Sin Eater Chapter 5 An Accidental Bluff

Sin Eater

Chapter 5

An Accidental Bluff

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Even though the medical mages had both teleportation and various communication spells,

It still took considerable time to get a response to the scene.

Not because a much quicker response was not possible, but simply because this area of the world was so far removed from any potential threat, that it never occurred to the local barracks that they would ever be needed to be mobilised!

The barracks here were one of the cushiest numbers in the whole Sunite empire!

It took at least half an hour just to find the key to where the crossbow bolts were kept!

When the very green inexperienced Captain finally arrived with 3 units of men,

(This small force included, 1 battlemage, who was a retired seasoned military Battle Mage advisor veteran. One crossbowmen unit and one unit of local volunteer regulars,)

The first thing he noticed was the melted wall, popping and hissing as it returned from both extremely hot high and extremely low cold temperatures, back to the ambient temperature.

He was Captain Mal Wear

This was to be his very first battle!

“Did he do this?”

He barked under his breath at the frightened witness medical mage.

“No sir, we did that escaping from him!”

“Our spells did NOTHING!”

“I have not known anything like that”

“What protection spells did he use?” asked the Battle Mage Veteran.

The Battle Mage was old, and scarred, yet still imposing and for some reason more rugged and good-looking because of his faded scars, instead of despite them.

He was known here only as Old Man Lyal Tooker

He was a war hero many times over from a long career history of the sorts of situations where medals were never awarded because those sorts of missions never officially happened!

He was only an official retired advisor, after officially serving in the magical departments warehousing and bookkeeping centre.

But looking at this very obviously grizzled man of action, It was a very stupid cover story.

“None, Sir” the Doctor Mage responded,

The two officers subtly nodded at each other and took each other aside.

“What do you think?” Asked Captain Mal quietly.

“Means nothing” shrugged the Battle Mage Tooker,

“They are just local civilians. If this is a highly trained behind-line agent then they would have the sort of high-end protection spells that these Flushing clowns would never recognise.”

“Could you recognise them?” Prompted the Captain Mal.

“Under these special circumstances, I can now reveal that before I retired as an advisor, I was a colonel of counter magic training facility, there is nothing he has, that I won’t know a counter for.”

“I thought you were a bookkeeper?”

The older Man's face looked blankly placid except for one single very slightly arched right eyebrow.

They held a brief silent stare!

You do not get to have muscles and get covered in fine faded scars like that working in bookkeeping!

The obvious suddenly dawned on the much younger, though still technically higher-ranking man!

The older man pretended not to notice the younger greener Captain flinch.

“But I am retired now, and I fully respect your superiority and the hierarchy within the rightful chain of command” pre-emptively offered Lyal Tooker,

The Captain gave a very quick nod of grateful acknowledgement, before returning his facial features, figuratively, to stone once again

Less than two hundred yards away, around a corner, just out of sight, The Sin Eater was naively, innocently, asking for a Map in the town square.

With a quick cry, shout, and a march of troops the Sin Eater found himself with twelve light crossbows aiming at him.

Lined up behind there were twelve battle mages, Red wands at the ready!

“FLUSHING CRAP! He is only a child” Hesitated the Captain

“NO! HE IS NOT!” Cried Lyal Tooker the veteran Battle Mage,

“He is just a future puddle!”

“He just does not know it yet!”

The Captain snapped out of his reverie and trusted his advisor’s instinct.

“Crossbowmen!

“On point defence!”

An order given to shoot any horde of undead, monsters or elemental guardians that the, (to his incorrect perception), clearly powerful mage disguised as a child may suddenly summon!

“Mages Let Fly”

Meanwhile, the Veteran Battle Mage Tooker cast immensely powerful counter-magical protections onto his Captain!

The barrage that the medical doctors used in their attack, was as a pea shooter to a mortar attack in comparison, to the twelve battle Mages unit's vastly more powerful and concentrated magical attack!

Thirty seconds earlier.

The Sin Eater was saying to the very weirdly distracted stallholder,

“I only need one old used map; I have no money but can do a bit of work for you! To earn it in exchange”

The Sin Eater flinched as some wet pulp few all over him.

For a second he thought the stall holder had vomited on him.

But he had not.

The pulpy mess WAS the stall holder.

