The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) (6 page)

“If the six of you are determined then I suppose I have no choice.”

Her son was doomed.

XXX

“Yes,” Lilith said. “The council set three conditions you will have to fulfill before you will be allowed to return home.”

“I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It’s rare, but not unheard of son.”

“All right mother. So what are the conditions?”

Lilith had to struggle to keep the fury out of her voice. She wanted to at least give her son hope that it was possible. “You must make a contract with at least three monsters and bind them to your service. You must defeat at least one knight in battle.” She struggled to get out the last, most impossible requirement. “You must acquire a dragon’s egg or a dragon and return with it.”

Waldo stared at her hoping she would suddenly laugh at him and tell him this was all some huge joke. Her somber manner convinced him this was no joke.

“Bind three monsters, defeat a knight in battle, and bring back a dragon’s egg or a dragon? Is that all? Why don’t I slay an army or capture a castle while I’m at it?”

“Careful son, they might add those.”

Waldo stopped and considered the situation.

Making a contract with just one monster was extremely dangerous and quite a feat. Getting three would be an even greater challenge.

Knights and White Mages were the deadliest threats most Dark Mages could face on a First Quest. Only the strongest candidates, or the most desperate, would deliberately seek out a knight.

Dragons were far and away the rarest and most powerful of the Great Monsters. Even his mother, an experienced grand master, would never try and face one alone. That was work for an entire army. Unless you had some sure method to keep the mother far away, stealing a dragon’s egg was nearly as dangerous.

“Why does the council want me dead?”

“They are afraid you are too weak to replace me as both head of the family and as a member on the council.”

“Well I can’t say I’m surprised. Do you agree with them mother?”

“No. Never.”

“Even though I have never managed to kill anyone?”

“Killing is the easiest thing in the world my son. All it takes is not caring about your victim. You care too much, you feel too much. It’s only ever hard when you let yourself care.” She knew how true
that
was.

“I’m sorry; I can’t seem to help it.”

His mother looked at him wistfully. “You remind me of your father.”

Waldo had never known who his father was. He had asked his mother a few times, but she had never given him any information. From the color of his eyes it was obvious his father was from Avalon, the home of the White Mages.

“Is that a good thing?”

“To me it is.” Lilith sighed. “I had hoped that eventually you would learn to harden your heart. Unfortunately there is no more time.” She paused. “If you were to find a place in the greater world no one would come after you.”

“You mean go into exile?” Waldo said shocked. “Never come home again?”

“If the only choices are exile or death which do you prefer?”

“'If I can't come home there's no point to any of it. All I have ever wanted is to make you proud of me mother. This is the only place where I belong, the only place I have ever wanted to be. I want to be proud to call me your son.”

He really is like his father
. Lilith thought fondly. She felt an ache in her chest and forced herself to ignore it. “If that is your choice then so be it.”

His mother surprised him then by placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Whatever happens, I am already proud of you.”

Chapter 2

Setting Out

Waldo was in his room getting ready.

It was tradition that he would have one last meal and then leave. He would not be permitted to take any coins or precious metals. Waldo would have to travel alone on foot, without any slaves or undead. From the moment he stepped outside the castle gate he was expected to rely on his own strength.

Whether he went north or south it would take weeks to reach the border. Though he would be without money Waldo did not expect any problems until he left Alteroth. The peasants would give him food and shelter. They would not dare refuse one who wore the black robes. Once he was on foreign soil he truly would be on his own.

Come the morning Waldo would be given a couple waterskins, as well as a week’s worth of travel food. He had a backpack where he would carry spare clothes as well as some other items. These were spread out over his bed, and he was going over each of them.

First and foremost was his spellbook. Inside it was every spell and ward he had ever been taught. (Including the ones he had never managed to get right.) The basic ones, that he used constantly had long since been memorized, he could perform them without a second thought. The more powerful and complicated magics he would need to study and memorize first. Along with his spells and wards were the recipes for all sorts of potions and remedies. Waldo was skilled at making potions, and was an expert at using different herbs and ingredients to bring out the most potent effects.

As he walked through Alteroth he planned to spend as much time as possible going over the binding ritual. Getting that right was of particular importance; it was the only way he could force monsters to obey him.

It was obvious the order he would need to attempt things. He could not even think about acquiring a dragon’s egg yet. Fighting a knight with his current abilities was akin to suicide. He would have to start by acquiring monsters. Once they were bound by magical contract he could use them to do his fighting. It would be dangerous, but it was his best chance.

Next to his spellbook was his wand.

