The Accidental Archmage

by Edmund A. M. Batara

  “Ah, Kobu. Could we dispense with low bows and the kneeling when I call upon you? I am afraid that would show the enemy who to target. Or point me out to spies and other unwelcome watchers,” said the sitting mage. “A quick nod would do.”

  “As you wish, my lord,” replied Kobu who started to give another bow but caught himself in time.

  Tyler turned to Habrok. “Arrange matters with Kobu here for men to be with you. But don’t take his entire group. They still would be needed to defend the crossing.”

  Habrok looked at Tyler with one raised eyebrow, skepticism clearly on his mind.

  “You’re sure, sire?” asked the ranger as he examined the waiting warrior. Tyler knew it was the strangeness of the armor of Kobu as well as the fact that Habrok had never laid eyes on people coming from the lands of Wa.

  “They’re exiles from Wa. A group of large islands southwest of here. People from those lands are known in these parts. And don’t let the weird armor fool you, I believe they’re experienced fighters,” Tyler said, trying to alleviate the ranger’s concerns. From what I could determine from Kobu’s words, he must have been through a lot of battles and not a stranger to command. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were his former lord’s battle leader.

  The ranger turned to Kobu.

  “You up to this, warrior? We’ll be protecting the High Mage and sure to attract unwarranted attention. Not to mention we’re quite close to the main crossing which the enemy will undoubtedly try to force shortly. Our group would face not only men but also hard to kill predatory creatures with claws which could tear through armor and regrow missing limbs. Only their brains are their weak points,” Habrok asked Kobu. Tyler didn’t correct the ranger. From what he could discern, the Yahui accompanying the Aztecah force were not of the variety he encountered in Akrotiri. These creatures were smaller and had some variations in their features. For one, they didn’t have the turtle-like shell covering their backs. But the brains would be a weak point.

  “We are children of Queen Himiko. Of the Yamatai-koku. We are no strangers to dangerous magical monsters. We have fought tatsu, wicked yokai, and evil henge. We have survived great battles, ambushes, sieges, and numerous ceremonial combats. I believe we are worthy,” calmly replied Kobu.

  Habrok stared at the exile.

  “Well, if half of what you say is true, then you’ll do. Get around twenty men. The rest will still be with Tyndur,” decided the ranger finally. Kobu gave a quick nod and went back to his men, barking out orders in his native language.

  ‘Sire?” Habrok whispered to Tyler.

  “Yes?”

  “What are tatsu, yokai, and henge?”

  “Beats me,” answered the mage.

  Chapter Lore:

  Queen Himiko – A legendary Japanese ruler. Myth mentions her as a shamaness, though numerous other stories abound. She was believed to be unmarried, and an elite corps of female warriors guarded her castle. A prophecy helped her ascendancy that only a female ruler would be able to bring peace to the war-ravaged lands of Wa. Though Japanese accounts appear to have few references to her rule, Chinese annals mention Queen Himiko and grant her the title of the Queen of All the Lands of Wa, her kingdom being the most powerful among those the Chinese encountered.

  Yamatai-Koku – The name of the mythical kingdom of Queen Himiko. Scholars still dispute about its location and whether the word “Yamato” originated from the term.

  Tatsu – A variety of dragon. Prevalent in Japanese mythology, these are smaller than the Chinese version.

  Yokai – A class of legendary Japanese creatures, grouping spirits, creatures, and other beings. They could be of good or evil alignment.

  Henge – A Japanese mythical monster, mutants according to legend.

  Chapter Ten

  Chakrams and Complications

  A wave of my hand? Easy for him to say. He’s a deity in this world. His entire being is made of magical energy, thought Tyler. Loki’s dismissive comments continued to rankle in his mind. Though I have to admit that stunt he pulled did have a positive effect on the morale of the men. Fear of the ballistae appears to have lessened. But let’s see what our sneaky visitors are doing.

