Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) (23 page)

The answer seemed to satisfy the room.

"
For now, we will increase our cooperation with the Witches.  We need more Oberon for our experiments.  We have spoken to the Witches and some of you will soon be working with them to improve the soul harvesting process.  This work is…distasteful.  But you must look at it as the means to an end
–
a glorious end which will finally rid us of the Witches and secure a golden age for the
Guild and for the
City.
"

…

Gwineval finished his tale and added an observation: "I think that this obelisk must be the result of our collaboration with the Witches to generate more Oberon."

Safreon was furious.  "Is this what the City is built upon?  The subjugation of the weak?  We deprive these poor souls of their right to pass to higher planes so that we may have more magical comforts?"

"Comforts?" replied Gwineval angrily. "The magic that the Guild provides keeps the most basic functions of the City working.  Structured life in the City would not exist but for our magic.  The populous of the City increasingly demands more magic and so more Oberon is required.  Plus, the Witches are a real adversary to the City and should not be underestimated.  It takes all of our power to counterbalance their power.  Our magical research is the key to the eventual destruction of the Witches."

"I liked that Wizard’s idea to unbind the Witch Crags from the City.  Why not do that?" asked Hemlock as Safreon strode away a few paces, red faced and trying to control his emotions.

"You heard Falignus’ answer," replied Gwineval "the Witches wouldn’t want to be unbound.  Plus, the magical appetite of the City is too great now to go without the Oberon that we obtain from the Witch Crags."

Those words had the ring of truth in Hemlock’s mind.  The plight of her sister came back into her mind with a painful suddenness.

Safreon rejoined them, looking more composed, but remaining silent.

"So you’re saying that the City is dependent on the Guild for magic?  What would happen if the Guild stopped supplying magic to the City?" asked Hemlock in a frustrated tone.

Gwineval looked reflective and then spoke:  "Some of this is conjecture on my part.  Some is fact.  We are not privy to all of the information that the
Seventh
Circle has concerning the origins of the City and our guild.  Sadly much is still draped under a veil of secrecy."

"Just get on with it," urged Hemlock.

"I believe that the land upon which the City is built is inherently magical, but that it is a sort of chaos magic.  That is why the City phases in and out of different realms.  The Imperator originally learned how to control the wild magic of the land and was able to build the City.  Sometime after the Imperator and his empire failed, a group of wizards were able to again tame the chaos and to control the wild magic so that the City could be rebuilt and magic spells be could cast with predictable outcomes.  The wizards who originally cast this magic were the founders of the new City."

Gwineval continued: "Falignus has hinted that unbinding the Witch Crags could create a rift in the magic that controls the chaos and trigger a dark age across the land."

"That’s a convenient excuse to maintain the status quo, isn’t it?" asked Safreon.

"I agree that it could seem contrived, yet I still feel that it may be true," responded Gwineval.

No one spoke for a few moments, as all of them again regarded the spectacle of the Obelisk.

Safreon broke the silence, his voice sounding sullen, as if he had withdrawn into himself to process this new information. "Gwineval, what exactly does Falignus, Zaringer, the
Seventh
Circle of wizards and their Crimson Order have in mind for the City once they complete this ‘research’?"

Gwineval did not have to consider his response.  "Absolute order achieved through total domination and control."

Hemlock was aghast: "What about the Senate?  What about the laws?"

"I rather suspect that the wizards will simply eliminate the Senate and revise the laws as they see fit," responded Gwineval.

Hemlock was appalled.  Safreon only grunted, apparently having already reached this same conclusion in his mind.

Several additional moments passed until Safreon shifted his focus back to the demands of the group’s current situation.  He walked over to the edge of a rocky outcropping and looked off into the distant valley below.  After a time, he motioned to the others and they moved north to another vantage point, cautiously keeping the magical obelisk as far from them as possible.  Even at a distance of fifty yards or so, the magical energy emanating from it was palpable.

As they reached the northern vantage point, Gwineval remarked, "I see a tower – a Tanna Varran town is down there."

He pointed and Hemlock and Safreon drew close to follow the line of his arm.  Hemlock noted an odd sour scent emanating from Gwineval and recalled it from their fight in the Wizard Tower.

