Metal Mage 4

by Eric Vall

  The entry chamber of the guildhall was a mix of styles and patterns, like a combination between a pawnshop, a tavern, and an office. Thuggish bodyguards followed the merchants who wore robes of velvet and silk, and gold and silver jewelry. I had been to two royal courts and several barons’ castles, but I had never felt so underdressed.

  “Who are you?” asked a bald little man with a pronounced overbite, so he looked like a snapping turtle.

  “I’m here to see Qarlinder,” I replied confidently and purposefully ignored his question.

  “No one demands to see Master Qarlinder,” the little man laughed nastily. “If you’re here to apply as a trader, I’ll get you the paperwork and a scribe if you can’t read or write.”

  “I’m not here to apply as a trader,” I said with a glare. “I’m here to see Qarlinder.”

  Cayla stepped in with a more diplomatic tone. “You can tell him representatives of both the kingdoms of Illaria and Cedis are here to discuss a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

  The man looked at the princess, then at me, and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’ll see if Master Qarlinder is busy,” he said with a sneer. “If you’re wasting his time, he won’t be happy, and that won’t work out well for ya.”

  The little man walked to the back of the room, unlocked a door with a key, and disappeared within.

  Yaxin sighed, walked over to an empty table, and took a seat.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” the trader suggested. “This may take a while.”

  I sighed as the rest of us found chairs and pulled them around the table. Patience wasn’t necessarily my best virtue, and the room wasn’t exactly the kind of place to relax or talk openly.

  We waited for about an hour, but it felt like a day. I tried to remain calm, but I felt my anger build the longer we sat in silence. As I looked into the eyes of the rest of my party, I knew I was not the only one.

  Finally, the bald little guy came to our table and said, “Come with me.”

  I silently stood up and followed him, the rest of my group close behind.

  The man took out a key again and unlocked a back door to a dark room only lit by candles. There were a dozen figures within standing around a single seated man. He had long red hair and wore a robe that seemed to be woven from silver threads the way it caught the light. This must be the leader of the merchants’ guild, but he looked to me like the medieval equivalent of a common pimp, dressed to impress.

  “Come in,” Qalinder said, his face and voice unreadable.

  “Wait, just you,” the little bald guy added as I took my first step.

  I turned and saw he had blocked the rest of my group behind me. My reaction was to chuckle and shake my head.

  “No, you’re not separating us,” I said calmly. “Either we’re all coming in to discuss Toroth being part of a new trade arrangement, or there will be no discussion at all.”

  Qalinder stood up and studied my face. “What is your name?”

  “Mason Flynt,” I replied with a cheeky grin, “and I represent the kings of Illaria, Cedis, and other powerful entities all over the region. Believe me, you’ll want to be a part of the arrangement.”

  The boss glowered at me for a moment before he nodded. The little bald guy grumbled and stood aside.

  As we started into the room, I heard a gasp behind me, and I swung around to see Aurora’s hood had been yanked down by the bald man as she stepped through the door. Her blue hair and her pointed ears were visible to all in and outside of the back room. One look at her emerald eyes, and it was obvious this reaction was everything she had dreaded from the start.

  “Elf!” the little bald guy shouted. “I knew it!”

  “You say you’re representing kings, and you bring with you a filthy elf?!” Qalinder snarled. “Seize them!”

  As the guild’s guards moved toward us, blades drawn, my team and I made it clear that we were ready to defend ourselves. Yaxin and Dughir drew their swords, as did Aurora, who also sent a flame out to envelope the steel. Fire likewise danced on Mina’s hands, while a silent wind began to whirl through Shoshanne’s hair and robe. Cayla pulled out one of her revolvers and cocked the hammer. Pindor, Jovion, and Zerla reached out and touched the stone wall in the doorway, and I could feel their collective energy as if it were my own.

  Before I spoke, I glared into Qalinder’s eyes and took in the situation. We were outnumbered, not just in the room or in the guildhouse, but we had an entire town around us that this guy was in charge of. Logic told me this could be our last moment alive despite all of our powers, but I couldn’t let Qalinder know this was in my head.

