Return of the Wizard King

by Chad Corrie

  One of the hobgoblins said something in Goblin. His set of hounds were drawing dangerously near where Dugan was hiding. The hobgoblin peered closer into the darkness covering the Telborian. Cadrissa watched Dugan’s body coil before he leapt from the shadows with a shout.

  “Dugan—wait!” Alara exclaimed, revealing her own position.

  The hobgoblins quickly recovered from their surprise, releasing the hounds from their master rings. Once loosed, they headed straight for the concealed intruders. The hobgoblin nearest Dugan charged him while his partner went after Alara.

  The first hobgoblin swung at Dugan, who ducked and hit the other’s arm with a return blow, causing him to lose his weapon. Spinning about, Dugan followed through with an arcing swing, slicing through a good portion of the hobgoblin’s neck. The hobgoblin staggered back, gurgling something indecipherable before dropping. Before Dugan could react, three of the dogs were upon him.

  The remaining hobgoblin grinned wickedly as he spied Alara. He gave his sword a couple of tight swings, trying to intimidate her. Alara stood her ground and studied his posture, searching for a weak spot.

  She feigned a run to the left. The hobgoblin swung in anticipation and missed as she danced away to the right. The swing left the hobgoblin unbalanced and Alara took advantage of the situation, slicing through her opponent’s neck. The hobgoblin collapsed, joining his partner in death.

  With the hobgoblin dead, she readied herself for the two dogs that followed. The first one leapt, intent on marring the elf’s face, but instead was greeted with a slash across the chest. The dog yipped in pain, retreating a few paces after landing, and leaving room for the second to pounce. Alara was faster on her feet, hacking the dog’s head from its neck and then finishing off the other with a few focused strikes.

  Cadrissa watched everything from where she’d hidden. She hoped for the best, but began thinking of ways she could better the outcome. She hadn’t traveled so far and seen such wonders to die by a pack of dogs. Acting on self-preservation, she cast a brief spell upon herself. A soft white aura embraced her for a moment before fading from sight. As she kept watch she saw Gilban silently standing against a wall, apparently oblivious to the danger.

  Vinder growled ferociously as he was set upon by two snarling dogs. Though the dwarf defended himself well, the faster beasts gnawed through his armor, drawing blood. This further angered him. His axe fell upon the first dog, lopping off its head with ease. On the upward stroke, the blade connected with the body of the second, cleaving it in half.

  Meanwhile, the three dogs attacking Dugan ripped into his legs. He fought them off as best he could, driving back their snarling jaws as they leapt, eagerly snipping at his face. Through the chaos, he got his hands around two of the dogs’ chain collars. He twisted them tight, doubling the chain and using all his strength to ram their heads together. The dogs collided with a wet thud and crack, before falling motionless to the ground.

  The third dog made a leap for Dugan’s throat, but he caught the beast’s jaws before they got a grip. Grunting, he pushed back against the dog’s hard press, getting a better hold on the animal. Once he had it, he broke its neck with a sudden jerk.

  It was then Cadrissa noted Rowan was dealing with three dogs of his own. They nipped, snarled, and gouged his flesh wherever they could. His newly acquired shield blocked some of their attempts, but others still got through. Shouting in his native tongue, he unleashed a down stroke, then up, then down again, each time cleaving a dog’s skull and brain.

  In the short time since it began, the bloody din died away, leaving only the messy remnant of their work. Sloppy and cruel, it had been anything but quiet.

  “Let’s move.” Alara led them forward, taking them up and around the corner. The twenty hobgoblins who greeted them stopped them in their tracks. Their leader shouted something in Goblin, urging the others on.

  “Get behind me,” said Cadrissa, working through the last parts of a spell in her mind. The others wasted no time complying. For a moment, as she closed her eyes and drew forth the energy from her well, there was a muffled clamor of voices, followed by silence. Oddly, she felt more powerful than usual, and the words to the spell slid from her lips with only the slightest effort.

