Silence descended over us. We sat quietly and contented for several minutes. I’d even drifted off into a dream involving a fireplace lit dinner with Lanisa, when footsteps from the hallway woke me. Tallus and Shieldwall strolled in, the elf wearing a handful of strategically placed leaves and the dwarf a simple tan cotton robe.
“Morning, all!” Tallus said with a grin. His leaves floated to the floor a heartbeat before he slipped almost soundlessly into the water. Conversely, Shieldwall simply waved at us before shedding her robe and splashing into the water. A tidal wave of warm water splashed us all in the face.
“Morning,” I coughed. I’d been unfortunate enough to be breathing in when the tidal wave splashed my face. Lanisa murmured her greeting unfazed.
The warm bath we were in was large enough to fit almost a dozen people, giving us all a chance to spread out. The two women settled next to each other and Tallus was closer to me. Our conversation drifted from subject to subject, but it eventually settled on the subject that most held our attention: our host.
“Do you think she’ll join?” I asked. After no response I continued. “Winters, I mean.”
All eyes turned to Tallus who pretended to stare at a marble column that fascinated him. It took one of my elbows to force his attention.
“I know who you meant,” he said. “And yes, I think she’ll join.” He seemed to enjoy being the focus of our attention, and the three of us had to stare hard at him for a few seconds to coax out more information. “The Academy’s been a constant thorn in her side since they first learned of her. A few years ago the Brotherhood captured an apprentice she’d been training for almost a decade. They tortured him for days before they allowed him to die. I’ve never met anyone as angry with the Academy as her.”
“She should meet my therapist,” I commented dryly. When all eyes turned quizzically to me, I realized I needed to change the subject. “So… that Brotherhood group. They almost sound like some sort of religious cult.”
“They almost are, although there hasn’t been an organized religion in these lands in centuries,” Shieldwall said. Assuming a long explanation to come, I shifted deeper into a relaxing position in that wonderful hot tub. “In the beginning, only the Fey could cast magic. Humans and darklings weren’t much more than primitive tribesmen, and we dwarves hid in our volcanoes afraid of the roofless world. That changed after the Outworlders invaded. They had the ability to manipulate the weave, and used that ability to fool the non-fey races into believing they were gods. With their power and status as deities, they quickly conquered most of the known world. And even though they were fiercely individualistic, there was no variety between their empires. Dwarves were used as builders, humans as workers, and darklings as warriors, while they lived in obscenity and luxury.”
“Had they been contented with their vast holdings and endless slaves, they might still be here. But the fey, who are close enough to the Weave to understand how the Outworlders manipulate magic, recognized they weren’t gods and refused to bow in submission. In their greed and arrogance, the Outworlders attacked, the ensuing war wiping a great deal of the fey out.”
“Unfortunately for them,” Tallus said, “dragons are also fey. If they’d not attacked dragonkind along with the rest of us, they might have succeeded.”
“Quite so, Prince Tallus,” Shieldwall said. “That along with their infighting spelled their downfall. Each Outworlder was more interested in protecting their own realm or conquering the territory of another rather than pouring their full support into the assault against the fey.”
“In a final desperate act, the Outworlders altered a number of their followers,” the dwarf said, her eyes closed and head leaned back on the edge of the stone tub as she continued her story. “No one knows exactly what they did, but 1500 years ago most races suddenly had access to the weave. Darklings and liskoja had shamans that could heal injuries and manipulate the environment around them. We dwarves could imbue our creations with magic, and humans could, with limited efficacy, cast like the Outworlders.”
“The birth of the Academy,” I mused and the dwarf nodded.
“The Brotherhood was the militant arm of the Academy and, to ensure their loyalty, the Outworlders instilled a sense of fanatical zealotry in the reds. That zealotry still exists today, only now their fanaticism is directed to Brotherhood itself and the destructive power of the Weave. They’re trained to channel the raw, destructive power of magic for no other purpose than death and annihilation. They almost worship at the concept of ruination and blind loyalty to the Brotherhood.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Radical believers. They’re always fun to deal with. How can you be sure they’ll be with the imperial army?”
