by Greg Curtis
“I think it’s because everyone is confused, and frightened. There is already some fighting and the Mayor is worried that things will grow worse. He sent a messenger to the King with word of possible bloodshed ahead. My people are worried about it too. We do not want to fight. But we do not feel safe either.”
“Meanwhile the wizard who brought us here and his granddaughter are fighting with the other wizards. Every day. Sometimes all day. More wizards have arrived in the town and more are said to be coming. They say Wizard Wilberton is supposed to be retired but he hasn’t remained that way. So now they want to control his magic. To bind it in some way. Naturally Wizard Wilberton doesn’t want that and has thrown them off his property. He has now begun building a wall. And his granddaughter can't seem to make him see reason.”
“She never could,” Edrick told her sadly. “For all that his mind is failing, Wilberton was once one of the most powerful wizards around. Not the sort to ever listen to anyone, least of all his granddaughter.”
And it really was sad, witnessing the slow demise of a once great mind. Sometimes he wished he'd known the man before his mind had started failing. But then again Wilberton might still have hated him.
“The other wizards are also fighting with the Mayor,” Py continued. “Mayor Flint wants to evict Wilberton from the town and they're saying he can't do that. They say he is a member of the Guild and they cannot have their members harassed. I think they're worried things might become violent. That's why there are so many wizards in the town.”
“The people of Coldwater are frightened, both of us and of the wizards. With the wall going up around Wizard Wilberton’s home and the wizards in town, they fear there will be a magic battle in the town. So the Mayor has sent for help from the King.”
“My people are frightened too,” Py carried on. “This is a strange land. There are no Caobar trees for us to build our homes in and for the moment we must live on the ground like animals. That makes us feel unsafe. We don't have enough land to plant crops. And we do not trust your people. We must build homes and make a safe place for us to live if we have to stay here – but we do not want to stay. We want to go home. We had hoped for a time that the wizard would be able to fix his mistake. But we now realise he cannot and it has led to much anger.”
Edrick nodded, understanding her perfectly. “You need to speak with the Priests in Coldwater. The followers of the Mother and the Father; Golanar and Elenar. Though I'm sure they do not share your faith, they have long had a role in keeping order in the town. They are good at stopping fights before they begin, and finding solutions to problems. And they will not naturally be on the side of the wizards either. We follow Sirtis, the Lady of Light and Goddess of Magic. The Priests can help.” He was also reasonably certain that they would. While they might not know much about the Argani nor perhaps trust them, they were wise people who hated violence and strife.
“We will.”
“I'll also help however I can,” Edrick told her, happy to do that. It was the right thing to do. More than that though it was necessary. These people needed help. So too did the town. And they had all been put in this situation because of a wizard. Whenever one wizard created trouble and he either couldn't or wouldn't fix it, it was up to the other wizards to try and mend the situation.
That wasn't a Guild law – though he often thought it should be instead of just custom. It was of their Goddess' will. Sirtis. The Lady of Light, had set down few rules for her people to follow, but that was the first of them. It was almost bound into the nature of magic itself. Magic, the Lady had said, was a gift. It should not be misused or allowed to cause harm. Those who had been blessed with the gift had an obligation to do no harm, or – in cases where harm had resulted from their magic, to put things right.
Edrick wasn't sure how much he believed in the Goddess. He certainly hadn't been to one of her temples in many years, and he hardly ever threw any coins into her shrines. But he believed enough to know that he didn't want to cross her edicts.
“Unfortunately, I don't think there's much I can do. Wilberton hates me.” That was the best way he could think to put it. “He will never listen to me. By the gods he won't even stop yelling at me long enough to listen! And the last time we spoke it almost came to violence.”
“I'm also not a member of the Guild of the Arcane. They won't listen to anything I have to say. They are already upset with me as Wilberton has made a complaint to them about me and I've returned the favour. It makes their lives difficult.”
It occurred to him as he said it that Carrie was right about him. He needed to stop reacting to her grandfather. He just made things worse. Maybe he owed her an apology for that. Or to at least stop yelling back at Wilberton.
“I also have no standing with the King or the Court. Nor with Mayor Flint who knows me as nothing more than a silver miner. No one in the town knows I am a wizard, so I can’t use that status as leverage.”
Or rather, he realised, no one had previously known he was a wizard. That might have changed depending on how many people had heard Wilberton's ranting and given it credence.
“But you are a man who speaks with unicorns! That must be a reason for people to listen to you.”
“I don't really speak with them. I feed them. And no one other than Carrie and Wilberton know that I have any contact with them, or that I live in another realm.” Or so he hoped.
“I'm sorry,” Py immediately contradicted him. “But the people of Coldwater know that too. The ageing wizard has told everyone of your nature and where you live. the townsfolk then asked the other wizards and when pressed, they were unable to deny it. They simply refused to speak of the matter.”
