Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8)

by Donald Wigboldy

  “The gate is open,” Darius called and the two mages noticed that they were all that remained of those returning home to Windmeer.

  Garosh shook his head and sighed, “Have a safe trip home and good luck on getting the ladies to join you in a bath. Rilena never let anyone stay with her when she bathed here either.”

  Trying not to growl at the men as they both laughed at her expense, the mage pushed past Elzen to walk into the storeroom hurrying towards the gate. The supplies and shelves were as she had remembered them, though the young women noticed that they had managed to make a bit of a mess upon entering the fortress. A couple boxes and small barrels were open and even a few simple pieces of cloth were on the floor.

  She barely gave it more thought as Rilena stepped into the glowing portal created by Darius and returned to Windmeer.

  Chapter 20- Scouting the Mountain

  The following morning after the fight in Sardon, Sebastian led a small team through the town to find the farm Mayor Holsun had directed them to during their meeting. It had been hard deciding who to take along after finding orcs in Sardon and knowing that they must have come down from the gate near Parik. Leaving Olan as the only battle mage to watch over the Sea Dragon as well as the Carnivore, though he felt that the second ship hadn’t been revealed to be associated with them directly, Frell and Mecklin joined him for the trek inland.

  Darterian had to come along as the expert with the compass, a fact that the wizard seemed to want to change but couldn’t. Most of his team of wizards joined him for the trip. Only Liam, Maura and her bodyguards remained with Annalicia and the ship, while Drayden was asked to join him replacing Olan’s sword, if not his magical skills. The other mage had been against being left behind until Sebastian pointed out that leaving the two mermaids alone when he was closest to them could lead to other troubles. They had been on their best behavior, but without someone to watch over them he would worry.

  Though Yara was a common enough companion, his last addition Ashleen, seemed to make the first girl unhappy. She wouldn’t come out and say anything, but he could feel the tension. For Ashleen’s part, the girl seemed oblivious to Yara’s unease. She merely wanted to be of help and Sebastian knew the wilder’s powerful lightning was a force to reckon with even if the girl wasn’t skilled with weapons like a battle mage.

  He also wanted to keep an eye on the girl and even give her a break from Helena, if her offered excuse was truth. While he could certainly see the former lord’s daughter being difficult to live with on a ship with its limited space, the mage still wondered if it was just an excuse to be closer to him. Sebastian had made it clear that he was with Yara and doubted that the wilder could see it any clearer, but it didn’t escape his thoughts.

  With a light fog in the harbor as the sun began to peak above the sea on the eastern horizon, the group had moved through Sardon and into the nearby hills to the west. Once into the hills the fog remained behind them and the sun had begun to rise to drive away the remainder of the morning haze. Still the walk along the dirt road felt eerily quiet to him after the months aboard the ship or living near the lapping waves of the ocean, but other than the feeling that things felt wrong nothing happened by the time they reached the farm with its stables.

  The morning sun had risen casting a bright glow across the land and the shadows between hills began to shorten. Men and women were already out in the fields or feeding animals around the yard by the time Sebastian’s party spoke to the man in charge of the ranch and farm. Another Holsun, the man was apparently the mayor’s cousin and already informed of Sebastian’s arrival.

  Surprising to the mage, they were off and riding without a hitch, while he still had the feeling that something was wrong.

  “This is still my least favorite thing about being a wizard,” Yara stated as they rode drawing his attention curiously. “No matter how many times I ride, I find that I do not enjoy it at all.”

  He noticed that the pretty blonde seemed to bounce in her saddle more than a comfortable rider would do. Ashleen was in earshot and met his eyes when he looked to the Kardorian where she rode much more securely. Kardor had a love for horses and it was said that there were almost as many steeds as men in the country. With a country almost as large as Southwall with about half the population, getting between castles and fortresses to defend against the emperor’s occasional probing interest had helped Kardor raise some of the best horses on North Continent.

  “I remember leading your horse the first time I met you. You couldn’t get your horse to move and I had to guide it behind mine the entire way.”

  The healer shrugged with a small smile for him as she answered, “I probably could have steered my horse the second half of the trip, but I had such a good guide that I decided to just enjoy the view.”

  “The hills were rather nice to look at, I suppose.”

  With a little laugh, the girl replied, “That wasn’t exactly the view I was thinking about.”

  “Ah,” he replied with a bigger smile. After a moment, he asked, “Do you need me to lead your horse again? I thought that you had that figured out by now.”

  She shook her head. “This horse seems to follow the group and the road well enough.” Her eyes flicked towards Ashleen as she spoke without thinking and realized that he had noticed. A sheepish smile crossed her face as she said, “I am surprised that you had her come with us. This is Southwall’s fight not hers, isn’t it?”

  Frowning slightly at Yara’s final words more than anything else, the mage shook his head and replied, “Kardor’s been resistant to the emperor as much as Southwall. Destroying his gates should be everyone’s fight since we don’t know what his continual use has been doing to the barrier between worlds. That is why Darterian and Annalicia are helping us as well after all.”

