by Lisa Cassidy
“No danger is expected, and this will be good experience for you,” Rothai spoke into the silence, looking anything but pleased. “We’ll increase your training over the next few days to ensure you’re ready. Any questions?”
“No, sir.” Tarrick spoke for them.
“Good. We’ll add an extra hour to today’s session and I’ll run through the basic theory of forming a protection detail.” Rothai clapped his hands. “Go and fetch yourselves some water and meet me in the mapping room.”
“I’m guessing your grandfather was behind this?” Alyx fell into step with Cario as they walked towards the main hall.
He said nothing, his tight jaw the only visible response to her words.
“I’m sorry.”
Cario shook his head and forced a laugh. “It’s fine. It means we all get a trip to Carhall right?”
“True.” A smile spread across her face. “I’ve never been.”
“You’ll love it.” This time his smile was genuine.
“We’ll also take Lieutenant Caverlock and the militia unit he’s been training to work alongside you,” Rothai told them as they convened in the mapping room. “It’s a perfect opportunity to gain experience working together, and I won’t say no to the extra protection for Master Romas.”
Especially since he’s now saddled with an inexperienced group of second-year apprentices, Alyx thought. He didn’t say the words aloud, but the sentiment was clear enough on his face.
Tarrick raised his hand. “What exactly will be required of us, sir?”
“Your patrol will provide physical and magical protection for Master Romas on the journey to and from Carhall. While there, you will provide ceremonial guard duty during council meetings.”
“And outside the meetings?”
“Security around the mage offices and residential chambers in Carhall is significant. You won’t be required.”
Free time! Alyx thought giddily to herself. All of a sudden she was glad Cario’s grandfather had pulled strings to get them on Romas’s protection detail. A trip to Carhall with her friends promised to be fun.
Chapter 27
Alyx reined Tingo in, her breath steaming in the icy air as she looked around. Despite the cold, it was a cloudless day, echoing the fine weather that had marked their journey since departing DarkSkull three days previously.
Tingo dropped his head to crop at the grass while the ornate carriages carrying Romas and his two fellow council members trundled along the road. Alyx scanned their surroundings from habit, seeing nothing but rolling hills and light forest. Her gaze shifted to the three carriages; the latter two belonged to Masters Yirith and Walden. Based in southern Tregaya, they’d arrived at DarkSkull the day before Romas’s departure, joining him for the trip north.
Of course, Rothai was travelling with them too, in overall command of everyone in the group, but he left most duties in Tarrick’s hands. At Dashan’s request, Rothai had also allowed his unit of Bluecoats to come on the trip.
“As long as the militia command in Carhall don’t mind a unit of Rionnan Bluecoats arriving in their city. Masters Yirith and Walden certainly won’t say no to a bit of extra ceremonial guard, and Romas won’t care either way,” he’d said dryly.
“Alyx?” A voice broke her out of her thoughts.
She turned in the saddle to look at Tarrick, bringing up the rear. “Will you ride down the road a few miles, make sure the way ahead is clear?”
She nodded and tugged Tingo’s head up, urging the horse into a canter along the verge of the road before pulling up beside the lead rider.
“Think your men can handle protecting the carriages for a little while?” she asked Dashan.
“Sure.” He grinned. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m under orders to scout the road ahead.”
“And you want some company?”
“No,” she challenged. “I want a race.”
“You’re on, mage-girl!”
Dashan kicked his cavalry mount into a gallop unexpectedly, leaving her gaping after him. Shouting indignantly at his retreating back, Alyx urged Tingo in pursuit. The big horse burst into a racing gallop, moving so fast that the cold air whipped past her face, blurring her vision and causing tears to stream down her cheeks. Undeterred, she urged Tingo even faster, but Dashan’s mount was one of the finest stallions raised in the Blue Guard stables and while Tingo was able to keep up with him, he couldn’t close the distance.
