Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) (23 page)

Palose thought the two were the perfect contrast of ease and rigid tension. Kolban sat and crossed his legs. His outfit, pants, shirt and boots, was simple. The emperor wore only a gold ring set with a large ruby, one that the emperor always had worn as a sign of his office. Palose thought the ring redundant when his power could be unveiled at a whim.

“Generals, warlocks, hunters, I have called you here for two reasons. One is that you may see that your emperor is alive and strong. I will continue to rule and my returned strength will unite us once more to the direction I have in mind for the empire.

“Second, Garosh has returned with news from Southwall. Go ahead, Garosh, speak.”

The giant barely dismissed a look of disgust at receiving a command like that of a tamed hound. “A small team of wizards and battle mages stumbled across the fortress and caused a lot of destruction that will set us back on the construction of the warren beneath the mountain.”

Before the men could interrupt Garosh’s telling of the true problem, which Palose had a feeling was yet to be fully realized despite what had already been revealed, Kolban gestured towards the giant with his hand prodding, “And now tell me what happened to this ‘small team’, Garosh. Surely a full fortress captured and killed these saboteurs.”

Grinding his teeth the giant could barely admit, “They escaped.”

Palose could tell that the emperor was toying with the giant. Perhaps it was just his way of showing the others the power he wielded over the failed vessel of his power. Whatever the reason, Kolban continued to ask the questions in a way that was like daggers in the flesh for Garosh. “You couldn’t capture this small team?”

Garosh was seething with anger and embarrassment; the latter held him in check. These men were his peers and the emperor was bringing the giant down to earth with each admission. The problem for Garosh was that, as the one in charge of the fortress, any failures had to be shouldered by him.

Taking a breath, he answered the boy, “We captured three of them in an ambush and had them inside the dungeon where I began to use torture to get any information from them that I could. A fourth man was driven over a cliff according to the men and was assumed lost.”

Kolban leaned his cheek on his fist as his elbow rested on the arm of the chair. “I take it that lost and dead were not the same in this case?”

Another breath used to restrain his anger preceded a shake of his head and an admission, “It seems that they are not. Somehow he found a way into the fortress, though no one knows how. Worse we will probably never know since he caused explosions deep in the tunnels bringing the mountain down on dozens of workers.

“When the explosions started we went to check on the damage and the cause. He somehow slipped past us in the confusion and freed the captives. We had them trapped in the prison, but I am told that one of them used unknown magic to take the four away before we could stop them. All that was left was burned wood from the pieces the wizard used for his spell.”

Again the other men began to speak amongst themselves discussing Garosh’s lack of competency. It was normally a question most would never have dared to speak aloud for fear of the giant’s power. They quieted quickly as Kolban continued his questioning, “Was it a wizard that destroyed much of the fortress from within? Surely no battle mage could have done as much.”

“We had a wizard and his apprentice along with a female mage. My lieutenants say that the interloper was a young man using wind, fire and lightning.”

This news brought even greater talking. If what Garosh was saying was true, then a battle mage was wielding new spells. Palose frowned wondering who could have progressed to such a level. Sebastian had learned many spells and managed to pass many along, which could account for a few wind spells, but lightning was something no battle mage should be able to do.

He felt the eyes of the emperor on him. “Palose, who among the battle mages can use lightning? I have heard that an unusual mage taught you and others several new spells, but lightning was not one that had been mentioned.”

Thinking before he spoke like Garosh had attempted using his breaths, the mage considered the question hard. When he finally spoke, Palose could only pass on his theories. “I was with a battle mage cadet last summer
who was beginning to decipher wizard spells into mage casting. While fighting in Windmeer, I ran into him again and left Erdeeth and Kerlorish to deal with killing him while I checked on the gate. We had been defeated above by a returning force from north of the wall, including that mage.

“I have not spoken with the two warlocks since they used the confusion to escape the castle to help set up a new gate for the fortress. If they couldn’t finish a single battle mage off with the help of thirty orcs, trolls and goblins, when he was nearly dead, then it might be that he has survived and learned even more new magic.

“The only other possibility would be that they have another mage that has been able to continue the research started by Sebastian.” Frowning with worried expectation, he asked, “What did the mage look like that you fought in the mountain?”

Garosh looked to the men behind him and the wraith with the gory wound spoke up for the others. He had apparently received his wound fighting with the escapees then, Palose thought to himself. The creature’s voice sounded like bones scraping against each other.
“Brown hair, blue eyes, your size, young.”

The description could fit many men of Southwall, even among the younger battle mages, but the fact that it also covered Sebastian exactly made Palose frown even deeper. If the mage had eluded death at the hands of so many of the emperor’s army, then it was certainly possible that he had continued to learn more magic. “Though it is hardly specific enough to say for sure, and the warlocks I mentioned could give us more information, I would hazard a guess that the mizard still lives.”

“Mizard?” Kolban asked for those assembled.

“He was given a nickname of mizard, a combination of mage and wizard. Sebastian was certainly smart enough to discover more magic by now, but he was supposed to have been killed at Windmeer more than half a year ago. If they let him go, the fool warlocks have given Southwall the greatest gift since the original battle mage, Hurst.”

It was Kolban’s turn to frown. This news could jeopardize much, though a more powerful battle mage corps was hardly the most dangerous factor he would have to deal with if the emperor’s forces still hoped to crush his enemies from behind the wall.

“So these spies now know of the fortress. We can assume that this mizard still lives to create a big thorn in our sides and these mages will be coming with the armies of Southwall to crush the fortress in short order. Any suggestions on the course of action?” the boy looked at ease as if he merely asked the question to gauge the counsel of the men around him.

