Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga)

by Jackson, D. W.

  Thad shook his head slowly side to side as he pulled a handful of coins out of his pouch. He watched as the boy’s eyes lit up at seeing the mix of copper, silver, and gold. Thad flipped through the coins until he found a copper then tossed it to the waiting boy. The child looked at the single copper than back to the small fortune in Thad’s hand and grunted, “Skinflint.”

  Thad quickly went to the adjoining room and was pleased to find that Crusher, Arianna, and Avalanche were all waiting in the room. “The ship is coming to dock, let’s go down and meet with the captain. Crusher go get Brianna and meet us at the Three Sails.” Thad turned and walked out of the room quickly followed by Avalanche and Arianna with Crusher lagging behind cursing over having to go play fetch.

  How long are you going to keep this pointless fight up with that dwarf of yours? The voice in his mind seemed to have a twinge of laughter laced into a serious tone. “When she is ready to stop being mad.” Thad answered back snidely.

  “Avie says you’re in a bad mood.” Arianna squeaked from beside him as she rode Avalanche like a horse down the narrow street.

  Thad was surprised to see Arianna talking to him, she had said less than ten words to anyone since she had started tagging along. “You can tell Avalanche that I am ok, I just have some things on my mind.” Thad replied trying to force a smile on his face. Arianna didn’t say anything more, she just started whistling. Thad had often listened to the Nadirie’s when they walked it was always a light and enjoyable tone that seemed to wash away the built of tension and fatigue in his body.

  Once they were in front of the Three Sails, they didn’t have to wait long before their two dwarf companions joined them. The icy look that Brianna gave him sent chills down Thad’s spine letting him know that she was still far from being in the mood to forgive him for whatever it had been that had made her mad. Without saying a word, Thad entered the building and went straight for the dock master’s desk.

  As soon as the man saw him, he gave Thad a welcoming smile. “The Rose Runner already made it to port and a few of their crew are already drinking in the pub. The Captain is most likely being held up with cargo. Head back to the third room down the hall to your left. As soon as the Captain comes to report in and pays the dock due’s I will send ‘ere back to ya.”

  Thad slid another gold coin on the table, he knew it wasn’t suspected but the better the mood of the dock master the better the chances for them to gain passage. The room wasn’t very large but it was more than large enough to hold ten to fifteen people without feeling too cramped. The air in the room grew tense fast with Brianna still glaring at him and Thad unable to say anything to alleviate her anger. When the door to the room finally opened, Thad was so relieved he could have kissed the feet of the people on the other side.

  An older lady in her early to mid-thirties wearing a tight fitting red dress entered the room with a slightly younger well-muscled male following behind her. “You’re the ones that want to book passage on my ship to Farlan.” The captain’s voice was neither cold nor warm, it was as if she was completely bored with the meeting already.

  “Yes we require passage to Farlan.” Thad replied evenly trying to math his tone with hers.

  The captain sighed heavily and shook her head. “I don’t know if you can afford the price boy. Right now both Farlan and Abla are paying top prices for supplies. Unless you can offer me more than I could make from carrying cargo of the same weight and size there is no way I can allow you on my ship.”

  Thad was surprised to hear that Farlan was paying hard gold for supplies, had something happened while he had been gone. He wanted more information but Thad was worried that the longer the discussion went on the less likely they would be afforded passage. Thad cursed himself for not checking the standard far for passage before the meeting. Not wanting to insult the captain, he rummaged through his pack until he found the largest sapphire he had. It was a little smaller than his clinched fist but even then Thad was sure that it should be enough to buy a fair sized ship let alone passage on one. Thad watched the captain’s eyes closely as he lay the shining blue gem on the table, and was not disappointed when the widened in greed. “Will this be enough to ensure our passage?” Thad asked in an offhanded manner.

  The captain locked eyes with Thad for a few brief heartbeats before breaking down into a fit of laughter. “I must say, when I saw you and that fancy eye of yours I was hoping to earn a bit of gold. I was hoping for a nice negotiation where I could drive a good price for your passage but I never expected you to offer such a treasure. We leave at first light; I would suggest you board tonight so that you don’t miss the departure.” The Captain scooped up the large sapphire and left the room.

  “You heard her, let’s get our belongings and head to the ship.” Thad’s voice could not help but expresses his relief of the successful negotiations.

  EPILOGUE

  Thad stood on the deck of the Rose Runner staring out at the open sea. The first few days of the trip the heavily salted air had assaulted him, stinging his eyes and burning his throat, but now he was growing accustomed to it. Crusher and Brianna were in their rooms below deck having little love for the open water and not faring well thus far. Arianna and Avalanche were also below deck though they often came up to the main deck to play with the sailors.

  In around thirty days, he would be back in Farlan. It seemed like a dream, though some of the news from the sailors had worried him. Abla was in the middle of a civil war, though giving the county’s warlike nature it wasn’t surprising. It was the news that the princess of Farlan had declared open rebellion on the queen and had amassed an army in order to wrest the throne from her mother. From the stories he had heard, it seemed that the princess had the support of the people and armies of Farlan so the queen had requested aid from Rane.

  Thad gripped the rail of the ship so hard the feeling was lost in his fingers. With the news, Thad had also started to reflect more on his dreams. Were they forewarning of what was happing while he was gone. As much as it frustrated him, he would have to wait until he reached Farlan to learn the truth.