Annalicia asked quickly knowing part of what her cousin knew before Bas had arrived, “Do any appear to be another black ship?”
Shaking his head, Darterian quickly ran his hand through brown hair that was getting longer with the journey since no one dared risk cutting hair on a ship rolling with the waves. “When the three ships appeared at Maldus Island, the yellow portal dot was enormous and the white lights for each vessel remained for almost a week and appeared large as well. Since this is only a compass and not a map, I can only tell that it was a weaker gate than those.
“In Eirdhen, the wizard’s guild has a magic map showing the entire world. When many people still believed the land was flat, wizards knew that it was round. Their magic captured the exact shape of the continents and can show where the point of light from a gate opening appears exactly.
“These compasses only show the direction they appear. Someone more skilled might be able to tell distance, but I can only say that the nearest one is too close to be on the mainland of the continent.”
Nodding in thought, Sebastian stated the obvious, “So it is probably on some island. Have you used Captain Delfren’s maps to figure out which it could be?”
Darterian took a string and lined up the compass on the map. As long as the paper hadn’t been moved, the captain had lined it up with true north. The string ran from their ship through south Talos across northern Litsarin and on to south Sileoth.
“Based on the strength of the light, I would guess that it is either the southwest tip of Talos or Litsarin,” the wizard stated though all their eyes could see the string. “I would guess that it is too close for Sileoth. There is also the possibility of a ship or small island in the water, but the two big islands would be my best guesses.”
Tapping his lips in thought, Sebastian mused, “If they do plan on attacking this island, then we should see a white light after it closes. If they are coming, we will want to watch the compass regularly to check for that separation.
“If you weren’t already, keep an eye out, Darterian, and let me know so I can warn the Grimnal, I mean Gerid,” the mage finished shaking his head at the slip. It was still strange to be on a first name basis with a legend. “The most likely way back for us is to head to both of those islands or at least sail near them from what I am told. When we are closer, you will be able to get your answer to where it originated.”
Annalicia asked a little subdued, “Do you really think that they will try again so soon? Has the emperor the resources to even try?”
Understanding that the woman didn’t doubt the emperor’s number of soldiers as much as the number of ships he had at his disposal since the empire rested in the mountains north of Southwall with no river big enough to float a vessel that could survive the sea, Sebastian could only shrug and reply, “The black ship that escaped was still battle ready and the first may have returned despite the damage we caused to them. It has been a few weeks and with wizards and shipwrights both could be ready to come for us soon enough.
“Whether his fleet consists of just three vessels, I don’t know obviously, since no one has ever found the black ships or made it into Ensolus to discover what is inside. We’re just guessing and can only remain prepared. We’ll wait and watch the compass until we discover more.”
“You seem surprisingly calm about the possibility of fighting the emperor’s warlocks again,” Reynolvan stated with a frown. “Even a battle mage should realize that whatever advantage of surprise we had is now gone. We might not be so lucky if there is a next time.”
The Malaiy wizard had been negative throughout the whole trip, most likely because the extra danger meant doing his job of protecting Annalicia was that much more difficult thanks to this journey. Sebastian was used to it and doubted that such comments were truly aimed at him as much as the circumstances though he was partly to blame for them as well. He merely replied, “I’m a battle mage. We train and do what we can to plan, but in the end we train for battle and have to be able to adapt as things change. This is just one more matter I will adjust to, as long as we can see the danger coming.
“We don’t know that the most recent portals have anything to do with us, but I would guess that the emperor won’t take his losses lightly. Just be ready to fight or flee, if they come.”
The wizard shook his head but didn’t bother to reply. Sebastian understood the man’s misgivings, especially since he felt that this wasn’t Malaiy’s fight since the emperor had chosen North Continent to build his empire. He was also in charge of keeping the young lady safe and Anna was continually part of the defense of her ship and crew. Her guests had even needed her help beyond the Sea Dragon’s protection and Annalicia had risked her life on more than one occasion on the islands they had visited along the way.
Sebastian’s eyes strayed to the compass and the many points of light running from the strongest light in the west to those to its north. The other points were more distant and likely to be in Southwall making him wonder what else the emperor’s forces could be up to while he was away.
The shadowed building gave way to silver light only to be replaced by a bright sunny day. The sound of wind and birds came to his ears even as the dark mage blinked trying to adjust to the bright sun’s light.
“Hurry up, Palose!” a girl’s voice called to him sounding on the verge of giggling at his discomfort.
Finding the lithe, dark haired girl nearly dancing along a packed earth path, the dark mage fought shaking his head. Acheri had dark mysterious eyes to go with her brunette hair, but any mystery she might be harboring was well hidden in the face of a jubilant young woman. Even that facade was a lie concealing the truth of the girl.
Acheri looked like a girl in her early teen years, but was in reality only a few months old. She was the new sister of the emperor created by warlocks in a birthing chamber and was a side product of their research into finding a powerful body to hold the ancient creature’s mind and power. Though only brought to life mere months before, Acheri also had the shared knowledge of the emperor. The dichotomy that made up the princess was hard for him to wrap his mind around at times even though he had been there for the emperor’s change.
