Chapter 1

 

     The unicorn stopped in the clearing to let the man climb off its back.  It wouldn’t have been good for someone to see him riding it.  Men don’t ride unicorns.  Few people even believe that unicorns exist.  The man adjusted the strap holding the lute that was slung across his back, hugged the unicorn’s neck, and thanked it.  Then, picking up his staff, he turned and strode into the forest towards the village a short distance away.  He didn’t look back, he knew the unicorn wouldn’t be there.  Unicorns never came close to people.

          As soon as he spied the narrow road through the trees, he stopped and removed his long cloak.  He turned up the collar, and reaching deeply into the hidden pocket, began pulling the material inside out.  When he had finished, the dark green cloak that had made him almost invisible in the woods, had become one of bright red and yellow.  Once again fastening the cloak around his neck, he stepped out onto the road and merrily made his way past the outlying farms and into the town.

     Walking through the dusty streets of Tenning, he was a bit surprised at how much the town had grown since his last visit.  As he neared the center of the village, he started to hear children shouting around him, “A troubadour!  A troubadour!”  By the time he reached the village square, he was surrounded by a large gathering of people, most of them children.  He removed his brightly colored cloak and laid it on the ground in front of him with a flourish.  Then, pulling his lute into position, he began to play and sing.  He loved working with children, they always made him smile.  They laughed at his stories and often sang along with him.  The stories he told and the songs he sang were light, simple ones, ones he knew they’d like.  But every song had a lesson and every story was true. 

     He performed for almost an hour before he made his final bow.  Then, picking up his cloak and the three small copper coins that were on it, he once again made his way through the village toward a group of buildings just outside the town.  As he approached the buildings, he smiled and almost laughed at the sign stretching across the road, forming a gateway into the compound.  “Wizard’s School” was painted across it in big bold letters.   

     Crossing into the compound, he stopped a teenage boy who was just leaving and asked, “Where can I find Thomas Wizard?”

     The boy was surprised to see a troubadour, but politely pointed toward a group of modest houses that was tucked away in a small patch of trees, almost hidden behind a hill.  “That’s his house there,” he said, indicating the first house and the one most visible.  “But he may be teaching right now.  His wife may be home though, if she’s not teaching, and she should be able to tell you where he is.”

“Thank you kindly,” said the troubadour as he tipped his hat grandly to the boy before heading towards the house.  He crossed the front porch and knocked on the door.  Moments later, the door was opened by an oldish looking man with a short white beard.

      “You!” said the old man, with a mixture of surprise and irritation.

      “Hello Tom,” said the troubadour pleasantly.  “Good to see you again.”

     Thomas turned and called to his wife, “Anna, look who’s here!”

     Anna came out of the kitchen carrying a large plate in her hands.  As soon as she saw who was at the door, the plate fell from her hands, smashing into a thousand pieces on the floor.  “Fredrick!” she exclaimed, hardly even realizing she had just dropped the plate.  After a moment she collected herself and said, “For heaven’s sake Tom, invite him in.  We can’t have him standing out there on the doorstep all day.”

      “Hello Anna,” said Frederick, stepping inside and once again taking off his hat and flourishing a grand bow towards her.  “I’m so glad to see you too.”

      “That’s enough of that!” said Anna.  “I may not have seen you in a long time, but I know you too well for you to waste any of your fancy manners on me.”  Then she turned and left to find a broom to clean up the broken dish.

      “So how are you, Tom?” Frederick asked, as he entered the living area and draped himself across the most comfortable looking chair he could find.

      “Huh!” Thomas snorted as he chose another seat, an unfamiliar one since Frederick was sitting in his chair.  “Doing pretty well I guess.  In fact, if I think about it, we’ve really been doing very well lately.  However, why do I get the feeling that’s all going to change?” he asked suspiciously.

      “Now, now Tom,” said Frederick.  He quickly changed the subject.  “Your school has certainly grown.  I would have never believed how big it is.”

      “It’s grown indeed,” said Thomas proudly.  “There are very few children for miles around, boys and girls both, who don’t come here at one time or another.  All the local Barons send their kids here, and we’ve even had some come from much further away.  We had to build a second dormitory last year.  We seem to be well on our way to becoming a regular university now, except that we teach all ages and not just the older ones.  Of course, there are a lot of them who come here thinking we’re going to teach them wizardry and real magic instead of how to read and write, but that’s all most of them get.”

      “Most of them?” asked Frederick.

      “You know as well as I that very few people are born with the gift.  Most who have it, go through their whole lives without ever knowing it.  The few we find who do have it are carefully screened for a long time before we’ll even consider training them in the true magic arts.  The secrecy of this is our strictest concern.  If anyone ever found out that some of us actually are wizards and we do teach wizardry, we’d all be hunted and killed.

      “When you brought us out here and suggested we ‘hide in plain sight’ as you called it, we thought it was the most ludicrous idea in the world, but I’ll have to admit, it’s worked!”

