The High-Wizard's Hunt: Osric's Wand: Book Two

by Delay, Ashley

  “Ye should never be trying to summon the lift. If ye be trying, and the wall be not knowing yer hand, ye be getting a barrage of arrows instead of stone for yer feet.” Machai laughed at the brilliant defense system and stepped onto the platform. “What do ye be waiting for? Come on, it’ll be holding ye.”

  “How does it work?” Thamas hesitated before stepping tentatively out onto the stone slab.

  “Magic.” Machai grinned. “Ye be seeing those holes in the stone, there?” Machai pointed at four holes, about a hand span around, in the center of the platform.

  “Yes?”

  “There be a system of pulleys that be running the stone up and down this shaft. Ye just can’t be seeing them, as that would be giving it away to intruders.”

  “Invisible pulley system?” Disbelief was obvious in Thamas’ tone.

  “Aye, invisible pulley system.” Machai tapped his wand on the stone at his feet and the platform began to sink slowly into the shaft.

  “How did they do it? Your ancestors, I mean.”

  “Bah, if I be telling ye that, me kin would be having me head.”

  “Ah.” Thamas suspected that Machai had no idea how they had accomplished the feat. “Magic?”

  “Right. Magic.”

  They passed several more passageways as they traveled down into the mountain on the lift before finally coming to rest. Thamas had not seen any indication of how Machai had made the lift stop, and he was fascinated by the new magic.

  They stepped off the platform, into a passage much like the entrance, but headed deeper into the mountain. Several chambers opened up off the hallway and the temperature of the air increased as they walked. Thamas glanced through the doorways, and curious dwarves who noticed them passing stared back at him.

  “Machai!” A young female stepped out of a doorway just ahead of them with a joyous expression. “Ye be back.”

  “Aye, Chara, I be back.” Their voices echoed off the stone around them, yet the sound seemed to travel slower than normal. The effect of being underground was disorienting to Thamas as he listened to the conversation.

  “Ye be gone so long, I be thinking ye were dead.”

  “I be not so easy to kill, but more than a few times I be wondering meself,” Machai grumbled.

  “Ye should be coming by the workshop later. I be finishing me first amulet.”

  “Aye, I’ll be seeing it.” Machai nodded over at Thamas. “This be Thamas, former Contege of the Stanton Vigiles. He be accompanying me on me journey.” She smiled shyly as Machai resumed walking, and Chara walked along next to Thamas.

  “You make amulets?”

  “Aye.”

  “Chara be making more than amulets. She be an Imbuer.”

  “A what?”

  “An Imbuer. She be capable of imbuing magic into stone or metal.”

  “Like the blades at Braya?”

  “Aye,” Machai growled at the reminder of the mission that had taken him to the volcano in the first place. He had been sent to deliver a shipment of Dwarven swords imbued with elemental fire. He hadn’t known that the swords were being used for such a disdainful purpose until after he successfully made the delivery.

  “Can ye be seeing the strands, Thamas?” Chara asked in excitement.

  “No, I am no Wand-Maker, just an old Telepath.”

  “Aye, an Imbuer be much like a Wand-Maker,” Machai said with sudden realization. “I never be thinking of the two as the same.” They walked through a large archway at the end of the passage and entered a huge cavern lined with wooden tables and benches. A couple dozen dwarves were gathered in the chamber, eating, drinking, and talking. Chara offered to go get them all something to eat, and indicated that Thamas should take a seat at a nearby table. Machai glanced across the chamber at a bronze door much smaller than the one at the entrance to the mountain but just as elaborately decorated.

  “I need to be speaking with Thenar. Ye be waiting here with Chara.” Thamas nodded and sat down on a low wooden bench as Machai stomped off angrily, his footsteps echoing from the distant stone ceiling. He paused briefly at the door, preparing himself for the confrontation he feared was to come.

  Machai entered the room and was greeted by the aroma of roasted meat and mead. Thenar stood and slapped Machai on the shoulder, sloshing the honey wine over the rim of his goblet.