  Behind him, Habrok was already positioning the men Kobu selected, though the man remained seated. Tyler could hear Habrok asking Kobu to translate whenever the ranger ran into a mercenary who didn’t speak his language. As the mage tuned the background noise and conversation out, he overheard Habrok cry out to Kobu in exasperation.

  “Give me people who could understand me! This won’t work! I can’t be running to you for translation services in the middle of a fight!” Habrok protested.

  Tyler paused in his preparations. He wanted to hear Kobu’s answer.

  “You don’t need me to translate everything, Habrok. Come, I’ll teach you the few words and phrases that matter,” answered Kobu.

  “Like?”

  “Stay here. Defend. Kill. Cut off the head. Use the spear. Or the sword. Or the axe. Simple words and phrases. That’s all they need in the heat of battle.”

  “How about run? Withdraw?”

  “I am afraid I can’t teach you that. These men have sworn to die in battle once the fighting starts. I can’t deprive them of that honor,” calmly replied Kobu. “Either we withdraw or fight. Unless withdrawal is part of a larger plan. A deception or there’s something bigger at stake. Here, there’s no place to withdraw to and I believe we have a chance of winning.”

  The ranger replied with a string of curses. Tyler smiled to himself as he went back to what he was doing. That’s confidence.

  The mage released another concentration of power, this time directed at the Yahui gathered at the bottom of the ravine. The scrying field streamed to the creatures below and then expanded to both sides, following the river channel. The energy initially sent back blurry images of the beasts. Tyler expected it as the monsters had an innate resistant to magic, but he wanted precise locations. He forced more energy into the spell. As it strengthened, the vision in his mind cleared. The mage could now see details of the creatures nearest to him, those already a quarter of the way up the sheer cliff. The Yahui were climbing using brute strength and the sharp talons of their claws.

  Tyler noticed that the material of the cliff oddly resisted the spell. The mage felt it where the energy of the questing enchantment came in contact with the smooth surface. He knew the ravine’s walls were mostly stone, but there seemed to be a faint grating backlash whenever any of the released energy touched the gorge’s face. The mage filed the bizarre effect at the back of his mind, focusing instead on the Yahui. But he took care not to let the energy touch the ravine’s cliffs. The feedback was distracting, similar to nails scratched on a blackboard.

  These are not Greater Yahui, he concluded after features of the climbing creatures became distinct. From a distance, the monsters looked similar to the Akrotiri beast, but on closer examination, aside from lacking the protective carapace of the bigger version, he saw that the creatures were smaller. Though the long arms, sharp claws, reptilian skin, a large mouth filled with the requisite terrible jagged fangs, and general shape betrayed its familial relation to its larger brethren. On the other hand, its bizarre facial features – two large leather-like pads covering where the eyes should be and extending down to the upper cheeks, small nose slits, and a long snaky tongue – distinguished it as a separate subspecies.

  Fucking ugly beasts. Funny, they remind me of that character who was one of the web-slinger’s opponents. But that villain had nothing on these fugly bastards. And Viracocha called them Yahui even though it’s evident that they’re not the same as the one I had the displeasure to meet. Must be a lesser version, considered Tyler. Irritation started to surface. That misleading bastard of a deity! Gave me a fright! He could have told me I’d be facing Yahui lite!

  Then rationality kicked in, driving the hot flash of mounting annoyance into hiding. But it would have been a desperate situation if these were of the same kind
as the one in Akrotiri, he reflected. But then again, I have no idea on the weaknesses and peculiarities of these freaks. I have to assume they also have the regenerating capability, the magical resistance, and the brain as the sole weak point. Now, what do I do about them? They’re already a quarter up the cliff. The Aztecah are just waiting for the creatures to start wreaking havoc before they attack.

  While the mage sat thinking about what he could do, Tyndur returned from his mission. The einherjar sat next to him, his back on the wall. He looked at Tyler.

