The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  "By trolls?" he asked fearfully.

  The elf shook his head sadly.

  Tate answered for him. "Master Matalchus used his magic, but the wagon tracks we found a little while ago make for an easy guess."

  Darius swore under his breath. "Slave traders!"

  Chapter 22- Darius

  The wagon tracks had led the five men to a city in Echeya. It lay on the edge of the Great Forest, a stretch of woodland that virtually covered the entire country and parts of Tolmona and Alia as well. Darius took Tate along with him as he looked for where the others had been taken within the giant city.

  The two men noted the large stone walls surrounding them as they entered the city gates on the north. The builders of the city had built them in such a way as to enclose most of the population's homes and businesses for protection. Only the warehouses and docks along the waterfront lay unprotected by the stone enclosure. Darius worried that, should the population not recognize their authority as wizards, they could also easily get trapped within the confines of such a fortress.

  They spent their time talking to the local population as they moved through the streets. The question of where slaves could be bought and sold was their first challenge. The second line of questioning lay in finding out if anyone had spotted a new group of slavers with unusual stock that day or the one previous. Most people had no idea about what they could be talking about, and said nothing. They were wizards and such strangeness could be expected.

  A gatehouse guard helped them in that regard finally. The man overheard their questioning of an older gentleman where he sold flowers in a stand.

  "Excuse me," the soldier interrupted. "Did I hear you asking about a new batch of slaves being brought into the city?"

  Though surprised by someone actually being interested after all the ignorance, Darius immediately answered, "Yes, have you seen someone today?"

  The man smiled, "You either have a friend that was captured or you spotted their stock. Am I right?"

  "You are a shrewd man," Darius replied with a wink without actually answering the question.

  "Well, I hope that they weren't friends, or you'll be paying a large sum before getting them back. If you decide to free them because of friendship like some tend to do...," the man shook his head as if saddened by the thought, "I hope that they'll be worth it. I did see some of the ones that they brought in with them though. It's why I'm going to the market today actually. There were a few strange looking foreigners in their wagons and one was a woman. She should fetch an incredible amount on the stand. I've never seen anything like her before."

  "Could you show us where the slave traders keep their merchandise before selling them to the market?"

  The soldier shrugged, "I could, but you'll never get in there. The security in the compound is always tight in case somebody overzealous tries to steal away a piece of merchandise. I hear that ages ago someone spotted a woman he desired so much that he found her and had sex with her just to lower her price, so that he could afford her."

  The two wizards followed the man through a well laid out grid of streets. It was an interesting layout, Darius thought, since most cities tended to be laid out in twists and turns just in case marauders should breech their walls. It allowed for ambushes to slow the enemy and prevented a straight run to the rulers in their fortresses. This city seemed to have no such fears despite the fact that it lay near the borders of both Alia and Eirhden. The countries had been at peace for ages, but still it seemed strange to follow such a set grid like pattern.

  Darius mentioned his theory to Tate off handedly. The soldier overheard, but didn't seem alarmed by the idle talk. "Ciciles has strong walls surrounding it and a standing army lives in a fortress just to the north in the forest. Should an enemy desire to attack us, the army could be on them well before they could possibly breach the walls of our city." He stopped and pointed towards a long low wooden building that closed off one end of a courtyard. "That gentlemen is the stock pen. Animals, slaves, and, even sometimes, produce gets held there. If you are looking for the slave traders, that is where you can probably find them, but you'll have a lot of trouble getting through security first. No one gets in that I've ever heard of, but I'll still wish you luck.

  "If you can't get in though, the platform over there is where they'll eventually be led to be sold. Maybe I'll see you gentlemen later. I hope you enjoy our city. Try our taverns. We've got the best ales from around the continent and beyond. If you miss them, you'll probably regret it for the rest of your lives. I'm sure of it. Until we meet again," he finished with a wave.

  The two wizards stood briefly as they watched the guard walk away.

  "So now what?" Tate asked breaking their silence as they gazed at the busy square surrounding them.

  Darius shrugged. "Well, despite the man's opinion. I think that we should try the most direct route, don't you? We are wizards, after all. Our rank might let us inside where others may be turned away. If it doesn't work, we'll only have lost a little time."

  "What if they don't let us in? What are we going to do if they're already up for sale? I doubt that the council gave you enough coin to buy them back. Maybe one or two, but not Electra I would guess from what the guard said."

  With a wave of his hand, Darius answered, "We'll worry about that after we try this, all right? Now come along, Tate. We haven't got all day."

  The two men made their way quickly to the entrance where they found that their guide had not lied. Nearly a dozen soldiers guarded the main gate and other men were stationed along the walls every ten feet or so. An intruder would truly have quite a fight on his hands, if he chose to push his way inside.

  The guards were very alert, as well. The leader stepped forward immediately at their approach. "Can I help you, gentlemen?" his deep voice questioned demandingly. The soldier was almost as large as his voice and the two men stopped short warily as they were forced to look up at him.

  Darius spoke for them, "I've come to see about discussing a trader's merchandise. The trader arrived just today I believe. Is there any way that I could either talk to the man in charge or check the merchandise for I fear that he may have picked up some charges of Eirhden."