“Damn!” And yet even as he cursed, Edrick knew he should have expected it. He wasn't a member of the Guild. And he could not expect the Guild wizards to lie for him. Not speaking of something was a different thing altogether to lying about it.
“So, you won't help?” Her face fell.
“I will help if I can. I'll stand with you. But I just don't know if it will do any good. My presence may even make things worse.”
“But perhaps not if when we stand we do so in a place in which no one may lay claim to.”
It took Edrick a moment to realise what she meant. Neutral ground. And nowhere was more neutral than the realm of the ancient Faerie. She wanted to hold this meeting in his home.
“That will be fine.” He was sad about it as he realised it would mean that another of his secrets would be out, but as it seemed he had few secrets left now save his name, it probably wouldn't make much more trouble for him. “You can hold the meeting in my home.”
“Thank you!” Py unexpectedly leaned across the seat and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “I knew you would help! No one who speaks with unicorns would deny a just cause!”
“I will try,” he corrected her even as he tried to wriggle free of her embrace. Why did everyone want to hug him?! “I wish I could promise more, but I can't. I just hope that it is enough.”
Chapter Six
The weather was cooperating for once, and Edrick was pleased about that. It was good to have some sunshine return after the rain of the previous days. But it seemed to be about the only thing that was cooperating. His guests had brought their children with them – he didn't know why – and they were running around, laughing, screaming and yelling at one another, and doing all the things that children did. They also tended to leave doors open wherever they went, and he kept having to remind them to close the gate between the fields and the garden. Otherwise they'd have unicorns attending the meeting. Even now he could see two unicorns further down the valley, and he knew they were keeping a close eye on things. And most especially that gate.
The griffins were no more cooperative. Whatever they were up to, they were doing it noisily, and the roars at times were very distracting. But it was Spring and he supposed it was courting season. There was nothing to be done about it. But that didn't stop him yelling at them e
very so often!
Meanwhile the Argani were exploring. They may have come for a meeting, but that seemed to have slipped their minds as they were going through his home like a pack of curious monkeys. Everything was being opened, his toilet was in constant action as they marvelled at the flushing action, books were being pulled off shelves, furniture was being tested out, and they were crawling all over his steam wagon.
It was just unfortunate that being so busy investigating, they apparently didn’t seem to have time to help set things up for the meeting. There was furniture to arrange, food to put on tables – and to protect from hungry griffins who were really no better than the unicorns – and hot drinks to prepare.
Somehow, when he'd agreed to hold the meeting at his home, this hadn't been quite what he'd imagined happening. And it had cost him a small fortune. A dozen new garden benches and a new outdoor dining table didn't come cheap. Nor did food for fifty people.
“Guests!”
The cry went up from Py who was keeping watch at the gate and letting people cross. Without a wizard or sorcerer there, anyone passing through the gate would simply end up walking straight between the standing stones to the trees on the other side. They wouldn't be able to pass through it to the Faerie's realm.
In this case though, it wouldn't have mattered. Not when he saw Master Thatchwell appear on the grass along with half a dozen others and then start making his way toward him. The wizards it seemed had arrived.
He was curious about them, and despite having a hundred other things to do, Edrick found himself staring at them as they came down the hill. Their youth surprised him. He'd expected them to be older, some of them at least pushing for Wilberton's age, whatever that was. But for a wizard one hundred years wasn’t considered old. Instead Master Thatchwell appeared to be one of the oldest among them. The rest he would have put in their thirties. Barely any older than him. Nor were they dressed outlandishly as he'd expected. Often that was considered the mark of a true wizard, wearing brightly coloured, gaudy clothes and excessive amounts of jewellery as if to show that the conventions of society did not apply to them. But they seemed fairly normally dressed. Their clothes respectable and even demure. Maybe the older, more outrageously dressed wizards had remained in Rivernia?
“Gladie, can you handle this please,” Edrick turned to his only helper, a woman of advancing years and some self-control unlike the rest of her people, “I have to go and greet our guests.”
“That'll be fine.” She nodded, and carried on buttering the bread. Dismissed, Edrick walked over to the wizards to greet them when they pulled up.
“Welcome, I'm Edrick.”
“You mean Lukas Edrick Baraman, eighth child of Lord Baraman,” Master Thatchwell immediately corrected him. “We may not cross you by revealing your name to the others, but there are no secrets among the Guild.”
“No, I mean Edrick. That's my name. Lukas was my grandfather.” But there was no point in arguing about it Edrick supposed. His old tutor had never accepted his name. He claimed it was demeaning for a wizard not to use his proper name. “Welcome to my home.”
