Promise of a Sorceress

by G S Santos

  "In years of work, I have seen many who take money and do not find a stone. And if you ask them, the spirits moved the mine. Or they tell you that you have to have only good thoughts and that it is your fault that they do not find anything. With everything I've seen, I think it's partly true. What part is true and what is myth, that, I do not know."

  "Well... "Adelphine felt pale. It was not her fault to be in that, but she did not want her reputation to be ruined like that either.

  "Well, there's everything," he laughed, but Adelphine's attention was fixed on the street, and upon a carriage with beautiful, wooden engravings, made by expert hands, although not with precious materials. Four horses stood in the front. The driver looked disinterested, but the door opened and two men jumped out of it. One was an old man, his body frail and thin, with matted white hair, a large brown tunic, and a couple of aprons in hand. The other one seemed to be Adelphine's age, with his face shaved, his black hair pulled back and rings in his ears. He was neither tall nor short, nor robust nor thin, and with pleasant features. In his arms, he carried half a dozen strange instruments that Adelphine had never seen. They looked like silver metal spears, or flagpoles, with a long, blunt tip, but which would surely break when shaken against someone's flesh.

  The driver of the carriage helped them to unload another bunch of strange instruments: a pair of jugs the size of a boot, a pile of copper wires, and what looked like an iron tripod.

  Adelphine listened when she saw them approach the ambassador.

  "Good afternoon, gentlemen," the old man declared, then presented his credentials in a letter.

  "Mr. Wilthers," said the ambassador, stretching his hand. "Good to see you. I have heard a lot about your work. I wish you luck."

  Wilthers seemed touched by vanity, and his white eyebrows rose to almost form a triangle.

  "By the gods! What in the world is that?" Magzas whispered in Adelphine's ear.

  "Shh!" Adelphine reprimanded her.

  "What? These folk are very strange. Well, tell me. You wanted to know about the East."

  "What you think? What did you hear?"

  "I do not know." She sighed. "I'm a bit scared."

  "How about the big man with the sword?"

  "Listen," Adelphine whispered. "He is listening to you, sure he will not leave you in peace."

  "Do not worry." Magzas looked at him and smiled at him. "Guys like that are my specialty. On the outside, they seem strong, but inside they are children. They’d die for attention."

  "What are you talking about?" Adelphine said with annoyance in her voice.

  "Sorry. Are you married?"

  "I... "Adelphine knew that the subject was coming. “At the moment, no. I am not."

  "You're not a widow, are you?"

  "Never. I have never been married."

  "Oh no? Why?"

  "Because... I do not know. I have not found anyone who grabs my attention. And for what? My aunt is single and happy now."

  "And your family did not pressure to you to marry?

  "They tried." Adelphine tried to laugh. But the laughter was full of sadness, not because she was alone, but because her mom and dad were not there anymore to spoil her and justify her decisions. "And you?" She tried to change the subject.

  "I'm not married either, but I've met many men."

  "Hey, I've met many men too. That does not make me special."

  "I mean I know them."

  "You know them?"

  "Yes."

  "What do you mean, know them?"

  “Know."

  "Good."

  "Yes."

  "And..." Adelphine felt that the conversation was not going anywhere.

  An applause behind them ended their chat. Adelphine and Magzas turned, and the ambassador addressed those present. Was there not more than five guests?

  "Ladies and Gentlemen. By decree of King Jogälion in close cooperation with our great emperor, Yaroslav Navesk, we have invited you on this expedition. We wish you the best of success, and because of the situation on the border, not only will you have the help of experts in order to transport safety, but also the protection of our best soldiers. Valadi Bogdanov, general of the Varganian Order, of not little reputation, will direct the expedition."

  The soldier seemed not to be taken for granted, and kept his expression cold.

  "Now, you will pass to the north door, where a carriage and a squad of our Varganian troops await you. Attention. You will not receive the payment until the end, if you wanted to know. You will travel thirty days to Ingiria. There you will be informed of the location where we will explore. The salary upon returning from the mission, if no deposits are found, will be forty gold coins per person, with an interest of five percent in case of finding something."

  "Follow us," declared General Valadi, as the guests rose to their feet. Valadi turned and advanced to the back of the square, Adelphine following him closely to avoid getting lost, crossing a yellow arch and moving through the streets.

  "You look nervous." Adelphine heard a low voice close to her. It was Tristan, with a crooked smile and his eyes fixed on hers.

  "A little," Adelphine replied.

  "Have you ever been to the Easterlands?"

  "Never. And you?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

  Tristan laughed. "Too many times." His voice was pompous.

  "Then this is routine for you."

  "It is. But if it is not for you, you should prepare."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, it's all you've heard. And worse."

  "Worse?"

  "Yes." He made an exaggerated face again, eyes closed, shaking his head and laughing. "Those barbaric bandits do honor to his name. They are true savages."

  "What do they do?"

  "Well, they cut heads and make head soup to drink in their skull cups. Skulls of their enemies, of course."

  "What about the slavery business?"

  "Depends on how healthy you are and how much you resist. But they are superstitious, so maybe they are afraid of girls with magical powers."

