“Come in, you fool, or I will turn you into a rat and eat you!” Tartum called out.
Jeth entered the room, leaving the door open. He hovered by the opening, appraising Tartum. He tossed the rat into the chamberpot as he spoke.
“I know you probably hate me right now. I can’t blame you. I also know Savall has already told you not to harm me for what I’ve done to you. I make you the same offer I make everyone after the ordeal. One free shot. Your choice on where. Just not in the groin, I use that part for making decisions.” With a wink, Jeth put both hands behind his back and waited.
Tartum was confused. Was this a test? Was Jeth really going to let him hit him? Did he want to strike him? Tartum decided there was no point, and he really wasn’t mad at him for what he did. For some reason, he understood the purpose of the Null Box and that this training was more valuable to him than anything else he’d ever owned. Also, Tartum didn’t trust Jeth’s offer. He couldn’t imagine Jeth giving him a free anything, let alone a punch. He decided Jeth was setting him up for failure.
“No thanks, Jeth. I understand why you did what you did and bear you no ill will. Also, I gave my word to Savall I wouldn’t seek revenge, and I mean to keep it.” Tartum said, matter of factly. He kept his eyes on Jeth. He wasn’t angry with the man, but he certainly didn’t trust him.
Jeth opened his eyes, slowly. He seemed to still expect to be struck. Looking around, and finding Tartum still by the window, he relaxed.
“Well, ok then, if that’s your decision. After the amount of time you spent in the box, I’m kinda surprised you didn’t attack me the moment I walked into the room. You’re an odd recruit, Tartum. Did you know the only person to spend more time than you in the box, and survive of course, is me? That was only by about a day! Very impressive, recruit.” Jeth said.
Tartum shrugged. “Trust me, Jeth. If I had been smarter, I would have been out of that box moments after the first rat was thrown inside. I was a fool. I should be thanking you for removing the wool over my eyes. Forgive me if I can’t quite bring myself to thank you yet.” Tartum said, a bit harsher than he meant.
Jeth laughed. “You’re a very odd recruit, Tartum. Thank me? Well you’d be the first! No, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath waiting for you to thank me. Here, I brought you something.”
Reaching outside the door, Tartum heard a familiar sound of stone on stone, scraping against the wall. Jeth pulled the object around the door. It was his staff. It was still in perfect condition. Tartum hadn’t even thought about seeing it again. Running across the room, Tartum took the staff from Jeth and held it affectionatly. Feeling the weight in his hands again, and the cold power the staff had come to represent, was like being reunited with part of his soul. He might have been grinning like an idiot, but he didn’t care. He was thrilled to be reunited with his staff.
Tartum backed up a into the center of the room and went through a warm up exercise. The feel of the staff whipping through the air was invigorating. He wasn’t as fast as he had been before his ordeal, but he still felt powerful while going through his exercise. He finished his warm up and held the staff in one hand. Bowing his head, Tartum opened himself to the magic. He only opened himself slightly, because he wasn’t sure if his body was ready for the chaotic surge of energy. It was the first time he had opened himself to the source since the Null Box. Vaund had warned him to be careful; burn out was much easier to achieve when your body was weak.
The magic flowed into him, and it was exquisite. Even the small amount he was pulling into his being, was enough to make him feel like a God. He felt terrific! He opened himself to the magic further and took more of magic’s glory inside him. His body reacted well, but he could feel the strain. He wanted to cast a spell but didn’t have his components. The thought irritated him and soured the joy he felt from the magic. Finding the gold strand on his staff that pulled on his magic, Tartum prepared himself and spoke the word of command.
“Light!”
The pull on Tartum’s magic increased, as he expected, and the gold burst into the familiar glow Tartum had come to love. Holding the staff over his head, Tartum saw Jeth watching him. He was smiling and applauding Tartum’s performance. Tartum suddenly felt exposed and foolish. He was acting like a child in front of the man that was supposed to appraise him. Regretfully, Tartum extinguished the light from his staff by releasing his connection to the source. The magic leaving his body felt like when he discovered Isidor had left him. The room began to spin, and Tartum leaned heavily on his staff. Summoning his will, Tartum stubbornly refused to pass out. He didn’t want his reunion with his staff, and his magic, to be marked with the failure of unconsciousness. Especially in front of Jeth. Tartum closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. The room stopped spinning, and the weakness passed. Tartum laughed a little.
