Slapping his arm playfully, Megan regretted it as her cold fingers hit him solidly enough to sting. She quickly made a portal and the two moved from the alleyway to her bedroom.
The wizard removed her coat tossing it on her bed. Her room was still warm, though the magic used to keep it so lost strength without a wizard to stir it regularly. Her power restored the spell to full strength and the warm air was drawn into the room.
Her servant dress was pulled free leaving little hidden as he watched the pretty girl. Megan blushed at his attention as she took out one of her typical winter weather outfits. A wizard wore clothing that marked them as different, but the girl surprised him by putting on pants and using a shorter dress that came to her mid thigh.
As she went to gather her boots, he asked, "Are you going somewhere?"
Megan looked at the man walking over in her bare feet having kicked off her slippers. "I want to go to Sanctuary to see how far they have come."
"Now?"
"If things continue as they are, I don't think we will have too much time before they come to a head and the fighting will begin in earnest."
Choosing a different coat after pulling on her boots, Megan cast a new portal before leaving Ensolus.
Chapter 24- Under Construction
Megan had learned the location of the gate by using Holdy's magic as a beacon more than a week beforehand. While she hadn't been able to join Fordenna and Lesolas as they brought her class to Sanctuary, when time had permitted after her work at the spire, the wizard had done whatever she could to help grow the buildings of stone. Unfortunately as matters grew more tumultuous in the city, Megan also had less time to spare. It had been three days since her last visit, and progress had been made since starting the work; but there was much still to do.
Her view of the valley with the mountains around it now revealed a high stone wall on the magic made plateau hewn from the side of the mountain. The skeleton of a keep could be seen inside of the wall and the wizard worried if they were making it as safe from entry as they believed. More of the mountain continued above the slowly growing fortress, and its outer wall ended in the side of the slope to either side also.
They had done some reshaping of the upper ridge. The side of the mountain looked like a sheer cliff rising above the top of the cave. Its upper reach was supposed to be about the final height of the keep also giving her an idea of what the school might look like in the future. Towers were being raised overlooking the wall while new lines were being shaped around them to prevent anyone from slipping around their defenses into the keep from above.
Megan wasn't sure where they planned to finish, but thought it hard to protect the school from above entirely. Lesolas and the other wizards in charge of the plans for Sanctuary had a vision, however, and the girl could only hope that they knew what they were doing.
Below the walls of the future school, called Sanctuary by those who knew what it was, some of the land had been cleared of snow and trees as well. Simple houses were going up with the hopes of drawing people without magic to this new land.
"I see houses," she commented.
"Lesolas followed my suggestion," Torva said standing beside her. The wizard hunter had been occupied by Rorsted and his squad a lot lately, but he had been able to slip away with Megan as well as with some of the groups being led by Master Lesolas. Even he could see that a lot had been done since he had last made it out to the isolated fort. "He has even been sending men out seeking people among the humans and elves in the city trying to find others who might wish to create a town away from Ensolus."
"We will need a lot more supplies then," she replied.
Torva nodded and took her hand leading her along a path that had been beaten down by foot traffic, but it still had stones and uneven levels that could trip someone if they weren't careful. She wore gloves and noticed his bare hands. Since they had left from her room, Megan realized that he hadn't had a chance to grab a pair before leaving Ensolus.
The couple found large wood doors already mounted to the stone wall in front of the new fort. It was something finished and made it begin to feel like an actual place of safety, she thought. There were apprentices and older wizards moving around the courtyard who glanced at the new arrivals. Some smiled or waved at the couple. They were known by the others, even the students who might not realize why they were really there.
Unlike the outer wall, the keep's front door was still missing. Megan spotted a few wizards standing before it with parchment spread out in front of them. They looked to be discussing what they saw and as the two moved to join them; their attention remained occupied until the last moment.
"Megan and Torva, we didn't expect you today, though I suppose there is no schedule for your arrivals right now," Master Lesolas said lowering the large paper. Light from the late afternoon sun was still strong enough to show lines through the thick paper revealing some of the plans for Sanctuary through it.
"We came to see how far you have come," the young woman stated with a warm smile for her past teacher.
A slight frown came to his lips as he complained, "I wish we could bring a few more wizards or perhaps another class of apprentices to help with the work, but I suppose it could be worse.
"Djerah, Ferglan, and Selenia have smuggled a good team here though. They have enough done in the back of Sanctuary that beds and some other furniture were taken from their rooms in the city to make new rooms for them here. They are the first tenants of our future school," the older man finished with a big smile.
One of those he had mentioned, Selenia, folded her arms and said, "It would be more comfortable if Ferglan's team would finish putting on the doors."
The larger wizard threw out his hands as he protested, "It is easier to use magic to build a wall than to hang a proper door, Selenia. Besides, I don't know why you are complaining, your room has a door already."
Frowning at the brown haired wizard, the slim high elf retorted, "We have tapped into heat from the ground, but with an open front door we can't even use it properly. My room is only warm when I use my magic to trap the heat or make it myself right now."
