Spellscribed: Resurgence (18 page)

"He's dressed." she said. "No. The blue shirt."

Tanya stepped into the room and smiled. Bridget slipped in after her, a sigh on her lips as she came to a stop next to her sister Draugnoa. Endrance glanced at the two of them, puzzled.

"What?" Endrance asked. He looked down at the blue long sleeved shirt he had put on. "Something wrong with my clothes?"

"Nope!" Tanya said with a smile. "Just glad you picked out some nice clothes."

"For once." Bridget said. "You're looking decent. However, we did manage to scrape up some food. You need to eat."

Endrance opened his mouth to protest, but his stomach took that moment to make him aware just how hungry he had become. Endrance nodded. "Sure." he said, "Lead the way."

Endrance was lead to the kitchens, where it looked like the entirety of the remaining non-perishable stock had been captured and laid out across the central countertop. The table was piled high with dried fruits, blocks of cheese, and smoked meats.

"Have at-" Bridget started to speak, but stopped when Endrance immediately started picking through the food and eating. Tanya and Bridget watched him eat and glanced at each other.

"So…" Bridget said. "What do you think he learned from that plate?"

Tanya shrugged. "Probably finished off that tattoo on his back." she said, gesturing into the open air. "It looked more complicated than the one he had."

"But it worked before." Bridget protested. "He summoned the Fjallar using that circle."

"Maybe it makes the bird a different color." Tanya offered. "Or maybe now there's more birds."

Endrance mumbled through a mouthful of food. Tanya squinted her eyes as she tried to figure it out, but Bridget sighed. "Multiple birds" Bridget replied.

"Oh." Tanya replied. "Wonder what we'll name the others."

"Endrance can summon up more of those birds who breathe more flame than a dragon, and your only concern is what to name them?" Bridget asked, rubbing her temples.

Tanya shrugged. "Gullin seemed nice." she replied defensively. "And Endrance has always taken great care with his magic, so I don't see why it's a problem."

Bridget grumbled quietly, turning away and grabbing a chunk of dried meat to chew on, while Endrance continued making up for another six months without eating.

Endrance put away far more food than he had thought possible, something he hadn't done since the encounter he'd had with the succubus in Balator's castle. His stomach bulging, Endrance had to stand because his stomach wouldn't let him sit forward anymore.

"We should get going." Endrance said. "We haven't even seen what's going on outside the palace."

"The High King's men are busy with the walls." Bridget reported. "They were regrouping with what looked like the intent to investigate the palace. They had been trying to eradicate the sand hornets, but they seem to be moving rather intelligently."

"Hmm?" Endrance realized Bridget was staring at him. "What?"

"Since yesterday, the sand hornets have been acting with a coordination that would have been expected of a queen directing them." Bridget stated.

"Yes." Endrance said. "They have."

"And they're not killing anyone." Bridget said. "Not anymore. Like, at all."

"You were the one who told me how many lives were endangered by my prison break." Endrance replied.

Bridget sighed, shaking her head. "No, what I'm trying to say is you knew what was going on out there." she said. "Otherwise you wouldn't be able to direct them."

Endrance held up his hands and mimicked weighing something in each. "Kind of yes, but kind of no." he said. "I'm aware enough of what's immediately around the hornets, but that doesn't tell me the bigger picture, nor does it let me perfectly reconnoiter an area. I'm getting sensory information of hundreds, maybe thousands of hornets at the same time, and it forms a kind of collage in my mind. I'm still not sure how I can control it all in the back of my head."

He tilted his head, speaking as he sorted through the imprint. "It's strange, the sand hornet queen's mind. I gained the ability to control and understand her brood, but she lacks any form of willpower, or even personality. It was like she only existed to manage the hornets under her command, and that's all there was."

"So you're telling me you can't use the sand hornets to gather information or maybe make the Ironsoul troops outside surrender to Balator?"

