Rocious held the branch in his open palm the same as he did with the knife and again the runes began to glow a faint red. He grabbed the branch tight forcing more magic into the branch. Again the runes got brighter, and the branch caught fire. A moment later the entire branch was gone, burned into smoke and ashes.
“The runes are powerful but harnessing that power has a price,” said Rocious.
“What is that price for the attuned?” asked Falcon.
Rocious pointed to the pile of firewood and the entire pile turned to ashes in a few moments. “Our price is suffering but we pay it up front. Then we are free to destroy the world,” Rocious shoved Decimus’s head and grabbed his wrist. In a few moments his burnt hand was healed, “or fix it.”
Chapter 9
Lapdog
The sun was almost set when the group finally made it to Spring Forge. The first snow of the season began early in the day so they arrived late, wet and tired. All except Falcon, who grew up in the mountains and was excited to feel the snow again, and to see a place that looked like home. However, once they arrived at Spring Forge the snow disappeared. The area gained its name from a series of hot springs and a lava flow that was used to fuel the forge.
The only entrance to Spring Forge was through a narrow mountain pass, formed by two sharp cliff faces. A few centuries back the Duke of Valentia had built a fort into one of the cliff faces and built a stone wall from the fort to the other cliff. Currently only Thomas Colville and his apprentice lived at and defended the fort. A group of soldiers was normally stationed there but they had already left for the winter and it was Chaplin and his men’s duty to take over the fort and allow Colville to work the forge for the season. The gate of the fort was left open as they arrived.
“Pull the carts into the storehouse and stable the horses. Clint, grab a cask on your way in,” instructed Chaplin.
The men obeyed, leading the carts into the storehouse. Chaplin, Rocious and Falcon made their way into the barracks that would be their home for the winter.
“Where’s Colville?” Chaplin asked the girl who worked in the forge with Colville, “he should join us for a meal or at least some ale.” She was new; Colville must have scared off his last apprentice or worked them into the dirt.
“Passed out probably, he’s been drinking since breakfast,” answered the girl.
“No worries, I’ll get him,” said Rocious.
The girl stepped in front of Rocious to stop him from leaving to wake up Colville. Rocious looked down at the teenage girl genuinely surprised someone had the guts to stop him.
“I don’t think you should wake him,” said the girl.
“Who are you?” asked Rocious skeptically.
“My name’s Flow, I am Master Colville’s apprentice,” answered Flow.
“I have known Colville longer than you have been alive, so move your ass or I’ll do it for you,” said Rocious.
As he spoke Rocious drew a small bit of magic from the cook fire and candles in the room causing the room to darken. The effect on Flow was immediate, and counter productive. She froze. Rocious did not wait however and knocked Flow over on his way to the stairwell.
Falcon went over to help her up, “Ignore him. He doesn’t know how to talk to people. I’m Falcon, Master Lockland’s student.”
“Nice to meet you, Falcon,” said Flow with a bright smile.
Decimus barged in the door followed by Clint and the cask of beer, “Wow, the kid’s a charmer.”
“That’s Decimus, I am Sergeant Chaplin. If you have any trouble with the men, come to me and I’ll sort things out,” said Chaplin.
“Nice to meet you all. Um, there’s stew on if you’re hungry,” said Flow.
Before anyone could answer, the door to the sleeping quarters rattled as if something slammed it from the other side. A few moments later Rocious walked out holding his nose to stop it from bleeding. Falcon quickly grabbed a cloth and brought it to Rocious.
“He’ll be right down,” said Rocious as he covered his broken nose with the cloth.
By the time Colville came downstairs, Chaplin and his men had eaten and were taking a quick dip in one of the nearby hot springs. Rocious had healed his nose and cleaned the blood. Falcon was using the time to practice his new lesson. Since Rocious had given the demonstration with Decimus’s knife and the branch, Falcon’s next lesson was trying to activate the runes. He carved another branch so he could practice all day. So far he was only able to get them to glow a faint light blue; unless it was dark you probably would not even notice the runes were glowing at all. At first Falcon was ecstatic that they were glowing but now it only taunted him.
