Mordecai by Michael G. Manning

Author:Michael G. Manning [Manning, Michael G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943481118
Published: 2018-02-27T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Malvern was a sunny, coastal city. It wasn’t as big as Albamarl of course, but it was significantly larger than Washbrook. There were at least ten or fifteen thousand people living in the city and surrounding areas.

The city itself wasn’t walled, and it was a long way from the border with Gododdin, so war had never been a problem for the inhabitants. It was a modestly prosperous port, but the Count that governed it kept a strong fleet to protect it.

Count Malvern’s keep stood on a hill that overlooked the city. To the west the keep looked over a steep cliff that plummeted straight to the sea, and to the south of it was a small road winding its way into the town proper.

The castle wasn’t particularly impressive. There was no outer wall or towers, just a tall square keep that rose perhaps eighty feet in height with battlements at the top. A wide flight of stairs led up to a heavy oak door broad enough for two men to enter side by side.

From the portal that opened near the city, I flew to the keep. From my height, I could see activity on the roof, and my magesight confirmed it as soon as I was within range. Gary and Matthew were there, constructing something.

Unfortunately, I didn’t want to insult the lord of the castle, so I needed to pay him a visit before heading to the room. The Count, Stephen Malvern, was a decent fellow, close to my age. I had met him on several occasions. He had lost his first wife during the first year that the shiggreth had plagued Lothion. In fact, while I had been ‘dead,’ Penny told me that he was one of the suitors that Rose had tried to convince her to marry.

I didn’t hold that against him, though. He had since remarried, and he had always been polite when I had met him. Now, I was glad we had no bad blood between us, since his keep was apparently an ideal spot for the antenna that Gary wanted to build.

A servant ushered me in to see the Count, and I found myself being escorted up a series of stairs. It turned out my host was already on the roof, watching Matthew and Gary’s work. He greeted me as I stepped out into the stiff, salty breeze coming from the shore.

“Lord Cameron! It is good to see you again,” he said, offering his hand to me.

I shook it, replying, “Malvern, you’re looking well.”

“Call me Stephen,” he insisted.

I agreed and returned the offer, and then he began peppering me with questions. “Can you explain this thing to me, Mordecai? Is it some sort of wizardry?”

Gary and my son were mounting a long wooden support pole, and next to them they had several substantial coils of Conall’s heavy copper wire.

“There’s no magic involved in this, Stephen, not as far as I can tell. As I understand it, the copper wire will enable us to capture signals that our strange enemy uses to communicate.

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