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

by Donald Wigboldy

  The slave trader got up and appeared steady enough, Darius thought. He hated to think what they would have looked like if he and Tate had actually drank so much. Tate appeared slightly affected even with only one shot though the apprentice was still in control of his faculties as of yet.

  They followed Marich along the street that had led them there and entered the rear doorway. The guards looked at them carefully, but Marich signaled them to stand down and continued inside. It was darker inside the slave pen than any of the buildings that they had been in so far that day. With only a few small lamps to light the enormous confines and no windows at all to light the inside, Darius felt the darkness palpably.

  "So what did you have in mind, Darius? What is it that I have that has led you to me?" the slaver asked as he started to walk deeper into the pen. The smells of sweat, urine, and body odor mixed with those of the animals also kept there and the mustiness of past harvests.

  Darius thought of the poor elves and especially Electra, who had been kept in such poor conditions. Marich stopped before a fenced in pen, one of many inside the dark building and looked within with a grin. Darius spotted the elves among several other men and women.

  There were four of the elven hunters still alive with Electra. They all bore cuts and bruises, but whether they were incurred by their path through the river or after, he could not tell for sure. The men seemed to have formed a protective circle around the elf woman, who still appeared even worse than the others. Electra's clothes were all but gone now. She wore one of the elven hunter's shirts to cover herself and even that was ripped enough to show the world more than the modest woman cared to show. Her hair was messed and her body was quite dirty as well.

  Darius tried not to think of what she had gone through as she raced for the fencing calling his name. The wizard held up his hand to silence her though he knew that the girl would probably hate him for the gesture.

  "These are the ones, I am afraid," he stated to the slaver.

  The man smiled and greed was in his eyes. "They are unusual, aren't they? She seems to know you, Darius. How much are you planning to pay for her or is it all of them that you wish to have? I noticed that the pointy eared little men fight hard for their princess. Don't mind the dirt on her, I assure you that she cleans up well, but perhaps you already know that?"

  "I do," Darius answered without thinking much upon the question. He was more interested in what to tell this man to free the elves.

  "For a man like you, I will give you a chance to bargain without any to contest your rights. `What do you bid?', as the auctioneer would say."

  "I can not bid, Marich, anymore than you can sell these people. I do not even judge how you took the others, but I must warn you that you will have to release the pointed eared folk."

  The slaver's face was turning red as he quickly surged towards his boiling point. "I respect your ability to drink, boy, but not that much. I took them properly and they are mine to sell. If you hadn't the money, then you should not have wasted my time!"

  "No matter how you found them and enslaved them, they are not yours to take, sir. These people are under the protection of the king of Eirhden and the Council of Aerwold!" he stated angrily. "As their representative, I assure you that you will not be allowed to sell these people. To do so, means declaring yourself an outlaw. The kingdom of Eirhden will send hunters for you. Those that buy them upon finding their money lost because of the kingdom of Eirhden retrieving the improperly sold will also send men for you. Your career such as it is will be lost and your money will be forfeit. In fact, I doubt that the governor of Ciciles will even let you escape the outer walls before putting you in chains."

  The slaver listened to Darius in his entirety until his anger charged out upon completion of the charges. "Bull dung! I do not acknowledge your authority, kid! You have done nothing to prove yourself. Boys," he shouted loudly to the air, "take them!"

  A half dozen burly men came rushing into the room. The old drunk, Nirshk, followed the others close behind having obviously brought them at his master's behest. Darius noted Kleo and Oliov in the grouping, who came to a frantic stop letting Nirshk crash into their backs oblivious to the old man's cursing.

  "Hello, gentlemen," Darius nodded in greeting.

  Despite his anger, Tavin Marich asked, "You know them?"

  "He's a sorcerer, Marich!" Kleo shouted fearfully.

  The anger renewed in their leader immediately. "You, fools, he wants our merchandise for free! Kill these two now!"

  Darius had used the interruption to summon his magic. He placed a hand upon the door of the cell and his flame engulfed the bars completely. The door fell back in a molten pile of metal and a clatter, before he turned to Marich, "This is but a portion of my power, slaver. Do you acknowledge me now or do I demonstrate on you?"

  With a cry of rage, the slaver drew his short sword and attacked Darius. The wizard had been prepared and grasped the man's wrist firmly. Unlike earlier, he did not break the man's wrist, but allowed his flame to take shape. Marich screamed in pain of the worst kind as his men rushed to save him. Tate had been ready this time and a wall of flame cut the others off.

  Marich's sword clattered to the floor with the man's hand still attached. The slaver screamed in pain. The flames had sealed the skin of his wrist and Darius turned from the screaming man in disdain. Shouting from the other side of the flame let him know that the pen's guardians were coming now as well. Darius ordered Tate to drop the wall of flame and was about to address the guardsmen when Electra's shout alerted him to Marich's vengeful attack.

  With the man's good hand, he had again picked up his sword and swung the blade to sever Darius neck. The wizard had not dropped his defenses fearing such an act of treachery. Marich screamed anew as the backlash of a barrier of flame flowed across his sword turning the man into a ball of fire. In seconds, the charred corpse dropped to the floor of the pen.