"Well, that’s settled then," noted Safreon.

Hemlock gazed at the distant Tower.  It had odd angles to it that made it seem otherworldly.  At this distance, Hemlock could not make out any details on the structure, but was left with a distinctly otherworldly impression nonetheless.

Following this, there were a few more minutes of discussion about the Obelisk and what to do next.  Finally, it was determined that they would leave the Obelisk and head toward the Tanna Varran town.

"There is one more point of business," noted Gwineval cryptically toward Safreon.

"Yes, I haven’t forgotten.  Still, do you think it wise?" asked Safreon.

"Safreon, at this point I do not know if Falignus is friend or foe.  Therefore I am proceeding according to my own interests.  I believe that by studying the item that I may be able to learn more about its function.  The knowledge will benefit both of us–regardless of the circumstances," Gwineval replied.

"All right, please explain yourselves.  What is all of this talk of business?" asked Hemlock.

Safreon began to explain: "Hemlock, for some time I have had in my possession a very unique magical item.  I have used it sparingly, for I have been fearful of it being discovered by the Wizard Guild."

"I used it to contact Gwineval within the Wizard Tower once I guessed that you had decided to enter it," continued Safreon.

"You may have heard Gwineval referring to the tales of the Imperator and the founding of his Empire.  Well these are not simply tales; they are true.  And I have one of the Wands of the Imperator that were originally given out to the Imperator’s most trusted servants," Safreon explained.

"Safreon, that Wand makes you one of the most powerful wizards in the entire realm," Hemlock stated.

"Precisely," stated Gwineval urgently.

Hemlock cast a wary eye toward Gwineval and took stock of his face, but his features were unreadable to her. 

"What do you want with the Wand, Gwineval?" she asked.

"I want to study it under Safreon’s supervision," he responded.

Hemlock exhaled skeptically and looked at Safreon.  He wore a look of resignation on his face.

"Hemlock, I have given Gwineval my word."

"Having the wand may also be vital for us in case we need to resist Falignus," Gwineval pointed out.

"That may be so," said Safreon.

"How will you do it?  How will you retrieve the wand?" asked Hemlock.

Safreon considered. "I can use the magical energies of the Obelisk here. In doing so, I will be able to contact a beast that I befriended in the mountains in my youth.  She is a Griffin.  You may have seen her on the ledge of the Wizard Tower atrium last night.  She knows the location of the Wand and can bring it to us at great speed if so instructed.  I usually contact her using the Wand, but in this case I should be able to do so by using the magical energies of the Obelisk."

"There is some risk that the wizards will detect this communication, but it may be our only chance to try it," he continued.

"Safreon, I don’t like this," said Hemlock.  "Why risk detection just for Gwineval to be able to study the Wand?  He can study the wand when we get back to the City," she pointed out.

"I think that we need to consider that we may be gone from the City for some time.  Also, Falignus has seen Penelope, the Griffin, and may seek to capture her in order to attempt to learn of our whereabouts.  Finally, Falignus may seek our destruction and we may need the power of the Wand to escape him," Safreon explained.

Hemlock was silent, but her arms were crossed and her expression was downcast and troubled.

Safreon glanced at Gwineval and after a nod of affirmation from him, he proceeded toward the Obelisk.

Hemlock started after him, but was restrained by Gwineval.  She looked at him with daggers in her eyes and shrugged off his grasp violently.  But she did not make to follow Safreon.

Safreon stopped about twenty yards from the Obelisk and began tracing something in the sandy ground with a stick that he had located.

Hemlock heard a stirring from behind them.  Turning around, she noted that Merit was beginning to move.  She walked towards him while keeping an eye on Safreon, who appeared to be almost finished with whatever he was doing in the sand.  Glancing at Merit, she noted that he appeared almost fully restored.

Gwineval approached and noted the condition of the mechanical Gnome.  "The magic here has no doubt aided greatly in his recovery," he stated.

"Where am I?" asked Merit.

"We’re in the Witch Crags.  We’re safe.  You must remain quiet until I tell you it is all right.  Do you understand?" asked Hemlock.

Merit nodded his assent.

Both Hemlock and Gwineval returned their attention to Safreon.

