Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion)

by Cornett, Curtis

  In the coming days the black-cloaked warriors planned to secretly scour the city looking for any clues that could lead to the whereabouts of Gilkame's missing collar. Once their investigation was complete they would find the ones responsible, recover the missing collar, and avenge the loss of Eryk Axebeard, or if the responsible magicians could not be found, then Mantellus would be released to raze Lion's Landing until it was nothing more than a charred husk on the southern landscape either drawing the local magicians’ cell out of hiding or reeking such destruction that any support the magicians had among the commoners would dry up overnight.

  ***

  Pillars of smoke billowed into the sky as the city burned. The streets were thick with clouds of ash choking the gathered magicians and guardsmen in the streets. Before them stood the figure of an elementalist dressed in black. A fury of fire raged from his fingers spraying at all around him in an attempt to consume the world before him. Minnie coughed as smoked filled her lungs. It was difficult to concentrate in the heat and smoke, but she valiantly held a magical shield in place large enough to protect most of the assembled forces.

  A strong gust of wind blew in from the west clearing out most of the smoke revealing Mellani in her blue magician’s robe as the source of the wind magic. Minnie nodded in thanks and her sister waved back at her before returning to directing gusts of wind in the direction of the fire elementalist blowing his own flames back in his face.

  “We need to keep him away from Avelice!” Turshyn shouted. He looked behind him to see his master drawing a complicated rune large enough for a man to lie down in. Turshyn thought himself an accomplished necromancer, but watching her inscribe, he felt a strange power building and understood that whatever Avelice was summoning would possess a power far greater than anything he had ever seen before.

  “That is the plan!” Minnie retorted. Her arms were outstretched as if she were physically holding the shield in place and in a way she was. Her arms shook and sweat ran down her face from the exertion of the spell as much as the heat.

  “Are we seriously fighting alongside magicians?” one young guardsman asked his commander in disbelief. His sword was held at the ready, but he seemed unsure which of the magicians he should be going after.

  “Rush that villain shooting fire if you wish,” said an older guard ten years his comrade's senior, “but I intend to accept these magicians' aid as long as they are offering it.”

  Turshyn sent a quartet of war wraiths after the rogue, but they did not last long as the magician released a burst of flame all around him destroying the wraiths all at once. “I expected that would have kept him busy for longer,” Turshyn remarked as he immediately began to craft another spell.

  As if to show his displeasure, the elementalist began shooting fireballs at Minnie's shield. She groaned with each impact as the strain of maintaining such a large construct began to take its toll.

  A volley of arrows flew in on the magician's left side, but a blast of heat threw them off target causing them to fall harmlessly to his right barely missing Mellani. The enchantress jumped back into a nearby doorway and fell backwards into the house behind her.

  A woman screamed from behind and a gruff voice said, “Be calm, wife! It is just a girl, not that demon-man out there.”

  “At least not yet,” the wife said clasping at her chest as if her heart was about to burst out of it at any moment.

  Mellani turned to see the man and his wife huddled in the far corner with three terrified young boys. None of them could have been over ten years of age. “I mean you no harm. I am trying to help,” Mellani told them hoping to calm the children, but before any of them could respond she was back out the door.

  “Do not go out there!” Mellani heard the woman shout behind her, but the enchantress did not turn or stop.

  When she exited the house Mellani saw that the elementalist was now much closer as he was being backed into her direction. He was less than twenty feet away from her. They were close enough that either could have easily struck the other with an elemental spell.

  A gleam of light reflected off of the man's neck and for the first time Mellani noticed the gold band around his throat. It was a control necklace just like the one she had been outfitted with a month earlier. The bard, Tomlin, freed her by taking the control rod and ordering her to remove her collar. Maybe she could help this man in the same way. Mellani held her staff in front of her face and said to the man, “Remove your necklace,” implanting a strong mental suggestion. She lacked a control rod, but hoped that her abilities as an enchantress would be enough for her to override the device if only just long enough to get it off of his neck.

  The entranced elementalist turned to look at Mellani. His eyes were filled with anger, but there was also sadness there. The elementalist lifted his hand, but did not remove the collar. Instead he turned his hand palm out and threw a fireball at Mellani throwing her back into the house.

  She could hear Turshyn scream in protest from somewhere outside and felt faintly aware of him approaching, as his shouts got louder. Mellani looked at the burn on her chest. The seared area was white, but it only hurt around the outside of the injury where the skin was charred black.

  The woman of the house sprang into action. She told her children, “Go wet some rags and bring them back here quickly.” The children ran to do as their mother ordered.

  Their father pulled Mellani further into the relative safety of the house and his wife shut the door. “It does not look like that demon is intent on finishing you off. Thank Ashura,” she told Mellani soothingly locking eyes with the girl, “Stay still. I know a bit of the old medicines and can keep you patched up until the temple healers can get to you all proper like.”

  Mellani nodded and found she was in too much shock to articulate words or thoughts.

  The children returned with several wet rags that looked to be the remnants of old clothing and gave them to their mother. She went to a pantry door and took out what looked to be several spices and applied them to the wet rags rubbing them in. Then the healer returned to Mellani and gently applied them to the burned area. Mellani hissed at the sudden coolness against the seething burn, but settled a moment later as she began to feel almost instantaneous relief.