      “And the boy?” asked Frederick.

      “Ha!  I knew you’d bring him up sooner or later.  His gift started to surface about two years ago.  He’s not going to be the strongest I’ve ever seen with it, but he does have it.  We started training him and one other here a few months ago.”

      “Another?” asked Frederick, surprised.

      “Believe it or not, we have another one living right here in the compound.  She’s the daughter of Master Samuels, our science teacher.  And, if I’m not mistaken, Tobin has a terrible crush on her.”

      “Does he now,” said Frederick with a grin.  “How interesting!”

     Thomas looked at him with growing concern on his face, then pointed a gnarled finger at him and asked, “What’s cooking in that scheming brain of yours?”

      “Now Tom, all in good time,” Frederick said somewhat merrily.  But underneath, he mused that if Thomas had known his true thoughts at the moment, he would probably be kicked out on the spot.  “By the way, where is he?  Can I see him?”

      “He’s teaching,” Thomas said bluntly.  “But he should be back shortly.”

      “Teaching?  When did that start?”

      “A few years ago,” Thomas said proudly.  “Growing up around here, I guess it came naturally to him.  He likes it and he’s very good at it.  One of my best instructors.”  Thomas leveled his gaze at Frederick and said almost sternly, “It has been almost 12 years, after all.  He’s practically a grown man.”

     Frederick tried his best to look surprised and shocked, “Has it been that long?  I guess he would be grown now.”  He knew very well how long it had been, and had stayed away, counting the time and waiting.

     Anna came in then with a polite smile on her face, but there was no way that Frederick could not see the concern there.  “Will you be staying the night?” she asked politely.

      “If you will be so kind as to allow me,” Frederick replied.  “I’m quite sure your hospitality will be far superior to what the local tavern has to offer.”

      “Of course you can stay,” Anna replied with a bit more affection in her voice.  “We wouldn’t want it any other way.”  She heard Thomas snort at her comment.

      “I take it by the way you’re dressed that you’ll be, uh…performing at one of the inns tonight?” Thomas asked.  Troubadours were not only entertainment, they were an important source of news in all the villages.  A major part of what they did was to listen to what was going on and to spread the word in other places.

      “Inns?” Frederick asked in surprise.  “Just how many are there now?”

      “Four!” Thomas replied.  “But knowing you, you’ll probably only want to visit the Three Hills Inn.  It’s the fanciest place in town.  All the rich people stay there.”

      “Is there anything else, shall we say not quite so upper class, while at the same time not the bottom of the barrel either?  Sometimes the fancy places aren’t the best ones to pick up news.”

      “Then you’ll be wanting the Bear Claw Bar,” Thomas said.  It’s the busiest place in town anyway.

      “Sounds perfect then,” Frederick replied happily.

     Just then they heard the back door slam and someone shout, “Auntie Anna?”

      “That will be Tobin,” Anna said.  “We’re in here,” she called.

     A handsome youth walked out of the kitchen into the living area.  He was tall with remarkably broad shoulders for someone who was supposed to be a teacher.  To Frederick, there was no mistaking how much he looked like his real father.  He was almost a man, but not quite yet.  It wouldn’t be long though.  Frederick thought about the last time he had seen the boy, when he had left him behind here with Thomas and Anna.  The boy had been only five.

      “Tobin, do you remember Frederick?” Anna asked with a loving smile on her face.

     The youth looked at Frederick with puzzlement for a moment.  “Not really,” he said finally.  “You do look sort of familiar, but for the life of me, I can’t remember where we met.”   

     Frederick stood up and shook the boy’s hand.  “It’s not surprising.  It was a long time ago.”

     They were interrupted by the sound of arguing voices outside approaching the house.  Thomas hurried to the door and opened it agitatedly.  Two men were climbing the steps to the porch in a heated dispute.  “Mine!” said one of them with a fat belly and an almost totally bald head.  “Mine is the best inn around!”

     The skinnier and smaller of the two men looked like he was going to take a swing at the fatter man as he said, “Mine!  I have the most popular inn!”

     Thomas stood in the doorway and angrily said, “Gentlemen!”  But that’s as far as he got before the fat man spotted Frederick behind him and nearly knocked him down as he pushed his way past.

      “Ah, Master Minstrel, there you are!  Please, you simply must grace my fine inn with your presence tonight.  I have heard from the people on the street that you are a most wonderful singer.  And, I can pay you three silvers.”

     Frederick didn’t have a chance to say or think anything because the second man was right on his heels.  “Well, I will pay you five silvers if you sing in my tavern.”

      “Ten!” shouted the fat man.

      “Fifteen!” returned the skinny man.

      “I have the best establishment and the finest customers!” yelled the fat man.

      “I have the most customers and the best beer!” the skinny man yelled back.

      “Your beer is swill!” yelled the fat man.

      “Your inn is ugly!” yelled the skinny man.

