Battle Mage, The Caves of Time Read online

  Testing the handle, the mage wasn't surprised to find it locked. Giving the wood panel a quick pattern of taps just loud enough for someone to hear if they were close to the door, Sebastian hoped that he had found the right place and that the spies hadn't been forced to move on already. If they had been compromised, perhaps because the orcs were suddenly in charge and going building by building for instance, then maybe the scent could be strong here and confuse his magic.

  To his relief, a moment later a pair of taps lightly sounded from the other side of the door. It might give away that someone was inside, but Sebastian had no doubt that other precautions had been taken inside just in case his preset pattern brought the wrong kind of attention. Responding with three quick raps on the door, Sebastian didn't have to wait long to hear the sound of locks being released on the other side of the heavy barrier.

  Green eyes set in a tired looking face looked through a tight gap checking on the one who had knocked and relief quickly crossed that face as the mage released his spell. A release of breath in a sigh preceded the door opening more as the man looking out at the battle mage said, "Sebastian, thank the gods it's you."

  Slipping through the gap as Drayden, the head of the local spy network, stepped back to let the younger man inside the building; Sebastian asked curiously, "Who else would it be? You used the summoning stone, didn't you?"

  The door shut behind him and the locks were quickly reset before the other man said quietly, "I was hoping, but it is magic. I don't know that much about it after all and I can't say that I've ever had to use one of these stones before.

  "You got here fairly quickly also, which is good," the man with brown hair that looked to have picked up a few gray hairs recently stated making Sebastian wonder what would have made Drayden say that. With the fall of the emperor, Ensolus had been in a state of shock last he had heard. The leaders of Southwall had hoped that maybe they would be able to step up to these people who had been their enemies for generations now and perhaps open a dialogue for peace. It was a lofty goal, especially since they would be dealing with creatures that weren't men in the traditional sense.

  Orcs, trolls, goblins and elves seemed to be close enough in some ways to have common societal goals; but the mage wondered about the more monstrous creatures the emperor had used. Armored viles seemed to have a more animalistic comprehension of the world as did many of the other beastlike creatures. Luckily it would be something handled by others that hopefully would have a better grasp of such dealings.

  That was if things hadn't turned out even worse since the Dark One's death.

  "I assumed that your use of the stone that I gave you for emergencies wasn't used haphazardly for anything less. Luckily, I didn't need to step away from anything important that required me elsewhere, though I would have done my best to come right away," the mage assured him.

  Giving Sebastian an appreciative nod, the older man replied, "Even so, I'm grateful. Working with the wizards' guilds just hasn't been the same. It's gotten more dangerous here also since... well, you know. Trying to work with some green wizard, who barely knows the portal spell is bad enough; but I was already worried for their safety when the city was calmer. Now I couldn't risk one of them trying to navigate this orc infested place."

  A small smile crossed the mage's face at Drayden's comment. "Don't let the wizards hear you say that. They wouldn't want you telling them that you think a young battle mage is a safer bet if he needs to fight than one of their members."

  "Hmmph," the spy captain countered sounding unimpressed by the egos of the wizards they had both dealt with so much. Drayden would never let such a dismissive admission out in front of someone he didn't trust. Even with the mage whom he had known for about a year and been through several dangerous missions with as well, it was surprisingly frank. "They might be powerful, but too few know how to really fight. If I called one of them here... now... they wouldn't make it through the old human quarter."

  "The 'old' human quarter?" Sebastian noted curiously.

  Nodding, Drayden confirmed, "How much have you heard about what has been happening here since the emperor fell?"

  Sebastian shrugged. "Not a lot, I've been busy in Kardor and have only heard a little bit when talking with the king or his advisors."

  "In the following weeks after the fall, there was a pair of generals vying for power that most believed would be among a small few that might take over here at least. No one was certain that they could hold the whole empire together, but at least locally it looked like it was mainly between the two. The head of the wizard hunters and their school of wizards were in the mix as well, though to a lesser degree. Lord Devolus was the true favorite, but he seemed more concerned with Litsarin and the war there. I think you ran into him when you helped the Grimnal defend his island."

  Thinking of the powerful warlocks in the wizard hunters that they had faced while chasing after the missing immortal, Sebastian thought that he knew who Drayden meant. Both powerful in magic and his physical abilities, a wizard hunter had nearly killed the immortal in combat before retreating in a spectacular explosion. They had thought him dead, but had discovered otherwise later.

  "Anyway, it went on like that for several weeks before someone else united the monsters to attack the wizards and hunters. Following that, many of the humans and elves in the city disappeared or were confined to their homes by the orc led forces. Those who fought back were usually killed. Unfortunately that is what led me to call on you."

  "What do you mean they all disappeared? Have your people been in danger of... disappearing as well?" Sebastian asked feeling a little confused. He had known that it had been getting worse here, but the quick summation of the past couple months in Ensolus seemed to infer that it was even worse than he had heard.

