Spirit of Magik (The Dothranan Chronicles Book 1)

by Richard Cluff

  “Very nice. Do you think she'd let me stay here too if I swear to her?” Nigel asked.

  “You can ask her, but be respectful man,” Thorel said seriously.

  “So now both of you are going to be jumping ship. So tell me man, does she need a good whore?” Eliel looked at the house, obviously impressed.

  Thorel pointedly ignored that question and asked his own, “What are you going to study in the second semester, Eliel?”

  “Not sure. I figured I'd learn about a lot of things in the first semester; then I'd be able to make a better choice,” Eliel said matter-of-factly.

  “They're looking at us,” Nigel nodded towards the guards.

  Thorel opened the short iron gate and walked in with his bag on his back, and his books in one arm. “Hello, I'm Thorel Tangarth. I was here this morning and met Sergeant Greer? I'm the one living here,” he addressed the nearest guardsman.

  A guardswoman stood on the porch holding a bow, with an arrow knocked but not drawn.

  “Aye, Mr. Tangarth. I can see he wasn't jesting about your size, sir. Are these two with you?” He asked looking at Nigel and Eliel.

  “Yes sir, these are my friends, Nigel, and Eliel,” Thorel said.

  “Very well sir. I'll let the Sergeant know about them,” he nodded.

  “Thank you sir.” Thorel said sincerely.

  “Well, let's go take a look!” He said with a smile to his friends.

  Nigel and Eliel nodded their agreement and followed him in.

  Inside they saw a maid and another Dothranan guardsman. The maid was cleaning, and the guardsman was relaxing on a stool watching the door.

  The guardsman stood with his hand on his weapon, and the maid stopped what she was doing.

  “Who are you, man?” The guardsman demanded with his hand on his short sword.

  “I'm Thorel Tangarth sir. These are my friends Nigel, and Eliel,” Thorel replied.

  The guardsman looked him up and down and nodded. “I'm Soldier Bothin, Mr. Tangarth,” He pulled his hand from his weapon and extended it to him.

  Thorel took his hand firmly. “It is a pleasure, sir. Is there any way you could show me around?”

  “Of course, sir. Follow me and I'll show you your room first so you can drop your things off,” he said.

  He led them up the stairs to the third floor. The stairs switched back on the second floor, which had a balcony looking down on the ground floor.

  The third-floor landing had a door on the left, and a railed balcony on the right looking down to the ground floor. Bothin opened the door for him.

  Thorel nodded his thanks and walked in. It was nearly the size of Korin's house in one room. He saw a desk in front of him, and several bare bookshelves. On the other end of the room was a bed and a stand. Between there were a dresser and a standing closet.

  Thorel put his books on the desk, and his bag on the chair.

  Eliel walked in and whistled. “This is half as big as a common room at most bars!”

  “It's as big as my room at home including my bathroom!” Nigel nodded.

  “Your room is huge, little man!” Eliel said seriously.

  “Really?” Thorel asked.

  “You have a privy off of the sitting room on this floor, sir. The bathroom itself is on the ground floor,” Bothin informed him.

  “When did you go to Nigel's house?” Thorel asked.

  “I've been staying there the last two nights,” Eliel said.

  “It's part of the little adventure we had,” Nigel replied with a grin.

  “Sir, could we finish the tour later?” Thorel asked.

  “Of course, sir. The cook said dinner will be served at the eighteenth hour,” Bothin replied and walked down the stairs.

  “So what happened?” Thorel asked when he left.

  Eliel started: “Little bitch I stoned has been following me around with some of her girlfriends.”

  “After I made dinner for Lady Dothranan, I went looking for her,” Nigel supplied.

  “Yeah, and he never would have found me if my Mom hadn't sold me out,” Eliel snarled.

  “Yeah, well when I got there and the girl she smacked stopped me and told me she was gonna beat Eliel,” Nigel said.

  Thorel looked at Eliel and said, “I think that little woman would have a hard time with you, Eliel.”

  “She would, but that's why she brought three of her friends to help. I would have a hard time with that, I think,” Eliel said seriously.

  “Anyway, after our crazy friend here pulls a dagger on me, I get her out of the inn across the roof of the building next door,” Nigel said dryly.

  “Well, I didn't tell you where the hell I was going, little man! And I knew I was being followed!” Eliel yelled.

  Nigel looked at her nonplussed. “Heh, well after the tough girl was all done with her quivering and wailing on the rooftops, I took her to my parents' house.”

  “I was not wailing!” Eliel said defensively.

  “You were shaking so much I could have had you mix drinks all night on that roof!” He laughed.

  “We aren't on a roof right now, little man,” Eliel said, balling her fist menacingly.

  “Enough of that!” Thorel said loudly.

  Eliel looked at Thorel at first stunned and then her face changed quickly. It became smitten, and she took hold of his arm saying, “You can be firm too! Oh, I love it.”

  Nigel fell to the floor, laughing so hard he was squeaking.

  * * *

  Ari stepped out of her carriage into the stables of Dothranan Manor. She was met by Siri and General Tarsis.

