The Archimage Wars: Wizard of Abal (26 page)

We had to hike down a switchback path
to rejoin the Celadon River where it exited the dam. There was a
dock, and our escorts had us enter the river at this stage. It
wasn’t too far to the city from there, so we stayed on the surface.
I could see where the wide river went right under the outer wall,
passing through a tight mesh of bars at the surface.

“
Aren’t you afraid
attackers might come under the wall in the river?” I asked one of
our guides, whose name turned out to be Benker.

He smirked at me. “First off, those
Husks of the enemy can’t stay in water, so there is no danger
there, and if they sent any of those purple saeran traitors, they
would be in for a surprise on the other side.”

I got to see what he meant a moment
later. After ducking underwater to get under the surface grates, we
had to surface a moment later in a pool on the other side. The
River continued on through another massive grate, but this one went
all the way down to the bottom. We were in a kind of half bowl. The
outer wall surface behind us was flat, but the inner walls were in
a half circle, with arrow slits, going all the way around. This was
a kill zone, anyone surfacing here had no way out other than up
onto land, in a zone which had no protection at all. There was not
even a gate to break down. Our guides had us wait while they put
our writ, which had turned out to be made of some waterproof cured
fish skin, into a basket which was lowered from the top of the
wall. Then they had a brief conversation with the guards above and
eventually a platform was lowered down which could take about
twenty people.

“
How do they get the trade
goods and other things shipped down the river into the city?” I
asked Benker.

“
There are other lifts
outside the walls which can hoist up supplies,” he
answered.

Then we reached the top of the wall,
where there were several armored guards waiting. They had not drawn
any weapons and were actually looking quite bored.

That was until someone in a nearby
guard tower suddenly squeaked in a loud voice which was almost
undecipherable, “Mages!”

All of the saeran guards around us
yanked out their weapons and aimed them at our group, and Benker
and his partner backed away from us, with terrified
looks.

“
Which one is the mage?”
the Benker demanded loudly.

The same squeaky voice called down,
“They’re all mages!”

“
ALL OF THEM!” Benker
bellowed, and gripped his weapon tighter.

Hydan raised his hands slowly, palms
showing. “No need for violence here, we come in peace, as enemies
of the Island Witch! I am Hydan, a Friare, this is Toji, a
Bakemono, Myrka a Tarvos and Nicholas, one of your own Sivaeral
wizards.”

The odd voice from the tower
exclaimed, “A Tarvos! They are aligned with the Derkaz!”

“
This Tarvos is not with
the enemy! She is oath bound to this Sivaeral wizard!” Hydan said,
pointing at me.

Toji spoke loudly, “I can confirm
this, on the honor of my House.”

That made the hidden person with the
squeaky voice pause, Bakemono honor was legendary. “Then, if you
are no threat, you will not be opposed to being disarmed and
bound!”

“
If it makes you happy,
sure,” Hydan exclaimed, and then said to me, “Tell your sorceress
to stand down and let them bind her and take her
weapon.”

I nodded to Myrka, “You heard
him.”

She glowered at me briefly but said
nothing.

Two guards approached warily, and I
could see the terror in their eyes as they drew near. They all
understood a mage’s power got stronger the closer you got to their
body. But nothing happened to them as they took away Toji’s tantos,
but when Benker reached for Myrka’s knife, she stated, “Be
aware…”

That made Benker jump back, but since
Myrka didn’t move, he swallowed and paused.

Myrka continued, “…I will get that
back, and I will PERSONALLY hold you responsible should it not be
returned.”

He swallowed, and then nodded. He then
approached again and gingerly removed her knife.

They bound our hands behind our backs
with steel manacles and then had us follow the officer. The entire
way they kept us surrounded and never put down their
weapons.

Benker and several other guards
escorted us to what could only be called a cell, which was deep in
a massive stone structure.

There we were left, though we were
under constant surveillance.

“
This is nice,” I said
sarcastically.

Hydan shrugged, “They don’t trust
mages, not these days. Most mages outside the cities are working
for the enemy, all free mages were pulled back to defend these last
strongholds. Some saeran mages are loyal, but more are on the
Island Witch’s side. You can’t blame them for being
suspicious.”

“
Who spotted us?” I
asked.

“
No doubt one of their
mages was in the tower, put there specifically to scan all new
arrivals for Glyphs,” Hydan replied. “They can’t be hidden, not
from another mage. Nor can they be changed.”

Eventually, Benker spoke through the
door grate. “Everyone except the Sivaeral wizard, move back to the
far wall.”

“
Why?” Toji
demanded.

The guard replied, “The Sivaeral
wizard is being brought before the commander, where his loyalty
will be tested.”

“
We stay together,” Toji
informed the guard.

Benker replied, “Those are not my
orders.”

“
Then go get new orders,”
Toji stated.

I held up a hand to Toji and said to
the guard, “What is this test?”

“
We will see if you have
embraced the Derkaz.”

I nodded, “And if I
haven’t?”

“
Then you will be cleared
and released, but if you fail the test you will be put to
death!”

“
And my companions?” I
asked.

“
They suffer your fate,
good, or bad.”

I nodded, “All right then, I’ll go
take your test.”

Hydan put a hand on my shoulder and
said, “You don’t have to do this, we can leave here at any time.”
Then he gestured to the stone floor and drew a quick star shape in
the air, though he didn’t actually start creating one of those
fiery symbols yet. “For whatever reason, I sense no
StarWards.”

“
We came all the way here
to get to their Hall of Records, and I haven’t embraced Derkaz, so
what’s the problem?”

