The Battlemage

Fort Caster

   It was a relatively cool morning, and the drizzling rain made it just that much more miserable. People had always told him that the northern coast was so beautiful, but it was just cold and miserable. Even in the summer time it never seemed to get any warmer than what the rest of Mira felt like in the autumn.

  But there were more pressing matters this morning than his displeasure with the weather, and Captain Johanson knew it. One of the patrols he had sent out hadn't reported back. They were only supposed to take a quick ride along the coast and return back, but they had failed to do so. Johanson knew the Lieutenant that led the cavalry unit wasn't one to mess about. He was a very serious man with respect for military procedures.

  Almost seeming to correspond with the disappearance of his cavalry unit, a pair of battlemages had shown up to the fort. Something that Johanson found disturbing, since battlemages never just showed up without a purpose.

  They were standing in the courtyard of the fort now, talking to a Lieutenant named Edmonton.

  Johanson hoped the Lieutenant wasn't pestering them too much. He was a bit of an idiot. The only reason he held his current position was because his father carried favor with the King.

   Sighing to himself, Johanson strolled forward to introduce himself to the battlemages and to save them from Edmonton's idiotic babbling.

    "Good morning, battlemages. I am Captain Felix Johanson. Welcome to Fort Caster."

 The first battlemage was a handsome man with dark hair and eyes. He introduced himself with a firm handshake, which Johanson respected. "I'm Mage Ellis," said the battlemage.

  The second battlemage introduced herself as Mage Adalina. To call her beautiful would be a lie. She was as tall as any man in the unit, and carried herself much like a man. Her nose was just a little crooked, having obviously been broken several times before, and there was a particularly ugly scar on the side of her head. A burn that had taken a large section of her black hair with it.

  But by no means did he find her unattractive. In fact, it was quite the opposite. A woman who could likely hold her own against any of the men in his unit, or just as well hang with them, was something he found intriguing.

   "I take it that you aren't just taking a stroll along to coast and admiring the King's forts as you go," said Johanson. "What brings you here?"

   "There have been reports of rebellious activity in the area and we were requested to investigate," said Ellis.

  Johanson frowned. Sending battlemages to investigate claims of rebellious activity? That seemed a bit like overkill. Battlemages were usually a weapon of last resort in battle. Few had ever actually been deployed in war. They were mostly used against foes that the regular army couldn't or wouldn't handle.

   "Well then, perhaps we can help each other," said Johanson. "I'll tell you where to start, and you look for one of my patrols that went missing in that area."

   "One of your patrols is missing? How long have they been gone?" asked Adalina.

    "Three days. They were only supposed to be gone two, and they have been missing for a full day now. I fear they may have run into this rebel activity you speak of."

  "Where were they heading?" asked Ellis.

 "To a village named Blackstone. It's not far, if you're heading directly there. My men were on patrol, however, so they would have taken longer to get there."

   Johanson noticed Adalina's lip twitch very slightly; almost unnoticeably so.

 "Have you noticed any activity in any other areas?" asked Ellis.