  “Mistress! The first, second, third, and fourth armies are ready to march. The militia has been mobilized to assist the fifth army in defense of the Hold. We await your command,” the General said saluting crisply. Even though he was in his early sixties, the General stood straight wearing his plate armor without trouble.

  “Unfortunately, High Lady Vallad has interfered. Quarrel gave me his surrender before her. It will not damage him the way our attack would have, but it will have to suffice for now,” Ari said heatedly.

  “A messenger from the High Lord arrived with this, Mistress,” Siri said holding an ornate scroll case with Quarrel's sigil on it.

  “And there it is,” Ari nodded to the case irritably while walking to the guarded lift.

  “It's a shame, Mistress. We have enough tar packed to set Quarrel's entire hold ablaze twice,” Tarsis said sadly.

  “Keep it ready to be moved quickly, General. He can't take this lying down. He will be forced to do something to save face, or he will be obviously the weakest Great Lord in the realm,” Ari told him.

  “Yes, Mistress! I will see to it,” the General saluted, fist to heart and left quickly.

  “Siri, I need your counsel,” Ari said, making her way to the lift.

  “Of course, Mistress,” Siri followed her.

  Siri went over some of the daily reports, and the progress of the water house's cleanup while they ascended the forty-two floors. Ari attended her words, trying not to let her current state of mind distract her. It wasn't easy though, she was so angry at the moment, but there were much larger concerns than Quarrel's surrender.

  When they arrived, they made their way to Ari's study. Ari set her bag with her textbooks by her desk and pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. She poured for both of them and handed Siri hers.

  They each took a drink, and Ari said, “The High Lady threatened my life today,” with a deadly serious look into Siri's eyes.

  Siri's eyes widened at that. “Surely not, Mistress!”

  “I think my husband would do well to find a reason to kill you,” is what she said to me,” Ari said taking another drink.

  “It is difficult to get reliable contacts in the High Lord's employ, Mistress, but I will double my efforts,” Siri said taking her drink.

  “See that you do. As if I didn't have enough to worry about with Quarrel; it would have been easier if we could have ju
st marched and settled it,” she said grumpily.

  “I didn't expect him to take the surrender, but when the bitch asked me why, I had to answer,” Ari growled.

  Siri frowned at that.

  “And I had his blood boiling, too. Damn it!” Ari stamped her foot and drained her glass angrily.

  “You will have to be very careful, Mistress,” Siri said seriously.

  Ari nodded. “I hadn't planned on dealing with the High Lord yet. I must deflect his attention for now.”

  Siri took a deep drink of her glass at that thought.

  Tuesday May 7th 1624th year of the First Great City

  Brush with death

  Thorel woke up groggily, because of the noise. Someone was knocking insistently on the door of the massive bedroom.

  “Sir! It is only an hour before classes; the Mistress commanded that we not let you oversleep! Your breakfast is ready!” A woman's voice yelled through the door.

  “Tell the noisy bitch to go away,” Eliel murmured beside him, putting her arms around him.

  Thorel looked at Eliel beside him; he did not remember going to bed.

  The knocking came again. “Sir! Are you awake?”

  “YES!!!” Thorel called loudly and instantly wished he hadn't. His head throbbed terribly with the noise.

  The woman called back, “Very good, sir. I'll leave your breakfast in the sitting room here.”

  “Thank you,” Thorel replied, but not so loud this time.

  Eliel snuggled up next to him. “Mmmm. We should miss a few classes,” Her bare breasts pressed against his body.

  Thorel just looked at her. “Did we?” His Mother's words flooded his mind at the thought: Never lay with a woman you don't love. Then Korin's words came to him: If you do boy, you'd better be ready to take responsibility for the child that might come of it. Thorel knew well he wasn't ready for that yet.

  Eliel giggled, “I think you had a little too much wine by the time I got you to myself.”

  Thorel remembered Nigel found a full wine rack out in the sitting room. They started drinking and chatting about everything. It was mostly Nigel asking him more questions about the Mistress. He was seriously considering her offer.

  Eliel was grumpy the whole time they talked about her.

  They ate the dinner the cook had made; it was brought to them in the sitting room on the other side of the stairs.

  Then they had more wine and things started getting fuzzy around there.

  “What happened? I don't remember much after the bottle we had after dinner,” he said groggily.

  “We had a lot of fun and got loud. One of your maids even started coming up to check for empty bottles!” She said with a laugh.

  “And then, you fell asleep in your chair! It was the cutest thing I've ever seen,” Eliel giggled.

  “Little man had one of the Guards come help us get you into bed, and we took your clothes off. You didn't even budge,” she grinned.

  “I have never felt this horrible,” Thorel put a hand on his head.

  “Well, lots of water and a good breakfast will help you with that,” Eliel said seriously.

  “I am never drinking again,” Thorel stood up and lurched towards his boxers.

  Eliel giggled. “Oh, I've heard that one before! And I've said it a few times, too!”

  * * *

  It was the last class of the day in the Wizards Tower for Thorel.

  Eliel had been right about food and water helping, but he still felt terrible. He wasn't drinking anymore. That was enough of that.

  He only had to endure his etiquette class after this. Then he was going to take a nap.