Before the man could respond, Master Lesolas spoke up saying, "We are working as fast as we can, Selenia. It won't be long before your sacrifices yield a school bigger and better than the one in Ensolus."
"Hopefully it will be sooner than later," Megan added drawing the others' eyes to the young wizard.
"Has something new happened?" the master asked with worry.
"Someone sent an assassin to attack General Amelyer last night."
Selenia noted her use of words and asked, "You say to attack, not kill. You think someone sent an assassin who was meant to fail?"
Remembering that the general had been having trouble sleeping of late, according to Niadene, Megan wondered if it was simply that bit of luck which had saved the man. "I would say that it didn't matter if it was a success in that way. Amelyer heard it enter because he couldn't sleep, which might not have been known to the assassin's master. Whether the general died making his army want revenge on the likely suspect, or if they would have dispersed with his death, would have shifted power or created a war. Left alive, Amelyer immediately sent me with a message to threaten his rival with the hand of the dead assassin as his proof; yet I could tell that Corven wasn't the man who sent it."
Lesolas shook his head disbelieving of more than the story as he asked, "How do you know that he wasn't behind the attack?"
"Corven isn't the type to send assassins. That is a politician's trick and he is a warrior no matter what else people might think of him. Warriors want the kill to happen from their sword and they don't do it in the back unless their enemy is a coward and runs."
"But he wants to become emperor, perhaps he is changing into a politician after all," Selenia offered a different perspective.
Megan frowned and dismissed the idea by saying, "He is also not a good enough actor to fool me. The general was surprised by the news that Amelyer had been att
acked. He wasn't completely surprised that someone sent an assassin however."
"You think he knows who sent it?" Lesolas asked curiously.
"Maybe, maybe not; but he might have a guess. I think we can all think of someone who might choose a secretive attack if it would push those two into war with each other. Amelyer isn't a fool, but his anger and pride could make him act hastily."
"They would have done better trying to kill Corven then," Djerah replied. "That orc wouldn't think twice about attacking the elf instead."
He was human, but apparently had the general dislike of orcs that most of the elves did as well, Megan thought. She was part elf, and in love with another elf; but as a wizard she didn't let those things cloud her mind. "Corven was chosen to become general. He isn't an idiot, though he might think in simple, direct ways. He knows battle tactics and can reason well enough. The general simply heads in a straight line once his choices are made more often than not.
"Corven can still adapt when necessary. Even as a half orc, the man could see that he was set up."
Lesolas waved off the question of who was right and asked, "Does this change our need to leave?"
"Of course not," Torva answered for the girl, "it just means that we need to try and finish the fortress as soon as possible. We might not be able to be as subtle in leaving either."
"What do you suggest, Torva?" the master questioned seeming to understand that the hunter's mind had worked through the problems and needs of Sanctuary in a different way from the wizards who had conceived of it. He wasn't so stuck in his ways as to deny the idea of building a town and farms as Torva had suggested after all. Sanctuary was already an idea that had grown in scope just because the wizard hunter had convinced him that wizards and apprentices alone would fail here.
"We may need to start bringing others here early. The houses need to be solid enough to live in, even if blankets have to be used as doors for a few days. The keep needs a finished base, even if the rest has to be built with people living in it before the roof is on it.
"If the generals or someone else starts the fighting, we need to be ready and maybe starting a partial exodus is the best way to bring those we need to here," the hunter stated finding his hand brushing through his blond hair as he considered the possibility.
Lesolas saw another problem and suggested, "Those coming here permanently should clear out there accounts in gold from the bank. Gold and silver run Southwall as much as Ensolus. Anything of value we can sell should either be brought or sold in the city. We can make our new home comfortable with some possessions, but sometime in the future we will need something of value to trade with our neighbors."
"Removing a bunch of gold will cause them to warn..." Djerah started to say the emperor, but his voice trailed off wondering who the bank would answer to now.
"They may start to warn the generals, but that just means we need to be quick before someone thinks to put a stop to it. The bankers won't like us clearing accounts built by wizards, even smaller amounts; but they won't put a stop to it immediately."
Torva added, "The people we've heard from who wish to join us need to be warned and evacuated soon also then. If they are merchants, the bank might just assume that they are using their money to buy new wares to sell as the weather warms."
They finished putting together a new plan that rushed making the basic structures ready for the first refugees. Torva and Megan added what help they could before it grew too late. They still had to appear to be working as they always had; but they were among those returning who must warn others to be ready to leave soon.
Megan feared that war was about to be upon them and then it would be too late for Ensolus.
"Holdy! Are you in there, boy?"A familiar voice echoed down the amazingly squared tunnel. The floor was smoothed by magic and the ceiling strengthened with special spells that would reinforce it against possible cave ins since it would be too difficult to bring in heavy timbers. Even with a handful of apprentice friends helping him, there would have been no way for them to begin trying to drag the heavy wood through the house and down the tunnel as it grew.
