The Lost City of Ithos: Mage Errant Book 4

by John Bierce

While a Librarian Errant tended to Talia’s injuries— another concussion and a horrifying shoulder wound— the others organized a search party for Hugh.

  When Godrick told them about the last time he’d seen Hugh, and the condition he was in, Sabae’s heart felt like it was going to rip out of her chest.

  Talia didn’t deny it, or rage, or insist on going to search for Hugh. To Sabae’s dismay, Talia just seemed to… fold in on herself.

  Kanderon, meanwhile, hovered in the air high above them, staring at the retreating Havathi, not moving a muscle. Hardly even blinking.

  When the healer had moved on to Godrick’s injuries, Sabae sat down next to Talia and wrapped her arm around her. Talia leaned in, but didn’t say anything.

  It took the searching Librarians Errant over an hour to find Hugh. Sabae spent every minute of it worrying about him and comforting Talia.

  When they finally found Hugh, there was another problem— Hugh’s spellbook wasn’t just blocking scrying, but was also snapping at anyone who got too close to him, and wouldn’t let them anywhere near Hugh. It had bit one Librarian Errant hard enough to break a finger.

  The instant Talia heard that they’d found Hugh, she was on her feet and demanding to be taken to him.

  Hugh was deep inside one of the Ithonian palaces, well outside the debris radius from the collapsed tree that had arisen from Grovebringer’s destruction. His spellbook had apparently managed to carry him down through the air, then haul him into one of the palace’s inner rooms.

  When they arrived at the room, Hugh’s spellbook lurked in front of the door, its pages opened menacingly in their directions. If it could make noise, Sabae was sure it would be hissing at them.

  The leather strap Hugh used to hang it over his shoulder had broken in half, and hung loosely to either side of the spellbook.

  Talia strode forward without even hesitating, then crouched in front of the spellbook.

  It raised its cover menacingly at her.

  “You finally got the whole apology gift idea right,” Talia said. “You brought Hugh back to me.”

  The book slowly closed its cover, and seemed to shudder.

  “You did good,” she said, and gently stroked its spine. “You did good. Everyone here is Hugh’s friend. No one’s going to hurt him.”

  She picked it up, and stepped into the room. Sabae heard a gasp, and when she followed Talia in, she understood exactly why.

  Godrick had said it was bad, but Sabae had never imagined it was this bad. For a moment, she was convinced that Hugh was dead, until he took a slow, rattling, painful breath.

  Sabae was fighting back tears when the healer set to work on Hugh. Talia, Godrick, and Artur didn’t even try to hold their tears back.

  Alustin just stared, quietly.

  Eventually, the healer ordered them out of the room. As they filed out, Sabae found herself filled with rage. Not at Qirsad, or at Havath.

  Rage at Alustin, and at Kanderon. For putting them into another situation like this. For getting them caught up in their games. For using them as pawns.

  She turned on Alustin, ready to yell, to rage, to tell him exactly what she thought of him.

  And then she stopped.

  Alustin wore a look of deep guilt on his face, and he flinched when Sabae glared at him.

  Sabae deflated a bit, but the anger didn’t all vanish. She stalked towards a nearby doorway, gesturing for him to follow.

  She didn’t say anything, she just watched him and considered. Alustin kept eye contact with her, but it looked like a genuine struggle on his part.

  “This is my fault,” Alustin said.

  “Yes,” Sabae said. “It is.”

  “I… I shouldn’t have split up the group. I should have kept you all with me. I should have taken Ithos’ phasing into account. I should have used Ithos’ labyrinth as our line of retreat. I shouldn’t have brought you all on an expedition this dangerous in the first place. It’s frankly astonishing that you all survived.”

  “If Hugh survives.”

  Part of Alustin seemed to crumple at that, but he didn’t look away.

  “Grennan is one of the best healers in Skyhold, I’m sure he’ll be able to help Hugh,” Alustin said.

  Sabae was relieved to hear that, but she didn’t let her glare waver.

  Finally, Alustin looked away.

  “When we get back to Skyhold, if you want to be apprenticed to a new master, I’ll step aside without protest. I’ll even help you find one, if you still trust my judgment there.”

