God of Magic 2

by Logan Jacobs

  Lavinia could be as quiet as a shadow, true, but she was impulsive, and I didn’t want to risk that she’d take advantage of her invisibility to throw out the plan and start shooting. We had the clanspeople to think about as well if they were still alive, and we needed to be cautious and deliberate right now. While Maruk certainly fit the bill for cautious and deliberate, stealth wasn’t the orc’s specialty, and the cloak wouldn’t prevent the trolls from hearing his approach. We needed Aerin to be ready in case anyone got hurt, and despite Lena’s quick thinking and help during the fight with the gryphons, she wasn’t part of the guild. It wasn’t right to have her risk herself here.

  "I’m going," I said firmly, and then I pulled up the hood of the cloak before anyone could try to argue further and disappeared completely.

  I chose my steps carefully as I made my way back up the slope toward the outcropping of rock we’d initially hidden behind and the ruins beyond. Both of the trolls we’d seen before were still standing there, and they appeared to be having an argument. The smaller of the two still had the person I’d seen before draped over his shoulder, but as I edged closer, I could see I hadn’t been mistaken about the person’s mana. One of them was still alive, then. That was something, at least.

  Wary of the loose pebbles and bits of bone, I picked my way forward, closer and closer to the ruins. The trolls’ argument was becoming heated, and the smaller one growled out something while he practically threw the human on his shoulder to the ground in a fit of anger. I wanted to rush forward then, but I forced myself to put caution first.

  When at last I made it up to the crumbling remains of the wall, I saw the person the troll set down was still alive, but just like the rest of the afflicted, this man’s eyes were glazed over and his skin bore a sickly pallor. The trolls had bound the man’s hands behind his back and tied his ankles together, but due to the influence of the curse or simply human nature, he strained and struggled against the bindings even as he lay with his face half in the mud. The trolls paid him no mind as they continued to argue in their strange rumbling speech.

  Behind the trolls, I could see the rest of what I guessed used to be a courtyard in centuries past. What little was left of the stone wall formed a perimeter about fifty yards across. All along the top of the wall, the trolls had kept mementos of their former victims, everything from skulls to spinal columns, and some were, well, fresher than others. Bits of flesh still clung to a small skull near me, and the bone was stained yellow with grease, but it seemed as though even the crows and the maggots didn’t dare to infringe upon the trolls’ territory.

  The ground inside the wall was covered in even more shards of bone and other such debris. The trolls didn’t wear clothes or seem to use tools or weapons to any great extent, but here and there, I saw scraps of bloodstained cloth or the broken handles of knives or swords sticking out of the mud, which I figured were the old belongings of some of the trolls’ former victims.

  Finally, in the center of the courtyard around a crumbling stone fountain, I saw the rest of the clanspeople. There were six of them, men and women, and like the first man that I’d seen, they were all bound at their wrists and ankles. Their stares were vacant and their faces slack, but the light of mana glowed in each of their chests, so I knew they were all still alive.

  I was just about to leave to report my findings to the others when two more trolls came into view from behind a pile of rubble. They spoke quietly to one another for a moment, but then one of them shouted across the courtyard to the other pair. The first two trolls turned and shouted something back in response, and the largest of the group gestured with apparent frustration at the rest of their prisoners around the fountain.

  I wished I knew what they were saying, but I didn’t need to understand their language to know whatever they meant to do, it wouldn’t end well for the people they’d captured. I’d gotten a look at the courtyard, confirmed the humans were alive, and I knew how many trolls we had to deal with. That would have to be enough information to take back to the others because I sensed that if we didn’t act soon, we wouldn’t be able to save the sick people before they all became a troll’s dinner.

  I moved back away from the wall and down the path again as quickly as I dared, and the gravel and bits of bone crunched lightly under my feet. There was nothing I could do about it, but thankfully, the trolls were absorbed enough in their own conversations that they didn’t notice the sound.

  I pulled the hood of the invisibility cloak off as I rejoined the others, and Maruk gave a start when my head suddenly appeared among them. I didn’t waste any time to fill them in.

