The Mage Slayer

by Whiskey Flowers

  “We know First Father” Zay’day’aya said as she tossed her head. “You have went over this with us for weeks now”.

  “Everything has to be perfect” the First Father replied. “There is no room for mistakes, we will be spread out in five different places. We need to draw straws now to determine which of you is going where”.

  “I don’t think almost anyone wants to go to the three underground places” Zay’day’aya replied. “But I do, I think it is safer and sustainable. The best part is that no one irrational will be heading that way, it will be an easy going community”.

  “You know you may have to live there with no contact for at least three years” Ray replied. “Is safety worth living in a hole in the ground?”

  “It is far from a hole in the ground” the First Father replied. “Many of those places have been prepped for decades in case this place was ever discovered. But it would be three years with no contact, with the fervor the enemy will counterattack with, we can't have people just walking around topside just waiting to be seen”.

  “Those of you that stay here though will be found out eventually” Zay’day’aya replied. “Already the Outsiders have come within a day’s walking distance twice, their anger will eventually make it where they will not turn back and they will have safe guards against anything we have”.

  “Well have fun in your hole” Ray replied. “I am hoping to be one of the rovers”.

  “I don’t think anyone is going to fight you for that” the First Father replied. “I wish though I could see if your magic would really work. If it does then that could change a lot of things, the Outsiders would be hard pressed to fight us then”.

  Ray became lost in his thoughts at those words, Ray wanted to know if what he found out was true as well. Ray had never known that his body and tattoos served another purpose instead of just draining magic. The First Father believed that if a mage attacked Ray with magic, their magic would slowly drain out of their bodies until it was all gone. The mage wouldn’t be able to do magic again for a long time if ever again. That magic could be transferred into another person, the new magic user though would not benefit from having their new magic refill, once it was gone it would be gone. But the new mage should be able to cast Outsider magic, that would even the field for the Gaea for a little while, at least Ray was hoping it would. But that was a best case scenario and the Great Mother didn’t want to depend on it, it was also one of the reasons Ray would be fighting the Largen instead of the Holyan. The Great Mother worried that if a mage no longer had the ability to cast magic, then the mage specific disease would go away. What would be even worse would be the fact that the Gaea themselves could contract the disease if Ray gave them some of the pilfered magic.

  “Is your mind someplace else again Rae’aln’or?” the First Father asked. “I said if you were going to say goodbye to the Outsider we have do so now and make sure he gets infected”.

  Ray nodded and walked over to where Gregory would be kept after dusting himself with the spores he would need. Ray himself was resistant to disease, part of the magic that made him strong also helped protect his body from disease, Gregory would have no such protection. Ray opened the door to the hut and stumbled inside like he was pushed and fell down.

  “Gaea” Gregory said as he ran over. The fact Gregory did not call him by name did not go unnoticed, some habits were just hard to break.

  “Gregory” Ray said feigning surprise. “What happened to you?” Ray was referring to Gregory’s appearance, he had not seen Gregory since they had been brought here and his adopted cousin looked far different. Gregory had lost even more weight and although he was not slim or even muscular, no one would confuse him for being overweight. Gregory’s face was clear, before it had been oily and had a few blemishes. Gregory’s hair was nice and thick and he looked like someone who actually took care of himself. The Gaea must have not only been feeding Gregory well but whatever he was given had been infused with Gaea magic.

  “These people have been forcing me to eat their swill” Gregory replied. “Where have you been? When are we going to be let go? I should have never followed you here”.

  “You can go back with the Largen” Ray replied.

  “I don’t want to be there either” Gregory said lowering his voice. “I want to leave here and go back to my life, I don’t know what made me join this war”.

  Ray smiled inwardly as he was sure he knew why Gregory had joined the war. The Queen probably put the idea into his mind to get rid of him, an easy way to keep him out of the princess’s hair would be to convince him to join the war effort. Gregory had been docile and subdued under the harsh treatment of the Largen, now he was around people who were not looking to physically abuse him, the old self entitled knobber Ray knew started coming out. Ray patted his clothes and made sure the spores were all in the air as Gregory started yelling at him.

  “Well where have you been?” Gregory replied.

  “They have been holding me” Ray replied. “I have Gaea magic and they don’t want to let me go. They want to kill you though, I have a plan on how you can escape”.

  “Kill me?” Gregory said nervously.

  “Yes but I know a way to escape” Ray replied. “There is a woman here who likes me, she will make sure you get to Holyan safely. I am going to try and run back towards the Largen, whenever I do a lot of them will come after me. That will be your chance to run, this will happen tonight”.

  “How do you know they are going to kill me tonight?” Gregory asked. “If they wanted me dead they would have done so a long time ago. These people get by on poisoning people, not sticking them with something sharp”.

  “The one who likes me told me” Ray replied as he marveled at how close Gregory was to the truth. “She is the one who threw me in with you to speak. If you don’t want to go then stay put. If you do leave, don’t let anyone know you found me. I do not want my mother or sister to come looking for me in this forest, let everyone believe you escaped on your own”.

