by P. S. Power
Master Tolan looked around as they got to the gate of the city, a red and gray clad guard, along with three of his friends, standing, rather casually, next to it. They were in army uniforms, and under arms, meaning it was their job to pay attention to the traffic coming and going. Mainly to make certain no one hostile was getting into the town. Given they were coming from the castle, that wasn’t likely. Which explained the casual manners of the men. At least until they noticed who was coming. Then they stood smartly, two on either side of the gate.
“Halt! Identify yourselves.” That came from Sergeant Bennet, who was looking off into the distance, instead of at them directly.
It was a foolish thing to do, if they were supposed to be looking for threats. Then, if the three of them were truly up to no good, they wouldn’t really share that with the guards of the day. He smiled, and nodded, ready to step forward and explain, when Master Belford did it for them. His voice was oddly mellow, rather than seeming arrogant.
The man rarely showed that kind of thing, but the truth was that, on some level, Anders thought of him that way. He couldn’t truly say why that was, now that he considered the idea.
There was no smile from the man.
“Masters Belford, Tolan and Brolly, come for commerce.”
Bennet blinked, then looked down far enough to notice Anders standing there. He nodded then and smiled.
“Well met, m’lords.” Then he looked at the others, his own fellows and went on. “I can identify Master Brolly here. He’s the short one, this other man’s apprentice. Master Tolan is the High Wizard for the King. Rode out with them both to Sapphire a few months back. I don’t know this other gentleman, however.” He looked sorry at the lack, at least.
Possibly a bit worried, though not truly scared. It was just a man trying to go into the town, after all.
One of the others, a younger looking man with a very fresh face, nodded.
“Master Belford. I don’t know his occupation, strictly speaking. One of the very high types though. I used to see him in the low hall, up in the castle, when I was working there.” Then the young man turned and waved at Anders. “Hey, Andy.”
It took him a second to recognize the man, since he looked very different in uniform. A thing he hadn’t been in even a few months before.
“Jerrol? I didn’t know you were signing up, with the military.” He glanced at the other men, and truly didn’t know them, so smiled. “Then I also didn’t know that Sergeant Bennet would be back here, yet.” When he’d left the fellow, he’d been mildly wounded in battle, but had been held back so that he could keep fighting.
The fighter, looking decently hard and rough, laughed a little. There was a slightly hard smile to go with it.
“I was called on to shepherd a group of injured back a few weeks ago. I’ll be running back out in a few days. It’s good to be back, but things are getting hot out on the front. Are you heading back that way?”
The words got a chuckle from the others, the two men and a bit late, Jerrol, who seemed slightly uneasy about it. Like a person joining in with a jest that they didn’t understand. Then, the man wasn’t exactly the brightest of men in the world.
Anders looked at Sergeant Bennet and spoke to him directly.
“I am, actually. This next week. Mainly to deliver some goods up that way, toward the front. We’re just going into town today to see if I can find some oxen, to pull that wagon?” He didn’t know if the man had picked up on that being given to him, at the time.
The man snorted.
“Damn. Things must be heating up if they’re sending you, Master Brolly. For oxen you’ll like as want to head over to the broken horn livestock man. Ten streets down, at the end. Best prices in Kingston, if you haggle a bit. Tell Roald that Chris Bennet sent you. That probably won’t get you a discount, but at least he won’t be trying to cheat you none. We could task a man to go with you? Things might not be safe for three unarmed men, dressed as you are.” He looked at the others, seeming uneasy about the offer.
Which was strange, since he didn’t have to make it at all.
Anders shook his head.
“We should be fine. I’ll try not to...” He waved his hand then, just a little, which got Bennet to lower his eyes a bit and look mean. Then he nodded, having seen Anders make things explode before.
“Right. Try not to do that, if you can. Things are a bit rough in places here, now. It’s the war that does it. We move the forces off into the battle area, then those that think they’d make a good thief or robber are more prone to try their hands. It would help if you didn’t stand out so much. Can’t help it though, if you look wealthy.” There was a shrug then and when he looked at Master Tolan he shook his head ever so slightly.
The man was nicely dressed, after all. So was Master Belford. His own clothing... Well, it was mail over a gambeson, with black trousers. That gave him the clothing of a guard or fighter of some sort, without the size or age to make that seem real. Rather than change what they were wearing, he simply nodded and touched Master Tolan on the sleeve.
“May I make a change or two to your outfit?”
The man looked slightly confused, then nodded.
“Certainly, Master Brolly.”
The spell was a bit complicated, but created a band of softly glowing lights across his back and around the cuffs on his sleeves. The light was a pale blue and impressive enough that Jerrol took a step back and swallowed. Anders waved at him.
“Easy there. It’s just a decoration. Let me...” He did something different, with a patch of air, near the hip of Master Belford, that seemed like a long knife in a sheath, with purple glowing sigils on the outside. It was harder to do, since it was an illusion, not a real light. He didn’t do anything like that for himself, since that would seem strange. Boys didn’t walk around glowing, after all.
That would just seem strange.
Bennet grinned then.
