God of Magic 6

by Logan Jacobs

“So you think he’s a manipulator,” Dehn pondered as he tore off a bite of jerky.

  “It makes sense in a weird way,” Aerin said.

  “He was probably planning on recruiting you for his army from the first day he saw you,” Yvaine added.

  “I never did like the guy,” Lavinia grumbled. “He’s always been smarmy.”

  “He could be charming, though,” Maruk pointed out. “And he was always well-informed on a variety of topics.”

  “I still have a hard time understanding him,” I sighed. “In the city, and especially around the tower, he could be a real prick. But when it was just us working on something, he was a great guy, and one of the best teachers I've ever had.”

  “I think it’s safe to say that relationship is now at an end,” Imogen replied.

  Merlin flew into our camp at that moment and let out a piercing cry. We jumped to our feet and looked around.

  “What the hell?” Lavinia demanded angrily, though I could sense a bit of fear there as well. Facing an army of manipulators would make even the most stalwart soldier quake in his boots.

  “They must have stopped following the carriages,” I said.

  Merlin bobbed his head and let out another screech.

  “Well, that’s good for Rezo,” Yvaine sighed. “At least I won’t have to worry about them getting into trouble.”

  “I don’t understand why they haven’t had to stop,” Aerin groused as she grabbed up her pack.

  “We can figure that out later,” Maruk sighed. “For now, we need to keep moving.”

  “I really hope we lose them soon,” Emeline said as she peered over her shoulder into the darkness. “My feet could really use a good soak.”

  “And some scones,” Lena agreed. “With plenty of cream.”

  “And a lovely pot of Argam tea,” Maruk laughed.

  “We can be in Gilamar before sunrise,” Lavinia declared. “But we’ve got to move now and we’ve got to move quickly.”

  We gathered our packs, and set off into the darkness, with only a few of Lena’s glow sticks and a muted mage ball from Emeline to light our way. There was no real forest to speak of, and the wind cut across the plains unabated. Ice coated everything, making the hike even more treacherous. We were forced to make several brief stops while Aerin dealt with an assortment of twisted ankles, stubbed toes, and frozen fingers.

  Lavinia was right though. We dragged ourselves into Gilamar before the first rays of sunlight had cleared the horizon. There were a few caravans already lining up for the journey across the great expanse of desert. Most of these were smaller than the caravans that had made this journey earlier in the year. The exotic fruits and spices had long since been harvested and sold, and the bitter cold kept the merely curious away.

  We quickly found one group that was happy to have a guild join their journey, even if we were only going as far as the Canterrose Mountains. Part of me wished we could have taken the hot air balloons again, but when a vicious blast of arctic wind nearly knocked me off my feet, I decided that we’d probably made a wise choice.

  Our train set out early, with the Shadow Foxes walking alongside the various carts and wagons. A spice dealer named Aziz returning home after nearly a year of doing business in the west offered us a seat on the back of his wagon, which now carried a load of fine woolen cloth and sacks of snails, whose shells were used to produce a deep purple dye.

  By unspoken agreement, Lavinia spent most of the time on the cart. At first, she complained, but as the winds picked up, and the rest of us looked ever more miserable, she smirked and settled into her spot.

  Merlin maintained his hawk form, and he kept an eye on the trail behind us. We knew when our foes had reached Gilamar, though they apparently had less luck securing a ride. We managed to gain nearly an entire day before they were able to get underway.

  “Enjoying the view?” I asked Lavinia as I walked next to the spice merchant’s wagon.

  “Immensely,” she assured me.

  “Maybe you should lie down,” I suggested.

  “And miss all the scenery?” she laughed.

  “Trouble,” I heard Maruk call out.

  The orc pointed towards the southern horizon, and I saw four familiar shapes soar over the desert floor.

  “Griffins,” I said to Lavinia. She jumped off the back of the cart, bow and arrows at the ready.

  We kept a watchful eye on the predators, and it seemed like we might have escaped their notice. They continued to hunt further south, flying in large circles that kept them moving away from us. I could feel the tension in the caravan drop as their shapes became nothing more than dots on the distant horizon.

