The Wizard's Council (10 page)

“You’ll have to excuse my appearance, Anthony, the forest has not been kind of late.” Sev held out his hand.

“It is not a problem, Sev. What news do you have?” The mayor shook Sev’s hand.

“We just cleared an orc camp not more than a mile from here. Evidence suggests that there are more in the vicinity.” He handed a crudely drawn map to the mayor.

“This is grave news, but we can’t trust a faulty
orc map. For all we know, this could be some crude children’s doodle. I’m afraid I’ll have to ignore this warning. You understand, I’m sure.”

Sev forcefully took the map out of the mayor’s hands and shook his head.
What a fool
, he thought as he turned back toward the bazaar. His thoughts were interrupted by one of the shopkeepers. She was smiling at Sev, as she always did. Her brown hair was unusual for her elven heritage. Though he had never gotten a chance to ask her, Sev had always assumed it was because she was, like him, a half-elf. He stumbled over to her shop and took a moment to regain his composure. Just as he was about to speak, she handed him a cup of water. He took the cup and drank it quickly before handing it back to her.
This is not the time or place
, he thought as he was about to turn around. His manners kicked in and told him it was best not to leave.

“Thank you, I am Sev.” He held out his hand.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Caitlyn. Forgive me for being so bold, but I overheard you arguing with the mayor. Talk to Solin, the Captain of the Guard. He is much more receptive to our kind.” She shook his hand vigorously.

“You are
half-elf, as well? It isn’t often that I get to see another of my kind. I wish I could stay and talk, but I need to talk to Solin. Thank you for the information.”

“I’ll help you find him, he responds better to the villagers than to outsiders.”

Sev smiled and nodded as he waited for her to put away some of her valuables. She slid his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk to the barracks on the other side of town. The Rangers in his group were too surprised to comment on his accepting help from another person. Sev was too busy thinking about meeting another half-elf to even realize what had happened. Caitlyn knocked on the barrack’s door, and the two waited for an answer. A large man, nearly seven feet in height, wearing plate armor that resembled that of the Holy Order opened the door and waved them in. As the door closed, Sev’s men decided to check out the town. The man in armor motioned toward a nearby table and waited for the guests to sit down.

“What brings you to the city barracks?” He asked, looking at Caitlyn.

“This man has important information to tell you, Solin,” She furrowed her brow as she answered.

“My apologies, where are my manners?” The man chuckled as he pulled up another chair and sat down. “My name is Solin, formerly of the Holy
Order. I am the Captain of the Guard here in Riverton. How can I be of service?” The man extended his massive hand toward Sev.

“It is nice to meet you, my name is Sev. I am from the Druid outpost in the Old Forest. We have reason to believe that your city is the target of the
orcs. My men and I wiped out one of their camps earlier, and we found this map.” Sev shook the man’s hand before taking the map and handing it to him.

“Crudely drawn, but that isn’t unusual for
orcish maps. We’ll take a look at these and see if we can’t put a stop to their plans. You have our thanks for this.”

“I am always happy to provide assistance. If there is anything else I can do, feel free to let me know.”

“You can escort Caitlyn at the festival tonight, if you don’t mind staying that long.”

“I can fend for myself!” Caitlyn said, slapping Solin in the arm.

“I’ve told you before, mixed races are not the most welcome people here in Riverton. They accept you as a shopkeeper, not as a member of their community,” Solin replied.

“It wouldn’t do any good for me to escort her. I’m
half-elf, as well. They’d treat us both the same way. In fact, the mayor wasn’t too keen on me telling him about the orcs. That’s why Caitlyn directed me to you in the first place.” Sev glanced from Caitlyn to Solin.

“My apologies, I’ve never been good at telling the races apart. Still, I’ve seen the way people look at you. They think twice about messing with you, probably has something to do with you being a Ranger and all.”

“The idea is still out of the question, I am not someone to be paraded around at the festival by a man I’ve barely met,” Caitlyn’s cheeks turned red as she spoke.

“Something tells me that he’d be the one who was paraded around in that pair, little one.” Solin chuckled after finishing his sentence.

The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Solin shook his head as he grabbed his war hammer. Another knock came while he was still on his way to the door. “Hold your horses,” he said as he slung the war hammer over his shoulder. He opened the door to find the mayor and several of his personal bodyguards. Sev looked up at Caitlyn and then back at the door.
This can’t be good
, he thought as he stood up from his chair. His hand slid down to his sword. Caitlyn grabbed his hand before he could unsheathe his sword. He shot her an annoyed glance and then started walking for the door. The mayor and Solin were already discussing something when Sev arrived at the door. Caitlyn peeked around his arm moments later.

“Ah, there he is. We’ll take it from here, Captain.” One of the mayor’s bodyguards stepped forward.

“I think not. Your hired goons have no say here.” Solin took the war hammer off his shoulder and pressed the end of it into the chest of the bodyguard.

“You won’t let me take them willingly?” The mayor asked.

“They? What is the meaning of this? What crime has been committed here?” Solin’s usually jovial looked was replaced with a stern one.

“This man is an outsider, they are not welcome in our town. Caitlyn was seen consorting with him, she’ll have to go
, as well. As for you, Captain, I am highly disappointed in your actions. If you do not give them up, I’ll be forced to have you jailed.” A smirk formed on the mayor’s face.

“You’ll be doing no such thing, Anthony. The courts will decide his fate. Caitlyn is under my protection, you won’t be sending her anywhere.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. Good thing I hired more men. Guards!”

