The Helm of Time

by A L Issett

  “Turn around we need to get out of here,” Jennifer said as Tanner started wheeling the carriage he was driving about. Soon they had both carriages about and started down the road from the way they came until Jennifer called a halt by the side of the road.

  “The attacks have already started,” Jennifer said to her assembled team. “Three schools have already been hit. One had been thoroughly attacked with the majority of both staff and students killed. Everyone of our Hand members also died in the attack. After that strike the second school also was taken out but the attackers were destroyed and the Tavorians had a lot more survivors. On the third school they were ready and waiting when the attack came and that group of attackers were destroyed before they could do anything. We may have to be here for a while but right now we need a different plan to get into the city. All of the teams were to pose as mages. I am sure someone has figured it out and will be looking for mages who don’t quite fit. Tanner knows how to fight but not how to blend in which will make things even harder.”

  “Can we say we are hunters looking for new ground?” Tanner asked. “All cities need someone to go out into brush and kill up some food.”

  “If no one has any better idea then that is the plan until we can figure something else out,” Nance replied.

  CHAPTER 6

  Mary

  Mary had cried herself to sleep again. It had been three weeks since she had been here and became queasy at not getting her relief. She had already taken it today but now the Regent’s pet mage was back in her room standing over her, the son of Baronet Greenley, Todd.

  “Hello Mary,” Todd said with a predatory smile. “The Regent wants you to write your husband to boost his morale and let him know you are being treated kindly. Now we both know you normally need some persuading so I am going to help you out.”

  Mary could hear Todd whisper the words then suddenly she was in a small vortex, unable to breathe. Mary grabbed her tray and flung it at the man as he laughed and stepped out of the way. Mary choked and eventually passed out. Todd woke her up again and cast his air spell again. This went on for five or six times until Mary was left crying on the floor.

  “Now Mary I really wish I could say I don’t enjoy this but I do. I hate your husband and your stupid brother,” Todd said smiling. “You won’t tell them about my little visits will you? The Regent thinks that wouldn’t be a good idea. Now I wanted you to write your husband a letter.”

  “Mary cried as she picked up her quill and ink. She had to let Tanner know the Regent was a liar no matter how many believed in his cause. Mary would use a code, she wrote her letter using words that Tanner would have hated, he preferred small simple words. The ones Mary used were big and cumbersome, many of them she found in the books the Regent had given her to read. Mary finished and sprayed the perfume on it that was given to her. She never wore perfume and figured the scent would further let Tanner know about her captivity. She gave the letter to Todd as he patted the top of her head as laughed as he walked out the door. Mary stayed in her room crying until lunch when the Regent joined her.

  “I hear you and Todd had a disagreement,” the Regent said as he sat down. “Mary as long as you are here I really do care about your wellbeing, I hate to see you hurt. Things here could be a lot nicer for you if only you would let it. Your husband is doing something important for all of Ket and needs all the love he can get. Right now though he is on the Green like you are but he has adapted and is doing quite well. All of his instructors like him and have asked if there was any way to keep him once the mission is over. They were disappointed when I told them no. I have to go away for a few days, while I am gone you will be watched but Todd will not visit you until I come back and then not at all if you continue to stay agreeable. During the time I am gone I want you to make something for your husband, something he can wear or look at when he is feeling down. You will get your relief in your food, provided that you stop eating in your room and eat with the Queen. She has more than enough to tide you both over.”

  Mary watched him go and breathed a sigh of relief. She had already received her relief for the day so she could stay put until breakfast tomorrow. Mary picked up her needle and decide to make Tanner a handkerchief, a silk one. Tanner had saw the things as a waste of space, silk was not absorbent and if you blew you nose into it your mucus would just get all over the place. Mary had made it a point to try to get fine wool or cotton after that. Tomorrow she would have to face her brother who had thankfully stopped visiting her since she had ignored him or yelled at him. The next day came much too quick.

  “Mary you are joining us!” Princess Caroline said as she gave Mary a hug. “I have been worried about you all locked up in your room. Come sit next to me and your brother, you don’t have to go through missing Tanner alone, we all are worried about him.”

  Mary gave Caroline a tight lipped smile and was amazed at her naiveté. Mary took one glance at the Queen and could tell the woman was way too stiff for it to be natural. She was infected by the poison but looking around Mary could tell neither Caroline nor Golden had been affected. The Queen was the top of the food chain, by her acting the part she quickly got everyone else in line. The Regent was charismatic and no doubt had plenty of people ready to spy at a moment’s notice about her actions.

  “No thank you Your Highness, I prefer to be far away from my father’s son,” Mary said as she took a seat opposite I from the table. The Queen nodded at her and passed her a goblet. Mary could smell the relief inside of it mixed with water and downed the whole thing. She loved the taste of it, many would find it much too bitter but it brought her salvation. Mary watched as Maude came down and smiled at her and set a steaming tray of wild boar meat complete with potatoes in some kind of cream. The Regent had demanded to know her favorite meal so he could have it prepared. After a night of dealing with the Green she told him wild boar meat and potatoes. Since then Maude had made many different recipes of it.

