The Mage of Orlon: The beginning (18 page)

The burst of speed the beast man used would have been enough to root most people to the ground, but Nathan had seen it once and he knew he could dodge the attack.
Nathan hit the ground and the beast man flew over him, but a quick swipe had torn open Nathan
’
s leg blood slowly oozed out.
It was a flesh wound, but now it hurt to stand on it.

Nathan limped over to the cage.
He knew he couldn
’
t beat the beast man, but maybe he could fake him out enough to use to his advantage.
The pole slid out of the remains of the cage easily enough.
Nathan knew the creature was watching him.
This would never do he had to get the beast man angry enough to charge again.
The makeshift club would do no real damage to the stalking monster, but if he thought Nathan was stupid enough to fight him maybe Nathan could use it to his advantage.

“
Do you really think I am going to let you beat me up without a fight?
You are a bully, it doesn
’
t matter what form you have you are a bully, a coward that preys upon smaller beings!
You, you overgrown alley cat!
”
Nathan shouted.

Nathan thought dismally if I make it out of this alive I am going to have to work on my insults.

The momentary thought was all Nathan had time for as the beast man ran towards him again howling like an insane animal. The beast leapt into the air Nathan flattened to the ground, but when it looked like the beast would fall on top of him Nathan rolled over with the club in full swing.
The impact of the beast man
’
s speed and Nathan
’
s roll landed a blow to the beast
’
s shoulder causing him to flip over onto his back.

Nathan got up and did his best run limp he could, the beast was running after Nathan.
Nathan could feel the beast
’
s breath on his neck or so his imagination told him.

“
I
’
m going to kill you!
”
The beast roared.

Nathan ran towards a huge boulder that was resting firmly on the ground.
The beast was right behind him.

“
Come and get me shaggy tabby!
”
Nathan screamed back

Nathan heard the beast man jump; Nathan stopped and rolled under the air born beast as it crashed into the rock head first.
The beast slumped to the ground in a heap.

Nathan backed away as he saw the beast shake his head and start to stand up.
How many times would he have to get the oaf to jump head long into this rock to escape?
As many times as it takes was his only answer.
The beast stood up slowly seems he was having problems focusing.
Nathan picked up his broken club, it had splintered on impact and now contained one long jagged splinter, it would do as a makeshift shiv.

The beast man saw Nathan and roared, he bound towards Nathan with the speed and grace that all cats seemed to be born with.

“
Narg, that
’
s enough!
He beat you, and without magic!
”

The voice had the sound of a leader behind it, however it sounded similar to Narg
’
s voice deep and rumbly with a hint of femininity.
Nathan turned to find a purple robed figure standing above the outcrop over his cage behind her both of the girls where kneeling with tiger men surrounding them with spear tips pointing at their throats.

The purple robed figure pulled back the hood to reveal another tiger looking head, but the body was feminine, narrow and curvy.

“
My queen I beg your forgiveness, but
…”

The purple robe held up her clawed hand stopping anymore protesting.
This seemed weird that someone so much smaller could have so much power over Nathan
’
s would be killer.

“
Narg the deal was if he could figure a way out of our custody without his magic I would let them go.
He coaxed you into breaking open his cage, he made you so angry you leapt into a rock and he could have killed you with the stick in his hand, and probably would have because you could not keep your temper under control!
”
The last part was said with disgust.
The queen peered over her shoulder at Lela.

“
You struck a better bargain than I thought princess.
You knew he would find Narg
’
s weakness and exploit it!
”
She accused.

Smiling Lela answered her accuser
“
You should be thankful, I had to put up with that for three days before he finally settled down with me.
I do not know how he knows what causes a person to lose their objectivity, but he always manages to find it.
”

Disgusted the purple robe returned her gaze to Nathan.
“
You and your friends are free to go.
We will have to find another way to appease the Dark Queen so she will not attack our village my loyal subjects.
”

For the first time Nathan noticed that the forest surrounding them moved and undulated until he could see the beings that had been so well camouflaged.
There were about one hundred of them give or take, all hooded with claw tipped hands.

“
Wait, you were going to use me to buy your way out of a war?
”
Nathan asked incredulously.

“
Yes human, anything to protect my people.
You do not know our history or the foul tragedies that befell us because of her!
”
The purple robe pointed to Lela.

“
Lela, what did the elves do?
”
Nathan said almost fearing the answer.