  ~

  Ray looked over at Faylin as she shifted into position, the leader of the Gaea warriors had been correct in almost all of her assumptions. The Gaea never attacked before so the Largen were not paying attention to anything coming out of the great forest, it made setting up the attack easy. The Gaea had snuck into Largen ten separate times over the last month under the cover of darkness, poisoning the livestock in the nearby towns they came across had been easy. It had also been easy to use the little blowguns they kept to infect anyone they came across that could be attacked without incident. Faylin had normally just hidden and attacked at night against unsuspecting people who probably thought they were bitten by a bug or something. Now though there were a lot of angry disfigured people around, Faylin had a plan that would push things over the edge. Faylin had all the warriors she came with surrounding the Largen prison called Pine, they would attack this place for around ten minutes then disappear back into the great forest. Ray was given a poisoned tipped spear, a bow along with poison tipped arrows and a bone knife, also tipped in poison. The poison used was the same type that ate away at the face, even if Ray only wounded, his opponents would remember him. Faylin raised her arm and gave a bird call, when she dropped her hand is when Ray knew things had started. Ray watched as Faylin charged at a guard and stabbed him with her spear in the stomach before continuing on, the man screamed but it was cut short by the invading Gaea who started working on the door.

  The door to Pine was made to be locked from the outside, once the heavy wooden beam was removed the Gaea streamed inside and Ray could hear shouts of alarm. Ray entered Pine and could see the guards were taken completely by surprise, the few of them he saw looked to have been killed in the initial rush as Gaea started streaming all around the place. Ray made his way to where the prisoners were kept, the guards they had looking over them went down easily to Ray’s bow as the guards couldn’t face him along with the prisoners who must have seen what was going on and started attacking.
Ray tossed one of them his spear, he recognized the old man as the one who checked on him when he was jumped months earlier in the prison. Ray was unsure how long he had been there but decided it was time to go, Faylin’s plan had been to kill any of the guards they found and arm the prisoners, Ray had done that. Ray made his way back outside and could see other Gaea had the same plan, they were shedding their bows and arrows which made Ray remember to do so. If things went according to plan, the Largen would have to contend with a group of heavily armed prisoners, during this time even more havoc could be launched. Sounds of alarm were in the air as Ray ran to, then melted back into the great forest. There was a rally point where everyone was supposed to go so Faylin could see how many people she was missing. Ray went to that point and could see Faylin was not there yet, another woman named Dae’al’bora or Daya for short started taking count.

  “How many are missing” Faylin said as she finally came into the clearing.

  “Two” Daya replied.

  “Then we are all here” Faylin replied. “I have two with me that are watching our perimeter. How many injured?”

  “Five” Daya replied. “But we have Rae’aln’or here to help heal them. They still won't be ready for battle though, they need rest. When are we going to attack again? We have finally tasted Outsider blood and we want some more”.

  “At least once more and soon” Faylin replied. “After that the Outsiders will have knowledge of us and enough warriors to fight back”.

  “I can't wait for them to try” Daya replied. “They will find they great forest a dangerous place to battle in”.

  “I hope so” Faylin replied. “We are the roving group, our only mission is to keep the Outsiders on their toes. I hope the other roving group is having results like we have been, did you look at some of the faces of the people we killed? They looked horrible, our diseases have been ravishing them. Any army they send will get sick too since they have to feed themselves somehow”.

  “They might not be affected” Ray replied. “The prisoners might go on a rampage and start eating the meat they weren’t able to when there were a lot of guards”.

  “No they won't” Faylin replied. “I made sure to tell at least three of the Outsider prisoners how the sickness is being spread. They won't tell the other Outsiders if they are smart, if they are stupid it still won't matter. We have done everything we wanted and the Outsiders are a weak foe, we have them where we want them”.

  Ray spent the next two days hiding out in the forest and participating in sneak attacks. The Largen had to have known that the Gaea were behind the attacks, an unexpected blessing was that Faylin told him the Largen believed the Gaea and the Holyan were teaming up together. Ray wondered if the Holyan in Holyan thought the same thing about the Largen since they were being attacked somewhat, the big difference was that Gaea attacking Holyan wanted to get captured to enact the plan. It was on the third day that the Largen decided to take the Gaea seriously, hundreds of men were armed and armored and formed up just outside the great forest. Faylin had drilled the Gaea warriors in everything that needed to be done, Ray felt confident he knew the plan, but scared because the Largen had fielded a force that couldn’t be scared off by vipers. The Largen wore thin cloth around any exposed area to combat the biting insects and looked well prepared to take on the forest. When the Largen began their march Faylin was quick, she had three hidden warriors immediately fire their arrows at the oncoming enemy and flee, the surprise attack was so sudden it made the enemy halt for a few moments before rushing to take out the Gaea.

