The Serpent's Orb

by Guy Antibes

  Jack looked at the edge, not quite knowing what to look for. It had a smooth, not shiny, finish with a few pits and scratches on the blade, but the edge appeared clear. “I like this one.”

  “Let me try it.” Tanner showed he wasn’t a novice like Jack. His moves were smooth and looked powerful. “Not the best of the lot,” he said, “but if you like the feel, let’s buy it.”

  “What are you asking?” Jack asked.

  “Forty-two shillings,” the merchant said.

  Tanner laughed. “Do you know what forty shillings will buy in Dorkansee? A new sword made like that one, most likely.”

  The merchant narrowed his eyes. “Are you in Dorkansee, sir?”

  Tanner grimaced. “A bargaining fight, I see. No, I am not in Dorkansee. I am in a tiny market village filled with dross. You still have this for a reason, because no one will buy your good stuff. If you want to sell this, you will have to do better than forty-two.”

  “This is a good-sized market town, and I’ll only part with this sword to the right party.”

  “Am I the right party?” Jack asked. “Thirty-two shillings.”

  The merchant rolled his eyes. “You want to make me a poor man? If I sell you that sword for thirty-two shillings, my fellow sellers will run me out of the market.”

  The haggling continued for ten more minutes filling the tent with market goers enjoying a good bargaining session. Tanner settled for thirty-six shillings for the sword and getting two shillings for Jack’s old one. Jack had the merchant throw in a thick leather sheath with a baldric that he liked best of all.

  Jack peeked into his purse and thirty-four shillings would just about empty it. He looked into his father’s purse for the first time, surprised to see seven crowns among the shillings and pennies. He produced them for the merchant.

  “One shilling to your credit. Pick a pair of gauntlets or a helmet and let us call it even,” the merchant said, more friendly now that the transaction was over.

  Jack picked a helmet with two runnels running on either side of a peak.

  “Are you sure you want that?” Tanner said, with a smirk on his face that told Jack his choice wasn’t the best.

  “Can you pick one out that won’t result in ridicule?” Jack asked.

  Tanner laughed. “If I were in it for enjoyment, I would have let you keep that, but if this fits, wear it.” He picked out a helmet with a flare in the back and a nose guard that slid into place. “Nothing too heavy since you aren’t wearing any other armor.”

  Jack took his purchase out of the tent. “Are we done for today?”

  “We are. Let’s saunter back to the inn. I’m hungry after all the haggling. That sword, did you recognize anything about it? I would have chosen one of two others, was I choosing for myself.”

  “It might be an object of power, but it is out of power if it is,” Jack said. “Did you know that?”

  Tanner nodded. “I suspected when you swung the thing. It is useless for most people, but a similar sword would run a hundred crowns in Dorkansee.”

  “Five hundred shillings?”

  Tanner grinned. “The merchant just saw a good solid used sword. You saw through it. My previous employer taught me how to identify an object of power. See the notches just under the pommel?”

  “Five of them. For the Five Manipulations?”

  Tanner nodded. “Made by a wizard for wizards. I suggest you wrap that up in leather so no one can see the notches.”

  “What will it do? When restored with power?”

  Tanner shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it makes pig sounds or farts or something innocuous.”

  Jack shook his head. “I have a magic sword that I don’t know how to use.”

  “If you are really a helper, you can fix that, to an extent,” Tanner said. “You said you liked the balance.”

  “I’m not really good enough to know what balance really is, but the sword felt better in my hand than the other three. I’m not so sure about the helmet. It isn’t magic in any way that I can tell.”

  Tanner laughed. “I don’t think it is either, but it was the best one there that didn’t cover your face. I’m afraid you will need to see more than you will need protection. I would have chosen something else, but then I’m not you.”

  “I’ll have to get a leather breastplate like you.”

  “Actually it is called a cuirass because it covers the front and the back. Let’s worry about improving your swordsmanship, first.”

