by Clark Bolton
The effect was instantaneous. The boys eyes which had avoided meeting anyone else's shot to the gold crown that Autbek held out above him. The kid looked to be assessing the coin with an unusually practiced eye for one of his age Autbek thought.
“Will you cooperate?”
“Maybe.” The boy replied defiantly.
“Good! Now we require full cooperation for no less than two days. If you do that you can keep this.” Autbek told the boy as he reached down and shoved the coin into the boy’s shirt.
The kid looked as sharply down with his eyes as he could to check on the coin then looked back up to meet Autbek’s eyes. “What do I have to do, sir?” His tone was only slightly less defiant.
“Nothing but come with us and answer any and all questions as you are able. We will feed you and give you your own bed to sleep in and anything else you need to be comfortable.” He hoped not to be taken too much advantage of on the last part.
“We can’t just let go of him!” The sergeant holding one of the boy’s arms exclaimed.
A brief argument ensued after which they agreed to let the boy up after binding his feet with rope such that he could still walk but not run. They also left a rope trailing behind the boy that was held at the other end by one of the footmen.
As soon as the boy was let up he reached in his shirt to extract the gold mark. Eyeing it further, followed by a bit of chewing, the boy seemed convinced of its authenticity and for now was willing to cooperate.
Walking slowly back to his horse with the others, the smiling Autbek felt like a new man. Like a man who had won some great contest or who had just won the heart of a beautiful princess. He felt like he was a mage!
Sitting on his new and rather small bed which fit his rather small stature just fine the new boy calmly addressed Haspeth. “They give you gold too?” The boy’s name was Castor, and he seemed quite calm after the long walk to the palace under guard.
“What!” Haspeth exclaimed as he continued squinting at the arcane scroll he had been provided. He was only able to just stop the swirling symbols on the parchment after great concentration and of course had no idea what they meant. “They gave you gold!”
Castor shrugged in reply. Now that he had his answer he went back to munching on the delicious cheese and bread they had brought to him. So far the place was awesome.
Haspeth stood up and rubbed his eyes. The scroll was giving him a headache but hearing of gold made him forget that. “How much … I mean gold … real gold … they gave you real gold!”
The younger boy was still covered in dye but seemed not to care as he fended off Haspeth’s questions with grunts and more shrugs as he ate. Their conversation was interrupted when Autbek returned.
“Castor, I’ve come to get that dye off you. It won’t take too long so if you’ll come closer I’ll-” Autbek was cut off by Haspeth.
“Yea … won’t hurt at all” Haspeth exclaimed as he moved to the doorway to distance himself from Castor.
Looking a little concerned now, Castor pushed the plate of food away and asked, “I’m not going to have to take a bath am I?” He looked accusingly at Autbek.
Haspeth jumped in, “Yea a bath it is! Close your eyes and the servants will fly in here and give you a quick bath. You don’t even have to take your filthy clothes off!”
Caster gave Haspeth a scowl and told Autbek, “I don’t need a bath. I can wash up if you want.” When Autbek held up the small mirror he had brought to the boy’s face Castor simply opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue to see it was also blue.
Autbek was a little put back by the boys disinterest in being blue. “I’m taking it off, now hold very still.” he told the boy as he pulled up a chair to the bed to sit on.
Haspeth could not resist, “Yea now close your eyes ‘cause here comes the water.”
Giving Haspeth a stern gaze that he failed to return, Autbek then prepared to cast the cleaning cantrip for what he hoped would be for the last few times. Castor was still obviously confused and concerned as he began crawling backward to the far side of the bed.
“Please, it’s a just a cleaning spell. It will do you no harm and without it you will be blue for weeks.” The boy did not believe him and shook his head no violently.
When Haspeth whispered the word, “Just!” loud enough for all three of them to hear, it agitated Castor to the point where he stood up on the bed and moved to the furthest corner.
“No way sir, don’t touch me!”
“Gods!” Autbek exclaimed to himself. Why didn't anybody trust him? “Ok, maybe it’s a little scary but I used it on me and I used on him,” indicating Haspeth, “and we are just fine, not to mention clean.” The boy just shook his head again.
“Why don’t you give him some more gold, sir?” Haspeth interjected.
“Shut Up!” Autbek blasted at Haspeth, who was really starting to piss him off. “I’ve got other cantrips you know!” he added for emphasis. That seemed to work well as Haspeth then backed up into the corridor and around the corner.
Looking back at Castor he found the boy smirking in Haspeth’s direction. “Well!” he said with authority. He had been commanding servants around all his life, though the Runeholdens treated them with much more respect than here in the palace, and now he figured he needed to treat these two like them.
Castor seemed to deflate a little and then when Autbek indicated he should sit on the edge of the bed the boy did so. With tightly squinted eyes the boy let him cast the first cantrip and after seeing the results and feeling no pain the boy let him finish the job.
Chapter 5
Tenric rubbed his eyes as he shook his head slowly to try and clear his mind. In front of him on a library table was a scroll he had been studying in hopes of solving a puzzle he had been working on for some time. Looking over to Autbek, who had been helping to locate items on the subject within the still largely un-cataloged library, he thought to ask a question of him.
