Chapter 35 Presage of Battle (Patreon)

The Heirs faced no obstacles on the path back to Halsmet. The mountains seemed empty of wildlife beyond the occasional herd of Nindine. No monsters, no mages and certainly no armies.

As they walked, Nathan practiced his new ability to redirect spells. It was frustrating to work on. It was easy to change the direction of magic, but the way he did it was by grabbing the spell with his aura. That drained all but the largest spells to the point of uselessness. It seemed even easier to completely absorb spells than before, but that wasn’t what he was going for.

The real revelation came by accident, when Stella shot a volley of fire bolts towards him and he barely missed grabbing one. It curved sharply around the thin tendril of antimagic and flew off in an entirely different direction.

“Huh.” Nathan said, watching the spell fizzle against the rock a hundred feet away. “Let’s try that again.”

He proceeded to figure out that his new class skill seemed to give his antimagic a kind of gravitational pull on mana. Once he figured that out, he realized he could tune the strength of the attraction. It meant he was much better at disrupting and absorbing spells at a distance, since he could reach out a tendril of antimagic and suck in the magic even if he couldn’t quite reach it.

With some effort he got a firebolt into a stable orbit around him, watching it whizz around as he adjusted the path by minutely flexing his aura. “Neat.”

Sarah was watching the projectile with a perturbed expression. “Hear me, you look like a mage.”

Nathan shrugged, idly absorbing the pocket of fire mana.  “I think I could throw a fireball back at somebody, but I really don’t have fine control. I need more practice with my aura.”

—

Around midday they drew within sight of the city. There, they saw a huge assortment of earthworks being constructed facing the road coming from Giantsrest.

“That’s a blasphemous amount of work.” Aarl said as they halted, watching the mass of people busily digging trenches and hauling dirt around. It looked like a World War I battlefield - before the shelling.

That thought made Nathan frown. Those trenches wouldn’t do much good against the war mages of Giantsrest. He remembered how Argan Shotz, the water mage on Kozar’s team, had ripped apart war constructs hiding in trenches. Their fortifications had become a trap, holding them in place to be destroyed by powerful magic.

This doesn’t make any sense against Giantsrest. There’s gotta be something I’m missing here. They’ve been fighting Giantsrest for hundreds of years. There’s no way that Sudraiel would make such a basic mistake.

Nathan had half-expected Brox to reappear as they approached Halsmet, but there wasn’t any sign of the Questor.

That’s not good. I don’t want to fight Badud without a Questor of our own.

Khachi greeted a few groups of Adventurers protecting the people working on the earthworks. A lot of the work was being done by a few earth mages, though thousands of citizens of Halsmet were working on the trenches and earthen berms that cut through the farmland outside the city.

“Hail the mage-breaker!” The cry went up as Nathan and his friends clambered over one of the obstacles.

Faces turned his direction, and Nathan raised a hand in acknowledgement.

“Did you kill any slavers?” Came a question from a dark-skinned teenager hauling dirt in a basket.

Nathan hesitated in answering, but Stella didn’t. “Six, as goats to a castlebear! One was an archmage!” She proclaimed proudly.

The young man’s jaw dropped in shock, shortly followed by his basket as both his hands shot up in a cheer. More voices joined him a moment later as the news spread through the workers like wildfire, and more and more people came over the earthen berms to gawk at the Heirs.

The crowd stayed back from the Heirs, and a few people pulled curious onlookers out of their path back to the city. There was some cheering, but mostly they were surrounded by a hundred excited conversations as those who’d been nearby filled in the new arrivals on what Stella had said.

“What in the dungeon of fools…” Sarah’s voice was quiet, and barely audible over the crowd.

She didn’t get to continue the thought, because the same teenager stepped forward, beating a hand against his muscled chest. “Mage-breaker! Teach me your Insights! I’ll fight Giantsrest beside you!”

Oh boy, here we go.

Nathan turned to look at the kid, who looked about the right age to be graduating high school. He had the sort of wiry musculature you got from working a difficult physical job with barely enough food to eat. A fire gleamed in his eyes and Nathan found himself considering it.

I could try to teach him the antimagic and regeneration Talents. See how it goes. I wouldn’t let him fight in this battle. Though he’d try to sneak out and do it anyway.

“Raf!” A gravelly voice called out from the side, and a pale man shouldered through the crowd. He was broad and heavy, his arms knotted with muscle. “A Giant’s pardon, mage-breaker!” The middle-aged man bowed his head to avoid looking Nathan in the eyes while reaching out to grab the younger man - Raf - and pull him back.

