Metal Mage 5, page 2
“Are you gonna teach him to use the guns?” the young mage asked eagerly, and I thought this over for a second.
Then I shrugged. “Probably not. I mean … I think I’m covered in that department honestly.” I turned around, and across the field I could see Cayla blow the entire center of the bullseye out with her rifle. Then Aurora stepped up and shot a small limb off a tree with her revolver before she turned expectantly to Shoshanne.
The Aer Mage raised her rifle and carefully took aim, but when the trigger was pulled the gun bucked wildly, and the woman fell flat on her ass.
I snorted as I looked back to Haragh. “Well, almost covered. She’ll get there.”
The half-ogre didn’t look very convinced, but he bit his tongue.
Pindor did not.
“She’s gonna kill someone on accident with that thing,” he said bluntly, and I scratched at my beard.
“Yeah … I thought she’d get the hang of it here sooner or later but you might be right,” I mused. “Either way, it’s only her first day. She’ll have plenty of time to practice. Who knows how long we’ll be up here before we hear from King Temin.”
“Oh yeah,” Pindor chimed in, “that reminds me. Bagnera just arrived to drive the army south, and she said she wanted to see you. I think she went to see about some food, though.”
I nodded as I returned the dwarven sword to the sheath on my belt. “Guess you’ll all be off pretty soon, then,” I said, and the three of us turned to head back up the path.
“Do me a favor,” Haragh grunted as he dropped an arm on the young mage’s shoulder. “If that sniveling idiot tries to lock ye’ in the library, you get the hell out of there quick. It’s a damn waste of your time, with how far ye’ve come. Find yourself an honest Terra Mage and get right into training, yeah?”
“Deal,” Pindor said, and he nodded diligently.
“And as always,” Haragh continued as we rounded the path and came up to the train. “If ye’ see a half-ogre lady down there, any half-ogre lady, you send her straight here. But if she’s wary and starts to show her teeth, get the hell gone. Send me a letter instead.”
Pindor chuckled and gave his agreement before he shook the half-ogre’s hand. I offered my own to the young mage as well and was pleased to find he’d learned the importance of a firm grip.
“Look after the girls, I guess,” I told him, but as I thought back to the sight of Mina and Deli melting down an ice giant in a flash of flames and diamond dust, I furrowed my brows. “Well … maybe not. Just try and keep up.” I sent the young mage a wink as he shook his head and turned to board the train, and the young Ignis Mages waved happily to us from their places on the metal benches I’d lined the train cars with.
I waved back, but as I turned to head into the mines, I heard the three of them shriek in surprise.
Haragh chuckled at my back. “You melted their damn seats didn’t ye’?”
“Of course I did,” I said with a smirk, then I sighed. “I’m gonna miss those kids.”
The hallway that led into the kitchens was lined with torches and stretched deep into the belly of the mountain. I could hear the echoes of clattering pans and laughing dwarves as we made our way along it, and eventually I caught Bagnera’s voice. From the tone of it, she’d just told an incredibly dirty joke, which accounted for the laughter that met us as we entered the kitchen. The massive stone table that stretched the length of the kitchen was a mess of discarded bones and mugs, and the dwarves who should have been in charge of the mess were sitting on their asses around Bagnera. Frothing mugs sloshed around as they laughed, and Bagnera wiped her eyes as she took a long sip of her own mug.
“So, I told him if he cleaned that beard up a bit, I’d consider it.” The biddy shrugged smugly, and the dwarves laughed all the harder.
I propped myself in the doorway and considered the sparkle in the old mage’s eyes as she finished her ale. “You drink too many of those, and you won’t be able to drive the train,” I chuckled.
Bagnera snorted and came over to give me a hug. “Oh, the thing’s on rails,” she laughed, and Haragh stooped to kiss the woman on the top of her head.
“You tell him,” the half-ogre said as he headed over to fill a mug of his own.
