Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) Read online

  As she sprinted toward the fourth wizard pushing through the barrier, her heart skipped a beat as the strike against Safreon missed his head by less than a finger’s width. She could see that Safreon was now in a position to grapple with the wizard, as the savage morning star swing had compromised the wizard’s position, leaving him vulnerable to a counter-attack.

  Hemlock approached the remaining wizard that was on her side of the barrier, and vaulted into a somersault as the Wizard’s tattoos glowed. He aimed a heavy blow toward her airborne form. Suddenly she straightened and thrust forward heavily with her arms. Her horizontal pose allowed the morning star swing to pass harmlessly below her and then her leg kicked down, over the startled Wizard’s hastily raised arm, and straight into the side of his head. The wizard fell to the floor, unconscious.

  As she landed on the floor, she heard a sickening snap of cracking bone behind her. Turning, she saw the other wizard meet his end in a death embrace with Safreon.

  The wizard with the dislocated arm had managed to leap back through the barrier to the other side, as the breach in the barrier closed. Hemlock saw that Falignus, on the other side of the barrier, was lowering his arms.

  As Falignus let the crimson rays that had sprung from his hands fall dark, time seemed to lose its odd slowness and Hemlock felt a measure of normalcy return.

  The magical strain finally took its toll on the Atrium, however. Many of the glass panels shattered in that instant–both above Hemlock in the ceiling and in the high walls around the room. Safreon and Hemlock had to avoid falling shards of glass, but fortunately for Gwineval, none impacted in his vicinity, as he was still immobile while concentrating on his spell.

  Whatever force had provided a comfortable, even light in the Atrium had also failed, and the room was bathed in the darkness of the night.

  Something clicked within Hemlock’s awareness, identifying with the shattering of the glass, and she knew that it was time for the culmination of her mission.

  The storm that had been raging outside was now streaming into the Atrium. An infernal wind blew and a driving rain soon drenched Hemlock, as a bolt of lightning cracked and cast the remaining occupants of the Atrium in a fell light.

  Grasping a morning star from one of the fallen guard-wizards, she ran toward the tall Machine in the center of the Atrium, the destruction of which represented the completion of her quest. The look in her eyes was cold–colder even than the rain which now drove against her skin, relentlessly. Thunder again rumbled from the heavens as she approached the humming machine, the reassuring weight of the morning star borne in both hands giving her confidence that she would succeed in her destructive aim.

  She became conscious of a fantastic beast of some sort on the outer balcony to her left side, now visible through some shattered panes. The beast cried and the cry was birdlike–and it sounded like a pained cry.

  "The Griffin is wounded. Wait! Hemlock, what are you doing?" she heard Safreon say from some distance behind her. Apparently he had moved off toward the creature before noticing what Hemlock intended to do.

  She saw Gwineval’s magical barrier waver as she ran toward the tall machine, fearless in the face of an emanation of magical energy which unexpectedly erupted from the base of the machine at that instant, and burst upwards along the inner metal beam of the glass shafts to the metallic tip of the machine, which protruded through the hole in the now damaged roof. Suddenly the night air crackled with an unidentified power.

  "Hemlock, NO!" she heard Gwineval cry as the magical barrier that he had cast shimmered and then failed entirely.

  The last thing that she felt, before she spun twice and launched the morning star with all her might, was pity. She pitied Gwineval and his misguided allegiance to the wizards, which was apparently showing through. He evidently feared for the safety of the machine despite his recent betrayal of the wizards.

  But it was too late. She threw the morning star as hard as she could. She aimed it at the union of the clear base of the machine where the strange ironwork tendrils that stretched upwards diverged from one another. Her aim was true and the glass base of the machine shattered under the impact.

  Hemlock’s vision was filled with a blinding whiteness as a massive explosion shook the entire Wizard Tower.

  Hemlock was thrown backwards some forty feet, to the very edge of the Atrium. Then the initial flash of the magical explosion receded and large fragments of the machine were falling with a crash. A thunderous boom off to one side of the Atrium sounded as the edges of the metal rods smashed through the remnants of the glass walls, jutting out over the edge of the Tower.

  Hemlock stood up and saw that Gwineval and Safreon were standing uninjured– both staring at her.

  "Hemlock, you headstrong young fool!" shouted Gwineval as small debris continued to fall around him.

  "Never mind that," shouted Safreon "we need to find a way out of here and the Griffin has flown off, wounded!"

  Hemlock saw that the remaining guard-wizard was gathering several more squads of guards on the far side of the Atrium, as Safreon and Gwineval discussed their next move. She also noticed that Falignus was getting to his feet some distance from the guard-wizards.

  "Run for the cage!" shouted Gwineval as he pointed toward the large cage that Hemlock had seen earlier.

  Not waiting for an explanation, Safreon and Hemlock followed Gwineval in a sprint toward the polished brass object.

  "Stop them!" shouted Falignus. The muscular guard-wizards numbered around twenty now, and they charged toward the cage as well.

  Hemlock paused only a moment before she grasped the side of the large cage and entered it to stand beside Safreon, who had already entered through the open, barred door of the contraption.