  “Darin lacara elkim! Soreen.”

  A hot blast of lightning shot off the tips of her fingers and into the hobgoblins. The deadly energy killed the first line and continued on toward the ones behind them. These convulsed in pain, dropping just like the others. In short order all had fallen, the lightning disappearing as rapidly as their lives.

  Cadrissa leaned against the wall, steadying herself on weak legs and panting for breath amid the deafening silence. She knew she’d drawn deep into her well and would need time to recover if she was going to do anything quite as powerful again.

  “That’s one way to even the odds,” said Vinder, impressed.

  “But you didn’t get them all.” Dugan indicated a dark section of hallway from which the hobgoblins had emerged. A cowering bald goblin was slowly emerging from the shadows.

  Hadek had made some progress in his escape before he happened upon the band of hobgoblins, who’d detained him. They were taking him back to the throne room to await Khuthon knows what when they were sidetracked with the recent conflict. He’d no idea what was going on or why the dwarf, elves, and humans had come, and he didn’t really care.

  And while he could brave a run for it, the sight of the dead bodies around him gave him considerable pause. It was hard outrunning lightning. But he still might have a chance if he could just play the part right. Fate couldn’t be tempted too much, he understood, but it sometimes could be helped along.

  “Please spare me, mighty mistress.” He fell on his knees, groveling in grating Telboros within sight of the wizardess.

  “And who are you?” the dwarf demanded.

  “My name’s Hadek, and I mean you no harm.” He crawled closer, putting all he’d learned about survival to use. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

  The sandy-haired human in leather armor raised his sword. “He could be stalling for reinforcements.”

  “Hold, Rowan.” The blind elf lifted a warding hand. “This one too has a fate intertwined with ours.” Fate? Did he hear the elf correctly?

  “You serious?” The larger blond human snorted. “Let’s just kill him and move on.”

  The blind elf’s face took on a serious cast. “He’s a help to our cause, not a hindrance.”

  Again Hadek had to make sure he was hearing things correctly. Him? A help to these . . . whatever they were? And fated too, no less. What was going on? Why couldn’t he just get out of here without running into all these distractions?

  “All right.” The elven woman eyed Hadek. “I’m in no mood to argue. Come over here.” She motioned for him to join them. “If you can show us the quickest way out of here, we’ll let you go free once we get out.”

  “With pleasure.” He bowed politely before moving as close to the others as he thought appropriate. Not so close as to raise any discomfort but not so far away that they might think he was going to run at a moment’s notice. Maybe things weren’t going to be as difficult as he first thought.

  “What about checking out that ruined temple?” Rowan’s question caught the elven woman’s attention.

  “Ruined temple?” No. No. No. Keep moving. Why couldn’t they keep moving?

  “Yes,” added the black-haired wizardess. “What do you know about it?” He could see where this was going and had to get out of it somehow. He wasn’t going back there even if his life depended on it.

  “It’s too dangerous, Cadrissa,” said the elven woman to the mage.

  “Yes.” He quickly nodded. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “We’ve already had too many fights. We don’t need any more.” The elven woman started for Hadek. “We got what we came for, and I don’t want to risk losing it on something even more dangerous.”

  “But there could be more hidden knowled
ge there,” the mage pressed, stopping the elf in midstride. “It’d be foolish if we didn’t check as long as we’re here.”

  “Oh, there’s nothing there you’d want to see,” Hadek chimed in. “Just some old moldy books and—”

  “Books?” He didn’t like the way Cadrissa’s eyes had widened. “What type of books?”

  “Just moldy books—you wouldn’t want them—so let me—”

  “He is stalling for time.” Rowan lunged forward, intent on running him through.

  “No!” He jumped. “I-I, that is, you don’t really want to go to the old temple.”

  “And why not?” The dwarf glared at him with more than a little dislike.

  “Valan.” Hadek lowered his head. He could see he wasn’t going to get out of this, no matter how he tried. Best to speed it along as much as possible, hoping for the best.