  “That is good. Stay calm,” the mother told her soothingly.

  The woman pressed the impromptu bandage against the wound very carefully trying to avoid harming her patient. Her hands glided out from the center of the bandage smoothing it flat against the damaged skin and pressing down on the edges to seal the wound in. “Rest, child, this will hold you over for a while yet,” the woman told her, “The burn is severe, but you will not die this day...” she looked back to her front door, “...if your friends can handle that mad man.”

  Mellani tried to thank her, but could not muster her strength to even do that. The woman took Mellani's hand in her own and squeezed it. It was the last thing that Mellani saw before the need for rest overtook her.

  ***

  The ground shook under Avelice's feet and she jumped clear of the rune as a pillar of water shot up from the spot where she had been standing. After the initial burst the water still rose in the air, but slowed and coalesced into the form of a half-man made of water. It was only the upper torso, but stood taller than most human men. It looked to the master who summoned it and Avelice pointed at the out of control fire magician. “Kill the fire elementalist in black,” she said coolly. Then to the assembled magicians and guardsmen she shouted, “Clear a path for the water elemental!”

  The guardsmen and Minnie ran for cover easily avoiding the water elemental as it slithered on its liquid belly not unlike a snake toward its intended target. However, Turshyn was locked in a death grip with the fire elementalist and if he heard Avelice's warning, he was ignoring it. He held the man's right wrist and was steadily draining the elementalist's life force while the mad magician held Turshyn's other wrist and was burning the necromancer to the bone.

  A wall of wa
ter hit Turshyn from behind with enough force to make him lose his grip on his foe. He was vaguely aware that he was inside the water elemental as its liquid body pressed in all around him. Turshyn reflexively gasped for breathe and inhaled a lung full of water before he had the shocking revelation that he was drowning.

  The redheaded elementalist backed away from the water elemental hurling flames as he went with little effect against the spirit's watery skin. It reached out with a wet hand and shot a blast of water lifting the elementalist into the air and throwing him into the wall of a nearby building. The elementalist crumpled like a sheet of paper and fell to the ground.

  Turshyn kicked his legs inside the water spirit trying desperately to push himself to the edge of the elemental's body and find a way out, but his struggling did no good, as he seemed unable to move from the water elemental's central mass. His mind raced as he tried to think of a spell that could hurt the spirit enough to free him, but he could come up with nothing.

  The elemental lifted the unconscious black robed magician and encircled the rogue's head in a giant watery fist. Turshyn felt the water elemental's inner body flow towards its arm. It was forcing water into the elementalist's throat filling his lungs with its own body. The unconscious man convulsed slightly in the spirit's grip for a half minute as if his body was still trying to fight, to kill, though the man's mind was asleep.

  Then the magician stopped twitching and his body went limp. Turshyn could feel the elementalist's heartbeat resonating through the water elemental's body as it slowed. Each beat grew farther apart from the one before it until it stopped altogether. The elemental creature seemed to relax around Turshyn even as the necromancer still fought to get free. It released the fire magician's head and his lifeless body fell to the street like a rag doll.

  The water making up the elemental abruptly lost all form and crashed into the street as if it was in a barrel that just broke apart. Turshyn was unceremoniously dropped hard on his butt, but the dull throb he felt was far out-shined by the wonderful feel of oxygen surging into his lungs as he took long gasps of breath.

  Turshyn got to his feet as Minnie and Avelice reached him. “Do not worry. I am fine if somewhat shaken,” Turshyn told them waving off their assistance. He pulled at his clothes and then his cloak so that they no longer stuck so closely to his skin. “Where is Mellani?” Turhsyn asked suddenly realizing he had not seen her since the fire magician hit her with a fireball.

  They did not have to search the area long before a graying middle-aged man came out of one of the nearby houses and called them over. “You are looking for the girl?” he asked, “The one that got blasted by that demon-man?” Turshyn nodded. “Then come with me. She is safe, but in need of a healer's attention.” The trio of magicians followed the gruff man into his home leaving the handful of guardsmen to wonder what they had just witnessed.

  Chapter 44

  Mantellus Firekin was dead, but he served his purpose well, drawing out the magicians hidden in Lion's Landing like a wheel of cheese attracts rats. It was early morning when the four magicians tried to sneak out of the city just as the sun crept over the horizon. Four days had passed since their battle with Mantellus and the two injured magicians of their group were finally able to make the trek back to whatever hole they crawled out of.

  The only man in the group, Turshyn, had his left hand completely wrapped in bandages to prevent infection. Most of the skin was burned off at the wrist exposing bone and it was only the attention of Ashura’s priests that gave him any hope of saving the hand. The older girl, Mellani, was also severely injured with a chest wound that kept her immobilized. If not for the temple's healers both magicians would have suffered permanent damage. Instead they were able to travel safely in a matter of days and would be fully healed in a matter of weeks with proper care and additional treatments.