  Gwineval entered, quickly closed the door, and reached up, muttering some incantations as he rang the ornate bell which hung from the top of the cage.

  Falignus shouted (although Hemlock thought that it sounded strangely faint) and bolts of lightning sprang from his hands towards them; but as the lightning struck the cage, it passed through it and did not harm them or the brass structure that enclosed them.

  "We’re teleporting!" noted Safreon excitedly.

  Hemlock had always imagined that teleportation would be a little more immediate than what proceeded next. The robed guard-wizards were getting alarmingly close.

  Then the cage shuddered heavily and the three occupants staggered to stay upright. Before Hemlock was able to look out from the cage again, the Atrium was gone and there was a brief feeling of nothingness: a single moment where Hemlock felt like she ceased to exist as an independent entity. She felt like part of the entire world in some strange sense. She had a vision of a being in a great void surrounded by stars. Quickly, that moment passed. The cage now had new surroundings, and as she looked down, she noted an additional occupant sprawled on the floor of the cage looking up at her. Many gears and small pistons moved rapidly in concert over its mechanical body. It was the mechanical gnome that called itself Merit.

  "Miss Megan, I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye," commented Merit–his mechanics sounding hurried like the voice of a human being would when out of breath.

  Gwineval and Safreon looked down at Merit and then up toward Hemlock, both wearing curious expressions on their faces.

  BOOK TWO

  Chapter Eight

  Hemlock ignored the unexpected appearance of Merit for a moment and took in her new surroundings. She looked through the regularly spaced vertical bars of the brass cage and saw that it now rested within a misty valley nestled between two large hills, which rose to her right and left. It was now dawn and the air was cool and humid. The hills were forested sparsely at their bottom and more thickly toward their peaks. Both nearby peaks were relatively flat and sizable. Shadows were long in the morning sunlight.

  There was a small brook nearby and the ground around the cage was thick with low vegetation and the occasional tree. The ground was damp as if it had
rained recently.

  Gwineval was the first to speak; "We must exit the cage." Hemlock unlatched the door to the cage and stepped out. She felt a sort of unearthly sensation as she walked and wasn’t sure how to account for it, but it scarcely surprised her given the magnitude of recent events.

  "Where are we?" Hemlock asked in an exasperated tone.

  "We are in the Witch Crags," replied Gwineval sternly, with his hand over his brow as he surveyed the terrain around them.

  "Gwineval, what was the function of the machine that Hemlock destroyed?" asked Safreon, while glancing inquisitively toward Merit.

  "It was a mana generator," replied Gwineval as he strode out of the cage and continued to inspect their surroundings.

  "Generator? More like a mana siphon!" argued Hemlock.

  "Actually, no, it was a mana generator, and it was maintaining mana levels in the City," responded Gwineval somewhat distractedly, as he studied one of the adjacent hills with some intensity.

  "What are you talking about?" cried Hemlock, as she grabbed Gwineval and spun him toward her.

  "That was what I was trying to yell to you once I saw your intentions, but you didn't listen," stated Gwineval with a serpentine glare.

  "Gwineval," interjected Safreon while gently but firmly stepping between them and separating them, "what exactly will the effect of the machine's destruction be?"

  "A dramatic reduction in mana throughout the city for several weeks, at minimum. The wizards may try to distribute Oberon by some other means in order to help maintain local magic until the machine is replaced, but it will be difficult to say the least," Gwineval responded, while throwing some reeds into the wind to gauge its direction.

  "No! That will harm my sister and her magical treatments!" Hemlock wailed as she struggled against Safreon's grasp.

  "Hemlock," Safreon spoke softly now and this tone of his voice always had a calming effect on her. "You’ve done some impulsive things, things that are going to have grave repercussions. You have to remain calm while we discuss what we should do to try and set things right."

  Hemlock met Safreon’s gaze.

  She started to speak, but Safreon spoke over her in that same soft but commanding tone. "You have to remain calm. We’ll figure a way out of this. Take a few moments to calm down. Let Gwineval and I speak for a time."

  "Fine," Hemlock responded, feeling comforted and offended in equal parts. She strode over to Merit who seemed to be busying himself by cleaning dirt off some rocks.

  Hemlock wondered whether her actions could really have had the effect that Safreon and Gwineval were claiming that they had. She knew that Safreon wouldn’t lie to her. That meant that Gwineval must be telling the truth, no matter how shocking this truth was to her. The wizards had been supplying mana to the Warrens, not leeching it.

  But why?

  Hemlock glanced over at Gwineval and Safreon, not hearing their speech but evaluating their body language. They were both guarded, but they clearly had a rapport with one another. She listened then, and heard that they were discussing something about the blue men from Tanna Varra. She thought that she remembered some connection between them and the Witch Crags, but she couldn’t recall the details.

  Another wave of shock and introspection washed over her. My actions tonight could cause my sister to suffer even more than before! she raged to herself. Hemlock sobbed then, softly, and lowered her face into her hands.

  After a moment, she was back in control and an inner voice berated her fiercely for the breakdown. Avoid weakness! it said, and she listened. She knew that the Warrens had taught her well and had molded her into her present street–hardened persona. She also knew that she couldn’t afford to forget those hard lessons now.

