Deliverance (6 page)

“Yes High Elder,” said the elders
simultaneously.

Crystal nodded to the other rebels in
assurance. Gavril nodded back and directed the other rebels to the
door. When everyone was waiting outside, Malcolm shut the door
behind them. Maryn and Taryn then pressed their ears against the
door, trying to hear the conversation on the other side.

“Be respectful you brats!” bellowed
Sigurd.

“Yeah, but we want to make sure Crystal’s
okay!” said Taryn.

“Are you suggesting that the high elder
would harm your leader?” asked Orwynn sternly.

“Don’t lie to them, Taryn;” said Maryn, “You
just want to be nosy.”

“Yeah, well so do you, you little sneak!”
replied Taryn.

“That is enough, you two! Come away from the
door,” said Gavril with a raised voice. He did not speak so
fiercely often, but when he did, everyone knew not to cross him.
The twins obeyed and walked clear away from the door without a
word.

Inside the study, Malcolm walked over to
Crystal. She looked at him curiously.

“What is it, High Elder?” she asked.

“Crystal, I am starting to fear that you may
be too emotional to complete this task,” said Malcolm.

Crystal sighed and assured the high elder,
“I will be fine. I want justice, and I refuse to run away from
this.”

“I am sure all your friends do as well, but
after what has happened to you, are you sure you can control
yourself when you see the king?” he asked.

Crystal sighed and responded, “I’ll do my
best. I know what is at stake, High Elder, and I know if I blow
this, I will regret it forever, but I also know I will regret not
trying more. That is why there is no way I am going to sit around
and do nothing.”

“Your parents would not want you to get
killed for them, Amelia,” said Malcolm.

Crystal straightened up. “Do not call me
that;” she said sharply, “Amelia is dead. She died ten years ago
when the king’s soldiers invaded a village she was hiding in. The
soldier who killed her brought her blood-covered doll back to
Bogdan himself.”

Malcolm took a deep breath and replied
softly, “I am sorry . . . Crystal. I just want to make sure you are
ready and can handle this.”

Crystal looked down at her feet. She paced
back and forth for a bit but then turned to face the high elder
again.

“I am ready,” she said, “I have been ready
to stop him for ten years, and I will do whatever it takes to
overthrow him.”

“Very well;” replied Malcolm, “Do you have
an idea about what the king might do?”

“I have a hunch. It seems to me like this
fake plan may be a diversion. He is a cunning and deceptive man, so
our best bet would be to prepare for the frontal assault, but to
have watchers along the walls of the city, and maybe a mile or so
outside of the city, to alert everyone if they see anything. As for
me and my team, I would like permission to guard the Eye of Gaull
directly. That way, if Bogdan somehow gets past the defenses, my
team and I will be there waiting for him,” explained Crystal.

Malcolm thought for a moment and stroked his
beard. Then he nodded and said, “That’s not a bad idea.”

“On the day of the attack, will you guide us
to the chamber the Eye lies in?” Crystal asked him.

“Of course, I will bring you there myself,”
replied Malcolm.

“Good. I will let my team know and we can
start preparing for battle. I will tell the other rebels to help
out where they can around the city,” replied Crystal.

Malcolm nodded and said, “Very well, let us
begin preparations immediately.”

****

Over the next few days, the last groups of
rebels began arriving and, not soon after they set foot in the
city, they found themselves hastily preparing for battle. As the
high elder expected, many people in the city began to panic when
they heard of the invasion. It was only after Malcolm made a public
speech, assuring everyone that there the rebels had arrived to help
and that there was a plan of action, that the people of the city
finally began preparations.

Teachers altered their normal lessons and
taught extra combat spells to all students, beginner and advanced.
Orwynn, who was head of the education department of the city, saw
that the more advanced students were giving special equipment, such
as magically enhanced staves and robes from different shops in
town. Leldor, who owned several of the other shops, had assured the
equipment shop owner that he would be reimbursed later, and he
himself began giving out supplies from his own shops. The healing
supplies were brought inside the town infirmary, which had been
heavily barricaded so that the building could withstand severe
blows. Crystal suggested this, stating that if the infirmary is
destroyed, then no one could be healed and could return to
battle.

