Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) (28 page)

"But you are trying," the falconi laughed quietly. "What questions do you have that I might be able to help with?"

Sebastian glanced around the steadily clearing room. Ashleen and some of the others had joined them at the table as well. Though he wasn't too worried over them hearing what he was about to ask, the mage decided to be more cautious with the information he was about to share.

"Maybe we should do this in your office. Some of what I am about to say has been restricted to just a few others."

The falconi rose with Sebastian. As the others in his team looked to him curiously, he told them that he would just be a minute. Ashleen frowned as the owl left with Garrett leaving her behind as well.

Once they had climbed the stairs of the Tower of War to the falconi's office, Sebastian pulled out his map of Southwall and much of North continent as well. Markers in the various guardian cities and those to the south in a few different colors dotted the map.

"This map holds gates in Southwall that I know and a few more that were formed outside of the country as well."

Falconi Garrett let out a low whistle seeing so many marked gates. Then his eyes moved beyond their borders noticing a couple in the sea far to the southeast. One didn't even have the color of an island to support it. A few more were marked north of the wall.

"You've discovered the enemy's gates?"

"Most likely these let the Dark One move his armies between fortresses. We know almost nothing of the ones in the mountains and some say that this one may be his capitol," Sebastian stated noting a spot marked by four distinct gates. One of those gates had a different color from the rest in the mountains. It was still colored with the mark that signified one of Palose's gates.

The falconi finished taking in the map and asked, "What exactly am I supposed to guide you on here? I don't know how to make a portal. I tried actually, but they taught it like a wizard and most said that it takes a lot of magic to open."

"A mage that can set them in his mind, or by using a map to do so, could get the power from wizards willing to assist; but that isn't what I wanted to ask you.

"You see this area with the four portals. Two feel fairly normal for points held by more than one person's magic. They are basically generic portals, I would guess, that any warlock should be able to lock onto and use. This one feels the same generically, but I sense that it is stronger and larger than the others.

"This last one was created by Palose alone."

Garrett's eyes widened. The former cadet of White Hall, who was raised to falcon status after he was found to have survived the same mission which had earned Sebastian's promotion, had in turn become a betrayer of Southwall. Palose was one of the Dark One's minions now and had opened a gate into Windmeer for the Dark One's soldiers and monsters.

If the remnants of the company dispatched beyond the wall hadn't returned when they did, Windmeer could very well have fallen that day. Sebastian had been in the returning company and had helped lead in renewing the defense of the castle. He had nearly died that day as well, when he came across Palose leading a force of orcs and goblins. With a few warlocks in tow, the mage had become overwhelmed and only a last minute appearance by the defenders of Southwall had saved his life. That and the healing of Yara and the other wizards to breathe life back into him anyway.

"You are sure that is Palose's gate? Have you tried using it?" the older mage asked incredulously and seemed to ask him with his eyes to tell him no.

"No, but the other gates that I closed before Palose tried to mask them in some new way; were marked the same. I knew his magic signature and using the map I discovered his portals both in the south and north of the wall." He pointed to the islands beyond Southwall and added, "These were his as well and the first that I closed. Once I made my move, he responded by changing the magic signature.

"I am not sure how he did it, but I also haven't had the time to spend to find out if someone else covered his tracks using their magic or if he managed another trick. Even so, I can still open the ones marked where they existed. A trace of the magic remains either from marking them on the map or because Palose's magic lingers. Whatever it is, I could try using his gate to infiltrate the Dark One's city."

The falconi answered quickly, "It would be very dangerous. I don't think anyone would authorize letting you try in particular. Your knowledge of other magic that no one else knows makes you invaluable."

Sebastian nodded slowly, less because of the appraisal of his worth as much as knowing that others would see him that way.

"But because of the spells I know, I may be the safest bet to try. The king had me try to infiltrate the groups setting up in New Harbor because of my abilities. It was considered dangerous, but I can call a portal by myself. Few can do that.

"No wizard can defend themselves as well without bodyguards, so I was given the mission.

"A trip inside the Dark One's city might be best left to me as well."

Garrett frowned assessing the mage's mind succinctly as he replied, "If you are going to go against my opinion and my orders, why would you ask me at all?"

"You haven't given me an order and this is all just theory so far after all," Sebastian managed to say without letting a smile touch his lips. The idea of the trip had been calling to him since he had discovered the gates on his map, but other things had continued to pop up getting in his way and taking up his time.

He feared waiting too long might cause the point to decay beyond his ability to open it. If Palose had created this separate portal in secret, then it was likely lightly defended, if at all. It was the perfect entry point to discover what hid within the Dark One's city. Scouts had come within sight of a mountain with stone walls and defenses guarding the mouth of a large cave, but no one had ever managed to infiltrate beyond the outer farms as far as he knew.

Falconi Garrett looked unready to continue discussing this particular issue and they fell into an uneasy silence until the man asked, "Has your sister told you what happened on her first test trip to the mountains?"

"I assume it was one of the summer trials to train them in simulations of what they will go through on a mission?"

Nodding, the falconi replied, "Apparently she maintained security and didn't tell you what happened.

"While they were there another force showed up starting a fight with the company after they had set up their site to release the animals being returned back into the wild."

"Another attack from the emperor? There wasn't another fortress like the one Garosh started was there?"

