“How do you get such a bright white light from the lamps?” Miranda asked, looking up at the large, but rather plain, chandeliers.
“It’s magic!” Ellyssa blurted out. “Azerick lets me light them every morning since I learned how to cast the light spell. I’m a wizard!”
“Oh you are, are you? And what is your name?”
“I’m Ellyssa, and I’m Azerick’s apprentice. I set a tree on fire, but it was an accident, and now I have to squish rats with an ugly goblin named Grick, but he’s not a bad goblin that eats kids. He’s nice even though he was bad and got turned into a goblin by the woods fairy, so he isn’t a kid anymore.”
Miranda gave the chatty girl a bemused smile. “Well, my name is…,”
“I know who you are! You’re Lady Miranda. I saw you last winter fest. You are very pretty like your mother, but she doesn’t smile like you do. That was before my father sold me to Azerick, but I don’t mind because a gross fat man was going buy me, but Azerick gave me a glass ball, and I made it glow really bright, so he bought me instead. The fat man was really mad, but Azerick used magic to knock him to the ground. I thought it was really scary at first, but now I think it’s really funny. Azerick said he was going to turn him into a pig if he tried to buy any more kids, but I think he already looked a lot like a pig, especially rolling around in the dirty street.”
“Magus Azerick bought you?”
Ellyssa was about to begin a third ramble when Azerick cut her off. “Why don’t you take a breath and go work on writing your ten fundamentals of wizardry. You have fallen behind and will likely not finish before your restriction is up at the rate you are going.”
“But I want to stay and talk to Lady Miranda!”
“Go to the library, now.”
Ellyssa crossed her arms and stomped up the stairs. “You never let me do anything except squish gross old rats. It’s not even a real library, Lady Miranda. It only has thirty-two books!” The angry girl sprinted up the stairs before Azerick could reprimand her.
“It looks like you bought yourself a handful,” Lady Miranda said.
“I have indeed. And to clarify my buying her, I basically gave her father a sum of gold for her to become my apprentice. I do not deal in slaves. She is as talented and bright as she is willful. Whether she will use her potential for good or evil, I have yet to be able to determine.”
“If I did not know better I would say you took her in out of the kindness of your heart, but you don’t do things just for the sake of doing good, do you?” Miranda arched her eyebrow at the taciturn sorcerer.
“I will, on occasion, take pity on those who are incapable of helping themselves,” Azerick replied somberly. “Nobles rarely fall into that category; at least I have not met any that do thus far. Present company accepted of course.”
Miranda cleared her throat uncomfortably and introduced the others. “You remember my maiden, Sarah, and this gentleman is Sergeant Philip Garmin.”
Sarah looked much the same as she did the day Azerick met her when the bandits attacked, although her dress was not nearly as fancy. Sergeant Garmin wore a well-polished chain shirt over a padded doublet and a fine linen shirt of royal blue. A well-maintained longsword and matching dagger hung low on his hip where his hand constantly rested on the pommel.
“Welcome to my home, Ladies, Sergeant. What brings you here today?”
“I received word that your workers recently completed repairs to the stables, and I thought I might bring you a gift. I am sure you recall the horses we recovered that belonged to the bandits. I felt they belong to you by rights.”
Azerick gave Miranda a small bow of appreciation. “You are most gracious, My Lady. Was there anything else you desired, My Lady?”
Miranda stiffened at the obvious dismissal. “No, Magus, that was all I wished to convey at this time. I shan’t keep you from your duties any longer.”
Azerick saw the group to the door with hardly a word of farewell, ducking quickly back inside and closing the heavy door as soon as they were beyond the threshold.
“What an infuriating man!” Sarah exclaimed as they mounted their horses and began the ride back to North Haven proper.
“And rude, My Lady,” Philip added. “I would gladly return to teach him some manners when speaking to his betters.”
“He is infuriating and rude, but I think we ought not to judge him too harshly. We know very little of him and what he has experienced. Moreover, trying to teach him anything by force, be it by arms or will, I think would end badly for whoever tried, Philip, but thank you for the offer.”
