Of course, Squibs was the only goblin, but cause and effect had never been his strong suit, so that fact was lost on him. Squibs was eager to please, for though the Boss was tough, he was also fair. He treated even Squibs as an equal. In an age that goblins were looked upon as either a resource to exploit or just plain disgust, it wasn't something the goblin was initially used to. But he knew he liked it.
Liked it enough to brave spying on a group of wizards, even!
The fact that the Boss hated wizards made it all the sweeter! Squibs didn't like the finger waggling demons either, since his former master had been one, a rather mean wizard to be specific. Squibs still carried the scars from that period of his life. Maybe he could manage to salvage a souvenir when the Boss was done with them? A finger or ear perhaps? He did need a new trophy to adorn his necklace, after all. It took all the meager willpower Squibs possessed to not rub his hands together in unfeigned glee. Oh, yes! The reward would be grand, but secretly Squibs yearned even more for the honest praise he would receive.
Even a goblin has feelings.
❧ ❧ ❧
"We're being followed," Alicia stated, the proclamation coming as a complete surprise to both Jared and Marcius, for they had been traveling for a couple of hours and had seen no indication of anybody else even being around. The forest seemed to edge even closer at the words, as if they too were part of the plot. It made the narrow trail they were riding appear all the more claustrophobic. They already were ducking under stray branches and limbs as it was. "Just keep riding, show no signs that we know this."
"How do you know?" Jared whispered back, concern etched in his face and voice. He gently prodded his horse forward a bit, as close as he could comfortably get to the woman. The brown horse nickered with annoyance.
"My familiar told me. I've set him to watch us from above every day since we've started this. Apparently our 'friends' have been following us for about an hour now."
"Your. . . familiar. . . " Jared echoed. It hadn't really occurred to him that Alicia would have one too. In fact, he had completely forgotten about Marcius's familiar. Where were these tiny creatures? He hadn't seen a trace of them since they started this journey. "Damn wizards and their secrets. . . " he muttered under his breath.
"What do they want? Why are they following us?" Marcius asked, bringing up the rear, a slight tinge of uneasiness beginning to creep into his voice.
Both Alicia and Jared stared back at the apprentice with a look of disbelief. "Marc," the blonde swordsman started, speaking slowly, "think about it. We are travelers. All alone. In the middle of the wilderness. What do you think they want to do? Shake our hand and share campfire stories? They're bandits, Marc!"
Marcius swallowed. "That's what I was afraid of."
"Eh, buck up. We've got a wizard, an apprentice, and a great swordsman. We'll be fine if we play our cards right." Jared smiled back, which did much to alleviate the feeling of terror that was beginning to latch its icy grip on Marcius's thoughts and actions. "So, what's the plan, Alicia?" The blonde man continued calmly, as if he was discussing something as trivial as what was for dinner. He shifted around on his horse to face the Mage.
Don't worry Marc. We will be fine, Faerril echoed. The bandits won't know what hit them! They deal with wizards this day, not mere peasants or hapless merchants!
I hope so, Faerril. It'd be very much of a letdown if my journey ended before it really began.
Marcius could feel the swirling orbs of his familiar's stare, the anger from the creature palpable in the hot afternoon. The sun will set with a few less bandits to worry travelers. The familiar promised darkly.
A statement which surprised Marcius, for the vehemence in the tone was very uncharacteristic of the tiny creature. He turned in disbelief to the tree line, to where he knew the wyvrr was using the trees as a method of travel, darting among the branches like a cat.
Where did you learn such mannerisms?
Where else? From you. After all, our minds are one. I know what you know. I am what you are. Perhaps a bit more, but certainly no less.
"You got that, Marc?" Jared intoned, looking back at Marcius and breaking the apprentice from his startling internal conversation.
"Hm? Sorry, I was talking with my familiar."
Alicia waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it. Your role in this is basically to stay out of it."
Without knowing why, Marcius found himself bristling at the way the Mage had said that. As if he was insignificant, or too stupid to be of use. "Excuse me? Why is this?" he asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"You're an apprentice, with little to no training in casting under pressure. Plus the amount of spells you probably have learned is either not useful or too specific to deal with a battle. You'd get in the way," Alicia responded bluntly.
