by Bob Blink
Chapter 47
All the days Jolan had been busy in class, Asari had been left on his own to decide what to do with the time he suddenly had in excess. After the first week of class when Jolan had a two-day break, he’d made his way out of the Inner Court to the inn where Asari now lived to see his friend for the first time in over eight long days.
The walk from the dorms was a cold one, the temperatures having dropped well below freezing and the winds brisk. Snow had been falling off and on the past two days, although so far it had been only a couple of inches, and had been cleared from the walking paths. Still, Jolan was glad to see the inn and hurried inside to his friend’s room.
Immediately on seeing Asari Jolan was concerned. He had a haunted look in his eyes that made him look both lost and forlorn at the same time. His normally animated face was drawn, and at first Jolan wondered if he was sick, but changed his mind when he was invited into the room. Asari became more animated within minutes of Jolan’s arrival, and it was clear the problem was simply loneliness. Asari was completely on his own, without friends, or even anyone to talk with, while Jolan had been busy learning and meeting new people. If Asari was affected this much already, something would have to be done or he’d never make it through the winter. Of course, it could just be the initial adjustment period.
“Long week?” Jolan asked as they waited for their drinks in the Fishbarn a few blocks from the inn. Cobalo was famous for its seafood, and Jolan hadn’t had a chance to try it for himself. Asari had recommended this place, and Jolan readily agreed.
Asari nodded, and it was clear he didn’t want to complain.
“What have you been up to all week?” Jolan asked, hoping to draw his friend out.
“Met a waitress,” Asari said, and told him about the long haired rehead from the Tankard that Jolan had suspected he was interested in.
It soon became apparent that other than a couple of evenings with the waitress, Asari had spent most of the week in the room, the weather bad enough he didn’t feel like sightseeing, and there wasn’t much else to do.
“You could go back to Seret,” Jolan offered. “Ashreye would be ecstatic to see you. It could be just for the winter months. By then this business should be sorted out.”
Asari shook his head. Jolan wondered how much was stubbornness and how much was the fact that a return to Seret would mean a repeat of the boat ride that Asari swore he’d never attempt again. The only other route involved the long trail back into the mountains and down into Seret.
The rest of the evening felt like walking a minefield to Jolan, who could answer Asari’s questions about the College and the people there, but couldn’t ask much about his friend’s activities or plans. He tried once again, suggesting Asari sign up for classes, something he’d hinted at while on the trail here, but which he soundly rejected now. It would have given him something to do, and offered a chance to meet some people, but Jolan could see he’d best stay away from the matter for the moment.
The next day was almost like old times, and they made their way to a winter resort where they were able to indulge in the Angon version of skiing, something Asari did in the mountains, and a sport that Jolan had an off-and-on relationship with back in Colorado. The entire day was spent racing down the various hills, moving up to more difficult runs as Jolan’s experience with the odd fat skis improved. The next day was much of the same, until mid afternoon when they had to make their way back into Cobalo so Jolan could be back at the dorms for class the next morning. Jolan could barely stand the hangdog look on his friend’s face when he left.
After the second week of classes, he’d left to see Asari after leaving the iPhone to recharge in the lab, hoping that his friend had been able to adjust to the situation. In an attempt to break his friend out of the doldrums, he invited Ronoran to meet them at the Tankard that evening. He knew it was a mistake as soon as Ronoran appeared and joined them. Jolan had hoped that Asari would be keen to meet someone, and Ronoran was one of the most friendly, outgoing people Jolan had ever known. He thought the three of them could have a grand time, but Asari clearly saw the presence of Jolan’s new friend as further proof that he was becoming extraneous, and that new people were taking over his importance in Jolan’s life. Fortunately, Ronoran was quick to realize the situation, and bid them a good evening, and fled to chase down one of the waitresses. Jolan saw him leaving the Tankard before too long.
That was why Jolan had come prepared the third weekend with his idea. From the looks of Asari, who was poorly dressed and hadn’t washed, it was none too early.
