A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  With the opening Timbre's distraction caused I send another Fireball at him, but he just flicks his wrist and the rapier he is using bats the spell to the side where it explodes behind him. Again he takes an arrow to the back. This one was glowing and from the expression that comes over his face it hurt a lot. Still he ignores it and rushes toward me. I guess he sees me as the biggest threat. I quickly cast Haste on myself and he hits me as I try to dodge the lunge he comes at me with. His style reminds me a little of a fencer from Earth but with more slashing involved. Shaking the errant thought I recast my Mana Barrier since his last strike collapses the last one. I am not in time to stop the Thrust that catches me in the left shoulder as I attempt to dodge. I do keep my concentration and complete the cast though. "Why won't you just die you fly" he snarls at me.

  Behind him I can no longer see the rogues so I'm hoping they are getting ready. To buy some time I engage him in conversation. He started it so I answer his question with my own. "Why do you have to be such a kidnapping scumbag?" Before he can answer I continue "Just because we are humans doesn't make us better than everyone else." This statement actually gives him pause. I can see him look to my ears and then he gives me an appraising look. Something else enters his eyes at that point that I am not sure about. The next words out of his mouth surprise me this time.

  "Join me. You are human and obviously a talented mage. You would be treated like nobility with us. You could even have a few of these things as your own if that is what you like" he tells me with the feverish tone of a fanatic.

  It's greed in his eyes. He is looking at me as though I am the winning lottery ticket, but I don't know why. It matters not at the moment because I will never do as he asks. My stalling worked though. The rogues appear and dig their daggers into the weak point in his armor at the arm pits. I mentally call to Thia and jump back as far as I can. A moment later a glowing arrow streaks toward the captain, but again he spins around and a wave of force intercepts the attack. The arrow explodes and the wave catches the rogues in the back as they try to make their escape. By the time he has recovered and turned to me again Thia and I have merged. I stretch my wings out behind me while shaking off the slight disorientation that comes with the change. Our enemy looks back to me and I can see the surprise in his eyes at my change. Maybe a little fear there too. I beat my wings forward and launch a sharp feather from each. Brock deflects one of them, but the other bites into his left shoulder. In retaliation his sword glows and he swipes at me, causing the same wave of force that he used on the rogues before. I fold my wings around in front of me and use them to shield me from the blow. When it hits I skid back a little but stay standing.

  When I open the wings I can see Brock rushing me for another attack. He is trailing his blade behind him and running slightly to the right. When he is in range he starts to swing the blade as he runs by me, but I cast my new spell Phase and the blade passes through me. He goes by and starts to turn around looking for me when another arrow comes at him. Turning away from me he deflects it. Seeing his back I drop the Phase spell and use another skill from Thia, Screech, to disorient him. Activating the skill causes me to lean forward and scream at the top of my lungs. It isn't my voice that comes out though. The piercing cry of a raptor on the hunt spews from my lips like a physical force. Azzaria is paying attention because when Brock stumbles from the debuff another arrow streaks in to embed itself in his left thigh. Now Timbre is back in the game, rushing in from my left and slamming her shield into the disoriented soldier. As he stumbles to the side from the blow Timbre follows up with the skill she just learned, firing a shield of light off the original and knocking him onto the ground again. He is getting very low on health from our combination of attacks, but then a red haze surrounds his body.

  When he jumps up he moves even faster than before and, from the steps Timbre is taking as she blocks his blows on her shield, he is stronger too. The disorient debuff must still be there because he still misses a few times, but the effect is reduced by whatever skill he is influenced by. I hit him with Zapp and lightning before his foot glows and he executes a spin kick that sends Timbre stumbling a few steps to the side. His path clear once again he makes another lunge at me that is so fast I can't react in time. I am only able to divert the blow with my staff a little before it shatters my Mana Barrier and skewers me through the right side, just below my rib cage. It doesn't kill me, but it's excruciating and takes me below 20% HP in one shot.

