Delminor's Trials

by Stephen J Wolf

  “I know what happened was a fluke,” Donya said softly. “It was hard feeling like magic was turning against me. I needed to get away.”

  Essalia added, “It may not have been magic’s fault at all. I know I keep saying it, but it’s still true. Sometimes terrible things just happen.”

  A heavy silence hung in the room and Delminor broke it. “I don’t mean to intrude on you, Donya. Essalia dragged me here. I shouldn’t tarry any longer.”

  “You… don’t have to go.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I know you have a quest to pursue, but if you can stay for a little while, so we can reconnect, perhaps we can…”

  Conflict arose again in Delminor, but he knew instantly what he wanted to do. “I would love to get to know you again.”

  Donya blushed. “Meral can help you find a place to stay in the meantime. Tomorrow, let me walk you around town a little and maybe the next day we’ll work on a spell together. I’ve missed those days with you.”

  Chapter 26

  The Stroll

  Time passed faster than Delminor expected. Being with Donya again reduced the urgency of his quest. He wanted to rebuild the relationship they’d had, where they fully understood each other without having to explain everything.

  It took time. Weeks passed with Delminor trekking through the town to visit the library or to meet with Donya. Essalia remained in Marritosh, curious about the work they were doing, and interested in trying to fold earth magic into her repertoire.

  Donya avoided earth magic. She focused on her water skills, her dream of wielding both elements lost with her baby. Delminor loaned her the water jade during their visits together, but always took it with him when he left.

  The three worked together and Essalia’s knowledge proved to be invaluable. She saw connections the others did not, often because of nuances with her nature magic. She was also careful not to intrude on their time together, letting them work through their past, though she never hesitated to take time with Delminor.

  But as the time passed, Delminor’s quest ate at him. He loved being with Donya, but he knew he needed to find the other jades, to seek out a possible healing jade, to make sure no one would suffer like Donya had. Like he had.

  Donya knew it was coming and she spent less time with him and more time with Essalia. He knew it was a survival tactic, that being too close to him would make his departure more painful. But he couldn’t linger here forever.

  “Donya, it’s time.”

  “I know.”

  He lowered his eyes. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do. I don’t want to leave you, but I can’t stay, either. I hope you can understand somehow.”

  She kissed him. “I do. It’s why I’ve been talking with Lia.” Her lip twitched and then she smiled. “I’m coming with you and so is she.”

  Delminor was taken aback. “Truly?”

  She laughed at his shock. “Yes. I don’t want to be without you either, Del.”

  He swept her up in his arms and kissed her. “Thank you, thank you.”

  “Let’s go find Essalia and make plans to journey out. I’m sure my mom and sisters will want to see us off with a meal together.”

  “That would be wonderful.”

  * * *

  They waited for Donya’s older sister, Lushina, to return from some errand she was running. She had assured the family she wouldn’t be long, but her errand took several days.

  It was worth the wait.

  “This is for you, sis,” Lushina said, pushing forward a long package. “They’re a pair of short swords, special in that they won’t rust like other iron swords do. It took a bit of finagling, but you’re worth it. I figure with your water magic, you’d need something that can handle a bit of extra rain.”

  Donya gasped, drawing the blades. “Shina, they’re beautiful!” The metal was tempered with a gleaming silver hue that reflected the wooden colors around them.

  “And this,” Meral said, handing over another package. “You need a fresh set of travel gear, so you’ll have to suit up before you go.”

  The pack contained a new set of clothes, durable in their own right and laced with tiny blue water droplets along the seams. It was more of a dress than travel clothes, but it was split and overlapped in the front to allow her easy movement. A brown girdle had numerous hooks and catches for spell components and a red belt fit snugly around her waist.

  “This is so thoughtful, everyone. Thank you.”

  “We want you to be safe,” her mother said. She looked expectantly at Delminor.

  “She will be safe,” he said, understanding the look.

  Essalia agreed and said with a lilt, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep them in line.” Everyone laughed.

  “Which way are you headed?” Meral asked.

  “It’s the one thing we haven’t figured out,” Delminor admitted. We’re going to start by heading north and then adjust our course from there.”

  “Wait!” Donya said excitedly. “Mama, grab me the large bowl and fill it with water, could you? Del, give me the jades.”

  They had discussed the resonance between the jades at length, and though Donya’s family didn’t know what to make of it, they watched in awe.

  “Arrimossious sesrillia anyettasa coren.” She waved her hands over the bowl and tiny ripples formed on the surface, extending out from the center. She placed the water jade in the bowl, where it floated easily.

  The jade spun slowly in a circle and snapped to position when it was aimed at either the air or earth jade. “As I thought.” Donya beamed. She cast the spell twice more, each time adding the other jades to the bowl. The three jades separated into a triangle, working together as one.

  The triangle turned acutely left and then right and back again. It continued to do so until the spell faded and the jades sank to the bottom.

  “I think there are two jades there and there, where the water jade pointed.”

  Lushina, the most traveled of the group, said, “Those may be pointing to Castle Hathreneir and the Great Forest, if my bearings are correct.”

