Battle Mage, The Caves of Time

by Donald Wigboldy

  Kolban watched as the defenses of Southwall fell one by one on the mountainside. Golden lights appeared here and there. He guessed that his old enemies had truly mastered his tricks. It was all right though, the boy who was the product of the original Kolban didn't hold any true malice for these people anymore. The anger he had once felt, the need for revenge had dulled with time as he had aged. In a new body, it felt like someone else's problem and technically it was but he had all the memories of his previous and extended lifetime.

  "Time for you to go," he said with a smile as the boy called up a door with a simple gesture. It wasn't as the spell was written in the books, Torva knew, though it wasn't magic that he could perform. The boy seemed capable of cheating on the spell and perhaps it was his greater power that let him do such things.

  Either way, the door formed right behind Narissa. The girl held the remains of her dress to her chest trying to maintain some decency though most of the men had caught sight of more than she would have wished them to see, the warlock believed.

  No matter what her feelings were, Kolban gently took her by the arms and shoved her back through door. The girl hadn't seen it at all and gasped.

  The golden light shut behind her and the boy stated, "Well, that's better."

  "That wasn't very... polite," Torva said with a shake of his head.

  A curious eyebrow rose at the vague attempt at humor as well as an accurate piece of commentary from the wizard hunter. "She may not appreciate it right away, but she'll get over it."

  "You treated her like a test subject. I doubt that the WOMAN will feel very appreciative any time soon." Torva made sure to emphasize the word for this boy. While he had changed her body, it didn't mean that Narissa wasn't still the same person that she had been before he had used his magic. Her memories seemed just fine, even if she now looked like a much younger version of herself.

  Waving him off, Kolban asked, "Do you plan to keep watching or should I send you home?"

  The question sent a chill up his spine. While it was a given that they had a base somewhere nearby, the warlock had believed that Kolban had no true idea where it was. This was part of why they had stayed. He didn't want to leave any sort of trail for this powerful warlock to follow. Torva didn't trust the boy and seeing what he had done to this seer, who had appeared to be someone close to him besides, the wizard hunter worried what he might do to people that he had no attachment to at all.

  Gesturing towards his men leaning against the stone wall of the mountain, a door large enough to catch them all appeared and they disappeared from sight into the golden light. Torva tensed feeling ready to attack, but knew that it was likely futile. This boy was too strong. He saw no defenses, but it had been there to stop the dagger. Kolban was as cautious as the emperor that had his name, the hunter thought.

  "The settlement is roughly... twenty miles from here, if my estimate is correct," the boy stated without any trace of humor or malice either. "The use of normal measurements feels so unwieldy when I try to nail it down."

  "What did you do with my men?"

  "They should be exiting the gate point someone left there. It doesn't feel like one of mine," Kolban said without thinking. The slip made Torva's eyes widen slightly. Luckily the boy hadn't noticed.

  Clapping his hands together once, the boy turned with a tight smile to look over the ridge towards the two caves as well as the two armies fighting in the valley. "So then, if you would like to watch, you may stay; but don't interfere. Even if you think that you might like me enough to try keeping me from harm, I believe that I should be fine."

  "What are you planning to do? That's a war going on below us."

  "Nah, it's just one battle, Torva. You should be old enough to know better. You elves live a long time. Maybe this memory will fade one day or maybe I am just being a little too dramatic, but whichever, it is just about time."

  "Time for what, if I may ask?"

  "You may," the boy nodded, but didn't take his eyes off of what was going on below them. "I have the sand, now I need to know more about it. It is great power, but I don't know enough yet. The danger of testing it should be avoided, I believe."

  "You made a crone out of that woman and then changed her into a child. Of course, it is dangerous," Torva replied wondering at this boy in front of him. Was it naiveté or callousness that drove this child to do what he did? The hunter wasn't certain yet.

  "Ah, I think this is him," Kolban said sounding more excited and animated than he had ever been.

