Imperial wizard ambition.., p.29
Imperial Wizard: Ambitions, page 29
Verdan wasted no time in gathering his own hunting party together. Dru, Tom, Tim, and Sylvie would be enough for what he needed.
Everyone else would be staying at the estate to keep it secure. The only magic-user was Aeva, but the Fwyn was quite powerful and was the best defensive caster they had.
It turned out that Tom was actually working closely with the Fwyn; the stone armor he'd worn had been Aeva's construction, and the energy around his mace had been from Dru.
"Everyone ready?" Verdan asked, looking over the assorted group as they assembled outside the estate.
"Ready to go, Boss," Tim said with a hard expression.
"Disir," Verdan conjured a light for them to see by as they set off, his eyes lingering on Ruan and Pawel as they carried Declan's body inside.
"This way," Sylvie said, taking the lead as they came to the first turning.
Verdan could sense a hint of lingering Parada in the air, but not to such a degree that he could navigate by it. In happier circumstances, he'd be fascinated by the Airta and what they were doing. Right now, though, his mind shied away from such thoughts.
Sylvie guided them deeper into the city, moving more toward the center than either of the gates. The other Airta had left no obvious tracks, but Verdan trusted her to know where she was going.
Still, he was somewhat surprised. He'd expected the Weeping Death to have a small outpost outside of the city, one from which they could conduct a raid like this. Instead, it felt almost like they were based inside the city.
Verdan withheld judgement for the moment, but it made a certain amount of sense if they did. No doubt they would have an agent on the inside as well, and Verdan had a few suspicions in that regard. Suspicions that were only bolstered by the guard uniforms the attackers wore.
Verdan wrestled his mind back under control with difficulty; he couldn't afford to lose himself in flights of vengeful fantasy while two dangerous Sorcerers were loose in the city.
Sylvie continued to lead them toward the center of the city, giving Verdan time to calm down a little and consider everything in a more logical manner.
"Damn it," Verdan cursed, his eyes going wide as he realized one of the implications of all this. Kai and the Witches were late returning. "Neges dyn."
It was more Aether than he wanted to use right now, but Verdan needed to know if the others were safe. He kept the message simple, informing Kai that they had been attacked and asking him what their situation was.
The message itself was almost instantaneous, so Verdan got an answer a minute later, though, like with Valmira, Kai was only able to send feelings and some rough concepts back.
Verdan interpreted what Kai sent as concern for Verdan and the others, with a sense of ongoing caution mixed with satisfaction for Verdan's query about their own delay.
From what he knew of Kai, Verdan was fairly confident that the Weeping Death had attacked Kai and the Witches, with likely disastrous results for their enemy.
Verdan doubted the Weeping Death was giving the Witches the respect they deserved, which was all the better for their usefulness in defending the city in the long run.
A distant howl was carried to them on the wind, Sylvie listening carefully before turning to nod to Verdan. "They've found them."
There was no way that howl was from outside the city. Verdan knew this was damning proof that there were traitors within the city, and part of him considered waiting for the guard to assemble, but he couldn't do it.
Even a small chance of Declan's killers getting away was unacceptable.
-**-
The atmosphere was tense when they reached one of the nicer parts of the city, and a sleek brown wolf padded out from a pool of shadows, shifting before their eyes into Zhalia.
"They're in the house with the blue roof, third along on the right," Zhalia said quietly as she beckoned them closer. "We're watching the exits to make sure they don't run."
"Good. We go in fast and hard, but I don't want any innocents being injured, understood?" Verdan waited for them all to nod before turning to Zhalia. "Lead the way."
"May the Lord of the Hunt guide your hand," Zhalia said, her bow taking on a momentary golden hue as Verdan felt the blessing settle into place.
"Alright, let's do this. Tom, you're our door knocker, but don't channel any Essence until we're breaking in, just in case."
"Got it, Boss," Tom said, drawing his mace from the loop on his belt and making a few test swings.
