“Then Archanion it is,” Lady Sandra said, taking the map from Ser Wilson. “We are losing time.”
“My Lady,” one of the guardsmen called out. “We have been marching all night. We need to stop for a few hours’ rest.”
“We have lost enough time already,” Lady Sandra said, annoyed.
“I agree with the men, my Lady. If the...Mage,” Ser Wilson said, flashing me a look, “is accurate and we can make up the time, a rest will keep the men alert.”
“We can rest after we kill Davenport,” she responded, starting to walk westwards.
“My Lady...Sandra...” Ser Wilson said softly, stopping her by grabbing her arm. “I know this is hard, but...” his voice became really quiet and the stone like look that had been on Lady Sandra’s face melted into something almost Human looking.
She looked away. “We’ll make camp when we are more into Archanion,” she said firmly.
She started walking again with Ser Wilson staying close. The guardsmen followed after them without another word. I stuck close to the guardsmen in an attempt to avoid Lady Sandra’s frustration and Ser Wilson’s attitude.
And she seemed so nice in the forest, Cathy said.
“Yeah, what a quick change in character,” I responded.
“Don’t worry about it, Mage,” one of the guardsmen responded. It was the same one that asked for the rest. “She is a bit up and down these days. If she’s acting nice, it is because she wants something.”
Right, we are with people now. I have to remember to talk to you in my head.
“These days? What happened?” I asked him.
The guard looked at me, opened his mouth and closed it again without saying a word. He smoothed out his moustache as he looked forward again. “Out of respect to our Lord and Lady, it is not our place to say. Maybe she will… if she does ever talk about it.”
Interesting... Cathy said.
The cryptic answer intrigued me, but I didn’t press it. I’m sure everyone was already a little uncomfortable with a Mage being amongst them and I would only make them more uncomfortable by being nosey.
I nodded. “Fair enough.”
“I’m curious about something, Mage,” Moustache continued. “We have all been told about the Szwen Forest. It is a kind of boogeyman story for the children as they grow up. How were you able to live amongst the fairies in peace?”
I noticed the other guardsmen slowing down so they could hear my response. “A couple of cycles ago, I helped them defeat a forest guardian that had been corrupted by a demon.”
“What does a forest guardian look like?” a guardsman with a crooked nose asked.
“It was like this weird... black blob thing,” I answered.
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” a guardsman with freckles said, sounding a little disappointed. “What kind of guardian is that?”
“The guardians are ancient magic from the Spirit Plane manifesting itself on the Physical Plane,” I explained. “Their strength lies in their ability to change shapes. For me, it first turned into an eight metre long bear.”
The shocked stares I received from the guards meant I had gained their full attention. Most of these men looked like they hadn’t seen much action. A good war story might be what I needed to break the ice and help me get back into the routine of talking to people.
Wasn’t the bear only five metres long though? Cathy asked.
Nothing wrong with a little exaggeration for the sake of good story telling.
“How do you fight an eight metre long bear?” Freckles asked.
“The bear was all strength and no speed,” I explained. “I was able to out manoeuvre it and hit it with some magic from my staff. It became frustrated and lunged at me, so I drove my staff into its head and launched it into the ground...but that only made it angrier.”
“What happened next?” Crooked Nose asked.
“It turned back into a blob and attacked my staff, destroying the focusing crystal I was using to make it more powerful,” I continued, sliding into story telling mode and moving my hands a lot. “The staff went flying off and I couldn’t find it. I heard a bark and turned around to see the blob become a giant wolf.” A few jaws drop. “And that wolf was very angry and very fast.”
“How’d you defeat it?” a guardsman with bushy eyebrows asked.
“Long story short; it bit down on my arm,” I said, using my hand like teeth and grabbing my other arm. “So I wrapped it up into a headlock and cooked it from the inside with magical fire.”
A few of the guards laughed while a couple groaned and twisted their face at the thought of fire hitting them on the inside. The guards loosened up a bit and took on a more relaxed posture as we walked. The story worked out perfectly.
Except you down played MY part, Cathy said.
It’s not like I could explain our situation to them so they could understand. I’ll make it up to you though.
You better, Mister, Cathy said playfully.
“If that doesn’t earn those fairies’ respect, I guess nothing will,” Moustache chuckled. “I suppose, for us normal folk, it is impossible to earn their respect.”
“I’ve never understood how they got the name ‘fairies’,” I said. “They are more like trees than fairies.”
“Yeah, with hot bodies,” Eyebrows said. “Did you ever...you know...” He wiggled those bushy things quickly.
“I like to consider myself a lover of trees but I don’t think I love them THAT much,” I said with a laugh. “Maybe it’s a good thing we are staying away from the forest. I don’t think we have the time to let you show your love and appreciation to each and every Oak we pass.”
The guards erupted into laughter and Crooked Nose gave Eyebrows a playful shove. At the front of the group, both Lady Sandra and Ser Wilson stopped and turned around to face the group. Lady Sandra was still sporting the same hard look as before and Ser Wilson noticed me in the centre of the group and his jaw tightened.
“If you are done giving away our position, maybe we can concentrate on catching a murderer,” Lady Sandra said.
