The Rogue Sorcerer: The Caldronian Guild : Book 2

by Andrew G. Wood

  Mia was content to stand and listen as the two people who had just aided her escape, hugged as they were reunited together. Noticing the newcomer was a young woman she assumed the two must be an item, and decided on second thoughts that the man was probably not as good looking as she had first thought. Before Mia had chance to ask any questions she was quickly told to follow, as her two mystery helpers darted off into the darkness, “Come on,” one of them said as she decided she had little to lose by doing so.

  After stumbling a few times, and nearly dropping her rucksack she followed through a small gap in the far wall of the room they were in, before having to crawl through an even smaller one on her hands and knees. Thinking this was getting ridiculous she was surprised to see her two new allies finally stand back up, and was glad when one cast a small globe of light so she could finally see properly.

  Mia firstly looked at the faces, the young man who held the small globe of light in his hand, she thought was actually quite attractive. With short fair hair, clean shaven and a smile that she thought lit up the room, he introduced himself, “I am Gallien,” he said, holding out a hand in greeting.

  “I am Kala,” said the ordinary plain looking woman with long dark hair, tied at the back with a bow. Mia immediately thought how unattractive this woman looked, with her pointy nose and chin that looked so unproportioned to the rest of her face.

  “I am Mia…” she said about to ask why they were helping her, when Gallien cut her off short.

  “We know…We had trouble finding you,” he replied before suggesting they move. Kala suggested they make their way from the city, “We should take her to Fennick, he will want to see why the guild was so interested in her.” Mia was forced to listen as the two had a complete conversation all about her, despite the fact she was stood right beside them.

  Wondering how exactly these two planned on getting out of the city she wanted to see. Her own idea of dressing up in civilian clothes had only gotten her so far, and now the city guard and guild knew she was still on the loose they would surely step up their search. Moreover, all of the entrances in and out of the city would now have an even heavier guard than before.

  Deciding to remain silent, Mia followed Gallien and Kala through a hatch in the floor and down a set of stone steps. Using the globe of light still held in Gallien’s hand to see where they were going, the group were forced to move single file as they squeezed down a long narrow tunnel. “We are deep under the city,” Kala said turning back to check Mia was still following them.

  Mia lost all track of time as they appeared to walk along endless narrow passageways, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Although she could barely see the ground, she could tell by the noise of her feet that it was wet, as she felt another droplet hit her face from somewhere up above. “These passageways were apparently built hundreds of years ago, as a means of escape in an emergency,” Gallien shouted back over his shoulder. “Only we use them now,” he added, making Mia wonder exactly who ‘we’ was.

  Eventually she was forced to stop as those in front of her did likewise. “Our exit!” Kala said although she didn’t bother to turn and face Mia when she spoke. Gallien pulled a few wooden planks aside, and Mia could at last see some modicum of daylight ahead of her as they led her into what she perceived to be some kind of cave. “Are we out of the city?” she asked looking around at her new surroundings.

  “By quite some way,” Gallien replied although Mia noticed Kala roll her eyes back as if what she had asked was blatantly obvious.

  “So exactly who are you people?” Mia finally enquired as they walked out into the open air. She noticed they were in some kind of dense woodland, although could see a well-trodden track leading through the trees ahead of them. It was Gallien who once more spoke, giving her the answers to her question. Both he and Kala were sorcerers, just as she was, although neither had actually ever been part of the guild. Before Mia could ask how they had known they were magical, he explained that as well.

  A man named Fennick was apparently their leader, and it was he who had shown them both, as well as numerous others, how to find their magical source. This Fennick had once been a member of the guild although over twenty years ago, and had been forced to flee after an incident. Mia did not ask what the incident was, but could probably hazard a guess as to what it might have been. She was quite surprised to hear that there was in fact a small community of sorcerers all living out of Surmont, in some kind of commune.

  “Don’t the guild hunt you down?” Mia asked actually quite interested in what she had just heard.

  “They try to track us…as they will now we’ve just helped you, but they’ve not had any luck as yet,” Gallien replied sounding quite proud of the fact. Although he did tell her that they had lost several members in the seven years he had lived amongst them. “It is not in the city we have lost them, it’s out in the countryside. Those rangers are relentless when they get a sniff, ruthless in pursuit,” he added letting the sentence peter out.

  Mia pondered, thinking it almost preposterous that a ranger could possibly have the skills to outwit and kill any sorcerer of even the slightest skill, but let the thought go unmentioned. She did however have something to say as she was led through a gap in the trees and into a large clearing. “Wow!” she uttered, astounded at what she saw.

  There were several timber built buildings, and although it was clear they were crudely built, the sight was no less impressive to behold. She noticed several people walking around, although her appearance soon had them moving over to where she was stood. “Hello” she said just waving her hand a little, not quite sure what else to say. “Is this the one?” she heard someone say, “Don’t know!” another said in reply.