  “Welcome home. I be expecting ye back much sooner, but I be trusting ye’r journey be successful,” Thenar stated jovially. Machai dropped the bag of gold on the low table with a heavy clink.

  “Aye, ye could be saying that,” Machai responded. “But that be blood money. Ye should never have been sending me with weapons to the likes of those men.”

  “What? Did ye not be making friends with the humans that be filling our coffers with gold?”

  “Friends?” Machai spat on the ground in disgust. “They be monsters!”

  “I do not be liking humans much, meself. They be too soft. But if they be rich, who be I to be turning down such a sale?”

  “They be funded by the crown. And they be using our steel to enslave dragons,” Machai spoke low and quiet, but his tone carried the hatred he felt.

  “Dragons?”

  “Aye, dragons. Nearly fifty of ‘em, caged and mistreated to enforce their kin to be flying around with ignorant passengers for a fee! And we be providing ‘em with dwarven blades. How do ye not be knowing who ye be arming?” Machai just barely managed to keep his voice below a shout.

  “How in stone’s blood should I be knowing about the dragons?” Thenar asked defensively. “If I be knowing the humans be caging dragons, I would be delivering me blade meself, straight to the cowards’ hearts!”

  “Aye. Lucky be him that the dragons be free,” Machai replied. “I be arriving on one of the elders that be caged. I fought alongside the wizard that be freeing them, before we be returning with ye’r gold.” Thenar tugged on his long, gray beard as he took in the information.

  “Well, if the dragons be free, then we need not be worrying where our weapons be headed, aye?”

  “What do ye mean?” Machai demanded.

  “The humans be ordering more weapons soon after ye be leaving for Braya,” Thenar stated.

  “Ye cannot be sending the blades,” Machai said urgently.

  “It be too late to be calling it back. Besides, ye say the dragons be free.”

  “How many weapons did they request?”

  “Two hundred thousand of our finest weapons. We be gaining enough gold to keep our clan fed for a generation,” Thenar said, a hint of excitement in his voice. He slid a paper across the table for Machai to see, and the official seal caught his eye.

  “Stones! Ye be supplying an army! There must be a way to be stopping the delivery.” Machai began pacing the room, considering the implications of the massive order of weapons.

  “No, it be arriving in a day or two in Rowain, and we be needing the gold.”

  “The humans be starting a war. If ye stop the shipment it may be stalling them long enough for Osric to be stopping them!” Machai argued.

  “Eh, their war be no matter of ours,” Thenar said with a wave of his hand. “I willn’t be turning down the gold to be meddling in human affairs.”

  “But ye must! When the war these men be fighting be reaching ye’r door, then will ye be listening to me?” Machai shouted, glaring angrily at the other dwarf.

  “Ye be on soft ground too long, Machai. No war be breaching Firefall’s door.” The old dwarf scowled at Machai. “I willn’t be calling back the shipment. Do not be forgetting ye’r place in this clan, nor mine,” Thenar growled in restrained anger and authority. Machai slammed his fist down on the table, toppling the pitcher of mead, and spun and walked from the room.

  Thamas sat talking in the dining hall with Chara, but he hurried after Machai at the scowl on the dwarf’s face when he strode through the room and headed out into the main passageway. Machai was grumbling under his breath and Thamas had a hard time matching his pace
in the unfamiliar tunnels. “He be a fool. No good will be coming of those weapons being in human hands. There must be something we can be doing. If Thenar willn’t be stopping them, then it be up to me,” Machai mumbled, ignoring Thamas’ presence and stepping back onto the lift. He activated the pulley system and Thamas waited quietly for an explanation of his meeting with Thenar. The lift groaned softly as it climbed the shaft of the mountain, up past the entrance with the massive, bronze door. It continued up further still until it stopped their ascent just as they rose above the rim of the chasm and crisp evening air chilled his skin. Thamas stood in awe of what he saw as they stepped off the lift. The sun was just setting behind the western peaks and the snow and ice in the valley below them blazed with red and orange light. It looked as though lava was flowing down the mountainsides and all of the trees were like frozen flames. Thamas understood where the FireFalls clan got its name. Machai took a deep breath of mountain air and spoke as calmly as he could. “I will be explaining everything, but first I must be contacting Osric. I be afraid we will not be staying long at me home.”

