Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) (40 page)

“I didn’t have the time to examine the poison myself, but from what I was told it was a very insidious piece of magic designed to kill a wizard with their very own magic. When Kel’lor expended all of his power in that rush, he also managed to clear the poison along with it since it had nothing left to build from any longer.”

“But it was the high wizard’s teaching about restoring a drained wizard’s magic that actually saved him,” Rilenier assured the mage and probably was meant to keep Darius on the pedestal the healer seemed to have placed him on from his greater knowledge. “We have never tried to replace a wizard’s energy in such a way before.”

Being a little impatient, Colbie stepped into the mutual admiration and asked, “So he will be alright?”

The silver haired wizard nodded as he answered, “Of course, though he will need a little time to recuperate before he can just walk out of the hospital. He did just die after all and, unless you are an immortal, you don’t just get up and walk away from that.”

Finishing with a chuckle of amusement that Colbie didn’t understand, the mage took from his words what she needed. Kel’lor would be fine, which meant Cheleya’s heart would be eased along with the rest of those who knew the gargoyle. “So would it be alright to see him?”

Wizard Rilenier shook her head and responded, “He has just come through a traumatic process. We will need to monitor him and make sure there won’t be any unforeseen complications. Perhaps tomorrow morning he will be ready to receive guests once more.”

Darius looked on her with more sympathy as he added, “He is strong and the poison seems to have been completely flushed from his system. The black ichor that he threw up as he awoke was the last of the poison that had gone dormant with his temporary death state. With the poison gone, he should be on the mend and back to his normal self within a day or two, I would think.”

Looking a bit more intense, the elder stared at the girl before him and asked looking for more information, “How did your friend come to be poisoned anyway? I have never seen the like of it before, so it would be good to know what to look for in the future.”

“We were attacked by man size shrikes. One seemed to understand some form of black magic. It was that one which infected Kel’lor’s magic armor as best we could figure out at the time. Since it only spread as he cast his magic, no one knew he was poisoned for a few days,” Colbie revealed the conclusion they had come to after initially discovering the poison affecting the gargoyle.

Rubbing his bearded chin in thought the high wizard didn’t look happy to hear of the news. “So the Dark One has created another weapon. He has been allowed free rein for far too long,” Darius stated as if some plan was forming within his head.

“Our battles have continued with him since he first took over the mountains to the north,” Wizard Rilenier replied to his voiced musings. “The emperor has never put himself in a place that we could find a way to get to him. His armies seem inexhaustible, so he has had ‘free rein’ as you put it, but only because he is simply too powerful for any one nation to destroy. Will Eirdhen send its army and wizards to help us defeat him?”

Smiling at the healer like she was a mere child, the high wizard replied, “There are more ways to defeat him than head on, Rilenier. Do not worry about such things, healer, you have your matters to worry over and it is high time that I began to approach the matter myself. Southwall has braved the dark armies for centuries helping us all, but maybe it is time to do more than stand behind a powerful wall.

“Anyway, thank Wizard Hegrone for the tour of your facility. I still have other duties while I am in Hala that I must attend to now,” the silver haired man told the wizard with a nod to each woman in exchange.

As the three men left, Colbie noted the healer again as she moved to follow. “If Kel’lor is alright and we can’t visit him until the morning, I will go let my other friends know. Thank you, Wizard Rilenier, for your help.”

The healer merely nodded as the mage slipped away following the path of the high wizard. She had no new words for the man, but simply walked behind the three watching the men. For a gray haired old wizard, Darius seemed very spry as if he were a young man. His eyes hadn’t looked old to her either, though perhaps they appeared to hold an untold amount of knowledge beyond that of the meager mage following behind the three.

Once free of the hospital, they turned away towards the keep and the mage looked for her friends. No new faces intent on her, like a tracker’s would be, were noticeable either and soon Colbie walked beside Evantus and the others.

“Kel’lor survived the poison,” the young woman stated quietly, “though he basically did die according to the healers. They are keeping him for observation and we can’t see him until the morning, but they believe that he is through the worst of it. He should be fine in a day or two apparently.”

Orlerin nodded saying, “Well, that is a relief. We owe Kel’lor and Cheleya our lives. Those shrikes would have killed us for sure, especially with the wounds we had before Cheleya healed us.”

