Elzen seemed to ignore the warning and closed with his opponent quickly. The batons were faster and more accurate. Shielded hands were forced to move even quicker than before to fend off the blows of the giant. He tried to shift left and right looking for an opening only to find Garosh turned to face him with weapons aiming for the mage’s head. A swift blow made Elzen flip backwards and a smile of confidence started to return to Garosh, but as the smaller man’s hands planted on the ground his right foot struck at the giant’s left hand.
The blow had been coming up as the club had been coming down. Even amid the other sounds of fighting, the thud of the boot against forearm sounded painful. Garosh had to shake off the blow with his left while parrying Elzen with his right.
Quickly recovering and changing direction, Elzen was on the giant before Garosh even knew it. He deflected the right staff and struck a fierce blow to the top of the forearm causing the arm to drop. Twisting to deliver a strong hit on the lower left ribs, the mage kicked off as he struck the left leg with the base of his foot. He miscalculated, however. In his effort to open up the giant, the left hand dropped the baton before grabbing the boy’s legs preventing him from getting distance between them.
In Garosh’s grasp, Rilena expected his strength to overwhelm the smaller man. Blows from the giant’s right hand did land, but Elzen twisted within the handhold delivering blows and fending off the strikes of his opponent. They collapsed to the ground rolling in and out of holds as it became a game of grappling. Even there in the giant’s strength, the fierce boy wriggled and worked for holds that surprised Garosh. When he suddenly twisted the arm, legs braced against the man’s shoulder trying to wrench the forearm back against the elbow in an attack that would have broken a lesser man’s arm or dislocated his shoulder, Elzen was able to at first drive the larger man face first into the mud.
A normal man would have begged for mercy to avoid being hurt, but Garosh surprised them as he twisted getting his legs back underneath him. He lifted the boy like he was nothing though his arm remained forcefully extended and useless. Driving Elzen’s back and head against the ground once, twice, then a third time, finally made the mage release the arm.
Rolling back and staying low, the smaller man was breathing hard. In a struggle where the monster could use his strength to wear Elzen down and do damage, the boy would most likely lose no matter how skilled he was. The giant was just too strong for him in that kind of fight. Rilena noticed blood coming from his left nostril and his left eye starting to puff up from a blow. She looked to the giant whose arm still hung loose at his side and the falcon wondered if Elzen had actually managed to break or dislocate the limb after all. His face was bruised and Garosh looked winded. Despite his strength advantage and magic, the giant was taking significant damage trying to compete with the combat specialist in Elzen.
“Not bad,” Garosh admitted from a swollen and bleeding lip. “I have a feeling that if we were using blades, I would be dead by now. Even though I have size and strength on you, you are able to outfight me.
“I may be a warlock, but I am well trained to fight and can say that I have never run into a fighter like you.”
It sounded like Garosh was conceding the fight to Rilena’s surprise. Elzen couldn’t just let it go, however, and retorted, “Was this more exercise than you expected from a little man? You may be big and powerful, but big also means you’re a bigger target.”
Chuckling at the boy, he nodded saying a little more humbly, “I was expecting much less exercise in fact and a lot less pain. I give.”
Elzen looked disappointed in the concession. Guessing that he wished to continue to try and injure the man, the mage also knew that his duty was to protect him as an ambassador and prisoner. He couldn’t get away with killing someone who had surrendered to ensure peace, whether he believed in it or not.
“Fine, then I guess we are done,” the smaller man stated with a nod backing away towards the crowd. A fighter never turned his back on an opponent, even if a fight was more or less settled. History taught that some men couldn’t accept losing without trying to stab their opponent in the back. Honor meant nothing to those men.
Garosh moved to sit on a bench and called to her. Reluctantly, the girl moved closer. As she moved towards him, the courtyard began to clear. With Elzen gone, the fight was over and left the loser to lick his wounds. The morning guard detail took relaxed positions nearby and watched the injured giant cautiously even so.
“What is it, Garosh?” Rilena asked brusquely not wanting to deal with her tormentor any longer than she needed.
“Don’t worry. You will actually enjoy this task,” the man stated with sweat beading on his brow. His eyes revealed pain and she knew that Elzen had managed to hurt the giant more than she had thought. “Your friend dislocated my shoulder for you. If you would take hold and pull it until it pops back into place, I would be most appreciative. It should be even more painful, if you need more incentive.”
Rilena thought that the man certainly knew how to push her buttons to get what he wanted, but in this case someone had to do it. If the ravens or others found out that Garosh had been left to fend for himself, there would certainly be hell to pay. “I have mud on my boots,” she tried weakly.
“Then the washer women will be harsh with you when I send my shirt to them,” he said through teeth gritted together in pain.
Sighing, the woman lifted the arm into position listening to Garosh groan and grunt in pain with each move. Placing a foot against his chest, she pulled and twisted enough to make the bones shift. As it popped back into place, he cried out loudly as the spike in pain reduced to an uncomfortable ache.
“Thank you,” the man said sounding sincere through his pain.
Grunting welcome despite disliking the fact that she had been forced to help the villainous man, Rilena released his arm as he tested it gingerly. The falcon cautioned quietly, “You should go to the infirmary and have one of the healers fix the damage.”
