Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) Page 14

  How much the quakes have changed our maps has yet to be seen. The high lord seems to believe that what we have seen is just the tip of iceberg. If his belief is correct, a dark lord from a war fought in another world is the blame. I have a hard time believing such a thing, but when the high lord orders only fools refuse to obey.

  At least, I can get away from all the pain and suffering of Staron for awhile. I don’t envy those who remain behind to try and help all those who have suffered loss.

  Day 5

  Things have changed even in the sea. A great massive island appeared on the horizon early in the day. If the earthquakes could warp the land beneath the sea so much as to create such a large mass, I think that Marshalla and Staron were very lucky.

  Captain Merton asked if we should name it and Wizard Asperias told him that it was folly to bring such a question to the high lord. Others joked that perhaps that should be its name.

  Day 7

  A second island to the southeast of the large one has been found. The first island everyone calls Folly held no evidence of the cause of the earthquakes and tsunami, but both Asperias and I believe that this little island may have been exposed to magic. We have been given an audience with the Grimnal on the flagship to express our beliefs.

  I wonder if we will be given a chance to properly explore the possibility that this land was used to create the earthquakes.

  Day 9

  What is the saying? Be careful what you wish for. Asperias and I have been left under the Grimnal’s grandson’s charge. Our smallest, but quickest ship, a sloop I believe they call it, has been left to carry us after we have finished here. There is too much going on to wait for just one island holding no one on it, he said.

  If we can find proof that magic was used to attack our countries, is that not enough reason to stay? Asperias and I were adamant that someone should stay and the Grimnal awarded us the opportunity at least.

  Laran seems a bit young to be in charge over Captain Merton, but the captain doesn’t seem to mind. He’s a grandson, but does he bear a title? I don’t even know, but I must put this away until later. A mystery awaits!

  Day 10

  This Laran is so impatient! We crossed the island and climbed the rise on the west side of the cliffs. Asperias and I have just begun to test, but so far it has been inconclusive. Laran said that we will only get one more day unless we find more important information.

  Science and magic take time. Does this whelp not understand?

  The crew has been acting strangely also. There is something about the movement of the fish or something. The harbor has suddenly cleared of the fish that some of the sailors had been fishing. I admit they were very tasty, but as to the reason they have moved I can not say.

  Fish may react to seismic actions. I pray that they haven’t left the area because of another earthquake!

  Day 11

  Alas Asperias and I have nothing more to show than that magic was in use here. If it was a point seeded with magic before the disasters happened, then we have concluded that it would have been placed while under the water. There seems to be no remnants of devices or the users involved, so Grandson Laran has informed us that we will leave in the morning to try and catch up to his grandfather.

  Why the Grimnal took up with him as a second in command is beyond me. He is apparently not closely in line for any throne. Maybe the High King has simply taken pity on one of his lesser grandchildren? He must have many similar after a thousand years, but why this one?

  The crew seems spooked by the disappearance of fish for two days. Schools shift all the time. I’m sure that it is nothing, but perhaps Laran has simply given in to the paranoia?

  Day 13

  Insanity! We were supposed to have left this accursed island yesterday morning and would that we had gone with the fish the day beforehand. Calamity has struck!

  In the night, beasts from beneath the sea attacked the ship as well as the men camping on shore. They look like giant crabs, but I have not heard of such behavior from such creatures. Giant pincers helped them scale the ship and some of the demons must have been able to swim as well. The crew onboard were caught unawares as water began to flood the ship.

  I could hear the screams from the shore and had little time to think as an army of the giant tanks came for us too! Crabs eat meat I have heard. Sailors bait traps with it to capture them for harvest, but when they are this large even a man can be cut to size for their large mouths.

  I saw a man’s head cut from his shoulders in a single snip of one of their claws, diary!

  In our desperation, those that survived gave way and ran for the cliffs. The damnable slope was on the far side of the island from the harbor and these crabs were nearly as fast as a man. If they didn’t walk sideways and have to realign themselves to follow, I don’t think any of us would have made it.

  Asperias and I used earth magic to create a pair of walls over three feet high at the base of the slope and again halfway up where it narrowed. The crabs maneuvered past the first, but those that had followed began to lose interest by the second. The steepness of the slope and dry land probably helped slow them as well.

  I climbed higher up the rise to look over on the harbor where I was in time to see the Trodder list and eventually tilt back end up before sinking beneath the water. Men were in the water as sharks found their way. Perhaps they smelled the blood in the sea.

  I swear I could hear their screams, but the wind would have blown those away.

  Our ship is gone. Laran and most of the rest of the soldiers died on the beach. I saw the young man fighting a crab single handedly as he bought us time. Perhaps I judged the young hero too harshly.

  Hindsight brings a fondness for the dead, I fear.

  Day 16

  Food supplies are dwindling from near nothing to completely nothing. A few brave souls attempted to retrieve what little the demons left behind, but they never returned. How long our tormentors will remain to haunt this island? I do not know.

