Deliverance (5 page)

“Very well,” replied Bogdan, “remember, you
must return here in the morning, perhaps around sunrise before they
notice you are gone.”

“Yes, of course,” replied the elder. He then
disappeared in a flash of smoke and ember.

“Are you sure we can trust him, Father?”
asked Blaze.

“What do you mean, Blaze?” asked Bogdan.

“I mean, it seems odd that he is going to
help you gain ultimate power and all he asks in return is for
control of the city. Why just the city? And why didn’t he just take
the Eye of Gaull for himself rather than tell you about it?” asked
Blaze.

“Perhaps he only wants the city because he
knows he cannot handle that kind of power. Perhaps his body and
mind are too weak to handle the immense power and so he offered it
to me in exchange for something he can control,” replied the
king.

“Very well, I trust your judgment, Father,”
replied Blaze. He was still skeptical of the elder, but he didn’t
dare accuse his father of poor judgment; only a fool with a death
wish would.

“I have planning to do, so you are all
dismissed,” said Bogdan.

Blaze and the generals bowed once again and
then one by one, left the room.

****

Crystal awoke long after dawn. She felt bad
for oversleeping, but she didn’t blame herself, considering how
little sleep she got in the past several days before lying in the
luxurious bed she lay in. She slept so hard that she either did not
dream or did not remember dreaming. She considered this a blessing,
since she had not been haunted by the recurring nightmare for the
first night in weeks.

Crystal quickly got dressed and left her
room. She did, of course, make her bed first. It was good manners,
after all. As she left her room and walked down the corridor,
Gavril trotted up the stairs.

“Why did no one wake me?” she asked him.

“Actually, we haven’t been up much longer
than you. I was actually just on my way to wake you,” he
replied.

“Where is everyone?” she asked.

“Downstairs in the meeting hall,” replied
Gavril.

“Meeting hall?”

“High Elder Malcolm is discussing the
invasion details with the council. He hasn’t told anyone outside of
the elders about the threat, and so he wants to prepare everyone,”
explained Gavril, “He also said that they may have uncovered
invasion plans that we can strategize with.”

Crystal’s eyes widened. “How did they get
these plans?”

“Elder Saitar was out searching for more
information early this morning and found a commander of the
Daldussan army. He interrogated him and found out how Bogdan was
going to attack and when,” explained Gavril.

“Good. Now we can form a better plan. Let’s
go to the meeting,” said Crystal.

“Very well, follow me,” said Gavril.

****

The meeting hall was packed with council
members and rebels. The high elder kept his promise and many more
rebels were allowed into the city. When Crystal and Gavril walked
into the room, Thaddeus approached them.

“Good day to you both,” he said, “Sorry for
the crowd. I am afraid we will have to stand in the back of the
room while the elders conduct their business.”

“That’s fine, Master Thaddeus,” replied
Crystal.

For the next few minutes, several rebels
approached Crystal and greeted her, and one by one the elders began
to enter the room. It was when Malcolm entered that everyone grew
silent. He walked around the front of the room behind the elders’
tall podiums, walked up the steps to his podium, and began to
speak.

“Good morning, council members, elders, and
members of Deliverance,” he said. He stood behind his high desk in
the middle of the elders. The other elders sat three on each a side
of the high elder, and each seat was lower than the last. On
Malcolm’s right sat Bredewig, then Halmez, then Orwynn, and on his
left, sat Saitar, then Ydon, then Leldor.

“I am sorry for the seating arrangements,”
he continued, “but this is an urgent matter and the rebels need to
be present for this. The council members may be wondering why I
have called the rebels here. Please understand that this is an
emergency and we need their help.

“As most of you know, the rebels form
Deliverance, a Cierith liberation group bent on fighting the
tyranny of King Bogdan of Daldussa. Everyone in this city knows
that our number one rule is to never swear allegiance to one
kingdom. We have always stood by anyone from any kingdom who wishes
to learn the magic arts, and therefore, we have not taken sides so
we will not cause controversy between nations.