Nodding to Zhalia, Verdan dismissed his light and kept a firm grip on his Aether as they came around the corner, and she pointed out the blue-roofed building in question.
They moved quietly into position around the entrance, Delia and Blane joining them in their human form as they approached.
"Go," Verdan said, simultaneously casting a bright light onto Tom's shield and another to hover above them, illuminating everything as the stone Sorcerer created his armor from their surroundings and bull-rushed through the door.
The door splintered under the impact of Tom's stone-clad form, the bright light on his shield illuminating the interior as he powered through.
Shouts of surprise came from further inside, but the first person to emerge came face-to-face with Tom mid-charge and was sent flying into the wall behind them.
The rest of the group piled inside, with Verdan heading upstairs alongside Blane, while the others secured the ground floor. Verdan could already hear sounds of resistance as his people got to work, but he had faith that they would get the job done.
Verdan had just reached the top of the stairs when a door opened, and the fake guard with the wounded arm stumbled into view. The assassin blanched as he caught sight of Verdan and tried to flee.
"Rew drae," Verdan snarled, sending a spray of ice darts into the man before he could react. For all that he'd said to take prisoners, Verdan was taking no chances.
Stepping over the fallen man, Verdan opened the next door to reveal a makeshift aid station. The thunder Sorcerer sat at the far end, a scared-looking woman tending to his wounds as best she could.
"Trent, they're here!" The Sorcerer bellowed in fear, shoving the woman aside before conjuring a shield and throwing an orb of destructive force at Verdan.
"Aer torr!" Verdan threw a curving slash of aether-infused air at the Sorcerer, its edge slicing through the incoming orb with ease, causing it to fizzle apart.
Tom's display with his mace had shown Verdan that the weakness of these orbs was their stability, and he was keen to demonstrate to these Sorcerers why a trained Wizard was a truly dangerous foe.
The Sorcerer gaped in shock at the ease with which Verdan's spell had cut through his attack and strengthened his shield, extending it to cover all around him as Verdan cast a second spell.
Verdan's spell hit the shield and seemingly sliced effortlessly through, continuing on to remove the man's arm at the elbow, an apt tribute to Barb's loss.
"What? How?" The Sorcerer stared at his missing arm, pale-faced and clearly in shock.
"Your shield tries to break down anything physical that passes through it but isn't reinforced against magic," Verdan's voice was filled with tightly-controlled anger as he threw another air blade, this time cutting through the man's right leg and sending him falling back into his chair. "It will naturally resist other magical attacks, but its lack of a true protective concept means that it gives almost no defense against one designed to cut."
The Sorcerer was screaming in pain and shouting something, but Verdan ignored him, creating a shield to block the few orbs the man was able to conjure.
"Verdan, on your left!" Blane shouted from somewhere behind him, Verdan throwing himself backwards automatically as a knife flew past him, cutting through the wall of thunder Essence and embedding itself in the crippled Sorcerer's forehead with disturbing ease.
Looking over his shoulder, Verdan saw the decay Sorcerer had joined the fight and was already dueling with Blane. Both men were moving with speed Verdan could only envy but were stuck in a strange deadlock.
Blane had the longer weapons and was slightly faster, but the Sorcerer could no doubt cut through Blane's swords if he parried, and a single hit from those Essence-charged knives might well be deadly.
Blane's answer to this was a series of high-speed attacks that focused on the other man's extremities, forcing him to dodge and move rather than parry.
Left alone, Verdan would put his money on Blane, but he saw no reason to do so.
"Gwth," Verdan sent a blast of force at the Sorcerer when Blane was well out of the way, but the man caught it on a knife, the decay Essence chewing through most of Verdan's Aether. What was left knocked him back slightly, but not enough to give Blane an opening.
"Grym disir," Verdan called out, conjuring a blindingly bright light behind Blane's head for a brief moment, blinding the Sorcerer and hopefully scorching his eyes.
The Sorcerer stumbled backwards, waving his knives in front of him blindly as he blinked furiously, partially blinded by the spell. It was a good attempt, but Blane went low, cutting along the man's thigh with one blade before putting the other in his chest as his guard dropped.
