Chapter 34: The Raid

The rapid knocks at my door was enough to know that it was Benny. Every time she had reached a new milestone in her abilities or had some pressing questions about magic I would hear those rapid knocks. Fortunately, she learned her lesson about barging into my room after catching me in the middle of the act with one of the serving girls."Enter Benny." I said since I was already awake, she entered in a rush and had a broad smile on her face.After her display at the doors of the inn, the owner was more than accommodating and now Benny and I occupied two of the best rooms. It has been over a week since we have taken up residence here. In that time, we got proper clothes and were introduced to an armorer that could outfit us appropriately. I didn't really want to spend too much time here so making a set of armor from the ground up wasn't an option. So, we opted to have the already made sets modified to fit our frames.We both got fitted for a standard set of leather armor of decent quality, but the armorer lacked the resources to make it truly ostentatious enough to be called mage armor. After that most of my time was spent relaxing and teaching Benny magic. Benny enjoyed the amenities more than I expected. Now the girl walking over to me holding one of my crudely made grimoires in her hand was almost unrecognizable.Her hair was styled with many braids similar to noble women and she wore a well-tailored white satin shirt and dark blue pants. Benny pointedly ignored the naked woman sleeping next to me and said."Master, I have the water steam spell mostly figured out, but I don't understand exactly where the water comes from."I suppose simply writing condensation was a mistake on my part. Sometimes I assumed she knew things that she in reality couldn't, but teaching was a learning process for me."All around us in the air is an uncountable number of water droplets too small to see. The air you breathe isn't made of one substance; it has many components. Focus on gathering those infinitely small droplets of water into one point. Think of clouds and rain, the dew on leaves and grass in the morning. All that water has to come from the air."Benny spent a moment staring into nothing as she thought about the concept. At this point the serving girl whose name I never bothered to learn was waking. I motioned for her to exit quietly since I didn't want to interrupt Benny's thought process."Like the water outside a chilled glass?" She said after about a minute."Precisely, this process is condensation." I nodded in pleasure as she seemed to be understanding the concept."I'll think on it, master." She bowed and rushed out the door. 'Think on it' really means practice until she either collapses from exhaustion or successfully casts the spell. I'm not sure when the bowing started but I wasn't going to turn away deference. I got dressed in my own fine white clothing with enough gold adorning my own fingers, neck and ears to make it quite obvious that was no peasant.I informed Benny the night before what my plans were for the day, so I left the inn on my own after breaking my fast.I headed to the gate for the noble quarter and the first guard I spotted I called over."Guardsman Come here for a moment." His head twitched around like a startled deer and then he ran over to me."Yes, Sir mage." He said promptly, I've never met this man before so it's likely that word spread about me and my apprentice."Tell me, is there any mercenary work in the city?""Ummmm" his eyes twitched back and forth as the other guards seemed to shrink away from him."Maybe.....I know the captain was hiring for some mission.""Very good, then escort me to your captain." I said, the man looked around to his fellow guards for help. Apparently, he didn't want to abandon his post."I'll show you, sir mage" another guard said. By the voice this one was a woman.I didn't really care who escorted me. "Fine, lead the way."She started walking me down the streets back to the main road, I made sure to memorize the route."So, you plannin in joinin the raid?" She asked."Raid?""Some bandit gang's been cookin up trouble out east. Captain's plenty furious bout it. Putting together a raid on their camp she is.""Interesting. "I said.This was an excellent first exercise for Benny.The guardswoman led us to the guard barracks and without delay the guards let us in to see that captain. Apparently, the local baron couldn't even afford to have a mage on staff, so Benny and I were the only mages in the city, which made us virtually untouchable. The guardswoman knocked at a door and a stern female voice I remembered yelled entered angrily."Enter."She looked up at who had bothered her in the middle of paperwork and frowned as she saw me."What is now?"The guardswoman who escorted me here disappeared as soon as the door opened."I hear you are planning a raid on a bandit camp that has taken up residence in your barony. I desire to assist you." I said."I can't afford a mage." She said dismissively, not even bothering to consider the idea."I don't need coin. What I do need is some practice for my dear apprentice. Slaying a few bandits seems a good enough first assignment.""It's at between 50 and 80 men and women; most are deserters. I hired two mercenary companies to take part even then we're still half their number. Can you and your apprentice handle that.""It's