The Accidental Archmage: Book One - Ragnarok Rising (MOBI EDITION)

by Edmund A. M. Batara

  “Pace yourself, Sire. Suffering from second stage symptoms does not inflict permanent physical and mental damage. Reaching the final stage, as you did, is the dangerous part. The best way is to recognize the signs. You have to find a way to cast spells or defend yourself while recovering your ability to manage magical energy. All you need is to give time for your body to recuperate from handling magical energy.”

  “Lesson learned, Jorund. Thank you. I owe you my life.”

  “No, Sire. We owe you our lives. Not only your abilities but also your planning enabled us to win our battles and survive up to now.”

  But before Tyler could continue the conversation, a strange occurrence caught both their attention. A small plantlet suddenly erupted from the ground in front of him. He could only stare at the sprout which was rapidly growing. Jorund had already brought out his battleaxe and had moved closer to Tyler. He was in a crouch, both hands on his weapon and his eyes were focused on the strange plant. In the span of thirty seconds, the sapling had become a small tree. Of what kind, Tyler couldn’t tell. But it was bushy and had a large trunk. It looked like a miniature oak. Then its body split open and a small man stepped out.

  “Good afternoon, lads! Now, what do you think you’re doing in my part of this forest?”

  The being looked like a gnome! Without the bright colors. Wearing a brown shirt and trousers, topped off with a tiny leather helm. A sword, scaled to his size, was at his hip. He looked a Grumpy. A Disney Grumpy. Only with more beard and bushier eyebrows, mostly gray with streaks of black which may be hair. Or not. A petrichor smell accompanied his unexpected appearance.

  “Landvaetter,” Jorund whispered. The man took a step forward and gripped his battleaxe tighter.

  “Now, now, now, warrior. Put that swinger to the side and sit down. Take a load off your feet. Let your armored behind rest on the ground,” said the strange creature. He didn’t sound intimidated by Jorund’s size or by the man’s battle-ready stance.

  The creature sat on a tree stump which rose from the ground. He carefully looked at each of them, his hands on his knees.

  “So! What do we have here? Two humans with a third running around somewhere playing tafl with those jotnar by his lonesome. No humans have been in these parts since the time of those hunters who stayed in the clearing you came from.”

  He then laughed seeing the surprised faces of the two.

  “Why? You don’t think we don’t know what’s going on in this small forest? But you have been busy. Wrestling with those dokkalfr and jotnar. Oh, don’t worry. You humans turned out to be a lesser evil than them. You did burn part of the forest but it was for a good cause.” He then laughed so hard he nearly fell off his temporary chair.

  “But where are my manners? Rumpr’s the name. And as I said, don’t worry about the fire. You did try to make sure it didn’t spread. And a controlled fire once in a while is good for the forest. You did contribute the dokkalfr and jotnar fertilizer for it.”

  “I am Havard the mage. This is Jorund. Our companion is Habrok. You’re not angry? We didn’t have any choice except start the fire to protect ourselves,” Tyler responded with some degree of relief.

  “Oh, no, my lad. I saw the entire thing. Those jotnar had been a pain in our backside for so long. My grandfather did talk about a great forest ranging from the Gap up to what you call now as the Mountains of Sorrow. Well, that was until those gods thought it a good thing to bring their fight to these parts. Then Ymir came with his jotnar. Then the dokkalfr. But the jotnar have always been our bane. All they want are forests wrapped by the cold. Their kind of cold. Not all plants and trees can survive that. Not to mention the animals.”

  “Don’t you have a forest guardian? Almost all forests have one, I have heard.”

  “We did have a guardian. Past tense. That was when this forest stretched up to the middle and the entrance of the Gap. But Ymir made sure the post became vacant and the forest shrank. Only a few of us are left, trying to do what we can for the forest. It’s a sad tale, lads. And will be a sadder one. But enough of an old landvaetter’s ramblings. What about you?”

  Jorund just grunted. And he still kept his weapon close at hand. Tyler knew he was the one on the spot. Well, being called “my lord” or “sire” does that.

  “We were to keep watch on the army attacking Scarburg. We got trapped and had to fight our way out.”

  “Oho! You humans have got your work cut out for you! I have never seen such an army since…… you know, I can’t remember! You got out, killed a lot of them along the way. That’s good, that’s good. But what about now?”

  “We have to try to do the most damage we can. One enemy killed here is one enemy less for the town to worry about.”

  “True, true. But when you are dead, who gets to sing songs about what you did? Scarburg will surely fall, then eastern Skaney and finally the rest.”

  “But we have to try,” protested Tyler, “We are all dead already anyway.”

  “Dead men talking and fighting! That’s a first! No. I think I heard about dead men talking and fighting before. My cousin said it’s not a pretty sight. Smelled terrible too.”

  “Can you help?”