“Autbek, do come and take a look at this.”
“Yes master.” Autbek said as he set aside the scroll he had been looking at. As he looked over his master’s shoulder at the scroll he was surprised at what he saw. “I have never seen these in use before.”
“Nor I, Autbek, and that is why I cannot make sense of it though I feel very much certain it could be what I need.” Tenric then watched as Autbek traced with his finger the arcane-script runes that formed a short set of phrases on the scroll.
“Not understanding, master.” Autbek said as he furrowed his brow. “How could this help?”
Tenric frowned and shrugged. “I admit I don’t know, but that is mainly due to the fact that these runes are some that I’m not familiar with. But I can see that you are.”
“I have never seen them used though.”
“Your modesty is refreshing, Autbek, but I do find myself in situations like this wondering how it is that you know every rune of arcane-script in this library.”
“I was taught them all I guess.” Autbek replied as he wondered why that would be an unusual fact.
Tenric turned to stare at him for a moment before asking once again “By whom Autbek? You never have told me despite the fact your Earl demands an answer.”
“Does he, master?” Autbek said with sorrow. “I’m afraid I can’t give one.” As he said it he pictured the many masters in Runeholden that had taught him things during his childhood. Not one of them he realized knew all the runes like he did himself. Many of them seemed to have a greater grasp of them than perhaps his current master had, though they certainly did not have Tenric’s understanding of the divination arts.
“Hmm.” Tenric grunted, apparently too tired and frustrated to argue the point. “If you can figure out how to apply this, Autbek, I will be forever grateful as will his lordship.”
Autbek thought carefully for a moment as he realized it might be the moment to ask once again what great task his master worked on for the Earl. It seemed to consume more and more of their time but no on
e, included Sterncast, was willing to go into detail about what it was Tenric searched for on behalf of the Earl. All Autbek knew was that the pressure on Tenric over the few months he had been in the mages wing was growing.
“I don’t understand what we are looking for, master!” Autbek said in frustration.
“A calamity, my boy!” Tenric said as he stared off into the distance. “One that is coming but that I cannot see.”
“If we can’t see it, master, how do we know it is coming?”
Tenric softened his mood at that moment. “I don’t see futures Autbek that I think you know by now. I leave that up to soothsayers … and they are most certain something approaches and I’m inclined to believe them.” Rolling up the scroll to take with him he added “I see only the present and that is where this mishap resides, Autbek. It is being hidden from me and this I find infuriating!”
Autbek then watched his master walk away in obvious frustration, leaving him to wonder what such disaster could have the mage and his lordship so concerned.
Autbek had managed to meet with Berdtom once or twice a week for the last several months. His friend kept telling him to have patience and that he should expect letters from his family soon. The time it took letters to get from Runeholden to Astrum varied a lot, with four or five weeks not being unusual.
Lately there had been no sign of Berdtom for several days but Valice did make the effort to inform him that Berdtom was occupied with family business and so would be away for a while. This sounded reasonable to Autbek as he could read it in one of two different ways. Either Berdtom was working to free him of his obligations to the Earl or he was carrying on his normal duties for the Runeholden family, which was the main reason they had made the trip to Astrum.
The first letter that arrived from his mother was heartbreaking but he expected it to be. She was very concerned and stated that several times in her letter. She wrote of how she tried to understand what the Earl wanted of him but could not see why her son could not return home. No mention was made of mages, which was not surprising. He figured the family again wanted no written record of such things in connection with Runeholden.
A letter from his father followed a different path and focused on how proud he was that the Earl found Autbek so valuable as to enlist his services. Only a single reference in the letter spoke of being selective as to communications outside of Runeholden; a veiled reminder of his duty to keep the family “crafts” a secret.
When Berdtom finally did return they arranged to meet in Autbek’s suite, after receiving a message from Valice, he did not realize how much he missed the man until he saw him. Berdtom whisked in with his usual flourish and listened patiently to all Autbek had to say.
“Your time has been well spent it sounds like, O’t, as I think has mine.” Berdtom said while sitting comfortably in Autbek’s waiting room outside the mage’s wing. “Now let us discuss what I have learned.” Pausing for a moment to think Berdtom then leaned forward and whispered. “O’t do you have means to prevent eavesdropping here in this room?”
Thinking for a moment Autbek guessed he was asking if he had scrolls or inks and writing materials to form glyphs. He had done this often enough in the many workshops of his family as they were paranoid with respect to scrying. “No I don’t.” He said softly. “All that kind of materials are kept in the mages wing.”
“No that is not what I mean. Can you cast a spell, here and now, that will prevent scrying. It’s important.”
He thought for a long moment, though he did not want to disappoint his friend he answered, “No, I don’t have such a scroll with me. I know of one but have not studied it to the point where I could cast it. I’ve done similar things in Runeholden but I’m not sure that’s what you’re asking.”
Berdtom stood and gathered up a piece of parchment and an ink bottle. Seeing he needed a quill Autbek located one for him. Saying nothing while he wrote Berdtom then motioned for him to come to the table to read the parchment.
You must learn that spell if at all possible.
