A Smidge of Magic

Chapter 68

Mal sat on his haunches near Roland, who was crouched on a wooded hill overlooking the warehouse. Ban'Koliath, Pandora, First Ranger Trendal, and Commander Reige were close behind. Roland was attempting to scry, a spell to see inside, but finding his attempts were unsuccessful. The remainder of the Order had gotten in position and awaited Commander Reige's command. And he was waiting on Roland, who was in the process of cooking up something a little more potent than a simple scrying spell.

"We can't see inside the building," Reige said, holding a hushed conversation on a pscry with Gormath, "But the plan remains the same. Once Custodian Ironroar's mage friend finishes whatever the gods he's doing, we'll get a look inside. Begin your assault when you are ready," He paused while listening to Gormath's response. "And to you. May you never walk in shadow," Reige said and then put the pscry into a pouch at his hip. "Almost through there, Mage Altaeus?"

Roland ignored him, lost in the machinations and complexities of his craft. When his purple eyes snapped open there was a faint golden light coming from within his pupils. He gave Pandora his roguish smile and whispered to her, "If you can't see into the building, simply make the building see through."

He raised his hand, the golden light from his eyes drained out and sped down his arm, rocketing from his outstretched fingers. Zip, zing, fwish. The motes of light struck the building, in the spots where the light touched the walls appeared to melt away. Soon enough they could all see what awaited inside.

Crimson-clad figures milled around the open space. Warriors, mages, archers and all manner in-between were represented in the mix. The inside of the building was mostly bare, with a few shelves at the front stacked with wine casks to give the appearance of filled storage space. In the center of it, rested a brilliant white portal. A portal surrounded by people armed to the teeth and ready for a fight.

Someone has given us away, Ban'Koliath thought. Reige mutter the same sentiment from beside him. There was little they could do about it, besides hope that Gormath and the others would be enough to deal with the forces inside.

Roland's spell, however, got an unexpected second wind. It continued to spread until the entire building became transparent. On the roof a man ran for the stairwell and shouted down to those inside, raising the alarm. They watched as their enemies ran for the front door, having spotted the Order of Brass and Fallen Kings through the clear walls.

Reige gave Roland a sour look, but all the mage could do was shrug. He hadn't expected the spell to do that. He'd been going for a single wall, not the whole bloody building, but when concocting new spells on the fly these things happened. Shouts from the front pulled Reige's attention back to the building.

Battle lines formed up as the Harlequin Court's forces poured out from the warehouse. Gormath ordered the Brassmen out onto the field, where a bright translucent blue shield enveloped the members of the Order. The Fallen Kings which Trendal had left in Gormath's charge were positioned amongst the Okallas on the eastern side of the building and out of sight.

Sub-Commander Gormath flicked his long golden-scaled tail so abruptly that it cracked like a whip. He walked out in front to within an inch of the shield, stuck his massive cavalry sword into the ground and turned his back on the enemy. He looked out over the faces of his Sisters and Brothers. Then in a boisterous, carrying tone, he spoke.

"Today it ends. There will be no quarter, no parlay, no surrender. No more hiding in the shadows. Time and time again we have been subjected to the subterfuge and sabotage of this group of fanatics. Centuries," He paused to let that sink in for some of the younger members, "Centuries we have been fighting this shadow war, and make no mistake we have been losing. But todat it ends." Gormath pulled his sword from the ground and aimed the tip behind him at the crimson horde. "Here and now we have finally found the source of corruption, the cancerous malady that has eaten away at us to our very core. Today our righteous wrath will be brought to bear, and we will claim vengeance and victory for all of our fallen!"