He played the spell, Conveyance, in his head and pictured all of them on the main trail leading down into Bashierwood. They arrived three heart beats later and Daniel blinked in surprise at the changes. The community had expanded to three times the size it had been when he left and a full garrison now occupied the area to the east of the town, it could no longer be described as a village. The Polkat Inn, five floors high, and about a hundred strides wide, occupied the center of the town and was by far the largest building in Bashierwood. Chad Grening’s Stable stood ahead on the right.
“We can get our rooms and then, Jared, you can go over and talk with Chad about the horses. We will also need to speak with Donald Laird about the racers,” Daniel said and then walked through the doors of the Polkat. The dining room had ten tables with eight chairs at each; all but one table was filled to capacity, more than half with Ducaunan cavalrymen. His knightly uniform blended well with the green uniforms of the cavalrymen and not so much with the simple buckskins and wool worn by the current patrons of the Polkat, the kind of clothing he once wore. An old-timer sat at the only table with seven seats to spare, table six. His tan buckskins were stained, damp, and a pungent odor wafting in the air from his direction indicated he was not a man who bathed frequently, which explained why he was sitting alone, as he usually does. He scratched the gray whiskers under his chin and raised a tin cup. Darby Jack had not changed a bit and something about that pleased Daniel immensely.
The old-timer noticed him and sprang from his chair, showing no signs of slowing with age. “Why, its Daniel, I barely recognized ye with that fancy uniform and all,” he shouted and walked over.
Daniel watched as word spread of his arrival. “Its good to see you Darby, how are things?”
“Huntin’s good, Henri’s drink is decent, and Matty had pups,” the old trapper replied.
Daniel smiled. “Stankweed must be thrilled.”
Darby scratched his whiskers. “He seems to be. What’s with that Accomplished floatin behind ye?”
“She’s been sick, I healed her but she needs to rest,” Daniel replied without going into further detail.
Hough Bess rushed through the entrance, made his way over, and stood with a broad grin on his puffy face. His bushy sideburns stopped short of being considered a beard. His light blue-dyed buckskins were clean and unstained. “It is good to see you, Dan.., I mean, Sir Daniel,” he stammered a greeting.
Daniel extended his hand, “and you, Mayor Bess,” he replied just as formally.
At table one, now sitting by himself, Orin Netless, his red wool coat and gray breeches were wrinkled and frayed, smiled and waved in Daniel’s direction. It was the friendliest greeting he ever gave and more than expected.
Henri Polkat, in white buckskins, hurried from the kitchen while brushing a lock of gray hair back into place and was soon followed by his wife, Lydia, in a wool dress. Her dark hair hung half way down her back, like that of most women on Tannakonna. Daniel greeted them and every resident who rushed into the Polkat to see him, even soldiers wanted to meet him, along with Captain BenJamin the commander of the garrison, and about the only two people he did not see was Val and Todd. Their eatery stood down the dusty street on the other side of town, within eyesight. Daniel introduced Silvia, David, and Jared, who then went out with Chad, who had come to see what had everybody excited.
Daniel handed Lydia enough coins to cover the use of four rooms for two nights, all of which were on the second floor, and next to and across from each other. Folks stared, yet no one except Darby mentioned the floating Accomplished. They all knew what the boy who had grown up in their midst had become. The residents seemed far more comfortable acknowledging his title as a Royal Knight of the Realm than mentioning anything to do with spell casting, which suited him well enough. He did not come here to make people uncomfortable.
Henri began waving his arms in an apparent effort to make anyone who is not a paying customer go away, while Lydia quite unnecessarily led Daniel up the stairs to the rooms six months ago she would have been sending him to clean. “Is there anything I can get for the Accomplished?” she inquired while Daniel floated the former Condemned over the bed and then lowered her down gently.
Silvia and David claimed the room across the hall while Daniel had no preference and decided to take whichever one was available after Jared chose his. “For the most part, my friend needs sleep, although it would be good if you can send up six jugs of water. Aakacarns can build up a powerful thirst,” Daniel replied.