“Ok, that might have been a little too much.” he said.
Jeth walked over to Tartum and slapped him hard on the back. “Not bad, recruit! Not bad at all! Quit being a pansy now. Today you get to see your new room!” Jeth said.
The slap on the back hurt! The pain envoked anger in Tartum, and the surge of adrenaline gave him the strength he needed to vanquish his remaining weakness. He stood there and wondered if that had been Jeth’s intention, or if he was just being cruel. Jeth made him feel very off center, and he was pretty sure he would never like the man.
What Jeth had just told him sunk in. Tartum was intrigued. “I’m moving? Today? Where?” he asked.
Jeth smiled. “Sure are! Come on. I don’t think there’s anything in here that’s yours. Let’s go see your new room.” Jeth put his arm around Tartum and began to lead him out of the room. Tartum shrugged off the gesture and held up his staff defensively. Jeth gave him a puzzled look.
“What is it?” Jeth asked.
“No offense, but the last time you lead me into a room, I ended up in the bottom level of hell. I’ll follow you, but if I even smell a Null Box, I’ll destroy this building and everyone inside.” Tartum’s fear was tempered by his anger.
Jeth burst into laughter. “By the gods, Tartum! You’re an amazing recruit, you know that?!” his laughter increased. “No worries, recruit. I’m not going to trick you like that again. Although, I am glad to see you’ve taken some wisdom from your experience. Tell you what. I’ll lead, you follow, and I’ll enter the room before you? Sound good?” Jeth was taken by another bout of laughter.
Tartum thought it over and opened himself to the magic. The energy inside him made him feel more confident. Even if it did also amplify his anger and fear. Focusing, Tartum made a decision.
“Lead on, Jeth, let’s see how this plays out.” Tartum said. There was no friendliness in his voice.
Laughing too hard to speak, Jeth motioned for Tartum to follow.
CHAPTER 13
Tartum followed Jeth down the hall and to a set of stairs that lead them down. The stairwell went down four stories before finally coming to the bottom. It was well lit, with many glass covered candles at regular intervals along the wall. The stairwell was made completely of stone. As far as Tartum could tell, the entire building was built like a fortress. He had seen no guards or sentries, but he supposed with everyone in the guild being a skilled thief, there was really no need. The thieves probably didn’t rob each other.
At the bottom of the stairs, Jeth turned to Tartum. “This is the basement. It’s reserved for those of you that have skill in magic. As of right now, the only person that lives on this floor is Rashlarr. The guild’s other casters have taken residence around the city. This is our base of operations, but we have many cells all over Saroth. Live long enough, and we’ll give you some of those locations. You can use them as safe houses or hideouts if you need to duck the guards or an over zealous shopkeeper.” a wicked smile spread across Jeth’s lips at the mention of the hideouts. “Your room will be right next to Rashlarr’s. You should feel honored!” Jeth’s voice was even, neither sarcastic, nor sincere.
“So, as
you can see. There is no Null Box down here. It would be counter-productive to have a magic void in the area we like to keep our casters.” Jeth said, matter of factly.
Tartum wasn’t convinced. “If what you say is true, then I suppose you’re right. I’ll believe it when I see it, however.” Tartum opened himself a little more to the source. With his heightened senses, he listened for anything that would reveal Jeth as a liar. He heard nothing. The was no dripping water, there were no moans from anyone imprisoned. He heard some scratching noises in the walls but assumed that was from rats. The building must be infested with them, the way Jeth was able to produce them.
Jeth saw Tartum looking around and concentrating. He’d seen the same look on Rashlarr when he was “probing,” as he called it. Jeth laughed. He liked this recruit! “Tartum, I’ve never lied to you. Tricked you, sure, but never lied. I tell you truthfully now. No harm will come to you down here. Well, not from me anyway.” Laughing, Jeth headed down the hallway. Not knowing what else he could do, Tartum followed.
