Metal mage 5, p.9
Metal Mage 5, page 9
It went against everything I knew of honor and decency, and I couldn’t help but think back to Dorinick. He’d left his post because he wouldn’t lead his troops to the slaughter, even for the Elders. Honor was like second nature to him. Well, where lives were concerned anyway.
I scratched my beard and hoped this code of conduct didn’t apply to all elves, but unfortunately, it was only the least of my worries.
Cayla had been right. The look on the elves’ faces when the three of us revealed our powers was more than fear yesterday, and until we found out more about what was going through their heads, our powers would only expose us.
I looked up to the light that streamed through the skylight. The orange glow of sunrise had shifted to the pure yellow of early morning, and I sighed and scruffed my head to loosen up my nerves a bit.
The meeting with the Elven Council would be in only a few short hours, and for the moment, I’d just have to settle for being grateful we found out it’d be best to keep our powers under the table before we showed up.
Cayla began to shift against me, and as Shoshanne and Aurora woke up and stretched their supple limbs, I decided we would get on our way as early as possible, so we’d have time to get a feel for Rhoemir, and maybe even an idea about the Elven Council we’d be meeting with.
I reached my arm out to condense the walls back into boulders, and I brought them to the bank of the river. Then I made my way to the spent fire and gathered up the pile of feathers from our dinner.
Most of them were as soft as down, but some were rigid and stark white, while the tail feathers flowed gracefully for about three feet and had a light sheen of purple toward the tips. I didn’t want to waste anything that might be useful to us in these strange lands, so I bundled the feathers into one of our packs and stowed them in the sidecar.
We’d been distracted until about sunset, so we hadn’t taken much of a look at our surroundings the day before, but in the morning light, I could see the trees that lined the river bowed heavily with exotic fruits. The bushes beneath them were covered with clusters of berries as well, and the bright pink flesh of them looked about ready to burst.
Shoshanne gathered a plateful of the berries while Aurora snagged a couple of magenta things, and I was about to caution the Aer Mage against eating strange berries from the forest, when she pulled out her infirmary kit and plunked it down beside the plate.
I settled in beside the caramel beauty. “Are those medicinal?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered with a shrug. “I’m just testing their toxicity real quick.”
I blinked in surprise. “You can do that?”
Shoshanne nodded as she dug through the vials in her kit and pulled one out filled to the brim with a bright yellow liquid. Then she took a few berries and mashed them in a mortar pestle, before she removed the top of the vial and let a few drops spill over the berries.
The yellow liquid smelled bitter, and I wrinkled my nose as I asked, “What is that stuff?”
“Bile,” the Aer Mage returned.
I frowned and tried not to gag as I considered this. “You have a jar of human bile in that bag?”
“Of course.” Shoshanne pulled a blue glass vial out next, and this one looked like it only had water in it, but when she put a few drops into the mixture, it began to bubble a little, and the Aer Mage leaned in for a closer look as she continued. “This solvent tests the toxicity level in the stomach. The bile interacts with the berries first, and depending on the reaction of the solvent, I can tell if it’s toxic to our bodies or not.”
She picked up a slim metal stick to mix the juices around a little, and I looked over her shoulder at the disgusting sludge.
This time, I did gag. “So, what’s the verdict?” I tried.
Shoshanne stirred the mixture around for another minute and added another drop of solvent to be safe. Then she gave a little nod. “Perfectly safe. Wanna try one?”
I kind of didn’t anymore, but I took the plump pink berry she held out, and we both popped one into our mouths.
“Oh man,” I groaned. “These are fantastic.” They tasted like blueberry cotton candy, but the sweetness was a natural one that reminded me more of honey.
“And no one had to slice any wriggling heads off them,” Shoshanne chuckled.
“That’s it,” I decided as I reached over for a handful and tossed them into my mouth. “I’m making jam, but first we’re washing the bile out of that thing.”
