The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare (58 page)

Jorelial Rey, sensing that they were now safe for the moment, gave the order for runners to go immediately out into the neighboring fields, the town, and the outlying farms, to carry the word of the enemy’s defeat. Then she stood, eyes closed, breathing in the joy and relief that sang through the warm evening air. They had done it. They had won the first round, and on their own terms, just as Xaarus had promised, and Tvrdik had always believed.

Oh, heavens, Tvrdik! And Tash! They would have no way of knowing that the danger was past, and it had been more than six hours since they had locked minds to generate their false landscape. Her eyes flew wide open at the thought, and without an explanation to anyone, turned and dashed up stairways and through dimming corridors, to the level of the large defensive alcoves set in Theriole’s sea wall, overlooking the waves.

THIRTY–THREE
The Hero Wizard

S
HE WENT TO TASHROTH FIRST,
as they had all agreed. It seemed safer for Tashroth to pull out of the mind-meld first so that the young mage could surface more gradually. Jorelial Rey raced into the space where the great green dragon crouched, silent and still except for his glowing eyes. She flung herself against his massive chest, where she could feel his beating heart. Reaching up to stroke his familiar face, she called his name, “Tashroth…Tash, we did it! They are gone. Come back to me, Tash. We’ve won.” The enormous eyes stopped their pulsing, and began to clear. Tashroth blinked, made a rumbling noise deep in his throat, and stretched. He half unfolded his wings, shaking out the discomfort of standing long in one position, and extended each front limb in turn, unlocking stiff joints. Bringing his ancient, beloved face back down to hers, he blinked again, and smiled a dragon smile.

“Where do we stand, little one?”

She embraced him with relief, then backed away to speak with him, “We did it, Tash. The illusion held the whole time, and they never saw us. Then Ondine nearly drowned them all, and the unicorns and your dragon friends scared the stuffing out of them. What’s left of their fleet has turned tail and fled back to wherever they came from.”

“What is that awful noise, then?” he furrowed his brows in concern.

She laughed, “That, my dear, is the sound of celebration. The people in the palace are cheering our success.”

“Oh,” responded the dragon. “How very undisciplined.”

“I think we can forgive them just this once. Are you alright?”

Tashroth stretched again, “I am very well. In fact, I feel quite invigorated. The mage is remarkably gifted – much more powerful than even he suspects.”

“So, Tvrdik did well?”

“My dear, Tvrdik did it all. Xaarus and I only loaned him a little extra amplification.”

“Ohmygosh! We have left him still standing there. It’s been six hours. I have to bring him back…”

“Go, little one. And thank him from me for a most unusual adventure. Now I feel the need to stretch my wings a bit, and find a bite to eat.” The great beast nuzzled her once more, edged forward in the alcove, and just walked off the end of the ledge. Jorelial Rey gasped, as she watched the falling giant spread his magnificent wings in the air and climb upwards on a current. Then, she turned on her heel and ran through the hall to the central alcove where the Court Wizard still stood frozen, staff in hand, eyes closed and face lifted to the sea breeze.

She hadn’t the slightest idea how to bring him back from his meditation, as they hadn’t had time to plan this part in advance. Following her best instincts, she squeezed around in front of him on the ledge, faced him, and began to rub his arms briskly with her hands. “Tvrdik…Tvrdik, it’s over,” she told him. “You did it. They’re gone. You can come back now. Let the illusion go, and come back to us.” There was no response. Frowning, she tried shaking him by the shoulders and calling a little more loudly, but the wizard remained lost in concentration.

Now Jorelial Rey was growing concerned. She had expected it to take a little extra effort to rouse the mage, after such a long time in his trance. But she was getting nowhere like this, and had no idea how aggressive she could be without doing any harm. She stroked his hair with her right hand, smoothing its pale, golden, windblown tangles back from his forehead. Still no motion – not even the flicker of an eyelid. She stomped a foot in frustration.

“Tvrdik, wake up. I
command
you to return to the here and now,” she shouted as loudly as she could, to no avail. Growing more and more alarmed, running out of ideas, and with nothing to lose, she remembered something she’d heard in a tale, long ago in her childhood. She glanced about to make sure they were alone, came up close to him, put her right hand on his hair, stretched up on tiptoes and kissed Tvrdik right on the lips. She pulled back in haste, as the mage’s eyelids fluttered, and then snapped open, while he began to sway on his feet.

Rel grasped his shoulders once more, in an attempt to steady him. Bit by bit, the open eyes which at first seemed trained on some far-off shore, began to focus, and the light of recognition flashed in their depths. The wizard’s mouth began to move, but no sound came out. He tried to lick his dry lips, but there was no moisture in his tongue. Why hadn’t she thought to bring water along with her? He fastened his gaze on her, and half whispered, half croaked, “Jorelial Rey…safe?”

