The Archmage Unbound (9 page)

Dorian had many a question for him
regarding his reason for exploring my father’s library but Rose was strangely
quiet throughout the meal, quietly picking at her venison. Considering her
usual chattiness I couldn’t help but wonder at her reticence.

“So how long do you think you’ll be
gone?” asked Dorian. As he spoke he skillfully cut a large joint of meat from
a serving platter before passing it along.

Marc smiled, lighting his features with
a warmth that made it seem as if his recent depression couldn’t possibly have
been real. “A while my friend, after I finish there I plan to travel a bit…
see if I can get access to some of the records kept by the various churches.”

Dorian still wasn’t comfortable with the
fact that Marc had rejected his goddess. The Thornbear family had been
followers of the Lady of the Evening Star for many generations and despite what
both of us had told him he still seemed to feel that the goddess must have some
good reason for her refusal to help. Deep down I’m sure he secretly hoped that
Marcus would reconcile with Millicenth. “Are you trying to figure out why she did
what she did?” he said.

“Partly,” answered Marc. He knew better
than to voice his desire for vengeance against the gods. It would only upset
Dorian and ruin the meal.

Dorian snorted, “’Partly’ isn’t much of
an answer… why don’t you just spit out what you’re thinking?” Sometimes Dorian
could be more perceptive than people expected from such a massive man.

Rose interrupted before I could, “Dorian
don’t badger him! He’s been through a lot, let him enjoy his food.”

“I wasn’t badgering him,” Dorian groused.
“I’m just tired of not hearing what’s on people’s minds.”

Marcus spoke up earnestly, “Look Dorian
I’m not trying to shut you out. I just need to get away. This gives me
something to do and a reason to travel.” I marveled at how sincere the
half-truth sounded coming from my friend.

“When do you plan on going?” Rose asked
suddenly.

“Tonight if Mort doesn’t mind
teleporting me,” Marc answered immediately.

We had already discussed this earlier so
I simply nodded my head in agreement. “Would you mind taking a note to my
father for me?” asked Rose. “I haven’t seen him in months and I’m sure he must
be worried.”

“Certainly Rose,” Marc agreed quickly.

She thanked him and the rest of our meal
went quietly after that. I caught Rose looking at me once or twice but she
looked away whenever I caught her staring. Even with my advantage in sensing
emotions I had no idea what was on her mind. Rose Hightower was a complex
puzzle that I had long ago despaired of understanding. It was clear though
that she was curious about something.

After we had finished eating I walked
with Marc back to his room to gather his things, and then I accompanied him to
the teleportation circle I had set to match the one in my house back in
Albamarl. He glanced at me in surprise as I stepped onto it with him. “You
don’t have to come with me.”

“Yes I do. I have to tell the house to
tolerate your presence. Didn’t I ever tell you what happened to Rose that time
she went exploring the library without me?” I said. It turned out that somehow
I had neglected to relate that tale to him. Consequently we both got a chuckle
as I relived the story with him. The part where the golem had Rose upside down
left him in stitches.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me
about that before,” he remarked as we stepped off the circle in my house in
Albamarl.

“I guess I was busy. A lot did happen
after all,” I replied. In point of fact the events we were discussing had been
only a few months prior, but now looking back it seemed as if years had
passed. I went through the house and made sure it would let him enter and exit
through the front door in my absence. I also made particular effort to ensure
that the golem in the library would allow him to look through the books without
interference. “Are you sure you’ll be alright here by yourself?” I asked again
for probably the tenth time.

Marc laughed, “I’ll be fine Mort… and if
I’m not, you’ll be the first to know.” He emphasized the last part.

“I’ll be back in a few days for my
meeting with the king,” I repeated again. “When you go deliver Rose’s note to
Lord Hightower don’t let them see your face. Just leave it with the doorman.
I’d rather no one knows how easy it is for us to enter and leave the city until
after I visit the king.”

“I doubt he’s forgotten your visit to
his warehouses already,” said Marc sardonically.

“That’s certain, but he may not realize
I still have a means of entering and leaving other than the circle that was in
James Lancaster’s storehouse,” I said.

“True enough,” Marc replied. “I’ll keep
that in mind. Never fear, no one will know I’ve returned to the city for at
least a few weeks.”

After that I said my farewells and
returned to Cameron Castle. Penelope was waiting for me when I got back to our
rooms. As soon as I entered she looked up, she had been combing out her hair
in preparation for bed.

“Already back?” she asked.

I would have thought that was obvious
but I decided not to be a smart ass. “Nothing could keep me from your side my
dear!” I said chivalrously.

“You say that now. Wait till I get fat…
I’m already starting to show,” she announced with a mixture of pride and
trepidation.

“Really?” I asked with a healthy
interest.

“Look,” she said standing up and
smoothing her nightdress. She stood sideways in front of a full length mirror
that had been a gift from Genevieve Lancaster. Sure enough there was a
distinct protrusion of her belly. There were also more interesting changes.

I stepped up behind her and put one arm
around her waist, feeling the modest swelling of her midriff. “That’s not all
that’s grown,” I announced as I brought my other hand up to cup her breast in a
familiar manner.

“I despair of you ever growing up,” she
said with a smile, and then she leaned her head back to engage me in a rather
distracting kiss.

Sometime later she nudged me; I had
almost fallen asleep in the bed. “Do you think our baby will be happy?” she
asked with a note of uncertainty.

