A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (25 page)

 A tall steel post marked the boundary of the Royal
District. It was decorated with the runes for “wind” and was crowned with a
griffin statue. “
Welcome to Heleti
” declared a sign welded to its
midsection. After passing this threshold, Nolien became jumpier and he hid his
face.
That's right . . .he's from Heleti . . .He ran away if Mia is to be
believed . . .

Two days later, they arrived at the Yacian Mountain Range.
Eric's heartbeat quickened when the caravan marched down a slope; the entrance
was a hole in the ground. The outline was lit up by the bright sun, but the
hole was black as night. He glanced at his teammates.

Tiza was next to Anuzat and grinning like a maniac.
I bet
she's looking forward to the C class.
Nolien stood rim rod straight as
always.
We might as well be back at Bird Poop Isle.
Basilard was reading
his dirty book while walking.
I should have expected that . . . I'm the only
one worried
.

He pulled out his charm from under his tunic. It was a small
crystal eye with a brown stone inscribed with runes as a pupil. He squeezed it
once for courage and put it away.

When they finally entered the cave, he shivered. It could
have been the sudden drop in temperature or it could have been the cave
entrance looking like the mouth of a great beast. Jagged rocks grew everywhere
and all of them were a dull white and pointed inwards. The passage was narrow
and led deeper into the earth. A gruesome finishing touch was the splattered
blood.

“Keep your eyes open,” Basilard said, nose still in book. “Monsters
could strike at any time.”

“Hypocrite,” Nolien muttered.

 Further down the rocky throat grew glowing crystals similar
to ones in the Dragon Lair. Not for the first time did Eric wonder if the guild
was a mountain that mercenaries moved into. The Dragon's Lair, however, did not
have Fog. It clung to the ground like carpet and wisps of it drifted in the air.
Just vapor mana juice, just vapor mana juice, just vapor mana juice . . .

The caravan left the narrow passage and entered a larger,
stomach-like, area. The surrounding rock was dark in color and natural pillars
dotted the room. Scattered across the ceiling were holes that allowed sunlight
into this dark domain, which gave birth to shadows. Eric thought he saw eyes in
these shadows and held his staff tighter.

The monsters here put up more of a struggle than the ones
outside. The giants were  badly injured regularly, but only until Anuzat's
human healers mended them. To Tiza's delight, they couldn't work fast enough to
fill the ranks so Basilard allowed her to fill in. Even shorthanded, the
giants, humans, and camels of Anuzat's Caravan fought off the monsters with
little help.

After leaving the stomach area, they entered a zigzag with
more branching paths than Eric could count. Different breeds attacked and
Basilard lectured on their abilities and the best way to kill them while
Anuzat's group provided visual aid. She told the non-combatants to look for the
southern exit. Eric struggled to track their progress; getting lost down here
would be worse than a monster attack. They traveled deeper still and the Fog
grew thicker. Eric's charm warmed his skin and he took it off.
No wonder
these are so cheap . . . monsters are everywhere in places like this.

Time passed and in the darkness the caravan was attacked by
another threat; a foul odor. An unholy mixture of melted rock and waste and
dried blood mixed with the Fog.
Bird poop is nothing compared to this . . .
Another two hours came and went.

“Mercenary Leader, do I get my money back if you don't do
anything?”

“No.”

Another hour passed. Tiza let out a long, bored, sigh and
let her sheath drag on the ground. It stirred the now knee-level Fog. She
couldn't even watch the giants fight if nothing attacked. Then she saw Eric
anxiously checking pillar shadows. She grinned. Then, quiet as a mouse, she
snuck up behind him and shouted in his ear. He jumped three feet straight up,
spun, and brought his staff down on Tiza. She blocked with her targe.

“Chill, Dimwit, or you'll wear yourself out.” Eric glared.

One more hour and the caravan entered a wide-open chamber.
No pillars could be seen nor were there any sky holes to illuminate them. This
deep in the caverns only glowing crystals lit their way. Anuzat's giant
employees put on sunglasses and pulled large rocks from out of their packs.

“Activate!”

 The rocks lit up the area.
Rocks charmed to be
floodlights; I wonder what kind of spell is used.
The giants spread out in
a circle, dropped their burdens, and sat down next to them. Anuzat's human
employees set up camp: building a fire, pitching tents, and giving food to the
giants.

