Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) (53 page)

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed slightly though there was no anger in him at the harsh treatment. “I admit it is a pretty island and you’ve made yourself quite at home here, but any place that has been made to hold you from leaving is still a prison, my lord. I’m sorry,... Gerid,” he clarified the intended slight of using the title. “After so many years, I am sure that you’ve convinced yourself that this is home, and it might very well feel like one after so long; but don’t try and tell me that you can leave any time that you’d like.

“I found the ring your wizards made that imitates your resistance to magic on the cursed island. The moss men and temple, that was once theirs, cursed to either entice or kill visitors is very powerful indeed. I am sure only you or one of your wizards was able to hide that ring in the waterfall with the message to any who survived the trip.”

He pointed to Captain Drayden, who raised his hand at the cue. Sebastian noted the look of recognition from Gerid. He had seen that ring before as well. The giant’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the battle mage still in his grasp.

“You survived the jungle as well?”

Sebastian nodded and replied, “I am resourceful for a battle mage.”

A frown, this time for confusion, preceded his question, “What is a battle mage?”

A wry smile crossed Sebastian’s lips, “Southwall had to create a new type of wizard in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. You weren’t there to lead them, so your descendants from your old home did what they could when the Dark One decided to make his home in the Dragon Spine.

“The countries, what was left of them anyway, came together becoming a single land with a single goal, to stop the Dark One. Trained wizards searched for wilders and anyone with a bit of magical talent. The first battle mage discovered how to use our magic in combat to protect our wizards better than a normal soldier.

“So now if I wanted to fight you I could, my lord. I didn’t come to fight you, but to see if you wanted to bring the fight back to the emperor with your other children.”

Gerid released the mage, who simply settled onto his feet. “I fought to end a cruel king’s reign once and then went to another world to stop the emperor. It doesn’t seem like it did any good. Why should I go back to fight a war that has passed me by?”

Sebastian shrugged at the man and replied, “I came to see if you were still alive, because I think the emperor has used you to make his own versions of you. There was a giant, who looks almost exactly like you, but uses dark magic. Even now, the resemblance I see is uncanny. He could be a brother or son.

“I can break the barrier that holds you and you can choose to come with us or not; though I should warn you, that the emperor doesn’t want you found. He has sent his black ships to stop us. We defeated one, but there are more. I am pretty certain that they were sent ahead of us, so if you stay you may want to ready your people for a real battle.”

Gerid’s hand went to grab for Sebastian again, but his reflex spell was still in effect. He had not used his strength or power since holding the spell and it remained strong. Seeing the giant’s swing in slow motion, the mage evaded him easily.

Waving everyone back from him, Sebastian pulled the Hollow Sword as Gerid reflexively took his old axe in hand. “You little fool,” the giant spat angrily watching as the mage circled putting them facing each other with no others in line of a haphazard swing. “You knew that you had brought his attention on you and still you came to my island? You endanger my people and family.”

The giant swung his axe before him in a practice swing as Sebastian answered, “We found out about it after they had already sent two ships here. Though we don’t know where they are hidden, I would guess that whether we came or not, they would come to try and set an example for you, but I guess that they’ve already done enough to subdue the great Grimnal.

“It is sad to see a legend face to face and to find him so disappointing.”

He could feel his friends aghast as he taunted the giant immortal, but it was the final step in his plan, albeit the riskiest part.

“Fire,” the mage said charging the sword. A smug smile preceded his question of, “Do you see this sword? It was your grandson, Laran’s. You left him behind and his entire crew was either killed or driven to high ground on an island with no food. A wizard was nice enough to seal the blade in a stone safe for me to find.

“I hope that you don’t mind what I did with it.”

Snarling in rage at the sound of his grandson’s name and the accusation of his neglect causing the man’s death, Gerid struck at the mage going for a death blow in one shot.

His body shifted aside as he landed a light deflecting blow with the Hollow Sword on the side of the axe head. Flame sparked leaving a charred mark on the well made axe. The magic didn’t phase the raging immortal as expected.

The giant struck again and again only to be foiled by the smaller battle mage. Each swing received a tap from the sword and another charred mark. The flame spell was wearing down and he called for ice to charge the weapon. Now the mage took to tapping the giant on each leg. Snarls of pain, as patches of ice managed to break through his aura of anti-magic to be left behind as evidence of his toying with him, began to fill the air as the battle mage continued to elude the giant.

“You may be right,” he chided Gerid sounding fresh as he continued to outmaneuver the larger man. “You don’t seem to have a fighter’s edge any more. You can’t even beat a light weight like me.”

“Scythe,” he cast the wind attack with his left hand continuing to dodge and parry with the sword in his right. Once, twice, three times, the spell cut at the giant doing minimal harm despite being cast at near full strength. Gerid’s aura was strong and resistant to any magic, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be harmed at all.

In an attempt to surprise the mage, the giant threw open his arms and charged the smaller man. The move cut off his movement from side to side, but Sebastian could have escaped. Instead, he stepped forward allowing Gerid to catch and lift him from the ground in a bear hug. The powerful arms held him, but the strength crushing him wasn’t the giant’s true strength. Gambling that he had earned the man’s respect, Sebastian awaited for the inevitable derogatory words to come.

“Lost my fighter’s edge, whelp? Now what do you have to say for yourself before I squish you like a bug?”

There they were and the battle mage grinned at the giant eye to eye. “Just one thing. Lightning!”

The power pulled from the ground through the giant like using a staff. Redirecting the spell through the sword, the mage fired it back into the ground at Gerid’s feet. A rumble of thunder sounded and the force of the blast sent everyone stumbling back as Sebastian was flung backwards by Gerid as he flew backwards into the low stone wall of the village.

