“I have I got something wrong with my face?” Leo asked as he watched the lady walk off. Edwin chuckled again, “Don’t worry my friend. That particular lady is well renowned for attaching herself to anyone of importance. I think she expected someone a little older, she usually prefers them that way.” Leo just nodded, and whilst he probably was a little young for that particular lady, he hoped he might find one more suitable to have a dance with a little later on.
A gong was sounded, and a member of the palace staff called everyone to their seats. Naturally, Edwin sat at the centre of the top table, with Kellan one side and Farley the other. Alec was sat next to the young prince with Chad beside him. Leo had to sit the other side alongside Farley and Lars; the latter of which he was not particularly fond of, especially since the disagreement over Reece.
As the guests started taking their seats, the first of the serving staff appeared carrying platters of food. The level of chatter dropped as people started serving themselves and eating as opposed to talking. Leo helped himself to a rather large helping of beef, accompanied by much smaller portions of the vegetables on offer. He was just about to start tucking in, when he noticed the pile on his plate was dwarfed in comparison to that on Farley’s. He looked the other side to where Lars had only served himself vegetables and no meat, and was about to ask why when the commander answered the question for him. “Lars doesn’t eat any meat…ever…weird or what?” Leo just shrugged and nodded.
Whilst some were still eating, Edwin gave a nod to one of the palace staff who sounded the gong again, this time calling for silence to allow the king to speak. The guests quickly hushed, and as one all cast their gaze forward to where their king was stood clasping a few notes in his hand.
Edwin cleared his throat, firstly thanking everybody for coming, before singling out the noblemen who had attended. He talked a little about the new sorcery guild, highlighting the Caldronians alongside him, and how he hoped to emulate them. Leo listened as Edwin built his audience up before hitting them with the reason behind it all. He mentioned what had happened to its good friend and neighbouring country Caldronia, with the Belarians having forced the young crown prince into exile. There may have been those in the room who cared not for some boy not even ten years old, but Edwin gave them all a stern warning, “Be rest assured,” he told them, “If we do not act now, we will be next.”
As the last of his words sounded out, the doors to the main hall opened and scores of red robed sorcerers walked in, taking up positions around the room. “Ladies and gentlemen these are but a few of our own sorcerers,” he declared as more filed in. Edwin’s guests clapped and cheered as his young magicians paraded around the room briefly before once more leaving through the same set of doors. Whilst the clapping continued, Leo leaned over to Farley and asked what was the point of showing off the apprentices. Aside from the handful of sorcerers originally taught by Lars, none of the others could actually do any magic of note. The commander of the royal guard leaned a little closer to Leo, to avoid the risk of being overheard. “Well, Let’s say anybody looking on will think we have far more sorcerers than we actually do? The Belarians will think we are much stronger than we actually are,” he said.
“You think there might still be Belarian spies in the palace?” Leo asked shocked at the thought.
“I would say there is probably at least one in this room right now. That’s why you and Chad are kept close by, just in case whoever it is decides to make any unexpected move.”
Leo nodded his understanding. With the knowledge that somebody in the room might be a traitor, he could not help but start checking people out. How would anybody know there was a spy amongst them? Was it a guest? Or perhaps even a member of the palace staff? Leo gazed out across the room, looking around for anybody who looked in the slightest bit suspicious. As Edwin signalled for the start of the music, the guests returned to their chatting as the empty plates were taken away, and drinks brought to the table.
Not being permitted to partake in consuming any wine or brandy, Leo continued his perusal of those around him. A thought occurred to him, and he leaned over towards Farley and asked what was on his mind. “You think the spy might be a sorcerer?”
Farley sipped at his large glass of brandy, “Probably not No. I doubt the enemy would be so foolish, a sorcerer would be detectable by others, would it not?”
Leo nodded. “Hmm I suppose so,” he mumbled keeping a watchful eye on one shifty looking man over to his left. If ever there was a face that belonged to a spy that was surely it. “Psst! Farley. That man over there looks very suspicious,” Leo said gesturing discreetly with his hand to whom he meant. The commander started chuckling, “You mean the fellow with the swept back hair?”
“Yes, that’s the one.” Farley chuckled again, “Don’t ever give up your day job Leo, that’s the king’s cousin, and definitely not a Belarian.”
“Oh…” Leo replied a little bashfully as the man beside him took another drink, still laughing as he did so.
Chapter 21.
This morning Leo and Chad were again to put the more experienced of Lars’ apprentices through their paces, to see what they were capable of. These were the dozen or so youngsters being trained by Lars before Leo and the other Caldronians had arrived. As yet, Leo for one, had not seen any of them capable of more than the very basics. Sure they could muster a light, as most newcomers to magic could do so after a few lessons, but he had yet to see one cast a shield or fire even a single blast of energy. Having explained this to his young prince, Leo had hoped to concentrate just on the newer recruits, but had been told in no uncertain terms to teach these apprentices as well.
