Chapter 19 Part 1

AMBUSH


The night had been very nervous for Dylan. Gage’s speech had been impassioned and cut to the quick of the apprentice's soul. He had been accused of disobedience to his master and selfishness in not thinking of how his actions would affect his guardians. But the one that really hurt was when Gage had told him that he had been irresponsible and foolish in exposing Cindy to such danger. Occasionally, his master would spout off a series of oaths and curses in elvish, and Dylan was hard pressed to follow what he was being told.

Finally the lecture ended and the elven mage concluded his dressing down of his apprentice with a very serious punishment. He confiscated the apprentice’s spellbook and indicated that Dylan would get it back only when he displayed the kind of responsibility that such a possession required. Then Gage gave the boy an assignment and left the apartment, pausing only long enough to remind Dylan that he was very disappointed and ashamed of his apprentice’s actions.

The assignment that Dylan had been given concerned a spell that Gage wanted him to understand. It was a geas, a bonding spell that set up a magical condition within the target to drive them to perform a function or prevent them from committing an act.

That night as Dylan studied the spell parameters and incantations, it dawned on him that Master Tesron had placed the spell on him when he had first been taken to the Academy. He was not sure what Tesron’s spell had done, but he doubted that it was anything bad. It probably was some form of programming to prevent him from running away.

It also occurred to Dylan that Gage was subtly threatening to place a geas on him if he remained disobedient. He felt pretty sure that Gage would never do him any harm, but he would rather not have such a spell placed on him in any event.

Gage returned several hours later and gave Dylan permission to stop long enough to eat. Reluctantly, the young man accompanied his master down to the common area of the tavern. There he was ushered to a seat at a separate table. His sat facing a blank wall with all the others to his back. It was very unsettling, but Dylan was not about to make things worse by complaining about the harshness of his punishment.

A servant gave a bowl of broth and bread to him, and Dylan tasted the bland food with some apprehension. It was obviously not the best in the house, and it was not overly warm either. It seemed that the punishments were going to drag out at least for the rest of the night.

Dylan was halfway through the bowl of broth when Cindy took a seat beside him. Her face showed smears where she had been weeping. Apparently Crystal’s tongue lashing had been every bit as severe as Gage’s.

“Well at least we’re still alive,” Dylan offered as he used a clean napkin to brush at Cindy’s face.

“I think I would rather she have beaten me,” Cindy answered back. “I’m so sorry I dragged you out there with me.”

“You didn’t force me to come,” Dylan objected.

“No, but it was my idea. And I’m the one who distracted Rathe.”

“I’d have followed anyway,” Dylan told her. “Haven’t you figured out that I’ll follow you for the rest of our lives?”

Cindy smiled and reached out and touched his hand. “You know that makes this a whole lot easier to endure,” she told him.

“There was one good thing that came out of this,” Dylan agreed. “I would gladly sit through a hundred scoldings to find your heart again.”

Cindy smiled warmly. Then without warning, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “And when we’re alone, I’ll give you a more proper kiss.”

“Hey,” there was a nudge on his shoulder. “You two are supposed to be punished, not playing smackey mouth.” It was Coran. His black eyes were hard, but there was a hint of laughter on the corner of his mouth, as if he did not really think their transgression was that serious, or perhaps he found Cindy’s kiss amusing.

“I don’t want to see you enjoying yourselves,” he chastised. Then in a much quieter voice he added, “at least not until tomorrow.”

Dylan and Cindy both turned back to face the wall. Dylan smiled inwardly. Coran had covertly reassured him that though they were upset with the two apprentices' actions, the punishment would not last long.

In spite of the punishment, Dylan took pleasure in Cindy’s closeness and they spoke in hushed whispers through the rest of the meal. Then Crystal ushered Cindy back upstairs.
Not long after, Gage pointedly reminded Dylan that he had lessons to attend to, and indicated that the boy was no longer welcome in the commons hall.

Dylan retired to his books. He could tell that Gage was still very sore at him, but it seemed that some of the others had managed to smooth things over a bit. He hoped his master forgave him. He and Cindy had not intended to cause so much trouble.

The master mage entered the room many hours later. His apprentice sat at the table, his candle burned down to a nub and his head resting wearily on the book that he had been reading. Apparently Dylan had read until he could go no longer. It was just as well. The two kids had had a big day and night before.

Gage was not so angry at his student’s disobedience as he was at having been frightened to the end of his wits by the boy’s disappearance. What could they have been thinking? To run off into unknown territory with devils roaming about was madness.

