The Howl of Avooblis Page 10

  “I don’t need your thanks,” Dagdron said, brandishing his dagger downward at the other three. “No one comes in my tree.”

  “Get down here so we can fix our names and tallies,” Elloriana said, letting a smile cross her face. Instead of being upset, she decided to take it as a learning experience, proud of her reaction time in casting a levitation spell to save herself. Earl wouldn’t be there during her quest to catch her, she thought.

  Dagdron sprang down from the tree, and the four young adventurers went to their respective sides of the trunk, recarving or reflaming their names and quest tallies.

  “No counting your mini-quests, Dagdron,” Earl said.

  Dagdron didn’t reply and scurried back up into the tree as soon as his name was nice and visible. Earl told Lita and Elloriana all about Dagdron’s class, and then they shared about their own fighter and magic-user classes. Then Elloriana explained all about the meeting she had had with her parents and the headmaster in his office. Headmaster Gwauldron had convinced King and Queen Loftloomburg to allow Elloriana to stay at the academy, persuading them that she could gain the prestige of finishing her third year, and then they could discipline her for leaving Lordavia like she had. Elloriana had been inclined to argue but chose to let that situation stand until the end of the school year, when she would have to face her parents head on. Her parents had insisted she stay in a more secure room on the fourth floor, so Elloriana had been hiding out there until her parents left. Now she planned to move to the third floor to room with Lita again.

  “Headmaster Gwauldron was real nice about it,” Elloriana said. “I know we’ve been at odds with him over the arches, but he did convince my parents to let me stay.”

  Just as Elloriana finished her story, the back doors of the academy crashed open, and Scar, the first-year rogue teacher, whose bald head and body were ninety-five percent covered in scars, stomped across the grass.

  “All of you to the headmaster’s office,” Scar said. “Now.”

  Earl, Elloriana, and Lita were startled but slowly started toward the academy.

  “All four of you,” Scar said, wrapping his big arms around the tree trunk and shaking it.

  Dagdron, concerned about his hideout being destroyed, climbed down and followed the others.

  Chapter 10: Adventurers or Ambassadors?

  The brilliant blue door to Headmaster Gwauldron’s office was waiting open at the top of the boys’ tower. Scar watched until Dagdron, Earl, Elloriana, and Lita were inside and the door had slammed shut of its own accord before heading back down the staircase.

  The headmaster was seated at his desk and, as the four students walked across his office, he lined up the three Arches of Avooblis in front of him. The blue crystals sparkled as the lantern light refracted through them.

  “Thank you for coming,” Headmaster Gwauldron said, indicating for them to take seats in the soft chairs that had been placed in front of his desk. At the movement of his hands, they all looked, noticing the bandages wrapped around them.

  “What happened to your hands?” Earl asked, unable to control himself.

  “The Arches of Avooblis are not being kind to me,” the headmaster said.

  The headmaster looked exhausted and his voice sounded weak. The four young adventurers figured his experiments with the arch crystals were taking a toll on the white-haired enchanter.

  “I invited you here, hoping to make peace with each of you,” the headmaster said after a moment’s silence. “Well, perhaps only three of you,” he added when he noticed Dagdron’s scowl under his hood.

  “Of course,” Earl said. “You inspire us as students of the academy.”

  “Thank you, Earl,” Headmaster Gwauldron said. “I wanted you to know that that is the precise reason I opened the academy. During the summer, I witnessed each of the scenes from the past that you viewed in the Shrine of Avooblis, so I know what you saw. And, while my original motivation to come northward was in hopes of uncovering the truth of the legends I had caught snatches of in my early life as an enchanter, I honestly sought knowledge so that I could bring peace to all kingdoms and rid the land of all evil.”

  The headmaster paused momentarily, fixing his eyes on each of the young adventurers in turn. He noticed Dagdron was shredding the arm of his chair with his dagger but didn’t comment on it.

  “As you well know, the Arches of Avooblis became my obsession, but I truly thought that summoning Avooblis would provide a means of controlling the darkness throughout the land. And that was always my own as well as Rance’s and Wendahl’s vision. We wanted people to live in peace and happiness.

