After the World

by Maire Brophy

  “And what makes you think you have a right to know now?”

  “Because I want to bring our people back. We have been annihilated, and I know there is a power here that can be used for us.”

  “You cannot wield it. Only a magical orc can.”

  “Perhaps we could do it together?”

  “I am not magical.”

  “I could teach you. And then together we can return to our former glory and make them cower before us.”

  I considered this. I knew she was playing me, but perhaps we could gain enough out of each other for it to be worthwhile.

  “I will show you the cavern, but you must give me your word that you will teach me to use the orc power and not take it for yourself.”

  I saw the glint in her eye. She really did take me for a fool.

  “I want only that.”

  She looked at me hungrily. I wondered if she thought I had never before encountered a wizard. But perhaps with her inadvertent help, I might reawaken the mountain.

  After a short rest and some food, we made our way back to the door. The green wizard still lay in his pool of blood, but he still wasn’t quite expired. The door opened on my command. I gestured to the black wizard to enter. She was astonished that the door opened so easily for me. She entered and I followed, the door swinging shut tightly behind us.

  I let her observe the room. She stood in awe for a while and then moved into the space. I kept close to the door. The memory of those pools was still too fresh in my mind for me to be cavalier. She stepped near to a blue-hued pool. Something happened. I couldn’t tell if it was just a shift in the air or the temperature of the cavern, but I knew something was there with us.

  The black wizard stood by the blue pool, her attention absorbed. I waited for her to cry out in pain, but instead she laughed. Her body language changed ― not to one contorted in pain, but into one that was looking to please, and be pleased. She laughed again, this time more shrill and staccato. It was like a different person standing in front of me. She spoke to the pool for some minutes, but I couldn’t hear what she said. Eventually she turned to me, and simply said, “Show me the library!”

  Carefully skirting the pools, I walked her to the library, and the door opened on my command. This time, I entered first and turned to look at her face as she observed the room. She was wide-eyed and excited. Without hesitation, she pulled a book from a shelf and leafed through it. She looked up at me, her face full of confusion.

  “These are histories; where are the magic books?”

  I realized that her talk with the blue pool had not elicited all the knowledge required. She did not know how the cavern worked.

  “You must pay a price, and you must be in favor with Isknaga.”

  “And what is the price?”

  “That is not for me to decide or exact.”

  This got me a withering look. I was disappointed in her.

  “So soon you forget your promise. This is not for you. But for you to teach me.”

  “But there are no books to teach you with. I need the books.”

  It was time to risk it all.

  “You must ask for the knowledge from the wizards in the pools to read the books. They exact a price, and it might be your life. I have spoken to two, and I do not wish to do it again unless I can control them. You must help me control them.”

  “I must experience this to understand.”

  I told her I would take her to Aklakratan, who explained how the cavern works.

  We left the library and walked to the Aklakratan’s pool with its sickly pink hue. I stood back and gestured to her to go forward. She moved with purpose but suddenly stopped. Watching her from behind, I could see her body tense, but she displayed none of the pain that I had endured at this wizard’s hand. The tension released, and she turned away once more, moving quickly toward the library. I followed her there and saw her pick up the pink-hued book, her eyes gleaming.

  “That’s enough now. Time to teach me.”

  She waved her hand. I knew it was coming, but I was still shocked with the force of it. I was paralyzed. Stood still in the library doorway, I watched as she devoured that first book and looked up, hungry for more.

  “You need to teach me.”

  She laughed and with a wave of her hand, she threw me out of the library and ran out herself. I was still paralyzed, lying on the floor. I had done all I could. I now relied on Isknaga. The black wizard approached the blue pool again.

  This time it was different. Even though she was far away and spoke in hushed tones, I could still hear her. The wizard in the blue pool appeared this time to me too. I heard him speak to her.

  “Oh lovely thing, I am so glad you decided to stay!”

  She burbled again, preening as before.

  “You have so much to teach me. I have found the library as you told me. Thank you.”

  “Oh, my dear, you won’t be learning any more here.”

  Her expression became quizzical.

  “Isknaga’s curse holds sway here, above all other magic. And you have refused to teach the orc.” She was alarmed. The wizard looked even more wizardly smug than usual. “But we shall have many talks. No need to talk to the others. They have no appreciation for the finer things that you and I care for.”

  She turned from the pool and ran toward the door. The blue pool wizard was still muttering to himself happily. I only heard snippets of “intellectual companion” and “appreciation for fine dramatic prose.” She yelled at the door to open. And of course, it didn’t oblige. Then she started screaming. All the horror I had expected her to experience finally came. I was released from my paralysis and got to my feet in time to watch her be dragged from the door.

  The force that pulled her was unseen, but it was earthy and stronger than anything this wizard had ever encountered. She waved her arms and shouted spells, but it pulled her toward her inexorable fate without faltering. Eventually, it stopped pulling, and I watched her writhe on the floor. I almost felt sorry for her, but all my sorry was well used up.

