The Missing Mage (23 page)

“Are you crazy? Do you think I would let you go by yourself? You just lost your mage. You are going to need a healer. Quinton is a good mage, and Sharon is becoming quite the warrior, due to your training. I think we make a pretty respectable band of misfit heroes. I can take care of myself too, you know.” Ava lifted her hand to show Nathan her magical ball of energy. The ball was once again only the size of a marble. “Damn it, I can do much better than that, my magical stores are low from healing Balthazar,” Ava exclaimed.

Nathan was impressed, if that bit of energy was what she could produce when she was weak, she really had come a long way in her magical abilities. “’Here let me charge you.” Nathan put his hand on top of Ava’s and let his magic flow into her hand. He felt the energy flow into her, replenishing her own energy stores.  It was surprising how much energy it took to refill her, she had built her magical abilities up a great deal since they first started working with Balthazar. “You have been doing extra work on your magic.”

Ava nodded and gave a small smile. It was nice that he noticed how much work she had done. “Every night I work on Balthazar’s lessons and now I’m also getting lessons from Helena. The last couple days Quinton and Sharon have been training me with a shield. I am getting pretty good, I can stop all of Quinton’s attacks, but Sharon is a beast. She is so quick!”

Nathan smiled. Ava was impressive. For that matter, both of the girls were exceptionally talented in their own ways. Their skills complimented his and Quinton’s rather nicely. Ava was correct; they made a pretty decent band of misfit heroes.

“Besides, you always end up on your back looking at the stars. Who would you rather see when you wake up? Me or some dusky western mage about to burn you to a crisp?”

Nathan could not argue that point.

…

Morning came early for Nathan. With the coming of first light, he slipped out of the house. Letting the others sleep a little longer, while he searched for tracks. At first, he couldn’t find the trail, but as the sun got brighter he could make out impressions in the ground. He followed them for a while to try ascertaining some details, then headed back into the house.

Sharon was the only one awake. She was making breakfast when Nathan came in.

“Find anything?” she asked in a soft voice, trying not to wake the others.

Nathan nodded. “I found the trail, a large group with a hostage, they left here and I found where three of the party circled back to the woods outside the house where they set up their ambush. We will be able to track them.”

“Good, how many mages are we up against?”

“Hard to say, too many tracks to get a clear picture just yet, but I would say at least six, could be up to a dozen. “

A dozen foreign warrior mages, it sounded like a daunting task to Sharon, but she just shrugged. “Well I just hope my daggers can kill them. Hopefully I can be quick enough to get past their magic shields.”

“Their shields aren’t perfect. Matter of fact, I am not sure if they even use them, but they certainly can use fireballs, so make sure you don’t get roasted,” replied Nathan.

“Thanks, I will try to keep from getting roasted. Besides Quinton already thinks I am hot enough, I don’t need to add flames.”

“I noticed you two are getting kind of friendly.” He winked and smiled. “That is good. Quinton is a good guy.”

Sharon smiled. “It’s weird, if we weren’t on this big quest to save Balta from some crazy king  and his hired goons this would almost be a nice double date. Cozy little cabin in the woods, crackling fire.”

Nathan laughed. “I suppose you could look at it that way. Let’s wake everyone up. It is time to get going.”

While Sharon woke Quinton and Ava, Nathan went to wake Balthazar. The mage was already awake when Nathan knocked on the bedroom door.

“Come in,” said Balthazar.

“How are you feeling today?” asked Nathan.

“Like I was blown up and thrown into a tree,” replied Balthazar. “I will live but I am sore. Did you find a trail?”

“Yes, like you said, they are headed into the jungle. From the tracks we only missed the main party by a day. I would say we are about two days behind them now. “

“If they are hacking and slashing their way through the jungle, you should be able to gain quickly on them. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cyrnic led them on a bit of a wild goose chase before giving up any real secrets. Get moving, don’t worry about me or the horses, just go find Cyrnic and get those tomes.”

…

The jungle was thick and heavy with vegetation. However, Cyrnic had been correct; the Darcarions had cut a path through the jungle as they went. Following them was easy and quick. They had been traveling for most of the day, only stopping to eat and have a short break. From the tracks Nathan could tell they had gained a significant amount of time on the group. They would not catch up to them today, but the next day was a really possibility.

