Metal Mage 4

by Eric Vall

  I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “I owe you one,” I assured him before I gave a high-five to Pindor and jogged back toward the great hall.

  I had to ask four different guards before I found one who knew which room I was in, and by the time I climbed the stairs up three stories, I was half sure the women would be asleep.

  I was out of breath when I finally got to the door, and the room was so huge it took me a minute to register what it had to offer. Everything that could be made from metal was made of gold, and everything made of gold was topped with rubies.

  “Fuckkk,” I breathed and turned to take it all in. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling, and the fireplace mantle reached to the level of my eyes. There was a raging fire in it, and the flames were the only thing that lit the room. In the flickering light, I could see silver platters glint all along a golden table, and all of the fixings of a feast filled the plates.

  There was a bed in the center of the room made of deep red velvet, and as I walked to the edge of it, I could see it was definitely big enough for four. I let out a low whistle and looked around the decadent room for any sign of my women.

  Then I heard a voice and turned to see Cayla pull the door shut at her back. She was stark naked except for a sapphire necklace that glinted at her throat.

  “You’re late,” she purred.

  Before I could answer, Aurora and Shoshanne entered from the side room, and I dragged my eyes along their bare hips and thighs as they went to the princess’ side. A dozen emeralds shimmered across the half-elf’s slim neck, and a giant amber stone nestled in the soft cleft of the Aer Mage’s breasts.

  Cayla slid her porcelain arms around the taut waists of the women who joined her, and they let me admire them like that for a moment as they stood naked in the firelight. Their nipples perked as they gently pressed against one another, and each supple figure blended flawlessly with the next.

  Finally, I grinned and said, “I’m definitely overdressed.”

  Shoshanne bit her lip eagerly at the words. Then they released each other and came to me with hunger in their eyes.

  Cayla circled around me and ran her nails lightly down my back, while Shoshanne knelt before me and slowly dragged her palms down my thighs. Aurora’s lips curled into a smile as she parted the leather tunic I wore and pressed herself against me to gently nip at my ear.

  The base of my spine began to tingle while the women’s hands moved as they pleased, and I let them loosen the ties of my clothes and remove them as they went. Then I felt the hot breath of the caramel beauty across my cock, and I looked down to see her take the tip between her plush lips.

  I groaned, and the half-elf giggled while she continued the trail her tongue had started on and moved down to bite hungrily at my neck. Cayla’s lips brushed against my ear just as my cock slid fully into Shoshanne’s mouth, and my knees went numb.

  “Lay down,” the princess whispered.

  Their hands pushed me back onto the bed, and I slid my fingers up their thighs and into the wet flesh between their legs while their lips devoured what they wanted of me.

  Chapter 17

  The next morning, the army left the gates of Aurum just as the sky began to lighten. It would be hours before the sun fully rose in the north, but the elders had gifted the mages and my crew travel cloaks lined with a deep brown fur to guard against the frigid air.

  All of the dwarves seemed less skeptical of the mages after they’d seen them work tirelessly to undo the damage of their water source, and I suspected Jaka and Norig had been telling tales about the training session they’d witnessed. The dwarves looked at the mages with wonder as they walked through the streets toward the gates, and nearly every inhabitant of Aurum gathered to see us off.

  Shoshanne gave Dorinick and Thrungrig the all clear for the trek through the mountains, but she insisted they both stay in the sidecar for as much of the journey as possible, and the two dwarves gave no objections. It only took a day of being in her care, and they had come around to respect the Aer Mage’s decisions explicitly. Thrungrig smiled from ear to ear whenever she spoke to him, and I chuckled as I watched her fuss over them while the troops arranged themselves in the catapults.

  There was still room for the dwarven platoons even with ten mages packed onto each platform, so Dorinick’s thirty dwarves piled in amongst the mages. Jaka and Norig were the most eager among them, and they took me aside to thank me for the state of their field that morning. I told them to thank the half-ogre and Pindor, and the young mage seemed to grow an extra inch taller under their gratitude.

