Fallen Magician (The Magician Rebellion) (27 page)

The gate crashed down and elementals overran the inner grounds turning up rune inscribed stonework as they cleared a path for the lesser summons and reanimated magicians. Those who were more recently dead moved quickly as if they were driven by a sense of purpose in the battle that was sure to come. Those whom were buried for longer shambled and progressed more slowly as the effects of decomposition would allow them to go no faster. Behind them all came Xander Necros. He forced himself to wait before entering this place to allow his minions to do their handiwork.

Xander commanded the elementals to destroy every rune they found while the undead seemed almost delighted to fight the Kenzai guards who found that their magic blocking talents were not as effective on the dead as they were on the living. When it seemed that enough of the Kenzai had died for Xander’s satisfaction he began to weave another spell of reanimation so that those killed would be brought back to life to serve him. Kenzai guards in their heavy armor rose from where they had fallen and picked up their weapons. Along with the walkers and elementals, they breached the interior of the prison.

The ground and walls shook within the prison at the demolition that the elementals delivered with abandon. To the untrained eye the earth elementals appeared to be wreaking havoc without reason, but the earthen monsters moved with purpose. Everywhere they went throughout the prison their goal was to destroy every anti-magic rune they found, so that they way would be made clear for the necromancer and his horde of zombies.

The walkers moved in a much more deliberate fashion. Their pace was slower as they set about securing the prison. First they took the entranceway; then the first floor, killing any Kenzai guards as they came across them. Within an hour the walkers held the first two levels of the prison trapping the few guards that managed to hold out on the top floor.

Xander stayed behind in the reception area as he mentally read the battle through the shifts and streams of the magic and directed his servants to where they were most needed. Nearly six hours had passed since Colum’s population was annihilated and Xander’s power, which felt almost limitless then, was finally starting to fade. Victory was assured, but he would need to conserve his strength for what he still had left to accomplish.

***

The sun was rising on a new day as Xander emerged from the prison with well over two hundred magicians at his back. Some shielded their eyes from the shining light of day even in the morning hours. Others began to laugh and shout, as their lofty dream of escape became a reality. Most of those laughs were filled with joy or relief, but there were a couple magicians who sounded a bit more maniacal to the ears of Ryonus. It was a feeling that he sadly understood too well. Years of imprisonment and depravation could do strange things to a man’s mind and it was not like every prisoner in Baj was a priest before getting thrown in that hole.

“
In truth, I never expected to see you again,” Ryonus told the grandmaster clasping his hand as the two met beyond the prison’s walls, “It is good to see you still counted with the living.”

“
I would expect more faith from you,” Xander told him, perhaps a bit more roughly than the necromancer had intended due to his exhaustion, because he added, “You are an old friend,” in a kinder tone.

“
Yes, well, we should begin moving everyone to the rallying point,” Ryonus shook a sack filled with hundreds of transportation runes. “Your daughter is probably worrying herself sick over you.”

“
We will go soon enough,” Xander assured him, but he was interrupted by one of the newly freed magicians.

“
Hold on old timer, I am grateful for what you did, but I will go where I please,” said the ragged magician.

A tentacle lashed out at the magician and stuck him in the chest. He immediately began to gasp for air as Xander sucked his life away. “I was feeling a bit fatigued,” Xander admitted, “thank you for volunteering.”

The man could only shake in reply.

“
Now, if it
pleases
you, young sir, would you like to come with me?” Xander asked hotly to which the man could only respond with a full body thrashing and the look of fear in his eyes. “Good,” said Xander amicably before releasing him to fall on the ground, “and welcome to the Collective.” To the other two hundred and some odd magicians, he spoke more loudly, “I offer you a chance to kill those who have hunted you and a chance to rule over those who have subjugated you for all of your lives, or I offer you certain death by my hand here and now. You have about two minutes to make up your mind.” To accent his point Xander flared a ball of dark magic from his staff that extended six feet in diameter above his head. He moved the staff downward in a very slow striking motion in the direction of Baj. The ball of magic just as slowly rolled from the staff as if it was attached to invisible wires. As the ball gently floated toward the prison it began to pick up speed before disappearing within the prison’s walls. The prisoners seemed unsure of what to think, clearly they expected something to happen and when nothing did Ryonus began to feel embarrassed for his old friend, but Xander just stood there with a wry grin. A minute passed with no activity and the freed magicians were beginning to get antsy. It was clear that they wanted to get as far away from this place as possible, but no one wanted to risk the grandmaster’s wrath.

Suddenly a deafening explosion came from deep within the prison and the exterior walls began to develop large cracks visible even from outside the prison’s walls. An instant later the prison began to collapse inward until nothing remained where Baj once stood except for a smoking pile of rubble.

When Xander asked the magicians for their decisions not one of them dared try to leave, but Ryonus could not help noticing that the grandmaster seemed a little weary as if all of the energy he stole from the citizens of Colum had finally been expended. It cost ten thousand lives to put an end to the magician prison, but there was some consolation that none of those lives belonged to magicians.

For better or worse the Collective had made their presence known and did so in what could only be interpreted as a declaration of war.

“
Things are spinning out of control much too quickly,” the old man in grey told his younger companion.

