Fireclaws - Search for the Golden (22 page)

Instead of music, this young girl, probably no more than fourteen or so, was directing magic. By now, the stone had been formed into the shape of a tea kettle complete with handle, lid, and spout. Of course, it was still fifteen feet tall and made of stone, but the minute detail was staggering, right down to the intricate scrollwork on the ersatz wooden handle. I stood there in absolute amazement; the spell casting, the level of control, and the cooperation between the disciplines was well beyond anything I could comprehend. I felt like a troglodyte among gods.

“Impressive, is it not?” Wyeth said matter-of-factly as if he saw this on a daily basis. He nodded and waved at a few of the bystanders who were watching it all calmly.

“What are they doing?” I gasped, my eyes never leaving the scene.

“Practicing, of course. This is one of their better routines.” He chuckled. “This year, in addition to the combat part of the Wizard Tournament, the Headmaster has added an artistic team competition to the event. This group hopes to place; of course, they’re only second-year students so they are going to have to really step it up to win.”

“They are incredible!”

“Here comes the finale,” Wyeth said, pointing.

Apparently, throughout our conversation, the wind and water wizards had been carving out a chamber in the middle of the stone, allowing it to fill with liquid. With a huge grin and a flourish, the healer gestured to the fire wizard girl, and an instant later real steam shot out of the spout of the teapot. The whistle generated was loud enough to drown out all conversation for ten seconds or so, and most of the bystanders were covering their ears by the time it ended. Finished, the entire group lined up and bowed to the crowd who responded with enthusiastic clapping and a few wolf whistles. Smiling proudly, they stepped back, took another bow, and watched as the teapot retreated once more into the ground from whence it came. A few seconds later, you couldn’t tell that anything in the clearing had been disturbed. I stood there dumbfounded; probably more potent magic had just been slung around to create a temporary teapot than I had witnessed at most of the battles in which I took part.

Without another word, Wyeth nudged my arm and directed us on our way. Another hundred yards or so and we veered abruptly into an area of empty produce booths with large stalls for the wagon teams behind them. He ushered us inside one of the stalls, out of sight of passersbys, then turned to face us both.

“So tell me, Kerrik, what is so important that you would risk visiting Xarparion under false pretenses?”

His statement hit me like a brick. I had assumed we were going to be having a discussion about horse breeding. “I don’t understand.”

“Come now, your lovely companion is no more a horse than I am, and there was obviously something that triggered an inordinate amount of interest in your papers from Captain Iraselda. She is no fool, I assure you. She would have continued to dig until she got to the truth, which probably would have landed you both in a holding cell at best, possibly much worse. Xarparion takes its security very seriously since the war, and the dark elves and even dwarves we’ve integrated into the guard force have little patience for deceit.”

“We need to see the King and Queen of Sky Raven right away!” Daffi blurted out, still in horse form. She looked up at my shocked expression and added, “I like him Kerrik. I know we can trust him and I believe he will help us. Ryliss and Andi are depending on us not to fail.”

Wyeth’s jaw dropped. “You want to see the King and Queen? And did you say Ryliss? Miss…?”

“Daphne,” she supplied. “And if you would turn around for a few moments, I will change to a form more appropriate for explanations.” Amazingly, Wyeth did as she asked and faced the wall. “You too, Kerrik,” she commanded, and I joined the fire wizard in examining the rough-hewn pine that made up the sides of the stall. A minute later we both felt a light tap on the shoulder and turned to see Daphne fully clothed in her overshirt and ratty leggings. She smiled at us brightly and bowed. “Gentlemen.”

Wyeth looked a bit stunned, but his inborn good manners must have kicked in because he stepped forward, bowed even deeper and grasped Daffi’s hand. He brought it to his face for a cavalier kiss. “Lady Daphne, it is a pleasure to meet you. You are just as lovely in your human form as your equine.”

“Thank you, Wizard Wyeth, I believe that is the nicest thing a man has ever said to me,” she said, performing a little curtsey and giving me a meaningful, dark look.

