Orcs not being the brightest of creatures only sent a few to guard the retreat but a Dylonian Shaman was among them so there was no way the old man they were sent to hunt would be able to get by them. Little could the stupid beast know that their shaman was long gone from battle and their brethren were all dead.
So blindly they came on in one gigantic throng of bodies. Wiser creatures would not come at a wizard in such a manner but would instead divide themselves into smaller groups and scatter their attack. But then again, I did say the orcs were a stupid bunch did I not?
So, on they came a brood of stupidity. They crested a small rise in front of the wizard. A stoic figure, he stood there without moving, rock solid and a pillar of strength.
The orcs being the fools that they are, believed him to be paralyzed with fear and so they came hooting and hollering with every step they took.
Merlin waited until they were a mere fifty feet or so away before he took his staff in both hands. Holding it aloft he uttered the words of some ancient magic. "Vulkan Furia" he said as he jammed the tip of the pole in the ground. The words reverberated and the ground shook as large cracks formed in the crust of the earth. Through these cracks rose steam at first, but in the depths of the earth the temperature swelled, and the earth turned to molten lava.
Had the wizard miscalculated? It had been many a year since he had the need for any of these spells but still, he was fairly sure, that his calculations were correct. However, the first of the Orcs were crossing his spell field and there was nothing deterring them.
As quickly as his fears manifested, they dissipated as jets of hot molten lava shot forth from the ground arcing some twenty feet in the air. The orcs that were in line with the molten fire were incinerated immediately and those near the blast caught on fire and were burned to death.
Only those in the front and back of the lines made it through the blast. All totaled just over three of every five orcs perished in the initial blast of the wizard and those that remained were now a bit scattered. Still, there were over twenty orcs that the old man counted so it was not the time to rest.
Eyeing a pocket of three orcs that were now in a full sprint toward him some thirty feet away the old wizard smiled at the futility of their efforts. The revenge attached with their and every other orcs death would be sweet indeed.
Pointing his staff at the three he uttered the words "Magija Projectilas," again numerous thin lines of light shot forth from his staff. There were multiple thuds as each of the orcs sported multiple thin steel arrowed shafts. Two of the foul beasts collapsed in a heap. The third however, continued too close to his foe to stop.
He smiled the multiple shafts protruding from his body like battle scars. Yet still it came. It only thought of how it would swat the life from this puny being once it got into melee range.
The white bearded old man had something else in mind entirely so with the push of a button four sharpened and pointed studs now projected from the end of the staff. The orc was in range now charging at his foe. The old mage believed it was attempting to simply overrun him. He chuckled at the thought.
At the last second the wizard stepped aside, with a whip of his staff he buried the blunt end into the base of the creature's skull. With a loud snap the base of the creature's skull cracked open and with a thud the creature hit the ground.
Four solitary beings stood on the far rise watching the spectacle. Would they help? The old wizard pondered when he saw them standing atop the crest of a far-off hill.
The first waves of creatures were getting closer, and the old wizard was running out of the reagents he need for most of his spells. He calculated that he could cast two more spells. This next one was a spell that would permeate from his body, he smiled as he was about to do the unthinkable.
He mumbled a few words and pointed the staff at himself. In an instant his body was warmed as it now permeated with a thick layer or air. This would help protect him from his next spell. He waited until the beasts nearly surrounded him and then he waded in. Swinging his staff to and fro he kept the monsters at bay. There was about ten in his immediate vicinity, and he believed the time was now or never.
The words "Frio Bloc Avalco" echoed the hillside as once again the wizard slammed the blunt end of his staff into the ground.
From the staff, in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree area, a freezing mist shot forth immobilizing the feet and legs of the stupid beasts. As the orcs struggled to free themselves the clouds above them growled and churn.
Within seconds shards of ice and hail begin to pounce upon the affected area. This included in the wizard's vicinity but with his shield of frost for protection little harm came to him.
In the end the orcs surrounding him lay dead or dying. They were replaced by the stragglers of the group, but they were only six strong. Looking at the devastation of their brethren they, in the customary orc manner, fled for their lives.
The wizard gave chase, but his intent was not to kill them but merely to follow them to see where they were going and how their presence here could be related to the dragon.
As he maneuvered his way up the small hill the four individuals, he had seen earlier were now blocking his path. "If you please, I must follow these foul beasts to see where they are going. I assure you unless they are friends of yours, I am no threat to you," the wizard said attempting to hide his frustration.
"Orcs, friends surely you joke old man," a young and cocky warrior, by his dress, said in response.
"Tabius be silent", an only slightly older man said to the young upstart.
"Greetings to you friend, my name is Copernicus. We are not friends of the Orc let me assure you and on that you have my word. We are here to retrieve you Merlin and we can show where the Orc are going if you will help us defeat them."
"There were but six left I could have killed them myself, I would not need any help," Merlin said as he studied them.
"Then again those six are not what you meant though were they," the old wizard posed the question.
The young warrior began to say something but a stern look from Copernicus put him in his place.
"Nay they are not," he said shaking his head.
"Perhaps I should explain," the stranger said to Merlin.
"From our reconnaissance I understand that you are somewhat aware of the reasons for the Orcs coming for you but allow me to explain further. In my world of Minlas a war wages with the dragons. In the recent years one in particular has been the leader of the dragons. I believe you know of this dragon. His name is Muskavalcic," the mage (Copernicus) said, pausing for confirmation.
Merlin nodded.