  “I haven’t told the others,” Sabae said.

  Alustin gave her a confused look.

  “I haven’t told the others that you used us as bait. Artur knows, but the others haven’t even figured out that Midsummer was a coup yet.”

  “I don’t understand,” Alustin said.

  Sabae sighed heavily. “The others idolize you, Alustin. Especially Hugh and Talia. Godrick, at least, has his father to look up to instead. They trust you, they rely on you, and I… I don’t want to take that away from them, because I think you do care.”

  “I do,” Alustin said, quietly.

  “I also think that you value your goals more highly than anything, and if it comes down to it, I genuinely wonder what you’d be willing to sacrifice to reach them. To get your revenge on Havath.”

  Alustin didn’t respond to that, but some of the guilt crept back on his face.

  “I’m going to give you another chance, but I’ll be watching you,” Sabae said. “Try not to waste it.”

  She turned to leave the room and rejoin the others.

  “Why?” Alustin asked.

  Sabae gave him a long, considering look.

  “Because even if you’ve made mistakes, even if you and Kanderon have used us as pawns in your games, you’ve also done a lot of good for us. You saw something in us when no-one else did. And you may have put us in danger, but I don’t expect you to keep us perfectly safe. We’re training to be battle mages, not mage-craftsmen or something of the sort. It’s excessive, foolish risk I have a problem with. And considering the stakes, and the risk that the Cold Minds might have arrived in our world, I don’t even know if I can say the risk was excessive. If there was any decision you should have made differently, it was bringing us on this expedition in the first place— and I’m pretty sure even I would have fought against that decision before all of this.”

  She hesitated, then continued. “And I also realized something recently— my anger at you and Kanderon using us as pawns wasn’t because of your games, wasn’t because of some moral standard I hold. It was simply because you chose us specifically to be your pawns. It was selfishness on my part, not principle. I was offended that you didn’t use someone else. I think, if I’m going to condemn you, it should be for better reasons than that.”

  Sabae didn’t wait to see how Alustin reacted before walking out.

  Nor did she say the rest of what she had been thinking.

  For all the sheer madness of Alustin’s vendetta against Havath, at least he had a purpose. What did Sabae have? She’d never be a proper Kaen Das storm mage, but she’d never truly sought out a goal after that. She’d just gone with the tide, rather than try to swim her own direction. No matter how much power she earned, that on its own wouldn’t free her or her friends from being used as pawns by others. It was having a purpose that turned you from a pawn into a player, and she didn’t have one.

  Maybe it was time for that to change.

  After hearing the full accounting of Hugh’s injuries, Talia was, frankly, amazed that he was still alive.

  He’d suffered severe burns across something like a quarter of his body— not to mention minor to moderate burns across much of the rest. His lungs had been severely damaged by the volcanic ash, and Grennan, the healer, fully expected him to have some lasting damage, even with magical healing.

  The spellbook hadn’t had an easy time carrying Hugh to the ground, which had resulted in even more injuries. None of th
em could understand the spellbook as well as Hugh could, but they managed to figure out the story eventually. The strap had apparently broken while the spellbook tried to slow Hugh’s fall. The spellbook had managed to catch him, but had broken several bones in Hugh’s hand and wrist grabbing onto him, as well as dislocating his shoulder. Even with the spellbook slowing his fall, he’d still hit hard enough to break three ribs, nearly puncturing a lung with one and cracking two more, as well as developing a minor concussion. Not to mention plentiful bruises. Lake water had gotten into his burns somehow, and within hours of finding him, he was already running a fever from the infections.

  Even with magical healing, recovery was going to be a long process for Hugh. The healer was especially concerned with the lung damage and infections.

  The instant the healer was done with Hugh, Talia spent as much time by his side as she could stand, but she wasn’t made for sitting and pining. She found herself climbing to the top of an intact palace to brood in the rain.

  Once the Havathi had all left, the Librarians Errant had spent several hours scouring the city, mainly recovering some of the Sacred Swordsmen’s weapons the Havathi hadn’t managed to recover, as well as a handful of Ithonian artifacts.

  During that time, the storm finished passing over Ithos, its trailing edge just as razor sharp as any of the other storms.