Basilard accepted a meal from one of the humans and sat next
to Anuzat. “You already seem to have capable guards in your giants, so why'd
you hire us? And I find this
very
relevant to my job.”

“I live by rules, Mercenary Leader, and one of them is you
can never be too careful.”

 “Then why'd you hire novices?”

“Squad Five Senior for a bargain; why pay for three regulars
when their mentor is all I'll need?”

“You've done your homework.”

“As would any merchant worth their salt.”

The novices sat nearby. Tiza dropped to the stone floor, but
didn't eat with her usual enthusiasm. “I don't believe it. I thought escorts
would be exciting but this is even duller than mowing that guy's lawn. At least
then we were
doing
something.”

“You should consider yourself lucky to be so bored,” Nolien
said. “You'd be terrified if you actually met a C class.”

“Why!?” Tiza demanded. “‘Cause I'm a girl!?”

“No,” Nolien said, surprised at her barbed tone. “Only fools
are fearless.”

“Well, I'm not a fool, but I'm still not scared of anything!”
Tiza yelled.

“All right, all right, you're not scared of anything.”

With a look of triumph, Tiza finally dug into her meal.

Why is Tiza so determined to be strong? Or, at least,
make others believe she's strong?
He knew he shouldn't bother; girls were
complicated and even if he guessed right, he'd have to ask her to be sure.
I
probably wouldn't live through that.
The question nagged. It was a puzzle
and he liked puzzles.
This one's going to drive me insane
. So he focused
on his meal instead.

 The rock lights shattered and the caravan was plunged in
darkness. In the dim light, Eric could see blue-brown wolves rushing their
position.
Xethras!
The pack surrounded the caravan and attacked in
groups. One engaged while a second bit their ankles and a third ripped their
throat out. The perimeter was broken at once.
Monsters are mindless!

“Looks like you won't be bored after all, Tiza.” Nolien said
grimly, his staff in hand and already glowing. The fighter said nothing. All
she did was grip her sword and stare.

The xethras advanced, but were rebuffed by a wave of power.
Light shined. Basilard held a blood red sword above his head and it glowed with
an intense aura. He was so bright it hurt to look at him. The xethras roared at
Basilard but didn't dare advance.
The power of his spirit . . .he's holding
them back with it
! Eric could feel it on his skin, opening every pore on
his body. The very air shook with the pure power radiating from the Bladi.

“Stay BACK!”

Another wave of power slammed into the xethras. They skidded
but dug their claws into the stone. Slowly, they tightened their circle.
Basilard pointed at one and incinerated it. The others howled and withered in
pain, as if they themselves were burned. As one, they growled threateningly and
glowed with green light.

The light grew and grew and grew until it was one aura. This
was not the controlled force of Basilard's spirit, but wild and savage. The
once clean air was polluted by a bloodlust so palpable Eric could taste the
iron. It pressed in on him from all sides and drove him to his knees.

Nolien's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. “They're
pooling their spiritual power  . . .amazing . . .we're gonna die . . .”

The ground cratered under the force of their united aura.
Everyone was helpless, except Basilard. He stood tall in defiance of the green
aura. It surged and clashed with his own blood red; slicing the air. They
roared and Basilard roared back. The sword pulsed and Basilard nodded.

 He blurred and he reappeared in front of a xethras with his
sword hilt deep in its head. It fell to the ground as a shriveled husk. The
remaining monsters withered and their aura shrank. Basilard flung his arm
towards the xethras next to him and flung it onto a stalagmite. The aura shrank
further still. The closest lunged and joined its fellows. The aura finally
weakened enough for Eric to struggle to his feet.

Staff in hand, he fired mana bolts at a xethras. They did so
little damage the lupine didn't notice him. They sniffed his mentor's aura as
if it made them hungry. They were determined to taste the source even if it
meant being chopped in two.

It was the most amazing and disturbing sight Eric had ever
seen. A surviving giant smashed a xethras' head open, but it healed and
headbutted him. A human cut another's forelegs off and it beat him to death
with rapidly growing stumps. A camel breathed fire and incinerated the upper
half of a third and the lower half raked him. The merchants couldn't keep up;
in short order, they were all dead.

