The Forgotten Tribe

by Stephen J Wolf

  Kitalla wanted to break the tension by slamming her hand on the table, shouting, “Kill them all!” but she knew that no one would be amused by it. Instead, she turned to Verna. “Your thoughts?”

  “Ha!” The woman was a child of Marritosh in the south, a favored supply line for the king’s army. Every family had borne children only to lose them to one battle or another. Each child was trained to fight, and when the need arose, they were carted off to war. Verna’s father had answered the call that had come for her, leaving her to tend to her siblings, but she hadn’t been able to protect them all.

  “That’s not a helpful answer,” Kitalla commented as she waited.

  Verna shook her head. “We’re spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to keep this place from rising up as a power against us. If we leave, then all the old rules come back into place. If we stay, then we await the day the people revolt. We have enforced rules upon them, packed up their homes with stranded people, and we have assigned them jobs to do to get this place back in order. What we haven’t given them is a reason, other than the option of living or dying.”

  “We haven’t threatened to kill anyone,” Dariak argued.

  “Not explicitly, no. But it’s implied. If they don’t do as we ask, then we’ll retaliate against them. So they submit, for now. It isn’t unlike my childhood when the king sent requests for fighters. We complied because we had no choice.”

  “And then,” Gabrion offered, “when we arrived and told others of our new way of thinking, of our plan to end the fighting, many men and women joined our ranks.”

  “Defying the king,” Ieran pointed out. “And so when you arrived here at first, we did not admit you.”

  Kitalla groaned. “They were not the same people. We brought you the people who had never turned from the king in the first place. But you never took the time to listen.”

  “We’re talking in circles now,” Ieran noticed. “What would you have me do, Regent? What duties do you require?”

  Dariak looked around the room and wasn’t sure what to say, but he thought he understood something that Verna had implied and if he was wrong, it couldn’t hurt to try anyway. “Gabrion and Ruhk, Verna and Carrus, go out into the town. Take a team with each of you and get to work building some new homes.”

  “We already have people doing that,” Kitalla said.

  “Only by hand,” Dariak denied. “Take teams of mages with you to help with the reconstruction.”

  “Sir…” Ieran started.

  “I know. Magic is still unstable at the moment after the recent assembly of the jades. But perhaps in concerted teams they can keep the energies intact.”

  “I advise against it,” Ieran complained. “The state of things is tenuous already. Enough mages have damaged the people around them with spells they’ve used safely for years. You’re opening us up to a dangerous situation. I cannot agree to this plan.”

  “You don’t have to,” Dariak said sternly. Then to the others, “Take six to eight mages per team and a few others who can help with the heavy lifting.”

  Ieran stood up. “I must protest! You will endanger countless lives in this endeavor!”

  “Your counsel has been noted,” Dariak said.

  Kitalla eyed the chancellor for a minute before adding, “Unless you have a way of stopping us?”

  The gray-haired man wilted under her stare and he sat back down, his lips twitching in annoyance. “You will cause the people great harm if you do this,” he warned.

  “Then somehow we will repay them for their troubles,” Gabrion said, rising up and summoning the others to follow him.

  Once the four were gone, Ieran glared at Dariak. “Making a show of help will do little to appease the people.”

  “If you have nothing constructive to say, then keep quiet!” Kitalla snapped.

  “Sound advice,” Randler scolded.

  Kitalla glanced appreciatively in his direction, but realized he had aimed the remark at her. Frustrated, she folded her arms across her chest and leaned back so far in her chair she almost tipped it over.

  “There is another matter that needs tending,” Dariak said to Ieran. “With a few hundred extra people living here now, how long will food and water last?”

  “Not long, especially with magic failing.” The chancellor lifted his chin as if speaking to a petulant child. “You may have noticed that the castle and town are surrounded by a vast desert and that the royal gardens were destroyed in your attack.”

  “Ieran, I already had one mentor turn against me. I realize that when I left Hathreneir to gather the jades I lost your support as well.”

  “On the contrary, Regent, I never had much love for you as a child either.” He tried to withhold his contempt but failed. “I tutored you when I was required to, nothing more. Our liege once believed you had the potential to surpass your father and would bring us victory. To that end, I did my best to instruct you.”

  “I see.” Dariak nodded. “Then it seems that aside from my mother, I never had much personal support until this past year.”

  “Yes, your mother. Perhaps you should pay her a visit, then?” Ieran suggested.

  “I intend to, once things are more stable here. Now tell me again: What is the food situation like and how will we persevere through the winter?”

  “Through the winter, sir?” Ieran asked hesitantly. “I had not thought you would stay so long.”

  Kitalla snickered, then waved away the others when they turned to her. In her view, everything was moving according to plan.

  Chapter 4

  Reconstruction

  As requested, Gabrion and the others ventured into the town surrounding the castle with a host of mages and soldiers to help try to put some of the area back together. Gabrion and Ruhk led one team while Verna and Carrus split off with a second group. Each team was comprised of Hathrens and Kallisorians, and intentionally so, even among their leaders. Perhaps showing the populace how they could work together successfully would have some positive effect.

