The Mage of Mages 2

by Whiskey Flowers

  “As you say Your Grace” Sawyer replied.

  “But we are getting off the subject” Duke Velarde asked. “Fairy or not I can make you a very powerful man here in Perdomo. I know you male mages can fuck all the whores you want, many of you like my establishments and use them to your hearts content. I know almost every commoner woman you meet throws herself at you for a chance at a good life. But I offer quality over quantity, I can offer you a proper woman for a wife. I have many granddaughters who are both rich and pretty, anyone of them could be yours.”

  “I am married Your Grace” Sawyer replied.

  “I heard something about that” Duke Velarde admitted. “The reason you tried to kill the guard. If that is true then the reason you have not enjoyed any of my whores is because you want a quality woman.”

  “Or none at all” Sawyer replied.

  “So you are a fairy then?” Duke Velarde asked. “Doesn’t matter, a few more sessions like you had and I am sure you will be a changed man. I want to work with you mage, I am not asking you to do anything illegal, just pull back the curtain a bit so I can know what is going on in our Kingdom. I’ll make it no secret that I do not like mages, I helped kill a lot of them wherever I found them. Only reason I changed my mind is because Haven still had all of theirs and was getting too powerful. Plying you folks with as much pussy you can take was a way to get rid of any plays for power. The problem is that we have let the women gain too much of it, Esther is alright but what of her daughters? One has taken to a man that is so pretty he could be a woman that has no plans on leading anything. The only thing he cares about is pussy but has not even seen a brothel or anything else in a long while so I can tell he has been neutered significantly if he is only sleeping with one woman. I plan on marrying one of my own to Phoebe so this place can have a real ruler. I want to start with you.”

  “I cannot beat the high mage in a fight” Sawyer replied. “My magic is for large groups of people, hers is more localized. It would be like trying to fight an expert swordsman while you are armed with a trebuchet.”

  “Well tell you what” Duke Velarde replied. “I don’t know what I can offer you at the moment, the Queen gives you lot everything. But I can be a good friend to have even if you are a fairy, I will owe you a favor. I just want you to let me know if any significant information is not being shared with the rest of us.”

  “That can be arranged” Sawyer replied.

  Sawyer had decided he hated Duke Velarde long ago and now had even more reason to. He would need to be killed eventually and would most likely pose a problem if left alone. The game of hide and seek he had been playing had to drive the Salians mad, Sawyer had only struck places where they were thin on mages and had killed another five during this time. Aft had found Montes a lot harder to fight and was at a standstill just inside the Montes border, their plan probably was for Sale to wash over Perdomo and then use that momentum to flank the entire Montes army. Sale must have been given the best assets, assets that were slowly being whittled away.

  “We are in a unique position” General Goodnight said as he looked across the table at Duke Velarde and Duke Treadwell. “The Aft were never going to be able to take Montes, Aft is filled with pig farmers and Montes is where the old capital used to be and surrounded by high mountains and is the home of the finest warriors in the old kingdom. Holding out against a country like Aft is easy for them, especially since Aft’s only mission really was to keep Montes bottled up. With our unexpected victories in battle over Sale, it has left the Aft in a position to either flee or be destroyed. Montes has already sent riders who were able to get through to us, they want us to march on Aft and destroy their army entirely.”

  “Just think of the slaves we could have” Duke Treadwell said. “Each of us could get at least three or four thousand apiece, and they know how to work the land.”

  “There are strong mages in the Aft army” Duke Velarde said. “I have received reports from Ravens sent to me, they want to know how we are dealing with the ones from Sale. The mages are the only part of the Aft army having any luck.”

  “We have been dealing with the mages so far” General Goodnight replied. “Right now we have every mage that can hold a staff either here or on their way. Even Princess Penelope’s suitor is on his way, with the High Mage here I don’t mind matching ours against theirs.”

  “The High Mage hasn’t even been able to hunt down their mage killer” Duke Velarde said. “That mage has been the only thing keeping the Sale intact from our forces. If anything our forces have not had any casualties from this chase because of Mage Sarlon. If this woman is the high mage, then Sarlon is the mage of mages. We can send him to help Montes.”

  “You do not order the mages Your Grace” Tabitha said. “I do.”

  “You lower your voice when you are talking to me woman” Duke Velarde screamed.

  “I am not one of your subjects to be yelled at and I am not scared of you or any other man in here” Tabitha said gripping her staff. “And you still do not control the mages, I do. They listen to me and only me.”

  “I think we are getting away from my point to all this” General Goodnight said standing in between the pair.

  “You were talking about all of the slaves” Duke Treadwell replied. “I need to get more men trained to deal with our new influx. This war has already upped my slave count considerably, now I get even more.”

  “Not exactly” General Goodnight said. “I have been in contact with the Queen and she agrees with my plan.”

  “Your plan?” Duke Treadwell said angrily. “Your plan should be to listen to men here on ground instead of a woman safe at home!”