  “Sorry,” the pretty blonde responded looking a little flush at her selfishness. “I often forget that anyone else stands against the emperor since Southwall seems to take the brunt of his attention. We’ve only been in the thick of things for a year and already it feels like we’ve been in this fight for a century or more.”

  “Chasing after the Grimnal was supposed to be an exciting adventure and a break from orcs, trolls and the like; but it only seemed to drop us even deeper into his world. Last summer’s battles were no less of a struggle, but you’re right it feels like we’ve been fighting a lot longer than a year so far.”

  Sebastian sighed as he looked to the air and mused, “I wish there was some way to work things out, but no one seems to want to find a peaceful middle ground. The emperor attacks the wall. Our forces kill their scouts and armies. Then he tries to send Palose in to destroy Windmeer or creates a fortress in the Dimple Mountains to keep us fighting and realizing that even the wall can’t keep him from attacking us, so we find new ways to fight him as the cycle continues.”

  “Aren’t battle mages supposed to like fighting?” the girl said trying to make a joke.

  Snorting in disappointment, Bas replied, “Some do, I think; but eventually there comes a time when you just want some peace and quiet. Most men and women want peace to raise families without the threat of another battle around the corner.

  “I wonder if the people of Ensolus and the rest of his empire ever feel the same way. They can’t possibly like never ending war, can they?”

  “It would have been something to ask those orcs you captured,” Yara said with a nod.

  Her words made him consider that as well. Captain Iklyn’s men had taken the sleeping orcs and thrown them into cells inside of their headquarters. When he had asked to question them, he had been refused as they implied that they were prisoners to be interrogated by Sardon and the battle mage had no business with their prisoners even if it was Sebastian and his team that had managed to capture them in the first place.

  Without the ability to find out what they were walking into at Parik, the battle mage knew they had to err on the side of caution as they approached the mountain town. It also added to
the worry he had about the loyalty of the people of Sardon and the safety of those he was leaving behind; but at least they could sail away to safety if trouble showed.

  “We will have to be cautious, especially as we close on Parik. Maybe I should try riding the winds. That would at least give us a chance to see an enemy coming toward us.”

  Ashleen overheard the conversation and offered, “I can ride the winds, if you like. Someone would just have to lead my horse.”

  Yara’s eyes tightened slightly at the interruption, but Bas replied with a shake of his head. “I think that I will have a look for myself this time. We are still far enough away that I doubt we will see anything but people traveling or working farms for now.”

  The wilder shrugged and suggested, “I could still go with you. We can cover twice as much ground or travel together to make sure we don’t overlook anything.”

  Sounding a bit annoyed, Yara asked, “Why would you need to cover more ground? We just need to know that the path ahead is safe and traveling together on the winds to double check Sebastian would seem a wasteful use of your energy.”

  Ashleen replied with a second shrug and answered quietly, “I guess I am just bored really. Air wizards actually like using the spell to ride the winds. It’s like flying and what is more fun than that? Maybe searching inside of a body has its thrills for a healer, but Sebastian is the only one that can tell us which is more enjoyable.”

  Feeling slighted, though Ashleen had picked her words rather carefully, Yara knew that the other wizard was calling into question her compatability with the battle mage. The wilder had helped Sebastian open up much of his air ability in a way. He had learned to tap the power of the earth because of her unique affinity with the earth. For all that the mage had chosen Yara; the healer could feel the conflicting sides of the man. He could heal, but he killed as well. It was rare that healing wizards could bring themselves to harm others and meant that Yara would never be able to understand the other side of him that relished the fight and battle.

  “You can do as you wish, Ashleen. I just think that it is a waste of energy to duplicate the effort of Sebastian and expanding your search accomplishes very little save selfishly using your gift for pleasure,” Yara said with an air of judgment in her voice.

  Ashleen frowned as Sebastian waved Mecklin forward to guide his horse as he threw his reins to the mage. “You can search if you like, Ashleen, but I still want to look for myself.”

  The battle mage lifted from his body as he ordered the spell, “Freedom.” His word to access the magic accurately named the freedom that riding the winds afforded the mage. Like Ashleen had said, riding the winds was one of the most enjoyable spells that he had ever learned. The experience of floating on the wind was as exhilarating as the first time every time.

  Ashleen could feel his energy change and most could tell that his closed eyes meant that his mind no longer paid attention to the immediate world around his body. The wilder moved towards Frell and tossed her reins to the girl. “Well, since it is my choice and my energy to waste, I think that I will go also.”

  It was an act of defiance against the healer, but there was nothing to be said as the wizard’s head sagged slightly with the release of her mind to the winds.

  Sebastian’s mind moved against the wind coming from the west off of the mountain. Whether the people of Litsarin simply called it Parik or had another name for the mountain he didn’t know, but the peak was substantially tall and could rival some of the Dimple Mountains he had seen passing between Windmeer and Falcon’s Keep. For a piece of land separated from the continent, the island had an impressive range of mountains at its heart. These were not simple hills, but impressive stone crags lifting high enough to touch the lower clouds.