  Quick as a viper, Brock withdraws his blade from my flesh and drives the blade toward my chest to finish me off. I'm dealing with the pain of being stabbed all the way through and then getting the blade viciously ripped out. I can't think, but Thia is there with me. As soon as the blade leaves my flesh she uses Ride the Lightning and we shoot off to the side. We go as far as the skill will allow and end up next to Azzaria. The experience of changing into lightning and moving at the speed of light is like nothing I can describe. It's nearly instantaneous to all who observe it. But to those involved it's like time stretches out forever. Then you arrive. Oddly enough, the perceived extra time allows me to shove the pain aside and think.

  When I arrive Azzaria looks very alarmed at the wound I am sporting. I quickly tell her "Focus on healing Timbre so that she can protect us." She doesn't look happy, but she complies. "How are the rogues?"

  "They are down. The hit they took along with their injuries from before brought them down low on health. When they landed they hit their heads and both are unconscious. I healed them so they are out of danger, but they are still out."

  That is bad news but I think we can do this. The Captain has Timbre on the back foot again, so I wait. As soon as he knocks her out of the way he charges for me, but this time I am ready and bring up an Earth Wall to block his path. I cast Reverse Pain on myself and move to the side Timbre was knocked to so that she is between me and Brock again. Then I cast Reverse Pain on myself again when it's off cooldown. A couple seconds after that it happens again. There is a roundhouse kick that flings Timbre to the side and he comes at me. I cast Earth Wall again, but this time I add an Earth Spike waiting right behind it. Just like the knight from earlier, the Captain comes bursting through the wall. Just in time to be impaled through the stomach. Brocks momentum stops after the point of my Earth Spike is showing from his back. He still has a little life in him but we won't give him a chance to use the potion he is reaching to his belt for. An arrow hit him followed by my Lightning and then a hammer comes down on the back of his head with a crunch. I wince a little at the sound but turn to Timbre who looks a little worse for wear. Her health is good though so I'm relieved.

  The sounds of fighting have stopped sometime during our fight, but I do not remember when. Next thing I know I am grabbed from both sides and made to sit down. Timbre and Azzaria are looking at me, very worried. When Azzaria goes to heal me again I tell her to hold off and use it on Thia when we separate in a moment. She nods reluctantly and downs her own mana potion. I cast another Reverse Pain on myself and then my wings shrink before Thia falls out of my back. Azzaria gets to healing while Timbre is whining with a concerned look at my stomach. It's a little weird for the sound to come from a humanoid being but it's cute that she is worried for me. "I will be fine Timbre" I say as I cast another Reverse Pain on myself. At my word she nuzzles my neck for a moment and licks me on the cheek. Again, a little weird but I don't mind all that much.

  A few more casts of my time spell and no trace of the wound remains. Not even a scar. My fog dissipates and I can tell that it's almost dark out now. Only the glow of the now set sun lights the sky. Derl arrives with a bloody sword in hand and noticeably winded. "Hey Derl! What is the news?" I would have sent Thia up to observe the area but she still needs time to recover.

  He looks around until he spots the corpse of our arch nemesis, the Captain, then visibly relaxes. "Grondar sent me when most of the fighting ended. He said that no one reported seeing the Captain you mentioned and wanted me to check with you. Now I s
ee what happened to him though." When he finishes he walks over to one of the swordsmen we killed and cleans his blade on it.

  "What about you? Looks like you ran into some trouble. Is everyone ok?" This from Azzaria who stepped over to hear what he had to say.

  "Everyone is fine. I met up with a couple soldiers but that one" he points to Timbre "gave me a hand. Though she was wearing decidedly less at the time."

  Nodding in understanding I say "That's good to hear. I will head over to see Grondar after we have rested for a moment."

  "No need, he will be coming down with everyone shortly" Derl tells me. "He just sent me ahead in case you needed help."

