Priestess of War (The Bowl of Souls Book 10), page 30
Locksher frowned. “This secretiveness has become rather ridiculous at this point, don’t you think?”
“I don’t disagree with you, son. I have found it bothersome on many occasions during this journey.” Bill shrugged. “Nevertheless, Valtrek’s plan seems to have served us well, from what I’ve heard.”
Locksher’s hands clenched. “Ohh, I wish I were a dwarf. I’d tell him where to-. Ah, you’re a dwarf. You send a message to Mistress Sarine and have her tell him right where he can shove his plan!”
A chuckle escaped the old dwarf’s lips. “I can’t say as I expected to hear that from you, Wizard Lo-.”
“And make sure that it is a vulgar term for rectum!” Locksher added.
“Oh, let me!” Maryanne volunteered. “I can tell her what to say.”
They were interrupted by a creaking sound as the door to the wagon next to them slowly opened. A young-looking man with blond hair hopped out, then pulled a stair out from under the cart. He reached back in and helped out the oldest-looking human Fist had ever seen.
His face was pale and wrinkled and sagging and covered with age spots. A tuft of wispy hair topped his head. He wore a gray wizard’s robe and made very careful movements as he stepped gingerly onto the step and then again onto the ground. As he did so, Fist saw that the man’s arm was thin as a bone.
“I suppose I should introduce you,” said Bill. He walked over to the old man. “This is Master Porthos and his apprentice, Bryon.”
“I’ll let you guess which is which,” said the young man cheerfully.
Fist’s eyebrows rose. This was Mistress Sarine’s second husband? Perhaps Artemus would feel much less intimidated by the man once he saw this particular image of him.
Charz grunted. “Wait if that’s Master Porthos, how’re we supposed to-? I mean, is he okay? No offense, but you look-.”
“Barely alive, Mr. Rock Giant,” the ancient man said, one corner of his wrinkled lips raised in amusement. “I’m on my feet right now thanks to elf olives and an overabundant dose of blessing magic, but I’m one odd heartbeat away from going stone cold.”
The rock giant chuckled. “I like your attitude, old man. But if that’s the case, Why’re you here?”
“Because you need me,” Porthos replied. “If I weren’t here, you would still be besieged by those flies.”
“Good point,” Charz admitted.
“And if I don’t survive for another few days, you will have a very difficult time surviving an attack against the Priestess of War,” the old man added. “Speaking of that, you should know that it’s important we leave right away.”
“Right now?” Fist asked. “But why?”
“Because the Priestess’ intention was for her swarm to blanket this place and I have driven them off. Now, as far as I can tell, she is distracted for the moment, but if she turns her focus back on this place it will become immediately evident to her that something is wrong. We should begin our march now and let her swarm return.”
“But the army is not supposed to attack for another two days,” Bill said. “What are we supposed to do until then? Camp on her doorstep? That would spoil the surprise for certain.”
“It is likely that will not be a problem,” Locksher said, raising a calming hand. “You see, we just learned that the Priestess of War has raised a high rock wall all around the Black Lake to keep us away.”
Bill frowned in confusion. “I don’t see how that helps us. That just sounds like an additional problem.”
“Not at all,” the wizard replied. “Cassandra built that wall so that she could fight the incoming army without worrying about us attacking her flank. Unfortunately for her, it blocks her sight as well as ours. We can camp quite nicely outside her wall and she won’t know we’re there.”
“What if she has some beast posted to look out for us?” Maryanne asked.
“I should be able to stop any creature from reporting our presence,” Master Porthos said.
“Precisely,” Locksher shrugged. “While she thinks we are still in our cave, immobilized by her swarm, Fist and I shall burrow a whole through her wall and we can unleash Valtrek’s secret weapon on her.”
Bill nodded thoughtfully. “That’s actually not a bad plan at that.”
Fist raised his hand. “Uh, Master Locksher, won’t she be able to see that we’re not in the Thunder People camp? Through the flies eyes?”
