To Challenge a Maestro

by John Buttrick

  “I allowed you to hurt me but I draw the line a letting you hurt Tim or Sherree,” Daniel told him firmly, and then levitated the baton out of the Instructor’s hand and into his own.

  “Let me?” the Instructor started to say and then struggled futilely. “Put me down!” he demanded.

  “You need a lesson in humility,” Daniel replied evenly.

  He knew what had to be done in order to gain an audience with the Grand Maestro, humbling Harmon Gramm just made the doing more satisfying. The one-bolt Accomplished was in a spell not even a two-bolt with full concentration could break. Both spells had a Da Capo and were tied to Daniel’s life force. The man was completely trapped and the effort had been minimal and was now even less, requiring no concentration at all.

  Harmon did struggle to free himself, his face wrinkling in frustration as he summoned potential; but could not push beyond the shield. Red-faced, he stared wide-eyed around the room, perhaps embarrassed at not being able to extricate himself; a full Accomplished with a crescendo bested by one of his students. His lips began to chap, a result of drawing power without replenishing bodily fluids.

  Water was always plentiful in Aakadon. Huge barrels were stored on the left side of the room, a necessity in a class on practical spell casting. Daniel levitated a cup of water up to the Instructor’s mouth and allowed him to drink freely. Drops of water flowed from the sides of his mouth as he drank. “We wouldn’t want you to dehydrate on us,” Daniel told him.

  Anger slowly gave way to fear as the Accomplished realized his plight, he could not free himself, and was at the complete mercy of a student he had just punished beyond what was strictly legal. His efforts to break free ceased and he settled for staring like a pig being led to the slaughter, although nothing quite so dramatic was going to happen to him; he was not going to endure anywhere near what he deserved.

  Daniel glanced at his sandy-haired ally, who stood less than a stride away with eyes wide in awe. “Simon, go outside and ask the first Accomplished you come across to come in here.”

  The Talented looked confused at first, but then broke into a grin, nodded his head, and ran out. A few of the Aakacarns looked as if they wanted to go with him but the vast majority seemed interested in hanging around. They probably never witnessed a student challenging an Instructor before and were no doubt curious as to the outcome.

  “Sherree, are you alright?” Daniel asked while turning to face her. She better be or Harmon Gramm was going to regret it.

  The golden-haired Talented approached him in the manner of a stray cat, as if unsure how to approach a stranger. “I’m fine, are you?”

  There was no need for her to look so worried. The Instructor was no longer in a position to inflict punishment on anyone. The pain inflicted on Daniel came close to that of Cenni Quen, but likewise, caused no physical damage and now existed only in memory. “I’m unhurt,” he told her.

  Simon returned with a stout, deeply tanned, one-bolt Accomplished of the Aloe Guild. His hair was black and his age unguessable, due to the age retarding spell, the one in Daniel’s repertoire would halt age completely if he chose to cast it, but that was not relevant; except to a tired mind having difficulty concentrating. The Accomplished looked to be in his early thirties but could easily be over a hundred. He fixed his gaze on the suspended Instructor. “What is going on in here?” he demanded even though his eyes could see the blue glow surrounding Harmon.

  Daniel shielded the potential of the one-bolt, wrapped him in bands of air, suspended him up beside Gramm, and added a Da Capo.

  Sherree’s hand came to rest on his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “I’m perfectly fine,” he replied. “Samuel, would you please go find another Accomplished?” he added as the two one-bolts struggled to break his spell. He then sat down and crossed his legs as though simply passing the time. The roomful of Talenteds looked on in shock as if they were having trouble believing their eyes.

  Samuel returned with a two-bolt Accomplished of the Eagle Guild, surely a worthy opponent. The Taracopian pointed an ebony finger and glowed with a golden hue, then cast a shield spell. “Let them go and I’ll free you,” he said with great authority. He was either a sharp observer and had assessed the situation rapidly or the Teki briefed him, not that it mattered.

  Daniel glanced at his hands. The golden potential of the two-bolt surrounded him. He smiled, knowing a six-bolt Accomplished would have no trouble breaking the shield of a two-bolt. Timing was the critical thing. He wanted to break the spell and shield off his opponent’s potential at the same time. Fortunately, the potential summoned to work any spell should be adequate. He made his choice, played the Melody in his mind, but deliberately held the potential below that of the new comer, not wanting to spook the Accomplished.

