by Zack Finley
Jorvik gathered his men around him as we 'ported to Olive's side.
I sent a "heal them" pulse into her four wounded men and reinforced their force shield. Olive was ready to go on the offensive, but we suggested she 'port her most critically wounded to the Klee hospital. She was reluctant to leave the rest of her men, but they promised to stay behind cover until she got back.
Orik and a mage I hadn't met arrived just as Argon and I decided this was as good a 'port location we were likely to find. The spells from the five enemy mages were winding down as blasts from Jorst's team were becoming sporadic. They had just given the raiders orders to kill the group with instructions to cut off their victims' heads.
The raiders were reluctant to jump into a nest of mages but were being promised support by the mage leader.
"Get ready to kill the raiders," I sent to Argon. "I'll key up my mage-killing combos for the five mages. Put up our shield wall in front of all of our teammates." To the entire command, I sent, "Take cover."
I felt Argon’s bond weave together the complex series of spells, tracking each of the tangos and locating each of the friendlies. With a twist, all hell broke out.
It was easy to confirm the raiders were no longer a viable force.
As I sprinted toward the mages, Argon tapped into my magic. She launched a second attack round, slamming the area around the enemy mages with a massive stun spell. She surrounded them with a force bubble filled with nitrogen.
I reached the enemy mages just as the force bubble formed. One appeared unaffected, as he turned to face me. Two were down, possibly dead or unconscious, and two were on their knees.
The two kneeling mages did face plants on the decking. I looked the standing mage straight in the eye as he raised his hand to send a spell my way. I saw the puzzled look on his face when his knees gave way, and he joined his fellows on the deck.
It was a clean sweep. Now we had to check the butcher's bill and save those we could.
Several of Jorvik's armorers arrived within moments with mage cuffs. I took down the force field and checked the condition of the five enemy mages. One dead, but the rest would live long enough to be questioned.
"We need transport for four to Inoa's," I sent Tobron with a teleport site near me. "I want Inoa's teleport site kept in the family."
Tobron said he'd either come himself or get Cleon to help out.
Argon was already checking on our wounded. Jorvik sent his strongest teleport mages to her side, ready to take the wounded to the hospital.
Jorst was dead. Blarn was barely alive. Argon pulsed him with our canned "help them" spell even before I reached her side. Some blast had crushed his chest, and I had a lot of experience dealing with similar injuries. I stayed with him as Argon assessed the rest of the wounded.
"All of Losan Mage Guards have serious injuries. Blarn is by far the most critical. Jorst and two others were killed. Alba is caring for Olive's injured guardsmen in Klee," sent Argon.
Olive had gotten her seriously wounded guardsmen to the hospital. She returned to lead the rest of her squad to locate the wounded, secure the scene, and take care of the dead.
It took half an hour of steady healing to stabilize Blarn. After that, I moved from mage to mage healing their most severe injuries. Argon tapped into my flesh magic to boost her healing magic supply. My flesh magic was depleting slowly, even with Argon tapping in. Hers dropped rapidly during the original triage, but it had tapered off once the worst of the heavy healing was behind us.
I put Blarn into a medical coma even after I healed him of every injury I could find.
"Argon and I have healed everyone left here, but I'd feel better if you could come and verify they don't have their organs upside down," I sent to Alba.
"I'm getting low on force magic, but I'll come if someone can give me a ride there and back," Alba sent.
"We have teleport mages standing by," I sent.
Alba was at my side within moments. She checked each of the wounded, paying particular attention to Blarn.
"You are getting very good at rebuilding chests," Alba said. "I don't know what shape these people were in before, but they are good to go now. If your flesh magic levels are good, they will benefit greatly from a general health boost. It will do wonders for their tiredness and morale."
Argon and I hugged Alba before sending her back to Klee with one of Jorvik's teleporters.
I made Argon sit down and have some water while I delivered the morale boosters to our wounded warriors. I eased Blarn's coma but didn't wake him. The real world would arrive soon enough for him. It would be better to face it after a few hours of therapeutic sleep.
While we healed our allies, Cleon removed the last four living enemy mages for Inoa to question.
We rebalanced our forces between the warehouse compound and site one. Jorvik had cots and field rations brought in for both sites. We left Orik in charge of the warehouse compound. Tobron stood watch at site one.
I teleported Jorvik and Argon back to Augun to brief King Arvich and King Rufix. We arrived just as dawn crept into Augun. The long night was over. Argon, Jorvik, and I were exhausted.
Both kings were seated in comfortable chairs arranged around a mage fire. An armed squad of the Augun King's Guard was stationed around the ballroom, but otherwise, the room was vacant.
I urged Jorvik forward to brief his king, knowing Arvich would take the news better from him.
"All of the enemy mages we know of are either dead or in custody. Our victory came at a price; three Losan Mage Guards were killed, including Jorst," said Jorvik. "It could have been much worse. All of the Losan Mage Guards were seriously injured in the last battle against five mages and a cohort of raiders. Several, including Blarn, would also have died had Argon and Steve not healed them."
