Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two

by Brian S. Pratt

  “I have never heard of their like before.”

  Sighing, James readied a stone, arched his arm back, and threw. A small release of power and the stone struck true. Slamming into the creature’s side, it exploded out the other and the creature fell dead. None of the other stalkers paid the death of one of their own any mind. James readied another stone and began to systematically rid the world of these creatures.

  As the supply of stones gathered the night before diminished, Miko would arrive with another dozen or so, then head off to scavenge for more.

  James much preferred to kill these creatures this way rather than with his assassin spell. He didn’t know why it bothered him so much to kill by slicing and dicing their innards, than with stones and slugs; but it did.

  After a score had fallen he could tell he was making headway. The herd was thinning. Five more and he had to start using the stones Miko had gathered.

  Take a stone, send it flying, watch a creature fall, then ready another. One after another he sent his bullets of death sailing into the mass of stalkers. Between fifty and sixty, he started to unconsciously scratch at his arms after every throw. At sixty-five, Miko noticed and turned to look at the sky.

  Very briefly, the shimmering would appear each time James launched his stones. It would appear for only a brief moment, but after watching five consecutive appearances, knew it was drawing closer. Before James launched another, he laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

  “The shimmering is back.”

  “What?” he said as he turned to Miko. “How? I thought the small amount of magic throwing stones used wouldn’t attract it.”

  “I think we were wrong.” He pointed to the sky where it had appeared. “Throw another stone and watch.”

  Sure enough, when he threw, the shimmering field materialized.

  “I don’t understand. All day yesterday we used stones to clear stalkers from our path and nothing. Yet today, after not having used magic for an extended time, there it is.”

  “Are you doing it differently somehow?”

  James shook his head. “Been doing it the same way since I first came to this world.”

  “Something is different,” Miko insisted.

  “We’re inside a vine patch,” James suggested. When Miko turned a questioning eye upon him, he shrugged. “I don’t know. It seems that is the only thing different.”

  Miko pondered the situation, then summoned Morcyth’s power. Enveloped in the glow, he said, “Not exactly.” The glow extended outward to envelope James. “Try it now.”

  Though dubious, James picked a stalker from out of the mass still surrounding the vine patch, cocked his arm back, summoned magic, and threw. Then he turned to Miko. “Well?”

  “Nothing,” he replied with a grin. “It did not appear.”

  “Let me try it again.”

  Still enveloped by the glow of Morcyth, James sent another stone flying to take out a stalker. When again the tingling failed to afflict him and the shimmering didn’t appear, he nodded. “You may be right. Remove the glow and let me try it again without it.”

  “Okay.”

  Once the glow faded, he took out another stalker. This time, he felt the prickling of the skin and out of the corner of his eye, saw the shimmering appear briefly in the sky to the north.

  “It would seem that not only does priestly magic not draw the shimmering affect, but it can shield the workings of a mage so a mage’s magic will not attract it as well.”

  James shook his head. “When I did my assassin spell, and when I caused the ground to erupt, it appeared even when I was cloaked in your magic.”

  “Try them again and let us see if that is true.”

  “Alright.”

  Enveloped once more in the glow, James concentrated on a spot where half a dozen stalkers milled about. As he let the magic go, prickling ran up and down his skin and he felt the shimmering field seek to undo his spell. Then the ground erupted and the prickling faded.

  “Interesting.”

  “Now your other spell.”

  James cast him a wearied glance. “I really hate that one.”

  “I understand, but we need to know if it, too, produces the shimmering effect or if it is just the one that erupts the ground.”

  “Fine.”

  Concentrating on a stalker, he manifested his miniature killing shield within the beast’s chest. Instantly, the shimmering field appeared and it was all he could do to maintain the spell’s integrity. It lasted but a few seconds, but it was a constant struggle. The beast fell dead and the shimmering field vanished.

  “So, what was it about those two spells that is different than when you cast stones?”

  Shaking his head, James said, “I don’t know.”

  ”Has to be something.”

  “I know it does,” he replied. “I just don’t know…” He paused as a thought entered his head.

  Miko had seen that look on his friend before. He kept quiet so as to allow James a chance to sufficiently grasp what had just crossed his mind.

  After a moment, James held up a stone. “When I cast these, the magic powering the spell begins and ends at my hand. It’s like a bullet and magic is the gunpowder. Once fired, it maintains speed and accuracy on its own. It’s only the initial impetus and targeting that the magic does.”

  “And…?” prompted Miko.

  “And the magic powering the other two spells does not remain right here with me like the stone throwing spell. Magic travels from me to the ground to erupt it. Magic travels from me to the creature where it creates the miniature killing shield.”

  He turned to Miko. “The magic for the stones activates while still within Morcyth’s glow. For the other two, it travels beyond the glow…and that is why the shimmering field appears. Your magic no longer shields it. So, as long as the magic does its thing while remaining within Morcyth’s glow, then the shimmering field should not appear.”

  “Shall we test your theory?”

  “Absolutely. Glow me,” he said with a grin.

  Immediately the familiar white glow of Morcyth enveloped them both.

