Unpredictable Fortunes (The Memory Stone Series Book 3)

by Jeffrey Quyle

  Theus felt sympathy for the two men. He knew that they were professional soldiers, and he knew they disliked Donal. They were, in some ways, victims of Donal’s warlike ways as much as Great Forks was.

  “As the only surviving magician from the battle then, these are the rules I propose,” the boy decided to speak up and offer his proposal as quickly as possible.

  I suggest that we accept your surrender. On behalf of Limber, I accept your surrender,” Theus said. “I offer the following terms. By noon tomorrow you will peacefully reload all of your men on the ships that brought the men to Great Forks, and you will sail directly back home to Southsand. You will never attack Great Forks or Greenfalls or Limber ever, and you will release all your prisoners of war immediately.”

  “This is irregular! Who are you to dictate the terms of surrender right here in our very own city?” the officer from Great Forks demanded.

  “He’s the person who saved our city from destruction,” Lord Warrell pointed out. “As the temporary leader of the city, I think that accounts for a great deal.

  “Can you remove all your men within twenty-four hours?” Warrell asked Montuse.

  “We can, and we will,” the officer pledged.

  “You’re satisfied that they will honor their pledge?” Warrell turned to Theus.

  “As long as Donal doesn’t come back and force them to do otherwise, I know that these officers and the others will behave honorably,” Theus agreed.

  “I don’t think Donal will come back looking for a fight with you,” Montuse said with deceptive quietness. “You burned his hand off; your power was greater than his. You’re a mighty master of the arts of magic, Theus.”

  The statement hung in the air. The people at the table fidgeted silently, and several stole surreptitious glances at Theus.

  “You’re satisfied with this?” Warrell asked Theus again.

  “Completely,” Theus confirmed.

  “Then the terms are agreed. Begin the immediate withdrawal of your forces. Go directly to the docks; do not detour or cause any harm or damage on the way. Leave behind all captives and plunder your men have in their possession, and leave behind two of your ships as partial payment for the death and damage you caused,” Warrell spoke firmly. “I understand that it was the magician who caused this invasion to occur, so you will not be held responsible. But the magician Donal is held responsible, as is your king. Each will be subject to demands for justice,” Warrell stated.

  Montuse and Alamice both stood up, and extended their hands. Alamice shook with Theus, while Montuse shook with Warrell, then they exchanged partners. Afterwards, the others in the room shook hands as well, and they all paraded out of the room into the hallway, and the two defeated officers were officially escorted on their way back to their beleaguered forces.

  “You’ll send orders around to all our men immediately, telling them to allow the Southsanders to return to their ships, but to tolerate no deviation from that path whatsoever,” Warrell told his small band of commanding officers.

  They agreed and departed, leaving the hall much less densely populated.

  “Theus,” Warrell turned to his guest when the others were gone. “I had no idea how remarkable you would prove to be when you delivered those jewels to me months ago,” the nobleman said. “Did you see any of this coming in your future?”

  “No, my lord, I would never have dreamed of anything greater than being an apprentice,” Theus smiled.

  “I would like to rest a bit longer, then go see my companions from Greenfalls later this morning, my lord. My I continue to use your home as a resting place today?” Theus asked.

  Warrell laughed. “For as long as you want Theus, for as long as you want! Coriae, would you call servants to come help our hero to his room? I have to go attend to a number of matters now,” Warrell patted Theus’s uninjured shoulder, then departed.

  “I’ll help you up myself,” Coriae told Theus in a determined voice, once her father was gone. She proceeded to help him manage his way up one step at a time.

  “Thank you,” Theus grunted when the pair of them returned to his room, and he was able to sit in his bed. He felt tired. Even the simple act of going down stairs for the meeting had exhausted him. His shoulder still ached worse than his leg, and he felt the strain in his soul, a strain that made him shy aware from even considering trying to grasp his powers for any use of white magic.

  “What else can I do for you?” she was kindness personified, and she was deeply committed to his comfort, he was gratified to see. When he healed, and when he was ready, he would be prepared to see if they could resume their relationship.

