The Mages' Winter of Death: The Healers of Glastamear: Volume Two

by Charles Williamson

  He contacted Diana, with mage thought-talk and let her know he would be busy all day creating the new route to the dwarfish town. He asked her to cancel his meeting with Luke and with the current militia captain, Scott. He wanted the route available for tomorrow because they planned to return to Southport within a few days.

  The final thousand paces of the new road to Brimir’s Town crossed a flat granite ledge before connecting to a wagon road that led to the plantation’s quarry. Michael had laid it out so that the hard stone ledge would prevent wagon tracks that would lead anyone to the dwarfish site. They would not be able to get in, but he was afraid the iron guardians might kill anyone else who arrived without him. He flew over the whole route looking for problems for a wagon trip and for things that would give away his route to a casual observer.

  Chapter 33

  The following morning, Michael, Diana, Jim, and the oxbow brothers headed to the dwarfish town. Jacob drove the wagon pulled by four mules, and Diana rode beside him. She had raided the kitchen for food for lunch, and it was packed in the wagon. Michael had taken mules instead of draft horses because of their better ability on rough terrain. They were headed higher into the foothills of the Eastern Barrier Mountains, and ambush lions, great wolves and brown bears were common. Michael gave everyone in the group a ring enchanted with a detect life spell, so that none of the predators could take them by surprise. Michael was able to use the forest magic spell animal communication to distract most predators. It took three hours for the wagon to reach the tunnel leading into Brimir’s Town.

  Michael led each person through by holding their hand, and the iron statues remained silent. He went back for the mules because they wouldn’t be safe from predators if left alone outside. He also planned to use them to move swords and shields by taking them through to the mine.

  Once everyone was inside, he cautioned them against getting anywhere near the iron statues; they were actually powerful golems left to guard the town. They were dwarfish constructs that could move and would attack with their war hammers. Other than avoiding the statues, they could explore.

  Michael led Diana aside and spoke to her quietly. “I’ve told you all about my travels. Is there someplace you would especially like to see?”

  “That’s an easy thing to answer. I want to see where the Fairy Folk live in Fay Woods. You said their painted dome was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. Do you think we can go there before we get the swords and shields?”

  “I’ll go through first and ask Morgan if I can bring you. If she says yes, I’ll come back for you immediately.”

  They walked together hand-in-hand through the door into the travel room. Michael went through to Fay Woods. He walked down the passage that led to the great domed room of the barrow. Morgan met him on the way to welcome him, and he asked if he could show his wife the fairies’ home.

  “Michael Elf-Blood, I’m thrilled to learn you have taken a spouse. That is needed to complete your destiny. It’s important to the future that your seed bear fruit and that your magic is passed on to future generations. We welcome your wife to our home.”

  Michael went back for Diana, and Morgan waited in her wispy and delicate form drifting near the ceiling of the Fay Woods travel chamber.

  “Oh lovely Diana, Father God has already given you the gift of a pregnancy.” Morgan said excitedly when Diana followed Michael into the travel room in Fay Woods.

  “Morgan, this is my wife Diana. Diana this is my friend Morgan, leader of the Fairy Folk of Fay Woods.”

  Diana looked at the floating transparent being near the ceiling in surprise, but she was able to say, “I’m very pleased to meet you Lady Morgan.”

  “Twins, you are truly blessed Diana. We welcome you to our home as only the second human who has ever entered. Your twin girls already show the power of their parents; they are at least half elf. If the troubles of the human realm ever endanger you or your daughters, you will always be welcome in Fay Wood.” Morgan conducted Diana on a tour of her home.

  Pregnancy was so rare among the Fairy Folk that there was great excitement and pleasure at meeting Diana who was carrying two girls at the same time. Fairies got pregnant only every few thousand years, and none had ever had twins. A hundred bright vaporous creatures floated around her when she entered the great domed room that was at the center of the barrow. Diana stared in awe at the magnificent frescoes that covered the ceiling and the carving that lined the walls. They spent about an hour in the Fay Woods barrow before returning to Brimir’s Town.

  As they went to find the rest of their party, Diana said, “Thank you. I will cherish this short visit for a lifetime. It was like another world compared to the mundane one of humans.”

  They found the rest of their group in a common dining area. There were stone tables with stone benches. Everything was formed directly from the stones of the floor as if it were a granite sculpture cut from the living rock. The walls were decorated with dwarfish designs and stories of heroic events. Along one wall was a counter. It looked much like the common dining rooms of Southport apartments, a room full of tables with a serving line along one wall. The Oxbow brothers were busy laying out the food Diana had packed. Jim was returning from the dwarves’ serving line with plates. Diana and Michael joined the others at the table.

  Jim had a curious smile on his face as he approached and put a plate in front of each of them. He said, “Your plate might be a good souvenir of your visit.”

  Diana gasped and the others looked down at the table in shock. Each plate appeared to be made of solid gold, and each was heavy enough to make a thousand golden crown coins.

  “Jim said, I think there must be at least five hundred of these on that serving counter.”