  Pinned in place on the floor but still moving, she appeared to melt. She fought hard but was somehow consumed by her own liquid self. The last I saw of her was her face ― open-mouthed and wide-eyed in clawing, mute horror.

  Then there was only a sloshing pool that eventually calmed to stillness.

  I ran for the door, and it opened for me. The green wizard was still outside the door. Still living, as if it would be too much trouble to just die efficiently. With Isknaga’s cavern door shut behind me, I stood on the green wizard’s neck, crushing what was left of it. His body shuddered one last time, and then he was gone. I picked up his staff and dragged his body with me to the mill cavern. I threw his staff into the lake and dragged his body to one of the trash pits. I threw him in. I didn’t have time to burn him.

  And then I felt it. The last of his magic gone, I could feel my mountain waking. But it was not so simple. The mountain was in immense pain and very damaged. The dust picked up, and rocks started to move again, indicating that the waking was not going to be a quiet affair. After a brief visit to one of the armories and to one of the stores, I ran out of the mill cavern and up through the tunnels.

  I had reached my living quarters when the mountain spoke to me. It understood it had been breached and violated. I stopped and stroked the wall. I told the mountain that I had a plan. I would keep it safe and allow it to heal. I was going away, and when I returned, I would do so with many orcs, some of them magical. I promised the mountain that it would be alive again in the best of ways. The mountain was too tired to argue.

  I could feel rocks settling everywhere. I grabbed some tokens of my time in Iret, maps and parchments belonging to the chief, and as much food as I could carry in a satchel. I pulled on light, travelling armor and a fine woven cloak. Packed for traveling, and armed with a sword and dagger, I was ready to leave the mountain.

  I scrambled through falling tunnels and made it to the great hall, where I
ran out the open side that the black wizard had made. I barely made it out in time before the final collapse of that tunnel, sealing the mountain with a large crash. Stones and gravel propelled me forward, and I eventually came to rest on the ground in the dying sun of the evening.

  I sat up, pulling my cloak over my head. I wasn’t quite out of danger. Rocks and mud were sliding down the side of the mountain. I rose to my feet and watched my beautiful mountain crumble internally. I went to find my lonely pine.

  The pine was still keeping the book safe, although it wasn’t so lonely any more. The other trees now crowded it, bullying it. Well that’s how it looked, anyway. I thanked the pine the best way I could ― by taking the book out of its care. I returned to the main path.

  The mountain was still again when I returned to its fallen mouth. I touched it and spoke to it. It replied sleepily, telling me it needed time to rest. I left my hand on the mountainside until the night turned cool. It was time to say goodbye.

  I moved well back, almost to the sinister tree line, and opened the book. I looked for one last time on my mountain and read the words of the incantation. I didn’t know what to expect ― perhaps sparkles or lightning ― but it was a remarkably quiet affair. One moment there was a mountain, and the next, it was gone. What was left was a large area, surrounded by trees.

  At least the trees had the decency to look embarrassed. They were here to guard the mountain, and their purpose was gone. They switched quickly from sinister to feigned nonchalance. They had lost their purpose, but I had gained mine. My life must be spent repaying the debt I owe to all my fellow orcs. I must seek them out. Find the magic among them and bring them back to Iret. My life had meaning again.

  Onward!

  About the Author

  Máire Brophy lives in Dublin, Ireland. By day, she works with researchers to help develop and express their ideas, and by night she mostly sleeps. In between, she’s often found playing Dungeons and Dragons, eating cake, and watching movies.

  She is currently considering learning to play golf. Máire cohosts Irish Writers Podcast a podcast about writing — and tweets @mairebro. You can find out more information on her website mairebrophy.com. And don’t worry no-one else pronounces her name correctly either.

  Acknowledgements

  As always I have to thank my parents and family for their support and encouragement. I am blessed with some truly fantastic friends, who have provided me with immense support and fun.

  That said, I have to call out a few people for their support of this book. At the forefront are my fellow writers Cathy Clarke and Kate Mulholland, without their encouragement, and precisely administered tough love, these pages would surely be blank, and I’d be trying to sell you a notebook.

  Most of this book was written in a period of personal upheaval, and a good lot of it was written on Hazel Moloney’s kitchen table. Hazel provided more than hard surfaces — she was the first person to read the book in its draft form, and engaged with my random questions as I was writing including “are orcs mammals?” and “what do you call the armor thing that goes over the other thing.” For all this, I am deeply grateful.

  Thanks also to Fawn and the team at Vagabondage Press for taking a chance on a new author and an orc with no name.

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  Table of Contents

  About After the World

  Title Page

  Part One: The Cave

  Part Two: The Mountain

  Part Three: The Cavern

  Part Four: The Wizards

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

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  Licensing Information

  Licensing Information

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book, and parts thereof, may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission. For information, e-mail info@vagabondagepress.com.

  After the World

  © 2018 Máire Brophy

  Strange Fictions Press

  An imprint of Vagabondage Press LLC

  PO Box 3563

  Apollo Beach, Florida 33572

  http://www.vagabondagepress.com

  First digital edition published in the United States of America and the United Kingdom, May 2018