Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus)

by Wigboldy Jr, Donald

  “I’m not certain there are any, of course, because the only thing less accurate is someone presuming they know everything when they do not.

  “I can also say that I can not answer why your leaders would be so cruel as to send my former prisoners to watch over me,” the man stated obviously reading the mood of those he had mistreated over a month earlier. “Admittedly, I have my guesses. There is the obvious idea of getting over what has happened by making you confront the one you hate, though that sounds more like something we would do in Ensolus. You have all implied that you are more civilized than that, so that can’t be right.

  “Then there is the possibility that I am lying and what better way to get your revenge than getting to try and kill me. There are more possibilities, but those seem most likely.”

  The man tossed the book onto his bed before clapping his hands together in one large clap of thunder, which made her wince. “Well, since I have been good, I was told that I get to go outside, if I want. Though this is a nicer room than I had in that mountain fort, I would like the exercise.

  “Word has it that some of the wizards are dueling this morning. They were preparing for some major competition from what I hear. If it is at all possible, I would love to see this.”

  Druick answered as the leader of this shift, “Those going to the capitol have already left to make the trip in time. There may still be wizards in the courtyard testing their skills. It has become more popular with the advent of this tournament.”

  Looking preoccupied as he looked at the bricks making up the upper part of the wall, the giant said dolefully, “That sounds like something I would have love to have seen, perhaps one day Ensolus and Southwall will be on such terms that we can host such an event for you.”

  “Maybe if the emperor dies,” Rilena stated curtly. “As long as he is alive or Southwall exists for him to hate, I would guess that we will never get along. Our people wouldn’t feel safe visiting your land and I can assume the same can be said for yours.”

  The giant nodded with a sigh and she almost believed the sincerity of the man. If he wanted peace between the two sides, then maybe this sudden surrender was part of his attempt to change things, but she still feared it was something else. He took a large jacket from a hook pulling it onto his body.

  Two of the soldiers put their hands on the door handles; while one of the two rapped on the door to let those outside know that they were coming out. Four more soldiers stood outside waiting to escort Garosh through the castle. This trip had been scheduled and the men led the giant through the twisting, turning hallways and down several stairways before finding a set of doors which led outside.

  Feeling the cold on her face, Rilena wondered when winter would finally relent and let the warm seasons take back the land for awhile. The sunlight was a slight surprise, after being inside the castle walls for a few days as well as having gray clouds overhead much of the time making Windmeer feel even gloomier. Despite the cold air, the sunlight actually managed to warm the mage’s face until a stray breeze struck her cheeks reminding Rilena of winter’s hold once more.

  The sounds of magical combat came to her ears even as Rilena’s eyes adjusted to the brightness outside. Though those chosen to represent Windmeer had already left for Hala almost a week earlier, the wizards remaining behind had enjoyed the competition enough to continue their matches despite no longer having the chance to go to the capitol for the tournament. Unlike training exercises, the wizard duels involved using whatever combat spells they could come up with and either a stone dummy that they protected or additional wizards using their magic to keep the combatants and spectators safe.

  While the duelists preferred the latter type of competition, not every match had extra wizards to cover the field and competitors involved. It took at least two defensive casters for each wizard involved, so four total were needed minimum. Still whether putting themselves into the heart of the fight or using a stand in, stone dummy, the magical battles had been becoming increasingly more competitive among the duelists.

  The current battle involved water against fire as men in red and blue faced off using their respective spells. It was one of the things that had been keeping the duelists coming, the rivalry between schools of magic made for the best matches it seemed. Water versus fire, wind versus earth, nature against them all, the five main schools of combat magic were constantly trying to prove who truly was the best. Fire wizards had always considered their school the number one in combat casters, but each had proven strong over the last few weeks especially.

  Fireballs, spinning blasts of flame, constructs that resembled monsters and more confronted water, ice and snow from the water duelist. Winter added to a water wizard’s bag of tricks and made them more effective, while a fire wizard was only hampered by rain and falling snow. The clear sky meant neither wizard had an advantage, but even walking up halfway through the battle, the mage could tell that the fire caster was in charge of this fight.

  When finally fire conquered water, the two wizards looked exhausted. The two were evenly matched and Rilena gathered that the men had fought each other often the last few weeks with the pool of wizards wishing to duel limited in number. These rivals were destined to challenge each other as long as they were stationed at Windmeer, but the return of the army from the mountains might bring some new blood into the mix again.

  “Your wizards are indeed a civilized bunch, aren’t they?” Garosh stated more than questioned as the next set of wizards prepared the field for their duel.

  The tall nature wizard Druick answered the giant who dwarfed him, “Wizards aren’t an unlimited species, so the duels were created as a way to use their full strength without worrying over needless deaths. I would assume that Ensolus would have exercised a similar amount of safety. Your wizards are seen rarely enough to believe that yours are more numerous than ours.”

  Chuckling in response, Garosh said, “You would think that, wouldn’t you? The emperor lets you see what he wants you to see. While I have no idea of Southwall’s combat strength, Ensolus alone has enough to unite in a single attack that could break through the wall if they’re given enough time.”

