Sniffing the air, the battle mage noted water if he followed the street to his right exiting the house. There was also power radiating from a gate or portal point there. Looking the other way, Sebastian spotted light coming through a massive gap beyond the curve of the street. It was hard to tell how far it was with the houses around him blocking his view, but the owl guessed that it was probably as much as a mile away from him now.
Instead of working towards an escape, the mage turned towards the water. A matter of a few blocks walk led him to a large lake. An arch reaching high above the surface stood on stone footings in the water. Like a door before the cave wall, Sebastian saw only solid stone if he were to pass through the arch. Looking along the stone surrounding the lake, the mage spotted masts on the water leading to the black hulls of the dark ships of the emperor. He had managed to defeat three of them, or least he and his team aboard the Malaiy frigate had managed to defeat one along the way while searching for Gerid before a battle at the island dealt with two more.
Sebastian guessed that this was where the three ships might have started their voyage, though he wondered how they could have made a gate so large. If using enough warlocks was the key, the mage guessed that the emperor could make them do such an undertaking.
Sebastian hid a pair of lodestones between two houses set against the cave wall before moving on hoping that they would remain hidden until the owl needed them again.
As he walked along the path paralleling the lake, Sebastian's heightened senses noted the smell of death. Carts holding a handful of cloth wrapped bodies were left in an area surrounded by a fence. Within the area two furnaces were sitting with fires banked. Large doors in the front led him to believe that this was a place where the dead were cremated. Southwall buried their dead for the most part, but he knew some people burned the dead to place their ashes in an urn. Some even distributed the ashes in a place where the loved one had asked to spend his afterlife as well.
Whether the dead remained in this world or moved beyond, the religious sects in Southwall differed; but the mage doubted that death was truly the end. He followed those who believed a body had a soul. Separated from a body, the soul could move to another world or haunt the current one, though the mage had never noticed any ghosts.
A further reason he believed that a man had a soul came from the monstrosities of the Dark One. He had seen the undead raised to serve the enemy. One of the few he had fought still retained its consciousness enough to speak and fight. A soul must have been pulled back for such a thing to work.
Shaking his head, the mage moved on. He wasn't here to contemplate an afterlife after all. Using his sight, Sebastian felt for magic. West of the lake there were strong centers where the mage could feel dozens to hundreds of warlocks in those buildings and spires. It could have been a school like White Hall or regular housing, though he wasn't sure if that was how the emperor trained his warlocks. It was doubtful that the Dark One could just create warlocks after all, so it made sense that they would need to train and learn like the wizards of Southwall.
Turning away from the lake towards the south wall, but still east of the cave mouth; the mage was surprised as he began to see people in the streets. Human men and women were here instead of the monsters so often seen in the Dark One's armies. Sebastian supposed that he shouldn't be surprised. After the Cataclysm, there were many people displaced and once the wall had been built few had come for the protection the wall afforded. Some became nomads and others must have joined the emperor. Those who stood up against the dark armies would have been destroyed long ago, so it was inevitable that there would be those willing to serve the Dark One if only in the hopes of living in peace.
These people didn't look wealthy, but he was surprised at the friendliness of the pedestrians as they nodded to or greeted one another. Most must have been used to seeing the others every day, Sebastian thought as the mage stumbled across a bazaar. Shopkeepers and those with stands were already preparing their wares. Stalls, wagons, permanent stands and stores were all represented here. These people knew each other and Sebastian worried that he would be noticed as different from the others.
After a little while, the man realized that his worries were unfounded. He heard common speech spoken for the most part. It would have been the main language the humans of the area would have known, so again it wasn't unexpected. Several acknowledged him apparently believing that he was just another customer looking for something.
While the owl mage was still wandering through the stands, he noticed creatures which weren't human in smaller numbers. Orcs were amongst the humans. A few even had stalls there. Nothing seemed permanent, but they were as welcomed as much as the humans. The sharp eyed mage also noticed several people with pointed ears. Elves, like those who had come to the tournament with Darius, wandered through the stalls looking at clothing, food and many other things. No one seemed to care that they were different and Sebastian thought that it was rather refreshing seeing so many types of people and races coming together without any hatred or fear.
Leaving the human area as he moved west towards the cave opening, the mage found the next district seemed to be that of the orcs. Other than the majority of the people around him being orcs, it seemed little different from the human ward. He heard more guttural sounding voices speaking common and perhaps a mixture of some old orc language, because he found them a bit harder to understand. They barely gave him a glance, however, as the man walked through the streets and markets that he found there.
His exploration continued until he could see through the massive opening of the cave. Though light came through brightening as the day lengthened and the sun rose, Sebastian spotted an outer wall lined with towers. It actually consisted of two sets of walls with tower defenses. The outer wall had gates and reached out into the sunlight. Businesses, warehouses and large silos holding food dominated the area between the walls. He could see some homes mixed through, but this was a place where merchants brought their goods. Trade between the dark empire and other nations seemed strange to believe, but as much as was there, it had to be true. There were farms to the south as well, he knew from the reports of scouts who had managed to infiltrate to the outer gates.