  The small crowd soon parted as a man Mia thought looked older than everyone else stepped into view. “Is this the one being hunted in Surmont?” The man asked in a deep voice.

  “She was, we even had an exchange of blows with one of the guild masters to get her free,” Kala added. Mia noticed the man in question was clearly not as impressed with those words as some in the small crowd appeared to be. “You were not followed?” he then asked in a firm tone, suggesting as much.

  Gallien explained they had given their pursuers the slip, and used the tunnels to escape the city. “Hmm, I am sure the rumours in the city were of a young man, this is clearly a young woman…No matter, come on, I want the full story. Oh I’m Fennick by the way,” the man said gesturing for Gallien and Kala to lead the way. Mia gave a rather bashful grin, before following onwards, thinking who it was they were actually after.

  It only took a few moments before she realised, “Leo,” she uttered under her breath.

  “Sorry,” Fennick replied as he waved his hand for the others to disperse.

  “Leo... You are after Leo…he was on the run a few weeks back, but things kind of got hushed up I guess and after the city was attacked he turned out to be some kind of hero I think,” she added, finding it hard to recollect things from that moment in time.

  Mia looked at the man called Fennick, before glancing to Gallien and Kala who had both stopped walking, “Oh how disappointing,” the latter said, “So why were they hunting you down?” she added.

  Mia just shrugged, “No idea,” she replied genuinely finding it difficult to recall recent events. Memories from more than a day or two ago seemed somewhat hazy and confused, and the further she went back the worse that appeared to be.

  “It does not matter, you are with us know,” Fennick interrupted suggesting they head indoors.

  Chapter 7.

  Leo sat quietly as he watched the two new apprentice recruits. Although they had been instructed not to teach any of the new members how to find their source of power, Mason had taken it upon himself to do just that. Despite Samuel initially being angry with the three guild sorcerers, he had relented, accepting what was done could not be changed. He did however give them all a strong warning, that if the two newcomers turned out to be not
suitable, it would be up to Jake, Mason and Leo to rectify the problem.

  As it was both Deana and Carlton, the new recruits, had both successfully located the source of power that was needed to become a sorcerer. Only present in a small number of people, if it was not found and utilised by a certain age, which seemed to vary from person to person, it merely disappeared. Due to the guild not wanting people to find their magical source unintentionally, although apparently it did happen occasionally, the method on how to do so was supposed to be kept secret amongst those in the guild.

  Carlton as the younger of the two, seemed to be something of an unpredictable character, and having been shown how to find his magical source felt he no longer needed to be told what to do. Leo, up until now at least had watched on from afar, as his two friends had started tutoring their new guild apprentices, despite their own skills being somewhat novice at best.

  Leo decided to move a little closer, noticing that Carlton was not adhering to what he had been told, that being he should only use his powers under supervision. With his hood down, revealing his young face, he stood over the pair of them, “What are you doing? You do not use your powers unless told to do so,” he said trying to give his voice an air of authority. It clearly did not work as Carlton scoffed, “I am going to be a great sorcerer,” the youngster said showing just how mentally immature he was. “I do not need you to tell me what to do,” he added with a clear show of dissent.

  Leo took a deep breath, “I am a king’s Sorcerer,” he said showing the marking on the sleeve of his robe, “You will do as you are told.”

  It was clear Deana was won over and immediately apologised for any misdemeanour she may or may not have undertaken, Carlton however was not. “I am a sorcerer…see,” he said producing a rather pathetic flicker of light on his palm. “Master Jake has told us how to search for power in others…and well I don’t even detect any in you,” he declared rather boldly.

  Leo smirked, he had actually had the same problem detecting his own power source, but that was because he was different, very different. It was apparently clear that Carlton was only going to be brought back in to line by a show of power, and Leo decided to do just that. At first he thought about firing several blasts of energy at the nearby tree line, but decided on something much better. “You will do as I say,” he said firmly waving his hand and concentrating.

  Carlton found his arms pinned to his side, and let out a cry as Leo threw up a shield tightly around the youngster. “Now do as you are told!” he said actually feeling far less confident in his powers than perhaps he was trying to demonstrate. “Stop it…You are killing him!” Deana cried out as her fellow apprentice clearly struggled for breath. It took Leo a few moments to decipher what was being said, before finally cutting his own power off, and watching Carlton slump to the floor.

  The screams had the others running and it was Sasha who arrived on the scene first, immediately crouching down to check on Carlton’s wellbeing. She looked up at Leo, “What did you do to him?” she snapped aggressively.

  “I just shielded around him,” Leo replied rather taken aback by her response, “I just wanted to scare him a little.”

  As the others started gathering around, Samuel looked sternly at Leo, clearly not impressed by what he had done. “Mason take Deana away and calm her down will you,” he said firmly, “The rest of you back off and give Sasha some space.”

