by Guy Antibes
Jack grinned. “I’m not. I guess being able to lend the kind of power that I can isn’t a common gift. I learned that from a patriarch. Do you know what they are? I don’t.”
She sat up. “The patriarch here in Bartonsee? He is next in line to run the whole church.”
“Huh. I was sitting in the cathedral, and he talked to me just as if I were a local and he worked there.” Jack stopped his thinking and looked at Helen. “What could happen to me if I practice wizardry where I’m not supposed to?”
“Like in a temple?” she asked. “They would bind you up and offer your body to Alderach for heresy.”
Jack’s eyes grew wide. He didn’t realize the stakes were so high.
Helen laughed. “Got you on that one.” She laughed some more. “They would kick you out of the church and maybe beat you a little. How would I know? I have no more magic than anyone else walking the streets of Bartonsee. You really talked to the patriarch?”
“He didn’t call himself that, but a priest showed up and called him by that title. I thought he might be something more than a common priest.”
Helen stood and rubbed Jack’s hair. “You really know how to raise a woman’s spirits. I was so angry, but you came in with your ridiculous story and cooled my temper. Good for you.” She noticed his new sheath. “Did you get that in the market? It looks custom made.”
“A leather maker made it for me while I was talking to the patriarch. I think it looks very presentable.”
Helen lifted it up. “Good workmanship and very good leather. How much?”
“Three shillings.”
“Not a bad price, but not a bargain if he had already made most of this up. It is a very good job, but you can restore the wand just as easily through that ratty sheath you were using before.”
“But now I can do it with style.” Jack smiled and then asked, “Do you know who Ozzie Quist is?”
“I do. He used to work with Fasher Tempest before he blew out his power.”
“Like me?” Jack said. He told Helen about meeting him.
Helen laughed again. “I imagine he will want us to take him to Dorkansee. The man is legendary for mooching off others.”
“Could he be useful?” Jack asked.
“Perhaps. I haven’t seen him for some time. We were together when he blew out his power. Help me pick up the room. I need to do something good, so I can get something to eat. I’m probably as hungry as you are if you haven’t eaten.”
~
Every experience was new to Jack, from the jail that wasn’t to walking through the ducal palace. Tanner had lightly slapped his head from behind and told him not to do so much gawking, but what could he do? Jack was surprised that Ozzie Quist joined them wearing a slightly more presentable robe and went hatless, showing a bald head. Tanner had told him that Quist talked his way into joining them, just as Helen predicted. It was none of Jack’s business, and he was actually happy that a wizard would be joining them since he could talk to Quist about wizardry.
They were shown into a dining room. It looked like the private room in the pub his father frequented but bigger and fancier. Jack was surprised to see the patriarch standing with another priest a bit older than him.
“Jack Winder of Raker Falls?” the patriarch said when he recognized Jack. “I thought I’d never see you again. You are with Tanner Simple’s group?”
“You might say that,” Jack said. “We are both going to Dorkansee and are traveling together.”
“I see,” the patriarch said. It appeared like the patriarch might know more about Tanner than Jack did. “You have a new sheath for your wand?”
The man was very observant, but then he was much higher ranked than anyone Jack had met before, and maybe that made him smarter. “It was being made when I toured the cathedral.”
“You enjoyed the cathedral, young man?” the other priest said.
“Indeed he did, Bishop,” the patriarch said. “Jack has a recent wizardly background. He found out a few months ago that he is a helper.”
“Really,” the bishop said. “It is a shame you have chosen the wizard way. If that changes, come back to Bartonsee. We don’t have a priests’ helper at present. I could make it worth your while.”
The patriarch’s brow furrowed. “Making it worth someone’s while is not the way of Alderach, Bishop.”
“I am sorry, Patriarch, but you know how much competition there is for helpers.”
“I am willing to overlook your comment, for now. Don’t pester the boy anymore tonight. If anyone is to pester him it will be me.” The patriarch smiled at Jack. “We should sit together.” He sealed his offer with a wink.