  They were also large enough to influence the winds and, like a ship in the wind, the mage found that he couldn’t move in a straight line towards the west. He moved from current to current working his way through the opposing flows of air. Despite the countering winds, the battle mage managed to move along methodically towards Parik at a speed many times faster than those riding the horses below.

  While tacking against the wind, Sebastian always tried to keep the road to Parik in sight. Farms were a near constant from Sardon, through the hills and nearly to the base of the mountain. As an island, the people had to make due with the space they had and eastern Litsarin was becoming more settled so farmers took the land that they could use whether they terraced hills or formed fields between the rises to collect water and fresh soil. Through it all, the road weaved between the farms with the occasional small village popping up to facilitate trade to keep farmers supplied, as well as forming lifelines for selling items like milk and eggs regularly.

  Though the land was lovely to look at, the mage soon found Parik with no trace of an enemy threat that he could see. The mines beyond the town were filled with activity around the entries where stone was moved in carts to and fro. Sorters looked for precious items that were sometimes missed deep inside the mountains where the light of the sun couldn’t help shine on the metals or gems. Others created piles of stone to be sent down the road for building in Sardon and other locations in need of material. Men shouted orders while the miners continued their labor with little complaint though bowed backs probably concealed words hidden under their breath.

  Overall it appeared like a normal amount of activity. He didn’t see more of the orcs or strangely cloaked figures, of course, the battle mage would hardly expect the emperor’s men to skulk around looking obvious. If it was so easy, then he wouldn’t be as worried as he was.

  With little more gained than a quick sightseeing trip to Parik, the mage turned back. The winds nearly drove his mind away from the mountain town and almost before he knew it, Sebastian was back in his body. His conscious movement to retake his reins caused Mecklin to start in surprise. He tended to forget that the others couldn’t see him returning to his body, but it couldn’t be helped short of making his mouth say that he was coming back. Even that was likely to cause surprise, but Sebastian was over the unimportant thoughts quickly.

  “Ashleen went right after you,” Mecklin said nodding towards Frell who led the wilder’s horse. “I don’t think Yara appreciated the woman’s lack of restraint.”

  Sebastian looked to the pretty Kardorian with her hair glimmering almost silver in the sun’s light. “Unless I am looking for a particular wizard from their start point, I would be unlikely to even feel them following me. I was able to track a couple that I knew well last year, but that was to save their minds and I had help from another air wizard.

  “It isn’t like Ashleen was with me, even in spirit.”

  He wondered if the healer thought riding the winds was the intimate experience they shared while using healing magic. The two had discovered using their healing spells increased the feel of each other even if they were simply holding hands. Perhaps he needed to state what he knew of air magic to Yara. It was about freedom and unless a wizard was mentoring another, their minds had no contact on the winds.

  Apparently Mecklin understood his problem with Yara’s feelings as he said, “She’s been on edge since the air wizard asked to come on board, hasn’t she? Yara hasn’t been threatened by Ashleen has she?”

  Typical of a battle mage, Mecklin implied that she had been threatened physically. Being a man didn’t lend any clarity to the situation with women either, of course, Sebastian thought sarcastically. He was friends with several women, but it didn’t mean he always understood them. Even Yara was a mystery at times, but as he spotted the girl looking at the wilder with a small frown, Sebastian was pretty sure that he understood how she felt and Mecklin’s opinion of being threatened wasn’t far off, the owl thought more accurately than he often felt in regards to women and their feelings.

  “I doubt that Ashleen even said anything directly to offend her,” Sebastian replied quietly. “Yara thinks that Ashleen will fight to win me to her, but I’ve told her that we are just friend
s. Of course, no matter how often I say it, I don’t think that she completely believes me.”

  Mecklin surprised him as he countered, “Just because you think of her as just a friend, does Ashleen believe that as well?”

  With a quick laugh at his own expense, the owl replied, “I can ride the wind or examine a body for injury, but I can’t read minds, Mecklin, though that would be a helpful spell.”

  Echoing his laugh, the older mage agreed.

  Ashleen returned to herself nearly half an hour later and surprised him with her report.

  “Bas, I tried checking the roads to the north thinking maybe they would send someone back to Banosh. I pushed a little further than I normally would and was surprised to see more than one group of men with orcs following them.

  “The first appeared headed northeast towards either Banosh or one of the towns along the way. The second group was larger riding along the base of the mountains headed west.”

  “What could they be doing headed west?” Sebastian mused aloud and hoped that one of his team would have an insight, because he was stumped.

  If the emperor wanted to fix the gate, then the group headed to Banosh made sense. More had found them in Sardon, which was likely intended to set up as an ambush for Darterian, a wizard who closes portals. If he knew enough of the Dark One to guess, Bas was pretty sure that he was working to maintain whatever contact he had with the island. Whether Litsarin owed allegiance to the emperor or was simply a resource he used less directly, the gates spoke of a motivation to remain attached to the towns in the east at least.

  Collin proposed another idea into the silence as they climbed into the outer foothills leading to Parik, “Maybe closing the first gate spurred him to send more wizards with orc guards to build more gates, not only near Sardon and Banosh, but in the west where Sileoth has settlements?”