by Jon Bender
Laiden looked from Darian to Jaxom and back again. “I am pleased to have the chance to learn from Magus Jaxom, but I am Magus Alimar’s apprentice.”
Darian considered. “At first, yes. If you were part of the Mages’ Castle, that would continue. However, from Lexa’s example, I think your school will have a different way of training apprentices.”
“How do you mean?” Jaxom asked.
“When Alimar thought Lexa ready, he handed her over to Warin to continue her training. Now Laiden is here with you while Alimar has begun training those twin apprentices.”
“That’s coincidence. Laiden is here to gain experience, nothing more. And your theory doesn’t account for Kasric,” Jaxom said, with a dismissive wave.
“Kasric is…unique. You are creating traditions, reforming your school from nothing. What you do now will affect how future mages conduct themselves,” Darian said, without a hint of his normal sarcasm.
Jaxom pondered that. Alimar had said something similar. Perhaps training the apprentices the way Darian described would be beneficial. That way, they could learn from two mages whose style of casting differed. Looking at Laiden, Jaxom considered whether he would be willing to take the young man on as his apprentice.
“I will speak with Magus Alimar about making you my apprentice. That is, if you have no objections,” Jaxom said.
Laiden remained quiet for moment before speaking. “Magus Alimar has been a great teacher. I still want him as a mentor, but I would like to learn from you as well.”
Jaxom smiled at the boy’s loyalty. “I’m sure he will understand.”
“It’s settled!” Darian declared proudly. “And you have me to thank for setting a new tradition.”
“Why do you want to be involved with our school?” Jaxom asked suspiciously.
Darian looked around as if searching for anyone who might overhear. Leaning in closer, his whispered, just loud enough for them to hear. “It’s just the beginning of my plan to absorb your school and conquer the fifteen kingdoms.”
Laiden stared in shock, but Jaxom reacted differently. Channeling the power of death, he cast the veil, quickly covering Darian’s head. His friend jerked back, trying to tug at the magic as his hands passed through the dark cloud blocking his sight.
“You are going to have a hard time conquering anything looking like that,” Jaxom said flatly.
Darian turned his head in Jaxom’s direction and lifted his hand. A burst of frost spewed forth, chilling Jaxom to the bone. He clothes began to harden, and he could feel icicles forming in his hair. When the cold began to burn his skin, he banished the veil around his friend’s head. Soon after, the frost receded.
“I’m going into battle with three children,” Cribble grumbled from behind them. He spat on the ground as he rode past to speak with General Nelix.
“What kind of example are you setting for your apprentice?” Darian exclaimed, squaring his shoulders and raising his chin.
Jaxom stared at him incredulously until the ice mage burst into laughter. “I don’t know how Danika puts up with you,” Jaxom said.
“She appreciates my sense of humor, and my stunningly good looks make up for my many flaws,” he replied. “Since you have neither, I am at a loss to explain why Adriana agreed to marry you.”
Jaxom sighed and held his tongue. Darian would not stop until he got the last word and declared victory. It was better to let him win now than be drawn into a verbal sparring match.
When they reached the town, they were greeted by the captain of the garrison placed to patrol the area and protect its citizens. They made no secret of their purpose and destination, knowing Alexar likely had spies watching for them. The men were given leave to visit the taverns and inns, with a few staying behind to guard the wagons. Cribble and Nelix as the most senior members of the unit headed off together. Jaxom and his fellow mages stood out in Corin’s livery, but that hardly seemed to matter as they too headed in with the dozens of other soldiers.
At the nearest inn, they claimed one of the empty tables in the common room. A pretty young girl with blond hair and white dress came over to take their orders. “What’a you boys having?” she asked in a cheerful voice.
“A round of ale, and three of whatever you’re serving for the evening meal,” Jaxom said.
“I’ll be right back with that,” she said, giving Laiden a wink before she left. Laiden smiled back and kept his eyes on her swaying form until she disappeared through the kitchen door.
