Purveyors and Acquirers (The Phosfire Journeys Book 1)

by Unknown

  “You are Master Ice?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you are an associate of Lady Mirada?”

  “I am. What is it you have to tell me?” he prompted.

  Fronc stood straighter. “Master Ice, I am to inform you that you and any guests you would like to bring are invited to the Temple of the Ladies of Life for the evening meal. Lady Mirada will be present, and we were instructed by her to inform you of her desire to have you attend, as well.”

  Nester wondered who Lady Mirada and Master Ice were, to warrant such regard. He couldn’t wait to talk privately with his fellow apprentices.

  “I accept the invitation, especially in light of my desire to meet and discuss important business with the Matriarch.” Ice looked purposefully at Zeal. “I will need to prepare beforehand and will, of course, require a guide to the Temple.”

  Tulip raised her hand. “Zeal and I will stay with you and show you to the Temple.”

  Ice nodded. “How long do we have before our presence is required?”

  “Three marks from now,” Fronc answered.

  “Master Feneas, would you care to join me?”

  Feneas looked back over his shoulder before answering, “Thank you, Ice, but no. I need to consult with Essmee regarding a recent discovery.”

  Nester noticed that both Masters Feneas and Ice briefly looked in Zeal’s direction. Now, what was that all about?

  “Then I will take my leave of you and will return mid-morn.” Ice presented Feneas the bag he had picked up at the Inn before heading to 59 Gull Way.

  “Inside are a few things I wish you to have that I hope you would find useful. There is also a gift for Essmee. Had I known about her babe, I would have had brought something for her, as well. You must let me know what you like, for I have access to more.”

  Feneas accepted the bag. “Be well, my son. I look forward to hearing about the outcome of your proceedings at the Temple.” He opened the door, moved aside, and waited for everyone to leave.

  Nester felt Tulip tug his sleeve.

  “Zeal and I will meet up with the rest of you later. The two of us will be able to take care of Master Ice.”

  Nester leaned her way. “So you don’t need any help?”

  “No, we’ll be fine. We can finish our game later. I have a new move to try out.”

  “New move, huh? Sounds good.” Nester used finger speak, keeping his hand movement out of sight of Masters Ice and Feneas, gesturing, “Understood.”

  Feneas waved to Nester and the other children. Ice, Tulip, and Zeal walked away together, and the other three children headed off in a different direction. As Feneas closed the door, he reviewed all of the day’s happenings and wondered at the way fate seemed to bring people’s lives together. “Essmee, I would like to talk to you about Kit and Zeal. You don’t mind sharing with me?”

  I don’t mind. We both have an interest in the length of this tail. Come down. I want to see my gift.

  “You’re correct, we do have presents. I’ll be right there.” The bag was light and felt empty, which was meaningless considering he held a container owned by a Practitioner of the Arts.

  Smiling, he hurried to Essmee to see what was for them in the bag Ice had given him.

  ***

  Ice, with Zeal and Tulip in tow, headed to the Inn’s kitchen, where he found Widow Kipper overseeing the preparation of her guests’ food for the evening meal.

  “Lady Kipper, I wanted to inform you that Mirada and I have an engagement elsewhere tonight and will not be dining at the Inn this evening.”

  Widow Kipper looked up from the vegetables she was chopping. “I appreciate your keeping me informed of your schedule, Master Ice.”

  Ice thought the Widow appeared surprised at his consideration for her. He really wasn’t as bad socially as Mirada made him out to be, at least when he put in a little effort. “Would you mind if my two young companions have a snack here in the kitchen while I freshen up? I’ll return shortly to take them off your hands and will, of course, cover the cost of any treat you serve them.” He moved forward and handed her a coin, which she pocketed without inspecting.

  “Not at all, Master Ice. As long as they stay out of my way and mind themselves, I would be happy to have them wait in my kitchen.”

  “Thank you very much.” He pointed to two chairs in front of the table. “Tulip, Zeal, sit here. I won’t be gone long and will be ready to leave when I return.”