“Brer, let me go!” Raf struggled against the older man’s grip, but his grip was iron.

Nathan reached out a hand towards them and Brer froze, though he held on tightly to Raf’s arm. The man’s head was still bowed, but he was watching Nathan through his eyebrows.

“You’re fine. We need to get to the city to prepare for the battle tomorrow.” Nathan said, pulling his hand back. Then he turned to the teenager, looking into the frustrated boy’s eyes. “Davrar demands boldness, but there isn’t time to give you the tools you’d need to survive. Find me once the battle is over. Bring Brer with you, I’ll only do it if he agrees.” Nathan jerked his head at the older man.

Brer’s head raised, and he gave Nathan a faint nod of approval before towing Raf away. This time the teenager didn’t resist.

The Heirs resumed walking towards Halsmet, quickly breaking free of the crowd as it went back to work in their wake.

Nothing else interrupted them, though they noticed the city was changed by their absence.  Portions of the slums were being demolished and foundations laid for new buildings. Cargo flowed through the city once more, though without the eerie quiet and mechanical efficiency of when Nathan had first entered the city. Now haulers argued and swore, seeming to make up the traffic rules on the fly and be on the verge of coming to blows.

Ahh, humanity at its finest. I’ll take it over the cold robots hauling cargo. They weren’t allowed to be people before. I might feel differently if it were my job to fix the traffic problems here, but it’s not!

People still made way for Nathan and his friends and they strode quickly through the city. Their destination was the mansion at the top of the tallest hill, where they would find the organizational center of the city. A bubble of stillness followed behind as the citizens of Halsmet realized who Nathan was and stopped to salute him, or just paused to watch him pass.

“We are known by the tally of our deeds.” Khachi spoke serenely, looking smug at the attention.

Aarl snorted, then jerked a thumb at Nathan. “I bet stalker teeth to dragon bones they only know us as Nathan’s team.” He shrugged. “I won’t refuse that blessing, the name of the mage-breaker carries weight.”

Sarah rolled her eyes at her brother before asking a question in a quiet voice. “Will you teach that kid? What about all the rest who ask to follow your Path?”

“I’ll talk it over with Myrla and Sudraiel. But if his guardian agrees then I’l probably do it. The kid’s young, but passion like that… he’ll go far if he doesn’t die. He can probably build his class around the Talents, which the elites probably can’t.”

Khachi’s mouth twisted at Nathan’s words. “We are not much older.”

—

As soon as the Heirs arrived, a lot of things happened quickly. Turbang was one of the elites guarding the gates into the mansion, and he broke off to join the Heirs. “Follow me.”

Nathan noticed the other elites scattering away, and his brows furrowed in confusion. They all moved with purpose, though they were trying to appear casual.

They’re leaving the gates unguarded. This is spooky.

“Turbang, what’s going on?” Nathan asked, ready for anything.

His answer was cryptic. “We are the fingers of the Guildmistress. She ordered that we gather a specific group of Adventurers when you arrived, then leave you alone.” They entered the mansion and turned towards a part of the enormous building that Nathan hadn’t been to before.

Nathan relaxed at the answer, paranoia placated for now. It ramped up again as they walked down a staircase and into a small underground storage room. There was furniture stacked against the wall, and many hiding spots. Turbang gave them a nod and left, though Nathan was busy scanning the room carefully, finding no hidden assassins. He relaxed marginally, though the whole situation seemed… off.

We already killed Giantsrest’s top assassin. I doubt that’s what’s happening.

“Why are we…” Stella’s question died as a door on the far side of the room opened. Sudraiel strode in alongside the Guardians of Gemore.

Dalo cast a series of spells as more adventurers filtered in. Kozar brushed past Khachi, followed closely by the teammate who wielded metallic whips. The third member of Kozar’s team, Argan the water mage, winced at the conduct, and he whispered a quiet apology as he slipped past to stand beside his team leader.

Nobody spoke as the small room filled up with Adventurers until there was barely room to stand. Only about a third of the teams were present, but they represented all of the highest-level fighters of Gemore, and nobody from Halsmet.

What’s going on?

The ancient guildmistress was clearly keeping track of who was present, and after Lycaste entered she gestured for the big orc to close the door. He obliged, and Dalo’s spell buzzed to life. It was an anti-spying spell like he’d cast before, but this felt more complete and comprehensive to Nathan’s senses.

Touches of dimensional magic? Maybe anti-scrying?

