Read Online The Powterosian War (Book 5) by C. Craig Coleman - Free Book Online

You can’t see I’m busy here,” the duke barked, still looking this way and that making instant decisions as to disposition of the few troops he had left.
    “I want to help,” the wizard said, barely above a whisper.
    The duke looked up, staring at the magician. The little man in a dirty robe without even runes dropped his head at the stare. The desperate duke went back to studying his situation map. “Better you go find some place to hide. You’re good with amusing tricks for the court, but you’re no match for this situation,” the duke said; then realizing how hurtful he sounded, he cast a smile to the bright-eyed little man. “I appreciate your offer to help.” He looked back down at his map.
    “But I think I can be of service, Your Grace.”
    Again the duke glanced up at the wizard who didn’t look away this time.
    “And what do you propose to do?”
    “I have this spell, you see.”
    “A spell,” Anton said. He looked out the door to the north and shouted an order to an aide to take to the north wall’s commander. He then looked back at the wizard. He saw no hope from that quarter but gave the man a moment to collect himself.
    “Well, I found this spell that … well…” Embarrassed, the wizard flushed.
    “Out with it, man, or be gone. I have no time for this.”
    “It’s a love potion spell, Your Grace,” the wizard blurted out, looking the duke in the eye.
    The duke was stunned. He didn’t know what to say and broke into laughter. The aides outside the doors on either side glanced into the room at the duke. “A love potion?”
    “Yes, you see we could put it in their food and they would fall in love with the nearest living thing in sight, each other, and forget their attack.”
    “Orcs falling in love with each other, have you lost your mind?”
    “Yes, well no, I’ve not lost my mind, I mean the powder has to be ingested so we could put it in a large wagon of ox meat. We could leave that near where the orcs have broken through the wall. Well they haven’t actually broken through yet, but we could allow them to do so at some obscure spot to grab the food and then…”
    “You’ve lost your mind,” the duke said, not taking his eye off the wizard.
    The little man slumped. Again his head drooped forward looking down at the floor in silence. The humiliated wizard turned to leave.
    The idea is insane, but then all we have to lose is a cart of meat, the duke thought. Anything that could divert an attack could give time for the general coming from the west to arrive and counter attack the orcs from behind. “Get back here,” the duke said as the bedraggled wizard was starting down the tower steps.
    The wizard turned on his heel and rushed back to the duke as if re-inflated.
    The duke scratched out an order and handed it to the magician. “Take this to the commissary at the barracks by the southern gate. They will issue you a cart full of meat. You’d better not be wasting precious food. Show this to the commander at the south gate. He’ll know where to place the cart and what to do to pretend a retreat long enough for the orcs to break in and find the cart. Who knows what this foolishness will do, but we may as well try anything at this point.”
    “Yes, Your Grace,” the wizard said, his tone effervescent. He bowed again and again, backing out of the tower observatory and disappeared.
    “A love potion,” the duke mumbled. An aide near him looked at him. “Never you mind the wizard,” the duke said. He went back to issuing orders for the defense of the city.
    *
    The wizard hurried through the dusty city streets, past houses with worried matrons, straining at their windows, trying to get a glimpse of the fighting high on the walls. He hurried through the barracks at the south gate and found the sergeant in charge of the commissary. When the man read the duke’s order, shaking his head, he looked up at the wizard with a puzzled expression.
    “Can you get it ready quickly?” the