White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10)

by Donald Wigboldy

  “Night is the friend of some animals but the others will need time to find a place they can feel safe. Once they are released, our job is done; but Gorum and Banty can take the carts back with whoever else wants to ride back. I know enough magic to help, just like most of your cadets.”

  Eyrk glanced to the other men appearing tempted by the idea. No one else looked as sure, so finally the falcon shook his head. “We’ll wait for Qeras and Trienne to return with a report. If they believe that there are too many, we will fall back and leave a couple mages to keep track of them, otherwise we will deal with them with what we have in the morning.”

  Having given his final word, the other men all seemed content to abide by his order. The falcon was an impressive man and the others seemed to take his lead with little hesitation. Unfortunately Piotr still had his reservations; but he was just a novice in their eyes, so his opinion was dismissed.

  The Southwall troops finished setting the tents or rolling out bedrolls. There wasn’t any water here, so they were forced to continue working from their canteens and a couple large pots brought along on Bo’s cart. Piotr worked with the other nature wizards to release most of the animals that were comfortable in the night, even in a new area.

  Bo would remain. Estry as well as a fox and a handful more that would have difficulty leaving during the night without a lair remained in their cages. A few were already sleeping as they ignored the drama among the men.

  Not wanting to be caught off guard, the novice worked to set connecting ties with the animals which remained and a few which were released. Their senses were better than his so the boy planned to work off of their abilities to ensure their safety.

  Guards were set from the start and would be throughout the night; but they were human. Cadets would be paired with veteran soldiers, mostly their mentors, which meant their sentries were even less prepared for the night. While he worried about an attack, Piotr was surprised that no one else seemed to be as well.

  As he walked closer to the trees, the boy used his magic to find a lark owl. Named for the noises which sounded like someone being happy and the other bird which was the basis for the saying 'happy as a lark', the owl was also a perfect sentry. The novice wove a spell that was beyond the knowledge he had arrived at the school with less than three months ago.

  While Falcon Eyrk doubted the students’ abilities, Piotr knew that he was already skilled enough to lend his magic to a fight and make a difference; but he was also a wizard. Once inside the woods, any close quarters fighting would be too dangerous for any wizard. Few trained with weapons, especially as novices, so they were only good with distance between them and an enemy.

  Perhaps that was the added worry for the falcon. Keeping Zieran protected and alive was much simpler than adding all four wizards and the cadets, who were also liabilities in a fight since they were untested. Still he would have thought that there was strength in numbers.

  “You’re setting up the owl as a sentry?” Zieran asked surprising the novice as he set his spell connecting his mind to the lark owl. “So you don’t trust a bunch of teenage children with less than three months of training to keep us safe?”

  At the man’s chuckle at his sarcastic joke, Piotr ignored him long enough to release the mid size brown and gray owl. It would stay close by for the night watching out for them, but the boy planned to find another to be redundant. For some reason, he felt anxious. The only reasoning for it was his worry that the bandits might have seen the riders when they went to investigate the fire. If they were able to watch from the forest unseen, the bandits might very well choose to follow and attack them.

  If he was looking for a time to best attack a group of battle mages and soldiers, it would be in the darkness and late enough to perhaps catch a sentry half asleep.

  “It can’t hurt to be cautious. The bird won’t go too far and will make its laughing call to warn the sentries.”

  Zieran nodded and followed the novice as he tried to find another bird, preferably something nocturnal like the owl, for a second sentry. The wizard asked, “Have you learned the magic which can call animals to you from a distance?”

  Shaking his head, Piotr replied, “I haven’t gotten that far, though I can make some bird noises that have worked before coming to White Hall. Mostly I am trying to find them by tracking so I can use a binding spell.”

  Taking a moment to mumble a spell making just a couple movements with his right hand, Zieran finished by blowing a whistle; but it was like nothing Piotr had heard before. The wizard’s magic altered the whistle creating several tones at once as if a cage for different birds were crying out as one. Unlike such a cacophony, Zieran’s simple tune harmonized as the sound spread out from the man reaching into the forest.

  He hadn’t whistled very hard or made it that loud, but after a few moments a rustling in the leaves above them signaled the arrival of several birds. Three owls, a peregion, several sparfinch, sparons and jays came as well to rest on the branches above the men; but clearly in sight and completely unafraid of their presence.

  Piotr chose two of the owls for the work. A common field owl and a second lark owl would do. Pushing himself to hold this many spells already, they released the other birds including the fourth owl from that duty; however, Zieran placed his own spells on the peregion and owl.

  As Piotr finished, he watched as Zieran attached two small pieces of paper to their legs. The peregion was a distance flyer, which could fly from northern Southwall and migrate with the seasons over a thousand miles. Some believed that they could cross the Glacian Ocean to Taltan or even to other continents. A distance of a couple hundred miles could be put before them and crossed in a matter of a couple days, so it was sent north to Blackwall. The owl preferred hunting in a territory, but was still a strong enough flyer to send the shorter distance to White Hall with a message for reinforcements and the crime that had been committed here.

