“Ivar! Front! Enemies!”
Tyler didn’t dare look back at the Gothi, his mind focused on trying to control the horses while keeping an eye on the new enemies.
“What in Odin’s name? Ice drakes!”
Tyler could feel the unbelieving and shocked tone of the Gothi’s voice. The horses reached the ice patch and started sliding to and fro, trying to keep their footing. Out of the cover of his eye, Tyler saw the lead ice drake rider throw the short spear at him. It was white and as it got nearer, he saw it was made of ice.
For Tyler, it seemed as if the world slowed down. He could see his death coming. More by reflex, he held out his right hand, palm out, as if to signal stop to the incoming projectile directed at his chest. Amazingly, the ice spear melted fast, tip first, a short distance from his outstretched palm, until nothing was left.
All of sudden, the world returned to normal speed and by some miracle, they were already past the ice patch and were now turning towards the now visible town walls. Tyler didn’t look back, focusing on reaching safety. He could hear the boom of a fire ball exploding some distance behind the carriage. With the Gothi’s continued murmuring, he guessed the man was throwing fire balls at the ice drakes. Again, another loud explosion followed. Tyler could already see the opened town gate letting out a small column of mounted men. He headed straight towards it.
As he passed the racing column of mounted armored men, which he assumed to be town soldiers, he breathed a sigh of relief. In a short while, the carriage entered the town, with Tyler desperately trying to rein in the speeding horses.
Abruptly, the horses stopped. Unfortunately, the momentum threw the inexperienced Tyler through the air, past the horses and straight down into the very muddy ground. It was a very painful classic full body slam, with his arms and legs spread-eagled as he made his inglorious mud bath landing. He lost consciousness.
Tyler woke up in an unfamiliar bed. And in pain. Again.
This is starting to be a distressingly familiar experience, thought Tyler. He was naked and under a blanket of fur. Again. Though this time the fur blanket had an underlining of cloth. He looked around and the room appeared to be luxuriously appointed, compared to his room in the hunter’s house. On one side of the room, it had a stone wall with two small glass windows. It was still daylight outside, though it appeared to be late afternoon.
The rest of the walls looked to be the work of a master carpenter, with varnished wooden surfaces. The room’s furniture also looked well-made. A dressing table with a stool, two chairs around a small round table in the corner, a tall wardrobe cabinet, floor rugs, another small table beside the bed with a jug of water and several copper cups, and two big wooden chests lined up on a wall comprised the furnishings. His backpack was on top of one of the chests.
His entire body was again covered with a kind of balm and the wound dressing on his shoulder appeared to have been changed. But he was clean. Somebody did a wash and dry routine on him. Feeling out his body and extremities, he breathed a sigh of relief when nothing appeared to be broken. His all-important dangly bits also checked out. He also saw a set of clothes folded at the foot of the bed. The medallion necklace the Gothi gave him was still around his neck.
The pain was not extreme and he found he could move, albeit slowly. He changed into the clothes left for him, drank some water and sluggishly made his way to one of the windows. He could see part of the town laid out before him. It looked like an early medieval town. Some structures were of stone and wood and usually had two floors. Other structures appeared to be log style houses. Some had sod roofs while others had small wooden tiles. The streets gave the impression of being well-planned. Wide enough to accommodate a wagon and allow pedestrian flow on both sides. In the far distance, he could see the city walls.
Getting the water jug and a cup, he sat down on one of the chairs around the round wooden table. He then tried some stretching exercises to feel out his body. The left shoulder still gave him a problem because of the tender muscles around the healed wound.
After a while, he heard a knock on the door. Giving his permission, the door opened and the Gothi came in.
“How’s our patient?” boomed the Gothi, with a wide smile.
“Still a patient. I hope this doesn’t become a habit.”
“You did go flying into the ground. Thankfully, it was muddy enough that you didn’t break any bones. You lost consciousness so we had to carry you here, to my home.”
“How long was I out this time?”
“Not long. Only a few hours. But healing was done immediately. I daresay you are in better condition now than yesterday. Except for the stiffness of course. But that will go away sooner than you think.”
“I still feel like shit.”
The Gothi chortled. “Don’t mind it for now. At least, you’ll be safer here than in Eric’s house.”
“How many of our guards made it?”
“Unfortunately, only one. The remaining guards on horses were killed by the ice drakes and the other one on the carriage died of his arrow wound. We were too late to save him. The mercenary guild is furious.”
“Did we kill any of the ice drakes?”
“Only one. By fireball. The two others flew away when the town guard drew close.”