“I believe I can answer that,” Porthos replied. “She can’t see a thing with those blasted insects. Believe me, I’ve tried looking through the eye of a fly before and its terribly confusing. They see multiple images at once and not very clearly. It’s a miracle they don’t all just fly into the sea and kill themselves. Anyway, I’m certain that all she can tell is if the flies are in a certain area.”
“Then we need to let ’em back in before she notices,” Charz agreed.
Locksher looked at Fist expectantly.
Fist blinked. “Oh. I guess I’ll tell the Thunder People it’s time to go.”
They worked as quickly as they could to mobilize the ogres. Crag was insistent that the women and children should stay behind, but there was no way to keep them safe from the flies if they stayed. The argument was short, but intense.
Ultimately, it was decided that they would bring the women and children with them up close to the new wall, but no farther. Master Porthos wouldn’t be following the rest of them inside anyway. The old man and his apprentice would stay behind with the women and children, while the ogre men went forward. Old Bill would carry Porthos’ naming dagger with him. The wizard would protect the army with his magic from afar.
They set out on a route that forked off of the road that Fist and Locksher had opened back up. It was a long and winding path, and it would take them much longer to get to their destination, but time was something they now had. It also helped that the path was relatively flat and wide enough that wagons were able to pass through.
They stopped on a wide rock shelf as the sun began to set. While the camp was being set up, Old Bill approached Fist and pulled him aside.
“Fist, while we have a few moments of privacy, I thought it would be a good time to talk to you about Maryanne,” the dwarf said.
Fist glanced to the other side of the camp where Maryanne was talking with Charz and the Academy guards. “Okay.”
“First of all, I would like to apologize for her for putting you in this delicate situation,” Bill said.
Uh oh, said Squirrel who was sitting on his shoulder. He pulled a seed out of his cheek pocket and began shelling it.
Fist frowned in agreement with Squirrel. The way Bill had broached the subject made him nervous. “What situation?”
He let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “It has come to our attention that your relationship with her has developed further than any of us expected.”
Fist blinked. “Who expected?”
“Sarine and Sherl and I. Kyrkon prefers to stay away from the discussion,” Bill said.
Maryanne won’t like this, Squirrel thought.
Fist had the sudden surety that all of them should have stayed out of the discussion. He folded his arms. “What do you want to discuss?”
“It’s actually more of a warning,” Bill said. “You see, Maryanne has a tendency to develop crushes on musclebound men. It’s a common issue among young gnomes, but with Maryanne, these relationships tend to . . . end badly.”
“Mistress Sarine mentioned this before,” Fist said. In fact he had been worried a time or two when he’d seen her admiring the physique of some other ogre. “But she said that things had always ended up fine.”
“Yes, but Maryanne has never taken it this far before and that is where we are concerned. You see, with each of those other men she had crushes on, she lost interest as soon as they returned her affection. Inevitably, she’d cast them off as soon as someone else caught her eye.”
That’s the way of things, Squirrel agreed matter-of-factly.
Fist’s eyes narrowed at both of their assessments. “I don’t like the way you’re talking about her. You and Sarine are bonded with Maryanne. You should know her better. And what does Darlan have to do with this?”
Bill looked taken aback. “You misunderstand me. Well, Sherl is concerned that you’ll end up heartbroken and unable to focus on your studies. But Sarine and I are concerned for Maryanne. You were quite against her coming on the journey with you and she has never before felt this-.”
“Bill!” came Maryanne’s voice from across the camp.
Squirrel chittered out a laugh and pulled out another seed. Here she comes.
The dwarf’s face went pale and he looked up at Fist with pleading eyes. “Don’t you dare tell her what I said.”
The gnome warrior stormed over to them, her fists clenched. The sunset reflected in her eyes, making them glow as red as her hair. “Blast you, Bill! I have half a mind to shoot you right through that goiter you call an Adam’s apple!”
Bill put his hand up under his thick beard to feel at his throat. “It’s not a goiter.”
