The King's Summons

by Adam Glendon Sidwell

  Blaze jogged in Dreck’s oversized footprints, leaving the trail behind and weaving into a wintery wood dense with underbrush.

  “This is crazy,” Blaze said between heavy breaths, not loud enough to question the princess’s authority. “We’re going to get lost in here.”

  As if in answer, the company of jogging orcs parted, and Princess Sapphire moved next to Blaze. “Ember Mage! I see you have joined our company,” Princess Sapphire said. There was disapproval in her voice. She glanced at Blaze’s empty hands. “I am sorry to see you have lost your staff. That would have been useful.”

  Did she know? Either way, the comment stung. Blaze pushed back the start of a tear. “Uh, yeah. It’s real sad.”

  After all these years of idolizing Princess Sapphire, the princess talked to her like this? Did she know that she was everything Blaze wanted to be? Did she know that Blaze had come all the way to the bitter cold of the Frostbyte Reach just to find her? Blaze had risked everything to find her.

  Worse yet, Blaze had made a grave mistake in Princess Sapphire’s eyes when Blaze had melted the black diamond. Blaze hadn’t meant to. She had just been trying to save the jotnar.

  Princess Sapphire didn’t seem to notice Blaze’s discomfort. She looked to Dreck. “Our carefully laid plans will have to change course.”

  Dreck grunted in agreement. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  How well did Dreck know the princess? Clearly, they had made plans together. All this time Blaze had been trying to protect Princess Sapphire by not telling Dreck that she was here. But Dreck knew anyway. Apparently there was a lot more Dreck knew that he wasn’t telling her.

  “And where did you find this tagalong?” Princess Sapphire asked. She glanced toward Blaze. That was not what Blaze wanted to be called. She was so much more than that, wasn’t she?

  “He was helping me,” said Blaze.

  “Oh,” said Princess Sapphire, “To do what?”

  “He was helping me find you,” muttered Blaze. Then she added quickly, “Your Majesty.”

  Princess Sapphire gave a quizzical expression. “Why were you looking for me?”

  “Ah,” Blaze said, failing to think of a sophisticated way to explain it. “Your father was worried about you. Said he hadn’t heard from you in weeks. He sent me to discover if you’d been waylaid or kidnapped or . . . you know. Killed.”

  “Killed?” Princess Sapphire said, her voice serious. “Yes, that sounds like father. I am sorry I made him worry, but my task here is important.” Her eyes became distant. “We were so close to saving that jotnar,” she said in a whisper, not loud enough for the others to hear.

  “I . . .” Blaze said. She couldn’t find the words. She wanted to apologize for melting the black diamond, but she wasn’t quite sure how to say it. “I didn’t mean to . . .”

  Princess Sapphire cut her off. “What’s done is done,” she said. “We’d been planning that for months. When we found out that the Iron Collar was on its way to Cernonos, we intercepted it. Cernonos wasn’t going to stop until he had it. So we gave it to him but on our terms. Modified, sabotaged, and with only one small problem—it didn’t quite work. The black diamond acted as a suppressant. It actually blocked the runes from working. It’s delicate magic. It would have taken him weeks, maybe even months to figure out why it had failed. And that would have bought us precious time.”

  Blaze looked down at the snow. “So you knew Dreck was going to give it to him.”

  “Knew?” said Princess Sapphire. “The Iron Collar. The black diamond. That was all part of the plan. Dreck had been working for me from the very start.”

  Blaze smoldered inside, but this time, it was less from hurt than embarrassment. How could she have been so wrong about so many things? She thought she saw Dreck looking at her from the corner of her vision. She couldn’t meet his eyes. Not now.

  “And now we need new plans,” said Princess Sapphire. “To deal with an entirely new set of circumstances.”

  Princess Sapphire looked at Blaze again. Her majestic features seemed to soften. “So, King Worrywart sent an Ember Mage to the Frostbyte Reach.” She shook her head. “Typical.”

  Then she added with a slight smile. “Dad,” she said to herself.

  “Speaking of staffs, Dreck—where is yours?” Princess Sapphire asked.

