Forgotten Mage (31 page)

“Young masters, what brings you to my
fair shop,” a musical sounding voice said from the back of the
store.

Turning toward the sound of the voice,
Bren saw a young looking woman with golden skin and green eyes.
Bren knew instantly that she was an elf, but not a full blooded one
since she did not have the metallic eyes of her race.

“We have a proposition to make,” Bren
said politely.

“What would that be my young lord?” She
asked kindly, though her eyes took on a hardened look.

Bren took a deep breath and tried to
remember the long statement he had prepared. “My name is Bren
Farlane, the son of Thaddeus Torin, and the rightful heir of this
land. I am in the need of clothes for not only myself, but those of
others in the future. At the moment, I have no funds to pay for
these, but should you supply me with what I need, I promise that as
soon as my funds arrive, I will pay you a fair price.”

“That won’t be a problem sir. If you
would be willing to sign a bill of debt, I can have the funds
retrieved from your father’s estate on the Elven Isle,” She replied
with a smile.

“My father has an estate on the Elven
Isle?” Bren asked dumbfounded.

“Yes, he was given the land of a noble
when he visited some years ago. He is only a minor noble there, but
his coffers should still be full. If not, I am sure that the elven
nobles would cover any outstanding debts,” She replied, cocking her
had slightly to the side.

“Would there be a way for me to have
some of those funds brought here for my use?”

“I don’t see why not my lord,” She said
with a light smile. “You would just need to send a letter
requesting the funds to the Isle. I am sure they would be here on
the fastest ship that the elves have in port.”

“What would be the best method to get
my letter to the Isle in due haste?” Bren asked happily.

“If it would please your lord, I will
have it sent with my own request for the release of funds. We have
an elf that has some well-trained hawks that can have it there
within the day.”

“I would greatly appreciate that,” Bren
said smiling brightly. Now he would not need to seek aid from
outside sources, or at last he hoped that his father’s coffers
would be enough to cover the cost of his little
rebellion.

“Now that we have settled that, what
would the young lord be needing?” She asked proudly.

“I need some clothes fit for a king,”
Bren said, all hesitancy having left his voice. “I need the same
for my two friends. They need to look similar, but they need to be
different as well,” Bren tried to explain, but seemed to be doing
poorly on that front.

“If the young lord would tell me what
he needs the clothes for exactly, then I might be better able to
help him,” The elven maiden said after Bren attempted to explain
what he needed a third time.

“I need clothes for myself, to make
myself imposing…As for my two friends, one will be the general of
my forces, and the other will be my personal guard and confidant,”
Bren replied honestly.

“I can do that my lord. I just need to
know your royal colors and what your crest is?” The maiden asked
smiling.

“Crest, royal colors?” Bren asked,
though the question was aimed at himself. He had known in the back
of his mind that he would have to have one, but had never really
given it much thought. “For the colors, I think I will go with
hunter green and black. As for a crest…”

“If you don’t mind a suggestion, the
crest used for your father…I guess it would be you now, since your
father is gone, is that of a gorgerin eagle.”

“Could you tell me a bit about the
gorgerin eagle? I don’t wish to sound rude, but I don’t want my
crest to be named after a creature I don’t know anything
about.”

“Certainty sir,” The elf replied, as
she started pulling out lengths of cloth that matched what Bren had
asked for. “The gorgerin eagle, while smaller than its brothers, is
one of the fastest flyers in the skies, but that is not why my
people seem to love the creature. The eagles live in large
families, unlike most birds, and when one nest is threated, every
eagle in the family will fight to the death to protect
it.”

“I think that it would be a great
choice for my own crest then,” Bren said happily.

“Then if the lord would give me a few
hours, I will have him a suitable pair of clothes to wear, but the
rest will take me a few days. That is unless one pair will do,” She
said with a wry smile.

Bren agreed and waited for the maiden
to prepare the two notes for him. As she slid them to him to sign,
Bren noticed her hesitancy. Looking down, he noticed that she was
only asking for a single gold for all the work she was doing. “I
think your price is wrong,” Bren said shaking his head.

“I know it is a bit pricy, but I
promise it will be top notch work…far above what you will find
anywhere else within the city,” She replied quickly.

“No, that’s not the problem. My mother
has always told me to pay a fair coin for whatever I buy.
Otherwise, it will give artisans no real incentive to improve their
craft. If the other work in your store is an example of your work,
a single gold is not enough to cover the cost. Would it offend you
too terribly if I paid ten gold? While I still find that to cheap,
I don’t know what funds will be at my disposal, so I need to spend
what I do have wisely.”

“Ten gold, is well more than I am
supposed to charge. The Tower would have a fit if they learned I
charged that much for this order,” the maiden said with a surprised
look.

“Then don’t let them know. It is my
gold and I will spend it how I see fit. Now, do you know a place
where I could get a seal made? It seems that if I have an emblem, I
will need an official seal.”

“I would have thought you would simply
go to the Drunken Anvil for that,” She said with a
smile.

“I guess Crusher would be the best bet
for any blacksmithing I would need. I keep forgetting that he is
here…Don’t let him know I said that,” Bren said with a slight
laugh.

“My lips are sealed my lord,” the elven
maid said, giggling slightly.

“Then, I guess I know where our next
stop will be. Can you have my clothes sent over there as soon as
they are finished? I don’t think Crusher will let me out of there
within two hours.”

When the elven maiden agreed, Bren and
the other two headed to Crusher’s shop. They found the dwarf
working hard at his forge, making normal farm tools. “I’ll be with
ya in a moment boy. If I don’t finish this right now, tha metal
will weaken and it won’t last tha season,” Crusher said as soon as
he noticed them.

