In the orc and human slums close to the outer edge of the city, men carried pots with embers that they could pump air into to build fire on their pokers. They would walk between the lamps lighting them, but few made it until dawn as the oil inside was rationed against waste. The lords of Ensolus didn't feel it was worth keeping the streets of slums lit for drunkards who couldn't return home at a normal hour.
Palose looked out the window. He could see the lights in the spires with their apartments cut from the stone. Windows revealed those who were home often elevated to a hundred feet or more. Atrouseon's apartment would be dark for now. His warlocks and wizards were in the small house butted up against the east wall of the cave with him.
Heavy feet were stomping across the floor as Dorgred was acting huffy once again. The fire wizard was often the source of discontent in the house. Palose sensed that he and Wendle had been cooped up in Ensolus for too long.
"What is it now, Dorgred?" the dark mage asked releasing the drape held open by his hand. At night, he preferred covering the large front window of the house. His neighbors didn't need to know his business, but sometimes the young man enjoyed looking out at the strange cave city.
Turning to see the muscular wizard, Palose quickly took in the faces of the rest of his circle gathered there. His newest warlocks looked on the display of the man's temper with disapproving looks, while most of the rest did their best to ignore him. Dorgred had never been completely content staying in Ensolus. The wizard had been trained to fight the Dark One and not to serve someone who served Kolban.
"When you brought me back to life, you said that you wouldn't use that against us to keep us held to you," the man said running his fingers through his thick, curly beard. His dark hair looked black in the lamp light of the room giving him the look of some crazed pirate, but his menacing looks didn't spark any fear in Palose. "We were supposed to protect you from the warlock who gave you life. We did that, so how long are we supposed to remain here?"
It was the matter Palose expected to be aired from the man. While they had worked together for awhile now, the mage could tell that the wizard was discontent. In fact, with Kolban's requests in his head, the mage was glad that it had come up once more.
"I've said that you could leave if you weren't happy here. I don't think anyone expected you to stay forever anyway. If you leave though, where will you go?"
Dorgred blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected the mage to give in so easily. As a group, the wizard had worked with the others doing their best to keep on top of the city. It wasn't easy for the man, however, since he stuck out like a sore thumb in most places. The girls, though pretty, often managed to slip into the circles of warlocks and lords through pretending to be servants. It was amazing how much they could learn just listening to other servants and what was said by important men when they forgot about the people around them. Servants were often ignored like a piece of furniture in the corner.
"If you could open a portal to Southwall, I don't see why I couldn't return home. Even if it has to be by going to some city that has one of your gates, I can meet up with any of the fire wizard guilds. No one knows that I was killed as far as I know. Even if they were told that by one of the ones who survived, I could always say that I was let go in Sileoth or on one of the other islands."
Palose eyed the man showing little of what was on his mind. "Dorgred, have you heard of any seers in Southwall?"
It seemed like a topic used to distract the wizard from his original complaint, so Dorgred scowled at the change in direction a moment before answering, "If you mean like those Visionaries that come up in the histories, I can't say that I have heard of any body of oracles or anything like them. Why? What does that have to do with my leaving?"
"Nothing, maybe everything," the mage replied a bit cryptically. "I have no problem sending you to Southwall. I would make the same offer to Wendle if I had any gates in Kardor, but even if you leave Ensolus you know that we will always be tied to each other in blood, right?"
The idea made the wizard frown again, but he nodded slowly. "I guess that can't be helped. Are you saying that you plan to control me no matter where I go?"
Waving off the thought, Palose explained, "Something Kolban said today has made me curious. I think that he has worries about his life. His body doesn't seem to be deteriorating, so he shouldn't be afraid of dying. Even so, I wonder if there are still people with the gift of sight that could try to read if there will be a big shake up in the world soon. I would think something happening to the emperor would be a big enough event for one of them to see it in a vision or whatever they use to see the future."
"Again, what does that have to do with me and leaving?" the wizard sulked.
"I'd be appreciative if you could look into the matter of finding a seer that could answer a few questions for me when you return to Southwall. I can give you a token that you can break to let me know when you find that information and I can be out of your way again afterwards."
"So you want me to become your spy," Dorgred complained crossing his arms emphatically.
"If looking out for a palm reader or someone more reputable would be considered being a spy, then I guess I am asking for that favor. I don't think remaining cooperative with each other is exactly going to detract from whatever life you think that you can have back in Southwall; though I wonder why you would want to go back if you were set on leaving there in the first place."
He knew enough of Dorgred's reason for being on a ship which was following Sebastian. Chasing after a mission containing a Southwall contingent of wizards and mages on a Kardorian ship was hardly something that would make him believe that the fire wizard had been happy with his place in the fire wizards' guild. He had joined the Kardorian ambassador with the promise of money and a place as the head of a school there. Both power and money were what the wizard had really wanted; even though he often tried make others believe that he had left for more altruistic reasons.