  I spoke with the general over breakfast, and he seemed confident that with the help of the Terra Mages, we could be in ice giant territory by night fall. If we managed to find an area that would give us a strategic advantage along the way, we agreed to set up the catapults and lure the giants in for the attack. I didn’t like that we were blazing ahead without any idea of the terrain we’d fight in, but the element of surprise would hopefully outweigh any of the uncertainties in my mind.

  And we needed to save Deli. Time was of the essence.

  The mouth of the pass was wide enough for the catapults, so I had five Terra Mages come to the front of the first Warwolf. They would only have to level the ground off as we went, and the task proved easy enough that we made better time than we’d hoped for. We stopped midway through the day, and Thrungrig studied the map he’d made while he’d mined in this region.

  “Should be midway there already,” he grunted, and he grinned at the prospect. “Might even find a place to set up before the dark settles in, if we keep it up.”

  Shoshanne carefully rewrapped the bandages on Dorinick’s head after she replaced the poultice, and I was amazed to see the gouge that had stretched from his ear to the top of his head was already well sealed, if a little angry looking.

  “As long as you don’t suffer another blow, I think you’ll be fit for battle,” she assured the general.

  Thrungrig’s ankle still couldn’t support his weight fully, but Haragh and him discussed it along the way, and they seemed to have a good system in mind for the coming battle. The half-ogre selected two of the strongest Terra Mages to load the diamonds of the other Warwolves, and I was happy to see there would be little preparation needed when the time came.

  I surveyed the terrain as Bobbie took us through the pass, and I decided to stay a ways behind the caravan so I could take a few detours off the path if an area looked promising. So far, nothing but jagged cliff-faces surrounded us, only these ones were covered with more snow than the southern range had been. I was starting to worry we had cornered ourselves by bringing the fight into the northern mountains when the pass met with the base of a giant peak and split off in two directions.

  “I always followed that one there,” Thrungrig said, and he pointed down the pass that led along the right side of the mountain’s base. “But it’s much of the same terrain we’ve already encountered.”

  “This terrain doesn’t give us any advantage,” I told him with a frown. “We’re locked between these ridges.”

  Dorinick nodded from the sidecar. “Better to head off that way,” he grunted and pointed to the left pass. “The ground could be more level. If we go down the right path, we know what troubles we’re headin’ toward, and the Warwolves won’t do much good if the damn giants are right on top of us.”

  The Terra Mages took us through the left split, and after about half an hour, I saw the mountains were less steep, and the grade of the ground around us started to level off more.

  Dorinick had been right.

  I took Bobbie off the trail and used my Terra Magic to soften the rocks as I wove my way ahead of the caravan to survey the land. A couple of miles on, I came to what looked like a dried up basin tucked beneath a cluster of mountains. Bobbie’s engine quieted down, and Shoshanne and Aurora helped the two dwarves out of the sidecar.

  I climbed up the ridge and took a few turns around the outskirts of the clearing b
efore I called down to the dwarves. “What do you think?” I hollered.

  “What’s the tree line like?” Dorinick called back.

  I walked a few yards into the pine forest that dotted the ridge, and I was pleased to see the trees were stout and quite tall. Then I climbed down through the snow and rejoined the others.

  “This might be perfect,” I said with a grin. “If we get the Warwolves up into those trees, they’ll have decent cover so the giants can’t see where the diamonds are coming from as easily. Plus the distance is perfect.”

  “We don’t even need the Terra Mages to level this ground off I think,” Aurora added as she turned in a circle and considered the broad basin. “You’ll be ripping it to shreds anyways. This looks wide enough to centralize the fight, but it still gives us a good view of the peaks, in case they keep coming.”

  I nodded and could see the advantages of the place. “Where are we on the map, though?” I asked the dwarves.