  “You heard him. Let us go!” Harmon shouted from his lofty height, as if he was suddenly back in charge. The look in his eyes promised punishment. Evidently, the man was not a fast learner.

  Daniel raised the baton and pushed out with enough potential to shield off a three-bolt Accomplished. His topaz blue washed over the golden hue within three blinks of an eye. He added a Da Capo and suspended the indignant Aakacarn up beside the other two. “Simon, I believe it is time to invite another Accomplished in for a chat,” he suggested to the Talented.

  Sherree stared at him as if he had lost his mind, so what? Let her think whatever she wanted. The Battencay born Talented ran out of the room. The spring in his step revealed a certain delight on his part in the matter. He no doubt was enjoying the opportunity to see what a six-bolt Accomplished could do. In truth, with the Da Capos in place, the spells required virtually no effort on Daniel’s part to maintain.

  Daniel grabbed a cup of water and took a sip. He looked up and noticed all three Accomplisheds had chapped lips. They were going to do die if they kept on like that. He simultaneously levitated cups of water to each one and let them drink. They looked mighty thirsty after trying so hard to free themselves.

  “I think they have been humbled enough,” Sherree suggested in a soft, humoring, tone of voice. “You haven’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks and you are not thinking clearly.”

  The three Accomplisheds were nodding their heads vigorously, though they would agree to almost anything she said if it got them freed. Daniel laughed, which was a sure sign of being over tired. He truly found nothing funny about the situation. The whole thing was a giant mess that looked close to impossible to untangle, although he fully intended to try.

  “No. He is more like himself in the important ways,” Tim spoke up, thank the loyal drummer for the steady beat, “We worked for Henri Polkat but never bowed and scraped or had to stroke his tender ego. It is a mark of Daniel’s being over tired that he put up with this foolishness for so long.”

  Simon walked in leading a one-bolt Accomplished of the Aloe Guild, a tall, broad shouldered fellow, who was promptly shielded and suspended before he even figured out what was going on.

  “Let me help you. Something is wrong, Talenteds cannot overpower Accomplisheds,” Sherree insisted. “Please free them.”

  Daniel very nearly honored her plea, but cold reality stopped him in time. She did not understand, nor could she know, the ramifications of what she was asking. These people would not be lenient with him. “Help me by bringing in another Accomplished,” he told her.

  Sherree fixed a green-eyed stare, perhaps assessing his response, and trying to decide the best course of action. She came to some decision, nodded her head affirmatively, and made a quick exit.

  “How long are you going to hold them?” Simon inquired, with a gleam in his eye seldom seen before.

  Daniel glanced at the sandy-haired Talented and then up at the captives. “I placed a Da Capo on the spells holding them, tied to my life force. I could hold them until I die, longer if Tim keeps my crescendo safe.”

  The drummer picked up the guitarn and held it as though he would defend the instrument with his life.
Time after time he showed himself to be a friend and his loyalty was more valuable than gold or precious stones.

  Sherree walked in with the cunning look of a lioness on the prowl, she was definitely up to something. “I brought an Accomplished,” she said, and then stepped aside.

  Jason Renn entered the room with a baton in his hand, walked toward the four suspended Accomplisheds and gave their situation a thorough examination. A one-bolt Accomplished with a type one level one crescendo has the equivalent of a two-bolt, meaning he is four times more powerful than he would be unaided. But a six-bolt Accomplished has thirty-six times the power of a one-bolt. Daniel had nine times the power of the baton wielding Lead Instructor, not counting the extra bolt from Gramm’s baton.

  “Nice job. I see you implemented a Da Capo in your castings. Yes, nice in deed,” Jason said as if he was proud to see how well his earlier lesson had been used.

  The Instructor deserved no ill-treatment and it was difficult to strike out at him. Daniel rounded on Sherree. “Why did you bring him here?”

  The Lobenian once again had the skittish look of a stray cat on her face. “I brought him because you seem to respect him more than anyone else in Aakadon; except possibly the Maestro of the Zephyr Guild. Daniel, your mind is slipping and you’ve lost control.”

