by Langland, J.
"Again, I'm not sure..."
"You're not sure? How can you not be sure? You were running around with it. Didn't it say something? Give you any clues as to its plans." Jehenna demanded.
At this point Maelen spoke up. He hadn't said a word all through dinner. "May I ask," the two wizards turned their cold stares on him, "how you expect a young wizard of Jenn's years and experience, to determine the motives of a greater demon, when you yourselves are unable to do so? These creatures are not exactly the most openhanded beings in the planes of existence. Surely if individuals of such obvious learning and knowledge, as yourselves, have difficulties, a young girl such as Jenn would have even more. I think asking her such questions is rather pointless. Don't you?"
If possible, the stares of the two wizards got even chillier. Maelen didn't so much as blink, he simply stared Lenamare in the eyes until he got a response. Lenamare coughed. "You are, probably, correct. Jehenna and I have spent many a night trying to understand the machinations of this fourth order demon. While we have had many insights, I must admit they have not been easily achieved, or for that matter, terribly useful." Jehenna frowned at this point. "This nightmare of the Abyss is obviously up to something more than it first appeared. What that is, is unclear. Almost certainly, however, it revolves around the book. Of that there can be no question."
"Why no question?" Edwyrd asked, meeting Lenamare's stare head on. "What exactly is in that book that a greater demon 'obviously' wants and that an archdemon would march on Freehold for? And for that matter, that Exador would waste the majority of his army on to have?"
"That," Jehenna said with a trace more than her usual coldness, "is none of your business. Leave that to your betters."
Edwyrd was mad now. Not that it particularly took much from either of these two beings to make him mad, but if their grilling Jenn hadn't, this had. Thus, he was a little more forceful and blunt than he would have been under calmer circumstance. "I have yet," he said equally coldly, "to see proof that you are my betters. Until such is shown, I would suggest you keep such derogatory comments to yourself. Where I come from, a certain amount of respect is given to people whom you've only recently met. Not to mention one's assistants and employees. I treat others that way, and I expect you to as well."
Everyone at the table was staring at Edwyrd as if he'd just stood up and pissed in the wine bottle. Gastropé and Jenn were looking on in open-mouthed shock. Maelen was startled but not upset. Rupert was grinning. Lenamare and Jehenna looked incredibly affronted by his nerve.
"Young man. Do you have any idea to whom you are speaking?" Lenamare asked.
"I'm speaking to a couple of wizards who lost the battle for this stupid book on their home territory. Who are, once again, going to have to fight the same battle with the same opponent on a different field, with the Rod of Tiernon and an archdemon's horde on the battlefield as well.
“Not to mention the Council of Wizards, who I am sure would be interested in the book. All trying to grab what these two wizards have already lost once." He exaggerated about the Rod, he knew they weren't after the book, but Lenamare and Jehenna didn't have to know that. "Two wizards who are going to need all the help they can get, and who had best realize it soon, before they are deserted by every possible ally."
Rupert was squirming madly in his seat, trying bravely not to start cheering. Jenn was staring completely aghast, and Gastropé was shaking his head. Maelen was simply grinning a small tight grin. Jehenna looked as if he'd slapped her. Lenamare was blinking. "You have, a hell of a lot of nerve, young man. More so than is obvious by your appearance. Since you think," Lenamare smiled condescendingly, "you know who you are dealing with, may I ask who we are dealing with?"
Edwyrd smiled a grim smile. "I would have thought you'd ask that sooner. However, better late than never I suppose. I am Edwyrd. I am" Edwyrd paused recalling the term Maelen had used for him, "a pyromaster as well as the practitioner of several other disciplines." He was making this up by the seat of his pants. One thing Tom had learned growing up in New York was, if you're going to bluff, don't do it halfway and make the bluff worth doing. Actually it wasn't all bluff, he'd faced Lenamare before, taken the man's measure. He was almost ready for a rematch.
"You mean pyromancer, don't you, boy?" Lenamare corrected, Jehenna covered her mouth with one hand, apparently thinking hard about something. It seemed she knew what he was talking about.