  Timbre Changes back into her other form and lays behind me so that I can lean against her. Her cloths fall off and I quickly collect them before laying against her. I will need to think up something for her since she can't carry a bag around with her in wolf form. Thia beds down in my lap while Azzaria leans up Against my side. So I wait and distract myself from all the dead bodies laying around by thinking of what I can do to solve the equipment issue for Timbre.

  Chapter 19

  I'm still tired but ready to get up when Grondar arrives. Azzaria checks on the two rogues, who are beginning to stir, then starts looting the soldiers we killed. I head over to speak with Grondar. The group following him is that of the captives we released being watched by more of his guards. Before I can address Grondar I am hit about the waist by a black and white rocket that ran around Grondar and launched itself at me. "Hello Zia" I say to her after I catch my balance. "It's good to see that you are safe"

  She looks up at me and gives me a big smile. "Dad says you saved mom from the bad guys then led everyone here to rescue us." Her face gets serious for a moment and she says "Thank you for helping my mommy and us. Those bad men said they were going to do bad things to us."

  I kneel down in front of her and hold her shoulders. "Of coarse I came, as well as all these good people. And, whatever those bad men said, forget about it. You don't have to worry about that again." Then I hug her tight, wishing I could just hug the wrongs she heard and witnessed right out of her. Her father comes and takes her a moment later so I can talk to Grondar. He is smiling at the exchange when I look to him, but his expression turns grave at my next question. "How did our forces do?"

  Grondar lets out a big sigh before answering my question. "We did well and there is only one more soldier that I have a couple guys tracking down. We did lose two though." With a shake of his head he continues. "It could have been much worse if you hadn't been the group to take on the Captain over there." He gives the corpse an appraising once over and turns back to me. "A duelist. Annoying to fight. Would have been bad for my guys since none of the ones we brought have heavy armor. Needed the fastest to chase them down, but this guy could have gone from group to group slaughtering us."

  "No argument there. This guy was fast. If not for every one of us working together I would be dead. He was even able to knock out the two rogues you lent me. They are ok now though so don't worry. It's getting dark, are you planning to set up here?" Grondar nods a confirmation and then goes on. "Yeah. We need to search the camp for anything that explains how they found us. Also, it's late now and we can't safely lead this many people back to the village in the dark."

  "All right. We will get to searching the camp then so we can get settled in for the night" I tell him. He nods his gratitude to me and I walk over to Azzaria. "You done looting?"

  "Yep. There are a few good things we should go over, but for now we should start searching the camp." Of course she was listening in.

  The two rogues got orders from Grondar but the rest of us start searching the camp, starting with the tents still standing. Not much to see in those tents. They were just those of the regular soldiers. No documents and just a cot in them. One had a few personal belongings. Nothing worth keeping though. As I was walking out of one of the few tents left standing I see one that had fallen nearby. And it was moving. Being cautious, I called to the others and am soon joined by Thia, Azzaria, and Timbre. We carefully approach the fallen tent and, when we are close enough, I use my staff to pull away the tents top part. The dirty white fabric comes loose to reveal Serin and Sarel tied and gagged. For a moment no one moves and we look down on the bound pair. Finally I break the silence and look to Azzaria. "Go find Grondar. He may want to bring people to search the tents around here too."

  She takes off and I stand there waiting. I am also watching the father and son to make sure they can't escape. They keep moving to get my attention and trying to speak with the gags in, probably to tell me to untie them, but I ignore it. A few minutes later Grondar arrives with four people I have not met before. When he looks down at the pair he waves me to follow him and signals the others to stay. We walk a little ways off and he asks me "What do you think happened?"

  I look at him seriously before answering. "I know I'm not the best person to be bringing this possibility to light given my association with Azzaria and all, but I think there is a good possibility that they are involved in how the soldiers found the village. They weren't being held with the rest and I was asked by Dolan yesterday to keep a look out for them since they were reported missing. Apparently they have not been seen since just after the meeting that was held when Azzaria and I returned from our mission. It is possible that they were captured while out in the woods and forced to show them the location of the village, but I see no signs of torture on them. Also, let me ask you a question. How often did Serin leave the village for any reason?"

