The Contention (9 page)
“Leave the leftovers, they may be of use to the others,” Seth said before dismissing his men.
Seth watched the pair of werewolf soldiers leave the room, knowing he would have to repeat the process more than two hundred times this very night. Having performed it twice already, however, Seth had discovered he could replicate it more easily the second time. He hoped that after a few more alterations the process would become second nature and he could work through his troops rather quickly. In any case he knew that time was a commodity he was running low on.
This in mind Seth sent Sara’s werewolf guardian, Jonas, to the hall to keep anyone else from entering the room uninvited. Then ushering his petite wife in her skin-tight leather across the room, Seth picked up his breastplate and leaned it against the wall. Stepping back, Seth unleashed a tiny portion of his power. Bending it to his will, he formed a small green and yellow fireball within his upturned palm. With a thought and a flick of his wrist the fireball shot across the room and, on striking the breastplate, was consumed in a quick flash of white light. Sara smiled at Seth excitedly, assuming that this was all he had prepared to show her, but then Seth turned his back upon the discarded armor. Returning her smile he spoke.
“Release,” Seth commanded.
Instantly, as before, the breastplate blazed to life in blinding white light. Due to having very little power contained within its aura, the blinding vision lasted only a couple of seconds before vanishing once again without any trace. Sara, having remained facing the object, blinked repeatedly in an attempt to force her teary eyes to refocus before speaking.
“That is amazing, my love,” she cried, her smile returning once more. “You learned how to do that within a day?”
“I learned a great deal more than that, angel, but I feel it would be reckless to give too much power to the masses. Instead I intend to equip many with less dangerous power, and a few whom can be trusted with weapons and armor beyond their beliefs.”
“What else can you make it do?” Sara asked, truly interested.
“As far as I can tell, I can make any inanimate object absorb magical power. Once absorbed, the object can either contain the power or use it in a manner I see fit,” he answered.
“Such as?” Sara asked, prodding her lover for more information.
“Thus far, beyond creating light as you have seen, I can make objects retaliate with fire, lightning, a shockwave of sorts or even shadow. I have tested a few other things as well, though mostly for personal reasons. Up to now the tests I have done have been very basic. With years of practice and study the ability to enchant items could be limitless, but for now I will work with the knowledge I have,” Seth replied.
“Do you plan to enchant my weapons and armor?” Sara asked, sounding a little concerned.
“Yes, my love. I will be doing all I can to protect you, so please go and collect your armor. I wish to have it done before you begin your training tonight. This will allow you time to perfect its use,” Seth answered.
Stepping forward, Sara stretched up onto her toes and kissed Seth lovingly. Then, without a word, she playfully bounded out of the room like a young girl with her first crush.
*****
Stepping into the hallway Sara was met by Jonas and four other werewolves of her husband’s design. Jonas, stepping aside, allowed Seth’s troops to pass to go to their master. As Sara went by the hulking werewolf, Jonas swiveled his body upon one great paw, and spun to follow on her heels. The girl had changed much in weeks past, he noted. She moved effortlessly, avoided the sunlight and, like he himself did since his creation, she hungered for flesh. Jonas could sense it. The once-defenseless woman had somehow become a predator; one even that a beast with Jonas’ stature was wary of being near. Watching her unnatural ability to move as if she need not touch the ground beneath her, set Jonas’s hackles to standing on end. But no matter, his orders were to guard the petite woman at all costs, and he would not fail in his task.
*****
Seth stood alone in the room adjoining the secret vault for only a moment before four more of his men entered swiftly. Each of them had near identical markings upon their fur. Try as he might, Seth had to admit that he did not recognize any of them. The first werewolf approached with a square bundle which he unwrapped to expose his cargo. Within the bundle was a stack of thick, crimson-colored sheets of glass, each separated by a layer of cloth. Seth motioned to the end of the table, and the beast of a man placed the stack gingerly upon the table before bowing low to his maker. Rising once again the werewolf turned and strode out the door, his mission completed. The next of the wolfmen approached Seth. Turning at the last moment, this particular soldier placed a cloth bundle upon the table with a thud. Unrolling it revealed several clanking implements of death and destruction meant for Sara. Seth nodded his approval, to which the delivering soldier bowed his acquiescence and departed like the first.
The next two wolf troops held bundles of armor which Seth had them lay out upon the table as he had done earlier. A piece at a time, he went about magically altering them to fit his men. Having followed the same process as on the previous occasions, these two sets of armor were altered suitably within minutes. Satisfied with the results, Seth sent one of the troops on his way to send in another pair, and ordered the remaining soldier to stand outside the door to explain the process to each group before they entered. This, Seth hoped, would speed up the procedure further.
Sara soon returned with Jonas, each of them carrying pieces of Sara’s armor. Between the three of them they quickly laid the armor out upon the table, and with a plan in mind already, Seth went to work upon it. Modifying the physical appearance went rather quickly as the changes were miniscule. Upon the toe of each booted foot, Seth drew the blackened metal out, first into a point and then further still into a spike. Above the heel on each boot Seth added a row of barbs that climbed a short distance up the calf on each leg. Beyond that the alterations were designed to work for Sara’s transformed body more appropriately. Each joint within the armor was reworked to increase the range of motion. The overlapping plates at the joints were restructured to ensure no light would penetrate between them.
