by Dean Cadman
Lusam was shocked by the reactions of Mr Daffer, and even Lucy stood with her head bowed to Renn. He knew that the paladins of Aysha were held in high esteem throughout all of Afaraon, but he had no idea they were revered this much. It made him feel slightly guilty remembering his first encounter with Renn. He hadn’t bowed his head, or even shown him much courtesy at all—in fact, he had blasted him with his magic. It was strange, but Lusam got the distinct impression—by the way Renn was now fidgeting—that he would probably prefer being blasted by magic than being bowed to like this.
The silence stretched on and on. Lusam knew Mr Daffer and Lucy were waiting for a response from Renn, but he also knew that Renn wouldn’t want to extend any further reverence towards himself either. He decided to end the silence, and introduce Renn and Alexia himself.
“Mr Daffer, Lucy, may I introduce to you Renn and Alexia. Renn, as I’m sure you’re already aware, is a paladin of Aysha, and Alexia is an old friend of Neala’s.”
“We’re both very honoured to meet you, Renn—and you too, Alexia,” Mr Daffer said, offering his hand to them both.
“Mr Daffer, do you remember when I asked you to keep my… abilities secret?” Lusam said quietly.
“Yes, of course, Lusam, and we have… I swear,” Mr Daffer said, looking a little worried.
“I don’t doubt you have, but I must also ask another similar request,” Lusam replied.
“Of course. What is it you need us to do?” Lucy said smiling.
“Would it be okay if we locked the shop door for a few minutes while we discuss it?” Neala asked hopefully. Mr Daffer nodded to her request, so she quickly turned the sign over to read “Closed” and locked the door.
“Maybe we should discuss the matter in the dining room, where we will all be out of sight and, I’m sure, much more comfortable,” Mr Daffer suggested.
“Under the circumstances, that sounds sensible,” Renn said nodding.
A few moments later they were all in the dining room and seated at the large table. Lucy offered them some refreshments, which they all accepted gratefully, and then sat down to hear Lusam’s request. After a few moments’ silence Lusam cleared his throat.
“I’m not really sure where to start, or what I can safely tell you both. Please understand, I’d trust you both with any amount of information, but the enemy we’re facing, could simply read the information directly from your minds. It’s for your own well being, as well as ours, that I must withhold certain information from you right now. I hope you both understand,” Lusam said apologetically. Both Mr Daffer and Lucy nodded, but remained silent.
“Firstly, I apologise for us disappearing suddenly like we did. It’s a long story, but it involved Neala being abducted and taken to Stelgad against her will. After the carnival we were attacked. I was stabbed in the stomach, and Neala was drugged, abducted, and taken to Stelgad.” Lucy took a sharp intake of breath at the news, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Oh, you poor things!” she said looking shocked. “Are you both okay now?”
“Yes, we’re fine now, thank you,” Lusam replied smiling, trying his best to allay her fears, so he could move on with his story swiftly.
“I healed my own wounds with magic, and was about to confront Neala’s attacker, when I was attacked once more,” Lusam said, pausing. He wasn’t sure if revealing the existence of the Empire agents would be a good thing or not. Renn caught his eye and nodded that he should continue his story.
“It was an Empire agent who attacked me.”
“An Empire agent? Why would an Empire agent attack you?” Mr Daffer asked—obviously aware of their existence. Lusam wasn’t sure if Lucy understood the significance or not, but he decided she could ask Mr Daffer about it later if she chose to do so.
“That’s where I come in,” Renn said from the end of the table. “I understand that you’re already aware of Lusam’s magical ability. The High Temple in Lamuria is also aware of it, and they sent me to find and protect him, then return him to Lamuria to complete his training. Unfortunately, the Empire has also discovered Lusam’s abilities, and now they hunt him day and night. They will stop at nothing to find and kill him. When Neala was abducted, the man who took her travelled by road to Stelgad, but because of all the Empire agents looking for Lusam, we were unable to use the roads. We were forced to travel through The Dark Forest to Stelgad, but even then, we were pursued by Empire agents. That’s why you must try keep this meeting a secret. If word got out that you had a paladin of Aysha here in your shop—even to people you trust—it’s only a matter of time before that information is intercepted by an Empire agent.