“What is this thing?” he asked, not sure what Jolan was getting at.
Jolan suspected he was a bit hung over, but pretended not to notice. He wanted to ask Asari about his opinion of the procedure the medical mages wanted to perform, but realized this was not the time for his problems.
“It’s a firearm. Depending on what we learn, it’ll either be a musket or a rifle. I want to see if we can start making them.”
“You mean it’s a big version of the pistol?” Asari asked suddenly a bit more interested.
“That’s right, although a lot more primitive. I don’t know enough about firearm design, and some of the materials simply don’t exist here to build a fully modern weapon, but this would be a first step. If we can find people to build the parts, we should be able to create something that would evolve into a weapon able to shoot accurately enough to engage someone from a hundred yards or more.”
“You mean Cheurt?”
“Ultimately, that’s what I was thinking. Look, here’s the rough design.”
Jolan rolled out a couple of sheets of paper covered with sketches and numbers. He’d made several copies because he guessed they would want to leave drawings with a couple of vendors and see which of them produced the best products.
“It would be a shoulder fired weapon, about three feet long over all. The design I’ve selected to start with is a composite of several early Earth designs, and is a compromise on what we can build at this point. I’d like it to use cartridges, but I’m not sure we can handle all the issues involved in doing so the first time out.”
For the first time since Jolan had moved into the dorms, Asari showed some real interest.
“What do we need to do? And how does it work without the cartridges?”
“This will use loose powder that is poured down the barrel, followed by the projectile. The igniter will be a small cap on the barrel, which will push the flame down to the powder.”
“That sounds messy.”
“It is, but it worked quite well while in use back home. One step at a time. If we can get past this initial concept design, we can show it to some people smarter than I am about mechanical systems and explain how we want to progress. They can probably come up with something better. In the meantime, we’d have something at least functional. But, as to your first question, we’ve got a long list of things that need to be done. This is going to take some time and you’ll have to be the one doing a lot of the leg-work and watching what comes out. When we get together on my off days, we can see what progress has been made.”
Asari nodded.
“I thought we could start in the morning and see what we can find in competent metal-smiths to start on the barrel,” Jolan said. “Here’s the basic drawing we can go over with them. It needs to be from the best steel they have I’d guess, since it has to be strong enough to contain the explosion of the powder, and we want a hole that is a half inch in diameter down the center. One problem right off is going to be how straight they can make a hole that long. It has to go virtually the full length of the barrel. In fact, I’ve got a second option where the hole goes all the way through and there’s a second threaded section that goes on the back end with the touch hole for the primer flash.”
Jolan showed Asari the drawings of pieces he was talking about. It had taken him a long time to convert everything to the local units of measurement from what he could remember of the designs
in Earth units.
“Another thing we need to find is someone to build the action. That’s the trigger and hammer and all the linkages to drop the hammer smoothly and precisely onto the little nipple we will have on the back of the barrel. I was thinking some of the local watchmakers might be able to handle that for us, but maybe there’s a better option.”
“What about the powder?” Asari asked. Jolan had told him about the propellants used inside the cartridge when he’d been teaching him about the weapon.
“We will have to go with black gunpowder for now. I have a pretty good idea how it is made and the materials are pretty common. Maybe later, if we can get strong enough steels and find someone who knows a lot more than I do, we can advance to more modern propellants. Oh, and then we need to build the primer caps. The fulminate of mercury should be easy enough, but I’m trying to work out what to use for cap material. At home it was either brass or copper, but that’s not an option here. I also thought about aluminum, but that isn’t being produced here either. Maybe someone at the College can help me with the aluminum.”
By the end of the two-day, Jolan and Asari had three different metal smiths working on the barrels, one of whom thought he had an idea for how to create shallow rifling inside the barrels. Asari would spend the week checking on progress and chasing down clockmakers to get work started on the actions. Jolan felt a lot better about things when he returned to the dorms.