  Jack agreed with Tanner. He didn’t know when he would wear the helmet since Tanner said he would have to have a liner made for it to fit right, but Jack knew it was worth more than a single shilling, anyway.

  They put the purchases in their room and entered the common room for dinner. The place was pretty much empty. Tanner stopped.

  “By Alderach’s milk, I see a friend,” he said, looking at a woman with short hair reading a book, of all things. He walked over to her with Jack in tow. “Helen Rafter. I thought I’d never see you again.”

  The woman didn’t look as surprised at Tanner as she stood up. “I always thought you would run into me sometime, somewhere.” She looked over his shoulder at Jack. “Who is the kid?”

  “I found him on the road to Dorkansee. We are traveling partners.”

  “Really? I’m heading there myself.”

  “Want to join us?” Tanner asked.

  Helen looked at Jack and narrowed her eyes. “What puts you on the road to the capital?” she said.

  “I’m on an errand for my master,” Jack said. “How about you?” He smiled as he said it.

  “Don’t get any ideas. I can put you into the ground faster than you can blink,” she said.

  “She doesn’t seem very friendly, Tanner. Are you sure it would be safe to have her join us?” Jack said, getting into the spirit of the conversation.

  “Tone it down,” Tanner said. “I know you are joking around, but you have to be a little careful with our Helen.”

  “I’m no one’s Helen,” the woman growled. “I knew what the boy was about. I expect you’ll want to join me. The dining room isn’t quite ready to serve.”

  Now Jack knew why the room was so empty.

  “If you are of a mind, my lady. I won’t force you, but we can all pitch in on a packhorse, and that will make travel a bit easier.”

  “I won’t turn my back on an offer. I suppose you will expect me to defend you from bandits, outlaws, and the king’s men?”

  “Especially the king’s men,” Tanner said. “Our friend is a novice wizard. He works for Fasher Tempest. You know him.”

  “Too well,” Helen said. “He finally found an apprentice worthy to work with him.”

  “Actually, I’m his helper,” Jack said. “His niece, Penneta Ephram is his apprentice.”

  Helen nodded. “Ah, the sister’s daughter. Well, I’d rather be his helper than his apprentice, having to follow Fasher around everywhere would be tedious. Tanner would know all about that.”

  “Not as boring as you might think, Helen. I learned a lot about many things.”

  Helen nodded and took a swig of her ale. She looked at Jack. “Aren’t you too young to drink?”

  “Eighteen less than a week ago,” Jack said.

  “Really? This can’t be your first time in a pub?”

  Jack grinned and nodded his head. “This is the first time where I can actually drink alcohol in a public building, but it’s not as if I haven’t gotten drunk before.”

  Helen frowned. “What an event to miss. The boy’s first drink won’t be witnessed tonight, but we can get you roaring drunk.”

  Jack grinned again. “I am looking forward to it.”

  Tanner and Helen talked about what they had been doing lately. Jack listened in, but it wasn’t too interesting listening to the pair talk about mutual acquaintances Jack had never met. A serving maid showed up at their table. “Kitchen’s open. What can I get you?”

  And so began a night of eating and then
drinking, drinking, drinking. Eventually Jack couldn’t remember the previous rounds and finally collapsed on the table.

  ~

  Jack lifted his eyebrow in hopes of getting his eye open. He was in a meadow and wore his trousers and nothing else, no shoes, stockings, shirt, vest, nothing. He felt around for his purses, and they were gone. He raised his head and groaned. He really had... The smell of vomit hit him hard. His pants were soiled, caked with the stuff.

  Was this a dream, he thought? He looked at the sun peeking up from the trees. A brook bubbled past him on his left. It had to be a dream. Tanner couldn’t have betrayed him like this unless that Helen woman put him up to it. She looked tough with that shorn hair and world-weary look. She was a sword-for-hire like Tanner. Maybe she talked him into stripping Jack of all his belongings and leaving him to sleep off his drunkenness, penniless and in bare feet.

