Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) (51 page)

An hour passed and the sun barely remained clear of the horizon. The Sea Dragon wouldn’t find the island during the day, but Sebastian wondered if that wasn’t a good thing. A ship approaching the island by day might be seen as an attacker, but during the night they might not be seen until the morning light returned. The islanders might view them the same way, but it meant the Sea Dragon would have the advantage of a clear path in the night.

Yara and most of the team stood nearby waiting. Even the mermaids had remained onboard since Themenor had brought word of the island. Ashleen stood to one side holding the rail searching for the black ships while the rest waited.

“Liam keep watch over the water ahead of us,” Sebastian warned as the look out above spotted some stones jutting above the waves to one side. He could see the first of the little islands that were little more than raised rock as well.

Themenor pointed to the east and west reporting, “The main island is centered between the lesser islands and points of rock. It may have been the heart of a volcano raised by the quakes.”

Nodding at the air wizard’s appraisal, Sebastian waited only a little longer before the ring and weapon of the Grimnal acted like they had been kicked against the deck wall. They struck so hard that everyone jumped as the crack of metal striking wood shattered the air. He feared that they would damage the ship, but they only pressed against the wood for a moment before releasing onto the decking in front of the wall. The force that had acted on them seemed to be gone and Sebastian nodded again.

He hurried over to the ring and picked it up. Gathering the two mermaids, Sebastian requested, “Yaroma, I need you and Naoromi to use the ring to look for the barrier. If you use the ring, I think that you will find it easily enough. Once you’ve tested to see if you can go through it, come back and let me know.”

Yaroma gave him a dubious look before nodding. Before the mermaids dove over the side, Sebastian stopped them a moment. “Try using your magic with the ring on first.”

Again the woman gave him the look. “If I change on the deck, someone will have to catch me.”

Chuckling at the worry, he nodded motioning Olan closer to help him as she tried the amulet. A flash of light from the amulet failed to do more. The ring blocked the magic of the amulet.

“It’s as I thought. The ring is too strong to use your magic while holding it. Naoromi, go ahead and jump in. I’ll just have to throw it to you two. Then swim with the ring to the barrier. If it breaks your mermaid magic, we’ll just have to abandon the idea all together,” the mage stated as he took the ring back from Yaroma.

Both mermaids leaped over the side changing as they went. They were faster than the Sea Dragon at full sail and the ship was only moving at half speed to avoid the rocks, so the two women were in easy throwing distance in moments. He threw the ring to Yaroma and the mermaids turned back to find the invisible barrier.

His team of wizards pulled him aside as the rest of the crew went back to watching out for more of the jutting rock. Collin asked, “How did you know the ring was powerful enough to block her amulet?

“I didn’t. That was why I made sure to have her test it before leaping over board. If it had happened in the ocean, they might have panicked and drowned.”

Serrena gave a wry smile with one side of her lips as she stated sarcastically, “A mermaid drowning. Now that would be ironic.”

Frowning at her attempt at humor, Sebastian continued, “They can test to see where that barrier runs and maybe we can find the way to break it.”

“Why not use your light spell like you did on the island?”Olan questioned as he listened to them. “You and Yara were able to break those barriers several times.”

Sebastian nodded as he turned to look ahead of the ship. The main island was in sight now as they closed on it. Light was changing to night as the sun dipped beneath the western horizon. “This one is different. It is designed to hold the Grimnal, but to the rest of us it isn’t there at all. There is nothing to focus on to try and break the spell.”

His words made the team lapse into silence as they realized things were not as simple as they had hoped.

“Themenor, where was the village that you saw on the island?”

The air wizard pointed and answered succinctly, “On the south west side of the island. There was no noticeable harbor that I could make out, so we will have to anchor where it is deep enough for the ship and row the rest of the way.”

“We’ll anchor on the north and walk to the village then to avoid causing any hostility. We have no idea what their reaction to outsiders will be.”

“That will leave the Sea Dragon vulnerable if the enemy ships come for us,” Themenor quickly warned. “They caught the Carnivore while our wizards were checking the castle.”

Sighing at the thought, Sebastian nodded, “It’s a risk we’ll have to take or we might end up fighting both the islanders and the black ships. We also don’t have a harbor to hem in the Sea Dragon. She can run if they show up by sail at least.”

Portal magic could throw his plan off of course, but the mage had to play to what he knew.

Chapter 32- Baiting the Bull

Stifling a yawn, Sebastian led his team down the beach towards the island village that the air wizards had scouted from the wind. The eastern sky had begun to brighten with dawn, but the crew had been in motion since before the sun had crested the eastern horizon. Gelinas, the third moon and harbinger of dawn had yet to fall completely in the west.

He had made the decision, as they anchored at the northern point of the island, to wait until morning to visit the village. The light of day would hopefully show the locals that they brought them no ill will as a late night arrival might have inferred. It had also given the mermaids time to check the barrier for him.

Yaroma had returned with her sister shortly after nightfall to share what they had found. The two had discovered that the ring would not allow a wearer to pass through the barrier though they had each tested the barrier without the ring and managed to swim through without problem.

After finding that out, the mermaids had swum east and west using the ring to feel for the barrier. Each direction had found a corner held by an island. The mermaids had even changed to look for something acting as an anchor for the magic. A large stone pole with strange runes running up the height of the stone sat centered on the island. These they could not approach for the strange purple barriers erected around the poles.

Matching monuments stood on both of the small islands and with or without the ring, the women could approach neither stone. Rather than follow the invisible walls to the south, Yaroma and Naoromi returned to the Sea Dragon just before the ship set its anchor near the northern point.

