The Unsuspecting Mage

by Pratt, Brian S.

  As Corbin takes his seat at the table, Mary fills a bowl with stew and sets it before him. “What happened, dear?”

  “The Empire has done what we have feared for so long. It has launched an assault on Madoc.”

  “No,” Mary gasped.

  Corbin took a bite and nodded. “I’m afraid so. They have already pushed several hundred leagues north and have laid siege to the town of Saragon. The Madoc Council has sent runners to Castle Cardri for assistance. One passed through and gave the mayor forewarning.”

  “Are we in danger?”

  “Not at present. Their attack seems to only be against Madoc; so far. Though if Madoc falls, the Kingdom of Cardri will most likely be next.”

  “What does the mayor wish us to do?”

  “Right now there is nothing we can do. It’s the middle of summer and harvest is not far off. We cannot spare anyone. However, if the situation worsens, and they feel Cardri will be threatened, I’m sure levies will be summoned.”

  Elizabeth wrinkles her nose in confusion. “A levy, Papa?”

  He nods. “It’s where they summon all able bodied men for service. I don’t think we have much to be worried about, Devin’s still too young and they don’t enlist girls for fighting.”

  “What about James?” Cyanna asks.

  “James, I’m afraid, would be a prime candidate.” Glancing to James, he continues. “I don’t think you have much to worry about at the moment. If the war does come here, it is still a ways off.”

  James didn’t like what he was hearing. He definitely did not want to go into the army, especially not one in an age where doctors use leeches and hard liquor is the only pain killer to be had. Thinking of documentaries that described the Civil War makes a cold shiver go down his back. No matter how bad it had been then, here it would be worse.

  “The main thing the mayor wants us to do is to keep our eyes open for strangers and people asking a lot of questions. They could be spies scouting for the Empire.” Breaking off a corner from a piece of bread, he sops up the last of the gravy and eats it.

  Cyanna turns wide eyes to James. “Are you a spy?”

  “What?” Startled, he almost chokes on the mouthful of stew he had been in the process of chewing.

  “Cyanna!” her mother scolds. “That is not the sort of question you ask of a guest in your home.”

  Withering under the stern glare of her father, she says quietly to James, “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” he replies. “And I’m not a spy, just someone who has lost his way.”

  “That’s good,” she says. “I mean, good you’re not a spy.”

  “Who’s not a spy?” Devin asks as he enters through the door and returns to his seat at the table.

  “James,” Cyanna answers.

  Her brother glances to their guest with much more interest than he had previously shown. “Is he supposed to be one?”

  “No,” Elizabeth joins in, “he is not.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “The problem,” their father interjects sternly, “is people who only hear the end of a conversation.” He glares at his children, quieting them in a way only a father can achieve, then flashes James a smile that lasts only a second.

  Corbin stands and stretches. “James, let’s take a walk. That is, if your leg is up to it?”

  Surprised by the request, James comes to his feet and nods. “It can make it. The pain is not so bad anymore.”

  “Good, come along then.”

  Motioning for James to follow, he heads for the front door. As they exit, the dogs notice their emergence and run over to fall in behind Corbin as he and James make their way to the stables.

  “I wanted to talk with you privately. Ceryn told me everything about your time with him. I know you’re a mage.” Holding up his hand, he stops James from commenting. “I’m a pretty good judge of people and I don’t get any feelings of evil about you, so your being a mage doesn’t bother me. I haven’t told anyone else and as far as I know, only Ceryn and I am aware of this.

  “But there was more than The Empire’s thrust into Madoc that has the mayor concerned. We’ve known the Empire has been on the verge of attacking for several years. What preparations could be made, have been.” He reaches down and scratches Tor’s head absentmindedly.

  “No, what I wanted to talk with you about has to do with something else. Several nights ago, Hern, a farmer that lives a few miles out of town near the Forest’s fringe has disappeared. The day before, he asked a neighbor for help in getting rid of a stump in his field. When the neighbor arrived, he discovered Hern’s front door open. There was no sign of Hern outside, so the neighbor went inside to investigate. Hern was not there either.

  “The table had been set for dinner. His plate was clean, as if he had just pulled it down off the shelf. A bowl of stew sat on the table; it hadn’t been touched. The neighbor then rushed outside calling Hern’s name but never received an answer. Both inside and out, there weren’t any signs of a struggle.

  “So far, no sign of Hern has been found though the entire area has been scoured. Those living closest claim they hadn’t seen or heard anything strange the night before.”

  James glanced uncertainly at his host. “What does this have to do with me?”

  “Nothing directly, but let me finish, please.” Getting a nod from James he continues.

  “Last night, another went missing, this time a small boy. “He had gone to fetch water from the well and never returned. When his parents went to look for him, they found the pail lying on the ground by the well, but no sign of the boy. The boy’s family lives on the edge of the forest just like Hern, though about two or three miles from his place. I was hoping that there would be some way you could help in finding them?”

