A Scholar Without Magic

by Guy Antibes

  “We have too much history,” Sam said, “and I am sure that Kreb’s followers won’t be pleased with what I did.

  Mito raised his hand. “I know. I don’t share your history, recent or in the past,” he said grinning. “Plantian was adamant I convince you to stay.”

  Sam smiled. “I may come back to visit. That will be as good as it gets, for now.”

  “I wish you well. Did you ever find your Lashak sword?”

  Sam shook his head. “And I looked thoroughly. Whoever has it won’t know it is a threat to their health. I hope it is currently in possession of one of Kreb’s former lackeys.”

  “Take mine. I can replace it easier than you can,” Mito said. “Wrap the grip well. It carries the same bite.”

  “I can’t take your Lashak sword,” Sam said, knowing how much Mito revered his weapon.

  “You can. Remember me by it. And if it suits, remember Tera Barako, as well.”

  “In that case, I accept.”

  They talked into the night and said their final goodbyes. Glory stood by two fresh horses and a packhorse. Emmy, who was left behind as a parting gift from Banna Plunk, barked at the moon as they mounted and headed north to Bliksa, Ristaria’s capital, and the biggest friendly port to find a ship north to the continent of Holding.

  ~

  Sam used a letter of credit from the Bank of Zogaz that he had secured before he left Hizor on his last visit to Renatee Dinik. He now had two hundred gold coins spread about his possessions, along with one last letter of credit from the Toraltian king.

  They both needed fresher wardrobes. Sam gave the money from selling the horses to Glory. She much preferred the styles in Bliksa to the clothes she had had to wear in Zogaz. Her shorn hair was just beginning to grow in, so she had bought a collection of new hats to wear on the voyage.

  Sam had hoped The Twisted Wind was in port, but he knew his luck had already been stretched thin enough during his years in Polistia. Glory arrived at the inn’s entrance, carrying a heavy valise and two hat boxes, which was more than she had carried out of Zogaz.

  “A girl needs to be prepared on a long voyage,” she said with a smile.

  Sam really didn’t know what to do with her. Even after all they had been through together, they admitted to each other on their ride from the south that there was no magic between them, but they had created a trusted friendship.

  After hefting his own purchases and a new wand crafted to fit new gold tips, they lugged their possessions into a carriage and rode to the wharves of Bliksa, where their ship was to sail in four hours.

  Sam looked out the window as they passed the Zogazin restaurant that Banna had taken him to when they arrived in Polistia. There would be memories of his years in Polistia, for sure. He hoped that Professor Drak and Grott were safe and back at the University of Tolloy and that Hilsa really did get to marry Hadis Torkin at the Order of Ren’s compound in Alloren.

  Sam still had funds in Zogaz, and, hopefully, a thousand Lions were secure and in his name in Baskin. He also carried other documents of uncertain worth. Along with his letters of recommendation from his voyage and a new one from Hadis Torkin, he carried an official graduation certificate from the Academy. Perhaps more interesting were the trading documents signed by Zogazin officials and the Head Proctor at the Zogazin Academy that allowed Sam to export and import goods from Hizor, the capital of Zogaz. If he was ever able to get together with Antina Mulch or even Hander Pot, the head of Red Marine Shipping, Sam figured he could have some fun bringing new technology to Toraltia.

  After Sam arrived in Holding, he would write a letter to Plantian Plunk and Antina Mulch. He hoped one or both would serve to let them know he had arrived safely.

  His time in Bliksa had almost convinced him to stay, but Glory dragged him out of the carriage at the Ristarian docks. Her memories of Polistia were not as fond as some of his.

  He looked up at the ship. It was smaller than The Twisted Wind, but somehow the lines looked sleeker. The captain had boasted that she was a fast vessel. Sam hoped the man was right. There would be no stop at Wollia this time. They would sail directly for the west side of Holding, from which direction Sam would attempt to re-enter Toraltia.

  Someone slapped him on the shoulder. Sam turned.

  “You need someone to show you how to scale the masts of this beauty,” a grinning Desmon Sandal said. “You did invite me to come with you, didn’t you?”

