The Bander Adventures Box Set 2

by Randy Nargi

  “Rest assured that both Ramipoor and Tarist are working night and day to remedy this grievous error.”

  “Any news?”

  “Other than Bryn Eresthar stepping down? No. But if you ask me, it speaks to his guilt.” Lestralle’s eyes darted around the perimeter of Herron’s cell. There were no wards in sight. Good.

  “Eresthar?”

  “Yes. The man is a master manipulator. Everyone knows it.”

  “I don’t know much about him, to be honest.”

  “Consider yourself lucky, Master Herron. Consider yourself lucky indeed. I shouldn’t be surprised if in the end Eresthar is exposed and the Guild is exonerated.”

  “I know that we are innocent.”

  Lestralle beckoned Herron closer and spoke in a hushed voice. "We must stick together, my friend. Stay alert. I may be able to free you soon. Do not reply!"

  And then in a louder voice, he said, “Good afternoon, Master Herron. Keep your spirits up!”

  Herron was a simpleton indeed. He stood at the cell door, gaping as Lestralle walked away. It would not be difficult to free the man, but he would have to execute the timing perfectly.

  As he moved down the corridor, Lestralle couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of those who constructed the Citadel. Even though the structure was over a thousand years old, the stone blocks still fit together perfectly and the walls were straight and true. He also was impressed by the proportions of the corridors, which seemed to be roughly 60% taller than they were wide. Most pleasing, indeed. He began to think that the Citadel might serve as a good home for him when things settled down. But for now, he had to concentrate on the task at hand.

  Raggur Nil and nearly 200 other battle mages were imprisoned in one large room that ran the entire length of the Citadel. It was a former banquet hall, but now the open archways which made up the long wall were freshly inset with relorcan bars. And the occupants of the hall were anything but festive.

  Lestralle scanned the crowd for Raggur Nil and observed the man speaking to a knot of other mages. Unlike the air of resignation he detected in the wing filled with mages of the Black Following, the mood here was angry and energized. Which was good for the plan.

  Eventually, Lestralle was able to catch his apprentice's eye, and Raggur Nil made his way to one of the barred archways.

  “Master.” The tall mage bowed. “What news?”

  “None yet. And you?”

  “We’re ready. 58 will join us. Another two dozen may as well.”

  “Any who will give us trouble?”

  “There are one or two loyalists, but I have plans for them.”

  “Excellent. Herron’s cell has no wards, as I thought. So it shall be easy enough to free him. Once you see him approach, with or without me, commence.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  Lestralle ran his finger along the mortar surrounding the brickwork that supported the relorcan bars. This workmanship was shoddy and rushed. Raggur Nil and a few dozen of his fellow prisoners should have no problem.

  “It won’t be long now, Raggur Nil.”

  “I am ready.”

  With that, Lestralle made his way back upstairs to his own chamber and looked out of the window towards the mountains.

  Chapter Seventeen

  THE WARDS SOUNDED AGAIN. This time, Bander knew it was trouble. He took Silbra Dal and Hirbo Thrang to his hiding place outside of the lodge, while the rest of the team waited in the stables.

  Two riders approached. Shielders. There would be one more at the end of the road, hanging back in case there was trouble. One of the Shielders pointed to the smoke issuing from the chimney. They dismounted and one readied his crossbow. The other walked around the building and tried to look into the windows. Then they conferred for a few moments, probably deciding whether or not they should knock.

  Bander signaled the two mages. In quick succession, Hirbo Thrang cast silence which prevented the two men from alerting the third. And then Silbra Dal threw a pair of magic bolts at the soldiers, which exploded soundlessly, but left large gaping holes in their bodies.

  “I didn’t order them obliterated, Mistress,” Bander said.

  “She’s still working on her control,” Hirbo Thrang said.

  “My control is perfect,” Silbra Dal replied. “I did what I needed to do.”

  Bander shook his head. “There is a third man, waiting at the beginning of the road.”

  “How do you know?” Silbra Dal asked. “I don’t detect anyone else.”

