01 - The Price of Talent

by Peter Whittlesey

  “So the room is kept cool, and I presume deep underground, to limit my access to magic?” I asked.

  “Close enough,” he said. “We put you in a stone cell deep under Caer Sud, where it stays cool, to limit your access to latent heat energies. But you will note that we also keep it pitch black to limit your access to light, another form of energy. We also limit how much food we give you, something you have no doubt noticed, to limit your access to your own latent source of heat energy. The stone walls are just another added protection, because short of killing you, we can’t completely cut you off from the energy contained within you.”

  “What happens if I drain too much of my own energies when I cast a spell, or whatever you want to call it?” I ask.

  “Tyr, draining too much of your body’s energy reserves can make you pass out, can lead to coma and even death,” he said. “You eat food so your body has the energy and raw materials it needs to keep you healthy. If you drain too much of that for other purposes, you can die. The mind has the ability to tap far more energy and use it faster than the body can create it through your metabolism.”

  “So this cell is a death trap?” I asked.

  “Not quite. As long as we keep feeding you and providing you with water, you won’t die unless you tap too much of your own powers. But then, that would hardly be our fault now would it?”

  “But the cell is designed to take more energy to break out of than I can safely tap, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “As I said, Tyr, you are dangerous,” he replied. “We can hardly risk letting you loose when you have already killed so many people.”

  “You said you want to put my powers to use though,” I said. “It’s hard to do that from this cell. So, at some point you are going to have to let me out of here.”

  “That, Tyr, is entirely up to you,” he said. “You need to prove yourself trust worthy and you need to learn how to use and control your powers so that you are not a risk to anyone anymore. With proper instruction and guidance, I… well, my compatriots here and I, can teach you to use your powers productively for the good of society.”

  “Are you not able to teach me everything yourself?” I asked.

  “One of the most interesting things about magical ability is that it manifests itself in different people in different ways,” he said. “Just as not everyone is equally strong, or equally skilled, people who are gifted with magical talent are not all gifted in the same way.”

  “Is it a matter of training or ability?” I asked. “Is it like some people are carpenters while others are blacksmiths, or is it more like some people are really strong and others can run long distances?”

  “It’s actually a little bit of both,” he said. “Once we know where your natural talents lie, we can tailor your instructions so that you can use this talent in other ways.”

  “How many different kinds of magical talents are there?” I asked.

  “That depends entirely on how you choose to distinguish between uses of power.” He replied.

  “Ok… Then how do you, or how does the church, distinguish these things?” I asked.

  “Well, Tyr, take you for an example,” he said. “We know you are a pyromancer, which is just a fancy way of saying you know how to manipulate fire. You made that abundantly clear in our previous attempts to apprehend you. But I suspect that your talents go well beyond mere fire manipulation, given you were able to, perhaps accidentally, blow up your parents’ farm. I’m guessing your talent lies with external manipulation of energy. With some training, you may be able to not only manipulate fire with more skill, but also ice, lightning, and telekinetic force.”

  “What other types of magic are there?” I asked.

  “While you are gifted in external uses of power, there are people who are gifted on internal uses. This can augment their physical abilities in a variety of ways. There are also people who can use their powers on other people’s minds, appear more charming, seem more convincing and even be able to hypnotize others. There are those whose gifts run to healing… And well, you get the idea.”

  “Interesting. Somehow, I thought, well, that magic was all the same,” I said.

  I wasn’t lying when I said that either. In my discussions with Ross, I had sort of assumed that everyone developed powers in similar manners. After all, Ross had a decent idea on how I could learn to control my powers despite his being trained as a healer.

  “There is a lot to learn, if you are willing to learn it,” said Claudius.

  “I want to learn more, but it’s hard for me to trust you from within this cell,” I said.

  “And we won’t let you out unless we can trust that you are not dangerous,” he said.

  “So, how do I reassure you?” I asked.

  “That is going to take time,” he said. “But I will return tomorrow and we can run through some very rudimentary tests and lessons. Assuming you continue to be cooperative and open to learning, we will take it from there.”

  And with that he left. But the stairway through the ceiling was not retracted after he walked up them. Instead another pair of feet came down the stairs. It was hard to tell until she turned around, but it turned out to be Meredith.

  “How are you doing, Tyr? Feeling ok?” She asked.

  “Yeah, well, I’m doing as well as I can down here,” I said.

  “I can’t believe they have you locked down here!” She said. “If my father had known what they were going to do to you, well… at least I think… he would not have called the Inquisition on you.”

  “Well, given what Claudius has been saying, it seems like the Inquisition would have chased me down regardless of whether he called them or not,” I said.

