He moved out from behind his shadowy location and craned his head toward the other end of the room. There stood Leo, staring back at him after he had also stepped out from behind the mysterious piece of textile. Both glanced up at the barrier, a huge, thick tapestry suspended from the ceiling and nearly touching the floor, running almost the length of the entire wall. A fireplace to its left emitted a steady glow from the wispy flames and lustrous embers of a dying fire. They stood inside a shadowy, vacant room lined with wooden shelves crammed full of leather-bound books and numerous scrolls. A table was cluttered with parchment sheets and ink bottles, and a single wooden chair kept a lonely vigil near the fireplace. A stone archway across the room led out to a corridor.
As Nicholas and Leo walked toward one another, their eyes couldn’t help but gaze with appreciative wonder at the colorful wall hanging. It depicted portions of the snowcapped Northern Mountains and the surrounding trees and valleys of Kargoth. Both guessed that it was Mount Minakaris looming in the foreground, hardly believing they were deep inside the mountain itself, most likely in one of Vellan’s private studies.
“Nice place,” Leo said. “I suspect Vellan sits here to concoct his vile plans.”
“Or unwinds by the fire after a hard day of inflicting misery,” Nicholas replied. “I suppose even a tyrant needs a place to relax.”
“No doubt. Now let’s find Ivy and get out of here.”
Before stepping into the corridor, Leo peeked through the archway and glanced up and down the silent passageway. After signaling that all was clear, they exited the room and turned left. The stone walls had been expertly cut, smoothed and tinted a light reddish brown shade by the Enâri. All were decorated with intricate engravings, some depicting scenes similar to those on the tapestry. Lit candles affixed to the walls cast a calming glow along the gently curving passage. Soon they reached a dead end, but on their right was an oak door with a curved brass lever handle. Nicholas glanced at Leo who offered a reassuring nod, so he slowly opened the door.
Inside was a darkened set of stone stairs that curved right and rose parallel to the corridor. Leo grabbed a candle from the wall and he and Nicholas climbed the nearly twenty steps to the top. Awaiting them was a metal door locked with a sliding bolt. Leo carefully moved the bolt and pulled the door open just a crack. A stab of late afternoon sunlight and a cool blast of air greeted them. When he pulled it open all the way, both realized with delight that they had reached the outdoors, though quickly ruled out the exit as a future means of escape.
“What is this?” Nicholas whispered in amazement. They stepped onto a small, semi-circular balcony with a waist-high railing that had been carved out of the mountain.
A cool, steady breeze brushed across the face of Mount Minakaris. Its stony sides were splashed with soft shades of reddish orange light as the sun dipped in a brilliant blue sky above the snowy peaks to the northwest. Nicholas and Leo stood nearly halfway up the southern slope of the mountain with an unobstructed view of Del Norác and the Drusala River below. A snaking line of gray smoke lingered over the city. Distant cries of men and the clattering of swords were barely perceptible from such a dizzying height.
As they leaned against the thick stone railing to take in the panoramic view, they noted a sheer sheet of rock cascading below them until the tree line gradually developed along the lower, wider portion of the mountain. Far down to their left they spotted a few dirt roads presumably leading from some minor gates toward distant fields and stables on the lower elevations of the mountain’s southeast slope. Another road led directly to Del Norác. A wide stream rushing down the mountain wended its way among the trees and fields until it finally emptied into the Drusala River farther to the east. Glancing right, they noticed that the trees lower on the mountain slope in that direction grew thicker and wilder in spots. A swath of woodland at the base of Mount Minakaris gently hugged the southwest edge.
Directly below them lay an impressive example of Enâri stonework. At the southern foot of the mountain, Vellan’s creatures had constructed an elaborate stone bastion connecting to Mount Minakaris that rose nearly five hundred feet and stretched about three times the length. It seamlessly conformed to the side of the mountain as if it had been a natural extension. Several square towers and a few spires dotted the upper portions of the stronghold. The iron gates below ominously observed the nearby city like a sleepless eye. Nicholas and Leo looked down upon the top of Vellan’s fortress, their breaths taken away as they imagined falling from such a height to its various levels of rooftops and surrounding parapets. Nicholas didn’t want to guess how many thousands of Vellan’s soldiers occupied the chambers below, hoping that Ivy wasn’t imprisoned in a lonely cell in one of them. Without a word to one another, they turned around and stared up in awe at the rocky slope above them, their gazes rising to the snowy and icy peak of Mount Minakaris shimmering in the late sunshine of an early spring evening.
