Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Ashleen looked at the man with a quizzical expression on her face as she said, "Magic doesn't usually work that way. Very few wizards have magic that could influence someone like that. Moving air or creating fire would hardly deceive you into thinking more or less of a wizard."

  "Says a wizard," another man mocked receiving several dark sounding laughs from many of the tables.

  Elzen shrugged in a noticeable way and said loudly, "Well, I am no wizard; but I would think most wizards would have better things to do than bragging about their magic or using it to bully anyone."

  "Wizards and mages aren't that much different from anyone else. They can use magic, but they are still just people with the same feelings and goals most of you likely have," Sebastian reminded them trying to ease the feelings of both sides represented in the room.

  The waiter returned in short order as the troubling conversation lapsed for a moment as the sailors and other patrons appeared to be thinking of other reasons to dislike wizards. "I suppose that you will want a discount because you are wizards?"

  It was a surprising question to make seemingly out of the blue. Sebastian replied in turn, "While I am not against saving money, but why would you expect that? Do you often cater to wizards or mages who demand such a thing?"

  Shrugging, the waiter retorted, "Most wizards who come in here seem to think so. They can't pay like everyone else. They think that we owe it to them."

  "They are wizards, Hiram," one of the sailors cautioned the man.

  Crossing his thick arms, the burly looking man countered in irritation, "I don't care. I just get sick of it anyway. A man can't run a shop without them thinking that we owe them something for all this protection that they give us.

  "I haven't heard of any attacks near Ravenhurst in all my life, but supposedly they are fighting monsters and armies all the time keeping Southwall safe so that they can get paid and try to get things for free!"

  Sebastian wished that he had his little sister here to try and use her diplomacy magic to ease the room. If their complaints were true, then perhaps the wizards of Ravenhurst were asking for extra privileges that the mage had never noticed anywhere else. If it was an attitude coming down from above, it made him question Raven Daleyr's appointment as the head raven. Though no raven was technically greater than the others, the one in Hala was generally considered the one that led the others in the greater scheme of things.

  Serrena was beginning to start to get angry and stated irritably, "Maybe Ravenhurst has been quiet, but you can believe that wizards, mages and soldiers have been dying in other guardian cities or along the wall fighting to keep orcs, trolls and the rest from just flooding Southwall. No wizard or mage should expect these discounts you are complaining about, but trust me when I say most of those stationed in the north certainly earn their pay!"

  Appearing to ignore much of the tension in the room, Sebastian took several bites of steak. The vegetables and warm bread brought in a basket were quite good as well.

  "I don't know where you found your cook, but this is some of the best food I have ever eaten," he said changing the subject bringing the others eyes to him in surprise. "I have eaten in many places from Hala to New Harbor and now in Ravenhurst. I think someone would be hard pressed to find a better steak than this."

  Hiram looked unsure of what to say at first but eventually replied, "I'm not sure what a boy your age would know about good food, but I guess that I appreciate it. My wife and the boys might not cook in a castle, but no one in the city can say that our food isn't as good."

  Elzen took a quick bite of his food and followed Sebastian's lead. "Yup, he's right. This is good and we have eaten in castles." Pausing in thought for a moment, he added, "King Alain would probably hire your cooking staff if he knew of your kitchen."

  Turning to Sebastian, the younger mage asked, "You've eaten there. How was the food in the king's castle anyway? I missed the Winter's Edge banquets."

  More eyes started at the idea of the young man eating at the table as having eaten with the king.

  "You have eaten in King Alain's castle?" Hiram questioned with doubt in his eyes.

  Ashleen replied, "Sebastian was the only battle mage to fight in the wizard's tournament. Every wizard that competed was treated to a banquet at the end. Perhaps it was more extravagant than necessary, but it was partly to show off to the other countries visiting there, I think. It was a world tournament after all."

  The other men around them suddenly looked even less impressed by the men and women at the table. Sebastian could hear voices pitched low echoing 'He's just a mage' around them, but the young man appeared to ignore them as he continued to eat as if none of their questions mattered to him.

  "How could a mere battle mage have been in a wizards' tournament?" Hiram asked for the room.

  "I have developed some skills that most haven't yet," Sebastian replied simply.

  "Like what?"

  Standing up, the mage moved to another table that was empty with a view out the window. He could see the docks and ships, though frost softened the view slightly.

  "Door," he ordered creating a small window just above the table. With a corresponding portal hovering in front of the table he had just left, Sebastian reached through to take his plate and mug as well as the silverware before letting them wink out of sight.

  Eyes went wide.

  "How did you do that? I've never seen another wizard do such a thing!" the waiter and apparent owner of the restaurant replied nearly charging towards Sebastian at his new table. His friends looked from their plates to his place at the new table trying to decide if they should be moving to join him.

  "Once more, but then I need to finish eating. The food is already starting to cool unfortunately; because as I expressed, it is truly excellent."

  Sebastian returned to the table still occupied by the others carrying his utensils this time. Now his back was to the other table, but recreating the small portal the mage brought his food and drink to his new place seeming to do so without having to look at all.