He shook his head. “There’s no rush. It is back in the socket and could heal on its own. I can go there after the darkness trying to make me unconscious recedes.”
“Whatever,” she replied dismissively. “The lords will have Elzen’s head if you don’t use the wizards to heal you.”
“I probably deserved it. No, I do deserve it. My pain is nothing compared to what I did to you and the apprentice,” the man said with a sigh before looking at Rilena. She had sat once more on the bench beside him after forcing his arm back into the socket and they were nearly face to face. “That is probably my greatest regret so far in my life. I know I can never apologize enough, but hopefully your friend inflicting pain on me will help make up for it at least a little bit.”
Frowning at the man, she asked in disbelief, “Did you lose to Elzen on purpose?”
He laughed. “Only from the point that I followed the rules of using no magic in the duel. Your friend is a demon. Giving him a chance to only use weapons instead of magic brought me straight to my doom. I am well trained with weapons, but I have never been against a true master trying to harm me.”
“You cheated though. I felt your magic during the duel,” the girl informed him leveling a judging finger at him.
“Ah,” Garosh sighed holding a slight smile of regret on his lips as he looked at the ground between his feet leaning forward holding the wounded arm with his right and massaging the shoulder with his hand. “It wasn’t intentional. While I have great magical strength, even with training I only have a raw skill and a tentative hold on my power. I have been told that when they created me, part of who I am came from the emperor, but another part came from some other powerful man. He was said to have no magic and my instructors informed me that his material is the cause.”
“You were created?” she asked incredulously.
“Wizards have been looking for the ultimate vessel for him to transfer into to maintain his power. I was one of the experiments and while I was rejected since I could no
t hold his full power, the emperor took pity on me letting me join his army. Now I serve him as his son or brother, but I am not my own man. I belong to him and the empire because they created me,” the man finished unable to look her in the eye.
Rilena couldn’t help feeling pity for the man, even while she struggled to hold onto her hate. Looking at the side of his face, the falcon wondered if man was truly an accurate word. No one knew what race the emperor derived from and he was uncertain of who or what was used to make him. The only beings she knew that had been created magically were monsters and golems, neither of which the woman could easily refer to as men. Still, what looked like a man, (albeit a large one), talked like a man and thought like a man must certainly be a man.
With a groan, Garosh pushed off from the bench with his right hand to stand. His first step looked a bit off and by his second the giant’s knees were beginning to buckle. Rilena found herself at his side propping up the man almost without thought. Even this enemy in his time of need could make her heart move her to help. She would have cursed her weakness if not for Garosh’s even weaker state.
Propped up by the girl on his wounded left hand side, Garosh grunted at her touch feeling more pain from his ribs and shoulder. Elzen had worked over the bigger man’s entire left side weakening him in the fight as he had set the giant up to fall. While Garosh had conceded the fight before the falcon’s final blows, the damage had been delivered well.
“Those shielded fists hurt more than I even thought at the time,” he mumbled through swollen lips. “I’m seeing stars, but I think I can make it.”
His words slurred and Rilena knew that he was in even worse shape than she had originally believed. If Elzen could do this kind of damage to a powerful creature like Garosh, she knew that she was glad that he was on her side. Being skilled with a sword and magic, like the giant had claimed and appeared to be, Rilena considered the claim of Elzen being a demon was pretty accurate. She motioned to the guards to come help as his weight seemed to be increasing. “Stay awake, Garosh. I don’t relish trying to carry you to the wizards and leaving you out in the cold won’t help you either.”
Trying to shake off his dizziness, the man looked at the woman attempting to brace him and said in surprise, “You are very kind, aren’t you? Perhaps you need to let go of the hate. Don’t let my past actions ruin your heart.”
She wanted to protest Garosh of all people trying to give her advice about what to do, but in truth Rilena had felt less and less hate for the man. Time made the pain disappear and only the slowly graying memory remained to try and fuel her hate. She was beginning to feel like she was only holding her hate because that was what he deserved, but it had become harder each day.
Other hands and shoulders joined in helping the giant. Two of the male soldiers were much larger than she and took over guiding the injured man back to the castle.
Rilena paused in the commotion watching men and women helping someone they considered an enemy, but when you came to know your enemy, you also sympathized with them. Hating enemies with unseen faces or monstrous visages was much easier than hating someone who just didn’t seem as evil as she believed.
Curiosity made her wonder about the people of Ensolus. How many simply lived their lives working their farms or marketing their wares in the enemy city? Were they just like those in Windmeer and the rest of Southwall, working under an umbrella of war, but never really knowing their enemy?
Shaking her head, Rilena followed the procession to the infirmary. Elzen was already there when they arrived and looked refreshed. His bruises had faded under the wizard healers’ care, but seeing the wounded giant helped into the room he seemed to understand his pain and take it into himself.
Having forgotten that Elzen could also heal, the woman wondered if he was having trouble balancing his ability to wound and kill with his opposite side that healed and saved lives. After a few moments, a frown crossed his face and the giant’s presence drove him from the room.
Rilena hurried to catch him in the hallway. “Stop, Elzen,” she pleaded to the fleeing mage.