Gage waved a hand and cast a spell. Dylan gently floated out of his chair and over to the bunk that he slept in. Then Gage let the boy settle down. The mage sighed. Casting the spell took a bit out of him, but the wave of fatigue would also help him sleep. Gage spread a blanket across his pupil and then retired to his own bed.

The next morning, Gage woke Dylan and urged the boy to join them for breakfast as soon as he was cleaned up and dressed. Dylan jumped out of his bed. The sun was just rising and Dylan quickly washed himself off at the basin and rummaged through his pack for some clean clothes to wear. He then smoothed down a cow lick on the side of his head and clumsily made his way down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

When Dylan approached the table, Gage directed him to a chair across from the rest of them. Cindy was already seated there and it appeared that the two youthful adventurers were in for another lecture.

“Well,” Gage began when Dylan was seated. “Before breakfast arrives, and since these two little vagabonds have had a good night’s rest, I think it is time that they tell us what they found out in their little misadventure.”

Cindy began. She told about following the two girls to the glade where the Chira ritual had been held. She mentioned hiding in the bushes and watching the dancing and chanting and the old witch. But at the point where the devil emerged from the fire and smoke, Cindy faltered. Her eyes teared up and she hid her face in her hands.

Dylan took over there. He repeated what he could remember of the conversation and tried to explain the actual possession of Thomas as best he could without having to remember it too much. Unlike Cindy, Dylan managed to keep his composure, but just barely.

It sounds as if you two came dangerously close to some serious trouble,” Crystal observed. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that you’ll both have to live with the memory of what you witnessed. That in itself is going to be a never ending punishment. But maybe now you can understand why we were so worried. And maybe now you understand why we didn’t want you to go out at all.”

“I think they get the idea,” Coran agreed. “I suspect they’ll both be less inclined to run off when they’ve been told to stay at home again.”

“The sleep spell proved useful once again,” Gage nodded with a hint of approval. “But the witch was too strong for it. I can imagine, though that the light caught her off guard. That was quick thinking. As for why the spell she cast against you failed, I am at a loss.”
Dylan blushed. He decided not to admit that blinding the witch with the light had been an accident.

“So what do we do now?” Coran wondered. “We know that the Chira have stirred up a pot that was best left in the cellar, but now it’s too late. The devils are in this realm by choice now, and that means that there will soon be no stopping them.”

Gage stroked his chin thoughtfully. “They are using the undead as an advanced army. But once they have enough possessed people under their control, they will begin bring their brethren over in their natural form. When that happens, all the armies in the world will be useless.”

“What was it you said,” Coran turned to Dylan again, “that they claimed to have? Some kind of staff?”

“He called it the Ebony Staff,” Dylan recalled. “The devil seemed to think it was very important.”

“Do you know what it is?” Coran asked Gage.

“I think I have heard the name before,” Gage admitted, “but I never heard any specifics about it nor do I know what it does.”

“Perhaps Ultrecht or Armegon?” Rathe suggested. “They may know what it is.”

“Truly, mages of their caliber would be a wealth of knowledge,” Velar agreed. “We would do well to seek their counsel.”

"I suppose you are right,” Gage consented. He looked at his brother. “Do you want to call them or should I?”

“You do it,” Coran told him. “I’m not used to that kind of thing and it always tires me out.”

“After breakfast then,” Gage decided. “I get the feeling that after this I am going to need a nap.”

They ate quietly. Some polite conversations passed among them, and for the most part it seemed that Dylan and Cindy’s transgressions had been largely forgotten. When the meal was finished, Gage and Coran led them all back to their lodgings where Gage sat at a table and took a few things from his bag.

Dylan recognized a few of the components and their typical uses. He also recognized many of the parts of the spell that Gage began to incant as those around waited nervously. In the mirror above the wash basin, a cloudy image began to form. The misty image swirled as the spell continued and then finally coalesced into the form of Ultrecht.

“I am sorry if we caught you at a bad time, uncle,” Gage apologized.

“It’s not really a bother,” Ultrecht answered with a slight smile. “All I was doing was investigating a plot by your father and Armegon. They’re trying to pull a prank on me. I haven’t got the full story of it, yet, but when I do, I’ll turn it all around and put it back on them.”

“They still haven’t gotten you back yet?” Coran asked with a laugh. “But that was ten years ago wasn’t it?”

