Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) (28 page)

Hours passed and Sylvaine was cold from the freezing winter air. Air shields were used by many, but her strength was waning and she could no longer afford to maintain the protection from both cold and wind. If the enemy reached them and they were exhausted from using their shields or too cold to fight from not using them, Southwall would have a much better chance.

The warlocks and half the soldiers from the fortress held the high ground. While magic could counter the tactical position, the enemy soldiers still had to deal with fighting uphill. An attack would be draining even from horseback. Their momentum would be minimal and easily halved while Ensolus could use the slope to attack with extra force.

Garosh rode up with just a handful of his shape changing wolf men in tow. His wraiths were noticeably missing from his entourage and Sylvaine wondered if they had been sent into the battles below.

“Company one create a fog on the slope to the east to assist our troops,” the giant ordered and the eastern side of the warlock line began to move forward following a handful of Wizard Hunters. The wizards had been divided into three companies all lead by a portion of the Wizard Hunters. Having been among the forefront of many battles designed to take out enemy wizards, the black armored warlocks were unphased by the chaos of war. There were even trolls, orcs and goblins in their forces protected by spells and armor designed to make them a match for most elemental wizards. Those were leaders in the main forces already fighting down below.

“Company two take the west slope and back those fighting Falcon’s Keep,” he added receiving confirming movement as the leaders began walking forward. There were few horses available to the soldiers of Ensolus here in Southwall, so warlocks marched like infantry trying to maneuver to their points early before the enemy could use their horses to beat them to the punch.

Sylvaine and Eloria were in the largest force, company three. Again they waited, but this time Garosh and his men stood ready to lead the final battle.

Minutes later, the girl watched as darkness seemed to increase killing the light given from the snow between the trees and brush. The fog blocked the view of the enemy’s fire spells as hundreds of Ensolus’s troops readied for another attack on the eastern army. The two armies were nearly together judging by the sight of fire slowly closing together.

“Ensolus, follow me!” Garosh gave his order and moved the army into position. “Ready the night shields!”

“They are joined,” Eloria stated briefly as they could see the flames in the night concentrate below them over time. “Now they will probably think their combined forces will have a better chance to storm the fortress.”

Sylvaine could see the spells of fog obscuring their troops falling back from the enemy behind them. Fires from torches were dimly seen through the fog, but she could tell that the armies of two castles had finally joined together to make their push towards the mountain fort. When they finally started forward, the slope beneath her position began to erupt in fire.

Looking for the other two companies, the apprentice realized that the warlocks had remained below her position hiding in the trees and brush. Even with the snow threatening to the crush the vegetation, darkness from leaves of evergreens and other leaves resisting winter created cover. Adding to
the natural cover a fog created from the darkness spells filled in the gaps. For the enemy below, they must feel like they were looking into a starless, night sky.

Fire struck the fog and pushed it back. Water wizards thinned the snow for the advancing troops of Southwall as they pushed against the darkness. As the enemy attempted to light the night and drive back the soldiers of Southwall, Garosh waited to give the command that would take the fight out of his enemies.

She watched as the giant used his magic in a way that was unknown to her. It seemed to be a powerful spell, but the apprentice could see or feel nothing beyond the warlock’s build up of power.

Fires began to wink out below on the right and left flank. Night shields had begun in unison without a sign or sound. The enemy stalled as they increased their attacks of fire, but they met the shields of Ensolus and were absorbed into the night.

“How?” Sylvaine murmured in disbelief.

Eloria looked at her apprentice and the girl thought that she witnessed a strange glow of magic centered
around the woman’s forehead. “Lord Garosh has used a mass communication spell to direct the remainder of the battle.”

“How is that possible? I have never read of such a spell in any of the books,” Sylvaine questioned her master in confusion.

“I have never read of one so powerful. My guess is that only Garosh and most likely the emperor can perform such a massive spell, since it would take power beyond what most warlocks could hope to use,” the woman stated looking both impressed and a bit fearful.

If Garosh’s powers were so great, could he alter the spell to push a person’s mind to do what he wanted rather than just communicating. There were warlocks and wizards that specialized in tampering
with people’s minds and making the living into puppets like the bones of the mouse Palose had manipulated with his magic. It was a terrifying power. Sylvaine shivered with the thought rather than the cold as she followed her mistress’s thinking.

Eloria turned to face the enemy and cast her magic at the giant’s unspoken command.

Darkness thickened below them. White snow and silver moonlight could penetrate the fog of night no more than the fire of the enemy wizards. She waited for the command, verbal or magical, to rush down to finish off Southwall. Her fear continued to rise and Sylvaine’s left hand went to the short sword on her hip. Fingers traced the leather binding the handle only to rub the metal ball at its end. Her right hand opened and closed readying to pull the weapon free or cast her spells.

Left to stew in their inability to bring the fight to the fortress, Sylvaine watched as Garosh eventually gathered his five wraiths and started down the hill to face the enemy. The darkness shields remained around him as he spoke with the enemy commanders. A young girl on horseback shouted at the giant, but Sylvaine remained too far away to hear any of their words.

Fire was sent, but she could see that he had taunted their wizards into trying to kill him. The darkness shields absorbed the spells as they had the rest of the fire less than an hour before them.

Moments later, their talks led to Garosh waving away the wraiths and Sylvaine watched incredulously as the giant allowed the enemy to bind him in chains. The fog and shields of night winked out and the first two companies began to retreat up the slope.

“What just happened?” the apprentice asked her mentor.

Frowning at the girl, Eloria replied nearly as surprised as Sylvaine, “He just surrendered himself to bring peace.”

