Halls of Power (Ancient Dreams Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Thank you very much, private,” the man replied, stepping inside. There was something odd about his expression, and he continued apologetically. “And I’m sorry about this.”

  Alice saw the flash of his shortsword clearing its sheath, but by the time she saw it, it was too late. She fell backward, trying to gasp for air and choking as she clutched at her slit throat. Cries of alarm echoed all around her as her world slowly went dark.

  Waiting for the moment that Slaid’s team attacked the guards, Vendis felt her tension increasing, hoping this would go as planned. It was always possible that it wouldn’t, but she could hope. Watching the gates open, she held her breath, elated and worried at the same time. Slaid’s team stepped inside, and moments later the sound of screams and alarm erupted from the outpost.

  Already prepared, Vendis’ soldiers didn’t need orders. The majority bounded forward at the alarm, while a handful of snipers paused and took aim at the distracted guards on the outpost walls. Vendis ran forward as the hiss of arrows came from behind her, followed by more screams of pain and shock.

  Her soldiers had been forced to stay far enough back that it took a long minute to reach the entrance of the fort, by which point the inhabitants had begun reacting despite their surprise. Slaid’s team had only been assailed by a handful of soldiers so far, but a stubborn knot of opponents were fighting his troops. The sight of three dead near Slaid himself was a shock, but Vendis took a moment to take aim and loose an arrow into the throat of a man just rushing from the main barracks.

  “Slaid, fall back!” Vendis called out, scowling at the difficulty in telling the humans apart. In the same uniforms as Kelvanis, it was entirely possible some of her soldiers might attack his by mistake.

  “You heard her!” Slaid snapped, lunging forward, his sword shimmering a strange blue as he struck out at one of the defenders. For a moment Vendis thought he was just feinting as the man was out of Slaid’s reach, but he suddenly staggered as blood began pouring from his side.

  Vendis didn’t have time to think about the surprise, instead focusing on the enemy as her allies pulled back, a few of them sporting minor injuries. Nearly a dozen enemy soldiers were down with her arrow and the aid of her snipers, so she motioned her company forward.

  Vendis stayed in the back lines, her bow out and ready. Several enemy soldiers emerged from another outbuilding, unarmored but with weapons in hand. A squad descended on them, and Vendis resisted the urge to fire into them, instead spotting a flicker of movement from one of the upper floors.

  She sniped the crossbowman before he could target one of her magi, and smiled thinly. It looked like things were going to go according to plan.

  It took less than half an hour to track down all of the enemy soldiers, including a pair of guards who’d tried to escape into the woods. Those two had surrendered, as had a handful of other guards, giving them seven captives in total. Once it was done, Vendis met Slaid in front of the main storeroom of the fort.

  The fort wasn’t too impressive in most areas, largely log construction with a palisade around it, only enough to slow determined opponents down. The main offices and storeroom were exceptions, all of them built of masonry firmly mortared in place. The door was iron banded and bore dozens of runes to reinforce the wood and metal. Looking it over, Vendis nodded, moderately impressed by the effort that had been put into security.

  “It wouldn’t stop someone from breaking a hole in the wall, but this is definitely more secure than I’d expect one of Kelvanis’ outposts to be,” Vendis murmured.

  “Exactly. According to my contacts, the mages found an earth node below here, and have been leaving ingots, gems, and other supplies for enchanting here to absorb as much mana as possible,” Slaid explained, going through the key ring they’d pulled off the commander’s body. The woman had refused to surrender, and despite their best efforts she’d managed to avoid being taken alive. “I think this is the key…”

  “That does explain the security, and taking away Kelvanis’ enchanting supplies seems like an excellent idea to me,” Vendis murmured fervently, frowning as Slaid slid the key into the lock. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “Hmm? Why?” Slaid asked, glancing at her in confusion, starting to turn the key.

