"Do you remember any of it?" Keneith added, amused.
"Yes, I do remember." Hinrik shook his head to clear his mind. "Give me a moment, I'll be with you soon."
"The madam said you can go to the pool one last time before leaving, and you'll be alone," Bellinda said. "We'll be at the Drunken Star."
"Thanks." Hinrik hugged the pillow. "Did you get my armor as well?"
"We sure did," Keneith answered. "When you're ready, we can leave Flean with honor. And I can lend you some of the money you made me win, if you need anything."
Hinrik guffawed and hid his face in the pillow. "I'm fine. I still have money. See you at the Star."
"Bel, I think he won't get up while you're in the room, so let's get out of here, or we'll wait all day."
Bellinda raised her eyebrows and stared at Keneith's grin, then looked at Hinrik who was also smiling, still clutching the pillow.
"Men!" She rolled her eyes. "One heals them and they won't even allow a glimpse of their bodies!"
"Thank you, Bellinda." Hinrik's voice was shaky.
She shrugged and headed for the door. "See you later."
She liked his modesty more and more. She should have joined the women who had enjoyed his company the night before. Although sharing him was out of the question. Ah, well, there were more days ahead...
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hinrik left Flean feeling at peace with himself and the world. He thought he knew what to do with himself now. He had sold the armor and shield, and kept only the sword. He wasn't made to fight, not even in games and championships. He didn't think fighting was fun.
He had felt the power of water. He remembered what Keneith had said, about channeling the energy without reciting any magic spell. He could manipulate water and maybe do something beautiful with it. Like ice objects, that wouldn't last, but would be nice to behold.
He hadn't said it out loud yet. He was still pondering. He was riding Shytur next to the small wagon they'd bought in Flean that looked like two attached cubes on wheels with a door at the back and a place to sit at the front to drive. It was pulled by a big draft horse that had more strength than the three animals they'd left behind.
They might be slower now, but they were in no hurry to go anywhere. And traveling with a wagon meant they could be itinerant entertainers. Keneith could juggle his balls of fire, Hinrik would do the sword-dance and his water tricks and Bellinda... well, they needed a woman to catch the attention of a male audience, so she could be there too.
"My, aren't we quiet, oh champion!" Bellinda sat at the front of the wagon with Keneith. "Still thinking about your victory? Or still tired from the night that followed?"
"I've been thinking," Hinrik answered. "I think I found my calling. I mean, I felt so alive under the rain... it was invigorating!"
"And then you sold your armor, which means you won't do it again," she said with a chuckle.
"No, I don't want to fight anymore, whether in war or in an arena. I've been thinking about manipulating water instead. You know, like Keneith's tricks with fire."
Bellinda raised her eyebrows, skeptical. "So you want to be an entertainer instead of a warrior?"
"Why not? If it pays for food and shelter..."
"I'm not sure I want to play the jester," Keneith said. "But I'll be glad to keep betting on your victories." He shook his still jingling purse with a grin.
Hinrik rolled his eyes. "No, I don't want to fight anymore," he grumbled. "I joined the Salamar army because I thought I had no other option. But it wasn't my true calling. Now, you don't have to do what I do, I just thought I'd try something different to make a living."
"We'll think about it," Bellinda promised. "I'm not too keen on shows myself, but if I can find a deck of divination cards that I like, I can try to read people's futures. Probably by reading their body's health, I can predict how long they have to live."
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Bellinda the fortune teller," Keneith proclaimed.
Bellinda rolled her eyes and Hinrik smiled.
"It was just an idea," he said. "We can think about it, of course."
Keneith scoffed and shook his head, but Bellinda nodded, thoughtful.
That night they camped in the open. Not having to set up a tent was a welcome novelty, but they still had two horses to take care of. And possibly catch a hare or some other wild animal for dinner, unless they wanted to start using their supplies.
Inside the wagon there was barely room to lie down side by side. Actually Bellinda lay on a long chest that could be used also as a bench and contained all their things – spare clothes, winter cloaks, cutlery and pots neatly stashed inside.