  "That's comforting," Adelphine said and looked at Magzas.

  Tristan laughed.

  "Do not worry. With my sword at your side, you are safer than with a troop of these from the red capes. I have learned the warrior arts of the South, and all the arts of the East and the West. My name makes any bandit tremble. And it's not to brag."

  "... And have you been living here in Ladania for a long time?"

  He touched the perfectly straight hair of his head. "No, I do not come very often. I have learned your language because I come from time to time, but my work takes me from one place to another."

  "Right. I see you have a bit of a Wodanian accent. You are…" She lowered her voice, fearing that the word would be offensive. "A mercenary?"

  "Yes," he said in a pompous voice. "And the best. Employed by kings and armies. In all the West, you will not find a mercenary better paid. And I have seen everything, I have fought with everything."

  At that moment, they were crossing the north door, a drawbridge guarded by two winged lions on the pillars, and with dozens of carts with various loads traversing it at every minute.

  Adelphine noticed the two flags in a carriage with two white horses. Beside them were four men in armor similar to Valadi's with large, silver shields, red capes, and chainmail beneath the bluish armor.

  They wore silver helms with rectangular folds at the nape of the neck, and a tip at the top. At that moment, Adelphine realized that she had already heard of them: they were the varganians, the most feared warrior order in the East; faithfully loyal to their king, and the object of many legends.

  She had heard her father say that among them, desertion was punishable by death, even if it was a simple display of cowardice on the battlefield, and that the execution was usually done at the scene. Who was able to kill his own comrades at such a difficult time?

  They all had long, thin faces, brown hair, and cold expressions. S
he had heard that they did not cut their hair during the service, and that before a fight, they entangled them in braids as thin as fingers. Two of them had their hair long to the mid-back, and there was another, thinner and tall, with a straight and long nose. He was probably a new recruit, as his hair only reached his chest.

  "Pavel!" Valadi called, and the rookie answered him as a guard would do when he received an order from his superiors, speaking on his tongue with a dignified accent, then turned around and opened the carriage door. He cast a distrustful look at each one, frowning and gritting his teeth. But despite that, he was a simple boy, not too attractive, but not unpleasant.

  Magzas was the first to enter. She sat next to a window surrounded by a purple curtain. Adelphine sat next to her. Then the two men with the metallic instruments entered, and they sat in front of them. The young man leaned against the window, and the elder sat at his side, facing Adelphine. In a short time, the old man put on thick-framed glasses and began leafing through worn scrolls from his bag.

  The young man looked at Adelphine. She returned his gaze and immediately his eyes wandered away.

  Tristan came in with a sigh and sat next to her, his thick legs taking up more space than Magzas and Adelphine together. He seemed to notice that Adelphine was squeezing her legs.

  "Are you comfortable?" he asked, with what seemed like real interest.

  Adelphine smiled and nodded.

  Tristan pushed himself to the opposite side, and seemed to want to give Adelphine more space. The carriage was wide enough to have enough room for the knees, but the length of the seats could hardly accommodate them.

  Magzas opened the purple curtain, revealing the window and the rays of the sun that illuminated her face.

  Tristan continued speaking. "If we take the main path, there are many things that you will love to see. The forests of the North are darker and colder than you'll ever see.

  Suddenly, she heard a new voice; jovial, almost acute. He was the young man with the short hair and the metal instruments. "Hey, do you think we'll get to Ingiria in time? We suspect that there are early snowstorms. We have to arrive before winter or it will be difficult to leave. What route are we taking, and how long does it take?"

  "If we follow the usual route and nothing delays us, the path can be done in fifteen days, so thirty is a maximum."

  "And when will we return?" Adelphine asked, uneasy about how little she knew where they were going.

  "Surely when spring starts," Tristan said. “Anyway. You're right. Winter, as I said, in those areas, is the harshest in the world. The first time I passed by, we found a group of travelers. Well, what was left of them. The poor devils had been so hungry that they had eaten among them."

  Adelphine blinked and looked at him disgustedly. She felt her stomach stir. "How is that possible? And how did you know they had done that?"

  "They'd done it. We found one of the poor devils. The only one that survived. The flesh of others was still there, in part. He went crazy. He had already gone crazy by the time we found him."

  "What a horrible thing." Adelphine took a deep breath to suppress the urge to vomit.

  "Yes, it's frightening," said the clean shaven boy, "but I suppose in extreme conditions we are capable of doing anything."

  "Weak minds are," Tristan replied. "You have to have character and know how to survive. I have survived ten times more precarious situations in the colder parts of the East, and even in Hyborea. We have done it with the teams with in which I worked."

  Tristan did not stop talking, like a torrential rain. It was not boring, but it seemed to never end.

  "What are you doing exactly?" the young man asked.

  "I'm Tristan von Liktberg, mercenary, expert in combat and security."

  "You're here for security? Do you not think it's a little exaggerated? We already have six red capes."

  "The embassy suggested me because I already worked with them. It never hurts when it comes to that border. Besides, they know that I have already fought against the bandits on this same path. The red capes may have very good training, but not the experience, nor have they lived in those parts."