That left the other worry which kept Sebastian setting a watch of air wizards scouting around the islands continuously for the black ships. Annalicia took the first watch on the winds looking around the islands surrounding the Sea Dragon. Themenor and Ashleen covered the rest of the night leaving Sebastian to try and rest for the early morning walk.

A night of worry did little to let the man sleep, however, but it did give him time to decide on the best use of his resources. Liam, Ashleen, Hyren and Themenor would stay as a rear guard along with Anna and her wizards. He had even convinced Maura to leave Vewen with the ship. The abilities of the air and water wizards could protect the Sea Dragon best and even the stubborn research mage could see that leaving their only means of escape unprotected might mean being stranded on the island indefinitely.

As he walked along the beach leading his mere team of eight, Sebastian felt the loss of Mecklin and Olan. He had been forced to give up the two men for the security of the ship. Not just Maura would feel less protected on the trip to the village. He had come to rely on the solid, strength of his three battle mages; but if the black ships were to show while they were gone, the two men would be the ones he relied on to hold the line in a fight.

Frell looked a little lost as she walked without them and he thought that she felt the same.

Yara hid a yawn behind her hand as the gray light shadowing the beach waited for the sun to rise up and drive it away. He smiled at the girl and she caught his look. “I know that you wanted to show up by daylight, but do we have to try for dawn?” she questioned blocking another yawn as she finished.

“I couldn’t sleep anyway,” the mage admitted. “Frankly, I just hope that we have found the last island of the mission. With the barrier surrounding us, I would say there is a strong likelihood that we will either find the Grimnal or his last resting place here.”

Collin and Nara walked alongside the couple and the earth wizard chimed in, “They do seem to have gone out of the way to keep someone like him trapped here. If it isn’t his prison, then it is an unusual place to set a barrier to keep him out.”

“If it was just to keep from getting to something,” Serrena stated from just behind the line of four, “then all they would have needed to do was put a barrier around it to keep him out. Of course, if it was a living person, then maybe they would need the island to have a place to live.”

Sebastian ignored the banter as his mind locked onto something else that was bugging him. “If they had some way to signal that we were at Maldus Island, I wonder if the same will be sent from here. We broke the barriers at the castle and we’ve passed through one coming between the islands.

“So where are the black ships or are they just waiting for us to walk into a trap?”

The group fell silent as they pondered that question and began to worriedly look about for a trap to spring. Collin was the first to break the uncomfortable silence, “If the castle was the actual place to raise the alarm, then my money would be on the village. Has the compass point changed since we started walking?”

Sebastian fished out the compass bumping the ring that imitated the Grimnal’s aura. Pulling the ring out at the same time, he tossed it to Captain Drayden, “Here, you might need this sometime. We at least have our magic. It might help you in a fight if we face more magical enemies.”

The captain looked at the ring in his hand for just a moment before sliding it onto his offhand. Swinging a sword took a certain feel and his right was his main hand, the ring was best left where only a second hand was needed for a stronger blow.

Turning his attention to the compass, Sebastian channeled his magic and found the red point as brilliant as ever. It still pointed towards the village, but there were bends to the beach that might suddenly cause it to veer before they arrived. “Still looks like the village,” the mage nodded before replacing the magical device.

Farms began to appear a short way in from the beach; first a solo farm holding various vegetables, then pairs and more. The village wasn’t the only place people gathered apparently.

Noting the farms, Nara said quietly, “If they have farms this far from the main settlement, then it probably means that there a lot of people here. You don’t spread out like this when there are few to support. There are houses here, so they’re not just farming and walking back to the village.”

The island was one of the larger ones they had visited, though not quite as large as Maldus Island, where the monsters ruled the land. Still, the walk would be several miles and they were less than halfway to the village on the far side. Trees grew up again obscuring their view of the farms once more and a sudden word of warning from Idenlare came to them. The four stopped as the man pointed to the water.

“Did you see something in the water?” the fire wizard asked in concern while calling a fireball to his right hand almost instinctively.

Everyone else shook their heads, but Sebastian questioned, “What did you see?”

“I’m not sure. It reminded me of the mermaids, but it was just a glimpse out of the corner of my eye.”

Sebastian wouldn’t put it past his two mermaid followers to ignore his orders and sneak away to follow him. They were loyal, perhaps too loyal when it came to following rules and listening to him when they feared he would need their help. Releasing his mind to the winds to look over the water from above, Sebastian didn’t see the girls nearby. He did notice a distinct lack of fish nearest them and he warned from afar, “There might be something hiding in the water. The fish have moved away from our area.”

People walking on land shouldn’t affect the nature of fish in the sea, he thought with concern. Returning to his body quickly, the mage placed his hand on the Hollow Sword feeling that something was amiss.

They spied nothing obvious and he increased their pace towards the far off village. If something was hiding nearby, the battle mage was unable to pierce the spell or see through the camouflage.

Nara called out, “There is something in the woods.”

Again Sebastian spied no movement, but kept the group moving as he asked the wizard watching the string of groves. “Any idea of what is there?”

The wizard closed her eyes letting Collin lead her by the hand so she wouldn’t stumble. A quick shake of her head before Nara’s eyes met his in worry made Sebastian wonder sort of trap was about to spring. He could feel the tension in the air and not just from the words of warning.

Fish had moved away from the beach and the birds in the tress had gone silent. “Be ready for anything. They might just be watching to see what we do.”