Author's Note: Comments and feedback are appreciated and encouraged! I would like to thank Mark for helping me by editing these chapters. I would also like to apologize for the intermittent nature of new chapters being posted. But let's face it, the first chapter was posted in 2010, so at this point you should have a reasonable expectation that I publish in bursts. I can no longer make excuses, sure I work full time and go to school as well, but the reality is that my muse often deserts me and I struggle to write, then he returns and there is much mental fornication that results in several chapters being produced before he leaves me again. But I am in good health and will eventually finish this damn story! - Robert robertx5sf@yahoo.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story are fictional and not representative of anyone living or dead. (c) 2014 by robertx5sf@yahoo.com, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form without the author's consent, with exception of the license granted to Nifty.org per Nifty's terms of use.
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Squires of Telisan Keep - 25
RYNIL
"Rynil, the Lord wants to see you," called out Page Telgan. The first-year Page had been serving Lord Velarik ever since Sir Alek's death.
"Thank you Tel, do I have time to go to my room and change out of my work clothes or does he wish to see me immediately?" asked Rynil.
"Um, I just finished moving your stuff to my room in the Lord's wing. I guess it is our room now, so it will be hard to change first," said the boy.
Rynil suppressed a laugh, "Tel, does the Lord wish to see me so he can tell me I am moving rooms?"
"Oh, I guess I was not supposed to tell you that," said Telgan, blushing.
"I am sure it will be fine Tel," said Rynil as he ruffled the boy's brown hair playfully.
The two boys made their way to through the keep and to the eastern section where the Lord's suite of rooms was located. As they approached the door, it opened and Sir Luken walked out, he was still limping slightly and using a cane. He stopped for a moment and glared at Rynil before continuing. The two boys stepped to the side, bowed their heads and said, "Sir" as he passed.
Rynil and Telgan entered the Lord's wing of the Keep and proceeded to the main living area where Lord Velarik was sitting in a chair looking at a map laying on a table in front of him. Sir Valen sat on a couch on the other side of the table from the Lord.
Lord Velarik looked up as the boys stopped just outside the room, "Ah, thank you Page. Can you go to the kitchen and fetch us some cheese and a loaf of bread?"
"Yes My Lord," said Page Telgan, as he gave a quick bow then turned and hurried to do as the Lord bid.
"Squire Rynil, please come in," said Lord Velarik.
"Yes, My Lord," responded Rynil. He entered the room, stopping at the end of the table where he bowed to the Lord.
"I am officially releasing you from your oath to Sir Luken. Will you serve as my Squire and swear the oath of fealty?" asked Lord Velarik.
"Yes My Lord," said Rynil dropping to one knee.
"Squire Rynil, son of Tyvin Wolfe, do you swear to loyally serve King Azris and me, with honor, with devotion, with courage, and with obedience?" asked Lord Velarik.
"I do My Lord," said Rynil.
"By the authority of King Azris, you are now my Squire. You may rise. I have had your possessions moved from Sir Luken's suite to mine. You will share a room with Page Telgan," said the Lord.
Rynil stood up, "Thank you My Lord." He decided against telling the Lord that the young Page had already let that bit of news slip out.
"I was going to make this change earlier, but I decided to consult with your father before making it official. His consent arrived this morning," said Lord Velarik.
"I wish you had removed Page Karl from Sir Luken's service before the tournament, as I advised. Perhaps if you had listened to me, the boy would still be here," said the Sir Valen before adding a perfunctory, "My Lord."
The Squire had told Lord Velarik about the incident between Sir Luken and Karl that he had overheard on the day of the tournament. He had gone to the Lord immediately after he discovered that Karl was missing. When Lord Velarik asked why Rynil did not first report Karl's disappearance to Sir Luken, Rynil told the Lord about the incident.
"My Lord, if I may ask who will take care of Sir Luken now?" asked Rynil.
"Sir Galreth will see that the castles servants take care of tending to Sir Luken's rooms. The man can look after himself since he has proven unable to proper look after his charges. Speaking of looking after Pages, you will be responsible for supervising Telgan. It will be difficult for me to make adequate time for your education, so i will need your help with his," said the Lord.
