“I don’t know how you’re going to get rid of that, but you better do it quickly,” Turek said, still near panic.
Eril walked over and tapped the globe, which then gently rebounded several feet. “I changed the spell. I’m not sure if you saw it, but the containment is completely stable now. You’d have to work very hard to get it to explode. He walked around and tapped the globe repeatedly, to make his point.
Turek sputtered incoherently for a few moments, and then seemed to master himself. His expression looked mightily upset, but under control. “Fine. Well. You made your point. You said that both Zeldar and Dorull wanted rings like that. How could they? You have the ring.”
“I do, Master Turek. But, you see, I made this ring, and I can, and have, made others like it.”
The range of emotions which chased across Turek’s face in the space of a few heartbeats was impressive. Eril wasn’t sure he could identify them, but he figured that there had been at least five different emotions, all of them intense.
With great deliberation, Turek asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have another of these rings I could try, would you?”
Eril knew he had to be very careful with how he answered this question, now that he had this wizard where he wanted him. “I might just happen to have one available, other than this one,” he said, pointing at the ring on his finger. “If you were to teach me something of comparable value.”
Turek smoldered. The look he gave Eril neither happy nor friendly, but it slowly softened. Finally, he nodded. “You’re right, of course. Men have killed for far less than a ring of this power. Assuming the ring you’re talking about is the same as what you just demonstrated?”
“It is,” Eril replied steadily, not breaking the stare both had been sharing.
Turek broke the stare and appeared to relax. “Well, I see I can’t teach you anything about force balls,” he said pointing at the still brightly glowing blue sphere at the other side of the room. “So, I will need to see if I can teach you my most closely held trick. It’s one your Master Silurian certainly doesn’t know. In fact, it is probably the main reason I’m still alive after all this time.”
Now it was Eril’s turn to be on the hook. This was something he had hoped to find here, something that The Master didn’t know. “What is it?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“I can detect when a portal is opened, anywhere within two miles of me,” Turek said, and waited for Eril’s reaction.
Eril thought of the implications. That would be useful, but it didn’t seem like something that would be of that much value.”
Before Eril could voice his concerns, Turek spoke. “You don’t see the great value of this, do you?”
“No, not really.” Eril shook his head slowly.
“Again, it comes back to you not understanding how the typical battle is waged. In most battles, the sides come to an agreement before the main engagement as to when and how demons will be used. You know the hazards of having two demons fight directly, yes?”
This Eril did know. Any time a demon was tasked with taking an action which another demon had been tasked to avert, the two demons would instead consult and determine, without physical conflict, which demon ‘won’, after which the demon who lost would usually eat the wizard who had summoned it.
As, for the most part, humans were ignorant of exactly what made a given demon a winner versus loser, and as the consequences of being the wizard who summoned the losing demon were so severe, demons were rarely used on opposite sides of a conflict directly.
A demon might safely be tasked with breaching a wall at a given location or throwing boulders or energy bolts at an army or building, but to have a demon attack a specific individual, who might have their own demon assigned to protect them, was a very deadly prospect. The only sure way to win in a demon versus demon conflict was to have summoned a demon lord and not have the other side have summoned so powerful a demon. In that case the other demon always deferred to the demon lord.
Turek continued, “What you probably aren’t aware of, is that in spite of previous arrangements for not using demons in battle, more often than not, a losing side will try to summon a demon as a last-ditch effort. If the sides had previously agreed no demons would be used offensively, the one who summons first can frequently create a win. Does that help you see why my spell might be quite valuable?”
Eril thought for a moment, and then he saw it. “So, since you can tell when a portal is opened, you can know when or if the other side is using demons and have your demons summoned in time to meet whatever the opposing side sends? I can see how that means you won’t be caught flat-footed, but how does it avoid the demon versus demon problem?”
“It doesn’t.”
“I don’t understand—"
“You forget the one known fact of demon conflict. A demon lord wins against any other demon less than another demon lord.”
“But how would you guarantee that the other side hasn’t summoned their own demon lord?”
“I can’t. But so far, I’ve never needed to. When one side breaks the rules of engagement, they almost always go for a quick open summoning and take the first demon that presents itself. You can’t get a demon lord without significant planning and preparation, and I am always prepared.”
“So how can you get a demon lord quickly? I mean, I know if you have a big enough sacrifice you can up the odds that you’ll get a demon lord, but it will still take time.”
“I have one other trick. Early on in my career I summoned a demon lord and got it to give me its name.” Turek smiled grimly.
Eril sat stunned. Like anything else, if you knew a demon’s name, you had much greater power in summoning and controlling it. If he had a demon lord’s name, that would explain how he could reliably summon one in a short time and thus defeat nearly any demon he had to face.
“Wow,” was all Eril could say, as he turned this over in his mind.
“But, I thought you hated demon magic?” he asked, confused.
“And here,” Turek paused meaningfully, “is where your Master Silurian and I rather violently disagree. He thinks all use of demons is evil. I do not. I think that using demons as a primary mode of magic is stupid, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their place. I would never have survived all these years if I’d tried to be a war mage and not use demons.