  "There are four trolls, and they’re all up ahead in those ruins," I explained, and my breath made clouds in the frigid air. "It’s just the one level, and the wall boxes in the space pretty well. There are seven people up there, all alive, but we need to act quickly."

  "I’m all for that," Lavinia said. She still had her arrow set against her bow string, and she flexed her fingers around the handle as she spoke. "What’s the strategy here?"

  "Working on it," I replied. "Have any of you ever fought mountain trolls before?"

  Aerin, Maruk, and Lavinia all shook their heads.

  "Damn," I muttered.

  I’d been hoping someone might have been able to lend a little expertise. Well, we’d faced plenty of terrible monsters in the past. We would be able to handle these trolls as well. At least we could count on the fact they didn’t have any weapons aside from their tusks and claws, and the courtyard would help contain the fight somewhat.

  "Here’s what we’ll do,” I said, “I’ll cast an illusion to distract the trolls while Aerin, Maruk, and Lena help move the humans out of the way. There are six in the center of the courtyard around an old fountain, and one by the northern wall. You don’t need to take them far away, just get them out of the courtyard. There are boulders and mounds of rubble that can provide cover. Lavinia, just get to a spot where you can see the whole courtyard and be ready to shoot."

  The ranger grinned. "I always am."

  "Once the sick people are out of the way, Maruk, Aerin, you two come back and help me keep the trolls busy so Lavinia can shoot them." I breathed out a short sigh. "It’ll be easy. Everyone ready?"

  "Ready," Aerin answered with a nod, and Maruk echoed the sentiment.

  "Let’s go kill some trolls!" Lavinia said with an enthusiastic smile.

  I led the way back up to the outcropping of rock that we’d first hidden behind. Then I slipped the hood of the invisibility cloak over my head again before I stepped into the center of the path. By now, all four of the trolls had gathered together, and they argued vigorously and gestured wildly with their long arms. I couldn’t see over the wall from my vantage point to tell if the man that the second troll had been carrying was still in the same spot, but he wouldn’t have been able to get far on his own, and it didn’t appear as though the trolls had moved him.

  I crept forward carefully and quietly as I raised my hand out toward the group of trolls. My mana sparked through my veins as it flowed down my arm toward my outstretched hand, and I visualized a dense fog surrounding the monsters.

  Almost as soon as I’d thought of it, the trolls’ argument stopped. Their tones shifted from angry to bewildered, and I watched as they turned in circles to look for the source of a fog that only they could see. One pointed to the gray clouds above and said something in a distinctly condescending tone which sparked a rebuttal from the troll next to him, and within moments, they were arguing once again.

  Lavinia moved up and took her place atop a boulder that offered the best vantage point of the courtyard, and then she gave me a nod to let me know she was ready on my signal.

  I didn’t want her to start shooting until we’d gotten the sick people out of the way in case the trolls turned on them once they realized they were being attacked, so I held up my hand to let Lavinia know I wanted her to wait.

  Meanwhile, Aerin, Maruk, and Lena crept past us and edged a
long the wall until they reached a break and could slip into the courtyard past the trolls, who were still arguing about the fog. I was grateful our adversaries seemed eager enough to fight amongst themselves because already the effort of maintaining the illusion was getting to me. The familiar ache sprang up in the back of my skull and threatened to break my concentration, but I took a deep steadying breath and forced myself to focus. I had to keep it up at least until Aerin, Maruk, and Lena were able to get the sick people to safety.

  Aerin cut the bindings around the prisoners’ ankles, but she wisely left their hands bound as she, Maruk, and Lena coaxed the humans to their feet. Despite their frail appearance, the sick people seemed no easier to manage than the first group we encountered, and it took all three of my friends to herd them away from the trolls. I wondered if Lena carried any other tricks up her sleeve to keep them from wandering off while the rest of us fought the trolls, but I knew I couldn’t worry about that too much at the moment. Once we’d dealt with the trolls, we could worry about what to do with the afflicted.

  My hand began to tremble as the pain in my head spread steadily from the base of my skull up to my temples, and dark spots began to fill my vision. I set my jaw and forced myself to hold the illusion a few seconds longer, just until my friends had gotten out of the courtyard.