It was close to dark when they entered a clearing with a small stream running through it. The Darcarions had made camp there the previous night. Nathan decided that it was as good a spot as any for them to stop for the night. He could have tracked the enemy party for another couple of hours, but everyone was getting tired and having fresh water, tonight and in the morning, was worth stopping for. Everyone slept well that night, despite the humid and muggy weather. They were too exhausted by the events of the last few days to let the weather affect them.

It was nearly mid-afternoon the next day when Nathan caught a sign that they had caught up to the Darcarion party. Leaving the others behind, Nathan snuck closer to spy on the enemy.

The Darcarion camp was a small area, hacked out of the underbrush and thick vegetation alongside a strong flowing river. Nathan counted five warriors along with one hostage. Nathan assumed that the frizzy-haired older man tied up was indeed Cyrnic. If he was not, then they had a problem.

Not that they didn’t already have problems, big problems. The five western warrior mages were alert, attentive, and keeping a close eye on Cyrnic. Nathan had hoped to sneak in and rescue Cyrnic while the mages slept. However, with the close guard they were keeping, nighttime sentries were a guarantee. In addition, Nathan was positive the tracks he had been following were those of a much larger party, making it likely that several of the mages were out in the jungle right now. If a party of the warrior mages returned to the camp during a rescue attempt, the results would be disastrous. Nathan slipped back to the others to report what he had found.

“The camp is well guarded, I don’t even know how we are going to rescue Cyrnic,” said Nathan.

“Attack them?” asked Sharon.

Nathan shook his head. “Too risky.”

“Wait until they are asleep and then sneak Cyrnic out,” said Quinton.

“I thought of that, but they seem very cautious. They’ll have sentries. They won’t all be asleep,” replied Nathan.

Quinton let out a big sigh. “Too bad, it would have been much easier if they were all asleep.”

“Then make sure they are all asleep,” said Ava.

“How would we do that?” asked Nathan, curious as to what Ava had in mind.

“With sleeping powder. You pointed out at the last camp that they had a large pot with them. The odds are they will use it again tonight. We can put sleeping powder into the soup and just wait for them to fall asleep.”

“Great idea, but where are we going to get sleeping powder?” asked Nathan.

Ava pulled a small pouch out of her healing supplies and handed it to Nathan. “Very handy when a patient is thrashing about while you try to stitch them up, or if they’re in a lot of pain.”

Nathan looked down at the little pouch in his hand and thought about it. Getting the powder into the soup would be risky, but if it worked, it was the safest option. “I‘ll put the powder in the soup.”

“No,” said Sharon. “You are our archer. You need to be watching and providing cover in case something goes wrong. Besides, you may be a ranger and good at sneaking but I have something you don’t.” Sharon stepped back into the jungle and activated the blender illusion that Quinton had imbued into her spider silk outfit. Her clothing instantly turned into shades of green with small splashes of color and dark areas, making her almost impossible to see despite being only a few feet away.

Nathan was impressed. Despite his extensive training, he knew he would have a much harder time sneaking into the camp then she would. Her plan to use him as a protective watcher made sense as well. Nathan organized his thoughts. “Quinton, back up the path about half an hour there was a fallen tree we stepped over. Remember the one?” After Quinton nodded in agreement Nathan continued. “Hack of as many as the branches as you can and bring it back, it was only about twenty feet long so it won’t be super heavy. Ava, there are some endpria vines just over there. Cut a couple dozen pieces at about arm’s length.” Nathan paused. “Before you go, how much sleeping powder do we need to put into the soup to make them all sleep?”

Ava took the pouch from Nathan and then grabbed a large palm leaf. She emptied a small pile onto the leaf. “About half that should work, but use it all just to be safe,” she replied as she tied the leaf up into a makeshift sack and handed it to Sharon.

“Okay, Sharon and I will drug the mages. You two get that log and those vines. If you hear a big explosion or a whole lot of fighting … come rescue us.”

