The crowd cheered when the fireball exploded in their midst, catching twelve of their number in its scorching embrace. Stella curled her lip in disgust at the mass of cult followers, who screamed in pleasure at their own destruction. She’d known before the irrationality of the Cult of Elrick, but to see it in person multiplied her loathing for them.
Elrick the Ineffable, the sorcerer who’d thrown the fireball, stood at the base of his tower. He lowered his fists to his sides, and the crowd screamed louder, waving their arms, frantically begging for his attention.
“Sick fools,” Stella said.
Uncle V coughed. “A blunt way of putting it.”
Stella raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought I was being tame.”
Uncle V gestured to the side. “Ignore them for now. I seem to remember you being especially interested in this view.”
He’d brought her to a viewing tower near the crowd, which he claimed to be the second-best vantage in the area. It seemed to Stella like it had been built for the sole purpose of looking out over the area: when they’d entered the tower and climbed the spiral staircase, they’d circled around another wall of stone that was about the width of the well back home. The stairs stopped at a floor twenty-five feet above the ground, and a large wooden slab dominated the center. Uncle V told Stella that that part of the tower was hollow, and the wood kept people from falling in. Stella thought it a bizarre design for a tower, but seeing how the cultists were the ones responsible, she wasn’t surprised.
In any case, they had a perfect view of everything worth seeing: the lush greens blanketing the base of the volcano and surrounding the village there, the harsh blacks of the volcano’s peak, and the mysterious grandeur of the sorcerer’s tower, which stood eerily close to the smoking crater.
But Stella’s interest in the view had been a complete lie. She had one reason to come to this cursed place, and one reason alone: to kill the evil sorcerer.
“Isn’t it breathtaking?” Uncle V asked.
“Completely.”
“Of course, the best view is from the sorcerer’s tower.”
Stella paled at the thought of her uncle in that terrible place. “What? How do you know that?”
He sighed happily. “It’s a long, exciting tale. I’ll tell you someday.”
She shivered, wondering if the story had anything to do with the burn scars on his face and arms. Whenever she’d asked about them, he’d promised to tell her when she was older. Well, she’d been of age for three weeks. They’d been traveling together that whole time, but he still refused to tell the story, claiming he was saving it for a special moment.
Stella turned back to the insane crowd. The volume of their shouts had reached a point she hadn’t known possible, and the sorcerer had raised his hands once again. Flames shot from his reach, forming a firey arm that reached into the screaming crowd, setting a number of them on fire before grabbing one and lifting him high into the air. On cue, the crowd shouted the three infamous words: “Vulcan take you!” The fiery arm threw its captive directly into the volcano’s maw. A column of flame marked the moment his body hit the lava inside, cueing another round of cheers from the mob. The flames died down, and they fell silent. The sorcerer was shouting an incantation, but he was too far away for Stella to pick out the words. He was soon finished, and silence fell.
“There,” Uncle V breathed, pointing to the crater’s edge. A blackened skeleton climbed over the jagged lip of rock, just barely visible against its dark surroundings. It walked down the slope toward the crowd.
Stella’s eyes stung with tears, but not for the victim. Yes, his fate was pitiable, but he was no different from the others the sorcerer had killed seconds before. Stella didn’t know him. No, Stella cried because she saw now exactly what had happened to her father mere weeks before her birth. He’d come to the sorcerer to ask him to heal her mother. Instead, the sorcerer had thrown him into the volcano and enchanted his charred skeleton to be a slave.
The skeleton stopped near the base of the tower, where the villagers had piled up bundles of offerings. It took one into the tower, and more blackened skeletons poured out behind it and went to collect more bundles.
“Leave me now!” the sorcerer yelled, “before I incinerate the lot of you!”
The crowd dispersed, leaving behind their burnt-up dead and their bundles of offerings. Black-robed fanatics guided the injured to a nearby building, presumably to treat their burns.
Once the skeletons had taken all the bundles inside, they collected the burned remains of the twelve who’d died in the fireball explosion, taking them inside as well.
“Those people are all insane!” Stella said. “Why under Thuban’s eye would anyone want to be a part of that?”
“But you forget, Stella,” Uncle V said. “Thuban is of no consequence to these people. Their faith is in Elrick and Vulcan.”
Stella gaped at him, but he looked completely serious, even content. “Faith in Elrick? When he makes a point to slaughter them in droves?”
“An act of faith,” he said, “well, on their part. You see, the central tenet of their religion is self-sacrifice. They come to Elrick with their petitions, and they show how important those petitions are to them by putting their lives on the line. If Elrick thinks they demonstrate sufficient self-sacrifice, then he’ll consider their petition. In fact, many of them have their petitions granted.”
If Stella could gape any wider, she would. “And if they’re killed? Their ‘petition’ wouldn’t matter to them if they’re dead, now would it?”
“They don’t see it as such a risk. They’re happy either way.”
“You’re saying they’re happy to be slain?” A pang of nausea and anger stabbed Stella’s insides.