Azerick checked on the horses as soon as Miranda and her escorts traveled beyond the wall. Azerick did have a team of workers repairing the extensive stables even though Horse was the only animal, until now, sheltered within the structure. He caught up with one of the men handling several of the new horses.
“What is your name, sir?” Azerick asked the man.
“Brandon, milord,” the man replied nervously, fearing he had done something wrong.
“Brandon, are we prepared to stable this many horses?”
“Aye, milord. The stable is sound, and a new roof covers the entire thing, but most of the stalls lack doors seeing as how there was only the one horse to stable until now. We got men building new doors for the rest of the stalls and should be finished within a couple of hours. We’re also building a large paddock for exercising them all, and that can be done by the end of the day if milord don’t mind pulling a few men off fixin’ the breaches in the wall to help,” Brandon replied.
“Your plan sounds excellent, Brandon, see that it gets finished.”
“Aye, milord, right away then.” The man began shouting instructions to the men working on the wall to begin digging postholes for the paddock.
A small man wearing wire-framed spectacles, carrying a satchel filled with rolls of vellum, books, quills, and ink, and walking with a slight crouch bustled hurriedly over to Azerick.
The man waved a crooked finger nervously before him. “Master Azerick Giles, are you he?”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“Oh, ah, Lord Randall sent me. He told me you have need of, ah, an accountant,” the nervous little man stammered.
“Yes I do, and you are…?” Azerick prompted.
“Um, ah, the accountant, My Lord.”
Azerick raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, Simon, My Lord, Simon the accountant.”
Azerick dropped his grim demeanor and shook the timid little man’s hand. “I do indeed require an accountant, Simon. Please follow me, and I will show you what I require.”
Azerick guided Simon into the keep and took him down the stairs to the sublevel. The man flinched when a large rat scampered across their path, but Azerick reassured him that he had someone working on the rodent problem.
“He is a goblin named Grick. You will likely see him, and perhaps my apprentice, depending on how much trouble she gets herself into, down here working on it.”
“Oh, ah, a goblin you say? Very unusual help but efficient I would wager.”
“Here we are,” Azerick told Simon as they stopped in front of the heavy vault door. He spoke some words of magic, and the engraved runes on the door flashed for a brief moment. “I have changed the wards so that you may have access to the vault from now on without my having to disable them.”
“Oh, so you are a wizard. Ah, rumors are going around is why I say that.”
“Precisely, and I am able to track all of my possessions by magic should any of them come up missing.”
“Oh, ah, of course, Master Azerick, of course. You need not fear any sort of, ah, illicit activities from me. I would never dream of taking something from my employer.”
“Excellent, this is what I need you to sort out and manage,” Azerick said as he pulled the thick door open and revealed the pile of treasure inside.
Simon’s jaw dropped in awe at what he beheld. “Oh, ah, that is, oh my. Oh my, my, my, my,” he
stammered and blinked several times at what lay before him. “What, uh, exactly will you be requiring from me, Master Giles? Uh, Magus Azerick, My Lord.”
“Just Azerick, Simon, I don’t like to stand on formalities.” Azerick tried to reassure the clerk but ended up confounding him even worse. He finally settled for Master Azerick, anything less sent the little man into a stammering fit.
“I’ll need you to tally up all of the coins and jewels, inventory and document all the miscellaneous items, ensure that the workers are paid promptly and fairly, help my head cook track things such as food and household expenditures and whatever else you deem needs to be accounted and budgeted for.”
“Oh my. That is, ah, quite a task.”
“Hmm, it is isn’t it? I never really thought much on it until now. Feel free to hire as many assistants as you think you require and feel are trustworthy.”
“Oh, ah, I think perhaps two more coin counters should sufficiently ease my, ah, workload enough for me to see to the, ah, other matters that you need addressed, ah, Master Azerick.”
