Spellscribed: Resurgence (12 page)

Wrach arrived at the Sunken Tower a week after Bridget and Tanya, with his forces intending to support General Kurgen in holding the tower. Balen had been told that it had once housed Valeria's research lab. He was promptly informed that the tower had been captured, and they had only lost a few hundred warriors, most of those to the damned sand hornets that showed up to ruin a perfectly honorable conquest.

Now, General Kurgen was comfortably resting in the tower and was ready to receive the wolfman with a grin and a feast prepared. The room had once been the commander's, with a spacious ceiling and forty feet of room that provided for a luxurious bed, and a dinner table large enough to seat twelve. The stone walls were hung with ornate tapestries, all of which bore complicated, eye-twisting patterns with no discernable scenery.

The table was piled high with roasted meats and vegetables and carafes of wine set at either end. There were hammered tin goblets scattered about, and Wrach could smell that many had already seen some use.

"Wrach!" General Kurgen greeted him, his muscled arms spread. The man was only barely six foot; short for a barbarian, but he was as physically mighty as any Wrach had seen. His head was shaved, though stubble could be seen growing from his scalp. A wicked looking trio of scars crossed the top of his head, from the crown of his forehead back to the nape of his neck. They were long since healed, but no hair would grow in those furrows of scar tissue. It looked like something with claws had raked the top of his head.

"General Kurgen." Wrach replied, inclining his head. The man smelled of pride and booze, so he must have had an easy victory. "I see you captured the Sunken Tower without my assistance."

Kurgen chuckled to himself as he sat again, plucking a haunch of meat from the table and taking a bite. "Yes," he exclaimed, meaty juices dripping down his chin. "It seems the gods were with me. There we were, getting hyped up and ready to charge their defensive lines when it looked like the very desert itself rose up behind them."

The man paused to chew. "So, I called for my men to halt. I was thinking maybe their mages had some kind of crazy magic defending their people."

"A wise decision." Wrach supplemented as the man swallowed and took another bite. He seated himself and poured a goblet of wine. "Magic should not be underestimated."

"So we stop our charge, just in time to see the sand wave break, and underneath there was a swarm of some kind of giant bug." Kurgen said. "And that was when I thought we might be in trouble. I called our shield bearers forward to try to help regroup against something like that. But before I could get even ten words out of my mouth, the things just fell across the tower, attacking everything in their path."

"Oh?" Wrach grunted sipping at the wine. He could tell the wine was only a few years old, and made with a shoddy batch of small red grapes. It had undertones of a much better wine, which told him that the cheap stuff had been poured in with the good stuff to water it down. He supposed the humans couldn't tell as much, so he didn't bother to explain it to the general.

"Yes." The general replied, unaware of the wolfman's higher palate. "So we found out quick that they were going somewhere in a hurry, and only killed whatever was directly in their path. Even half the Ironsoul soldiers survived, once they got the idea to get out of the way."

Kurgen emptied his goblet again. "So we watched until the swarm of those things passed, and then charged in right after and took the tower before they could recover."

"I see." Wrach noted. "I didn't find many corpses as I approached. Have you taken care of the dead already?"

Kurgen tore a loaf of bread in half, using one half to sop the meat juices from his platter. "Didn't have to." He said. "Bugs ate them. Spit out the metal bits along the way, though. I'd bet there are helmets and gauntlets scattered from here to Ironsoul City."

Wrach was sniffing a lamb hock when the words clicked. "They went to Ironsoul City?" He asked.

"Yes. Straight a shot there as an archer could manage." Kurgen replied. He had already finished the bread and was wiping clean. "Speaking of archers, those two ghosts never made it here. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but they disappeared as our supply train caught up to us, and it's got the men nervous."

Wrach stood, planning on taking the lamb to go. "Why?" He asked.

"They think ghosts can turn invisible." Kurgen replied seriously. "It's been a bother to me too, but general Balen assures me they are loyal dead, so I'm willing to let their disappearing and stuff slide."

Wrach realized the man truly believed what he was saying. The superstitions of the barbarians had been so heavily ingrained in them, they would be willing to ignore the truth laid bare before them. Still, his Alpha had told him to respect their customs, so he only nodded.

"I do believe ghosts can vanish." The wolfman lied. "Only magic could pin them down for sure."

"Dammit." Kurgen responded. "Well, I hope we can find the old Spengur soon. He kept firm control of his Draugnoa. And he did his job." Kurgen sighed and wiped his shaved head. "The current one's completely useless."

"I know." Wrach replied. "It was Endrance who brought us together. This one... I've never seen him open his doors, much less leave the house for the last few years."

"And since the last Spengur had the house rebuilt out of stone, it would be hard to drive him out." Kurgen replied. "Used to be able to just burn the mage out if he didn't serve the kingdom."

The bald general grumbled. "Look." He said. "Can I ask you to do something for me?"

Wrach nodded. "I am here to serve." He said.

"We managed to secure the first six floors of the tower, but the damn thing keeps going down." Kurgen stated. "And we're pretty sure that some of the enemy retreated down below that level when we captured the tower. Now, I'm perfectly willing to believe that most of the leadership was eaten by the swarm that passed through, but I'm not going to leave it to chance. Can you take a few of your scouts and search the lower levels? A wolfman would be better able to tell us if there are any survivors down there."

Wrach hesitated. He had been interested in finding out what Tanya and Bridget had gotten into, but this was a large security concern and the general was requesting it of him directly. Wrach inclined his head. "As you command."

Kurgen grinned. "Great." he said, gesturing to the table. "Feel free to get a bite to eat first, and share some with the scouts you're taking with you. After all, I don't want you fighting on an empty stomach."