     With that, the fat man jumped at the skinny man and tried to take a punch at him but missed as the skinny man deftly ducked out of the way.  Before things could get further out of hand, Tobin jumped in and simply picked up the smaller man and held him out of the way.  Thomas stood in front of the fat man holding him back with both arms.  Frederick sat lazed across his chair in obvious amusement at it all.

      “Twenty silvers!” yelled the fat man.

      “Stop this!” Thomas ordered, yelling at both of them.

      “Now gentlemen,” Tobin said, “I’m sure that this can all be worked out easily if we just talk about it calmly.

      “Twenty-five!” said the skinny man only somewhat more calmly.

     Tobin let the skinny man down on his feet again but stayed obviously nearby, just in case.

      “Master Minstrel,” said the fat man again, “I have the finest inn around.  Possibly the finest inn in this whole part of the world.  My clients are the richest and most influential you shall ever find under one roof.  We would be honored if you would perform for us tonight.”

      “The finest?” said the skinny man. “That’s a joke!”

     Before he could say anything more, Tobin again stepped between them and calmly said, “Now Master Hager, Master Torry does have a very nice establishment, but your tavern is also, as you said earlier, very popular too.  Why don’t we let Master Frederick here decide for himself?”

     With that, Frederick suddenly found himself with a room full of questioning eyes, all staring at him.  As someone who had spent a good part of his life being the center of attention, he never seemed to lose an opportunity to show off.  Raising himself out of Tom’s favorite chair with an amazing display of showmanship, he bowed deeply.  “Master Torry, I have heard wondrous things about your beautiful inn and Master Hager, I’m sure your beer must be quite good to attract so many people, but I can only perform at one place tonight and I’m afraid that I have already decided that it’s going to be the Bear Claw.” 

     The skinny man gave a whoop of delight while the fat man looked angry again. 

      “I’m sorry Master Torry, but I promise you that the next time I come through here, I’ll stop at your fine establishment instead.”

     Master Torry didn’t seem to be all that mollified, but at least he didn’t try to punch anyone again.  Instead, he simply huffed angrily and stomped out of the door.  Master Hager gleefully watched him go.  “Can you be there at six?” he asked Frederick.

      “That should be fine,” Frederick told him.

      “I’ll spread the word,” Master Hager called as he hurried out the door.  “Thank you, thank you.”  And with that, he was gone, quickly running past Master Torry with another whoop of delight.

      “Those two have argued with each other for years,” Thomas said.  “They argue over everything.  The funny thing is though, they’re still best friends.”

      “I’m not a bit surprised,” Frederick replied with a laugh.

      “Heavens!” said Anna, suddenly getting up.  “If you’re going to be there at six I had better start dinner.  The Bear Claw may have acceptable beer, but the food there is awful!”

      “But it’s not even three bells yet,” Thomas said.  “It’s too early for dinner.”

      “Not if we have a guest,” Anna said with some indifference.  “Tobin, would you be so kind as to take my second year writing class for me?”

      “Certainly, Auntie Anna,” Tobin replied, also sounding a bit surprised.  “I’ll be happy to.”  Then turning to Frederick he said, “I guess I’ll be seeing you later then, her class starts in a little while.”

     As Thomas and Frederick watched Tobin heading out the door, Thomas remarked quietly, “He looks a lot like his father, doesn’t he?”

     Frederick turned to look at Thomas with a bit of surprise.  “He certainly does.  I didn’t know you knew his father.”

     Thomas turned and looked straight at Frederick.  “We were house wizards in King Angott’s household for five years.  I like to think that he was my friend.”

      “I didn’t know that,” Frederick replied.

      “After you left Tobin with us, I found the royal tattoo on his arm.  Later, there was no mistaking the way he looked.”

      “Very few people know about that tattoo.” Frederick said seriously.

      “I was gone before he was born, but I’m guessing he’s really Ramon, the third son.”

      “Yes,” Frederick said, looking back out the window at Tobin turning into one of the small school buildings.  “I found him with some street urchins near his Aunt’s home in Salvince.  Evidently his mother had been visiting her sister there when the entire royal family was murdered.  How he escaped execution himself, I’ll never know.  He was so dirty and miserable when I found him, no one would have recognized him.   I didn’t tell you because I felt it would be safer for him if nobody knew.”

      “Safer? Yes.  Probably kinder too.  That kind of life is long past for him now.  It’s better that he doesn’t know.”

     Frederick looked straight at Thomas, “That’s what I thought.”

     The two men stared at each other for a moment.  Thomas wanted to know exactly what Frederick had meant by that, but was afraid to ask.  “Come on,” he said finally, “I’ll show you around.”

