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Broken Mage 3 Revised

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The men were slung over each of the woman's horses. The beautiful steeds bay coats shimmered in the sun's light. The horses galloped at a quick pace as they headed toward the grandiose palace of Sycro.

Zara sighed, groaning as each time the hooves touched the earth his body seemed to bounce and be jostled, "Did we have to be tied up this soon? Couldn't we have waited until we were a little closer to the palace?"
Naudia shook her head slowly, "No. They have guards hidden everywhere. We can't take the chance that they see us all traveling together. That would ruin everything."
"Wait a second..." Zara began, "...if they have all these guards hidden around wouldn't they see us trying to stop the messenger going to the palace?"
"Well normally on weekdays they don't send them out here on this short stretch but I didn't want to take any chances. We only have one shot at this."
Zara sighed once again, "I guess it's better to be safe, then."
Naudia glanced down at him before returning her gaze up and alert, "I'm sorry, Zara. Please try to hang in there just a little longer."
Zara nodded a little. Sympathy and empathy now, he thought. The more he was around this woman, the more she surprised him; the longer he was around her, the more he thought his first impression of her as a cold-hearted woman was wrong. "Have you ever been there before? To this palace?"
"Only a couple of times. As I said before, it's a large database area for the most part. Soldiers, machine or otherwise, are out on the field rather than in some building with paperwork."
"They really don't see the need for many humans, do they?"
"You don't know the half of it." She sighed softly, "We really need to find this messenger, and fast."

Luz ran her horse to the side of Naudia, the tip of her horse's nose parallel to Naudia's horse's rump. While Naudia and Zara had a bit of small talk between them, Luz and Aiden's trip had been mostly quiet.

Aiden finally broke the silence and grumbled, "Why do I have to be stuck on this horse with--"
"Watch it!" Luz quickly responded back, looking downward at Aiden enough to give him a quick glare.
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just would rather be over there, riding with Naudia."
"Why? So that you could get your grubby little perverted hands on her?"
"Yes." He blinked then shook his head, "Wait! No! That's not what I meant!"
Luz chuckled softly, knowing that the truth was probably a mix of both answers. "She must mean a lot to you, huh?"
"I'm fascinated by her. She'll show you a lot. You think you've seen everything she's capable of and everything she can do, but then she'll turn around and surprise you showing you something new. Even back there with the boy, she was supposed to have no magical ability left yet she was able to fire off a flare spell. It's like somehow the rules don't apply to her. Any barrier she can break. And the way she acts...she first seems so callous but then she's..."
"One of the nicest people you'll ever meet." Luz smiled, finishing what she knew he was about to say. "I know. Those she cares about, she'll protect with her life. She's got a strong heart and she's taken on such a great burden by herself. That's why I'll help her no matter what she needs, to lighten that load for her."
"Whatever she needs, huh? So...have you and she ever...y'know?" He grinned up at her slyly.
"What?!" Taking one hand off the reins, she used her free hand to punch him in the side. "Pervert! From now on just stay silent!"

They traveled a short while before Naudia squinted her eyes up the road. She spotted a figure on horseback. The messenger. They had to make this quick. Naudia looked back at Luz, motioning upward toward the messenger. Each of the ladies gave their horses a light kick, giving slack to the reins to speed up to a full gallop. The two ran nearly side by side now, as though in some kind of horse race with the speed they were traveling.

"We're going to be running it close!" Luz shouted over to Naudia
"I know! I know!" Naudia responded, yet she knew this was their one and only chance.

Before either of the ladies could do anything or fire any kind of shot at the messenger, an object traveled at quick speed hitting the messenger with enough force to knock him off of his horse. Naudia and Luz were both shocked and caught off guard. They pulled back on the reins to slow their horses into a stop.

Naudia was the first to dismount in order to investigate. She walked over to the man and blinked, quickly taking notice of the arrow slung through him. Her fingertips touched over the silver arrow, then to the area of impact as Luz walked over as well.

"An arrow straight to the heart. A quick death, but more importantly a highly accurate shot."
"Who could've done this though? Or would've?"