  How could they do such a thing? Jack hadn’t done anything to merit being treated this way. He couldn’t believe this had happened. What would he do now? How could he fulfill his errand armed only with his trousers? His dismay turned to anger, but then he stifled it since he was probably dreaming and sleeping at the inn.

  Jack figured it wasn’t a dream once he rolled over into the brook and began to wash in the cold, cold water. It shocked the ache right out of his head. Once everything was rinsed out as much as Jack could manage, he stood in the stream and looked around. The meadow wasn’t large, but he could sniff smoke and followed his eyes to see it drifting from the northern edge.

  He picked his way through the meadow in his bare feet. He began to shiver with cold and hobbled toward the smoke. Not only would there be heat, but it smelled like someone was cooking breakfast. He hobbled a bit more, hoping that the campers were friendly and entered a campsite. Tanner and Helen were arguing over something as he barged into the clearing.

  “You left me outside to die!” Jack said, struggling to get across the ground to the fire.

  “You should have died after puking your guts out in the inn. I wasn’t about to give you a bath and Tanner refused, so we threw you over the saddle of your horse and made it this far. You stank so badly that we dumped you close to one of nature’s bathtubs. I see you were smart enough to use it,” Helen said.

  “I even filled your water jug, so you can wash those dirty feet,” Tanner said, trying to keep from laughing.

  Jack was having a hard time seeing the humor of it all. He spotted his things in a pile and proceeded to find a large enough tree to change his clothes behind. He finally emerged back into the clearing fully dressed and shod eyeing a stinky bag filled with the rest of the clothes he wore the night before.

  “I am hoping you can share some of that breakfast. My stomach feels very empty right now.”

  Helen and Tanner laughed.

  “It should. You left quite a bit behind at the inn,” Helen said with a smirk. She wore orange leather gauntlets with a green leather cuirass, now that Jack knew the proper word for the breastplate and backplate that Tanner also wore. “Breakfast is ready, but don’t eat too much or you will lose it again.”

  Jack nodded. “This isn’t my first time.”

  “Even so, you acted like it,” Tanner said. “You even sang yourself a birthday hymn.”

  “I did?” Jack asked.

  “Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t,” Helen said. “We will never tell you exactly what kind of fool you made of yourself last night.”

  “Get something to eat, and then let’s give your sword a chance to show its stuff,” Tanner said.

  Even if Jack couldn’t hold his liquor, he had no problem eating the morning after. He gobbled up everything they let him have: bacon, eggs, shredded potatoes, and some other kind of vegetables that had never made it all the way to Raker Falls.

  After Jack finished cleaning up, a task both Helen and Tanner gave him for sleeping while they cooked, the three of them returned to the meadow with their weapons. They faced each other.

  “So what does your sword do?” Helen said.

  “Nothing, all by itself,” Jack said. He hefted it and could feel it absorb some of his power, and as it received more magic, it seemed to be lighter in his grasp. “Are these the same weight?” he asked Tanner.

  Tanner held both in his hands. “Close enough. Why do you ask?”

  “Because the magic sword feels much lighter to me,” Jack said.

  Tanner frowned and gave the magic sword to Helen, and after swinging it, she nodded. “Same weight to me.”

  Jack grabbed his sword back, and it definitely felt lighter. He swung it again and knew it wasn’t his imagination. “It must be imbued with a First Manipulation spell. I don’t know how those work, but that manipulation controls physical things. I guess to find out if it does me any good, I’ll need to use Tanner’s sword against Helen and then my own.”

  Helen mercilessly beat Jack silly with her attack. The woman had the precision of Penny, but with more strength and a lot more purpose. Jack couldn’t see himself ever defeating her. He hefted his sword and could feel it respond to his wrist actions in a way the ponderous feeling sword of Tanner’s didn’t.

  “Ready to get pummeled again?” Helen asked with the touch of a sneer on her face.

  Jack took a deep breath. “Ready.”

  Where before Helen beat his every move, now Jack’s sword responded to his touch and he was able to deflect more, but not all, of her attacks. She still beat him, but not as thoroughly.

