Bren explained what had happened between him and Faye the night before. Once his story was finished Cass laughed so hard that everyone turned to look at him. Even Faye leaned her head from around the wagon but when she saw him she turned up her nose and disappeared back behind the wagon.
“You really didn’t know that she was hunting you?” Cass asked as he whipped the tears that had gathered in his eyes.
“You sound just like Thuraman,” Bren said angrily. “How was I supposed to know what she was thinking?”
“You must not have spent a lot of time around women when you were growing up,” Cass said his voice still filled with laughter. “I noticed her and Lillian’s feelings nearly half a year ago. It was plain as day and twice as easy to see.”
“Lillian?” Bren asked confused. At the sound of her name Lillian turned around and flashed a brilliant smile. Bren waved to her then waited until she turned back around. “You’re not telling me she is going to try to ambush me as well.”
“I figured she had already had,” Cass replied laughing again. “She is a little more forward than Faye but then again to you it must have just looked like her doing her duty.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Bren asked as he rubbed his head with the palms of his hands. “I thought your job was to guard me, not wait until after I had been attacked to do anything to help me.”
“Some things you have to take care of yourself,” Cass replied laughing. “If you want me to tell you every time a woman flirts with you I would lose my voice in the matter of days. Sadly that is something you will have to learn to notice on your own.”
“Some guard you are,” Bren replied in mock anger. “Why can’t they simply come out and tell me instead of expecting me to just noticing what they are thinking.”
“You still haven’t learned have you,” Cass said laughing slightly. “Women watch people the same way soldiers do, though instead of looking for signs of aggression they watch for much more subtle changes. A woman can tell when a person is sad, happy, or simply in a bad mood as easily as you could tell if a person is right or left handed. The bad thing is they expect us to have the same innate talent in reading others that they have. They just can’t grasp that unless you beat us over the head with the truth we will never notice the feelings they carry.”
Bren tried to think of a reply to Cass but nothing came to mind. His feet felt heavy as he walked. There were too many things on his mind making everything around him fade from his mind. It wasn’t until Avalanche brushed against his leg and gave out a loud rumbling bark that he shook out of his self-reflection to notice that half the day had already passed.
Reaching into his pack Bren pulled out a thumb sized ruby and held it down. Avalanche quickly took the offered gem eating it whole.
More often than not Bren forgot that Avalanche was around, though he did the same with most of his guards. Most of the guards kept their distance from him and seldom talked with him. Avalanche on the other hand would dart off and disappear for days at a time, but she would always seem to appear when he was in trouble. Stopping Bren bent down and patted the rock hound on the head. “Where would I be without you?”
Avalanche answered his question by jumping up and placing her from legs on his chest forcing him to the ground. Though avalanche was no larger than most dogs she weighed as much as a boulder. Laughing Bren rolled out from under the creature and jumped to his feet. Avalanche noticed the game and chased after the young mage. They continued this little game until Bren grew tired and collapsed a few miles up the road from the caravan. As he lay on the grass next to the road Avalanche lay down next to him placing her head lightly on his chest. Bren smiled and absentmindedly ran his hand over her head.
To get his mind off of his troubles with Faye and Lillian, Bren spent his time following around Avalanche. Cass was not very happy with his choice of activities as it meant that he had to follow as well and the rock hound didn’t enjoy a slow paced walk. Most of the time the rock hound allowed Bren to follow her but there were times that she would seem to disappear without notice leaving Bren looking for her.
It was three days before Faye would even look at Bren and even then she still had a slight tightness to her face, so Bren kept his distance. He would simply smile at her until she turned away. He didn’t know if what he was doing would help but he decided to trust Lisa’s advice.
It was easy to tell when they were nearing the port town as more and more travelers began to join the on the roads. Farlan was a small country compared to Rane, but was known for its large port. Thanks to that, Bren had gone on more than one voyage in his life. He had been to the port of Deliah before but during those trips he had not spent much time off the ship, but he did have some small knowledge of the town.
Deliah was one of the seven major ports, and hosted a lot of ships most of those from Northern Kurt. Most travelers traveled between northern and southern Kurt by way of the Crescent Isles, a string of islands that law between the two large continents. The islands were connected together by large bridges that had been built during the time of the empire. While the Crescent Isles were good for normal travel most merchants who wanted to cut down on travel time ships were much more efficient, though there was a small chance to run into pirates.
“I think we will reach the port tomorrow,” Bren told Cass as they began sitting up camp for the night.
“How can you tell?” Cass asked giving Bren an odd look.
“The smell,” Bren explained. “I can smell the salt in the air. It sticks to your body and leaves a faint taste in your mouth.”
Cass cleared his nose and took a deep breath. “I didn’t even notice the difference before but now that I look for it I can certainly smell the difference.”
“Oh and I thought that you knew every trick in the book,” Bren replied jokingly.
“Only when it comes to women,” Cass replied with a smirk.
“There are plenty of trees nearby,” Bren observed. “I think this is a good chance to practice a bit.”
