The Accidental Archmage - Book Five Edmund Batara (classic children's novels .TXT) 📖

enticing more and more predators and scavengers, a vicious cycle which would only stop when one group established its dominance of the area, driving all rivals away.

Fine with me, he thought. Fewer monsters to worry about along our trail.

“Sire, we communicated with the origin of the Elder signal. It is an Elder sanctuary. We made clear your current powered status and our need for the database,” Hal’s voice spoke in his mind.

“And?”

“It acknowledged our communications. But except for saying that you will have to decide, nothing else.”

“Decide what?” asked Tyler.

“No information was given, sire. Not even the exact location of the shrine. It could be a quirk of the creator of the complex or merely an oversight,” answered Hal.

“Then ask it, for goodness’ sake! We can’t be blindly walking into a firestorm again. The first time was excusable. A second time would be plain stupidity,” asserted the mage.

A pause of several seconds followed.

“Nothing definite, sire. It merely said we’ll know when we get there. Though I suspect the intelligence was being deliberately vague about the ‘there’ part. If it were human, I’d say being deliberately evasive.”

It was X this time. Hal evidently didn’t want to be the bearer of unclear information again.

“Your creators were a mad bunch. To make matters worse, each was burdened with a different kind of madness. Why can’t they make things simpler? Once vouched for and identified, the subsequent processes should be straightforward,” complained Tyler. The idea of jumping through a different kind of test for each shrine was irritating him.

“It has been said that the line between genius and madness is a very thin one,” helpfully volunteered Hal.

“Not helping, Hal,” replied the mage.

“As an aside, it might interest you to know we have detected massive surges of magical energy in the far north. Continuous eruptions, not merely sporadic,” added Hal.

Now, what the Hell is happening up there? mulled the now apprehensive mage.

***

As they crested a ridgeline, they saw the beginnings of human habitation—a few large huts outside the beginnings of a great forest. To its front and forming a barrier around the leading trees was a stone and wood palisade. Two hills bordered the wall, one at each visible end of the barrier. The mage estimated the frontage to be more or less 100 feet, and upon closer observation, found the wall was actually comprised of three layers, the front part lower than the one behind it. The gate led to a sizeable area after the first fence, barred again at the end by closed doors. Archers manned parapets visible behind the third barrier. Irregular lines of long stakes protected the first wall and movable spiked barricades barred access to the initial entrance. All along the field in front of the spikes were the tell-tale signs of pit traps too numerous to count.

“Such preparations,” observed Kobu calmly as his eyes swept over the fortifications. “More appropriate for a fortress under siege.”

“I don’t blame them. Living on the edge of the Barrens would encourage such preparations at the risk of being a meal. I see more dwellings appearing to be made of stone and wood inside the forest. Surprisingly, the beginnings of a small road paved with stones. Houses and structures look to be built in an arranged matter,” said Habrok.

“Whether they’re friendly or not will be answered in a few minutes. I see warriors running to man positions on the wall,” the einherjar warned.

“At least they look human,” observed Tyler. “And we stick out nicely on this ridge. There are warriors on our flanks, but they’re keeping their distance. We must have been observed some distance back.”

Me and my scrying. I must have been excited about the Elder shrine more than I would care to admit.

The gates of the settlement opened and a group marched out. With his magically-augmented eyesight, Tyler could see racial features similar to Keshini and the warriors they had met before. If that wasn’t enough, the weapons, shields, and armor looked the same. The mage double-checked his shields. Kobu looked at him. Tyler nodded and the man walked to the front of the group, maintaining the distance the mage mentioned as necessary for keeping within the coverage of the shield. They waited. The reception party split into three formations, all line abreast, with three unarmed men behind the center rank.

Interesting. Complex formations. The defensive square and now this; any problem and the flanks can assault the enemy, while the middle protects the dignitaries. Such military sophistication from a mere village? chuckled the mage

He heard Tyndur give a chortle. The einherjar evidently came to the same conclusion.

“Village, my arse. They’re better trained than city militias,” came the disbelieving comment.

The village delegation stopped several feet away. Tyler noticed that the flanks were positioned in a curved alignment facing the party. A slight old man, with thinning hair, and dressed in a blue-sleeved long chiton, stepped forward. A white cloak of Grecian origin, or himation, completed his attire.

“Hail, warriors. May the day be filled with peace and glad tidings. What brings such a small band out here, in the shunned Barrens?” greeted the man in Greek.

“We are lost, Grandfather. Probably a deity’s doing, and by fortune’s good graces, we have survived and are on our way to Skaney. We did meet your caravan which was assaulted by large lizards. They appreciated what help we could offer and gave us this token to show to you,” said Kobu as he brought out what Keshini gave him.

Relatively true, thought Tyler.

“Tyche’s favors are fickle,” smiled the old man. “With your permission, allow me to examine the token.”

The old man directed one of the warriors to get the bronze token and examined it for a while. He called to his side one warrior, a large example of his people, with better armor, and a blue cape. A discussion went on for a while, then a command went out and the warriors on the lands changed formation, this time as an escort column.

“My apologies,” said the old man. “But the Barrens keep a wary man or woman alive. I am Agastya, the leader