The Lost Mage 2

by A L Issett

  Standing before them were staff on the right, Jon could tell because they all had similar uniforms that looked though like they had not been worn in sometime. It was about five of them, all trying to be professional but Jon could tell it was just an act. On the left side stood twenty or so slaves, most of them young and female. Jon thought this was odd, he expected the slaves here to be much older, not people that were within ten summers of himself. There were some men among the slaves but they were also young, maybe for the heavy lifting that would need to done around the place. Standing in the center of the two sides was a well-dressed man who obviously had noble blood. He had to be about 40 summers and his hair was a sandy blond and his eyes were a light brown. Jon could tell the man was in excellent shape and Jon would have mistaken him for a warrior if not for the small whip at his side.

  “Why are all my slaves young females” Jon directed his question towards the man.

  “And who are you?” The man said meeting Jon’s gaze with a look of contempt.

  “I am the new master of fucking place” Jon spat out as he walked right up into the man’s face. “And you fucking are fucking fired. Grab your shit and leave”.

  “I- I didn’t know My Lord” the man stammered. “It’s just that you look like, well my lord you look like a uh”.

  “Give the overseer a break Jon” Gwendolyn said speaking up. “He thought you were a peasant in fancy clothes, probably my assistant or something”.

  “I don’t like this man, he is not trust worthy” Jon replied still eyeing the larger man. “Answer my question”.

  “Well our troops have to” the man began before Jon cut him off.

  “What is this our shit?” Jon spat. “Are you the fucking master of this place too?”

  “What I meant My Lord is that the troops have to have a place to relieve themselves” the man stammered. “The girls are a welcome distraction, they are safer than the whores in town if any of them decide they want something different than the wives they have at home”.

  “And I suppose you relieve yourself here as well?” Jon asked.

  “Of course my Lord” the man replied. “I make sure they are finer than any whore in the kingdom, they earn their keep well”.

  “What is your name?” Jon asked.

  “I am Brent my lord, your overseer” the man replied.

  “Well effective immediately, the slaves are all off limits for anyone who wishes to relieve themselves” Jon said as he noticed the hope in some of the girls faces.

  “You can’t do that my lord, think about the troops morale” Brent replied as Jon could see the worry in the man’s face.

  “Are you telling me what I cannot do in my own house to my own slaves?” Jon replied as Gwendolyn pulled him away from the confrontation.

  “Overseer Brent is just looking out for your best interest” Gwendolyn said in a flat tone. “Let the man do his job and let’s get settled in”.

  “I still don’t like this man” Jon said loud enough for everyone to hear. “If someone challenged your brother this way he would have been killed”. Jon let Gwendolyn lead him throughout the place before she finally dragged him into a side room.

  “What was that all about?” Gwen said angrily. “You took away the power he had over the slaves. That was something for you and him to discuss privately away from all the ears that were around and then he could have enacted whatever you wanted gracefully”.

  “The fact that idiot let the troops rape those women let me know he is not the man I want running this place” Jon replied.

  “Well he is staying” Gwendolyn said as she got into Jon’s face.

  “Yes Your Highness” Jon said slowly as he took a step back.

  “And everything will stay the way it was before you got here unless we both agree on the change” Gwen said as she stepped up again in Jon’s face. “Am I clear?”

  “You are” Jon said as he stepped back and turned away as Gwendolyn’s hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve.

  “Jon” she said more quietly this time. “You have to understand the way things work, if you try to change too much too fast then you will lose your people”.

  Jon turned around and just stared at Gwendolyn’s hand until she let him go and walked out of the room. Jon walked until he found some more stairs, these were probably the ones the slaves and staff used and climbed as far as he could go. The Manor hand four stories and probably a sizable attic, Jon stopped on the fourth floor and went into a random room. This room was small, and had a large single window facing the wooded area in the back. Jon was being helped by Drommul now, the demon telling him none of it mattered in the long run and to check on Alura. Jon summoned all of his demons and saw they were in shock as they looked around.

