by Guy Antibes
“Do you want to verify?” Jack asked.
“I would,” Penny said. “Sometimes you are a little less trustworthy than at other times.”
Jack strolled around the north side of Yvessa’s statue, pressing each stone until one plunged in and then popped out.
“A little trade,” he said as he uncovered the fake mask and laid it beside him. He reached in and pulled out the real mask. Jack was surprised they were almost identical, but the one in the plinth of the statue felt like an object of power. Penny couldn’t tell the difference, but it didn’t matter. Jack didn’t want to try the mask on, so he quickly made the exchange and slipped the real mask into his bag and brushed the dust off his black pants.
They strolled around a bit more until Jack had decided they had spent enough time in the church. They walked out, wishing the clerics well. Jack had no idea how they would choose their next archbishop.
Jack was glad the clerics didn’t join in the fighting. Perhaps there was hope the church would survive the revolt, so Yvessa wouldn’t be so mad at him.
“Aren’t you anxious to try it on?” Penny asked.
“When we get to the townhouse,” Jack said. “Maybe there is a spell that activates it.”
“Ari should know, right?”
Jack nodded.
When they returned to the townhouse, everyone but Lorton surrounded Jack as he removed the mask from the bag.
“It is just like the fake one,” Oscar said.
“Doesn’t that make sense? Without any magical detection, no one would know the difference,” Penny said.
“All this for a weathered piece of wood,” Lin said with her arms folded.
Jack put the mask on. Nothing happened. Perhaps it would need a spell to unlock, but he smiled underneath the mask. He took it off and gave Penny a long kiss in front of everyone. She pushed him away.
“Why did you do that?” she said. “It is a little embarrassing.”
“I’ll be darned, the future was correct. I saw an image of us kissing, just like that.”
Everyone groaned.
Epilogue
~
J ack was very happy to cross the border into Corand. They would be spending the night in Boxwood. Ari had taken Lorton’s place in the party. Lorton elected to stay behind and help Princess—no—Queen Glorie manage the task of rebuilding the social structure of Bristone.
Jack thought back to when Lorton had thanked Jack before he left.
“I would have never imagined that I might do something else with my life,” Lorton had said.
“And you can continue to set up your secret police.”
Lorton smiled. “The permission has already been granted.” Surprisingly he gave Jack a hug. “You’ve pushed me into a new life,” he said.
Jack smiled at the recollection of Lorton’s words. It took a revolution, but Jack had hoped he had accomplished his third goal regarding Lorton. He would be a better man because of the trip.
In the morning, they ate a hearty Corandian breakfast together. Lin, Sera, and Oscar would be returning to Dorkansee with a trunk filled with reports and souvenirs, including documents from Queen Glorie to King Jordan. Oscar seemed to be in high spirits since he had his own collection of contacts with Ari’s contacts, Pol Asoule, and Andere Holm to import fine Antibeaux products and the brewmaster’s drugged ale to Dorkansee. Jack, Ari, and Penny would ride to Raker Falls via the road south to Bartonsee.
They didn’t bother to find Dee and said their goodbyes before they rode south in the chilly, late autumn weather.
“Will you miss Antibeaux?” Jack asked Ari.
“No. My time there is finished, thanks to you.”
“What did I do?” Jack asked.
“You allowed me to help save the country.”
“As if,” Jack said.
“You managed to give direction to the two forces, killed the queen’s killer, and eliminated the competing factions.”
“The factions will crop up again,” Jack said.
“But Lorton, who you encouraged to get close to Queen Glorie, will be able to manage them better than the former queen ever did. Inez was part of the problem,” Ari said.
“Let’s not talk about it,” Jack said. He didn’t want to be reminded he was a hero. He was just glad his errand had been completed without any of their group dead along the way.
