Retribution

The wizard Gelden reappears, greatly changed and more powerful, seeking retribution against his foes.

22.

Retribution

 

In Westmark, those injured in the raid on Gelden’s hideout were resting from their injuries shortly before noon when out of nowhere the wind began blowing with gale force intensity.   

Rick weakly craned his neck to look out of his room’s window at the roaring breeze.    Trees were being pulled from side to side as if they were twigs.   He could hear muffled cries and screams from outside the walls of the palace, but as he looked through the window to the skies above, they were the same cloudy skies as earlier; nothing had changed.

“What is it?”  Jevon yelled out from the room across the hallway where he was confined while convalescing.  

“It’s the wind " it just picked up suddenly and sounds like a tornado out there!”

“Could it actually be one?”

“I don’t think so - it doesn’t look too threatening from what I can see through the window and the clouds above aren’t moving at all.”

“Magic, maybe?”

“That would be my guess - people are screaming out there!”

 

Rick slowly slid over the edge of the bed, and stood on shaking legs.

There were the sounds of trees falling over and heavy things being tossed around.    From somewhere in the palace complex, something crashed through a window.

Jevon was already standing in the hallway and they were joined quickly by others.  

“What in the world is happening?”   Shel asked, holding her stomach where she had been injured in the fight earlier in the day.

“This has to be magic in nature,”   Rick told the group gathering.

 

The wind roared and raged, pressing against the windows of the palace.    Several of them began to explode inward.

“We’re under attack!”  Amala yelled as she and Carn came racing down the hall from their quarters in the palace.    The couple had been recovering from their injuries at Windhaven as well, but both seemed almost completely healed.

The wind howled so loudly that everyone in the hallway had to yell over the noise.   Servants and some of the guards had joined them and seemed equally as alarmed as those clustered in the hallway.

The wind’s howl began to change, to take on the sound of a mournful voice.    Everyone listened as the building shook from it.

“FOOOOOOOOLLLLLSSSS!   ALL OF YOU ARE FOOLS!    YOU HAVEN’T A CLUE WHO IS DOING THIS OR WHY!!!   FOOLS!  I SHOULD JUST DESTROY THIS WORTHLESS TOWN AND LET YOU SPEND YOUR LAST MOMENTS WONDERING WHAT CAUSED SUCH A TERRIBLE FATE TO FALL UPON YOU!”

The wind grew icy cold, though it was the warmest part of the year.  Through the broken windows, into the palace it raged,  sending debris twirling around the air.    Those in the hallway shielded their faces with their hands as the booming voice continued taunting them.

“DO YOU FEEL MY ANGER?   DO YOU HEAR MY RAGE?    IT WAS IN MY MIND TO DESTROY THE ABOMINATIONS THAT YOU CALL YOUR KING AND QUEEN, THOSE WHO DESTROYED THE GLORY OF THE FOREST KINGDOM OF MY PEOPLE AND BROUGHT THE FAESIDHE PEOPLE INTO SUBMISSION TO THE DARK ELVES!     MY PLANS FAILED, BUT DUE TO A QUIRK OF FATE, A GREATER PLAN REVEALED ITSELF TO ME AND NOW I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!”

Ant crouched down in the hallway with her head shielded, carefully listening to the disembodied voice in the wind speaking from everywhere at once.  

“It’s Gelden!”   She yelled out over the tempest, and all who knew of the name of the Faesidhe wizard had suspected the same thing by then.

“His voice - that isn’t just a spell that makes him sound like that!”   Jevon commented.

“Something has changed about him,”   Ant replied, her other comments interrupted by the voice on the wind.

“YOU HAVE ONE OPPORTUNITY, PEOPLE OF WESTMARK, TO AVOID UTTER ANNIHILATION!!!   AS YOU CAN SEE AND HEAR, I HAVE THE POWER OF THE ELEMENTS AT MY DISPOSAL AND NONE OF YOUR MERE WIZARDS CAN STOP ME.     YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO BRING TO THE AIRSHIP DOCKING PLATFORM, KING ELEAZAR AND QUEEN AUREI, BOTH UNARMED AND DEVOID OF THEIR MAGIC RINGS AND JEWELRY.   IF THEY ARE SURRENDERED TO ME, I SHALL LEAVE THIS CITY.    IF YOU REFUSE, I WILL DESTROY THIS TOWN AND THE CROPS RIPENING IN THE FIELDS.   CAN WESTMARK SURVIVE A WINTER WITHOUT FOOD?    SAVE YOURSELF HARDSHIP AND HEARTACHE.   LISTEN TO THE CALL OF THE WIND AND REFLECT ON YOUR FATE.   I WILL WAIT FOR ONE HOUR.”