“The betrayal may not even be intentional. The Empire agents possess magic capable of reading people’s minds, and only people trained to resist it can avoid divulging their secrets inadvertently. At the moment, the Empire doesn’t know for sure where we are. We hope to keep it that way for as long as possible,” Renn said.
Mr Daffer and Lucy sat silently for a long time, absorbing the information they had just been given.
“Obviously your passage through The Dark Forest and subsequent rescue of Neala went well, but there’s one thing I don’t understand,” Mr Daffer said looking confused. “If you were already in Stelgad, why would you come back to Helveel if you needed to go south to Lamuria?”
“For their money,” Lucy said out loud, whilst deep in thought. Then she suddenly realised what she had said. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Your money is perfectly safe, we haven’t touched it. We weren’t snooping or anything. It’s just… When you left, we were very worried about you both. We went into the basement looking for you—thinking that maybe you were ill, or had been injured down there somehow. When we looked inside one of your sleeping cells, we saw an open box full of gold coins. I know it’s none of our business, but it confused us greatly. We couldn’t understand why you would want to work so hard for a few silver coins, when you had such wealth already.”
“I can see why that would look strange,” Lusam said laughing, “but to be honest, when we first started here, we didn’t have any money at all.” Once again Lusam became conscious of just how much he could safely tell Mr Daffer and Lucy. If he revealed exactly how he had gained the knowledge to mine gold from the river, it could place them both in great danger. He decided that omitting some of the truth would be better than outright lies.
“I’m quite new to my own magic abilities. Often I don’t realise what I am capable of doing until I actually try—like when I healed you, Lucy. Neala and I would often walk along the riverbank on Seventh-day, and it was during one of those excursions that I discovered something interesting. If I concentrated hard enough, I found I was able to sense very small particles of gold on the riverbed. I worked out a way to collect the gold, and over several weeks turned it into the coins you discovered. And yes… the coins were one of the reasons we returned to Helveel, but not the only one. Unfortunately, the main reason we returned to Helveel is one of those things I can’t discuss. I’m sorry,” Lusam said.
“So, you still intend to travel to Lamuria?” Mr Daffer asked. Lusam looked to Renn for guidance, but was only greeted by a raised eyebrow: he seemed to be prepared to let Lusam decide, whether or not to answer that particular question. He decided to err on the side of caution with his reply.
“We’re not sure yet,” Lusam said, still looking at Renn.
“I see,” replied Mr Daffer.
“Tom… the rumours may or may not be true, but if there is a chance they will be heading that way, they should know,” Lucy said quietly.
“Rumours?” Renn enquired. Mr Daffer’s attention snapped back to the paladin at the end of the table, almost as if he’d forgotten he was sitting there.
“It’s probably nothing… I conduct a small amount of business with several large noble families within Lamuria, and I have not received any payments for my latest shipments. I could understand one late payment, but all of them not paying seemed strange to me. I spoke with several ot
her traders around Helveel, and it seems I’m not alone. Many have not received expected deliveries of goods from Lamuria, or payments that were due.”
“Tell them the rest, Tom,” Lucy said. Mr Daffer looked at Lucy sternly, then after a moment he seemed to soften his glare, eventually sighing loudly.
“Very well,” he said taking a deep breath. “Over the last several days I have spoken with just about every trader and businessman in Helveel regarding trade with Lamuria, and all told pretty much the same story: no one had seen or heard anything from Lamuria in over a month. No one, that is, except old Greg the cobbler. His brother Earl takes his shipments to Lamuria and brings back any materials they need from there. He’s renowned for spending more time in the taverns between here and Lamuria than he does travelling the roads themselves. He claims that he was unable to reach Lamuria with his shipment, but the story he gave—well, it seems more to do with the amount of time he spent in the taverns than reality, if you ask me.”
“What story?” Renn asked leaning forward.
