King Kale looked at the sorcerer in that way he had. He looked questioning, but stern as if to warn his query to answer carefully and correctly like whatever answer he give would be picked apart like a carrion bird cleaning a corpse. “So you now believe that this was done by magic. What changed your mind?”
“I said earlier that were no signs of magic in my vision, but it could not be ruled out,” Sane began. If he somehow admitted a misjudgment, then he would open himself up to more questioning and King Kale had a way of making even innocent men feel guilty under his intense stare. “I still have no proof one way or the other, but with your permission I'd like to assemble a small team to check it out.”
“Yes, of course. If there is a chance that this was the work of a rogue magician, then we must ferret out the malcontent. Who were you thinking of taking?” asked the king.
“My apprentice is requisitioning some Kenzai hunters as we speak and I was thinking of the ranger, Sari, for general tracking.” At the mention of the elf's name King Kale's normally stern expression revealed the smallest hint of a smirk.
***
“I need to see the knight-captain!” Byrn yelled at the guardsman as he finally lost his temper. The courier-turned-magician's apprentice spent the last ten minutes arguing with the man outside the guardsmen's keep who steadfastly refused to let him in the main gate.
“Now you listen to me,” said the guardsman poking the young man forcefully in the chest to accentuate his point, “I will not be letting you in there. At first it was just because the knight-captain asked not to be disturbed, but now I am refusing you just because I do not like you. Now back off before I either throw you in the dungeon or cleave you outright with Demona.” The man patted the butt of his sword resting in its scabbard.
“Dammit, you fool! I have a very important message for Knight-Captain Kellen!” Byrn shouted. He was now convinced that the only way to get in was to cause such a scene that they'd have to let him in to shut him up. Of course, the guard could make good on his threat, but having just faced an ogre earlier in the morning he felt little threat from the upstart guardsman.
It was unconscionable to Byrn that such a half-wit could become a city guardsman. He was raised to believe that the guards had the people's best interest at heart, but this man was unbelievable. He wanted to tell the guard that he was the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer in service to the king just to put him in his place, but thought better of it. Sane did not want Byrn to draw undue attention to himself and such a display would be just as likely to cause the young man to loose his head from his shoulders as get him in to see the knight-captain.
“Boy, I-”
The guard was cut off as Byrn interrupted him changing tactics. He could not say that he was a sorcerer's apprentice, but he could still be a courier's apprentice for a little while longer. “I am THE courier apprentice to Master Tannys Lightfoot and bring an urgent message on behalf of a member of the royal court.” That was close enough to the truth for Byrn’s liking. “If you do not let me through right here and now I will see to it that you are dismissed from your position if not thrown in your very own dungeon as a matter of course.
“As you may recall interfering with the king's business can get one imprisoned or worse.”
The man's face was covered in surprise at being talked to in such a way by a lowly commoner, but shock quickly turned to anger and the guard drew his sword. “As can making false claims about being on king's business,” sneered the guard. Byrn did not know if the guard intended to kill him or arrest him, but luckily he did not have to find out.
“Rallen, sheathe your weapon!” bellowed a loud man from behind the gate who had come to see what all of the commotion was about. “Do you know who this boy is? He is the one that helped the captain kill that ogre. At the very least I think we can hear what he has to say.”
“Sorry, sir, I did not know-” the obstinate guard began, but Byrn wasn't about to give the man an inch.
“You did know,” Byrn said making sure the other guard could hear, “I told you that I was the one that helped with that ogre. It chased me halfway across the blasted city and you called me a liar!”
“Enough, lad,” said the wiser guardsman, “Know when you have won and leave it at that.” He unlocked the gate from the inside allowing Byrn to enter who quickly hurried past the outer guard, Rallen.
“Come with me. I will take you to the knight-captain,” said the wiser guard. He was a middle-aged man with some girth to him that was every bit muscle as fat. “I am Lieutenant Mikael Hawkscrest. It sounds like the end of the world from your carrying on. What is this about?” He led Byrn inside into the central hall of the keep leading to a spiraling stone staircase.
