Master Mage

by D. W. Jackson

  Thad left off his meeting with the different gods as he understood the rule about their existence. He wasn’t sure why it was kept so secretive, but he didn’t want to anger them by divulging information better left in the dark. When his tale reached the point where he had woken up on the elfin island, the door to the audience chamber was opened, and a young page announced the queen was ready.

  So engrossed in the telling of his own story, Thad didn’t notice the young page and continued, while the four mercenaries stared down the young girl until she closed the door quietly. Once the story was finished, Thad let out a nervous laugh and looked around at his audience, who each held their own look of reverence on their faces.

  “That was a grand story, my friend,” Darryl said, placing his hand on Thad’s shoulder. “But I think we better not keep the queen waiting for too long. They tend to take it the wrong way,” he added, giving Thad a slanted smile.

  When the five men walked into the large audience chamber, it was apparent that Maria didn’t take kindly to being made to wait. Thad flashed her a pleading smile that knocked off some of the coldness emanating from her, but her icy stare remained.

  “Welcome to Farlan, honored guests,” Maria said in a grand tone.

  “Queen Maria, while we are pleased to be received in such a grand fashion, it would be much easier and time-efficient if we kept this simple and concise,” the older of the mercenaries said, his voice firm and unwavering under the queen’s glare. “Before we agree to aid you in your battle, we need to know two simple things. First, why are you going to war against Rane, and secondly, how much are you willing to pay?”

  “We are not going to war against Rane. They are going to attack our queendom,” Maria replied defensively.

  “Then why are they attacking you?” the soldier asked, his voice betraying his annoyance.

  “We have taken people of magical power and origin under protection. Rane is working with a group of men who call themselves the Brotherhood of the Fox. They are attacking us solely to kill those I have taken under my protection.”

  “Could you not simply hand these people over to Rane and avoid the slaughter of your own people?” the soldier asked coldly.

  “How dare you insult me as well as the people of Farlan!” Maria exclaimed, her face turning a light red. “We would not sit by idly and watch while people who have committed no sin other than being born are being slaughtered.”

  “And how much are you willing to spend in hard gold?” the mercenary asked, the queen’s words showing no effect on him.

  “If it pleases you, I will let you empty my vaults. Take hammer and file to my banisters and remove the gold that lines their edges. Whatever cost you ask, I and my people shall pay it.”

  “That is all I needed to know, Your Majesty. At present, I have a little more than 1,800 men at your disposal. I shall send word back to our home camp and ask they bring every available warrior we have to support your cause.”

  “Will you take your price now?” Maria asked, slumping back in her throne.

  “No, we shall wait until the battles are over. There is no honor is taking payment before a task is completed,” the soldier said before signaling the others to follow him.

  “What in the nine hells is wrong with that man?” Maria shouted at Thad as soon as the heavy door closed, leaving him alone to face her wrath.

  “He is a warrior,” Thad said as if the simple phrase explained everything. “We need them, Maria, more than we need our pride.”

  “You don’t think I know that?” Maria asked vehemently. “If I thought it would win us this war, I would get on my hands and knees and bow to the man. That doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.”

  The queen’s tirade continued on, and Thad found the first excuse that came to mind to escape to a safer place. Once he was outside the palace walls, Thad headed straight for the Katanga camp. There were plenty of questions to be answered and even more to discuss. As he saw the sizeable force fanned out along the city wall, Thad felt the beginnings of true hope spurt within him. They were still greatly outnumbered, but their chance of holding out long enough for more support to arrive was increasing. That was if the support arrived at all.

  CHAPTER VIII

  The Katanga camp was a lot different than the other military camps he had seen. The tents were not all placed in neat rows. They were thrown up with a good distance between them and seemed to be in no discernible pattern. They only real uniformity they had was they were all made out of the same light tan hide and were all the same size. Thad looked around for a larger tent, expecting the elder and leaders to be near the center, but he could not find any tent that looked different from the others.

  “Where can I find Darryl or someone of importance?” Thad asked, walking up to the nearest mercenary.

  “Who are you to be asking?” the man said, his hand darting to the sword strapped on his side.

  Thad raised his hands, showing that he had no ill intentions. “Darryl is a friend of mine. As for the leaders or elder, I am in charge of the war effort and thought it might be best to talk with them and get an understanding of their battle tactics so I can make sure we do not clash once the blood starts to flow.”

  “This way,” the man said, nodding for Thad to go first. As Thad passed the man, he noticed that the man’s hand was still firmly on the hilt of his sword.

  Thad was led to a simple-looking tent near the far edge of the camp. “Killian, you have a visitor!” the mercenary behind Thad yelled once they stopped outside of the unremarkable tent.

  The older warrior who had talked to the queen steeped out from the tent. Thad had never taken much note of the man, but “warrior” didn’t seem to describe him fully. His dark brown hair was cut short, and Thad could see where numerous scars peeked through his hair. Earlier, the man’s shirt and mail had been worn, but now his chest was bare, showing off his well-defined muscles that, while big, were not so large they would impede his movement.

  “Thad, what brings you to my tent?” Killian asked, grasping Thad’s hand and giving it a hardy shake.

