Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Being told to wait midway between the forest and the camp, Oltus and Neven were obvious candidates to go into the camp and dismounted as they were told. The falconi gestured towards Sebastian to follow, even as he came closer to the owl. Speaking quietly, the officer stated, “I need you to come along as well, Bas. You were sent to see if they had rune magic like your discovery, and I think your eyes may catch things that ours will not.”

  Sebastian took a deep breath and noticed something on the air. It was distant, but the winds coming from the northwest swirled enough for his heightened senses to catch the scent of blood. While slaughtered animals from hunters would have been an obvious conclusion, Sebastian thought there was something else to it. The smell was from humans.

  He noted scratches on the hunters as the owl considered the possibility. They had mentioned things changing on the plains and more than one tribe appeared to have gathered here, he thought.

  “I’ll need Elzen and Ashleen to come with me,” Sebastian stated as he dismounted casually. The other two were close enough to hear and seemed slightly surprised, though Ashleen moved quickly to join him.

  “Why them? I could have Oltus bring one of the wizards or have the lieutenant come along.”

  “There may be another way to build goodwill with the tribes, sir. Trust me.”

  Elzen moved to obey as Falconi Neven nodded to the mage. “Oltus is the one we need to protect if something happens, just remember that.”

  They nodded and followed the falconi back to Oltus, who didn’t show surprise though some of the other wizards frowned at seeing not only mages, but a Kardorian joining the mission leader while they remained behind.

  Oltus said a quick word to Aufrienne letting everyone know that the lieutenant was in charge, though Westlin and the wizards might not follow the soldier completely as they outranked him normally. Then the wizard gestured for the older hunter to lead the way. The others dismounted or remained in their saddles depending on which way they felt most comfortable while the hunters continued to surround them.

  Sebastian looked at the surrounding tents as they walked. The outer ring was mostly round tents coming to a point far above his head. They weren’t the typical square military enclosures used in Southwall’s campaigns, though deeper in they found those also. Colors varied as well, though he quickly noted those to the right of their path differed from those on the left. Deeper into the circle of tents, the square versions often had colored flags and Sebastian realized that they were correct, the tribes were pulling together for some reason.

  There had been no precedent that he knew of where so many tribes’ folk had come together at one time. It made him worry about why. Had they been forced to come together out of fear or was this just a forewarning of a war? If it was war; who was their enemy?

  The smell of blood became more noticeable as they moved towards the center of the encampment and Sebastian thought that Elzen had picked up the scent as well. While the shorter mage caught his glance and nodded, the owl thought that this tribe probably didn’t wish for another fight on their hands. There was a lot of blood, if his senses didn’t mislead him; and he wondered how so many had been injured?

  When they arrived at a large tent, it had a large welcoming party of warriors beside it. Their destination was well guarded outside with nearly a score of men and women on either side of a flap held open in the summer heat to allow for air flow inside. His eyes spotted wood poles where canvas was intentionally pulled away to let the heat rise from the inner sanctum of the arkhein.

  Though the younger mages were frowned at and even momentarily held back as the older men entered freely, Falconi Neven’s quickly spoken request allowed the rest to enter. Inside, Sebastian noted the exposed framework holding the canvas aloft. Thick wood poles held the outer corners with only slightly less powerful looking members crossing each other as they worked towards the exposed point in the center. It was an intricate weave of wood, but it had the strength to support the canvas upon it even during winter snows apparently.

  Four men and a woman, who was maybe a decade older than Sebastian; sat on pillows upon the ground while four times their number of warriors ringed the walls of the tent. They had been permitted inside, but the nomads weren’t wasting precautions with these unknown men either. Sebastian searched them all noting only one man trying to appear inconspicuous on the far side who held magical power. He wasn’t as strong as Oltus, but the man was stronger than the mages by a lot.

  Releasing the powers of the hound, which had been set in a way that required almost no power beyond the spell’s initial creation; Sebastian let his attention move to those sitting on the pillows before them.

