by Unknown
Slate acknowledged the headmaster and then went back to the next section, burning with a need to learn more about Villifor. Brannon’s text did not disappoint.
We regrouped our forces today and prepared a defense against Villifor’s band. Reinforcements arrived from Ravinai, so I put the soldiers in position to get the most battlefield experience. The wizards were prepared for the onslaught of the virgin soldiers and cast fireballs immediately into the enemy without regard for collateral damage. Unfortunately, Villifor learned from his previous encounter and grouped his men into tight formations, with a large shield held overhead in anticipation of fireballs from above. With a defense prepared, our own men burned while Villifor’s men waited under protection until it was clear to charge the offending wizards. I barely had time to cast a spell that moved the earth beneath the feet of Villifor’s men. At the distance from which I was observing, it was only enough to scare the soldiers and give my wizards time to retreat. I was haunted by the chants of Villifor as we departed. The image of that man carving through the remaining soldiers of the king’s army will haunt my dreams.
Slate commented to the Sicarius headmaster. “I am reading Brannon’s memoirs from the Twice-Broken Wars. So far, it appears that Villifor was every bit the hero the stories made him out to be.” This time it was the Sicarius headmaster’s turn to give Slate a complimentary acknowledgment. Slate jumped ahead in the story, sensing their time was running short.
After several battles, the revolutionaries have advanced to the outskirts of Ravinai, in large part due to the cleverness of Villifor. I fear this leader of men has more tricks left for us, but we are running out of common soldiers to face him. I have resorted to trickery myself by placing orbs that mimic soldiers along the watchtowers. To the enemy it will appear that our numbers are insurmountable. I only hope that the ruse is sufficiently effective to force surrender. After facing Villifor and his men I fear Ravinai may be lost if they continue their assault.
Slate skipped ahead again.
My trickery has finally paid off. Several days of inactivity amongst Villifor’s men was followed by a midnight visitor. He claimed to be Villifor’s second in command and that Villifor planned to attack the following evening at dusk. I questioned the authenticity of the information and the informant agreed to allow me to share his memories in return for three things. I summoned King Darik who foolishly agreed to the man’s terms in writing. I investigated the authenticity of the man and found that he indeed had fought alongside Villifor and had helped draw up the plans. The informant whimpered following my investigation and told the king every detail I already knew. Villifor would attack tomorrow and he would find King Darik’s army in perfect position to wipe out the rebellion once and for all. I looked down at the pathetic excuse of a man in front of me in disgust. In return for the information, this man had arranged for any members of the revolution who surrendered in battle to retain their lives. He also requested to assume the identity of Villifor with all the exploits and victories of the master swordsman attributed to him. Finally, he demanded to be the headmaster of the newly formed Bellator. I was disgusted with this man, but perhaps even more so with King Darik. For agreeing to terms with such a man, Darik does not deserve to be king…
An explosion filled the air somewhere in the distance and Slate was pulled from Brannon’s memoirs before he finished. Slate had heard enough exploding orbs to know the sound and it didn’t take much imagination to know the location was Ispirtu. “It is time,” the Sicarius headmaster said. “We’ve found numerous documents in Brannon’s personal library linking him to blood magic. Do you think Brannon is behind all of this?”
“I just read Brannon’s personal memoirs from the end of the Twice-Broken Wars. He describes the man posing to be Villifor as a pathetic and weak man who betrayed his own people. The Villifor that we know is not the war hero of stories, but a pompous impersonation living vicariously through someone he betrayed. He may be treacherous, but he is no blood mage.”
