Star Mage (Book 5)

by John Forrester

  “Why do you tease me with tall tales and your endless longing stares?” Her expression was one of forced annoyance, but her parted lips and expectant eyes told him another story.

  He came closer and took her mug, refilling it with a grunt of satisfaction. “You’ve not enough ale in you to believe all the tales I hold in my mind. Drink more and let us enjoy the long ride. And you can tell me why you haven’t tried to kill me.”

  She raised an eyebrow at that, her face thoughtful and wicked. “You haven’t gone to sleep yet.”

  6. THE VILLAGE OF FARIN

  Talis gazed at the Village of Farin from the foothills overlooking the stone houses and wooden fences holding countless sheep and goats. Riders wheeled their horses around the flocks, driving them home for the night. They had flown all day and Talis tried to keep the worry and doubts from his mind, instead staring at the endless shifting desert sands and allowing the wind to push away his thoughts. Master Goleth had advised him to land far away from villager eyes, and they’d trekked for an hour down the mountain until the sun sank low beneath the ridgeline. Talis sensed something suspicious down in the village, and found his shoulders tensing as they neared the outskirts.

  “Let me talk with them first,” advised Master Goleth, his rugged face rigid as he squinted at the approaching riders. “And when they interrogate you, stay calm and answer their questions without flourish.”

  Interrogate us? Talis didn’t like the idea of walking into a trap. He clenched his jaw as the riders circled around them, their eyes harsh and mistrustful. They barely glanced at Master Goleth, and instead focused their attention on Mara.

  “Who’s the little tart, Master Goleth? I thought you swore to never take a female apprentice?” one of the riders said, his mean, chiseled face ogling Mara as he rode around them.

  “My apprentices are none of your concern, Jahkel. We had a long and tiresome trip and Lord Aurellia has asked me return with these two. You will treat them with the upmost respect.”

  “You will go to hell, where you belong, Builder. All your buildings have burned and disintegrated back to dust. We’ve had enough of your promises of power and aid for Farin…we don’t believe you anymore.”

  Master Goleth snapped a finger and two hands made of sand surged up from the ground and seized the front legs of the horse Jahkel was riding. The poor creature whinnied and bolted and sent the man crashing to the earth in a bone-snapping thump.

  The Builder caused the sandstone hands to disintegrate and calmly approached the fallen man. His glance at the moaning and cursing Jahkel was brief, and he turned a challenging stare at the other riders.

  “My how the minions turn sour like two-day old milk.” The riders retreated from the Builder, their eyes flared in fear. “Our Lord Aurellia leaves on a mission and the hierarchy is already in disarray? Speak, minions! Tell me what has transpired in the empire since I’ve left.”

  A bulky man in stained leather pants opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the Builder aimed a finger at him. “Go on, Biltis, speak. I won’t harm you.”

  “Ishur is in chaos, Master Goleth.” The man glanced from the Builder to the tense faces of his fellow riders, as if uncertain who would hurt him the most. “The various magical Orders have declared war on each other, with the Order of Rezel allying itself with the Order of the Dead.

  Necromancers, Talis thought, and found a scowl forming on his face. Master Goleth swiveled around and studied his expression. Talis bowed his head in submission to the Builder.

  “And Emperor Ghaalis? Is that fat drunk still whoring in Carvina?”

  “The finest red wine in the capitol still flows freely, Master Builder.” Biltis decided to take a stern tone and trotted closer to Goleth.

  “I see, that is most unfortunate.” The way the Builder said the words Talis was unsure if he was displeased that the Emperor still lived or that he was still drunk. “And now for the real question, which I’m sure you traitors are most eager to answer. Where are my wife and children?”

  An ill-timed grunt of pain from the prostrated Jahkel caused Master Goleth to whirl around and fix a furious gaze on him. “You know of something, traitor? I trusted too many of you with my secret, thinking my family safe here from the frightfulness of our fetid empire. Speak quickly or discover how the desert can so easily swallow you up.”

