“You could have a friend if you wanted” Gail said as she ran a finger along Jason’s bare forearm.
“Leave the boy alone Gail” Howard Morgan, the owner of the tavern said as he approached the pair. “He is too young for you for anyway, as for you young man, what can I get for you?”
“Ale” Jason replied. “And in a covered bucket if you don’t mind. You know I will bring it back or make you another one.”
“I figured that was what you wanted” Howard said as he produced a bucket. “Tell your Da I said it’s on the house, he really did good by me a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t get a chance to see him to pay him back.”
“Shoeing that mule of yours?” Jason asked.
“For a big lad like you that was nothing” Howard replied. “But to a thin old man it was a great boon. I am just happy I ran into him, I know your Da doesn’t leave from around his house much.”
“Well I will take this and toast the first drink to you” Jason said as he grabbed the bucket. “Have a good day Mr. Morgan and you as well Ms. Halfin.”
Jason got up with the bucket and left as Howard was wishing him well. Jason had just made it out of the door when he almost ran two people over. Jason hurried with his apologies then inwardly groaned as he saw Agatha along with her friend Kathryn Norwood. Kathryn was a plain looking girl who carried a few extra pounds on her. Kathryn’s father was a baker who made most of the bread and cakes for sale in Gaol, even Howard bought from him instead of making his own. Kathryn helped make the bread and during her off time followed Agatha around like a lost puppy. Jason knew Kathryn liked him and thought she would have made a decent match, if her shortcomings were not so huge. It was well known Kathryn was always willing for the right guy, if the rumors were correct then she had taken the virginity of nine or ten of the boys in town around Jason’s age. Jason normally didn’t care about a woman’s sexual practices as it related to her suitability as a mate but most of those guys were friends of each other and two even bragged they went at her in the same encounter. The other reason, promiscuity aside, was that she liked to drink a little too much. If she wasn’t at work or in someone’s bed she could always be found with a drink in her hand.
“Sorry” Jason said as he went to move out of their way, Agatha instead blocked his path.
“Why Jason Smith, didn’t your father teach you any manners” Agatha said in a playful voice.
“Sorry I didn’t see you there, hope the rest of your day goes better” Jason said as he moved away and was irritated when Agatha got into his way again.
“The least you can do is buy a girl a drink” Agatha teased. “What do you think Kathryn, does he owe us a drink?”
“I-I think he does” Kathryn replied looking up at Jason.
“Perhaps you are right” Jason said and grasped Agatha’s hand. The girl was so shocked he touched her that she didn’t realize he had placed three coppers in her palm and had moved around her so smoothly that by the time she checked her hand Jason was already walking away.
“What is this for?” Agatha said confused.
“It is for your drinks” Jason replied.
Jason walked the rest of the way home without incident, too many people were fixated on the tavern which meant he didn’t have anyone attempt to fight him. Just as the sun went down, Jason arrived at home and put his bucket of ale down on the kitchen table.
“Well you took your time getting back” his father said looking over at him. “You run into trouble?”
“Yes and no” Jason sighed. “Well not exactly fighting trouble, but trouble nonetheless.”
“What happened?” his father asked as he placed two cups on the table followed by two plates of food.
“Gail Halfin is what happened” Jason replied. “And it only got worse from there.”
“What did that troublesome woman want?” his father asked as he dipped his cup into the bucket of ale. “She is the kind of woman all men better stay away from, a pretty smile, bright hazel eyes and breasts that beg to be freed. They blind men to the snake that is hiding within, your grandfather gave me good advice on a woman like her.”
“Advice?” Jason asked. Jason’s father had never really talked about his father before except to say the man was rough and always sought perfection. Jason had thought his father didn’t regret packing up and leaving his former kingdom.
“He told me if I ever see a beautiful woman over the age of twenty that is single then I better avoid her like a rampaging bull” his father began and pointed at Jason for effect. “A pretty woman has no business being single, the only reason for that is if she is crazy. No matter how pretty a woman is, somewhere, someone was tired of putting up with her so he left her single.”
“That doesn’t sound right” Jason replied. “You are single and the women in town seem to like the way you look well enough. I don’t think you are crazy. Pretty girls might have a high standard and don’t want to settle. Besides, what if a woman just wants to be single because she is tired of putting up with men?”
“I thought that way once as well” his father said as he took a drink of ale. “But every pretty face I have come across has had some crazy in them. Men naturally want a pretty woman to come home to, Gail is perfection walking and she hasn’t been married since her husband died and that was before you were born. What reason can you give me why a woman that looks like she does is single?”
“Agatha is even prettier than her mother and she is still single because she has her sights set on Patrick Dawson” Jason retorted.
“Agatha is still a year away from twenty” his father replied with a smile. “And even if she was over twenty, why aren’t you interested in her? You just said she was pretty, in fact you probably think she is the prettiest girl here and in any of the surrounding towns.”
“Well being pretty is not the only reason I would go for a girl” Jason replied. “She has to have a good head on her shoulders.”
“You mean she can't be crazy?” his father said and smirked.
“Okay you win this round but I haven’t given up trying to prove you wrong” Jason replied.
