War Mage (Crystals of Memory Book 4), page 14
Truly, he’d felt poorly about doing it. Untrusting of their new ally, who had been so cruelly betrayed by his own king, for some unknown reason. A story which, suddenly, seemed a bit suspect.
Prince Erold growled.
“That is not good. The man swore an oath to my father. Also, Master Tolan also checked his thoughts. How did he hide himself, do you think?”
There was a voice from the door then. Anders turned to see Hoatha standing back, behind Jeld, having watched the goings on, it seemed.
“Probably by using the slough to dampen certain considerations. The affinity was stone? That would work for it. Stone is quiet and calm. If done well, the man might not have even known that he was lying about anything, until the order came to kill. Interesting that he went for you, Anders. On the night before you go off to the war, even. That speaks of a man under time pressure, to me.”
There was a grunt from Depak, nearly drowned out by the screaming from the clay pot.
“Agreed, Father. This man seems to have worked out where the greatest threat to his people comes from, and sought to protect them. If it was a mere order, from his masters, then the fellow would have probably gone for the King or Heir. That or an important general. Not a boy playing at magic.”
There was a hand wave at the end of the sentence, as if dismissing Anders’ efforts. Which was probably fair. He almost had to seem that way from the outside.
Prince Erold took a step toward the door, but stopped, looking at Depak. His voice wasn’t defensive at all.
“Except that anyone with eyes and a will to watch would see that Anders Brolly is the one lifting us, magically, in this land. It is his will and effort strengthening us and giving us some small chance to change the outcome of the war with Yanse. A thing known to Duke Cohen. He even acted impressed by it. Indeed, he gained several students for us, from the staff here. Word had him even going to the city and seeking students there, in his own person, as well.”
None of those had come in yet, thankfully.
The servants might not be truly motivated to learn magic, but they were people that Anders knew and had for years. Plus, he was paying them more to learn than the other man would have to be spies or saboteurs. Even if that had been their plan, it had probably changed the moment they learned that he was a better source of coin.
He was about to ask what they were supposed to do then, when Prince Robarts and Prince Alpert, both armed with long knives, walked into the room. They stared at the screaming pot on the table. Erold waved at them, which had the blades put away, instantly.
“We trapped a dark entity. We need to move this pot to a secluded vault. One away from people, since it will make this noise for a while. Clearly, we need to move it carefully, so it can’t get out.”
Prince Robarts seemed to think for a moment.
“The remote vault? It’s locked, but I can gain entry. That’s near the back wall. Anders, if you and...” He stopped then, looking at the others, then lighting on Jeld, who was actually a servant there.
Anders turned and waved.
“Jeld and Princess Salina? Jeld and I will do the actual carrying, this time, of course.”
The spoiled, bratty Princess... simply stood there regally, and moved ahead of them, a light coming from above the tips of her fingers, to guide the way, as if that had been his reasoning, the whole time. It wasn’t. Prince Robarts and four gray clad guards moved with them out into the night, the sun just starting to peak above the trees in the distance, telling him that morning was upon them. It was nearly time to leave already.
Still, the work needed to be done first and if possible, Anders was going to eat before he climbed into a saddle.
As they walked Salina cleared her throat.
“Why pick me for this? You could cast a light as well as I can. Any of us in that room could have.” She, politely, was speaking in Istlan. Which probably meant she didn’t think the reasoning was all that dire.
Anders smiled, knowing that she wouldn’t see it, being in front of him as she was.
“Ah. Well, Depak Sona heard that I had picked you to be the new Great One of Barquea, and has agreed with that. He plans to step out of the way and give that title over to you, when you are ready. The duties of a Great One, of course, are different than that of a mere Princess. So, you have to go into the scary cellars, carrying the eerily screaming pot and things like that. Jeld is just being picked on because he’s a servant here. Though, when I asked for the advanced students to be called for, I notice that he was summoned? That speaks of great things as well, don’t you think, Prince Robarts?”
Anders readjusted his hands on the clay pot, a bit. It wasn’t heavy, but walking sideways, while working with someone else was awkward. Jeld looked at him strangely, as if afraid, suddenly. A thing he hadn’t been about carrying the noisy dark entity. Not outwardly, at least.
The Prince simply nodded.
“Indeed, it would seem so. You’re representing the kingdom in the war, soon, Master Jeld?”
The other man ducked his head.
“Yes, Prince Robarts. We leave in some hours, I think. I was told to pack for it. Not everyone was, but we wasn’t told why.”
Anders, feeling mean about it, corrected the man. A very rude thing to do, even at the best of times.
“You weren’t told why. Not that anyone here heard me correct you. You have to speak clearly, from now on. The reason is that you can do the work that will be needed and the others can’t yet. Even bribing them to learn is only getting medium level results. My hope for you is that we can kindle a love of learning inside of you, on this trip. That you will find value in it. Plus, if Great One Salina is going all the way to the front, you’ll be needed to guard her. With your life, if need be. The other Princesses will be returning here, at about the two thirds mark, on the map. The trip won’t be fun or easy, then we will face death on the far side.” He shrugged and kept walking.
