Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) (9 page)

Toban pointed to one of the shrikes who wore a strange amulet similar to those worn by the wizards of Mar’kal to change their forms. This one was different, but the shrike moved its clawed hands with wings folded along its forearms. Malaketh could feel its magic and watched as a black shield formed in the air.

“These shrikes have learned some magic. They will be able to deal with the gargoyle this time. Even if the che’ther’s magic returns, the two are not strong enough to stop these hunters,” Toban stated very certain of his words. Malaketh just hoped that he was correct.

Chapter 6- Rock and Hard Place

“Are you sure it’s this way?” a young woman’s voice questioned in the gray of early evening.

“Yes, I am sure. The portal is still distant, but definitely to the north,” the older wizard stated brushing at his thinning brown hair. Sweat was on his brow despite the cool evening breeze.

Pausing as the other four continued their climb into the mountain pass, the woman added, “Because if you’re not sure we really don’t have to go into these god forsaken mountains, Veras.”

“I said that I am sure, Colbie, now move your arse so we can find a better place to camp for the night. Thank you,” the last words sounded anything but thankful as laughter from the other three could be heard in the air.

“You know that she is messing with you, Veras,” the youngest falcon in the group cautioned the elder wizard with another laugh. He led the way up the steepening path as it led into the mountains. The foothills closest to Staron were already a thing of the past as the five worked their way towards the portal found by Veras’s compass.

“And she’s doing a very good job of it, Evantus,” the wizard replied still sounding annoyed by the young woman.

“But seriously, Veras,” Colbie continued as she flicked her brown ponytail back over her shoulder, “if it is far enough to the north shouldn’t Mar’kal be in charge of dealing with this portal? We could be hundreds of miles south of this event even coming from Televal.”

“Leave him be, Colbie,” the elder falcon for the team ordered the girl.

“But Orlerin...,” she pleaded.

“Enough already,” he stated before questioning Evantus. “You are sure that the travel hut isn’t far, Evan?”

“As sure as Veras is of the portal’s direction, sir,” the brown haired falcon replied with his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. The comment made the wizard growl under his breath as he ground his teeth. Though wizards and mages weren’t always a close fit, unlike Southwall, Staron’s magic corps was much smaller and needed to get along despite their differences, but that didn’t mean certain personalities didn’t get on each other’s nerves.

Orlerin could feel his young mages were getting a little too annoying with their jibes at the research wizard’s expense. They were all part of Staron’s portal team, a group designed to shut down unknown gate magic though most inevitably led to Ensolus and the emperor’s warlocks. “Leave Veras alone you two and concentrate on finding the hut.”

Only the earth wizard, Tilana, a dark haired beauty that Orlerin had known for years remained quiet during the exchange. Catching the falcon looking at her, the woman glanced away shyly. Orlerin found himself sighing at the brief exchange before bringing his attention back to the path before them.

When Evantus suddenly stopped and put out his hand to halt the team, Orlerin looked around briefly for unseen trouble, but without seeing anything to worry over, the falcon eased closer to the young man crouching closer to the ground. Evantus was their tracker and if he stopped, they stopped.

“What is it, Evan?” the falcon questioned quietly.

The young man pointed at a vaguely scuffed piece of ground before him and answered, “It looks like orcs, maybe a troll or kiriak too. I would guess a little more than a day ahead of us.”

“Do you think there is a link between them and the portal?”

Shrugging, Evantus looked up at his team leader and replied, “I just find the tracks. I don’t make up stories for them, sir.

“They do seem to be heading north, but that could just be a coincidence since the cut of the mountains pushes travel this way also. Still, it is odd timing.”

Veras had moved closer while remaining behind the tracker. The team had been together on missions before, so he knew the protocol well enough. “What is it?” the wizard asked again and the tracker repeated himself.

Evantus stood brushing back his lengthening brown hair. The boy needed a hair cut, Orlerin thought, and began to think the comment sounded like something his father would say. Looking his leader in the eye, the younger falcon propositioned, “I can scout ahead, maybe get on the rise over there and use my vision spells to see if they’ve lingered around here.”