mostly going to be my apprentice functioning as magical artillery. I'm a light mage so I can guarantee none of your guardsmen will die."She looked skeptical. "Healing I can understand but how are you going to stop them from dying from a slit throat mid battle."That was when I smiled. On her wall was a crossbow so that would serve as an excellent demonstration."Is that functional?" I pointed to said crossbow."Yes" she said, her eyes suspicious."Fire a bolt at me."She looked aghast."Explain" she said, seeming to not care for my theatrics.I sighed and answered. "I have a spell cast on me that creates an invisible shield. Things like blades, arrows, and low powered spells can't pass through it."Fennic didn't seem convinced but went over to grab the crossbow anyway. I raised a palm, and she seated a bolt and took aim."Are you sure of this?""Yes, now please fire."She fired the bolt, and it bounced off the shield surrounding my hand. I felt the ripple of force across my body as the kinetic energy was transferred to me. It fell to the ground and Fennic stared in shock."How many people do you intend to take on the raid on the bandit camp?"She recovered quickly and returned to her constant frowning. "40 in total, two mercenary companies and some of my best guards.""I can cast this spell on every member of the attack force. With my healing and defensive abilities, your success is guaranteed all at no cost to you?" While I don't like working for free, the poor state of the barony was enough for me not to want to bother forcing her to pay me."You can cast that on anyone, and it can block magic?" she asked."Yes.""Prove it then; cast it on me and show me that it can block magic."Well, she certainly had more bravery than most normal people when it came to magic. I shrugged and cast the spell on her. She flinched as the barrier flickered to life with a golden flash then turned invisible. She examined her arm as if expecting to see it, however humans lack the sensitivity to feel the barrier around them."Are you ready?" I asked, in the same moment I summoned a radiant bolt and aimed it at her."Proceed." she said through thinly veiled nervousness.I fired and as expected the bolt connected with the shield and dissipated. The captain watched wide eyed as I fired five more each time the spell was deflected and dissipated."Are you satisfied?" I asked.She took a deep breath as if she was surprised, she was unharmed. "Yes.""I do not care for this charity; however, while I no doubt cannot afford your prices, is there another service I can offer in exchange."I rubbed my hairless chin considering. We intended to move north towards the Hearthaven barony, which was about a week's travel."I plan on traveling north to Hearthaven resources for traveling such as maps and provisions would be needed, do you know of any caravans heading north that accepts travelers." I asked.She considered the idea for a few moments, occasionally nodding her head."Yes, one travels through bringing luxuries for the nobility from up north, I will see that you have the provisions needed. Return here in 3 days at high hour. The mercenary companies will be here by then and we will need to have a strategy meeting to go over particulars.""Very good then captain." I turned to leave pleased with the outcome. I would not profit from this, but Benny needed the practice and that made it worth it.Before I left, I remembered my damaged sword and asked."Can you recommend a weaponsmith that can repair a sword?" I asked.She raised her eyebrow in confusion but shrugged and said. "Yes, we have a smith among the guards."Benny and I were dressed in our leather armor, they were both dark brown and brand new. The armorer did an excellent job modifying the set to fit our measurements. This set was not up to the standards of a mage and with the exception of their clear newness, they lacked the air of drama for proper mage armor. So, I opted to purchase some gold jewelry in the city to offset the plainness of the armor."Were the earrings necessary?" she said as we walked towards the guard barracks. Yesterday I found a lovely pair of gold teardrop shaped earrings that had small emeralds almost the same color as her eyes. Benny didn't have her ears pierced and found the process rather unpleasant. Even though she complained I would occasionally catch her admiring her own reflection. Now she looked like a young noblewoman who for whatever reason decided to take up mercenary work."You need to look the part, Benny. You may not care about such things, but others will. How you present yourself to the world is how the world will see you.""I thought power was the only thing that mattered?""Indeed, but power comes in many forms. Beauty, physical strength, prestige, wealth, magic, they all have their own purpose."Benny pursed her lips and looked at me suspiciously. Usually, she would take my words as sage advice.She squinted at me, huffed then said. "I think you just like being pretty."I didn't respond.Sometime later we walked into the practice area behind the barracks where the guard captain was meeting with the two mercenary companies. The captain and two others, likely the leaders of the two companies, stood atop a wooden platform talking to each other all while around 40 men and women practiced swordsmanship and archery. Either sparring with each other, or with straw