  Moving to the side of the wall, Torva watched as the foreign creatures moved up to the cave further away from them. He had watched close enough to know that this was the one where Kolban had gathered the black sand. It was death in dust form, the hunter thought.

  Catching a glimmer of movement beside him, the elf still missed as the boy slipped away using the unknown spell of shadow. His attention whipped back to the cave entrance and he watched as the creatures opened the cave. Black dust escaped and several elves and their creatures aged as they were struck instantly. Somehow they hadn't been ready for the trap that they had laid. The dust seemed to form into a tornado of black dust in front of the cave a moment later and swirled around cutting down several more of the beasts too slow to escape. It was then that Torva realized who was in control of the black cloud of dust.

  "Well, hello there," Kolban said with a smile on his face. His magic took control of the black dust before anyone from this enemy could react. Two of the dark elves were struck and the boy watched trying to count how many grains it actually took to reduce them to dust. They cried out trying to turn and reach for him, but the blackened bits of time continued to age these creatures that lived for centuries.

  Bones clattered to the ground.

  The larger bulls and rams didn't last nearly as long, while the blue goblins seemed to last for nearly no time at all, he thought. It was a good quick experiment, but it was more of a necessity that he remove some of these creatures from the board. He had seen the face from his future and with Narissa's help Kolban had made sure to memorize the strange, dark blue skinned face. He didn't want to get someone who knew too little about this potential weapon. This dust was power and could be used in more than one way, he was certain of it. Left only to these dark elves, his new world would likely die. He had lost one world already, and this one was his now. They couldn't be allowed to have it.

  "Ah, there you are," he said with a tight smile for the dark elf. "Are you ready to come with me or do I need to show you more?"

  The dark elf he addressed backed away from him, but the swirling sands prevented him from going any further. Kolban noted a second dark elf. He hadn't wanted to kill them all, not yet at least. If the visions were correct, he might need to be more forceful; but for now the boy thought that he could try to play nice.

  "You know him, right?" Kolban questioned the elf with the face he didn't know. "Do you think he's ready to talk?"

  The dark elf was surprisingly quick to respond, but all Kolban heard was gibberish. Slapping his forehead, the boy chided his limited thoughts, "Of course, you wouldn't speak one of the languages that I know. Hang on... magic," he finished with a sigh.

  A quick gesture using his left hand while saying the ancient words necessary to join all words together in understanding was all done while his right held the black dust tightly inside the vortex. It would be a shame to age this body before its time after all. He felt like he had only just gotten it.

  "Ok, let's try this again. Are you adequately awed by my power or should I kill a few more?" Kolban asked darkly.

  "Who...?" the object of his intent started to ask?

  The second one asked more intelligently, "What is your intention? Your power is obviously great."

  "Maybe my vision was wrong. You seem much smarter than him. Which one of you understands everything I need to know about how this sand works? I want to know its creation as well as how you use it too."

  The second man looked reticent to
answer.

  "Come, come, I can assume it is this one, but that doesn't mean I can't find you useful also," Kolban stated with a smile and moved beside the dark elf confidently. The boy touched a finger to the man's chest and a tether of darkness attached itself to the elf before disappearing from sight after a moment.

  His eyes went wide in surprise. The dark elf didn't have magic, but Kolban could tell that he must have felt his power.

  "So now then, about this, gentleman..."

  "This is Warlock Redenyan. He knows the magic used to create the sand as well as the Tempus Chamber which controls it. There are other devices, of course, but those are the main things I am guessing that you wish to know."

  "And you are...?"

  "Master Silithan, curator of the sand," the man answered with a bow of his head. "Who are you... master?"

  The magic tie did nothing to make the elf call him master and certainly by appearance Kolban might seem to be just a child, but Silithan recognized his power easily.

  "You can just call me Kolban," he replied moving towards the other elf. Again the boy touched the other man's chest near the center. Noting the heart slightly out of position compared to a human's, Kolban set his dark tether where it would mean the most for this creature.

