by AC Cobble
Amelie glared at the woman.
“Initiate, these men have families back home. You are a brave girl, I am certain you are willing to throw your own life away fighting a hopeless battle. Are you willing to do the same for them? Will you deprive their children of fathers? Look around you. You will be killed in heartbeats.”
The soldiers glanced around anxiously. They were loyal, but with three times their number pointing crossbow bolts at their chests, they knew it was a fight they couldn’t win.
Amelie weighed the odds then visibly deflated.
“That is better,” said Lady Ingrid. “Now…” The woman stopped talking and turned as a new pair entered the courtyard.
Ben blinked in surprise. Lady Towaal and Rhys were standing behind the line of crossbowmen.
Lady Ingrid snarled, “What are you doing here? I thought the Veil told you to stay close to the Sanctuary and leave this to me.”
“You are correct. The Veil did ask me to do that,” answered Lady Towaal. “I declined.”
The courtyard burst into chaos as Lady Ingrid swept her hand toward Towaal. A brilliant jet of red and blue flame shot out. Three crossbowmen erupted like dry kindling when the blast touched them. Lady Towaal raised one hand and the inferno parted around her.
Before anyone else could react, Rhys’ longsword leapt from his scabbard and he cleaved into the line of crossbowmen. He felled two of them almost instantly with two sweeping slashes.
Raphael was next to move. He charged toward Rhys but was blocked by a stumbling wall of his own men scrambling to escape the burning heat of Lady Ingrid’s fire.
Another man exploded in flame and three more fell to Rhys’ longsword by the time Ben drew his own weapon. He moved to protect Amelie but didn’t know where to turn. The Issen soldiers and crossbowmen fell on each other in a panicked crash of violence and screams.
Ben turned to Lady Ingrid but quickly decided to leave that one for Towaal. The woman’s face was a locked in a rictus of mad energy. She directed her twenty-pace long funnel of flame across the courtyard, torching everything in its path.
Ben glanced back at the warring soldiers, looking for an opportunity. He nearly lost his head when Tomas swung his thick-bladed rapier at Ben. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw it and ducked a heartbeat before the steel would have chopped into his skull.
“I will enjoy this,” growled the seneschal before dancing forward and jabbing at Ben.
Ben jumped to the side and yelled at Amelie to stay behind him. She was unarmed and would only be a distraction if she got within Tomas’ reach. It was clear now, Tomas would have no compunctions about killing her.
His longsword held steady in front of him, Ben faced off against the seneschal. Blood and fire framed the man’s haughty, wicked grin.
Tomas charged, swinging a tight figure-eight attack. Ben parried then barely avoided being skewered when the seneschal finished his attack with a powerful thrust toward Ben’s chest. Almost too late, Ben realized the man knew what he was doing.
Behind them, Ingrid continued to lay fire indiscriminately across the courtyard, torching her own men and the Issen men alike. A grim-faced Towaal calmly advanced through the fire, parting it harmlessly around her. Ben saw Raphael had fought his way to Rhys now, but he didn’t have time to see what happened as Tomas advanced again.
The mousy man was surprisingly strong and quick as a mongoose. Ben gained a shallow gash on one thigh and a deep cut on his shoulder during the next volley of attacks. He preferred to fight defensively, but waiting for the smaller man to make a mistake was not working.
Ben attacked in a complicated sequence which Saala taught him in the City. Tomas merely swept it aside and flicked his blade at Ben’s face, slicing a neat cut beneath one eye. Laughing, the seneschal darted toward Amelie, who had been exposed when Ben dodged the last attack. She was ready and ran behind Ben again before Tomas reached her.
Ben pivoted to face the man and saw Rhys battling Raphael out of the corner of his eye. Inspired, he yelled back to Amelie, “Watch out for the fire. Duck!”
Surprised, Amelie dropped down and Ben started to crouch. Tomas froze too, unsure if Lady Ingrid was really about to torch his back. It was the break Ben needed. He charged and slung his weapon at the seneschal’s face.
Tomas evaded Ben’s thrown longsword and started to bring his own blade up. He was too late. Ben was inside his guard.
