The Charmcaster

by Whiskey Flowers

  “I am only going to see what is offered” Rell said. “I plan on returning if what they are offering my sister is not enough.”

  “And what if it is?” Denali said. “Will you abandon your tribe to the enemy?”

  “No” Rell said. “But you should not talk to the others as equals. You should pressure the others to come up with an overall leader instead of the council. Sandia proved that everyone having an equal voice would not work.”

  “We will not follow your brother,” Denali said. “I do not care what he is offering. He once tried to kill you then he was happy to see you removed.”

  “I wouldn’t follow Davin or Svend and I don’t expect you to either,” Rell said. “I will see you in a few weeks.”

  CHAPTER 17

  “Rell,” Wayne said as he looked down at Rell from atop his throne. “I summoned you and you ignored me.”

  “That I did Your Majesty,” Rell replied.

  “I promised you a title for your help,” Wayne said. “Despite what I think about charmcasters, you are a cut above the rest. I need your weapons and your brains, I am willing to give you what you want.”

  “You do not have anything I want,” Rell said as Ashlyn squeezed his hand to calm him.

  “Do you know who you are talking to?” King Wayne demanded angrily.

  “A man that needs me more than I need him Your Majesty,” Rell replied.

  “I can have you whipped and executed for this insolence,” Wayne said as he stood up.

  “It wouldn't make my words any less true,” Rell said. “Your friend, my father married my mother, even though he did not want to, because of you. Your friend, my father, sent me away to appease you. Your friend, my father, told you that I was the best choice to lead the Cliffs and even after I proved that to be true you removed me. Now the Cliffs and the Glades have been lost and you sit on the throne acting like you are doing me some kind of favor. All you did was disrespect the memory of a man you said was your friend. A man who had been successfully holding the Glades and the Cliffs for years and was only defeated by the incompetence of another. I have already come to the conclusion that no matter what I do you would not be happy with me ruling any land. If you would disrespect a friend’s memory then you would kick me out of the Cliffs as soon as you could if I am able to repel the invaders. Your title means nothing to me and I trust your word even less. I am only here because I do not think you would lie to my sister.”

  “Guards!” Wayne yelled as Crystal put her hand on his.

  “Delay that order,” Crystal said. “Wayne we have lost ground. If you know of a way to get it back then have him executed right now. You know I hate charmcasters and want Devin to lead the Cliffs even if he is ill suited for the task. Do not let your emotions cloud your thoughts. If you do not believe what he said then retort. If you are just angry, then let it go. You have a kingdom to run and have lost a huge amount of land. Getting it back is going to be difficult enough even with John’s charmcaster. Without him we are doing as well as can be expected. None of our landed noble mages can do anything. They are a worthless group.”

  “Your mountain people are trying to become their own nation?” Wayne asked.

  “They were but it fell apart” Rell said. “They do not trust each other and let one of them practically bring them to ruin. I went to live with my mother’s tribe which didn't make anything better. All of the big tribes started hoarding instead of sharing their resources. I am sure I was a part of it since I stopped caring about the good of the mountain and started worrying about the good of tribe Nevis.”

  “And where does your loyalty lie now?” Wayne asked.

  “With my last remaining family member,” Rell said. “She is my father’s daughter and has a chance to be great in her own right.”

  “What of your brothers and step mother?” Crystal asked.

  “They are no kin of mine,” Rell replied. “Even if this entire thing fails Ashlyn will never worry about someone looking after her. I do not know where Svend or Davin is and I do not care.”

  “Well I know where they are at and they need your help,” Crystal said. “They feel terrible about the way they have treated you.”

  “They feel terrible because they no longer have lands to call their own,” Rell replied. “They can find their own way. I came because I want to know exactly what Ashlyn is being given.”

  “We want to make her a Baronetess,” Crystal said.

  “Not good enough” Rell said. “She needs to be a baroness for the constant trouble she will have to watch out for. She deserves the Cliffs in whole for the work that will have to be done to keep it. Svend, Davin and whoever else can split up everything else.”

  “You don't dictate anything here,” Wayne said.

  “Right now you don't have any of those lands in your possession, Your Majesty,” Rell said. “And you are trying to place people who have shown to be ineffective in those lands.”

  “How about this charmcaster” Wayne said. “I know when I stripped you of your title you were beyond angry. You sulked out of here like a whipped puppy and turned down my offer despite the money you would make from it. You also turned away your brothers and stepmother when they tried to help you out. Your experiment with the mountain people was a failure, they kicked you out as soon as you showed sympathy for your true countrymen. I want you to handle security in the Cliffs after I get them back under my control. I want you to serve as an advisor for your brothers as well as your sister to prevent anything like this from happening again. If you can get the mountain people back under control that will be a huge bonus. In return I will pay you from my own coffers. Trust me when I say both of your brothers regret that you were not around to pull them out of the fire.”

  “No deal Your Majesty,” Rell said. “I am only here to help Ashlyn. She stands to be one of the strongest women in the kingdom and I will help her make that a reality. The mountain is going to lead itself.”