  Vendis barely had time to see the runes begin lighting up across the door, and lunged over, knocking Slaid to the side. An instant later a column of white flame burst into being where he’d been standing, the heat scorching the masonry nearly black in barely a moment. Only seconds later the column of fire vanished, leaving no sign of its presence save the scorch marks.

  “That’s why,” Vendis replied, shaking her head as she got off the man, shaking from the near encounter with death. She offered a hand to help him up, taking a deep breath to steady herself again.

  “Right. If it’s that valuable, it’s sure to be trapped,” Slaid murmured, his voice unsteady. Taking her hand, he stood himself, meeting her gaze and continuing. “Thank you. That was rather stupid of me.”

  “I think you let the success of your agents go to your head, Slaid. You shouldn’t do that,” she scolded gently, suppressing a smile of relief.

  “You’re right. I’ll keep that in mind. The question is, how to get around the enchantments? You think your magi can decipher it?” Slaid asked warily.

  “Not in the time we have. I told you how earlier, anyway,” Vendis replied with a laugh, nodding at the door.

  “Oh, of course. I’ll have some of my men grab a couple of sledgehammers. Not what they joined up for, but I suppose it’ll do the job.” Slaid laughed himself.

  Both of them left the key where it was in the lock as they left, not willing to risk touching it again.

  It was a few hours before they could get into the room, but eventually they managed it. Some of the walls had been reinforced by iron bars, an expense which had surprised Vendis, but it only served to slow them down. After entering through the hole smashed in the wall, she’d had to stop and stare for a time.

  “This doesn’t look like a storage room,” Vendis managed at last.

  Poking his head in, Slaid looked past her and blinked before agreeing. “Nope, it doesn’t. Looks like someone had plans for this place.”

  The room was definitely different. Instead of crates of enchanting materials, like they’d expected, there were tables covered with engraving tools, jars of a variety of liquids and powders, and tomes set up as well. There was a fair amount of dust in the room, as if it had been left alone for quite some time.

  Also in the room was a large circle engraved into the floor, runes filled with silver just inside the circle itself. A dozen sets of shelves were set around the walls of the room, one knocked over from where they’d broken a hole in the wall, and each had boxes and jars on them. Near Slaid and Vendis were piles of powders and broken glass, as well as glittering ingots of copper, iron, and more precious metals.

  “You’ve got that right. Let’s see here…” Vendis took a careful step inside, trying not to step on any of the spilled powders. Who knew what they even were?

  Slaid followed her, as did a couple of the magi. As he stepped over a couple of broken bottles, he nodded toward the circle. “I’ve got a little magical training, but not enough to identify the details of this. Can any of you explain what all of the… equipment is?”

  “Well, most of the items on the table are for alchemy and enchanting. It’s odd that I don’t see a forge in here, with all of the metal around. The circle looks like a summoning circle, so maybe they’re planning on using a fire or earth elemental to shape the metal?” one of the magi said, the elven man stepping forward cautiously, murmuring a spell after a moment and looking around. “Actually, something seems wrong here… the magic is darker than I expected. Please give me a minute, and don’t touch anything.”

  Vendis nodded, walking around the room slowly and looking at the jars. She didn’t recognize most of the items, but a lot of them seemed to be quartz powder, various types of
sand or stone, with onyx or obsidian being the most common. The liquids came in every hue, from amber to brilliant crimson or purple, while there were also jars of what looked like preserved organs. It was odd and creepy.

  “I think this was intended to be a summoning circle for a demon, Captain,” the mage finally spoke up, paling as he looked up from where he was kneeling next to the circle. “I’m not proficient in summoning, that’s a completely different art than what I focused on, but this is slowly charging with mana, and it’s a darkness-aligned ritual circle. The circle is also imbuing everything here with the same type of magic.”

  “Darkness magic? Shouldn’t we destroy all of this, then?” Vendis asked, fear surging through her.

  “No, no… darkness magic isn’t inherently bad. Even I know that much,” Slaid interrupted, shaking his head. “The headmaster of Beacon’s Academy, that strange, pale-skinned lady? I think her name was Kassandra? She’s a shadow-mage, from what I heard.”