  Michael said, “I’ve read that the dwarves put no special value to gold. They considered it too soft for making much that was useful. There are other metals that were valued much more because of their other properties, but I have no first hand knowledge of all these strange and valuable metals except the ore from the mine in the Mountains of Min. It seems to make iron into a very strong steel.”

  Jim said, “To humans this is an astonishing amount of wealth. Shall we leave it all here?”

  Diana spoke up, “I’ve been studying business while you men were adventuring all over Glastamear. If someone were to introduce that much gold into the economy, it would be something of a disaster for the kingdom. The value of all gold would decline with that much new gold released at once. For each of us to take a single plate as a souvenir is one thing, but to take the whole load and sell it would cause a debasement of our currency. It is what merchants refer to as the Iron Rule of excess supply versus stable demand.”

  Michael commented, “Diana, as usual is right. Let’s each take only one and not try and sell it. Did anyone else find something interesting?”

  “I found a room full of colored glass balls.” Jacob put a small transparent red ball on the table. I took this one to show you. I have no idea why they stored them, but they come in many other colors and there are thousands of them.

  Michael looked at the pretty bobble with his dwarfish earth vision. He rolled it back to Jacob. “That’s a nice find. They would be fun to use for the War of Marbles game. Maybe the dwarves also played it. In this case, they used a ruby rather than a red glass sphere for their game.”

  Everyone chuckled at Jacob’s expression, and they began lunch while joking about their finds. Wealth actually meant very little to any of them although Michael and Diana both enjoyed pretending to be merchants. For them it was merely a fun game of building a business, buying and selling, constructing things, and producing things. All but Peter and Gregory were healers, and healers were motivated by the desire to heal and to serve their communities. That had been the mission of the Healers’ Guild for two thousand years. It was part of the pledge of every apprentice healer.

  After lunch Michael led each of them one at a time through the travel room to the mine. He brought each of
the four mules through to transport the swords and shields. About two hours later, they had loaded everything onto the wagon and harnessed the four mules for the difficult trip down from the mountains. Michael cast alter weight to reduce the weight of the cargo by half to make the trip easier.

  It was late evening when they reached the manor house, and the men took the weapons down into the new storage room while Diana oversaw getting dinner on the table. They had worked hard, and all the men were hungry.

  That night Michael explained what he wanted to do before they headed back to Southport. “On the other side of the Eastern Barrier Mountain lie the three kingdoms that the Firebreath the Red Dragon claimed would invade Min Hollow in the spring. I want to fly over the mountains and learn if the three kingdoms are really preparing an invasion.”

  “I understand. Of course you should go, but one man, even a very powerful one, can’t determine the fate of an entire kingdom. Michael, I think you should consider the defense of Southport Province. As the weather grows colder, this southern land will become the target of those people farther north. It is defensible at Green Mountain Pass and a few other mountain locations. It could be isolated and protected.”

  “What you said is true, Diana, although we would need a war fleet to protect the coastal approaches. We could defend Southport more easily than anywhere else because the Green Mountains form a natural barrier to the north, but could we leave the rest of the kingdom locked out? Could we deny a refuge to those fleeing the war and famine to the north? Are we prepared to share our food or not? I regret that it may come to that someday, but for now, I must learn if we can keep the three kingdoms out of the heart of Glastamear. Perhaps they can be stopped before they even reach Min Hollow or at Castle Gateway before they enter northern Briarton Province. A defense at Green Mountain Pass would be a failure to Glastamear even if we succeed in protecting the province.”

  “My love, I will defer to your judgment on the preparations for war. What Morgan said about offering a place of safety to our coming daughters and to me has me concerned. Does she know something that we do not?”

  “Morgan is as old as the first landing of the Great Elves. She is senior by age among the Fairy Folk and is probably the oldest creature on the planet Home except for the elves and dragons. She may know things that we do not, but I can only do what I can do. If I fail, then another will take my place in the future.”

  “You will not fail. Come let me comfort you tonight. You can fly over the mountains in daylight tomorrow.”

  Chapter 34

  Michael soared up over the foothills of the Eastern Barrier Mountains. Below were fir trees buried four paces deep in snow; only their tops were visible as dark spots of the white fields. Ahead were impossibly jagged peaks; like the teeth of the planet, the stone fangs were highlighted against the cobalt sky. They glistened white in their heavy coats of snow, and rivers of ice filled every valley. As he flew higher, for the first time ever, the great eagle grew breathless. He changed his form to increase the size of his lungs. Later, as he neared the solid wall of jagged granite peaks, he lowered his weight further so that his wings could lift him higher in the thin air. He became as light as a summer hummingbird, but still his great wingspan could barely carry him over the high pass.

  Michael rested on a ledge above a vast sea of ice contemplating the impossibility of travel over such a barrier and the majesty of the view. It was no wonder that no army had ever even attempted to cross these mountains and that no humans even lived in their icy valleys. There was no nearby life visible from his perch, only rock, ice, and deep snow. In the extreme distance, Michael could see the black and green of forests and jungles. They were so far below him that even with eagle vision, he could make out no details except for brief flashes of light, like fireflies on a summer night. He guessed what those flashes might be.

