The Archon's Apprentice (24 page)

“I though the attunement rune granted someone the use of magic, right?”

“That’s what I thought too. Except for blood magic. But that’s different, you’re using your own life to power magic ... or someone else’s. But, since I was the fourth son and would not have been heir, I was never granted the attunement rune by Ioyan’s law.”

“Yeah, yeah, prince fighting prince. I remember. But why do your runes work now?”

“I ... I guess since I broke the seal, the magic went to the nearest runes to power them. I can feel all of my runic tattoos working. They fixed the cough I had. I’ve never been so full of life ... ever.”

“What about the runes in the cave?”

“Uh, yeah ... I don’t know.”

Mikol went to the cave wall and touched a rune. Nothing happened.

“Seems strange to affect just your runes. You said there were a bunch of runes you didn’t even know.” Mikol nodded. “Did it change more than just your tattoos?”

Mikol shrugged. He traced several lines in the air while saying a rune word. A small orb of light blinked in to existence in front of Mikol. Both men turned away from the bright light. Mikol hastily spat out a command rune and the orb dimmed.

“Sorry, forgot a rune.”
 

“Huh. Well, I guess that answered that question. So, what does that mean? Can I use runes?”

“Maybe. It’s worth a try. Remember, there’s a lot of training that I’ve had with runes and the magic behind them. Do you remember anything about rune creation?”
 

Bayle shook his head. Mikol laughed and shook his head as well.
 

“Didn’t think so.”
 

It was satisfying to know he could create something with runes, but it terrified Mikol to not have Voletain present.
 

“Ok, first thing is to calm your mind. Try to think only about what you are trying to create. Runes work on three levels: the constructed rune, the binding words, and the will of the caster.

“The best example I’ve heard is this. If you try to heal someone with rune magic but don’t genuinely want them to be better, the spell will fail. It doesn’t matter if you drew the runes correctly and said the binding words perfectly. If I tried to cast a healing spell on the man who killed Perim, the spell would fail.” Mikol took a deep breath. “And it works with all spells. If I didn’t really want to create that light orb, it wouldn’t have been created.”

“Ok, I get it. If Voletain hadn’t been so dry with his teaching I probably would have paid attention. Now, how do I create one?” Mikol smiled slightly.

“Let’s start small. Draw a circle in the air, and when you have come back to the beginning of the circle, drop down slightly and draw a smaller circle inside. Like this.”
 

Mikol drew the runes as Bayle watched closely. He nodded his head and started. Mikol did not see anything wrong with his construction.

“Good. Now for a simple light rune all you need to do is say ‘Gravan’ while drawing the rune.”
 

Mikol drew the circle and spoke the binding, and a small orb of light appeared in front of him. Bayle nodded his head again. Mikol indicated it was Bayle’s turn. He drew the runes and said the binding but nothing happened. He grimaced.

“It’s ok, I did the same thing the first time I tried. You rushed the rune. You need to complete the first circle exactly before you draw the second. The first circle is the containment of the spell. Without it the magic is not contained and doesn’t form what you wanted.”

Mikol watched as Bayle diligently drew the rune to completion and spoke the binding. Both of them could not contain their excitement as another small orb of light appeared in front of Bayle. When Bayle tried to grab the orb, his hand went through it.

“What? Why can’t I touch it?”

“That is the way that rune is constructed. You have to add other runes to the base rune to get it to do what you want.”

Mikol grabbed the first orb he created and placed it above both of them. It stayed where he placed it.
 

“The orb you created is not actually an object. You just created light. It is the easiest rune to create. This is very stubborn magic. You have to create other runes to make it do what you want.”

Mikol spoke a word and waved his hand over the orbs. They blinked out of existence.
 

“Teach me more.”

“Like what? We still don’t have another way out.”

“Is there something quick that you can teach me to help us get out of here?”

“There is not really anything that I can teach you right now to help. If you had paid attention I might be able to have you assist with creating some complex fighting spells. But, no offense, I can’t trust you not to make a mistake.” Bayle shrugged and nodded. Mikol looked around the cave for ideas.