Sara’s helm was altered slightly as well to cover more of the back of her neck, and while Seth was at it, he took up a sheet of the crimson glass. Using the power contained within himself, Seth bent the magic to his will and watched as the sheet of glass in his hand began to ripple and become less solid. Imperfections and bubbles within the glass were expelled as it seemed to roll and gather into a thick mass within the Death Mage’s palm. Then, as if of its own accord, the ball of seemingly molten glass stretched in two directions, tearing itself in perfect halves. Each half then squirmed and twisted within Seth’s hand becoming smaller and darker in color as the glass was compressed magically. Finally Seth reached his hand containing the small glass balls into the helm. As Sara watched, these glass balls rolled themselves into the openings designed for her eyes. The blood-colored spheres sat upon the empty rims of the eye portals in the helm, appearing to be two sightless eyes staring back at those in the room. Then, as Seth shifted his focus, both the steel of the helm and the compressed glass began to undulate, both contracting and expanding. Seconds later, where the two balls of crimson glass had previously hovered in empty sockets, now thick, red lenses filled the voids in the helm, making the piece of armor look like some sort of disembodied demonic head.
With the physical alterations completed to the armor, Seth took a moment to inspect his work and found it required nothing further. Not wanting anyone to witness the process of imbuing the armor with magical properties, besides himself and his wife, Seth dismissed Jonas once again and sent the man to stand in the hall. Seth then picked up the bundle of weapons that had been delivered for Sara. Together they appraised the weapons, and after several moments Sara picked the four that she felt were the most suitable. In reality the four weapons were actually two pairs, the first of which were a pair of long, wicked daggers, nearly the length of short swords. They were made of blackened steel, completely bare of adornment. Both blades were incredibly light, incredibly sharp, and tempered to be hard enough to pierce moderately thick steel armor. The second pair of weapons were a foreign design to Seth. Of course he was no expert, but these were unlike anything he had ever seen before. For the most part, the design of each blade was simple. In fact, the weapons reminded Seth of a sword blade where the handle was attached near one end to intersect the blade like a T. The user would hold the handle in their fist, and when punching, a short blade of about six inches protruded out from the heel of the hand, sharpened along both edges and ending at a point. The opposite end of the blade ran parallel to the user’s forearm, and was sharpened along the outside edge. This blade also tapered to a point. Overall it was an odd weapon in Seth’s opinion, but he imagined that in the right hands they would be more than adequate.
Neither pair of weapons took much modifying except for adjusting the size and length of the handles, as all of the weapons appeared to be designed to be wielded by large men, instead of small women. This work completed, Seth prepared himself mentally for the real task at hand, and recalled all the different symbols he had used earlier in the day. Then he sat in one of the chairs surrounding the table to provide himself with a more stable platform to handle the tiny strands of magical power. Thus prepared, Seth set about his task of creating the first of Valdadore’s most fearsome warriors, backed by magics forgotten by the present world.
Chapter 5
Valiant Hole Diggers and A Target of Opportunity
Garret and his knights left the castle complex atop their great white steeds. Each of them was armed and armored, though Garret did not anticipate any trouble. However, he would rather have his equipment and not need it, than need his equipment and not have it. Garret led his men from the castle, his first destination being Blacksmith Row which was in a portion of the city that clung to the inner side of the city’s main defensive wall. In order to pull off the task he had in mind, Garret had seen two options. The first required hundreds, if not thousands of men; the second required himself and the majority of his fabled knights. Either group could accomplish the job, but the main armies needed to stay at the city as long as possible in order to re-equip themselves with their new gear and train to use it properly. Already tasks had been assigned throughout the city. The blacksmiths worked to create spear heads and shields of a design previously foreign to them. The army was building fortifications and traps around the city, and pitching in to help set up temporary forges and stables, and tents, canopies, and corrals were being erected. Trees were also being cut down where available to haul back to the city for use in spear making.
Riders had been sent to every corner of Valdadore to call to arms warriors of the past and future. Already the nearest of these began to trickle into the city from the surrounding villages and towns. Stores of grain, salt and livestock were being pulled from communities far and wide in preparation for a siege. Scouts had been sent west in an attempt to ascertain more details of the opposing force, though no word had yet returned. Linaya and Zorbin already raced east to Boulder Gate, the dwarven stronghold, to beg assistance from the humans’ once allies. Seth prepared his men to lead an attack on their enemy in an attempt to stall their forces. The Death Mage was also instrumental in readying the army with their new weapons, and their training.
The world as Garret knew it was a maelstrom of organized chaos, but there was little more he could do at present that his council could not do in his absence. Leaving the castle complex behind, he led his men through the streets at an easy pace. Today the threat of war was apparent around every turn. Everyone within the city geared up as best as they were able, each of them lending a hand where needed. These were a people who understood the predicament facing them. These were a people who knew they could rely on their king, and one another, to see them through anything that fate threw at them. Garret’s people were a determined lot, and for that the young king was grateful.
The closer to the outer wall Garret and his men rode, the thicker the crowds in the streets became. Near an hour into crossing the city, the streets had become so congested that the people here could not properly clear a path for their young king and his mighty knights. Progress became increasingly slow with each passing moment. Even the well-trained mounts of the king and his knights seemed to begin to lose patience as their progress slowed. Garret knew there was no time to be lost but there was no way of avoiding it. It was at about this time that Garret would later recall having seen an assassin in employ to King Sigrant for the first time.
As Garret was forced yet again to stop his horse from trampling someone nearly underfoot, he glanced about, looking for another less crowded route to take. Seeing none, Garret swung around in his saddle to look in the opposite direction, when something rare in Valdadore caught his eye. Across the street from he and his men rode a man upon a mount that was black as night. The stallion was of impressive build, nearly equal in size to that of the very creature that Garret himself rode. Any normal horse would either be panicking in such a congested street, or bewildered and difficult to control, yet the man upon the great black beast held the reigns to his mount gingerly, allowing the stallion to choose its pace and direction through the crowd at its own discretion. Garret noted the rider wore all black as well, a perfect complement to his mount. Though something about him seemed out of place, Garret thought nothing of it, even when Horace called to him and the man in black’s eyes opened wide.