Lydia nodded. “Yes, I remember how much you drank after healing the wounded. I will see that she gets plenty,” she replied, and then added, “There is hot food in the kitchen if you or any of your friends want to eat.”
David entered the room in time to hear the last sentence. “I believe a good meal is called for. My wife and I will be down shortly, whether or not the noble knight chooses to do so.”
Daniel smiled, glanced at the Teki, and returned his attention Lydia. “I will be coming down as well.”
The innkeeper’s wife nodded and went back down stairs. Silvia walked to the bed and stood over the sleeping Accomplished. “How long do you think she will sleep?”
“I suspect about as long as Jeremiah and Sherree did,” Daniel replied. “She should wake up sometime tomorrow.”
They headed back down to the dinning room, which cleared out fairly well, and had their choice of tables. Daniel sat at table one and ordered pot roast with all the fixings. Silvia and David ordered chicken and before the dinners came, a tall man with stooped shoulders and a long white beard approached the table. His garments were red on black silk and on each sleeve was a golden lighting bolt. The medallion on his chest had a silver bird of prey.
“Greetings, Accomplished,” Daniel replied, without fear, and stood up smiling. “Please join us.”
“You have come a long way since we met in Dowman’s End,” the elder Aakacarn replied, and sat down at the table.
Daniel motioned towards his friends. “Bella Sander, I would like you to meet Silvia Gerabolli-Cresh and David Cresh-Gerabolli, of the Reshashinni Teki.”
Bella gave each of them a nod of respect, which they quickly returned. There had been a time not so long ago when they were not inclined to show respect to an Aakacarn. Daniel knew traveling with him caused them to adjust their thinking or at least, being Teki, they learned to put on a good show of it.
Dinner came and they all ate, including Bella, who had a bowl of soup and a yeast roll. Silvia and David finished their meals and chose to head up to their room, especially when the conversation turned toward the history of spell casting.
A triple pulse washed through the world, every bit as intense as the first one had been. Tarin Conn again, Daniel had no doubt, and yet every eye in the room suddenly focused on him. “Whatever happened occurred far to the north, not even within Ducuan,” he told them in a calm voice, as if the occurrence was nothing to worry about. People nodded and went back to their private conversations, apparently satisfied with his comment.
“Tarin Conn grows restless. I suspect the time to confront him will come sooner than most of us expected; which was not in my lifetime. Even so, you seem to have a calming effect on the folks here,” Bella commented. “I have learned of your accomplishments and the supposed Silencing.”
Daniel explained as much as he dared about what transpired, leaving out being an Aakasear, the animals in his swirl, his marriage to Sherree, and a few other details his old acquaintance did not need to know. “So the Reshashinni Seer declared me to be the Chosen Vessel and all of the Seers in the world seem to agree.”
Bella leaned forward. “But do you believe it?”
Daniel did not hesitate to answer. “Oh, yes, way too much has happened for me to deny the truth, it would be idiocy.”
Bella let out a chuckle. “I suppose it would. You have thwarted the Serpent Guild at nearly every turn and have seven lightning bolts of Potential at your command. As Ruth told you, the eve
nts surrounding you declare you to be the Chosen Vessel to anyone with the time and wit to figure it out. Well, I happen to be such a person. Did you know every guild has scholars of its own and one from each is selected and appointed to be one of the seven scholars of Aakadon?”
Daniel did not know how many were among the Aakacarns. “I learned during my time among the Talenteds that Aakadon has scholars but that is about all.”
Bella nodded his head. “I am a scholar of Aakadon, my repertoire is a match for any Maestro, and I have access to all Aakacarn history.”
There were a few things Daniel had been curious about and never received a satisfactory answer, not even from Terroll whom he respected. “Good, then you can tell me why Aakacarns do not marry, and please do not give me a lecture on traditions.”