A broad smile of relief lit her face, as she answered him, “Yes, Tvrdik. Theriole is safe. We are all safe, at least for now. It’s all over. The ships have gone, and they never even saw us. You did it, Tvrdik. You fooled them. You can relax now.”

The wizard, still frozen in place, closed his eyes at the news, and heaved a deep, emotional sigh. He struggled to speak again. “How long?” he managed to get out.

“Six hours. See, the sun is just going down now.” He winced at that. “Are you alright? Can you move?”

He blinked and cleared his throat, “I…I’m a bit stiff,” he admitted, slowly regaining the use of his voice. “I can’t seem to make my arms and legs move…”

She frowned, “I think we underestimated how hard it is on a physical body to stand absolutely still for six hours. Here, let me help you.” She searched through the debris in the alcove, found an old wooden bucket, and overturned it to make a seat. At that moment, Mark, Delphine, and Stewart came rushing in, worried that Tvrdik had not yet made a public appearance in his moment of triumph.

“Is he alright?” Delphine called out.

“I think so,” her sister replied, “Just really stiff. He’s been in this position such a long time. Come and give me a hand here.” They all crowded around him and began rubbing down his shoulders, neck, arms and legs. Someone pried his stiffened fingers off of the sturdy oak staff and moved it to a safe corner. Once they had gotten the circulation going, they supported his weight and urged him over to the bucket where he could sit down. It was a bit of a challenge, as his body went in an instant from entirely rigid to boneless. He kept collapsing, and then struggling to regain control over his limbs, while apologizing over and over for being so much trouble. At last, working together, they got him seated on the overturned bucket, where Stewart proceeded to lick his face all over. Laughing at these attentions, concentrating on taking deep breaths, and closing and opening his fingers to get the blood flowing, Tvrdik slowly came back to himself, and asked for a full account of what had happened.

“Why, Tvrdik, don’t you know?” Mark replied, “Everyone down there is waiting for you to appear. It’s a regular festival, and they all want a glimpse of the hero of the day – the wizard who foiled Lord Drogue’s fleet and saved us all.”

The young mage turned his usual shade of red, a very good sign that things were returning to normal. “Tashroth?” he asked, concerned.

Rel put a comforting hand on his shoulder, “He’s fine. I woke him up first. He’s already flying around looking for supper. He said he felt ‘invigorated’ and asked me to thank you for a very interesting adventure – whatever
that
means.”

“But what…what actually happened out there after I went under?” Mark handed over a water skin he had been carrying, while they all took turns relating the events of the last six hours in dramatic detail.

“I have no idea what they thought they were looking at out there, but it is certain they did not see Theriole. They sailed around in circles for the longest time as if they had no idea where a whole palace had gotten to,” Delphine recounted.

“I made up a mock seascape to mask the real one, and I filled it with endless, turbulent waters, curling mists, and jagged outcroppings of rock, with no real shoreline in sight…if they believed it, they must have been really confused as to where they were, and why there was no sign of Theriole. I gave them a true seaman’s nightmare.” He was shocked to hear of the water-nymphs’ slightly over-zealous contribution, though he had been the one to suggest that Ondine had more tricks up her sleeve than anyone suspected. “Casualties?” he asked, thinking of Xaarus’ mandate.

Rel replied, “Only the one on our side, which, while tragic, is a miracle in itself. We aren’t sure about their side. Some of their ships were damaged or sank, but I think most of the men were rescued from the water. We even helped them do that.”

“How…?”

Grinning, she explained to all of them the dragons’ clever deception, and their secret rescue mission.

Tvrdik’s eyes were shining with excitement, as he said to them, “Do you realize what this means? We did what we said we could do. We proved that we could successfully defend the palace, and everyone in it, without lifting a sword, or shooting a single arrow. We used our imaginations and our special skills, we pulled together as a team, and we turned them back. If we ever had any doubts, and I admit I have, we’ve laid them to rest this day. Now we have a real precedent to inspire us. It isn’t just a theory – we’ve proven it can be done.”

Jorelial Rey, while just as elated at their triumph, felt honor-bound to point out the sobering facts, “I wouldn’t celebrate just yet. We’ve won the day, but the struggle has just begun. And the trouble with this method is that everyone on the other side lives to come back and harry us again tomorrow.”

“Well,” replied the mage, after a moment’s thought, “every day alive is a new day for someone to change his mind. Even Drogue could see reason. And, if not, I think we’ll be ready for him.”