Sudraiel nodded her thanks to the elderly mage, then turned to Nathan. “It’s blasphemously important that nobody spies on this meeting. This mansion should be protected, but there might be a secret entry to their spells. If there’s anything you can do…” She left the sentence hanging.

Nathan caught her meaning, then extended tendrils of antimagic through the room, trying to fill the unoccupied space. “Nobody move too fast, unless you want your items disenchanted.”

My aura’s gotten a lot bigger and more controllable as I develop the Talent. I’ve also gotten better at using it. But it’s not a fine instrument, and I don’t know if it ever will be unless I pick up a class skill or something.

Breath caught in throats as some of the mages. presumably those with the ability to see ambient mana, watched the questing aura. They shied away from his power.

“Dragon’s breath. No wonder the mages of Giantsrest fear him.” Ayen, the illusionist of the Oath of Tulin, said in a quiet voice.

Sudraiel smirked at the illusionist’s words, then addressed the room in a no-nonsense voice. “Hear me, but we must be quick. By Algoa’s left tit don’t say anything of this meeting outside of this room.”

She glared around at everybody, making sure they were taking her seriously.

Kozar folded his arms and met her gaze calmly. “Why? Will you explain those stalker-shit trenches? We’ll die like trapped nindine in those stupid things.”

“Teach a mage to light a fire.” Sudraiel retorted, rolling her eyes at the older Adventurer. “They’re there to be scried on, and to make mages horny imagining them as targets.”

She nodded her head decisively. “They plan to arrive midday tomorrow, barrage us into dust and retake the city with elites and golems, enslaving the populace that survives the barrage.” Her lips peeled back from her teeth. “Which is why we'll ambush them as they pack up camp tomorrow morning.”

The statement provoked a few chuckles and a number of grins from the surrounding adventurers, and even Kozar smiled approvingly as the guildmistress passed out maps with hastily sketched routes and marked ambush positions.

Once the paper was distributed she continued. “The priority is secrecy. They’ll expect attacks by Gale and her illusionists, but not all of us. The first wave will be those who can bypass their sensor magics and approach close to the Giantsrest camp. They will be quickly reinforced by the teams here that can cross terrain stealthily, but cannot bypass the sensors around the Giantsrest camp.”

She glanced towards the Guardians, looking apprehensive at the next order. “The third wave will be all the rest of the Adventurerers and Halsmet elites, who will muster to the defenses before dawn, then be flown by Dalo and Kullal to the battlefield as soon as the word is given.”

Kullal’s ears went back, and she clasped her hands together hard enough that her fingers started to visibly whiten. Dalo stepped forward and put a comforting arm around his wife, but his eyes were shadowed as he glanced between Sudriael and the Heirs.

Kia shot her teammates an amused look and gave a low chuckle before dipping her head towards the guildmistress. “As your flame calls.”

Sudriael let out a relieved sigh. “Timing will be coordinated by [message] in the moments after the sun shines. First wave -” she pointed towards Kozar’s team, the Heirs, the Oaths of Tulin and two other teams. “Be ready to attack immediately, or to wait for up to ten minutes after dawn. Try to drip blood in their eyes and kill as many mages as you can, but don’t get caught in the dungeon. Wait for the reinforcements to commit yourselves.”

Her gaze swept over the people she hadn’t pointed to. “Second wave is everybody else in this room except the Guardians and I. Get as close as you can without triggering an [alarm], then wait for the signal.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” The elderly woman deflated, looking like a gambler who’d just laid their cards on the table after an all-in pot.

The room was silent as everybody digested the real battleplan, and Nathan felt like whistling.

This is pretty good operational security. The trenches are a nice misdirection. A bit obvious, but Giansterst has enough of a superiority complex I doubt they’ll second-guess us doing something stupid.

“What of the Questor?” Kozar’s snarl cut through the room, and he made a show of looking around before his eyes settled on Nathan. “Giantsrest is led by a ‘mage beyond Endings’, and Brox has not returned with the Heirs.”

“Trust my word, he’s around.’ Sudraiel said evasively. “Badud is his nemesis. He’ll smother that fire, extinguish your doubt.”

Kozar frowned, displeased by the answer. ‘Brox is not one to hide his presence. Where is he?”

“Scouting the other passes. None are faster to ensure Giantsrest makes no other approaches.” The guildmistress’ answer was polished and ready.

Kozar looked around, but didn’t find the support he was looking for in the faces around him. “What of my challenge to Nathan. Over the death of my nephew?”

“You would issue a challenge on the eve of battle?’ Kia sneered at him, stalking forward and putting a hand on her greatsword.