“Easy boy,” Darian said. “We are only here for one night. No use falling in love with a girl you just met. Besides, that type will have you spending your entire wage on pretty gifts. And when it’s over, your head will be spinning.”
Laiden looked confused. “But I’m not a soldier. I don’t make a wage.”
“You look like one to her.” When the girl came back carrying a tray laden with their order, Darian grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’ll show you what I mean.”
She began placing their plates and drinks on the table, leaning in far more than necessary to give Laiden a good view of her low neckline. The young apprentice stared helplessly. Standing straight again, she gave him an innocent smile.
Jaxom was about to reach for his coin pouch when Darian handed her one silver and several copper coins. “It’s too bad you lost all your money in that dice game,” he said, as though reassuring Laiden. “Don’t worry. I’ll cover you until we get paid again.”
The young woman gave Laiden a sad smile before walking back to the kitchen, the sway in her hips gone. Laiden looked from her to Darian and back again, crestfallen. “Don’t worry, my young friend,” Darian said. “Plenty of other girls will appreciate a man without money.”
Darian chuckled, and Jaxom could not help but grin as well. Laiden blushed and took a draw of his ale to hide his face behind the mug. When they finished their meal, the girl returned to clear away the plates. Laiden ignored her.
Their reprieve was short lived, but they took what pleasure they could from talking and enjoying the atmosphere of the inn before returning to the wagons. The next morning, they started out again. Within a couple of hours, the forest came into view. Jaxom could not but help but compare it to the Teriken Forest. Even with the new road leading through that gloomy forest to the city of Terika, the trees seemed to press menacingly in on travelers. The woods before him seemed far less intimidating, with wide spaces between the trunks that let sunlight filter down to touch the new growth of leaves. They heard the sounds of song birds and small animals scurrying about in the undergrowth.
Darian rode in the middle of the column from where Jaxom could just hear him instructing Laiden in the more subtle techniques of wooing women. Knowing that the lad was safe with the ice mage, at least from everything but bad advice, he moved his horse ahead to the front of the column. “This ship will be large enough to carry us and the wagons across?” he asked, pulling his horse next to Nelix.
“There is a fishing village on the bank with ferries that used to move large trains of wagons carrying trade goods back and forth from Bruxa. The largest will only be able to take half of what we have, so we will need to hire two,” Nelix said.
“Why is there no bridge?”
“The river can reach up to three miles across in the spring with the melting snow, and no one from Ale’adaria or Bruxa ever wanted to spend the money to build one. Don’t worry. The townspeople have lived off the river all their lives. They know what they’re doing.”
Jaxom was about to object that he was more concerned about what would happen once they reached the other side when he saw Cribble stiffen. “What is it?” Jaxom asked.
“Listen!” the Guard Commander hissed, raising a hand for silence.
Jaxom listened and heard nothing. The forest had gone quiet. The animals and birds were silent. Even the wind in the branches seemed to have calmed. Nelix and Cribble drew their swords, the former raising it above his head so that the men behind could see. Jaxo
m drew the replacement blade Alimar had provided before glancing over his shoulder down the column. Every man had drawn his weapon, and Darian was placing Laiden between him and the wagons.
Dozens of arrows streaked out from within the trees, striking a handful of Ale’adarian soldiers. Jaxom looked to the trees nearest him in time to see a man in brown clothing aim a bow in his direction. Raising a hand, he formed the blight into its concentrated form, creating a wall of magic to shield himself and those next to him. As the magic took hold in the air before him, he was showered with black dust from the arrows that rotted as they passed through his barrier. A steel arrowhead clinked off the chainmail on his shoulder, having lost the momentum of the shaft behind it.
Releasing the cast, he commanded the emora to shift its coat and begin hunting. He kicked his horse into motion, charging the bowman who was already knocking another arrow. Sparing only a second to look back down the road, he saw the other soldiers rushing into the trees. Darian was casting ice daggers, and next to him, Laiden stood calling bones from the earth to hurl at the attackers.
