Chapter 5. A Friendly Bluff
1524 Words
Even though the medical mages had both teleportation and various communication spells, it still took considerable time to get a response to the scene.
Not because a much quicker response was not possible, but simply that this area of the world was so far removed from any potential threat that it never occurred to the local barracks that they would ever be needed to be mobilised!
The barracks here was one of the cushiest numbers in the whole Sunite empire!
It took at least half an hour just to find the key to where the crossbow bolts were kept!
When the very green inexperienced Captain finally arrived with three units of men, (One unit of battlemages with a retired seasoned military Battle Mage advisor veteran. One crossbowmen unit and one unit of local volunteer regulars,)
The first thing he noticed was the melted wall, popping and hissing as it returned from both extremely hot and extremely cold temperatures, back to the ambient temperature.
He was Captain Mal Wear
This was to be his very first active command!
“Did he do this?”
He barked under his breath at the frightened witness medical mage.
“No sir, we did that escaping from him!”
“Our spells did NOTHING!”
“I have not known anything like that”
“What protection spells did he use?” asked the Battle Mage Veteran.
The Battle Mage was old, scarred, yet still imposing and for some reason more rugged and good looking because of his faded scars instead of despite them.
He was known here only as Old Man Lyal Tooker
He was a war hero many times over from a long career history of the sorts of situations where medals were never awarded. Because those sorts of mission never officially happened!
He was only an official retired advisor, after officially working in the magical departments warehousing and bookkeeping centre.
It was a very stupid cover story.
“None, Sir” the Doctor Mage responded,
The two officers subtly nodded at each other and took each other aside.
“What do you think?” Asked Captain Mal quietly.
“Means nothing” shrugged the Battle Mage Tooker,
“They are just local civilians. If this is a highly trained behind lines agent then they would have the sort of high-end protection spells that these Flushing clowns would never recognise.”
“Could you recognise them?” Prompted Captain Mal.
“Under these special circumstances I can now reveal that before I retired as an advisor, I was a colonel of a countermagic training facility, there is nothing he has, that I won’t know a counter for.”
“I thought you were a bookkeeper?”
The older man's face looked blankly placid except for one single very slightly arched right eyebrow.
They held a brief silent stare!
You do not get to have those sorts of muscles and get covered in fine faded scars like that, working in bookkeeping!
The obvious suddenly dawned on the much younger, though still technically higher-ranking man!
The older man pretended not to notice the younger greener Captain flinch.
“But I am retired now, and I fully respect superiority and hierarchy within the rightful chain of command” pre-emptively offered Lyal Tooker,
The Captain gave a very quick nod of grateful acknowledgement, before returning his facial features, figuratively, to stone once again
Less than two hundred yards away, around a corner, just out of sight, The Sin Eater was naively, innocently, asking for a map in the town square.
With a quick cry, shout, and march the Sin-Eater found himself with twelve light crossbows aiming at him.
Lined up behind there were twelve battle mages, red wands at the ready!
“FLUSHING CRAP! He is only a child” Hesitated the Captain
“NO! HE IS NOT!” Cried Lyal Tooker the veteran Battle Mage,
“He is just a future puddle!”
“He just does not know it yet!”
The Captain snapped out of his hesitation and trusted his advisor’s instinct.
“Crossbowmen!
“On point defence!”
An order that was given to shoot any horde of undead, monsters or elemental guardians that the, (to his incorrect perception), clearly powerful mage disguised as a child may suddenly summon!
“Mages Let Fly”
Meanwhile, the Veteran Battle Mage Tooker cast immensely powerful counter magical protections onto his Captain!
The barrage that the medical doctors used in their attack, were as a pea shooter to a mortar attack in comparison, to the twelve battle Mages units vastly more powerful and concentrated magical attack!
Thirty seconds earlier.
The Sin Eater was saying to the very weirdly distracted stallholder,
“I only need one old used map; I have no money but can do a bit of work for you, in exchange”
The Sin Eater flinched as some wet pulp few all over him.
For a second he thought the stallholder had vomited on him.
But he had not.
The pulpy mess WAS the stallholder.
As twelve Battle Mages hit home on a five-foot circle area, centred on the Sin-Eater, melting, exploding, imploding, and destroying in many creative and horrendous gross ways, all within it!
