We all headed out at the same time. Thankfully, we were able to slip out of a back door into a narrow alley behind the building and nobody saw us leave. There definitely would have been some questions about why we were packing up and moving out in the middle of the night if anyone had observed our exit. Those questions would become quite pointed if I proved to be successful taking the portal down.
Aleyda and Bowen were carrying the majority of my gear. I, on the other hand, was armed with only my long knife and a barrel full of black powder. Anything else wouldn’t have been in character for me. After all, Crothu didn’t carry a sword and if I was going to appear to be Crothu, I couldn’t either. I was going to have to rely on bluff, bluster and my meager social skills to get this done. I was a little worried that Crothu carrying a barrel would seem out of the ordinary. He didn’t look like he was in great physical shape and I wasn’t certain he could have lifted the thing on his best day. I was committed, though, and had to see this through to the end.
After Aleyda and Bowen had departed, I assumed Crothu’s appearance. I had studied him throughout the previous evening and Aleyda and Bowen had offered their input as well. I am certain if I ran into someone who was closely acquainted with him, I would be in trouble. I believed I could do a fair imitation of his voice. He inflected things very strangely when he spoke in a high pitched, sing song manner. It was obviously an affectation as I had never heard another orc speak like that. Maybe he had learned his magic from a gnome or an elf and was trying to imitate his master’s voice. I didn’t know and, frankly, I didn’t much care. I just needed to do the damage and get out.
I carried the barrel through the mostly empty streets, staying away from the more populated areas of town. The few people that I passed didn’t seem all that interested in what I was doing. Most of them appeared to be drunk. I circled around until I could enter the square that contained the portal from the side closest to the army base. I hoped that would make things more believable. Every little bit would help.
Peering out into the square, I could see the ring of guards around the portal. Just like the previous night, there were six of them. I studied them for awhile, watching as they shooed more than one drunk away from the area. I wondered whether this assignment was a punishment detail of some sort. I couldn’t imagine anyone volunteering for the duty. Spending all night guarding magical infrastructure in the middle of town couldn’t have been very much fun. In fact, it would be mind numbingly boring most of the time, especially after the streets cleared for the night.
I don’t know how long I stood there and watched them, but it was quite awhile. I wanted things to calm down some before I made my move. I had once read that human attention waned the most in the early morning hours, three or four in the morning. I didn’t imagine that orcs would be all that different in that regard. I placed the cask on the ground and sat on it, for all the world looking like another drunk that was unable to find his way back to his lodging. From time to time, people passed but nobody spoke to me. I guess the average rank and file company man wanted nothing to do with a drunk mage. Many mages were known to have short fuses in the best of times and very few people wanted an up close and personal taste of magic. It would likely not be the beneficial kind.
Finally, things had slowed considerably around the square. The taverns had closed for the evening, ushering their last staggering patrons out onto the street. When we first came to the island, many of the establishments never closed but the current population of the place likely made staying open too late a losing proposition. Some of the people leaving the taverns were soldiers but none of them spoke to me as they walked past back to the base. I did hear some drunken aspersions cast my way after they thought I was too far away to hear them.
Steeling my nerve, I stood and grabbed the barrel. Then, I slowly walked out into the square, trying to demonstrate a degree of strain in my movements, as if I was struggling with the weight of the cask.
I got about half way to the portal when the guards saw me. One of them, who was obviously in charge, sent two others out to meet me.
“Mage,” one of them said. “What are you doing out so late at night.”
Trying to copy Crothu’s voice, I replied. “Certain calibrations of the portal can only be done at night when the astrological conditions align. Unfortunately, I somehow was assigned the task. This barrel contains a powerful magical reagent. I need to set it ablaze and the smoke will align my chakras so that I can perform the necessary tasks.”
Yeah, I was pulling a lot of mystical sounding mumbo jumbo out of my ass. The daytime guards probably had been exposed to the mages enough that they might have known something was wrong with my explanation, but I hoped that the night guards hadn’t had the same level of exposure.
“Wow, we get to see actual magic,” the second orc said. “I can’t wait to tell all those snobs on the day shift.”
“Do this poor mage a favor,” I said. “This cask is heavy and I have carried it a long way. You both look like you are strong young orcs. Could you carry it the rest of the way for me?”