  “They did seem quite intent on capturing you…” She said.

  “Meredith, why are you here?” I asked. “Why aren’t you with your father in Forsburg?”

  “Tyr, you have been gone quite a long time…” She said, hesitantly. “My father… uh that is… I think… Well, he’s no longer in Forsburg…”

  “Meredith… Why isn’t… Wait, what happened after I was knocked out by the Inquisition at your place?”

  “My father hustled me outside and made me hide in the stable,” she said. “He was quite angry about being put out of his own house, but also was not quite sure what to do. Anyway, after he knew I was safely hidden away, he went back to confront the Inquisition.”

  “That was… very brave of him…” I said, not liking where this was going, but not knowing what else to say.

  “Yes, brave…” she said looking away from me. “I could see them all from the windows in the stable. He turned around and headed back towards the house just as the three Inquisitors were leaving. The three of them were standing on the porch. One of them had you thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes or grain. I couldn’t hear what was said, but I saw the result. He walked up to them and looked like he was saying some very heated words. The leader of the group, without so much as blinking, punched him in the face and knocked him down the stairs of our porch. He then motioned to the other two and walked away. They threw you in the back of their wagon and rode off.”

  “How was your dad?” I asked her.

  “After they left I came out of the stable and ran over to help him…” She said. “He was unconscious and had a huge welt forming on his jaw. I called some people to help and we got him inside and into bed. The next day, more inquisitors dropped by…”

  “But if I was gone, why did they come back?” I asked.

  “They wanted information,” she said. “When my dad was awake, they took him to one room and me to another and interrogated us for hours about you and your stay with us. Around midday I was allowed to see my father and see how his jaw was doing. Then…”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “They suddenly got very interested in what I was doing,” she said. “The officer in charge was holding his medallion and smiled. I remember because his face seemed to be full of malice. Then he ar
rested me and my father.”

  “They sensed you healing your father didn’t they?” I asked.

  “Yes, I didn’t know it at the time, but the reason I made such a good assistant at the hospital was that I have some talent with healing,” she said. “The guards started calling us ‘sympathizers’ and saying that we were obviously lying to protect you. They hauled us away in separate carts… I haven’t seen my father since.”

  “Did they throw you in one of these cold cells?” I asked.

  “No, they seem to reserve these for special cases,” she replied. “I didn’t even know about them until Claudius told me he had captured you and brought me to check to see you were in decent physical health.”

  “I thought he sent you as a way to keep me docile,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “Given his troubles arresting me, I think he wanted me to know he had a hostage.”

  “I’m not being held hostage,” she said looking at me like I was crazy.

  “Are you free to go home?” I asked.

  “Well, no… Not really,” she said. “But I’m not locked in a dark cell like you are either. I’m being trained as a healer in their hospital ward. I’m free to wander throughout Caer Sud.”

  “But not outside it?” I asked.

  “No, nobody who isn’t an initiate in the church is allowed to leave the fortress,” she said. “And initiates are only allowed out with fully trained priests in whatever order we are being trained to join.”

  “So, I’m not going to be allowed to leave the castle on my own until I’ve been around long enough to be made a priest?” I asked.

  “I’m honestly not sure, Tyr,” she said. “I know they won’t let me leave until I have reached an Initiate’s rank, and only then so that I can aid the priests of my order in hospitals throughout Pandanu. You… I don’t know what they have planned for you.”

  “Meredith… How am I going to get out of here?” I asked.

  “I… Don’t know,” she said. Then, in a whisper: “There are guards above you, and beyond them many more. You’re in the basement of the castle, it takes a while to get down this far into the dungeons. If they don’t let you out voluntarily… I don’t think you get out at all.”

  “That’s… not very reassuring,” I said, also in a whisper.

  “Tyr, I don’t know why you’re here, or why they wanted you so badly,” she said. “But they have gone to a lot of trouble to do so. For now, I think you need to convince them that you want to learn and work for them, because if not…”

  “Why, what happens if I refuse?” I asked.

  “Tyr, they say you murdered Inquisitors… I’m surprised you are alive at all,” she said. “If you refuse them, I think they’re going to… kill you.”

  “So my options are cooperate with my captors, or die,” I said. “Not much of a choice really.”

  “Well, I’m glad to see that you are doing well and are in fine health despite being locked up down here,” said Meredith now in her regular voice. “Unfortunately, I have other patients I need to see.”

  Then she leaned closer and whispered: “take care Tyr, as much as they all smile and try to train you, people who don’t cooperate have a bad habit of disappearing.” And with that warning, she turned around and walked back up the stairs.

  Well, that was ominous.

