Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Making a face, the warlock shook his head with disgust as he answered, “The resurrection man was allowed to learn any magic he wanted by his master and apparently he has the gift.”

  The first man added, “He killed his master, or so I heard. Atrouseon was found dead and the resurrection man was granted all his property.”

  Sebastian’s mind went to one of the things that seemed wrong after seeing Palose and he asked, “Can these ‘resurrection men’ as you call them steal power from the ones who bring them back to life?”

  The two men looked at each other and after a moment shrugged. The second man said, “Death magic like that is less practiced than portal magic. Most people don’t even want to try it after all the incidents involving previous resurrection men. Either the masters die or the dead men get destroyed, usually after they get out of control.”

  “I’ve never heard of one left alive after his master was killed,” the first warlock added. “The emperor has always had them put down, if they were involved with their master’s death or were believed part of it; until now anyway.”

  Seeing that these two were going to be of minimal help with understanding either types of magic or the part Palose played in Ensolus, Bas decided to try a different path, “Is Litsarin under the emperor’s influence?”

  Neither man seemed to want to answer that question, but finally the first stated, “He has gates here, but this is our first time on the island. We don’t know if the emperor keeps in contact with anyone on Litsarin, but I would guess that there is a reason for the gates.”

  His earlier statement that these two would be useless was looking to be correct. “Do you know enough to cast the portal spell to return home?”

  The men looked suddenly hopeful. The second man confirmed, “I know the forms to cast it, but you need to know where you are going. Either you need a lodestone set to guide you or know the opposite gateway. If you know neither, you will get lost in the void between worlds.”

  “Your friends went through this one. Can you reopen it and just follow them?”

  “Um,” he started as he looked for the invisible doorway. “With Oster to help me, I think I can. It should lead back to the main portal room in Ensolus, but I wouldn’t recommend going there if I were you. The emperor has warlocks and soldiers on guard all the time.

  “No one believed Southwall would ever discover how to use our portals, let alone find the way to Ensolus using that magic; but the emperor has always maintained guards there. There is a moment needed to gain your bearings when you first arrive. They would kill each of you as you exited the portal.”

  “I don’t plan on going to Ensolus just yet,” Sebastian stated thinking about what they had said. Did the emperor just guard his portal against Southwall or was there another reason he set guards for a place that his enemies were unlikely to ever discover.

  The two men looked uncomfortable in the silence as the owl decided how to proceed. It was a rare opportunity to discover the magic that they had been hiding. All his life he had heard of the emperor’s ability to move his armies using portal magic. First, he supposedly attacked Alus only to be countered by the Grimnal, Darius and others both from Alus and the old world of the elves. Second, he broke from his prison causing great damage to the world in his attempt at revenge. Since then, it had been rumored that some use of the magic continued, but no one from Southwall had been witness to it until the Betrayer brought an army behind the wall into Windmeer.

  Movement near the main road through the center of Parik caught his eye as the bravest of the residents began to peek into the stone clearing looking for the cause of the noise. Lightning created thunder and fire spells exploding were equally loud, so they all knew that something magical had happened near the mines. Miners peered out from the tunnels carefully as well.

  Realizing that if their magic had caused enough damage, more rumbling would have occurred within the mines if they collapsed. Neither side had thought about the potential collateral damage from their exchange. Sebastian wondered if he gave less care to the residents because he feared they were under the Dark One’s control; but as he looked at the frightened people he realized that, whether the emperor controlled the land or not, most people didn’t care who ruled as long as they could carry out their lives in peace.

  Their peace had been shattered this afternoon.

  “Do you two have the ability to write down what is needed to create a portal?” he asked sounding cold and distracted.

  The men looked at one another and the first warlock, Oster, replied, “With Ceresh to assist me, we might be able to teach the basics to your wizards. We can even write down the basic gestures used, but without a certain destination you will be stuck in the void between worlds.”

  Waving the worry off, Sebastian said, “You write what you know and show my wizards how it is done; then we will let you use this portal to return home.”

  The men bowed their heads quickly thanking him over and over before quickly getting to work. While the residents of Parik tried to resume their lives around the town and mines, they remained cautiously clear of the mages and wizards where they stood learning from the two warlocks.

  Like most magic, the basic knowledge could be shared quickly and for the battle mage who didn’t operate the way a wizard would, it was more about the feel of the magic for Sebastian anyway. He listened and watched as the two men shared what they knew. They were surprisingly thorough, though they continually warned of the hazards of using the magic without carefully setting a destination.

  “You can create portal points using large mirrors, enchanting stones with your magic or making enchanted archways,” Ceresh explained after writing down all he knew of the process. The two men had studied the magic for a year or two until deciding that they had no knack for it, but the studies had locked most of the knowledge back in their minds to be revealed now.

  Sebastian doubted that they lied about the magic. They had little reason too, if they were so certain that untrained wizards would be lost in this void that they kept speaking about; but he didn’t need the writings or even instruction to give him insight into portals. He had witnessed warlocks casting the gates three times now. Even Palose had done it blatantly in his sight, even knowing his ability to mimic and learn most wizard spells. He had no doubt that there were great risks in performing the magic, but learning magic always came at a risk.

