Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) (21 page)

“Which gives us the better clues as to the Grimnal’s whereabouts and actions, the lost coin or the subordinate’s journal?”

The older woman opened and shut her mouth three times as her anger slowly faded with enlightenment. “You think that it is a fort then? Maybe you have a point. A lost sword or coin in the middle of a jungle is less likely to be anything more than an artifact to add to a museum. We are looking for clues and a large fort would seem the more likely of a place to start looking.”

With the matter diffused, Maura began discussing plans with Idenlare.

Nonchalantly the lady added, “The ship will also be much more near should you run into more dangerous quarry like the crabs on the last island. Darterian and I can bring the rest of my wizards and
more soldiers as well. Just send up a fireball as a signal, Wizard Maura, and I assure you that you can have more help than Sebastian and his seven.”

A nod over her shoulder was all the acknowledgement the woman gave as she renewed her talk with the fire wizard.

Liam watched as Anna moved gracefully despite the rocking ship. They still had a few minutes before the Sea Dragon could drop anchor at the south point of the island. Walking up to stand beside Serrena only a few feet from the water wizard, the lady, who looked too young to be so quick witted, ventured a word with the angry woman, “Did you really want to start a fire in the jungle so bad, my fiery friend?”

Grinding her teeth, the fire wizard frowned at the pretty girl, who was slightly smaller than the angry young woman. They were nearly the same age and size, but where Annalicia seemed calm and carefree, Serrena was a hothead as expected of a woman from the school of fire. “Of course not,” was the curt answer.

Turning her head away from the fire wizard drawing Serrena’s gaze to Maura and Idenlare, Anna returned to look the woman in the eye though it was a slight look upward. “I think those two might require more than just Liam and Frell’s guardianship, don’t you? Who else would you send to stand up to a fire wizard with wind skills or even to Maura? Sebastian didn’t entrust me with watching over this part of the mission or even Liam. I can help guide you all from this ship, but my own people won’t let me risk my life in the least.

“I envy you the ability to stand strong on your own two feet. If I had your freedom and power, there are many things that I would do,” the silver haired girl added wistfully before turning to walk away without waiting for an answer.

“Pretty and intelligent,” Liam put in with a mock shiver. “Even Bas hasn’t been able to put Maura in her place quite so well.”

Still acting grumpy, Serrena retorted, “Don’t you try buttering me up as well, Liam, you’re nowhere near as good at it as Lady Annalicia.”

He noted the full title used when referencing the Malaiy air wizard. Such tones of respect meant that Serrena at least grudgingly respected the young woman. “Even so, if we do run into trouble, I would be happier with you backing me up than someone I don’t trust.”

The girl grunted in response so Liam continued, “Idenlare is probably strong in a fight with his dual mastery. Most of them usually aren’t just book smart. Maura still remains to be seen, though I can assume that she must be competent away from a library or they would have sent a diplomat wizard or someone else.

“I’ll need you and Frell helping me keep an eye on them when we’re there. We don’t need some wizard going off half cocked creating trouble where it doesn’t need to be.”

“You trust them that little?” the reddish brown hair fluttered in the wind as Serrena turned to face the man.

He shrugged. “Have they given us any reason to trust them?”

Leaving Serrena to think on that, Liam went to prepare his backpack.

Sebastian wanted to use his scythe spell to clear the branches and vines from their path, but as they entered the jungle the mage thought that he felt some of what Nara must have noticed from the beach. He could see leaves rustling above their heads, but sound seemed muffled near the jungle floor. Even the branches being pushed made less sound than he thought they should.

A sense of unease settled over the group as they pushed forward ever deeper into the jungle. Nothing felt quite right and that feeling seeped into the eight equally. When they spoke, it often came out in hushed tones.

“No, animals that I can find,” Collin stated from near the front of the group, “or traps either thankfully. I haven’t even heard a bird call.”

For Sebastian, that statement brought about part of what bothered him. It was an island well away from the mainland and was likely to be one of the newly formed pieces of raised land after the Cataclysm. Knowing all that still didn’t make the jungle feel any less creepy.

“That’s strange,” Nara suddenly spoke aloud causing them all to halt questioning if the woman meant something dangerous might be ahead.

“What is it Nara?” Bas asked for the group.

The woman looked for the words as she spoke slower than her normal pace, “Well, normally a nature wizard can feel the life of plants quite separate from that of the animals living in it. Here I sense no animals and yet the plants around us seem almost like a combination of plant and beast.”

“Every plant?” Sebastian asked looking closer at the greenery surrounding them. If the plants were animals, would they see the humans walking through them as enemies in their territory?

“Not every plant, but then again many of these plants that look separate seem to be interconnected somehow. My senses tell me that most if not all of this jungle seems like branches on a large plant, but that’s impossible. There are different species here that I know from the mainland that are definitely individual plants.”

Yara was the first to wonder aloud the question, “Are those animal like ones connected as well?”

“They might be,” the nature wizard agreed frowning at the confusion of the impressions she was receiving.

Captain Drayden had his sword in hand and he gestured towards the nearest bush in front of him. A tangle of vines wrapped from the bush to the tree beside it. “Are you telling me that if we were to cut say a branch, that the entire island would feel it? It’s not like an entire jungle is a single plant and even if it was, trees don’t fight back when you prune them.”

The man raised his sword and cut a small branch holding red berries. Nearly everyone raised their hands and protested with a group, “No!”

When nothing happened, the captain nodded, “See? They’re plants. They’re in the way and can be cut. If there are no traps to worry over, then maybe we should just hurry this up. Maybe you can use that wind spell to cut our way through, falcon.”

The wizards and mages ignored the soldier a moment. They all waited for what they had expected to come.