  “I can’t fight, boy. If that’s what you are thinking. This here blade is for poking hard-headed friends.”

  “No, not that. Something to enable us to get close to them without being discovered. For as long as possible. We intend to harass and do as much damage as we can. Night would be the best time to do it. Like now. It’s starting to get dark. But the dokkalfr have excellent night eyes and their wolves and other beasts may be able to smell us.”

  “AH! If that’s what you want, I think I may be able to help. But it won’t keep you hidden forever.”

  “We know. Can you also make us a ditch to hide in? A series of connected ones. We can hit them in one place and then move to another. Make it as difficult as possible for them to find us.”

  “I think these limbs have some magic left in them. So! When do we start?”

  “After our companion returns. Anybody else who can help?”

  “Nah. They're all hiding or far away. Young ones! I would have thought them to have stronger backbones! Or bigger balls!”

  Rumpr then stopped. His face in an attentive mood.

  “Good. My old ears tell me your friend is not far. H e’s coming back. He’ll be here shortly.”

  At that comment, Jorund stood up and went to await Habrok. Tyler was left with the landvaetter. The gnome-like creature had an impish smile on its face. Funny, he should smile more, thought Tyler, makes him look a lot younger. More Doopey than Grumpy. But Doopey with a beard.

  “So, mage. A young mage. A very powerful young mage. A lot of spells. Some familiar. Some not. There’s more to you than your tired face shows.”

  Tyler just smiled. He remembered to cast a healing spell on himself.

  “With a healing spell. Simple spell. Yet… that spell smells of a forest guardian, mage. It doesn’t have the tang of metal like those cast through runes. You have the blessing of one. That’s good. Makes me feel better about helping you. Humans have committed wrongs too, you know.”

  “I know. But humans are also like you, other beings, and the gods. We have our good and bad sides too.”

  “True. At least humans don’t want to tamper with the seasons. Actually, I think you prefer the warmer months.”

  “That we do.”

  “I won’t ask you any more about your magic, mage. I have long discovered that often times, the less one knows, the better. Or is it don’t play with something you don’t know? Or maybe it should be … awwww… forget it. My mind is not what it used to be.”

  Habrok arrived as Rumpr said. His eyes bulged at the forest creature sitting near Tyler. Though he had the grace to greet Rumpr. The two went to Tyler. Habrok looked at Rumpr and then Tyler, obviously wondering if he should report with a stranger in their midst.

  “It’s fine, Habrok. Rumpr is here to help. What’s the
situation?”

  “Sire, the mountain clearing had been taken by them. It was a good thing we left. They struck with so many spells, nothing was left of the camp. The ground was still even warm when I checked. After that, they left. The furthest point the main host had reached is an area about half a mile from the catapult zone of the town. The first attack probably failed its objectives as the host had started to camp for the night. Their losses today must have given them pause. But their encampments range from just before the destroyed jotnar catapults up to two miles beyond the entrance where we entered the forest. Lots of wagons and siege equipment. Patrols too. I guess tomorrow will be the day.”

  “Did you see how they are deployed for the night?” Tyler asked, noticing the “sire” in Habrok’s language. That must be Jorund’s work.

  Habrok picked up a small stick and drew in the dirt. The bulk of the fighting groups of the enemy was positioned forward. Wagons and siege towers were kept at the back. Catapults were kept with the wagons in front of the siege towers. But a sizable dokkalfr contingent was with them, together with ice elves on giant wolves. Habrok estimated a force of two thousand. The burned forest was left empty as it was some distance away from the encamped formations. The jotnar clearly wanted to keep their formations tight for the night and in preparation for a quick deployment for the following day’s attack.

  “Did you see what the wagons contained?”

  “No, Sire. But my guess would be their rations, mantlets, and special ammunition for the catapults. I have seen mantlets being brought forward.”

  “Try to draw how they are deployed.”

  Habrok did as told. Fortuitously, they were lined up in a close manner but under heavy guard. They were not that far off from the entrance to the now desolate forest area.

  “Rumpr, can you please have connecting ditches deployed like this,” Tyler drew on the ground, along the edges of the burned forest, “but maintain the depth at chest height. Is that possible?

  “That? Child’s play. If you want, I can even have a ditch connecting it to the edge of the stream and some distance beyond that, within the cover of the forest. To cover you, I can have a fog in the area and extend it for some distance. It’s normal in this part of the forest but sometimes fog doesn’t happen so we better make sure. To cover your smell, you get to choose an enchantment or roll around on the ground and wipe yourselves with those leaves. The enchantment doesn’t last long, you should know.”

  Tyler looked at his two companions.

  “Thanks for the ditches. Please extend it as you see fit. Uhmm, about the enchantment and the natural cover, can we have both?”

  Rumpr laughed. A lot.

