After hearing our news, the High Chamberlain sat at his desk with his head bowed.
“The losses of Wystane and Bolan are indeed tragic. I’ll see that their families are informed of their sacrifice and commensurately rewarded.”
The chamberlain blinked, and took a deep breath.
“At the same time, what you’ve accomplished is nothing short of miraculous. In addition to solving countless murders, you’ve saved Encelas from—”
Before he could finish, a burst of rapid knocks sounded on the office door. The chamberlain stood. “Come in?”
Segrel dashed into the office, his face as pale as a necromancer’s. He looked to be on the verge of tears. “Galliel’s legions are within sight of the castle, sir! Only a day’s march away.”
⚔
The four of us left the chamberlain’s office and climbed to the west wall. On the horizon, the formation of Galliel’s army was clear to see. Two vast, black rectangles advanced forward, slowly but relentlessly, like a creeping horde of ants.
“According to Palomir,” I said, “Galliel’s forces are split into two armies. We’re looking at the Army of the West.”
“My sources concur,” the chamberlain said. “By our estimates, the attack should commence in two days. Three at most.”
My heart sank as a message scrolled at the bottom of my view: NEW QUEST: DEFEND ENCELAS FROM PRINCE GALLIEL'S ATTACK.
“Isn’t there anything we can do in the meantime?” Hubril asked. “What about our catapults?”
The chamberlain nodded. “We’ll fire as soon as their soldiers come within range.”
“Too bad it won’t hurt the darkwalkers,” Dannik said.
“The darkwalkers…” The chamberlain’s voice became low and somber. “That’s the crux of the problem. If we only knew how to hurt the darkwalkers.”
I continued watching the army, awestruck by its size. “Doesn't Galliel have any cavalry?”
“No,” the chamberlain said. “A besieging army doesn’t need horses. Just tens of thousands foot soldiers.”
“Then we could send out our cavalry to harass them, couldn’t we?” I asked. “Sabotage lines of communication, cut off supplies, that sort of thing.”
Hubril gritted his teeth. “What difference would it make? The darkwalkers are indestructible.”
I ignored Hubril and addressed the chamberlain. “I have a plan. A highly dishonorable plan that requires a fast horse, a rider, and powerful magic. What kind of wands do you have?”
⚔
Twenty minutes later, Segrel led me up a spiral staircase in the castle. He knocked on a stately oaken door that read KAZERATH, HIGH WIZARD.
An old man in a green tunic and round spectacles answered with an annoyed expression. “What is it?” Kazerath asked.
Segrel handed the old man a sheet of paper, and the old man adjusted his spectacles. As he read, his eyes grew wide, and his mouth formed a small ‘o.’ Then he looked me over.
“The High Chamberlain tells me that you’re about to undertake a covert mission of paramount concern. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“And because you’ve dabbled in spellcasting, Lord Harad wants me to give you the most powerful wands in the castle.”
“That’s right,” Segrel said, “and there’s not a moment to be lost.”
Kazerath looked surprised at first. Then angry. Then he read Segrel's paper again and deflated. He opened the office door fully and beckoned us inside. “Please sit down.”
The office was furnished with all the decorations that I’d expected of the kingdom’s finest wizard. A pentagonal oaken desk stood in the center, covered with scrolls and sheets of papyrus. Tall shelves bore ancient tomes and gleaming alchemical equipment, while abstruse diagrams had been tacked to the walls.
When Kazerath returned, he held a small case that might have contained a flute. He set the case on the desk and opened it, revealing three ivory wands. One had a red feather, one had a blue stripe, and one had a green jewel fastened to the end.
“What wands have you used in the past?” Kazerath asked.
“I’ve never used a wand,” I said. “But it shouldn’t be too hard. Just point and concentrate on the spell, right?”
“Not these wands. These require command words. The wand with the red feather shoots fireballs. They don’t do a great deal of damage, but they’re accurate up to 500 feet and explode on impact. The wand has eight charges, and the command word is Tequibirek.”
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“Red feather. Fireballs. Tequibirek,” I repeated.
Kazerath pointed to the second wand. “The wand with the blue stripe discharges chain lightning, which is useful against multiple adversaries. When lightning strikes a target, the target is frozen for a few moments and then the electricity strikes more targets nearby. Five charges, and the command word is Kalliathera. Understand?”
“Blue stripe. Chain lightning. Kalliathera,” I said.
Kazerath pointed to the third wand. “The wand with the jade tip creates a force shield, which is useful when you’re fighting a larger adversary like a giant or golem. It hits the target with a blast of energy that knocks it backward, giving you a chance to escape. It only has one charge, and the command word is Adrezzanio.”
“Jade tip. Force shield. Adrezzanio,” I said.
He closed the case and handed it to me. “I’ll write down the command words, and you’ll need to practice them before entering combat. But make sure you’re not holding a wand while you’re practicing.”
Footsteps approached, and when I turned, I saw a messenger from the Royal Stables running up the stairs.
“Gentlemen!" The messenger called out. "The horse is ready. As the chamberlain requested, it has shoes of stealth and shadow armor barding.”
“Excellent.” Segrel turned to the wizard. “Is there anything else, High Wizard?”
“No.” Kazerath handed me a sheet of paper. “Here are the command words. Best of luck.”
