The Worlds of the Sheaf

The Battle of Castle Gamuk - Part 3

     "Stay close to me," Tak told Essca as he picked his way carefully across the rubble strewn floor. Reaching an undamaged stretch of corridor he broke into a run, rehearsing the words of war spells in his mind in case he needed to cast them in a hurry. Soon they'd reached the banquet hall in which he'd eaten the horn of potency, but now the room was a ruined mess with tables and chairs overturned and the bodies of several of the King's men lying dead on the floor. The hall had several exits. The soldiers couldn't have been trapped there. If they'd made a stand it could only have been to cover the King's retreat, but which way? Tak glanced towards two open doorways, both of which seemed to lead further into the keep. Which one?

     "Essca, which way do you think the King would have gone?"

     The girl thought for a moment. "I think this way leads to the kitchens. There's probably a back way out..."

     Tak ran through the indicated door. Yes, that's what the King would be looking for, he thought. A way out, to escape. If he could get to the stables and find a horse, he'd stand a chance.

     The sounds of fighting came from up ahead and Tak slowed, every sense alert, wanting to see without being seen before rushing in. There were two Domandropolian soldiers fighting alongside three of King Lamont's men, facing seven Yinnfarsian and Sholl men. Tak and Essca cast their spells together, sleep rather than death spells so as not to harm their own people (but who does Essca think of as her own people? wondered Tak.)

     All twelve men in the room were soon lying unconscious, and Tak cast an antispell on his two men to wake them back up. "Take care of things here," he snapped, then dashed off through the doorway they'd been defending.

     There was no sign of the King or any of his remaining men in the storeroom they found beyond, but the door leading out into the delivery yard was standing open. Again, Tak crept cautiously through, not wanting to be mistaken for an enemy by a terrified rearguard, but the yard was also empty. Screeches of enraged gem steeds came from somewhere, and the shouting and cursing of fighting men, but all the action was going on somewhere else. A diversion, perhaps? To lure the new arrivals away from the fleeing King and his pursuers? Tak ran on along the cart track that led between the keep and a tall, ivy covered curtain wall until he found himself back in the main courtyard, littered with stone rubble and the bodies of the dead.

     He heard Essca cry out his name and cast another defensive spell around himself in an involuntary reflex action, just in time to deflect a blast of fire aimed at him from behind. He spun around and saw a black robed figure stepping into view from the alcove in which he'd been hiding, his body enveloped by a shimmering Globe of Invulnerability. The man strode towards him with cocky self confidence, secure in the knowledge that the spell was aptly named, and Tak didn't bother wasting any spells on it. He knew that its one great weakness was its limited duration. All he had to do was stay alive until it expired.

     Time was on his side, therefore, and the enemy wizard should have been trying to kill him as quickly as possible, but instead he seemed in no hurry and paused to inspect the Gem Lord. "So you're Sapphire," he said, eying him speculatively. "You're the one who decided to make off with one of my apprentices."

     Tak glanced at Essca, who nodded. So, this was the dreaded Velzen. He paused before answering, wanting to drag this out as long as possible. "What are you doing here?" he demanded at last. "You have no business here."

     "Neither have you," replied Velzen. "Go home and see to your own city, peasant boy. Meddle not in the affairs of your betters." He turned to Essca. "You, girl. Come with me."

     "I'm with him now," replied Essca, backing away fearfully. Tak didn't doubt it was taking all her courage to speak that way to her former master. "I'm finished with you, and with Sholl."