The portal thieves, p.13
The Portal Thieves, page 13
When they were out of earshot Enoch asked, “So how many threads can you wield?”
“I’m not actually here to join up. The wizard underground has decided it is time to reveal ourselves to your patron.”
Enoch stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in the underground since before he came to work for Otto’s father. He found he wasn’t sure what to say. At last he settled on, “Why?”
“Two things have changed. Garenland granting wizards full citizenship rights is the biggest reason, but also the move they’re making against the other nations has come to our attention.” The underground wizard smiled at Enoch. “You didn’t know?”
“No, but if they have, it’s not a move Lord Shenk would want to make known far and wide. How, exactly, did you find out about it?”
“Our wizards have helped Garenland’s agents complete their missions in Rolan and Lasil. Unless you judge it unwise, I would very much like to meet Lord Shenk and discuss how we might be of use and what we would expect in return.”
“No, I’m sure if the underground wishes to be of help, Lord Shenk would welcome you all. Come with me. I believe he’s in his office this morning. I’ll introduce you. What is your name?”
“You can call me Cypher. I am the voice of the underground in Garenland.”
Otto sat cross-legged on the floor of his workshop. His body nearly vibrated with the power of thirty-one threads’ worth of ether. Every time he tried to draw in another one, he feared he might shake apart. Lord Karonin had said at their last meeting that at a certain point his growth would slow again and then it would be a matter of slow, patient work to advance.
Well, if there was one thing Otto didn’t fear it was hard work. He’d do whatever it took to grow stronger. Still, his time for training was growing short. The Northern Army was on the march and he was due to rejoin them in a few days. It was just a quick check-in, but he felt better knowing what was happening. No one expected serious resistance until they reached the capital.
Everything was going to be settled at Marduke. If his spies succeeded, they’d probably win and if they failed, well, they still had a fair chance of winning, but the cost would be a great deal higher. And if there was anything Otto hated it was wasting resources.
He was about to try that thirty-second thread again when someone knocked on his door. Otto stood and grabbed a towel off the workbench. It was amazing how much strain channeling ether put on his body. He’d even noticed his weight had dropped despite eating more than usual. He’d have to be careful not to overwork himself lest he get sick. Being laid up in bed was the last thing he could afford.
At least the Bliss made it worthwhile. Each time his power increased, so too did his pleasure. Oddly, simpler magic no longer gave him the jolt it used to.
He shrugged and opened the door. Outside stood Master Enoch and a rough-looking wizard nearly as old. Otto frowned and said, “Master, who’s your friend?”
“Lord Shenk, allow me to introduce Cypher, he’s here as a representative of the wizard underground.”
Otto couldn’t get a read on Cypher’s strength, but he assumed if he represented a magical organization, he must be fairly strong. “I wasn’t aware of such an organization.”
“We don’t make a point of advertising,” Cypher said.
Otto ignored the obvious comment and turned his focus on Enoch. “I assume you already knew about them. Is there any particular reason you didn’t share that information with me?”
“I hadn’t spoken with anyone in the underground for twenty years. Frankly, my lord, it never occurred to me. They’re a part of my past, not a bad part mind you, but a part I thought I’d left behind long ago.”
Otto wasn’t thrilled with his former master’s explanation, but for now he’d let it go. He stepped out of the doorway to let them enter. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?”
“Full citizenship for wizards mostly,” Cypher said. “But what pushed us over the edge was the agents you sent into the other nations to seize control of their portals.”
Otto’s heart skipped a beat. No one should know about that. He’d shared the information with only the spies and Wolfric.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have a blabber-mouth on your team. Our people in Rolan aided your man in completing his mission. The price was him telling us exactly what it was. Another underground wizard helped your man in Lasil.”
He knew about Rolan and Lux, but Lasil was still beyond his control as of yesterday when he checked. Assuming Cypher was telling the truth and Otto could think of no reason for him to lie, then the secret mission was nearly complete.
“You have my thanks for your aid, but I assume it doesn’t come free.”
“On the contrary, seeing Garenland’s law spread over the entire continent would suit the underground very well indeed. In fact, we wouldn’t even need to be an underground if that happened. We could be a legitimate wizards guild. Especially if we had the king’s approval.”
Otto felt much better now that he knew what they wanted. A wizards guild wasn’t even a terrible idea, assuming he could control it to his benefit. “And who would be the guild master?”
“Assuming we succeed,” Cypher said. “You’ll meet her when the guild is officially chartered. I trust you’ll want to be the first to join.”
Otto nearly laughed. “I answer to one person and only one person and that is most assuredly not your guild master. I’ll not make wizards slaves to a ruler. If you want to be recognized, membership must be voluntary. No blacklisting nonmembers, no coercion. And that is not negotiable.”
Cypher smiled and held out his hand. “Fair enough. We accept your terms. Our people will be on the lookout for your man in Tharanault. Alas we have no agents in Straken.”
“I would have been impressed if you did. I’ll walk you out.”
