Magic, Myth & Majesty: 7 Fantasy Novels Read online

  Cyrus thought for a moment. “I might have seen Terrenus as well, now that I think about it… I saw a cloaked figure receive a hammer from the Emperor of Enterra the night we were there, just before I died.”

  “Did you see who the figure was that took the hammer?” Curatio and Alaric shared a look of great significance.

  Cyrus shook his head. “It was dark and their cowl was down; it could have been anyone.”

  Alaric frowned. “I cannot imagine the circumstances under which the Emperor of Enterra would freely part with a weapon created by their god.”

  Cyrus shrugged. “I only know what I saw.”

  “We should continue.” Alaric spurred his horse forward. “I appreciate your bringing this to our attention. It is cause for great concern when coupled with certain… other information.”

  “Care to share?” Cyrus asked.

  “Soon,” Alaric said.

  They came through the city gates, and Cyrus’s eyes fell upon a coliseum constructed some distance from the city proper. An enormous entrance with post and lintel architecture, it was large enough for the biggest troll to walk through on a horse without difficulty. As they brought their steeds through the gates, Cyrus saw an expansive dirt floor, ideal for large battles. A group of people were at the entrance to the arena floor, sitting and standing around. As they rode closer, he started to recognize some of the figures, partitioned into two groups.

  On his left side stood the officers of Goliath. Elisabeth was talking with Tolada and Malpravus as well as one of the other officers of Goliath that Cyrus had never learned the name of. Standing almost opposite of them was Erith with Cass. They seemed to be in good spirits, though somewhat sterner than in the past.

  Greetings were exchanged after the trio had dismounted. Tolada began to speak. “Welcome, Alliance officers. As always, it is a great pleasure. We have several items on the agenda today, and we’d like to cover them quickly, so as not to delay our passage home to our guilds.” He launched into the first item on his agenda. “Last meeting, we entertained a proposal which I feel has merit: the idea of a regular sequence of expeditions with mandatory attendance for all Allied guild members—”

  The dwarf didn’t get any farther than that before Alaric was standing. Rather than wait to be addressed, he butted in, talking over Tolada. “Sanctuary vetoed that idea and will continue to veto it every time it is brought up.” Unlike at Sanctuary Council, Alaric had his helmet on. Cyrus could see his mouth curled in irritation. “It is not our policy to compel people to go to places they have no interest in going.” He looked around the assemblage. “That is something best left to the guilds like Endeavor, Amarath’s Raiders or Burnt Offerings. It is unworthy of those of us who profess to believe in the bonds of fellowship more than conquest.”

  Tolada looked ready to rebut when Erith intervened. “The Daring also veto. Since any proposed changes require unanimous agreement before passage,” she began to smirk at Tolada, “I’d say you got your wish: three minutes into the meeting and we’ve already scratched one dumb idea off the list of crap we have to go through.”

  If the nettle bothered him, Tolada shrugged it off. “Very well. Malpravus has an interesting proposal. We have all heard the news that there are new Realms open to mortals. We have also seen a great departure by the guilds that Alaric mentioned — and it brings us an opportunity to follow them into these new Realms and see what awaits us there.” He nodded self-importantly and continued, “We do, however, need a structured force. To that end, Goliath would like to bring forth a proposal to make us more powerful. Malpravus?”

  Tolada led the meeting in a smattering of lukewarm applause. Casting a glance, Cy found Curatio clapping politely while Alaric abstained, arms folded. Erith looked mutinous. Elisabeth applauded while Cass did not.

  The Goliath Guildmaster seemed not to notice any of this as he glided into position to speak. “We will have a manpower problem going into these new Realms,” he pronounced. “Early rumors circulating from the contacts we have in the higher guilds all say the same thing. These excursions require either enormous groups of people, trained reasonably, or a smaller, elite group equipped with the best training, weapons and armor.” The dark elf stopped to favor them all with a snake-like smile. “Either path requires a different organizational structure than we have now. We miss opportunities on a consistent basis because scheduling excursions or attacks is of such great difficulty that none but the exceptionally experienced,” his hand waved toward Elisabeth, “or the naïve would do it.” His hand gestured toward Cyrus.