“As war mages, they hire their destructive skills to anyone who can afford them,” Lanisa said. “It makes the Brotherhood one of the most powerful and influential organizations known.”
“So armies don’t even need to fight. They just let the mages do all the work,” I said.
“Not quite,” Tallus said with a smile. “The Brotherhood does nothing except grow fat on the best foods and exorbitant payments. The Academy would never risk harming one of their own, so an army never marches without hiring at least one mage, and every major city has one of their embassies.
“Deterrence strategy,” I said. “Back on my world, people used to believe highly destructive weapons would keep the different nations from attacking each other. Didn’t work all that well.”
“Here either,” Tallus said. “Once both sides have mages, the armies can fight without worrying about mages interfering.”
“Great scam,” I said, looking at him with a grin. “Get payed a shit-load just to sit on your ass. Sounds like a politician.”
“True,” said Shieldwall with a smile of her own. “And that’s the reason many armies will hire the Azure Fellowship instead. Most kings and lords will pay a fortune to have a skilled healer accompany them before they do anything to risk their lives.”
“Sounds like every member of the Academy spends most of their time doing nothing,” I stated with a grin.
“That would be one of their finer qualities,” said a voice from the hall. Vetta Winters strolled into the room wearing a white robe like the one Shieldwall dropped next to the tub. The tall woman’s robe slid to the floor and I could have sworn I saw Shieldwall’s eyes flick over Winters’s naked olive skin as the mage slid her exquisite form into the tub between our two groups.
“Thank you for the use of your home,” the dwarf said. “I don’t think we got the chance to say that before.” The rest of us voiced our thanks as well.
Winters waved our gratitude away and leaned her head back onto the warm quartzite. “I’m happy to have guests. It’s rare to find someone who actually wants my company rather than my death. But…” she raised her head and leveled a hard gaze at all of us. “If you want my help in your war, I’m going to need something from you.”
“I told you last night that the Consortium will never give up their tomes,” Tallus said. “They’re a point of pride for the Weald and far too dangerous to allow out of our care. Even to someone as competent as you.” I had to smile at that. If I’d spent the night with a woman like her, I doubt I’d have done much negotiating.
“What about allowing me to study at the Consortium?” she asked, a glint in her eye. “I can study under the greatest elf wizards and their books at the same time.” Tallus made an unconvincing show of a noncommittal shrug. “I can even make your job a little easier with special gear while getting you closer to your goal,” she said scooting a little closer. When Tallus pretended to take his time to carefully consider her offer, she rested an arm around his shoulders. “Of course, I’d be happy to inform your father of how successful you’ve all been on this heroic quest of his,” she purred into his ear.
Tallus broke into a winning grin. “I only wish I could be there to see his leaves shrivel when you tell the court that. I bet it’ll shrivel some other things as
well.” Uproarious laughter filled the room. I almost had tears I was laughing so hard.
“Then you accept?” Winters said happily. “Excellent! I’ll begin making preparations for your departure immediately. You’ll be less than two day’s march from the Bloodravens when you leave tomorrow morning.” She stood in the tub, and Tallus smiled up at her.
“You’ll still have to get the agreement of the Consortium, but with my endorsement, that shouldn’t be a problem,” the elf said as his eyes wandered the mages body. Shieldwall’s eyes did the same. “We can discuss the finer details over tonight’s… negotiations.”
Winters smiled at the prince as she picked up her robe. “I look forward to it,” she said as she drew the soft white material around her silken shoulders. Suddenly excited about new prospects, the two remaining women climbed out of the tub and quickly donned their clothing. The trio walked off into the depth of Winters’s sanctum, talking eagerly about who Winters should talk to in the Weald and other details of her journey.