  Because housing was Dariak’s primary concern at the moment, they made no attempt to repair the castle. Instead they approached a nearby home that had been decimated by the energy of the jades and set to work. The soldiers dug in and shifted away the largest bits of debris, while Gabrion cajoled the mages into a concerted effort of their own.

  Magic required a very delicate balance in order to work. Mages drew energies in through the use of spell components, body gestures, and carefully crafted phrases, whose inflections augmented the power of the spells. In many cases, a mage’s intent was imprinted within the spell so as to cast it upon a target rather than scatter it haphazardly.

  Yet since the jades had come together three weeks earlier and erupted in force against the castle, the magical energies were hard to draw in and even harder to control. The mages strained to complete even the easiest of spells, and it set them all at a severe disadvantage.

  Unlike Kallisor, Hathreneir allowed mages to work in the open, though not usually in large groups that could threaten the balance in the land. Thus having their powers shackled now made the mages feel utterly frustrated and useless. They wanted to fight back against those whose actions led to this dampening of their powers. Even those who had traveled with Dariak for some time showed anger at this turn of events. Dariak had assured them all that the energies would return to normal at some point. It just needed time. After all, the War of the Colossus twenty years earlier had not left a permanent dead zone in the land, and that had been a greater use of the jades’ powers.

  Now Gabrion brought eight mages together, talking to them about their inherent skills. “It will take all of you working together to pull this off.”

  “If we even can.” Jerrul frowned. “Imagine trying to fight if you didn’t sleep for weeks, had no food or water, and you were reduced to one tenth your size. You wouldn’t be very effective there, would you?”

  “I certainly wouldn’t quit until I had tried,” Gabrion re
turned. “Band together, now. You are all earth mages, and I need you to find a common ground to work on. We will hoist up the walls, if you can use your skills to support them.”

  “We will try.” Jerrul muttered skeptically.

  With a nod, Gabrion joined Ruhk and the soldiers as they dragged debris out of the way. They shifted broken furniture and belongings as well as shattered walls and doors. Gabrion worked as hard as anyone else, and no one faulted his orders. He gathered the men together and they dragged the largest segment of intact wall they could find and lifted it into place. Then Gabrion called out to the mages to work their skills.

  Six of the mages immediately entered a repeated pace, stepping forward, raising their hands, then pulling back and lowering their arms. Forward and backward they moved, their lips rattling off a deep cadence. As their hands swept up and down, their fingers pulsed and twisted, tugging at the energies all around them. After several minutes, nothing happened, but before Gabrion could ask what they were doing, the other two mages dropped to their knees.

  Each mage scooped up a fistful of dirt and brought it up overhead, letting the dust cascade downward over their bodies. They spit into their hands and repeated the process, now with a slightly solidified mud. When spittle no longer sufficed, they reached for canteens and poured larger amounts of water into the dirt and then scooped up the mud and raised it high, letting it splatter themselves messily. To Gabrion, they looked like young children playing in the mud.

  The wall was getting heavy, even with several men holding it upright. The mages continued their chanting and their motions, and the two mud-bearers stepped forward one small motion at a time. By the time they reached the wall, the mud was a deep consistency and they spread it along the bottom edge of the wall where the wood touched the ground. When all the moist sludge was set in place, the team of mages altered their positions and began a new incantation. To set the mud, they had to convince the dirt to seep into any crevices and cracks and to bind them shut. Doing so expelled the water, which pooled in small areas.

  After nearly twenty minutes of incessant spellcasting, the mages lowered their arms and closed their mouths, giving Gabrion the signal that they were finished. The wall seemed sturdy, so Gabrion pulled away, but as soon as they released it, Ruhk let out a cry of alarm, and down the wall fell.

  “It’s no use! I told you!” Jerrul whined. “Even using six of us just to draw enough energy for the rest, we couldn’t do much at all. This is hopeless.”

  Gabrion inspected the damage and shook his head. “The wall is definitely stronger than it was before, but the seal with the ground could not hold the weight. Rest up, get what components you need, and return within the hour.”

  “To what end?”

  “Just follow orders, Jerrul, and you will see.” Grumbling, the mages went off.

  Ruhk whistled low and shook his head. “What now?”

  “Everyone listen up,” Gabrion called to the soldiers all around him. “Let us dig through this mess and prop up the walls the best we can.”

  “Sir, we don’t have enough materials to keep them together,” one of the soldiers pointed out. “It’s like building a house of cards.”

  “That’s right. So let us start by finding the strongest cards we can and set them up first. Come on!”

  There was little to salvage in the mess, but Gabrion would not let them stop. They used the frame of a dresser to help keep two partitions somewhat aligned. One soldier held each wall while everyone else dug around for more. In the end, they needed to scavenge materials from two other nearby houses just to get enough to serve as the basis of a single house.

  Eventually the mages returned and Gabrion gave them their task. Instead of trying to link the wood to the earth itself for support, he had them bind each partition together, sealing them neatly into a solid box. It took nearly two more hours just to connect the various pieces, but when they were finished, the structure held.

  “We still need to try to link it to the ground so it doesn’t blow away,” Jerrul said. “After that, you need to figure something out for a roof.”