"You were supposed to rely on stealth not battles," King Arvich spit out, even while Jorvik attempted to head him off.
"My king, you have never seen a more stealthy or deadly pair than these two," said Jorvik pointing towards us. "For reasons we don't know, the Losan Mage Guards did not follow orders to wait for the rest of us. They walked into a trap. We still don't know what prompted that decision. The last site was the toughest location. We'd determined it needed the entire host to attack safely. My armorers and the Duchy group captured four mages at site one near the Sloms compound. We were cracking open the last two warded rooms at site one when we learned Jorst was under attack."
Arvich slumped back into his chair.
"King Rufix, Olive, and your guardsmen were a major factor in limiting our casualties and capturing or killing the last five mages," Jorvik bowed as he related the compliment. “Olive provided excellent intel on the battle landscape as well as a teleport location. Argon and Steve 'ported into the battle zone and immediately took the battle to the enemy. Orik 'ported in right behind them. He says all the guard mages were down and the enemy was finishing them off when he arrived. Had Steve and Argon hesitated there would have been few survivors.”
"I still don't understand how Argon and Steve wiped out the raiders and rendered the mages either dead or unconscious,” Jorvik continued. “By the time I arrived, Steve and Argon were in the midst of saving Blarn's life and healing the other wounded. Just before we came here, they brought in a Klee healer to verify no further work was needed."
"If Alba gave them a clean bill of help, you can take that to the bank," said King Rufix. "She, Steve, and Argon are the most talented healers I have ever met."
"I still don't have independent proof this group of mages was trying to overthrow my government," said King Arvich. "This could just be some kind of Klee plot meant to destabilize us. I don't even know with absolute certainty Commander Allixon is an imposter."
With Arvich's words, fatigue settled heavily around me. I sat on one of the benches. Argon tried to lend me strength, but I knew she was as weary as I was.
Adrenaline was your friend during combat. It became a bitch when the withdrawal symptoms hit
. I never had a lot of patience with politics, and this just seemed like bird shit dropped onto my ice cream. King Arvich needed a reality check.
We had averted a damn coup and likely saved thousands of his citizens.
That didn't mean I was satisfied to lose three under my command, but men die in war. It’s a hard fact. All I could do was to ensure I didn’t make the same mistake again. In combat, there are no do-overs. We were lucky the butcher’s bill wasn’t higher.
"King Arvich, you owe us an apology," demanded Argon. "I know you believe the coup was real. Why you insist on saying otherwise is disrespectful to my mate and your own forces. Together, we stopped the coup from shattering your country. You have a chance that King Rufix never had to limit the scope of the damage. The coup was scheduled to start within 9 days. With the commander of the king's guard leading the attack, the assassination and coup would have prevailed. Because we intervened, that didn’t happen. You still have an enormous mess to clean up. Your citizens thought the Losan King's Guard was extremely corrupt even before Allixon was co-opted. You have two feuding groups on the docks poised to explode into open conflict and take your economy with them."
King Arvich opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it.
Jorvik jumped in. "I believe there was a planned coup and it has been thwarted. The plotters have been working to launch this coup for months and have already done a lot of damage. Add that to the devastating losses in Augun, Ylee, and Kavil, and we have the seeds for a terrible economic downturn. We need the help of these friends to limit the pain."
"Were you reading my mind?" King Arvich demanded of Argon.
"Yes."
"That is treason."
"Who says so?" asked Argon. "I don't make a habit of reading the minds of kings, but when you accused us, I decided to check. The other kings have dealt with me honestly. I do not need to read minds when people tell me the truth. I have sufficient truth sense, so this seldom comes up. That you choose to bluster instead of attending to the problem makes me wonder how good a king you are."
King Rufix held up his hand. "I think it has been a very emotional day for everyone. We are all exhausted. It was difficult for me to accept my failures and I don't presume to suggest how another ruler should react. It is already dawn and today will be another long hard day for all of us. Steve, what are your plans?"
"We still have Tobron and the Duchy Guard at site one. I need to recover them although I want to know what is in those two heavily-warded rooms. I suspect Inoa already has a growing list of Losan people recruited by the mages we captured.
"King Arvich will need to find a new leader to run his guard,” I said. “I suggest saying nothing about Allixon's absence and have the new leader quietly clean house. When you have purged your bad apples, Allixon can officially die from falling off a basas or something.
"Losan needs an experienced mind mage to handle the Losan interrogations and coordinate with Inoa. This will give King Arvich more confidence in what Inoa is uncovering and expand the amount of information available for those interested in stability.
"I expect those who sent these assassins won't be satisfied with this outcome; expect a second or even third coup attempt. They won't need to recruit another doppelganger, but with enough local and regional instability, they won't need to," I added.
"Mostly Argon and I need to get a shower, some food, and a brief rest, we are exhausted, and we have much to do."
King Rufix's intervention had the desired effect, Arvich accepted his hospitality, Jorvik headed back to Losan, and Argon and I went home for a few hours of shuteye.