  "That's amazing!" Hiram responded once more and others echoed the sentiment around the room.

  Not certain how long they would have before someone decided to ask more questions or even worse decided to be derogatory about wizards again, Sebastian and the others hurried to finish their meals.

  The girls were a little slower. Mages, unlike most wizards, were raised like soldiers. Eating quickly was often the only way that they would get to eat enough to be sated. While in the field there were no certainties, and getting nourished properly didn't always mean having a lot of time to savor one's food.

  Seeing that Sebastian had finished Hiram, who had been in conversations with some of the men from other tables all of whom were suitably impressed by the mage's magic, moved closer and asked, "Do you have other tricks that you can show us?"

  The mage placed his left hand over his right arm and made the oval rune appear. He made it look like he had removed a leather pouch straight from his arm, before asking, "How much for the meals?"

  Blinking at the strange magic, which might look a bit like sleight of hand performed by a street magician that had no true magic; Hiram replied looking a bit stunned, "A silver a plate."

  One of those watching must have been less impressed as he said, "Isn't that basically what he did already? Moving a plate from that far was more impressive really."

  After placing four silvers on the table, he replaced the pouch knowing that no pickpocket would have a chance to get these coins.

  He stood once more and merely pushed his magic into the wire rune on his right arm. A single tendril with a short harpoon spike began to writhe in the air moving like a serpent under his control. The crowd's eyes all widened at the demonstration. It took little effort for Sebastian to make the barbwire looking strand split into three with identical spikes before thickening each strand to make them look like chains instead.

  "I don't think anyone else is doing this one either yet,"
the owl said with a small smile for his audience. Making the runes retract and fade away on the one arm, his left began to glow as he forced the defensive runes into the air around his arm. They swirled giving off an orange glow. Though an excellent shield in a fight, the glowing runes slowly moving in the air were also an impressive display for those who had never seen the combination of runes and magic.

  By this point, Ashleen and Serrena had finished, so he offered his hand to the pretty blond helping her gently from her chair as he released his magic from the defense runes. He nodded to the room and said, "I will see what I can do about these wizards that have been taking advantage of you, though I can't say I know much of the politics here. For now, I must say goodbye. Thank you for the meal.

  "Door," the mage added creating a large doorway in front of the window before stepping through with Ashleen at his side.

  Chapter 11- Crossing Chasms

  "Where is this?" Elzen asked looking around him as the four travelers stood on a hill overlooking the ocean to the southeast. Though the others might not immediately realize the direction that they faced, Sebastian knew where the lodestone had landed.

  Pulling out his map, the owl opened it pushing it against the side of a nearby tree. Ashleen and Elzen helped him quickly by holding the sides of the scroll. Closing his eyes, Sebastian ran his finger along the area that he guessed was close to their position on the paper. When he felt the lodestone's aura, a blue mark appeared.

  Sebastian opened his eyes and stated, "We are here."

  "That is like halfway to Atellan or more if we had ridden around the north point of the bay to get here," Elzen stated in appreciation.

  Ashleen frowned slightly and added, "You pushed yourself pretty hard to get this far. Will you really be able to do more today? Even a wizard might not have enough energy to do two long trips and certainly making it to Atellan in one day would likely be impossible."

  "I didn't have to cross all that distance on the wind. When the shore was close enough to see it, I sent the arrow."

  "And that's another thing," Ashleen started to protest. "How could you send a wind spell so far and apparently in a shorter time than it took for you to move your mind here? That should be impossible."

  Placing his forefinger against his lips and chin, Sebastian pretended to be thoughtful as he mused, "Hmm, I guess someone should have told me that before I did it then."

  At the sight of the girl's annoyed frown, the mage couldn't help laughing before he added, "None of our wizards thought that an air lance when used as a weapon could be changed into a spear to be thrown. Once I was using it that way, then no one could believe that you could combine wind riding to aim that spear miles away to hit a target. With enough will, magic can accomplish almost anything.

  "Just because everyone believed that you could only make an air spear move so fast, doesn't mean that they weren't limiting their minds to make it fact. I refused to believe that and made it happen as I chose."

  The three around him found their heads shaking in disbelief at the mage. Called a mage because of his power level, he continued to do things that the Southwall wizards could not. They wondered if he wasn't right in his critique. Maybe their wizards couldn't do some of the things Sebastian was doing simply because they lacked the imagination to release the inhibitions restraining their spells.

  "Well, even so you must be sure that you have the strength to continue on. If you are too tired, we can wait a day. This is already a good start to the journey."

  Smiling at Ashleen in particular, the mage rolled up the map putting it away in the oval rune. He leaned against the same tree and replied, "I am fine, but I may not be able to stand as long as I could sit. This will likely be a shorter trip than the last one, but I will only go as far as I feel safe. With lunch in my belly, I have a lot of energy to try at least."

  Calling out his magic word, Sebastian's head slowly inclined forward. The other three made sure to both keep an eye out for his safety and that his body wouldn't fall over with his mind elsewhere.