Turning as the taller woman took her shoulder joining the retreat with the others, Sylvaine tried to grasp what Garosh was up to. Even after their talk the previous night, she had presumed that the giant planned to destroy his enemies, but there had been that moment at the end of their conversation. Had something she had said brought about this sudden change? What could Garosh hope to gain by surrendering himself to the enemy?

Eloria had said that he had given himself up for peace, but the lord had spoken of crushing his enemies instead. Wouldn’t peace of a kind be found either way? The girl was confused and joined the army as it climbed back to the fortress.

Chapter 15- Rilena

The column from Windmeer walked the long path back home. With wounded still recovering from their wounds and dead to bury that had been left in the wake of their three days of battling the harassing army of werebeasts, orcs and goblins; they moved slowly and warily back the way they had come.

For Rilena, a falcon who had faced the mountain fortress twice in less than a month, the return home would have been a relief, if her tormentor wasn’t riding with them. The giant Garosh had led a team in torturing her and two captive wizards when they had happened upon the fortress on a simple escort mission.

The girl thought on that assessment. They had only discovered the existence of the hidden mountain fort and its maze of tunnels thanks to Sebastian and his ability to scout the winds. Though she could hardly fault him for her pain, since Rilena had volunteered to join the first scouting party and been offered a path well away from the battle by him as well, the young woman wished that she had never had anything to do with any of it.

Wistfully thinking of the talented falcon, a man who had discovered magic that no battle mage had ever believed they could use, Rilena
wondered what he was up to now. The last she had seen of Sebastian, he was preparing to do yet another thing that should be considered insane for a battle mage. He was gathering a group of wizards to train for a wizard’s dueling tournament. The man had less strength than a wizard like all battle mages, but his mind was as good at using magic as the best of their kind. She only hoped that he would do well and bring new honor to the battle mage corps.

Her eyes wandered to the back of the giant riding near the front of the column. Each time they found another soldier, mage or wizard dead in the snow, her eyes attempted to burn through his back with anger.

A canteen was thrust at the girl from her side, a boy’s hand shook the container as he said, “You should probably drink something before you burn up staring at him.”

Glancing at the brown haired boy, she had to remember that he was on the verge of being a man. As a recently graduated falcon, Elzen was only slightly younger than she and he had already saved her life three times that she was sure of during this one campaign. A jokester and tease to the girls, Elzen had taken the lead over wizards, falcons and soldiers alike to save their lives during the worst of the enemy ambushes saving many lives. On top of that, he was a rare healing mage. Perhaps the last had little to do with his age or maturity, but someone who could keep their head and save lives with magic had to be respected as more than just a boy.

“I’m not thirsty,” the young woman replied looking at the giant again.

“So he’s the one who tortured you in the mountain?” his question was blunt and to the point. While Rilena hadn’t remembered saying anything about her time under the mountain to Elzen, she knew
some of the more basic rumors that had spread through Windmeer before their trip. How anyone knew of the humiliation of being helpless in the face of the powerful giant as well his other creatures, Rilena was unsure. The only ones she had told her story were officers of a high enough rank to keep the information to themselves.

When she refused to reply, Elzen continued on prodding as gently as someone without much tact could, “The word is that you and the two wizards were captured before being brought into some dungeon. Then Sebastian found a way to get you away from them and get you to safety.”

“I can’t talk about it and I don’t want to, Elzen,” she stated emphatically as her mind slipped into the memories of pain before the falcon could stop herself. Shivering with the thoughts, Rilena did her best to push the torture from her mind.

The boy put the canteen back on the hook of his saddle. Glancing around, he reproduced a flask from beneath his jacket and passed it to the girl. “This might be better then.”

Sensing this wasn’t water, Rilena opened the top smelling the strong odor of alcohol. She had never been one to drink, but took a big gulp. It burned making the girl cough several times as tears formed in her eyes.

“Maybe you should try sipping it,” the boy chuckled at her discomfort. His green eyes twinkled with mischief.

Glaring at him, Rilena took several quick swigs without breathing which kept her from choking, but the burning still made her squint and purse her lips with distaste making Elzen nearly laugh at her again. The girl handed it back to him feeling the burning going down her throat into her chest and onward to her stomach. It didn’t take long for a warmth to spread through her body, but it only took the edge off of the agitation at the sight of Garosh in their midst even as a supposed prisoner.

“Can I try some of that?” another female falcon asked from beside Elzen. Zerra was mostly bundled up to keep as warm as possible. The woman had been wounded in an ambush two days ago and nearly died, if not for Elzen’s ability to heal and the extra energy given him by wizards and mages alike, there was a good chance that she would have died that day.

Reluctantly the boy gave up his secret flask to the other mage. At only seventeen, he wasn’t even supposed to be drinking hard liquor, but as a falcon some people tended to overlook the rules. War was hard no matter what age and sometimes a good hard drink could get a soldier through.

“He is our prisoner at least,” Elzen broached the topic again.

“Is he?” Rilena snapped back harder than she meant to, but he hadn’t let it go so the falcon had to air her worry. Either that or the alcohol was already loosening her tongue. “They had us beaten and then he comes down ‘suing for peace’ or some such thing. I don’t buy it. He is up to something.”

“He is cuffed and in chains so he can’t cast any spells and seems amiable enough given the situation. What could he be up to like that?”

Rilena looked at Elzen again with a frown. “Can’t you sense his power? Someone that strong may not be governed by spells the way a wizard is. A battle mage can still cast some spells even with their hands bound. You don’t think that monster can do at least as much?”