They took in the sights of the docks for a time, but were soon greeted by another dwarf dressed in finery more in fashion in Aurelia and a retinue of soldiers at his back. He stood with his hands behind his back and his chest puffed out doing his best to look as stately as possible.
To the finely dressed dwarf’s right stood a herald and upon seeing the family of dwarves headed their way began to bellow. “The esteemed Sir Gilkame Axebeard, regent and hero of the kingdom, welcomes the venerable Lady Gesela and her sons, Eiro and Dinero to the great city of Mollifas.”
Gesela showed her approval with a courtly bow to the herald and a warm hug to Gilkame. “It is good to see you once more, my nephew. Your parents would have been proud.”
“Thank you, Aunt Gesela. It is good to see you as well,” Gilkame told her with his eyes filled with emotion. “Come. You will be staying at the palace with me. The king has seen fit to give me a workshop and lodgings within the castle due to the delicate nature of the work I am doing on the kingdom’s behalf.”
The city was a wondrous place for its sheer size. The streets were crowded with humans going here and there. Merchants lined the streets hawking their wares ranging from pies to clothing to art pieces. However, while the vendors were aggressively trying to sell to most passersby, they gave a wide berth to the dwarf and his entourage flanked by bodyguards. The dwarves were fascinated by everything that they saw. It was a city far different from their realm where the caste system was more heavily adhered. In the human kingdom they had their aristocracy, but a man could rise in rank here through the acquisition of vast amounts of wealth. To the dwarves no matter how much money one had a miner would always be a miner and a warrior would always be a warrior though the wealthier ones could afford the finest in homes and armors. They were enamored with the city and stopped to gawk at the sites every few blocks much to the old man’s relief as he hurried behind them with their luggage in tow.
They could see the castle from the docks, but that was a pale imitation of the majesty that they experienced as the Axebeard family stood outside of the castle’s main gate. It grew high into the sky so much so that the tallest spires looked as if they were almost touching the clouds.
“We will be staying in that one,” Gilkame told them with pride as he pointed to the rear spire on the right, “It has a fantastic view of the sea on one side and the city on the other. It used to belong to the court wizard until he tried to hatch a plot to kill the esteemed Prince Janus last year.”
“You are the greatest of fools if you think I would ever stay in something so high up off the ground!” declared Gesela. “One strong wind would knock that skinny tower right out of place!”
“Nonsense,” Gilkame assured her, “You will see that it is very sturdy- just like a dwarf, but if you insist I am sure we could find someplace closer to the ground for you to stay… like the servant’s quarters.”
Gesela was taken back by the suggestion. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly giving the impression that she was attempting to reject the idea out of hand or perhaps even curse at her nephew, but could not find the words that would properly express her indignation. Instead she turned her ire to Baryn. “Take my bags up to that tower, boy, before I have you skinned!”
“Yes, of course, mistress,” the old man agreed as he scuttled off across the castle grounds with the envoy’s bags still wrapped around his flagging limbs and back.
“Sir?” the herald inquired as they watched the aging human meander towards the castle.
“Yes, show him the way,” Gilkame answered, “and make sure the rooms are adequately prepared for my family.” To the rest of the Axebeards, he added, “You must be starving. How would you like to taste some of the finest cuisines on the continent?”
“At once, sir,” the herald agreed hurrying after Baryn. The servant certainly got along quickly despite his years. He caught up with Baryn as the old man was entering one of the palace’s many side entrances. This particular one led to a narrow hallway that connected the barracks on the right with the mess hall on the left. Baryn was staring down the hall apparently unsure of which way to turn. “Let me help you with those,” offered the herald relieving Baryn of several bags and leading the way. “We have not yet been introduced. I am Gryte Lordscry, Master Gilkame’s personal servant.”
Baryn rotated his now unencumbered shoulder. “Thank you. That was an awful load to bear. I am Baryn of the house Axebeard- no sir name.” Being without a sir name of one’s own was unusual although not completely unheard of among humans. Nobility had their family names and commoners tended to take on sir names in a complicated system based on their profession and skill. Lacking any skills of note a human would revert to using their hometown as their sir name, but to have no hometown would mean that the human was either born outside of common society or…
“Where are you from?” asked the herald although he thought he might already know the answer.
“Colum,” the old man answered plainly. “Across the sea, when I heard what happened I had to come and see it for myself. Is it true?”
“Then it would seem you have knowingly walked into a hornet’s nest, my friend,” answered Gryte, “Colum was destroyed last year along with Baj at the start of the Magician Uprising. Hundreds of magicians were set free during that massacre, but the most troubling thing is that it is believed that the slaughter was caused by one magician according to the accounts of the few survivors.”
Baryn said nothing, but his expression was dark.
Gryte continued, “Ever since then, we have been at war with the demons. One of the domains fell as well and it was only the quick thinking of our king and prince that kept the magicians from destroying the rest of the domains and freeing their kin. They relocated all of the magicians to a hidden location and are blocking their magic with a special collar developed by Master Gilkame.”