  While Maruk and Lena guided the group of six away, Aerin turned back to help the man who the trolls dropped by the wall. Out of panic or the drive of the curse, he resisted as the healer tried to cut the bindings around his ankles. Aerin threw a nervous glance over at the trolls who were only a dozen feet away as she furiously sawed at the bindings, and as the dark spots crowded in my periphery until I had tunnel vision, I silently urged Aerin to hurry.

  Finally, the elf cut through the man’s bindings and yanked him to his feet before she all but shoved him toward the break in the wall where Maruk and Lena had guided the other prisoners to. Aerin was the last to leave, and she threw a glance over her shoulder to me as she slipped behind the mound of rubble I’d told them about.

  With a gasp, I dropped my hand, and the illusion broke. The trolls blinked in surprise as they yet again found themselves in an inexplicable situation, but it didn’t take long for them to realize that their entrees had vacated the area. At first, they turned their anger on one another, and for a brief moment, I hoped they might do our work for us, but then one of them caught sight of Lavinia and pointed to her with a shout of obvious accusation.

  In the same moment, the archer loosed the first of her arrows, and it struck the troll who had pointed her out in the throat.

  The troll’s skin might have resembled rock, but it wasn’t strong enough to deflect Lavinia’s arrow. The ranger’s target staggered back, and his eyes bulged as one hand went to his throat, but he didn’t make it more than a step back before he fell to the ground, dead.

  Lavinia already had another arrow nocked, and Maruk and Aerin entered the courtyard again by the time I made it up to the wall. My head still pulsed from the effort of casting the illusion, but I still had plenty of mana left and a job to do. I summoned my mana blade as I vaulted over the low wall into the courtyard just as the remaining three trolls turned on Maruk and Aerin.

  Now the trolls’ shouts sounded like overlapping rockslides, furious and dangerous. The largest of the group made a swing for tiny Aerin with his massive fist, but Maruk intercepted him just in time. The orc grunted as the blow struck against his shield hard enough to dent the metal, but Maruk held his ground.

  Lavinia shot a volley of arrows at the trolls, but with their attention on Aerin and Maruk, they had their backs to her. It was only then I realized that what I’d taken for hunched shoulders were actually rocky growths that covered the trolls’ backs like armor. Lavinia’s arrows stuck, but they couldn’t pierce deep enough to wound the monsters.

  Aerin moved back and was shouting to get the trolls’ attention, but all three of them ignored her as they converged on Maruk. Evidently, they had decided he was the first of the pesky interlopers they should eliminate.

  Maruk blocked blow after blow, but each time one of the trolls struck out at him, he was forced to back up further toward the fountain. Both of his shields were scored with claw marks and dents, and even from several yards away, I could see he was sweating.

  I didn’t bother trying to draw the trolls to me since they obviously weren’t going to be distracted. Instead, I took off at a run and launched myself at the nearest of the three trolls. My mana blade did what even Lavinia’s arrows couldn’t and sank deep between the troll’s mountainous shoulder blades.

  The troll’s mana reacted explosively with the magic that made up my dagger, and the creature’s body lit up as though he’d been struck by lightning. The troll fell forward with a choked gargle, and the other two turned to look at his body and the smoke that rose up from his back, but with my cloak still wrapped around me, there wasn’t anything for them to see.

  My attack gave Maruk the distraction he needed to regain the upper hand, and he bashed his shield into the larger of the trolls with a mighty grunt.

  The troll barely had a chance to let out a cry of surprise before Lavinia shot it through the eye socket, and it too fell dead.

  The last troll staggered back from his fallen brethren, his eyes wide as he tried to take in the slew of threats around him. Maruk moved in to corner him on the right, and Aerin was on the left, her axe brandished. I didn’t wait for Lavinia to shoot again. I closed the distance between me and the troll in a few steps and plunged my dagger into his stomach.

  The troll swung his long arms out in a last attempt to fight us off, but it was too late. As the blue mana blade sank into his gray flesh, his body lit up just like the other troll’s had, and then he fell back with a tremendous crash onto the fountain. The fountain crumbled beneath the troll’s weight, and as the dust settled, the mound of rubble and the rocky form of the dead mountain troll were almost indistinguishable from each other.