  “Over there!” I heard someone yell out. The signal went up from the lead wagon to stop, and one by one, the wagons ground to a halt.

  “To the east,” Lavinia said. I followed her gaze and saw another group of griffins. This pack was larger, and they weren’t moving in the same looping pattern as the ones we’d just passed. This group was moving straight onwards, towards us.

  The drivers pulled their wagons into a loose circle, and the guards hired for this trek had their own swords and bows already drawn. Almost everyone else ducked under their wagons and carts, but I saw a few of the traders position themselves for a fight.

  The griffins swooped in low at first, like a reconnaissance flight. An anxious guard loosed an arrow that flittered uselessly past the pack. The griffins moved higher, out of range of the average bowman, and started to circle over our group.

  One of the griffins made a noise that was somewhere between a raven’s caw and a lion’s roar. Two of the griffins began diving towards the carts, and several of the donkeys brayed in terror. I placed my hand on Lavinia’s shoulder, reinforcing her mana with my own. Three of her prized elven arrows shot straight towards the griffins that were descending on us. One tumbled from the sky without a sound, while the other one struggled to fly away, its right wing flapping uselessly against the wind.

  “I’ll get that one!” Dehn yelled as he raced across the desert floor in pursuit of the wounded griffin.

  “Don’t forget my arrow!” Lavinia called after him as she lined up her next shot.

  The griffin’s roar had attracted the attention of others in the area. Even as the group above us tightened their circle, I could see three more flying in from the west.

  A fireball shot up from our group, and I saw Emeline prepare for another strike. She’d crisped a few feathers, and the griffins had broken apart briefly before reforming their circle at a greater height.

  “Can you take out those three?” I asked Lavinia as I eyed the group from the west that was closing in.

  “Yes,” she replied quickly as she set her arrows. She gave me a nod, and I placed my hand on her shoulder again. She held the bow steady until the creatures were within range, and then she sent three more of the elven arrows screaming across the sky. Two griffins fell instantly while the third fluttered slowly to the ground.

  Another fireball filled the air, and the griffins roared in protest. One swooped lower, and I saw Maruk heave one of Lena’s jars at it. The orc’s aim was good, and the jar smashed into the animal. Smoke engulfed the griffin, followed by a horde of tiny, flickering lights. The griffin screeched and tried to fly away. Merlin swooped in from somewhere and dug his own talons into the flailing animal’s hide.

  There were only four griffins left now, and they circled well above us, outside the range of either bow or fireball. I picked out the griffin that seemed to be the leader, and I closed my fist over its mana. The animal fought back, yanking against the grip of my mana as it tried to pull away. The other three griffins flew around aimlessly and watched as their leader struggled against an enemy they couldn’t see. Finally, the great beast fell from the sky, and the other three griffins flew off.

  We waited for a moment, but no other griffins appeared. One by one, our fellow travelers emerged from their hiding places. I saw Aerin move among them, checking for injuries and offe
ring reassurance. Lena was with her, while Yvaine and Maruk checked on the wagons. Emeline helped the caravan’s water mage to his feet, and I saw the man offer her a grateful hug.

  “I need to retrieve my arrows,” Lavinia sighed.

  “It’s a long walk,” I said. “I’ll get them.”

  “You just want to collect some souvenirs,” she teased.

  “Perhaps a nice cloak made of griffin feathers,” I laughed.

  “Don’t give Maruk any ideas,” she warned me.

  “Don’t give me any ideas about what?” Maruk asked as he stepped up next to Aziz’s cart.

  “Griffin feathers,” I replied with a wink to Lavinia.

  “In a hat, I should think,” Maruk mused. “Yes, that would look fabulous.”

  Aziz had stayed with his donkeys during the attack, and now that they were calm again, he joined us at the back.

  “I knew it was a good idea to have a guild along,” he gushed as he shook our hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flock of griffins dealt with so quickly. But what happened to that last one?”