  CHAPTER 14

  Winning

  Ray hid in the bushes as he watched the mage answer a call of nature. She was in a squat and had a small mage light hovering above her. Ray got as close as he dared and gripped the club he had taken to using. Ray showed himself and rushed over to the woman. The mage saw him and stood up while casting a spell, it was lightning and hit Ray in the chest. The great part about lightning was that it was a quick, devastating form of magic, it took a lot of energy to cast which made draining the mage that much easier for Ray. The bad part about it was that the spell lit up the dark and the enemy would be coming soon. Ray raced over to where the frozen mage was and lightly grabbed her arm, if he wasn’t too forceful the touch would allow the magic to drain even faster out of his victim. Ray was just about done when he heard the sound of fire magic being cast behind him followed by men screaming. Ray finished his work, he knew the draining was complete when his victim fell unconscious to the ground and looked behind him. Faylin was there along with two others casting the only spell Ray was familiar with, he had seen Melody cast the flame when she was trying to be intimidating. Ray taught it to Faylin after he had drained his first mage, Faylin was content with just that spell and had loved burning the Outsiders to death.

  “I got it, let's go” Ray screamed as he went deeper into the brush.

  Moments later he heard the sounds of others behind him as he ran, he knew his followers were Gaea from the lightness of their footsteps. When the sounds disappeared from behind him he knew they had probably started climbing, Ray ran to the nearest sturdy tree and also started climbing. Ray climbed as high as he could and waited, it wasn’t long before he could spot far away torches moving towards him, the Largen had to be angry to risk fighting in the dark but Ray hadn’t really left them a choice. Ray had been stalking the Largen since they first came into the forest, the first time he was able to drain three mages simultaneously, all three attacked him and with the battle going on none of the enemy recognized what was happening. Ray had been able to give the magic easily to Faylin, it was an all or nothing type of scenario which prevented him from dividing the magic he had inside of him. Faylin loved the magic and had harassed the Largen, she wanted Ray in position to fight the mages and by Ray's count he had taken out six now. The woman Ray just fought was the last mage the Largen had with them, they had been discouraged from the steady losses and now they did not have any magic to help them out. Ray wondered how much longer the Largen would hunt them, it had been a month and Faylin always had them one step ahead of the Largen and had found ways to slowly pick them off.

  Ray had used his magic and the diseases he kept on him to poison water sources and had poisoned the deer in the forest that the enemy was likely to come across. The mages they had with them started purifying the water after the first few days by heating it up, but that was after people had already gotten sick. With the deer, Ray had fed them feed which paralyzed them. They were infected and the Largen had eaten them and were paying the price, they were desperate and Ray was sure they would not take any prisoners if they were caught. All of the Largen had become disfigured, their lower faces were already stretched out and recently they had begun losing their lips and noses. Ray felt sorry for the enemy pressed into battle to suffer such a fate until he remembered these would have been the same men who had scoured the great forest and killed Gaea. Faylin and her group were not exempt, the Gaea had either been vaccinated or were immune to almost every disease except one, the one that affected mages. Faylin looked horrible, she was green and had nasty pimples and boils all over her face. The others who took the magic looked the same, they were afflicted by the same disease Gregory had left with. The only thing Ray thought could save their appearance is when the magic left their systems, maybe they would slowly change back, even if they didn’t Ray thought he should be able to do something about the bumps they had all over their bodies. Ray stayed in the trees and let his mind wander until he fell asleep, Ray woke up later than he wanted to, the sun was already up and Ray would have stayed sleep even longer if Faylin hadn't woke him up.

  "The Outsiders are leaving" Faylin said with a grin. "Once their last magic user went down they packed up camp and left early this morning".

  "What will we do now" Ray asked trying not to stare at Faylin's face.

  "We are going to fight the other Outsiders" Faylin replied. "This bunch was surprised they had an enemy that would actively fight back
instead of just passively. The other Outsiders who are holding the lost ones will be an even easier fight, they don't know we have their magic".

  "I want you to stop using magic" Ray replied. "I don't like what it is doing to you".

  "I am not worried about my appearance while my people still suffer" Faylin replied. "I am finally doing something to protect us, I can accept any indignity for the privilege of doing so".

  "We should at least see if the change is permanent" Ray replied. "I think if your magic is gone you may go back to the way you were. All of you might go back to the way you were".

  "Well then whenever I run out we can decide then" Faylin replied. "But we have another group of Outsiders to fight, when the great forest is free is when I can allow myself to rest. If you are asking because you are interested, you are not my type".

  "Not your type?" Ray said a little shocked and confused.

  "You act like this is the first time a woman has told you that" Faylin replied. "In the Outsider world, the women like their men big and tall for whatever reason. You are not in the Outsider world here, you are too big and clumsy for most Gaea women".

  "I was asking because I don't want to see you victimized" Ray replied. "And I don’t think I will have a problem finding a woman, here or anywhere else".

  "Someone will couple with you" Faylin replied. "But that will be because you have magic in you, not anything else".

  "You know what?" Ray replied. "Forget I said anything, you want to look like a toad's ass then that is your business".

  "It is my business" Faylin replied. "Now get yourself together and let's move, we have plenty of Outsiders to kill".