Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai

"Brake, brake!" I screamed at Calbern.

"It is fine, master Perth. Everything is under control," Calbern replied, his hand working the heavy shifter with deceptive ease. Before I could object, he pulled the bike into a controlled slide, bringing us to a stop within five feet of our camp, only a small puff of steam escaping the system.

This time.

His enhanced senses and reaction times made Calbern the perfect driver. However, my primitive, merely human, senses had a hard time accepting that. Especially after how I’d died.

"At least the thunking is gone," Tresla offered unsteadily from her seat on the other side of the bike. We were both sitting back and to the side of Calbern, behind the serpent's eye sockets. His seat left him leaning forward, directly below the serpent's upper jaw.

The setup was only mostly uncomfortable and allowed Tresla and I to shoot the blasting rods from partial cover.

Which we'd needed.

It seemed that the lake was a popular gathering spot for the local monster population. That, or they were being drawn to the large amounts of fire mana released by the death of the giant serpent.

Either way, it had quickly become apparent that it was safer to have all three of us on board while testing, as it kept us together and meant Inertia only had to watch one group. Even if neither Tresla or I were as comfortable as Calbern.

"There is still some stiffness when shifting Fang between second and fourth venting positions, master Perth, but I believe it is serviceable," Calbern noted while beginning to undo the many buckles that kept him in place on the bike. Which he'd taken to calling Fang.

"You're not supposed to be… you know what, nevermind," I said as I dismounted next to our temporary camp. My own process was much simpler, only needing to release a single horse leather pair of straps. It said something, I think, that my boots were so much more complicated than my safety harness.

We unloaded the rocks from the trailer we'd been using for our test runs, letting them tumble into a pile near the road. Once that was done, we broke down the camp and loaded the rest of the serpent's skeleton into the back.

Between the bike, the trailer and our experiments, the only part of the serpent we hadn't used or collected was a couple thousand pounds of meat.

Which was the last thing we were dealing with before leaving.

"It's a shame it won't be left alone long enough to decompose and enrich the soil," I said as Inertia shoved against the slab of rock we'd piled the meat on.

It only shifted slightly, so Calbern and I stepped forward to help.

"Inertia would like to remind you that we could stay for a few months to ensure it does break down properly," Tresla said from her position a hundred feet away. "Though I'm grateful you decided not to."

"It's too far from my domain to be useful anytime soon. Keeping the monsters from swarming the high road will be enough for now," I said, grunting as the rock shifted back towards us.

One final shove together was enough to send it skittering away down the steep side of the mountain.

We stood in silence, watching the meat sled crash down the mountain into the forested hill below. It knocked several other rocks loose, and I winced when I realized we'd started a full fledged landslide.

In the chaos, I lost track of the meat sled amongst the other rock, and just stared at what must have been miles of destruction spread out below us.

A set of sharps whistles and some hisses sounded from Inertia.

"Inertia is happy to inform you that the chance of the meat decomposing is much higher now that its been buried with most of the local scavengers who were caught in that slide," Tresla said as she joined us at the edge and looked down. "And good riddance to it."

"Time to get going," I said, brushing my hands off as I stepped away.

When we moved to the bike, my thoughts were still on the landslide though. Most of my domain was mountain. How often was I going to have to worry about landslides?

As Calbern brought us up to speed, my thoughts soon moved to our surroundings. We were still moving slower than even the enchanted carriages of Aranor, never mind a proper automobile. But without a proper wind screen, and with the chill of the high road, it felt much faster. The excess heat pouring off of the bike offset most of the chill, but it lead to a situation where my face was often freezing while everything below my chest was sweating.

An issue we hadn't encountered during our testing near the lake.

Already, I was picturing what I could do to fix it.

I was torn out of my thoughts when I spotted a large gap in the road ahead. At the speed we were approaching, I couldn't tell how long it was, but it was several times as long as the bike, at least.

And Calbern wasn't slowing down.

In fact, it felt like we were going even faster.

"Calbern, what are you… ahhhhhhh!" I cried as he hit a pile of rubble along the side of the high road, launching us into the air.

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"Whooooo!" came the cry from Tresla as my stomach dropped out from under me.

Then we thudded down, Calbern only swerving slightly before pulling us straight again.

"Simply saving us time, master Perth. I knew Fang wouldn't fail us," Calbern's calm voice replied, though I swore I detected a note of satisfaction as well.

I was more certain than ever I had created a greater monster than the one the bike had been fashioned from.

One of utter decorum merged with a burning need for speed.

Despite how Calbern's driving kept my teeth on edge, or perhaps because of it, we made excellent progress over the next several days.

A trip of months was made in a week. We were only a few days travel by foot from the edge of my domain. However, it seemed our open road had come to an end.

"Is that a gate on the high road?" I asked, despite the very clear nature of the wooden gate that stood before us roughly a mile in the distance.

Eagle Eyes allowed me to inspect both the gate and the keep it was part of. There were numerous people on the walls, each of them wearing heavy robes of thick fur and holding bows. Some of them were pointing in our direction, and from their body language, having a rather heated discussion about us.

Inertia set down on the road beside us with a solid thunk, sending whirls of steam floating skyward.

"Inertia claims that the clan guards the only way into your domain. At least, the only way we can travel, if we want to bring the Fang."

"Just Fang, no 'the'. It’s her name," I responded while inspecting the gathered hunters. "Are they hostile?"

