Battle Mage: Winter's Edge

by Donald Wigboldy

  As Sebastian lay trying to calm his mind for sleep, he couldn’t help remembering a similar trip and another girl lying by his side. Yara was a wizard’s apprentice. A petite, little blond with green eyes, she was also warm hearted which might be expected from someone in a healer’s guild. They had ridden along together most of their trip to the wall and even before the first day was half over they were already close friends. The first night they had been driven inside a cabin because of rain, and they had found that they had too many travelers for too few beds that night as well. Nearly sharing their bed rolls as they lay down, she had quickly found her way into his blankets to snuggle up to him for warmth. Nothing had happened then and even well after they could never take their relationship to the next level so long as Yara was an apprentice, but they had come to be in love.

  Then winter approached and Sebastian was called to Falcon’s Keep while Yara returned to White Hall for more training. Southwall’s defenders often found themselves being separated from the various keeps and the friends they had made. White Hall had been his home for nearly a third of his life, but once he began his movement from cadet to falcon, then Sebastian was officially in the main forces and could be called on at any time and anywhere.

  He breathed out in a quiet sigh.

  Listening for the noises in the darkened cabin, the young man could hear the deep breathing and the occasional light snores from around him. Rilena next to him shifted closer seeking warmth, he guessed, since she was definitely sleeping. It wasn’t the same as it had been with Yara. The female battle mage, though attractive, was more like a sister to him. With thoughts of Yara still tickling the back of his mind and the warmth of Rilena beside him, Sebastian finally surrendered to sleep.

  The next two days saw much of the same. They would travel up and down the hilly path, even as they steadily climbed ever higher. Snow fell lightly on the second day both adding to the barrier along the ground as well as muffling their senses to the world around them.

  It fell to Sebastian and his magic to check the hills and nearby mountains for hazards that they could not easily see. Using his mind to ride the winds, which was becoming more natural with each trip, the mizard was on one such reconnaissance mission when he felt a disturbance in the higher foothills to the south of them. The feeling of magic being used in great strength called to him like a beacon.

  Moving steadily towards the source of the disturbance, the mage witnessed a dark form flit past his eddy of wind. Climbing upwards, he could have sworn that he had just witnessed a gargoyle of the legendary mar’goyn’lya, except that it defied the descriptions that all the texts had said of them. The previous summer he had even fought a pair of the Fallen, gargoyles born with no wings, and their skin had been gray as granite. This creature was covered in a black fur. Nearly bat like in coloring; it also seemed less like a gargoyle in form. A lighter frame than that of the Fallen, it was similar to a man in that it had legs that were designed for standing when on land. Arms that could be used for tools or weapons shot from the shoulders which had the variation of a pair of wings jutting from the shoulder blades.

  Choosing to ignore the creature for the moment, the mage searched for the source of the magic that had disturbed him. It took several minutes even in his mind form to find it, but when he did, Sebastian wanted to gasp. Like a moth drawn to a flame, the power led him to a strange gathering. Several hooded figures gathered around a large stone, squared and shaped with runes, chanting. Bound to the stone was the struggling form of an orc, it’s bark like skin a deep brown with yellow eyes bulging distinctively on his face. Even as Sebastian watched, one of the figures stepped closer to the struggling creature. The orc’s yellow eyes seemed to widen even more and it began to thrash hard against its confining ropes. Shouting defiance or perhaps for mercy, the orc could only watch as the figure raised a hand over his head. A copper dagger seemed to flash despite the gray light of the snowy day. Runes shimmering unnaturally along its edge, the dagger plunged into the beast’s stomach and slowly cut its way upward towards the orc’s chest. Screaming in unintelligible pain, the creature’s belly gushed with blood and guts even as the runes of the dagger and altar began to glow.

