"I believe he is holding Zhimosom captive somewhere in Javier Chase. I can feel Zhimosom's power, and it's located somewhere in that forest."
"Captive?" Koaleing asked. "Zhimosom captured. How is that possible? Are you sure he isn't off on one of his secret quests? Surely no one would dare attack such a powerful wizard."
"He's not on some quest. Even when he is, I can still feel his full power," Rotiaqua insisted. "He's under some kind of spell that is sapping his power."
"Surely the temple is not foolish enough to take on a wizard such as Zhimosom?" Koaleing asked.
Rotiaqua heaved a heavy sigh. "He believed they were up to something."
Awbelser held up his hand. "What do you expect us to do about it?"
"I'm unable to travel to Amedon or take any strong action on my own. Since I no longer have access to Zhimosom's power, I'm very limited. I ask your help in finding him and bringing this rogue wizard to justice."
Neussul laughed. "You expect us to take on a wizard who was strong enough to defeat Zhimosom?"
"Surely several of you working together could handle one wizard."
"This is a serious matter, not one to be taken lightly. We will confer at the next full meeting of the council." Neussul stood up to take his leave. "In Amedon."
"Amedon!" Rotiaqua blurted out. "I can't travel to Amedon while Zhimosom is indisposed."
Neussul gave Rotiaqua a sarcastic smile. "The full council meets in Amedon. If you are not able to attend the meeting in Amedon, then clearly you no longer have the right to a voice."
Before Rotiaqua could make her protest, Neussul was gone. She looked around the room at the remaining wizards. They looked ashamed and fearful but remained silent as they vanished one by one.
Rotiaqua glared at the empty seats where the wizards had so recently sat. Were they so fearful of this unknown wizard that they would refuse to help Zhimosom?
"Cowards!" she spat at the mist that was all that remained of the last wizard to disappear.
In Trickby, Lorit and Chihon stayed with their friends Gareb and Yerlow to rest and recuperate for several days, but Lorit was restless and anxious to get going.
Their next stop was Chihon's home town of Bebrook. She was eager to see her grandma'am, so she left Lorit with instructions to find them a room at the Prancing Pony. Chihon wound her way into the market, glad that nothing much ever changed. She spied the cart where her grandma'am sold bread.
She raised a shield of obfuscation and walked down the aisle, trying to look like any other customer. She approached the cart and stopped, looking disinterested in the wares.
"Can I help you, miss?" The old woman squinted at Chihon as if trying to clear away something obscuring her vision.
Chihon picked up a loaf of travel bread. It was heavy and still hot to the touch. "How much for these?"
The old woman squinted at her again. "You remind me of my granddaughter. Don't know why. The girl ran off with a boy last fall, and I haven't heard from her since."
She rearranged the wares on her cart, and kept speaking, carefully avoiding Chihon. "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to tell it was you?"
She regarded Chihon. "You may have the gift in its fullness, but every woman in my family has a little of it. I raised you since you learned to walk. Did you think I would miss the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you handle a loaf of bread? Just because you look different?"
Chihon was surprised. She had never suspected that her grandma'am had magic. She probed the old woman with her power and sure enough, small sparkles of wizard's power shot through her. It was weak but unmistakable.
"You just going to stand there gawking or you going to give your grandma'am a hug?"
Chihon dropped the spell and smiled. The old woman was gruff and stern, but she was the only mother Chihon had known. She was excited to see her again and couldn't wait to fill her in on all her adventures. She squeezed between the carts and hugged the old woman.
Her grandma'am held her out at arm's length. "Let me get a look at the real you. Your hair is nice, and you finally put on some muscle."
Chihon felt the old woman working her shoulders, testing her muscles. Grandma'am had always chided her about being too bony and asking when she was going to fill out properly. She said a baker needed strong arms and shoulders. Grandma'am had plans for Chihon to take over the bakery, but when the magic awoke in Chihon, she had known that it was not to be. Chihon could see that it saddened her grandma'am that she would not be there to take over the bakery, but they both knew that her destiny had been changed and there was no going back.
