by Dean Cadman
“I’ve had some sleeping problems lately,” he replied truthfully. Then he suddenly realised that he might be able to use that to his advantage, as part of his cover story. “That’s the reason why I came back to Helveel. I was hoping that you would allow me to stay here for a while, just until I feel a little better. I think being in familiar surroundings might help my condition,” Lusam said, hoping they couldn’t see the lies in his face. He need not have worried judging by Lucy’s reaction.
“Oh, you poor thing. It’s no wonder you’re having problems sleeping with what you’ve just gone through, not to mention the horrors you must have seen. We told you before, you’re always welcome here, Lusam. Our door is always open to you and Neala,” Lucy said, pulling him back into a tight hug, as if she were comforting a small child. Lusam was grateful to hide his face, as it must have been bright red with shame at having to lie to them both; especially after all they had done for both Neala and him.
“Thank you,” Lusam said quietly.
“You’re more than welcome, Lusam. We still owe you a debt which can never be repaid,” Mr Daffer said looking at Lucy and smiling. “I will have Lillian prepare a room for you upstairs at once.”
“No. I mean, if it’s alright with you, I would prefer my old room in the basement,” Lusam said, hoping he hadn’t just offended Mr Daffer. Then he added, “I have lots of fond memories of that room, and I was hoping it would help me with my sleeping problems.”
“Of course, if you’re sure you would prefer that,” Mr Daffer said.
“Yes, I would. Thank you for understanding,” Lusam replied smiling at him.
“Very well. I will bring a mattress and some bedding down for you later and leave them in the basement, as well as a good supply of lamp oil,” Mr Daffer said.
“The use of a mattress and bedding would be very welcome, but I don’t need to trouble you for the lamp oil,” Lusam said, creating a small light orb above his head, and startling both Mr Daffer and Lucy as he did so.
“Oh my!” Lucy exclaimed, taking a step back away from the orb.
“Sorry,” Lusam said sheepishly.
“I have to say, I am looking forward to hearing all about your recent exploits at dinner tonight,” Mr Daffer said, staring at the light orb as it vanished before his eyes. That was something else which Lusam hadn’t thought about, but it was obvious now that he did: he would have to stay for the evening meal each night before travelling back to Lamuria. He would have to be careful not to eat too much, or it may look suspicious to the King’s spies if he were unable to eat anything back in Lamuria with Neala.
“There again, I’ll be using a lot of magic collecting all the gold, so being hungry enough to eat more food in Lamuria, isn’t likely to be a problem,” he thought to himself, smiling. He could almost hear Neala’s imaginary response to that in his head, and it made his smile grow even wider.
Another thought suddenly struck Lusam. If Mr and Mrs Daffer had told anyone that they knew him, it may unintentionally lead an Empire agent back to their shop, and ultimately the Guardian book. It could also endanger their lives as well. Something he had always tried to avoid.
“When you first heard the news from Lamuria and you realised it was about me and Neala, did you by any chance tell anyone that you knew us?” Lusam asked, holding his breath in anticipation.
“No, of course not. I gave you my word that I would keep your secret when you healed Lucy, and I have,” Mr Daffer replied proudly. Lusam nodded, then looked towards Lucy. He knew even before she spoke, that the answer would not be the one he had hoped to hear.
“I… I only told the priest, and it was strictly in confidence,” Lucy said, her guilt stricken face reddening under the scrutiny of Lusam and her husband. “I’m so sorry Lusam. I didn’t think you would consider your magic a secret any more, not after what you did in Lamuria.”
Lusam’s mind raced at the news. He knew that if he had told the High Priest something in confidence, he would fully expect him not to tell another soul about it. But he had never met the priest here before. In fact, he had not even known the temple existed until Renn had told him about it, the last time he was in Helveel.
Renn and Neala had used a secret tunnel in the temple to escape the city unseen, while he and Alexia had used another route out of Helveel. They had split up to avoid being recognised by any lingering Empire agents, then travelled to Fairport to gain passage on a ship, south. One thing that confused Lusam though, was that Renn had told him very few people knew of the temple’s existence in Helveel. He had said it was only known to the Hermingild, paladins and a select few others, but he had never elaborated any further on just who those select few were.
“How well do you know the priest?” Lusam asked.
“Oh, very well indeed. I would consider Arturo a close friend of mine now. He can be a little gruff at times, but his heart is in the right place, and I’m sure he can be trusted to keep your secret, Lusam,” Lucy replied. Lusam didn’t really want to ask Lucy directly how she knew about the temple, but he was more than a little curious, so decided to adopt a different approach instead.
“I didn’t even know there was a temple in Helveel,” Lusam said, hoping that Lucy would enlighten him further.
“Most people don’t, I’m afraid. I didn’t know myself until the healer introduced me to the priest there. It was during my illness, when the healer told me there was no hope that I sought out a priest. I felt like I wanted to be closer to Aysha during those dark times, and I asked the healer if I could travel to find a temple in another town or city. He highly recommended against travelling in my condition, but as luck would have it, Arturo was his brother, and he arranged to introduce me to him. It’s a very small congregation we have. Only about a dozen people. Mostly friends of Arturo or his brother,” Lucy replied, then she added, “I’m sure Arturo wouldn’t have betrayed my trust. But if it makes you feel any better, I’m due to visit the temple tomorrow, so I will have a quiet word with him about it.”