  “Taken by the Rimefrost Orcs,” said Dreck. He lifted a heavy bow. “Took this instead.”

  “Good,” said Princess Sapphire. “Now where is that entrance?”

  Princess Sapphire kicked at a large rock, and a levered hatchway opened up and inward, revealing a low-ceilinged passage. It was lit by torches mounted on the walls.

  A blast of warm air wrapped around Blaze and warmed her face. “Dwarf tunnel—brilliant!” said Blaze. At least they’d be sheltered from the wind in there, and it would be nice to be out of the snow for once.

  “Not just any dwarf tunnel. This is a branch of the Torch Road. Everyone below!” commanded Princess Sapphire. “Cernonos will be right behind us. Our best hope is that he doesn’t find this entrance.”

  Blaze went first, carefully ducking down below the surface. The Crook-Eye Orcs squeezed in behind her.

  The walls were evenly carved, and the floor was paved with perfectly cut, flat stones. The craftsmanship was incredible. There wasn’t a hint of imperfection in the floor, except where a pair of metal rails ran along the floor into a branch of the tunnel. So this portion had been a mine once. It branched into three tunnels.

  Just in front of Blaze was a large, overturned, round-bottomed bucket on wheels—a mine car. It trembled slightly.

  It wasn’t empty.

  Princess Sapphire sniffed. “I thought I smelled mead,” she said. She struck the side of the metal mine car like a gong. It rang out, echoing down the passage. Two napping dwarfs snorted in unison and leapt to their feet, facing opposite directions, their fists raised to fight.

  “Intruders!” called one.

  “I’ll break their necks!” bellowed the other.

  One wore a brass belt buckle almost the size of a dinner plate that read “BORT” in bold letters, and the other wore an equally ostentatious buckle with the word “TORT” written on it. Each dwarf had an enormous ax strapped to his back and looked about as thick around as an orc, minus a significant amount of height.

  Princess Sapphire stood unflinching, looking them over. “Ah, the Thunder Twins,” she said. “Famous for your antics, exploits, and perhaps most of all, your mischief.”

  The two heavyset dwarves turned to face her. They dropped their jaws. “You’re . . .” muttered one.

  “Yes, I’m Princess Sapphire,” she said. “An honor to meet you both. We need to use this branch of the Torch Road to get to Foruk’s Falls. There is a secret entrance into the city. Can you lead us there?”

  They grinned toothy grins.

  “Right this way,” said Bort, pointing left.

  “You mean this way,” said Tort, pointing right.

  Princess Sapphire glared at them. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said.

  The twins nodded at each other. Despite their long beards, they couldn’t have been more than adolescents. Their dark, beady eyes sparkled with life.

  “Let’s go that way,” they both said, pointing down a middle passage.

  They scrambled down the passage. Princess Sapphire marched after them. Blaze and the orcs followed close behind.

  The torches embedded every few feet into the rock gave off a warm, yellow glow that filled the whole tunnel. It was brighter than any tavern lit by a blazing hearth and lamplight. An occasional purple or green gem embedded in the rock flashed as they passed.

  “What news can you give me of King Holm Everbright?” Princess Sapphire asked.

  “Dad—same as always. We knew something was happening here in the Reach. We’ve been watching the orcs move. So, Dad told us to stay put,” said Bort.

  “May as well have ordered us to c
ome,” said Tort. “We thought armies would be here days ago to free Foruk’s Falls. What took you so long?”

  “Our battle did not go well,” Princess Sapphire said. “A jotnar is under Cernonos’s control. We have only a matter of hours to free Foruk’s Falls and regroup before that monster lays waste to the entire valley.”

  Veins popped up on the twins’ foreheads like trails from a burrowing mole on a lawn. Their jaws clenched in anger, and Tort shook like he was going to explode. “How dare they!” Bort cried through bits of spittle that escaped through his mustache.

  “We planted a false gem in the Iron Collar to sabotage their plan,” said Princess Sapphire. “It would have left a critical weakness in the Iron Collar used to control the jotnar.”

  “What happened?” Bort demanded.

  “It . . . was discovered,” Princess Sapphire said, without looking at Blaze.

  “We could’ve—” started Blaze.