Halmez was in charge of the city defenses
and he hastily recruited every able mage for the defense team,
including students. Upon receiving Crystal’s advice, he gave
locations for the rebel troops to report to when the attack was
beginning. Several dwarf and human rebels offered to venture
outside of the city walls to fight off foot soldiers, and Ydon,
Kerali, and the other elf rebels planned to go into the surrounding
area of the city to watch for troops and warn the people of the
city when they spotted the army.

Bredewig and several other scholars searched
through every inch of the library for scrolls that could be used
for the battle. There were barrier spells that the mages along the
city wall could use to deflect arrows and other objects being shot
at them. Whatever could be used, Bredewig had the scrolls sent
throughout the city to anyone who needed them.

From the time the High Elder announced the
plans to the city to the day before the invasion was set to begin,
Thaddeus worked side-by-side with his elder brother and they both
contemplated the plans for the days ahead. Crystal and Gavril
helped plan at times, but any other moment of their time was spent
preparing the rebels for the battle. Gavril heavily trained some of
the less experienced swordsmen for a week. The more experienced
fighters, including Crystal, also helped to teach the less
experienced and weaker fighters.

Crystal also practiced with her short sword.
She had especially trained to fend off sneak attacks, a skill she
learned from the elves. She became very quick and agile over the
years, and she vowed to never be taken by surprise. Even though she
had trained as a mage for many years, she still admired how her
father and Gavril would spar in the garden area at the castle. She
had always yearned to train with a sword, and when she begged
Gavril to teach her after the invasion, Thaddeus came up with a
suggestion.

Over the years, Crystal trained primarily in
magic with Thaddeus, but the dwarves forged a short sword for her
and Gavril trained her to use it as a secondary skill. When the
halflings began to take her side, they also taught her to use the
light weapons that they used. It was this reason that she did not
carry a staff, but rather, wore her necklace to control her power.
That crystal necklace was in fact how she got the idea for her new
name.

About three days before the attack was
planned, Gavril approached Crystal while she was training. He
watched as she navigated through rocky terrain with the speed and
agility that could have rivaled those of an elf. She swung her
short sword around in a deadly fashion. She was the best fighter in
rough terrains because she often took the enemies by surprise with
her quick reflexes and impeccable precision.

“You’ve gotten better, I see,” Gavril called
out to her. She then dropped onto the ground a few feet from him
and caught her breath.

“I do not take any chances.” she said, “I
will be at my peak physical condition when I fight Bogdan.”

“Well, I can see your agility is in check,”
replied Gavril, “but how would you like to practice your sword
skills with me?”

“You know I can never refuse a challenge,
Gavril,” said Crystal. She then pointed her sword at Gavril and he
repeated the gesture with his own sword.

“Neither could your father;” Gavril replied
with a sly smile, “On the count of three. One. Two. Three!”

In less than a second, Gavril swung his
sword at Crystal, to which she instantly blocked with her short
sword. He swung again, this time from above. Crystal brought her
sword above her head and she bent her knees and crouched slightly.
Gavril’s sword bounced off of hers. More slashes came from Gavril’s
end, and Crystal effectively evaded and blocked all shots.

“I must admit something,” said Gavril, while
still swinging his sword.

“What is that?” Crystal asked.

“You have become far too quick for me,”
replied Gavril, who finally stopped swinging his sword.

Crystal laughed and admitted, “Well, only
because I stay focused and do not get distracted easily. If I had
lost that focus, with your strength, you could easily have
overpowered me.”

Gavril sheathed his sword. “Strength can
only go so far. It takes a lot of skill to defeat your enemy, and
you have it. The way you deflected a larger sword with a small one
like yours takes a lot of practice. But it can be done, obviously,”
he said.

