A battle mage was a mix of cautious planning and the ability to adjust to the flow of battle and conditions. Fighting, killing and war were their domains, which made for yet another wall between them. He had thought his ability to heal had helped bridge that gap, but maybe it was too little common ground in a relationship with so many differences.
Shaking off the dark thoughts, Sebastian relayed what he had seen as he wrestled to describe the feel of the aura, “He feels different.”
“He’s learning dark magic, so of course he is different,” she replied as Bas tried to organize his thoughts.
“No, I mean his power has increased to a powerful wizard or maybe I should call him a warlock now,” he said looking at the planking in front of him as the mage struggled to make what he had seen clear when it wasn’t clear in his mind. “Even if a wizard or battle mage can increase their power, there should be a similarity in his aura to what he started with; but I sense very little of what he once was.”
“Do you mean that he doesn’t feel like himself or that he feels like someone else?” the healer asked looking confused. Her words sounded awkward coming from her mouth and she knew that they didn’t express what she meant any better than his had.
“Normally I can feel for the school of magic a wizard likes to use most and battle mages have a different feel from wizards. It’s like I feel a mixture of schools in him and it was the same for Wendle and that Dorgred, though I’ve never met the last wizard. They all felt muddled like the elements were mixed with darkness.”
“They felt the same as each other?” Yara asked suddenly thoughtful and she leaned her chin onto her hand to think. “If all three felt the same, I wonder if Palose is somehow tied to them and them to him. It would explain how all three could feel the same and maybe why he is more powerful.”
Her eyes flicked to his and she asked rhetorically, “Could he have used resurrection magic like the warlocks called it to somehow bind them to him? It would explain his increase in power if they all somehow shared and would explain why a water wizard like Wendle would feel muddled with other elements and dark magic.”
Sighing, the mage knew that it was a complete hypothesis and probably meant little to defeating the dark mage; but it would also explain why Wendle and Dorgred’s allegiances had switched so easily. Reports had said that they were pretty sure the fire wizard had been killed in the battle and Wendle had been a likely casualty as well.
If Palose had the ability to return men to life while binding them to him, he could create an army of wizards. If their power affected his, the more he added the more strength he would have in theory.
Sliding up the wall before pushing away from the wood cabin, he offered the girl a hand as he stated, “Well, then one of us needs to figure out how to at least form a portal to begin countering his new abilities. I’d better get back to work.”
By the time they arrived in Helsen, the westernmost port of Litsarin and a colony of Sileoth, they had spent over a week trying to crack the magical code of portal magic. Ashleen, Collin and Annalicia had managed shaky window size portals a few times, but none of those felt secure enough to try opening a human size doorway or risking anyone going through them.
Sebastian had felt the magic when they succeeded and tried to match their technique with his own, but worried that he would need more strength than he had inside of him. His wizard’s staff Bairh’loore was in his room wrapped in a cloth to avoid drawing attention. With it he could tap the earth for the power of many wizards at once, and he had a feeling that he would be able to force the magic as the warlocks had done; but forcing open a gateway without direction was still dangerous and unlikely to help them in anyway.
The practicing and study of the magic was as much a distraction for the voyage that now spanned nearly three months as a need to learn the tricks of the emperor. Three weeks had been spent on Grimnal Island, as the team had begun to call it, and Sebastian didn’t begrudge the man needing time to prepare his people for his leaving.
“Look at all the weight of the world resting on one man’s shoulders,” Gerid said with a chuckle as he approached the mage by the rail.
Sebastian had moved to look at the town that they now approached. While there were a few small settlements on the south side of the massive island, Helsen was the first true town since they had left Sardon. Litsarin being a recently reclaimed piece of land, it had yet to become settled anywhere near its potential future population. There were four main towns on the east side of the island, which were believed to have been originally settled by the people of Talos and Baltu. Helsen and a couple more towns held the west having been settled by Sileoth and a few others who had come in search of a new life after the Cataclysm.
“Not all the weight, but enough of it,” Sebastian stated with a weak smile.
“Is it the emperor or the girl?” the big man asked glancing towards Yara who stood with Nara and Serrena rather than the mage.
“Could be a bit of both,” he replied.
“What happened between you two? When we first met and throughout the time on the island, you two seemed almost inseparable.”
Giving a shrug, Bas answered, “I’m not really sure. Maybe it is just all our differences catching up with us or the fact that we are getting closer to Southwall again.”
With a grunt, the silver haired giant leaned onto the rail bringing them eye to eye. “That always seems to be the way it goes. One moment they’re happy with you, the next you’re in trouble without even knowing what you did.
“If it is just your differences though, they were there when you met and will be there no matter what comes. The right differences just help build a stronger couple though. The wrong ones don’t let those pieces of the puzzle fit and forcing them does no good; but I’ve watched you two. You have the right fit, if you don’t let them beat you.”
“How do you know what pieces are right for each other?” Sebastian asked with a sigh.
“You just know.”