~
As they drew closer to Raker Falls, Jack was both excited and anxious. He hadn’t seen his family in over two years, and he looked forward to seeing them again. He dreaded what Penny would say about their marriage. They hadn’t done anything different than how they acted before, but Penny kept on about calling him husband. It was almost obnoxious, almost.
They entered Raker Falls from the west, so they passed Jack’s house first. He knocked on the door, and his mother nearly fainted. “I didn’t expect my long, lost son to arrive today. Fasher didn’t give me any warning.”
Jack shrugged. Fasher knew when they would arrive, but he guessed the wizard wanted Jack to surprise his mother.
“Who is the old man?”
“I’m not old,” Ari said in reply from his horse.
“He is here to visit Fasher,” Jack said. He turned to Ari. “This is my mother and this,” Jack pointed to Ari, “is Ari Gasheaux. He was a big help in Antibeaux.”
“Indeed, I was,” Ari said, smiling.
“Come in!”
“I can’t,” Jack said. “We’ll come back when I’ve seen Fasher and dropped Penny off at her parents.”
Jack’s mother came out of the house. “You have turned into quite a lovely girl, Penny, but you need to do something about that white hair.”
Penny smiled and mumbled that she would. Jack looked at Penny and realized that her roots were coming in white again.
They made their way to Fasher Tempest’s house. Fasher and Corina came out and gave them all a hug. Ari even hugged Corina, even though they had just met. Fasher laughed at the older wizard.
“You can leave Ari here. Reginart is waiting for you both to arrive,” Fasher said.
Jack sighed. This was the reunion he dreaded.
Penny knocked on the manor gate. A familiar face appeared.
“Miss Penneta! Come in.” The outside servant ushered Penny in, but as Jack rode in, the man scowled. He never did like Jack, even on the night they first met when Jack carried a dead Penneta Ephram into the courtyard. “I will notify Lord Ephram,” the servant said.
That reminded Jack that Penny and her father were now noble. Well, he was too. He dismounted and tied up the packhorse before he helped Penny down from her horse.
Reginart rushed out of the house. “We didn’t expect you back until the spring. I was thrilled when Fasher said you had abandoned your project and returned early.”
Penny looked at Jack. “We did, since there was a revolution in Bristone.”
“Fasher said something about unpleasantness.”
“All survived,” Jack said. “We did our part to ensure the new queen was safe.”
“New queen? You met the ruler?”
“Lorton, the policeman, stayed behind to help restore order,” Penny said.
Penny’s mother and Addy strolled out of the house. “You are back already?” Addy said, almost in a sneer.
Jack was surprised by how much Penny’s little sister had become less little.
Penny’s mother at least gave her oldest daughter an embrace. “We are happy you have returned. You won’t lose your title, will you? That would mean Reg will lose his.”
“I’m sure I won’t,” Penny said.
Reginart looked at Jack. “You are Lord Winder now?”
Jack shrugged. “It looks that way.” He smiled at Reginart, who gave him a genuine smile back. “We will have to get together and talk about your adventures again.”
“I’d look forward to that.”
Penny made a show of turning around her ring to show the church side. “Jack and I met the archbishop of An
tibeaux,” Penny said. “He gave us matching rings.” She wiggled her fingers.” She gave Jack a sly smile.
“We will talk later,” Reginart said to Jack as he ushered Penny into the house.
Jack made his way back home. Everything on the packhorse was Penny’s, so he left it behind.
The reunion at his house made Jack feel happy. He wasn’t treated as an extra stub on the family tree, especially when his father congratulated him on his appointment as a lord.
“I saved Penny in Lajia,” Jack said, “and had a hand in putting down an insurrection there. It appears that I had to do the same thing in Antibeaux.”
“Really?” Jack’s oldest brother said. “Were you in danger?”
“A few times, but I made it through with only a few new scars.” He was silent about the real reason for going, but he still amazed them with a version of the events where Jack didn’t play nearly as big a part.
Jack looked in one of his bags and pulled out sketches and gave them to his father. “From Bristone in Antibeaux and back to Raker Falls.”
