The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 2

by William D. Latoria

  Vaund thought about this for a moment before answering, “I think as The Jade Mage only. I don’t recall any of the scouts actually saying Tartum Fuin. Is that a good thing, you think?” Vaund asked hopefully.

  Tartum wasn’t sure, he knew he wasn’t the only caster in the world that had a green staff, but he had been known as the infamous Jade Mage within Saroth for a time. Now that he thought of it, he hadn’t been refered to by that moniker since his exile from the city. Perhaps he had some breathing room yet. Even if the agents of the Bishop did locate him here, he could deny the title long enough to make good his escape. Besides, Tartum liked it in Yucoke, he had no intention of leaving unless absolutely necessary.

  “I think for now we are safe. I have been here almost a year, and you’re the first person to have found me.” he said reassuringly. As he said the words, he knew they weren’t true. His old mentor, Isidor, had found him and sent Oldrake to help him on his journey to Windswept. Tartum didn’t think it was worth worrying his friend over such an insignificant detail. His old mentor showing up just long enough to offer aid was in no way related to the Bishop’s hunt for him to recover his scroll. He had a more pressing problem to deal with now. He wondered how much he should share with Vaund about his own escape from the guild. Looking into his friend’s eyes, he knew he couldn’t lie to him; not completely anyway. Those were his friends too, and he deserved to know at least most of the truth.

  “I think you should know something, Vaund; Elizabeth and Jeth are dead.” Tartum said. He was surprised by the lack of emotion in his voice.

  Vaund looked down and nodded. He began picking at a piece of bread pulling small crumbs away and flicking them back onto the platter. “I figured as much. To be honest, I thought you all were dead. None of the scouts brought news of survivors. Have you any news of Savall or Rashlarr?” Vaund asked. The hope Tartum saw in his eyes was almost too much for him to bear. Not trusting himself to speak, Tartum shook his head. Tartum watched as the hope in his eyes disappeared and sorrow took it place.

  “No, I didn’t think you would. I really miss them, Tartum.” Vaund did cry now. He seemed to have kept these tears back for a while. Now with confirmation of two of their deaths, it must have been too much. Tartum had to remind himself, Vaund was only around sixteen years old. Much of his life had been pain and loss. It would seem he was cursed from birth. Tartum felt very sorry for his friend. Silently, he allowed him his assuagement, not uttering a sound as he released his sorrow and frustration at their deaths. Buddy walked over to him and began licking his face in an effort to ease his pain. Tartum watched as Buddy’s affection seemed to lift Vaund’s spirits enough to stop his flow of tears. He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his robe and hugged Buddy gratefully.

  “Well at least you survived, Buddy! I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am for that!” Vaund said. In response Buddy wagged his tail quickly as he licked at Vaund’s face. With an excited bark, he thrust his head onto his lap in an effort to make Vaund continue petting him. Tartum couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Buddy’s simple kindness was helping Vaund mend his broken heart.

  When Vaund looked up at him this time, Tartum saw conviction on his face. “How did they die, Tartum? I’m sorry if this is a hard question to answer, but I need to know.”

  Tartum had been afraid he would ask him that question. “Jeth died poorly I won’t lie to you. When I found him he was surrounded by many guards. He had killed a few, but there were just too many. I was going to intervene when Jeth panicked and offered to tell the guards where one of us was in order to save himself. The guards laughed at him before running him through and cutting his head off. I killed the guards shortly after that to avenge him. I couldn’t save a traitor like that, but I had no qualms about granting him vengence over his killers.”

  Vaund thought over his answer for a while. Tartum waited for him to react to the information. He felt no guilt about his actions and was prepared to defend himself against any retailiatory remarks Vaund might make. The assault never came, Vaund simply grinned before nodding.

  “I think you did him a great service by killing the guards responsible for murdering him. It doesn’t surprise me that he tried to weasel his way out like that. Whenever Jeth’s back was against a wall, the first thing he threw in front of him was his friends. Savall almost killed him because of it on numerous occasions. Thank you for telling me the truth, Tartum. It means alot to me to have closure.” Vaund said sincerely. “Please, if you can, tell me how Elizabeth died.”