The hallway looked less like an architectual marvel and more like a crude path, carved out of solid rock. The hallway was wide, three full grown men could easily pass through shoulder to shoulder without hitting the walls. The glass covered candles were replaced by balls of glowing light. Tartum thought they looked alot like his glowing orb spell. He sensed magic in them, but not much. He assumed they were a simple spell.
They approached a four way branch in the hall. Jeth pointed straight ahead. “That is Rashlarr’s area. I suggest you don’t travel down there unless invited. Rashlarr has some terribly lethal traps set up that even I’d have a hard time circumventing.” Jeth said the last part with some spite. Tartum thought it was odd Jeth would be jealous of Rashlarr. He made a mental note to remember that for later.
Jeth sighed and motioned toward the left hallway. “Your room is down here. Come on, recruit.” Jeth walked down the hallway.
Tartum was beginning to follow when he felt a strange heat coming from Rashlarr’s hallway. He peered down the corridor, but if there was anything giving off heat, he couldn’t see it. He opened himself to the magic fully and felt the heat coming from the hallway stronger. The heat didn’t increase, it was as though his awareness of it did.
“HEY! Come on, Recruit!” Jeth yelled to him.
Startled, Tartum closed off his connection to the source and waited for the weakness to pass. After a moment, he felt strong enough to walk, and leaning heavily on his staff, went after Jeth.
Tartum caught up to him about fifty paces from Rashlarr’s hall. He was standing in a doorway, looking irritated.
“Are you done sight seeing? I’ve got many other things to do today, so if you could get your ass off your shoulders, I’d appreciate it.” Jeth’s irritation was obvious.
Tartum was having none of it. “Yea, well I’m here now. Is this my room?”
“Yes, come on in.” Without waiting, Jeth opened the sturdy wooden door and walked in. Tartum followed him.
The room wasn’t so much a room as it was a small cave. It was completely, if somewhat crudely, carved out of the stone. The area was more than adequate for his needs. It was roughly twenty feet wide, and twelve feet long. The ceiling was rounded and gave Tartum the impression that he was inside a bubble. There were worn wooden shelves all along the walls. Some had books and papers on them, but for the most part they were empty. There was a wooden table, in fair condition, in the middle of the floor. It had some writing implements on it and what looked like his spell component pouches. The floor had a worn, decorative carpet in the center of the room. It looked like it had the picture of a caster fighting something on it. It was so faded and stained from years of neglect that it was impossible to tell. There were candles all over the ceiling that gave the room a rich red glow. The bed was just big enough for a full grown man and looked about as comfortable as he would expect from the condition of the rest of the room. On top of the bed was his pack.
Tartum rushed over to the bed and picked up his pack. Opening the flap, he quickly scanned the contents. Everything was there. He couldn’t believe it. He fully expected that at least the coins or gems would be gone. Removing his spell book, Tartum opened the cover. His spell book was unmolested. Everything was there and in the exact condition as when he’d given them up. His heart sang.
Savall hadn’t been lying! He had been telling the truth! He was going to be trained to be a thief! Everything they promised, everything he swore oaths for was going to be his! His heart raced with excitement.
Walking over to the table, Tartum set his book down gently and picked up his pouches. He tied them to the belt holding his cloak closed. He looked at Jeth and smiled. He felt whole again.
“I owe you an apology, Jeth, you were right. You’ve never lied to me. I’ll try to trust you more from now on.” Tartum said, taking on his role as pupil once again.
Jeth smiled and laughed his mocking laughter. “Trust me, huh? Well don’t. You’ll survive longer if you don’t. Rest up, recruit. I’ll have food and drink brought down to you later. I’ll come get you tomorrow. We’ll start your combat training in the morning.” Winking, Jeth made for the door.
Tartum was confused. “I already know how to fight, Jeth. My old Master trained me.”
All traces of laughter left Jeth. He turned to Tartum and studied him a moment. A wicked grin made its way onto his face as he replied. “Tomorrow, I’ll prove to you just how false a statement that is recruit.”
