Imperial wizard ambition.., p.30
Imperial Wizard: Ambitions, page 30
"Thank you, commander," Verdan said, gesturing for all his people to follow him as he turned and started the long walk back to the estate.
The last of the adrenaline that had been keeping Verdan going drained out of him as they walked through the city, and he was left to dwell on what had happened.
Part of him was already whispering that he'd acted too rashly in striking back, that he should have gone to the guard and supported them rather than taking matters into his own hands.
What if he'd been wrong? What if he'd killed innocents or genuine guards?
No.
Verdan took a deep breath and did his best to crush the doubts that were plaguing him. He'd done everything he could to make his attack as surgical as possible.
A lot had happened in the two weeks or so since the assassination attempt, and Verdan was determined not to go backwards on this.
Yes, he'd killed someone, and yes, he'd done it not knowing who they were or the full situation, but really, if he were back in the Imperium and it was the same fight again, he'd still have killed Aadan.
Verdan almost missed a step as the full weight of that thought hit him.
Aadan and his people had attacked first, and even if Verdan had somehow communicated who he was to Aadan, would that have stopped his old friend?
Even if it had, Verdan had known the soldiers he had worked with. He'd fought and bled alongside them. Could he really have let the people who killed them walk away?
Verdan had been holding onto his grief for the death of his friends for a long time, but perhaps it was time to accept what had happened. Accept that he'd done the right thing.
Despite the weight of the night's events, despite his grief and guilt at Declan's death, Verdan still felt as though a weight had been lifted from him.
-**-
The estate was in organized chaos when Verdan returned, though order was slowly being established.
Elliot and a dozen locals had come to help clean up after the general destruction the thunder Sorcerer had caused. Verdan spared a moment to thank them for their help, forcing at least the hint of a smile onto his face as he did.
It meant a lot that the locals had come to help as quickly as they did. Verdan was sure that the Sorcerers would have seen bystanders as mere collateral damage, and they likely knew that as well.
The hunting group dispersed once they were safely inside the estate, and Verdan soon found himself outside the room where Barb was recovering from her wounds. He hesitated at the door for a moment before taking a steadying breath and pushing it open.
Barb lay on a bed, pale and unmoving, while Natalia sat at her side, watching over her with a worried look in her eyes.
"How is she?" Verdan quietly asked, looking in on Natalia as she rubbed some sort of salve onto the nub on Barb's left arm.
"In shock, hurt, and overwhelmed. She woke up not long after you left, but I sedated her before she had a chance to really realize what was happening. Physically, she'll be as fine as she can be in time," Natalia said, pausing to look down at her patient with a concerned expression. "Mentally, though, I don't know how she'll cope. I'm no doctor, but I've seen my share of bad injuries and how people can react to them.
"She's tough. She'll get through it," Verdan said with a mix of conviction and hope.
"I hope so," Natalia said, turning to give Verdan an appraising look. "How are you holding up?"
"Physically, I'm fine," Verdan said with a half-shrug. "Mentally, well, I've lost people before. It never gets easier, though."
"I can't even imagine how it must feel," Natalia said softly, shaking her head as she walked over to Verdan and rested her hand on his arm. "It wasn't your fault, you know."
"I know, but it was my responsibility," Verdan said as he walked over to cast a low-powered healing spell into Barb. She was already topped up with potions and divine healing, but he felt obligated to put some more in himself.
Natalia followed after him, her hand resting on his shoulder with a comforting squeeze. "Do you want me to take you to him?"
"Please," Verdan said in barely more than a whisper, patting Barb on the shoulder before following Natalia out of the room.
As they walked through the workshop, Verdan had the belated realization that Natalia wasn't wearing her veil. That made sense, really, considering she'd taken it off in his room, and their exit had been somewhat abrupt.
It was good that she was coping this well without it; he knew all this must be tough on her, too.
"He's in here," Natalia said, drawing Verdan out of his thoughts as she led him into a hastily-emptied storage room.
Declan was laid out on a cot in the center of the room, looking no different than when Verdan had last seen him.
"Gward raf," Verdan muttered, tapping the cot that Declan's body had been laid on as he created a construct around slowing decay. He had only a small amount of Aether to spare, but it would keep the body in a good state for the time being.
"Did you know him long?" Natalia asked gently as she took his hand, her warm presence by his side helping to drive away the cold thoughts that lurked in the fringe of Verdan's mind.
Verdan shook his head with a grimace. "Not really, but even that was enough to know that he was a good man."
"I'll leave you to pay your respects," Natalia said after a few moments of silence, her hand slipping from his as she walked softly away, closing the door behind her as she left.
"I'm sorry," Verdan whispered eventually, staring down into Declan's lifeless eyes for what felt like an eternity, before turning and heading off to find Ruan and see if Declan had any family that needed informing.
Once everything was taken care of, Verdan was able to get some sleep in Natalia's guest bedroom, his own room being too damaged to use.
When morning arrived, Verdan gathered everyone together to pay their respects to Declan and take a few moments to grieve.
It was partway through this that Kai and the Witches returned from their trip, looking a little worse for wear but overall in good shape.