     Thomas led Frederick around the compound with obvious pride.  They didn’t want to disturb any of the classes in session, but Thomas did lead the way into one of the empty classrooms.  The room had several large tables lined with benches.  “Look at this,” Thomas said, pointing out a large piece of flat slate mounted on a very sturdy stand.  He picked up a piece of white rock and pulled it across the slate leaving white lines behind.  “It’s chalk,” he said as he finished writing his name.  “Now watch, then picking up a wet rag out of a bucket nearby, he wiped it across the stone leaving it clean once again.  “Master Samuels put it in here.  We’re trying to put them in all the classrooms now.”

      “Positively…”  But that’s all that Frederick had a chance to say as the explosion almost knocked them off their feet.

      “What was that?” Thomas screamed.  His question went unanswered as he looked around and saw Frederick already out the door and running remarkably fast in the direction of the housing area.

     Students and teachers were all running to see what happened.  As fast as Frederick was, he had to push his way past them to get through.  Behind one of the houses he passed a woman who was running and yelling, “Iggy, Iggy.”  Just ahead of her, a younger woman was yelling, “Daddy, Daddy.”

     As Frederick ran down the path ahead of them, he finally rounded a bend and spotted a small shack with the window and door blown out.  There was a man sitting up on the ground outside.  Frederick ran past him and straight to the shack to look inside.  Broken and cluttered debris was everywhere.  A small fire had started in one corner and Frederick quickly went over and smothered it out.  The air smelled of sulfur and something else.  There didn’t appear to be anyone else in the shack.  Heading outside again, the young woman was now hugging the man on the ground and crying.  He didn’t appear to be hurt, just surprised.

      “I’m quite alright, my dears,” Frederick heard him saying over and over again to both the young woman and now also the older woman, who both seemed to be crying and trying to hug him to death.  “I’m quite alright.”

     A huge crowd was forming, all wanting to see what had happened.  Many of them ran over to look into the shack.  Finally, Thomas ran up huffing and puffing, trying to get a breath.  “What happened?” he asked loudly.  “Is anyone hurt?”

     The man on the ground tried to free himself from the embrace of the two women but wasn’t having much success.  “Nobody’s hurt!” he said rather emphatically, trying to convince the two women as much as everybody else that he was all right.

     Frederick stood in the background and just watched as everybody looked around.  A small smile crept across his face as he watched Tobin taking charge and making arrangements to get all the students back to their classrooms.  He took the opportunity to study Tobin’s auras.  It was difficult in a crowd, but as Tobin herded students back up the path he had a clear view.  The rose-colored wizard layer was there, but it was by far not the most prominent one.  The one that interested Frederick the most was the soft blue layer, the one that signified leadership talent.  It stood out far more strongly than any of the others.  His father had had it.  Tobin had it at least as much, maybe more.

     Eventually, the only people left there with him were Thomas, the man who was finally standing, and the two women who couldn’t seem to stop trying to hold onto him.

“Frederick, this is Master Samuels, our science teacher,” Thomas said, finally introducing the man.  Master Samuels was small and positively skinny, but as he shook Frederick’s hand, Frederick realized that there was a lot more strength in him than he originally thought.

      “Happy to meet you sir,” Master Samuels said.  “And please, just call me Iggy.”

      “Iggy, what happened?” Thomas asked for perhaps the eighteenth time.

      “Well, I was working on melting some new compounds I’ve been playing with.”  He looked up at Frederick.  “You know how gold has such a yellow color?  Well some of the sulfur around here is very yellow too.”  Frederick groaned to himself as Iggy continued.  “Well anyway, I was mixing some different things in with it and was trying to melt it down to see if I could separate just the color to see what it was.  I didn’t want it all to simply burst into flames, so I tried putting some of it in a pot and sealing it before I put it on the fire.  Then when I came outside to get another pot, the whole world turned upside down.  I’ll bet I’m getting close!”

     Thomas just looked at him for a moment, then put his hand affectionately on Iggy’s shoulder and said, “Iggy, you old fool, you’re one of the most brilliant men I know, but this business of trying to make gold is going to kill you!  And from the looks of things, maybe us too.”  Then, with a shake of his head, Thomas said, “Let’s go Frederick, before Iggy tries something else and we wind up with a bigger mess.  Did you ever hear such a noise?”

      “Never!” Frederick said with a lot of concern.  “Never!”

 

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     Anna had gone way overboard preparing dinner that night.  Tobin was delighted since it seemed that everything on the table was one of his favorite dishes, but then Frederick was fast figuring out that almost every kind of food was one of Tobin’s favorites.  Thomas and Anna seemed very reserved all during the meal, and it was Tobin who seemed to be carrying most of the conversation, mostly with huge amounts of food stuffed in his mouth.  He talked about the explosion and about teaching, then started asking Frederick about some of the places he had been.  Afterwards, Tobin mentioned wishing strongly that he could see them someday.  Frederick saw Anna wince at that, but she didn’t say anything.

     After dinner, Frederick sat out on the porch with Thomas for a while watching Tobin chopping wood.  “He actually loves to chop wood,” Thomas said.  “He says it helps him think.  He seems to think a lot – which doesn’t hurt our wood pile any.” 