  “I didn’t,” Glory said, “but then I don’t think I’d be able to stop you.”

  Desmon waved away her comment and grinned. “Adventures await, my friends.”

  Sam smiled. “They do, indeed.”

  If you liked A Scholar Without Magic, please leave a review wherever you bought it.

  Excerpt of A Snoop Without Magic

  Chapter One

  ~

  A knock on the door woke Sam Smith. He rose from the shabby couch in the little house he rented in Renase, the major port for Duar, the northernmost of the West Country on Holding continent. Desmon and Glory had taken Emmy, Sam’s Great Sanchian hound, for a walk around the town. Renase was too small and rough to be called a city. So he opened the door to look at two men standing on the porch.

  “How can I help you?” Sam said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  “You are the Sam Smith who deposited twenty Zogazin Eagles in the Renase Bank?”

  Sam smiled and blinked away the cobwebs from his brain. “I am.”

  “The teller who accepted your money was unaware of the port’s regulations regarding foreigners,” one of the men said. “You are not permitted to deposit money in our bank.”

  Sam blinked again. “I asked specifically if it was permitted. The bank manager signed the receipt. Shall I get it for you?”

  The men smiled, but Sam didn’t like that kind of smile. “No need. The regulations are clear. The port has the right to confiscate your funds. Please don’t try to bother the bank manager, since he has already been physically chastised for his mistake.”

  Sam’s eyebrows rose. “You beat the man for accepting my deposit?”

  “He was less than cooperative when told the port would be seizing your funds. I am sure you understand.”

  “Am I allowed to spend money in the town?”

  “You will have to come to the port’s offices tomorrow and fill out forms, pay fees, and whatever.”

  Sam took that for a yes. He managed a smile. At least they hadn’t arrested him. “Thank you for personally informing me. I can spend the night in the house that I rented for a full month, can’t I?”

  “Of course.”

  “For tonight,” the other man said.

  ~

  Sam Smith, Desmon Sandal, Glory Wheeler, and Emmy, the dog, sat around a campfire in the dampness of a cold night. Emmy barked and ran off into the woods.

  It was decided that Desmon was the group’s cook, and that was okay with Sam. He poked a stick in the coals, heating up a spitted rabbit that Emmy had caught when they first arrived.

  He shook his head, amazed at the brazenness of the town officials. “At least I had the tiny amount of wisdom to deposit a small amount in the bank.”

  “Small amount? That was enough to last all three of us ten years in Renase,” Desmon said.

  Glory laughed. “It would last that long because you could buy the whole town for those twenty Eagles.” She shook her head. “Robbers. No wonder no one likes the West Countries,” she said, having grown up in Toraltia over the mountains to the east.

  “They are like what I thought the Zogazin were before I spent time in the country,” Sam said. “They are more like Pundians.” The Pundians extorted much more than twenty gold coins to allow The Twisted Wind to purchase food when Sam voyaged to Tolloy in Polistia.

  “Exactly!” Desmon said as he turned the spit.

  Sam heard Emmy bark, and soon the huge beast dropped another rabbit by the fire. She looked expectantly at Sam, who tossed Emmy’s capture away from the fire. “It i
s all yours,” Sam said. Emmy barked and ran after her dinner.

  After a meal of boiled vegetables and the roasted rabbit, they turned in, except for Sam, who spent a bit more time in front of the dwindling fire looking at their map. He noted that the next village was part of the Latruse domain. There were a few nobles sprinkled around Duar, Sam had been told when he bought their supplies to head inland from the port.

  He turned in, sleeping in the tiny cloth tent he had purchased. Desmon and Glory made much bigger ones out of pollen, but even though Sam could make pollen now, his aversion to pollen still made the tent loosen and sag overnight, and that was besides the fact that his tents were invisible to the others. Emmy only made it worse by her desire to sleep with him.

  Three more days on the rough roads in Duar brought them to the village of Latruse. They spent the night at the local inn. Their dinner wasn’t much better than their roadside meals. At least the rabbits that Emmy invariably caught were fresh. Sam wasn’t so sure about the meat in his stew.

