Maker's Curse

by Trudi Canavan

  Tyen straightened and turned to face the men, keeping his posture relaxed and unthreatening. “Bargeman,” he replied calmly. “It is good of you to welcome me home. I see you have decided to join us again.”

  Bargeman’s chin lifted. “I have, as have many of my colleagues – many who were alarmed by your changes to this fine and ancient institution without consultation with and agreement from its members. We are arranging an investigation and require you to present yourself for questioning.”

  “If that is what is required to reassure everyone of their necessity, then I am happy to oblige.” Tyen looked to the two teachers. Their attention had been captured by the machines, and one was thinking that they were the most sinister contraptions he’d ever seen. The other looked at Tyen, wondering if the new Director’s true purpose was much darker than was apparent.

  Tyen hid a smile. He had wondered how he might convince Academy members that a great deal of its resources should go towards finding a defence against Kettin’s machines. Perhaps this teacher’s reaction to the machines was a hint that he wouldn’t have to do much more than show them what Kettin had created.

  A new voice echoed in the hall. “Tyen Ironsmelter. Welcome home.”

  All turned to see a lean, tall man walking towards them from the entrance on the other side of the hall.

  “Halyn Wardlamp,” Tyen said as the man neared. “Thank you. Has the Academy been behaving itself in my absence?”

  Halyn inclined his head towards the newcomers as he passed them and came to a stop before Tyen. “The place is still standing, as are most of its members and staff. A few squabbles here and there kept us entertained, and most sorted out. I’m sure you’ll deal with the rest easily enough.”

  Tyen knew his choice of Halyn as stand-in Director while he was away had surprised many. The reasons for it were twofold. The Academy needed all its sorcerers and teachers engaged in study and instruction, especially now it had lost a few key members. Halyn wasn’t a professor, teacher or sorcerer but a former assistant to one of the professors who had quit the Academy. Tyen had also been looking for someone efficient but not ambitious. Halyn had not worked for his former employer out of loyalty, but simply because it had been the best job he could get. He gained great pleasure in bringing order from chaos and believed the Academy’s purpose should be to make sense out of the mysteries of the world. He would be the last person to let the institution fall into a heap while its Director was away.

  I wonder… perhaps I should make this man my assistant.

  Halyn glanced at the machines. “Would you like me to have these carried to the mechanical magic wing?”

  Tyen shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, Halyn,” he replied, “but they will stay here for now.” Tyen gestured to the newcomers. “I have brought four inventors and a… ah, companion of one of them.” It was not clear what Dahli’s role would be. “Protector of Zeke” would require more explaining than Tyen needed right now, and the pair preferred to be assumed to be just friends when arriving in a new world, until they knew more about local customs.

  He named the five men, then turned back to Halyn. “Now that I have returned, would you like to take the position of Director’s assistant?”

  Halyn’s eyebrows rose. “I would be honoured.”

  “Excellent. Then your first task is to find accommodation for our new guests.”

  The man nodded, and his gaze shifted to Dahli. “I believe there is a room available in your hotel, Director.”

  Tyen nodded, amused to see that his new assistant thought Dahli looked like a man used to power and privilege.

  “The inventors may wish to lodge with the those already here, however.” Halyn turned back to Tyen. “The Emperor left orders that you report to him as soon as you return. No matter the hour.”

  “Of course he did. I will head to the palace as soon as I’ve spoken to Tarren.”

  Bargeman made a rude noise. “Running straight off to beg the Emperor’s help, are we?”

  Tyen looked over to the professor, and the two teachers, who were now looking awkward and embarrassed at their leader’s outburst.

  “Would you suggest I ignore his order?” Tyen asked. “Shall I tell him you expected me to report to him after everyone else?”

  The professor flushed. “Of course not. But don’t expect us to be swayed by royal favour. This institution is funded as much by generous donations from the aristocracy as from imperial coffers.”