Distant explosions rocked through the evening sky, making silhouettes of Ravinai’s skyline. “We know that Brannon was present at the tournament and that he was in charge of monitoring spells during the championship match. He is the most powerful wizard in the kingdom and the one person who has the power, influence, and spark necessary to keep the attacks on Pillar, Minot, and the other northern villagers quiet. He knows that magic is dying in Malethya and that he was desperate to restore that power. The more I think about it, I’ve always known Brannon was responsible for my parents’ death and everything else. Now I have read his own admission that he believes Darik is unfit to be King. Coupled with the evidence from Minot and the books we found tonight, I can come to no other conclusion. It has always been Brannon. Brannon is the Blood Mage.”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t be him…” Slate thought he sensed melancholy enter the voice of the Sicarius headmaster. “Now let’s go kill a Blood Mage.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE CARDS CRUMBLE
Slate walked beside the Sicarius headmaster toward Ispirtu, leaving the ruins of the Regallo estate in their wake. The two of them must have struck quite an image to the neighbors peering cautiously from the safety of their windows. The stronghold of Brannon Regallo was immersed in flames and dozens of the kingdom’s best fighters mixed evenly with the strewn rubble adorning the front lawn, while from the wreckage emerged two figures in dark clothing and masks. The incident at Sicarius had made him a fugitive, but the Regallo estate would have the more profound effect to the citizens of Ravinai.
Slate Severance was now infamous.
When the stories of this night spread, he would become a ghost…someone who could enter your home and destroy everything that you held dear. The witnesses of this wreckage would never know his intentions. He was trying to preserve the lives they knew. A creature from the stories of their youth, a Blood Mage, was loose in Malethya, and Slate would succeed in stopping the Blood Mage before these people knew it existed, even if the cost was invoking the looks of fear he saw in the eyes peering at him from around corners.
His determination returned his tangential thinking toward the task at hand. “We need to meet up with Lucus.”
“I’ve already arranged it. Lucus sought the solitude of the catalpa grove before the storm. I enlisted his help to camouflage my supplies within the trunk of a hollow tree. Like I said…there is always a place to hide.” The Sicarius headmaster smirked beneath the mask. The more Slate became accustomed to wearing the mask, the more he was able to read the expressions of the Sicarius headmaster. “He will assemble your friends and meet us on a rooftop near Ispirtu.” After reentering the confines of the city, they took to the rooftops out of silent familiarity. Large, ominous clouds closed in on the city, bringing with them the death of winter. The silence of the foreboding clouds and fading light of day mixed with deafening explosions and fireballs in the sky ahead.
The headmaster paused atop a rooftop overlooking the battle for Ispirtu. Ranks of Bellator Guardsmen led the larger King’s Army. They punished Ispirtu’s walls with large battering rams protected by stone canopies. Wizards sent pressure waves at the canopies and roiled the ground beneath the feet of the soldiers. If they faltered and lost formation, fireballs found the cracks of the unsupported canopies and the soldiers beneath. So far, the walls shook, but Ispirtu stood strong.
Ispirtu’s main gate remained free of attackers. That would have been the first place to send the battering rams, but a large contingent of wizards kept the area clear. After watching for a minute or two, Slate saw how they managed. A lone figure raced toward the gate, shooting a fireball straight into the air as a signal of his allegiance to Ispirtu. The defending wizards protected the figure as he ran to the gate and answered Brannon’s call for aid.
Lucus and Rainier emerged from a stairwell with rooftop access to rendezvous with the Sicarius Guardsmen.
“Where is Sana?” Slate asked before offering a greeting to Lucus.
&n
bsp; “I sent her away from the battle. She is my apprentice and must learn the principles of my teaching. She was too eager to fight.” Great, the pacifist wizard chose now to get philosophical. “Besides, if none of us survive, we need someone to know the truth.” Four would have to do then.
“Our time is short. The battle at Ispirtu has begun.” The Sicarius headmaster interrupted the reunion of friends with the rather blunt assessment of the situation. “We raided the personal library of Brannon Regallo and it contained a multitude of documents regarding Blood Magic. In addition to the findings at Minot, the evidence points to Brannon. How do we reach the Ispirtu headmaster, and what’s the plan when we do?”
“We need to trigger an exploding orb at the southwest corner of Ispirtu’s walls. Lattimer will direct the Ispirtu forces in that area and coordinate our entry. From there we will locate Brannon and question him.”
The Sicarius headmaster was unimpressed. “That is a rather vague and uninspired plan. Whose idea was it that won the Bellator competition? What about the failed break-in at the Regallo estate? Those plans at least had creativity.”
