Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) (32 page)

They were escorted to a large chamber, within which many people milled about.  Many families were gathered in the room, each occupying a distinct space wherein they had laid bedrolls, small lanterns, clothes,
racks of
beads and other personal effects.

"This is the chamber of my family.  You will lay here wi
th us in honor during your stay,
" said
Taros Ranvok
.

"Safreon, do you require any care from our physicians?" he asked.

"My own ministrations appear to be having good effect. It will not be necessary, thank you," replied Safreon.

The
Townsfolk
in the room grew silent and watched the group as
Taros Ranvok
led them across the
floor
to the far side from the door.  He showed the newcomers to a corner where some bedrolls had been placed, apparently in preparation for their visit.  After a few moments, cautious conversation began in the room again and people stopped staring.

Taros Ranvok
then showed them an adjacent room, relatively smaller than the main room, but still quite sub
s
tantial by City standards.  It was a communal bath and toilet.

As they returned to their space
in the larger common room,
Taros
Ranvok
bid them a temporary fa
rewe
ll as an older
man, in an ornate robe that suggested authority,
entered the room.  He was greeted with deference
by all in his vicinity and
Taros
Ranvok approached
him.

Hemlock watch
ed as the older man greeted
Taros
Ranvok
and
then spoke with him.  The older m
an glanced their way a few times, nodding,
and
then his face colored
in anger
.  He motioned for Taros
Ranvok
to leave the
chamber
and they walked off together in silence.

Hemlock noticed that Safreon had also been watching the exchange.

"The Father seems displeased
,
" he noted.

"Truly," she responded.

"We may have some diplomatic work ahead of us here.  We need to secure our stay here for a few days, at least, before we return to the City," stated Safreon soberly.

"Safreon, are you up to all of this activity, given your wound?" asked Gwineval, joining the conversation.

In response, Safreon unwound the cloth wrapping his arm and it showed only a light redness, where before the skin had been partially charred and peeling.

Gwineval nodded his approval and Hemlock was impressed but not surprised, having witnessed Safreon’s healing talents many times prior.

"As you know, there appears to be an issue between the older man, who I presume is the father, Pan Taros, and Taros Ranvok.  I expect that we will soon be summoned to explain our role in this.  I will serve as our spokesman at that time," Safreon explained, with a sharp glance at Gwineval.

"If we are able to secure a few days stay here, then I will again signal the Griffin to meet us.  Gwineval, you will then have some time to inspect the Wand as we agreed.  After that, I recommend that we return to the City on the back of the Griffin, one at a time.  I think this is preferable to risking an overland journey in this hostile environment," Safreon continued.

"I concur," responded Gwineval, looking expectant but also a little apprehensive.  Hemlock was surprised that his lizard-like visage still conveyed such subtleties as she nodded her approval.

Safreon nodded in response and left them, making his way into the bathing chamber.

Hemlock joined Gwineval, who was unrolling his bedroll and looking tentatively toward the bath chamber.  Then she noticed a window to the outdoors, close to their space.  It was equipped with a heavy shutter, but this was open and rested unobtrusively to the side.  A light cloth curtain was mostly pulled aside, letting in the cool evening air.

Hemlock rose and looked out the window and over the evening view.
  She had never seen the Witch C
rags at night.  The Tanna
Varran
s
had them
travel via
underground
caves when possible
–
and especially at night.

Outside, t
he landscape
that she saw
was
rendered
in da
rk blues and blacks, below the t
ower and to the distant hills, which were silhouetted against the moonlit sky.  The landscape was dotted with streaks of light and pockets of glowing mist, all of which seemed to move
randomly
across the valley.  Above the hills, more streaks of light
were visible
, and a number of what appeared to be shooting stars, played across the night sky.

Looking
down, Hemlock could see the gabl
ed roofs of adjacent and lower rooms, and far below she could see one of the
long, straight entry ramps–
which had been raised up to seal the Tower.

As her eyes wandered to
the ground directly below the t
ower, she noted a dull, insubstantial figure moving slowly with a staggering gait.

The Spirits.  They are everywhere
at night
,
she noted
, having been told this many times, but observing it herself for the first time
.

Hemlock had been so captivated by the view outside the window that she only sensed the approach of Taros Ranvok at the last moment.

His hand on her shoulder was not a shock, but was a surprise.  She turned, mildly disengaging his touch and looking into his eyes.

She saw a guarded fondness there, which surprised her.  Taros Ranvok was an attractively built warrior, a prince and a person of principle.  But Hemlock did not feel any attraction to this young man, though she felt that he possessed all of the qualities that should engender such feelings.  An image of Falignus emerged unbidden from her subconscious, bringing a thrill of excitement with it.

Taros Ranvok sensed this spark, and seemed to misread it. 

He leaned closer as he asked, "Is Safreon truly well?"

Hemlock broke eye contact and took a step back: "Yes, he removed the dressing on the wound and it is all but healed."

If Taros Ranvok noted her disengagement from the more intimate vicinity of his person, his visage did not reveal a reaction. "It is well.  My father, Pan Taros, wishes to meet with all of you when the fifteenth sands are exhausted."  With that, he pointed to a mechanical device which was mounted above the entrance to the chamber, across the room.

