Slipping through the break in the camouflage walls, the hunting party deposited the girls on the ground. Still wrapped up in the net, gagged and bound with their hands behind their backs; the girls could do little but listen as the pirates discussed what to do with their new hostages.
"Now what, Gerfon?" one of the men who had been carrying Shefar asked as they bound the tribal lookout to a palm tree. The trunk was slim, but still more than enough to keep the man from escaping.
The wizard turned his back on the man putting his hand out to stop the questions. "We have two of their sirens now. If we hope to take back our fortress and our slaves, we will have to risk taking the others as well. As long as they can use their siren song against us, we aren't safe."
The younger wizard sat on a flat stone raised just beyond the reach of the mermaids. He questioned, "Can we hope to catch them all?"
"There were only five. Two swam off with those people who freed them and captured us in their stead. We have two of those, so there should be just one left."
The blonde haired woman pirate reminded the wizard, "More of those people have appeared. Where they hid themselves for so long, I don't know; but there are more of them than before. They could have more sirens with them. Maybe that is where this redhead came from, which would mean there could be two more at the least."
Growling in frustration at the reminder, Gerfon complained, "Why didn't that fool Renles break free? We could use his ability to scout from the air now. What kind of wizard is he that the man couldn't escape those cages anyway?"
"A wizard that was too useless to join us," Konnar stated grumpily. The other pirates looked to echo the sentiment, though they knew the missing wizard's air magic could have been useful in truth.
While the pirates were preoccupied with their discussions, Evie released her mermaid tail returning her human legs. The girl slid her bound hands down under her rear and worked each leg through the gap between her arms. She did it slowly avoiding notice until Evie could bring her hands up to remove her gag. Though the girl moved about within the confines of the net, no one gave it much thought thinking the 'mermaid' was simply trying to adjust in her bindings. Shefar rolled to her side and back trying to keep her arms from going to sleep at the same time making the movements within Evie's net appear virtually the same.
Contemplating the cloth restraining her wrists for a moment, Evie began to wear at the knot with her teeth. It had been meant to keep a mermaid from reaching her gag, but a normal woman could bring her tied wrists in front of her like the wilder managed to do. She was flexible and her teeth were sharp and strong. Some of the wild animals the girl could become seemed built into her by the way her teeth worked the knot slowly loose.
Once freed, Evie continued to watch the pirates. She could turn into a mouse or something small, but freeing herself didn't help her new friend.
She wondered if the others would find them soon. Evie also wondered if she could do something to unsettle the pirates. Doing too much could get them killed, but doing just enough might distract them at the right time.
Sighing, the girl used her fingers to pry open a hole in the netting to see where some of her closest guards were now. If she could sneak away long enough to agitate them, would that be safe for Shefar?
The pirates were getting agitated enough without her contributing to it as some began worrying over pursuit.
"They were slaves and farmers. They aren't hunters," Gerfon declared as the others worried. "If they had any hunters, we would have been discovered long ago. These islanders are also too afraid of us to try anything. We may not have the numbers to take and hold the fort, but they know we have magic that can hurt them."
"Why don't we just burn the place down and kill any who run for it?" one of the men suggested.
"And you want to farm the land and rebuild?" the other wizard asked.
"We have this place," the man offered using his hands to gesture at their camp.
Konnar and several others responded with disgust. Evie thought that it was a surprisingly comfortable camp considering their plight, but she guessed that the pirates were used to living a bit better in the fort. The girl had seen the well built houses and supposed that they were nice inside as well.
"We would be foolish to kill them all," Gerfon stated simply. "Once we gain the upper hand, we will need something to sell again. The sirens can still be tamed to use to empty other ships like they have in the past."
"Ships avoid these islands saying that they're haunted now," the taller woman pirate complained. She was fairly young, but must have been around long enough to know that business wasn't as good with the current stigma associated with the area current status. Easy treasure from ships pulling in near the islands wasn't as common as in the past when the pirates had been able to kill the crews to sell the ships and take the treasure onboard.
Sighing, the wizard commented with a wave of his hand, "Fine, then maybe we can take the singing fish and use them to take other ships while at sea. We will need to build a new crew and can use the islands as our base. Does that work for all of you?
"First, we need to actually take the fort back from the slaves before anything else can happen."
The last idea started to make the pirates excited, but they were also looking ready to return their attention to their hostages. Evie decided that escaping might be the best idea after all. She could stay nearby or run back to the fort. Noting her clothing, the girl hoped that Sebastian wouldn't be too angry with her for leaving behind her new clothes.
Needing to change into something small enough to escape through the gaps in the net, Evie shrunk making both net and clothing deflate in a moment. The change was swift and the girl, now a mouse, squirmed her way through the cloth of her blouse and out the collar. The net was simple to escape. She didn't even need to chew her way out of the bindings which could hold a mermaid or human quite easily.
The mouse ran to the protection of the closest hut. She skirted the outer wall of the small building and out beneath the brush of the concealing camouflage wall. Evie wondered if help would come quickly or if she should try hurrying back to the others to let them know where the pirates were holding Shefar.