  Asperias and I were able to create a well and small house of stone on the cliff. Water can prolong our lives, but with no food we eventually will perish.

  I doubt there will be any salvation. The cataclysm requires most to stay near the mainland and no one aside from our sister ships know that we are here. Without food, even if one were to give in to a base need for food that they would eat the dead, time will be limited. I will not bring myself to that. Better to die a man than a beast.

  Day 20

  What more is there to say? A few of the men went down to the beach the other day. All were starving as am I and they said they were going to try and find remnants from our camp. The crabs have been in the water more often the last few days, but I think they all went with the thought that they would not return.

  I watched from the cliff as the demons returned. The men didn’t flee. Most didn’t even fight.

  Asperias and I worked to create a stone safe. I hope that its locks aren’t too creative, but both our magic books should only fall into hands worthy enough to defeat them, I suppose.

  I grow tired, but I am not ready to take the final sleep just yet. Soon diary I will have to make sure that you find your last resting place also.

  Day 28

  My talent for earth magic has made me the perfect grave digger. I buried my friend, Asperias yesterday. I would mourn him, but at least he has a grave. When I die, I fear that will not be my fate. Two soldiers remain and that barely. If they go before me, who then will mourn me, diary? Would that you could shed a tear, perhaps you could give me that final request, diary? But no, I must give you a burial of sorts. Soon you must enter the stone tomb to join the books of magic and our notes on the island, this accursed island.

  The sky was blue and the sun shone brightly today. It is a pretty place for so many to die. This inconsequential island has taken more than its share, diary.

  Day 31

  I am alone. Herlis could take no more and would not put me through the pain
of burying my last friend. Hmm, a friend that I have only known through these trying times and now I mourn him more than even Asperias, my friend for decades.

  Alas poor Herlis ended his life by throwing himself down on that accursed beach. The crabs will probably eat him as I would not. My poor friend, I would have buried you even if it took my last breath, but I haven’t the strength to make the climb to bury you there.

  Maybe it is time to follow Herlis, diary. Will you mourn me?

  It is time to place you in the tomb. I am getting more tired. Bones appear where flesh once covered my well fed body. Skin and bones. I leave little enough for any crabs to enjoy at least I have that satisfaction, diary.

  Good bye, my friend.

  Sebastian read the diary while Maura looked at the ancient wizards’ notes on the island. He only found the name of the man he figured wrote the diary when he skimmed through the wizard tomes. Caperium, was written in the first page of the wizard’s magic book. Asperias was written inside the other.

  “There is nothing here that is particularly conclusive, though it is well thought out,” Maura proclaimed setting the sheets on the table before glancing at Asperias’s book.

  “The leader of their exploration here was the Grimnal’s grandson. He had told them as much and if they had left a day earlier we wouldn’t have even this clue,” Sebastian replied waving the diary of a fallen wizard. “It has been a long time since this happened, but I think that it is time to leave. We can read through the rest on the Sea Dragon. We’re done here, but at least I know where the easier way down is now.” He added the last with a smile.

  Overcoming the heavy growth on the southwest side in just a few uses of his scythe spell, which brought surprised looks to Maura and Idenlare, Sebastian led the five to the slope written about in the diary. The two low stone walls were weathered and crumbled in places, but for such an ancient formation created under those conditions it was still impressive.

  They carried not only the wizards’ books, but the mage carried the broken blade as well. Someone had risked their life to bring both pieces to the refuge. If someone thought it that important, then perhaps he should see if he could reunite the blade with the Grimnal. Sebastian assumed that the resonance that the compass had picked up meant that the sword had been given to this Laran by his grandfather. Knowing what had happened to him might give closure that the legend had never had.

  Perhaps it was just something he felt for the ghosts on the island, but he wanted their story to be heard.

  The walk north was shorter than to the south, so they started to turn when he noticed the team that he had sent to the south coming their way. Collin led Nara, Frell and the water wizard Vewen at a quick trot after spotting the others descending the hill.

  “Did you find something?” Collin asked first as the four people hurried to greet them.

  “A couple things that tell me that we are on the right path,” he said holding out the broken sword. “We even found a diary, though it doesn’t give much information on Gerid Aramathea. It does tell that the people that were on this island were part of his expedition to find out what happened during the Cataclysm.”

  “We were going to head north since the walk should be shorter.”

  Collin’s brow furrowed as he asked, “If we took the longer way, where are the others?”

  New worry gripped Sebastian’s stomach as he realized that Collin had a point. Liam had Yara with him and they were nowhere to be seen. “Hawk vision,” he brought on the spell that let him see more than twice as far as humanly possible. Looking to the north, the remaining team was nowhere to be seen. He felt for a change in magic. His senses seemed to have grown more acute at sensing magic and the power of those that could use it. A moment later, Bas thought that he could feel a strong use of power to the north.

  “I can feel something around the northern point. Mecklin, Frell, with me. The rest of you come as fast as you are able,” the mage ordered. He didn’t doubt that they were all willing to follow, but he knew that only battle mages and soldiers were built for a hard run. They trained to run hard and could maintain their strength to fight as well.

