The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 2

by William D. Latoria

  Happy with his new plan, Tartum scratched Buddy’s head fondly and stood up.

  “Ready for some traveling, Bud?” Tartum asked.

  Buddy looked up at him and barked excitedly. Tartum laughed at his response and began to walk north. Buddy shot ahead of him, barking excitedly. Smiling, Tartum picked up his pace a little. He discovered he was excited about this new direction his life had taken. For the first time in his life he was free of the burdens of responsibility and duty. The idea that he now answered to no one but himself was empowering, and Tartum found himself wondering what had taken him so long to become his own man.

  Pulling his spell book out of his pack Tartum thumbed through it to the next page needing to be unlocked. Opening himself to the magic he began to channel into the book. He was looking forward to seeing where this new path of his life would lead him and hoped that unlocking a new spell would help speed him along in his journey to its climax.

  CHAPTER 33

  Over the next two weeks, Tartum and Buddy traveled north. Tartum found this journey to be vastly more enjoyable that his previous one. Buddy was wonderful company, and it turned out, an accomplished hunter. At dusk, Tartum would find them a suitable area to make camp for the night, and Buddy would disappear into the brush. The first night he had done this, Tartum was beside himself with concern. He thought Buddy had run away, and the loss was almost more than he could handle. Tartum had called out for him but heard nothing but silence in response. He had been just about to search for him when Buddy walked back into camp with a large rabbit in his mouth. The relief Tartum felt when Buddy returned was only matched by how impressed he was with his pet’s ability to procure food. After cooking the rabbit, Tartum and Buddy shared the meal and washed it down with the water from a nearby stream. After their meal, Tartum continued studying his spell book while Buddy busied himself with gnawing on the bones of the night’s dinner, eventually curling up and sleeping at Tartum’s side. Once exhausted, Tartum set up his magical barriers, to keep out any unwelcome visitors, and fell asleep next to his friend until the sun woke them both up the next day.

  After a week on the road, Tartum had been elated when he unlocked another spell from his spell book. The spell was called Cleanse, and at first, Tartum thought it was some sort of healing magic. After a closer look at the details of the spell his elation disappeared as it was replaced with disappointment. The spell required a small amount of aloe which happened to be a very common plant in the area he was traveling through. Tartum would infused the aloe with magic and then wipe a small amount on his forehead. Then he would recite the words, “Eth-bereth yee-oond!” The spell immediately removed all traces of dirt and grime that was on his flesh and his clothes. It was a useful spell that would save him the time and effort of bathing, but as for any kind of offensive or defensive capability he saw none. He tried the spell on Buddy shortly after unlocking it and found it worked on him just as well as it had worked on him. It even removed a few fleas and ticks that had been hiding in his fur. While it wasn’t the earth shattering, all powerful spell he had hoped to discover, he grudgingly admitted the spell did have its uses. The admittance tempered his disappointment and made him feel better about unlocking the new spell. If nothing else, at least he wouldn’t feel grimy anymore.

  His minor dissatisfaction aside, he was finding his new found freedom very much to his liking. The only real complaint Tartum had was that they had encountered no towns or villages as they traveled. He was sure Varnar had told him there were many places to stop along the way, but so far they had seen no sign of civilization. As it was, Tartum was running very low on glass shards, if they didn’t find a town soon, he would run out of his spell component and would be unable to barricade their camp at night. They would be left exposed with nothing protecting their slumber but the wind and stars. Tartum found the idea unsettling.

  The sun began to set on the day that marked the end of his second week on the road. Tartum found a good spot near a quick flowing river to make camp for the night and set himself to the task of gathering firewood. Buddy brought down a large raccoon this night, just as Tartum had finished setting up his cooking fire. Cooking and cleaning Buddy’s kill was now second nature to him, and within the hour they were both chewing on roasted coon.

  After finishing their meal, Tartum stood up to begin securing their camp for the night. Reaching inside the pouch that held his supply of glass shards, he found that tonight would be the last night he would be able to cast this spell. Using the last of his shards, he methodically secured their camp and took a seat by the fire. Buddy had finished his meal and was now happily gnawing on the remaining bones. Tartum couldn’t help but smile at the content look on his dog’s face. He found himself wishing he could be as easily pleased as his pet. Rolling over, Tartum listened to the sounds of the river as he drifted off to sleep.

  Tartum awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of a woman screaming for help. His camp fire had died out during the night, and he found himself surrounded by darkness. Buddy was already at his side and growling into the night. Without hesitation, Tartum opened himself to the magic as he leapt to his feet and brought his staff up defensively. Even with his heightened senses, Tartum heard nothing and began thinking he had dreamt the whole thing. Just as he had convinced himself it was all in his head he heard the sound of someone running through the forest nearby. The running sounded frantic; he began hearing the sounds of a woman whimpering as she fled from whatever assailant was after her. Tartum heard the woman run past his camp, stumbling occasionally, as she made her way through the darkness. He did not call out to her or offer his aid; instead, he waited to see if whatever she was running from would make its presence known. He was in no rush to become a hero if it turned out she was being chased by a mob or a ravenous predator. By his logic, it was better to let her death aid in his own escape than to blindly plunge himself into her plight without all the facts.