  “I have reports on the war” Alura said as she wrapped her naked body around Jon. “They had just captured a mage named Gaea and her familiar; the troops were all excited to tell me everything they knew about the situation. I just blended in and pretended to be one of the random demons in camp. They were going to give her to someone named Vulcan, he was on his way when I went back to the abyss. As soon as I got there you summoned me here”.

  Jon did not wait to hear what his other demons had to say; instead he opened the window, took off his clothes then took on Drommul’s natural form and took off towards the war. Jon flew for about a day and a half, he could tell he was getting close to the main army, the troops were visible form the sky. Jon saw a small clearing and decided to land there. He could summon Alura to get information from the two people he was there or torture it out of them. Jon landed away from their line of sight and took on his human form and got dressed then walked into the clearing.

  Jon watched as Gaea was tied up to a stake in the ground. Her familiar Flyteus was dead, killed obviously by the mage who had a small fire going roasting the bird. The mage he recognized instantly, Vulcan. Only he would be so bold as to torture a victim alone without any type of guards for back up Jon crept closer as he heard the mage talking to Gaea.

  “This is a fine meal” Vulcan said as he sliced a little piece off of the roasting bird. “Where are my manners, I would be a poor host if I didn’t let you enjoy this too” Vulcan grabbed Gaea by her jaw and forced her mouth open as Jon walked into the clearing. Jon picked up a rock and threw it hard enough to hurt him a little as it struck in the back of the knee.

  “A meal and I am not involved?” Jon said as Vulcan eyed him.

  “What are you doing here healer? Vulcan said as he turned back around to stuff more of the bird into Gaea’s mouth.

  “Well I heard there was torture and murder happening here, I haven’t got the chance to kill anyone since I made Chavez beg for his life. Hearing him gurgle on his own blood was the only real entertainment I have had”.

  “You did what?!?” Vulcan screamed as he put down the bird and walked over towards Jon.

  “I killed your apprentice” Jon said nonchalantly. “He was a fool that deserved it, after all he did follow your teachings”.

  Vulcan got right into Jon’s face as Jon stepped back slightly and slapped the larger man full across the face with just enough power to sting. “Don’t get into my face like that, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt” Jon said as he saw Vulcan was readying a spell. Jon saw he did not have a staff or wand with him, Jon loved to be under estimated as he took off at a sprint, the fire spell landing just to right of him. Jon just needed to get out of Gaea’s line of sight, she couldn’t know his true nature. Jon ran away from Vulcan until he came upon a small clearing away from the main Ketian forces and waited as Vulcan came into view. Jon willed all three of his demons into the area from the pit, all taking up sides around the mage.

  “You are a fool to take me on” Vulcan said as he faced down Jon. “Your pathetic excuse for demons cannot fight Goliath, you will die here”.

  “Really” Jon said as he ordered his trio to attack. Vulcan stepped back and suddenly the demon Goliath appeared, angry as usual. Jon’s first insectoid Fl
it used his spear and caught the bull demon with it high in the shoulder and flew upward just as the other insectoid Slit threw his spear which also stuck in the demon’s chest. The big demon bellowed and tore both spears free as the smaller demons stayed out of his path. The succubus attacked then, her claws raking the demon across the face sending black blood spraying everywhere. The demon jumped back in surprise then sent a massive back hand which sent the succubus flying across the clearing. The demon shook his head to clear it and glanced at the succubus just as Flit swooped down and used his claw to sever one of the demon’s ears. The bull bellowed and looked upward in time to impale Slit on one of its horns. Jon sent Slit back into the pit as Vulcan finally got into the fight. Jon had never seen such power, Vulcan somehow summoned a huge bird made of pure flame and sent it after Flit. Flit tried to dodge but Jon could see it was a losing proposition and sent the demon away with orders to care for its twin.

  “You are the one who took my playmate” the bull demon bellowed as it faced down Jon. “She will be free upon your death to be mine once again. Either that or give my human her as a gift”.

  “I make the demands here demon” Vulcan said as the demon first bellowed in pain then went to its knees. “So healer, who will help you now, a mere level one mage would take me on?”