⚔
A hulking man with an eyepatch and long beard, Vemor was the most decorated cavalry officer in Encelas. When the chamberlain told him of my plan, his reported response was: “Only a madman would concoct such a scheme. I can’t wait to be part of it!”
Midnight was approaching, and I took my place behind Vemor in a double-seated saddle, facing the city’s Western Gate. Vemor’s destrier was the largest horse I’d ever seen, standing at least seven feet tall. Vemor and his mount wore a shimmering, blackish-gray armor that I’d heard called shadow armor, while I wore my Surgeon’s armor.
Segrel and the chamberlain stood to our left, watching the gate slowly open. No one said a word, so the only sounds were the shoveling behind us and the clinking chain attached to the city’s steel doors.
When the gate opened wide enough to allow us passage, the chamberlain whispered to Vemor, “Any questions about the mission?”
“No, Lord Chamberlain. I’m familiar with the hill your planners recommended. Getting there won’t be a problem.”
The chamberlain nodded, then turned to me. “And you’re ready?”
“I was born ready,” I replied.
⚔
As Vemor and I rode out toward Galliel's army, I studied Kazerath's paper and mouthed the command words for the wands. Tequibirek for fireballs, Kalliathera for chain lightning, and Adrezzanio for force shield. Over and over again.
Vemor turned his head. “We’ve almost reached the hill.”
I threw away the paper and looked ahead. The vanguard of Galliel’s Army of the West stood nearly three hundred feet away. As I’d hoped, there were no sentries or watch towers—it had surely never occurred to anyone that Encelas might take the offensive.
As Vemor’s horse ascended, I got a better look at the tens of thousands of soldiers that made up Galliel’s army. I wondered which were zombies, which were darkwalkers, and which were flesh and blood. From this distance, there was no way to tell.
“We’ve reached the summit,” Vemor said. “Now I’ll turn and prepare for the ride back. Let me know when to leave.”
As Vemor steered the horse to face the city, I opened Kazerath’s case and removed the wand of fireballs, which was warm to the touch. When the horse stopped, I aimed the wand at the crowd of tents in the center of Galliel’s forces.
“Tequibirek!”
A fireball burst from the wand and flew into the air like a rocket. It landed short of the command tents but exploded in an area densely occupied by soldiers.
“Tequibirek!”
The second fireball flew upward, and the air filled with shouts as the soldiers responded to the fire from the first. Many soldiers searched for the cause, but as far as I could tell, none of them looked in my direction.
“Tequibirek!”
A third fireball flew upward. So far, none of the fireballs had produced any large fires, but several soldiers pointed in my direction. Some started running.
“Tequibirek!”
As soon as the fourth fireball erupted, I replaced the wand in the case and removed the wand of chain lightning. That ought to do it. I grabbed Vemor’s shoulder. “Head back!”
Vemor nodded and drove his heels into the horse’s side. The destrier bolted toward the city as Galliel’s soldiers ascended the hill. The closest was only twenty paces away.
“Kalliathera!”
The bolt of lightning struck the closest of the advancing soldiers, and then three bolts emerged from the first and struck nearby soldiers. None of the bolts were powerful enough to kill, but the soldiers stood stunned for about five seconds.
As the horse raced down the hill, another group of soldiers ran at us. Most had pikes and some held swords, but thankfully, none had missile weapons.
“Kalliathera!”
More blue bolts struck the pursuing soldiers, and most faltered because of their wounds. But a small group of soldiers, all wearing black plate mail, didn’t appear at all affected. Darkwalkers.
The horse reached the bottom of the hill and sped toward the city’s gate at full gallop. At this pace, we’d reach the Western Gate in about ten minutes. Galliel’s soldiers shouted behind us, but there were no arrows or magical bolts. It looked like we might get away with this.
After about two minutes, Galliel's flesh-and-blood soldiers gave up, leaving the chase to six soldiers in black plate. Despite their name, the darkwalkers were perfectly capable of running, and they chased after us in lockstep, each foot striking the ground at the same time. They were fast, but they couldn’t outrun Vemor’s destrier.
Vemor turned his head. “How are we faring?”
“All is well,” I said. “But slow down a little. Let the darkwalkers catch up.”
The horse slowed somewhat, and I watched the darkwalkers continue running in flawless synchronization. Everything was going according to plan. Now if the chamberlain’s men had dug a proper pit, we’d have no trouble capturing these creatures. Then the mages could figure out what they were and how they could be slain.
I looked toward Galliel’s encampment and gasped. A black charger was bolting toward us, running so quickly that a plume of smoke rose in its wake. I couldn’t make out who the rider was, but the intention was clear. It wanted to prevent us from capturing the darkwalkers.
I grabbed Vemor’s shoulder. “Ride as fast as you can!”
Vemor drove the horse into a sprint. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s chasing us!”
I watched in amazement as the charger continued gaining speed. It was like watching a sports car in a professional road race. At this rate, it would overtake us before we reached the city gate. I thought about launching a fireball or a bolt of lightning, but there was no way I could aim from the back of a galloping horse. I shouted to Vemor.
“Whatever happens, keep going! Tell them to keep the gate open!”
I drank a Potion of Invisibility and a Potion of Stoneskin. Then I jumped off the back of Vemor’s destrier.