Tuesday Excerpt, "Crucible"

Though his eyes were captivated by the luminance of the stone, Mandrean’s mind felt a resurgence of energy he hadn’t felt since he served in the army. The energy sparked the most diabolical and wicked parts of his character. He felt a bond with the gem like an appendage that was missing and had been reunited. Evil thoughts of murder and conquest raced to his consciousness. At long last, he had the power to reform the world, as he wanted.

As the others in the room collected themselves Mandrean cast a cunning glare at the map, which had been left unobstructed by furniture or people. His eyes glazed over as a frenzied speech left his lips.

“Romadon will fall with ease. Let the Goblin Nations dare to interfere. I will leave their bones for the buzzards. Sartan is weak and unprepared. They too will fall with ease. Valia and the countries to the east will beg for mercy before the end. They will get no such satisfaction. Those who survive the slaughter will be my slaves building the Empire to which I am entitled.

“However, before my plans can be put into action, I must find and kill that weakling half-elf who escaped my clutches today.”  

“He burned your capital and nearly killed you,” Necromancer added. “Remember?”

“I remember,” Mandrean said firmly. “His tale is about to end. Necromancer, I can feel the power of the Blue Sapphire but sense no way to use it.”

The Magician answered, “The gem said it would give you the power through the Path of the Blue Sapphire. I told you one use of the staff Linvin carried was to find the chest. The other seems to be as a conductor of the stone’s power. In order to use the full power of the Blue Sapphire, you would need to insert it in the afore mentioned Path of the Blue Sapphire, or Blue Staff.”

“Alright then,” Mandrean acknowledged. “Where is the Blue Staff?”

“I have no idea,” Necromancer answered plainly. “You have had us searching for the Red Staff and key for the chest. The Blue Staff could be anywhere. When you consider how long it took to find the Red Staff, it could be some time before we locate it, if ever.”

“Then I have all this power in my hand and I cannot even use it!” Mandrean screeched.

Necromancer held out his palms in an appeasing manner and said, “Let me think for a moment.” He looked closely at the Blue Sapphire and rubbed his chin. “I believe I could create a substitute until the real staff is discovered. It would allow you to harness most of the gem’s power and still be an even match for Grithinshield.”

“An even match?” the pompous Emperor roared. “I will be more than that. I will crush his throat with my very boot. How long will it take you to fashion the device for me to use the gem?”

Again Necromancer rubbed his chin and looked at the Blue Sapphire. “I would say it would take about two days. After that, I can explain to you how to use its power.”

“You can teach me on the road,” Mandrean replied. “Go to your work area and commence construction immediately.”