It would be even harder to explain why they needed them, the boy knew and was glad that their magic could avoid something that would have certainly landed them in prison before the tunnel could be finished.
Walking through a tunnel lit by wizard's fire, Holdy met his uncle without trying to shout. The echoes would have hurt his ears, if he had tried.
"What is it, Uncle Poultus?" he asked seeing his uncle leading a trio. His uncle's voice hadn't been a warning or seemed unusually distressed. If this was trouble, Holdy believed that his uncle would have certainly warned him.
"How close are you to reaching the outside?" the older man asked even as the apprentice was joined by his friends from where they had been working to move the stone.
Closing his eyes, Holdy turned towards the outside and felt for the marker he continued to build towards. Turning back to his uncle, he replied, "A couple hundred feet at most, we have maybe a third of the way to go."
It had been slower progress than he had hoped when he had started. His class spent all morning working in the mountains building Sanctuary. Some of the other students still believed that they were somewhere in the Dark Mountains building a new fortress for the empire. Even though the emperor was dead, the young still had hope and believed that the empire wouldn't fold under the aspirations of too many would be emperors.
Holdy was a realist, however, and could see the city already beginning to break apart. There were too many races that had never truly wished to be thrown together. Only the emperor's power had kept so many working towards the same goal, since they were too afraid not to do as he demanded. Without someone equally strong; generals fought each other, wizards and warlocks conspired, and the common man was left to be used or destroyed along the way.
Even the idealistic Lesolas had only considered saving magic at first. Holdy respected Torva and Megan for reminding him of those without magic who couldn't look out for their selves. Those working menial jobs and simple merchants couldn't hope to leave on their own and war would find them one way or another.
Poultus looked disappointed with the prognosis and Holdy asked, "What is the matter, uncle? We are working as fast as we can, but we can't work all night and still work for the wizards by day. Not only would we be exhausted, magic has to have time to recover or we won't be able to do the work at all."
Nodding at his nephew, the older man said trying to be kind with his words, "I know that you kids are doing your best. It is more of an answer and more hope than we could have expected under the circumstances; but there have been attacks again."
"From the orcs?"
"Not just here either," he said with a nod. "We have seen fires to the west and heard that the monsters of the west have pushed the soldiers out of their practice fields."
One of the men behind him said, "They fought back and not as practice, but there were trolls and armored viles with them. Goblins and orcs threatened the soldiers and after a fight broke out, they were beaten back and had to retreat to the spires and soldier barracks near them."
"Have the generals been fighting too?" the apprentice asked knowing that Amelyer and Corven had been at each others' throats off and on since the emperor had died. They had been his closest supporters one moment and enemies the very next.
"Nothing too significant," a woman replied. She was a servant within the spire, he knew, and she had been one of the eyes and ears inside telling them to worry. How soon the cold war would escalate into all out fighting could only be guessed at, but no one doubted the two armies would be drawing swords soon. "There was the assassination attempt on Amelyer a few nights ago, but surprisingly nothing really came of it."
Holdy looked back at his friends and past them to the tunnel ending far enough away that his eyes couldn't quite make it out as it lifted slowly upward towards the distant marker. The path to the outside required going up to find the sho
rtest route to the outside and the apprentice had done his best to keep the tunnel straight as it rose towards his goal.
"So where do we go anyway when this tunnel is finished?" the third man asked sounding skeptical about the idea of leaving the city in this way. Holdy hadn't been part of talking to the others in the human quarter. He had left those matters to his uncle and mother. In truth, the apprentice knew that if he had tried to talk to these people, no one would have followed him. He wasn't that good with people. Holdy had magic and his books, but people were another matter.
His eyes strayed to Maya and received a smile from the girl. Struggling to smile as he considered the man's questions, he turned back to them once more and said, "Head east. The elven lords will take you in, at least for a time. It'll be safe there."
There were few leaders outside away from the emperor's watchful eyes, even after nearly two centuries and multiple generations of faithful followers. These were those who whose ancestors had come to him to serve a master when he had broken the world. Fallen lords and common folk alike had joined the emperor as he founded Ensolus and his other cities. They had fought those who would become Southwall without choosing to leave his side, yet there were few human lords running the other cities or the forts which added to their protection.
The woman heard his words and questioned, "I know wizards can move people across vast distances. Can't you just send us there without having to risk the cold and snow outside?"
"We don't have enough power and the elves might consider it an invasion if we thrust you on them."
"But you want us to go begging at their gates after days of hiking?" the third man asked sounding completely against such a thing.
Holdy let the questions settle into silence and he said, "I can make the tunnel, but it is your choice to leave. Even if I thought that I could send you all there, maybe it is best that you have to think about if you want it that bad. If I just give you a new home, will you complain if it isn't perfect?
Battle Mage Broken Empire (Tales of Alus Book 14) Page 32