“Well you just keep trying” his father laughed. “I still haven’t been able to disprove it.”
“Da do you know the seekers are supposed to be here tomorrow?” Jason asked. “Gail Halfin told me when I ran into her.”
“Is that what you meant when you said it only got worse from there?” Jason’s father asked.
“Not exactly” Jason replied. “After she told me, I got up to leave and almost ran over Agatha and Kathryn Norwood. That was the what I meant about things getting worse.”
“That Norwood girl will make someone a decent wife if she ever stops her wild ways” Jason Sr. said and nodded his head. “She is a hard worker that just loves men too much and wine even more.”
“Well Agatha didn’t want to let me leave after I bumped into her and kept blocking my path trying to be flirty” Jason said. “She tried to get me to buy her a drink, I eventually surprised her by just placing a few coppers in her hands and maneuvering my way out of there. By the way, old Howard gave us this ale for free for you shoeing his mule.”
“You make sure he gets this bucket back then” Jason Sr. replied. “So these seekers are coming tomorrow, are you nervous?”
“Of course I am nervous” Jason replied. “I know they won't leave for another week or two but I could be gone for a long time.”
“So when are we going to check?” Jason Sr. asked.
“Tomorrow” Jason replied. “I don’t want to put anything off for longer than it has to be.”
CHAPTER 3
Jason and his father walked into town and could see Gaol looked much busier than usual. The Seekers were supposed to come every other year but had missed a year so now everyone was excited to be tested. Almost all of the young people or their parents worked for Baron Dawson, finding out they had the gift would remove them from their current position and offer more money and opportunity. Mages only
had to go to some kind of training and then after that they could work exclusively for the kingdom which hardly anyone did. Nobles were eager to get mage blood into their bloodlines, dowries were presented to male mages for marrying some noble girl and female mages were wooed by the rich nobles. Rich commoner merchants even got in on the deal and paid mages handsomely to do work that would normally take many man hours to complete.
“Well it looks like your information was spot on” Jason Sr. said looking around at the crowds.
“I guess so” Jason replied. “But why did we have to come here dressed up like this?”
“Never meet an important day dressed like a beggar” Jason Sr. replied. “This could be a big day for both of us, always meet it at your best.”
“I guess that makes sense” Jason replied. “But just look at this crowd, I bet Patrick Dawson is just reveling in it.”
“He probably is” Jason Sr. replied. “He has been telling anyone who would listen that he is a mage. I aint never seen him do any magic though, just brag way too much.”
“Me either” Jason replied. “But as much as I hate to admit it, he is probably telling the truth.”
“That is just the way it is some times son” Jason Sr. said and shook his head. “Some people are just born lucky, he was born into money and power and on top of all of that he is a mage. Can’t be to mad at him though, if I had a choice I would take his upbringing over mine.”
“I sure in the pit wouldn’t” Jason replied. “I got my own stuff to be thankful for. I can work metal and make amazing things with these hands. And I know it sounds vain but I rather like how I look compared to him. People around here don’t even know I’m adopted.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason Sr. asked.
“Every woman we pass by looks back at you” Jason replied. “It has been that way ever since I can remember. Big Jason Smith with the pretty blue eyes, fair skin and sun colored hair, even girls my age wouldn’t mind giving you a tumble if you asked. I don’t have the hair or the eyes but I got the height and the build, not to mention the square chin and dimples. Everyone thinks I came from you, pretty boy.”
“I aint no pretty boy” Jason Sr. replied. “And your build is better than mine is, I work long and hard to keep my body in its best shape, never know when you have to use it. You would look like an ox whether you worked out or not.”
“Yeah yeah old man” Jason replied. “Well we might as well stand in this line.”
“You can stand in that line” Jason Sr. replied. “I am going to get some ale and will meet you back here in an hour, but I think a crowd like this might take 3 or 4 hours to go away. I can already recognize some faces from the other towns, everyone must have been told to come this way. We are a small out of the way barony as it is, no one likes coming over to see us.”
“So you are going to have some ale why I have to stand here in this line?” Jason asked. “If I see old Gail I am going to make sure to send her your way along with anyone else who asks about my father. I am going to tell them you are drinking your troubles away because of your inability to find a woman.”
“You wouldn’t dare” Jason Sr. replied then narrowed his eyes at Jason.
“I would dare” Jason said giving his father a smile.
“And if just one comes in there looking for me I am going to tell them my problem is you” Jason Sr. replied. “That I am upset you can’t find a woman and that you are painfully shy. I will ask if they could help you out.”
“Well then we both are going to toss each other under the wagon” Jason replied. “Well I might as well get this over with.”
