"A good mage?" Elzen snickered at the underplaying of the owl's importance, not to mention Sebastian's skills. "He put you down without breaking a sweat, I heard."
Scowling at the smaller, much younger mage, Jeriah complained, "He cheated using that sword and those runes. Everyone knows it."
Falcondi Yenesti cleared his throat and tried to rein in the two mages before words turned into actions. Like many soldiers, often mages resolved their disputes with fists or even swords. He didn't need the problems associated with men who hated each other, though they weren't to that point yet. "Let the past remain in the past. We've all been briefed on the situation, if we can truly consider it to be one. Sebastian didn't show up this morning as planned, so we are taking immediate action to make sure that nothing is wrong. We are heading to Red Hall, who still we presume are friends. These are our people and some of us may have even been trained there in the past.
"Don't go in accusing anyone there of foul play, as you called it. We are there on the premise that we will help teach the owl's spells to the wizards and mages there. There are students that we need to be good examples to and not come off as ruffians, you two," he finished directing his thoughts at the two falcons.
"If there is a problem there," a wizard wearing black with silver trim on his clothing spoke up to add to the falcondi's words, "I can work with Imen among the wizards. He is capable of diplomatic magic though he wears the red."
He indicated a wizard that appeared to be a fire wizard. Imen was about average height and size for a Southwall male as was Deremas, the diplomacy wizard. In Kardor, they didn't use the very passive sounding description for such wizards' magic. There they were often referred to as coercers or enchanters. The latter made their powers over the mind sound almost pleasant, but Ashleen had heard rumors of what they could truly do. Sebastian's younger sister was an adept diplomacy wizard as well, though she was only thirteen and new to the magic. The young girl was perhaps as much a genius with magic as her brother, maybe more so considering she was quite capable after only a few months' study at White Hall.
The last wizard was the only female to join them. She wore water wizard blue robes and a cloak. Treya was the only one that Ashleen was familiar with thanks to the woman being a portal wizard also. Their paths had crossed many times at the fire wizards' courtyard where the protected portal was kept, but also a few other times when Sebastian had been studying things related to that magic.
Falcondi Yenest let the wizard's words stand and the man nodded to Treya. "You are our expert on portals. If he is missing, can you track to see if his magic can be found?"
Treya looked a bit uncomfortable at the question, but she replied, "I have studied Sebastian's trick with maps. I can't say that I am as good at it as he, but it shouldn't be too hard if he has been removed from Red Hall. Like the portal stones, I should be able to lock onto his magic to find him.
"If he is locked away somewhere closer inside of Red Hall, it might not work though."
The falcondi gestured at the falcons near her and said, "They can all track. That is the other reason we have these three falcons in particular. They can all use Sebastian's magic to teach other mages, but are well trained in using tracking magic. It would be hard to keep him hidden, again that is only if Sebastian is indeed missing."
Ashleen wanted to make the man retract the last statement. They were still playing it as going to Red Hall with the belief that Sebastian was all right. He was hours late now. She had never known Sebastian to be so tardy and he had never slept longer than her, except when he was injured or drained near to death from overuse of magic.
While the last could certainly make the girl say there was a slight possibility that she was over reacting; her mind was unconvinced and her gut told her something was wrong.
"Then we have covered the likely possibilities," Deremas spoke keeping his voice from sounding anxious, but Ashleen could feel it starting to build in those being sent to find the falcon. "We should hurry to Red Hall as soon as possible then."
The ten moved to the portal gate and waited for the two wizards waiting for them to charge the spell to open the glowing doorway. The mages led the way with only Yenest left to follow the wizards as the team's leader.
Arriving in Red Hall, Ashleen blinked away the lights caused by the silver light of the void. No matter how many times she used the magic doorways, the young woman always found herself a bit off balance as her mind tried to recalibrate to her new surroundings. The stone walls were similar to those of a courtyard, but the stone ceiling and floor quickly reminded her of Red Hall's decision to have Sebastian build the gate inside of their castle.
Arrows were aimed at the group as they exited the portal. Wizards and mages could be seen above them as well waiting to destroy an enemy force. It was one of the few times that Ashleen felt worry upon exiting one of the protected gates. Since they were unsure of Red Hall's true allegiance thanks to the unknown welfare of Sebastian, she didn't know if they would use the defenses to destroy their little group until the gate safely faded away and they remained unharmed.
A relieved breath from Elzen to her left meant that she wasn't the only one worrying that they might be walking back into a trap.
As a pair of wizards hurried through the currently empty space once occupied by the gate looking a bit flustered as well, Ashleen wondered what had happened to make them look much the way that she felt. One of them was the earth wizard, Orlen, and his eyes looked troubled.
"Y-you're h-h-here," he proclaimed with a nervous stutter. The man had never had the speech impediment during the days she had interacted with him and it made her nervous. Perhaps Sebastian had had an accident after all, the girl worried.
"Is something wrong, Orlen?" Ashleen spoke before anyone technically in charge could ask the same or perhaps a less loaded question instead.
