Star Mage (Book 5)

by John Forrester

  Captain Cridd released a pleasant belly laugh and slapped Hestor on the shoulder. “Jewels we can manage! As long as you can keep supplying all this fine silver ore. We’ll do a righteous business together, Hestor. The gods love profit and wealth. May the sun shine soft and lazy, and the wind blow smoothly on our sails.” He turned and glanced at Master Goleth, his eyes turning hard and mistrustful.

  “This is Master Goleth,” Hestor said, and spread a nervous hand towards the Builder. “He seeks passage with The Emperor’s Revenge all the way to Carvina.”

  The pirate captain sneered at the Builder’s robes. “A wizard? And you dare show your face here amongst a nest of smugglers and pirates? What is a master of the Order of Rezel doing here? And why aren’t you aiming for Ishur?”

  Master Goleth bristled under the pirate’s words and raised a threatening finger at the captain. “Do I need to explain myself to a notorious brigand of the Melovian Sea?”

  Captain Cridd looked pleased at the Builder’s outburst. “You do, at least if you intend on boarding my ship. These are perilous times in the Empire. Talk of war has changed to talk of chaos and civil disruption.” The pirate snorted at Hestor. “Exactly the environment that allows smugglers and pirates to thrive. So, Master Builder, might you have any information to help fatten our purses?”

  “I’ve only just returned from a long journey and thought that you’d be able to supply me with more news.” Master Goleth had softened his voice, and the effect on the pirate was immediate.

  “As I suspected, a long journey.” The Captain peered at the purse hanging from the Builder’s waist. “A profitable one?”

  “Winning favor from Lord Aurellia is always profitable,” Goleth said, and chuckled at the look of horror on the pirate’s face.

  “L-l-lord Aurellia? But he’s gone, vanished from the world, that’s how all this chaos started. Seraka was burning the last time I visited…a mob had overthrown their rulers. Khael was tainted with a foul, somber mood. And my fellow captains returning from the west have told me grave stories of rioting and killing in Ishur, and a revolution in Ursula and Onair. The Jiserian Empire is crumbling from the inside, festering with maggots eating away at its organs. Only Carvina stands untarnished with the Emperor, the Stelan Knights, and the Order of the Dragons ruling strong.”

  “Now do you understand my desire to return to the capitol?” Master Goleth sighed. “I’ve no desire to join the fray in Ishur. After traveling so far with Lord Aurellia, I merely want to reunite with my family in Carvina.”

  Talis noticed the greed return to Captain Cridd’s eyes. “And what will you offer me in exchange for safe passage to the capitol?”

  “I’ll allow your ship to stay afloat. I’m sure you’d hate to see all that silver ore plunge to the bottom of the sea. Is that payment enough for you?”

  The Captain’s face darkened and he studied Talis and Mara, and once again returned his gaze to Master Goleth. He snapped his fingers and three hooded figures from the longboat suddenly stood and strode over to join him. Talis tensed as they aimed gnarled and burned fingers at them.

  “You don’t go threatening Captain Cridd, I come prepared with my own wizards. Now unless you want to discover what manner of horrors these wizards can unleash, I suggest you reconsider your response to my question. What will you offer me? A ride on The Emperor’s Revenge doesn’t come for free.”

  “What would you consider as acceptable payment?” Talis said, earning him a glare from Master Goleth and a grin from Captain Cridd.

  “The boy speaks! And a reasonable bargainer’s voice, the voice of nobility. And whom might you be, young master?” The bearded man seemed perplexed staring back and forth between Talis and Mara.

  “My name is Talis Storm, from Naru.”

  “Can this be true?” The captain slapped his leg and released a friendly laugh. “A son of the famous Storm family lineage alive after the destruction of Naru? A family known across the world for their once prosperous trading empire? I have dealt with his people many times in the past.”

  “You asked for news, Captain, and I am pleased to offer you some. Naru is rebuilt and her people restored from the plague of the undead. Saved from a spell cast from my own hand. I would be most grateful if you keep that news away from the Jiserian sorcerers and necromancers that have mauled my city. Perhaps we share a similar distaste?”