  The owl took flight using the thoughts that he had just explained to the others and put it on this problem. Fighting air currents pushing towards the east as he had meant that his pace was slower than the air spear, but the spear had dismissed the validity of those currents driving through the air with the lodestone. It had crossed the distance and more in a quarter of the time he had managed to travel with just his mind.

  Thinking of his wind spirit as more of a spear than some goat jumping from one stone to another, Sebastian cut through the air picking up speed. The ground would appear like a blur if he looked down, which might have also made others sick; but he was also a dragon mage used to moving his body at great speeds when he was healthy. Sebastian wished that he could have flown, but the cold and his body's weakness made that impossible for as long of a trip as this would have been.

  Once again he lost track of time, but the mage could see the movement of the sun overhead. Unlike the ground, the golden orb was a constant overhead. He moved with the shining sphere, though the mage couldn't match it exactly, and the afternoon seemed to extend out longer than normal because of it.

  When a large river could be seen sparkling as it extended into the north, Sebastian spotted a walled city on the other side of it. Calling up another spear, the mage aimed for a piece of ground on the west side of the water. When it shot past his position to strike the snow covered grass, the owl hurried back as quickly as he could.

  Now the sun seemed to drop faster. By the time, he returned to his body the sun was only a couple hours from setting into the ground in the distance. As he stirred and opened his eyes, the others started at his sudden movement.

  Ignoring their looks a moment, Sebastian noticed the ache in his legs and feet. Having stood in one place for multiple hours, his muscles were stiff and his joints were nearly locked. He squatted to change pressure making his knees release the pressure that they had been under.

  "Did you get tired?" Ashleen questioned. His travel time had been shorter and they had witnessed the second lodestone that he had sent less than an hour ago.

  "See for yourself," the owl replied as he stood to cast the portal spell. The other three went first as Sebastian tried to the shake the stiffness from his body.

  As his vision recalibrated to the view, Sebastian looked to the north to see Atellan, at least he assumed it was the southeastern city of Kardor from the description and placement on the map.

  "Is that Atellan?" Serrena asked curiously.

  Ashleen nodded. "He made it already? I've been to Atellan and this is it."

  The sun still had time before it would set here, but Sebastian knew that Hala being so far to the east was likely close to their evening dinner.

  "Well, I can mark it on the map once we return to Hala," the mage said as he rolled his shoulders back receiving a satisfying crackle along his shoulder blades and upper spine as the tightness there released.

  Chuckling at his friend, Elzen asked, "Are you finally tired, great owl? You have moved us less than a couple thousand miles. Surely we can cross half the known world if you would try a little harder."

  Grunting at the smaller mage, Sebastian retorted, "Maybe when you decide to learn this magic you can try that, until then I think that it is getting late enough in Hala to go eat supper. We can see how far I can push it tomorrow."

  After a final look at the Kardorian city, an outpost for their ally though Northwall was still hundreds of miles away, Sebastian called up a final portal back to the gate anchored in their room. As soon as his senses caught up with the distance, the mage noticed darkness around them; though the first moon was able to keep the room from being completely dark thanks to its light.

  Magic lit three of the lamps to force the darkness away. Shadows remained where furniture blocked the new sources of light, but after months of short winter days and long winter nights Sebastian barely let it register on his thoughts as he retrieved the map from the rune void once more. He p
laced it on the extra bed while the others looked over his shoulder.

  A new mark near Atellan would let him find the city again even without a lodestone, but he doubted any wizard would find the marker at least before they could return to what would begin the next leg of their methodical approach to Interus, where Ashleen's family lived. The wilder reached past his arm to gesture at the cities marked on the map.

  "You crossed the bay making it all the way to Atellan from the edge of Southwall," the girl mentioned the obvious part of the day that they had all spent together. "If you can do about the same tomorrow, Fort Delial will put you nearly equidistant to both Interus and Velius. The fort would be a good base to strike out for either city.

  "You do plan to bring a portal to the capitol as well, I assume."

  The mage nodded. "I haven't been given permission technically yet, but I don't think Alain would suddenly horde the portals from one of Southwall's closer allies. Kardor and Southwall have been through similar struggles sharing in the war against the Dark One after all. It would seem to be a good idea to let our two countries be able to assist each other quickly by using the gates."

  "It seems a little odd that even the king might choose to keep you from sharing magic that you pretty much helped to create. I mean Darius might have sent out the stones first, but you've opened up almost as many cities and came up with the control gates," Elzen mused on that point.

  "You were there when he started working with the portals in Windmeer," Sebastian stated knowing that while he had been on his journey at sea, the high wizard had leant his incredible abilities to deciphering the Dark One's magic. While the mage might have figured out how to create portals as well about the same time out of necessity to escape the void when he and Ashleen had been trapped there by Palose, he could hardly take credit for the creation of the gates in the guardian cities. That had been Darius' idea. He had sent lodestones out to the various cities using messengers until the wall had been united by the magic anchor points. "It was his research and efforts that made the magic usable by our wizards. My version hasn't translated to our mages so far, so I would say that it isn't as much mine to control as it is Darius's."