Cary J. Lenehan is a former trades assistant, soldier, public servant, cab driver, truck driver, game designer, fishmonger, trainee horticulturalist and university tutor (among other things). His hobbies include collecting and reading books (the non-fiction are Dewey decimalised), Tasmanian native plants (particularly the edible ones), the SCA and gaming. He has taught people how to use everything from shortswords to rocket launchers. He met his wife at an SF Convention while cosplaying and they have not looked back.
He was born in Sydney before marrying and moving to the Snowy Mountains where they started their family. They moved to Tasmania for the warmer winters and are not likely to ever leave it.
Looking out of the window beside his computer is a sweeping view of Mount Wellington and its range.
Warriors of Vhast Series
published by
IFWG Publishing Australia
Intimations of Evil (Book 1)
Engaging Evil (Book 2)
Clearing the Web (Book 3)
Warriors of Vhast Book 3
Clearing
the Web
by
Cary J Lenehan
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters portrayed herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places, events or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher.
Clearing the Web
Book 3, Warriors of Vhast
All Rights Reserved
ISBN-13: 978-0-9945229-5-5
Copyright ©2018 Cary J Lenehan
This eebook may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
IFWG Publishing International
Melbourne
www.ifwgpublishing.com
Acknowledgement
It has been a while coming, but the third book of the series is in your hands now. I would like to thank all of you who have been reading either the books or the short stories (currently only available through my Patreon page).
I hope that I continue to entertain you and that you keep reading, sharing my world with your friends, and posting reviews.
This may be the third book, but it is just the start of the adventure. There are five more books (mostly written) to come. After that I hope to see come out, collected together, the short stories, the maps, the recipes, the plants and animals, and even the Tarot deck.
I do appreciate feedback from my readers and I look forward to meeting or talking to you all at one stage or another.
Cary J. Lenehan
Hobart
A cast list and glossary of terms used in this novel can be found at page 383.
As well as my wife (potter extraordinaire) Marjorie and my mother, Eden, I would like to dedicate this book to my friend and beta reader Pip Woodfield. She knows my characters better than I do in some respects. I would have difficulty keeping track without her.
Delving deep the Dwarves dug long
Giant galleries are greatly growing
Dare to disturb the dangerous denizens
Dreaming darkly of devastating doom
Calamitous conflict claims cavernous chambers
Covetous curs cause cacophonous clash
Base brutes bring blighted beasts
Bloody battering and bruising blows
Ancient ancestors and awful ambition
Afflict agony and angry anguish
Depraved desires deal out dark destruction
Dwarven deserters draw discordant dispute
Soul-stealing spirits sew Strife-strewn stairs
Sanguine strife sees Serpentine sleeper
Hallowed histories help haunted homeland
Hag-haunted halls now hope-filled
Sublime sound of singing staunch steel
Stalwart seekers stalk soul-stealing spirits
Fierce foes fall to furious frenzy of
Formidable friends and famous Crown-finder
Djill Tale-bearer, Dwarven skald
(extract from Double-damned Dharmal and Dread-filled Dwarvenholme)
Map of the Lands
East of Lake Erave
Chapter 1
Rani
3rd November, the Year of the Water Dog
I guess that it is up to me, as the Battle Mage, to think of these things…but did I have to think of it on the way to bed? “My dear, something for you to think about tomorrow. If we are to succeed, we will need to have at least one device that will directly target at least some of these Masters so that they do not overwhelm us.”
O dear Ratri, as expected, my wife has started thinking about it straight away. I knew this would happen. Once again, I end up alone and bored while she plays with a slate instead of me. She sighed. Even if I choose to pleasure myself, she will probably not notice.
Rani
9th November
It has taken her a full week to determine that the best they could do would be to enchant some of the weapons that they would be taking with them. Looking at what people were using already, or had decided to train with, the most common weapon was the mace, of some sort or other. So that they had more than just knives to fight with, Bianca, Kãhina and Verily were all being trained in them by Hulagu and Ayesha, rather than by Stefan, who was busy teaching sword to the villagers who would stay. Naturally, the two teachers favoured their own weapon when teaching.
Theo-dear had reasoned, as Thord used a hammer, he could, with ease, change to a mace as well. However, I am not used to working with Dwarves. I had heard that they were stubborn and fixed in their ways. I just had not realised how much this was true. “My hammer is already enchanted,” said Thord. “perhaps not as strong as the ones Princess ‘ll provide, but ha’ an extra enhancement agin undead on it anyway. Besides, I be used to it.” It seems that is the end of it.