Chapter 48
Kalnd shivered. It was not that he was cold. The smallest trickle of power assured that he wouldn’t be no matter how fierce the weather around him. Clearing away the piles of snow and ice that threatened to block their way wasn’t any problem either. Ice and snow could be changed to water or vapor almost at a mere thought of it happening. None of these things could touch him. But it looked so cold, and the wind was blowing fiercely. The horses, of course, hated it, and he could only do so much for them. That was why they’d brought four mounts apiece. The one he rode got a temporary respite from the wind and cold, being protected by the same shields he had erected to keep the wind and sleet from being an annoyance. The others plodded along behind, heads down, accepting their fate and miserable in the middle of yet another storm.
He looked ahead to the horses in front of him where the courier mage rode in the lead position. The man might as well be on a different trail for all the conversation Kalnd had gotten out of him so far this trip. Maybe he was that way because he traveled alone so often. Maybe it was because he was annoyed at having to make this Dragoncursed trip in the middle of winter. Well, it wasn’t Kalnd’s fault. One simply didn’t question or say “no” to Cheurt’s orders. He said go, so they went.
At the rate they were going though, they’d be all winter just getting to Carta. It was a little over three weeks and they’d just left Trailways this morning, and that was the shortest leg of the journey by a considerable margin. Their stop for the night there had been quite productive, even though many didn’t like seeing wizards of Ale’ald traveling through. But gold talked, or at least it got others to talk. It didn’t matter where the coin originated.
He’d learned quite a bit about the altercation in the inn some months back. He now knew the name of the lad who was the source of the coin. He was a local boy named Asari. The other was named Jolan, very different from the name Cheurt had given him, but then names changed. He’d changed his own once. It was too bad that Cheurt wouldn’t learn what they knew for a long time, but that information wouldn’t get to Cheurt until after winter when one or both of them made their way back to report.
Kalnd looked longingly toward the south. That’s where the others had gone. They were probably snug in the campground now waiting for Ryltas to return, or perhaps already on their way back to Ale’ald where it would be warm and comfortable. He had forgotten the exact date Ryltas was to have appeared.
That was the real reason he was on this cursed trip, because he wasn’t foolish enough to believe he had been Cheurt’s first choice. Had the others not already left, Cheurt would have likely sent one or more of them, and sent him into the Land of Giants instead of them. It wasn’t his favorite place, and the others treated him poorly at times, but overall there was a sense of belonging to the group he missed very much at the moment.
He looked up at the trail and cursed. If anything the snow was coming down faster. It was unlikely they’d reach the first real campground before dark, meaning they would have to scramble for an acceptable spot when it started to get dark. Why had the Dragondamned courier brought that stupid coin to Cheurt in the first place?
Chapter 49
Jolan had been removed from the beginner class, but he didn’t care in the least. It was clear that being there was of no use to him and a distraction to the others. The “operation,” as he liked to think of it, had been performed the previous day, and he would either suddenly be able to start learning, or his days as a mage were over. They had kept him pretty well drugged up the previous night, and had used a compulsion spell on him to prevent him from attempting any experimental “spelling” of his own for the time being. Today he was being allowed to go back to the dorms. Then, it was wait and see. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the results.
The first positive indication came late that afternoon. He was able to light a fire. That seemed to indicate his abilities as a mage weren’t completely gone, although what would be affected he still didn’t know. He desperately wanted to try and make a Mage’s Box, but had been told not to try anything more until tomorrow. Somehow he made it through the rest of the day without attempting anything he shouldn’t. He had Ronoran to thank for keeping his mind on other things.
When he woke the next morning, Jolan knew a number of things that he hadn’t the previous evening.
“You’re sure about this?” Dibon said when Jolan approached him.
“I can see each of their faces as if they’ve been friends of mine for years. Of course, Cheurt doesn’t consider them friends, with possibly one exception.” He went on to describe each of Cheurt’s disciples and what he now knew of them.