"Inertia is uncertain. The keep was abandoned, and in considerable disrepair the last time she came through here."

"When was that? Cause that looks very well maintained to me," I said, taking in the covered walkways that covered seventy percent of the wall. Clearly they had experience fending off flying monsters.

Not a good sign, so close to my own domain.

"She last passed through here a little over a hundred years ago, when she escorted the previous Magus Dominus to his domain," Tresla answered, her pipe tapping against Fang's side.

It took a second for me to process that. When I had, I shifted to look over at the Forgeborn, whose eyes remained fixed ahead. "How old is… you know what, nevermind. How do you think we should handle this?"

"You are the Magus Dominus," Tresla replied so fast I was certain she was speaking for herself.

Still, I didn't hear Inertia whistling her own opinion, so it was likely she agreed with Tresla.

"They will be our neighbors, master Perth. Good relations would serve you well," Calbern noted even as he flared the exhaust, blowing out a wave of steam behind Fang. "That said, if they should prove to be belligerent, removing their threat before they comprehend the scope of our capabilities would be advisable."

"Right," I said, looking ahead. Make peace or kill them. Lots of wiggle room on the left, not so much on the right… metaphorically speaking.

He was right though. Even if we went around, we'd need to deal with them eventually, one way or another. And seeing as I wasn't keen on adding mass murder to my to do list, a peaceful route would be preferred.

Approaching the gathered hunters posed the risk of ending up like a pin cushion. This was the second time on the high road I could've used a magical barrier to protect me from projectiles. Was pretty sure the Shield spell would do exactly that, I just had to figure out what spell I was going to give up to keep it slotted.

As I was considering my options, the gate slowly started to swing open.

To my surprise, several mounted riders spilled out.

They weren't mounted on horses though. No, they rode wolves, even the smallest of which was twice the size of the largest horse I'd ever seen. Six riders in total approached us at a slow walk.

Three of the wolves had dark grey fur, though each had unique white patterns along their muzzle and around their eyes. Their riders all held bows ready, though not trained in our direction. The three were the furthest back, and smallest as well. Next were a pair of black wolves with a single jagged white mark over their right eyes, twins, as far as I could tell, identical in every way. On the twin wolves back were a pair of men with great red beards and spears long enough they'd serve well as lances.

They were lead by a rider on a great white wolf that dwarfed the rest. Where the other riders were bundled tightly in furs, he rode without so much as a shirt, his chest covered in blue-lined tattoos. Instead of a spear, he held an axe that shone with pale blue light.

"Frost wolves," Tresla whispered, confirming my suspicions.

"Be ready to get us out of here," I said to Calbern even as I released the harness holding me in place. Climbing out of the eye socket of Fang wasn't the most dignified position to be starting from. And I knew from running the shop, a certain amount of respect made things run smoother.

Not willing to abandon my ride, I instead sat atop the skull, using the eye ridges to hold myself in place. I continued to study the hunting party as we waited for them to get closer.

The three with bows kept trading glances, while the red bearded men gave Calbern a serious run for most stoic on the high road.

The man leading them had sharp eyes beneath his braided black hair, studying us as much as we were studying them. I wished him luck. The only one he was likely to get anything from was me.

They stopped roughly fifty feet away, which felt like it was practically in biting distance of those giant maws.

"What have the winds favored us with today? Hunters who harness their prey even in death?" the man on the white wolf called out in heavily accented Elinder, raising his hand up then bringing it back down hard on his chest. "Stand and be welcomed among the Frost Riven!"

Those behind him quickly followed suit, though the effect was lessoned by their thick furs.

Seeing as I could do as he said without having to abandon Fang, I stood, returning the gesture.

Before I could think of a response, he continued, "I am Sarpit, First Hunter of the Frost Riven. What names have the honored hunters before me earned?"

This time, it was easy to figure out what to say, "I am Magus Dominus Perth of Althon. My companions are Inertia of the Forgeborn, Tresla the Hidden and Calbern the Implacable." Tresla and Calbern would survive the improvisation.

"A Magus Dominus? Long has it been since one of your kind has hunted alongside the Frost Riven. Will you honor us with your company, this night?"

Glancing down at Tresla, I could see her pursing her lips, but she didn't offer up any advice. Inertia stood up for a second, releasing a soft series of whistles I could barely hear. After a second, Tresla spoke. "Inertia says she's never heard of the Frost Riven but that the previous Magus Dominus may have allied with one of the nearby mountain clans after she left. Most clans were honorable, though some were little better than rapists and slavers. She doesn't know which these might be."

Well… that's not worrying. Glancing down, I saw Calbern nod at me. He would've had to yell for me to hear him over the constant wind and Fang's ambient noise but I could see his hand caressing the shifter, prepared to slam Fang into gear.

I gripped the eye ridge tightly with my left hand as I shouted back, "We only need passage through to my domain. However, if you're offering a warm bed and hot food… well, hard to say no to that."

"As the great cold takes, so does she hold gifts for the worthy! Come and be warm by our fire! Tonight, you shall regale us with the tale of how you slew the beast and bound it to your will!" he called before turning his mount and leading the way back. The others split for him before falling in behind him.

None of them looked back at us, and even the hunters on the wall disappeared from sight.

It seemed they'd decided to trust us.

Too bad I didn't feel ready to do the same.