  “When the shrine was sealed, to me at least—” The headmaster paused, thinking of how Wendahl had hid the blue sphere from him for years. “I came up with the idea to establish the academy, training enchanters, warriors, and rogues to fulfill quests and provide that peace until other means became available. Because of your involvement with the arches, I wanted to tell you personally that my vision hasn’t changed in terms of the arches or the academy. And I still intend to pursue both.

  “I realize this is long overdue, but I owe you an apology, Earl,” Headmaster Gwauldron said. “I should have never threatened you with expulsion. My anger at Dugan Obor for keeping the arch from me and my eagerness when it was returned led me to some imprudent decisions. I apologize. You have always been a stalwart adventurer in training, and it is one of my regrets. I do want you to know that I have lived up to my word of never threatening you with expulsion again.” The headmaster glanced at Dagdron before looking back at Earl. “Which is quite a feat, considering the number of letters King Fortigroff has sent me since last November, continually demanding your expulsion.”

  The headmaster opened a drawer, took out a stack of parchments, and let them fall heavily on the desk.

  Earl looked taken aback but, without hesitation, said, “Apology accepted.”

  “I also hope you realize how proud I am of you four as adventurers,” the headmaster continued. “Elloriana, you are the first royal student in ages that has wanted to be an adventurer. I hope you know that I support you fully in your decision and will continue to use my power to sway your parents to permit you to not only finish your third year but be set free to fulfill quests.”

  Elloriana nodded with a smile.

  “And, Lita, you might very well be the strongest adventurer to ever grace the corridors of the academy. You definitely deserve to be the pride of Thornrim.”

  Lita gave a proud nod, a grunt inadvertently slipping from her mouth.

  “And, of course, Dagdron. In spite of everything, I find your rogue skills quite terrifying, but quite amazing as well.”

  Dagdron pushed his dagger further into the arm of his chair with a loud ripping.

  “Now, as I was saying, I will not deny that I have no plans of abandoning my quest to summon Avooblis, but that does not mean I am discarding the Adventurers’ Academy. Even when I succeed in my quest, adventurers will still be needed to serve as ambassadors and in other capacities.

  “Perhaps Dagdron has not informed you,” the headmaster continued, “but I’m sure he has investigated the entrance to the shrine, which I have barricaded with my own magic. As you see before you, I have the three Arches of Avooblis in my possession, and they will remain there forevermore. That being the case, I am asking each of you to abandon any thought or impulse to continuing searching, investigating, or taking part in any other activity that deals with the arch crystals.”

  The headmaster looked at Earl, Lita, and Elloriana in turn, waiting until they nodded in confirmation. He then looked at Dagdron.

  “I never wanted anything to do with those stupid arches,” Dagdron said.

  The headmaster, accepting that as affirmation, didn’t press further.

  “In hopes of relieving any lingering interest you might have in the arches, I do have a third-year project I would like you to consider,” the headmaster said. Earl, Elloriana, and Lita perked up. “I won’t ca
ll it a quest, because it is mainly observation, but there have been some disturbing incidents, to say the least, of an evil enchanter in the area, as I know you saw during your arrival to Bodaburg. Well informed as I am of the happenings across the land, I have very little information about where this magic user has come from. If you accept, in addition to your classes, I would like to offer you this quest of observation. You four have a knack for wandering the forest anyway, so I imagine it will be best to allow you free rein to search out what you may.”

  Earl, Elloriana, and Lita nodded without hesitation, but Dagdron didn’t respond. Headmaster Gwauldron, content with the acceptance of the other three, thanked them again for coming and dismissed them.

  * * *

  “You believed him?” Dagdron said, turning his head sideways to look at Earl.

  They had waited until their first weekend in Bodaburg to discuss the project Headmaster Gwauldron had given them. Dagdron and Earl were on one side of their corner table in the Bodaburg Tavern, and Elloriana and Lita, excitedly looking around the pub, were seated across from them.

  “Headmaster Gwauldron was completely sincere,” Earl said. “He admitted that he wasn’t giving up his quest to summon Avooblis. What would he have lied about?”

