Songs of the Silver Wizard

COMPENDIUM

“Be wary of those who wear their piety for all to see. The sincere rouge is less likely to stab you in the back than the boisterous priest.”

Thaddeus shivered as a cockroach ran across his big toe. Somewhere outside Bowlorn’s keep, Bob neighed. He hoped the Master of the Deep Wood’s subjects were as good as the rumors said; he’d grown rather fond of the horse. From somewhere below them came a chorus of muffled shouts.

Antonina stood leaning against the post, tapping the scales of her black armor. How she could stand comfortably there while most of Thaddeus's thoughts comprised of him throttling her, he didn’t know. It was impressive composure.

“I blame your thrall for this,” Thaddeus said, breaking the silence.

“How was poor Reginald supposed to know the guards didn’t care for me.”

“Even if Grindel doesn’t take our friend here into the Eternal Hall, I doubt Bowlorn will take kindly to your proposal.”

“He’s an honest brute, and he owes me a favor.”

“Somehow, I think Reginald’s knife in his side will void any previous contracts you two had.”

Bowlorn lay still on a long wooden table in the middle of his keep. They had bandaged the wound the best they could, and one of Bowlorn’s shaman made quick work of applying a steaming salve to the knife wound. It should not have been fatal, but Thaddeus had no idea what dark arts were at work in the vampire’s blades. And besides, Bowlorn’s Hall deep in the heart of the wood carried its own, odd magic. The shaman retreated back to his hut, muttering something about wormwood balm. Thaddeus had a mind to follow him, but the Captain of the Guard dissuaded any such notions.

Had he not been marched within at spear point, the Hall would have taken Thaddeus’s breath away. It grew out of the very earth itself, walls of twisting wood formed into a great keep that blended in seamlessly with the surrounding forest. A forest of posts indiscernible from the trunks of their wild brethren lined the hall, their wooden arched limbs arched above them, crisscrossing in an intricate pattern. A deep gallery coalesced from the beams, and twenty men in thick fur cloaks stood watch over their master and his would-be killers with curved longbows.

“He’ll be fine. For all his ferocity, he’d whimper at a sliver in his paw.”

The shouting from below came again.

“You’re sure he’ll be fine?” Thaddeus asked, his eyes darting up to the gallery. Hoping their watcher’s discipline was sharp.

“Of course…”

“Fire! Foes!”

The shouts came from outside. Thankfully, the bowman heeded the shouts and did not decide to use Thaddeus as a pincushion. The wizard stood, listening intently.

The onrushing wave forced Thaddeus to the floor and rattled the Hall’s trunk-like pilons. Rising again, he watched as Antonia sprinted out the great wooden doors. It grated the back of his teeth, and the wizard fought the urge to spit on Bowlorn’s sacred hall. Dark Magic.

“Stand and fight, you cowards!” Antonia yelled, and those in the gallery responded, following her out to the battlements. Thaddeus readied his staff and charged toward the door.

“Help us!”

The shouts came from below. The smell of smoke was already wafting through Bowlorn’s Keep. Whatever the crimes, Thaddeus could think of few that called for such justice. And, after all, he was a wizard of the highest order. What danger did a few brigands pose?

In the corner of the hall lay a trap door. With a twirl, Thaddeus shattered the lock, and three disheveled figures scampered from the depths of Bowlorn’s prison.

“Ahh, freedom! See, lads, did I not tell you? Never doubt the Dread Pirate Sodentra!” the first man said. Tall, lanky, and with his red-black hair matted and twisted into long braided locks, he had the bow-legged walk of a sailor.

“I believe you had little to do with it. Thank you, sir,” the second man said, bowing to Thaddeus as he clapped dirt from his hands. As tall as the first, his beard had grown unkempt during their imprisonment. He pressed a pair of spectacles up his nose.

“You will address me as captain, Kallens. We’ve discussed this,” Sodentra said.

“And I’ll remind you, per article seven, page four, subsection three of our Declaration of Free Enterprise and Sworn Brotherhood–”

“-a terrible title, but go on,” the first said. Thaddeus watched, amused.

“Ahem, the title that carried the vote…you are only captain when aboard our ship,”

“And what is a ship but wood over water. As we well know, there is water below these floors still pooling around poor Ed’s boots, and we can both agree we stand upon wood. Therefore I posit that this hall is nothing but a beached ship. Accordingly, I am still captain! Now that’s established, please go fetch Ed,”

The man named Kallens shook his head, and Thaddeus got the distinct impression that this debate was a regular occurrence, before he disappeared back into the pit.

“Please forgive my biographer. He can be the most obtuse at times. Since you freed us, I will give you the honor of not robbing you. Kallens, Ed, hurry it up now!”

Thaddeus sighed. The third figure appeared from the hatch, the collar of his tattered journey cloak firmly in Kallens’s hand. The third man, Ed, looked as though he felt rather at home in the pit. Squat and bald, Thaddeus could not tell if he had spent his entire internment beside a window or if his face was always that shade of red.

“Come on man…heave to!” Kallens said, hauling him up through the hole.

“Don’t let him fool you. That man is more dangerous than even myself,” Sodentra said, leaning in toward Thaddeus, too close for the wizard’s liking. “I thank you again, fair wizard. Crew, I believe we have some booty to liberate from this tyrant.”

An explosion from beyond the hall shook the timbers. The one named Ed jumped behind Kallens, who rolled his eyes. Thaddeus did not have time for this. He would have bound them, but freeing them from one fiery prison, only to condemn them to another seemed…unbecoming. Bob certainly would disapprove.

“Or, help me, the Wizard who freed you, and maybe I’ll give you back your ship.”

“Deal,” The Dreaded Dread Pirate Sodentra said.

“We didn’t vote on it!”

“Uhh…my sack…if the fire…”

Satisfied in leaving them to squabble, Thaddeus strolled out of Bowlorn’s Hall…

…and into the inferno.

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A/N:

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