"A fireball can help," Marcius said simply.
"A fireball can hit friend or foe, and a botched fireball helps nobody. Just listen to me, alright? Jared will have to guard me as I cast, so his hands are tied. Just stay near to us and, more importantly, stay out of it," the Mage countered in a voice that indicated the debate was now over.
Marcius sighed in defeat, allowing his horse to drift a bit further behind the pair. His hackles were still figuratively raised, as if Alicia's comment was a personal attack, and he hated allowing her the last word on the matter.
But he also knew she was right. He couldn't see himself being able to cast even the simplest spell when some gruff bandit was swinging a sword in his direction. Messing up a single arcane sign or even tripping up a syllable could mean disaster. Marcius remembered several of Antaigne's warnings of what had happened to wizards when their spells went awry. If one was lucky, death was the only thing they would get for messing up.
Still, the other side of his brain reasoned, she didn't have to brush him off! He was not some petulant child, someone to be scolded and told what to do every step of the way! He could help! No, he vowed silently, if the opportunity presented itself, he would show them exactly what he was capable of. He would earn their respect.
He'd just have to wait until it was safe to do so. No sense in taking unnecessary risks and doing exactly what they warned him might happen. They were doing this damn journey for him anyway! All in a bid to hopefully get to the bottom of whatever plot Marcius had unwillingly become a part of. If he couldn't get his own friends to treat him as an equal partner in this endeavor, he had the feeling he was destined to fail.
A still brooding Marcius noticed the mage was sitting strangely stiff in her saddle, allowing the horse to pick its own way along the thin trail with only an occasional nudge to keep it moving. Her mouth was moving unintelligibly and her hands moved quickly yet discreetly, forming what Marcius realized were sigils. He spurred the horse forward a bit just to make sure. After a few seconds it was confirmed. She was casting! Acting on a hunch, Marcius allowed his eyes to slip into the realm of the nether, the waves of now revealed energy rippling around him. As he suspected, several "nodes" of the nether swirled around the Mage, encased in intense white energy. Alicia's energy.
They are spells, Marcius realized as he studied the orbs, ready to be released at a moment's notice. So, those are quick cast spells. . . Marcius thought, remembering the last lesson he had with Antaigne. He watched as the rich energy of the nether tried to break free from one of the tethers, but Alicia was quick to rein it in, her own white energy smothering it before it could escape. Marcius thought back to how hard it was for him to maintain a simple fireball, and here was Alicia holding several spells at bay that were most likely more powerful than a fireball. Humbled by this display of power, Marcius found his respect for the woman had grown, though the anger still remained.
"Alright, according to Karhol, and as I suspected, there is a larger band waiting in ambush further down the trail," Alicia whispered, her voice somewhat strained, no doubt from the exertion of maintaining the quick casts. "What I don't get is why do they have so many waiting for us? Karhol says they have at least a dozen and a half. We are only a small group and they can't know that we are wizards. . . it just doesn't make sense," she added, her brow scrunching up in puzzlement.
"Perhaps they just ambush whoever goes down this trail? No matter the number?" Jared offered.
"Maybe. . . " Alicia still seemed doubtful.
"Why don't we turn around, kill or escape from the ones following us, then avoid the larger band?" Marcius whispered.
The Mage shook her head, "The ones following us were probably sent for exactly that reason. Most likely to serve as a signal if we do anything suspicious."
"Still, if we can avoid them, I think we should."
"That's not-"
"-an option, Marc." Jared interrupted, finishing the sentence for the Mage, which caused the woman to click her tongue in agitation. "We can't give up the knowledge that we are expecting them. The value of surprise is huge in something like this. We can't play the game on their terms, or else we very well could wind up dead. Running isn't possible either. They probably know these woods far better than we do. The trails are much too dangerous to take full advantage of our horses and they could have horses as well. I'd rather end it here and now, than worry about them sneaking up on us in the dead of night."