Only four years his elder, Orlerin marveled at the younger man’s energy. “Sure,” he replied waving the falcon off towards the steep rise that Evan had mentioned. “We can meet at the hut, but don’t do anything stupid in the dark.”

“But isn’t his middle name, stupid, sir?” Colbie asked as Evan passed her his pack to carry the rest of the way. The weight would just weigh him down on the climb he had ahead.

“I don’t have a middle name... stupid,” the young man replied pointing at the girl’s nose before turning to run ahead.

Stomping her foot wanting to get him back, the female falcon shouldered the extra pack wondering why he had given it to the smallest member of the team. “Do you want to carry this, sir?” Colbie asked hopefully.

“We’re almost there. Now come on you three,” the team leader said letting the girl take the extra work her teasing had earned her.

Night was on them before the sun had truly set, as Kel’lor and Cheleya walked for the last hour of the day. With the mountains hemming them in from all sides, only the blue sky above them contributed any light in the pass. It was like twilight and the shadows began to make their footing more treacherous.

Kerliss had caught them almost as soon as they had landed to walk. The crag dog followed Cheleya just off of her right side as if guarding the girl from the opposite side of the gargoyle. Whether she wanted a pet or not, she had picked up at least one new companion anyway.

“He likes you,” the giant stated looking over the tiny human beside him.

After a quick glance back at the crag dog, she turned looking up with a smile and replied, “He saved me and I saved him. If nothing else, we have that bond.”

Silently walking beside each other, Cheleya began to notice the breeze picking up and quickly rooted in her pack for the blanket before shaking it free of any glass fragments. Wrapping it about her shoulders, Kel’lor watched as the girl seemed affected by the cold more and more. It was still the edge of winter and in the northern mountains that meant it was very cold. Mar’goyn’lya and che’ther could usually ignore the temperature drops quite easily, but Cheleya seemed to be affected like a true human more each hour.

A spot presented itself and Kel’lor pointed at a nook that he hoped would be suitable for the girl. “Over there should be a good place to rest,” he judged.

Nodding, the che’ther followed his lead. He blocked the front of the depression that was too small to be called a cave. Food was offered from his pack, even as he noted that nearly a third of his stores were already eaten. With or without the crag dog eating Cheleya’s extras, they would probably only have fair meals for perhaps two to three more days. He had to get her to somewhere they could try to hunt or in some other way find food.

Kerliss lay at Cheleya’s feet, his fur stomach covered feet that were chilly, but not yet bothering the che’ther. Both feared that would change if she became too human and lost her che’ther immunity to cold completely. After the girl had eaten two thirds of her bread and vegetable spread, she offered the remainder to her dog.

“I told you he was your pet,” Kel’lor chuckled watching the two together. His voice brought the dog’s eyes around ambivalently as it chewed the bread. Even Kerliss seemed to barely tolerate the vegetable spread that Cheleya described as bitter. The gargoyle couldn’t taste anything bad about it, but she had already told him that only a mar’goyn’lya could love such a taste.

Less amused, Cheleya responded ignoring the label, “At least he is much warmer than you are, my friend. You can block the air, but his fur is like a heater on my skin.”

Worry came into his eyes as he asked, “Have you lost all your dragon immunities already?”

The slang word for her kind was common enough that even some of her people used it, though most believed it was either derogatory or self delusional compared to the powers of the legends. “The cold isn’t too bad yet, but I am not sure how much longer that will last. We need to get out of these mountains and find something to cover my feet before my immunity wears off. Unless my magic comes back, then I can perhaps use some alteration magic and create my own.”

Kel’lor was surprised to hear the confession. “You can use that magic? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that has mastered the skill.”

Shrugging, Cheleya replied as she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders, “I think few find any worth in such magic. What che’ther or even mar’goyn’lya cares to create chairs and clothing with magic when they can just go to the market and buy what they need?”

“Have you tested to see if your magic has returned?”

She shook her head. The girl hadn’t tried to cast a spell since the previous night and was fearful to try. Finding out that her magic was gone would hurt more than not trying.

“Dragon scales,” she called holding up her hand hoping to see ruby scales formed of her magic. She tried again and still the magic refused her.

