The new halls were larger now and appeared much like that of a castle with its squared stone construction. Iron bound doors sealing rooms, where they were closed, were nearly regal compared to the frail wooden frames down in the depths of the mountain, if the distant rooms even bothered to have doors. Torches were uniformly spaced and lit while a strong current circulated drawing off the smoke through stone slits formed in the ceiling.
Sebastian wondered how close to the surface he was now.
The thought was interrupted with a start as the door at the end of the hall was thrown open. The source was on the move and it was headed his way. The tunnel suddenly felt very small. Invisible or not, the mage felt extremely vulnerable where he stood in the stone hall.
Moving for the nearest open door as quick as he dared, Sebastian shot into the room even as he kept his eyes on the far doorway. Several orc guards seemed to scurry away like insects before the power behind them. Nervousness spread like wildfire before the presence. The next four ebony and leather clad men also bore the scent of dark magic. The emperor had many wizards of varying power serving him. These wizards were to be feared, but even they paled before the power still hidden within the room. Could the Dark One himself be here so far from his fortress in the north?
Then Sebastian saw him. Towering over the mages, a giant of a man with silver hair strode through the doorway. Like a black hearted version of the Grimnal of legend, the man strode like a god among men. Even the four creatures trailing him lacked the raw darkness of the giant.
The last four consisted of four men. Two bore shadowed eyes. Like pits of darkness, the wraiths’ eyes stared at their master’s back guarding him despite the stone mountain surrounding them. The other two looked rough and smelled of wolves. Dressed in simple, loose brown clothing, their hair hung long and wildly. They weren’t truly dirty and yet they smelled of the earth. Had they been the only creatures here, the falcon might have worried over them more, but his eyes kept pulling towards the giant.
Why was the feeling of the Grimnal so strong? It wasn’t like he had ever seen the man in his life. In fact, he knew of not one soul that had seen the legendary figure in decades, though no one could say that they had heard of him dying either. The immortal of more than a thousand years, who had helped lead much of the North Continent for most of that millennium, had simply vanished some time after the cataclysm. Had he been captured by the emperor and changed into this being before him, or was there some other connection between the two?
His friend, Palose, had been turned into a creature much like the wraiths here. A former battle mage and true hero of Southwall to Sebastian’s mind, the young man had died only to be resurrected as a shadow of the person he once was and placed in the heart of Windmeer to bring one of the emperor’s armies into the castle to try and destroy it. Had something like that happened to the unkillable and immortal Grimnal?
“How did Southwall’s wizards find our fortress?” the giant snapped backhanding an orc too slow to escape the party’s way.
The falcon trailed the group quietly watching and analyzing the giant and his entourage. His curiosity had led him to them and now they were in turn leading him to the others, but that wasn’t good for any of them, he thought. Had he already lost his chance to save them from his need to discover this disturbing man of power and darkness?
Another orc who was dressed finer than his fellows fell in alongside the giant. The creature’s lieutenants gave the rest of the powerful men a wide berth as their leader moved closer to the giant. If punishment was too fall on their superior, they hoped that maybe being out of easy reach would spare them the same.
The creature answered the giant in a language that Sebastian could not follow, but the giant frowned angrily and replied. “What do you mean you have no idea? You tell me that you captured three wizards and that you lost another over the side of a cliff. But how did they know to come here?” He raised a hand looking ready to smite the orc a moment before lowering the hand once more. “You had better hope that you are right that he is dead. If even one of them escapes to find help, our operation will be forfeit and the emperor will not be lenient on those who have failed him.” The giant spared a sidewise glance at the lesser orcs and they cringed. “It doesn’t matter how many of these creatures you lead either. They won’t be enough to save you from his wrath, commander.
“I will interrogate these wizards for you, but your men had better find the other wizard’s remains. If you are wrong, I will break your neck myself!”
On the inside, Sebastian cringed as well. The giant was going to interrogate the others. Great. It was bad enough that the orcs might find enough of his path into the crevasse and heighten their search for him within the stone, but the very evil that was most likely to kill his team was headed straight for them. His mind raced for a solution, but he feared that it was already too late for his allies.
He followed the Emperor’s men as they entered a large room furnished with tables and tools that looked designed for just one thing, pain. The implements not just for mere discomfort but pain and torture could be had at a mere reach of the hand. Cells with iron bars lined the sides of the room and orcs and goblins of varying degrees of wear on their bodies and faces could be seen scrambling into the furthest corners of their chambers. The evil power entering the room caused a few to start whimpering uncontrollably, to which they received snaps of whips in their direction from the burly guards standing nearest them.
Sebastian had a feeling that the guards wanted them quiet more to avoid drawing attention their way than to keep the creatures quiet for the prisoners’ safety. He could smell fear fill the room within as the orcs, goblins and men all watched this giant and his dark entourage striding into the torture chamber.