The sound of the wind shifted somewhat and everyone sensed that the presence of the voice had left.   It still raged and howled outside, but it was more natural now.

“I’ve got to get to Mom and Dad!”  Amala said anxiously, turning and running up the hall with Carn and Alvis (along with several servants and guards) following her.

Those left in the hallway were all excitedly talking at once.   Ant quietly slipped away from the others and hurried around a corner.    She had read Gelden’s mind before and knew that he wanted nothing more than Eleazar and Aurei’s deaths.

He had some sort of magic relic that apparently he had stumbled upon - probably during the battle in Windhaven.    She quickly worked out a possible scenario - he was making his way up the main tower - Baron Alvis had told them about this-   when someone from the upper floors had used some sort of magic device to activate four elementals which attacked them.

Ant suspected that Gelden had located the source of the magic of the elementals - probably a brooch, ring or other piece of jewelry- and somehow had taken possession of it.   But before he could use the magic item to stop the elemental attacking him, he had been seriously injured and his autocaster had taken him back to Westmark.

Or maybe he hadn’t known what he had picked up until after he’d regained consciousness back in Westmark, and only then did he realize that he’d found a powerful relic.   Ant knew it was more than a coincidence that the power that Gelden now possessed was elemental in nature, just like the magic used against him in Windhaven.

But now she had to find a way to keep him from making off with the King and Queen of Westmark.

Slipping into a side room, Ant closed her eyes and took the shape of Tolthe again.    It was more difficult in her weakened state from her injuries, but she soon had his appearance.    Quickly she rushed to her room and found the clothing that she had worn in her role as the Faesidhe guard.   Though some of her equipment was damaged, she was able to conceal it with a cloak.    Soon she was fully costumed and she slipped out.   

She could hear Jevon calling her name from down the hall, but she did not have time to explain what she was about to do, so she hurried off to the stairs to the ground floor.

Soon she had slipped out of the palace.   Fortunately the recent events had so excited everyone that she was able to slip out without anyone challenging her.

 

***

 

“What’s wrong?”  Rick called to Jevon, as he returned from searching for the Changeling woman.

“Ant’s disappeared,”  He replied, “She was with us in the hallway but she’s gone.”

“Maybe she went back to her room,”   Rick suggested.

“No, I just came from there.   What’s more troubling is that the clothes that she was wearing are gone.”

“Gone?   Well maybe the servants took them - she was injured you know, so maybe-“

“No, no, that’s not it!”  Jevon snapped, “They didn’t take any of our clothes!”

“So you think she just slipped out?  But why?”

Jevon shook his head, “I don’t know, but she’s probably up to something.   Rick, that worries me; she isn’t fully healed.”

“Then we should go find her.”

Jevon agreed, but before they could slip away, Shel stopped them and asked them where they were going.    Rick explained and the Orc lady volunteered to go with them.

“You should stay here and stay safe,”  Rick replied, for the roaring of the wind, though diminished, could still be heard all around them.

“I don’t think any place is safe right now,” She replied and Rick reluctantly nodded.

“We’ll search the palace first,”  Jevon suggested, and the other two agreed, splitting up to check each room as they went down the hallway.

 

***

In his apartment next to the main Practical Magic Guild building, Mutt looked nervously at the shuttered window, wondering what terrible fate awaited Eleazar and Aurei.

“Did you hear what that voice said?”  Vellie Umberburn whispered from where she laid against his chest.

“Yes, and I can’t imagine a spell that even a wizard could cast that would produce such power.”    He kissed her cheek and ran his fingers through her beautiful black hair, “I guess we could consider that a sign from Yesh that we shouldn’t make love.”