"I'll work with Arvich and get him to pull in his fangs," sent Jorvik. "He has no cause to be angry with you. He was ashamed to discover how much his inattention has cost our kingdom. We'll share any intel we get from site one and site two. I'll make sure Tobron and your Duchy Guard get teleports home as soon as I get some fresh mages over there."
"Thanks, my friend, it has been a helluva night. I'll let you know what Inoa has learned--hopefully after my nap," I sent back as we 'ported into our suite. "I know I can function without sleep, but I'm a lot better with a few hours of sleep."
"You and me both. I'm getting too old for this," Jorvik messaged back.
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Glossary
Cast of Characters
Afleit, baker from village outside of Flom.
Alanna, first contact at Klee Mage Guild
Alba, mage healer, Cleon's mate, from Klee.
Allie, married to Jern.
Allixon, commander Losan King's Guard.
Allo, fla familiar to Argon.
Arbos, head of Augun secret police.
Argon, acolyte of Shala and mate of Steve.
Arla, King Arvich's transport mage
Arvich, Losan king.
Avia, god favored by those in Klee.
Blar, a blacksmith.
Blarn, Losan king's mage corps second in command.
Blent, captain of the Calibran, pirate captain in Augun.
Blunts, Losan faction involving metal and ore exports.
Bolon, one of three original mage recruits hired in Klee; male.
Bomes, sergeant in Augun King’s Guard, in charge of the Flom garrison.
Braka, mundane female recruit for Toffad's Keep, likes purchasing and bargaining.
Brik, lieutenant in Augun King’s Guard, in charge expedition to Asme
Cleon, Tobron and Inoa's oldest son; employed as king's troubleshooter.
Clive and his mate, Loma, older brother and sister-in-law of Tobron.
Darla, Losan guard mage.
Dors, the Keep HQ head mistress.
Ellte, talented mind mage in Klee, recruited by Marfo.
Erfo, Losan mage guild contact.
Erik, the sergeant in charge of the Duchy Guard
Fallon, mundane member of Augun secret police.
Fermin, former king of Klee and Ruton's father, deceased.
Feron, mage assassin in Augun, first one questioned by Argon.
Findot, Klee mind mage, apprentice to Argon.
Flexon, commander of Klee's King's Guard.
Flmo, young blacksmith from rural Klee.
Forst, earth mage apprentice to Clive, working with Flmo and Klid.
Gera, Klee mage on loan to Augun King's Guard.
Goran, mage at Klee Mage Guild.
Grik, ex-slave barnta driver from Augun.
Happy and the Boys
Inoa, Tobron's mate, works for Klee king
Jahan, barge mage found in Flom.
Jaloans, inhabitants of Jaloa.
Jamal, guard captain for Shala's gates.
Jarus, mage private investigator.
Jeek, blacksmith and militia captain from village outside Asme.
Jenia, Klee queen, wife of King Fermin, daughter of King Rufix, and mother of King Ruton.
Jenks, corporal in duchy guard.
Jeref, business agent from Augun.
Jern, Tobron’s oldest grandson. Cleon and Alba’s kid. Married to Allie.
Jestn, mage with water magic, Maude’s assistant.
Jofi, one of three original mage recruits hired in Klee; female.
Jord, Marfo's mate.
Jorst, Losan's guard's lead mage
Jorvik, armorer, head of Losan armorer council.
Klid, tinkerer from Rithra.
Lany, mother of Marko, mate of deceased Augun heir.
Loma, mate of Clive, enchanter.
Luzo, mundane recruit for Toffad's Keep.
Malek, mage ship owner-captain of Malan, hired in Augun.
Marfo, Cleon's sister, daughter of Tobron and Inoa.
Marko, grandson and now heir of King Rufix of Augun.
Maude, sister to Inoa, considered eccentric or crazy
Nimba, farmer; Perga’s lieutenant.
Olive, surviving Augun King's Man mage guarding Marko.
Orik, Losan master armorer, supplies shop at Losan Mage Guild
.
Perga, leader of farmers at Keep.
Pernet, Klee banker.
Ramda, the Klee mage hired by Klee Queen Mother Jenia to help King Rufix.
Reeter, dock broker at Losan
Rofcher, raider leader outside Flom.
Ronar, patriarch of glappner extermination company.
Rubit, Losan mage guild contact.
Rufix, Augun king.
Ruton, Klee king.
Shala, goddess.
Sloms, Losan faction involving food exports.
Steve Finley, protagonist. Ex-Navy Seal.
Tobron, librarian at Klee Mage Guild, mate of Inoa, duchy chamberlain.
Valso, lieutenant, new commander of Augun's Kings Guard.
Virn, tavern keeper.
Xerib, Augun mage commander.
Yarl, farmer; Perga’s lieutenant.
Locations
Asme, cloth manufacturing center in kingdom of Augun, located in the south.
Augun Mage Guild, confederation of mages located in Augun.
Augun, west coast kingdom, city and river. Known for its leather and cloth. Located north of Klee.
Bara, east coast kingdom, city and river, north of Zoas.
