Arcane call path of the.., p.1
Arcane Call: (Path of the Ranger Book 13), page 1
Arcane Call
(Path of the Ranger, Book 13)
Pedro Urvi
Other Series by Pedro Urvi
THE ILENIAN ENIGMA
This series takes place several years after the Path of the Ranger Series. It has different protagonists. Lasgol joins the adventure in the second book of the series. He is a secondary character in this one, but he plays an important role, and he is alone…
THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN GODS
This series takes place three thousand years before the Path of the Ranger Series
Different protagonists, same world, one destiny.
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Dedication
To my good friend Guiller.
Thank you for all your support since day one.
Contents
Arcane Call
Pedro Urvi
Other Series by Pedro Urvi
Dedication
Contents
MAP
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
The adventure continues in the next book of the saga:
Mission in the East (Path of the Ranger, Book 14)
Prologue
1
Prologue
Norriel
Acknowledgements
Author
Note from the author:
MAP
Chapter 1
Astrid arrived at the foot of the south wall of the Zangrian fortress and crouched, her body against the rock wall. It was late at night, and only the crickets and some distant toad could be heard—besides the hoot of an owl that was not really an owl. She looked down at her clothes. She was dressed in black with the hooded cloak and scarf of a Stealthy Spy. It was similar to the Natural Assassin attire she was used to wearing for the King’s missions, although it was a deeper black to make it harder to be discovered.
and barely, since she had painted her forehead and around her eyes also in black. She usually did not need paint to hide, but for spying missions like the one tonight it was necessary. So, she had been instructed during her higher training, and so she did now that she had graduated and was back in the service of the realm.
She stood in position, trying to make no noise. She had practiced stealth a lot, both in her training at the Camp and at the Shelter. It was an essential skill in Expertise, and she was an expert at it. A lot better than her comrades and friends. Not even Viggo came close to her subtlety of movement without being seen or heard, even though he was talented. She took pleasure in the fact, and whenever she had a chance, Astrid rubbed it in, only to hear her friend’s biting replies.
She looked right and left but could see no one. She glanced up at the battlement above her head. She could not see any guards, although she knew there were at least three on patrol. She had been spying on the fortress for several days and knew where the watchmen were posted, their routines, the time it took them, the changes and when they happened, and the weak points of the castle’s security. All part of what a good spy ought to know before initiating an intrusion.
She waited for the right moment, flattened against the wall. She knew it would not take long. A metal sound reached her from the battlement. She looked up and saw the light of two torches. The change of guard was taking place. She watched carefully and followed the course of the two points of light. When they both vanished from sight, she knew the time had come. She took three steps back from the wall, uncoiled the thin but resistant, treated rope she had been carrying around her torso under the cloak, and left it on the ground beside her. The rope was such a dark brown that when she put it down it seemed to vanish. She took out one of her special assault arrows with a hooked tip from her quiver and tied one end of the rope to the end of the arrow.
She knocked the arrow with the rope quickly and silently. Crouching to remain hidden, she raised the bow toward the battlement. It was a special shot, as were the bow and arrow she was going to use. She needed an arched shot, and for that she was using a short climbing bow. It was a special kind designed to release arrows with hooked tips which some Ranger Specialists used, such as Stealthy Spies. Astrid had been practicing with the weapon for a while, and with Ingrid’s and Nilsa’s help, who were exceptional shots, she had managed to master it.
She concentrated, aimed, and—very gently—released. The arrow flew to the battlement in a strange arc, forced by the bow’s design and hampered by the weight of the rope, but it flew as she had expected it to. The shot was good and the arrow went over the edge. She put the bow across her back and carefully pulled on the rope to see whether the hook had taken hold in the rock of the battlement. It seemed to be stuck firmly, so she started to climb up. She did not have much time—the watchmen would soon be passing the point where she was climbing.
As she went up using her feet on the wall and the strength of her arms, she looked up at the sky. A storm was threatening, it was overcast and the moon and stars were covered, making it more difficult for the watchmen to spot her. That was one of the reasons she had chosen to carry out the incursion that night. The other reason was that her target was in the castle. Count Orzentok had arrived two days before and would not stay much longer. She had to act before he went on his way.