  The youth looked at him as if he was not surprised at all.

  "And who are you?" Tristan said to the boy. "What are you doing?"

  "I'm just an apprentice."

  "Apprentice?"

  The old man next to him lowered the parchments for the first time. "We are men of science."

  "Of Science?" Liktberg said. "I like science. And…What's your name, boy?"

  "Klaus. Klaus Walf."

  "Ah. Are you from Wodania like me? You sound like..."

  "No, actually I'm from one of the Brightlands. The far west of the Brightlands. My uncle too." He pointed at the old man. "Some years ago, we came here hired by the Wodanian king who ruled before Gruber. King… King Florian."

  "I know the Brightlands. Why do you have that name?"

  "In honor of my father. But no... I'm not Wodanian by birth. I believe my grandparents might have been. But not me."

  "And..." Tristan looked at the metal items under the man's feet. "And what are those?"

  "This," said Klaus, holding one of the long pieces in front of him, "works by measuring the hardness of the ground. The theory is that the more pressure you feel, there are harder minerals underneath. Could be diamond, could be blue gold."

  "But is it a theory, or is it proven?"

  "We're testing it," said the old man. But we have reasons for it to work. It has helped us find a gold mine north of here.

  "Gold in Ladania?" Adelphine asked. "My father spent years looking for it and..." Blast. She refrained herself. Talking about minerals and not finding them could make her look like a faker, such as the ones Tristan talked about.

  "Aye. But not much has been said so as not to draw attention from looters and bandits," said the old man.

  "Interesting," Tristan said. "When I want, I can go with you. I have also worked with miners in the deep South. And our mineral seekers cannot be absent." Tristan looked at Adelphine and Magzas with a smile.

  The old man let out a cruel laugh that made Adelphine raise an eyebrow. Then he smiled. "Those things will be over soon," said Wilthers. "No offense, miss. But science is going to break through and show that it is nothing but superstition."

  What was that man talking about? Adelphine had never encountered anyone so cynical and ignorant. She tightened her muscles. Her tongue asked her to answer by questioning what the man was saying, but she tried to remain calm, close her eyes, and smile.

  "Magic is real," she declared.

  "Actually." Klaus seemed to want to calm things down. "My uncle is against such beliefs. But with that, I do not get involved. Maybe there are things that cannot be explained yet, that maybe one day we may be able to, but I do not deny that... You know, that it has something of truth to it. I do not know. We may find out in this expedition."

  "Foolishness." The old man scowled. "Everything in this world can be measured. If it cannot be measured, it does not exist. Magic and spirits... They only live in the minds of the weak. If you start to believe it, you see it everywhere. But it does not mean that it is there. The truth is only that which can be seen and measured."

  Adelphine tensed her teeth and took a deep breath. She could not start the expedition on a sour note, especially if she was going to spend at least six months working with that man.

  The worst thing is that they probably would prove his point, with her not being able to find anything, while the scientists found everything.

  "The gods are there," said Tristan. "And they are real. But magic might depend on whether you believe it or not."

  How strange those people who did not believe in magic, thought Adelphine. She did not think there was much science in that, if you had magical power, they were to be experienced. She questioned why she herself believed in magic. If it had been there for so long, practiced by so many people in all the kingdoms of men…then it must exist.

>   "What do you think?" Magzas whispered in her ear.

  "I think magic exists...because it works," Adelphine replied.

  "That's the question," said Klaus. "It sounds like an answer, but it holds a question within."

  "Why does it work?"

  The old man looked at him and said, "Sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not. If it works or does not work, it's because of chance. If you analyze a statistical graph of how many times the fortune tellers guess right, the number of times they do it and the times they don’t are statistically the same."

  "It always works," said Magzas. "But sometimes, not how you expect."

  Chapter X:

  Hidden treasures

  Kaunas took the cane from the table and placed it on the ground. He clenched his teeth, the pain flooding his back and neck, but he managed to ignore it and stretched his knee until he was on his feet. He supported the cane and took another step toward the pantry on the opposite side of the room. He opened one of the vases and found black barley bread from a week ago. It was hard as stone, but luckily, did not smell of mold. He grabbed a used knife and smeared butter on the bread.

  He nibbled it hungrily.

  Suddenly, he heard a horse’s gallop outside and rolled his eyes. There was nothing to worry about, it was probably his sister's little friend, but did he think it was easy for him to crawl from the bedroom to the bridge? At lunch time?

  It was to be expected. The boy began to hammer at the door. Kaunas wished to scream and say, cut it out, I am coming, but he doubted they would listen to him. When the sound of the blows became intolerable, he leaned against the table and stood up with his cane. He left his room, walked towards the gate at a snail's pace, and the pounding on the door did not stop.

  "Stop now! I 'm coming!" he shouted as loud as his lungs allowed him, and the blows ceased. Kaunas reached the iron gate, leaned his shoulder against it, and opened the metal locks. He pulled the door with an effort, revealing the rider behind the wall, his shoulder-length hair blowing in the wind, and two sacks tied to his horse.

  "Come in," said Kaunas, as Wil crossed the bridge, then the gate, and dismounted with a humble gesture.