CHAPTER 3

They sold the horses to the first inn they found and proceeded on foot the rest of the way. Selling the horses was a risk, but they could be in the Tower for weeks or even months. They would die or be stolen if they were left outside the Tower - or worse, alert the Sandingham Guard to their presence inside. Whether the Guard could enter the Tower, he wasn’t sure - but he didn’t want them waiting outside for them either.

The Tower itself was a long way from the actual settlement of Suthsea, but it had gained the name as it was the nearest large town. Camberton and Sandingham City were some of the few settlements with an actual Tower inside of the city’s walls. Most cities and towns had been built a reasonable distance away from their Towers - as if the Olds had known they were dangerous.

As always, Yannick wondered about the origin of the Towers. It was the mysterious origin of them that had drawn him into the Academy as a child, even though he’d come out a mage rather than an archivist.

No one knew for certain what had caused the Olds to build a network of enchanted Towers across the continent. Some believed they were temples, built to honour the Old’s mercurial pantheon. Others - Yannick included - thought it was more likely they were built as some kind of defence. Whatever they had been built to defend from, it hadn’t helped: the Olds had vanished without a trace one thousand years ago, leaving nothing but their ruined cities and enchanted Towers.

The Suthsea Tower was nestled in the valley between two rolling hills. It was shorter than most Towers he’d seen, and this combined with the surrounding hills meant it was practically invisible until you were upon it.

“This is the closest I’ve been to any Tower, apart from Camberton Tower - but that doesn’t really count, does it?” The priest was beginning to grate on Yannick. For the journey so far, he’d refused to interact with Audie and had instead focused his attention entirely on Yannick.

Yannick squinted at the sky overhead the tower. Was there a slight flickering? He held his gaze and sure enough, he caught it again. It was as if the sky above the tower was slightly fuzzy.

“You think you can get up there?”

The girl laughed. “If I can’t get up there, I’m not much of a scout, am I?”

“I suppose not.” Yannick frowned. The barred window was set high in the tower. There was no other way in, that much was clear.

“Is something the matter, master?” Jeran appeared at his side, whispering softly.

Yannick shook his head. “No.” He turned back to the scout. “Be careful.”

Audie rolled her eyes and began a few stretches. She shrugged off her woollen cloak, revealing a sleeveless undershirt. She kicked off her boots and stretched her toes, clipping a small chalk bag to one side of her belt and a long coil of rope to the other. Her build was small, but compact. He’d seen a lot of climbers before. All were men, and most of them long ones at that.

Audie rolled her shoulders as she approached the tower’s base. It was made from large slabs of dark grey stone, roughly hewn and worn by weather into smoothness.

“Alright,” she said. “Simple.” She turned to them and gave the group a final wink before starting rubbing chalk into her hands and beginning the climb. Virgil had joined them now, watching with arms folded as the girl began her ascent.

Was there something in the impassive face of the Dusken Knight? A sparkle of worry in her eyes? As soon as they’d despatched the horses she had immediately donned her charcoal-coloured armour, including the concealing faceplate. It left little room to read emotions on her face. Interesting, he thought. I didn’t think she had any feelings.

Focus. He’d seen enough enchanted walls to know there were a dozen ways a scout could die. Had he been reckless, sending Audie up to climb it? His stomach tied itself in knots as he watched her climb.

She was surefooted, that was for certain. She climbed systematically, identifying tiny holds in the stone face and testing them, before pulling herself up. She was twenty or more feet up now, picking up speed as she grew familiar with the holds. Her feet and hands were small, allowing her to get good purchase in places most other Scouts couldn’t. Most Scouts he’d seen relied on the length of their arms, reaching and even leaping great distances between them.

As if on cue, Audie made a small leap into the empty air. Yannick felt his heart sink. It was only a split second, but it felt like an hour before she latched comfortably onto the stones. He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. She was approaching the halfway point now. So far, so good.

A thunderclap bellowed across the sky above. Dark clouds swam across the morning sky. Forked tongues of lightning flickered across them. He cursed as the first drops of rain hit him. He pulled forward the hood of his cloak and squinted into the darkening sky. Audie was moving quicker now, but there was no chance she’d make it to the window before the eye of the storm hit.

“A storm?” Jeran said. “What are the chances?”

