Supreme Magus

"Our scouts have only established the presence of Verhen’s golems and the arrays they fuel. There was no time for further probing because the group relocated to a new city with the DoLorean.

"Our agents lost the Ernas, and we had to wait until gossip exposed their new location to re-establish a surveillance perimeter. Useless to say, we had to start everything over from scratch."

"Patience, Calam, and remember the Gernoff’s creed. One strike, one kill. We don’t fight. We execute. No matter how long and tedious a job may be, it’s only thanks to his meticulous preparations that our forefather failed only once."

The mere mention of Tezka the Suneater upset every Gernoff, but their annoyance showed in such subtle ways that only another Gernoff would notice.

"Jirni Ernas leaving the safety of her haven is already plenty of good news." Jiza steepled her slender fingers. "It’s a change in her pattern, and any change is bound to create openings. It’s up to us to find and exploit them.

"Have our operatives keep the surveillance and recon the area around the hotel with extreme caution. They must not approach the target until they have gauged the full scope of her defensive measures."

"We could infiltrate a couple of agents as hotel staff, and maybe pay a few local thugs to test the waters for us." Calam said.

"It can work on a lesser opponent, but not against Verhen or Jirni Ernas. The golems would slaughter any thugs we sent, no matter their numbers. No one in their right mind would think they have been entrusted with anything but fake intel and bother taking them alive.

"The only thing we would achieve is to alert the enemy of our presence and give them a good reason to relocate again. Sending our agents is off the table. We’ve already lost too many Gernoffs during our previous attempts on Jirni Ernas’ life.

"I won’t risk more without the certainty their sacrifice won’t be in vain. There are only a few of us, and if we suffer too many casualties, House Gernoff will have to close its doors for a generation, if not two."

The Gernoff Household had hundreds of members who regularly had children as part of their duty. Yet the blood of Oghrom flowing through the babies’ veins wasn’t enough to guarantee that any of them would grow into a skilled mage or operative.

All the children underwent the family training from their fourth birthday, but most couldn’t make it through. They either broke mentally or physically, and were judged unfit to enter active duty after they recovered.

Those who dropped out of the training course became Awakened no different from those of the other bloodlines. They became nobles, bureaucrats, and administrators who managed the Gernoff lands, leaving the true Gernoffs free to do their job without worrying about money or politics.

Among the few who graduated from the course, even fewer people were cleared for fieldwork. Some lacked the tactical mind of a true Gernoff, while others crumbled under pressure or didn’t have the guts to do the dirty jobs.

People like that became instructors who led the initial phases of the family training for the next generations from the safety of the Household walls. Their role was to separate the wheat from the chaff and save the real Gernoffs from wasting their precious time.

The number of active field operatives was small, and upholding Oghrom’s standards rarely allowed the number of graduates to exceed a dozen per generation.

Those killed by Tezka on the day of Dripha’s birth and by Jirni on the day of the Gala were elites among the elites. Their loss had dealt two major blows to the Gernoff household, and Jiza couldn’t afford a third.

***

The caravan’s trip proceeded without a hitch, but that was to be expected. They were still too close to major settlements, and the security of the roads was too tight. Any attack was bound to leave witnesses, and it was clear the Larks’ invisible enemy wanted to avoid that.

Moreover, it would have been a pointless risk. The first deliveries barely put a dent in the cargo’s value. They consisted of just a few items the merchants had received last minute and had to drop off to cities along the way.

The truly precious crates were intended for the small villages that had suffered the most from the lack of basic necessities. Keyla was sending her most unlucky subjects not only everything they needed to live comfortably until spring arrived, but also compensation for their sufferings.

’Waiting until the caravan gets deep into the Ghishal’s backcountry is not a smart move. It’s a basic strategy.’ Solus said via the mind link. ’The longer the merchants travel on the road, the more tired they get.

’This damn bad weather is pushing everyone to their limits, but the magicos have it worst. They exhaust their mana during their shift as Snow Throwers, and then they have to help the soldiers when they are supposed to recover their strength.’

’Yeah.’ Lith inwardly nodded. ’The magicos burn their energy twice as fast and rest much less than the merchants. It’s no surprise the bandit raids have been so successful. Whoever planned this, he’s no fool.

’Did you discover anything noteworthy about our travel companions or cargo?’

’No.’ Solus had taken a good look at the crates’ content and the caravan members with Invigoration to bypass any cloaking item or enchantment. ’Regular humans and regular merch.

’The strongest guy here has a green core, but I’m not surprised he failed to enroll in one of the great academies. He reaches the bare minimum mana to cast tier five spells and his talent is unremarkable.

’There’s no way he could learn much in a single day before he ran out of mana and needed rest.’

’Thanks, Solus.’ Lith replied. ’Go back to Kami and the others. I can deal with the rest.’

’Don’t mention it.’ She said. ’I’m going to travel by flight in the hope of spotting a mana geyser. It would make our communications and movements much easier.’

Lith dropped the stone ring on the ground, and Solus burrowed her way out of sight. Once she emerged away from the caravan, she shapeshifted into a small bird and bolted towards Kamila’s signal.

As for Lith, he had discovered the truth behind Gelm’s words first-hand. He never had the same Snow Thrower partner twice, and all the magicos silently challenged him to an endurance contest.

The first to take a break and join the soldiers would be marked as the loser. Lith never formally received or accepted any taunt, but the expressions of his alleged teammates spoke volumes about their feelings.

He didn’t care about coddling their egos, and followed a simple routine.

He peeked at their cores with Life Vision and then did what he was supposed to do. Anyone weaker than his fake bright yellow core was left in the dust, while those with bright yellow cores were defeated with a margin that depended on how much they annoyed him.

He always lost against dull green cores and above, but while his "betters" cheered and toasted during dinner as if they had just become Magi, Lith cared so little about his rare "defeats" that it usually spoiled the mood around the campfire.

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