Spells of Old (Ancient Dreams Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  First there had been the failure of his entire squad of mages and an entire company of his soldiers to teleport in with them. Then the alarm had been raised far earlier than anticipated, leading to nearly triple the anticipated losses, while gaining only half of the anticipated noble captives. And as if that hadn’t been enough, Enforcer Corvek hadn’t arrived at the rendezvous, nor had any of the soldiers assigned to him. In all honesty, at that point it’d been almost fortunate they’d only acquired the number of captives as they had, considering how under-manned his force was.

  It had almost been a relief to spend three days pushing through the forest toward the border. Taking care of the captives had been less pleasant, but necessary. Thompson had allowed them to get by on less food and water in part to keep the inevitable escape attempts to a minimum, and none of the elves had managed to succeed in their attempts. Whether his decision had helped or not, he wasn’t sure, but it certainly had made things easier.

  But the sound of combat was definitely good. It meant that the Yisaran border fortress was under siege, and their chances of crossing to safety were much better.

  Looking at the exhausted faces of his soldiers, Thompson smiled at them, ignoring the captives hanging over the equally exhausted horses as he spoke. “We’re almost there, men. The Justicar is keeping the elves busy, so let’s get out of this tangle of a forest and back to civilization.”

  A soft cheer sprang from the tired soldiers, and Thompson smiled before turning to lead them back toward Kelvanis.

  Resisting the urge to drum his fingers on the saddle-horn of his mount, Justicar Hall watched the elven skirmishers fall back with narrowed eyes.

  Three companies of orc soldiers held the front lines, backed up by a company of archers, a mixed company of infantry and archers, and their flanks covered by light cavalry. Behind all of them were two platoons of mages on either side of his siege engines, all of which were making carefully staggered strikes on the elven fortress, so that every minute or so an attack landed.

  The fortress was little like those that Kelvanis favored. Instead of stone walls, the elves favored thick berms of clay and soil that were magically packed into near the consistency of stone. For towers they used tree forts, with the trees warded against fire and other attacks. As always, the elven mages were more powerful than the Kelvanis’, but he’d struck this fort with five times the number of defenders, leaving the elves little choice save to use their fortifications to the best of their abilities.

  Even so, the elven skirmishers had lost a handful of their number in their brief clash with the orcs, while the orcs had lost slightly more in the exchange. Not that Hall cared about the orcs. The mercenaries from the Bloodcrag Wastes were plentiful, and orcs loved combat. Unless he lost half the number he had available, he wouldn’t worry in the slightest.

  His problem was the lack of contact from Major Thompson. The raiding force should have contacted him with their mages the previous day, and every hour of delay worried him. If the raid had failed, the Archon was going to be upset beyond measure.

  A flicker of movement caught Hall’s attention, and he pointed at a corner of the enemy fortress, barking out sharply, “Casters! Fireball!”

  To their credit, two mages reacted almost instantly, and Hall smiled as two fireballs raced toward the faint shimmer he’d spotted.

  “Dammit, no!” Captain Arthan Southpeak swore angrily as a pair of fireballs hit the group of scouts right as they’d tried to leave the fort, his face growing even more grim. The blasts sent the half-dozen men and women flying, and he was deathly afraid that only one or two would survive to enter the fort again.

  The force attacking his fort wasn’t powerful enough to actually overrun it before reinforcements could arrive, so their assault had puzzled Arthan at first. Even stranger, the attackers had obviously not even been trying to take the fort. After a brief debate the previous evening, Arthan had chosen to defend, having sent warnings to the other forts via messenger pigeons. And for a while, that had seemed good enough, as he returned fire in an attempt to whittle down the forces of his attackers via attrition.

  But everything had changed when they’d received a messenger pigeon of their own from the capital during the night. The word about the attack on Golden Vale and the abductions had caused fear to flood through not just Arthan, but his lieutenants as well. It was obvious now that the attackers were just trying to pin him down, so they’d immediately begun attempting a breakout, desperately trying to free up enough soldiers to find and block the retreat of the raiders and their captives.

