Idan

”So, what do we have here? It looks like we found the little rodent that tried to escape us, now he’s trapped like the rat he is. Did you actually think that you could get away so easily?” Geoffroy asked, gloating.

“It seems that you either underestimated us, or overestimated your own abilities young man.” One of the mages chimed in. “Your running away will now be seen as an admission of guilt and you will pay dearly for making us come all this way to find you.”

”It was an accident, and only someone truly evil would punish someone for a simple mistake.” I said, not backing down. “I apologized to Geoffroy, but apparently he values his pride more than another man’s life. Why not offer to train me so I could join the guild one day? But, of course you wouldn’t do that, it was a noble who was hurt and his family has friends in the guild.”

”Funny, That is also what your father said. And it is true, I would not have tolerated seeing someone like you join the guild after you attacked me using magic. Now, due to your cowardly actions, trying to escape your punishment, your father had to be interrogated. It wasn’t a very pretty site, even for me. It was clear that your father was complicit in your attempted escape.” Geoffroy continued, glorying in my suffering. “He was not easily broken, but we did find out a few things. Did you know that you are not actually his son, but you were adopted?” To Geoffroy’s delight, I was visibly shaken by this information. “Ah, so you didn’t. I must say that I was not surprised to learn that your real parents didn’t want you, but I will never understand why your adoptive parent would be so devoted to an orphan mongrel like you.”

“In the end, your father was begging us to end his life, but he is still alive, we couldn’t let him off so easily now, could we?” The lead mage said with a smug look on his face. “He is now a broken man thanks to you, and broke as well. The guild confiscated all his belongings to cover the cost of this fox-hunt through the country-side and his assistance with your failed escape plan. This will serve as a lesson to any other persons who think that they can so blatantly defy the power of the guild.”

“How can you gloat over the pain and suffering of others?” I asked, a whirlwind of anger fueled by an intense sense of injustice was boiling inside of me. “What I did yesterday was an accident.” I said trying to hold back both my anger and my tears. “What you are doing is just evil.”

Geoffroy laughed. “One less rogue orphan mage on the streets, is a gift to humanity, don’t you agree?” He asked to the person’s accompanying him. They nodded in agreement..

I turned to my new friend. ”Deofrin, I know I told you not to kill them, but I think I will have to take back that request, and, If you don’t mind, and I would like to do the honors myself.” Deofrin simply nodded his head, a slight smile on his lips.

It seemed as though the others just noticed my companion for the first time since entering, from the startled looks on their faces.

”Who is that man, where did he come from?” the lead mage asked, indignant.

”I guess I will answer that question for you,” I said, stepping aside so they could see the large man who had been standing behind me. “This is my friend Deofrin, often referred to as the god of justice or the god of judgment. I imagine that you have heard of him. He taught me some tricks while we were waiting for you to arrive.” I continued. “Whereas yesterday morning I didn’t even know I could do magic; today that has changed. Today I may just be one of the strongest mages in the kingdom.”

”This is sacrilege!” The lead mage screamed but I thought I could detect a certain nervousness in the mage’s eyes, as he stared at the man who was glowing with power, next to me.

Geoffroy took a step forward toward “Why you! We will teach you to speak that way to your betters!”

”What I did yesterday was an accident.” I said holding out my hand. “What I do today is a sentence of judgment!” The mages saw that I was preparing a spell and quickly raised their shields. I breathed three words, barely audible to anyone in the room, and a fire blasted from my hand. My fire barely slowed as it broke through their defenses and consumed the entire group, leaving only teeth and any metal objects they had on them smoldering on the floor where they had been standing just a moment before.

”Well, Idan my friend, it seems that you caught on quickly. I am sure that you still have a lot of questions, but I must go right some wrongs from long ago. We may not see each other again for some time, but I wish you well in your future projects.” He put his hand on my head and tussled my hair. “Use the gift wisely, as you did today. Take your time to grow and to learn. If you can get some proper magic training that can only be beneficial. Do not be quick to judgment nor quick to anger. I will look for you when I return.”

With that, Deofrin disappeared like the mist that fades with the rising of the sun.

Before leaving the cavern, I collected the rest of the crystals as well as the gold and silver left behind by Geoffroy and the mages. As I stepped out of the cave, I found the tracker waiting near the entrance. He held my father’s horse by the reins and was obviously surprised to see me come out alone.

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”I see that you brought me my horse.” I said, walking over to take the reins.

”Hold on a second there, boy.” He said, pulling the reins out of my reach. “The mages hired me to find you. They won’t be very happy if I just let you get away now, will they.”

”Luckily for you, they won’t be coming back.” I said, a look of fear crept into his eyes.

” I assume that you already know who I am.” I said. “but I still don’t know who you are.”

”My name is Wolf. And yes, I know who you are, and what you did.” He replied.

