Forgotten Mage (32 page)

Standing in front of a large mirror,
Bren looked at his new clothes. They were grand things…much like
the clothes he had worn to social affairs with his mother. The
tunic had a deep v-cut down the chest, showing off a hunter green
tunic with black lining. The tunic itself was a deep green, trimmed
in black with the symbol of the eagle over his heart. The trousers
were the opposite and were pitch black with only a thin strip of
green down the leg.

Cass’s uniform looked much the same as
his, but it was of a simpler make, without the v-cut and with
bright silver buttons with the eagle symbol on them. Flynn’s was
even simpler still. It was made nearly completely black with only
the barest hint of green down the middle, with the eagle symbol on
copper buttons.

The clothes were well done. They were
not only made good enough for state functions, but also sturdy
enough for everyday wear, without the fear of them easily falling
apart. Other than the clothes and seal, they had been hard at work
on the inn, making small changes where they could. They even went
so far as to have the elven tailor, Halona, make banners and drapes
in the royal colors for the inn. With Halona’s help, they had also
found an elven carpenter and dwarven mason to help them change, not
only the outside look of the inn, but the inside as
well.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, but
there was also rumors that the council was searching for him. Bren
doubted that with all the commotion in the non-human district that
he would stay hidden for long.

“We need to recruit soldiers,” Flynn
said firmly. “Even if they’re not properly trained, we need bodies
to help enforce our role here in the non-human district.

“How should we go about recruiting
though?” Bren asked as he grabbed a piece of bread off the long
table. “It is not as if we can simply run around yelling that we
need men for an army.”

“Why not?” Flynn replied. “I think it
is the only way we are going to be able to get anything done. If we
continue to move so cautiously, the council will have us in chains
before we have a chance to do anything. Our only real chance to
make this work is if we have some sort of force behind us…Even if
we don’t have to use it, the force is still needed.”

“Then I will trust you to take care of
that,” Bren told Flynn, still not sure if his method would gain the
soldiers, or the eye of the council.

“What do you think we should do today
my lord?” Cass asked with a barely hidden grin.

“Would you please call me Bren when we
are alone?” Bren asked, sighing to himself.

“You need to get used to being
addressed as such,” Cass said with another thinly veiled grin. “I
never would have thought a prince would have been so unaccustomed
to proper titles.”

“I didn’t attend many state functions
and the guards and my family rarely used them,” Bren replied in
explanation.

“Then while Flynn is out stirring up
trouble, why don’t we make head over to Halona’s?” Cass asked,
without trying to hide his smile.

“She has been a great deal of help,”
Bren said nearly laughing. “But I am afraid that if you keep
leering at her, she might decide it would be safer for her to turn
us over to the Tower.”

“I do not leer,” Cass said, punching
Bren in the shoulder. “I merely enjoy the sight of a beautiful
woman.”

“You enjoy the sight of any woman,”
Bren added laughing. “I could have sworn you were checking out that
grey haired dwarven woman that brought over the groceries the other
day.”

“That is a low blow my friend,” Cass
said, feigning injury. “I was just being polite.”

“Well, I guess if there is nothing
better to do, we can go visit you elven tailor,” Bren said
laughing.

As soon as they left the inn, they were
greeted by the smiles of numerous townsfolk. In their short stay in
the non-human district, they had become well known. Avalanche was
also treated well during their stay with a never ending supply of
young children to play with. Bren had been afraid at first that the
rock hound might injure one of the children, but the hound was as
gentle as could be to the younger children. Though she would still
often find an adult to jump on so that she could let out some of
her pent up energy.

“Is something wrong?” Cass asked Halona
as soon as they entered the store. He face was drawn and creased
with worry upon seeing them. Bren had to hand it to Cass, he could
notice the slightest difference in anyone, especially when that
person was a female. It was almost as if he could tell what someone
was thinking before they were even aware of it. The talent made him
prefect to be a personal guard.

“I am glad you two came to visit,”
Halona replied with a sad smile. “I was just trying to decide if I
should visit you or not.”

“You know you are more than welcome to
visit anytime you wish,” Cass said with a wry grin.

“Fool boy, you know I am ten times your
age and have no interest in little boys who still need their
mothers to wipe their noses,” Halona said with a light laugh. “I
just wanted to warn you that two tower guards were here this
morning asking about you.”

“I see,” Bren replied.

“I didn’t tell them where you were, or
that I saw you, but they were quite insistent in their
questing.

“They didn’t hurt you did they?” Cass
asked, his voice deepening in anger.

“No,” Halona said with a light giggle.
“But it is kind that you would get so worked up over it. They
simply threated to have my merchant permit revoked. The tower
guards are afraid to touch any of the people here. They tried it
once and it ended badly for them.”

“I guess Flynn was right, we don’t have
the luxury to move slowly,” Bren said sadly.

“I have some news that might brighten
your mood though,” Halona added, pulling a letter out from behind
the counter and handed it to Bren.

“What is this?” Bren asked as he took
the letter. He noticed that the seal was the same as his own coat
of arms. Breaking the wax seal, Bren unfolded the thick parchment
and began to read.

Dear master Farlane, it is
with great honor that I greet you. My name is Salina Reinwood, the
Temporary head of the Reinwood estate, and your steward. I have
received your request for funds, but it was unclear on the amount
needed, so I took it upon myself to look into your needs with
certain people that I have within the magic city. From the
information I have gathered, I believe I have sent along not only
enough needed funds, but also personal, that will aid you at this
time. If you require anything further from me or the Reinwood
family, you just need to request it. We do hope that someday you
will find the time to visit us, but we understand that you are
currently busy with your own affairs. Sincerely, Salina
Reinwood.