“Come on, people. What’s the hold up? It may seem strange but there’s nothing to fear here. Is there?”

Nara’s eyes widened slightly, “Uh oh, I don’t know what is coming, but the jungle feels like it is vibrating.”

Drayden looked ready to argue the point further when the trees above seemed to shake with the wind. The sound was deafening after the supreme quiet of their walk so far. The ripple of energy seemed to drop through the leaves and move around them. Bushes and vines shook, but the eight felt no wind.

A vine lashed out catching the captain’s left arm. His sword in the right cut the line as he cursed.

Like cutting the vine had set off a deluge of energy, the plants suddenly lashed out at the group. Nuts fell from the trees landing among them striking their heads and shoulders like stone pellets. Cries of pain and shields of blue sprung up among the mages like second instinct. Collin and Nara were slower to respond, but they too held mage shields to block nature’s bullets.

Turning to help Yara, the mage’s eyes opened wide in shock as the girl screamed. Her feet were pulled out from under her into the brush and, before she could disappear from sight, Bas leaped out to grab for her hands reaching out for him as the girl fell. Catching just one, his shield disappeared as the strength of whatever pulled Yara took both of them.

Latching onto her hand with both of his, Yara’s eyes looked to him in fear. Whatever had her was strong, but their grip held.

Stones and roots below, thorns and other branches above, the two were pulled and pulled as nature tried to cut them. Sebastian wished for the protective jackets left back on the ship. Thick, northern clothes were still strong, but as the rough trip continued, the mage managed to cast a protective spell, “Stone skin.”

It was a calculated risk. The only other time he had sent the spell onto another being, a Fallen gargoyle turned to stone. He didn’t want to harm Yara and only wanted her protected. His spell had been intended to stop the gargoyle and it had done that very well.

Extending the spell to the clothes and skin of the two flailing travelers, the thorns began to break away and stones could no longer bruise them. He noted Yara’s skin take on a dusty gray appearance, but he could tell that she moved as he would in the spell. With the protection in place, the two just had to hold on until the ride was over. Nara’s prediction of the giant jungle interconnected seemed much more plausible with the distance they traveled.

The vine lifted and slapped the couple to the ground once and then again. A third and final twist made Sebastian lose his grip, but it no longer mattered. As the mage rolled to his feet, he witnessed a mass of thick vines whipping around a purple flower as tall as most trees. He watched as the petals on top opened and closed like some carnivorous jaw of a predator.

Lifting Yara higher as if considering its meal, the plant held the wizard precariously between life and probable death in its maw.

“Scythe,” he hurled the magic wind blade at the thick vine nicking the outer shell and simply made the plant shake even more violently. More vines suddenly began to reach for the mage.

Taking hold of the Hollow Sword, Sebastian repeated his spell invigorating the sword with the shimmering blue of wind magic. Like Annalicia in the ship, the battle mage attacked the vines nearest him. A screaming wind tore at the vine and severed the limb in a single blow.

With his offhand, he cast the spell that had sent Serrena to the other end of the island to prevent. “Fireball,” he challenged the stalk casting it for the large target. A vine whipped through the air snuffing the ball with ease. Like water soaked tinder, the flame had no effect except to perhaps anger the plant even more.

He tried to strike the vine swinging Yara like a ragdoll. Another vine blocked his attack, but it was further away than the earlier severed vine. The sword’s wind blade cut, but didn’t severe the massive limb. Seeing the sword’s limitation was reach, Sebastian cast his reflex spell and proceeded to dance among the vines.

The word dance called to mind a powerful weapon of his arsenal, “Lightning dance.” His blade dipped to touch the ground like a lightning rod. From his left hand, a swirling trio of lightning bolts flung towards the central stalk of the plant. Like Bairh’loore, the Hollow Sword spared him the brunt of the earth’s biting power. Unfortunately, the plant survived the attack by blocking with its tendrils and their swift speed. One vine exploded as it superheated in the exchange. The juices within the charred limb had torn the piece of plant from the inside out with a violent expansion. Another vine slowed turning black with the strike.

“Lightning,” he channeled into the sword. Brown mingled with the wind magic before sparkling with white electricity. This time his attack severed both a defending vine and the one holding Yara.

A small cry as the girl dropped to the ground couldn’t be helped. He only hoped that his stone skin spell had lasted long enough to spare her the brunt of the blow to the ground. Unfortunately, Sebastian had no time to check on the healer more as the plant concentrated on the creature pruning its limbs one by one.

Dropping the blade with two hands holding the hilt, he dragged the point in the earth as he charged it with another call for lightning. His eyes had to avoid the flare of power in the blade’s channels. The edges nearly steamed with white hot power. He was pushing the weapon to the brink. The mage could feel it nearly bursting with the power now flowing through it.

In an upper cut aimed at the stalk hidden beyond its snake pit of whipping vines, Sebastian unleashed the Hollow Sword’s pent up magic. The blindingly bright flare of lightning bounced from the ground into the air shattering vines and blinding Sebastian before he could see if he had succeeded in killing the beast.

Blinking against the darkness left after seeing the flash so close, Sebastian called up a secondary spell, “Hound.” His other senses increased as the mage tried to regain his vision. It was a stupid mistake and only the addition of super hearing and smell could help try and compensate for the error.

His reflexes were still at full enhancement as the mage awaited the plant’s retaliation. Blood pumped in his ears threatening to deafen him despite the spell and all he could smell was burning plants.

He realized that a voice was calling his name.

“Sebastian!” Yara cried out even as he felt her gentle touch on his back.

“Did I get it?” he asked rubbing at his eyes with his left hand. The outer portion of his vision was clearing around a dark blur formed where his eyes had watched the bolt rip through the air.