Ben crashed into the smaller man, sending them both flailing into the dirt. Using his weight to hold Tomas down, Ben slammed one knee on the man’s sword arm and jerked his hunting knife from his belt.
Panicked, the little man pounded his fist into Ben’s side. From his back, he couldn’t get enough leverage to do damage. Ben absorbed the blows then plunged his hunting knife down into the seneschal’s chest and ripped it out. A gush of blood followed. Almost immediately, the small man stopped fighting and gurgled his last breaths.
Ben looked up to see Rhys engaged in a furious battle with Raphael, Lady Towaal still advancing on the flame throwing Lady Ingrid, and the battle between the crossbowmen and Issen soldiers was nearly finished. Half of both parties lay in charred heaps where Ingrid burned them.
One crossbowman was unengaged though and came running at Ben. Ben lurched to his feet but he had only his knife. The man was covered in chainmail and came waving a short sword. Ben staggered back, trying to think of what he could do. The soldier, seeing Ben’s panic, redoubled his speed and was in a full sprint toward Ben.
Suddenly, Amelie slid in between them and snatched Ben’s sword off the ground. The soldier slowed at the unexpected obstacle but not in enough time to prevent Amelie from swinging with all her might at his unprotected knees. The man went down hard, crashing into and over Amelie. He let out a howl of pain, clutching as his ruined legs. Ben reacted quickly and jumped onto the man, drawing his knife across the fallen soldier’s throat.
Amelie rolled clear and stood, still holding Ben’s longsword. Together, they turned and faced the battle.
Ben saw Rhys risk pointing toward Tomas’ fallen body. Raphael’s face drained of color and his sword trembled in his grip. The swordsman cried in anguish and his eyes watered, right before Rhys elegantly swept his blade around and into the swordsman’s neck. Raphael’s scarred, bald head thumped onto the packed dirt of the courtyard. A heartbeat later, his body crashed down next to it.
The silver sigils inscribed on Rhys’ dark steel longsword blazed brilliantly.
On the other side of the courtyard, Towaal was half dozen paces from Lady Ingrid when she finally displayed her own magic. Her adversary was chanting now and had both her hands raised, concentrating her fire on Towaal directly in front of her.
Towaal simply waved her hand and a blast of narrow, jagged shards of ice materialized out of thin air. They imploded into Lady Ingrid, skewering her from all directions. Ingrid collapsed in a crunch of broken ice, water, and blood.
The fight between the soldiers was almost finished, with only two standing crossbowmen drawing in on a lone Issen man. Rhys casually walked up behind one of the crossbowmen and punched his longsword through the man’s back. Stunned, the man’s companion looked over in time to catch Rhys’ long-knife in his eye.
The last remaining Issen soldier looked around the absolute wreckage of the courtyard and fell to his knees. “Flaming hell,” was all he could muster.
Ben agreed.
Flames licked all of the building surrounding the courtyard. Half of the bodies were merely charred and smoking piles of ash. The rest had the ghastly injuries of men who died in violent, close combat.
Ben and Amelie faced Lady Towaal and Rhys. The pop and crackle of the burning buildings filled the courtyard with sound.
Rhys met their eyes then gestured with a thumb toward the courtyard exit. “We should probably get going,” he suggested.
“We’re not going with you,” Amelie quaked.
“Don’t be silly, girl,” retorted Lady Towaal, stepping over the blood-
drenched corpse of Ingrid. “We’re leaving together.”
Amelie held up Ben’s longsword and assumed a fighting stance.
Rhys chuckled, but it was Towaal who answered. “Amelie, if we meant you harm, we would just kill you now. Lady Ingrid was quite clear what her intentions were. We saved you. You saw that, right?”
Amelie scowled, unsure of what to do. Ben decided for them.
“She’s right,” he said. “If they hadn’t come in, Ingrid would have us. We can talk about it later, but right now, we need to leave.”
As if to make his point, the familiar clanging of the Kirksbane watchmen’s bells started ringing.