Otto led the way outside and upstairs. He avoided the main part of the house and exited from a side door. Cypher assured them that he could find his way from there and set out for the front gate.
When he’d gone Otto said, “You should have told me about them. Maybe not when you were my teacher, but last fall certainly.”
“Forgive me, Lord Shenk. Truly I never thought they’d approach you. What little interaction I had with them led me to believe they had no interest in politics.”
“Everyone has an interest in politics, Enoch, especially when it can benefit them. Freeing all the wizards is a pretty big benefit, especially if they join your guild.”
Otto shook his head. Life never got easier, but at least the missions were progressing well. Hopefully soon the Tharanault portal would be his and they could move on Straken.
Chapter 16
Axel could hardly believe how easy the march north had been. He and the scouts had been riding a day ahead of the First Legion as they made their way through the central part of Straken. There was still snow covering everything, but it had melted enough to allow easy movement.
They rode past half a dozen towns and none of them showed any resistance. In fact, most of them were empty. He hadn’t seen so much as a garden hoe raised in anger, no arrows arced in at them, nothing. It was beyond strange. He found himself all the more tense for the lack of fighting.
He’d spoken to his brother for a few minutes after he arrived the day before and Otto seemed to think they’d be fine until they reached Marduke where he expected to find enemy reinforcements waiting. Axel wasn’t sure if he hoped Otto was right or not. Having to fight the entire Straken army and their reinforcements, including wizards, while climbing the massive city walls, wasn’t an appealing prospect.
“Sir, rider coming in,” one of the new guys said.
Axel recognized Colten at once. He wasn’t riding hard, so Axel doubted it was anything serious. Though after days of boredom anything would be a welcome distraction.
Colten reached the column and saluted. “Enemy approaching, sir.”
“That’s a rather matter-of-fact tone. You don’t sound terribly concerned.”
“No, sir. They looked more like half-starved refugees than soldiers, but they are Straken citizens, so I assume they’re the enemy despite the lack of visible weapons.”
“Orders, my lord?” Cobb asked.
“Get everyone lined up and tell them to keep their eyes open. If this is some kind of ambush, I don’t want to fall for it.”
By the time the ragged band of men and women reached Axel’s position, his group had formed a square and drawn their swords. Axel felt slightly foolish gripping a sword as people old enough to be his grandparents came shuffling towards them.
When they were twenty feet away he said, “That’s close enough. What’s your business with us?”
“We’re surrendering,” a toothless crone wearing a dark shawl and patched cloak said. “The winter finished what you lot started last fall. We haven’t had a decent meal in weeks and with the war about to start up again, I can’t imagine supplies from the capital getting through. It was a close vote, but we decided to try our luck with you rather than starve.”
Axel couldn’t help smiling. Even on death’s doorstep the people of Straken kept their hatred fresh and strong. A pity such strong feelings were directed at the wrong group.
He sheathed his sword. “I’m afraid we can’t feed you, Grandmother. We don’t carry enough supplies for that. If you like, we’ll be happy to escort you to the nearest town.”
She spat at his feet. “Where do you think we came from, boy? There’s no food in any of the towns. Everyone that could has fled to Marduke. Only the old and feeble are left.”
“Your own people left you to starve?”
“This is Straken, boy. The strong flourish and the weak perish.”
“Then why don’t you go lie down somewhere and die quietly?” Cobb muttered.
“I’m not sure what you expect me to do,” Axel said.
“You’re Garenland filth. I figured you’d finish us off and maybe wear yourselves out a little in the process. It’s all we have left to offer our people.”
Axel stared at the woman. She was clearly insane. Cobb would no doubt argue that since she was from Straken that was a given. He was starting to think his second had a point about these people. Either way, there was nothing he could do for them.
“Wait here and the main body of the army will arrive in a day or so. They might be able to scrounge up some food for you.”
“And if they can’t maybe someone will put you out of your misery,” Cobb said.
He really did hate people from Straken; even the elderly didn’t draw an inch of pity from Cobb. Of course, he was raised in the northern province and had seen what Straken raiders did to his people firsthand for his entire life. Expecting kindness might be too much to hope for.
“Send a rider back to inform the legion commander and my brother that these people are waiting for them.”
Cobb barked orders and a moment later one of the rookies was riding off to deliver the message. Turning them over to Otto might not be the best idea, but since he arrived Otto hadn’t done any crazy experiments like that one last year. Maybe he really did just use those prisoners as a power source for his magic and took no pleasure in their deaths like he said.
Whatever his brother’s thinking, Axel would never forget those poor mens’ screams or Otto’s utter indifference to their suffering.
“Let’s move out,” Axel ordered. “We’re burning daylight.”
After the abuse his backside suffered on previous wagon rides, Otto decided that he didn’t care what anyone watching thought and brought a cushion with him this time. And a blanket. They were seventy-five miles into Straken and the temperature wasn’t much above freezing. That was actually a good thing for travel as it meant hard ground and no mud. In the driver’s seat beside him, Hans seemed untroubled by any discomfort. Otto envied the stoic sergeant his toughness.
