The Shadowmage Trilogy (Twilight of Kerberos: The Shadowmage Books) (96 page)

In truth, Tellmore had selected the place purely because it was quiet. Few ever ventured down here, not since Turnitia had fallen to Pontaine.

Before Tellmore, the table was strewn with a complicated arrangement of finely cut glass prisms, each reflecting and refracting the fierce green light generated by the physical manifestation of his spell. Immediately before him, a map of the peninsula provided him with a reference point.

Stretching out with his mind, Tellmore focused the magic upon his target, riding the arcane flow as it twisted across the land. Few wizards had the concentration, willpower or stamina for such a long-ranged scrying and both he and the baron knew the latter was getting his money’s worth.

A small ripple in the fabric of magic caught Tellmore’s attention, and his mind descended to a point that shone as bright as the sun.

“It has been uncovered,” he said.

“Lucius succeeded?”

“Yes, it is Lucius who bears the Guardian Starlight. He is coming back to us now – he is travelling fast. Very fast.”

“Eager to claim his rewards, no doubt.”

“No... he is being pursued.”

“Who by?”

“A terrible force. Angry. Powerful.”

“Some elven demon he woke?”

“Another Shadowmage.”

“Adrianna. I knew I could not trust her. Will he make it?”

“Yes... Yes, I think he will get here before she catches him.”

The baron started pacing. “We better prepare a welcome – for both of them. We can keep Lucius in the Citadel, even a Shadowmage like her cannot breach these walls.

“It is time to put my plans into action, my good Tellmore. You have done well, indeed, and soon this Guardian Starlight will be in our possession. Everything is coming together as I had hoped.”

Tellmore stood up from his chair and coughed.

“My Baron, I must caution you. An artefact like the Guardian Starlight is powerful, to be sure, but its mysteries may not be cracked easily, or quickly. It may be weeks, possibly months, before I am able to utilise it.”

“You worry too much, Tellmore. It will take time to amass my army, and we cannot waste a single day. Now we know the artefact is on its way to us, we can start taking steps.”

“My Baron–”

“Leave the strategy to me, good Tellmore. I’ll leave the magic to you.”

His smile was gracious as he turned to leave, but Tellmore had heard a note of steel in his tone. As the baron disappeared down the dark corridors of the dungeon, Tellmore heard him call out for messengers.

There was still much preparation to accomplish to receive the Guardian Starlight. Tellmore was mystified. When the baron said they had to start moving now, surely he did not mean right now? A little dazed, Tellmore left his scrying equipment and the dungeon cell to follow the baron.

T
HANKS TO SERVANTS
who had sprinted through the corridors of the Citadel, the messengers of Fournier, de Biot, Fremont and the others, stationed here since their masters had left for their own fortresses, were waiting in the main hall. As the baron entered at a brisk pace, they stopped lounging behind the long tables and stood in line, bowing low.

Nodding once to acknowledge them, the baron climbed the grand staircase a few steps, and looked down upon them. He glanced across the hall as Tellmore entered, and waved impatiently for the wizard to join him.

“My compliments to your lords,” the baron began, his voice echoing across the hall. “You are to depart immediately. Tell your masters our time is finally here. The artefact is with us.

“I humbly request their presence, and that of their armies and allies, to fulfil the next, glorious stage of our design. I bid you Godspeed on your journeys home.”

Bowing, the messengers turned and trotted out of the hall. De Sousse smiled. Within minutes, they would be on their horses and riding hard to rejoin Count Fournier and the rest of his little cabal. A few short days thereafter, Pontaine knights, men-at-arms and militia would be heading towards Turnitia, a force so large as to be unstoppable. Turning to leave the hall, de Sousse noticed the worried look on Tellmore’s face.

“Okay, Tellmore, out with it. What’s wrong?”

“My Lord Baron, as you please.”

“Oh, get on with it, man!”

“I feel you are moving prematurely. I am not sure I have impressed upon you just how difficult – and thus time-consuming – activating the Guardian Starlight may be. And even then, we still don’t know the real effects of the artefact. You may have to adjust your plans to fit in with what it can actually do.”

“Tellmore, Tellmore, Tellmore,” the baron said, putting his arm around the wizard. “My respect for your magical knowledge and abilities is boundless, it really is. But strategy is my skill, remember? You think just any baron of Pontaine could choose the perfect time to march into this city and take it from under the noses of the Vos Empire? I know what I am doing!”

“Granted, my Baron, but your plan hinges on using the Guardian Starlight, does it not?”

“One plan does, certainly.”

“One plan?”

“Did you learn nothing about me in the Anclas Territories? I do try so very, very hard not to rely on just one shot of the bow.”

Tellmore looked a little crestfallen. “Is my Baron beginning to lose confidence in my work? After all, you sent Lucius after me.”

“I swear I am talking to myself at times. Were you not listening earlier? I have the utmost confidence in your work. Believe me, I would not pay the gold I do if I did not!”

“Then...’

“I also know how difficult magic can be, Tellmore. I may not know all the ins and outs, I may not be any sort of practitioner myself, but I have eyes, and I have seen magic is a complicated thing that does not always obey the wishes of its masters. That is just the nature of the beast.”

“So you always had another plan in case there was a problem with the Guardian Starlight?”