They reached a staircase and began ascending without a thought. “That is amazing.” Baryn wondered, “How could such a device work? Is he a… magician?” Baryn’s voice fell to a whisper on the last word.
“I do not understand it myself, but the collars work and Gilkame is no magic user. There are two magicians in the palace that are collared. One is the former court magician, Sane. Like you he has no sir name, but for him it is because he is a sorcerer.” Sorcerers were such a rarity even among magicians that they were commonly only known by one name throughout history. “The other is a magical aide to Prince Janus. That one came from Baj a month or so before the prison was destroyed.”
“Bad luck for him,” Baryn noted.
“Good luck for us,” Gryte jested. The herald opened a door near the top of the tower, but not quite all the way up. “Your masters will be staying here,” he said as he led the old servant into the room. “My master’s room is one above this and his workshop is above that. It goes without saying, but you will not be permitted to ascend the tower beyond this point without approval from Sir Gilkame.
“You will be staying in the men’s servant quarters along with the rest of us common rabble,” Gryte nudged Baryn comically and the old man forced a laugh.
Once all of the luggage was carefully unpacked the servants hurried down to the mess hall to get a quick bite. Being members of the serving class, they were at the beck and call of their masters and had to find time to eat while their masters were concerned with other matters. Right now Gilkame would be showing his aunt and cousins around the castle and undoubtedly impressing them with his clout and connections to the royal family. The servants ate a hearty venison stew in bread bowls that was left over from the previous night’s dining.
“Having magicians in the castle is dangerous.” Baryn asked, “What if their collars were to fail or get removed?”
“I don’t like it,” Gryte agreed, “but it is a decision from the king and I do not take it upon myself to question his judgment.” Gryte’s voice grew firm in warning. It was unseemly to question the motives of a superior. “You have not been a servant l
ong.”
“Is it that obvious?” Baryn asked breaking off a piece of the broth-soaked bread and chewing on it. “I only became a servant to the Axebeards when I heard that they were purchasing passage across the sea so that I could return home.”
“And now that you have made it back to Aurelia, what are your plans?” Gryte wondered.
Baryn shrugged. “The food is good. I have a roof over my head in the royal palace of all places and the coin doesn’t hurt.”
“There are worse ways to live,” agreed Gryte.
***
“Boy, take this message up to my nephew at once,” Gesela, ordered with her natural air of superiority. She placed the message, folded into the shape of an envelope at the edge of the table where she sat. The dwarf woman was against the idea of handing anything to the servant directly and risking skin-to-skin contact.
Baryn took the letter and with a bow excused himself.
“And don’t read it,” she warned coldly.
“No, mistress, I would never presume to,” he said begging himself out.
It was a short trip up the flight of stairs to the next landing and the door to Gilkame’s personal quarters. Baryn knocked loudly as required by the thick wood in order to be heard. He was about to slip the note under the door when it opened.
“Greetings, Baryn.” It was Gryte. He eyed the note, “Gilkame is in his workshop with the prince. You can leave that with me and I will see that he gets it straight away.”
“My thanks, Gryte.” Baryn told him before leaving. Gryte had been a good friend showing the older servant around the castle and making sure he was well schooled in the proper etiquette of a servant in the last week.
Baryn stood outside of the dwarf’s door. He knew he should go back down to his own masters and play the role of dutiful servant, but curiosity got the better of him and the old man crept up the stairs. What type of experiments was the dwarf working on? What new surprises did he have in store for the magicians? Baryn’s footfalls were intentionally light so that Gilkame would not hear his approach, but at the top of the stairs he was surprised to see that he should not have bothered. A spindly looking man in his mid-thirties guarded the door. He had a curly blonde head of hair and wore fine servant attire similar to Gryte’s uniform, but with one glaring difference. This spindly, little man wore a golden collar that the old man was very familiar with. It was a magician’s collar. He must be the prince’s pet magician, Kennath.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to be snooping,” Baryn stammered, “I was just curious…”
“Curious to see the prince’s prize toy?” the magician looked angrier than he had a reason to be, but he made no move to harm the servant. Judging from the look in his eyes it could only be the collar that kept the man from lashing out at those around him for the constant indignity he must face on a daily basis.
“No, I was curious to see the prince,” Baryn told him apologetically lying. He had not expected to run into the magician so soon and needed to keep this man on his good side or all of his plans would be for naught. “I have only been in the castle for a few days and have not had so much as a glance of a single member of the royal family.”
“I have had more than my fill,” the pet magician made no attempt to hide his disgust. He leaned in close to the old man as if to intimidate him and said, “Let me tell you something about Prince Janus. He-” Kennath froze, unable to speak. “If not for this damnable thing around my neck, I would kill him. I can’t even say anything bad about him as things stand now.” His eyes locked with Baryn’s, but it was the magician who took a step back. “Your eyes-“
“Mind your words,” Baryn warned him, “If you know what I am or even guess, then you must hold your tongue and give no one any indication that I am anything other than an old servant.”
“I could help you with whatever you are planning. Please free me.”
“Perhaps, but not yet,” returned Baryn. “As long as that choker is around your neck, I can say no more about what I intend. You cannot be trusted as long as you wear that collar.”
