Merely nodding, the mage stood at ease, but straight backed like a soldier awaiting her orders. She wouldn’t go as easily as he wanted and Rilena refused to befriend the man until she understood him more.
Darius took a piece of paper from a pad on a small table with a simple wood chair set before it. The wizard didn’t sit, but quickly scrawled a message with quill and ink. A little bit of drying sand was tossed onto the paper before the wizard gestured using a bit of magic to return the sand to a flask without blemishing the lettering. He quickly folded and sealed the message.
As the three moved to exit the suite of rooms, two more men were waiting outside, Darius sent one of them off with his letter before the wizard looked to Rilena and said, “Let’s start with the portal formed by Garosh that first swept you away to his fortress.”
Rolling her eyes as she took the lead, Rilena continued to fight the urge to groan in frustration.
Four days brought the Sea Dragon and Carnivore within sight of Talos, but when Darterian checked the compass for the magic of the most recent portal the dot was still to the west. With no real reason to stop at the small island nation, the two ships pushed on even as Darterian kept checking the device to make sure that they didn’t miss any signs of the enemy.
Sebastian had made his intent known to Gerid to protect the island as best he could even from afar. If there was a ship sailing towards his home, hopefully the compass would tell them in time to intercept the vessel and destroy it.
For all his hopes and promises, no new signs of portals or the residue from those spells came to their attention closer than the port that they finally reached on Litsarin. If the emperor had sent enemy forces to the prison island, he had done it in a way that could fool Darterian’s device. It left Sebastian a little more worried, but at least he knew that they had left the black ship in working condition and the merfolk would certainly give any enemy forces something to worry about if they should come by sea.
“You worry too much, kid,” the deep voice of the giant stated as he walked up behind Sebastian.
Looking up towards Gerid’s gray eyes, hemmed in by silver white hair echoed in his beard and eyebrows; the mage still thought that it was strange that he had no age lines on the face which had lived through over a thousand years. While his face held no lines, his eyes did hold the wisdom and pain of a thousand years at times. As the big man smiled down on the shorter mage, he seemed much younger. Of course, Sebastian wondered what a thousand years was supposed to look like since most would be dead and gone.
“Darterian still has the lingering trace of gate magic coming from this town in front of us,” he pointed through the breakwater at the island town of Banosh. It was larger than he might have believed for a young city in the making on an island only two hundred years old. Green ran into the horizon beyond the town rising towards small mountains blue with distance. While it was considered an island, it was made of enough land to be a fair size nation if it had the resources to feed a large population.
Sighing, Gerid replied, “It’s all business with you, kid. Isn’t it?”
With a shrug the giant continued, “So what are you going to do about it? Are you planning on scouring the town until you find Ensolus spies or something?”
Turning to look at the town again with a frown, Sebastian knew that Gerid was right. His worry had him always thinking about the enemy and how to fight him. If there were spies in Banosh, it wouldn’t be easy to find them unless they looked like orcs or trolls. Unfortunately, the emperor had servants from many races including men and elves. Their hearts and minds were his to control. Likely if there were spies, they would be men who could blend in with the majority of the people of Alus.
His eyes returned to the immortal who he had chased across the North Sea to bring back for his king. A symbol of their strength and resistance against the emperor, Gerid could become just another face of the defense or he might be convinced to actually help the people he had once helped lead. At this point Sebastian wasn’t convinced what the ancient might choose to do and that was another point that served to make him a bit more irritable than normal. The mage was getting to the point that he just wished the journey was over so that he could try and return to a more normal life in the corps.
“My mission was to bring you back to Hala, but if I can help to bloody the emperor’s nose along the way, all the better. Darterian has been trained to close portals permanently. We’ll pick up provisions in town as an excuse before pushing north, but first we’ll find this gate and close it,” the mage stated determinedly.
Chuckling at Sebastian, Gerid leaned a large hand on the rail. The giant had looked as comfortable as any sailor the entire eight days it took to reach Banosh. He had told a few stories of his life as a privateer running an entire fleet that he had pulled together when he was just a young man and he thought his lifetime would be much more limited.
“I don’t know a lot about magic, but people have been trying to contain these gates and portals since I was little older than you. When those sorcerers, as they called them then, let that lizard out from under a rock it turned into a dragon. Wizards have been fighting to seal the cracks ever since, but I suppose if anyone I’ve met will have success in truly shutting them down it will be you. You are a determined mage, that’s for sure.”
Sebastian’s face revealed a bit of confusion at the piece of history that so casually left the man’s mouth, “Most people think that the emperor is the only one to have used gate magic or portals. Are you saying wizards from Alus actually started the insanity that brought us the emperor?”
Giving a shrug, the silver haired man proceeded to stroke his beard as he replied, “Well, the emperor wasn’t the first to use the magic here at least. Whether the sorcerers made it easier for him to find us or made Alus a target because they used it, I don’t know. That would be more in Darius’s realm of knowledge, but I do know that the Mar’goyn’lya and Che’ther owe their lives to Merrick’s sorcerers. They brought the gargoyles and dragons here when their world was burning.”