It only took a few minutes for the changeling to hear the outcry of the pirates as they discovered the missing girl.
"Where did the other mermaid go?" one voice called out.
"There is clothing in here, but no girl," another stated as they picked at the netting trying to figure out how a mermaid had escaped her bonds.
"Where is the other mermaid, Shefar?" Gerfon demanded pulling the net upward to bring the blond girl's face closer to his threateningly.
"I don't know," Shefar answered sounding frightened. She hadn't seen Evie disappear either and now the girl felt even more alone. At least with Evie in her mermaid form, the danger was split between them. Her friend was missing now and Shefar was still trapped as a mermaid on land.
"She was a mermaid. There was no amulet on her. We checked!" he finished looking at the others demandingly.
Olta replied, "She was wearing a blouse, but it was thin and wet. There was no way she could have hidden an amulet the way Skor frisked her."
"She wasn't very big on top, and I could see through the shirt, Gerfon," the man who had touched her so rudely said.
Evie frowned, which was more difficult as a mouse, and wished that she had magic like Ashleen, which could shock the pirates quickly; or perhaps the fighting skills of a battle mage like Sebastian. The girl found herself looking in the direction of the fort at the thought of his name.
When their heightened hearing picked up the voices raised in debate, Sebastian nodded to Rilena who could hear them as well.
"Night shield," he called to his left hand preparing a defense for the wizards. Neither of the mages feared the pirates too much, though Sebastian knew better than to underestimate an opponent also.
Ashleen followed their lead as the three advanced with their shields ready before
them. His keen vision spotted a lookout before the man could turn to warn the others.
"Sleep arrow," the owl mage cast his unique skill catching the pirate in the face. His eyes rolled back as the man slumped to the ground already asleep before he could touch the ground.
Rilena split to the left hoping to catch the pirates between them as Sebastian moved to his right more. While the two mages worked without speaking, Ashleen remained close to her protector. She had strong magic to fall back on, but the girl was still a wizard needing the mage to prevent a swordsman from getting too close.
A strangely thick wall of brush rose before them and Sebastian kept his eyes and other senses on alert for more lookouts. He spotted no more and could see the pirates inside their compound looking around agitatedly. A net with Shefar held the blond mermaid. One of the men was speaking to her demandingly and the girl sounded frightened. A second net was picked up, prodded and poked as the pirates looked around for the one who had escaped.
Sebastian knew the work of Evie immediately. The wizard must have changed into something small to escape, but they hadn't come across her yet. Assuming the changeling was nearby trying to decide how to save the other girl and the man who had been dragged along as a hostage, the mage knew that they could expect some form of help after they attacked.
"Release the girl," Sebastian demanded as he moved into sight at one of the gaps in the brush.
Men and women jumped looking for weapons that few of them had.
Gerfon and Konnar began to chant and gesture immediately even as they spotted the pair of black shields. No one had noticed Rilena as the dark haired mage moved closer to the camp from his left.
Fire flew from the younger blonde haired wizard while the older man held his hand parallel to the ground. A rumble as stone rolled towards them surprised the mage. They had gotten smarter than the last time he had fought the pirate wizards. Not every wizard had been a factor that time, but those he had fought had tried using fire to kill the captive islanders.
"Reflex," the mage called and dodged to the side leaving the black shield to catch much of the fire. Ashleen was slower to react and, to his sped up mind, the wilder actually looked like she was in slow motion. Her night shield caught the remainder of the fire as instinctively her runes enveloped the wilder in an orange ball of glowing magic.
Gerfon's spell caught Ashleen's shell knocking the girl off her feet as the ball was redirected to the side. The earth magic threw her aside, but the orange ball protected her as the girl rolled away. She was thrown around inside, but Sebastian couldn't reach her while the magic was up either.
He also had about a dozen pirates to deal with including the two wizards.
Lightning lit the ball of magic jumping towards the brush concealing the camp as Ashleen's magic lashed out through the ball. The runes seemed to allow the magic to leave unrestricted and greenery exploded in several places as the arcs of lightning struck wall. Thunder followed and echoed across the island with the strength of her magic.
The oval rune opened letting the owl draw his Hollow Sword and closed again quickly. Enjoying the speed of the runes and the ability to avoid having to cast or call them into being, Sebastian closed with the nearest pirate.
Brandishing a club made from one of the local trees, the pirate tried to fight him; but the sword cut through the club with ease. His night shield was pushed into the pirate before Sebastian's fist struck the man on the side of the face. The hilt in his hand made the blow feel like steel and the pirate dropped in one shot.
"Sleep," he said charging the sword. There was no need to kill these people, even if they were criminals. The mage tried to be humane and avoided killing when he could. With portal magic available, Sebastian could bring them to justice just as soon as they finished capturing the motley band.
Another earth spell sent spikes towards him and the mage called on one of his new spells, "Dragon wings!"
The orange rune shield blocked the stone, and Sebastian countered jumping into the air. "Ice breath."