“We’re not sure who is out there?” asked Mikol.

“Nope.”

“If they are hostile, they will try and ambush us?”

“Definitely.”

“Ok, I have something good. Make sure you follow exactly.”
 

Mikol dragged four fingers down and then quickly chopped his hand across all four lines. Mikol did it again and a third time to illustrate. Bayle nodded and made the motions. Mikol gestured for him to continue making the rune.
 

“Good. Looks like you are getting that one right. That is important because you will not see this one manifest. Now, add the binding word ‘Vor.’”

Bayle did the motion again and spoke the word.

“What does it do?”

Bayle barely had time to flinch before Mikol threw a punch at his face. Instead of a broken nose, Mikol’s fist collided with a barrier that exploded around his hand. Pieces of the barrier evanesced as they broke.
 

“That’s called a quick shield. It only takes one hit before it breaks, but it will block anything.”

“How did I even make that? There was no way I wanted to make the shield. I didn’t even know it was supposed to be a shield.”

“It’s not about wanting to create the exact object or effect. It is more important to want to magic to succeed. This is especially dangerous if you don’t know what runes you are creating or combining. Voletain told me stories about previous Archons who have blown up their homes trying to create some new rune spell. That’s why Voletain uses the safety runes for all training. Even if I couldn’t use runes, he wanted to make sure nothing went wrong.”

“So, don’t try anything that you haven’t taught me. Gotcha.”

Bayle created another quick shield. He punched the air in front of him. He lost his balance, as he had expected some resistance.

“What happened? Did I mess up?”

Mikol threw another punch and shattered the shield.

“Wouldn’t be much use if you could break your own shield.”

“Can I make a lot them at once, like a hundred or more?”

“No, that spell doesn’t layer. It was created for a quick defense in the middle of a fight.”

“Is there anything you can teach me offensively? What about a fireball?” asked Bayle.

“That is way too dangerous to teach right now. Although it might be good if you knew how. Wouldn’t hurt to have something to do if you have no other options. Ok, yeah, I will teach you how to create a fireball. When we get back to Valefort we’ll have Voletain help teach you how to wield it properly. Pay close attention to what I do. It is pretty complex.”

Mikol created an elaborate symbol in the air, followed by a string of binding words. With flourish towards the far wall, he caused a ball of flame to leap from his hand and arc across the chamber. It exploded when it hit the wall and continued to burn everywhere it touched. Mikol moved quickly to draw another rune and spoke faster than Bayle could follow. He extended his hand towards the fire and it died out as he pointed at it.
 

“Did you follow what I did?”

“Yeah, I think so. But why can’t I try it if you can just put it out?”

“It’s not a problem when you do it right. It’s a problem when you do it wrong and the runes are drawn incorrectly. That rune could miscast and explode around you and probably kill us both.”

“Oh. Yeah, I don’t want to blow us up. Show it to me again.”

Bayle copied Mikol’s movement as closely as he could. Mikol nodded and had Bayle do it multiple times. When he had it down well enough, Mikol made sure he understood the binding words.

“Should we try to figure out anything about what this room was before we leave?” asked Bayle.

Mikol could feel the magic now. The runes still covered the wall and floor but he did not feel anything from them. The obelisk had been the only other thing in the room. Mikol did not see anything else in the room, but he remembered something Voletain had told him long ago. He drew another rune and had to try it three times before it succeeded. His vision was now augmented with rune magic. He could see the magic. Bayle had a small aura around him that was dissipating. Knowing what Bayle had just done with magic made it easier for Mikol to understand what the aura showed him. When he looked down at himself, he could see the power he was emanating. Even sheathed, Raythrael was blinding to look at. The small light runes that ringed the cave were the only other source of magic. Everything else was dull. He shifted through the rubble for any other clues. The silver attunement rune did not glow. He frowned.
 

“I can see magic everywhere, but I don’t see anything to tell me what this room was. It seems this cave stopped being what it was when I, or Rayhtrael, destroyed the obelisk.”

