Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) (34 page)

Moving to sit on the other end of the sofa, Palose answered with a nod. “I found a troll, two armored viles, three orcs and a pair of goblins living in the barn of a farmer and his family. They were working together while earning their keep on the farm.

“Their leader was the troll and he must have thought I was from Southwall, since they attacked me at first. Once I pacified them, I decided that it wasn’t worth trying to portal them back to Ensolus.”

“You know, unless you have another portal spot into the city, they would have to come through your house,” the girl stated gesturing to the room. She slid her bare feet under his legs and he could feel that they were cold even through his pants. If she was that cold, he wondered why the girl had taken her shoes off in the first place. Her legs were bare to the knees and only her hand holding the hem in place kept the skirt from sliding back to reveal even more. Even so, it opened beneath her raised knees giving him a flash of skin. Finding her legs mesmerizing, the mage barely returned his gaze to her attractive face.

His attention came back to her statement and he nodded. “I think I could have gotten around that point, but you are right that I only have one set point in Ensolus. I’m not sure if it would be worth my time trying to create another or safe even.”

“You could create one in one of the portal chambers since you have been on those teams for months. Though you would need to be somewhat discreet in your placement, so maybe you could create a touchstone from one of the tiles in the floor?” she suggested not appearing concerned over the idea that would be considered a very dangerous gray area for those ruling Ensolus. A rogue warlock using portals for his own personal use and agenda might turn even Acheri and Lanquer against him should they find out about it. Worse he was a resurrection man and under the extra scrutiny that entailed.

“One would almost think that you wanted me to become some criminal,” he stated with a half smile.

The girl grinned, “Well, you’re the one with the hideout and secret portal spot. A little in or all in, does it matter?”

Sitting quietly for a moment enjoying the peace and quiet as well as each other’s company, Sylvaine finally asked him curiously, “Why did you leave those creatures in Southwall? You could have cut one of them to use the power of blood to generate a big enough portal back to the city. You are probably skilled enough by now to do that kind of spell, I bet. You left them there for a reason.”

Palose sat silently after her question, even as her violet eyes searched his face. This girl seemed to want to know his every thought and secret. It was kind of annoying, but having a confidant was also comforting as well. The dichotomy of those feelings came from his lack of trust in anyone, but Sylvaine had a hold on him in a way that the man wanted to give into and believe.

Breathing out in a thoughtful sigh, the mage mused, “I was curious about how two such differing factions could have wound up working together to hide the creatures. The farmer and his family seemed to care for them and I think the soldiers were actually happy to be living in that barn away from the drive of Ensolus and the emperor.

“I’ve heard of those that have rebelled or simply disappeared from the city and even the mountains as a whole. Though some may be dead, rumor has it that the emperor has lost his hold on hundreds, maybe thousands of his people since coming to Alus. Does leaving his sphere of influence change these creatures so much? I found myself curious is all.”

Sylvaine listened to him quietly and seemed to be contemplating his words, but her question was blunt and surprised the young man, “If you decide to leave Ensolus permanently, would you take me with you?”

It was surprising, but on the other hand, Palose thought Sylvaine truly was a gentle soul. Being in the command of warlocks and the emperor, could lead to combat and killing. Sylvaine was an excellent elemental wizard, but commanding fire in training was nothing like commanding it to kill. He wondered if she had been forced to fight at the fortress if the girl would have been able to perform the duties assigned by her mentor.

“Why would you want to go with me, if I decided that I no longer wanted to be here?”

Sighing in response, Sylvaine replied, “I wish that I could leave Ensolus and not be forced on some mission to do so. Being a wizard is fun, but I don’t think I want to be in a battle. I was almost glad to hear Garosh surrender, even if I don’t understand why he did it. It meant that I didn’t have to fight or worry over dying. I don’t care about Southwall and the emperor’s need to crush those people who are descendants of warriors who wronged him, or whatever his excuse remains after hundreds of years. I’d just like to be able to go somewhere and live in peace. While I have been an apprentice it has been like that, but I can’t remain an apprentice studying forever.”

She stopped, as the girl thought about her words which had suddenly revealed more than Sylvaine had meant to say; but like Palose she trusted in him. Asking to go with him meant that, even if revealing the rest wouldn’t have. “I think I could kill with magic if I needed to and I don’t feel fear over dying per say; but just going off on one needless battle after another seems like a pointless waste.”

Sympathizing with the girl’s words, as he had once felt the same way for the missions north of the wall for the mage corps training; Palose wondered if he even felt the need to leave Ensolus. There was potential here. If his plans grew correctly, he could have power and influence. Already he had the emperor’s sister and half brother trusting him and Acheri had said that Kolban was looking for more out of him. Didn’t that mean that even the emperor had come to regard his potential or was he performing his own experiment like Palose with the creatures at the farm? To be a simple experiment would require changing his mind, but there was time to see which the case was.

“I could help you leave easily enough, but you’re not asking that are you?”

Sylvaine looked at the lantern sitting in the middle of the room on the table. Her eyes were tense with her thoughts, but Palose waited patiently unsure why he had asked the question. Did he want her to say that she wanted him, wanted to be with him; or was he hoping for a different answer that would keep her at arm’s length?

“No, just if you decide to leave. Then take me with you. I think that I would like to see the world by your side. Ensolus without you wouldn’t be the same,” the girl stated still looking at the flame as she tried to skirt her feelings. Did she feel like she couldn’t live without this man? Sylvaine had lived all her life without him, though she certainly liked having him around; but to say that she couldn’t live without him was more than she would admit, even to herself.