  “Is that boar meat and potatoes?” Golden said as he looked at Mary’s tray.

  “Yes it is, meat came in fresh today just for Mary,” Maude beamed.

  “Well it must be some type of mistake, Mary has hated boar since she was a little girl. Why just a couple of months ago she was yelling at Tanner for cooking it the house and potatoes she has always hated,” Golden said as he reached for Mary’s plate as she pulled it away.

  “Please do not touch my food, you have no right,” Mary said as she stared angrily into Golden’s eyes and saw the surprise there.

  “I only was trying to help, I know…” Golden never got to finish the statement as Mary continued.

  “I neither want or need any help from you, now please leave me and my food alone,” Mary replied.

  “Mary I know you hate this you have since you were little,” Golden pleaded.

  “I am positive we do not know each other the way we thought we once did,” Mary said and let the insinuation hang in the air. She could see everyone else had stopped what they were doing and stood or sat there mortified, unsure of how to proceed.

  “Mary, I heard the Regent say it was your favorite dish. If I had known…” Maude said somewhat ashamed. “Just give me that plate and I will switch it out.”

  “The plate is fine, my father’s son is mistaken,” Mary replied as she gave the woman a smile. “It is of no fault of his, I didn’t like these growing up. Just like many people who finally grow up, we turn out the opposite of who people thought we were.”

  Maude nodded and ducked out of the room as Mary first tried her potatoes. She still hated every bit of them and along with the boar made her stomach want to retch every time. But it was her pennace, Tanner was probably eating far worse than this. The rest of the meal went easy enough. Caroline could feel the tension in the air and wisely stopped trying to engage her in conversation. Golden would stare at her like he wanted to say something but wisely chose not to. Over the next two weeks thing went pretty much the same. Mary would hold small conversations with Ca
roline but whenever Golden joined in she made sure not to engage him or the conversation. Caroline had tried to bridge the divide but eventually gave up. When the Regent returned he was only around for a day or so before taking the handkerchief Mary had made then took off again, probably to see Tanner. Thankfully Golden went with him. With her brother gone she could engage the women regularly in conversation and found out both he and the Queen were lonely. I had Golden and gossiped about if he would ever properly court her once the war was over or when the Regent gave him the title of Baronet. Mary ignored this talk but could see the girl was happy. The Regent was smoother than I thought possible.

  CHAPTER 7

  Tanner

  Tanner could feel something tugging at him, he was not sure if it was the sword or something deeper in his mind but knew he had to follow it. He had felt it ever since he entered the city, now in the silence of night the call was overwhelming. Tanner silently got up and opened the window of the small house he was staying in with the rest of the team. Currently their team had been successful in trying to pass themselves off as hunters, the new guild that started welcomed them easily enough and even gave them a patch of land to ply their trade. Of course Tanner was the only one with any experience but the others would learn soon enough. Tanner dropped out of the window silently and began stalking. There was a curfew in effect, apparently magic schools had been targeted with one of them completely destroyed. One of the only schools that hadn’t been hit was one in the city they were in. Tanner found a taller building and quickly scaled it, thankful for the training he received from the Hand as he stalked across the building. People on patrol rarely looked up, this Tanner was counting on as he felt the tug. Tanner had jumped onto more than twenty or so rooftops when he felt someone following him and disappeared in the shadow of a chimney. Tanner laid flat on the roof and waited for his pursuer. An hour past and Tanner laid there unmoving until he saw movement. There was only one of them following, a black clad figure walked right past him and stopped to look around. Fast as a cat Tanner put his hand over the mouth of the girl and another around her midsections pinning her arms to her side and brought her down flat on the roof.

  “Why are you following me Ashley?” Tanner asked as he started into her brown eyes.

  “I wanted to see where you were going,” Ashley whispered.

  Tanner could feel her warm body beneath him and quickly became aroused as he scrambled away from her. She apparently noticed from the slight smile on her face. “Go back Ashley,” Tanner demanded as he was happy the darkness would hide any blushing.

  “No, I want to see where you are going. Jennifer or Nance didn’t give you permission to leave did they?” Ashley said as she folded her arms.

  “Jennifer and Nance can choke on horse cock and die,” Tanner replied. “Now go.”

  “No,” Ashley replied and smiled. “You might need help.”

  “I don’t want your bloody help, now go,” Tanner said angrily as they could hear voices below, probably a passing patrol.

  “You act so secretive all the time and I am bored, I am following you,” Ashley said, her voice more pronounced.

  Tanner sighed then took off quickly, trading stealth for speed in an attempt to gain distance. He could hear her below him but knew she could not keep up. After two more hours of playing hide and seek on the rooftops Tanner could feel he was close to his prize. The building looked like a museum of some sort, it was a block away from the magic school and looked to be made of marble. Tanner could see the building had at least two guards, he could kill them but then that would be suspicious and force the authorities to look deeper into any newcomers. Tanner sat on the roof in front of the building and tried to come up with a plan on how to enter the two story.

