Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen (15 page)

Bumbo was partially colorblind
, too. He didn’t know if this was just Bumbo or all horses. The grass was somewhere between a green and a gray. The light of the fire was bright. He couldn’t see the different colors in the flame, just brighter and darker shades of red. Rundo realized that the oranges and bright yellows all just blended as shades of red. It was fascinating and exhausting all at once. Sight was the only sense that Rundo could feel through his connection with Bumbo, though. He could not feel or hear or smell what Bumbo did. He could sense and feel his emotion, and he could see what he saw. He continued to do this until it was dark enough that Bumbo’s vision was almost gone. Bumbo’s ability to see at night was apparently even worse then his own.

“How was it
?” Grundel asked when he came walking back over.

“It was amazing. I can see everything he can see. Horses see so much more
than we do. They see a lot differently than we do, though, and it will take some practice to get used to it. I’m sure it will give me these terrible headaches for a while, but eventually I think I’ll get used to it. I'll take the next watch. Wake me up whenever that log burns down.”

“Ok
ay. How do you think he’s doing?” Grundel asked, nodding towards Anwar.

“He just lost his wife. His family was massacred a few years back. I haven’t known him much longer than you. The only real friends he has left are your dad and Jabaal
, and the god who killed his wife is after them, because of him. I think he is doing a lot better than I would be doing, but we need to keep an eye on him. I’m getting used to this new connection. It will be exhausting, and it’s going to be a couple more days before I really get the hang of it, but I’ll try to help you keep an eye on him. We need to get him talking some. Make sure he’s okay.”

Grundel didn’t really have a response. He agreed. The way Rundo had put it had really put it in perspective for him
, though. Anwar wasn’t that much older than he was, but he had experienced more loss than most people did in a lifetime. He had dedicated his life to protecting others, and his reward had been the loss of everyone he had loved. He nodded to Rundo and walked away from the fire to keep watch.

When Grundel woke Rundo for his watch
, he threw another log onto the fire. Rundo walked out to the edge of the firelight, and focused on his connection. It was still overwhelming but not like it had been, and after dealing with looking through Bumbo’s eyes for hours this seemed much more simple. He was seeing with the connection. He was sensing the life around him with it. He could feel Bumbo sleeping peacefully. He could sense that Grundel was concerned. Anwar was asleep, but Rundo still felt his pain and despair. Rundo wasn’t sure how all this really worked, but it was becoming more familiar. He was able to acknowledge the things around him and them push them into the background. When the light began to change the sky on the horizon to pink and orange, Rundo went and dug the section of the snake out of the pack.

He unwrapped the leather around it
and slid a sharp stick through it. The fire was low and the small log Grundel had thrown on there was burnt down now, but the coals were still red. There was already a Y-shaped stick buried in the ground on the outside of the rocks surrounding the fire. He set the long stick through his chunk of snake over the fire, resting each end on one of the two sticks. It held it far enough away from the fire that it wouldn’t burn. He turned it slowly, and half an hour later the snake was cooked and Grundel and Anwar were strapping their bedrolls to their saddles.

Grundel brought three of the tin plates over. They were a good thing to carry in your saddlebag
—they weighed almost nothing and took up almost no space.

Rundo sliced the snake into three sections
with one of his daggers. “Just run your fingers along the bone and the meat will fall off.” They didn’t have any seasoning to put on the meat so it wouldn’t be very flavorful, but it would be warm.

He slid the chewy meat off the bone between his fingers and piled it onto his plate before tossing the thin bones into the fire.

Grundel looked at the white meat clinging to the skeleton of the snake. It wasn’t that it looked bad, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this was a snake. He took hold of the meat between two fingers and it slid free of the bone almost as easily as fish, then popped some in his mouth and chewed. He was pleasantly surprised. “It tastes like boring chicken. Like it barely has any flavor at all, but it does have a hint of a chicken taste to it.”

Rundo was happy he like
d it. “How ’bout yours, Anwar? How is it?”

“It
’s better than hard, dried biscuits and moldy cheeses. Thanks, Rundo.” Anwar ate the snake and answered Rundo as shortly as he could. The second he woke up it was there waiting, threatening to overcome him. This magic was more than any man should have. He was afraid of it. But he was even more afraid of what he might do with it. The only thing he could think about was killing Delvidge and everyone and everything that served him. That thought alone was enough to scare him. He had killed people, orcs, trolls, goblins, and more of each then he cared to remember, but he had never enjoyed it. He had never wanted to kill anyone. Even after his family had been murdered, he had been angry and he went after those goblins, but he hadn’t enjoyed killing them. Now he actually
wanted
to kill.

He knew the others were worried about him. He had heard their conversation last night. He had been half asleep, but he remembered. He wanted to convince them that he would be ok
ay, but he didn’t really know if he would, and he couldn’t worry about what they thought right now. It was taking everything he had to fight against the combined attack of grief and power inside him.

They walked the rest of the way to the city. Rundo thought he would be able to ride now that he wasn’t so
afraid of his new connection, but it didn’t hurt to take the time to get more comfortable before they got to the city, where he would be surrounded by people and have to figure out how to push all those connections down. After an hour of leading the horses they were at the first gate.

The smell of burnt flesh still hung in the air. They could still see the line of smoke off in the distance where the bodies of the tens of thousands of goblins Anwar had killed were being burned. It would be days
, maybe even weeks, before all of the bodies were burned and the gods only knew how long it would be before that smell was gone.

The guard at the gate recognized Grundel instantly. “Sirs
, I am Sergeant Soldat. There is news for you. I was instructed to bring you to straight to Captain Lamar if you showed back up.”