“He claims the city was under attack, and when he tried to take a closer look, he himself was attacked. It sounded almost believable until, that is, he described his attacker,” Mr Daffer said, shaking his head.
“Who did he say attacked him?” Renn asked impatiently.
“He said his attacker was already a corpse. He said he was attacked by a dead man. I told you—he’s a crazy old drunk,” Mr Daffer said chuckling to himself.
“Aysha be blessed!” Renn half-whispered. “A drunk he may be—but crazy, I think not. It looks like the Empire has finally chosen its time to attack Lamuria. If Lamuria falls, all of Afaraon will follow. We have to get to Lamuria as fast as we can before it’s too late—that’s if it’s not already too late.
“Then we stick to our original plan. We buy horses and supplies today, and leave at first light tomorrow,” Lusam said, then quickly added, “That is, providing Mr Daffer and Lucy don’t mind us spending the night in their basement.”
“Of course not. You’re all welcome to stay as long as you like. But you don’t have to stay in the basement. We have plenty of spare rooms in the house you could use,” Lucy replied.
“Thank you, Lucy, but given the circumstances, I think the basement would be the safest option. The fewer people who see us here, the better for all of us. Besides, it kind of feels like home down there,” Lusam said smiling.
“Okay, but if you change your minds, just let me know. I can get Lillian to prepare the rooms for you in no time at all.”
“Thanks, Lucy, but we’ll be fine in the basement,” Neala said.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Mr and Mrs Daffer. I’m sorry we couldn’t have met under better circumstances,” Renn said, standing up and offering his hand to Mr Daffer.
“Any friends of Lusam and Neala would always be welcome here—but having a Paladin of Aysha under our roof, well, that is an honour indeed, sir,” Mr Daffer said, shaking Renn’s hand vigorously.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Lucy,” Renn said, offering her his hand.
“And you too,” Lucy replied, “but I was hoping that you would all join us for the evening meal. I’m sure a good meal, followed by some sleep, would stand you all in good stead for your onward journey to Lamuria.”
Lusam’s eyes lit up at the thought of food—as did the others’—but it was Lusam’s stomach that clinched the deal, with a mighty rumble reminiscent of the recent tremors in Coldmont.
“I guess there’s your answer, Lucy,” Neala said rolling her eyes and laughing along with the rest of them.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zedd braced himself for the forthcoming mind read, and his impending death. Lord Zelroth’s ability to read the minds of his subjects was legendary. Zedd held out no hope of being able to hide any details of what had actually happened from Lord Zelroth. He contemplated changing his story, but knew it was already too late. He would be killed no matter what he did now.
Zedd felt the tendrils of power reach into his mind and begin searching for the relevant information. Due to nothing more than his natural instincts of survival, Zedd instinctively began offering up false images and blocking access to his real thoughts. He had scored highly in mind control exercises during his many years of training in the Empire, but he held no illusions of being able to hold out against the immense power of Lord Zelroth.
The force within his mind pushed, and he pushed back. He challenged each incursion into his memories, by providing false ones to take their place.
‘Something is very wrong,’ Zedd thought to himself, confused at the inability of Lord Zelroth to easily read his mind. Zedd raised his eyes slightly, making sure to keep his head bowed. What he saw stunned him—so much so, that he almost lost control of his mind defences. Just at the edge of his vision, he could clearly see the golden-edged hem of Lord Zelroth’s robe; the man who stood before him attempting to read his mind was not Lord Zelroth. Zedd almost felt giddy with renewed hope. It all suddenly made perfect sense to him: the boy had killed the Inquisitor, and so Lord Zelroth was allowing one of his Darkseed Elite to conduct the interrogation.
The Darkseed Elite specialised in a single discipline of magic—usually either attack or defensive magic—making them incredibly powerful in that particular discipline. Some even specialised in healing, but generally only because it allowed them to keep their torture victims alive for longer. None of them, however, specialised in mind control magic. That was a speciality reserved solely for Inquisitors—and the Inquisitor here was dead.