The man had trouble looking her in the eyes or anyone there for that matter. Luckily the second wizard, a diplomacy one she noted, was there to assist him.
"High Wizard Wyman sent us to wait for you should you appear. We didn't send anyone to Hala since... well I am afraid that I don't know exactly what to say actually.
"If you would follow us, I am sure that the high wizard can better fill you in on whatever had him send us to greet you."
Ashleen spoke up even as she felt Wizard Deremas' hand rest on her shoulder in warning. They all knew that she was too worried to likely hold back and the wilder wondered if the diplomacy wizard had been sent to keep her in check as much as anything else. Even so, the girl asked, "Where is Sebastian? Will we find him with Wyman?"
She had dropped the honorific for the school's lead wizard and received frowns from both wizards as they acted like she had insulted them.
"High Wizard Wyman can best inform you on everything. It is probably best to save your questions for him. As the leader of Red Hall, he can tell you anything that you want to know or get the answers for you," the diplomacy wizard stated curtly and turned to make them follow without answering her question. The man subtly touched the earth wizard's elbow as he turned making Orlen follow at nearly the same point.
Realizing that their escort would no longer interact with them, the ten followed the wizards even as most of their eyes also searched their path. Eyes went to the walls and mock towers surrounding them before looking beyond the two wizards at the far doors. Every shadow and curtain gave them reason to worry, but after following a few hallways and climbing a couple flights of stairs they arrived in front of a pair of regal looking doors. It wasn't hard to remember that the school was created inside of a former lord's castle. Such a place had rooms and doors reminiscent of the king's castle in Hala.
Before they could think to ask the guards at the doors to admit them inside, the doors opened quickly releasing a pair of brown shirted falcons who hurried past the ten with barely a glance. Their faces looked serious and that did little to assuage Ashleen's nervous energy. A little pop of electricity zapped Elzen, who man
aged to stifle his yelp but rubbed his arm.
Giving the girl an irritated look, the boy said quietly but from a respectable distance, "What was that for, Ashleen?"
"Sorry, Elzen, I have trouble holding it inside when I am nervous or worked up," she replied leaning towards him as the wilder focused to restrain her magic. "Since I am both at the moment, my focus is a little off."
"Well, focus harder, that hurt," Elzen demanded as the falcon's eyes wandered to the scene beyond the doors. It looked like a war room being led by an old, white haired man in wizard robes of white. "Do you do that to Sebastian often?"
The thought elicited a little giggle that Ashleen barely felt before replying, "Often enough that I think he is becoming immune to it."
Ignoring her answer beyond a nod, the falcon mused, "I wonder what is going on? That is a lot of activity for a school where very little should demand this kind of running around. There were wizards and mages alike in there."
"Falcondi Yenest, to see High Wizard Wyman," the falcondi stated to the guards. Guards were a rarity in a school also making the atmosphere outside the high wizard's chamber even stranger.
The men looked unimpressed until the diplomacy wizard added, "The high wizard is expecting the group from Hala."
With the wizard's confirmation, the men reluctantly went to pull the handles. One of the men said, "Some of you might be better off waiting outside. There is a lot of traffic today. You might get in the way."
Yenest waved off the escort, but Ashleen, Serrena and Elzen didn't stop while Deremas accompanied them like a shadow at the wilder's opposite shoulder from the mage. They entered a large chamber that might have once been a smaller audience chamber for the lords, but it had multiple desks and walls of shelving loaded with scrolls and books now.
The white haired man didn't even seem to notice them as he was still giving orders to a pair of wizards. No one below the full rank of wizard or falcon could be seen. In a school where apprentices often trained under the man to learn the more mundane work of a wizard's office, it was a little surprising for all but Ashleen. She hadn't been trained in a large school. Her training had come under a single wizard for the most part in a less formal setting.
"High Wizard, a group from Hala has arrived. The ones who were with the mage yesterday are included," the wizard pronounced. Orlen had slunk to the side looking almost guilty in his attempt to remain away from their focus. When Ashleen's eyes fell upon him, the man seemed to cringe.
Looking away from the wizards he had been speaking to, the old man merely nodded. He had a couple more things to say to the wizards who rushed out of the room taking two more with them. That left the white wizard, a falconi, a falcondi, and two other wizards to look at the new arrivals.
"Yes, we expected someone would come," Wyman stated without much reaction to those in front of him.
Ashleen wanted to yell at the man, who appeared too calm for her agitated state. She felt Deremas' hand on her shoulder and barely heard the whisper of unknown words before his magic flowed into the woman. Calming a bit, or more accurately her mind felt like it dulled slightly, the wilder held her tongue and was unsure if she could still even speak as the man controlled her at least to some point.
Yenest spoke up for the group as leader saying, "We were sent to assist with the training, but we expected to see Falcon Sebastian upon our arrival. He had actually made us believe that he would come to Hala to bring us via a portal."
Said without actually inquiring, the high wizard had been around too long to be fooled or baited into continuing the attempt to skirt the issue they were thinking about.