Vellie frowned, but Mutt could detect a slight bit of relief in her eyes.    They had not been physically intimate yet (other than kissing and rolling around on top of each other) but after his near death and due to his survival thanks to the Autocaster ring that Vellie had given him as a gift, she had suggested that they ‘go all the way’ when she was certain he was fully healed from his injuries.

Of course he was delighted at her willingness, but he sensed that it was due to the emotions of learning that he had nearly died.    Now they had a way out.

“We can resume our time together when things calm down,”  She whispered to him.

“On one condition,”  Mutt said.

“What?”

“Marry me.”

“Marry you?!   Really?”  Her brown eyes twinkled.

“I love you, Vellie and I know you feel the same way about me, though I don’t see how you can love a goblin.   Life is precious and time is short, so why not?   Will you?”

She answered him with a passionate kiss on the lips.

“We’ll have to tell my parents.   They like you, Mutt, but it might surprise and perhaps upset them at first.”

“I don’t blame them.”

“We’ll have so many plans to make!”

“Yes, but before we do that, I need to see if I can assist the King against that wizard.”

Vellie hugged him tight, “Oh, no, Mutt!   You’re injured!   Please, there’s nothing you can do!”

“Perhaps, but I want to offer my help, none-the-less.    King Eleazar and Queen Aurei have been extremely kind to me.”

“But is it safe to go out there?”   She looked fearfully at the window, which was vibrating from the howling wind.

“I’ve got to try.”

“Then I’m going with you, and don’t you dare tell me that I’m not, or I won’t marry you!”

Mutt smiled at her spunkiness, “Okay, but we both need to put on some armor and weapons - aside from the wind, who knows what is lurking around out there.”

Vellie looked slightly sick at the thought, but nodded and a few minutes later they were dressed in chainmail and leather.

“Ready?   We’ll stay along the buildings as much as we can, and don’t let go of my hand, okay?”

Vellie nodded and he squeezed her hand, leading her toward the door.

“Don’t worry; we’ll be alright,”  He assured her, but the Halfling girl wondered if he was also trying to convince himself.

 

***

While Mutt and Vellie were making their way to the palace and Rick, Jevon and Shel were searching for Ant, the Changeling girl was struggling to walk in the hurricane-like winds as she made her way toward the airship docking platform.     The power of the elemental force of the air worried the Bitter Dreg, for clearly Gelden possessed something that would make him difficult to defeat or counter.

She dodged debris blowing in the air, shielding her face and grabbing on to the side of the building to help guide her, for it was difficult to open her eyes in the aerial maelstrom.  

Still, she pushed forward, trying as best as she could to appear again as a Faesidhe man, hoping that Gelden would see her in the form of Tolthe again.

Ant was worried that her ploy simply might not work as she finally neared the Airship docking platform.   But out of nowhere came a huge gust of air, which swirled around her like a whirlwind, beginning at her feet and moving around and around her.

She sensed that somehow this was Gelden, and immediately shielded her mind from any thought he could possible read (if he still wore the telepathy ring).

Ant didn’t know what she’d do if the wind ‘felt’ her and discovered that despite her masculine appearance, she did not possess all the ‘equipment’ of a male.

But the vortex wasn’t feeling her at all, instead she was suddenly lifted high into the air and pulled upward against the side of the docking platform until she reached the upper level.

Then the wind stopped abruptly in mid air, holding her suspended a few feet away from the platform.

Ant was terrified, but knew that her very life depended on her acting skills.     Suppressing her terror, she squinted into the gale around her and timidly asked in her best imitation of Tolthe’s voice, “Master?”

At once the air formed a ghostlike face, taking the elven features of Gelden.

“WHY DID YOU FAIL ME, TOLTHE?”   The voice boomed all around with thunderous intensity.

“Master, it was the Drow - they attacked us early in the day and with great power, they-“

“THEY RESCUED THE LOSASIDHE KING AND QUEEN!    YOU FAILED ME, TOLTHE!”    The wind supporting her let her drop a few feet for effect.    “YOU SHALL FORFEIT YOUR LIFE FOR YOUR FAILURE!”

“Master, please, listen!   I can still help you!”

“HOW?   WHAT POSSIBLE HELP CAN YOU PROVIDE ME NOW?”