  Tartum replayed her death in his head. He went over every detail and every moment step by step. Looking at Vaund his first thought was to lie and say the guards killed her. He thought about telling him she died heroically slaying a dozen men before succumbing to her wounds and dying peacefully. The thoughts disgusted him the moment he had them, the man before him was Vaund, he had nothing to hide from him. Besides, now that he was recollecting the memory he found he still didn’t feel guilty or regret his decision.

  “I killed her.” He told him. His tone was plain as if he was stating water was wet and the sky is blue. Vaund’s reaction was understandable.

  “You…you killed her? What?! Why!?” he asked, confused.

  Holding up a hand, Tartum grinned before continuing, “After I made my way to the bottom floor of the compound, I found her captured by one of the guards. There were many bodies around her that had her knives buried deep inside of their vitals. She had fought well, Vaund, but just like with Jeth, she was overwhelmed and caught. When I found her, the guard was shielding himself with her body and had a knife to her neck. Four guards had kicked down my door and made their way into my room where they began to attack Buddy and ransack my stuff. I had a choice to make, attempt to save Elizabeth and allow Buddy and my magic to perish, or allow Elizabeth to die and save my magic and my dog. I made my decision, and the results are sitting before you now. Buddy is at your side, and my magic has provided me with a wonderful new home and you a sanctuary from your travels. I do not regret my decision, Vaund. It’s important for you to understand that if we are to continue being friends.” Tartum said. He allowed a hint of a warning to enter his tone as he explained things to him. He didn’t want Vaund to plague him with accusing looks or make snide comments while he stayed with him. If that was his intention then Tartum would see him off this very night.

  Vaund was very pale, and for a moment, Tartum thought he might pass out or puke. With the condition of his body, Tartum didn’t know if either reaction could be considered healthy or safe. He waited for him to mull over what he had told him. Tartum understood that it was alot to take in all at once. With anyone else, Tartum knew he would have become impatient and ordered them to leave, however, this was Vaund. This young man had saved his life numerous times, it was the least he could do to wait patiently for him to process the information he’d given him in silence.

  Almost an hour passed before Vaund spoke. When he did, Tartum was relieved to hear acceptance in his voice. “What you did, I can’t say I would have done any differently in your situation. I know the story of how you came into possession of Buddy, and I know your magic is more precious to you than a new born baby is to a first time mother. I will miss Elizabeth very much, she was always very kind to me, from the very first day.” He said, as tears built up in his eyes. Tartum hoped he wouldn’t start crying again. He’d had enough of tears for one night, “I used to pretend she was my older sister, you know. I always wanted a sister. I guess in a way, she was. I wish I had been with her in the end, maybe I could have saved her.” Tartum watched as guilt took hold of Vaund once again. Tartum had enough.

  “Stop it, Vaund. You’re acting like a damned fool! I know you’re only sixteen, but you no longer have the luxury of being a child! Elizabeth is dead! PERIOD! No amount of self pity or misplaced guilt is going to change that! You want to know what would have happened if you had been there? She would have had the opportunity to watch the guards kill you before they killed h
er, too. Possibly worse had they gotten the chance, or do you think those men were too good to rape a woman as attractive as she was? No, what happened wouldn’t have changed if you had been there armed to the teeth. I was lucky to escape with my life! If I had been just a few seconds slower I wouldn’t have survived, as a matter of fact, and I’m a much more powerful caster than you are!” Tartum said. Pointing at Vaund, Tartum drove his point home, “Trust me, Elizabeth is more than happy about the fact that you survived! She would have gladly lay down her life a hundred times in order to save you, so stop dishonoring her memory by carrying around all that empty guilt. It is not your fault she’s dead, it’s the Bishop’s! Don’t you ever forget that, and don’t you EVER take that away from him by putting it on yourself! It diminishes her memory, and it diminishes the memory of the rest of our friends that didn’t survive the Bishop’s attack!” he finished.

  Sitting down, Tartum fixed Vaund with a scowl. He was so worked up by his pointless self loathing, he almost wished Vaund would try to refute what he’d just told him. The idea of arguing with the boy now greatly appealed to him.