  Captain Cridd nodded and huffed in response. “I’d sooner deal with the devil than parlay with those demons.”

  “I thank you.” Talis gave the man a polite bow. “I have also asked Master Goleth to take young Mara and myself to the Royal Court of Carvina in the hopes of being granted an audience with the Emperor himself. We seek an alliance directly with Emperor Ghaalis.”

  “A wise move, young master. While the vermin rage and gnaw on each other in Ishur, you may find a receptive ear in the Emperor.” The Captain cleared his throat a few times and tapped at his chest. “You asked me what I wanted in exchange for safe passage… And now I see the way open for our mutually beneficial partnership. I’ll allow you and your friend to travel with me to Carvina in exchange for your vow of granting me exclusive sea trading rights for the Storm family business and all goods from Naru. Last word I heard from my fellow captains was your father was still alive and running his business from a small village along the Ursulan Coast. I’m sure you are pleased to discover that last bit of information.”

  Instead of retorting his knowledge of his family’s safety, Talis nodded and thanked the man. “You have my vow, Captain Cridd. All sea trading rights for the Storm family and goods from Naru are yours for a span of say ten years?”

  “Twenty.” Avarice gleamed in the pirate’s eyes at his quick retort.

  “Fifteen years, Captain, and we’ll agree at once. If you pass on the offer, so be it, I can arrange other means of transportation. But tell me, do you have enough ships to handle our trading requirements? My father does a brisk business.”

  The pirate spread his hands wide, his face displaying a wounded expression. “I have fifteen fine ships under my control, all spread across the known world. And after delivering this haul of silver ore to Carvina, I’ll add another three ships to my fleet. Fifteen years and you’ll shake on it and make a vow to the gods?”

  “I swear to the Goddess Nacrea to grant Captain Cridd fifteen years worth of sea trading rights with the Storm family and all goods to and from Naru.” Talis shook the pirate’s hand and smiled as the man swelled in excitement over the deal. The Captain beckoned them towards the longboat and Talis and Mara collected their packs and he allowed Mara to board first. Master Goleth sent Talis a grateful expression as he followed.

  Talis watched the Captain hand Hestor a heavy purse and the smuggler’s surprised face nodded in appreciation. “More jewels for your bribes. Keep the ore flowing, and bring us gold and platinum next time!”

  Mara leaned over and studied the sea as the sailors rowed the longboat out to the caravel. Colorful fish danced under the clear, emerald water, and she squealed as she spotted a sea turtle gliding along indignantly. Farther out the waves crested and fell hard, causing Mara to seize Talis’s arm for support. She glanced excitedly at the three-masted ship with a buxom figurehead of a goddess mounted high on the prow. The crew of thuggish, bare-chested pirates lowered the ladder, and as Talis climbed up after Mara, he noticed the motley crew wore a wide collection of necklaces made of teeth and bone and gold nuggets. Such a friendly bunch of pox-faced, toothy bastards, he thought.

  “Am I the only girl on this ship?” Mara whispered, and Talis glanced around at the lechery in the sailor’s eyes as they stared at her.

  “Get back to work, you lazy sacks of sow shit!” the Captain bellowed, and his wrathful expression sent the men scurrying across the deck and many climbed like spider monkeys up to the tops of the three masts. “Hoist the anchor and prepare to sail! I want you whore-loving whelps to move your bloody arses like I’m holding a sabre to it!”

  The deck
exploded in a fury of preparation for their voyage. Talis was amazed to see how quickly the crew worked in unison, and soon the caravel’s three sails popped under the wind and the ship swung around and out into the open sea. They were finally leaving, and Talis was glad at the prospect of journeying along the southern coast, but as he caught Mara staring wistfully at the smuggler’s cove, he knew their peaceful time along the beautiful beach was over.

  Carvina and the Emperor awaited them. If they could survive the passage around the notoriously dangerous Horn of Hardrin…

  8. THE SWEET SULTRY SEA

  Callith rarely let Nikulo sleep at night, instead choosing to torment him for hours, even after the blissful haze of sleep had washed over him. The voyage across the Nalgoran Desert and on to the Ursulan Coast had been one long hot, hazy dream filled with ale and vice. Not that he minded it. He was thankfully free of the pain, and the voices had stayed in the background, allowing him a respite from the madness.