  “I just wanted to talk for a bit,” Thad replied, returning the man’s handshake. “What I would really like to know is why you would fight for us. Rane would be able to offer far more than we ever could.”

  Killian’s face took on a sour look. “We have fought in countless wars, but never on the side of the Brotherhood.”

  “Why?” Thad asked, confused at the mercenary’s statement and the vehemence behind it.

  “Not out of any moral regard concerning their view on mages, though we have a few of your lot in our ranks. Long ago, before Rane was the size it is now, we used to border its eastern edge. Our people were a simple lot and had kept separate from the other kingdoms once the empire began to fall. When the Brotherhood took over Rane, they wanted to place an outpost within our kingdom. We consented, but the first time we learned one of our people had been killed, we tracked the merchants and guards who had perpetrated the act and burned them alive. As you can guess, Rane was not very happy and made a formal complaint. They demanded that any future problems with the merchants should be left for the guild to handle themselves, so we banished all from Rane from entering our borders. While we were not a large country, we covered the best trade routes east, so Rane marched in force and slaughtered man, woman, and child. Those of us who lived were scattered to the four winds and became nomads.”

  “That is some tale,” Thad said, shaking his head. “Haven’t you thought of marching your army back to Rane and reclaiming your homeland?”

  “We have, though in the end, we would lose. If every clan of the Katanga gathered, there would still be less than eight thousand of us. While a large number, we would still fall short for an offensive battle,” Killian replied, his tone harsh and unforgiving. “Should your queen have offered us only a single gold coin, we would have fought. It is a rare chance to get to kill the soldiers of Rane.”

  “That is good to hear,” Thad said,
relief flooding though his body. “You said you have fought in many wars?”

  “Yes, more than I can recall,” Killian answered honestly.

  “Would you mind sharing some of your experience with me? Farlan has been at relative peace for far too long, with the exception of our little disputes with our Ablaian neighbors. In those fights, we always occupied a heavily defendable position, but—”

  “Now you are caught in the open with your trousers around your ankles,” the soldier replied with a chuckle. “Come have a seat, and we shall talk. It is good to know that you are not a complete fool. Many a time, I have been forced to fight beside men who had no more brains than could fit in a raindrop.”

  Killian called over many of his other fellow warriors, and the night quickly passed as they talked about battles past. Thad was amazed at the sheer number of battles some of the men had fought in. He didn’t know there had been that many wars in Kurt in the past fifty years.

  Well after the moon was full in the sky, Thad ambled back to the palace and his own quarters. It had been an enlightening night, but also a very tiring one. He had much to do, and time was quickly starting to run out. The Katanga mercenaries had numerous ideas on how to best fight against the Rane forces, and most of them, while simple, had never crossed his mind.

  As soon as he was back in his room, Thad went straight to his desk and starting penning a note for the officers at the eastern fort.

  In a few weeks, once the bulk of the inland snows have cleared, I will bring a large detachment of reinforcements. Until that time, there is much for you to prepare. I request that you make sharpened stakes no more than a foot long and bury them under the ground around the fort, starting at three hundred yards out and past. I will also need trenches dug outside of the walls behind the first row of small stakes on the inward slope of the trenches. Place four-foot-long stakes, leave a space of ten yards back, and continue making trenches with the long stakes.

  Thad continued to write various other suggestions long into the night before the weariness of the day forced him to his bed. As he lay down to sleep that night, the dread that had hung over him seemed lighter. They still were no match for the Rane army, but Thad was beginning to see a ray of hope shining through the dark clouds hanging on the horizon.

  As the days continued to pass, the amount of work Thad had decreased, and he found himself with more time to train. He focused not only on his physical and magical powers but the gifts bestowed on him by the gods as well. Thad had a good grasp of his shadow walking, but he still made sure to take a few steps through the darkness each night as he walked back to his quarters. During the day, he would run while turning various parts of his skin to stone. Not only did this help with his control over the unusual ability, but it made him much heavier and forced his legs to work harder.

  When he was forced to take a break, which was more often than he would have liked, Thad tried his best to use the gift from the elfin god and talk to the few plants and trees alive during the winter months, but all they seemed interested in was when the warmer weather was coming. The animals were much easier to talk to, though he found that he tended to continue to talk in neighs or barks for a few moments after taking with one, much to the amusement of his friends.

  Thad had continued to push himself, but he found that throughout winter, the amount of magic he could use had not changed. As the snows started to melt, Thad increased his pace, forcing himself to train long into each night. He did not focus on grand magic such as the stone pillars but on simple spells that could be used quickly and in quick succession of each other. One massive spell that did a great deal of damage to the attacking force wasn’t bad, but it left little room for error and left him weak. What he needed was an array of spells that could be used depending on the circumstances.

  The days passed quickly, and soon, Thad once again found himself in the war room. Unlike last time, the war was not just looming on the distant horizon. It was nearly upon them.

  “Renalia has declared that the end of winter is upon us. She has read the magical flow of the winds and believes that the last of the snow has fallen,” Horus said, his brow furrowed, showing off thick worry lines Thad didn’t notice on the older man months before.