  The three moved quickly and Sebastian noted Captain Drayden pacing them easily. He had forgotten the man was a soldier. Ignoring the man’s grin, the battle mage set his sight forward and continued with the mile eating pace. If there was trouble, he and his mages would be there as quick as they could ready for battle.

  The walk to the north end of the island would have been quite enjoyable for Yara and the others if not for the cold wind pushing from the continent. All the cold of winter still had its biting edge despite miles of sea. The healer shivered as she hugged her jacket closer to her. Buttons had sealed the open neckline that had been exposed before the north wind found her again. She was hoping that eventually they would outrun the cold or perhaps spring would finally take hold with its warmer weather.

  “If you are too cold, I’m sure that we can manage a simple exploration walk without you, Yara,” Olan said politely to the girl. Though he was one of the youngest of the battle mages following Sebastian, the baby faced mage was still close to a decade older than the seventeen year old girl. His virtually deferential tone almost made the situation absurd enough to laugh.

  “That’s all right, Olan. A little cold won’t hurt me. I’m tougher than I look,” she grinned before ducking her face into the collar of the jacket so that even the tip of her nose was covered.

  The mage laughed at Yara and shrugged. His nose and cheeks were a bit red from the cold as well, but for all her bravado she knew that this young man was more rugged than she would ever be. A healer went out with the various teams north of the wall from time to time, but most of them lived a more sheltered life in the castles and schools of Southwall. Battle mages took the front lines with the soldiers of the country and Yara respected them very much, especially after seeing Sebastian and the other mages at work the previous summer.

  Liam led with Sergeant Kulvayr beside him chatting away amiably. She knew that Sebastian was unsure of the two soldiers added so hastily at the last minute to their group, but the man had a way of being casually disarming none the less. The two men almost looked like the best of friends as they talked in the cold air. Neither acted like they were cold, though Liam used a form of air shield that was unseen to the eye, but she could sense it.

  Sebastian had tried to teach her his shield over and over, but it was a spell that remained beyond her grasp. She looked on with near jealousy at the wizard, but realized the other two men were still dealing with the cold on their own without magical aid. Resolving to brave the wind as well, Yara pulled her face out of her collar only to quickly duck back inside as a freezing draft stung her cheeks.

  Olan chuckled again. “Well, at least you’re trying.”

  “You haven’t learned his air shield either?” the girl asked knowing that Olan would understand the who of the question easily.

  Shaking his head, the mage replied, “No, I can use the air lance and spear, but air magic is more work than some of the others. I’m surprised that you, a wizard, don’t have some form of shield.”

  Wrinkling her nose, Yara admitted, “Sebastian’s tried to teach me, but I am just a simple healer. Air magic is beyond me too.”

  Frowning with thought, Olan voiced a simple idea, “I’m surprised that healing magic doesn’t have some form of spell that helps the body stay warm. You could perhaps move blood to the extremities or something.”

  The thought left the healer surprised. “That’s an idea, but often healing spells work on others rather on the healer. Maybe it would work to control the body’s processes in some way, but I would want to test it in a safer place than this. If something were to go wrong, only Sebastian would have a prayer of healing me. Without him here, I’d hate to find out that a spell would go wrong where he couldn’t watch over me.”

  A smile from the man, as he looked straight ahead, left Yara curious as to what amused him. “It se
ems strange to hear a wizard trusting in a battle mage so confidently like that.”

  “Well, Sebastian in particular is an exceptional mage, don’t you think?”

  A quick nod from the man preceded his comment, “Of course, I am lucky to be able to see someone like him in action. He’s still young and full of even more promise. We’re probably looking at someone who will make history. His newest spells alone ensure that I guess.”

  Thinking of Sebastian as a legend for history seemed strange to Yara. He was flesh and blood and someone she could love. A future person known to history just seemed too far beyond her limited sight. Most wizards for all their power never became legends for even future wizards to research. Barely any of their spells made a point to reference the one who created them.

  “Maybe we need to ask Sebastian to think of a healer version of the shield spell like you said,” Yara smiled though the collar hid her mouth still.

  “Well, you can use me for a wind break if you need it,” Olan offered. “You are the smallest of us after all. It’s understandable that you’d be colder than the rest of us. Not that I am putting you down for being petite or anything.” She couldn’t tell if he blushed after putting his foot in it, since the cold already reddened his face, but she had a feeling that he was.

  Looking up at the man who was roughly a foot taller then she, Yara certainly felt tiny compared to the mage who was probably close to twice her weight, though certainly wider with his broad shoulders. Liam was even taller though as a simple wizard he was slimmer and certainly less muscular. Only Kulvayr was below six foot, while she was only a few inches more than five. She was used to being tiny compared to the soldiers and mages around her. Since she was unlikely to grow anymore, it was just a curse she would have to endure. The bright side was being small made larger people want to look out for her, she thought with a smile.