The Wrath

by D Glenn Casey

  “That may be true,” said Jarell, “but, we needed to leave some of our most capable troops watching over the desert in case Kerrick decides to start something again.”

  “Well, from what I’m hearing, it’s not Kerrick who is going to be starting anything. We may eventually have to go into the Eastern Desert and hunt him down.”

  Jarell looked at him and said, “That point has been made and it might just come down to that. But, our troops suffered great losses in the battle and we just weren’t ready to go charging into the desert, looking for him.”

  “Well, after we’re done in Terranasia, maybe that can be our next stop.”

  “Maybe so, captain. And if it comes to that, I would be honored to go with you into the desert.”

  Belgard nodded to the wizard, knowing he was a capable warrior and would be good to have in a fight.

  Pendivall looked across the table at Brinn and Hilde and asked, “So, what did your missions reveal this afternoon?”

  Hilde spoke first and said, “The bows and arrows look like they will be useful, but there are some damaged ones in the group. They also have some of those wicked arrows gathered up from Kerrick’s forces. I’m hesitant to let the bowmaidens use them, but I remember Kerrick’s soldiers weren’t reluctant to use them on us in the desert. Maybe Kerrick will rethink using those arrows, since I put one in him as he was flying away.”

  Jarell smiled and nodded to his wife.

  “Most of the swords are still in good repair,” said Brinn. “We have a couple of guild weapons masters doing what they can to make the repairs, but without the materials they need from Terranasia, they are limited in what they can do.”

  “Also,” said Hilde, “there are a couple guild seamstresses trying to make whatever repairs they can to the battlewear, but there is a lot more work than they can complete in a day or so.”

  Pendivall nodded and said, “Okay, go back to the guild masters after dinner and let them know they have two more full days here. We will be leaving three mornings hence, repaired or not.”

  Hilde and Brinn nodded.

  Then Pendivall turned to Belgard and said, “Captain, I think it would be wise for you to send a handful of troops to the gates of Terranasia and do a little spying. When Brinn and I walked into the attack with our few troops, the ogres came out of nowhere. They were on us before we had time to react. I think it would be better to have a little more information about what’s going on around the gates before we get there this time.”

  “I will send a small group tomorrow and have them meet us on the road there in about six days.”

  “Anything else?” asked the old wizard, looking about the room.

  No one answered.

  “Alright. Let’s see to the troops and start getting them ready for the march out of here in three mornings.”