He shrugged, “True, but you will be
without our protection once you are any distance away.”

I nodded, but called out, “All right,
I have nothing to hide, so I will submit to your test.”

Benker called out, “Good, then step to
the door, and the rest of you, fall back.”

My companions moved to the back wall
and I stepped forward. The door opened and they quickly got me
outside and closed the door.

My hands were still bound in the
manacles as they led me up stairs and then down a wide hall and
eventually into a large room; it was some kind of audience
chamber.

A military officer, with a Nautilus
Glyph, was standing to the side of an ornate chair, and he was
holding a knife with intricately carved runes on the broad blade.
Once I was placed before the chair, and the guards had backed away,
he came toward me, and then took up position just behind my back
where I could not see him without turning.

Another saeran male, wearing some kind
of long blue ceremonial cloak which had embroidered nautilus
symbols, entered and strode to the chair, and then took a seat. He
had the nautilus Glyph on his left cheek, just like mine. Could
this be the Archimage of Abal at last?

He looked at me suspiciously for a
moment and then spoke in what could only be called a squeaky voice,
all high and nasal, “I am Timarod, the Sivaeral wizard in charge of
this city. Captain Nela, a wizard of the city guard, is standing
behind you with a powerful Actuality Blade in his hand, you have
heard of them?”

“
Yes,” I
answered.

He nodded, “Good, so you know you will
not be able to do magic with such a blade so close. With just one
false word, I will signal the Captain to sheath the blade in your
back, and you will not be able to do anything to stop it. Do you
understand?”

“
Clearly,” I
noted.

“
Tell me your business in
this city,” Timarod demanded in his squeaky voice, which hit a
really unpleasant high note in his excitement.

You know, I just didn’t like Sir
Squeaky’s tone, it just pissed me off, so I said, “I’d rather speak
to someone in charge, not a flunky with an authority complex.
Please take me to the Archimage of Abal!”

His saeran face turned a darker blue;
I assumed this meant he was upset. Good; that made me feel slightly
better.

He scowled at me and stated, “The
Archimage is out of the capitol on important business.”

I was severely disappointed, but I hid
that and stated, “Fine, then bring someone else of higher
authority.”

He sputtered for a moment, and then
gathered himself, and finally said, “Oberon is at the front,
battling the Island Witch’s forces at Ouroboros, and our other
mages are busy attending to the defense of this city! I am the
highest Tier mage, so I am in charge here, so you WILL answer my
questions or face dire consequences!”

I suppressed my annoyance, but there
was no way I was telling this pompous fool about my missing
memories, or mentioning any mission I might have been on for the
Archimage, so I replied, “Fine, I have come seeking my parents, I
lost track of where they live while I was off world. I came here in
peace, as a loyal saeran,” I pointed out, stressing the word
‘loyal’.

“
I see, and you have had no
dealings with the Island Witch?”

I almost snarled at him, “That depends
on what you consider ‘dealings’.”

I sensed the Captain behind me
tensing, so I pulled back on my anger and said, “Her minions have
attacked me, and my companions and they did manage to abduct one of
our party, a Sivaeral sorceress of a young age.”

“
Why was the Island Witch
after you?” he demanded in his squeaky voice.

“
I have no idea,” and then
I added with a bit of sarcasm, “Maybe because we are mages, it’s
just a thought.”

Timarod ignored my sarcasm and sat
back into his ornate chair. I hoped a chair leg snapped and he fell
on his bureaucratic ass.

Then I added, “Look, this is all very
impressive, but the simple fact is the Island Witch took a girl I
was sworn to protect, which has made her my enemy. Have you never
heard the term ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?”

“
No, but you will answer my
questions,” the mage proclaimed, and then he sat forward again and
asked very intensely, “Have you embraced the Derkaz?”

I raised my chin slightly and said,
“Not likely, Bub, though one of my companions uses that power as a
Tarvos sorceress. However, she is bound to my service by an oath
sworn on her Archimage, and has no dealings with the Island Witch,
nor has she ever been on that bitch’s side or worked against the
saerans loyal to the Archimage of House Sivaeral. In fact, this is
her first trip to Abal.”

He pondered my words, and then said,
“So you say, yet her presence leads to doubts about you, as does
your attempt to enter our city without telling us you were mages. I
will now perform a test to see if you are lying about the Derkaz;
if you block me it will be seen as a sign of your
guilt.”

“
Whatever,” I
answered.

A look of concentration came over
Timarod’s face, but then after a few moments, he relaxed and said,
“I sense no sign of recent Derkaz use in your soul.”

That was interesting; I guess the test
could only discern recent usage. Not that it mattered in my case, I
had never, to my knowledge, used the Derkaz, but I filed this away
for future reference.

He continued, “Why did you attempt to
come into our city by stealth?”

I shrugged again, “Look, Jack, we have
not had good luck when we tell people we are mages, especially on
Abal. Every time someone discovers that fact, they either attack us
or send for the minions of the damned Island Bitch. All we wanted
was a quick look at some records and we would have been gone, no
fuss no muss, but you had to make this all complicated.”

He looked at me darkly, and then
squeaked, “You will address me as Wizard, or Master Timarod! So
your mission in our city was to spy?”

“
No, not spy. As a member
of the saeran race, I simply wished access to the public Hall of
Records so I could search for my parents. What is the big deal,
Wizard?”

“
That is what I am
attempting to ascertain. What is your Sivaeral Tier ranking?” he
suddenly asked, like a cat pouncing on a string.

I saw no reason to lie, “I am a
Third.”

There was a bit of a gasp from the
surrounding guards, which I found odd.