“I thought there were no bandits around?” Tyler remarked, his voice rising a bit.
“I thought so too. The information came from the town guard and was confirmed by the guild. We had no idea that things would turn out the way they did. I will deal with the guild tomorrow.”
The Gothi sat down on the other chair.
“But I believe those were not bandits,” he confessed in a low voice, “Bandits don’t have mages. Only mages have access to spells like the fireball we saw. My use of the spell is but a gift given by my benefactor but I am merely an adept. A principal adept yes, but I have yet to reach mageship. There are also no bandits using ice drakes. I imagine that there were actually three groups waiting for us, each with its own reasons. I saw the first ambushers fighting with the second group so that dismisses any possibility of them working together. The ice drakes are another matter altogether, I have not heard of any instance of them working with humans.”
“You have that many enemies?”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Havard. They were there for you, not me. The first group could have killed you with that first arrow but they didn’t. They wanted you alive, that much is clear. I guess the second group also wanted to capture you. Only the ice drake rider tried to kill you. You, not me.”
“Freaking shitstorm!” exclaimed Havard, “Why me? For God’s sake! I just got here!”
He had a suspicion that the ambushers were there for him but part of his mind wanted to believe that the Gothi was the target. Nobody wants to walk around with a bull’s eye painted on his back.
“That would have puzzled me also if I have not seen you stop that ice spear,” said the Gothi calmly.
“Just who are you, my friend,” the Gothi asked while looking at him directly, “you are from Earth, that much is certain. But as I said, those that come from Earth do not have any inborn magical ability. Even those from Adar have to use runes and other material channels to cast magical spells. But you stopped an ice spear without such means. What you only had was the medallion and its magical purpose is limited to what I described before.”
Tyler’s shoulders sagged.
“I don’t know, Andreas,” answered Tyler, the distress evident on his face making him forget the Gothi’s assumed name, “I mean, a few days ago, I was on my way home from a convention. I was a normal guy from Earth. Now, I find myself here. Then you tell me that I am using magic when I am supposed to be incapable of doing so. And that’s on top of what you have told me about this world.”
“I can see what you mean, Havard,” the Gothi answered in a serious tone, “You appear to be an anomaly. Though your pursuers may not know of your ability. They may be after you because of your Earth origin an
d the ice drake riders may put down what happened to rune magic. What you have shown is a deity ability. A major deity power. You may not know how to control or use it consciously but it is an ability supposedly beyond mortals. To a great many, the very idea is incomprehensible.”
The Gothi stopped and thought for a while. Tyler remained quiet in his depressed state, his bewilderment reflected in his mien.
“Havard.”
Tyler looked at the Gothi.
“I apologize for suggesting this but I have to know for sure. My benefactor also has to know the truth. Would you allow me to test your truthfulness in this matter?”
“Yes. I would also like to know if I am a freak anyway,” replied Tyler.
“You are not a freak, Havard. There are no freaks in this world. I will go get the runic test plate. I will be back quickly.”
When the Gothi came back, he placed a square piece of copper on the table. It had runic signs on it.
“This is a runic truth plate. I will place my right hand on the edge facing me and you do the same on your side. After you see me finish my incantation, you say “I don’t know why I can cast magic”. I think that’s a sufficiently general way of covering it.”
The two did the test. Tyler looked at the Gothi.
“Well?”
“You are telling the truth,” came the reply, “Unless you are powerful enough to overcome the embedded spell. Which I doubt.”
“Unfortunately, the result of this test raises more questions. I have to think about what to do next. Are you hungry?”
“I think I just lost my appetite.”
“Oh, come on. You’ll feel better when your belly is full. You are the first guest in my house anyway. Let me treat you like one.”
“You just finished constructing this house?”
“Of course. Been here for a little more than eight months, remember? I had to rush things. I had to stay in the temple before it was built. Drafty and uncomfortable living quarters, that temple.”
“How did you get the money to build it? Didn’t you just start your trading business?”
“As a Favored of the All-Father, I was given some… how would I refer to it… operating capital when I was instructed to take over the temple here. The funds also enabled me to start the business. Appearances have to be maintained anyway,” replied the Gothi as he smiled.
“Let’s go feast!” exclaimed Tyler’s host, “It may be only the two of us but then it means more for us!”
As they started to walk to the door, the Gothi turned and spoke to Tyler.
“A piece of advice, my friend. Enjoy the quiet times. I have a feeling things are going to be very interesting not only in Skaney but in Adar itself. And you may find yourself in the middle of the entire clusterfuck.”