"I missed you, Grandma'am. We've been through so much. You would never believe it all."
The woman gave a delightful laugh. "Girl, I would believe anything. You always did have a knack for getting into trouble. How is that wizard treating you?"
"He's treating me just fine." Chihon went on to explain how they were paired, and how she and Lorit had come to share a power that would make them stronger than any single wizard could hope to be. She filled her in on her capture and eventual release.
It was lunchtime before she wound down. Grandma'am threw a cloth over her stand and stretched. "You want something substantial for your lunch?"
Chihon flushed. "Grandma'am. It's been so long. I'm out of practice."
"You never forget. Come on." Grandma'am took her by the arm, leaning on her as they made their way down the aisle until they came to a large tent straddling two aisles. It was filled with tables and bustling with patrons. At the far end of the tent, a hole had been opened in the roof to let the sunlight pour onto a raised platform. A boy stood in the light with his hands behind his back and recited a poem. The patrons laughed at him and he soon left the stage, head hung in dejection.
"Come on, get up there before someone beats you to it."
"Grandma'am. Please." Chihon resisted, but the old woman hauled her to the stage and shoved her out into the sunlight. Chihon looked into the gloomy interior of the tent. She could make out a few of the patrons, but most of them were obscured in the shadows.
Someone yelled out to her from the darkness. "What have you got for us?"
She gripped her hands behind her back and cleared her throat. "This is a song about loose women." She cleared her throat once again and started to sing.
Women, women, lots of women,
Make bare purses of some men,
Some be nice as a nun's hen,
Yet all, they be not so.
Some be lewd,
some be shrewd.
Go see where they go.
Some be nice, and some be foolish,
And some be tame, misunderstood,
And some can take bread out of a man's hand,
Yet all, they be not so.
Some be lewd,
some be shrewd.
Go see where they go.
Some can part with-out hire,
And some make bait in every shire
And some checkmate with our Sire,
Yet all, they be not so.
Some be lewd,
some be shrewd.
Go see where they go.
She sang her heart out, describing the attributes of the loose women and their suspect behavior. As she sang, people stopped to listen and stayed for lunch, finding a seat in the rapidly filling dining area.
The song went on and on, getting into more and more graphic detail as she extolled the antics of these women. When she reached the final verse, she sang even louder. She jammed her thumbs into her pants and swung her hips in time to the beat, finishing to a rousing round of applause.
Chihon looked out to see the dining tent packed with patrons. She turned red and rushed off the stage, found her grandma'am seated at a table near the steps, and took her seat next to the old woman.
"Quite a show." Grandma'am smiled.
"I wasn't sure I could still do it." Chihon didn't want to appear immodest even though she was secretly proud of her singing.
&
nbsp; "Your wizard doesn't like the way you sing?"
"I've never sung for him." Chihon squirmed in her seat. She knew what was coming. Thankfully, the server arrived with a platter piled high with roasted meat, cut into steaks almost as thick as her hand. They were so large they almost overflowed the platter. The server set it down in front of Chihon.
"Glad to have you back, Chihon. You sure can pack them in." The girl nodded to the packed tent and rushed back to the kitchen.
"See what you can get for just a song?" her grandma'am said as she tore into the thick juicy steak. "I haven't had meat this good since you left with your young wizard."
Chihon dug into hers, eating without saying a word. Her grandma'am often dragged her to this place and encouraged her to sing for her lunch. Even though she secretly enjoyed the attention, she would never admit that to her grandma'am. It would just encourage her and soon Chihon would be nothing but a singing minstrel.
She avoided eye contact while she ate, hoping her grandma'am would do the same.
"So why have you not sung for your wizard?" came the inevitable question.
"It's not like that," Chihon said. "We're just working together, nothing more."
"Nothing more?"
