Battle Mage, The Caves of Time

by Donald Wigboldy

  The final building in their line of sight was connected by an enclosed bridge to the mage barracks. Though mostly a school for magic users; this last building housed those that came to learn to be soldiers. It wasn't for the lower ranks, however. This was where nobles and the rich alike sent their sons to become officers. Sometimes their daughters were sent instead. He knew enough women in the service even here. Not everyone would make the cut, of course. Even money wouldn't make White Hall just pass on someone who didn't deserve it.

  Along with the rich, there came those with promise sent from other schools of training. White Hall didn't bar anyone deserving, as far as the mage knew.

  Katya fell back while Ashleen, noticing his slight inattentiveness as his mind wandered to the sights around him, continued to make conversation with Ylena.

  "Yes?" he asked quietly revealing that the owl hadn't missed the maneuver while looking at the buildings around them.

  Speaking almost in a whisper, Katya said, "Ylena was told to move in with me by the headmaster."

  By headmaster, he knew that she meant High Wizard Herrol the leader of White Hall.

  Her eyes looked up at him and he noted a bit of worry. Waiting her out, the girl continued, "Ylena wasn't sleeping very well those first few nights in camp after her... change, but she's woke me up thrashing around in her sleep since then too. She talks gibberish, but whatever she's seeing appears to be intense. I am worried about her."

  It was plain on Katya's face as well as in her words. As a diplomacy wizard, it was supposed to be second nature for his sister to hide her emotions, but whatever was going on had worn down some of those defenses. His sister was an open book to him, but he also was someone who studied others.

  "Has she talked about her dreams or anything else bothering her?" he wondered.

  "She just says that she is fine. Her memory seems good enough. The other wizards worried that her mind might regress like her body as she adjusted to her new youth."

  "I noticed the magic or whatever did this to her seemed to be pooled there," he noted.

  Katya nodded and glanced away thoughtfully. Just before they turned to go through the door that would lead to the hallway between the cafeteria and barracks, his sister said, "Even High Wizard Herrol told me to keep an eye on her. She was pushed to room with me, but I think that they are more worried than they've told her."

  There was too little space to continue the conversation without the wizard hearing and the four went to the courtyard where Sebastian opened a new gate. Disappearing into the golden glow led them to the side of a road. Grass was green here now. Mera and his family farm weren't any further south than White Hall, but the small town was further east.

  Ylena noted the greenery and softly rolling hills around them after her senses caught up with the change. She recovered even faster than Katya, Sebastian noted. It was as if the wizard's senses had hardly been affected at all. Even after all his uses of the gates, he didn't think that he recovered that much faster.

  "I think that it is a little warmer here than it has been in White Hall. It is certainly green anyway."

  Her words didn't judge anything aside from the weather. Sebastian didn't know if the wizard had come from farming roots or if she was one of the city finds, either way the girl seemed happy enough with the change of location.

  "There aren't any nature wizards to nurse the plants back to life early here," the mage noted.

  Black boots crunched the dirt road below the hem of the blue dress as Ylena walked. They were longer than those Ashleen wore. The wilder enjoyed the comfortable feel of the soft leather which only crept up to the lower part of her calf.

  Whether her boots were as comfortable or not, Ylena walked up to the gate to the Trillon farm without any issue. He had moved the lode stones a bit closer to the farm's gate, but it was still far enough away to keep the magic out of sight of his family unless they left to watch for them. His father seemed suspicious of how they could return so often. No one would likely verify if he was staying at the inn in Mera, he supposed, but still he could only likely hide the fact from them for so long.

  There was activity in the yard in front of the house. A couple blonde haired women stood with a brunette watching most of the Trillon men as they manhandled a large wagon. One of the horses was being led by one of the twins and Sebastian wondered what they might be doing with it. There were no crops to bring to town, but there was likely something going on, he supposed.

  The approach of Sebastian and the girls was spotted sending Everet hurrying over to the gate to open it. By default, Edgar was the one guiding the horse, he realized.

  "Sebastian and... Katya!" he exclaimed in surprise not realizing that his little sister was among those walking with the mage. "You brought Katya back. Does that mean you are finally a wizard?"

  Frowning at her twin brother, the blonde haired girl complained, "What do you mean finally? If you have magic, that pretty much automatically makes you a wizard, dumdum."

  "Well, that isn't exactly true, Katya," Ylena responded drawing Edgar's eyes which widened at the sight of the pretty brunette walking beside his sister.

  "Who is this beauty, Katya?" he asked seemingly without a filter. Blinking in surprise at likely voicing what he had only meant to think in his head; Edgar shook it off and waited for his sister's answer.

  "This is Ylena Werlon," Katya paused trying to decide what more should be said in this situation. It probably mattered little if her family knew that this teenage girl was in fact almost as old as their parents. With magic involved, many things were just assumed by those outside of the wizards' circles.

  "I am her mentor," the diplomacy wizard said offering the boy her hand and a smile.

  His grin in response as he took her hand told Sebastian that he was already smitten. Ylena seemed to have that affect on a lot of men with or without using her magic.