“Amazing! Lots of ideas here,” his father said, losing himself in the sketches.
Jack gave his mother a wool scarf he had bought when they passed through Chancey. “I didn’t have a lot of room,” Jack said. “But, I have some Antibeaux coinage to distribute later.”
“Money is such a crass gift,” one of his sisters said.
Jack flipped her a gold coin with the picture of Queen Inez on the front. “Here is a crass gold piece. It is a souvenir.”
Dinner was a happy affair. Jack wore his traditional Antibeaux costume even though it made him much too warm. The barbs sent his way were sent back with equal ease. Jack realized he had learned a few things in the two years he had been gone, and his siblings didn’t intimidate him, nor did it appear that he irritated them as much as before.
“How did you handle months with that harridan Penny Ephram?” one of his brothers said.
“We managed to come to terms with one another,” Jack said. He glanced at his wedding ring, still turned to the church side. It wasn’t quite time for that story to be told.
Ari showed up at the Winder doorstep later with an invitation to meet for lunch the next day at the pub Jack and Fasher liked best.
Jack was still full of a huge breakfast of all Jack’s old favorites when he stepped into the pub.
“Private room,” the pub owner said from behind the bar. “Good to see you again, Jack. The village missed you.”
Jack smiled and walked into the private room. Tanner and Helen jumped to their feet when Jack entered. Helen didn’t exactly jump. She was definitely carrying the new Simple. He had thought he wouldn’t see his old friends until the baby was born.
Fasher hadn’t arrived yet, but Penny followed Jack. It was all Jack could have hoped for after being gone for two years. Ari, Fasher, and Corina arrived. The pub owner brought pitchers of ale into the room himself and a smaller pitcher of water for Helen.
Fasher got up and introduced Ari to everyone. “Jack, Ari has given me his version of your adventures. Now it’s your turn.”
“The real version or the one where we abandoned our errand?”
Fasher blushed just a little. “The real version. Sorry that I didn’t warn you.”
“My father tipped us off, luckily,” Penny said, sitting next to Jack.
It wasn’t until midafternoon when Jack stopped. Jack noticed that Penny had twisted her ring back into married mode again at the appropriate time when Jack talked about their forced wedding by the archbishop. The laugher brought the pub owner back into the room to make sure everything was all right.
“How is Jackie?” Penny asked.
“Precocious,” Helen said. “We still don’t know who she will take after. You weren’t gone long enough, but it is good to see you both back.”
Ari had joined in with the laughter and added a few points to Jack’s story, mostly where Jack had done something extraordinary.
“Enjoy yourselves this winter,” Fasher said. “I have another errand in mind in the early spring.”
The room went still.
“You will be heading to Bornan, Ari’s country, to retrieve the lost god’s buckle. It is an important object of power that will restore peace to that troubled land.”
“Can I locate it with the Battlebone?” Jack asked.
Fasher shook his head. “It is cursed so that it is hidden from mortal view. This will be your greatest test so far.”
“Who will accompany me?”
Fasher smiled. “Ari, of course. He will be your guide. That is one reason he accompanied you to Raker Falls. If Helen delivers before you leave, Tanner will be available if he is willing.”
“I might be,” Tanner said. Helen scowled at her husband’s grin.
“I am thinking of asking Grigar to meet you at Reoja. His responsibilities in Lajia might have ended by then, and of course, you will have to take your wife.”
Jack shook his head while everyone else laughed in the room. “Wife?” He looked at Penny. “I guess I can do this for a while longer.” He twisted his wedding ring. Penny rose and kissed him in front of the group. Jack could feel his face burn while she kept her lips pressed against his.
~
Fasher asked Jack to join him in his office after lunch.
“Penny has agreed to do rounds with me during the winter. I’d like you to take the lead and set up sessions with Penny, Tanner, and Ari to learn about Bornan. Bornans speak Corandian, but it would be better for you all to know about the culture. It is not as different as Masukai, but the more you know, the better your chances of succeeding.