I mashed up enough berries for all of us, and soon we had a bowl full of hot pink jam to spread on our toast, alongside some freshly sizzling black bacon.
“We need a name for this stuff,” I mumbled as I chewed on a chunk of meat.
“Black meat,” Aurora snorted through her bite, and she wrinkled her nose at the unappetizing name.
“Clever,” I said with a wink, “but I’m going with bacon eel.”
The half-elf cringed as she swallowed. “That’s so much worse,” she chuckled.
“Mmm … I think it’s perfect.” I shoved another lump into my mouth, and Aurora rolled her eyes as she nudged her plate away.
Once we’d packed up, we all headed to the riverside and took a look up and downstream. The water wasn’t brown like many of the rivers I’d seen on Earth, but more of a blueish green. Its surface was smooth as glass without any large boulders sticking out to break the water, and as I watched the current, it looked like only the gentle cross breeze disrupted the surface here and there. It wasn’t murky, but it was deep enough that we couldn’t see the bottom. We had a decent view for quite a ways along the banks, and as far as we could tell, there weren’t any bridges nearby.
I reached out my arm and pulled my magic to the surface to feel around for the rocks on the bottom of the river. “It’s not too deep,” I informed the others. “There’s some pebbles about five feet down, but the riverbed isn’t made of anything I can build a bridge out of. I could try those boulders, but I don’t think there’s enough to--”
“Oh, let me!” Shoshanne said, and an eager smile spread across her face.
“Let you build a bridge?” I asked in confusion.
The Aer Mage propped her hand on her hip and gave me an unimpressed look. “No,” she sighed. “Everyone just get on the bike. This is going to be fun.”
She bounced on her toes a little as her excitement returned, and we all exchanged confused smiles as we headed back to Bobbie. Once we were settled in, and Bobbie roared to life, I turned to look over my shoulder and found the Aer Mage’s eyes closed in concentration.
Her copper curls began to sway, and when she opened her eyes she had a huge smile on her face.
“Okay, I’m ready, but I’ve never tried this, so drive fast,” she said as she locked an arm around Cayla’s waist and raised the other toward the river.
I nodded and turned back around with my hands firm on the handlebars, and as we watched the river, a little dip formed in the water near the bank. Then the dip deepened into a sort of trench, and as the air around us began to tunnel past, I realized what she was doing.
The air blew hard against the surface of the river, and as it did the trench deepened, and a wall of water built up against the side. The wind picked up, and with a blast of invisible force, the riverbed was exposed further and further across. When the trench stretched the width of the river, the water that slammed into the side of the funnel of wind began to rise higher.
Then the breeze that flew past us suddenly shifted and began to spiral, and as it did, the river spilled over the top of the breeze and formed a watery tunnel over the trench.
“No fucking way,” I chuckled, but Shoshanne called out with a strained voice.
“Go!” she ordered, and Bobbie kicked into gear.
We sped into the trench, and as we crossed along the riverbed, I looked around at the greenish blue water that flowed up and over us. The tunnel collapsed directly behind the Aer Mage as we went, but from where I was, I could see straight through to the plant and fish life that swirled past, and I stuck my hand out to the side to drag a finger through the wall of water.
When we made it to the opposite bank, Bobbie climbed the slope to bring us back up to land, and I turned us around to take a look at the river. It was as smooth as glass again, and no one would suspect Shoshanne had literally just parted the fucking waters like Moses.
“That was awesome,” Aurora laughed, and she turned to send a smile to the Aer Mage. “Seriously. How did you know you could do that?”
“I didn’t,” Shoshanne said with a wide smile. “But I saw the breeze making little ripples, and then I thought about how the snow I threw at the ice giants kind of looked like a wave and I don’t know … I just thought I’d try.”
“Good enough for me,” the Ignis Mage chuckled as she looked back to the flowing river.
Cayla gave Shoshanne’s thigh a little squeeze, and I shook my head.
