The Bowl of Souls: Book 01.5 - Hilt's Pride (19 page)

“I am sorry I had to put you through that.”

“Who was that man?” Willum asked, relieved that his teacher was acting more like normal.

“He is
Dann
Doudy
, the new Dremald representative to the academy.”

“The new representative?
What happened to Proud Harold?” Willum asked. Harold had been the Dremald representative on the council for over a decade. He was a jovial man and well liked by the students. When King Andre had died and his sister Elise had been crowned, Harold had been summoned back to Dremald along with the rest of the Dremald troops that were usually assigned to the academy.

“I don’t know and that concerns me. This . . .
Dann
Doudy
,
showed up the evening before the attack. He had papers from the queen announcing him as Harold’s replacement. He says Harold had grown weary of his duties and wanted to retire.”

Willum’s brow knit in concern. If his father’s suspicions about the situation in Dremald were correct, something bad may have happened to Harold. “What do you know about this new representative?”

Tad frowned. “Not much. He is a minor noble. The
Doudy
family has been in Dremaldria for generations, but why the queen would choose him is a mystery. She didn’t list any of his qualifications.”

“I understand,” Willum said. Tad’s behavior in the conference room was making sense now. He had been watching the man’s response to his father’s warning to gauge his reaction. “So do you think he was sent here to keep an eye on us?”

“If he was sent here by Ewzad Vriil as a spy, he isn’t a very effective one.” He stroked his chin. “He definitely hasn’t been trying to make any friends since he arrived. No spy worth his spit would have acted so bothered by our information. His actions were so bizarre it makes me wonder if he was acting the avid Vriil supporter to throw us off. A pretty clever ploy, I must say. I’m interested to see what Hugh thought of his act.”

“And what if he is reporting information to the enemy?” Willum asked. “He will be in every council meeting. He could tell the enemy how many men we have, how they men are positioned, what our food supplies are . . .”

Tad patted his shoulder. “Good. You are thinking this through. I can tell you have been paying attention in my class. But don’t worry. I have archers posted on the wall looking for birds. We are watching any possible form of communication. We are safe unless he was somehow able to get out of the academy, but we are surrounded by tens of thousands of goblinoids, and we have soldiers at every possible exit. There is no way he is sneaking out.”

“Good to know, sir.” Willum said with relief.

“Unless, you think . . . Could Ewzad Vriil possibly use a spell like your father has been using to communicate with you?”

Willum swallowed. “I don’t think so. It is a spell of my father’s own creation.” But what if he could? Coal had told him that Ewzad Vriil had the rings of Stardeon and that those rings used spiritual magic. What if Ewzad Vriil had found a way to make a mental connection with this noble? He would have to ask Coal later that night through the bond.

There was a sound down the corridor and Tad looked to make sure that no one was coming. “Now you must keep this conversation to yourself. I do not want doubts about our new representative being passed through the students. They have enough to worry about. The only reason I told you about my concerns is that I need you to pass them on to your father. See if he has any information about
Dann
Doudy
. Get his opinion. And one other thing . . .” He looked into Willum’s eyes. “I want you reporting directly to me from now on. He is our only pair of eyes outside the wall right now. Any new information your father tells you, bring it to my attention. No matter how small, you understand? Tell no one else.”

Willum nodded, “But-.”

“I mean no one. Don’t even tell the other council members.
Report to me only.
I don’t plan on bringing you back before the council unless it is absolutely necessary.”

“Yes sir,” Willum replied. Was Tad worried about the loyalty of the other academy teachers?

“Good. Now it is time I returned to the council. You should go about your duties.” Tad gave him a confident smile. “Don’t worry too much about our new representative. We are watching him.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Just head down the corridor to the left and you’ll reach the entrance.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Tad the Cunning turned and walked back towards the council hall and Willum turned up the joining corridor as instructed. After a short distance, it opened into the long high-ceilinged foyer at the front of the building. As Willum walked towards the outer doors, he looked at the tapestries depicting the glorious battles of the academy’s past and wondered if the current siege would be depicted on these walls some day. He supposed it would, if they survived.

When he reached the doors he nodded to the two guards at their posts on either side of the doors. He took a deep breath before grasping the handles.

“Going out’s always the hard part, ain’t it, Willum?” said one of the guards.

“Yeah,
Zhed
.” he said. “It’s nice and quiet in here.”

The architect that had designed the council building had put it together so that all sound from outside was cut out. His teacher had told the class that the effect was caused by the cunning way the blocks of stone had been put together, but Willum was pretty sure he had a wizard’s help. Whatever the case, it was effective.

The other guard snorted. “Quiet? I call it boring. I’d rather be on the wall looking down at the goblinoids. It’s all I can do to keep from falling asleep.”

Willum shrugged. “I would suggest you enjoy the quiet while you can.”

He pushed open the doors and walked out into a wave of sound. The academy was packed with people and the high walls caused even small sounds to echo. Students were training, smiths pounding away on anvils, citizens rushing back and forth on errands, shouting to each other, and behind it all was the low drone of the goblinoid army surrounding them.