Seeing that she was discouraged, the gargoyle thought for a moment before he lifted a stone almost as big as the girl’s hand. “Try using alteration instead.”

“But I just failed in dragon magic. How is that going to help anything?” Cheleya pouted.

Grinning at his friend, Kel’lor held up a finger making a point that he hoped she would see. “Ah, but last night your magic came out to heal; and you never even knew that you could. If that magic was hidden from Malaketh when he cursed you with his spell, perhaps he only targeted what he believed you could do. Taking those books and learning on your own might have done you more good than you knew.”

The thought made the girl brighten with curiosity. Pulling her hand from the warmth of the blanket, she began to chant. Being a dragon mage meant being able to call on quick spells that mainly augmented her body, whether for flight, attack or protection. If Kel’lor’s hunch was correct, a wizard style spell might come from a different part of her mind or soul depending on who you asked about their source of power.

Concentrating on the stone, Cheleya tried to envision simply pulling the round rock into a long arrowhead. Moments passed, but a sudden taste of her magic made itself known to her and they both watched as the stone changed right before their eyes.

“I did it!” she exclaimed making Kerliss stand up in excitement as he tried to figure out what made her so happy.

Quickly pulling her red dress from the pack, Cheleya tried again. She meant to fix the holes in her pretty dress while testing out her power again. Mere moments later she felt both magic and the cloth respond to her wishes. Like the chair that she had made only a day ago, the fibers moved weaving back together and quickly the dress looked as good as new. “Yay!” the girl said happily before putting the garment back into her bag.

“Excellent,” Kel’lor stated before reaching into his own pack. He produced the soft leather canteen that had held the previous day’s water. It was completely dry after a day and half of eating and drinking, but that wasn’t his purpose in pulling it from the bag.

Using his finger nails which were stronger and sharper than any human’s, the gargoyle loosed the twine binding the two pieces of leather that it was made from and pulled it apart. He tossed one between them and held the other for Cheleya to take with her exposed hand.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Am I supposed to remake your canteen?” she asked dubiously.

Pulling the nearer of her two feet from the warmth of the crag dog still standing looking at the two of them curiously, Kel’lor wrapped the leather around her foot easily covering the entire appendage. “Shoes or boots, little one. We can’t keep hoping that your che’ther resistance to cold continues. Humans lose limbs to the winter weather quite easily.”

The girl nodded and asked, “Then keep holding it for me, please. I think I will need to see both my foot and the leather to make it fit properly.”

Again Cheleya chanted calling upon the wizard class spell. Few wizards would waste the energy learning such things as they had discussed, but the dragoness had simply learned the basics of altering for the fun of doing so. She liked to learn and it was something interesting to her. Now it was paying off as the leather and the twine that had held the canteen together worked under her direction to reshape the leather to fit her foot. Twine wound through the leather making holes seamlessly and her magic hardened the sole making it strong enough to hold up against walking on the stone.

It was a much longer process creating such a thing from scratch, but when she was done, Cheleya moved her foot playfully from her ankle testing the feel. Coming up past her ankles in a short boot, the dragoness had made sure to leave space enough to remove it while fitting the footwear close enough to keep her skin warm and protected. “Perfect,” she declared and gestured for the other part of the canteen as the girl pulled her left foot free of the blanket and dog for Kel’lor to hold the next piece of leather.

Clothed with new boots, the girl drank a little more water and ate a small piece of their bread to restore some of her lost energy, before curling up into her blanket to sleep for the night. “Thank you, Kel’lor,” the dragoness said to her friend as she began to nod off to sleep.

“Anything for you, little sister,” his deep voice replied before settling at the front of the gap in the stone to sleep.

Morning came, though it started off very gray as the sun’s light was blocked by the surrounding mountains. A fog had settled in during the night as well making the air feel even colder to the dragoness who was feeling all too human.

They ate a brief breakfast and, after petting Kerliss, the two took to the air once more heading south towards the world of men.

Looking down from the heights, Kel’lor could make out the crag dog as he bounded in and out of the fog. Taller stones forced the animal to leap clearing the bank of gray only to see Kerliss disappear from view once more. The animal’s stamina and speed were a marvel to him. Though his strength was greater, the crag dog’s abilities were still quite impressive.