Azerick nodded his agreement. “That sounds like an excellent plan, Simon. See to it and budget in their pay. I believe people who are paid well are less likely to give into the temptation of theft, or skimming, as accountants like to call it.”
“Oh, ah, no, Master Azerick, no counters of mine would, ah, dare skim, or I will bounce them right on out!” Simon exclaimed, waving a quill he gripped tightly in one hand.
Azerick gave the excitable and nervous clerk a friendly laugh. “Let me know when you are prepared to start, Simon.”
“Oh, ah, I had planned on starting the, ah, counting today, but that does not look like a productive thing to begin with at this, ah, time. With your permission, ah, Master Azerick, I will check out the, ah, kitchen staff and get an idea of their expenditures before I return to the, ah, city to round up a couple of trustworthy, ah, assistants.”
“That sounds fine, Simon. Now about your salary, what do you require for a job like this?”
“Oh, ah, my pay, yes. Um, I normally get paid, ah, two gold crowns a week for general accounting services amongst the, ah, more successful merchants, but this job is a fair bit, ah, more complicated, so perhaps three gold crowns per week would be fair?”
“Make it five crowns a week and pay your assistants two per week,” Azerick offered.
“Oh my, you are most, ah, generous, Master Azerick, most generous. I shall begin right away and will return with my assistants in the morning.”
“Then I will leave you to your work, Simon.”
The two climbed the stairs back to the main level where Azerick pointed the way to the kitchens, and Simon shuffled off to perform his work. Azerick hoped the kitchen ladies would not frighten the little man overmuch. Cooks tended to be rather territorial and did not stand for anyone whom they felt was trying to usurp them in their own little kingdom.
Azerick walked out to the stables and saw that nearly half the horses were already housed in their own stalls. Brandon strode up the moment he saw the sorcerer entering the stables.
“We got four new doors hung already, milord, and the men are busy digging post holes and cutting timber for the paddock. The timbers will be a bit rough for the nonce if you want it completed by this evening, though.”
“Complete it as you deem best, Brandon. I doubt keeping the horses in the stable for a day or two will cause them any harm. There is a small man by the name of Simon in the kitchens. See him about getting a load of hay and oats delivered to feed them all. Horse’s food will not last this many animals for long, and he is not fond of sharing.”
“Aye, milord, I’ll see to it straight away,” Brandon promised.
Azerick saddled Horse and rode into town. The soldiers guarding the gates nodded to him as he passed by and made his way to the Golden Glade’s stables. Peck saw him the moment he rode in and jumped off the overturned bucket he was sitting on and playing a game of marbles with the other two stableboys.
“You stayin’ the night, milord?” Peck asked.
“No, I am afraid not, Peck,” Azerick told the young boy and saw the excitement fade from his face.
“Oh, then you won’t be needin' me to take care of your horse then will you?”
“Actually, that is what I am here to talk to you about. Are you an orphan, Peck?”
“Aye, milord, he’s an orphan alright,” the one named John shouted. “He ain’t got a mum or a da’ who want him.”
Azerick ignored the older boy as he looked down at Peck. “Is that true, Peck; are you on your own?”
Peck drew in the dirt with the toe of his worn shoe that looked as though he had outgrown it a year ago. “I ain’t really by myself. I get to sleep in the loft here where I earn honest coin in tips, and I get enough kitchen scraps to keep from being hungry most the time.”
“How would you like to stay at my keep and take care of my horses? I will pay you a gold crown each month, get you some new clothes and shoes, and you can eat as much as you like. A proper meal too, not kitchen scraps.”
“A gold piece a month and new shoes? You mean it, milord?”
John and Wally looked at him with stunned envy.
“Go get whatever you want to bring with you. You will not need any blankets or old clothing; I’ll replace all that,” Azerick instructed.
Peck darted off into the stable house with a whoop of joy and returned a moment later with a small wooden box that he kept hidden. Inside was the gold piece Azerick had given him the first night he stayed at the Golden Glade and a few mementos he had saved before his family had died in a fire. Azerick leaned down and pulled Peck up by the arm dropped him on Horse’s rump.