“As I already told you, too many battles, especially the ones where demons aren’t supposed to be used, are actually decided by the use of them. Demons are too powerful a tool to throw away, and since there are no line cutters in the world, the only way to fight a demon is with a bigger demon.”
Eril decided he was not going to mention anything about his line cutters to this man, at least not now. Instead, Eril examined the logic Turek used and found it mostly compelling.
“How do you satisfy this demon lord of yours? Doesn’t it still demand an extraordinary sacrifice?”
“Yes, yes he does. I generally have to have a member of the royal line of the kingdom I’m defending be the sacrifice. If the sacrifice is not a close relation of the ruling leader, then he usually wants more than one, or the option of eating the soul of the sacrifice. And they have to be new to the knife as well. You never get quite the same level of reaction after the first time. But with members of the royal line, that is pretty much a given in any case.”
“So, the rulers just let you sacrifice, torture, their sons?”
“It’s rarely an easy conversation, but I explain to them what I’ve explained to you. If they’re unwilling to sacrifice one of their children, then the chance that they will die with them goes up greatly.
“Also, they seldom give me their heir. Most rulers have several children, and a bastard is good enough from the demon’s point of view. Most rulers have several of those floating around.
“Beyond all that, many rulers are very pragmatic. Most amazing, I’ve had some ruler’s kids volunteer. They’re young, of course, so they really don’t know what they’re getti
ng into until too late, but they see it as a noble sacrifice. Not common, but it happens.”
Eril was staggered at the cold-blooded way Turek spoke of these things. The logic made sense, but the casual way he spoke of people’s lives all the more convinced him that demon magic calloused a person’s soul. How could it not? He already felt scarred himself from what little interaction he’d had with demon magic. Thinking on it, he thought that it was a wonder Master Silurian had somehow come away with his conscience intact. Or had he?
Pausing for a moment to consider all aspects of the current situation, Eril decided that this was the best he could hope for.
“Alright. I think we have a deal. If you show me your spell and how you use it, I think I can give you a power ring.”
Turek nodded, “Then that’s settled. I’ll teach you the spell before the army arrives, you’ll give me one of your rings, and we’ll have an even stronger defense when these scum try to take this city.”
“What about me?” Carge said from the table where he sat. He looked questioningly at both Eril and Turek.
“Have you got something of value equal to trade for my spell?” Turek asked skeptically.
Carge’s shoulders dropped. “Nothing like that. I am only a journeyman, after all. I came to learn.”
“And I have been teaching you, have I not? You cannot expect me to give you my most prized spell without compensation. Without Eril, you wouldn’t have even known the spell exists. I would never have let you see or even know of it. So, you’re no worse off now than you would have been in any case.”
Carge looked angrily at the floor, then he lifted his head and looked defiantly at Eril. “What about you? Do you have another one of those power rings you could lend me for the defense of the city?”
Feeling deeply conflicted, Eril would not meet Carge’s gaze. He did have the second ring, but could he give it to this journeyman in good conscience? He knew less about Carge other than that he had been willing to launch a deadly spell at him on nothing more than Turek’s word. He didn’t know him and had no reason to trust him. But could he deny him when it would undoubtedly result in another stronger wizard to defend the city.
Eril dropped his gaze. He couldn’t do it.
“No. Sorry,” was all he said.
“Well,” Carge said, “my old master said I would find that the brotherhood between wizards is a thin thing when I went out into the world. I guess he was right.”
Eril felt terrible, but felt there was nothing he could do. This whole situation was nothing like what he’d seen in castle Salaways. His time with Dorull and Zeldar had been different, but it was nothing like this. He wasn’t sure he could trust either of these men, and they were supposed to be his allies.
Turek broke the silence. “Enough drama for this evening. It is late, and we have much to do starting tomorrow. Let’s all get to bed and resume our work in the morning.”
Turek started walking towards the door without another word. Still glaring at everyone, Carge got up and left as well.
Reenergized by the magic he’d used earlier and the adrenaline he felt from the conflict, Eril didn’t feel like he could get to sleep, so he wandered around the workroom aimlessly.
He glanced at the blue sphere, still floating at one side of the room. He put his Master ring back on and focused on pulling the spell apart in a way that let him recapture the magical energy in it. He’d done this multiple times with Dorull, so this was only complicated by the sheer amount of energy he’d pumped into the sphere. As it shrank, he realized that Turek had been right. If the sphere had exploded it probably would have vaporized the upper half of the tower, and the flying debris might have done even more damage.
This gave him an idea, and he started to think how he could use spheres like this to slow and possibly stop the attacking armies. The mountain passes were fairly narrow. It was one of the main reasons that adjacent realms rarely went to war. A pass was much easier to defend than attack. In normal circumstances the inevitable losses outweighed the possible gains.
These circumstances weren’t normal. Three different forces were attacking this small kingdom nearly simultaneously. They had a huge numerical superiority that made it clear that if this were a purely conventional war, Jull was sure to lose.