  The chanting grew louder even as the creature’s screams rose to a feverous pitch. In its pain, the orc didn’t see the sudden flash on the hill a mere ten feet away, but the mizard saw it. A shimmering doorway eight feet across and nearly as high formed touching the ground but remained otherwise unsupported in the clear air. Like a golden rectangle it stood there, unframed, with no depth to it, and yet Sebastian knew it was a doorway.

  Even as he watched, the golden light began to ripple with varying sizes of dark shapes that quickly coalesced into nearly human in appearance. The shadows suddenly had hands or feet, though of green and brown, which were followed by the rest of the bodies of orcs and their smaller, green cousins, the goblins, all armed for battle. Many were carrying packs in addition to their armor. As Sebastian watched, more and more poured out of the gateway to begin to form a loose unit filling the cleared area and spreading down the hill.

  Mules loaded with supplies or at least creatures that appeared to be scaled or furred versions of pack animals were soon led from the golden light. He even spotted tools stuck out where they had been secured in the large packs thrown over the beasts.

  This was more than just a rogue army. If the mage’s hunch was correct, this force was here to stay and build. Build what he could not be sure, but if the Dark One’s minions were here then that could only mean more trouble for Southwall.

  Sebastian’s eyes came open and alert as his mind returned in a rush. Looking quickly for Markun, the mage spied the man nearby and quickly stated, “Trouble.”

  He beckoned for the wizards to come closer as well. They had noted his return and the single word had been said loud enough for them all to hear.

  “What is it?” Markun asked as his eyes began searching for trouble in the gray curtain of snow that surrounded them. The snow had become even heavier while he was gone.

  “There are at least a hundred goblins and orcs along with the sorcerers that summoned them less than a mile south of us. We need to try and get word back to Falcon’s Keep. They look like they’ve sent workers along with the soldiers. I think they plan to build something,” Sebastian answered worriedly.

  Frowning, Markun glanced back in the direction they had come and the far off Falcon’s Keep that he knew to lie there. “We could try sending a rider or two back, though at best speed, and barring no injuries to the horse, it would take at least two days and, unless you have more, our information is sketchy except for their presence. Were you able to figure out where they were heading?”

  “South towards the higher hills or mountains.”

  “I might have a better solution than sending a rider,” the nature wizard Druick stated quietly. With his cowl pulled up, the wizard’s face remained half hidden. Sebastian knew little of the large man, save that he was Nereith’s teacher and that he taught her nature magic. He was always quiet, but when he wanted to, Druick could make for an imposing man. “My magic can call for a bird to carry our message to any of the keeps. The magic can compel them to do as we need and a hawk or eagle would not be bogged down by this snow.”

  Falcon Markun nodded appreciatively at the big wizard. “Good, very good, then we won’t have to thin our ranks or lose much time. I think we need to know more, however. If we could get better details, and perhaps directions, then Falcon’s Keep would know where and how many to send. We can’t have them sending a hundred men to fight a thousand, especially if we don’t know where they’ve gone.” The last words were focused back on Sebastian, as if he were a child that had not followed his lessons.

  With a slight frown, Sebastian asked, “Do you want me to try another wind ride or should we maybe try and scout on foot? I can’t necessarily track them from the air if they’ve gone to ground somewhere.”

  “If we need scouts, Nereith and I could be of serv
ice,” Druick put in with his deep voice sounding much like a low wind blowing over the hills around them.

  “I could lead them there,” Sebastian added, “I have my winter gear for stealth in my pack also.”

  Pondering for a few moments, Markun finally replied, “Sebastian, take Druick, Nereith and Rilena with you. Try and find out where they are going. If you need to ride the winds, they can be there to protect you. I’ll stay here with the rest of party and lead them east. The ambassador needs to be moved to safety and this area may not be safe if they decide to come this way.”