"Why the big red dragon is after you is as much a mystery to us as is why he is so vehemently against the people of Minlas most specifically the humans and the elves," Copernicus paused as if he was hoping for some sort of explanation.
When none was forthcoming, he continued.
The mage then recounted the events of the last twenty years indicating that although the dragons had always been a nuisance, they were never this organized, nor were there so many. Something has certainly influenced their habitat.
Near the end of his story Merlin sort of chuckled.
The young mage paused and looked at the old wizard. "I can assure you good sir this is no laughing matter. My world is on the brink of war with the dragons if we are not there already. It is a war we cannot hope to win with our limited use of magic," the young mage said perhaps a bit more irritated than he intended.
Merlin looked at the four and understanding the precariousness of their situation he decided to let the indiscretion slide. He realized that neither his current predicament, nor his feelings of angst, stemmed from these four men. He fully understood the visitors' situation as he in fact was in that very quandary himself a little more than twenty years ago.
"My apologies Copernicus, I did not mean to offend. I only chuckled as I am all too aware of your problem as I myself faced similar circumstances with the dragon you speak of some twenty years earlier," the old wizard said to the four strangers.
At this point the four strangers did not have to feign interest with the old wizard as they were genuinely concerned. Perhaps the prophecy was true. The young mage (Copernicus) sat on a nearby rock and indicated for Merlin to do the same.
"If it is revenge of those that have wronged you is what you seek, I will make it worth your while for you to sit and tell us your story," the young mage said as the others sat upon the ground around the old wizard.
Merlin's frustration subsided as he now had come to trust the one that called himself Copernicus. Perhaps not the others not just yet but he was convinced he should give these men a chance, so he sat upon the large rock.
There he told his story. He told of King Arthur and the knight of Camelot. He told of the evil shade Mordred and most specifically, he spoke of the great red dragon. The old wizard told them of the battle a little over twenty years ago and of the tactics he used to banish the giant red.
He spoke of the pain he felt at the loss of his great friend the king and then lastly of the new law put into place by Sir Lancelot that in essence banished him from the kingdom. He did not blame the knight of course; he understood its purpose but still the decree had saddened him.
He spoke of his marriage to his lovely wife Isla and of his daughter Guinevere. He barely managed this without breaking up so fresh were those thoughts weighing upon his mind.
He slumped a bit as he finished his tale.
"I understand your grievances with the orcs, and you need not my assurances to know they are just so I will not bother to give them," Copernicus said to the old wizard.
"I say the timelines match though and for this reason and for reasons I am suspecting that occurred during this encounter with the orcs that I say the red dragon in each of our stories is the same," he said hoping for a bit of confirmation.
This was never in question as far as Merlin was concerned but he nodded, nonetheless.
"It's time for my story Merlin and I will explain to you of our past and better, yet I will explain how you will be able to come to a place where you can not only fit in, but you will in fact thrive. It will allow you to keep your daughter safe and to exact revenge upon Isla all at the same time," Copernicus said knowing these reasons would peak the old wizard's attention.
The old wizards looked deeply at his counterpart, "then tell me your story so that I may see how I can be of assistance."
The old wizard refused to bring his revenge into question as he was simply better than that as a person. That didn't mean he was not after it or didn't want it as he truly did, but Merlin was not about to let their struggle be intertwined with his.
The mage understood this and smiled politely. His respect for the great wizard continued to grow.
Copernicus recounted the last seven or eight thousand years to the best of his knowledge. It all seemed to come back to the Plutarians and their technology at least the downfall did anyway.
Merlin had always surmised that getting technology that is not learned was a bad idea as your dependence is almost immediate but your ability to recreate it should the creators remove the supply is extremely difficult. And that is the situation we had here it would seem.
The young mage continued to explain that the Plutarians stopped making their technology once they started to see what it was doing to the world and this lead to the peoples that were the least dependent onto the technology to quickly capitalize on the chaos of those races that were.
Copernicus continued his story in stating that the Dylonian's, were a race that was not privy to any technology do to their inherent evil nature. The evil lizard men quickly enslaved the Elven people.
With the Elves' dependence on technology, they stopped much of their dedication to spells and to a lesser degree even their devotion to their god, Tunare was impacted. There were groups of elves that kept the knowledge of spells among them but the group of "radicals" which is what they were called, could not hope to combat the race of Dylonian's.
The Elven race in its entirety was enslaved by the Dylonian's, who outnumbered the kindhearted elves by a count of almost ten to one.
In addition, the mage advised, that the humans were being harassed by the Orcs, Yeti and the Eerikye so there was little help they could provide to the Elven people. The Dwarves and the Hybonian's were the least effected as they mostly kept to themselves and had little use of technology. To attack their cities and fortresses was almost suicide for any race.
Copernicus then went on to explain that it was almost one thousand years ago that the good Elves, with the help of their god Tunare and the belief of the Everhart family were able to free themselves from the slavery imposed upon them.
Lastly, he mentioned the current problems with the dragons and the frequency of attacks from them. The attacks from many races had subsided as there were too many dragons with which to contend. It wasn't until last month that they learned of the venerable red's involvement in the campaign. They also learned of a scorned relationship the dragon had with a powerful wizard in a far-off place. If there was someone that powerful in existence, then the mage explained that it would behoove the humans and the elves (the primary forces at war with the dragons) to find this man and enlist his help.
"And that is why we need you on Minlas my friend, it's that simple," Copernicus ended with a smile.