Kai's gaze caught Verdan's, and he gestured off to one side, walking over to join him before gesturing subtly to the gathering.
"I know that look. Who was it?" Kai asked softly, his eyes flicking over everyone who was present.
"Declan."
"Damn," Kai said under his breath, closing his eyes for a moment and letting out a long breath. "I liked the kid. How'd it happen?"
"Two Sorcerers, one thunder and one decay. They took Barb's hand and put a knife in Declan's chest."
"Bastards," Kai snarled, his face momentarily alive with a depth of hatred that surprised Verdan, but the Sorcerer quickly got himself under control. "Did you deal with them?"
"Both dead," Verdan said with more than a touch of satisfaction.
"Good. It's a high price to pay, but it'll make them think twice before trying again. Now, tell me everything."
Verdan gave Kai much the same rundown as he'd given Commander Griffon, though he also included what the commander had revealed about the uniforms at the end.
"That's concerning, but ultimately, we always knew that they had someone in the city," Kai said with a pointed look. "We already know that someone was using Tobias's warehouse."
"True. Do you still think Tobias is involved?"
"I'm suspicious of all of it, and he's done nothing to clear himself in my eyes," Kai said flatly. "We hardly know him. You shouldn't trust him implicitly."
"It's not implicit; I simply don't think he's involved," Verdan said, raising a hand to stop Kai from continuing. "Either way, we'll keep our wits about us. Alright?"
"Alright," Kai said begrudgingly.
"Now, what happened to you? Why were you delayed this long?"
"An ambush on the way back slowed us down," Kai said, his lips curling in derision. "It was poorly-conceived and poorly carried out. The hamster spotted it with plenty of time, enough that we were able to turn the tables on them. Just the one Sorcerer, but she won't be a problem anymore. After that, we took an alternative route back, making sure to avoid any other problems."
Verdan glanced over at Feli, the green Witch, and her hamster familiar, Sheila. He remembered Sheila being the first to detect the Vespa as well.
It wasn't unusual for familiars to be more than they seemed, making Verdan wonder just how strong the hamster would be once Feli had finished mastering her power.
"The attack on you feels rushed as well," Kai said thoughtfully, bringing Verdan's attention back to him.
"How so?"
"The uniforms were clearly planned ahead of time, but you said there were more people in that safehouse than who attacked you, which means they didn't come with everything they had. They know who works here, who lives alongside you. The Weeping Death may be arrogant, but they're not complete idiots. The sect would have come with much more if it was a true attempt on your life."
"They almost succeeded as it was," Verdan pointed out, thinking of how the Sorcerers had broken through his door.
"Yes, but what if I'd been at the gate, or Tom, or even Blane? Anyone with enhanced reflexes or abilities would have made their plan incredibly difficult. No, this feels like something they threw together because there was an opportunity."
"An opportunity like you leaving the city," Verdan said, his eyes widening as he caught onto what Kai was saying. "You think whoever they have in the city has people watching us?"
"I do," Kai said, a small smile touching the corners of his mouth. "Leave it with me; I'll speak to Samuel and get some of the locals involved. They'll know who belongs round here, and they know we're on their side."
"Alright, just let me know if you need anything from me."
"I will, but I should have everything I need," Kai said, his eyes a little distant for a moment before he focused back on Verdan. "When are we doing the testing on the guards?"
"We'll go today. As much as I'd like to put things on hold, Declan isn't going to be the last to die in this fight. We need to get as ready as we can be."
Verdan's words seemed to linger in the air between the two of them as they stood in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
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Chapter
Thirty-Three
Verdan gave them all the morning off to recover from the events of the night before. It wasn't really enough, but it would have to do.
Thankfully, Ruan took it upon himself to deal with organizing the burial and contacting Declan's family. The mercenaries were a realistic and practical group; they'd seen their share of death and knew how to take it in stride.
Kai, meanwhile, went to go speak with Samuel about the potential for Weeping Death agents watching the estate, leaving Verdan to catch up with the Witches on their trip.
Gwen and the others were sitting with an unveiled Natalia in the canteen when Verdan found them. Natalia looked a little awkward and unsure of herself, but the Witches were doing their best to include her.
"Verdan," Gwen called out as he came into the room, waving him over to sit with them. "I'm sorry to hear about what's happened, but I'm glad the two of you weren't hurt." Gwen motioned to include Verdan and Natalia together.
"Thank you, it's been tough on everyone. All we can do now is push on, though."
"Sadly true," Gwen said, shaking her head a little before continuing. "You were right about the forest, though; it was easy to commune with the spirit there, and once we'd done that, we were able to notice other spirits much more easily."
"Good, I'm glad that some use came of it."
"There's more," Gwen said, a little hesitantly, sharing a few looks with the other Witches.
"What is it?"
"There were a few spirits similar to the one at my family home, and Feli was able to communicate with them the best. Apparently, there's a lot of people out there, far more than normal."
"How many?"
"We don't know, but I think we might not get the full thirty days," Gwen said with a worried expression.