  He saw them settled and left for his room. Halfway up the steps, he heard the floor creak on the landing behind him. Suspecting he was being followed, he removed the blade from the sheath strapped on his wrist, stopped at the top of the steps, and turned with weapon held out of sight to see who was behind him. It was the woman, the mentor of the children whom he had met in the market earlier that day.

  She glanced around as she approached. “You can put your knife away. If I’d planned to cause you harm, I wouldn’t have made a noise for you to hear. You might like to receive the message I have for you in a less public area.”

  “Come into my room.” He unlocked the door with his key and gestured for her to enter then followed her into the room, keeping his eyes on her as he closed the door.

  As she stepped inside, she held her empty hands where he could see them. “A meet has been set up for this evening, as you requested.”

  He returned the knife to its sheath. “I will be sharing the evening meal and conducting important business with the Matriarch of the Temple of the Ladies of Light. Can the introduction occur after?”

  She stood in contemplation for several heartbeats before nodding. “I will join you outside the Temple after your business is completed and take you to the rendezvous. Try to end your exchange at the Temple so that the meet can occur before the day’s last mark. You shouldn’t expect me to wait much after that for you.”

  “I’ll be there. If need be, I’ll make an excuse to leave and continue my business with the Matriarch the next morn.”

  “Good. You’ll find me across the road from the main gates.”

  “Do I get to know the name of the person to whom I am speaking?”

  “No, not yet. Maybe after the meet. Who knows.” She walked past him, opened the door, and left.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  WHEN MIRADA AND Izlan entered the common room of the Temple, Mirada was surprised to discover that the room had been decorated in their absence. Silver, blue, and black cloth bunting, the Raiders’ company colors, had been placed above the windows and doorways. She inhaled deeply the delightful aroma of irises given off by the scented candles that provided light in the chamber.

  “Love the choice of hues for the hangings,” she said. “I was proud to fight under your banner.”

  Izlan leaned toward her. “A flag comprised of these colors has always represented the Temple. I borrowed the pattern from here to create our Standard.”

  “Hope all this is not because of me.”

  “After all the hard work cleaning the Temple, I’m surmising that having guests for dinner became a cause for celebration, and that means Cook will be creating a special dessert for the occasion. Everyone will be wondering what delectable marvel she’ll fashion.”

  Mirada laughed. “Our former Quarter Master has found her calling. She seems much happier now than when she had to keep the company clothed and fed.”

  “You have the right of it, Mirada. Come. Our table is over this way.”

  There was a stranger already sitting at the head table as they approached. He stood and bowed respectfully as they neared.

  Izlan acknowledged him with a nod. “Master Slag, I’m surprised to see you tonight. Let me present Lady Mirada. Mirada, this is Master Slag.”

  “Just Slag, please. It is my honor to meet you, Lady Mirada. Matriarch, I hope I am not imposing. I have business near here later this evening and thought I would visit with you beforehand. When I saw the decorations going up, I just couldn’t pass on the opportunity to enjoy a good meal.
I couldn’t bear the thought of missing one of Cook’s visions. Humbly, I ask permission to attend tonight’s feast.”

  “Permission is granted. All are welcome to the Temple, and for you, the door is always open.”

  Mirada felt Slag was laying it on thick. She could tell he was honestly welcomed, but Izlan was treating him with formal familiarity, much as she dealt with a commander of an allied company the Raiders were going to fight alongside in an upcoming battle.

  “Are you the honored guest tonight, Lady Mirada?”

  “Mirada is fine, since you are foregoing honorifics. My associate, Ice, and I are guilty of being the cause for this festivity. He should be joining us soon.” There was something about Slag that tweaked her curiosity. He was not a former Raider nor did he work in the Temple. Izlan sat on one side of him and indicated, with a gesture, for her to flank him on the other. “How do you come to know the Matriarch?”

  Slag picked up a pitcher and filled his cup with water. “May I pour for you, ladies?” He continued to do so without awaiting a reply. “I sell commodities. Success has enabled me to make periodic donations to the Temple. The work they do here is much appreciated by the community. The lives that have been touched and healed by the Ladies of Life have been innumerable.”