  Jon focused on the man’s blood flow as his demon suddenly got up and charged, Jon had to drop his hold to avoid the powerful swipes of the demon. Jon barely made out Vulcan sending a fireball his way which ignited his robes just as he was caught in the stomach by a strong punch from the bull demon. Jon wanted to throw up from the blow, it was stronger than any he had ever felt and knew if he was just human he would definitely have some internal bleeding from such a blow. Jon crumpled over as his robes were on fire around him and rolled on the ground until they went out. The fire did not hurt, but Jon did not want to be naked in case he had to leave quickly. Jon felt a strong hand, most likely the bull demon’s pull him to his feet as Vulcan began to speak again.

  “You have nerve to even try to attack me after admitting to killing my apprentice” Vulcan began as he let a huge fireball play dangerously above his open palm. You will order the female demon to depart back with Goliath to do with as he sees fit in exchange for me not ending your life. If it wasn’t for King Jafe you would be dead already”.

  “I got a better plan” Jon said as he spun in the demon’s grip and punched it right in the nose as hard as he could. He felt the nose give way as the demon staggered back and gave him another blow which sat it on its ass. Jon felt the fireball envelop him and knew his clothes were ruined but didn’t care. When the fire ball died down he was stuck looking at a very confused bull demon and Fire Mage who both wondered how he could survive such an attack.

  “H-How did you do that human” the bull demon said as blood flowed freely from his nose.

  “Because I’m not human!” Jon said as he quickly turned to Drommul’s form and let the demon take over the fight as Jon had no experience fighting in that form. Drommul was a little shorter than Goliath and not as broad but he did have significant advantages. Drommul was fire proof and covered in hard red scales that acted like natural armor. Drommul also had wicked looking claws and the ability to breathe and conjure flame. He was not on the level of Vulcan but it would get the job done. Drommul’s biggest advantage though was the fact he could fly, the demon could do neither. Drommul slashed across the demons face as Goliath threw another solid punch to Drommul’s stomach. Jon felt pain race up his body as Drommul breathed fire directly into the Bull’s face sending it screaming and flailing away. I wave of fire then hit Drommul as Jon felt it wash over him. The flame was healing him rather than hurting or falling off and Drommul gave a deep hearty laugh. Vulcan started backing away as Goliath hit Drommul hard from the back, impaling him with its horn. Drommul held onto the horn and pulled as he braced his feet against the Bull demon’s stomach. Jon could hear a wet sucking sound as the horn pulled free from the bull demon. Drommul hit the ground and pulled the horn free as Jon set to work healing himself but realized he really didn’t know the demon’s physiology. Jon went after whatever seemed to be pumping the most blood and repaired the damage. Drommul started sending fireball after fireball into the bull demon setting it on fire and filling the air with the smell of barbeque. The bull demon backed away as Jon could see Alura get to her feet and draw her claws down Vulcan’s back making the mage cry out. Aura was going for another blow as Vulcan elbowed her in the nose and followed that up with a knee to her midsection. The succubus crumpled under the blow as Vulcan readied a fireball. Jon took back over Drommul’s body and sent a fireball which struck Vulcan in the side sending briefly sending flames around his clothes. Jon should have known the mage would fireproof his clothing somehow and went to launch another fireball as Goliath raced passed him, burned horribly where he scooped up Vulcan and ran into the underbrush. Jon got to his feet as his wounds were already healing and took to the air, easily spotting the fleeing duo and let fire rain down all around them. Jon had a direct hit as Goliath dropped the mage, both of them bathed in fire. Whatever resistance his robe had to flame was now gone as Vulcan quickly got the clothing off of him and tried to put out his burning skin as Goliath landed face first in the dirt. Jon swooped down towards the demon and started raining his clawed hands down on the back of the demons neck, taking chunks of meat with every swipe. Goliath began to fade away as an image flashed into his mind.