“That could work. Keep your eyes open, even with that.”
It sounded like there was a real threat, so he nodded. They were allowed into the town and, while they got a lot of stares as they traveled down the paved streets, they didn’t get many glares. No one came anywhere near them, though several of them made warning signs or muttered protective phrases at them. As they passed the mouth of a side street or alley between two buildings, a group of three men took a single look at them and actually ran away. As if they might be sought for some reason.
The trick worked though, as far as keeping them safe. He glanced at Master Tolan, and shook his head.
“This isn’t great, as for making friends, is it?’
The old man simply walked for a while, before answering.
“Magic seldom is. People love you for it, when it aids them. Most will fear you, the rest of the time. Many could learn to use such skills, but it is the rare person that applies themselves well enough for it to be this...” He waved his arms then, leaving glowing streaks of blue light in the air. “Decorative. Not that it matters. It is the burden of those who work in certain areas. Those who handle the dead have a similar stigma, as if their profession means that they are the cause of death, rather than those with compassion enough to see to one’s final rest.”
Master Belford nodded.
“They did a lovely job, with mother. I was surprised that she was placed in the castle crypt like that. I hear that Queen Maura insisted.”
Anders had missed all of that, having been busy at the time. Sleeping and then being gone. No one had even suggested he go to the crypt to see her, either. Then, people didn’t do that, in general.
Anders muttered, just loud enough for the men with him to hear.
“That was kind of her, then. She seems to be truly gentle, as far as I can tell.”
There was a soft laugh then, a dark thing, from Belford.
“Oh, yes. She is a sweet woman. Unless she has a vision that sends little boys off to war. Then, well, things are out of her hands. Not that she fakes such things.
Not most of the time.” The look on his face flickered to conspiratorial, then quickly to bland.
Anders didn’t bring up the task that they had for him at that point, even if no one was close enough to hear them. He was going to drop into a trance and check to make certain they weren’t being followed by an invisible person before he spoke on the matter.
When they got to the right place, marked with both a real sign, that had words on it, and a literal broken horn, which hung under the thing to mark it for those lacking the skill, they were met by a wide eyed man, who had a unkept beard and a pock marked face. That was lean and a bit wild looking. As if demons had come for him.
Anders waved to him, not bowing, since the man was clearly not used to such things.
“Roald? Sergeant Bennet, Chris Bennet, sent us. We were assured that you wouldn’t attempt to cheat us.”
The man blinked then and snorted, his mouth opening to show half rotten teeth in the front. Several were missing, as well.
“Chris sent you? Kind of him, I suppose. What you looking for? I have some dream smoke... Rot gut, a nice set of knives to select from...”
They were standing in a literal stock yard, with pens behind them that held several types of beast. Not all of them were in good health, but some of them seemed fine to him.
“Oxen, to pull a wagon. I’ll need them at the end of this week. Two of them that don’t have any wounds or illness, if possible.”
That got the man to look at the others, then orient on Anders.
“You in charge here then, son? Good. I can’t like that these other two are glowing and using magic like that. You just look like a squire or some such.” The man grinned then, which didn’t seem all that sane, really. “Oxen... I can do that. We have some decent ones here. We can ear mark them today. Half up front, on the coin. Not that I don’t trust you, but people walk off with things, if they can. I know I do, normal like.”
They were led to the reeking muck pit that the animals were being kept in. They didn’t seem happy, but it was true that most of them looked big and strong enough. They are larger than he’d figured on. He pretended to understand what he was looking at, and finally waved a hand.
“These two. The one with the white spot and the brown and tan, with the crooked horn. How much are you asking.”
The man looked shrewd then.
“Normally I’d ask for three silvers per beast.” The words got Master Belford to reach down, like he was going to pull the illusion on his side. If he tried... Well, Anders would be scrambling to make it look real. He could hold the image there well enough, but matching it to a hand movement was really outside of what he could manage easily.
It was the weakest of his skills, magically, so far. At least of the ones he knew how to use at all.
Roald rubbed at the front of his dirty and rather threadbare shirt. His scent was powerful enough to overcome the stink of the animals there. A single pig squealed in the background, even if he couldn’t see where it was being held.
“Like I said, that’s what I’d normally ask for them. Being friends of Chris and all, I suppose I could lower that to something actually fair. Two silvers for each.” He stood straighter then, as if that was an honest answer.
Master Tolan, looking a bit dead eyed, showing he was in a trance, if a very light one, nodded.
“Two, over all. That’s still twice what you bought them for.”
The man seemed scandalized at the very suggestion.
“I fed em though, and cared for em. That has a cost. I can’t go lower than three, for both together. That’s the real price.”
Master Tolan pulled out a small purse and pulled the coins, carefully. It showed that there were others inside of it. Roald went wide eyed at it and looked greedy enough that Anders got ready to push him back with a hand gesture, if he moved in too quickly. One silver and five copper coins were presented and dropped into the grubby hand that was outstretched.
“Done then. I’ll keep these two for you. You picking them up to travel with the goods train going out at the end of the week?” That was asked of Anders, specifically. It showed a bit more than ordinary insight.