The device consisted of two long pieces of wood intermeshed with gears and pulleys.  Along the two pieces of wood, twenty hourglasses were suspended.  The sands of some of the hourglasses had already been spent, while others were suspended on their sides, apparently not yet activated by the workings of the machines.  Sand was falling in one, apparently the fifteenth. 

Hemlock, understanding the function of the device, nodded her agreement: "We will be ready, will you escort us at that time?"

"I will return," noted Taros Ranvok as he bowed and left.

"He appears inflamed by you," observed Gwineval in a raspy voice behind her, which carried a note of humor.

"Was it that obvious?" asked Hemlock, turning to him with a look of playful consternation on her face.

"Rather, yes," he responded, holding some morsel in his scaled hand which he appeared to have just bitten into.

"Did they bring food?" asked Hemlock.

After taking another bite and discarding some bloodied bones into the corner, Gwineval responded: "No, food arrived of its own accord." He noted with a chortle, as he discarded a long wiry rat tail toward the direction of the bones.

Hemlock groaned in disgust, but was a little jealous, since she was hungry herself.

Safreon returned from his bath looking quite vigorous.  Hemlock informed him of the impending audience. 

A Tanna Varran woman brought some food to them soon after that and Hemlock and Safreon ate enthusiastically, while Gwineval ate a little meat, but little else.

Merit shuffled up to the group and observed their makeshift meal.

"Will I accompany you to the audience?" Merit asked.

Safreon glanced at him fondly as he devoured a large piece of animal meat.

"Yes Merit, I think that would be a good idea.  You are a part of this tale and no doubt a source of some wonder among these Tanna Varrans," Safreon replied warmly.

"I will not burden them with my recent inner turmoil," Merit replied after a time, emitting a shrill whistle at the final word which echoed through the chamber, causing many of the Tanna Varrans to look at him.

Safreon seemed surprised by the incident. "Oh, ah, yes Merit, I think that would be wise.  It would be difficult to explain the full gravity of your situation to our hosts."

It was the day after several extremely unusual events had taken place in the Tower. 
Falignus looked up from the large
,
semicircular
onyx
table before him as he sat in the
meeting
chamber of the Wizard
Council.  The C
ouncil
was
in session. 
T
he apparent insurrection of the
w
izard Gwineval
was u
nder discussion.

Falignus had appointed a new council member to stand in for Gwineval and to represent the
Fifth C
ircle. 
He glanced at Kraven as he occupied his new seat
.  The man
had
a normal humanoid appearance
,
save for a pair of large bat wings that protruded from his back. 
He was sturdily built and dark complected; his features were handsome save for a prominent, crooked nose. 
He
was known to be
capable of flight and had been a useful
ally
of Falignus
in the role of a spy
to monitor Gwineval from within the
Fifth C
ircle.  His appointment render
ed
him
useless as a Crimson Order
operative from this point forward, but Falignus
had promised
the man the position
should it ever become available.  Now that it had happened, Falignus
had followed through
on that promise
.

"
Do we know where the magical cage transported
them
to in the Witch Crags
?"
Falignus
asked
.

"
We have an idea
,
but
we
do not know precisely.  We
don’t
know if Gwineval
had time
to adjust the controls prior to departing.  We
do
know
the location
it had last been set
for, however: a location close to the Tanna Varran capital town,"
Colberth
responded with an air that matched his role as
the bookish leader of the
Sixth Circle of magic,
the catalogers of spells and potions.
  His delivery was detached and clinical.

Falignus thought
,
"Should I
go myself and confront them?"

He had been wrestling with the question for many hours, b
ut a cautious voice inside
of
him
continued to reason against that course of action
: "
You know that Safreon and Hemlock possess a veiled power. 
What if they use
that
power
, with the aid of Gwineval,
to attempt to crush you?
 
You w
ouldn
't h
ave time to mobilize a large escort force for this reconnaissance. I
t would have to be a smaller escort.
 
It is not worth the risk.
"

Falignus believed that this was not the time to
directly
confront Gwineval and the other intruders to the Tower,
especially given the threat of
th
e
mysterious
power that his magic had revealed to him that they possessed
.
 
He
felt that he had
needed to learn more about the nature of
that power
.
 
He
concluded that he would send another w
izard to
find and speak with
Gwineval.
 
If possible, he
planned to
setup a scrying session
in order
to speak with Gwineval remotely from the relative safety of the Wizard Tower.
 

He reasoned that o
nce the threat that Gwineval
and his allies
represented was clear
to him
,
that he
would strike
–
personally if necessary
–with
the full force of the Wizard Guild army
behind him
.

"
What do we do then?  Do we send out a patrol to search for him?  What do we do when we find him?
"
Falignus
asked the assembled council
. 

"
I say that we blanket the area with patrols until we make contact and then we parlay in order to determine Gwineval’s intentions
,"
the wizard
Jalis
suggested.

Falignus turned to regard the
portly
wizard, who he regarded as
self-centered, unprincipled,
ambitious
and foolhardy
.
  Falignus registered some surprise at the worthiness of the suggestion, given his opinion of the source.