  “Well, that is all we can do ‘til morning,” the mentor stated noting Piotr’s sentries spreading out to cover the trees at a distance from one another. “The messages have been sent and you have your sentries.”

  The men were both silent a moment until Zieran asked, “So you can really see through their eyes?”

  It had been a question for him more than once when Piotr had first arrived. Zieran had seen him connect with the animals in the zoo, but apparently still had trouble believing it.

  “You can’t?” Piotr countered.

  Shaking his head without shame, the older wizard stated, “Few wizards have been able to do such a thing. Diplomacy wizards are said to have a spell that a few can use to see through other’s eyes, but those who can do it are equally rare. Like relatively few wizards can heal, few nature wizards can commune with animals to the point of sharing minds. Shape changing isn’t very common either, though part of that comes from the aversion to magic that is so close to the dark spells of the Dark One that created the werewolves and fear of losing themselves in their animal forms.

  “Well, let’s get back to the fire and get something to eat. You’ll need to keep your energy up to maintain the spells’ connection to your sentries, so you need food,” Zieran stated changing the subject as he directed the boy back to the campfire.

  Niklaus sat up in the darkness. The fire had been put out hours earlier. If there were possible attackers in the trees, then they couldn’t afford to keep a fire lit. At least it was warmer now that summer had come. It wasn’t as warm as it might get, but the cold of winter had faded away at long last, so even at night the air would get cool but not cold.

  Wrapped in bedrolls or inside their few tents, it was easy to be comfortable. At this moment, the cadet was actually sweating, though more from a cold sweat than because he was too warm. His dream was gone and forgotten. Only the feeling in the center of his stomach lingered that something was wrong continued to haunt him.

  The cadet slid from his bedroll listening to the darkness. Snoring could be heard as much as the bugs in th
e grasses to the south and west. Eyrk and Krevahs seemed to be dueling to see who could be louder. How anyone could sleep through that seemed to be the answer to why he had awoken, but the feeling in his stomach came from more than that.

  He heard whimpered cries from the tent holding Xara and Uliya. Both girls had to share with their mentors, though Niklaus thought Orna was planning to watch the forest as one of the sentries during the night. Depending on what time it was, maybe the woman was closer to the tree line instead.

  Looking to the sky, the red moon of Turas was a little past its zenith. “After midnight then,” the cadet said quietly.

  Another whimper made the boy want to go see who was crying. Xara had been one of those deeply affected by the sight of so many dead in the village. Male and female alike seemed scarred by the sight and Niklaus counted himself lucky to have avoided seeing so much death. As a farm boy, animals died all the time on the farm. Some died to feed them and others died because nature could often be cruel.

  “Vision,” the cadet called quietly on his night vision spell. Instantly, night became day to his eyes.

  Scanning the area, his gut told him to look to the trees. Something felt wrong tonight and the cadet was pretty sure that it wasn’t just the after affects of a disheartening day.

  The laughing cry of a lark owl made his brow furrow. Was that one of Piotr’s birds? His brother had set magic ties on several birds near the campsite, he knew, but was his brother awake and listening?

  “Get down,” a voice hissed towards him.

  Crouching, Niklaus looked for the source of the whispered warning. There was his brother, but he wasn’t the only one awake. Wizard Zieran was nudging Gorum and Banty.

  “Was that your owl?” Nik asked quickly in a hushed tone. “Are we under attack?”

  “There’s someone moving in the woods, but the owl hasn’t caught sight of whether there is just one or more.”

  He looked and noticed the sentries had pulled back as well. Everyone knew to be alert thanks to the owl’s call. Shields were in the soldiers’ hands, while Orna’s mage shield glowed dully as she held ready.

  “Someone should check then,” the cadet replied and didn’t wait for an answer as he summoned his magic. “Become a fox.”

  Piotr lunged for Niklaus as he shifted into the smaller animal. “No, stop, Nik!” the novice ordered in a hissed whisper drawing other eyes to them as well.

  He was larger than a true fox and had enough mass to shift his clothes with his form. It was one of the parts of shape shifting the cadet had been working on in private. While there was certainly times where being small would be handy; if he could become the oversize version of something like a cat, then the cadet would have the inherent strengths of the animal with size and strength added to his abilities.

  Before his brother could respond, Niklaus had lunged forward. He heard the order, but it wasn’t something he would listen to this time. People’s lives depended on making sure they were safe. If he could do something about that, then it was his duty to try, the boy thought.

  Piotr missed the fox for more than the reasons of elusiveness and surprise. His vision shifted and he was looking through Niklaus’ eyes as a fox. The change altered his view and his arms were no longer in sight as he reached only to fall onto the ground.

  Shifting his body; the novice sat back down hoping that he was still in the shadow of the tent, which had been behind him. The young wizard worried that if the enemy had arrows, he couldn’t see to find shelter.

  Once more situated, the boy paid more attention to what the fox saw as he headed into the brush between the trees in the forest. He could still feel the contact with his sentries, but all Piotr could see was the leaves and brush.