“Yes, my Lady,” Moustache said glumly.
Having finished scalding us like small children, ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ resumed walking forward at a quicker pace. The guards already looked burnt out, but they accelerated to keep pace with Lady Sandra.
I had walked this area many times in the past and knew that there wasn’t going to be any sign of life for a while. Between bandits and farmers, most of the wildlife is either in the forest or deeper in the Archanion Field. A couple of the guards were watching the countryside carefully, but with big open farm lands, danger would easy be to see and prepare for.
“Sorry I got you in trouble with ‘Mom’,” I said quietly to Moustache.
He smirked at the nickname. “Don’t worry about it. It was good to laugh again. There hasn’t been much joy since Thurlborn Peak.”
“What happened there?” I asked.
“Too much to tell right now, Mage,” he answered.
“Please. Call me Kairu,” I said.
“I guess we weren’t all formally introduced,” Moustache said. “I’m Bill, the ‘old, wise one’ of these guards. That’s Trevor, Jeff and Vincent.” He pointed to Crooked Nose, Eyebrows and Freckles respectively. “The two quiet ones are Ronnie, our scout, and Peter, our field medic.”
“Everyone just calls me Doc,” Peter said.
“We are a collection of the town and palace guards,” Bill continued. “Thurlborn was our first real battle.”
So you have more battle experience then everyone here combined, Cathy pointed out.
A scary thought.
“What about Ser Wilson?” I asked.
“His rank is Knight Protector,” Bill answered. “He is the personal guard to Lady Middleton. He has the most experience and fought in skirmishes against Nesqa before peace was achieved.”
“What type of training does Lady San...Middleton have?” I asked.
“She’s been
taking sword training since she was old enough to hold one. She has also been trained by some of the best scouts at Thurlborn,” Bill replied.
“Explains why your scout is back here with us and not scouting ahead,” I said, motioning to Ronnie.
“I’m still needed for some stuff, but yeah, she’s determined to be the first one to see Davenport,” Ronnie said.
“I’d hate to be that Mage,” Vincent said. “I’ve fought our Lady in practice. She nearly took my head off.”
The scenery had begun to make its subtle change from Balendar to the Archanion Field. The flat farm lands were replaced by hills and a small increase in trees. We found an old dirt road the Mages used to travel and continued along it to a crossroads.
Lady Sandra called for everyone to stop so she could check the map. Ronnie pointed out what he thought were Davenport’s tracks heading west. On the map, I pointed out the south path that would take us close to the centre. We would connect with the new trade caravan trail between Ghanlar and Balendar.
“What’s this symbol?” Lady Sandra asked, pointing to a little triangle on the map.
“Old salvager’s camp,” I answered. “After word got out about the Tower, people thought they could find some old valuables. When they realised there was nothing, they abandoned it. Might make a good camp if it’s not already occupied.”
“We’ll see when we get there,” she replied, rolling up the map and putting it back in her pocket. “Up front with me, Mage.”
She turned south and I walked beside her with Ser Wilson on the other side. We walked in silence until we arrived at the small camp. One look at it and you could tell something was wrong. A thin trail of smoke rose from the middle of the camp and bodies were scattered across the ground.
“To arms, men,” Ser Wilson said, drawing his giant war hammer.
The guards drew their swords and readied their shields, but I couldn’t shake an odd feeling that came over me. I stretched out with my mind and felt an odd aura surrounding the bodies. The more I tried to study it, the more confused by it I became.
It is definitely something sinister... Cathy trailed off. Not demonic though. Unnatural, but different.
Well, THAT’S helpful.
Let’s see YOU describe it then, she replied.
The group started to approach the camp and I slowly followed them searching with my mind for any life signs. I didn’t need to search long to get the answer I dreaded. Whatever happened here ensured there would be no one to tell the story.
“Search for survivors,” Lady Sandra called out.
“You’re not going to find any,” I said, dropping my mental search and approaching a body.
The body was male and scrawny with patchwork leather armour that suggested raider or bandit. A quick look at the others around him suggested that bandits were using the camp as a base of operations. The marks on his neck caught my attention and upon closer inspection, revealed themselves to be bite marks.
Wolves?
The teeth marks are too small, Cathy answered.
Ripples of magic radiated off the bite marks. It was the same unnatural corruption that was in the air.
‘Corruption’! THAT’S the word I was looking for to describe it! Cathy exclaimed.
We definitely shouldn’t be here then.
“No survivors, my Lady,” Bill said approaching Lady Sandra and Ser Wilson.
“What do you make of the situation?” she asked.
“The bite marks suggest animal attack,” Bill answered. “Ronnie says the tracks look like fox tracks and that they show themselves heading north.”
I stood up and joined them, curious at the mention of foxes.
Aren’t they the ones that run and hide at any sound? Cathy said.
“What do you think, Kairu?” Bill asked. “The look on your face since we’ve entered has me worried.”
“First time in a battlefield, Mage?” Lady Sandra smirked.
“I’ve fought an army of possessed Mages,” I replied. “Bite marks don’t bother me. The magic in the area does.”
“Are you suggesting Davenport has been through here?” Lady Sandra asked, getting more interested.