  “I trust that,” Delminor said immediately. He had suspected one of the jades would be at the castle. “Perhaps we should start there.”

  Essalia let out a low whistle. “With inspiration like that, we’re in for some interesting times on the road, aren’t we?”

  Chapter 27

  Castle Hathreneir

  The journey to Castle Hathreneir took the better part of a week. Feral creatures got in their way, but the trio worked their spells, mace, and swords to defeat them.

  Donya was careful to conserve her water bottles for consumption, so she relied mostly on her new swords. Delminor had never seen her fight so fluidly before. Her arms trailed each other like waves in the ocean, taking down one foe after another. Every move was graceful and strong. She had clearly been trained to fight with two swords; despite all her motion, the blades never collided.

  Essalia also relied mostly on her physical skills, bringing her mace around and down time and again. Soon the sand rodia and shadowcrows stayed away from the group entirely.

  Sandorpions were the most challenging foe, and there were more of them as they drew closer to the castle and the center of the desert.

  Poison-barbed tails whipped through the air, making it impossible for the women to get in any strikes. There Delminor stepped in, battering the creatures with sharp blasts of air, often tipping them onto their sides in the process. Some of his spells were magnified by the air jade and the resulting sandstorms were great deterrents.

  A host of swallomers pecked at them one morning as they were waking up. The tiny fliers seemed annoyed at their presence, but they were easily scattered with a few loud shouts and flailing arms.

  When they arrived at the castle, they were exhausted and sought room and board at an inn in the town surrounding the castle proper. Merchants hawked their wares, trying to fit the ladies in new garb, but they had no money for such things.
r />   The next morning, Donya used her magic to divine where the jades were located, and they were certainly on the right path. Now the spinning triangle shifted to opposite sides of the bowl, the water jade signifying that one shard was nearby, as it snapped sharply into place, and the other was further northwest.

  They didn’t know what to expect walking up to the castle. Soldiers were tense at their arrival and they had to explain their purpose at every junction.

  “We’re at war with Kallisor, don’t you know?” one soldier remarked when Delminor grumbled at the introductory question. “You could be anyone trying to get in here.”

  “I could also be lying this whole time, so what’s the point of it?”

  The guard wavered. “Well, you’re mages and we know magic is shunned in Kallisor, so it’s already almost a guarantee you’re from Hathreneir anyway. But protocol is protocol. Go in.”

  Eventually they made their way through some narrow marble halls that opened into a grand room where the king and queen awaited their presence with a host of guards and the king’s chancellor.

  “Greetings, noble King Pennithor and Lady Ruann. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us this day.” Delminor bowed and the ladies followed suit.

  The king was a portly man of average height. He exuded a sense of power in the small motions he made and in the expression on his face. “Your presence has been properly announced, Delminor of Verrithon. Your purpose has been explained and I find it a curious one indeed.”

  Delminor bowed his head. “Magic is a gift that all mages should be entitled to employ. My goal is to unlock the secrets of magic and to share them with all who wish to learn.”

  Pennithor narrowed his eyes. “Is that why you absconded with the air jade from the Magitorium and the others from Magehaven? Yes, I am well-informed by the mages in the towers, as they oversee the defenses in other parts of the land.”

  “Whatever tales you heard, I assure you that I was given permission to take these jades with me upon my quest.”

  The king barked a laugh. “In both cases, you did so by proving yourself in battle against your own kind, making it clear you would not leave without them.”

  The queen interjected, her tone softer than her husband’s but no less robust. “What kind of magic are you looking to employ?”

  “I am, at heart, an earth mage, though I have been practicing spells of air, water, and nature.”

  “Preposterous!” the king’s chancellor shouted. He was an angular man in his mid-thirties, his face wrinkled from pouting. “At your age, you’d be lucky to use one element. At my age, you’d be lucky to use some of a second. Four elements, indeed.”

  “A demonstration, if you will,” the king decreed. “Chancellor Ieran?”

  “Oh, very well.” With a flick of his hand, three mages stepped forward, sweeping their arms around in a circle, preparing to deflect whatever magic Delminor would throw.

  Donya and Essalia were escorted to the side of the room to ensure they didn’t assist their comrade. Delminor requested some dirt and a leaf so he could work his spell and they were granted immediately. He held the dirt aloft in his right hand and the leaf in his left.

  The leaf needed to be dry, so he began by drawing the water from within. “Hessalerian vacuis thyea.” The leaf wilted, and a drop of water collected in his palm. He took the dry leaf in his right hand, taking care not to spill either the water or the dirt.

  “Rothraforius mentullia forthrie kaie.” He crushed the leaf with a spiral motion of his fingers and pressed it into the dirt in the palm of his hand, rolling his fingertips together to combine them completely. The spell didn’t seem to do anything, but it facilitated the combination of the leaf and the dirt. Only he could tell that the spell succeeded.

  “Shessaltorius vacitious aoeliaria anjakaie.” A gust of air swept around his hands and drew the dry mixture into a small whirlwind, then he brought his left hand near and the water flew upward as well. The soil, leaf and water combined and Delminor reached out and grabbed the spherical bit of mud.

