The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path)

by Brock Deskins

  He was far more concerned with what would happen to him when the spell expired and he struck the cobblestones at a speed no man has likely ever before traveled. The other three inquisitors looked at their comrade and each other, trying to decipher the riddle before them.

  “Need I remind you speed is of paramount importance here?” Fennrick called out between clenched teeth.

  “I have an idea,” Inquisitor Tamara declared. “You two be ready to catch him.”

  The lady mage conjured her own gate and slipped it between the one cast by the rogue wizard. Fennrick fell into the new gate entrance and launched skyward as he rocketed straight up out of Tamara’s exit portal. He could not help but open his eyes and marvel at the expansive black vista hundreds of feet below him. Miles of street lamps outlined the avenues of the wealthier districts, and he could take them all in with a single glance from his terrifying height. Then he once again plummeted toward the ground.

  It was all too much and he released a shrill scream lasting several seconds until he felt magic envelop him like a gentle hand. Fennrick let out several ragged gasps as he felt himself slow until he came to a near halt a few tens of feet above the cobblestone street. Mills and Forrest then guided him the rest of the way down where Fennrick promptly staggered to the nearest wall and sank into a sitting position.

  “I never would have thought to use a simple gate spell in such an offensive manner,” Forrest remarked as Fennrick regained his composure.

  “Such a clever girl. She would have made a fantastic inquisitor,” Mills nodded in agreement.

  Fennrick stood up on shaky legs. “She is not clever; she is brilliant, too brilliant and too strong for us to take by force with the restriction of taking her alive.”

  “Yes, particularly when she is under no such restraint,” Tamara agreed.

  “She could have killed Fennrick,” Forrest pointed out.

  “Indeed, yet she did not, and I plan to make her regret her decision,” Fennrick hissed.

  Ellyssa ran along the roofs as far as she could before climbing down and fleeing through the streets. She kept to the shadows, alleys, and took a circuitous route back to the inn where she rented a room. She thought of the buildings she damaged and wondered if she should go back and make restitution to the owners. Let The Academy pay for it! It was their fault anyway.

  She snuck in through the inn’s kitchen. Pain flared across her back and reminded Ellyssa of the injury she had taken in the battle. Herbalism and alchemy were never her strong suits, but she knew enough to treat some minor wounds. She rooted around the kitchen and found an onion and some chamomile. She chopped up the onion with a kitchen knife then crushed it with a rolling pin.

  Ellyssa scooped the mix into a clean cloth and quietly made her way up the stairs to her room. She paused outside her door and examined her wards. From what she could tell, no one had passed through them while she was out. She fished the small key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and stepped into its dark interior. The oil lamp on the table flared to life with the snap of her fingers.

  She winced when she pulled her shirt off over her head and it rubbed against the throbbing welt and blister raised across her back. Ellyssa laid the towel on her bed, spread the onion and chamomile concoction, and pressed her back onto it by lying down. She then tied the compress in place and breathed a sigh of relief as it extinguished the searing, throbbing heat.

  Ellyssa replayed the battle in her mind. This group was different from the others. They seemed to know how to fight. She was certain they too had underestimated her and made mistakes, but it was not for lack of skill. The fact they apparently wanted her alive, wanted the book more likely, was the only reason she probably emerged victorious.

  She was not sure what to do now. They also seemed to be wearing some kind of uniform as well. The Academy must have sent a more capable group. This was going to make her job more difficult. She wondered if she could avoid them. She also wondered how they had found her. It was obvious they had set themselves up to ambush her, so they must have known where she was.

  If they were adept at capturing wizards, they probably had a way to detect latent magical signatures. She had been cloaking herself in an illusion all day. She had been doing that for almost the entire time she was in Southport. She also used magic to deal with some people and interrogate them for information about Captain Jake. Ellyssa reasoned she had been leaving a magical scent throughout the city for weeks, especially around the docks, and like bloodhounds, they had sniffed her out.

  Fear shot through her as she thought about the wards on her room. Ellyssa relaxed, knowing many of the wards cast on her room were specifically crafted to prevent detection from all manner of inquiry. The book gave them to her and she knew they were good. It was a good thing she was exhausted. Otherwise, the stress of having to deal with this new threat would have kept her awake. Ellyssa’s injury forced her to sleep on her stomach, which was something else to irritate her to no end, but even that could not keep her awake for long.

