“You girls stay here. If I don’t return by tomorrow, you know what you are supposed to do during the day,” the young warlock stated to the girls. They had duties both menial and more significant. They were his eyes and ears in places where a warlock would be noticed in the city.
Both rose before he could escape and delivered kisses to either cheek. “Be safe, my lord,” Stasia said breathily.
“We will do as you ask, master,” Talia added. She was the more reliable of the two, though both girls served him well in many ways. When they were apart, the larger, older girl probably bossed little Stasia around he thought slightly amused, though the smaller girl probably hid more from him than he knew. They were sister like in his presence, so Palose ignored any other trivialities as long as things continued to go well.
Running out into the street, he spotted people gaping from windows and doors. He was forced to dodge more bodies as he raced to the dock where he knew Atrouseon and the others would be gathered for the unexpected interruption.
While not a part of the upper echelon of warlocks, Palose often heard through Atrouseon about things that were beyond his station. The wizard hunters had sent word through a scrying globe of their first capture. A Kardorian ship had been where it shouldn’t have been apparently. Their leader had given his plan to split the fleet. One ship pursued another, while the remaining two moved to head off the potential goal of their quarry if they escaped the first. They had been confident that no ship could contend with the power of the black warships with a score of wizard hunter warlocks aboard.
As his feet thumped onto the wood pier, Palose came to a startled halt. The sight of a broken black ship limping through the gate was a surprise to everyone gathered and not just for the young warlock.
The once proud black ship was physically broken and battered. Two of the three masts were gone but for ten feet in the center of the ship. The third, rear mast had sails with holes and broken cross members. That the vessel could even move was a wonder. Aside from the broken masts, the hull looked like it had been through a terrible battle. Broken timbers in the hull, rail dismantled into twigs, even one of the two cabins on the deck was damaged beyond use.
Palose wasn’t sure how long it would take to repair such a complete wreck.
It had been less than a week since the trio had left and hunter three was now here and defeated.
“Palose!” Atrouseon snapped seeing the young man slowly walking towards the congregation of magi and military officials. “Get over here, boy!”
Palose did not like the man’s tone, but it was nothing new. For all the fatherly thoughts, the man looked on him also as his apprentice and he was the master. The thought and the man’s disposition chafed, but it wasn’t the time to end matters between them. Palose still needed a few things from Atrouseon, but when the man’s usefulness was over so would be their relationship.
“Master Atrouseon,” he half bowed his head quickly before looking to the broken ship still pulling up towards the dock, “any word of what happened?”
The man frowned. “Would we be standing here if we knew what had happened?” he snapped. It was rare for the warlock to lose his temper with him this often for so little, but Palose took it in stride. He had been a cadet for several years in the battle mages and had harsh taskmasters before after all. He had dealt with such without complaint before and this was not the time to worry over it.
“It looks like the wizard hunters weren’t too successful,” he commented slightly amused.
He could almost hear his master’s teeth grind in anger. Strangely, Palose thought, they should have been use to loss. Southwall had bloodied the emperor’s nose for almost two centuries after all, but he supposed that this force was among their elite. To have them fail meant something more than a few hundred orcs being defeated in the field.
Ropes were tossed from the deck and workers below tied the ship to the pier. A plank was lowered and soon a trio of warlocks walked down in shame.
An older warlock, Cortrive grabbed the first man by the black shirt and shook him. “What is the meaning of this, Werinas? Where is Karfon and the others?”
The younger man’s eyes looked hollow. He was as beaten as the ship and probably had less fight in him, Palose thought to himself. Maybe his punishment would be death also. Then perhaps Wakaraq could get this one for him to begin building his collection of servants.
Greedily the mage hoped for the worst, even as the warlock finally answered, “All dead. We three are all that remain of the hunters. A handful of soldiers and we three.”
The crack of a slap across the face left the younger man staring in shock at the elder warlock. “What happened to them? Tell me.”
“After we captured a Kardorian ship, Lord Devolus, sent us to find another ship that had desecrated the island. It was they that set off the traps and defeated them. We should have been more wary of anyone capable of defeating the curse barrier, but we were so certain in our armor and magic.
“Then instead of us finding them, the ship found us. It was a simple frigate from the south. There was nothing strange about the ship, except before we even spotted them the enemy struck our ship from afar. They killed from miles away. I’ve never heard of such a thing before and then they used elemental magic with light and dark to defeat our best spells.
“We were supposed to be the only ones who knew those spells. How could they use them better than we could?” Werinas asked still fully in shock from the loss and death of his score of warlocks. The orcs and goblins were nothing to those men, but when other magi died there was a sympathy not given the other lesser races.
A low growl emanated from the elder. “Traitors have escaped before and now they’ve trained our most hated enemies apparently.
“Who did you face?” the man demanded and the warlocks knew what he meant.
“A handful of battle mages and about as many wizards from Southwall, they were working with a ship from the south, but I am unsure of its origin, Master Cortrive.”