"I regretted leaving Southwall well before things turned sour," Dorgred retorted irritably. "I told Romonus that I wouldn't do anything to betray my country and that I wouldn't let him do anything to endanger Sebastian's mission. I think all of our wizards felt the same. We wanted to keep an eye on that ambassador once he began to show his true colors."
Raising his shoulders in a shrug, the mage countered, "Then this should be something that I would think would fit well with your desires. If you still serve Southwall, then wouldn't it be best to find out if something was coming. Whether something bad is going to happen to Kolban or not, an oracle might give you something to help Southwall if you were to ask the right questions."
"But if I give you that information, you would just pass it onto the emperor. How does that help Southwall?"
"We can edit whatever message you get from the Visionaries. He only needs to know certain things, if a warning is even that detailed with one of them," Palose answered. He knew very little about such people or their magic or even if it was magic. "It is up to you what I tell him. How is that for a bargain?"
Grinding his teeth a moment, Dorgred said, "I guess that will be fine, if that is what it will take to return to Southwall. This cave has become a prison and I would rather be free of this oppressive mountain."
It was a feeling of many living inside the cave that they could feel the weight of the mountain above them. The fragility of an arching stone ceiling at the base of the mountain leant some imaginations ammo that it might collapse during their life time.
"Good then it is settled," Palose nodded sounding surprisingly content with the idea of losing one of his powerful wizards. In fact, the dark mage wished that he could keep them all near him. There was protection in numbers, but realistically they were still too few to truly believe that a mob formed by Ensolus' warlocks wouldn't have enough power to overwhelm them anyway. He doubted that anything that might endanger him would come after him so obviously though. Ensolus was stocked full of rumors of rivals killing each other
with assassins or leaving no real trace at all. It was hard to completely hide foul play from those with magic, but it could be done.
"We'll decide where to try sending you and depending on how things go, maybe you can be back in Southwall before the end of the day tomorrow. I have to check the army in Litsarin, but the frontline has been quiet of late. No one seems to know how to end the stalemate, so I probably won't need to be there that long."
"You could just send me or Oween to check on the wraiths for you," Nalack said a little too easily. Oween gave him a look that said she didn't truly believe that the warlock was so easy going. Both had sworn to join him in exchange for their lives, but even wraiths could exaggerate or lie. Palose didn't doubt that either of them could have said what he wanted to hear without truly meaning it.
"If I don't at least make a brief stop, there are men that might be offended. I also wouldn't want that to get back to the emperor, now would I? It is much better to be on his good side than draw his anger."
Dorgred waved off the excuses and asked Palose, "So you mean it? I can go return to Southwall?"
Giving the wizard a shrug of his shoulders once more, the mage replied, "Didn't I just say I would? I am just asking as a friend to have you look for a seer. If you don't wish to sit with them, just call on me. I'll take over, if you can find one."
Refusing to go round and round on the topic any longer, Dorgred moved to sit on the couch. The pretty blond, Stasia moved to sit by him with a pout on her lips. Though the girl was just sixteen, she and Dorgred had formed a close relationship. While Palose doubted that it was sexual, there was definitely something that made the two tend to confide in each other spending time together often as well.
It would be interesting to see what the girl would do with her friend talking about leaving. Would she wish to go as well? Ensolus had been Stasia's home. The daughter of a lesser noble, who had fallen in bad stead with the emperor or someone with greater power, his daughter had been sacrificed as part of a ritual to send the black ships after Sebastian. She owed no one in Ensolus anything, except for Palose who had brought her back to life.
He would wait to see what the girl would say, since it was inevitable that she couldn't help wanting to talk him out of it in some way. Stasia had been a spoiled rich girl and still had some selfish ways.
Looking at Wendle, Palose noted the man's eyes on him. "If you want to leave Wendle, I could send you to one of Southwall's cities. You could catch a ship back to Kardor or ride there by horse, though I think I'd rather travel by ship during the winter."
"I'll think about it," the lanky young man said. His eyes looked to Talia, the other young woman who had been sacrificed with Stasia months ago giving him his first two experiments in resurrection. The two were close. He knew that the two often shared a bed, unlike the older Dorgred and Stasia.
The little connections between those in his circle meant little to Palose, except for his love of Sylvaine. His other circle members were just necessities to add to his power and safety.
Well, he had one person who could start looking for the elusive oracles of the North's past at least. The mage just wished that he had a better idea of where to start looking for a sect that had seemed to disappear with the Cataclysm. Kolban would have to be satisfied with whatever he could find out, though Palose hated to think what the Dark One would do if he failed him completely.
The dark thought was pushed to the back of his mind as Talia started to bring dinner to the table. Maybe after a full stomach he would think of something better.
Chapter 13- Snowfall
Gerid's return home had come as a surprise. Sherari and her daughter in particular almost acted like they were seeing their family returned from the dead, an unfortunate line of thinking for the mage as he glanced to the resurrected warriors used by Palose.