dummies.Heads started to turn as we entered the sparring area, the captain noticed the entrance and signaled for us to join her on the wooden platform. I ignored the stares as usual and climbed the few steps with Benny in tow. As we approached Captain Fennic said."This is the mage and his apprentice I was telling you about."The other two were a large, bald man with a leather eyepatch across his left eye and a hard eyed brown-haired woman with streaks of gray in her hair. They both wore a similar mismatched combination of plate and leather armor with a sword and shield belted at their waists."You didn't say he was an elf?" The woman said."Does it matter?" I answered."So long as our price doesn't change it doesn't." the man said.Captain Fennic spoke up and said. "Moon, this is Jorum captain of the Heavy Lancers and Evira captain of the Silver Rapiers."I nodded to both.Evira spoke up as the introduction was finished. "We have been briefed on your contribution to this raid."She spoke in a respectful tone I found surprising. By the dubious glances from Fennic and Jorum this was surprising. Perhaps she has some more experience with mages than the other two.Both Mercenary captains looked at Benny quizzically, the man Jorum Laughed and said."I've heard of elven skill with magic, but you mean to tell me this slip of a girl is going to be our magical artillery?" He looked Benny up and down, his doubt clear.Benny stepped forward. she was twitching as she contemplated whether she should put the man in his place. Before anything else happened Evira spoke up."Sir mage to relieve any doubts about your accompanying us would you and your apprentice be willing to give a small demonstration of your abilities.""Very well. "I glanced at the small area."I expect a good performance apprentice." I said looking at Benny she nodded.A frown started to grow across Benny's face Benny stared daggers at the man and said, "Let's do it out in the fields, less collateral damage that way."While we headed out to the field outside the city for practice Captain Fennic briefed me on the plan. It would only take a day and a half to reach where her scouts managed to find the bandit camp. With magical support breaking through their meager defenses would be an easy matter. Though some members of the two mercenary companies had reservations about allowing me to cast spells on them. Hopefully these matters can be cleared up once we have finished these demonstrations.An hour later we were all assembled outside the city, Captain Fennic, Evira, Benny, Jorum, and I were standing apart from the rest of the small battle group."So, let's see it then." The man said undeterred by Benny's constant glare. Usually, I wouldn't tolerate such behavior, but I wanted to see how Benny would handle him without any intervention from me. I half expected her to simply maim the man with a spell, but she was being reserved with her magic.Benny started casting an air blast pointing it towards a grouping of trees a few hundred feet away. She overcharged it producing a small crackle of lightning across the circuit. Then to everyone's surprise she pointed the spell at Jorum. She looked to me for approval which I gave in the form of a small nod. I didn't really care if the man lived or died. I could easily pick up the slack if half the company left.The man stared at the circuit stone faced seemingly undeterred, but I could detect the tension in his jaw and the small bead of sweat running down his brow. Then as the circuit began to approach instability, she pointed it a way and released the blast at the small grouping of trees. The concussing force of the expanding ball of hair made a deafening boom as the pressure wave tore trees from their roots and destroyed the surrounding earth. Debris rained down around us bouncing off our carapace."Well, what do you have to say, peasant." Benny said, so haughtily she almost sounded like she was a born noble.The man's eyes were locked on the destroyed terrain then he flicked to Benny and nodded. "I see my doubts were unfounded. Apologies my Lady but I needed to see if I could place the life of my men in your hands."She huffed and walked away, though could see a blush rising on her face. She still wasn't used to people calling her my lady."Young but powerful, I would love to know how you two met." Jorum said, much of his previous derisive tone was gone. Perhaps it was all just a ruse to see if Benny's abilities could be relied upon."Perhaps you can ask her?" I said.With a chuckle in his voice, he responded "No, I've nested my luck enough for today.""I assume you're satisfied then." Evira said, sounding displeased at his antics."Yes, now let's discuss our approach, I want to get this done by the weeks end." Jorum responded,"I'll go get Benny; she should be here for this." I said.I walked over to Benny who was standing in the crater her spell made. I guess she was comparing how much her abilities have grown.At my approach she looked up at me, seeming to be satisfied with the 15-foot-wide crater."I'm surprised you didn't end the man." I said as I stood near the edge."It wouldn't really be worth the effort besides they will make excellent shields while I practice my spells in combat." She said with a grin.I smiled back at her pleased with her response; that's exactly what I would have done.For the rest of the day the small army practiced