  Nereith his apprentice sniffed in disdain as she rebuffed his claim, “Any group of wizards, if given time, can move mountains, giant. Such a statement is hardly a thing to be feared.”

  “True,” he responded with a nod. “Still I can see that your people do not know the power of the Wizard Hunters yet. Has anyone escaped to talk of the warlocks in black armor yet?”

  “Wizard Hunters?” voices echoed from around Garosh even drawing eyes from those not with their group. Everyone in Windmeer knew of the giant anyway, so it was just a matter of time before they drew attention.

  “Ensolus has been working on armor that will make your best magic useless. You saw part of that in the attack on the fortress. Fires were put out or unable to pass a point of darkness. Why do you think we waited for your last attack in the night? Darkness magic has become certain warlocks’ best spells to use against your wizards,” Garosh stated seeming somewhere between being arrogant and just informative.

  Rilena moved towards the giant aggressively forgetting her qualms about their past and ordered, “If you truly are here to help us and want our help in return, then teach us this magic and how to defeat it. It would be a real step towards my believing that you aren’t simply up to something.”

  She had pulled no punches, but Garosh gave a shrug before sighing, “I’m afraid that for all my power, I am an elementalist and can’t perform the darkness magic either. I can tell you that a strong enough light spell can break a night shield, though I am not aware of a weakness in the Wizard Hunter’s new armor. It has barely been battle tested, but I haven’t heard of it being weakened in combat either.”

  Druick moved in on the conversation and asked a little less intensely than the mage, “You may not be able to perform the night shield, but surely you know how to conjure one in theory. Like Rilena said, teachin
g that spell to make things more even would do a lot to prove that you aren’t here for another reason.”

  Chuckling at the continued belief that he was a prisoner for ulterior motives, Garosh answered, “I can write down the spell as best I remember it for any of your wizards to try. As to other reasons, I am here for two: to end that needless bloodshed on the mountain and to begin a dialogue with your leaders that may lead to a peaceful coexistence with my people in the mountain.

  “I thought that was obvious already, but if knowing the shield spell will help to build a better relationship with Southwall I am more than willing to help as best I can.”

  Rilena heard his words and they seemed to sway some of the others to at least give him a chance, but the mage still felt that there was a dishonesty to the giant. Perhaps if the wizards could use his spell, she might feel less suspicious, but the mage doubted that a single good act could remove that wary feeling so easily.

  During the morning duels, Garosh suddenly seemed to have arrived at Rilena’s side as if he had crossed the distance between them without a single step. “You are guarded about me and that is understandable, but you will come to see that I am not the enemy. We are at war, but my battle against your people is over save to fight to win them over to build a new alliance.”

  “Why are you trying to create this alliance all of a sudden? Your creatures ambushed and harried our progress all the way to the mountain. If you truly wanted peace, you could have simply waited until we reached the fortress and sued for peace,” Rilena argued as he loomed over her. As a guard, she felt insignificant beside this man. He had said he couldn’t decipher a spell, but his power was so great that she could barely believe that. Admittedly not every wizard could comprehend every spell, or so the wizards she had known had always alleged.

  Taking a moment as if he watched the latest duel and was preoccupied, Garosh finally said without looking at the woman, “Not everyone could be convinced that it would be better to avoid the fight to try and join you. Even at the end, there were many who were unsure of what I was going to do. I just pray that my subordinates who understood what I was doing and wanted done actually performed the tasks as I had asked before leaving for Windmeer.

  “The creatures created by the emperor are often willful without a strong presence guiding them closely. The werelions and werewolves are especially dangerous if left unsupervised. More feral than a simple orc or goblin, which were bred to follow, like the wolves and mountain lions they share a bloodline with, the beasts are like wild animals barely able to be held in check. Unfortunately releasing those to harass an invading army turned more bloody than hoped, but what is done is done,” he said spreading his hands. “We can only act on the present and our future.”

  “That’s easier for you to say, when you are the one who did the evil that needs forgiving,” complained the mage unconsciously pushing out her lower lip in a pout before catching herself. Frowning both against his words and her own slip, Rilena avoided looking up at the towering giant to give him any satisfaction.

  “It is easier for me to ask forgiveness, but at least when I tried to coerce your wizard into telling me information I had a spell that hurt without doing any damage. I would have hated ruining such beautiful women needlessly. You know that the pain was mostly in your head? The healers say this spell affects the nerves telling your mind that you are in pain, but the flesh actually remains virtually unharmed.”

  Glancing at the man from the corner of her eye, she asked, “Does that mean you can use a healer’s spell or was it a trick on the mind?”

  “They say that the emperor has great powers over the mind. He used his magic to dominate his followers in the old world and bound them to him. Perhaps there are traces of that ability in me, but I was his experiment. He placed a portion of his power in me as I was born giving me magical strength and skill, but I am his reject, a broken toy. What I have is a fraction of the emperor’s power and ability. Like I said before, my strength lies in the straightforward magic like fire, water, air and earth. The mind and healing are as hard for me as most.”

