The wizard ran his hand over his bald scalp and tried to make sense out of the stealthy movements occurring outside. The men surrounding his home appeared to know what they were doing, and what they were about was making sure that there was no way for him to escape. It was doubtful then that they intended to kill him, he thought as he fiddled with his beard. No, more likely they intended to capture him, but for what purpose? There was no wife to pay a ransom. In fact, he could think of no one in the city who would care if he disappeared, save his students. Temiker was a solitary individual, who while sociable, never went out of his way to make friends. He never bothered anybody and did not take kindly to others bothering him. His love was magic and what he wanted most out of life was to master it. His skill in the magical arts was well known and he was regarded as one of the best wizards in all of Omunga.
Another black shape slid across his view through a different window and Temiker knew his time was short. Moving swiftly and quietly through the dark room, as only its occupant could, Temiker grabbed the essentials he would need for an extended stay away from the home he had known for most of his life. In a few short moments, he gathered everything he would need and turned once again to the who and why of the attack. None of it made any sense to him. He could not recall anyone that he had offended since the fiasco at the Imperial Palace and that was years ago, certainly not what this attack was about. His concern drifted from himself to his students. He thought quickly about how they would all file into the schoolrooms in the morning and wondered if they would be in danger. Another task before he left then, he decided.
Turning towards his extensive library of magic books, Temiker raised his hands and began a complicated spell designed to protect his valuables in his absence. He could not bear to think of the destruction of his collection regardless of what else was looted or destroyed. Through his concentration, he heard the first sounds emanating from the invaders and his pulse quickened when he realized that he may have waited a bit too long. Finishing the protection spell, he whirled to see the face of an invader peering through the window, searching the darkness for the old man. He froze in the shadows and the man's head continued to swivel in its search.
Hoisting his backpack off the floor, Temiker started another incantation and the area around his feet began to fill with a thick rolling fog, billowing upward from his feet and swiftly filling the room with an eerie unnatural cloud waiting to burst out upon the city. With the final words of the casting, the cloud burst forth spewing through the windows and cracks around the door. With a speed that belied his age, Temiker danced over to the only windowless wall and pressed his hand flat against the pine slats. The boards warmed to his touch and then a door-sized section rippled, assuming a consistency much like the cloud within the room. Temiker stepped through and felt a light breeze fan his whiskers.
Muffled voices pricked at his ears as he strained to detect the whereabouts of the invaders. Soon, a shout rang out and curses filled the air about him as men ran in the direction of his front door. Whoever was leading the invaders had just figured out that Temiker was onto them and they were rushing the house in an effort to capture him. The old wizard smiled as he stepped swiftly through the still spreading fog and headed for the schoolhouse.
Leaving the shouts behind, Temiker whisked into the schoolhouse to make sure that no students had stayed the night as they occasionally did when they had a perplexing problem, which they refused to let go of. Satisfied that the building was empty, Temiker started at the rear of the building tossing fireballs at the walls. Moving as swiftly as he could, Temiker made his way back to the front door satisfied that the building would be nothing but ash when the sun arose. Tears welled up in the mage’s eyes as remembered the years of his life devoted to the school, but the safety of his students was worth more than the old building. His students were smart enough to know that something was very wrong and he hoped that none of them would openly identify with the school. The invaders appeared to be set on capturing him and they would not hesitate to use an unsuspecting student to accomplish their goal, not that his students would be able to help them. Still the students could be hurt by the invaders even if they could not help locate him.
Temiker kept to the shadows as he moved. Already the populace was stirring with shouts of fire and soon the streets would be crowded with the curious and those who sought to help. The wizard smirked as he thought of the invaders and how they would try to be inconspicuous in the milling crowd.
Temiker slid down an alley as the first onlookers started filing into the street. Some people leaned out of windows for a look, but their focus was far distant from the streets below and Temiker felt no fear of discovery from them. He knew the invaders would immediately try to block the exits from the city and time became his enemy. He cursed his years of inactivity and the extra twenty pounds he carried because of it. Already he was losing his wind and the magic became difficult when one couldn’t breathe. And magic was the only way Temiker was going to get out of the city.
He rejected the closest gate with the thought that the invaders would rush to secure it. The docks and any possibility of a sea escape were also ruled out because he would be seen too easily. He thought briefly of hiding in the city for a few days until the invaders thought he had slipped out, but quickly dismissed it when he realized that he did not know the reason for their visit and therefore could not trust anyone to know his whereabouts.
The only two people in the world he could really trust with his life was his brother Malafar and his wife Rhodella, but they were hundreds of leagues away, far on the other side of the country. Malafar still blamed Temiker for his son’s death and had not spoken to him since, and while he would certainly not be happy to see Temiker, he would hide him and protect him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of Malafar and Alfred. He loved his brother dearly and had treated Alfred as his own son. Malafar could not accept that one of Temiker’s students had killed Alfred in a botched assassination attempt on the Katana, Holy Ruler of Omunga. The ironic twist was that Temiker couldn’t accept it either. Harcad had been an exemplary student and the thought of him trying to assassinate the Katana was ludicrous. Harcad would never have attempted such a thing, but Malafar would not hear about it. His grief over the loss of Alfred locked reason from Malafar’s mind as efficiently as Temiker’s ward over his books would halt attempts to procure them.
Temiker paused in the shadows at the mouth of the alley and peered up and down the street he had to cross. The paused saved him from capture as three dark-clad riders galloped down the street heading for the nearest gate. The wizard wiped the sweat from his brow as he thought about his own stupidity. Horses. He had not counted on the invaders having horses and therefore swift access to all of the city gates. How could he have been so stupid, he berated himself? It didn’t matter which gate he chose now because there would be invaders at each of them.
Temiker shrunk back into the shadows and thought about his predicament. He had some options still open to him, but he needed to think about how effective they each would be. Certainly he could fight his way out. He was quite capable of dealing out death and destruction to his enemy, but he had no idea of who they were or how many of them existed. He could not even be sure they were all dressed darkly and he abhorred the killing or maiming of innocent civilians. No, until he knew who his enemy was he could not fight his way out. He wondered how the Imperial Guard would react to the invaders gathering at each of the gates. Would the Guard attempt to disperse them or ask their business? Would the invaders wait within the city gates or directly outside the gates? If he managed to get out one of the gates, would he then be attacked outside the city? He could create another fog and slip out the gate unseen, but using that trick again would be setting off a signal that he was leaving.