  “Sit,” a gray haired elder ordered them as pillows were brought to them. Sebastian joined the others crossing his legs beneath him mirroring the elders. He corrected his opinion of the nomadic leaders. Two were gray haired men, one other appeared in his middle years, while the woman was perhaps a decade younger and only the last male appeared to be a man in his early twenties. He could hardly have been more than a year or two older than Sebastian, or so the mage thought.

  “You have come seeking the arkhein according to Chiltai. He implied that you have knowledge of the changes on the plains. Speak your information, wall man,” the elder had the brown skin of the hunters they had met and Sebastian could make out some runes as well.

  “I am Wizard Oltus, Arkhein,” the man began bringing frowns to all those assembled before him in a single short sentence.

  “I am not Arkhein. We are the arkhein. I am Arkon Eratoi. These are the arkons of four other tribes. Now continue and try not to sound like an ignorant fool,” the old man stated gruffly.

  Oltus managed to nod though it was not a good start for the diplomat wizard. The man was used to the world of Southwall and its cities. This arkon had made sure not to introduce himself, Sebastian thought, to make sure that he had the upper hand and not the wizard. His eyes glanced to the magi near the back of the tent as the light of the sun kept the visitors partially light blind to those closer to the walls.

  “We have fought the emperor and his armies for centuries,” the wizard tried again, “and in the past year he has altered his ways. Armies stride through your lands pushing the tribes aside. New creatures come from the mountains most likely spurred into the plains by the Dark One as well.

  “Now the tribes have begun to draw together against the threats to your way of life.”

  The five managed to frown at his words and the youngest man growled, “You lay blame on this Dark One, but you know nothing of the plains or the mountains beyond them. You guess at why the tribes have gathered and why we do so. You have no answers. Stop wasting our time and go back to your wall while I still have patience to let you leave in one piece.”

  These words brought stronger looks, but not at the people of Southwall. The elder beside him placed an arm before him as if to stop the young man from jumping forward, “Tame your words, Arkon Anax. These are our guests for the moment. We do not need to threaten and make new enemies at this juncture.”

  “Do not tell me to hold my tongue, Jurtrub. The Drays might consider letting the south men waste their time with hollow words, but the Zelesh have better things to do like putting together a hunting party to kill those beasts!” Anax retorted nearly coming to his feet as he rocked on his pillow angrily. Sebastian could tell that there was another enemy on the man’s mind.

  “Did these creatures cause all the wounded?” Sebastian asked drawing their eyes at his question. He wasn’t supposed to speak, but matters were volatile under Oltus’s attempts. As long as he didn’t push matters over the edge, his words couldn’t hurt.

  “How do you...?” the young arkon started finally jumping to his feet.

  “You told him, Anax. Now sit down before you start something,” the woman stated in annoyance. She was older than he, but the woman was next youngest, if Sebastian guessed correctly. Her eyes stared Arkon Anax down and turned her green eyes on th
e battle mage. “That is how you decided this. Am I correct?” the woman asked with the raise of her eyebrows.

  “It explained why I could smell the blood nearby and why your people seem extra cautious. I suppose having Southwall at your door doesn’t help of course,” he replied with a smile that didn’t show his teeth. One of the rumors was that showing one’s teeth to the nomads was like daring a predator to fight, so he kept his lips together as the owl tried to make himself appear friendly.

  “You could smell the blood so easily?” the woman asked looking interested in the mage before her as she ignored the others. The other arkons looked to the woman curiously without interrupting her conversation, however.

  “I could smell them before I entered the camp. Like your hunters, we mages use our senses to our advantage in the wild. It is best to be as part of nature as one can, if you don’t want the antelope to turn on you,” he said with a laugh. It was a hunter’s joke that a bad hunter would be hunted by antelope if he wasn’t properly careful. The woman chuckled showing a sense of humor and even a couple of the other arkons joined her.

