by Guy Antibes
“I’ll be ready tomorrow,” Frank said, smiling to himself as he left the practice hall.
Saganet grinned. “Who would have thought? I just found an incredible lever.”
“A lever?” Ricky asked, but then he understood. “I don’t know if I’m interested in sparring in slow motion. Do the others spar to a rhythm?”
“They do,” Saganet said. “It’s just their sparring may be a little faster than Frank’s, but he’ll catch up. Start sweeping.”
Ricky began his task. He treated the sweeping like another exercise session and put as much into it as he was capable. When he finished, he was drenched in sweat.
“A good day of exercise, eh?” Saganet said. He had stuck around organizing the weapons instead of leaving soon after Ricky started, as he usually did. “If you wash up, I’ll take you to a performance tonight. You are permitted to leave the academy if I escort you. Every performance has at least one pantomime of some sort.”
Ricky frowned. “I was going to study with Frank, and I don’t have any appropriate clothes. I’ve seen people come out of theaters, and they don’t look like servants.”
“I said wash up. We’ll get you an outfit before the performance begins,” Saganet said. “You can send a note to Frank.”
~~~
Chapter Ten
~
R icky looked at the full-length mirror in a clothing store for men. He had spent little time in this area of Tossa since his ragged Shantyboat style of clothes would stick out among all the better-dressed citizens.
He tugged the black jacket down over the light-brown pants. He wore a cream-colored linen shirt. The shoes fit surprising well. Ricky thought new shoes wouldn’t be broken in. All his shoes had been on second or third owners and were more than broken in.
“That’s better. Now it’s time to get something to eat. We don’t have much time, so there is an outdoor restaurant that serves quick meals.”
Saganet led Ricky to a collection of tables underneath a thin roof. Brick braziers warmed up the eating space.
“This isn’t any better than the commissary food,” Ricky said.
Saganet gave Ricky a little grin. “You noticed? The academy’s food is quite good.”
Ricky finished his meal and waited for Saganet to catch up. He looked out at the crowd and spotted a familiar form. Gobble Bangatelli walked between two much younger women. All three seemed to be enjoying the stroll, but Ricky could tell his grandfather did as much leering as laughing. Gobble joked with them as they made their way towards the theater.
“That’s my grandfather. I nearly didn’t recognize him dressed like a well-to-do person.”
“He’s your grandfather? He’s been coming to the theater for some years. It’s hard not to notice a man of his age so engrossed with members of the opposite sex.”
“Years? I thought he was spending the reward money for turning me in,” Ricky said. Looking at his grandfather made his anger blossom. He’d been half-starving while his grandfather hired ladies to take him to the theater? Ricky couldn’t believe it. “I know what kind of women hang on his arm. Those probably aren’t cheap.”
“I think you’re right. Shall we follow Gobble?” Saganet asked.
“No! I’ll save confronting him for another time. I don’t want to risk being sent to Applia.”
“A wise choice, but that wouldn’t happen when you are with me,” Saganet said. He finished off his plate and stood. “It’s time for us to be on our way, so we can follow, but at a discreet distance.”
Ricky nodded as both of them rose and sauntered towards the theater. A crowd of people had the same idea, so they had to wait to enter. This was the closest that Ricky had ever come to a theater. He had walked through the district a few years ago but had been chased out by constables. Dressed as he was, walking with Saganet, they paid Ricky no heed.
Saganet looked around at the patrons and saw the back of Gobble’s head right up front. Their tickets were in the back of the theater, which suited Ricky.
“So what happens?”
Saganet showed Ricky the program. “There are two excellent performing sorcerers from Sealio in this show, a man, and a woman. They will perform elaborate magic tricks as they sing their hearts out. Dances and pantomime dueling will be filling in the gaps, along with lesser sorcerers doing small-scale effects. The performers need time to recover their voices and their powers a bit between their acts.”
“Mistress Doubli produced these?”