Oh well. We only have five to make. If we can get facility with the spell, we might try changing it for some of the other weapons that we will use. That will be harder, but we still have several weeks before we can set out. Theodora argued that she was the stronger of the two mages and so she should be the one to create the weapons as she could forge a stronger spell. Rani found herself arguing that undead lay in the realm of water and she was a fire mage, so anything she made should be more effective.
Theo-dear won the argument by reminding me of some basic theory which I have been trying to ignore. “Once the spell is cast, it is not focussed. If it were, you would be the more effective. It will be controlled and constrained, and unless we are creating something that specifically uses the elements, the item will work the same regardless of who makes it. You can better spend your time making more arrows with Robin, or something to give us light as we stumble about under the ground.”
Sticking her tongue out at me ruins the logical argument, but it does help us move to another subject far less germane to the task at hand, but far more fun.
Theodora explained it to the students. “Each weapon will take me three days to enhance. The first day creates the matrix. The second lays in the enchantment against undead that should encompass a wraith or something else of that ilk. It is a charm that will only work on very good blows, for I cannot afford to create anything that works all of the time.”
“If the Masters are more powerful, say if they are liches…that being the usual name given
to mages who have refused to die and who have raised their own bodies from the grave, or rather kept them from it, by force of will and so have kept all their power…then we will all die. The third day allows us to add a casting to make it easier to hit targets.”
Better not leave it at that. “However,” Rani added quickly, “if they are liches, then between them they probably would have been able to remove the shield that we put in place over the valley, and we think that it is still intact against them because the Hobs were not warned of our wards on the path. We may be lucky, and these wards will be powerful enough for them. If they are not, then we have included enchantments to enhance damage and the ability to hit them. These will also make good blows more likely.
“Remember that magic has its limitations. The first is that, no matter how powerful you get, you are never powerful enough to perform everything that you want to do. The second is that, because of the first, you are always trading off one thing for another. Thus, with these weapons…to make them work better against a more powerful undead, we have to decrease how often they will work when we do hit. I would like to make them work all of the time when they hit. I cannot do that.”
“Hulagu,” interjected Theodora. “It is time for us to start. Give me your mace.” Hulagu reluctantly handed over his mace as the first to be worked on. It is obvious that he is not too sure if he wants the experiment done on his weapon, but we are not giving him a choice.
Theodora made her casts. When they were finished, she nodded in satisfaction.
“Now,” said Rani, “until we have finished working on Hulagu’s mace and locked it, no-one can cast any spells unless they go to practice in the mine. Why is that?”
Bilqĩs raised her hand. “Because if we do, it is possible that Hulagu’s mace may not negate undead, but it will make a nice cup of tea,” she said with a smile. At least they are picking up the ideas.
We need to keep up the investigation of the hidden talents of Mousehole. Most people have something that sets them apart from their fellows. I already know about Verily and her ability to smell magic. That is a rare skill indeed and I have been working on training her to be more precise in her evaluations… Try and get her to tell an item made under the auspices of the moon of the tiger, say, from one that was made under the moon of the dragon…although both are fire spells. There has been some success, but it is not consistent. Do we keep this up?
But we really do need to know who has any skill at all first. Before we find that we have a need for a skill and have not explored it. I suppose that of the skills we have discovered so far, some were almost predictable. Harald couldn’t smell magic, but the smell of butter, or of the sea, meant gold or silver to him if there was enough of it, or if it were close enough. It was a valuable talent for a miner. Was it why he took up the trade? Even the new priest has Harald and Thord excited by admitting that he knew if gems were within a metre of him. He doesn’t know how, he just knows.
Parminder was often to be found sitting in the stables, listening to horses or a cat. I have proved that she could not ‘hear’ any of the sheep or chickens or goats or cows, but she should always try to hear any new animal that comes in sight. It will be better if we can get her to increase the range at which she could hear…or if we can get the animals to hear her.
She is able to tell that the horses liked Ayesha nearly as much as they liked Bianca, and that the cats loved it when Stefan, Ayesha or Bianca came to the stables and paid attention to them. She did not know why. The girl had decided that the only thing that was different between Ayesha and Bianca was that Bianca responded more to her animals than any of the others did.
Our other discovery is a real surprise. Danelis had said “I have always tried to ignore this. I grew up thinking that it made me a witch and I didn’t want to be that. It was only when I came here that I found that it was sometimes useful, but it is only a tiny thing and I did not know how to make it stronger. I will show you. It is easier to show than to explain.” She sat down and looked at Rani’s dagger at her side.
I feel something shifting. My dagger is slowly coming out its sheath. It is moving slowly through the air and has stopped on the table. “I have to concentrate hard, and it has to be close…no more than three paces…and I can only move it slowly and it is very tiring, but…well that is it.” Danelis has sweat standing out on her brow from the effort of what she has done.
