The Wizard's Council (6 page)

             
Two down and one more to go,
William thought as he approached the table of four. One of the three men immediately stood up to stop him from coming any closer. William’s first thought was to blast the man with magic, but he realized that it would bring too much attention. No, he had to do things their way for now. He paused a moment before pushing past the man to sit in the open seat at the table.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The man asked as he lightly shoved William backward.

“I just wanted to talk to your boss, that’s all.” William’s brow furrowed.

“Afraid not. I’ve been watching you and you’re up to something. First that Wizardy fellow and then the thief.”

“Look, I am here to find friends, not to pick fights.”

“Milton, it is quite all right, I can handle myself.” The grizzled man pushed the other aside.

“I’m glad that you’ve decided to consider my position. I am here representing the Warlocks. We believe it is in our best interest as well as your best interest to join forces against the Galimdorians.”

“What good does it do us to save the southern kingdoms from the Galimdorians?”

“That is just it, if we are able to save them, then how can they refuse us establishing ourselves in their towns.” William pulled out another bag of gold and handed it to the man.

“Well, I suppose that I could see things your way. But why shouldn’t we consolidate our power here first?” The man took the gold and pocketed it.

“Alamor is just a small piece of a rather large pie. The southern kingdoms, Galimdor, Gloomvale Isles, the list goes on and on.”

“What about the gold? That all we get?”

“For now, but there is more where that came from if you can help me secure a book from the Holy Order. Once we have the book, we can further discuss our plans for the future.”

“Tell us the time and place and we’ll be there.”

*

             
The Wizard’s Council had taken nearly a week to finalize their stance on the war with Galimdor. Even with the attack on Dorensted, many of the Archwizards were wary of an all-out declaration of war with Galimdor. In the end, only five of the nine decided to march to war. Rolin and Paul were chosen to lead a small army of Carmalians in an attempt to stop the invasion that had started at Dorensted. Emily and Janessa were headed to the Gloomvale Isles to raise an army to join the war effort. Cormac was traveling to his dwarven home to try to bring the dwarves into the war. Ector joined together with a small band of Rangers to harass the flank of the Galimdorian army. Thanos and Leon saw no reason to fight the Galimdorians. James and Melissa elected to stay behind and prepare the southern kingdoms for the coming war.

Emily had never been to the Gloomvale Isles before, but Janessa assured her that it was just a short trip via ship. Their choice of transportation was somewhat limited by the fact that they needed to bring an army back with them. They boarded the massive converted merchant vessel and Janessa took her place as
captain of the ship. Though she had never piloted such a large ship, she was accustomed to the trip between the Gloomvale Isles and Carmalia. The vessel had been converted from a standard merchant ship to a transport ship several years prior. Gloomvale crews added to the outer hull, extending the ship’s length and width. They also added an extra set of sails and refitted the cargo hold into several smaller crew quarter rooms. Even the armaments were upgraded in case they needed to land in enemy waters.

“I need you to prepare some protective spells for when the storm hits,” Janessa said as Emily joined her at the wheel.

“I’ll have something ready for when we get closer,” Emily replied.

The ship eased its way over the seas as it made its way toward the Gloomvale Isles. With Janessa at the helm, the ship seemed to almost be one with the sea, as though it were a fish and not a man-made ship. Emily spent little time on the seas, most of which seemed like a nightmare to her. However, the time spent on the sea with Janessa was like nothing she had been through before. The trip was smoother than even riding a horse. It made her want to take to a life on the seas. The salty sea breeze whipped through her hair as she looked out over the bow of the ship. She had never seen the seas so calm before. In her ignorance, she took it as the way that Janessa piloted a ship.

Emily shrieked as a grappling hook slammed into the floor of the ship a few feet from where she was standing. It slid back and locked in place on the side of the ship. Several more attached to the ship at various locations on the port and starboard sides of the ship. Before anyone could react, pirates were already climbing the ropes and boarding the ship. Emily thrust her hand toward the closest pirate, and a barrage of small rocks flew at him. The pirate stepped back a few steps and tripped over the side of the ship, falling into the water below. Frustrated by what she felt was a weak showing, Emily thrust both of her hands at another pirate. A giant glob of mud smacked him in the chest, knocking him to the floor.

“More power, Emily. You can do it!” Janessa yelled as she shot a water jet at three pirates who were running up the stairs toward the wheel.

The small contingent of troops that was accompanying the two Wizards was being cut to pieces by the pirates. Emily rushed to the aid of the Carmalian militia. She thrust her arms forward a third time, closing her eyes in fear of failure. A giant rock materialized in front of her and then sped toward the group of pirates. They attempted to move out of the way, but the boulder was traveling too fast. It collided with the majority of the pirates and knocked them overboard before slamming into their boat. The remaining pirates huddled around the mast of the ship and readied whatever ranged weaponry they had. Emily threw up her hands and conjured a large rock wall to protect herself from the ranged attacks.

“Janessa!” Emily yelled as more pirates came on board the ship.

A jet of water rushed out of the Archwizard’s hands as she let go of the wheel and turned her attention to the pirates. There were too many to take down with water alone, but the now slippery deck took away the advantage the pirates originally had. They were now falling down just as easily as the few Carmalian soldiers that were left. Emily dropped to her knees and pressed both her hands against the ship’s deck. A thin layer of mud began to mass around her hands. The mud slowly began to seep outward and cover the ship. Within minutes, the mud was up to everyone’s shins. The pirates began to shout in fear as it was getting harder to move through the mud.

“I’d be stopping that, dearie.” An unfamiliar voice called up from up near the wheel.