"Nothing more," Chihon said. "We just work our magic together. That's all we do."
"But?"
"But what? That's what we do." Chihon wished this conversation would end.
"I know you. There's a but coming. Out with it."
Chihon smiled at the old woman. "I do like him. He seems to notice that I am alive once in a while."
"Once in a while?"
"On occasion, he has actually noticed that I am a girl," Chihon sat up straight and tried to busy herself with eating. "Once, in the mountains when we were dressed up nice for a funeral, and once right after he found me back. I thought he was more than happy to see me."
"You should know what to do about a young man," her grandma'am said. "I've seen you handle tougher cases than your wizard."
"Yes, but this is different. We're paired. That means we work our magic together. Our life forces are becoming more and more entwined. We are becoming one and the same, inseparable. We share our magic already. I can draw on his and he can draw on mine. We can feel what the other one feels. It's complicated."
"So, he can feel what you feel?" the old woman asked.
"Yes, he can."
"So, what are you going to tell him about this afternoon?" She smiled at Chihon and laughed. "Think he felt that bawdy little number you sang? Did he feel the crowd going wild over it? Did he feel your appreciation of their attention? What do you think?"
Chihon felt her face grow warm at the thought. She knew it was bright red. She tried to control it, but she could not.
"And what do you think he's feeling right about now?" her grandma'am asked as she pushed the cleaned platter away and stood up. The old woman looked down at Chihon and smiled a crooked, mischievous smile that had teased her as long as she could remember.
"Yes, I wonder what he is feeling right about now." She laughed again, turned, and headed out of the tent, leading an embarrassed Chihon back to the cart.
The market was busy, as usual. Chihon and her grandma'am kept busy selling bread and chatting with the patrons until late in the afternoon. They closed up the cart and headed to the inn.
"I'm eager to meet your young wizard. Last time, the two of you lit out of here like you had the temple on your tail. I never got a chance to properly examine him before I handed you over."
"Grandma'am, you'll like him. He's brave and fiercely loyal to his friends. He's a powerful wizard, but he's still humble."
"Is he going to make an honest woman out of you?"
Chihon blushed. "Grandma'am, that's something for the future. Right now, we have to free the wizard Zhimosom and locate Prince Ghall. Once things settle down a little, and we're in Amedon, then we'll have time to think about such things."
They arrived at the inn to find Lorit in the dining room relaxing with a mug of watered ale.
"You remember Grandma'am, don't you?"
Lorit jumped to his feet and grasped the old woman's hand. He bowed and touched his forehead to the back of her hand. "It's an honor to see you again, Ma'am."
Grandma'am looked Lorit over, carefully taking in his appearance from head to foot. "You're taking good care of my granddaughter?"
"As best I can, Ma'am."
She sat down with a sigh. "She's a handful. Not causing you too much trouble, is she?"
"No, Ma'am. She's no trouble at all. She's been a great help." Lorit looked closely at Chihon's grandma'am. "I see a resemblance in the two of you. Not only your appearance but your magic as well."
Grandma'am snorted. "Not much of either, I expect. I'm an old woman and haven't had much in the way of looks in more years than you've been alive. As to magic? I have just enough of that to get a sense of truth or lie in a person. Not much more. Otherwise, I'd be living a life of luxury and ease, not slaving over a hot oven every morning to bake bread for the market."
Chihon patted her hand. "We can leave you some silvers to help you out. Can't we?" She glanced at Lorit, who nodded in agreement.
"How long will you be staying?" Grandma'am asked. "Do you have to run off right away?"
It was Lorit who answered her. "We have to leave in the morning. We're searching the wizard Zhimosom and a missing prince. We don't have much time to spare. If it weren't for the storm, we wouldn't have even made it here. We were blown off course, and now we have to take the long way around."
"Well, at least I get a chance to see my granddaughter for a little while before you run off."
"I'm glad we are here, even if it does mean a slight delay," Chihon said.
