The Sword of Ages: The Mage Breaker Book 1 (12 page)

Tanner looked as on in anger fading to amusement as Todd wet himself. Tanner shoved the fat wizard backwards on his behind. “I heard you lot have been giving my boy Golden here a hard time. If I hear anymore words about it, I am going to ask the Princess to see to it personally that all of you are stationed on the frontlines”.

Tanner glared as the men walked away, he had hated Todd for a while but figured there was no way to pay him back for all the shit he caused. One thing was for sure was that he could never go back to Kol without trouble. The King had been paying him three gold coins a week for his services and promised 100 coins if he ever caught the assassin. Tanner had caught two and had a sizable sum already, if he was serious about Mary she would have to move to Ketol to have a life. Tanner walked Golden all the way home and didn’t run into any trouble, he had hoped his friend would make it safely through the school without any more trouble. Tanner headed back to the Sun Palace and let the night’s events weigh on his mind. War was happening now, at first he wanted nothing to do with it, but these were the people who killed his parents. At first he had no love for them but now he felt different, an eye for an eye. Tanner made his way into the palace and into his room where he was greeted by five men and one woman he had never seen before, each packed as if they were going somewhere.

“What are you lot doing in my room” Tanner said as he found out all of them were wizards.

“They are here because I need them and you” Tanner heard the King’s voice say. “The Tavorians are led by General Smith, he is old but he is wise and ever adapting. I need you to kill him Tanner. Kill him and your debt is paid in full, your part in this war will be finished. Tavor has skilled wizards, you are the only one with skills to neutralize them as my team finishes the job”.

“Your Majesty” Tanner began before the King cut him off.

“I know you got into it with the son of a Baronet this evening” the King began. “Succeed in this and I’ll grant you your own title as Baron”.

“Your Majesty I cannot turn down an offer like this one” Tanner said shocked. “If I’m going though there is only one man’s hands I would place my life in”.

“Your friend has been requested as one of Caroline’s personal guards” the King said as he waved Tanner’s statement away. “She is upset that you are leaving, I have to placate her somehow. This Golden will be put into rotation tonight, since that is when you will leave. Do not try to speak to much to those you travel with, they are the best in Ket at what they do, it’s best after this is over you forget their face”.

ACT III

Tanner had been on the move for two weeks now, posing as an infantryman in the Ketian army. The rest of his group were spread out all over camp, trying to keep a low profile. The fighting had been fierce, or so Tanner was told since he wasn’t on the frontlines and had orders telling others not to put him there. The Tavorians had superior magic but many of them lay dead on the battlefield, their bodies looted and left to rot for carrion. Their soldiers were tough and well disciplined, but their tactics had been known to Ket, many of the Ketian officers either fought in the last war or were once Tavorians themselves. This gave Ket an edge, when the war first started they had countered everything Tavor threw at them, though lately it had been a noticeable shift in their tactics, many officers attributed it to General Smith.

The army had been warned about spies though and had a password for everything to stop spies from getting in. Putting on a different face wasn’t going to cut it, anyone who wanted information had to get it the hard way. Tanner had just finished his guard duty shift when the female in his group, who had been posing as a laundress approached him.

“We make our move tonight” she said as she passed him by holding a load of laundry. “The Tavorians are going to attack in about two hours, we are going to use this as a way to-“ the woman never got the chance to finish her sentence as two arrows sprouted from her chest.

Tanner hit the ground as the signal for attack started ringing throughout their base camp. Tanner looked around and pulled out his sword as he saw something that made his heart drop. He thought security was tight in the army, instead he saw men he had met pulling out their swords and turning on Ket soldiers as the Tavorian soldiers started pouring out over a hill. Tanner stayed low and took out his blade as fireballs started raining down all around him, one almost striking him if he did not put his field back up. Tanner quickly scanned the enemy troops getting closer and found a wizard among them and started to leech the magic user’s power. Tanner jumped up and found the nearest Tavorian soldier and ran his blade clean through the man’s heart before sliding his blade out and waiting to meet his next enemy.

