"Perum Vodkey, it's something made from prapples and grain that Hilda recommended," the boy replied with a smile that looked a little too happy to have the chance to drink the strong alcohol.
Serrena shook her head saying, "I've heard from soldiers that a few glasses this size will put a man twice your size on his butt."
"Hmm, I think I hear a challenge!" Elzen remarked with a laugh.
Tipping her glass back, Ashleen drained the double shot of vodkey making a face as it went down. She coughed as the alcohol burned her throat. Having never drunk anything stronger than ale, the wizard found her eyes tearing up at the powerful liquor.
Her friends' eyes widened in shock at her audacious move. Only the state her mind was in would have driven the girl to drink such a thing. Normally wizards valued keeping their wits about them at all times. Getting drunk was frowned upon. A wizard couldn't use their magic well, if at all while drunk. There were also warning stories of wizards who had drunk too much and started fires in their stupor.
"Whoa, I think that you're supposed to take a breath or two before drinking it all," Elzen stated with a confused look at Ashleen.
"Another," Ashleen said still trying to hold back the coughing fit that threatened to overtake her again. Her belly felt warm almost instantly and her cheeks started to heat up also.
Trying his, Elzen took a quarter of his glass swallowing it with a gasp as he blinked at the sting of the alcohol. It didn't take the mage long to finish his drink, however. He stood up and said to Serrena, "You'd better hurry up. You're falling behind."
"I'm not sure that this is a good idea, Ashleen," the fire wizard worried as she held her drink looking at it like the liquid could attack her if she put her face too close to the rim.
"Since when do fire wizards worry about caution?" the wilder asked with a wan smile.
Rolling her eyes at the dig, Serrena took half of the glass of liquor into her mouth at one time. Her eyes teared up as the wizard fought to rid her mouth of the stinging alcohol. Coughing worse than Ashleen, the fire wizard had to take a minute before she could work to finish the glass.
Elzen was already returning with a bottle still three quarters full. "She said it's easier just to pour it ourselves," the boy said with a grin. "It'll make you forget your worries for the night at least."
Looking like she couldn't stand the taste, Serrena asked with a raspy voice, "How many glasses does that take? Do we need a whole bottle?"
Ashleen put her glass closer to the mage who quickly poured at least as much as before. Each glass was filled making Serrena blanch at the thought of trying to drink another round.
Before they knew it, the wilder was working her way through the double shot or more of vodkey. Serrena warned, "You might want to pace yourself, Ashleen."
The glass was shoved towards Elzen already emptied even as the mage was working his way through his glass much slower this time. He poured raising eyebrows both impressed and surprised at the wilder's impressive aptitude for drinking. The second glass had gone down smoother for the little blonde and she hadn't coughed at all, though the warmth felt like it was moving through much of her body already.
"I'll head up to our room before it can hit me fully," Ashleen stated drawing her newly filled glass towards her already.
The third glass flowed down her throat still burning the girl, but she didn't care. If it helped her to sleep and not think of what could be happening to Sebastian, it was worth the stinging pain. She didn't want to think about it anymore. If she couldn't help, then it was better to forget until the sun was up and maybe the wilder could do something then.
With the bottle nearly empty already, Ashleen stood up feeling the room starting to turn. It was hitting her quickly even after eating a meal that the girl had probably picked at more than ate.
The stairs were an obstacle, but the wilder made it to her room before her vision got too crazy. Her balance was starting to fall off by the time the door was closed and locked behind her. Ashleen knew that she would feel drunk very soon, but the heat of the alcohol was making her forehead bead with sweat. Her wizard dress was tossed aside before Ashleen pulled the blankets back. As her head went towards the pillow, the girl thought the distance of the fall was more like that of heading towards the floor.
Darkness came and Ashleen was able to forget everything. Elzen was right about that.
The dull scrape of metal stopped. Darkness remained all around him, but Sebastian had decided to conserve his energy as much as possible long ago so the vision runes remained inactive. Since there was little to see anyway, sight wasn't a priority. Hearing was more important at the moment, so only the wire rune and the one by his right ear remained active as the mage worked at his bonds.
Unfortunately even trying to conserve his strength wasn't going to work much longer. No food or water had been brought to him, since he had arrived. His head was beginning to ache and his mouth was uncomfortably dry. Growling came from his stomach occasionally, but even if it had been a couple days, it would be a lack of water which would affect him most. A human could survive without food for a month, but without water they would fall apart in days.
Sebastian was suffering, but he could still think and act. Water was becoming an issue, but was still short of critical. If there was anything that he could do to create water, he would; but until his captors chose to come to him he would keep using his slim reserves for the two runes to try and free himself.
Noise carried along the hall from a distance. His hearing was amplified, so the captive believed the noise he made had yet to reach them. The mage retracted the wire of the rune back to his arm. With all the practice he had with it now, Sebastian wondered how well he could control it should he need to fight. His captors must not have realized that his runes worked without magic. Sebastian had taught Erethia and the others the runes, but had only shown off what could be done with access to magic.