“That’s incredible. I’ll have to let Chancellor Vaen know immediately. She will probably want to talk with you.”
Jolan nodded. “I wonder why their faces are the first thing I would remember?”
“Maybe because they were the last people he saw before he transitioned to Earth and met with you?”
“As good a reason as any, I guess. “Oh, and tell Vaen that Cheurt is a level seven.”
“A seven! Gods, that’s not good. Are you certain?”
“As certain as I am of any of this. That’s what’s in my brain. I can’t vouch for how correct it is, but why would it be wrong?”
“That is truly amazing. There hasn’t been a seven in centuries, and now three of them”
“Three? Why three?”
“You’ve already been told about my old mentor. He was the first seven in recent memory. Now you say Cheurt is one. Then there’s Shyar, although that’s just a prediction at this point. We will have to wait and see if it develops that way.”
“Shyar? That odd loner in the dorms? He’s a seven?”
“She.”
“She? He’s a she?”
“She’s a she,” corrected Dibon. “You mean you couldn’t tell?”
“I never was close enough to have a good look at him, er . . her. Everyone seems to give her a wide berth. What’s the deal?”
“She’s decidedly uncomfortable with all the fuss that was raised by the staff when she was rated. She’s a bit uncertain what would happen if her fellow students learned of her potential. Sadly, it’s made her a bit of a loner. She’s really a very nice person. Oh, don’t tell anyone what I told you. Chancellor Vaen will probably have my hide for letting you know. It kind of slipped out.”
“How’s your ability with the spells? Everyone is curious.”
“I’m not supposed to experiment until this afternoon when they run some tests. But I know it’ll be all right. I
can already sense that the spells I knew are there, and I can tell that some of the stuff in my brain is from Cheurt. What I can’t understand is why I can only sense some of the basic items.”
“Your medical team briefed the council on this. They expected you would not have instantaneous access to all of the knowledge. It is likely to take time, how much is unknown. Hopefully two things will have happened. First, you’ll be able to learn like any other beginner, and gradually you’ll get the advantage of the knowledge you extracted from Cheurt.”
That afternoon Jolan was exposed to a variety of tests, and once again his current level and potential were determined. His ultimate level tested out the same, a major disappointment to Jolan who had secretly hoped that he would suddenly turn out to be potentially as strong as his great ancestor. The positive news was that he was suddenly and officially a level three. Further more, every spell he’d known was still his to command, including the wonderful Mage’s Box that no one had yet figured out how to duplicate. The medical team was confident that he’d soon be picking up the missing spells, and they expected he would have a considerable advantage once his mind was able to process all the information from Cheurt. The fact that he’d had several Cheurt memories encouraged them that his mind was already at work sorting through the maze of information.
Jolan had wondered why they thought the knowledge would come to him gradually rather than all at once and had questioned their theory. They had used a house analogy.
Assume you enter a large unfamiliar house. You are in the first room, and look around and study the room. Soon you are familiar with the room, and know all about the furnishing and function. You can see the doors leading to other rooms, but at the moment have no idea what the rooms beyond look like or what might be in them. You haven’t explored that territory as yet. Curious, you take the first step and pass through one of the doors into a second room. Now that room is no longer a mystery. You have added to your base of knowledge, but you still don’t know what lies behind the other doors in the first room, or what lies beyond the many doors in this room. To obtain that knowledge, you have to progress onward. Do you continue with one of the doors in the second room, or do you go back and try another door in the first room? Some rooms are probably only accessible from a single location, while others might have entries in multiple places. Perhaps some of the doors in this room are locked, or perhaps they are closed with no obvious means of being opened. Perhaps it is necessary to open other rooms to find your way into one of the closed rooms. It becomes a maze of options, with the rules of how to proceed first not revealed, but waiting to be discovered. As each layer of the puzzle is solved, additional knowledge is revealed. Eventually, after all of the doors have been opened the whole of the house should be revealed, but how long will the exploration required to reach that level of knowledge take?
