“Shut up!” Lord Druck shouted at the wounded officer. “I will pay your price, fiend, but you will never find another contract in all of Khadora.”
“That suits me well,” snarled Aakuta.
Lord Druck hastily wrote a script for one hundred thousand gold and placed his seal upon it. He hand the paper to the dark mage.
“Are you going to heal my officer before you leave?” he asked.
“Do you wish to enter into a new contract?” snickered Aakuta.
“Never!” swore Lord Druck. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”
Aakuta put the script into his pouch and turned to face the door. He extended his arm and waved his fingers towards the door. Suddenly, voluminous billows of smoke rose from the door as it began to glow brightly. The pounding and shouting beyond the door ceased, and the dark mage smiled. As the door burst into flames and fell to the floor, Aakuta stepped through the empty doorway. The people in the hallway scattered upon the sight of the dark mage stepping through the smoke and fire. Aakuta smiled inwardly and marched out the front door of the mansion.
“Get me a horse,” Aakuta snapped at the guards outside the mansion.
“What is going on in there?” questioned one of the guards.
“There is a fire,” shrugged Aakuta. “Get me a horse and be quick about it. I wish to be home before sunset. Move. Now.”
The guards looked at each other with indecision. They knew the mage had been summoned by Lord Druck, and they had seen his horse die upon arrival. Aakuta turned to glare at one of them, and the man ran towards the stables. He returned quickly with a horse, and Aakuta mounted it and rode towards the gates of the estate. He turned on the road that went past the estate. He had not ridden more than ten minutes when he heard a horse galloping behind him. He turned and saw the soldier that had been sent to his home to summon him.
“You must flee like the wind,” warned the soldier. “Lord Druck is sending a squad of soldiers after you. They will cut you down and retrieve the script Lord Druck gave you.”
Aakuta merely nodded. “Why do you risk your life to tell me this?” he asked.
“My life has been doomed since morning,” answered the soldier. “I would have been killed if I had returned without you. Now I will be killed because I did return with you. Lord Druck is in a rage. I have no choice but to flee. We must hurry.”
“What is your name?” asked Aakuta.
“I am called Werner,” answered the soldier. “Can you make our horses run as you did before?”
“I do not wish to sacrifice this horse,” replied Aakuta. “I think I like this one.”
“But did you not hear me?” Werner asked urgently. “A Kamaril squad is being sent to kill you. They will be here in mere minutes.”
The sound of galloping horses rose in the distance. Werner kicked his horse and started moving away swiftly, but Aakuta halted his animal. He turned around and faced the charging soldiers. As the Kamaril squad came into view, shouts of recognition rippled through their ranks. Swords were drawn, and orders were shouted.
Aakuta sat calmly and raised both arms as he pointed towards the squad of soldiers. As the squad got closer, flame leaped from Aakuta’s fingertips. The soldiers saw the threat too late. They tried to halt their horses, but fire enveloped them. Horses and humans alike screamed as the fire consumed the squad. In moments it was all over. The remains of the squad smoldered on the road. Aakuta turned to leave and saw Werner right behind him.
“I thought you left,” Aakuta stated.
“I came back to help you,” gulped Werner, “but I can see that you do not require any help. I cannot imagine such power.”
Aakuta stared at Werner for several moments as if lost in thought. Suddenly, he smiled.
“You shall travel with me, Werner,” the dark mage said. “Perhaps you can turn away those who come looking to abuse my power.”
“Live out in the open?” replied Werner. “There is nothing out there. What would I do?”
“Where else would you go?” questioned Aakuta. “And what is it you wish to do?”
“I don’t know,” confessed Werner after a few minutes of silence. “Free men in Khadora are an oddity. I am sure that Lord Druck will inquire about me. He will find me wherever I go. My days are limited.”
“Not if you have my protection,” responded Aakuta. “I may have need of someone who can do things for me. I do have certain rules, though. I wonder if you can abide by them?”
“What are the rules?” asked Werner.
“You shall never interfere in what I do,” began Aakuta. “You will obey without question, and you will never discuss what I do in private with anyone.”
“Sounds like a slave,” frowned Werner.
“No,” Aakuta shook his head. “If you ever wish to leave me, you may, but I will erase things from your memory before you leave. When I have no need of your services, you may do whatever you wish. I now have more gold than I know what to do with, so you will never be hungry or lacking in any way. The choice is yours.”
Werner thought about the mage’s proposition for some time before he answered.
“This erasing of my mind,” he asked, “will I forget everything?”
“Only from this moment until the time you leave me,” replied the mage. “You will still remember who you are and what you are running from. It will be as if you just left the Kamaril estate.”
“Then I shall do it,” decided Werner. “You must know that the Kamaril will come looking for us soon, though. Lord Druck will be greatly offended when he learns his squad is dead and he is out one hundred thousand gold.”
“Then it is time to move on,” shrugged Aakuta. “I have had a yearning to visit Khadoratung. Perhaps we shall go there and try to figure out what this script is really worth.”
“It is worth what is says,” assured Werner. “That is why Lord Druck tried to get it back. I know of moneymen in the capital who will negotiate it. We can trade it off for notes of smaller value for a minimal fee.”
“Already you are earning your keep,” responded the dark mage. “Let us get off this road and find another path to the capital.”
* * *
The Torak soldiers grew tense as they approached the ambush site. Eyes constantly swept the forests on both sides of the road, but nothing was visible. The three wagons loaded with watula rumbled along, kicking up small puffs of dust. The squad of soldiers escorting the caravan was evenly spread before it and after it.
When the first fire arrows flew from the woods, it was not so much a surprise, as it was a relief. A sudden gust of wind generated by the air mage forced the fire arrows to miss the wagons. The soldiers in front of the wagons immediately jumped from their horses and nocked arrows to their bows. The soldiers in the rear did likewise as the wagons picked up speed. The air mage continued to protect the wagons by channeling small gusts of wind and hurling them at the arrows.
The screams in the forest started before the Torak soldiers on the road even made it to the gully that paralleled the road. Arrows struck many Torak soldiers, but the men kept on moving towards cover. When the squad reached the gully, they took cover and waited. Screams rang through the woods in every direction. Suddenly, gray clad warriors raced onto the road. The Torak soldiers struck them down with arrows. Another group of gray warriors flooded onto the road and were followed by Torak soldiers. In moments it was over and the silence was broken only by the murmurs of the wounded.
The Torak soldiers in the gully rose cautiously and gathered in the center of the road. From both sides of the road, more Torak soldiers emerged from the forest.
“I want a count of the enemy,” shouted Cortain Talli as the Torak officer strode to the center of the road. “Any wounded are to be brought to me here on the road. Each squad, count your own men. I want to know of any deaths or injuries to Lord Marak’s forces.”
Black clad Torak soldiers ran in every direction. The abandoned horses were rounded up and the wagons halted. It took an hour before Cortain Talli had the information he wanted.