Security there had been stout enough that few spies had ever made it inside the cave city, but the outer lands had been safe enough. Farmers, miners and merchants worked outside the city, but made their living trading with the people inside the cave. It seemed little different from Southwall in reality. Living in Hala or White Hall was probably very similar, though Sebastian had to fight looking at the stone above him.
The cavern ceiling replaced the sky and the locals looked up as seldom as he would look at the sky in most cities. It was common and changed less than the sky above Southwall, so they had little reason to look up. For Sebastian, the stone of the mountain looming above him perhaps hundreds of feet above the ground in places felt oppressive, but these people had lived here so long it meant nothing to them. Those who had been born there would probably be more afraid of the open air outside.
Turning back towards the north, Sebastian spotted farms to the west. What crops grew well inside of the cave, he was unsure. They must have brought good earth inside since the hard stone beneath his feet had been everywhere and it wasn't just the streets. His eyes wandered to the large buildings beyond the fields and wondered what was there in the dark regions of the cave. Northward he felt the concentration of magic again.
Spires of stone went from floor to ceiling and many were as wide as the castle and its outer grounds in Hala. As he moved closer, Sebastian could see windows and balconies built into many of the spires. The locals must live inside and there were many windows in each one. The owl counted ten to fifteen floors, if the number of windows were a testament to what was inside. Nowhere in Southwall were there buildings nearly so high.
As the mage walked north, the fields changed. The sound of metal striking metal or wood came to his ears. He didn't need the hound spell
active to notice the sounds of combat. Seeing soldiers of different races training in dozens of fields ranging from the farms to the buildings and spires to the east, Sebastian knew that he was watching the enemy training for war. It was possible that he would see these same soldiers in battle in the future.
It felt surreal to see these soldiers training. The mage had fought and killed orcs, goblins and men fighting for the Dark One. This was the heart of those who continued to attack Southwall.
"Hey, what do you think you are doing here!?" a male voice called out challenging him. Other eyes and grim looks followed the warning from dozens of soldiers within earshot. They were all focused on him and Sebastian realized that the mage was the only pedestrian in sight. He had been so focused on what was around him that the mage had managed to miss the fact right in front of him.
His senses told him that there were no warlocks nearby. Thinking quickly, the mage mimed the gestures of a fire wizard and called out under his breath, "Fireball."
Holding the fire above his hand as the mage continued to walk, he replied even as the soldiers seemed to pull back with surprise, "I was just out for a walk before my duties with the gates, if you must know."
He hoped that warlocks had such regular duties, but figured that someone must watch their portals just like the wizards and soldiers of Southwall did. The man who had called out to him looked like a human merged with an orc. His face looked too rough and dark to be merely human, but he was slimmer than an orc as well. What bizarre experiment had resulted in this being's existence, he had no idea. It could have been natural breeding which would lead to many other questions or something else that a mage's mind would have no concept of to try understanding.
"Sorry, warlock, you just don't look like a typical magic user that is all," the soldier said backpedaling in his sudden fear of what a man with magic could do to him.
"And what does a warlock look like exactly?" the owl asked tersely trying to keep the man off balance. Stopping as he made the fireball shift in front of him. It was meant to look like he planned to throw it if the soldier gave the wrong answer.
"Um, well, they always seem to where robes or fancy clothing, unless they are apprentices of course."
"Do I look like an apprentice to you?" the mage questioned angrily before adding five more fireballs under his breath. Sebastian used movement of the fingers of his left hand pretending to cast like a wizard.
"N-n-no, sir,... er, warlock, sir, you just carry yourself more like a soldier than a warlock," the man stammered looking fearful as the fireballs began to swirl slowly in a circle in the air before the battle mage.
His control and strength continued to improve, Sebastian thought to himself, but didn't let his thoughts betray him as he answered, "A wizard hunter can be both."
Hoping the term was universal from the name they had heard, Sebastian referred to the black armored soldiers and warlocks, which had fought against his people throughout the North Sea. The black ships had been filled with the men in armor which had nullified most elemental attacks.
Sebastian started walking away even as he glared at the soldiers before sending his fireballs flying forward towards the men. He snuffed the fire well before they could strike the soldiers and continued walking even as the man let out a breath in relief. While the mage couldn't be sure that warlocks would view the soldiers in a similar way to the wizards in Southwall, the response of the soldiers had confirmed that it was true.
Men with great power simply thought less of those wielding swords. He had proved that a soldier in the right circumstance could beat a wizard, but these men obviously didn't know that.
Taking the next road heading back to the east, Sebastian let himself be drawn towards the magic of more portal gates.