“We don’t know that they would have attacked us at all,” Tilana mused causing the three to look at her curiously. Her blue eyes flicked from the ground to those around her momentarily looking embarrassed by her statement. “I am not saying that saving Colbie from her wounds and fever wouldn’t make us beholden to them, but those black birds came from the north as if they trailed our two friends. With this Malaketh and her father showing up behind them as well, it just makes me question if it wasn’t more than coincidence that brought them to our cabin that day.”

“Be that as it may,” Orlerin continued, “they did tell us what had happened in Mar’kal and that they were worried that they were being followed as well. Those attacks by the shrikes and even our own fight with those orcs, prove that the Dark One may be pushing forward into other lands. We’ve always been forced to guard against it, so maybe this is simply more proof of what we already knew.”

“What does it even matter?” Evantus asked shaking his head. “Are you arguing that we should abandon her now that we are sure that she is being chased?”

“They were and are,” Colbie corrected worrying over his attachment for Cheleya. The mage worried that she was becoming too close to the girl as well, but Evantus had always worn his heart on his sleeve. “They are in trouble and we knew that before, but we also know that at some point we will be forced to leave them, Evan.”

He frowned knowing that she didn’t trust him to remain unaffected by a pretty face like Cheleya. “Like most relationships in the military, there comes a time when you go your separate ways, but you and I both know that isn’t what I’m talking about here. If you think that I am just going to look the other way when they’re in trouble, then maybe it’s time for us to part ways instead.”

Recoiling as if she had been slapped in the face by her long time friend, Colbie wasn’t sure what to say.

“Enough you two, we didn’t leave them to fend for their selves before and I don’t plan to now,” Orlerin reprimanded the two mages. “Now keep your eyes open for anyone following us and take us to the other inn. Hopefully we will run into them to let Cheleya know of Kel’lor’s condition. Otherwise, we will have to return to the Two Circles until they can sneak back to us.”

The four from Staron moved off cautiously looking for the trackers they knew had to be in the city and went to their first rendezvous point.

Fa’Elenek had disappeared once again. The male che’ther seemed uncomfortable near Cheleya for some reason, so after Colbie and Evantus had gone into the inner city for a time he used their absence as an excuse to go scout for the mar’goyn’lya trackers. It was a necessary task, she supposed, and he wasn’t needed so long as Fa’Lystheir could maintain the masking spell, but still his actions seemed a bit off to the dragoness. The male tracker had barely spoken to her and she wondered why he was so stand offish.

Her father had been unusually quiet as well as the three travelled along one street and then another. Always they were on the move though Cheleya would pause in stores or pretend to look through a merchant’s wares on the street. Since the plan was to spread her presence around the city as much as possible and preferably away from the Two Circles Inn where they would spend the night, lingering would help set up red herrings for the trackers to find in the city.

“So Elenek is a good tracker then?” Cheleya asked into another lull in the conversation. Lystheir was almost as quiet as her father, but the woman at least made an attempt to talk to her occasionally. It wasn’t the first time she had asked about the male tracker, but Cheleya had yet to come out and ask her true question about him.

Her father merely shrugged. He hadn’t known the red dragon before their trip to Staron, but Lystheir on the other hand had known the other magician for years. Speaking up for the first time in half an hour, the female tracker said idly, “Elenek is one of the best at tracking, but more importantly he knows how to remain unseen and scout within a city as well. He also knows the mar’goyn’lya well enough since he trained Stas’kel and Ev’erelias years ago in tracking.”

“He is older than the others?” Cheleya asked crinkling her forehead in confusion. Since both of the che’ther had seemed awestruck by her father and he hadn’t been at the Academy of Magic for decades, she had assumed both che’ther to be quite a bit younger.

“Fa’Elenek is one of the most skilled trackers in Mar’kal. He was adept at the skills and spells at a very early age. Whether the mar’goyn’lya are older or younger, they trained under Elenek even though he was never raised to master,” Lystheir said simply.

Another lull came abruptly as the che’ther continued their walk, but a question came to mind and Cheleya finally asked, “He doesn’t seem to want to be near me or is it my imagination?”

It was Lystheir who tried to deflect her worry as she replied, “I am sure that it is your imagination. There is no reason that he would have to do so and he is serving to keep you safe at his own risk after all. Your father is a very respected earth master. If he was so sure of your innocence, we knew that we had to help him and you, of course.”

