The Wizard's Tower 02

by Peter Last

  “What the heck was that?” Stephen blurted.

  “We call it electricity,” Josii said. “I don’t know exactly how it works, but when you flip the switch on the wall over there, the lights come on and when you flip it again, they go off.”

  “Are all of the lights in the city like these ones?” Josiah asked.

  “For the most part,” Josii answered. “There are a few exceptions, but the vast majority of them are electric.”

  “That would make things a lot easier,” Josiah commented. “I was thinking about how long it would take to light every single light in the whole city. I guess when you can turn them all on with a single switch, it eliminates that problem.”

  “Yes, it does,” Josii said. He was about to say more but was interrupted by the other elf entering the foyer again.

  “King Einor will see you,” he said. “If I were you, however, I would take as little time as possible.”

  “Don’t worry; what I have to say will only take a few minutes,” Josiah said. “Are we all going in or just me?”

  “Everyone may enter, though I must warn you now that you will be relieved of your weapons while you are in the presence of the king.”

  “Very well,” Josiah answered and followed the elf through a set of doors and deeper into the castle. They wound through several halls, all of which looked exactly the same, and finally arrived at a set of double doors which were being guarded by six men with stringless bows.

  “Please remove your weapons and give them to the guards,” the elf who was guiding them said when they had reached the doors. Josiah hesitated for half a second before sliding his sword, sheath and all, from his belt and handing it to one of the guards. All of his men followed suit, and when the last had been relieved of his weapons, they were led through the doors and into the throne room. The hall was not particularly large though the ceiling was vaulted, extending upward for at least two stories. Guards with stringless bows were interspersed through the hall with two standing by each of ten pillars which lined the sides of the room. Four more guards stood near the throne, and though they had their cloaks wrapped completely around themselves, Josiah figured they would be able to move at a moment’s notice if the need arose. Ignoring the rest of the room, Josiah marched straight toward the throne and the man that sat atop it. Behind him he could hear his men following him, and this gave him a certain amount of courage. When he reached the steps of the throne, he bowed slightly and stood still, waiting to be addressed. Behind him his men flanked him on either side so that they formed an arrow head with him at the tip.

  “Welcome, messengers from Magessa,” King Einor said. “What is your business here?”

  “We come with news of an attack, your majesty,” Josiah answered, taking a step forward to separate himself from the people behind him. “A large army suspected to be under the command of Molkekk attacked us several days ago at the city of Saddun. We held them for as long as we could, but they quickly overcame us with superior numbers and drove us out of the city. We gathered what remained of our army, which is now headed to where the Vänern and Pelé Rivers cross. There we will meet the enemy in battle, though the outcome of such an encounter will likely not be favorable.

  “We cannot hope to succeed with the few soldiers that we have left, so the General of the army of Gatlon has sent me as an emissary to ask for your aid in the battle that is to come. I humbly ask for any assistance you may be able to offer us in the fight against our enemies.”

  “That must have really damaged your pride,” King Einor said after a moment.

  “I don’t know what you mean, your majesty,” Josiah said.

  “Oh yes, you do,” Einor responded. Though he kept his tone even, the anger was evident in his voice. “Your people have treated my people poorly in dealings with us for the last several decades. If you were content to ignore us, that would be one thing, but you aren’t. Instead you take advantage of us in any way you can. Yet despite all of this behavior, when the enemy comes knocking, who do you run to for help? Why should we help you after the despicable treatment that we have received at your hands?”

  “An unfortunate situation that I am truly ashamed of,” Josiah answered, lowering his eyes. “I was unaware of the presence of such a problem until just recently, and I am truly ashamed of the actions of my people. Let me say, though, that not everyone agrees with u. I am very proud of and thankful for your conduct at the last attack on Saddun, and I know that your people are held in high esteem among soldiers.

