Wizard's Call

by Luna Lais

  As evening approached on the third day of his journey, Darien found himself hungry, thirsty and exhausted, so was Nog. With barley a hint of the Sun's glow left in the sky Darien could just make out a house of sorts in the distance surrounded by a field of crops. The house appeared abandoned except for a brown cow grazing behind it and a flourishing garden planted to the side. Prophecy or no prophecy, Nog could not continue without rest and nourishment and neither could he. Darien wanted to save this unknown man for Horace, but not at the cost of his own life or Nog's. He only hoped someone was home.

  He had noticed no smoke floating from the chimney of the house, nor did any light shine through the windows. As Darien approached closer he earnestly began to fear that he would find this place deserted, save the cow. It was not a house he had been looking at, but an abandoned shack that was either very old or poorly built. There were large gaps in the side of the shack where the boards making up the walls no longer met. The only door, which faced the road, was short of meeting the ground by several inches. The top hinges of the door were broken. Someone had tied a rope latch on the opposite side that allowed the door to hang open a small amount. It was hard to tell in the fading light, but it appeared someone must have boarded up the windows of the shack from the inside. He could see the last of the light reflecting off the broken glass, but he could not see into the interior of the structure. Darien knowing the search for a person would be futile dismounted Nog and inspected the building closer. The roof was bowed to the center and would likely collapse into the middle of the shack with the next winter snow. As Darien walked around the building he noticed something he had not seen before. Hidden from the road by the shack there was a small barn several yards away. Darien could just make it out before the sun's last light completely disappeared beyond the horizon. From what Darien had seen in the faint light the barn looked to be in better repair than the house. Darien turned back to Nog. "Well at least there is a garden so I can eat. I suppose we could sleep in the barn. Perhaps in the morning light we will find a well or some source of water to fill my water bags."

  "There's a well behind the barn" Darien turned to the unknown voice at the same time a small lantern was lit. A man of an average height and medium build stood before him holding the small light. It was hard to tell the way the light cast shadows on the man's face, but he looked to be close to the same age as Darien.

  "So I take it you and your horse will require shelter from the storm tonight?" Not waiting for a reply the man turned and grabbed a rope, which hung around the cow's neck and began walking towards the barn.

  "Nog, I think we have been invited to stay the night." Darien grabbed the horse's reigns and followed after the man.

  Darien entered the barn a few minutes after the man had entered. There was a fireplace nestled along the back wall. The light from the fire along with the small lantern the man was hanging on the wall in between the fireplace and what looked to be a small door was enough light for Darien to see the outline of four stalls.

  "You do not by chance know the Sun Arts, do you?" The man asked Darien this question as he began twisting a few pieces of straw together. Darien led Nog to a stall far away from the fire as he answered. "No, I am Calandorian" he said.

  "It does not matter where you are from when it comes to the Arts" the man shrugged. "Well Emmy Lou it looks like it is the old fashioned way again tonight." Darien could not tell if the man spoke to the cow or to an unseen spirit. It was possible the man was senile. He saw the man place tip of the straw he had been twisting in the end of the fire until it to had been lit. He then hurried around the barn trying to light the many lanterns that were scattered about, before the flame reached the tip of his fingers. When he was done he tossed the flaming straw into the fireplace.

  "I do not mind visitors" the man said, "but just once I would like one of them to be an elementalist or maybe even a wizard." The man had turned to address the cow as he said this. Darien figured the man talked to the cow much the same way he talked to Nog. The cow mooed at the man's lamenting. In understanding the man shook his head and rubbed the top of the cow's head.

  "Sun or Moon it would not matter" the man turned to Darien finding a new source to discuss his feelings with. Darien had begun rubbing Nog down. He did not fail to notice the small trough in the stall was already filled with water and a bag of oats for Nog to eat was hanging on a nail nearby. "It appears you were expecting company this evening" Darien said ignoring the man's ramblings about the Arts. The man had lit all the lanterns in the barn and was now hanging a large iron pot on a hook in the fireplace.

  "I saw you coming down the road" the man explained. "With night fast approaching and the nearest town still a good days ride from here I thought you might seek shelter from the storm, so I starting preparing as fast as I could. That is why I did not have the lights lit when you arrived. I had to haul water from the well behind the barn for both Emmy Lou and your horse before I lost the light."

  With Nog's rub down complete, Darien strapped the oat bag to his horse and moved to the small table he had noticed in front of the fireplace. He was not surprised to see two place settings already on the table. "Do you have guest often?" Darien asked.

  "Usually no, but in the last few months I have had more than I have cared to. Most have not been the friendly type," the man stated as he continued his work.

  Darien continued to study his surroundings as the man worked. The barn appeared to be in excellent repair, unlike the shack by the road. The back of the barn had been made into a cozy living area. The fireplace was built with large gray stones. A large log had been cut in two lengthwise to make a flat surface then had been fastened above the fireplace as a mantel. Only a large brown clay pot with a lid sat on the mantle. The table sat to one side of the fireplace, on the opposite side sat two stuffed chairs, not in the best of condition, but still comfortable looking. Darien suspected that the man must lived in the barn.