Once a dying old man, the emperor cheated death by transferring his consciousness and magic to three vessels. A second male was a reject unable to hold the fullness of the emperor’s power, yet Lanquer held magical strength beyond most warlocks by ten times or more. He had been created as a protector and guardian for Acheri and the emperor, however, and was trained to the sword more than in magic.
Since they were away from the relative safety of Ensolus, Lanquer had come as well and walked looking less cheerful than his sister by half. In fact, the brown haired young man, who appeared roughly the same age as Acheri, could often be seen with a frown on his face. He had come to life knowing that he was a reject and inferior to those considered siblings through the strangeness of their mutual creation.
The emperor had instilled much of his knowledge and a portion of his power into Acheri and Lanquer while the third body held the true mind of the original being. Acheri was as much the girl she appeared to be as the accumulated knowledge of the ancient emperor. Both were their own unique beings as well, and Palose had come to know each of them to a point.
Lanquer looked around like a bodyguard watching a crowd, though there were no people nearby. Acheri, in contrast, skipped as she headed towards a large town where the mage’s eyes opened slightly wider seeing blue water sparkling beyond the town onward to the horizon.
Three other men walked alongside the others with swords strapped to their waists. While there was likely to be little trouble here according to his briefing, the emperor wouldn’t let his sister go without extra men to protect her. Palose was also a battle mage and the siblings had their magical power, but it was better safe than sorry.
“This is an island?” the mage questioned as he followed close behind thinking the town looked similar to those of southern Southwall. His hand slipped
into his pocket feeling a handful of stones and tossed a pair on the ground near where the gate had opened to deposit the group.
Flinging her hand gracefully towards the town, Acheri turned to look at Palose in a twirl saying, “That is Banosh and we are on the island called Litsarin, after the name of the world Kolban and the elves come from. Didn’t you pay attention to anything said in the briefing?”
Palose turned to look behind him to see more hills slowly growing towards mountains blue with the distance. If this was an island, it was massive, the mage thought to himself.
“I paid attention. I just didn’t think it would be so big. So this is one of the islands raised in the Cataclysm then. The emperor planted cities here and still went into the cold mountains north of Southwall?”
Shrugging, Acheri walked back to the mage who was taking too long and pulled him after her with both hands hugging his arm to her breasts. The girl had seemed infatuated with the mage from the moment she had come out of the birthing chamber. If not for the worry of her being the emperor’s sister and so young in truth, the beautiful young woman might be of more interest to Palose; but he knew better and had found other young women much less dangerous in Ensolus. Still he had to let Acheri play with him or risk her anger. With power dwarfing Lanquer’s, the dark haired beauty was second in power only to the emperor himself.
“It is warmer here for sure. Ensolus, however, is a fortress unlike any other. It would be hard to fortify Litsarin or even its towns. The resources aren’t as good as the mountain either and there is little natural defenses, but there are mines in these mountains as well. It is where some of Ensolus’ wealth comes from.
“While humans and elven descendants live in the coastal towns dealing with our neighboring countries in trade; orcs, goblins and trolls live in these mountains. There are even some armored viles to help dig through the rock in the mines,” Acheri said looking up at him with her dark eyes. A smile lit her face making her look even more beautiful, but Palose’s heart was steeled against her charms.
Even without a magic vision spell, Palose’s eyes noted the harbor beyond the town and a dozen large ships tied to a set of docks. A breakwater could be seen like a curving white line keeping the ocean waves from breaking the ships on the shore in a storm. Bringing his eyes back from the distracting water, Palose thought that a few of the vessels in the harbor bore similar lines to the black ships he had seen inside of Ensolus.
“So this is the secret harbor of his black ships? The emperor keeps them hidden in the lake inside Ensolus and makes them on this island?” he ventured his guess seeing those in the harbor.
“Ensolus holds the east side of the island and has created a shipyard to the south of Banosh. Now come on and stop stalling,” Acheri ordered assuming a frown that was barely holding a grin in check. Her eyes were full of merriment at being able to leave the city beneath the mountain to see the sunlight of the southern island. “It is too lovely of a day to stand around here talking about shipyards, when there is a town and ocean to see.”
When they arrived at the border of the town, Palose was slightly surprised that the residents weren’t more suspicious of their approach. They had come down from the hill, an almost arbitrary direction he would have thought, and were outsiders, yet heads merely nodded seeing that the group seemed to know where they were going.
Palose was also slightly surprised that the girl, who had somehow managed to take the lead despite her young age, seemed to actually know where she was going as well. He doubted that in her few months of life, the girl had ventured out of the protection of Ensolus to come here. She had joined him on several walks as the mage cast his lodestones and worked on seeding Southwall with portal points. Acheri had also joined him in an assassination attempt on a deserter in Windmeer, so the girl was hardly being hidden away by the emperor; but there had been little reason to come here until now.