Jack didn’t know how to react, so he just smiled and was happy the door opened. A man that looked like an older version of Tanner walked in.
“Brother,” the Duke said and walked to his friend giving him an obviously unwanted hug.
“Do brothers arrest each other?” Tanner asked.
“I wasn’t about to let you leave Bartonsee again without seeing me. We have a little matter to discuss while you are here.”
“Walking with you in the parade? Is that why you invited churchmen to dinner, so I would behave myself?”
The Duke smiled slyly. “I never could put anything over on you,” he said patronizingly.
“Why don’t you just ask him?” Helen said to the Duke
After raising his eyebrows in surprise, Tanner’s brother said, “Will you march by my side at the Spring Parade?”
“I will, if you permit my group and me to leave the city as soon as it ends,” Tanner said.
Even Jack was surprised by Tanner’s quick capitulation.
“You mean for me to pardon the female member of your little troupe?”
Tanner growled. “We aren’t a troupe, but yes I want you to pardon her, for any damage she has done to her cell, her guards, and her pride.”
Helen scowled at the request, but the Duke brightened. “It is a deal. Now let us have an amiable dinner, much more amiable than what I had anticipated. If you will be seated. Tanner at my right and the bishop at my left. The rest of you may sit where you wish.”
Jack ended up sitting next to the patriarch with an empty seat between the patriarch and the bishop.
“Didn’t things work out nicely?” the patriarch said. “Duke Hestor had prepared us for a fight. I like it better when there is no fighting, don’t you?”
Jack shrugged. “Sometimes a fight livens things up a bit, but I’m happy we can leave without any trouble.”
“Good. Now tell me how much you know about Alderach?”
The food was excellent, but Jack grew bored with the patriarch’s attentions. He was a great man, and Jack understood most of what he talked about, but he felt a certain pressure from the man, and Jack was a little irritated at the end when Tanner and Duke Hestor began to raise their voices.
“I think a fight is about to begin,” the patriarch whispered in Jack’s ear.
“I won’t be living in the palace,” Tanner said. “You promised I can go.”
“But you are my only heir,” Hestor said. “I have to groom you to take over.”
Tanner looked exasperated. “What gives you the idea that I want to become the next duke. Have the king appoint someone else. Neither of us has sired any children.”
The duke’s face turned red. “Not here,” he said.
“If not here, then where?” Tanner said. “If something happens to you, I will promise to return to Bartonsee and make sure the city remains orderly. I’ll even sign a contract if that will suffice, but I have my own life to live. Document what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”
The duke looked around at the table. “A family squabble,” he said. “At this point, I think a contract will be in order,” Hestor said to Tanner. He smiled at the bishop and the rest of the group. “I will return with what you request.” He gave a curt bow to the group. “Continue to eat while I get a contract prepared,” the duke said before
he departed.
“Was that more in line with what you expected?” the patriarch asked Jack.
“More than I expected, I admit. I had no idea Tanner was royalty.”
“Nobility, Jack. Nobility. If you ever get in trouble in Dorkansee, feel free to see me. I will remember your name, Jack Winder on a mission for Fasher Tempest.”
“How did you know I worked for Wizard Tempest?” Jack said.
The patriarch smiled, but he was blushing. “Perhaps I heard it from that Quist fellow.”
The bishop leaned over and said. “We need to give some instructions to Tanner about what to expect at the parade.”
“Of course.” The patriarch smiled and nodded to Jack before moving over a seat.
Helen gave him a questioning look, but Quist was listening in, and Jack had no reason to trust the man until he knew him better, and it looked like he might get that opportunity. He suddenly felt a little uneasy about the man.
~
The day after the dinner was boring since Tanner didn’t leave with them when they returned to the inn. Quist brought a worn carpetbag and stayed in Tanner’s room. They had spent the day accumulating supplies and some new clothes for Quist who ended up leaving his worn wizard robes behind. Jack suspected Helen or Tanner or both provided Quist with some funds.
