Wizard Gigantic (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 9)

by Rodney Hartman

  As they walked through the city streets, Amir noticed high water marks on the buildings extending up to the top of his head.

  “The tsunami definitely hit them hard,” Amir whispered to the human walking to his right.

  Richard nodded but said nothing.

  They continued walking. The ground rose and the water marks lowered until disappearing altogether. The less affected streets were jammed with people. Many stared at their group as they followed the messenger.

  This time it was Richard who did the whispering. “I’ve got a feeling they’ve heard about the mercenaries demanding the city give up its elves.”

  Amir nodded but said nothing. He kept a close eye on the crowd with his hand gripped tight around the handle of Glory’s hammer. Although there was a lot of pointing and grumbling by the refugees, none tried to stop them.

  Instead of going to a palace or administrative building as Amir expected, the messenger led them to a large gate in the city’s eastern wall. The gate was open. A company of heavily armed human soldiers with shields and spears facing out made a solid line across the opening. The guards parted enough to allow the messenger and the rest of them to pass through.

  Beyond the shield wall, Amir noticed a mass of tents three or four bowshots away, across an open field. Formations of heavily armed soldiers stood in front of the tents with their weapons pointed at the city. There were thousands of soldiers. From what Amir could tell, they were mostly humans, but he noticed a splattering of orcs, goblins, ogres, dwarves, and a couple of other races he didn’t recognize mixed in with them. A gathering of twenty or so people stood halfway between the city and the tents. One part of the group appeared to be heavily-armed representatives of the mercenaries. They were led by a large hulk of a man with a shaggy black beard wearing full plate mail. He was flanked by two hairy, four-armed humanoids of a type Amir had never seen. They were a head taller than him and also wearing full plate. The hairy creatures held a variety of swords, maces, and axes in their four hands.

  The group of mercenaries was facing an assembly of city guards led by an old man wearing a bright blue tunic. Standing next to the old man was none other than the sloop’s captain, Lieutenant Yasland.

  As the council’s messenger approached with his charges, the old man turned. Amir thought the man’s eyes looked tired.

  The old man bowed slightly to Mia. “You must be the high priestess my nephew told us about,” said the old man. “I am Councilor Toley of the Avarian Society of Free States. Your coming was foretold by our seers. They also told us that you were the only hope for the salvation of our land.”

  “Your only hope is if you turn the elves over to us,” growled the dark-haired mercenary. “If you don’t, my soldiers will tear down what’s left of your walls and kill you all. Give us the elves now, or I will order the attack.” He pointed at the pair of four-armed humanoids at his side. “My Tharg allies have joined us now. They will lead our next attack. Your city is as good as lost if you do not hand us the elves.”

  Amir gripped Glory’s hammer tighter and raised his shield to a ready position. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but one thing he did know, none of the mercenaries were going to take Mia without a fight.

  To the old man’s credit, he squared his shoulders and faced the mercenary leader. “You have tried to breach our walls without success for the past month. I have heard of your Thargs. They are great killers of helpless women and children. A few Thargs do not intimidate me.”

  The mercenary laughed. “You are a fool. My Thargs are descended from gods who came from the stars.” He reached over to the Tharg on his left and tapped the plate mail on its chest. “Their armor and weapons are made from the metal of the ships that carried them here. It is impregnable to any weapons you have. Each of my Thargs is worth fifty of your soldiers, and I have a hundred of them. They will scale your walls and—”

  What the mercenary thought his Thargs would do, Amir didn’t find out.

  With a roar, the four-armed Tharg the mercenary had tapped roared and charged forward with a speed belying its size. The massive creature headed straight for Richard, swinging its four weapons as he came.

  Chapter 34 – Tharg

  ____________________

  Richard didn’t understand the speech of those around him, but it didn’t matter. The army of heavily armed mercenaries made it all too plain what was happening. He had a feeling he’d seen many such armies in the past, although he couldn’t remember when. Still, the scene spread out before him was all too familiar.