  “And who’s this Valan?” asked the elven woman.

  “He’s a human—a wizard who’s taken hobgoblins to use for experiments,” he reluctantly continued. “He uses the books in the library to make his blue column work. It’s best to just avoid the place altogether.”

  “Tell me more about this blue column.” Cadrissa’s eyes flashed a soft blue for a moment—he was sure of it—before returning to their previous green hue. Oh, this wasn’t good at all. Why did he have to go and open his big mouth? He should have just kept to the shadows. They might have run right past him.

  “There’s a great blue column he believes can grant him power if he masters it. Even our chieftain was cast into it. He managed to survive, but the rest never came out alive.” He dared another peek, relieved her eyes were still green. But they still seemed slightly lost—as if in deep thought. Or maybe growing slightly mad . . .

  “How many books are there?” asked the elven woman.

  “A few.”

  “We’d better check it out, just to make sure nothing’s left for the Elyellium or anyone else.”

  The blind elf nodded. “I agree.”

  “But I thought you wanted to leave?” Hadek adopted an even more servile tone, making what he said next more a helpful suggestion than a desperate plea. “I’d be happy to—”

  “How many guards are there?” the elven woman interrupted.

  “It’s too dangerous,” he pleaded. “I can get you to the jungle, and then we can all be free.”

  “How many guards?” she firmly repeated.

  He bowed his head in defeat. “None since Valan started his experiments again.”

  “Then we might have surprise on our side,” she said.

  “It’s still very dangerous,” he repeated. “Valan is very deadly, and the room has no escape.” Maybe there was still hope—if he could just get them to see the idea was completely suicidal.

  “No escape?” Rowan lowered his sword point to the goblin’s chest. “You leading us into a trap?”

  “I guess there is the portal . . .” The words jumped out of his mouth before he could close his lips.

  “Portal?” Cadrissa’s eyes blazed with even greater interest.

  Hadek sighed. “There’s a magical portal on the wall. It allows people to travel from place to place—at least that’s how Valan got here.” His head lowered with another sigh.

  “If I could figure it out we might be able to use it to escape,” said Cadrissa. “It’d be better than trying to walk all the way back to Elandor.”

  “And do you think you even could figure it out?” the elven woman asked the mage.

  “I’d have to see it first,” she replied. “But if it really was recently used, then it’s working, and that could put things more in our favor.”

  “But we’d have to get through that wizard first,” said the blond warrior.

  “I could help distract him,” said Cadrissa. “Between the six of us we should be able to handle him.”

  “You sure about that?” The dwarf was clearly not entirely convinced.

  “If we can keep him from focusing for too long on anything, someone should be able to subdue him,” Cadrissa replied.

  “Subdue him.” The dwarf didn’t like the concept. “Why not just kill him?”

  “He might have some helpful information we could use,” said Cadrissa. “Like how to work that portal.”

  The dwarf snorted. “I’m not going to make any promises. If I get an opening I’m going to take it.”

  “I think we all will,” the blond warrior agreed.

  “But are you really going to trust a goblin, Alara?” the dwarf asked the elven woman. “I’d say you can’t trust them any farther than you can throw them.”

  “If Gilban says he’s a help to our cause then that means we can trust him.” Alara was watching the other elf, but if he said or did anything, Hadek didn’t notice.

  “So what’s it going to be?” The blond Telborian hurried things along. “We can’t keep standing here all day.”

  “If there is any more information there, we can’t risk it falling into the wrong hands.” Alara wiped her sword on her pant leg.

  “Agreed,” said the leather-armored human. “We need to check it out.”

  “Are you sure?” Hadek dared for one last hope at sanity—at finally gaining his escape.

  “Positive.” Alara remained resolute.

  So much for sanity.

  Chapter 30

  One is either weak or strong: the ruled or the ruler.

