Tartarus Beckons by Edmund Batara (reading an ebook .TXT) 📕

the attackers, and any jotnar which managed to come close could be handled by the warriors of the party.

“So that’s Loki.” Tyler heard Kadir tell Sford. “You know, I used to pray to him. And he looks a lot better in person! I think I am going back to praying to him.”

“You are mad, Kadir.” He heard Sford reply coldly. “That deity of yours is the cause of that bloodthirsty, flaming mass coming for us, and you want to pray to him?”

“Well, he looked so dashing and… ouch! What was that all about?” Kadir exclaimed. A loud thump had interrupted the rogue’s description.

“Something to bring you back to your senses,” said Orm. “Next time, it will be the hilt of my sword.”

The dokkalfr had finally reached the party’s front and were blocked from proceeding further by Orm and Tyndur who had assumed battle positions. Habrok had his bow aimed at them, and Astrid was moving to the left flank of the einherjar. The mage understood that the Valkyrie wanted a clear area for her attack. Kadir had positioned himself slightly in front of the ranger, while Sford stood near Tyler. Kobu remained at their rear. Tyler saw the woman approach the einherjar and after a short discussion, Tyndur ran to the mage.

“They want to fight with us. What do I tell them?” asked Tyndur.

Tyler looked back at the watching Kobu.

“What do you think? Your experience matters greatly in this decision,” inquired the mage.

“An enemy with unclear loyalties, unknown abilities, and who remain an enemy. I respectfully suggest they be allowed to fight with us, but they form their battle line several feet in front of the company. We cannot risk treachery,” said Kobu.

“Well, I still remember that sudden attack on the First Mage,” added Tyndur.

“Tell them what Kobu said. If they attempt to go past us, we will treat it as an attack,” decided the mage with finality.

As Tyndur went back to the armored female warrior, Tyler could see that the flame jotnar had picked up their pace. To their rear, several flame giants wielding large clubs and giant axes started to raise their weapons. Clouds quickly started to gather above the attackers, and the outline of a magical barrier suddenly appeared in their path.

“Your pardon, First Mage,” said Sford with a remarkable degree of respect and awe.

Tyler quickly glanced at the orange-clad mage, a color which never fails to elicit curiosity on his part. But he wasn’t one to pry. Unless the temptation really gets out of hand.

“The path to a First Mage must be a different one, milord. But for those who had trodden the normal path to magehood, we do know that in the domains of Ymir and Sutr, the power of those two primordial elemental avatars reign supreme.”

Milord. The term must be catching.

Tyler immediately looked back at the spells he had cast. They were taking too long to manifest, and it could be his imagination or Sford’s statement, but his cloud spell appeared to be sputtering.

Now that… stinks, thought Tyler, his unfamiliarity with the nuances of the magical arts of Adar were now on full display. Sford might be an unconventional mage, but at least he was grounded in the basics of the art. And if the peculiar mage was right, then the casting of his spells would be, in the eyes of other mages, the dokkalfr in particular, a show of extreme confidence or laughable ignorance.

“Guys? He’s right?”

“We’re afraid so, sire. Of the deities and powerful entities of the First World, Sutr and Ymir were the only powerful beings to reside physically on Adar. And their presence resulted in a visible and continued manifestation of their power. On their lands, all other powers are subdued or greatly diminished. Unless you’re a major deity,” Hal answered.

Tyler wanted to shout an expletive but had learned the futility of the exercise. Though sometimes, it just felt good to let off steam. But not this time. The enemy was clearly geared up for a charge.

“Suggestions? They’re going to rush us,” asked Tyler promptly, a bit of nervousness in his voice. A mage without spells was as helpful as a butcher in a vegetarian convention.

“We need to buy time, sire,” said X. “For now, allow us to infuse your spells with a small amount of Elder energy. That would render Ymir’s power in the land inutile. It would diminish our few reserves, but we do need time.”

“Do it.”

Using the hard-earned energy was like pulling teeth without anesthesia, but he had to bide for time. Tyler’s original intention of engaging in a full-scale battle with the flame jotnar and the inbound army of Ymir was now in the garbage bin. He didn’t have a Plan B; his sense of caution was spoiled by the earlier victories they had over similar foes.

Tyler immediately dissolved his earlier spells just as the looming jotnar mass charged. The mage could see large, blazing wolf-like beings leaving the horde as their speed left their brethren behind. He cast the barrier again, though this time coursing it through his guides. As the barricade solidified, it was followed by the cloud lightning spell.

No wonder Sford and the dokkalfr mages didn’t start throwing magic all over the place, he reflected.

“Sford? How far does Ymir’s power reach in our area?” he asked.

“Around several feet from the ruins, milord. The power in these Alfar structures must have come from a deity’s blessing to be still potent after such a long time.”

“You could sense the perimeters of such energy?”

“Yes, milord. Though its circumference is ragged and imperfect. The ravages of time, I suppose,” replied Sford. “But for some reason, Ymir’s power also stops where the mountains behind us begin.”

Dammit. That’s what I get for not being adequately trained. Not even a basic formal lecture! Though that milord title is starting to grate on me. It’s not High Mage anymore.

He swiftly turned to Habrok who was already releasing arrow after arrow with a great deal of effectiveness. Several of the wolf creatures were laying still on the field. But the ground continued to shake with the thundering charge of Sutr’s