  It wasn’t long before another set of footsteps could be heard heading after the woman. These other person’s footsteps were much heavier and much faster than the woman’s. The sound left no doubt in his mind that the owner of these new sounds was a man. “So the woman is being chased through the forest in the dead of night by a man.” Tartum thought to himself.

  He found himself torn between making his presence known and going to the woman’s aid and keeping his silence and waiting for more information. He decided to wait until he knew for sure what was happening. For all he knew the man was chasing after his wayward wife or that this was some elaborate game they played. He needed to know more about the situation before making his presence known, so he remained still, waiting to see how this scene played out.

  His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of the woman running into a tree banished the silence of the night. Her startled cry of shock and pain rang out, and Tartum heard her pursuer’s steps hone in on the sound; he was on her in moments. Tartum heard the man grab her and roughly pick her up off the ground.

  “There you are, lass! There’s a good girl now! How’s about a kiss?” the man said. His speech was simple and uneducated. Tartum heard the woman begin to whimper and cry.

  “Please! Please don’t do this! Just let me go, and I swear I won’t tell anyone! Please!” she begged him. Tartum could hear the fear in her voice. He had enough information now to figure out why the woman had been fleeing from this man. He began to advance towards them.

  “Shhhhh…Quiet now, missy. You wouldn’t want to turn this rape into a murder now, would you?” the man asked.

  The woman’s answer was panicked screaming that was instantly silenced by the sound of the man slapping her across the face. Tartum used the sound of the man pulling down his pants to hone in on their location. Pulling out a rose petal from his pouch, Tartum held his staff out in front of him.

  “LIGHT!” he shouted. His staff burst into brilliance and shed light on the scene he had until now only heard. The man had the woman pinned to the ground with one hand w
rapped around her neck. His other hand had been busy lowering his pants before the light from Tartum’s staff and stopped him in his tracks. He stood over her, looking at him with a startled look on his face. The man was very fit and looked to be around thirty years old. He had short cropped black hair with facial hair to match and was dressed like a dock worker. His face was heavily pock marked, and he stunk of fish and sweat. Looking at the woman, Tartum saw she wasn’t a woman at all. The girl who was lying in the dirt couldn’t have been any older than sixteen. She had long blond hair and was wearing a dress typical of a young girl that came from money. The left side of her face was very swollen from where the man had struck her. She was very pretty even with her face half swollen. Tartum could see the girl was very aware of what the man was intending to do to her, and the look of pure terror was plain on her face. Anger began to slowly bubble up inside Tartum.

  “Who is that!? Douse your damn light before I snuff the life out of you, pervert!” the man threatened. Tartum had enough of this. Dropping the rose petal in front of him, he spoke the words to his spell.

  “Moro-yet krat-tu-veyin doro-peth!” he commanded. The rose petal burst into a small orb of fire, and Tartum lowered his staff. With the light of his staff no longer directed at them the man blinked a few times as he tried to focus on Tartum.

  “Who the hell are you?” he asked.

  Tartum did not reply. In the man’s confusion his grip on the girl’s throat slipped, and she took the opportunity to scramble away from him. Tartum watched her panicked flight out of the corner of his eye. She only made it a short distance before she backed into the base of a nearby tree. Paralyzed with fear, the girl stopped moving and looked pleadingly towards Tartum.

  “Please! Help me!” she begged.

  Tartum honored her request.

  “TORROTH-BEI!” he shouted. The fire orb he created shot at the man, and before he could voice his protest, the orb burned through his stomach. The man collapsed to the ground and began flopping around in pain. Tartum had intentionally uttered the suffix on his final word of power to wound the man and not kill him. Walking over to where the girl lay against the tree, Tartum offered her his hand. The girl hesitated only for a moment and then allowed Tartum to help her to her feet. Pulling his jade knife from its sheath, Tartum offered her the hilt.

  “Finish him if you wish, my dear.” Tartum said. His tone was flat and even. He really didn’t care if she killed the man or not. He would not survive this night, one way or another. The girl took one look at the knife and fled from Tartum into the night. Tartum listened to the girl run frantically away from him for a few minutes. Once he was sure he could follow her trail, he turned his attention to the man on the ground. He was no longer flailing around and had balled himself up into fetal position. He was weeping, and when he saw Tartum walking towards him, he began to panic.

  “Don’t! Don’t come near me! I’m a very powerful man! If you kill me there will be hell to pay! Powerful men will be looking for me! Go! Get away from me!” He yelled at Tartum.

  Sheathing his knife, Tartum knelt down beside the man and grabbed him by his hair, forcing him to make eye contact.

  “You’re a rapist that likes to hunt little girls. You say you’re friends with powerful men, huh? Well then, I guess I’ll just have to see to it there’s nothing left for them to find now, won’t I?” he hissed at the man.

  Panic formed in the man’s eyes as Tartum’s words hit home. “What…What are you going to do to me?!?” he asked. He voice was cracking, and he was sweating profusely.