"Well, not so precisely." Endrance replied. "Like I told you, I can only directly control a few dozen at a time. When those soldiers engage the targets, they have to do so with a larger force and against a manageable number. Since they haven't been doing simultaneous attacks, I've been able to spare enough concentration to direct them without affecting my ability to talk to you or walk, or even cast most spells."

Endrance frowned. "It seems they managed to kill another seven hornets while I was adjusting my tattoo." he said. "Either way, I think I understand what you mean. Perhaps a sufficient show of force?"

Bridget paused, a smile spreading on her lips as she thought about it. "Yeah." she said, glancing at Tanya and seeing her nod. "A show of force would be great. How flashy can you make it?"

Endrance pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. "You tell me." he said. "And I can make it happen."

The exterior of the palace was a mess. It had been covered in dead sand hornets, stains of blood where the soldiers had fallen, and the front courtyard had a section that had been stained black by dragon's blood that had never been able to be cleaned.

The High King's personal troops remained on guard, but since the death of their leader, High King Mastadon, no one had been allowed to enter the building according to the laws of Ironsoul. Only when a High King was chosen from the remaining kings would there be anyone allowed within the palace again. They were expressly forbidden from mobilizing from the capitol for any reason once the High King was dead. It was discovered that the High King had been killed during a  black dragon attack. And though they had been able to drive the creature away, perhaps mortally wounding it, the king's body was never found and at that point, it was assumed the dragon had eaten him.

They were supposed to remain on guard, stopping others from entering until those conditions were met. All kings retreated to their respective kingdoms, gathering their forces and resources for what could be a long and messy campaign to decide who would rule. Though some of them bet on the eventual outcomes, the Iron and Onyx satraps became embroiled into war quickly. Though smaller by far and less disciplined, Onyx had Ashia, a magma drake on their side, easily matching the larger kingdom's military power. The Azure kingdom was another frontrunner, since their leaders had many talented mages working for them, almost a full quarter of all mages in Ironsoul.

But they were not expecting the mages to turn on one another. The very people who were viewed as a step above normal society had nearly destroyed several cities with their infighting. Especially in the capitol city, where the Archmagus and only four magus fought off assaults from almost every other mage in the city. The battles had lasted for weeks until one night, the Circle's tower had disappeared in a blinding flare of light and thunder that had flattened the buildings around it. Hundreds of civilians were injured or killed.

Then the barbarians had invaded, sweeping through with a large enough military force that the individual kingdoms were hard pressed to fight back against them. Three different armies charged through, and Ironsoul could only watch as their satraps were quickly captured. One army took the east, one took the west, and one lanced down the middle. They had prepared for an attack, but the army simply went around them. It was assumed that when the rest of the kingdoms were theirs, the barbarians would come back to crack the walls and dominate them as well.

While they prepared their defenses and reorganized their military to fight against the barbarians, observers on the wall had seen something on the horizon to the south. At first it was thought that the barbarians were returning early, but instead, they saw something even more nightmarish. The dark line on the horizon was not an army of barbarians, but a flood of insects the size of large dogs.

The ward-stones around the city were able to fire blasts of magic in rapid succession. Several times before, invasions by barbarians had been defeated with that defense alone. However, there were far too many insects, and they did not know fear. One of the stones had been shattered, then another, and the defenders had been quickly overwhelmed. Those that fought the sand hornets could possibly kill one or two, but there were so many that even skilled fighters were almost instantly overwhelmed.

Morale broken, the soldiers had taken cover and hid. Much of the military survived due to their sense of self-preservation, but clusters were wiped out before the retreat could be signaled.

Scouts had reported seeing significantly larger hornets amidst the swarm, and most curiously, a single woman. She walked along within the swarm, carrying a body over her shoulder, and it seemed that the queen sand hornet had moved with her. They had disappeared into the palace, tearing through the detachment set at the doors. Most of the swarm had poured into the building, until only a fraction of them remained outside.