  Darius met the guards grimly, "Soldiers of Ciciles, put down your arms. I am the Wizard Darius of Aerwold. This slaver, once known as Tavin Marich, enslaved the allies and protected people of the king of Eirhden. As his emissary, I have dispatched justice and take these people as forfeit. Do not stand in my way or attempt to prevent any of these people from leaving."

  In the face of his magical might, the guards parted in fright to either side of the center aisle letting the elves followed by Tate take their leave. "Are these others Marich's merchandise, as well?" he asked seeing the half dozen people still standing confused in the opened cell.

  The captain of the guards nodded.

  Darius motioned for those to follow as well. Uncertain but more than willing to leave the dank prison, the four women and two men fell in behind the elves. Darius bent over the charred remains of Marich and took his money pouch. It felt heavy in his hand. Opening the hardened strings was difficult as he began to follow the others, but he worked at the singed leather and found it filled with gold. Taking a small handful, Darius passed the coins to the captain of the guard. "Use this to bury the man and repair the pen. I don't care for such a place, but it is legal here and I will not be at fault for destroying city property."

  He slid the rest of the pouch into his pocket. As the wizard reached the doorway he turned and asked, "Oh, where can I find a place to clothe these people?" The other men and women that he had freed were in rags much like Electra. He couldn't have them running around like savages, after all.

  The captain numbly gave a few directions and Darius left the slave pen without a second look. If he ever had the chance, the young man thought, he would find a way to abolish such a disgusting practice. That would have to wait, of course, until after the elves had their world saved from darkness. Darius would also have to survive the adventures ahead first then he would worry about such things that had been a practice of their world for millennia. Darius sighed and caught up to the others where they awaited him.

  They were still in the clothing markets when a group from the governor came to
find them and offered their apologies as humbly as they could. The governor of the city and its surrounding lands was a small pot bellied man who made so many apologies that it nearly sickened Darius. He requested that any purchases go directly onto his account though the money that Darius now carried would easily cover even the weapons that needed replacing by the elves. All had been lost to either the slavers, who sold them upon entering the city, or to the river before their entanglement.

  Darius shrugged and gave in to the city officials, who bade them safe passage and returned from wherever they had originally come from. With their distraction gone, Darius noticed Electra staring at him. He looked behind him to see if he were mistaking her gaze, but found no one.

  "Is something wrong?" the young man asked out of curiosity.

  The woman smiled slightly and shook her head. "I was just wondering about how much you are changing, Wizard Darius. That is your title now, is it not?"

  He nodded and asked in return, "How have I changed?"

  She caught his eyes straying to her shapely, muscular legs. Darius blushed slightly and watched as the elf wrapped one of the blankets that they had already purchased around her waist. With the hunter's shirt fully covering the rest of her and the blanket covering much of her legs, Electra was covered enough to suit her modesty.

  "There are still some things much the same, of course," the girl answered and he noticed that Electra blushed slightly as well before returning her gaze to his face. "I don't know if it was there before or not, but the sense of power and the ease with which you wield it... I have only known two men before you like that, my father and Janus.

  "I also notice how you have taken to the role of leader. Even Janus tends to look to you now, though I doubt that he would confess such a thing. You fought those men so courageously and only killed the man when he would not abide by justice. The guardsmen and the slavers all bowed to your will. Even that little governor was forced to make obeisance to you."

  Darius felt uneasy with such a description of his actions. "I wasn't trying to bend men to my will and I certainly didn't want the man's death on my hands."

  "Of course not, but that is what a leader will take upon himself in doing what is right and necessary. You did not lie when you stated your reasons for our release, did you? You are a representative of this king you mentioned as you said?"

  Nodding in response, he let her continue.

  "Then you have fulfilled the will of your king. You did what was right. Why do you look so sad then?"

  Looking at her, Darius sighed and admitted, "Perhaps I still did what I did for the wrong reasons? I should have left Marich for this governor and found a way to avoid killing him."

  Electra stepped closer to him and gripped his arms gently with her hands. "I'd like to think that you did it for the right reasons. Tell me what they were and I'll give you my honest opinion."

  Darius looked away embarrassed. "I would rather not."

  Reaching a hand up to pull his head closer, Electra kissed him on the lips softly. "Then I was right. You did it for a reason that I appreciate. Maybe later, we can discuss it further?"

  She held his hand as they continued to shop through the market for their needs. Darius found himself enjoying her touch more than words could describe as they moved onward.

  A new issue arose from his act, the other freed slaves that had been freed by killing Marich. One of the two men upon finding that Darius was traveling north asked to continue with them, since his family lived in Enswere. The other man had no family and was a former soldier and asked to remain on as Darius' personal guard as long as the wizard would have him. Darius accepted Bagheer as his guardsman and also Steis as a traveling companion.

  The women were harder to deal with, he found.