“What do you want me to do in Raker Falls?” Jack asked.
“I don’t need a helper with Penny assisting if that is what you mean, but you could take over the books for the winter and give Corina a break. I think the books need a break from Corina, as well.” Fasher smiled at his joke. “You might read the other kind of books on military history. Ari told me that you did a credible job of leading the loyalist forces in Antibeaux.”
“I mostly taught them how to touch the void, and the rest was keeping morale up.”
Fasher shook his head. “And leading the forces into the castle. Ari told me how you performed before you departed from Bristone. You did admirable work.”
“Not totally,” Jack said. “If I hadn’t hurt Yvessa, Borigore wouldn’t have appeared.”
“Is that what you think?” Fasher laughed. “Did Borigore tell you that?”
“Well, he did imply—”
“Borigore didn’t have any problem appearing in Lajia on Takia’s lands, did he? I seem to recall he appeared in Zukori’s temple, as well.”
“No, but Takia’s influence wasn’t as strong.”
“Strong enough to have kept Borigore out, if that is what you are thinking. Borigore is an evil god. I should know,” Fasher said. He waved his hand in front of his face as if to eradicate an unpleasant memory. “You were lied to by two gods on your trip to Antibeaux.”
Jack changed the subject. “I also completed the three tasks you gave me.”
“Three tasks?”
“Lorton.”
“Oh, yes. Why don’t you tell me how you completed them?
“I earned Lorton’s respect in Dorkansee. I taught him to touch the void, so that was easy. We became friends through shared experiences along the way. I’m not sure how to gauge the strength of a friendship, but I’m sure I succeeded.”
“And how did you make him a better man?” Fasher asked.
“I tried to put him in situations where his true qualities would shine. He caught the eye of Princess Glorie, and I encouraged him to help her. They became closer, and I noticed that Lorton became a bit happier. He needed something to soften his spine. Of course, I don’t take the credit for their relationship, I just pushed it along a little.”
“Not only that, he might just become the king of Antibeaux,” Fasher said. “I am amazed at how you can be
so thick sometimes and exceed my high expectations of you in others.”
“It is luck,” Jack said. “I was lucky to have my copy of Takia’s cup and my orb down in the ice fissure; otherwise, I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”
“Luck that comes through preparation. It was you who made those objects and carried them with you.”
“Which brings me to a question that has been nagging me ever since I tried to use the mask. Do you know the spell that makes it work?”
Fasher gave Jack a sly smile. “It doesn’t work anymore. That is why Yvessa hid it. The fake that you left behind works as well as the real one.”
“Then why did we have to retrieve it?”
Fasher narrowed his eyes and looked deeply into Jack’s own. “Because you needed to go to Antibeaux, and I needed a reason to get you there.”
“A fool’s errand?”
Fasher shook his head. “Regardless of what you think of yourself, you are no fool. Think of what you accomplished. You saved a nation and saved Lorton. Isn’t that enough?”
“How did the mask stop working?”
“A question for another day. I will say that part of your mission to Antibeaux is connected to your task in Bornan.”
“The buckle isn’t cursed?” Jack asked.
Fasher took on a stern expression. “It is cursed, all right. It will be up to everyone in your group to break it. I won’t speak of this any longer.” His face softened into a grin. “Now, what are you and Penny going to do about this marriage business?”
The End
Character List
The Serpent’s Orb
Jack Winder – Our hero and the wizard’s helper
Penneta (Penny) Ephram – A girl in Jack’s village
Fasher Tempest – The village wizard
Tanner Simple – A wandering mercenary
Helen Rafter – A wandering mercenary
Ozzie Quist – A burnt-out wizard
Aramore Gant – Patriarch of the church of Alderach
Derr Mason – Wizard in possession of the Serpent’s Orb