Bella ran the fingers of his right hand down his beard while his eyes seemed to twinkle with delight. “You were raised to the level of Accomplished so quickly I am not surprised someone with your background, a mountaineer, would want a real down to earth reason. I am willing to share my knowledge with you, things not normally shared with anyone below the rank of Maestro.”
“Why?” Daniel wanted to know.
“I am talking to someone whose potential is greater than the Grand Maestro of Aakadon, and a person I have come to believe is the Creator’s Chosen Vessel. Although I admit to not realizing this fact when we first met and I do not believe you knew such a thing at the time.”
Daniel nodded his head. “You got that right. I had no clue what was going on. That said, why the sanction against marriage?”
“Two reasons, One has to do with the spell, Ageless, which retards the aging process for one year. Each Accomplished has what we call an Annumday, the one day in the year in which he or she will cast, Ageless, upon themselves. We age about a third of the normal rate using the Melody, which means we live about three times longer than non-Aakacarns. Not many Aakacarns desire to be pregnant for twenty-seven months, nor do they want to miss their Annumday in order to shorten the duration, to do so would cause them to age at the normal rate, possibly a little faster. Especially since only one in fifty births results in the child being an Aakacarn. Oh, there are rarities, but the formula holds true for the most part.”
Daniel would never use Ageless, not since he had a more effective spell in his repertoire. “What is the second reason?”
Bella glanced around the room to make sure no one was close enough to hear. “The one in fifty ratio is the problem and the main reason for the rule against Aakacarns reproducing. In the beginning we were all one race, but that changed for various reasons, and mainly due to the influence of the Creator. There were the Tinys, people the tallest of which were smaller than the average Demfilian, approximately four cubits tall, and there were the Anakim, giants in comparison to the others. Out of the Anakim came the Nephilim, who were called the mighty men of old, each born with extra energy in his or her life force.”
Daniel leaned in closer to the old scholar. “You mean us, we are the Nephilim.”
Bella nodded. “Yes, and what we now call the non-Aakacarns are the Anakim, we are all the same race with the exception that one in fifty of us is a Nephilim. This is what created the problem. When Nimrod, the first Aakasear, your forefather, yes, I know what you are, so close your mouth, when he, Zeus, and the other Nephilim were banished to this world for thinking of themselves as gods, we settled on this new world, a world with only Anakim and Nephilim. When our ancestors began to populate this world, the one in fifty ratio remained fairly constant, and so each Nephilim began favoring their non-Aakacarn children, from which almost all of the commoner dynasties originated. Benia, the original queen of Lobenia, was the non-Aakacarn daughter of Aphrodite. When the various kingdoms went to war, their Aakacarn parents sided with them and nearly destroyed the new civilization. So it was decided to leave the reproducing to the Anakim and any Nephilim born among them were taken to be trained in Aakadon, which is the first city built on this world.”
Daniel admitted, this had to be the most compelling reason he ever heard for Aakacarns not marrying; not that he would ever leave Sherree, and still hoped they might some day have children. What would that do to the world? “So you figured out I am a composer of spells.” This seemed to be a good time to change the subject.
Bella winked his eye. “It was a working theory you just verified. I am a Senior Soarer after all and getting to the truth of a matter is what we do, so don’t feel bad that I weaseled the confirmation out of you. It even makes sense for the Vessel to be an Aakasear. Be that as it is, you are not another Tarin Conn, this I know, and am confident you are the one who will lead us in the struggle.”
“You did not say, victory,” Daniel pointed out.
“No, no I did not, because such is not guaranteed. I am going to do what I can for you, but understand, the Grand Maestro only sees you as a rival, and Aakadon is not a safe place for you at the present time. It will be interesting to see how your swirling of events will change the dynamics. I hope to live long enough to see it.”
Daniel simply had to ask the question that had been nagging at him ever since he met the elder at Dowman’s End. “If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”
Bella chuckled. “I am currently the oldest living man, two hundred ninety-eight years of age, unless you want to count Tarin Conn, in which case I would be the second oldest living man.”