  "So, Redenyan, do you submit or should I use your own dust to destroy the army which you have brought to my world?"

  Eyes open wide, the dark elf dropped to his knees. "Yes, I submit, master. Please don't kill them all. My brother and sister are among those leading this group. If you kill us, you end our line... master."

  "Now that is forthcoming and very informative. If you keep this up, then I think we will have a truly special relationship one day."

  Gesturing with his right hand, the boy caused the black sand to follow a path back into the cave. Stone rose up as his left hand lifted towards the open mouth. His right held the dust in place with magic as if his palm sealed the darkness away. More stone formed and pressed the black sand deeper and deeper into the cave. It was hidden a great distance inside the mountain, and he felt that few would believe that it still existed.

  "Come," he ordered and darkness rose up to make all three disappear from sight.

  Koze and minos looked at the spot uncertain of what to do. All the dark elves leading the front were either dead or removed by Kolban. It would be several minutes before word got back to the other leaders of the army. By that time Kolban had sealed the white sand in a similar way. In a catacomb of caves, he contained it in a space about the size of a small closet. Even an earth wizard would need time to discover the pocket and might not recognize it for what it was.

  "Redenyan, Silithan, before we go, this look might be too problematic for Mariport." Kolban used two more spells. Each was the same and quickly the dark skin changed to a light tan common to the people of Mariport. "That's better. Come let me introduce you to Narissa."

  "Can you see Kharrik?" she asked one of the battle mages lining the top of the bridge. They had all seen the koze run up the sides of the mountains now and feared that this fort wouldn't be enough to prevent them from just going around their defenses equally as easy.

  The young man had a falcon's rank, but he looked uncertain. Shaylene didn't have the patience to explain and moved to a woman a few feet beyond him. "Vera, do you see Kharrik?"

  Surprise crossed the dark haired woman's face and she responded, "I would have thought that he was with you. You two are paired for making gates, aren't you?"

  Her words struck the wizard as being more than what she truly said. 'Paired' or perhaps bonded together would have been more accurate. At first, the wizard had fought it, but she had been ordered to help the owl by the high wizard after all. Now, Shaylene wasn't certain exactly what she felt about the man beyond the fact that she worried for him.

  "He pushed me through the gate and we were separated by fire. He can't hold one open by himself. Kharrik needs me."

  "Do you know how to open a portal then?" Vera questioned before turning to look at the terraces. "There!" she called almost immediately.

  Squinting at the distance, Shaylene saw what the falcon had spotted. Moving from one terrace to another fighting off a small horde of koze and a grayven with its rider, Kharrik fought alone.

  "I haven't tried to make a gate," Shaylene almost groaned. She had been asked if she would like to try repeatedly, but the wizard had remained stubborn even after Kharrik figured out the spell. In truth, the woman couldn't admit to anyone that sharing her magic with the mage was something that truly did bond them as close as any loving couple. The idea made her blush, but no one was paying close attention to the fire wizard.

  "I need to get to him," she whispered and tried to remember that feeling, the one the wizard had felt through Kharrik as the man opened his portals. "I need to try."

  Latching onto the feeling of the spell and her attachment for Kharrik, the world suddenly disappeared from view in a glimmer of golden light. Gasps came from a few who had just been looking at the wizard and watched her disappear in a glow that surrounded only her body. Shaylene saw the silver light, but the sight of the floating islands wasn't so distant this time. Her body darted past them rising upwards through the many connecting gates that were the true movement between one place and another within Silver World.

  If portals made a sound, Shaylene would have said that she popped back into the world. She barely had a moment to register the sight of Kharrik just before her.

  "Kharrik!" the wizard cried out wrapping her arms around him.

  "Shaylene? Quick get out of here before..."

  Kharrik didn't get a chance to finish as one of the grayvens lunged for him. The wizard saw it coming and closed her eyes reflexively hoping that whatever had made her come here could get them home again safely.