  The man's face remained impassive and seemingly didn't care who they were, as he replied, "It's not my problem. The trader you refer to must be from the ring run by Tavin Marich. He's the only one to cart in a shipment by land today due to the rain and flooding. He's not here though and I can not allow you within unless he wishes it."

  "Where can we find the man?" Darius asked hoping that this line of questioning would still pan out for them. The possible alternatives that he had devised were all unacceptable to him at this point. The wizard would only give in if he truly became desperate.

  "I don't know," the guard answered lazily as if the wizard was boring him. "I am not the man's keeper, you know. If I had to guess, I'd say that you would find him at the Dark Mane Inn or the Sunken Marsh Tavern. Most of their kind tend to hang out there, I'm told."

  "Thank you very much, officer," Darius started to turn though he had one more question to ask. Hoping to lull the captain into thinking that he was done, Darius hit him quickly with it in the hopes of obtaining a very important piece of information, "Oh, captain, one other thing. When will the merchandise be selling to the market?"

  "Tomorrow morning."

  Darius nodded content that he knew all that he could for now. They parted from the holding pen though Tate mentioned that they did not know of the places the soldier had mentioned.

  "We can ask later, Tate. First, I want to check the other sides of this place. We may need to break into the pen tonight to free them and we had better know what we will face."

  With that, Darius led the apprentice both around the plaza and onto the streets framing the buildings. They searched and learned all that they could of the openings and weaknesses of the sprawling pens and markets before finally going to check for Tavin Marich.

  Finding the Dark
Mane Inn was easier than Darius would have thought. They didn't even have to ask. The two men had made their way to the opposite side of the slave pen where a second door was guarded equally well by more soldiers. Having nearly circled the entire block, Darius found that his habit of looking at both sides of the street had paid off in one regard anyway.

  "There," he pointed for Tate. The inn was directly across from the outer door of the holding pen. Apparently there was a tendency of the traders to stay near their stock. Greed often tended towards over protectiveness and slave traders probably had as many fears as you could get. Most merchants didn't have to worry about a revolt or the risk of an escape attempt from their merchandise, after all.

  The two men crossed the street and entered the Dark Mane. The light was dark after the brightness of the mid-afternoon sun. Taking a moment to let their eyes readjust to the new lighting, Darius stepped straight towards the front desk. A grungy looking old man, who was both overweight and balding, sat behind the counter and glanced up at the intruders' approach. "Can I help you?" he grumbled at the intrusion.

  "Yes," Darius replied and ignored the gruff greeting. "I am looking for someone and I was hoping that you could tell me where he might be found."

  The old man rolled his eyes unhappily. "Who?"

  "Tavin Marich."

  A harrumph of indignation was vented before the clerk replied in his apparently typical abysmal tone, "Yeah, he stays here. No, I don't know where he is, but if you check the dining room you might find one of his men." The old man pointed towards a large room to their left where there were a number of people in attendance.

  Tate shrugged at Darius' questioning glance.

  "Thank you," Darius added to the clerk quickly and led the way into the dining room. At their entrance, the two men seemed to feel all of their eyes fix upon them. No one made an overt stare, but the tension was felt none the less.

  The patrons of the inn all appeared to be from the darker side of society, Darius thought. He'd almost guess that many of them were criminals of one sort another. Even with his magic, the wizard felt a worry for his life here. Tate was stepping right at his heels fearfully.

  Taking a deep breath, Darius asked loudly, "Is there anyone that can tell us of the whereabouts of Tavin Marich? I would like to speak with him."

  A pair of large men stood from behind a wooden table covered with a scattering of empty plates and mugs. "What do you want with him, boy?"

  "It's business."

  The speaker turned to his fellow and smiled nastily, "He wants to talk business with Marich. What do you think, Kleo?"

  "I think that he should talk business with us first. Perhaps a payment is in order even, Oliov?" the other man replied and cracked his knuckles.

  "Uh, gentlemen, I was hoping to discuss matters with Marich. It is about some of the slaves that I believe that he has in his keeping," Darius added hoping to avoid confrontation with the two bruisers.

  The two men approached. From the edges of his vision, he noticed several others rise. Some backed away from their area, while others seemed ready to join in a fray that was soon to erupt. Darius breathed deeply and prepared himself as he let his magic begin to fill him with its strength.

  "Watch my back, Tate, but stay out of this," he whispered to the apprentice, who seemed glad enough to avoid these men.

  "Hey, runt, what did you say to your friend there? Don't let the scrawny thing get too far away, or you won't have anyone left to pick up what's left of you," Oliov laughed harshly. His friend answered with a guffaw.

  Darius hated dealing with drunkards and this he had known before his first time meeting such people. "I didn't come looking for trouble, gentlemen," he said again.

  "What did he mean by that?" Kleo bellowed.

  "Yeah, boy, what do ya think that we were gonna do? Pound on ya?" the other ruffian shouted. "Well, if that's what he thinks, then we should oblige `im, don't ya think?"

  "Yeah!"