  "Not exactly," Drayden replied with a weary looking smile. "The contacts I had among the orcs and humans before the Dark One's death began to close down with the conflict between the generals. Both races seemed to pick sides. The orcs mostly went with Corven, a half orc, while the humans and elves picked Amelyer, the half elf general.

  "When the orcs from the west end of the city and to a lesser degree those from the military in the south attacked the wizards and hunters, the humans of the poorest district apparently had an escape tunnel that they used to leave the city. It avoided the gates where more of the orc forces held the exit. Some of the elves must have been warned about it also. We've heard that many of them left as well.

  "Those remaining have been getting punished for staying by the roaming squads of orcs, goblins and trolls looking for them. They want revenge for being put beneath the elves and humans for so long. We tried to keep watch, but two of my men were nearly killed a couple days ago. We've had to move our base three times. The ghetto became too dangerous and now even the military sectors have those squads dragging families out of their homes to serve the new masters of the city."

  "Who is the new leader? Is it that General Corven you mentioned?"

  Shaking his head, the spy captain replied, "All we know is a name, Xarden. No one we knew has seen him, but it is rumored that he is a warlock that the school never found. If he's been hiding in the western quarter all this time, I would assume that he is tricky enough. Uniting more magic wielding orcs that were powerful enough to destroy the remaining wizards and hunters in the city proves that they are no joke. They collapsed the school and two hunter bases which were small fortresses with protective walls."

  Sebastian frowned. "How did they manage to hide such powerful magic users inside the city? You would think the warlocks could have sensed them. They couldn't have just appeared after the emperor died, could they? The place has only one way in and that had to be guarded well after our attack."

  Giving a shrug, Drayden replied, "We don't know. There isn't anyone that we can find that can tell us more unfortunately, though..." The man paused and added, "There are other ways into the city.

  "We spotted your old friend after the orcs dest
royed the remaining wizards and warlocks."

  "My 'old friend'?" the younger man questioned and had a feeling that he knew the answer to the half spoken question.

  Letting out a breath to sigh, Drayden answered, "Palose went to the broken wizard's school and the two wizard hunter bases after they were destroyed. My people say that he appeared to be looking for something and had a few others with him searching as well. They confiscated a few bodies before the corpses had been gathered by the orcs and goblins took them away to the furnaces."

  Sebastian gave it a brief thought before shaking his head. "Enough about him; what did you summon me for? I assume that it wasn't just to talk about Palose or the fall of the wizards here."

  Nodding, the older man sighed again, "I've never been in a place where I couldn't do my job; but with the fall of the humans and elves here, it's too dangerous for us to remain. I might try if it was just me, but..."

  "You have others depending on you," the mage stated glancing briefly to a half dozen humans that looked dirty and tired. He was uncertain whether this place even had water running to it. If Ensolus was like the cities of Southwall, much of the infrastructure that offered running water and utilities like power for heat and light came from the magic of wizards. Apprentices often learned how to cast certain spells by practicing there under wizards in charge of maintaining the machinery and regenerating spells generations old now.

  If Ensolus was the same, he wondered if those spells would begin giving out with the loss of their casters. These orc warlocks, or whatever they were, might be able to resume the work; but Sebastian doubted it.

  Drayden was nodding once more at his observation. "If you could get us out of here, back to Hala to report to the king and his council..."

  "Of course, how soon will you be ready to leave?"

  Packs were picked up at his words and the spy captain gestured saying, "We're ready if you are."

  "Door," Sebastian called out intoning the thoughts triggering his spell. A rectangle of light formed in the air in front of the locked door. Gesturing with his hand to proceed, the spies who had all used the gate spell to come here in the first place didn't seem to require any other incentive to leap through the light.

  They disappeared one by one with Drayden waiting to be last.

  "Thanks, kid," the older man said turning to him with a smile before moving back to the portal and walking through as well.

  Sebastian gave a last glance around the old warehouse. His hound enhanced sense of smell still found the odor of smoke and ash mixed with wet stone before the mage walked into the light of his magical doorway to disappear from Ensolus once more.

  Chapter 2- Thoughts of Spring

  A cool breeze stirred the air as Sebastian walked along the stone paved streets of Hala, the capitol city of Southwall. It was also referred to as the king's city since this was where both the kings of Southwall and before them the kings of Marshalla sat watching over the land. Before the Cataclysm had shaken the north apart submerging islands and creating new ones, while countries once sharing the same continent found large channels separating them, Hala's central castle had been born of black stone while the surrounding wall sat in contrast made of white.

  With time, the original city had grown. The inner city and the original surrounding wall had been surrounded by miles of buildings which were in turn hemmed in by another tall wall.

  The mage looked at the stone in front of his feet more than at the surrounding buildings made of various colors of stone or wood. Many outside the central city used the second material and the buildings were painted often appearing a bit more vibrant than their stone made compatriots, but in a world that worried about the possibility of enemies raining fire inside those walls, more were made of stone with flat or slanted roofs with stone tiles protecting them.