     Frederick watched as Tobin expertly swung the large ax, splitting log after log.  He realized that all the log splitting explained Tobin’s overly large shoulders.

      “You’re taking him with you,” Thomas finally said after a few minutes of silence.

      “Yes,” Frederick said simply.  “I must.”

      “Why?”

      “I think something terrible is coming.  And I’m pretty sure it’s heading this way.  I don’t want to say exactly what yet, but trust me that it’s coming.”

      “I’ve known you long enough to trust what you say, even when I find it impossible, so I won’t argue with you.  Could this by any chance have anything to do with the rumors I heard about the towns of Chavin and Dilloff down south?”

      “What rumors?”

      “They say that they simply don’t exist anymore.  Every building was burned to the ground, and there’s no sign of anyone living in the entire region, not even in any of the outlying farms.”

     Frederick looked at Thomas with obvious trouble on his face.  “Thomas, I want you to do me a favor, take Anna and get out of here.  It sounds like things are moving faster than I thought.”

     Thomas sighed and just shook his head.  “So it does have something to do with that?”

      “Yes.  Or at least I’m betting that it does.  I guess that’s something I’m going to have to find out, and soon I think.”

      “Rumor has it that anyone going into that area never comes out again.  Is it necessary?”

      “It is now.”

      “There are also rumors about a band of robbers in the woods down near Homith.  My guess is they’re probably ones who escaped from Dilloff.  Look, do you really have to take the boy?”

      “Yes, it’s necessary.”

      “But why?  His royal line is gone.  Nobody even knows he survived.”

      “Because he’s the best hope we have to unite the kingdoms now,” Frederick replied.

      “Huh!  And just how are you going to do that?  Since Angott died, they’ve all been squabbling with each other like cats and dogs.”

      “I don’t know how, but I have a feeling I’m going to have to try.  Otherwise there’s a chance there may be no kingdoms left to squabble.”

     Thomas sat silently watching Tobin for a few minutes then asked, “You said we should go, but go where?”

     Frederick thought for a moment.  “The Archmage’s Fortress.”

      “But that place is a myth!”

      “No, it’s very real.  You just never got a chance to go there.  Your education was handled by others.”

      “Well then, just where in the world is it?”

      “Tell you what, go to Chrystallis.  There’s an inn there called the Black Unicorn.  It’s very nice, trust me.  Wait there till someone contacts you.  Oh, and while you’re traveling, I wouldn’t mention anything about the Fortress if I were you.”

      “Are you kidding?  And get myself killed because someone might think I’m a wizard?  No thanks!  Just how fast do you think we need to get out of here?”

      “You probably have a little time yet, three or four months at least.”

      “Three or four months?  That’s not all that long!”

      “I don’t think you should delay any longer than that.”

     Thomas shook his head.  “I’m getting tired of running.  I like it here.”

      “I know.  Maybe someday you can come back.”

      “When do you want to tell Tobin?”

      “Later tonight.  I don’t think I want to broadcast that he’s going with me.”

      “Are you going to tell him why you’re taking him with you?”

      “Not at first.  Why don’t we let him think this is just a chance to see a little bit of the world?”

      “He’ll love that!  He’s always ready for an adventure, and he’s got an insatiable curiosity.  That reminds me, how about his magic studies?  He’s been really keen on learning about it.  He hasn’t progressed very far, but it means a lot to him.”

      “I’ll handle what I think he should know.  There’s a lot that he needs to learn.  Magic is a part of it.  Probably a very small part, but a part none the less.”

     Off in the distance they heard the clock bells from the church tower chiming.  Tobin looked up at hearing them, then grabbing his shirt, ran past them into the house.  “I guess I better get going,” Frederick said with a smile.  “My audience awaits!”

      “Why don’t you wait a minute,” Thomas said.  “Let Tobin walk down with you.”

      “Fine, but I don’t want to keep Master Hager waiting too long.”  The point seemed to be moot as Tobin came crashing out the door and ran past them heading in the direction of the other houses.

      “I might have known,” Thomas said, obviously amused.  “He’s gone after Lisia.  Anna and I will be down later.  I had better break the news to her.  This is going to kill her.”

     As Frederick headed jauntily in the direction of town, Thomas walked slowly back into the house.  Anna was sitting in the kitchen waiting for him and stood up as soon as he walked in.  Thomas could see the look of fear already on her face.  He simply nodded.  Anna collapsed into the nearby chair in a fit of tears.  Thomas walked over to her and held her as best he could.  It was important that she know all of it.  Very gently he said, “There’s more.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

     Frederick had barely passed under the compound sign when he heard someone calling him from behind.  “Master Frederick, wait up!”  When he turned, he saw Tobin and the girl who had been holding so tightly onto Iggy, running towards him, hand in hand.  It was impossible for Frederick to miss the exuberance of youth on their faces.  “Master Frederick,” Tobin said as they caught up to him, “this is Lisia.  She’s Master Samuel’s daughter.”

