Magician (110 page)

“Your Highness!” he
shouted. “Something strange is occurring.”

“What?” said Lyam,
disturbed at the man’s excitement.

“From our position we can see
figures moving through the woods to the west.”

Lyam rose and saw figures near the edge
of the trees. After a moment, while Pug translated the exchange for
the Emperor, Lyam said, “That would be the dwarves and elves.”
He turned to Ichindar. “I sent word to the Elf Queen and the
dwarven Warleaders of the peace. They must be now approaching.”

The Emperor came over to Lyam and
studied the woods “Why are they remaining in the trees? Why do
they stay hidden?”

Lyam turned to the horseman. “Ride
and bid those in the trees join us.”

The guard obeyed. When he was halfway
to the woods, a shout went up from the trees, and green-clad elves
and armored dwarves came running forward. Battle chants and cries
filled the air. Ichindar looked at the onrushing figures in
confusion. Several of his companions drew weapons. A soldier from the
Tsurani lines dashed to the pavilion and cried, “Majesty, we
are undone. It is a trap!”

Every Tsurani backed away, swords
drawn. Ichindar shouted, “Is this how you treat for peace?
Mouthing pledges while you plot treachery?”

Lyam didn’t understand his words,
but the tone made the meaning clear. He gripped Pug’s arm and
said, “Tell him I know nothing of this!”

Pug tried to raise his voice over the
commotion in the pavilion, but the Tsurani nobles were backing away,
surrounding the Light of Heaven, while soldiers were rushing forward
from the Tsurani lines to join in protecting Ichindar.

Lyam shouted, “Back! Back to our
own lines!” as the Tsurani soldiers approached. The Midkemians
quickly mounted.

Pug heard Ichindar’s voice
carrying over the noise: “Treacherous one, you show your true
nature. Never will Tsuranuanni deal with those without honor. We will
grind your Kingdom into dust!”

Sounds of fighting erupted as the elves
and dwarves clashed with the Tsurani soldiers. Lyam and the others
raced back to their own soldiers, who sat waiting to join the fight.
As Lyam reined up, Lord Brucal said, “Shall we advance,
Highness?”

Lyam shook his head. “I will not
be a party to treachery.”

He regarded the scene before him. The
elves and dwarves were pushing the Tsurani back toward the rift
machine. The Emperor and his guards were circling, avoiding the
fighting, keeping the thousand honor guards between the attackers and
themselves. Runners could be seen disappearing into the rift.

A moment later Tsurani soldiers erupted
from the rift. They rushed forward to engage the attackers. The
collapsing Tsurani line held, then started to push the elves and
dwarves back.

Arutha moved his horse next to Lyam’s.
“Lyam! We must attack. Soon the elves and the dwarves will be
overwhelmed. There are ten thousand more Tsurani on the other side of
that rift, only a step away. If you ever hope to end this bloody war,
we must capture and hold that machine.”

Pug forced his own horse to the other
side of Lyam’s mount “Lyam!” he shouted. “You
must do as Arutha says.”

Doubt still held the young Heir. Pug
raised his voice even louder “Understand this: for nine years
you’ve faced only a part of the might within the Empire, only
those soldiers belonging to the clans of the War Party. Until now you
had many hidden allies, blocking a major effort against the Kingdom.
But now this betrayal has inflamed the one man who can command
unquestioned obedience from all the clans of the Empire. Ichindar can
order every clan of Tsuranuanni to marshal!

“You’ve never faced more
than thirty thousand warriors along all fronts. By tomorrow those
thirty thousand can be back in this valley. In a week double again
that number. Lyam, you have no idea how vast his powers are. Within a
year he can send a million men and a thousand magicians against us!
You must act!”

Lyam sat stiffly, the bitterness of the
moment clearly showing in his expression. “Can you aid us?”

“I may, should you open a path
for me to reach the machine, but I don’t know if I have the
ability to shut off the rift. Other powers I have, but even if I
overcame my conditioning and could oppose the Empire and I killed
every man on this field, it would avail little, for a greater host
would still be but a step away.”

Lyam gave a curt nod. Slowly he faced
Arutha. “Send gallopers to the North and South passes. Call all
the Armies of the Kingdom to arms.” Arutha wheeled and shouted
the order, and riders sped away toward both passes.

