Ascension of the Warlock (Book 4 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  Cage smirked. “I’m not mad if that is what you are getting at. Eoin chose well and I can grow food anywhere. The problem I’ve encountered are from the hunters who said all of the game in the area are all gone from all the hammering.”

  “Oh, well my mate and I have already been approached about it since he began working after we returned. He says it cannot be helped.”

  Black eyes scanned the whole area before he said “That is why I’m here. Go tell everyone to take a break and stand over at the mouth of the trail. I’ll go get the boys out so I can get started.”

  As he walked to the forge Lanna claimed everyone else’s attention and gestured for them to follow. Cage entered the much warmer area and was thankful for his modified ears. Not only could they pick up distant sounds than naturally could be possible, but the eardrums thickened automatically and instantly to dull the immense noise. Unlike the stuffed leather earplugs both men wore, his hearing remained unaffected and wouldn’t be scarred from years of loud noise. Both men were naked from the waist up and were soaked with sweat from hard work and nearby fire, but Cage grabbed their thick wintery shirts and put fingers to his lips and whistled loud enough between hammering to gain their attention.

  One hammer fell before both large men jerked their attention away from the bowl. Eoin was the first to pull his ear plug out while Cody sat the metal back inside the forge to reheat. “Cage? What can I do for you?”

  “How’s it going, Boys?” The warlock asked after throwing the shirts to the confused pair.

  “Cody has great skill in this trade.” Eoin declared with a wipe of his brow.

  “And Eoin has been taught by a master smith for sure.” Cody likewise said.

  “No need to kiss each other’s ass.” Cage joked and the two men laughed. “I’ve got work to do to help out around here. But before I get started I need to talk with you and your mates.” He spun and left.

  “What do you suppose he wants?” Cody asked.

  Eoin shrugged. “You probably know him better than I. We’ve not spent much time around each other. All I do know is what Lanna’s told me and that he saved her from slavery in the Laqura Empire.”

  “Good at saving people isn’t he? Not bad for a mage, especially all I’ve met.”

  “Quit yackin’ and get out here!” Cage called out and the pair quickly put on their shirts and hurried out. Lanna instantly took control of Eoin’s hand the moment he was close enough while Cody’s three moved closer and took hold of his person as best possible. The two older men and three prepubescent boys all looked to the leader of the Utala tribe. “Before I get started I need to ask if anyone will be living here?”

  “Chief?” one of the women with a deep cut to her forearm asked.

  “I’ve seen enough to know someone always lives at the forge, always keeping the fire going. I know you’ve not been to Vok’s, Eoin’s father’s forge, but he and his family work and live there…”

  “Actually my mate and I already decided to live here as soon as we could make a place.” Lanna said. “It is not so far away from the tribe that we will feel isolated.” Eoin nodded.

  “Then so shall we, Lanna Sister. We will keep company.” Cody’s strongest woman decided. Her two tribal sisters agreed. “Our mates will get much more done if they work more closely and you need us should your pregnancy have a complication. I’m not Meeka Sister, but next to her I’m the best healer in the tribe.”

  “Good idea.” Cage allowed. “Alright I’ll create two bedrooms for you all. Stand back and let me focus.” The group went silent as he began plotting what was needed as he fully took in the landscape. When the idea was solidly fixed in his mind, both hands lifted and had palms facing outward. He didn’t need to do it, but it felt natural and aided his focus.

  Magic flowed and all the snow covering the ground began to rise without the wind till all that lay underneath was dead grass and packed earth. Those behind were still at awe to see magic so close. The snow began to part as he separated his hands and sent it all into the woods. With the land now barren his hands fisted and all the work that went into the shelter was dismantled, the wood sticks snapped to manageable pieces and were laid on the wood pile while all the mud and straw was tossed to the ground before it began to shake.

