Dragon's Tale 27 (Patreon)

After Lillian’s impressive reward, the rest of the journey had been rather unremarkable. Our escorts tried to make some noise about the unnecessary delay, but a garbage magical explanation was enough to resolve the subject, making them unable to answer due to a lack of knowledge. They weren’t happy about it, but they lacked the ability to respond, so the traveling together turned awkward. Not that I cared much about their opinion, of course. When the one that attacked me earlier woke up, he tried to create a crisis, but it didn’t last long. 

The comfortable silence lasted until we reached the outskirts of a mountain that was radiating an impressive amount of magic. “This is Mount Pyrenaean,” Astrid explained when she noticed my interested gaze. “It’s the most spiritually-active mountains in the Eastern Gallic. It’s forbidden grounds for anyone other than the priestesses.” 

“They seem to change their mind about its holiness,” I answered with a soft snort, although I didn’t blame them much. Religion might be important, but it tended to take second place to survival. Unless one was a fanatic, of course, but from Astrid’s descriptions, Matron Helena didn’t sound like a fanatic. I extended my magical senses to feel the precise nature of the mountains, only to be surprised. It might be the most magical place I had felt in my life, with a blanket of mana even thicker than the Halls of Saturn in Britanium where I received my magical education. 

However, there was a reason that the Republic left such a magical place untouched, and that wasn’t just to respect the local religious beliefs —the Republic respected the local beliefs, but out of convenience rather than a true principle, and that respect never overwhelmed the needs of the Republic. The mountain was overwhelmingly magical, but it wasn’t the calm blanket of mana I had experienced back in the school, nor was it gentle turbulence of a magical fort. 

No, the magic in the mountain churned like a storm, threatening to drown anyone foolish enough to step inside its confines. One mistake, and it would unleash its fury to an unsuspecting visitor. Before I could delve deeper into the sensation, the leader of the group stopped and pulled three blindfolds from his bag. “From now on, you’ll be wearing those,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he walked toward me. 

It was an interesting request, especially since I could see him slowly getting excited at the prospect. It was a very interesting request considering the animosity between us. I doubted it was something without a reason. Curious, I extended my magical senses, and penetrated into the magical chaos of the mountains, something that would have been impossible before my Ascension. Even as a Sorcerer, it required me to expend a considerable effort. The mountain was truly formidable. 

And the moment I penetrated the concealing effect, I felt a few dozen men waiting at the outskirts, and even their bloodlust was thick enough to be noticed even by my initial touch, through the interference of the mountains. Damn, I thought. Our supposed allies were even less reliable than I had initially assumed. 

“No,” I said evenly as I looked at him, shocked at his request. 

“What do you mean, no?” said the leader, shocked. 

“No should be a simple enough answer,” I said in a deadpan tone. “We will not be wearing those, certainly not after one of your group had tried to assault us,” I added, pointing at the wounded man that was standing at the back of the formation, glaring at me angrily. “Do you really think that I would be stupid enough to let my security to your hands after that,” I said. 

His expression of frustration would have been funny if the situation was any less lethal. “Out of the question. The safe route is about our security, and we can’t let a foreigner-” he tried, but I cut him off. 

“Okay,” I said simply. 

“Okay, what?” 

“Okay, don’t bring us here. We will camp in the outskirts. Just send a message to our esteemed ‘allies’ to come down, so that we can have a talk.” 

“You’re pushing your luck,” said the leader in a cold tone, gripping the hilt of his weapon tight, getting truly angry for the first time. “We’re already treating a useless whore who fashions herself as a holy woman and two Roman bastards better than you deserve. Who do you think to ask our leader to come down for a meeting.” 

His sudden burst of anger, combined with the mystery assailants hiding behind the mountain’s magic, suggested that the reception that was waiting for me was even worse than I had first assumed. Damn it, I thought. It wasn’t enough that I had the pirates, legionaries, and a plethora of other riffraff following me, but also my supposed allies were much weaker than I had thought. 

I considered turning back and running away, but one thing kept me in here. The mountain itself. It was clearly dangerous and hard to navigate, and while it was dangerous, at least I was strong enough to actually use my senses to penetrate through its chaotic mana field. Dangerous, but a much better option than actually trying to get away from my mysterious enemy by moving deeper into Republic territory. 

“Take it or leave it,” I said dismissively, not even bothering to reach a weapon, instead of conjuring a crackling ball of purple energy, enough to radiate death. 

His anger was apparent, but he stayed his hand. Instead, he turned and walked back to his group, and talked to one of them, sending him as a messenger. “Let’s rest for a moment,” I said to the girls, gesturing Astrid to stay silent. After we sit, I created a ward around us to prevent eavesdroppers. 

“Something is wrong,” Astrid said immediately. “Matron Helena wouldn’t have sent them without a comprehensive set of orders. They weren’t supposed to need it.” 

“They don’t,” I said even as I used my magic to follow the messenger, who just stopped after reaching the hidden group of assailants, a couple of hundred yards deep into the chaotic magical field. I also noticed that the messenger had a small crystal in hand, and stopping occasionally to check its reaction. “They have another team hidden behind the mountain’s concealment, and they are waiting for us to make a move.” 

“An ambush?” Astrid asked in shock. “Something is really wrong with the Matron! Maybe she’s captured.” 

“Maybe,” I said, not sharing Astrid’s confidence about Helena’s loyalty, especially when two random Romans were concerned. We hadn’t even officially met yet. She would have no complications using me as a disposable chip for her own schemes. 

“Should we run away,” Lillian asked gloomily, her voice shivering. Her sudden drop in morale was understandable. She was a strong mage, but she wasn’t used to adversity, especially the kind we found ourselves in. The sudden turn of events when we were hoping for an ally doubtlessly affected her. 

