With the exit of Duke Thornton, the tension in the room dissolved. Alaric walked back to his seat amidst a sea of murmuring.
Saren cocked her head to the side. “Alaric, how did you find out about Gustav and what he was doing?”
“I was searching for some information from an old Keeper named Kordan when I met this group. Douglon had discovered the remains of Kordan’s home in a valley in the Scales.”
“The Keeper didn’t live at the Stronghold?” Saren asked.
“Not at the end of his life. He left the Keepers and built his own home, west of here at the edge of the Scales. Douglon had found a map there to where Kordan had buried a Wellstone.”
The queen and Lord Horwen looked impressed by this. Most of the other faces in the room were blank.
“What’s a Wellstone?” ask General Marton.
“A gem that holds memories or energy. They are extremely rare, and it is what I had been searching for. Unfortunately, it’s what Gustav was looking for as well. To raise Mallon, Gustav is going to have to find a lot of energy and store it somewhere. The Wellstone would be the perfect tool for that.”
“What are you planning next, Alaric?” Saren asked.
“We’re going to the Greenwood to move the Rivor’s body to a more protected place. It won’t stop Gustav forever, but it will slow him down and give us more time to find him.”
General Marton cleared his throat. “This Shade Seeker is in Queensland preparing to raise Mallon. So who is organizing the nomads?”
Alaric shrugged. “I have no idea. But I can’t believe the two things are unrelated.”
“It was Gustav!” Milly said suddenly. The entire room turned toward her and she shrank back into her chair. “I mean, it could have been.”
Alaric shook his head. “He’s been in Kordan’s Blight for months.”
“I know,” Milly said. “But he told me once that before he came to Kordan’s Blight, he traveled the Roven Sweep among the nomads. He said they loved him.”
Lord Horwen was looking in amazement at Milly, “This is the queen’s council, young woman! Not a tavern where peasants shout out rumors. Hold your tongue!”
“Lord Horwen,” the queen said sharply, “she is welcome to speak. If I didn’t allow rumors in my council meetings, we would have very little to discuss. Milly, do you think Gustav was telling the truth?”
She paused. “Well, I didn’t. He also told me once that he could move the moon.” She looked at Alaric. “That’s impossible, right?”
Alaric nodded at her. “Definitely.”
“So I thought he was just making more things up,” she continued. “He doesn’t seem like a man anyone would follow, but…”
“But what?” the queen said impatiently.
Milly looked at Alaric again. “He always gets what he wants. None of you really liked him, but you all did exactly what he wanted.”
“He managed to influence us,” Douglon said. “But he could hardly do that to an entire army.”
“He wouldn’t have to control the entire army,” General Marton said, “just the leaders.”
Alaric shook his head again. Gustav couldn’t have done that, too. Could he? The idea had the unsettling feeling of being… probable. And if the dwarves were right, the nomads had been slowly gathering for months. Theoretically, Gustav could have set things in motion before going to Kordan’s Blight.
“This wizard fellow doesn’t sound as foolish as you all made him sound,” Horwen said with a chuckle. “Sounds like an evil mastermind!”
General Marton nodded.
Saren nodded as well. “Whether Gustav is the mastermind behind this or not, it is clear that we face a threat. One we didn’t even dream possible.” She looked at the maps and then turned toward Alaric. “What do you need us to do?”
“Ready the army and send some scouts to figure out what the nomads are doing. If we can stop Gustav, I think the nomads will disperse. But if he is successful…” Alaric looked around the room, knowing he didn’t need to finish. “We might as well put up a fight.”
The queen nodded. “There are things to plan,” she said to the council. “You all know your jobs.” The council members rose, talking among themselves and moving out of the room.
“You live in the Scale Mountains,” Horwen was saying loudly to Menwoth. “You should come to the library with me. I’ve been studying maps of the mountains near my lands, but they are woefully incomplete. Your expertise would help.”
Menwoth nodded. “I have spent a great deal of time with High Dwarf Horgoth’s maps, sir. It is possible that I could fill in some gaps.”
“He’s never actually spent any time in the mountains, though” Douglon muttered to Brandson. Menwoth shot him a glare.
“Excellent!” the old man boomed, his cane tapping quickly on the floor as he walked toward the door with Menwoth. “It’s nice to talk to someone of sense. I’m stuck with commoners so often. My steward sent me a message today claiming they’ve seen a red dragon over the Greenwood.” He waved his arms around. “Help, Lord Horwen! A blood-red dragon rides the sky at night!” He shook his head. “Peasants! There hasn’t been a dragon in Queensland since before I was born.”
Menwoth snorted and the two disappeared out the door, his voice fading away.
Alaric’s stomach dropped. Gustav was already west of here, searching for Mallon’s body. Through the council chamber ceiling, the rain drummed loudly. Alaric growled in frustration. It was going to take them the better part of a day to reach the Greenwood, and Gustav was already there.
It was people like Lord Horwen and his nervous peasants who would suffer if Mallon was raised. People who didn’t completely understand what was going on and who didn’t have the power to do anything about it. The same people who Alaric had once spent a great deal of energy to protect. How had they fallen so far out of his view? Alaric looked in annoyance at the table spread with maps and papers. He needed to leave, to chase down that stupid wizard and stop him before he managed to pull off another thing he shouldn’t be able to.
General Marton looked after the departing lord with a troubled face. “That’s strange,” he said. “We received a report of a red dragon seen in the area yesterday.”
Alaric looked sharply at the general. “What area?”
“This area. Near the city. The report came this morning from a farmer whose land lies a half day’s journey north of here.” Marton looked thoughtful. “I sent a soldier back with him to check it out, but I admit I didn’t believe him. If there’s a dragon in the area, it’s not acting very dragon-like.”
“Gustav flies on a red dragon,” Alaric told the general. “I’m sure Horwen’s people are telling the truth. I expect him to be over the Greenwood looking for Mallon. But I can’t imagine that he would come back east to Queenstown. There’s nothing here for him. If your soldier finds anything, let me know.”