I shook my head and turned back to the Ignis Mage, whose hair was tightly pinned into a braided bun. The grey wisps at her temples were as unruly as ever, and they created a chaotic halo around her head that only made her more charming in my eyes. I smiled as I took it all in.
“Pindor said you wanted to see me?” I asked.
Bagnera started as if she’d completely forgotten already. “Right!” the woman laughed, and she turned for the stone table to rummage through her little satchel. “I got the message the army would need a trip back south, and just as I was fixing to leave, King Temin showed up at the mines asking for a messenger for you.” She found what she’d been looking for and returned to me with a thick and crumpled envelope. “He said it was urgent you get this, so I told him I was the fastest thing these rails have seen. That was only two days ago.”
She gave a pleased little nod as she handed it over, and I chuckled at the authority in her voice. “Yeah, you are,” I agreed, and I recalled the look of the woman as she barreled into the valley outside of Garioch. “By the way, how is Krick?” I sent the older woman a sly smile with every intention of being pointed about the huge logger who’d built the tavern in Garioch. I never did hear how the drink he offered her turned out, but the dwarves at the table spoke up before she could.
“Ask ‘er about the logger’s dinner last week,” one goaded, and Bagnera turned a scandalized look in their direction before she laughed heartily herself.
“Now I know I shouldn’t have told you lot a thing.” She smirked as she pointed a stern finger their way. “Bunch of dirty fools, that’s what you are.”
The dwarves wagged their brows to the old lady behind their mugs, but as they opened their mouths to retort, Bagnera cut them off with a quick “bup bup,” and they snorted as they bit their tongues.
Bagnera turned back to me and rolled her eyes. “Serves me right, tellin’ tales over ale. Now,” she said, and she nudged the parchment in my hands. “The king said not to bother coming south, just be on your way, whatever that means. So, I’m gonna be off with the rest of the mages, and you get on with what’s in that envelope.”
With that, the old mage tipped her cheek up toward me, and I chuckled as I laid a kiss there. She gave a satisfied smile as she squeezed my shoulder, then sent another wag of her finger to the dwarves before she disappeared down the hallway.
“She’s a feisty one,” I heard a dwarf chuckle, and I looked to see the others grin broadly.
“Aye,” they agreed. “We like her.”
“Me too,” I laughed, and I joined the group at the table. Bones and platters rattled as I slid my arm across the stone to make a bit of room, then I ripped the envelope open as a fresh mug dropped down in front of me.
Haragh nudged it closer and chugged his own.
The ale of the dwarves was a warm amber, and it was the richest I’d tasted since coming to this realm. It seemed to never run out, as well, no matter how early and long they carried on with their drinking, and it really was a wonder the tracks were forged so quickly. Still, if it’s not broke …
I finished my mug and belched loudly before I pulled the contents of the envelope out, and found a letter, a second envelope that had already been opened, and a ruddy piece of folded parchment. I flipped the envelope over and studied the wax seal that had been broken, but I didn’t recognize it. The wax was a deep forest green, with a series of letters from a language I’d never seen embedded in it.
“Huh.” I shrugged and decided to start with the letter. I unfolded the parchment and saw King Temin’s stamp at the top. My mug seemed to have refilled itself, and I had it halfway to my lips when the pleasantries of the letter ended, and the king got to the point.
“No shit … ” I muttered and quickly picked up the envelope once more. This time I flipped right past the wax seal and pulled the contents out instead.
The letters on the page were long and slender, though they turned violently rather than looping in an elegant way. It was difficult to make out the message amongst the jagged letters and deep red ink, but the letter was only four lines, so I managed it okay.
“What’s up?” Haragh asked, and he belched right across the page as he leaned in close to get a look.
I waved the stench away before I answered. “It’s from the elves,” I told him.
The dwarves who had talked belligerently amongst themselves up until now, quieted down at the words and didn’t bother to pretend they weren’t eavesdropping. They craned their necks over the piles of platters to get a look, and carefully glanced between Haragh and me while they waited for the details.