  Thamas nodded and moved away to give him privacy as Machai drew out his wand. He focused on reaching out to Osric and felt his wand link with Osric’s as the connection was established. He spoke clearly, hoping the Contege was in a position to answer his call and speak unimpeded. “Osric, ye be there? I be having some dire news for ye.”

  Chapter 7

  ____________

  Power Gained, Power Lost

  “Wakey, wakey, wakey, wakey!”

  Osric felt a gentle prodding on his right cheek as his senses slowly rose out of the cold, black, painful fog of unconsciousness. There was a playful childishness to the rhythmic vocalization pulling him from his slumber. Osric slowly regained mental awareness of himself and his surroundings, but opening his eyes proved more difficult than he expected. His mind was still dazed, but he managed to allow a small sliver of light beneath his lids. As he adjusted to the sudden brightness, he heard the childlike voice near his ear.

  “Hello, Unicorn.” Pebble peered down at him from above with a smile. “You’s wants to play I’s see somethin’ you’s don’t?”

  “Pebble, get down from there. Oh,” Bridgett started when she realized Osric was awake as she scolded the prairie dog pup. Osric smiled in spite of the residual effects of the magical attack on his senses and his body. The small, furry face grinned back at him.

  Osric watched Bridgett move closer to his bedside, and he sighed gently to see her staring down at him. Just the sight of her brought memories of their time together flooding to the forefront of his thoughts. She scooped Pebble up from the bed and set him gently on the floor.

  “Run along and play for a while, Pebble. Osric still needs to rest.” Bridgett glanced back at Osric. “Welcome back.”

  “Did Pebble just call me Unicorn, or was I still asleep?” Osric attempted to turn his thoughts away from their past moments together.

  “Oh, sorry about that. He has been trying to wake you all morning. He has been calling you and Kenneth Unicorn since you arrived; I think he is obsessed with them.” Osric noticed dark circles under Bridgett’s eyes, and her long, auburn hair was disheveled. She looked as though she had not slept in days. Concern creased his brow as she reached down to feel Osric’s forehead with the back of her fingers. “If I had known he would manage to wake you up today, I would have made sure he did not pester you.”

  “I can think of worse things to wake up to.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve had better days.” Osric’s chest ached as he attempted to sit up, and a fit of coughing forced him back against the pillow.

  “In fact, you have had better weeks. You have been unconscious for the past fifteen days.”

  “Two weeks?” He tried to sit up again, but his body painfully objected to the motion. “What happened? I tried to join Gus in the field he was in and we ended up in a snowstorm.”

  “Gus tried to stop you, but you had already spoken the spell. There is a trap that keeps uninvited guests from coming in by means of magic. Perhaps now you will listen when I warn you that unknown magic can be dangerous.”

  Osric grimaced at the implication of his carelessness and changed the subject.

  “You look tired. Have you been here all night?”

  “We have all taken turns watching you while you were out. We knew you would have questions, and we didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

  Osric wondered how much of the time Bridgett had sat with him, and the thought of her being in the room lifted his spirits. Then his thoughts turned away from himself to his friend.

  “How is Kenneth?” Osric gave in to his body’s demands and rested back against the soft bed.

  “He woke nearly a week ago.” Wrinkles caressed her brow while she smoothed the blankets over his chest. “We were starting to worry about you.”

  “That’s a brutal protection spell they have here. Why would they need it? The unicorns can’t be killed.” Osric’s parched mouth ached for water, and his stomach growled, although he wasn’t sure he could keep food down. A mug sitting next to the bed caught his attention. He reached for it, and felt the silky, smooth blankets against his entire body. I’m naked! He lowered himself back to the bed too quickly, every muscle crying out in objection. His cheeks flushed as he thought about Bridgett sitting so near him while he lay in bed, naked.

