“Why should we walk while you have a wagon?” Jasper asked.
“You are walking because you wanted to challenge me” Allen replied. “I have a wagon because I earned it and everything inside of it. If you four are trying to stick up some travelers like a group of bandits you are going to get yourselves killed. Now move out of my way.”
Allen left the group on the side of the road and kept going. Allen made better time than he thought he would in reaching Macom and figured he was almost two days ahead of the others since he traveled at night since the moon was out and he changed horses often with the help of a bit of money. Allen went through the gates of Macom and had Valerie stay out of her armor, Allen wanted to meet the Commander without being too noticeable. Finding the Gorgan headquarters was easy, it was a nice looking inn that had been taken over. Allen grabbed Valerie and walked passed the nervous looking soldiers and into the inn.
“This inn is closed to citizens for now” said a man in a military uniform. He was a younger man, not much older than Valerie and had his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.
“We are the mage killers sent from Gorgas” Allen replied. “We are not stupid enough to walk around and announce the fact to everyone. Now who is in charge?”
“You are mage killers?” the man said as Valerie presented her paperwork. Allen followed her example as the young man looked over the papers and looked back at a boy that looked younger than Valerie.
“Fetch Captain McDonald” the soldier holding Allen’s papers said. “He is going to want to talk to them. Mage Allen and Mage Killer Valerie, stay put while we find you a room.”
“We are not staying in this place” Allen replied. “It is a big ass target, we will make our own accommodations thank you.”
“You don’t want to stay here?” Valerie asked.
“Pit no” Allen replied. “I know how to make a stronghold and this isn’t it. I can find us another place to stay and food to eat. If the other two mage killers are not complete idiots we can stay safely hidden and still do our job. If they are idiots I will put them out on their own or they can join up with Jasper.”
“You are the mage killers?” said a thin nervous looking man wearing Captain rank.
“Yes we are” Allen replied. “Are you Captain McDonald?”
“Call me Andrew” the thin man said. “Where are the rest of you? I was promised five mage killers.”
“They are on their way” Allen replied. “Probably a day or two behind us. I figure we can split in two teams, I can take the two that are here and when the other four come you can place them elsewhere.”
“Allie and Erin need a break” McDonald said as he twitched a little. “Right now they are both stationed at different gates and have a lot of men guarding them.”
“Two women?” Allen asked.
“They are alive because they have been off shift when the attacks happen” McDonald said somberly. “The enemy mages though are getting deeper and deeper into the city to attack. It is hard to hold them off.”
“I can help with that” Allen replied. “My group will at least take out one mage. Are the mages hiding in the city somewhere?”
“Not any more” McDonald said quietly. “We patrol with Erin and Allie and they can feel when magic seeps into them. One mage was almost captured but was able to escape. The people here hide them. The kingdom always responds by sending me raw soldiers and untrained mages.”
“Where are your mages?” Allen asked.
“Dead” McDonald said. “Like we all will be very soon.”
“Well show me a map of this city” Allen said. “Tell me where you need a permanent mage patrol and I will be there.”
“The toughest end is the north end” McDonald said quickly and quietly as he had a map brought over. “We are in a dangerous place, our army is too far northeast to do regular patrols so it is up to me, assassins killed the former commander.”
“I can patrol this entire area right here” Allen said as he pointed to the North gate and a few blocks around it. “I will set up my home here and look out for the other two mage killers.”
“You are insane” McDonald replied. “The enemy mages always attack this area and drive deep into the city before pulling away. You will die if you live there.”
“You let me worry about that” Allen replied. “Give me two days and I will have the area secured. Don’t contact me, I will contact you. The fewer the people who know what I look like the better. I will come back for the two mage killers then so you can continue your patrols until I am set. You may see signs around the city, please do not take them down. I need them to stay up and I need them to be seen.”
“You seem full of hope like I once was” McDonald replied. “You are an Atropian so you think this will be different. We have many Atropians who fight for Gorgas, they have found out their countrymen hate them even more than us.”
“Probably” Allen replied. “But I hate them with a seething contempt that can never be quenched. I am just going to give them fair warning of what they are getting into.”
“Well if you can stop the mages then that would go a long way in securing this place” McDonald said. “There are at least three of them, we think they live someplace north of here.”
“Have you went looking for their hideout?” Allen asked.
“Once” said McDonald as he let out a sigh. “We were left unprotected here and attacked. My soldiers do not last long.”
“Hold out for two days” Allen said. “I may not be able to completely stop the attacks but their side will start to suffer just as must as ours do. I have never lost a duel with another mage.”
“How many mages have you killed?” McDonald said as Allen could see the depressed man stand up a little straighter.
“None” Allen admitted. “But I have never been defeated in sparring. All I need are the two days. Come on Valerie, we have a lot of work to do.”
“You will be back?” McDonald asked.
“I guarantee tomorrow morning you will see proof I am in the city” Allen replied. “This will continue and the traitors will all wear the face you have on.”
“What face?” McDonald asked.
