Battle Mage: A Hero's Welcome (A Tale of Alus Book 8) Read online

  Battle Mage: A Hero’s Welcome

  By

  Donald L. Wigboldy Jr.

  Copy write October 2014

  For World Maps and More Go To:

  https://www.facebook.com/BattleMageATaleOfAlus

  Other books by Donald L. Wigboldy Jr.

  From the Tales of Alus series:

  Battle Mage: A Tale of Alus

  Battle Mage: Winter’s Edge

  Battle Mage: The Lost King

  Battle Mage: Dragon Mage

  Battle Mage: A Hero’s Welcome (Fall 2014)

  The High King: A Tale of Alus

  The Emperor’s Shadow War

  Modern Tales:

  Voran the Night Guardian

  Standing Before Monsters

  The Mermaid’s Chest

  A Hero’s Welcome

  Chapter 1- The Black Ship

  Seagulls sang in the morning air piercing the calming roll of the waves washing onto the shore. There were blue skies above the shirtless brown haired man as the sun shone on his back warmly from the east. He was barefoot as were many of those working around the black hull of a ship that had floundered in the shallows.

  Joining the songs of gulls and crash of the waves, voices could be heard faintly by the young man watching dozens of people in the water and on the beach. Ropes attached to pulleys were fastened to large wood posts driven into the ground just beyond the beach. The opposite ends of the ropes ran across the beach into the water fastened to various points along the black hull.

  A straight channel filled with water ran from the hull to the beach. Wood braces ran from the sandy shore up into a clearing between the trees above the water line waiting to receive the battered hulk. Even from more than two hundred feet away Sebastian could see the lingering signs of battle on its black side.

  Tails flicked the water as merfolk workmen tended to the final preparations on the black ship. It was a sight that he was still not completely used to, though the mage had been on the island for two weeks. The island was the home to both the sea people and those related to them on land, so he was the intruder and the strangeness he felt was completely on him.

  “Too bad Zenfar was killed. He would have been a big help to Collin digging out that channel,” a blond haired man stated as he walked up from the firmer earth above the sand.

  Sebastian turned to see the water wizard clad similarly to him. The man had somehow managed to maintain his perfect goatee and mustache despite working around the ship. He wondered if Hyren, who was known to like the ladies, was trying to impress one of the mermaids or one of the local women who were more numerous than the men of the island. Knowing what he did of the water wizard, Sebastian guessed both.

  “Zenfar lost the lottery when he wound up a prisoner on this ship,” Sebastian stated. “Unlike you and Themenor, the rest of those who sold out to Kardor are either dead or in the Dark One’s hands now,” he replied with only a slight bit of accusation. Hyren and four other wizards had been recruited by a Kardorian noble during the Winter’s Edge tournament. Bribed to go to their ally’s country to see if they wanted to move there and help revitalize their flagging wizardry, Hyren and the others were drawn into a secondary trip following Sebastian and the Sea Dragon through the North Sea.

  The blond haired man tried to appear contrite at the battle mage’s words. They had known each other for nearly a month now, but discussion of the wizards’ supposed defection to Kardor had hardly been addressed though it had been in the back of probably everyone’s mind. Sebastian had a team of wizards and mages from Southwall also, but they had been on a mission from the king of Southwall himself, King Alain.

  “We were used too,” a second wizard wearing a light blue shirt of his chosen element of air replied for the blond haired wizard. Slightly taller than the water wizard, Themenor was the only other wizard of Southwall captured to survive. “We simply had the luck of running into you instead of these rune warrior merfolk. Deiclonus and Fedwin drowned thanks to the stupid slave collars draining them of the ability to try and save their selves. Zenfar was found stabbed in the back probably for one of their portal rituals and who knows what happened to Dorgred and Wendle on the ship that escaped.”

  Hyren’s eyes narrowed slightly as he fought both anger at Sebastian’s unvoiced accusation and the loss he felt for those who had died. “You act like we betrayed our country. Kardor is our ally and we aren’t bound by our guilds to Southwall. A wizard can go elsewhere. They don’t own us after all.

  “Besides when we discovered that Lord Romonus was curious about a ship sailing with our countrymen, we served as a safeguard to make sure that he wasn’t up to something... harmful to you,” the man slowed to think of the best words to describe what he felt about the dead lord’s intentions.

  Sebastian had been chasing a legend at the king’s request. King Alain was just the most recent descendant of Gerid Aramathea, the Grimnal, an immortal man who had once led the nations of southwest North Continent. He had disappeared shortly after the Cataclysm had rocked the world of Alus and many believed that he had died. New signs had recently given them hope that the immortal was still alive and that had prompted his quest.

  “What you did was legal and I suppose that I shouldn’t judge. I just could never see myself leaving for money or position like that. Romonus was trying to recruit me as well, you know,” Sebastian rebutted, but quickly shook his head. “Anyway that is behind us. For now, I need that ship put back together.”

