Richard Knaak - The Citadel

Slowly Castle Atriun and the land directly around it rose. Only a few inches, but it rose.

Valkyn shouted a single word, then returned to his muttering. Lemual, slumped over the tripod, said nothing.

The great fortress rose a little more. A raging storm now spread far beyond the confines of the outer walls, stretching toward Cadrio and the others. Lightning set ablaze a small wooded area to the north. A mad wind drove Cadrio’s men back. Even the gargoyles found it impossible to maintain their positions. Only Cadrio, Valkyn, and Lemual remained at the very top of the ridge.

Valkyn shouted once more, his words stolen by the wind.

Lightning assailed the outskirts of Castle Atriun, striking the already crippled ground again and again. Tons of earth flew into the air, moments later bombarding the surrounding earth. The area below resembled the worst of battlefields. Cadrio almost expected to hear the cries of the dying.

The bolts continued for one minute, two, then three. Cadrio knew of the power needed to fulfill this spell, but nothing had prepared him for this. It amazed him that the man at his side had managed this much success. Yet it would mean nothing unless Valkyn followed through to the end.

The ebony-robed mage fell to one knee. Anxious, Cadrio reached for him, but even though Valkyn could not have seen him, the wizard shook his head, clearly rejecting any assistance.

And then a sound that made even the striking of a hundred bolts seem mute in comparison sent the general sprawling. For a horrible moment, he saw only blackened sky. Somehow, though, Cadrio struggled to his feet and refocused on the castle.

He saw a gaping hole where the citadel had once stood. The hole sank some great distance, a chasm vast enough to hold a lake. In fact, he could see some of Atriun’s moat draining into the tremendous abyss in a futile attempt to fill it.

Above him, thunder rumbled.

Heart pounding, General Cadrio looked skyward … and witnessed the culmination of his voyage to this backwater province.

High above, the storm gathered around it like some mad cloak, floated Castle Atriun. A corona of lightning revealed the full extent of the dark castle, including the massive island of earth attached below. As Cadrio watched, great chunks of rock and dirt broke free, dropping to the ground below with catastrophic consequences. Here and there he could also make out open passages in the earth that no doubt led to some of Atriun’s lower levels.

Valkyn had proven as good as his word; he had brought forth unto Ansalon a new and terrible flying citadel. The eager commander had only to gaze up at the unsettling storm raging around the fortress to know that this citadel was different from its predecessors. Surely Valkyn had filled Atriun with many, many surprises.

Recalling his erstwhile ally, Cadrio turned around, only to see a figure in black sprawled nearby. Fear momentarily took hold of the vulpine officer, fear that he would be left with no one to explain to him how to control the flying citadel. Then Cadrio realized that the body belonged to the insipid Lemual.

Valkyn materialized next to the cleric’s limp form and bent over him. After a minute’s examination, the mage rose. “Poor Lemual. Still, he served his function.”

“He’s dead?”

“I was fairly certain it would happen, not that I thought to worry him with that knowledge.”

The storm had abated somewhat and withdrawn to the near vicinity of the hovering castle. Lemual forgotten, Cadrio eagerly asked, “Will it do as you said it would?”

Valkyn smiled. “Do you still doubt me?”

“No! Only one more question, friend mage. How do we retrieve it? Should I summon Murk and Eclipse to bring us up?”

“If you wish them incinerated. As incompetent as they are, you might yet find some use for them. In fact, I would recommend that any dragon would be better served staying clear of Atriun. As to your first question, I have dealt with that matter already. You see the central tower?”

Cadrio peered up at the aforementioned tower, recalling the shadowy figure within. “He’ll bring it down?”

“Well, not exactly.”

Valkyn held the wand up, muttering at the same time. The storm all but faded, turning into a few grumbling clouds with occasional flashes of lightning. The flying citadel began to descend toward the ridge. The ominous shadow that covered Cadrio and the rest caused unease among his men, who probably feared the immense structure would suddenly drop on their heads.

Several gargoyles, including Stone and Crag, fluttered over to Valkyn. The general expected them to land, but Crag instead seized his master by the waist, pulling him up. Stone retrieved the tripod, taking less care than earlier. The other gargoyles seized Valkyn’s steed and, in a vision both absurd and remarkable, lifted the animal gently from the ground.

Only then did Cadrio realize that they were all heading for the flying citadel, which still floated beyond his grasp.

“Valkyn! Blast you, Valkyn! What about me?”

Crag abruptly turned so that the hooded mage could look down. “You see what I’ve brought to you, my general! Now return to your waiting vessels and sail toward the western half of the New Sea! Seek out the island seaport of Norwych! Do you know it?”

Furious, Cadrio barely paid attention to the question. The mage had made him sail through hazardous waters to reach this obscure place, then, after revealing this monumental weapon, wanted him to sail back to a city nearly as large as Gwynned and almost as well defended! “You promised me the citadel, Valkyn!”

The wizard had the audacity to look annoyed. “Surely you do not use a weapon before testing its capabilities, my general!” When Cadrio did not answer, Valkyn added, “The seaport of Norwych! I suggest you sail toward it as fast as you can!”

With that, Crag turned and flew Valkyn toward the waiting citadel. Above the soldiers, gargoyle after gargoyle returned to Castle Atriun. Cadrio thought of summoning the two black dragons and taking his prize by force, but then recalled Valkyn’s warning.

Exasperated, he whirled on his men. “Mount up! We must return to the ships quickly! Anyone lagging will be whipped!”

As his retinue prepared, Cadrio mounted his own steed, then took a moment to survey the gaping pit and storm-ravaged earth left by the launching of Atriun. “I will look down upon my empire from your creation, Valkyn, my ally,” he whispered, “and I will do it whether or not you live to enjoy the fruits of my reign!”

He kicked his mount hard, sending the beast forward at a rapid clip. Behind him frantically rode his personal guard, each man knowing that the general would live up to his threat.

Left in the wake of grand ambitions, the body of Lemual, without whom either the mage or the warrior could have dared continue their respective quests, lay forgotten.

* * * * *

“What is it you want, human?” the gold leviathan grumbled.

Tyros kept his dismay in check, pretending that the thunderous voice of the dragon had not nearly sent him fleeing from the cave. He had come this far and would not be turned back before he had made his request clear. The dragon rider who had led him here had thought the mage a suicidal idiot but had agreed to take him because of Captain Bakal. From there, the man had told Tyros, it would be up to the dragons whether the wizard returned alive.

As a spellcaster, and especially one wearing red robes, Tyros knew that he faced the leviathan already under a cloud of suspicion. Yet despite Sunfire’s distrust of the followers of Lunitari, and of a certain proud mage in particular, he had to make the dragon understand the importance of the quest. Surely such an intellect as the gold’s would immediately realize it.