  “I wrapped it in air,” I said as I remembered one of the spells I’d seen described in Charmain. “Sort of like wrapping it in a blanket so it couldn’t fly.”

  “Whatever you did, it was amazing,” Aziz declared. “I have no doubt this will be the easiest crossing I’ve ever made.”

  The caravan was slowly reassembling itself into a line, and a headcount by the leader, a scrawny man named Fatso for some reason, showed that only Dehn was still missing. Aerin scooted inside Aziz’s cart and sent a message with our magic paper while I convinced Fatso to give Dehn a little more time. The rest of the caravan took the opportunity to sip some water and calm their nerves.

  We had no response from Dehn, and Fatso was anxious to get under way. We’d dealt well enough with one flock of griffins, but Fatso was understandably worried that the scent of blood would draw more griffins. Or something worse. I remembered the giant dragon we’d encountered on our first trip across the desert, and I couldn’t blame him for being worried.

  I had just convinced Fatso to at least let me retrieve some of the arrows Lavinia had used when Maruk tugged on my sleeve and pointed out a small figure trudging across the sand. A cheer went up from the caravan when they realized it was Dehn. He raised his fists in response and picked up his pace.

  He was covered in blood, and he had somehow strung a pair of griffin talons around his neck. More importantly, he had retrieved not only the arrows from the griffin he had chased, but all the arrows Lavinia had used. He held them out to the ladona like a bashful prom date presenting his queen with a corsage. He even looked at the ground and scuffed the toe of his boot as he held them out to her.

  “Thank you, Dehn,” Lavinia said in a remarkably kind and warm voice.

  The halfling blushed and ground a small hole into the hard packed earth of the trail.

  “Well, I think we can go now,” Fatso declared.

  Fatso gave the signal, and the caravan lined up once again. Aziz invited Lavinia to sit next to him at the front of the cart where he proceeded to describe everything that had just happened as if Lavinia hadn’t been a participant. I saw Lavinia consider making a jump for it, but Aziz clicked to the donkeys, and the cart rolled onward.

  The rest of our desert journey passed by uneventfully as far as the local wildlife was concerned. We saw griffins in the distance, and the tracks of a dragon, but none ever approached our little collection of carts.

  Merlin kept watch behind us, and his updates were less encouraging. The mages had joined a caravan and were moving quickly across the desert. They were getting closer every day, and I guessed that magic was being used to keep their caravan moving so fast and for so long. A part of me wanted the griffins to attack the second caravan. I didn’t want anything to happen to the people in the caravan, but maybe it would keep the mages busy for a time.

  As the mountains came into view, we reviewed our plans for the next part of the trip. Emeline rode in the cart as she looked over maps, and Lavinia joined her every so often. There were several possible crossings, including those we’d used in the past, but even from this distance we could see the swirling storms that wreathed the mountains. With our enemies closing in, the last thing we needed was to get trapped on the side of a mountain with no way down.

  Our last night with the caravan was one of the coldest I’d ever experienced in Evreas. Between the bitter wind, the looming mountains, and our rapidly approaching foes, no one got much sleep. We volunteered to take the watch all night, which earned us a thankful smile from each of the guards. We hunkered down by the fire with our cloaks and blankets pulled tightly around us. Merlin curled up in my hood and started snoring after a long day of watching the two caravans.

  “They’re less than a half day behind us now, if I understand Merlin correctly,” I sighed. I peered back along the trail, as if I might spot the campfires of the other caravan.

  “It’s insane how fast they’re moving,” Imogen noted. “Even with mage help.”

  “They must be using healers to keep the animals fit for travel,” Lavinia said. “But even so, I don’t understand how they’re moving so fast. The carts are just as heavy.”

  “Maybe they lightened the carts somehow,” Aerin mused. “Some spell that would make everything weigh less.”

  “I know some physicists who would have a field day with that,” I murmured.

  “They could have just tossed stuff,” Dehn pointed out.

  “I can’t imagine the merchants would allow that,” Maruk replied.

