Read Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion Online
Authors: T Michael Ford
At
a hundred yards, the circle was complete and the horde was fifty deep or more in all directions. The sounds of their shuffling feet battered Maya’s senses like a gravelly rockslide. As if on cue, the first sign of life appeared in the sky above and she took a second to squint up at the black buzzards now tightly circling. Pulling her gaze back down, she inspected her battered sword. A gift from her father years before, it was still more of a practice weapon than a true champion’s blade, but she kept it ruthlessly sharp nonetheless and its leather wrappings freshly tied. At thirty yards, the wave of rotting flesh smell hit her acute nose like an avalanche, and her ears could pick up the background sound of lip smacking and moaning above the dragging crunch of footsteps. Her eyes noted a trail of dark miasmal fluids behind some of the fresher corpses and she had to stifle a retch. Quickly putting that visual aside, she took a last deep breath and brought her weapon and shield to bear. As an elven warrior, she would fight in the proud manner of her people and die with dignity if nothing else.
With a quick glance around her
, she judged the left side to be the closest, bounded forward and swept her sword in a darting arc to that side, cleanly removing the heads of two corpses, who dropped like cordwood in their tracks. The next row moving forward tripped over the bodies and rolled clumsily to the dirt. Milling about, more went down as the zombies and skeletal warriors were not intelligent enough to avoid the obstacles. The left side was piling up nicely and Maya allowed herself a grim smile. As she felt a slight tug against the back of her armored shirt, she spun around and realized the undead on the right were closing in. Pounding the pommel of her sword into the dripping jawless face of a zombie practically on top of her, she followed with a savage kick to its torso that drove it back into its peers and toppled several, causing yet another pile up. The undead horde to the other two directions received similar treatment. Soon her sword and armor were caked with slime and foot space was becoming a very scarce commodity as the undead continued to press forward on her position. Maya’s sword sang in constant motion and with every swing, black ichors splattered off the blade, but she was fighting an opponent that knew no fear, no fatigue and no doubt.
Finally
, even the best-trained warriors are subject to the vagarities of fate, and in another attempt to kick back a deep-chested, rag-covered skeleton, Maya watched in detached horror as her booted foot burst all the way through her opponent’s ribcage and became lodged there. Having used most of her momentum and flagging strength in the jump, she was unable to withdraw her foot in time to catch herself. Maya went down hard on her back as the other sides of the undead wall swarmed over her. On the ground, she watched dispassionately what should have been her last living sight, as a large rusty axe blade cleaved toward her face. Suddenly a large silvery white object blotted out the sun and the zombies standing over her! Instead of the lull in the battle she was expecting upon her death, she heard a fierce renewal of metal on metal, actually more like thunderclaps on metal. As the booming sounds reverberated everywhere, the ground under her even seemed to shake. Suddenly Maya felt herself pulled back on her feet.
A
s her vision cleared, she saw a knightly figure in pure white armor next to her. He carried a huge tower shield with no heraldry markings that was taller than she was! The crest of his helm rose above the top of the massive shield by at least another two feet; he was a giant of a man. In his other hand, he wielded an enormous white war hammer similar to what she had seen some bands of dwarves use, only this one was twice as large. Without even a glance in her direction, he tucked her inside the protective area of his shield and continued to use the hammer to great effect, spinning their position to counter the threats from all sides. Maya watched in amazement as with every hit, the hammer sent out a wave of force that shattered not only the undead targeted, but those around it as well. Breather over, Maya slid out from behind the relative safety of the knight’s tower shield and took up position at his back, her strength and courage renewed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the undead being mowed down relentlessly by the knight, even the ghouls and wights were no match for the hammer and splattered like rotten fruit against a stone wall.
For what seemed like hours they fought on until Maya dispatched one last shoeless peasant corpse, slicing through its spine and cleaving it in half. Spinning to help her benefactor, she found he was gone and she was alone, alone in a sea of smashed and dismembered bodies - an undead army no more. Collapsing to her knees in tears, Maya gasped and beat her sword on the ground, and then tossing it aside, with her clenched fists again and again in futility against the bloody ground in despair, and finally, mercifully, she awoke.
Alex
I woke up the next morning to the sounds of someone in the next room. Looking out my window, I realized that it was way past daybreak, the normal time I get up. I sat up quickly, still a little drained and unsteady. Clearing my head with a large drink of water, I got dressed and flew out the door to get to work. But when I got to the forge, I couldn’t find Dad, and the fire hadn’t even been stirred up. Confused, I went back inside to find that it was my mother who was making all the noise.
“
Why are you here and not at work today?” I asked her.