“It has been awhile since you got the chance,” Cass admitted. “Might as well do it when you get the chance but you also need to practice a bit more with your sword.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Bren said. “You and the other guards have only practiced a handful of times since we left Torin.”
“True enough but that is because we leave early in the morning and there really isn’t enough of us to allow half of them to be distracted by practicing.”
Bren, and Cass moved into the thick cover of trees. Unlike their previous trips this time they were not alone as Avalanche followed behind. Once Bren was sure they were far enough away Bren took a seat on the ground and made himself comfortable.
“What kind of magic are you going to use today?” Cass asked. “I don’t think a wind tunnel will work well with all these trees. Not if you want to remain unnoticed.”
Bren looked around as he thought of what he could do. Sae-Thae had said he could use any form of magical energy so that meant that he had few limits. After searching the ground Bren found a handful of small flowers. Placing the flowers in his lap Bren held one in his hand as he focused.
Drawing in the magical energy felt as easy as breathing now. Bren was almost at a point where he could not only draw in the amount he wanted but block out the unwanted energy as well. It seemed so simple now, all he had to do was simply tell the energy what he wanted.
Within a few seconds the flower in his hand began to grow until it was the size of a sapling. Then suddenly the flower changed and started to sprout buds that flew into the distance. As soon as the buds hit the ground they exploded destroying two trees and flinging a large amount of dirt into the air that showered Bren and Cass. Avalanche didn’t seem to enjoy Bren’s display as she had backed away and had started barking at him.
“What in the nine hells was that?” Cass shouted. “If everyone in the camp didn’t hear that I will wear a dress for a fortnight.”
“Too much,” Cass replied shaking his head. “Half of that would have been too much.”
Bren calmed himself and reached his mind into the ground. He had learned that using magic was much different than he had expected. The ground was cold and hard but also had a feeling of nurturing warmth to it. It took a few moments but as soon as he pulled in enough energy Bren began to send out small tendrils of magic. The tendrils reached out to the blades of grass below and around him urging them to grow and strengthen.
The grass headed his call and began to rise into the air carrying him with them. Once they were more than a foot in length Bren changed his focus and the grass began to weave together until they had formed long thick ropes that reached all the way to the top of the trees. After more than an hour of work, the ropes had formed bridges along the tops of the trees.
Opening his eyes Bren inspected his work. The ropes still had stray leaves and didn’t look as smooth as he had wanted but that would come with practice. Working with nature was hard, as not only did the elemental energy have its own will, the plants did as well. It wasn’t so much a thought but a feeling, one that was calm. It was that calmness that he had to fight against or there was a chance he himself would forget the very reason that he was sitting there. It was the same as when he pulled in a large amount of wind energy though instead of a feeling of calm there was a feeling of absolute freedom.
Bren wasn’t sure what would happen if he allowed himself to delve too far and let the feelings of the magical energy take over but he was sure that it would be nothing good.
“What is that on your neck?” Cass asked bring Bren out of his reflection.
Bren reached up and felt his neck to find that his skin felt cold and slick. Even without being able to see he knew what had happened. He looked at Cass wondering if he could simply bluff a reply but the look on his friends face told Bren that it was not going to be that easy.
Bren pulled off the long gloves that covered his hands, then his tunic and chain mail. As his skin was exposed he heard Cass surprised gasp. Bren looked down as his mail hit the ground. His entire chest except a small portion of his shoulder had turn silver. “Every time I use magic more and more of my body turns silver. At first it was only my hand but recently it has spread to most of my body.”
“Does it hurt?” Cass asked as he reached out and carefully touched the silver skin of Bren’s arm.
“No,” Bren answered. “It feels the same as the rest of my body though maybe a bit colder. “It is also a lot harder. Not long ago I thought I had cut my hand and found that unless I put a lot of force into it I can’t even put a scratch on the silver skin.”
“That is surely odd,” Cass said not even looking up his eyes still purely focused on Bren’s silver skin. “I think it would be best if you let the others know as well. We don’t want someone to panic when they notice it for the first time and make a fuss at the wrong time.”
“I will,” Bren replied. “When we are on the ship, I don’t think doing it right now would be good timing.”
“You might be right about that,” Cass said with a sly smile. “Those girls of yours might think you are such a pretty sight with that glimmering skin that they won’t be able to keep their hands off of you.”
“Can you be serious for more than a second?” Bren asked blushing.
“I was being serious,” Cass said the smile fading from his face. “Women tend to like shiny things.”
CHAPTER XXII
The port of Delia was much larger than Bren remembered it. Then again he was only a small boy the last time he had spent any amount of time within the city and at that time his movements had been restricted by his mother.
The first stop was the harbor master to find a ship that was going to the Northern continent. Bren was not worried about there being a lack of ships as it was one of the most traveled routes. While Bren, Jin and Cass headed for the port, the others went to find an Inn.