“However, it pains me to inform you that we
are being threatened by the king of Daldussa. He intends to attack
the city and steal a powerful artifact from the Elder’s Hall,”
Malcolm explained.

The council members began whispering back
and forth. Malcolm cleared his throat loudly to calm the room down
once again.

“I am sorry, good members of the council,
but I am afraid it is true,” said Malcolm, “The king plans to make
off with something called the Eye of Gaull. It is the essence of a
great evil and if the king obtains it, he will have absolute power
over everyone and everything. Therefore, the rebels of Deliverance,
who have sworn to defend those oppressed by the king, have
graciously agreed to help us defend our city. In return . . .”
Malcolm trailed of, took a long pause, and then continued, “I have
offered Cierith allegiance from the City of Magi.

The people in the crowd stood and began
shouting out all at once. Agitation and confusion swept over the
room and Malcolm had to bellow, “Order! Order!” to get the people
to calm down.

“May I speak, High Elder?” said a man in the
middle of the crowd.

“You have the floor, councilman,” replied
Malcolm.

“Thank you, Sir,” the man replied, “With all
due respect, Sir, we cannot possibly offer such a thing! We have
mages that reside here who come from kingdoms that were enemies of
Cierith before the invasion; it would cause unnecessary conflict
between members of the city to allow an allegiance. I also feel
that it is dangerous to get involved in the middle of the conflict
between Cierith and Daldussa.”

“I understand your concern, councilman, but
without the help of the rebels, there may not be a city for our
mages to go to. As for the conflict, Bogdan involved the City of
Magi the second he decided to invade us,” said Malcolm.

“May I have the floor, High Elder,” asked a
female council member.

“You may, councilwoman,” replied
Malcolm.

“Thank you, High Elder,” she said, “I do not
believe we need the rebels to defend the city. I feel that because
you believe so, that you do not believe in the abilities of your
fellow mages. Can we not defend the city ourselves?”

“Let me assure you, councilwoman, I have the
utmost faith in our mages. However, I know that Bogdan’s army is
great in numbers and that he himself has never failed in an
invasion. I will take no chances in defending this city, even if it
means breaking the rules to do so,” replied Malcolm.

Before Malcolm could even finish speaking,
Crystal began walking toward the front of the room. Council members
turned their heads to see her walk past.

“What is she doing?” asked Maryn. Taryn
shrugged.

Crystal ignored the whispers of her rude
behavior, and approached the high elder’s desk. She stopped
directly in front of his desk and looked up at him.

“High Elder Malcolm, may I speak to the
council?” she asked.

Malcolm paused for a moment and then said,
“You have the floor, Crystal.”

Crystal turned to the crowd and stood
silently until they all stopped talking. She looked around the room
and began to speak, “Good members of the council. I am Crystal,
founder and leader of Deliverance. I know all of you are doubtful
and possibly even afraid now that your home is being threatened. I
know all too well what that fear is like. I have seen this monster
destroy lives in less than a day. Being a mage myself, I am
confident that you are masters of your skill. However, it will take
more than studying and training to defeat Bogdan. He is a cunning,
manipulative, and masterful strategist. No matter how well your
defenses are, he will find a way to use it against you. Developing
your skills is useless if you cannot outsmart him. I have seen many
people, even children, murdered in cold blood. I have seen the
ruthlessness of one man destroy an entire kingdom in less than a
week, and even ten years later, the people live in fear, wondering
every day if that day is their last. It is no way for anyone to
live.

“I started this Deliverance to free our
homeland and its people, and I will not let any other land suffer
as our Cierith has. If the king conquers this city, he will take
everything from you: your children, your family, your friends, and
your freedom. Therefore, I wish for you to allow me to stay and
protect your beautiful land and stop Bogdan from causing any more
suffering. I know that my friends are with me all the way, so
please, council members, let us stay and end this tyranny before it
begins.”