"
Noted.  Other opinions?
"

"
We must not show weakness.  The Senate has no doubt heard some version of the incident by now.  We must search
Gwineval
out and bring him back to the Tower for interrogation and … I dare say
,
punishment
," Malvert
, the
battle hardened leader of the First Circle combat
wizards, stated
.

"
That is rash!
"
Miara
exclaimed.  Falignus turned toward the only female member of the council, who he considered
an ally of Gwineval. 
"
We must parlay with Gwineval
when we find him,
as Jalis suggests.  We may not understand his purposes
,
and I suspect that he reacted in the only manner that he could
,
under circumstances
that we do not understand
.
"

"
Perhaps.  Anyone else?
"

"
Declare him a rogue Wizard and enemy of the City.  Do not search him out in the Witch Crags.  He will likely meet an appropriate fate there at the hands of the Witches o
r the Tanna Varran wild men
.  Do not inflame the uneasy truce we have with the Witches by sending a
large force
to search for Gwineval.  When he returns to the City,
as he surely will,
kill him or abduct him
and take him
back to the Tower, alo
ng with his new friends,"
Arcos
stated
, leader of the
Fourth circle of Magic.  Falignus never liked the illusion magic that the Fourth Circle specialized in, considering it banal and lacking in honor since it invariably was used in deception
.
  Still, Falignus had to concede that the magic had its uses from time to time.

"Kraven?"
Falignus
demanded
.

"
I would seek Gwineval out
with a limited number of wizards
and gauge his intentions.  Once ascertained, I would a
ct according to that information,"
Kraven stated reflectively.

"Well done,"
Falignus
responded
, nodding toward Kraven.

"
I favor that approach also.  As
Arcos
pointed out, we cannot risk inflaming tensions with the Witches.  We are not yet fully prepared to destroy them. 
But
we need to locate Gwineval and learn his intentions.  I will send special agents with our normal Oberon harvesting teams.  They will
seek
out Gwineval by searching for magical emanations and also
by
speaking
with
the Tanna
Varran
towns
folk
in the area.  If this approach is unsuccessful,
we will reconsider some of the other suggested approaches
. 
We will give this approach one week to succeed
.
"

"
Each of you will personally accompany one of the harvesting teams.  We have enough of our
new
Titan Harvesters ready to protect
most
of you.
"

Falignus
then
gauged the reactions amongst the group. 
Malvert
looked eager. Jalis looked guarded
,
as u
sual.  Miara looked troubled.  Falignus knew that she was
probably fully aware that her assigned route would
have
the least likelihood of actually encountering Gwineval.  Arcos looked flushed with pleasure–no doubt
because
some of his ideas
had been
adopted as part of the plan.  Colberth looked appalled, for Falignus knew that he hated being removed from his studies.  Kraven also looked eager, like
Malvert, but not in a
fawning or cocksure way
like the latter Wizard had
.  Kraven
was already
exceeding Falignus’ expectations; he
was
showing that he could be a valuable tool in
his
new role.

After the council meeting,
Falignus retired to his chambers. 
He considered assuming a magical guise and entering the City to spend some time with one of his female consorts
.
  But even the thought of that physical pleasure held no appeal for him in his current mood.

Falignus
was
pensive.  These
recent
events
had
disquieted him. 
He had
not foreseen the emergence of the
girl and this freedom fighter from the Warrens.  He had concluded that both wielded some hidden power that had resisted his attempts at divination.

He entered his chamber, which was large by the standards of the Tower, but relatively featureless.  It was dominated by a large, canopied bed.  Like many rooms in the Tower, great wooden bookshelves stood along the walls.

Falignus
felt
strongly
that this girl–no
,
not a girl
–
a woman
, must be descended from a powerful bloodline
. 
She had o
nly recently become a woman, but
Falignus had seen that she was clearly confident
in her growing abilities.  She had entered the Wizard Tower
, after all
.

His sense of unease continuing, he
approached
a heavy oaken door, undid the bolts which secured it and dismissed the magical wards which
had
locked it.

He
then opened it and
stepped inside
into
his inner sanctum
,
and observed the personal effects which he had placed into the stark stone chamber.  A row of
moldering
skulls
sat o
n a shelf
which had been
worked into the wall. 
The sight of a
series of animal cages greeted him as well, their various occupants
having given
the room an earthy odor. 

Birds shrieked, monkeys called and jumped,
and
other animals
awoke
and stirred in the cages.

Beside the cag
es, a great alabaster alchemy table stood.  B
eyond that
,
a
raised bathing basin
and a sofa
were visible
.

A
large
window
had been set into the smooth wall
beside a bookcase, and overlooked the City below
. 

Falignus opened the window,
and
greedily breath
ed in the night air as he gazed
down at the unordered sprawl of the Warrens below him.  He hated the sight of that disorder, yet he valued it just the same
,
because it motivated him.  His vision
for the Warrens was
one of prosperity, in the mold of
the Elite District.  He felt that it was only disorganization that fostered such a dichotomy between the classes in the City.