Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) (23 page)

With that matter settled, the little group hurried to the village. The last rune warrior was said to be there as well. Garosh would have to use his magic to fix the last one just in case Palose had set any defenses in the man that might either warn their former master or make him dangerous.

The light inside the cave had faded to night. Wizard's fire lit special lanterns created over a century ago making the ceiling of Ensolus look like it was lit with stars. They weren't aggressively bright at night, but they alleviated the gloom that would have held the deeper recesses of the cave. Along the streets with taverns and restaurants where the night often lasted until dawn, regular street lamps were lit as well. Those closest to the emperor's castle and the warlocks' academy glowed from magic. Often they held different colors than the orange and yellow of fire.

In the orc and human slums close to the outer edge of the city, men carried pots with embers that they could pump air into to build fire on their pokers. They would walk between the lamps lighting them, but few made it until dawn as the oil inside was rationed against waste. The lords of Ensolus didn't feel it was worth keeping the streets of slums lit for drunkards who couldn't return home at a normal hour.

Palose looked out the window. He could see the lights in the spires with their apartments cut from the stone. Windows revealed those who were home often elevated to a hundred feet or more. Atrouseon's apartment would be dark for now. His warlocks and wizards were in the small house butted up against the east wall of the cave with him.

Heavy feet were stomping across the floor as Dorgred was acting huffy once again. The fire wizard was often the source of discontent in the house. Palose sensed that he and Wendle had been cooped up in Ensolus for too long.

"What is it now, Dorgred?" the dark mage asked releasing the drape held open by his hand. At night, he preferred covering the large front window of the house. His neighbors didn't need to know his business, but sometimes the young man enjoyed looking out at the strange cave city.

Turning to see the muscular wizard, Palose quickly took in the faces of the rest of his circle gathered there. His newest warlocks looked on the display of the man's temper with disapproving looks, while most of the rest did their best to ignore him. Dorgred had never been completely content staying in Ensolus. The wizard had been trained to fight the Dark One and not to serve someone who served Kolban.

"When you brought me back to life, you said that you wouldn't use that against us to keep us held to you," the man said running his fingers through his thick, curly beard. His dark hair looked black in the lamp light of the room giving him the look of some crazed pirate, but his menacing looks didn't spark any fear in Palose. "We were supposed to protect you from the warlock who gave you life. We did that, so how long are we supposed to remain here?"

It was the matter Palose expected to be aired from the man. While they had worked together for awhile now, the mage could tell that the wizard was discontent. In fact, with Kolban's requests in his head, the mage was glad that it had come up once more.

"I've said that you could leave if you weren't happy here. I don't think anyone expected you to stay forever anyway. If you leave though, where will you go?"

Dorgred blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected the mage to give in so easily. As a group, the wizard had worked with the others doing their best to keep on top of the city. It wasn't easy for the man, however, since he stuck out like a sore thumb in most places. The girls, though pretty, often managed to slip into the circles of warlocks and lords through pretending to be servants. It was amazing how much they could learn just listening to other servants and what was said by important men when they forgot about the people around them. Servants were often ignored like a piece of furniture in the corner.

"If you could open a portal to Southwall, I don't see why I couldn't return home. Even if it has to be by going to some city that has one of your gates, I can meet up with any of the fire wizard guilds. No one knows that I was killed as far as I know. Even if they were told that by one of the ones who survived, I could always say that I was let go in Sileoth or on one of the other islands."

Palose eyed the man showing little of what was on his mind. "Dorgred, have you heard of any seers in Southwall?"

It seemed like a topic used to distract the wizard from his original complaint, so Dorgred scowled at the change in direction a moment before answering, "If you mean like those Visionaries that come up in the histories, I can't say that I have heard of any body of oracles or anything like them. Why? What does that have to do with my leaving?"

"Nothing, maybe everything," the mage replied a bit cryptically. "I have no problem sending you to Southwall. I would make the same offer to Wendle if I had any gates in Kardor, but even if you leave Ensolus you know that we will always be tied to each other in blood, right?"

The idea made the wizard frown again, but he nodded slowly. "I guess that can't be helped. Are you saying that you plan to control me no matter where I go?"

Waving off the thought, Palose explained, "Something Kolban said today has made me curious. I think that he has worries about his life. His body doesn't seem to be deteriorating, so he shouldn't be afraid of dying. Even so, I wonder if there are still people with the gift of sight that could try to read if there will be a big shake up in the world soon. I would think something happening to the emperor would be a big enough event for one of them to see it in a vision or whatever they use to see the future."

"Again, what does that have to do with me and leaving?" the wizard sulked.

"I'd be appreciative if you could look into the matter of finding a seer that could answer a few questions for me when you return to Southwall. I can give you a token that you can break to let me know when you find that information and I can be out of your way again afterwards."

"So you want me to become your spy," Dorgred complained crossing his arms emphatically.

"If looking out for a palm reader or someone more reputable would be considered being a spy, then I guess I am asking for that favor. I don't think remaining cooperative with each other is exactly going to detract from whatever life you think that you can have back in Southwall; though I wonder why you would want to go back if you were set on leaving there in the first place."

He knew enough of Dorgred's reason for being on a ship which was following Sebastian. Chasing after a mission containing a Southwall contingent of wizards and mages on a Kardorian ship was hardly something that would make him believe that the fire wizard had been happy with his place in the fire wizards' guild. He had joined the Kardorian ambassador with the promise of money and a place as the head of a school there. Both power and money were what the wizard had really wanted; even though he often tried make others believe that he had left for more altruistic reasons.