  “I’m tired,” he told her. “I just need to rest. Come wake me at lunch time please, and I’ll see if I can make it out to see the men from Greenfalls,” he smiled, then closed his eyes and lay back on the pillows.

  “As you wish, my lord,” she sounded disappointed, but complied immediately, and Theus heard her walk across the floor, then close the door.

  Theus fell asleep instantly, his body and mind still struggling to recover from the trials of the battle the day before.

  Chapter 31

  The occupants of the mansion allowed Theus to sleep until mid-afternoon. His friend from the kitchen staff, Blanche awoke him when she brought in a fresh pitcher of water and a plate of cut fruit. He opened his eyes and saw her adjusting the things on the table by the window.

  “Who’s that?” he teasingly asked, as he momentarily struggled to recollect the name of her gardener boyfriend, then remembered Marvin. “Is it Marvin’s favorite kitchen helper?”

  She turned with a smile, and Theus saw that she was pregnant.

  “I hope I am!” she laughed, and walked over to the bedside. “We’ve been married long enough that he better know to call me his favorite!”

  The pair chatted briefly, then Blanche left, and Theus struggled to pull his boots on. His wounded leg was feeling better, but his shoulder felt no different. It throbbed with a dull, continual pain.

  He was ready to go find his companions from Greenfalls. He carried his staff and walked downstairs. He didn’t know where his sword, or his other belongings when he arrived in Great Forks were, and decided that he didn’t need to carry a sword through the city in the aftermath of the battle, especially if he did have his staff as a weapon.

  There were several people downstairs on the main level of the home, people he didn’t recognize, people he assumed were part of the provisional government that Warrell was heading during the conflict in the city, while the duly-appointed government was still absent after fleeing the city.

  He was able to walk among the busy crowd without comment or recognition, and he stepped out through the main door without comment. Then he walked down the drive and through the gates, with a wave to the guards, and he was free to limp through the city without further notice, a single man with a staff and a limp and nothing notable to draw attention to himself from the residents of the city who were scrambling to recover from the horrors of the invasion.

  Theus guessed that the Greenfalls soldiers were camped out on the east side of the city, near where their river barges had docked and discharged them. They had left their supplies in the ships, and would want to go back there when the active hostilities of the battle with Southsand was over. He walked in that direction, and spent his time thinking about all that had been revealed to him in his conversations with Coriae.

  The lovely girl still sparked his heart, and he had no doubt that she still cared for him, deeply. The gestures and attention and time she had given him were all signs that he could ask for her heart once more, and receive it, he was confident. He had explained why he had left her the way he had, and the circumstances of the Southsand invasion, and the revelations of Amelia to Forgon simply corroborated everything he had said and lived and acted upon.

  The strange chance that Forgon and Amelia had met and become attached made him shake his head; it was the only reaction he could have. He knew For
gon would treat the girl with the consideration due to someone who was really still a child in a nearly-grown woman’s body, and he could think of no one who would be a better match for the girl than the gentlemanly and trustworthy Forgon.

  He walked past Glory’s home as he cut through her neighborhood on his trip to the eastside of the city. He was glad she had delivered the small, magical stone back to Coriae, and he was glad Coriae had spoken so well of Glory.

  His leg felt better for having the exercise of walking, he decided as he enjoyed the warmth of the afternoon sun. It was a late spring day, and everything felt right in the world, in his world at least. Everything except the continued presence of Donal and Ind’Petro, but they were challenges for the far future; and, they were less daunting in appearance than they had been before.

  Theus had bested Donal with magic. He repeated the thought to himself, and then looked down at the road and let himself smile as he repeated the internal comment. He had defeated Donal. He had done it with an accidental experiment in the use of the white magic, but it had been powerful enough to overcome the power of Donal’s black magic. It had been enough to do real and painful damage to Donal, and Theus hoped that the damage would be permanent and crippling, so that when their next confrontation occurred, it would be to Theus’s advantage.