Eril just needed to come up with some ways where their numerical superiority would not be the deciding factor, or find some way to get twenty thousand or so troops out of the fight.
The sphere had given him an idea. He could use them to blow up enough rock to block the pass, or at least make it very difficult to cross. That huge army in Espilona could not attack if it couldn’t cross the border.
Chapter 62
The next day was a day of planning all around. In the morning, Eril brainstormed with Carge and Turek things they could do to both defend the city and defend the three attack points. Then all three went to the meeting with the Marshall and his top commanders. The meeting lasted over three hours, and there were an amazing number of plans put forth as well as argument about which should be adopted.
In the end, it was decided that Eril and Turek would fly a wagonload of troops to the western pass to meet up with the force already in route to defend it against the larger army. The two of them would do what they could to close the pass and harry the attacking army, but would then return to Jull city to assist with the sea attacks and city defense. Carge would go out with a fast-moving force to reinforce the troops defending the northern border.
The alarming bit of news that came out in the meeting was that one of the charzen from Espilona might have already crossed over to meet the Nitholian troops. There had been a puzzling report of a dust trail like that from galloping horses seen moving rapidly from the Jull side of the pass towards Nitholia at a very high rate of speed. Eril guessed that this would have been one of the charzen.
The addition of four sets of communicators, which Turek and taken out of storage and Eril had charged, was one of the happier moments in the long meeting. When the Marshall saw how the communicators worked, he was overjoyed. He also immediately had subordinates scouring the city to see if anyone else might have communicator pairs that Eril could charge and put into service.
As they returned to their tower, Carge did not seem too happy with his part in the plan. “I don’t see how this is going to be the best use of my talents,” Carge complained.
“I’ll explain again, Carge,” Turek said, annoyed. “You came to me to learn and be part of a battle. I’ve already given you some powerful spells, and now you’re going to be part of a significant battle. Eril and I will have to cover the other two legs of the attack. I don’t understand how putting you anywhere else would ‘enhance’ your utility.”
“But, you’ve got me amid an army. Nearly all my best attacks are ranged. I’d be much more effective on the city walls . . .”
“Carge, most likely we’ll all end up on the city walls eventually. Unless I miss my guess, the force you’re with will be retreating not that long after you join up with the advance forces. The other army is just too big. Your ranged attacks are some of the most effective against a chasing force. Not only that, but you’ll be helping with the communicators. Eril showed you how to charge one. That alone makes your inclusion in the northern force crucial.”
Carge looked ready to argue more, but Turek cut him off. “No more argument. Your part in the plan is set. If you don’t like it, feel free to leave now on any of the ships fleeing the city. And don’t expect me ever to recommend you for elevation to Master.”
Carge glowered, but said nothing more.
Eril had watched the whole exchange, but tried not to make eye-contact with Carge. He clearly resented Eril, and Eril frankly didn’t blame him for his feeling.
Turek turned from rummaging in a chest to Carge. “Here,” he said, holding out a rune inscribed stone. “This used to be one of my prized possessions, but Eril has made it mostly superfluous. It works much like the communicator pairs except that it only
works one time and whatever you say will be heard out on my end.” He held up a similar stone, and then put it back in a pocket.
“Unlike the communicators, it only works the one time, so only use it in a moment of great need. After you send your one message, the stone will crack and be worthless. It takes me a month and just the right pair of stones to make one of these. The communicators make a mockery of it, but it has been another of my secrets to success.”
Carge took the stone and looked at it, somewhat mollified. “Thank you, Master,” was all he said as he put it into a pouch.
“Get your stuff and get down to commander Trig. They’ll be leaving within two hours.”
Once Carge had gathered his materials from the workshop and left, Turek turned to Eril. “Now that he is on his way, I suppose I’ll get to see if you are as prodigal at learning my spell as you seem to be at everything else. We have until tomorrow morning, an insanely short period, as it took me nearly a month of solid practice to get this spell. But I expect to have that power ring you’ve promised when we go to raise havoc at that pass, and I expect you’ll want to have learned the spell prior to giving it to me, yes?”
Eril nodded. “I do want to learn it, Master. And I do seem sometimes to be able to learn spells faster than most wizards, so I guess we’ll hope this is one of those times.”
He said nothing about whether he would be willing to give the ring to Turek without the spell, and Turek didn’t push.
“Well, let’s see if you can live up to your reputation.” He then launched into an explanation of the theory behind the spell. Eril tried very hard to keep a straight face as much of what Turek was telling him was a simplified version of what he had already been learning from the Gate manuals.
What was different, in this case, was not the theory but the application. The gate manuals had been all about how to create and manipulate the gates themselves. Eril had already gotten far enough into the theory there to understand that a demon portal was just a very specific type of gateway.
When Turek explained how the spell detected the creation of a portal, Eril guessed that he could have found something similar in one or both of the gate manuals. Regardless, this was something new, though not very new for Eril. He was most anxious to see the spell itself.
The Journeyman for Zdrell Page 36