She looked up from whatever she was baking
, plastered back her auburn hair that was starting to gray and smiled. “I was given today off and your father was called into town this morning. From the sounds of it, Miss Stal is at it again.” I snatched a handful of dried apple slices out of the bag on the counter that she was about to use for apple dumplings if my analysis of her readied ingredients was correct. Today would be a very good day!
Just then there was a knock at the door
. Mother stopped what she was doing, brushed the coarse flour off her hands, and went to get it. When she opened the door, there was an older man in an expensive black robe. He had a smiling face accented with laugh lines and blue sparkling eyes. Behind him stood two hooded figures, one in black and the other in white. The old man spoke first. “Greetings, Mrs. Martin, I am the Headmaster of the wizard’s academy.” I thought my mother was going to faint, as I saw her knees sag. I caught her arm to steady her as she spoke.
“
Um, hello, sir…Headmaster, what can we do for you?”
I watched as the figure in white, who was quite a bit taller than the headmaster
and quite animated, seemed to be trying to get around him and through the door. Just when it seemed like he/she was about to sneak under an arm and spring into our kitchen uninvited, the headmaster abruptly dropped his arm effectively blocking the attempt. He glanced back with a look of exasperation and then turned to face my mother with a renewed but strained smile.
“
May we please come inside? This is not a conversation to be held in public.”
Mom looked like she was going to turn them away
, but instead, fearfully stepped to the side and let them enter. The Headmaster and the two hooded figures entered. Behind them I could see waiting in the yard, a older woman wearing the green robes of a earth wizard, a full wizard, not an apprentice or a tower staff buyer; next to her was a young girl who I recognized with long brown curly hair and blue eyes. I knew right away that she was named Julia and was from Miss Stal’s orphanage. Mom also spotted her. “Julia, what are you doing here, sweetie?” She knelt down and the young girl rushed into my mother’s arms and sobbed quietly, holding on for dear life. But if I was reading her expressions correctly, it appears they were tears of joy, not sorrow.
I
’ve known Julia for a few years now; her parents owned a peddler’s wagon that toured from village to village selling fabrics, some tools and pots and pans. One day, not far from Foalshead, their wagon was set upon by bandits on a wooded trail, both parents were killed and the wagon taken. A local woodsman found Julia sitting in a small glen in the forest, talking quietly to the squirrels and rabbits that circled around her there. Some of the townspeople assumed she was a little “touched” and with no relatives, she ended up at the orphanage. She’s actually fourteen years old, but due to Miss Stal’s cooking, she can barely pass for twelve. Amazingly enough, even after all the emotional shock, heartache and horrible food, Julia is still a very bright, nice girl who is always smiling, looking for fun and hoping for a place to someday really call home.
The
earth wizard lady followed Julia in and we all moved into the sitting area. The Headmaster began to tell us why he was here. “Early this morning, we received a hysterical report from a Miss Stal, the keeper of the local orphanage, that her favorite cooking pot was demonically possessed. It seemed that whenever she tried to add anything to it, the pot slid out of her reach. As you no doubt know, this is rather odd for a pot. Our expert on the subject here,” he said, gesturing to the fidgeting person in white, “says that an enchantment was placed on it so that it would move if this Stal woman attempted to add any ingredients into it at all…oddly, anyone else could use the pot normally. Naturally, we found the entire account very intriguing.”
By this time
, the figure in white was literally hopping from foot to foot, either he/she was very excited or had to pee badly.
Mother
frowned at this display but was still confused. “That’s…um…very unfortunate, but what does this have to do with us? And why do you have Julia?”
The
Headmaster smiled, “Ah, you see, we found her at the orphanage during our investigation. I guess you could say I have a soft spot for orphans, so I test them every chance I get. She turned out to have some promise as an earth wizard, so at least I could save one of them from that life. As for you, it’s not so much you…as it is your son.”
Mom
’s eyes grew wide. “What about Alex!”
He raised his hand
calmly in an attempt to settle her down. “He has done nothing wrong, Mrs. Martin, we just need to test him to see if this pot anomaly is a result of some latent magic Alex might have.” He took a deep breath and glared warningly at the figure in white, before he sighed and held out a small gray orb to me. I looked at mother; her expression was pained, but she nodded for me to take it. I reached out and accepted the orb from him; as soon it left his hand, it turned clear. After a few moments, the color changed to a smoky hue and then finally white, and not just any white but a bright glowing light that lit up the room.