  The ground began to tremble before sections began to rise. At first it seemed a wall more than a foot thick, but was made of stone as Cage applied so much force that the dirt was crushed and became solid stone. The open space began to sink, to feed the rising ground, but Cage made sure it wouldn’t have trouble as dirt from the surrounding trees traveled below what the eye could see and made the land rise into a small hill which continued shrinking as the original circle grew three more half circles, two to the north and south while the third faced west. Then the walls began to grow and curve inwards till they touched.

  In three minutes Cage erected a building over sixteen feet high around the forge, with the three additional areas about eight feet. Not finished yet, he created a hole in the roof and used the stone that made it into a curved chimney where it bent like a crook so that if it rained it wouldn’t leak. Completely sealed and a foot higher than it once was, Cage came up to the wall so the magic didn’t need to use so much over distance and used a finger to trace and arched doorway and with a kick, he dropped it inside with a resounding boom that fractured the stone. Those watching were unable to look away.

  “Did he just…” Cody started to say and couldn’t finish the thought.

  One of the middle aged men said “The Chief doesn’t always rely on being a magic-man. If he can do something physically, he will. Do not let his lean appearance fool you. His body is a powerful weapon and just so you know, he fought every adult in the village at the same time and beat us all. He is the most dangerous chieftain in Utala history and we are proud.” Inside there came another heavy thump from another wall falling.

  “Most of the pretty men I’ve met are not like him.” Eoin stated.

  “No one is like the Chief.” Lanna said and kissed her spirit mate’s jagged scar from a horse’s kick to the face.

  After the forth ‘thump’ of stone Cage sent a blast of power to them pieces and ground and with an impact that knocked everyone to their backside, the floor was instantly leveled flat and smooth, but retained just enough roughness to not be slick and be dangerous. The shoddy forge was also altered to not only have more space, but now had a metal shutter he modified from a piece of steel in the nearby pile. With another thought he grew a stone trough to hold the wood, added a drain that led underground so any snow or moisture would thaw away. The third, western room, was divided in half to use as a fully operational bathroom and the other was made into a kitchen, all made of dark brown stone.

  As he exited he found everyone gawking at the interior so he said “This will have to do for now. I added a pair of hooks over all the openings so you can drape cloth or leather over the front for privacy or to keep the heat in. If you want doors you’ll need to make them. Now let me know next time I’m free from training with dragons should I need to fix something I’ve missed. Sorry it can’t be more lavish or have windows, but I’ve got a lot to do. I’m going to add a wall around this place so the sounds won’t be so bad. Again, I’ll leave an opening on the path to the village and a door will be up to you to make.”

  “You’ve done more than anything I’ve ever had!” Cody chuckled. “This is by far the best building for the craft I’ve ever seen. My family would have paid any price to have such a sturdy home to work.”

  “As would mine.” Eoin said to his fast growing friendship.

  One of the women peeked into a room and grinned “Sisters, Cody, we will take this place. Tonight we will have another night of sex and singing to the spirits.”

  Lanna smirked as Cody was baffled at those words. So she said “Eoin Love, perhaps you and Cody Brother could make those doors today. If I hear them making love I will likely ask you to challenge another sister to be our mate so we won’t ne
ed to compete.”

  “You’re serious?” the huge blacksmith smiled and watched her closely.

  “Just because we are mated doesn’t mean I do not want a sister anymore and you will find several have techniques that are superior to mine and I like the pleasures of a woman as much as you do… Better yet, I won’t give you a choice. You and Cody will make these doors and I will find an interested sister who wants to mate with us.”

  Completely flabbergasted, Eoin sought aid from Cody who smirked and tried not to laugh with his new women and then to Cage who didn’t have any such restraint. “One thing I learned about Lanna is once she gets something in her head, you’re screwed.” Cody didn’t completely understand the metaphor, but knew enough that he burst out laughing. “Lanna, I’m busy the rest of the day. When Daku and Poli return, have Brooke be witness to the challenge. And Eoin, just so you know” Cage’s grin grew when the hazel eyed smith was speechless. “last night when the tribe heard me tell Lanna she in fact was pregnant and she yelled it, all the women who denied mating challenged with the new blood, I heard all five want to mate with you, but were being considerate for Lanna. They know you will be a great lover from Lanna’s conversations about the cave you two holed up in for a month. Each one want to proudly bear your child… and don’t look like that. Your scar actually impresses them, much like Lanna. To Utala women, scars are proof you’ve survived great pain. I would heal you if you wanted, but Lanna would attack me. She loves scars, if you already didn’t notice her previous mate.”