“Master, I know where Eleazar and his Queen are!   I heard you call out for them, but they are not even here!”    Ant forced her mind to visualize an airship sailing away from this platform, in case Gelden could still read her mind.

“THEN WHERE ARE THEY?”   The voice roared loudly and the wind roughly shook her.

Ant thought quickly, “They took the Losasidhe royals back to their kingdom in the north.”

“WHEN?”

“This morning soon after their rescue - they insisted on it.”

“AND HOW DID YOU BECOME PRIVY TO SUCH INFORMATION?   YOU SEEM TO HAVE ESCAPED UNHARMED, TOLTHE - THAT SEEMS VERY SUSPICIOUS.”

Ant knew that her life hung on the line right then.   She had to tread very carefully here.    She hung her head as if expressing shame, “I fled when I saw we were overwhelmed, master.    But even then I kept gathering information to help you!    I was near here when they hurried aboard and heard someone mention their destination.   They thought they would be safer there.   Master… what has happened to you?    You control the winds…”

Laughter like thunder echoed all around, “I DO INDEED CONTROL THE WINDS, TOLTHE!     HOBNAIL RAIDED A WIZARD’S CACHE SOME TIME AGO, WHILE I SERVED HIM.    HE DID NOT APPRECIATE MAGIC ITEMS OTHER THAN EASILY IDENTIFIABLE WEAPONS.   THERE WERE FOUR GEMS IN THIS CACHE, MARKED WITH THE RUNES FOR AIR, EARTH, WATER AND FIRE.    I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REALIZED WHAT THEY WERE.”

“What were they?”   Ant dared ask.

“ISN’T IT OBVIOUS?   THEY ARE THE LEGENDARY GEMS OF THE ELEMENTAL LORDS!    ONE FOR EACH ELEMENT!     HOBNAIL AND HIS IDIOT PIRATES DID NOT REALIZE THIS, AND THAT IS ONE REASON WHY I SET THIS WHOLE SCHEME UP.    IF I NEVER FOUND THEM, I COULD STILL USE THE LOSASIDHE PRINCESS AND THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN TO KILL ELEAZAR.    BUT IF I DID MANAGE TO FIND THE GEMS AT WINDHAVEN, THEN I WOULD BE MORE POWERFUL THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD.”

Ant stifled a shiver at his words.    She had no idea what the ‘Gems of the Elemental Lords’ were, but clearly Gelden thought Tolthe should know, so she just nodded.    

“Have you all four, master?”

“I DO NOT… YET.   THE FOOLS THOUGHT THE GEMS MERELY SUMMONED ELEMENTALS.    THEY TOSSED THEM DOWN THE STAIRS AT US WHEN WE ATTACKED HOBNAIL’S KEEP.    IT WAS ALL I COULD DO TO DEFEND AGAINST THE ELEMENTALS AND I FOOLISHLY USED THE LOSASIDHE’S RING OF THE HANDS TO DESTROY THE EARTH ELEMENTAL, WHICH COLLAPSED THE TOWER ON TOP OF US.”

“Then how did you-“

“FATE SMILED UPON ME!    I DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE, BUT I BELIEVE THAT WHEN THE TOWER COLLAPSED, THE STONE THAT HAD SUMMONED THE AIR ELEMENTAL LANDED UPON MY HAND A MOMENT BEFORE MY AUTOCASTER RING TOOK ME BACK TO WESTMARK.”

“So you found it when you awoke here?”

“OBVIOUSLY!   WHEN I REALIZED THAT I NOW POSSESSED ONE OF THE GEMS, I ALLOWED IT TO BE ABSORBED.”

“Absorbed, master?”

“YES, YES, YOU IDIOT!    THE GEM AND I BECAME UNITED!   I NOW AM THE ELEMENTAL LORD OF THE AIR.   HOW ELSE DO YOU THINK I POSSESS SUCH POWER?    ONE DOES NOT SELECT A GEM OF THE ELEMENTAL LORDS AS ONE SELECTS A MAGIC RING.   IT IS A UNION, TOLTHE, WHICH I DID NOT UNDERSTAND AT FIRST, BUT I FULLY EMBRACE NOW.”