“Now you are catching on! Yes, Tellmore, I have another plan working in the background.

“And this plan has come to fruition?”

“Political bridges, Tellmore, alliances – that’s the key.”

Tellmore frowned. “I don’t follow, my Baron.”

“Court Fournier was always the core of my design. If I could bring him over to my way of thinking, I figured it would be much easier to get the visiting barons to come with him. However, the noble families of Pontaine create a vast network, Tellmore. Vast. If you start tugging on one string, others will move as well.”

“And with the strings of the count and barons, you could tug several at once?”

De Sousse smiled. “You follow the metaphor, that’s a good sign! Yes, with the right word in the right ear, it became inevitable that more families would throw their lot in with us, especially with the prize on offer – the fall of the Vos Empire. The Knights of Angue have pledged their allegiance to our cause, along with the Verte Rangers. Count Fournier has persuaded Baron du Fillimont to levy a new militia from the towns along the Sardenne, bringing another two thousand spears to the army.”

“That’s... clever, my Baron.”

“Not yet it isn’t – but it will be! You see, the tugging does not stop there. Our invasion of Vos territory will be another tug on the web of Pontaine noble families, and a few more will join us. Give them a victory, and yet more will follow. We keep tugging, and gradually we will pull the whole weight of Pontaine behind us. Vos will not be able to stand!”

“So the Guardian Starlight is, what, no longer needed?”

“Of course it is! It is another tug on that web, Tellmore, and a bloody big one too.”

“How so?”

“It becomes like a banner. An outward sign that the path we are on is irresistible destiny. We will persuade any dissenters that our way is the only way for Pontaine. Even if the artefact does not work, even if we cannot figure out how to use it, it still has great value. We have a powerful elven artefact in our possession! Few are going to argue against that.”

“And no doubt the Guardian Starlight will be of use in the later stages of the war you are planning, or perhaps when the war is done and you need its magic to rule.”

“Just so.”

“It just seems you are moving too far, too soon and too quickly, my Baron. Things threaten to spin out of control.”

“For heaven’s sake, Tellmore,” the baron said. “Please remind me, are you growing into an old man or an old woman?”

Lowering his head, Tellmore did not answer. The baron looked at him for a while, then sighed.

“I know your concerns, and I have taken note. However, a bit of chaos, a bit of disruption to the old order is exactly what is needed right now.

“It is our time at last, Tellmore. Do try to find it within yourself to enjoy it.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

L
UCIUS ARRIVED BACK
in the city in late afternoon, and Turnitia bustled as it always did at this time, with merchants and craftsmen pursuing their trades, even as beggars and thieves chased theirs. Resolved to hand over the Guardian Starlight to the baron as agreed, he nonetheless wanted to see what had been happening in the city since his departure. The baron had waited this long for the artefact, a few hours more would not hurt him.

Presuming his guildhouse would be watched by the baron’s men, he stuck to the alleyways of the city, only venturing out when he could hide in a large crowd, outside a general store that had just received a new shipment of goods from the far side of Pontaine, or surrounding a troupe of street performers. It was on the outskirts of one of these crowds he found what he was looking for.

An aged woman, crippled by long years on the streets, tightened her ragged beige shawl as he approached. Looking up at him with an age-creased face, she revealed large gaps in her teeth as she smiled and raised a ceramic bowl.

“Copper for an old lady, good sir?”

“You know who I am?” he asked.

“A generous soul is what I am hoping, good sir.”

“I need to speak to Grennar, immediately.”

“Oh, I am not sure I know any Grennar, not round these parts,” the woman said, and pointedly slid her bowl along the ground towards him.

Lucius fished in his belt pouch and threw two coins into the bowl.

“So, where can I find her?”

“Find who, dearee?” the woman said, cupping a hand to an ear. “You’ll have to forgive me, quite deaf you know.”

Lucius sighed in exasperation, and reached into his pouch to deposit another two coins into her bowl.

“Ah, you mean young Grennar. Ring Street, near the second market. Look for a path next to the cobblers. You’ll find her there.”

Nodding his gratitude, Lucius stood and made his way to Ring Street, using the crowds and alleyways to veil his journey.

Nearing Ring Street, he sighted the cobblers the beggar woman had described, and headed down a narrow alley next to it. There, among a dozen discarded wooden crates stacked against the wall of the cobblers’ place, he found Grennar.

Wearing a thin smock that had seen better days, her exposed skin was covered in muck and filth. Surrounding her were more beggars, of all ages, equally filthy.

“We need to talk,” Grennar said, pre-empting Lucius. “Leave us, all of you.” And with that, her street comrades scattered. “You have been away a little longer than I expected,” she said, turning to Lucius.

“Complications.”

“Isn’t that always the way?” She swept dirt off an upturned crate next to her and gestured for Lucius to sit. “If such things were easy, of course, everyone would be doing them.”

“So I keep telling myself.”

“Were you successful?”

Lucius drew back his cloak so that Grennar could see the Guardian Starlight. She gave a low whistle.

“Looks pretty. I hope it is worth the trouble it will bring you.”

“What have you heard?”

“I am not certain the baron has been entirely straight with you.”

“You mean he intends to renege on our deal?”

“Oh, I am sure he will fulfil whatever concessions you asked of him.”