Verdan listened closely as Vanarr took control of the meeting and organised his remaining forces to the best of his ability
Despite his injuries and failing health, Vanarr seemed to have a complete grasp of the disposition of his remaining forces. Readiness, position, capability, Vanarr seemed to know and understand it all.
It was an impressive thing to watch, and Verdan could see why the Elder was so well respected by other Sorcerers.
“Finally, I have some good news for you all,” Vanarr said as he brought the meeting to a close. “Commander Silver and the rest of the alliance army is less than a day away from us. Once they arrive, we will finally be in a position to take back the city. I know I’ve asked a lot of you all already, but our reinforcements are coming. All we have to do is hold on.”
“We won’t let you down, Elder,” a Steel Custodian said, bracing to attention.
“I know you won’t, none of you will,” Vanarr said, the conviction in his voice straightening more than a few backs among those listening. “That’s all for now. I’ll confer with the Wizard on our next moves, so send a runner to my room if anything changes. Dismissed.”
The assembled Sorcerers, guards and retainers quickly dispersed back to their duties, leaving Vanarr to beckon Verdan and his companions closer.
“Ada, please find food and lodging for our friends. Verdan, if you don’t mind, I’ll take a few more minutes of your time.”
“Of course, not a problem,” Verdan said, following Vanarr off to one side as the rest of his group went with the other Sorcerer.
Vanarr’s room wasn’t far from the large room the briefing had been held in, which wasn’t too surprising. Verdan doubted the elder could have been doing much walking around with his wound as corrupted as it had been.
The door to Vanarr’s room was made of a lacquered wood that seemed to be part of the original construction, and the rest of the room was much the same.
“Please, take a seat,” Vanarr said, waving to a table and chairs that were off to one side before moving over to a shaped stone chair. The shaped stone didn’t match the rest of the room, but then Verdan doubted the other furniture could really hold the Elder and his armour.
“Does that ever get comfortable?” Verdan asked, the question slipping out as Vanarr took his seat. “Wearing armour all the time, I mean.”
“Not really,” the Elder said with a chuckle. “We make do, and of course those of us with the right magic do better than most. Still, if we can’t tolerate some discomfort, how can we have the dedication to see our mission through?”
Verdan nodded, not quite sure he completely followed that logic, but willing to accept it. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“The Storm Witch’s injury, the Stormlords and Disciples Brenn and Macannan,” Vanarr said simply. Verdan blinked in surprise at the blunt statement, and the Elder chuckled. “I have little effort to spare at the moment, so being direct seems the best choice.”
“Then let’s not waste any time,” Verdan said, clamping down on the nervous roiling in his gut. “Ask away.”
Vanarr nodded, and seemed to consider his words for a moment before speaking. “We’ll go in that order, then. The Storm Witch’s injury was not from the Cyth, that much is obvious. What happened?”
Verdan considered being indirect in his answer, but the Elder had asked for bluntness, and Verdan was sick of dancing around this issue.
“Kurgane took an opportunity during the chaos for petty revenge. He killed several people and left Gwen badly injured.”
“Is he dead?” Vanarr asked calmly.
“No. Vaijon interceded and asked us to keep him alive. With the loss of Elder Dun, he was afraid of losing leadership with the Sorcerers.”
“I see. A political choice, but not one many people could agree with.”
“We did what was required,” Verdan said calmly, doing his best to fight down the rising anger that came from any thought of Gwen’s injury. “I don’t think Gwen remembers, and we’ve done our best to keep it contained for now. Once this is over, though….”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Do you have sufficient proof?” Vanarr asked before Verdan could give voice to how thoroughly he wished to kill Kurgane.
“Natalia recognises the style of burn from when Kurgane and his brother menaced Hobson’s Point in the past. They crippled her father’s hand at the time. We have no witnesses, though.”
“Natalia?”
“My partner, she’s an alchemist travelling with us,” Verdan said, absently realising he’d never really defined what his relationship with Natalia actually was.
They hardly seemed to get time to themselves, so what moments they did have were spent enjoying each others company, not on such discussions.
Still, he should change that, if only to let her know how much she meant to him.
“In that case, rest assured that I agree with her,” Vanarr said with a look of disgust. “Such injuries do match with Disciple Skarv’s abilities. My personal judgement of the man is that he is capable of such betrayal as well. I will not oppose any action you take when the times comes.”
“Oh, I doubt I’ll take any action,” Verdan said, chuckling to himself. “As soon as we stop holding Kai back, he will deal with it himself.”
“Don’t underestimate Kurgane. He is as powerful as he is petty.”