“Absolutely, sir!” the second orc said. They hoisted it between them and I followed them, having them place the cask at the base of one of the pillars. As we approached, the obvious leader of the squad stepped out and spoke to me.
“Mage Crothu,” he said. “Who did you anger? Delivering supplies in the middle of the night is not a task for one as esteemed as you are.”
“You are absolutely right,” I said. “I have no idea who I angered or why they are angry with me. Sure, I drink a little but it has never affected my work. This is not just a delivery, though. There are certain calibrations of the portal that can only be done at night when the stars are in appropriate alignment. Apparently, tonight is that night. I was sleeping soundly in my quarters when I was given my orders. I had to wake up, get dressed, and then carry this cask all the way from the base. It took me hours. Look at these arms! I am not a laborer, I work with my mind!”
“Nobody told us to expect you tonight,” he muttered. “You think that is something they would have told me.”
“Nobody told me either,” I said. “The planetary alignment being what it is, with the stars in retrograde, that doesn’t happen very often. I suppose someone ran the calculations and realized if we don’t do this tonight it might be another thirty days or more before we can perform the appropriate rituals. Likely, someone far above either of us decided that the portal was finished enough for the rituals to be performed and since there are active skirmishes here on the island already they want to make the portal operational as soon as possible. Thirty more days, for some of the higher ups, is weeks too long. ‘We need more people as soon as possible’ they probably ranted.”
“Are you sure you are good to do this?” their leader asked. “Your voice seems a little rough tonight.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I was out drinking earlier, but I am sober now. We got singing some drinking songs and I may have overdone it. Trust me, this is the last place I want to be at this time. I should be in my quarters, snug in my bed, passing the hours in blissful slumber.”
“Are you certain you are sober enough to do things correctly?” he asked. “I wouldn’t want you to damage the project.”
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“Carrying that barrel all the way here sobered me up,” I said. “It also gave me a pounding headache.”
“What do you have to do?” he asked.
“The cask contains a powerful material that will align my chakras once it is burned. Only then can I perform the necessary ritual. We will light it with a fuse so it burns slowly as I expect the ritual to take quite some time. Maybe they will let me go and get some rest after things are completed but I doubt it. I would wager that they will make me spend not only the darkest hours of the night here but the entire day as well. By this evening, I will be a shell of myself.”
“What would you have us do?” he asked.
“I will have you form a ring at approximately ten feet around my work area and keep me from being disturbed. If the ritual is interrupted, there could be catastrophic consequences for all of us! When I first light the fuse, I will retreat beyond your ring and then use my magic to contain the powerful fumes in my work area. Once they are contained, I will enter the area and start the ritual, keeping them away from all of you. If you were to breathe in the smoke from the reagent, I am not certain what would happen to you. You might go mad, or it might unlock a latent potential for magic in one or more of you. Maybe both would happen or perhaps neither. That is why I need to concentrate and set up appropriate wards so the fumes do not escape.”
He looked at me nervously. “I may not be the best soldier,” he said. “I certainly don’t want to be driven mad, though. Are you sure you can contain the fumes?”
“Of course I can,” I said. “It’s child’s play for one as powerful as I am. I just need to set up a warding circle and use wind magic to contain them.”
“I guess you better get to work on that circle, then,” he said.
I walked over to the area surrounding the pillar that had a barrel resting against it and quickly realized that I didn’t have anything with me to draw out my supposed warding circle with. That was going to be an issue. I wasn’t certain that the leader of the guards would let me continue without it. Finally, I turned to him.
“In my haste, I left my quarters without grabbing my chalk,” I said. “Have you seen any about?”
“Find the mage some chalk,” he ordered his men, who started combing the worksite for something for me to draw with.
“You really were caught off guard,” he said to me.
“Absolutely,” I replied.
Before long, one of the guards came trotting over with a thick piece of chalk in his hand. “Will this work?” he asked.
“It will be perfect once I infuse it,” I responded.
Bowing my head, I started muttering the only incantation that I knew. It was from Evil Dead II, one of my favorite movies.