Leaving the road, Jaxom wove through the trunks, making it harder for the bowman to get a clear shot. Gripping his power tightly, he felt a sense of excitement overtake him. He wanted to kill these attackers. He had felt this sense of exhilaration in the past, but it had never before come on so quickly. The unknown archer loosed another arrow that skipped off a trunk before dropping the bow and picking up a spear. At the last second, the man stepped to Jaxom’s left, away from his sword arm, and thrust the spear up. If not for a quick reflexive block, the tip would have buried itself in Jaxom’s ribs. Jaxom circled his horse, bringing the man to his right, and slashed. The longer spear easily deflected his blade. The brown-clad man thrust again, forcing Jaxom to pull his horse away. Jaxom realized he was at a disadvantage, unable to maneuver in the tight space or reach past the spear to make contact. When he jumped down to face the man on foot, Jaxom did not think his opponent could have been more surprised. With his hands now free of the reins, he cast the blight. The man raised his spear in defense, waving it back and forth through the swirling black and white smoke as if attempting to strike it away. On the third pass of the spear, the steel tip fell away from the rotted wooden haft. His opponent threw the remaining shaft at Jaxom, who moved easily out of the way from the destroyed weapon. Turning to run, the man made it two steps before the blight wrapped around his waist. Jaxom found himself grinning. He had never felt satisfaction in killing an enemy before, but at the same time, it was like he was releasing months of frustration at doing nothing to rescue Corin. The attacker he faced dropped to his knees and screamed in agony as the magic consumed his flesh. As he grabbed at the smoke, the skin of his hands decayed and fell away, black with rot, bits of white bone showing through the destroyed flesh.
Jaxom sensed more than saw something move beside him. He jerked his hand back, and a curved blade passed through the space it had just occupied. He swung his sword up to block the second strike aimed for his neck. Jaxom found himself staring into the crystal blue eyes of a woman behind the shadow mask of a shade. Shoving hard, he threw her back and pivoted to face her. He struck repeatedly, only to have her meet each attack and turn it aside. Still holding onto the power of death, he cast the coil, intending to slam the woman into a nearby tree. The shade shifted back several steps, easily evading the cast, which collided with the trunk in a loud crack that reverberated through the forest.
Releasing the coil, he stared at the shade, who stared back without closing again. She seemed content now to keep her distance. He heard a slight creaking above. Reacting quickly, he jumped to the side, spinning completely around and swinging his sword high in a wide arc. It connected with the stomach of a second shade who had leapt from above. The slash disemboweled the shade, covering Jaxom’s sword in gore.
The woman came back at him then, led by a series of furious blows in an attempt to overwhelm Jaxom while he was still of balance and out of position. He struggled to regain even footing with each desperate parry. The sword in his hand began to vibrate with increased power every time it connected with the curved blade of the shade. Each strike amplified the vibration until he thought he would no longer be able to hold onto it. The enchanted weapon absorbed a portion of the energy exerted in its use. Blocking several more strikes at his chest and leg, Jaxom waited for an opportunity. Deflecting a final attack from the side, he swung the sword above his head and brought it switftly down while channeling a flow of energy into the blade. The attack appeared a desperate gamble, and the shade reacted as predicted, raising her own blade at a slight angle to deflect his strike before countering with a slash to his torso. Steel met steel. The edge of the enchanted sword shattered its opponent. Passing down into the shoulder of the shade as two feet of her sword spun away into the air; his blade tore a rent in her chest that nearly sheared a portion of her body away completely. The shade collapsed to her knees, supported only by Jaxom’s sword lodged in her lower ribs. Placing a boot on her chest, he slid her back, slowly withdrawing the steel, his face frozen in a gruesome grin.