  "You are her mentor? You must be talented to be one so young."

  A slight blush moved into the woman's cheeks as she replied, "Well, that is nice of you to say, though it is a little more complicated than that. I am older than I look."

  Nodding, Edgar moved to her side looking to act as her escort to the house. "Hmm, yes, there are a few girls in town that would surprise you with their real age. If you looked at Naoni Weller, you'd think that she was younger than Katya, but she's really twenty."

  "Yes, something like that," Ylena agreed reluctantly knowing that she looked more than a few years younger than her true age now.

  "Well, how old are you then?"

  Katya gasped and responded like she was truly offended, "Edgar, you don't ask a woman her age! That's rude no matter where you are from."

  "Thirty-seven," Ylena said with a small smile on her face and received a laugh from the twin.

  "Ha ha, that's a good one. That's what I get for asking," he replied good naturedly as he believed that the girl was just messing with him for asking such a personal question.

  With the matter swept aside, they soon met up with the remainder of the family in the yard.

  Chapter 17- Dinner and Revelations

  Sebastian followed his father into the barn alongside his older brother, Conner. Edgar had been sent into town with his mother and sister-in-law, Conner's wife Rena, to get supplies needed as winter slowly turned to spring. Plants were growing in the fields already, but it would take time before the next harvest. His father kept enough stores around the farm to keep his slowly expanding family well fed until the next season, but some things were hard to keep fresh for too long.

  "So you've brought another beautiful girl here with you," Marcel said in an offhand way as the three moved to a stable filled with hay bales. Conner and his father took an end and lifted one of the bales before dragging it towards the far end of the barn. Excited sounds came from the cows and horses seeing the movement from their tenders.

  Sebastian didn't even think about what he was doing and lifted a second bale easily thanks to the runes strengthenin
g him. Sparkles of magic lit up several runes, but only the final edges of them could be seen peeking out from the end of his sleeves.

  The mage walked the bale to the other side of the barn as the eyes of the other men watched him in surprise. A thump as he released it could be felt at his feet before Sebastian took the steps needed to retrieve a pitchfork to break it up and move it into the troughs in front of the animals.

  "Technically, Ylena came with Katya. I just brought them both here," he said without committing to anything.

  His father grunted in response as if he didn't believe him.

  "Does magic make all of these wizard girls pretty?" Conner asked trying to lighten the conversation with a little chuckle at the question.

  "Sometimes, I suppose," was the reply.

  "She might even be prettier than Ashleen in her own way," his brother added in a mock whisper. The wilder was at the main house anyway and couldn't have overheard him. Even Sebastian being towards the other side of the barn required that they raise their voices a bit to be fully heard.

  Sebastian nodded, not that he felt that way, though he could appreciate the beauty of the dark haired wizard.

  "Ashleen is already more than enough for him," Marcel voiced his son's feelings for him. "She's probably too good for him anyway being a lord's daughter. We're just farmers. They're not supposed to wind up with us."

  "I would agree that she is probably too good for me," Sebastian replied trying to avoid an argument.

  "Bas isn't a farmer like us anymore though, father. He's a battle mage and an accomplished one from what I have gathered," Conner argued calmly.

  "True, he is a battle mage, but your ability to discover what he has accomplished is somewhat diminished living here," the older man stated with a frown. "If he is as smart as those traveling with him seem to think he is, however, he might want to consider putting a ring on her finger before she realizes that she is too good for him. That's what I did with your mother."

  The last part made Marcel chuckle while his sons exchanged confused looks.

  "I think that we might be a little too young to consider that," Sebastian answered as he avoided using the word marriage again.

  "Your mother had Conner at your age and we were married for about three years by then," his father mused looking upward as he did his best to recall the math for the years. "Beatrice was only a year older than you are when she married Herron too. They were engaged for over half a year after your brother-in-law proposed to her. So you're young, but not too young, boy."

  The final word hardly helped make his point and at times Sebastian still felt like he was barely more than a child.

  "Don't push him, dad," Conner intervened using the more familiar term of endearment his children had for the man. "Sebastian will get there when he's ready. I don't think Ashleen plans to leave him anyway, whether she has a ring or not."

  A grunt came from the older man. "You say that now, but if the girl feels like you are just stringing her along... Well, women can grow restless if their men don't step up in time."

  Sebastian watched as his brother rolled his eyes behind their father. "I will take it under advisement," the mage stated without confirming a thing for the man. His only problem was that he knew that most of what his father said was likely true.

  Ashleen was great. She was loving, but didn't overdo it showing her affection. Well, outside of the bedroom at least that was true. The girl hid some of her passion from the rest of the world. Only he knew what she was capable of and, of course, that was hardly a problem.

  Being a lord's daughter slightly complicated things and he wasn't just any lord but a wealthy and powerful man second only to his king perhaps. He had met Duke Cerrus Karderos while establishing new portal gates in Kardor. That had been a project that he had come up with mainly for Ashleen. While she hadn't said it aloud, he could tell that the wilder had begun missing home. She might never have complained, but Ashleen was closer to her family than he was with his and even he had times where he missed his childhood home.