  “He’s never been honest,” Dagdron said.

  Before Earl could launch into another defensive barrage about the headmaster, Elloriana joined the conversation.

  “Instead of your usual short, uninformative statements, you’ll have to explain a little more if you want us to believe you,” she said to Dagdron. “Let’s say the headmaster was just complimenting us so we’d go along with him. What purpose would it serve?”

  “When has he ever known less than us?” Dagdron said. “It’s the same every year. The first year, he knew about both arch crystals. Our second year, the only thing he didn’t know was how to get into the shrine. But he still sent us on a path he knew about, hoping we’d help him out. So this year, yes, he wants to keep us busy so we can’t find Mazannanan’s treasure, but he’s also using us to get information on the Backer without ruining his reputation with the Fortigroffs. He obviously knows more than he’s telling us.”

  Elloriana and Lita nodded slowly as Dagdron’s theory hit home.

  “Oh my goodness,” Elloriana said. “The headmaster was buttering us up, and we fell for it.”

  “You richies,” Dagdron said. “You think you deserve praise, so you think everyone’s sincere. Most of it is fake.”

  Earl had been frozen with his ham leg halfway to his mouth. His face was filled with concern, but then he broke out in a smile.

  “I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again,” Earl said. “You are such a great adventurer.”

  “I thought you wanted to be Earl the ambassador now,” Dagdron said.

  Elloriana laughed as Earl looked slightly offended.

  “You’re right,” Earl said quietly. “That would be as ridiculous as if I had ended up as Earl the earl. Let’s do whatever we have to to keep the Adventurers’ Academy just as it is.”

  “And the good news is,” Dagdron said, “your need for praise was so strong, the headmaster believed your reactions. Now he won’t suspect a thing about Wendahl’s quest.”

  Earl, Elloriana, and Lita nodded their agreement but then lowered their heads, finishing their tavern meal with a side of introspection.

  Over the following two weeks, Dagdron, Earl, Elloriana, and Lita spent their free time wandering through the forest. Although their purpose had only been to pretend they were looking for the Backer to fake out the headmaster, Dagdron thought they had a good chance of running into the evil enchanter again. But that was because of the ruckus his companions were making. In their continual effort to increase their adventuring skills, Earl and Lita were swinging and clanging their swords no matter where they were in the forest. Elloriana, though quieter, was casting spells quite often, and the glows and colors were sure to attract attention, Dagdron thought. He didn’t understand why their classes weren’t enough. His daily mini-quest was increasing his jumping, sneaking, lock picking, and other rogue abilities just fine.

  On the third weekend of September, Dagdron, Earl, Elloriana, and Lita made a showing in Bodaburg, visiting Chesna’s magic shop, Grizzard’s alley, and the Bodaburg Tavern. But then, feigning heading off on a search in case Headmaster Gwauldron was watching, they traveled through the woods and up the mountainside to the west of the academy.

  They had received no further news from Wendahl, which had left them with the lone clue of the old dwelling the spumasaur was guarding. The previous year, Dagdron and Earl had gathered spumasaur spittle at the request of Mazannanan but had made no effort at entering the abode it protected.

  Earl explained to the girls how spumasaur spittle could burn you badly. Elloriana was fearful because of that, but it wasn’t until he added that the spit could also corrode weapons that Lita showed some alarm. Like most fighters at the academy, she didn’t like the prospect of being left without her sword, especially so soon after it had been enchanted.

  The group of four, thinking the entire body of the academy was in Bodaburg, was lucky that Dagdron, traveling in silence as he usually did, recognized the sounds of battle before they got too close to the spumasaur’s territory. The rogue quickly muzzled his companions by pointing his dagger at them and then led them in a roundabout direction until they were on higher ground. From there, they had a safe view of what was happening.

  Down below, Bryon Fortigroff and his two lackeys, Landon and Gordon, had their swords drawn and were trying to scare off the spumasaur by yelling and flashing their weapons. The huge purple lizard with a diamond-shaped head remained immovable in front of the opening into the ancient gray ruins that it guarded. Foamy spittle oozed from the sides of its mouth. Byron kept commanding his companions to get closer, but Landon’s spindly arms shook so much he couldn’t keep his sword steady long enough to even pretend an attempt, and Gordon’s chubby physique didn’t leave him with many options about truly facing the beast either.