"No," Edwyrd said gently, but forcefully, "I mean pyromaster. As in, I am an animage. I am not a wizard. There is a difference. I do by force of will and by my knowledge of that which I command, what you must do through carefully contrived spells." He was looking out the corner of his eye at Maelen on this one. It was a leap of faith that this was correct, but that was what it seemed animages did. Maelen simply nodded his head slightly in approval. “Unlike you, I don’t need props.” The wizards at the table all looked horribly shocked. Maelen just chuckled softly.
"I think," Jehenna broke in, "that for now we should simply accept Edwyrd's word. He will have ample opportunity to prove himself in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, as we are allies, as our young animage here is wont to point out, we should be civil to each other. I am willing to do that." That seemed about the closest thing to an apology, as he'd get from her.
"Allow me to rephrase my earlier statement," Jehenna continued smoothly, Lenamare looking on grumpily. "What I should have said was: it would be best that the number of individuals knowing the contents of the book be kept to a minimum. The more people that know, the more likely the information is to escape and the more players on the field we will have." Edwyrd refrained from saying that keeping the book a secret hadn't exactly kept the field empty. "Now, let's have dessert."
The remainder of the meal continued in the same manner as the start of the meal, in silence. That was fine with Edwyrd. Less chance of himself blowing up and trying to incinerate Lenamare and Jehenna on the spot. Not that he felt he had an overwhelming chance of success, but it would certainly be fun to try; after all, he didn’t see any pentacles in the dining room.
As they walked back to their rooms that evening, Jenn finally spoke up. "You do enjoy a good argument, don't you, Edwyrd?" Edwyrd just smiled and shrugged. "First me last night, and now those two. Obviously, I can't agree with your weird attitude about demons, but I do have to admire you for bearding those dragons in their layer."
"Well, I just thought somebody needed to put them in their place." Edwyrd explained.
"Well, I think for the moment, you did," commented Maelen. "I certainly enjoyed it. I'm not completely sure it was wise, but what you said about allies is true and neither of those two impress me as being stupid. While they may seethe at your temerity, I suspect they'll also decide you were right and put up with it."
Chapter 67
Sir Talarius rode through the cool night breeze. The heat of the daytime sun now left behind. The Rod’s calvary was camped back at the top of the pass. At their current fast pace, they should be able to reach Freehold at sunset the coming evening. Talarius was pleased with their progress; as always the men of the Rod excelled above all others. They were certainly one of the fastest and most mobile military units he'd had the pleasure of serving with. They were also exceptional warriors, down to the last man.
They had had the small delay to locate any invisible demons, but none had been found. The Arch-Vicar had moved priests to the outer edges and instructed them to continue scanning for cloaked and invisible beings around the Rod.
The Arch-Vicar General had concurred with him on the need for more extended reconnaissance. It was for this reason that he was even now approaching the outer walls of Freehold on the back of War Arrow. The city let off a great deal of light into the night's sky. Obviously a prosperous town, with hope not yet overrun by evil. Along the way Talarius had scanned the road for signs of the Archaedemon's forces, invisible or otherwise, but had seen none.
Aiding him in this process was the Holy Mirror of Erastimus.
Talarius examined it even now as he approached the city. To the common eye it appeared little more than a fair-sized hand mirror with an incredibly large diamond set on the back of its finely wrought silver frame. However, to one blessed with knowledge of its use, it was far more. By holding the mirror between one's self and an object or person, the mirror would show the image of that object. Overlaid upon that person or object would be a color coded indication of demonic influence. If only such a mirror existed for other types of evil, the evil in the hearts of men, for example.
In this particular instance, Talarius would fly over the city, viewing parts of the city through the mirror. Any demons would show up on the mirror as points of colored light. Even if they were shielded by walls or roofs. Further, the color of the light representing the demon would be indicative of its power. The colors were those of the primary spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Thus there were seven levels to indicate demonic power. Of course, there were only six orders of demons, unless one counted the Concordenax, which hardly seemed reasonable, thus the color-coding scheme would be a little more finally tuned than the nomenclature commonly used to describe demons. Actually, Talarius reflected, it was certainly finer, because in the past, the colors he'd seen had formed a continuum indicating the overall power of the demon. Thus, a powerful first order might appear as orange red.