“Dinner ready?” grunted Colville as he took a seat next to Falcon.
“Hello, Master Colville, I’m Falcon. The stew is on the fire,” answered Falcon in greeting.
“Bah, don’t talk about it, get me some,” Colville shoved Falcon, “And some water.”
Before Falcon got up Flow came walking out the back with a bowl full of stew and piece of bread for Colville.
“Ignore him. He doesn’t know how to talk to people,” said Flow, flashing Falcon a grin.
Rocious came in from the back room carrying a couple mugs of ale and more stew. He sat across from Colville and gave Colville one of the mugs before drinking from his own. The two old men sat in silence, drinking and eating while Falcon focused on his branch.
Decimus leaned back from the fireplace, “You still plugging away at that branch?” he asked Falcon.
“Trying to make it glow,” answered Falcon.
“Good on you. Hard work always pays off,” said Decimus.
“Leave the boy be, Decimus. Focus on yourself,” said Colville pushing his bowl away to pay full attention to his ale.
“You can annoy him all you want. He needs to learn to focus in the midst of distraction,” said Rocious staring at Colville.
“You trying to take my students?” asked Colville.
“No. But I see them more than you,” answered Rocious.
“Then keep to your student, I’ll keep to mine,” threatened Colville.
“I brought him here for you to teach him,” stated Rocious with finality.
“Teach him yourself,” said Colville.
Flow brought two more mugs of ale from the back, and signaled Falcon to follow. Leaving the two grumps to their arguments, Falcon gladly left the distractions behind and followed Flow upstairs. She showed him to the room that would be his. Compared to the room back in Dominion it was more of a closet but, at least, it was a place to escape the bickering. Falcon jumped up on the bed with his branch and turned his focus back to the runes for a few moments before he realized Flow had sat on the bed with him. He looked up to see what she wanted.
“How long have you known Master Lockland?” asked Flow.
“I’ve only been his student for about five months, and I only met him a few days before that,” answered Falcon.
“I guess your parents knew him then?” asked Flow.
“No, we just met on the road,” answered Falcon, getting annoyed again that someone was distracting him from his practice.
“Met him on the road? You mean you’re from Reed,” said Flow.
“Yeah, so?” said Falcon offended.
“What is your name?” asked Flow leaning in closer.
“I told you, Falcon,” answered Falcon.
“Falcon who?” asked Flow.
“Falcon Reed,” answered Falcon.
Flow slipped off the bed and dropped to the floor bowing her head, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were a Count. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
Falcon was too surprised to move, he had never seen anyone freak out like that over nothing. “Um, it’s okay, really. Nobody makes a big deal about that kind of thing in Reed.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think any nobles would be coming here,” said Flow.
Falcon hopped over the bed, “You’re making me feel uncomfortable. Can you just forget
it?”
Flow stood up but kept her eyes down, “I’ll try. It’s just that my family works in the Vale household and they are pretty strict with such things.”
“I know, I have been staying with the Maximus family and they have a ton of rules. I swear all it does is scare the crap out of the servants and make it really quiet everywhere. It doesn’t feel like a home,” said Falcon.
“Maximus? As in King Maximus?” asked Flow wide-eyed.
“Yeah, Master Lockland is friends with him but even he doesn’t like staying in the castle,” said Falcon.
Flow rubbed her hands together, “Master Colville never told me he knew the King,” said Flow.
“How long have you been his apprentice?” asked Falcon.
“Almost six years but, he only has me clean and cook. I was supposed to work in the forge engraving but he kicked me out in the first year,” said Flow.
“Master Lockland had me read the same book everyday for months. I thought it was punishment but it turns out the real lesson was just hidden,” said Falcon.
“I don’t think Master Colville is that clever,” said Flow.
“You should ask him why you’re here,” suggested Falcon.