  The gathering broke up and filed out of the pub and headed off to their assigned duties. Hilde and Brinn headed for the guild masters and then she wanted to see how the weapons masters were coming along on the harnesses for the other three dragons.

  ~~~~

  The next two days were spent in training and fixing weapons. The guild masters proved to be wizards in their own right, by making repairs they thought wouldn’t be possible. The seamstresses made what repairs they could to the battlewear and most of it looked as good as new, though they did warn those troops wearing the garments to try and not get injured again.

  There were three healers that had accompanied the smaller group from Rosemoor and spent those two days going through the encampment, making sure everyone was well fed and taken care of. A couple of them spent a little more time than necessary with the royal soldiers and the older, wiser healer had to get them refocused on their true mission.

  Hilde had started working with three of the bowmaidens and the dragons and found they were natural allies. Well, two of them were.

  She did find Morgath a bit difficult about taking on a rider.

  “I will not go into battle with a man strapped onto my back!” roared the dragon.

  “I’m not asking you to,” said Hilde. “You’ll be taking a woman. A bowmaiden to be exact.”

  “That’s even worse!”

  “What’s the matter, cousin?” asked Venia. “Are you too good to work with a woman?”

  Morgath looked at her and his eyes grew to narrow slits. Venia just looked at him and laughed.

  Then Morgath felt someone tap him on the neck and he turned and looked down. He found himself staring into the eyes of a beautiful, young Guildenian bowmaiden, who barely reached four and a half feet tall.

  “I promise Lord Morgath, you won’t even know I’m there.”

  As their eyes met, he saw the twinkle in her eyes and he was completely undone. He lowered his head to her and she reached up and stroked the side of his face and then she kissed him on the nose.

  In a much softer tone, he said, “It would break my heart if you got hurt, sweet lady.”

  “Just as it would break my heart if you fell,” she said. “So, let’s work together and make sure neither of those things happen.”

  “What is your name?”

  “I am Caroline, daughter of Arten, master of the Weapon maker’s Guild.”

  He bowed his head and said, “Caroline of Guilden, I shall be your dragon and you shall be my rider.”

  She placed her forehead against the ridge of his face and they could feel an energy flow between them.

  “Alright, let’s get some practice in before it gets dark,” said Hilde.

  Within a few minutes, four dragons lifted into the sky with their riders and during the last hour of daylight, no target was safe from their attacks.

  Pendivall and Jarell stood on the hilltop, with a couple hundred spectators and watched the display of aerial combat. Right after Hilde and Venia destroyed a particularly difficult target, Jarell tapped Pendivall on the shoulder with his staff.

  “That’s my girl!”

  Pendivall looked at him and saw the younger wizard smiling from ear-to-ear.

  Chapter 2 ~ Walking Through A Dream

  “Garlan!”

  Marnell found herself laying on the ground, but it wasn’t the ground she remembered from just a moment ago.

  In a flash of light her world was gone. There was no pain, except for the distress felt when witnessing Sigarick being struck down and falling from the cliff. Her heart felt as if it was being ripped from her chest. Her beloved’s vision was coming true.

  Where was she now? Surely this wasn’t what awaited her on the other side of the veil. When first becoming aware of this place, she thought she must be dead.

  Remembering the fireball from the dark wizard and just before it hit, she remembered looking to her right and seeing Garlan hit with an arrow. She remembered seeing the blood on his leg and seeing him fall to his knees.

  What concerned her the most was the enemy soldier coming up behind him with his sword held high. The last thing she remembered, just as the fireball hit her shield, was screaming Garlan's name, hoping to warn him about the soldier.

  Then the fireball blasted through her shield. It was one of the strongest forces she had ever felt. Her shield weakened and the blast of heat and fire knocked her backwards, off her feet. That was the last thing she remembered.

  When she awoke and looked around, her surroundings were unfamiliar. She was also without her staff, but then, all of a sudden, it was in her hand. Looking down, she still wore her battlewear.

  If it was the life after, where were the ones that had gone before, the ones that would surely welcome her to this new plane of existence?

  She knew that Sigarick had fallen and was most likely dead, so he should have been there. So, where was he?

  Looking around again, her vision was covered as the land was shrouded in a white mist. The fog was so thick she couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front. She turned one way and then the other and couldn’t tell which way was which. Holding her hand right in front of her f
ace, she could see it, but lost it when extending her arm.

  “Interesting.”

  She could hear a sound to her left, but what it was eluded her. It was familiar, but it was muffled and indistinct. Like hearing wind in the trees, but listening to it from underwater.

  There was only one answer to where she was. She was in the deep sleep. She wasn’t dead and hadn’t passed over. Finding her way out of this mist was the most important task at the moment.

  Taking a couple of cautious steps, she could feel sand and small pebbles beneath her boots. It was soft and her feet sank into it, like sand on a beach.

  Kneeling down, she scooped up a handful of sand and looked at it. It was as white as snow, but it felt familiar, just like the sand on the beach of the lake near her childhood home.

  Standing up, she waved her hand in front of her face and noticed the fog moved with the movement. Looking back down, she saw the ground was becoming dimly visible through the mist.

  Holding the Staff of Fire in front of herself, she cast a small whirlwind that caused the fog to start moving around her. As the fog picked up speed it started to lift and she saw that she was on a beach. The whiteness of the sand dimmed and became the light brown she was accustomed to.

  The muffled sound became clearer in her ears. It was the sound of the small waves lapping on the shoreline. The sun was low in the sky, out over the water, but she couldn't tell if it was early morning or late afternoon.

  The fog continued to lift and she saw trees and a path leading into them. Looking out at the water one last time, she turned and headed for the path.

  After about an hour of walking, she came out of the trees and found herself at the edge of a large meadow. A light breeze blew the scent of wildflowers to her nose and breathing it in, it refreshed her and opened her senses even more. There were butterflies flitting from one flower to another and a couple of honey bees stopped what they were doing and came to investigate her. She looked at them and smiled.

  “How are you this fine morning?”

  They didn’t say much. She never acquired the ability to talk to animals and insects like Garlan. When she found her way back to him, he was going to have to teach her how it was done.

  After the bees flew away, back to gathering their pollen, she looked across the meadow, above the trees on the other side and was surprised to see the top of a castle in the distance.

  Somehow, it looked familiar.