“No,” I said decisively. “If we run away, we’ll have another bunch of enemies behind us, and this time, they would be in breathing range. I don’t want to try ditching them when they have much superior command of the territory.” 

“Then what are we going to do, follow them into the mountain?” Astrid asked incredulously, her tone suggesting just how much she was against the idea. 

“Half-right,” I said. “We’re going to climb the mountain, just not follow them. I’m going to teach them the folly of trying to ambush a Sorcerer in a chaotic space of magic.” 

“You can sense through the chaotic magic field,” Astrid commented in shock. “That was supposed to be impossible. No one had done that for centuries.” 

“Sweetie,” I said with a chuckle even as I patted her head patronizingly, earning a slap to my shoulder. I chuckled. “At this point, you should be used to my miracles.” 

Both girls chuckled, but before they could comment, the leader of the group walked toward us. I dispelled the ward. “I have received a message. The chief is allowing you to enter the holy mountain without blindfolds. But beware. If you ever tell anyone about the route, our tribe will make sure you’re sacrificed to the gods for that sacrilege.” 

I had to admit, I was impressed. The concern for the future, backed by the threats, was a nice touch. If I hadn’t felt the team positioned for the ambush, I might have actually fallen for his deflection, trying to distract me from the present by focusing on the future. “That’s acceptable, let’s move,” I said, then turned to the girls, and whispered. “Hold hands, and don’t separate no matter what happens,” I said before turning my attention to the chaotic magic field. I had reasonable confidence in taking down the full ambush team, but that would have solidified them as an enemy, something I was reluctant to do. Moreover, even if we were destined to be enemies, that didn’t mean that they would suddenly be friends with the legionaries. The more warriors in the tribe, the longer the distraction they could create against a band of professional soldiers, maybe even inflicting some considerable damage in the process. 

Not every surprise was a nasty one, as the moment I stepped onto the mountain, the chaotic magic enveloped my body comfortably, no different than a warm blanket as I tried to sleep. “Be careful, the steps are treacherous,” the leader warned me, even as the path he took was not the safe one. Instead, he was leading us to a dead-end, which was also surrounded by a few dozens of archers waiting for our appearance. An unexpected volley of arrows was one of the best ways to deal with a mage, just a bit behind the knife into the eye while the target was sleeping. 

“Are you sure it’s the steps that are treacherous?” I said, unable to keep myself from quipping, even as I let my magic mingle with the mountain’s aura, deepening my connection. 

“What?” he said, too distracted by the anticipation to catch my quip, even though it wasn’t something that could be categorized as subtle. And then, it was too late, because I triggered a small magical storm around me, the eye just large enough to contain three of us if we pressed our bodies together. 

“You don’t need an excuse,” Lillian whispered as her arm wrapped around my waist and pushed her body tight in an effort to avoid the effect of the storm. Meanwhile, the group around us raised an alarm, a couple of them falling victim to the storm and suffering a horrible but rather quick death as the magically-charged winds destroyed their bodies, but in the grand scheme of things, their losses were negligible. The leader survived, but I was happy to note that the annoying guy who tried to attack us during the first meeting hadn’t. 

“What’s going on,” they shouted while we slowly diverted our destination away from the safe path they had created for themselves, stepping into the wild flux of magic. Luckily, with the connection I felt with the magic of the mountain, creating a bubble of safety was trivial. 

“What happened,” called someone from the ambush team as he dashed toward the leader of the diplomatic team —not that they did the word diplomatic any justice— his face contorted in alarm. I stayed near, curious about their reaction. 

“A magical tornado hit us. A big one,” the leader said. “I was quick enough to escape, but even some of our guys had fallen. Those idiots never had a chance.” 

“Fuck,” said the other one in shock. “The chief is going to kill us. That redheaded bitch was an important part of his plans. Now, he has to find another excuse to make a move,” he said. 

“Why can’t we just kill the bitch and be done with it,” the leader of the group said. “I’m getting fed up with her sanctimonious attitude, like she had any right to rule.” 

“We can’t, at least not while she still has some key followers among the priestesses. Or are you willing to create a path for us?” 

The leader growled in annoyance, but they started walking away. “The leader is going to kill me,” he moaned to himself as he did so. 

“Don’t worry,” the other one comforted. “You’re lucky that I was just in time to witness the situation. It was a freak occurrence, nothing you can do would have prevented it.”  

“I guess,” he answered and they disappeared into the confusing flux of the magical cloud around the mountain. Only after making sure they were away, I turned to the girls. 

“I knew that the Matron was not a traitor,” Astrid gasped, the sudden relaxing in her tone suggesting that her conviction wasn’t as untouchable as she tried to portray, but I let it slide. 

“Probably, but we need to find a temporary residence before we discuss politics,” I chided her, before I led them toward the peak of the mountain, with a wide berth between our ambushers and us. I didn’t have many hopes. Finding a cave would have been the best, but I didn’t want to fight against whatever native creature that made the place its home, not when a flare might alert them about my presence. 

“That was unexpected,” I murmured half an hour later, when I suddenly found myself facing the ruins of a mid-sized town made of magical marble. It was clearly a rich place, considering the magically-charged marble had managed to survive after who knows how many centuries. 

“I didn’t know there was an ancient town in Mount Pyrenaean,” Astrid murmured in shock. “How did we fail to notice its presence after centuries.” 

“Simple,” I answered. “Exploring such a dangerous place requires both skill and power, and in the tribes, anyone that shows both of those attributes was too important to throw away.” 

Then, I ignored the way the girls sighed and turned my attention to the ruins. Our new home for a foreseeable future.