  I pulled my hood down as I stepped back and returned my dagger to my belt. My head ached and I was out of breath, but the fight was over and the sick clanspeople were safe.

  Maruk dropped his shields and leaned forward with his hands on his knees as he panted next to me, but he grinned when I caught his eye, and I dipped my head in an appreciative nod.

  Then I was nearly knocked off my feet a moment later when Aerin tackled me in a hug, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the elven woman’s expression when she finally let go.

  "What were you thinking?" she scolded. "You’re not supposed to throw yourself at mountain trolls, Gabriel! You’re a mage!"

  "I didn’t want to miss the opportunity," I replied with a chuckle. "Besides, I’m alright. I know you’re worried about losing your manipulator, but I can handle myself."

  "I’m not just worried about losing my manipulator," Aerin corrected me as she pushed back the invisibility cloak so she could inspect me for damages. "I’m worried about losing my boyfriend." She was trying to sound stern, but I could see the relieved smile that was tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Just promise me you’ll be more careful."

  I pulled her in close and kissed her, and her body relaxed at once as she wrapped her arms around me again.

  When we broke apart, I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at her. "I promise."

  Aerin couldn’t hide the blush that had risen into her cheeks, but she still tried to look composed as she nodded back.

  "Right, well, you’d better."

  "You’re both very cute, but don’t you think we should check on the people we just rescued now?" Maruk asked pointedly.

  "Hope they didn’t run off while we were saving their lives," Lavinia said as she joined us.

  We stepped around the troll bodies and through the gap in the wall where Aerin, Maruk, and Lena had taken the prisoners. Mounds of rubble mingled with the boulders and stones of the mountain face, and a few yards away, I caught sight of Lena’s colorful skirt.

  But
the humans we rescued weren’t with her.

  Chapter 17

  "What happened?" Lavinia demanded as we all joined Lena. "Where are all the sick people?"

  "As soon as you all went to fight the trolls, they got up and started wandering off into the trees," Lena answered. She looked nervous as she gestured to the dense pine forest on the left, and her voice trembled slightly.

  "Were their hands still tied?" Lavinia asked.

  Lena nodded. "I tried to stop them, but I couldn’t. They just went right by me, and there were too many of them for me to keep them here once they decided they wanted to leave."

  "It’s alright," I said. "It’s not your fault, Lena. We would have had to let them go their own way eventually, anyway."

  "It was difficult enough for all three of us to keep them together," Maruk put in. "You mustn’t blame yourself."

  I knew this could have happened, but I’d decided it would be better to risk the people wandering off than accidentally being killed during the battle. Even if they stayed, there wasn’t much we could do for them, or they for us, though I would have suggested we cut the bindings on their wrists as well. We already knew we couldn’t communicate with them, and we couldn’t lead them all the way back to their camp. At least they were no longer in danger of being eaten by trolls. We would just have to find Aurelius and break the curse before they could stumble into any more trouble.

  "Well, if we’re done babysitting, I say we dig around and see if our troll friends left us anything," Lavinia proposed. "I think I saw a chest back there."

  We filed back into the courtyard and scoured around the mess the trolls left to see if there was anything valuable enough to take. As it turned out, Lavinia was right about the chest. It had been tucked away amidst a scattering of rubble and old bones that hid it from view on the ground level, which explained how I overlooked it before. Lavinia’s place atop the boulder during the battle had given her just the vantage point she needed to have seen it.

  There was a heavy iron lock on the chest, and it had rusted over after years of exposure to the elements. I wondered if some former victim of the mountain trolls that we’d just killed brought it up here years ago, and the chest had sat here all this time, long since forgotten by the creatures who unwittingly guarded it. We didn’t waste time looking for a key since the lock was too rusted for one to have worked anyway. Instead, Maruk broke the latch off the lid of the chest with a sharp strike from the pointed bottom edge of his shield. The weather-worn wood and metal buckled immediately, and then a stream of gold and silver coins spilled out onto the ground.