  “She’s also a vampire. I don’t trust her,” Vendis replied flatly. “Even if she survived Everium, that’s no reason to simply trust a creature like that.”

  “Captain, he’s right. Darkness magic is most easily used for evil, often necromancy and the like, but that’s not the only purpose for it,” the mage interjected nervously. “My teachers often said that fire and mind magic are almost as bad for foul purposes, though fire is generally more obvious than darkness or mind is.”

  “Hmmph. Still… it doesn’t sit right with me. You aren’t suggesting we leave it, are you?” Vendis asked, them, her eyes narrowing more. “There’s a lot of stuff here, and I don’t want Kelvanis managing whatever they have planned.”

  “Of course not! I think we should destroy the circle and whatever we can’t send back to Beacon, or at least hide it where we can retrieve it later,” the mage immediately protested, standing up. “Any supplies with this much mana imbued into them are valuable and easily turned into enchanted items. While changing the imbued magic type is trickier, I know the enchanters back in the capital can do it.”

  “Fine. Figure out what’s the most valuable, and let’s get started. We can’t spend more than a day here,” Vendis ordered, frowning as the man and his partner nodded and started going through the supplies quickly. They were far too eager for her comfort.

  “Let them work, Captain. They know what they’re doing better than we do,” Slaid murmured, stepping toward the door.

  “Perhaps so, but that reminds me… I saw you attack a soldier from several feet away and cut him. How did you manage that?” Vendis asked, following Slaid out of the strange storeroom.

  Slaid laughed, smiling as he glanced at her. “That’s a family secret, Captain. I’d tell you, but I’m afraid that I don’t teach just anyone that magical technique.”

  “Really? A technique, is it?” Vendis murmured curiously.

  “Yes, yes it is,” Slaid replied, smiling as he asked, “Would you like to have lunch together, Captain?”

  “Certainly. But first, my name is Vendis,” she replied, and followed him out toward the courtyard.

  Chapter 24

  Things had calmed down a little in Beacon, a fact that eased Phynis’ fears. There had been combined surprise and elation at the sudden disappearance of slave brands throughout the city, as well as a degree of disappointment and near-despair from the comparative handful of people whose brands Sistina hadn’t yet claimed. After the news had circulated that it was nearly losing the dungeon permanently that had caused it, as well as the production of the golems that defended the city, opinions had changed significantly. Near-panic had ensued, and it had been difficult to calm the populace down.

  Once everything had calmed a little, Phynis had been surprised by what happened afterward. The remaining people with the slave brands continued to approach Sistina to have their brands claimed, partially for the same hope of freedom, and partially to defend the city. The dryad’s entrance was now fortified and heavily guarded as well, which comforted Phynis significantly. A far greater change had been with a large number of the residents. Many of those who’d taken minor positions instead began attending classes held by Phynis’ guard to train as soldiers, including Isana Dayrest. The former brothel workers were a surprisingly large portion of the volunteers, and seemed to be exceedingly vehement about their training.

  Also increasing were the number of people attending the classes held by Cortin and Nora, with only a handful of people training with Kassandra herself. The handful in question included Desa and Farris, but at the moment Phynis was more interested in the classes held by the two survivors of old Everium. She was even more determined to learn magic after the attack on Sistina, and Desa was too busy to train her. It wasn’t something Phynis was willing to wait on, though, even though it put a significant crimp into the amount of time she had to herself, Sistina, and the Jewels.

  “The simplest, most effective combat spell available to a mage is a fire bolt. Even most accomplished magi fall back on it, as it’s not just quick and easy to cast, but its structure is so robust that you can throw almost any amount of mana into the spell to increase its power,” Cortin explained, tapping a diagram of lines on the chalkboard with his pointer, as well as the words inscribed below it. “I must stress that this spell is intended to hurt others. Do not cast it unless you have a clear target and are certain that you won’t hit an ally, because it isn’t something that most people can survive easily. Also, the reason why I taught you a water shield spell first is because it’s most effective against a fire bolt.”