  —The Manual of Might

  “Where are the guards?” Vinder studied the temple. He and the others had been successfully—and rather rapidly—led there by Hadek. This was a feat in and of itself, since Vinder was expecting treachery at every turn. But their path was devoid of any trouble, letting them glide through the halls and stairs unopposed. But now, as they slowed their approach, he didn’t like the way things looked.

  “Gone,” said the goblin. “I told you nobody wants to be anywhere near Valan now. You still don’t have to go inside; we can—”

  “Keep going.” Alara prodded him with her falchion.

  Hadek led them onward.

  From time to time, the goblin waved his hand and sped them along whenever they lagged behind. For all his protests to the contrary, he seemed in a hurry to get there. He led them through a set of heavy wooden doors carved with an image similar in appearance to the statues they’d seen earlier. Except here its face and head had been destroyed by a vicious blade.

  The figure held a sword in one hand and what looked like a holy symbol in the other, though who it honored Vinder couldn’t say. Beyond the door, they traveled more ruined hallways lined with the bodies of dead dogs and butchered hobgoblins, like some demented meat market.

  “This doesn’t look good.” He clenched his axe tighter.

  “Stay sharp,” said Alara, taking decisive steps around the bodies and debris. Gilban surprisingly managed his own way with the occasional hand from Alara, keeping the chest tightly under his arm.

  Hadek led them up to and along the far wall of the temple, opposite the statues. As they moved deeper into the structure, they passed radiant, multicolored glass windows, most of which had been shattered by forces of nature or long-gone vandals. Some small scraps of glass still clung tenaciously to the windows’ lead lining like dry leaves on dead branches. In some windows, clusters of color had been preserved, forming vivid pictures of glorious deeds and heroic battles. But as before, all the humanoid figures were devoid of heads or faces.

  “We’re almost there.” Hadek maneuvered over the fallen mounds of flesh, nearly tripping over the cold arm of a large hobgoblin in the process.

  “All these were killed by magic,” Cadrissa said, grimacing as she skirted the bodies.

  “You still think you can take this mage?” he asked Cadrissa.

  “If he’s been using so much magic already he might be weaker,” she replied.

  “Might?” Vinder didn’t like the uncertainty behind her words.

  The goblin perked up at the exchange. “If you’re having second though
ts, there’s still time to turn back.”

  “Keep moving.” Alara dashed any such hopes as the goblin solemnly complied.

  Together they came to rest at a statue standing at the far end of the temple. It resembled the many lining the walls: dressed for war but lacking a head.

  “Push it open,” Hadek said, gesturing with an outward rowing motion.

  “What open?” Dugan asked, clearly not following.

  “The door.” Hadek motioned again. “Push it open.”

  “I think I know what he means.” Alara motioned with her hand, saying, “Just push the statue aside.”

  Dugan moved to the side where Hadek had directed and took a deep breath, then began pushing. His muscles flared for a moment as the statue scraped against stone, revealing a doorway behind it as tall as the stone figure itself and just as wide. From that eerily silent opening wafted the smell of decay and death like some foul, plague-ridden wind.

  “Down there,” Hadek said, pointing.

  “This better not be a trick,” Vinder growled.

  “No trick.” The goblin’s face paled.

  “Everyone, be on your guard,” said Alara. “Cadrissa, I want you to tell us the moment you feel any presence of this wizard or his magic. Rowan and Dugan, I want you up front. Vinder, you can cover our back.”

  Hadek started backing up. “I guess this is where we part ways.”

  Alara had other ideas. “You’re going first to ensure a safe descent.”

  “But I thought you said if I helped you’d let me go free.”

  “You’re not done helping us yet,” she replied.

  The goblin’s eyes went from Dugan to Rowan to Vinder. All made sure he knew he had no say in the matter.

  “All right.” He sighed and started down the stairs. The rest of the group assembled into Alara’s lineup, cautiously following.

  Halfway into their descent, Cadrissa and the others observed a soft white line appear on the walls, descending with the stairs. She surmised it was something used in navigating the staircase. But if it guided their steps it could also alert any others of their presence . . .