"I kind of like this house on wheels," she said as they sat around the fire, trying to figure out what to eat since no animal had come near them.
Night was coming quickly and at least there was still light around the fire. And warmth. They had found a place protected from the gale that came from the sea and the bulk of the wagon had practically closed the small clearing, allowing them some respite.
"If it rains tonight, Hinrik can sleep outside," Keneith said.
Hinrik smiled but shook his head. He could sleep in the water, but he'd rather be in the wagon for now. He watched the water boil in their pot and wondered if he should go looking for fish in the nearby stream.
"We have dried meat and dried vegetables," Bellinda said, rummaging in their supply pack. "And some herbs to season everything."
A voice speaking in a foreign tongue startled all three. Hinrik gasped as someone stepped into the light of their fire, holding two dead hares by their ears. Obviously male, but not Human, the newcomer had brown skin, pointed ears and big bat-like wings. He wore a loincloth and was barefooted. One might wonder if he were a wild thing, but since he spoke and didn't have a threatening stance, one could assume he was an intelligent being of a never-seen-before race.
Hinrik's hand went to the hilt of his sword, but this time he waited for Keneith to make the first move. Bellinda was very still and stared at the newcomer with a confused look on her face.
Keneith answered in the same language and Hinrik could tell Bellinda understood them since she asked a question and then signaled the being to pass on the hares.
Hinrik relaxed and let go of his sword-hilt as Keneith gestured to newcomer to sit with them. Hinrik assumed some kind of introduction was made, but couldn't understand a word. The newcomer looked young and so alien Hinrik wondered what he actually was.
As the other three spoke, Hinrik quickly skinned a hare and gently nudged Bellinda.
"Who is he?" he whispered.
"Ken's half-blood cousin," she whispered back. "Half Sila and half Fajrulo. His name is Raykim."
The half-breed was grinning, but then his shoulders slumped at a comment from Bellinda.
"He could be part of the show," Hinrik said.
The newcomer looked even more lonely than he'd been. And he knew what Raykim was going through, obviously cast out by everyone because of his strange looks. It wasn't just the eye-color, or the unknown father, it was all of him that screamed different.
"Why don't we set up something and travel like some sort of itinerant circus?"
"I'm not a jester!" Keneith repeated, snorting.
"Of course you are. With your Fajrulo humor," Bellinda teased.
Keneith glared at her. "Not funny, Bel." And then he translated for his cousin who looked hopeful again.
"What language is that?" Hinrik asked Bellinda.
"The Old Tongue spoken by the Magical Races. Having been on his own until now, Raykim hasn't learned the Human dialects yet." She stared at him. "And you have never learned the Old Tongue because you never spent enough time with your father."
Hinrik blushed and passed her the skinned hare.
Raykim startled him by putting a hand on his cheek.
"Speak," Keneith said. "He might be able to get your thoughts."
"Well, we have a wagon, so you could hide in there
during the day," Hinrik said hesitantly. "And then at night you come out and take part in the show. We can come up with something. We'll say it's props, it's your costume, and nobody will fear you. We could do a short play with four characters and..."
"Now we're becoming actors?" Keneith shook his head, incredulous. "Hinrik, are you out of your mind? What happened to the shy and grumpy half-blood that left Salamar with us?"
"He is gone," Hinrik answered proudly. "It was just an idea, like I said, you can always come up with something better!"
"It's good to hear you having some initiative," Bellinda said, amused. "We can work it out, I guess."
Raykim's joy and hope at the prospect of traveling with them were so obvious to all, that Hinrik hoped Keneith wouldn't be so heartless to refuse his cousin's company.
***
Under the sunlight, Raykim's hair was cobalt blue like his wings. So the Sila trait of having hair the same color as wings had been translated into the Fajrulo dragon wings, giving Raykim blue hair. He had yellow eyes under the blue bangs and no fangs to speak of. The blue hair covered the pointed ears and his neck.