Talarius had seen the lower half of the spectrum quite often. He'd never seen violet or indigo and only once, blue. He prayed to Tiernon he never did see any of the higher colors. That would surely be a test he'd fail. Overall, though, Talarius found the mirror to be indispensable in the war on evil. He only wished there were some way to incorporate the mirror's powers into his visor so he could always spy demonic influence. It was simply not considered polite to walk up to a stranger looking at them through an apparently opaque mirror. It was also not safe, to walk up to an opponent in battle doing such.
He brought War Arrow into a circular flight pattern around the city. He remained at a fairly high distance above the ground. He wanted, first of all, to be able to sweep good sized portions of the city in a single pass, and secondly, to be above any ground attacks that might be launched by nervous guards or drunken wizards. He instructed War Arrow to go in an inward spiral at normal horse walking speed. It would take a while, but the thorough scan could prove worthwhile. He'd finish up with a surveillance of the wizards’ palace. He suspected that most likely an Archaedemon would be in the city somewhere, or near its outside perimeter. He doubted it would feel safe inside a palace full of wizards who would certainly detect it.
There appeared to be no demons outside the city walls. Inside was somewhat different. As he passed over the city, he noted several red and orange lights indicating low level demons. Not a horde certainly, but far more than the one or two demon's one might expect in a city this size. Talarius, however was not alarmed. Given that Freehold was a city full of wizards, such activity was to be expected, even if it was blatant folly on the part of the wizards.
Unfortunately those fool wizards could never leave well enough alone. Always thinking they could overcome the will of the demons, control them and use their powers for non-evil purposes. All too often Talarius had seen good wizards slain by a mistake or corrupted by the very beings they thought to enslave. While they might believe they had control of the demon, in reality, the demon had subverted them, causing them to do ever-increasing evil, all the while believing such acts were their own idea. Talarius shook his head, wishing others could see what he saw so plainly. Perhaps it was his experience in being deceived that led to his clarity.
Overall, Talarius counted fifteen demons of first or second order in the city. Anywhere else this would have been alarming. As it was, Talarius shook his head. He wondered where the Archaedemon was. Surely, it wouldn't be in the Council Palace. Nonetheless, it was time to pass over the palace. What the Holy Mirror of Erastimus revealed nearly unseated him.
Talarius had to circle the Palace of Evil several times before he could believe what he was seeing. How could it have gone so far? Had the entire Council of Wizards been taken over already? Through the mirror, the entire palace was lit with red spots. They must be virtually lining the corridors with first order demons! There were literally hundreds of them! While there were large areas, he presumed private chambers, free of the red; the spider work dot pattern of red lights seemed to indicate that there were demons spread throughout the halls.
That however, was the least of his worries. Intermixed in the red were several orange and even yellow lights. There were probably another fifteen or twenty orange lights in the building and maybe five or six yellow. To top this off, there was a definite bright green light moving through the castle even as he watched. This was unthinkable; he'd never seen so much activity in one place. However, all these lights paled before the final fact that made Talarius sick to his stomach, he felt his bowels rumbling.
It was hard to tell because of the close proximity of all of them, two especially, but there really could be no question. There was one light blue light with a slight turquoise tinge and two rather dark blues. There might be more, but there were at least three. Three Archaedemons! In one place! At one time! Talarius prayed. He prayed deeply and sincerely. He prayed that this test might not fall upon his shoulders. A challenge of one Archaedemon he'd foolishly looked forward to. But three at once! Talarius had never known fear, at least not of anything physical or tangible, and he didn't believe that was what he felt now. Trepidation might be the word. Whatever it was, Talarius did not enjoy it.