Crystallizing the air before him as it was sent towards the ground, the affect magnified as the grass and dirt was suddenly covered in a quarter inch of ice in a direct path towards the wizards. The pirates caught in the blast were covered in ice as well making their clothing bind and cut.
Slashing with his sword, the sleep spell trapped within waiting to be released rushed out catching most of those caught in the ice.
He landed maintaining the dragon wings. A pirate lashed out with his sword and Sebastian leaned forward letting his right wing move forward protecting that side. The blade was knocked aside and fell from the man's hand as the shock of the hit made it vibrate like there was no leather covering the grip.
"Sleep," he added pointing at the man with his left hand.
The spell sent the pirate to the ground in a heap.
His eyes noted all but the two wizards had fallen already. Rilena had cut through from his left and struck down three more pirates. Ashleen's lightning had caught a couple more. Before he could think to finish the wizards off, however, a lion's roar as a streak of tan leaped towards the wizards told him where Evie had hidden.
The two wizards turned at the same time ignoring the two battle mages. Konnar was thrown to the ground before either man could raise a spell. The lion's clawed tore his shirt drawing blood as the lioness tried to use him to spring towards Gerfon.
A wind gust threw the lion back as the older wizard stumbled back casting the spell meant for Sebastian. Even as Evie rolled over, the mage closed the distance. Finding the Hollow Sword pointed at his neck, Gerfon raised his hands in surrender though the wizard's eyes moved to watch the lion as it righted itself.
Rilena and Ashleen entered the camp as Evie changed back to a naked girl once more. The wizard's eyes opened in shock. "But you were a mermaid."
"She's a shape changer," Sebastian stated correcting the man. "Evie doesn't need her hands or words to shift either. She's a wilder."
"Where is Shefar's amulet?" the petite redhead asked walking up to the wizard without any sense of shame that she had no clothes. Not just a wilder as a wizard, Evie was nearly a wild child meant for nature more than the cities of man.
The necklace was produced from a pocket and Evie walked over handing her friend the amulet through a gap in the loose weave of the net before working at the knot which had kept her trapped inside. Magic changed the mermaid back into a girl as she asked in shock, "How did you escape?"
"I turned into a mouse after changing back into a regular girl," Evie replied with a smile as the top of the net finally gave way for her to open the end. Helping her friend wiggle free, Evie took the hug from Shefar's gratitude before moving to the empty net holding her clothes.
Noting Sebastian's eyes cross hers, the wilder looked like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry, Sebastian. I didn't panic, but I thought I could help Shefar escape if I became a mouse. I didn't want to leave my clothes behind."
"Don't worry about it, Evie. Just get your clothes back on while we take care of this wizard and his people."
Ashleen moved to help the younger girl saying soothing things to her while Rilena and Sebastian began to tie the hands of the wizards and pirates. Getting so many back to the fort was going to take time, he thought.
Chapter 23- Ensolus
Talks between the locals and the diplomats from Southwall went much easier after Sebastian and the others returned with the dozen pirates in tow. It was an unplanned success in making the islands safer for the tribe and did a lot to assuage the worries the islanders had dealing with Southwall.
They weren't even an official country, but the diplomat wizards tried to give them the respect that they would if the tribe was the size of Talos or one of the other island nations. Respect given made the people feel better about themselves after decades under the rule of one pirate captain after another. Their people had been torn apart, taken away and left as slaves to breed more slaves. Only those who had stayed beneath the wa
ves continued much like they had before the Cataclysm.
The merfolk did what they could to mask the origins of those from beneath the waves, even though Shefar's magic had been revealed to the newcomers as well. Sebastian had expected them to, since he feared other men would come to try and take advantage of the race which had left the land by using magic amulets. The chance to get such amulets could lead to others greed as well as the chance to see mermaids from legend. It was a tricky point to their relations that few knew and probably should know, he thought.
Though the diplomats knew at least three of their people could change into a mermaid, they were wizards and battle mages who were used to the complexities of magic. They were asked to keep the matter quiet from the general public, even that of the guilds who might wish to send research wizards to investigate. Only the king and a few of his advisors would be told. The information would be held close for only those who truly would need to know.
By the end of the day, talk of letting small groups of wizards come to the island to see what resources the islanders could use to build trade had been propositioned and agreed to by the locals. A possible secondary force coming to build another fort capable of protecting the islands until the natives could be trained well enough to defend their land seemed possible, though such agreements weren't finished after just one day.
Asked to remain for an evening's entertainment, Sebastian and the others stayed, but used portals to return to Hala after the festivities had ended. Oltus and Dinah remained behind with a few mages under Falconi Brelan's command. Sebastian doubted there was any real need for guards with the current pirate threat ended, but it was considered standard to leave guards for the diplomat wizards.
Returning to the inn, Sebastian found himself yawning even as the musicians playing in the hall of the Black Smith Inn continued with at least an hour more ahead of them. He and Ashleen went to their room alone. Rilena and Evie could use the mermaids' old room for at least one more night, but he wasn't sure of the future of the two girls' lodging beyond that.
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 34