“No, this is more of an... unnatural corruption,” I explained. “Something has made the creatures aggressive and before you ask, it wasn’t a Mage that did it.”
“Then what?” Lady Sandra asked.
I shrugged. “I wish I knew.”
“Either way we should get out of here. I don’t like this at all,” Ser Wilson said.
“Couldn’t agree with you more, we...” I stopped. I felt a ripple of magic through the air and I stopped to scan the area with my mind.
“What is it, Mage?” Ser Wilson asked, scanning the area with his eyes.
I could feel the mind of several small creatures circling our position. Closer examination showed they were indeed, foxes and the corruption was strong within them. They stalked towards us at a leisurely pace, completely surrounding the camp.
“Kairu?” Bill asked, getting nervous.
“They’re back,” I said calmly. “We’re surrounded.”
Chapter 3
“Protect our Lady,” Ser Wilson called out, stepping in front of Lady Sandra.
The guardsmen regrouped and started to form a circle around the centre of the camp. Their eyes darted back and forth, looking for any sign of movement. I could feel the small life forces advancing slowly and scooped up a handful of arrows from the quiver of a dead bandit.
Here’s hoping that training paid off.
Don’t over think it, Cathy replied.
Magic travelled through my arm into the arrows. When I was sure I had them all enchanted, I dropped them and they hovered in front of me. Holding my arm out to focus on the magic in each arrow, I held them in front of me and waited for the foxes.
A flash of red caught my attention and I turned towards it. Whatever it was it had disappeared behind a tent. Another flash of red in the corner of my eye and another tent when I turned towards it. Either the foxes were unnaturally quick, or I was just seeing things.
Could be a little bit of both, Cathy suggested. The corruption...there is something familiar about it. The closer they get the stronger it becomes.
What do you mean familiar?
“Incoming!” Bill called out.
I’ll deal with this, you take care of the foxes, Cathy said.
The sound of something heavy bouncing off a shield drew my attention, but I didn’t look towards it. The guardsmen would be fine. I needed to focus on either finding the leader or any foxes sneaking around behind everyone. With my focus on the levitating arrows, I couldn’t stretch out with my mind, but it wasn’t needed as three foxes stepped into the open, their eyes glowing red and locked onto me.
They stepped towards me slowly, ignoring the floating arrows and frothing at the mouth. I have found that animals can sense either my magic or Cathy and tend to stay away from me. The foxes’ fearless march towards me meant the corruption ran deep in their minds, stripping away any instincts and leaving nothing but base primal urges.
I spread the arrows out to cover a wider area. The foxes were far enough into the open that they wouldn’t be able to dodge the arrows, not that they seemed to care. I pushed out with my magic and sent all the arrows flying towards them. They realised their mistake too late and failed to dodge out of the way in time.
I took off my shirt as my power reached my skin. The flesh stiffened and turned to hardened scales, giving me a demonic look as the scales covered my body from the head down. I turned to the guards who were holding their ground against the remaining foxes. I stretched out with my mind and locked onto the remaining energy sources. There were only a couple left and one was lunging at me. I turned around in time to have it bite down onto my arm.
With the scales as protection, the bite was nothing more than slight pressure, but my arm started to tingle as the scales blocked the corruption from entering my system. The fox jerked its head back and
forth, trying to rip into the scales and I grabbed it by the throat and sent a jolt of lightning into its body, stopping its little heart. The fox dropped to the ground and twitched slowly.
“Spread out!” Ser Wilson shouted. “Check for more.”
“There aren’t any more,” I answered. I grabbed my arm where it was bitten and cast a Dispel to ensure the corruption wouldn’t spread when my scales receded.
“I’m not going to feel better unless I check,” Ser Wilson said, leaving the group to walk around the camp.
I noticed the guards staring at my scales as I scooped up my shirt. It was always the same whenever someone saw the Harden Skin spell. It was hard not to stare. As long as they don’t start shouting ‘demon’ and chasing after me, staring is just fine. My scales smoothed out and I threw on my shirt again.
“That’s a neat trick,” Bill said, breaking the guards’ silence.
“Up until people want to kill you because they think you are a demon,” I replied, rejoining them.
“What does it do?” Jeff asked.
“Protect against magic mostly. The scales are tough enough to offer some protection against physical attacks,” I explained.
We have a problem, Cathy said. I noticed Doc checking a bite of his forearm and sweating from the fight. When the fox bit us, I saw the magical properties of the corruption. The reason it was familiar to me was because it is magic from the Spiritual Plane itself.
Have you been gone that long it took you a while to recognise it?
It’s like trying to recognise someone while they are faced away from you underwater, Cathy explained. The guards were starting to check out Doc as he struggled to stay on his feet. When the fox bit...it was like seeing the person clearly. ‘Doc’ is infected with the corrupted Spiritual Plane magic. Non-Magic mortal souls can’t handle it.
I pushed my way through the guards to Doc and grabbed his hand, holding up the bite so I could examine it. The mark was just beyond where the guardsman’s gauntlets protected. The fox had been lucky.
Or it knew what it was doing, Cathy suggested.
The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 Page 2