The Burning Blue Mage

15

     We went to bed earlier that night so we could wake up early. We were to head out as soon as the iron was ready. If this wasn't such an extreme case I would have said to leave in the afternoon but I guess I'll have to sacrifice a bit of sleep.
     Sage didn't even seem fazed in the slightest by the few hours of sleep we got. It had to be about 2 in the morning a f we didn't go to bed any earlier than 8 and yet he didn't even seem tired. And I think he woke up a little earlier too and he just let me sleep for a bit.
     We were riding on horse's. The villages were a bit far away and we needed carts for all the iron we were bringing along. I've never been so thankful that iron was an abundant resource in Azmar.
     Several guards were passing out iron weapons, even though after we set up all the guards will return to the castle leaving only me and Sage. It was a precaution, in case the naiad decides to attack us earlier than we planned.
     I took an iron sword and places it in my belt, next to my normal one. My golden sword might not be effective against naiads but I'm still keeping it on me.
     I saw Sage reluctantly take an iron dagger, though I knew he would prefer to use his own. It also must have been troublesome to him because the iron dagger didn't have a sheath, which he loved so much to use when fighting.
     Sage walked up to me. "If another mythical creature ever attacks it better have a weakness to silver cause I'm not looking forward to having to use any other dagger besides my own," Sage grumbled.
     I smiled at him sympathetically. "On the bright side, you probably won't have to use either of your daggers."
     Sage ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. We're almost ready to leave. The villages up to that point were all evacuated last night and the villages behind that point are being evacuated today in case the naiad doesn't do as we predict. The goal is to set up everything today and send everyone back before night falls. We'll stay there and wait until the naiad comes."
     I took note of how well Sage had taken the situation under control, not for the first time. I've constantly noticed how well he is able to handle these kind of situations. And his knowledge on nymphs makes him all the better leader. I'm thankful that he's here. Even though if he wasn't here, this probably would never have happened.
     I nodded. "Start rounding up the knights and start getting them situated on their horses. Have swordsman in the front, then the iron, and archers in the back. Also put swordsman on both sides of the iron carts so that they can defend it from an attack coming from any direction. We'll both be in the front."
     "Roger that, emperor," Sage said with a smile before walking off. It's sad that I hardly even registered the fact he was making fun of me since he calls me that so much until he already walked off.
     I rounded up as many knights as I could as well, telling them to organize themselves into three groups: archers, swordsman, and iron carriers. Once everyone was grouped together, we'd decide the order in which everyone would ride in.
     I started making sure the horses were ready as well. My own horse was pitch black, his mane and tail fading out to white at the tips and white dots on his face. I named him Starfall because he reminded me of the night sky with his black and ghostly white color palette.
     I walked up to Starfall and stroked his muzzle. "We're going on a trip," I whispered in Starfall's ear. I stroked him one more time before I led him by his reins out of the area where we were currently keeping the horses.
     I led Starfall through the chaotic courtyard. The last few guards were getting in their groups. I saw Sage in front of the three groups, trying to calm everyone down. Sage might be good at giving commands but it was hard for him to catch people's attention. Everyone saw him as nothing more than a servant, after all.
     I walked up to him, Starfall behind me. "Everyone, quiet!" I shouted.
     The courtyard grew quiet in an instant. Sage shook his head. "You take this one. They just don't listen to me."
     I nodded and took a step forward. "Sage and I will go and give you a number. Number 1's will be in the front. Number 2's will be in the middle. 3's will be on the side of the middle. 4's will be in the back. We ask that as soon as you get your number, get your materials and horses and get to your positions as soon as possible."
     I turned to Sage. "You start with the archers. Have most of them in the back with a few on the sides and maybe a couple in the front just in case. I'll start with the swordsman and other short to mid distance fighters. They're the majority so I probably won't finish quickly so you can go one to the iron carriers. Space them out through all three sections but all around the middle. None on the sides though."
     Sage nodded and trotted off to the archers section. I heard him counting off numbers before I walked over to my section of swordsman.
     Swordsman will mainly be in the front, a good amount on the sides, and a handful in the back.
     I started giving out numbers to every knight in my section. Everyone of them bowed their heads to me before walking off to get ready.
