Chapter 12

"Oh, but we know all about the hedge-witch, Granny Eltman, who has attached herself to you. She is a pathetic ally for you to depend on. She is not as strong as one of us master wizards, and we can push her aside at any time."

"Ex'zar, I pity you if you truly believe that. She and I have been working together, and I believe that she is as strong as any of you 'master wizards, ' and you will be very sorry if you force her to demonstrate the limits of her power.

"However, we have drifted off the subject. I want you to tell me why you are attacking me. I believe it is because you fear me. You and your cohorts seem to have the idea that I am the strongest wizard who ever lived. I have no idea if that is true, but, so far, I have risen to every occasion when I have been attacked. Had you left me alone many months ago, I would never have risen to challenge you. I was happy as the Lord of Blakeslee Keep, and I would still be there enjoying life if you fools had not interfered."

"It is in our nature as wizards to attack anyone who seems to be a threat, and you, Sir Geoffrey, seem to us to be that threat. Especially so, now that you have stuck your nose into our management of the kingdom. We now consider the kingdom to be our own, and you put yourself in dire peril by trying to stop us. If you leave the kingdom now and do not return, you may avoid feeling our might, but you are only asking for trouble if you continue to get in our way. Now, begone before I lose my temper."

"Very well, Ex'zar, I will leave you now. I will discuss your words with my advisers, and you will soon know my reaction to your words. Meanwhile, do not attack me or my friends if you do not want a world of hurt to fall upon you. Keep in mind that I know at all times exactly where to find you. Good bye for now." With that, I jumped back to my office within Waterfall Keep.

It is interesting that I felt nothing from his defensive shield after the disturbance in the aether when he established it. Does that mean that I am truly that much more powerful than Ex'zar? I wonder if I messed up by not testing him while I had the chance. Oh, well, I will not cry over might-have-beens. I am certain to hear from him in the very near future.

I called my advisers into my office and gave them a complete description of what happened in the last few hours. Granny Eltman was the only one who was interested in the details of the creation spell, so I promised to discuss it with her later on after this meeting.

Both Rolf and Elbert were disappointed that I did not kill Ex'zar when I had the chance, but they were willing to follow a more moderate path once I had talked to them. I confess that I am not as bloodthirsty as either of my friends, and I do not like to kill until it becomes necessary. Ex'zar has been warned and has been given a chance to back off. Next time, I will not be so generous.

Gwendolyn tended to agree with me: was that a case of a wife going along with her husband until she could talk him around to doing something different? Probably not, but it was something that I needed to keep in mind. She had a more pragmatic assessment of the world than I did, and sometimes I did need her to prod me in the proper direction.

Granny Eltman thought that she had found a mentor for me. He was not a top wizard, but he was very good according to her. He was willing to teach me a lot of what I needed to know if I would guarantee not to attack him after I had learned what I could from him. That certainly seemed fair to me, so I agreed to the bargain.

Granny Eltman had us meet in a "neutral" location. Wizard Armon was very old and just not up to the machinations required of a wizard moving in the upper strata of their society. Armon simply was ready to retire, and he needed protection if that was going to happen. I liked him the moment I met him; in fact, I wondered if magic had anything to do with that. If it did, I wanted that to be one of the first spells that I learned!

We came to an agreement and Armon moved to Waterfall Keep. He had his own "suite" of rooms in a small cavern to one side of the main living area. Armon claimed that he wanted some privacy, and that was the easy way to get it. As soon as Armon was in residence at Waterfall Keep, I asked him if he had used a spell to make me like him.

He laughed and said, "Ah, Master Geoffrey, you are as perceptive as Granny Eltman said that you were. Yes, I was using my strongest such spell of that type, and only the most observant of wizards would have spotted it. Congratulations, you have proved that you will be capable of learning anything that I have to teach you. Where would you like to start with your lessons?"

"I believe that I would profit from knowing the spell you used. Can we start with that one?"

"Very well, my friend, but I warn you that it is not an easy spell to learn."

Well, Armon was correct. That was the toughest spell that I had attempted so far. It took me three weeks to master it, and Armon congratulated me on learning it so quickly. He said that it took him almost five months to reach the stage I had managed in only three weeks. We used that as a guide for selecting the training schedule for other spells. I did have other obligations as Master of Waterfall Keep, so I did have to squeeze training time into my normal work schedule. Armon did say that I would learn each spell a little more easily as I learned how to learn. He said that he thought that I was at least as strong as any other wizard that he had ever met, so I should be able to match the wizards who were my enemies within a year. That was very encouraging, and I hoped that he was correct. Armon was very knowledgeable, and I worked on learning spells every day of the week.

We were left alone by the other wizards for about five months, and we all wondered if we should expect a crushing blow to fall on us sometime in the near future. Well, when the blow fell, it was a fearful stroke. The attack began as a gentle shaking of the ground around Waterfall Keep. The effect was startling, but we did not know what to make of it.

Over a period of a week, the shaking seemed to progress from the ground up the walls of Waterfall Keep until we could feel a small vibration no matter what part of the rock we touched. Most people quickly got used to the shaking and were able to ignore it, but those of us in positions of responsibility were worried. Even Armon could not suggest what might be going on; however, like the rest of us, he was sure that the wizard cabal was behind it.

After about two weeks of gentle shaking, the amplitude of the shaking began to increase. We were now sure that the intent was to shake Waterfall Keep so much that it collapsed on us. The prospect was very frightening, but we all thought that we had some time to counteract the spell.

We had a meeting of our council, and Wizard Armon was included because there was so much magic involved. He listened to what all of us had to say before offering his opinion. "Sir Geoffrey, Ladies, and Gentlemen, I do not know the spell that is being used, but I think I can see how it works. Somehow, our enemies have worked out a spell to shake the ground under our Keep, and the shaking will get stronger and continue until the mountain collapses in upon us. We cannot fight the spell with a direct counter spell because we do not know the details of the spell being used against us. However, we can bypass the effects if we simply insulate our home from the shaking coming from the ground.

"Specifically, what I suggest is that we use a modification of the flying spell to raise the Keep and the mountain surrounding it a tiny amount above the rest of the ground. Only a hair's breadth of separation should be sufficient, and the spell can be made self-sustaining once it is in place. Sir Geoffrey, I am sure that you are strong enough to do all of the work yourself, though, of course, Granny Eltman and I will contribute what we can to your effort."