Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) (39 page)

Checking the others with his eyes, Collin shrugged and Mecklin seemed indifferent. Sebastian decided just to bring Yara. She was less threatening for a meeting and most men enjoyed seeing a pretty lady, plus he knew that she could be more persuasive than he. She had the ability to make not just him do as she wanted, he knew from his time watching the healer during her work.

The two walked the gauntlet between the desks following the woman back to the far doorway. She pulled aside the right and Sebastian quickly moved to hold the left. The gentlemanly maneuver finally gained the faintest hint of a smile from the woman’s eyes and twitch of one from her lips. After Yara passed through, the woman proceeded to close both doors behind them.

Looking at an office twenty feet deep by about thirty wide, the mage considered the woman’s belief that there was very little room inside and concluded that three or four of his room at White Hall could have fit in the office. With its ceiling vaulted high above them, stained glass windows lifting to an arch, and a wall of bookcases on the far wall, even the lord’s large wood desk and a few stuffed chairs left the space feeling empty.

Three large, richly patterned rugs sat parallel to one another breaking up a dark stained wood floor buffed to reflect the light of the windows. A suit of armor stood on either side of his desk as if to guard the older man. Lord Sumpterhall was a little less impressive than his office, which may have been why the room tried to overcompensate. Shorter than Sebastian, as the man stood up behind his desk, he was an older man with thinning brown hair peppered with gray. Once an athletic man, he appeared to have let the comfortable life of being mayor of Trillian soften his middle. For all that the older man dressed in unassuming brown and black clothing, there was still a certain grace to his movement and a look to his eyes that let the mage know that Lord Sumpterhall wasn’t quite as soft as he looked from first glance.

He smiled and gestured for the two to take a seat in front of his desk. “Welcome to Trillian. I can see that you are new here. I am Marcinius Sumpterhall, mayor of Trillian and lord of its people. My secretary tells me that you come from Southwall on a mission from your king. I don’t sense that you are mere nameless messengers come to drop off a letter to me.

“Perhaps you should introduce yourselves and why you are here,” the lord finished still smiling, but Sebastian could feel an underlayment of steel that demanded an answer.

Still standing as he held the chair for Yara to sit, Sebastian answered, “I am Falcon Sebastian Trillon and this is Wizard Yara Bram. Our ship has come for two reasons. One is to get supplies to continue our mission. The second should be explained in this note from King Alain, but I will say it anyway.

“With help from High Wizard Darius of Eirdhen, I and my team have been seeking clues to the lost king Gerid Aramathea, better known as the Grimnal. He is of course known to be a friend of the islands and the device given me has pointed to this building as a possible site for an artifact of his.

“Understanding that he may have left something with your ancestors, we were just hoping to clear it up while we are here, my lord,” he finished trying to sound as contrite as possible.

Looking unimpressed, the lord’s demeanor changed a bit with the new information. “Well, of course he left a trinket or two here with my ancestors, but no one has seen him since shortly after the Cataclysm that shook the world. I hope that you didn’t come thinking that you would find him here.”

Sebastian shook his head and smiled, “We have been chasing a trail left behind using a device given us by the high wizard. There is still another sign farther to the south, but since we needed supplies it made sense to stop in Trillian and check it out. I am sorry to have bothered you, Lord Sumpterhall,” he finished starting to rise.

The lord patted the air and leaned back in his chair, “Now, now, no need to go just yet. You say that you have followed a trail. Has he left some bread crumbs not eaten by time that you can still follow?”

Nodding, the mage answered truthfully figuring that what they had found would be of little worth to the lord and of no real concern if he knew of them, “We have found three islands that he visited. The story we have gathered from a few written words was that he may have come to check on his allies as well as trying to find the culprit who caused the chaos that killed so many and altered the north.

“A diary left by one of his researchers told a little of what happened to one of three ships that sailed with the Grimnal. A small message left on another proved that he and his men had visited that, while the last one still had a cursed wizard living there with more information.

“None of the clues tell me that he still lives, but I feel that he does. Unfortunately, the wizard said that he believed the Grimnal was captured by the Dark Emperor. What defenses guard him and what condition he will be in is still unknown.”

“Well, if he has been locked away by this Dark Emperor as you call him, then that would be a shame. I would wonder if even an immortal could survive a couple centuries locked away. Have his captors tried to kill him or is there another reason for his capture?

“Anyway,” the lord continued putting on a slight smile, “you said that a device brought you here. Where is it and what has it brought you to find?”

Producing the compass, Sebastian used his magic to focus the device. The bright red dot pointed directly at the lord bringing a slight frown to the mage’s forehead. He pointed and said, “It seems to be near you, my lord.”

Instead of being confused, Lord Sumpterhall stood with a smile and gestured to a wood podium. It was made of dark stained wood and intricately tooled. The swirling, flowery column rose up to support a top about four inches thick near the front and raising more than an inch towards the back creating an angle. Glass shown over a document protected by the well constructed top.

Sebastian brought the device closer and rounded the desk. It did indeed focus on the aged paper sitting under the glass and the mage looked close enough to read the writing. It was written in the common language of the north and Taltan to their south, the original colonizers of North continent. The paper was a short proclamation absolving the pirates of Trillian of wrong doing against Marshalla and Rhearden from Taltan. Marshalla was the original name of the country once ruled from Hala, Sebastian knew. If he was guessing correctly, this document was almost as old as the Grimnal himself and predated the Cataclysm by hundreds of years.

Letting out a low whistle, the mage was both impressed by the history in the document and the fact that the compass could still find the signs of Gerid on it after so much time. At the top of the paper, a knife with an intricate handle sat just under the raised glass. “So both the paper and the knife were given to your ancestors then?”