  Vaund looked at Tartum with eyes as big as saucers. Tartum watched as the wisdom of his words seeped into him and slowly began to register. Then something unexpected happened, Tartum saw a strength appear in Vaund’s eyes. A strength, Tartum would not have thought was there had he not seen it for himself. Sitting up for the first time since they’d been reunited, Vaund met Tartum’s gaze and matched it.

  “You’re right, Tartum! You’re absolutely right!” he said confidently. The way Vaund was presenting himself now, Tartum couldn’t help but be proud of him. “So what are we going to do to avenge our friends?”

  Vaund’s question caused Tartum grin. “Revenge, huh? Well, first things first, my young friend. Tell me about how you’ve become so aged, so quickly. Obviously you’ve been healing alot of people since the guild’s destruction. My question is why?”

  Vaund didn’t hesitate, “Why? Survival, Tartum. I only have one skill, really, and I’m really, really good at it!” he said with pride. Tartum nodded his agreement and motioned for him to continue.

  “After Liddia’s scouts returned with the information about Savall’s cell being raided, she panicked. As you know, we were lovers at the time, and since I suddenly found myself without a guild, Liddia took me under her wing, so to speak. She sent out messengers to the other cell leaders advising them to flee the city. She disbanded her own cell, and after gathering up her supplies and every scrap of wealth she could find, she loaded up a wagon, and we rode out of the city that very night. We headed east for a long time, taking turns keeping watch, at first she wanted to keep the wagon moving day and night in case the Bishop’s men were after us. I had never seen her so irrational or scared, Tartum. It was a difficult journey, I don’t mind telling you. After a while, her constant pace was too much for one of the horses, and it collapsed, dead on the road, miles from the city. We had to abandon much of her belongings on the side of the road to preserve the remaining horses, which she complained about for the rest of our trip. We finally ran across a large town in the middle of nowhere about two months into our escape. I have never been so glad to be somewhere in my entire life. Liddia had become a nightmare of paranoia and fear by then. I would have left her, but she was the only friend I had left…and she also was the only one of us with any money to speak of.” Vaund said with a smile. Taking a quick drink from his tankard, he continued.

  “The name of the town was Jinxhill, and it’s as wretched as it sounds. Mercenaries, hit men, thieves, cut throats, bullies, as well as numerous gangs call this town their home. There is almost no law to speak of, with the exception of what they call their golden rule. Might makes right. It’s just awful there, Tartum. The first night we were there, we got a room in the most expensive inn the town had to offer. We weren’t there for two hours before Liddia went down to get some more of her things from the wagon, when she came back she was in tears. The wagon had been stolen and the horses gone. We still had some of her belongings with us, but it wasn’t much.” Tartum could see that Vaund’s new found strength waivered slightly as he began to relive the memory. Vaund shook his head sadly before continuing, “It was then, I made a terrible mistake, I don’t know why I did it. She was so upset, and no matter what I said she just wouldn’t stop crying. I guess I thought that if I could distract her from the fact her things were gone, everything would be better. I can be very stupid sometimes.” he said sullenly. He stopped talking for a while and began petting Buddy, as if the simple act somehow made the pain stop.

  Impatiently, Tartum cleared his throat. Vaund took the hint, and with a sigh, he continued. “I told her the truth about my age. I told her I was only fifteen, I told her about my mother and my childhood, I told her about how my magic worked and how I came to be with Savall and the guild. I told her how much I loved her and how much I cherished our time together. Gods, Tartum…I told her I wanted to marry her and have kids with her. I can’t even describe the look she gave me. Try to imagine outrage, betrayal, disgust, and astonishment all rolled up into one vile look. She slapped me across the face, hard, and then stormed out of the room. I never saw her again, for all I know she’s dead somewhere in that town.” Vaund rubbed at his cheek, as if the mere mention of Liddia’s slap rekindled the wound. Tartum didn’t fully understand, but he knew his friend was sensitive and allowed him his respite.

