Chapter 6 Part 12

Serpent Blackheart was furious. He had chased a damned illusion for too many precious minutes. So that when the second party of riders happened upon him, he did not immediately attack. In his mind, he suspected another illusion to throw them off the track and almost ignored the riders. Almost, that is, until one of them loosed a bolt of lightning that vaporized twelve of his men.

Drawing Reaper and giving a war cry that rocked the halls of Hell, Serpent Blackheart charged the fray. But the enemy was not going to fight. Instead, they turned due north and rode hard and fast. They outpaced his own rider's horses, except for the spell caster who seemed to be falling behind.

His own mount was not even breathing hard and could easily overtake the whole entourage, but he would be alone and these people had been underestimated too many times already. Still, he had to slow these fast mounts, so Serpent urged his mount to it's top speed. He steered around the fleeing enemy and cut in front of them just as the woods ended at the border of the wasteland. The horses and their riders drew to a halt.

"I, Serpent Blackheart, challenge the one named Okmar to a duel of swords." It was mostly a ruse. Okmar was the only true warrior of the bunch from Tyson's description. If Okmar accepted the challenge, then he would kill Okmar and stall them long enough for help to arrive.

"Sorry, Blackpuss," the halfelf mage replied. "Samson doesn't oblige just any old pampered novice who can enunciate a challenging sentence." And with a wave of the mage's hand, Serpent Blackheart, battle cat and all was lifted off the ground and flung into the trees.

No words could describe the rage Serpent felt. He started to remount but found his mount unconscious from where it's head had hit a stone. Looking out, he saw his quarry braving the mysterious wasteland. Normally, he would not venture into Gly-ou-vogue, but the insult ran too deep.

When his troops arrived with Morteous and Tyson, Serpent commandeered a mount and galloped off into the wasteland at full speed with Tyson on his heels. Morteous paused only for a moment before following.

Armegon glanced back over his shoulder. Serpent's sword had a powerful magic resistance which had been very hard to overcome. But the result was what he had hoped for. The insult had been the bait. The trappers were about to get trapped. The other horses, being in reality riderless, passed him by and he let them go. He no longer needed them.

A shadow to his left alerted Armegon of Morteous' attack. The claws of the nightmare barely missed the mage's unprotected back. Armegon halted his horse and dismounted. Slapping her rump, he sent her on her way. "Okay, Quickdraw," he said quietly to Morteous. "You survived Ultrecht, let's see how you do against me."

Morteous landed. He dismounted as well. It would be a few minutes before his brother and Tyson arrived. By that time, he would avenge his injured pride. In a blur and with a mere flick of his wrist, Morteous leveled a blast of lightning at Armegon. The target dived to the right, avoiding the brunt of the bolt's charge, but still getting a good jolt.

Armegon rolled to his feet. "Slick move," he muttered. "Now try this." He whispered the spell phrase and swung a fist. Morteous took the invisible battering ram full on. It lifted him completely from the ground and knocked him dozens of meters back. He was sure he had suffered a broken rib.

Morteous got back to his feet quickly. He employed some advice Tyson had given him. Morteous began blasting away with spells. Small quick easy spells that may not do much damage, but more importantly did not give his opponent time to cast any of his own.

Morteous knew that his advantage was spell speed. Warlocks did not cast their spells, they thought them. As long as Armegon was kept on the defensive, Morteous could hold him back until Tyson and Serpent arrived.

Armegon was in trouble. He had had three spells misfire in a row because of Morteous' attacks. It was like trying to juggle while standing in a swarm of angry bees. He needed a break to get up some defenses. Reaching into an inner pocket of his tunic, Armegon withdrew a small cube. He whispered a command and the cube responded with a spell shield.

Morteous watched a small flame burst bounce off an invisible wall. Hoping to overpower the shield, he followed with a heavy duty fireball. The sphere of flame shot across the distance and enveloped the target.

The shield wavered slightly then disappeared. But it was already too late. Armegon stood with feet firmly planted on the ground. His eyes blazed and from his right hand an incredibly bright light shone forth.

Tyson pulled up next to Morteous as did Serpent a moment later. "Let him go," Tyson advised.

"Whose side are you on, Tyson?" Morteous asked.

"I am on yours, that is why I am begging you to back off."

"You don't think I can take him?"

"Not now you can't."

"Your lack of faith in my brother is quite disturbing," Serpent said.

"Armegon is a temperamental sorcerer. It is similar to a berserker warrior. Right now, he will grow more and more powerful until one of you is dead. The only way to defeat him is to do so in the first moment of the conflict. You are too late."

"Perhaps if we all three attack him?" Serpent asked.

"Possibly," Tyson admitted, but if we fail he will be powerful enough within minutes to wipe out that mountain range."

"Then waste no more time," Morteous said through clenched teeth. "Get him now!" Simultaneously, Morteous and Tyson attacked with force spells as Serpent used his sword's power to augment his allies' magic. Power enough to level a small city shattered against the lone mage.

When the smoke cleared, Armegon still stood. Morteous was flabbergasted. "I am completely drained," he stated. "He has won."

"Not yet," Tyson said panting. "His wards are down and his powers have temporarily dropped."

"Then he is mine," Serpent said as he stepped forward. "I know you have a sword, Armegon," he called. "Let us see if you can use it as well as you use magic."

Armegon reeled from that last attack. Damn it, Tyson would be the death of them all. Behind his opponents, he could see the enemy's army riding up. Armegon heard Serpent's challenge. "Come on, Blackpuss," he goaded as he withdrew the cylinder Ultrecht had given him. "I have what you want right here."

Tyson was not caught unaware. He recognized the cylinder immediately. He turned to Morteous. "Teleport out with your brother NOW!!" Then he vanished.

Armegon saw Tyson disappear even as he broke the seal on the cylinder and started his own teleportation. As his vision faded, he saw Morteous reach out to grab Serpent. Then all was light.