     Frederick took off his hat, and after making a very exaggerated grand bow, picked up Lisia’s hand and planted a kiss on the back of it.  “It is without a doubt, the highlight of my life to be in the company of such a beautiful young lady,” he said.  Lisia just laughed.  During his cavalier actions, Frederick had taken the opportunity to look closely at Lisia’s auras too.  She certainly did have a wizard’s aura.  And it was a lot stronger than Tobin’s.

     All during the walk into town, Tobin kept up a running commentary on the places they passed and about the people who lived there.  Frederick almost felt like he knew everyone in town personally by the time the Bear Claw came into sight.  They all stopped as soon as they saw it.  There were people crowding around the windows and the doorway was completely blocked by people who were trying to get in. 

      “Why isn’t Master Hager letting everybody in?” Frederick asked, becoming concerned that something might be wrong.

      “There probably isn’t enough room,” Tobin replied.  “Whenever a troubadour comes to town, everybody around shows up.”

      “How are we going to get in?” Lisia asked.  “For that matter, how are you going to get in?” she asked looking at Frederick.  “The doorway is completely blocked.  I’ve never seen so many people here.”

      “Ah, my dear,” Frederick said with a huge smile on his face.  “For me, it will be no problem at all!”  And with that, he unslung the lute from his back, strummed a few chords as loudly as he could, and started singing in a pure and amazingly rich voice:

     "Grey Beard was a funny fellow

     Tried to die it red or yellow

     Said it made him feel so shallow

     Just because it’s…”

     At that point everybody around shouted out, “Grey!”

     It was practically pandemonium as Frederick danced his way through the crowd who were all stomping their feet and clapping.  Tobin and Lisia could hardly hear him as he made his way inside and suddenly leaped onto one of the tables.  The space that Master Hager had been desperately trying to hold open for him collapsed immediately as people crowded around.  Tobin and Lisia finally got through the door, but only just.  By the fourth chorus of the song, Frederick had picked up a full tankard of beer from a passing waitress and downed the whole thing while everybody else sang.  Nobody cared.  It was funny, and everyone was having fun.

     Frederick sang song after song, told story after story.  The crowd loved him and couldn’t get enough.  He had hoped to be able to take some small breaks and talk to some of the people, but there were just too many of them and he knew it would be impossible. 

     As his eyes worked the crowd, they couldn’t help but notice the dark spot in the back corner, the only two people in the crowd that looked out of place; their reddish-black cloaks, the slightly odd shape of their eyes.  Scathian spies, or more likely assassins.  They always traveled in pairs.  Frederick doubted that anyone else would really notice them or would know what they were or where they were from.  But he knew.  He had spent many years in Scathia.  It was a dangerous place.  The crowd only saw the wonderful smiling performer that Frederick portrayed, they never saw the worry that he held underneath.

     Frederick entertained the crowd for hour after hour.  It was well after nine bells by the time people even started to leave.  At that point, Frederick finally claimed to everyone that he was exhausted and could barely sing anymore.  He wished everyone a life of happiness and a good evening.  Then singing a short song of goodbye and thanks, he jumped down off of the bar where he had ended up.  Waving to the crowd, he finally exited through the doorway behind the bar where he would be out of sight. 

     He found himself in the kitchen, where he took the opportunity to sit down on a tall stool for a well-earned rest.  Moments later, a very excited Master Hager poked his head through the doorway and said, “A most wonderful performance Master Frederick.  Simply wonderful!  The best we have had in many years.  And so many people!  I must get back to them.  I shall return shortly.”  And with that, he ducked back out of the doorway and back into his still crowded bar.

     The kitchen was empty.  It seemed that there was no food being served that night, only lots of beer.  He wasn’t surprised, it had been too crowded and wild anyway.  He sat and thought for a few minutes about the two Scathian “guests” out front.  Maybe he should just go talk to them?  It might be interesting to hear what they had to say as to why they were there.

     He was just about to make his way back into the bar when Master Hager came back into the kitchen carrying two small burlap pouches.  “A wonderful evening Master Frederick,” he said again.  “Wonderful!”  Then he set the two pouches on the counter next to Frederick.  “Just as I promised you, twenty-five silvers!” he said almost proudly.  “And there were many coppers in the tip box we set out for you too.”

     Frederick hadn’t even seen the tip box, although it was a standard practice to have one whenever a minstrel performed.  He picked up one of the bags and dumped it on the counter…copper coins.  He smiled and raked them back into the bag.  He dumped out the other bag…silver coins.  He counted out fifteen and raked them back into their bag.  Then picking up the ten remaining coins, he handed them back to Master Hager.  “It was such a wonderful evening and your beer was so fine, that I simply cannot accept more than fifteen.”  Master Hager looked at him in astonishment.  He had never heard of anyone not accepting more money, but the coins quickly disappeared into one of his pockets with a smile.  In truth, Frederick thought, the beer had only been mediocre and fifteen silvers was more than most people saw for many months.  Still with a huge grin on his face, Master Hager offered to get Frederick another beer.  “Not this time,” Frederick said with a smile, “but I would like to know something about two of your guests.”