“I can’t believe you. Or Sarine! Warning him away from me?” she raged.
“That’s not it at all,” Bill protested. “You didn’t hear the whole thing I was trying to say.”
“Really?” she said, hands on hips. “Then why don’t you go ahead and tell me through the bond so I’ll know if you’re lying.”
Squirrel watched their exchange with great interest, knowing that the discussion was all internal.
Bill sighed and gave Maryanne a dull look. She folded her arms and nodded, her eyes fixed on him. After a moment, Bill rolled his eyes. Her mouth dropped in outrage. He gave her a long suffering glance. She stomped her foot. He scowled back at her. She pursed her lips, her eyes wide. Finally, he threw up his hands.
“Fine! I’ll stay out of it. But you know it’s only because we care,” Bill said, then gave Fist a helpless glance before walking away.
“That makes me so mad,” Maryanne said, watching him leave. “It was mostly Wizardess Sherl, you know. Sarine let it slip that we were together and she got all worried. She thought that I seduced you and you wanted nothing to do with me! Blasted woman got it into Sarine’s head that you would drop me as soon as you could.” She sighed. “That old lady was worried about me.”
They don’t know you, Squirrel said.
Fist frowned, looking down. “It’s true that I wasn’t happy about you coming up here.”
What? said Squirrel. Don’t say that!
Maryanne turned to look at him and Fist’s eyes rose to meet hers. There was worry in her dark eyes. He licked his lips.
“I was a normal ogre once. Like everyone here,” he said.
No you weren’t, Squirrel chided.
Shh! “Ever since bonding with Justan, I realized that I didn’t want the same things I used to want. The way my people treated their women bothered me. And the way the women treated the men didn’t seem right either.
“But the way humans do things. It’s different. Not always better, but it usually is.” He bit his lip as he tried to put together the next part. “I was confused when you came. I didn’t know what I wanted from a woman yet. Then with Puj . . . I didn’t feel the things I thought I should feel for her so I didn’t always treat her good.”
You tried, Squirrel said.
Fist ignored him. “But you, Maryanne, you were always straightforward with me. You tried to understand me. Yes, you pushed me and prodded me. But what Darlan told Sarine was wrong. I would never have kissed you if I didn’t like you. And I never would’ve . . .”
“I know,” she said and placed a hand against his cheek. “Now you listen, Fist. Because there’s something I want to say to you.”
“Just a minute,” Fist said. He looked at the animal on his shoulder. Squirrel, go away.
Squirrel froze, a half shelled seed between his teeth. But I’ll be quiet.
“Go,” he said aloud.
Giving him a sulky snort, the furry creature scrambled down his body and off through the camp to Rufus who was sitting at a nearby fire watching Lenny make stew.
Fist nodded and closed the bond so that he couldn’t listen in. He focused his attention back on Maryanne. “Sorry.”
“I don’t remember much about my life before I was bonded to Sarine. I was trainin’ at a small gnome sanctuary in Khalpany and let’s just say, I had little thought for anything else but my bow. But then, kinda like you I guess, my eyes were opened. I had bigger thoughts and . . . baser thoughts.
“It’s true I fell for a lot of males.” She squeezed his arm. “The stronger the better. Sarine and Bill were probably right to assume I’d lose interest in you too. But they didn’t know what I was looking for. I didn’t know what I was looking for either.
“But . . . you’re wrong about the way you treated Puj. You were never unfair. And you always tried to do right by her. Watching that? And the way you were when we hunted down those ogres that killed her. That’s when I knew how I really felt about you.”
Fist nodded. “I think that’s when I started to-.”
She put a finger against his lips. “Let me finish.
“The reason I always seemed so flighty-. Well, I probably was flighty. I didn’t have much in the way of brains at first. But the reason I never stuck with anyone is that every other man, gnome or dwarf or whatever that I ever liked ended up being nothing but a big walking piece of garbage.”
Fist smiled. “So I’m not garbage?”