Slate happily acknowledged the cleverness of his colleagues but couldn’t prevent a defensive tone. “Sana is the most strategic amongst us and Rainier orchestrated the raid of the Regallo estate. Sana is not with us, so maybe you have a suggestion? Should we walk up to the front gate and knock? I believe that summarizes your most recent plan.”
“Against inferior opponents the simplest plan is often the best.” The headmaster’s definition of inferior was a little too close for comfort. “…but you are right. I will walk up to the front gate of Ispirtu and be let in. My concern was for the three of you. If you can’t infiltrate the Ispirtu defenses, I will reach Brannon without you. Lucus, did you bring the items I requested?” Lucus opened a trunk containing several Ispirtu robes and packed one into a travel sack, motioning for Slate and the others to do the same. It made sense…once they infiltrated Ispirtu’s walls, it would help to look the part.
“…so you are leaving us?” Rainier objected.
“It’s the Sicarius way. I only know how to work alone, but I will aid you where I can. Use all of your skill to find a way in, as I will use all of mine to do the same. We are out of time. Slate, I suggest we leave while there is still a battle to be won.”
Slate found it difficult to argue with the Sicarius headmaster. “We are in this together, headmaster, but if we fail then it falls to you to kill the Blood Mage. Malethya is depending on us.” They all shook hands, realizing there might not be time for another conversation until this was ended.
Then the headmaster turned toward Slate and got strangely sentimental, “You saved my life and have earned my trust. I have saved your life as well, but I fear your trust in me will be tested. Please remember, I am on your side. Fractal’s truth, Slate.” The headmaster descended from the rooftops into the alleyways of the city. A minute later, a figure emerged cloaked in Ispirtu robes. What was the headmaster doing? Without a fireball to signal the defenders within Ispirtu, the headmaster wouldn’t stand a chance.
A ball of electricity formed in the hand of the cloaked figure and shot into the air.
Slate felt more confused than at any point since he had come to Ravinai. The Sicarius headmaster was a wizard? The headmaster ran to the gate within the protection of the Ispirtu wizards. The Sicarius mask had been removed, but the cowl prevented Slate from identifying the figure. A security orb scanned the Sicarius headmaster’s face, the gates swung open, and the headmaster entered the Ispirtu grounds with disturbing ease.
Slate’s confusion faded as he remembered the headmaster’s words. The Sicarius headmaster was an Ispirtu wizard, so the relationship between Brannon and the Sicarius headmaster was even closer than Slate imagined. The headmaster’s words were meant to calm Slate’s reaction to the news. His brain tried to process the information, but his stomach clenched in betrayal. He hadn’t actually seen any books describing Brannon as a Blood Mage. The Sicarius headmaster had found them. What if he had been lied to?
Slate thought most clearly with physical exertion, so it was time to enter the battle. Maybe his head would clear and maybe it wouldn’t. He would just have to adjust as the circumstances changed. He had gotten quite used to that since coming to Ravinai.
He scanned the southwest corner as he looked for Lattimer, but couldn’t make him out amongst the Ispirtu defenders. That was worrisome but not entirely unexpected in the given chaos. Then Slate saw Jak Warder leading a small squadron of Bellator Guardsmen and soldiers from the King’s army. Given his current standing as a fugitive, Jak might be the only person to risk helping him. Slate signaled to Rainier and Lucus to join him. “Jak Warder commands the Bellator Guardsmen at the southwest corner. He might be willing to aid us…or at least look the other way long enough for us to slip past. Are you ready?” Slate didn’t want to cloud their minds by adding his concerns regarding the identity of the Sicarius headmaster. Confusion led to distraction and distraction led to mistakes. Mistakes in battle were deadly. It was best to keep them focused on the task at hand.
“We are ready.” Rainier spoke first and Lucus confirmed the sentiments. “Let your staff be swift, our feet be fast, and our fortunes be filled with fractal’s grace.”
