“That’s some impressive armor you have there Boss!” Tartum grunted as he tried to push his staff into Savall’s face.
Savall gave Tartum a strained smile as he pushed back, “Yea, son, it truly is, isn’t it. It’s...It’s magical you know...”
Tartum pushed down against his staff, he couldn’t believe how strong Savall was and the stalemate continued, “I figured it was, considering all the magic gear I’ve seen on the others. What’s...yours...do?” Tartum asked. The effort was making talking difficult.
With a sudden shove, Savall knocked Tartum away. Tartum was surprised that he was able to do that but ignored the shock and kept his focus on his opponent. He did not lower his guard, even when he saw Savall wasn’t counter attacking.
“It regenerates me, son.” he said, and Tartum watched as the dents in the armor fixed themselves. There was a minor indentation that let him know that there had been some damage there once, but that was it. The armor, and Savall, was in perfect fighting order once again.
“So much for going easy on you, Boss!” Tartum said, his disgust was thick in his voice.
Savall’s smile disappeared, “Easy on me, eh? Son, let me show you just how easy I was being on you!” With that, Savall came at Tartum once more. The fight was much more intense this time. Savall’s sword seemed to be everywhere, and it was only through countless years of practice and sparring that Tartum was able to keep up. The blur of purple edged blade and jade green staff was amazing, and when the two weapons clashed against each other sparks flew. It was as if even the magical enchantments in the weapons were fighting each other.
The only thing Tartum had going for him was his youth. Savall was easily seventy years old. Tartum figured if he could just keep him at bay long enough, he would tire and get sloppy. He just hoped it wouldn’t take long. He gave up on trying to press for an offensive advantage and went completely on the defensive, focusing on stopping Savall’s blade from finding his flesh. Tartum saw a flash in Savall’s eyes, and he swung his sword at him like a bat. Tartum got his staff up in time, but the force from the impact sent Tartum flying back a good six feet. He barely kept his balance. There was a gasp from someone in the corner, but Tartum didn’t dare look to see who it was.
“Waiting for me to get tired are you, son? Is that your plan?” Savall asked. He seemed to be breathing hard but not nearly as hard as Tartum was. “What part of me telling you my armor regenerates me don’t you understand? I can run for two weeks straight, fight for a month, fuck for a year in this armor, and my stamina would never diminish. You’ll have to think of a better strategy than to bore me if you want to pass this test, Jade Mage.” The last part was spat out as if the disappointment in his tone left a bad taste in his mouth. Tartum didn’t like that tone, he didn’t like it at all.
He decided to give Savall what he asked for; if he was going to be magically enhanced then so was he. Opening himself completely to the magic, Tartum felt it invigorate his senses. His confidence was bolstered dramatically, and he looked up at Savall.
“Are you ready for this, old man?” Tartum asked, his tone was dripping with threat.
Savall smiled, “Old man is it? Is the pup finally ready to fight?” he taunted.
Tartum eagerly took the bait and flung himself at Savall. Their weapons clashed and their skills were tested. With the magic infusing his body Tartum had little trouble pressing Savall and forcing him to fall back towards the wall. Savall was desperately trying to turn Tartum’s attacks back at him but couldn’t match his ferocity. When Savall’s foot hit the wall, he stumbled slightly, it was all the opportunity Tartum needed. Knocking his sword to the side, Tartum brought his staff across Savall’s upper body more times than he could count. Holding his staff up to Savall’s neck Tartum felt triumphant.
“Yield, Boss” he said, his victory assured.
Savall looked up at him dumbfounded, “Yield? Yield!? You can’t be serious! I said we fight till we die or until I say it’s over.” Savall’s armor began to fix itself and he knocked Tartum’s staff off of his throat. Picking up his sword he stared at Tartum with a murderous look in his eyes.