Anwar looked at the guard. “What is the news
?”

“I don’t really know
, sir. I will take you take Captain Lamar and he can explain it. If you will follow me.”

Anwar put a hand on the man's shoulder. “You may not know all the details, but you know something
. Tell me what you know if you want me to follow you to the captain.”

The guard looked like he was struggling with the decision. He had surely been told not to tell them, but he had also been told to bring them straight to the captain, which he now was unable to do without telling them.

“Don’t worry, I will not tell your captain you said anything,” Anwar told the man.

That seemed to be the deciding factor. “I don’t really know the details. All I know is that the Black Dragons are looking for you and they have hostages.”

Anwar’s mind instantly went to Cannen. He forced his magic down and made his mind work. He had to think clearly. How could he have been so foolish? Of course they had Cannen. Why did he leave him at his house? That would have aroused suspicion, and once people noticed, it wouldn’t take long to figure it out if you asked the right people. He wanted to travel straight to Ambar right then, but he needed more information.

“Take us to Captain Lamar!”

The man smiled and nodded. He was obviously pleased with himself. They followed him through the first gate and down the street to the second smaller gate. Some people cheered and others looked at him as if he were a mother at her son’s funeral. Whatever the Black Dragons were doing, word had spread. He needed to figure this out.

Finally they made it through the huge main gate. The guardhouse was against the wall
, about a hundred paces away from the gate. When they arrived the sergeant knocked on the door three times. The sergeant told a soldier to take the horses and then he went to the door of the guardhouse. “Sergeant Soldat for Captain Lamar. I have the men he was asking for.”

The door swung open and another man invited them in. “Come in, Come in. I am Lieutenant Pilf. Please make yoursel
ves comfortable. I will go get the Captain.” There were two benches along the wall and two chairs in front of the desk. There were three doors. The man went to the one at the back of the room. He banged three times. “Sir, the men you have been waiting for are here.”

Captain Lamar came out of the door immediately. The look on his face showed them two things. He immediately realized that everyone hadn’t made it back, and that he wasn’t surprised. “Gentlem
en, if you would come with me.”

Anwar walked through the door followed by Grundel and Rundo. The room was a large office. It was practical. On the wall near the door were two upholstered benches. Near the opposite wall was the captain’s desk. In front of that were two chairs. In the corner of the room was a wooden stand with the captain’s armor hanging on it. His sword was hanging from his belt.

Captain Lamar closed the door behind him. “Gentlemen, please sit.” Anwar and Rundo each sat in a chair. Grundel chose to stand behind them.

Captain Lamar sat across from them in his chair. “First
, I want to say I am sorry for your loss. Did both of them...?” He didn’t finish the sentence. It was meant as a kindness.

“No
. Navaeh is a child of Kalise. The connection to the world inside the forest was too wonderful of a thing for her to let go of. My wife was unable to survive the ordeal. She lived long enough to say goodbye,” Anwar answered him.

“Well
, that is a small comfort if there is any to be had. I am sorry that I cannot offer the same. The news I have is ill and will only bring you more pain. I felt you would want to hear it as soon as possible, though, considering the circumstances.”

“What circumstances
?” Grundel said impatiently.

“Master Anwar
, I am sorry to have to tell you this. The Black Dragons are in Kampar. They have hostages—everyone who has ever known you. They have already killed your brother Cannen and say that one man will die each night at dusk until you come. They say if you do not come when they are done with the people who know you, they will start on the rest until the blood of every man, woman, and child in Kampar soaks the streets of Kampar. I am sorry again, but I thought you should know.”

Anwar’s face was blank
, but anger roared inside of him. The emotion was taking over, and losing him his grip on the power. For a moment the power almost took over. He took hold of it before he released it. He forced it back down. He was fighting for control.

“Anwar. Remember what Mariah said. The world needs you. Remember her. Don’t let Delvidge and the Black Dragons make you forget who you are.”

Rundo’s words echoed in his head and forced him to remember his last moment with her again. “The world needs you, Anwar. Help them. Don’t forget me, Anwar. Remember how much I love you.” He wouldn’t let her down. He wouldn’t let more people die because of him. He stood. “Thank you, Captain. This couldn’t have been easy for you. If you would take care of my friends until I return I would appreciate it.”

“Ho
, ho! You are not leaving us! Wherever you go, we go. Ain't that right, Rundo?”

“That’s right.”

“Fine. Captain, would you mind taking care of our five horses?” Anwar asked.

“That
won’t be a problem. It’s the least we can do.”

When they walked outside the captain saw the horses. “There are six horse
s. And how are you all going to get all the way to Kampar with only one horse?”

“We will be using magic. I can’t ask Rundo to leave Bumbo
, so he will be going with us. Rundo, if you are bringing Messah, I suggest you reach out to her. If you are not ready, you will have to leave her here until we can return. We are leaving now.”

“Give me a minute,” Rundo said.

He reached out to Messah. He had figured out how to establish the link with Bumbo. He didn’t open himself up to see through her eyes. He just opened himself up to her presence. It took a second, and then it slammed into him. He could feel her flying outside the city. She was excited about the link. She felt his urgency for her to come to him. She was flying fast. “She’s almost here. Just a second.” Then Messah landed on his shoulder.

The Captain gasped. “You can talk with animals. I saw the staff, but I just assumed
...”

“You assumed it was hers. It was. I just connected with the world yesterday
. It is still new to me.”

Anwar looked at Grundel and then at Rundo. “You ready?”