  Thrungrig already had his nose a few inches from the parchment, and he scowled at the crude lines he’d drawn out on it. “Well, we’re well into their territory, that’s for sure. But there’s no tellin’ where they are or how dense their numbers get,” he said. “But if anything’s gonna give us a lead, it’s this clearing.” He shrugged and put the map away, and we all agreed to have the caravan set up in the basin.

  We’d just climbed back onto Bobbie when Aurora held up her hand.

  “They’re close,” she whispered as she cocked her head to the side.

  “You hear them?” Cayla asked.

  “Yes.” The half-elf nodded curtly. “They’re walking. I don’t know how many, but I can hear them crushing the rocks.”

  We were silent, and everyone scanned the peaks that encircled us. Finally, Aurora’s hand flew up, and she pointed to the furthest peak, just northwest of us.

  Three ice giants crested the top, and by the way they moved, it was clear they weren’t in battle mode. They roamed across the mountainside without the eerie line formation we’d seen them use, and their eyes didn’t scan the land around them.

  “Should we sneak away?” Cayla asked nervously, but I shook my head.

  “They’ll see us for sure if the engine kicks on,” I muttered, but then an idea occurred to me. “Which … might be perfect.”

  “How do you figure?” Dorinick grunted from the side car.

  “We want to finish them off quick. The more giants that know we’re up here, the more numbers will come to fight,” I explained.

  Thrungrig didn’t look too happy with the idea, but I could see they understood the logic.

  “Don’t worry,” I assured them. “We’ve got the Warwolves, and they can’t see them from where they are. We’ll still have the upper hand.”

  Dorinick furrowed his brows, but he nodded in agreement, and I took a deep breath before I let Bobbie know what to do.

  The three giants were about to disappear over a distant ridge when the engine ignited and let out a fierce growl. All three icy heads turned, and the eerie hollow of their eyes fell directly on us.

  I stayed right where I was and let them get a good look.

  Suddenly, one giant let out a shriek, and even with a good mile between us, the sound carried on the wind and echoed through the basin. Cayla tightened her grip around my waist, and the dwarves shifted uncomfortably in the sidecar.

  “You gonna just sit here and let them come runnin’?” Dorinick growled, and I shook my head in response.

  “Nope,” I assured him. “Just want to make sure they remember where they saw us. I want them coming right to this spot when the time comes.”

  The giants had turned to face us, and they swayed in the fierce wind with their faces sharp and menacing in the light.

  Then I revved Bobbie once more before I turned her around and sped back down the pass.

  We met with the caravan not far along, and I had them hold up for several minutes to be sure the giants wouldn’t see the Warwolves. Then we moved onward, and by the time we reached the basin, the ice giants were gone from the peaks.

  I grinned and turned to the mages. “Get those catapults hidden as quickly as you can. I want one up in the trees over there, and the others dispersed along that ridge. Only clear the trees that could get in the way of the throwing arm but leave as many as you can for cover. I don’t want the giants to get a chance to destroy any of them.”

  The Terra Mages quickly cut paths up along the slopes, and the Ignis Mages drove the Warwolves into the line of trees. I had them load up diamond bombs in each one once they were in position, and we tested the trajectory, then adjusted the placement a few times until Haragh was satisfied. Then the mages and the dwarves gathered in the basin, and Dorinick ran through the battle plans and organized the troops.

  “I want five dwarves at each Warwolf. Take some time to get familiar with the pully system and work with the Terra Mages to coordinate the loading. The rest of ye’ will be in the trees along that ridge up there.” He pointed to the opposite group of peaks that were flecked all over with stately pine and cedar trees. Brambly brush filled in wherever there weren’t rocks, and the thick branches would serve as good cover once the night came. “You’ll have two Ignis Mages among ye’ to light your arrows, and if you keep formation, the lighting will be quick and efficient. Hold them high, though. There won’t be much time to put your beards out if ye’ catch fire.”

  Aurora and I surveyed the basin with the rest of the mages, and everyone broke off eventually to make themselves familiar with the field of battle. The ground was uneven and pitted with boulders, but we left it just as it was since it would only help to trip up the ice giants. Shoshanne asked that we leave the snow as well, so she would have enough to work with.

