Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) (57 page)

"It's not bad," she agreed. "Perhaps we should drink wine more often."

"Only in moderation, Acheri, it wouldn't look good for the guards and servants to see us falling down drunk, now would it?"

The girl took several more swallows emptying her glass quickly. She rose and walked over to the tray.

"It's the second from your left, if you liked it so much. You really should slow down and try to enjoy it. The aroma and taste should be savored not devoured."

Acheri opened the decanter and poured herself another glass that nearly overflowed the top. She sipped a little before turning to sit beside him once more. Taking the closed decanter with her, he noticed the container was cut in half already.

"I could taste and smell it just fine, Kolban. You don't have to treat me like a child. I am almost a grown woman already. We mature faster than boys like you," she told him before drinking nearly half her glass again.

"I may have been shorter than you coming out of the birth chamber, but I think that I have already caught you. As to talking to you like a child, in some ways you are and you could certainly learn to appreciate the wine."

The girl started drinking again, but a little slower. She sniffed the drink and stated, "I smell the grapes and alcohol, but it still tastes the same to me. It..."

Her face started to look more relaxed. She looked at the glass once more studying the liquid. Drinking a couple more swallows of the wine, Acheri tried to continue her thought, but the only thing that she could think of was, "This wine is a little stronger than I thought."

Fighting her closing eyes, the glass fell from her hand shattering on the floor. Kolban rose from his chair moving his glass and the decanter away from the princess whose head began to nod as she tipped to the side in her chair. The side held her head pillowed against the stuffed material lining the sides as well as the seat and back.

Moments later, the emperor could hear her steady breathing. He began casting a spell on the girl. It was something that she wouldn't notice right away. He placed a ring with an emerald on it over the forefinger of her left hand. Acheri wore rings when she wished, but this one she wouldn't want to remove until it was time. His spell worked to make sure of that fact, but only Palose would be able take it from her in the future.

She would want to always wear it while in Ensolus to make sure that the ring did its work at the assigned time. A ring for a princess, the mage would likely tell her to hide it later and maybe take it from her to keep it safe. That would be when she learned of the true spell of the ring. It would keep them safe or so Narissa said when he had talked over his plans with her. As long as Palose kept her safe, the power of his spell would do as he wanted; but should the mage fail him...

Kolban sighed looking at his sister. He took his glass, one from a different decanter and sniffed the wine before taking a sip nursing the drink as the emperor returned to his book.

One more step had been taken, but there were more to go.

It had been over three weeks since Sebastian had infiltrated the emperor's dungeons. Since then, he had met with Drayden three times. Despite having to fall back before spying on the main fortress, the mage's efforts had caused a new level of security to be enacted; but strangely enough it worked in the spies' effort. Since it had been a magical attack from within, Ensolus had been proactive in working to secure the dungeons in new ways making the outer guards used to more men and women coming into the spire.

Warlocks and soldiers were joined by workmen and Drayden's men finally managed to sneak their way inside to reconnoiter. They were still barred from certain areas, but they were quite capable and figured out other ways to learn what they hoped would be the information to finally rid them of the Dark One.

Sebastian was called into a large scale meeting shortly after the last of Drayden's information was passed along to King Alain's council. The king was in attendance listening in, but he wasn't the only unusual attendee to this gathering. White wizards gathered from other castles stood with the high wizards of Hala; Culmore and Neferen. Generals from the armies fighting in Litsarin were gathered with the other leaders of Southwall's forces, not only men from Southwall but Sileoth and Marianis as well. The other island nation had joined its allies a little late, but they had been part of why the empire had been unable to finish taking the last of Litsarin.

King Qeyless sat beside his ally and friend, King Alain, ready to listen to the newest news and sit in on the plans to crack Ensolus. Sileoth would not sit out while Southwall did all the dirty work and their countries weren't the only ones represented. Men from Staron had come leaving only Kardor unable to send someone from their military since no gate had been formed so far to the northwest yet.

Lastly, to one side of the room, Sebastian noticed a pretty, petite blonde haired girl. Her skin was still tan despite the months of cold and her hair was closer to the color of snow than straw. She had emerald green eyes that sparkled like jewels, but they were the only thing about her that matched her true form. Standing with several men and women wearing odd necklaces, she sported none since he had used his magic to free the che'ther girl from her curse.

A dragoness as the humans called her race, Cheleya stood beside a man who was her father. The dragons in their human forms were the size of normal humans, though some were very tall and muscular. They were still dwarfed by several mar'goyn'lya, the race known as gargoyles.

Both races lived together on the eastern end of the Dragon Spine Mountains in the city state of Mar'kal and had been contacted at the beginning of winter. A new gate had been built by Darius, though it hadn't been secured by the rune gate Sebastian had worked to build across most of Southwall, Sileoth and western Litsarin.

Gerid walked over to sit by the kings, since Sebastian had retrieved him and Garosh's contingent. The other man, once a pawn of the Dark One, stood near Raven Leros. He had been allowed to attend the summit because he had given them as much information of the state of Ensolus and Kolban as Drayden and his spies had been able to dredge up over a few months.

General Idris moved to a podium and led the meeting to start, "I am General Idris for those who do not know. Most of you have spoken with me as we have built the plans to take the fight to the Dark One for the first time since he broke through to our world."

His eyes slowly crossed those assembled around him and the general continued, "We appreciate you, Southwall's allies, coming here to discuss where we need you and how you wish to help. Now we are on the brink of ending this war once and for all!"

