

  Tad smiled and stood from his chair. He nudged Willum on his way to the back of the chamber and Willum followed him out the rear door of the council hall.

  Willum followed Tad down a hallway and passed several rooms whose purpose he had no clue about. He knew that the rear of the building contained the personal apartments of the council members but this was the first time he had been there. They walked down some stairs and headed down a dimly lit corridor. At the second junction, Tad stopped and grabbed Willum’s shoulder. He kept his voice low.

  “I am sorry I had to put you through that.”

  “Who was that man?” Willum asked, relieved that his teacher was acting more like normal.

  “He is Dann Doudy, the new Dremald representative to the academy.”

  “The new representative? What happened to Proud Harold?” Willum asked. Harold had been the Dremald representative on the council for over a decade. He was a jovial man and well liked by the students. When King Andre had died and his sister Elise had been crowned, Harold had been summoned back to Dremald along with the rest of the Dremald troops that were usually assigned to the academy.

  “I don’t know and that concerns me. This . . . Dann Doudy, showed up the evening before the attack. He had papers from the queen announcing him as Harold’s replacement. He says Harold had grown weary of his duties and wanted to retire.”

  Willum’s brow knit in concern. If his father’s suspicions about the situation in Dremald were correct, something bad may have happened to Harold. “What do you know about this new representative?”

  Tad frowned. “Not much. He is a minor noble. The Doudy family has been in Dremaldria for generations, but why the queen would choose him is a mystery. She didn’t list any of his qualifications.”

  “I understand,” Willum said. Tad’s behavior in the conference room was making sense now. He had been watching the man’s response to his father’s warning to gauge his reaction. “So do you think he was sent here to keep an eye on us?”

  “If he was sent here by Ewzad Vriil as a spy, he isn’t a very effective one.” He stroked his chin. “He definitely hasn’t been trying to make any friends since he arrived. No spy worth his spit would have acted so bothered by our information. His actions were so bizarre it makes me wonder if he was acting the avid Vriil supporter to throw us off. A pretty clever ploy, I must say. I’m interested to see what Hugh thought of his act.”

  “And what if he is reporting information to the enemy?” Willum asked. “He will be in every council meeting. He could tell the enemy how many men we have, how the men are positioned, what our food supplies are . . .”

  Tad patted his shoulder. “Good. You are thinking this through. I can tell you have been paying attention in my class. But don’t worry. I have archers posted on the wall looking for birds. We are watching any possible form of communication. We are safe unless he was somehow able to get out of the academy, but we are surrounded by tens of thousands of goblinoids, and we have soldiers at every possible exit. There is no way he is sneaking out.”

  “Good t
o know, sir.” Willum said with relief.

  “Unless, you think . . . Could Ewzad Vriil possibly use a spell like your father has been using to communicate with you?”

  Willum swallowed. “I don’t think so. It is a spell of my father’s own creation.” But what if he could? Coal had told him that Ewzad Vriil had the rings of Stardeon and that those rings used spirit magic. What if Ewzad Vriil had found a way to make a mental connection with this noble? He would have to ask Coal that night through the bond.

  There was a sound down the corridor and Tad looked to make sure that no one was coming. “Now you must keep this conversation to yourself. I do not want doubts about our new representative being passed through the students. They have enough to worry about. The only reason I told you about my concerns is that I need you to pass them on to your father. See if he has any information about Dann Doudy. Get his opinion. And one other thing . . .” He looked into Willum’s eyes. “I want you reporting directly to me from now on. Your father is our only pair of eyes outside the academy right now. Any new information he tells you, bring it to my attention. No matter how small, you understand? Tell no one else.”