“I imagine we’re barely a visible speck to anyone down below who happens to look up,” Leo said as he turned to stare once more across the sweeping vista.
Nicholas agreed as a cold gust of wind rushed past. “I suspect all of them are otherwise occupied.” He could only wonder what life-and-death circumstances King Justin and his troops were embroiled in at the moment and hoped for their safety.
“No doubt Vellan climbs up here to look upon his realm,” Leo said with a bitter edge. “Such a spectacular view probably fed his warped sense of imagined greatness. I wonder if that wizard ever really appreciated all this beauty surrounding him.”
“I doubt it,” Nicholas replied, indicating that they should head inside and continue their search for Ivy.
A short time later they were back in the main corridor. They entered another unoccupied room at the opposite end, but finding nothing of interest, they left and exited through an archway in the center of the passage. They descended a stone staircase to the level below which brought them to another candle-lined corridor. Nicholas led the way west along the passage until they came upon another archway in the wall to their right. The room within swirled with shadows. He peered inside as Leo glanced up and down the hallway with mounting apprehension, wondering how long their luck would last at not being spotted.
“See anything?” he whispered.
“Too dark,” Nicholas replied. “But there’s a faint line of light on the left wall. I think there’s a door slightly ajar.”
When they entered the chamber, a thin stream of cool air drifted past them, apparently coming from the vertical slit of light across the room. As their eyes adjusted, Nicholas spotted a small round fire pit rising two feet off the ground and filled with a bed of glowing orange and red embers that continually brightened and dimmed like hundreds of opening and closing eyes watching their every move. But that added little light to the room as they moved gingerly across the floor. Just as Nicholas had guessed, a metal door stood slightly open against the side wall, allowing a splash of light to slip through. When he opened the door wider, a blast of cool air brushed their faces.
But instead of a small balcony as before, they walked out onto a larger, rounded stone terrace extending over the mountainside and supported beneath with meticulously carved blocks of granite. Several oak benches were scattered about. A stone railing encircled the structure which offered a tree-filled view of the southwest slope. Along the terrace’s left side, the uppermost tips of a few tall pine trees shot up for several feet behind the railing, their sweet scent perfuming the air. The view was mostly unobstructed on the center and right sides where Nicholas and Leo took in another stunning vista. There, the drop was less severe than on the balcony, though still as deadly. And instead of sheer rock, small trees and patches of vegetation blanketed areas of the slope below.
“Incredible,” Nicholas muttered, shaking his head.
“The view is every bit that and more,” Leo replied. “Hobin would be impressed.”
“I agree, but I wasn’t referring to the scenery. I just
meant it’s incredible that Vellan produced a race that could create so many wondrous things, yet he trained them to bring damage and death throughout the region. What would possess him to do so?” He shrugged with bewilderment and headed back inside.
“Isn’t that usually the case with tyrants?” Leo asked, his whispered words laced with dark mirth as he followed Nicholas into the room. He closed the door, concealing them once again in a tomb of suffocating shadows. “I’m not even sure if Vellan knows for certain what’s kept him going all these years. Probably bitterness and spite. But if we ever run into the wizard, I’ll make it a point to ask.”
“You might as well ask me now,” a low, raspy voice replied from somewhere in the darkness. “Whoever it is you are.”
Nicholas and Leo froze. Their hearts pounded as the soft words shot pangs of dread through them. As they tried to pinpoint the location of the voice, a fresh blaze rose from the circle of embers and increased the light within. Nicholas noticed an aged hand ascending above the fluttering flames as if it were magically drawing out fire from the stone pit. Slowly, the hand pulled away and rested upon the lap of its equally wizened owner. An old man sat upon a cushioned wooden chair close to the fire pit as ghostly threads of bluish smoke rose up and disappeared through an opening in the stone ceiling.