They could see that he stood within a circle drawn in the sand, which he had bordered with various shapes and glyphs.  His arms were outstretched and his head bobbed slightly as if he were chanting or speaking rhythmically.

Soon energy began to crackle around him and bolts of lightning played between Safreon’s form and the sinister Obelisk.  Strange sounds engulfed the hilltop then.

Hemlock covered her ears, for the sound was unpleasant.  There was a tremendous pulsating roar which vibrated through her entire body.  There was also a high pitched screeching sound which seemed to border on pure noise, yet within it, a strange pattern was detectable that was new and outside her experience.

Then the lightning began to subside and the sounds were diminished.

Hemlock looked toward Safreon with relief and she noted a darkness rising from behind the Obelisk.  It was slow as it rose, seeming composed of a thousand dark insects trailing dark glows behind them.

Gwineval cried out in alarm then, for he had seen the darkness as well.  They both cried out to Safreon, who apparently could not hear them over the still receding din of the magical spell that he had cast.

The darkness began to take on a form as it continued to rise.  Two points of fell red light became visible within it.  A great murmur began, rising in volume above the auditory remnants of Safreon’s spell.  The murmur soon became a bestial growl, which was animalistic and hungry as it continued to gain in strength.

Hemlock began to scream and run toward Safreon.  He had turned and seen the darkness.  It could not have been more than thirty yards from him as it continued to rise from an aperture in the earth.

Safreon began to run toward the edge of the hilltop and met Hemlock who also turned to run with him.

The dark form had risen well above the height of the Obelisk and dark wings had stretched out from a torso like blackness.  The deep red glows had taken perch on the shadowy form as eyes of a most malevolent sort, casting a deathly tint across the hilltop.  A great screech erupted from the now formed creature and with a terrible beat of its wings, it took roost upon the Obelisk, landing upon it with a great crash which sent Hemlock and Safreon sprawling to the turf as they reached Gwineval who had picked up Merit.

"QUICKLY!  We have roused some spirit of the Obelisk!" Gwineval hissed at incredible volume.

Safreon and Hemlock both rose and followed Gwineval as he ran for the edge of the summit in the direction of the Tanna Varran town.

As
the trio of runners began a hasty descent down the rough terrain of the hillside (with Merit being carried by Gwineval), they heard the Creature’s wings beating behind them as its dark form took flight.  Hemlock, Safreon and Gwineval looked over their shoulders as they scrambled down, making for the canopy of trees which lay several yards ahead, and which promised to provide some cover against an aerial attack by the Creature.

The Beast cried out as it perceived them, and with a few beats of its wings, crashed to the ground before the line of trees toward which the group had been running.

Gwineval dropped Merit and began to trace patterns in the air with his hands.  Hemlock rushed toward the right side of the Creature with Safreon flanking her.

The Creature lumbered forward, brandishing dark claws and braying with a furious bird–like cry.

Suddenly the dark form of the monster was enclosed in a shimmering field of blue energy.  Hemlock and Safreon halted their charge.

"Make for the tree line!" yelled Gwineval as he picked up Merit and resumed his dash, running toward the left side of the Creature and going around it.

As they passed, the Creature flailed against the blue energy field and the field crackled under the strain.  Hemlock noted that parts of the Creature’s dark limbs seemed to disintegrate into small wisps as the limbs struck the barrier.  These dark, insubstantial particles fluttered about before fading away.  Looking back as she ran, Hemlock could see that the energy field had dimmed noticeably as the quartet reached the shelter of the trees and continued to run away.

"Can we fight it?" Hemlock asked between breaths as she vaulted a fallen tree.

"I don't know," replied Safreon.

"I think we'd be hard pressed," hissed Gwineval.  "It appears to be almost purely magical – and it’s an unfamiliar magic."

Hemlock had a moment to reflect on her sensory impressions of the Creature as they ran.  It seemed to her that Gwineval was correct.  She had sensed a strong aura of magic emanating from it.  The closest thing that she could compare it to was either the feeling that she had experienced on the dark stair leading to the atrium of the Wizard Tower, or perhaps the feeling of the magical Gate of Despair, but this was a wilder, more chaotic magic. 

