by D. R. Rosier
Both tasks seemed overwhelming. How could I stop an invasion, or stop the whole kingdom of Jennesar from worshipping their gods? I couldn’t see a way to do either, much less both.
Lila said softly, “I’ll go back to the towns, and dig deeper. I generally ignored the peasants and focused on the councils and their lawmen. Maybe I can get an idea on what to do for the first issue of the worshippers. It’s… big. So big its daunting, but I swear we’ll find a way Nurien.”
“I love you too Lila. How about the second one?”
Lila sighed in my mind, “No idea, let me think about it. Maybe we could at least make sure they’re aware its coming, but the traitor in Nysten part makes me wonder who we can trust, if anyone.”
“Anything else?”
Lila said sultrily, “Yes, it’s been entirely too long, so as soon as I find a secure place far from this church’s bastion, I’ll be calling on you.”
“Can’t wait.”
Lila sounded smug, “Me either.”
I sighed as Lila’s presence moved from my mind, and I missed Ebony.
The last month she’d fed me a book or two a night, depending on how large they were. Eventually, we’d finally exhausted the resources of the mage library in Tenemin castle yesterday. We’d come up with the idea of checking out the mage library in the mage school in the crown city. She was currently travelling north, and it would take her a couple of days to get there, even flying.
Once she was there, she’d be able to teleport back and forth, but the first time she needed to get there the hard way. I hoped the trip was worth it, my magical education was definitely at the master level now for all six spheres, but I was still hungry to learn.
I let my mind wander around the dungeon, the guild, and the tavern, listening for gossip. I was sure I hadn’t heard anything about a large scale invasion yet. I put a portion of my will on the problem, and let it work on it in the background while I did all my normal stuff.
The undead knight sunk slowly into the stone as her spell took effect. She grinned as Timothy knocked it’s head off with his mace which glowed with light magic.
April, Selene, and Timothy were on the tenth floor, with the enhanced undead mobs.
Timothy sighed, “Thanks April, these things are a fucking nightmare. I hope no necromancers ever come here to do research.”
April laughed, “This dungeon is kind of scary smart, I’ve never heard of undead this tough, except maybe a lich.”
Selene frowned, “Do you think that’s even possible? I mean the necromancer learning from the dungeon part.”
April nodded slowly, “If the necromancer has good enough diagnostic spells, he can read what magic that they’re made of and what the magic’s doing. Then it’s a simple matter of reverse engineering the spells. Well, not so simple, but more than possible.”
Timothy grunted, “I’m surprised there aren’t dark mages already here.”
Selene made a face, “They’re mostly anti-social, aren’t they?”
April giggled, “If by anti-social, you mean evil and living alone in their lairs, then yes.”
That was disturbing to me, were dark mages really so far outside of society? I also didn’t see dark magic as evil, undead weren’t evil either, at least not on their own. Actions counted. Or was I fooling myself, or just not human enough to understand their morality?
They moved into the next room which had three skeletons, and an undead mage.
Selene cast protection from dark magic, which didn’t help much when the mage cast an air bolt and knocked Timothy onto his ass.
April cursed and then cast a tornado, which was impressive, and a spell I hadn’t seen her use yet. The tornado picked up the mage and three skeletons and spun them around as Timothy got up.
Selene switched to adept level light bolts to burn out the dark magic, but the protections I’d set up made them only partially effective.
April asked, “Ready Timothy?”
Timothy nodded, and then April surprised me again, and cast an earth bolt which knocked one of the skeletons out of the tornado, and dropped it right in front of Timothy who swung his mace as hard as he could. Metal coated ribs fractured and broke as the mace smashed the skeleton into two pieces.
Selene fired her sixth bolt, which finally took out the mage. Two seconds later, April’s tornado died and the remaining two skeletons attacked. I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or not, but the three of them had no trouble cleaning up the last two mobs.
April said, “That was kind of fun.”
Selene nodded, “They’re tough, but still dumber than stumps.”
Timothy snickered as he let Selene tend to his arm, which had been hurt when he’d been knocked down.
They continued to banter, and didn’t talk about anything else of note, so my primary focus wandered down to the gnomes.
The gnomes were making real progress on the golems, I figured they still had a month left or so on it, based on the empty spots left without enchantments, but they had completed several more traps that I made plans for, integrating them into the dungeon.
My plans about the most important issue, Jennesar’s invasion and revenge against my enemies by stealing their worshippers, hadn’t made any progress. Well, I had time, and I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Chapter Eleven
Catalina sighed and stretched. One of those full body stretches that felt so good. She was pleasantly sore, and cuddled up with Mina who she adored. It was hard not to, Mina was a sweetheart, and so genuinely nice that she’d thought it might be an act at first. She was absolutely stunning, her voluptuous body, and the classic flawless beauty of her face. She was overwhelmed by it, especially since her lover’s beauty was so much more than skin deep.