  “Okay Marnell, something tells me we're not in the life beyond the veil.”

  Another hour of walking through the meadow, then through the trees, led her to the gates of the castle. Standing there dumbstruck, she couldn’t believe the vision on the other side of the gate.

  “This is Whitestone. What in the world?”

  Taking a couple of steps, she found herself through the gate and at the front door and then another two steps and she was in the great room.

  She turned around and looked back, not being able to remember opening the gate or the door, or for that matter, walking through them.

  Some noise coming from the kitchen area caught her ear and she walked toward the sound. Molly was there, preparing a fairly large meal which surprised Marnell because she thought Molly was the only one at Whitestone.

  There was some noise coming from outside and she moved to a window and saw a dozen or so women and children working in the food garden.

  She recognized a couple of the women as being from Tottenham. Obviously, Molly had taken in some refugees from that village after it was attacked. Walking over to Molly, she placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Miss Molly?”

  Molly kept working.

  “Molly!” she said a little louder.

  Molly kept working, oblivious to the young wizard standing right behind her and yelling her name.

  “Kind of strange, don’t you think?”

  Marnell whirled around and saw the dark wizard standing in the doorway, his hood pulled low over his face, his staff with two crystals in his right hand. He was hunched over and his hand was scarred and burned, almost to the bone.

  “What have you done to me?”

  “Oh, I decided to take you off the field of battle. Wouldn’t want such a beautiful, young lady to get hurt, now would we?”

  Marnell stepped away from Molly and toward the dark wizard.

  “Why bother with the hood? I know who you are.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said as he pushed the hood off his head. In place of the dark, evil face she remembered, there was a dark helmet with a gold mask.

  “Kerrick of Tottenham,” she said.

  She could see he bristled at the sound of that village name.

  “I don’t ever want to hear that name again!”

  “Why, because you left them to fend for themselves against the Teagan family? You ran away into the desert and left them.”

  He yelled, “You have no idea what I went through, little lady. There was a lot more of them than there was of me.”

  “And yet, a twenty-three year old apprentice cleared them out of the village in less than an hour!”

  She looked at him a little closer.

  “So, why the mask? Did you have a little trouble in the Eastern Desert?”

  Kerrick looked at her through the eye holes of the mask. She could feel the hate and anger pouring out of them.

  “A gift from your little, redheaded friend. The next time I see her, I shall turn her inside out, killing her in the most painful and lasting way possible.”

  “Taken down by a mere, mortal woman. How embarrassing.”

  Kerrick’s eyes blazed as his anger grew. He moved past her and took a step toward Molly. He reached out his hand and ran it over the housekeeper’s back. Molly stiffened and gasped for breath. She gripped the edge of the counter to steady herself.

  “You leave her alone!” yelled Marnell as she started toward them.

  “I can do whatever I want. You have no power here,” Kerrick said with a muffled laugh behind the mask.

  Marnell took another step and the Staff of Fire began to glow. Kerrick saw that and the fire in his eyes dimmed and was replaced with fear. There was no way she should have the power of her staff.

  Kerrick started backing away, as Marnell got to Molly and reached her own hand out and ran it over the housekeeper’s back. Molly instantly became relaxed and her breathing returned to normal. After a few deep breaths, she went back to the work she was doing.

  “That’s impossible!” yelled Kerrick.

  Marnell continued walking toward him and the Staff of Fire glowed even more fiercely.

  “Maybe you’re not quite as powerful as you think you are, Kerrick.”

  Kerrick backed up to the doorway and looked at her.

  “We’ll see.”

  He turned and stepped through the door and when Marnell followed him into the great room, she found there was no one there. He had completely vanished.

  Just then she heard the back door open and turned to see a young girl, maybe five or six years old, come in.

  “Miss Molly, here’s some potatoes for dinner,” said the little girl, as she held up a small basket full of potatoes.

  “Why thank you, Nellie. Go tell the others that dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.”

  “Yes ma’am,” said Nellie as she scampered back out the door.

  Marnell stepped back into the kitchen and just watched Molly. She looked down at her hands and then back at Molly. She definitely had the ability to influence things in this plane of existence, but making herself heard eluded her. She was going to have to figure out a way to get out of here. If Kerrick could send her here, then finding her way out should be possible.

  Then she thought about how Kerrick had acted shocked when she countered his magic on Molly. It had scared him and when she advanced toward him, he turned tail and ran. Apparently she wasn’t as helpless as he thought.

  She sat down on a chair and watched Molly, taking in the sights and sound
s and smells of the kitchen. She had only spent a couple of days here with Sigarick, Pendivall and the two apprentices, but it had seemed more like home than any place she remembered.

  Her parents had died when she was young and she didn’t remember much about them. Spending a couple of years living with her aunt and uncle just wasn’t the same. Her aunt and uncle tried to provide a good home for her, but they were old and their own children were gone from the home. It was not their first desire to raise another child at that time in their lives.

  When Pendivall had approached her and her aunt in the marketplace that one morning, when she was eight years old, he had made the strangest offer to her. Her aunt was a bit hesitant to let her niece leave with the old wizard, but there was something about the old man that set her mind at ease.

  After going home to get her things and to say good-bye to her uncle and cousins, she left with the old wizard and followed him to Castle Greyton.

  When she walked through the front door of the small castle, spinning around, looking at the high ceilings and the grand staircase, she knew. She was exactly where she was meant to be.

  Pendivall had been amazed at how quickly she picked up her lessons and became as powerful as he was ever going to be able to make her. For the first time in recorded history, he sent a fourteen-year-old girl into the Land Of The Dragons, before she had even ventured into The Pit for her wizard’s duel.

  If Gallen hadn’t been so impressed with her and told him to send her, he never would have considered it. Gallen even lent her his old staff, the Staff of Hellfire, to use in her trials in the Land Of The Dragons. He made her promise to take care of it and return it when she was finished. Being the grand wizard of the council, Gallen carried the Staff of Wyndweir with the Star of Wyndweir in its head, so he didn’t need two staffs.

  Eight years later she came back to Castle Greyton, a beautiful, grown woman and more powerful than the old wizard could have imagined. When he thought of putting her name forward for the next Wizard’s Duel, he giggled with glee, thinking this was going to be the first real chance he had to have an apprentice that could defeat one of Sigarick’s students.