  How could she say that? Daniel stared at her in disbelief. “You know why, Terroll Barnes knows why, and Efferin Tames knows why. It’s this blighted link to Tarin Conn. Sherree they don’t intend to help me. They will keep me here until I go completely out of my mind and then they will Silence me the way Gerard DeCamp did to Terroll. The link will remain and I will never have peace. You are the only Aakacarn who has helped me get at least a little relief. They have done nothing!”

  Jason stepped away from the suspended Accomplisheds, placed his baton within his silks, and came over to stand beside Daniel. “Release these men. You must be patient. The Grand Maestro will sever your link to Tarin Conn,” the Lead Instructor said, not as a command, as a suggestion and an assurance.

  Daniel glanced at his captives, lowered them to the ground, and then cancelled the wind spells. “They are free to wander about but the shields stay until I am granted an audience with the Grand Maestro.”

  “I will speak with Maestro Barnes. He can arrange an emergency meeting with the Grand Maestro,” Jason told him with a face that could have been carved in stone. “Now, accept my word and release these men or bind and shield me with them.”

  “How can a mere Talented do this?” Harmon Gramm demanded to know in a voice filled with frustration.

  Daniel looked to Sherree, who nodded her head affirmatively. He actually had little choice. When word gets out of what was happening in Tames Hall, half the Eagle Guild will swarm the place and he would be overwhelmed. One on one he could hold them off, but not if they came at him prepared and in force. Also, any two-bolt Accomplished with even a minimal level four crescendo could match him, and there were thousands of two-bolts in Aakadon. He released the Da Capos, breaking the spells, and handed Gramm’s baton to Jason.

  Harmon’s face turned red, he was angry, and he glowed with potential. The man truly was a slow learner.

  “Instructor, if you provoke this young man again, I will shield you myself,” Jason told him, and in a blink of an eye, the baton was out and aimed at the man.

  The glow vanished from around Harmon and he glared at everyone in the room. He began mumbling under his breath but wisely decided to stay out of the conversation.

  Jason placed the baton back into his silks and turned to Daniel. “Come, I will escort you to the Maestro.”

  Daniel walked with the Lead Instructor and glanced at Sherree. She winked her eye at him. The golden-haired Talented had done the wisest thing in bringing Jason. Tim looked to be totally confused. He deserved and would get a full explanation when time permitted. The three Accomplisheds and the Talenteds began discussing the events that had led up to the confrontation and not a few fingers were being pointed at Harmon Gramm. The Instructor of Practical Spell Casting might well end up assigned to some remote region of the continent for this fiasco. Being bested by a Talented did not say much for his ability, though he truly had no chance against this particular Talented.

  Chapter Seven: From the Backwoods

  Jason set a brisk pace on the marble streets of Aakadon, a speed Daniel deemed appropriate, given the urgency he was feeling. Morning had not yet given way to noon, the sun being in the eleventh mark position. Accomplisheds moved about from building to building, at work with their individual tasks, not one of the Aakacarns questioned the Instructor as to why a Talented was out of class, not that they were in the habit of paying much attention to Talenteds.

  The home of the Zephyr Guild stood over six hundred cubits high and seemed to be made out of solid diamond, giving the structure a translucent quality. A sky blue carpet lay just within the entrance. This was the first time Daniel had gone ten paces beyond the door without being asked his business and summarily ordered to go away. Not a soul questioned an Accomplished entering his own guild or why he had a Talented on his heels.

  The diamond walled corridor seemed endless but eventually led to a sliding door. Inside was a shaft that stretched up to the very top floor of the building, with sliding doors at each level. Jason cast a wind spell, causing the platform beneath their feet to rise. The flight up was mildly disconcerting but Daniel decided it was better than using the stairs. He focused his mind on the up coming meeting with Efferin Tames. Before he was far along in his thoughts, the platform came to a stop on the sixtieth floor; the Lead Instructor exited the shaft, and led the way down yet another corridor. After several turns they reached a pair of double doors made from solid oak which opened silently by the use of a wind spell.