“I am Byrn Lightfoot... apprentice courier to Master Tannys Lightfoot. I was directed to ensure that Knight-Captain Kellen received this request... and no one else. Sorry, I can not say more.”
“No need to apologize. It is not the first time the captain has received a secret message since joining the guard.”
The two ascended the spiral staircase. Four flights up the pair left the stairs and Mikael led Byrn to a door at the end of the hall. Mikael banged on the door. “Knight-Captain Kellen, it is Mikael Hawkscrest. There is a young man out here with a message for you.”
“Send him in,” Kellen's voice was muted from behind the door, but Byrn could still hear him clearly. Gods, this day has taken him surprising places. Not for the first time he wondered what he had gotten involved in.
Kellen was sitting at a desk looking over a ledger when Byrn entered. His iconic armor hung up against a nearby wall. The warrior was visibly surprised to see Byrn, but that surprise was quickly replaced by a warm smile and a friendly greeting, “I certainly did not expect to see you so soon. Byrn, is it?”
“Yes, knight-captain,” Byrn nodded.
The captain motioned for Byrn to sit in a chair opposite his desk and the boy complied. “Now, what brings you to see me? Have you come to join the guard or is this just a social visit?”
“Unfortunately, neither. I have come to deliver a message and make a request... on behalf of my new master, Sane.”
Kellen was startled a little and sat up straight in his seat, but his smile did not falter at all. The courier now had his full attention. “Mikael, please leave us. I wish to speak to this young man alone.” The lieutenant did as he was asked closing the door behind him leaving the two alone. “So you are Sane's apprentice. I was unaware he had taken one.”
“Until a few hours ago he had not. He said my apprenticeship was a reward... for saving your life,” said Byrn. Kellen cocked an eyebrow at this statement obviously not remembering the fight going that way, but he grinned as if amused and Byrn continued, “To be honest, I am a little relieved that you know him. I half thought that he was some crazy priest who took me along for the ride.”
“Far from it,” said Kellen, “He is one of only a few magicians that can walk freely in the kingdom. We fought together against the magi rebellion years ago before he became an adviser to the king and I settled down here.
“But you did not come here to listen to me reminisce about days gone by...”
“Sane asked me to tell you that he saw something- a vision of the future,” Byrn paused to see if Kellen would balk or show some sign of surprise. When there was none he continued, “This morning he saw our battle. Actually he saw your battle, because I was not there. In his vision you died.”
The knight-captain was surprisingly nonplussed at being told that he should be dead right now. “And when Sane put you in the middle of things he altered certain events that saved my life.” Kellen laughed a big belly laugh. “That is typical of him. Sane is one of the most powerful magicians in the kingdom and he sends an untested boy to be my protector.” Kellen laughed again though Byrn failed to see the humor. “Is Sane around? It is not like him to come to Colum and not tell me.”
“That is why I am here.” Byrn handed Kellen a sealed message from his
new master and the knight promptly tore off the seal and began reading.
Kellen read the message, but his face did not betray his thoughts. Once he finished he looked up at Byrn sitting across from him. “Well it seems you need an introduction to the Kenzai.”
Chapter 6
The meal was lavish for tavern fare. The large table had a roasted goose with a selection of fruits, pies, and flagons of wine and ale. At the head of the table sat an elf maiden who looked to be in her mid twenties with luxurious dark hair. Soldiers sat on either side of her hanging on her every word as she entertained them with a tale of how she vanquished a gang of bandits intent on ransoming some duchess or other back to her well-to-do husband.
“So the bandit was running down the hill chasing after his horse and he such a promising target that I could not stop myself. I notched an arrow and let it fly catching the bandit squarely in his right butt cheek. He jumped five feet if he jumped an inch,” the elf jumped from a sitting position to a crouch on her seat in one fluid motion to mimic the bandit in her story, “but he kept running reaching awkwardly behind him as he tried to yank out the arrow for fear that the next one would be through his scrawny head.” The men laughed uncontrollably half from the picture she described and half because they were drunk to the point of nearly falling out of their seats.