  “True, but do you need your senses to hunt us then?” she asked with attentive eyes even as she hid her mouth with her hand.

  “No, arkon, is that the right name to address you, my lady? We weren’t introduced I am afraid. I am Falcon Sebastian Trillon,” he said introducing himself with a nod of respect for the woman.

  “I am Archoness Smrajni, archoness of the Khagan tribe, host of the arkhein,” the dark haired woman announced as Sebastian caught four sets of eyes look down at the ground momentarily at her admission. He had a feeling that the men didn’t like being reminded of the woman’s position as hostess.

  Sebastian waited to make sure that he wasn’t interrupting the archoness before continuing, “I wasn’t using my senses for a hunt of any kind and we certainly hope for a mutually beneficial meeting, Archoness. There was just something that I felt on the wind well before we reached the camp. The blood made sense on why I was uneasy once I noticed it.

  “Might I ask what happened? If there is need of aid, I and Falcon Elzen are healers. We would be glad to help out in any way we can,” he said offering up the aid he hoped would buy them into the good graces of the tribes for Oltus’s mission to succeed.

  Arkon Anax wouldn’t remain still as his face turned red in anger, but it wasn’t directed at anyone near him as he complained, “Strange monsters appeared in the north driving the Drays and Zelesh to our cousins to the south. We saved those we could and brought them here. The Turbuis and Erta came at our call to help destroy these creatures before more innocents are slain!”

  Looking sad, Archoness Smrajni shook her head saying, “More appeared attacking this camp undaunted. Only the stream’s water kept the beasts from running through the encampment on the west side, though we don’t know why.”

  The fourth man frowned and replied, “The fire beasts couldn’t take the water, so they turned away. Without them the others were afraid to take on the rest of our warriors.”

  Anax shook his head and added, “Those black shrikes didn’t seem to care which side they attacked, Karta. Even the protection of the druids wasn’t enough to prevent their wings from killing several of our warriors.”

  “Without the other monsters, their numbers weren’t enough to risk more than a quick stab at us. Our warriors could still kill them if they had tried to attack us alone,” the last arkon called Karta stated with surety.

  Oltus was quick to see the opportunity Sebastian had opened for them and said, “Perhaps our healers could help with the wounded as the falcon suggested and once everyone is safe, we can talk about helping you track down these beasts?”

  The arkhein looked at the wizard almost surprised that Oltus was still there.

  “If your healers could help us, that would be appreciated; but we will not talk of other things until this is done,” Archoness Smrajni declared as she moved to stand. Anax was up almost before her though the woman started first.

  Sebastian and the others joined the members of the arkhein in standing. They moved towards the open doorway they had entered through earlier led by the two youngest of the arkhein. The falcon glanced to the druid, as Anax had called him, and noted that he had disappeared from the tent without being seen.

  Chapter 23- Mending Trust

  Cries of pain and moans of those weakened beyond that filled the tent. Flies buzzed around the tent of wounded nomads nearly driving both attendants and the wounded mad as they swarmed around those often too drained to fight back.

  “Ashleen, can you create an air shield to get rid of these flies?” Sebastian asked as he looked around the tent which was nearly twice the size of the arkhein meeting room. Bracing posts ran in two lines crossing the shorter of the two distances making up the hospital tent.

  The air wizard nodded and began to summon the magic needed. Other eyes looked to the entrance as the falcons entered with the arkons. Anax moved quickly to one side hearing voices call his name. The young leader placed his hand on heads offering up soothing words, while Smrajni stood near Sebastian and asked, “Can you help us, Falcon Sebastian?”

  He nodded and asked, “Who is in charge? We will start with those needing the most immediate care. If I can help it, no one else will have to die.”

  “What do you need?” the arkoness asked hearing the passion in his voice.