“The face that has seen too much” Allen replied. “Do not worry about me and Valerie. The other mage killers that are coming I do not get along with. They need an entirely different patrol area than what I have, we are not friends and perhaps a step away from being enemies. You should come up with a plan for them as well.”
“Things have gotten real” Valerie said as she climbed into the wagon. “That man looked like he has seen a ghost. He made me even more frightened than I already am.”
“You have no need to be frightened” Allen replied. “There is too much stone in this city, perfect for me to do what needs to be done. Let’s head out to this northern gate, I have an idea how to patrol it in relative safety.”
“I was scared to ask” Valerie replied.
“We are going to be underground” Allen replied. “It will be a bit dark and maybe a little smelly but you will be able to live in peace. All I need you to do is tell me when you feel the pull of magic. From there we can attack the traitors.”
“How?” Valerie asked.
“Because we will have some tunnels” Allen explained. “I just need for you to follow the tunnels until you feel the strongest pull of magic. With three of you draining, that mage will feel real tired real quick. The mage would never see me coming, neither would anyone helping them.”
“Thank you Allen” Valerie replied. “I feel a lot better.”
“This will work until people start talking” Allen said. “You cannot let anyone know how we are successful. Many people will try to take it over and we will be less successful. The enemy will find out about it quickly and I would not be able to guarantee your safety.”
“Okay” Valerie replied.
“It will take me most of the night to do what I need to” Allen replied. “It will be boring and a little sca
ry but you will be safe.”
“Your tunnels you are building, will they be big enough to give me and the others some privacy?” Valerie asked.
“I will give you all your own rooms” Allen replied. “It wont be the most comfortable thing but it will be better than waiting to die. In time I can fix it up a bit, in two or three months it should be comfortable.”
“I think the gate is up ahead” Valerie said.
“We need to go through it” Allen replied. “The problem with tunnels is that it is hard to get rid of the excess dirt. I think I will just pile it outside the limits somewhere.”
“Can you build some more of your little houses?” Valerie asked. “Maybe even make a whole village of them. The soldiers can use them as guard shacks when they are out here. I have seen some of what you can do, you can even make a wall surrounding them. The soldiers don’t have to know where it came from, you could do it at night quietly enough.”
Allen nodded and passed through the gate, the soldiers seemed more worried about what came into the city instead of what was leaving out of it. Allen started with tunnel and separated the stones from the rocky soil and kept digging. Soon he was under the pathetic wooden gate around the city and dug a rough system of connecting tunnels underneath their area of patrol. For now it would have to do, more work was put into making the little shelters, most were made of tightly packed dirt but the one nearest the gate was made out of tightly packed stone and mud. It did not have a door but did have a small window, it was the emergency exit if Allen needed the mage killers to get out in a hurry. When Allen finally stopped working, the little shelters he had made were complete and what he wanted most was done.
Allen had Valerie work on some signs he was going to hang everywhere by the northern gate. Allen thought it sounded a bit over the top but there would be no way anyone could read them and not understand what he meant.
THIS AREA IS PROTECTED BY ALLEN SMITH, PROTECTOR TO QUEEN MARY OF HOUSE GODFREY. ANYONE ATTACKING OR HELPING ATTACKERS OF THE GORGAN SOLDIERS WILL BE SEEN AS THE ENEMY OF THE RIGHTFUL QUEEN AND EXECUTED. REMOVAL OF THIS SIGN WILL ALSO BE SEEN AS TREASON AND YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.
Allen hung all of signs quickly, with his tunnels he was able to pop up anywhere and meld the signs into the walls of different buildings before he disappeared. Allen was not sure if he was seen on the dark night but doubted it. Allen and Valerie fell asleep in the dirt tunnels under the city, it was a little smelly but Allen had dug enough holes in random places for air to come through.
“Valerie wake up” Allen said as he shook the girl awake. “It is morning and we still have a lot of things we need to do. I need you to write down a list of things we need and I will use McDonald to get them.”
“We need oil lamps” Valerie said. “A bed wouldn’t be bad either, maybe more space, these tunnels are narrow.”
“I made this place longer than it needed to be so I have some space to make this place bigger” Allen replied. “And I haven’t compacted the dirt around us yet so that will make this place even wider. Go get the supplies we took out of the wagon to write this stuff down and I will be back.”
“You are leaving?” Valerie said. Allen could not see her but knew she was nervous.
“Yes” Allen replied. “You have to feel around to find the little cluster of houses you had me make. There should be enough light in that area so you can read. Don’t worry, I will be back about midday, I have a lot of things I need to do to make this place better.”
Allen left Valerie and went up to the surface, it was just before sunrise and he needed other supplies. He wanted enough wood to reinforce the tunnel and thought an actual floor would be nice to have. Wood would be easy to get, he could get that in the forest or just buy it. The work on it would be tedious though to make the place comfortable, Allen shook his head at the nonsense. His first job was to get the enemy mages, not make himself comfortable. He needed a plan to fight them, the mages normally attacked the gate or blew it apart and walked through it. The Gorgans had repaired it a bunch of times but it was still a little more than an inconvenience to a decent mage. The wood would go to fix the gate first, the rest of the wall was made of stone and was sufficient to hold back the Gorgans when they took the city. Allen walked a bit and saw two Gorgan soldiers who waved him over.