If only he could get rid of his wings, with a hooded cloak he could easily mingle with Humans. Unfortunately even folded, the wings would make such a hunchback on his tall and slim frame that he'd still look like a freak. And his face was clearly young, therefore even more strange to accept.
Bellinda thought he looked a lot like Keneith, in spite of the obvious differences. He had the same shape of eyes, albeit with a different iris color, and the same shape of lips. His skin was slightly darker only because he probably spent a lot of time outdoors and the sun had tanned it. And he was much younger, boyish in all his body shape.
Raykim was only twenty, therefore he was the youngest member of the mismatched group. And being half-Fajrulo and half-Sila, he grew up slower than Humans, therefore he sounded a lot like an excited teenager who had finally caught the attention of his elders.
He was very sweet, but Bellinda wasn't surprised Sila and Humans feared him based on his looks. The dragon wings were impressive, especially when he opened them to fly off. After only one day confined inside the wagon, he had decided he'd rather ride on the flat roof if they were away from towns and lone farms, squatting down if they happened to cross someone so he wouldn't be seen from the road.
When they reached Aludin, though, he had to hide in the wagon again to get into town. The stone walls had few gates and there were some guards who let them in without fussing. Aludin was average-sized, with lavish temples and gardens. The buildings were close together and the streets were slightly overgrown with weeds.
The economic base was of course fishing. The town was governed by an elected council, and the elections were open to all, although the major influence was the criminal element. Aludin was famous for its wizards' schools and its assassins, but the overall corruption was below average.
The nearest tavern was a dozen blocks from the entrance, but since they now had a wagon, the travelers asked where they could camp and were directed to the public park behind the main temple.
They found a spot where the door of the wagon was hidden behind bushes, so Raykim could get out as soon as the sun went down, and the horses had plenty of grass. There was even a stream running between the temple and the park.
"Should we challenge the local wizards?" Keneith asked before they set off to look for some real food. "That could earn us some coins and Hinrik could practice his magic."
"Why not?" Hinrik replied. "I mean, is there such a thing?"
"Magic schools tend to have challenges much like fighting schools," Keneith answered. "Maybe we should first figure out what kind of magic they teach here."
"If it's Human magic, it's no match for any of you," Bellinda said. "Although there might be some other half-bloods around."
"Let's go to the nearest tavern to gather information," Keneith said. "Raykim, wait here."
His cousin sighed but nodded, closing the wagon's door. Luckily sunset was only a couple of hours away.
The Hungry Snake was large and somewhat grubby but decent. The drinks were limited, gut-rotting and low priced, the food was very limited but decent and dirt cheap. Bellinda wondered if she should get herself a room to have some privacy after a few days on the road, since the prices were low and most rooms were vacant.
The main room had only a few customers with some shady characters. Half were drunk and half openly armed, and the bartender looked quite irritable. He glared at them because they interrupted his games with patrons.
They pacified him by ordering the house special, a dark brown drink with green swirls and a grape floating in it. They sat at a table with a scar-covered paladin who scoffed at the sight of their goblets.
"You know, the recipe is rumored to include dog hair," he said.
"It smells like the sea," Hinrik said, sniffing the liquid.
"And tastes like an explosion," the paladin replied.
"Hinrik, why don't you try to turn this... thing into water?" Bellinda suggested, not too keen on tasting the strange drink.
Hinrik frowned at his goblet and concentrated. The liquid stirred and swirled, then stilled. Hinrik took a sip and grinned.
"Water for the lady," he said, offering his goblet and taking hers to do the same. Keneith quickly passed him his own goblet too as the paladin stared at them wide-eyed.
Bellinda drank the cool water and sighed in relief. "Would you like some?" she offered the paladin who quickly shook his head.
"Are you wizards?" he asked, wary.
"Probably," she answered pleasantly as Hinrik passed the second goblet to Keneith. "Drink before you do the third," she told him offering the still half-full goblet of water.
Hinrik downed it, grateful, before transforming the third beverage into water and pouring half to refill Bellinda's goblet.
