A Spell Misplaced, page 23
part #4 of Gags & Pepper: Protection Agents Series
Another lightning bolt headed Gags’s way. It slammed into the staff after dipping down, but not as much. The staff broke in two. The two pieces lay useless at his feet.
Enough of this, Gags thought. He took refuge behind a tree, leaned to his right, and shot an iron bolt at Eno. It punctured Eno’s shield but bounced off his chest. Eno rubbed the spot and saw a trace of blood on his hand.
“A worthy opponent, after all,” Eno said, showing the blood on his hand. “But blood will cover your body soon enough.
Gags shot another bolt, but Eno was able to reinforce his shield, and it bounced off, making Eno laugh. “Maybe not so good,” Eno said, taunting Gags.
It was time for a sword. Gags spelled the attraction spell, but that carried its own risk. The blade would be better than any shield Gags could generate, but it was going to be a one-time use. Motes would be useless against Eno’s shield.
Gags had to get closer, so he created a volcano that sucked up the leaves on the forest floor. The cone was a whirling mass of leaves going round and round. Gags took a few steps behind the cone and then moved to the side as he invoked his night sight, making the leaves somewhat transparent.
Eno furrowed his brow. It was evident the wizard hadn’t seen anything like Gags’s spell before. He frowned and then sent lightning bolt after lightning bolt into the maelstrom. Gags stood where he was, expanded the cone, and spelled it to advance on Eno.
Suddenly, Eno sent a spear of fire at the leaf volcano, and the leaves began to catch fire. Gags’s eyes grew as an idea came to him. He sent the burning volcano at Eno and extended tendrils from the top as it got close to the wizard. Finally, Gags made the volcano envelop Eno. He kept adding leaves to the fire and anything else on the forest floor. Eno began to scream. Gags let the wizard burn until his screaming stopped. Gag let the swirling leaves fall, and there stood Eno, smoking, singed, but he had a grin on his face.
“Novel,” Eno said, but then he coughed and sent a lightning bolt at Gags.
The sword went up, barely stopping the bolt, but the blackened blade crumbled after Eno’s attack. Gags tossed the hilt at Eno and tried to strengthen his shield. Eno’s magic was beginning to flag as Gags advanced. Eno attempted to send another stream of lightning or fire, but the last bolt had expended the last of his magic. Gags had one other weapon. He pulled the communication dagger out from his boot and attacked Eno.
The wizard backed up. Gags plunged the dagger into Eno’s chest, but the shield held for one attempt. As Eno tried to push Gags away, Gags tried to get the dagger through the weakening shield and succeeded. Eno cried out in pain as he clutched the dagger and pulled it out, pointing it at Gags.
Gags fought with the wizard for the dagger, but Eno’s grasp was magically enhanced. Gags still had a few bolts in his pocket, and he shot them at Eno. The first one stopped just inside Eno’s chest, making the wizard cough. The second one penetrated deeply, and Eno stopped struggling. Gags pried Eno’s fingers from the dagger and removed it before dropping to the ground, his strength totally spent.
Lucian dragged the body of the last sorcerer and laid it at Eno’s side. The sun was turning everything golden, and the forest would soon be dark.
“What are we going to do with these?” Lucian said.
“I don’t relish taking them all the way to the mines. Let’s go to the village.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
~
T hey had to walk their horses through the night, carrying the bodies of the escapees, until they reached the village at dawn. One of the guards sat at the guard’s station, eating breakfast.
“We have something for you,” Lucian said.
“You two look like you fought a bear,” the guard said, jumping up from his chair.
“Two sorcerers and a wizard, to be exact,” Lucian said. “But the forest wasn’t kind in the middle of the night to two stumbling ex-soldiers.”
“The Little Inn is open for breakfast,” the guard looked down at his meal and back up at them.
“Have a good meal; my boss will be in by then.”
“You’ll have to come outside and look,” Gags said.
The guard walked out and missed a step. “You killed them all?”
