Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion) (8 page)

“
Or
is it simply that you missed me?” Sari smiled slyly.

“
It
is not like that.” Sane stammered, “I... I have a feeling that there is more to
this than it seems.”

“
Very
well,” said Sari leaning in closely to the sorcerer. Her lips were inches away
from his ear. Sane could smell her naturally sweet scent... and ale on her
breath. “I will help you... for a kiss.”

“
A
kiss?”

“
Yes,
a kiss,” she said moving her own lips closer to his. “You have kissed a girl
before, old man. I know you have.”

Sane
seemed unsure of himself. He tried to say “no” knowing that the elf was playing
with him again but somehow, “Yes,” came out of his mouth.

The
vixen smiled as she slowly leaned ever closer until their lips were almost
touching. “Nah, I changed my mind,” she said pushing the sorcerer away.

“
Wait
here,” Sari told the sorcerer turning her back heading toward the inn, “Let me
grab my bow and leathers and I will be right back.” The door swung closed
leaving the sorcerer standing alone in the street.

***

Fuming,
Sane resisted the overwhelming desire to follow the elf and light her hair on
fire. He coldly reminded himself that a woman did not have to be a magician to
be an enchantress and resolved for perhaps the hundredth time not to fall for
Sari's tricks the next time.

Byrn
and his adoptive father, Tannys, waited impatiently for the sorcerer to arrive.
They watched traders in the square going about their business and tried to pass
the time talking of anything except the one thing that was utmost on each of
their minds: Byrn’s future.

Merchants
and teamsters chatted in groups or loaded cargo all around them. One
particularly loud man seemed intent on getting his newly purchased wares loaded
onto his cart while a pair of teamsters grumbled about the heavy load. It would
have seemed like an ordinary day if not for the pair of Kenzai hunters
surveying the area. They wore brown traveler cloaks and looked to the casual
observer to be no more than that. The outline of a sword was barely visible
underneath one of their cloaks and Byrn knew they wore black leather armor
although it was not clearly visible since the cloaks were drawn close. Byrn
thought that if he were to ever “go rogue” as Sane put it that these would be
the men to track him down and he found the thought to be less than comforting.
The Kenzai approached Byrn and Tannys.

“
We
have found no traces of any magic here at the square,” said the shorter one
called Bavra. “Tyder believes we should continue the search outside the city.”

“
We
are to wait for Sane,” Byrn told them reminding the Kenzai of their orders. In
truth, he did not trust these men enough to leave the relative safety of the
city. He wondered if these men were to reveal themselves as Kenzai and declared
before everyone in the square that Byrn was a magician would anyone lift a hand
in protest. There were familiar faces in the square. They were people Byrn had
known since he was a small boy. Would they come to his aid? The fledgling
magician feared the answer to that question.

Magicians
had the kind of power that a normal man could never hope to match, but what
should have been a blessing was really a curse. Hundreds or perhaps thousands
of years ago magicians were corrupted by their own power and became dark
warlords and madmen. They ruled over the known world and made those without the
gift their slaves. Eventually the slaves learned to fight back and the Kenzai
were born or so the old stories say. Through decades of observation the Kenzai
learned how to sense magic and negate it overthrowing the ruling magicians.
Magicians became worse than second-class citizens and were forced to live in
closed off communities and under constant supervision by the Kenzai, bringing
forth centuries of peace. If not for Sane's offer of apprenticeship these two hunters
would not be treating Byrn so politely. Instead they would be hunting him down
as if he was no more than some rabid animal.

“
Some
interesting friends you have here,” said Tannys leaning over to Byrn. After
speaking to Kellen, Byrn returned home and decided to tell his mother and
father the truth. They deserved to know now, he had decided. Not a month from
now or even a day. If he put it off, then he would not be sparing them any
pain. He would only be dishonoring them by lying.

When
Byrn told them Marian wanted to cry, but she managed to hold her composure.
Tannys was angry and demanded to see the “sorcerer.” He refused to accept that
Byrn was a magician having never seen proof and refused to accept the
second-hand word of some man who admitted to posing as a priest. Tannys knew
his adopted son since he was a small boy and never saw any hint that the boy,
now a man, might be able to wield magic.

“
Show
me,” Tannys had demanded, but Byrn was unable to comply. He did not know how to
cast a spell- not intentionally. Convinced that Sane was some sort of gypsy
intent on stealing his son Tannys wanted to confront the man and prove him a
fake.

That
was before the two Lightfoot men rendezvoused with the knight-captain and the
pair of Kenzai. The Kenzai were talked about in hushed whispers and looked upon
with equal parts fear and admiration. They were the men lurking in the shadows
that kept new parents up at night wondering if they would come one day to take
their children just as they were the boogeymen used to scare a child into
behaving.

Ever
vigilant the Kenzai were said to always be watching and waiting just out of
sight and only revealed themselves once a magician had been identified. Then
they would take the newfound magician away, often at night as they slept, but
always against the magicians' wills. It was rare to see them out and about
publicly. To get even one or two of them to reveal themselves would require
someone of considerable influence.

That
is why Sane requested the involvement of Knight-Captain Kellen. As the captain
of the guard he had some influence over the city's Kenzai and knew how to
summon them when needed. The Kenzai were independent of the guard, but the two
groups were known to work together to capture rogue magicians when the need arose.

While
the hunters searched the square for magical clues and the Lightfoots sat on a
nearby bench watching them Kellen excused himself to collect intelligence from
the sentry guards who sounded the alarms earlier. He hoped they saw something
or someone unusual prior to the ogre's attack.