  Pulling a frog tongue out of his pouches, Tartum began rubbing it between his hands. “Ackalwa zon kwee. Ru-xund ala twet!” he commanded. He felt a burning pain momentarily flare up in his hands. Looking down, he showed the man the green gelatinous substance that would be used to end his life. With an evil grin, Tartum answered the man’s question.

  “Well, to use your own words; I’m going to turn this rape into a murder.” his tone was sinister. The man’s face paled as Tartum finished his threat. The man stuttered and began to say something. Uninterested in hearing anything the rapist had to say, Tartum wiped both of his hands on the man’s face. The words the man had been trying to voice devolved into screams of agony as Tartum’s spell began dissolving his flesh.

  Tartum sat a few paces away from the man, as his spell worked its way down the man’s body. His screams stopped shortly after his spell dissolved the man’s voice box, but his body continued to convulse until his brain had ceased to exist. The man’s body was completely erased in less than a minute, and Tartum found himself marveling over the efficiency and speed of his spell. Standing up, he returned to his camp to gather up his things. Looking down at Buddy, he gave him a quick pat on the head.

  “Come on, Bud. Let’s go find the little girl that we saved.” he said.

  Buddy looked up at him and barked his understanding. Together they started off in the direction that Tartum had seen the girl run. He hoped that she would lead him to a village or town where he could resupply and spend the rest of the night. He didn’t mind sleeping outdoors, but he had to admit having four walls and a roof over his head sounded very appealing after two weeks on the road.

  …

  With the light from his staff to illuminate his way, Tartum had no problem picking up the trail of the frightened girl. It wasn’t long until he stepped out of the forest onto a well-trodden road. How he had missed the road, was beyond him.

  “Of course, there’s a road!” he thought to himself. He had been trekking through the forest for weeks now, having to pick his way through the underbrush and roots that littered the ground, all the while this road had been only a couple hundred yards from him. He rolled his eyes at the irony.

  He walked in the direction the girl’s tracks headed; after a few minutes his perseverance paid off. The road led him straight to a small town that had been established along the edge of the river he had been camping near. It was nestled inside a shallow valley and was surrounded by an eight foot tall wall made from the trunks of trees gathered from the forest. The night hid most of the town from his sight, but from what he could see, the town looked relatively new. The wall itself appeared to be a recent addition to the town, and there were no sentries that Tartum could see. The few buildings that rose above the wall were well made and had paint on them that was so fresh it looked wet. There was a small group of men forming around the open gate that led into the town. With them, Tartum could see the young girl he had saved had spotted him on the road and began pointing at him while saying something to an older looking man. Even from this distance, Tartum could see the man’s air of authority. He guessed he was either in charge of the town’s security or possibly the mayor himself. Tartum counted five men surrounding the girl. They looked the direction she pointed, and Tartum felt the weight of their collective gaze on him. Not seeing any other choice, he continued walking towards them to see how this would play out.

  “Hail, stranger! What business do you have in Yucoke? It is rather late for traveling!” the older man called out. Tartum knew his greeting was as fake as his calm demeanor. The man was trying to feel him out, and he could see how nervous his presence was making them. Instead of calling his bluff, Tartum decided to play along. All he wanted was to get a room for the night and sleep in an actual bed for a change. If he had to jump through a few hoops to do it then so be it.

  Tartum raised his hand in greeting before replying, “Hail! My name is Tartum, I mean no harm! I helped that young girl, there, in the forest and simply followed her to make sure she was ok.” he replied.

  One of the younger men drew a long dagger from his belt, but the old man grabbed his arm and shoved him before he could do anything more. Tartum debated reaching for a spell component but decided with his enhanced senses, he should be able to deal with these men easily, should the need arise. The men appeared to be farmers, with the exception of the older man that was holding the girl. Tartum assumed he was her father, and judging by
the way the men seemed to defer to him, he knew his initial assessment of the man was accurate. He was definitely a man of power in this town.

  Tartum walked towards the men till there was about ten feet between him and them. The younger man that had pulled out a dagger was scowling at him; Tartum guessed he was around the girl’s age. He was rail thin and terribly ugly. His hair was cut short but whomever had cut it had botched the job badly leaving his hair uneven and tangled. His clothes fit him poorly; the sleeves of his shirt stopped well before his wrists and his pants stopped just below his knees. He was so covered in dirt and grime that Tartum debated offering to cast his Cleanse spell on him.

  The girl stopped crying and looked up at her father. “Papa! That’s him! That’s the man that asked me to kill Gerald! He handed me that knife just like I said, Papa!” The look in her eyes gave Tartum the impression she believed she was in trouble. The way she told her father about Tartum made him sound more like the villain rather than the hero. Her ungrateful tone and attempt to throw him to the wolves disgusted him.

  The men looked at Tartum seeking confirmation if what she said was true. Tartum smiled and nodded to them; he saw no reason to lie. “The man had chased her through the forest, beat her, threatened to kill her, and was going to rape her. His life was forfeit, but I decided to give her the option of revenge if she chose it. Obviously she did not.” he explained.