  The four chosen nodded. Sebastian and the others dove into their packs quickly. Flipping their cloaks out in reverse, all had the white of snow as an inner lining. Coats of light gray and white were quickly pulled on as well. Strips of white and gray cloth were tied around their pants and covered much of their boots. The strips had been created for winter when it would be much too cold to pull one’s boots and pants off to change. Southwallers knew winter camouflage. Their world spent nearly half the year with snow on the ground and many adaptations had been made for hunting as well as warfare over the past two thousand years since the lands had first been discovered by the southern nations of Taltan.

  Properly suited to blend into the snowy ground around them, the four headed into the higher hills in pursuit of the enemy forces.

  Chapter 8- Chasing Snow

  Somewhere close by a gentle whuff of snow falling from an over laden tree could be heard dully. The gentle patter of heavy flakes tapping the slightly hardened snow pack rained all around the camouflaged quartet as they quietly navigated the small trees and brush that the foothills allowed to grow around them. With snow nearly to their knees, the four found a challenging path ahead of them.

  Muffled footsteps barely carried to their ears in the snowfall. Their hoods were all pulled up concealing hair and much of their heads. Like stalking snowdrifts they moved quietly and virtually unseen. An errant crack of a hidden branch under the snow brought cringes from the comrades. The trees had become shorter and more thinned out. Sebastian was fairly sure that they were nearly to the hill with the altar, but distance felt different fighting the deep snow on the ground as opposed to the ease of flying along the unseen air currents.

  Pointing towards the upcoming hill meaningfully, they snuck closer to the peak of the rise. Staying low, Sebastian and Druick slid on their stomachs the last few feet until they could peek over the top of the ridge unseen. The altar was there, but nothing else.

  The wizard rolled to his back and did a simple chant. As he turned back, Sebastian caught the magical glimmer in his eyes. Knowing that it must be some form of the vision spell, the mizard concentrated and spoke in a hushed whisper, “Hawk vision.” The words instantly pulled up the mage spell designed to enhance their eyesight. Like a hawk, the world could be seen with his eyes and magnified. If there was a mouse on the far hill, the battle mage could now see it.

  He felt the glance from the wizard and a slight frown. A battle mage’s magic was quick and free of complicated hand gestures. When wizards found that out, they were often annoyed by the simplicity of a battle mage’s spells. They had always figured themselves beyond the weaker mages seeing as they were the ones with greater power in magic, but the fact that the falcons could draw on their magic so much faster did give them an advantage in close combat especially. A fire wizard’s apprentice named Magnus had found that out first hand. The temperamental young man had often been an annoyance to Sebastian at White Hall. Coming to a head on their trip to Windmeer, Sebastian had taken the wizard into a combat circle and defeated him easily.

  Setting aside the differences amongst their kind, the two men went to work on their goal. The altar was an easy distraction. Scanning the clearing and the nearby tree lines, the mizard could see nothing more than the barest tracks remaining to be found heading away from them. He pointed at the far side of the clearing and waited for Druick’s confirming nod.

  “They’re gone,” the wizard stated affirmatively. “We’ll have to chase them, but it appears that they figured there was no one to see them arrive. They aren’t bothering to cover their trail, though they might have figured the snow would cover it soon enough anyway, but I don’t see any rear guard either.”

  Nodding, the mage waved the women to join them. “We may still want to avoid the peaks but, if we’re careful, we should be able to track them safely.”

  The four detoured lower before circling the clearing and joining the trail of partially filled tracks. There was enough scrub and trees that such a big party might not have disappeared completely for hours, but they certainly would have been hidden from pursuit sent from Falcon’s Keep. They needed to find where this band had gone before their signs were lost in the snow.

  Time was against the trackers. Already the sun was halfway through the afternoon sky. Though they had magic to assist with the darkness, the inevitable drop in temperature and freezing of sun warmed snow would add more difficulties to their pursuit. Ignoring the cold as much as possible, the trackers would be hard pressed to cover the noise of their footsteps as they broke through iced over snow. If one of the orcs or goblins paid attention they might be heard even before they were seen.

