Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) (34 page)

Turning to the side, Sebastian blew through the small opening hewn from the metal by the wire rune. He used his vision runes to assist him in hiding the metal shavings and only hoped that his captors didn't look at the cuffs too closely. A lot of progress had been made against the hard, enchanted metal; but it still held and was unlikely to break anytime soon.

The owl needed a chance to break free or find someone to help him, but neither opportunity had presented itself since Hassar and Erethia left. That felt like days ago, if not a week; but it couldn't be a week since the lack of water wasn't killing him yet.

Feet wearing soft soled boots or shoes came along the hallway. He could hear them long before he saw the lamp light this time.

Several men came into his view as they moved to look at him from beyond the bars. An older balding man held a ring of keys, while a younger, much larger man carried a tray with a pitcher and metal cup. Bread could be seen on the wood tray, but the pitcher taunted him. If his mouth wasn't so dry, Sebastian thought that it would have watered at the sight.

A third man almost as large as the second wore a falcon's uniform, but Sebastian had a feeling that this man wasn't here to save him. Not every mage felt the same allegiance to his brothers.

The first man with the keys sneered at him and said, "Well, it looks like you are still alive. Maybe we should leave him a little while longer. It looks like he still has a lot of fight left in him."

A voice carried from just beyond his sight from the hall. "Just open it, Civan. It won't do us any good if he dies and besides I think that he can be turned to our side with the right coaxing.

Grunting as he frowned back the way that he had come, Civan retorted, "You wizards think that you can make anything happen with your magic, Xaren. If you want to make him talk, I can do that. Just give me a little time with him."

"If you break him, we might as well kill him," the man's voice replied as he finally moved into view. He wasn't alone.

Sebastian noted the black and silver robe of a diplomat wizard, but he might as well call this one what he was. He was a mind wizard meant to break the mage apparently, but in such a way that Sebastian remained enough of himself to serve them while retaining his magical creativity. That was what he supposed at least. If he was no good to them broken, then the diplomat must have planned to shift his mind in a way that the owl would work with them.

The last member of the little group was a red haired woman, a wizard by her robes of brown. She was a researcher, but the woman didn't speak as she listened to the men talking. Her gray eyes looked from their conversation to the mage. While Sebastian couldn't call the look in her eyes curiosity exactly, there was some kind of interest in him as she watched him watching them in turn.

"My offer still stands if you find out that your magic isn't as good as you think," the bald man with the keys answered.

"Just open the door. Seirtan and Lorgan will be more than enough to prevent him from doing anything, if he does have too much life in him."

A jingle of the keys and a clack of the extra keys and ring as it touched the metal bars led to the final click of the lock as Civan twisted his hand. He pushed the metal door open, but moved to the side remaining outside the cell. If it was discretion caused because of the mage's potential to attack, Sebastian thought that the jailor was being overly cautious. Without water and food, the mage felt worn down. If it could be a fight using his magical spells and powers, he might have risked it even facing another battle mage; but Sebastian had neither. He also felt too weak to try fighting through five people.

The large mage moved inside first taking up a position by the door and a few steps towards Sebastian, while the largest man walked forward to place the tray in front of him. Finally the two wizards entered, but Civan remained outside before pulling the door closed behind the others. Apparently they weren't taking any chances even so, the owl thought.

Xaren, as the jailor had referred to him, gave Sebastian a smile meant to soothe him in spite of the situation. Using a calm voice, the wizard introduced himself, "Falcon Sebastian, I am Wizard Xaren. I am truly sorry to have to meet you under these conditions, but I am afraid that it is not my decision.

"I am here to help you change your mind and your allegiance in the most civil way that I can."

Eyes narrowing slightly, Sebastian questioned, "And who exactly am I supposed to be switching allegiances to exactly? As far as I can tell, we both work for Southwall and King Alain."

Wagging a finger as he pointed towards the ceiling, the wizard replied, "Ah, well an allegiance to Southwall doesn't have to mean an allegiance to a king that doesn't seem to care about his people. Of course, even that part is debatable.

"Why does a northern king rule all of the lands within Southwall? It is one thing to have his wall and any cities along it that share his common needs to join together, but the southern cities send him money and people. What do they get in return? Hala and the southern cities are like entirely different countries. Then there is the west," the wizard added, but Sebastian sorted through the attempt to throw him off. "What do New Oapril, Ione and the mining towns of the Dimple Mountains have in common with Hala? What do we owe Alain? We have paid him long enough. It is time to separate and we think that you would be an important asset for moving forward."

"I'm sure that you do," Sebastian stated unimpressed. His eyes wanted to look at the pitcher and bread in the guard's hands. It was close and the mage could even smell the bread. The prisoner thought that he could almost smell the water.

He also noted the red haired wizard watching and listening. She seemed amused slightly by the diplomacy wizard. Whether she thought that he was wasting his time or thought what he said was amusing, Sebastian couldn't be certain. The other men had their attention mostly on the shackled battle mage. He could sense the tension in their bodies as if they waited for him to spring forward.

With the door closed and the ring of keys removed from the lock, Sebastian wasn't about to waste his time.

"Are you familiar with diplomacy magic?" Xaren asked as he walked casually to Sebastian's right side. Wondering if this was just his way of trying to make the mage believe that he was unconcerned with being harmed, Sebastian watched and listened not only to the wizard's message but for any subtext that he could manage.

"If you studied up on me, you would know that I have a sister with that kind of magic," Sebastian replied. It was information easy enough to learn, even if they didn't know it. Katya was in Litsarin or Sileoth with the dragon mages and couldn't be used against him easily, if only because they wouldn't be able to get to her there.