      “But of course,” Master Hager said, pulling up another stool to sit down.  “Which two?”

      “The two who sat in the back corner.  Dark red cloaks.”

     Master Hager’s face twisted to show his distaste for them.  “Those two,” he said.  “They keep asking a lot of questions and they’re plenty free with their money, but they’re very rude.  I’ll be glad when they’re gone.”

      “What kind of questions?” Frederick asked.

     Master Hager shrugged, “Oh, mostly about the people around here.  Who the local Barons are, what sort of crops we raise.  That sort of thing.  Nothing important.  This morning they were asking about Baron Resik.”  He looked up quickly.  “You know, it’s funny how people you don’t think about for weeks can come up in a conversation.  And then later you hear something awful has happened to them.”

      “What happened?” Frederick asked with growing concern.

      “He was found murdered this afternoon!  They say he was returning home from a trip to town.  Two travelers found his body along with that of his eldest son on the road to his estate.  It’s a terrible thing.  Baron Resik was well liked and respected!”

      “I’m sure he was,” Frederick said.  “Who else have they been asking about?”

      “Just about everybody who’s interesting,” Master Hager said with another shrug.  “But really, that’s only normal for travelers coming through.”

      “Anybody in particular since this morning?”

      “Not really.  They did seem interested in the school though.  We had a bit of a laugh at the fact that it’s called ‘Wizard’s School’ just because Thomas’s last name happens to be Wizard.  It always brings a smile to visitor’s faces.  Can you imagine Master Thomas being a wizard?  From what little I know about wizards, I think he’s way too clumsy for it.  But his school is famous.  It’s made this town prosper!”

     Suddenly every warning bell in Frederick’s body was sounding loudly.  “Well, Master Hager,” he said, standing up with a huge grin, “I simply must be going.  I thank you again for your wonderful hospitality.”

      “No, no,” Master Hager said, “it is I who must thank you for providing us with such a wonderful evening.  It was truly magnificent!”

     There were very few people left in the bar.  The two Scathians were absent, but Tobin and Lisia were still there waiting for him.  They showered him with complements and recollections of their favorite parts of the evening all the way home.  Frederick barely heard them.  He was thinking about Scathians and trouble.

     Tobin left Frederick to climb the steps to Thomas’s house alone while he walked Lisia home.  Inside, Frederick found a red-eyed Anna in a flurry of activity.  Thomas seemed to be frustrated as Anna told him to do one thing then changed her mind and told him to do something else instead.  “Thomas, Anna, I need to talk to you both,” Frederick said to them.  There was something in his voice and manner that stopped both of them in their tracks.

      “What’s wrong?” Thomas asked.

     Frederick sat down at the table and waited until Thomas and Anna sat too.  “Did you know that Baron Resik and his son were found murdered today?”

     Both Thomas and Anna looked aghast.  “No!” they both said together.

     “Baron Resik was a good friend,” Thomas said.  “Two of his younger children attend classes here now.”

      “I taught his oldest for many years.  He was always a good boy.  Very bright,” said Anna in obvious dismay.

      “Did you know there are Scathian assassins in town?” Frederick asked next.

     Both Thomas and Anna sat up straight at that one.  “No!” Thomas said in alarm.

      “Is that what happened to Resik?” Anna asked.

      “Probably,” Frederick answered.  “Master Hager said they were asking questions about the school this afternoon too.  I think you and Anna are in great danger.”

     Thomas looked over at his wife.  “Nothing we can’t handle,” he said both confidently and sadly.

      “I had hoped all that was in the past,” Anna added.  “We’ll take precautions.”

      “I think you should leave here sooner than we talked about earlier.  I’m afraid things may be moving faster than I thought.  You’re obviously in danger here.”

      “Our harvest break is coming up in a few weeks.  The school will be closed for about a month.  Do you think we can wait that long?”

     Frederick smiled.  “I’m sure of it – if you be careful.  Take a few extra precautions.”

      “Don’t worry, we will!” Anna said with conviction.

      “Do me a favor,” Frederick said, thinking about something else.  “Take Master Samuels and his family with you.”

      “To the Archmage’s Fortress?” Thomas asked, clearly shocked.  “He’s not a wizard.  He doesn’t even know that his daughter is one.  Wouldn’t it be forbidden?”

     Frederick smiled.  “Normally, you would be right.  But I have a feeling that he needs to go.  Besides, his daughter does show a lot of talent.”

      “You and your feelings.  Just once I wish you weren’t right!  Iggy’s a good friend, but he’ll never understand.”

