Chapter 2

The flat, valley land broke abruptly into a series of mountains. Archibald trotted his horse between two peaks and into a narrow river valley. They walked their horses alongside the river until they came upon a series of thirteen great cubical stones, thrust vertically out of the earth in a single line. The rectangular cubic rocks stood as tall as the gnarled and ancient alder trees, which clung deep-rooted to the banks of the River Ganlach. Archibald stopped his horse in front of the rock formation.

"So easy to recognize the entrance of home, and I'm so glad to see it."

"Yes it is," replied Pricilla. "I am anxious to arrive in the colony. I need a hot bath, some decent food and time to meditate after four days on the road. Plus, I've missed our community."

"Aye. I am looking forward to being surrounded by our own once again. Folk that understand that there are forces in this world beyond one's own eyes." Archibald turned his horse away from the river and moved to the forest. "Come on Pricilla, we are almost home."

A few yards in, they found the great path of the Wizard Colony of Drumlock Forest. The way was wide at thirty-five paces, clear and straight with a covering of tree crowns touching from one side to the other. Sunlight trickled into the tunnel-like path below, and the floor glowed pale green; a carpet of soft grasses, heather and lichen. They followed it deep up the mountainside. The sounds of the forest were muffled. A slight breeze from the tree crowns above whistled softly in the background, and the sound of hooves that trod upon grass below.

The deciduous forest of the riverside turned to mighty evergreens of spruce and fir and the turpentine smell of conifers hung in the air. The road led them to the base of a waterfall where the path abruptly stopped. Mist rose in the air as the water beat upon the rocks from high above, shattering the stream into infinitesimal small droplets that ricocheted back into the air creating a cool fog hovering over the water's surface.

Archibald untied his staff and pointed to the waterfall. Before he could utter a word, a voice rose behind him.

“And who do we have the pleasure of seeing today?”

They both swung their horses around to see who spoke. Archibald gripped his staff as Pricilla quickly gathered hers to the ready.

“A young man and a young woman. All alone in the Drumlock forest,” the voice continued. “You do know, strange things happen in Forest Drumlock?”

The voice came from up high, on a horizontal limb that stretched out a dozen arms length, yet, no one was there. Archibald stared first left, then right at the base of adjacent trees, and spotted Wizard Inverlane. The Wizard smiled. Pearly teeth brightly contrasted by pale blue lips set into a sea of soft white beard, hanging as far as his belly button. His forehead was weathered, dark, and sported thin white eyebrows. His eyes, the color of damp moss, set deep into his head. He wore an off-white cape with a hood that pulled tight around his face.

“Did you think I would forget that we had a master of vocal deception among us?” Archibald said. “To throw your voice twenty arms is a trick that I've only seen Master Inverlane do.” Archibald retied his staff to the saddle as he spoke. “So what brings you out here to the border of the Colony? Did you need the full force of the waterfall to shower the dirt from your pores?”

The old wizard ignored Archibald and turned his attention to Pricilla. “My lovely young enchantress, how in the world did you manage to travel for four days with only this wizard as your companion? And you still look young and in good health. I was as young as you at one time until I started to teach this one.” He pointed to Archibald. “Now look at me, white hair, white beard, I've even got a wrinkle or two on my brow.” He smiled wide.

“It was only four days, Master Inverlane. The companionship of my horse made it bearable.”

Archibald glanced at Pricilla with an amused look. "Even my partner for the last four years must kick a humble man when an old wizard has him down." He turned again to Wizard Inverlane. "Speaking of old, Master Inverlane, can you still remember how to get us through the waterfall? Or is that why you stand here in the forest, waiting for someone to come along and cast the spell?"

"Well done Archibald," Inverlane laughed. He swept his staff in a semi-circle pointed toward the waterfall and in an instant, the fog cleared from above the water, revealing a dry and firm path leading behind the waterfall to a mountain tunnel "Let's see if your horse can move as fast as your tongue. I'll meet you at the colony later this evening."