She missed her grandma'am and her home more than she'd thought, now that she was back. When Lorit asked Chihon if she wanted to eat dinner, she politely refused. The lunch she had shared with her grandma'am was enough to last her all day.
"What did you do today?" Lorit asked, sharpening his dagger in preparation for the meal.
"We had a big lunch," Chihon admitted.
"What else?" Lorit placed the dagger on the table.
Chihon caught the serving girl's eye and motioned her over. She hoped to avoid the question by distracting Lorit with his order.
"So?" Lorit said. "I felt something strange this afternoon. I'm not sure what it was, but it came from you."
"I sang for my lunch," she admitted with embarrassment.
"Was it a good lunch?"
"It was superb," Grandma'am said. She smiled and encouraged Chihon, who carefully described the events of the day.
"I would like to hear you sing. Are you any good?" Lorit asked.
"She's good enough to get a free lunch out of it. I haven't eaten so well since she left," Grandma'am said.
Lorit grinned at her. "If being a sorceress doesn't work out for you, you still have a career as a minstrel to fall back on." He mimicked the motion of a minstrel strumming a lute.
Chihon hit him on the arm. "How dare you say that? I'm no minstrel. I'm a sorceress, and a fine one at that."
Lorit laughed and rubbed his arm. "That, you are."
Chihon listened to Lorit describe their travels to her grandma'am. From the way he told it, it was she who had won the day for them whenever they were in trouble. Lorit finished his meal and begged his leave. He wanted to contact Rotiaqua and see if she had been able to discover anything more about Zhimosom.
Chihon relaxed with her grandma'am, enjoying the feeling of being home. Somehow, she felt safe and comfortable here.
"He's quite smitten, isn't he?" Grandma'am interrupted her reverie.
"Who's smitten?"
Grandma'am reached out and gently thumped the back of her head as she used to do when Chihon was a little girl. "Pay attention, girl. I said he's smitten. Your wizard. He's quite taken with you."
"Lorit? No, he's just my partner in magic. Sure, we get along fine and I know he likes me
—but smitten?"
"Did I miss something? I just heard him tell a tale of how he crossed half the world looking for you. He braved a witch and defied a king just to find out where you were."
"He's just trying to make me look good in front of you. His only concern right now is finding the wizard Zhimosom. He has no time for anything else."
"You just keep telling yourself that." Grandma'am patted the back of Chihon's hand. "It looks like you two are going to be spending a lot of time together. You might want to decide how you want that future to look."
Chapter 17
The next morning Lorit and Chihon said their farewell to her grandma'am and caught a ride on a barge headed down the river from Bebrook. The barge dropped them off a few days south along the Forest.
From there, they trudged through the Muistur Forest. Their travels had gone without event for almost a moon, but Lorit was becoming more and more worried about Zhimosom.
"I can feel Rotiaqua getting weaker," Lorit said one afternoon.
They picked up their pace, and soon the wooded paths gave way to fields and gently rolling hills as Moriver Tye loomed ahead.
The Mighty Bard House was located near the center of town, but away from the temple. Lorit thought it looked like a good place to stay. The dining room was larger than most inns with a vacant platform at one end that rose above the floor.
Lorit found seating near the back of the room, and soon the serving girl arrived to take their order.
"My name is Kiall, and I will be serving you tonight." She was young, about fourteen summers, with long blond hair done up in a single braid that stretched halfway down her back. She spoke so softly that Lorit could barely make out what she said.
"What do you have that's good?" Lorit asked.
"We have a pork pie and roast fowl."
"We'll have the pork pie and watered ale, and we'll split a loaf of white bread with butter," Chihon said before Lorit had a chance to respond.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll fetch it right out." Kiall rushed off to get their order.
"I know what you like to eat," Chihon said when Lorit looked at her questioningly. "Besides, I saw the fowl on the spit as we came in. It can't be very good. It looks like it's been there all day."
Wizard's Education Page 20