“And I am appreciative of your help,” the young blonde replied noting something in the woman’s eyes that belied her words. She was still new to human facial reactions and Lystheir was not human despite her appearance.

Her father confirmed her suspicions as he answered without looking at his daughter, “He is avoiding what you are and not who you are. Your amulet is broken and you are trapped in human form. Such a curse makes him worry over the possibility of being trapped as you are.”

Lystheir grimaced letting Cheleya know that her father spoke the truth. Still she was confused and asked for clarification, “But why would he avoid me? It would take someone like Malaketh to trap him in this form. Amulets don’t just break and if you were separated from it violently, you should return to your che’ther body in short order.”

Nodding, Cor’Dargan looked ahead of him seeming to see nothing of the crowd before them. His words came out in a distracted musing, “Have you ever seen one of those stripped of their magic, Cheleya?”

The girl frowned and replied, “I thought that a wizard drained of her magic would die as if removing the life’s blood from a body?”

Shaking his head, her father explained, “No, not someone who has used up their magic to the point of burning out, but someone that has had their power taken from them.”

“I have never heard of such a thing being done let alone met someone as far as I know, though I suppose a wizard would no longer sense magic from that person any longer so I may have passed one without knowing.” Cheleya looked at her father curiously. She had never
thought to see if Cor’Dargan knew much about magic and certainly the dragoness had never thought he would know of such dark things.

He looked towards the ground as if in thought, but soon the elder dragon began to say, “I have known of only a handful in my time. They were from various races, but all had come to be seen as a danger, whether to themselves or others. When the elder’s council pronounces judgment on those too dangerous to be allowed to control magic, there is a ceremony and a spell designed to strip them of their power.

“Once those former wizards have lost their magic, they become like broken men. A portion of their spirit was tied to their power, so derived of that they turn into shadows of their former selves.

“I have known full wizards that could no longer look at former friends and loved ones stripped of their former glory. It is as if the pain of seeing them broken brings a worry of their future or perhaps other reasons, so they compensate by refusing to see those torn down by magic. They can’t stand the reminder of what their friends once were and no longer wish to see them as a fear of what could happen to them. At least, this is how I believe they are thinking.”

Blonde hair fluttered as the girl shook her head in disbelief. She supposed that she could understand the pain of seeing someone humbled, reduced to nothingness, but it was hardly something one had to fear catching. This was no disease to fear being exposed to, but a dark piece of magic exacted by Malaketh. The only fear anyone else should have would be having it done to them, but they were all forewarned as to his potential treachery.

With a sigh, Cheleya let the matter drop. It wasn’t an argument to be won or lost. This was merely what her father believed was in Elenek’s mind at least subconsciously, if not his true
thoughts. While it obviously shouldn’t be a worry, the girl supposed that she saw that some people couldn’t look past a supposed disability. Cheleya might feel the same in his situation, but for now she needed to embrace the strength in being trapped in human form. There were benefits, even if there was a certain loss of self being trapped as something other than what you were created to be.

Trying to avoid the negativity of such thinking, the girl did what she could to distract the others with conversation leading to other lighter fare like the city and its people. They continued through most of the afternoon after having checked the Crystal Well rendezvous before daring to return to the inner city and the Two Circles Inn.

Chapter 24- Caged Bird

The afternoon passed on into evening and that edged towards night as they whiled away their time in Hala. Cheleya had been glad to see her friends from Staron appear at the Two Circles Inn late in the afternoon. They had apparently looked for her for a time before giving up to retreat to the secondary rendezvous point where they expected the dragoness to return eventually. She was even more jubilant hearing from them that Kel’lor was not only alive but free from the poison.

“I doubt that Malaketh or the trackers will be able to find him now,” Evantus stated with a celebratory smile. “Even if they could, he is surrounded by wizards and guards looking out for him.”

The others weren’t as certain. Colbie was the first to counter, “We still don’t know what made him suddenly get out of control like that. Why would he release his magic to the point of death? If High Wizard Darius hadn’t been there, Kel’lor might have remained dead.”

Cor’Dargan took up her last words and added, “The high wizard knew how to coax magic back into someone drained of magic. He is apparently well versed even in healing spells. If the healers of Southwall didn’t know the magic, then I worry what other knowledge was lost by the humans.”