The Chosen Vessel could help this man or walk away and let nature take its course. He made up his mind. “Do you want proof of my being an Aakasear?”
Bella’s left eyebrow rose suspiciously. “That would depend on the nature of the proof?” he replied carefully.
“I can teach you a spell, a harmless spell,” Daniel was quick to add, “of my own making.”
Bella nodded. “I admit to being intrigued. The scholar in me just cannot pass up an opportunity to learn something new.”
Daniel summoned the potential for, Teach Me, and blue beams shot from his eyes into those of the elder Accomplished. Timeless is a spell with a melody line and one note in harmony and is the perfect cure.
He ceased the potential, sat back in his chair and watched his friend carefully, wanting to see his reaction.
Bella licked his lips, he probably wanted to cast it, yet caution seemed to be getting the better of him. “That was a beautifully written piece. What does it do?”
“Timeless stops the aging process completely. I composed it after Terroll Barnes decided I did not need to know Ageless. I never knew about the need to renew the spell, so it did not become a requirement. Cast the spell, add a Da Copa, and you will stop aging. If you want to marry and your Aakacarn wife wants to have a child, you can both simply remove the Da Capo for nine months, age together, and then cast the spell again.”
Bella laughed. “The part about not aging sounds good, the part about marrying and having a child not so much,” he replied and then a beautiful violet glow of potential surrounded him for a brief period and vanished. “Thanks for the addition to my repertoire.”
“Thanks for furthering my education,” Daniel replied and stood while the elder rose up and started for the stairs. Daniel had not realized so much time had passed. Night had fallen and the mark was late.
“You young ones can sit up all night but some of us with a little age under our belt prefer to sleep,” Bella said, and then called out just before going out of sight, “Tomorrow you might introduce me to the Accomplished you healed.”
Daniel shook his head, astounded at the man’s powers of observation, not much had escaped the elderly Aakacarn’s notice, especially since Bella had not been downstairs at the time. Daniel went up stairs, entering the room to the right of the one currently occupied by the Four-bolt, whose identity is yet to be determined. Jared, who must have dined at Val’s eatery, chose the room across the hall. It did not take Daniel long to remove his knightly garb and slip into bed wearing his under garments. No sooner had his eyes closed, or so it seemed, t
wo full marks passed, a triple pulse washed through the world, waking him from a pleasant dream of being with Sherree. He stared at the ceiling for another mark and then put on his pants and decided to check on the sleeping Accomplished. The harmonic waves might well cause her to awaken prematurely and he did not want her to be unduly alarmed.
He sat in the lone chair, near the window, to the right of the bed, and watched her sleeping fitfully. Every once in awhile she would jerk or twist as if struggling against a powerful foe. Dawn came and light filtered in the window, brightening the room. The Accomplished suddenly kicked out with her right leg, her eyes popped open and locked on to Daniel like an archer about to loose an arrow at a target. “You healed me, how?” and then she seemed to notice her clothing. “Blue silks? Who are you?”
Her demand for answers, rather than a request, judging by her tone, caused Daniel to believe she might be a former member of the Eagle Guild. “Give me your name and I’ll give you mine.”
She sat up and swung her legs over the side of bed, facing him. Her countenance softened and an amused smile caused a dimple to form on her darkly pretty face. “I am, once again, Leah Barryn, a four-bolt Accomplished, thanks to you. Now it’s your turn.”
He noticed she neglected to give her guild, yet saw no reason to hold back his identity. “I am Sir Daniel Benhannon, Royal Knight of the Ream of Ducaun, a seven-bolt Accomplished.”
Leah burst out laughing. It had to be the clothes, him sitting around wearing green pants and a cotton undershirt. “I don’t recognize the falcon in flight clutching a lighting bolt on your left breast, your pants could be the bottom half of a Royal Ducaunan Knight’s uniform, but I have heard that name. You are the Talented discovered on Mount Tannakonna, you were involved with the Battle of Bashierwood, and last I heard the Grand Maestro sent you on a mission of some sort.”
To Be a Maestro Page 24