“Kill or be killed,” Lucian said before brushing off non-existent dirt from his shoulder.
“We’d rather not take them to the mines, but we need to bring verification that they are no longer with us,” Gags said.
“Help me take them into the blind alley,” the guard said.
Another villager volunteered to help, and the three fugitives were laid out in a row.
The villager looked at Gags and Lucian. “You have my gratitude and the village’s best wishes,” the villager said. “John was a cousin. They didn’t deserve to die like that.”
The villager shook their hands and left while the guard locked the gate to the alleyway. “We put drunk and disorderlies in here from time to time. Saves cleaning up the station,” the guard said.
Gags and Lucian didn’t have a change of clothes, but they were welcomed into the Little Inn, the name of the only eating establishment in the village. They were refused service until they produced their plaques.
“You are magicians, too?” one of the villages said, crowded around them as they ordered.
“We are. We fought sorcerers like them on Atto during the magicians war.”
No one had heard of the magicians war, but the locals didn't need any more convincing after Lucian and Gags demonstrated a little parlor magic to the crowd.
The food came out quickly, and each was given two plates.
“Glad you killed those murderers. We all liked John and Emily. The sorcerers scorched the cottage with their magic?”
Gags nodded. “And they scorched us, too, but we could protect ourselves.” Gags thought of his second iron staff and the sword that hadn’t survived his latest fight with a wizard. This one was as personal as Nestus Deliry.
The questions didn’t end, but eating breakfast finally did, and Gags and Lucian returned to the guard station. The gate had been opened, and the guard leader hunched over, examining the dead men.
“I won’t ask you how you killed them. The older man seems to have taken a few wounds.”
“He didn’t go quietly,” Gags said. “Is there a way to show Warden Fleahouse that we took care of his escapees without hauling the bodies to the mines?”
“I’d rather you leave them here. Since they murdered three villagers, we have our own way of dealing with criminals like these.” She gave a sorcerer a vicious kick.
She took them back into the station, retrieved three sheets of paper, and rubbed the dead men’s plaques with a charcoal stick. Then the guard leader affixed a wax seal on each page and signed it.
“Affidavit,” the woman said. “These are as good as the bodies,” she said.
“Take this to the general store for some supplies to munch on while you ride back to the mines,” the guard said. She scribbled an authorization on another piece of paper and affixed another seal.
After showing their plaques, Gags and Lucian filled their bags with food, treats, and two wineskins each before leaving the village. They stopped at the cottage not far from the village and peeked in the single window. The bodies had been removed, and Gags felt good about avenging their needless deaths.
“Just like Atto,” Lucian said, “but a bit more personal.”
Gags nodded and took a deep breath. “Now, we will test Warden Fleahouse’s honesty.”
“The village was a credit to Castlewhit. It is a vicious beast with a soft heart,” Lucian said, chewing on a stick of dried meat.
They reached the mines after dark, carrying magic lights. A guard led them to Fleahouse’s quarters.
Warden Fleahouse frowned as Gags and Lucian presented them with the affidavits.
“I was hoping for more,” the warden said.
“The sorcerers killed a family in the woods and stole their food,” Lucian said. “The guard leader expressed the desire to bury the bodies or whatever you do in Castlewhit.”
Fleahouse pursed his lips. “I suppose they get priority, but I will use these for points.”
“Points?” Gags asked.
“We get good conduct points when we bring in escapees. I won’t get a full share, but what is done is done.” Fleahouse shut his eyes and waved at them. “Don’t worry. You still get your freedom.”
“And that includes Otto?”
Fleahouse nodded. “Him, too. You can leave in the morning.”
“By the way, my iron staff and sword were destroyed in the fight,” Gags said.
“They were?”
“It was a close thing,” Gags said. “Eno showed me why he claimed to be a wizard. I had more fighting experience and carried the right weapons.”
“You have the proof,” Fleahouse said.
“Will they sell me weapons in Gettering or Codgerton?”
