Chapter 4
There were repercussions from the bandit raid. Not the least being that Gaius and Harry were visited by the local magistrate, one Marcus Servilius.
He was a middle-aged man with thinning blond hair and a serious demeanour.
"You did well to capture that lot, Gaius. They have been raiding isolated villas for several months, staying one step ahead of the hunters. They had even been reported to the senate."
"We only did our duty and protected the household," Gaius answered with a nod.
He gave Gaius and Harry a long look, "I served in the legions in the east. Saw a lot while I was there. Meet a man with…abilities. A good man who was a great friend to the legions. He told me of the eastern magi and of those among his fellows that were evil. So, when I put them to questioning, I knew what to ask. They revealed that they were led by a pair of brothers, both of whom were dark magi." He studied Gaius and Harry for a moment from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "From what they say, you Harry are a foreign magus."
Gaius frowned as he replied, "Is that an accusation, Marcus Servilius?"
Marcus looked confused for a moment before waving his hand as if dismissing the question. "Jupiter no, I want your help to hunt down the other."
Harry had not been expecting that and took a few seconds to reply, "Um, well I have dealt with dark wiz…magi before."
"Excellent," replied Marcus with a pleased nod. "From those captured we have a general location and I have gathered up a few veterans and some volunteers. We have more than a few that live in the area."
"How many bandits?" Harry asked.
"They say ten and the magi of course."
Harry considered then shrugged his shoulders, "I can handle one magus if you can help keep me from being stuck full of swords."
"Good, then we had better move our arses. No telling where the scum will run to if they get wind that we are after them."
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Less than a half hour later Harry found himself standing outside the villa with a worried Gaius.
"Be careful my friend," warned a concerned Gaius.
"I will be. This is what I trained to do back home and although I hadn't really expected to be doing it again so soon."
"Dominus?"
Harry and Gaius turned to see Felix, who was holding a belt with a sheath and long knife.
"Ah, thank you Felix," Gaius took the knife and handed it to Harry. "This was mine when I served. It served me well."
Harry let Gaius and Felix fasten it around his waist.
Marcus was calling out orders and Harry quickly said his farewells and walked over to the magistrate. As he reached him, he realised that the man standing next to Marcus was someone he knew, Marcus Curius.
The older man had a gladius on his belt and wore what looked like a heavy leather vest. He nodded to Harry and then went back to listening to Marcus.
The march to the bandit hideout took most of the day and the light was starting to fade when they reached the line of rocky hills.
"Do you think you can get in by yourself?" Marcus Servilius asked quietly.
They had approached as closely as they could and could see the fires burning in the clearing between the two hills. As far as they could determine there was just the one lookout. A man sitting with his back to a rock, who looked to be asleep or at least dozing.
"I can get in," Harry promised him. "The problem is that I don't know what magical defences are in the area. So, when you hear a commotion…"
Marcus grinned, "We will charge in and rescue you."
Harry disillusioned himself and apparated onto the hilltop next to the guard and stunned him at point blank range. He then took the opportunity to study the bandit camp. Six…no, seven tents. He could see eight men, sitting around the fire drinking wine and eating. That meant a couple were missing or the prisoners had lied.
None of the men looked like a wizard but Harry knew that meant nothing. He watched for a few more moments and was just about to apparate into the camp when a figure in odd clothes exited one of the tents. The figure had a staff.
"Game time," whispered Harry.
He apparated on the other side of the tents and carefully made his way to where the wizard was talking to the seated men. When he could see the wizard clearly, he paused and tried to make out what they were saying.
"…tell them not to drink too much, Larius."
The seated man grunted and gestured with a chicken leg, "You worry too much. They'll never find our campsite without our sentry seeing them."
The wizard looked less than happy but nodded and turned to walk off. Harry raised his wand and aimed but before he could fire off a spell the wizard turned back to the seated man.
"We will leave in the morning. My brother and his men are overdue and may have been captured. Our mission is to find any magi and bring them to my master. He will not be pleased if we fail."
"Pfft, so what? If he is stupid enough to get captured our contact among the slave traders will ensure we know when and where to find and free our friends."
The wizard stiffened and his expression darkened, "We cannot risk exposure you fool! The Master would roast you alive if you upset his plans."
"I don't give a shit about your master. I'm in this for the loot."
"Then don't forget that my master promises rich rewards for good service."
The mercenary/bandit made a dismissive gesture and the wizard turned back to his tent.
Harry sent a stunner toward the wizard and was astonished that the wizard somehow avoided the spell. Harry moved as he cast, which saved him from the spell cast at him.
The seated men were now rising, and Harry sent an explosive hex at them. The blast might not kill them, but it blasted them off their feet and alerted his allies. The spell had its desired effect, but it cost Harry. He narrowly avoided getting gutted by what looked like a cutting curse. As it was it opened what felt like a nasty cut on his hip.
Harry grunted in pain and countered with a stunner. The hit had cancelled his disillusionment and he didn't bother casting it again. Instead, he shielded himself and managed to block the next curse sent his way before sending a cutting curse of his own at his opponent.
The spell connected with what looked like some sort of basic shield centred around the wizard's staff and there was a flash of light. The wizard stumbled back with a look of shock on his face. Harry didn't pause and sent a brace of stunners followed by an explosive curse aimed at the wizards' feet.
He had expected the man to counter but instead his opponent didn't seem to react instead raising his staff like a shield. The explosive curse struck between his feet and blasted the wizard backward over twenty feet, slamming him into a large rock.
Harry turned to check on his other opponents but found them motionless on the ground or rolling around and groaning.