Jason stood at the back of the line and could hear how excited everyone was to see mages. Jason had never come out to see them before, after what his father told him about the day he was found and the days preceding it, it painted mages in a negative light. Jason Sr. used to be an initiate studying to become a paladin for the Light Bringer. Paladins were warriors who could channel the Light Bringer’s power, the power to heal. Jason’s father told him the Light Bringer was different from Sapina, the god most people in the kingdom followed. Jason still didn’t believe some of what his father said, but enough of it sounded plausible now he had grown up a little. Jason’s father had told him that during the final battle against the Sorrow Bringer, all the followers of the Light Bringer had joined forces. Apparently something called trolls, dwarves, orcs and elves had fought alongside of humans to bring the Sorrow Bringer down. Trolls supposedly looked like tall fat humans who were naturally slimy, his father had told him they had green skin and hair as dark as Jason’s was. Trolls could heal from any wound that wasn’t fatal, that included growing back a limb in a matter of hours. Dwarves were short and stocky, twice as wide around the chest as any normal man their height should be. Jason Sr. had told him they looked like strong half men and always grew long bushy beards. Jason had seen a half man before but they were far from the brutes his father described, Jason Sr. had told him dwarves had big short arms and always wielded a blunt weapon and could fight well in their heavy armor and shield. Jason Sr. had told him unless someone knew what to look for, dwarves and elves could be mistaken for human. Elves were taller and thinner than humans were, Jason Sr. told him he had a hard time telling the males apart from the females at first glance. The females had curves but they were slight and all elves were the same height, like the dwarves they each had the same eye color. Elves had eyes as blue as the sky while dwarves had dark eyes like Jason himself did. Jason Sr. described elves as having poor strength but terrific grace and balance, they could fight with a sword if it was small enough but greatly preferred the bow. The orcs though were the people that interested Jason the most whether they were fake or not. Orcs looked like dark muscular elves, they had pointed teeth and small claws on each finger. Jason Sr. had told him that the orcs were fearless, none of them ever backed down from a challenge no matter how outnumbered they would be. Apparently during the last battle Jason Sr. was in, the Sorrow Bringer had his own warriors that could fight on after death and mage priests that could raise the dead. These mages fought and one had struck Jason Sr., which was the reason he had a mangled hand. Jason had no reason to see a mage after hearing one had wounded his father but Jason couldn’t believe the entire story as it was told to him.
If there were orcs, dwarves, trolls and elves, then why hasn’t anyone ever seen any? Jason Sr. had told him that people in other lands like the kingdom he came from routinely saw the other races. The reason no one in their kingdom ever saw anyone is because they were the chosen people of the god Sapina. Sapina was the goddess of humans, the other races had their own gods and were wary of each other. Each god supposedly had their own part of the world where a barrier was erected that none of the other races could penetrate. Sapin was the area the goddess Sapina protected, only humans could enter the kingdom. The Kingdom closest to Sapina, Failia had no such protection so while the other races were rarely seen, they were seen enough that they weren’t myth. That wasn’t a good enough answer for Jason though, his father seemed to know a lot about the Light Bringer that could be collaborated, but no one had ever heard of the other gods he spoke of except for Sapina. The problem was that it was just enough truth in some of the stuff he said when it came to the gods. Mages were Sapina’s chosen, the goddess had concentrated her power to keep her people safe in a few of her followers. The Light Bringer though was different, those with enough piety could become a priest. Those the priests found worthy enough became paladins, warriors who could do similar tricks that a priest could, just on a lesser level. Jason Sr. had even spoke of the Light Bringer’s Champion, a paladin that had a portion of the Light Bringer’s power. Jason had seen followers of the Light Bringer and decided he didn’t like them too much, the rules they had were beyond stupid. The priests could not have children or even a relationship with anyone other than the Light Bringer. While the Paladins could be married and have children, Initiates could only marry but were forbidden to have chil
dren. The Light Bringers followers believed only the children of a paladin could become the next Champion and that children got in the way of an initiate’s studying. Jason Sr. knew his wife couldn’t have children and left, his wife is the one who gave him the name Jason Jr. and she wanted to raise Jason in her original kingdom, Sapin. Jason Sr. had told Jason that his wife Maxine was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. When he finally made it to Sapin, Maxine caught the eye of a mage who tried to ravish her. Jason came upon the man ravishing his wife while baby Jason cried next to her, Jason Sr. killed the mage but not before the man got a spell off that killed Maxine. That was the second reason Jason hated mages and had no desire to see one. He wondered what his father thought about Jason being a mage then put it out of his mind as Agatha came walking up.
“Look who is going to get tested, the second most desirable man in town” Agatha replied playfully. “Well probably sixth now, but the people above you just have more money and power. You definitely have them in the looks department.”
“What do you want Agatha?” Jason said as he sighed. “Why don’t you go find the other five people in front of me then?”
“Is someone a little jealous?” Agatha asked. “You can’t possibly hope to compete with Baron Dawson or Patrick Dawson, they aren’t much to look at but women are different than men, we aren’t just looking for a pretty face, the Dawson’s are both rich and powerful. There are also two mages in town now, one is a commoner though but the power they exude makes any girl want them.”
“You only named four people” Jason said and shook his head. “It doesn’t manner, why don’t you spread your cheer to those other folks?”
“Well I can’t put you in front of your father” Agatha replied. “He is handsome and he has his own house and business. He has to be number five compared to those others I mentioned.”
“Now that you got that out, are you done?” Jason asked. “I just want to get this whole thing over with and go home without hearing about how lousy I am.”
The Warrior of Sapin Page 2
