Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) (42 page)

"Shefar, how did you know that we were coming?"

"Noram set up lookouts around the island. A few spots on the island are tall enough to watch the beaches of the closest islands. When they saw people stepping out of a glowing doorway onto the beach, I hurried to my position. There are only three of us here who can use the song to protect us, so we take turns and have our assigned points to cover."

Thinking that their use of the siren song felt unethical, Sebastian also realized that the unique magic was probably the strongest defense they actually had. These were farmers and former slaves. Few of them were likely to have any training with weapons though they had inherited a decent arsenal from the pirates they had imprisoned after Sebastian and his people had liberated the tribe.

"Are your people familiar with all the islands now, Shefar?" he asked the girl thinking that the islands separated by small bodies of water were really like a small country in size. If they had been under the pirates' control and been held to just the one island or whichever islands were used for farming to feed the settlement, then they might not have a clear picture of where the pirates could hide.

"They haven't examined them all yet. The escaped slavers have halted some of our exploration, but we did find something important." The girl left off what that was as she gestured to the fort ahead of them.

The wood walled fort had changed a lot in a matter of months. The jungle had been cleared back for hundreds of feet and new houses with gardens stood out from the fifteen foot wall. With the number of houses, Sebastian wondered if most of the tribe had moved outside of the walls.

"Did some of the sailors from Talos remain behind or have new ships come to bring settlers here?" he asked trying to figure out why they had left the relative security of the wooden walls if pirates still roamed the islands in small numbers.

She shook her head. "Hidden people from the tribe found our hunters and many moved here to join us."

The little blond mermaid looked to see if anyone from the group unknown to her were listening to the conversation as she lowered her voice. "Some of our people must have escaped to the water with some amulets. They weren't the special ones my sisters and I use, but they could change and a druid has been able to make more as that faction of the tribe grew without notice from the pirates.

"Not everyone was willing to rejoin us on land, of course, but some have and the others are still helping us with trade and other help."

This was surprising news. Instead of a small tribe that would be lucky to number forty, there were apparently other factions on and around the islands as well. They would have to guard the secret of the origins of their people, but perhaps using a different access point and walking from another island could help disguise that in the future.

Sebastian looked and saw that only Ashleen was likely to hear their words. "Remember to keep their real homes a secret. I don't fear that these people will spread the story, but should the wrong people hear, more than just slavers could try to capture your people."

Her big blue eyes looked at him soberly proving that Shefar already knew that much. She was young but her life had been exposed to the evils man could commit against their fellow men and women. The warning wasn't needed, but was a reminder none the less.

Entering the fort, Sebastian found more changes. Most of the large cages originally used to hold the remnant of the tribe day and night had been destroyed. A single cage remained while more houses filled the space as did dozens of children and adults going about their business. Actual shops had been set up to make tools, distribute food and clothing, as well as several other necessary tasks for a budding community.

Two familiar looking individuals came forward to meet them followed by several more that looked less like the people he had found trapped in those cages.

"Falcon Sebastian, it is good to see you again, but how have you come here?" an older woman with similar features to Yaroma and her sister asked as she approached them with a smile. The larger man beside her held a frown, but Sebastian wasn't sure if it was for them or something else already bothering the hunter.

"We have discovered new magic that can move us between two points however distant in a short time," the mage said and felt the older mages and wizards tense up at his offhand comment. This wasn't a community of wizards, however, so Sebastian didn't feel the need to mask the truth from them. A community that had no ships wasn't advanced enough to have trained wizards anyway after all. "It was time to bring your daughters home, Mirom, and I was able to find a path here; so here we are."

"That is a very handy magic," the dark haired woman admitted with a nod. "You bring more than just my daughters, however, so I wonder what else you hope to do here."

Going through the quick introductions of Falconi Brelan as well as wizards Oltus and Dinah; Sebastian stated, "With our new magic and the ability to travel so far, and with permission from the king of Southwall, we came to see if your people would like to join us in an alliance and trade. We know that you are just beginning to establish yourselves here and hoped to be able to maybe bring more of our people here to help you."

Looking around as if she needed to take in the nature around them, Wizard Dinah added, "Your islands are very beautiful from what I have seen and the weather is much warmer than Southwall. If the king will permit the use of portals to come here, I think that many of the nobles of Southwall would find this an ideal place to vacation during our harsh winters.

"If there were homes and services available here provided by your people, you could charge a lot of gold to help bring in commerce for trade. If you allowed them to build homes to live here alongside your people, that would go a long way to build even stronger relations between our people. We are simply here to see what you would like to do."

Oltus nodded and added, "Falcon Sebastian suggested our coming, but we only came to find out if your people would be receptive to our presence here. We could establish an outpost here with soldiers to help protect your interests as well, but if you were to tell us to go away, there would be no hurt feelings either."

The hunter looked ready to tell them to go away and started to take a breath to speak when Mirom placed her hand against his chest. Speaking for her tribe as elder and leader of her people, the woman replied, "Our people have some trust issues since few who have come here have brought positive actions with them. While I would need to bring others from the tribe to discuss how far we would like to extend our friendship, I think we should remain open to your ideas.

"Also we owe much to Falcon Sebastian. He saved us from slavery after all." She looked to the mage and added, "I hope that my daughters managed to repay at least some of our debt. They were insistent on following you, though I hadn't been fond of the idea of their leaving. Too many of our people have left to never return."

