Spellscribed: Conviction (10 page)

Joven's first swing knocked three men back, and the fourth managed to stop the attack, but lost his weapon. The barbarian flowed into the gap formed by the move, using the disarmed man as a temporary shield as he swung again, killing two of the three off balance bandits. The last swung again, missing, as Joven brought the axe in an upward arc, taking the man's arm off and cutting a diagonal line up his chest at the same time. He used the momentum to change his grip and bring the axe down as he turned behind him to face the men he knew would be coming in at his back. The closest had actually gotten past the axe head, but caught the handle on his collarbone and screamed as bone shattered. The man behind him was killed instantly as the axe bit down from neck into the torso. Joven kicked out, launching the injured man into the dead one, knocking both down, and clearing the dead from his weapon, leaving him two armed men and one who was scrambling around for a weapon.

He spun his axe in his hands, charging forward. The two men lunged, and Joven felt a hot flash of pain across his left bicep as one scored a glancing hit. The man on the right of him lost his head, while the left one only took a similar wound to his left arm. Joven recoiled, swung again, and succeeded in knocking the man's sword out of his hands. The barbarian stepped forward, using his left arm to catch the man by the throat. He squeezed hard, lifting the man as he choked up his grip on the axe. The last man found his dropped weapon, raised it, and received an arrow in the chest for his trouble, as Tanya sniped the man as Joven broke the neck of his last enemy.

It only lasted perhaps half a minute, but the four of them remained standing while the bandits did not.

"See?" Bridget said, wiping blood off her blades. "Didn't take long at all."

"And they were criminals, so I don't think the locals will have a problem with it." Tanya added. "Where'd Selene go?"

The third Draugnoa trotted back in, her weapon already stowed. "Chased the two away." she said. "They'll probably spread the word that we wiped them out."

Joven nodded. "Good. They won't bother us again, if they're smart."

"Should we do something with the bodies?" Tanya asked.

Joven shrugged. "Leave them." he said. "They made their choice."

Selene noticed Giselle sitting on the back of the bandit leader. She was growling threateningly at the man and smacking the back of his head as he lay face down on the road. "Oh, honey." she muttered, plucking the young wolf girl up. "Don't play with that. It's filthy."

Joven looked around. "Yeah, I'm sure the locals would want whatever they've been stealing, so lets leave that one tied up and maybe some good will come of this. He should still be alive."

Tanya trussed the leader up as the others rounded up the horses. "Okay, he's breathing." she confirmed, leaving him on the side of the road.

"Let's get the hells out of here." Joven declared. "Who knows what kind of treatment Endrance is getting. We have to get to Ironsoul as fast as possible."

Endrance sat back in his chair and shook his head. "I can't believe I ran into you again." he said sadly.

Ethan, leaning against the doorway, shrugged. "Well, you know, I go where I'm paid." he said plainly, smiling.

The man was wearing the same armor and weapons he had worn over a year before, excepting that there was a few more scratches and dings in the plate. Ethan was a lean soldier, last seen escorting Endrance and a caravan from Wayrest up to Ironsoul. They had parted ways on amicable terms, and Endrance was glad to see the man, but not so glad to see him in his current position.

"You got hired to be my jailor?" Endrance asked.

Ethan chuckled. "When I saw that the High Magus Weldom had offered a job to my company to guard the criminal, Endrance, I had to jump on it. I knew that half of those men would probably think you the criminal Weldom says you are, just because the mage said it."

"But you don't?" Endrance asked.

Ethan shook his head, smiling wryly. "I didn't think you were the type to just up and murder someone, especially in the way you were said to. I knew you. If it had been you, you would have just shot him with lightning or burned him with fire."

"That's what I've been trying to say." Endrance sighed. "And I know who did it too, but it would be impossible to prove it."

Ethan pushed off the door, stepping into the room. "You do?" he asked, interested. "Who did it?"

Endrance sighed and turned back to his desk. He had been working on improving his spell forms on paper, and had been drawing out some modifications to his tattoos he had been thinking of. "It was a Sha'hdi," he said quietly, idly playing with the quill on the desk. "She'd been hired to stalk me from the day I left Wayrest, and do everything in her power to make my life difficult."

Ethan frowned, thinking. "I thought that those elven assassins were just a myth." he said, disconcerted.

The mage sighed, flicking the quill across the desk and bouncing it off a stack of books. "If only. I was lucky that she had not been hired to actually kill me, or I'd have been dead the first night you met me."

"Then the goblins..." Ethan said, making a connection.

Endrance nodded. "Yeah, they were her doing."

"Shit." Ethan snapped. "I think my heart nearly exploded back then. I mean, gods, I still jump whenever someone hits a drum around me."

