One Night with the Emperor
Chapter Three - Mysterium Xarxes
Jauffre met me outside as he patrolled the walls. I told him of my failure. Of course, he wasn't happy, but he was glad I made it out alive with the Mysterium Xarxes. He hinted at more work he had for me, but sent me inside to find Martin first. As a mage and a bookworm, Martin would know what to do with the massive tome I carried.
Martin sat inside the main hall at one of the tables closest to the fireplace. His nose was in one book, with a few others sitting on the table. Was that my letter sitting on the corner? No matter. Seeing him made me smile.
Baurus nodded at me as I approached. He stood guard behind Martin, leaning against one of the columns. I nodded and smiled back at him.
Martin looked up when I got close to his table. His eyes lit up and he almost jumped to his feet, smiling at me. My smile grew as I returned his.
Same as Jauffre, Martin was not happy with my failure as I told him of it. When he asked me what I brought instead, I reached into my bag and pulled out the Mysterium Xarxes. Martin's entire mood changed.
"By the Nine!" He exploded, ripping the book from my hands. "This thing is even dangerous to handle!" As if it were on fire, he dropped the book onto the table.
He apologized, but shoved me back toward the doors and Jauffre's mission, muttering about shielding against the evil magic.
"Everybody out!" he called as I opened the door.
The three Blades in the room immediately began protesting. Baurus protested the loudest. I stepped outside, but peered inside to watch.
Martin threw his hands out. Three streaks of blue-ish light shot from him to the three Blades. Their voices cut off even though their mouths kept moving.
"You cannot protect me from this! Only a mage can. So let me do what I can to protect you." Martin told them, his tone stern as his voice echoed into the sudden silence.
I whistled and beckoned to the Blades. "Come along, boys. Let the man do his thing. He knows what he's doing."
One of the Blades raised his hand. Martin turned to him. "The silence spell only lasted a few seconds."
The Blade cleared his throat. "I know how to use magic."
"Okay, fine, you can stay." Martin sighed. "But stay near the door. The rest of you, out."
Neither Baurus nor the other Blade moved. I stepped back into the room. Planted my feet shoulder-width apart. Crossed my arms. Narrowed my eyes.
"If neither of you move, I will manhandle you both out." I growled. "By being stubborn, you are exposing us all to the evil magic of the book, including the man you are trying to protect. That's not very good protection, now is it?"
Grumbling, the other Blade left the room through doors on the side of the room. The last Blade posted himself near the door I stood at. I nodded at him. Only Baurus didn't move.
"I can't," he said, looking away. "Uriel was lost on my watch. I can't risk Martin."
"You're risking him by not listening."
He continued to refuse to look at me. "Some commands are better if you don't listen to."
"If you insist."
I ran down the gap between tables. Baurus met my eyes again. Fell into a defensive crouch. My shoulder slammed into his chest. He punched mine. I hooked one arm between his legs. Threw him over my head. Martin hit him with a spell of feather. I spun. Kicked high. Hit his stomach.
Baurus flew across the room. Yelled that spells weren't fair. Hit the wall. Fell to the floor. Groaned.
Martin turned and met my eye. "Thanks."
I smiled. "No problem. I've seen what you can do, and I've seen the hell of Dagon's plane of Oblivion. You get yourself killed and I'll bring you back to life and kill you myself."
Martin returned my smile. "Then I'll be sure to not get myself killed. Now out."
Running down the hall, I slid to Baurus' side. Hooking his arm around my shoulders, I helped him to his feet. And hauled him outside.
"Sorry about that." I apologized, releasing Baurus.
"No, don't be." Baurus paused for a moment as the spell of feather wore off. "I needed that. As a Blade, I'm supposed to follow the Emperor's, or Heir's, orders. Not be stupid. But was the knocking me all the way across the room necessary?"
"It was the fastest way to get you out; else we would still be wrestling in there."
"But you didn't say anything. How did Martin know what you were going to do?"
I crossed my arms. "Really? We traveled together along the roads for like a month. Bandits, marauders, and highwaymen are taking advantage of the chaos. We're a team. Of course we know how each other fight."
Jauffre approached us. Pushed us apart. "What's going on here? Why aren't either of you with Martin?"
"Martin's putting shields up around the Mysterium Xarxes. He doesn't want people in there right now." I explained. Before Jauffre could say anything more, I continued. "Yes, there is a Blade in there. One with a little more proficiency in magic than us."
"I guess that's okay, for now. Abiyomi, I have another mission for you…"
Jauffre explained what he knew about a couple of people who they believed to be Mythic Dawn spies around Bruma. Baurus confirmed what he knew about them as well. They sent me in through a side door to find Captain Steffan. I found him at his post directly outside Martin's bedroom, though Martin wasn't in there. Guarding the Emperor's things are just as important, I guess. He told me that the spies like to be around the runestones at about dusk.
Too bad it's midday. I wandered back outside. Jauffre continued to patrol the walls with the posted Blades. Baurus watched two other Blades spar in the practice ring. I wish I knew their names.
As I approached, the sparring Blades disengaged. Shoot. I hoped to be able to watch them for a little while.
"You want to spar?" Baurus asked instead. "I never got to thank you properly for saving my butt from that assassin in the Inn. I can teach you a few moves that only the Blades know how to do properly."
We spent the rest of the afternoon sparring. I didn't know working up such a sweat outside on the top of a mountain was possible. Baurus is a good teacher, so I picked up on the moves with ease. Ironic how people say you're black and blue after a good match. We were black and blue before the match even started.
Dinnertime came around. I spent time cleaning up in one of the bathing chambers before joining the others for dinner. Baurus and I sat with a few other Blades as we ate so I could get to know them. When we finished dinner, dusk began to fall.
Cautiously, Baurus and I peered inside the great hall. Martin knelt on the floor near the fireplace. He drew runes on the floor in a circle with the Mysterium Xarxes at the center. Standing, he raised his hands over the circle and chanted a few words. The runes glowed for a moment.
I felt as if something pulled air from my lungs. My body wobbled. Baurus steadied me. I couldn't breathe in. Martin's head snapped toward us. The world around me blurred, except for the Mysterium Xarxes and the runes around it. Something whispered in my head, but I couldn't make out what it said.
A hand touched right below my neck. Another pressed to my forehead. Words floated down to me through a fog. It sounded like somebody chanting.
The moment passed. No more whispering. Air came back to my lungs. The fog dissipated. I stood up straight, only slightly dizzy.
Martin let out his breath in a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes for a moment before taking his hands away. Took a deep breath and let it out in another sigh.
"Sorry. We just peered in to see how you were doing. I have to go find some spies in Bruma at dusk and it's about dusk now." I told him. "I… what happened to me?"
"The book had a bit of a hold on you and tried to call out to you. If it was any stronger, I wouldn't have been able to break it." Martin rubbed his eyes. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."
"Sorry. I didn't know."
He opened his eyes and started pushing us away, back into the dining hall. "There was no way you could have known. But leave through the kitchen. Stay in Bruma tonight. I don't want you around this thing until I get stronger shields up."
The door closed in our faces.
Baurus turned to me. "You heard the man. Get out of here."