"I regretted leaving Southwall well before things turned sour," Dorgred retorted irritably. "I told Romonus that I wouldn't do anything to betray my country and that I wouldn't let him do anything to endanger Sebastian's mission. I think all of our wizards felt the same. We wanted to keep an eye on that ambassador once he began to show his true colors."

Raising his shoulders in a shrug, the mage countered, "Then this should be something that I would think would fit well with your desires. If you still serve Southwall, then wouldn't it be best to find out if something was coming. Whether something bad is going to happen to Kolban or not, an oracle might give you something to help Southwall if you were to ask the right questions."

"But if I give you that information, you would just pass it onto the emperor. How does that help Southwall?"

"We can edit whatever message you get from the Visionaries. He only needs to know certain things, if a warning is even that detailed with one of them," Palose answered. He knew very little about such people or their magic or even if it was magic. "It is up to you what I tell him. How is that for a bargain?"

Grinding his teeth a moment, Dorgred said, "I guess that will be fine, if that is what it will take to return to Southwall. This cave has become a prison and I would rather be free of this oppressive mountain."

It was a feeling of many living inside the cave that they could feel the weight of the mountain above them. The fragility of an arching stone ceiling at the base of the mountain leant some imaginations ammo that it might collapse during their life time.

"Good then it is settled," Palose nodded sounding surprisingly content with the idea of losing one of his powerful wizards. In fact, the dark mage wished that he could keep them all near him. There was protection in numbers, but realistically they were still too few to truly believe that a mob formed by Ensolus' warlocks wouldn't have enough power to overwhelm them anyway. He doubted that anything that might endanger him would come after him so obviously though. Ensolus was stocked full of rumors of rivals killing each other with assassins or leaving no real trace at all. It was hard to completely hide foul play from those with magic, but it could be done.

"We'll decide where to try sending you and depending on how things go, maybe you can be back in Southwall before the end of the day tomorrow. I have to check the army in Litsarin, but the frontline has been quiet of late. No one seems to know how to end the stalemate, so I probably won't need to be there that long."

"You could just send me or Oween to check on the wraiths for you," Nalack said a little too easily. Oween gave him a look that said she didn't truly believe that the warlock was so easy going. Both had sworn to join him in exchange for their lives, but even wraiths could exaggerate or lie. Palose didn't doubt that either of them could have said what he wanted to hear without truly meaning it.

"If I don't at least make a brief stop, there are men that might be offended. I also wouldn't want that to get back to the emperor, now would I? It is much better to be on his good side than draw his anger."

Dorgred waved off the excuses and asked Palose, "So you mean it? I can go return to Southwall?"

Giving the wizard a shrug of his shoulders once more, the mage replied, "Didn't I just say I would? I am just asking as a friend to have you look for a seer. If you don't wish to sit with them, just call on me. I'll take over, if you can find one."

Refusing to go round and round on the topic any longer, Dorgred moved to sit on the couch. The pretty blond, Stasia moved to sit by him with a pout on her lips. Though the girl was just sixteen, she and Dorgred had formed a close relationship. While Palose doubted that it was sexual, there was definitely something that made the two tend to confide in each other spending time together often as well.

It would be interesting to see what the girl would do with her friend talking about leaving. Would she wish to go as well? Ensolus had been Stasia's home. The daughter of a lesser noble, who had fallen in bad stead with the emperor or someone with greater power, his daughter had been sacrificed as part of a ritual to send the black ships after Sebastian. She owed no one in Ensolus anything, except for Palose who had brought her back to life.

He would wait to see what the girl would say, since it was inevitable that she couldn't help wanting to talk him out of it in some way. Stasia had been a spoiled rich girl and still had some selfish ways.

Looking at Wendle, Palose noted the man's eyes on him. "If you want to leave Wendle, I could send you to one of Southwall's cities. You could catch a ship back to Kardor or ride there by horse, though I think I'd rather travel by ship during the winter."

"I'll think about it," the lanky young man said. His eyes looked to Talia, the other young woman who had been sacrificed with Stasia months ago giving him his first two experiments in resurrection. The two were close. He knew that the two often shared a bed, unlike the older Dorgred and Stasia.

The little connections between those in his circle meant little to Palose, except for his love of Sylvaine. His other circle members were just necessities to add to his power and safety.

Well, he had one person who could start looking for the elusive oracles of the North's past at least. The mage just wished that he had a better idea of where to start looking for a sect that had seemed to disappear with the Cataclysm. Kolban would have to be satisfied with whatever he could find out, though Palose hated to think what the Dark One would do if he failed him completely.

The dark thought was pushed to the back of his mind as Talia started to bring dinner to the table. Maybe after a full stomach he would think of something better.

Chapter 13- Snowfall

Gerid's return home had come as a surprise. Sherari and her daughter in particular almost acted like they were seeing their family returned from the dead, an unfortunate line of thinking for the mage as he glanced to the resurrected warriors used by Palose.

It was no surprise that they would be asked to stay for dinner. Unofficially Gerid was like the mayor or perhaps a tribal leader since his relationship to both those on land and under the waves was more that of a father to his many children than some politician who barely knew who he helped rule. There was little typical governing needed for the island, though as a former king the immortal knew enough to guide his people when it was needed.