Bren waited patiently as he watched
Crusher bang away on the metal. It was a soothing sound, as the
hammer it the metal of the hoe that Crusher was working on. After
the dwarf raised the tool up to inspect his work for the third
time, he dipped it into a vat of oil, causing the metal to catch on
fire, tempering the blade. After waving it around a few times to
put out the flames, he turned toward the small group. “Now, what
brings ya back ta me shop?” Crusher asked, setting his finished
work aside.

“I need a favor?” Bren said
smiling.

“Figured as much,” the dwarf replied,
scowling. “Why can’t ya ever visit just because ya want to buy me a
keg of ale? So, what is it that ya need boy?”

“I need an official seal made, and I
might need the weapons to outfit a small army soon,” Bren said
determinedly.

“Why would ya be needing weapons ta
outfit an army?” Crusher asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I am going to take control of the town
from the council,” Bren answered, a determined look on his
face.

“Just like yer father,” Crusher said,
shaking his head. “Well nothing fer it. I can make a mold and make
ya a fair amount of swords pretty fast but they won’t be high
quality. As fer the seal tell me what ya want and I should have it
ready within a day…two if ya picked something with a lot of
detail.”

“I need one with a gorgerin
eagle.”

“Then two days it is boy…As fer the
cost, I won’t work fer free. I expect ya ta pay me as soon as ya
can boy. From tha looks of ya, I might be waiting a while
though.”

“I’ll pay you as soon as my money
arrives from the elven Isle,” Bren reassured the dwarf.

“Yea, yea,” The dwarf replied, waving
his hand as he started sketching designs for the seal on a piece of
parchment. “If ya don’t pay, I’ll just send yer mother a
bill.”

“Now, we just need to find a base to
work from,” Flynn said earnestly.

“If ya be needing a place to call yer
own fer a bit, I would suggest tha Broken Arrow Inn. Those fool
council members kicked old Tali out because he couldn’t afford
their land tax, so it’s just setting there empty.”

“We could give it a look,” Bren said
cheerfully. “Not like we have any other ideas at the
moment.”

The Broken Arrow Inn was much different
than Bren had expected. Especially given that the other places
within the non-human district were in such poor shape. The inn was
well made and had a pleasant look to it. Just like they wanted, it
had been built close to the main section of town. Bren guessed
given its location and build that it had been made before the
council had such an iron grip on the people. That would also
account for why the owner was no longer allowed to keep his doors
open.

After prying off the boards that had
been nailed over the doors, Bren and the other two entered. There
was a thin layer of dust that floated into the air as they pushed
open the doors, stinging Bren’s eyes and tickling his
nose.

“It will take a bit of cleaning, but
it’s not a bad place. Should be large enough to sleep at least
fifty, and with a little work, we could turn the common room into a
decent throne room. It isn’t perfect, but I think it is the best we
can hope for,” Flynn said approvingly. “Let’s check out the owner’s
quarters, they are normally on the other side of the
bar.”

The owner’s quarters were not large,
but it had four rooms. More than enough for Bren and any guards
that he might need. As Bren looked at two of the rooms which had
small beds, Bren started to feel bad for the previous owner who
most likely had been forced out, along with his young
children.”

“Not a bad start given that we only
started this morning. We need to see to the clothing and setting up
here before we start recruiting for your army and making our
presence known to the council. A group of mages and tower guards
would put a quick end to what you are doing here,” Cass said with a
grim smile.

“
We will deal with that
when the time comes,” Bren said with firm determination. “For now,
why don’t we get something to eat and order some food and supplies
to be brought over here? Then we can head over to Crushers to see
if the old dwarf has an ideas. He might be a pain to deal with, but
he’s a lot smarter than most people give him credit
for.”

“Your son is surely keeping this
interesting,” Humanius said as if he was watching some troubadour
play for his amusement.

“I can’t believe that he has to do
this,” Thad replied angrily. “After years of oppression by the
Brotherhood, you think the mages would know how it feels and
wouldn’t jump at the chance to do it to others.”

“That was a mistake on your end,” the
god replied. “If you knew the true nature of most humans, you would
have made sure that everything was set in stone as soon as you
could. Your race are some of the most diverse people I have ever
heard of. For every kind person who seeks to better the world,
there are two who are only out for their own gain. It is an endless
cycle of pain. One where the evil people tend to rise the highest,
due to their own warped perception of the world around
them.”

“Those who seek personal gain may rise
quickly, but they never last. People will not tolerate that kind of
treatment,” Thad said reverently.

“I think you overestimate your race
again, but only time will tell. I think that your son might find
his task much harder than he anticipated. Though I will admit to
being intrigued on how things will unfold.”

“He will fix what my own lax attitude
has wrote,” Thad declared as he turned his attention back to his
son, who now stood in a rundown butchers shop haggling for meat. He
had hoped to leave his son a place of freedom. One where everyone
was equal, no matter what their skills or race. How could it have
turned so wrong, so fast?

CHAPTER XXVI

It took three days for Crusher to
complete the seal to his liking. Bren was sure that the dwarf had
finished many times over, but he was a perfectionist when it came
to his work, and there was often more things tossed aside than used
within his workshop. Most of the time, it was something to small
that no one would notice, but the dwarf wouldn’t let anything that
wasn’t completely prefect leave his forge.

Besides the seal, Crusher was working
on two special weapons for Cass and Flynn. Saying that if they hold
a position of power, they needed weapons that showed that. Not some
scraps that they had picked up along the road.