Tanner had shown up the night before the parade and merely confirmed what Jack guessed from the disastrous dinner.
“My brother is a horse’s rear end.” Tanner started smiling at Jack.
“I know how to curse,” Jack said. “I’ve done it often enough, myself.”
“He was catering to my sensitivities,” Quist said, making Helen giggle.
“This isn’t the first time he’s made me commit to returning. I thought he would settle down when I told him I was headed to Dorkansee to see my half-sister, but it just made him more upset. I finally found out why, after I signed the contract. Hestor isn’t particularly interested in me assuming the ducal role, but he is adamant our sister be denied any chance. What a moron.” Tanner said. “The contract contains a provision prohibiting me from abdicating in favor of my sister, but there are ways around that. I won’t worry about it now. All I have to do is walk a mile with Hestor and the bishop.”
That was the previous night, and now the horses were ready. All they needed was Tanner in order to continue their interrupted journey. Jack, Quist, and Helen stood in the sun, which was hot for spring. Jack wondered what he could do to help Tanner. His lips curled when he figured out a prank. Tanner might get a kick out of it once they were on the road. He knew Duke Hestor would.
The three stood amidst the crowd. An entire lane of stalls and tents were removed for the procession, but there were plenty of nooks and crannies amidst the remaining stalls along the crowded route. Citizens packed both sides of the avenue cleared through the market all the way to the steps of the cathedral.
The roars began to increase as the procession entered the square. There was a row of flag bearers followed by drummers, trumpeters, and women dancing with long strips of silk waving in unison. Jugglers followed a row of fifes, followed by more jugglers and acrobats, and so it continued until more trumpeters blared announcing the duke and the bishop. Behind both of them trailed the patriarch wearing a gilded cap with the horns of Alderach protruding forward. Jack tried to wipe a smile from his face. To see the dignified man in that getup eliminated any chance the patriarch might have had to convince him to be a priests’ helper. Tanner walked beside him dressed in silks. Jack had to admit he looked as noble as his brother, dressed like that.
Jack positioned himself in a secure place facing the cathedral. No one in the procession could see him unless they looked backward. The trumpeters passed and then Jack saw the back of Tanner. The wand was soon pointed at Jack’s target. With a smile on his face, Jack said the magic word, and he watched the bolt of energy go in the straightest of lines, slapping Duke Hestor on his rear end.
The Duke let out a howl and clutched his backside just as Jack slipped away, his retreat firmly in his mind until he slid between Helen and Quist. The woman’s face was lit up with a grin. Most people were laughing at the duke, but after rubbing his behind enough, the procession proceeded and ended at the steps. The bishop and the duke spoke to the crowds, and then the procession ended.
Tanner met them as they stood rooted to the spot while the merchants quickly moved their stalls back into place around them.
“What was that all about?” Tanner said. “Unless my eyes deceived me, I thought I saw a tiny bolt of lightning hit my brother’s behind. That couldn’t have been you, Jack. Could it? Even the patriarch guffawed at the sight of my brother’s pain.”
“I didn’t do anything I shouldn’t have,” Jack said. “I think we better get going.”
Tanner laughed. “I couldn’t agree more, although I hope you permanently damaged him.”
“Not from that distance,” Jack said.
Tanner slapped Jack on the shoulder. “Let’s head out.”
Helen led them to their horses, being minded by a stable boy from the inn. She paid him a generous tip, and then they slipped through the crowds and out of Bartonsee, galloping once they exited the city gates.
When they finally slowed down, Quist asked about what had happened in the city.
“Jack will give you a demonstration when we stop to rest the horses,” Tanner said.
Once they arrived at a suitable place to stop, Jack pulled out his wand.
“This is an object of power, you know.”
“I once could tell, but no longer,” Quist said, “unless I touch it.”