Nathan hastily withdrew his aura from her path, watching as golden light spilled from the woman’s armor and sword. She didn’t have space to draw the huge weapon, but it didn’t make her seem less dangerous. It made Nathan worry that she’d cut the building apart if she decided to draw the enormous weapons.

“I do not answer challenges, but this I will not abide.” The divine power raged in the beautiful woman, spilling out of her eyes as if they were stained glass windows before the sun. “By my own power…”

“Enough.” Sudraiel sliced her hand downwards. “This meeting is over. Challenges will be discussed after the battle. All of you, make your own plans, for you must either depart now and rest in the mountains, or sleep here and depart in the night. Say nothing of the plan. Sneak from the city if you must. Quieter than a monastery of Quaz.”

As the meeting broke up, she called out one more time. “Heirs, stay.”

They waited as the other adventurers left, though Dalo shot them all a look that promised retribution if they didn’t talk to him later.

Sudraiel studied them intently, eyes like polished gemstones in her gaunt face. After they were alone she spoke doubtfully. “You asked to be close to the enemy, and since Nathan can breach sensor magic I have assigned you one of the closest positions. Will your plan work? I don’t want you aiming at an impossible target.”

They all glanced at Aarl, who responded confidently. “It’s as simple as snuffing a torch. To repeat prophecy, we need to grasp every edge we can find.”

The guildmistress furrowed her brow and bit her lip, the translucent and aged skin seeming on the edge of tearing from the strain. After a moment she nodded decisively. “Do it. We might need it.”

“We follow your light, but what is the truth of Brox?” Khachi asked worriedly. “He said he would leave us on our own for this battle. Has he truly departed?”

Sudraiel met his eyes with a sardonic expression. “Maybe. He came to me after leaving you. He said you have the caution of adventurers thrice your age, and will decide to pick his own battles against Giantsrest instead of carrying your cowardly weight.”

She shrugged. “He did tell me that he was leaving to scout on his own, maybe visit the other cities of Giantsrest, but asked me not to tell you until you returned.” Her voice grew tired. “We need him, and I did not want to go against him on something small.”

She reached into a pouch, coming out with a crudely carved rock. “He gave me a stone, and told me that you should carry it if you wished for his company again. I don’t blame you for refusing his command. Only fools challenge an unknown dungeon whose waking could cause such destruction. But if you carrying this will make him fight alongside us…”

The guildmistress yawned, her jaw cracking as she almost dropped the stone. “Excuse me. The last few days have been busy.” Then she indicated the rock again. “I cannot tell you to take it.  Brox will oppose Giantsrest, but it is more likely he fights with us if you take this. I worry that he will make demands, but it is your decision.”

Nathan scanned the rock with his senses. “It’s not magical at all. Either this is a joke or something that he can find with an item or skill.”

Khachi stepped forward and took the rock, tucking it into a nonmagical pocket inside his armor. “I will take it. I would fight beside him if he should decide to return. He carries my blessing.”

“If he comes back I’ll take up hydra farming.” Sarah said under her breath, but she didn’t dispute Khachi’s choice to hold onto the totem.

Sudraiel’s mouth was grim. “Thank you. My bones say he wants to speak with you again. He’s fast enough that it will not be a mistake if he misses this battle. But to fight a Questor without one of our own - it is a prophecy of death.” She waved them towards the door. “Now go. Rest. You will be the edge of the blade tomorrow.”

“As your flame calls.” Khachi nodded seriously, then pivoted smartly on his heels to walk out of the room. The other Heirs followed, all mulling over what they’d just been told.

“This plan…” Stella said hesitantly as they headed towards the kitchen for food. She sighed in exasperation. “Harpy’s tits. Well, our parents want to hold us.”

“We need to wake soon after sunset.” Sarah’s voice was firm and businesslike. “Let’s reassure them we’re fine and enjoy some time in soft beds beforehand.”

{Overall Status:

{Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 7

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 8

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 10

Class: Implacable Antimage level 237

Deepened Stamina: 7378/7410

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Magekiller level 88

Regenerative Focus: 980/980

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Antimagic Stealth

Spell Redirection

Lethal Index

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 9

Leadership 6

High-tier Sprinting 8

Magical Perception 8

Alertness 2

Magical Intuition 8

High-tier Dodging Footwork 10

Mental Fortress 4

High-tier Lecturing 7

High-tier Tumbling 8

Mid-tier Noticeability 8

Low-tier Quiet Movement 4

Low-tier Disguise 4

Mid-tier Battle Cry 3}