by Guy Antibes
“Impossibly so,” Okiku said. “I have never heard of such a feat aided or unaided.”
“I said I teleported when I was about to fall into the chasm. I didn’t tell you that I teleported from a keep on the other side of Dorkansee to Raker Falls in Corand, but I used up an object of power doing it.”
“Akkora’s blessed! You are truly a rare wizard in the world,” Okiku said. “Did your mentor school you well?”
Jack laughed. “I know less than twenty spells. Fasher doesn’t want me to kill myself.”
“Yet he sends you to Masukai with an old wizard and two mercenaries? Even now, your chances of survival are questionable,” Okiku said.
Jack shrugged. “I’m stupid enough to have accepted the errand.”
“Or you give honor to your mentor. Which is it?”
“A bit of both, I guess. My friends are honorable, so they can give Fasher the honor, and I’ll be the stupid one,” Jack said. “It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll do what I can.”
“What do those wrist guards do? I can sense power in them.”
“A gift from a goddess, but not Akkora,” Jack said. “I suppose you will demand a demonstration.”
“Of course. Why would I bring it up were it otherwise?”
Jack pointed the red cuff at the pond and threw water at it, and then he covered it with a thin layer of ice. “Water and ice. Red and blue,” he said, “but this isn’t my magic, it is Eldora’s.”
“The Tesorian goddess? Let me touch you when you use the red cuff.” Okiku laid her hand on the cuff.
Jack spelled water on the ice, melting most of it.
“It is an amazing object. I don’t know where the water comes from, but it takes little power from you. No trigger word?”
Jack shook his head. “I use my will to make it work.”
“And they don’t look that much different from what our warriors wear. You have other objects in the cart? I vaguely sensed them.”
Jack described the other objects that he had made, principally the sword, knife, and the copy of the Serpent’s Orb. He did not reveal anything about Takia’s Cup or that he would be termed a Takia’s Font. He had kept Lajia out of his conversation since he noticed Grigar had scrupulously avoided saying he was from Lajia once he was introduced to Kiro Ganshi.
“Most of Akkora’s blessed don’t make objects of power,” she said. “You are unique.”
“My father has told me that many times just before he beat me for bad behavior.”
Okiku chuckled. “You have behaved badly in the past?”
Jack nodded. “I didn’t honor my parents when I was younger and barely honor them now.”
“That fact alone won’t disqualify you from the Pearl Mist,” Okiku said. “You seem to be in control of yourself.”
“At present,” Jack said. “I hope to keep it that way while I am in Masukai.”
Okiku narrowed her eyes while she looked at him. “There are times to be in control and times to show a different side. I think that is all for now.” Okiku yawned. “I am to bed. The cart shakes these old bones, and that makes me tired.”
“The testing?” Jack asked.
“I know enough for now,” Okiku said.
~
When they left in the morning, fifteen strangers who stayed at the inn trailed the seven travelers.
“We are traveling through those hills,” Namori said to Jack. She pointed to a bluish line of mountains to the west. The looked like jagged teeth poking out of the countryside. “The empire can’t entirely remove the brigands that live there. It isn’t from not trying, it’s because there are caves and twisted paths that lead to little valleys. It is rough country, and the bigger the group, the safer.”
Jack looked back at the wagon, two carts, riders, and walkers trailing after them. “Do we look so lethal that they would want to hang on to us?”
Namori smiled. “Actually, yes. Okiku is wearing her wizard robe. She is telling them that she is a tenth-level wizard.”
“Should I be wearing a robe?” Jack asked. He hoped not. He wasn’t a fan of wearing robes, especially now. He had been told warriors didn’t always dress in robes, so he decided he would dress like a warrior before they left Taiyo.
“You could, but it would be presumptuous until you are formally rated by the Pearl Mist trainers in Yomomai.”
“One shouldn’t be presumptuous,” Jack said.
Namori gave him a rare smile on the road. “There will be time enough for that during your stay in Masukai.”
Jack wondered what that meant. He shook his head, discarding what Namori said and any speculation about what it might imply. It seemed that his next step was a formal rating in the capital. He was sure that Okiku would have something to say about that.
The hills were farther away than Jack first thought. They reached them midday and stopped at a roadside eating establishment. There was a large outside eating area that filled up with travelers. Jack sat with Namori, Okiku, and the driver. Grigar, Helen, and Tanner were at a small round table. Instead of sitting on the dirt, low benches were matched with the tables in a covered space.
“We will be on the other side of the hills by late afternoon,” Okiku said. “No one wants to spend the night in the hills, for obvious reasons. The peasants claim the hills are haunted, but we know better, don’t we?” She looked at the driver.
“The ghosts and spirits bleed,” the man said. “I have bled them myself. There are swarms of bandits. I heard you already had an experience with them.”
Namori looked at Jack and nudged his hand. “Tell the story.”
Jack was a bit intimidated talking to three Masukaians, since he had to make sure his customary embellishments were modest. He told the story as plainly as he could. Namori was there, so she could verify his account.
“You are too modest,” Namori said. “Jack defeated most of the rabble with his weapon, but not with the sword’s edge but with a mighty wand.”
