The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (53 page)

Oywen added, "I have heard that using this kind of magic can keep people subservient indefinitely, but the wizard needs to keep casting the spell regularly to maintain the desired mindset. If the person affected figures out that they are being controlled, they can turn against the wizard.

"That is for a normal wizard though. This man's power continues to radiate in an almost godly way," she finished with a shake of her head.

Toman had kept his eyes on both the winners and those who had lost. "If we hope to escape the brotherhood's army, we are going to need to move quickly."

Looking back towards the battlefield, Xerese asked, "What do you mean? They've already won."

He pointed and she noticed squads of black uniformed soldiers moving out towards the Tseult soldiers. No longer in any sort of order, the men in blue could be seen doing only a few things. Some continued to try and run. Those were mostly the men furthest away. Others appeared uncertain of what to do. They stood or sat on the ground. Those closest to the mind spell turned towards the wizard and continued to walk forward towards the source of the magic.

"I am guessing that they will hunt down the rest of the army. They will either bring the men back and force them to serve or kill them," Toman stated grimly. "If we aren't clear of their search, we might get dragged to Daria also."

This proclamation made them all start to move. A quick discussion with the drivers and three other travelers confirmed that they would head back to Marta. Whether the brotherhood would act differently there was unknown, but no one liked the looks of what was happening at Daria even Brother Melere.

The spare horses gathered from the fight were already prepared for the riders. Toman and Nico worked quickly to offload what they figured the animals could carry with riders. Some of their luggage would have to be lost including the extra swords gathered from the wizard hunters, but the rest was stowed behind the saddles or in bags before the women were helped onto their horses.

Nico and Toman mounted up and led the small party back down the hill. While the coach turned east towards the road, the guard led them further south. There would be enough hills to hide them from a distance, at least until the enemy soldiers began searching through the hills. They had to be well past the search area before that time, so the five rode as quickly as they dared push the horses.

Still remembering the fear and the blind need to join the powerful wizard, Xerese hoped warning the wizards of Malaiy would help protect them from falling to this man should he decide that the northern cities of Tseult weren't enough for him. Before any of that, they needed to make it to Malaiy.

It had been a long trip so far, but there were many miles to go.

Their journey back to Hala had been slowed by yet another detour, Annalicia thought to herself with a sigh.

The Sea Dragon had sailed with the Carnivore to the south. Sebastian had asked to change course from following the northern coastline and from there sailing directly towards the capitol city. Instead they had gone to Sardon, another of the eastern towns of Litsarin; and Sebastian had found trouble again.

Orcs had appeared in the city and disappeared again, so the mage had made the ships wait while he led a team further inland and into the nearby mountains to a town called Parik. He fought the Dark One's wizards in the town where people didn't look quite normal to him.

According to his report, the people of Parik seemed a combination of typical humans and the creatures of the Dark one called orcs and goblins. It was less important than the warlocks and soldiers who suddenly appeared from a portal to fight the battle mage and his team. The mage's team had been powerful enough to drive the enemy back, but the warlocks disappeared back through the portal which they had tracked from Sardon. He also said that another group had watched the battle and they were familiar to the mage, but like the losing forces they used a different portal to leave Parik.

Two of the enemy warlocks had been captured and Sebastian had forced the knowledge of portal magic from the men. She still didn't completely understand why he had helped send the two warlocks back to Ensolus, the name of the Dark One's city and the place where these men had come from to attack the Southwall team.

Sebastian had said that he had helped because it gave him a chance to see the magic in use and he was even involved in it. He told her that the two warlocks knew the basics of the magic, but that they weren't capable of creating a portal on their own. Instead of treating them like enemies, he in turn sent them back like friends, or at least strangers in need of help.

Though his team had learned what they could and even succeeded in opening a portal to send the two men home, no one could replicate the spells since. He taught Anna and the Malaiy wizards what they knew as well. While they had all worked to understand the magic, no one could make a full portal again though much of the time spent sailing towards Helsen on the west side of Litsarin had been spent in trying to master the Dark One's magic.

By the time they made it to Helsen, Sebastian had become worried by more portals appearing all over Litsarin according to Darterian's compass. He gave a warning to the trade city and they asked him to bring a message to their king.