  “So that is where we are going,” Ashley said out of breath. “You move fast when you want to. What do you want in there?”

  “I don’t know yet, but when I see it I will,” Tanner replied.

  “You ran all this way for something you don’t even know what it is yet?” Ashley said still breathing hard. “Well if I get you inside, you owe me.”

  Before Tanner could reply to anything Ashley took out a wand and went through a complicated casting. Tanner could see she was burning through her magical energy and the spell left her at less than twenty percent. Tanner looked at the guard out front and heard him yawn. The man sat down on the step he was on and looked to have fallen asleep which only left the rover to deal with. The man alternated between walking the outside of the building and the inside. Currently he was walking around the building but would be back soon. Tanner hurriedly jumped down and closed the distance to the sleeping man.

  “It only works for an hour,” Ashley said as she grabbed one of the man’s arms. “Help me bring him inside.”

  Tanner hoisted the armored man up and carried him into the building. The building inside was somewhat dark but had candles lit so the guards wouldn’t bump into anything. Tanner could feel the tug going straight ahead so he hid the guard and went as fast as he dared. He didn’t have to go far as his eyes focused on a simple helm. It was the type worn by common soldiers , it was a steel cap that covered the back and sides of the head but left the front where the face goes open. Only a flat steel bar shot out which widened at the bottom to protect the wearer’s nose but left the eyes open.

  “You came all this way for an ugly helm?” Ashley said annoyed. “Well hurry up and grab it so we can go.”

  Tanner took the helm off the pedestal it was on. The placard below it said it had belonged to Xander the Red which made Tanner’s heart pump with excitement. This Xander, whoever the legendary figure was had been the same person who had made the sword. Tanner turned to leave as he heard someone calling out.

  “Harley where the hell are you?” an annoyed voice said. “I swear if you have went off to relieve yourself without letting me know again I am going to ask the boss to fire you.”

  Tanner went to all fours and stuck to the shadows and began crawling along the sides. The guard was walking around calling out Harley’s name until someone from upstairs told him to shut up. Tanner froze as he heard footsteps descending from the stairs.

  “Why are you making all of that noise Bill?” the other voice said. “Are you still sore I got put at the top floor? You were right, reading books from the ancient amazons is great although I don’t think your story about some magic boy is worthy of the status you give it.”

  “Shut up Cedar” Bill replied. “I am looking for that idiot Harley, he disappeared again. Is he upstairs?”

  “I don’t know I am too busy with my reading, why don’t I check upstairs and you see if he didn’t run around back to relieve himself.”

  Tanner stayed silent as footsteps retreated upstairs and another set went towards the door. Tanner watched the man go out and to the left. Tanner held the helm in his hand and waited for a ten count then bolted as quickly as possible to his observation point and climbed the building with amazing speed. Tanner waited for Ashley to follow then took off a lot more carefully then back to the house he was sharing. When he slid open the window he was surprised to see all of his teammates already up and in their assassin gear.

  “Where the in the fuck have you been?” Nance said angrily.

  “I needed some alone time,” Tanner replied.

  “Where is Ashley?” Jennifer asked.

  “She is coming,” Tanner replied as Ashley came through the window.

  “You owe me Tanner,” Ashley said as she looked around at everyone assembled.

  “So you guys disappear and I am just supposed to accept it?” Nance asked.

  “I broke into a museum to test my skill and took this helm,” Tanner said as he held it up. “Ashley saw me leave and refused to go back.”

  “You snuck out to go into a museum for an ugly helm?” Nance said unbelievingly. “While you are here everything goes through me or Jennifer.”

  “Shut your cock hole,” Tanner said as he felt his temperature rise. �
�I don’t give a shit about your rule or your regulations. In fact I have been tired of living in fear like some old crone frightened of spiders or something. You can stuff it, I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t stole my Mary and every time I look at you, Gerty or Jennifer I want to punch you in the face.”

  Tanner eyed Nance as the man stood there amazed at Tanner’s attitude. Tanner had been his good little boy always trying to please but now the cat was back out of the bag. Tanner knew he would have pain, unmanageable pain in his future but did not care. Tanner set down his sword and put the helm on his head. He could hear a slight buzzing noise followed by a lot of pain, Tanner went to cry out but promptly fell unconscious.

  When Tanner awoke he was lying on the furs he had slept on previously. He could see Dannon in the room with him and sat up.

  “Well look is back amongst the living,” Dannon said with a smile. “I had wondered what they had on you, it had to be a reason you stayed with us. You were not brought up an assassin and had skills that would have put you in the first team. Ashley has been giving you the side eye for a while and so has Jennifer yet you had not dipped your wick in either of them. Your wife was taken to ensure your compliance, simple blackmail. Me, Ashley and Ransom heard the whole sordid story. So did you really kill the people we replaced?”