Jack nodded. “I can project a wizard bolt farther with an imbued wand.”
“Farther?” Okiku asked. “You will have to show me.”
“His wizard bolts begin to lose power at about fifteen or twenty paces,” Namori said.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Okiku said. “I suppose we can save the demonstration for Yomomai if we make it through the Spirits untouched.”
“The Spirits?” Jack asked Namori.
“The hills we will travel through this afternoon.”
“And Grigar did the healing? You both look healthy enough,” Okiku said.
Namori nodded. “He is very good. Jack gave me a few healing rods that he made to speed my recovery.”
Okiku closed her eyes and shook her head. “You know healing spells well enough to put them into objects?”
“I work for a healer,” Jack said. “I’ve had lots of practice.”
The food was served, and the talk turned to the weather, which wasn’t very interesting lately. That meant that the weather was good in Jack’s mind.
They mounted up again and left the inn. The hangers-on scrambled to finish their meal and catch up to them. They encountered steeper versions of the rolling hills that they had passed since Aimaru. Within an hour, they traveled on an upward path that threaded its way through the ever-growing Spirit hills.
Up close the hills looked more rugged. The rocks poked out of heavy vegetation, but the road made its way through little valleys the conical hills created.
Jack heard shouts behind him after half an hour of threading their way to the other side. Brigands had attacked the stragglers. Jack wheeled his horse and reached the rear before Tanner and Helen.
He pulled out his Lajian sword since the fighting might be too close for wizard bolts. More robbers swarmed from the sides of the road. Jack dismounted and shooed his horse back toward the cart. He wore the boiled leather cuirass he had been given in Taiyo on the trail, and it kept him protected, as the fighting became a melee. Grigar and Namori joined them alo
ng with the driver. Okiku had turned around in the cart and observed the fighting from her position on the seat.
Jack barely had time to shoot off a wizard bolt here and there. Most of his efforts were spent defending the hangers-on with the edge of his blade. He had always thought his sword skills deficient, but that was relative, and now he saw how poorly those who sought defense in numbers performed.
The fighting began to spread out. Jack took the opportunity to use his wizard bolts. He clutched Eldora’s box with one hand and shot out bolts through his sword held in his other.
Two robbers confronted him at the same time. One of them had a sword catcher on his hand. The man was more effective in blocking his blows that anyone else had been. He instantly decided to use Takia’s fire on the arm, so he pointed his sword at the man, who flinched and held out the metal-clad glove. Jack bathed the man’s hand in Takia’s fire, making him throw it aside. The distraction allowed his other opponent to thrust him in the back with the point of a sword.
Jack gasped, but the cuirass stopped most of the blade. He whipped around and with his longer reach, cut deeply into the man’s neck. Jack kept twirling to confront the robber whose glove hand was now a bright red. He fought him until Namori ran the man through.
Jack looked around for more of the brigands, but the fight was over. When they laid all the bodies at the side of the road, similar to what they had done between Taiyo and Aimaru, the grisly tally showed eleven robbers. Jack had no idea if they had gotten all of them, but there were five of the hangers-on that had lost their lives. The dead travelers were piled into the wagon.
They spent the next few minutes disbursing the possessions of those who died for their relatives. The robbers were examined for valuables that would also be included in the bags.
Four of those who survived the fight were treated by Grigar, with all but one, riding in the cart while Grigar would continue his ministrations, then he treated the cuts on the fighters.
“Take off your cuirass,” Grigar said to Jack.
Jack did as the older wizard asked. He could feel stickiness.
“Just as I thought. One of the robbers punctured you, but the wound didn’t go deep at all,” the wizard said.
“You don’t let those go untreated,” Okiku said. She handed a jar to Grigar. “Use this on the wounds. It is a special poultice.”
Grigar unplugged the stopper and smelled. He nodded his head. “This smells right,” he said. “It has been fortified.”
Okiku smiled. “We have healing methods of our own,” she said.
Grigar cleaned Jack’s wound with a clean spot on a bloody cloth and applied the ointment. Jack could feel the heat of magical healing.
“You can put your protection back on. We aren’t out of the hills yet,” the driver said.
Another half hour and they were back on the road. Okiku looked through a list of the ranking cards of the slain robbers. Jack rode at her side at her request while Grigar worked on the injured, again using the magic-reinforced ointment.
“About what I expected,” Okiku said. “Mostly farmers and low-ranking tradesmen. There were two sixth-level warriors. I suppose they were the leaders. We will never know.”
Jack looked back, but they had already made a few turns through the Spirit Hills, leaving the dead robbers out of sight.
“See what I said about the ghosts bleeding?” the driver said.
Jack nodded. “Does every trip through these hills involve a battle?”
“One time out of three, in my experience. Okiku didn’t have to perform this time.” He grinned at the woman but still managed to bow as he said it.
“I can fight the ‘spirits’ as well as any, but I wanted to observe you and your friends.”
Jack was surprised the woman chose not to fight if she had before. Five of those who traveled with them had died. Jack was injured, and the others all had cuts that Grigar needed to fix. Okiku didn’t offer to help heal, either. He still had a lot to learn about the Masukaian culture.