  “Speaking of familiar,” Richard told his battle computer, “I know I’ve seen those four-armed brutes in the plate mail before. I can’t quite place it, but just the sight of them pisses me off to no end.”

  An image of dark tunnels filled with dozens of creatures chained together in a long line popped into his memory. Slaves, he decided. One of the slaves in the image was him. Four-armed humanoids resembling the two in plate mail were walking down the line, lashing out with steel-barbed whips. He involuntarily winced at the memory of the touch of the barbs. He had a feeling he’d felt the sting of whips many times at the hands of the four-armed brutes. The word ‘Tharg’ flashed in his mind.

  “Hmmm,” said Nickelo. “The word Tharg just appeared in my databanks. It is the name for a race of creatures from the magic dimension that serves another race called Dragars. Strange how the information became available just when we needed it. I wonder why.”

  Richard didn’t wonder. He didn’t even care. He just knew he hated the four-armed creatures standing in front of him. He stared at the nearest of the Thargs as a dark-haired mercenary reached out and tapped the creature’s chest armor. From the tone of the dark-haired man’s words, Richard was pretty sure he was making threats. He was pretty sure the threats were against Mia and the elves. Something deep inside him rattled its cage seeking freedom.

  “Now don’t go stirring up trouble,” said Nickelo. “We do not know what is going on. I would advise keeping your temper in check. Those Thargs’ armor and weapons are made from a metal much harder than that of the others. It’s not magical, but it has some kind of energy in it that makes it stronger than normal. I calculate your sword would not be able to penetrate it.”

  The Tharg the mercenary had tapped glanced at Mia and sneered. When it saw Richard staring at it, the four-armed creature glanced at him before looking back at the priestess. Raising its visor, the Tharg licked its lips. A wave of lust from the creature swept over Richard.

  The something deep inside Richard broke out of its cage. Distant memories of the times in the tunnels came back to him. He remembered a derogatory hand gesture the Thargs used when belittling their slaves. Richard wiggled his left hand to draw the attention of the four-armed creature that was staring at Mia. When it looked at him, he formed the derogatory gesture with his right hand. At the same time, he licked his lips.

  The fur on the Tharg’s face stiffened. It roared with anger and charged, swinging each of its four weapons as it came. The charge was so fast and unexpected, the others around Richard had no time to react. It didn’t matter. At the Tharg’s first step, Richard rushed forward to meet it halfway.

  Ducking below the swing of a battle axe, Richard slid between the Tharg’s legs. Coming out the other side, he jumped to his feet before the four-armed brute could turn. Wrapping his arm around the creature’s neck, Richard pulled the head back to expose the brute’s neck. With his dagger in his right hand, he struck hard and deep into the Tharg’s throat. As the four-armed beast opened its mouth to scream, Richard shoved the blade deeper. Only a gurgling sound came out of the Tharg. As the now limp creature fell, Richard pulled out his dagger and stuck the point deep into the unprotected right eye for good measure.

  Once the Tharg hit the ground, Richard pulled his blade free and faced the remaining Tharg. He held the bloody dagger in his left hand and drew his sword with his right, basically daring the second Tharg to attack. A word he’d heard the Thargs use in
the tunnels for the slaves came to Richard’s mind. He growled the word, putting as much contempt into his voice as he could muster. The second Tharg roared and raised its weapons.

  Richard braced his legs to meet any attack. He wasn’t concerned. His battle computer was already feeding him recommended attack algorithms with high probabilities of success. Before he could move forward to attack first, a shout from Mia made him pause.

  * * *

  The exchange of blows between the Tharg and the human happened so fast neither Amir nor anyone else had time to react. Now that the creature was down, it was another matter. The second Tharg raised its weapons and took a step forward. Amir raised his hammer and shield in preparation for meeting the four-armed beast halfway, determined to protect the human who had saved his life twice.

  “Stop!” shouted Mia as she raised her staff and slammed the butt onto the rocky soil.

  The ground shook.