Flow looked down at the floor again, “I’ll think about, but you should be going to bed.”
When Falcon woke the next morning there was no one else awake in the fort, aside from Decimus and Clint who stayed awake keeping watch. After a quick stop to get some bread, Falcon grabbed the black cloak Rocious gave him and went out to explore Spring Forge. On the journey to the forge the soldiers frequently mentioned the natural hot springs as the best part about coming to the valley, but Falcon was interested in something else entirely. Rocious told him that there was a lava flow inside the forge that made it the best place in Lora to create armor and weapons.
In fact, Spring Forge was the only place that could work the best materials for making armor and weapons. According to Rocious, the only reason the runes destroyed objects was that they were not alive. So the best weapons were created from materials that were once alive, but living things tended to be fragile. The few that were not fragile could only be worked in that one place.
Due to all of the mystery surrounding the forge, Falcon wanted to see it for himself. Besides, lava sounded really cool. With branch in hand, Falcon set out for the forge but the moment he left the fort it was like he was transported to another world. The snow disappeared, the air was warm and the plants grew as if spring was coming instead of winter. He had been looking forward to the snowcapped mountains like Reed but this was nothing like that.
Close to the forge Falcon heard a steady tink, tink, tink. When he entered he found himself inside what looked like a show room: there were weapons and armor of all types adorning the walls and on display tables. Everything was masterfully made and covered with intricate rune work. Falcon was drawn to one set of armor in particular, that seemed to be forged from stone. But that was not the reason Falcon was drawn to it; it was the runes engraved all over the armor. It was subtle but they were more masterfully done than everything else. Falcon pulled himself away from the armor and followed that tink sound farther into the forge.
He followed it to a long corridor. On the right side was a series of tables with tools and tubs of water, and on the left about twenty metal blocks and a string of chains and hooks above the flowing lava. Falcon was mesmerized by the sight and instantly knew he wanted to stay here. It was a place that had a deep connection to the earth, and he craved that connection like a child craves his mother’s comforting embrace.
Shaking himself from the trance this place put him in he followed that tink, tink, tink to the end of the corridor. At the last workstation Master Colville was working on repairing a pile of broken equipment, presumably from the cart they brought here. Colville saw Falcon approaching and put his hand up signaling him to stay. Falcon patiently watched how he worked.
When Colville finished repairing the sword he hung it above the lava flow and turned to Falcon, “Are you lost boy?” asked Colville.
“I followed the sound,” answered Falcon.
“I was about to take a break to cool down. Help me stow the tools and we can head upstairs,” instructed Colville.
Colville led the way to a side chamber of the showroom. Colville poured two cups of water, gave one to Falcon and sat.
“What’s that you’re carrying around?” asked Colville indicating Falcon’s pocket.
“Just a branch,” answered Falcon showing him the branch.
Colville motioned him closer so he could get a better look at the branch, Falcon handed it to him. Colville inspected the runes with scrutiny, picking at the wood to expand any flaws in the carving.
“Did Rocious… did Lockland make this for you?” asked Colville handing it back to Falcon.
“No, I carved it. Master Lockland burnt the last one,” answered Falcon.
“I want you to show me,” said Colville.
Colville left the room and came back with polished piece of wood and a set of engraving tools. Falcon took the tools and sat on the floor to carve the wood, but Colville stopped him.
“Stop. You cannot use fire runes on wood. Just like Lockland to not explain how they work,” said Colville.
“I memorized the whole book,” said Falcon defensive.
“Yes, but you don’t understand it. The runes basically manipulate magic the same as the attuned. So the fire rune converts the magic into some form of heat and what happens to wood when you heat it?” asked Colville.
“It burns,” answered Falcon finally understanding.
“Yes,” said Colville then he held up a finger and left the room. He came back with a slab of stone and a piece of chalk.
“See, if you use this one, the magic will be converted to the most basic form of energy,” instructed Colville.
“What is energy?” asked Falcon.