  “Warnings given. Though a mass of those beasties jumping up to attack would be a hard proposition to counter. I was relying on arrows, spears, and javelins to whittle down their ranks as they try to force the crossing. We can’t even come out and throw boulders down the ravine. The scorpions will have a field day,” remarked Tyndur.

  Tyler stayed silent for a while, still wracking his brain on what spells to use. He even asked Hal and X to give him suggestions. The usual spells won’t work on the beasts. The mage knew they’d just regrow missing limbs.

  “Sorry, Tyndur, I was preoccupied. The Yahui are already climbing up, they’re about a quarter of the way,” replied Tyler finally.

  “No problem, sire. There’s time for quick thinking and time for slow thinking. Slow thinking would serve us better this time, I believe. Those beasties are hard to kill, I have been told.”

  “They’re Yahui but of a lesser kind. I have not encountered them before. The one who tried to kill me back in Hellas was a stronger and more powerful version.”

  “Good and bad news, then. Weaker but we don’t know skita about them,” laughed Tyndur. “I guess we have to keep hacking until we kill them. But a strike to the brain gets them every time. Except for some kinds of undead magic wielders. Those emaciated husks sometimes hide their weak points elsewhere. Spent a whole morning once running around a massive burial chamber trying to find a bugger’s brain, with the owner in tow raising skeletons and draugr to stop me.”

  Despite himself, Tyler became curious.

  “Where did you find it?”

  “The horrid, stinking, and cunning bastard hid it in the rafters.”

  Tyler laughed while the einherjar chuckled at the memory. Then the voice of Hal caught his attention.

  “We’re sorry, Elder, but we couldn’t think of an indirect way of dealing with the Yahuis. Based on what we know, all Yahuis are exceedingly difficult to kill, with only their brain as a weak point. Lesser Yahuis do have a greatly diminished capability to regrow lost extremities. Interestingly enough, data from our unfortunate colleague show some reports mentioning that severing the head from the body would work for lesser Yahuis. But those were unverified accounts. We do suggest looking for who’s controlling them. There’s too many of them for mortal mages to restrain and manipulate.”

  “Thanks, Hal. Your feedback could be of help. But I doubt if there’s a deity or even a demi-god on their side. Viracocha or Loki would have detected such a presence,” replied the mage, though mindful of what the AI mentioned about how the Yahui were being kept in check. “Lessened regeneration ability, huh? I could use that. But for now, I need to keep them off-balance until a permanent solution comes to mind.”

  Tyler began forming large axe head shapes, making sure that the edges were wide and as sharp as he could make them. Midway through, he realized he could have just created plate-like discs with razor edges.

  Shit, I have to make thinking out of the box a habit. Axe heads are more difficult to create. Discs have a greater cutting coverage and a lot easier to visualize. I don’t even have to fill out the inside,” he thought as he dissolved the axe head forms already created.

  Numerous translucent discs the size of large plates began appearing in the air above the mage. “I should pay more attention to the RPGs I have played. I think I have used these weapons in one of the games. Chakrams, I believe they called. But unlike that weapon, I don’t need to spin these beauties,” Tyler thought as he continued making more of the objects.

  More and more of the thin, round, and flat objects appeared above the mage. Tyndur had noticed the appearance of Tyler’s version of the Indian weapon. Kobu was also looking at the floating discs. Unlike the smiling Tyndur, the exile had an inscrutable expression on his face. As the devices multiplied, other warriors noticed the magical display. To their credit, nobody said a word or pointed out the forming cloud of death.

  Tyler now felt he had reached the maximum number he could create. He could feel his head starting to throb. Exhaling his relief, he let loose the deadly blades.

  After flinging the chakrams down the ravine, the mage counted to two and created three large orbs filled with fiery energy. The flame-filled spheres hung in the air, equidistant from each other, covering what Tyler guessed where the Yahui were clustered. Then they dropped. A narrow scrying spell followed. With their lesser regenerating ability, the mage hoped the scorching area of effect, constricted by the walls of the gorge, would burn into cinders those already severely wounded. Tyler counted on the splash effect of the balls, after being dropped from such a height, to expand the burn coverage significantly.