  “No you could not,” Princess Sapphire cut her off. Suddenly Blaze felt small and helpless.

  “What we need now is a plan,” said Princess Sapphire.

  Bort gave a vicious grin. “To free Foruk’s Falls? No problem.” He scratched his beard for a moment, then looked at Tort. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Tort rubbed his hands together. “Ever capture a snow fort from your friends?”

  Princess Sapphire shook her head.

  “The key is to lure them out and then claim it for yourself,” said Tort.

  “I see. So who will lure them out while we wait to claim the city?” asked Princess Sapphire.

  Tort pointed at Blaze. “I vote her.”

  “Seconded,” echoed the other twin.

  Me? What was she going to do? “Twins only get one vote,” she said.

  “Well it certainly won’t be one of them,” said Princess Sapphire, pointing to the brawny Crook-Eyes. “Thirded,” she said. “I’m not even sure that’s a word.”

  “I once heard Gork say it,” Tort droned. “So, it’s a word.”

  The princess inclined her head. “Gork is their older brother. He’s next in line for the throne.”

  “The runt,” said the twins in unison.

  Princess Sapphire turned to Blaze. “Here’s your chance, Ember Mage. What is your plan to lure the orcs out of the city?”

  Blaze’s mind drained of thought. With a princess and two dwarf princes staring at her, the pressure was on. She drew her hood close to hide her embarrassment.

  “Well, we need to make them think that if they wait to attack, things will only get worse—I can cast a few fire spells to make it convincing. But we need them to bring their entire garrison outside the walls. How can I—”

  Tort interrupted her. “Meanwhile, we’ll sneak in through a secret tunnel and lock the gates behind them.”

  “Anyone left inside,” Bort chuckled to himself, “gets to deal with me.”

  “And me!” cried Tort.

  “You only get a third of them, Tort, since you get to lock the gates. I get two thirds.”

  “I don’t want to lock the gates. You lock the gates. I get two thirds.”

  “Boys!” Princess Sapphire snapped. “That’s quite enough. You will both lock the gates, and I get anyone left.”

  “Pulling rank . . .” Bort grumbled.

  Despite the dwarf’s natural overconfidence, the whole venture hinged on Blaze being able to come up with a distraction so grand the orcs would be forced to attack immediately.

  So give them what they want.

  “Princess, we need to switch clothes,” said Blaze.

  “I see,” Princess Sapphire said, her eyes narrowing at Blaze.

  The Thunder Twins looked back and forth at both of them.

  “We have a dwarvish army at the end of this tunnel,” said Bort. “They’ve been watching Foruk’s Falls, lying in wait for King Holm Everbright to send orders from Dwarfholm Bastion.”

  Princess Sapphire brightened. “How many soldiers?”

  Bort started counting on his fingers. When he used them up, he started using Tort’s. “Can you take off my boots? I’m not done counting yet.”

  “No!” Princess Sapphire exclaimed. Out of the side of her mouth she whispered. “Never take off a dwarf’s boots in an enclosed space.”

  She gave a nod of approval. “I think that will be enough if what the Ember Mage has in mind is as good as I think it is.”

  Chapter 15: Foruk’s Falls

  “It’s not going to be enough.”

  Blaze stood beside Princess Sapphire, who bit her lip as she surveyed the group.

  The dwarf soldiers had gathered in the secret tunnel beneath the ancient city of Foruk’s Falls. They weren’t nearly as beefy as Bort or Tort. The Thunder Twins, despite their dwarvish stature, outweighed most full-grown men. The dwarf soldiers were a head shorter than Blaze, who was already done with most of her growth. They were well disciplined, keeping to absolute silence before the assault, and their mail and armor was in good condition. But there just weren’t enough of them.

  Only a few dozen feet overhead was an entire city being held hostage. “The scouts report that things are bad up there. The people can’t hold out much longer under orc rule,” said Princess Sapphire.

  “You don’t have any more of that concealment potion you used earlier, do you?” Blaze asked.

  “Not hardly. One bottle is worth a small fiefdom. And you—any potions?” said Princess Sapphire.