  Kanderon spent the entire time crouched in the central plaza, staring at the Exile Splinter as if entranced. When she finally retrieved it, she simply pulled it from its spot with her paw, then tucked it away into some extra-spatial pocket dimension of her own.

  The whole of Ithos seemed to shudder and settle as she did so.

  There were only two other things Kanderon paid attention to in Ithos. The first was one of the ash piles scattered about the ruins, filled with shattered human bones. She didn’t say anything, or make any expression, she just stared for a few minutes.

  The second was Hugh himself. When Kanderon finally saw him, a look of rage crossed her face, and a horrifying growl erupted out of her chest. For a moment, Talia was convinced that Kanderon was about to launch herself after the retreating Havathi forces to take vengeance, but the sphinx managed to contain her fury with visible effort.

  It was twilight when they finally took off. Everyone easily fit onto Kanderon’s immense back. Her fur was shockingly soft and luxurious, and Talia had to struggle not to fall asleep instantly, especially since Kanderon’s motionless wings made for an incredibly smooth flight.

  Talia forced herself to stay awake, and watch Imperial Ithos shrink behind them.

  The first glimmers of gold were lighting the ruins from beneath as it passed from sight.

  Talia turned and went to speak with Godrick.

  “This is my fault,” Godrick and Talia said simultaneously.

  Godrick gave Talia an exasperated look, which she returned. It somehow didn’t surprise him that Talia wanted to take the blame on herself, but it definitely irritated him.

  Hugh’s spellbook, which was happily nestled in Talia’s arms, seemed, for some inexplicable reason, amazed at their ability to say the same thing at the same time.

  The two of them had moved farther down Kanderon’s back from the others to get a little privacy.

  “If I hadn’t destroyed Grovebringer, Hugh never would have gotten hurt,” Talia insisted.

  “If yeh hadn’t destroyed Grovebringer, it probably woulda’ destroyed us, even if we’d managed ta’ take out Qirsad on our own,” Godrick said. “Ah shoulda’ been more use in takin’ out Qirsad, though— if ah’d destroyed Hailstrike sooner, ah coulda’ defeated her without Hugh gettin’ hurt.”

  “Yer both idiots,” Artur said from behind them.

  Both Talia and Godrick whirled to face Godrick’s father.

  “You’re too big to be allowed to sneak up on people,” Talia said.

  Artur just raised an eyebrow at that. “Yeh’re all lucky ta’ be alive, goin’ against Grovebringer and Ashspine at the same time. Ah never shoulda’ agreed ta’ that plan. Splittin’ up against greater numbers was a mistake. Yeh both did fine. Yeh’re only mistakes are misunderstandin’ yer roles in the group.”

  “Our roles?” Godrick asked.

  “It’s obvious yeh aren’t goin’ ta be fightin’ solo like Alustin or mahself,” Artur said. “Yeh’re going ta’ be workin’ as a team. What are yer roles in yer team?”

  “I’m our heavy hitter,” Talia said.

  “And ah’m there ta’ protect everyone,” Godrick said.

  Artur snorted, then pointed at Talia. “If yeh’re the heavy hitter, then why do yeh keep talkin’ as though it’s yer job ta’ defend the group? Yeh take out the threats facin’ yer friends, and yeh count on yer friends to protect yeh.”

  His finger moved to Godrick. “And no, yeh’re not the one protectin’ the group. That’s Hugh’s job. Yeh’re a lightnin’ rod, Son. Yeh attract the attention a’ enemy mages, and yeh hold that attention.”

  Godrick frowned at that. “Isn’t that what Sabae does, too?”

  Artur nodded. “Ta’ an extent, sure. There’s some role overlap fer all a’ yeh. Mainly, she’s yer flanker, and she’s yer leader. So the two a’ yeh need ta’ stop beatin’ yerself up fer not playin’ roles that aren’t even yers, and start figurin’ out how ta’ better fit yer own.”

  “Still, there’s got to be something we could have done different to keep Hugh from getting hurt,” Talia said.

  Artur nodded. “Ah would imagine yeh’re right about that, and ah also imagine there’s plenty Hugh coulda’ done different as well. He tends ta’ over-rely on wards, fer one thing, even though he’s got plenty a’ other options ta’ use.”