“What’d they say?” Haragh asked, and he plucked the brief letter from my hands. He squinted hard at the strange writing but gave up with a cocked brow. “Looks like a death threat … ”
He wasn’t wrong. The writing was elegant in an eerie way, but something about the jagged peaks of the letters did sort of scream serial killer.
I shook my head and snatched the letter back to read through it again. “It’s from something called the Elven Council. They’ve agreed to meet with me in … shit.” I squinted and brought my eyes up close to the last line, but there was no mistaking it.
“Three days,” I sighed. Then I looked up to see the dwarves’ eyebrows raised clear to their hair lines. “How far is it to a place called … Rhoemir?”
The dwarves looked to one another but were clearly baffled.
“Hell if I know,” one finally shrugged, “but it usually takes about three days just to get to Garioch from here.”
“Yeah but Bobbie can get me to Garioch in less than a day,” I returned.
I’d only meant to be factual, but the dwarves rolled their eyes and immediately fell into a mocking ordeal. To be honest, they’d been doing it every time I mentioned Bobbie, ever since Dorinick and Thrungrig came back to the mines raving about her.
“Ohhh well,” the nearest dwarf howled, and the others joined right in.
“If Bobbie can get ye’ there in less than a day, then that changes everything don’t it?”
“If Bobbie can do all that, then we know exactly how long it’ll take to get to the place we’ve never heard of … ”
Their snorts turned into snickers and eventually guttural laughter.
I just shook my head to the chuckling half-ogre at my side and waited for the dwarves to wipe their eyes and refill the mugs.
Chapter 2
I held the envelope from King Temin in my hand when I got down to the field and found Aurora in the middle of a demonstration with Shoshanne. The half-elf had her sword unsheathed and held out in front of her, and Cayla balanced a slender branch on its end as a practice post. I watched while the sword split the branch into three with a few quick swipes, and the wood pieces tumbled to the ground.
It looked like Shoshanne had moved on from her rifle lesson, and judging by the way she absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder, I figured it was for the best.
The three women turned as I approached them, and I saw Aurora’s keen eyes dart directly to the contents in my hand.
“King Temin?” she asked eagerly, and I gave her a nod as I handed the envelope over.
Cayla joined to look over her shoulder, but I sat down next to Shoshanne to check out the damage from her morning lessons.
She smiled wanly and let me loosen her robe to pull it gently off her shoulder, and I could see a bluish bloom had already started in the cleft beneath her collar bone. I ran my fingers along the angry red part in the center, and the Aer Mage made an impressive attempt at not showing that it hurt. I didn’t miss the little wince she made, though.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it,” I assured the caramel beauty. “Have you tried the revolver?”
Shoshanne blushed lightly before she turned her face so I could see the black eye she’d acquired since I last saw her.
I tried not to laugh as I slid her robe back into place and wrapped my arm around her waist to pull her against me.
The woman sighed and shook her head before she rested her copper curls on my shoulder. “Aurora thinks I might do better with a sword, so she’s giving me a break down of the basic moves,” the Aer Mage murmured.
I planted a kiss on her curls. “Everyone’s got their weapon of choice,” I chuckled. “We’ll definitely find yours. Besides, Cayla outshines everyone with a gun anyways.”
The princes sent me a wink over the top of the letter, just before the two women flipped the smaller envelope open and pulled out the elven letter. I smirked as both of them furrowed their brows at once.
“Not the friendliest letter I’ve ever read … ” Aurora muttered.
Cayla nodded her agreement. “Not very informative, either. Is this really all they said?”
“Yep,” I replied. “Just a time and a place and a vague acknowledgement of the question.”
“What did they say?” Shoshanne asked as she lifted her head and looked to me curiously.
“They said they received my letter regarding the runes and have agreed upon a meeting place,” I told the healer. “The only problem is we have to be there in three days, and I have no idea how far it is.”