“Yield isn’t a word the guards will use when they have the opportunity to kill you! Yield isn’t a word I want to hear you offer a merchant’s personal body guard when you’re supposed to be watching my back! YIELD isn’t a word I want to hear when you’re sent out on an assassination mission! YIELD IS SOMETHING THE THIEVES GUILD DOESN’T DO!!” Savall’s anger withered Tartum’s confidence, and he backed away.
Savall held the hilt of his sword with both hands and lowered the tip till it touched the ground. He pushed on the center emerald and the sword came alive in a dark purple glow. With an effort, Savall pulled the sword in two directions, and the purple glow flashed. Tartum blinked away the spots in his eyes caused by the sudden light, and when he once again could see, he saw Savall now wielded two great swords; one in each hand. Any hope Tartum might have had that he wouldn’t be able to use both weapons with any skill was immediately squashed as Savall demonstrated just how adept he was. The flurry of movement Savall spun into was amazing. The martial skill required to wield just one of those swords was substantial, to wield two; Tartum had never seen a more impressive demonstration of martial ability.
Tartum’s awe was knocked away as Savall’s twin great swords came crashing down at him. The fight was on once again, and this time it was all Tartum could do to keep up. Savall’s fury was terrifying and his attacks were intense. Tartum’s staff was a blur of defense. He was frantically trying to think of what he could do to stop Savall’s attack. He had an idea, but he didn’t like it.
Feigning that he had slipped, Tartum dropped to one knee. Savall took the bait and sliced one of his blades across Tartum’s chest. He finished his killing blow with his back turned to Tartum and holding both swords to either side of his body in his outstretched hands. Elizabeth and Vaund screamed, Jeth cheered, Rashlarr and Savall were silent. Tartum grinned, moving with his enhanced reflexes he jumped up and brought his staff down on Savall’s hand crushing it. His sword clattered to the ground and Savall began to scream in surprise and pain. His anguish was cut short as Tartum kicked him in the face with such force that his body was thrown back three feet; his other sword clattering out of reach across the room. Standing up over Savall’s prone and bleeding body, Tartum raised his staff ready to bring it down and end his life. Savall looked up at him and saw the murderous intent in his eyes. Holding his hand up Savall yelled.
“Well done, son! Well done! You’ve passed the melee portion of your over exam! Stand down!” Savall said. Although he was beaten and his life was in peril, there was no fear or lack of authority in his voice. His tone gave Tartum pause, he wasn’t sure if this was a trick. He looked up and made eye contact with Elizabeth who simply nodded. Tartum wasn’t sure why, but seeing her tugged at him, and he lost his grip on the magic; suddenly his staff seemed very heavy. Lowering it he learned on it and looked down at Savall.
“Not bad, son. Thought you were going to finish me off there. How did you survive that final cut? I should have split you in half with that slice.” Savall said. His tone was casual as if they hadn’t been battling to the death a moment before. Tartum wasn’t as quick to shift his emotions and took a few deep breaths to get himself under control again. It was hard for him to go from fighting for his life to chatting calmly with a friend. He didn’t know how Savall did it.
“Your deathblow would have cut me in half if it hadn’t been for my dome spell.” was all the explanation Tartum offered.
Savall seemed to consider this and then laughed, “Well then, next time we fight I’ll just have to cut you twice then. Well done, son! Let’s clean up and gather for your second and final part of the over exam.” With that, Savall jumped up. Tartum noted that his armor worked quickly and that not even his hand showed the slightest hint of injury.
Vaund and Rashlarr both came over to congratulate Tartum on passing the first half of his over
exam as Savall and Jeth left. “I never worried about you winning for a second, Tartum! I knew you were going to win!” Vaund said. He was giddy; he was so excited.
“Yes, Jade Mage, impressive use of the dome spell, I must admit that I wasn’t sure Savall was going to allow its use, but I guess if he could use his sword in the manner he did, what choice did you have? Very entertaining. Very entertaining indeed.” Rashlarr said. His word choice let Tartum know that both he and Calimsha approved of his performance. It bothered Tartum that their approval made him feel so proud.