“Pardon me, Lady, if this is forward, but if you are a friend of Lady Ryliss, are you a Druid as well?”

“Not exactly,” Daffi hedged, “but we are friends of Ryliss. In fact, she sent us here and gave us the instructions to navigate the portal. Which explains our paperwork; we really don’t know what we are doing. We just know that we need to speak to the King and Queen immediately. Ryliss and Kerrik’s sister Andea are both in grave danger!”

“I see. We’ve all been worried. We haven’t heard from Ryliss in months, and she was sent out on a very serious mission; the Queen is beside herself with worry. If you have word of her, they will want to speak to you. Please come with me.”

Daffi and I hung back a few paces as I whispered in her ear, “What do you mean ‘I know we can trust him?’ Women’s intuition?”

“No, pooka intuition. When we are close to people, we get impressions about them, both good and bad. I can even tell what motivates them and what they fear. How else would we pooka be able to play the tricks on them that we do?”

“Wait a minute…so you can read minds?” I questioned, a strong measure of guilt creeping into my thoughts.

“No,” she paused, thinking about how to put something into words that came to her so naturally. “It’s more like a glimpse of their soul…”

Gloomily, I pondered which of the two was worse in my case.

Wyeth set a brisk pace as we exited the stalls area and started toward the heart of the city. This seemed to be the market hub of Xarparion, where all the provisions and supplies needed to run the school were gathered. It was nearly noon and large numbers of Xarparion staff in their brown tunics were bustling around in orderly pandemonium, eating their lunches and laughing at each other’s jokes. At one point, the fire wizard snagged a young girl in a gray and red robe, and knelt down to talk to her. From the adoring look the child gave him as he was giving her instructions, I gathered Wyeth was a popular figure in Xarparion. Finally, he kissed her gallantly on the hand, and she gave him a shy little bow, spreading out her robes like a little princess. Her face beaming, she tore off ahead of us at full speed.

As we were approaching the second set of walls within the city, the buildings became more permanent in nature. These were the artisan’s shops, leather works, and I even heard the rapid-fire clang of a blacksmith’s forge in the distance. Here and there were also guard barracks, stables, and warehouses. Much of it looked like fairly new construction, but I remember Ryliss mentioning that the city had been largely razed in the war. The amount of horse and wagon traffic decreased, but general foot traffic increased as we approached the second main gate. The heavily-armored doors were in the open position, but just like the outer barbican, there were plenty of archers on the parapets looking down on everyone, as well as guards checking people through on the ground.

Wyeth pulled us up short before we walked through. “We might have to wait a little while; things will go smoother if we have a bit more authority.”

I watched the guard force with interest, and again noted the large numbers of dark elf females who carried bows and swords. “How many dark elves do you have at Xarparion and isn’t that a security threat in itself?”

Wyeth shook his head. “At the moment, almost fifty percent of our guard forces are dark elves, and most of those are women, as you can see. In dark elf society, men and women can and do equally become warriors, but males are their primary strike force when they leave their own lands. During the war, when the dark elves were still under the thumb of the Lifebane, the males were the ones who served under the Lich and they died in droves. The women were the reserve force that guarded their homes and forests and most of them survived. Now under King Faeron, the dark elves are at peace with their neighbors and many of their female warriors were no longer needed. By the same token, Xarparion’s human guard force was decimated in the war. We offer them a purpose in life, good pay, and with the portals, the ability to easily visit or even still have real homes back in the dark elf capital.”

“But how do you know you can trust them?”

I saw a little flash of irritation cross his eyes, but then he reverted back to his normal genial self. “I’m sorry; I forget that so many people had experiences in the war which were different than my own.” Wyeth paused, looking out over the city as if collecting his thoughts. “I was here during the fall of Xarparion, just a stable boy whose mother worked sunrise to sunset in the bindery shop, no one of any consequence at all. We lived in a small shack right over there where the new tannery is now,” he said, pointing across the outer circle. “I’ll never forget the day the undead came. They appeared outside the walls and then inside, the human guard force we had fought bravely, but there were too many holes. It was a day of many villains, the fire wizard tower being chief among them. But there were many heroes, as well; people who risked everything to save a few, even if they were just inconsequential street urchins.