The camp had been transformed into a banquet. The xethras
fed on the dead and those without a meal chased those still alive. They ripped
muscle and crunched bone. The smell of blood was everywhere. Only one noticed
the novices or their client.

Tiza darted and, with a mighty yell, plunged her sword into
its side. Her stance was broken by the recoil. The armor of skin and fur
repelled her blade like plate mail. The beast rounded on her and snapped at her
wrist. She blocked with her targe and the monster cracked it between its jaws.
Tiza's scream echoed in the chamber.

She jerked her arm and hacked the xethras holding it. The
monster ignored her. It pushed her down and sniffed her grim streaks. Its claws
shot out.

“Earth support me now! In this cave, I make my vow! Save my
friend from this foul! Petrify!”

A sphere of brown light splattered over the xethras. It
hardened and became grey stone. A charm on Tiza's wrist glowed. She shattered
the monster's jaw and shoved the broken statue off. It thudded on the ground,
solid. She stood up and scurried to Nolien, who wiped sweat from his forehead
as the spell took its toll on him. The xethras statue shook. The stone liquefied
and slid off. With its regenerated jaw slightly open and saliva dripping out,
Eric swore it was smiling.

We're . . . nothing . . . to this thing . . .

It lunged and it was obliterated by a flash of red light.
Basilard was suddenly in front of them, back turned, with xethras hanging off
his limbs by their teeth. He swung his arms forward to bash their heads
together, and while they were stunned, he used them as fails to beat off the
ones on his legs.

“Nolien, take command.” He speared the two xethras.

“Tiza, guard the client.” His arms flared red light and
charcoal fell from his arms. Two more tried a pincher move; Basilard pointed his
sword at one and his palm at the other. One was drained and the other
vaporized.

“Eric protect your—” A third leaped for his neck while he
was occupied. He bit his tongue and fired a blast of red light from his mouth.
The beast turned to dust in midair.

“Daylra! I can't! I'm not strong enough!”

The xethras was back and flanked by more. Its howl drew
still more and they all pounce only to be blown across the cavern and far away
from the novices.

“You'll be fine. Remember what I taught you. “

Eric looked at the hand that held the sword. Blood dripped
from both. The Bladi mage gathered a handful and threw at the gathering horde,
maiming many but killing none. They regrew and regrouped. Basilard formed a
second sword and faced the charging xethras.

“There's a tunnel behind you. I'll hold them here. GO!”

“Uh, right! Team Four, retreat!“

Nolien ran as ordered with Tiza and Anuzat close behind.
Eric looked over his shoulder in his flight. The last image of his mentor was xethras
swarming him.

 The novices formed an inverted triangle with Eric taking
point. They ran carefully through the dark and twisting cavern, but when they
heard the pounding of paws, they broke into a sprint.

The howls grew steadily louder. The walls vibrated with
their power.
They're going to catch us!
Howling!
Shielding, elemental
. . .
That's it!
He spun and pointed his staff.
I hope I get this
right!

 “Sometimes it is better to run than fight . . . ” He
chanted with his eyes closed. “So give me a big flash of light! FLARE!”

The lead xethras lunged. A burst of light flared from Eric's
staff and lit up the cave like a miniature sun. The xethras yelped in surprise
and crashed to the ground. The ones behind it tripped and skidded along the
uneven floor. They stumbled into the cave wall or each other. It evolved into a
full-fledged brawl and the sapients were forgotten.

“Blind them, of course!” Nolien said and wiped his forehead
again. “Their eyes aren't used to light in these caves. Good thinking, Eric!”

Tiza gave him a playful punch with her sword arm; her shield
one was a bloody mess. “Maybe you're not such a dimwit after all.”

Eric flushed with pleasure. “It was nothing, really,”

“Don't relax!” Anuzat said. “We're not safe yet.”

They ran as fast as they could. They never dared stop. Nolien
spurred them on when they lagged; encouraging them to make it to the next bend.
He pushed them until he ran out of air. Their dash slowed to a jog and then a
breathless walk. Nolien pointed to a small nook off the beaten path. The mages
fell to their knees and Anuzat flopped on her bottom. Tiza forced herself to
sit down slower, but then she fell on her back.