“And you’ve read nothing about this type of chamber in your studies?”

“Nope. But I know this room has been around for centuries. Maybe even millennia.”

Mikol took out the pendant. He walked around the room to see if it would react to anything. Nothing showed on the pendant. He had hoped for something to react, or even an ambiguous arrow to follow.

“We definitely found what this pendant was meant to find. Whatever that was.” Mikol shrugged. “But at least I can go back to Ternia and help defend against this warlord.” Mikol walked over to the entrance. He saw nothing magical. “I hope the door still works. Are you ready?”

Bayle nodded.

“I don’t know what to expect out there.”

Bayle readied his crossbow. Mikol activated his runic armor and saw that Bayle create a quick shield. He held the pendant up to the door and hesitated. He took several deep breaths before placing the pendant in the door. The outline of the door appeared instantly. Mikol barely registered there was no handle as he pushed the door slowly outward. The runes inside the cave disappeared the moment the seal to the cave was opened. Mikol did not know how long they had been inside the cave. The moon was high in the sky and provided adequate light. He only opened the door wide enough that he could step out. Branches scraped against his armor as he walked.

Cautiously stepping farther out, he did not see anything or anyone. He looked behind the cave door as well. Nothing. He turned to Bayle and motioned him forward. When Bayle stepped clear of the foliage they both turned to see a man rise up with a crossbow from the path. Bayle’s shield exploded a second later, but his reaction sent his own crossbow bolt firing in to the man’s chest. Bayle immediately reloaded as they moved out of the cave. The sound of bouncing rocks came from the path as two more men rose up with crossbows. Mikol leapt forward as the men fired. The first bolt hit Mikol’s armor in the chest. It bounced off harmlessly; Mikol hardly felt it. The second bolt flew wide over his shoulder.
 

Mikol closed the distance in three strides. The two men scrambled to drop their crossbows and draw their swords. With one motion, Mikol swung at the man and manifested his runic blade. The blow felled the first man. Mikol dodged away as the second man drew his sword. He parried a second strike and took a step backward. The man anticipated Mikol and was ready to block the overhead strike coming at him. Mikol smiled. He had wanted the man to react this way. He released his sword.
 

The man gasped as he had braced for the impact of a blade that was no longer there. Mikol had already reached out with his left hand, manifesting the blade as he extended. The man grunted as the blade slid in to his chest. He looked at Mikol and then down at the blade. Mikol released the sword. It disappeared once again. The man fell forward, dead.

Bayle rushed forward with his crossbow ready. He checked all three men to be certain they were dead. Mikol peered down the path but did not see anyone coming up the path.

“That was amazing! How did you do that?”

“I wasn’t sure that would work. Ever since Voletain told me about the runic tattoos I had always imagined being able to do something like that, but real swords don’t work that way. I will need to train all over again with these runes. It opens up a whole new level of combat.”

“Wouldn’t that be cheating in competitions?”

Mikol smirked while walking to the edge of the plateau. He let out a sigh as he looked down. Bayle came up next to him to peer over the edge as well. At the base of the ridge where they had left their horses, they could see light from a campfire. They were not alone.

Chapter 16

Surrounded

Mikol held his breath as he looked over the precipice. So far there he only saw a fire. Maybe they had gotten lucky and the men they had killed were the only ones waiting for them. His hopes were dashed when he saw shadows being cast by the fire moving around. He watched for several minutes, counting the shadows. He guessed there were seven more men but he could not be certain from this distance. He could not tell who they were, but given what they had already experienced, he assumed they were there to kill him.
 

“Can we throw something down on them?” asked Bayle.

“Like what? There’s nothing up here to drop.” Mikol scooped up a handful of sand and rocks. “Unless you just want to make them dusty and annoyed.”

“No, that’s not exactly what I meant. Can’t you throw a fireball down on them?”

Mikol looked down at the area below. For several minutes he did not speak. All of the scenarios he could imagine involved too much luck. Nothing was working out truly in their favor.