  But he wasn’t finished. “Entracorican sediluri rethronar beyanni wisskodar kemshulla nai.” He waggled from his ankles and drew a wave of motion up through his body and to his free hand, which he placed over the ball of mud and pinched over it in the air. He drew his hand away as if pulling an invisible thread and a tiny sapling sprouted from the tiny bit of mud.

  He staggered from the use of his powers, but he held the mixture aloft for the chancellor to see.

  “I wouldn’t have believed a bard’s telling of this incident, but to see it with my own eyes… What a wonder.” He turned to the guards at the side of the hall. “What of them?”

  “Not a peep. Not a movement.”

  “Remarkable.” He looked at Delminor with newfound respect. “That was indeed impressive, young man. He speaks truly of his abilities.”

  “Thank you. I will not lie to you, sire. I have nothing to gain with dishonesty. But may I ask a quick favor?”

  “Yes?”

  “A chair?”

  The king laughed and a guard brought over a chair for the exhausted mage. Donya and Essalia were released and able to join him.

  Refusing to waste time, Delminor stated his purpose succinctly. “I would seek time with the jade in your possession.”

  “My possession? What makes you think it is here?”

  Delminor pulled out the air jade. “The shards are resonating, your grace, as you no doubt have also noticed of yours.”

  Frowning, the king reached under his cape and withdrew the fire shard, its reddish glow visible against the king’s armor. “You knew this before you came. How?”

  “No one told us, if that’s your question, sire. It’s simply through the resonance of these jades, and a helpful spell of Donya’s, that have allowed us to track this one here.”

  The king stared at Delminor. “Then it is true that you seek to take the jade from here as well.”

  He bowed his head. “Only by your leave, your majesty.”

  The king stood up and paced. “I was told of your coming some time ago and I had thought perhaps the information was wrong. Yet here you are, brazen in your request, for I do not know you and you request a prized possession of the Kingdom of Hathreneir.”

  “It is for the betterment—”

  “Yes, I heard. Then and now. Xervius was convinced of your intentions. However…” He turned to one of the guards. “Bring them.”

  The guard bowed his head and left the chamber, returning shortly with two women in tow.

  Delminor gasped. “Gallena? Arenda?”

  Gallena scowled, her chestnut hair flying in her face. “It was because of you we were expelled from the Magitorium. But we’ve found a new home here, mages to the throne of Hathreneir.” She turned to Pennithor. “Your majesty, whatever lies he has told you, remember our words. He was feeding dangerous spells to the mages looking to destroy the Overseer.”

  “I recall.”

  Delminor shook his head. “I had no idea who Una was working with or what she wanted the spells for. I didn’t ask because I had no choice in the matter. If I didn’t help her, we would have been evicted.”

  “Well, it seems that happened anyway, didn’t it?” Gallena snarled. “And you took the air jade in the process.”

  Delminor turned away from her. “What must I do to gain your trust, your majesty?”

  “You provided spells for another mage and to the Mage Council. You will continue to do so, but you will do so for me. You will also bring these two into your fold and educate them as apprentices.”

  Gallena gasped. “What?”

  The king raised his voice. “You have both served me well since your tenure here, but had you witnessed what this man created moments ago, you would be asking for his tutelage, I assure you. I have decreed.”

  Arenda and Gallena bowed their heads. “Yes, your majesty.”

  “This is, of course,” Pennithor said as he turned back to Delminor, “assumin
g the three of you truly pursue the fire jade and intend to earn your time with it.”

  “We do, sire.”

  Donya and Essalia echoed Delminor’s agreement.

  “You will start immediately, then, as I am sure you are eager to earn your prize.” He waved a hand and the chancellor hurriedly escorted the five mages out of the room.

  It wasn’t what Delminor wanted, but he knew it was his best option. They followed Ieran through a series of hallways until they reached a tower, then ascended four flights of stairs, reaching the pinnacle.

  “These will be your quarters. Get settled in, then prepare a list of provisions you need. Gallena and Arenda will bring it to me when you’re ready.”

  Delminor pushed open the doors expecting some sort of dungeon, but he was surprised. A wide foyer opened in front of him, bookcases lining every wall, some empty, some loaded with tomes. Five rooms split off from the main foyer. Two were sleeping quarters, another was a privy, and the others were empty but for some desks and chairs. Presumably, these would become his workrooms.

  “Nice, isn’t it?” Arenda asked. “Ours is bigger still.”

  “Oh, shut it, Arenda,” Donya snapped. “We haven’t forgotten all you’ve done either. Sneaking into Delminor’s room and stealing his notes. Is that what you plan to do here?”

  Gallena laughed. “Poor Donya, clearly can’t hear very well. His majesty said to share everything with us anyway.”

  “Just stop.” Delminor grabbed his aching head. “I don’t care about the past right now. It’s good you two found your way here and have made a life for yourselves. We were friends. I never intended for anything to go wrong between us.” His voice lowered to a mutter. “I just seem to have that effect on people over time.”

  “Speaking of which, how’s Pyron?” Gallena needled.

  “Angry with me. He’s down at Magehaven.”

  Arenda nudged Gallena with her elbow. “We should go see him and rile him up.” They laughed.