  “I can tell the difference even if you can’t,” she said when they had finished. “Responsive is the word I would use. The sword definitely didn’t do anything on its own, but you were able to move the sword much more quickly.” She looked at Tanner. “You give him a try.”

  Tanner’s approach was much different from Helen’s. The man was more inclined to depend on his strength rather than on precision. When Jack used Helen’s lighter sword, Tanner thrashed him worse than Helen, but when Jack used his own sword, Tanner’s strength was nullified by the magic sword’s increased weight and the lightness that Jack felt, making it easier to fend off Tanner’s heavy blows.

  “Don’t lose that thing,” Tanner said. “I could still see the same roughness in your technique, but the magic definitely made you fight better. What happens when the power runs out?”

  Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. I am lending it my power as I go, so I wouldn’t know unless I fought continuously.”

  “Which is rarely the case,” Helen said. “A sword fight lasts minutes only. Even in battle, each encounter doesn’t take much time. The problem is everyone gets worn out before long.”

  Jack wouldn’t know. “Maybe you two can alternate fighting me sometime so we can find out. As it is, the sword feels no different. It worked as well as I could imagine.”

  Tanner and Helen tried it on each other, but the magic didn’t work for them.

  “You have to be a wizard who can imbue power to use it,” Tanner said. He handed the sword to Jack. “We will have to train you to be better, but I think you’ll be carrying two swords since it would be better to improve your swordsmanship with a normal blade.”

  Jack would have never thought he’d ever have two swords. “I should have kept the gift.”

  “Get another when you return through one of these market towns,” Tanner said. “We will probably ruin the practice sword by the time we are done.”

  The thought of ruining a sword didn’t seem like something Jack would ever be able to do, but he really liked the magic sword and didn’t want to ruin it practicing, that was for sure.

  “We need to get going,” Tanner said.

  Chapter Seven

  ~

  T hree days later, the trio, including a very worn-out Jack Winder, rode into the largest place Jack had ever seen, the city of Bartonsee.

  “The ‘see’ on the end denotes the elevation of a town to a city, where a noble sits as the head of the community along with an Alderachean bishop. There is a cathedral to Alderach in
a city. Most cities were the capitals of petty kingdoms before Corand was consolidated. When in a city it is better to show a low profile,” Tanner said.

  “Especially in Bartonsee,” Helen said.

  “Why here?” Jack didn’t tell them, but he had learned all this in extended school.

  “It is something that only Tanner can tell you.”

  Jack looked at the man.

  “And Tanner will not tell you,” the man said. He turned his gaze forward. “We will go to a non-descript inn where I usually stay. There is room enough in the stable yard for me to continue pounding on you.”

  Jack couldn’t stop a huge sigh. He was hoping for a respite from all the pounding Helen and Tanner had given him during practices. Now he wished he had never allowed them to buy a practice sword. The pair seemed to be taking out all their frustrations on him, and Jack had the bruises to prove it. He admitted that they seldom cut him, and for that he was grateful.

  It seemed like they clopped on the streets of Bartonsee forever until they arrived at a ramshackle inn. The front was festooned with peeling paint, and the panes of the front windows were filthy. They rode into the stable yard, which looked well-kept in spite of the exterior.

  “Sir Tanner!” the stableman said as he ordered two stable boys to help him with the animals. “Are you here for the Spring Parade?”

  “Hasn’t that happened, yet?” Tanner asked. “I was hoping it was all over by now. No one knows I am in town and I would like to keep it that way, Mercer.”

  “Not a peep from me or the boys. Right boys?”

  The two stable boys grunted their assent. The trio grabbed what they wanted to take to their rooms, and Tanner led the way into the inn.

  Jack was astonished by the difference inside. Everything was fresh and clean, except for the dirty windows that faced the street. “This is nice.”

  “For locals and their friends,” Tanner said, grinning. “I’m lucky enough to be a friend. Visitors to the city pass this by without a second glance.”