"The barbarians use drums all the time on the mountain, so I guess I've had time to adjust." Endrance replied. "But yeah. She's also the one who cut the tribune's throat."

"So how was life up in the frozen wastes?" Ethan asked. "I hear they cast weak infants aside, leaving them to die if they're not healthy enough."

Endrance rolled his eyes. "Not true... actually, I've never seen a baby born there that wasn't twice as healthy as children born here. It's... kind of scary now that I think about it,"

"Oh. That's kind of worse, actually." Ethan agreed.

"But overall, it was good." Endrance replied. "It was cold, and the people there would just as much punch me as talk to me, but overall, I think I did some good."

"That's... good to hear?" Ethan responded, uncertain. "Anywho, if you really have to go somewhere, I'll be the guy to escort you during daytime hours. My brother, Elric, works the evenings, and my sister Gwen will be in charge of you during morning shifts."

"Gwen?"

"Short for Gwendolyn. She's around your age, but don't hit on her. She's cute, but I don't want to have to kill you." Ethan replied, winking.

Endrance laughed, shaking his head. "No... that's fine. I’ve had plenty of women troubles since I got to Balator. It's actually kind of... refreshing being alone for a while."

Ethan's eyes widened. "Wait, you've been having lady troubles?"

Endrance rolled his eyes and sighed with a wry smile. "Yeah, three of them."

Ethan looked like he was about to faint. "I can't... even... three?" he asked, stammering.

The mage rested his head on the back of his chair. "Yeah." he replied. "One is an archer who uses a horn bow made for someone with a barbarian's strength, who seems perpetually in over her head. Another is a muscular warrior-queen, with a four foot long cleaver and an abrasive attitude. The last is a half demon with wings, a dagger on a fifteen foot chain, and a split personality."

Ethan stared at him in shock.

"They're actually kind of nice, once you get to know them." Endrance said, realizing he may have made it sound worse than it actually was. "And they're all very attractive."

Ethan continued to stare. "What?" Endrance asked after several uncomfortable seconds passed.

"You like that kind of thing?" Ethan demanded, flustered.

Endrance shrugged. "Wasn't my choice." he replied. "They were married to me."

Ethan shook his head, tossed up his hands, and walked back to the door. "I give up!" he cried. "I just don't know how to deal with you being more successful with the ladies than me. Even if they're scary, you get three beautiful women!"

"If it's any better, I didn't ask for it or anything." Endrance supplied.

"No, that just makes it worse." Ethan sagged against the door. "Gods! You mages get all the perks."

Endrance looked at him flatly. "One of them punched me so hard, I was knocked six feet into the air. The half demon doesn't understand the meaning of 'consent,' and the last one was forced to join as the woman before her had been killed by the same assassin that put me in this situation." he explained. "I hardly consider these women who rely on me to live, a 'perk' in any way."

"Oh." Ethan muttered somberly.

"They're just... a part of my life now." Endrance concluded. "I guess I'm lucky to some people, but I have my set of issues that they come with."

"Do they know?" Ethan asked. "What it means to marry a mage?"

Endrance shrugged. "Probably not. I don't think they know I'll stay looking like this for the next several decades, aging at a fraction of their time. They don't know that any children of ours are more likely to have magical talent. They don't know that besides those magically capable children, I'll outlive them all several times over, unless I'm killed."

Ethan wiped his face. "Well, this conversation got somber really quickly." he declared. "Look, I'll be outside if you need me, but, uh, try not to escape or anything."

"Sure. I don't intend on it." Endrance said. "But, what do I do when I get bored?"

Ethan shrugged. "I'll ask. Maybe we can bring you some painting stuff or something."

Ethan closed the door as he left. Endrance noted there was no lock on the door, something that really hammered home the fact that right now, he was being treated as a guest, but only so long as he followed the rules. It did make him feel any better that Ethan remembered that he was a painter. It was something he’d had very little time to indulge himself in since he became Spengur, but it was obvious that, for the present moment, he would have plenty of time on his hands.

But first, he had work he had set on doing. He had modifications to his scribed tattoos he wanted to make, based on observations he’d made while using them. He brushed an errant lock of hair from his face as he made small adjustments to the spell forms. There was a lot he had to do, just to feel safe making one adjustment. And he had over a dozen tattoos he needed to improve on. He worked until Ethan seemed to appear next to him, and dropped a small sackcloth wrapped bundle of paintbrushes on the desk.

Endrance blinked up at him. "That was fast." he observed, looking back down at his notes.

Ethan looked over the desk. Endrance had filled seventeen more sheets of paper with what looked like scribbles.

