Battle Mage Broken Empire

by Donald Wigboldy

  It had been a long time. He hadn't exaggerated to Yelon, except for his memory. Even so, the warlock easily moved south hurrying along even faster than his shrike wings could have propelled him. His vision was several times more powerful than his natural eyesight as well and magic allowed him to see things that a man couldn't see otherwise.

  The far side of the mountain was supposed to be what he was looking at for a building site, but his attention was drawn beyond that as he sensed something unusual. Beyond the mountain and valley the feel of powerful magic could be felt. It wasn't fresh, however, which made it even more interesting to the hunter. There was the feel of a battle fought and more curious he thought that he felt the power of a portal gate that wasn't made with familiar magic.

  Pulling his vision back to the other valley, Torva hated to admit that Yelon was probably correct. Water was there in the form of a stream, but the pine trees were the same and nothing else felt particularly improved versus the valley where they still stood. He wrapped around the mountain swiftly before returning his mind to his body and opened his eyes.

  "The next valley is about the same as this. We'll need to keep looking; but if you are too tired, I guess that I can call Holdy to bring us home."

  The other elf smiled at him and wagged his finger. "You can try to tease me into spending a few more hours flying to prove that I am stronger than that, but if you have already proved that the next valley is worthless; planting a marker here to begin the next push makes more sense. We can recoup our strength and get the necessary supplies for your search first. A night in our own beds would be appreciated also, though my bed isn't nearly as warm as yours is cousin.

  "Wizard Megannah certainly looks like an excellent bed warmer indeed. I would think that you would want to return to her even more than I want a night of comfort after spending a couple days in these frigid mountains."

  The thought of Megan's beautiful face and the "warmth" that she brought to their shared bed made Torva give in to the desire to return home. There was more to do and a lot of land to search for a potential new home if things turned undesirable in Ensolus, but he could spare a single night and call Holdy a bit earlier than needed, he supposed.

  "Fine, your argument is good enough, cousin. We can return home, but I definitely want to move forward. There is a strange feeling of magic in that direction. It isn't far, but night will be upon us by the time we can fly there."

  Torva removed the two stones given him by the apprentice. The marker was dropped into the snow. This valley was a potential building site, even with its drawbacks; one of the valleys around the mountain could work even so. He doubted that Master Lesolas and the other wizards would wish to just take his recommendation of the best site that he could find. They would certainly want to have choices. There hadn't been many so far, but Torva continued to mark them with his imbued stones just in case.

  Breaking the soft stone of the second imbued item from Holdy, the two men just had to wait for the boy to come find them. They stepped away from the marker and waited. To his surprise, it was more than half an hour before the gate opened inviting the hunters to enter without seeing Holdy until they found that they stood within a smaller classroom.

  "It took long enough," Yelon griped in complaint.

  Torva wanted to say the same, but it was the apprentice who frowned at them and questioned, "Did you want me to open a gate in the middle of the library for you? I thought this was supposed to be a secret mission; but if you want a score or more wizards and warlocks to know your business, next time I won't bother to find a quiet place to bring you back."

  Giving a warning look to his cousin, Torva turned back to Holdy and said, "Thank you for the discretion. I think my cousin was just tired of being cold. The mountains are covered in snow and there always seems to be a cold wind moving through them trying to chill a man.

  "He forgets that just because we had nothing to do, didn't mean that you could have known when the summons would come and been ready to open a gate immediately."

  "Did you at least find a good place for this sanctuary that Master Lesolas was talking about?" Holdy asked changing the subject slightly.

  Shrugging, the hunter replied, "Nothing too impressive, but there is a lot of land to cover yet. Even if we had separated, two men flying like shrikes would still need weeks to hope to cover most of them. We'll head back in the morning, if you can come back to the barracks then to send us once more."

  Holdy frowned and reminded the older men, "You might be better off meeting me somewhere else. An apprentice entering the wizard hunter barracks repeatedly might draw suspicion, don't you think? I can make a gate anywhere. It is only the marker that I need to use for precision, if you want to be sent to the same place to continue."

  "If we meet you north of the school's wall at the second bell, can you join us to start? I have an idea to save some time, when we return; if you're willing."

  Yelon looked surprised and said, "He's an apprentice. He should be willing to do whatever a senior warlock asks."

  Looking at his cousin, Torva reminded him, "If things require us to leave, I can imagine some other things might change as well. Holdy might be an apprentice, but he is instrumental in our finding a new home, Yelon. He might still be learning, but he is a surprisingly adept apprentice from what I can tell."

  The other elf didn't say anything aside from giving a slight shrug and Torva asked Holdy, "Have things changed at all since we have been gone?"

  "Wizard Megannah was sent to Litsarin with a team of hunters to speak with Lord Devolus. Master Hunter Zarl decided that the lord needed to know what was going on and went to try and bring him back to bring some order to Ensolus."

  Both hunters looked surprised. While Torva wondered about Megan's safety as well, both men wondered what Lord Devolus had done after learning of the emperor's death.

  "Did he return and put the generals in their place?" Yelon asked quickly.