CHAPTER LORE:
Bileyg - Norse mythology. One of the names of Odin. Meaning "Flashing/Wavering Eye."
Sutr - Norse mythology. Believed to be the primordial giant of fire. A jotunn.
CHAPTER IV
Mischief in Person
Morning found Tyler in the main hall of the house holding a scroll and a pouch of money. Given to him by a servant after his breakfast. It was obvious that the Gothi believed in continuing the Earth tradition of having three square meals a day. A welcome change, thought Tyler, and a better change would be if they could discover coffee or even tea. The calming effects of healing are well and good but he could do with some caffeine to start his day. Or his afternoon. If they did discover coffee, he’d be the first to open Adar’s version of Starbucks.
The evening meal was good, really good. He pigged out despite continued warnings and comments from the priest. The hell with his body’s ability to absorb solid food, he had been suffering hunger pangs since he woke up in Eric’s house. Being sated and full was a wonderful feeling. He also slept well. Reassured by the Gothi’s statement that the house was protected by runic enchantments stronger than those found in the hunter’s house. He did learn more during last night’s free flowing discussion. Of course, the priest also started learning about the Earth of 2016.
He learned that the Gothi’s temple was beside the house, forming a religious complex with three primary deities – Odin, Thor, and Frey. In Nordic belief, they are the King, the Warrior, and the Farmer. Other Vanir and Aesir deities were also worshiped in the temple but those three are the stars of the show, with Odin, of course, being the top dog. He also learned that Odin is also the god of magic, not only of wisdom and learning. It did make sense as magical practice in Adar was a learned skill, the level of achievable learning dictated by one’s magical affinity.
Trade and banking seem to underdeveloped. Trading, mercenary, and other guilds were territorial in scope. Trading guilds exist but not found in every civilization. In this way, civilizations came to have some nascent form of financial and business arrangements between them.
But not all civilizations were open to contact and trade with others. Some were xenophobic and warlike. Others were bent on conquest. Some civilizations were limited to a few cities or are a grouping of city-states. Others had a more traditional approach to ruling, organized as kingdoms. Some considered themselves as empires. Other humans remain as tribes, nomadic or otherwise, inhabiting the more inaccessible areas of Adar. But the limited population of this world, as compared to Earth, together with the immense distances involved have helped foster an insular outlook among such cultures.
On military innovations, Adar remained at the sword and shield stage. Tyler was not surprised. The deific proscription against non-magical scientific research made sure of that. But he admitted that the use of magic added a new dimension to warfare. The different ways by which cultures harness magical energies made matters more interesting. Iron was the primary material of weaponry. The lore of iron or steel being able to counter magical barriers and affect magical entities held true in Adar, crossing cultural and mythological boundaries. Though steel, as was in early Earth history, was both expensive and very difficult to forge.
On the source of magic, its nature and origins perplexed the Gothi. He did explain some theories about it. One was that the magic was granted by the gods. Another was that magic was a world resource peculiar to Adar. Still another theory was magic was creation energy left over when Adar was created.
But magic was universally practiced. Nobody got burned at the stake for being a magic practitioner. It’s when a magic practitioner starts casting hexes and curses against the general population or important people when things start to get ugly. Being a follower of a magical system at war with another culture would also grant bonfire privileges, usually after being hung, beheaded, quartered or other such entertainment for the masses.
Yet wars usually try to avoid pogroms and massacres of civilians. Except for a general rule about killing off religious leaders and magical practitioners of a different religious belief. The Gothi explained that it had to do with the belief system. A living population still offered the possibility of a change in religious affiliation. If successful, it increases the base of power of the winning deity or pantheon.
The inherent, though to some extent, rational, brutality practiced in Adar amazed and startled Tyler. It reinforced his conviction that he had to step carefully in this nightmare of contrasting and in many instances, adversarial, cultural beliefs and practices. With his newfound yet unexplained and disconcerting magical ability, the danger of becoming a fiery entertainment for the masses exponentially increased.
Tyler sighed as he remembered last night’s talks. The new knowledge and possible implications swirling through his head. Trying to forget such thoughts for the time being, he broke open the wax seal of the scroll and read it. It was a letter from the Gothi. Written in English, it informed him that the priest will be busy that morning, having to attend to the mercenary guild and other personal matters. Encouraged to explore the town, the pouch was his spending money. The merchant district was highly recommended as well as two named taverns and a brothel, if he was
interested.
The Accidental Archmage: Book One - Ragnarok Rising (MOBI EDITION) Page 8