  “Why don’t we see a water shield used more often, then? I’ve mostly seen light shields used,” one of the other students, a young human man with light red hair, asked.

  “Because water shields, while more effective in some ways, take several times the mana of a light shield to maintain, and aren’t noticeably more effective in most cases,” Cortin replied, nodding to the young man. “A very good question, Liam.”

  “If we can’t cast it unless we have a clear target, why are you showing us the casting method while indoors?” This time the speaker was a dawn elf woman. Phynis thought the young lady had been a mage’s apprentice before this from what she’d contributed during the classes, but she wasn’t certain.

  “There are a couple of reasons for that, but here’s one that I decided was most important. This lets you study the spell without casting it. On the other hand, if anyone starts casting it indoors, it also tells me they don’t need to be attending my classes,” Cortin said dryly, looking over the classroom coolly as he continued. “And so I am perfectly clear, I am not joking. Try to cast this indoors, and if it’s not in self-defense you will be expelled. Especially you, Your Majesty. I heard about your light spell.”

  Phynis blushed as the other students looked at her, most of them giggling. It had taken them a few classes before they’d grown comfortable enough to treat her almost normally, but slowly they’d come around. After a moment she cleared her throat and replied, “I had no intention of doing so, Cortin. I’ve long-since learned my lesson about casting spells carelessly.”

  “Excellent. Now, then…” Cortin began only to pause at a knock on the door. The door opened to reveal Albert, and Cortin raised an eyebrow at the man. “Yes, Guildmaster? What may I do for you?”

  “I apologize for interrupting your class, Master Birchwood,” Albert replied with a nod, glancing toward Phynis as he continued. “As for the reason, I’m afraid I have important news which I need to see Her Majesty about.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll speak with Master Windgale outside so that we don’t interrupt too much.” Phynis rose from her chair, glancing at the guard in the corner.

  “Of course. Come back soon, I intend to explain the casting in detail,” Cortin replied, falling silent as Phynis left the room.

  As she moved toward the door, Phynis felt a pang of sorrow as she realized that many of the other students were surreptitiously watching her, worried. They must be afraid of more b
ad news. Come to think of it, that was probably another reason why Cortin was teaching them combat spells. The fire bolt wasn’t too complicated, but it was significantly more complex than a light spell or starting a fire. It was also just a bit different from the fire bolt spell she’d been studying on her own with Topaz over the winter, which bothered Phynis somewhat.

  Stepping into the hallway, Phynis crossed her arms, the guard outside nodding to her as the woman’s partner closed the door behind them. Looking at Albert, she asked patiently, trying to suppress frustration with the man. “What is it, Master Windgale? You’ve kept me waiting for a while for information concerning the attack.”

  “That’s exactly why I’m here, Your Majesty. The situation turned out to be more complicated than we thought, especially since the captive has turned out to be immune to the spells we have to interrogate her. We still have a few alchemical solutions to that, but they aren’t done yet, and even they aren’t guaranteed to work,” Albert replied, his voice forthright as he looked Phynis in the eyes. “I promise, I haven’t been stalling. The problem is that I had to wait until the Guild Headquarters contacted me to tell me what happened to the aetheric disrupter. They weren’t dawdling, but it was in archived material, which took some time to dig up.”

  “I see. What did they have to say, then?” Phynis asked, her temper cooling somewhat.

  “The aetheric disrupter was not stolen, but was believed lost eighty-four years ago. It was assigned to a group who volunteered to attempt to slay the Road to Hell, to disastrous results. Half the group was slain in the attack, and they were forced to risk ripping open a rift to another plane of existence to escape. The disrupter was believed lost,” Albert explained, but scowled as he continued. “The leader of the group was the grandmaster ranked mage, Ulvian Sorvos. The method we use to figure out who the disrupter was assigned to is a secret, so doubtlessly he believed that we wouldn’t figure it out.”