She reached the upper part of the battlement and scanned the wall. Her side, the south wall, was clear, but not so the eastern or western sides. There were two guards standing on each side and two more were doing the rounds. She could not see the northern part of the wall since the castle’s central building was in the way, even so, she knew there would be two more guards posted and two more on patrol. The northern guard changed after that on the south, so they would soon be doing so. She gathered the rope and coiled it around her torso as if it were armor; it was so light and thin that its weight did not bother her much.
She crawled along the battlement and without wasting a moment, advanced like a water snake at top speed to the right-hand turret. According to her calculations, she had just enough time. At least she hoped so, or else she was going to have a most unpleasant encounter. She reached the round rocky structure right when the door was opening and two guards were coming out. As the door opened, Astrid got to her feet and like lightning stood with her back to the wall behind the door, which hid her completely once it was fully open—exactly what she had intended. The two guards came out and walked to the center of the battlement, chatting and pointing at the sky.
Astrid waited for the voices to move away. She did not understand what they were saying, but she watched them with half her face peeping out from behind the door and guessed they were talking about the storm that was coming. Nothing worse for the watchmen than spending their shift in the rain. She waited one more moment and swiftly and silently came out from behind the door and went into the turret. She waited to see whether any other guards were coming up the spiral stair; but since everything seemed quiet, she went down the stone stairs to the foot of the tower.
Things got complicated now, since she had to cross the courtyard and slip inside the main building of the castle. It was a great square tower with four other round turrets, one in each corner. Castles in the kingdom of Zangria were quite simple. Architecture and design were not Zangrian strong points, which made the mission easier. Complex and overdone buildings were not so good for incursion missions. She had to be careful though, since the Zangrians were quite good at fighting and killing.
She scanned the courtyard, the stables, and inside the walls. Everything looked quiet. She sought the entrance to the main tower building of the fortress. The door was guarded by two soldiers and most likely there were two more inside. It was huge, and opening it was not going to be easy. Doors of that kind were strengthened and weighed about a ton. They were built that way to withstand a siege. When the outer walls fell into the hands of the enemy, the great tower building acted like the last bulwark where the lord of the castle took shelter with his people. The door would be l
She studied the building carefully. She had done this from the outside, but because the fortress was located on top of a mountain, she had not had good visibility. She did not have a map of the castle either. Sometimes the King’s missions were not exactly well organized or planned, as was the case with this one. She heaved a sigh, releasing part of the unease that churned in her stomach. People wondered why Rangers lived such short lives—missions like this were one of the reasons.
“I’m not going to die here tonight,” she muttered under her breath. She had too many things to live for. She was not going to lose her life in a badly planned, risky mission, even if Gondabar had entrusted it to her as a direct request from the King. This was not a scenario of the Higher Training, it was a real situation and dangerous. One mistake and the Zangrians would capture her, and if they did, torture and death awaited her. That was the fate of any captured spy, no matter what realm they came from. In fact, she was carrying with her a special lethal poison of almost immediate action which Engla had taught her to prepare just in case she was caught. Then she could put an end to her life and avoid torture. She was not the kind to take her own life though, even if pain and suffering became unbearable. She was grateful to Engla for the quick way out the poison would give her, but she was not going to use it. Her thoughts turned to the poor Elder, who was recovering at the Shelter from the mental accident she had suffered during the Higher Training, and hoped the Elder would recover fully, even if it took time. She felt a pang in her chest, because the same thing was happening to the good giant, Gerd. They had left him at the Shelter, recovering. Gerd had insisted they leave, that they continue with their duties, and that he would soon be joining them. Astrid was hoping it would be so, but she feared her friend’s recovery would take longer than they thought.
The Ranger’s way of life was dangerous, and that of a spy like her was even more so. But that was exactly what attracted her to the specialty. She had always liked danger and action—too much for her own good, but she could not help herself. Her character had driven her to become a Ranger and then a Specialist. She could not hide that she was pleased being a Stealthy Spy, because she was. She loved it. Although at moments of danger when she was staking her own life, doubts did appear. She took a deep breath; they would soon vanish.
The night watch was marching to the eastern side at a neutral pace. The six soldiers who formed the watch were wearing the characteristic Zangrian colors: yellow and black, with the coat of arms of the castle lord on their backs. The western side of the building was clear. She saw an arrow slit of a suitable size and headed to it flat against the base of the wall, seeking the shadows so as not to be seen. She had always enjoyed walking like a shadow without anyone noticing her. She had trained a lot, and now she was capable of melting with the gloom as if she were not there.