After looking at the arrow, Naudia had a thought. She stood back up slowly, looking around them to see if anyone was nearby or if they were being followed. It took only a moment to spot a woman on a small hill a distance away. The woman sat upon her dapple gray horse. Her hair was long and silver, completely opposite of her small black lace hat which sat on the side of her head, her black pants and knee-high riding boots. Her top was long and white, laced and tied in the front. The woman's lavender eyes fixated upon Naudia. Before Naudia could begin to comprehend if the woman was an ally or enemy or what the woman would do next, the mysterious woman returned her bow to her back, turned her horse away from them and took off.

"Who was that?" Luz asked
Naudia shrugged her shoulders lightly, "Don't really know. I guess we can chalk this one up to a stroke of good luck."
"And what about him?" Luz looked over to the messenger.
"I don't think we have to worry about that. They know we aren't archers, we're mages. So this won't come back on us. Hell, even if any of us were archers, none of us are even that skilled."
"I...I guess that's true."

The two remounted their horses and continued on their way to the palace. The rest of the ride was rather quiet. They were all mostly confused about what had happened with the messenger and what was going to happen once they arrived at the palace.

As soon as they arrived at the palace's gates, they halted their horses. Naudia spotted the two guards standing watch on the towers on either side of the gate, the entire palace surrounded by the large walls.

"Halt! Make yourselves known!" The left guardsman spoke
Naudia glared upward at him, "Who DO you think you're talking to? I am Naudia Artisban! Grand Mage to the mighty empire in Warhall!"
"T-The Naudia?" The right guardsman spoke. He looked over at the other guardsman, each of them looking shocked and scared. "W-we'll open up the gate right away!"
"Wait a second..." the left guardsman started, "...what is it you've got there?"
Naudia looked down at Zara, then looked over to Luz and Aiden before looking back to the guard, "Them? We found them wandering around the palace walls. Rebels, no doubt. We left them alive so that they could be interrogated for information later."
"Very well then. We will..."
"That's not necessary." Naudia interjected. "Assistant Mage Luz and I will take them down into the prison cells before we continue our business here. Afterall, if you two missed even seeing them wandering around the palace walls, who knows what else will go awry when you try locking them up."

The guards gulped. They didn't want to take the heat for messing up, figuring it was better if someone else took the blame if something happened. The gates opened up for Naudia and Luz slowly, the pair walking their horses through it before dismounting. Making Zara and Aiden walk in front of them as their "prisoners", they walked their way downward toward the basement prison cells. Naudia placed the two into a cell together, untying their arms and shoulders from the restriction of the rope.

Luz smiled and stretched her arms from the long horse ride. "Man that went better than I expected. I didn't even have to say who I was or why I was with you to get them to let us in here. We didn't even have to say why we were here or what our mission was,just hearing your name was enough to make them wet their pants."
"That's just how scary of a woman Naudia is." Aiden added in, rubbing his arms a little from where the rope kept him tied.

Naudia looked over at Aiden, walking to the cell wall. She motioned him over to her. Aiden blinked slightly but walked over to her regardless. Naudia reached in with her left hand and grabbed him by the collar, using her right hand to punch him in the face. The impact from the hit along with releasing her grip on his collar made him stumble backward, though he kept his footing.

"Oww! What was that for?!" Aiden grumbled as he rubbed his nose.
"If you want to call me scary, I'll show you just how scary I can REALLY be." She let her anger subside as she focused on their mission. She shook her head lightly, "Luz will come with me. We won't be long. You two try to find something to entertain yourselves with while we're gone. And don't do anything stupid." As she spoke the last sentence, she looked over at Aiden.
"Why are you looking at me?" Aiden responded.
Naudia gave him no response, instead saying, "Come on Luz." She turned and walked away, heading up the staircase.
Luz followed behind her, wondering now, "So what are we looking for while we're here?"
"There are a few things I want to know about the other grand mages. This is the only place I can think of that would have that kind of information."
"Other...? Are...are you saying there are others like you out there?"
Naudia nodded slowly as they continued down the hallways, "There are some left out there. There use to be a great number of them roaming around. However the number of grand mages has decreased greatly over the last two hundred years. Also taking into account the average human lifespan, it's unlikely many of them are even alive anymore. We live a bit longer than humans but not that much longer."
"But what about...?"
"I'm different. I thought you knew that much about me, Luz. The one who summons the white phoenix will rise again like one, even when defeated in battle. That is....when they're able to summon it." Naudia sighed softly
Luz could sense Naudia's change in expression, even if she couldn't see her face. "Hey now, don't worry about it. You'll definitely be able to summon the white phoenix again. I know it."
Naudia nodded slowly, quickly changing the subject, "Anyway, I also want to check on a few of the new mercenaries the empire has hired recently. I have a gut feeling about something, let's just hope that I'm wrong."