The purple robe answered for Lela,
“
The elves are responsible for creating us, and we have never forgiven them for it!
”

After much coaxing Nathan finally got an audience with the purple robe or Queen Shina as she had Nathan call her.
The village was mainly made up of mud huts, Queen Shina lived in the hut towards the middle of the village.
Nathan was allowed in, but Lela and Ileana where to remain outside, Especially Lela.

“
What happened that has so much bad blood between your people and the elves Queen Shina?
”

“
We are the Sevols, a clan of beings that were created for the soul purpose of being foot soldiers for the Elven Empire.
The elves created our kind from the small wild cats that roam this world; however the first of our kind was not to the elves standard of soldiers.
The first and his mate where imprisoned, their fate to be decided at a later time while the magic was twisted and turned to make the ideal soldier.
After a few more failures came Narg
’
s grandfather, the ideal soldier big, powerful, aggressive, but with one small flaw the elves did not count on he was intelligent.

Narg
’
s grandfather waited until nightfall and broke out the
“
failures
”
and ran away.
Narg
’
s grandfather took Chinara as his mate, and as time progressed we have our village as it is today.
The elves looked for us for a short time after the escape, but soon they found an unwitting human that could work magic, and all interest in the Sevols ended.

We hold the elves responsible for one of the most heinous crimes to our kind, our creation.
We were normal jungle cats and should have been left alone, now everyone of the Sevols knows that they will die one day.
As jungle animals such knowledge is unknown and that is a blessing.
After all could you imagine the contemplation of a squirrel if it knew that one day it would die even if it survived every attack on its life?
Would the same squirrel leap from branch to branch doing their high flying acrobatics if it could feel the fear of death?
”

The elves wanted soldiers, and got thinkers Maybe Nathan wasn
’
t as big of a screw up as he had once thought.
The elves had created a race of beings that resented them, the princess refuses most of her royal duties and benefits because she destroyed the lively hood of a town known for magic items, and one of the mages caused an entire river to become a jagged glass bed. All to best the Dark Queen and yet Nathan had heard nothing of the damage she had done.
She had attacked villages and left no survivors, but there was never any talk of the people she killed they just disappeared, that couldn
’
t be right
…
could it?

“
Queen Shina, could you please take this bracelet off of me?
”
Nathan asked.

“
Not right now, we will return you to Santrose, and then remove the bracelets, it would not do to have you and the elf princess running around casting spells on us!
”
Queen answered.
“
I will have you and the other two placed in a hut we keep for unwanted guests, we will let you go, but we need to protect ourselves as well I hope you understand.
”
The queen purred.

Seeing that they had no choice Nathan said he agreed and was whisked away by the royal guards to a hut with the same crude bars attached to the front entrance.
Once inside Nathan found both Lela and Ileana.

Ileana lifted her head and squealed
“
Nathan, I thought they were going to kill you down there, I couldn
’
t see what you did, but from what I heard it was a sight to be held!
”

Nathan finally buckled under Ileana
’
s weight his bad leg was now crusted over but it hurt badly.
Ileana was surprised as they crashed to the floor together with her on top.
With a sly smile Ileana started rubbing Nathan
’
s chest.

“
If you wanted to do this while the princess watched all you had to do was ask Nathan.
”
She giggled.

“
Ileana my leg just gave out, could you get off of me please.
”
Nathan groaned.

“
I could make it feel better, or at least make you forget about it for a while.
”
Ileana nearly sung.

“
Oh for the love of the forest would you leave him alone, this rivalry can wait until he is healed and then he can decide who he wants you little archery slut.
”
Lela growled.

Nathan talking to the Queen was a bad sign no doubt she had told him all about the history between the Sevols and the elves.
She had never stood a chance to win his heart!
When did she want to do that?
Ezra I need to speak to Ezra!

Pushing the emotional torture she was putting herself through to one side Lela decided to focus on Nathan
’
s leg.
The four cuts across his leg were shallow, but would hurt for some time.
If the cursed wrist bands had been removed Lela could have healed Nathan
’
s wounds, but for now they would have to wait on the Sevols to keep their word.

Nightfall spread its dark cloak across the landscape.
The crickets chimed their song of mating into the darkness hoping for a response.
The sounds of the forest were alive with the noise of the night
’
s activities.

Nathan
’
s leg had become infected from the fight, and yet no one had shown up to release them or even take off the bands that rendered them without magic.
The Sevols should have already released Nathan, Lela, and Ileana, but still the night progressed without the sound of their cell door being opened.
Finally at dawn, Queen Shina appeared with a small contingent of guards.