  “That’s how they do it. And he’s probably out of range of your wards.”

  “I’ve got him,” Hirbo Thrang said.

  “Don’t let him suffer.”

  Bander collected the Shielders’ weapons and horses then, with Faramir Boldfist’s help, dragged the bodies into the forest and started to bury them. Two minutes later Hirbo Thrang arrived leading a horse draped with the body of the third soldier, who was just as dead as the first two, but a lot less mangled. Jaden joined them and helped to camouflage the graves so they would not be detected.

  Then they all washed and returned to the hall.

  “We need to gather all the bedclothes and any furniture with cloth and burn it,” Bander said.

  “Not the divan!” Caddakin said. “That’s been in the Calain family for generations.”

  “It’s fine, Caddakin. Bander’s right,” Etthar Calain said. “They may return with mages who can collect a scrap of cloth or some hair and use divination to track us.”

  “Not if we teleport,” Meomannan Quill said.

  “I am still concerned about that,” Bander said. He explained to Meomannan Quill about his portal sickness.

  The old mage nodded. “That’s bad luck. There are treatments, however.”

  Wegg said, “Minceweed?”

  “Yes, it helps stabilize the blood.”

  “An old wives’ tale, I’m afraid. Minceweed helps with foul breath, but not much else. However, I have examined the Captain recently, and as long as he limits his teleportation to once every month or less, I do not think there is much danger of his death.”

  “What do you say, old friend?” Bryn Eresthar asked.

  “I want to see Gredarl Kar’s fortress for myself.”

  “That means we need to relocate to the Steading,” Etthar Calain said.

  "So you either teleport or take half a month to travel by horse," Hirbo Thrang said.

  “We don’t have half a month,” Bander said.

  Jaden said, “I know of a place we can stay in the Steading.”

  “Another one of your personal holdings?” Etthar Calain asked.

  "As a matter of fact, yes. An old cooperage on the edge of town. Last fall I built a new facility closer to the river. I'm in the process of selling the old building, but for now, it is vacant. It's not as comfortable as the lodge here, but it's a damned sight better than the other building I own."

  “I’m afraid to ask,” Niam said.

  “It’s a tannery.”

  “I vote for the cooperage.”

  “I thought you might. In any case, there’s plenty of room.”

  “Good,” Bander said. “All of you, gather what you need, and as I said, burn everything your head touched.”

  “What about me?” Caddakin asked.

  “You’re coming too. Unless you prefer being tortured by the Shielders who come looking for their fellow soldiers.”

  “I don’t think so,” the old caretaker said. “My place is here. It’s always been here.”

  “Nonsense, Caddakin,” Etthar Calain said. “The Captain is right. They will kill you, but not before they force you to reveal what you know about our plans.”

  “What if I go to the Hoylton’s estate? They owe you a favor, m’lord.”

  “Who are the Hoyltons?” Bander asked.

  Etthar Calain said, “Next manor over. Maybe three miles away. Good people. Rols Hoylton used to own a smelting business.”

  “It’s up to you,” Bander said
. “But if you go, you need to take all the horses and the carriage. We want this place to look like you left in a hurry.”

  “I can do that,” Caddakin said.

  “What about the Shielder’s horses?” Jaden asked.

  “They can’t be found here,” Bryn Eresthar said.

  “Silbra Dal and I will take them. We’ll ride north for an hour then let them loose,” Hirbo Thrang said. “That will confuse things.”

  “Good thinking,” Bander said. “Let’s get going. There will be another group coming to check on these Shielders, and I don’t want to have to bury any more bodies.”

  “One more thing,” Jaden said. He handed Bander a torn scrap of paper. “Partially burn this, but make sure it can be read.”

  Bander examined the paper. It was a note that read Rundlun settling down. Safe to return. Meet at the—

  He smiled.

  Chapter Eighteen

  THE SUMMONED FIRESPAWN RAGED THROUGH THE CITADEL IN OLD LAUSK, FLINGING GUARDS LIKE THEY WERE RAG DOLLS. Flames billowed from the creature’s body, igniting tapestries and rugs—and the clothing of anyone unfortunate enough to come within a few feet of the monster.