That was news to the mage, though not completely. The myths had always said that the Che’ther and Mar’goyn’lya were not native to Alus while elves and dwarves were also travelers from their world as they tried to escape the emperor’s forces. What was new was that men from Southwall’s ancestry had once known the magic to create them. Sebastian wondered if it was a magic that the wizards’ libraries might have hidden deep in a vault somewhere to prevent present day wizards from toying with the fabric between worlds. Like Darius’s burying of the use of wizard staves to pull more power, it was a dangerous magic that the guardians of history had let die.
“You said that made us a target? How so?”
Screwing up his face a bit as Gerid looked towards the sky, as if he waited for some answer to come from there, the big man said slowly, “I am obviously not an expert, but when I was king, wizards who guarded against portals would visit my castle on occasion. Even Darius was once one of those wizards, though by that time I knew him from the war in the Old World.”
“Old World?”
“That’s what the elves called it, so the nickname kind of stuck even though it had some other real name. Anyway, when they came through they would often try to explain why they did what they did. It was always some form of trying to save the world rhetoric, but a couple main theories of thinking usually remained from every wizard.
“First, they sealed any portals to prevent dangerous monsters from breaking into the world and if they did come here the wizards put them down or sent them home.
“Second, they worried that continued use of portals or gates would eventually cause a break in the barrier between worlds. It isn’t designed to have one world touch another that way and if the magic grew out of hand they feared different worlds would collide. They also theorized that Alus would be destroyed in the process.
“At least that is what I remember. After all I haven’t talked to one of them in at least five hund
red years,” he finished with a laugh.
“And now the emperor comes and goes as he pleases,” Sebastian replied with much less humor. “Darterian isn’t as skilled with the compass as those who monitor the magic regularly, but he says that it looks like portals are happening more often than before we left from Hala. His grandfather didn’t say anything about unusual uses of gate spells, but apparently there were a few that had garnered his attention along with using the tournament as an excuse to come to Southwall.
“I wonder if using all these gates will bring even more problems as those wizards feared.”
Clapping the smaller man on the shoulder, Gerid said with a grin, “Stop worrying so much, Sebastian. Just take each problem one at a time in life. If you tackle the world as a whole even an immortal will explode.”
Sebastian sighed but gave a nod. It was true that he was growing more worried as the mage continued to look at the problems of the world. Once he had just been a cadet content in training with the sword and learning the limited magic of his corps. Then they called him the mizard when he began to translate wizard spells into that of a mage. Now he had found the Grimnal and discovered more of the Dark One’s treachery besides. It felt like a lifetime ago that he was that cadet rather than just a year ago.
Conversations changed as the pair of ships entered the harbor and sailors began to scurry around the deck and masts pulling in lines and shortening sails to coast into the calm water surrounding Banosh. Sebastian was joined in the foredeck by most of his team though Collin and Liam were nearly bedridden much of the trip. The two men had been seasick nearly the entire journey and never managed to tame their stomachs completely despite all the weeks at sea.
Once the ships were moored to one of the long piers designed for the ocean going vessels, Sebastian let much of the crew take shore leave right away with his team leaving in their midst. They were dressed like commoners to avoid notice. The brilliant robes of the elemental wizards were left in their rooms, though most tended to wear shirts and blouses of their wizard guild. Yara and Serrena adopted sundresses of their guild colors as well and looked like passengers of some wealth as did Annalicia wearing a light blouse and skirt that reminded him of both ice and the sky.
“I will see to meeting with the mayor or governor of this place on behalf of Malaiy as planned, Sebastian,” the young woman assured him but asked, “You are sure that this is the place of the last gate?”
He nodded and replied, “Darterian assures me this is the closest of the new portals at least, though there has been more activity in the north as well.”
“This Dark One has never been this active before?” she questioned though they had covered such questions before with Darterian.
“Not that I know of, at least in recent history, so be careful when you are dealing with the officials. If they are helping the emperor’s men, you could be in danger.”
The wizard shadowing the girl overheard as he always remained close to the lady from Malaiy and answered gruffly, “The lady will be safe since she is in my care, falcon. Don’t you worry over her safety.”
Rather than arguing, Sebastian nodded as he replied, “Continue doing the good work, Reynolvan, but I can’t help worrying I guess.”
Nodding towards the hills rising up just beyond the main town, Sebastian added, “Darterian believes that the gate is beyond Banosh, but close by. We’ll follow his lead and try to close it.”
Close enough to hear over the sounds of the gentle waves and wind, Darterian spoke for himself, “I haven’t had the opportunity to close one before, but grandfather taught me the spells. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”
A cousin to the lady, Anna knew that Darterian had been closer to their grandfather and learned directly from him. Unlike her cousin, the petite lady of Malaiy had mostly been taught the magic of her land, since Darius rarely visited her country so far to the north. The high wizard was kept busy enough with his task of running the wizards’ college in Eirdhen. She was slightly jealous that he had been able to learn from such a master, but Annalicia was still gracious and understood that Darius could only be in one place at a time after all.