  “In order to form a more consolidated command structure, I propose we combine into one guild.” The necromancer paused, looking around for reactions. Stunned shock filled Cyrus’s mind. Curatio’s lips were pursed. Erith had rolled her eyes again and Cass was stone-faced.

  Cyrus heard a faint sound he couldn’t quite place; looking down he saw Alaric’s hand rattling in his gauntlet, shaking. Cy could see the paladin’s jaw was clenched and the muscles on his neck stood out, giving his skin a stretched appearance. “Just where,” he asked in a tone that belied his true emotions, “would you anticipate headquartering this new guild you’d like to form?” The question was directed at Malpravus, who was looking befuddled at Alaric’s odd posture while asking it.

  “Excellent question,” Malpravus began smoothly. “Of course, accommodations large enough to house such a… Goliath,” he said with a grin, “are difficult to come by. However, I do recognize that one guild present possesses quarters large enough to handle our… modest needs.” Every word that came from the dark elf’s mouth positively dripped with oil as Cyrus heard them. “Naturally, I speak of Sanctuary’s guildhall… oddly placed, true, but large enough…”

  “He’s been after our guildhall since before we joined the Alliance,” Curatio breathed, so low only Cyrus could hear him.

  “Veto.” Alaric’s voice was strained; it sounded as though every muscle in his body was exerted. Cyrus raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if that much pressure could result in all of the Ghost’s innards exploding out his back. He furrowed his brow, a question occurring to him after seeing Alaric’s disappearing act the day before: did the paladin have innards? Or was he a legitimate ghost?

  Erith interjected again. “Yeah, I veto too.” Her eyes went back to Tolada. “This might be our quickest meeting ever if the topics keep coming like this.”

  The dwarf took over for an emotionless Malpravus as the Goliath Guildmaster resumed his seat. “Those were the two topics I had in mind. Does anyone else have anything to cover?”

  Erith raised her hand. “I have a proposal for a new Alliance rule.”

  Tolada looked down at her. “Very well, you may present your suggestion.”

  Erith walked to the place where the speakers had stood. “I propose that any member of an Alliance guild who leaves that guild must wait at least three months before applying and being accepted at another Alliance guild.”

  Silence greeted this proposal. Tolada began to shift his weight from foot to foot, studying his boots. Malpravus had the cowl of his cloak back up to obscure his face.

  Curatio whispered to Cyrus and Alaric, “We’re missing something here.” Cy was about to ask him to clarify when Erith continued.

  “As we all know, Goliath greatly profited in the last few months from the Daring’s struggles. Now, with recent Sanctuary departures going to Goliath, I feel we need something to curb this tendency—”

  She said more, after that, but Cyrus didn’t hear a word of it for several seconds. His vision blurred, so stunned was he by that admission. His hand went up, completely dumbstruck, and he asked his question before Alaric or Curatio could stop him, assuming that they would have if they could. “I’m sorry, who from Sanctuary went to Goliath?”

  Erith was clearly not someone used to being cut off in mid-sentence. “Orion and Selene joined Goliath along with a few others,” she told him. Looking her in the eyes he saw a glimmer of empathy.

&
nbsp; Cyrus heard a snap next to him, and he was certain that Alaric had just broken at least one bone in his hand, which also answered Cyrus’s earlier concern about innards. While Cy focused on the Ghost, he missed Goliath vetoing the proposal.

  Tolada took the speaking position once more, with less enthusiasm than before. “Does anyone else have any other business to bring forward?” He hesitated, waiting for anyone to say anything, looking around for comment.

  Erith piped up, “No other business. Let’s call this meeting quits and get out of here.” She turned to Cass. “Wasn’t that the best Alliance officer meeting ever? Not to mention the shortest. I wonder,” she said with her trademark sarcasm, “if those two factors are in any way linked?” A glare from Tolada did not seem to faze the dark elf.