“
Why have we not been released yet?
”
Lela snapped.

“
I have decided that granting your freedom is not an option that the Sevols can afford.
”
The Queen said flatly.

“
You said that if Nathan survived the fight without his magic you would set us free!
Why have you disgraced your honor by not upholding your end of the bargain?
”
Lela demanded as her grip on the bars tightened.

“
The Dark Queen wants this young mage for whatever reason, and he is our way to be left alone by her dark highness.
”

“
Do you really think my father will allow you to turn me over to the Dark Queen?
They are our enemy, the soul reason that your race was created was to fight her and win!
When my father finds out about your treachery do you think there will be any place in all of Orlon that you will be able to hide from his wrath?
”

The Queen only smiled.
A small twig was clutched in her hand.
The little stick seemed to have a magic all to its self.
The Queen gave a quick nod and two of the heavily muscled Sevols walked forward.
The cell door was quickly opened and both Lela and Ileana were pulled from the cell.
Nathan
’
s leg had become so inflamed from the infection that the scratches had produced that it was useless for him to stand.

“
You two will be given a chance to survive one of the elves oldest traps.
By the time you are clear of it our village will have moved and the young mage will be on his way to the Dark Queen
’
s realm.
If he survives the trip the Dark Queen will have a new plaything to occupy her time instead of looking for us.
”

Lela and Ileana were taken to what looked like the remains of an old castle in Cravenwood.
The massive edifice was battle scarred and falling down obviously time had not been kind to the aging building.

The battlements were in ruin, but some of the walls still looked strong enough to hold people inside if the exits where blocked.
The wind whistled through the vacant rooms as if the building was trying to fill the rooms that once held vibrant life with anything that could fill them.

Shina walked to the first opening, and with a quick wave of the twig caused a mesh of roots to spring from the ground closing the opening.
She did this three more times before coming to the final opening, here she lingered as if deciding some monumental decision
…

“
Cast them both in!
”
Shina screeched.

Lela and Ileana
’
s flew through the air only to land inside the death trap.
The root mesh sprung up before either woman could escape through the last opened door way.
With a slight grin Shina looked at both of the trapped women revealing in what was to come.

“
All you have to do is fight your way out of the old fortress; however its current occupants might want you to stay for dinner.
”
With a slight chuckle the Queen of the Sevols turned and walked into the forest.

At first they heard nothing then a slight scraping sound. Ileana pressed close to Lela the Sevol had taken her bow and left her completely blind and Lela still had her band on rendering her magic useless.
The Sevols had thought this out well.
If neither of them survived this ordeal the elves might eventually find their remains and figure they took shelter in the fortress and was killed by whatever was making the scraping noise.
Nathan would be shipped off to the Dark Queen never to be heard from again!

The scraping was getting louder Ileana leaned in to Lela.

“
It walks on two legs with talons on each foot and it sounds big Lela.
Do you have any weapons on you?
”

“
No, they got every last one while I was unconscious, but it
’
s okay I have my scout training.
We might be able to make some weapons that will slow it down a bit or hurt it enough that it might not try to kill us right away.
”

Quietly the two worked their way onto one of the battlements that was on the second story of the old fortress.
From this vantage point the two lay in wait for the creature to emerge so they would know what they were dealing with.

The morning light danced off the blue green scales the creature called its skin.
The head was shaped like a diamond with reptilian eyes; its forked tongue sampled the air trying to locate its prey.

Lela
’
s heart sank it was a sesquech.
These creatures where known to take arrows to their chests and still not fall.
The scales were tougher than the best made armor, their venom was so deadly that a drop on the skin could kill in seconds, but the worst part about these vile creatures was the fact they never hunted alone there would be no less than four of them hunting Ileana and her.

“
Lela what do you see?
What are they?
”
Ileana whispered.

“
They are sesquech; we are trapped in a fortress infested with sesquech.
”

Ileana went pale she knew of these things, and the only way to kill them was to set them on fire, but they had no magic and no way to make a fire.

Queen Shina returned before Nathan without so much as a nod she summoned her royal vanguard to her side.

“
Take this one to the Dark Queen in the morning, and tell her he is our tribute to her to keep the Sevol out of her war.
”

“
What have you done with Lela and Ileana?
”
Nathan demanded.

“
Do not concern yourself with them, they are more than likely dead by now.
”
Shina said flatly.

“
You uncaring, filthy, flea bag, if it is the last thing I do I will make you suffer for this!
”

“
I hardly imagine the Dark Queen will allow you to see the next sunrise, so enjoy living while you can.
”
Shina purred.