“Kanda, Estratta, Montose, Írgrets, Gát, Nosfératos, Kanda, Amantos, Kanda,” I intoned over the chalk in my hand. There’s nothing like a string of nonsense syllables to put ignorant minds at ease.
With a bit of a special effort, I briefly touched my magic, making my body pulse with a soft glow for a fraction of a second. That seemed to satisfy everyone that what I was doing was legitimate. It was something only mages could do, after all.
Then, I inscribed my magical wards. Not having anything else in mind, I drew an evil looking pentagram around the entirety of the portal with the pillars contained in the center portion. Sure, the lines were a little wavy and shaky looking since I was not an artist and did it freehand, but hopefully everyone would think it was part of the design.
“Whatever you do, don’t step into the center area of the ward or you will be exposed to the fumes,” I said. “Also, when you form your cordon, make certain that you do not scuff any of my lines. That would waste all of this effort.”
“You heard the mage,” the leader told his men. “Don’t scuff the wards if you want to remain sane.”
“Please have your men form the cordon now,” I directed. Of course, the real reason I wanted them so close to the blast was hopefully they would be stunned by the explosion and it would be easier to make my escape.
The leader, who I assumed was a sergeant, got his men equally distributed around the area and then took up his own position.
“Make certain you face outward,” I said. “That way you can be alert for any threats.”
I then walked over to the cask and installed the fuse.
“You will hear a sizzling and smell an acrid odor,” I called out. “Do not be alarmed. It is all part of the ritual.”
I lit the fuse and quickly retreated beyond the perimeter. Then I started waving my hands and essentially speaking in tongues. While I was doing so, I was also scanning for some hard cover. I didn’t know exactly how big the blast radius was going to be and I wasn’t excited to be caught in it. Finally, I spotted a low retaining wall a little to my left. I watched the fuse grow shorter and shorter. Just as it was about to ignite the powder, I dove to my left behind the wall.
A flash of light and a loud explosion split the night. I felt the pressure wave from the explosion pass over me. After it passed, I quickly hopped up and surveyed the damage. The pillar next to the barrel hadn’t collapsed but it was canted and crumbling from the static forces of the load it was supporting. The soldiers were all face down on the ground. I could hear some of them groaning so I assumed most of them were still alive even if they were stunned.
I could hear cries of alarm from all around me. I stood and started walking away from the scene, ducking between a couple of buildings. When I was certain I wasn’t being observed, I reverted my appearance to my normal disguise. Then, I circled around the square and sprinted into it from the opposite direction, trying to look like I was rubber necking like everyone else.
By the time I returned, there were many more people in the square. Some of them were guards from other parts of the port, but most were just trying to determine what they hell was going on. The pillar where I had set the barrel had finally succumbed to the forces of gravity and had fully collapsed, taking down most of the top of the gate with it. The other pillar still stood and appeared to be mostly undamaged but I didn’t think the gate would be operational anytime soon.
“What happened?” I asked an orc standing next to me.
“I have no idea,” he replied. “You can never trust magic, though.”
I noted that the guards were being tended to, although one remained on the ground, not moving. His death weighed on me. Although my reasons were just, I never wanted to be a terrorist.
“This place has gone to shit recently,” I said.
“You’ve got that right,” the orc I was talking to replied.
I turned and started heading out of town. I was stopped several times by guards, but after they realized I was neither an orc nor a mage, they quickly let me go on my way.
The faintest glimmer of an impending dawn lit the sky as I reached the turn off to the camp. Just a few yards down the trail, I saw a pair of shadowy figures.
“Let’s get out of here,” I called to them.
Aleyda and Bowen approached me, handing me my gear.
“Did it work?” Aleyda asked.
“It didn’t blow up the pillar but it destabilized it and gravity did the rest,” I replied.
“What’s gravity?” she asked.
“I’ll explain it later,” I said. “Let’s get back up the mountain. I hope that there aren’t any patriots in the company.”
“I think they are more worried about their riches than anything,” Bowen said. “You need to make sure to remind them that they would be dead if it wasn’t for your efforts.”
“Guess what, Bowen,” I said.
“What?” he replied.
“I did my best and it was enough. Screw you.”
“That’s one time in a row,” he said with a laugh. “Let me know when you’re on a streak.”