“I wonder how many other secrets my
father has hidden away?” Bren asked to himself as he folded the
paper up and placed it within an inner pocket of his
tunic.

“If memory serves me right my lord,
your father was fond of earth and darkness element, so he would be
prone to secrets,” Halona said smiling.

“Was he…Sometimes it seems as if other
people know more about my father than I will ever will,” Bren
replied, feeling slightly left out.

“It is hard to know those that we love.
Sometimes that love blinds us from all but what we wish to see,”
Cass said, patting Bren on the back.

“Do you know how long it will be before
the ship arrives with the funds?” Bren asked, looking back to the
young elf. “I don’t want to keep living off of credit and good
will.”

“If they dispatched a fast ship, it
should arrive at port within a few days, then it will take three
days for it to come over land.”

“I wish that it could be here a bit
faster, but I guess nothing happens instantly,” Bren said shaking
his head. “Cass, I know you would love to stay a bit longer and
enjoy the scenery, but we need to find Flynn and let him know about
the tower guards.”

“Duty calls then,” Cass said, bowing
toward Halona.

It didn’t take them long to find Flynn
who was with Crusher, talking to a group of dwarven men. The young
general already had a fair number of people around him and it
looked as if he was firing well in his efforts.

“Lord Farlane,” Flynn yelled at him
when he noticed him and Cass. “I am glad that you are here. I would
like to introduce you to some of the people who are willing to join
your army,” Flynn said, pointing out about a dozen elves, dwarves,
and a few of the other races.

“It is nice to meet all of you, and a
pleasure to have you working for me in an attempt to stall the
Towers unfair and unjust laws against your people,” Bren said
eloquently. “General Flynn, I need to speak with you about
something that has come to our attention.”

“At once my lord,” Flynn said, his
voice calm, but his words still holding the same bite to Bren’s
ears that they always had.

“What is it Bren? I still have a lot of
ground to cover,” Flynn said annoyed.

“The Tower has already sent there
guards around to try to learn about my location. I believe they are
at least vaguely aware of what we are up too,” Bren said in the way
of a quick explanation.

“All the more reason for me to get back
to work,” Flynn said with a harsh tone. “Now, if you don’t mind, I
need to make sure that we have at least enough people to look
imposing, even if they don’t know which side of the sword to hold,”
Flynn said before stalking off.

“Guess that was a waste of time,” Cass
said with a smirk. “We should head back to the inn, in case the
Tower decides to send some of their brutes there as well. Guess we
really shouldn’t leave it unguarded from now on…It would look bad
if the Tower simply pulled it down while we were out.”

“This is nothing like what I imagined
my trip to the Magic City to be when I left the palace,” Bren said
when a heavy sigh.

“You mean Torin not the Magic City…You
need to get used to using that name, otherwise no one will do so
either,” Cass said, slapping Bren on the shoulder. “And if
everything went the way we wanted, life wouldn’t be fun enough to
care about living. It’s the challenges that make life
fun.”

“I wish I had the same outlook,” Bren
said, laughing slightly. “I just want a nice simple life where I
don’t have to worry about who is hiding in what
shadows.”

“Then you are in the wrong line of
work,” Cass laughed. “You should quite the whole king business and
try for a farmer or fisher. I don’t believe either of those ever
have to worry about taking a dagger in the back.”

“I tried my hand at farming,” Bren
replied smiling. “I don’t really have the skill for it…fishing
might do, though I won’t know unless I give it a try.”

When they arrived back at the inn, they
were met with a surprise. Inside, sitting at one of the long tables
in the common room was Sae-Thae and Phena. When they entered, he
noticed a worried look on the master mage’s face, but he couldn’t
tell if his friend was happy or mad with him over his actions
during his absence.

“Bren, it is good to see that you are
well,” Sae-Thae said in even tones. “From the reports I received
from the Tower, I had feared that you would have been crippled.
There are even a few who think you wandered off to die.”

“I am very much alive uncle Sae-Thae,”
Bren replied, smiling. “A lot has happened in your
absence.”

“I have heard,” Sae-Thae said,
frowning. “Leave you alone for a span and you turn the whole Tower
on its head and most of the city as well. I had hoped to ease you
into what has been happening around here. I guess that isn’t an
option anymore.”

“Why didn’t you do anything about this
before uncle?” Bren asked, a small spark of anger in his
voice.

“I figured you might take it that way,”
Sae-Thae said with a sigh. “It is not as if I just let it happen.
It was more the fact there was nothing I could do to stop it. Your
father didn’t put near enough thought into the Tower and town when
he started it. Everything in the Tower is up to a vote, and even as
the head master, there is little I can do when it comes to the
council. The truth is that I am risking my position just coming
here to meet with you, given what you told the council.”

“I am sorry uncle, I just
couldn’t…”

“I know boy,” Sae-Thae said, cutting
Bren off midsentence. “That is in the past now and there is nothing
we can do about it but move forward. The reason I am here is not
for that,” Sae-Thae said, giving Bren a hard look.

Right as Sae-Thae was about to say
something, a light sneeze came from his side. Cass quickly drew his
sword and approached the position the sound had come from. “Show
yourself, we already know you are there,” his friend said
menacingly.

“Sorry,” A light voice said, as the air
beside Sae-Thae began to shimmer. Once where there had been
nothing, Faye stood with an apologetic look on her face.

“Faye, what are you doing here?” Bren
asked, after jumping back nearly a foot when she popped out of thin
air.