Seeing that the pitcher of ale was nearly empty and it was her turn to buy the next round Sari decided it was time to leave. “Fun was fun and all,” she said wrapping up her story, “but I had a job to do.” She grabbed several pieces of fruit and stuffed them into her backpack. “After watching him lope like a three legged dog until he got near the tree line I readied another shot which hit him in the back killing him outright.”
With that she was up from her seat and halfway across the room before any of her companions was even aware that she left. Her hand was on the tavern door when she heard one of the men say, “She dinot leave again. Did she?”
Sari was outside with the door swinging closed behind her when another complained, “I thought she was gonna cover the tab this time!” promptly followed by a loud thump that the elf thought might have been the man slamming his fist on the table, but was just as likely that of someone passing out and their head crashing on the table or floor.
It was midday and the sky was a bright blue with the sun high overhead. Sari was a bit surprised to see the sun and wondered how long she had been in that tavern. It was not like her to lose track of the time, but it was a great celebration. Being an elf she had an absurdly hardy constitution for alcohol. It surprised her that humans did not seem to understand that liquor and alcohol were poisons though not life threatening except in extremely high amounts, but elves tended to have a higher tolerance for the stuff with their natural immunities to poisons and diseases allowing an elf to almost uniformly drink any of the other high races “under the table” as they put it. Of course not many people in Aurelia were aware of that fact since the kingdom was largely made up of humans.
Shielding her eyes Sari walked to The Broken Boar, the inn that she was staying at, a few blocks away. Most of the townspeople hardly took notice of her except for a few small children that seemed to find the pointy-eared folk a highly fascinating curiosity.
The elf frequented this area quite often when in the capital and had become somewhat of a regular or a local celebrity when not out chasing bandits through the forests. There were few in the district- in the city for that matter- that had not heard a tale or two of Sari the elven ranger. She was a skilled tracker and hunter whether her prey was man or beast and only her talents with a bow exceeded her skill with a dagger or short blade.
When Sari got in sight of The Broken Boar she saw someone who looked like a priest wearing a green robe leaning against the wall of the inn by the entrance. As one accustomed to moving without being seen Sari found Sane's disregard for subtlety off-putting, but she could not doubt that the man got results when he had a need to.
“Good evening, sorcerer,” she said with an excessively deep bow that was equal parts sincere and teasing. If Sane had asked, Sari would have told him that of course she was being sincere, but she knew the sorcerer well enough that she did not fear teasing her old friend. “What brings you to such a seedy area?” She smiled her most charming smile and lightly touched his arm causing him to blush a little. “Looking for love in all the wrong places?”
To Sane working with the elf was a double-edged sword that Sari knew he tried to avoid wielding when he could. They were both in their late fifties and knew each other for four decades, but while Sane was now an aging sorcerer showing his years proudly Sari looked to be in her mid twenties and acted the part well. Normally Sane was a very reserved gentleman, but when he got around the elf he could become like a school boy with a crush, leaving him as often as not feeling very foolish. Sari felt a little guilty for teasing him, but thought that it was worth it if it made Sane feel like a young man again… or at least that is how she would justify it if asked.
Sane brushed off her advance showing an uncommon resolve not to fall for her trap this time. “This morning Kellen was attacked by an ogre.”
“A common trait that ogres tend to exhibit,” interrupted Sari a little disappointed that Sane managed to resist her charm.
“Not like this,” the sorcerer corrected her, “This one attacked him in the middle of Colum.”
“I always said that city needed to erect an outer ring of walls,” Sari declared nonchalantly. She began stretching her legs as if she were about to go for a run. “How can I be of service?”