Despite the morning being a little chilly, Lars thought it best if the group moved outside into the yard. The man appeared quite proud of his trainees as they lined up, looking much smarter than they had the first time Leo had seen them. Dressed in their red robes, some with half a stripe on their sleeve, indicating them to be considered more advanced than those without, Leo waited impatiently.
Lars selected one of his young sorcerers, asking the lad to remove his hood, revealing a rather nervous looking face. The boy looked a year or so younger than Leo, but stepped forward nonetheless. “This is one of my finest students,” Lars said proudly. “Henry, if you please show how we repel attackers,” he added. The older man clearly spoke the words in a tone suggesting he was at last getting the chance to show off his recruits, something that was completely lost on Leo as he struggled to stifle a yawn.
The youngster called Henry nodded, and after a few seconds of concentration a shimmering light expanded around him. Leo thought the lad was creating a shield, but this barrier did not hold firm. Instead it expanded out quickly, before disappearing abruptly at about five paces away from its source. “Excellent work Henry!” Lars clapped excitedly. Leo looked at Chad, who appeared as clearly unimpressed as he had been.
Leo tried to think of something constructive to say; After all he did not want to fall out with Lars again. “Not bad eh? Any would be attacker would have been pushed aside.” Leo nodded that probably would have been the case, but with a few slight problems. “Indeed they would, and very useful that is,” he added trying to sound complimentary. “Just one little thing though…What if the attacker is a ranger, and firing at you from more than five paces away?”
Lars stuttered his words a little, “Well… yes I could see the problem there, but any attacker with a sword or dagger would have been rendered useless.”
“Unless of course they got back to their feet, or threw their weapon,” Chad added with a forced smile.
“Well it is something we can work worth. They are at least manifesting a shield of sorts, they just need to learn how to hold it. Chad show the lad what we mean,” Leo added asking his young friend to do the honours again.
Chad immediately waved a hand and the lad known as Henry was instantly covered with a shimmering barrier of light. “Like that!” Leo said proud of Chad’s efforts. “That is a
proper shield!” Henry looked around at the barrier surrounding him, before trying to push against it. “Let me out please,” he said clearly not liking the thought of being trapped. The boy pushed and barged several times as Chad held the barrier firmly in place.
Leo was just about to gloat to Lars, when something quite unexpected happened. Henry stopped struggling to force his way out and simply closed his eyes, deep in concentration. Nobody was more surprised than the boy himself, as he suddenly appeared outside the magical barrier. Leo looked over to Chad thinking that perhaps he had lost concentration for a moment and let the lad free, but he was just as bemused. “How the bloody hell did he do that?”
The other apprentices all cheered as their fellow student smiled and bowed before them, before doing likewise to the two very confused Caldronians. Lars waved a nonchalant hand, barely even recognising anything of note, “Oh he just teleported!”
“He did what?” Leo asked wanting to check he had heard correctly.
“Teleported. It’s something I learned as a youngster, and taught this lot. It’s quite easy, but totally useless really,” confessing not everything he had taught his apprentices was useful.
Leo puffed out his cheeks. Teleportation had been something he and Alec were considering working on before the attacks on Surmont, yet never gotten around to. The skill had long been discarded or forgotten, at least in Caldronian circles. “The furthest I ever managed to teleport was about fifteen paces,” Lars added still not seeing the significance of what his own student had just shown them. Leo however, knew distance was not a key factor here. The fact that by using a spell, a sorcerer could penetrate through another’s magical barrier was the point of great worth.
Leo waved the boy Henry over. The lad clearly thought his somewhat over exuberant reactions to escaping the barrier might have landed him in trouble. As a result, the boy appeared somewhat apprehensive about getting too close. “Come here lad!” Lars shouted, annoyed that one of his students was not doing as he was asked. Reluctantly, Henry trudged nearer to Leo. Whether the boy had heard of Leo’s great power or not, there was certainly a look of fear on the boy’s face. Leo, noticing the look, immediately changed his stance to one that might appear less confrontational.
“That was excellent Henry,” Leo said as the lad waited nervously for somebody to speak. “Can you show me again?” he asked. Henry smiled a little and nodded, “Yes Sir,” he replied. Leo gave Chad a nod, and once Henry was in position, cast another magical barrier over him. This time, the boy did not even bother struggling against it by using physical means, but merely closed his eyes, and a few seconds later appeared just outside it. Leo nodded his approval, “Lars can you and your students wait here. I need to show this to somebody.”
Lars shrugged, and said he would just continue his lesson as normal until Leo returned. Excitedly Leo grabbed Chad’s sleeve and pulled, “Come on we need to get Alec…he has to see this.” Chad had no option but to move, and started running to catch up. “We are not running all the way to the palace are we?” Leo suddenly stopped. Running had been his first thought, but now he thought about how far the palace was from his current location, thought better of it. “I’ll get word sent to Alec to come here as quickly as he can,” he replied heading for the main house instead.
Once inside, Leo managed to find a helpful member of staff, and after telling him what he wanted, thought they might as well have a warm drink whilst they waited. After walking down the corridor, the sound of workman hammering and sawing from somewhere upstairs, was an indication that the former home was nowhere near completion.