  The fox used its ears to pick up the sounds of other movement. Men, even those trying to be cautious, were unlikely to escape the delicate hearing of his large, sensitive ears. Only those hidden by magic would have a chance of escaping their attention.

  A sensitive nose, though not as strong as that of the wolfhound’s, sniffed the air looking for something human. Though a mage might fool the animal’s vision and hearing, their scent was almost never magically erased. No human thought to try, but few thought of smell as a danger to their stealth spells.

  There it was and it wasn’t just one scent that he noticed. Niklaus had thought he had heard multiple sounds, but his nose didn’t lie. There were multiple odors that were definitely human.

  Shock registered in a man’s eyes over the dark scarf covering much of his face. It limited the reflection of his skin, but could be removed if it was in the assassin’s way to fight and could even be made into a weapon or at the very least be used as a distraction.

  Understanding that the man couldn’t be up to any good, the fox turned disappearing into the brush leaving the man to wonder at the huge animal. Niklaus hurried searching for more. If it was just one man, he could be handled easily enough; but his nose told him that the assassin was not alone. No new cries from the owl could be heard. Were these men so stealthy that the other birds had managed to miss them so far?

  Niklaus wondered if he should go back and try to defeat the man, but the boy feared making too much noise would bring more than he could handle. They told the cadets that one day their powers would be so great that they could take on a platoon of soldiers single handedly and win; but Niklaus wasn’t that confident after only a couple months of training.

  Still, maybe he could do something. Changing into a wolfhound, the cadet was much larger now with teeth that could rend flesh. He had to work harder at silence, but when the wolfhound found the second man; his ambush was nearly flawless. Teeth sunk deep into an arm and pulled tearing flesh. Amazingly the assassin managed to limited his reaction to just a hiss of pain before the hound was gone once more into the darkness and cover of brush.

  Niklaus knew that it was hardly a killing blow; but if that was his sword arm, then the man might be done before the fighting could begin.

  He moved on looking for other assassins to disrupt the ambush before it could reach the camp.

  Chapter 30- Magic and Judgment

  Piotr had watched Niklaus disappear into the night from the eyes of an unusually large fox. Once again his vision had been hijacked by his twin seeing what his brother could see for a time. Elijah had watched his ward go without being able to stop him. Calling out would have helped alert the approaching enemy of the waiting Southwall forces. Those who were awake knew there were men coming in the darkness and worked to wake the others quickly. No one believed that they were simply lost villagers coming to them for asylum.

  “Should I go after him?” the boy asked his mentor having a general impression of where his shape shifting brother still was as he ran. The vision was fading to a secondary sight and Piotr could separate the two by opening and closing his eyes now. While he might impetuously chase his brother at times, the worry over what was hiding in the forest and the feel of impending attack kept him rooted and waiting for orders from his elders.

  Zieran shook his head. “No, our first priority is to be able to weather whatever their first attack might be. Use night vision and prepare shielding spells.”

  “We could form hedge walls or thorn roots,” Banty suggested as the four wizards found themselves huddled together beside one of the tents. The occupants had been awoken as the camp tried to come alive without alerting the enemy to the fact that they waited with magic and steel.

  Wizard Gorum shook his head and stated, “Keep those ready, but we don’t want them to know we are waiting for them in turn, Banty. Use your head, boy. We want to turn their ambush into our own, so be patient and let our deception catch as many mice in our trap as we can.”

  Several people had appeared to disappear as the camp awoke. Piotr couldn’t see many battle mages, the mentors and some of the students weren't in sight. Their stealth spells were in effect making them impossible to find, but without shields raised, arrows could get lucky so the novice was sure that th
ey were all prepared to erect blue shields if they must.

  It was Banty who asked about them, “Did the mages remain in camp or have they moved into the woods to avoid being caught by arrows? We could turn invisible and leave the tents and soldiers to weather the storm while we try to stay safe.”

  “A valid point, Banty,” Gorum replied in a whisper, “but we can help keep the soldiers alive and they in turn will protect us when swordsmen come.”

  “Shhh,” Zieran ordered and Piotr could tell that he was listening for something.

  Moving to sit behind his mentor, Piotr sent his mind to the lark owl. All those he was connected to could be used by the boy. It was an advanced spell he had been shown to increase his powers beyond what he had figured out on his own while technically a wilder wizard. While he had always kept control over his magic, the novice understood that his way of thinking had been too limited. Without the school and his mentors, the boy wouldn’t have mastered dozens of spells from the other elements or found so much information on what his talents could become.

  The owl accepted the boy's intrusion of being back to back with little notice. The novice knew enough to only subtly control his animal friends to maintain so many connections at once. While he could suggest movements to the bird’s mind, Piotr did his best not to usurp the creature’s will. Having been under Katya’s control once, he understood what it was to lose control and to be used. It wasn’t something he wished to do to others, unless it was an emergency.

  While the owl rested quietly near the trunk of the tree, it was able to see three men moving in a loose line moving towards the edge of the trees. There was no hesitation in their movements. It was if they had knowledge of the position of the camp without ever seeing it. Piotr was unsure if they had been scouted earlier or if there was something else going on, but they were definitely on the way to the camp.