A day passed, and the leadership had considered sending scouts in to find out what the insects were up to, and to locate the woman seen moving with them. There were still sand hornets about within the city, but they had been strangely elusive, feeding on carrion and the stray animals of the city, instead of attacking people.

The military could do little to stop them, but they were certain of one thing, if the hornets started moving again, they would have little ability to stop them in armed combat. Leadership had started arguing whether or not they could burn the insects out, since the structure was entirely made of stone and would survive it.

They gathered for a large-scale operation, collecting enough pitch, and arming men with longspears and shields to protect the arsonists. The palace was surrounded, and by suns-set they were ready to begin.

The commander of the unit raised his arm to speak when a droning sound rose into the air. Men and women looked up in panic as the sand hornets around the city took to the sky simultaneously. The commander shouted out orders, bringing the shieldmen up to protect their engineers as sand hornets came swarming in.

The hornets did not attack a single soldier, instead landing on the roof of the palace in droves. The building soon looked like it was covered in a blanket of angry insects. The offensive operation faltered, soldiers uncertain of what to do with the sudden change of events. The insects went silent, and Ironsoul's defenders held their breath, waiting.

The open hole in the wall where the front doors of the palace had once stood echoed with a new sound. Someone was coming. Someone human.

* * * *

Endrance walked out of the palace, one hand lifted to shield his eyes from the light of the setting suns. He seemed strangely common, wearing a blue tunic and black breeches. The pair of leather boots were heavier than he was used to wearing, but they fit so he wasn't going to complain. He held his walking staff in his other hand, but he was not intending on using it in combat.

Endrance's meridians glowed with arcane power. He expected there would be a chance they would attack him right from the start, so he was leaving no hole in his defenses. The faces of the men and women surrounding the palace looked to him showing a wide array of emotions, from grim determination to fear bordering on panic. He surveyed the crowd with a nod, and took a breath before he sent a trickle of power to a small arrangement of lines and whorls on either side of his Adam's apple.

"Defenders of Ironsoul." Endrance called out, his voice booming through the air and carrying to the far reaches of the assembled forces. "I am Endrance, once a member of the Circle of Magi and once the Spengur of Balator. I command the sand hornets you see before you, and I have captured your palace."

He raised his staff and tapped the butt of it on the stone. At the same time, the collected sand hornets began screeching in unison. Their cries died off after a few seconds, and all eyes turned back to the mage in front of them.

"I am willing to accept your surrender." Endrance said, his words landing on every ear before him. "You have one hour. Attack me, or attack my forces, and I will consider your right to surrender forfeit. I have more than just these within the palace, so do not think that what you see before you is all I have to destroy you with. Nor should you forget the powers at my disposal."

Endrance turned away, exposing his back to them as he walked back into the palace. "I expect your swift response." he said.

What he didn't see was a small scramble as several soldiers drew their crossbows and began to aim, only to be diverted by yet more soldiers who didn't think they had a chance. It wasn't like the bolts fired from their weapons would be able to harm him, but they weren't able to tell what his glowing ward-markings meant. They did not realize that he wasn't required to be aware of attacks for the wards to protect him.

Endrance stepped out of sight, letting out a pent up breath and looking a little further in where Tanya and Bridget waited. He put a quick thought into his scribing, removing the voice boosting spell before he spoke. "Well?" he asked. "That seemed dramatic."

"I think this should work." Bridget said. "The sand hornets tore through them like they were made of snow. Using them as a threat should work."

"We just need them to not find out that the ones who went inside are all dead." Tanya muttered.

"Easy enough." Endrance replied, slowly lowering his wards. As he did so, power that went unspent filled back into his aura. Though he was able to make a show, he hadn't had the time he would have needed to recover enough power to use any of his particularly dangerous spells. "No one's going to be trying to get in through the open front doors, unless it's a messenger."

"And we have enough hornets that you should be able to spot someone trying to sneak in." Bridget added.