He wondered how long it would take to find the existence of the lands that he had only heard of in tales from his elders and the humans that liked to share their past, though the latter seemed almost more rare. Men went to Mar’kal for various reasons, but few appeared to enjoy their pasts and talked of them rarely. Still, the mar’goyn’lya knew from the maps and stories that Staron was their closest choice. Almost perfectly south of Mar’kal, the country had resisted the emperor and managed to hold out for almost two centuries with the help of their ally Southwall. Both countries had a long history of helping each other and even after the Cataclysm that attitude had held the two countries together despite their powerful common enemy.

Unfortunately for Kel’lor, knowing the direction and distance on a map hardly told him how far it was in real life or how long it would take to get there. Getting to a human city and out of the barren mountains was important since they both feared that Mar’kal would send hunters to chase them down soon. It was why he pushed so hard to fly all day, save for a few breaks for the fragile girl on his back. Night they had to stop. It was too dangerous both because of the darkness and the fear that Cheleya might fall asleep from exhaustion and slip from his back.

He doubted that she could survive two death defying falls without her magic before pushing her luck too far.

They pressed on until night fall once more as they were able to extend their flight further finding the mountains seemed less pushed together as they continued southward. Valleys extended longer and the gaps between each mountain were wider now. Their luck changed as well when Kel’lor spied a small cabin near the far end of the newest valley opened up before them. Looking around briefly from the air, he thought that he spied smoke coming from the chimney and wondered who would be out in the middle of nowhere at this time of year. They had seen no other signs of human habitation in two days of flight, though an occasional travelers’ hut had been set along the way. This looked similar to those, so Kel’lor landed in a copse of trees half the valley away. From the family of evergreens, these trees held leaves that were a mix of green blades and browned flat leaves providing some cover from any northward searching eyes.

They stared at the cabin from a distance and debated on how to approach whoever might be inside. Kel’lor might be perceived as a threat due to his massive size and appearance, though the mar’goyn’lya were well known if seldom seen in the southern countries. Cheleya was certainly less intimidating in size, but they feared running into a danger that threatened her fragile little body.

Kerliss caught up to the two still deliberating in hushed tones as they tried to decide what to do.

“You could walk there without me. Kerliss can protect you until I can fly to you if there is trouble,” Kel’lor stated noting her pet’s strength and loyalty to the girl. It had a thick armored body and even reduced to a single tusk and its sharp teeth, the crag dog would be a match for most human men in a one on one fight.

Her hand reached for his and the girl shook her head. “Walk with me, big brother. If we just walk up, they will not notice your wings as quickly. I can knock and check out the residents from there when they open the door.”

Feeling her nervous fingers touching his hand, he knew that she was scared. Humans in Mar’kal were one thing, but she was the outsider here. Fears of what people would say and do, was always a concern for outsiders, he guessed. Cheleya forgot that she looked as human as any girl, but the gargoyle knew that he could at least help blend in more than walking.

With his other hand, the mar’goyn’lya called on his amulet’s enchantment. Smaller than before, he was still an intimidating size for a human. He also had all his magic like the illusion Kel’lor held to clothe him. The clothes felt as real as the human looking body, but they were only summoning magic and temporary as he hoped his human guise would be.

Cheleya looked on her friend thankfully. Even hidden inside of a body that he didn’t enjoy, he was strong and she drew confidence from him.

“I’m telling you that two gateways almost exactly in the same position opened. The second one last night appears to be in the same area as this new one,” Veras stated emphatically to Orlerin.

The falcon wanted to sigh, but answered calmly, “I don’t doubt your opinion, Veras. I merely asked how you can tell with that device.”

Referring to an old compass like device, Orlerin wondered how anyone could make a precise prediction using such a thing. The falcon had watched Veras use it throughout the years that they had been on the portal closing squad many times. A simple sheet of metal with two little nodes sticking up from either side, held a green piece of glass that was as smooth as the metal though raised slightly from its surface. A few dots would light up the green field pointing the way to the portal, but the falcon couldn’t see how anyone could possibly be more accurate than that.