The fight seemed to be going in slow motion for Tanner, like he was on land fighting people who seemed to be moving under water. Tanner’s blows were faster, he would often get three sometimes even four hits off while the enemy was still in the middle of their first swing. The more Tanner leeched off of the wizards around him the stronger and faster he got. Men were piling up all around him now, since the battle started Tanner had killed six men when a giant of a man came forward carrying a two handed sword.

Tanner rushed in and went for a simple midsection slash, it had worked before and the thin armor worn by their front line troops were easy to stab through. This giant of a man had on plate armor however, Tanner’s blow sparked and cut a deep gash into the armor but did not have enough force to penetrate. Tanner’s opponent dropped his weapon and held Tanner in a bear hug, picking him off of his feet and putting pressure on Tanner’s lower back. Tanner hit the brute with the pommel of his sword, the clang it made off of his helmet rang throughout the battlefield as the brute dropped him to the ground. Tanner backed away from the man as he caught movement in his peripheral vision. Tanner ducked as the tip of a pike sailed over him. Tanner rolled away from both enemies as they moved in on him. Whenever he went for the pikeman, the brute would go on the attack and vice versa. Tanner did the only thing a 16 year old boy could do when facing two grown men, he ran. 

Tanner had no idea if the people he was battling was following him or not, and he didn’t care to know either. Ahead of him he could see a Ketian soldier surrounded by three Tavorian ones, each circling him and looking for an opportunity to strike, Tanner had their backs, something he would take advantage of. Tanner swung high and decapitated the nearest enemy then drove his sword hilt deep into the side of another. Tanner retrieved his sword as he was hit hard over the head, suddenly his world went black.

~

“Where am I?” Tanner asked as he started coming to.

“In a cage heading to market” a voice replied.

Tanner looked around at his surroundings as his head pounded. He was in a caged wagon pulled by some horses as men with spears walked along side of him. Tanner could see he had been disarmed, the last thing he remembered was stabbing a soldier and then nothing. He wasn’t dead so he guessed he should be grateful, now he would have to figure out how to escape.

“I see the hero is awake now” said a soldier from outside the wagon. “I should have killed you, but now you go to the market, you know what they do to fresh faced muscular boys at the market? They treat them like little girls. I hope you get bought by a master that has a fetish for such things”.

“Then I’ll stick him the way I stuck the rest of you tossers” Tanner said as a spear was thrusted between the cage bars at him. Tanner grabbed the wooden part of it and pulled it as hard as he could, ripping the weapon free from the soldier before turning it around and throwing back at the man barely missing him.

“You will leave the merchandise alone” a man in a red robe said. Tanner could tell the man was a wizard, he had the loose robes most wizards preferred and he was holding a wizards staff. “This one is for Master Zavor, we will get paid handsomely for him”.

“Zavor huh?” the soldier said with a sinister smile. “That’ll be even better, I heard he sucks your brains out and leaves you empty headed”.

“There is no use in paying attention to them” a Ket soldier in the cage with him said. “That one you have been arguing with gets off on telling us about our fate. “I’m Sawyer by the way”.

“I am Tanner, how long have I been out for?”

“About a week now” Sawyer replied. “They have been feeding you methuselah root to keep you sleep. They ran out last night, I think you scare them. I have heard that you single handedly took out six soldiers”.

“How did the battle end?” Tanner asked.

“They were retreating when they grabbed me” Sawyer replied. “They have a lot more prisoners but I think they are being tortured, before I left I saw a couple of them had shaved heads and fresh cuts over their bodies”.

“That is enough talk in there” the red robed wizard replied. “If I hear any more you will not get fed or a bucket to relieve yourselves. You will sit starving in your own filth”.