When
Kellen returned some time later he was not alone. Sane was with him along with
an attractive elf woman dressed in fine leather armor. She looked a few years
older than Byrn, but it was difficult to tell her real age.

“
Master
Sane, I wish to speak with you about my boy,” Tannys stood up so that they were
eye to eye. He tried to maintain an air of politeness although internally he
was probably seething with anger, “You do not have the authority to take Byrn
from me. He is my son and my apprentice and I refuse to relinquish him.”

The
hunters, Bavra and Tyder, moved cautiously as they positioned themselves
between Tannys and his son. Byrn's freedom depended on him being the sorcerer's
apprentice. If his father would not allow it, then they would have no choice
but to take the young man by force. Their hands were on their weapons, but Sane
gestured for them to stand down.

“
I
understand your concern, but this is for the best,” Sane told him, “with me he
can learn to hone his... natural abilities.” Sane chose his words carefully
aware of the number of people within earshot. “He can visit you and in time he
could even find himself in a seat of power as an adviser to a nobleman or even
the king.”

The
sorcerer leaned in so that only those very close by could hear him. “Without my
sponsorship these men,” he waved his hand at Bavra and Tyder, “would be forced
to take him to a domain where he would live under the watchful eye of their
brothers-in-arms. He would never be allowed to leave and you would never see
him again.”

“
So
I either let you take him or he gets sent to one of those prisons that you call
domains? That is hardly a choice.”

“
No,
it is not,” agreed Sane, “If there was another way I would take it, but keep in
mind this has already been decided and your approval is not needed. I only seek
your approval for Byrn's benefit- nothing more.”

“
I
fail to see what all the fuss is,” the elf woman stepped between the two men
seeking to avoid a confrontation in a very public place, “with Sane's magic
Byrn could travel between Colum and Mollifas almost in the blink of an eye. He
can stay with Sane and train most days and visit his family here for a day or
two every few weeks.”

“
Magic
should not be used simply to make life easier,” said Sane, “It is a gift to be
used to help others. By using magic simply to make our lives easier we run the
risk of repeating the mistakes of our ancestors.”

“
Do
I get no say in my own future?” demanded Byrn. “The elf's idea sounds like the
best compromise. In fact it is the only thing I have heard today that does not
make being a magician sound like anything other than a prison sentence.” Not
wishing to offend his potential savior Byrn quickly added, “I am sorry, miss,
to refer to you as such, but I do not know your name.”

The
elf smiled at him. “I do like him,” she told Sane, “He is a smart kid to
recognize such good advise and well mannered too.” To Byrn she added, “My name
is Sarianna of the Red Tree Clan, but my friends call me Sari.” She gave him a
small bow and extended her hand to him palm down in what must have been some
strange elf custom.

Unsure
of what he was supposed to do Byrn took her hand in his and awkwardly shook it,
which caused the elf to chuckle a bit at his expense. She turned back to Sane
and said, “He certainly has your way with women, handsome.”

Tyder
spoke up, “Perhaps this discussion should take place where there are less ears
about. If you were rogues, a dozen of my brothers and sisters would have
descended upon you by now.” He looked to the sorcerer and his apprentice.

“
Alright
that is enough of that,” said Kellen taking command of the situation, “I have
some horses awaiting us at the guard stables nearby. Let us be off and secure
my city. Then we can continue this discussion at our leisure.” Without another
word he turned heading for the stables and the rest followed meekly behind.

“
Sorry,
Byrn,” said Tannys as they followed in the rear.

“
For
what?”

“
Sarianna.
You were supposed to kiss her hand. It's a custom among nobles. I never got
around to the finer points of dealing with nobles in your apprenticeship.”

“
She
is very attractive,” Byrn whispered to Tannys.

“
I
have only seen a few in my travels, but it seems that most elves are,” Tannys
agreed. “Do you know why their ears are so big?”

“
The
better to hear you with,” Sari said coming up behind Byrn. She goosed the young
man and made him jump as she walked by to catch up with Sane and Kellen.
“Magicians... they are all alike,” Sari laughed.

The
sun was settings as the party approached the crest of a small hill. Sari was
able to quite easily follow the ogre's tracks from the point where it entered
the city. A depression in the dirt here or a patch of trampled grass meant
nothing to Sane or his other companions, but to the elf ranger raised in the
forests of the Great Waicossan they might as well have been sign posts pointing
to the ogre's home.

“
It's
going to be dark soon making tracking more difficult. We may want to head back
to the city and pick up from here to-,” Sari was going to say “tomorrow” as she
reached the top of the hill, but as she looked at the plains below her she was
struck silent. A moment later her companions understood why.

The
plains below were filled with ogres marching towards them and Colum behind. There
were easily thirty of the monsters heading their way. Kellen was about to order
them to fall back when Sari saw something to the north in the dying light.

“
Look
over there,” she told the others. They followed her pointed figure to see a
lone rider in the distance not heading toward Colum, but further west towards
the magician's prison, Baj.

In
that moment Sane understood everything as the pieces of his vision fell into
place. “I was wrong. Gods, I was so wrong,” he whispered. “I was so focused on
finding out who had unleashed the beast that I never thought to ask why. Now
the answer is plain. This morning’s attack was nothing more than a test. The
enchanter was gauging his ability to control an ogre over a long period of time
and send it to attack someplace far from its home.

“
Once
the test was deemed successful the magician must have begun weaving his spell
on each of these ogres one by one so that he could send a full army against the
city. With the city under siege from such a force they would undoubtedly
request reinforcements from Baj who would send many of their Kenzai guards
leaving a much smaller force at the prison.