"Thank you for the assist," Blane called to Verdan, eyeing the dying man warily as he slumped down the wall, knives falling out of limp hands.
"Glad to help. Thank you for your warning," Verdan said, knowing that one of those knives in his back would have been intensely unpleasant.
"I'll clear the rest of the floor, just in case," Blane said, pulling his blade from the dead Sorcerer and starting to search the other rooms.
"Stay where you are. We were only here for these two," Verdan called through to the scared woman who'd been treating the Sorcerer's wounds. The woman eagerly agreed, so Verdan left the upstairs to Blane and went down to see how the others did.
"Is everyone okay?" Verdan asked Delia, who seemed to be orchestrating things.
"Nothing worse than a few bruises," Delia said with a slight shrug. "Four enemies dead and three captured."
"Good. Let's secure the building and wait for the guard to arrive," Verdan said, his heart sinking as he realized that they were past the easy part.
Now came the paperwork.
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Chapter
Thirty-Two
A full squad of guardsmen arrived a few minutes later, ready for a fight; instead, they found Verdan waiting, with a pile of bodies, some captives, and a distraught maid.
"Wizard Blacke?" One of the guards asked aloud, recognizing Verdan with a shocked expression.
"I suggest we take this to your headquarters. A lot has happened," Verdan said with a tight smile. He wasn't done with payback for tonight's unpleasantness, not by half.
"Right, if you say so," the guard said, sharing a concerned look with one of his companions before sending a runner off to fetch help.
-**-
They made their way to the guard headquarters and parked the two carts outside. One was full of bound captives, and the other held the bodies of the dead.
Once secured, a pair of guards left to find the duty officer, seemingly eager to pass the mess on to someone else.
The duty officer turned out to be a hawk-nosed guard named Sergeant Troy, who took one look at the scene before starting to shout orders.
"What in the abyss is going on here?" The sergeant demanded, pointing at the captives, who were still in their fake guard uniforms. "Somebody release those people at once!"
"These people aren't real guards," Verdan said sharply, noticing that none of the guards who'd come with them tried to do as the sergeant asked. "They are imposters, and they tried to kill me."
"That is yet to be determined. Release them immediately and hand over your weapons," Sergeant Troy demanded, lifting his chin to meet Verdan's eyes defiantly.
"No," Verdan said, shaking his head in disbelief at the sergeant's behavior. "They are staying there, and you're not taking our weapons. I would advise against trying to force the issue; I lack the patience for idiocy tonight."
The sergeant paled a little, his eyes flicking between Verdan and the prisoners with nervous energy. "You say they attacked you, but what proof do you have?"
"What proof?" Verdan asked, his voice surprisingly calm as he took a step closer to Sergeant Troy. As he did so, he noticed that one of the original guards to find them slipped out of the group and went back into the building. "The proof I have is in the damage to my home, in the hand that we had to amputate to save a comrade's arm. The proof is in the death of one of my people!"
"All unsubstantiated claims..." The sergeant began to say, before trailing off and taking a few steps back as he saw Verdan's expression.
"Unsubstantiated," Verdan repeated with a mirthless laugh, his Aether boiling within him as he fought down the urge to throw the sergeant through a nearby wall.
"Verdan, calm yourself. They are not your enemy," Blane said softly, coming up beside the Wizard to rest a hand on his shoulder. Waiting until Verdan had himself under control, Blane turned a withering gaze on the sergeant. "You. Get out, and don't come back until someone with a brain arrives."
The sergeant looked as though he wanted to argue, but after a long and tense pause, he waved for the nearby guards to follow him and headed back inside.
Two guards remained outside with Verdan and the others, but they moved back to give them plenty of room, which was far more respect than the sergeant had offered.
"Am I the only one that thought he seemed a bit anxious?" Tim asked into the tense silence that followed Sergeant Troy's departure.
"Probably doesn't want the burden of dealing with this," Verdan said with a derisive curl of his lip.