  As the questing spell flowed down, Tyler could see that his constructs had cleaned the Yahui off the cliff. The enormous conflagration which now engulfed the bottom of the gap did obstruct his vision of how effective his spells were against the beasts. Huge spires of red and yellow flames continued to burn, and the mage was greatly thankful that the scrying enchantment didn’t carry sound. He figured that even monstrous creatures like the Yahui knew pain and could scream. It was one feedback which he didn’t need. The mage did notice that his flame spell had not lost its sticky and long-burning characteristics.

  Suddenly, he saw greenish-black sparks emerge from the inferno and swiftly fly across the field, towards the bordering broken hills in the distance. Curious, he quickly sent a tendril of energy after the strange embers, separating the new form from the questing spell which now covered the bottom of the ravine. It was easier and quicker than creating a new seeking spell. Below him, the flames were already starting to subside, and furiously burning bodies were displayed in its wake. More of the odd flashes followed those he had observed earlier and flew in the same direction.

  Turning his attention back to the hell he had wrought, the mage saw that the flames had blackened the walls. He could now see still burning Yahui running away in both directions. But Tyler observed that even in fiery death, the Yahui he saw retained their forms, though with brutally scorched and missing extremities. Some had been decapitated or had only sliced heads. Considering the strength and nature of the spell, the mage expected to see mounds of ash instead of badly burned remains. It was a testament to the resilience and hardiness of the monsters.

  Shit. Those barely alive are going to survive, even though they continue to burn as of now, Tyler concluded as he let fly a new chakram against a fleeing Yahui, its entire body a pyre of flames. The magical construct neatly sliced the Yahui’s head in half. They’ll regrow their lost limbs and damaged skin.

  Then images started to surface in his mind. His tendril of a scout had reached the place where the peculiar sparks went. The location was about a mile from the shattered mass of rocks and soil on the opposite side of the field now held by the enemy. It was a modest clearing in a depression hidden by trees and small hills. There, a circle of Aztecah mages surrounded a stone podium on top of which was a human skull.

  Over the group was a hemispherical magical barrier, the outline of its shape clear as day in Tyler’s mind. Warriors stood on the edges of the clearing, guarding the ornately garbed mages. The object of their veneration was bizarrely colored black, red, and green. Upon closer examination, Tyler saw the entire bone structure was heavily engraved with enigmatic runes and symbols. Each spark was returning to it, merging with the material as it arrived. Observing the ten mages around it, he could see they were chanting.

  I believe I have found the guys controlling the Yahui, Tyler deter
mined as he started creating three huge spearhead forms, again filled with magical flame. As he focused on the contours and details of the deadly spell, the mage became aware of the loud cries and shouts of alarm coming from the Aztecah. Their deployed forces were still recovering from what he had inflicted on them, and the damage their surprise vanguard had suffered considerably alarmed them.

  Good, thought Tyler. That will keep them off-balance for a while. Though they still have a horde of Yahui hiding at the back of their assault groups.

  Hal, am I approaching the magical exhaustion stage? he asked the AI. The throbbing in his head had increased, giving him a slight headache.

  Not yet, Elder. But a few more significant spells and you will start feeling its warning effects. We recommend taking a breather from using your abilities.

  After this surprise present, Hal. First, I have to deal with these bastards, Tyler replied.

  He turned his attention back to the circle of mages, now clearly alarmed at the return of the strange sparks. A couple had stopped chanting and were huddled in an animated discussion near the skull artifact. Tyler grimly smiled. What’s that saying? Shooting fish in a barrel?

  Still grinning, the mage released his trio of flame blades. The deadly projectiles unerringly flew towards their target, aided by the connection Tyler’s concealed tendril had with the area.

  Using three blades is probably overkill, the mage mused. But I would be stupid to leave anything to chance. I don’t know what kind of barrier is protecting them, in addition to their personal shields.