The Tomes Of Magic (8 page)

“You’ve done that thing multiple times in the last couple hours.”

“What thing?”

“I would describe it as being lost in your mind.”

The Archwizard gave Septimus a troubled looked. He looked as though he didn’t want to tell the Warlock.
Don’t push too hard
, Septimus told himself as he watched Thanos. The two sat there for a moment, each wondering what the other was thinking. A knock on the door interrupted both of them. Talia poked her head in to see them both looking at one another out of the corner of their eyes. She didn’t wait for them to tell her to enter. Septimus watched her as she walked into the room and leaned against a bookcase in between the two of them. She cleared her throat as if to tell them to carry on with what they were doing. Thanos raised an eyebrow at the Warlock, trying to figure out if they should change the subject. Septimus nodded his head, letting the Archwizard know it was fine to discuss in front of Talia.

“I had no idea it took that much concentration,” Thanos said.

“Magical telepathic communication can be quite taxing,” Septimus replied.

“It isn’t magical. Taleveth and I are connected via the dragon mindmeld. He was sharing his knowledge of the tomes with me. Though it is a touchy subject for him, his information could come in handy.”

“I remember you mentioning the mindmeld. It is quite fascinating that a creature dead so many years can still perform such a feat. Does he have any information that might help us?”

“He says that a gnome thief stole the Tome of Earth from one of his cousins a long time ago. We both fear that the Tome of Water will fall into Janessa’s hands. The Gloomvale Isles has produced many water magic experts, I doubt it is coincidence. He also thinks that the Tome of Light is in the hands of the Holy Order. I shall be contacting Emily and Ector about the other tomes, perhaps they can give us some insight on their whereabouts.”

“Can they be trusted?” Talia asked.

“While it is true that I’ve never quite seen eye to eye with either of them, the circumstances call for putting aside out difference. Hopefully they will see that I am not quite the same man I was before,” Thanos replied.

“The ever enigmatic Thanos. You are more ruthless than before, yet you seem to have shifted your moral compass for the better,” Septimus said.

*

Ector pulled at his reins and stopped his horse. He turned to see who had whispered his name, but none of the others seemed to be the source. The Archwizard shook his head and spurred the horse forward. He had lost track of how long they had been in the caves. Traveling underground was unnatural to the elves and none of them could tell him how long it had been. They just continued onward, hoping to find the final spot where the dwarves were rumored to have gone. Ector shivered when he heard his name again. It was a familiar voice, but he could see no person to match it. The elves began staring at him as he frantically looked about.
Keep it together
, he told himself as he settled his horse back into a normal pace. The voice seemed to drift in with a small gust of wind. Ector tried to ignore it, but he could stand it no longer.

“Show yourself!” he yelled as he raised his staff.

“I did not mean to startle you, old friend,” Thanos appeared in front of him in ghostly form.

“Thanos! You near scared me to death.”

“My apologies, I have not communicated at such a distance without the assistance of a conclave.”

“What happened?” Ector asked, noticing his half skeletal face.

“It is a long story that I don’t have time for. I need your help finding something.”

“What do you need?”

“Septimus and I are searching for the Tomes of Magic. We believe it is the key to wresting control from the dragons. Do you know anything of these books?

“The Tome of Nature lies in the hands of the Druids. That much I know, nothing more.”

“You have been a great help, we shall meet with the Druid Council once we have secured more of the tomes.”

Ector nodded and watched as Thanos disappeared. It felt good to see another Wizard that had not sided with the dragons. The elf was torn in his feelings about those who had accepted the dragons. Part of him felt betrayed by their actions, but the other part of him felt sorry for them. He knew that a large portion of why the elves were so eager to help the dwarves could be attributed to their inability to come to a conclusion about the rest of Canai. Like the elves, the dwarves preferred not to meddle in the affairs of other kingdoms. The Holy Order had never overstepped its bounds in relation to the elves and their allies, but the elves were no friends to the dragons. Helping the dwarves gave them more than just an ally in the coming war. It allowed them to observe the two warring factions. Ector hoped the decision would not lead to a civil war among the elves. The other elves seemed to be leaning toward siding with the Holy Order, but the Archwizard knew he would have a hard time turning on him former allies.

He sighed as his horse continued along its path in the dark. Ector had switched from his spell that allowed the others to see in the dark to a spell that created light due to the amount of energy the spell drained from him. After two ambushes, they settled for near darkness. Their eyes had mostly adjusted well to the low light of his spell, but it did not stop them from being surprised when a hand grabbed Ector’s reins. The Archwizard nearly fell off his horse as he tried to stave off what he thought was an attacker. Sev shook his head and grabbed Ector’s arm to ensure he did not fall. The half-elf motioned for him to dismount. He followed the Ranger’s lead and didn’t speak. His men slowly dismounted and gathered around their leader. Sev looked at Ector as though he were waiting for something. It dawned on the Archwizard that his companion wanted him to use magic to keep their voices from carrying. He lifted his staff into the air and created a small dome around the party.

“I think we’ve found the dwarves,” Sev pointed off toward one of the branching tunnels.

“Why haven’t we met up with them yet?” Ector asked.

“There is a large force of orcs, goblins, and trolls in between us and them. It looks like they’ve been sieging a stronghold of some kind for at least a week. Now that you are here, we may be able to break the siege. Make sure your men are ready by the time we have a plan.”