The arrow slit was about twenty-four feet high. The structure of the wall was irregular; they had not been careful smoothing out the rocks they had used to build it with or polishing the wall. It was something that happened in old buildings and was a weakness someone like her could exploit. She took out a small, sharp pick, stepped on a small crack, and with a little momentum hit the rock wall with the pick and took hold. Thus, she climbed up the rocky surface. It was a climb that would be impossible for a soldier, but not for a Specialist like her. Climbing up walls and reaching mountain tops was something they had trained hard at. This fortress wall was much easier to climb than many summits Astrid had climbed already.
Using the irregularities of the wall, and with the aid of the climbing pick—which she used as little as possible to avoid the noise it made—she reached the arrow slit. It was a narrow, long stone window the defenders used to shoot through without being hit from below. Astrid had calculated that it was wide enough for her to squeeze through. She would soon find out. Holding onto the opening with one hand, practically hanging above the void, she got rid of her cloak and dropped it inside. She passed her weapons and belt through the slit, and then it was her turn. She slid an arm and half her body into the opening and felt the pressure of the stone on chest and back. She pushed and put her head in sideways and the pressure intensified. She was trapped halfway in and halfway out. Exhaling all the air in her lungs and pulling with the arm and leg that were already in, she managed to free herself from the narrow window and get in. She lay there on the floor.
“Phew… that was close…” she whispered in relief. Then she thought of Viggo—he believed himself so good and special—and she grinned. He could never have gotten through with his wider chest. Viggo would certainly try to pass through such a small opening, but his ego would get him stuck and trapped. It would be a terrible end but quite appropriate. She smiled and went on, cloaking and arming herself again as she went into the fortress. She saw a corridor lit with torches. She was in one of the upper levels. She now had to find Count Orzentok’s chambers.
She moved along the corridor with stealth—there were no bedrooms or studies on this floor, only war posts and maybe an armory. She went up another level and nearly ran into a patrol doing the rounds of the corridors. Luckily, she was alert and heard the soldiers’ footsteps on the rock, magnified by the silence. She hid and waited for the footsteps to pass. She checked the whole area, moving in total silence and alert to any noise. She found no trace of her target.
Astrid headed to the lower levels. Nobles did not like to go up too many stairs in their fortresses, and their chambers were usually on the second or third level, rarely higher up. Advantages of being noble. It also made it more predictable to find her target, which was good for her.
She searched the floor below carefully, since there were rooms there and the last thing she needed was to enter into a hall full of soldiers or any of the Count’s people of trust who must be lodged in that area. No one must see or hear her—that was critical for the mission to be successful. It added difficulty to the task at hand, but she was prepared to face such a situation and others even worse. She felt prepared, not only because of her training and experience but because she had matured. She was no longer the young girl who had arrived at the Camp to become a Ranger; she had grown up in all aspects. She was now a Stealthy Spy/Assassin of Nature/Forest Sniper. Something no one else had ever managed to achieve. She was unique, exceptional. She felt so and knew herself to be so. With her trust in this knowledge, she went on.
She went down one more floor and at the turn of a corner she saw two soldiers on guard duty in front of a door. Acting instinctively, she hid back around the corner. That had to be the Count’s chamber, otherwise it would not be watched. There was not usually a guard at soldiers’ or even officers’ rooms: only of nobles or high-grade militaries. So, this had to be the room Astrid had to get into. The two guards were strong, and for a Zangrian’s average height these were quite tall. The Zangrians were as ugly as they were short and strong—a colorful group. What they lacked in height they made up for in girth, which turned them into dangerous rivals, rocky and strong.
The situation was becoming complicated. Not because she could not deal with the two guards; she could easily do so with all her Assassin of Nature’s knowledge. Unless they were specially trained soldiers, bodyguards, or special protection forces, which some nobles or high ranked officers did use. That could make things a little more difficult. Even so, there were only two, and she did not expect them to be exceptional fighters, at most experienced. But for her to be in trouble, there would have to be at least five.
But if she did take down the guards, they would realize someone had entered the fortress and that would make the mission fail. This was why Viggo had not been considered. If he had been sent, he would have left a trail of dead soldiers and guards and the mission would have failed before even beginning, even if he, undoubtedly, had come out victorious. This part of the mission had to be carried out by a Stealthy Spy, and no one was to know she had been there. She had to get in, get the information, and get out without anyone knowing about it, particularly the Count and his men.