  With the caravan parked on hill overlooking Ursula, he stared through the open canvas flap at the throng of whitewashed houses bathed in the soft glow of the rising sun. Fires dotted the central part of the city and he wondered what might have caused such blazes. Jolting him, the raging, maniacal voices of the Naemarians perked up in his mind like a guard dog that’s scented fresh meat. A ship, a ship, find a ship to Carvina! cried the voices. If the voices were an actual person, Nikulo would have slapped them countless times and shoved a heap of shit down their mouth. And set it on fire. He was so sick of hearing them speak to him unannounced.

  While frolicking with Callith and watching her sleep after she was spent, Nikulo had found himself with many quiet hours to think. He knew he’d acted badly by killing her husband, and he regretted it. And if he blindly chased off to Carvina, following the Naemarian’s commands, he’d surely find himself with little benefits to himself. More likely risk his life. The Naemarians weren’t interested in helping him; he knew they would consume his mind and body in pursuit of getting what they wanted: the Starwalker’s fragment.

  Even if there was a chance of finding the fragment again, Nikulo was determined to never again touch a fragment of such immense power. He simply wasn’t able to channel such a staggering force. What would happen to his body after the Naemarians and the fragment’s power possessed him so completely? Legends spoke of such creatures. Mist wraiths that roamed the land at night, searching for souls to devour.

  His mind always reached the same conclusion after thinking for hours and hours about his predicament. He had to somehow sever the mental link to the Naemarians. And find a way fast before he reached the springs to the north of Carvina and disappeared forever. Death and disintegration of your mind awaits you there, Nikulo told himself, and he was certain it was true. He rather hated the idea of losing his mind. The last few torturous days in Naru were bad enough, but to endure a lifetime of suffering?

  “Will you at least say goodbye before you leave?” Nikulo was surprised to hear Callith’s sleepy voice. Her frisky figure rose from the bed and she stretched and yawned in a delighted sigh. She’d been rather energetic in the middle of the night. Her pretty blue eyes stared at him with a rueful longing. Did it really matter if he left so soon for Carvina? Perhaps if he pretended to visit the harbor each day and inquired rudely about ships he would be rejected and the Naemarians placated. Since they no longer inhabited his body, he believed they had no way of reading his mind. But somehow they can sense where you are and what you’re doing, Nikulo had observed.

  “Of course I will,” he said, and gave her a lascivious grin that caused her lithe figure to tremble in a fit of giggles. She crossed slender arms over her small breasts in a sham display of modesty. That wasn’t how she acted last night, Nikulo thought. He found himself counting dwindling reasons to leave for Carvina.

  “Is it really necessary for us to wake?” She crawled over and stretched out her little hands to draw close the canvas flap, and she turned and displayed more of her fine figure to him. He inhaled the sweet scent of her skin and tried to rouse himself out of her entrancement, knowing they needed to make their way down to the docks. He was unsuccessful.

  “You’re going to kill me,” complained Nikulo, and without coyness she straddled him and seized his chubby cheeks.

  “If I’d wanted to kill you I would have done so days ago when I was still slightly angry at you.” She prodded playfully at the mound of flesh protecting his belly. “You’re so adorably soft.”

  Nikulo groaned and rolled his eyes, and tossed her aside. “Get dressed, there will be plenty of time for that later tonight.”

  Outside, the soothing sea breeze brought a wave of relief from the murderous heat that had plagued them all along their journey west. A low, wispy fog hung over the seaward side of the city, slowly melting away by the strengthening sun. With the light rising stronger now, he could see the dark stain of smoke and smoldering fires rimming various districts along the central part of Ursula. Was there civil unrest in the city?

  He ordered the slaves to ready the caravan for departure, and found the driver’s face obstinate.

  “There’s fighting in the city, lots of killing and anger.” The bald man fixed his eyes west. “I spoke to a man and his wife while you were sleeping. They were fleeing the city and he warned us to stay away. There is not only fighting but also disease and plague.”

  “Did the man say where he was going?” Nikulo grimaced as an explosion near the docks shot a plume of fire and smoke into the air.

