EXILED Wizard of Tizare Page 13

  “Your army is surely loyal—”

  “As long as they receive a paycheck. No, real trust is much too scarce. Which is why I had Plano search out someone from the hills ... someone unknown and uncorrupted.”

  “How do you know I’m uncorrupted, or incorruptible?”

  Rhow smiled. “Point well taken. But you aren’t likely to have other allegiances. And I hope my offer will be sufficiently inspiring to win your loyalty—for a time.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Rhow moved from his chair and stepped to one of the great battle paintings. He touched the corner of the painting and a great map fell, covering the artistic mayhem.

  “Our world ...” the lord said, gesturing to the map “... the civilized parts at least. We don’t really know what’s on the other side of the great desert to the east. Old tales and rumors are for the young. Here,” he said, touching the map at various marked points, “are the major cities.”

  Falon was intrigued to see that he included Tizare.

  “Here the lesser cities. And here, in the middle of the southeast desert, are the ruins of the holy city of Gfaar.”

  Falon stepped closer to the detailed map. It was the world, his world, rendered as he never saw it before. The cities, the great southern seas, even the immense desert—all unknown to him.

  “Holy? Holy to whom?”

  “A forgotten cult ... before this ‘one true faith’ of the All-Mother,” he said, not attempting to hide the sarcasm in his voice. “They openly practiced herd magic, even encouraged it. And it is said that they learned many secrets before being destroyed.”

  “By the Eastern Lords?”

  Rhow walked away from the map. “That isn’t clear. The city was destroyed, the cult’s magic users killed, ending the cult....”

  Now Falon was right on top of the map, fingering it, as if trying to feel the presence of the names ... Ar ... Kazerclawm ... Marirr....

  Rhow came up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s a book that’s been hidden in the ruins for years. Hidden, that is, if it hasn’t been discovered by the renegade mrem using it as an outpost. Perhaps the Eastern Lords have found the uxanhide book ... perhaps not.” Rhow turned him so that they were face to face, no more than inches away. “It’s called The Song of the Three Moons, and I want you to get it for me. It may be vital to the future of the mrem.”

  Almost without thinking, Falon shook his head.

  It hadn’t been easy getting here, a journey through ‘civilized’ lands. What would it be like facing the desert, the unknown? Renegade mrem and liskash could be the least of his problems. There were the terrible storms, and the sand weevils ... and who knew what else?

  No, it didn’t take him long at all.

  “I don’t think I’m interested. I think I’d rather take the gold I’m entitled to and—”

  “Then I’ll go alone.” Taline moved for the first time, away from the chair.

  “No!” Rhow said quickly. “It’s much too dangerous—”

  She stepped forward. “Are there others that you trust? If not, then there’s only me.”

  She looked at Falon then, a long lingering stare that made his skin prickle. Her whole body was tense, like a bow pulled taut.

  Falon didn’t doubt her ability to take care of herself. “Let me,” she continued, walking past Falon as if he wasn’t there, “have the weapons I need, perhaps an uxan and a cart. I’ll bring Anarra.”

  Rhow stormed over to Falon. “You see!” he bellowed.

  “My own daughter is willing to risk her life. You—you’re just another stupid highlander.”

  His daughter! thought Falon. He had read that scenario wrong.

  Rhow raised his fist to Falon, who wondered what exactly he had done wrong this time. “I could throw you in my dungeon and forget the key. You, and your companions. No one would care.”

  Quite possibly true, Falon thought. And he found something else stirring in his breast. A not exactly unfamiliar sensation.

  He felt shamed.

  Admittedly he had only bargained for a quick run off the mountain, maybe an extended stay in Tizare. Anything would be better than the smell of the herd-beasts on a warm, humid night, or the cold winds.

  Now, there was this. A quest, noble but obviously quite dangerous. And if he should pass on it, the daughter, no timid flower, seemed more than eager to carry on. Perhaps Lord Rhow would even make good on his threat to lock them up again.

  And he thought of the keys, sliding on the stone floor ... towards young Ashre.

  “I’ll go,” he said quietly. _

  Rhow grinned. “Splendid. I’ll have you outfitted with the best—”

  Taline stepped between them. “There’s no need, father. He is just another spineless one, more afraid of your dungeon than the desert.”

  “No,” Falon said quietly, this time giving Taline the benefit of his no-nonsense eyes. “It is foolish to send you into the desert alone.”

  She turned from Falon, and walked close to her father.

  “He’ll probably run away just as soon as we’re well away from the city.”

  “Perhaps ...” Rhow said thoughtfully.

  Falon had to admit it didn’t sound like a bad idea.

  “And perhaps not. I trust Plano’s judgment in selecting him. He made his way through some rough country.” He stepped close to Falon. “If you bring the book back you can have any place in my … household ... that you desire.”

  Was he imagining things or did the noble lord’s voice catch on the word ‘household’? And what other word almost tumbled out?

  “If you insist,” Taline said.

  “I do. We will get you outfitted and you can leave tomorrow.”

  So much for his sampling the delights of Tizare. He remembered, then, his two companions just outside the heavy double doors.