She’d be jealous, but the woman was far from a snob about it, and didn’t even flirt and abuse it. How could she be jealous, when Mina chose to share her bed. The last month had been good for them both, and she’d grown even more in power and confidence, breaking through to adept level two as her control improved from using magic all day, and slowly caught up to her knowledge and power.
Not only were her spells stronger, but they were easier to cast and consumed less magic, even though the magic in her body had grown as well from daily practice. Mina too had advanced, and was journeywoman level three along with Suzy. Jerrold had finally broken through to adept as well, and was one level below her.
Which kind of shocked her, since Jerrold had been two levels above her when they started just a few months ago. They were still on level eight, which was getting boring day after day, but neither her nor Jerrold wanted to risk Suzy and Mina on level nine which was adept level two. The ambushes were almost easy now, since Mina just created a large thick ice wall for cover to cast spells from, the archers and the demon mage had trouble targeting them. That meant the four of them could focus on taking the two warriors down fast, and then switch to the others. Jerrold’s armor was good enough to take an arrow or two without great risk.
She smiled down at Mina’s face as her lover continued to sleep. She knew it wouldn’t last forever, but she couldn’t imagine her life without the sweet water mage in it. Mina was fierce with her spells in the dungeon, but a complete pussycat otherwise.
She supposed she’d stared long enough, and woke her lover with a teasing and lingering kiss.
Mina moaned, “That’s a good way to wake up.”
She laughed, “I could think of one better,” and started to kiss down her lover’s nubile and supple body.
When she got down to Mina’s generous breasts, the water mage arched under her ministrations, and moaned softly. Mina was so responsive to the touch of her lips and fingertips, it was a surrender of a sorts, as Mina gave her body to Cat’s attentions without reservation.
“I love you Catalina,” she said softly.
They both froze for a moment, both surprised by the admission they’d avoided until that moment, and then Cat replied, “I love you too.”
/> Mina sighed, “I know this can’t last, you have responsibilities.”
She was undecided for a moment, on if to complete her way down to Mina’s moist soft center, but decided to stop and continue the conversation instead. For that moment anyway.
“I do, but not for a long time. I want to reach master level five before I settle down, and that could be years from now. I don’t know if you’ll be around that long, but…” she trailed off.
She figured it would take at least another one or two years to reach master level one, and then it would take possibly another eight to ten to reach level five. Master levels were extremely hard to advance in. Her quick advancement the last few months would no doubt taper off, as her control finally caught up to her knowledge and would start growing together.
She could do it faster with complete focus, but she knew she’d be dragged away from the dungeon on occasion, she did have other duties after all, if only the occasional ball to network with the other nobles.
Mina looked at her closely, “I know it will be many years before you become duchess, but what about an heir. You’ll wait until thirty before starting a family? Don’t get me wrong, if it was up to me you’d never escape me.”
She grinned, “Ditto. How about you be my mistress. I can make my husband sleep in a separate room.”
Mina laughed, “You’re an evil woman. Is it wrong that’s actually tempting for me?”
She asked, “Do you not like men at all, or want a family?”
Mina made a face, “There’s a reason I don’t flirt, this face and body draws enough attention as it is from those quarters. I am attracted to men, but they’re so… shallow at our age. But yes, I suppose I do want a family eventually, but I want you too. Let’s just enjoy it, and see where it goes, but never forget I do love you, no matter what happens.”
She supposed she would have to live with that, it was all she could really offer anyway. It wasn’t Mina’s fault their relationship had a time limit on it. Splitting up in a few years was also infinitely preferable to the alternative, after all, either of them could die tomorrow in the dungeon. She brushed that thought off, not wanting to ruin the moment.
She smiled, “Good idea, now where was I?”
Mina started to moan softly again, just a few seconds later…
They were all on horses just two hours later riding through town, and she was very relaxed if a little sore. Mina had more than reciprocated when Cat was done with her. They’d been down at breakfast only a half an hour ago, and had barely started to eat and discuss the upcoming day, and any new spells, when a soldier came up to her and Jerrold and handed over messages to both.
They’d both read them and exchanged looks. The Duke was recalling them both to the castle for some reason, she wasn’t sure what yet. He hadn’t put in the letter, which meant it was probably sensitive. She also didn’t think this was about him worrying about her dungeon diving, since in that case Jerrold wouldn’t have been recalled as well.
After a quick discussion, they’d decided to take Mina and Suzy with them. If nothing else, they were a very close and formidable team, they were also her best friends, and in Mina’s case even more than that. Suzy and Mina were both Ladies of the court, so they wouldn’t feel out of place either.
When they got back, and came into the castle, the chamberlain gave them instructions to change into something more suitable before presenting themselves to her father. She supposed mage robes and steel armor wouldn’t do.
After a quick bath, she slipped into a dark blue dress she knew looked good on her, and went to greet everyone else in the guest wing. She was curious, as she’d never seen Mina in anything but mage robes, which she wore well.