"I suppose that she went to White Hall as well," the wizard sighed as he began to pace back across the space between Sebastian and the others. "If she is half as talented as you, then it is a shame. We could use talented, powerful wizards. She is more powerful than you, I would assume?"

"She's a wizard. I am just a mage.

"So who is this mysterious 'we' that you and Hassar keep mentioning? Are there more wizards that I am going to have to meet or maybe some lords and ladies? I admit that it will be hard to impress me after meeting kings and queens."

Xaren couldn't mask the wince of his eyes, though it had been a small movement. "Who we work for isn't important right now. First, we must delve into why you serve anyone. Maybe we should just begin now. I had considered letting you eat and drink first, but I think Civan is correct. You have more energy than I thought you would."

The wizard began to weave a set of signs with his fingers and hands even as his words of power were mumbled quietly. After a moment, the man aimed a last gesture towards the mage sending the power of his spell against Sebastian. He felt something, but it was no more powerful than the sprinkle before a true rain arrives; except that no more than that trickle appeared to touch him.

Eyes opening a bit wider in surprise, the wizard brushed through his blonde hair with his right hand. Touching his beard as the hand dropped past his face, Xaren gave it a quick pet before a strong tug as if to wake him up to try harder.

Brown eyes glared at the mage's blue eyes noting no change to the look of Sebastian's face. The owl wondered if the spell had meant to numb his mind. Even without the wizardry acting on him, his head continued to feel fuzzy anyway. Nothing was added aside from the splash of magic against him. It was like a small wave breaking against the stones with little effect.

Stepping back, the wizard shook out his hands as if warming up for another spell. Magic could be felt as Xaren went from a subtle use of power to one that should shatter any defenses the mage could still mount against him. It should have been easy, but the wizard could sense that nothing had happened.

New hand and finger movements echoed a louder tone as if his voice powered the strength of his spell. When the attack of magic struck, it felt like the first spell and Sebastian wondered what the man had tried this time. The owl mage was familiar with diplomacy magic attacks. Before he even knew that his sister had the gift, an apprentice had tried to take over his mind. Back then, the mage had used air magic to release his mind onto the winds while continuing to control his body. It had been a way to avoid being controlled.

When his sister and the siren songs of mermaids had tried to take his mind, the same spell had saved him. Only the mermaids had managed to control his mind through the power of their song for any time. Yara had covered his ears long enough for him to get control and use the air spell.

Unless the siren song was different from diplomacy magic in some way, Sebastian knew that he wasn't just immune to the spell.

Grinding his teeth, the wizard turned back to confer with the red haired woman angrily. He lowered his voice, but the runes let Sebastian listen to their conversation.

"I don't understand. I can't make the connection with my magic at all. It is like I am slipping off of wet metal. Could the collar be blocking my spells while containing his power?"

The woman stood enough to the side to watch the mage. Her gray eyes locked on his and she said, "The collar only holds magic in. Your spells can't be blocked by just the runes on it or those in the shackles.

"If you can't use your spells on him, then he must be protected. His sister is a diplomacy wizard, he said. Do your people have protection spells that are permanent to guard a mind?"

Shaking his head, Xaren answered, "No, and I am not sure how long a resistance spell would last cast on someone else. Usually the wizard would need to remain nearby to continue strengthening a magic resistance spell for it too work. I suppose that there are a few which can be cast and left to feed off the host or left in a loop for a time."

"How long would one of those last?" the woman asked.

"A few days, maybe a week at most, though a skilled wizard might be able to extend that time."

"Then check him for lingering magic spells. I doubt that anyone had a reason to cast such a spell on him, but I suppose there is some possibility that a wizard was extremely cautious despite the fact that he was just visiting Red Hall."

Sighing, Xaren turned back to the battle mage in his shackles and started a new spell. Sebastian thought that the woman's eyes sparkled slightly. Without his magic to rely on, he could only guess if the wizard was using her magic to look for whatever was guarding his mind.

While both wizards tried to discover his immunity to the mind spells, Sebastian tried to figure out what was keeping Xaren from entering his mind or otherwise exercising his power over him. Assuming that he wasn't truly immune, the mage could only think of one thing that could be defending him now. There were still a few runes that he had never been able to figure out. They had come from the Grimnal's guards, but even those men didn't know every spell built into the markings on their bodies.

Shaman created and placed the rune magic on normal men and women. Those with talent had to prove themselves and figure out basic runes first to be trained in them, but once they had proven their worth supposedly they would earn the right to study with the rune masters to learn more. The owl mage had cheated slightly. He had been given one rune and figured out how to push magic into it. His healing magic led him to discover how to move and replicate all of their runes in the process.

Perhaps one of those he had replicated and hidden on his body had the ability to block mind magic like the defense runes on his arm protected him from physical harm?

He hadn't had time to ask more questions of the shaman who had placed the rune on him while visiting Gerid's island briefly the other day. Now Sebastian wondered if he had stumbled upon something that might save his mind here.

An hour passed and still Xaren remained stymied by what was protecting the mage. His magic saw no protective wards or runes. There were no spells working against him, yet Sebastian remained unaffected by his magic.

As he gave up, the man with the tray started to turn away as Civan turned the key in the lock.

The pretty woman held up her hand and made him give up the tray to her. She let the men all leave the cell. Sebastian remained wary. It wouldn't surprise him to find out that she was the next test. If magic alone wasn't capable of moving him, perhaps she was bait to try a different tactic.