  There was another entrance to the barn next to the fireplace a little wooden door he which probably lead to the well behind the barn and more than likely a woodpile. Behind the table on the other wall instead of stalls the man had built a row of shelves which housed dishes and other household wares. The man had even taken the time to put down a wooden floor at this end of the barn. He turned towards the stalls to check on Nog and noticed a ladder leaning up against one of the stalls. It led to a loft where Darien could see that hay was stored. Darien saw no bed or tack, so if the man slept in the barn it must have been in the loft or one of the stalls.

  "There, now that the fire is good and hot and the water is starting to boil I can start dinner." Darien cast his eyes back to the man who had began cutting up fresh vegetables, obviously from the garden next to the house. The man's shirt had been patched and repaired many times. Darien thought at one time it might have been blue, but was now faded into an indiscriminate color. It was threadbare in several places and had several stains. He was wearing sturdy brown pants with patches of bright green on each knee. Around his waist was a large thick black belt. Darien for the first time noticed the man had a sword shoved carelessly through his belt. One the man's boots sported a hole in the toe that was large enough for Darien to see that the man either wore no hose or if he did they too had holes in them.

  While the man dressed more impoverished than anyone Darien had ever seen, he did not seem to be malnourished. The man was shorter than Darien by only a few inches and he was just as muscular if not more. Darien surmised the life of a farmer must keep his body in excellent condition.

  Darien had been right about the man age being close to his own. No wrinkles marred his face around his green eyes and no gray tinted his hair wavy brown hair. Darien glanced back to the weapon shoved through the man's belt. It had not been properly cleaned or polished for sometime. A farmer would not take much pride in a weapon as beautiful as the one the man had. Only a soldier like Darien would. Darien was sure that the sword would be worth quite a sum if the man polished it to
its full beauty.

  The man placed the chopped vegetables in the pot along with some dried meat hanging from a nail near the fire. After wiping his hands on his pants he extended one towards Darien. "I'm sorry," he said. "I sometimes forget my manners. My name is Eranen Palek. What brings you to the middle of no where in the middle of a storm?" Darien after grasping the man's hand for a moment turned to look out the still opened barn doors. "I am Darien Raven of Calandoria," he said. "This is not the first time you mentioned a storm, but when last I looked the sky was clear." Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth lightening flashed in the sky and was immediately followed by the crack of thunder. "Are you Acumen," Darien turn accusatory eyes towards the man. He was tired of prophecy and was thinking the shack might set on his nerves better than spending the night with an Acumen.

  "Who me?" Eranen looked offended by the statement, which relaxed Darien instantly. After a few seconds the man caught what Darien had meant. "Oh, you mean the storm," the man let out a small laugh. "I have been studying the movement of clouds for a while and can make some pretty accurate predictions when it comes to weather. It has nothing to do with the Gods enlightening me, but more with understanding how clouds work along with the temperature and wind." It was more than the man had said since Darien had met him and Darien was a little shocked by the man knowledge the man seemed to have. Darien's first impression of the man had not been of a well read man who studied overmuch.

  "Although," the man said showing some uneasiness "if I am going to be honest with you, which is something I always try to be, about a month ago I was in town peddling vegetables when a young man approached me." Eranen raked his hands through his hair before continuing. His green eyes met Darien's gray ones. "The man claimed Acumen status and told me to welcome a man and his Nog on a stormy night so the Moon would meet the Sun."

  Darien tensed again. "The Moon and the Sun" he repeated softly. "I too had an Acumen vision giving to me. It brought me here to complete a task or risk the Moon not meeting the Sun."

  "Really" the Eranen exclaimed excited at this news. "This is truly fascinating." Eranen went to the shelves and pulled a jug from one of them. He then grabbed two wooden cups from another shelf. He sat the cups on the table and began filling them with what looked like good quality ale. "I would say the Gods wanted us to meet Darien Raven. For whatever reason, we were destined to be here at this moment and it was important enough for the Gods to give two Acumen prophecies to help ensure it happened."

  After handing a cup to Darien, Eranen took a long sip from his cup and then refilled it. "Of course I will have to check my books, but I am sure this has not happened before. If it has it was not recorded."

  Darien tasted the ale in his cup. It was the good stuff. Smiling he pointed to one of the stuffed chairs. "Do you mind if I sit" he asked Eranen. When Eranen shook his head, Darien removed his own sword from around his waist and leaned it against the arm of one of the chairs. After seating himself he took another deep drink from the cup of the ale. "Which book would you check?" Darien asked even though he had no desire to discuss anything involving prophecy.

