“So you are a mage?” Rothgar asked. I reached into my shirt and pulled out the platinum plate and set it on the table. There were gasps.
“The School of Time and Space. By the Gods.” Mother said. I put the plate away.
“What is that exactly?” Rothgar asked.
“It is the registration of a mage. I have one for the School of Runes put away somewhere. Just that, there aren’t many people who are in that School of Mana.” Mother said.
“Want to see a trick.” I then tossed a plate into the air. “Slow.” Its descent slowed down and I held my hands under it. Just as the mana wore off I caught it.
“Well it has been fun brother, but I need to get home before there is yelling.” Rothgar quickly left.
“I am glad you are doing so well and have such a great friend. You both can stay the night, we have enough rooms upstairs so don’t worry. Bathroom is down the hall here and there is a pump outside in the back courtyard.” Mother said. I could tell Bran was a little bit overwhelmed.
“So how long do you plan on staying?” Father asked as mother served dinner.
“I wanted to ask for training on runes. I have been sorely lacking. Bran here was hoping to read a bit to improve himself as well.” My father looked at Bran.
“Is that so?”
“I grew up in a small fishing village. I always wanted to make more of myself. Ed taught me quite a bit, but don’t have much call for reading or writing.” Bran said.
“We do have some spare parchment and a few spare books. I am sure Ed will be more than willing to help you continue your studies.” My father said.
“Of course.”
“We also have a large order of light runes. I am sure you can draw them out.”
“Yes father.”
“There is also a manuscript that needs to be copied. I was going to do it, but since you are here you can help out.”
“Yes father.”
“I also think the shop, no the house needs a good cleaning. Why don’t you do that also?”
“Of course father.”
“Good.” I could tell this was his way of punishing me for running off. There was also the chance he just wanted me for me free labor. Once dinner was over I showed Bran where everything was and showed him his room.
“Wow, this is better than an inn.” He said. I just nodded. “How did you ever give this up?”
“I am complicated.” Bran just shook his head.
The next day I set up Bran with a book to read on the history of the kingdom. It was one of the more popular ones with lots of action. I suspected that this was the book nobles used to get their kids interested in reading. With that done I set to work scribing out the light runes and then planned on the manuscript.
During the day my mother came over with a thick tome. I looked up from my work. “Edward, this has been passed down in my family and contains all the lesser runes that we know. Lesser runes are common and used for mundane tasks.”
I took the tome and opened it up. There were the light, chill, repel, and heat runes listed out along with variations. I also noted a dry, breeze, chime, detection, and other runes that had minor uses. “The thing with lesser runes is that they cannot harm. All greater runes are based off of these, but those are only passed down from a master to an apprentice.”
I looked up at her. “My older brother was named the next master in my family, so I can only teach you lesser runes. I do know that greater runes are based off of these. Now I looked over that flash rune you had made up. It is impressive and the reason I will let you copy this. Remember to be careful. You are not guiding the mana the rune is.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t think you do. Imagine if you made a rune to stop something like your mana and place it on your arm. What would happen if only your arm stopped?” The images I conjured up were not pleasant. “Be very careful. It is said a master would only invent a single new rune every three years of work that could safely be used.”
“I understand, no playing with runes and doing something stupid.” I said somberly.
“Good.” She left and I went back to work. The problem with runes was there was no language. Sure there were key points like an activation design and a release design but the main part that generated the effect was different each and every time.
One needed to draw a series of interconnected symbols and the order mattered in how they were layered on the parchment to contain the mana. The flash rune just changed the discharge portion to let all the mana out at once. Regulating the out flow was a way to determine the power of a rune and the period of time it was used over.
The insides of a rune were insanely difficult and each one unique. I had try to find some common language or system in the runes that I knew but had given up. With this information it might be possible. I looked at the tome and let out a small sigh. I had to finish this manuscript and then clean the entire place. If I started going over it I would never be pulled away from my studies.
***
“That was surprisingly relaxing.” Bran said.
“Yeah.” We were making our way down to the guild hall. It had been a ten-day since we arrived and I had done everything I wanted at my home.
“I did learn that you liked to nibble on quills.” Bran said with a grin.
“Oh no.” I moaned.
“Also that you used to actually rip up an entire manuscript to ‘make it pretty and snow’.” Bran continued.
“You are not nice.” Stupid brothers sharing stories.
“What about the time that you fell asleep in Church and when you were woken up you farted.”
My face was slowly turning red. “We are going to Fish Guts next.”
“Alright, alright, point made. I did like your brother Galric. He wasn’t that bad.” Bran said.
“He has his moments.”
“I noticed we didn’t visit your sister, the one married to a noble.”
“The marriage is unhappy, my sister was always on the wild side. I don’t know where she got it. Her husband, Baron Hartsforth, doesn’t like us visiting unless she is behaving.”
“You can’t just go visit?” Bran asked.
“It would cause problems for my family. Most of their business comes from the nobles so we can’t annoy them. I also heard that she is kept at his home outside the city.” I didn’t know where it was. Whenever I asked I was told it was too far to visit.