That was more eloquent than Slate could articulate, so he simply nodded his gratitude for their help and made his way to the southwest corner of Ispirtu. He helped Lucus descend into one of the alleyways nearby and asked him to wait while he and Rainier scouted the surrounding area.
“Would you prefer to be camouflaged?” Lucus offered. It would certainly make it easier to navigate through the warring armies, but then Lucus would need to be carried due to his fatigue. All things considered, Slate didn’t want to exhaust Lucus quite yet.
“Conserve your spark for the Blood Mage. We’ll get there without camouflage.” Lucus nodded and Slate hoped he was right.
Rainier and Slate peered from the edge of the alleyway to see Bellator Guardsmen positioning members of the King’s army in rows. When the soldiers manning the battery ram were injured, they signaled the next row of soldiers to run into place and continue the efforts. The strategy sent the least skilled soldiers into harm’s way and saved the best warriors for when the battle was on more equal grounds.
Apparently some of the soldiers in the King’s army didn’t appreciate the strategy. While the guardsmen’s attention was diverted toward the action at the Ispirtu walls, the back row of soldier’s quickly and quietly slunk away. Some sprinted toward the city proper and others sought quarter in a nearby residence. Unfortunately for them, Rainier, the master of disguises, spotted a new mark.
“Keep your eyes out for Jak. I’ll be right back.” A twinkle lit up his eyes and Slate was once again thankful the tribesman was on his side. Anyone crafty enough to use the skills of Sicarius and persuasive enough to be a member of the Tallow clan was dangerous indeed.
Rainier reappeared in a matter of minutes, stripped to his underwear and holding a bundle of armor. “How did you lose your shirt?”
“I didn’t lose it…I traded it. It was much faster than fighting.” Slate would have just knocked them out. “I convinced them their chances of escape from the King’s service would improve if they rid themselves of their uniforms. They saw reason but asked for my clothes in return to aid their escape.” Rainier paused, seemingly ashamed. “It was a high price to pay, but it was quick. Have you found Jak?”
“I spotted a tent that has too much bustling to be anything other than a command center. He will be there.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Get dressed and start running in place. I need you to be winded.” Rainier donned the uniform of a low ranking soldier. Slate stopped him before he put on the armor. “You won’t need that.”
Slate dressed in armor while Rainier ran in place. By the time he finished, Rainier had worked up a healthy sweat.
“Run to the command tent. If anyone asks, you hold an
urgent encrypted message for Jak Warder from Villifor. Bellator Guardsmen don’t question orders from superiors. At Villifor’s name, you should be allowed access to Jak.”
“What do I say when I get there?”
It needed to be unique enough to imply a connection with Slate and general enough to maintain secrecy. “Battlefield tactics have won many wars. The one who applied them to greatest effect in Bellator did not have the benefit of Professor Halford’s tutelage. He is in need of Halford’s most attentive student during this most important of times.”
Hopefully that message would grant a private audience to Rainier…unless he didn’t want to help a fugitive. Slate put on the Sicarius mask. “I’ll enter the command tent once I see people streaming out of it. This armor along with the Sicarius mask should be sufficient to avert the eyes of the other soldiers. I’m sorry to put you in the dangerous position for this mission. My ghostly face is too recognizable without the mask, and I’m a wanted man.”
“It’s about time you let me in on the fun.” Rainier clapped Slate on the back and sprinted toward the command tent. Slate followed behind at an inconspicuous pace, fast enough to show purpose but slow enough to exhibit calmness in the surrounding chaos. Soldiers and Bellator Guardsmen alike let their gazes pass over him in favor of other priorities. Rainier arrived breathlessly to the command center where a guardsman stopped him and heard his request.
A moment later, Jak emerged and filled the entryway to the tent with his massive frame. He must have gained thirty pounds of muscle since Slate last saw him. Rainier spoke to him, carrying on with the ruse of being a simple messenger for Villifor. Recognition flashed across Jak’s face and Slate was close enough to hear his response. “Everybody out! I need a moment to plan and send a response back to Villifor. Clear the command tent!”