Pricilla and Archibald both nodded their heads towards him and rode behind the waterfall and into the tunnel. They galloped through the dark towards light peeking in from the other side. The tunnel had been bored through the mountain and was a quarter league in length. It opened on the other side into a small, forested valley. The path led through an elevated meadow as it neared the forested base of a sheer White Rock Mountain. Cabins came into view. Smoke rose from chimneys in thin feathery wisps and the aroma of cooking food was all around.

"Venison stew if I'm not mistaken," Archibald said. "It'll be a tad better than the dried bread 'n' meats we've been gnawing on for the last four days."

"A bath first, then a fine meal," Pricilla said. "I love my horse, however, I care not to smell like her."

"Aye," Archibald spoke. "I didn't want to offend you on our trip, but your smell..."

Pricilla cocked her head at Archibald. "Beware wizard, your tongue is almost as foul as your odor, and will probably betray you if not checked."

Archibald smiled and remained silent as the horses walked into the colony proper towards the stables. Both removed their staffs and gear and set it to the side before removing saddles, blankets and reigns. They led the horses into stalls.

They walked among the cabins of the colony, receiving nods from young and old wizards alike, who stepped outside their abodes to welcome their fellow wizards' back into the colony after four years.

Pricilla turned on a path that led her to a small cabin built into the side of steep hill under a giant cedar. A slight trickle of smoke left the chimney of the abode, and drips of water plopped from moss covered roof shingles onto ferns below.

"I will see you at the dining hall in less than an hour," she said.

"I will do my best at cleaning not only my body, but my tongue as well, before we sup, if it so pleases, my lady?"

"It does, young wizard," Pricilla said, a smile wide on her face. She winked at him and moved to the cabin.

#

"Pricilla," squealed the young girl as she ran to the opening door.

"Carmen." Pricilla grabbed the slight girl and gave her a hug. You have grown so much since I left."

"I'm so glad you are home. I've missed you," Carmen said, as they held each other tightly.

"I've missed you also." Pricilla released her and stepped back. "When I left, you were a frail little girl, just learning to cast a spell and now..."

"I'm fourteen and I have my own staff, but the hardest part with you being gone was living alone in this cabin. I was so used to you being here, keeping an eye on me, teaching me, and just talking to me."

Pricilla remembered her own time in the cabin as a child, alone. The only female in the colony for eight long years until Carmen arrived at the age of seven. Wizard Tomalacht, the oldest wizard and founder of the colony, took Pricilla on trips outside the colony. She stayed with wonderful women and children her own age for months, during some of these journeys. She had the opportunity to see how people outside the colony lived. Tomalacht also took her to see the Witch Dympna, a skilled sorceress, who instructed her on those things only witches could do, such as seduction of a man, feigning innocence, pretending ignorance and how not to become pregnant from an act of indiscretion. For almost a year she stayed at the witch's house learning her ways. Dympna taught her of natural plants for healing, eliciting truth or even killing a person. The witch was responsible for instilling the biggest lesson she needed to know: A woman's strength lies not in her physical stature but in her ability to use her mind.

Dympna, Pricilla realized, teetered on the edge of right and wrong, unlike Wizard Tomalacht. The powers of a witch like Dympna were not the same as the wizards of the colony, and did not arise from the same source. The old Wizard Tomalacht taught her the ways of wizards using energy and sacred words to create outcomes beneficial to the community. Witch Dympna on the other hand, used ancient spells, recipes, curses and deceit to enrich herself. Pricilla was relieved when Tomalacht brought her back to the wizard colony after spending so many months with Dympna. She felt happy and at ease once again although in time, she realized what a vast amount of knowledge she had learned from the sorceress.

Pricilla smiled at Carmen. "Help me get into a tub of hot water so I can clean the smell of journey off me. Then I'm ravished and in need of a hot meal."

"My pleasure," Carmen said as she walked across the room and pulled on a curtain to reveal a large copper tub with a high back on one end. She placed a stopper in the drain, then turned a valve and hot water piped from a volcanic spring poured into the container. Carmen placed sprigs of herbs and petals of flowers into the water as steam rose from the tub; soon the cabin was filled with pleasant scents of the forest.