  But as we suspected. So the plan remains, keep finding out more information until we can figure a way out of here.

  At least this time they didn’t feel the need to put me in a storeroom.

  This is true, but I’m guessing that was as much of a test as anything else.

  Yeah, it’s the “Can the Idiot Avoid the Temptation to Attack Us!” test.

  Given how easily Claudius knocked me unconscious when he captured me, I’m not going to attack him until I know how to defend myself from that.

  Good plan. I think we should call it the “Even Idiots Avoid Certain Defeat” plan.

  How do you think Devlin and the others are doing?

  Given that Claudius hinted that he set the local authorities on them, they are likely all hiding out deep in the forest somewhere. That or all dead.

  You think they could defeat Devlin and the gang so easily?

  Look how easily Claudius took you out…

  You have a point. But I’m not going to count Devlin and the others out so easily.

  Are you holding out hope that he will come rescue you?

  Honestly, I’m just hoping he managed to escape. I don’t like the odds of the seven of them against an entire castle filled with magically gifted people and who knows how many troops. Regardless, I fear we are on our own, with the possible exception of Meredith, in finding out how to escape.

  Glad to hear it kid! I didn’t want you to waste too much time pining away on a fool’s hope.

  So, shall we run through some sword practice while we are alone in the dark?

  Just try not to bounce me off the ceiling or walls this time.

  I spent what in my mind seemed like the afternoon running through my sword drills. It was as much a way to keep me occupied as anything else. Being shut away, alone in the dark, can do things to a man’s psyche, though I did not know that at the time. Still, having my sword as both entertainment and companion did help alleviate the boredom and crushing oppression of that cell.

  When I could no longer hold the sword up without my muscles seriously protesting, I sheathed it and put it back in the corner where it would be out of sight when the roof was opened and the staircase lowered. I then settled in for some sleep.

  I’m not sure how long I was asleep for, but I was awakened by the sound of feet tromping on the thick stones above my head. As the movable roofing stone began to open, I moved to the corner of the room, cattycorner to where the stairs came down. Again, I saw the now familiar feet of Claudius descending the stairs. When he reached the bottom he turned and walked towards me.

  “Phew, boy, you are starting to get a little ripe,” he said. “I think, before we do any testing, that you need a bath and something clean to wear. So follow me up the stairs.”

  “I’m being let out?” I asked, incredulous.

  “For now,” he said. “Leave your sword behind, you will not need it where you’re going.”

  If being alone in the dark means I don’t have to suffer your stink any longer, feel free to follow him.

  You going to be ok by yourself?

  Hah! I’ll be a lot better without your stink nearby anyway. Besides, if you need me, just call.

  So, with nothing else to do, but with much trepidation, I followed as Claudius led me up the stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, I was nearly blinded by the torch light for more than a few minutes. Bleary eyed, I could barely follow Claudius until my eyes were able to adjust. I had the vague impression of walking down another hallway with doors on either side of it. It wasn’t until I reached the foot of another stairway that I was able to see properly. We headed up the stairs and onto another landing. Then followed the corridor until Claudius stopped at a wooden door near the end.

  “All right Tyr,” he said. “Head in there. Inside you will find a bath. I will send Meredith in with some fresh clothes. I will return when you are done, and then we can begin to get the true measure of your talents.”

  He then pushed open the door, watched me walk through it, and closed it behind me. There was an audible locking sound as it closed. So, they trusted me enough to let me bathe, but not enough to keep the door unlocked. Well, it was progress anyway. Still, I had no doubt that there guards were nearby and that Claudius, or someone else with talent, was near enough to ensure I could not escape easily. Likely this was all part of a test.

  The room itself was quite basic and sparsely furnished. It was made of the same stone as the rest of the castle, at least the parts of it I had seen on my way here. There was a large cloth screen that ran from the wall half the length of the chamber. Behind it there was a large wooden tub fu
ll of water that I sincerely hoped was warm. As I walked over I saw that there was a bench on the wall behind the screen, presumably for the bather’s clothes and possessions. Not knowing what else to do, I removed my small clothes, tossed them on the bench and entered the tub.

  The water in the tub was mildly warm, but not comfortably warm. Still, I was grateful for that after so much time in the “Cold Room”. Deciding not to waste time, I got in and washed off the filth and sweat from sword training. I was seriously tempted to try and heat up the water with magic, but I was also worried that Claudius or someone else would sense it and think I was trying to escape. Having only just been let out of my cell, I didn’t want to press my luck. So instead I put up with the temperature and finished washing up. I was just starting to relax when I heard the door unlock and open. I could not see who was entering, thanks to the screen, but I heard to door close again and footsteps heading towards me.