Uncle V patted her back. “Peace, Little Star. You didn’t let me finish. It’s not only about the things of this world. If they die in the volcano, they spend the afterlife serving the sorcerer, and if they die in a fireball, they go on to serve his master, Vulcan. Guaranteed. No other conditions. For them, it’s a much better alternative to risking their fate on the judgment of Thuban. Just imagine it: spending the rest of eternity serving your god. What could be better?”
Stella turned a suspicious eye on him. “How do you know so much about them? And why are you so okay with it? People are purposely getting themselves killed for a cult!”
Before Uncle V could answer, rapid footsteps ascended the stairs, and a man in black robes appeared, holding a coil of rope. The right side of his face was disfigured by a large burn scar, as was his right hand. He stopped dead at the sight of them. “Magister Vatran,” he said, looking between the two of them. “We’re not quite ready yet. Did you want to…” He tentatively held out his rope.
Uncle V shook his head. “No, no, it’s not what you think. I was just showing my niece the view. We’ll be on our way, now.”
They left the man with a puzzled expression. As they descended the stairs, Uncle V asked, “Do you still wish to see the sorcerer’s tower up close?”
“Yes.”
Uncle V smiled. “Excellent.”
The sorcerer’s tower was similar to their viewing tower in that it was round and decorated with arcane runes. The cultists likely took inspiration from the tower when they built theirs. The difference was that the sorcerer’s tower was about four times as wide and three times as tall, and the walls were made entirely of obsidian. The runes seemed to be carved directly into the obsidian, and they mostly pertained to the evocation of fire. The only windows were at the very top, sixty feet above the ground, and those were just spaces between the seven pillars that held up the roof, which seemed to be made of thick red glass. The ground surrounding the tower was littered with gravel, mostly of pumice, except for the front, where a huge swath of rock stretched down the mountainside like a frozen river. It was peppered with scorch marks from the sorcerer’s fury.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Stella circled the tower, looking for weak points, places to get in, anything to get her close to the sorcerer. She soon found it to be a hopeless endeavor. The runes were no use as handholds: they were placed too far apart; they were too shallow; and their edges were rounded. Apart from that, the obsidian was entirely smooth.
“Did the skeletons sand down the corners?” she asked.
“No,” Uncle V said, “This site used to constantly leak lava until Elrick used it to form his tower. It’s been this way ever since then. That’s why Vulcan Valley is hospitable, you know. And it produces the very best crops you’ll find anywhere.”
I didn’t ask for fun facts, Stella thought, annoyed at the way his words paid the sorcerer credit, and upset that she hadn’t found a way to sneak in. “How often does he come out?”
“Every week or so.” He cocked his head. “Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering. Does he ever actually talk to people? Aside from yelling at them?”
“Rarely. But it just so happens that such a conference will take place tomorrow.”
Stella gave him another suspicious look. “How do you know that?”
He smiled. “Have I ever told you how special you are, Little Star?”
“Every uncle says that to his nieces.”
He shook his head. “Your mother only told you that to discredit me.”
Stella frowned. Her mother and Uncle V had never gotten along well. Just three months ago, Uncle V had come to visit for Stella's birthday. He and Mother had gotten into a huge argument about whether he could take her on this trip to see the world. She'd eventually allowed it, but only if they left before she changed her mind. So they'd departed immediately, spending the following weeks traveling all over. Vulcan was their final destination before heading back to Altair.
“I do mean it when I say you're special, Stella. You know your father's story, right?”
She clenched her teeth. Of course she knew. That wasn't about to stop him from telling it, though.
“Before you were born, your mother was gravely ill. He tried everything to cure her. He went to herbalists, surgeons, and priests, but she only got worse. Finally, he heard of Elrick. As a last hope, he made the journey to Vulcan. He received instructions on what to do and say and followed them admirably. He was chosen by the firey arm, and serves Elrick to this day.”
“I already knew all that,” Stella grumbled.
“But you don't know the next part. You see, I heard about your father’s petition, and it intrigued me. So I went to Altair to find your mother. And do you know what I found?”
Stella scowled.
“She’d been completely healed. And she had a happy, healthy baby girl.”
Stella’s breath caught. “Are you saying… you believe this cultist insanity?”
“You're made for great things, Stella. Extraordinary things. You have the favor of Elrick, of Vulcan himself.”
She inched away from him. “Please tell me you're joking. You're not serious. You're kidding.”
He smiled. It was the same smile he’d always given, but now she saw its unhinged quality. “I've never been more serious about anything. Stella, you have the potential to get Elrick to grant more petitions!”
“Why would I care about that?” She took a step back, but he grabbed her arm.
“Please, Stella. You’ve been chosen by Vulcan. You have to help us!”
“I’m not going to promote this death cult!” She pulled her arm away. “If I succeeded, and he started ‘granting more petitions,’ things would only get worse! More people would come, and more would die!”
“Not if you also persuade him to tone down the killing.”