"We expected that as well and for him to be here to continue the classes for our wizards and mages, but for some reason he isn't here," the old man frowned and his white goatee contracted around his mouth with the act. "It was a worry for us as well as you, I am sure. We sent an apprentice to check on him. His room was empty, though his pack, boots and jacket remained behind.
"Since we noticed that he was missing, our people have been combing the castle and we've even sent others into town to see if they could pick up any more clues to his whereabouts."
Looking perplexed, Falcondi Yenest asked, "Was there a struggle or signs of magic left behind as well?"
Wyman nodded towards the diplomacy wizard who had brought them into the room. "Diomar, tell them what you found."
Returning the nod to the school's leader, Diomar brushed his fingers through his brown hair. For a diplomacy wizard to show a sign of nervous energy meant one of two things, he was worried enough to let the motion slip or he meant to reveal it to them. Ashleen knew enough of his kind to know that they rarely did anything not designed to be noticed even if it was quite subtle.
"A collection of wizards have already used every bit of magic we have to try and discover what might have happened to the mage. There was no sign of any kind of magic that we could find, except one that we couldn't identify at first."
Ashleen wanted to shout at him to tell them immediately, but her emotions were dulled by the man holding her shoulder. She wanted to rage or lash out at Deremas as well for controlling her like some dog on a leash. Luckily, for the man, his control was enough to prevent that also.
"What were your findings then?" Deremas questioned his local counterpart.
"We are fairly certain that there was a portal formed in the room. Since we only have a few novices at the art, we can't be sure where it led. Our people have been searching the castle and local city, but so far no one has found anything. If there is a second portal, we might not ever find it with only a few that can search for the magic."
Serrena asked the question that Ashleen would probably have if she could, though in a surprisingly calm way. "Don't you have anyone from a gate team in Red Hall? Even if they can't open a portal, they could track one down for you, especially if they remained local."
"They?" Wyman queried with a crinkle of his brow. "We haven't confirmed that it wasn't the mage who left of his own volition. If you are saying they, then you believe that he was kidnapped? There was no sign of a struggle; perhaps he simply used the magic to go somewhere that he didn't tell anyone about?"
The man pushed a button that the fire wizard couldn't ignore and Ashleen wondered if Deremas wished that he was using his magic on the fiery woman instead. "We can very much assume that someone else did this. Sebastian wouldn't worry..." she started to gesture towards Ashleen but controlled herself enough to hide the relationship as she amended, "his team like that. He was supposed to meet us this morning in Hala and since he didn't appear there, we can assume that someone took him."
"Without using any other magic?" the high wizard countered with a raised eyebrow that called her into question. "Has the young man ever taken off without telling anyone before?"
Serrena opened her mouth wanting to say that he hadn't, but glanced to Elzen and Ashleen knowing that wasn't exactly true, not even close. "He wouldn't to the point of ignoring his duties. Sebastian has used portal magic for other missions the same day without telling us, but never failed to show up on time because of them."
"Ah, so this mage they are calling owl has a habit of doing what he wants? That could be a problem. Can we continue to assume that there was foul play, if he has done this before?" Wyman questioned and even through Deremas' spell, Ashleen's anger slipped through.
A sharp pain as a pulse of electricity shocked his hand made the wizard pull his hand away in surprise releasing the spell in the moment.
Ashleen looked very angry very quickly and spoke before the diplomacy wizard could recover. "If you play this off as anything other than someone kidnapping him from your school, you will be labeled a fool forever."
This statement made the white wizard surprisingly irate. "Young lady, we have suffered your presence here because the falcon requested it, but that doesn't give a Kardorian any rights here..."
Her temper made lightning bounce across her skin. Deremas became wary of trying to touch the wild
er again as Ashleen interrupted Wyman, "Rights? I have more rights to him than you do! Sebastian wouldn't do something to make me worry about him without warning. Yes, he has done things that would make anyone's heart want to stop at times, but when he says that he will be somewhere, he is there.
"If you want to pretend that someone just took the most important asset your country has to placate your pride momentarily, fine; but when King Alain finds out that you were the fool who didn't take it seriously, where will you find yourself? I doubt that it will be as the head of something as important as a school!"
"F- fool...?" the man started turning red with rage. "You impudent little...!"
Deremas and Diomar responded even as the wilder began to lose control. Words were mumbled under the wizards' breath and a fog seemed to settle over the room trying to calm everyone's nerves. Ashleen glared at the wizard for only a moment before feeling the dulling fog like his touch spell. The high wizard was no more immune than the wilder and his retort stopped short as if he had forgotten what he had been about to say.
Nodding to his counterpart to continue, Deremas said calmly, "We will just have to continue to investigate as if this is indeed a kidnapping, until or unless Sebastian returns to change that assumption. If you don't mind, high wizard, my team can assist in the investigation. Wizard Treya has a few months more experience with portals than your wizards and has even studied with High Wizard Darius. Perhaps she can better tell us who created the portal in his room or at least tell us who has not."
He looked at Treya who looked a bit surprised to be named. The diplomacy wizards' spell fog made thinking a delayed process to help keep tempers from getting ahead of calmer heads.
Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) Page 23