Pricilla removed her soiled clothes and climbed into the tub, letting loose a sigh, as the hot water relaxed her. Carmen handed Pricilla a bar of soap and a clean rag, scooted a chair to the side of the tub and sat down, hands folded across her lap.

"You've been gone four years. Tell me all about it?"

Pricilla told her story as she scrubbed her body. Carmen sat wide-eyed as the story unfolded. Half way through her tale, Pricilla stood up in the tub after pulling the plug, and asked, "What if I resume this story after we eat?"

Carmen nodded and presented her with a towel to dry herself off.

"Besides, I think Wizard Tomalacht will want to hear the last part of the story."

Carmen handed her a clean dress and a hooded robe to wear and they left the cabin and headed to the dining hall.

#

"Of course, I split my opponents arrow right down the center, leaving us both with a bullseye, yet he with one less quiver," Archibald told a group of young wizards, who sat gape mouthed at a large wooden table in the dining hall. "The next round my opponent placed three fingers from the center. I again, placed in the center of the bullseye to win. Just to make sure, I fired off three more arrows in quick succession, one, two, three." He glanced at an imaginary target half way across the room as he pulled on an imaginary bow, filling it with imaginary arrows, "each one encircling my original hit, all four arrows within a finger of each other. That, my friends is how you become the second to a royal prince."

"Were you involved in battle?" a young wizard of no more than eleven asked.

"I spent time in the field battling not armies, but groups of marauders set on taking crops and livestock from the kingdom. They were barbarous men who thought nothing of poking the eyes out of lads your age," Archibald moved his head around, looking at each of the young wizards in the eye, "just so the lads couldn't identify who they were. We took care of them...the royal archers under my direction pinned an entire group of fifty into a circle. We tied their hands behind their backs and marched them to the castle. Once there, each man was forced to repent his sins at the alter of the church, in front of any who wanted to see, before they were led outside and beheaded."

"They were beheaded after repenting?"

"It was the Bishop's orders. He figured they were all heathens who lied. That was just one of many military engagements I was involved in so the prince awarded me-"

"The ability to help him put on his clothes in the morning and take them off at night," Pricilla butted in.

"Ah, if it's not the fair handmaiden of the Princess. I must tone down my tales of adventure to you lads, since we all know how the fairer sex can not handle the tough and gruesome details of a man's world without fainting."

"You didn't tell them then?" Pricilla questioned him.

"What?"

"That it was I, who, single handed, eliminated both the traitors to the king."

"Is that true?" A voice behind her spoke, the tone deep.

Pricilla and Archibald both turned to see Master Wizard Tomalacht. The old wizard leaned on a gnarled dark wooden staff. His long white hair flowed over his shoulders, blending into pale blue robes. The old wizard arched a bushy eyebrow upward in question, dark blue eyes twinkling.

"Yes," Pricilla said.

"Technically, that is correct." Archibald leaned back on his chair and smiled at Master Tomalacht. "However, it was four long years for both of us, preparing to seize the moment that the King's children betrayed him, as you forewarned."

"Ah, yes it was Wizard Archibald, four long years," Tomalacht replied, the corners of his lips tilted up, almost smiling. "Four long years. All of us need to talk, for your next mission is upon you."

"Next mission?" Pricilla asked.

Archibald felt surprised and he knew it showed on his face. "You mean, Pricilla and I? On another mission?"

Tomalacht glanced at the young wizards surrounding Archibald. "Archibald and Pricilla on another mission, yes, but with a little more separation this time. Grab something to eat and meet in my cabin."

Archibald looked at Pricilla, then back. "Within the hour Master Tomalacht," he said.

#

"I really wanted a year or two, back in the colony... a chance to refocus my wizardry," Pricilla told Archibald as they walked to Tomalacht's cabin. Pricilla thought of the things that she still needed to learn about wizardry. She wanted to teach Carmen those things she learned from the Dympna so Carmen did not have to be associated with a witch that was on the verge of evil.