He stopped but refused to turn forcing the girl to come around him to see his face. His hands were balled into fists and his forearms were knotted in the strength of their grip.
His green eyes looked from the floor to her face finally and he admitted, “I might have gone too far.”
His voice cracked under the emotion, but his face betrayed little of the frustration the rest of his body revealed. Rilena shrugged and questioned, “Did you fight him for me or for yourself?”
Wincing at the thought of admitting which was the stronger feeling, Elzen seemed unwilling to answer and the girl sighed. “Well, he inflicted pain on me and now you have done a pretty good job of hurting him. You pulled his arm out of the socket and I think he may have a concussion. There might even be some broken ribs and who knows what else.
“He once mentioned that his magic hurt, but at least it left no scars or long term harm on Nereith and me. Now that you have taken out our rage at the man and proved that you can beat a giant, do you find that hate slipping away?”
Her eyes questioned the man and he could see that her anger had cooled as well his own. Nodding, Elzen remained silent though she could tell that his mind was dwelling on the emotions brought out from the fight.
“Good,” Rilena declared and added, “then now we can keep our minds on our jobs. We’ll keep an eye out for treachery and guard him like any foreign dignitary. Agreed?”
Again he nodded and replied, “Agreed.”
After their pact, she watched as his muscles eased and his fists finally opened. They separated to clean up and Rilena wondered how she had become the voice of reason concerning Garosh.
Chapter 23- Breakfast Orders
It was still early in Ensolus as Palose entered the living area of the apartment. Light could be seen coming from the mouth of Ensolus to the south through the large, sliding glass doors leading onto the terrace. When the weather was warmer, the mage had spent a few mornings enjoying the view from Atrouseon’s apartment. While the stone cavern around them could be oppressive, when the light struck correctly on the outer walls guarding the city, it illuminated the southern end and the supporting spires in a way that made him think of another world.
In some ways despite being in Alus, this was another world. The emperor and his creatures had once lived in another dimension, a place with elves, dwarves and gnomes as well as the creatures that served Kolban in both worlds. Serving aesthetic tastes from other races, Ensolus had taken the shape that the craftsmen had chosen to work on the stone. The cave hadn’t been as large when the empire found it, but orcs, goblins and armored viles were excellent stone workers and had cut away the unnecessary rock and opened the space up beyond nature’s design.
The mage was still looking out the glass doors when a knock came from the apartment door. Heralis went to the door to answer it, even though Atrouseon was seated at the table and his apprentice was capable enough as well. At the woman’s gasp, both men turned to look at the door to see a trio of men in the emperor’s guardsman armor.
“We have come with a message for Palose Rosaren,” the central soldier with a gilded collar and shoulders stated between the more reserved armor of his fellows.
Frowning at the apprentice, Atrouseon rose and complained, “What have you done now, boy?”
As if he had done anything to merit the question, Palose thought. He ignored the warlock and stated, “I am Palose Rosaren. What is the message?”
“You are to come with us to the palace to meet with the emperor. You will come immediately,” the soldier stated with no leeway in his orders.
Palose tested the orders even so as he replied, “I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, do we have time to wait?”
“Idiot, the emperor calls us and you dare to make him wait for you to eat?” Atrouseon cried out incredulously and walked over to swat at the younger man’s head. Letting the blow catch him on the back of the hea
d in spite of the mage’s far superior ability to fight, Palose added it to a mental list of things that the warlock had been doing over the last couple of months or so. Ever since the emperor had taken his vessel and the man’s work was over, he had become directionless and irritable as if he had found that he was no longer necessary and valueless to the emperor. He had begun taking his frustration out on others including the mage, but Palose had more restraint as he patiently waited for the day that would come as a final separation of the two.
The soldier shook his head. “The order is just for the boy. You were not in the message nor were we directed to invite you.”
Arrogantly the warlock snarled, “He is my apprentice and I will go with him, if I say I will!”
“I can handle myself there,” Palose stated quietly bringing Atrouseon’s eyes back to him. The man remained annoyed, but as the two looked at each other the master calmed down enough to realize he was defying the emperor as he had just warned his apprentice not to do. “As long as the emperor doesn’t swear me to silence, I will let you know what happened afterward.”
“Bah, just go!” waved off the warlock.
Grabbing a piece of bread with jam to eat along the way, the mage followed the speaker out of the apartment spire on the walk to the north. The palace was actually a handful of the largest stone columns standing from floor to ceiling. Though hollowed out for habitation, they were still strong and helped hold the ceiling high above the city. Around those spires, ran a twenty foot high wall lined with guard towers manned by the emperor’s guards at all times of the day. His power had always been legendary, and most feared the emperor, but his protection was of the utmost importance and these soldiers would give their lives for him.
Palose wondered if Kolban had established the bond, which Acheri had described on their trip to Windmeer, with his guardsmen. Knowing his guards were loyal would make sense to him, but his sister had stated that he seemed to be less worried over his city and his safety since the transfer. She hadn’t said that he wasn’t himself, though Acheri had essentially been born that day, so perhaps her opinion on the changes in the emperor didn’t matter.
Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) Page 34