The 'Cavalry' arrived, and the living were quickly tied up. Three were dead, two bandits and the wizard. Harry had cursed when he had found that he had broken the wizards neck.
"Damn it," he muttered before informing Marcus of what he had heard in the bandit camp.
"I don't like the sound of that," mused Marcus Servilius who had been listening to Harry's report.
Marcus Curius was shaking his head, "Nor do I. Who was this master they claim to serve? I may be wrong, but it does not sound like a bandit captain."
"Agreed," Marcus Servilius replied as he watched one of his men search the corpse of the wizard. "Well?"
The man handed over a pouch and a silver ring that had an odd design on it. It looked like a stylized eye. The pouch had a handful of gold coins and quite a bit of silver.
"What do you think Magi?"
Harry studied the ring and then cast a spell that should tell him if the ring was magical. It lit up like a light bulb. Okay, so it was magical. That helped but it didn't tell him what it was. He carefully placed the ring on the ground and cast a more powerful diagnostic charm.
It lit up this time with a sickly green light.
That was not what he had expected and frankly he was glad he had taken a crap before this happened. He could vividly remember Dumbledore's withered and decaying arm.
"It is cursed, a withering curse and something else I am not sure about." Harry frowned. "Was he wearing it?"
The man who had searched the body grimly shook his head, "No, it was on a leather thong around his neck."
"Well, I for one am not putting the damn thing on," said Harry as he glared at the offending jewellery. "This is not something that I expected to find. Everyone needs to stand back while I try and work out what it does before we do anything else."
Harry didn't acknowledge the men moving back as he began casting diagnostic spells that he hadn't used since his Auror training. The spell on the ring was difficult to pin down but his spellcasting did have an effect. The ring began to vibrate.
"Ooookay, what the hell are you?" Harry grimaced as he realised that there was some sort of communication spell on the ring. To his surprise, light began to form around the ring and then there was a ghostly figure hovering in the air.
His companions stumbled backwards in shock and Harry quickly raised a shield. He wasn't taking any chances.
Marcus had drawn his sword and stepped up next to Harry, "What is it?"
"A communication spell, I think," replied Harry.
The figure's face was hidden beneath a hood although Harry caught a glimpse of a beard as the figure raised a staff and stabbed it forward.
His instincts told him to move and so he grabbed Marcus and pulled him back. From the ring flames rushed out forming a fiery humanoid shape that immediately set the grass at its feet alight.
"Run," ordered Harry and gave Marcus a push.
The fiery figure turned and seemed to focus on Harry. It gestured and a stream of fire rushed toward Harry. Harry conjured a stone wall just in time. Flames that seemed almost liquid lapped at the edges of the wall and the conjured stone quickly grew hot.
Fiendfyre, great…bloody fiendfyre or something very much like it. He could deal with it, but it would take time. The problem was the spectators and the slight complication that he had no fricking idea how the spell was being cast through a ring.
The fire was now forming into what looked like some sort of draconic head and rose above his wall. Time to move.
He apparated to the other side of the clearing and sent a stream of water toward the creature of living flame. The miniature fiendfyre dragon recoiled slightly and Harry caught sight of a line of fire that connected the living fire to the ring. He gestured and the water moved to douse the ring.
The fiery creature screamed soundlessly, and Harry took that as a sign that it a) didn't like water and b) it was linked to the ring. He had to break the connection.
Letting the spell drop, Harry gambled on a spell taught to him by Hermione. Keeping his eye on the ring he cast a shattering curse.
There was a flash of light and then the fiery best was gone.
Harry cautiously advanced, wand out as he advanced toward where the ring had been. Sure enough, he found dozens of pieces of silver fragments. He might have overpowered the spell, just a tad, but better safe than dead.
"What, in the name of the Gods was that!?" Marcus demanded as he approached Harry.
Harry shook his head, "A very dark spell called Fiendfyre. It was cursed fire that someone called down on us I suspect via the ring. I don't know exactly how that was done and until I do, I think we should leave…quickly."
"But you defeated it?" Marcus asked as he looked at the still smouldering ground.
"The spell, yes but the man who cast it, no idea," he admitted with a shrug.
The journey back into the town was much faster despite the darkness. Thankfully the moon was nearly full, and the sky was clear, so they made good time.
Marcus Servilius and Marcus Curius both peppered him with questions as they travelled. He explained what he had heard. The two men might not fully understand magic, but they seemed to understand that they might be facing a rather dangerous situation.
"I thank you for your help, Harry. You probably saved us all," admitted Marcus Servilius. "I must send word to the Senate. We can't have magic being used to attack citizens."
Marcus Curius was nodding along, "I agree Marcus Servilius. Young Harry was skilled enough to deal with the situation this time, but this situation is something that the magistrates, Jupiter maybe even the Consuls need to be made aware of. I was returning to Rome in a few days, once my son fully recovered but I think I will leave tomorrow."
That sounded like a very good idea to Harry. The powers that be in Rome needed to know. The problem was that he would no doubt feature in the report.
Not Ideal.
"You did well, magi," said Marcus Servilius with a smile, "It's rare to see one of you in action and by the Gods, you certainly saved us all. I do have a favour to ask can you accompany Marcus Curius to Rome? I know that it is a lot to ask, but I think that this dark magus and his hidden master are a direct threat, and you would be best to convince the magistrates."
There was not a great deal Harry could say to that, it was certainly true enough. Although he was concerned about leaving Gaius in the lurch.
Marcus Servilius nodded understandingly when he voiced his concern, "I can understand your concern. I'll leave some good men with Gaius and make sure we increase patrols."
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