  Alaric grasped the harness of his horse, and started toward the gates of the coliseum. He did not mount the horse, instead walking slowly as the other delegations saddled up and rode away after saying their goodbyes. Cyrus waved to Elisabeth, Cass and Erith before following his Guildmaster. The other delegations had outpaced them by the time they reached the gates, and Curatio had walked beside Alaric, with Cyrus following close behind until finally the Ghost exploded in a tirade unlike anything Cyrus had seen from him before.

  “It is absolutely unfathomable to me that these people can even consider us allies, then profit from our troubles. Vara was correct in her assessment: they are vultures!” He almost screamed the last word in frustration. “We put everything we have into growing and they act as though we’re a sick relative; instead of them wishing us well they sneak into our bedroom and choke the life out of us so they can get their inheritance!”

  He paused for only a second before heading in another direction. “And did you hear Malpravus’s proposition? Yes, we can all become one guild, when the guild’s name is Sanctuary, and yes we can all use our guildhall, when you all fill out applications and I kick into the gutter the ones of you I can’t stand!” He calmed after the last words flew out.

  Curatio, sensing that the worst was over, chimed in. “At least none of those measures passed. And in fairness, if Orion and the rest hadn’t gone to an Alliance guild, they would have gone somewhere else; somewhere that they would be of no benefit to anyone in the Alliance.”

  Alaric shook his head. “We need to be independent. No more Goliath, no more treachery, and no more diplomacy with people who are constantly making your blood boil. I have weathered this so-called Alliance,” he said, looking directly at Cyrus, “in order to provide opportunities to those in our guild that desire a challenge without leaving the home that we’ve built. Now,” he continued, almost snarling, “the allies that are supposed to share our best interests are compromising ours to advance their own agendas.”

  His gaze was powerful, and his words sent a rush of motivation through the warrior that would keep him moving for the next six months. “We face a grave threat, from a source unknown. Build our strength, get us powerful enough so that I can get us free of this wretched Alliance and convince our guildmates that we don’t need these vultures any longer.”

  26

  “Burnt Offerings has inducted 1,152 people in the last month,” Niamh told the Council, reading from a roll of parchment. “Amarath’s Raiders have 911 new members; Endeavor has added another 783.” The elf looked around the shocked faces at the table, biting her lip.

  “Holy Bellarum,” Cyrus breathed. “Where did they find that many people?”

  “The armies of the major cities and empires, from other guilds a step below them on the food chain, from mercenary companies — from anywhere they could. The short answer,” Niamh said with a look of grave disappointment, “is they did everything we were intending to do. I heard they even sent envoys to the troll homeland.”

  “This does not bode well for our impending recruitment drive,” Curatio said, eyes downcast.

  Vaste spoke up. “This changes nothing.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Niamh said. “They’ve put out feelers in every major city in Arkaria, letting everyone know that they’re looking for new members, that they’re not necessarily worried about how well equipped these people are, and they’ve temporarily suspended their membership dues. They’ve captured a lot of potential candidates that might have been looking.”

  “True,” the troll said. “But we have something that they don’t.”

  Alaric raised an eyebrow. “And what might that be?”

  Vaste leaned forward, eyes burning. “We only care about the content of their character, not how experienced or equipped they are. In short, when it comes to their effectiveness as a fighter, we have no minimum standard. They do.” He looked around the table. “Right?”

  Cyrus leaned forward. “It’s true. They might have dropped equipment requirements, but they will still require at least two years of combat experience, whether in an army, in a guild, or somewhere else.”

  “Let me see if I understand this correctly,” Vara said. “You want to solve our strength problem — the problem we have with a lack of experienced candidates for our army — by recruiting inexperienced candidates for our army?” She rolled her eyes. “Brilliant. In fact, so brilliant I wonder how he,” she said, nodding in Cyrus’s direction, “didn’t come up with it first.”

  Cyrus let the remark pass. “I think Vaste might have a good idea here.”

  Vara froze. “Not that I think this will ever be a problem in your case, but I must insist that you don’t breed,” she said to Cyrus.