It was no surprise that they would be asked to stay for dinner. Unofficially Gerid was like the mayor or perhaps a tribal leader since his relationship to both those on land and under the waves was more that of a father to his many children than some politician who barely knew who he helped rule. There was little typical governing needed for the island, though as a former king the immortal knew enough to guide his people when it was needed.
With the largest house, Gerid and his wife often acted like a tavern or inn. Travelers from outside the village or merfolk spending the night might even stay in one of the extra rooms in the large house. Sherari and her daughter, after their initial shock and time of reuniting with their family, began cooking a feast. Melura and Elien joined their mother and grandmother like they had before Sebastian had come to take the Grimnal back to see his descendants in the castle of the same name.
Only the strangeness of Garosh and his men joining them seemed to draw more than casual glances. Sebastian and Serrena had lived among them for over a month, while Ashleen had slept aboard the Kardorian ship but visited often. Rilena and Elzen were more afterthoughts and easily befriended as battle mages had been with him before as well.
The problem of Garosh was explaining why the man was there. They didn't want to cause trouble or alienation by telling Sherari that he was a lost son or a product of the Dark One's meddling either. In the end, Garosh simply said that he had been offered a chance to leave the cold and snow of the north by Gerid and had taken it.
Explaining snow had taken a bit of time until Ashleen had led them out with a grin. "I have a spell that I can use to help show you what snow is. I'm not a water wizard, but luckily I can use air to make it snow with a little water nearby."
Sherari smiled like an older woman humoring a girl. She was a grandmother and had probably heard more than a few foolish things from her children and grandchildren over the years.
"Well, we have plenty of water to work with around here, child. We are on an island after all. If you have the whole ocean at hand, then this spell of yours should be easy enough," the gray haired woman replied with merry, dark blue eyes.
It wasn't until dinner was over, but before any singing and dancing began that the air wizard led the way towards the shoreline.
Looking like she was already adapting to island life, Ashleen had shed her robes and looked like some peasant girl walking on the beach. Her bare feet and legs extended from the cloth shorts she had worn beneath her warm layers of dress. A simple white, sleeveless blouse let the light breeze stirring the air cool her exposed skin.
Sebastian looked at the pretty, young woman with a slight smile as he enjoyed watching her carefree way. He also wondered what spell she would use to create snow and whether it would last long enough for the islanders to get to experience it at all. It was warm like a late spring day just before summer heated the land the last bit to call the weather hot.
"You may want to stand behind me," Ashleen warned with a smile before turning to face the ocean. The sound of waves lapping the shore spread peace through those gathered to watch the wizard's demonstration. It sort of reminded him of the spring wizard's tournament where common men and women could sit beside lords and ladies to watch magic performed in the wizard duels. Few had seen such a demonstration of magic and, for those who were inclined to fear those who could use it; it had been an eye opening, but enjoyable experience. He thought King Alain might try to arrange another one in a few years just to help bridge that gap been wizards and those without magic.
Sebastian could feel a change in the air as Ashleen began chanting her spell quietly. The breeze carried words in a language that few knew. Only wizards knew the words of power. Even battle mages had little to do with it. They used common words to pull a spell from their bodies as they activated the magic within them.
On the water, the wind started swirling fast enough that the waves began to break as they struck the vortex of air as it circled on the surface of the ocean. In a few moments, the water began to lift creating the look of a water spout. It didn't change position for a long time unlike the natural, though rare phenomena. Ashleen controlled this wind even as Sebastian
could feel a slight shift in the breeze as it came off the ocean.
Shifting his magic into his eyes, the mage's senses could make out the flow of power. Though few mages had the sensitivities of a wizard, Sebastian's talents had grown and his feel for magic had as well. Now he could see Ashleen's aura and the extension of it into the air. Her magic radiated from her and from the water spout. He could also feel as the wilder continued to draw strength from the ground. Most wizards would be unable to control the power without a staff, but even that could come with a price. Ashleen did naturally what most could not and somehow managed it without burning up like a match in the flame.
A cool breeze struck his skin as the wizard used the wind from high above to begin to chill the water held in the water spout. It took very little time before the spout changed color. A little subtle, especially in the dim light cast by the first moon, the water was beginning to turn to ice.
Sweeping her hands above her towards shore, Ashleen sent the spout over the watching crowd before dispersing it with a thrust of wind. As the spout shattered, it expanded breaking apart letting the water fall. She had made it cold enough to make the water into snow and Sherari with the other islanders stuck out their hands catching the flakes. Many felt the snow and recoiled with the cold. Few knew of this kind of chill on the island.
Gerid looked at his wife with a smile. Already a woman of more than six decades, Sherari was old enough to have seen many things; but it was the first time his rare stories of his youth finally made sense.
"So this is snow?" the woman said watching the snow land in her hands to melt quickly once again.
Ashleen released the magic flowing through her. It was a spell that would have exhausted a team of battle mages, but for a wizard of her strength it was still a minor thing after having just eaten. Her resources of magic added to her full stomach made it easy to maintain the spell that long and still be fresh enough that she wasn't completely starving for more food.
Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) Page 18