  “Are you sure she is correct? I don’t know much about magic, but I don’t want to start getting the men up in arms over speculation,” General Foreman said, his tone stern, but not forceful. “The mental fatigue of the soldiers could destroy them as easily as a sword thrust.”

  “As far as I know, old Renalia hasn’t been wrong. Not for as long as I have lived anyway,” Horus replied steadfastly.

  “That is good enough for me,” Maria stated, hailing all end to the discussion. “What do we do now?”

  “If the Rane forces are only now held back by a few warm days to clear the passes, then we need to move the Katanga forces and the mages to Digger’s Fort,” General Foreman replied.

  “Digger’s Fort? Since when has it been called that?” Thad asked, slightly confused.

  “The locals from County Elisee that were hired to help with the digging you requested started calling it that. It didn’t take long before the soldiers adopted the name, and now it has kind of stuck,” Foreman replied, giving Thad a sly wink.

  “Are you sure we should move all the forces? Wouldn’t it be best to keep a few back at the capital in case the Rane army gets past the forces at Digger’s Fort?” Duchess Alysia asked.

  “Honestly, Duchess, if the Rane forces make it past our forces at Digger’s Fort, then any small forces we might hold back wouldn’t stand much of a chance,” Ferula stated. “This is an all-or-nothing gamble. Either we can hold them at Digger’s Fort, or all of Farlan will fall with it.”

  “I have been working on measures to help protect the capital should their forces reach this far,” Thad said, earning everyone’s attention.

  “Go ahead, Thad. We are listening,” Maria urged him.

  Thad took out a long rolled piece of parchment and laid it on the table. “The walls of the city are thin and mostly for decoration, but I have made adjustments that would use that to our advantage. If, at any time, the Rane forces surround the city, you simply need to smash this globe,” Thad said, handing a small red glass orb to the queen.

  “What does it do?” Maria asked, picking up the small glass orb.

  “When it is smashed, many of the stones of the wall will launch themselves out with great force. It won’t stop a large army but should at least make them a little more cautious afterward.”

  “When did you find the time to set up such an elaborate trap?” Horus asked, laughing.

  “It gave me something to do when I was taking a break during my runs,” Thad replied, shrugging his shoulders.

  “How fast will your troops be ready to move out, Killian?” Maria asked the Katanga elder, not hiding her contempt for the man. Thad had wished that the two would have made some form of effort to get along, but it was a wasted dream.

  “We will be ready to march at first light, Your Majesty. We would have marched sooner but for your notion that you didn’t want the Rane forces to know that you had reinforcements too early.”

  “Then tomorrow it is,” Maria replied, standing from her seat. “We are adjourned until such time as it is needed that we meet again.”

  Thad left the small room along with everyone else. He had been expecting Maria to hold him back and was pleasantly surprised when she had not. Ever since Thad had stated his intention of heading to the battlefield, Maria had been firmly against it. When her pleas had not been heard, she had tried ordering him to stay, but she had been met with little success. In a way, the cause of the war was firmly on his shoulders, and he would not leave others to fight his battles while he stood back and watched. She had taken every chance to try and change his mind, but it had been futile. Then suddenly, she had stopped, and that bothered Thad. It just didn’t fit with her normal attitude. She was not one that easily gave up on what she wanted.

&
nbsp; Thad headed straight for his chambers to finish the last of his preparations. Most everything he needed had been packed and ready for a fortnight. The only thing that he really had left was to gather the last of his possessions.

  Entering his room, Thad looked over at the large travel sack. He had thought it lost when he had been thrown from the Rose Runner, but Crusher had seen fit to return it to him after they had met up in Farlan. There had been a few things in his pack that he would have missed, but it was the nature of the pack that made itself invaluable. The pack had been painstakingly made over a great length of time to hold far more than something ten times its size.

  Opening up the largest section of the pack, Thad started filling it with his clothes. Maria had given Thad more clothes than he had known what to do with, most of them with an abundance of lace and frill. While he was happy his friend had seen fit to grace him with so many gifts, they were a little flippant for his taste.

  Putting aside most of the clothes, he chose only the most plain to bring with him. When he got to the leather britches, he paused, letting his hand run over the smooth dark leather. While most of the blouses Maria had gotten him had been left unused, the britches had been another matter. They had been made of lambskin and were softer and far suppler than anything he had owned before.

  Sighing, Thad chose two of the best pairs of the lambskin britches to take along, leaving the rest aside for stronger and less comfortable apparel. He enjoyed the feel of the lighter material on his skin, but he knew that comfort only went so far on the battlefield, and while the thicker leather might not be much more protection, he would take anything he could get.

  After everything was packed, Thad walked over to check the last of his gear. Thad bent down and picked up the sword he had made during his stay with the dwarves. The sword had the length of a standard broadsword, but he had added a small curve to it, modeled after the much shorter Vathari blades. The hilt was steel lined in gold with a crescent moon that sparkled with the shine of small gems. The blade had taken him nearly a year to finish, but it was well worth the effort. Not only was it as sharp as a razor, but it would release flashes of energy, though Thad had yet been unable to make the sword spark on command.