  The three men continued to work until a bell rang letting them know that lunch was ready. Sebastian's stomach managed to keep quiet until then, but a grumble reminded him that it had been a number of hours since breakfast.

  Looking at the farmhouse, he spotted the blonde hair of his mother as the woman kept watch to make sure that they had heard her. The wagon had returned a short while ago thanks to the relatively close distance to Mera, the town serving the farms surrounding it. Edgar had managed to avoid being put to work by his father since their return, but entering the house Sebastian noticed him finishing the placement of the dishes on the table.

  His mother remarked, "Everyone helped me ready the meal, even Ashleen and Katya's friend." Lowering her voice she added, "Though your girl doesn't seem to have a clue about preparing a meal, the poor thing. How does a girl manage to not know anything about cooking at her age? Even the dark haired girl appears more comfortable than her near a stove.

  "You might need to learn how to cook or you two might starve," she finished with a laugh.

  Sebastian managed a smile and replied, "Perhaps one day, though we have that taken care of for us now since we live in the Black Smith Inn. We can just order our meals."

  Frowning at him, Marta stated, "Wasting your money on a room at an inn and still you need to give them even more to feed you, that isn't a very frugal way to live, my son. You should save your money. One day you two might want to have a home of your own, but right now you keep giving your money away to strangers."

  "We've lived there long enough that the Alamore's are almost like family," he chuckled.

  "Family that charge you to live with them," his mother said continuing to frown.

  Thumbing over his shoulder towards the family's barn and fields, he reminded her, "Well, we don't have any chores to do there or contribute otherwise, so it's probably fair. It isn't like we need to work together like you do on the farm."

  Uncertain if his parents took his meaning for what it was, Sebastian was ready to clarify; but his mother shook her head before starting to turn to go inside. "You need to be financially responsible, Sebastian. You need to think of your future. That girl will probably require more money than most with her upbringing."

  He thought of how often Ashleen liked to shop in the cities that they visited and Hala in particular. Though she didn't buy things every time that she went out to look at the shops, Ashleen did like to spend money more than any other girls he had known before. Luckily, he had a rather large account set up at the king's bank also. If it was just him, the mage doubted that he would ever have to worry about spending through all of it. The treasure he had found while captaining a team at sea was enough to keep the Trillon farm safely running for decades, he would guess.

  "Luckily, I am an expert blacksmith as well as earning a stipend working for the king. A single sword sold could likely pay for most of a year's worth of food and lodging at the inn, if I am in any financial trouble. There are other things that I can do also, but that alone could probably set up my retirement," her son said without trying to brag. Using magic, Sebastian knew that he could make swords, jewelry and other things made of metal with little effort. His ability to work with metal could make items both beautiful and strong that no one was capable of making as far as he had seen. There was money to be made, if he tired of the adventures found by being a mage.

  They entered the house and he looked at a substantial spread. His mother had laid out a meal worthy of a holiday gathering and he thought that maybe she was the one that needed to be a little more frugal. Perhaps a trip to one of the local markets could keep their stores filled until the harvests came. He didn't want his family starving just because they wanted to show off for Ashleen or maybe it was more for Katya's return. The mage wasn't exactly certain, but like his parents he worried over their future as well.

  "I helped make bread!" Ashleen said coming over to him excitedly. "Your sister showed me this casserole m
ade with cheese and vegetables that I am hoping will taste as good as it smells too."

  The other women smiled and shook their heads behind the excited girl. Sebastian had a feeling that they felt it was like teaching a young child whose exuberance to both need to help and learn could be quite charming and amusing in the same moment.

  "I'm glad that you had fun and are getting to know everyone so well," he replied with a smile. Noting some flour on her cheek, Sebastian reached up to wipe it away gently with his finger. "You have some flour in your hair too. You must have really gotten into helping."

  Her smile was genuine and the girl answered a little quieter, "I could see myself doing this some more. It's fun, but a lot of work too."

  It was the admission that she had seen another world and enjoyed what she had found, he thought.

  As they sat around the large table, the twins did their best to sit near Ylena. Their smiles told him that they were charmed by the wizard and he doubted that it was the result of any true magic. She was beautiful and charming as diplomacy wizards were want to be.

  "So you are a teacher?" Everet asked from her left. Katya was on his other side looking a little annoyed by his insertion between her and Ylena. "You look awfully young to be a teacher already. You must be really smart."

  Her light blue eyes looked at him as she turned her face towards the boy beside her. "I suppose that I am intelligent enough, but I am also older than I look as I told your other brother."

  Edgar nodded from her other side and said, "Yeah, there's a couple girls like that in Mera. Naoni is like that."

  "I've heard that," Ylena replied having heard them say as much earlier in the day. With a wizard's capable memory she added, "Miss Weller must be quite remarkable then."

  "You know her?" the twins asked simultaneously as if their minds communicated as one.

  Her eyes barely widened in surprise and Ylena seemed uncertain which boy she should look at this time. Her training for working with people probably didn't include trying to work with teenage twins like this pair, the mage thought hiding a smile with a bite of his food.