finished.
'I've heard nothing of the sort from my contact,' Brother Frog bellowed, springing up immediately.
'I'm not surprised, seeing as how your contact couldn't even confirm whether or not the victims of Saestra Karanok were even wizards.' Therescales raised an eyebrow, and Frog frowned but sat down.
'How do you know it's even Brother Hawk's ally?' Sister Rat's voice trembled. Therescales turned his head slightly to look at her but watched Brother Hawk from the corner of his eye. This was the catch in the plan. No one knew where Hawk's wizard was from, except maybe Hawk himself. Therescales had been forced to make an educated guess, hope that Hawk did know, and that the guess was right. If he was wrong, at best Hawk would simply reveal that the Karanoks had the wrong person, and the bait would be impotent. Then Therescales would have to find some way to keep Jaerios from burning him at the stake.
Or Hawk could suspect Therescales, and he would find himself at the mercy of the mages.
Therescales trusted he held the right cards, however. There were only so many wizards with the resources and motivation to aid an overthrow of the Karanoks. It was time to play his hand.
'My informant told me that a squad of House Karanok guards had stumbled upon the wizard's camp while patrolling the road up to Mordulkin. It appeared that the wizard had been on his way down from there and was waiting to meet someone.' From the periphery, Therescales saw Brother Hawk's shoulder's sag. He forced himself not to smile as triumph welled in his chest.
Therescales took his seat, and everyone looked to Brother Hawk. The leader of the mages stood slowly and leaned on the table.
'Brothers, it appears that Brother Asp's information is correct.' The concession was met with more murmurs and gasps. 'Please, I'm not finished.' Brother Hawk motioned for silence. 'In light of this development, we need to immediately begin planning a rescue.'
Cries of protest and shock erupted. Therescales was not surprised. He knew the bait wouldn't be taken readily by all. He waited to see how Brother Hawk would do his work for him.
'Order, order! You will be quiet,' Brother Crocodile roared.
'I know this isn't how we planned things to progress, but if we can't be flexible, then we're no better than the Karanoks.'
'Flexible has nothing to do with it,' Brother Fox retorted. 'Attacking the Karanoks is suicide.'
'It would not be a full-fledged assault. We could hit them on the way to the execution yards. Please, you must see that this is the only way. If we do not at least try, how can we show future allies that we are even worth supporting?' Stone silence met Brother Hawk's plea, and he sat back with a sigh. Therescales decided to risk a little push.
'I call for a vote.'
'A vote has been called,' Brother Boar declared in his slurred voice. 'According to our bylaws, a majority is required to act upon the proposal before us. As arbiter of the vote, I am not allowed to cast my own ballot unless a tie must be broken. I will. call out your name, and you will answer 'aye' if in favor of a rescue attempt or 'nay' if against. I will start to my right. Brother Hawk?'
'Aye.'
'Brother Crocodile?' 'Aye.'
'Brother Chameleon?' 'Nay.'
'Brother Fox?' 'Nay.'
'Brother Frog?' 'Aye.'
'Sister Rat?' 'Nay.'
'Brother Tortoise?'
'Nay.'
'Brother Raven?' 'Aye.'
'Brother Asp?'
Therescales couldn't help the grin this time. 'Aye.' 'The 'ayes' have it.'
'Yes!' Brother Hawk shouted, pounding the table with his fist. He stood once again. 'I know that those who voted against this action will act honorably and fully support your comrades. Now here is what I suggest.' He nodded to Therescales as he began to outline his plan for the rescue. Therescales just sat back and carefully took note of it all.
Tjeralds from House Karanok had made the rounds through the city yesterday, proclaiming a public execution the following dawn of a foreign wizard. Even though the winter sky was still the gray of diffused morning light, crowds lined the boulevard that ran from Karanok Palace to the execution yards, squeezed together as much for warmth as for the hope of a better view. As the first rays of sun bounced off the marble dome of the palace, a drum roll cadence echoed down the grand staircase that led from the two great bronze doors to the courtyard. Gasps from the crowd announced the appearance of two guards in ceremonial bronze breastplates, shields, and helmets with horsehair plumes, all buffed to a mirror shine. They stood stiff and silent at the top of the stairs then rapped the butts of their spears against the floor before making their way down.
The guards were followed by a pair of clerics dressed in flowing robes of white, swinging censers from which wafted brownish green smoke. Behind the clerics came two pairs of guards dressed in similar ceremonial armor. Shackled between each pair were the condemned: a woman in rags, her dark hair shaved on one side, her face swollen and bruised; and a skinny man with thin, blond hair, his eyes staring off somewhere distant as he stumbled along. Another set of censer-bearing clerics created a buffer between the prisoners and a series of enclosed sedan chairs that undoubtedly carried the members of the Karanok family behind their lowered curtains. Bringing up the rear of the procession were a dozen crossbow-wielding guards, scanning the crowd as they moved out of the courtyard and down the boulevard.
Brother Hawk frowned. Already they encountered a variable they hadn't planned for. Which of the two was the wizard? Brother Frog's contact in the palace had been killed before a description could be obtained.
Brow furrowed, Hawk pushed his way through the crowd, trying to keep pace with the parade. The five other mages followed him, weaving through the rear ranks of spectators. They all wore heavy, hooded cloaks of drab wool pulled tight about them. No one gave them a second glance. The chill air was reason enough to bundle up; being able to hide your face was an added bonus. It had been decided not to use magic for disguises, as the spells would be a beacon announcing their presence to any divinations. That also meant no wands, rings, or staves. So they were left with the spells each had spent the past day preparing. It was an all-or-nothing gamble with the odds stacked high against them. Now with two prisoners to rescue, those odds doubled. There was no way around it, however. They could not take the chance of grabbing the wrong one.
The mages reached the ruins of the Old Wizard's Tower ahead of the parade. No one remembered the name of the former tenant, or at least no one ever spoke it aloud. The tumbled stone, now covered with creepers and other overgrowth, was once a great, white tower that rivaled the current residence of Naeros Karanok. It was also the site of the first enforcement of the Karanoks' law against magic. In the middle of the night, guards from House Karanok had invaded the tower. Explosions echoed across the city, and flashes lit the darkness as various wards and protections were triggered, but the Karanoks had numbers on their side. Outmanned and overwhelmed, the owner of the tower chose to destroy the structure and all the secrets held within rather than turn it over to the rulers of Luthcheq. The rubble was left untouched as a reminder of the fate awaiting those who practiced the forbidden.
Brother Hawk scanned the surrounding buildings as his comrades took their places scattered amongst the crowd. The remaining mages should have been in position since the night before. He peered into dark windows and studied rooftops, trying to catch a glimpse of movement, a sign that all was ready. The rooftops were still, and the windows peered back like the empty sockets of a skull.
Nothing to do but wait, Brother Hawk told himself.
Sections of the crowd were heckling the prisoners as they neared. Rotten vegetables pelted the pair sporadically. Hawk stood on his toes and craned his neck. They were just a few yards away now. He recalled the arcane words that would trigger his spell, holding them until the attack began.
The clerics at the front of the procession had drawn even with Brother Hawk's position. He started to cough as smoke from the swinging censers drifted past him. Brother Hawk put his hand over his face to keep from drawing attention then panicked as he felt the spell slipping from his memory. He closed his eyes to concentrate and fixed the incantation firmly in his mind.