  Jahkel’s defiant eyes met Goleth’s as his mouth trembled open and he spit stupidly at the Builder. Master Goleth flourished his hands in anger and the sand opened up underneath the screaming man and devoured his body in an instant. Mara let out a horrified yelp and seized Talis’s arm as Jahkel was engulfed by the desert.

  “I do not believe him the last traitor in our midst. Where are my allies and closest companions? The friends and families faithful to me over these long and troubled years. While the Empire saw war and bloodshed and famine, the Village of Farin enjoyed peace and prosperity and protection. You, Master Waynor? You knew of my family and had a cousin who’d joined the Order of the Dead. Did you spill my secret?”

  The old, leather-skinned man leapt off his horse and the wind whipped up around his white robe as he locked tired eyes on Master Goleth. “Those of the Order of Rezel demanded answers to their questions. You were gone and we could not refuse. Call us traitorous, but if you were given the question by your masters, what would you have done? You answered Lord Aurellia’s call to venture through the portal and help fight his war for him off on that other world. Would you have dared say no to him?”

  Master Goleth narrowed his eyes at Waynor, a flicker of uncertainty and perhaps regret crossing his face. He steeled his gaze once again and spoke softer this time. “Just answer my question, where is my family?”

  “They were taken by the Stelan Knights to Carvina.” Waynor’s voice was resigned as he spoke, but his eyes yielded nothing. They beamed with sanctimoniousness pride. Carvina? Talis thought, Why would they take Master Goleth’s family to the capitol? The Order of Rezel was located in Ishur, far from the Emperor.

  “Why would the Emperor want to hold my family?” For the first time, a confused and troubled expression crossed the Builder’s face, and Talis shared in his bewilderment.

  “Did your masters from the Order of Rezel contact you and tell you that they had your family?” Master Waynor scoffed, a grin forming on his grizzled face. “You almost fell into their trap, gullible Goleth. Nothing different than when you were a boy. Though back then you didn’t kill falsely accused friends quite so easily.” He stared at the ground where Jahkel’s body had once been. At the Builder’s exasperated expression, Master Waynor raised a placating hand and continued.

  “The Emperor took your family to Carvina to keep them safe. This was no more than a few days after you left. Commander Safir of the Stelan Knights assured me that there would soon be disruption and chaos amongst the magical orders, and that the Emperor had heard word from Lord Aurellia himself to keep your family safe during the crisis. The Dark Lord named the upcoming period as the Sieving Span.”

  Master Waynor glided up into the air and landed smoothly onto his horse. “Now do you regret killing your old friend Jahkel? Stay here a moment longer and you will answer for your crimes. Leave our village, and never return.” He wheeled his horse around and trotted off, and the other riders followed, contempt and hatred thick in their eyes as they rode off towards Farin.

  Defeat and self-loathing hung like a chain around Master Goleth’s neck. All his certainty and righteous rage had vanished. He looked to Talis and Mara with expectant eyes, as if they knew the right course of action. Talis just shrugged and glanced around, and scoffed knowing the entire reason for agreeing to come with Master Goleth had evaporated.

  “You were about to guide us into a trap,” Mara said, and sent a derisive laugh at the Builder. “At least you had enough sense to come here first before taking us straight into the chaos of Ishur.”

  “And you dared to ask us to vow a blood-pact with the Order of Rezel? The very Order that no
w allies itself with the Necromancers?” Talis hated the irritated expression on the Builder’s face and wanted to vaporize him with a blast of Light Magic. “The same hideous creatures who turned my entire city into a horde of undead!”

  Talis sought agreement from Mara and was surprised to find her face fuming with fury. “The Order of the Dead calls Master Relech as their leader, I suppose? The same master who forced me to kill so many innocents over and over again. So much needless blood spilled… And all for what? To train me in the way of the assassin? Is this how your Order operates in Ishur? Twisting and warping the minds of the young for some nefarious purpose? You wanted us to swear a blood-pact to such an Order? Are you mad?”