     As I thought, it took me a long time to finish off my section and Sage finished his two about the same time I finished mine.
     "I think that's all of them," Sage said once we both finished.
     "Then I guess it's about time we head out. Here, let me show you to your horse."
     I led Sage to the area with the horses, the most were already taken to get ready. I still lead Starfall by his reins, him waiting patiently for me.
     Sage's horse was quite pretty, a beige mare with a white mane and tail and a white speckled muzzle. The horse neighed as Sage walked up to her.
     "Hi, beautiful. You got a name?" Sage said softly, rubbing the mare under her head.
     "She's a new horse so she doesn't have a name yet. You can name her, if you'd like," I said.
     Sage grinned. "How about Chestnut? You're a Chestnut, don't you think?"
     The horse neighed in response. Sage laughed.
     "Have you ever ridden a horse?" I asked.
     "Can't say I have but... Let's just say I have a gift for getting along with animals," Sage said.
     I understood what he meant immediately. Ever since I called Sage's magic a "gift", for whatever reason I thought to call it that, it's been our word to talk about magic when people are around. I wanted to ask what types of magic had to do with animals, what you could do with it, but there were too many people here. I would have to ask him later.
     I nodded. "As long as you can ride her."
     Sage grabbed Chestnut's reins and we both walked to our positions at the front of the line. When we got there, both Sage and I got into our horses.
     I turned my horse towards the knights around us. "You've all been caught up on what needs to be done so as soon as we get to the spot you should get to work. Remember that we need to work quickly but thoroughly." I looked around to make sure ever heard and understood my announcement. "And with that, we'll head out."
     I turned Starfall around and he started running. Sage was quick to follow me and was soon by my side. I could hear hundreds of horse hooves and wheels behind us.
     For a long while no one really talked. I think they were too focused or pumped up about the naiad, even though they weren't fighting it. But the ride was fairly long and soon everyone started in idle chit chat.
     "I think this ride would have been a lot nicer if it wasn't so early in the morning. Or maybe if we didn't have the looking threat if a mythical creature. That kinda puts a damper on things," Sage said.
     I laughed. "Yet you don't even seem a bit tired."
     "Before you conquer physical means, you must first conquer the mind," Sage said philosophically.
     "Who said that?" I asked. I didn't recognize the quote.
     Sage shrugged. "I'm sure someone said it at one point in time."
     I rolled my eyes playfully and shook my head but I had to chuckle. No matter what situation you're in, Sage could somehow make you laugh.
     "I hope we fully set up today. I don't want anyone else to get in the crossfire," I said.
     "I hope so too. If the naiad is more inpatient, she'll attack that area tomorrow. And as for people in the crossfire, I would very much prefer you not put yourself at risk," Sage said seriously, switching so quickly from his normal cheery self.
     "Well I'm not letting you go after that thing by yourself," I replied stubbornly.
     "You have no obligation to fight this thing," Sage insisted. "It's my fault anyway," he added quietly.
     "You're wrong. I have an obligation to this kingdom and to you. And this isn't your fault."
     Sage was quiet for a moment before switching topics. "We have 6 more days to deal with the naiad, and that's counting today."
     "How strong are naiads?" I asked since Sage seemed to be the nymph expert.
     "I can't say that I've ever seen, let alone fought, a naiad before. But I'm sure a stronger naiad was sent. Naiads are the weakest nymph and are also weaker mythical creatures. I imagine that a single one would be able to beat a few normal humans with iron but I think a handful would probably be able yo take one down, if they work together and attack as one. And I still can't say what the casualties will be."
     "And with magic?"
     "Hopefully one and a bit of iron will be enough."
     I'm not sure I like those odds and certainly didn't like the unsurety in Sage's voice and words.
     "I hope so too, since we still have two more nymphs after this one," I said.
     "And no one else can help us defeat them," Sage added.
     That's one way to put a damper on the mood. Thankfully, we arrived at our destination so I didn't have to think about how badly this could end out.
     Everyone got off their horse's quickly and started getting to work. Sage and I hopped off out horse's as well, leading them by their reins as we walked around. Our first job was to set up tent and a sleeping area for me and Sage.