Quinton shook his head. “Inspiring speech Nathan, a real confidence inspiring speech,” he muttered as he headed back up the path to find the log.
What was Nathan going to do with the log,
he wondered. He hoped it was something more impressive than just come rescue us.

…

Sharon crept through the jungle slowly and silently. She could be caught at any moment if someone noticed a fast movement, or a heard the crack of a twig. Even with her blender outfit, she had to be very careful. She paused for a moment, as a huge snake slithered across her path.
Oh, please keep going Mr. Snake
, she prayed silently, as the massive reptile slowly made its way away from her.
Whew
, she thought.
I am never volunteering to crawl through a nasty jungle again
.

When she arrived at the edge of the camp she waited, Nathan had said that one of the mages seemed to be in charge of the cooking and would stir the pot every ten minutes or so before returning to the other mages, who were sitting together going over worn-edged, yellowing papers, likely Cyrnic’s. She only had to wait two minutes before the cook came back to check on dinner. The mage stirred the pot, using the ladle to taste his meal. The mage seemed satisfied as he nodded his head and returned the ladle to the pot. He stirred a while longer while Sharon mentally shooed him away. Finally, he turned and headed back to the other mages.

Sharon carefully crouched and slipped her way into the camp. The large pot was between her and the mages, providing excellent cover. Her color-blending clothes changed from greens to grey as she got closer to the pot. Carefully, she took the palm leaf out of her pocket and emptied the powder into the soup. Satisfied that she had it all in, she quickly grabbed the ladle, and blended the powder into the soup. She then carefully made her way back into the jungle.

…

From Nathan’s perch in the tree, he had an eagle eye’s view of the camp and the mages, but he had long since sight of lost Sharon. Once she crouched down, her outfit changed colors and she had been lost to him. Nathan watched the cook return to check on the pot. Twice now the cook had checked and left again, each time Nathan had expected Sharon to pop out of the jungle and slip the powder into the pot. He had visions of her being noticed and had already planed on which mages to fire at first if she was noticed. As the mage finished checking the meal and returned to the others, Nathan caught a glimpse of moment on the far side of the pot. He had to look twice before he was sure he saw her, but there she was, slowly creeping up to the pot. Her clothes started to change color as she got to the pot. Her top now matched the greyed color of the pot while her pants were still blending into the darker jungle greens. As he watched her hand slip the powder into the pot, Nathan marveled at Quinton’s illusion. It would have been amusing, had it not been so nerve-racking to see a ladle stirring the pot seemingly by itself. Only when Sharon slipped back into the jungle did Nathan breathe a soft sigh of relief. He stayed in his perch to wait for the mages to eat.

When Nathan finally climbed down from the tree, it was almost dark. He quickly returned to the others.

Seeing Nathan, Quinton asked. “Are they asleep?”

Nathan nodded. “Yes, it took the last one a while to doze off but they are asleep. Let’s get going. Quinton give me a hand with the log, we are taking it with us.”

Carefully the group walked into the camp, Nathan and Quinton dropped the log beside the river while the girls kept an eye on the jungle making sure the missing mages didn’t return to the camp at an inopportune time.

“Quinton, tie up all the mages’ hands and feet. That should buy us some extra time,” said Nathan as he went to check on Cyrnic.

“Guys we got a problem,” said Sharon when she got to the missing mage. Cyrnic had been fed some of the mage’s dinner and was asleep.

“I can wake him up with some smelling salts,” said Ava.

Nathan shook his head. They needed to be moving faster. The quicker they were away the less danger they faced. “No, leave him for now. He would probably be groggy and who knows how well he has been treated. Leave him asleep and I will carry him.”

Nathan handed Ava his bow and pack of supplies, then grabbed the log and placed it across the river. “Sharon, throw all of their weapons in the river, and take any supplies they have. I won’t murder them in their sleep, but let’s not make it easy for them either.”

Nathan, satisfied that the log was stable, returned and picked up the elder mage. Gently, he put him over his shoulder and headed towards the river. Nathan carefully walked across the log to the other side of the river. Walking across logs was nothing new to Nathan, walking across logs while carrying a person was a different story.