  Master Goleth looked genuinely ashamed of himself and injured by her outburst. His eyes now appeared desperate and placating as he faced them. “I believe I can still help you, help prevent unnecessary war and bloodshed from striking your city. Hear me out first before you leave.” He sighed in frustration and ran a hand over the stubble of his bald head. “It’s absolutely inevitable that the Order of the Dead will soon discover that Naru is not vanquished. And you know what will happen? Unless you want to stave off wave after wave of armies, undead and sorcerers and necromancers alike. How will you be able to protect your city? You are only one person—”

  Mara huffed and interrupted him. “Don’t be so dismissive of the girl! Why do boys and adults treat girls as if they don’t matter?”

  “I apologize for insulting you, it was not my intention to slight your ability to help defend your city.” The Builder looked perplexed and studied Mara as if trying to ascertain the right moment to proceed. After her fuming subsided, he spread his hands wide in a gesture of acquiescence. “Listen to one final plea from me and I will not say another word. If there is any possibility of peace between Naru and the Jiserian Empire it lies with Emperor Ghaalis. He is the only one who wields divine authority over the magical Orders of our Empire. And only I can make an introduction and open the Emperor’s Court to you and your people.”

  7. THE EMPEROR'S REVENGE

  Much to Mara’s disbelief, Talis agreed with Master Goleth’s proposition. They didn’t really fight about the decision, more like a disagreement over their next course of action. She wanted to immediately return home and seek out an official diplomatic engagement with the Emperor, while Talis felt it best to go to Carvina directly. In the end she agreed with Talis, realizing that likely no one in Naru had any leverage at the Emperor’s Court.

  The position of diplomat to the Jiserians had been held by her father, Viceroy Lei. Mother had remained quiet on the subject of her father’s death, although rumor had it that the Viceroy was slain by wizards of the Order of the Dawn. Wizards that were now far from Naru.

  After they had taken a count of the citizens still alive in Naru, the truth of the wizards’ disappearance was clear. Talis had gone through the official list of wizards and witches of the Order and crossed off names slain by the war and added those names to prayer lists for the Rites of Zagros, ensuring their souls swift passage to the Fair Seas. A grim task, Mara told herself, remembering her dark and bitter mood at the performed ritual. Most of the original names of wizards belonging to the Order had been added to the prayer list. So many men and women and children were slain senselessly in the war, she had thought.

  The few surviving wizards received a notation on the original list as to their current location. Talis had utilized the Surineda Map to plot their position in the world. Master Jai was west with Talis’s family along the Ursulan Coast. Mistress Cavares had been located inside the City of Carvina, which at the time Talis had found incredibly strange, as he was both unwilling to believe his former runes master imprisoned or a traitor. The other remaining wizards and witches were scattered across the lands mainly to the west and northwest of Naru.

  They followed the Builder’s advice and took flight directly south to the sea until they reached a smuggler’s cove, a pretty beach and humid hovel that dealt in illegal ore and gems from the mountains. There were only a few fishing boats bobbing in the bay, and the sleepy smugglers seemed uninterested at their arrival. When Master Goleth produced coin in exchange for room and lodging, and to secure passage on the next available vessel, the old hag baking octopus by the sea aimed a sagging arm at a dilapidated shack nestled amidst a stand of towering palm trees.

  “It ain’t pretty, but Hestor will gladly put you up for the night. He’ll know all about the ships.” She turned aside and started flipping over the octopus sticks and lathering the roasts with butter and garlic and a yellow spice that looked like curry. Talis found himself drooling at the smell.

  “Can we buy some?” Mara pointed at the octopus. “They smell incredible.”

  The old woman chortled and her eyes flared in feverish delight. “These little devils? I’m just a makin’ myself a little dinner. My grandson caught these in his diving nets. No need to pay me anything for ‘em, feel free to enjoy one.”

  “How kind of you,” Mara said, and accepted a golden-roasted octopus and let air blow around in her mouth as she chewed on the hot seafood. “Wow, this is delicious and different. I’ve never tried octopus before…so tasty and tender.”