  A two-bolt Accomplished sat behind a mahogany desk, not the pine Daniel was used to seeing, and the Aakacarn looked up as the doors were swinging shut. His eyes were a lighter green than Sherree’s but his hair was the same yellow-gold, his mustache was neatly trimmed, and his complexion light; obviously a man of Lobenian descent. He fixed his gaze on Jason; a Talented was beneath recognition, most of the time. “Instructor, what is your business with the Maestro?” he inquired in a voice that held little interest. No doubt he had asked that question many times to petitioners this morning and expected to ask it many more times before the day ended. To him this was just another person seeking Terroll’s attention.

  Jason cleared his throat while glancing at a pair of double doors to his left. “I am here to request an emergency conference,” he stated plainly, though with enough urgency in his voice to convey the matter was of extreme importance.

  The aid seemed to suddenly notice there was another human being in the room. He licked his lips and eyed Jason as if wondering if a deception was in the making. “Since when do Talenteds attend high level meetings? This is highly irregular. What is the emergency?”

  “Blight it all, Bernie, just get in there and request the conference. It is about Daniel Benhannon!” Jason shouted, surprising even himself, Daniel had never heard the man shout before; his nerves must be truly on edge.

  Bernie shut his mouth, he seemed to be shocked by the tone in which he had been addressed. He stood up, unnecessarily straightened his perfectly wrinkle free silks, and said, “I shall see if the Maestro will grant your request.”

  The man walked from behind his desk, slowly made his way to the double doors on the left, and went inside. Time dragged on. Not a soul in Aakadon seemed to be in a hurry to do anything, except Samuel. About the only thing an Accomplished did quickly was to humble or punish a Talented.

  Terroll Barnes stomped out of his office like an angry bull charging an interloper. “I hope this emergency conference is not about a certain petition I filed four days ago!” he said, though his hope was in vain.

  Jason hesitated, angering his own Maestro could not be good for his career, but the Lead Instructor stood tall; keeping his word to help. “Maestro, the sit
uation is worsening,” he began.

  Daniel grew irritable. What right did Terroll have to be angry or upset? He was not the one cursed by Tarin Conn. The Ecoppian could wait another century and still insist on patience. Well there was not going to be a hundred year wait or even another day. He probably believes this mountaineer is not smart enough to figure out their intent. “What Instructor Renn is trying to tell you is; I’m not going to wait passively for you people to Silence me after the Dark Maestro finally succeeds in driving me out of my mind. You, more than most, know what I can do.”

  Terroll clearly knew full well what Daniel was capable of, so visibly calmed himself by several degrees, though the fire in his eyes showed he did not appreciate the implied threat. This was another sign of Daniel being over tired; it was not his nature to go around threatening people.

  “He shielded off and suspended three one-bolt Accomplisheds and one two-bolt Accomplished of the Eagle Guild in the training room,” Jason rejoined the conversation, daring to draw the attention of his currently ill-tempered guild leader. He seemed to think more information was called for because he went on talking. “Harmon was being himself. You know how he is. He disciplined Daniel and then started in on Sherree.”

  Terroll nodded his head understandingly and the angry glare vanished from his eyes. “You protected Sherree. Knowing where you come from, I am not surprised. Why did you attack the other three Accomplisheds? I filed the petition. Be patient. Grandiose displays of power will not help your case.”

  Daniel was tired of hearing those two words, be patient. “No one listens in Aakadon unless power is wielded,” he told him, and then stepped closer to his former teacher. “You betrayed me. You never intended for me to leave this city.”

  “You made similar accusations moments ago,” Terroll replied calmly as if he could not believe himself guilty of the charge. “What has gotten into your head? I have done my part. Why would we want to see you go mad?”

  Daniel took a step back. There did not seem to be deception in the Maestro’s eyes, perhaps he had no part in the plan. Be that as it may, Efferin Tames was not giving the petition any priority. Planned or not, the result would be the same. “The Chief Aid in the ruby pyramid told me my petition will not reach his desk for another month or more. You know I cannot go a month without sleep, no one could. You can see how I am after being linked for two weeks with no rest. I don’t dare close my eyes. Another four or five more weeks will see me insane for sure. You know it and so does the Grand Maestro; if neither of you do, then you are both more ignorant than a couple of boys living in the backwoods.”