Those from Staron frowned at the dragon. It was not an intended slight, but still the humans in his presence wondered why he considered such knowledge as simple common practice. Surely the che’ther couldn’t be saying that the spells and processes involved were that easy to his people. Was Mar’kal so advanced? Maybe the mountain city had been less affected than those trapped in the low lands and nearest the sea.

Cheleya sat at a table near the outer wall looking on those gathering in the restaurant and frowned slightly. Since they had been whiling away their time, those working the floor had begun to ignore them to pursue the hoped for tips from those with larger wallets. Lords and ladies, ambassadors and those with the money to buy their way into the Two Circles restaurant filled the main eating area.

“Do we have to stay here for the evening? I am not ready to return to my room for the night, but this place has little evidence of fun in sight,” the pretty blond nearly pouted as she leaned her head on her hand with her elbow propped on the table top.

Cor’Dargan frowned in return warning, “Going elsewhere brings greater worries of being discovered by the trackers. We aren’t here for fun, but to protect you from them.”

Shaking her head, Cheleya responded a little lost in thought as she mused, “Kel’lor and I fled south to escape Malaketh and the forces he had sent to kill us, but now you and the others are here. It makes me wonder why we still have to hide from them.”

Her words brought both confusion and frowns to most of the faces sitting around the table. First to recover and answer was her father, “Malaketh will take you as a prisoner or you will have to fight. Will you fight your own people?”

“They will listen or we can defeat them and send them on their way home. We could return to Mar’kal and set the record straight,” the girl said becoming more enthusiastic as she said the words.

Shaking his head, Dargan sought to burst her bubble gently but instead his words struck hard, “How will you prove your case to the council? You said it yourself. Malaketh controls at least one of the masters who would hear your case. It will become your word versus his and Malaketh is a master among them. If he has corrupted more of them, the masters might simply kill you without even listening to your words.

“It is too dangerous,” the elder che’ther decided placing his palms firmly on the table and giving his daughter a commanding nod.

Cheleya frowned in a pout that the humans easily recognized. Standing up from the table, the little dragoness retorted, “Then if I can’t go home, we need to find somewhere to better pass the evening.”

Orlerin spoke up even as Tilana shook her head warning him not to get involved, “If we plan to continue staying here for at least tonight, then maybe Cheleya is right to spend time in another area. We can go to a public place with dancing and music for awhile. It will give Elenek and Lystheir a break from using their magic to hide her, if we go somewhere else for a time and let the trackers maybe find that place instead of the Two Circles.

“Wizards and others I have talked with today have been discussing places they are staying or were planning to visit tonight for fun. The Black Smith Inn is a few blocks away, which would make it a good place to leave her mark. It is somewhat close and might make them believe we went there to intentionally leave that scent there to throw them off. Since it is true, they won’t be as likely to continue
searching the inner city for awhile if they think we did it intentionally to pull them away from where we’re staying.”

Lystheir looked interested in the plan as much as any of them and put in, “We could make them think that the inner city would be the last place we would hide since it is so close to the Two Circles. That might be a good ploy. Most will think leaving a mark intentionally would be to draw them as far away as possible from the truth.”

Elenek looked at Cor’Dargan and nodded.

With the trackers onboard, her father soon gave in to the consensus of the group. Leaving the stuffy ambience of the Two Circles behind, the che’ther let the humans from Staron lead the way to the Black Smith Inn they had been told about earlier in the day.

It was dark by the time they arrived at the Black Smith Inn, a building painted black for the first ten feet and the upper two stories painted white. Even in night, the upper floors shone white with the silver light of the first moon as the first floor absorbed the light. Like the view of Hala from afar, the inn appeared to be Hala flipped upside down.

Cheleya barely noted the looks of the building as she heard music coming from inside. Sounding lively, the Black Smith Inn already seemed more promising than the Two Circles.

Evantus opened the door holding it open for the others. Cheleya brushed past with Colbie following immediately behind her, who noted the young mage’s eyes searching the dragoness as she passed. Frowning slightly as she worried over her friend’s unhealthy interest in the pretty blond, the red haired mage let her eyes take in the crowd within.