From what Verdan had seen, that was quite the warning.
Nodding that he understood, Verdan cleared his throat and moved on. “You wanted to know about the Stormlords next?”
“Yes, I felt that some parts of your explanation were missing.”
“I may have glossed over some parts,” Verdan said, frowning slightly as he reviewed what he’d told the Elder already. “The only other thing was about corruption in their ranks from the Brotherhood, which seems to be the cause of all this.”
Vanarr waved a hand for Verdan to continue, so he began to recount everything they’d learned from their prisoner.
The Elder listened quietly until Verdan was done. “I see. This bodes poorly for us all. I’ve come across mention of this Brotherhood in the past, but never so clearly.”
“My opinion is that they orchestrated all of this, but I have no idea why,” Verdan said with a frustrated grimace. Part of him had been hoping that Vanarr could shed some light on it all.
“It does seem that way,” the Elder said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully before shaking his head. “We can only deal with the problems before us. Once the Cyth have been destroyed, however, I will be giving this Brotherhood my full attention.”
Verdan felt Vanarr’s grim promise echo within him and nodded. “You’ll have my support, and I have little doubt that Bastian and the rest of the Clerics will also want to hunt them down.”
“Good. For now, though, go get some rest. Ada should be back and waiting outside by now, so send her in on your way,” Vanarr said, waving his hand at the door. “We have an escape tunnel available that I will use to send runners to both Elder Vaijon and Commander Silver. I’ll send for you once I hear back from them.”
Verdan nodded, getting to his feet and heading back out into the passage. As Vanarr had predicted, Ada was waiting patiently nearby, though she hurried over once Verdan emerged.
“Before you go, I wanted to thank you for pushing him to accept healing,” Ada said, bowing slightly to the Wizard. “The Elder is the heart of our Sect, and without him I worry that we’d lose our way.”
“I’m glad that I could help,” Verdan said, returning the bow awkwardly. “The Elder is an impressive man.”
Ada nodded and Verdan thought she was going to bow again before she turned to give him directions to where his companions were resting.
Thanking her, Verdan set off in the direction she’d pointed him, his thoughts dwelling on what the Brotherhood was up to.
Vanarr was right that they could ill afford to split their focus, but Verdan worried that ignoring the Brotherhood played right into whatever they were doing.
Worrying over the same issue was getting him nowhere, though, so Verdan deliberately put it to the back of his mind as he arrived at the small chamber that they’d been assigned to.
To his surprise, Cullan was there as well, and was reclining on a stone bench with a mischevious grin.
“Sorry Verdan, your new pet wouldn’t come with me so I’ve had to leave it behind,” the Idrisyr said, giving the Wizard a look of exaggerated innocence as he continued. “I forgot to keep track of directions when a guard helped guide me here as well, so I can’t even go back to help you find it. So sorry about that.”
Sighing, Verdan shot the big man a withering look before giving Kai a subtle nod and motioning to the door. “It’s alright, Kai and I will find someone to help me get it here.”
Kai gave him a questioning look but simply nodded and followed Verdan back out into the dimly lit tunnel. Thankfully, the three Witches were caught up in a discussion about Familiars, so weren’t paying much attention to them.
“What’s wrong?” Kai asked once they were away from the room. “You seem unsettled.”
“When I spoke with Vanarr he asked about Gwen’s burns,” Verdan said after casting a quick silencing ward. “He agreed that it matches Kurgane’s magic, and warned me that he is more powerful than we might otherwise think.”
“He’s arrogant and overconfident,” Kai said flatly. “I will use that to kill him when the time comes, but I will not underestimate him, don’t worry.”
Verdan paused for a moment, not quite sure what to say to that. On the one hand, he was happy that Kai was at least taking it seriously, but the fervour in Kai’s voice was concerning.
“Is that all you wanted to discuss?”
“No, I actually wanted to suggest that we tell Gwen. We’ve not really discussed anything with her, but with more confirmation about the magic, I think we should tell her.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Kai asked, arching a brow questioningly.
“Not really, which is why I wanted your opinion.”
Kai nodded thoughtfully and fell quiet for a few long moments before nodding. “I think you’re right, she deserves to know. It isn’t right for us to make that decision for her.”
“Vaijon won’t like it,” Verdan said, wincing as he imagined some of the potential consequences of telling Gwen.
Kai shrugged. “Vanarr is here now, so it isn’t like Kurgane is the highest ranking Sorcerer anymore.”
“Alright then, we’ll tell her once the city is secure.” Verdan nodded, happy that they’d come to a decision.