Her first instinct when faced with this Creature had been flight, and that was a very rare impulse for her.

After they had taken no more than a few score of strides into the woods, there came a great popping explosion from behind them and an enraged baying from the Creature.

"It’s free already!  It must have great power!" noted Safreon.  Gwineval hissed in assent.

They soon heard the great wings beating overhead.

"We should keep several yards between us as we run," yelled Safreon.  They fanned out.

With a great tumult of falling branches, the Beast smashed through the tree canopy and crashed to the rocky floor of the forest nearest to Safreon, who was running between Hemlock and Gwineval.  It didn't land directly in front of him, so Safreon darted to his right through the trees to avoid the Creature. Its bulk gave it trouble navigating through the intervening stumps, tree trunks and brush.

As the Creature lagged behind the four runners, it gave another cry and again took flight; ascending above the forest canopy.

The trio of runners and the frightened mechanical gnome frantically descended through the hillside forest toward the Tanna Varran town.  The Creature continued to stalk them overhead, crashing through the trees when it spotted one of them.  It had attacked more than ten times within just as many minutes and showed no signs of tiring.  The trio were not faring as well however, as they were falling frequently during the headlong run and each of them had to spend a great deal of energy to evade the creature.

"We can’t keep this up forever," yelled Safreon twice, for he now had to yell to both sides so that both Gwineval and Hemlock could hear over the intervening distance between them.

"There was a cave – a few minutes ahead," yelled Gwineval in an odd hoarse hiss which was clearly audible to Hemlock, some fifty yards distant.  "Shall we make for that?"

"We make for the cave ahead," agreed Safreon, repeating the same to Hemlock on his other side.

It didn't take them long to spot the cave.  It had a large entrance and was visible from the slope above as a wide outcropping in the rock.  It had a small tributary of water emerging from it, running down the hillside.  Hemlock now remembered the cave’s wide but low entrance when they had encountered it during the climb.  Fortunately, Gwineval had taken a moment to step inside during the earlier ascent, and had commented that he was able to tell by the scent of the air that it led to a deep network of caves.

Hemlock was the first to reach the mouth of the cave.

Just as she did so, the Creature, seeing the group through a break in the trees, descended with a cruel shriek, landing on the rocks atop the very entrance which the group now sought.

As Gwineval (who still carried Merit) and Safreon rounded the cave entrance behind Hemlock, the Creature shuddered and drew back for a moment.

All four of the group scattered as the Creature breathed a foul cloud of billowing darkness, which corrupted the spot where Hemlock had been standing with dark energy.  The creature shrieked and roared again as the dark cloud dissipated.

Hemlock leapt to her right desperately, avoiding most of the blast.  She breathed in some of the dark mist though, and her senses dimmed.  The world seemed darker to her; her vision and hearing seemed distant and disconnected.  Her nose, mouth and lungs burned.

The force of an explosion rocked her onto her back. The shock helped her regain some alertness.

She saw Safreon to her left, wheeling back to throw a glass vial of an explosive tincture.

Gwineval had apparently dropped Merit and was now flinging a scintillating ray from his hands, scorching the shadowy creature and causing it to cry out in pain.

"Miss Megan, can you get up?" Merit asked, appearing unexpectedly behind her.

"Merit, get back," replied Hemlock as she struggled to her feet.  The diminutive automaton helped her up as much as it could.

"Don’t call me Megan, either.  My real name is Hemlock," she continued through gritted teeth, as she vented some of her frustration at her seeming inability to combat this creature.

The Creature breathed again at Safreon and Gwineval, but they were lucky enough to escape the blast area.

Taking this as an opening, Hemlock bounded up the rocky outcropping
unsteadily
and lunged at the creature, her twin sabres slashing into its left flank.  She watched as the sabres passed through the insubstantial creature without any apparent effect.

She jumped away then, catlike, as the creature swatted at her with its dark tail.

"Hemlock, enter the cave!" cried Gwineval.

"You can’t harm it!" added Safreon.

Both of her comrades had regained their footing.

Hemlock noted that Merit was still standing where she had left him.  She dashed toward him and picked him up as a roar sounded behind her. She heard a crash that made the ground shudder as the Creature struck at her a moment after she moved away.