Endrance nodded. "Though I am feeling much better than I was before, I do not have even a tenth of all my power back. If I can hold the city without a fight, I should be able to recover in peace until King Thorald's forces finally arrive to capture the place."

Bridget and Tanya nodded, though they didn't have much to offer. Much of the plan relied entirely on him, and he was already stressing his mind enough, keeping a general control on so many of the sand hornets.

"How's he doing, by the way?" Endrance asked. "King Thorald."

Bridget shrugged. "He made a lot of friends with the other high families. With their support, it seems that even if someone challenged and defeated Thorald, they would be in a worse position than he is. So, I guess he's doing a good job with that talking stuff."

"He's also made friends with the wolfmen." Tanya offered. "Many of them were able to trade and pay for property within Balator's walls now."

Endrance was surprised. "Well that's a pretty progressive accomplishment." Endrance observed. "How'd he do it?"

Bridget grinned. "Your fault, mostly." she said. "Seems that your talk about how they used to be our ancestors back when the kingdom was founded had been passed along to a few more people than just the ones we spoke to. Then, Gnaeus arrived with his pack and started negotiating for peace while you were in Salthimere."

Endrance sighed. "I wonder what he's going to do next."

"Maybe move the berserker's refuge somewhere safer?" Tanya asked.

Bridget snapped her fingers. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "That reminds me. Have you ever seen a crimson wolfman before?" she asked.

Endrance's expression fell as he considered what she meant. "No?" he replied cautiously.

Bridget nodded, "Apparently it's rare, but they have had it happen. I got to see them send one to the refuge before we left."

Endrance hung his head. "I find myself wanting to go in there less and less." he admitted. "Though I've wanted to study one so I can understand their malady better. Perhaps then I could help with Joven's brother."

Endrance noticed the instant glance the two Draugnoa shared. "What?" he demanded. "What is it?"

Bridget scowled at him. "What?" she said. "We haven't said anything."

"That's precisely the problem!" Endrance exclaimed. "Every time I mention helping out Joven you stare at each other…" his voice trailed off.

"Endrance." Tanya started to say. "Look-"

It finally fell into place, the last puzzle piece clicked. Endrance's face paled. "No." he murmured, his legs losing their strength. He sank to the floor, his walking staff clattering to the stones next to him. "It's not possible." he muttered.

Endrance fell silent. Tanya and Bridget exchanged looks again, both remembering the old pains and knowing that he must be feeling it now for the first time.

The mage sat in silence, not trusting himself to speak. He had known Joven the longest, and the man had been an immutable, ever-present member of his life ever since he had been dragged out of Wayrest and into the world proper. Joven had been one of the few people who really understood him. He had taught him everything he knew without complaint or protest.

Joven had really looked out for him. And now they were telling him that Joven was dead. It just didn't feel to Endrance like he was really gone, however. The entire time since he had been free, he had been anticipating telling Joven all about what he had gone through, and seeing his reactions. The man had become a father not too long before Endrance was trapped.

"Joven's children." Endrance said quietly.

Bridget answered, knowing what he was thinking. "They and their mother are safely in Balator." Bridget said. "Living with Leona. Gwen is handling life with our people better than I would have hoped."

"At least that much has been done." Endrance murmured.

Bridget knelt next to him. "Endrance." she started. "He died a good death. He fought a dragon. Bigger than in any of the histories. There's no shame dying in battle against a foe like that."

"But…" Endrance whispered, his eyes closed. A trickle of hot tears seared the cold surface of his skin. "The dragon may not even be dead."

"Endrance." Tanya added. "Even if that's the case, Joven alone broke the capitol of Ironsoul, and at the least mortally wounded a dragon of immense size. Balator can conquer Ironsoul now, because of him."

Endrance was silent, mulling over his thoughts. His shoulders jumped as he suppressed a laugh. He laughed again, tears still streaming down his face.