  Morning came with the intrusiveness of a siege. The sun breeched her consciousness as it poured through the window and was about as welcome as enemy infantry. Ellyssa was determined to continue to fight to the bitter end, but the rumbling in her stomach forced her to accept the sun’s terms of surrender. She was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes with the exception of her ruined shirt, so Ellyssa donned a new one and followed the smell of food downstairs with one last hateful look at the sun promising resumption of hostilities later.

  “Hey, girl, rough night?” the innkeeper asked with far too much exuberance.

  “Food!” Ellyssa demanded as she found an empty table, which she promptly dropped her head onto with a dull thud.

  Frank the innkeeper showed up a minute later with a plate of food, dropping it in front of the sleeping girl hard enough to wake her. Ellyssa looked up and tried to glare her displeasure, but Frank was a kindly man who always smiled at her. He did probably think she was a prostitute since he made a point of informing her he ran a clean inn and did not tolerate any sordid activities shortly after she rented the room. Ellyssa promised there would be nothing of the sort and let the man think what he wanted.

  “You’re looking especially radiant today,” Frank said. “Sleep well?”

  “Ha ha,” Ellyssa replied dryly. “I hear the Duke is looking for a new jester. Perhaps you should go apply.”

  “I think a smart girl like you can find better work that won’t keep you out so late.”

  “I think you should—oh, I’m too tired to play this game today,” Ellyssa mumbled.

  Concern shot through her as she realized she really was too tired to engage in their usual banter. In fact, Ellyssa could barely force her eyes open and was rapidly losing that battle as well. The last thing she saw before the world went black was Frank’s apologetic eyes.

  “Oh, Frank, you bast—,” Ellyssa mumbled before she blacked out.

  Frank slid the plate of food away so Ellyssa would not land face-first into its remains. He gently guided her head to table as two dark-garbed men got up from a nearby table and took hold of the girl.

  “Your cooperation is greatly appreciated,” said one of the men.

  Frank’s face flushed with a mixture of anger and shame. “Just get out of my inn.”

  The two men smiled as they lifted Ellyssa from her chair and disappeared with their burden through the back door. Frank hated his part in this sordid business, but there were some folks you just did not want to run afoul of.

  Ellyssa opened her eyes and immediately discovered her hands tied and her mouth gagged. She fought down the rising panic of, once again, being held captive. She looked around the room and saw she was in a chamber of stone walls weeping with excess moisture. A single door looked to be the only way out. She sat in a plain chair across from a slightly larger chair with a felt-padded seat. Ellyssa suspected she would be having company soon.

  Within seconds of regaining consciousness, the doo
r opened and two men strode in. One was large with a head so bald it shone in the lamplight. The other man was of average height and build, dark haired with a thin, black mustache, and wore expensive clothing. In other circumstances, Ellyssa might consider him handsome for an older man. She guessed him to be in charge. He confirmed her suspicions when he sat in the chair across from her.

  “Look at the defiant, unbridled fury in her eyes, Braxis,” the man said to the bald man standing over his shoulder. “Does it remind you of anyone?”

  Braxis smiled. “It sure does. Best be careful if she espouses his other attributes as well.”

  “Indeed.” The man in the chair faced Ellyssa again. “Hello, my dear. My name is Andrill, and this is my dear associate, Braxis. You must be wondering what causes me to bring you here, and under such rude circumstances. I will explain everything, but first we must come to an accord. First off, I mean you absolutely no harm. Now I know this may be difficult to accept given the first impressions of your treatment, but please look at it from my point of view. So, if you promise not to harm my people, or me, I will untie you and remove that dreadful gag. Agreed?”

  Ellyssa looked at the man as if he were insane.

  “Oh, of course,” Andrill responded with a flippant wave of his hand. “Any promises are certainly conditional upon the behavior of me and mine. Expecting you not to slaughter us all should we display violence is just silly.”

  Ellyssa glared daggers at the man for several heartbeats then nodded her head once. Braxis immediately cut the cords binding her hands and removed the braided cloth from her mouth.

  “You two purse-cutting dung eaters just signed your death warrants,” Ellyssa spat but made no move to attack.

  Andrill turned to look at Braxis again. “Azerick Sir was so much more polite.”

  “He was. Manners were obviously not part of her curriculum.” Braxis nodded.

  Ellyssa’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Azerick’s name. These men knew him and they knew her, or at least enough about her to know they had a relationship. She assumed it must not be too bad since they were willing to talk and free her at her word.

  “What do want, and why did you poison me?” Ellyssa demanded. “And how do you know Azerick?”

  “Azerick was an old associate of mine before he left to join that Academy and promptly disappeared. My condolences on his passing.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  Andrill pursed his lips as he mentally arranged his next words. “Azerick owed me a great favor, two actually, and due to his unfortunate death is unable to repay them.”