  The battle mage felt tired, which seemed strange. He had found Gerid, though there had also been a pitched battle between the Dark One’s Wizard Hunter unit and their black ships. Thanks to the mermen rune warriors guarding the island, this ship had been defeated by jamming the rudder forcing it to steer into the shallows where it had turned nearly onto its side. The merfolk warriors had either dragged the enemy under the water to drown the survivors or fought them all the way to the beach. Only a portal spell cast after they had been abandoned by the last ship had kept them from becoming prisoners or being numbered with the dead.

  Since then, Sebastian had been there as funerals for the defenders and burials for the rest seemed to fill his days. As leader of those who had brought the danger to Gerid’s island and people, the battle mage had not only fought to save the villagers, but had been there for every funeral. It was a weight that had begun to bow the twenty year old man. He had been a full member of his corps for less than a year and already seen so much death. Too many had died under his supervision for one so young. He was aging before his time.

  Another wizard walked towards them with a bit of a smile on his face. “Hyren, come on. It’s our turn to drive this home.”

  Blond haired like Hyren, Liam was tall and had been a member of Sebastian’s team since before the Winter’s Edge tournament. They had trained to teach the wizard how to cast faster like a battle mage, while he had also been a training partner for Sebastian to hone his dueling skills. He was a trusted friend who had led the Sea Dragon while the mage had fought on the island. Against two of the emperor’s black ships, the water wizard had managed to keep his crew alive and the ship mostly intact, though much of that was also the advent of the runed mermen coming to their aid.

  Hyren nodded to the other water wizard. Collin and the others had created the channel, but the ship was still stranded in the shallows. Nara, a nature wizard had led with as much of the repairs as she could on the hull, but they needed it on land to finish returning the black ship to life under Southwall’s banner. The ropes and pulleys couldn’t reach so far and expect to haul in the massive ship without snapping so they would need hel
p.

  A crowd had begun to assemble on the rise above the sand nearby. Local islanders, those from his team and other shipmates had come to watch their work come to fruition. Sebastian walked up the slight rise finding several women standing near each other as they waited for the water wizards and merfolk to bring the black ship onto land. All were eye catching but a pretty blonde dressed in a light weight yellow skirt and blouse was the one he couldn’t help looking at between the others. She smiled as he walked up, as did the other women; but Sebastian barely noticed anyone else.

  Yara was his true love, though the girl in blue beside her was nearly as close to his heart. Ashleen’s blond hair had lightened during her time sailing to nearly white giving her a more exotic look without lessening her beauty. If not for Yara, Ashleen might have won his heart during the time he had known her since saving the girl north of the wall; but fate had chosen to bring the healer into his life first and he was loyal to his first love. He didn’t argue with that destined meeting, however, since Sebastian thought that she was the perfect one for him.

  Instead of kissing her boyfriend on the lips as he walked up, the petite blonde kissed him on the cheek. Though they had been together in all ways, the wizards of Southwall frowned upon their females being intimate with men. An older wizard in brown, Maura, stood there as well and had been forced upon his group for the journey. Unsure if the research wizard would be an issue for the couple, the two did their best to hide how close they were. Even so, Sebastian doubted that the woman was completely in the dark; still he did his best to appear only a close friend to Yara.

  “They are finally ready to bring the ship onto the bracing forms?” Yara asked drawing the man’s eyes back to the beach where Liam and Hyren joined a third water wizard, Vewen. The last man was one of Maura’s protectors. Idenlare, her other protector, stood just behind the researcher watching with the rest.

  He nodded. “After all the work Nara and the others went through to try and seal the damaged boards, if they can force the water out of the hull to make it light enough; their combined magic should be able to focus the waves beneath it to lift the ship onto the frames. We’ll be able to clean out the interior and make sure that all the wood is solid before we try sailing her out of here.”

  After pushing so hard to find the Grimnal, Sebastian found his team’s excitement for the adventure had waned. Over a month of sailing and fighting through various adventures had drained them all. Thinking about having to return to Southwall, which would probably take even longer due to west winds having driven them south through the North Sea making the return more difficult, the mage was less than enthusiastic for another long journey aboard ship.

  “Three ships to sail back,” Ashleen commented curiously. “Will we have enough sailors to man them all?”

  The Kardorian wilder’s including herself, as part of his group, would have been strange for some to hear. Being from another country, Ashleen should have been more worried over just the warship from her people, the Carnivore, returning home with the losses suffered to its crew. Many had died thanks to the wizard hunters as they used the power of blood to fuel their portal spells at the cost of Kardorian lives.

  Despite her origin, Ashleen had seemed a bit lost since driving away the wizard hunters. Deiclonus, her teacher and master, was dead. Her fellow apprentice, Wendle, had been on the third ship and could be assumed dead or at best in the emperor’s hands. Even Lord Romonus, who had used the three wizards for his protection on the long trip to Hala and beyond; had been a casualty in the final battle. Only his daughter Helena Romonus, from the ambassador’s original party, remained alive and Ashleen was unsure of where her loyalties lay.

  The pretty wilder had been attracted to the battle mage from the start and without Yara in the picture believed that she would have tried to be with Sebastian in the same way as her rival. Ashleen had feelings for him and couldn’t completely say that she had managed to put them behind her. Then the young woman had been saved from the wizard hunters during a sea battle when she had refused to be used against him as a slave and jumped into the sea. Liam’s spell had drawn her to the Sea Dragon, but it was Sebastian who had directed the wizard to do so as he watched his friend try to sacrifice herself rather than be used against him as a weapon.