  Talis accepted an octopus from the lady and thanked her, and inspected the small, roasted tentacles and took a tentative bite. The tender seafood tasted buttery and wonderful, and melted in his mouth as he chewed. When he’d read stories of the southern Jiserian cities, they always talked about the exotically spiced seafood and meats, spicy chilies, strange fruits and honey-glazed nuts. He found himself craving to discover the wonders of Carvina.

  The lodging provided by Master Goleth’s coin proved simple and clean, mere huts set along the palms with cotton hammocks for bed. Wide-mouthed Hestor had been elated at the Builder’s generous payment for food and lodging, and promised to secure passage for them aboard the next smuggler’s ship arriving within a few days time.

  Talis and Mara spent four sun-filled days in the smuggler’s cove, scouring for shells and driftwood along the black sand beach, swimming and diving for octopus and clams in the warm, colorful sea, and gazing at the vastness of the starry sky while the wind lulled them to sleep in their hammocks. After seeing the stars on the first night, they knew they had to take their hammocks outside, so they found several palms clustered close together and tied their two hammocks next to each other.

  It was the first time in many months that Talis felt truly free and relaxed, and over the few wonderful days with Mara, he allowed the heat of the sun and sand to melt away all the built-up tension in his body. Mara swore she’d return here one day and take up the life of a smuggler: some weeks at sea, some in the mountains, and many more here in the picturesque cove. Talis told her he loved the idea.

  Master Goleth had kept to himself the whole time, off on walks in the jungle, where Talis and Mara had spied him meditating next to a waterfall that spilled into a flower-rimmed pool. They had explored the jungle and discovered many streams that fed into the sea, and many beautiful pools filled with fresh-water fish and crystals. The terrain surrounding the cove was jagged and lush, and they found steep jutting spires of volcanic rock and several caves that wound deep down into the depths of the earth. One especially hot day they explored a cave for hours, utilizing the Surineda Map to keep them from getting lost. The experience reminded him of Ghaelstrom, and at each corner he expected to be greeted by a dragon’s snout.

  But all too soon the sails of a ship came into view around the palm-lined cove, and Hestor and the other villagers excitedly prepared several small boats to greet the large caravel as it swept into the cove. She flew a black flag emblazoned with the white face of a ghoul. Pirates, Talis thought, and narrowed his eyes at the approaching ship.

  Master Goleth strode up alongside and stared out to sea, a grim expression on his face. “After they load the silver ore, Hestor told me we’d be allowed to board. She sails the Horn of Hardrin for Carvina, arriving at the smuggler’s port inside the
capitol. It’s a vast city and will take us almost a day to walk from there to the Royal Court of Carvina.”

  Talis tried to imagine a city so massive that it would take a day to walk across it. The only other large city he’d visited had been Illumina and Darkov, and both were grand but also condensed, nothing as expansive as how Carvina sounded. If they were to try and visit the Emperor at the Royal Court, could they actually gain an entrance? Especially if Master Goleth introduced them as royals from Naru.

  They strode over to the beach where the smugglers were busy loading crates of silver ore into the long boats. The caravel had released several boats of their own, and Talis spotted a bearded man standing erect at the bow. He wore a red silk shirt and black pants, and his mane of black hair was covered by the strangest hat Talis had ever seen. The black, three-cornered hat had a red-faced goblin on each edge, and three layers of red goblin heads adorned the crown. When he looked away, Talis swore the goblins’ eyes followed him.

  Hestor eagerly waved at the bearded man, and helped tug the longboat ashore so the man could jump off the boat’s prow. The bearded man glanced around at the assembled villagers and gave the crowd a gold-toothed grin.

  “A nice haul of silver this time, eh, Hestor? I’m surprised you have so much for me, I thought the Jiserians were busy trying to eliminate corruption?” The bearded man clasped arms with Hestor and studied him with curious eyes.

  “Our bribes are taken easily now, Captain Cridd, a surprise to us all.” Hestor allowed a broad smile to flourish on his tanned face. “The Jiserians seem scattered and disorganized, and the silver ore ripe for the taking. We plan on an even greater plunder next time, if you’ll supply us with the jewels.”