  The boy shook his head. "I don't know a lot about it, but he hasn't come back yet. They went the afternoon after you went to Southwall, but Megannah was back by dinner without the lord. He's still in Litsarin for some reason."

  "He still fights the emperor's war, even though he is gone?" Torva mused aloud, but merely to hear the question for himself. The thought seemed strange. Surely Lord Devolus was the next most likely heir to the throne with the emperor's siblings missing. Maybe the lesser brother was in Litsarin making the lord's choice for him, but no one had seemed to know if the prince was there either. The princess was certainly missing and possibly kidnapped or killed based on the evidence left in her room.

  The lord's refusal to return to the city was perplexing. With no answers to be had from Holdy, who had merely heard a little of the mission in passing from his teacher; Torva led the others out of the small room and waited until dinner to find Megannah to speak with the woman about it more.

  He held Megan's hips as she sat atop him looking down on the man that she had apparently missed quite a bit from the way the beautiful woman had been making love to him since they had snuck away to her room. Her eyes had lit up when she had seen him coming into the dining hall. A shared facility for anyone with magic, the wizard hunters also had separate kitchens and dining areas in their fortresses; but it wasn't unusual to find both mingling together in the school common area. All the warlocks in the hunters had started in the school after all, and they had many friends who remained behind. Not every wizard in the school dormitories was an apprentice or teacher, which meant there were old friendships among those eating in the hall regularly from both groups.

  Whether those groups knew of his relationship with the pretty wizard, Torva neither worried about nor cared; but they didn't broadcast it with public displays of affection either. Megan had looked ready to grab hold of him to hug and kiss him even before they ate, but the woman had restrained herself as much as he had. Torva was less emotional than the younger wizard anyway, but her beautiful face was tempting him through dinn
er which they ate rather quickly.

  They had spoken little of their journeys. Both missions were meant to remain secretive. Only the right people were supposed to hear the results of them, even so once they were in the privacy of her room with wards to contain any sounds including talking, the two shared their news while they shared their bodies.

  "So Lord Devolus didn't seem to care about the fate of Ensolus?" he had questioned when Megan had told him her story. Since Megannah had been at all the meetings where the information had been relayed, the wizard knew everything from Lord Devolus' reaction to those of Hunt Master Zarl and the grand masters. Zarl was the most upset by the choice of the elven lord.

  "He seemed insulted that Avaraz had dared offer my services to bring him to Ensolus. Though he would likely be the type to hide any emotion except for his anger, the black eyed monster didn't seem to believe that the emperor was truly dead. He actually more or less said that he wouldn't do anything unless there was proof of the emperor and his siblings' deaths."

  "And only the emperor's ashes remain," he continued the thought. "No one can know for sure what happened to the princess and no one seems to know what happened to the emperor's bodyguard brother. Maybe he was one of the warlocks found among the dead, but no one is certain of it."

  She leaned forward touching her lips to his as Megan stretched slightly from her position atop him. Resting her bare body against his, the girl said, "If he isn't going to lead Ensolus, I am afraid what the others will do. Those generals continue to argue from what I have heard and Echolus appears ready to do what he can to keep them from taking the throne.

  "It has only been a short time and already the city seems ready to break."

  Torva sighed enjoying the feel of her. Their bodies seemed as made for each other as their hearts. He wasn't usually the sentimental type, but Megan was his weakness for sure.

  "Those are just the ones we know of so far," the hunter reminded her making Megan sit up again. Her hands rested on his bare chest and shoulders as her eyes looked thoughtful. Even so, her body moved against him as if her mind couldn't be taken completely away from what they were doing either.

  "General Corven might call on the orcs and other monsters being half orc as well. General Amelyer could call on the elven lords and humans both. Grand Master Echolus will try to bend the school and wizards to do as he wants, though maybe other wizards and warlocks will oppose him. Hunt Master Zarl won't try to take over; but without Lord Devolus guiding the hunters, who knows where they will set their allegiance?"

  "Zarl might try to resist them all or remain neutral," Torva considered how the highest leader in the city might think of all this. Zarl had already tried to bring the head of their order back to the city. Without Devolus choosing to come back to lead, would the hunt master try to interfere or sit back waiting for a true leader to come to the fore.

  "Tell me about the places you've seen," pleaded the girl. "I need something positive to think about, since my news brings only more worries."

  "I thought you were thinking about something more positive right now," he said with a smile enjoying both the view and her movements.

  Grinning at the man beneath her, the beauty replied, "Well, I need more than just this, though it is good."

  She practically collapsed onto him again, but her elbows rested on the bed on either side of his chest while her forearms draped over his shoulders. Her blonde hair glistened with the glints of red in it as it swept across his chest. "Now tell me of something pretty and how your search went."

  Looking at her face, he thought that was the prettiest thing he had seen since leaving Ensolus. Instead of reminding her of how beautiful she was, Torva said, "We found a couple possibilities, I suppose. Yelon certainly liked one of the valleys in the northern part of the mountains. It could work, but I fear that it is still too close to Garosh's fortress. If that has been infiltrated by Southwall as it seems from Cravaugh's report, I don't know that I can recommend it though it would do in almost every other way."