  Sebastian tried not to think of how he still felt for Ashleen as well. There was certainly a bond between them, but they both fought to call it friendship and no more. “Gerid has yet to commit exact numbers to the trip back to Southwall, but even without him we should be able to piece together enough from the remaining sailors of the Carnivore and Sea Dragon to man the third ship. Depending on how many relatives and guards the Grimnal may wish to bring, we might be glad for the extra room. At worst, we can get it to a friendly port and sell it.”

  It was Yara who raised her eyes questioningly. “If you sell it, who gets the money? We sail for Southwall, but the Sea Dragon is Annalicia’s ship and it is from Malaiy. Then there is the question of whether everyone involved gets part of the payment or is it supposed to go back to the king?”

  Grunting in annoyance at the question of ownership, Sebastian added, “Maybe I should just sink it or leave it here then?”

  Yara giggled and was joined in laughter by their friends. Annalicia stood with them. A lady of Malaiy, she was also a talented wizard. Lady Annalicia de Malef Eremia was grand daughter of High Wizard Darius, an immortal, and an elf woman. She was petite and even a little smaller than Yara, but she had been a fan favorite at the tournament and finished second. Her platinum blond hair skewed towards silver and Sebastian had begun to wonder if she might have her grandfather’s gift of immortality, but she was young and only a couple years older than the mage. It was impossible to tell unless they dared stab the girl with a knife to see if she healed. Of course, stabbing a royal family member wasn’t usually the safest of ideas.

  “Could we have taken this prize alone, I wonder?” the lady asked. “These merfolk and their unusual rune magic turned the tide of battle. Perhaps leaving it to the Grimnal’s judgment would be best.”

  Looking a bit pensive, Sebastian drew Yara’s next question, “What is it, Bas?”

  “I’m worried that the emperor might send more of his ships here.” His eyes glanced to the dozens of islanders that could become collateral damage, if the emperor chose to exact revenge on these people. They were the Grimnal’s people. Some were family, but all were his responsibility and his quest had disrupted the stability in their lives. The island was a prison as well and those with too much similarity to their father and grandfather were trapped along with him. “We need to take care of the barrier trapping these people here.”

  “All in good time,” a deep voice decided as a shadow crossed over him. A large man with silver hair and beard towered over the crowd easily standing over a foot taller than the girls. “Once the ship is out of the water, perhaps you can deal with the barrier; but there is plenty of time.”

  Sebastian chuckled and replied sarcastically, “For an immortal like you there is always plenty of time, but we mortals work on a shorter clock.”

  “Pfft,” Gerid disputed with a disapproving breath. “I have too much time, but I still follow your clock, boy. When a man has watched as many seasons come and go, he gains new understanding of the shortness of time in a day.”

  Left unsaid was the immortal’s watching of his family being born only to age and die over and over as the man watched the centuries pass.

  Luckily, there was something more uplifting to watch as two of the three water wizards strode into the water to either side of the ship. Liam hurried walking out on solid water to make passage onto the toppled vessel easier. A spout of water lifted him on a brick of ice he had created to the aft deck rail. Once set, the three wizards began their spells. Preparation for what they were doing required many hand gestures and they spoke in the ancient language of magic. For a man like Sebastian, it was a contrast of styles from his own. A battle mage was limited in power and used
quick spells of only one or two words. His skill at decoding their magic into his style had garnered him the nicknames mizard and the owl, but to Sebastian there wasn’t any true merit to everyone’s belief in his intelligence. He simply watched and felt the magic. In his observation, the mage tried to put it into simpler terms for him to understand.

  Walking away from the crowd, Sebastian moved to the water as he watched the three wizards fighting to control the sea around them. In theory, the three men would use the ocean to lift and force the hull towards the beach through the channel created by Collin. Ten islanders manned the ropes and pulleys but their part in the procedure was mostly for guidance since the ropes were unlikely to be strong enough to influence the weight of the ship.

  The brown haired wizard of nature from his team, Nara, left those watching to stride towards the wood frames on the beach. It had been her ability to shape wood and nature that had let her mold the original wood into the perfect shapes curved to catch the vessel. Collin, the earth wizard, walked beside her readying to back her up should it be needed. The two were a couple beyond being just friends, and like he and Yara, the two wizards had broken the rules to make love during the voyage. They were committed to each other and backed one another even in the use of magic.

  Like Liam, Sebastian walked onto the water in a different way. He had been toying with a new use for his mage shields and began casting one after the other with a single word, “Shield.”

  Blue glowing squares rested on the water even as waves lapped onto the magical shields. He had used them as a base to stabilize the ground beneath him in duels previously, but never before had the mage tried to walk on water with the spell. His team of mages was watching and probably wondered how hard it would be for them to duplicate the feat.

  The water began to rise around the ship and, as he watched, the hulk began to pop back to horizontal. It was the work of Hyren and Vewen in the water closest to the beach that helped settle the black hull in preparation for the push that would bring it home.