  In the confusion, Lestralle used a suffocate spell to knock a guard unconscious and take his keys. He then ran to Herron’s cell and began to unlock it.

  “Quickly!”

  “What is happening?” Herron asked.

  “We’re getting you out of here.”

  “What about—?”

  “No time! Follow me!”

  Lestralle led Herron down the hallway and past where the battle mages were imprisoned. He motioned to Raggur Nil who began to rally the other mages. With a great cry, they surged against a set of bars. The fresh mortar was no match for the force of a dozen men. It soon gave way and the gate crashed outwards.

  The mages cheered and began to swarm out of the hall.

  A trio of guards, drawn by the commotion, rounded the corner. “Halt!” They raised their crossbows.

  Lestralle ducked behind a throng of men to hide and then rapidly created a swirling plasma sphere around the guards, sealing them into a prison of their own. With any luck, the guards would not be able to determine who thwarted them.

  At the same time, Raggur Nil positioned himself near Herron and opened a portal. He yelled, “To Herron! He is freeing us!”

  The confused Guild Master exclaimed, "What do you—?" But then Raggur Nil grabbed the man and tossed him through the portal.

  A good number of mages followed Raggur Nil into the portal, but Lestralle took the opportunity to slip away and race upstairs to help fight the firespawn. When this was all over, he would be the trusted witness able to recount how Herron of the Black broke free dozens of battle mages and led their escape.

  Chapter Nineteen

  AS BANDER WALKED THROUGH THE STREETS OF THE STEADING, HE THOUGHT IT FELT BETTER NOT BE A WANTED MAN FOR ONCE. Although that could change at any moment. Still, Jaden’s ploy with the note should throw Chiran Hemmig’s men off their trail. At least for a few days.

  They had all teleported just outside of the city and had entered in separate groups so as not to arouse suspicion. Bander had felt no ill effects from the teleportation process, and Wegg checked him carefully before pronouncing him fit.

  After visiting their new base, Jaden’s cooperage, they had split up again to gather supplies—all except Faramir Boldfist. Before he turned to thievery, Faramir Boldfist had been an accomplished carpenter. So he had volunteered to build them cots. There was plenty of clean dry wood, tools, and hardware in the cooperage, but they would need blankets and bedding materials—which was what Bander hauled in his cart. The others were gathering food and drink, cloth to cover the windows, clothing and other items they could use to disguise themselves, weapons, and various other necessities.

  By the time night fell, they were all back in the cooperage. As Bander walked through the structure, he was struck by the building's sheer size. It was maybe 50 yards long and 25 wide and rose up two storeys. Most of the space was open, but along one side of the structure ran a catwalk and a series of offices and store rooms on the second floor. You could stand on the catwalk and look out on the floor below. Presumably, that's where the foreman stood on duty, checking to see that everything was proceeding correctly with the workers below.

  The big open floor held racks of wood and steel strips used to make hoops for the barrels. There were work benches and walls where tools would have been hung. Most were gone now. Probably moved to the new facility, but there were a few saws, chisels, carving knives, planes, hammers, and other implements scattered around. The far wall was made of stone with six massive fireplaces that were tall enough to walk into and went back a good fifteen feet. Jaden explained that’s where the barrels would be torched after being soaked. The fire apparently made the staves more pliable.

  Faramir Boldfist had completed ten out of the eleven beds needed, but then Meomannan Quill announced that he would be staying someplace else.

  “My presence here would be an added danger,” he explained.

  “Where will you go?” Etthar Calain asked.

  “Not far, and I will check in regularly. I have my own tasks to pursue. But I will leave you with a bit of information about Ahantophan’s fortress, now occupied by Gredarl Kar.”

  The all gathered around.

  “I knew Ahantophan. Not well, but well enough to know that he was paranoid.”

  “Paranoid?” Bryn Eresthar asked.