Moving to stand beside him, the lord nodded. Yara came around to stand on Sebastian’s other side to look at the small monument to the relationship between their two countries. Sumpterhall said appreciatively, “It was given to the pirate captains ruling Trillian at the time. The story is they helped your Grimnal defeat a conqueror, who was working to take over all the countries of the continent. Adding the strength of the island pirates to his in exchange for the pardon and land in what used to be called Marshalla, they succeeded in freeing those lands and destroying that king.

“Exactly how much of a part they played and all the specifics of the war are lost to time. If you find the Grimnal, he would probably be the only way to get any of that information back. Still it is a piece of our history that survived the Cataclysm and the rise and fall of islands.”

Stepping back from the historical document, the three looked at one another trying to decide if there were more things to discuss. Sebastian decided to ask someone local to the area for his opinion, “Our next leg of the journey takes us outside of the islands that are known to us. Would your sailors have any knowledge of what we will face?”

Lord Sumpterhall straightened to his full height and bragged, “Lad, I was once a captain and sailed to all of the islands of the North Sea, well the larger ones anyway. I was a merchant and traveled to Rhearden and many other countries of Taltan in my day. If you have a map or the position that you plan to sail to, I should be able to help guide you!”

Smiling appreciatively back at the older man, Sebastian nodded saying, “My men outside have a map marked by our captain that I can show you, my lord.”

Having warmed to his guests, the lord peeked out his door telling his secretary to bring Mecklin and Collin in as well. The woman frowned not appearing to appreciate the lord disturbing her yet again, but she complied. While they waited, Sumpterhall noted Yara appreciatively, “Are all your young wizards as lovely as this one?”

Yara blushed and replied bashfully, “I am sure that I am common enough in my looks, my lord.”

Noting Sebastian’s furtive glance at her words, he replied with a chuckle, “If you are common, he wouldn’t look at you like that, my dear.”

Caught in the act, Yara giggled as Sebastian looked away with some color in his cheeks. “Well, I think he has to look at me that way, my lord. One day we’ll be married, so I would hope that he wouldn’t think me hideous.”

The lord chuckled at her words. “You have a decent sense of humor as well. That will be very helpful in dealing with a man in a marriage, but aren’t you two a little young to be thinking of such things? There is so much to see in this world and you two seem like adventurous types.”

Shrugging, Yara replied, “Maybe Sebastian is, but I am a simple healer. We lead with our hearts and prefer quiet over adventure.”

“And yet you are here. I guess that your heart made you follow on this adventure? Very interesting where the heart will take you, isn’t it?”

“I am lucky to have her along,” the mage replied trying to look less interested in the pretty girl beside him, even after being caught. “Having a healer along on my team has been very helpful. I can heal as well, but I can’t heal myself.”

A calculating look came to the old lord’s eyes, as he mused, “Your own personal healer, well that might explain things a little. Now I wonder if you fell in love because she healed you or if you were in love before that. I have heard my wife tell stories of wounded sailors that become infatuated with those who nurse them back to health. Now this might be a story I might want to hear sometime as well.”

Collin and Mecklin arrived with the map distracting Lord Sumpterhall and Sebastian was thankful to have his love life take a back seat to anything else. After perusing the map and the point they believed they were being led, the lord rubbed his chin with a slight frown. “It goes beyond the islands all right, but if you head in a straight line between Talc and Baltu be careful. I must warn you that the sea between those four islands has become rather notorious the last few decades. Ships seem to disappear without a trace. Many sailors refuse to take that path and sail closer to Talos or Famir to avoid the risk.

“I know that you are wizards and can handle yourselves, but listen to an old man. Be very careful if you go through the Four Ways area.”

“Four Ways?” Collin asked perplexed.

The mayor nodded. “Since it’s between the four major islands and no one knows which way to travel with it in the way. Locals just began to call it the Four Ways area.”

Sebastian took in the warning and remembered another problem. “Lord Sumpterhall, I should also warn you to be on watch as well. We think that the Dark Emperor may have sent some of his ships to the last island we visited. If there was some warning or trap that we set off that brought them, I am not sure, but if you see one of the black ships they may not be friendly.”

The man frowned and his look reminded Bas of a pirate determined to protect his treasure. “It has been awhile since anyone has seen one of them. The black ships have always been our enemy. If they are near, then be doubly cautious. We have lost ships and occasionally a survivor tells of a black ship being the cause.”

They all nodded. The people of Southwall were always on guard when the Dark One’s armies were around.

With little more to tell, Sebastian’s team stayed for a light lunch provided by the lord and returned to the Sea Dragon.

Chapter 25- Captive

Ashleen awoke in near darkness feeling the sway of waves moving beneath the ship. A mere crack of light coming from beneath a door was all the illumination for the room and it wasn’t enough to light more than the closest inches of wood flooring. She coughed listening to the sound as it bounced in the dark and thought that it was probably a fairly large room. Perhaps a food storage or cargo hold.

No wizard needed to be in the dark, she half thought as the wilder started to begin a spell. Two things she noted as her chanting paused in confusion. First, her wrists and thumbs were bound together and without the ability to gesture her spell for light could not be completed. Second, something constricted her neck as Ashleen tried to speak or more accurately use her magic.

“It won’t work,” a familiar voice stated quietly.

“Hyren?” she questioned not completely trusting her ears.

“Yes, are you all right?” the voice asked in the darkness.

Trying to notice any injuries as her mind began to refocus once more, the girl could feel nothing out of place aside from the fuzziness she felt in her head. It was as if her head held a cloud of gnats buzzing around inside of her skull to annoy the wilder. “I think I am fine, but my head feels funny.”