“
Yes, the world must be brought back into balance, so that it spins out of control at a much more reasonable pace,” laughed the boy who swung a wooden sword at the air. “Despite what some may think, I don’t want a massacre. There is no glory in mindless slaughter.” He swung his sword again testing its weight.

They were surrounded in a world of white that felt foreign, but not unpleasant. Byrn watched the two as if he were a fly on a tavern’s common room wall. Who were they?

The old man looked up and right at Byrn. “We are the Wise,” the old man said.

“
And the Warrior,” finished the boy.

“
And you have made a mess of things,” accused the one calling himself Wise with a pointy finger.

“
Don’t blame him,” Warrior scolded as he swung at an unseen foe, this time behind him. “He is but a weapon; put on the game board by you if I recall, brother. It is not his fault that you failed to properly wield him.”

“
I am not a weapon!” Byrn told them. “Who are you?”

“
See that is the insolence that threw my plans off kilter,” Wise proclaimed, “If he had stayed with his master at the start of all this instead of running back home, then none of this would be happening now.”

“
You knew that was a possibility,” the young one countered though his demeanor seemed to indicate that he was far more interested in his sword work than the old man’s ramblings. “No battle plan ever survives the battlefield.”

“
You are right in a sense, Vailon, and I must admit that my plan for Aurelia was coming together though I would have preferred to avoid the needless bloodshed that has already begun and Kassani’s pet threatens to ‘upset the game board’ as you would say,” Wise finally admitted. To Byrn, he offered his apologies then added, “You need to wake up, son. Aurelia hurtles toward destruction while you nap and lives are in the balance.”

“
I cannot wake,” Byrn pleaded. “I have tried.”

Wise put his hand on Byrn’s arm reassuring him, “You will wake soon, but first I must show you what has been transpiring, since you began your days long sleep.”

Visions of death flooded Byrn’s mind. Faces he had not seen in years- Jessec, Anti, even Rallen- writhed in agony as they withered before him and died. Colum was crumbling before his eyes.

***

Byrn woke with a scream on his lips followed by a short fall onto the wooden floor as he rolled out of a bed. It was a dream, he told himself. It had to be a dream.

“
By Waicosson’s great whiskers!” swore the elf, startled from her daydreaming. “You need to knock that racket off. We are in hiding.” Her nose and cheeks were red and two empty pitchers sat on the table in their room. From the décor it looked like they were hiding in an inn.

Sitting up on the floor, Byrn smiled knowing that if Sari was here, then his mother must be nearby. “I’m glad that Sane and Kellen were able to find you.” He surveyed the room and saw a bone staff, a bow, and a quiver of arrows sitting on the table before the elf. In one corner Kellen’s armor laid empty, but it radiated with stored power so that it shined far brighter than Byrn had ever seen it before. Then, Byrn turned his head and saw his mother. Marian was lying on the bed opposite him. Judging from the sun shining through the window it was midday. “What is wrong with her?”

“
While you slept one of our party, a ranger by the name of Donovan Surefoot, attacked you. Marian threw her body over your own.” Sari suppressed a sob and put on a courageous face, “She thought nothing of her own safety.”

Magic flowed weakly from and around Marian’s prone body. She lived, but only barely. “She needs a healer.”

Sari lifted the pitcher as if expecting to find another gulp and set it back down in defeat. “Sane is working on it. We are not safe here, but we cannot move Marian in her current condition. It was sheer luck that we made it this far with the both of you in tow.”

“
I think you better tell me what is going on,” Byrn suggested not unkindly.

“
After Donovan attacked you, he and his friend Chance fled into the forest and made their way here to Silvering. I should have chased them down as soon as we realized they left the cave, but I did not want to leave Marian and thought they could pose us no further threat.

“
Refugees had been finding their way to Silvering for the better part of a week, so when Donovan and Chance showed up and said they had news of Marian’s whereabouts Warlord Nightwind met with them personally. They brought news of the orcs taking Everec and more. It has become big news that Sane killed one of the Kenzai without reason a few months ago and in so doing has broken ties with the kingdom. He is now a wanted man, so when Donovan and Chance showed up and told the warlord that you and Sane were plotting to kill Prince Janus and put you in place as the next in line for succession Nightwind had no choice except to believe them. Of course, it must have slipped Donovan’s mind to mention that he stabbed your mother.” Sari added sarcastically.

“
Why would Lord Nightwind believe such a crazy story?” Byrn asked incredulously.

“
Well considering that Donovan knew that you were a prince to begin with lent him no small amount of credibility. It also did not hurt that that was exactly what Sane was planning. He didn’t tell you?”

“
It must have slipped his mind,” Byrn gritted his teeth. “Wait, what do you mean I’m a prince?”

Sari eyed the door nervously, “Keep your voice down. There are other people staying here.” Her eyes shifted back to Byrn, “I’m sorry. I forgot you didn’t know yet. Sane should have been the one to tell you.”

Byrn counted on his fingers, “Sane, Nightwind, you, and some random rangers. Who else knows of this… absurdity?”

“
Donovan and Chance spread the word to any that would listen and Lord Nightwind basically confirmed the rumor when he declared you an enemy of the kingdom and stripped your title. That means everyone in Silvering, Kellen, of course… Oh, he also told one of your friends in… what was it called? The Collective. So you can assume that they all know. This kind of news travels fast. Everyone in the kingdom will know within a month.”