     Sage grabbed the tent that we had put on one of the iron carts that had space and walked over to a nice, grassy patch under a large tree. "Is here good?"
     I nodded. "Sounds good to me. As long as you makes sure it's clear of roots."
     "You got it-"
     "Don't you dare call me emperor," I interrupted him.
     Sage laughed. "Fine, fine."
     I walked over and tied Starfall and Chestnut to a low tree branch by the reins before I helped Sage put up the tent.
     Setting up the tent and everything inside was pretty quick since it would only be me and Sage who were staying overnight. Sage worked surprisingly quickly and efficiently.
     "You set up a lot of tents?" I asked.
     "Before coming yo Azmar. Occasionally I would set up tents in the woods and sleep outside in my old village. And after that, I spent s lot in time before I found the Pub," Sage said. His voice was surprisingly emotionless as he said the words.
     I wanted to know more about his past and the time period after he lost Lyneria, but I didn't want to drag up painful memories. Especially not now.
     Once the tent was up, we set up blankets and pillows inside do it would be ready for tonight. We planned to work far into nightfall so we wouldn't have time to set it up after setting up the trap.
     "What happens if the naiad comes later than expected?" I asked.
     "Hmm?"
     "You said it would probably attack here anytime between 2 and 4 days so what happens if the naiad takes 4 days?" I asked. We were making preparations at a steady rate for the naiad showing up in 2 days which would place her here tomorrow.
     Sage shook his head slowly. "As boring as it sounds, we'd just have to wait. We don't know the exact time she'll attack and we have to be here when she does. We should find out how long we have when she attacks the second outer ring."
     "Well, an extra day wouldn't be bad. Even if it's only the two of us, we could work on the trap more, fine-tuning some of the smaller details. Or if we just need to rest for a day."
     "Or training," Sage added.
     Now that was something I imagined the Sage in his first journal entries would say. I imagine the threat of Nirvana and the guilt weighed fairly heavily on him.
     Once we finished with the tent, we headed over to the rest of the group who were already laying out the dusted iron. No one had touched the iron rope snare as Sage wanted. He immediately grabbed it and fiddled with it a bit, walking away to ask about the restraints of the material.
     I headed to the iron carts and grabbed two large bags of iron. Bringing the iron just a few feet away, I helped pour it out on the soil.
     We didn't worry about hiding the iron, at least not right now. A large group of knights had been sent into the woods or just nearby to collect leaves, needles, soil, rocks, whatever was near and could cover the iron dust easily. After placing all the dust, we'd begin covering it up. And if that's not perfect, push come to shove, Sage could always use earth magic to cover it a bit more, though we're trying to avoid using as much magic as possible. We're not sure when the naiad will attack or how powerful she is so we want Sage at full stamina going into the battle.
     I continued to help distribute the it on, as I was most useful here with my strength and being able to carry multiple bags at a time. Looking over at him, Sage seemed to be setting up the iron rope along with another knight that he would often ask question about the rope. Surprisingly, they decided to start setting up the snare at the end of the iron field, farthest away from the woods that the naiad would be entering from.
     It was about noon when I walked over to see how Sage was doing. The knight who was with him before was gone and Sage was alone as he tried to tie the snare properly to a tree that was fairly nearby.
     "How's the snare going?" I asked.
     "Could go a lot better," Sage grumbled, grabbing onto one side of the iron rope and climbing up the tree to one of it's higher branches. He wrapped the rope around the branch once, twice.
     "I think that's how a lot of people are feeling right now. Distributing the iron is surprised hard, trying to figure out how much iron should go in one specific spot to minimize the amount of iron but still keeping in mind that it has to have the strongest effect against the naiad as we can get. And I hear the gathering team isn't finding much luck, as many of the trees in the woods don't match those out here in the clearing. The naiads might be cocky but I'm pretty sure they're not that dumb."
     Sage threw the end of the iron rope down to me. "Can you tie that to the stake I drove into the ground?" He asked. I nodded, grabbing the rope and tying it as he asked.
     "Let's hope everything smooths itself out. Or pray we get lucky once the naiad shows," Sage sighed.
     I finished tying the knot. Sage tested the rope to make sure it would be hard to break free from and jumped down from the tree.
     "Let's hope," I said exasperated.