  “Oh, you humans. You never change. I’ll cast the enchantment when we’re there. In the meantime, rest and eat. Then follow up to the stream near your former camp. I will go ahead and do my work. Don’t worry, I will find you when it’s done. But don’t take too long.”

  With that, Rumpr walked out of the defile. Probably didn’t want us to see any more of his tricks. He could have left the way he came. The three ate their meal in silence. Each one thinking about what may happen. Three against a couple of thousand. Even when the attack was going to be done at night, under cover of a short-lived enchantment, the odds looked daunting. Tyler, for his part, was wracking his brain on what to do. The general idea was there. But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Meal over, he looked at the two.

  “Here’s the plan. We have no intention of directly tangling with two thousand jotnar and dokkalfr. What we want to do is hit their siege equipment and then the wagons. If we can do that, the pressure on Scarburg will lessen. A lot. Your job is to watch my back. Jorund, an extra task. If you see me falling into that magical exhaustion again. Tell me. Then we all withdraw and find another opportunity. But find targets of opportunity. No flame arrows. They will be seen in the dark.”

  “Sire, once things start being exciting, they will suspect the woods on both sides. It will only be a matter of time before they find us.” That was Jorund. Habrok nodded in agreement.

  “If that happens, we withdraw immediately. We use the ditch to get out. You heard what I told Rumpr. We have up to the forest past the stream. That way we wouldn’t be silhouetted while getting away. When withdrawing, keep close. We won’t have the time to look for anybody missing.”

  The three moved out, confident that their movements will be cloaked by the landvaetter. Tyler had his staff in his right hand. The fog was already starting to rise but he could still see where they were going. Reaching the trees just before the stream, they paused and waited for Rumpr. They could see the thick fog that covered the desolate forest battleground in front of them. While waiting, they rubbed exposed skin and their gear with the leaves pointed out to them. After a while, Rumpr’s voice sounded behind them.

  “Hello, my human friends. Who are as crazy as a svartalfar on a grog-less diet for a week! I would have said a vargyr with its tail on fire but it didn't seem right!”

  “Everything ready?” asked Tyler as he turned to look at the being.

  “Except the ditch on this side. The channel on this side will be directly in front of the trench on the other side of the stream. Can you see it? It’s right in front of you. Did the digging while you were waiting.”

  Tyler tried looking at the ground in front of him. But excellent his enhanced eyesight may be, the lack of forest tracking skills betrayed him. He couldn’t see anything. Habrok spoke up.

  “There it is, Sire. See that tree in front of us? With a big rock beside it? The trench opening is between the two.”

  He finally saw it. It really was difficult. It merged with the darkness and shadows cast by the trees. He gave the signal to cross the stream. Habrok took the lead and Jorund took the tail end position. They moved fast, trusting in magical concealment. As they passed through the ditches, they made sure dirt spread along their bodies, grabbing fistfuls at times to rub into their armor and faces. Tyler trusted Habrok could find their way back. The man has changed since the discussion at the inn and strangely, Tyler hasn’t decided yet if he missed the old garrulous Habrok. Most probably not.

  The crooked way the channel ran confused Tyler. He doubted he could find his way back by himself. By the time they reached their so-called front line, the trio were unbelievably dirty. Their fording of the stream contributed to dirt turning into mud in their bodies. Front line for Rumpr was several feet away from the edge of the scorched forest and true to his word, the fog was heavy. It extended to the encamped enemy.

  Tyler was guided by Habrok to a part of the trench which was directly in front of the wagons and siege equipment. Not that it was difficult to find. The belfries of the tall siege towers were visible even with the dim moonlight. Thankfully, the moons had shed their full glory and moved to the next phase. Ground visibility was nil. The problem was the wagons and the catapults could not be seen. He based their locations from the drawing Habrok made, using the breaching towers as his reference point.

  I can’t use the ground level fireball spells. Can’t see for shit. Distance must be around three-fourths of a mile? Difficult to assess under these conditions. What to do? How to do it? A bombardment of empty spheres and fill with energy before impact? That would limit the number of spheres. I don’t think I can infuse all of them before they hit. Not to mention difficult. An outright volley will definitely lead them right to our exact location. The bright reddish hue of the spheres will be lighted signs leading to this part of the trench. And then they’ll all come rushing to the attack. Rushing? That gives me an idea.

  He laid down rectangular shapes in front of their position. A hundred feet away, with a frontage of what he approximated at fifty feet. Working quickly, he laid them down at intervals of ten feet. Then he laid down another line two hundred feet away. Determining his next position, he then did the same layout. Then again for a third position. Three tries were all he thought he could hope for before a sea of enemies start moving against them. H
e was sure more will be coming from the forward encampments. Then run as fast as they could to their stream boundary. Once inside, he hoped to do the burning attack which proved to be successful. Despite the lack of trees, he expected the fog to befuddle them while pursuing.