"What can you tell us about the local magic schools?" Keneith asked the paladin.
The paladin took a deep breath and touched a small white gold charm, with a dragon and an arrowhead on the front and nothing on the back, that hung from a chain around his neck. He had bright blue eyes and a tall, solid build.
"Since the young man over there turned the gut-rotting drink into water, I thought he could be one of the new students of the smallest school of the city," he said. "Madness, water and offensive spells are strongly associated with this craft. It uses runes in spellcasting and practitioners suffer from frequent illnesses."
"I'm a healer and I can assure you Hinrik is perfectly fit," Bellinda said. "And did you see him use runes? No. Because we don't need them."
The paladin stared goggle-eyed at her.
"Now you sound like the practitioners of the second school! They have farseeing, healing and curses as specialties. They use astronomy to access power. They usually learn by pilfering the spellbooks of other practitioners and are unusually long-lived."
"Um, no, I don't use astronomy to access power and I didn't learn from spellbooks," she assured him. "And I might be unusually long-lived, but that's because I'm a half-blood. We all are. So you have two magic schools in this town?"
"Three actually." The paladin gulped, but his goblet was empty. Keneith offered his water and the paladin downed it. "The third school is actually the most dangerous. Fire, chaos and control are strongly associated with their craft. Practitioners study for years. They use spoken spells and sacrifice to access power."
"Sounds like they're trying to get in touch with the Dark Lord, Manusia," Keneith said, thoughtful. "Although I don't feel his presence much on this side of the world. Maybe they'd be more effective if they moved to the plains."
"And then Belfi would close the school immediately." Bellinda chuckled. "Is that all, sir paladin? Would you like me to take care of your scars?"
"No!" The paladin looked horrified. He grabbed his empty goblet and stormed to the farthest table of the main room.
"You scared him!" Hinrik said as she burst out laughing.
> "We all did," Keneith replied, amused. "You too, Hinrik. How dare you turn a disgusting beverage into plain water?"
Hinrik smiled. "So, what do we do? Challenge the schools or just set up our own little show?"
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When he was finally allowed out of the wagon, Raykim raised a good point. In the past few days he had showed his non-Human nature by absorbing the language from Hinrik and learning it so quickly it felt like magic. Hinrik despaired he'd ever be this good with the Old Tongue, but then Bellinda had told him that all the Magical Races could speak the Human dialects – even the Sila who mostly avoided dealing with Humans – therefore he didn't need to learn it and should concentrate on other things instead.
"What tricks can you do with water?" the young half-breed asked Hinrik. "Besides the happy dance of raindrops and changing gut-rotting drinks into water, I mean."
All four sat on the grass by the wagon under the stars. Keneith had put a small ball of fire into a bowl and its light flickered on their faces. Raykim had eaten on his own and had been eagerly waiting for them to come back with news about the schools of magic.
Hinrik pondered. "I was thinking of doing ice objects by freezing water and shaping it, but I've never tried it, so maybe I should practice a little, first. What tricks will you do, Raykim?"
Raykim patted his lips with his index finger as he thought. "I don't know, what would amuse and not scare the Humans?" he asked at last.
"You can play with fire and air," Keneith said. "Except air, much like ether, is invisible. I will let you be the king of fire if you want."
"So what will you do?" Bellinda asked.
"Like I said, I'm not too keen on showing off my skills," Keneith answered. "People tend to dislike me, when they see what I can do. Wannabe magic users want to destroy me and normal people fear me."
"What can you actually do?" Hinrik asked.
"Things that most people study for years come naturally to me. The teachers in those schools can probably do only half the things I can do. You've noticed I don't recite spells – because I don't need to. I have an energy in me and I use it, much like you're going to do with your natural gift for manipulating water. But let me warn you that this won't make you more loved. Envy is the Humans' greatest sin. Envy and jealousy, because you're handsome, young and can do effortlessly what those people study for years to barely master. If you think creating cute little ice objects will endear you to the world, you're sorely mistaken."
Quests Volume One Page 9