  Finally after more than an hour, Sebastian asked, “What help do you need to reopen this portal?”

  Both men winced, but Ceresh looked slightly more confident as he stated, “If we could borrow three of your wizards to assist with the needed power, I am pretty sure that we can open it. I never had the subtlety or skill to open a portal of my own, but strength in magic can often force something that less skilled warlocks can not by them selves.”

  Serrena, Collin and Ashleen volunteered to work with their prisoners and waited until they had gathered the surviving orcs and men that served as soldiers. Two little goblins looked feistier than the rest, but their bonds were sure and strong. Sleep magic contained those most willing to try and fight even tied up until they were ready.

  Swords pointed at nearly a dozen creatures in broken armor, meant they waited patiently.

  Before the two warlocks could lead the wizards in performing the spell, the mage had one last question for the warlocks, “Do either of you know how this armor you wear is made?”

  Oster and Ceresh winced before shaking their heads. Their leather armor was the only pieces undamaged and he ordered the men to remove the outer layer which protected and absorbed elemental magic.

  While they stood in undergarments, the warlocks looked no more uncomfortable than they had waiting to try magic where they were unsure of their skill.

  “Alright, open the portal and go home. Pass on the words that Southwall will continue to learn your magic. We know the powers of light and dark. We can learn portal magic as well. We also know of his influence here and can send armies to de
stroy anything he creates.”

  He drew out a folded piece of paper sealed using a spell from Nara’s school, which worked with wood both alive and dead. “Get this to Palose for me also.”

  Oster took the slip of paper looking pale. “The emperor will kill us for betraying him.”

  “Then only tell him that we know the magic that you have seen. Those who fled before you will have the same to say anyway, but you can still get the note to the Betrayer for me.”

  The warlock nodded as he tried to think of a lie that would keep him alive. If he could get the soldiers to cooperate, perhaps they could all yet live despite their loss.

  With the note tucked away, the warlocks joined power with the three wizards. Sebastian could feel their strength building to break through what their lack of skill couldn’t. After more than a minute, the gateway shimmered to life a bit shakily. As they watched, the form strengthened and the battle mage watched and felt for the flows as best he could.

  The swords prodded the uncomfortable looking soldiers into the glow where they disappeared instantly until only the two warlocks remained. While they broke the link, the three wizards held onto the flow of magic keeping the gate in place. Once the two men had followed the soldiers, the power stilled and the glow faded from sight.

  Darterian quickly sealed the last portal destroying it completely.

  Looking at his friends, Sebastian asked, “Do you think that you could open a gate if you had to now?”

  The three looked a bit unsure of the idea and Collin answered, “With a team to help, I think I could do it; but I don’t think that they were lying about needing to know where you are going. We need to figure out how to get other points set to use the gates.”

  Sebastian bent over picking up a plain stone and said, “Spark.”

  The energy of the mage moved into the rock and remained inside where he had directed it. “We’ve already seen the stones at the last gate. With a little time, gates could be created in every big city of Southwall; but the question is whether that would be wise.”

  Looking at Darterian, he asked, “If Southwall uses a specified amount of gates, do we add to the break down between worlds?”

  The wizard sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “The old schools created teams of wizards with the ability to close portals because they were afraid that other worlds would find ours and possibly use the weak spots to invade. Some have said that previous users weakened the wall between us and the emperor’s old world allowing him to come here.

  “I am not sure if anyone knows the truth. Small doors or large done minimally might be safe enough, but it has always been believed that we shouldn’t take that chance. All portals are closed without exception.”

  “Save those that the emperor guards and uses without impunity,” the mage stated with a shake of his head.

  He looked to see a large group of men and women gathered along the street leading through the center of town. Hoping that the townsfolk weren’t bound to the emperor enough to fight them, Sebastian decided to find the local inn and tavern. They all needed to eat and time to rest, but he could only allow a night’s rest where they would cycle through guards for each room to make sure that they weren’t surprised in the night.

  People parted the way fearfully, but no malice was shown so in the morning they found their horses in the stables fed and ready to go. Leaving Parik behind them in relief, Sebastian led his team back down the mountain towards Sardon and the sea.

  Rilena returned to Windmeer in a blink through the silver light and without any new trouble. How Darius had figured out how to create the portal spell, or perhaps recreate it was more accurate, the mage didn’t know. While his first attempt had lacked focus, she had been glad that her previous trip into the silver light had clued her into the way to make it to the fortress for both Elzen’s and her sake.

  The fortress had felt broken, however, and not just in the places brought down by the emperor’s warlocks. There was less life in the mountain. While she had never had free reign or wanted it inside the fortress when Garosh had brought her there the first time; the girl could feel how much death there must have been.