The smell of blood was thick in the air, and the sounds of fighting rang from within the forest. His horse, trained for battle, waited a short distance away. As he climbed into the saddle, he released the remaining magic. Suddenly drained of energy, the strong emotions that had come with the fight left him, and he spurred the mare back towards the road. Cribble and Nelix were nowhere in sight. Most of the soldiers were also gone. Only a few remained to protect the wagons and tend the wounded. He could only assume that they had charged into the woods intent on repelling those that had launched the ambush. Looking to the spot where he had last seen Darian, both he and Laiden were missing as well. Jaxom rode hard down the line of wagons, stopping where he had last seen his apprentice. He peered into the trees searching for them. Where his eyes failed him, his ears picked up shouts and the clash of metal coming from the opposite side of the road. He moved quickly toward the sound of fighting.
Emerging from the thick underbrush, he found Darian, Laiden, and five Ale’adarian soldiers surrounded. Darian and one of the soldiers were both on foot, their horses’ dead on the ground close by. Next to them, three risen in brown clothing fought their former allies. He caught a flash of movement, and a shade appeared next to Laiden, slashing at the apprentice’s leg. Laiden pulled hard on the reins as he cast the coil. The whip-like white smoke wrapped around the curved blade and pulled it from the shade’s grasp. Two ice daggers sped between them, forcing the shade to shift away.
The attackers had yet to notice Jaxom. Stepping down, he left the horse in the brush and crept closer. When he was near enough, he sheathed his sword and raised both hands. Drawing deeply on his magic, he relished the anticipation of killing those who were trying to harm him and his friends. Casting, he let the blight flow along the ground in two streams that divided themselves. Thin tendrils, like long worms slinking along the ground, quickly crept closer to his targets, the magic rotting the plants and fallen leaves it passed. Laiden released a gout of flame from the enchanted ring he wore, cooking one man and forcing the others back. The men were so concentrated on their trapped prey and the risen, that they didn’t notice the blight creeping up their boots until it was too late. Jaxom’s magic quickly consumed the cloth of their pants then devoured the flesh beneath. All four dropped to the ground, screaming, as the blight moved further up, destroying their bodies at it went.
Those nearest the fallen men turned to see what had attacked them, faces revealing shock at finding Jaxom, a wicked grin spread across his face. The shades reacted first. One shifted in front of him, forcing Jaxom to release the blight and summon the barrier. The magical wall stopped the thrusting blade intended for his chest. The shade shifted to his side without seeming to take a step. Jaxom willed the magic to follow his hands, and the shimmering barrier again met the attack. Jaxom looked through at the shade and shrugged almost apologetically. He was enjoying himself. The masked man nar
rowed his eyes in anger, then jerked twice before slowly turning to look behind him. As he did, Jaxom saw four jagged bone daggers protruding from his back.
Behind the shade, Jaxom saw Laiden atop his horse, his hand raised in their direction with a look of fear in his eyes. Nodding to the apprentice, Jaxom let the barrier go and drew his sword, driving the blade between the bone daggers and out the front of the man’s chest. He let the body slide to the ground then gripped his sword with two hands, preparing for the next opponent. But there was no one left to fight. Those still living had fled into the woods, leaving three Ale’adarian soldiers unmoving on the ground. The rest had suffered only minor wounds.
“Are you alright?” Jaxom asked, approaching his apprentice. Once again, when he released his magic, he found himself unsettled by the realization of what he had done. Killing the servants of Or’Keer did not bother him, but he knew he should not like it so much. He shook the troubling thought away.
“Yes, Magus… I killed three of them,” Laiden said, his voice shaking.
“If you hadn’t, they would have done the same to you.” The apprentice nodded vaguely, staring at the two remaining risen.
“We should get back to the wagons. The others may not have been as lucky,” Darian said, climbing into the saddle of a dead soldier’s horse.
“Don’t bring those,” Jaxom said, indicating the risen. “We don’t want anyone to know there are mages with the wagons.” The three risen dropped to the ground, the glow of magic vanishing from their eyes.
Back at the road, Cribble was organizing the men into small defensive groups while others loaded the seriously wounded onto the wagons. “Have you seen the General?” he asked.
“The last time I saw him was with you,” Jaxom replied. Reaching out to the emora, he found it chasing a group of three fleeing men. With a thought, he commanded it to stop its pursuit and return.
“We have to look for him and for any others,” Cribble said.