  “Food and drink to keep us renewing our energy. Magic can be renewed to a point by eating and drinking. If we can keep up with the need, we can keep going,” he assured the woman and glanced to Elzen who nodded back.

  A woman rushed towards the group at the door and bowed to Smrajni, and she said, “Arkoness, what can we do for you? We didn’t expect someone as high born as you to come visit us.”

  Smrajni frowned and replied angrily, “I am not so high born that I would avoid my people when they need me most, Odja! Even those born to other tribes are our responsibility. I have in fact brought you help from the wallers.”

  The other woman was older than the arkoness. Wearing once off white linen, her clothing was spattered in red and brown of blood. Fresh spots could be told from the old and the dark circles under her eyes proved that the healer had been hard at work trying to save lives since the wounded had come into her care.

  Sebastian moved slightly ahead to draw the woman’s attention and he asked, “Where are those who need help beyond your medicine?”

  Odja and her attendants had no magic about them. If these druids mentioned could heal, they were nowhere to be seen. The woman looked at the arkoness nervously, but received a stern nod from her leader.

  “The worst wounded have been moved to the far side. Their cries were the worst earlier, but poppium elixir from the druids helps to numb the pain,” the woman said hurrying between the lines of blankets lying on the ground. There were no beds to get the injured off the hard earth. During the summer the ground was cooling, but such a tent would only help bring the wounded to their deaths in winter the mage feared. Still this healing would be done well before then, so he could only hope they would be able to do better when he wasn’t there.

  Sebastian called his healing spell as he found his first patient. A runed warrior, the man’s shoulder was bandaged.

  “He nearly had his arm ripped off by one of the beasts,” the healer stated sadly. “The skin tore and we did what we could to reattach it; but I fear that he will lose it and possibly his life. Disease may take him because of gangrene.”

  The mage’s magic transferred with his touch on the man’s injured arm. He could have placed his hand anywhere, but the left arm was closest to him. Kneeling beside the wounded warrior, Sebastian extended his magic into the man. Odja was correct. Gangrene was already trying to infect the wound. It gave him a bitter taste on his tongue, but he was ready to fight both disease and the wound.

  “He is just touching him, Archoness,” Odja stated the obvious with doubt in her voice.

  Ashleen moved close and said
, “His magic is powerful enough to reach the wound without touching him at all, if he needed to do so. Sebastian will use it to fight to repair the damage and save his life. You won’t be able to see the magic until it is almost finished, usually.”

  The other two women looked at the wizard curiously. Arkoness Smrajni asked, “And do you heal as well?”

  “Not well,” she confessed. “I mostly have healed Sebastian after he’s been hurt. He’s been trying to pass on the knowledge to me as well, but I am more comfortable with the air and earth.”

  “You are a wizard?”

  The pretty blonde nodded her head.

  “I thought that these battle mages were inferior to your kind. How is it that you are studying under him?”

  Ashleen smiled and looked at the mage working to save the man and his arm. “We are all one kind and some shine more than others. Sebastian is a rare mage that can stand with any wizard.”

  Returning her smile the arkoness added, “And you are smitten with him?”

  Odja pointed at Sebastian as if to warn her leader of the man in question being within hearing. Women didn’t usually call out other women in front of a man they might be in love with; but Ashleen didn’t even lose her smile as she nodded.

  “He helped my lord reach the capitol and saved our lives from the emperor’s wolves. Sebastian has shown himself to be a talented mage beyond the inherent power he was born with and has even defeated wizards in their tournament.

  “He is also a talented healer, so as long as he has strength he will save everyone that he can.”

  Thumbing her way towards Elzen who was working opposite the other mage, she asked, “And this one?”

  “He is a friend of Sebastian, but I know less of him, though he appears cut from the same cloth for the most part.”

  The women stopped talking to watch the mages. Odja seemed to want to do something, but had no idea what in the face of their magic. When Elzen finished before Sebastian, he took a drink from a bottle sitting on a tray brought in by the nomads.