  She had seen new wraiths and noticed the damage done to the pair she had known. Verian and Hereseth looked a bit off as well. They had been hurt and hurt badly, she thought. While the mage had no love for the men, she didn’t wish them harm either. They hadn’t hurt her after all. Coexisting was fine and Rilena rarely met a person she truly wanted to kill.

  Garosh had been on that short list; however he had won her over. It wasn’t like she was in love with him or infatuated even, but there was something definitely nobler about the giant that had been hidden when he had tortured her and the apprentice Nereith. She hadn’t seen how hurting others pained him then. All Rilena had been able to see through the pain he inflicted as Garosh tried to get information about how they had found the fortress in winter was her hatred for the man. That hatred came from being so helpless before the titan.

  Then the powers that be decided to make her one of his keepers after he had surrendered to try and create an alliance between those he led and Southwall. The giant had grown tired of worrying about the emperor coming to take his power back and killing him. He had grown tired of being used to fight the emperor’s enemies, when he only wanted peace in his life.

  Rilena had come to see that part of Garosh while he remained at Windmeer, until the emperor’s assassins did come and they fled to the fortress only to be attacked again. She had come to know his gentleness and felt affection from the man; but she didn’t love him. Still Rilena no longer hated Garosh either.

  “Well that was different than I expected,” Elzen stated as they waited outside of Garosh’s old room where Darius had anchored his first gate.

  Startled from her musings, the dark haired woman shook her head and asked, “What was different?”

  He looked at her glazed eyes that were returning to focus on him as he replied, “Everything. First, the gateway and you jumping through it into that silver world. Was it me or was there islands floating in the distance?”

  Shaking his head he continued to ramble on saying, “And then the fortress wasn’t nearly what I thought. I guess I was expecting it to either feel like a hole or maybe a dungeon, but it almost felt like Windmeer at night or in the center where torches are always lit because there are no windows to bring in the sun.

  “Finally, the trip back was so short. I barely noticed the silver light and didn’t get a chance to look for the islands again.”

  Forcing a smile, Rilena said, “If I hadn’t jumped in after you, you would still be looking for the islands and probably flapping your arms to try and get there. Darius didn’t know what he was doing.”

  “I didn’t?” the wizard asked stepping into the hall surprising the mage.

  Her smile faded as she shook her head. Her dark haired fluttered on the air making Rilena think that maybe it was time to cut it again. She knew other battle mages who simply tied their hair in tails to fight, but it was a distraction to her.

  Eyes locking onto Darius, his blue eyes warm and not like those of an old man; Rilena scolded, “You sent this idiot into the void without an anchor to bring him to the fortress. If I hadn’t jumped in after him, he’d still be there.”

  “Ah, then it is a good thing you were there to jump after him. Of course,” he mused bringing his right hand to his chin and pointing along his cheek with his forefinger, “I had originally wanted you to go in his place. I had figured that if you could escape the void safely once, you could certainly do so again.”

  Frowning as her eyes narrowed, the mage wanted to rail against the high wizard, but she had nothing more to say and yet a whole heart filled with more at the same time. She had turned him down when he had asked and, of course, Elzen had jumped in to replace her. Still believing that the boy was trying to protect her, Rilena couldn’t defend against his logic.

  “Whatever,” she finally managed to utter as a complaint.<
br />
  Elzen chuckled at her distress, “Well, I still had fun. It was quite an adventure. Let me know if you want another ‘idiot’ to try out the next portal.”

  Returning his attention to Rilena he asked, “So now what? We still have a couple hours before dinner, unless Darius wants us for more.”

  “No, I am quite finished with portals for today, but I must warn Lord Bryon to maintain our guard on this area. I have bound the second portal with a trap, but this one to the fortress is still open. I think Garosh may not be able to use it anymore, but it does tie us to the storeroom.

  “Anyway, if it can be used by the enemy, we must make sure that we have a welcoming party waiting for them.”

  With a wave to the two mages, Darius led the remainder of his men off into the hallway looking for the lord and his protectors.

  “So?” Elzen asked putting his hands behind his head to crack his shoulders as if he were so bored already.

  Looking down at her clothes, the girl noted dirt from boots to shirt. The stones and attempted excavation had thrown dust on top of what had gotten on her when they crashed into the storeroom. “I am thinking of getting a change of clothes and going to the bathhouse. My hair and face must be dirty as my clothes after being in that mountain.”

  With a grin, Elzen stated, “A trip to the bathhouse does sound good. If you wanted to sneak into the men’s side, I’d be glad to get your back for you. Maybe the next time we share a bath you’ll actually take off your clothes and do it properly?”

  Closing her eyes and shaking her head as he chuckled remembering her return from the mountain as she splashed onto him in the bathhouse, Rilena declined, “You can take a bath if you want. You need one too, but as to sharing a tub maybe someone else might share with you. I don’t plan on repeating my trip there again thank you.”

  “I don’t think any of the other men would complain,” he said with a grin and a shrug of his shoulders as he spread his hands in a carefree way. Elzen made her turn on her heels towards her room. The boy started after her, but only because he needed a staircase to go to his floor like Rilena.