No, he thought again shaking his head. The owl mage had told them that these runes could be used on regular soldiers. With them, a normal man could have unseen armor, strength enhancements, speed and more. Perhaps they simply underestimated what he could do with them or believed that the shackles would inhibit the runes also.
Turning to the side, Sebastian blew through the small opening hewn from the metal by the wire rune. He used his vision runes to assist him in hiding the metal shavings and only hoped that his captors didn't look at the cuffs too closely. A lot of progress had been made against the hard, enchanted metal; but it still held and was unlikely to break anytime soon.
The owl needed a chance to break free or find someone to help him, but neither opportunity had presented itself since Hassar and Erethia left. That felt like days ago, if not a week; but it couldn't be a week since the lack of water wasn't killing him yet.
Feet wearing soft soled boots or shoes came along the hallway. He could hear them long before he saw the lamp light this time.
Several men came into his view as they moved to look at him from beyond the bars. An older balding man held a ring of keys, while a younger, much larger man carried a tray with a pitcher and metal cup. Bread could be seen on the wood tray, but the pitcher taunted him. If his mouth wasn't so dry, Sebastian thought that it would have watered at the sight.
A third man almost as large as the second wore a falcon's uniform, but Sebastian had a feeling that this man wasn't here to save him. Not every mage felt the same allegiance to his brothers.
The first man with the keys sneered at him and said, "Well, it looks like you are still alive. Maybe we should leave him a little while longer. It looks like he still has a lot of fight left in him."
A voice carried from just beyond his sight from the hall. "Just open it, Civan. It won't do us any good if he dies and besides I think that he can be turned to our side with the right coaxing.
Grunting as he frowned back the way that he had come, Civan retorted, "You wizards think that you can make anything happen with your magic, Xaren. If you wan
t to make him talk, I can do that. Just give me a little time with him."
"If you break him, we might as well kill him," the man's voice replied as he finally moved into view. He wasn't alone.
Sebastian noted the black and silver robe of a diplomat wizard, but he might as well call this one what he was. He was a mind wizard meant to break the mage apparently, but in such a way that Sebastian remained enough of himself to serve them while retaining his magical creativity. That was what he supposed at least. If he was no good to them broken, then the diplomat must have planned to shift his mind in a way that the owl would work with them.
The last member of the little group was a red haired woman, a wizard by her robes of brown. She was a researcher, but the woman didn't speak as she listened to the men talking. Her gray eyes looked from their conversation to the mage. While Sebastian couldn't call the look in her eyes curiosity exactly, there was some kind of interest in him as she watched him watching them in turn.
"My offer still stands if you find out that your magic isn't as good as you think," the bald man with the keys answered.
"Just open the door. Seirtan and Lorgan will be more than enough to prevent him from doing anything, if he does have too much life in him."
A jingle of the keys and a clack of the extra keys and ring as it touched the metal bars led to the final click of the lock as Civan twisted his hand. He pushed the metal door open, but moved to the side remaining outside the cell. If it was discretion caused because of the mage's potential to attack, Sebastian thought that the jailor was being overly cautious. Without water and food, the mage felt worn down. If it could be a fight using his magical spells and powers, he might have risked it even facing another battle mage; but Sebastian had neither. He also felt too weak to try fighting through five people.
The large mage moved inside first taking up a position by the door and a few steps towards Sebastian, while the largest man walked forward to place the tray in front of him. Finally the two wizards entered, but Civan remained outside before pulling the door closed behind the others. Apparently they weren't taking any chances even so, the owl thought.
Xaren, as the jailor had referred to him, gave Sebastian a smile meant to soothe him in spite of the situation. Using a calm voice, the wizard introduced himself, "Falcon Sebastian, I am Wizard Xaren. I am truly sorry to have to meet you under these conditions, but I am afraid that it is not my decision.
"I am here to help you change your mind and your allegiance in the most civil way that I can."
Eyes narrowing slightly, Sebastian questioned, "And who exactly am I supposed to be switching allegiances to exactly? As far as I can tell, we both work for Southwall and King Alain."
Wagging a finger as he pointed towards the ceiling, the wizard replied, "Ah, well an allegiance to Southwall doesn't have to mean an allegiance to a king that doesn't seem to care about his people. Of course, even that part is debatable.
"Why does a northern king rule all of the lands within Southwall? It is one thing to have his wall and any cities along it that share his common needs to join together, but the southern cities send him money and people. What do they get in return? Hala and the southern cities are like entirely different countries. Then there is the west," the wizard added, but Sebastian sorted through the attempt to throw him off. "What do New Oapril, Ione and the mining towns of the Dimple Mountains have in common with Hala? What do we owe Alain? We have paid him long enough. It is time to separate and we think that you would be an important asset for moving forward."
"I'm sure that you do," Sebastian stated unimpressed. His eyes wanted to look at the pitcher and bread in the guard's hands. It was close and the mage could even smell the bread. The prisoner thought that he could almost smell the water.
He also noted the red haired wizard watching and listening. She seemed amused slightly by the diplomacy wizard. Whether she thought that he was wasting his time or thought what he said was amusing, Sebastian couldn't be certain. The other men had their attention mostly on the shackled battle mage. He could sense the tension in their bodies as if they waited for him to spring forward.
