Forgotten Mage (8 page)

“I don’t see many other creatures
around,” Bren said, looking around the tree for any other signs of
life.

“No, everyone else stays away,” The
mouse said happily. “They don’t like this tree, but I like it. Its
fruit is really good and everyone stays away from it. No one comes
to take my shiny things.”

Bren found himself talking to the mouse
for a great length of time. It was a simple creature, but far
smarter than Bren would have imagined. Once the sun dropped below
the tree line, Bren sat the mouse down on the ground and pulled
another coin from his pouch. “I need to go now little
fellow.”

The mouse tried to pick up the coin,
but found that the two coins together were far more than it could
manage. Bren could almost see the internal struggle as it thought
about what it was going to do. “Will you come back and give me more
shinys?” The mouse asked, looking up at his innocently.

“I don’t think I will be able to come
back for some time,” Bren said, giving the mouse a sad smile. “If I
ever do though, I will bring you another coin,” Bren promised
before making his long walk back to the farm house.

Inside, Bren found a very worried
looking Clair pacing in the common room. “Just where have you
been?” She asked, as soon as he walked through the door.

“I was in the grove talking to a
mouse,” Bren answered honestly.

Clair rushed toward him a wrapped him
in her arms. “Don’t do that! You scared the daylights out of me
child. I thought you might have taken your leave after what Doren
had said.”

“No, he was right,” Bren said,
untangling himself from Clair’s arms. “I need to leave for the
Mage’s Tower before too much longer.”

Clair’s face took on a somber look as
she slumped own in a chair. “I know you do, but I need to talk to
you about that.” Clair took a long pause before continuing. “Faye
needs to go with you.”

“I don’t think she wants that,” Bren
said, turning toward his stairs.

“She might not, but she needs to go,”
Clair said, her voice catching on the words. “She won’t be happy
here, not truly happy. She needs to know there is more out there
than this old farm.

“If she wants to come, then I won’t
stop her, but I’m not going to be the one to get yelled at for
suggesting it. She already hates me as it is,” Bren replied
defensively.

“She doesn’t hate you,” Clair said
giggling. “You’re young, so you might not understand how girls
think, but give it some time and you might understand.”

Good luck with that. After
nearly forty years, I still can’t understand any of the things I
have seen females do. You would have better luck trying to figure
out why a dog howls at the moon.

For once, Bren agreed with Thuraman.
“If you say so,” Bren said, before turning and making his way up
the stairs and to the quiet confines of his room.

That night, before climbing under the
covers, Bren packed his few belongings in his father’s old travel
pack. His stay was over and it was time to move on. As he looked at
the pack sitting against the wall, he wondered if his father had
left the farm with the same mixed feelings.

The next morning, Bren woke early and
descended the stairs where he found that only Clair was up. “I am
leaving today,” Bren declared, as soon as he sat down at the
table.

“I figured as much,” Clair said with a
forlorn smile. “Your father once promised to visit again, but when
he walked out that door, none of us ever saw him again. I hope that
it will not be the same with you.”

Bren tried to think of something to
say, but nothing came to mind so he simply sat there in silence. As
the rest of the room filled up, every eye seemed to notice him. He
still wore Jacobs’s old clothing, but his pack hung on the back of
his chair as if challenging anyone to try and dissuade him from
leaving.

Bren heard an audible gasp from behind
him and turned to see Faye staring at his travel pack. “You’re
leaving?” She asked in muted tones.

“The work here is done and I need to
get to the Mage’s Tower,” Bren replied anxiously.

“Faye, can I speak with you a moment
dear,” Clair said, placing a warm plate in front of Bren. Faye
didn’t respond, but followed her mother into the back
room.

Not wanting to be hauled into another
argument between the mother and daughter, Bren quickly finished his
plate and headed for the door, only to be stopped by Doren. “Don’t
forget your pay, you earned it,” Doren said, placing several silver
coins in Bren’s hand.

After thanking Doren, Bren quickly
escaped the house and headed down the dirt road toward Tillman. He
was still a long way from his destination, but he cared little how
far the road stretched out in front of him, only that he was now
back on it.

As he reached the spot in the dirt path
that signaled the end of the far, Bren looked back at where he had
called home for the past few weeks. In the distance, he couldn’t
see the house anymore, but he could see one lone figure running
toward him. Bren was surprised to find that it was Faye who came
bounding up beside him accompanied by Avalanche, who was gasping
for breath.

“Mind if I travel with you two?” She
asked, blushing slightly.

Bren, too unsure of himself to answer
simply nodded his head in reply. He couldn’t believe that Clair had
convinced the hard-headed girl to go to the Tower with him. It was
the last thing he expected, but now that she walked beside him, he
felt a warmth of happiness spread through him. “I am glad you
came,” Bren said, after a long tense silence.

“
I had too,” Faye declared
with a smile. “Mother said someone had to keep you out of
trouble.”

“How could I have been here longer than
a few weeks at most?” Thad asked as he watched the events unfold in
front of him.

“Time does not pass the same here as it
does in your world. It skips and rushes forward whenever it
chooses,” Humanius explained.

“How do I get home?” Thad asked,
looking back at the image of his son.

“You would have to find a weak spot
within the veil and pass through it, but my sister has been trying
that for eons and she has still not succeeded. I am afraid that
until the veil comes down, both you and the other people who have
been trapped here will remain so.”

“There are others?” Thad asked,
surprised at the news.

“Yes, hundreds have become trapped here
over the years thanks to the swords I created. Never aging, never
dying, and not really existing. They all wait on the same thing as
you do now. One day, the veil will fall and you will be free, but
it could be days, weeks, or centuries.”