"I know" Archibald said. "I could stand to spend more time learning my spells and how to use the staff better. I guess when I look at our last mission, I learned a lot about weapons people use. People's strategies and the workings of politics, but I really wish I had learned more wizardry. I mean, Tomalacht and Inverlane are so wise. That is where I want to be."

"I'm not sure the earth can last that long."

"No, I mean." Archibald paused and gave her an irritated look. "You have a sharp tongue my dear. Is it also forked?"

"Now, now Archibald my friend, if you can't take a wee bit of ribbing, perhaps you should stay and focus on learning. I can probably handle this mission myself."

Archibald did not respond for a moment. "No, I was out of line, you're right. I should be able to take it in the spirit intended. Besides, I couldn't let you be all alone on a mission, someone needs to keep an eye on you...for your own good."

"For my own good?"

"Of course. The physical strength and skills of a man are needed to see you safely through your mission."

"Only you could actually believe that, Archibald my friend. But I'll welcome you to tag along so you may learn something."

"Tag along? I'll have you know-"

"We're here. Now please try to act civil. I know living amongst non-wizards, you picked up the worst of their habits." Pricilla knocked on the door to Tomalacht's cabin.

She stared at the wood grain on the door and remembered almost every pattern in it from her years as his student, everyday, knocking on this same slab of wood. The little window inset into the door still had a piece of wood missing from the frame as it had when she arrived at the colony at age seven. Pricilla thought back, but couldn't remember anything about her life before knocking on Tomalacht's door for the first time. She remembered that day though, she was hungry and she had a bandage on her head. Tomalacht removed the bandage, cleaned her head and added a funny smelling paste, before he bandaged her back up. Then he carried her on his shoulders to the dining hall where they ate bread and broth, then warm sweet cake with butter and honey. She remembered feeling happy and content. Those feelings rushed back over her as she stood outside the cabin.

The door opened and the warmth of a fire enveloped them. Tomalacht stood inside the door and peered down at his guests. He was taller than Archibald by a hand. His pale robes and white hair made it seem that he blended into his surroundings and therefore smaller in stature than he really was, for he was an imposing figure when one really looked. Yes, she was home.

"Come in my two adventurers and take a seat." Tomalacht turned closed the door behind them. "Tea?" he asked.

"Please," Pricilla replied.

"Me too," Archibald said.

Wizard Inverlane was already seated at the large, thick, wooden table, a cup of steaming tea in front of him.

"I see you made it back to the colony intact," Inverlane said, as Pricilla and Archibald sat down at the table.

"Yes, and what a wonderful feeling it is," Pricilla said. "I've missed this place so much."

Inverlane turned to Tomalacht. "She's buttering us up for something."

"A person can't be sentimental?" Pricilla asked.

"A dangerous emotion to have, my dear," Inverlane said. "But I should have known, being Tomalacht's student. He's pretty taken with his students and the colony."

She watched Tomalacht turn his head and smile.

"And so you haven't the slightest feelings for your students? Archibald for instance."

"I have many different feelings for Archibald," Inverlane said. He pulled on a gray lock of hair. "It just depends on how he is acting at the time."

Archibald stared at Inverlane.

"Sentimentality is not one of those feelings though. To be a leader, you must be able to make a decision at a moment's notice. Sentiment cannot interfere with that ability. We all strive to be leaders, don't we? For if we do not strive to be leaders, we just follow. History is already laid out before us, as wizards. The ability to change history is the difference between following or taking the lead."

"What do you mean, history is already laid out before us. As wizards?" Archibald asked Inverlane.

"Perhaps you can tell us the story of the Prince and Princess from the Kingdom of Glowing Snow, and how they met their fate?" Tomalacht interrupted as he set steaming cups of tea in front of them. "Then perhaps Master Inverlane and myself will teach you an important part of both wizardry and history."

Archibald nodded his head. "When I arrived at the Kingdom of Glowing Snow, I searched for ways to become close to the Prince. I started with physical games of skill...."