  “Yes. He was certain that other mages were jealous of him and the trove he had amassed. He felt sure that a mage would murder him in his sleep.”

  “But he was murdered by Gredarl Kar,” Etthar Calain said.

  “Yes. And it was especially ironic, since Ahantophan went to considerable lengths to protect himself—although he was mostly focused on defending against magical attacks.”

  Bander asked, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean Ahantophan came into possession of an artifact known as the Tree Heart. I don’t suppose any of you have heard of it…”

  No one had.

  "No matter, it is quite obscure. The Tree Heart has the unique ability to nullify magic. Throughout the entire fortress."

  “Impossible,” Silbra Dal said.

  “It is not impossible, child. Think of relorcan.”

  “Relorcan has a range of no more than a single yard. Nothing could nullify magic throughout an entire structure. That would take too much power.”

  “The Tree Heart is an artifact. As such it works in ways we do not fully understand. But you are correct in one way. It requires an enormous amount of power to operate. According to those who have seen the Tree Heart for themselves, the artifact consumes gold bars.”

  “What?” Hirbo Thrang exclaimed.

  “The artifact must be fed bars of gold from time to time. It must convert the gold to energy somehow. As I said, we are far from understanding exactly how it works, but we do know that it does work.”

  “And how do we know that, Grand Guildmaster?” Jaden asked.

  “Over the years, mages have tried to teleport in. To now avail. Mages inside have tried to cast spells. Even the simplest, most rudimentary spells fizzle within the walls of the fortress. One cannot even cast light inside. Thirty years ago, Gazendra cast a fireball from one hundred paces. It evaporated into nothingness before it could get within fifty feet. This was Gazendra, mind you.”

  Jaden sighed. "So besides the cut-down grass so one can't sneak up the the fortress, the super-sharp shards of magic glass that will cut you in two if you try to climb the walls, and the fact that no magic works within fifty feet—"

  “Don’t forget the towers,” Etthar Calain said.

  “Towers?”

  “Did I not mention those? Four towers manned with archers day and night. They have a perfect field of view and can hit anything within 200 yards. Supposedly, Gredarl Kar collects the best marksmen in the world and pays them extremely well.”

&nb
sp; “So the consensus is that this fortress is truly and wholly impenetrable,” Jaden said.

  “Indeed,” Etthar Calain said.

  “I still want to see it for myself,” Bander said.

  Chapter Twenty

  “SO, HAS EVERYONE MADE THEIR DECISION?” Asryn bellowed. He stood on a table, which elevated him above the horde of mages in the courtyard of Gredarl Kar’s fortress. There were a good 75 battle mages milling about. More than he had ever seen in one place. Aglaard Shie stood nearby and nodded for Asryn to continue.

  “Gather ’round, everybody. I’m eager to hear what you all have to say.”

  The mages quieted and moved closer to the makeshift stage upon which the Lord Governor of Waterside stood.

  “So you all have had some time — and hopefully some wine and victuals too. I know this is probably a lot to take in, but the moment of reckoning is before us. I need to know if you are with us and want to remain here under our protection until we can stop this insane and misguided persecution of the Guild. Some of you have asked ’how long’ and the honest answer is I don’t rightly know. Could be a day, could be a week. Doubtful that it would be more than that, though.”

  “Pardon, Your Grace,” a mage called. “A question, if I may.”

  “Go right ahead, son. We’re all in this together. I’ll do my best to answer anything that’s on your mind.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace. Earlier you said that this place was a safe haven, that no one could find us here, including any other mages. How can you be certain of that?”

  “Well, sir, I’m not certain of much…” He paused to let the crowd laugh. “I’m not certain of much, but I am certain that no one will be able to find you here. You see my friend, Kar, inherited this pile from a canny old mage who put in place something very special. I don’t know the exact nature of the device, but you folks would probably call it an ’artifact.’ Now, this particular artifact, which is called the ’Tree Heart’ if I got that right, this Tree Heart can completely and utterly block magic. Not just in a room, but throughout this entire fortress. From top to bottom, wall to wall.”