“Thank you. I would really appreciate that,” Lusam replied, smiling at her. It would save him having to visit the priest himself, but he just hoped it wasn’t already too late.
After another thirty minutes of small talk, Lusam announced that he intended to visit some of his old haunts in Helveel that day. It seemed as good a reason as any to leave the shop, but he knew that he would probably have to come up with a better one over the next few days. Unfortunately, Lucy insisted that he eat breakfast with them before he left the shop, and as he could hardly tell her that he’d already eaten, he had no choice but to accept her offer.
When Lusam finally left the shop, he was greeted by a wet and miserable day outside. The sky was leaden, and the cold wind nipped at his hands and face. He couldn’t believe how much colder it was here in Helveel, compared with Lamuria. He always knew the cool air came off the Elveen Mountains during the winter and early autumn months, but he had no idea how much colder that actually made it, until now. He had always simply accepted the weather for what it was.
It felt strange being able to walk through the streets and not be stared at by everyone who passed him by. Strange, but good. As he walked through the streets towards the east gate of the city, he couldn’t believe how much he had actually missed Helveel. It might not have the size or splendour of Lamuria, but it felt like home to him.
By the time he reached the east gate, he was sodden with the rain, and his teeth chattered against the cold. He shook his head to himself, knowing that only a year ago he would have considered this an acceptably warm day, especially with winter on the horizon. It seemed that he had become soft, living inside for so long. The guard ignored him completely as he passed by, too busy warming his hands over his small fire to even care. He was sure the guard had noticed him, but now he was no longer wearing the clothes of a street kid, the guard had no reason to hinder his progress.
Lusam headed straight for the east bridge to cross the river, avoiding as much of the mud on the road as
he could. The heavy traffic of horses and carts had rutted the road badly, leaving behind a sticky quagmire in their wake. He slipped on more than one occasion, narrowly avoiding falling head first in the deep mud.
Once he was well out of sight of Helveel, he created a tight fitting magical barrier around himself, and began to gently warm the inside of it. He let out a contented sigh—as his clothes began to gently steam—knowing that soon he would be dry again. He doubted there would still be any Empire agents in Helveel, but he intended to avoid them if there were. The last thing he wanted, was to be seen using magic, then followed back to Mr and Mrs Daffer’s book shop.
As he walked along the riverbank, he sent out his mage-sight to scan for any signs of gold on the riverbed. He soon realised, however, that he had actually done quite a good job in collecting most of it while he had been there with Neala. All that remained now, was a small amount near the opposite riverbank. That area had been outside of his magical range the last time he had been there, but now he could easily sense it. Unfortunately, it was such a small amount, that it was barely worth spending the time and effort to collect it. He had no choice, he would have to travel further downstream in search of gold.
He was fairly certain how far downstream he and Neala had searched before, but just to be on the safe side, he kept checking the riverbed as he walked along. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, and slapped his own forehead with the palm of his hand. He couldn’t believe that he had made the same mistake again. He had forgotten to bring a container for the gold. The last time he had used Neala’s boot, but back then it had been a dry sunny day. Now it was cold, wet and muddy, and not a place he wished to be without a boot on his foot. He would simply have to find something else to collect the gold in.
He walked for a good thirty minutes before he got to a fresh patch of riverbed, but he still hadn’t found a container to store the gold in. He had just about given up hope and resigned himself to the prospect of using his own boot, when he spotted something in the distance. It looked like a small boat jetty jutting out from the riverbank. As he approached it, he could see that it was indeed a boat jetty, but it had seen far better days. Most of it had either been washed away by the river, or had simply rotted away, leaving large holes in its planking. He knew by simply looking at it, that it wouldn’t take a person’s weight without collapsing into the river.
As he turned back towards where he’d just come, he spotted something further back in the treeline. It looked like a small house, but he couldn’t see it clearly enough through all of the trees. He wondered if anyone lived there, and if they did, maybe they could lend him a container to catch the gold.
Carefully, he made his way through the thick undergrowth towards the building. He didn’t have to go too far inside the treeline to see that he was out of luck again. It looked like an old wood cutter’s cottage, but the roof had caved in, and the windows and door had long since rotted away, leaving the entire building at the mercy of the elements. It was almost fully overgrown with bushes and vines, and even the remains of the chimney had a sapling growing out of it.
As he approached the house, something poking out from under a large bush caught his eye. It was the hull of a small upturned boat. After a few minutes wrestling with the bushes around it, he managed to drag the small boat out into the open to take a better look at it. At first glance the general structure looked sound enough, but when he pushed his thumb into the wood, it gave way under the slightest pressure. The wood was completely rotten all the way through, and he wondered just how long it must have been there to be in such a state of decay.
