The Sorcerer's Scourge (19 page)

“Thank you, cleric. It has been so long since I had something about which to laugh. Forgive me. No, I am not Chosen. Solarian is beneficent and generous, but even his compassion has its boundaries. We have an accord. Perhaps one day, should I prove myself worthy, he shall take this unholy existence from me and lift me into his celestial kingdom. But for the nonce, I have his work to do and I believe part of that is why you are here today.”

“So, Malek, are we all right here?” Maude called out.

Malek stood and addressed his friends. “I am confident we are.”

“I believe Fetch has been waiting patiently with our tea. Why don’t you all strip out of that armor and join me at the table. It looks like he found a bit to eat as well.”

The group stacked their armor and weapons into piles near the table then sat as Fetch poured tea and served small plates of bread, cheese, and smoked meat. Landrin partook of none of this and told his guests his condition would not allow him to eat solid food, but he was able to take polite sips of tea.

“So what ultimately brought you all to End’s Run and my doorstep?” Landrin inquired once everyone was settled.

As usual, Maude spoke up. “We have been in service to the King for several years now.”

“Slavery more like it,” Borik scoffed.

“Shut up, Dwarf,” Maude ordered then returned to Landrin. “Bishop Caalendor told me of some dark energy or magic gathering to the north, thought it was related to the somewhat recent undead attacks, and ordered us to check into it. He mentioned you might be in league with it or something and advised us that we should look for more information through you.”

Landrin steepled his fingers and smiled. “I had wondered whether or not I had been successful in throwing him off my scent. He is more astute than I had hoped.”

“But you do not have anything to do with the undead problem or this gathering of power?” Malek asked doubtfully.

“No, of course not. However, I am aware of it. It is the reason Solarian bade me come to this land, so that I might aid those seeking to destroy it and the one who summons it.”

“You know who is doing this?” Maude asked eagerly.

“In a way.” Landrin answered. “There is a creature by the name of Varnath. That is all I have been able to discover of his identity.  Eldon, the vampire that created me, often referred to him and some great diabolical plan he has been working on for several years. Almost as soon as I destroyed Eldon, Varnath began calling to me with promises of wealth, power, or anything else I wanted. He tried to command me, and although his compulsion is strong, I am able to resist it.”

Malek asked, “You don’t know what he is though?”

“He could simply be a very powerful necromancer, but I doubt it. I was able to sense some things through his sending to me. I am reasonably certain he is a lich. The strength of his compulsion, magic, and mastery of the necromantic arts I sensed through his limited communications was simply too great to be human. His essence reeked of undeath. Fortunately, his astral or mental projections cannot penetrate my home.”

“Great, of all the horrors we have faced, this is the one I really, really do not want to deal with,” Borik moaned. “There is just nothing worse than liches, and I don’t even know anything about them other than the fact that they are really bad and really dead.”

Landrin thought back to his meeting with Solarian but decided not to tell the dwarf that the god of light hinted that there was something far worse than the lich lurking in the shadows. He felt it best to take on kingdom-shattering events one at a time.

Fetch appeared as unobtrusively as he had outside with two men in tow. “Pardon the interruption, Master Landrin, but Mr. Donnigan has urgent news to share with you.”

“What is it?” Landrin asked his chief enforcer.

Donnigan inclined his head towards the man next to him. “This here is Edmund. He’s a wagon master out of Farrell’s Mill to the north and west. He and his men were bringing a load of lumber, iron, and gold to End’s Run to be taken south on a later caravan. He says they were attacked about three days north of here.”

“Highwayman? Perhaps some of your former associates that declined my offer of employment?”

“No, milord!” the man called Edmund interjected. “Was wolves it was!”

“Wolves?” Landrin asked in surprise.

“Aye, milord! There must ‘a been a hundred of them darting in and out of the trees, pulling men down, and tearing at them with their teeth!”

“How many men were with the wagon team?”

“Twenty-five, milord. Thirteen drivers and crew and twelve guards,” the wagon master answered fretfully.

Landrin pondered what this could mean. It was unheard of for a pack of wolves to attack that many men. Especially armed men. Most wolves in these parts knew the scent of steel and the swift death it could bring. However, it was not unheard of for a few men to conspire with bandits to stage a robbery and share the spoils. But what kind of fool would make up a story of a wolf attack?

“Where are the goods and how many men died in the attack?”

“I was able to unhitch the horses. Only seven of us made it out alive, milord. We had to abandon the wagons. Likely everything is still there.”

Landrin leaned back and studied the man. His fear appeared genuine and he could detect no deception.

“Edmund, I do not mean to cast aspersions onto your character or honesty, but you must understand how difficult it is for me to believe that a pack of wolves attacked a large party of armed men and managed to kill most of them.”

Edmund bobbed his head a few times then swallowed hard. “I understand, milord, and I wouldn’t believe it neither. But it weren’t just wolves. Not just regular wolves anyhow.”