  “Are you sure?” he replied, burying his annoyance in an ingratiating smile. “I think a few practice attempts at breeding would solve a great many of your attitude problems.”

  “Oh,” Vara said, “I think I’m going to be quite ill.”

  “If we could focus on the problem at hand?” Alaric appealed to them. “Cyrus, you were saying?”

  “Right,” the warrior said, “what Vaste says has merit for two reasons: first, we can train rookies. Second, Niamh said that those guilds — and I’m sure countless other guilds a step or two down the food chain from the big three — have been recruiting in every major city.” The warrior’s eyes were alight. “But most of the people in Arkaria don’t live in a major city.”

  Curatio nodded. “Most of the populace lives in towns, in the villages, on farms, and so on — which are usually not very close to a portal.”

  “Which means it takes longer to get to them,” Cyrus said. “We can go to them, to every village in the countryside and seek out people that might be looking for adventure, young and old — and we can train them ourselves. We won’t get many magic users because of how the Leagues scoop them up to train them from childhood, but we can train anybody to use a sword or a bow or a dagger.”

  “We could build an effective army with warriors and rangers at the core,” Vaste said.

  “So, again,” Vara said, “your plan is to drag in any seamstress or pig farmer with visions of adventure and delusions of grandeur, give them a sword, and place them in the front lines of our continuing battle with the forces of evil and… what? Use their corpses as shields for those of us that can actually fight?”

  “Anyone can learn to fight if they want to learn badly enough,” Vaste said. “I say we give them a chance and see who among them wants to.”

  “It won’t be easy,” Cyrus said. “But if we focus on finding people who do have, as Vara so eloquently put it,” he shot her a dazzling but fake smile, “‘visions of adventure,’ and show them some success, we’ll find new recruits that we can grow with—”

  Niamh jumped in. “And we have enough equipment; the Armory is full. We could give them swords and armor without any difficulty; we have plenty of spares lying around that we aren’t even using.”

  “These potential recruits,” Cyrus said, “get a shot at adventure, something everyone dreams about, and we get new soldiers for our army.”

  “You mean a barely-trained rabble,” Vara said.

  “I’m impressed at your a
bility to constantly come up with creative insults and ways to criticize but never an idea to fix the problems we’re dealing with,” Cyrus said. “Tell me, does your myopia extend to all areas of your life, or just your duties as Council member? Because that would explain why you’re unable to see why no one likes you.”

  “Myopia? I see quite clearly, thank you,” Vara returned as the color left her face.

  “Please. You’re so narrow-minded you could wear the finger of my gauntlet as a helm.”

  “That’s no difficulty; your fingers are the size of sausages,” she stammered.

  “The better to… never mind.” Her eyes narrowed, as though she could sense the reply he’d discarded. “My point is, do you have anything to contribute that would help us or are you just here to piss on every idea we come up with?”

  The elf said nothing for a long moment. Her eyes remained narrowed, but she did not meet Cy’s gaze.

  “As long as we emphasize,” Curatio spoke up, breaking the tension of the moment, “that honor is of paramount importance to us.” The elf looked around the table. “So long as we remember that, we’ll be fine — forget it, and we are lost.”

  “I agree, Curatio,” Alaric said. “I would rather have ten honorable comrades at my side that don’t know which direction to point their blade than a thousand skilled mercenaries that I can’t trust to turn my back on.”

  A small sound followed as Vara cleared her throat. She had grown paler still since Cyrus’s last insult, and when everyone turned to her at the sound, she nodded without meeting anyone’s eyes. “Agreed. Honor above all else,” she said, her voice breaking ever so slightly.

  “Very well,” Alaric said. “We have an agreement about what must be done. Let us adjourn.”

  Alaric halted Cyrus as he began to head toward the door, and waited until the rest of the Council filed out. Vara was the last to leave, and cast a stricken look at the Ghost before she exited. She was still pale as she shut the door. Alaric Garaunt turned his full attention to Cyrus, who was waiting nervously for the Guildmaster’s rebuke.