Landing in a roll easily absorbing the shock, Sebastian was back on his feet before anyone had regained their senses. He strolled over to Gerid slumped against the stone wall and crouched pointing the sword tip at the ground. Waiting a moment for the giant to shake off the stunning blow, Sebastian smiled as Gerid’s eyes caught his.

“You’re a MERE battle mage then?” the larger man asked with a slight smile touching the edges of his lips.

Waffling his hand at the median value, Sebastian grinned, “I may have undervalued my skill a little bit, but I did warn you that we were trained to do things that a regular soldier couldn’t.”

Taking the mage’s hand offered to help him up, Gerid used the other to push against the wall and stand. “Have you had breakfast yet?” the silver haired giant asked gesturing towards one of the three large buildings in town.

“I could eat,” the mage replied walking beside the man through the stunned crowd.

Chapter 33- Time and Space

Smoke from the Grimnal’s pipe wafted up as he blew a circle into the air cutting through the billowing line. The smell of fresh food managed to overpower the smell of the merlac used in the pipe, for which Sebastian was grateful. The common tobacco of the north, the mage had never been one that enjoyed the smell. Thankfully it wasn’t allowed on the school grounds either, so his upbringing in White Hall had been mercifully smoke free, save for what a fireball created.

A handful of women ranging from a few closer to Sebastian’s age on up well into the gray haired age tended the stoves and worked on serving the table. Sebastian’s entire group had been made welcome at a long table flanked by smaller ones along the wall of the main kitchen and eating area. To the mage’s surprise, this wasn’t the entry for an inn but the actual home of the legendary man.

“I am surprised by how many women you have cooking for you,” Collin added noticing the same thing about the room.

Chuckling, the giant replied, “Well, they don’t work for me exactly. That is my wife Sherari, my daughters Meran and Faoran and my two grand daughters Elien and Malura. We have three families living in this house right now. Meran and her husband are planning on starting a new farm soon, but he has been too busy harvesting for a friend.”

Maura looked at the women calculatingly and stated, “Surely after being here so long, you have more grandchildren than just these.”

“I surely do,” the large man agreed with a smile to the wizard. “These are children of Sherari and myself while the two girls are Faoran’s youngest children. One of these days they’ll marry and move out, I hope.”

One of the younger girls threw a towel at her grandfather playfully. The silver haired man smiled and added, “I didn’t say you had to rush.” Turning back to Maura he continued, “I originally married Nemari, my first wife here, after the merfolk noticed that I had taken up residence with twenty of my men. They had come to us peacefully enough and eventually our two races began to work together and even marry.

“Unfortunately, half my children have inherited my resistance to magic and the merfolk amulets never worked on them, so more and more began to build homes on the island. We had been left seed by the emperor’s men when he left us here. I guess he figured it was a way to keep me around until he needed me or decided to try and kill me. With that supply we were able to raise crops that the merfolk enjoyed, while they could catch fish and gather plants from the bottom of the ocean in exchange.

“Anyway Nemari and I had seven children and when she passed I just remained the grandfather watching his kids have kids. Then Tularia literally came on shore and I was smitten. We had five more children and she lived to see her grandchildren while I have watched more generations grow and have children.” The immortal sounded a little tired as he told a genealogy that he had lived through and beyond.

A smile came to his face again as he looked at the gray haired woman chopping vegetables on a counter facing her visitors. Then about fifteen years after I lost Tularia this ball of energy descended on me. We’ve been married how long now?”

“Too long,” Sherari answered sarcastically before admitting, “Forty five years this year. You married me when I was just a girl of twenty.” She pointed at her granddaughter, Elien, and added, “The same age as this one, if somebody wants her?”

The question was aimed at the four men sitting at the table. Nara and Yara were sitting close enough to their men for anyone to believe they weren’t claimed. Captain Drayden laughed as Idenlare looked uncomfortable with the conversation’s turn. “You have beautiful granddaughters, but I think that I am too old for her.”

The comment made Gerid and Sherari quickly laugh joined less heartily by their daughters. His wife was the first to clarify for the confused captain, “You are in your mid thirties, I would guess, and I married a thousand year old man. You are just a pup, captain.”

After her grandmother’s comment, the pretty blond looked at Drayden a little more appraisingly making the man redden with worry. Most of the room picked up the laughter at his expense as the women began carrying the food to the table. Elien added to Drayden’s discomfort by running a hand through his hair playfully before heading back to the kitchen for more food.

Sebastian could tell that the girl was merely teasing the man, but he seemed to have missed that for himself.

Maura asked another question as people began to fill their plates for breakfast, “You’ve had three wives since settling on the island. How many wives have you had now?”

A sweet sadness came to the man’s eyes as his mind pulled up pictures of ones he had loved. Even after so much time, the giant seemed capable of bringing their faces into clarity. “Ten counting Sherari. My first wife, Tabitha, and I married when I was probably younger than you,” he stated pointing at Sebastian, “but we were barely married before she died from a winter disease. I was close to another woman and she loved both of us. Catiya was my second wife and I married her when I young enough to not understand that I wouldn’t age a day, despite a centuries’ long life. She lived with me for a long time and I didn’t marry again for a long time after that.

“Every time I thought that I would never love again, a woman would come into my life reminding me that, for all my seeming immortality, I am still a man. I’ve lived beyond children and grandchildren too many times to count, but my heart can warm and watch the children and grandchildren even now.”

Sebastian used the conversation to insert a seed saying, “King Alain is said to be a direct descendant of yours through King Raithe of Marshalla.”