When she saw Mina a red dress, with her long soft raven hair that seemed to flow over and caress all the curves of her body that the dress revealed, she forgot to breathe for a moment. She was beautiful in mage robes, but in a court dress and heels she was ravishingly stunning. She suddenly truly understood why Mina didn’t flirt, she didn’t have to. She absolutely dripped sex appeal without effort, when her carriage and light smile suggested sweet innocence instead. Considering her own immature reaction of not being able to tear her eyes away, she imagined men did act rather shallow around her.
She finally took a breath and smiled, “You look wonderful Mina.”
“You too princess, I love that dress on you.”
Suzy cleared her throat, and she looked over. Suzy was looking beautiful as well, the light blue dress complimented and made her blue eyes pop, and her blonde hair was up in a beautifully arranged bun.
She grinned, “You look great Suzy.”
Suzy shook her head in amusement, “Thanks princess, you too.”
Jerrold cleared his throat, “Shall we meet with your father?”
She sighed, and nodded, “I suppose.”
Jerrold snickered, and she led them back to the royal wing, and to her father’s study, all while trying not to gape at Mina like a smitten idiot.
When she knocked, the door opened and her father hugged her quickly, and smiled in greeting to everyone else.
“Let’s do this in the private dining room, it’s going to take a while and I already let them know there’d be lunch for five.”
“Alright father, what’s this about?” she asked as they started to walk.
He said, “Let’s wait until we’re seated, and we have protections up.”
She nodded, and on a whim took Mina’s hand, which seemed to surprise her lover, but Mina didn’t pull her hand away. There were political reasons not to show their relationship in court and at court functions, but they were in the private wing, and she wanted her father to know. She wasn’t ashamed of her relationship with Mina, and it was bound to get out eventually. Better she tell him now, although she’d be surprised if the canny old man didn’t have spies watching her every move.
As she’d suspected, her father didn’t even bat an eye as he saw their hands together, and they all sat around the small table. She cast an air spell to ensure spies couldn’t overhear, and then waited for her father to speak.
He said, “Several of our spies in Jennesar have been killed, but one of them managed to get out to report. Jennesar seems to be planning an invasion, they’re training an army of twenty thousand soldiers about fifty miles south of the border. It’s a miracle they managed to hide it even this long, they’ve been gathering and training in a large out of the way valley many miles from the main roads, and as far as we can tell they’ve been training for two weeks to a month already. That gives us maybe a month or two, no longer, before we’re invaded.”
She wasn’t sure what to think, but Jennesar must have been very determined to stop all their spies if it took this long to figure out.
“Why now, do you know?”
Her father shrugged, “Not sure, they’ve raided us before. I doubt this is about the dungeon though, or not just their desire to destroy it. It’s clearly a full war effort, and they’ll probably want to annex Nysten into Jennesar when all is said and done.”
Jerrold asked, “What do you want us to do?”
He said, “The king is already aware by messenger bird, and told me he could conscript, and send all the troops he already has except the reserves, somewhere around ten thousand. We here, can do about half of that once we conscript. So, we’ll be facing them at four to three odds in favor of Jennesar. That doesn’t include the mages, priests, clerics, and warriors, which will probably outnumber ours as well.
“To answer your question Jerrold, the king decided your due some more responsibility, and so is my daughter. I want the two of you to work with the military on getting people conscripted and trained. That isn’t what this meeting is about though, as that’s simple enough. Just give the orders and make sure they’re doing it, and replace people if necessary. You’re also going to prepare and enhance our current defenses to make up for the discrepancy in numbers. That’s what we’re going to discuss.
“When t
he attack comes, both the king and I will be on the field as well, for morale reasons if nothing else.”
She nodded, and realized it would be a while before she got back to the dungeon this time. Fucking Jennesar, bastards.
She said angrily, “Alright, how about the forts on the southern border? If at all possible father, we should try to force a battle away from the city, or even before they can burn our crops and the surrounding small towns.”
Jerrold said, “I agree, let’s force them to face us on the border, they won’t dare pass and leave an enemy army that large behind them. Still, we should split up just in case, defending we can kill far more than the attacker. Say, ten thousand in the forts, and five thousand in the city just in case?”
The duke shook his head, “If we leave just ten thousand in the fort, they can just surround the forts with half their army, and march the rest in. You won’t have the strength to sally forth and hit them from behind, especially if their mages make quick and dirty fortifications. It’s probably best to fight them there, or not at all.”
“Not at all?” she asked.
Her father shrugged, “I just mean, that if they win that battle, we might as well surrender, because after that the deaths would be pointless, we’ll have already lost. We can’t match their numbers, so we have no choice but to defeat them at once. But that’s not going to happen, because we’re going to plan and be ready for them.”
She shook her head stubbornly, “I’m not going to let that happen either. Let’s get to work.”
The planning took most of the day, and was tentative only. There were two forts a mile north of the border, nestled in a valley way too wide for her comfort, but it was also the best place to face them. They had to go through that valley, the terrain was nigh impassable otherwise. They planned to dig breastworks and pits across the valley, so they’d be forced to face their forces. There would be six thousand soldiers in each fort, and a highly mobile harrying force of three thousand split up into six groups of five hundred with some of their best mages and warriors.