  I called on all the confidence I had before I spoke a word.

  “This elf is a protector of the kingdom and worth more than the lot of you put together,” I said in a low, dangerous voice. “She warned me against trying to deal with Toroth, but I thought I’d give you a chance. What’s going to happen is that you’re going to tell your men to step aside, and we’re going to leave in peace now.”

  “You’re leaving in pieces!” Qalinder screeched. “Hack them apart!”

  I wasn’t surprised. In my head, I shared an image with my fellow Terra Mages, so the moment the words left Qalinder’s lips, we sent a flex of our power into the stone wall across the room. The back exit sealed in a curtain of stone to prevent any reinforcements while the floor beneath the guards behind the boss turned to quicksand, and they were sucked under.

  The guards next to us swung their blades, but they were immediately deflected by Aurora and the traders’ parries, and a blast from Cayla’s revolver blew a hole in the head of the small, bald man who had pulled down Aurora’s hood.

  “Mina, Shoshanne, put out the lights!” I shouted.

  The young Aer and Ignis Mages reached out, and at once, a wind sputtered out half the flames and the others simply extinguished. The room was plunged into darkness except for the open door we came through. As I was the one furthest into the room, I pushed the rest of the group out of the door and slammed it shut behind me. With a flex of my power, I reached into the metal keyhole and jammed the lock.

  Qalinder and the remaining guards pounded on the door, while we faced the guards in the front chamber of the guildhall. There were twenty of them that rushed us, weapons at their side, until they ducked out of the way to avoid a volley of fireballs from Aurora and Mina.

  The ten of us booked it through the room and through the front door as the guards recovered. Then we rushed down the steps and into the town.

  I heard Qalinder’s voice behind us, and as we ran into the stalls, I quickly turned to face him.

  “Stop them!” the merchant guildmaster shouted from the top of the stairs.

  As all eyes from the nearby vendors were on him, I couldn’t resist. I sent a pulse of my power into the silver threads of his fancy robe, yanked them off him, and pulled them to me.

  Qalinder stood in front of all, stunned and naked. Just him and his tiny dick.

  I couldn’t stop to laugh, but I heard the reaction from the merchants around me. Their boss, so feared, now the subject of ridicule. They didn’t even look our way as my group scurried through the stands and tents to the front gate.

  We ran down the road and into the woods and didn’t dare to stop until we were out of sight. Finally, all of us dropped into the undergrowth to catch our breath.

  “What are we going to do?” Pindor gasped. “Where are we going to go?”

  I didn’t know what to tell the boy. Our train was out of track just a few feet away where we had left it at the end of the tracks. We were stuck.

  I opened my mouth, not sure what to say, and then I caught sight of Aurora. She stood alert, focused on something her senses told her that we could not detect. I was about to ask her what it was, but then I heard it, too.

  It was a train.

  All of us ran up the tracks until we saw the two cars as they approached. The engine was cut, the train came to a halt, and the half-ogre Hara
gh and the young Ignis Mage Korion jumped out.

  “Tell me you have two full loads of tracks and ties,” I said eagerly.

  “We have two full loads of tracks and ties,” Haragh echoed with a big toothy grin.

  “Then we’ll have enough to get to Howleigh!” Cayla exclaimed with relief.

  “Haragh,” I said with a laugh, “I could kiss you!”

  “You’re not my type,” the half-ogre chuckled.

  Chapter 6

  We swiftly laid the track and gave a wide berth to the entrance of Toroth.

  “Bastards,” I murmured for the tenth time since we’d gotten the tracks loaded into the cars.

  Haragh was seething beside me, and I caught the furious nod he offered in response before he spat an impressively brown wad into the dirt. I’d filled him in as we readied for a quick departure, and the half-ogre had been nearly as pissed as I was. He turned to Aurora when I’d finished, put his hands at her shoulders, and squared his stance so his words couldn’t possibly miss the pale half-elf.

  Her eyes were hooded, and she hadn’t looked at anyone since we’d gotten back to the locomotive.

  “Fuck ‘em,” Haragh said firmly, and the half-elf’s emerald eyes finally looked up. They were red with what looked like tears, but her chin returned to its stubborn place.