Be careful not to leave any trail so you will
have to copy one or memorize it.
Autbek nodded his head that he understood. He now felt a chill run up his spine as he wondered why his friend thought this so important.
“When?” Berdtom asked softly and then indicated that he wanted the reply written on the parchment.
Thinking carefully of what he must do for a moment, he thought perhaps he could do it tomorrow. He had seen the spell books and the lists of spells contained therein and though he had never cast it he guessed from the other spells it was bundled with that he could. Tenric’s two librarians tended to keep spells of similar difficulties together, and if he was not mistaken he actually had used a couple of the spells in that bundle in Runeholden. They were very advanced but not beyond him. As his instructors back home had told him, “Preventing scrying was relatively easy compared to the act of scrying itself.”
Autbek took up the quill and wrote “Tomorrow or maybe the next day.” This seemed to impress Berdtom who then sat back down.
“You have always impressed me, O’t, and all the others in Runeholden.” Berdtom said in a normal tone of voice. “I know I ask much of you but it is for a very good reason as you shall learn.” He pointed to the parchment for emphasis.
Smiling Autbek followed Berdtom’s direction and burned the parchment in the small fireplace. He used a cantrip he had picked up from Sterncast a few days ago that caused the parchment to burst into flame. It wasn't until afterward that he thought of the reaction that might get from his friend.
“Ha! You learn so quick O’t!”
It took him three days to make a copy of the spell from a large spell book he borrowed from the library. The librarians gave him a hard look but they always did that when he asked to borrow one of their precious books. For some reason they considered all the books and scrolls precious. The spell was a long one, though not complex, and after reading it carefully through just once he knew he could cast it fairly safely after he had time to study it more.
It was terrifying at first to open the tome at his desk with Haspeth and Castor lurking about. Not that they yet could tell one spell from another but rather just the fact that he felt like he was doing something dishonest. Sterncast and Lusric never came into the quarters of the three new apprentices which Autbek and the other two thought was because they were a bit snobbish, so no worries there.
He kept telling himself that he was allowed by Tenric to view any of the books in his collection that the librarians allowed him to. A select few were placed explicitly off limits as Tenric considered them very dangerous in the hands of an apprentice. These were tightly bound with special runed ribbons to prevent unauthorized access.
He had not been informed of any restrictions on copying, other than that he was not allowed to give copies to anyone not in Tenric’s service. He was having a little bit of trouble determining if making a copy for use by him to prevent something that could actually affect his master. After all who was Berdtom worried would scry on them. He knew of no one else with the possible exception of Sterncast that would have the skill, Lusric certainly didn’t. That is anyone outside of Runeholden, which made him think weird thoughts about some of his past teachers, but he soon dismissed them.
In the end he made the copy after three borrows from the library. All of it was done at his desk between his other duties, some of which involved teaching Haspeth and Castor. He found he actually liked doing it though it was very challenging. Haspeth in particular, the young man was bright but his sense of humor seemed base and off putting to him. It was not until Autbek helped him write letters to his family and former employer, and arranged a meeting with Haspeth’s mother outside the palace that they started to think of each other as more than just roommates.
Haspeth pledged eternal gratitude to him when he got the reply to the first letter he sent his mother. Autbek was sure that Haspeth’s definition of eternal would
be less than that of a week. The fellow was growing on him though, and Haspeth’s jokes could be hilarious if one forgot the previous nine that were not.
Castor turned out to be much more complex. He was fifteen years old, though he could pass for twelve and he could barely read or write. Turns out he was actually “well-schooled” for someone from his neighborhood. The boy’s family showed no interest in the boy, and when Autbek offered to help deliver that gold mark he gave him Castor was emphatic. “No sir, that will not be necessary.” Autbek let the subject drop after that.
A nightly routine had developed were Castor would sit on the bed and watch him work. It usually involved copying scrolls of arcane-script, which Tenric loved to assign him to do as soon as the mage learned he was particularly good at it. So good in fact did he consider Autbek at copying scrolls that he began to feed him scrolls that were way beyond his ability to cast. He could copy most of them though, certainly better than anyone else.
Watching Autbek work seemed to give great comfort to Castor who was becoming like a little brother; a brother who struggled mightily with mage-craft. The kid had some talent, Autbek was sure of this as he had begun to make sense of the symbols involved in arcane-script, but just seemed not to grasp many of the principles. Things he would have to if he was going to cast any spells. The kid did keep trying though.
On one of many standby tasks, which were those where he mostly attended his master to do things like fetch scrolls or ready reagents and the like, he asked Tenric, “Master when should an apprentice be taught their first cantrip?”
“Hmm, when they are able to Autbek.” Tenric began. “And you can usually tell that by how skilled they are at copying simple spells to parchment. Around two or three years of study for most, a little less for some.”
That was sad, he thought, he could not see Castor making it that long without being so frustrated as to run away. The boy had hinted on the fact many times saying how easy it would be and that he knew just where to hide. When Haspeth reminded him of the scrying bowl their master kept and how easy it would be for Tenric to locate him with it, Castor just shrugged and said, “Well then I guess I’ll have to catch a ship in the harbor.”