I didn
’t have long to marvel at the wonder I was now holding in my hand. The next thing I knew, I was scooped up into a bear hug by the tall person in the white robe. Unexpectedly, I learned a few things while being tossed around like a little girl’s dolly. First, the figure in white was a woman; second, she was incredibly strong to the point where I was in some pain; and lastly, she’s an elf. How do I know? Well, I got a very pointy ear in the eye…
From what I
gathered as I was being spun around, the rather embarrassed Headmaster and the other robed figure in black were leaving and this woman was to take over from now on. But I wasn’t too sure; I could feel myself starting to feel sick. Just as things were starting to go black, she released me. “I am so sorry!” she said as she covered her mouth. “I just couldn’t contain myself. You, my young friend, are an enchanter! And I have come to take you to Xarparion!”
Regaining my breath
, I finally got a chance to look over my polite attacker. She was tall, at least six inches taller than me and her hood had slid back so I could see her face. She had long blond, braided hair and calm blue eyes, and as I surmised, she also had long elf ears. From what I could tell, she wasn’t that old either; thirty, thirty-five, tops.
She
smiled, brightening even more. “Thank you, that’s very sweet of you to say!”
Despite how
very odd that was, since I’m pretty sure I hadn’t said anything, I had other things on my mind, and apparently, so did my mother. “Can you please explain what is going on?”
The
white-robed elf opened her mouth to explain, but instead, the door burst open and my father, looking like a heavy thundercloud on two feet, rushed in. “What the hell is going on? What were those wizards I just passed on the road doing here?”
Mom ran over to him and
wrapped her arms around him. “The day has come.” His expression softened to one of concern and he draped a supportive arm around her.
He turned to the elf
and growled, “We’ll talk in the kitchen.” He then looked at me. “Alex, stay here with Julia.” The three of them made their way to the kitchen and I got one last look at the elf. She looked like she was having the time of her life as she practically skipped into the kitchen; I had to give her points for bravery.
This left Julia and
me alone; she looked nervous, but also happy and excited. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t care. The old guy in the robes told me I wouldn’t have to go back to Miss Stal ever again!”
I knew she had a rough life but didn
’t know how bad it really was. “Was Miss Stal really that bad?”
She looked at me with
astonishment. “She’s an evil and cruel woman. She makes us work all day, usually picking verbena root, and then sleep on the cold floor with only two meals a day. And her food is so bad the rats don’t even eat it.” Her face lit up with a memory as she continued. “You should have seen her face though; it was hilarious to watch her chase after that pot, she was so angry! I laughed more than I have in years! And we all really appreciate what you and your family do for us, you’re the only ones who seem to know or care.”
“
Yeah, sorry about that, food was all we could really do for you.”
Her eyes
widened in alarm, and she grabbed my arm gently. “No, don’t be sorry, really! You guys are great. You and your mother are the best cooks in the town! We count the days between your visits. And the days that her stupid pot is broken are the best days of our lives there. Since the old guy took it away from her, I guess the others have about a week at least before you can make her a new one.”
“
Yeah, a lot longer if I’m not able to help. It’s not like we have pots that large on hand.”
She looked down at the floor
. “I’m truly sorry about this, Alex. What may be a blessing for me might be a nightmare for you; I know you are very close to your family. Every night I pray for my life to get better, and we all thanked the gods for sending us your family. The other children will be sad if you end up having to go away.”
We waited for a bit longer in silence as I thought over my fate
. Was I really going to be trained as a wizard? What was it like in the tower? What kind of magic can I use? My thoughts were interrupted by my parents and the elf returning. My mother was crying and was still trying to stop the flow of tears. Dad just looked like he was pissed off. My parents started to come into the room, stopped like they were going to say something, then abruptly stalked off into my room.
The elf on
the other hand, smiled brightly and bounded over to me. “Forgive me for smiling, please know that I’m sorry if this causes you any pain, but we need to leave soon. It’s actually a fair distance to walk and we should try to reach the school before dark.”
Ok
, what is with this lady, she hasn’t even told us her name, and now we are going away with her?
Her
eyes shot wide with embarrassment. “I am so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Primus Rosa of the Enchanters Hall.” She looked at Julia.” And yes, I really am an elf.”
Julia was shocked
. “How did you know I was thinking that?”
Rosa
giggled. “For one, it’s an obvious question, but I can read minds, so that helps too.”
She can read minds
? Is that even possible?
Ok, lady, try this, if you can read minds, say ‘turnip’.
She nodded and winked at me
“Turnip.”
Grapevine
.
“
Grapevine.”
Volcano
.
“
Volcano.”
Platypus
.
“
Do you even know what that is?”
“
No, but someone said they look funny.”
Julia
jumped up in tears and hugged my mother. “Thank you for everything!”
“
I think I’ll be just fine, Mom. I’ll try to visit as soon as I can.”