XXXIV. THE BLACK MAGE SOCIETY

  Maleah kicked in the door to the inn the king had purchased for Aichlan’s army. The startled innkeeper and his staff looked up from their packing expecting to see fiends of the dusk, only to be perplexed by Maleah with her boot stuck in their door. Ashe struck Maleah angrily on the back of the head, confused as to why the woman insisted on such unnecessary force when the doors were unlocked and made of glass. Aichlan rushed to the still bewildered innkeepers to ask where his armies, more importantly Alice’s mages, were being housed. However, upon opening his mouth he was made painfully aware of his affliction.

  “We’re looking fer mages.” Ashe blurted.

  “Third floor Madame.” The host replied, not looking up from her packing.

  Aichlan took off for the staircase without waiting for Ashe and Maleah to catch up, he needed his voice back and he needed it an hour ago. Upon reaching the third floor however, he realized he had no idea which room to check. If all of the rooms were filled with mages, the next obstacle would be to discern which art they practiced. Aichlan settled upon the option of banging on every door and sifting through the details later. By the time he started his second pass, Maleah and Ashe had mounted the stairs and several doors opened angrily as a dozen or so young mages poked their heads out to see the cause of the disturbance.

  “Why the bloody hell is it that this city insists upon creating such a ruckus so early in the morning?” A young man snapped as he thrust his arms into his robes.

  “Shut it! This is your General.” Maleah barked officiously.

  “Gen’ral? But we follow some lass named Alice. We ain’t in no bloomin’ army.” A young woman stretched and attempted to calm her bed hair.

  “Do none of you listen? We signed under Alice who commands this army.” A boy replied with a Thiudorican accent.

  “Doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got woke up so fucking early!” a woman barked in a heavy Rhodarcian accent before she slammed her door in disgust.

  “Which one o’ ye lil’ buggers is a black mage, we got a man silenced.” Ashe snapped several times to emphasise her frustration at delay.

  All fingers pointed to the angry Rhodarcian woman before they slammed their doors in unison. Ashe sighed as she looked to Aichlan with pity and concern. Maleah stormed over and gently tapped on the woman’s door with her lance. After several moments a slew of curses and grumblings in the already aggressive tongue of the Rhodarcians greeted them from behind the door, it was flung open by a rather short woman with wild black hair and enchanting grey eyes that did not quite suit her apparent age. Despite her youthful stature, she was a fully grown woman under her flimsy shift.

  The woman's harsh expression softened as she regarded Maleah for several moments, leaning against the doorframe. “…You look like a teacher I had.”

  “Good,” Maleah tossed her hair and rested her lance on her shoulder, “then that means you know something about curses.”

  The woman smiled sinisterly. “Someone break your lil’ heart baby?”

  “Aichlan has been silenced, please,” Ashe pleaded, sensing the conversation was going nowhere fast, “if ye can do anything tae help him…”

  The woman ambled over to Aichlan and examined his throat and mouth, holding open his eyes and smacking his Adams apple. “Why the hell would they waste this on some dumbass knight? Did you really sit still for this?”

  “No, and I resent the dumbass knight comment. This woman can cast spells at will in an instant.” Maleah explained. “Can you fix it or not?”

  “Oh? An instant you say?” The woman perked up at this and pushed Aichlan aside. “I suppose I have a remedy but I want to know more about this woman first.”

  “Ye’d have tae ask him.” Ashe snapped, jerking her thumb to Aichlan. “Just give us this tonic, potion oor whatever.”

  “Fine, fine, but it won’t taste very good.” The woman turned and went back into her darkened chambers, beckoning for them to follow. “And there will be a burning sensation. So you say she doesn’t need incantations? Not even Arch Sage Thoth can manage that…”

  The woman pushed open her door. Her room was shrouded in darkness from the thick black curtains over the windows. Several dozen candles smoked, their still hot wax dripping in pools on the floor. Incense smoke burned and stung the eyes as several clusters burned to mask the scent of decay and animal entrails displayed on the tables. Books were piled in corners with jars of fluid and floating creatures on top of them. Both Aichlan and Ashe recoiled at the smell, however Maleah seemed oddly unfazed by the state of the room and the horrid stench that filled it.

  The woman opened her dresser drawer and sifted through hundreds of herbs boxed and in envelopes within. As she gathered up several packages, she snapped her fingers, levitating a mixing bowl over to her hands. She dumped several roots and poisonous looking leaves into the bowl as Maleah took a seat at the table, examining the jars and animals splayed upon it. Ashe huddled against Aichlan, her mouth and nose buried in her cloak to avoid the pungent aroma of putrefaction, lavender and sage.

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  “So what’s going on out there?” The mage asked as she began breaking down her ingredients. “All I hear is banging and yelling since dawn and now you lot come in here talking about being silenced.”

  “We’re under attack.” Maleah set down a jar with several preserved rodents that she had been examining.

  “Oh? We won’t have to fight will we?” The woman dumped the herbs into an already boiling cauldron she kept over the hearth. “The black arts aren’t well suited for direct combat…”

  “No, everyone else will but you can stay here and rest if you’d like.” Maleah mocked as she played with her newly acquired sword.