“No. You are the biggest, sweetest, most wonderful person I know. And . . .” her cheeks reddened. “I love you, Fist. That’s why I won’t run away from you.”
Fist’s grin widened even further. “I’ve been wanting to say the same thing to you for a while now!”
Maryanne raised her eyebrows expectantly. “Then say it.”
“I love you,” he said and kissed her.
Chapter Twenty
The next day’s travel was a bit more difficult than the first. They had to stop several times for Fist to widen the gap between rocks so that the wagons could pass. Whenever the road was too steep for the horses, the ogres cheerfully got behind the wagons and pushed.
This was an adventure for the tribe. The men were going off to war and for once, the women were able to join them. At least part way.
They stopped that night at a wide cavern complex that had formerly belonged to the Rock People. They had been driven out by the infested, but the place was currently empty, the Priestess of War having called all her monsters back behind her wall.
The next day was to be the day of the battle. The ogres worked hard clearing out the caverns of the refuse left behind by the dead. It began to rain, but they slept comfortably in caves that ogres were meant to sleep in. The next day, the men set out before the sunrise. The women and children stayed behind along with the first wagon and Master Porthos.
The rest of their army marched for two hours down the mountain path before the wall came into view. The wall was sheer, nearly impossible for anyone save perhaps Rufus to climb. It towered above them, newly created, its color striations different from the rest of the mountainside around it. They came to the point where the path ended at the base of the wall and Bill halted the wagon.
“This is as close as we’re gonna get,” the dwarf said.
Charz looked out to the southeast. “I can sense Alfred out there with the rest of the army. That ridge is in the way so we can’t see ’em, but they ain’t far.”
“The Black Lake is only maybe a mile from here,” Fist said and Crag and the other ogres agreed.
“Now we wait for the right time,” Locksher said.
They stood there for perhaps an hour, the atmosphere tense as Charz gave regular updates on the Academy army’s progress. Finally, the army was in front of the pass, the putrid smell of the Black Lake hitting their noses. Bill decided it was time. He hurried over to the second wagon and approached the rear door.
Fist gathered around with Locksher and Maryanne and the others to await the unveiling of Valtrek’s secret weapon. There had been a lot of conjecture. Charz thought that it was some kind of magic canon pulled from the Mage School’s siege equipment.
Locksher’s thought was that it was a device similar to the Crysalisk that Ewzad Vriil had used during the war. He and Professor Beehn had been working on something that could project a field to deflect magical attack. Perhaps he had gotten it working while Locksher was gone.
Fist had chosen not to speculate. The idea of this secret weapon had become too large to him and he didn’t want to second guess it. Whatever it was, surely it was the key to their victory.
Bill grabbed the handle and paused to look back at them. “Just so you know, it’s probably not what you’re expecting.”
“Open it up already, dag-blast it!” Lenny barked.
He pulled the door open and out from the dark interior poured a white mist. The mist had an almost sweet almost spicy fragrance that tickled at Fist’s memory. Where had he smelled that smell before?
“Whew!” Mistress Sarine appeared in the doorway, wincing slightly at the sunlight. She waved a hand at the mist swirling around her face. “Goodness, Dear. You took your time. I’ve been standing there waiting for a solid minute!”
“Sorry, Begazzi,” Bill said, reaching out a hand to help her down. Kyrkon jumped out from the mist behind her and held his hand out too.
Fist’s jaw fell slightly open. That was it?
What? said Squirrel, in a similar state of shock.
“Ooh?” said Rufus. An old lady and a elf?
Then, walking out behind them, came Professor Beehn, followed by Wizard Spence, Wizard Windle, and Head Wizard Valtrek.
“That’s nearly the entire High Council!” said Wizard Locksher in surprise.
“Except for Master Barthas,” Valtrek replied, shaking the mist out of his robes. “I had to leave one of us behind in case we all died in this attack.”
“You were in there the whole time?” Charz said wide-eyed.
Beehn snorted. “No, Charz. You know I’ve been back at the School. We came out through the mirror.”