Visiting King Qeyless had been interesting. The Grimnal had joined them. Using his signet ring found by Sebastian on one of the islands along the way and his ability to heal from wounds quickly, they had made it to the king's throne.

Though she was the one supposedly good at speaking with kings, Sebastian had won over the king even with Gerid there to speak of their worries. He had also been forced to hold Maura in check. The research wizard was as bad with kings as she was with pretty much everyone else. Her pride and bad manners had caused the Grimnal to snap at her and feign a slap was coming to silence her; but it had been a single look from Sebastian that had settled the woman fully.

King Qeyless had noticed the mage's authority and soon their group was speaking with the king in private.

Sent officially by King Qeyless to bring a message to his ally in Southwall of the danger to Sileoth's interests, the Sea Dragon had finally turned to sail north for Hala. An eighty mile wide break between the island and the mainland took just over a day to cross thanks to bad winds. Leaving Tarmand had also been the moment that they had separated from the Kardorian Carnivore as well. They were in safe seas and no longer followed the same path, so the ship which had originally followed them in secret was now on its own headed for home.

Now Annalicia stood beside the railing looking at the city of New Harbor waiting for her captain to finish gathering their supplies. Sebastian and some of his companions had gone to sightsee hours ago. It was only supposed to be a day trip as a break from all the sailing that they had done for what seemed like months now.

"We could still go see the city too, my lady," Reynolvan said watching the girl as she seemed lost in the view.

Turning to the look at the older man, Annalicia shrugged. She still wore the lightweight clothing the wizard had been wearing as they moved further south. It was already almost as warm among the islands as it would be feeling the wind coming in from the west at her family home. Some of Taltan was blisteringly hot, but the west coast and Yalan were comfortable year round.

"If you and the men want to go sightseeing or to shop like we women are said to like to do, feel free, Reynolvan. I never said that you needed to stay here to babysit me. Perhaps you missed the fact that I am a grown woman capable of watching myself, but I will remind you of that fact again," the girl replied with a smirk. Though she wasn't overly irritated with the man since Anna was used to being treated like a princess needing guards since birth, sometimes she wished the man would ease up on his concern.

Frowning as Reynolvan looked to have taken the comment harder than she meant it to be, Annalicia wondered if she needed to be retrained in the art of diplomacy. In Helsen, she had helped Sebastian avoid offending the officials there with an errant offhand comment; but in Tarmand the mage seemed to have improved to the point of being the one to win over King Qeyless.

"I was just noting that you appear to want to go. You could have joined Sebastian and his people, if you had asked I am certain," the man responded as he crossed his arms in front of him.

Reading the defensive gesture, Anna smiled warmly and replied, "I wasn't trying to be mean, Reynolvan. If you and the men want to go into the city, then you don't need my permission all the time. You aren't guards hired to protect me after all. My father sent them for that," she added gesturing over her shoulder towards the two guardsmen sitting on the deck behind her conversing with each other. Though they tried to appear unconcerned with her well being at the moment, Ryan and Welden would often glance in her direction just in case.

"You are wizards sent to compete in wizard's duels, not to watch over me; unless I am missing something."

Ivanor move closer to draw her eyes from the other wizard. "My lady, it is one thing to ask us to ignore your family name when you are training with us. Everyone understands that you don't want to be treated differently as a wizard, but even if your father or the king didn't request it, we serve Malaiy and its royal family."

Raising her hands in frustration at these men, Anna let out a sigh of exasperation before she said, "I am as likely to become queen as you are to become king, Ivanor. I'm like thirteenth or fourteenth in line, so I am more likely to become a high wizard than a queen."

"Twelfth," Ryan said loud enough to be heard to correct the girl.

"Fine, twelfth in line, like that makes much of a difference! They still can't figure out if they should marry me off to a lord like a lady or to send me to the wizards' guild to disappear in studies. You could ease up on the 'my lady' talk. You two have only used my name or called me an apprentice until I became a full wizard. Now you act like something has suddenly changed," the girl complained. She kept reminding herself inside her head that she wasn't angry, but her tongue seemed to be revealing that she was hiding her true feelings from herself more than them.