Unlike the Two Circles Inn, the Black Smith was alive with people dancing and singing along to the musicians playing in the corner on a raised dais. While the ceiling was much lower than in their inn and less ostentatious without the glossy stone columns, the expanse of the dining hall rivaled the more
expensive restaurant. The energy was also much more lively and infectious with many locals joining with the patrons of the Black Smith Inn. Cheleya found a smile on her face and practically pranced towards one of the tables surrounding the dance floor. Colbie was half dragged along and latched onto Tilana as the dragoness quickly found the abandoned table to set up as a base for their group.

“This place is much nicer!” Cheleya exclaimed loud enough to be heard over the musicians and singers. She had enjoyed the White Mare in Televal, but the atmosphere was almost dull in comparison.

Cor’Dargan looked less impressed as he countered, “We aren’t supposed to be here for fun. You are in hiding remember?”

Raising her head with a sniff, the girl grabbed hold of Evan’s arm and retorted, “Fine, you can be worried for the both of us. I on the other hand am going to let Evantus teach me more of their dancing.”

Pulled along with little resistance, the mage raised an eyebrow in surprise to Colbie at being drawn away by the little dragoness.

His friend on the other hand was left shaking her head worrying again if there was something going on between the two that needed ending before someone got hurt. Colbie looked at Cor’Dargan’s eyes where a quiet resignation formed on the dragon’s face. Apparently, Cheleya’s determination was nothing new to her father. Thinking such a daughter would indeed be tiring despite how sweet she could be at other times, the mage settled on her seat and flagged down a server for the first round of beer and ale depending on each person’s taste.

Noting not only Dargan’s eyes watching his daughter like a hawk but those of the two other che’ther, Colbie spoke loud enough to be heard as she leaned closer to the elder dragons, “Evan won’t let anything happen to her, sir. She’s in safe hands.”

The server returned quickly despite the crowded room. So many were dancing or singing already, while their group was freshly arrived, but Colbie was a little surprised by the speedy service. After the
rude treatment at the Two Circles, she had almost forgotten that most taverns tried to ply their customers with more drinks as quickly as they could. More alcohol led to more and more as their patrons grew drunker, of course, so it was also good business. Perhaps it was something that the high end inn on the other end of town had forgotten as they served the rich.

“I don’t doubt that he will do what he can to protect her. A transformed dragoness like Cheleya has a way of finding others to do so quite easily,” Dargan stated with his attention mostly drawn to watching the crowd rather than the mage beside him.

His words also brought a question to the red headed mage, “Evan likes her as a friend after the time we’ve spent with her, so do the rest of us, but I don’t think that is what you mean. Is it?”

“You’ve noted her sweet scent as well, haven’t you?” At her nod, he continued, “Certain che’ther and mar’goyn’lya develop a natural protection using their amulets. Cheleya gives off a scent that makes others want be near her and keep her from danger. Whether you know it or not, your bond is stronger because of that as much as anything.”

Shaking her head, Colbie had to dispute his words. They had suspected as much for a long time, but Cheleya had more than just a magical scent that made people love her. “She’s a special girl beyond her magic. If you think that we’ve stayed with her this long because of some smell, you’re wrong. Cheleya has saved our lives and we’ve saved hers. If you’ve never fought a battle with comrades guarding your back, protecting you with their swords and lives, then you can’t truly understand that kind of bond, sir,” the young woman finished as politely as she could as the others at the table listened closely despite the noise of the tavern.

A slight smile caught the corners of the dragon’s mouth and he acquiesced with a nod, “Perhaps I have underestimated the bonds you have built, but you four aside, her power could affect other humans here. We also need to keep watch for the other trackers.”

It was Colbie’s turn to frown as the young woman asked Cheleya’s earlier question, “I wonder if your daughter is right. We have enough power to stop this Malaketh and his four trackers. Couldn’t we just capture them and send them home empty handed?”

“If only it was that easy. You forget that it would be hard to keep Hala from interfering and, if they did, Malaketh has the warrant to arrest Cheleya and Kel’lor. We can’t just defeat them like it was a battle since these are our country men and women, not that I would entertain such a thing. We aren’t murderers after all.”

“But Malaketh is, or at least tried to be,” Colbie said wagging her finger in justification. Taking a large swig from her mug, the mage realized that she was just about empty and couldn’t remember drinking from it very often. She flagged down the server for another tray of ale and beer noticing that several of their party were already on empty as well.