Naudia opened a door and walked inside with Luz. Luz was amazed at the large database room. It almost looked like a giant library with shelves upon shelves of books. File cabinets lined the left wall and there was a row of computers upon the far right wall. Naudia flicked on one of the computers as she sat down in a chair in front of it. Luz could hear the clicking of the keys but she wasn't sure of what exactly what she was typing. Naudia would ask her here and there to grab a certain book or file number. She wasn't sure what Naudia wanted to look up but she was happy to help out. Naudia went to reach for a book beside her on the desk when an explosion was felt in the palace walls.

Luz blinked, "What was that?"
Naudia sighed, "Don't tell me those two went and did something stupid. Well...guess I'm done with my research here, then." She turned off the computer and put away the books that sat on the desk.

Naudia and Luz hurried out of the database room, rushing back toward the staircase. Running down the steps they arrived back at the basement prison cell area.

Zara stood up from his seated position on the floor upon seeing the two women, "Finally you guys are back. What's going on up there?"
Luz looked around, seeing the area undamaged, "We thought it was you two down here doing something."
Aiden stood up from the small cot he was sitting on, "Well no matter who or what it was, we'd better get out of here before they come down here and start blaming us for it. We were prisoners, afterall."
Naudia nodded, "You're right. But we did come here for more than just some information, so let's..."

Before she could continue her sentence, another explosion sounded in the palace. This time, however, it was in their prison cell area. The explosion created a large hole in the wall. Everyone shielded themselves with their arms and waved away the dust soon after. After a bit of the dust cleared, Naudia saw a figure in front of them. It was the same silver haired archer woman who'd killed the messenger.

The woman aimed her bow toward Naudia and Luz, motioning her head sideways for the two men. "This way. We'll protect you from these two."
Zara shook his head, "It's not like that. We're all together. They were just pretending so that we could all sneak in here."
The woman raised a brow slightly, "An act? So you all are fighting against the empire too?"
Aiden stepped forward a little, "Look miss, we'll have plenty of time to explain things once we get the hell out of here. The longer we stay here, the more likely it is we're all gonna get caught."
The woman nodded, "He's right. We'll provide you a path out of here into safety."
"Uh...we?" Luz asked
"He said there'd be plenty of time to explain later. Let's go." She walked out through the hole in the wall that was created.

Everyone followed after her, stepping out through the hole in the wall. Naudia was the last one out but stopped herself after walking out a few steps. She tossed a few bombs into the hole creating a loud explosion. She reached into her satchel, pulling out a note, securing it under a rock nearby. Luz and Zara were already on the horses that Luz and Naudia rode into the palace with. The woman and Aiden were on white horses which Naudia assumed the woman brought. Aiden reached out to Naudia as she approached, handing her the reins of a horse she could ride. Naudia mounted and they all followed the woman through forestland. It was lucky they had this woman to lead them through the thick woods. It seemed like it'd be very easy to get lost there. They rode for about ten minutes before arriving at a secluded village area.