Chapter 24- No Rest
A large square building with two open doors large enough for ten men across to enter either side gave off the energy of two different gates. They were the ones corresponding to the dots on his map most likely, since Sebastian didn't feel anything else like them and the magic felt like that of his map also.
It was well guarded. Two guards for each door could be seen and as he passed the building the spy could see more soldiers inside. Multiple warlock auras could be felt inside as well most likely meaning both a team of casters capable of using the portal and more to kill anything that came through which was considered an enemy.
He turned at the far corner walking alongside the building. Surprisingly there were no guards around the sides. He supposed that the thick stone of the building was considered enough while guarded from within. No one was supposed to be able to attack the building from outside its walls to their thinking, but that was a mistake in his mind. The enemy believed that no one would wish to assault the gate building from the cavern surrounding it, but that only remained true if no one could get inside the cave city to attack. The locals likely never would.
Sebastian pulled a pair of his lodestones from a bag at his waist. Appearing to be a small bag of coins, no one would have given it a second glance unless they wished to rob him.
Dropping the two stones on either side of a nearby street, it was the fifth gate he had sowed while inside Ensolus. If the king ever chose to try attacking the emperor's city, the mage hoped having portals around the cave would lead to chaos and victory over the enemy. Attacking from multiple points would allow multiple portal wizards and possibly ones in other cities to send enough divisions to tear the capitol apart.
Sebastian wandered back to the west side of the portal building making a secondary attack point. It might take two platoons or more attacking from either side to destroy the building, though he had an idea which might do it without sending troops at all also. Whether his alternate attack plan would be chosen was something for a later time.
The mage had been walking around for over an hour and decided that he would have to finish mapping the city sowing his lodestone gates later. Ashleen would begin to worry and others might find his disappearance troublesome as well. While no one seemed to be watching over or otherwise spying on the mage in Hala, Sebastian often wondered if Raven Leros and the high wizards would leave him on his own without supervision.
If he was them, the mage would have found a way to keep an eye on someone causing as much change as he had of late.
Looking around for prying eyes, Sebastian called a glowing gate and returned to the Black Smith Inn.
Walking into the inn, the mage spotted Ashleen waiting for him with Rilena and Evie at the table. She looked neither mad nor happy with him, but held an envelope between her fingers.
"Where did you go?" Ashleen asked appearing less interested in the answer than needing to ask it. "Evie told us you had some errands to run."
"I took a run and was performing a new experiment outside of Hala. It wasn't that big a deal, but took more time than I originally planned," the owl answered a bit vaguely. He could hardly announce to the inn that he had just come from the heart of the Dark One's empire after all.
"Well, you took long enough that they sent another letter for you, but the messenger didn't know if it required immediate attention. Apparently he is told as little as I am most days," the wilder finished with the hint of a frown. "Oh, you have some disappointed students waiting impatiently for you over there also," Ashleen finished pointing to a table near the front door and several tables away from the girls.
Wizard Helmar and his apprentices looked at him expectantly and he groaned. "I forgot about them," Sebastian stated realizing the healers had hoped to fit in more training for the runes before he had to go to the next guardian city to set their gate, though nothing had been set with the allotted time needed for working on the island's portal and negotiations.
Windmeer was the next projected gate and further west; so with each new city, there would be more time in the morning than the cities before them. The sun would reach Windmeer a little later than White Hall, while Falcon's Keep and Raven Hurst would each be later still.
; Shaking her head at him slowly, Ashleen gave him a look of disappointment for a moment before she looked over at the healers. Quickly turning away from the sight, the girl covered her mouth as she stifled her laughter.
"I'm sorry," she whispered drawing the attention of the other girls at the table. "They just look so pathetic waiting there like fans waiting for a chance to see their hero. I know I shouldn't laugh, but seriously, Helmar in particular seems unable to get enough of you."
"They're not the only ones," Rilena stated glancing at Evie and Ashleen from her place beside them. The dark haired mage managed to avoid being caught by the other two girls before they glanced at her. "You know, all the wizards and battle mages that keep chasing him like dogs waiting for crumbs to drop from the table are just as bad."
Sebastian rolled his eyes at his friend before asking for the envelope from Ashleen. The girl passed it to him and the mage quickly broke the fold to see the note within. "It's from Raven Leros."
"What does he want now?" Ashleen asked not thinking about whether the message was a secret.
"To see me again."
"But he just saw you the other day and this mission was supposed to be two days instead of one. Can't you ignore him until tomorrow?" she asked looking annoyed by the constant drain on his attention. After the night before, Sebastian wished that they might have a little more time to spend together in fact. It had been fun and special with it being Ashleen's first time. He had a feeling Ashleen felt the same, but the owl was a soldier and his time often wasn't his own.
"I doubt that he will want to wait if he knows I am in the city relaxing. If he sent the letter so early, Leros must know that we are back. Even using the inn as a base to return for another day, he'd probably want me to check in before leaving," the man mused without enthusiasm.
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 36