“Did we pass your test?” Jack asked.
“It wasn’t a test of arms. I wanted to see how your culture affected your fighting. I’ve never seen foreign fighters in action before. It was an odd experience since each one of you fought a hybrid style, part Masukaian and part Corandian if there is a Corandian style. I could tell the difference from our way of fighting.” Okiku said. “You were the most interesting, combining warrior and mystical skills in a way I have never seen before. I suppose you restrained yourself at times?”
Jack looked blankly at Okiku for a moment before continuing. “Of course I restrained myself. I could have killed all the robbers using my fire spells, but the others would have been killed along with them.”
“And that is a bad thing? We didn’t ask them to accompany us,” the driver said. Okiku nodded along with him.
Jack pressed his lips together and bowed slightly. “I am not accustomed to treating those on my side the same as my enemies.”
Okiku narrowed her eyes. “I see. We treat family and friends that way, but not people whom we haven’t met. It is another cultural difference and one that could be a weakness for you in Masukai.”
“Then I will have to function with a weakness,” Jack said evenly. He was upset, but he couldn’t lose his temper in front of this woman.
“As long as you recognize that,” Okiku said. “We may talk of that another time.“
Jack bowed again and rode to the back of the train of travelers. Helen had stationed herself in the back. One of her hands was bandaged.
She looked at it before she turned to him. “You need to learn how to make that ointment. I like it better than Fasher’s healing. His magic burns too much. This burns, but the ointment feels better.”
“I didn’t come here to be a healer,” Jack said.
Helen winced. “You learned something unpleasant about our hosts?”
“Hosts and hostesses,” Jack said. “They are ruthless. Okiku was wondering why I didn’t use my magic to incinerate everyone in the fighting, including those who chose to travel with us. She didn’t care at all about their lives.”
Helen nodded. “I’ve noticed that. Tanner and I spent more time among the warriors at Namori’s manor. Corandians have a greater value on life than Masukaians do unless you are sworn allies, friends, or family. We don’t even know all their rules, but I think that is why most people are killed when they travel in the countryside. No one cares about them, so they aren’t very bothered to keep them alive,” she said.
“I’m going to have a hard time getting used to that.”
Helen peered into his eyes and spoke in Corandian. “They will see that as a chink in our armor, Jack. My sensibilities aren’t as finely honed as yours, but you will have to toughen up a bit. Tanner and I have talked about it enough on our journey to Yomomai. That isn’t to say life isn’t inconsequential, but you might have to be prepared to take innocent lives to survive. There is no rule that I can see that prohibits you from being as uncaring as the Masukaians are.”
Jack sat back in his saddle. “I understand. Toughen up. You’ve told me that often enough.”
“Toughen up even more.”
Jack didn’t like the conversation, but at least he had voiced his concern to someone he didn’t have to bow to. He did it anyway. “Thank you, Warrior-Seven.”
~
After a brief skirmish with an unknown number of warriors, they left three more robbers’ bodies at the side of the road before descending back into the rolling hills. Jack was more than happy to ride into a large inn and a town somewhat smaller than Aimaru.
He walked through two courtyards to his own room and spread out the blankets. There was no bed in the room, so he collapsed on top of the ubiquitous thick woven matting. Jack was very tired. He fell asleep clutching Eldora’s box to fill up his power. He woke in darkness and spelled a magical light. Someone had delivered a covered tray into his room.
Jack shook his head. He hadn’t even thou
ght to lock his room. He knew better than that, but a yawn told him he needed the sleep more than the sense of security.
The food was cold, but nothing was congealed. He ate in silence and in near-darkness thinking about the quality of life. Jack decided he could never live the rest of his life in Masukai, but he would fulfill the errand and return to Corand, likely never to set foot in Masukai again.
“I wouldn’t be so hasty about abandoning my land,” a female voice said in the darkness.
Jack cringed at the words ‘my land.’ “I am Jack Winder, Warrior-Six, and Wizard-Eight. I haven’t abandoned anyone at this point,” he said. How did the woman know his thoughts? He sighed. “You are Akkora?”
A diffused light surrounded the woman standing in the corner of his room. She walked forward and sat in front of him. Akkora looked like she could be Eldora’s sister, but with dark, straight hair, and maybe she was as far as Jack knew.
The goddess smiled. “I am. You are used to us, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way, but I’m not falling down in worship. I’ve been friendly enough with a god and some goddesses.”
“One goddess before me. You’ve never met Takia,” Akkora said. “She is an unruly woman.”
“Goddess,” Jack said, correcting Akkora.
“As far as I am concerned, woman.”
Jack had to accept that. He had no idea what relationships gods had with one another. “I thought you carried your own world around with you.”
He felt a shift and was in a courtyard, quite different than where he had met Eldora twice. The architecture was Masukaian, and the plants were more like what he had seen in Masukai.
“Is that better?”
Jack shrugged. “What is better?” he said. “This is pleasant, but I had a good sleep in my room, and at the time, that was better.” Jack was a bit surprised at his own flippancy, but that seemed to be the right way to talk to these gods.
“Are you wondering why I am visiting you?” she said.
“You are going to tell me about the Battlebone, I imagine?”