  “As for those who take advantage of you, that was largely the work of the council of Gatlon, if I am not mistaken. It has been discovered that they were in league with Molkekk, and were planning on surrendering the district to Molkekk when he attacked. They have been dealt with, according to as much justice as could be afforded them.

  “Finally, I am here not solely at the command of my General. I am here first and foremost on the authority of Elohim. He sent a messenger to me and told me that the only way we could hope to defeat the enemy was to acquire the help of your people and that of the ogres. He told me that I was to come here, with or without the permission of my commander, and ask for your help.”

  “That is very interesting,” Einor said after a few minutes of thought. “I was not aware that only a few people could commit the kind of abuse that has been going on for decades. Of course, the most unforgiveable trespass has only begun to occur recently. Slavers have started to kidnap our people and sell them to people north of Magessa. They had large groups of well-trained soldiers to pull this off, so don’t tell me that the military is sympathetic with us.” Josiah tried to interject, but Einor cut him off.

  “Also, Elohim may have ordered you to come and ask for our assistance, but He did not order me to comply with your request. For all I know, you are simply lying in order to get our help. Well, I’ll tell you now that you will not get it no matter what lies you spin. The elves have borne the abuses of humans and fought their battles long enough, and we will not do so any longer. Fight your own battles for we will not help you.”

  “You may feel no obligation to help us, sir, and that I can understand,” Josiah said. “The fact that you have endured these abuses all while helping fight our battles is incredible, and I can understand why you’re angry. You may also not care what Elohim has told me to do, and I can also understand that, because I could very easily just be lying in order to obtain your help, though I assure you that I am not. Therefore, I am appealing to your humanity. We do not deserve your help, but what about the people from Belvárd and Rampӧn? What about all of the women and children who will be killed by the enemy? They are not responsible for your anger toward us, yet they will share in the consequences if you make this decision. I have fought with you before, and my men have died beside yours. My opinion of you could not be higher, and when this war is over I will do everything within my power to put an end to the abuses you have endured. But there will be no chance for me to right the wrongs if we are wiped out, at which point you will have Molkekk as your neighbor. I don’t think he’ll be better than us, so if nothing else, think of yourselves and help us.”

  “You are very bold to tell me to think of myself, human,” Einor said. “In the forest we can hold out almost indefinitely. Molkekk will not find us as easy to defeat when he is forced to fight us in our homelands. We do not need your help to remain free from Molkekk, nor do we need to even venture out of the safety of our forest. From now on, our policy concerning your race will be isolation.”

  The last statement was made with such finality that Josiah knew nothing he could say would sway the king’s decision. And he couldn’t blame him for his choice either. If Josiah had been in the same situation, it was very possible he would have decided the same thing. Slowly he turned his back to the king and passed back between his men. As he walked, he picked up speed until he hit the doors of the throne room at a jog. He slammed them wide open and walked out, followed closely by his companions. Josii, however, remain
ed in the throne room, and after the doors closed with a bang, turned back to the king.

  “Einor, are you sure you’re making the right decision?” he asked.

  “I never know if I am making the right decision anymore, brother,” Einor said as he slumped down in his throne and put his head in his hands.

  “My gut tells me we should distance ourselves from the humans as much as possible, yet there is a persistent doubt at the back of my mind. What if I am choosing incorrectly?”

  “What do you think that Elohim is telling you to do?” Josii asked. “You must always follow His word first of all.”

  “I don’t even know what Elohim wants anymore,” Einor said without lifting his head. “I’ve asked and He is silent. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Do you truly not know what He wants, or do you simply not like what you know He is telling you?” Josii asked.

  “I don’t know,” Einor said. “One second I’m sure that I should help the humans, but the next second I am certain that we should remain isolated from them. After everything that they have done to us, that is the wisest course of action. Then I’m back to thinking that I should give in to my compassionate side and help them.”

