The Wizard

Duchess of Luki

Morning brought the sound of horses. Mevner looked out his window to a dozen cavaliers galloping toward the lighthouse. The Knights of Verina dressed in full battle armor with swords and spears in hand. They came to a halting stop at the base of the tower.

"Melock the Wise, Wizard of Luki, Keeper of the Dragon, show yourself." 

Mevner stepped out the door and addressed the men pointing spears at him.

"Melock is dead." 

This was not the news the knights were hoping for and the ones with faces not hidden behind masked helmets showed it gravely.

"Has the dragon been returned to his island?" It was a bit of a wishful plea. 

"I'm afraid Luhng is free and in the Stone Mountains currently." 

"Then, you'd better come with us." 

"Are you arresting me? The Duke will not stand for that." 

"He is also dead. Will you come peacefully? The Duchess would like a word." 

"I suppose it's the right thing to do."

A large knight lifted Mevner to the back of his horse and the group rode off toward the center of town. The Duke's palace was severely damaged; half the structure and the surrounding houses burnt to the ground. Only the main brick fortress and the great hall still stood. They dismounted outside and ushered Mevner in.

The hall was full of commotion. The Mayor's council, aristocrats, land barons, bankers; the surviving ruling elite of the once spectacular seaside city demanded answers. They shouted to the young wizard as the knights rushed passed.

The audience chamber behind the great hall was quieter. The General of the city's army sat wounded in a chair; the left half of his body burned. Next to him stood the Duchess. The widow was a couple of years younger than Mevner and half the age of her former husband. She was stylishly dressed with long curly red hair and broad lips that parted with a sad smile when she saw the wizard. 

"Mage Ozgold, we feared your death as well. It is good to see you alive and returned to our troubled city. What news of the dragon? And of this Mazlo the Wicked?"

"Duchess, I'm sorry for your loss and the damage brought upon the city. Melock is dead. Murdered. The dragon is currently in the Stone Mountains. I don't know of this Mazlo you speak of."

Her blue-green eyes narrowed. "He called himself, Malum Mazlovado, but you would know him as Redwing."

The General interjected, "He came here, to this very hall, riding the dragon like a horse. He murdered the Duke and with the dragon lay waste to the city. Many good citizens were lost. Our army could not stop them."

"It was he who killed Melock. I, myself, was gravely injured." Mevner held his scarred hands out in front of him.

"You wear Melock's ring. You must be speaking the truth." The Duchess was educated by the wizard in her youth, a time when she and Mevner were childhood friends.

"It is true, Clotilde. I was there."

The General huffed, "And what do you plan to do now, wizard?"

"I will go to the mountains, confront Redwing, and return the dragon to his prison. Or, if need be, slay him." 

The General was considered the greatest warrior in the land and he had lost many men attempting to stop Luhng. "And how do you intend to do that?"

"Øregård and I will fight them." 

"The Ogre of the Lighthouse is dead. Ripped to pieces by the dragon." The General folded his arms in protest. 

"I met an old friend of Melock's in the forest. He healed me and re-assembled Øregård. He is stronger than ever."

"Huh, magic."

"Ozgold, will you promise to bring the dragon to justice? For the people of Verina?"

"Duchess, I will or die trying. Melock prepared me well. I didn't foresee this destiny, but it is now the path that I must take.

The Duchess walked forward and took his hand in her's "Mevner, be warned. This Mazlo is not the Redwing we knew growing up. He is turned evil. Menacing. Dangerous."

She stepped back. "We will give you what we can. Provisions, supplies, gold."

"And I will send my son, Octavious. He'll keep you alive long enough to cast your spells, wizard."

 The General's youngest son stepped forward. 

"This is a path that not all may return from. It is possible we go to our deaths." 

Mevner reached into his pocket and pulled out one of Melock's trinkets. He'd been contemplating on it since he arrived at the lighthouse. He held the Knowing Diamond out in the palm of his hand towards Octavius. The diamond turned red. 

"No one's fate is manifest, Octavius, but the diamond doesn't lie." 

The General was visibly shaken. He had lost two sons already to Luhng. "Hocus pocus. Your parlor tricks are no match for his sword." 

"I am not afraid." Octavius was nineteen at most, but confident and skilled. 

"We welcome the help, General, but I don't want to take your last son." 

"I am the finest swordsmen in the land." Octavius wasn't bashful. 

"Ok, then. We leave immediately. Duchess, I won't fail you." 

Mevner was led to the armory where he was given a fine long heavy winter jacket. He selected a small lightweight hand crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a second dagger and a satchel. He asked if any blank writing books had survived the library fire and was taken to another room where he was given a small leather-bound notebook. The pages were of high-quality pulp and the book came with a quill and a glass jar of ink. The treasury next issued him 100 gold doubloons. 

They returned him to the waiting horses in the courtyard. The knights had been replaced by Octavious in full battle armor, the Duchess in fine silver riding armor, and two others behind her. 

"Duchess, this is no sport outing we're departing on." Mevner looked concerned. 

"That is why I'm bringing my bodyguards." She gestured to each in turn.

"Bloodbath Bill Hanuman..." 

He was a muscular gorilla of a man in the strapped leather armor of the north with a double-bladed battle-ax on his back; exquisite face tattoos enhanced a simian look no one soon forgot. 

"...and Pathos de Martín." 

Tall, athletic, thirty-ish, dishy with long straight flaxen hair, she wore a reflective and intricately woven cloak that seemed to shield her true identity and project a sense of sinister roguishness. Mevner suspected she could be a half-elf judging by the design of her riding boots and her two short swords. 

"Monsieur Ozgold." Her smile was even more troublesome than her appearance. 

As for Bill, he grunted a nod in Mevner's direction.