  “My plan is to let the Aft retreat” General Goodnight said. “I want them to fall all the way back to their homeland. I know the Havenians are going to fall back eventually. The Havenians only sent a small fighting force but many mages are with them. With their mages being killed, they will attempt to save them. Right now, the former kingdom of Colten is split up three ways, their governments are weak and they are ripe for the taking. We can push all three of those kingdoms out of Colten and claim it for our own. From there we are going to press men into service and press into Sale”.

  “This sounds like a lot of work when we can just take more slaves and be done with it” Duke Treadwell said.

  “It is what her majesty wants” General Goodnight said. “By pressing into Sale it would make the Havenians flee altogether. The Aft might keep a small force there but since Aft is on the other side of Sale and shares a border with Haven, that is where most of their forces will go”.

  “Didn’t Sale beat Colten?” Tabitha asked.

  “They did but they did so with a lot of mage help” General Goodnight replied. “We have been so dominant their mages are doing everything they can just to stay alive. Once we get into Sale their mages might be tougher but we can deal with that when the time comes.”

  “I will have all my mages here within two days” Tabitha replied. “One of them is just a boy so he will stay close to me. I think with regular tactics we can push the enemy, I will not send the mages out unless you have a mage problem you need dealt with.”

  “The woman is scared” Duke Velarde said shaking his head. “Have a backbone, I have seen Mage Sarlon in the thick of battle waving sword and staff. Why don’t you run back to the Queen and leave him in charge.”

  “Sarlon is gifted but I would be next in line” Claudia said. “And another woman after me then another woman Your Grace.”

  “Was I talking to you girl?” Duke Velarde asked. “We don’t need all of these mages in here anyway when men are talking.”

  “We need them in here so they will know exactly what their responsibilities are” General Goodnight said. “The High Mage can tell us if is something her people can do or not. As for Mage Sarlon, he has been put on special assignment by the High Mage to serve as my protector and to handle little situations for me if any pop up.”

  “So a General gets a
pet mage and the rest of us don’t?” Duke Treadwell asked.

  “I am no one’s pet” Sawyer said as he eyed the Duke. “You will do well to remember that.”

  “We should call this meeting for now” General Goodnight said. “This was only so you all can know the ultimate plan before we push out, I am satisfied you do and I can handle all the details of the plan myself.”

  Sarlon gripped his staff then left the tent, since when was he put on some special assignment babysitting a General? He was more comfortable out in the open with sword held high, he was not a fan of Duke Velarde but the crippled man knew how to squeeze an already retreating enemy.

  “Sarlon” Sawyer heard Tabitha’s voice from behind him. “We need to talk, all of us mages do.”

  “About what?” Sarlon said in a challenging tone.

  “This is not a request” Tabitha said. “Get into my tent now, you Mage Guard is already there.”

  Sawyer followed the High Mage along with the rest of the mages that were there to the High Mage’s personal tent. Mage Guard surrounded all sides of the massive tent and had weapons drawn. Sawyer saw Chews was out front but further away than the rest looking like he was a sentry, Tabitha probably didn’t want him overhearing anything.

  “You and Duke Velarde seem awfully close now” Candace said. “So close that he wants you to be the high mage.”

  “If you are going to say something, then say it” Sawyer said as he walked closer to Candace and had his hand on his sword hilt and his staff in his hand.

  “You don’t scare me” Candace said as she backed away.

  “I should” Sawyer said. “I haven’t forgotten what your part was in my torment, you would do well to watch yourself.”

  “Stop this!” Tabitha said as she shook with rage. “Sarlon are you in league with Duke Velarde? There was at least a day where you had no Mage Guard and there were no other mages around.”

  “No” Sarlon replied. “He offered to be a friend, he was as fake as most of you here. He has nothing to offer me that I would want, why would leave the demon I know for the one I don’t?”

  “Sarlon we are supposed to be a united front” Claudia said. “We are the Queen’s mages and we stick together. You were alone with the man for a day and now he is your biggest supporter.”

  “We are not united” Sawyer replied looking at Claudia. “We haven’t been since I came here. I don’t consider any of you friends and I think of several of you as enemies. Don’t pretend we have each other’s backs, there was a lot of good times being had in Maduro, not all of us in this tent remember it fondly. Ask Dominic or Reginald if they had a good time. You weren’t there for them then so don’t pretend we are the best of friends now. I was with Velarde because I am the only mage here that trains his body for war, the rest of you were soft while my enemy breathes. The rest of you think it appropriate to hang back, not me. I will kill every Salian I get my hands on, that is why I rode on with the chasing force.”

  “He is telling the truth there” Dominic replied. “The outrage at being subjected to such a treatment. I have never forced any woman to take her clothes off for me or to clean anything under threat of punishment. To be laughed at by a bunch of whores including the ones in this room, I wouldn’t call any of you my friends.”

  “But we are all loyal” Andrew said. “We are loyal to the Queen and I think she has more than made up for any ill feelings. We all have gained much bigger homes, more servants and the nearest brothel sends us a girl every day for company. If you are all so outraged by Maduro then give all of that up. If not then you are all a bunch of hypocrites, every one of you.”

  “They send women to you and you are all judgementive over a day in Maduro?” Candace replied. “I am with Andrew, you need to get over yourselves.”