  The day dawned bright, and Sam descended from his tiny vermin-infested room. A man dressed in gold-trimmed tan twill greeted them. Glory already sat at his table.

  “World travelers!” the man said grinning. “I am Lord Latruse. Welcome to my domain. When I found foreigners spending the night at this inn, I thought it only right to invite you to my manor for a few days. The food is better, and the rooms are much, much cleaner. All I ask in return are a few stories about far-off lands.”

  “There are three of us,” Sam said, not wanting to commit, but still, the offer seemed to be a good one. The three of them could certainly pay their way with stories of Polistia and Wollia.

  Desmon joined them. Lord Latruse gave the Wollian the same offer.

  “My manor is less than an hour away. I can feed you there.” He made a face encouraging them to accept.

  “Of course,” Desmon said, brightly. “We would be happy to entertain you, as you entertain us.”

  The lord was taken aback.

  “None of us have been to Duar before. I am sure you can provide us with a few local stories.”

  Lord Latruse laughed. “It is settled then. Hurry and pack up. I will take the lady in my carriage, if you don’t mind.”

  Sam looked at Desmon. “As long as we leave at the same time,” Sam said.

  “Of course. How else would you know where to go?”

  Sam didn’t think it would be too hard to find the manor of the domain they were currently in. It didn’t take them long to pile their belongings in the wagon. Sam, Desmon and Emmy traveled in the wagon while Lord Latruse entertained Glory, who had changed into a dress for the occasion.

  They eventually turned down a lane straighter than the curving road that they were on, and soon rolled through a rather large wall with sturdy gates to a light-colored three-story stone house. It wasn’t the kind of noble manor Sam had visited in Baskin, but it was the noblest structure he had seen since he landed in Duar.

  He was relieved to see Glory giggling at something Lord Latruse said as she exited the Lord’s carriage. As everything else in Duar, it looked like it was designed centuries ago. Desmon nudged Sam to show him that the walls were manned. From the inside, it looked more like a keep than a manor house.

  “I will have servants take your things. If there is anything you wish to have with you, now is the time to grab them,” Lord Latruse said as he climbed the steps to his manor.

  A well-dressed woman opened the door and stood next to the noble as Sam’s group assembled on the wide stone porch. Sam noticed that there was nothing flammable on the porch. He took his spectacles off and looked at the pollen patches covering repairs and burn marks on the stone.

  “This is my wife Margritte. I don’t think we have been properly introduced, except for Glory, of course.”

  Sam had to admit Lord Latruse was the most genial person he had met in Duar.

  Desmon chimed in with the introductions. He gave them less information than Sam would, and that was out of character for the Wollian, Sam thought.

  “Come in. I will have servants show you to your rooms after breakfast,” the lord said.

  Sam was glad for that. He was getting hungry. “And something for Emmy?”

  Lord Latruse turned around. “I thought you were Glory?” he said, turning to the girl.

  “Emmy is Sam’s dog.”

  “The big brute? I didn’t even notice it was a she. Of course.” Lord Latruse nodded to one of his servants who scuttled out the front door. “Is she a kind dog?” the lord said, looking a bit concerned.

  “That she is, unless provoked.”

  Their host looked a bit relieved. “Good.” He turned to his wife. “Margritte, lead us to the buffet room.”

  The furniture was dark and massive in the small dining room. Three young girls were playing with dolls and a crib in the corner.

  “Time to move to the nursery, children,” their mother said, but she stopped them in time to introduce them to the visitors.

  The girls curtseyed in a practiced way for their age, Sam thought, before they left. He could hear them laughing as they clomped up the stairs outside the room.

  Lord Latruse asked them to sit while Magritte left to supervise the preparation of breakfast. “It won’t take long. Eggs, bacon, morning bread with lots of butter.” He rubbed his hands.

  Margritte entered the room, followed by servants bearing the food on trays and placed on a long sideboard.