”Does it matter to you if I am guilty of what they accused me of? I asked.

”I don’t ask no questions, I just do my job. They told me what you done to Geoffroy, but I ain’t no judge and jury. I am just doing my job, land I only get paid if I find you. They promised me three gold to find ya, and that’s a lot of money to a man like me. I don’t particularly like trackin’ no kids, but a jobs a job.”

I took ten gold coins from my storage. “Here are your three gold royals, plus two gold royal extra for you.” I handed him the five royals. For those two extra gold royals, I need you to do two things for me. I want you to tell the guild, that they all died in a rockslide, or whatever else you think they will believe. I think that you know that you don’t have many other options anyway; you can’t tell them that you let me go without a fight now can you. The second thing I need you to do, is find my father and give him these five royals and tell him to join me as soon as possible.” I handed him the five coins and took the horse’s reins from him.

”I certainly hope that i can trust you with this.” I said.

”To be honest, I didn’t like them all that much to start with. I just do what I am paid to do.” Wolf said. “and Rockslides are common in these parts, but the only problem will be their horses. I don’t like killin’ horses much, but I can’t be returnin’ with them, and I can’t be sellin’ here in the area. Maybe you can take them with you? They’re tied near your camp.”

“Fine,” I said. “I will take the horses far enough away that they will never find them.” With that I left Wolf, and returned to the camp from the night before. I found the horses tied nearby. Geoffroy’s saddle was a masterpiece and was certainly worth a small fortune, but It would also stand out, and I didn’t want to draw any attention to me. I removed anything that I could use from his saddle bags and then burnt the saddle to ashes. The other two saddles were unremarkable so I left them as they were.

All of the horses were branded, with two different brand markings, and that would make me look like a horse thief to anyone who would see me with them. I sensed rather than knew, that I could do something about the markings. Walking up to Geoffroys horse, I placed my hand over the brand mark and probed the damage. “Sharbi” (“see”) I breathed. I could now see the layers of scarred flesh surrounded by the still healthy flesh. “Crotinu Barum Chani” which meant “grow”, “heal”, “replace” . I felt as well as saw the healthy flesh growing towards the scarred area, replacing the burnt portions with healthy skin and hair healing damaged areas.

When I had finished, I saw that the branding mark had completely vanished. I repeated the actions on the two other horses and then continued on the main road towards my uncle Martin’s place.

I was off to a late start as the sun had already passed its zenith, but there was less pressure on me to distance my myself from my old town, now. It would be days before they would be able to send out another search party. I could even allow myself the luxury of a real meal and a bed if I could find an inn before nightfall.

I had maintained a good pace most of the afternoon, periodically switching my mounts to not tire the horses unnecessarily. As the first signs of dusk appeared in the sky, I had arrived at a medium sized inn not far from the city of KnightsHill.

When I arrived, I gave my horses over to child who must have been about my age and gave him three silver taels. “Make sure they are well fed and groomed and you will have another 3 tomorrow.” I said.

”Thank you sir, I promise they will be well taken care of.” The child said, taking the reins.

It is strange to be called sir by someone who was my age, but it feels pretty good, I thought to myself as I entered the inn. A little over half of the tables were already occupied. Some persons were there for the drink, but others were there for a meal. I was obviously the youngest person in the dining room and got more than a few stares from the patrons.

I took a small table near the bar and and for the first time since I woke this morning, I could relax and reflect on the events of the last two days. At fourteen, I was already on the run from the Insborro Magician’s guild with a death sentence on my head. I freed the god of justice and judgment and received a gift of knowledge which probably makes me one of the most powerful magicians in the country once I have mastered the knowledge. For the moment I didn’t actually know what information he put in my head. It was like muscle memory that you can use without thinking, but would be unable to explain.

Then there was my father. I hoped that Wolf would do what he had promised and that my father would be able to meet me at my uncle’s place soon. I still didn’t know what physical and mental state he would be in after the interrogation he was subjected to. If there was physical damage, I may be able to repair some of it in the same way I healed the burns on the horses.

And of course, there was Geoffroy and the mages. It was hard to believe that I had killed them, and maybe even worse that I felt nothing aside from a sense of vindication. Was that me or was that something Deofrin had put in my head as well?

”So young man, are you here all on your own?” A young bar maid with a warm smile asked, interrupting me in my thoughts.

”Yes, I was hoping to get a meal and a room for the night, is there anything you would recommend?” I asked with my most endearing smile.

“The roast lamb is a safe bet.” she replied.

”Sounds much better that the dried meat I have been eating,” I said, “so roast lamb it is. And a glass of milk, please.”

The bar maid smiled “I’ll tell the boss you need a room. Tonight will be busy so better to get your room early. I’ll also order a bath for you. Can’t have you laying in the bed with all that road dirt on you can we now, hun.” She winked at me and returned to the bar.