Ahead of her, Dashan pulled off the road and reined in. He was dismounting as she galloped up and hauled Tingo to a sliding halt. By the time she had the stallion fully stopped and under control, Dashan was already making his way up the high embankment by the road.
“You cheated!’ she accused, clambering after him.
“I beat you,” he shot back over his shoulder.
“What are we doing?”
“Finding high ground, Lady Egalion. From up here we should be able to see the way ahead for quite a distance.”
He was right, she decided when she finally made it to the top of the rise. The rolling countryside of central Tregaya spread out before them, all fields and scattered farmhouses. Out to the west a thick, leafy forest spread to the horizon. Narrowing her gaze, Alyx traced the road they were on far into the distance.
“Looks quiet,” she remarked.
“Yep,” Dashan said, then pointed. “Look, there’s Carhall!”
“You’re imagining things.”
“No I’m not. Look where I’m pointing. You can just make out the shadow of the outer wall—Rodin told me it’s a walled city.”
Alyx stared until her eyes began to water. “I can’t see a thing, especially not the capital of Tregaya.”
Dashan turned towards her and leaned close, staring into her eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for eye problems.” He shrugged. “They look fine to me. They’re quite a lovely shade of green, actually.”
“I’m glad you approve,” she said dryly. “Come on, we’d best get back and report in. Tarrick tends to get impatient when he’s in command.”
“I’m surprised at you.” Dashan spoke again as they reached the bottom of the rise and strolled towards the horses.
“How’s that?”
“You accepting Tarrick’s command so easily. He’s quite lowborn compared to you.”
“He’s not lowborn in Zandia.”
“You know what I mean. He’s not in your sphere.”
“He’s also a more experienced, knowledgeable and skilled mage than I am,” she said. “I think that trumps nobility.”
Dashan smiled down at her, eyes alight. “Is that so?”
She grinned back. “Absolutely. Besides, I’m only looking out for my own skin; he’s the one that’s going to keep us from getting killed.”
“Of course, self-preservation.” Dashan tapped his forehead. “Why would I think it would be any different?”
She laughed as she swung up onto Tingo’s back and picked up the reins. “Race you back.”
Before he could register her words, she’d kicked Tingo into a gallop and was flying back down to the road. She heard him call out, then glanced back and saw his chestnut in pursuit. Still, she was way ahead of him and arrived back at the carriages easily the winner.
“Clear ahead,” she called out to Tarrick.
He frowned at her laughing tone, but nodded. “Keep an eye on our left flank.”
“Yes, sir!” she agreed merrily before turning Tingo to ride around to the other side of the carriages.
Dashan hadn’t been seeing things. Early the next morning, soon after breaking camp, they reached the outskirts of Tregaya’s largest city and passed through the main gates before midday. Alyx did her best to concentrate on identifying potential danger around them, but her attention was continuously distracted by fascination with her surroundings.
It surprised her how different Carhall was from Alistriem. A bustling city, it was both noisier and dirtier than her ho
me, but at the same time full of life and energy. The streets were mostly narrow and cobblestoned, with towering buildings that ran right up to the street, casting shadows over the laneways below despite the sunny day. Yet Carhall avoided a sense of claustrophobia from the tightly packed buildings and dim streets by having large squares of green gardens interspersed throughout the city.
Most of these gardens looked busy even though it was the middle of the day; children played riotously, adults shared picnics or simply sat soaking up the sun, and young courting couples enjoyed each other’s company within the limits of decorum. A passing sign told Alyx that horses were allowed on the streets but not in the gardens, keeping the grass clean and lush.
The city became more overtly wealthy the closer they came to its centre. Cario had told Alyx the king of Tregaya lived outside the city in an estate up in the surrounding hills, not unlike the royal palace in Alistriem. His offices and those of the city and country administration were all situated in the Centre Square of Carhall, though.
“Four days a week he rides into the city to work from his offices—the building they’re in is called the Hub,” Cario added. “It’s an old tradition, a chance for the population to see their king on a regular basis.”