  “Why do you think that isolation is a good option?” Josii asked. “Is it because of the abuses the elves have endured at the hands of the humans, or is it because it’s the course of action that will affect us least of all? Sitting back and watching things happen without intervening is a tempting option many times. Almost as often, it is necessary to suppress this tendency and take a hand in what is happening around you.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Einor said as he raised his head and looked at his brother. “But even if I do choose to help the humans, it will be completely my choice. I am not hearing anything from Elohim in this instance.”

  “I know that we elves typically have a unique relationship with Elohim and can hear Him as an audible voice,” Josii said, “but He never promised to speak with us this way. Most humans do not talk with Him in that way, yet in my dealings with them I have found that those who seek Him discover what His will is for them. Continue to pray, but also read His words that He has given us. Perhaps the answer to your question is hidden in them.”

  “Perhaps, brother,” Einor said.

  Josii saw that he had said everything he could to his brother, and that the choice to help or deny help to the humans was now out of his hands. He hurried out of the throne room and after the humans, knowing that without a guide they would get lost in the expansive halls of the castle. He found them arguing about which way to go when the hall that they had been following dead-ended. Taking the lead, he showed them the way out of the castle tower and into the courtyard. He slowed his pace when they passed through the gate and stopped only a few dozen yards past it.

  “What are you planning on doing now?” he asked as he turned to face them.

  “Our job here is done,” Josiah said curtly. “We may as well be heading out.”

  “Right now?” Josii asked with a raised eyebrow. When Josiah nodded he added, “It is too late; the sun has already set. Besides that, how do you plan on finding your way out? I presume that you don’t know the way, and even though you may be content to function on no sleep, I have to rest at some point or another.”

  “You mean elves can’t go without sleep for days?” Stephen asked. “All the legends say they can.”

  “Elfin legends also paint all humans as weak, not only because of their inability to use magic, but also due to their small physical appearance,” Josii commented with a sideways glance at Brandon’s massive build and two-handed sword. “I would not put too much stock in legends if I were you.”

  “Enough about legends,” Josiah said. “If we aren’t leaving tonight, what are we going to do about lodging?” he asked Josii.

  “I have a house on the west edge of the city,” Josii said. “It’s not very fancy, but it should be big enough to house all of you for one night. Plus,” he added with a grin in Josiah’s direction, “since we will be going west tomorrow, you could say that we’re actually getting started on the journey right now.”

  “We are very grateful for the offer,” Cirro said before Josiah could say anything. “I’m sure that Josiah, as our leader, will be more than happy to accept it.”

  “Yes, thank you for the offer, Master Elf,” Josiah said. “We will be delighted to share your roof with you.”

  “Well, that’s settled, so follow me, and we’ll get there as quickly as possible,” Josii said and started off down a street at a quick pace. As they walked, Josiah found himself at the head of the group alongside Josii. He did not speak to him for several minutes, but finally he could no longer resist the urge to ask a question that had been burning at the back of his mind.

  “Why is the castle so different from the rest of the city?” he asked, turning to his elf guide. “The rest of the city has tall buildings and graceful architecture, but the castle looks like it was made by humans. It looks nothing like the rest of the buildings.”

  “It was made in a different time period,” Josii answered. “Actually, it is one of the only original buildings of the forest that is still standing. All of the others have been demolished to make room for more modern structures.”

  “I don’t know anything about the elfin time periods,” Josiah said. “What period are you talking about?”

  “The story is long, so I will wait until we get to my house to tell it,” Josii said in answer.

  It took the group another fifteen minutes to reach Josii’s house. Josiah was anxious to hear the story, but Josii insisted on preparing a meal despite the protest of his guests. First, he started a fire and hung a kettle of water over it. Next he assembled a simple stew of potatoes, vegetables, and meat which took about a quarter of an hour to prepare. When he had placed it over the fire to cook, he retrieved the kettle of water which was now boiling and poured it into a tea kettle along with some tea leaves. While he was preparing the tea, he pointed out where his dishes were kept, and Josiah and his men set the table. When they were finished, they sat down and waited for the elf. Josii placed the tea on the table, took a seat, and leaned back in his chair. He cleared his throat and finally began the story that everyone was now anxious to hear.