  "Well I have several" Eranen said thinking. "I have read them all at least a dozen times. I can not recall a single instance where two people have been given prophecies so similar in circumstance." Darien considered the man and his words. Eranen seemed to be a fine man, but not the type that the fate of the world would rest upon his shoulders. Considering the size of Eranen's farm, at least what he saw of it, he did not think the fate of the closest village having food enough to make through the winter rested on the man's shoulders either.

  "While both the Moon and the Sun were mentioned in both prophecies, they were not exactly the same. Perhaps this is merely a coincidence and neither have anything to do with the other," Darien said holding out his cup for Eranen to fill. He heard the wind pick up and rain began to echo off the roof of the barn.

  Eranen refilled both their cups before placing the jug on the wooden floor between the chairs and removing his own sword. He casually tossed the sword against the wall next to the fire and sat down in the other stuffed chair. Darien cringed inside at the treatment of the weapon, but said nothing. A man's weapon was as personal as his woman was. It was up to each man to decide its worth. Something made Darien think that Eranen would treat his women better than his sword. Darien look down to his cup, it was already empty again. That certainly explained why he thoughts were wandering in such absurd directions. He causally picked up the jug and filled his cup again. When he was finished he turned his mind back to the matter at hand. "Eranen, I think we should discuss this further. My Acumen was a young boy no older than ten and I would hate to see him dead because we did not thoroughly discuss the situation."

  Eranen looked at Darien curiously. The man was three cups ahead of him and the night was still young. Prophecy made just as good of a subject to discuss when drinking as any other and while the subject seemed to make Darien uneasy, Eranen was fascinated by all the gifts given to mortals by the Gods.

  "Eranen, do you consider yourself to be a wise man?" Eranen had been in the middle a drinking when Darien asked the question. He was so shocked by the question that he choked momentarily and was forced to spew what liquid remained in his mouth out to make room for the laughter that was building. Eranen's laughter was deep and echoed off the walls of the small barn.

  Eranen waited for his laughter to subside before he took another drink and answered the question Darien had asked. "It would be very egotistical of me to admit such a thing would it not?" He smiled to himself thinking of the vanity a man would have to posses to call himself wise. When he turned to joke more on the subject he noticed Darien did not find the statement humorous at all. "Did your Acumen say wise man?"

  "Yes he did" Darien admitted. Both the men finished the contents of their cups before continuing.

  "Well" Eranen started, "I suppose I am more educated than most strive to be, but I think my age alone would prevent me from being considered wise." Eranen picked up the jug and quickly refilled their cups.

  "Since I was fifteen I have been traveling the known world studying with various learned men and collecting books for my library. Only in recent months have I returned home to my family's farm."

  "Library" Darien repeated as he looked around the barn. "What library do you speak of?"

  Eranen turned several shades of bright red at the question. "The house is bursting at the seams with books" he said somewhat embarrassed. "It so full of books I no longer have room to live in it and I have move to the barn." Darien laughed wildly at the man's confession.

  "It's really not funny. I only meant it to be temporary. Even now I am building a new house for myself with a large and sturdy room for the books. I am constantly worried that fire or flood will take both my books and that dilapidated shack as well. While it might not look like much it is the house I grew up in. I have no desire to live there, but I would hate to see it fall to ruin."

  After he had stifled his laughter Darien tried to move the conversation back to the prophecy that had brought the two of them together. "I need to ask you another question Eranen. Can you think of any reason anyone would want to see you dead?"

  Darien noticed Eranen pale at the question. "I am just a simple farmer who enjoys reading. I can not imagine anyone thinking I would be a threat to them." Eranen rose from his seat and moved across the barn to close the large doors. Darien noticed he latched them and checked the strength of the latch's hold before returning to his chair. Once seated, Eranen drained his cup and then refilled it. "A few times in the last month several men, unknown to me have attacked me without cause." Eranen had spoken softly enough that Darien had barely caught the words. Turning to meet Darien's eyes he continued. "I have driven them away with my sword many times, but they always come back. I fear a time is coming when either they will kill me or I them."

  Darien could not imagine Eranen using the forgotten sword well enough to stay off more than one ma
n, much less several. Darien however had also learned that appearances where not always as they seemed.

  "Come now Eranen, you can not think of any reason some one might wish you harm. If men have been attacking you it would seem you are in some kind of danger."

  Eranen considered Darien's word before continuing. "Not a natural reason. I will admit that I have trained to use my sword and even though have never enjoyed the thrill of battle or killing another, I have used it in service of the Pearoandorn army to help earn gold to buy more books. As one who has also lived by his sword you understand that life."

  Darien was surprise to hear that Eranen had served in Maeorus's army at least for sometime. He also understood what Eranen was saying. Regardless, whether you were on the winning or losing side of a battle in a war, you were to busy fighting to survive to memorize the faces of your enemies so you might seek revenge later if necessary. "What of the men you who fought along side you, did any of them take a dislike to you for some reason?" Darien asked afraid that before noon tomorrow he might have to kill some of Maeorus's men.