“That’s true. I have always valued skill and
intelligence in battle over brute strength, because in the end, I
want to outsmart Bogdan and beat him at his own game,” Crystal
stated.

“I will help you until the end, Princess,”
Gavril replied, bowing.

“I already scolded High Elder Malcolm for
calling me ‘Amelia,’ so please do not use my title either, Gavril,”
Crystal corrected.

Gavril chuckled. “Sorry, Crystal. It’s been
ten years, but it still seems to slip sometimes. You are worthy of
that title, so don’t you forget it.”

Crystal looked at her feet again to hide
tears that were trying to form in her eyes. She did not want to
hide who she was, but to protect her people she had to make them
all believe that the only surviving member of the Cierith royal
family was dead.

“I won’t, Gavril,” she quietly replied.

****

Just days before his assault was set to
begin, Bogdan led his army to the east of Cierith toward the City
of Magi. He and Blaze rode their horses and the generals walked on
either side of them. Both father and son wore heavy battle armor
and black capes. Bogdan’s armor consisted of dark grey metal
gauntlets and shoulder, chest, and leg armor. Blaze wore the same
color armor on his shoulders and forearms and wore a similar metal
around his waist like a belt. Both of them wore black, dark red and
gray clothing underneath. The soldiers wore similar, but less
elaborate armor and colors.

“Now remember, Orodan, you will lead the
frontal assault on the city. You must stall at least for half an
hour; do not take the enemy out too quickly,” ordered Bogdan.

“Understood,” replied Orodan, who was barely
shorter than the king, even though the king was riding a horse.

The King then addressed his dark elf
general. “After the first assault begins, Perun, you will wait half
an hour with your troops and then attack the city from behind while
their forces are defending the front gates. There is very rocky
terrain that your men can sneak behind. Once again, you must stall
so that phase three can be initiated as planned.”

“Yes, my King,” replied Perun.

“What is phase three?” Blaze asked.

“You will accompany Saitar and me and sneak
into the city with us. According to Saitar, there is a secret
passage outside of the city that leads into the meeting room in the
Elder’s Hall. The secret entrance to the Eye of Gaull is in the
meeting room. We will sneak in, grab the Eye, and I will use it to
gain its power,” the king explained.

“Very well, so we will go in after Perun’s
army moves in?” asked Blaze.

“Yes. Orodan’s troops will set off the
catapult and launch a fire ball into the city wall. That will be
Perun’s signal to start his assault and our signal to move forward.
Saitar will meet us outside of the city beforehand and guide us
there. He said that it is well hidden from the eyes of the city as
well, so it will be too easy to get in undetected,” Bogdan
explained.

“So what will you do about the rebel leader
after you have the Eye? Will you find her and kill her?” asked
Blaze.

“Not just kill her,” Bogdan replied, “I will
publicly incinerate her so that nothing but her ashes remain.”

“What of the other rebels?” asked Blaze.

“I know slave traders that could use plenty
of humans to sell;” said Perun, “You could make them live for the
rest of their lives in chains.”

“That sounds like a fitting punishment,”
replied Bogdan, “But I will decide that all when everything is said
and done.”

“What about the elders?” asked Orodan.

“I am sure Saitar will decide what to do
with them. After all, control of that pathetic city goes to him
after all of this,” replied Bogdan.

Blaze still felt uneasy about the elder’s
request, but he did not dare mention his doubt to his father again.
He was glad that he would accompany his father with the elder,
because he could keep a close watch on Saitar. Something about him
made Blaze feel anxious, but he could not put his finger on it.

“We shall set up camp a few miles from here
before it gets dark. Have the soldiers set up my tent and Prince
Blaze’s tent as well. We will also need watchmen for the night,”
Bogdan ordered a commanding soldier marching behind them.

“Yes my King,” said the commander.

The king then turned to Blaze and said, “In
less than three days, my son, we will have the power to abolish all
of those who oppose us. You and I will become more powerful than
anyone can ever imagine, and no one will ever be able to stop us.
Are you prepared to stop at nothing to get this power?”