Nathan
’
s leg ached with the infection from the scratches, so running was not an option; however he might be able to make his transport as difficult as possible for his kidnappers.

Slowly he formulated a plan for his escape, and possibly revenge for the lives of his two friends.

The food Nathan received was in a simple clay bowl, this was not much to work with.
Even if he managed to make a sharp object out of the bowl he doubted it would make much of a difference to the cat like reflexes of his guards.
However the clay might be sharp enough to shape a stick into a shiv of some sort.
The time had come Nathan snatched up his clay bowl and slammed it into the dirt floor of his cell.
The bowl shattered as predicted the guards entered into the cell to retrieve the make shift weapon.
Nathan lunged at one of the guards trying to grapple the beast that was twice his size.
The guard easily threw Nathan against the wall where he landed in a heap.
The bowl fragments were cleared and accounted for, and Nathan smiled, it had worked!
In Nathan
’
s hand was the cell key that he had lifted off the guard that had thrown him.
It wouldn
’
t be long before the guards changed, and the night guard always fell asleep about twenty minutes after he was left alone, all Nathan had to do was wait.

The Sesquech had proven to be an avid hunter; no matter where Lela and Ileana hid it would eventually circle around to them.
It was as if the horrid thing could smell them!
It would linger at their last hiding spot for a few minutes its long forked tongue flicking in and out of its fanged mouth.
The thing had flushed them from some of the best hiding spots in the fortress.
Lela sat down in the latest spot thinking about how it had found them.
It wasn
’
t like a howler; they had waded through a small water way to hide in the dungeon area only to be ferreted out by the nightmarish creature. The water in the dungeon had come from a crack in the wall, but not one large enough to get a body through.

They had yet to see the rest of the thing
’
s brood, but that did not mean they were not looking for her and Ileana as well! The second hiding spot was high in the battlements; unfortunately there was no way to get to the ground from the tall ridges.
It could not be tracking them by scent the hiding spots would have not allowed that, then how was it tracking them?
Like a flash Lela realized what it did at each spot its tongue tasted the air!
It was not scenting the air; it had to be looking for body heat!
It explained why it found them in the dungeon the water had been cold, and the night air was cool!
That had to be it!
So now that Lela knew how it found them all she had to do was use the information to her advantage, but how?
Slowly she lowered herself beside Ileana.

“
It is tracking us using our body heat; we need to mask our heat. Either we need to build a fire so large we can hid near it or we need to blend into the stone somehow.
”
Lela said.

“
Have you seen any wood on the ground since we have been sealed in here?
”

“
No, only the seals the Sevol Queen used to lock us in with.
The seals are probably protected by magic that would not burn even if we wanted them to.
”
Lela
’
s hands tightened into fists this was hopeless!
They were running out of hiding spots and it had been hours since they had slept.
A thought occurred to her.

“
Ileana let
’
s go back to one of the seals and find out if it is enchanted or not, maybe we can use it to our advantage.
”

The seal of roots still blocked the exit out of the fortress, but maybe Lela could cut a root free and they could slip through the makeshift door.
There was not a stick of wood to be found, however rocks were plentiful. Lela found a rock that was shaped close enough to an ax head and began to chip away at one of the roots.
It was working! Why had she not thought of this before?
With her progress showing a possible escape she began cutting through the root faster.
The root cut clean in half, Lela pulled the root from the mesh only to watch in horror as a new root shot from the ground to replace the one she had just cut off.
Lela cursed the foul magic that had locked them in with the sesquech.
Looking around she did not see the sesquech anywhere, with renewed vigor she cut a different root with the same result, another root shot up in the missing root
’
s place.
Grimly Lela cut five more roots, gathered them in her arms and went back to Ileana in the newest hiding place.

“
They grow back as soon as I cut them down, but we have wood now.
”

“
That is great, what are you planning to do with it?
Because you know as well as I do we will never get a spear or arrow past the scales on the sesquech.
”
Ileana
’
s tone was quiet even subdued as if she had given up.

“
Ileana I need you now, we do not have the luxury of giving up!
Nathan is still a captive, and they are going to hand him over to the Dark Queen!
So snap out of it!
”
The last was said as Lela
’
s hand slapped Ileana.

“
Ouch, hey did anyone ever tell you, you like to hit a lot!
”

Grinning Lela answered
“
The Arch Duke of the Lower Forest might have mentioned it in passing once or twice.
”