Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) (4 page)

“There are experiments that I have been working on along with several other wizards for years, possibly even since the time of the breaking there have been others working on the problem of finding a suitable host for the emperor. His first body was destroyed in a war in the old world, but he returned even more powerful. Breaking his people free of the prison may have set things in motion for his current body to begin failing him.

“Some have believed that the emperor is losing control of his people and creatures. Some have snuck away, but those who remain know that he will find a new body again to become even more powerful.”

Palose was surprised at the admission, but it was the first time that Atrouseon’s eyes had ever revealed any true emotion and in this case even zeal for what he must have seen as they strove to create the perfect body to hold the emperor’s power. “And I will get to help you and see him take this new body as well?”

Tightening up a bit, the warlock looked like he wanted to hold on to the secret once more to save such important revelations for his eyes only, but softening a bit, the man replied, “Perhaps. You are just a battle mage, even if you have increased in power with your rebirth. Not all men with magic can create what my fellow warlocks and I have been able to craft so far, but as my assistant and apprentice, perhaps you will see that day even so.”

“Then I will do my best to be useful, so I can see that day,” he answered believing that it was what Atrouseon wanted to hear. Palose could be meek and serve this man until one day maybe some way out would present itself. If pretending to care about his experiments and the fate of a dying emperor, who had probably already lived too long anyway, would help improve his future; then he would do that also.

He would have to learn what it was to live in Ensolus and what he would have to do to succeed. Thinking of the lord he had killed or Sebastian who he had condemned with a word, Palose knew that he would do whatever it took to gain the power he still wished to gain.

A month later

“Good morning, Heralis,” Palose greeted an older woman, who was a bit hunched over in the shoulders after all the servitude she had given over the years. A servant, who merely cleaned the residences of warlocks and military men, she had probably been ducking to avoid notice most of her life in addition to the hard work of a cleaning woman.

“Good morning, Master Palose,” she said quietly and he noted her eyes darting back and forth as if looking for something. In this case, he knew that she was looking for Atrouseon.

“Atrouseon’s already left for the day. I need to meet up with him in his laboratory shortly myself,” he informed her and the apprentice watched as much of the tension left her shoulders. Unlike the warlock’s intent to instill faithfulness through fear, Palose had found quickly that a little flattery and kindness given to those living in Ensolus often brought trust and perhaps even loyalty. What a simple cleaning woman could do for him, the young man didn’t know, but the more people who owed him loyalty or favors, the more likely that something good would come of it.

The woman nodded and commented, “He has finally trusted you with his work?”

Over the last few visits, Palose had spent enough time breaking through Heralis’ walls, while baring just enough of his own to create that bond. The cleaning woman lived in the area south of the lake at the eastern end of the cavern. It was essentially the only place within the cave city where humans congregated outside of the military and the area was set as far from the monsters of Ensolus as they could be. Only those in the military or the warlocks lived outside of the human ghetto, unless they were in the sunlight and open air outside of the stone walls of the city completely.

Palose had learned much of the city through talking with people like Heralis. He had found few among the warlocks so willing to share as the people who served a mostly harsh set of taskmasters. Of course, the other problem the battle mage dealt with was the matter of his being a resurrection man as well as being so freshly removed from Southwall for them to trust.

“So how’s the family doing? Is Werlith still trying to get work in the citadel?” he asked using a piece of information gained from the last time they had talked. Like most of the humans in the ghetto, Heralis and her family struggled to earn enough to feed and clothe themselves. Luckily, Palose had both his magic and Atrouseon’s wealth to rely on to avoid such things.

“He is working in the kitchens now with the hopes of moving into the castle’s cleaning staff,” she beamed. “He will be earning twice as much as he was making in the mill.”

Ensolus may have been an extension of the emperor, but money ruled everything else. He had come across orcs and goblins using coin like any human along the way and realized this city was little different versus his old world. Just as people could be cruel or kind in Southwall, the creatures living here had their own lives and ways of getting through life with others around them.

“Well, that is good to hear,” Palose said just going through the motions. Though the woman couldn’t tell that he wasn’t very interested, the mage was listening enough to pick up anything useful to him and no more. When she said the next bit, his ears perked up however.

Sighing, Heralis added, “Too bad
Serash and her husband gave up. Our neighbors moved out to live with their cousins outside the city. They have a farm there and Orwen hopes to one day carve out his own farm near them someday.

“I am sad to see them go. They were good friends, but work was too scarce and with five children to feed they thought it was best.”

He nodded and murmured his condolences as well as various other appropriate affirmations, but Palose’s mind was on other things. While Atrouseon kept a fairly loose leash on his apprentice most of the time, the young warlock in training had already spent enough time in the magical libraries of the warlocks to realize that there would come a time that he would need a space to conduct his own experiments away from the prying eyes of Atrouseon and the rest.

“Were they living in their own home?” he questioned thoughtfully.

Heralis missed the look in his eyes that dwelled on other things than her friends’ wellbeing and continued on with her talk as she continued to clean the dozens of artifacts scattered around the shelves of Atrouseon’s apartment, “Oh no, much of the homes are shared apartments. That is part of why they are moving. Their landlord won’t lower the rent to help them, not that it is his fault, of course. If I were him I would have taken what they could still afford and at least received the rent. Who knows how soon he will fill the unit up again? Even someone with the money to own so many buildings must need income coming in to stay rich. Right?” she finished questioning Palose with her eyes. She saw him living off of Atrouseon and, like the mage; the woman wondered how someone could have such wealth when she had none.