  Three of the women had been sold by their families for money to Marich and could not return home for fear of being sold again. The fourth a woman, named Ouria, had been captured by Marich much as the elves had. A citizen of Alia, the woman had been a free woman who had served for a wealthy family as a maid. An attack by dark creatures, that Darius figured were those they had fought earlier, had sent her wandering near the river where she had been caught by Marich's men. When someone mentioned that the elves were fighting the creatures responsible for her loss of home, Ouria asked to go along in an attempt for revenge.

  Again Darius gave in to their requests. He didn't know what else could be done with them at the moment.

  The last stop before leaving was to a trader of horses. They bought sixteen horses and outfitted them with saddles and packs. Most of the women didn't know how to ride and had refused to dress too well before having the chance to bathe making them that much more of a spectacle. Darius could do little about such matters, and simply let things happen as they might. The horse dealer was more than willing to help the half dressed women onto their mounts. Darius hadn't watched that closely, but, from the trader and the stable boys' grins, he was guessing that the ladies gave a decent show.

  Their party finally exited the city after dark and shortly they found Janus, Matalchus, and the elven hunter, Fileas half a mile north of the city and in the woods. The men were all surprised by the newcomers and horses as Darius and Tate led the group to the glow of their campfire.

  "What has happened, Darius?" Matalchus asked first. "Who are these people and how did you get those horses?"

  Dismounting, Darius started by saying, "It's a long story, sir. Let's get everyone settled in and introduced first. You might as well sit down. This will take awhile."

  Chapter 25- Dante

  A small band of goblins turned as one to face Dante. There was surprise at his sudden appearance so deep in their camp, but they were ready for a fight. Warning of an enemy had come in the sounds of Valenia and the others long ago, after all. They were expecting an attack, just not an attack of one, and his was a vicious one as well.

  Leaping in to confront the half dozen, green-skinned creatures, Dante slashed savagely about him. In seconds, the smaller goblins had fallen to his sword or had been left wounded and flailing behind him as he continued to move deeper into the camp of the enemy. The man continuously struck small groups as he darted in and out of the wagons and campfires raising chaos throughout his enemies.

  Orcs and goblins would stand to attack him in one place, but Dante would be gone again too quick for them to organize a real defense against him. Like a ghost of death, the soldier moved through their camp. He would move out of one group just show and attack another. Before they knew it, Dante would be off again before any real opposition could catch up and hold him. His attacks were meant to infuriate the enemy and he did his job well. Too well, unfortunately for him.

  As he slashed into another of the goblin parties and started out again, a pack of creatures that he had never seen before charged towards him with club and claw. The hairy monsters, known as trolls to the elven people, were a force to be reckoned with and Dante knew himself to be overmatched with only a glance. Turning aside, the man rolled beneath another of the supply wagons and quickly got back to his feet and started to run.

  A crash, as the trolls tore through the wagon and tossed its remains aside, proved that he was in big trouble. Glancing back, he saw the nearest of the trolls with a few spry goblins alongside it charging after him. Dante grabbed hold of an unwary orc and shoved him back at the troll.

  A spray of blood, as the troll mercilessly smashed the head of the orc with its club, sent the hapless fellow forcefully to the ground in death. The giant beast continued onward without slowing.

  Dante and the trolls had attracted too much attention in his opinion and the man soon spotted a dozen orcs and goblins only twenty feet from him blocking the path. With no way to turn, the soldier turned about abruptly and charged back into the troll and its minions. With a small jump upward, Dante swung his sword directly onto the troll's head cleaving the skull nearly in two. The troll had come to a stop at his change of tactics and Dante's impact drove the dead carcass b
ackwards into one of its fellows as the man rolled back into their pack.

  Dante swung his sword and dagger low as he rolled. Cutting at troll legs, each blade did its damage as his momentum brought the man through. One lost most of its leg and the other had the back of its thigh cut sending it toppling over as well. A goblin grabbed for him around the neck. In its fury, the nasty little animal bit into his flesh going for a vein. Plunging his dagger through an eye socket, Dante dropped the goblin from his back, but his pace had slowed giving the other enemies time to readjust to his change in direction.

  Breathing hard and feeling the blood trickling down from his neck, Dante found himself wondering where all the Kalmer soldiers were at now. They were supposed to attack upon seeing the signal and should have been in the enemy's midst by now, he thought. Slashing frantically at a pair of trolls in front of him, Dante was off again but quickly tiring now. He aimed towards the city in the hopes of finding help there.

  Once again the man found himself running from wagon to fire and on and on trying vainly to get away from the relentless trolls, who seemed to only gain in number as he fended off first one attack then another. The orcs and goblins heard the cries and Dante fought through them as quickly as he could. In that regard, he was lucky. The trolls cared nothing about their allies' lives. Often an orc or goblin attack would prove too strong for the man, but, as the trolls would catch up to him, they would begin smashing their way through the smaller creatures to get to him. The beasts’ hatred for the lone soldier had increased to a frenzy and nothing would bar the trolls' way to try and kill him, even their own hapless allies.

  Dante wondered morbidly what would happen should some unfortunate orc or goblin actually kill him during battle. The trolls would probably tear apart the killer just out of frustration with him. Then he got an idea. A knot of orcs pressed forward to stop him and he tried the riskiest thing of his entire soldiering career.