“The question of the moment is,” Delphine interrupted, “do you think you can stand up and walk now? There is a very large crowd of fans down there, awaiting a glimpse of you.”

“I am sure you are exaggerating, but I am feeling better now…if you’ll just get my staff over there…thank you.”

He leaned a little on the staff to get up, but aside from being tired and a bit slow, he demonstrated that he could get around, and was almost back to his usual self. “You know, I think I’m a little hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Jorelial Rey teased him, “but, I suppose you’ve earned your board today. What if we all made an appearance on the walkway above the courtyard, and then we can sneak into the kitchens?”

“Now you are talking good sense,” Tvrdik countered, and Stewart barked his approval. “Do you suppose we could arrange to skip maneuvers tomorrow? I would dearly love a good, long sleep.”

“You and me both, friend, but the trials are coming up in less than a week, and we can’t afford to lose momentum.”

“Oh, right. Drat.” Tvrdik answered.

They made their way, at an unhurried pace, out of the alcove and into the hallway, staying together in case Tvrdik needed any extra support. To the end of the hallway, down one stairway and up another, through another corridor, and down another stairway they went, finally coming out on a walkway along crenellated exterior walls that rimmed the top of the courtyard. Stepping out in the open air, they could see the space below was still buzzing with people, even as twilight rolled in, despite the fact that word had gone out that it was safe to go home. It soon became evident why. A voice cried out, “There they are! There’s our Regent and our Court Wizard.” And suddenly, all eyes were on them, fingers pointing and more voices crying out,

“They saved Theriole.”

“He saved us all…”

“Long live the King!”

“Long live our Regent!”

“Long live our Court Wizard!”

They heard all of these cheers overlapping each other willy-nilly, and then, out of the random shouting rose a rhythmic chant that started with one voice, and gained power and momentum as more folk joined in. “Tvr-dik, Tvr-dik…” the crowd chanted, over and over.

As the sound grew to a deafening peak, Jorelial Rey leaned in close, having to shout over the din, “Well, someone’s become quite the celebrity.”

Tvrdik started backward in alarm, but was relieved to see her broad smile. “I don’t understand it,” he replied, “it’s…ridiculous. RrreeeDIculous!” Somehow the word needed repeating. “Why are they doing this?”

“Word spreads quickly around here,” Mark observed, “and you may have saved all their lives. You’re a hero, old man. Might as well accept it.”

Delphine chimed in. “Do something. You’d better acknowledge them before there is a riot,” she urged, but she was grinning, ear to ear. Tvrdik looked at each of them in turn, hoping for some clue as to what an appropriate response might look like. But each of his friends smiled and took a step back. With a small shrug, he turned to the assembled citizenry and raised one of his hands high in the air, waving to them. The chanting faded, every eye on the young mage who had just accomplished the impossible. Searching for some word or action to answer their eager expectation, and moved by the wave of affection washing over him, Tvrdik moved the hand he had raised in the air, closed it into a fist, and placed it over his heart, bowing his head in a simple gesture of acknowledgement and gratitude. He could not have chosen better. The crowd went wild, cheering for their latest darling.

“Oh, brother,” Jorelial Rey rolled her eyes.

Tvrdik was startled by her reaction, “What? Too much?”

“Well, maybe just a teensy bit theatrical,” Delphine giggled.

“Now, where would I have learned theatrical?” the mage queried.

This time it was Stewart who answered, “My friend, did you not study at Xaarus’ knee?”

“Oh.” said Tvrdik, taking his point.

“Come on,” urged Jorelial Rey, “No speeches tonight. Let’s get something to eat. The man of the hour needs to keep up his strength.” She smiled and waved to the crowd, before leading the little group along the wall, through an archway, and down another long flight of stairs. And now, the others recognized just where they were – on the main floor, headed in the direction of the kitchens.

Before they had taken very many steps further, however, they were intercepted by Lord Corbin Maygrew, accompanied by General Boone. Lord Maygrew, his bearded face beaming, strode up to the little group, and took Jorelial Rey’s hands in his. “Rel, that was simply brilliant! You have convinced me that you know indeed what you are doing. You too, Sir Mage. I understand you had quite a part in pulling this off.” He disengaged from Jorelial and clapped Tvrdik on the back. “Stunning – ” he went on, “a
victory
against that dangerous fleet, with so few casualties, and not a blow exchanged. It’s remarkable.” General Boone hung back in silence, while Maygrew went on, “I have to admit, I doubted that it could be done. But, with a little magic on our side, and a little ingenuity, why, it is miraculous what can be achieved. Congratulations. You’ve sold me.” He was so effusive in his compliments that they were almost unsure of his sincerity. Jorelial Rey returned his graciousness.