“Sounds like the hard part’s over,” Tallus said. He slid to the opposite side of the tub and grinned at me. I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Yeah, I wish,” I said back sarcastically. “I’m sure those Bloodravens will roll over like kittens.”
We chuckled for a moment before I climbed out. The tub was supposed to be relaxing, but Lanisa had seen fit to change that. Not necessarily in a bad way but I was ready for a change… and maybe some breakfast.
“It’s a strange rule you have,” I said as I pulled my skivvies back on. “I don’t mean to be rude or insensitive, of course, but I just find it strange that elves insist that everybody be naked in the water with you.”
“It is a tradition that many of our partners and allies observe,” Tallus said, his shit-eating grin dazzling. “But it’s not a rule, and we certainly don’t enforce it on non-elves. We respect that our traditions are not those of others.”
A slow smile spread over my face as I pulled on my maze colored robe. My conversation with Lanisa ran through my mind as I left the room with the baths.
The Invasion
As it turned out, my tiny ash chalet held the doorway Winters was going to use to get us closer to the Bloodraven tribe. Outside its walls were rolling drifts of snow, skinny pines, and jagged peaks tearing into the sky. It was beautiful, but deathly forbidding.
After four days of Winters’s healing magic and convalescing, all but one of our wounded were ready to go. The last could probably return to duty as a Ranger with extended elvin healing, but we didn’t have time to wait for him. It was agreed that he’d return with Winters to the Weald.
The rest of our group had gathered in the stone hallway outside my chalet, milling about quietly. Winters’s sanctum had quickly started to feel like home and the thought of leaving paradise didn’t sit well with anyone, although we were all too professional to complain.
I kept my mind busy by focusing on the design of the hallway. Walls, floor, and ceiling were the basic charcoal gray of basalt, broken by the occasional vein of some kind of blue crystalline mineral. Thick, white oak beams were set into the walls every twelve feet or so, and white crisscrossing alabaster separated the basalt of the floor into 12 inch by 12 inch squares. The entire length of the hallway had a 12-inch-thick section of alabaster running along the center of both its walls.
“Hey,” said a voice behind me. Lanisa was there in her lamellar wood armor. She didn’t smile at me as she adjusted the scabbard on her birch bark belt, even when I shot a smile at her. But her face softened and an eyebrow raised at me. “Ready to go?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah,” I muttered. “Totally stoked.”
A look of curious humor spread across her face. “Is being ‘stoked’ a real thing from your land or is that just more of your weirdness?”
“It means pumped up, energized, raring to go,” I said with mock indignation in my voice.
“More of your weirdness then,” she said. I got the tiniest smirk from her before she moved off toward the sudden sound of approaching footsteps. Tallus and Vetta Winters rounded a corner, each carrying an armload of white materials and a sack.
“I hope you’ve all enjoyed sitting around and getting fat because it’s time to move on,” Winters said with a dry smile. She and Tallus started handing out their armloads of white material. “I’ve marked the location of the Bloodraven tribe on your map but, even with these coats, you’ll have a hard time making it in. There are thousands of darkling bastards infesting the area and these mountains are unforgiving.”
We opened out the shockingly white fabrics to find they were long coats. The heavy white woolen cloth with pale ash toggles down the front didn’t look like it would do enough to protect us from the arctic conditions we were about to step into. Especially not with the large gap at either hip to allow a weapon to be drawn. I mentioned that to Winters.
“Were they the simple coats they appear, you’d be right,” the mage said to me. “But they’ve been enchanted to protect you from both observation and elements once completely toggled.” Winters didn’t miss the dark look passing over the faces of the elves. “Don’t worry. Its magics were cast in the elvin style. The magic will leach out eventually, but not before you reach your goal. If you reach your goal.”
“Any last advice?” Tallus asked as he sluggishly worked at the coat that hung almost to the floor. Winters turned to him, her slender and dexterous fingers tugging the collar of his coat snug around his neck and finding time to touch his face.