  James held forth his hand and summoned his orb. No prickling and the sky remained quiet. He gave Miko a grin. Then he caused it to float up off his hand and move away from them. No sooner had it reached the outer boundary of Morcyth’s glow than the prickling began and the shimmering returned. He immediately canceled the orb.

  “Now we know.”

  Miko nodded.

  “We can work with this.”

  While still shrouded in the glow, he resumed using stones to pick off the remaining stalkers. It took some time but when he finished, not a one remained standing.

  “Now, let’s get out of here and high-tail it to Zixtyn.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The sun was well past its apex when a group of riders escorting a carriage bearing an old woman came into view.

  “There they are!” Kip hollered as he raced from his perch atop the hill to where the others waited with the horses.

  “You sure?” Shorty asked.

  He came to a stop. “Yes.”

  Tinok climbed to the top and looked to the road.

  “It’s them all right.” He turned about and came back down the hill. “Let’s go.”

  Potbelly nudged the sleeping Scar with the toe of his boot. “Time to go.”

  Groaning, Scar sat up. “Man, how long was I asleep?”

  Giving him a hand up, Potbelly replied, “All morning.”

  Yawning, he said, “Feels like I just laid down.”

  “Effects of the creature’s poison,” Father Vickor said. “I may have nullified the worst of it and repaired the damage it did, but like I said, you are going to be weak for a few days.”

  His legs trembled and he leaned upon his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll be all right,” he said, gruffly.

  Potbelly grinned. “Of course you will,” he mumbled under his breath. After helping Scar upon his horse and watchi
ng for a moment to ensure he would be able to remain in the saddle, Potbelly mounted his own horse and moved close to Scar’s; just in case.

  Shorty and Kip took charge of the string of horses taken from those Potbelly killed while pretending to be cursed, and those from the vigilantes Tinok, Shorty, and Father Vickor took care of the day before.

  Tinok and Father Vickor rode ahead while the others came at a more measured pace.

  Jiron was the first to see them and kicked his horse into a trot and go out to meet them.

  “We found them,” Tinok announced.

  Standing up in the stirrups, Jiron gazed to those following along behind and counted heads. Seeing all were accounted for, he asked, “How was Scar?”

  “Bad,” Father Vickor replied, then saw the concern in Jiron’s eyes. “But he’ll be fine, if weak for a day or two while his body shakes off the residual effects of the poison.”

  He saw how Potbelly hovered next to Scar and how Scar leaned a bit in the saddle. “Can he ride?”

  “Possibly,” Tinok replied. “Should we put him in the carriage?”

  Jiron chuckled at the thought of Scar sharing the carriage with old Eddra. “Only if we tied him up.”

  When Scar, Potbelly and the others joined them, Potbelly asked, “Back the road a ways is an inn. Did you have any trouble there?”

  “No,” Jiron said, shaking his head. “Should we have?” Then he saw the long line of horses behind Kip and Shorty.

  “Tell you later,” Tinok said.

  Jiron gazed at his friend thoughtfully a moment, then asked, “Anyone going to come looking for those?”

  “Not anytime soon.”

  “Good.” As Potbelly arrived with a wearied Scar, he asked, “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s doing fine,” Scar replied a bit peeved. “If you would all stop treating me like I have one foot in the grave, I’d be doing a lot better.”

  Jiron grinned. “Glad to hear it. Are you up to riding to Zixtyn?”

  “Of course.”

  Potbelly reached over and pulled the shoulder of his shirt to right him in the saddle after he had tilted a bit too far to one side. “You could always ride with Eddra?”

  A quickly dodged backhanded blow said how he felt about that idea.

  The rest of the day passed quickly. Scar gradually grew stronger and by nightfall everyone could tell he was on the way to a full recovery. Eddra wavered in and out of lucidity when she was conscious at all.

  Travel the next day proved rather easy. The lone patrol they encountered was easily dealt with. It’s easy to bluff your way through when you escort an old woman in a carriage. It’s hard to conceive that an invading or spying force would bring such a person along. A simple tale of how they were horse traders from the north and how they were taking Eddra to see her elder sister who lived on the coast while they conducted their business proved very convincing and they were passed through.

  James’ two apprentices kept quiet and mainly to themselves. Kip made salutations to them but other than a few short responses didn’t get much response. Everyone else left them alone except Tinok, who always kept one eye on them anticipating foul deeds.

  Before nightfall, the walls of Hyrryth came into view. While the main group skirted the city, they sent Tinok, Father Vickor, Azhan and Kip in to resupply their rations. Azhan wore his mage’s robe and they experienced little trouble. After buying sufficient rations, cheese wheels, breads, etc. to burden three horses, they rendezvoused with the others some miles farther down the road.

  After that it was a straight shot to Zixtyn. There they hoped to rejoin with James and Miko who Father Vickor insisted have had success and are on their way to meet them.

  “How do you know that?” Kip asked the priest during their time at watch.

  The one-time brawler turned priest shrugged. “I just do. Once the power comes over you, sometimes you simply know something with utter certainty. This is one of those times.”

  Kip nodded slowly. “Is Morcyth speaking to you?”