  “They may not have had a choice,” Yvaine said. “Once they were out in the desert, the mages may have taken command of the caravan.”

  “But then why bother with the caravan at all?” Emeline asked.

  “They still need guides,” Lena replied. “And Maderel still hasn’t exposed himself yet. He’ll want to maintain his High Mage persona for as long as possible.”

  “And tossing aside a few bolts of cloth in order to catch some thieves may be viewed as high-handed but still acceptable,” I added. “Whereas killing off a caravan would bring a lot of unwanted attention.”

  “I’ve dealt with mages before,” Imogen noted. “I’ve never encountered any quite like these.”

  “Don’t worry,” Dehn assured her, “we can take them.”

  “Gabriel can handle lots of mages at one time,” Aerin agreed. “He took on that whole cult in the castle the last time we were in the mountains.”

  “Those were all elementalists,” I pointed out. “I have a feeling these are… something else following us.”

  We all peered back along the trail again, and I could have sworn I felt someone looking at us.

  “Well, you can handle them as well,” Yvaine finally said.

  “Maybe one or two, like at the Academy,” I replied. “But I think they underestimated me and they didn’t know Imogen was there either. They know how many we are now and they have a better idea of what I can do. If there’s a lot of them, I don’t know what I could do to stop them.”

  “We just have to stay ahead of them,” Lavinia declared with a determined glint in her red eyes.

  “That may be easier said than done,” Maruk replied.

  “Doesn’t matter how hard it is,” Dehn sniffed. “If it’s what we have to do, we’ll do it.”

  “Damn right,” Lavinia agreed.

  Cheered by my team’s determination, I finally managed to doze for a few short hours. Fatso had everyone up before first light, and our caravan was underway again before the first rays of sunlight had crossed the mountains.

  When we reached the edge of the Canterrose Mountains, Fatso offered us a guild bounty to continue with the caravan. There were reports of raiders along the trail as it curved away from the mountains and turned towards the silk and spice markets of the nomadic tribes. In different times, I assured him, the Shadow Foxes would have been proud to see the caravan safely through, but we were already
on a quest and we couldn’t abandon it, even for a day. I also secretly hoped that the caravan would remain the focus of Maderel’s mages, at least long enough to buy us enough time to reach the mountains.

  Fatso nodded sadly and wished us well. We collected our gear, and as the carts moved out of sight, we turned our own steps to the mountains that loomed before us.

  “And now the fun begins,” Maruk declared. “I hope everyone remembered their bearskins.”

  “Yes, mother,” Aerin replied.

  The pass Emeline and Lavinia had selected was at one of the higher elevations, but it would lead us directly east. It also had the advantage of being one of the few passes that was manned year round. According to the fire mage, workers kept the pass open, even in the dead of winter. And once we were through, we had a straight shot to the Iolian Sea.

  If we made it through the pass. Just approaching the mountains was a task. Snow and slush pulled at our feet, and a fierce wind blew ice into our faces. My lungs ached from the cold before we’d even started our climb.

  Conditions at the mountains were even worse. There was a heavy blanket of snow at the lower levels, and as we started to climb, the snow went from loose and dry to as thick as oatmeal. It sucked at my feet, and I nearly lost one of my boots in a large drift. I had serious doubts that anyone could keep the pass open in this type of storm.

  “There should be a waystation ahead,” Lavinia called out over the roaring wind. “We can catch our breath there and find out what the conditions are in the high pass.”

  “Can’t be any worse than this,” Maruk yelled back as he cleared a mound of snow from his shoulders.

  We almost walked past the waystation. It was a one-story building, partially built into the mountain itself. The wind had blown the snow across the stone walls and buried the roof in a thick layer. If we hadn’t been looking for the station, we would have missed the narrow path that someone had dug to the door.

  There were only a few people inside when we stumbled in, but at least there was a warm fire and the smell of something roasting in the kitchen. We followed the instructions on a sign by the door and shook off all the snow before seating ourselves at a large table at the far end of the room.