Solin shoved the nearest bodyguard back and then closed the door on the rest of them. He braced himself against the door and was about to tell the other two to leave out the back door when more of Anthony’s men come bursting in. Sev pulled out his sword and stepped in between Caitlyn and the bodyguards. They hesitated when they saw him pull the sword. Everyone in Riverton had heard of the prowess of the Rangers. These three bodyguards were the first citizens of the town to test that prowess. Sev lunged at the closest guard, slapping him in the hand with the flat side of his blade. The blow caused the man to drop his sword and yelp in pain. Each of the other men attacked at once, hoping to catch the
half-elf off guard. Sev dodged backward and then kicked a stool at one of his attackers. He stepped toward the other attacker and parried his overhead blow. With a laugh, he stepped forward again and then kicked the man in the gut.

The two men started scrambling backward, tripping over various pieces of furniture that were located around the room. After the two men
had fallen to the floor, Sev grabbed Caitlyn’s hand and the two ran for the backdoor. Solin grabbed a nearby table and slid it up against the door he was bracing. He positioned it in such a way that it would effectively hold the door for several minutes before following the half-elves out the backdoor. The townsfolk were surprised to see the three exit the backdoor of the barracks. Unsure of which side to choose, the villagers decided against getting involved. Sev placed his thumb and middle finger of his left hand into his mouth and whistled. His men started appearing from various locations, some at the bazaar, some on rooftops, and others just milling about town. He pointed for the edge of town, and they all began to run for the trees.

“Don’t let them get away!” Anthony yelled as his troops made chase.

*

Arcantos stepped out of the war tent and walked among his troops. The siege of Carmalia had started early the day before. Galimdorian siege engines had managed to tear apart a large section of the ramparts of the Carmalian castle. However, the Wizards appeared from seemingly nowhere and charged forward, destroying the siege engines. Arcantos had anticipated losing the siege engines at one point or another. He was upset that they hadn’t lasted as long as he had hoped, but they were still only a fraction of the plan. The wall itself was still intact, even in the part where they had focused their siege weapons. That section had been cut down to half the size of the rest of the walls. None of that mattered, Arcantos had a plan for taking down the walls and keeping the Carmalians holed up in the keep. He needed the rest of the southern kingdoms to commit to the war, but a siege against each individual kingdom would take away too much of the Galimdorians’ power.

His plan was much more devious. He would breach the outer walls and allow the Carmalians to retreat into the keep, at which point in time he would find a way to goad the Wizards into tearing apart the landscape and making it nearly impossible to take the keep without heavy casualties. This action would leave the Galimdorians only one choice, they would be forced to starve the Carmalians. Such a maneuver would allow for the Wizards to contact their counterparts in Cardinia and Sardinia. At which point, they would have no choice but to marshal their armies and fight the Galimdorians in the open fields. The Holy Order would be preoccupied by Witches and Necromancers, the dwarves would be preoccupied by the orcs, the elves would be preoccupied by the trolls, and the southern kingdoms would be preoccupied by the Galimdorians. Arcantos’ plan was falling into place, soon the entire land would be engulfed in a series of wars.

“Prepare to take the walls, men. I will provide you with a means,” Arcantos said as he strode toward the large Carmalian castle.

The troops, frightened at the thought of being reprimanded by Arcantos, lined up in formation. None of them understood what he was talking about as they had all seen the siege weapons get destroyed by the Wizards. Only the Knights of Doom were eager to take up their positions at the head of the army. They had worked with Arcantos for years and knew what he was capable of. Many of them were looking forward to seeing what it was that he would do to the enemy walls. Arcantos stopped just far enough so that the enemy arrows couldn’t reach him. He raised his staff up into the air, and the earth began to quiver. The earth around the moat began to crack, and the water started to seep through. Within moments, the entire moat had disappeared, and the remains were being filled in with dirt. The mage closed his eyes and continued to wave his staff in the air. He knew that the motion didn’t matter, but the majority of the enemies weren’t magic users, and the display was to intimidate them.

A small dirt ramp began to form near the partially destroyed wall. It grew in size until it was large enough to support ten men wide and it reached all the way to the top of the damaged part of the wall. The Carmalians rushed from their spots on the wall to gather at the point at the top of the ramp. Arcantos watched as nearly a fourth of the Carmalian army gathered on the broken part of the wall. He thrust his staff forward and the ramp acted like a giant battering ram, slamming against the wall. The force of the collision shook the very foundations of the wall. He did it again, shaking the wall even more this time. After a third time, the wall fell backward, leaving a gaping hole into the courtyard of the castle. Arcantos lowered his staff and the ramp crumbled away, leaving his troops an open shot at the enemy keep. The Carmalians clambered into the keep as fast as they could, barely escaping the oncoming army.

Arcantos ordered his men to fall back to the outer wall and watched as the Wizards began casting their spells. As he had predicted, the Wizards were aiming for the ground and not his troops. Though it looked strange to the Galimdorians and Carmalians, Arcantos knew it was a sound strategy. He couldn’t take the keep if his men couldn’t get to it. It didn’t matter though, the leader of the Knights of Doom had a plan that would force the Carmalians to exit their castle and engage the Galimdorians in the open field. He sat down at the top of the gatehouse on the outer wall.
We didn’t even have to fight anyone
, he thought as he glanced around and saw no new casualties. He sat and waited for his commanders to report on the situation.

“Sir, we’ve taken complete control of the outer wall. There were no Carmalians soldiers to be found. We are currently conducting a sweep of the area to make sure they don’t have any trapdoors or secret passages with which they can surprise us.” One of the Commanders gave his report.

“Excellent, you said we control the entirety of the wall? Have you found any evidence of where the Wizards came from when they attacked our siege engines?” Arcantos asked.

“I’m afraid we don’t know where the attack came from. The only exit is the gatehouse
, and it was closed the entire time. It is entirely possible that the attack came from the village and not the castle. We haven’t thoroughly checked the town yet. Our preliminary sweep indicated that the villagers had departed for the castle.”