  “Sir, I don’t think we can get anyone out,” Arthan’s second in command, Lieutenant Dalren, spoke in a pained voice. “They’re specifically targeting anyone trying to leave the fortress, and keeping mages in reserve just to hit them. We simply can’t spare the mages to cover both the fort and breakout teams.”

  “Shit. I don’t… dammit, you might be right.” Arthan ground his teeth in frustration, taking a deep breath. “Hold back the teams for the time being. See if we can’t lull them into thinking we’re giving up.”

  “Yes, sir!” Dalren replied, quickly moving to bark out orders.

  Arthan flinched as yet another catapult stone hit the walls of the fortress and waited, praying under his breath for a chance to make a difference.

  But half an hour later, his hope began to die as the enemy sounded the retreat. It was less than an hour before his scouts confirmed that a large group of heavily-laden horses had crossed from Yisara into Kelvanis not long before.

  “Why are you missing over half of your soldiers, Major? And where in the hells are your mages? I expected word from you yesterday on your expected arrival,” Hall asked, his voice harsh as he glowered at the large soldier. “Not only that, you are missing half the expected hostages, including the crown princess. I don’t recall seeing the Enforcer that was dispatched to accompany you, either.”

  They were back at the field camp that Hall had been using as the base of operations for the raid. The Justicar was certain that the elves would likely be after them soon enough, but that was why the next morning they’d transport the captives back to Timberfall, where they could be kept under a more secure lock and key.

  “I’m uncertain, sir.” Major Thompson’s reply was respectful but firm, and Hall felt a hint of respect form at the fact the major didn’t flinch away. The soldier continued without pausing. “I entered the teleportation portal with the second wave of soldiers, just behind Enforcer Corvek. He departed with a platoon to seek out the princess, and I began organizing the soldiers as they came through. The alarm was raised early, so I initiated the attack immediately. I’m informed that moments later, the soldiers stopped appearing. My personal assumption was that the mages failed to accurately estimate how long the portal could be held open.”

  “In addition, due to the lack of forces and the early raising of the alarm, resistance was much higher than anticipated, and many of the targets managed to flee.” Thompson frowned, then shrugged slightly. “Regardless, it appears that we acquired two of the three ducal heirs, as well as Princess Jaine, sir. I believe that under the circumstances there was little else we could manage.”

  “I see. The portal simply stopped working, and moments after the alarm was raised?” Hall frowned deeply, murmuring softly. “I didn’t believe that they had a ley line disruptor in Yisara. I will have to speak with the Archon about this possibility.”

  “Sir?” Thompson seemed confused by Hall’s words, prompting a thin smile from his superior.

  “The artificers in the northern realms have created a number of offensive and defensive devices, Major. Among them are ley line disruptors. They’re extremely expensive and able to disrupt ley lines, preventing them from being used for teleportation while active. Much less dangerous than disrupting a node, and easy to deactivate when the job is done. I didn’t believe that Yisara had access to such machines,” the Justicar explained, and his eyes went frosty as he added, “But such would quit
e easily explain why you had so many difficulties. The loss of Enforcer Corvek and the crown princess is… upsetting, but there is nothing to be done about it. I accept that you did the best that you could manage for the moment. And the captives you did take are likely enough to carry out the Archon’s goal. You have my compliments, Major.”

  “Thank you, sir. And that makes a lot more sense to me than the mages being incompetent. I admit to having had some rather strong words during the exfiltration due to their absence,” the major replied, relaxing ever so slightly.

  “I can’t say that I blame you,” Hall replied, tapping the map slowly as he considered everything.

  “Sir? May I ask what is going to happen now?” Thompson asked after a moment.

  “You may ask, Major,” Hall agreed, smiling thinly as he glanced over at his writing desk and the half-written letter sitting on it. He’d have to re-write it due to the lack of the crown princess, but the particulars would be largely the same. His smile widened. “Now we send them a letter with our demands. If they want their precious heirs back, they’re going to have to be ready to give the Archon what he wants.”