drills on how to incorporate our magical power into the plan of attack. They took the shape of an elongated arrow Benny, I and 8 other archers made up the center rear of the arrow. Benny was closer to the font to allow her to have the most range. After a final day of rest, we began traveling towards where the bandits were encamped.According to Fennic's scouts they were encamped on the ruins of some ancient half collapsed watch tower. Their only cover was a ring of wooden spiked that surrounded the encampment as a makeshift fortification. I was mostly taking a backseat in this raid unless something really went wrong.A day later we were deep in the forest, the sun was high in the sky. It was a humid day, and I was drenched in sweat. It was endlessly useful that I could simply summon water whenever I was thirsty. After hours of marching in formation we finally could see the tower in the distance. It was only a hundred feet high and looked as if a spell destroyed the top third of the structure. As we got close, we could see the wooden spikes that surrounded the tower. There were hundreds of them likely made from the surrounding forest.Someone inside the tower must have spotted our approach and yelled an alarm."We have been spotted, get ready "I said loudly.From only a few hundred feet away arrows started to rain down. There were a large number of them, but every member of the group had a radiant carapace cast on them. It took a large amount of ether, but this made the force largely impervious to arrows. It took another few minutes to reach the spike wall. The men kept laughing as the arrows bounced off the shield doing no harm."Now Benny" I said.She nodded and began casting and went up close to the front line. She had a shield as strong as mine so there was no need to worry about her safety."Make way idiots." she said as walked up to the front.They cleared a space and for her she unleashed an air blast but changed the spell from a projectile to a concussive force that expanded out from her hand. The pressure wave blew apart the wall of spikes sending shrapnel towards the bandits inside the camp. From the screams no doubt many were injured. Then she retreated back as the rest of the group rushed in through the gap in their defenses.Inside there were at least 30 tents and almost a hundred people. Then the melee fight began and our front line met the bandit force. Battle raged ferociously as the largely unprepared bandit force fell to our better armed and armored force. With the radiant carapace cast on their bodies, attacks from the opposing force that would normally be fatal blows were deflected. There was cursing and shouts as the bandit realized there was magic afoot.Benny from behind our lines was caught up in the thrill of battle hurling ice spikes and air blast over the heads of our allies, blowing gaps into their formation and impaling archers or anyone who seemed to be trying to flank our force. Eventually some shields started to fade, and we started to get injured.The ones not in direct combat would pull them to me to be healed. I had no need to conserve energy, so I overcharged the healing light, so it took barely a handful of seconds before they were back to full health with a fresh shield. One man who had his throat slit simply stayed on the ground, seeming to not realize he wasn't dead after I healed him.I watched largely bored as the two forces fought for their lives. Men and women screamed and cursed as their blades bit into flesh. Benny seemed to be having the time of her life, she laughed as she blew apart another clustered formation of bandits. Mangled bodies flew in random directions as her spells detonated amongst them. I had assumed she would be hesitant or have trouble killing. I had speeches prepared in case she had an emotional breakdown, but there she was laying waste to the enemy force without so much as a second's thought.Perhaps I need to re-evaluate my understanding of teenage girls.When about half of the bandits were dead there were calls to flee into the forest. I wouldn't allow that, so I cast a shield large enough to encompass the entire area including the tower. The massive 500 foot wide was then strengthened to the point where nothing could escape. They still tried, however.There was some laughter from the two companies as they ran face first into the shield. Once they realized that there was no escape, swords and other weapons started to drop in surrender of the roughly 100 strong force; only 30 were left. Benny ran over to me with a broad smile on her face."Did I do good?" she asked with the same childlike enthusiasm she always did. Put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair."You were excellent."she practically beamed at my praise."We should do more things like this. "She said, seeming to be still hungry for more. By the way she was clenching and unclenching her hand she was getting close to her limit."If they have a good enough price we will, for now I just wanted to get your feet wet."I glanced at the tower once again, now that I was closer, I noted that it didn't seem to match any design I've seen. It must have been extraordinarily old. The entire structure looked as if it was carved out of a solid block of gray stone. It was at least 30 feet across at the base. The entrance to the tower was blocked by the rest of the collapsed structure. It