  “What in the land are they doing here?” Earl asked.

  “I bet they got lost trying to find the cave they used last year,” Elloriana said.

  “Nope,” Dagdron said. “They know about the arches. They’re looking for Mazannanan’s treasure.”

  “What?” Earl and Elloriana chorused as Lita grunted.

  “They didn’t get lost. They’re trying to get in there,” Dagdron explained.

  “It’s true,” Lita said. “Weaklings would flee if they were just lost.”

  “But why does that mean they know about Mazannanan’s treasure?” Elloriana asked.

  “The Backer told them about it,” Dagdron said.

  “How does the Backer know about the arches?” Earl said.

  “Because the Backer is Rance.” Dagdron glanced at his companions, who were staring at him questioningly, so he continued. “I talked about it with Wendahl and he was suspicious of Rance too. The Backer only uses lightning spells, and those are Rance’s specialty. When my dad was tracking Rance, Kas, and Wally last winter, he said Rance left Lordavia in the direction of Broodavia. I bet he went to meet with Byron. And we didn’t find Rance in Lordavia. Only Kas and Wally were there this summer.”

  “That would mean…” Elloriana said.

  “The Backer is planning on using the power of Avooblis to create the new city, so he has Byron looking for Mazannanan’s treasure,” Earl finished. “That’s the only source of power great enough to build an entire city in such a short amount of time.”

  “And that would explain why the headmaster is so concerned about the Backer,” Lita added. “Whether it’s Rance or another enchanter, they’ll need the arches.”

  “I don’t know, you guys,” Elloriana said. “I know it’s possible, but it seems kind of farfetched. Rance wasn’t that powerful when we saw him in the forest last year, and you fought him and Kas and Wally off in the academy.”

  Dagdron turned away fr
om Elloriana and looked back toward the three warriors, who were still tentatively swinging their swords toward the spumasaur.

  “It’s true, Princess,” Earl said, “but Rance could’ve been faking it, now that I think about it. He had one of the arches for twelve years. Maybe he was waiting until Dagdron’s dad brought the other back. He knew he wouldn’t have access to the shrine below the academy, so he had to wait until the third arch was created. Maybe he’s more powerful than we know.”

  “Who cares?” Dagdron said.

  “You brought it up,” Elloriana said.

  “We have to find the treasure first anyway,” Dagdron said.

  They all agreed on that and returned to watching Bryon, Landon, and Gordon. The three warriors kept at it longer than the four onlookers would have expected but never made any headway closing in on the spumasaur. Bryon eventually signaled for Landon and Gordon to back off, and the threesome headed in the direction of the academy.

  “I’ve been planning this out all summer,” Earl said excitedly, pulling a bundled rope out of the back of his leather jerkin. “We’ll do it just like we saw in the shrine. Lita, Elloriana, and I will distract the spumasaur with sword and spell, and Dagdron will sneak up behind and ride the spumasaur away. Only now we’ll have to bring the spumasaur back. We can’t let Byron or the Backer know that we’ve been in there.”

  “Go,” Dagdron said, grabbing the rope from Earl.

  Dagdron stayed behind the pine tree where they had been hiding while Earl, Lita, and Elloriana circled back around to face the spumasaur head on.

  “Sounds like a sound plan,” a voice said.

  Dagdron jerked around to see Egon standing a few feet behind him, flexing his chest muscles.

  “Ride the spumasaur straight out. I’ll wait there, hold the lizard while you check the dwelling, then bring him back in once you’re out.”

  Dagdron, wondering what Egon was doing there, scowled involuntarily, but he nodded and snuck toward the top of the dwelling above the spumasaur. Earl and Lita were having the time of their lives, lunging at the spumasaur on the left side, while Elloriana, a few steps farther back, was casting a mix of flame and blast-bolt spells. The lizard kept turning its head back and forth but remained fixed in front of the opening.