  “But not all of you have a home” Tabitha said looking at Sawyer. “And not all of you have taken any luxuries from Her Majesty. One of you has done everything in their power to defy Her Majesty without getting into trouble.”

  “I already told you Velarde came to me and I did not agree to help him” Sawyer replied. “If you don’t believe me that’s your problem. I have nothing to prove to you and I don’t like or respect you enough to care what you think of me.”

  “That is what I am talking about” Tabitha said. “You see everyone as your enemy.”

  “No I don’t” Sawyer replied. “I am not fond of Claudia but I do not see her as an enemy, I just see her as someone I would be better off not knowing.”

  “Then you are a stubborn idiot” Claudia replied angrily. “I haven't done anything to you but watch a contest I had planned on seeing before I knew you. I was going to watch it anyway, this year was just made sweeter because the other idiots who normally talk down on me were being taken down a few pegs”.

  “You got your answer Tabitha” Sawyer replied. “Now is this meeting over or are you going to accuse me of something else? For someone who wants the mages to be united I find it odd my duties here has changed and I find out about it not from my so called High Mage but from General Goodnight.”

  “He shouldn’t have spoke up” Tabitha replied. “I’ll take the blame for that, I was going to tell you sometime after the meeting. As for the rest of you I do not want you venturing outside this tent without as least three other mages with you. I do not trust any of the Dukes and I know their agents are everywhere. Also, no one who is not a mage is allowed in here, it is time to make ourselves secretive.”

  “That is ridiculous” Reginald said. “I am missing a damn foot, how am I supposed to go get food? What happens when I want some company? It is not like I can find three mages to go with me to find this company, Sarlon would refuse out of his sense of honor and whenever Samson gets here I don’t think he is that stupid to go with me.”

  “Your food can be brought to you by your Mage Guard” Tabitha replied. “And as for anything else you will either have to find a way or do without. I hear your hand can sometimes be a suitable substitute.”

  “Fuck you” Reginald said angrily.

  “He does have a point” Claudia said. “There are plenty of handsome soldiers around this place and all this time out here does make a woman lonely.”

  “Well then both of your problems are solved” Tabitha said. “You can lay with each other as many times as you like, I am certain this would please the Queen since I have already been talked to about it.”

  “You were talked to about me sleeping with one of them?” Claudia said disgusted.

  “And what makes you think you meet my standard?” Reginald asked. “I am used to women who really know how to please a man, not some broken down trollop. The women I talk to all have nice breasts and wide hips, sleeping with any of you would be a step down.”

  “I agree with that” Andrew said. “You ladies all had your fun but every day we get the pick of the finest women in Perdomo who are not shy.”

  “Regardless of what you think of each other, the Queen has stated that she would be real happy if her female mages had a child by a male mage” Tabitha replied. “You all have made it perfectly clear that none of you find the other attractive, however if you are desperate enough, the rest of us will leave this tent. We have lost too many mages already and need a way to replenish our number. Ladies you should be thankful that Queen Esther is the one on the throne, if it were me I would mandate that you at least try with another mage.”

  “I have heard this talk as well” Andrew replied. “I would not blame Her Majesty if she started mandating such things. But this is a story for a different time, we need to figure out a way to get past their mages. They have a wind mage that took on me, Claudia and Dominic and was still holding his or her own. Only two of you have shown any skill at killing these mages or at least turning them around. We need a way to draw out their mages without giving our position away, maybe we could surprise them with a strike.”

  “A messenger High Mage” Mage Guard Chews said as he stuck his head in the tent.

 
“Send him in” Tabitha said looking at him.

  A skinny man dressed in a messenger’s uniform came into the tent holding a sealed envelope. Sawyer recognized him as the messenger he had been wanting to talk to for some time based off of his energy. This man though was supposed to be days away, instead he was right in front of the High Mage handing over a message.

  “What is your name?” Sawyer asked. “I know you are from the palace, why would you ride all the way here instead of handing off the message to different messengers.”

  “He is here because whatever is in that message must be important” Claudia said.

  “You don’t go anywhere, I need to talk to you” Sawyer replied. “You just might be the person I am looking for, if I am right, I am about to change your life.”

  “What are you talking about boy?” Andrew asked.

  “Let Tabitha read her message first” Sawyer began. “If I am correct I think she will need some time to decide the Queen’s next move.”

  Sawyer looked as Tabitha’s face went white. The High Mage read the paper again and went white again. Tabitha tossed the paper on the ground and grabbed her staff and set the entire thing aflame then sat down. Candace came over to her but was waved off as Tabitha grabbed a cup of water and downed it, then refilled the cup with the contents of a wine skin and downed that before just drinking straight from the skin.

  “Well what is it?” Andrew said.

  “Not with the messenger inside the tent” Tabitha replied. “We can talk about it later, what did you need this man for Sarlon?”

  Sawyer had thought about how he would explain things without giving away his life magic. In the end Sawyer decided he would just say it was only a hunch, if it worked they would all say it was a lucky hunch but what he was going to do would probably change how things were done.