All accept the Sin-Eater himself!
He was totally unharmed, Physically.
Psychologically though he was stunned and in shock!
He just had the most ridiculous, incredulous, surprised look on his face!
People had gathered around to see this unscheduled and colourful execution.
Including a rather horrified Tug!
As soon as dawned on him what had happened and what the pulp on his face actually was,
The Sin Eater simply ran!
He tried to dodge and duck as he ran even though everything he knew about crossbows meant that he would surely die!
That many crossbows at this rage could never miss!
It was a futile attempt, but he tried it anyway!
The crossbowmen all took expert near point-blank aim, waiting for the proper order to fire!
“Hold” commanded the Captain
“Wait for it”
The Sin Eater started running up a nearby hill, his lungs burning with effort!
“Hold” continued the young Captain
He was making the right decision based on the information available.
There was plenty of effective unmissable range left!
Crossbows took quite a time to load in a combat situation where every split second counted.
Much longer than longbows!
Longbows were superior in most ways (except maybe penetration power but at very short range only!)
But good longbowmen took decades to train up to standard while a crossbowman could be created in only weeks!
He did not want to have twelve good men armed with what would effectively, only be unloaded paperweights!
As an automotive response, the Captain's hand went to the hilt of his sword!
He was on the cusp of giving the order to fire!
Tug looked at his brothers.
He felt to his very bones that The Sin Eater was no Satite spy but then again, what he was thinking of doing was treason!
He weighed his personal pride against what was at stake
Considered what he had been given and made a decision,
“Sorry, Sir?!”
Nothing happened
“Sir, this is really important!”
“SIR!?” Tug insisted.
The Captain span around with his hand still on the hilt of his sword.
The crossbowmen paused for the next ordered prompt
“Yes, kid?”
Tug gulped,
“I wouldn’t bother with those weapons,” he lied “I tried thumping him at the playground not knowing what he was, and everything just bounced off him!”
“I even threw a heavy stone, and he did not even bother to notice me!”
“I am lucky to be alive!”
“I am lucky the freak ignored me!”
“I think he may be immune to normal weapons as well, sir” Gulped Tug.
“It would make sense,” Interjected the advisory Battle Mage,
“If our harshest magic cannot touch him, what chance do mere swords and crossbow bolts have?” the Battle Mage continued.
Captain Mal scowled
“Then what the hell can we do?!”
“Not much, I’d guess,” spoke up Tug.
“Know your place peasant,” Snapped the Captain
Tug fell silently back into the crowd, hoping to be forgotten.
“Best we can do for now is fortify our position with our best wards and charms,” Said the Battle Mage, Tooker.
“And wait for smarter higher-ups to take our report.”
The Captain snapped back,
“BUT! He was clearly reported as having cuts and bruises at the clinic that they could not heal, so he cannot be invulnerable”
“We have no idea what managed to harm him or if ‘it’ is still out there!” Stated the Battle Mage calmly,
“I only humbly suggest that we need far more information first, sir!”
“Do you want to meet the thing that could harm him that all our spells could not?”
“We cannot tell The Palace the true seriousness of this threat if we are all dead!”
“It is our duty to survive, and report.”
“There is NO cowardice in that!” the more experienced Battle Mage finished
The Captain hesitated, thinking,
‘If he is really all that powerful then why is he running away from us…’
And he remembered Tugs words,
“I am lucky the freak ignored me!”
Maybe he was not running away from them, maybe he was just travelling fast away from them! They might for now, be beneath ‘Its’ notice!
Despite having to give the right order, despite the sound leadership logical advice of the older battle mage, he could still not help but feel that he was being, at least, still a little, cowardly.
“Give the order!” the Captain hissed!
“Which order?” Asked a Sergeant?
“The Poo Flushing, The fortifying position one!"
"Battle Mage set you best wards up!”
With a salute, all the men quickly started busying themselves!
The Sin Eater kept running up the hill, zig-zagging where he could between bushes,
Still sore from the beating Tug had given him earlier!
Wondering in mass panic why they did not just simply flatten him with a load of crossbow volleys!
It was a super easy shot that they could never have missed!
- Writer