Lyam looked back toward Pug. “If
you can help, do so, but not until the way is safe. You are the only
master of your arts upon this world.” Indicating Laurie,
Meecham, and Kulgan, he said, “Keep them from the fighting as
well, for they have no part in it. Stay back, and should we fail, use
your arts to go to Krondor. Carline and Anita must be taken to the
east, to their grand-uncle Caldric, for the West will surely be
Tsurani.” He drew his sword and gave the order to advance.

The thousand horsemen lumbered forward,
a moving wall of steel gaining momentum as officers shouted orders,
keeping the columns orderly. Then Lyam signaled the charge, and the
lines became ragged as horsemen rushed across the clearing toward the
Tsurani. The Tsurani heard the rumbling of cavalry, and many fell
back from the elves and dwarves to form a shield wall. Pug, Laurie,
Meecham, and Kulgan watched while the Kingdom horsemen collided with
it. Horses and men screamed as long spears bent and broke. The shield
wall wavered as men died, but others leaped forward to take their
places, and the Kingdom host was turned back. Lyam re-formed his
troops and charged again, this time breaking through the shields.

Pug could see the right side of the
Tsurani forces rolled back before the horsemen, but the Emperor
himself rallied the balance of his soldiers, and the center of the
line held. Even at this distance Pug could see the Tsurani nobles
entreating the Emperor to flee.

The emperor stood with sword drawn,
shouting orders. He refused to leave the field. He was forming his
men into a tight circle protecting the rift machine, so others could
return to this valley from Kelewan. He looked and saw that soldiers
were now rushing forth from the rift in greater numbers Soon there
would be enough of them to destroy the King’s small force.

A faint trembling could be felt beneath
his feet, then one of the Tsurani lords pointed behind the Emperor
Ichindar saw hundreds of horsemen erupting from the trees to the
north. The northern cavalry units were the first to answer Lyam’s
call. The Emperor directed newly arriving soldiers to the north line
to meet the new threat.

A shout from the left caused him to
turn. A tall warrior, clad in white and gold, was cutting a swath
through the Tsurani guards, heading straight for the Light of Heaven.
All the Tsurani lords rushed to cut him off. A clan Force Leader
stood nearby. He raced to the Emperor and shouted, “Your
Majesty, you must leave. We can hold only a short while. If you are
lost, the Empire is without a heart, and the gods will turn their
faces from us.”

The Emperor tried to push past him, as
the gold-and-white giant cut down another Tsurani lord. The officer
said, “May heaven understand,” and struck Ichindar across
the back of the head with the flat of his sword. The Emperor crumpled
to the ground, and the Force Leader shouted for soldiers to carry him
through the rift. “The Emperor is overcome! Take him to
safety!” Without question the soldiers picked up the supreme
ruler and conveyed him to the machine.

A Strike Leader rushed to the Force
Leader’s side, shouting, “Sir, all our lords have been
killed!” The Force Leader saw that the tall warrior was being
forced back by the sheer number of Tsurani soldiers intercepting him,
but not until after he had butchered every senior Warchief who had
accompanied the Emperor. A quick glance informed the Force Leader the
Emperor was near safety, as the guards carrying Ichindar disappeared
from view at the far side of the rift. More soldiers came streaming
through from the near side of the rift. Seeing no more time to waste,
the Force Leader said, “I will act as Force Commander! You are
acting Subcommander. More men to the north!” The man rushed off
to place more men along the north line as the cavalry from the North
Pass bore down in a mad gallop.

The attackers from the north hit the
Tsurani position with a thunderous crash. The hastily erected shield
wall wavered, but finally held. The Force Commander looked about and
prayed they could hold until sufficient reinforcements arrived.

Pug and his three companions could see
the northern elements of the Kingdom army hit the shield wall. Spears
shattered and horses fell, while screaming men were trampled
underfoot. The wall still held, and the Kingdom forces withdrew to
re-form for another charge. Lyam’s command was being pushed
back, and he ordered a withdrawal, so that he could coordinate his
attack with the one from the north. The elves and dwarves under Tomas
were among the Tsurani, to the west, and were causing them the most
difficulty, though they also were being slowly repulsed.