“Gettering, and you’ll need permission, but I can give that to you. I probably would have lost a lot of guards if they caught up to the magicians.”
Gags was going to correct the term, changing magicians to sorcerers, but he didn’t think it would do any good.
~
With new plaques, the three men headed to Gettering, the capital of Castlewhit. Lucian had to look for Ann, Gags needed to buy new weapons, and Otto trailed behind, thrilled to be leaving the mines and looking forward to no more than two weeks in Castlewhit.
Other than the constant showing of plaques for everything, Castlewhit wasn’t the awful place they were led to believe. Gags bought a new set of clothes in a town midway to Gettering and had a long bath before he put them on.
Gags wasn’t thrilled about Castlewhit cuisine, but he concluded the taste would always remind him of captivity in the mines. His mining education was cut short, but he had learned a few things during his brief stay, especially to stay hunched over while walking in a mining shaft.
Gettering was a pleasant enough city, but the walls were stout and thick, and the recording of everyone entering slowed the line to get into the capital.
Lucian smiled as he was interviewed. “I was wondering, if a few weeks ago, two lady friends might have come this way. They had a royal pass from Queen Mariam of Goldworthy.”
“Nobles?”
“A noblewoman and her servant named Darlia Westmount.”
“Go to the registry. I send this book and others to the registry every week. They might be able to help you,” the guard said.
They finally reached the inside of Gettering’s walls and rode through the town to the city center. Behind a row of administration buildings was a hill, and a vast castle was on the top.
“That’s a big castle for a small country,” Otto said.
“Castlewhit might not always have been such a small country,” Lucian said.
Otto shrugged and looked like he wasn’t very interested.
“The Registry is on the left,” Gags said. “You go there, and I’ll look for a weapons shop or a blacksmith.”
Otto looked around the square and sniffed the air. “No blacksmith close to here.”
They rode along the street that circled a market square, but no market was held that day. Gags perked up when he saw a shop with an armorer’s sign.
They had to show their plaques to a street urchin and tip him before they could tie up their horses in front of the shop.
Gags walked in and smiled. He always had fun in armorers, but he rarely bought weapons.
“I’d like to buy a sword and a metal staff if you have one,” Gags said to the shopkeeper.
“Swords we have but no metal staffs. You can buy a halberd, but every staff or long weapon I sell is made of wood. I do have a stout ironwood staff that you might like. It has a metal cap, top, and bottom,” the shopkeeper said.
He showed Gags and Otto to a rack of staffs and pulled out a staff with steel caps riveted into place. The wood was dark with black grain. Gags took it and smiled. “Lighter than iron, but the staff is stiff.”
“Stiff and strong. The grain is tight and much stronger than any metal tubed staff if you can find one. I’ll take this, now about a sword.”
Everything they had was made in Oroia styles. Otto had seen Gags fight before, and he could match a longish sword to match Gags’s style. Gags didn’t need another weapon, and they had to show their plaques before they could buy the weapons. The shopkeeper took Gags’s plaque and made an impression, much like the guard leader did in the village to the north.
They rode back to the Registry and had to pay another tip before entering. Lucian was flipping through pages when Otto and Gags walked up.
“Find them?” Gags asked.
“I did, but they recently left Gettering on a trip to Codgerton as a guest of Lord Carl, the liege lord of Amering.”
“Can we follow?” Gags asked.
“I’m not sure. We can get a pass into Amering, but it is only good for two days in and two days out. They don’t have a restriction,” Lucian said.
“Can we get a pass closer to the fief?” Gags asked.
Lucian shook his head. “I thought of that, too. We should top up our supplies and then get the passes. Any extra moment in Amering may be important.”
Gags agreed, and they set about finding a food store. One was a few blocks away, and they stocked up as much as possible and tied the supplies to their packhorse. The passes were easy to get and involved another impression made of their plaques. They got a new plaque to add to the old one and left for Amering while time was running out.
It took all night to reach the border, and they waited almost an hour at the border post. The fief was a day’s worth of travel across and two days’ travel north to south. Codgerton was in the middle.