  “The money and things she left me in the room ran out quicker than I expected, and before I knew it, I was thrown out of the inn and into the street. All alone, in a hostile town, surrounded by strangers that were giving me murderous looks, I ran. I headed north, for no other reason than it was the easiest direction to run at the time. I don’t know how far I ran, but when I stopped, I couldn’t see the town anymore and was in the middle of a field exhausted, hungry, lost, and alone. I must have fallen asleep. When I woke, I was in a wagon with a cold rag on my forehead. I had been picked up by a band of merchants that were on their yearly trade route through the area. It was incredible, Tartum! Blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, weavers, hunters, gatherers, fortune tellers, it was like being back in Saroth at the circus only better! I was lucky they found me, they told me the only reason they went through that field was because they were trying to avoid Jinxhill. They told me last time they had come through, many of their wagons were robbed and a few of their members were kidnapped and murdered!” Vaund’s eyes grew wide as he told Tartum this. Tartum nodded his understanding and motioned for him to continue.

  “Without anywhere else to be, I told them everything. Who I was, why I was there, what had happened. It was stupid, I know, but I was so desperete. As it turned out, they didn’t believe me at first, not until I saved the blacksmith’s son’s life that is.” As Vaund told him this, Tartum saw him swell with pride, “The blacksmith was working on his anvil hammering away at whatever it was he was making while the wagons headed down the road towards the next town. His wagon must have jolted or something, because as he was swinging his hammer down his son was thrown on top of the anvil. The resulting blow broke the boys ribs and punctured his lungs, not to mention the horrible burns the red hot metal he was working on caused to his chest. The blacksmith’s screams for help caused the whole caravan to stop. When I heard what happened I healed the boy in front of everyone. He would have died if I hadn’t. After that, everyone treated me very well, and I was offered a seat in the front wagon! It was wonderful, Tartum, I was very happy with the people there, and they were very happy with me. I saw many towns and met many people of all different races!” As Vaund mentioned seeing new towns, he fixed Tartum with a look that oozed superiority. “Tartum, I have been to the dwarven mountains of Windswept!!!” he said giggling. The sight of an old man giggling like a child took Tartum aback. He had to remind himself that Vaund was just young boy and not a seasoned old man, no matter what he looked like.

  “We didn’t get to go very far into the mountain, but I was at this tavern…onl
y they don’t like it when you call it that…I think they said it was…a pub or something. It was called…ummm…” Vaund trailed off as he tried to recall the name of the pub.

  “The Bottom Barrel.” Tartum finished for him with a grin.

  The look on Vaund’s face had Tartum bursting into laughter. If the man’s jaw had dropped any further it would have fallen off. Tartum told Vaund all about his journey to the dwarven mountains, leaving a few details out, he even told him about the ring he had crafted while he was there, although he left out why.

  “Well, my story isn’t nearly as interesting as yours. Suffice it to say I had as good of a time as a non-clan member could while I was there. That ale waterfall was one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen!” Vaund said with a laugh. Tartum watched as the joyful look on his face turned sour.

  “It was on our journey to Yucoke that everything went wrong.” he said looking down. “We were attacked about three weeks into our trip to Yucoke. It was the last stop before the caravan headed back to the distant city of Brasewich. From what they told me, it was five months travel east from Saroth. I never found out. The wagon I was in was hit by something huge that knocked it over. As I was thrown around inside the wagon, I slammed my head into the wall, and I guess I was knocked out. When I woke, I was buried under all the stuff that had been inside. My head was killing me, but nothing was broken. I clawed my way out of the debris and found that the sun was close to setting. There was enough light to see, but to be honest, Tartum I wish I had gone blind. When I finally was able to free myself from the wagon, I saw the bodies of my friends littering the ground. Half the wagons were gone, and the ones that remained were destroyed. I searched for other survivors and found a few. I saved the ones I could and made the ones I couldn’t comfortable. It took alot out of me, never had I healed so many that were so close to death. As I gathered up the survivors, some of the people that had been able to run away when the fighting started began wandering back into the camp. Most were unharmed, but I healed the ones that needed it. A little girl had been shot in the arm, but the shock of the attack had stunned her so that she didn’t even notice until I healed the hole in her arm. Some of the survivors told me that we were attacked by dwarven bandits that call themselves The Blurs. I don’t know, I didn’t see them.” The same shame and sorrow began to surface on Vaund’s face again. Just as Tartum was about to scold him for it, he saw that newfound strength return and anger replaced his hurt.