“I assume from its name Centre Square is in the middle of the city?”
“It is, and it’s quite a sight to behold.”
In the two days before they’d left DarkSkull, Rothai had made sure Tarrick’s patrol was well informed of what was ahead. Therefore, Alyx knew that the sitting of the Mage Council was hosted by the king of Tregaya each year, and took place in the most magnificent building in Carhall; the Town Hall, also in Centre Square. In one of their classes, Master Alaria had described it as a wondrous feat of architectural magnificence. Dawn and Alyx had jokingly wondered how much Alaria—known for his enjoyment of architecture—had been exaggerating, but Finn assured them he’d read the same thing in several books.
After nearly a half hour of winding through Carhall’s streets, they turned in to a wide, cobblestoned avenue lined on both sides with beautiful, stately homes. Perfectly spaced willow trees graced the sidewalks, and Alyx caught glimpses of colourful and neatly tended gardens inside the gated properties.
The avenue ran straight, and soon they left the homes behind them as they crossed over another wide avenue; to her left and right she could just make out gold-embossed titles over doors announcing the merchant guild, shipping guild and weavers’ guild.
“It’s a circular avenue that surrounds Centre Square—they call it Guild Street.” Cario appeared at her side. “Every guild in Tregaya has their headquarters on that street.”
“What about the street we’re on?”
“It’s called King’s Avenue. It will take us straight through to Centre Square.”
Almost as soon as he’d spoken, the carriages slowed to a halt before a wide arched gate set into a stone wall. Alyx turned to Cario inquiringly.
“There are four gated entrances to Centre Square, one for each point of the compass, and they’re all guarded,” he said.
“You’ve been here often?”
“Almost every day when I was growing up. You already know my grandfather sits on the council, but my parents work for the council too.”
“That wall isn’t very high,” she noted. “If I stretched, I could almost see over it.”
“They’re nothing compared with the outer city walls,” Cario agreed. “Once you’ve breached those, it wouldn’t take much to get inside this one.”
“Was Master Alaria right? About how wonderful Centre Square and the Town Hall are?”
A smile crossed Cario’s face. “You’re about to see that for yourself.”
The wait wasn’t long, and then they were trundling through, emerging into a wide-open space.
Alyx looked around in wonder—the square was so large she could only just make out the buildings across the other side. It was floored with great blocks of silver-veined grey marble that gleamed so brightly in the afternoon sun she couldn’t look at it directly for more than a few seconds.
People crossed the square from every direction. Despite how chaotic it seemed on the surface, the foot traffic flowed smoothly, everyone appearing to have a purpose. Alyx saw militia uniforms, mage robes and regular clothes amongst them. A unit of militia rode across in front of the carriages, their tack jingling and mixing with the casual conversation of the riders.
“Wow,” Dawn reined in beside Alyx, eyes focused on the square.
“I know.”
“Compared to this, Alistriem is so… so…”
“Small,” Alyx said quietly. “This is amazing.”
“Come on, we’re moving!” Tarrick’s sharp voice caught their attention.
Rothai led the way across the square. As they moved towards its centre, the Town Hall came into sight ahead and Alyx decided that Master Alaria had most definitely not been exaggerating. Seated at the top of what had to be at least fifty wide steps, it towered over the other buildings lining the edges of the square, a series of tall, marble pillars at its front seeming to reach up to the sky. The gracefully arched roof soared at least four stories high, and it, the pillars and window edgings were all engraved in silver and blue marble that gleamed as brightly as the surface of the square.
A small group of richly dressed men waited for them at the base of the steps. As the carriages slowed to a stop, one of them came forward and introduced himself as a senior advisor to the king. Cario rode over to greet one of the men wearing mage robes. Masters Romas, Yirith and Walden emerged from the carriages to be formally welcomed and receive an invitation to a welcome dinner with the king that evening.