  At my question Grondar gets a thoughtful look. "Honestly, I can't remember the last time he did" he tells me. "That still doesn't prove anything. He is an elder for the village and what you are saying is serious."

  "I know, and I haven't voiced an accusation yet. I am only sharing my suspicions with you so that we can investigate the attack on the village. Plus, these were soldiers" I say waving my arm around to indicate the orderly camp we trashed. "I am betting that there is a report or missives that will prove helpful. I don't doubt that a messenger was sent back to the kingdom as soon as the location of the village was discovered either. Most of the soldiers were green, but the Captain most certainly was not. He wouldn't have made a rookie mistake like failing to send word of the village's location as soon as it was revealed."

  Grondar looks surprised at my revelation for a second, then his expression turns grave once again. "This is troubling. If that is the case then why did you suggest that we take out everyone so that they couldn't escape?"

  "Simple really. When the message reaches the human kingdom they will know where the village is, but only that. They won't know what forces are there or what to expect if they come here. They will also wait to hear back from this group. That will give us more time, as they will wait longer expecting word from them. Last, when this group never reports and just disappears they will think twice about coming here to take our people as slaves. That might mean that they bring more people, but it also buys us time. I have an idea about what to do, but I will need to bring it to the council when we return."

  "Ok. We will look into this then. Better safe than sorry anyway. If we don't find anything though, Serin is not going to be happy about taking our time to release him."

  "If that is the case then blame me. He doesn't like me anyway." He laughs at my statement and starts to walk back toward the group standing guard over the gagged pair. He gives orders to his men and two stay with him to watch over them while the rest of us start scouring the ruins of the camp. I cast Wisp for light and start looking through the remains of tents. I'm on my third tent when I hear a shout from one of the people Grondar brought to help in the search. I am one of the farthest from where the guard shouted so I'm last to arrive. What I see is the largest tent I've seen in camp so far. The guard pulled the top away to reveal a collapsed desk with papers scattered everywhere. There is also a small chest with a lock on it. Grondar is already looking through the papers and Azzaria leads one of t
he rogues that helped us earlier over to the chest.

  The lock doesn't take long for the rogue to open, but he leaves the chest closed when he is done. Shortly after that Grondar walks over to it with the last paper he was reading and opens the lid. Reaching in he pulls out a bag that he looks into and then nods. Turning to me then the others, he speaks to all of us present. "Serin and Sarel are traitors. They made a deal with the humans when Sarel met some soldiers on the edge of the forest. Sarel has been passing messages to the humans for his father to negotiate payment for the location of our village. It appears that he cleaned out the bank he runs when he left to meet this group and led them here. There is even mention of him wanting slaves of his own from the village." With that statement he looks meaningfully to me. I have a feeling that this means Azzaria may have been mentioned specifically. "He was promised a title as a minor noble in the kingdom, but they never planned on actually complying. As soon as he led them to the village he was bound and they were going to sell him like all the others. It's all right here." The last thing is punctuated with a wave of his hand at all the papers lying on the floor.

  After that Grondar orders all of the papers gathered and the rest of us finish the cleanup of the camp. We set up our own tents in the area, and cook fires are lit. Azzaria is fussing around the fire near our tent. Not bothering to worry about what people saw, I took out our gear earlier to the surprised looks from those nearby. Enough people had seen it by now that I doubted the word wouldn't get around eventually. Zia is not far away helping her father to set up their tent. Azzaria lent the extra tent we never sold to the captives. A few other people had brought extras as well, mostly the stronger individuals that wouldn't be slowed down by the extra gear. With that and the still good ones we found here there was enough for the captives to share. Some of them just stayed with their family members on the guard who had come to save them.