They reached the only decent inn in the town and asked about Ann and Darlia. Darlia was staying at the inn, but Ann was a guest of Lord Carl.
“I don’t like that,” Lucian said.
“We will have to wait for Darlia,” Gags said.
They had to check in for the night before they could enter the common room, showing their double plaques at the front desk and again as they sat down to order wine. They were into their second round when Darlia walked in without turning her head toward the common room as she passed. Gag rose and retrieved her.
“We didn’t expect you to get out so soon,” Darlia said. “Ann couldn’t wait, and when she had an opportunity to meet Lord Carl in Gettering, we had to take it.”
“She isn’t in any danger. Is she?” Lucian asked.
Darlia laughed. “Nothing she can’t handle. Lord Carl is barely five feet tall and nearly as wide with a long white beard and very shrewd eyes. Don’t underestimate him.
“Have you seen Miria?” Gags asked. His nerves suddenly made him lightheaded.
“We have, but we weren’t able to get close. Lord Carl keeps his oddities at a distance. He says the smell makes his tummy turn over. His exact words.” She almost giggled.
“How will we get to wherever Miria is kept?”
“We told him friends might join us, so he has an open dinner invitation for the four of you.”
“There is no Eno,” Lucian said. “He was a naughty wizard and tried to escape. Your trusty Gags and Lucian brought the beggar down.”
“Down as in killed?” Darlia said quietly.
“Precisely,” Lucian said.
She grinned. “Good for you. One less wizard…”
Gags and Lucian laughed. “How many times did we say that?”
“Obviously, not often enough,” Darlia said.
“Get everything ready for a quick exit from Amering,” Gags said.
“I’ve already worked out the route. We will travel back to Gettering, and then it’s straight north to the sea and on to Peria, or that was the plan until Ann got cold feet. She has to see her father again before she leaves with us.”
“I can’t leave her behind,” Lucian said.
“We can take a ship to Baxterton. The port isn’t as tight as Castlewhit,” Darlia said.
“I can help there,” Otto said. “We can leave out of Pollerton. There are ships to Baxterton every few days.”
“I didn’t think of Pollerton. I thought it was too small for a ship to Peria,” Darlia said.
“It still is,” Otto said, “but there is a lot of shipping along the northern edge of Oroia.”
“It’s settled then. Do you have a plan to get Miria out?” Gags asked Darlia.
“Not a detailed one. We have a big dinner to charge us up and then a personal tour, which Lord Carl will insist on. The palace, if you call it that, will be darkened for the evening, Lord Carl retires early, and then we strike. Ann may have to leave all her possessions behind in the palace,” Darlia said.
“If she doesn’t mind, I don’t,” Lucian said.
“She doesn’t.”
“Then when do we leave for the palace?”
“An hour should work,” Darlia said.
Chapter Twenty-Five
~
T he palace was underwhelming. Gags’s hunting lodge was bigger and more imposing inside, but nothing mattered except saving Miria. Gags had the communication dagger in his boot. Once they showed their plaques at the front door, they were led to a sitting room.
Ann joined them, looking a little flushed.
“I need to leave this place. I never imagined Lord Carl would propose marriage to me. I tried to tell him I have a fiancé, but he was insistent. You will have to rescue me tonight,” Ann said in a low tone.
“How convenient,” Lucian said. “Tonight is the night or not at all.”
“Don’t you get two days in Amering?” Ann asked.
“Starting a day ago,” Gags said. “The clock starts when you get the pass, not when you cross into Amering.”
Lucian told his fiancée about their adventures in the mines until Lord Carl appeared.
“These are your friends?” Lord Carl asked.
“They are, but they have to leave tomorrow,” Ann said.
“They will miss the wedding, then,” Lord Carl said.
Lord Carl astounded Gags. Not only was he a little roly-poly man, but he was also very homely and probably pushing sixty. He didn’t expect Ann to look forward to a life with the man.