“Over the last few years, the Bloodraven orcs have been receiving tributes from dozens of lesser tribes,” Winters said. “Not just orc tribes either. Kobold, goblin, troll, and even ogre tribes fall under Bloodraven influence. Because of that, the Bloodravens haven’t fought a battle in years. Anytime a challenger steps up, they use one of their vassallary tribes to crush the resistance. Makes for an easy life for their chieftain, but it’s not the warrior way. And many of his warriors aren’t happy with their easy life. They’d much rather be out raiding, pillaging, and raping anything they can find.”
“Unrest is good,” I said. “What else can you tell us?”
“The magic of these coats will last more than long enough for you to finish your task,” she said. “Given that the doorway you’re about to exit will put you only a few miles from the Bloodraven settlement, you’ll plenty of time to get there, even hiding from their patrols. Don’t rush and get yourselves caught. If you do, commit suicide.”
I raised my eyebrows questioningly.
“They torture their captives to death in one way or another,” Tallus said, his easy smile beaming at me. “But what’s a little torture compared to everything we’ve accomplished?” My derisive snort was echoed by almost everyone else in the group.
We shared our thanks with Winters one last time before filing out of the door in the chalet one by one. I was one of the last to exit, and the cold smashed into me like a bullet into a protective vest. The jolt was so powerful that my chest seized.
“Jesus, fuck!” I growled into the frigid air. “I’ve never been this cold!”
As bad as I was taking it, the dwarves seemed in worse condition. While the heat in Winters’s garden wouldn’t bother them, the cold was having a crippling effect. All of us began toggling our coats, the dwarves shivering violently as they did so.
As I clasped the last toggle, the cold suddenly vanished. There was still a slight chill, but nothing like I’d felt before. And once we started off, the workout of fighting through heavy snows warmed me to the point that I sweating like I was jogging on a California beach.
We were at such a high altitude that everyone felt the fringes of altitude sickness. If we weren’t fighting through snow at an almost desperate pace we might have been fine. But after an hour of nausea and dizziness, I’d had enough.
“Why the hell are we moving so fast?” I gasped. “Isn’t this speed making it more likely that a patrol will spot us?”
“Tru
e,” panted Sheildwall’s voice from behind the mask of her helmet. She was in the lead. “But the oncoming storm could be a serious problem. I want to make a cave that’s behind the glacier a few miles ahead.” I looked where she was pointing, but snow blindness had diminished my vision to the point where I had to take her word for everything. Fortunately for us, the narrow eye slits in the dwarf helmets filtered out the worst of the sun’s blinding rays.
It was two hours later when we finally reached the promised cave. It was far shorter than I’d expected and had to bow my head often to avoid the jagged ceiling. Still, it had a fire pit, roasting rack over the pit, and a large pile of firewood in the back corner.
“You knew this was here,” I said as I took in the well-stocked outpost.
“How else do you think I’d know of a cave behind a glacier?” Shieldwall asked with a grin. “A few decades ago I served as an Invincible on diplomatic attachment to dwarves of Deephome. We were stationed as sentries in this very cave to watch for darklings.” Her helmet was off as she worked a flint and steel to start a fire in the pit. Another dwarf was rummaging through one of the sacks Winters had donated and began pulling out various food items. In fifteen minutes we had chicken and beef sizzling on the racks and a pair of small casks of wine and ale to match.
While everyone else was busy with this and that, I went out into the cold to collect snow. After it had melted by the fire I poured it into a waiting waterskin and repeated the procedure. It was a slow process but after a couple hours the job was done. Each time I went out I looked for our annoying shadow, but I never caught sight of Gallinea.
Not long into our meal the storm started. Snow piled up during the maelstrom so thickly that we had to continuously push the new accumulation away from the mouth of the cave so we wouldn’t suffocate. I was surprised just how warm the cave got with our fire and the insulating snow at the entrance. I and many of the elves untoggled our enchanted coats
A New World Page 19