  “The tribes of the mountain want everything to go back to the way it was those few months Rell was in charge Your Majesties,” Ashlyn said then looked at Rell with a look of shame. Rell just squeezed her hand. He knew Ashlyn would have to say something.

  “What do you mean?” Crystal said. “I was under the impression they made deals with the Balenians and want their independence.”

  “Some of the powerful tribes want to be back as one people” Ashlyn said. “Many of them were against Rell leaving the mountain even if they wanted the people they called outsiders gone. They just never imagined that Rell would leave with us and when he came back that he refused to be a part of making them into anything resembling a unified force. The smaller tribes suffered instantly since they are closer to the bottom of the mountains where the Balenians can get to them. The weapons they had worked for a while but they had to back away and leave their homes or risk being overrun. The tribes with a decent amount of power started worrying about themselves and stopped listening to their great council. The council has been losing power and the tribes have slowly been going back to the way they were. Only a few tribes have the ability to fight off the Balenians and that ability is slowly eroding. With Rell in charge they will start working as one people again. They could kick Balen out of the mountain and keep the pass defended. Rell just refuses to bargain with them anymore. They even let me know they would pay any taxes they owed and would do a lot of the work for free to get rid of Balen.”

  “The reward for competence is often harder work and more of it,” Wayne said looking at Rell. “Your mountain people want you to fight and I want you to fight. What reason do you have in not helping them out?”

  “They won a few victories and became more concerned with power instead of doing actual work” Rell said. “They saw me as someone who had decent ideas and could make great weapons. They also saw me as someone not fit to lead the mountain and agreed to have me leave just like you did.”

  “Rell,” Crystal said. “Ashlyn can have the Cliffs in its entirety if that
is what you want. If you take responsibility of protecting the pass.”

  “I will try,” Rell said.

  “Why did you make that deal Crystal?” Wayne said. “What are we going to do about the rest? They are not going to be happy with the lands we are trying to give them. We already named Davin a Baron, you will have to split the Glades and Victory four ways if we want someone competent defending against the Voxians.”

  “Nonsense,” Crystal said. “We have not given a charmcaster too much power and our lands will be defended by a mage of good standing. As for the Voxians, you will come up with a suitable solution. Let’s bring the rest in here now, I know Kimberly is upset about what has happened and she wants the Glades back more than anyone.”

  Rell watched as the Queen pulled on a cord which rung a bell. The doors of their throne room were opened and Rell watched as his stepmother, two brothers and a young man that could only be Earl Victory walk through the door. The quartet bowed to the King and Queen then looked over at Rell. Rell ignored them and kept his eyes on the Queen.

  “Rell” Kimberly said. “I am glad you finally came, now you can help out your brothers.”

  “I have no brothers,” Rell said not bothering to look at Kimberly. “You and them both made that perfectly clear, I am through trying to further the charade.”

  “What are you talking about Charmcaster?” Davin said. “I need your help and I promise you will be paid decently for it.”

  “I don't need or want your money,” Rell said. “It should have been mine by birthright anyway. I am only here to help out my sister.”

  “Ashlyn?” Davin said confused. “You are supposed to be taking over all of the land near the pass, not her. What can Ashlyn do to stop the Balenians that I can't?”

  “I also gave up a little land to make things fair,” Svend said. “Me and Davin are both giving up things to help you out. Ashlyn cannot handle the Balenians any better than Davin can.”

  “You cannot give me what you do not have and right now you don't have shit,” Rell said. “Puff your chest out somewhere else.”

  “Enough” Crystal said. “It has been decided that the Cliffs in its entirety will go to Ashlyn. If anyone of you have a problem with that then lead our men to recover our lost lands.”

  “Where will I be?” Davin said worried. “I am the Baron Your Majesty, not her. I should stay the Baron.”

  “Then go fight and get your lands back” Crystal said. “Your brother has disowned you for his treatment at your hands and refuses to help any of you.”

  “Well if you were not so inept this would have never happened Davin,” Svend said.

  “The remaining portions of your lands will be divided according to title,” Wayne said. “The Glades and Victory will be redrawn. This is not going to happen again, all three of you need someone to hold your hand and it is going to be me. I am going to give you all an advisor that is ultimately going to be in charge. That advisor will handle the money and handle the defense of the kingdom. If it weren't for my blunder in believing in you then Balen and the Voxians would still be fighting to get inside instead of settling those lands. This is not up for debate. You will listen to my advisor and his or her word will supersede whatever you have to say as it relates to defending my kingdom.”

  “Your Majesty you cannot believe that my little sister is adequate to defend the Cliffs” Davin said. “No one would listen to a woman when it comes to fighting, not unless there is a man behind her. And Svend is a horrible ruler who was warned twice and still did not have a force ready in time. If it wasn't for my mother we wouldn't have even been able to escape with our money.”

  “Don't you berate me for your shortcomings” Svend snapped. “If it wasn't for you or Rawlins I would have still held the Glades, I can't be expected to fight two different enemies from two different sides.”

  “Your Majesty,” Earl Rawlins Glades said. “I don't have any idea of how to defend anything and neither did my father or older brother. I welcome whatever help you can give, it sounds to me like I can continue living carefree within reason while someone else has to worry about defending the border.”