The harbor master was an elder man who looked as if he had led a hard life, but still held more than a little bite in his actions and voice. The man told them that their best chance to find passage was a ship called the Sea Serpent ran by a Captain Fornus.
The Sea Serpent was in the third pier. It was only a three mast ship but was still large enough to transport a large amount of cargo. Bren couldn’t say he liked the sight of the ship though. The railing had cuts and mars all over it and looked more like a pirate ship than a conventional merchant ship.
“Ahoy, we are looking for the captain,” Bren yelled to the first sailor that he spotted on the ship.
The sailor looked from Bren to the others then rolled his eyes and disappeared. A few moments later a thin man with thick eyebrows and a shaved head started walking down the long gangplank. “Ya looking for me?” the man asked in a gruff voice.
“We are if you are the captain,” Bren answered calmly. “We need passage for our goods and people to the Northern continent. Doesn’t really matter what port as long as there is a road leading inland.”
“I think I can help ya,” the captain replied. “Depends on how much you expect to load my ship down with.”
“Thirteen people, two wagons and four horses,” Bren answered hoping he had counted right.
“We have a few cabins open though not enough for everyone to have a room to their own. In most cases it will be three to a room. If you don’t mind that it will be two gold a person, four gold a horse, and ten gold for an empty wagon, twenty if you got it loaded to the gills.”
Bren counted out the gold making sure that he paid for one loaded wagon and one empty one. Even if they couldn’t get rid of all their goods, the amount he paid should cover what they were currently carrying. “We leave in two days. I would suggest that you get all your people on board by tomorrow night. Once it’s time to leave port we won’t be waiting for anyone who is sleeping off the previous night.”
“Understood captain,” Bren replied before walking back toward the town proper.
With their passage taken care of Bren and Jin visited local merchants to try to sell of as much of their goods as they could. It turned out to be much easier than Bren had thought. The magical items went quick though it took some footwork to get rid of the others. In the end they had less than a quarter of a wagonload left and enough gold to fill two of their chests. Just as they had done before they put a decent amount of gold into Bren’s magical truck to send back to Torin and the largest portion was taken to a moneylender to be sent back to Rane.
Though they had sent a large amount of gold away they were by no means lacking for coin. The small chest that Bren had brought with him was still nearly completely full. It might not seem like much but Bren knew that if he were to empty it there would easily be over five hundred gold within the chest. That was more than enough to restock their wagons, not to mention he could always have Flynn send more magical items to trade from Torin.
They found Lillian and the rest at a large inn awaiting them. Unlike most of the inn’s they had visited this one had large tables that could accommodate all of them without having to be moved. If felt slightly different to have everyone sitting around one table, though not in a bad way.
Bren looked over to Faye who met his eyes and smiled. It looked as if she had finally quit being mad at him at least enough not to scowl whenever she saw him.
“Looks like this will be the last night that we spend together,” Lisa said in a sad voice. “It has been a pleasure traveling alongside you youngsters. If I was forty years younger I might just join your little troupe,” Lisa added with a wry grin.
Everyone said their goodbyes to Lisa and Faye even gave the older woman a firm hug. “I will miss you grandma,” Faye said with teary eyes.
“I will miss you too sweetheart,” Lisa replied returning the hug and the tears.
Bren had not spent a lot of time with the old lady but he still felt sad at her parting. He had no words
for her so instead he took out a few gold from his pouch and placed them into her hand when he gave her a hug goodbye. Lisa tried to protest but Bren turned around and acted like he didn’t know what she was talking about.
After Lisa had finished eating she left for her own ship where she would be lodging until they left port. With Lisa gone a feeling of sadness and loss hung over the group until Cass ordered a large round of ale for everyone. No matter how sad you are, it was hard to stay that way after a couple of pints went into you.
That night Bren had only a few drinks but many of the others had taken mug after mug until they had to be helped to their rooms. When Bren was about to head for his own bed to sleep, Faye grabbed his tunic forcing his to stop and turn around to look at her. “Why won’t you talk to me?” She asked in a slurred voice.
“Because you were mad at me,” Bren replied as he tried to pry her hand from his tunic.
“Carry me to my room,” Faye demanded as she threw her arms around his neck.
“I think it would be better if Phena or Lillian helped you to your bed,” Bren replied blushing as Faye pulled herself close to his face her breath reeking of alcohol.
“Why you don’t like being close to me?” Faye asked her eyes tearing up.
“Fine,” Bren relented. “Hold on,” Bren said as he lifted Faye from her feet.
Faye didn’t say much as he carried her up the stairs she simply rested her head against his chest. Bren could smell the alcohol on her breath but he could also smell the light scent of flowers that came from her hair. Bren was amazed at how women always found a way to make themselves smell nice even after they had spent days on the road.
Unlike the last inn they had stayed in, this one had ample room to give each of the ladies their own room which they had nearly demanded. It was another oddity of women. They loved to sleep alone while men could care less if there were two or three others with them in the same bed.
Silver Mage (Book 2) Page 18