As twelve Battle Mages hit home on a five-foot circle area, centred on the Sin Eater, melting, exploding, imploding, and destroying anything in that circle in many creative and horrendous gross ways, all within it!

All accept the Sin Eater himself!

He was totally unharmed, Physically.

Psychologically though he was stunned and in shock!

He just had the most ridiculous, incredulous, surprised look on his face!

People had gathered around to see this unscheduled and colourful execution.

Including a rather horrified Tug!

As soon as dawned on him what had happened and what the pulp on his face actually was,

The Sine Eater simply ran!

He tried to dodge, duck and weave as he ran even though everything he knew about crossbows meant that he would surely die!

That many crossbows at this rage could never miss their target!

It was a futile attempt, but he tried it anyway!

The crossbowmen all took expert near-point bank aim, waiting for the proper order to fire!

“Hold” commanded the Captain

“Wait for it”

The Sin Eater started running up a nearby hill, his lungs burning with effort!

“Hold” continued the young Captain

He was making the right decision based on the information available.

There was plenty of effective unmissable range left!

Crossbows took quite a time to load in a combat situation where every split second counted.

Much longer than longbows!

Longbows were superior in most ways (except maybe penetration power but at a very short range only!)

But good longbowmen took decades to train up to standard while a crossbowman could be created in only weeks!

He did not want to have twelve good men to be armed with what would effectively, only be unloaded paperweights!

As an automotive response, the Captain's hand went to the hilt of his sword!

He was on the cusp of giving the order to fire!

Tug looked at his brothers.

He felt to his very bones that The Sin Eater was no Satite spy but then again, what he was thinking of doing was treason!

He weighed his personal pride against what was at stake

Considered what he had been given and made a decision,

“Sorry, Sir?!” Tug spoke up,

Nothing happened

“Sir, this is really important!”

“SIR!?” Tug insisted.

The Captain span around with his hilt still on his sword.

The crossbowmen paused for the next ordered prompt

“Yes, kid?”

Tug gulped,

“I wouldn’t bother with those weapons,” he lied “I tried thumping him at the playground not knowing what he was, and everything just bounced off of him!”

“I even threw a heavy stone, and he did not even bother to notice me!”

“I am lucky to be alive!”

“I am lucky the freak ignored me!”

“I think he may be immune to normal weapons as well, sir” Gulped Tug.

“It would make sense,” Interjected the advisory Battle Mage,

“If our harshest magic cannot touch him, what chance do mere swords and crossbow bolts have?” the Battle Mage continued.

Captain Mal scowled

“Then what the hell can we do?!”

“Not much, I’d guess,” spoke up Tug.

“Know your place, peasant,” Snapped the Captain

Tug fell silently back into the crowd, hoping to be forgotten.

“Best we can do for now is fortify our position with our best wards and charms,” Said the battle mage, Tooker.

“And wait for smarter higher-ups to take our report.”

The Captain snapped back,

“BUT! He was clearly reported as having cuts and bruises at the clinic that they could not heal, so he cannot be invulnerable”

“We have no idea what managed to harm him or if ‘it’ is still out there!” Stated the Battle Mage calmly,

“I only humbly suggest that we need far more information first, sir!”

“Do you want to meet the thing that could harm him? Something else out there that all our spells could not?”

“We cannot tell The Palace the true seriousness of this threat if we are all dead!”

“It is our duty to survive, and report.”

“There is NO cowardice in that!” the experienced battle mage finished

The Captain hesitated, thinking,

‘If he is really all that powerful then why is he running away from us…’

And he remembered Tug's words,

“I am lucky the freak ignored me!”

Maybe he was not running away from them, maybe he was just travelling fast away from them! They might, for now, be beneath ‘Its’ notice!

Despite having to give the right order, despite the sound leadership and logical advice of the older battle mage, he could still not help but feel that he was being, at least, still a little cowardly.

“Give the order!” the Captain hissed.

“Which order?” Asked a Sergeant.

“The Poo Flushing, Fortifying position one! Battle mage, set your best wards up!”

With a salute, all the men quickly started busying themselves!

The Sin Eater kept running up the hill, zig-zagging where he could between bushes,

Still sore from the beating Tug had given him earlier!

Wondering in mass panic why they did not just simply flatten him with a load of crossbow volleys!

It was a super easy shot that they could never have missed!