  “That doesn't sound so bad now does it?” Crystal replied. “Your lands will shrink but at least you will have more than you do now.”

  “How will they defend it though?” Rawlins asked. “No one wants to settle in Victory because of the threat of the Voxians.”

  “I will start buying real staves from Rell here to help you out” Wayne said.

  “They are not for sale” Rell replied. “I am only helping out my sister and if even one of my staves makes it elsewhere then she will be on her own.”

  “Rell you are making me choose between you and my other family” Ashlyn said.

  “Choose them if you want” Rell said. “My help is not for sale and I don't care if any of them get their lands back. I don't owe anyone in this room anything.”

  “Aren't you full of yourself,” Svend snapped.

  “Shut up!” Kimberly yelled. “Just shut up! Svend you have done nothing. You should be happy His and Her Majesty are looking out for you. You are less than worthless. At least a worthless person knows their worth. You over inflate yours greatly. Name one reason that makes you better than anyone else in this room. List your accomplishments so that you can be recognized.”

  “You play a dangerous game Rell Duncan,” King Wayne said. “Perhaps you are what this kingdom needs. You are a man like your father except with more skill.”

  EPILOGUE

  Rell looked over the battlefield, he was positive the Balenians did not expect him to first close off the pass then fight from behind. The mountain was happy to have him back. They sent many of their warriors to join the small force Rell was given to push Balen out of the pass and away from the mountain. The force grew in size as Rell offered the Balenians death or citizenship. As far as Rell was concerned the Balenians were just as guilty as the Voxians were in his father’s death and deserved no mercy.

  Currently Rell had his forces attacking his former estate, it would surely have to be torn down since Rell would rather have it burn than stay in enemy hands. The enemy inside of the estate burned or was killed when they tried running out. The army that was supposed to be guarding them had packed up and ran almost at first contact.

  “My home,” Ashlyn said softly.

  “It doesn't matter,” Rell said. “We need to push the enemy into the Glades then set a defensive force to keep them out of the Cliffs. It will take us a little time to scour this land and get rid of all of them. The Cliffs will be completely under your control after a while. The first thing we needed to do was get rid of the enemy resupply points.”

  “What of the mountain?” Rainier asked. “We have not kicked the enemy out of there yet, we only have gotten some out.”

  “That will have to be later,” Rell said. “We still need people we trust to hold this line and the pass. Once we get that figured out then we can start scouring the mountains.”

  “You cannot expect the tribes to fight out here while their homes have been taken” Sandia said. “We have had our differences Rellik but not even you are that ignorant.”

  “You had your chance to rule and you ran,” Rell said. “You brought ruin to the mountain and are only here to regain face. Send your men away again to run and hide if you want to Sandia. Tribe Lazuli has already proven worthless.”

  “Sandia is not the enemy,” Everest said. “The enemy is in front of us Rellik. Tribe Lazuli deserves the right to regain their honor, they were the first to volunteer when you said you needed the mountain’s help.”

  “I didn't ask tribe Lazuli,” Rell said. “They came because they had to, not because they wanted to.”

  “They are still here though,” Everest said. “And along with tribe Nevis they will hold the Balenians in the lands beyond this one.”

  “How long will it be before we go into the Glades?” Ashlyn asked.

  “We are in no hurry” Rell said. “The B
alenians that fled that way will soon find themselves fighting with the Voxians. They are not equals and will soon find out that they carry no weight over there. They cannot come back this way although they will try. We need to work out our own supply lines to ensure many staves will be kept in circulation. Summit will need to be moved and everyone must do their part.”

  “You should be Baron Rell” Ashlyn said. “RIght now I am just following you as you lead and hoping to learn something. The Cliffs should be yours and yours alone.”

  “It is what it is,” Rell said. “I hoped you listened when I said that I am not going to go run and help out your brothers. I just care about keeping the Cliffs safe.”

  “Why not start our own kingdom?” Jennings asked. Rell had insisted the old man come with him once he was discovered since he was so competent. So far Jennings had only watched and worked out small things Rell forgot about. Now the man suggested outright treason.

  “Excuse me?” Rell asked.

  “The Cliffs are sizable and without the Glades connecting it we have two distinct borders and most of the charmcasters” Jennings began. “You insisted on having them here Rell, why not have your own kingdom. Despite what I thought about charmcasters, your kind has taken commoner magic to new heights. Declare the Cliffs its own kingdom and start building your infrastructure. What can King Wayne or Queen Crystal do about it? If they could march through the Voxian line they would have done so already. You already have a fighting force of mountain men along with what we have here. All the men here are poor commoners forced into battle, they would welcome the chance to get out of harm’s way. You can do things the way you were doing them except this time you do not have to worry about various businesses crying about their treatment. Build up your stores of weapons then start building your towns.”

  “The outsider makes sense” Everest said. “Tribe Teton would follow you and we could have the utopia we dreamed of before the outsider king removed you. Me and my tribe are willing to fight and die if it means getting from under outsider influence.”