For Palose, the story was beginning to make sense and he realized that his old friend had apparently survived the beating he had been given in Windmeer. He had believed Sebastian killed by orcs and goblins that he had left behind to kill the mage, but apparently someone had saved him after all. The man had as many lives as a cat it seemed.
The story of the arrows sent from afar and battle mages being sighted meant that the mizard was alive and learning their magic. He was both proud of his old friend’s achievement and annoyed that he hadn’t died as planned.
“Palose?” Atrouseon questioned seeing the man’s thoughtful look. “Do you know something?”
Other eyes turned to the young warlock. Their eyes looked on in disdain at the former mage, a resurrection man, and in most minds a mistake since Windmeer still stood against them.
“They ran into the mizard.”
The men mulled the word over in their mouths like an echo of Palose’s words.
“What is a mizard?” Atrouseon asked knowing the minds around them questioned the word.
“The battle mage who has the mind of a wizard. He has apparently learned even more tricks since I last saw him. His ability to learn new magic makes him a problem and the ability to master it in new ways makes him even more dangerous.”
He looked at Werinas, “He has brown hair and is similar to my height. We’re also about the same age. If you were actually brave enough to face him, which I doubt, then you would have seen that he has blue eyes. Does this sound like him?”
The warlock nodded looking pale. Palose had called his cowardice into the light. It was just another way to keep the warlock on the chopping block. The dark mage wanted someone with magic to join him. He couldn’t trust the living in Ensolus, but perhaps a resurrection man like him would make things more possible.
The crowd of warlocks and military began to argue and discuss his revelation. Palose’s eyes never left the cowardly warlock. He had plans for this one, if he could make it w
ork.
Chapter 28- Paradise Beach
The sun was shining and the air was warm. With the gentle rise and fall of the ship as it moved through the waves, one could almost think they were on a pleasure trip as they crossed the line into what was considered the Glacian Ocean. To Sebastian, it was just more unbroken sea and waves as far as the eye could see.
After a brief lay over in Karas, the island of Talc’s main northern harbor, to check over the ship for damage; the Sea Dragon was once more at sea headed for the dangerous area they had been warned against entering by Lord Sumpterhall. They had found little damage to the ship thanks to the work of Nara and the water wizards protecting it during their battle. The nature wizard had used her magic to manipulate the wood in the hull to make it proof against the cannon fire and magic of the black ship. She had even knitted the few pieces harmed while they still sailed.
A cloud separated the mage from the sun and he glanced up thinking equally shadowed thoughts. While the vessel had faired well, a dozen men had died. Annalicia’s crew had taken the worst of the death toll, but they had also had to say goodbye to Sergeant Kulvayr. A blow to the head from a troll’s blackened club had crumpled his helmet breaking skull and neck from the terrible blow. Not even Yara could heal a death blow.
The rest of the injuries had been treatable thanks to the healer’s magic. Sebastian had helped many until he could barely move even with food and drink resupplying his energy. The point of exhaustion was beyond mere food when it came.
Yara had slept much of the next day after her efforts and many of the team and crew remained exhausted into the second day. The wizard hunters had pushed them to their extreme, but they had prevailed and most were alive to see another day.
His eyes strayed from the sky to watch some of his friends as they tried to enjoy the day and put the death and fighting behind them. Ashleen had become fast friends with Annalicia. The two air wizards shared common magic and now the lady’s clothes as well. Ashleen was only slightly bigger than the petite Malaiy wizard and the northern woman looked as stunning in the soft silk sundresses that Anna liked to wear. She had even found dresses in her favorite colors apparently. Like a shopping trip in an elite tailor’s store, Ashleen had come back with stories of all the rich clothes that the Malaiy lady had brought along for the trip to Hala.
With the warm weather, many had begun following Anna’s barefoot ways. Her sailors were first but Ashleen didn’t have her clothes so that meant she had come barefoot anyway. As long as she and the others were on the warm decking, it mattered little at least. Sebastian found Serrena and Yara in their spring dresses and bare feet looking almost like the little girls he had once watched as a boy in his home town of Mera. It gave him a warm feeling in the middle of so much darkness.
He looked south and tried to be positive.
“Hmmm, you almost look like a sea captain or sailor looking out over the waves,” Yara remarked as she and Ashleen walked up to visit with the mage on the foredeck. Turning to face the girls looking like spring time in their pale yellow and light blue dresses, Sebastian raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
Ashleen shook her head, and remarked, “Yes, but there is something wrong with this picture.”
Hands reached for the base of his shirt batting his arms out of the way. The dark brown falcon shirt was part of his uniform and they were all he had taken in his pack. Pulling the shirt completely over his head, the girls didn’t have the garment in mind at all as Yara tossed it on the deck and admired his muscular upper body.
Rolling his eyes and sighing, Sebastian didn’t fight the attention as Yara and then Ashleen stroked his chest and stomach a moment before stepping back. Yara had always enjoyed playing with him when they had snuck away together and he was used to her touch. A little bit of a jealous look made its way into the healer’s eyes noting the other girl’s interest after a moment, however.