*

Cormac knelt before the King, not to pledge his service, but to ask for forgiveness. He rose before King Aithen could reply. The Archwizard didn’t want the gnome to think he was beholden to the entire race. His mistake had cost far too many lives, but the gnome King had been on board the entire time. He would not take the fall for their tactical error.
They should have told me that the naga had superior numbers
, he thought as he glared at Aithen. The gnome King returned his angry stare. Both knew it was the naga they hated and not each other, but that didn’t stop them from showing their contempt for one another. Cormac sighed and walked to the window on the far side of the room. It gave him a magnificent view of the underground city and the lake it bordered. He was truly amazed at the ingenuity of the gnomes and wished his interaction with them had gone better. His eye was drawn to one of the hot air balloons that they used as giant floating torches. They were normally tethered to the ground, but this one was getting dangerously close to the ceiling.

He followed the rope down to where it should be tethered and saw a mass of gnomes charging toward the shore of the lake. Several creatures were slithering out of the water. One appeared to have sliced the cord for the hot air balloon. It was hard to make out in the distance, but the attackers looked like naga. He turned to tell King Aithen, but was interrupted by a gnome bursting through the throne room doors. The gnome was trying to catch his breath as he approached the King. Aithen nodded as he heard the news. It had been ages since the gnomes had been attacked in force by anyone. Cormac watched as the King gave the order that everyone was to retreat to the castle.
A solid plan
, he thought as he turned back to the window. The naga were exiting the water in full-force and the gnomes would need every advantage they could muster.

“I am at your command, your highness,” Cormac gave a short bow as he spoke.

“It relieves me to see that you are willing to put aside our past differences as well as our more recent blunders. Your assistance is most welcome. Come, let us see what these pests are made of!” The King slapped Cormac on the shoulder before heading out of the throne room.

Cormac nodded and followed the King. He put on a confident face, but wished that some of his companions were there at his side. It had been months since he had heard from the outside world and it was weighing heavily on him. The dwarves had been under attack when he last heard from them. It gave him an increased level of sympathy for the gnomes. These people, like his, were being threatened with extinction. He followed the King all the way to the ramparts of the castle. From here, they could see a steady stream of gnomes retreating to the castle. A brave group of gnome soldiers, led by Theros and Melos, was holding off the naga while the others fled. The Archwizard thrust his hands forward, creating two large earthen statues in front of the castle. They began marching forward as he created more behind them. It was not long before he had created a force of more than twenty.

“How long can you hold that up for?” The King asked.

“It is hard to say. I’ll stop at twenty for now. I can create more as the battle goes on, but I don’t want to weaken myself too early on. This is not a tactic that I’ve used in a long battle,” Cormac replied.

The King nodded and watched as the ten foot humanoid creations joined his gnomes in battle. Their entrance into the fight provided enough strength to hold off the naga until the rest of the gnomes made it into the castle. Theros yelled for Melos to take the rest of the King’s Protectors and get back to the castle, but his brother refused to leave without him. Several of Cormac’s creations had fallen to the growing naga onslaught, but the gnomes were dead set on pushing the invaders back to the water’s edge. Aithen ran along the walls, ordering his people to ready the defenses. Cormac created an earthen platform near the edge of the wall and stepped out onto it. He used his magic to maneuver the platform closer to the battle. His staff thrust forward and two large fireballs slammed into the midst of the advancing naga army.

“Theros, Melos, sound the retreat!” Cormac yelled as the naga drew back from the flames.

“The King’s Protectors never retreat!” Both yelled back in unison.

“We must shore up the defense of the castle. Our forces cannot hope to stand against them in the open. I shall do what I can, but my magic can’t handle their numbers.”

Theros shook his head before dodging a naga attack.
They must listen
, Cormac thought as he created more earthen creatures to join the fray. Melos grabbed hold of his brother’s shoulder and pulled him back just in time to save him from a thrusting naga spear. The two of them charged forward with their small group of gnomes. Cormac’s creations were being overwhelmed and the Archwizard had to use his magic to propel his platform back toward the castle. He used his magic to create platforms under the gnomes as well, pulling them out of the battle. Theros jumped off the platform and into the midst of the naga. His brother yelled as he followed after him. Some of the other King’s Protectors thought about following suit, but were too far from the action to do so. They spewed insults at Cormac as he brought them safely back to the castle.

“Save it for the enemy!” King Aithen yelled, descending upon his men like a whirlwind.

Cormac opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. He needed to focus on the defense of the castle and not the slights from his allies.
A divided force will never defeat these beasts
, he thought as he watched the enemy overrun his creations. The gnome archers scaled the walls and readied their bows. Cormac took up a spot just above the gate. He knew they would push to tear open the gates and his magic would be most effective at counter them if he stayed close. The Archwizard clenched his fists as he watched the naga surround Theros and Melos. He thrust his left hand forward as the naga approached. A massive stone leaped out of the ground and slammed into the middle of the naga column. They thrashed about in fury, but it did little to deter their advance. Cormac readied himself for another spell as the gnome archers fired a volley at the approaching enemy.

King Aithen growled as he fired a crossbow bolt into chest of an advancing naga. The Archwizard followed it with a massive fire spike that exploded out as it crashed into the front line of the enemy. Charred and wounded, the naga continued forward. Their own archers began firing arrows up at the ramparts. Gnomes all along the wall ducked for cover as the arrows crashed against the top of the walls. The naga fired another volley, but Cormac used his magic to send the arrows dropping to the floor. Another round of arrows from the gnomes caused the advancing naga force to falter. Their leader sounded the retreat in a raspy voice that the dwarf could barely understand. He began using his magic to create a pit around the castle. King Aithen walked the walls, making sure his men were prepared for another attack. Cormac finished his preparations by filling in the pit and making a moat. He sat back against the wall just in time to see the King coming back to talk to him.