  Mistress Thenna droned on. That was one of the confusing things of etiquette: she is a Master Wizard, but must still be addressed as Mistress. But to call her a Mistress Wizard would be rude because Master Wizard is her title. There were too many things to remember.

  “While there is little danger of either of you conducting Magikal experiments at this stage, it is not too early to say to never do an experiment alone. Many Wizards have died or been seriously injured due to such hubris,” she said seriously.

  Martin's hand shot up. He was a tall man, (though not as tall as Thorel) with sandy brown hair and a lean frame. He had a woman's spirit floating with him, as Thorel's father did. He was the only other person who was in his apprentice classes with him. He seemed like a nice and respectful man.

  Thenna said, “Yes, Martin?”

  “Can you give us an example of one, Mistress?” He asked.

  “I think the most famous example would have to be Master Larg,” Thenna smiled with dark humor.

  “Master Larg made an attempt to go to the moon in the year 1234. He worked most of his adult life towards this goal. Many in the Wizards community thought he was insane, and scoffed at his research,” she lectured.

  I would never have even considered such a thing, until now, Thorel thought, amazed by the idea.

  “It is certain he could have acquired assistance though, even if the assistance had to be hired. Every Wizard requires coin in order to purchase spirits, and it is considered good manners to help a fellow Wizard if your political alignments and time allow it,” Thenna droned.

  “Master Larg had studied well and was prepared for everything he could have been aware of. His notes that were found afterward clearly indicate this. He had constructed a launcher, capable of sending him higher than any catapult or trebuchet ever built. He had developed the parasail so he could slow his descent, and tested it three times with his launcher according to his journal,” she recited.

  It sounds like he was careful, but not careful enough, Thorel thought.

  “He was never found after his scheduled attempt though. He had taken a record stone to document his experience, but that was not found either. The launcher had obviously been used,” Thenna looked at each of them seriously.

  “So what happened to him, Mistress?” Martin asked.

  “It will never be certain, of course. There have been attempts made since Master Larg's, but they were properly made with assistance. It is believed he passed out and died beyond the sky, or his body burned when he fell back to the ground. This conclusion is based on the information collected from subsequent attempts,” she stated.

  “So no one has reached the moon yet, Mistress?” Thorel asked.

  “No, but it is just a matter of time as with anything else. In the second attempt, it was discovered there was no air beyond the sky. The Wizard, who had gone, was brought back safely with an apportation talisman his assistant activated,” Thenna said.

  “What is apportation, Mistress?” Martin asked.

  Looking at the clock, she said, “That is something that will be covered much later, and is not relevant to any of your current studies.”

  “You will be expected to finish reading chapter two of your books tonight, and complete these questions to ensure that you understand the material.” Thenna handed them each a sheet of paper with questions on it.

  The clock tower sounded seven deep and seven higher pitched bells to signal the fourteenth hour.

  “Dismissed,” Mistress Thenna said curtly.

  * * *

  Ari was heading towards the Apprentices Tower for her final class of the day. She liked having her last class there so she could speak with the Masters more conveniently afterward.

  She saw Thorel talking with another man while he walked. The man had a spirit attached to him, the spirit of a woman. When she looked at his books, she saw Magnar's Manual of Meditation on top. He was obviously a first-semester student at the tower, just as Thorel was. Ari remembered that boring tome better than she cared to.

  She tried to suppress the smile that crept onto her face when she saw Thorel. The destruction of her plan to destroy Quarrel, and the threat of not only the High Lady but Vallad's representative on the Wizard's Council as well disturbed her greatly.

  He was the only thing going right for her right now. His instructors said he was satis
factory, which is not something said lightly about students in the Tower.

  She approached Thorel and schooled her smile into something more neutral. She knew well the disadvantages of displaying feelings publicly.

  He was still speaking to the man he was walking with, but he stopped and waited for her to approach. His companion made her memory itch. The man was important somehow, she knew.

  Ari approached them, and they bowed to her, saying; “Milady,” and “Mistress,” respectively.

  Ari gave the unknown man a flat look. She saw the comprehension cross his eyes, and he promptly told Thorel; “I think I'll be along to class. See you there.”

  He was obviously perceptive and quick. That made the mental itch even more irritating. She would have to ask one of the Masters at the Tower when she arrived.

  “See you there,” Thorel told him.

  Ari looked at him, feeling a bit warm and light headed. He looked much better in the fine clothing that she had provided for him than his common clothes, she thought.

  “What can I do for you, Mistress?” Thorel asked.

  Ari stopped. She had no idea what she had wanted to say to him. Whatever it was, was gone without a trace. She just couldn't remember. People's names were one thing: most of them weren't important enough to remember. But to forget what she had wanted to say? That was something else entirely.

  Ari recovered herself as quickly as she could. I must have stared like a fool for five seconds. She thought with horror.

  “I will come to the house after school to see you,” she said to cover her lapse.

  “Of course, Mistress,” Thorel replied with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

  It was certain: she had just made a complete fool of herself in front of him.

  Ari nodded to him, and he to her. They walked past each other.

  She heard an impact, and felt something catch and pull her hair, hard.

  She whirled around, as her right rear guardsman called out, “Archer!”