Even the eyes of his own team widened in surprise and even a touch of fear could be seen in Rilena and Nereith’s faces. Druick bound in chains and kneeling on the floor with the other two somehow found a way to instill stone into his face. He showed nothing of the fear that he may have felt, but the falcon thought he could smell it even on the brave wizard with his heightened senses. It wouldn’t surprise the mage if he was at least a bit frightened. His team had no idea Sebastian was here and even he had no idea how he could free them from what was coming. Even a healthy battle mage had little hope of fighting a mountain full of the Dark One’s forces, and he was just one wounded man, but his mind kept grasping for ideas.
The mizard slid to the side of the room and continued to let the shadows protect him as he waited for what he feared would happen.
“Wizards of Southwall,” the giant sniffed in disdain. “You let mere orcs capture you. This does not bode well for your people, if their best and most powerful are humbled by mere orcs and their tactics.”
The wraiths chuckled and their voices were like the rasp of dead leaves on stone. The wolf like men sneered in equal amusement with their fellows and the mage could feel his friends’ hearts sink.
The words weren’t true, Bas thought. Orcs may not be the Emperor’s most powerful forces, but they were numerous and they had proven resourceful with their tactics through out the years. Also he and the others had inflicted good damage on the beasts despite the ambush, before the others had been brought down. It was merely an ambush that had gone well. If it had been different, if the wizards and mages had set the trap, then the orcs of the same number would be the ones humbled, he felt certain.
He set the thoughts angrily behind him. This wasn’t the time to let the giant’s words distract him with anger. What was he going to do, jump out and try and kill a handful of creatures just to prove a battle mage could do more?
“Who are you?” Druick’s voice asked directly. Despite the hoarseness caused by too little water since his capture, the wizard sounded strong.
The giant snorted even as the other dark creatures all bristled stiffly and appeared ready to answer his question with pain. “Though I have no need to answer such questions from one like you, I suppose I
can answer this much. I am Garosh. My title is none of your business, but suffice it to say that I know the Emperor well,” he bragged.
Sebastian nodded. With such power, arrogance was bred. With the wizard in chains, the giant had little enough to fear from the man, so he played with him until his amusement would eventually fade. The mage had a feeling that the giant had few enough to brag too normally. A Southwall wizard was probably just that big of a temptation for the fellow to miss.
“Now I have answered your question so it is now time for you to answer mine. How did you and your people find our fortress? We hid it well and yet here you are? How many know of this place, wizard?”
Druick’s eyes betrayed nothing even though he knew his resistance would lead down a dark path. “We found the altar and followed your orcs, that is all there is to it.” It was mostly truth; an easy way to lie was to mix truth in as best possible. The mage had a feeling that Druick might have a certain skill at deceiving despite not wearing the black and silver robes of a diplomat wizard. His natural quiet often led to Sebastian noting his eyes and they were always looking about, calculating perhaps.
“Tell me more. This was no accident. The altar is far enough away from your main paths and it is winter besides. You were sent out here, weren’t you?” There was a new edge to the giant’s words and as he finished magic seemed to trickle from his hands to Nerieth. Like barbwire, the strands wrapped around her legs and squeezed. The barbs of magic tightened with the strands and the girl started to scream in pain. Druick’s eyes betrayed a bit of anger at the attack on his apprentice. It was the first emotion he had betrayed and it was exactly what Garosh wanted. “You are hiding something wizard and I won’t let up until I get the answers I seek. You may be able to take the pain of this magic and even die without giving up your secrets, but can you watch the girl die as well?”
“Bastard,” Druick said quietly through gritted teeth that ground with each cry of his student.
Garosh tightened his hand again and Nereith screamed even louder. A second strand began to snake its way towards Rilena. Sebastian cringed even as the woman’s eyes widened in horror. Rilena was skilled enough to be a falcon, but torture on a girl of nineteen was asking a lot of someone so young.
“How about this one? Perhaps you care more for her?” the dark brown eyes locked on Druick even as the magic wound its way up Rilena’s legs to her waist and higher. The girl was breathing hard with worry.
Sebastian didn’t want to watch what was about to happen to his friend. It was time to act, but he couldn’t do so directly.
He noticed that the door had remained open as the enemy had entered. Perhaps they wanted the rest of the creatures in the fortress to hear the cries as a reminder to obey? Whatever the reason, the mage used the abandoned doorway to escape the room as quickly as he could. The mizard realized that he needed to cause a distraction and fast.
The enemy didn’t know how many scouts from Southwall there truly were or how much they knew of this fortress. It was time to turn that to his advantage, if he was going to find a way to free the others. A plan had begun to come to mind and it involved old magic, a magic that the wizard Druick would probably be proud to see used, even if only by a battle mage.
Chapter 10- An Acorn Grows
Sebastian moved swiftly through the corridors and unseen by all the creatures roaming the halls as his spell held strong. Following his nose, the mage went for an area near their kitchens. Not of a caliber to the kitchens of Falcon’s Keep or any of the castles and schools he had lived in, it still served Sebastian’s purposes as he found a burlap sack of corrinuts. Large nuts that could be found from the numerous corrin trees found on North Continent, they were often used for horse feed after the northlanders crushed them to pulp and added the mulch to wheat and other grains.