The entire room remained silent. Crystal’s
words still hovered around them, and it was apparent that several
of the council members were quite moved by her speech. Many had
tears swelling in their eyes. After a long silence, Malcolm stood
again and spoke.

“I will now call a vote. As you know, a
majority rule of the council is required to make a decision,” he
said, “All in favor of the rebels leaving, raise your hand.” Only
half a dozen council members raised their hands. They held them up
until the high elder spoke again, “All those in favor of the rebels
staying and helping us to defend the city, raise your hand,” he
said. At this point, the remaining council members all raised their
hands. There were roughly three dozen hands in the air, and many of
those council members still had tear-soaked eyes.

Crystal smiled at the sight of the support,
and even more so when Malcolm said, “Then it is settled. The rebels
will stay and defend our city alongside us.”

The rebels and the supporting council
members clapped. Malcolm then climbed down from his desk and
stepped before Crystal, hand outstretched. Crystal then shook the
high elders hand and sealed the alliance.

CHAPTER 3

The rebels found themselves once again in
the high elder’s study in less than a day. They left for the study
immediately after Malcolm concluded the meeting and dismissed the
council members. He assured everyone that Elder Saitar had the
battle plans and that the other elders and the rebels would decide
on a strategy. To avoid causing a panic throughout the city, the
council was then advised not to spread the word of the invasion
until a defensive strategy was formed.

“I set out into the nearest town to find
more information.” explained Saitar, “I had a hunch that soldiers
would be posted close to the City of Magi would be keeping watch
for more information. My suspicions were confirmed when I found a
commander about five miles from the city walls. As it turns out, he
knew the entire battle plan, and so I used a hypnosis spell on him
to get him to spill every detail of it.” Saitar then unrolled a
scroll with messy handwriting on it, as if someone had written it
in a hurry, and flattened it out on the High Elder’s desk.

Crystal put each a hand on the rolled ends
of the scroll to keep it in place. Gavril peered at the parchment
over her shoulder while the other rebels waited a few feet
behind.

“So, he’s going to attack directly from the
front of the city?” she asked.

“That is what the soldier told me,” Saitar
replied proudly.

“That cannot be right,” replied Crystal.

Saitar frowned. “What do you mean?” he
asked.

Crystal shook her head. “This plan is too
obvious. Bogdan never attacks directly.”

“He is a master strategist.” added Gavril,
“I agree with Crystal. I hardly think that the best strategist in
Daldussa would attack a city full of mages head on; he would have
an extra plan.”

“Are you saying that these plans are false?”
asked Malcolm.

Crystal wasted no time in answering, “Yes,
High Elder.”

“Just what are you saying?” Saitar snapped.
Everyone then turned to look at him suddenly.

“I beg your pardon?” Crystal asked, taken
aback.

“You tell me that these plans are false;”
retorted Saitar, hiding his anxiety, “Are you accusing me of
lying?”

Crystal stared at him in disbelief. Everyone
else remained quiet, shocked by his defensive reaction.

“Elder Saitar, I in no way intended to
insult you by claiming these plans were false. I merely suggested
that the soldier you interrogated did not know the real plan.
Perhaps Bogdan did not tell lower rank soldiers for that reason,
which wouldn’t surprise me in the least,” Crystal explained.
Everyone then watched the elder for a reaction. He was clearly
agitated but seemed to be calming down.

“I apologize for my rudeness,” he replied,
flushing from embarrassment.

“Do not fret, I am sure you are as nervous
as everyone here about this whole situation,” replied Crystal.

“Might I ask, young lady, how do you know so
much about the king’s tactics?” asked Leldor.

Before she spoke, Crystal pondered for a
moment, considering her words. Then she spoke, “Let’s just say that
. . . I have seen his attacks firsthand. I know what he does in
battle, and so I know he will not attack so obviously. He loves
having the satisfaction of successfully tricking his enemies.”

“Oh, I see,” replied Leldor. A brief silence
followed.

“Would everyone please give me a moment to
speak to Crystal alone?” asked Malcolm, breaking the silence, “You
may all wait out in the hall.”