  Tyen lifted his eyebrows. “Is it really?” He pretended to be considering that thoughtfully, which had the desired effect of making the professor wonder if his threat had actually given his enemy an idea.

  “Yes.” Bargeman took a step back. “We will summon you when we are ready to begin your interrogation.”

  Tyen merely nodded and, as the teachers began to edge towards the exit, turned his back. A last look into their thoughts revealed that one of the teachers had been reading Zeke’s mind. He wonders if we’re fools, the man thought. The sort who are too blinded by our hurt pride and fear of losing power to see the greater danger we’re in. What danger? What were those dark memories I glimpsed? He glanced at the professor’s back. Am I on the wrong side?

  The idea that Zeke’s memories might be a tangible way to show people the threat this world faced had already occurred to Tyen, but he didn’t want to ask the young inventor to relive what he had endured. If he could convince them in other ways, then he would try those first. One might be to have Zeke touch Vella, who Qall had given back to Tyen on his return from their rescue mission.

  He looked at Halyn. “So just another squabble, then?”

  Halyn shrugged. “I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of anyone openly admitting his troublemaking is working.”

  “Fair enough. Has anybody else here requested a meeting?”

  “The Librarian,” Halyn replied. “As well as several professors and teachers.”

  Tyen had been expecting a long list of complaints, so it surprised him that Halyn had listed Rytan Kep first. “What does the Librarian want to discuss?”

  “He didn’t say.”

  “Anything else I should know?”

  Halyn shook his head. “I’ll show our guests their accommodation options, then?”

  “Yes, please do.”

  The man turned to the newcomers and bowed. “Please follow me.”

  Zeke and the inventors obeyed. Dahli hesitated, then moved to Tyen’s side.

  “Leading suits you, Tyen Ironsmelter,” he murmured.

  Tyen blinked in surprise, then let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “Maybe one day I’ll come to like it, too.”

  “Better to dislike it, than like it too much.” Dahli stepped away and started after the inventors.

  Tyen considered Dahli’s words as the group entered the far corridor and moved out of sight. He had to admit, the man’s praise had given him a small surge of pleasure. Which was immediately followed by doubt and the suspicion that Dahli was manipulating him. Clearly, Dahli had known the compliment would boost Tyen’s confidence. After all, Dahli was hundreds of years old and had surely observed many leaders, good and bad.

  But Tyen had seen no other intention in the man’s mind. It cost Dahli nothing to say it. So, what more could it be? Tyen asked himself.

  Dahli’s main desire now was to keep Zeke safe. And himself, of course. He hadn’t lost his sense of self-preservation. Tyen had also felt a deep protectiveness of the worlds in Dahli, and horror at what Kettin was doing.

  Perhaps that’s all there was to it. Tyen resolved to put it from his mind until later. Instead, he sought out other minds within the Academy.

  First, he found Tarren hurrying towards the Grand Hall. The old man had left several inventors and students studying machines, and they were coming close to a conclusion about them. Curious, Tyen sought out these and found a small group of students working together. Two were from Tyen’s loyal circle, while two more were from the Academy. All had gained admiration fo
r the others, for their intellect and different fields of knowledge. That there was unity and respect rather than division and enmity in the Academy lightened Tyen’s heart.

  Then his attention was drawn away by a voice.

  “Tyen!” Tarren said as he entered the hall, speaking Traveller tongue. “Whoa! What is all this?”

  Tyen turned to see the old man come to a stop, staring at the machines. “More of Kettin’s creations.”

  “They’ve evolved.” Tarren moved over to one and poked at it. “I fear they’re developing faster than we can keep up.”

  “She has more inventors than we do,” Tyen pointed out. “But we have taken one of her best from her. Rielle, Dahli and I rescued Zeke, and I have brought him and Dahli here along with three more inventors.”

  Tarren’s eyes widened as he turned to face Tyen. “Zeke!” Then his brows lowered into a frown. “You bought Dahli here?”

  “Yes. As Zeke’s assistant and protector. Qall insisted it was—”

  “Are you sure that’s wise?” Tarren interrupted.