With that, Jeth left the room.
...
The next day, Jeth kept his word. Tartum was startled out of his slumber by Jeth’s rude, and extremely loud, entrance.
“Morning, Recruit! Wake the hells up! It’s time to catch that ass kickin I promised!” Jeth said with his typical sarcastic attitude. “Come on! No time for breakfast, you gotta start waking up early if you want to eat. You probably won’t be able to keep down much once I start pounding you. Don’t worry, your wet nurse, Vaund, will be there to fix anything I break.”
“I’m up, I’m up!” Tartum replied, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he slung his legs over the side of the bed and slumped, trying to wake up. He found sleeping on the lumpy mattress of the bed to be quite uncomfortable and hadn’t slept very well because of it. It was clean at least, and for now Tartum decided he would make do. Even if his muscles and back groaned in protest.
He was glad that it was time to wake. He was looking forward to fighting with Jeth. It would feel good to crack him in his big mouth. Tartum had had enough of his overconfident taunts. He was sick of it, and this was just the oppurtunity he was looking for to shut him for at least a little while. Maybe busting him in the head would be enough to teach this pompous fool some respect.
Jumping down next to Tartum, Jeth put his arm around him. “Come on, recruit! This is no time for laziness! It’s time for you to see just how weak you are! Trust me, by the time I’m done with you, you’ll wish you were back in the Null Box!”
Tartum shoved Jeth’s arm off him. He hated when Jeth did that. It reminded him of being lead to that Gods awful hole.
“I think all that bravado will see you face down in a pool of your own blood and teeth, Jeth. Like I told you yesterday, I already know how to fight. My former master trained me well!” Tartum said, his anger was beginning to surface.
Jeth saw this and decided to press Tartum further. “Big words from someone that can’t even get themselves out of bed. Haven’t you been laying around for the past week or so? Come on you coward, grab that fancy light stick, and let’s get to it!”
Tartum had enough of Jeth’s mouth and refused to comment any further. His anger was simmering inside him and was enough to expel any grogginess left in his body. Standing up, Tartum put on his clothes. As he was about to don his cloak, Jeth stopped him.
“Enchanted cloaks aren’t the easiest things to find or make. I will be using daggers and don’t want to take the chance of cutting your cloak. Leave i
t.” Jeth’s tone let Tartum know the subject wasn’t up for debate. He regretted having to leave the cloak behind but couldn’t argue Jeth’s logic. He didn’t want any lucky shots damaging his favorite article of clothing.
Picking up his staff, Tartum took a moment to appreciate his weapon. As always, it made him feel powerful when he held it. Even more so today, since he knew he was going to use it to silence one of the most irritating men he’d ever met. A thought occured to him then; besides his master, he had never fought anyone else. He was excited to see how he would do against Jeth and his daggers.
Looking at Jeth, Tartum hisssed. “I’m ready; hope Vaund can repair your skull once I’ve cracked it.”
Jeth laughed in Tartum’s face “Before the day is over, it will be you on the ground screaming for Vaund’s healing.” The look in Jeth’s eyes was sinister. “Just like with eating the rat; I know I can make you do it.”
...
Jeth lead Tartum back down the hallway and up the stairs. He was laughing and joking with Tartum the whole way. Tartum said nothing. As far as he was concerned, the talking part was over. His anger was taking over, and he had every intention of letting it loose once they arrived at wherever Jeth was leading him.
They went up to the next floor and walked down another hallway. This hall was as wide as the one on Tartum’s floor, but the stone walls were covered by large planks of wood that were painted a beige color. There were many pictures and portraits of men and women Tartum didn’t know or recognize. The one thing about the portraits that caught Tartum’s attention immediately was that they all seemed grotesque. Some even boardered on obscene. The men and women featured in the paintings were horribly disfugured. Some were simply decapitated heads. Others had terrible gashes on their faces or bodies. The part that made Tartum’s skin crawl was the fact that all the people in the portraits were poseing,in a perfectly calm, almost serene posture. It was as if death in all its forms had posed for a final portrait. The feeling unsettled Tartum and he focused on following Jeth.
The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 Page 22