As the horsemen pulled back, the
Tsurani’s attention was turned to the elves and dwarves. Those
behind the north and south shield positions left their posts to lend
support to their comrades on the west flank.

Seeing this, Meecham observed, “If
the elves don’t withdraw, the Tsurani will overwhelm them.”
As if he had been heard, the four observers could see the western
confrontation broken off Elves and dwarves retreated under cover of
elven bowmen.

Kulgan said to Pug, “This respite
serves to strengthen the Tsurani.” They could see the flood of
Tsurani soldiers coming through the rift. “If Lyam does not
reach the machine after the next charge, the Tsurani will gain in
strength as we weaken.”

Pug said, “He can bottle them up
only if he can station bowmen at the entrance to the rift. A steady
stream of bowfire through it should keep them back long enough to
erect some sort of barrier. Then we might be able to render it
inoperative.”

Laurie said, “Can’t it be
destroyed? The other way is fraught with risk.”

Pug sat quietly for a moment. “I
don’t know if my powers are sufficient to destroy the rift. But
I think it is time to try.”

As he started to spur his horse, a
voice behind rang out: “No!”

They all turned and saw a brown-clad
figure standing, staff in hand, where no one had been a moment
earlier. “Even your powers are not equal to the task, Great
One.”

“Macros!” Kulgan exclaimed.

Macros smiled a bitter smile. “As
I foretold, I am here when the need is greatest, the hour most
grave.”

Pug said, “What is to be done?”

“I will close the rift, but I
have need of your aid.” He returned his attention to Kulgan. “I
see you still have the staff I gave you. Good. Dismount.”

Pug and Kulgan got down from their
mounts. Pug had forgotten that Kulgan’s ever present staff had
been the one Macros had given him.

Macros went over to stand before Kulgan
“Plant the end of the staff firmly in the ground.” He
turned and handed the staff he carried to Pug. “This staff is
twin to that one. Hold it tightly, and never for an instant release
your hold, if you have any hope of surviving our task.” He
regarded the conflict a short distance away. “It is almost the
appointed hour, but not quite. Listen carefully, for time grows
short.” He looked at Pug, then Kulgan. “When this is all
over, if the rift is destroyed, then return to my island. There you
will find explanations for everything that has occurred, though
perhaps not to your full satisfaction.” Again there was a
bitter smile. “Kulgan, if you have any hope of seeing your
former pupil again, hold to that staff with all the strength you
possess. Keep Pug in your mind, and never let the staff break contact
with Midkemian soil. Is that understood?”

Kulgan said, “But what of
yourself?”

Macros’s tone was harsh. “My
safety is my own concern. Trouble not yourself about me. My place in
this drama was as foreordained as your own. Now watch.”

They returned their attention to the
battle. The northern elements of the Kingdom army charged, and Lyam
and Tomas gave orders for their own units to join in the attack. The
horsemen hit the shield walls again, and the Tsurani lines broke. For
a moment the Kingdom cavalry was in command of the field, and the
Tsurani collapsed inward. Then, as the advantage of the charge was
offset by the milling swarm of foot soldiers who cut horses out from
under riders, or conspired to pull horsemen to the ground, the
balance returned. A sea of battling figures could be seen around the
rift machine. There was no organization, and little discipline. Men
fought to survive, not for any gain in position. The sounds of metal
clashing against hardened wood and hides rang through the valley.
Everywhere the onlookers turned their attention, blood flowed, and
the sound of death was terrible.

Macros looked at Pug and said, “Now
is the time. Walk with me.”

Pug walked behind the brown-robed
sorcerer. He held tightly to Macros’s staff, for he believed
the sorcerer’s warning that it was his only hope of surviving
what lay before them. They walked through the battle, as if some
agent were protecting them. Several times a soldier turned to strike,
only to be intercepted by one from the other side. Horses would be
ready to trample them only to wheel away at the last instant. It was
as if a path opened before them and closed behind.

They approached what was left of the
Tsurani line. A shield holder fell to a horseman’s lance. They
stepped over the fallen body and entered the small, relatively calm
circle around the rift Soldiers were still pouring forth from the
rift, and the circle was widening. Macros and Pug mounted the
platform to the far side of the rift, while soldiers rushed out of
the near side. The soldiers seemed oblivious to the two magicians.