Chapter 10

“Everywhere I go, I am constantly reminded of the thousand kingdoms. The kingdoms are truly everywhere, and they still exist in our lives today. The thousand kingdoms don’t have names or lands, but they live on in spirit through their diverse cultures. Some are friendly; others cold; others inviting; no two are the same.”

—Treaxaforad, a traveler, historian, singer, writer, jester, muse, musician, translator, and inventor

Reyn arrived at Seff’s table and sat across from him. Reyn slid a mug to Seff and set one down for himself.

The seedy tavern was small and mostly empty—winter had not fully arrived yet. When winter came to Belladder, the sailors would land, visit for a week or two, and then scatter to the warmer city-state ports in the East. Reyn and Seff had arrived in Belladder in the last few days on a ship from Pahlam.

Belladder was the last northern port, and as such, was a sprawling city with good streets, food, and people. Money flowed into it from every corner of the north—furs, exotic goods and animals of all types, supplies, seafood, oils, wood, etc.

Reyn took a sip of the beer with Seff doing the same.

Leaning over the table, Seff said, “I’m out of money.”

Reyn shrugged, “I don’t have any either. We’re barely hanging on—luckily my father found a job as a bricklayer foreman.”

“When did he get that?” Seff asked, not expecting an answer, “I need your help though. I can rob a few houses, but I need someone watching my back.”

“Oh, no. We’re not doing that again. I told you a month ago when I helped you rob that house, so we’d have enough for ship fare that that’d be the last time. I’m not doing it again,” Reyn shook his head and took a sip.

Seff looked around before speaking, “I never had time to train you while we were on the run. You do want some sorcery training, right?”

“Well, sure, but we had a lot of time, and you never did anything for me,” Reyn scowled.

“I saved your ass and dragged you through most of Phav safely—and might I add, I had to intervene on three separate occasions to keep us safe. Plus, am I going to risk a spell going wrong and burning down half a forest? Hells, with your magic, who knows what type of magic misfiring could happen. And, I kept us safe, not you,” Seff shot back.

Reyn shook his head and looked away. Seff scooted his chair closer to Reyn and said, “Look, I need someone watching my back. This is a big, big city with plenty of sorcerers. If I get caught unawares, I could bite it here. They could trap me and kill me—and if they put two and two together, they’d torture me to find out where you are. They’d hang the lot of us—you, me, and your father.”

Stolen story; please report.

Reyn glanced back to Seff. What Seff said was true enough, but he was not getting mixed up into anything again. The one house job hadn’t been a problem to Reyn as he felt it was necessary for survival. But now? Now he needed to keep his head down and go to school. Stay normal. Seff could keep himself safe just fine.

“Well?” Seff asked.

“No,” Reyn said.

“Oh, c’mon. Gods, Reyn. Help me a little, and I’ll help you far more than a little. I need enough for a roof and food and some new clothes and my shoes are shredded. You don’t even need to do anything—just follow me around and make sure I don’t get clonked on my head,” Seff signaled by swinging his arm in a clubbing motion.

“You haven’t helped me a damned time since pushing me out of Lamm. Weeks and weeks of travel and sailing, and what happens? Nothing—not even in the boring hold of that ship,” Reyn said.

A barmaid came over and asked, “Refill?”

“Yes,” Reyn said, giving her a coin.

“You?” she asked Seff.

“No.”

The barmaid took Reyn’s mug and left.

“I’m not going to risk you burning down the ship we’re on. That’s a little counter-productive. However, while you look as though you’re doing alright, I’m here homeless with holey shoes. Your father doesn’t want anything to do with me after I explained what happened. I did save your life. The least you could do is help me rob a house and get me a roof over my head,” Seff said.

Reyn did notice Seff did not look well. Seff’s nose was red and his shirt was dirty and he smelled.

“Let me think about it,” Reyn said as the refilled mug arrived.

Seff waited for the barmaid to leave. “I sold four different sorcery books to get us this far. How do you think we even made it to Pahlem? I sold them for a tenth of what they were worth too. You owe me a few favors. One of them is going to be watching my back so I don’t die of cold when the winter comes to this great northern port city, Belladder.”

Reyn felt bad. He knew Seff had sold some things to keep them going.

“When are you going to teach me a few spells?” Reyn asked.

“Maybe after you help me get enough money to live and eat?” Seff answered back.

The faster Seff obtained money, the faster he would get trained, which made him happy. Seff did not look the way he had only a few days prior.

“Can’t you get a job?” Reyn asked, picking up his mug.

“I have no skills except sorcery, and we need to keep a low profile.”

Reyn’s mind ran through solutions, only to find nothing. If Seff spent all his time working to pay for food and rent, then he would have no time to train him. Seff had talked about how difficult it was to get into the Sorcerers’ Academy, and how that was where the both of them needed to be. Even though Seff hadn’t taught Reyn any sorcery, he had taught Reyn a little on history and math.

Reyn wondered of the risks to helping Seff. Seff had stolen before. They would only need to rob someone or something once, and Seff would have enough for a month or two. That would be enough to train him on the basics. And if Reyn didn’t help him, Seff could easily get clonked on the head, just as Seff had said.

“Are you going to help me?” Seff asked after a time.

Reyn hesitated a moment before answering, “What are we going to rob?”

“Not sure. Let me know if you see anything good. I’ll also look around. We need to be careful. Oh, you know your name for school and everything right? Eventually, word will get around, and if you’re the new kid with the same name and description as the kid they’re looking for, they’ll find us.”

“Zander,” Reyn said. “And, my father is a bricklayer.”

Seff rolled his eyes at the simplicity of the cover story, but said, “That’s fine. Just don’t go into details. You might tell one thing to one person and something different to another.”

“Do you have any money left?” Reyn asked.

“I have nothing except two coppers I begged off of a few strangers before coming here. We’ll probably need to do something tomorrow night, so just tell your dad that I will be training you tomorrow. I’ll try to get a cheap room where we can meet before and after the robbery.”

Reyn nodded.