  He maneuvered around a horse drawn carriage glancing to see if he knew the coat of arms on its side. When traveling the city, many lords and ladies had personal carriages marked to let others know of their position. It wasn't tactically the best idea, Sebastian thought. Only the fact that the powerful Northwall had kept the Dark One's armies away from the city for over a century lent such people the security to be so brazen. Hala was a fairly safe city after all.

  The inner wall and the open gate set in the west wall loomed over the young man. He didn't have to slow. The inner city wasn't barred from those in the outer city. Some nobles did have homes inside the inner city, but outside of the king's castle, Hala was open to all of its citizens.

  Sebastian noticed a couple walking towards him. They wore long, heavy winter coats still, even though the calendar said that they had finally made it into spring. Of course the calendar had been created by men in a far off southern land long ago and it could hardly be believed by most of those who lived on North continent. About a week into spring, there were traces of old snow here and there and it was still cold.

  Compared to what the mage had felt in the cave city to the north and west, Hala seemed much closer to spring however.

  A fair walk from the protected portal gate sitting in the fire wizards' guild courtyard, Sebastian didn't walk with Captain Drayden to the king's castle. He could have, but the spy's report could be made without him. The mage had used his magic to get in and out quickly. That meant he had little to report anyway and Sebastian wondered if it wasn't better to avoid having to admit that he had disobeyed the wishes of both wizards and mages alike.

  The raven, the leader of his old guild, had told him to stay away from the Dark One's city after the fall of the emperor. Wizards were supposed to open portals between the cities and work with the spies usually, but the special request using the magic infused stone had made Sebastian ignore those desires for his friend. He was a battle mage and best suited for a mission as dangerous as it could have been. Had a wizard gone and stumbled into that first orc, Sebastian wondered if things would have gone as well.

  He wasn't trying to brag, even inside the isolation of his own skull. Trained in all the skills of a soldier, battle mages also had the power of magic that they could add to a fight. Some magic increased their traits like speed or strength or even made their skin like armor. Other spells were similar to a wizard's fireball or other magic often used in combat, except a mage could call their spells with a single word or maybe two while a wizard had to run through a longer chant even for similar magic.

  Rune magic had been added to his arsenal since becoming a full battle mage also. After becoming a falcon, the first rank of a mage after graduating from being a cadet, Sebastian had picked up other nicknames as well. He had discovered that he could translate several spells originally believed to be only usable by wizards, so first they jokingly called him mizard. His ability and ongoing additions to battle mage magic had eventually made the corps come up with a new rank, that of owl. As if being able to create new spells involved wisdom, Sebastian thought giving a snort which drew the eyes of a couple of other people walking nearby as he moved towards a two story building with a sign above its door that had a black anvil and hammer on the board.

  Contrary to the picture, this was the Blacksmith Inn though there was a smithy in the rear courtyard as well. The main building, the business that supported the family which owned it was an inn. The current owner, Ivol, had inherited the inn from his parents, but his passion lay in working with metals. He had built the smithy behind the main building. Stables were back there as well and often held the horses of those who brought their animals for new shoes. The blacksmith made other things as well, but mostly he helped his neighbors repairing wagons and creating basic tools.

  Even so, the smithy had seen more intricate work recently since Sebastian had begun residing at the inn. It had become his home, even though he paid for a room and meals. For a busy battle mage, it served him well enough. He could have stayed at the local guild house when he was still a corps member, but Sebastian had become more independent and had found riches on his travels that would allow him to cover the expe
nses for years even if he never made another coin afterward.

  Pushing through the closed doors, a necessity even though they might call this time of year spring; Sebastian noted several tables had patrons sitting around them. Those closest to the doors looked towards him frowning whether they meant to or not. The room was fairly warm and the cold draft wasn't welcome even if new visitors were.

  He closed the door firmly behind him shutting the cold out as thoroughly as could be managed in the northern city. With a cloudy sky overhead, Sebastian's eyes didn't need to adjust to the change in lighting very much. Spotting a few faces still looking in his direction, the young man couldn't help summoning a smile as he saw a pretty blonde haired girl stand while looking at him with a relieved look on her face. Two others remained sitting at the table with her, but they merely looked towards the mage letting the girl meet him halfway to the door.

  "You're back and safe it looks like. No new holes were added, I hope," the girl said looking up at him with her blue eyes that seemed darker in the light created by lamps even if it was nearly midday. She was much shorter than him. One could tell that she was both petite and slim even in her layered robes. Ashleen was a wizard of Kardor, Southwall's ally to the northwest, and she was also his girlfriend.

  Patting his coat with a single pat, the mage replied, "Not even an extra hole added to my jacket."

  Her eyes glanced left and right checking if any eyes were on them. Making a bit of a scene, it wasn't surprising that many were.

  Pointing towards the table that she had just left, she asked a safer question, "Are you hungry? We have a table saved."

  Their hands entwined. For the patrons who might be uncomfortable with any demonstration of their love, this made them look away. Others grew bored seeing that the couple wasn't going to be more interesting and went back to their conversations or eating their meals.