The elderly figure stooped slightly sideways as if he had been napping or deep in thought, clad in layers of brown robes with a dark gray cloth cap wrapped loosely about his head. Tufts of white hair bulged out from beneath the covering around his ears, and a set of tired eyes above a slightly furrowed face keenly observed his visitors. A long oak staff leaned against the side of his chair, its misshapen top splintered and brittle like the fingers of an arthritic hand. The man breathed heavily as he gazed upon Nicholas and Leo, unsurprised by their sudden appearance, his lips barely moving as he whispered to himself. Nicholas and Leo glanced at one another, knowing they were in Vellan’s presence.
“Nothing to say?” the wizard calmly asked, straightening up in his chair. He leaned back and caressed his chin while studying the two strangers with curiosity rather than fear or surprise. “You enter my abode uninvited, yet look at me as if I owe you an explanation.”
“You do,” Nicholas said, finding it an effort to utter those simple words as the shock of seeing Vellan constricted his breathing. But as he slowly absorbed the image of the old man, an image quite unlike what he had envisioned through the years, he grew calm and less afraid. Looking squarely into his eyes, he posed the one question foremost on his mind. “Where is Ivy, the young woman Cale brought to you many weeks ago? What have you done with her, Vellan?”
A thin smile spread across the wizard’s lips. “So you know my name, young man,” he replied. “And you’ve apparently met Cale, a most devoted Islander to me and my cause if ever there was one.”
“You should have met his cousin,” Nicholas said. “Cale was a pale imitation.”
“And now he’s a corpse at the bottom of a pit,” Leo added, his courage growing.
Vellan twitched with a flash of anger as he met Leo’s gaze. “You’ve killed him?”
“Cale accidentally killed himself,” Nicholas said, not wishing to rile Vellan. Despite a grandfatherly appearance, he knew the man was a powerful wizard who could strike them dead if the mood took him. He wondered why Vellan had already not killed them, but Leo spoke again, chasing the thought from his mind.
“We followed Cale through your secret tunnel connecting to Deshla prison after he escaped from us,” he explained. “Cale had no light with him and took a fatal fall.”
“I see.” Vellan nodded, touching his fingers to his dry lips as he assessed the situation. “So you two were clever enough to discover the private entrance to my mountain home. I suppose I’ll have to post a guard behind the tapestry until I can change the locks,” he added with a dry smirk.
“Speaking of which,” Nicholas said as he looked around, “your corridors here are barren. I would have expected more security from such a renowned wizard.”
Vellan scowled. “This renowned wizard doesn’t appreciate your patronizing tone. But rest assured, I have more than enough loyal troops to keep me safe. The lower levels are flooded with men who would give their lives to protect me. And though I usually keep a few of my most loyal servants roaming these upper levels where I make my home, I dismissed them an hour ago so as not to scare you away.” Vellan delighted in the flummoxed expressions upon Nicholas and Leo’s faces, neither having the slightest clue as to what he meant. “You see, I was expecting you just now and didn’t want to risk an unnecessary confrontation before I had a chance to speak with you.”
“Expecting us?” Nicholas asked. “How can that be?”
“Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I was expecting someone, not you two in particular,” he elaborated. “A short while ago I sensed a growing presence as you made your way up the tunnel, specifically, Frist’s presence.” Vellan nodded, seeing a splash of uneasy surprise in Nicholas’ eyes. “I’m guessing that you have seen the wizard recently. I detect his strong presence surrounding you.” He stared sharply at Leo. “Not so much on you. Unfortunately for both your sakes, I can easily surmise the reason why you had met with him. But before you disclose those fascinating details, tell me your names, though I’m convinced I already know those, too.”
“How could you know?” Nicholas asked. “Cale may have revealed mine, but he never met my friend here. So unless you–” A sickening feeling suddenly overwhelmed him as he imagined Ivy’s cruel interrogation and treatment at the hands of her captors. “What have you done to her? Where is Ivy?”