“In the capital. Merry made quite a bit of money creating shows and working with sorcerers. I think being a sorcerer added to her success.”
Ricky nodded and settled back. Gold-colored sorcerous lights lit up the theater. The patrons talked and laughed. He wondered if he would have as good a time as they. He wanted to see a pantomime sword fight so he could understand Frank better, but he couldn’t help but become infected by the excitement.
The lights began to dim. A sorcerer had to be at work to do such a thing. The crowd silenced, but Ricky sensed an undercurrent of high anticipation.
A brilliant white light glowed in a circle against the curtain. A chubby old gentleman dressed in reds and golds walked out, waving to the crowds. By their reaction, he must have been well known.
“Is he always here?”
Saganet nodded. “He is the announcer and will tell some jokes and introduce the various acts. Sit back and enjoy.”
Ricky found it hard to sit back. This was all so new.
The first act was a group dance by women dressed in filmy robes. Some of the men in the audience hooted and clapped. Even Ricky could tell their reaction to the dance was in poor taste.
The male sorcerer strutted on stage, dressed in black with a red band around his head. He held a sword, which seemed too light to be a real weapon.
Ricky poked Saganet. “Is he going to fight someone? Is this going to be a pantomime?”
“No. Just watch and be patient. His performance should astound you.”
The sorcerer bowed. The man wore stage makeup, and that made Ricky a bit uncomfortable, but not enough to keep him from leaning forward and waiting for whatever magic the sorcerer would show.
When the theater went totally dark, Ricky felt everyone holding their breath, just as he did.
A falsetto voice hovered over the darkness. Suddenly a point of light began to grow into a pink circle. It expanded to the height of the sorcerer who stepped in front of it.
The man’s voice began to sing a slow song. Ricky could feel the power build up as the man and the light both rose into the air. The song became a bright, triumphant sound as the sorcerer. The disk of light flew over the audience and then returned to the sorcerer, who still floated above the stage.
“Is this how it always is?” Ricky whispered to Saganet.
“This sorcerer is very good, isn’t he? Few can fly. Watch, there will be more.”
Disks of light popped up in the darkness now that the sorcerer stood on the stage. A few had colored stripes and began to whirl. Ricky couldn’t even imagine such a sight, yet there it was right in front of him.
The theater lights began to rise to reveal a stage full of dancers with their arms raised. The circles went out, and little puffs of clouds began to emerge from the dancers’ fingers as they trotted to the rhythm of the sorcerer’s song. The dancers then moved to the music of the orchestra that rose in volume as the sorcerer strutted off the stage.
“How did he get all those cloud things going?”
The light from the performance reflected off Saganet’s face, showing a smile, “I kept it from you before, but they are all sorcerers. Merry said it’s an easy enough trick to learn. It seemed like the sorcerer did it all.”
“Didn’t he?”
Saganet shook his head. “He did the flying and some of the colored lights. The performance is a complicated production. Merry did a lot of production designing when she lived in Sealio. You can have her tell you rather than listen to my recollections.”<
br />
Ricky sat back to watch and found his attention drifting until two pairs of women and two pairs of men marched onto the stage carrying the thin blades called rapiers.
“Now pay attention to their moves. Frank will want to emulate what you see next.”
“His parents have enough money to go to these performances?”
Saganet chuckled. “Look around you. There aren’t enough nobles in Tossa to fill this theater.”
Ricky felt his face burn with embarrassment. He had never thought about nobles and anyone else who had extra money. If a person dressed nicely, they were the same as nobles in his mind, but Saganet pointed out the obvious. Even Ricky came in nicer clothes than he had ever worn to mingle among the other well-dressed people of Tossa.
He cast the thought aside as he leaned forward to analyze the pantomime swordplay. The players wore costumes from some foreign land, with colorful flowing silk in bright colors. They lined up and bowed to the crowd and took their positions. They extracted long, thin swords that were thicker than a rapier and had a slight curve.