A small cheer rose slowly building as others felt the true meaning of his words. Their persecutor for two centuries was in their crosshairs. With the right attack plan, they believed that he could be killed once and for all.

Letting the noise settle once more, Idris continued, "Southwall joined Sileoth and Marianis to stop him from taking Litsarin, which is where we will also distract his armies. If we attack his capital, we know that there will be soldiers and monsters to deal with there. The more we push him from Helsen, the less he will see of our attack. He will have fewer forces to bring to the city even if he does try to react and bring reinforcements.

"Our portal wizards will shift the needed forces to distract them there. Our allies from Mar'kal will lend us fifty dragon mages and a hundred mar'goyn'lya to let them know that we have brought reinforcements. It will mean pushing back from a frontline that has held them back for months. Should we fail, we could lose Helsen; but it is time to be bold or we will simply risk falling later."

Sebastian knew much of the plan. Sileoth, with Marianis and reinforcements from Southwall and Mar'kal, would change the stagnant nature of the combat on the island. Though many would be in danger; he knew that his sister and the other dragon mages trained at White Hall by Cheleya and her mar'goyn'lya friend would be returning home. Some would also join the forces readying for the assault on Ensolus.

A pair of large maps hung to one side of the room and the general moved to them. The next several minutes covered troop placement and times that attacks were being planned. It was a massive battle front and would take coordination to keep it from leaving too much of an opening for the Dark One's army to take an advantage of as they turn the attack around. The allies had been pushed back to less than fifty miles from the major trade city on Litsarin, but that still left a lot of land to cover. With three countries facing them, the dark armies had stalled where they could build defenses capable of pushing them back.

The second map involved the owl more. He would probably help with the initial shifting of forces using portals; but he would be assigned a task team with the most dangerous assignment of all.

"Ensolus will be tricky and dangerous; but thanks to Owl Sebastian, we will be able to make a multipronged attack that should cripple and distract the city's forces." Using a pointer, the general started touching the various highlighted marks on the map that had been created from the mage's initial drawing of Ensolus.

"We will break the central portals of the city here. Without them, it should reduce their ability to find reinforcements. Some portal warlocks may have the talent to call gates in other places, but this is their hub. We hope to cripple them just from hitting there.

"The gates are another way to distract them while removing more of their forces. We will have a team bring down those outer towers to try to keep the garrisons we know exist in the outer court between the inner and outer walls from joining the defense. North of that the military families have their residences, but again we hope that Litsarin will have pulled many of them away leaving their families. That may mean women and children, but it shouldn't be a problem overall. If they can be panicked, they will probably be a hindrance for their actual soldiers."

He pointed just north of the squares designating the soldiers' homes. "These two have many magic users, while this seems to be the main school for their warlocks," he pointed to almost the north most section of the city. "We will have teams of wizards and mages along with as many soldiers with these new runes to help delay their magic users. Dragon mages and mar'goyn'lya will join our largest force to the west of the emperor's citadel. It is likely that their beasts which they primarily house away from the humans and elves will come if an alarm is given. The mobility of our flyers will hopefully help to keep them from helping the Dark One.

"Another force will move in from the east. Sebastian and our spies have told us that this section is full of non-combatants, so we should be able to sweep through until the orc sector. They're more likely to fight than the humans in that area.

"Lastly, the owl will bring a team into the fortress and hunt down the Dark One. We will need our best and strongest there. Lord Grimnal has volunteered to help. He has dealt with the Dark One before and knows at least some of his tricks."

Gerid had told them that since his family was no longer in direct threat, he would lead one of the assault teams. Garosh would join them. If the giant was going to flip sides, this could be their undoing; but Rilena and Darius had vouched for him during planning meetings. She had been there for the attack meant to kill the giant. Those who had known him before the attack could tell that he had changed. No one truly thought that the whole thing had been an elaborate ruse; but if it was, Sebastian thought, then he doubted they were clever enough to defeat the emperor. It was more likely that Garosh had been telling the truth. The Dark One had decided that he was no longer useful, a traitor, and had come to take back the power given the giant while leaving him to die from the loss.

Turning from the maps, the general summarized, "In three days, our forces will be set to attack on Litsarin. During that time we hope that they will draw more of the emperor's forces from the city. Three days after the push begins we will launch our assault.

"Sebastian will check with our spies in Ensolus the day before to make sure that it doesn't look like a trap. Any odd preparations giving them away will have to be sniffed out, but it gives us a chance to call it off if we have to as well.

"Once that point is passed, we will commit and either we kill him or he kills us."

The room was left open for other input and voices were raised with hands. Questions were asked; but Sebastian remained silent as he looked at the players in the room. He was in the middle of this and wouldn't have it any other way, the owl supposed. His stomach had butterflies at the idea of delving into the emperor's fortress and then looking for him.

To face a legend, there would be another with him, but Gerid had been beaten once. It was time for him to have a best of three, since the giant had helped defeat the Dark One in his old world. The immortal needed to win this one. There was no void to send him which could trap the monster and his people. Magic and swords would be his end, if they could help it. He would die this time. They needed him to die and their hopes rested on it.

The owl slipped away as the talk died down. He would find Ashleen and spend what time he could with her before the final battles began.

Chapter 31- Through the Gate

Palose exited the portal after using the ties to his combat unit. The magic used in his wraiths and the more basic soldiers would have been enough, but the dark mage could feel Oween and Nalack as well. Just like he could find Dorgred on the southern coast of Southwall, if he wished to find the man; Palose could also find any of those he had raised.