  Setting a quicker pace, Sebastian fairly leaped through the snow. He knew that he couldn’t run them ragged, but if they could cut into the dark band’s lead, then they could slow down once more and use more stealth. Druick caught him easily and loped along as if the snow wasn’t there at all. Nereith already had the grace of the nature wizards in the open and kept up even though she was much shorter than the men. Rilena was a few inches taller than the other girl with long graceful legs and followed at the rear well enough herself.

  With the two men leading them forward, the group made good time for quite awhile. Up one hill and down, they followed the snowy trail of footsteps. Circling lower on the hills to avoid detection made their path longer, albeit much safer since they wouldn’t surrender up silhouettes atop the hills. As they moved to the next part of the trail, Sebastian thought the footprints were becoming much fresher and less snow covered. The pack animals probably made the work easier, but he figured leading the pack animals would most likely slow the others also.

  It wasn’t much longer before Sebastian and the others could tell that they had definitely cut into the creatures’ lead. The foot prints had become less and less cluttered with fresh snow making the edges of packed powder much more defined to their eyes. When they felt that they must not be far behind, the four Southwallers paused as Druick called forth his magic.

  A hill sparrow flew from where it had hidden from the wind and cold. Hearty birds of the northern mountains, the hill sparrows were a mixture of the brown of the bark they lived upon and blues of the skies. If someone didn’t look hard for the creatures, their coloring would cause them to look like twigs on the limbs they stood upon.

  Amazed by the wizard’s magic, Sebastian watched as the small bird landed on the other man’s finger. Druick then simulated the chirps of the sparrow with whistles and amazingly the little bird often would have a reply of chirps of its own. After a few moments of the strange communication, the sparrow took flight in the direction of the orcs ahead of them.

  “She’ll check ahead for us,” the wizard stated quietly.

  “You can get a bird to gather information for you?” Rilena asked incredulously.

  Nereith replied for her mentor as he watched the trees in front of them. “That’s one of the many things our nature magic has achieved. We communicate with animals and plants to a certain degree. Animals have an intelligence that, once we use our magic to match their communication, we make them understand us and we them.”

  Rilena’s eyes flicked to Sebastian giving askance. He knew she wondered if this was a spell that he could decipher. As simple as the magic seemed to be for Druick, a practiced wizard in the art, the mizard hadn’t a clue from the short display. Perhaps if he had some time to read about or study the spells more,
but this was his first true demonstration of nature magic and the mage was unable to break down any of it.

  Short minutes later, the sparrow returned to them incredibly enough. Once more landing on the wizard’s finger, the little bird chirped up a storm happily on its perch. Her, Sebastian corrected in his mind since Druick had declared so earlier. With a few responses in exchange, the musical conversation went fairly quickly with the hill sparrow returning to her hidden place in the trees when she was done.

  “They’re never quite as detailed or as good at gauging some things like distance the way we are,” Druick stated, “but she gives me the impression that they are just a few minutes ahead of us now. Numbers aren’t easy to gage either, but I think they stayed together without our missing any scouts straggling behind or in front. They have no idea that we’re following them I would assume.”

  “They would have no reason to expect to be found out here in the middle of winter and in the foothills of the Dimple Mountains,” the mage stated. “We had figured as much when we started out. That flying creature must not have seen the carriage or our riders.”

  “Our feathered friend also noticed something in the stone of the hills ahead,” the nature wizard stated shifting back to their topic. “She couldn’t relay exactly what it was, however.”

  Frowning thoughtfully, Sebastian brushed his light brown hair back under his hood and asked, “A fort or camp maybe?”

  “I doubt it would be a camp,” the taller man shook his head. “She said it was in the stone or attached to the stone. Something like that description wouldn’t be a regular camp. Perhaps they’re meeting up with others that have cut into the rock?”

  Rilena started forward ignoring the two men and replied, “Arguing over what a bird is telling you isn’t getting us close enough to see. Let’s move and find out what the target they’re moving to is.”