She felt the familiar crackle of magical energy as she ran hard with Merit in her arms.  She saw that Gwineval cast another barrier spell.

Safreon and Gwineval were motioning to her and running toward the mouth of the cave.  Above, the shadowy beast was again imprisoned in a blue magical field, but the field already appeared to be weakening.

They all had enough time, however, to sprint into the cave.  They didn’t stop running for several minutes, led by a light which Safreon conjured from another potion vial that he carried.

Behind them, they heard the magical barrier shatter and then they heard the sounds of the renewed rage of the creature.  It roared into the cave mouth and they heard it shower the entrance with its deadly breath weapon.

But the group had gone far enough into the cave to be unaffected.  Feeling secure for the first time since encountering the creature, they halted in a small cavern.

…

Safreon
had
waited in the evening shadows until he
had
observed the wealthy Merchant entering his home.  Safr
eon had been crouched in a deep, shadowy doorway
in the elite district of the City.  White washed walls
adorned with hanging floral baskets had
surrounded him.

Safreon, being a resident of the Warrens,
was not permitted to enter the Elite district
.  He pondered this as he noted a pair of patrolmen making their way down the lane in which he crouched.  The patrolmen
wore
chain armor, over whi
ch fine white robes were draped.  They also wore
polished iron helms which
were
topped with long white feathers.  Safreon knew that their sight
was
enchanted to see emanations in a certain ma
gical dimension.  The robes of e
lite citizens
had
also
been
enchanted so that they emanated a visible aura to the patrolmen.  Any intruders would
be
easily
detected by the absence of this aura.

He
had enchanted himself by using the Wand of the Imperator
to bind
a concealment magic to himself.  This would prevent his visual detection
,
provided that
he could remain relatively hidden from sight. 

Safreon knew that if his mission
in the Elite district
was successful, that he would soon wear
one
of those
enchanted robes himself. 

He
had
embarked on his mission because he
decided that
he needed
t
o attend a meeting of the City S
enate, which
was
scheduled
to meet a few hours past sunrise
on
the following mo
rning.  The Wizard Guild was
scheduled to address the Senate
in order
to present a status report. 
Safreon felt that he
needed to
observe
how the Senate and the Wizard Guild were interacting. 
He
planned to be there to witness it firsthand.

As the patrolmen moved down the lane and past his position, Safreon
was
relieved.  He felt fairly certain that his enchanted concealment
had
be
en
effective, but if those patrolmen had been bound for the door
where he was currently
crouched, he judged that he certainly would have been detected.

His
thoughts
then
turned back to the Merchant
that he was targeting.  Safreon knew that this m
an
lived
alone.  As a prominent business owner,
the Merchant
was
entitled to attend Senate meetings as an observer, but
Safreon had asked around and had learned that the Merchant
had never shown an inclination to
attend
.  It
had
seemed
to Safreon that
this man
was
a perfect target for
his plan,
which
was
to take one of the man's robes and also to magically bind the illusion of the man's appearance to
his own form
.

Safreon had
decided
to wait until
the late evening when he hoped that
the
Merchant would be asleep
. 
Safreon had watched the man’s habits for several nights, and knew that, given the hour, the Merchant had likely retired to bed.

He
darted from his
position in the doorway
to another
doorway
farther up the r
oad, in the direction that the w
atchmen had traveled.  He then skirted a corner to his right and grasped onto a drainage pipe
.  The pipe
ran all the way up to the roof of the three story stone building
that contained
the apartment of
his
target.

He
scaled the pipe with some effort and emerged onto the roof of the building.  The view
of the Elite district at night
never failed to impress him.  The
neat,
whitewashed buildings stretched in every direction, dotted at regular intervals with radiant lanterns.  Different neighborhoods had different floral themes, so each block
was
accented with a splash of unique color.  Though the buildings shared a white washed appearance, their styles did vary.  Some
were
fronted by stately columns which rose several stories to angular roofs.  Others featured a series of elegant dormers extending up multiple stories.  Everything
was
white, clean and orderly. 
This was
quite a contrast to
his home,
and seemed completely incongruous with the wretched conditions in the Warren
’
s worst districts.