“Rough, isn't it?” One of the others commented, surveying his home. She was a woman of middling years, and somewhat over dressed for the occasion. Her clothing style was conservative, but anyone could see it was carefully tailored and had been made of the finest materials. Above all it was not the sort of attire you wore on what was essentially a farm.
Edrick immediately felt his hackles rising, but quickly controlled it. He supposed she wasn't used to life in the towns and villages, away from the large cities, and was probably unfamiliar with log houses. Instead, she would have been used to perfectly straight brick and stone walls set out in rows along the sides of cobbled streets. “It's warm, dry, comfortable and solid,” he told her calmly. “And I like it here.”
“But really, why would you not live in a city where you wouldn't have to farm and hunt?” she continued. “This is so … common.”
“It's quiet and I like my neighbours,” Edrick told her wondering if she'd realise that his neighbours weren’t people. She didn't seem to have much of a sense of humour. “And this is the realm of the ancient Faeries. I don't hunt here.” He didn't quite know why, but it would have felt wrong to go out with weapons and the intention to kill. He purchased his meat. This was a land of peace. The comment that it was “common” though was a strange charge for her to make, he thought. To a noble it would simply mean “poor” and “crude”. Unrefined. But to a wizard, the term meant something or some place that was without magic. It was a slur on the mundane. And yet this was a realm of magic. Still, this wasn't the time to argue about such things.
“You can leave your horses to graze over there,” he indicated the paddock he'd fenced off the day before with a few posts and some wire strands, “And please help yourselves to some refreshments over at the table.”
“You built this yourself, didn't you?” Master Thatchwell unexpectedly asked staring at the construction.
“I did,” Edrick agreed, proud of his home. “I told you, I've learned a lot of different skills over the years.”
“Well let's just hope that your studies in magic have gone better!”
With that Master Thatchwell led the others off to the paddock, while Edrick stood there feeling a little hurt. The woman for her part gave Edrick a less than appreciative look. In fact, she almost seemed to sneer at him.
Why, he wondered? Master Thatchwell's words as harsh as they were, he could understand. His former tutor had always been hard to please. But he didn't know this woman. Was it that he wasn't a member of their Guild? Or was it something more than that? Edrick didn’t have time to think about it any further though as Py suddenly appeared to announce that more guests were arriving. Master Thatchwell's opinions didn't matter he decided. The meeting would begin soon enough and after it was done they would all be gone.
Next through the gate was Lord Ironbelly along with half a dozen aides and as many guards. He was a proud man as Edrick had expected, but a little too proud in the belly. Still, that seemed appropriate given his name and he seemed like a reasonable man at first glance.
“Welcome Lord Ironbelly, I'm –.”
“Lukas Edrick Baraman of House Baraman. I know. Master Wilberton was most clear about that.”
“Crap!” Edrick managed to keep his curse under his breath, but he still couldn't completely hide his annoyance. It seemed his secret was out. Lord Ironbelly, didn't seem to notice his upset, or at least he pretended not to.
“Your father will be glad to hear that you've been found,” the Lord continued. “He was worried that you'd got into some trouble. Brigands perhaps. He didn't want to believe you'd simply run away. That you'd shamed your family.”
Edrick didn't answer the Lord. He didn't know how to. Because he knew there was some truth in Lord Ironbelly's charge. That he'd shamed the family. But not by running away of itself. It was by running from his duties. After all, a marriage had been arranged that would have cemented a formidable alliance between two powerful trading families. He had wrecked that deal.
Edrick wondered how his father had dealt with his flight. In the first instance he would probably have been able to save some face by being able to say that some tragedy must have befallen his son. To have it revealed now that his son had simply run away must be causing his father considerable humiliation. He probably thought it was a shame that Edrick hadn't been the victim of foul play!
“So, this is the land of the Faerie. Pretty.” Lord Ironbelly obviously took Edrick's silence to mean that he had no answer for him which was why he changed the subject.
He wasn't getting an answer either, Edrick decided. Though the Lord was both the King's Right Hand and a friend of his father, it wasn't the lord's place to chastise him.
“Yes, Lord Ironbelly.”
“Seen any Faeries?” The Lord fixed him with a curious stare.
“No Lord Ironbelly. I've explored this land for probably a hun
dred leagues in every direction. No faeries live here as far as I can tell. Griffins, unicorns and a few wyverns. Plenty of wolves, foxes and deer. But no people, no houses, no cities, and no structures of any kind. There are however, some standing stones.”
“Standing stones?”
“Like the pair laid out to mark the gate you just passed through. But these are in rings. They don't seem to do anything though. Just stand there. They don't respond to any spells I know.” Which, when he thought about, it literally reduced them to just standing stones. They just stood there.
“And silver too I understand?”
“Some. I have a nice vein running through the rocks of the river bank over there. But I haven't found any gold so far. There's copper and iron in the hills to the west.”