A pause filled only with the sound of the wind in the sails and the waves crashing beneath the Sea Dragon ended as Sebastian changed topics and had another question. “Do you think that they’ll believe us in Helsen?”
“That the emperor may be sending warlocks to set up portals near the town to take over Litsarin? You don’t have concrete proof to show him. If the mayor is close minded, you will be shot down and ignored. Some men gain power and only see what they want to see, while others prefer discretion and will heed your warning.
“Even going back to a time before they forced a crown into my hands, kings could watch other countries falling around them and think that it could never happen to them. When their allies are destroyed, it is usually too late.”
“Do you think I am better off just warning their king in Sileoth and not wasting the time on the towns which will be the first to see if I am correct?”
Gerid shrugged this time. “I don’t know their king any more than I know this mayor. We’re here. Don’t waste a lot of time trying to warn them, I guess. Then move on to the next.”
Bells rang in the water as buoys warned of rocks outside of the protection of the harbor. Dozens of ships were entering and leaving the harbor from simple fishing boats which worked the gentler waters between the islands to the larger ocean going vessels showing flags from Taltan and North continent. Helsen was a popular stopping point in the shipping lanes between the lands of the north and those of their southern cousins. It was also the largest of the populations verging on a true city in size.
Commerce and trade fueled its growth as several trading companies had formed a base here with warehouses to hold their goods and fleets to move them between the nations. Sebastian’s eyes could also see farmland south of Helsen as well as to the east where the land rose in a gentler way than near Sardon or Banosh. It was also the first city ringed by walls. A hold out from the time that Sileoth was a part of North and not an island, Helsen had been constructed with walls built out into the water o
n rock that helped form the protection of the harbor.
“They look ready for an attack at least,” Collin stated noting the high stone walls. It reminded the men of Hala and its fortifications, but it didn’t have the natural protection created by being built along the top of a cliff overlooking the North Sea like the capitol.
An enemy with enough ships could attack the city from the harbor and a land based attack could probably swim with rafts supporting their gear if they had to as well. Still it was more than the other towns they had seen and could at least slow the emperor’s forces if they came.
“The mayor isn’t going to be easy to sway in a city like this one,” Sebastian sighed bringing other eyes to him in some confusion.
Annalicia joined him with her entourage of wizards and soldiers who wouldn’t leave the lady of Malaiy to walk a foreign city by herself or even with Sebastian to protect her. Mecklin came along, but the mage chose to accompany the lady rather than becoming a secondary force. The others would examine the city and perhaps shop with plans to leave the next day. The Sea Dragon and Carnivore would see to resupplying the ships with water and food, though they were in no danger of running out now that they were back in more civilized and populated waters.
With a little guidance from the locals, they found the three story building easily enough. Once inside, Sebastian used the seal of King Alain and Annalicia used similar papers from Malaiy to send a secretary hurrying to find the mayor for an audience.
It wasn’t long before they were led to an office that was as large as many small audience halls in the castles Sebastian had been inside.
A dark haired man, bearded and dressed in a dark red shirt that nearly appeared brown to his eyes wearing black pants and boots; looked up from his discussion with two other men. The other men looked dressed more richly. Gold and silver jewelry adorned them heavily.
For a battle mage’s eyes, they were covered with more jewelry than any woman he had met save the queen and her ladies in Hala.
Turning to face his new guests, he frowned slightly for the number of men accompanying Anna. “Surely, the lady doesn’t fear me so much that she needs to bring an entire force to feel safe for a meeting?”
The other two men stood as well. One was blond and similarly bearded to the other two men and dressed like a royal, while the other appeared to be in military dress. The mayor conducted his own introductions, “It seems that I am very popular today. This is Ambassador Yordham here from Sileoth along with Commander Evendil. You can see that the ambassador was less fearful and only brought the commander though they did bring three ships loaded with cannon, I suppose.”
Annalicia smiled disarmingly as any pretty girl seemed capable of doing and she replied, “And you are Mayor Lothman, I believe. Well, my men do not like to leave me too alone, but that comes from being in line with the royal succession of Malaiy, I suppose. Is the ambassador from royal blood as well?”
The blond haired ambassador smiled back and bowed his head at a proper angle to greet both a woman and a lady from another nation. “My family has royal blood, but most of Tarmand would have to disappear before I had to worry about becoming king,” he chuckled trying play off any possible scenario that it might take for such a thing to happen.
“Ah,” the girl replied and added, “last I recall I am thirteen or fourteenth in line since my mother is a cousin to the king of Malaiy.”
“Twelfth, my lady,” Reynolvan corrected, “your uncle passed away two years ago.”
Spreading her hands as if it had been a true slip to be corrected, Annalicia continued, “And of course, that is as long as none of my aunts or cousins have given birth since my leave.”
The men chuckled, though the joke verged on crude, it was the type that they could appreciate. It revealed the girl had a sense of humor making the room relax a little more. Anna pretended to remember another thing that had been forgotten as she added, “This is Falcon Sebastian Trillon from Southwall acting as voice for King Alain.”