  Chapter 25

  “How dare they?” King Torkal roared, standing from his chair and slamming his hands onto the table, his eyes alight with anger. “What kind of madman would dare demand such of us, after they attacked us?”

  “They dare because they believed that they would have not just Jaine, but Beryl as well in their hands. This demand is arrogant and overwhelming because they believe that we have little choice but to do as they demand,” Queen Diane replied, her voice tired as she sat back herself, closing her eyes. “At least we know how they got into Golden Vale.”

  The situation was an utter disaster, though not as bad as it could have been. Princess Beryl was about a day from reaching the capital, and from the sound of things, nearly two-thirds of the nobility who had been present in Golden Vale had escaped. The Archpriestess of Medaea had approached them the previous day with word that one of their concealed temples, hidden in the Godsrage Mountains, had been attacked. The priestesses knew little, and the worry on Archpriestess Nadis’ face had been ill-concealed. But the records of the Royal Family included the temple in question, and the ley line extending from it had revealed exactly how Kelvanis had bypassed Yisara’s front lines.

  None of that had helped when the raiding force managed to escape, though. Shortly afterward, a trembling acolyte of Medaea named Evelyn had delivered a message from Justicar Hall of Kelvanis. The offer he’d made had been simple, and horrifying. According to his message, none of the captives had been branded, but he was willing to hand them over and even sign a 10-year peace treaty that only Yisara could break. The only thing that they wanted in exchange was Queen Diane herself, in good health. Well, they also weren’t willing to hand over Jaine, unless they got Beryl as well. As much as Diane desperately wanted to rescue her daughter, there was no way that she was going to hand over her heir. The problem was that he was giving exactly a month for them to agree or decline before they started branding their captives.

  “So we refuse and gather everything we have to try to punch through their lines and rescue them!” Torkal retorted, gesturing at the nearby map on the table. “We can’t give in to their demands!”

  “And what happens when we pull all the forces from the forts, if they strike back? What happens if the nobles refuse to support me, with their heirs missing? You’ve already heard the panic that this has caused in the nobles. Duke Crownglade is already all but frothing at the mouth over his daughter’s abduction.” Diane sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You know how he dotes on Ceres, so he’ll never agree to anything that risks her. No matter how much I want to agree with you, I can’t do anything without losing their trust, love. Not right now.”

  “Then what can we do?” Torkal asked, his hands clenched tight as he leaned on the table, anger still all but vibrating through him.

  Sorrow and fear seeped through Diane’s veins, but she kept her voice steady with difficulty. “I will gather a council of nobles. We will look at all the options, but we only have two weeks to safely consider. At that time, assuming that we can’t come up with a better option… I may have no choice, my love. I hate it with every fiber of my being, but if the option is handing myself over to them, or provoking a civil war that will leave us even more vulnerable, do I have a choice?”

  “I… but…” Torkal’s voice almost broke as he stared at her in dawning horror. His voice was soft and filled with anguish as he protested. “No, you can’t do that. Diane…”

  “Love… I will do everything in my power. I will speak with the others. But right this moment, I see no other options. This blow was devastating.” Diane swallowed, then shook her head, reiterating, “I fear I will have no choice. But I promise, if it comes to that, I’ll make certain they get as little out of me as possible.”

  Chapter 26

  “You’re certain about letting the horses go here?” Lirisel asked nervously, looking at the hills around them.

  “All save those carrying our relics, yes,” Diamond confirmed, stripping off the saddle of her mount as she prepared to set it loose. “They won’t be easy to get through the area we’ll be hiking through, which would increase our odds of being spotted. Besides, there wouldn’t be a good place to put them in the dungeon. It’d almost be cruel.”

  “I suppose. I just… what if we can’t get there? What if we have to run?” Lirisel asked, glancing around the group, where most of the other priestesses were preparing to follow them into the mountains.