Kennath only nodded, being fully aware of that fact. “Good,” Baryn continued, “Now I understand that the sorcerer is here as well. Where can I find him?”
“Sane is not here. He has been taken somewhere outside of the city. They are making an army of magic users to fight against the rebellion. Every magician that was not rescued by the Collective has been taken there. They make Sane and I train the domain magicians in how to use magic. We switch back and forth every few months.”
“When will Sane next be in the palace?” Baryn asked. Both men were now speaking in whispers in case Prince Janus or Gilkame was to open the door that they were just on the other side of.
“I’m unsure, but I think it will be soon. When he is here, he is held in the dungeons. My imprisonment is practically idyllic compared to his.”
“Then I don’t have long to plan,” Baryn said aloud and immediately wished he had not. Anything he revealed to a collared magician could be revealed to the kingdom’s rulers. All they had to do was ask the right question and the magician would be compelled to answer. It was a surprise in and of itself that this magician was given permission to speak freely, but that was probably due to the necessity of training the relocated domain magicians.
“You will take me with you?” the gangly magician pleaded.
“If you keep quiet about my presence then I will see to it that you are freed,” Baryn offered, “You will have to be satisfied with that answer.”
The magician nodded curtly.
Voices came from the other side of the oak door too faint to hear. Prince Janus was in there with Gilkame Axebeard. The temptation to eavesdrop was too great to resist. “Will you warn me if anyone else comes up here?”
“I can do that,” Kennath agreed.
Baryn manipulated his hearing so that he could clearly understand the voices coming from the other side. It was the prince’s irate voice that spoke first. “Why can’t you make any more collars? Soon we will strike against the Collective and the rats will no doubt flee like the vermin they are. We need to be able to take some of them prisoner for interrogation so we can learn their secrets.”
“Your Highness, if there was any way I could then I would happily make more collars, but my supply of blood has gone dry since the orcs started patrolling their borders.”
“Then we will empty out the dungeons of the palace and make some use of the human wastes down there. That should get us a few more control collars.”
“Understood, my prince,” Baryn could almost see the dwarf bowing, “your will be done.”
They continued talking, but Baryn had heard enough. The orc attack at Everec was in retaliation for the orc lives taken to power the collars. The dwarf figured out how to use the blood source, as a magician would unconsciously, to bind the energy into a spell. If Kennath was to be believed there were hundreds of magicians under Janus’ control. Entire villages of orcs must have been sacrificed in the creation of those collars.
Baryn crept back down to the Axebeards’ living quarters. He would have to find a way into the dungeons unnoticed before Sane came back. The sorcerer’s life could not be put at risk to fuel one of those collars. Baryn did not travel across the sea just to get this far and fail. For now, surprise was on his side, but Kennath could change that. He did not expect to be identified so soon. The eyes were said to be the windows of the soul and that magician just proved the truth behind that old saying.
Then there were all of the domain magicians. Could anything be done for them? It may be too much for one man to handle. Baryn shook the thought away. He must focus on Sane for now and worry about the others later.
“It is about time you got back, boy,” Gesela chastised him upon his return. “Well, where is Gilkame’s response?” She held out her hand expectantly.
Time to slip back into the role of Baryn, the faithful servant, he thought. “Pardon my tardiness, mistress, but Master Gilkame was unava
ilable. I left the message with his man-servant and he assured me that he would deliver it as soon as your nephew returned.”
“Then what took so long?” she demanded.
The berating continued for a half hour until Gryte returned with an answer to Gesela’s letter, but Baryn barely noticed as he delivered impeccable agreements to every derogatory word that came from her mouth. The old man tried to recall what little he knew of the castle and its grounds from his previous visit as he tried to guess the best way to reach the dungeons.
Chapter 4
Much had changed in Mollifas since the last time Byrn visited the capital. The streets were the same, as were the buildings, but the people were far different from what he remembered. Nearly two years had passed since Byrn’s first trip to the city. The Sunshillah Festival was underway and the city was in a state of celebration, though he admittedly took little notice of it at the time. Now as he took the time the look upon the capital’s citizens the fear was plain to see on the haggard faces of everyone that walked the streets. No one tarried out in public for long, instead choosing to do their business and return to the safety of their homes or shops.
Byrn understood their worries. He held them not so long ago before he became a master magician. It was the same dread that hung over his head every day in Lion’s Landing as he secretly worried that the Kenzai would find him and his friends. It was the not knowing, the constant anxiety at wondering if today would be the day that their world suddenly came crashing down around them, that ate at these people just as it had eaten at him.
It began with Xander Necros destroying Colum and Baj. In that attack he reminded the non-magical population why they hated and feared magicians with such fervor. From that time, Xander built an army of magicians under the banner of the Collective. It was small by all accounts, but even a small army of magic users could devastate the kingdom should they put forth a concerted effort to do so. The only reason the Collective did not wipe out every last shred of humanity already was that they wanted to be more than rulers of a dead land. Some wanted to live peacefully alongside normal people as Byrn did, others like Xander took a more extreme view and believed that their place was to be the rulers of men.
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