A two story building with a sign in the common language of the north proclaimed it the port authority. Why a town on a new island would need such a building was a little less clear. Litsarin was a piece of land less than two hundred years old and the towns were younger than the ground beneath them. With little history given to the battle mage about places like Litsarin, a lesser known piece of the empire apparently; Palose was left with only more questions.
“You,” the girl said pointing to a man of middle years. He was soft looking and his belly said that the man managed to eat well. Since he was idling away his time talking to a younger man instead of watching the room empty of any real traffic, Palose guessed that he did little to burn off what he ate.
Turning to see the young girl flanked by a handful of men, the man behind the desk raised an eyebrow questioningly. He had little respect in his glance, though the swordsmen caused a little worry perhaps. “Can I help you, little lady?”
Acheri raised a questioning look on her brow while her dark eyes looked at the man appraisingly, and asked, “You are Harbor Master Alkwar?”
A placard of wood held the name and title on the desk. He was also one of the men mentioned in the briefing in Ensolus.
Giving a slow nod, the man pointed to the piece of wood and said slowly as if he was speaking to the simple minded, “That is what this says, yes. Is there something that I can do for you? If not, I have better things than teaching you how to read.”
The guards all tensed and took a step forward at the man’s disrespect while Palose remained waiting curiously to see what would happen. Would Alkwar insult the princess, who he didn’t know was a princess, and earn a beating from the men sent to guard her, or would the girl choose to stay his execution?
A hand raised before her stalling their steps as Acheri’s eyes narrowed slightly at the insulting manner of the harbor master. “Is this how you talk to those with business in Banosh, harbor master? If so perhaps we need to install a new one here. The emperor wouldn’t appreciate you ruining the commerce Litsarin currently has running through this town.”
The round bellied man glanced to the men with swords realizing they were soldiers now and not just the basic garden variety guards of a merchant. Still he wasn’t ready to back down from the unknown child before him.
“What emperor?” the man questioned using the usual disclaimer of the subjects on Litsarin. No one was supposed to know of their allegiance and it was likely that some of those in power in the towns preferred to believe that they were separate as well.
“THE emperor, the Dark One, Kolban, his name and the names he is called are more numerous; but we both know that he rules this island even from Ensolus.”
Looking nervously from the men to the young man standing behind the counter with him, Alkwar asked, “Who are you? What clearance do you have to speak his name in public? We aren’t supposed to share our allegiance with outsiders.”
“I am his sister, Acheri, princess of the empire,” the girl stated boldly causing her guards to wince. Palose sighed and looked to the ceiling for a sky that he could only wish was there to ask for strength. “I come because there is a matter that has come up in the islands. I need a ship, preferably a strong merchant, not one of the warships, and a captain that I can trust to do this job for the emperor.
“I hope there is one who hasn’t become too full of himself in the absence of the emperor’s strong hand,” she finished with a frown making it obvious that the harbor master was in trouble.
The younger man questioned aloud, “I didn’t know he had a sister.”
“I can summon my magic and burn this place to the ground around us, if you would like me to demonstrate the power my brother bestowed on me,” Acheri stated raising her hand threateningly.
Palose knew that it wasn’t the beginnings of a real gesture of magic yet, but if the girl grew more impetuous he could see the threat manifesting soon.
“No, my lady... princess.... umm, I am afraid we don’t know your name here so far from the center of the empire,” the older man said nervously.
“I am Princess
Acheri and this is my other brother, Lanquer. Kolban has added to the royal family in recent years. Now if you are done asking questions, which I shouldn’t even deign to answer for your impudence, you will answer my question,” she replied trying to sound imperious.
Palose could feel no rise in her magic and doubted that the girl truly cared about the slight. Acheri was merely playing at being a princess and having a little fun at the man’s expense. She had never pushed for others to bow to her or treat her like the sister of the emperor, at least not in front of the battle mage. He doubted that she cared most of the time. With her power of magic and the ability to use Kolban’s name in the city, Acheri had little need for the extra trappings of royalty.
Sweating on his forehead, made more pronounced by a receding hair line, Harbor Master Alkwar quickly pulled out a file of thick paper. While some countries had excellent resources for paper and books, it was a little surprising to see it used as if it was easily expendable. Palose looked on with a little more interest understanding the wealth this extension of the empire must have coming through its port if the harbor master could use paper for notes.
“The Clipper with Captain Roslere or the Sea Witch run by Captain Tolver would probably be the merchant ships with the most cannon. If you need speed the Clipper would be the faster of the two by a couple knots at top speed, princess,” the older man nodded and bowed his head as he pushed the papers before him.
“Both are men who know who they serve?” the girl questioned with her eyes pinched slightly to imply her faith in the harbor master was not high.
Nodding vigorously, Alkwar replied, “As loyal as any man can tell without being able to read their minds, my lady. I am but a harbor master and don’t know every captain well, but these two know whom they serve from what I can tell.”
Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Page 7