would take some time for our group to organize both the loot from the bandits and get every prisoner moving so I decided to investigate the tower to satisfy my curiosity."Captain." I shouted.Three heads turned to look at me."I'm going to investigate the tower.""Very well but how are you going to get inside." Fennic said, and the other two looked confused.I used the telekinesis spell to start moving the large piece of broken tower out of the way of the entrance."Ah I see, good hunting then" she said.Took well over half an hour of work before it was clear."I have to learn that spell soon." Benny said as I finished."Not until you master all the water spells." I said as I entered the tower. Benny followed close behind."What is this place?" she said as we entered.Inside was a completely barren circular room with stairs leading further up. I cast light so we could get a better view. Even inside the walls and floors were perfectly smooth gray stone. Magic had to be used to create this building. Near the back of the room behind the base of the spiral stairs was a metal door on the floor. I met Benny's eyes."We have to." She said,I shrugged and used a radiant lace to burn the hinges. Then used telekinesis to float the door away. We proceed down the spiral staircase. Until we found another large metal door once again with a combination of radiant lance and telekinesis I opened the door.Behind there was a room about 80 feet deep and 10 feet wide. Along the sides were rows upon rows of armor on stands. By the sleek design and small form factor they had to be elven. Decades or even centuries have caused them to degrade and rust. Some racks contained weapons slightly similar to Lilians daggers but like the armor they were rusted and practically worthless."Some kind of armory?" Benny asked."I suppose, I do know that elves ruled this continent before humans arrived, so this is probably some remnant of their long dead kingdom.""Elven Kingdom? I thought elves didn't have kings or queens." Benny asked.I suppose I have no reason to hide my being a royal elf from her."They were ruled by what were called royal elves, they were said to have the most powerful magic though their small number and betrayal lead to them being overthrown. Most died during said betrayal and the ensuing war. Only one royal elf, their last queen Sianna, remains within elven lands."Benny squinted at me then said. "And the last male is standing right next to me."Then something clicked in their head."That's why you think they were the ones to try to kill you.""Yes, some hunger for the return of their past glory, others would kill to keep things as they are. At least that's what Lilian said to me.""Do you want to rebuild the elven kingdom? I would help you if you wanted." she said."No, the past is dead and gone. I care nothing for the elves and their aspirations. But that won't stop the matriarchs in power from either seeing me as a threat or a tool to breed with."That thought still sent chills up my spine. Benny wrapped one of my arms in a hug and dragged me to the back of the room."Not to worry, master, I'll protect your chastity."I rolled my eyes at the ridiculousness of the statement. Though it is likely at some point I will rely on this child to do just that. What a strange turn my short life has taken.At the back of the room was armor that was clearly for someone important. It was more elaborate in its design but like the rest it was rusted and degraded, the leather straps barely holding it together on the stand."Well, it looks like that's it." Benny said.Since there was nothing left to see I turned my vision to the ether. And scanned the room. There was nothing to be seen until I looked back at the armor. In the wall behind it there was something there. Tossing the rusted armor to the side to examine the wall."There is something there, move to the side a little."Benny got out of the way as I examined the wall.I could see nothing but smooth stone. I used telekinesis on the metal door and slammed it into where I thought the object was. It took several tries before the wall cracked and fell in on itself.Behind the wall was a small room, more closet really, sitting on a pedestal was the most beautiful sword I have ever seen. Its sheath was decorated with a combination of white, silver and purple creating complex elegant patterns. The hilt was also made of silver and had dozens of purple gems embedded in the cross guard and pommel. The scabbard was attached to an elegant-looking sword belt made from white leather. It bore no signs of degradation or rusting which meant it had to be enchanted.I detached my old sword and immediately belted it on. I struggled with the strange buckles but finally tightened my waist and unsheathed the sword. The blade was a shocking purple and refracted the light making beautiful patterns about arm length. From the ether it simply looked like Mithrite, so I suppose some kind of treatment changed its color. Why is this here? To whom did this blade belong? What is its significance to elven society? Many questions echoed in my mind.As I admired the ancient enchanted elven blade. I had to imagine how stunning I would look if I had on my auction attire. As I settled on that mental image I had one prevailing question on my mind. Perhaps the most important question of all."Benny, how well does this match my eyes?"