  The three of them spent an hour sitting around and talking over the fight with the wielders of Grovebringer and Ashspine, and how they might have gone about it differently. By the time Talia excused herself to go check on Hugh again, it was fully night, though well-lit by the moon. The Skyreach Range, meanwhile, was rising above the western horizon.

  Godrick waited for Talia to get out of earshot, then he broached a question he’d been meaning to ask for a while now.

  “Ah’m never goin’ ta’ be as powerful as yeh are, am ah?”

  Artur gave him a long, searching look, then sighed. “Not by the same path ah followed, no. Yer mana reservoirs aren’t near as large as mine were at yer age, and that’s a’ pretty reliable indicator a’ their later size. On top a’ that, several a’ mah most powerful tricks are ta’ do with my iron affinity an’ mah enchanted gear. But yeh were never supposed ta’ follow exactly in mah path, Godrick. It can only take yeh so far, and then yeh need ta’ figure out yer own path from there. That’s true a’ anyone that gets powerful. No two archmages worth their salt follow the same path ta’ power, and if yeh intend ta’ get there, well… yeh’ll have ta’ figure out yer own way ta’ get there.”

  Artur climbed to his feet. “If yeh’re goin’ ta’ try and get more powerful, just make sure yeh’re not doin’ it ta’ please me. Ah’m already proud a yeh, Son.”

  He started to walk off, then turned back. “Oh, and ah think yeh’ve finally earned a’ name fer yerself. Godrick Hammerbreaker.”

  The smile that had started to form on Godrick’s face turned into a scowl at that. As his father walked away, that faded too.

  They had a long flight ahead of them, and Godrick would have plenty of time to think about his future.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Warm and Safe

  When Hugh woke up, he had no idea where he was. He seemed to be lying in a soft bed with a thick blanket lying atop him. His body was a mass of aches and pains, and his vision was a mass of blurry, incomprehensible shapes.

  Eventually, after much blinking, the shapes resolved themselves into mountain peaks, stars shining brightly above them.

  Hugh slowly looked around him. He seemed to be on the shoulder of a mountain, or perhaps a ledge of some sort. He couldn’t see down into it from this angle, but over the nearby c
liff there was probably a river valley of some sort.

  Why was there a bed outside on the side of a mountain, and who’d put him there? And why was his bed… furry?

  “Ah, Hugh, you’re awake,” Kanderon said.

  Hugh looked up— slowly, and painfully, but he managed it— to see Kanderon’s face peering down at him, wearing an odd expression. He realized, with a start, that he seemed to be laying atop Kanderon’s front foreleg, which was tucked against her chest as she lay near the cliff edge.

  Hugh tried to speak, and promptly started coughing. Each cough was jagged and painful, and seemed like it wanted to tear something out of him. He realized that one of his arms was in a cast, underneath his thick blanket.

  A waterskin levitated itself over to him, its lid unscrewing on its own. Hugh drank gratefully as it slowly tilted up for him.

  “How are you feeling, Hugh?” Kanderon asked, when he was done drinking.

  “Horrible,” Hugh finally managed. His throat felt raw and torn, and his voice was raspy and unrecognizable. “Is… is everyone safe?”

  He started coughing again, and Kanderon levitated the waterskin to his face once more.

  “Everyone will be fine, Hugh. You were by far the worst wounded. You’ve been unconscious for several days now. Probably for the best— Grennan and Sabae have spent long hours healing your injuries, and you’ll need many more healing sessions in the weeks to come.”

  “Where are we? And where’s everyone else?”

  “We’re in a safe place— a hidden valley, deep within the Skyreach Range. I didn’t want to risk flying you all the way back to Skyhold in your condition, and I needed rest as well. Your friends are all asleep— this is the first time you haven’t had at least one of them by your side since you were rescued. Talia has been especially attentive.”

  Hugh smiled at that.

  “We’re dating now.”

  “So I’ve heard. It is of your own choice, correct? You’re not under duress?”

  Hugh gave Kanderon a puzzled look. “No, why would I be?”

  Kanderon gave him a wry look in return.