I tried to focus my thoughts. I have
never been sure why she always wanted to talk ‘afterward’ but I had learned to
accept it. Personally I had begun to suspect it was because she knew I was
less likely to dissemble and more likely to answer honestly. “I hope so,” I
replied, “but the future is never certain. And you should say, ‘our son’,” I
added.

“Are you really sure about that? I
couldn’t have been more than a month along when you healed me,” she said.

“Is it so hard to believe? I never
question your visions,” I told her.

She snorted, “That’s because they’re
always right, and you don’t have that gift… how can you be sure?”

“I’m sure,” I answered. “You’re just
feeling nervous because you haven’t had any visions to confirm what I said.”

“That’s not true!” she answered
self-righteously, “I’m just nervous. If I decorate the nursery for a boy and
we have a girl you’re going to be in trouble.” She poked me in the ribs as she
said it.

I chuckled a bit, “That is a risk I’m
willing to take.”

***

The next day was quiet and I spent the
majority of my morning working on the armor. Over the past month I had gained
a lot of confidence in manipulating metal and working with my hands had always
given me a sense of peace. These days it also gave me a feeling of connection
to my father. I felt a bit like a cheat though, if he could have seen me now
what would he have thought? Using spells I could work metal in ways that he
could never have imagined. Much of the skill he gained in a lifetime of
crafting involved finding ways to get around the limitations and difficulties
of working iron. I was able to completely circumvent many of those limitations
with nothing more than my will and some carefully chosen words.

He would have teased me
about it
, I thought to myself. Deep down I knew
it was true… he’d have poked fun and then told me to use whatever tool came to
hand. The vision of the final product was what was most important and if that
was poorly conceived it wouldn’t matter how many advantages I had… the final
result would still be junk.

If anything my background in a
traditional smithy had taught me to understand iron in a way that no amount of
magic could have ever done. That understanding was even more valuable now that
I had the ability and the resources to exploit that knowledge effectively.

I can make a suit like this,
tailored to an individual, in roughly two weeks,
I calculated.
Another two days to finish the enchantments and
I’m looking at about sixteen days to equip each of my ‘knights’.
Even with
my advantages it would still take a considerable amount of time to prepare for
what I had in mind.
And I haven’t added in the time required for their
weapons,
I added mentally.

Dorian’s advice had been invaluable
concerning the weapons though. Based on his own experience wearing the armor I
had already enchanted for him before the recent war he seemed to feel that a
great sword would be a better weapon. Dorian had told me two days before, “The
sword you enchanted cut through everything I put it against, and the armor was
enough to stop any normal sword, but I found my shield to be an impediment. If
I’d had a longer blade and two good hands free to use it I could have felled
the enemy like wheat before the scythe.”

He had also suggested I leave the
weapons to a normal smith to produce. I could purchase them far more easily
and enchant them afterward, saving myself a lot of time. The main reason I was
doing the actual crafting of the armor was because it was simply impossible to
get this sort of armor made anywhere outside of the capital itself and even
there it was a year’s wait to get a set made.

That didn’t suit my needs at all. I
wanted enough to arm twenty men within a year. I had seen the effect a few men
could make in the last war. Dorian in particular had made all the difference.
I had been unconscious for nearly an hour while I was healing Penny, and he had
held the breech in the wall almost singlehandedly. Not that I would have said
that aloud, many men had died next to him that day. Yet he had been the one
that they couldn’t put down.

With a lion’s heart and armor that no
arrow or sword could pierce he had refused to surrender to exhaustion. The
sword he had carried cut through men and armor with equal ease. After the dust
had settled I couldn’t help but wonder what might have been possible if we had
had more men similarly equipped.

Of course the man inside the armor had
been a primary factor, I wasn’t blind to that fact, and there were few to equal
Dorian in combat. Still it had been much on my mind since that day,
particularly given the continuing threat from the shiggreth. I knew they were
out there, but I didn’t know when or where they would strike again and I was
only one man. Someone encased in enchanted armor would be virtually immune to
their touch, and given the right weapons he would be able to give them cause for
fear.

That was really the heart of it. Since
I had become the Count Cameron I had assumed responsibility for a large number
of people, and I couldn’t be everywhere. As far as I knew I was the only
living wizard left, and the shiggreth could multiply almost without limit. I
needed help… powerful help. If no other wizards were available then I would
have to create the next best thing.

Dorian had shown me, in his actions
against the shiggreth and again during the war with Gododdin, what a
well-trained man with superior weaponry could do. Naturally I would have to be
selective, and those chosen would have to be carefully trained, but I had a
friend I could trust for that task.

Still, Dorian had had one particular
weakness, as his fight against the shiggreth had shown… the limitation of
mortal strength. If he had possessed the sort of resources that an
Anath’Meridum was able to draw upon he would not have been overwhelmed by the
press of numbers. My time with Penny as my pact-bearer had shown me just how
terrible a warrior could become if they had strength that went far beyond the
norm.

I had no intention of renewing my bond
with anyone though, much less twenty some ones. I would find another
solution. I just wasn’t sure how… yet. Shaking my head I focused my attention
once more. It wouldn’t do to be distracted in the middle of my work.

The next several days flew by and I
could no longer put off my trip to Albamarl. I didn’t want to give King Edward
too much time to brew over my message, and he’d surely received it by now. It
was time to pay him a visit.

I had told Penny of my plans several
days before and I let her know that today was the day after we finished our
breakfast. She was still rather nervous about it, but she had conceded the
necessity. “I wish you’d let me come with you,” she said again.

“Absolutely not, you’re not an
Anath’Meridum anymore and more importantly you’re with child, we have too much
to lose now,” I reminded her.