Shrugging, Palose replied, “If it comes to that, then you can come; but for now I will keep using my portals to explore Southwall only. We will continue to work for our masters and nothing will be different.”

“Except that I can come to your hideout from time to time?” Sylvaine asked turning to look at him again. The light had imprinted on her eyes and Palose appeared shadowed as her vision tried to adjust. Even with the lamp behind her, the young man seemed like a shadow and she wondered if her heart was pursuing that shadow.

“Sure,” he answered as he stood. “Put your shoes on and we’ll go find some place to eat before returning home. We can tell our keepers that we went to dinner with a friend so there won’t be a lie that they might see.”

Nodding Sylvaine replaced her shoes before taking his hand. They walked hand in hand to a restaurant in the human district before Palose walked Sylvaine back to her dorm.

Chapter 18

The walls of Windmeer had been a welcome sight to Rilena after weeks of riding and camping in the snow. From the mixture of sighs and even cheers throughout the column at the sight, the falcon realized that she wasn’t alone, but a retreat from winter’s bite wasn’t the only relief that she hoped for when she saw the castle.

Every day of the week long ride seemed like Garosh would find a way to get into her sight or worse he would decide to talk to her. He was subtle enough in his approach that the woman could never come out and
tell her superiors of his believed harassment. There had been that night at the campfire. Though she had been there, the giant hadn’t necessarily been there just to speak to her. He did try to apologize once she had been found however.

During each day’s ride, Garosh had found a way to ride into her vision, even as the woman tried to sink further into the column to avoid him. Her friends sometimes followed her, but only Elzen seemed to shadow the girl no matter where she went. His concern had been felt throughout the return trip and though she never commented on it, Rilena thought that he knew she appreciated all he did for her. While he could be comforting one moment, he was a jester or a tease the next. It made it a bit hard for the woman to always appreciate him when he managed to annoy her so often; but even then she thought he only did it to distract her from her pain.

Rilena’s brown eyes found Garosh intentionally, as they rode into the village, and from there through the walls surrounding Windmeer’s central keep. The city had survived one attack brought into the castle by someone serving the emperor and that was just a battle mage. Garosh was a monster so far beyond the betrayer’s power that she had to fear what kind of malice he could unleash on the city if he decided to do so. While she was certain that she wasn’t the only one thinking it, no one seemed outwardly worried by their prisoner’s willingness to surrender to an enemy he could have defeated to be brought to the heart of one of the guardian castles.

Losing sight of the giant after surrendering her horse to the stable boys, Rilena made the trek to a wing reserved for women battle mages. Elzen and his male comrades disappeared, but Zerra accompanied her new friend through the halls. Several other women carried their bags around them from the army that had journeyed to the mountain fortress, but Rilena knew almost none of them. Once again she wished that she could have returned with the army of Falcon’s Keep. The other city had been her home for more than a year and there were many falcons that she knew there. More importantly, Garosh wouldn’t have been there.

“I am heading to the bath house for a steam after I unpack, if you’re interested,” Zerra stated as the woman used her key to open the door to her private room. After last summer’s battles, the keep had more room for men and women both, so many had their own rooms here. The lord of Windmeer tried to treat his soldiers well, she had heard, but this was her first time being stationed at this castle though the falcon had been here for a few weeks preparing to attack the fortress.

Nodding to her friend, Rilena replied, “I might join you there if I don’t just collapse in bed instead.”

The other woman smiled and nodded understandingly before disappearing into her room.

Finding her room only a few doors down, Rilena entered and tossed her pack on the foot of the bed before sitting on the soft mattress covered with blankets. Not even bothering to take off her jacket, the mage lay back closing her eyes to enjoy the simple comfort of a nice bed after weeks of sleeping on the cold hard ground. Letting out a sigh of contentment, Rilena lay there for several minutes not wanting the feeling to end.

After awhile, the girl sat up releasing her jacket buttons to strip the outer covering from her body. She could smell the weeks of wearing the garment while rarely changing shirts thanks to the frigid temperatures. Worse, with the jacket removed, Rilena could smell her clothes and wondered if Zerra didn’t have the right idea. Weeks of the trail, battle and her body trapped inside for what warmth she could get had made her ripe.

Rifling through her pack, the falcon began looking for something that wouldn’t be just as bad as what she wore. Spare shirts and pants were a premium rarity for falcons and soldiers alike. She could requisition more clothes, but her position made it easier to have less when a move could be given at a moment’s notice. Her entire world fit in one pack. On this day, that meant her entire world smelled at least to a degree. She would need to get her clothing laundered immediately or those men who had always come to her for dances at night would smell her and run the other way.

Finding the cleanest of her clothes, Rilena stripped off two outer layers of shirts throwing them into the bag. The jacket was left hanging on a peg and she hoped airing it out for awhile would prevent needing to have it laundered as well, until she spied dried blood on it and the tears from a lion’s claws. Giving a sigh of exasperation, the girl took it with her and went looking for the launderers of the castle.

On a floor below her living quarters, the falcon turned over the clothing she could. Some she would have to wear until after a bath let her put on the cleanest smelling clothes the girl had left to her. Getting assurances that they would get them back to her as soon as possible, the head woman shooed her out of the room wrinkling her nose at the falcon’s smell.

Rilena went in search of the women’s baths to see if Zerra were still there. If not, she would simply scrub three weeks of travel and war off of her skin as best she could.

A single female soldier guarded the door to the entry when she arrived. It was sad that they needed one, but not all men had the moral character to stay away from temptation. The guard nodded to
her as she passed through the doorway and Rilena felt a rise in the moisture from the moment she moved through the portal.