Michael Manning - The Archmage unbound

I smiled quietly to myself as I walked, careful not to move too quickly. I was supposed to be a woman after all. This should make things much simpler, I thought. Moments later I was passing into one of the archways that led into the guest quarters of the royal palace.

I walked confidently down the corridors, heading directly toward the king’s chambers. My senses were on high-alert and I made every attempt to avoid encountering other people in the hallways. The one or two times it was unavoidable I simply nodded at them in passing and moved purposefully onward. Whoever Ruth might be I had a feeling she was moderately important and it was probably normal for her to be moving as if she had someplace to be. I only hoped I wouldn’t encounter anyone that knew her well.

As I got closer to the king’s personal rooms I noticed a much larger number of guards. Men had been tucked into every available corner and at every doorway along the hall. It hadn’t been like this the last time I had come here. Of course on that occasion I had been slightly intoxicated, answering a summons from the king and walking with James Lancaster. It was entirely possible I had missed noticing them, but I doubted it. Cyhan must have delivered my message, I thought with a smirk.

As I went I also noticed the guards stood straighter when they saw me coming and whatever small talk they had been engaged in ceased entirely. That gave me all the information I needed regarding Ruth’s possible role here. I put a bit more confidence in my stride and boldly met the eyes of any guard who dared to look at me. In every case they met my gaze calmly and without question. I had no more doubts, Ruth was their superior, or at the very least much higher up the food chain.

I stopped before the door leading into the private audience chamber, the same one that King Edward had met me in over a half a year past. Two men guarded it and they seemed worried when I stopped. Protocol for a guest would have been to have them call for the king’s chamberlain and request an audience, or at the very least announce my presence. Ruth was not a guest however and I got the distinct feeling they had expected me to enter without pausing for permission or waiting for the chamberlain.

“You!” I snapped at the man standing to the right, “Has anyone entered or left in the past hour?” I was hoping to cover my hesitation with questions.

“No milady!” he answered loudly.

I brought my hand up to rest a finger against my lips and the man visibly flinched. He thought I might strike him! Whoever Ruth was she clearly led an interesting life. “Very well,” I told him, “Open the door for me.” I wanted him to do it in case there might be a secret signal; one never knew when it came to guarding royalty. If I attempted to open it myself without following whatever the proper protocol was it would be a dead giveaway.

He leaned over and opened the door. If there had been a secret knock or other signal I saw no sign of it, and I wound up feeling a bit foolish. I didn’t bother looking at him as I entered. I already knew there was only one person inside, the chamberlain unless I was mistaken. Let me correct that, there was only one person ‘within’ the room. Two hidden side doors had several guards waiting behind them, watching the area.

The chamberlain started as I entered and rose quickly from the chair he had been resting on. “I hadn’t expected…,” he began.

“Don’t bother,” I told him. “Is he in his rooms? I need to talk to the king right away.” I was already walking toward the doorway that led toward what I presumed was his Majesty’s private living area. That was my first mistake. Apparently Ruth didn’t outrank the chamberlain… I should have known.

“Ruth! Stop! What do you think you are doing?” he exclaimed indignantly. I could sense the men behind the hidden doors tensing.

The time for subterfuge was over. I had sincerely hoped I could reach King Edward without kicking up a fuss, but it seemed my wish was not to be. “Shibal!” I said loudly, putting a good deal of force into it. The chamberlain went down immediately, as did three of the men behind the hidden doors. The fourth was either a stoic or had something shielding his mind, for he never even faltered, the door he stood behind slid aside and an arrow was already in flight toward my head before I had finished putting his comrades to sleep.

I hadn’t been in any sort of serious conflict since the end of the war with Gododdin two months past, yet it that time had left its mark upon me somehow… for I found myself enjoying the adrenaline. I smiled as the arrow shattered against my shield, savoring the look on the bowman’s face as he realized he was in more trouble than he was ready for. Since the man was immune to mind affecting spells I spoke again, sealing the door he had just passed through with another shield and as an afterthought I repeated the process to seal the doorway I had entered through as well.

I walked toward the guard… still smiling. He tried another arrow and seeing that fail drew his sword. With a flick of my wrist and a whispered word my magic ripped the blade from his grasp and sent it spinning through the air, only to have it return, pointing at him, scant inches from his face. “Turn around please,” I told him calmly. “Put your hands behind your back, I’d really rather not have to hurt you.”

The poor fellow was so unnerved he obeyed immediately. Drawing my dagger I cut the belt from his waist and used it to bind his hands. “Lie down on the floor,” I added and he readily complied. “Look, I understand you’re in an awkward situation here,” I told him conversationally. “You’re the only one conscious and now you’ve been tied up, uninjured and unbruised. It might look bad when they free you later. Would you like me to rough you up a bit? I’d rather not get you into trouble if I can avoid it.” I honestly meant every word as I said it, but apparently it was a bit too much for the guard. He moaned in an entirely unmanly manner and a moment later I smelled a distinct odor of urine.

“Aww… what the hell?” I said in dismay as I saw the stain spreading on the rich carpeting of the floor. Ignoring his loss of bladder control I took a moment to shatter his sword and rip up his clothes… perhaps that would be enough to keep him from being flogged later. I felt distinctly bad about it though as it only served to frighten him even further.

I left him then and headed through the doorway leading into the king’s private demesne. It led into a long corridor, richly decorated and with multiple doorways leading off in every direction. More guards were already heading my way, but none of them were stoics and I put them to sleep before they got anywhere near me. Since my disguise was no longer effective I dropped it.

Taking a second to focus I used my arcane senses to examine the rooms around me. The king’s quarters were a veritable warren of chambers, gardens, baths and bedrooms, but it took me only a moment to locate King Edward. He was waiting in his bedroom, sitting calmly at a side table. I have to give the man credit, he might be on the verge of assassination but he faced it with remarkable aplomb.

I followed a circuitous route to reach his bedroom door. I was tempted to knock down some walls and cut a direct path but I figured I should be more diplomatic. There were four men standing in the ante-chamber outside of his room but I didn’t let that worry me, they weren’t armed and seemed to be wearing nothing more than plain robes. I calmly opened the door to the sitting room and stepped inside. That was when all hell broke loose.

My eyes immediately confirmed what my mage-sight had already told me; these men were not armed or armored, but as soon as I entered light flared around them. Each one gained an aura, though they varied in color… silver, lavender, greenish gold and blue, these were devotees of the four shining gods. Channelers, great.