The power of the Darkseed Elite was vast, but it was also blunt and undisciplined. Zedd saw each move and countered it seamlessly, leading the Darkseed Elite through a vast array of false memories. Each memory he offered up fell perfectly into place, validating his earlier story and taking him one step closer to his redemption.
Several minutes later the mind read ceased abruptly, and the Darkseed Elite stepped away towards Lord Zelroth. Zedd couldn’t help himself, he glanced up just in time to see the acknowledging nod of the Darkseed Elite to Lord Zelroth: he had done it.
“Well, it seems your story was true after all, Zedd,” Lord Zelroth said, walking over to where he still knelt with his head bowed. “Stand!” he commanded. Zedd obeyed.
“Give me your skull pendant,” Lord Zelroth said holding out his hand. Zedd quickly removed his silver skull pendant and handed it to him. Lord Zelroth closed his hand around the pendant, and began to quietly chant a spell. A moment later he opened his hand to reveal a fully reshaped pendant. Now, instead of a single skull, it was a skull with two faces, and it had the symbol of the Baliaeter clearly visible upon it. Lord Zelroth handed back the pendant and gestured towards Zedd’s ring. Zedd offered up his ring, and Lord Zelroth touched it with his own ring. As the two rings touched, Lord Zelroth spoke a single word, and Zedd felt the power change within his own ring. Although it didn’t actually increase Zedd’s own power, he knew that he now had the ability to command almost anyone within the Empire. He could draw magical power from almost anyone, and he could kill almost anyone for disobeying his orders—and that made him feel incredibly powerful.
“Thank you, sire,” Zedd said, bowing his head in gratitude.
“I give you nothing,” Lord Zelroth replied with a cruel laugh. “The Baliaeter currently in charge of my army will not relinquish power to you easily or willingly. He is a capable commander, but he lacks your… vision. The boy-mage’s power has grown significantly since his discovery here in Coldmont. He cannot be allowed time to strengthen the defences of Lamuria. The city must fall—and quickly. Our forces are already engaged outside Lamuria, and more reinforcements will shortly make landfall to swell their numbers. Use whatever tactics you deem necessary to gain the swiftest victory.”
“Sire, please forgive me, but… if your current Baliaeter will not relinquish command to me, how will I take command of your army from him?”
Lord Zelroth let out a manic laugh that chilled Zedd
to his very bones. “That, my dear Zedd, is for you to work out for yourself. You have already triumphed over the boy-mage’s power. What kind of challenge can a single Baliaeter hold for you?” he said, turning away from Zedd to face Cole. “But, know this—if you fail me, Zedd, your family will pay a high price for it. Of course, you wouldn’t care, you’d already be dead.”
“I won’t fail you, sire,” Zedd replied, knowing he would find a way to defeat the Baliaeter, one way or another.
“Oh, I know you won’t, Zedd. I’ve already seen how you use your subordinates—sending them into potential danger first, with no regard for their safety. Just like you did with Cole here,” Lord Zelroth said staring down at Cole still kneeling before him. “I wonder… do you trust Zedd’s judgement enough to follow him into battle of your own free will, or do you just blindly follow his orders under punishment of death?”
Nothing would have pleased Cole more than to say what he actually thought of Zedd. Instead he knew he had to lie—a lie that could quite easily cost him his life.
“Yes, sire, I would follow him freely,” Cole replied, trying to sound as genuine as he could.
“Why?” Lord Zelroth asked bluntly, tilting his head a little, as he looked back towards Zedd. Cole’s mind raced at the simple question. He knew—given a choice—he wanted to be as far away from Zedd as possible. But, he was also smart enough to realise that the only possible way he would ever leave this place was with Zedd. If he openly questioned Zedd’s ability to command, either Lord Zelroth would kill him now or Zedd would later.
“Sire, I have served under Zedd for only a few weeks but during that time, he has proved himself a most competent commander. He sees opportunities others do not—and takes full advantage of those opportunities,” Cole replied truthfully, hoping that Lord Zelroth didn’t discover exactly what those opportunities were that Zedd had taken full advantage of.