“Why are you out after curfew?” a young man with a big sword said. Allen could tell he had to be new and was probably the type to look for fights. His shaggy brown hair hid his hazel eyes a little and Allen could tell he puffed out his chest a bit.
“I was minding my own business, I don’t know anything about any mages” Allen replied.
“We never said anything about any mages” the young man said.
“Take him to the Captain, Saul” the other soldier said. This man also looked young and had his head shaved.
“Maybe we will get off of this duty for finding a spy Joe” Saul said as he moved a piece of his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. “Alright you, hands up and no funny business.”
Allen stuck up his hands and couldn’t believe his luck. He had seen at least two people spy him from their windows as the soldiers walked him into the inn that was used as the army headquarters. Allen made stink of it as he went inside of the inn.
“Mage Allen” Captain McDonald said surprised.
“Your soldier mistook me for an enemy” Allen replied. “Which was good because it was exactly what I needed them to do.”
“This man is with us” Captain McDonald said looking at his two soldiers. “You are dismissed.”
“I am almost set up” Allen said. “I know I said I would see you in two days but I need other things to help me out and I need them rather quickly.”
“Like what?” McDonald asked.
“I need a lot of wood brought to the northern gate” Allen replied. “Most of the wall is solid stone but that gate is the weak point. It is too wide and not even all of it opens.”
“They ran out of good stone to continue with the wall so instead used wood to finish it and the gate” McDonald replied.
“Well I am going to make it sturdier” Allen replied. “I need big quantities of wood brought there. It will slowly disappear as I use it but I need the pile to be continuously refilled. It doesn’t all need to be cut prettily either, I just need it there. Everyday make sure the wood pile is at a decent level. You will also notice a strange little group of sheds have popped up just outside the city gates. Your men can use them but I do not have a decent wall built around them yet. I plan on using a lot of the wood you bring to extend the gate to encompass them. Finally, one of those strange sheds is made of a bunch of different stones and mud. Attached to that hut will be a list of things I need to be successful, you can have your men leave it somewhere around the hut and I will find it. Tomorrow at this time you can bring your mage killers there and I will keep them safe. I already have enough set up to patrol the area a little, I am assuming we were just lucky there wasn’t an attack.”
“There will be one in the next few days though” McDonald replied. “I hope you are up to it.”
“I am up to it” Allen replied. “Whenever that other lot gets here they will need plenty of protection, I won’t need any. Well that is everything I needed to tell you, if you could get started on that sooner rather than later then by tomorrow I should be all set up.”
Allen left the inn and made his way back to the tunnels. The darkness only bothered him a little as he walked back to a spot just under and off to the side of the main gate. He started compacting the dirt around him and made the area opened up a little. This would be a good place for him to live he thought as he used his magic to make everything more comfortable. It would take McDonald sometime to gather the wood, once he did then Allen could work on the gate. Allen made his way through the tunnels until he came to Valerie.
“Thank the gods” Valerie said. “I have to go and we don’t have anywhere to pee or do other things at.”
“I forgot all about that” Allen said as he pointed up. For now everyone can use our shelter above you, you remember how to get out?”
“The trap door made from the wagon you used for the floor of our storage home” Valerie replied. “Can’t you make it someplace else? Maybe have our own little room since you are going to make the ground soak it up anyway. Someplace far less embarrassing.”
~
“You are the two mage killers I am looking for?” Allen said as he saw two women standing around in the cluster of shacks he made.
“W-where did you come from?” said the older of the pair.
“From inside” Allen replied.
“How?” said Joe. “This place aint got a door. And how do you keep building things without anyone seeing you?”
“Don’t worry about it” Allen replied. “Just be happy it was done, it is starting to get colder and at least you can now stay warm a little.”
“You are mage Allen?” the older mage killer asked. “I do not feel any magic coming from you.”
“Which one are you?” Allen asked.
“I am Erin” the woman said. “This is my little sister Allie.”
“Well we have a lot to talk about but it can be done later” Allen replied. “You can bring your things inside.”
“I thought you had a girl with you?” Allie asked.
“I do but she is on patrol right now” Allen replied.
“By herself?” Erin asked worried. “What kind of man would let her go out like that. Even if it is morning we should be getting attacked at any moment.”
“I think we have a lot to discuss” Allen replied. “Soldiers I will take it from here.”
“We should go with the other group Erin” Allie said. “This man is crazy. The others that showed up today called him that. He wants to patrol the worst area, lied and told everyone he was a mage and sent his partner off with no help.”
“I also built the place you are standing in along with the new gate around it” Allen replied. “But if you think you can find more safety with those boys then get to it. I don’t need anyone who does not want to be here.”
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