Once the formalities were over, Rothai dismissed Dashan and the militia. “There isn’t enough lodging for all of you inside Centre Square, and the councillors will be safe enough here,” he told them.
“I agree, sir,” Rodin responded politely. “Commander Helson has already arranged accommodation for us at the main barracks in the city.”
“Very well. I appreciate your work so far, Captain.”
“Thank you, sir. If you send us a message with your intended time of departure, we’ll be here to escort you back.” Rodin nodded at Rothai, then turned and gestured for his men to begin riding out.
“Come find us if you get the time to slip away.” Dashan winked at Alyx before joining the group of militia and Bluecoats departing.
Third Patrol followed the mages inside and were shown quarters to store their belongings. Alyx found her room small, but well-appointed and far nicer than the room she shared with Dawn at DarkSkull.
“You’ll be required to stand guard during council meetings, which begin tomorrow morning,” Rothai repeated what they already knew. “Meals will be served in a room on the lower ground for all members of the councillors’ protection details. If you miss the serving times, you won’t eat. I will collect you there each morning. Any questions?”
“Are there any restrictions on where we can go in Carhall, sir?” Tarrick asked.
“Provided you are present when and where I need you, no. I will remind you, however, that you are here formally representing the mage order. None of you will enjoy the consequences if you draw the wrong kind of attention to yourselves.”
“Yes, sir.” Tarrick nodded. “We understand.”
They waited until he was gone before turning to each other.
“What do we do now?” Finn asked eagerly.
Cario shrugged. “If you’re interested in a tour of the Hub, I’m sure I could get you in there.”
“I’d love to!” Alyx said instantly, curious to see how this royal family operated.
“There’s a mage library up on the second floor of this building.” Cario told Finn when the apprentice looked less than thrilled at the idea of a tour.
“I’m with Cario and Alyx,” Dawn said. “I view this time away from DarkSkull as a time away from libraries and books and studying.”
“Exactly what
I was thinking,” Jayn echoed.
Finn turned an enquiring gaze on Mika, who shuffled his feet and turned red. “Sorry Finn, I’m with them,” he said sheepishly.
“As am I.” Tarrick clapped Finn on the back. “We’ll meet you back here in an hour or so for dinner?”
“Sure.” Finn sketched a wave and headed off straight away, whistling under his breath.
“How do books make him so happy?” Jayn asked as Cario led them away. “It’s an adorable quality, but one I don’t understand at all.”
“Adorable?” Alyx grinned at her.
“You know what I mean.”
“Sure I do.” She tried not to chuckle.
“You know he’s been working up the courage for weeks to ask you to the festival dance,” Dawn confided with a teasing smile.
“I’m not going to help him out.” Jayn mock-scowled. “He’s going to have to actually ask if he wants me to go with him.”
Conversation faded as they stepped out into the sunshine and made their way across the magnificent open square to a slightly smaller but equally ornate building directly opposite the Town Hall. Small fountains splashed merrily on either side of the set of steps leading to the entrance doors. A warrior mage and three militia stood guard, but their postures were relaxed. The mage recognised Cario instantly.
“Apprentice Duneskal.” A thick beard wiggled as the man smiled broadly. “What brings you to Carhall in the middle of the DarkSkull year?”
“Warrior Chestin.” Cario smiled politely. “My patrol was chosen to escort Master Romas here for the council meeting.”
“Ah. A result of your grandfather’s meddling, no doubt?”
“No doubt,” Cario said dryly. “These are my patrol-mates. I’d like to give them a tour of the Hub, if that’s all right?”
“Fine with me. The king’s in today though, and he’s entertaining a delegation, so you’ll need to steer clear of his private meeting rooms.”
“Can do. Thanks, Chestin.”
The air inside was cool and dry, the floors a rich oak that creaked under their feet. Sun shone through windows high in the wall, casting the multi-coloured tapestries hanging there in shadow and light.