“None,” said Yannick. “It’s an enchantment.” He pointed to the patches of cotton cloud and blue sky that surrounded the dark clouds. The storm was a circle, with the tower its epicenter. He gritted his teeth. This was exactly what he’d been afraid of - why hadn’t he sensed it?

“Audie!” he cried. “Come back!”

But the Scout couldn’t hear him. Even if she could, he doubted she’d climb back down now. The stupid girl hadn’t listened to him so far. Why would you listen to the only mage cautious enough to live into old age? The storm was getting ferocious now. Bolts of rain twisted through the air, pulling loose Yannick’s hood. The droplets stung as they slapped his skin.

“Bollocks,” swore Yannick. He looked around the clearing. He could see bright sunlight a stone’s throw away. The wind picked up, howling in his ears.

“Master, we should retreat,” said Jeran. He took hold of Yannick’s arm and tried to lead him away.

“No!” he cried, shrugging off the priest’s grip. “If we leave the tower’s area, we won’t be allowed to get back in. Audie will need us.”

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He looked up. The tower was drenched now. The stone face would be slick now. “Where is she?”

Virgil pointed at a tiny spec on the tower. As his eyes focussed, something strange happened to the tower. It seemed to warp in front of him, becoming longer and further away. He could just about make out Audie, holding herself fast against the buffeting winds. Another enchantment!

“Can’t you do something?” said a deep, muffled voice. Yannick turned in shock to see that the Dusken Knight had spoken. She looked at him, the white of her eyes pleading with him.

“Not at that distance,” roared Yannick, struggling to make his frail voice heard over the wind. “It’s elemental magic.”

He glanced about the base of the tower, the strange shift in perception as the spell broke away - the illusion faded below a certain height - and he saw what he was looking for. Small barred grates dotted the tower’s base. He’d missed them at first, and in any case they were too small for a person to climb through.

He pointed at one. “There!” he cried.

The Dusken Knight sprinted to it with tremendous speed. She reached it just in time. The grate was pushed open from within and a grey claw began to climb out. The spike of Virgil’s halberd impaled it before it had a chance to escape.

As he’d expected, the trap was more complicated than just a storm. The pressure of her body on the wall must have activated another trap, opening the grate and releasing whatever was behind it.

Virgil sprung back in surprise as the body fell out, crumpling in a grey mess. Yannick caught a glimpse of a leathery wing and began to run towards it, Jeran following on his heels.

Another thing pushed its way through the grate: short, grey-skinned and with a stunted pair of bat wings sticking out of its back. It howled fiercely, claws and teeth scraping at the empty air.

“Gargoyles,” Jeran said. “I’ve never seen one in the wild.”

It emerged in full, the leathery wings on its back stretching out as it hissed at the Dusken Knight. A quick swipe with the blade of the halberd separated its head from its shoulders. The body collapsed on top of its companion. The head was launched towards Yannick and Jeran. It bounced past them and Yannick caught a grotesque flash of the thing’s face: a fanged mouth twisted into a fearsome snarl.

The trickle of gargoyles had begun to pick up speed, with more coming through every second. Virgil swung the halberd furiously, spearing them and slashing at them with inhuman speed and strength.

But there were too many. By sheer force of numbers, one managed to escape the pendulum of death and began climbing its way up the tower.

They weren’t attacking Virgil. They were aiming for Audie.

Yannick was within a few feet of the tower, and he stopped. The gargoyles pressed through the grate, screaming and cawing with delight in the frenzy of killing. Thick, foul-smelling blood mixed with the heavy petrichor, lending the air a stench of decay.

Another gargoyle slipped past Virgil and began to climb the tower, the stunted wings flapping pointlessly. They climbed furiously, scrabbling up the stone face like monkeys.

Without pausing to catch his breath, Yannick began to murmur a spell, sending his mind to the spiritual plane. He saw stars on his vision from lack of oxygen, he didn’t care. His heart pounded a staccato rhythm.

“Baern bissum deofgield…”

He repeated the chant, feeling the tremendous power floating through him. He reached out his open hand and a bolt of flame shot out with a deafening crack. Rain hissed and turned to steam, creating a fine mist around the tunnel of fire.