Sane tried to ignore her stretching. “I am putting together a party to follow the ogre's trail back to wherever it came from and find the person who set the thing upon Colum.”
“An enchanter? It could be,” she conceded, “but that's not exactly high caliber magic stuff. Enraging or pacifying simple-minded creatures is a beginner's trick and begs the question: why do you need me?
“Or is it simply that you missed me?” Sari smiled slyly.
“It is not like that.” Sane stammered, “I... I have a feeling that there is more to this than it seems.”
“Very well,” said Sari leaning in closely to the sorcerer. Her lips were inches away from his ear. Sane could smell her naturally sweet scent... and ale on her breath. “I will help you... for a kiss.”
“A kiss?”
“Yes, a kiss,” she said moving her own lips closer to his. “You have kissed a girl before, old man. I know you have.”
Sane seemed unsure of himself. He tried to say “no” knowing that the elf was playing with him again but somehow, “Yes,” came out of his mouth.
The vixen smiled as she slowly leaned ever closer until their lips were almost touching. “Nah, I changed my mind,” she said pushing the sorcerer away.
“Wait here,” Sari told the sorcerer turning her back heading toward the inn, “Let me grab my bow and leathers and I will be right back.” The door swung closed leaving the sorcerer standing alone in the street.
***
Fuming, Sane resisted the overwhelming desire to follow the elf and light her hair on fire. He coldly reminded himself that a woman did not have to be a magician to be an enchantress and resolved for perhaps the hundredth time not to fall for Sari's tricks the next time.
Chapter 7
Byrn and his adoptive father, Tannys, waited impatiently for the sorcerer to arrive. They watched traders in the square going about their business and tried to pass the time talking of anything except the one thing that was utmost on each of their minds: Byrn’s future.
Merchants and teamsters chatted in groups or loaded cargo all around them. One particularly loud man seemed intent on getting his newly purchased wares loaded onto his cart while a pair of teamsters grumbled about the heavy load. It would have seemed like an ordinary day if not for the pair of Kenzai hunters surveying the area. They wore brown traveler cloaks and looked to the casual observer to be no more than that. The outline of a sword was barel
y visible underneath one of their cloaks and Byrn knew they wore black leather armor although it was not clearly visible since the cloaks were drawn close. Byrn thought that if he were to ever “go rogue” as Sane put it that these would be the men to track him down and he found the thought to be less than comforting. The Kenzai approached Byrn and Tannys.
“We have found no traces of any magic here at the square,” said the shorter one called Bavra. “Tyder believes we should continue the search outside the city.”
“We are to wait for Sane,” Byrn told them reminding the Kenzai of their orders. In truth, he did not trust these men enough to leave the relative safety of the city. He wondered if these men were to reveal themselves as Kenzai and declared before everyone in the square that Byrn was a magician would anyone lift a hand in protest. There were familiar faces in the square. They were people Byrn had known since he was a small boy. Would they come to his aid? The fledgling magician feared the answer to that question.
Magicians had the kind of power that a normal man could never hope to match, but what should have been a blessing was really a curse. Hundreds or perhaps thousands of years ago magicians were corrupted by their own power and became dark warlords and madmen. They ruled over the known world and made those without the gift their slaves. Eventually the slaves learned to fight back and the Kenzai were born or so the old stories say. Through decades of observation the Kenzai learned how to sense magic and negate it overthrowing the ruling magicians. Magicians became worse than second-class citizens and were forced to live in closed off communities and under constant supervision by the Kenzai, bringing forth centuries of peace. If not for Sane's offer of apprenticeship these two hunters would not be treating Byrn so politely. Instead they would be hunting him down as if he was no more than some rabid animal.
“Some interesting friends you have here,” said Tannys leaning over to Byrn. After speaking to Kellen, Byrn returned home and decided to tell his mother and father the truth. They deserved to know now, he had decided. Not a month from now or even a day. If he put it off, then he would not be sparing them any pain. He would only be dishonoring them by lying.
Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion) Page 5