  “I’m not sure what help I can be, Corbin. Despite what Ceryn might’ve said, I am still pretty new to this whole magic business. I will think on it and see if I can come up with some ideas.”

  “We would be grateful with whatever aid you could give.”

  Nodding, James thinks for a bit. Whenever detectives are trying to solve a case, they always examine the scene of the crime. “Maybe we could ride out to Hern’s place tomorrow morning and I can look around. Maybe something would turn up.”

  “Ok, then. First thing in the morning. We better be getting back before Mary sends one of the young’ens to see what’s going on.”

  James agrees and they return to the house where they find Mary readying the children for bed. With a round of goodnights and several kisses, they head to their rooms. James takes his leave of Corbin and Mary and goes to his and lies down. He lies awake most of the night as he works to come up with some way in which to help.

  Chapter Five

  _______________________

  The following morning looks to be another sunny, summer day. Above stretches an expanse of crystal blue only broken by a few high clouds. Coming out of the east, a breath of wind helps to ease the heat of the day.

  Corbin informs Mary about his plans to take James into town to see about the reward money. He tells her not to wait lunch for them as they will eat at the Squawking Goose.

  At the barn, Corbin grabs a saddle and tosses it upon his horse’s back. As he cinches the underbelly straps, he happens to glance toward James who was looking very confused at a Gordian knot of straps held in his hand. Turning it every which way, he seemed at a loss as what to do next.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, I’m sort of embarrassed to admit it but…,” Then his face turned a shade red “I’ve never saddled a horse before. In fact, I’ve never even been on one. They kind of scare me.”

  Laughing, Corbin says “That’s hard to believe.” Seeing the redness of James’ embarrassment, he sobers and comes over, taking the tangled mass of straps and buckles. “Here, let me show you what to do. If you’re going to own one, you’d better learn what to do and how to care for it.”

  Embarrassment turned to relief. “Than
k you.”

  Corbin starts by having James become acquainted with his horse. First, he has James gently stroke the face and the neck, letting the horse know that he’s a friend. Corbin then retrieves a carrot from a nearby bin and hands it to James.

  Taking the carrot, James offers it to the horse that readily eats it out of his hand. Smiling, he continues petting the horse on the side of the face as it eats and soon isn’t quite as nervous around the beast as he had been.

  Corbin then proceeds to instruct James in the proper placement of saddle and tack. He allows James to do the work so he will better learn what to do. When James finishes, Corbin rechecks the tightness and placement of every piece until he’s satisfied that it was done properly and will not loosen.

  Once James’ horse is ready, he has him do it all over again with his. This time, James manages to do it a little faster with fewer mistakes. Once Corbin is again satisfied that everything was either done right or had been corrected, he instructs James on the proper mounting technique. Despite his stiff and sore leg, James manages to mount his horse in only two attempts. When he is up and not in immediate danger of falling off, Corbin mounts his horse and starts showing James the various nuances necessary in guiding a horse. He shows him how to use the reins and his knees to move in the desired direction. James is a quick study and soon has a basic understanding of controlling his horse. Corbin has him take the lead as they exit the barn.

  In front of the house stand Corbin’s wife and Cyanna who are there to see them off. Corbin waves goodbye and begins making his way down the lane. After several feet, he realizes that James hasn’t followed. He glances back and finds him trying to get the horse to move.

  James flicks the reins but the horse merely stands there. “C’mon, boy.”

  The horse merely snorts and turns its head to look back at James.

  Feeling slightly embarrassed with everyone watching his ineptitude, he continues his efforts, but with little success.

  “Kick him gently in the sides.”

  He glances to where Corbin has stopped.

  “You have to show him that you are in charge.”

  James nods, then gives a gentle kick. The horse snorts, but otherwise remains still. He looks to Corbin.

  “Harder.”

  “All right.” Then to his horse, he says, “Sorry to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.”

  Bringing his feet outward from the horse, he jerks them back into its sides. The horse lurches forward.

  “There you go,” Corbin praises as James flies by.

  Barking erupts behind him as the dogs give chase; which only makes the horse go faster. Terrified and holding on for dear life, James feels himself slipping to the side. His scream of terror echoes across the fields.

  “Tor! Cyne!” Corbin yells as his horse bolts forward to catch up with James. “Back home! NOW!”

  The dogs break off their chase and glance toward their master with tails between their legs.

  “Home!”

  Ahead, he sees James tip even more precariously to the side. At the speed James is going, it’s likely he will suffer serious injury if he should fall. Kicking his horse in the sides, he races forward.

  “James!” he hollers as the distance narrows. “Hang on!”

  Just as James begins losing his balance altogether, a hand reaches out to snag his backpack. Giving out with an incoherent scream, he falls. But instead of slamming to the ground, he’s pulled to the side of Corbin’s horse. Corbin brings them to a halt and lowers a shaky and trembling James to the ground. The aftereffects of terror turn his knees to jelly and he drops in a most undignified manner to the ground.