Like all Dark Mages his had been carved from human bone. Etched into it were three words; power, pride, and strength. He tapped it with a couple fingers and frowned. A wand was supposed to magnify the effects of its user’s spells. The way a hammer multiplied the force of a blacksmith’s blow. It was the most basic tools used by mages. One of the
many
things that had frustrated Waldo over the years was the fact he’d never gotten much out of his.

Oh he could
use
them; the problem was there was never a real difference in the spell’s effect. When his mother used her wand the spell was usually two or three times more powerful. When he used one it always remained the same. This wand was his fifth. He’d asked for new ones in the hope it would help; but the results never changed.

There were small cloth sacks, each bound up tight and with a description written in ink. Ginger, mandrake, basalt, sulfur, wolfsbane, ground obsidian, and a dozen other spell components. He had were two pens and a bottle of ink. Beside them were six knives, to a magic user daggers were both a useful tool and a weapon of last resort.

Next were the maps.

Alteroth was a large nation and nine countries touched its borders. To the north were three kingdoms. From west to east they were Wylef, Lothas, and Dregal. To the east was Abura and to the southeast Dacia. To the south, running from east to west were Rutenia, Galisia, and the Barony of Lemur. On the western border, between Wylef and Lemur, was Viscaya.

Within Alteroth, the nations of Wylef, Lothas, and Dregal were collectively known as the northern kingdoms. The ruling families of all three were related to each other and had firm control over their lands. All three kingdoms held a feudal tradition, going back almost to the time of the Shattering. Knights and armed men swore fealty to local lords, who in turn were sworn to serve their King or Queen. There was no slavery to the north, but only nobles could own land. The peasants who worked the fields were allowed to keep a share of what they produced and did enjoy certain rights, but were forced to rely on their liege lords for protection and enforcement of the law.

The northern kingdoms were blessed with fertile soil and plenty of water. There were thick forests, marshes, abundant farmlands, and thriving towns and cities. Lothas also had vast iron deposits and forged large quantities or iron and much smaller amounts of steel. They were rich lands and Alteroth had a profitable trading relationship with all three. Though the growing influence of the whites was stirring up trouble, especially in Dregal where the king was weak and easily influenced.

Abura and Darcia were also feudal kingdoms, but there the ruling families were not as well established. They often struggled to enforce their rule over their nobles. Some of the local lords barely acknowledged any sort of fealty to the crown. They tried to rule over their lands autonomously and often did not bother to send any taxes to the capital. Dacia had only just recently come out of a long civil war that had seen the old ruling family exterminated, and a new one installed. There especially, the new king had to be very cautious as to how much he demanded of some of his retainers.

The lands to the south were arid and mountainous, the border region was a desert called the Barrens that was especially unforgiving. The Barony of Lemur was ruled by Baron Artimus Fabri. The Fabri were the only nobles in Lemur, they’d annihilated all the others generations ago. The baron saw the country as being his own personal property and used his extended family to rule over it and drain every last bit of money. Every tax collector was a Fabri and every Fabri was a tax collector.

Galisia was the poorest of all the lands that bordered Alteroth. Its territory was mountainous and dry with the people living in scattered villages scratching out an existence with sheep and goat herding and a little subsistence farming. The country had no one ruler, each individual village or settlement was cut off from the others by the rugged terrain; all authority was local. The land was overrun by goblin and orc tribes who raided each other and the humans. It was perhaps the poorest and most wretched spot in the world.

Rutenia also had many goblins, orcs, and other monsters. The land south of the Barrens was a bit more hospitable with hills and lowlands in place of mountains. Here various clans held power over stretches of territory. Loyalty was to the family or clan and battles were
always
personal. In Rutenia feuds and vendettas could last for generations and even the most minor slight could be cause for bloodshed.

Viscaya was an anomaly, the people who lived there had very bizarre notions about power and government. There the commoners held political power. They practiced a strange form of organized anarchy that was referred to as ‘democracy’. The people there had no respect for blood, and did not permit any noble titles or special privileges. They loudly insisted that all men were equal and ought to be treated that way.

The idea was so patently ridiculous Waldo couldn’t imagine how anyone could be blind enough to actually believe it. To say nothing of actually having a nation based around it. Waldo could only imagine it as mobs roaming the streets and claiming to be a government.

Oddly enough, Viscaya was actually quite prosperous. It made no sense, but it was so.

Where to go was the first decision Waldo had to make.

It was funny, even though he’d been preparing for this his entire life he had never thought about the specifics. There were advantages and disadvantages to whatever choice he made. The northern kingdoms were rich with many towns and cities. There were wild goblins that he could try to capture. The problem with going north was the fact there were knights and the occasional White Mage infesting the countryside. Despite trading with each other Dark Mages were feared and hated. Anyone with black robes might suddenly be attacked, as his brother Roland had apparently discovered.