With the door closed and the ring of keys removed from the lock, Sebastian wasn't about to waste his time.
"Are you familiar with diplomacy magic?" Xaren asked as he walked casually to Sebastian's right side. Wondering if this was just his way of trying to make the mage believe that he was unconcerned with being harmed, Sebastian watched and listened not only to the wizard's message but for any subtext that he could manage.
"If you studied up on me, you would know that I have a sister with that kind of magic," Sebastian replied. It was information easy enough to learn, even if they didn't know it. Katya was in Litsarin or Sileoth with the dragon mages and couldn't be used against him easily, if only because they wouldn't be able to get to her there.
"I suppose that she went to White Hall as well," the wizard sighed as he began to pace back across the space between Sebastian and the others. "If she is half as talented as you, then it is a shame. We could use talented, powerful wizards. She is more powerful than you, I would assume?"
"She's a wizard. I am just a mage.
"So who is this mysterious 'we' that you and Hassar keep mentioning? Are there more wizards that I am going to have to meet or maybe some lords and ladies? I admit that it will be hard to impress me after meeting kings and queens."
Xaren couldn't mask the wince of his eyes, though it had been a small movement. "Who we work for isn't important right now. First, we must delve into why you serve anyone. Maybe we should just begin now. I had considered letting you eat and drink first, but I think Civan is correct. You have more energy than I thought you would."
The wizard began to weave a set of signs with his fingers and hands even as his words of power were mumbled quietly. After a moment, the man aimed a last gesture towards the mage sending the power of his spell against Sebastian. He felt something, but it was no more powerful than the sprinkle before a true rain arrives; except that no more than that trickle appeared to touch him.
Eyes opening a bit wider in surprise, the wizard brushed through his blonde hair with his right hand. Touching his beard as the hand dropped past his face, Xaren gave it a quick pet before a strong tug as if to wake him up to try harder.
Brown eyes glared at the mage's blue eyes noting no change to the look of Sebastian's face. The owl wondered if the spell had meant to numb his mind. Even without the wizardry acting on him, his head continued to feel fuzzy anyway. Nothing was added aside from the splash of magic against him. It was like a small wave breaking against the stones with little effect.
Stepping back, the wizard shook out his hands as if warming up for another spell. Magic could be felt as Xaren went from a subtle use of power to one that should shatter any defenses the mage could still mount against him. It should have been easy, but the wizard could sense that nothing had happened.
New hand and finger movements echoed a louder tone as if his voice powered the strength of his spell. When the attack of magic struck, it felt like the first spell and Sebastian wondered what the man had tried this time. The owl mage was familiar with diplomacy magic attacks. Before he even knew that his sister had the gift, an apprentice had tried to take over his mind. Back then, the mage had used air magic to release his mind onto the winds while continuing to control his body. It had been a way to avoid being controlled.
When his sister and the siren songs of mermaids had tried to take his mind, the same spell had saved him. Only the mermaids had managed to control his mind through the power of their song for any time. Yara had covered his ears long enough for him to get control and use the air spell.
Unless the siren song was different from diplomacy magic in some way, Sebastian knew that he wasn't just immune to the spell.
Grinding his teeth, the wizard turned back to confer with the red haired woman angrily. He lowered his voice, but the runes let Sebastian listen to their conversation.
"I don't unde
rstand. I can't make the connection with my magic at all. It is like I am slipping off of wet metal. Could the collar be blocking my spells while containing his power?"
The woman stood enough to the side to watch the mage. Her gray eyes locked on his and she said, "The collar only holds magic in. Your spells can't be blocked by just the runes on it or those in the shackles.
"If you can't use your spells on him, then he must be protected. His sister is a diplomacy wizard, he said. Do your people have protection spells that are permanent to guard a mind?"
Shaking his head, Xaren answered, "No, and I am not sure how long a resistance spell would last cast on someone else. Usually the wizard would need to remain nearby to continue strengthening a magic resistance spell for it too work. I suppose that there are a few which can be cast and left to feed off the host or left in a loop for a time."
"How long would one of those last?" the woman asked.
"A few days, maybe a week at most, though a skilled wizard might be able to extend that time."
"Then check him for lingering magic spells. I doubt that anyone had a reason to cast such a spell on him, but I suppose there is some possibility that a wizard was extremely cautious despite the fact that he was just visiting Red Hall."
Sighing, Xaren turned back to the battle mage in his shackles and started a new spell. Sebastian thought that the woman's eyes sparkled slightly. Without his magic to rely on, he could only guess if the wizard was using her magic to look for whatever was guarding his mind.
While both wizards tried to discover his immunity to the mind spells, Sebastian tried to figure out what was keeping Xaren from entering his mind or otherwise exercising his power over him. Assuming that he wasn't truly immune, the mage could only think of one thing that could be defending him now. There were still a few runes that he had never been able to figure out. They had come from the Grimnal's guards, but even those men didn't know every spell built into the markings on their bodies.
Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) Page 26