The
Dremaldrian
Battle
Academy
usually had around two thousand students and close to five hundred faculty and graduates waiting for jobs. When the incoming attack had been confirmed, the Training School had been halted and all trainees brought inside. Reneul was evacuated. Anyone who wanted to stay behind was brought inside the academy walls. Now there were over four thousand people crammed inside.

The dorms and outbuildings were overflowing. Cots and tents had been set up in the yards. Even many of the seldom-used tunnels underneath the academy had been opened up for people to sleep in. The council building was the only structure not packed with people.

Willum hurried along, weaving his way along the congested pathways that crisscrossed the grounds. He was late for his shift on the academy wall. This time of day he was supposed to be on the northeast corner. So far the
enemy hadn’t attacked and were
content to marshal their forces and more goblinoids joined their ranks from the mountains every day. The faculty switched up shifts a few times a day to keep the students alert. Each wall had its own perils to watch for. It seemed that in order to stave off infighting, the army had been split into racial groups.

The eastern wall looked out over the Training School grounds where the gorcs were camped. The training tents still stood, along with the barracks and marketplace and several small arenas. When on watch there, Willum could hear the gorcs using them. Fighting for sport seemed to be their favorite form of entertainment.

The north wall overlooked the Scralag Hills, which had been mostly overtaken by giants and ogre tribes. They seemed to make a game of getting as close to the wall as they dared and throwing jagged rocks. The students and graduates on the wall shot arrows to keep them at a safe distance and most of their throws fell short, but every once in a while one would clear the top. The large beasts roared and hollered when one of their rocks made it over. Luckily, there had only been a few injuries so far.

The western wall looked out over what would once have been empty farmland, but was now covered in goblins. They were the most unruly bunch, always yelling and hollering, making obscene gestures and fighting amongst each other. They were more a source of entertainment than a source for concern.

The southern wall shift was the trickiest. It overlooked the main city of
Reneul
which was full of buildings for the enemy to hide in. The east half of the city, which included the huge academy arena and the majority of the
homes
had been taken over by orcs. They seemed the most organized part of the army, always marching around in units and busily taking buildings apart to build siege engines. In the short time since the siege had begun, they already had several catapults, battering rams and trebuchets.

Western Reneul
had been overtaken by trolls and other monsters. Strangely, they seemed to mill about peacefully, only screeching and attacking when the orcs threw them food. At night, while the other parts of the army were aglow with torches and camp fires, western Reneul would be scattered with the glow of yellow and green moonrat eyes. The unsettling sound of their chittering moans made night on the southwestern wall the most dreaded shift on the wall.

Willum groaned as he approached the duty desk at the base of the wall.
Roobin
was in charge of check-in again.
Roobin
wasn’t a bad guy; he was good-natured most of the time and not bad with a sword, but he had recently graduated and loved giving Willum a hard time about it.

“Willum, son of Coal, reporting for duty.”

“Oh, the mighty son of Coal, eh?”
Roobin
chuckled, though it was only a few short weeks ago that he had been known as
Roobin
, son of
Roobin
the Knuckle.

“Just sign me in, okay?”

“You are kind of late, aren’t you?
Whoo
, students should not be tardy.”
Roobin
dipped his quill and looked down at the log-in sheet. His smirk faded.
“Lucky you.
Go on to station twenty eight. I guess I don’t have to report you.”

“You were
gonna
report me?” Willum said in disbelief.

“Of course, except that it says here that Tad called you away. So you have an excuse.”

“Oh, so it’s just ‘Tad’ now, is it?” Willum said, getting in a jab of his own. “Just because you have graduated, you two are on a first name basis? Should I be calling you, ‘
Roobin
, the Well Connected’ now?”

Roobin’s
eyes narrowed. “Shut up, Willum.
Just go on up.
You’re relieving Swen, son of Rolf, the Fletcher.”

“Yes sir!” Willum said with a salute, and grabbed a bow and quiver from the rack next to the stairs. Some students carried around their own bows, but that wasn’t Willum’s forte. He was okay with a bow, but his specialty was his scythe and throwing daggers.

He headed up the stairs pleased with the irritation on
Roobin’s
face, but as he reached the top of the wall, his pleasure faded. A mix of his fellow students and academy graduates lined the walls looking down at the massive army that sprawled below. The dull roar of the enemy was much louder up here. It was rough and rhythmic.

Willum was careful not to touch anyone as he walked to his station. The top of the wall was wide enough for three men to walk side by side and there was an abdomen high barrier on either side, but no matter how many shifts he took, it always made him nervous if someone brushed against him while he was at the edge.

Swen was at post twenty eight, bending over the edge and staring down unconcerned at the height. Swen was a tall man, maybe six foot four and the wall’s edge only came up to his waist. Though he was only a few years older than Willum, his face was angular and weathered, with wrinkles at the corners of his eyes from squinting in the sun. He was also the best archery student the academy had seen in decades. Swen made all his own arrows and the other students had started calling him Swen the Feather. Willum thought the name was going to stick.

 “Swen I’m here,” he said. “Sorry, but Tad the Cunning called me away for a while.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” The tall man barely gave him a glance as he spoke. His eyes were focused on the army below. “I’ve been up here for eight straight hours, what’s another one or two?”