“Depak asked me who would be the Great One of Istlan. Daren Willet and Princess Mathia were both mentioned for that. Then, clearly a land can have more than one of those. Perhaps you will aid Jeld here in doing the same as you are, for his people, Princess Salina?”
Instead of acting too good to help a servant out, she spoke, haughtily, but with words that were decently kind, for all of that.
“Of course! Especially if his task is to help keep me alive. I... Hadn’t thought about going to the front of a war. Will I be in the battle, do you think?”
Anders nodded.
“Yes. A Great One must not shirk her duty. Of course, this isn’t your land, so you’ll also have to stand back and allow us to take the lead there. What do you think, Prince Robarts... Should we also risk Princess Mathia to such a task?” He wasn’t playing at all, hearing instead the voice of Depak Sona, in his mind. Telling him that princes couldn’t be coddled too much, or they would grow to be poor leaders.
He didn’t know if that was the same for princesses.
Shockingly, and Anders truly felt a thrill of fear at the move, the Prince nodded.
“I will speak to the King, my father, about this? It may not be allowed, for you either, Princess Salina. We will also need to ask the Sula about this. Still, you have permission for both of them to ride out, and can contact us here, correct, Anders?”
“I can, Prince Robarts.”
They still had to walk for a while, until they came to a small, locked door, made of heavy timbers, on a stone building that looked almost like an outhouse. Robarts used a key, pulled from inside his tunic, which had him searching for some moments to find the correct piece of metal.
Then, Salina, the Great One in training, went first, even if she was clearly nervous about it. There were stone steps leading down and a decently large vault under the earth there, shored up with heavy timbers and a lot of stone. The place was damp and cool inside, but other than shelves with various bits of art and some nice chairs and chests, it wasn’t special or even gloomy.
Part of that, the lack of sinister aspect, was due to the fact that Salina was producing a fine light for them, that didn’t even flicker or dim over time, like a torch might have. They walked, awkwardly, down the steps, with Anders being the one to do it backwards, one step at a time. Then, inside the room proper, he selected the far-left corner, and moved toward it. That was empty, with only a pile of soft looking carpets nearby. They were older things, but decorative enough. The damp there would, eventually, ruin them, he didn’t doubt.
Still, they weren’t going to break the pot, so it seemed safe enough.
“And down. Let me...” The pot was, carefully, pushed all the way into the corner, just off of touching the stone of the walls by a mere finger’s width. Then pulled out to four, in case the thing inside ever managed to make the pot move enough to hit anything.
Then he stood up and brushed his hands off.
“There! Now... We pretty much need to get ready. On the good side, I bet we all sleep well tonight! Salina, I’d like you and Jeld to be ready to do the first two hours of road work. That won’t be until mid-day. If we have to remove moisture, I’ll have Daren and Erold doing that for you, which will make it far easier than if you have to do it all yourself. Trust me on that. Then, when we stop for the night, we’ll need housing for everyone. Salina, you’ll be in charge of that.” He stopped then. “I don’t mean doing the work yourself. I mean in organizing the others into doing it. Try to get a sense of who’s good at what and place everyone in the right spot?”
They all walked outside, with him being demanding enough that a bit of scolding was probably in order. Prince Robarts had stiffened enough that it seemed he expected that.
Salina simply nodded.
“I get to order you around for that, too?”
“Of course. More to the point, do it in such a way that no one realizes that you’re guiding them? But, yes, anyone there will aid with it.”
She seemed lost in thought then, but wasn’t throwing herself to the ground to kick her feet and cry, so Anders decided she was up to the task.
Chapter ten
“No.” Anders didn’t glare at the whining princesses in front of him. It was a coalition of forces, from two different lands, suggesting that they were working too hard. Desiring to stop and rest for a day, instead of doing their work, fixing the roads.
They were standing around him, as he brought in several elk that had been taken from a herd that had wandered too close to the road. They were floating behind him, the huge things making him breathe heavily, as he was blocked from taking them to the makeshift camp site they had for the night. Still, he forced a smile, even if he didn’t feel like doing it, in the moment.
Javina, a bit indelicately, grabbed her own behind, and whimpered.
“But... I’m not used to sitting on a horse like this. I thought I’d be fine. I just...” She wasn’t throwing a fit over it, just seeming pitiful. Salina and even Lissa were about to lead a collapse into a full screaming match, insisting on their privileges, it seemed. It was enough that Depak and Hoatha both walked over, as did Prince Erold.
Anders simply rolled his eyes.
“You, all of you, know healing magics for pain, swelling and inflammation. Use them. Part of taking a trip like this is so that you can learn to push yourselves, when it isn’t easy or simple to do. Ideally, doing that without complaint? No one is comfortable here. Everyone hurts, and is uneasy, riding toward battle. It isn’t that I don’t care about your pain, it’s simply that you, all of you, don’t have to have that going on, if you decide not to. That, remembering to use your powers, is the hardest part of gaining such skills, for many.”