  “Let me get that for you. You just rest,” Bridgett instructed him, hearing his gasp for air. She brought the fluid to his mouth, and he drank it slowly, grimacing at the slightly bitter tang of whatever herbs Bridgett had steeped in the beverage. “As far as we can tell, the protection spell is for the Maiden of the Unicorn. None of us really know how it works, but Gus has some theories. He should be here any moment for his watch. He usually brings some food in case you wake up.”

  “Did he discover anything interesting?” Osric spoke quickly, pulling the blanket up higher over his bare chest. “How can Kenneth be a See-er too?” He noticed the amulet she wore around her neck, and his mind flashed back to the day at the palace when they met. She had held herself with such confidence and surety of her position as she made her way toward the unicorn. Osric realized that she was talking, but he wasn’t listening to her. He forced his mind back to the moment. “I’m sorry, can you say that again? My head hasn’t seemed to wake up as much as the rest of me just yet.”

  “Of course.” She smiled and tipped the cup so he could sip the fruity beverage as she spoke. “I was just saying that I don’t know much about it, but Gus has spent some time examining both you and Kenneth. He thinks he understands what is happening. He wants to talk to you when you wake up. In fact, I’m surprised that he hasn’t been here yet this morning.”

  “Maybe I could get dressed before he gets here? I’m feeling a bit exposed right now.”

  “Oh yes, I’m sorry.” Handing him the cup, she walked to a chest at the foot of the bed and opened it. “Your clothing was cleaned and put in here.” She placed his clothes on top of the chest. “I’ll try to track down Gus and some food for you to eat. Drink the rest of that.” She indicated the mug in his hand with a glance. “It will help you recover. Take your time getting dressed as you will likely be weak and dizzy.” She smiled at him with a look of relief to see him awake. “We will knock before we come back in.”

  “Thank you.” Osric returned her smile as she gathered Pebble in her arms and closed the door.

  His muscles felt weak and limp as he slowly set the mug on the bedside table and rose from his position. His legs shook with the weight of his body, and the small distance he needed to cover to get his clothes required most of what little strength he had. Pulling on the breeches and tunic used the rest, and he collapsed back on the bed when he was done. He lay still, mentally assessing each ache and pain in his body and staring at the shadows that danced on the ceiling from the candles around the room. After a time, he heard voices echoing outside his room and growing closer.
A knock came at the door.

  “Come in.” Osric turned his head slowly to see Gus, Bridgett, and Pebble enter the room. Bridgett set a small, wooden bowl of chopped fruit on his lap, and then she helped him sit up against the pillows.

  “Eat up so I don’t have to listen to you whine,” Gus proclaimed as he climbed up the blanket near the foot of the bed.

  “You won’t hear me object to that.” Osric began shoveling the food into his mouth as quickly as he could with his shaking hands. It was no easy task, but his stomach made more protest than the rest of his body, so he ignored what he could in order to satisfy his appetite.

  “You could have avoided this whole incident if you had only waited a moment more. But that is all behind us now, and I trust you have learned your lesson?” It wasn’t like Gus to skip over a lecture, but from the speed of his chatter it seemed as though he had a desire to get on to more important topics. “I noticed some interesting things in the spell that protects this place. It made me realize that I was missing something in you as well. Thank Archana that you survived so I could verify my thoughts. Soon as you are finished with that, I want you to do something for me.”

  “What did you discover in the protection spell,” Osric inquired, slurping a juicy fruit he did not recognize into his mouth. It had a terrific flavor and he began feeling a bit of his strength return as he ate. Or, perhaps it was the effects of Bridgett’s herbs. Either way, he was glad to be feeling the least bit like himself again.

  “Well,” Gus arched an eyebrow, “it attacked you with more intensity than it attacked Kenneth.”

  “What do you mean? Why would a spell react stronger to me?”

  “You are the most powerful Wizard the world has ever known,” Bridgett sat down in a chair across the room and grinned, a hint of teasing in her tone. Osric felt a surge of warmth flood through him as they briefly made eye contact.