Firebrand

Chapter 506: An Eagle in Hand

An Eagle in Hand

At length, they fetched food and water for Atreus and left him to sleep atop the astronomy tower, where none would go; while cold and uncomfortable, he was used to far worse. As for Martel's revelation, the spellbreaker agreed that Julia – Elena would be likely to retreat to such a place as the catacombs and recover her strength, as he had done to the Lyceum. Once Atreus had rested, he would go immediately to hunt for her in that place, hoping to catch her before she might escape to elsewhere.

Eating supper together, the trio sat mutely at the table. "Should we tell someone?" Eleanor finally asked. "Honestly, this entire situation is madness. A mage of legend is sleeping in the astronomy tower, and his next step will be to hunt in the catacombs for the maleficar who has plagued Morcaster for years. And incidentally, she is also Martel's friend." She looked at him.

"I told you, she looked like a child in need! Why should I ever suspect her?"

"Too trusting," Maximilian replied in between bites. "In any case, the fellow said he would leave once he is rested. No need for us to involve anyone. Soon enough, this will be over and none of our concern."

"I'm going with him," Martel declared.

Maximilian let out the longest sigh while Eleanor gave him an exasperated look. "You cannot be serious!" she exclaimed.

"Of course I am. She must be stopped. I've been to the catacombs before, and I know what awaits. If that jinni is still alive as he said, I've experience fighting it and spells that can hurt it." At least, he hoped so. "My dagger too." He patted his belt where the gold-edged blade rested once more. He left out the biggest reason; Julia had played him for a fool, taking advantage of him, and he wanted her dead.

"If that is your concern, tell the teachers. Master Alastair is a battlemage like you with thirty more years of experience," Eleanor argued. "He can provide more help than any of us."

"Atreus is right," Martel retorted. They had already made this suggestion to the spellbreaker, who had rejected it. "Would any of them believe his story? Or follow him into the catacombs, infested by undead, in search of a maleficar whose power far exceeds theirs?"

"All good reasons why you shouldn't go either. Their suspicions may be well-founded – how can we truly trust this vagrant?" Eleanor asked pointedly.

"She has a point. Even if there is truth to his claims… just because he hunts a villain, that does not make him a hero," Maximilian considered. "He might easily be a villain himself."

"I'm not sitting this out," Martel declared. "I'm going now to rest and recover my spells. I'm not asking you to come. But I won't lie to you either."

The mageknights looked at each other, an unspoken question hanging between them.

***

In his room, Martel made sure his candle sat safely in its holder – being able to conjure flames easily, he had not used it in many months. Now, he drove a nail into it near the base before he lit the wick. This done, he lay down on his bed and quickly fell asleep.

Hours later, he woke from a loud noise. The candle had burned down, releasing the nail to clank against its holder. Getting up, he opened the shutter to look out of his window. The cold night air helped to wake him up; the moon, nearly full, greeted him on the horizon. It was midnight.

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He got dressed in his robes and leather armour; while he doubted it would avail anything against a maleficar, he might as well wear it. Golden dagger in his belt along with fire pots and healing elixir, Martel only needed a staff. He could pick one up from the armoury; they would walk close by to get to the workshop and its entrance to the sewers.

He ascended the astronomy tower and opened a hatch that led to the parapet on top. In the dark, he had trouble seeing Atreus until he used magic to look for heat. Crouched together underneath a borrowed cloak, the supposed spellbreaker slept peacefully, regardless of the cold night air or his uncomfortable bedding made of stone. "Master Atreus?" Martel reached out a hand to gently shake the man awake.

The mage blinked. "Stars, but that does feel good. A mage without spellpower is hardly a mage at all." He got on his feet. "Lead the way, friend."

They began their descent, Martel using his magic to notice if anybody else might be near to stumble upon them. "The workshops have an entrance to the sewer, which gives access to the catacombs. I know the path well at this point," Martel explained, wondering how best to raise the argument that he intended to join in the hunt for the maleficar.

As they walked down the corridor towards the workshops, Martel became aware of two people ahead, thanks to his magic. He stopped in his tracks, fearing discovery by a teacher or the like, until he recognised them. Both of them clad in armour, Eleanor and Maximilian nodded in greeting as the firemage and spellbreaker approached.

"I wasn't sure you'd be here," Martel admitted. When they had split up after the meal, neither of the mageknights had seemed willing to join.

"We said midnight, did we not?" Maximilian growled, throwing a staff for Martel to catch.

"We're not leaving you on your own," Eleanor asserted, glancing from Martel to Atreus.

With a grateful smile, Martel gave his golden dagger to her. "You'll make better use of this than me."

"I think you are confused," the spellbreaker said. "When I asked you to lead me to the catacombs, I meant only that. None of you are equipped to deal with such a foe."

"What, I wasted my time preparing? You know how difficult it was to find glue at this hour?" Maximilian raised his hammer with an indignant expression, revealing the row of golden coins upon its face.

"Martel is right. This witch must be stopped," Eleanor declared.

"You don't understand. You may do more harm than good," Atreus explained. "She has spells to steal your life and strength, or she may turn you against your friends with illusions and mental trickery."

The young mages looked at each other; none of them had considered such a thing. "What of the jinni? Let us contend with that," Martel suggested. "You fight the witch while we deal with her guardian."

Atreus blew out his breath. "I suppose it would be preferable to outnumber her rather than reverse. I will accept this on two conditions. The first is that you keep your distance to her. Her spells of leechcraft require close proximity."

"And the other?" asked the firemage.

"That you can provide me with three silver coins. Their value is irrelevant, but the material is not." Atreus held out his hand.

Confused, the trio went through their pockets until they could place three silver eagles in the spellbreaker's palm. In turn, he placed his other hand on top. A glow revealed magic in use. As he revealed his palm again, any sign of the imprinted eagle or the emperor's face was gone, revealed by Archean letters.

"I'm not much of an enchanter, but this will last the next hours. Hold them for a moment." Atreus gave the coins to Martel and began tearing strips of fabric from his already tattered clothes. Deftly, he tied each coin inside the cloth, making a crude necklace. "Each of you must wear this at all times. It will shield you from the worst of her mental magic."

"What about you?" Martel asked as he placed the string around his neck; the other two followed suit, though Maximilian did so with a displeased expression after smelling the fabric.

"I have my spells for that. Don't worry about me." Atreus gave a wink and a smile. "Now, let us be off."

They hurried to the workshop and down the hatch that led to the sewers. The smell greeted them immediately. Continuing, they traversed the tunnel to reach the locked grate door. "It's got gold, so we can't just unlock it," Martel told the others. "I guess we just have to break down the whole door."

"Ah, perhaps a less crude method can be employed. Where magic fails, ordinary skills may succeed." Atreus took out some picks from his belt and set to work on the lock. Soon after, it clicked open. "There we are," he announced, pushing the door open. The maleficar's lair awaited them.