To her credit, Lissa made a small choked sound and started to mutter, under her breath, making some covert hand gestures at her own delicate places. After a mere few lines, she sighed.
Seeing this had Mathia doing it herself, then the others following suit. Salina glared at Anders, seeming honestly annoyed with him.
“You, are not being kind to me, Prince Anders! I’m a guest here in your land and you’re acting as if I’m your slave.” She hardened as Depak moved up next to her, doing his own bit of disapproving, directed toward her location, but modified her words, a small fraction. “You’re at least treating me like a mere student!”
She was doing her yelling in Scara, which had many people looking at her. Most not understanding why one of the mages was suddenly speaking so harshly. Anders simply nodded in her direction.
“This is a goods caravan. If you wish to turn back, you may do so, of course. My purpose isn’t to abuse you in this. I can harden the road myself, if need be.” Faster than the others were doing it, if with more personal work on his part.
The Princess in question stomped, like a child not getting the desired treat, and stormed off, as if she were the wronged party. Anders kind of hoped she was going to go back. They could send the others as well, along with some guards.
The men with him were, at least, willing to hold their own council, in their misery. Depak Sona glared at her, as she walked away, her red tunic and trousers glinting a bit in the gray light coming through the trees. There was a soft wind, which was a bit chilly, though no one was complaining about that, so far. It was enough that Anders was wearing chain mail, with a yellow and red gambeson underneath. That, the padded linen armor was heavy enough to keep him warm.
Several of the others were doing the same thing, including Javina, who made a face at the scene.
“This... I know that I need to do better. Forgive me. I’m not strong, I guess.” She hadn’t used magic to fix her pain, as of yet, and Anders wasn’t going to tell her to do it.
Her younger sister waved at her however.
“You have the magic for this, don’t you?” The tone was a bit bossy and short, but other than having her sneered at a bit, didn’t start a battle.
Just a long stream of spells, which did have Princess Javina sighing, when it was done.
“This is... I thought it might be a little hard, but travel has always been different for me. I’d thought being on the ship was a true trial, and then riding in the back of a wagon. This, sitting on a horse, this is what it’s like for most people, isn’t it?”
Depak laughed then. It was forced, loud, and he threw his bald head back. Hoatha simply smiled and looked away.
Even Erold rolled his eyes a bit and turned slightly, to hide his rude reaction.
The elder magician, Depak, waved at their own line of wagons, which were working to the side of the road, so that people could pass if they needed to.
“No? This is a wealthy caravan, rich with animals to do the work and good wagons, commissioned by powerful individuals. Most people, in all lands, walk, if they wish to travel long distances. They do not sit upon a fine horse, and most never even see carriages, much less use them. So, this, what you and your sisters are complaining about, it isn’t some vast hardship. It is simply not what you have grown used to in life.”
There was a sigh from Javina, but also a slow nod.
“Sorry then, Prince Anders. We should set up for the night? I could... Make a small house for us? To the side? With good beds...” She seemed desperate on the matter, but it wasn’t truly a problem.
It was important to practice, after all. Even making soft beds counted for that. There was no grand virtue to sleeping on the dirt, after all.
Anders shrugged.
“Spread them out. Keep them very small, so we can take them down in the morning, without damaging the woods. Each of us should make something, for ourselves. I’d also like one for the caravan leader. Who’s going to do that?”
Daren raised his hand a bit, wisely standing back, away from the yelling women.
“I can see to that, Anders. We also need to collect water and wood for a fire. How are we cooking those elk?”
He grinned, since it had been a good find, that herd, and having four large animals on the first day would help them stretch their stores. He’d broken down and simply hired six full wagons, which were directly behind the ten being sent to the front with food treats and wine, by Count Verit. Anders had asked for something like that, but hadn’t figured the man would spend that much on it.
They didn’t have any poor camp followers to feed on the trip, either, meaning that everyone else there was a professional traveler and caravanner. Anders even recognized some of them, from his last trip to the front.
“We need to butcher these. I could use some help with that, if anyone knows how to do it? We’ll share the meat out. Everyone gets to cook for themselves, though. We can use a tarp for that?”
He had some small idea as to how to do that, butcher an animal, but the truth was he lacked high level skill in that area. No one with him stepped forward and claimed that sort of thing, either. Everyone stood there for a moment, until Javina, rallying a bit, called out.
“We could use some help butchering these animals?” Her voice was loud and she spoke in Istlan, which had several men and women slowly coming toward them, seeming scared. That was just their fear of magic, of course.
Anders waved to the six people.
“Hello! I’m Andy. I can catch animals, but the truth is I’m not great at butchering them, so any aid we can get that way will help. We’re going to share the meat with everyone, so pass the word on that? It’s free.”
One of the men, who was already unshaved and probably in need of a bath, grunted.
“You just took them? From the King’s woods? That’s a hanging offense.”
Anders nodded, since that was correct, normally.
“King Mathias has given me specific license to hunt here, though. That means we can have a bit extra, as we travel.” He smiled and the man looked around, a bit shiftily, at first.