“You too,” muttered Rhys as he dragged the stunned remaining soldier to his feet and propelled the man toward the exit. “We can’t leave you behind to flap your gums to the sheriff.”
8
How to Live Forever
The party stumbled from the smoldering Angry Badger. A steady flow of people were streaming away from the area, some progressing orderly, and some running flat out. Unlike when they fled the Plowman’s Rest, the city watch was not rushing toward this conflagration.
“I suppose there is no way to hide that magic was involved,” groaned Lady Towaal.
“You did stab a woman to death with a dozen shards of ice that materialized out of nowhere, right after she torched three or four buildings using only her mind. Also, there is the score of men who look to have spontaneously combusted,” Rhys replied dryly. “Yeah, I think they may suspect magic was involved.”
“The ice will have melted by the time anyone risks getting close,” snapped Towaal.
Rhys just laughed.
The lone soldier that Rhys had pulled along with them suddenly broke out sobbing.
“I’m sorry, Lady Amelie. I can’t do this,” he managed to say through choking shudders. He undid his sword belt, dropped it, and started running. The heavy jingle of his chainmail preceded him down the road.
The four companions stopped and watched him run.
“How long do you think he can run in that chainmail?” asked Rhys.
“It looks like he can go pretty far, though not very quickly,” answered Ben.
They watched the man run, fascinated at his slow progress.
The man was near one hundred paces down the road and approaching a bend. He was still going at a steady pace. His rasping and wheezing breath was getting more difficult to hear as he got further away.
Rhys looked to Towaal. “Should we stop him?”
She shook her head. “Amelie’s presence was well known in Kirksbane. The outcome of the battle is obvious. There is little the man can tell the Sanctuary that they won’t be able to find out on their own.”
“They will probably ruthlessly torture and kill him,” mentioned Rhys.
She stared at the rogue. “Do you want to run after him?”
Lady Towaal pushed them to keep moving long into the night. After the battle, no one complained. Besides, fleeing Kirksbane was becoming a bit of a habit.
On the walk, Ben and Amelie decided it was time to get answers. After the experience with Tomas, they weren’t going to wait.
“Lady Towaal,” started Amelie, “Can you explain why we should be walking with you right now?”
“Girl,” replied the mage. She paused and frowned. “I suppose I shouldn’t call you that anymore. Of course you are right to question us. Let me think about the best way to explain.”
Amelie looked at Ben and he nodded encouragement.
“We quit the Sanctuary,” blurted Rhys helpfully.
Towaal stared at him.
He shrugged. “That’s what they want to know.”
“What Rhys said is true,” agreed Towaal finally. “We returned to the City shortly after you left and immediately knew something wasn’t right. The Veil and her stooges were peddling a story about you attempting to kill your roommate, Meghan.”
“That’s not true!” interjected Ben.
“Obviously,” snorted Towaal. “I knew it wasn’t true the second I heard it. When I was refused access to the poor girl, I decided I must do something. With the help of Rhys, I was able to sneak in and see Meghan. I was wasting my time. She is Sanctuary heart and soul now. Meghan told her jailors I saw her and the Veil called me in. I have known the Veil for a long time, but luckily, I was able to hide much of my true intent. That woman personifies arrogance. She demanded I stay within the Sanctuary grounds until this matter was settled. Rhys and I left later that day.”
“Why?” asked Amelie. “You’re a mage. How can you quit?”
“I’m not quitting being a mage, girl.” Towaal sighed distractedly. “Sorry, I mean Amelie. I am not quitting being a mage. What I quit doing is following the orders of the Veil. For decades now, I have been unhappy with where she is steering us. This, well, it was too much for me. I could not be a part of it any longer.”
“Then you know?” asked Amelie. “You know how they were going to sell me to the Coalition? How Reinhold and his men were killed? What happened the night we escaped?”
Towaal grimaced. “I know a lot, but not all. We were able to find out or guess all of what you just said. Is there more we don’t know?” The mage shrugged. “Probably.”
“Why, though,” asked Ben, “why is the Veil doing this?”