We were both silent after that until we entered the guild hall. It was fairly empty for the morning. We went over and looked at the mission board. “Nothing good up here.” Bran groaned. He had gotten a lot better at reading after a ten-day of solid practice.
“I am not going back to kill goblins, there has to be something else that we can kill.” I said.
“We need to get to rank three.”
“I have an idea, come on.” I left the guild hall and Bran followed me.
“Where are we going?”
“I have an idea, if we can’t get a mission, get someone to request one.”
“Now who is going to do that?”
“Galric, should know something in the merchant’s guild. Bandits or monster attacks.”
“I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” I chose to ignore Bran’s comment. We got to the merchant’s guild and made our way to Galric’s desk.
“Bran good to see you again.” Galric said with a grin. I knew he was trying to annoy me.
“Brother, we were hoping you knew about something exciting. A mission we could take. If a caravan is high risk and needs some more guards.” I said.
“No way. Mother would kill me if she found out.”
“If I have to ask around I may have to let slip about that time with the loaf of bread and-“
“Okay, got it. We are still trying to put a caravan into the mountains to the west. Lost the last one with no word back so this is considered high risk. There is a combat bonus attached to it in addition to the standard rates.” As Galric tal
ked he wrote out a note.
“You will probably get two silver if there is fighting. Now take this note to Karn, he is in charge of security for the caravan. It is a waiver letting you two on despite being rank two. Don’t die, it will make me look bad.”
“Thanks Galric.” We left and made our way out back and saw a familiar face.
“Karn.” I called out. He spun around and glared at both of us. “We are coming with you. Make sure the combat bonus is really good.” I handed over the slip of parchment. He looked at it, crumpled it up, and then tossed it in my face.
“You two, well I suppose there could be worse. The caravan master is over there, sort out your contract. We should be leaving in two days. If you know anyone grab them. We need more bodies.”
“What about your regular crew?” I asked.
“Covering another caravan. I was rushed back here just to sort this mess out.” We nodded and then went to the caravan master.
“Karn approved you two? Huh. So combat bonus of two silver will be paid out if anything happens.”
“Three, each. The fact that you grabbed Karn to come sort this out tells me this is all going to go wrong.” I said.
“Three, done.” He marked up two parchments and we both signed them.
“Why does no one want to go?” I asked.
“Idiots say this route is cursed. Bah.”
“Curse? What of it?”
“We are transporting back raw gold, of course people say it’s cursed when it is just bandits. Just that ten years ago a caravan was attacked and the sole survivor had gone mad. Probably wanted to get out of trouble for running away. Now that we lost another caravan everyone is on edge.” That made sense.
“Thanks, we will see you in two days.”
“Hopefully, we need more guards.” The man muttered. We left and wandered back to the Adventurers Guild.
“Room and meals for two nights.” I said to Emerald.
“Alright brat. So what you slumming it down here for.” I handed over the coppers and got us two mugs of ale.
“High risk caravan. Was wondering if anyone else around here might be interested in getting in on it.”
“High risk, hmmmm. Well stick around and if I hear anyone looking for something like that I will let you know.” She said.
“Thanks.” We took our mugs of ale and sat down at a table. Bran and I just sat talking about whatever came to mind.
“Hey.” We both looked up and saw Yonson.
“Nice to see you again.” I said.
“Pull up a chair.” Bran added. Yonson sat down with us.
“So it looks like things are going well for both of you.”
“Yeah, had a couple of good missions.” I said.
“Let me tell you, I don’t like snow. Way too cold.” Bran added.
“True, it reminds me the time I tracked down a snow worm across three ice covered peaks. It was nice to have a fire mage for that trip.”
“Let me tell you that Ed’s runes here kept me warm. Things were a miracle. Ran into a yeti though. That thing was insanely tough.” Bran said.
“Natural mana. Some monsters just have natural skills from birth they can use. Yetis are really tough, but there aren’t that many. They are solitary creatures. Now goblins or orcs, those things breed like crazy.” Yonson said.
“Yeah we saw, did a mapping of the forest.” I said. We kept chatting back and forth about various adventures we had. It was nice to see a familiar face even all the way out here.
“So there is a caravan headed west-“ I began to say.
“Ah the cursed caravan.” Yonson said with a nod.
“What? How did you know that?” I asked.
“Because loads of people die on that trip. The mining town is walled up like crazy, but everyone knows this. So the bandits attack on the road to and from the town. For the food being shipped in and the gold shipped out. There is possibly other kingdoms helping them out, maybe even a rogue mana user or two. The merchant guild tries to keep how many caravans they have actually lost from spreading around.”
“I just heard they lost one caravan ten years ago and one recently.” I said.
“No, no. It is much higher than that, but for the gold it is worth the risk. I am guessing you two idiots signed on?” We both nodded. “Well good luck. Don’t even ask me to go. That is dangerous. I don’t mind a little action, but I pick my targets very carefully. Can’t spend money if you are dead.”