“Armegon’s vengeful, and your father’s not above holding a grudge. Although I think Avery’s more into it for the fun of watching Armegon scheme and plot.”

“I am sure that you will be able to turn the tables on them,” Gage praised.

“Don’t patronize me, Gage,” Ultrecht warned. “I know that you were involved in their last attempt. The djinn that was in that lamp must have weighed a quarter of a ton easily, and I still haven’t figured out what kind of love potion that was you mixed up and gave her, but it took me almost a year to get away from her. You really have no idea how determined a woman with those kind of powers can be."

"She came out of that lamp and the first thing she saw was me.” The image in the mirror shuddered at the thought. “She had very serious plans for the rest of her life and those plans involved me. And djinns live thousands of years.”

“How did you get out of that?” Coran wondered aloud.

“I’m not telling. I may need to use a similar trick again soon enough.”

Rathe chuckled and exchanged a glance with Crystal. “My father mentioned something about this once,” he whispered. “Wasn’t your mother the one who saved him?”

“Hey!” Ultrecht interrupted. “No giving away of secrets,” he warned the Minotaan and young woman. Then with a more serious note in his voice he turned back to Gage. “So other than a friendly call to say ‘hello’,” Ultrecht changed the subject, “what’s on your mind?”

“Hopefully nothing,” Gage started. He told Ultrecht that they had found out that the Chira were raising devils and allowing their own people to volunteer to be possessed in return for protection and dominance. “But the thing that we wanted to talk to you about is this item that the devil bragged about possessing. Have you ever heard of the Ebony Staff?”

The image of Ultrecht went pale. There was a long moment of silence and even Dylan could tell that something was dreadfully wrong. “Then it’s worse than we feared,” Ultrecht finally sighed with resignation. “We’d hoped that it was something else, or that the Ebony Staff was in the hands of some mortal necromancer, but for that powerful a device to be in the hands of the Dukes of Hell is a serious matter.”

The Elementalist Arch Mage thought for a moment, then he addressed Gage again. “I want you and Coran to get yourselves and everyone with you out of that village. Go out into the middle of the forest somewhere and set up a camp and a secure perimeter. Use the scroll that Armegon gave you for the wards. I’ll be there later with help. We’ll have to decide how to act. Then we’ll pray that we’re right.”

When the image faded, Rathe whistled a low note. “He seemed a bit worried,” the giant muttered.

“If Ultrecht is worried, then I am double worried,” Crystal added. “I mean my father warned me that something bad could be brewing, but he didn’t mention anything about a magical relic.”

Rathe stood and stretched out to work the kinks from his back and knees. His hands easily reached the ceiling. “Well,” he yawned, “I suppose we should get going.”

“Get going?” Cindy asked.

“You heard Ultrecht. He told us to get out of town and to a safe place. Now I don’t know about any of you, but if only one tenth of what my father said about Ultrecht is true, then I’m going to take that order as if it came from the Almighty, Himself.”

“You’re right,” Crystal agreed. “I’ll go and pack my stuff and we’ll meet you down here in an hour.” She nudged her apprentice. “Come on Cindy.”

The women left and Gage spoke briefly with Coran before urging Dylan to accompany him upstairs as well. “Coran will square our lodgings with the innkeeper,” Gage told him. “Velar and Rathe will get the rest of the stuff. Pack quickly and do not bring anything that you do not need. Do not tell anyone else what you saw that night. Keep quiet and hurry.”

Dylan did as he was told. He soon joined Rathe and Coran at the front of the tavern where the wagon was being loaded. Most passers by paid them no heed, but a few observed them with knowing looks. Dylan hoped that it was just his imagination, but it seemed that some of them recognized him from the other night.

The other soon followed them down. Coran loaded the wagon with deceptive casualness. It was hard to tell from the tall dark man that there was any sense of urgency at all. Only the nearness of his sheathed sword and shield indicated any level of alertness.

When they were all gathered and the wagon was ready, Gage took the driver’s seat and urged the horses into motion. Coran and Velar rode their mounts ahead and Rathe walked behind, his long legs easily keeping up with the horses’ pace.

Dylan and Cindy sat in the back of the wagon, their mentors both occupied the riding bench. They watched nervously as the buildings passed and they made their way to the edge of the village.

Cindy inhaled sharply at one point, and Dylan instinctively turned. She was staring with wide eyes to one side, and when Dylan reflexively followed her gaze, he felt his own breath seize up. It was Thomas. The possessed boy was there in the town. He watched them and when their eyes met, Dylan knew that not only was there no humanity left in that body, but that the devil within recognized him.