  “North, to Ostreva. Though he doubted he could make it that far with a pregnant wife.”

  Another child born into a life of misery, Nikulo thought, and wondered what was the cause of the unrest. “Why are they fighting?”

  The bald slave looked at Nikulo as if he were an idiot. “Freedom from the Jiserian Empire. The man said it was the same in Onair and all the other smaller towns and villages south along the coast. Their sorcerers and necromancers are brutal. They kill the people and raise them from the dead to fight against their own family and friends. The man said only a few Jiserians remain here in the city, but they are powerful and cruel and stubbornly resist leaving the city.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Nikulo told the slave, and grinned at him. “Ready the caravans, I’ll deal with the Jiserians.” He pictured pustules bubbling over on the faces of Jiserian sorcerers and necromancers, and smiled at the idea of spewing poison across their ranks.

  Soon the caravan lumbered down the hillside and they passed motley groups of fleeing citizens, their clothes dirty and burned, and their faces stained with ash and soot. Several of the refugees tried to warn Nikulo about the dangers ahead, but he just waved them aside and said he was going to kill them all. This earned him more than a few mocking looks and contemptuous chortles. Callith, however, was proud of his bravery and seemed highly inclined to believe that he was capable of dealing with the danger.

  “How will you kill them, my lord?” She raised fawning eyes to him in admiration and expectation.

  “Not with a sword or dagger, though I’ve been trained in many weapons. I’ll fight magic with magic, and from what I can see, those Jiserians are primarily using fire magic and their necromantic arts. They’ll be unable to deal with my poisons.”

  The look of curious confusion came over her face. “Poison? Though you said you won’t be using a dagger.”

  Nikulo grinned and flourished his fingers, and the girl nodded in understanding. “Dark arts for dark times. We can’t have the city in turmoil, my little lark. Wouldn’t want you in danger.”

  Callith blossomed and blushed under the pet name he’d given her after their first night together when her voice had reached a melodic fury that stirred the slaves awake. “My lord is most thoughtful for my plight. Will you be wearing armor or wielding a shield?”

  She raised a good point. Depending on the number of enemy sorcerers to deal with, he might have to shield himself in some way against their fire attacks. Normally he had Ri
kar or Talis at his side, with flame bursting or wind gusting aside the enemy attacks. He was alone here and for a long moment he wondered where Talis and Rikar were and wished they were here to help him. Even the traitor Rikar? he asked himself, and nodded in response, believing his old friend and sparring companion tainted by the ring from the Underworld. More than that, the twisting of hatred and bitterness and denial warps the mind of Rikar. Nikulo missed him all the same.

  A surge of familiar pain struck along his temples and his body seized up in response. “Leave me alone!” he screamed, surprised at his own outburst. Callith wilted away at his rage, hurt and uncertainty on her lovely face.

  “What’s wrong?” she said, and he silenced her with a raised palm. He squeezed his eyes shut and the pain burgeoned to terrific heights as the words flowed into his mind.

  “Leave the city tonight for Carvina… There is a ship named the Fair Winds. Her captain will accept your bribe to board tonight after twilight falls. If you fail in this task, the pain will doubly return and madness will certainly follow.” Nikulo seethed in fury at the words, spoken in a new, clear voice this time, stronger and closer than the voices he’d heard in Naru.

  He exhaled in relief as the pain subsided and once again his mind was free of intrusive voices. The caravan wagon shook and swayed as it crossed a cobblestone bridge into Ursula. Scanning the fleeing citizens, he knew he had to do something to help them. Did it really matter if he died? Perhaps the pain of death was far less than the agony dealt to his mind by the Naemarians. And wouldn’t Talis make a prayer for him, and perform the Rites of Zagros to ensure his safe passage to the Fair Seas? If such a place even existed in the land of the Underworld. Perhaps it was all just a lie.

  “Was it the pain again?” Callith said, her soft hands landing on his shoulders.

  “I will kill them all, the enemies of the Ursulan people and the ones that might harm you.” He was amazed at the certainty and violence in his voice. “I will make you the savior of the city, and they will worship you as a goddess and protector of their citizens.”