Not all of his team followed Sebastian and Darterian though. Olan, with the mermaids Yaroma and Naoromi in tow joined Liam and Mecklin to search the shops. The women wore clothing gifted them by Gerid’s wife and daughters so only their slightly exotic eyes should be noticeable to any locals thinking to glance their way. Along with them there were others who would canvas the taverns with the sailors to see if there was any news of importance.
It was the best they could do to try and discover if there was a presence in town that would identify the emperor’s handiwork.
Before he could leave the pier to enter Banosh, Ashleen and Hyren hurried to catch up to him. At his questioning look the wilder smiled and shrugged, “Could you use the company? We would like to help, if we can.”
Though they had ridden aboard the Sea Dragon since being rescued from the black ship, the two had returned to the Carnivore where most of their possessions were. It was both because they had rooms there and to help keep someone with magic onboard the other ship should trouble arise. Along with Themenor, they were the only three remaining wizards who had been on the Kardorian ship. With a diminished crew, Sebastian had sometimes watched it sail thinking that it looked quite empty.
The Grimnal had a dozen rune warriors for added protection on the Carnivore as well and still the deck often looked bare.
Trying to be pleasant, and knowing the others had noticed his mood darken over the last couple weeks; Sebastian nodded and smiled invitingly. “There won’t be much for anyone to do besides Darterian, but feel free to join us for the walk.”
He could feel Yara tense slightly. Both women knew that there was a certain bond between the mage and wilder, even if his heart was with the healer. It made things a little more strained between the two young women, but until Ashleen and the Carnivore parted ways to return home they would have to tolerate each other.
Yara gave the other woman a tolerant smile before the group watched Darterian make another check on the compass. With the point remaining ahead of them, the group started their walk through a dozen blocks of buildings made from a mix of wood and stone. Being a young island raised only a couple hundred years ago from the ocean, stone was still easier to come by as a resource for building though wizards had come to work their magic on the soil. They had come and planted grass. Trees had been raised from seed and nut. With magic and care, young forests already held solidly throughout Litsarin.
With wood still at a premium, a mix of gray and tan stone seemed to make up most of the materials used. Many of the locals had painted or white washed the stone to reflect the heat of the sun. Though the ocean kept the air more temperate than one might expect, it remained warm most of the year.
Sebastian felt a hand take his left and looked to Yara with a smile. Little was said among the group short of observations about the town. Banosh sprawled along the curve of the harbor covering a couple miles of beach front, but at its deepest it was only ten blocks thick and that was only the town’s center where commerce and government converged. Annalicia’s group split off half way through the heart to finish their walk to the mayor’s office, while Darterian led the way through the center.
Checking the compass multiple times in case the gate had been inside of Banosh, they soon found their goal beyond the last building in town. The group found the incline rising at a stronger angle as they walked and Bas glanced back to see that they were already clear of the roofs of the tallest buildings. The top of the first hill gave a perfect view of the harbor and their eyes could see it from tip to tip. He could see the breakwater beyond the harbor and the curve of the land that led to it from either side. A light tower stood on either rise to safe guard ships in night or fog from crashing into the rocks.
“Here,” Darterian stated at the top of the hill. There was a little bench and sitting area with cobble stones to one side of
the invisible gate as if it was a way station from a carriage run. If it was there for a regular gate instead of used as a destination for a walk, Sebastian would have to look at Banosh closer. He was already curious as to their allegiance.
The black ships had come from somewhere and though he had never heard reports of anyone finding them, Litsarin might make a likely candidate to harbor them. Would Southwall and its allies be able to strike without starting another war if he was correct? It was another worry to place in the back of his mind until they dealt with the matter at hand.
Darterian began a spell after drawing a small pouch from his belt. He had said very little on the matter of destroying a gate though the question had been asked. What little he covered was best summed up in being told that it was easier to see than explain it to them. As he performed the first part of destroying a gate, Bas watched him closely worrying less over the gestures used to form the spell than the intent behind them. He was a battle mage and long processes were foreign to them for the most part, but he had discovered that for many spells they were just a process to focus the magic into what a wizard wanted accomplished.
As they watched the strange dust seemed to cling to something and, as it clung to the air, it rose slowly forming a vertical rectangle reaching from the ground to about seven feet high. It was only about six feet wide, but as a doorway it would have been enough to allow even a troll through though an armored vile might find it a tight squeeze.
Collin let out a low whistle as he stood beside Nara and the others. “So this is what the remains of a portal look like. You would think once they were closed there would be nothing left to see.”
“It is closed, but using dust laced with iron and a little magic, we can retrace the lingering tear between worlds,” Darterian explained. The wizard changed the feel of his magic as he transitioned to the next part of closing the gate for good. After a moment where Sebastian felt power directed to the man’s fingertips, Darterian reached up towards the upper right corner. Though his fingers couldn’t reach, the magic leaped from him to linger as a glowing orange ball in the corner. He repeated the gesture and subsequent placement of magic in each corner.
Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Page 15