  “I hope you’re not pulling me girl.” The woman went about filleting the throats of several creatures she kept in a vat of smoking liquid. “Ah! That’s cold!”

  Aichlan swallowed, a sense of dread overcame him as he watched the woman create his elixir. He snapped to get Maleah’s attention; she looked up from cleaning her blade and mouthed the word “what”. Aichlan attempted to sign for her to ask the woman’s name, but was only met by confused stares. Again, Ashe was able to make sense of his frantic gestures and ask the question he was unable to.

  “What’s yer name luv?” she asked, cloak muffling her voice.

  “Senka. I’m one of five black mages here but I doubt you will remember; mages never get much front line action.”

  “Yer so young though, all o’ yr are.” Ashe remarked. “Do yer parents nae worry about ye all? Daen’t ye get homesick?”

  Senka laughed as she stirred her putrid mixture. “I can’t speak for the others, lady, but I’m thirty-five.”

  “Oh, that’s quite remarkable fer a human.” Ashe managed in shock.

  This exchange brought up another valid question for Aichlan, Ashe had never actually disclosed her age. In fact, the only one whose age he had found out was Eth’s, who it seems had been alive for about three and a half centuries already. Ashe appeared to be in her early twenties, but in the same regard Eth didn’t look much older than thirty.

  “I studied with Mistress Zoraida in the Philosophers District of Asketill. She teaches all the young ones the secrets to eternal youth should they ask properly.” Senka clarified upon catching their confused glances. “This Alice woman though, if you don’t mind the change in topic, what’s her story?”

  The door opened and Séverin poked his head inside. “The troops are ready and we’ve just received word from the front; Laelianus requests our aid.”

  Aichlan smirked and nodded. He doubted it was Laelianus himself who made the request, but knew that it was only a matter of time before such a request arrived. Hopefully all was well on the front lines. If Marquez were to fall, all hope of reclaiming Runandia would be lost. Even if Briternica were to prevail, the kingdoms would be divided in the reconstruction efforts. Duvachellé could very well become New Rhodundal or New Catharone.

  “You look like him as well. How many more siblings does he have?” Senka asked aloud.

  “If I am to assume you speak of Osric, then we are the only ones.” Séverin turned to his sister for answers as to who the woman was, but she merely shrugged. “Aichlan, who should mount the attack?”

  Senka poured the steaming black liquid into a beer mug and levitated it over to Aichlan. He sniffed the concoction, recoiling at the spicy scent and hint of licorice. He exhaled and took a deep breath in an attempt to prepare himself for the inevitable gag and possible fit of vomiting before chugging the liquid. Before he could get it all down, he was overcome by a fit of coughing. He hawked and spat as the empty mug fell from his weak grasp. Aichlan retched and reached for his throat, it felt like he swallowed molten iron.

  “So this Alice woman, she’s decided to form a mages union to protect the students that travel and help us to find work and so on after graduation.”

  Aichlan gagged, making his first vocalizations in what seemed like days. Ashe caressed his back as he doubled over and clutched his throat. Senka and Maleah seemed unaffected or concerned by his suffering. Senka removed the cauldron from the flame and replaced it with a tea kettle before she set about pouring the liquid into several vials.

  “No sense in letting it go to waste right? Would you care for some tea Maleah?”

  “Sure, how’d you know my name?”

  “It may have come up somewhere.” Senka added dismissively as she took a seat. “But about Miss Alice, if it were possible I have a name I would like to pitch at her.”

  “Water…” Aichlan croaked his eyes watery, his mouth cracked and dry.

  “No, no, water will only make it worse. Just wait for the burning to ebb away and I will remedy the rest.”

  “Are ye daft? Look at ‘im! He's dyin’!” Ashe exclaimed.

  “Seeing as this may take a while, I shall seek Eth for his input if that is alright Aichlan.” Séverin called out, irritation at being ignored evident in his tone.

  Aichlan nodded through a spasm of coughing. Séverin looked to Maleah and Senka, unsure if the latter could be trusted, before he made his exit. Senka levitated the teakettle over to the table as it began to whistle. Aichlan continued to cough and writhe, his throat glowed as if it were literally on fire.

  “What did you have in mind?” Maleah searched in vain for sugar, eventually giving up and drank her tea straight.

  “Black mage society. It rolls right off the tongue doesn’t it?” Senka looked over and smiled as Aichlan unsteadily rose to his feet. “Ah, better now I see. Mind sharing the name of the woman who did this to you?”

  “Morana.” Aichlan croaked as he massaged his raw throat. “Now where’s that bloody water you promised?”

  “Here, you can finish my tea.” Maleah hastily offered.

  “Morana? Sure she wasn’t just leading you on? I mean it is possible that she was called Morana, but I sincerely doubt she was the Morana.”

  Aichlan greedily drank Maleah’s tea, then grabbed Senka’s and finished hers as well, ignoring the mage's explanations. The only thing he could focus on was his sore throat and the impending disasters that awaited them all. Aichlan stormed out of the mages cavern and vaulted down the stairs to catch up with Séverin and his army. Maleah hurriedly thanked the woman and took off after him followed by Ashe.