  “Used up my Fire Water on a company of kobolds. It was a good thing the quartermaster at Crystalia Castle put some in the top of my pack.”

  “He did the same trick to me,” Princess Sapphire said. “I wouldn’t have taken the Essence of Glass from the Castle if I had known it was in there. It might have been our last bottle.”

  For all the danger that awaited them outside, Princess Sapphire did not seem on edge. Clearly, she had been in a major battle before and knew how to keep her nerves.

  Blaze felt like a nervous wreck. “I’ll, um, take the shaman, and another six of the elder Crook-Eyes,” Blaze said. After a moment’s pause, she sighed. He’s the only one I know. “And I’ll take Dreck. You can take the younger warriors. They’ll be more useful in the battle.”

  “Very well,” Princess Sapphire said. “Good luck to you.” She handed Blaze her second, smaller sword. The one that didn’t flame. Blaze would have had a hard time wielding the larger, first sword convincingly. “And don’t mess this up.”

  Blaze gulped. Here was her hero, giving her an impossible mission, even though Blaze had ruined their plan to save the jotnar. No pressure.

  Princess Sapphire raised her sword. “The people of Foruk’s Falls are slaves to the army of the Dark Consul,” she said, her voice echoing down the tunnel. “Their food feeds the orc overlords. Their homes and taverns have been turned to barracks. The citizens are treated like beasts of burden. But today, we free them!”

  The dwarves banged their axes against their shields just once, then fell silent again.

  It was time. Blaze was going out in front of an entire orc garrison dressed as one of the five most wanted people on the Dark Consul’s list—the crown Princess Sapphire.

  “Tell plan,” Dreck said. He was surrounded by several of his tribesmen, each aged beyond their prime. Strong, but not as powerful in battle as the warriors that would go with Princess Sapphire.

  “We’ll talk on the way,” Blaze said. She led the way up a side tunnel, using the gem in the sword hilt to light the way. It seemed to fill all of the dark corners with its light.

  “Princess Sapphire said the tunnel bought us several hours on Cernonos’s army, if not an entire day,” Blaze said. “But they will be here soon. Our best chance is to defeat the army at Foruk’s Falls before they combine forces with Cernonos’s army.”

  “So how?” said an orc.

  “We will try to draw the orcs out of the city, while Princess Sapphire and the dwarve
s capture the fortifications and free the dwarf soldiers being held captive.

  “Divide enemy. Join allies,” Dreck said. “Good plan.”

  “It’s our best hope of surviving,” said Blaze. She was trying to act confident. Now that Princess Sapphire was separated from them, Blaze had to at least pretend she knew what she was doing.

  She still had no idea though how the fortifications at Foruk’s Falls could withstand an assault from an ice giant. Better to have some defense over none.

  “Now listen carefully,” Blaze said. “This is what we humans call ‘a charade.’”

  ***

  Minutes later, Blaze and her orc entourage emerged from the hidden tunnel exit less than a quarter mile from the city gates.

  For the first time, Blaze was able to see the city up close. Built at the base of a huge granite mountain, Foruk’s Falls was protected by a half-circle wall protruding from the rock on either side. The homes, taverns, estates, and shops were tucked safely inside the semi-circle wall. Perhaps the most striking feature of all, the landmark that had given the city its name, was the enormous frozen waterfall that had fallen from the mountainside into the center of the city. It looked like a giant stalagmite, a column of sparkling blue and white ice that must have weighed as much as a small mountain.

  Closer to Blaze, the evergreens on either side of the canyon road were thick enough to provide cover. Her palms were already sweating inside Princess Sapphire’s gauntlets despite the midnight chill.

  Stars overhead winked their various approvals and doubts about the forthcoming battle. Beside her, the Crook-Eye Orcs waited motionless.

  Perfect.

  With a prayer to the Goddess, Blaze raised her arm and gave the signal.

  Princess Sapphire would be in position by now. She had to be.

  Dreck draped his arm over the Crook-Eye Orc shaman Orktag. The two of them trudged through the snow toward the city gates, Dreck dragging his leg as if it were hurt and leaning most of his weight on Orktag.

  Orktag gave an orc signal, a barking grunt that sounded through the forest like a moose call.