  A screech made Shaylene open her eyes again. They were in the silver light of the in between world passing through the multiple gates again, but this time Shaylene witnessed the sharp beak of a grayven trying to tear at Kharrik's face.

  Kicking at the large feathered head, Kharrik pushed them back and struck the creature with the rune shield. Pushed off of the mage, it fell back and disappeared shrinking into a small dot before that pop happened once more. They crashed onto stone with a groan.

  "Where did it go?" Shaylene asked gasping breathlessly. She had never been so afraid and not just of the attacking grayven.

  Groaning, Kharrik replied, "I think it's stuck in the Silver World now. I hope that isn't a problem for someone in the future."

  He glanced around at a small room and asked, "Where are we now though?"

  Looking around, Shaylene realized that this room was very familiar. "It's... my room in White Hall. How did we get here? I thought we needed a gate or other tether to pull us back to a place. My room does not have a portal stone, I am certain of that."

  "Too bad," Kharrik mumbled as he tried to get up. Shaylene was already kneeling and taking in the familiar sight, "if it did I could just open one in here and visit you at night."

  Blushing fully, the woman remarked, "Wait, I have a ward set so no one else can enter except a higher wizard in case I should happen to... Anyway, you shouldn't be in here."

  "You brought me," he retorted without any malice. His eyes suddenly darted up to look at the little blonde still kneeling beside a bed, her bed he realized. "Wait, how did you do that? You haven't even tried the spell."

  "I- I was desperate, I guess. I just tried to remember how the magic felt, but a door didn't open. I just fell through Silver World and was there. Then we went back in with that grayven before reaching here. There were no doors."

  "You glowed a moment before we shifted into silver light. Maybe you were the door or created one around you and what you touched? You were touching me and the grayven was touching me, so all three of us slipped into the void."

  "Maybe," Shaylene said looking confused before giving a start. Looking at him, the wizard noticed blood all over him. "Oh my, are you hurt? There are
so many holes and so much blood too.

  "Take off your shirt, so I can look!"

  Chuckling as he pulled it over his head even as the woman helped him, Kharrik noted a lot of soreness from his ribs and the shirt dragged wetly across his skin. It didn't seem to be just from sweat either as it felt sticky and thick. "If you really just wanted to get me out of my clothes you could have asked. Would it work if I asked you?"

  Before she could retort, Shaylene spotted half a dozen wounds bleeding across his chest and abdomen. "Oh my, so... so much blood! How are you still conscious?"

  "It's not that bad," the falcon said trying to stand. "My shields let me get cut a little bit, but nothing too deep."

  "Let the healers be the judge of that."

  He looked around trying to remember the sight of her room for later. Maybe one day...

  Dragging the man out of her room and down the curving stairs from the third floor towards the healers' wing on the first floor near the dining hall, Shaylene held his bloody shirt in one hand and tried to support him with the other in spite of being much smaller than the battle mage. She whispered in the seclusion of the staircase, "I was really worried about you."

  "I'll be alright, but thanks for coming to get me."

  Nothing more was said until the two of them spotted Xander doting over Haylee sitting on a healer's table as the wizards worked to heal the burns on her arm.

  "Haylee!" the wizard cried running out from under Kharrik who in his surprise and exhaustion nearly fell. Xander switched places with Shaylene and helped his mentor to a table.

  "Well, it's good to know where her priorities are," the battle mage groaned before laying back onto the table.

  Chapter 32- Alternate Visions

  Passing through the gate into Hala, Sebastian looked up to see bowmen and wizards all ready to fire down from above. The courtyard holding area was getting quite crowded now with not only Elzen, who had gone before them to warn the watchers of the captives coming through behind him, but the Zmaj and Ciemnosci warlock. Along with the foreign looking creatures, the large chest of the Tempus Chamber was getting a lot of suspicious looks by the time the owl arrived.