Rise of the Rune Mage

Chapter 8 - Regicide

I dreaded the idea of leaving Kara again, but I dreaded the idea of her dying even more. Ulfgar and I may be accepted, but bringing a Sorceress was out of the question. I'd seen too many people hanged for fear of magic to bring Kara or Madaline to Kellick. What I hadn't foreseen was how difficult it was going to be to convince her.

"No way!" I raised my voice slightly. Kara's eyes were burning with a fire hotter than any I'd ever seen, but I wouldn't give in. It didn't matter how hard she stomped her feet.

"You don't think I can protect myself?" she yelled back. Her anger was clearly clouding her judgment but I had to get her to hear me.

"What are you going to do, burn down the city or the villages?" I asked hoping to get her to see logic. She almost responded before she paused. I could see her thinking about what would happen if a conflict did arise. "I know you can protect yourself. I'm protecting them." I added earning a quick flash of a smile before she grew angry again.

"Don't think you've won and if you get hurt I'm going to kill you." she said pointing at me, her finger so close to my face that I could feel the breeze move across my skin.

"That seems counter productive, but the terms are acceptable." I replied. Kara and Madaline were to head back to Sol Drar to continue their training. Ulfgar arranged an escort for their safe return in my stead. He and I had a different course to follow, North-East to Lyon Fast. We said our goodbyes that day at the Iron Hill. I still remember the worry on Kara's face as she road East, back toward the coast. While I had little worry myself, I remember how good it felt to know she cared so much.

A few hours later, Ulfgar was ready to begin our journey. "We won't be using any transport, Tyrium. Malok has more friends than anybody else that walks this Earth. Besides, they only slow us down." He said to me as we left through the massive gates of his realm. I thought about that for a moment. It was obvious really. My new abilities were much more efficient than a ship or carriage.

"Can you fly?" I asked Ulfgar. Dwarves were not known for they're love of flying and through my research, I hadn't yet seen an instance of Ulfgar flying. He chuckled.

"You couldn't pay me enough." He replied. "Dwarves are not meant to leave the ground."

"How fast is your Lion form?" I asked assuming that was his fasted mode of travel. He grinned and leaped into the air. His read hair burst into a mane as his body shifted into a large cat. The moment he hit the ground he raced forward, accelerating at speeds that would've made me uncomfortable before my transformation. "Understood." I said in a whispered reply before I mimicked his own transformation. I settled on a leaner form that gave me even more speed. My mane was also black opposed to his red. It wasn't long before I caught up to him.

"Not fast enough, apparently." rang Ulfgar's words in my head. I slid to a stop, almost tripping in the process. Ulfgar was able to stop much more smoothly.

"How did you do that?" I asked, experiencing a great deal of panic. I didn't understand the amount of worry I had either, which made the situation worse.

"Relax." He spoke out loud this time. "It's called a mage's whisper. You can do it to." Even in his Lion form I could see he was concerned as well by my reaction. I knew this would be something that we would need to discuss further, but we had higher priorities.

"Sorry. You caught me off guard, is all. Where are we headed?" He took a moment before answering. I know he was processing my words.

"Frinos, near Fhar Crossing. We'll rest for the night at a safe house of mine outside of the city. Tomorrow we will run all the way to Petro."