There had been a little bit of tension between the two almost from day one. Unfortunately for Sebastian, he knew that he was the cause of it. The girls had tried to bury it and been friendly enough, but there were times where he could read their minds through their eyes. Both were beautiful and he knew had he met Ashleen first, the situation could easily have been in reverse. There was nothing he could truly do to change things. He was committed to Yara and had given more than just his heart to the girl.
The look passed as the two stepped back and nodded to each other.
“Much better,” Yara said first, but was echoed by Ashleen.
“Will you be joining my crew working on the ship now?” Annalicia asked as she moved towards the three with Serrena in tow. Both had smiles of amusement playing at their lips watching the two girls teasing Sebastian.
Just what he needed, the mage thought. So much for being a leader, when the women in his life could manipulate him this easily. He noticed Collin and Liam laughing at the situation while Nara merely smiled as she leaned against Collin. The nature wizard was barefoot, but being more practical the woman still wore brown breeches and a green tunic with short sleeves. Her eyes stole to Collin appraisingly before Sebastian’s vision was pulled back to the women closest to him.
“I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be much of a sailor, Anna,” he replied trying to ignore the feeling of just being their eye candy and source of amusement at the same time. Perhaps it was just their way of getting back at the quiet mage, who watched others often and admired the beauty of all these women from time to time. “I will just have to stick with being a mere battle mage, I think.”
Serrena looked especially evil as she mentioned to the others, “I wonder if we could get more off of him?”
Yara’s face pinched slightly at the thought, but Bas was faster. “Reflex,” he stated the spell and slipped from their tightening circle. Jumping up onto the rail of the deck, the battle mage felt his footing as steady as if the ship were not moving. Walking the rail backwards as he kept his eyes on the flirtatious women, Sebastian wagged his finger warningly. “Ladies, we are not on some vacation cruise. I know we’ve been cooped up for over three weeks, but we’re still on a mission here.”
Seeing worry on all their faces at his daring escape and even more dangerous walk along the rail, Sebastian leaped down rolling past the girls catching up his shirt. Once more dressed appropriately as he finished the roll and stood up, the mage added, “We also still have the enemy’s ships lurking ahead of us, so you may want to be a little more ready.”
He was sweating a little, but not from the warmth of the sun and shirt on his back. Sebastian had lived a quiet and solitary life amidst the training of White Hall. Women were still quite a mystery to him in many ways. One less mystery was that getting too many of a similarly playful sort together could prove dangerous for him.
“Land ahead,” the cry from above warned and Sebastian wished he could thank the man wholeheartedly.
“Freedom,” he released his mind and moved to the winds after taking hold of a rail. He could see the disappointment on the girls faces as he had not only eluded their grasp but had quite literally jumped ship with his mind.
The island ahead of them was not charted or even mentioned by the locals when he had tried to get information on the portion of the sea called Four Ways by the sailors of the island. Men avoided the area, since it had been a danger for generations going back nearly to the Cataclysm.
Once in the air, the wind rider climbed a bit higher gaining perspective on both the island and the sea around it. There wasn’t just one island in his sight, but a small chain of islands. They had their own natural protection due to black porous stone jutting up in jagged teeth to the north and east. Perhaps the stone raised from beneath the ground by the Dark One’s twisting had created underwater volcanoes in the area which had spewed the dark rock and created some of the other islands. A coral reef had also formed between some of the other islands. The ocean waves became choppier there reacting to the coral that was sometimes only covered by mere feet.
Seeing
the underwater dangers beneath the surface so clearly as a wind rider made him understand how so many ships could have been lost here. Without knowledge and the right size ship, a vessel could easily be destroyed and left for debris.
Sebastian returned to the northern island to check the west end. The natural harbor just south of the jagged teeth looked sheltered and calm. A beach ran along the entire western side hemmed in by the lush forest holding most of the remaining island. It would be safe to anchor, but he wondered if they should waste the time. There was no dot leading to the island. There was no artifact of the Grimnal to find at all.
Moving along the island he followed the reef to the next which was a short distance from the first. Similar to the first, he thought a strong swimmer or someone in a small boat could make the trip fairly easily. He would have continued through the remaining islands, if he didn’t need to report back before they neared the dangerous outer rocks of the archipelago.
A lot of eyes were on the battle mage when he returned, and he started with the word of warning, “There are a lot of rocks that could break a ship and a coral reef wanders between the islands. It would certainly be easy to see why ships might not make it back if they weren’t careful here.”
Annalicia inquired quickly as the owner of the vessel, “Do we plan to stop and check any of them out, Sebastian? The crew could probably use a little break after three weeks and the battle.”
Collin nodded as someone who still fought seasickness from time to time, “Half a day in Trillian and Karas, where most of the crew didn’t even leave the ship for more than an hour or so; is too little time for shore leave and it has been a long trip.”
Seeing that most of them felt the same, Sebastian understood their feelings. Some of the crew had spent a little time on Crab Island and Temple Island, but those had hardly been pleasure visits and fewer still landed on Maldus Island. More than three weeks aboard a ship with virtually no breaks was beginning to weigh on them all. He broached one last worry, “What about the black ships?”
Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) Page 36