  Mirada saw Izlan cover her mouth with her hand to hide a smirk. She planned to have a discussion with Izlan regarding Slag before leaving Arlanda. The man was more than he seemed.

  The room gradually began to fill with adults and children, including Mehrle, Liddea, Fronc, and Nester, who sat together at one of the tables. She’d met Nester when he, along with Liddea and Fronc, delivered Ice’s acceptance of Izlan’s invitation to dine at the Temple. She contemplated how best to reward Izlan’s charges, which momentarily distracted her from her questions about Slag. Ice’s arrival, with Tulip and Zeal as escorts, refocused her attention on Slag as Tulip made introductions to Ice.

  “Master Ice, I would like to present Matriarch Izlan and Master Slag. You already know Lady Mirada.”

  Izlan stood and gestured to the empty seat next to her. “Thank you, Tulip. Welcome, Master Ice. Please join us.”

  Zeal and Tulip hurried over to join the four other apprentices and immediately huddled together, engaging in a hushed discussion.

  Ice gave Izlan a brief bow before sitting. “Matriarch, I am honored by your invitation. Well met, Master Slag.”

  Mirada raised one brow. Who is this man, and where did he come from? Manners from Ice!

  Izlan filled Ice’s cup. “We have decided to be informal, if you don’t mind. Please, call me Izlan.”

  “Slag alone is fine for me.”

  When Mirada glanced over at Slag, she discovered he was studying Ice in a manner that didn’t fit his earlier carefree attitude. Then Landis, Martell, Patrice, and Charion arrived, and the former Raiders didn’t treat Slag like the common comrade in arms, as he had portrayed himself, but rather as one would treat an officer who was mixing in with the troops. They knew something about Slag she didn’t. What was his role here?

  Izlan called for dinner to be served. The food was excellent. Camp food, although always filling, had never been this good. Mirada was beginning to think she couldn’t eat another bite when a bell rang. All conversation ceased as everyone looked expectantly toward the kitchen doorway.

  Cook rolled out the dessert on a cart. It was a cake formed into a castle with towers flying candied flags. There was a pudding moat crossed by four frosted drawbridges, each one decorated with an actual iris. She pushed the cart past every table so that all had a chance to see the castle before stopping in front of the head table.

  The room erupted in applause, cheering, and whistling for several heartbeats before silence again reigned. Then, at one table at a time, a chant began…, “Cook, Cook, Cook, Cook!”

  Mirada saw the former Company Quartermaster blush with pleasure. Izlan had built a home and community at the Temple where everyone cared for and about each other. Mirada suddenly wished she were back in Havensharth. She missed Greyhook. It would have been nice to have had him there, to share her friends with him.

  Mirada joined the rest in offering Cook praise when it was her table’s turn.

  Finally, Izlan raised her arms and the chorus ended. “Ice, Mirada, since you’re the reason for this celebration, it is your privilege to cut the cake and take the first pieces.”

  Cook gave them knives, small plates, and small ladles. “Put a little of the pudding on top of your cake.”

  Mirada found her belly suddenly had space. She cut a generous serving of the dessert and liberally applied the contents of the moat. Ice was not shy with his portion, either, and happily returned with it to the table after presenting Cook with a helping of her own. Cook joined them in sampling her creation.

  The visit with Feneas must have changed the man, Mirada decided. Drawn back to her dish by its aroma, she attacked, showing it no quarter. She slowly chewed each moist, buttery mouthful and became lost in the eating. The pudding contained caramel and had a dousing of a fruity spirit, though not enough to make the young ones tipsy. Her spoon soon found nothing to do but scrape her empty dish. She was contemplating possibly having a small second serving when Ice addressed Izlan.

  “Izlan, after the meal is finished, I would like to discuss a concern I have regarding one of the children.”

  Mirada saw Izlan turn and give Ice her full attention. “With which one of my charges do you have a problem?”

  Mirada could tell Izlan had been put on guard by Ice and wondered if his announcement had anything to do with him being on such good behavior.