“Thank you, my friends,” Tartum said; “where do I go for the next half of the exam?” he asked. He really wanted to get this over with.
Elizabeth stepped forward and embraced Tartum in a strong hug. She was shaking, and Tartum didn’t know what to do but hold her. Vaund and Rashlarr both smiled uncomfortably and began to leave. As he was almost outside the room, Rashlarr called back, “Head to the magic training room when you’re ready. We will be waiting for you.” With this final instruction, he left.
Elizabeth and Tartum were alone together in the combat room still embracing each other. After a few minutes, Elizabeth’s body stopped shaking but her hug’s intensity never lessened. She whispered in his ear; “I thought he had killed you. I thought you had broken your promise to me, and I was watching you die.” her voice cracked, Tartum was surprised she wasn’t crying. He was moved by her affection but did his best to hide it. She needed him to be strong for her and he didn’t want to let her down.
“Don’t worry, babe. I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m ok. Calm down.” He said, trying to dissuade her fears.
She did start crying then and squeezed him tighter. “I won’t lose you to some over exam, Sweetheart! I won’t! Listen to me, and listen closely.” Her voice dropped to barely a whisper; “The final lock, pay close attention, it’s much more dangerous than it appears.” Without another word, she gave Tartum a quick kiss, wiped her eyes, and walked quickly out of the room.
Tartum stood there; he knew that he was falling in love with her. He knew that by telling him what she just did her life would probably be forfeit if Savall found out. He wouldn’t tell of course, but the fact that she took such a risk endeared her too him that much more. He put his love for her to the side and thought about what she had told him. The final lock, pay close attention, it’s much more dangerous than it appears.
Tartum had no idea what she was talking about but assumed she meant some lock he was supposed to pick at the end of his mock mission. He smiled to himself and gathered up his things. Vaund had left his stuff on the ground, and Tartum equipped his belongings once again. Once he was situated he recast his dome spell and walked out of the room. He headed to the bottom floor of the compound.
“Time to finish this then.” He said to himself.
...
When Tartum walked into the training room he thought, for a moment, that he was in the wrong room. He vaguely recognized the shape of the room. It was still the top half of a sphere, but what was once a huge four hundred square yard room now had a gigantic wall that ran completely across it from one end to the other. The wall started about ten yards into the room and after that it blocked everything. The wall went all the way up to the ceiling and as far as he could tell there was no way through it. No doorway, windows, or anything that would hint to its purpose other than to keep unwanted people or things from passing. Whatever they planned for his mock mission it was going to be interesting.
Elizabeth, Vaund, and Rashlarr were in the far corner of what was left of the room, talking to each other about something. It looked like Rashlarr and Vaund were trying to convince Elizabeth of something, but she wasn’t having it. Jeth was in the same area but a good distance away from them. He was rubbing the cut on his neck and looking at the floor. He didn’t seem happy at all, which gave Tartum no end of pleasure. Savall was there as well but he was also standing alone, looking directly at him. When Tartum made eye contact, Savall smiled and waved him over. Not seeing any other options, Tartum walked towards the group.
“Well son, this is it. Your final test, and you are a full-fledged member; one last hurdle to acceptance and all the benefits that come with it. Exciting, isn’t it?” Savall said. Tartum couldn’t tell if he was being serious or sarcastic. He simply nodded, the butterflies were back in his stomach, and they were fluttering around like mad.
Seeing Tartum wasn’t in a talkative mood, Savall continued, “Ahem, right then. Ok, son, this room has been converted into a mock mission. In a moment, a door will appear, and you will have to enter it and complete three objectives. Objective one will be to kill anyone or anything in a red shirt. Objective two will be to subdue and capture the person or thing that’s in the blue shirt. Your third and final objective will be to find and open the golden box, retrieve the items inside, and exit the mission without getting caught, or killed. Do all that, and your membership is guaranteed! We will be able to see everything you do, so if you feel like you’re being watched...well, you are...deal with it, and get your objectives completed however you can. Do you understand what’s expected of you, son?” Savall asked. His instructions were vague, but Tartum preferred that. Left some wiggle room which was good in case he decided to blow up the room again. He had no intention of failing here today, and even less intention of dying.