  “It’ll be fine, Lirisel,” Emerald assured her, smiling shyly. “There are certain to be guards, but we’re prepared to deal with them. All we have to do is get to the entrance, and Sistina will open it for us.”

  “Emerald’s right,” Amethyst added softly, nodding as she patted Lirisel on the shoulder. “We got out easy enough, and they had heavy patrols then.”

  “I… well, if you say so. I’m just nervous,” Lirisel admitted, turning to deal with her own mount. She couldn’t stop the worry, but it was easing slightly. The High Priestess, no matter her current state, was comforting with her confidence.

  Diamond’s body felt like it was on fire. Every heartbeat throbbed through her like an immense drum, the ache slowly intensifying.

  The trip to the temple hadn’t been so bad. All of the seven priestesses had felt a faint longing to return to Sistina, but it hadn’t been enough to cause more than a minor distraction when they weren’t busy. It was when they had started to return to the dungeon that the fire within them had begun to grow, and Diamond couldn’t help but tremble at the intensity of it.

  It was like she was suspended in a sea of flames, and only Sistina could quench it. But despite the intensity of the sensations, Diamond found her mind oddly clear and able to still take precautions so that they could safely make it to their destination… even if her mind all but rebelled at the thought of taking longer to reach Sistina and the dungeon.

  Patting her horse as she set it loose, Diamond glanced over at Sapphire, who was looking a bit unsteady. After a moment, she asked, “How are you? Sapphire?”

  It took Sapphire a moment to respond, mostly to her name, and the other woman looked up at Diamond, her cheeks flushed. It took a few moments before she almost whispered, “C-can you feel it, High Priestess?”

  “Feel what?” Diamond asked, blinking in surprise. “I mean, I feel the heat, but…”

  “No, no… I feel her. I feel the dungeon itself… and the power pulsing within,” Sapphire almost whispered, swallowing as she added, “The nodes are like heartbeats. It’s like silent thunder to me.”

  “What? I haven’t felt anything like that.” Diamond blinked, surprised as she frowned.

  A moment later, she began to feel something, now that she was focusing on Sistina. It was incredibly faint, but beneath the throbbing heat Diamond could feel something else. Something primal and powerful. And the slow, throbb
ing sensation of the nodes… Diamond shivered at the power of them. Power that could only be tapped in the most indirect of ways, primarily for teleportation. But there was something else, and she frowned.

  “Now that I’ve focused on it, I can feel them. Does it sound like someone is singing through them to you?” Diamond asked, perplexed at the sensation of sound without sound.

  Sapphire blinked in surprise, her eyes widening. “Now that you mention it… I think I do.”

  Phynis listened in rapt fascination as Sistina sang wordlessly under her breath, the dryad slowly shaping the wooden branch into a bow. None of the pieces of the bow shaved off or broke; Sistina simply stroked her hands over it slowly and carefully, and the wood reshaped in her hands like it was made of clay.

  Sistina’s voice was beautiful, though Phynis wasn’t surprised. When the dryad could create her own body and modify the plants and other creatures in the dungeon, why couldn’t she ensure that she had a lovely voice? But even so, Phynis didn’t recognize the particular music. It had a distinctly elven style to it, though.

  As the bow took shape, Phynis glanced over at Desa, who smiled as she listened, seeming more calm than normal. That made Phynis smile more, as she relaxed even more herself. If it weren’t for what had happened to Farris, the past week would have been one of the most comforting in nearly a decade.

  Sistina felt much the same as Phynis, even if neither of them knew it for certain. The removal of the captive soldiers had eased tension that the dryad hadn’t even realized was there, and Earl seemed to be settling in well enough. She kept a close watch on the man, but there had been nothing to concern her about him so far.

  The bow had been set aside for the time being. Part of Sistina desperately wanted to enchant the item, which she intended to gift to one of the guards, but she couldn’t afford to use the mana a proper enchantment would take. She’d already used more than she should have the last few days, and unless something changed, she would only barely be able to achieve her plans the next spring. The spring equinox was far too close, and it was putting more pressure on Sistina than she wanted.