Ant knew that it was only Gelden’s ego that was keeping him talking and that he might tire of it and drop her to her death as punishment for Tolthe failing him.   She had to do something to keep him needing her as Tolthe.

“I can help you find the other three gems, master; they should be still be at Windhaven.”

“WHY WOULD I REQUIRE YOUR HELP, TOLTHE, ESPECIALLY AFTER YOU HAVE FAILED ME?”

“To redeem myself, Master.   Oh, I know you can easily kill me at will, but would it not be better to have assistance, especially since I can move stealthfully and discreetly.”

Gelden laughed again, “WHAT MOVES MORE UNNOTICED THAN THE WIND, TOLTHE?   PERHAPS I WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER CHANCE, BUT FIRST I MUST CONFIRM THE RELIABILITY OF YOUR INFORMATION.   YOU WILL ACCOMPANY ME.”  

“Master?”

“TO FIND THE DROW AND THE LOSASIDHE ROYALS!,”   Gelden answered, and the vortex surrounding Ant began to increase in tempo, “I HOPE YOU HAVE GIVEN ME CORRECT INFORMATION, TOLTHE, OR ELSE YOU WILL NEED TO LEARN HOW TO FLY.”

“But-“

“DON’T WORRY, TOLTHE; YOU’VE TOLD ME THE TRUTH, HAVEN’T YOU?   THEN YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, DO YOU?”

Without waiting for her answer, the vortex pulled Ant upward, into the swirling turbulence that was Gelden’s incorporeal form.    Ant heard the chuckle of Gelden’s voice in the wind, and then suddenly they both were moving alarmingly quickly, toward the northeast.

Ant knew she was in big trouble.

 

***

“The wizard has withdrawn from Westmark!”   One of King Eleazar’s soldiers exclaimed as he rushed into the throne room.

“Withdrawn?    Are you certain?” The King asked, jumping to his feet.

“Yes, sire; I was stationed at the gate nearest the Airship Docking Platform and I heard the wizard’s voice speaking to someone nearby.”

“We heard it too!”   There came a voice from the doorway as guards escorted Mutt and Vellie into Eleazar’s presence.

The pair looked exhausted and disheveled from their struggle to reach the palace in the wind.

“Tell me what you heard,”   The King commanded the three and each in turn related what they heard the booming voice of Gelden say, somewhere in the air around the Airship Docking Platform.

“So Gelden seeks to kill all of us,”   King Eiolmoel commented, his gaze falling to his wife, then King Eleazar and Queen Aurei.

“Apparently so,”   Eleazar answered.

“Your Majesties, that had to be Ant in the form of Tolthe that pulled Gelden away from here.   I fear she is in grave danger!”   Jevon said.

“Unless we can find a way to help her,”   Aurei commented, “But if he has taken her with him, he will be suspicious until he confirms what she told him.”

“So, she’s doomed,” Amala responded.

“Not necessarily,”  Drake spoke up from where he stood with Alleania and Alvis, “If we could convince him that he has indeed found the two kings and two queens - even for a brief time- he might release Ant and she could escape.”

“How can we do this though?   We can’t match the speed of the wind, we don’t know for sure where he is going and even if we did, we’d still have to figure out a way to kill him.”   Aurei’s words silenced all debate for several moments.

“We have to contact Sophia,”   Alleania finally said, “We know she and Khord went to assist Zeatt, Allea, Muld and Syndi in Windhaven from the note she left us.    Sophia still has a telepathic link with Ant if the Changeling is still wearing the Brooch of Seeing.    Sophia will be able to see and hear what Ant sees and hears if she is actively focused on her.    If we can contact Sophia and tell her to focus on Ant, we might be able to learn what Gelden is planning and where they are.”

“How much time will we have do you think before Gelden and Ant reach Windhaven?”   Eleazar asked.

“We don’t know for sure that that is where they are headed, “ Drake reminded the king, “But with the wind’s speed; probably a couple of hours before they reach either Windhaven’s last location or the Losasidhe Kingdom.”

“Then we don’t have much time,”  Eleazar told everyone, “We’ve got a slim chance to help that Bitter Dreg but we need to move quickly.”