"I can almost guarantee that we won't," Verdan said with a tight smile. "There's no reason for Garveth to have been honest with us and every reason for him to have lied. They wouldn't be trying these attacks if they were in position, so we have time yet, but it's running out."
"We're not ready, though. The city isn't ready."
"Which is why we're pushing on as quickly as we can; that's all we can do," Verdan said, trying not to let his own worries color his tone. It wasn't like he disagreed with Gwen. It was just that he didn't know what else he could do.
"I see," Gwen said, leaning back in her chair with a thoughtful expression. "What do you plan to do next?"
"Kai and I will head over to test the guards this afternoon. That should show if we have any additional help to draw on."
"Test them for what?"
"Well," Verdan said, hesitating as he considered whether or not he should explain what he'd made. It wasn't a hard choice to make, though; he was already committing to the guard learning about the tester. Telling Gwen and the others was hardly going to change anything. "It's a tester to show if someone has the capability to become a Sorcerer or not."
"That's incredible," Gwen said, her eyes wide as she stared at him. "I knew you'd been doing something about testing recently, but I thought it was like the last batch you did. Are you going to let this out into the city?"
"In a controlled manner, yes," Verdan said, wincing internally at the thought of just letting the tester lose in the city for anyone to use. They didn't need that kind of chaos right now, though it might yet come to that.
"Will you allow it to leave the city?" Hedda asked, making more than one of the others perk up and look at Verdan.
"Perhaps eventually, I am still concerned with letting it lose without supervision."
"The Sects will not take kindly to you keeping it to yourself; your best defense is to spread the knowledge. The northern tribes would pay a great deal for such a device as well. I can guarantee it." Hedda had an intent look in her eye that made Verdan consider her words more carefully.
"Are there not Sects in the north?" Verdan asked eventually, thinking about all the references to them that he'd heard. He knew that the Sects were stronger in the south, but he'd assumed they were present further north as well.
"The Steel Custodians and the Defiant Flame are the only two. They both have a presence on either side of the mountains, though the Defiant Flame no longer works with my people."
"The Defiant Flame—why do I know that name?" Verdan asked, more to himself than anything.
"They're one of the Sects who have always been pushing to have a stake in Hobson's Point. Kurgane Skarv, the man who crippled my father's hand, was one of them," Natalia said angrily, all but spitting out the Sorcerer's name.
"They would not like you or your affairs, Wizard," Hedda added in a grim tone. "They dislike non-humans and hate those that traffic with them even more. They say that working with other species hinders their mission to retake the north."
"Yes, well, I can't see meeting them going too well then," Verdan said with a slight chuckle, mentally adding the Defiant Flame to the list of potential enemies.
Currently, Verdan had an Idrisyr, two Fwyn, and a handful of Airta working alongside him; no doubt reason enough for these Sorcerers to outright try and kill him as it was.
"We'll come with you this afternoon," Gwen said abruptly, bringing Verdan's attention back to her. "We need to work more with the guard on fighting together, and I want to make sure they're accounting for us properly in the plans they're making."
"That's a good idea," Verdan said, tapping his fingers on the table in thought before nodding firmly. "That's a very good idea. If the Weeping Death is starting to mass in force, then we need to get some more practical preparations done."
"Exactly. I want to take a trip back out in the next few days so Feli can commune with the spirits again, though. Maybe we can see if there's anything else they can do to help?"
"I don't know much about nature spirits," Verdan said, drawing on some half-remembered conversations from Witches in the past. "But I do know that the older, the better when it comes to them interacting with you. Wards, ongoing spells, or blessings; a lot is possible, but younger spirits will struggle to maintain anything too powerful."
"The ones I met were quite young; they were barely able to speak with me," Feli said sadly, looking disappointed that she couldn't do more.
"What about some sort of way to tell you when they feel that many people again?" Carla asked, idly stroking the feathers of her familiar as she spoke.
"I don't know. I'll have to talk to them again," Feli said uncertainly.
"They'll get more comfortable with you the more they interact with you. It comes back to the idea of covens again," Verdan said, reaching the end of his usable knowledge about spirits.
"It's worth a try, anyway," Gwen said, the other Witches nodding as they moved on to discuss things they'd discovered about their familiar bond. This time, Hope was the expert, her deeper connection with her familiar, Winifred, giving her an advantage.
Verdan smiled slightly as he leaned back in his chair and let the conversation carry on without him. He remembered how worried Gwen had been that the Witches would be looking up to her, how worried she was that she'd let them down.
Looking over the fledgling coven, Verdan could see how they deferred to Gwen, giving her the role of leader whether it had been made official or not.
Verdan marveled at the fact that he'd done this. He'd brought the knowledge that allowed Witches to reclaim their heritage.
If only the rest of the knowledge he held would be as beneficial.
-**-
Kai returned from his meeting with Samuel a few hours later, informing Verdan that the locals would be watching for anyone out of the ordinary, but he'd ensured that they knew not to confront anyone directly.
"I've told Samuel to go to Ruan if he finds anything, and Ruan will let me know," Kai said, eyeing their surroundings warily as the two of them left the estate to head back to the city center.