“Like pushing, pulling or throwing. In general, energy will not damage the object but it is difficult to activate. Fire is easy to activate but it is destructive,” said Colville.
“I think I understand but Master Lockland said the runes had a price to pay. And that price destroys them?” asked Falcon.
“It’s somewhat true. See, they are only runes and they are imperfect. It’s the imperfections that destroy, not anything else. Lockland thinks he is paying a price for using magic,” said Colville.
“I think I understand but what about that armor you have? It looks really old. Shouldn’t it be destroyed by now?” asked Falcon.
“Forget you saw that armor. Now show me how you carved the runes but switch fire for light,” instructed Colville, making it clear not to ask again about the armor.
Falcon obeyed and began carving again, this time uninterrupted. Colville watched him work. As usual, Falcon took his time carving. He wanted to make sure not only that the runes were carved correctly, but he also wanted the runes to look pretty.
“I’m done,” said Falcon handing the finished wood to Colville.
Colville inspected the runes closely.
“Flow is going to be pissed. How would you like to engrave the armor I create?” asked Colville.
“You want me to carve runes? I have to ask Master Lockland, he said I was coming here to train,” answered Falcon.
“Actually, you’ll be engraving the runes, and this was the training Master Lockland wanted,” said Colville.
“Do I get to stay in the forge?” asked Falcon.
“Yes, of course,” answered Colville.
The winter went by in a blissful haze of exhaustion; every morning Falcon woke early to practice moving magic enough to activate runes for a few hours, then he tried to help Flow cook breakfast but usually ended up just watching. Then they would engrave the various weapons that Colville repaired or created. Most days he was so tired after engraving he would eat dinner and fall asleep only to repeat the same routine again the next day.
On the rare occasion Colville decided to clos
e the forge early, Falcon would watch the soldiers practice. Decimus was clearly the best swordsman of the group, but by far the best fighter turned out to be the old man, Colville. He always fought unarmed and still never lost. He was either psychic or insanely fast. Colville also turned out to be a kind man, aside from the times he was hung-over. Falcon only wished his friends were there to watch the fights with him; Fafnir would have crapped his pants seeing an unarmed, old man cleaning the floor with his hero Decimus.
Even with missing his friends and being tired every day, Falcon was happy in this place. The warmth of the springs and forge filled the valley with life year round, and the soldiers were always cheerful and joking around. The atmosphere was the complete opposite of living in the castle in Dominion. The day the snow melted and the roads cleared, a messenger arrived from Dominion with a letter for Rocious. Rocious read the letter then burnt it to ashes a moment later.
“I’m leaving before dawn. The rest of you will go to Dominion without me,” announced Rocious after their evening meal.
Most of the men had not finished eating but Rocious left the table without waiting for any reply. He went to his room to prepare for his journey in the morning. Rocious was filling his pack when he realized Falcon was standing in the doorway watching him.
“What do you need?” asked Rocious.
“You’re going to Reed. I want to go with you,” said Falcon.
“No. I need to go alone. You will go to Dominion with Chaplin,” stated Rocious flatly. Falcon knew him well enough to not argue but stating his desire was all he really expected to do anyway.
That night Rocious did not sleep; he simply waited for the others to drift off and slipped out of the fort. The letter he received said Cato Eikard, the Duke of Caledonia, was behind the dragon. Rocious made his way south though the cold night, travelling along the mountains as high as he thought safe. On the way he focused on the sense of freedom he got from traveling alone through the wilderness.
He did not try to control that sense of freedom; he let it draw in magic while he walked. By the time he saw the moon high in the sky he had attracted enough magic to speed up his pace. Using explosion and traveling directly he could make it there in a few days. But he would need to follow the Hadrian Mountain range south to Fort Reed then track the Severan Mountain range to Eikard’s home in Keld. There were two problems with that plan: someone hearing his explosions and the mountains themselves. Explosions, he would simply need to be careful with; the other two were the tricky ones.
Home (Hidden in the Reed's Book 1) Page 8