Whether the orcs and goblins could simply eat them raw, he neither knew nor cared. He was a battle mage and nuts like these had held some unique qualities for wizards throughout the centuries. Having life stored dormant inside them, these nuts could also be used for storing magic. The mage found a small store room and slipped inside letting his concealing spell lapse. He wouldn’t be able to hide while doing the next part.
Taking a prapple, the mage bit deep letting the juices of the fruit slide down his throat. A popular fruit, Sebastian was glad the creatures at least kept some food that he would eat. The mage knew he would need his strength and he had eaten very little since leaving the ambassador’s convoy. He wasn’t even sure how long ago that had been, but it was a concern for another time.
Keeping his voice lowered, the mage began. “Spark,” he ordered setting the spell. The word was simple enough. A spark of his magic entered the nut binding itself inside. Repeating the word and the process dozens of times, Sebastian soon had a good supply of the endowed shells.
Eating more of the fruit that he had stolen to try and replace some of his energy, the battle mage reassumed the stealth spell. Slinking out of the storage closet, he quickly began placing the little corrinuts in various rooms below the area the others were being tortured in. He had released his heightened senses while using the spark spell, but after recasting the spell once more, the mage used it to scout for orcs and the others roaming this stone fortress. He knew that he couldn’t afford to get caught now.
Every so often his ears caught the far off screams of the girls. Garosh was still torturing them as he tried to break Druick. The young man’s heart faltered for but a moment. Knowing his plan, Sebastian’s resolve remained strong. This would work and their suffering would be over soon. He would save them!
Something new caught his hearing. A smell tickled his nostrils and it caused the mage to worry. Moving into an empty room, the falcon set a new trap.
A shape slunk quietly to the doorway. The smell of wolf and earth was musty to his senses. The creature must have sensed him as well as it sprang into the room ready to try and catch him unawares.
The sudden lunge had nearly thrown off his trap. The strange man’s appearance nearly saved it from his attack as well. The scruffy man was half wolf and half hunched over as it entered the room. With a head like a wolf and covered in an old, ratty pelt, claws and teeth of a wild animal were bared looking for the man it smelled within that did not belong.
Sebastian had to lunge after the wolf to match its movement to execute his plan. An execution it was too. “Air lance!” he ordered with his hands held to either side of the wolf’s head. The creature started to twist to face him with its teeth bared. A snarl started up its throat, but the sound never finished as the magical lance sprung between the mage’s hands. Crossing from hand to hand with the wolf’s head between them, the lance speared through its temples with a quiet spurt of blood.
The body, suddenly deprived of direction, went limp in front of Sebastian and began to change even as it fell. The look of the wolf left and the man with bleeding temples took its place on the floor.
Surprise came over the mage. He had killed the emperor’s wolf men before and never had they changed like this. They were blends of man and wolf, bound together by magic. This was new. A man that could shift between wolf and back to man. Had he more time, the mage would’ve wished to study him more, but he had friends to save and a strangeness of magic was a minor thought compared to them.
Stashing the body quickly behind some sacks and boxes, he returned his stealth prepared to go save his allies.
Crouched several feet from the torture chamber, Sebastian cringed as Nerieth screamed once more. Each scream made him hope even harder that his plan would work. If he could just make enough of a distraction to draw them off, and then free his companions, they might have a chance. Though he was still unsure how they would make it through the tunnels to freedom with all the orcs and goblins filling the mountain, he remained hopeful. Perhaps they would be able to sneak past as he had. Whatever the chance it would be, it was still more than they would have if the first part didn’t work.
A scream from Rilena
strengthened his resolve and he clung to his magic. Tiny tendrils of his power still linked him to the charged corrinuts hidden around the inner tunnels and like a puppeteer; the mizard sent the command to a third of their number.
A chain of small explosions could be felt and heard throughout the subterranean fortress. Shouts of confusion were soon heard both near and far. Boots running in disarray could even be heard from where the mage stood pressed to the wall, and from the torture chamber were added a series of curses. Garosh’s bellowed orders came muffled from within beyond the closed door. Shouts and the sounds of running feet could be heard approaching his tunnel from within the room.
In a sudden rush, the doors crashed open spilling several orcs led by two of the wraiths and the wolf men. Hastily searching for the source of the explosions, they never noticed the mage hidden so close to their prisoners. The distance also served to confuse whether the noise was that of a cave in as opposed to his series of explosions, so the creatures were half frantic as they sought the source of the commotion.
Aftershocks of collapsing tunnels continued to shake the earth further masking his involvement, but the mage decided to trigger a few more of the nuts where the chaos had not yet spread. The new explosions drew out the remaining orcs and Garosh himself.
“This way, my lord,” one of the wraiths gestured towards the giant as they followed the orc commander and his lieutenants. “It sounds like the deepest tunnels that haven’t been shored up as strongly as these, have collapsed.”
Growling at the wraith’s death rattle words, Garosh looked ready to throttle the creature. “I know what it sounds like Carianic. I can hear and feel the tremors, fool.
Battle Mage: Winter's Edge Page 13