Emily turned to see Janesssa held captive by one of the pirates. His sword was at Janessa’s throat, and he had a grin that covered his entire face. The mere sight of him was equal parts revolting and enraging.
He’ll pay for this
, Emily thought as she pulled her hands away from the deck. The mud slowly began to seep away from the pirates, allowing them to be free to move yet again. Her hands trembled as she held them at her sides. She desperately wanted to put on a display like the ones that Paul had done, but fear had crept in. Janessa was looking at her with an urgency that she had never seen displayed by her fellow Archwizard. It was as though she had put her fate in Emily’s hands.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart? You aren’t afraid, are you?” The pirate crew let out a riotous bit of laughter as their
captain jeered at Emily.

“Let her go!” Emily screamed thrusting both of her hands toward their
captain.

“Or what? You’ll kill me by waving your hands about?”

“You’ll pay, I swear it.”

“You are in no position to be threatening me.” The pirate captain pulled the sword closer to Janessa’s throat, leaving a small cut.

Emily dropped her hands to her side and fell to her knees. She dug her face into her hands and started to cry. The pressure was too much, it always had been. Ever since she was a little girl, her father had pushed her to succeed. It wasn’t the normal pushing of a loving father. Her father had been closer to a slave driver than a father. The only thing that kept up her spirits was the kindness of her mother. Emily’s mind was flooded with images of her parents. Even though she felt some level of hatred of him, images of her father still brought her comfort. She snapped back to reality when one of the pirates grabbed her by the arm. Her hand instinctively shot out and grabbed the pirate’s arm. Spikes shot up out of her hand and pierced through the pirate’s arm, causing him to release his grip on her.

The pirate captain attempted to say something, but Emily was too quick. She let go of the other pirate and spun to face his captain. She thrust her hand toward him, releasing the spikes at him. The pirate captain attempted to block the spikes with his sword. He knocked aside four of the seven projectiles. Of the remaining three, two hit him in the shoulder and one in the face. He staggered backward, releasing Janessa and nearly dropping his sword. Janessa spun to face her former captor and unleashed a large jet of water at him. The force of the blast was enough to send him back over the ship’s guardrail before plummeting down into the water below.

Fear gripped the two dozen pirates that were left on the boat. They began to slowly back away from Emily. She regained some of her composure and was preparing to drive them off when she noticed the horizon.  In the midst of the battle, they had managed to arrive at the edge of the Gloomvale waters. The dark clouds seemed to come out of nowhere and envelop everything. What had formerly been a bright day now looked like night. Emily rushed to Janessa’s side as the pirates scrambled back to their ship in hopes of escaping the perilous waters. She helped her somewhat shaken companion to the wheel.

“What do we do?” Emily asked as the ship sailed further into the darkness.

“We’ve entered from an unfamiliar heading, be prepared for anything. Just know that it will be a rough ride.”

*

William spurred his horse onward. The others were scheduled to meet him at the agreed upon location in less than an hour, and he wanted to scout out the situation before they arrived. He jumped off his horse and cautiously made his way to the rock outcroppings at the top of the hill. The enemy camp was at the bottom of the hill, not too far from the edge of the forest.
Something isn’t right
, William thought as he surveyed the camp. There were no guards to be seen and, other than the banner in the middle of the camp, there was no indication that the Holy Order had been present. The others arrived sooner than expected and joined William in examining the camp from their hiding spot.

“Why aren’t there any guards?” One of the thieves asked.

“I don’t know, but I mean to find out.” William rose from his spot and motioned for the others to follow him down to the camp.

The camp seemed empty, but there were several tents to examine. “Watch out for traps,” William said as he headed for the main tent. He threw back the flap to find it completely empty. As he exited the tent, he lit the banner next to it on fire. The thieves and mercenaries started to argue
, and William nearly lost it. Flames whipped up from his hands as he stepped in between the two groups. Just as he was about to scold them, three men in cloaks approached the camp. William instantly recognized their leader as the mage, named Kristof, whom he had met in the tavern. The others stopped arguing and watched as the three magicians approached William.

“What is the meaning of this?” William asked, pointing to the empty camp.

“The Wielders are the main power here. Go back to your leader and tell him that the Warlocks have no place here,” The leader of the small group of Wielders said.

“I think not!” William yelled as he raised his right hand.

His men followed his lead and rushed forward. A fireball materialized near William’s hand and shot toward the three Wielders. Kristof stopped the fireball and enlarged it before sending it at the charging troops. His men supplemented the attack with their own barrage of fire arrows. All three of the Wielders kept throwing spells at William’s men, slowly wearing them down. William did his best to put up a fight, but he was only able to protect himself and the leader of each faction. The three surrendered after their small army was defeated by the Wielders.

“Consider yourselves fortunate to be alive. The Wielders rarely let their enemies survive. I don’t want to see any Warlocks in these parts again. No matter how many allies you gather, we will always win.” Kristof readied a small icicle in his hand as he spoke.

“You are a fool to threaten the Warlocks!” Septimus stepped out of the woods.

William watched in awe as Septimus raised his hands and encased the two lesser Wielders in rock. Kristof shot the icicle at Septimus and sent two fireballs at him with his other hand. Septimus waved aside the icicle and ricocheted one fireball at each of the encased mages. He strode forward and clenched both of his fists, crushing the two Wielders inside of the rocks that surrounded them. As he closed in on Kristof, Septimus ignited a small ball of fire in his right hand. The Warlock placed his flame engulfed hand on the Wielder’s chest, burning through his cloak and leaving a hand shaped burn.

“Remember this as a token of dealing with the Warlocks. Tell your master that the Wielders will feel our full wrath if they meddle in our business again. Alamor belongs to the Warlocks.” Septimus’ eyes glowed red as he spoke.