  Leo stood as his head dropped, as he watched Sasha place her fingers on Carlton’s neck, before checking in his mouth and rolling him gently onto his side. After several prods and pokes down the boy’s back and chest, she finally stood and glared Leo’s direction. “Scared him, you almost squeezed the life out of him, I think he might have a few cracked ribs, but I don’t think it is anything more serious than that,” she said with a look of disgust on her face.

  Samuel placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder and suggested they move away from the group. Only when the warrior thought they were out of earshot did he speak. “Leo what processed you to do such a thing…Please...I know you have problems with your control but this…,” he said not letting Leo answer the first part. Leo had the look of a fallen man, “I didn’t mean to hurt him…I just thought I was helping.”

  “How is squeezing the life out of a boy helping anyone?” Samuel hissed. “Just leave any teaching to Jake and Mason. If you think there is a problem with one of the new apprentices come and see me…Don’t try to sort it yourself…Understood?” he said with a raised voice. Leo just nodded, “Yes Samuel,” he replied, “Sorry,” he whimpered.

  Once Deana could see that Carlton was alive, she calmed down quite quickly, although the look of fear on her face as Leo walked by was clear to see. Sasha asked Kenton to carefully lift Carlton onto the back of one of the wagons, where she would keep a close eye on him for a little while just to make sure there were no complications. The youngster had regained his normal pallor, although his breathing was still a little raspy sounding giving Sasha cause for concern.

  With the hours of daylight fading and the next town on their list coming up, Samuel made the decision not to travel much further and give everybody time to settle back down before carrying out another recruitment in the morning. Alec had been strangely quiet and only when Samuel had enquired as to why, did the young Literary Apprentice reveal the town they were approaching was very near to his home. Apparently his family owned a large house just outside the town a little further west, about a mile or so further on, but their route would see them pass north. “It just feels a little strange being so close to home, and not seeing any of them again,” Alec said sounding a little deflated.

  As the sun set low in the evening sky, Samuel had them all setting up camp, still a few miles short of where he wanted to be. He explained to Alec that although he would have liked to have gone and set things up in the town that evening, they would have to do so in the morning. He hoped that news might have travelled before them that a group from the guild was recruiting and heading their way, and when they arrived there might just be a few ready for selection.

  Leo sat alone, away from those he thought of as his friends, even those in the group that were there just to drive the extra wagons and help out. He ran the events of earlier over and over through his mind, admonishing himself for being so stupid. He was beginning to think his skills in shielding had improved since the extra lessons with Daron, apparently after today’s incident they had not.

  Leo glanced over at the group sat around the camp fire some thirty paces away, glad at least to see Carlton finally up and sitting with them. Since the incident and subsequent ticking off from Samuel, nobody had so much as spoken to him, not even Sasha. The ranger seemed far more preoccupied with caring for Carlton, and as Leo had been responsible for the injuries, he supposed he should be grateful for her help.

  Jake and Mason currently had their hands full with Deana, as the young girl was still clearly shaken up by Leo’s actions. Even Alec seemed to avoid him, spending most of the time talking and laughing with Samuel and Kenton, which left Leo feeling quite left out.

  Despite feeling a little hungry, he thought it best not to venture over and join the others for supper, thinking perhaps he could find something on one of the wagons that he could eat instead. In the fading light he needed a source of illumination, and although as a great powerful sorcerer he should be able to manifest his own, Leo decided to play it safe and light a lamp.

  After hanging the lamp on a hook on the side of the wagon he lifted a tarpaulin to peek underneath, and in the flickering light spotted a crate of apples. Leo reached in and took two, placing one in his pocket and keeping the other in his hand, before replacing the tarp. Suddenly, he turned quickly as he thought somebody was approaching him, but glanced around blindly in the failing light to see nothing out of the ordinary.

  After looking left and right several times, the niggling feeling would not go away, and he thought perhaps one of the others was playing a trick on him. Sasha he thought, probably tryi
ng to sneak up on him, although he could not see anyone he was certain it was her. Not being in the mood for games he merely lifted his lamp off the hook and went to return to where he was sat earlier. He still had the small book given to him by Daron in one of his robe pockets and thought now was probably as good a time as any to continue reading it.

  As he sat back down he noticed Sasha sat with the others. He smiled, thinking she must have been quick to return there without him seeing her. After taking a bite of his apple he reached in and removed the book, opening it at the place he had last read. After adjusting the lamp slightly so it flickered a little brighter, he could just about make out the words, although the meanings of some left him a little confused. He knew Alec, as the learned one of the group, would surely know what they were, but Leo thought it better not to go and ask.

  Chapter 8.

  Leo shuffled about finding sleep difficult to come by, as his mind insisted on replaying the day’s events repeatedly. The image of Carlton looking half-dead on the ground was bad enough, but it was the looks on the faces of his friends that bothered him most of all. It was clear Deana wanted nothing to do with him and was clearly petrified of him coming anywhere near her. That much Leo could understand, but the fact that his friends had all but blanked him since the incident was not only worrying but painful.