  Michael glided down from his high perch directly towards the area of flashes. The trip down toward the region where the Black Forest gave way to the Yellow Plains was easy, but the distance was so great that it took two hours. As he got close, there was no doubt as to what the flashes were. Fire mages were doing many forms of fire magic at a location in the distance.

  Three huge military camps housed a vast army, and he saw for the first time the practice charges of the lancers of the Yellow Plains and the horse archers of the Black Forest. They maneuvered in perfect synchrony as they charged at straw dummies lined up in formation.

  As he glided farther from the mountains, he saw what he had always thought was mere legend and exaggeration. At least a hundred mastodons carrying small structures on their backs and chainmail armor on their sides and front charged a practice stockade. On each mastodon, eight archers rode in the covered structures loosing arrows and throwing javelins. The great beasts’ tusks were clad in steel. It was difficult to imagine any army of ordinary men facing an attack from this force in the open, but Michael was not sure how they would perform against the fortification and walls around the city of Min Hollow.

  He glided on toward the flashes of light. Below him as he traveled north were marching squads of chainmail-armored men. They were marching in formations of one hundred men. There were fifty of them. As he neared the fire mages, he saw that they were also in units of one hundred; there were three formations. All were armored like knight protectors in steel plate. Although the details differed, Michael assumed their armor was just as effective as the knights who would defend Min Hollow.

  Suddenly, a huge wall of fire arose from the plain, and Michael watched as a group of a hundred mages walked right through the flames while casting fireballs at the first of a row of four stone fortifications on the other side of the flames. Clearly, they were using the asbestos robe spell, which made them immune to the danger of fire as they marched unconcerned through the blazing wall of flames. The first of the four stone fortifications collapsed from repeated strikes from fireballs. As the fire mages marched on toward the second row of walls, a storm of fireballs came falling from the clear blue sky. Where they hit, the grass caught fire and dirt and rocks were thrown in the air. Michael knew he was seeing the hailstorm of fire used to defeat the invasion of six hundred years ago. It had no effect on the marching fire mages.

  After the four fortifications they had used for practice were destroyed, the three units of fire mages marched together forming a single unit. Michael had noticed that the center of each formation there had been an extremely strong fire mage with manna even greater than High Priests Carson or Simon. Now the three High Priests stood together in the center of the formation. Michael did not think Glastamear had three hundred knight protectors left after the terror of the white pneumonia, and the kingdom certainly did not have an army the size and strength that had gathered on the Yellow Plains. It’s best protection would be its fortification. The eastern kingdoms had always threatened the city of Min Hollow, and over many centuries, Glastamear had built fortifications at all the passes and routes from the east. In addition, the city, the palace compound, and the temple compound had their own high walls. Those walls had never been overrun, and not a single foreign soldier had ever entered the city, the palace, or the temple.

  There was a high stone castle in the distance at least two thousand paces away. Michael noticed that the fire mages seemed to be focusing on it. All three hundred chanted a spell in cadence. The day grew briefly dark like when Father Moon passed in front of the star Blue Haven. Black smoke curled into the air around the three hundred fire mages. Clouds formed over the distant castle, and an instant later, a bolt of blue light, so bright that it left a streak of blindness on the eagle’s eyes, blasted down from the sky. It seared the air as it descended from overhead as if came directly from the fires of Blue Haven. The distant tower exploded, sending broken rocks flying for a thousand paces. Nothing remained around that fallen wreck except a hole deep in the ground, which glowed with the red of molten rock.

  Michael was momentarily frozen in horror. He now understood fully the curs
e that Firebreath had cast upon Perry. Fire mages had such power that they might someday destroy all humans. Firebreath the Red Dragon would have his wish to be rid of the creatures who breed like rabbits, but die as quick as mayflies, as recounted in the words of the epic song, Perry and the Red Dragon, Firebreath.

  “And Firebreath said to Gripton, release me from my promise to never kill your children. I will correct your mistake in only a few hundred years. When they’re all gone, you can create some other better children in their place. Their sheep turn the high hills to dust by eating every stalk. They hunt the antelope to extinction on the great prairie from horseback, they pollute the mountain streams with their waste, and they burn the ancient forest through their stupidity and carelessness. The human men fight battles over the rocky useless hillsides and kill one another with their arrows and knives. Let me remove them from our land and restore the natural order.”

  Michael had tears in his eagle eyes as he turned to fly west toward home and Diana. The coming war would be like no other. He could only guess at how many would perish in the spring and summer, but he was determined to save all he could. He wondered if there was any way to inform the defenders of Min Hollow. His mage thought-talk only reached people he knew, and he knew no one in the great city. He could fly over the valley of avalanches and deep into the Mountains of Min, but Firebreath had warned him to not return to Min Hollow. His power was useless against the magic of an ancient dragon.

  It was an hour before dawn the following morning when the soaring eagle glided over the Houston Plantation manor house. It settled on the red slate roof and became invisible. Michael entered his bedroom to find Diana still asleep, her beautiful face resting on a down pillow. She stirred from some noise he’d made. From his expression she knew the news was horrible, and she hugged him close.