Aurora unfolded the third piece of parchment and crinkled her nose at the mottled stains and torn edges. As she read it, her eyes became skeptical for a moment before they sparked with understanding.
“Ohhh,” she finally said. “It’s a map.”
“Seriously?” I asked, and I rose to look over her shoulder as well. “How can you tell?”
The half-elf pointed to a faded line that wobbled along the left side of the page. “This marks the eastern border of Illaria, and that little notch is sort of near Howleigh.”
I cocked my brow. “You mean they sent me an unmarked and faded map with no names on it to navigate a region overrun with jungles?”
Cayla chuckled lightly. “We tried to tell you the elves are not the most accommodating … ”
“This has to be a joke,” I said bluntly. “Nobody who actually wants to meet with someone sends a map like this.”
“I agree,” Aurora sighed as she pulled the parchment up to within an inch of her nose to try and decipher what the only three smudges on the map meant.
They were as faded as the Illarian border, but one was marked with a large dot, and the others were just visible enough to suggest they may have been small X’s at one point.
“Okay … ” the half-elf said at last, and she turned the map around a few times before she continued. “So, this is probably the meeting place, because it’s the largest dot. This one that looks like an X is sort of near the capital, which I think is called Rhoemir. I’m not sure if we want to go through it or not, considering the hostilities of the region, but I have no idea what the second X is. Either way, they’re nowhere near the big dot, so they probably don’t matter much to us.”
When she finished, she handed the map over to me, and I held it up against the sunlight to glare at the faded ink. “Well, they can go on and be unhelpful as shit,” I said, “but I’m coming to that damn meeting.” I folded the map up and gathered the contents of the envelope again.
“We should leave as soon as possible,” Cayla said as she walked to the logs Shoshanne was perched on and began to collect the guns.
“I agree,” Aurora chimed in before she turned to me. “How many are going with us?”
I had thought over this since I first read King Temin’s letter, and the more I considered the elusive map and the creepy writing, I got more uncertain of the nature of this journey.
“Honestly, I’m not sure this is going to be the safest trip … ” I started. “Being inconspicuous and well-armed might be our best bet, especially after that massive sphynx we saw while we were passing by the border. You said the parts of Nalnora you’ve seen were a bit overgrown?”
Aurora looked amused at my choice of words. “Overgrown is one way to put it. Without knowing any roads or trails from this map, there’s a good chance we’ll be hacking our way through.”
Shoshanne furrowed her brow. “I don’t know the land, but I studied eastern plant life at the Order of Pallax, so hopefully that’ll give us something to go off. At the very least, we can probably avoid the carnivorous ones.”
I stared at the Aer Mage. “I’m sorry, did you just use the word carnivorous in regards to a plant?”
Shoshanne nodded matter of factly. “Well … plants, but yes. There’s many species in the eastern region known for their appetites, but like I said, I studied several of them so hopefully we shouldn’t … you know.”
“Get fucking eaten by a plant?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she responded with a small smile.
I looked to Cayla and Aurora, but the women seemed wholly unsurprised by the idea, and I realized there were still things about this realm I had absolutely no idea about.
“Great,” I said, and I shifted a bit to relieve my nerves. “Cool. This is no big deal. We’ll follow the fucking blank map through the jungle that wants to eat us and be there in an impossibly short amount of time. This is good.”
I sent a thumbs up to the women in front of me, and Aurora rolled her eyes.
“Hey, at least they answered the letter,” she teased as she came to my side to wrap her arms around me. “Judging by this map, I’d say the problems of Illaria are far from concerning to the elves, even if they do involve elven runes.”
We finished packing up the training session and returned to the mines just in time to find Haragh giving Thrungrig a run down of the letter.
The dwarf had his arms crossed tightly, and his brows were furrowed so deeply they hooded his eyes. As we came up the path, the pair turned, and the first thing Thrungrig did was shake his head at me.