  “What of my friends?”

  Lord Rhow had replenished his cup, and was back on his chair. “Tell me about them.”

  “The chubby one presents himself as a wizard—”

  “A magic user?” Rhow said, looking over his cup.

  Falon smiled. “I said he presents himself as one. His real abilities lie in more earthly pursuits.”

  “Do you wish him to accompany you?”

  Good question, Falon thought. But at least he felt he could trust the timid Caissir. “I do. But I don’t think he’ll want to come.”

  Rhow laughed. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll make the option unusually attractive ... and the alternative remarkably painful. What of the kit?”

  “He’s an orphan. His mother was killed in the last battle for the garrison town of Fahl.”

  Rhow slurped the wine, draining his goblet.

  He was not particularly moved, Falon saw.

  “I had hoped that there would be some agency in Tizare, some place for the homeless ....”

  The lord went back to the table, pulled at some reluctant meat, and then sloppily refilled his goblet. “Yes, we have workshops and factories where the young can earn their keep and, if they’re lucky, learn a trade.”

  Falon cleared his throat. “That’s, er, not exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to find someone to take care of him, a family—”

  Taline snorted, and walked over to the map.

  Rhow, his mouth full, just shook his head. “We have nothing like that. Best to turn him over to one of Tizare’s factories. They employ many bastard mrem.”

  “He’s not a bastard!” Falon said, a bit more loudly than he intended.

  “Are you sure that he’s not a mother in disguise?” Taline laughed.

  What a bunch of sweethearts, Falon thought. In his village, an orphan would be loved and cared for by many families, perhaps even more than their own kits. Why shou
ld he risk his life for them, or their precious book, or this city of Tizare?

  The noble sensed his confusion. “Forget this kit. Perform this service for all mrem.” Rhow eyed him carefully. “Take your destiny into your hands.”

  And then, Falon thought of the answer. Foolish, in some respects, and certainly dangerous. But he could use all the allies he could get.

  Especially, yes, especially one so powerful.

  “I’ll take him with me then.”

  “What!” Taline shouted, turning sharply on her heels. “What nonsense is this?”

  Now it was Falon’s turn to raise his hand, silencing her. “Ashre has survived among bands of thieves since his mother was killed. Running, stealing, perhaps even killing. There’s no one else I’d prefer at my side in a fight. And there’s this: If he cannot come with me, then I will not go.”

  Taline walked over to her father, her whispers hissing loudly.

  “So be it.” Rhow said, waving his daughter away. “You travel at dawn. Taline, Anarra, you ... and your two companions. May the All-Mother protect such a motley party. Now let us call your friends in and begin planning your journey.”

  •

  They were in Falon’s sleeping quarters: a large bedroom that featured a massive fireplace (already scenting the air with burning parra wood), a bed that could have accommodated the three of them and twice as many more, and a huge couch covered with the most incredibly shiny material, a deep turquoise and laced with gold threads:

  Ashre was thrilled at the turn of events. Besides bouncing on the massive bed, he kept talking of the wondrous adventures that lay ahead. He seemed ecstatic at the possibility of danger.

  Caissir, as Falon had expected, was another story. At first he had tried politely declining. And even when Lord Rhow kept upping the amount of gold pieces that would fall to him, Caissir kept smiling and saying no. Finally Rhow, with a smile as warm as the fat wizard’s, told him that there were, unfortunately, rather strict regulations regarding the licensing of magic users. A stay, of undetermined length, in the dungeons would be the only recourse. At least until the necessary paperwork was taken care of.

  And who knew how long that would be?

  Falon had to hide his face. He just loved the way Caissir’s fur bristled when he was angry. Later, he commiserated with the wizard, while all the time deftly admiring Rhow’s straightforward skill in pulling the party together.

  Taline had retired, rather quickly Falon thought. She was off to check the armor, weapons, and pack wagon. But more likely, she seemed to have had enough of Falon. She was totally loyal to her father ... and she simply didn’t trust Falon at all.

  With good reason, Falon thought, stepping to the great glass windows of his room.

  The windows were opened just a bit, and he gave them a push, letting the cool night air fill the room. The largest moon of Mrow, in its first quarter, was just beginning to rise above the city. This air was not the clean mountain air he was used to.

  “Do tell him to stop, Falon. He’ll break the bed and Lord Rhow will deduct it from our share of the gold.”

  “Let him play,” Falon said quietly.

  Play ... Is that something the gray mrem even knows? Daggers, thievery, rutting (of every kind) ... yes, these he knew. But play?

  Unlikely. And sooner or later Falon would have to talk to him.

  They had a magic user in the group.

  But it was not Caissir.

  And that secret of Ashre’s might prove valuable in the hard days to come. He felt a bit selfish at the speculation. Still, he was somehow glad he would see more of the kit.

  He turned back to his two friends.

  MORNING CAME too soon.

  Though it was nice waking up in a soft bed, with the heavy blankets pulled tight, it was still dark when some barrel-chested soldier came by, kicked the bed, and announced to Falon that it was time to leave.

  He also deposited a tray of fruit that was apparently designed to substitute for breakfast.