Falconi Garrett looked like he hadn't heard of the giant's name. "Word came to us of an enemy fortress, but I do not know the name.

"Anyway, it wasn't something from the emperor. It was something completely new that no one had seen before. The descriptions of the creatures in the army made reference to similar monsters to those in the dark armies. Smaller creatures like the goblins, the apprentices nicknamed them hobgoblins to differentiate the creatures for example.

"The reason I mention it is because we had to send a gate team to close a new type of portal. One of our novice wizards described what it looked like and other than the fact that it worked like a doorway, it looked nothing like the ones you and Darius discovered.

"Instead of golden light, the novice said that it looked like swirling clouds. A gray fog mixed with dark, storm clouds swirling within it was the closest Piotr could come up with to describe it. He said the base billowed out a bit like a fog bank and the edges weren't as crisp either."

Sebastian's forehead creased with confusion after a moment and asked, "While that is interesting, what does it have to do with me?"

"Before you start going off to pick fights with the emperor in his own city, maybe you should try to deal with the portals in Southwall first? You are the only one making these gates and there are other mysteries we need to solve. Having you go to the portal in the mountains at some point might bring more insight into the situation as well."

The younger man let the conversation lapse back into silence for a moment as he thought on the falconi's words. A thought came to his mind and Sebastian suggested, "Have you asked Kel'lor and Cheleya if they knew anything of this type of portal? Gates have been opening up since the ancient sorcerers opened a rift between our world and that of the che'ther and mar'goyn'lya.

"Maybe Mar'kal has a better record of the original spell used and what it looked like? I doubt that what we do using the emperor's portals would match something created here hundreds of years before the Dark One stumbled across our world."

"It is worth asking, and someone from the wizards' side might have done so already." The falconi looked at the young man curiously before asking, "You aren't curious about it?"

Sebastian shrugged and replied, "If the gate team has already sealed the breach, then there is little that I will be able to get out of going there. I can scan the reports from the eyewitness, but it came from a novice not a veteran so he may not be completely reliable."

"Apparently this boy could be elevated to apprentice any time according to Herrol and the others. I've heard similar things about your sister, but the customary way of it is to keep them novices for about a year before promoting them to apprentice. They run their division differently from ours. You are either a cadet or falcon here. Of course, they don't have clear ranks aside from the white wizards above becoming a full wizard."

"Even so," the younger mage countered, "it would be difficult to discover much that the gate team couldn't figure out. Perhaps if he hasn't already been there, you should ask High Wizard Darius. He has more practical experience with the spells than anyone, since he has been on gate closing teams as well."

Letting out a long, disappointed, breath, Garrett nodded. "We would like to stop relying on the high wizard for everything, but his knowledge dwarf's anyone alive."

"There are still things that he doesn't know," Sebastian added.

"True, and that is where you come in, isn't that right? Do you still plan to stay for a few days to teach more of your magic to the teachers here?"

"Yes, I might have to come up with a better plan for the other cities I need to make safe anyway. Perhaps I can give them a little time to adjust the defenses by telling them the size of the gate frame? If I can just pop into a city with them ready, we can probably build them in more than one city each day."

Falconi Garrett looked at his former student shaking his head slightly in amazement. "Your teachers always reported that you had a quick mind. Teaching you tactics was a breeze, they would say. You simply understood things that involved your brain more than many of your fellow cadets.

"Obviously cerebral challenges are something you flourish with, like making new spells from wizard magic. I don't know how you managed to create so many and you even discovered magic unknown to our wizards.

"Cheleya came here looking to discover something from us that had helped make you what you are. We warned her that you were simply something special and unique, but she has been trying to find it anyway."

"I've met the dragoness. We've fixed her curse now. If she wants to return home to her old life, it is possible to change back and forth for her now."

The falconi's mouth opened slightly but it took a moment for the thought to sink into his brain. "You fixed something the wizards of Hala couldn't... in a single day?"

"An afternoon really," Sebastian replied with a chuckle and couldn't help smirking at Falconi Garrett's reaction. "Of course, it related to rune magic which only I really seem to understand so far. I have wizards and mages who can copy and transfer them, but they go through the motions. They can make existing runes when they have them to copy on their body, but I don't think anyone has fully grasped more beyond that. It took awhile for the rest to take shape in my mind, but even I am still just beginning to understand it."

"And now you have started writing your own runes," the falconi stated. "This is why I don't think anyone will be willing to let you try storming the emperor's castle."

Sebastian laughed at the concept. "I was hardly planning to try that, but perhaps I could scout the city from inside and once I do, then we can send others as saboteurs."

Patting the air to slow Sebastian's ambition, Garrett warned, "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves now. You still haven't been given the order to proceed."

Sebastian heard the man, but knew that if he truly decided that it must be done, no one in Southwall could truly stop him short of binding him so he couldn't speak the spell or move to enter the portal. There were definitely times where the owl forgot that he was supposed to be serving under the battle mage elite. He had been autonomous for too long to easily want to follow once more. Still struggling with such things, the young man held his tongue and nodded agreement to one of those elite.

Having covered all they wished to for now, Falconi Garrett added as Sebastian began to retreat towards the stairs leading down through the Tower of War, "If you need help scheduling times and places to help pass on your new magic, let me know. I can even help find you some students, if you need to worry about that."