Ivanor released a breath before stating, "You aren't a novice or apprentice anymore. Even as a wizard, you are more special than most. You almost won the Winter's Edge tournament. That should show you that much."

Placing his hand on the wizard's shoulder, Reynolvan sought to make the other man give the girl her space. "Even if you were fortieth in line, my lady, while we are this far from home it is the duty of everyone on this ship to make sure that you remain safe. We would treat Lady Xerese the same, if she were here with us."

Her cousin's name made Anna frown. She missed Xerese and hoped that she was well. By now the girl was either back in Yalan with the court or had been recalled to Teyas by her mother. If she was in Teyas, Xerese was probably dealing with suitors just like Alicia.

Before anyone said anything more, the wizard caught sight of some of Sebastian's team. Yara looked completely distraught, though the rest all looked to be beside themselves with grief as well. She noticed neither Sebastian nor Ashleen, who had gone with the group, were with them.

When they straggled onto the deck, Annalicia asked, "What's wrong? Where are Sebastian and Ashleen?"

Yara began to cry even harder and she thought that Serrena, usually so fiery and ready to anger, was close as well. Liam moved to stand beside her while Nara and Collin escorted Yara to the passage leading below deck.

"We ran into Palose in town. He had a group of wizards with him and there was a fight."

Annalicia felt a chill starting to climb her back in spite of the warm air of the city. "And...?"

"Sebastian fought Palose. According to Yara, he was using portals in his fight. When he and Sebastian fell through one of the gates, Ashleen tried to stop them. Her lightning flashed and suddenly all three were gone.

"After a few minutes, Palose returned to gather his wizards and disappeared with them through another portal."

"Where are Sebastian and Ashleen then?" she asked with a sick feeling in her stomach.

His news didn't surprise her after his brief story. "They haven't come back. We waited for awhile; but if Palose sent them somewhere with one of his gates, I don't know how they will come back. None of us have managed to do more than create a shaky window that didn't look right.

"Unless Sebastian or Ashleen figure out the spell; wherever they went, they could be there for a long while."

The lady of Malaiy considered his words and thought about what she knew about Sebastian. "If anyone can figure out a way home, it is likely Sebastian," she stated with more confidence than she truly felt. "We will wait here for a few days. If they don't return soon, someone will have to stay in the city to wait for him. I can't keep the Grimnal here indefinitely, however.

"We will need to bring him to Hala and let the king know what has happened along the way, including that Sebastian might be lost for awhile."

Neither of them wanted to state that depending on where Sebastian and Ashleen had gone, they might not ever come back. From what they had been told by the warlocks in Parik, the gates used the world that the Dark One has been exiled to before the Cataclysm. A silver void, as the men had described it, let them slide from one place in Alus to another. Whether it was a few feet or thousands of miles, the gates could reach anywhere in Alus in an instant.

If Sebastian had traveled to another part of the world, the mage and Ashleen could find their way home somehow. It might take weeks or months depending on where they might land, but they could return. Unfortunately that was the best of scenarios short of him figuring out how to return to them on his own.

Another theory of the portals was that the gates could not only move from different points in Alus, but they might also open into other worlds. The Grimnal had told them of sorcerers who had brought the mar'goyn'lya and che'ther from another world. He had also gone with her grandfather to the world of elves and dwarves where they had fought the Dark One.

No one knew how many worlds there might be and whether they were tied in any way to this one. Magic might breech the barriers between worlds and if something had gone wrong, Sebastian and Ashleen could become stranded in one of those worlds. Then only figuring out the portal spell had a prayer of returning them home.

"We could stay with the local chapter of the wizards' guild to wait. They could lend us help in watching for him also," Liam suggested. "Of course knowing Bas; he will probably just pop back once we are sure that he won't."

She nodded and wished that it was true. Maura and her wizards were still in the city as well as many of her crew. When they returned many were stunned by the news and the fact that they would remain in New Harbor indefinitely. It was yet another delay and a severe blow to everyone's morale when they had believed that they were finally on their way home.