"They did well," Sebastian assured her, "but the time of service was over in my opinion. I never asked to be repaid. We simply did what we believed was right.

"Now I hope we can help each other. The portals can be set to let your people visit Hala and perhaps other cities in Southwall as well as we figure out where we stand. Wizard Nartreya is a nature wizard and can help you research products you have that might be valuable as well as being helpful in what might be brought here to grow as cash crops.

"Other types of wizards and researchers can be at your disposal as well as the soldiers, Oltus mentioned."

The woman smiled politely, but the mage knew a tolerant smile when he saw one. It would take time and much negotiating to figure out where they stood with the merfolk, which had the added worry of protecting the secret of those living beneath the waves as well.

After continuing to talk for awhile, the mages and wizards who weren't there to directly discuss the future with the locals began to wander the inner fort's courtyard like grounds. They spoke with the people there getting to know both the people and some of their needs. Worries were spoken of and Sebastian with Ashleen beside him found himself hoping that these people would let them help.

Olan and Yaroma continued to hope to marry, which left the man sweating as he prepared to speak with her family to discuss something beyond the union between their two peoples. Elzen wandered with Naoromi beside him watching as the young woman continued to greet her friends and family who she had left behind. While the younger mage certainly liked the mermaid, no one saw that relationship growing like her older sister's with Olan.

It was only a little while after Sebastian was looking at the members of his group circulating amongst the tribe that he realized that Evie had disappeared.

"Where did that girl go?" he asked aloud drawing Ashleen's eyes to him.

"Who?" she asked.

"Evie's wandered off. I don't see her anywhere in the fort."

Rilena had been walking nearby and overheard her friend. Looking around as well, she added to his comment complaining, "What is that girl up to now?"

Speaking in a calm voice, Ashleen replied, "I'm sure that she is fine. We just need to see if anyone noticed her wander off."

They began asking the people around them as they began their search. Most had no idea, though the little red head was remarkable enough to be noticed. Like Serrena's curly auburn hair, which caught the light with red highlights, Evie's hair stood out from the predominantly brunette tribe's folk. There were a few blondes, usually among the young, but Sebastian hadn't noticed any with red hair like the wilder's.

When a younger girl remembered seeing Evie with Shefar walking towards the front gate of the fort, Sebastian let Falconi Brelan know that he needed to find the girl outside.

Rilena and Ashleen refused to let him go alone, though the mage thought he could make better time if he did. Still after using the spell known as hound, Sebastian used his heightened sense of smell to find Evie's scent before following a path back towards the way they had come.

Chapter 22- Netted Fish

Evie wandered through the jungle following the narrow path worn between the fort and the inlet to the north. She walked with Shefar and the two girls found that they liked each other almost immediately.

"You know I never thought to try only changing halfway into an animal before," Evie commented to her new friend as they walked. Both girls remained barefoot, even though the plants had roots that could cause stubbed toes and broken branches or dried sticks could harm their feet.

"Mermaids aren't considered animals," Shefar corrected, though the red haired girl hadn't specifically said that was what she was thinking. "We're people who use magic to change into mermaids which can live beneath the sea without air the way humans do. Mother has tried teaching us the old myths about why the ancestors first left the land to find their way in the sea, but I admit that I haven't truly paid enough attention to remember why.

"I'm not sure anyone really knows anyway. They're just stories.

"I do know why my people left the ocean to stand on these islands though."

Evie looked curious and allowed the blond haired mermaid to continue without interrupting her. Shefar continued, "When the ocean boiled and water was replaced by land in places while other islands disappeared, our people looked for a place to be safe. Dark monsters drove them from their old homes and eventually those who remained to lead us, chose these islands.

"When the earth and sea stopped shaking, they rested here. Many of our people had become afraid of the ocean, since monsters still waited for them to return. Since those creatures couldn't walk on land, the tribe waited and waited here. While they waited, they found food and shelter.

"They learned to feed themselves, build homes from the wood of the trees and make roofs from the leaves. The sun could hurt their skin, so they learned how to make clothing from the plants and soon they had become used to the land. Some returned to the ocean after a time, but there were many who decided to give these islands a chance to provide for our people."

"I'd never seen the ocean before or waves like the ones striking the sand," Evie said with a smile. "I can't imagine living beneath the ocean. I don't even know how to swim," she added with a giggle.

Shefar's eyes widened with surprise and asked, "How can someone not know how to swim?"

Shrugging at her new friend's surprise, Evie replied, "There was a lake where I was born, but it was the water we drank as well. My mother warned me to avoid swimming there because other children had tried in the past and drowned."

"Well, if you can't swim, that can happen," Shefar nodded.

Shaking her head, Evie clarified, "No, the lake was dangerous because there was... what did she call it? The water could pull you under and if it happened in the wrong place, a river would pull you under the stone and away from the lake."

"Ah, that sounds like undertow," Shefar said with another nod. "If you can't breathe under water, that can be deadly; but it would sweep you under stone? How is that possible?"

"The lake is inside of a giant cave." Seeing the mermaid had no idea of such a reference, the wilder tried again, "The cave was inside of a mountain far inland. The city where my people lived was made inside that mountain.