  “Fuck ‘em,” she parroted.

  “Good girl.” The half-ogre gave her a reassuring squeeze of the arms before he finally released her.

  With that we re-boarded the train and set ourselves to bypass the merchant city entirely.

  I was only too happy to do so. The amount of business Toroth would be missing out on was more than a little satisfying, but my hatred was still fuming. I’d have liked nothing better than to burn the damn city to the ground, but I focused on the important part. We’d gotten out without any injuries, and my beautiful half-elf was safe.

  Still …

  “Bastards,” I muttered once more, and Cayla’s soft chuckle came to my side.

  “Mason, breathe,” she offered as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

  I drew a furious breath into my lungs as I realized I’d been practically hurling the tracks and ties to the ground in my rage.

  “It’s past. She’s safe,” Cayla murmured in my ear.

  Aurora must have been watching from her place at the engine, because she raised her own voice above the clattering, and I was pleased to hear it was sharp as a blade again.

  “Fuck ‘em, Mason,” she repeated. “We knew what they were. Their loss.”

  I turned to meet her emerald eyes, and the fire in them soothed me better than anything else could have. I nodded and turned back to the work ahead of me. A moment later, the tracks began settling in a less violent way.

  The other mages exchanged glances, which were clearly relieved, and I had to chuckle.

  “Sorry, guys,” I apologized with a smile. “I’m good.”

  Haragh gave me a sturdy clap on the shoulder. “Aye. Onward. Howleigh, is it?”

  I nodded. “Howleigh.”

  The trader Dughir, who was posted with his lanky legs dangling from the edge of the locomotive, gestured ahead. “’Bout ten miles up you’re gonna veer right. Cut around the embankment, and you’ll be headed straight for her.”

  The forest had thickened since leaving Toroth behind, but the trees became abruptly varied. I watched Mina ignite those in our path and noted the pinkish hue some of the bark gave off. Others wore strange, crumbling coverings that reminded me of the abandoned fortress we’d passed south of Rajeen. Birds scattered as they ignited, and I could have sworn I saw another sphynx join the ruckus.

  We followed Dughir’s directions and laid tracks for another three hours as we made our way through the forest. The dangers of Toroth fell from my mind as I laid track after track, and I could feel the collective energy of the group return to its normal state. Now that Haragh had joined their circuit, Pindor, Jovion, and Zerla were able to conserve their energy more, and I was grateful beyond words for the half-ogre’s timing. Passing up Toroth meant no rest after the day’s work, and I didn’t want to make camp within thirty miles of the town. We couldn’t risk a midnight ambush from Qarlinder and his bastards.

  This would be our first night working through the dark. Aurora and Mina took turns at the engine, while the other sustained an orb of light in front of us.

  I could see their energy was waning, but neither said a word as we toiled, and I was impressed by their work ethic.

  Shoshanne sent a steady breeze throughout the locomotive to cool us, and Cayla passed rations around throughout the hours of labor. The comfort of Tasson seemed ages behind us. Had I known we’d be working a double shift, I would have stayed in the canopy a few hours longer.

  Finally, Dughir gave a violent yawn and waved an arm. “We’re about five miles from Howleigh, better call it quits. Don’t think they’ll appreciate the noise at this hour.”

  I nodded and signaled for Aurora to cut the engine. I couldn’t do much more than grunt. My shoulders felt like they’d been pounded with hammers, and my vision had been mostly blurred for the past hour. Everyone abandoned their work instantly, and Jovion and Zerla dropped to their back ends with a shared huff.

  “You guys … are amazing,” I sighed.

  “As are you,” Cayla purred as she wrapped her arm through mine. Then she kissed my cheek and offered me a sparkling smile.

  I returned her kiss as best I could, but the motion of turning my head her way sent a searing pain down my spine, and I groaned.

  “Come on,” she instructed and then turned to the rest of the group. “Food is already prepared. Shoshanne, would you?”