“Yeah, we’re doing that again on our way back,” I informed them, and then I turned Bobbie to the south. “So Onym said it’s only a league south from here to Rhoemir. Let’s hope that wasn’t bullshit.”
The river twisted through a few bends, but it followed a generally southward direction. The trees along the bank were dotted all over with every color of fruit, and strange species of birds took flight from their limbs as Bobbie roared by.
There were several white birds with long flowing tails tipped in purple, and I tried not to picture them marinated in dwarven wine. They looked to be the prominent species in this part of the jungle, aside from a very stout little green bird that looked uncannily like a giant tennis ball with wings. These guys waddled along the branches and stuffed their faces with the bright orange and yellow fruits, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculous sight.
A bridge appeared in the distance as we neared the end of the league Onym told us to travel, and I rolled my eyes. I mean, he could have just told us to travel south and then cross the river, but as I glanced to the opposite bank, I realized the grasses we’d all slept in the night before didn’t grow along that side of the river anymore. There were dense bushes with giant leaves instead, and I could just make out a few familiar white flowers that lingered in the shadows.
I nudged the half-elf with my thigh and gestured across the water.
“Raxis?” she asked uneasily, and I nodded my head.
Maybe the elf had known what he was on about.
The bridge connected to a dirt road that headed east, and we followed it along a few turns before the jungle ended abruptly at the edge of Rhoemir.
We decided to drive off the road a ways and leave Bobbie parked in the bushes, and I gave the metal a loving pat as we all dismounted.
“Don’t worry, baby,” I assured her. “We’ll tuck you in nice and cozy.”
I trekked through the plants and lifted boulders as I went until I had enough to form a small shed for Bobbie. When I returned, Aurora had the elven map out and flattened across the seat, and she let out an unimpressed snort.
“What’s up?” I asked as I let the boulders drop in a pile.
“Remember those x’s?” she asked with a wry smile.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Did you figure out what they meant?”
“Oh yeah,” she said, and she folded the parchment with a little more force than necessary. “Those super helpful, unmarked x’s are where those two groves of Raxis were.”
I tried not to let my irritation gnaw at my gut. “Seriously?” I asked.
The Ignis Mage just shoved the map into the sidecar instead of responding. When she stood up, she brushed her braids back and plastered a seriously ingenuine smile on her face. “Let’s go meet some friendly fucking elves.”
I chuckled and pulled the woman toward me to give her a fiery kiss. Then I cupped her chin and studied her emerald eyes.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” I asked as I recognized the tense set of her jaw. It was a dangerous look on an Ignis Mage.
Aurora smirked and rolled her eyes. “I’m fine,” she assured me, and she let out a long breath. “I’ve got this. The most important thing is we find out how to combat a rune wielding maniac. What’s a few hours of prejudice?”
I laughed and pulled the fierce half-elf in for a hug. “That’s the spirit.”
Shoshanne rewrapped Aurora’s leg before we headed off, and I was pleased to see the gouge had already closed up, and only an angry surface wound remained. I still wasn’t used to how quickly the half-elf healed, and it made me wonder how the rogue elves we’d met in the forest faired with those stab wounds.
As I thought back to the elves, I remembered an important detail that had bothered me on the drive south.
“Hey,” I said as I removed the holster from around my waist. “Those elves were pretty hostile yesterday, so I want this Council to get a good impression right off the bat. We already agreed, no magic, but I want to be as cautious as possible. Cayla, you keep your rifle, since you can’t fall back on any magic if you need it, but I’m stowing my gun, and Aurora--”
“No way,” the half-elf interrupted, and she clutched the hilt of her sword. “Mason, I’m half-human, don’t send me out there looking like easy pickings.”
I could see her point. “You’re right, you do exactly what you do. But I’m gonna make it look like I’m unarmed.”
“Are you sure?” Cayla asked.
“Definitely,” I assured her, as I double checked my bullets and tucked my revolver beneath my belt at the back of my hip. “People get curious about things they don’t recognize, and I don’t want these elves even suspecting I could be a threat. I want them to think I’m just a guy with some questions. Guys with questions don’t show off their guns, they stow them the fuck out of sight.”