  “I’ll hide in the brush beneath the third Warwolf,” she decided after she’d climbed all over and gotten a feel for the land. “The snow seems to be piled on the western side of the rocks, and my wind will lift it easier from there. Cayla’s going to stay with me, since there’s little chance any of the giants will notice I’m there and causing trouble.”

  I pulled the Aer Mage in for a kiss and felt the warmth of her as I wound my arms beneath the fur cloak. She tucked her face in the crook of my neck, and I heard her sigh against my chest.

  “What is it?” I asked, and she straightened up and met my eyes warmly.

  “I don’t know,” she said, and a smile spread across her face. “I should be scared I guess, or nervous at least, but I’m just … happy?” She shrugged, and I took her chin in my fingertips as I studied the light in her eyes.

  “So, you don’t mind the change of pace?” I asked and thought how strange it must be to go from a small island life, to the kingdom of Cedis, to travelling the region and facing off against ice giants.

  The Aer Mage chuckled and shrugged again. “I love it,” she admitted. “Life with you is certainly never boring. And I never realized how much I was capable of. I feel stronger and more useful, and … ” Her cheeks blushed as she trailed off, and she bit the edge of her lip.

  “Sexier?” I asked with a sly grin.

  “Yeah,” she laughed.

  I pulled her tightly against me and knotted my fingers through her copper curls as I tipped her lips up to mine. “Good,” I murmured, and I admired the smooth planes of her cheeks, and the way she seemed to glow with warmth against the snow. Then I kissed her, and her tongue tangled with mine as the sweet taste of her lips clouded my thoughts. When I released the caramel beauty, her eyes shone brightly, and her cheeks were a sweet pink.

  “Just be careful, okay?” I told her, and she nodded diligently.

  She gave me a mock salute and said, “Defender Flynt,” before she giggled and went to join with the other mages.

  I watched her copper curls bounce as she made her way down the slope toward Aurora, and the Ignis Mage greeted her with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek.

  My mind drifted back to the sight of the three women in our bed the night be
fore, with their thighs wrapped around one another while their fingers and lips teased each other as I made love to each of them in turn. I still couldn’t believe my luck in this realm, but my strange family had grown in the best ways in the past weeks. The fact that they held as much love for each other as I did for them made it damn near perfect.

  I smirked as Aurora pinched the cheek of the Aer Mage’s ass and murmured something in her ear that sent the woman’s laughter loudly up into the sky.

  Haragh came down from the Warwolf at my back, and he dropped a heavy arm to my shoulder. “Well, you’ve got the damn gods on your side, that’s all I can figure,” he sighed as he followed my eyes.

  I didn’t tell him how right he was, only nodded my agreement. “Let’s hope that luck holds through the night.”

  “Aye.” His hand slipped from my shoulder, and he turned his great green face toward the distant peaks. “You think they’ll wait that long to return?”

  “Probably.” I shrugged. “But I want everyone in formation before then. Just in case.”

  The half-ogre agreed, and we left the slope to rejoin the army in the basin, where everyone had settled in to feast on the wares Cayla had arranged. Mages and dwarves ate together in a sprawling gathering around the small fires the Ignis Mages provided, and I looked around to see they all spoke together with enthusiasm. The dwarves shared stories of their mountain feats, and the mages explained the ways of the Order and how they’d come to understand their powers. Eventually talk of the differences in their ways of life took over, and the dwarves showed off the hilts of their swords and badgered the mages for descriptions of the finery from the south.

  It gave me hope for my plan to open trade between Orebane and the southern kingdoms, since I saw how enthusiastic many of the dwarves were to hear about what they could offer. The mages were wild over the intricacies of the dwarven metalwork, and I even heard Kurna tell Norig that King Temin would be ashamed to know his sword was hardly impressive compared to the dwarf’s own. Norig glowed with pride, and Kurna clapped a large and friendly hand to the spaulder of his armor.