  “It’s Zeal. I would like to take him with us to Havensharth when Mirada and I leave.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand why you would want Zeal to accompany you.” Izlan put her fork down in a measured manner. “Mirada, can you enlighten me?”

  Mirada found herself surprised by Ice’s bold statement. “I know nothing of Ice’s proposal. Ice, why do you want to take Zeal? You just met him.” She studied his face. What did he think he was doing? She wished he had discussed his request with her before approaching Izlan.

  Izlan interrupted Ice’s reply. “I find I have no further desire for cake. Would you all join me in my study, so that we can get to the bottom of this? Master Slag, I would appreciate your counsel.”

  “I would be happy to participate in this discourse, Lady Izlan.”

  Mirada looked around the table. All eyes were focused on Ice. Why had Izlan included Slag so readily, and what was his interest? As they were leaving the common room, she glanced over toward Zeal, where he and his five peers were quietly heading out of the chamber through the door to the kitchen.

  When they reached Izlan’s workroom, Izlan walked over to her desk and sat in her chair. Mirada was immediately aware this was no longer a social gathering, and she hoped Ice knew what he was doing. Chairs from the table were arranged in a crescent in front of the desk, and everyone was seated.

  Izlan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Ice, explain. Why do you want Zeal?”

  Ice looked uncomfortable. “Matriarch, perhaps it would be best if we had this conversation in private?”

  “Everyone in this room, except for you and Mirada, have an interest in Zeal’s wellbeing. Anything you have to say will be shared with them. Am I understood?”

  He nodded. “You are aware that Zeal and Tulip accompanied me when I visited my former mentor. What no one knows in this room, except for Mirada, is that I am a Practitioner of the Arts. During our visit, my mentor informed me that Zeal has the potential to become a Practitioner of the Arts and that Zeal is also a Phosfire.”

  Mirada studied Izlan and her command core, everyone silent after Ice’s revelation. Slag sat speechless, gazing intently at Ice, who awaited everyone’s reaction. Even she felt surprised about Zeal.

  Izlan leaned forward. “I am curious, how did your mentor detect Zeal’s aptitude? And what is a Phosfire?”

  “I am not
at liberty to divulge the technique used to make the determination. However, in rare cases, a Practitioner is born with an affinity to one of the elements.”

  Izlan gestured. “Explain elements to the group, please.”

  “I refer to the core mediums: earth, wind, water, and fire. For those of you who are not Practitioners, said individual may become capable of controlling the substance to which they are aligned. It has been rumored that such a person can develop the ability to communicate with creatures that are comprised of the material to which they have the affinity, and possibly shape-change into the particular form.”

  Izlan’s brow furrowed. “A Phosfire is in tune with which one?”

  “Zeal’s affinity is with the rarest of them, the element of fire.”

  Izlan gazed around the room as though judging how everyone was processing Ice’s information. Her eyes remained on Slag when she commented, “Why take him to Havensharth, away from this place, and separate him from his companions? Could Zeal not receive training from your former mentor or another Practitioner in Arlanda?”

  “I am not sure how much you know about Havensharth, but the resources and instruction Zeal needs, if he is to survive, cannot be obtained here in Arlanda but do exist in Havensharth. It would be for Zeal’s safety and everyone else’s.”

  Izlan raised her hand and silenced the chamber’s occupants when they began to pepper Ice with questions. “Why is that? Enlighten us.”

  “Zeal, even if he receives proper training, may never gain control of his ability. If he doesn’t, the affinity will kill him and destroy everything around him in the process.”

  Even though she had recently met the rascal, Mirada didn’t want to see Zeal or any of the other children come to harm. She could see that Ice was sincere in his belief. She caught Izlan’s eye, and Izlan recognized her with a brief nod. “Ice, I have described Havensharth to everyone here, except for Slag. I want you all to know that I vouch for Ice. Not being a Practitioner but having worked with and lived around them, I have watched them accomplish in some instances unimaginable deeds. Knowing Ice as well as I do, I believe he wouldn’t suggest removing Zeal from your care if it wasn’t in Zeal’s best interest.”