#

"...and that's how I managed to kill each traitor. Archibald and I then convinced the King that the Administrator of Public Commons, a power hungry bureaucrat who was willing to kill the king to gather more power, was the cause of death of the Prince and Princess." Pricilla sat back in her chair.

"I then used wizardry to scare the bishop into curbing his quest for greater power for the glory of the church and against the better judgment of the kingdom," Archibald said.

"A very interesting tale," Tomalacht said, nodding his head to Inverlane.

"I will say, both of you have exceeded what we could have ever expected of you. The kingdom is safe for now as long as the king is still alive."

"Can I ask a question?" Archibald eyed both Inverlane and Tomalacht.

"You can ask. We may not have an answer," Inverlane said.

"How did you know the Prince and Princess were going to betray their father? So many years before it actually happened?"

"Yes. How did you know?" Pricilla spoke up.

"That my young wizards, is what we talked about earlier," Tomalacht said. "You have spent the last four years among people. You noticed a broad range of behaviors. Some are petty. Some are vain. Some are downright dangerous. Some people, though, are special and manage to control their behavior. They look selflessly outward to help instead of take. The King of the Glowing Snow, Lorcan, is one of those people."

"We helped King Lorcan into power some forty years ago," Inverlane said. "He was a brave Prince that led his father's army to victory against the nautical invaders of the North. But before he defeated them in battle of Eichlach Sea, King Emmeric was slain."

"You were at the battle of Eichlach Sea?" Archibald asked.

"Yes, both Tomalacht and I were there," Inverlane said. "It was a fierce battle that took a full four days and cost the lives of seven thousand loyal men, and ten thousand of the barbarous invaders. Blood stained the soil a hand deep outside the walls of Castle Eichlach."

"Lorcan's father, King Ortwin, appointed his brother as a Duke and Lord over the territories of Castle Eichlach. His son's rule that land today under permission from King Lorcan. But we still have not answered your question," Tomalacht said. He stood up and nodded to Inverlane. "How did we know the Prince and Princess were going to betray their father? The same way we knew the Castle Eichlach was to be attacked forty years ago."

Pricilla and Archibald stared at each other and then looked to the old wizards. "Tell us," Archibald said.

"We're wizards." Tomalacht said. Then both old wizards started heartfelt laughter.

"Listen close," Tomalacht told them. "What is done, is done. What is to be, has been done also."

A voice from the fireplace startled Pricilla and Archibald. They turned to see as it spoke, "What is to be, may be done, but it can be changed. What can't be undone, has already been done."

"Master Inverlane, please." Archibald turned to look at the old wizard. "Throwing your voice-"

"Never mind that," Pricilla interjected. "What do you mean?"

"Master Inverlane and myself have generations of experience being wizards. Theoretically, wizards are immortal, but most of us wind up being killed off in a battle of one sort or another, or we just decide we do not want to go on any more. Our energy just drifts off into the universe around us." Tomalacht stopped to grab his staff. "Some of us, and I use the help I can get from Master Inverlane, can meditate, usually on a power spot, and see the future as it will happen."

"Power spot?" Pricilla asked.

"Yes," Tomalacht continued. "There is a power spot at the base of this mountain. This is a place where energy naturally flows in and out this world and into another. This nexus allows us to review history and to see what is going to be. We can not change what has happened, but we can change the future." Tomalacht thrust his staff at the center of the table and a moving picture appeared.

"We are on top of the power spot. Now, and what you are seeing is the future," Inverlane explained. "This is just a demonstration, however, what we can see from this is King Lorcan dying of old age." The picture showed the King clutching his chest and falling out of bed and onto the floor. A cloud of dust appeared and the kingdom Archibald and Pricilla had spent the last four years inhabiting was in a state of Chaos. Men were attacking each other while death and destruction spread throughout the kingdom.

"King Lorcan is going to die?" Archibald asked. "The entire Kingdom will do battle amongst each other?"