  Corbin pulls up next to him. “Are you okay?”

  He looks up, face filled with embarrassment. “Yes.”

  “You really weren’t lying about never having been on a horse before.”

  James shakes his head. “No, I wasn’t.”

  Looking back toward the house, Corbin sees Mary and Cyanna running down the lane toward them. Waving that everything is okay, he hollers, “He’s fine. Get on back.”

  James’ horse had continued quite a ways before coming to a stop. Corbin leaves James on the ground to get his nerves under control while he goes to fetch the errant steed. Returning, he dismounts and extends a hand to help James to his feet.

  “Now, let’s get you back on and we’ll work on those commands again,”

  James takes the hand and comes to his feet. His legs have stopped their trembling and he manages to return to the saddle. Corbin remains next to him while he practices the commands for getting the horse to move without bolting into a run.

  Again, James has a hard time getting his horse to go, but after a little coaching from Corbin, manages to get it moving without breaking into a mad, terrifying gallop.

  Once he feels confident James will not face another wild ride, Corbin mounts and they head into town. Throughout the ride, he continues instructing James in the finer nuances of controlling his horse and also the proper care and feeding of it.

  Hoping to retain at least most of the wisdom Corbin imparts, James pays close attention while at the same time concentrating on keeping his balance so he won’t fall off. He rides as close to Corbin as he can, scared to death that the horse will take off for some unknown reason leaving James in the dirt.

  After what seems a very long time, though in fact wasn’t long at all, they arrive at the outskirts of town. Townsfolk out in the early morning offer greetings to Corbin or wave as they pass by.

  They follow the road through the center of town until reaching a two-story building bearing a sign by the door depicting three stacks of coins sitting upon a table. Corbin rides to the front where he brings his horse to a halt and dismounts.

  He glances to James. “This is Alexander’s place. He’s the local money lender and the one to see about your reward.” He moves to James’ side and offers a hand with dismounting.

  James nods then swings down from the saddle. Dismounting, as James learns, is far easier than mounting. They secure their steeds to the hitching post and head for the door.

  Alexander’s place is a single, modest-sized room with three armed guards. Two stand on either side of the entrance while the third is positioned next to a door at the opposite end of the room. Along the same wall as the door is an opening with a counter.

  Upon seeing them enter, the guard positioned next to the door across the room says, “Good day, sirs. If you will wait just a moment, I shall let him know that you are here.” With that, he opens the door and disappears into the back. A short time later, a man dressed in fine clothes appears followed closely by the guard who closes the door behind them.

  The man’s demeanor is warm and friendly. He crosses the room and extends his hand. “Corbin, how are you doing? Are your little ones doing well?”

  Taking the hand, Corbin shakes it. “They’re doing well, as am I.” Gesturing to James he adds, “This is James. He is the one that’s here to see you.”

  His attention turns to the farmer’s companion and appraises him with a cursory glance. “How may I be of service?”

  James hands him the letter from the mayor.

  Alexander scans the missive then nods. “Ah, yes, the reward for Garrett the Snake and his men. Heard the story last night at the Squawking Goose. The mayor said you would be coming by. What would you like to do about it?”

  “What do you mean, ‘do about it’?”

  “Well, I could give it all to you now, but that would be far too much for you to carry. Or, you could set up an account and I would keep it safe and secure for you until such time as you need to withdraw it.”

  “Sort of like a bank?”

  “Bank?” Alexander asks in confusion.

  James nods. “You know, a place where you deposit money, get loans, stuff like that.”

  “Uh, yes. Just like that.” Alexander glances questioningly toward Corbin who shrugs and mouths, He’s not from around here.

&nbs
p; Oh, he replies in the same silent, discreet manner.

  James considers what he might need and realizes he doesn’t have the faintest idea. Whenever he ran characters during role playing, he always liked to have fifty gold pieces. It was a tidy sum and wouldn’t impact his encumbrance too severely, and should more than suffice for his immediate needs.

  “I think I’ll take fifty gold pieces and set the rest up in an account.”

  “Very good, sir. If you will but wait a moment, I shall return with your coins and the papers to set up your account.” With that he turns and makes for the door. The guard opens it for him and closes it once again after he passes through.

  James and Corbin wait only a few moments before the money lender appears at the opening in the wall with a leather pouch, along with three papers. He motions James to the window and opens the pouch. Spilling gold coins onto the counter, Alexander proceeds to count them with James, ensuring they are in agreement that the count is accurate. Once satisfied the number of coins is correct, he has James place the coins back into the pouch. Alexander then takes the papers and points to a line. “You need to make your mark here. This says you are entrusting us with your money, until such time you request it to be withdrawn.”

  James takes the papers and to his surprise, can read them. He looks them over and finding nothing that he disagrees with, signs on the line.

  Alexander takes the papers. “Thank you, sir. I am certain that you will be pleased with the level of service that my establishment will accord you and your money.”