Tanner and Sawyer gave each other a nod and shut up. Tanner figured he could attempt to make a run for it, but he had no idea where he was at. The rest of the trip thankfully took less than two weeks, Tanner was beyond cramped and not talking started grating on his nerves. Tanner was sleep when he entered the city he was now in, his dreams interrupted by the smart mouthed soldier who threw a bucket of water on him.

“Get up you, it’s time to meet your new master” the soldier said laughing.

“Well now what do we have here” said a fat man in a tight fitting outfit.

“Hands off Buster” the soldier Tanner hated said. “This one here belongs to Zavor”.

“I don’t belong to no fucking body you tosser” Tanner replied.

“That is a big one there” Buster replied. “I don’t know why the wizard bothers with such dangerous slaves, ones like him need to be brought to the arena to fight other slaves”.

“This one killed six soldiers on the frontline” the red robed wizard joined into the conversation. “Zavor should be waiting for us, I already sent a messenger ahead”.

“Just as long as I get my cut, I’m the only licensed seller of slaves in the city” Buster said as he then examined Tanner’s cagemate.

“Ah here is your ride” The red robed wizard said as an elaborate carriage pulled up. “Try anything and Master Zavor will have your entrails decorating the walls”.

Tanner watched as the carriage door opened, out walked two burly looking but blank faced men. They didn’t look like serious men, their eyes looked empty somehow. The red robed wizard opened up the cage Tanner was in as the thwo empty men grabbed him by his arms and dragged him into the carriage where the smallest man Tanner had ever seen sat.

The man had a big forehead but his limbs were very short, this Zavor was a half man. Tanner had never seen one before but heard kings kept them as pets. This half man though had on wizard robes and had a look on his face that Tanner knew meant he wasn’t to be trifled with. The wizard dug around in the carriage as it pulled off and pulled out a small bottle.

“You will drink this or you will be tortured until you do” the half man said as he gave Tanner the bottle.

“If you are gonna torture me you half man dandy then let’s get it over with” Tanner said as one of the blank faced men slammed an elbow into the side of his head.

              “I forget how difficult slaves can be before they have had their first drink” Zavor replied. “Now drink up”.

              Tanner felt another elbow slam into his head and dropped to the floor of the wagon as his mouth was opened up and the contents poured inside.

~

“Hurry up slave and fetch me my water” the half man said angrily. “It’s amazing your people haven’t killed themselves out of stupidity. It’s a small wonder why we haven’t already won this war”.

              Tanner blanked his mind and brought the small wizard a goblet of water. The man snatched it out of his grasp and gave him a dismissive wave to go away. The wizard he was serving, Zavor was the master of the small wizard school Tanner now found himself at. This was a finishing school for elite wizards. Because he was in charge, Zavor often kept important company, Tanner had seen military leaders coming and going from the academy. Other wizards often visited Zavor either to kiss his ass or ask for his guidance on how to make slaves docile, what they didn’t know was that Zavor did it by one of his greatest inventions, mind sweep.

              The foul brew Tanner was forced to drink when he first arrived had been concocted by the Tavorian wizard, he somehow infused the brew with his magic which made the recipient of the brew open to suggestion. Zavor, had been the creator of the brew and had kept the recipe secret from the rest of Tavor. Because of mind sweep, Zavor often bought the burliest slaves he could find, he had nothing to fear from them. Mind sweep was in the drink and in the stew he fed all of his slaves, ensuring their continuing subservience. Tanner’s ability to negate magic made this brew ineffective, but he quickly learned to play along when they gave him another dose. Although the war was still going on Tanner was relatively safe as a personal servant, being put with Zavor had its advantages.

              Tanner had already memorized the maps Zavor kept, and would secretly leech power off of the strong but diminutive wizard all throughout the day as well as the other wizards in the academy. It was simple now to let his power strands flow until they found a wizard, then he would seep power slowly without hampering their ability to do magic. He had 12 such strands going right now including Zavor who he would relish killing.