Chapter 29- A Warm Bath

Annalicia watched as the Sea Dragon moved out into the sea heading away from New Harbor. She stood with Liam and the others chosen to continue on to Hala.

"You can't give up on him!" Serrena half cried where she sat with her back to the rail. She wanted to be one of those to wait in New Harbor while the remainder of the team delivered Gerid to Hala. The fire wizard knew that she couldn't stop them from leaving, but she was attached to the mage like an apprentice to her master.

Gerid stood tall and stated for Serrena as well as the others who couldn't pull their attention from the city as it slowly shrank behind them, "If I understand the concept of this portal magic, a wizard needs an anchor or be able to follow the path of an old gate."

He glanced towards Darterian who nodded agreement. Since no one knew more about the magic than her cousin did, no one disputed the Grimnal. The giant continued by repeating the arguments that had given impetus to leaving New Harbor.

"So we left Yara and the others here with money to stay indefinitely. The lord of New Harbor, the wizards' guilds and the mage corps houses have been apprised of the situation as well; so we've covered this town in multiple ways. He can return through the old portal or perhaps to someone he knows well like Yara or one of the others; but if he uses something else familiar we are waiting here needlessly."

Serrena frowned at the giant and argued, "Where else would he be likely to go? It would have to be familiar, right? Do you think that Sebastian will return to the capitol where he spent less than a month?"

"Hush, girl," Maura rebuked the fire wizard like a child throwing a tantrum needlessly. "We don't know what would be something that could draw a wizard to it, and that is if he is stuck somewhere other than Alus. If he is in another country or something, he is smart enough to find his way back to Southwall. Where would the mage wind up except for Hala in the end? His duty would be to check in with Raven Leros or even the king.

"You say that he won't go there. I believe that he will eventually."

Annalicia noted the older wizard's confidence with a bit of surprise. Though Sebastian had managed to get along with the woman in spite of their differences, at least to a degree; Maura had never been his strongest supporter. Perhaps the wizard had been humbled enough on this voyage to see that, whether Sebastian was young or a battle mage with weaker magic, he was a good leader.

"If it is just a place that he is familiar with, I could see him returning to Windmeer or White Hall too," Liam said thinking what places and people he might be drawn back to in Southwall. "His family farm might be another or his sister Katya, who should also be in White Hall by now; but I agree with Maura. Sebastian wouldn't feel like his work was complete unless he checked to see if Gerid had made it back to Hala."

Annalicia had inherited the Southwall wizards and mages with Sebastian's disappearance in a way. Few would side with Maura. Liam could be a leader, but he was still thinking positively that Sebastian was going to return. Her optimism mirrored his, but at the same time, she did worry that he and Ashleen were lost forever.

In theory, Gerid could lead the mission now, except that he was the mission. Since the Sea Dragon was owned by her father, Anna was in essence in charge of it; so by default everyone on the ship was her concern.

"While we can send messages to tell the king that we found him, we can only fulfill the mission by actually delivering him to the capitol. Those of you returning with us still have a duty to perform. The others can handle waiting here. We will finish the job as Sebastian would want us to do," Annalicia stated making even the disappointed eyes of Serrena look at her. "After that is done, I need to return home as well. My people have been gone too long, but we will make sure to stop here on the way back to check on the others."

While she hadn't meant to make it sound like they were preventing her from bringing her ship and people home, the people of Malaiy had been away from their country and families for even longer than those joining them in Hala. A certain amount of selfishness went into wanting to go home under these circumstances, but many of the crew had been caught saying such things also.

Gerid nodded and added the weight of his judgment behind the young woman's, "We can also have wizards in Hala added to trying to help find them. Darius might still be there also. He has researched the Dark One's gates in the past and might have more potential in opening one for us.

"Everyone staying here does nothing. Sitting and waiting won't get him here any sooner. At least in Hala, we can try to find someone else with answers."

The sight of a city with its walls intact surrounding the castle of Solan almost made Xerese cry.

Two weeks of riding and hiding from the brotherhood's army had begun to take its toll after more than two and a half months since the Zephyr was destroyed in the storm. She had suffered through the days of walking and surviving off the land. Escaping city after city as northern Tseult entered rebellion had brought fear of a different kind into her life every day, but since passing the battle at Daria new terrors had been seen.