The woman stopped her horse and dismounted. An attendant walked over immediately, taking hold of the reins. "Don't worry about them, they can stay. They may be of use to us against the empire. Make sure they get food and drink and take care of their horses as well."
Just as the woman was about to walk away, Naudia interrupted, "We're grateful for your help, make no mistake about that. In fact without your help, I'm not sure how we would've gotten out of the palace or...into it for that matter. However, we have no intention of joining your group."
The woman looked at Naudia, "Why not? We're all after the same goal, aren't we?"
"Going against the empire is a task I've taken on personally. It's going to be very difficult and there may even be lives lost. Sorrow and bloodshed are all that lie ahead. I'd never ask anybody to join me on that journey. Nobody deserves that kind of future."
The woman scoffed lightly, motioning behind Naudia toward the others, "Then what about them?"
"They joined me of their own free will. Even if I asked them to let me do this alone, I doubt they'd listen. Even if I went into hiding or went to the ends of all of Sarhan, I'm sure they'd still find me in order to help me out."
"And why should they? What's so special about you to make them risk their lives for you?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask them." Naudia said as she walked to a nearby tree, looking out into the forest.
"Even if you won't join us, my offer for food and drink still stands. We also have some weapons and armor. It's not much but it's better than what you've got now."
"Name."
The woman blinked inquisitively, "What?"
"Your name. What is it?" Naudia asked, still staring mindlessly into the forest.
"Vionna Klarksbac. Leader of the Silver Archers." She answered just before walking into the village, stepping into one of the huts.
"Silver...Archers?" Zara asked, "What's that?"
"They're an elite group of archers..." Naudia began, "...who always use silver bows and arrows. Excellent marksmen who never miss their target. Their leader and founder was eventually killed by the empire and ever since then they've always fought to get revenge against the empire. Some people say that they always lose because of their goal of revenge, a far cry from their founder's true wish."
"Wait a second, the Silver Archers?" Luz interrupted. "Didn't we have a mission awhile back to find their base and eliminate them?"
Naudia nodded slowly, "We did, but..."

She closed her eyes and thought back. She remembered the battle clearly. Most of the empire was fighting dirty, not caring if it was a man, woman or child. Taking their goods, playing with the corpses. Burning down their houses. Naudia hated all of it. She'd never take part in those kind of tactics, especially against an enemy which had done very little to actually harm the empire. She healed all the archers she could, giving them a stockpile of potions and provided them a means to escape so they could live and perhaps later rebuild and thrive.

Naudia opened her eyes and shook her head a little, "It just didn't work out as they planned."
Aiden stepped forward, starting toward the village, "Let's just get supplies and go."
Luz blinked, "Well that's not like him. What's gotten into him?"

Naudia turned around, leaning against the tree now, watching as the others followed Aiden into the village. Though Naudia didn't answer Luz, she knew why Aiden was so angry and wanted to make this just a quick trip. It had to do with a mission she and Aiden worked on together. They had run into the archers before. Naudia refused to attack. They demanded their horses and supplies, which Naudia handed over. They hit, kicked and punched her. They wanted to show their superiority over anyone who worked with the empire. Naudia stood and took it, refusing to defend herself or attack back. They went on their way after a few minutes. Aiden didn't understand why she let them treat her that way and take their things. Naudia explained everything to him - how it was the empire's fault for killing their leader and starting the war between them. How she did nothing to stop it even though she had the power to do so. She explained that was why she healed them and helped them to escape to try to repent for those mistakes. Aiden was upset that in the years since, they always treated her like dirt and even now there was no sign of appreciation for what she'd done for the archers. Naudia didn't care and quite honestly she figured the old leaders who knew the story were long since dead and the story of her helping along with it.

Naudia headed into town to join the others. They each gathered a bit of weapons and armor, along with a few items. To appease Aiden, Naudia tried to make their trip quick. They were just about to leave when Vionna rushed out from the hut.

"Wait!" Vionna shouted
They all stopped and looked back. All except Naudia.
"What is it?" Naudia asked
"Why didn't you tell me that you were Naudia Artisban?"
Naudia sighed softly, closing her eyes, "Would it have mattered?"
"Of course it would've! My mother always told me stories about how you helped her. She also told me about how you helped the archers to escape and how it was all thanks to you that there were any archers left now. I know you said you'd never ask anyone to join you, but please allow me to come with you."
"I told you before...."
"I know what you said. You also said the others joined you of their own free will. So I will too. There's no talking me out of it now. You'll probably want to head for the military base at Charheim. If we can take that out, the empire will be scrambling for awhile to defend itself. It'll open up an opportunity for us to attack or at least sneak in closer to them."
"I guess there's no point in trying to talk you out of it then. Very well." Naudia opened her eyes, "Let's go everyone. We're heading straight to Charheim. We'll be making no stops."
New party member get...who has a connection to Naudia (seems like everyone does except Zara). But what is the paper Naudia left behind? ;) 


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