“I understand, Boss, let’s start!” Tartum replied. Now that the time had come, he was excited. The objectives seemed rather simple. He believed this would be a piece of cake!
Laughing, Savall clapped Tartum on the shoulder, “I like the positive attitude, son! Rashlarr, if you would please.” He said.
Upon hearing his name, Rashlarr said a word of command, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth, than a doorway appeared right in front of where Tartum was standing. If he didn’t know that the wall was new and the doorway hadn’t been there a moment ago, he would have thought it had been there forever. Shaking his head Tartum looked back at Elizabeth and shot her a wink.
She stood there, unmoving, and made no effort to respond. In her eyes, Tartum saw fear, love, and nervousness all at once. Seeing her like that put him on edge; she was tough as nails, usually. Didn’t she threaten to cut Jeth’s throat just a little while ago? Now she’s standing in there terrified I’m going to get killed by something in here. Tartum thought to himself.
Turning his back on her, Tartum walked through the doorway. His nerves were frayed, and his senses were peaked. Whatever was making Elizabeth so nervous was in here somewhere, and Tartum vowed to himself he wouldn’t break his promise to her, not this day.
...
As he stepped through the doorway, he could see nothing but darkness. He thought about using his staff to light the way, but just as he was about to the lights came on and he could see. He was in Saroth; or at the very least a black and white interpretation of Saroth. Looking behind him he saw a closed wooden door that led into a cottage. He tried to open the door to see if he could get back out and just as he expected it was locked tight. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself why he was here. He had no idea where he was supposed to go so he took a moment to familiarize himself with his surroundings.
He was on some nameless street in this pseudo Saroth. There were buildings all around him that stretched all the way up...to nothing. There was no sky and no stars. This black and white world was lit but only dimly so; like a perpetual twilight. Tartum assumed the buildings were just more of the magic walls Rashlarr made in order to give the appearance of a real mission. It was also completely silent; even at night in the real world there were the sounds of late night drinking or water running, or animals scavenging. In this world, however, the only sound Tartum could hear was his own breathing. There were three streets that led away from the door way he had entered. One led east, one west, and one directly away from the door he came through to the north. He couldn’t see anything but darkness down all three streets. He assumed that was the point and was left pondering how h
e should decide which path to take. As he debated, he couldn’t help but be impressed with the extensive level of detail that went into this spell.
“Not bad, Rashlarr.” Tartum said to himself. He wondered if his friends could hear him as well as see him.
Sounds of movement from the east road caught his attention. It was a chaotic sound of scratching claws against stone and snapping jaws. Whatever was making the sound, there was more than one, and they were growling. Tartum thought the sound was familiar and reached into his pouches for a copper rod. Pressing himself against the wall furthest away from the east street, Tartum began casting his spell, “Yuik-rena toem-urthma!” The copper rod burst into the familiar crackling energy, and Tartum waited for the sounds to get closer. It didn’t take long for two stingers to burst from the darkness; they had both been painted red and seemed to be sniffing the air, trying to locate something.
Or someone. Tartum corrected himself.
The stingers had emerged from the darkness right next to each other, which suited Tartum just fine. With a grin Tartum spoke the word of command, “Za-Tan!” and the lightning bolt destroyed both creatures before they had a chance to notice him. As his eyes readjusted to the dim light of this false world, Tartum noticed that the east road had been lit up. It was a long road that stretched about fifty yards, before cutting sharply to the right. Seeing that the other two roads were still dark, Tartum decided to take the hint and follow the road east. It seemed to be the best option.
The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 Page 39