“It’s a shame. It would have been far easier to collect the gold with a boat,” he thought to himself, as he turned back towards the broken down house. He hoped that his luck might change inside the house, and provide him with an old pot or jar he could use. But when he reached the doorway and peered inside, he didn’t hold out much hope of that. The entire building looked like it might come down at any moment. The old wooden beams from the roof were precariously propped up against the outer walls of the structure, and looked to be in no better shape than the boat outside. One slight movement, and the whole roof might collapse in on itself, burying whatever was under it, including him if he entered.
From the doorway he could see than the contents of the house had long gone, and whatever remained now was so rotten, it was of no use to anyone. The only thing which remained was the iron stove in the fireplace, and he guessed the only reason they had left that behind, was because of its weight.
One of the things he had been looking for along the riverbank, was any discarded metal that he could use to fashion a container with. The stove certainly qualified as metal, but it was a far larger chunk than he had been hoping for. At least the weight wasn’t a problem for his magic, but digging it out from under a collapsed building might be if he tried to move it.
To remove the stove in one piece would require him to dislodge several large wooden beams first; something he didn’t really want to do. When the roof had collapsed, several of the beams had come to rest across the opening of the fireplace blocking the stove in place. If he tried to move any of them, he felt sure the remainder of the roof, and possibly the outer walls would completely collapse. The simplest solution was not to remove it in one piece.
He still had the magical barrier around himself to keep off the rain and wind, but he strengthened it considerably, just in case he found himself buried under a sudden avalanche of rubble. Standing just outside the doorway, he could see that there was a small amount of space around the stove to allow him to manoeuvre it slightly. Very carefully, he levitated it off the stone hearth, just enough to enable him to encase the whole stove in another magical barrier. When nothing else moved, he breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly increased the temperature inside the magical barrier, until the stove glowed red hot inside. It took far more energy to melt the stove than it had the gold from the river, but eventually it began to ooze, and lose its solid form.
He carefully manoeuvred the molten iron around the obstacles in the house, and towards the doorway where he was standing. Once it was safely outside the building, he separated a small amount off into a second magical barrier, and formed it into the shape of a large broad bottomed vase. He thought that shape would give him the best chance of keeping his gold, instead of being blown away by the wind. After cooling the vase, he released it into his hand to inspect his work.
“Perfect,” he said out loud to himself, obviously pleased with the results.
He didn’t really know what to do with the rest of the molten iron, and was about to discard it on the ground well away from himself, when he had an idea. He looked again at the upturned boat lying by his feet, and realised that he could use it as a mould for a new boat. If he covered the boat in a snug fitting magical barrier, then applied the molten iron over it, he could create an exact copy of the original boat, except it would be made of metal. He had no idea, however, if it would float or not. He had never even heard of a metal boat before, let alone seen one. He knew it would be heavy, but so were wooden boats, especially when they were fully laden with goods. He decided it was at least worth a try.
Five minutes later he had a perfect metal replica of the small wooden boat. He even had enough iron left over to create a rudimentary anchor, as well as add some rowlocks for a pair of oars—not that he had any yet. When he finally released his magical barrier, his new metal boat all but crushed the delicate wooden one beneath it. He levitated the metal boat up and away from the rotten remains of the old boat, and placed it back on the ground the right way up. If he had been happy with his vase, he was positively overjoyed with his new boat.
He soon had his new boat by the water’s edge, and after making sure no one could see him, he began to levitate the new craft into the water. He so desperately wanted it to float. When it finally touched the water and bobbed on the surface just like any other boat, he let out a loud cheer and danced around the riverbank in celebration
. The trouble was, by the time he looked back at his boat, it was already a long way down stream, floating away from him. He quickly grabbed the boat with his magic, and hauled it back to shore again. If anyone had been watching, they would have just witnessed an unmanned metal boat, travelling by itself, against the current.
Once he got his new boat back to shore, he attempted to get into it. It was a good job that he could levitate himself, or he would have definitely found himself swimming in the river, after slipping on the muddy bank. Graceful, it was not. But eventually he was aboard his new craft, and more importantly, it was still afloat.
With a little experimentation, he found a way to control the boat without the use of oars. At first he used a thin strand-of-power to tie the boat to the riverbank, and it acted just like an invisible rope. But he soon realised that the boat moved around a lot with the current, and more times than not, ended up bashing against the riverbank. He also realised that his strand-of-power may be visible to others from a long distance away, making it not the most sensible way to do it. Instead, he used a similar magical strand-of-power under the boat, anchoring the boat in place to the riverbed. When he needed to move to a new spot, he simply attached a second strand-of-power further along the riverbed, released the first one, and used it to drag the boat along to its new location.
It was far easier for him to collect the gold this time, compared with the last time he had been there with Neala. Not only could he now search a much larger area, he could also manipulate far more particles of gold at once. This, combined with the convenience of moving around in the boat, meant he soon had a decent amount of gold in his container.
By the time the sun began to drop towards the treeline, he had almost a full vase of gold dust. He had no idea how far he’d travelled along the river, but he guessed it was at least two miles. He had been travelling with the river current, and knew that having the boat would save him a lot of time tomorrow, when he needed to return to where he was now. If he hadn’t made the boat, he would have had to walk those two miles, even before starting to collect any new gold. Then each consecutive day he would have had to walk further and further, until most of the day would have been spent walking, instead of collecting the gold he desperately needed.