“I’m not going to your conference to debate that murderer. You can do that yourself.”
Uncle V laughed. “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. You’re not going to debate him. That would be ridiculous. No one would expect you to convince him that quickly.”
She paled, gaping at him. “You don’t expect me to join that insane crowd, do you?”
“No, no. You’re to be his apprentice.”
“What? No, I’m not going to lift a finger for that monster.”
“It wouldn’t be difficult. The skeletons do all of his chores. Besides, you’d be able to study magic. I know that’s one of your pastimes. He has numerous tomes you could study from, and he could teach you a lot himself.”
It was true that Stella had spent a lot of time studying magic back home. She’d spent the last five years pouring over every magical text she could get a hold of. She’d also studied poisons, stealth, climbing, and archery, all in the name of acquiring any tool that would help her kill Elrick.
To become the sorcerer’s apprentice was certainly an opportunity. It would get her closer to the sorcerer than she could otherwise manage. It was a chance to observe him over a long period, scouting out the best potential method of doing the deed. As a sorcerer, he was likely to have some magical protections set up, preventing assassinations. She’d need to know about those and find a way to circumvent them. Otherwise, her failed attempt would surely get her killed.
But to become the sorcerer’s apprentice would go against everything she believed. Every hand that aided the sorcerer led to more fiery deaths. And if word spread that he had taken an apprentice, the false hope of receiving generosity from him would spread with it.
What would her mother think? Mother had brought her up with a fierce contempt for the Cult of Elrick. Would she understand that Stella was only doing it in the name of revenge, or would the betrayal crush her? Stella couldn’t do that to her. She had to find another way.
“No,” Stella said. “I’m not doing it. You can’t make me.”
Uncle V frowned. “I’d hoped you’d be more cooperative, Little Star.”
“I’m not going to cooperate with a death cult.”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the tower. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but it should persuade you.”
She tried to pull away again, but it was no use. He was serious this time. He pulled her to the building where the fanatics had taken the injured. Initially, it was just like she’d guessed it would be: injured cultists lying on thin beds, fanatics applying salve to their burns. But Uncle V pulled her into a side room and opened a hidden door in the floor. He took her down a set of stone steps and into a dank hallway lined with doors, lit only by a torch at the bottom of the stairs. More torches hung in wall sconces along the hall, but they were all dark.
At the end of the hallway, he unlocked a door. The room behind it was pitch dark, and a feral snarl floated out to meet them.
“It’s okay, Laurel,” Uncle V said, and Stella froze. “I brought a visitor.” He lit the nearest torch, and Stella’s knees wobbled at the sight. Her mother was chained to the opposite wall, gagged and emaciated.
Stella rushed to embrace her. She was skin and bones, her hair a stringy, dirty mess. “He told me you agreed,” Stella said. “But you’ve been here the whole time?” Mother nodded and buried her head in Stella’s shoulder. With her hands chained so close together, there was little else she could do. “I’ll get you out,” Stella whispered.
“Are you ready to reconsider?” Uncle V asked.
Stella pulled back to look her mother in the face. “He wants me to work for the sorcerer,” she whispered, and Mother’s eyes grew wide. “I know, it’s crazy, but it could be just the opening I need to—” She cut off. She wished she could tell Mother her intentions, to help her understand, but she couldn’t risk letting Uncle V hear about it. Still, Mother shook her head. Her eyes were worried, sad even, but not afraid. They still had that spark of determination.
Stella set her jaw. Whatever happened, she could find a way to both free her mother and kill Elrick. A way that didn’t involve advancing the cult’s practices.
She stood and faced Uncle V. “I’m not changing my mind.”
“Shame,” he said. “I guess I’ll give them the go-ahead on putting her in the rotation, then.”
“What rotation?”
“When I sent her here, I told them to wait for my instructions before putting her in the rotation.”
“What rotation?”
“The offering rotation, of course. It’s much less chaotic than the event you just witnessed, but the results are much the same. It is a smaller pool of people, though, so a given individual’s chance of fatality is much higher.”
Stella’s stomach clenched, and her face went cold. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, that’s right! You two don’t like the prospect of eternal servitude. What a shame. Except—” He paused to smile at her, and her clenched stomach twisted up into a knot. “If you agree to cooperate, I’d be happy to postpone her fate for a few weeks. And if you succeed, I’ll even set her free.”
Stella’s mind raced. She looked to her mother, who shook her head insistently. Cooperating with Uncle V, becoming the evil sorcerer’s apprentice, would be abhorrent. But what else could she do? If she didn’t, Uncle V would surely have Mother incinerated within the week. Stella couldn’t possibly save her by then, much less manage to kill Elrick in that time.
But to be his apprentice. To be that close to him was to have the perfect vantage from which to plan and execute her mission. And to cooperate with Uncle V was to have some leverage over his control of her mother’s state.
Stella set her jaw and met Uncle V’s smiling eyes. “You’ve convinced me,” she said. “Where do we begin?”