“I remember two especially; warriors in snow-white armor, riding monstrous white chargers that looked like heaven’s own unicorns. They seemed to beat back the hordes through force of will alone. Time and time again, I saw them charge into the worst of the fighting and bring out a crying healer girl, or a guard slashed and bleeding, or sometimes even a simple stable boy. My best friend, Jaython, who you saw earlier, was one of those who was rescued by them.” Wyeth snorted with mock humor, but I could see moisture in his eyes. “It’s funny, but I remember at the time being angry and jealous that he got a ride on the great white horse and I didn’t. I really couldn’t comprehend what was happening to everything I knew in life. Anyway, those two warriors saved hundreds that day; one of them turned out to be a dark elf who did what she did even knowing that most of the cities inhabitants hated her for her dusky skin. Those two visions in white later became the King and Queen of Sky Raven, who you will meet later today.

“So to answer your question, I believe trust is earned; Queen Maya and the dark elves who have followed her here have earned it with their own blood. I can’t imagine Xarparion without them anymore.”

The young mage’s words struck me as the complete truth as he knew it, and indeed his experiences were not mine. But I was in his world now and I would need to put away my preconceived notions if I were going to succeed here. I looked down to see Daffi with her hands around my arms and her head on my shoulder as she silently listened to the story.

“Wyeth! By the stars, this had better be important! Zenah pulled me out of a meeting with the water wizard faculty and you know what wet blankets they can be if they feel slighted.” We were all startled to see an average-looking man in a fancy black robe bearing down on us. A female dwarf in staff attire and carrying a writing board was struggling to keep up with him and scowling as only a dwarf can the entire way.

On closer inspection, it appeared the newcomer was actually fighting to keep from grinning about the whole matter, as he clapped an arm around Wyeth’s shoulder and ruffled his blonde hair. He had brown hair, a meticulously trimmed beard, and dancing eyes that took in everything around him. He seemed to carry himself with a competent earthy charm. “What’s this all about, and why didn’t you just come up to my office to complain like everyone else.”

The fire mage squirmed a little, adjusting his now disheveled robes and striving for some shred of formality, as he cleared his throat and spoke up. “Headmaster Hons, I would like to present two travelers who have just arrived in Xarparion. Wind wizard, Kerrik Beratin, and his companion, Miss Daphne.” The Headmaster shook my hand with a firm grip. At the same time, I saw him assessing my ragged attire and his eyebrows went up ever so slightly. When he looked at Daffi, he cocked his head and a broad smile erupted. “Miss Daphne, your presence is an honor here at Xarparion; we rarely get visitors from the earth realms. How may I assist you?”

“Actually,” Wyeth explained, drawing out the word, “they are here to see the Royals. They have news of Lady Ryliss and her mission. I was hoping you could clear them through to Sky Raven; they are without papers.”

“Thank the stars!” Hons exploded. “If the Queen stopped by one more time to ask about scrying techniques…I kept telling her to talk to her pixie and that we don’t do scrying here…but I digress.” He stopped and looked up at the sun, then pulled an odd-looking crystal out of a pocket of his robes and held it up to the sun. “Well, that’s bad timing; they probably just left for their afternoon flight, and it will be at least an hour and a half before they return.” He looked us over again. “But then again, it will give us some time to get these two fed and changed into something more presentable. Not that Alex and Maya would care, but Qleyse would have kittens…Zenah!”

The dwarf woman, who had been waiting patiently in the background, rushed forward, her pen out and an expectant look on her bearded face. “Zenah, please write a script for Wyeth’s guests here, giving them access through to Sky Raven. Wyeth, take your new friends and get them cleaned up, fed, and into some acceptable clothes. Now I need to get back to the wet heads.” The Headmaster strode off energetically in another direction and was lost instantly in the crowd.