Otto would have gladly remained behind in the capital and simply joined the army later by magic, but with the Northern Army separated into three legions, he thought it best to be present as much as possible in case they ran into trouble. The journey had been smooth sailing so far, but he didn’t trust that to continue.
His real concern, however, was that there was still no sign that the agent they sent to Tharanault had completed his mission. Everyone else had put their patch in place within the expected timeframe, but the last was still dark. More than a month had passed and he was beginning to worry that the agent was dead or incapacitated. If the wizard underground had any information they hadn’t shared with him. And he assumed they would have given their eagerness to ingratiate themselves with the Crown.
“Rider approaching, Lord Shenk,” Hans said.
Otto shoved his thoughts aside and focused. The rider had to be one of Axel’s men and if his brother had sent someone the news couldn’t be good.
The scout fell in beside his wagon and said, “We encountered some starving refugees along the road. Commander Shenk wasn’t certain what to do with them so he sent me to let you and the legion commander know that they were waiting.”
“What sort of refugees?” Otto asked.
“Old men and women. They claimed that they had been left behind because they were too weak to keep up. That’s cold, even for people from Straken.”
Otto nodded and the scout rode off to find the legion commander. It was cold-blooded and while he had no good feelings toward the people of Straken they weren’t known for abandoning their own people to die. There had to be something they were missing.
Twenty minutes later, the legion commander, a fancily dressed fop in gilded mail and silk tabard, rode up with his entourage. “My lord, what do you think we should do about these refugees? I suggest ignoring them.”
“What else can we do? If there is a siege of Marduke we’ll need every bit of food we have.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He sniffed in distaste. “We’ll march on without stopping. It’s a shame, but if the savages left their own people to die it’s not our place to save them.” The legion commander saluted and rode off.
“When you see them, Hans, pull out of line. I want to have a word with these people. I’m not sure what’s going on, but something doesn’t feel right.”
“Aye, my lord.” Hans made some hand signals to the rest of the squad riding on wagons behind them. Otto assumed it was to let them know they were stopping, but he hadn’t bothered to learn all the gestures.
The sun was low in the sky when the main body of the legion reached the Straken refugees. They were sitting in the snow on the side of the road looking pathetic as only refugees can. Withered, worn, and gaunt, the small group looked like they’d had a terrible winter. Otto had seen healthier scarecrows.
Hans guided the wagon off to the side of the road and the others of the squad fell in behind them. Otto stood and looked down at the refugees. “Why did your families leave you behind? And don’t give me that nonsense about the old and weak not deserving to live.”
He didn’t really care about their answers. In fact, he hardly listened as the old woman that seemed to be their spokesperson blathered on about the strong and the weak and all that other nonsense he’d just told her not to give him. As she talked, he sent threads of ether through their bodies.
The real reason they were left behind became immediately apparent. Their bodies were clogged with disease. He didn’t recognize the specific illness, but they were clearly infected by something. They’d likely volunteered to stay behind in hopes of spreading it to some of the soldiers. Otto couldn’t allow that.
“Are you even listening, boy?” the old woman asked.
“No, I’m not.” Otto sent threads into each of the refugees’ chests followed immediately by lightning that stopped their hearts. They all collapsed in a heap, instantly slain.
He rubbed his fingers together to gather heat and then sent a blast of flame to incinerate the bodies. They would be infecting no one now. When they made camp tonight, he’d have to speak to Axel and make sure none of his men got too close to the refugees.
The legion stopped to make camp not much over a mile from where they’d met the refugees. Otto left Hans and the rest of the squad to set up the tents while he sought out Axel. His pretend aide would join them later. For some reason, the man had rubbed Hans the wrong way and the two glared at each other so hard that Otto had finally ordered him to travel at the end of the line.
It didn’t take long to find the scouts. They had their little tents halfway up and a fire already going to fix their evening meal. As was his way, despite being their commander, Axel was busy putting up his own shelter. Otto could only shake his head as he approached. The best part of being in charge was that you didn’t have to do such tedious tasks yourself.
“Axel?”
His brother turned to face him. “Did you deal with the refugees?”
“Yes, they’re all dead and their bodies burned. Did you or any of your men get close to them?”
Axel stared at him, a horrified expression on his face. “Are you mad? Why would you kill harmless old men and women?”
“Because they weren’t harmless. They were diseased. A living trap meant to take advantage of anyone softhearted enough to get too close. I didn’t recognize the illness, but from what it did to their bodies, I can assure you that you wouldn’t want to catch it. Now, did you or any of your men get close to them?”
“Not too close, no. But I’ll be sure to keep an eye on everyone. Should any of them show symptoms we’ll have them isolated. I’m sorry, Otto. I should’ve known you wouldn’t just kill them without a reason.”
Otto waved off the apology and turned to rejoin his men. He no longer especially cared what anyone thought of him, including his brother. He’d do what he had to and anyone that got in his way would end up like the refugees.
Chapter 17