  Amir stumbled, nearly dropping his shield. Several of the city guards as well as a couple of mercenaries fell to their knees.

  The high priestess pointed at the dark-haired leader of the mercenaries with her free hand. “You claimed to have a hundred of these Thargs. You now have ninety-nine. If the other Tharg tries to attack, you will be down to ninety-eight.”

  The mercenary leader’s face grew a dark red, but he raised his hand to stop the second Tharg from attacking. Once the man’s face returned to a more normal color, he turned to Councilor Toley. “We came under a flag of truce.” He pointed at the bloody head of the fallen Tharg. “Is this how you repay our trust? Have you no honor?”

  To his credit, Councilor Toley didn’t back down. “What do you know of honor? As for your flag of truce, it was your Tharg who made an unprovoked attack. The elves’ man only defended himself. Your Tharg paid the price for its treachery.”

  The mercenary leader glanced over his shoulder at his troops as if gauging the distance. He looked back and stared at the glowing blue gem on Mia’s staff for a second before returning his gaze to the old man. “I gave you a chance. There are those seeking the elves. If you had given them to me freely, I would have allowed your people to live. You’ve signed their death warrants. The rest of my troops will arrive tonight. If the elves are not my prisoners by noon tomorrow, we will attack in force.” He glanced at Mia. “You will find out my Thargs are not so easy to kill when they aren’t taken by surprise.”

  Mia pointed the end of her staff at the dark-haired man. “You will find out we elves are quite capable of defending ourselves. I do not know who these others are who seek us or what reward they have promised you, but you will have trouble spending it when you are dead.”

  The mercenary leader laughed. “Do not think to scare me, elf. I have magic users a plenty of my own. I also have other resources at my disposal that you would do well to fear.” He pointed the end of his sword at Councilor Toley. “Remember what I have said. You have until noon tomorrow. Sleep well tonight, old man. It may be your last.”

  After backing behind his guards, the mercenary leader sheathed his sword, turned, and walked toward his line of troops. His guards followed. The last to leave was the remaining four-armed Tharg. It pointed a mace at the human Rick and growled something before it too turned and headed back toward the mercenary camp.

  Amir noticed the Tharg opted to leave its fallen companion where it lay in the dirt. He glanced overhead. A flock of vultures were already circling overhead as if they’d foreseen the coming of their next meal. He had a feeling by this time tomorrow an army of vultures would be feasting on the fallen of both sides.

  “Come,” said Councilor Toley. “We have much to discuss before they attack tomorrow.”

  With that, all but the human Rick turned and began walking toward the city wall. Amir noticed the human spit on the dead Tharg before turning and following.

  Amir almost smiled. I’d say someone doesn’t like Thargs very much.

  Chapter 35 – The Museum

  ____________________

  With Councilor Toley leading the way, Amir and the others passed through the city gates. As soon as they were inside the wall, the guards shut the heavy metal-reinforced doors behind them. After discussing the situation with Lieutenant Yasland, the councilor departed with Mia and Lord Derander. Amir started to follow with Rick in tow, but the sloop’s captain held up a hand and shook his head.

  “Not you two. You’ll be joining the other elves from the ship in your new accommodations. The city’s inner guards have made room for you in their barracks.”

  Amir gripped the handle of Glory’s hammer tighter. “Are you trying to tell me that we’re prisoners?”

  The young lieutenant beamed a smile that was almost friendly. “Not at all. Those mercenaries have been camped outside our gates for nigh on a month. It’s about time someone gave them their comeuppance. I’m glad I was there to see your friend do it.” He pointed at Rick. “He doesn’t say much does he? I noticed that on your ship.” The sloop’s captain rubbed his chin. “He’s a good fighter though. I’ve seen the two of you practice. You’re not bad yourself.”

  Glory was better, Amir thought, but he kept it to himself. “So we’re going to this barracks of yours now?”