  Lanna nodded while looking her man eye to eye. “It is true, I love your scar.” She touched his gruesome jaw. “Get started, I’ll go find these unmated five sisters who want you. Chief, who…” before she could finish he shot off all their names. “Perfect! All of them would make wonderful lovers.” Before Eoin could stop her, Lanna sprinted for the opening and was gone in a flash.

  “You have my deepest sympathies.” Cage said.

  “Then why are you smiling so hard?” The man sighed and then chuckled for the expression was infectious. “I’m not sure I’ll be confident having more than one woman.”

  “It’ll change tonight when you have all six together at the same time.” Cage promised. “Trust me when I say your reservations will fly out the window when it comes to having sex with a group of insatiable women. Just do like you did to Lanna and you’ll be alright. Besides, once they get started you will never think yourself as a one woman man.”

  “And yet you make it sound as if you’re familiar yet you have only two women.” Eoin pointed out.

  “Ah, well the entire tribe knows full well I could take every woman as my own in less than an hour. Brooke and Meeka would be all for it, but it would not do me any good.” Eoin cocked his head questioningly. “I can’t have kids and neither Brooke or Meeka wouldn’t risk a sister from such a fate.”

  The older man leaning against the wall added “Do not disbelieve when I said he fought the tribe. If he had called mating rights at the time, all women of age would be his mate and there would be nothing in our laws to deny him the right.”

  Cody looked to his girls. “Would you have…”

  The three nodded in complete seriousness. One said “Chieftain Cage is our mightiest warrior. If he challenged me right now I would be honored to fight, even knowing I have no chance of victory, even on his worst day. His inability to make babies are all that have kept all who were unmated from seeking him out. Females seek strong males and none in all our history have come close to the reigning chief.”

  “Way to make a man’s pride take a blow.” Cody mumbled.

  She held his gaze. “Would you rather I lied? Utala do not lie, especially to their new mate.”

  “Guess not.” Cody scratched the back of his head and turned. “Where did he go?” None noticed Cage slipping out other than a young and inquisitive boy in a deerskin outfit.

  They all looked out as a foot thick wall began rising about two feet a minute and completely encircled the clearing, leaving two open spaces, one to the trail and the other to the frozen stream. Before any further praise could be given and the wall reached twenty feet in the air he conjured his trusty black board and took off into the sky. Cody then said “Not much of a talker is he?”

  “Not when he’s busy and has little time to waste.” His youngest, twenty two year old, woman said aloud. “Sisters, let us go to our room and retrieve our furs and supplies for our first night together here.” They agreed and walked away.

  “And here I thought women were timid creatures and only one’s mother was dangerous.” Cody commented and the other three men laughed.

  “We’ve still got a lot to learn about being Utala.” Eoin said as he grabbed his hammers off a ledge Cage made into the side of the forge. “And I learned long ago women might be the fairer sex, but they are also the fiercest.”

  “You learn well.” The middle aged man joked. “I’ve been mated to my three women for more than twenty years and have more than a dozen children, but they frighten me daily. It is the female way. No matter what a man thinks, a woman is our superior in all things except raw physical strength… not that it matters.”

  “Enough prattling.” Eoin said. “Cody and I could use some help making doors. Grab the axes and begin slitting the thickest logs. I’ll get started making straps to hammer nails into the wood. Children,” Three alert heads were eager to help. “locate rough round stones we can use to rub on wood so no one gets splinters.” The three went off like a shot from a bow.