The mayor’s forehead wrinkled as the falcon nodded quietly. This was Annalicia’s environment and he was barely an amateur compared to the lady who was barely older than he.
Holding out his hand to shake it unlike the ambassador or commander, Mayor Lothman took the falcon’s hand as he towered over the smaller man and asked, “You shared a vessel with Malaiy? Has Southwall become so poor that they must use other nations’ ships to send their messengers now?”
While the mayor was tall, Sebastian had become used to Gerid dwarfing him which made the man less formidable in appearance. “No, Mayor Lothman, we were on a joint venture brought on after the wizards’ tournament in Hala. I assume you heard of it?”
The men all frowned slightly and Lothman explained why as he said, “It was a shame that none of our wizards placed higher, but word of the tournament and its results has already beaten you here. If those are the words that your king sends you with, I guess that you are too late.”
Shaking his head, Sebastian wasn’t sure if the man was playing with him, but he replied simply, “No, sir, I have come with information that I have gathered since then.”
“Sounds dire,” the ambassador chuckled with his impression of the young mage.
The commander was less dismissive.
“Do I need to stand up for this or sit down?” Lothman laughed similarly to the ambassador.
Annalicia interrupted as she stated, “Unfortunately, we have news that may or may not be crucial to you. We have visited Banosh and Sardon recently, since we also carry my cousin, a wizard charged with sealing portals between the worlds. You know of these wizards and the reason for their tasks, yes?”
The men looked a little perplexed except for the commander who saved the other men from admitting ignorance, “They close breaks between worlds before monsters and demons come through to create their havoc in our world. Like the emperor they failed to stop, they continue to try and stop more dangers from coming to Alus.”
Giving the man a slow nod, Anna continued, “My cousin, Darterian, led us to gates in Banosh and Parik. They have been closed, but not before some of the emperor’s agents came through the Parik gate.”
Sebastian took over during her dramatic pause, “The device which finds gates could not lead us to the warlocks and creatures before its window to follow ended. We have wind wizards who managed to spot them before they were too far from the gate, but by the time we reached Parik it was too late to catch up to them.
“We do know that they sent out multiple teams to the north and west. If they remain on foot, but travel by the most direct route, they could be here within a few days.”
The mayor looked skeptical as he said, “What will a few men or monsters do when we have our walls and cannon? I have even managed to procure several wizards from the king to protect one of his best contributing cities.”
While the mayor and ambassador seemed unimpressed, the commander waited for the true threat to be revealed; so Sebastian did not sugar coat his warning as he added, “You keep the gates to your city open for farmers and other travelers to trade with you. The warlocks can enter your city and create magical gates within Helsen to bring an army here to take it from within.
“You have several wizards to defend the city. The emperor can send dozens or hundreds.”
Mayor Lothman paled a little bit, but asked, “What would you have me do; close our gates to all trade and the people who will need us to protect them if the dark armies come?”
The battle mage shook his head and shrugged. “I can only give you warning of what you might face. I don’t know your city or its defenses.
“We are here to give you notice and will bring word to your king of the possible need for assistance when we leave here.”
The men from Sileoth looked less happy to hear that Sebastian and his people couldn’t stay to help. While he could tell them of their battle at Parik; they would only see them leaving the city to its fate and not of their attempt to stop the warlocks and t
heir plan. Southwall and Sileoth were allies, but his team would be insignificant in number if the emperor brought his hosts to conquer the city.
Commander Evendil was the oldest of the men and had seen battle during his tenure with the navy, so he was the one who understood their predicament as well. “You have come to warn us. It will be up to Helsen and the other towns to prepare a defense against a treacherous opponent.”
Annalicia continued to smooth the tension between them as she added, “We wish that we could do more, but we only sail a simple frigate with a handful of wizards from each country. Our numbers aren’t enough to alter a conflict and we can do more by continuing our journey to visit King Qeyless. We will bring word of the emperor’s movements and your need for help.”
The tall, dark haired mayor began to pace in worry. “Unless you have more to tell me, then I guess that we are done. Leave us to discuss our options between us,” Lothman ordered with a wave of his hand. “Sileoth will do as it must as we always have.”
The dig was a typical one for someone feeling slighted. Sebastian being young forgot himself and retorted as calmly as he could, “Just as Southwall has in the past as we’ve stood between Sileoth and the empire until now.”
Stopping his pacing, the mayor frowned along with the other men of Sileoth. This was why he had brought Annalicia along, the battle mage thought almost instantly regretting his impetuous words.
Annalicia stepped in as the peacemaker once more trying to soothe their egos as she said, “We all do as we must as we face the Dark One. For now, we will speak with your king before returning to Hala with word of this to King Alain. I am sure that he will wish to help if war is brewing on his allies’ land.”
The men looked to the pretty young lady from Malaiy and seemed to soften as nods came from all around. Getting angry at one another and dividing allegiances from petty words only served to help the Dark One after all. They knew better and managed the remainder of their farewells civilly.
Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Page 36