  “That still does not explain what you want with me,” Ellyssa stated, already seeing where this was going.

  “As his ward, and something of an heir, I was hoping to impress upon you the obligation of fulfilling those favors.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Ellyssa informed him bluntly. “Anything between you and Azerick died with him, like so many other things did. Besides, I have my own debts to collect, and they are gaining interest every minute.”

  Andrill smiled and steepled his fingers under his chin. “Ah yes, Captain Jake, the terrible slaver.”

  Ellyssa narrowed her eyes. “You seem to know an awful lot about me.”

  “I know a lot about many things. It is my primary business. Oh sure, I dabble in the occasional robbery or fencing operation, but my true stock and trade is information. I really did not expect you to throw in with me out of some sense of duty or obligation to your mentor just because you might find some easing of the guilt you may feel for your part in his death. Hm, no? Oh well, it was worth a try. How about I offer you something you want in return for your help with my little problem?”

  “What do you think you can give me I can’t get on my own if I want it?” Ellyssa asked slowly.

  Andrill leaned forward in his chair. “I can give you Captain Jake.”

  Ellyssa exploded from her chair and tore at the Source. Braxis and Andrill felt a crushing weight strike them in the chest and pin them to wall.

  “Where is he? If you know you had best tell me now!” Ellyssa screamed in uncontrolled rage.

  Andrill made a halting motion and then pointed to the floor with his index finger. Ellyssa looked around the room and spotted several black holes in the wall revealing the presence of hidden passages. She imagined men behind those openings pointing loaded crossbows at her. Ellyssa was certain she could protect herself from them, but listening might be a better course of action right now. Ellyssa let the two thieves drop to their feet and sat back down. Andrill and Braxis resumed their original positions, but only Andrill still smiled.

  “As I was saying,” Andrill said, “information is my business, one in which I am very good. I do not know where Captain Jake is right this instant, but if you help me, I can find him.”

  “If you can find him so easily then why not find him before abducting me?” Ellyssa demanded to know. “Then you would have a bargaining chip in your hand, which is far more substantial than a promise you may or may not be able to keep after you get what you want.”

  “See how clever she is, Braxis? So much like our dear friend Azerick. Two reasons child, one you just saw. Had I the information ahead of time, you could have extracted it from me without paying your fair share of the deal. Two, I cannot get that information until you help me.”

  “Why not?”

  “What do you know of the Thieves’ Guild?” Andrill asked.

  “Nothing, other than you steal things.”

  Andrill clapped his hands once. “Oh good, I love to tell a good story. The Thieves’ Guild was originally comprised of independent chapter houses, each led by a House Master. I am the House Master of the Night Ravens. Each chapter house had its own territory carved out in the city. There were, of course, the occasional battles for territory, but overall it was an equitable arrangement. That changed a few years ago when a newcomer by the name of Faralynn took over the leadership of one of the houses. Faralynn is a brutal expansionist, and I lost a little territory but only the bit I had gained when Azerick helped eliminate Daedric’s Demons. Things seemed to even out over the next year or so, but then she began expanding again. Pretty soon, she declared herself the guild leader of all Southport and each chapter house either paid her to operate or she wiped them out to a man.”

  “So you work for her? If everyone hates this setup, why not just work together to kill her?”

  “I do not work for her, which is why my house now resides here. Do you recognize it?” Andrill asked.

  “No, why should I?”

  “It used to belong to a much younger Azerick,” Andrill explained. “I sort of bent one of our agreements about following him home. I have a terrible curiosity and felt it in my best interest to know where to find him should I need him. Discovering the boy was capable of using magic came as a bit of a shock to the first of my men to enter this place. Quite literally in fact. Azerick had placed some rather unpleasant surprises for uninvited guests, but we got that all taken care of. It was expensive, I can tell you.”

  “You still haven’t told me why Faralynn is such a problem.”

  “The problem is that Faralynn has a wizard working for her, and a rather powerful one, if I am any sort of judge of such things. All who have tried to unseat her and break up her little monopoly have met with an exceedingly grisly demise. That is why I need you, the Witch of North Haven. I do love that little title they bestowed on you. It is quite catchy and very frightening—to slavers anyway.”

  “So, I take care of the wizard and help you remove this Faralynn woman and you promise me Captain Jake,” Ellyssa clarified.

  “Exactly. Once Faralynn is removed, I can call in my resources from the holes in which they are hiding, the ones still alive that is, and reestablish my intelligence network.”