  Tyen sighed. “Believe me, if I could have avoided it, I would have. This is my home world, after all. But the threat we face…” He shook his head. “Greater than the Raen. Greater than the mere proliferation of war machines. Kettin is…” He paused, then shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain right now. The Emperor wants a report and I’m sure he’d rather I explained it all to him first.”

  “And we’ll be able to do what we need to do much easier if he’s on our side,” Tarren finished. “But you wanted to see me first.”

  “Yes. Have you made any progress?”

  The old man shrugged and nodded. “Lots of small discoveries. We understand better how the machines work. Components have been getting smaller as they are refined, allowing space for more sophistication. We can almost trace the evolution of the ideas behind them – three or four main branches of them.”

  “Zeke said Kettin had at least three laboratories containing both willing and captive inventors, all competing with the others.”

  Tarren nodded. “That would explain it. All the recent machines have an adaptation that seems designed to overcome a weakness. I think this may have been the idea Zeke had before he was captured.” His lips stretched in a grim smile. “He will be a welcome addition to the team.”

  “Anything else the Emperor should know?”

  “No. Other than that everyone in our department is getting along better than I expected. I hear that can’t be said of others here, but that’s nothing you need to deal with now. Go.” He waved a hand. “Keep your Emperor happy.”

  Tyen smiled ruefully. “Oh, he won’t be happy when he hears what I have to tell him, but he’s no fool. He’ll give us all the support he can. Thanks, Tarren.”

  “Do you want me to move these?” The old man gestured to the machines.

  “No. Tell anyone who asks that I’ve ordered for them to remain where they are – and that nobody is to touch them.”

  Tarren rubbed together the fingers he’d used to poke at the machines and raised an eyebrow. “Oops. Bad me.”

  “You should know better, old man,” Tyen scolded.

  Tarren snorted and made a shooing gesture. “Get out of here, young scoundrel.” He paused. “I think I’d better set a proper guard on them. You know some here are moving against you, don’t you?”

  Tyen smiled ruefully. “Of course. And yes, a guard would be a good idea.”

  He left, taking the same path Halyn and the newcomers had followed to the stables. There he found a carriage waiting and was told a messenger had been sent on ahead to the palace to warn of his arrival.

  Definitely a good choice for my assistant, Tyen mused.

  The busy streets of Beltonia outside his carriage were familiar and yet alien. It seemed like a hundred years since he had walked through this city, his concerns only those of a young boy or scholar. The idea of this place being destroyed in a matter of hours, after thousands of years of history, ought to be too incredible to grasp, but he had seen too much, both with his own eyes and through others’. He knew what was possible.

  That brought a wave of regret and guilt. If I hadn’t come home, this world would still be poor in magic. Perhaps Kettin would have spared it. Or not even found it, since the path he’d made when escaping fifteen cycles ago had faded out of existence.

  He could leave and try to erase the single path he’d made in and out of the world. The faint traces of his smoothing would fade faster. Kettin’s sorcerers might not even know to look for them. No. If Zeke knows I can be tracked that way, then they know.

  Even so, he doubted that all, if any, of the otherworld sorcerers he’d brought here would want to be forever imprisoned in this world. Someone would eventually leave to see if Kettin still ruled the worlds. If they were found by Kettin or her followers, the location of Tyen’s world would be read from their minds.

  I could remove all the magic from this world and order the sorcerers who know how to travel between worlds to release their store of magic. It would require the cooperation of too many people, though…

  The carriage slowed to a stop. He looked out of the window and realised he had arrived at the palace already. As he climbed down and made his way inside, he turned his mind to considering how best to inform the most powerful man in this world of the peril he and his people faced, and the role they must take in fighting it. Break the news gently, or deliver it without preamble?

  He hadn’t decided by the time he finally arrived at the private suite where their meetings usually took place. Omniten greeted him at the door with a broad smile.