  “Some believe that is exactly what is happening.” He grinned when he saw his Novice assume a look of awe. “It’s not like you hear his voice or anything, it is simply a certainty down deep in your soul that you know something is true. Hard to explain until you’ve experienced it yourself.”

  Kip nodded again.

  “But that won’t happen until you can summon the glow,” Father Vickor said with grin. “Now, back to it, young Kip.”

  Sighing wearily and wishing he could return to his bedroll, Kip tried to calm his mind and sought the connection with their god.

  Waking with the dawn, James opened his eyes, sat up and listened to his stomach growl. Their supply of food had run out the day before and they were still in the Waste. At least they had passed out of the radiation zone and the last sighting of a stalker had been over twelve hours ago.

  “We need to find food.”

  “So I hear,” Miko replied with a chuckle. When James glanced at him, Miko directed his gaze to James’ middle.

  “What I wouldn’t give for some of Meliana’s tubers right about now.” he stood up and scanned the barren countryside. “Or a pizza.”

  “I figure we are at least a day away from the road,” Miko said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Try your mirror and see if you can find a farmhouse where we can get some food.”

  “In this place? I doubt if anyone lives anywhere near here.”

  “Never know. A quick look should keep the shimmering field from wreaking havoc with your magic.”

  James opened his pack and pulled out the cloth-wrapped mirror. “Keep an eye out and I’ll see what I can find.”

  Miko nodded and turned northward to watch for any shimmering disturbances.

  Concentrating on finding a farmhouse or any sort of nearby human abode, he gathered magic to him then when the vision was set in his mind, let the magic go.

  His reflection grew indistinct then blurred altogether before an aerial image of their location came into view. Magic pulled the image first one way and then another. Finally it settled over a farmhouse that had seen better days. It looked abandoned.

  “It is approaching,” Miko announced. “Better hurry.”

  “Right.”

  Pushing the image away, James sought another, more promising location. But by the time Miko said, “Almost here,” and the prickling of his skin commenced, he hadn’t found anything better. He canceled the magic and the mirror returned to normal.

  “There’s a house that way,” James said, pointing to the southeast, “though I don’t think it will yield any food.”

  “We can check. Could be some dried beans or something left behind we can use.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Wrapping the mirror back in its cloth and then returning it to his pack, James slung it over his shoulder and they started toward the farmhouse.

  It didn’t take long before it appeared in the distance. Most of the roof was gone and a wall was seriously bowed in.

  “Still think we might find something?”

  Miko shrugged. “Never know. Worth a look and it is not out of our way.”

  A mostly intact corral in the back and a few outlying buildings said the farmer had really tried to make a go of it.

  “Wonder what happened to them?”

  “Who knows?” James replied. “Hope it wasn’t the stalkers that did them in.”

  “Could be.”

  The front door was off its hinges and laid upon the ground before the doorway. Stepping over it, they went inside.

  A table and three chairs sat in the middle of the room with a kitchen off to one side. An open doorway led to what looked to be the bedroom.

  “You check the cupboards,” James said, “and I’ll see what’s in the other room.”

  “Alright.”

  A bed, a chair and a small bedside table were all that he found. “There’s nothing,” he announced before returning to the kitchen. Sitting in a ch
air, he watched Miko open the last two cupboards only to find cobwebs and dust.

  “I guess you were right,” Miko said. Coming to the table, he sat and sighed.

  “Tired?”

  Miko nodded. “A little. Would not mind a horse right about now.”

  “I know. Days of walking kind of takes it out of you.”

  His feet were a bit tired and travel weary. A car with a full tank of gas wouldn’t be bad either. Then his gaze traveled to the front doorway and the door lying on the ground outside. His thoughts flashed back to when he was first on this world and his initial foray into magic. He had made a stick hover in mid-air. Why couldn’t he do it with a door? And if a spell will fire a slug with great velocity, why wouldn’t it also push a door along at a decent pace? Combine the two and you have a speedy mode of transport.

  “I got an idea.”

  “What?”

  “Come with me.”

  Getting up, he went outside and with Miko’s help, moved the door away from the house. “I think I can make this fly and carry us.”

  “That would be convenient.”

  “I know. Don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.”

  Once the door was placed safely from any potentialobstacles, he sat just forward of the middle. He had Miko sit just back of middle for balance.

  “Now, this may take some magic, so I will need you to shield my magic with yours.”

  Morcyth’s glow sprang to life, covering not only them but the wooden door as well.

  “Ok, now give me a second.”

  First, let’s get this puppy off the ground.

  Envisioning the door gently rising to three feet from the ground, he let the magic flow. Immediately, the door began to rise. It remained perfectly level. Once it reached the three foot mark, it halted.

  “Not bad,” Miko observed.

  “That was the easy part.” Looking back over his shoulder, James said, “You better hold on for this next part.”

  They both grasped the edges of the door.

  “Ready?”

  From behind, James heard Miko reply, “Ready.”

  “Hold on tight.” Closing his eyes, he pictured the door traveling through the air. Once he had it set in his mind, he let the magic flow.