     A knight came up to us. "Your highness, word is that the second outer ring villages were attacked earlier today. Luckily, no one was injured or killed do to the evaluation yesterday but the villages received a lot of damage."
     "Even though we planned for it, it's still troublesome how quick the naiad is attacking. She'll probably be here tomorrow as we expected," Sage observed.
     I nodded at the guard. "Thank you for informing me. Tell me if you get any more information."
     "Of course." The guard bowed respectively before he went back to work.
     "So this just confirms that we must finish everything tonight," I said
     "Unfortunately," Sage mumbled.
     I sighed. "So, how exactly are you setting up the snare?" I asked, changing the subject.
     "Well, I need it to be stronger than most snare traps so I actually didn't set it up as a snare trap. I'm going to reinforce it with some of my gifts," Sage replied.
     "Just don't use too much," I reminded him.
     Sage nodded. "I won't. And don't worry, I have plenty. I should be fine."
     "Whatever you say. You're the expert," I said, putting my hands up and backing off so I could get back to work.
     It was about 4 when we started to cover the iron. We tried to cover as large if an area as we could and it surprisingly took a long time. And covering it up wasn't that much quicker.
     At about 8 we completely finished as best as our abilities allowed. I could tell everyone was exhausted and couldn't wait to get back home. Somehow, a day had turned into eternity. Whether from the working or the anticipation of tomorrow, I'm not sure.
     The nights fell into the same order they were in coming here and took off for Azmar. Sage waited a minute before going back over to the snare to tinker with it with magic. I walked up to him.
     "You think the snare will be strong enough?" I asked him.
     Sage shrugged. "I don't think it'll hold her for long but hopefully it'll work for a few seconds."
     "Hopefully," I repeated. I feel like half of this plan rests on hopefully. I guess the downside to banning magic is you know nothing about defending against it.
     Sage stopped fiddling with the snare and stood up. He looked up at the darkening sky. It got a lot darker here, farther away from Azmar. It was only 8 and yet it was already darker than most Azmar nights at midnight. "I think we should head to bed as soon as we finish dinner. We're not sure when the naiad will attack and if it's in the morning, we want to be well rested."
     "I think any amount of sleep would feel like I was well rested after last night," I mumbled. It felt like so long ago that we woke up that morning, that early, early morning.
     Sage laughed. "Wimp. You talk like you've never pulled an all nighter."
     I laughed as well. "Well, that would be accurate. But I forgot, you're never tired, now are you? Is that some kind of magic too?"
     Sage smiled mischievously. "A magician must never reveal his tricks. Guess you'll have to wonder for an eternity how I do it."
     We walked over to the tent we had set up when we first got here. The cooks has packed us food that didn't need to refrigerate for the day so Sage and I grabbed our bowls of vegetables in chicken broth.
     "It may not need to be refrigerated but it's definitely better when it's warm," I grumbled.
     Sage offered his hand. "Here, give it to me."
     Quizzically, I handed him my bowl. Immediately, Sage's hand flew a faded orange and I could see warm steam flickering off the soup before he handed it back to me. The use of magic startled me.
     Sage's ears burned bright red. "I thought you'd like it warmed up and wouldn't mind," Sage mumbled.
     I stared at him for a second before I registered what he said. "No, no. I mean, thank you. I'm just... A bit new to... Magic still."
     Sage turned away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I should have been more sensitive."
     "No, it's fine. Really. You just startled me," I said quickly. "Your magic is totally fine. I just need to get used to it, that's all."
     I felt terrible for reacting like that. I've seen Sage do magic here and there and I talk about it to him just fine but occasionally it just scared me. But I know Sage and I know he wouldn't do anything to harm me, magic or no, so I shouldn't be scared. And it would also be far too unfair of me to expect Sage to give up his magic just because of me.
     "Know that I have to use magic tomorrow. There's no other way to defeat nymphs. The dryad and maenad as well," Sage said.
     I couldn't think of how to respond. I just didn't know what to say.
     Sage quickly ate his soup after heating it up and stood up, silently starting to walk away.
     "I'm sorry," I said suddenly.
     Sage turned to look at me in surprised for just a few seconds. "I am too. Good night."
     "Good night."