  “If you please, help yourself,” Lord Latruse said, getting up to join his wife, still standing.

  Once they were seated, the noble asked them to begin, and then he would require a story as payment for their breakfast.

  Somehow, everything tasted better to Sam after more than four years away from Holding. He was curious what morning bread was, but it was a roll filled with an apricot jam. It was delicious and an unexpected treat.

  “I’ll begin,” Desmon said. He related one of Sam’s adventures in Wollia, the one with the pollen-covered door leading to a subterranean warehouse that ended with Desmon, Glory, and Sam on The Twisted Wind, sailing out of port. Desmon’s details were a little different from Sam’s recollection, but he didn’t correct the Wollian spy.

  Lord Latruse clapped. “I had no idea you were all so accomplished.”

  Magritte had clapped along with her husband. “Exciting! We lead such dull lives.”

  Sam doubted if they were dull, but they probably didn’t involve traveling anywhere by ship.

  “I noticed you have manned walls circling the manor grounds. Is there a reason for that?”

  Lord Latruse smiled. “You probably weren’t taught about the West Countries in school. We live in a feudal society, not quite as enlightened as Baskin, I’m sure. Away from the capital, men are prone to make up their own rules. The more secure your holdings, the more rules you can make up. It is as simple as that. I choose to live a more serene life than some of my neighbors who think nothing of occasionally trying to make me follow their rules.”

  Sam had suspected as much, and Cherryton compulsory school had briefly taught a unit of West Countries feudalism. Now Sam suspected he would learn more.

  “We have already been subject to rulemaking,” Sam said. He told them of his experience at Renase and the confiscated bank deposit.

  Latruse grinned. “Exactly what I was talking about. The port council probably saw that money sitting in the bank and decided it needed to be theirs.”

  “It is, now,” Sam said.

  “I promise you, I am not like that.” He looked at his wife, “Am I, Margritte?”

  “Sometimes,” she said smiling and tracing her finger along Latruse’s close-shaven chin line. She looked at them. “We do what we can to more than survive. Peer and I, Lord Latruse’s first name. Peer and I have three daughters and we want them brought learning manners, discipline, and how to have fun that can be shared with others. That is not the case with some of our neighbors. Do you understand?”

  Des
mon leaned forward. “I do indeed. Wollia can be a wild place. I admire your philosophy.”

  Someone knocked on the door and entered without waiting for permission.

  “I am sorry to disturb you, my lord, but Lord Ankras has decided to move his assault up a day. Could you talk terms with him?”

  “Now?”

  The man looked apologetic. “I am afraid so.”

  “You may come or stay as you please,” Lord Latruse said to Sam’s group. “Lord Ankras is one who likes to have fun that is not shared by others.”

  ~ End of Excerpt ~

  Character List

  A Boy Without Magic

  Cherryton

  Sam Smith - son of a blacksmith.

  Addia Smith (Addy) - Sam’s sister.

  Marker Smith (Mark) - Sam’s brother.

  Truart Smith (Tru) - Sam’s oldest brother.

  Rolph Smith -Sam’s father.

  Walbur Scrivener (Wally) - Son of the town’s post office manager

  Gobfort Carter (Gob) - Son of the transportation service in town.

  Harrison Dimple - a Traveling healer who lives outside of town.

  Yulla Featherstone - Teacher of Sam’s class.

  Batchelor Bank - Schoolmaster

  Glory Wheeler - Girl in Sam’s fifth-year class.

  Malora Washjoy - Baker’s wife

  Tom Washjoy - Baker

  Mountains of Toraltia

  Lennard Lager - Town Lord of Mountain View

  Emmy - A Great Sanchian - a valuable hunting dog

  Bagbox - ‘lord’ of Horner’s Rest

  Milla - healer in Horner’s Rest

  Magia (Mags) - Healer in Riverville

  Faddon Bentwick - Chief Captain of the Constabulary

  Rangerfield - Captain and commanding officer of the Riverville fort

  Seedman - a part-time constable in Fussel’s Ford

  Betti - the local healer in Fussel’s Ford.