The dining hall was almost empty, aside from a few red robed apprentices sat at one table. Chad gave Leo a nudge, “Isn’t that Reece over there,” he said pointing to a rather forlorn and lonely figure sat in the far corner. Leo nodded, “Looks like him, and it looks like he needs cheering up. Come on let’s go and see what the problem is,” he added heading that way.
Leo sat opposite the youngster he had selected, placing the palms of hands down on the table. “Are you okay?” he asked realising the lad had not even acknowledged him sitting down. Reece looked up with blood shot eyes, and Leo instantly knew there had been tears. “Come on tell us what the matter is?” Chad reiterated deciding to sit beside Reece. The youngster looked as if he might just cry again, but sniffled, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his robe.
After taking a deep breath, Reece explained the other apprentices were shunning him. Apparently, because he was treated differently to them, he was considered not one of them. Leo nodded his understanding, and although he had sometimes felt a similar pain, when he first realised he was different, the majority in the guild had treated him well enough.
“You are different Reece, but in a very special way. Soon you will be able to do things the others cannot,” Leo said trying to think of how best to deal with the problem. “Would you like me to have a word with Lars?” he asked thinking that maybe the man in charge of the Arandorian sorcerers might help.
“No…don’t do that! He answered. “That will only make matters worse.”
Leo just shrugged, as if suggesting he was struggling to find a way to help.
Chad once more stepped to the fore. “I assume there is probably one or two individuals in the group that are influencing the others to treat you like this?” Reece looked to his left and nodded, “One of the older boys called Horace seems to tell the others what they should and should not do.”
“Is he staying in the same room as you?” Chad then asked. Once more Reece nodded to the affirmative, “He gets the others to pour water in my bed, and claims I wet myself,” he said getting all emotional once more. Chad placed a friendly arm about him, “Don’t worry we’ll sort this out,” he added feeling quite angry.
After a serving girl had come and asked what they wanted, the two Caldronians tried to cheer Reece up. They managed a flicker of a smile and a slight chuckle as Leo reminisced about his early attempts at magic. One story in particular made Reece break into laughter, as Leo told him about a sheep they were using to practice basic anatomy. Only when he had tried to send a small amount of power into the dead creature, instead of making it move a little, he over did things and ended up sending in far too much of his energy. The beast exploded everywhere, covering half the class, including the guild master, in pieces of innards.
After drinking the cup of tea brought to them, they suggested Reece join them until lessons that afternoon. They ventured back out into the main hallway, and could see several of the staff running for the main doors. “Wonder what’s going on?” Chad asked. Leo shrugged and suggested they should probably wait outside for Alec anyway.
Outside in the main yard, dozens of horses were lining up. Leo noticed Alec upon one, but was confused as to why Prince Kellan was also amongst the number. Anden and Beth were acting as temporary escorts, whilst Farley and the King were a few horses further back surrounded by at least half a dozen guards. Leo looked up at Alec as several of the house staff rushed past him to attend the king and prince. “What’s going on?” Leo asked looking a little confused. Alec smiled as he slipped down from his horse, “We were told we needed to come as soon as possible.”
Leo grimaced, “I meant just you, not half of the palace.”
Alec chuckled, and explained that Kellan had wanted to come along and see what was so important. As the prince was travelling across the city, Farley suggested some guards, and Edwin kind of decided he should come along as well. Leo felt a little nervous. What he wanted to show Alec was important, but it was something the king and prince would probably think quite trivial.
Once all the group had dismounted, Leo led them around the back to where Lars was talking to his students. Whether many of the apprentices could teleport through a shield Leo was unsure, but having such an esteemed audience he thought he best deal with the one he was certain of. After the apprentices quickly lined up and stood to attention as their king approached, Leo asked Lars to instruct Henry to step
forward.
After checking his royal audience was ready, Leo decided to explain why he had asked Alec to attend, emphasising only that name as he spoke. If he was hoping to make that point obvious to the others that had decided to attend, it was quickly evident that he hadn’t. “We were just beginning to think that what Lars was teaching these first apprentices was useless…No offence,” Leo said turning to the older magician to his left.
“None taken,” the man replied tartly.
“Anyway…let us show you,” he added gesturing for Chad and Henry to repeat their earlier actions.
Just as before, Chad cast a glimmering shield of light over the young Arandorian sorcerer, whilst Leo explained what was happening, even though it was probably obviously clear. He explained to those non-magical persons watching that the shield was all but impenetrable, and that usually the only way through was to use such great force that the magician holding it became exhausted.
Leo looked around to make sure his audience was still following what he was attempting to explain. “Watch!” he said, before waving a hand to Henry. The young apprentice did not let them down, and within a few seconds was outside the barrier that had been placed around him. “Wow!” Alec said, clearly shocked at what he had just witnessed.
The King's Sorcerer (The Caldronian Guild Book 3) Page 15