  Yasland laughed. “Not mine. I’ve got a nice little bungalow down near the docks.” He grew more sober. “At least it used to be nice. When the tidal wave hit last month, it filled with sea water halfway to the ceiling. It’s not habitable yet, so I’ll be staying on my ship. Not that I’m complaining. My home’s on a little higher ground than most of my neighborhood, so I’ll eventually be able to move back in. Others fared far worse than me.”

  A rumble sounded in the distance, seeming to come from the east. The ground vibrated.

  Amir noticed the guards and civilians going about their business as if small earthquakes were nothing unusual. “You get a lot of these?” he asked.

  Glancing to the east, Yasland nodded. “They’ve been getting more frequent since the tsunami. That’s when my uncle and the rest of the city council had our seers try to find out what is going on with the land. Their spells told them an elf high priestess would be coming with an elf friend to bring the land back to normal.” He nodded at Rick. “I’ve been across the ocean to the elves continent on trading missions. I’ve only dealt with humans there, but I’ve heard enough about elves to know they don’t associate with our kind much. Why are the two of you with them? Is one of you the elf friend our seers told us about?”

  Amir wasn’t sure how much he should say. Mia was in charge of their party, not him. Another rumble from the east convinced him this wasn’t a time for half-truths. “The elves named me elf friend before we left to come here. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do, so don’t get your hopes up.”

  Yasland stared at Amir for a couple of heartbeats before replying, “Well, our hopes are there whether you want them or not.” He jerked a thumb at the gate. “In the meantime, we’ve got other things to worry about. Those mercenaries made it pretty obvious they’re going to attack at noon tomorrow.”

  “Unless you give them the elves,” Amir said, watching the man’s face to gauge his reaction.

  “That’s not going to happen,” said Yasland. “The council believes the elves are the only way to stop whatever’s happening to our land.” He pointed at the archers lined up behind parapets on top of the city wall. “Besides, our defenses are good. Those mercenaries can bluster all they want. They’ve tried to breach our walls twice in the last month and taken heavy losses. They’ll take more tomorrow if they’re foolish enough to try another attack. Our mages and archers will destroy half of them before they can get close to our walls.”

  Remembering the downed sections of the wall he’d seen as the Mengaza was docking, Amir wasn’t so sure.

  The young lieutenant turned and began walking down the street. “Come. I’ll take you to the barracks.”

  Amir caught up with the man and took a position on his left side. Richard followed a couple of step
s behind. As they walked, Amir glanced around at the people. The civilians in this part of the city seemed to be going about their daily business as if nothing unusual were happening.

  “Shouldn’t you be getting everyone out of the city?” Amir asked. “If an attack is coming at noon tomorrow, I’d think that—”

  “Where would we send them?” Yasland asked. “The mercenaries control the land outside our walls. We don’t have enough working ships to evacuate more than a few hundred of our people. What we do have is plenty of food and water to last through a long siege.” He grinned and winked. “Besides, you’re the elf friend, right? You’re going to fix everything.”

  Amir stared at the lieutenant in an attempt to determine if the young man was serious or not. He couldn’t be sure. “You mentioned taking us to our barracks. Is that where we’re going now? We’ve been walking a long time.”

  “Oh, we’ll get to the barracks soon enough,” said Yasland. “Before we do, I thought I’d show you a little of our city.”

  The lieutenant’s cavalier attitude confused Amir. “The mercenaries are going to be attacking tomorrow. Shouldn’t you be getting ready or something?”

  “Me?” laughed Yasland. “I’m a commander of a sloop of war. I’m not a soldier. Neither is my crew. We’ll all be sleeping on my ship tonight. A couple of hours acting as your tour guide won’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Of course, if you’d rather go to the barracks and watch the paint peel off the walls for the rest of the day, be my guest.”

  Amir glanced at his human teammate. Richard looked back at him. From the blank stare, it was obvious the man hadn’t understood a word of what they’d been saying. Seeing no help there, Amir pictured himself being cooped up in a crowded barracks. It wasn’t an enticing image. He turned back to the naval officer. “I think Rick and I would enjoy seeing your city, if you’re willing.”