Cindy nudged him urgently. Dylan broke his lock with Thomas’ eyes and followed Cindy’s gesture farther back behind them. A crowd of villagers had formed in the street and were all watching them. Among the villagers was the witch.

“Master,” Dylan urgently whispered to the mage.

“We know,” Gage answered quietly. “Do not do anything sudden. Just keep quiet and calm. I do not think that they will attack us in town.”

“They know that Gage is a wizard,” Crystal added. “The witch doesn’t want to take him on out here in the open.”

“The devils will not be so cautious,” Gage did not sound so sure.

“Methinks that the newly possessed body does not wear well,” Velar suggested. “Yon miscreant may not yet be ready to try his mettle against us.”

“The devil isn’t likely to attack us right now,” Coran agreed. He glanced briefly at Velar. “It’ll be more cautious. Devils are not like demons. Devils are cold and calculating as well as evil. They don’t just act out of passion. The devil will plan out his attack to catch us at our weakest.”

“Once we get out in the wilderness, we can set up our camp. I have some wards that will protect us.” Gage assured them.

The wagon passed the last cottage and rumbled down the packed road with agonizing slowness. The village and its mob of Chira citizenry faded from sight eventually and Dylan breathed a little easier. But a nagging feeling lingered. It was all too apparent that the Chira were not happy about what they had done, and he just could not see the villagers letting them go unmolested.

Many long moments passed and they put about half a league behind them when Crystal started at a flock of birds taking flight from some tall grass to their right. The huntress quickly reached for her bow and Coran drew his sword with a steely hiss.

To the left a thick growth of bamboo erupted and exploded towards them. The thin bamboo bent low as a large, black reptilian head wove outward. The head was followed by a long serpentine neck which in turn was followed by a large quadruped body complete with an equally long whip-like tail.

“Black Dragon!” Rathe yelled as he rushed forward, his axe in hand. “Beware if its spittle!”

“Arrrh!” Velar vaulted from his mount and ran headlong towards the great beast. And even though Dylan knew Velar’s secret, he was still surprised when the strange man ballooned in size and shape right before his very eyes in broad daylight. Velar assumed his true form and attacked the intruder, dragon to dragon.

Dylan had seen Velar in his dragon form before, but it had been at night. In the broad light of the day, the massive form seemed even more impressive. Dylan was marginally in awe of the great beasts. Even more so were Cindy and the others who had not been privy to the secret. Even his master was staring, his mouth hung open in disbelief.

“I thought I recognized his speech dialogue,” someone said quietly as Velar and the black dragon clashed. Both of the great beasts tumbled back into the brush. Whole trees were sheared as the massive bodies slammed and rolled in a furious mortal combat.

At one point a great mass of greenish mucus arched skyward and landed across the road from their wagon. The stuff splattered against the trunk of a tree and began eating away at the wood viciously. In less than three breaths, the trunk had dissolve enough that the weight of the tree caused it to collapse. The falling tree narrowly missed Rathe, and the Minotaan had to step quickly to get out of the way.

“Some dragons breathe fire,” Gage announced as he pulled the wagon off the road. “Others breathe lightning, frost or poison gas, but black dragons spit acid. Be careful of his spittle.”

“But Velar!” Dylan cried in earnest. “We should help him.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Coran responded as he reined Dylan in. The boy had taken a couple of steps towards the savagely swaying trees that heralded the massive melee beyond. “Velar can take a measly black. He might have trouble with a great green or a blue or red, but he is in no real danger from blacks or whites.”

There was a great roar from beyond the trees and a strangled cry erupted in answer. Everyone stared fearfully toward the place where the dragons had last been seen.
Then, barely perceptible, a tiny yelp was heard from behind them. Dylan and Crystal seemed to be the only ones who had heard the sound, and when they turned as one, they both beheld a sight that none of them had expected, and yet all of them had feared within the darkest shadows of their hearts.

The devil and its henchmen had slipped up behind them during the diversion. The old witch stood not far away, and two burly men had seized Cindy from the rear of the wagon while they had watched Velar attack the black dragon. The captive girl had managed only the slightest of squeals out of desperation as she had been turned over to the monster inhabiting the body of Thomas.