Wrach sighed, waving away the offered food. "I am sorry, general." Wrach replied. "We will not eat today." He turned to leave the room, pausing at the door to regard the curious general with one eye. "We wolves hunt best on an empty stomach."

****

Wrach chose only three additional wolves to join him. They were all experienced hunters, and they were the best trackers of his assembled forces. They had helped provide supplemental rations to his forces when their movement outpaced their supply lines. They had also consequently had the most exposure to the humans of Ironsoul.

Of the three, only Runa volunteered. She wanted to try to catch up to Bridget as well, and helping Wrach finish his task at Sunken Tower would get them on their way faster. She had also finished mending from her prior injury and wanted to prove herself.

Wrach looked to his three hunters and gestured for them to follow. As the only volunteer, Runa took the leadership role under him. The act of determining an Alpha was instinctual, something they knew and accepted deep in their bones that the barbarians had never quite gotten the hang of. After all, they were capable of recognizing strength, but if they had the same instinct of the wolfmen, then there would be no need for ascension rituals or challenges to the throne. They would be able to just know who was best suited to be leader.

The entry to the lower levels was two disparate sets of broad stairs that spiraled around each other down the tower, in a ring about half the radius of the building. Rooms and hallways honeycombed the tower the rest of the way, and the massive size of the place had made the circular stairs seem endless as they descended down floor after floor. Each step was only four inches down from the last, and each step was six feet wide and two deep. It made for a smooth, gradual descent that would be almost like walking down a gentle hill.

The doors to the upper floors were guarded, and two dinner tables had been repurposed as stairwell barricades from which two crossbow-wielding warriors were posted. Torches had been lit along the walls, but only for the first two floors below them. After that, they were in darkness.

"This place is strange." Runa observed, speaking Ulfreau. "The stones feel solid, but we know there is more space beneath us."

"I cannot hear more than forty feet ahead or behind us." one of the other hunters replied, his ears swiveling from front to back as he scanned for any sounds other than their party. "It's as if the place has consumed it."

Wrach continued moving, sniffing the air as he advanced. He didn't have any source of light ready yet, but each of the wolves had quick ways to make fire if they needed it. Instead, they moved in the dark and used their superior senses of smell and hearing to try to find any survivors in the darkened section of the tower.

They didn't have to go far. Only six floors below the ground level, Wrach and his pack picked up the scent of human occupation. There was the smell of blood, but also other bodily functions that carried on the air in ways that were impossible for humans to detect.

"Here we are." Wrach stated. "We should scout their numbers before we return."

There were no sentries, which was surprising to him. Light was shining out from under the next set of doors, so they got into position around the door before Wrach tested the handle. It was unlocked. Questioning the strangeness, but still needing to complete his mission, he pushed the door open slowly and moved in.

They slipped into the main area of the floor, and almost immediately found three soldiers sitting around a table. Wrach drew one of his short swords with a silent snarl on his lips, but the three men reacted in a way that made him hesitate.

The man closest to him turned his head and smiled dreamily. "Oh, hey!" he said, his voice slurred and drunken. "We gosh shome new guesht."

The other two lifted their heads and blinked at them blearily. "Tha's good." one of the others said, lurching to his feet and wobbling. "She'd wanna shee new gueshts."

Wrach spared a glance back at his own people, and was met with three marginally alarmed looks. None of the four knew how to handle this kind of response to their presence. They had been expecting alarm or aggression.

"Lesh... go show them around." the one man who stood said. "C'mon get up."

"Nah." the third man said, resting his head on the table. "Ah'll jus rest here a bit. S'ok?"

The standing man shook his head, but turned away from the group and shuffled down a corridor. Wrach gestured for Runa to wait, and went with the man alone. As he walked through the opposite door from where they had entered, he heard the other man speak to them. "Hey, did you know you're fuzzy? I want to touch it."

"Ancestors, let Runa be able to handle this." Wrach muttered.

The man led him down a series of turns and halls that would have been confusing if Wrach hadn't already had a superior sense of direction and could navigate by scent. A smell of perfume started to permeate the air as they got closer to wherever the man was leading him. Wrach sneezed; it was heady stuff, almost tickling his nose but it smelled only like a spring rain. It was strangely familiar, but he couldn't place where he had smelled it before.

"Where are we going?" Wrach asked.

The man slowly turned to look back at him. "Oh, we're going to see the bossh." he said. "She's... sho pretty. You'll… you'd like her."

Wrach didn't need his sense of smell to pick up the lustful pheromones coming off of his guide. Just what was going on in there?

The man came to a pair of double doors. If Wrach was right, this would be the same room on this floor as General Kurgen had been inhabiting above. He mentally prepared for a fight, remembering the size and dimensions of the coming room. And if nothing had been changed, there could be upwards of a dozen attackers.

With a grunt, the man put his weight on both doors, pushing them slowly open. Wrach didn't remember them being that heavy, but then again the man was heavily intoxicated.

The room beyond had been cleared of most furniture, excepting a large couch against the far back wall that was piled with dozens of pillows and cushions. A lone female figure lounged across it while several more men in Ironsoul armor and weapons were scattered about the room, sitting or lying down passively. The large room was dimly lit, and he could only see that the woman wore a fine red dress and had dark corkscrew hair.

"Bossh!" the man called. "We have guests."

"You fool!" the woman hissed. "That isn't a guest!

Wrach tightened his grip on his short sword. That voice sounded like someone he knew, but it seemed wrong, somehow. He took a step forward as the woman rose to her feet.

"I could still be a guest." Wrach said cautiously. "I don't want to fight if I don't have to."