  “Long ago, before the recorded history of Magessa, there was only one race on the earth. A people that had the traits of all of the races lived together, and were in fact the whole of the earth’s inhabitants. Now there was great sin on the face of the earth. Every man did what was right in his own eyes; if he wanted something that belonged to someone else, he killed that man for the possession. If he wanted land that someone else owned, he killed him for it. If someone insulted him or he simply did not like someone, he killed them. The sin of the people was so great that Elohim actually regretted creating them and sought to purge their uncleanness from the land.

  “In all of the earth there was only one man who was righteous in the eyes of Elohim. Elohim told him that He was going to destroy the earth and that the only way to save himself and his family was to build a great boat and place his wife, his sons and their wives, and some of all the animals on it. The man followed the commands of Elohim even though he did not live anywhere near any water. When the boat was finished he gathered animals from all over the earth and placed them and his family on the boat. Once they were all on board, Elohim shut the door.

  “Elohim opened up the gates of heaven and poured rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights. He also opened up the fountains of the earth, and they spewed their water onto the surface of the earth until it was flooded. Not even the tallest mountains showed above the surface of the water and all living things, except those that were on the boat, died in the flood.

  “After the rain stopped falling, the boat and its inhabitants floated about on the surface of the water for almost a year. At the end of this time, the man took a bird and let it out of the window of the boat. The bird was gone for almost an entire
day, but it eventually returned, for there was nowhere for it to land. The man waited for a week and then sent the bird out again. This time when the bird returned, it had a tree branch in its mouth, for the water had receded enough for the trees to show. Another week passed and the man again sent the bird out. This time it did not return, and the man knew that the waters had receded completely. The door to the boat was opened at this time and the man, his family, and all of the animals left. The man immediately made an altar and offered sacrifices on it to thank Elohim for saving him and his family from the flood. When Elohim saw this, He determined in His heart that He would never destroy the earth with water again and sent a rainbow to seal the promise.

  “The family that left the boat began to repopulate the earth, and in only a few generations, a significant number of them were living together in one community. As normally happens when a large number of people live together, one man took the position of king. Now it had only been a few generations since the flood that had wiped out everything on the earth, but the hearts of men forget quickly, and this king decided that he wanted to be as powerful as Elohim. In order to accomplish this feat, he ordered his subjects to build a tower that would reach to heaven. Then he would be able to overthrow Elohim and be more powerful than Him. The people labored day after day, and their tower stretched up into the sky for many stories.

  “One day Elohim decided to come down to earth and see what the people were doing. When He discovered what they were doing, His anger was aroused against them, and He struck their tongues so that they spoke different languages and could not understand each other. The brick makers could not understand the builders, and the builders could not understand the overseer. They tried to continue with the tower, but without the ability to communicate they were unable to accomplish anything. They split into groups of people that spoke the same language and moved away from each other. As each group intermarried with itself, a certain set of characteristics came out in it and a race was born. One group of people took on the features of elves; another, dwarves; another, orcs; another, mountain ogres; another, forest ogres; and another, humans. When the group that would become the elves left, they wandered about for several months, looking for a suitable place to live. They wandered into Magessa through the gap in the mountains that Saddun now blocks and eventually decided to settle in this forest. When they first settled, they built a city, and at the center of it sat a tower that was never finished as a reminder of what happens when people try to challenge Elohim. Eventually the elfin nation outgrew the borders of Dublack and moved across the mountains into East Dublack and up into the South Leborum and Leborum forests. Those that remained here gradually displaced the older buildings with newer and better ones, but there is one structure that we have preserved against the ravages of time. The unfinished tower that we built when we arrived as well as the wall surrounding it remains in our city and serves as the king’s abode. It still stands in order to remind us that no one can challenge Elohim and hope to win.”