  It was surprising that the guards made no attempt to arrest the magicians, but after the display of the water elemental's power the guardsmen undoubtedly felt outclassed in comparison. Couple that with their misplaced gratitude for slaying the fire magician that Gilkame set loose and it was easy to see why no one attempted to capture the magicians. However, they could have sent a summons to the closest Kenzai outpost explaining the situation and requesting aid, but that was never done.

  Perhaps this magician support was a more widespread problem in the South Lands, being far removed from the royals and the more sophisticated members of the nobility. Bertran made a mental note to petition his highness to investigate this region's warlord and where his loyalties belonged once this business with Gilkame and his missing toy was resolved.

  Getting out of the city unnoticed was a difficult trick for the magicians. Most of the citizens had the good sense to stay away from the battle as it raged on, but the wizards became quite famous... or infamous with the local guardsmen. That alone should have been enough to close the city or prevent the magicians from leaving. However, they had some friends within the temple who were willing to help them escape unseen. That morning some of the priests loaded a wagon with medical supplies for the local farmlands beyond the forest. It was a routine expedition except that this time the priests were smuggling human cargo along with their bandages and healing salves.

  How could the guardsmen fall for such an obvious ploy? Bertran wondered, Or maybe they knew what was happening all along and simply chose to turn a blind eye allowing the rogues to escape.

  It was a simple matter for Bertran to follow the magicians after they parted ways with the priests about an hour into their trip. The magicians progressed slowly on foot, forced to stop frequently to allow Mellani and Turshyn to rest and it was late afternoon by the time they reached their encampment.

  Bertran looked around for a good vantage point and found a tree on the edge of the clearing that looked like it would give him a good view of most of the area. He grabbed a low hanging branch overhead, wrapping his hands around the limb. Bertran then planted his feet on the tree's trunk and kicked off, swinging his legs upward to wrap them around the branch too. The assassin pulled himself up and once there climbed high enough that he could see all of the clearing easily and remain concealed in the leaves. He took a spyglass from one of the pockets sewn into his tunic and began to watch the comings and goings of the denizens within. The assassin was surprised to see that not only were there more than the four magicians from the city, they also had a large cabin built, indicating that they had been here long enough to set down roots especially considering their close proximity to a major city and port. It was a curious thing to discover considering that most rogue magicians tended to be more nomadic in their attempts to avoid the Kenzai.

  When night fell and Bertran was sure that the rogues were asleep he slid down from his perch. His legs were sore from hours of sitting in the tree and he stretched them out for a minute until the assassin once again felt loose.

  The challenge of felling nine magicians single-handedly was almost too tempting to resist, but Bertran quelled his blood thirst and began the long trek back to Lion's Landing. There were twenty of his fellow assassins lying there in wait giving them a two to one advantage, but against so many magicians, even if some were children, it may not be enough.

  Hours passed and the sun was rising once more when Bertran made it back to Lion's Landing. The assassin was starved, having not eaten since the previous morning, but Bertran ignored the growls of his stomach even as he passed bakeries and inns preparing their light morning meals. The smell of freshly baked food filled Bertran's nose teasing him with every step.

  When he reached The Broken Arrow Inn Bertran found Gilkame Axebeard sitting down to a plateful of bacon and eggs and washing it down with some watery ale. Bertran sat across from the dwarf and stared at his plate.

  “Bertran?” Gilkame asked looking at the assassin sitting across from him with a raised eyebrow.

  The assassin's belly refused to wait any longer and he waved for the waitress who came over. “Can you bring me a plate of
eggs and bacon?” Bertran asked.

  “Yes, sir, it will only take a minute,” she told him, leaving to retrieve his order. The inn was not one of the higher-class establishments that boasted a menu. There was one meal available for breakfast, another for lunch, and a choice between two meals for dinner. So the breakfast was already being prepared before most of the inn's residents were stirring.

  When he was sure that there were no eavesdroppers within earshot Bertran told the dwarf inventor, “I have found them. There is a whole cell of magicians out in the woods less than a day’s travel on foot for one who knows the way. There are nine magicians- three adults, three teenagers, and three young boys.”

  “How soon until your men will be ready to strike?” Gilkame asked leaning forward. His breakfast was eagerly forgotten at the prospect of finding his lost prototype. It was not needed for the dwarf to produce more collars, but he did not want to leave it unaccounted for in wizard hands lest they figure out a way to block the effects.

  “There are a few hidden Kenzai strongholds and a large outpost that is public knowledge in the region. I will have some of our best riders go to the nearest ones and petition them to send some of their best hunters and assassins.” Bertran stopped talking when the waitress arrived with his food and thanked her. Once she left the assassin continued, “In a few nights we will have even greater numbers amassed and take this conclave by surprise.” The assassin stabbed a piece of bacon with force hungrily and added, “There will be no survivors.”

  Chapter 45

  Avelice was sitting up in her bed before she was fully aware that she was awake. All of the doors and windows had wards of protection placed on them that would send a magical wave of energy to the caster like a horn being blown that only Avelice could hear, but this was far more intense. Something had triggered every ward at once making the necromancer's ears ring. She fought to ignore the sound and released the wards ending its loud ringing tone. The necromancer grabbed her staff from beside here bed and held tightly to it, almost bracing herself.