  Sniffing as if disappointed, Elzen stated, “A big man like you with all that power and you can’t even heal. I have a fraction of your magic, but at least I can heal my friends of their wounds. Of course, that begs the question do you have any friends, Garosh?”

  With a big sigh, he answered surprisingly quickly, “None that are alive, I think.”

  The two mages exchanged a glance in confusion at such a reply, but the giant didn’t elaborate and soon the detail moved back inside Windmeer for lunch.

  Chapter 21- Twins and Pins

  After the morning training session for Lanquer and his other students, Palose took the southern route heading east with Sylvaine at his side. Turless had looked unsure of which way to go until reminded of his need to visit the training courtyard for the magic users. The boy had noticed Lanquer and Acheri taking the route which would lead them into the emperor’s citadel without changing their path, while the other two walked south leaving Turless feeling like a fifth wheel.

  Palose would have let his student join him on his walk, but it was an important day today as he was less than a mile from the Cadhalla River doing his daily walks to the east in Southwall. The weather been decent for a couple days and some of the snow had even melted in places making his walks easier so he had been covering more miles each day.

  “So the Cadhalla River is today?” Sylvaine asked rhetorically trying to break up the silence as they walked. It was a long walk to his hideout on the east wall from the training fields. Sometimes the girl walked with him, but most days the mage began his day of walking just going to the hideout across the majority of the city.

  He knew the name of the river meant little to the girl who had only been out of the city once to go to the mountain fortress. Lines and names on maps meant little to those who had never visited the land. “I should be in sight of it almost as soon as I get there, yes.”

  “Will you avoid the next fortress city? What was that one called...” the girl asked trying to remember a dot on the map. They hadn’t really spoken of his route often, so apparently the apprentice had forgotten again.

  “Blackwall, then Norcrom before I would reach the opposite end of Southwall and Hala.”

  She frowned and remarked, “Wouldn’t you be risking a lot of danger going to the cities? There will be more wizards and battle mages that might recognize you. You have no idea how far some of those you betrayed might have spread since last year.”

  Shrugging, the mage replied, “I’ve been to Windmeer, the very city I brought the enemy into, and no one recognized me in the village outside the walls. The odds of running into someone somewhere else can’t be greater than that, but I’ll worry about that in a week or so.”

  “You’ve been making very good time then, if you can figure out being there so soon.”

  He nodded. The trick of throwing a touchstone had spawned a second idea that, in addition to better weather, had increased his ability to cross great distances as quickly as someone on horse. “I’ve been using air spears to drive touchstones sometimes beyond my sight if a hill gets in the way. Even Sebastian never threw one that far,” he stated remembering a competition when the mizard had first revealed the spell. While most had been striking a large boulder making chips, Sebastian had shown up even wizards by driving an air spear clean through the boulder in a single throw. Even so, Palose didn’t think his rival could throw a spear nearly a mile as he had been doing of late.

  Encapsulating a touchstone and throwing it a mile before using a quick portal spell to cross the distance let him travel solo faster than anyone short of covering a point between touchstones already delivered. He had been wondering how long to wait to discover whether his messages had reached the towns and cities that the messengers had been sent to deliver them.

  Sylvaine hadn’t commented save to nod her head. Pointing at a cross street, the girl added, “This is my turn. Safe travels, mage
.” Her formal treatment of the dismissal was followed by a grin before she set her feet to the north and waved goodbye.

  “I’ll see you this afternoon then,” he added waving to her back. It was still almost a mile to the far off house, but Palose noticed that there were few eyes to see him and he grew bold. Casting the quick portal spell, the mage stepped through the gateway onto a road lightly covered in the shrinking snow.

  Palose was about to start his walk when he realized that the portal was not closing. His magic had been released which should have allowed the doorway to collapse, but it continued to remain open until a shadow darkened the entry before crashing into the man. In a tumble of dark hair and a red dress, he realized that he had been followed again.

  “What are you doing here, Acheri?” the mage asked propping himself up in the snow with his elbows. The dark haired princess, or whatever title they had chosen for the emperor’s sister, remained on top of him recovering from the crash.

  Her head rose from where it had rested on his stomach for longer than he would have thought to recover from her tumble. Looking at his face, her left hand brushed back some of her brunette tresses and the girl smiled up at him. “Lying on you at the moment,” Acheri stated quite literally.

  Growling in annoyance, Palose shook his head angrily retorting, “I know that, but why are you here?”

  As she rolled off of him, the girl in red stood before pulling her richly worked cloak tighter about her. Gold thread embroidered the dark brown outer velvet while Palose caught a warmer brown satin liner peaking from within. She looked cold and the mage reminded her with a sigh, “You might want to recast your air shield, if you plan to stay here for any time.”

  Quickly casting her spell after looking surprised that he had noticed, Acheri took a moment to look around her. The part of the road they stood on was hemmed in by low hills revealing only snow with some taller, brown grass sticking up to break up the white. Finding the view less than impressive, the princess straightened trying to bring her regal comportment to bear against him as if he was some peasant who the girl could hope to impress.