“See ya, ya boggers, and that single he gave me was gold, ha!” Peck shouted as Azerick wheeled Horse about and trotted away.
Azerick and Peck made a stop by the clothier’s before riding back to the keep. Peck kept wiggling his feet and examining his new shoes. Azerick also bought him a tall pair of steel-toed boots to wear when he was working around the horses due to smashed toes being the leading cause of injuries to grooms, with kicks being a close second. Peck slid off Horse’s rump as soon they rode into the stable.
“Whoa, do I get to care for all of these horses?” Peck cried as he ran past the two-dozen stalls, half of which now housed a horse.
“They are all yours, Peck. Them and seven others that are tethered elsewhere until their stables are finished.”
“Seven more? Wow, that’s like,” Peck paused to count, “fifteen horses!”
“Eighteen to be exact,” Azerick corrected. “Peck, have you been educated at all? Can you read and write?”
“I learned myself to count, but I don’t read so good, but I do know my alphabet.”
“Then that will be something else you will be required to learn. How old are you, Peck?”
“Ten, milord. Most people think I am younger, but I swear I’m ten.”
Azerick had him pegged at only eight. He was a year older than Ellyssa but she stood half a head taller than he did.
“All right, Peck. I will have men to help you with the horses for now. You will sit in on some classes with Ellyssa so you can get a basic education.”
“Milord, I can take care of the horses myself I can. I’m a hard worker and no slacker!” Peck insisted, afraid he was already being replaced.
Azerick understood the boy’s fear. Being small, he probably has had many things taken from him.
“Do not worry, you are still in charge of the horses,” Azerick reassured him. “I just want to make sure you have enough time to succeed at both tasks. There is no shame in getting help. I have hired many people, like you, to help me fix up and run this place.”
“I’ll do you proud, milord, you’ll see.”
“I am sure you will, Peck. Let me show you where you can stay.”
Azerick led him to the large tack room that sported several saddle racks bearing saddles, horse blankets, and bridles for each of the horse
s Miranda brought in.
“There is a small room in the back you can have. I will have some carpenters build you a bed, bring in a chest for your belongings, and get a mattress stuffed before tonight. Before winter comes, I will also get you a small stove. Store Horse’s gear in the tack room and give him a good brushing. I will call you when it is time to eat.”
Azerick left Peck to take care of Horse and store his new clothes in the room until the workers brought him a chest and put a bed together. Azerick returned to the keep hoping to relax away the day’s bustle with a glass of wine, but as soon as he entered, Ellyssa came running down the stairs.
“Azerick, there is another man here to see you. He looks old and grumpy, but he’s nice. I told him how you make me squish rats with Grick, and he showed me how to make a really neat dart that I can throw at the rats and kill them without getting guts on my shoes!”
Azerick sighed deeply. So much for relaxing, he thought to himself. “Take a breath, Ellyssa. What is his name?”
Ellyssa chewed her bottom lip and looked up as if she were trying to see her own eyebrows. “Um, I forgot.”
Azerick knew she forgot very few things, especially when it came to reading. It was more likely that she simply had not listened when the man had told her.
“Where is he now?”
“Upstairs in the library,” she answered, putting a mocking emphasis on library, obviously still peeved at being sent away earlier that day.
Azerick ascended the stairs in no hurry, unlike his apprentice who practically bounced her way to the fourth floor far ahead of him. The double doors were like most everything in the keep, simple but made of the highest quality. He pushed the brass handle down and entered the room.
“Ewen, you made it up here I see,” Azerick greeted his old instructor upon recognizing the man sitting next to Ellyssa. She was sitting on the chair on her knees and leaning on the table with her elbows examining a piece of parchment.
“His name is Ewen, and he drew a picture showing me how to make darts. Not little darts like they play with in taverns but real ones that’ll kill a rat!” Ellyssa beamed.
The Sorcerer's Path Box Set: Book 1-4 Page 76