It hit the wall of the tower, enveloping the two escaped gargoyles. The stonework cracked and hissed. Beneath the din, he could hear the familiar scream of blood boiling inside a body. He held it for a moment longer, more to slake his bloodlust than to ensure death. Then he closed his fist and the flames faded away.

A wave of exhaustion and exhilaration overtook him and he stumbled backward. Yannick didn’t see the gargoyle until it was too late. It dove at him, its wings outstretched. It all happened so quickly - he felt a sharp pain as the claws tore his skin as if it were paper. He cried out in pain. He didn’t so much as look at the beast clawing his chest and arm. If he did, he’d lose the ability to focus on his spells.

Something brown flew past his vision and his eyes followed it involuntarily. The gargoyle was knocked away, embedded claws torn from Yannick’s skin. It took everything he had to not to cry out. He caught a glimpse of the priest whacking the thing over and over with his gnarled wooden staff.

“Master, let me heal you!” cried the priest.

Yannick shook his head, not breaking his gaze from the tower. There would be time for healing later. He couldn’t afford to sacrifice his focus, nor to feel the lightheadedness that followed a prayer.

“I need you to keep the gargoyles away from me,” Yannick said. “Got it?”

He didn’t wait for the priest’s response, but he was certain he heard the thump of oak against skulls. Maybe Jeran isn’t such a damp rag after all.

The gargoyles had used the time to surge past Virgil and dozens were now scaling the wall, out of reach of the deadly halberd tip.

Gargoyles swarmed Virgil and Jeran, the air thick with squawking and the leathery clap of wings. The monsters tore at their flesh, dozens of razor-like claws scrabbling for exposed flesh. Both were covered in a litany of scratches and cuts, bleeding freely. Jeran stood between Yannick and the grate, desperately swinging his staff, managing to somehow keep most of the gargoyles away from Yannick. Virgil stood closer to the grate, stemming the flow of gargoyles ascending the tower. Several hung off of her, clawing at her entire body. She didn’t seem to care, brushing them off like ants when they went for her eyes.

The endurance of that woman!

There was no time to waste. Yannick cast his eyes up the tower, riding a wave of nausea as the perspective shifted. Despite the storm, Audie had kept climbing - Gods knew how - and was in sight of the window. It was likely that the traps would stop once she reached it.

He hoped so, because he didn’t think they would last much longer. If he could buy her enough time to find out…

“Brynewielm!” Yannick cried. For a moment, nothing happened as the word fell into the storm’s vortex. Then, as if the air itself was made from oil, it caught fire. Flames danced greedily, ferried by the torrents of wind. The air hissed again, sending out gales of burning steam. The very ground beneath them seemed to tremble.

The fire was all around him now. He could only marvel at the immense strength of it, the magnificent strength of raw elemental power. Burn it all, it seemed to say. Leave no one alive.

With great determination, he focused the flames. They raked the smooth stone walls of the tower, immolating the gargoyles in the process. The broken, charred bodies of gargoyles hit the ground like monstrous hailstones. Her too. We are hungry, so hungry...

Still more gargoyles tried to climb the tower, pouring through the grate in a torrent and climbing straight into the maelstrom of fire. The flames were mad now, drunk with bloodlust. He could feel the inferno of their will inside of him, getting stronger. He would lose control of them soon.

Audie wasn’t far from the window now. Not much longer…

Yannick held the spell as long as he could. He’d forgotten the fast burn of summoning: his head ached with the weight of the focus. Little bolts of pain danced over his brain and behind his eyes. His muscles burned with tension.

The tower wall was clear now. The gargoyles at the bottom wouldn’t reach the window before Audie did. He had to hope that was enough. With great difficulty, he pulled the flames away and sent them back to the demon world. He could feel them screaming in protest, demanding a payment of blood, offering him ever more power.

Yannick fell to his knees. Gargoyles swarmed him now, with the priest unable to keep them off. He pushed them weakly away and looked to the tower.

Audie was at the window! One hand was on the ledge. Now, all she needed to do was pull herself--

She froze.

Yannick watched with terror as he saw what had stopped her. A lone gargoyle had survived and was now only feet away from her. It scrambled desperately towards her and Audie pulled her hand away from the window.

“No!” he cried.

The gargoyle jumped for her, wings flapping desperately as it set in on her. It would pull to her death, there was no way she could maintain her grip while it was on her.