~
"You're sure?" Barabus asked Talarius. The knight had awakened the general as soon as he'd returned. At first, Barabus had been annoyed, thinking the report could wait until dawn. When he'd put on his robe and had Talarius shown in, he'd intended to reprimand the man. However, one look at the pale, drawn face of the knight, and the words had died on his lips. He'd sat down preparing for the worst. What the knight proceeded to tell him certainly qualified on that score. He couldn't believe it. Except that Talarius would never lie about anything, much less this.
"Absolutely," was all the man standing in armor, helmet under arm said. Barabus gestured for Talarius to sit. The man did, for once, actually seeming to need to sit. Barabus looked at the floor; Talarius simply stared at Barabus.
"Well," Barabus said weakly, "it's not quite the end of the world. You saw no indigo or violet."
"Not tonight." Barabus glanced up at the knight, who was completely serious.
"Three Archaedemons in the very stronghold of wizardry. There is no way such beings could be undetected. They must have overthrown the Council of Wizards, or at least corrupted and subsumed them. This is unquestionably bad. We outnumber the demons still, even so, given demonic ability that outnumbering only seems to even the playing field. Add to that the three Archaedemons and who knows what else and we are overpowered. Even you can't defeat three Archaedemons."
"Not in concert, separately, Tiernon willing, I can. If they act together, we have an uphill battle on our hands."
"I need to speak to Iskerus, this will have to go directly to the Portant. There is no other choice. We will have to have reinforcements if we are to prevail. We will also need them here as fast as possible."
"How fast can you get them here?" Talarius asked.
"I'm going to ask the Portant for all of the Rod stationed on Eton. I will also urge that we create a Runic Gateway to bring them through as fast as possible."
"Every member on the continent, that's one-half of the entire Rod. Will it be enough?"
"I only pray. Given such short notice though, abandoning our other interests elsewhere to bring more would only bring ruin on our head. If we had time for proper withdrawal and reorganization, then we could probably spare three-fourths of our forces. I will of course, request a Holy Synod to help battle the demons' magical influences. I'm not sure what else I can do."
Talarius nodded his head. "I will also call on Sirs Ga
dius, Etrias and Soral. They've had some demon fighting experience. They can, I am sure, be of assistance."
“Does Etrias know of his brother’s fate?” Barabus asked.
“Given the short time since I submitted my report; I doubt Etrias has been informed of Etrian’s failure.” Talarius stated.
“Will it compromise his ability?” Barabus asked.
Sir Talarius closed his eyes and took a deep breath; “I pray it shall not.”
~
"You can oathfully state that the testimony you have given is accurate to the best of your ability to determine?" Wylan asked young Raspunon. The young soldier nodded solemnly before Wylan and Fiernon.
Raspunon swore, "On my Honor as a Loyal Citizen of Oorstemoth, I do solemnly swear that my report is accurate to the best of my knowledge and ability." Raspunon wore the uniform of a Rod member. He had arrived at Wylan's camp shortly before dawn with the information he had dutifully obtained as an inside surveillance agent among the Rod.
"Very well, you are dismissed. Return to your assignment." Wylan told him. The young constabulary officer departed as dutifully instructed. When he was out of earshot, Wylan looked to Fiernon. "Such testimony as thus given is coincident with the nefarious behavior of our feral fugitives."
"Perhaps we now have evidence of why they illegally transported themselves over jurisdictional lines." Fiernon agreed.
"While the primary evidence is incomplete and thus far circumstantial, it would appear that the insidious individuals who have so blatantly and callously shown disrespect for the laws of sovereign Oorstemoth are also in league with a large body of Abyssal representatives currently seeking to subvert, pervert, and overthrow another sovereign government."
"With, I fear, potential illicit and highly illegal ramifications for the safety and defense of Oorstemoth." Fiernon added.
"Observant as always, Fiernon. Yes, while willful and malicious subversion of a foreign power in and of itself is not an implicitly illegal activity, overthrowing said government and posing serious or severe threat to the security of the Oorstemothian borders most certainly is. And it seems fairly self-evident that a Council States government that is nothing more than a pawn of the Abyss must be construed as a serious threat to Oorstemoth."