Jack put it in front of Quist. “Oh, one of those.”
“Those?”
“A Fifth Manipulation object,” Quist said, “but a low-level one since it contains a common bolt spell, but keyed specifically to you. Did Fasher imbue this?”
Jack shrugged. “He gave it to me, but I don’t know if he made it or not. Watch this.” Jack zapped a nearby tree, setting the bark to smoke.
“You were the one who caused the scene?”
“What scene?” Jack asked innocently. They all laughed.
“The patriarch knew it was you,” Tanner said. “But he promised not to tattle. I think he quite enjoyed the prank.”
“I thought Duke Hestor deserved it,” Jack said.
“He deserves a lot more,” Tanner said, “but I enjoyed watching him squirm. It probably still smarts.”
Chapter Nine
~
Q uist sat down next to Jack when they stopped at an inn for the night after a hard day in the saddle. They were three days away from Dorkansee.
“You have another object of power?” the wizard asked.
“I do.” Jack pulled out the cube, and it pointed in the direction of Dorkansee. “See? It is like a compass.” He let it drop into Quist’s hands, but the blue disappeared. “Did it break?” Jack said.
“No,” the wizard said. “I have no power. None at all, it burned out of me. It is a malady that isn’t uncommon for wizards, but for most, it comes back quickly. I’ve been this way for years.” The man sighed. “At least I can pass on some of my knowledge if you don’t mind.”
“What about Tanner and Helen?” Jack asked.
“They don’t have enough power. They can light a candle or a fire and coax a spill into a cloth, but their power is limited. You, on the other hand, are an amazing font of power.” Quist smiled at the thought. “He probably thought you might help a little like most people would, but he found a diamond in the rough.”
“Very rough,” Helen said. “Jack is still in need of a lot of polishing.”
“Life isn’t all about swordsmanship, Helen,” Quist said. “I have known you long enough to know what you think, but you aren’t entirely right.”
Jack looked at Quist and Helen. “Right about what?”
“A philosophical argument we’ve had since before I lost my power,” Quist said. “Who is more important a first-class
swordsman or a first-class wizard?”
“I know the answer to that,” Jack said. “They are both important, but it depends on what the situation is. We talked about that kind of stuff in extended school. A king is important when he is deciding what is best for his kingdom, but if he isn’t a wizard, he can’t heal a person in desperate need of help. It is the same thing. It depends on the situation. Maybe I can see the positions more clearly since I’m not first-class in anything.”
“Maybe,” Helen said.
“But in this case, I don’t think it is maybe at all,” Tanner said. “The competition arises due to arrogance, intolerance, and a lack of perspective. Take my brother, for instance. He is a successful duke. The people like him. He isn’t overbearing and manages the city and its environs well.”
“I thought you didn’t like your brother,” Jack said.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like him. I don’t like his tactics in trying to get me to be his heir when my sister should be. He has a lack of perspective because of his lifelong rivalry with his older, only true, sibling. Part of it is his intolerance of women, but most of it is perspective, I think.”
“What about your sense of duty?” Helen asked. “Have you none?”
Tanner’s smile grew slowly on his face. “I do. I didn’t refuse to sign the damned contract. My duty is as solid as anyone else’s, but it is tempered with perspective and my own inborn arrogance, which I’ll admit I possess.”
“Oh, the mighty Tanner Simple admits to arrogance?” Helen said.
“And what about yours?” Tanner said.
“Me, arrogant? I’m angry, not arrogant,” she said.
Quist laughed. “You both need a bit more self-perspective.”
Helen frowned. “How did this conversation get twisted in my direction?”
“No one is perfect, even the patriarch, I’ll surmise,” Jack said. “My thinking is that no one should get too wound up with themselves, although that isn’t so easy to do sometimes.”
“The boy speaks, and we should listen,” Quist said.
“I’m not perfect, ask the guards at Raker Falls,” Jack said.