  “Ulon!” Cage’s voice yelled from the mouth of the newest gaping hole in the mountain. For over two hundred feet was magically created stone from sand and rock, much as he did for the new forge building, only on a much larger scale. An overhang stood over fifteen stories high, well enough to easily accommodate a half dozen elder dragons. But all around the opening, Ulon left much of the dormant trees be by using the sight of an old landslide. Cage’s skin tingled with the sensation of magic and being around it so much had finally allowed him to no longer feel as if he needed to scratch every inch of his flesh. Even without the ability to sense magic, deep inside a dark tunnel came trembling ground and the sound of a great rumble he knew to be a dragon fiery breath. The trembling of air and ground diminished completely as his echo reach an inner chamber and the dragon inside responded “Enter, Cage Two legs, but the humans who have been watching from outside the den must remain. Temperature too high for humans without wards.”

  “Told you he knew you were out here.” Cage smirked as he looked at two young huntresses who have yet to menstruate and be seen as a woman in full, ready to truly take on all adult responsibilities and benefits.

  One of the girls poked her head out from behind a tree, camouflaged with white and gray fabric to break up her body. “But how? We’ve not said a word.”

  “Haven’t you wondered why there is so much heat coming from the tunnel?” He asked. “Ulon, even without magic, could smell you. He knew you were out and curious and wouldn’t start a fire to keep warm so he intentionally let the excess heat out so you two wouldn’t freeze by stubbornly standing outside. The both of you better hurry home before it gets too dark out here.”

  “Yes, Chieftain.” The other exited from a nearby tree too. He knew they were there and could hear their slow and controlled breathing, knowing Ulon could as well. The pair hurried into the snowy forest, obeying their leader’s order.

  Cage meanwhile checked to make sure all his wards were reestablished. Found them working and stepped into the tunnel. Ulon returned to work as well.

  The tunnel wasn’t straight as after three hundred yards, it split to two more tunnels of equal size. He took the more noisy route. The tunnel curved slightly before opening into a huge domed area. As dangerous heat began to grow, his wards activated automatically, blocking the more dangerous, higher temperatures.

  Ulon stood on his hind legs while keeping perfect balance with his long tail and half extended wings. His gigantic hands gripped a section
of wall that looked more of a panel sheet while his maw was partially open and fire spewed, melting the seams together better than any glue, especially when the slab he held weighed no less than six tons. Cage watched in fascination as Ulon guided the bright orange flames with his tongue, using minimal magic for a personal touch. Sometimes ones work feels a better accomplishment when done by physical labor than magic. At the rosy dragon’s side were five more sixty foot by sixty square panels that remained. Already Cage could see where they’ll be placed as everywhere else was artfully decorated to a dragon’s eye for subterranean home decor. Towards the rear was an upraised oval section with enough room to fit the pair. It was a dragon’s bed, if Ulon decided to not occupy the front as his instincts dictated, to protect his mate and future young. Off to the side opposite being worked was a pool of water being fed from a hole above, making it appear as a miniature waterfall.

  Curiosity beckoned to investigate so he allowed his senses to expand with magic. He found the gathering pool hid a gemstone the size of a grapefruit more than a hundred feet down, right beside a small drainage hole. But as he examined the waterfall he followed an unnatural trail into the mountain where Ulon had found the primary mountain stream that fuels the brooks and rivers. He could sense the water’s trapped pressure, but was negated by the dragon’s ingenuity. Then he wondered where the water below the deep pool went and found that it simply re-fed into another reservoir which was blocked by ice at a second brook opening.

  Lastly he looked at the spells in the quartz ball and found it very basic. Gather all impurities from going down the drain and once a certain size is collected to then be Jumped back into the island’s soil to feed local plant life. And it also created constant light in the current room as well as maintained structure integrity. With the amount of mana contained, it would last a century or two before diminishing by half.

  “Fear not, Cage Two Legs, I have not impeded on your property’s wards. My gems pull only from my people.” Ulon said as the slab held secure and he dropped to all fours. “From all the magic I have sensed, aside from my own, much has been accomplished, yes?”