  The two men charged forward and took hold of Darius by a shoulder each. Their inner fists lunged forward and struck him hard. Both men cried out in pain. His body had gone rigid and hard like iron as the magic protected his body.

  "Don't..." he started to try and talk them out of such foolishness once more.

  The men didn't care. Kleo took hold of a chair and swung it into Darius full force. He stepped to the side with the impact though no hurt was felt. Oliov stabbed at him with a long knife in an attempt to gut him.

  Darius had had enough. A brawl was one thing, but attempting to murder him was going too far. His right hand snapped onto the knife hand's wrist and squeezed with all his magical might. The sounds of breaking bones could be heard throughout the room just before the agonizing screams of the man as he fell to his knees in pain.

  A strong thrust of his other arm caught Kleo in the chest with a forearm. The breath went out of the large drunkard as he was sent flying onto the table behind him with a crash as its legs shattered beneath his flung weight.

  Three more men came yelling towards Darius, who had little choice but to react. A club broke across his shoulder and Darius threw the man backwards to the floor with a strong blow. A glass bottle broke over his head and the contents of the ale within splashed all over him though the glass shards slid harmlessly from his body. A push of his hand broke the attacker's nose.

  The third man chose to lift him from the ground in a bear hug. This Darius felt through the mystic barrier since the force was not a direct or projectile attack upon his body. A butt from his head loosened the grip, but a chair across the man's back from Tate finished the job. The attacker fell unconscious to floor.

  Others appeared ready to join in, but Darius called forth his wizard's fire to form in balls of energy upon the palms of his hands. "Enough!" he ordered. The crowd of patrons backed away. A few fled immediately at his threatening form. Energy crackled in the wizard's eyes and lifted the hairs on his head slightly like an electric current.

  Darius turned in his dread glory upon Kleo, who had started to pick himself up, and Oliov, who still writhed in pain on the floor. The wizard took the injured man's wrist strongly in his despite the violent jerking of the crazed man and sent his magic into the arm to mend the bones as best he could. Oliov's cries stopped almost immediately in surprise as the pain lessened.

  "Now," Darius stated forcefully, "where is Tavin Marich?"

  Kleo looked up still stunned by both the violence and the wizard's kindness of healing. "The Sunken Marsh. He's at the Sunken Marsh. Two blocks south on the corner."

  "Thank you," the wizard replied and led Tate from the room.

  "Hey, who's going to pay for all the damage?" the old clerk scolded as they moved past the man.

  "Kleo and Oliov," Darius replied and turned to face the man briefly with his magic still gathered around him.

  The clerk's face went pale at the magic still lingering upon the wizard's face.

  "Sorcerer! I am so sorry. I did not realize," the man tried to apologize as he swallowed hard at the fear within his throat.

  "You saw my robes and yet you say that you did not know who I was? Why is that?" he asked in surprise.

  "I have never seen one of your kind, sir. One tends to forget the rumors when one never sees the truth. I see it in you now, sorcerer, and will remember the sight the rest of my days. I assure you, sir."

  Darius nodded in turn and walked from the inn.

  After they had walked for a moment, Darius released the energy of his magic. He felt tired and Tate could see the exhaustion plainly.

  "Are you all right, Darius?"

  He nodded, "Just in need of a little rest. I used too much of my magic without thinking of how little sleep I've had the past two days. With a little rest and some food, I'll be fine."

  "We know where to go now. Do you want to go right away or get something to eat first?"

  "We'll go to the tavern. We'll ask for Marich first and eat after. I can still call on my magic and I can eat one of the prapp
les that we picked from the forest on the way in," Darius added as he drew out a piece of the golden fruit and took a bite. The juices were tart but the vitamins seemed to speak to his body immediately. "Let's go before the slaver gets away, Tate. I don't feel like chasing this man all around town."

  "Right," Tate replied and led the way slowly in an effort to let his friend gather his strength.

  Chapter 23- Dante

  Gannon had led the soldiers west. They passed several villages and a couple of the smaller cities. Dante and Valenia made sure to check with the people there. No other attacks had been sighted or noticed by the people there at all and the two leaders of the company were hoping that perhaps the enemy had been forced to wait for awhile on their invasion plans.

  They asked the seer if he could tell of the enemy's delay, but Gannon would only smile a little smile and shake his head. The first time that they had asked, the seer had answered, "I am not omniscient. The information that I do know I am not allowed to share. To release such information as my guild has garnered, is strictly prohibited. We fear that such information can alter the future and that is unhealthy for the world."

  "And yet, you come with us on this quest," Dante countered. "What if you are changing the future by doing so?"

  Valenia nodded at his theory after having heard him voice her very own thoughts.

  Gannon had again smiled. "If I do not give you this quest, I alter history as it should be. We saw ages ago that I would come and lead you in a quest to save our world."

  "Then you know if we'll succeed. Right?" Valenia asked.

  "I would tell you if I could, but, in this regard, I have to warn you that the future has more than one current. We have free will but certain paths are stronger in our visions. These we usually know to be true, but even the others have been known to come true as well. Some strong visions change when another is fulfilled. Our medium is not constant in its warnings, which makes it a school of the few rather than the many and there is always new work to be found."