“Any advice then?” Bran asked.
“You won’t run into trouble until near the mining town. Nothing else around it five days in any direction. Just forest, monsters, and bandits. If whoever is running the show knows what they are doing they will realize that also. It isn’t just monsters either. Night ambush is high if bandits attack. There are some tough monsters in that area too. Only reason people are there is for the gold.”
“It is said that the dragon Milthanforendor lived there since all the gold in the mountains’ roots. The scars of the battle to drive the dragon off still dot the land today. Well that is what is said. All I know is that the town Goldtown has been there a long time.”
“At least the town name is accurate.” Bran said.
“Oh you bet.” Yonson added.
“Why don’t they just teleport the gold or something other than a caravan?” I asked.
“Teleportation mana is based on distance. I asked mage that once myself. Even with gold it just isn’t worth it. Also teleportation mana is rare, only ever seen one mage use it and that was just for short distances. There was talk of sending the Royal Army in to clear out the surrounding land, but the monsters keep pushing back.”
“You got Ents, Fairies, Ogres, and Creepers. I even heard there is an Elf raid from time to time. Pointy Eared bastards. Anything done to the forest just makes all those things even madder. So Goldtown got a giant wall and some idiots have to protect the caravan going to and from the town.” Yonson gave us a look.
“I don’t know what possessed you to go on the cursed caravan.”
“Excitement and adventure?” I said quietly.
“You will get that and die probably.” Yonson swirled his mug and looked down at it. “If things go to shit and you survive….well good for both of you.” He looked back up. “You have had a really lucky run so far. Getting that cockatrice was nothing short of a miracle. Then the map. I know you probably think courier missions are boring but like caravan ones they normally are the best route to go until something better shows up.”
“But you went into the forest as well and your stories-“
“Are just stories.” Yonson rubbed his hand through his hair. “I knew goblins are easy enough to kill. That is the only reason I checked things out. But I knew enough to get out of there. There is going to come a time when your luck runs out. When that happens, there will be a lot of death and blood.”
“Yeah, but this is the path I want to walk down. You don’t become strong sitting in a library all day.” I said.
“I don’t know Ed. I…I don’t think I can keep up with you.” Bran looked away from me. “I try, but with the yeti and now this. I need to slow down a bit.” I looked at him in shock. I had not been expecting that.
“Your life, your choice.” I apparently didn’t know Bran as well as I thought I did.
“It is not like that. I…after the Yeti I was really scared. I only did the mapping mission with you because you saved my life. I need a break.” Bran got up and went to our room. I sat there in shock.
“It happens. Better he says this now before he breaks out there in the wilderness.” Yonson said. I gave him a glare.
“This is your fault. Scaring him off.”
“I told it like it is. Go or stay, it doesn’t matter to me. If he really wanted to follow you, he wouldn’t have walked off. When people get hurt…it changes them. Nothing physical but there is a mental wound. You can’t heal that with potions or chants.” Yonson let out a sigh. “Good luck out there.” He got up and left.
I sat there long into the night feeling angry and frustrated over Bran’s betrayal after everything I had done for him.
CHAPTER 7
“I heard your friend dropped out.” Karn said.
“Yeah, too much risk.” I replied as I looked over the growing collection of wagons. It was time to look at the future and not be stuck in the past.
“Well this is just shit. That makes six of us.” Karn spat to the side. “Alright gather up you piss covered maggots.” He roared out. Everyone from the caravan slowly gathered around him. “If anyone runs, I kill them. I have done it before. So if you want out, get out now.” No one moved.
“Good. I am Karn. I am running this show to Goldtown. Now we are transporting goods to the town. We don’t want to lose them and we want to make it back in one piece. All the porters you know how to shoot bows and were chosen because of that. You are getting paid more just for that.”
“Now there are only six of us guards so we are running three groups of two. First is me and Mage Karen here.” He gestured at a pile of robes that could be a woman. “She is a lightening mage and our heavy hitter. She stays at the middle wagon with me to keep an eye on things the whole time. She also won’t be taking watch and shut your complaining mouths before I shut them for you!” He roared the last bit.
“Next we got Ed who is a good fighter and Harold our scout. You two get the get the front. You will all still need to keep your eyes open. Harold is good, but there are better things out there.” I gave a nod to the older man who had a huge longbow covered with runic script.
“Last two are Priest Gregson and Michael. Michael will handle protecting the priest who will protect us and heal us. So be nice to him. Also he is off watch duty. The rest of you will take a rotating shift while I will take watch when I think necessary.” No one made a noise.
“Now we got a noble coming with us. Baron Hartsforth will be traveling with us in an armored carriage. You leave him alone and he will leave you alone. If there is an issue get me and I will deal with it. He knows not to give me any shit on this trip. Now we won’t be expecting trouble until the last bit, but that is what they want us to think. Now let’s go.” My brother in law was here. I should find time to talk to him.
Adventures of a Scribe Page 20