"Have you slept?" Ethan asked. "I... I went home after my shift ended, and now it's my shift again." Ethan seemed surprised that the mage before him wasn't half asleep already. "You've been working at the same task for twenty-four hours."

Endrance stared over the desk, finally seeing what Ethan had seen. "Oh, I see." he murmured. "I got carried away again. Usually Selene or Bridget will literally drag me off when it's time to eat or go to bed."

Ethan chuckled. "Well, you have to do that on your own now." he stated. "I have to say though, try to get some rest. When my shift ends, I'm supposed to take you to see the Winnower."

Endrance blinked, feeling the fatigue he had been ignoring, as well as a horrible kink in his back. "Winnower?" he asked, standing. He shuffled over to the cabinet and opened the door. A plate of hot food sat waiting for him. He took it, walked back to his desk, and set the plate down once he cleared space for it.

Ethan watched him get his food with a sigh. "I wish I had one of those." he said.

"Only seems to make roast quail in some kind of sauce, two small baked potatoes, and a pile of braised carrots." Endrance replied, taking a bite of carrot as he spoke. "But it's warm, and it's pretty damn good. So what's a Winnower?"

"From what I gathered, he's some kind of interrogator, but with magic instead of torture." he said.

Endrance shrugged. "Ah." he replied, taking a bite of quail. It was rather good, he just hoped that his menu would have some kind of variety.

"You don't seem worried."

"I'm not surprised, but all mages have ways of dealing with pain. Only those with the ability to ignore pain to some degree get very far. I had... have been exposed to pain the likes of which has killed other men. I am not really worried about it hurting."

"Well, I wish I had your confidence."

"I'm not confident, but I am certain I am innocent and should have no trouble answering what he asks."

Ethan sighed. "Either way, after you eat, I suggest you get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to go."

Endrance nodded, mechanically eating the food as quickly as he could manage. Ethan left him to his meal. The warm feeling in his gut helped, and he remembered that he needed to keep channeling a trickle of power into his body. He stripped down, climbed into bed, and lay there. The mattress was exceptionally soft, and he was sure he had never slept in such a comfortable bed.

He touched his aura to his meridians, allowing the smallest trickle of power into his body. It was felt like a light tingling sensation, very similar to when his leg fell asleep, but it was sensed alongside his body. He believed that only completely killing the nerves in an area of the body prevented him from being able to feel if there was magic there.

The sensation was not unpleasant, and added to his fuzzy feelings. He increased the flow by another iota of power, and unlike when he had tried it years and years ago as an apprentice, this time it didn't hurt. His body was changing, becoming something not entirely human. He was able to feel the connection was stable, and he eventually drifted off to sleep mentally exploring the flows and eddies of power as they coursed through his meridians.

Hours later, he was awakened by Ethan. He felt fantastic. His body felt revitalized, and even his mind had never been sharper. He attributed most of it to his bed, but there were little aches in his body and the kink from sitting at the desk for nearly a day, that had totally disappeared. His Mercanian blood was awakening as he fed it.

The most interesting thing he realized was that, while dressing, he became aware that most of the power he had flowed through his body still remained. It had not been expended, instead coursing through him like the magical equivalent of blood. He could call on it just as quickly as the power stored in his aura.

That thought suddenly chilled him. It would explain why blood was a powerful component in some spellcasting. It was imbued with the life force of the one who shed it, true, but it was also symbolic of how real power flowed.

He dressed, finding that the robes he had tossed aside had been replaced with identical clean ones. Ethan took him through the tower, up the stairs and side passages that the mundane used to navigate the tower that stood high over Ironsoul. By the time they reached the Winnower, Endrance's legs burned and he was glad to be offered a seat.

The room was clear of any furniture, except for two chairs that sat in the center of the fifteen foot diameter circular chamber. There were thick, velvet draperies around all the walls, deep red in color, and the floor was covered in a thick, gold and crimson rug. Even the ceiling was covered in the draperies, making the chamber appear to be more of a scarlet tent than a simple stone room.

Standing by the chairs was the Archmagus Talos, High Magus Weldom, and a man Endrance could assume was the Winnower.

Talos was a powerfully built man, bronze skin and amber colored eyes that almost glowed with an inner light. He wore only simple leather pants, and that was all. Every single inch of his hairless body was covered in tattoos, a spellscribing that was many times more intricate and powerful than the incomplete version Endrance had. Even his eyelids, earlobes, palms of his hands, soles of his feet, his lips and even his tongue was covered in thin black lines and geometric spell work. It made him a terrifying looking man, as he should be, being the most powerful human spellcaster alive. Endrance had been given a glimpse of the power that Talos casually kept contained in his aura, and it was almost incomprehensibly vast.