"I don't know, it seemed more than that," Tim said, his brows furrowed in thought.
"We'll know why soon enough. Hopefully, he comes back with either the lieutenant or the commander," Verdan said, finding himself pacing back and forth as they waited.
Fortunately, they only had to wait five minutes or so until a tired-looking Commander Griffon arrived, along with the guard that had excused himself earlier.
Griffon had a rumpled look to him that made Verdan wonder if he had been pulling an all-nighter when they arrived.
"Thank you, Peters," Griffon said once he reached them. "Head inside and see what Sergeant Troy is up to, if you would."
"Aye, aye, Sir," Peters said, snapping off a salute before heading into the headquarters at a quick walk.
"Right," Griffon said, eyeing the prisoners and the dead with equal apprehension. "It seems you've had an eventful evening, and Peters said something about losing one of your people. My condolences, it's never easy."
"Thank you," Verdan said, unwinding a little now that someone sensible was with them. "You'll probably have had some reports on fighting near the Crea estate?"
"Not yet, but I'm meant to be off-duty. I take it you were attacked?" Griffon asked, grimacing as Verdan nodded.
Verdan launched into a rough explanation of the evening's events, starting with Natalia's revelation of the source of the concoction used to mark targets for the Vespa.
"Damn it," Griffon muttered to himself once Verdan was done, walking over to one of the carts to take a look at the captives. Oddly, he clambered up and took a closer look at one of the uniformed attackers before shaking his head. "This is a problem, as well."
"What is?" Verdan asked, moving closer to see what the commander was looking at.
"These uniforms, they're not replicas or fakes; or at least, if they are fakes, they’re very good ones." Griffon said quietly, pitching his voice to keep his words between the two of them. "We have a few concealed identity markers for situations just like this. I trust that you're telling the truth; gods know you've no reason to make this up. I don't recognize any of these people either, but the city guard is quite large these days; these could well be real guards who've betrayed us."
"That's not ideal," Verdan said with a grimace, not liking that possibility one bit.
"Somewhat of an understatement," Griffon said, sharing a worried look with Verdan before clambering down from the cart. "I'll get Silver to do a roll-call in the morning, see if anyone is missing. Failing that, we'll see if all the uniforms are accounted for."
"Alright, shall we leave this with you?" Verdan asked, suddenly feeling very tired and wanting nothing more than to leave this mess with someone else.
Griffon started to answer, but the door leading into the headquarters opened up, and Sergeant Troy came out once more, this time with twice as many guards as he'd had the first time.
"This is your final warning, Wizard. Let the guards you've taken prisoner loose!" Troy shouted, gesturing to a pair of guards who were wielding crossbows with familiar-looking bolts.
None of the guards accompanying the sergeant looked particularly happy to be involved, and Verdan noted that none of their weapons were actually pointed anywhere near him or his people.
"Sergeant Troy, what the abyss do you think you're doing!" Griffon bellowed, coming out from behind Verdan to accost the unfortunate sergeant.
"Well, the guards, sir, they're captives!" Troy tried gamely to shift the focus back onto Verdan, but Griffon waved his words away.
"These are criminals posing as guards who attacked the Wizard in his home. They are to be locked up and questioned in the morning, understood?"
"But, sir, the uniforms are real. The Wizard must be making it up," the Sergeant all but pleaded as Griffon steadily approached him.
"Sergeant Troy, you are out of line!" Griffon barked, now right in front of the other man. "I've given you an order, and I expect it to be carried out. Now, is that understood?"
Despite his short stature, the Commander was quite intimidating at times, and Verdan could see the surrounding guards slowly edge away from the sergeant as he took the full brunt of Griffon's ire.
"Yes, sir," Troy paled, bracing to attention.
"Good. Now, take three men and get the cells ready," Griffon said, sending Troy back inside with a few guards before turning back to Verdan. "I'll personally make sure that everything goes as it should here. I'll have Lieutenant Silver stop by with a report once we know more."