  Ashre came into the room, munching purple berries. “Is Caissir up?” Falon asked groggily.

  “I don’t know.”

  Then Caissir strolled in, looking even more out of sorts than Falon felt.

  “You didn’t tell me we were traveling at night. Why, I could easily sleep till midday.”

  “I’m sure you could.”

  Their wake-up guard reentered the room. “The lord’s daughter is expecting you immediately at the stables.”

  “Oh, she is? Well, you tell her—” Caissir began.

  “That we’ll be right there,” Falon finished. The guard left. “Let’s try to start this trip on as good a footing as possible.”

  Caissir came by, and spoke softly, for Falon’s ears only. “If you ask me, we’re already off to a bumpy start.”

  Then he turned and went to his own room to get dressed.

  In minutes, Falon was leading them through the labyrinthine halls of the castle, pausing now and then to ask some equally sleepy guard just what the quickest route to the stables might be.

  After a few wrong turns that led them through the main kitchen, and past the main banquet hall, Falon finally found the wooden staircase that led to Rhow’s stables.

  Taline barely turned at their arrival.

  “Can we help?” Falon asked pleasantly.

  “Just pick up your bundles of gear from the back of the stable.”

  She was fixing a harness to a mammoth uxan, assisted by an almost equally mammoth she-mrem. There was a maze of straps and belts that crisscrossed the beast’s great midsection. The cart was just behind them, its rigging poles ready to be attached to the harness.

  Falon shrugged and walked to the back of the storeroom. The three bundles were large and, he discovered, incredibly heavy.

  “What in the world is in these?” Caissir blustered.

  “Armor, Swords. Ropes. Medicine. Food.” It was Taline, standing at the opening to the storeroom. The sky had picked up pinkish highlights, and first light couldn’t be long in coming.

  “I can’t move it,” Ashre said. Falon ran a hand through the young mrem’s fur.

  “No problem, Ash. I doubt you’ll need all that—”

  “Anarra and I have packed enough material so that any one of us could survive alone.”

  Caissir stepped close to Falon and whispered. “Sorry to be complaining so much, but that big old bag isn’t going with us, is she?”

  As if in answer, Anarra—who looked like she could hoist both Falon and Caissir with one arm—appeared in the doorway. She was incredibly furry, and Falon wondered why she didn’t trim her hair like the females in his village.

  But he had a vague idea that she didn’t do a lot of things that the females in his village did.

  “Anarra is in charge of the cart and the uxan. She also will have responsibility to see that you know how to use what’s in your packs. Now, load up and we’ll start.”

  “Best not to get off on the wrong foot, eh?” Caissir muttered. “I want you to know, Falon, that I haven’t felt this—this—discomfited since I was a schoolboy in Marirr.”

  Falon grinned, and picked up Ashre’s pack. The young mrem seemed undisturbed by the trip ahead, or the company. Already he was at the uxan ... setting Falon’s mind to wondering just what strange talents Ashre possessed.

  He threw the packs in the back of the cart. Anarra had the cart hitched up, and she patted the bulbous head of the uxan.

  “Probably whispering sweet nothings in its ear ...” Caissir said, hurling his pack on top.

  “Ready?” Taline asked.

  Falon nodded. And, as Taline turned sharply and led the way ahead, he found himself admiring her shape.

  None too friendly, but she was one taut little mrem.

  •

  Their first stop of the day nearl
y proved to be their most disastrous.

  The lumbering party reached the crest of a hill long after Ashre had run back and told them that the road ahead was impassable.

  Anarra chuckled, amused that Falon would even listen to the young mrem.

  But as soon as they reached the crest it was obvious that they did, indeed, have a problem. Some recent landslide had covered the meandering road with rocks and rubble of every size. It would take hours to travel the road with the uxen—if it was possible at all.

  There were, Falon thought, only two good options.

  Taline and Anarra were having their own private conversation about the predicament, and he waited until they came to him.

  “Well, that does it, eh, Falon?” Caissir said. “Let’s pack it in and get on with the rest of our lives.”

  But Ashre—always hovering by, excited—gave Falon’s hand a tug. “No, we can do it, Falon. There must be some way.”

  Taline walked over to Falon. “Anarra says we can lift the cart over the worst parts, and make our way down the road.”

  “On, is that what she says? And is she planning on doing all the lifting herself?”

  The uxan gave out a great low groan. Maybe he knew what was up, Falon thought.

  “No,” Taline said, a bit less confidently now, Falon observed. “We’ll all help. It shouldn’t be too bad—”

  “No,” Falon laughed. “Not if you want to spend the night and a good part of tomorrow making your way down the mountain.”

  Anarra stormed over. “What’s the problem? We have to get moving.”

  Taline’s eyes seemed to radiate less of her usual arrogance. “He says it will be too difficult.”

  Anarra shrugged. “There is no other choice.”

  Falon stepped closer to Anarra ... and actually had to look up at her. Best to let her know now that he wasn’t going to spend their entire journey being pushed around—no matter how big she was.

  “There are other options—two that I can think of. And I haven’t even asked my friends here for their ideas.”