He nodded.
“I’m making deliveries out that way. I’ll be back to get them the day before we leave. How did you hear of it?”
The man shrugged at him, and glanced at the others, seeming wary suddenly.
“Ya hear things, if you bother to listen and pay attention. In my line of work, selling things, that helps keep your neck out of a noose. Say, what name you buying these under? I don’t keep proper records, but when people ask, I need to be able to tell them something. Two glowing men and a tiny guard come in, people gonna talk. If I have the same story, you don’t have as much worry, later.”
He simply looked at the man, then let his face go blank.
“I’m Anders Brolly. The head page up at the castle. Well, I don’t run them or anything that special. I’m just the oldest of them.”
That got a nod.
“Right then. Page Anders. That makes sense, in a weird way.”
The man actually looked mollified by the idea. As if it were an actual explanation. Pages passed messages. That, apparently, was a known thing to the man.
The man may not have kept good written records, but he did have a system in place using marks on a small wooden piece, that did much the same thing. Anders was passed one, that had two marks on it and a rounded mark to show horns with a crossed pair of lines under it.
“Keep that. It’s your proof that I owe you things. I know it, and you know it, but this way if one of us gets forgetful, no one loses from it.”
They left then, not bothering to look around the town, though they waved and spoke to the army guards on the gate as they left, not saying anything important, other than to thank Sergeant Bennet for the aid in getting the beasts.
About halfway back, Anders held up his left hand. Then, standing on the paved road, with no one in sight, he closed his eyes. After dropping into a trance, he searched the whole area. First focusing on listeners, since that was the big threat, then simply people. There were the three of them, and someone coming from the town behind them, several minutes’ walk away.
“It feels clear to me. Master Tolan?”
The other man did a similar search, no doubt with greater accuracy by far. Still he agreed.
“Clear, Master Brolly.”
Belford looked at them both, seeming questioning, but he didn’t speak. Then, the man was probably used to getting secret messages.
“You’re being tasked with finding information about a known spy. Mistress Colm, the herb woman at the castle. She’s been sneaking around, invisibly, probably using a potion of some sort, to make that happen. She was in at the King’s first meal today, listening. I don’t think you can tell she’s there, without using magic for it. You’re supposed to pay court, with an eye toward marriage.”
The man made a face at that.
“That sounds difficult. I’m not... Fond of women, in a certain fashion.” He looked away, as if shamed by the admission.
Anders simply looked at him for a moment, then shook his head.
“You don’t have to be, really. You simply need to seem that way. Plus, even if it turns out that we’re wrong, you need to marry anyway. That, and do your duty that way well enough to produce children. Mistress Colm seems a friendly sort, regardless. It’s a shame, that she might be working against us. Anyway, it needs to be done and I can’t do it.”
Sour faced or not, the man nodded.
“Understood. Is this just us three working on this problem?”
Master Tolan shook his head.
“The King, Queen, Prince Robarts, Prince Alpert, Princess Peri, General Nesmith, Anders and myself are aware of this plan. You should work with me on this directly, since I can tell if we’re being observed or not. If we are, I’ll bring up the topic of...” He stopped and looked away for a moment. “I’ll bring up hosiery. It’s a thing that we’ve ne
ver spoken on, but is common enough not to raise alarms.”
That got a nod, and they began to walk again, no one mentioning the topic of a spy in their midst as they did it. Instead, the topic changed to something rather different.
“Anders, I couldn’t help but notice you had a small difficulty, earlier. At the meal? Your anger nearly pulled me from the trance I was in.” Master Tolan glanced at him, seeming uneasy about having to question him on the topic.
After taking a very deep breath, he nodded. There was no need to hide it, really.
“Agorn, the serving man, elbowed me in the head. On purpose. He tried to make it seem like an accident and truly, it didn’t hurt that much, since I was in a trance. Except that I read his mind at the time, to see if he was trying to tell me something or pass an alert to a thing I was missing. It wasn’t that. He simply felt that the Prince’s bastard didn’t deserve to be there. Or in the castle at all. Also, he thought I was being rude and cheeky, which was probably correct, to be honest on the topic. I was hit by a rage then... Well, let’s just say he nearly died, in that moment.”
The other two men simply made faces over the idea. Finally, after a long while, Master Belford made a disgusted sound.
“Well, best not to do that, if you can manage. Don’t give in to that anger. One of the costs of being a bastard is that people will attempt to use it against you.” There was a shuddering then. “I have word on Baron Brolly. He should be here inside the month. You’ll miss him at the start, but he may well be here on the far end of your journey. Possibly not, if the snows threaten to come early. He’s put out attempts to find information on you, already. With enough of a reward for such that many will be attempting to collect on it.”
Anders didn’t know what to say about that, so he nodded.
“I should send a message that way, I suppose. I don’t know what to say to the man. I was told he threatened to kill me, once. To have me tossed off a cliff?”
Both men looked at him then, with Master Belford finally sighing. Then he didn’t talk at all for a while. Finally, he just threw his hands out.