Vellan chuckled, delighting in his visitor’s distress. But as Nicholas prepared to lunge at him despite any consequences to his own life, the wizard raised a hand and slowly shook his head. “There’s no reason to worry about her safety, Nicholas Raven. Your pretend princess has been well looked after since arriving in Mount Minakaris. She is in no danger. No immediate danger anyway, so you had better not push your luck.”
“Nor you,” Leo coolly challenged, wanting to draw Vellan’s attention away from Nicholas for Ivy’s sake. “I suppose you know my name, too.”
Vellan grunted. “Am I forced to endure a petty apple grower gracing the corridors of my beloved residence? Consider yourself fortunate, Leo Marsh, to behold what most people of Laparia will never have the chance to see.” He noted Leo’s surprise when he uttered his name. “My informant long ago provided me with both your identities and other particulars.”
“And if he didn’t, I surely would have,” a woman’s voice curtly chimed in near the doorway behind them.
Nicholas and Leo spun around. A diminutive woman stood just inside the archway, her lips in a thin, straight line as she stared at them with icy disdain. The firelight gently reflected off the wayward locks of flaming red hair protruding beneath a black silk kerchief wrapped around her head. A fur-lined shawl was draped over her shoulders. Nicholas immediately recognized the face he saw six months ago along the Trillium Sea.
“Madeline,” he whispered in disbelief.
“I’m flattered you recognize me after all this time,” she said, stepping into the room and standing at Vellan’s side. She studied Nicholas and Leo with much interest. “These are the two individuals who implemented the deception with Princess Megan,” she reminded the wizard. “It’s nice to finally have two faces to go along with the names I had learned of a while back. Shall I summon guards to take them away?”
Vellan gently patted her wrist. “Not yet, Madeline. I wish to speak with these gentlemen and find out more about their dealings with Frist, a vile collaboration that led to the destruction of my cherished Enâri.” He slowly cast a hardened gaze upon Nicholas and Leo as his fingers tightened around the armrests of his chair. “The three of you helped to destroy my greatest achievement–and nearly myself in the process.”
“That achievement brought misery and death to the people of Laparia,” Nicholas said. “Frist cle
arly saw that, as I’m sure did the other wizards of your order.”
“Don’t speak of things you know nothing about! Frist and the rest of them mocked my ideas to expand our race and to make it flourish–to save it from time’s eventual decay. They had a narrow vision.” Vellan paused, breathing heavily as Madeline placed a soothing hand upon his shoulder and advised him to remain calm. The wizard nodded appreciatively at her and slowly relaxed. “And when I saw my beloved Enâri disintegrate before my eyes, Frist had managed to kill my vision, draining from me much of my power and energy that had been invested in their creation and maintenance.” A morbid smile spread across his lips. “Part of me wishes that I had also been extinguished as the Enâri were when that loathsome spirit was released, yet still I breathe.”
“And you’ll get better until you’re fully recovered,” Madeline assured him. “You must. That is why you should have your supper now which is ready in the next room. Or do you wish for me to bring a tray to you instead?”
“Madeline takes care of me, overly so at times,” he remarked as Nicholas and Leo looked on. “My indispensable nursemaid. And if I recover, I shall owe it all to her. You see, I have not long been in this feeble condition. Three and a half months ago I would have been fit enough to join the battle now raging in Del Norác despite the nearly eighty years I carry upon my shoulders. Now I’m not sure if I have many years left.”
“The wizards from the Gable Mountain Range are a long-lived race,” Madeline stated. “But look at what you’ve done to one of their greatest by cooperating with King Justin. Shameful!”
“And look at what you’ve both done to Laparia,” Nicholas replied with equal contempt. “Along with Caldurian, you’ve created nothing but havoc in your wake, including in my home village of Kanesbury. I will not feel sorry for either of you.”
“Nor would I expect it,” Vellan returned defiantly. “But don’t think that I am without power, young man. I’m still a potent force to be reckoned with. You and your friend will pay for your deeds.”
Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web (The Complete Epic Fantasy) Page 168