  "Did you enjoy flying?" she asked with an amused smile. "I have never been able to use one of the amulets before."

  "You haven't been outside the city since you were an apprentice have you?" he asked in turn.

  Shaking her head made her hair play across his chest in a tickling manner. "The trip to Litsarin was my first mission outside in a long while. Unfortunately it was also a lot more dangerous than anyone had planned. Our armies have given up a lot of ground to the enemy since we tried to reinforce them a few weeks ago."

  She shook her head again and patted his chest pointing at him with her right hand, "But that isn't something to make me smile either, so tell me of flying in the mountains."

  Torva did his best to tell of the snow covered mountains and valleys of the land called the Dimple Mountains by Southwall. Flying hadn't been for enjoyment, but recalling how it felt for her reminded him of the joy one could feel from using the enchanted amulets on their chains. It had been fun, he realized, even if the hunter had been more focused on finding a good place to build rather than the beauty of the landscape or the flight.

  As he concluded with their arrival at the last valley this afternoon, Torva added, "I rode the winds for the first time in a long while using air magic, since Yelon had apparently grown tired of flying by the end of the third day. Strangely I felt some magic like an old portal, not too old, but not fresh either. It felt different from ours or the ones made by Southwall, which feel the same as ours do.

  "It was a powerful spell, but I was too far from it to know more. I am also no expert on gate magic anyway."

  "Could Southwall be trying to use a different version of our portal magic? The grand masters seem to believe that Southwall stole our spells from one of our warlocks that might have been captured and coerced into teaching them. Maybe one of their wizards decided to try something different?"

  "I sensed a battle also. There were many kinds of magic used near the gate, I think, as if they fought someone as well."

  Frowning, the girl sat up again making him grunt with the new position. Megan didn't seem to notice his brief discomfort and asked with renewed curiosity, "Could someone else be using portal magic on Alus? Maybe someone new tried to come here like the emperor did long ago."

  "Well, when we go back, I hope to check it out further. There are many more mountains and valleys to search as well."

  Her lips turned pouty. "You're leaving again so soon?"

  "We need to find a place quickly before anyone notices a pair of wizard hunters missing for too long. Our answers for each side could fall apart if the grand masters or one of the other masters thinks to check with Zarl. It is better to find a good site quickly or we might miss our chance."

  "Litsarin was warm," the girl noted. "I might not even need a spell to keep my room warm, if we could live there."

  "The only problem is too many people are fighting for that island right now. A sanctuary isn't any good if it puts the children in more danger than remaining in Ensolus," he reminded her even as Torva wished that it could be so easy. Certainly exchanging one cold mountain home for another wasn't ideal. If they could live in a warm land, it would be preferable to the bitter cold that the northern continent offered much of the year.

  Again she pouted and said, "Well, that was short lived. I am sad again."

  Rolling, Torva reversed their positions and said, "Well, we can't have that now can we?"

  Megan giggled before their love making kept them from thinking of the next day and their troubles.

  Chapter 15- A Decision to Make

  Torva's hopes for a quick search of the Dimple Mountains proved more of a problem than originally planned. The hunter hadn't even been able to leave the following day. Megan had needed to tell Holdy not to meet up near the cave wall north of the school after all, since Torva was called by Captain Rorsted to meet him.

  That meeting had turned into a new task for the squad leader. Rorsted had another need for him to perform that day
. His squad was pulled together to join Hunt Master Zarl along with two other squads to journey to the emperor's spire. The only good thing that he could say came from going to the captain was that Torva was able to officially make Yelon part of his squad.

  His cousin's squad had been decimated in the ambush. Two other men had lived through it and were assigned to another squad; but since Torva had requested him, Yelon was permitted to join his team.

  Over thirty hunters strode over to the outer walls of the emperor's castle. Former emperor, Torva had to remind himself unfortunately.

  Yelon asked under his breath, "Is this a show of force for someone?"

  "If it is, I would guess that it is for the generals," he replied quietly.

  "You will let me in, you idiot troll," Zarl was yelling from the front of the column. "I am Hunt Master Zarl here to meet with General Amelyer. Now get out of my way or I will turn your hide into a pelt to throw in front of the fire when I am done with you!"

  The troll guards at the gates didn't seem to care if there were over thirty hunters in front of them. Some of the hunters were trolls as well, but the warlocks alone would likely be enough to destroy the handful of guards manning the gate. It was the only official entry into the spire, however; so the trolls blocking them were leaving no option for the hunt master should they continue to be an obstacle in front of him.

  "General Corven ordered no entries until..." the troll paused as if trying to remember his orders.

  "Until he said so," his partner said with a shrug.

  "Then send him word to tell you to let me in, you idiots," Zarl continued to insult the monstrous trolls in their special armor. It had gold trim and fancy swirls of decoration, but Torva guessed that the otherwise black armor was likely treated with the same coating his had as well. Special armor that absorbed most elemental attacks had been created a few years ago, but it was apparently difficult to make in the kinds of numbers needed to outfit all of the many soldiers of the empire. The wizard hunters and a few special units like those guarding the spire were the lucky few to be allowed to wear the armor.