"You see what we see," Tomalacht said. "Of course, six years ago we saw Prince Samuel kill his father and Princess Abigail kill him. We put you two in motion and we no longer have that problem."

"How do you propose to stop the king from dying from old age?" Pricilla asked.

"We don't," Inverlane said. "We expect his heir to take the thrown."

"But we killed his heirs to save him," Archibald said.

"Not all of them." Tomalacht tapped his staff one more time and a picture appeared of a man, driving an oxen-pulled wagon. The wagon, covered in canvas, tossed and turned over a prairie. The man pursed his lips and fidgeted with the reins. "Here is the son of King Lorcan. His heir, Prince Ryan."

Pricilla and Archibald both stared at the picture on the table.

"But, how?" Pricilla asked.

"When the King was a Prince, his father sent him to many kingdoms to meet other royal families. These trips were meant to bind treaties and families to other kingdoms in a personal manner. Prince Lorcan visited the forested Kingdom of Rambert, thousands of leagues from his home. He met a girl there and courted her. He fell madly in love and, eventually, they spent many an evening together in bed, doing what lovers do." Tomalacht paused.

"Prince Lorcan wanted to take this lady back to the Kingdom of Glowing Snow and marry her, but it was not to be. The King's scribe, who accompanied the Prince on his journey, warned the Prince that the young woman, Sophie, was not of royal blood and would not be accepted by the King. He counseled the Prince to forget about her since it would hurt both of them immensely if the royal family rejected them."

"So she had the Prince's, now King Lorcan's child," Pricilla said.

"Yes," Tomalacht said.

"But she's still not royal," Archibald observed.

"Ah, but she is." Tomalacht tapped his staff and the picture disappeared. "We can see back in time with clarity, since the past doesn't change. She, my young wizards, is the daughter of King Ricohard, of Rambert Kingdom, through an affair he had with Princess Sinead, of the Kingdom Kintail, the River Kingdom; far to the east. The child was born in secrecy, and given up to a supporting family. So she is Royal, and she was raised well, with empathy and honor. Her son, Ryan, on the other hand, is another matter."

"I've been keeping my eye on Prince Ryan for some time now." Inverlane stood up and spoke. "He was not content to stay on the farm, and has an adventurous streak in him, even if it lands him in trouble. He has learned to persuade those around him with a natural gift of reason and speech. He has learned to defend himself as good as any soldier in the land. He has also learned the weakness of most souls: People want to believe. He makes his way throughout the land, wandering, selling medicines from his wagon. His problem is he knows nothing of medicine. He knows how to make alcohol, and how to flavor it with different tinctures. He knows how to sell his wares. He does quite a good job at it."

"Ryan is a fraud?" Pricilla asked.

"To some," Inverlane said. "You have to remember, he knows people. Most people are perfectly fine taking a placebo and actually feel better after taking it, especially if it is primarily alcohol. Those who are seriously ill, he tries to suggest a traditional healer."

"So our task is?" Pricilla glanced first at Tomalacht then Inverlane.

"The Prince must be reunited with his true father, and become heir. We see good in Ryan, even though we must look deeper than his appearance." Tomalacht smiled. "It will be your duty to persuade both the Prince and his Mother, to travel to the Kingdom of Glowing Mountains to see King Lorcan."

"Tomalacht will visit the King and start to convince him of his true heir." Inverlane told them. "Tomorrow, Pricilla, you will teach Archibald the basics of medicines, poisons, and rubs. You have one week to teach him as much as he can remember." Inverlane turned to Archibald. "Learn as much as you can then you will make haste and find Prince Ryan and convince him to go to the Kingdom of Glowing Mountains."

"How will I do that?" Archibald said.

"That's up to you my young wizard. It's your assignment." Inverlane's eyebrows arched up as he stared at Archibald.

"Pricilla, your assignment, beyond teaching Archibald, is to travel and become a close personal confidant of Sophie, Ryan's mother. You must convince her to travel to the Kingdom of Glowing Snow, to reunite with her old love, King Lorcan."