  “Tyen Ironsmelter,” the man said. “I am glad to see you again, not least because it means you’ve survived this trouble you spoke of.”

  There was genuine concern and relief in the Emperor’s mind, and for a moment Tyen was humbled and taken aback. Then he returned the smile easily. “It is good to be home,” he replied as he bowed. “I only wish I didn’t have to spoil the comfort of your good company with bad news.”

  Omniten made a small grimace. “Ah, I feared you would say that.”

  “You did?” Tyen smiled. “Who is the mind reader now?”

  The man chuckled. “Certainly not me. I only guessed that if two of the most powerful sorcerers in the worlds were concerned, the source of their worry must be dire indeed.” He led Tyen over to chairs, set before a gently flickering fire. “And I also ascertained that if you returned with bad news, then you must require help that only this world can provide.” He sat down. “So, what is it you need from me?”

  Once again, Tyen was taken aback. “But I have not even explained yet,” he pointed out.

  The Emperor smiled. “No. And I have not yet agreed to anything. I have merely asked what you require. We shall see if I am able to provide it.”

  Tyen sat down. “Well then… we need the Academy to find ways to disable or defend against the enemy’s war machines.”

  “That is all? Not sorcerers to fight by your side?”

  Tyen spread his hands. “Leratia – and the Far South – may have sorcerers of great enough strength, but I fear their training is not yet of a standard to match those who have hundreds of years of experience in using magic, let alone a machine army capable of destroying them. There is no need to risk and sacrifice your people in battle.” Tyen paused. “Though if the Academy finds a solution that requires an operator, those operators may have to venture into danger.”

  Omniten’s expression grew serious. “I guess that will be an incentive to find a solution that doesn’t require operators.” He steepled his fingers and frowned at the fire. “So, tell me about this enemy. Tell me what we are facing.”

  Tyen nodded, took a deep breath and obeyed.

  CHAPTER 17

  Two days later Tyen waited as the Grand Hall filled. Attendance was required of members of the Academy, past and present, who were living close enough to make the journey. Other people of power and influence had also bee
n invited – mainly men, plus a few women, from the aristocracy – as an acknowledgement that they would have an influence upon, and a stake in, the decisions made today.

  The room vibrated with the hum of hundreds of voices combined. Tyen skimmed minds, absorbing the general mood. That these few privileged Leratians should make decisions on the safety and future of an entire world seemed wrong, but time was short and the empire had no system in place to inform millions of ordinary citizens of an issue and then collect their responses to it.

  He could only hope that these people would understand the danger their world was in, and react to it in a sensible manner.

  Halyn emerged from the crowd and walked to Tyen’s side. “I think everyone is here.”

  Tyen nodded. He took one last look at those standing nearby. To his left was a gathering of otherworlders comprising of his former students, Tarren and his students, the inventors Tyen had brought recently, and Zeke and Dahli. To Tyen’s right, a large group of Academy students and teachers had formed, and he was pleased to see that they hadn’t separated into cliques. Foreign and female students did tend to stand in small groups, but those were spread among the rest.

  Tyen had chosen to stand near Kettin’s machines, at the rear of the Grand Hall. Professor Bargeman and his supporters formed a small crowd in the middle of the hall, between Tyen and the main doors. Tyen knew from the minds he’d read that many of those opposing his leadership and changes to the Academy were circulating in the crowd, raising their objections with anyone willing to listen. Which meant that many, not knowing the reason for their summoning to this place, were assuming this was another challenge to Tyen’s leadership.

  A few of Tyen’s supporters had noticed this and begun interrupting such conversations, arguing in the new Director’s defence and pointing out that his worthiness was not under discussion today. One man in particular was quietly moving about, injecting into conversations that the Academy had best stop squabbling and focus on more important issues. When Tyen finally caught a glimpse of this man, he was surprised to see one of the two teachers who had appeared with Bargeman when Tyen had returned from rescuing Zeke. The one who had read Zeke’s mind.