A cool autumn breeze rustled the leaves around them and Ben pulled his cloak close. Lady Towaal paused before answering. They gave her time to think.
“It’s both simple and complicated, I think. King Argren has no respect for mages, which of course, is offensive to my former brethren. He didn’t invite a Sanctuary representative to his Conclave, for example. Keeping the respect of Alcott’s lords is something the Veil considers very important. She could not let a slight like that sit unanswered. Also, with his Alliance, King Argren created a formidable force. Whitehall, Issen, Venmoor, and Northport. These are four of the six most powerful cities in Alcott, the City and Irrefort being the other two. Add in Fabrizo and the others, and Argren could field significantly more swords and better trained soldiers than the Coalition. The balance of power shifted, and the Veil acted to even it out.”
“I-I don’t understand,” stuttered Amelie.
“The Sanctuary claims to be above the fray, above the silly political games of lords climbing over other lords to be at the top of the pile. The truth is, the Sanctuary considers itself already on top of that pile. King Argren’s Alliance was gaining enough power that it might actually overshadow the Sanctuary. For the Sanctuary to maintain its position, they can’t allow that to happen.”
“So,” extrapolated Ben, “they will help the Coalition finish the Alliance?”
“No.” Lady Towaal shook her head sadly. “They will give the Coalition just enough support to make it an even fight.”
Ben and Amelie frowned.
“If neither side can gain a decisive victory,” explained Towaal, “then it will be a bloody war of attrition. In the end, the Sanctuary is the only winner.”
“Like the Blood Bay!” exclaimed Ben.
“I am glad you remember that story.” Towaal smiled wanly. “That war was four hundred years ago, but it is still fresh in my mind. Countless men died, and for what?”
“I can’t accept that!” growled Amelie. “We can’t just sit by and let this happen. My home is under siege!”
Towaal placed a comforting hand on Amelie’s shoulder while they walked. It was one of the only signs of human emotion Ben had seen her give.
“We won’t just sit by and let it happen,” agreed Towaal. “We may not be able to prevent war, but maybe we can mitigate the carnage. Maybe we can save a few souls. First things first, we try to get your father some help.”
They rested that night. In the morning, they started again toward Northport.
“I’m getting pretty familiar with this road,” grumbled Ben.
Amelie gave him a playful shove. “At least this time we have a mage, and, uh, Rhys, what is it you do?”
The rogue ignored her.
“That’s true,” agreed Ben. “We have a real plan now. We’re not just running out of fear.”
Rhys coughed and Lady Towaal looked back at them.
“What?” demanded Ben.
“We just fought and publicly killed a mage,” explained Rhys. “You don’t think we should be afraid?”
Ben looked at Rhys apprehensively.
“Remember the discussion last night?” reminded Rhys. “The one where the Sanctuary wouldn’t let slights sit unanswered, how the Veil would do anything to maintain the respect of Alcott’s lords?”
“Oh,” groaned Ben.
“That fight just ensured we have the Veil’s full attention,” said Rhys grimly.
“What does that mean?” asked Amelie. “An army of mages?”
“There will be a bounty placed on our heads,” declared Towaal. “A significantly larger one than was already on yours. That will draw hunters from all over the continent, if we live long enough. Worse though, much worse, my brethren will hunt us. The Veil will send anyone she thinks is capable of defeating me. There are several. We must be suspicious of any woman who looks out of place. Staying hidden is the safest course, but in case we are found, we should always be prepared to raise our defenses.”
“Our defenses?” queried Ben.
“Hardening your will to defend against a mage’s attack,” explained Towaal.
Ben looked at her blankly.
“Damn it, girl,” Towaal barked at Amelie in frustration. “You are being hunted by mages and you didn’t teach him to defend himself?”
“We, um, I was learning to use the sword,” mumbled Amelie in embarrassment. “I meant to teach him. I said I would.”
“Oh my.” Towaal sighed. “We have a lot to do.”
They kept walking another hundred paces then Towaal continued, “Rhys, we need somewhere close by where we can hide out for a few weeks. We need to instruct the young ones. Can you go ahead of us and find a place?”