Nodding his head, he agreed with her even as his mind began mulling over an idea related to this news. “I haven’t been here so long that I can say, but you would think a landlord would want to replace the money somehow. He is used to the income as you said.”

Palose didn’t chat much longer with the woman and soon she left after finishing her work. As one of his duties had been to remain behind to watch over Atrouseon’s possessions in a city where fingers grew sticky to help ends meet, the mage was now freed up to begin the part of his day that would best help him move up in the hierarchy of Ensolus.

Being a resurrection man and apprentice, in the pecking order of the city he was near the bottom with only his magic talent keeping him from the slums of Ensolus or worse. Luckily for him, magic was power and masters of magic could live well, perhaps even becoming leaders and rulers within the city. His power was now greater than a battle mage also, which meant he could challenge the system as a full warlock.

The young man used the magic elevator and hurried through the streets lightly populated with travelers since it was midmorning. Many were already working elsewhere in the city leaving more room for a mage leaving his home so late in the day. His path led to the north and Palose’s eyes were filled with the citadel and the various spire shaped buildings reaching to the ceiling. It was like no other city in the world as far as he knew. Perhaps on the older continent of Taltan where he heard dwarves dwelt there might be something similar, but he knew little of them. Still Ensolus’ construction was impressive, whether one saw the emperor as evil or not.

A long walk took him along streets east of the fortress of the emperor and his view of Lake End soon opened up though some boat making related buildings occasionally got in his way as he walked. It was one of the mysteries of the city that he had yet to see revealed. Since he had arrived, the mage had never seen movement from the three ships painted black sitting by the four main docks. The mystery centered on the fact that there was no way to sail outside of the cave since the water was trapped within the stone.
The east wall of the cave came down to the waterline hemming in the lake water with only a strange stone archway sitting in the water near the edge. It was so close to the rock face that Palose could see no real purpose for it unless it was a monument of some kind or the focus of a needed spell.

Portal magic on such a huge scale must require great sacrifice and power, if it was the latter he thought. The emperor’s warlocks loved using such magic to disrupt their enemies so perhaps these black ships could be sent to a corresponding jump point, so it wasn’t beyond belief. As he continued his long walk, Palose wished he could use such magic to make the long walk to the library easier.

When he finally followed the street paralleling the lake around the emperor’s central spires, the sight of the library formed from one of the great columns was impressive. Designed to inspire awe in the beholder, the stone forming the spire was over two hundred feet across and dotted with windows on the northern face to catch what light it could during the day from the wide cavern opening, though the emperor’s spires cast their shadows across the library as the sun crossed the sky to the south. Eight steps were formed between the natural flows of the stone and led up to an opening between the rocks where two columns worked with glyphs held up an outcropping that was much like a roof over a porch. Unlike a man made roof, this one was rough hewn and more natural in shape, though from the landing in front of the pair of ten foot tall doors one could look up and see the stone was smoothed for the tops of the round columns to hold together flush.

Large squared tiles lined the landing at the top of the steps leading to the heavy wooden doors with their fancily worked face. Nearly twice the height of most men, the library once more added the feeling of awe trying to make those who approached feel small before the accumulated knowledge of the massive library. The mage had been coming to this library for nearly an entire month. First brought to the huge building by his new teacher and master, Atrouseon, some of the wonder lessened as he made the pilgrimage to the center of knowledge once every day and sometimes more.

Though the air within the cavern was not overly warm despite the late summer’s day, upon opening a door to let him inside the cool air within enveloped the mage immediately sending a brief chill along his exposed skin. Hands and face warned him as he felt a shiver run down his back. It would take him several minutes to acclimate to the cold, but the even colder stares of the apprentices and wizards he received as he entered the open lounge with dozens of tables and desks spread throughout the room were less likely to become comfortable.

The younger men were the main culprits, while their elders seemed a little more forgiving or simply refused to acknowledge him. Though there were some women wizards in Ensolus, their numbers were far fewer than in Southwall. They were also less cold perhaps because they too received similar treatment
to his own in a male dominated world. Such separations between the two sexes were things that he had come to notice and wonder if there might be an opening for a stronger relationship with such outsiders for him. So far none had approached him, but neither had Palose worked to meet them either. Outsiders tended towards caution when dealing with others. Joining with him could make their fight for recognition harder or maybe they worried that he would push them aside as inferior as so many others had.

Walking up to the main desk where one of the librarians, who would have been called research wizards in Southwall; Palose drew out a thin, leather bound book. It had been one that Atrouseon had started him on following the basics of fire spells. While there was a little new information, for a mage that had made it up to the rank of falcon, it still held a few new surprises. One thing that it and the handful of other books entrusted to him by his master had begun to change for him was the way a warlock tended to cast their spells. Most had extra gestures or a short incantation to perform to draw out the magic. His use of single word spells would be over unless he could learn to convert the long winded processes like the mizard, Sebastian, had begun to do in Southwall.

He placed the book in front of the gray haired warlock and said quietly, “Wizard Geerloc, Master Atrouseon has been impressed that I am no beginner. He wants me to see if I can follow him towards one of his specialties. Where are the books on necromancy located? I was hoping to begin studying the basics of those to show him my progress.”

“Did he now?” the old man replied raising an eyebrow questioningly at the young mage. “I have never heard of a beginning apprentice being shown such magic, since there are no true basics in such dark spells. Your master knows as much and, if he did approve of your progress, you would know as much as well.”