  “You seem a bit more optimistic,” Ruhk noted with a burgeoning belly laugh sounding in his throat. “And here I thought this couldn’t be done.”

  The mage shook his head. “If I had full use of my powers, this would have been a much easier task. But I guess if we do pull hard enough, we can get some things done anyway.” He flicked his gaze to Gabrion and referenced his earlier denial. “I suppose even the bite of a firegnat can change the outcome of a fight. Of course, I’m still curious to know who’s going to volunteer to live here first. I, for one, am not sure I trust this structure yet.”

  “One problem at a time,” Gabrion smiled. “Ruhk, can you continue here for a while? I want to check on the others.”

  Even though his body was tired, Gabrion pushed himself into a light jog to limber up his legs. Bending and lifting was one thing, but running always felt better to him. Carrus and Verna had taken their team further north, closer to the other inhabitants of the town. When Gabrion arrived, things were not going well.

  Verna was screaming at the top of her lungs. “—met such a careless oaf as you! Get on your feet and stand over there and don’t you dare say anything else! No! Not a sound!”

  “What’s all this?” Gabrion asked. From appearances, they had been pulling apart the fallen structures and reassembling them in a fashion similar to the one Gabrion was using. The mages were all passed out, as were the soldiers who had been moving the heavy boards around. Carrus was bleeding from numerous cuts and scrapes, and as Gabrion examined the area, he saw that Carrus wasn’t alone.

  Verna continued raging, her face flushed a deep crimson, and her wild hair flying every which way as her head shook in anger. Her speech escalated in speed and Gabrion could barely even understand her anymore. The target of her ire was a pair of teenagers.

  Gabrion tried to intervene but Carrus stepped in and pulled the warrior aside. “Better let her get it out of her system.”

  “What happened?”

  “The short version? We were trying to secure the walls. Those two boys were playing catch. One of them smacked into the mages and disrupted the spell and everything came crashing down. That was after a few other failed attempts and it looked like we were about to make some progress.”

  “We’ve had troubles, too, but we’ll get there.” Gabrion watched as Verna paced back and forth, now shouting about responsibility and attentiveness. “She’s really worked up.”

  Carrus gestured to some of his wounds. “We all got banged up pretty badly. I think Roveena broke her arm too.”

  “What of the other villagers here?”

  Carrus shrugged. “No one offered to help. And when we said their assistance would be welcome, they just backed away and went about their business. Well, mostly, anyway. I hate to say it, but it’s like they don’t want our help.”

  Verna finally finished her tirade and she stamped over to Gabrion, forcing herself into a calmer state before greeting him. “We have had some difficulties,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Gabrion nodded. “It seems as if you should call it for now and use the time to tend to your wounds.”

  “I tell you, Gabrion, these people are interfering on purpose! First the old woman with her packages slips and falls and it takes three men—three!—to get her back home. Then another woman comes over with a bucket of water, demanding we all take a break and she wouldn’t stop pestering us until we did. Two men came in ‘to help’ but only managed to trip over everyone and everything until I sent them off. Now these boys. I’ve about had it!”

  “Report back to the castle. There may be something else going on here.” He called to the rest of the team. “Anyone who needs their injuries tended, head back to the castle with Verna. The rest of you, I could use your help.”

  It was a sign of how angry she was that Verna didn’t argue against being sent away. Carrus tried to remain behind, but Gabrion asse
ssed his wounds and insisted he return for treatment. Five others joined Gabrion as he returned to his team.

  The four main walls were upright and the mages were chanting wildly, tossing bits of mud at the base of the walls. They were spread out, surrounding the structure, but they were chanting in unison. The two mages Gabrion had with him watched the cadence and, when the chanting permitted it, they joined the casting.

  Ruhk walked over to Gabrion, his face a mask of confusion. “It makes no sense. This is the fourth iteration they try, but whatever they do, the mages cannot secure the base of the house to the earth underneath.”

  Concern clouded Gabrion’s features. “Verna’s group was also having trouble. What of the walls themselves?”

  “They seem rather secure. But it would be like camping in a tent without tying the tent down. One strong gust of wind and swoosh!”

  “Very well, then. After this attempt, let’s head back inside.”

  “Really? I thought you would want to try some other things first? Like digging trenches under the walls or something.”

  “Typically I would, Ruhk, but I have the feeling that we’re up against something else that we didn’t expect. We need to consult with the others about it.”

  “More foul play?”

  Gabrion nodded. “I just hope it isn’t coming from within our own ranks.”

  Chapter 5

  The Bard Endures

  Over the next few days, Gabrion and the others made further attempts to build new houses near the castle, but it wasn’t easy going. They were able to link the walls together and assemble thatch roofs, but they couldn’t make any progress on securing the foundations. Even Ruhk’s idea of digging minor trenches for the walls didn’t work. The stony ground was completely solid and, even with pickaxes, they were unable to make a dent in it.

  Gabrion already had his suspicions and Dariak agreed; some form of magic was making the area impenetrable. But without magic to help them, they had no idea how to delve deeper. Kitalla offered to scout out a new plan of attack, but she insisted they all keep to their usual tasks and not inform Ieran of their secondary goal.