Cayla smirked. “And what do the women who travel with men with questions do?”
“They kill anyone who doesn’t like questions,” I chuckled as I removed the dwarven sword as well. “But remember what I said yesterday, we’re keeping our heads low and not showing our cards, deal?” I rumpled my shirt beneath my leather vest to conceal the handle of the revolver, and the three women nodded their agreement. “Good. We’ll just go into this meeting, we’ll be friendly and get some answers, and then we’ll be on our way.”
Once we were set, I formed a small den around Bobbie and adjusted the outer surface to look like a large boulder. Then we left the dense forest and came to the edge of Rhoemir.
The jungle overflowed along the back of the short buildings that lined the edge of the trees and the road, and vines crawled over nearly every rooftop. As we passed more and more of the same short structures, I realized they were made of stacked river rock, which was probably why the riverbed had been so barren. Dense green and black moss bloomed on pretty much everything, and exotic flowers on stout stocks flanked the hut-like structures wherever the vines hadn’t taken over.
As we walked down the road and entered the town’s center, the stone huts parted to a wide marketplace, and we stopped to take in the hundred or so elves who occupied it.
Many of them moved in groups of two or three, and the groups all wore matching garb, like the elves we’d encountered in the jungle. These elves were just as heavily armed and padded with vambraces in every color. The majority had glaives strapped to their backs, but some carried bows and quivers loaded with arrows.
“Yikes,” I muttered under my breath as I eyed the blades that flashed from every direction in the crowded square.
As groups brushed by one another, they exchanged haughty glances, and more than a few arguments broke out in tight corners. They only ended when a comrade finally pulled a furious elf away from their foes, but it looked like a tossup as to whether this would lead to a heated argument amongst themselves. Still, from what I could see, no one reached for their weapons.
The humid air seemed thicker in the bustling town, and it felt like it was suddenly twenty degrees hotter. I loosened the ties at the front of my vest as sweat began to drip down my ribs, and as waves of heat rippled across the dirt, I glanced down to the bare feet of the half-elf beside me.
“Are you gonna be okay like that?” I asked.
Aurora cocked a brow and gave me a hard stare, and after about a minute I caught on.
“Oh, right,” I chuckled. “Ignis. Duh.”
The woman shook her head slowly. “You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked.
“Well, we’re here now.” I shrugged. “Let’s get you some boots either way. I don’t see anyone just strolling around with bare feet on this stuff.”
Cayla nudged my arm and pointed across the clearing. “There are boots at that leather shop,” she told us.
We exchanged a few uneasy glances before we took the plunge and walked out amongst the elves.
Heat beat down on my shoulders the moment we left the cover of the forest’s edge, and the thick air felt stagnant despite the constant movement of everything around us. The stone huts in the marketplace formed a wide circle, and each storefront had some sort of awning propped up in front of it. I saw the huts were open faced with long tables set out between the merchants and their buyers, and nearly all of them were crowded with customers.
The elves shoved silver coins into the merchant’s hands and stuffed their goods into dirty sacks they added to at each stop. A few peddlers pushed rickety carts filled with fruits and hollered above the noise in Elvish. Others just sat down anywhere in the dirt with large crates filled with dead birds, and they scowled to the elves who snatched them up by the necks to look them over.
I watched a wrinkled old elf with faded purple hair argue with an elven man who was at least two feet taller than her, and as the grim elf shook his head to the woman’s price, she spat at his feet and waved him away as she turned her serpentine eyes to the next buyer.
I shook my head at the elderly elf’s nerve, but then the sight of a turquoise tunic caught my attention.
Through the crowd, I could just make out the backs of three elves with the same garb Onym had worn, but none of them had silver hair. My pulse began to quicken, and as I quickly scanned the throng around us, I saw two more groups just like them.