The small group had ridden west and passed by the Tseult fort. Emptied of most of its fighting force, the fortress had been hit from the sea. The red flags soared over six large ships where hundreds of soldiers landed before attacking and setting fire to the fort. Smoke rose high into the air so that the riders had seen the black clouds for a day before spotting the remains of the Tseulty stronghold.

Squads of soldiers roamed the land between them and Malaiy's border searching for any troops that might have escaped the attack; but Toman and Nico worked to avoid them in every way humanly possible. Quela was of even more help. The wizard was an expert at scouting an enemy and rode the air currents helping them alter their path enough to make the guard's job easier.

She didn't notice the change in the terrain, but after crossing a small river Toman was pretty sure that they had made it into Malaiy. The black uniforms must have respected the lines on a map, even when human eyes could only guess where that line was in person. Free of pursuit finally, they rode northwest mirroring the coastline following a packed road as quickly as they dared. Their horses sped them along much faster than they could walk, but they weren't machines. The animals required regular rest, food and water. Their riders were equally mortal and Xerese had often ended the day's ride unable to stand on her own after Toman helped her down from the saddle.

Until the feeling returned to her legs, she was forced to rub the flow of blood back into them to reinvigorate her limbs. Even her fingers were often clenched so long that Xerese had to pry them from the reins. Working to straighten her fingers had been her first job when setting up the cold camps.

No campfires had been made in Tseult as they dodged the enemy troops, but even in Malaiy they weren't really necessary. They had no herbs or tea to make a soothing drink nor a kettle. There was no meat to cook, just the remaining travel food drawn from the travelers bags and whatever fruits and berries could be found.

Farms were rare here. So close to the countries' borders, people were too afraid to risk being in the path of an invading army, even if that hadn't happened in centuries. Bandits might be luckier waiting for travelers, but so many used ships that she doubted there was enough to support such a group.

Two days out from Solan, they began to see herds of cattle and fields with sheep. Ranches led to farms where the group finally was able to add to the remains of their travel food.

"Solan, finally," she said quietly.

Their Tseulty companions looked a little dubious.

"Will we really be able to get help here?" Nico questioned as they slowed on the road encountering farmers' carts and pedestrians closer to the city walls.

Toman answered for her. "Xerese has family here. We will not only get help but have a place to stay."

Looking suddenly worried, Oywen asked, "What about us? Won't they wonder about two people from Tseult? There are wizards here also. They might not sense me out here, but closer to the lord's castle..."

"Don't worry, Oywen," Xerese said trying to soothe the woman. "You're with me."

The siblings glanced at each other wondering at her confidence.

Riding through the outer gate was simple. There were guards near the doors, but they didn't search the farmers and other travelers. These were just doormen there in case they might need to close the doors to trap a thief or criminal. Since fleeing criminals were rare, they were more ornamental than truly useful until the doors closed at night.

Stray wild animals were a bigger fear than anything else.

An inner wall separated the Marq's castle from the city he governed. They found a gate guarded closely. People didn't pass through this doorway without proper permission. It was one thing to enter Solan, but another thing entirely to bother the marq or his household.

They walked with their horses from the time that they had entered Solan; so while Toman held her reins, Xerese strode up to the men warding the castle and stated, "I am Lady Xerese de Malef Serkash here to see my cousin. Please send him word that I am here with my companions requesting his hospitality."

The men looked at the girl in the worn peasant's clothing and the man serving as steward of the gate raised a questioning eyebrow as he asked, "The Lady Xerese? Miss, I think that you should just go find an inn and try getting a room there. Even if you have to work for a room, it would be better than harassing Marq Itan in his home."

Trying not to get angry, Xerese replied, "I am his cousin. My ship was caught in a storm and I had to find what I could for clothing.

"Send for my cousin and I will risk his wrath," she finished somewhat sarcastically. After so many difficulties and dangers along the road, finding an insulting man in her way so close to her cousin's presence was threatening to break what little patience remained.

"Miss..." the man started again shaking his head.