It was Garosh who spoke first and loudest silencing all other opinions. “Give me a force of warlocks who can use darkness shields, a hundred more werewolves and cats, and two hundred soldiers to add to those waiting for me there and I will crush whatever they send against me.”

“You couldn’t stop a team of four from escaping and yet you wish for me to give you more troops? What kind of assurance do I have that you won’t lose them all in a fight you can’t win?” Kolban
asked still managing to look almost bored with the idea despite his questions and skepticism over Garosh’s leadership.

“The mountains are ideal for harassing the enemy along the way. I will force them to fight us where I want and when I want. Give me what I ask and they will lose.”

Despite the emperor’s misgivings, no other options were offered that seemed better. The generals and wizards spoke at length, but in the end Kolban stood and declared, “I will give you the resources you need, Garosh. Don’t fail me again. What I have given you I can take away.”

Turning on his heels, the emperor moved through his escort to the back door leaving the men to discuss both the fortress and the new emperor.

Chapter 12- Battle Nerves

It had been three days since word of the magical escape from Garosh’s fortress. Palose had trained Lanquer two of the mornings and had seen the guard vessel progress in both his expertise with the blade and the basic spells of a battle mage. The fact that the future guard to the emperor had the power of a strong wizard inside of him didn’t matter if Kolban wanted him to be able to fight. Becoming a battle mage with his magical strength seemed a little strange to Palose, but he had been ordered through Acheri to train the boy to become combat trained. When the sister of the emperor spoke, you didn’t question it.

On the third day, Palose had duties to Atrouseon in the first part of the morning leaving combat training for the next day, so the mage found his path to his hidden home earlier than the previous two. His progress towards the east with each jump was slowly inching the mage towards Windmeer and
civilization, such as it was nearest the wall. While his mind was on readying for the next hard walk through the deep snow of the foothills, the mage felt like he was being watched.

His path led into the orc zone since it was most direct and he had begun building contacts among them even during his short trips. Palose had become such a regular sight, that few of the orcs from his path gave him more than a sparing glance or a wave now, so he knew that the feeling was from something else.

Stopping at one of the local merchants dealing grain and some other harvested foods from last autumn, the mage tried to surreptitiously scan his surroundings. It didn’t take him long to find the source of the feelings either. In an area dominated by orcish military and their families, the two wolf men stood out as much as he did. In fact, they stood out more as they both towered over the shorter orcs looking nearly half a foot taller than the mage.

The wolves didn’t bother to slow their steps as they continued towards the battle mage. Being nearly animals, the hunters knew when they had been spotted and didn’t seem to care.

“Garosh wants to see you,” the man cutting off the right stated in a voice that was more growl than speech to his ears.

“I have other business to attend to this morning,” Palose retorted giving no ground to the hulking men. Even as powerful as they were, the battle mage knew his abilities rivaled theirs. He had fought
weremen in the past. They were powerful, fast and seldom had much restraint in their ferocity, but a battle mage had magic and all the skills of a master of martial arts.

“It won’t take long and he isn’t far,” the second man answered giving him no leeway from his left. They had left him only backing up as a retreat from their strength.

“Fine, but he had better make it quick,” Palose replied causing the wolves to look at one another and chuckle. Any man standing up to the giant was likely to be killed and they were looking forward to such an ending.

Their steps led them to a nearby bar. The main room was occupied by more than a dozen orc officers and soldiers who were either off duty or finding a way to call polishing off tankards of ale work. Only one table held anyone other than their race, but the table was alone with a trio of empty tables surrounding it except for the wall behind Garosh’s back. A wraith, the one known as Carianic, stood beside the wall watching the other tables keeping voices hushed.

A warlock sat on one side of the giant and a wizard hunter in black sat on the other. At Palose’s entrance, Garosh gestured to the chair across from him. The two big men beside him didn’t give the mage any other options other than to sit and continued to stand behind him throughout the remainder of the conversation creating a claustrophobic feeling and continued tension. While Palose figured that he could still take them out if he needed to save himself, the positioning certainly limited the likelihood of his successfully leaving the tavern alive.

“You are the resurrection man that Atrouseon created, aren’t you?” the giant questioned though it was less a question than a statement when most warlocks knew him if only because of his involvement with Windmeer during the summer raid.

“You know I am,” he replied keeping his face calm and stern.

The man’s eyes barely registered the defiant answer, though Palose recognized the brief look of respect at the smaller, weaker caster before him. Garosh didn’t look like one to beat around the bush for long and he continued, “You were there when Atrouseon revealed the new blanks for the emperor and from what I have heard you guarded them until he took possession of them. Now you train the reject with the sister watching.”

There was no reason for Palose to waste his energy acknowledging what the giant must have had men looking into about him, but why the interest was the bigger question Garosh refused to speak. Sitting for a moment longer, the big man finally went on saying, “Have the new bodies appeared to be showing any strain since he took them over?”

While it may have been a matter of curiosity for Garosh to learn of those who, like him, held a part of the Dark One’s magic, Palose doubted that the question was the true purpose of the sudden need to speak with him. “Lanquer was proposed to be a guard to the emperor; but, as you can guess, he was not born with the skills ready to be anything other than a hand with a sword. I am sure you had training to become a warrior and even though Acheri seems to have a knack for magic, you probably had to learn your spells as well. For a creature with magic who also wants to become a guard, battle mage casting is the best way to grasp both. He can always learn the slower casting spells later.