Landrin leaned forward and looked at the man intently. “What do mean it were not regular wolves?”

Edmund chased the lump back down his throat again before answering. “It was the big one. He was the leader. The men killed the regular wolves when they got a good cut in, but that big one, he just kept killing, no matter how many wounds he took. He’d run off after taking a solid blow then come back just as hail and strong as before. And he was smart! The way he moved and avoided the weapons and attacked only men that was vulnerable just wasn’t natural. He looked at me just as I jumped onto one of the horses. He looked right in my eyes and I saw hatred. Not the feral viciousness of an animal, but the hatred a man has for another man that done him very wrong.”

Donnigan broke his silence at that point. “M’lord, I’ll take a group of hunters and run down these wolves. With your permission, I’ll post a bounty for wolf hides as well. That’ll quickly sort this all out.”

“Edmund, you may go, but you and the men you rode in with stay in town for the time being.”

The wagon master bobbed his head and Fetch showed him the door.

“Let us not act too hastily in eradicating what may or may not be a simple wolf problem, Donnigan.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but you don’t really think there are wolves out there that good steel can’t put down? I believe what he says about a wolf attack, but this nonsense about a wolf that can’t be put down is just the words of a scared man.”

“You have been in these parts for a long time, Donnigan, and I bet you have seen some very strange things. There are indeed such creatures as the man described, and I would rather not create more enemies than we already have.”

Donnigan looked like he wanted to argue, but chose not to. “If that is what these things are, I’d say them killing over a dozen men kind of make them enemies.”

 “Possibly, but let me look into it first. For the time being, I want no wagon trains going through that area. Anyone leaving town especially needs to stay off the route to Ferrell’s Mill, and inform them of the risks of traveling.”

Donnigan knuckled a salute. “You’re the boss.”

“Every time you think things are about as weird as they can get, something else raises its head, eh?” Borik piped in as Donnigan made his exit.

“It does indeed,” Landrin replied.

Maude asked, “Do you really think there is some strange kind of wolf leading this attack?”

“There is a creature that fits that description, but they are very rare and usually go to great lengths to avoid humans and the other intelligent races. If that is what they are, perhaps they felt threatened and reacted violently. If such is the case, I may be able to broker some sort of treaty.”

“It sounds like you will be too busy to help us destroy this dead thing causing so much trouble,” Maude stated.

“Even were I not, I could not accompany you,” Landrin answered. “Right now I am protected by these walls and the distance that separates us. Were I to step into his lair, into the heart of his power, he may well be able to overwhelm me and turn me against you.”

“Is there anything you can do to help us?” Malek asked.

“Other than pray for you? Not really. I can tell you that the calling is coming from an area near the Great Barrier Mountains about a hundred miles to the northeast. I can show you on a map, but that is going to leave you with about a hundred square miles to search.”

“Great, a dead needle in a dead haystack,” Borik complained bitterly. “Make that a needle in a hundred square mile haystack in the freezing cold!”

“I truly wish I could do more.”

“You have done a great deal just by not having to fight you,” Maude told him. “Perhaps we will run into Paladin Samone before we leave.”

Landrin practically jumped from his chair. “What do you know of Samone?”

Maude was taken aback by his animated response to what she had thought an innocent comment. “The Bishop told us he thought this Paladin had come north to avenge her friends that some group of vampires killed recently. He told us to keep an eye out for her in hopes we might team up. Having a Light of Solarian on our side would make me feel a lot better. Why, do you know her?”

Landrin sat back down and forced himself to relax. “She helped free me from the control of the vampire who turned me. I saved her life, and in return, she allowed me to depart Brightridge. I was rather taken with her beauty as well as spirit.”

“Have you seen her? Bishop Caalendor was confident she was coming this way.”

“I have not, which is probably a good thing. She swore to kill me should we ever meet again. It was not personal.”

Landrin found the best map he could, which was not that good considering the wildness of the region.  He pointed to his best estimate of the location where the dark magic seemed to be accumulating. Malek said he could keep them going in the right direction with his ability to track the emanations, but finding the source would be like locating the exact center of a blizzard.

Landrin offered to put the adventurers up for the night, but they declined stating that they already had rooms in town and that is where their traveling supplies were located. He bid them farewell then waited for the sun to go down so that he could address the wolf problem.

“Fetch,” Landrin called out for his valet several hours later.

The half-man appeared almost instantly. “Yes, Master Landrin?”

“I must depart this evening. I should not be gone more than three days. Donnigan should be able to handle any technical issues that may arise. If there is anything requiring real intelligence, I leave it in your capable hands.”

“I appreciate your confidence, Master Landrin,” Fetch replied with a quick bow.

Landrin departed moments later, eschewing the use of a horse, living or otherwise, since he could cover more ground on foot. This was especially true as he crossed the rough, tree-dotted landscape and avoided the roads. This allowed him to travel in a relatively straight path towards the location where Edmund said he and the others had abandoned the wagons.