"We're here to see Borin," the green eyed youth said, "We are on an errand from Bartemus, the King's Warlock, and we come in peace."
The man lowered the bow slightly, which didn't make it less threatening as it was now pointed at Aidan's throat.
"I doubt Bartemus sent two youths here, he knew it's dangerous. Nonetheless, you know our leader's name, which means you are granted safe entrance. Take them."
Aidan felt strong hands grab him from behind, and then some sort of wool bag was thrown over his head. He felt himself being hoisted on to a shoulder and was amazed at the strength of the person carrying him.
It was definitely an amogh, Aidan could feel the power being pushed away from the bottom of the bag. Unfortunately for the mage, this was disrupting the flow of magic all around him. He was unable to see, hear or feel what was going on, he felt completely powerless, not to mention hot and stuffy.
He had been bounced around inside the wool for no more than five minutes when the man suddenly stopped and dumped him into the grass.
They were standing, or in the mages' case laying, outside a tall wall of logs, with two doors twice the height of any of the amoghs set into the center.
The man who had been carrying Aidan called out a string of numbers, too complicated for the young mage to remember, and stepped back as the massive doors swung out. The moment the doors were opened, a flood of about ten amoghs appeared from the forest, and began to guide the mages towards the opening.
As soon as Aidan stepped into the camp he felt the lack of magic. Even the Phoenix Ring was having a hard time keeping up.
The area inside the wall was about twice the size of Aidan's village, and seemed to be little more than a village itself. Each of the structures inside looked as if they had been built hastily, and with only the rawest materials. They were made of planks, animal skins, and mud, held together by thin ropes. All were Identical, except for a large, long building that dominated the fort and had obviously not been constructed with a similar design, or by the same people.
It was made of large stone bricks, held together in much the same way as any of the structures at Fort Phoenix. At first guess, Aidan would say it had been built with magic.
Aidan was led, none too gently, to that center structure, behind which he could hear someone coughing painfully. Other than that there was no sign of human life.
One of the amoghs opened the door and gestured for them to walk inside, sarcastically bowing. Aidan began to feel a smoldering coal burn in the pit of his stomach.
Three of the masked men followed them, bearing their things, and shut the door.
They were in a long hallway with no windows, lit only by candles on the wall. On both sides of the hall were doorways, most covered only by a sheet of cloth hanging from the top. Aidan was reminded of the adult quarters at Fort Phoenix.
They walked forward until they reached the end of the hall, where a large black curtain hung down over a double doorway.
One of the amoghs pulled the tarp aside, and Aidan and Timothy were forced inside.
The room was very large, it could have held two of the smaller huts outside. There was a burning fire in the center, with a hole cut in the roof to allow the smoke to exit. Benches and chairs lined all of the walls, each filled with a human.
The very first thing that Aidan noticed was the age. Most of the amoghs appeared to be young, there were only a few adults. The second thing Aidan noticed were the girls.
They were the most perfect people Aidan had ever seen. Each were different, but that only served to highlight their individual beauty. Aidan could have spent an hour describing each of them and still not done them justice.
The boys were handsome, with perfectly toned muscles rippling across their arms and under their shirts. They were made even more intimidating by the countless weapons that adorned their bodies.
The mages appeared to have walked into the room in the middle of a conversation, yet all eyes were immediately fixed on him and Timothy.
A young girl about Aidan's age broke the silence first.
"You're a mage," she said in a singsong voice that would make any man's head turn. However her words were a statement, not a question, and were said with the authority of one who is not to be tested.
Aidan found himself unable to answer her, enamored by her giant, unblemished blue eyes.
The amogh who had brought him into the camp cleared his throat and pulled off his mask, revealing a boy of about twenty, with large green eyes and coppery brown hair. Aidan felt ugly and slow next to this tall, strong man.
"These two claim that they have a message for you, sir, from Master Bartemus," he said to a man sitting at the far end of the room.
He was easily the oldest person present. Aidan would guess he was forty to fifty years old, however, he still looked strong enough to wrestle a dragon and win.