      “If he’s such a good friend, you won’t mind saving his life.  Tell him you’re taking him to the University in Chrystallis for a visit.  I’ll bet he’ll jump at the opportunity to go.  I can probably even arrange for you all to get a tour there.”

     Thomas smiled.  “That would be nice.  I was there once, many years ago.  It’s a wonderful place.  Iggy will go positively mad to get a chance just to see it.”

      “Good, I’ll arrange it then.  Oh, and Thomas, please ask Iggy to bring some of his exploding powder ingredients and some of those clay pots he put it in.  Just tell him not to mix any of it together.”

     Thomas snorted.  “Don’t worry, I won’t let him mix anything.  We could all get killed!”

     Tobin came dancing through the door at that point, he was still humming bits of the Grey Beard song.  He stopped dead when he saw the serious looks on everyone’s faces.  His own face went from a world of happiness to one of sincere concern.  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

      “Tobin, my boy,” Frederick said as light heartedly as he could, “how would you like to take a little trip with me?”

     It hadn’t taken long to make the preparations for the trip since Anna had been at it the entire time everyone else had been watching Frederick perform.  Frederick gratefully accepted the loan of Thomas’s two old cart horses to ride.  “They’re not much, but they’re better than walking,” Thomas said of them.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

     As soon as the house had quieted down and a very excited Tobin appeared to be asleep, Thomas and Anna headed outside.  Standing in front of the house about ten feet apart, they each began what almost looked like a dance, their movements exactly the same, fluid and graceful.  It was a well-practiced routine from years of being together.  Only at the very end of the dance did their movements differ.  Then, instead of being the same, they were the exact opposite.  Anna moved a step to her right.  Thomas walked ten feet past her and they started again.  They did this all the way around the house forming an invisible circle of protection.  Only when they had finally come back to where they started did they go back inside.  Neither of them could sleep, so Anna made coffee and they sat enjoying each other’s company.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

     The reddish-black cloaks of the Scathians made them disappear almost totally into the night.  Even with the light of the moon shining down, they were still no more than shadows against the ground.  By the time they approached the house, the moonlight was gone, leaving only the pale pre-dawn light of very early morning.  There was a light in one of the rooms but that didn’t deter them.  Slipping from the forest to the woodpile, they approached the house, silent as a breath.  Only a short piece of open ground and the back porch separated them from the door and their targets.  Moving swiftly together, they rushed for the porch, the element of surprise their greatest weapon.  The excruciating light caught them halfway between the woodpile and the steps.  Two almost simultaneous flashes.  There were no screams, there hadn’t been enough time.  In the blink of an eye their bodies had been incinerated completely to dust. 

 

     Inside, after seeing the intense light, Thomas and Anna hugged each other fiercely.  Anna cried. 

In his bed, Frederick frowned.  It was starting.  He was about to lead innocent people into danger and death…again.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Excerpt from the beginning of The True Book of History

 

     I am Corb.  Feysia is my wife.  We are the first Guides.

     Together we have struggled to develop this written form of language and to teach it to others.  Pitifully few are even interested.

     Now as our children, Tresk and Neysia, take our place in the world, God has given us a new task, to use this written language to record the true history of the world so that mankind can always find the truth and to dispel the many myths that abound.

     As we write this, we feel God’s guidance and pleasure in our efforts.  Our only hope is that our children have more success teaching others than we have had.

     With God’s guidance, we start at the true beginning of it all.

 

Excerpt continued from The Common Book of History

 

     Before time, there was God.  There was no world, no light, no darkness.  Only God.   One God alone.  There can and will be no other god because only God has the power to create.

     And God created the idea.  And into this idea he poured every wonderful thought he could, until he had fashioned a jewel unlike anything anyone would ever know.  And he called this jewel, the ‘World.’

     Then God created the laws.  And he bound the laws and the World together, making them one with each other.  And the World became a living thing.  And its beauty pleased God.

     Then God created the heavens and he placed his jewel in the heavens so that he might watch it.

     Among the first laws that God had created was the law of balance.  Everything must have an equal and exact opposite.  For every push there must be a pull.  For every up there must be a down.  For every hot there must be a cold.  And the world was bound by that law.  In this way, God created the sun so that the beauty of the world could be seen in its light and he created the night, and the stars, and the moon, so that he could see its beauty in a different light.  And God was pleased.

     God recognized that as a living thing the World must evolve, so He created the trees, and grasses, and vegetation that cover the World.  He created the many animals and fish and birds that inhabit the world.  And God was pleased.

     But God knew that as a living thing, the World needed something more, something that could interact with the vegetation and animals, and in many ways make the World constantly change.  So God created mankind.  And just as he did to create balance with the darkness and the light, so God created both men and women together.  And into them he placed the many seeds and abilities that would enable mankind to change, and to learn, and to become more than what they were.  And God was pleased.

 

Excerpt continued from The True Book of History

 

     And God realized that at times, man would need some extra help.  So God created the Guides. 

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