CHAPTER VII

The road to the Mage’s Tower had once
been bare, with only a few towns along the way. Before, Rane
merchants had passed through Farlan, but most the goods were
leaving the ports to other lands and not coming in. Now, because of
the mages and their goods, the town was flourishing where once
there was only farmland.

Magic was flourishing. Though it was
only the rich who could afford many of the items, it was still
spreading. Having a mage in the family was no longer a curse, but a
gift. Bren didn’t know much about the time before the war with
Rane, even though he had been told about it since his birth. It was
almost as if he was hearing stories about a faraway world with
little connection to his own. His whole life, he had been
surrounded by magical items, so much so, that they felt commonplace
to him. After his short stay at the farm where everything was done
by hand, he started to think about the stories his mother had told
him.

Taking a quick look at his traveling
companions, Bren let out a muffled sigh. He missed his heated rooms
and baths. The fact he only had to touch a stone to make the whole
of his world light up as bright as day. If he was tired, the
servants would bring his food to his room. Now his feet and legs
hurt, he was hungry, and sorely missing a good night’s sleep. No
matter how hard he tried sleeping beside the road on the rocky
ground, it just did not fit him.

“Something the matter?” Faye asked,
giving him a brilliant smile.

“Nothing,” Bren answered. “I was just
wondering how much longer it was to the next town. “Bren knew that
they should reach Glennpass by nightfall or at least he hoped they
would. The thought of another night sleeping on the hard ground
sent slivers of pain down his back.

A loud rumbling bark echoed through
Bren’s ears and without looking he knew that Avalanche had decided
to rejoin them. He knew that Faye, and Avalanche’s good moods
should make the trip easier to bear, but honestly it made it worse.
He hated how happy the two seemed to be, living in such dismal
conditions. He just couldn’t understand it. How could they be so
happy?

“Wait!” Faye hollered, holding her hand
out to stop Bren from moving forward. “Follow me,” she said before
darting off the road and into the thick line of trees.

Grumbling to himself, Bren quickly
followed after Faye. Once he entered the trees, he lost sight of
her and started to panic and call out her name. Thankfully she
answered back and he followed her voice to a stream.

Faye wasted no time and jumped into the
water covering herself from the waist down. “It feels great! You
should jump in,” She said, as she dunked the rest of her body under
the water.

After a long day of hiking in the hot
sun, Bren’s clothes stuck to him and were starting to rub his skin
raw. The water looked inviting, but his eyes were glued to Faye.
She looked beautiful as she emerged from the water, almost like the
stories of water furies his mother used to tell him. Not only did
the water seem to accent her beauty, the way her clothes stuck to
her body made Bren’s heart leap in his chest. “Are you getting in
or not?” Faye asked, cupping her hands and splashing Bren with
water.

Laughing, Bren quickly untied his boots
and jumped in the water. It was cool, but not so cold that it
caused him to shiver and with the heat of the sun still beating
down, it was almost like a reprieve sent from the gods.

“You look like you’re in a better
mood,” Faye said laughing. “I thought for a moment you were going
to start crying about missing your mother.”

“I was not going to cry,” Bren replied
defensively. “I am just not used to the weather like you
are.”

“Is that what it was?” Faye asked
teasingly, as she swam over and placed her small hands on his back
and pushed him under the cool water. When Bren emerged from the
water, he was coughing up the small amount that had gotten into his
mouth on the way down. “I thought you could use some more cooling
off.”

Bren started to get mad, but instead he
started to laugh as he tried to catch the elusive Faye to return
the favor to her. After half an hour of playing around, the two
collapsed on the bank of the stream laughing.

“Do you think you could teach me to
fight?” Faye said, as she stretched her hand up as if she was
grasping an imaginary sword.

“Sure,” Bren replied, hopping up and
moving through the trees, picking up sticks and hitting them
against the trees. When Bren found two that were straight, sturdy
and long enough, he tossed one to Faye. “First thing is your
stance,” Bren said as he demonstrated. “First, you need to spread
your legs and move your body so that you don’t present a large
target to your enemy. How you stand will also depend on what kind
of sword you are using and if you are using a shield or not, but
this is the standard stance.

Faye mimicked how Bren stood, but after
a few moments of standing still the tip of her stick started to dip
toward the ground. Bren moved quickly striking Faye lightly on the
shoulder. “You have to keep your guard up,” Bren said laughing, as
Faye gave him a piercing gaze.

“You’re not a very good teacher,” Faye
said after her attempt to block Bren’s attacks.

“I never had to teach before,” Bren
replied shrugging his shoulders. “Though I am more than used to
being on the other end of the stick.”

“Well, you can try again another time?
We need to get moving if we’re going to make it to Glennpass before
the sun sets.”

Faye didn’t have to say another word.
Bren gathered up his pack and quickly moved back toward the main
road. The thought of sleeping on a real bed was all the motivation
he needed.

Bren walked with new vigor and Faye was
forced to jog to keep up with his frantic pace. It wasn’t long
before the sun started to dip in the sky and the horizon was
decorated in a light orange haze. Just as Bren started to fear they
would not make it in time, a small house came into view, then
another.

Glennpass was a great deal larger than
Bren had expected. From what Faye had said, it seemed as if it
would be about the same size as the small village they had visited
only a few nights before.

The houses were made of dark red
bricks, and many of them stood more than two stories high. The town
even had a market district, though at this late hour the shops were
already closed. Just the sight of the familiar signs picked up
Bren’s spirits.