  Shoshanne was already halfway to the platters they had lining the last stack of tracks, and she gave Cayla a nod before she distributed generous platefuls to the exhausted mages. Sausage glistened in the moonlight, together with bread drizzled in honey, dried fruits, and clumps of sharp cheese. Any other night I would have warned about being prudent with supplies, but to be honest, there wasn’t an inch of my body that gave a shit at the moment.

  We chewed slowly and silently for some time. I was starving but I could barely lift the food to my mouth, so Cayla dedicated herself to the task. It wasn’t long before empty plates scraped across the floor of the locomotive, and the sounds of well-earned sleep almost immediately followed.

  The light in the locomotive was dim when I woke up, but by the sounds of life coming from the forest, I could tell it must be well into the morning. My eyes opened to the sight of Aurora’s blue hair strewn across my lap. The half-elf was happily nuzzled against my crotch. Despite the dull ache of my limbs, I could acknowledge it was an amazing way to wake up. Cayla was still tucked beneath my arm, too, her head limp on my shoulder, and I could smell the honey scent of her lips and smiled in my bliss.

  A man could certainly have it worse.

  I raised my sights from the beauty in my lap, and my grin fell on the woman sitting across from me.

  Shoshanne had evidently woken up before me and was watching me steadily with warm, sleepy eyes. Her lips were plump and pale from sleep, and her copper curls hung loose around her shoulders. She really was beautiful.

  My grin spread as I took in the sight of her. She rarely held my gaze as long as this, so I took the opportunity to truly appreciate the view.

  Her caramel cheeks were a hue that looked warmer than the sun and reminded me of creamy coffee on a frigid day in Chicago. In fact, she looked warm all over. My eyes drifted down her slender neck and made their way to the folds of her robe, pulled tauntly across the fullness of her chest. When I landed on the hard points of her nipples, I realized where I’d let my mind and eyes wander and yanked them back to her face.

  I wasn’t surprised to find her cheeks had turned a deep red, but I was surprised to see that she still held my gaze steadily. My grin must have gotten lost somewhere around her breasts, but I didn’t care. Something in her eyes told me she wasn’t feeling as embarrassed as
she had been the last few days.

  Cayla sighed against my collar bone, and I felt my dick give an involuntary twitch as my eyes stayed glued to Shoshanne’s lips. Aurora shifted in response to my erection, and her body nuzzled against my hardness.

  Suddenly, the lips in front of me curled into the slightest smile, and Shoshanne dropped her eyes at last. Then she was up and heading for the provisions we’d stored near the engine, just in time for Cayla to open her eyes and miss the exchange entirely.

  Holy shit.

  “Mmm,” Aurora groaned as she turned up to look at me from my lap. “Good morning to you, too.” She smirked and coyly pressed herself into my now raging erection.

  I grinned down at her. “Good morning indeed.”

  The half-elf sighed and gave a sleepy pout. “There’s still seven other people here, isn’t there?” she asked, and her disappointment was clear.

  I chuckled and brushed a blue braid from her forehead. “Unfortunately.”

  A mucousy cough barked from the entrance of the locomotive, and I looked over to see Haragh rousing himself from his post against the metal wall. “Aye, and no one wants to be dismissed, so you three better--”

  “Alright, alright,” I laughed. Then I raised my arms above my head and cringed as every muscle protested. My spine also cracked in more than a few places. “Nothing to see here.”

  “Hm.” The half-ogre shook his head and gave a rumbling grunt as he stretched his massive legs in front of him, effectively waking the rest of the troop. “Ah shit,” he let out when he’d finally outstretched himself. “Another long day.”

  I managed to reign in my raging libido by the time Aurora finally dragged herself from her pillow.

  Mina used her magic to heat Shoshanne’s cooking fire. Then the caramel beauty began distributing breakfast to everyone and was greeted with grateful smiles all around. The smell of cheese and tea filled the air, along with a faint breeze that quickly refreshed everyone. It seemed our Aer Mage had been practicing her skills.

  I watched Shoshanne’s copper curls shift lightly as she crouched beside each mage. She even offered a hand to Jovion and Zerla as they righted themselves, and then she brought me a plate of fruits, bread, cheese and dried pork.