  “DYING DEMONS FADE AWAY TO THE LAST PLACE THEY WERE WHEN SUMMONED, FOLLOW HIM!” Drommul’s voice boomed in Jon’s head. Jon had never been to the pit outside of when he was first killed and used Drommul’s memories of the place and suddenly he was there. Drommul’s consciousness was much more powerful here, Jon was straining to hold him back when he just gave up and let the demon take over again. Jon could see they were in some type of torture chamber and shackled to the wall was an insectoid. It was much larger than Flit or Slit and had a really pronounced abdomen. All over the floor looked like the remains of newborn Insectoids that had obviously been crushed to death along with looked like the insectoids wings. The insectoid was female, and Jon deduced this had to be a Queen, Jon thought about this as Drommul put on hand on each of Goliath’s horns and pulled with all his might, bracing himself by using his feet in the demons back. Goliath cried out just as Jon heard a cracking sound, Drommul twisted the head from left to right then straight up as it pulled free from the body. Drommul tossed the head just as he felt great pain erupt from his back, Drommul turned around and could see a smaller demon, spewing acid everywhere. Jon searched Drommul’s memories and knew this was one of the council of twelve, he was a glass sword, able to dish out massive amounts of punishment but would shatter when it came time for defense. Drommul charged through the spray and breathed his own fire, Acidon as the demon was known scored a direct hit making Jon scream in Drommul’s head as his eyes were melted away. Drommul for his part kept going and grabbed the demon by the head and squeezed. Jon cut off the pain receptors he had and would have begun healing when he noticed his back was practically healed. Jon went for the eyes and could tell they were reforming on their own as he heard a sickening pop followed the felling of something warm and sticky on Drommul’s hand. Jon didn’t have to guess at what it was as Drommul reveled in the feeling of crushing a skull. Jon suddenly could see somewhat again as Drommul started ripping away the shackles holding the insect Queen.

  “SUMMON THE INSECTOID HUMAN, ONLY YOU CAN CONTROL THE MAGE PART OF OUR BEING” Drommul said as his consciousness suddenly retreated, giving Jon full access to the body. Jon thought about summoning Flit and sure enough he just appeared. Jon knew demons were magically teleported wherever their master was but he did not expect it to work in the pit. Flit to his benefit looked around and Jon thought he could see shock on the Insectoids face as Jon handed him the Queen who was barely lucid. Jon went to work healing the demon’s wings and trying to bring her back to her senses, she would need to help out Flit if she wanted
to leave alive. Drommul took control of their body and ran down a hall and jumped out through a window, Drommul let his wings unfurl as Flit pushed the queen through then followed. Jon was a passenger, he did not try to look around but instead let Drommul take charge, his powerful wings taking them further and further away from the commotion. Demons around the ground started to cry out, but Drommul just went on flapping his wings as he sometimes looked back to ensure the Queen and Flit were following. Jon could see they were starting to get a tail, many flying demons were heading their way, apparently intent on stopping the trio.

  “Get the Queen back to your people” Drommul commanded. “Do not wait for me Flit”. Drommul flew lazily towards the incoming hoard with anticipation. “HUMAN, BE READY” Drommul said in his head obviously talking to Jon. “IF YOU ARE IN CONTROL I THINK YOU CAN SUMMON THIS BODY BACK TO OUR CAVE AND WHERE WE LEFT YOUR REALM FROM. I WILL KILL MANY OF THESE PIECES OF SHIT, AFTERWARDS YOU HAVE TO GET US OUT OF HERE”.

  Jon didn’t have time to reply when Drommul charged into the crowd breathing fire over anything that moved. These demons looked the part of soldiers, each wielding a wicked looking blade as they moved closer. The demon fire dropped many of them from the sky, at least the first wave as Drommul was soon overwhelmed. Hits scored against his hide but most did not penetrate, although they looked nasty enough they obviously lacked the power of someone like Goliath. Drommul seized one of the weapons of his attackers and used it to great effect, slicing into bone while breathing fire over the rest. Demons fell from the sky by the tens, although the fight hadn’t been going on for mere moments Jon was sure at least 40 of the demons lay dead. Drommul looked around him though and could see some demons considered him too tough and went for easier fare in chasing down Flit. Drommul charged through the crowd toward the front of the swarm, fending off attacks along the way as he caught up to the lead demon and ripped his wings off sending the creature crashing to the ground. The other demons started giving Drommul a wide berth as he bathed the entire space around him in fire, sending demons crashing to their deaths burning.