“Those are golden swords,” Ricky said.
Saganet shook his head. “Gold is too soft and much too expensive. Perhaps they are gold-plated. It’s a new process that has recently come to Paranty from Vorria. A metalsmith can lay down a very thin layer of gold over steel. It’s expensive, but a small fraction of the cost of a real gold sword that wouldn’t even last through a pantomime.”
Ricky nodded. Perhaps he’d learn more about the plating process later, but for now, he watched the players trot around in weaving patterns until they took their positions to the rhythm of music from the orchestra.
The tuned changed, and the players moved their swords to flowing music. They mirrored the different moods of the piece. When the music sped up, their clashes did, as well. The swords clanged as if they were bells, accenting the orchestra.
All at once, Ricky heard chanting, and then sparkles flew out of their swords as they disengaged from their matches and the pantomime became a dance, with the players swaying and waving the swords spouting colored fire.
“They are all sorcerers. Frank can’t duplicate that,” Ricky said. He looked over at Saganet, who seemed entranced by the effects.
“Novel for Tossa,” he finally muttered as the players exited the stage after walking in a circle with sparkles shooting four feet above their heads. They both rose with the crowds to applaud the act.
The theater lights rose for an intermission.
“Time for a short walk and a bite to eat. There are street vendors clustered around the square.”
Ricky looked down at the patrons rising from their seats. His grandfather still sat chatting with the two women he escorted. They sat on either side of him, giggling at whatever Gobble said. He never thought of Gobble as a particularly glib man, but at this point, Ricky had no idea what was an act and what wasn’t with him.
He followed Saganet out into the crisp air, flipping up the collar of his coat to hide his face in case Gobble might be wandering close with his two escorts.
“I never knew there were so many sorcerers,” Ricky said.
Saganet bought them both chicken and cubed vegetables on a stick from a street vendor. After eating a few morsels, he said, “How many are in the sorcery class at the academy?”
“Twenty or thirty students.”
“Dari has four sorcery classes. There are three sorcery professors. You can do the figures. There are other sorcery schools, although Doubli is recognized as the best in Tossa. Even if each city and town had a performance company, there are still plenty of magic users to go around.” Ricky’s guardian took another morsel.
“And not all sorcerers are good enough or interested in performing?”
Saganet nodded. “If you are a member of a big company, you can make a healthy living. If you are a featured performance sorcerer, you make a lot of money. I’m not so sure putting so many talented magic wielders to work entertaining people is a good thing, but people do what’s best for them and their families.”
“Could I perform?” Ricky asked. “I’m not so sure I’m comfortable with doing tricks in front of others.”
“You learn more about that kind of thing as you progress through the academy. The first year is spent assessing what kind of potential you have and how to protect yourself.”
Ricky nodded. “I think I’ll end up being an expert sorcerer. I was the best at the test today.”
“So Dari told me. She put some other exceptional student together with you.”
“Loria Mansali?”
“Mansali?” Saganet said. He had a worried look on his face. “Be careful with her. She comes from another powerful family.”
“Like Victor?”
Saganet nodded. “But different from the Taranta’s. Finish up, it’s about time to get back inside.”
They sat down in the back. Ricky watched Gobble, still enjoying the attention of his two escorts, pass them and sit down in front.
The second part consisted of more magical illusions and performances. The featured sorcerers put on an astonishing act filled with bright effects, sounds, and images. Their voices intertwined and mixed to produce tones Ricky had never known before. One of the sword pantomimes was performed without magic, but much more intricate footwork.
The finale consisted of dancers and more sword pantomimes in a dazzling finish. The sorcerer chorus rang out with sound and more amazing effects. When the performance ended, Ricky urged Saganet to his feet.
“I don’t want to meet with my grandfather.”
Saganet looked down at Gobble chatting with the two women who held onto each of the man’s arms. “Very well.”