  She reasoned that if she had miscalculated, then she had to make it right. She had entered the Wizard Tower and had survived. She was very confident in her abilities and she knew that she had the power to set things right. And she continued to believe that the wizards were evil. She just had to figure out why they had been reinforcing mana in the Warrens. There had to be a reason, and no doubt it was part of some sinister plan of theirs.

  Casting another glance at Merit, and making an attempt to subtly wipe any stray tears from her face, she strode back to Gwineval and Safreon.

  Safreon turned to her, and gave her an appraising glance. "Good, I can see that you have mastered your emotions," he offered kindly.

  "I have to, the Warrens need me. They need us to set things right," she replied with an edge in her voice at which Safreon seemed to register some concern.

  Safreon was about to speak, but Hemlock interrupted him with an interjection: "Wait, if the wizards have been adding to the mana in the Warrens, then why has it still been decreasing?"

  Gwineval was the first to respond: "Because the wizards have outlawed the private use of most magic that would generate mana. The older generations of people in the Warrens were basically self-sufficient when it came to mana. But the wizards have disallowed this type of magic now and have forced people to consume potions instead. But people often can’t afford these potions. And some of the potions also require mana. The wizards know this and therefore they attempt to create enough mana in each City district to fuel the potions that are sold. But any unlawful magic siphons from this amount and can create shortages, such as we often see now in the Warrens."

  Hemlock considered Gwineval’s words.

  Safreon commented, "It seems to me that the wizards have created this problem by not allowing people to be self-sufficient."

  "One could make that argument," responded Gwineval noncommittally, his tone seeming to express that he thought that one could argue against that point as well.

  "The wizards want to control everything!" Hemlock shouted to no one in particular, turning away from Gwineval.

  Safreon called her name after a few moments and then began to speak. "I have been discussing our best course of action with Gwineval. He believes that we should seek out the wild men of Tanna Varra, who are indigenous to the Witch Crags. They are no friends to the Wizard Guild and Gwineval believes that they may be persuaded to give us shelter from them for a time. I believe that once under such protection that we can collect enough raw Oberon to enable Gwineval and I to activate the brass cage and teleport us all back to the Warrens."

  "You mean the blue men called ‘Bird men’?" asked Hemlock in a monotone.

  Casting an eye toward Safreon and meeting with approval, Gwineval replied. "Yes, the same. They are not all like the riff–raff that have migrated to the Warrens recently. Rather, they are quite civilized in their own way, though they are still intrinsically a product of their harsh environment."

  "Why would they help us?" Hemlock asked.

  Gwineval continued: "As Safreon pointed out, the Tanna Varrans are not allies of the wizards. Rather, they keep their own counsel. Long ago, the Witches came to these Crags and together with their undead minions, they warred with the people of Tanna Varra. Over time, the Tanna Varrans developed a resistance to the undead–with many of them becoming virtually immune to the fear and dread that the undead prey upon. The Witches were dismayed by this development. They had inflicted great suffering on the Tanna Varrans, yet the Tanna Varrans fought on against them, with increasing determination."

  Gwineval appeared to take stock of Hemlock then, and seeing that she was attentive, he continued. "At some point the Witches must have realized that they might never defeat the Tanna Varrans or worse, they may have foreseen their own doom at their hands. So they negotiated a truce. Day would belong to the Tanna Varrans, and in the sunlight they could roam the valleys between the Crags to hunt and gather. But night was to be the province of the Witches and of the Undead. And any mortal wandering in the valleys after dark would do so at their own peril."

  "The Tanna Varrans accepted this truce–some among them say to their detriment. Rather than rooting out the evil that confronted them, they chose to coexist with it. They chose to end the long years of
struggle and warfare and take a measure of happiness within the confines of the agreement. The Tanna Varrans took to living in great warded towers in the valleys where the undead spirits could not trouble them. High above, on the peaks of the crags, the Witches built their ziggurat cities. No Tanna Varran with any sense willingly ventures to the top of the Crags, day or night. The agreement continues to this day."

  "The Witches have, in more recent years, come into contact with the wizards, who now make forays into the Witch Crags to harvest Oberon. The Witches are a danger to everyone in these parts and we must be very wary of them. Fortune favors us with the dawn; without it we would have already been put to the test."

  "So we are going to seek the Tanna Varrans and avoid the Witches and the wizards?" Hemlock asked.

  "Yes," replied Safreon.

  Suddenly a shrill mechanical whine emanated from some distance behind them and interrupted their conversation.

  "What was that?" hissed Gwineval.

  "Wait, where's Merit?" asked Hemlock looking behind them.

  "He's gone," responded Gwineval. "We should fan out. Maybe he's gotten stuck in the brush."

  "It didn’t sound far, I'll go get him," said Hemlock with an undisguised tone of annoyance in her voice.

  As Gwineval and Safreon continued their discussion of the origins of the Witches, Hemlock reluctantly turned and made her way down a slope that lay some yards behind where she had been standing, at some distance from the bass cage.

  She walked for a few minutes. She didn't hear anymore sounds and decided to proceed with some caution. As Gwineval and Safreon's voices became more distant, she sighted Merit.