With Crystal and Dylan as the only witness, the devil laid one of Thomas’ hands on the girls head and then turned to smile wickedly at the onlookers. Then a cloud of smoke erupted from his mouth and enveloped both of them. When the smoke cleared, Thomas and Cindy were both gone.

“Cindy!” Dylan cried desperately vaulting from the wagon and charging the witch and her henchmen. He had no weapon, but blindly ran, fists raised, intent on doing whatever he possibly could.

Dylan’s actions were unnecessary. Crystal shouted at the same time, and Gage, alarmed into action turned and loosed the magic of an emergency-attacking spell. Eight bolts of light jumped from the mage’s fingers and slammed into the witch, the fury of the attack tore her apart leaving her shoes on the ground dozens of feet from her singed head. The two larger men fared no better. Coran ran one of them through with his sword, while Rathe cut the other completely in half with one mighty blow of the great double bladed axe.

“Noooo!” Dylan cried again. Desperately he ran to the scorched mark where the devil and Cindy had vanished mere seconds before. He fell to his knees sobbing over the loss of both friend and more.

“Damn!” Coran cursed aloud. “The whole thing was a ruse!”

“What?” Gage asked, not understanding.

“The devil knew what Velar’s true form was. It wasn’t willing to attack a mage and a steel dragon together, but the black dragon was a diversion, a lure to get Velar away. Now they have Cindy.”

“But why?” Dylan cried with his fists clenched.

“To scare us? To make us yield and leave them alone? Who knows?”

“We have to help her,” Crystal cried out. “We can’t let them do to her what they did to those others.”

“I do not think she is in any danger of that yet,” Gage answered. “Those others volunteered. She did not, and her mind is too strong for them to possess her easily. They will probably try to break her spirit first, and that could take a while.”

“Then we mustn’t wait,” Crystal argued. “We have to find her before they can do that.”

“Agreed,” Coran added. “But the best way for us to do that is to establish a camp as Utrecht told us, and then he can come. He’ll know what to do.”

The ground rumbled as a howl of triumph crackled through the air. A moment later Velar stepped through the thicket and back into the open. There was a large whelp on his neck, but otherwise, his form was no different than before the fight.

“My apologies, my fiends,” Velar addressed them. “An animosity from time immortal has existed between our peoples, and I could not withhold the burning of my blood.” The man paused and took in the scene. “I perceive that something is amiss?”

“A devil attacked while you were away,” Coran told him. “I think it was waiting for just that.”

Velar hung his head, abashed. “I had hoped that my true self had remained hidden from the diabolical miscreant as well as it had from many of you. I beg forgiveness for keeping such a secret, but I have found that it is best when dealing with mortals not to reveal myself too readily.”

“We need to go,” Coran reminded them. “I don’t think we are going to get attacked again, but we need to get a move on so that we can make a camp and get some real help here.”

Crystal and Dylan were reluctant to leave, but Gage and Coran reassured them that they were not about to abandon Cindy, and that they were taking the best action that they could to save her. Hurriedly they rode several more miles and then turned aside and followed a stream about half a mile off the road and set up camp on a sandbar.

They cleared out a perimeter and rounded up a sizable pile of firewood. Then Gage went through one of the small chests that he carried in the wagon and retrieved a scroll. He broke the seal and began to read the contents. When he reached the end of the scroll, the parchment flared in a flash and was gone. A faint wavering of light in the air spread out and surrounded the camp. It seemed like a distortion that could be seen near the horizon on a hot day.

“We are safe now,” Gage announced after a moment. “Those wards are practically impenetrable.”

“So how do we let Ultrecht know that we have established a camp?” Rathe asked.

“The same way we spoke to him earlier,” Gage answered. He made ready his spell components. There was no mirror for him to use, so instead, he filled a dark bowl with water and used the reflection as his means of communication.

When the spell took form, the vision of Ultrecht reappeared in the bowl. In the background, they could see that Ultrecht was outdoors and had his travel pack with him. It was apparent that he had been getting ready.

“We are camped,” Gage told him. “And the wards are up, you can come anytime you want, but we would rather you hurry. There has been some trouble.”

Ultrecht nodded and the image faded. “That’s it?” Crystal asked. “When will he get here?”

“I’m not sure,” Gage answered. “It depends on how they travel. They can’t teleport because they don’t know the destination, and the wards will prevent them from scrything the destination.

Many moments passed. Coran began a fire and Crystal spread out a blanket upon which she sat as she prepared to cook. It was pretty plain that her mind was elsewhere.