On their way back to the academy, Ricky’s mind was full of visions and amazement. He had never seen sorcery displayed so openly or so gloriously before.
“Isn’t sorcery useful elsewhere?”
Saganet put his hand on Ricky’s shoulder. “Hasn’t Professor Calasay discussed what sorcerers do?”
“No, just in general terms. It doesn’t seem like she approves of performance sorcery.”
“Ah. Everyone loves young performers. The pair we saw today were both under thirty-years-old. Dari once worked in a company, but she never had the flair a sorcerer needs for solo performing. She worked in the chorus and even did a bit of pantomime.”
“So she retired and became a professor?”
“Merry convinced her to teach at her father’s academy ten or eleven years ago after a difficult time accepting the need for retirement.”
“Are all the professors old friends?” Ricky asked.
Saganet tilted his head back and laughed. “Enough. Merry has never sponsored someone who wasn’t worthy of the place, even me. Her father only wanted the best, and that’s what he got.”
“So you got Mina her job?”
“That’s where you are wrong, lad. Mina actually got the job for me. We pretend that it was the other way around, but I re-injured my leg, and it looked like I was going to be forced out of my position and into retirement. Mina knew I wouldn’t stand for that, so she talked her aunt into hiring me. The old weapons master was a minor noble who had only dueled before. I was a big upgrade.”
Saganet displayed an abundant knowledge of the weapons and how to prepare to use them. Ricky never doubted his guardian’s abilities. He knew he had taken the discussion into uncomfortable territory for Saganet, so he kept his mouth shut.
A few blocks from the academy, Ricky heard footsteps behind them.
“Caught without my weapons again,” Saganet said quietly to Ricky. “Be prepared to run.”
Ricky couldn’t resist looking behind him. Five men approached them. Saganet stopped and turned. “Go,” he said.
“No.” Ricky clenched his fists. “We will fight them together.”
“They will hurt you.”
“Out for an evening stroll, Crabacci?”
“I am. Leave us alone. My ward underestimates the vileness of your
intentions.”
“Vile? I guess we have expectations to live up to.”
Saganet moved in front of Ricky. “Some of you will get hurt,” he said. “Is there some way to avoid an unpleasantness? I don’t have anything on me that would be of interest.”
“You are the interest. We don’t like you getting in the way, and this time we will finish the job.”
Saganet stood straighter. “You intend to kill me?”
The lead man laughed. “More roughing up, but if we happen to go too far?” The thug shrugged.
“I am giving you a chance to retain your own life. If I die, I won’t go alone.”
Ricky hadn’t heard his guardian speak with such menace.
“Your little friend will die with you.”
“Run, I say,” Saganet said as the first man came at him.
Ricky backed up, but not to run away. He didn’t want to impede Saganet in a fight. Ricky had observed enough fights growing up to understand what he needed to do. Ricky would wait for his opportunity and keep from being caught.
Saganet kicked up with his foot. It landed squarely in the crotch of his assailant who quickly went down wailing. He tried to do it again with the next man, but the attacker grabbed his boot and twisted. Saganet grimaced in pain. That must have been his bad leg.
Another thug grabbed Saganet from behind. His guardian nodded his head forward and then snapped it back, colliding with an attacker’s nose. The man loosened his grip as his eyes rolled backwards and he fell to the ground.
Ricky backed up, but he hadn’t paid attention to the fifth thug, and he felt an iron grip on his arms. He shouted and time stood still for a moment, giving him an opportunity to lurch forward with the man on his back as Ricky had hoped. He bent over more, bearing the weight of his attacker for a heartbeat, and let momentum take the man over his back. The grip loosened as the man hit the pavement. Ricky kicked the man in the head as hard as he could with his new boots before time resumed. He put his hand on his knees and took a deep breath to regain his strength.
Saganet faced off against the two remaining foes. One pulled out a long knife and the other a thin weighted cudgel.