After that, Rani had her trying to lift heavier and heavier weights, further and faster and with more force. If it were not for the fact that the only mining that she and Harald were doing now was for some pieces of stone for building, I would have her absolutely exhausted when she went to bed each night. This could be useful. “It is far easier lifting stone,” Danelis said.
Christopher
11th November
Theodule stood in front of Christopher and seemed to be embarrassed. He has surprised me. He has mentioned nothing in his confessions. I am curious.
“You know that I was sent here to fill in while you are away as your vicar,” he said. Christopher nodded, “and part of the reason that I was sent is that I was a widower,” again Christopher nodded. “It seems that your village has struck again. Today Ruth has asked me to marry her. I pointed out my age as opposed to hers, for I am almost exactly twice her age. She pointed out that this was not important. Many men were older than their wives as many did not settle down until they had enough wealth to keep a family.
“I pointed out that I might be sent elsewhere as a priest when you came back, and she pointed out that she could travel as well as I could. I pointed out that I didn’t love her, and she pointed out that most marriages didn’t start with love. They were arranged, and that love was something you learnt together over time. I admit that my many happy years of marriage have made me disposed to agree with her plan. I have been happy once before, so I am sure that my Kale would not mind if I were to become happy again.”
Christopher just grinned through his shock. “When do you want the wedding?”
Chapter II
Theodora
11th November
“I ha’ worked out how to read t’ diary.” Thord said.
“Diary?” said Theodora, “What diary.”
He looks impatient. “On t’ day we arrived here you gave me a book and told me t’ it might be Dharmal’s diary. Did you just give it to me to waste my time?”
“No, no, I had just forgotten. So much has happened…did you find out what is in it?”
“Yes. He records his quest for t’ door to Dwarvenholme ’n’ details his route. I can now walk you t’ exact path he took. He was very precise with detailing everything t’at he did. I t’ink t’at he t’ought he was starting to write history for his children.” Thord chuckled. It isn’t a pretty chuckle. “He records his meeting with t’ Masters. He saw four hands of them but, ’n’ he gives no grounds for t’is, he t’inks t’at t’ere were only half t’at many. He is convinced, but he was just working on a hunch.”
“Even hunches are sometimes right but you are also correct, we cannot rely on it.”
“T’ey took over his body ’n’ he could not move.”
“I had forgotten that. They seem to like control spells…I wonder…” I have forgotten Thord. He just coughed. “Sorry, I just had a thought. I think that we will be trying to make everyone a new ring. It may not work, and it may not be needed, but then again, it may. Is there anything else?”
“He records seeing t’em walk, rather t’an float. He is definite on t’at point ’n’ when, he saw t’eir hands he mentions that t’ey are just bone.”
“Perhaps we may be lucky. Undead are almost always created by someone. It is very rare for them to just arise on their own. When people make them, they are usually made as a form of skeleton. It is easier. What Rani and I have been afraid of is if they are all liches. Liches are undead, but they are very nearly alive…t
hey have real bodies with wants and needs and lusts.”
“A skeleton mage can be made powerful, not just like the ones that wander around near Evilhalt, they can easily be as powerful as most mages who are alive, but they lack the full power of a liche. Just think for a moment about the power of someone who has thwarted death by just refusing to accept it.”
“What lacks the power of a liche?” asked Rani, entering the room.
“Thord has deciphered Dharmal’s diary and is telling me what he wrote in it.” They filled her in on what had been said so far.
“That would make sense,” said Rani. “We had worked out that they lacked imagination and creativity. That would accord with them being skeleton mages rather than liches. Skeleton mages lack much free thought, among many other things. We can only hope.”
Christopher
13th November
I think Theodule is a little disappointed that the men of Mousehole respected his office and gave him a very quiet pre-wedding party. The wedding itself was very straightforward, with Stefan as groomsman and Bianca as the maid of honour. Rani gave the bride away.
What is nice is that the last marriage I will do in Mousehole, at least until more men arrive was so…normal in all of its aspects. Its most notable attribute is that we were able to hold it on the feast day of Saint Homobonus and Saint John Chrysostum. While Saint Homobonus has little relevance to the village yet, being patron of cloth workers, Saint John Chrysostum is at least the patron saint of priests.
Christopher
14th November
It turns out that Mousehole has one more surprise in store for me at least. Ayesha came up to him when he was talking to his wife in the courtyard enjoying the morning sun. “We need to gather Rani and Theodora and go down to the guard house. You told me to get someone to help me with the Hob, and I asked Verily, because she is the least human of anyone here—and I include Thord in that.”
Clearing the Web Page 1