"Yes My Lord, I hope I can do a better job of looking out for him than I did with Page Karl," said Rynil. He felt a little dizzy and swayed a bit.
"Do not blame yourself lad. It was not your fault. You tried several times to warn me that something was troubling the boy but I was too slow to act," replied the Lord.
Rynil barely heard Lord Velarik's words. The room dimmed around him and he felt tired. The room began to spin as he collapsed to the floor. Lord Velarik and Sir Valen rushed over to Rynil. The wizard cast a spell, holding his hand over the boy.
"What is wrong with him?" asked Lord Velarik.
"Something has happened to Squire Mikel," said Sir Valen.
MIKEL
Mikel picked the book Durren had given him up off the bookshelf. He sat down at the table and turned it over in his hands. He opened it and flipped through the pages, recalling Durren's comment that he could read the book when he was ready. Mikel had thought that Durren meant someday he would learn a spell that would enable him to read the strange script, but Rynil's comment about missing the obvious made him realize what Durren meant; he would be able to read the book when his sorcery had awakened.
The strange characters in the book were not a language, but glyphs, not yet imbued with magic. There had to be some way to establish a connection with them and activate them with his magic. He turned to the last page, the blank page that gave him a headache when he examined it with the prism. He ran his fingers of the paper and pushed out with his mind, channeling his magic into the page. The book began to feel warm in his hands. He could sense a connection open between the book and his mind. He kept pushing with his mind, pouring magical energy into the book as he turned it over in his hands and looked at the cover. It took considerable effort for Mikel to channel energy into the book. It required more energy than the amount he was used to pulling for the simple spells he had learned. The more energy he tried to pull from the plane of magic, the harder it was.
The symbols on the cover began to glow with a golden light. While he could not read them, he somehow knew what they meant, 'The True History of the Demon Prince of Selarn'. He opened the front cover; the symbols inside were glowing with the same golden light. Their brightness increased and they grew bigger. Soon the entire page was glowing as the symbols merged with each other. The world around him began to grow blurry as images inside the glowing light began to come into focus. His vision narrowed, then there was a flash of light and everything went dark.
When his vision returned, Mikel was following along behind a man walking down an alley. Mikel could still feel the book in his hands and he could tell he was still seated in his chair in Sir Valen's Tower, but in his vision, he was moving. He could look around at different details but he when he tried turning his head, the vision did not move. Mikel realized that he was inside an illusion bocreated by his magic powering the symbols of the book. He continued to channel his energy into the book.
The man in front of him stopped at an unmarked wooden door at the end of the alley and rapped on the door with his knuckles in a pattern, two, one, two, and one. Mikel studied the man from behind. He was slender and stood about five feet eight inches[1.75m] tall. Mikel could not see his face, but he the man had shoulder length brown hair. He was wearing brown leather pants and an undyed wool shirt. He also had a worn lute case strapped to his back. Mikel guessed that he was following Durren.
An eye slit slid open in the door. Mikel could see a pair of eyes give Durren a quick look before glancing around to survey the alley. A gruff male voice grunted from behind the door, "What?"
"I'm here to see Gren about a job. I'm a friend of Jojik's," answered the man. Mikel recognized Durren's voice even though he sounded younger.
"If you're a friend of Jojik's, prove it," challenged the man.
Durren laughed, "You must be Bek. Jojik told me I'd be able to smell your putrid breath as soon as I entered the alley."
The panel slid closed and the door opened. A large burly man in his late thirties stood in the doorway and motioned for Durren to enter. "How is that old bugger? Been too long since he's been in back in town," said the man.
"He's dead, died about two months ago. The rest of the troupe and I buried him on a small hill just south of the Great Forest near the north fork of the Green River," said Durren as he walked past the man and entered the dimly lit hallway behind the door with Mikel following along behind him. There was a hint of sadness in his voice as he spoke of Jojik.
"That's a shame, I always enjoyed the old man's visits. Gren's downstairs tending bar," said the man as he closed and barred the door. A single lantern hung from the ceiling providing a dim light in the hallway. Mikel could see five other doors in the dimly lit hallway, two on each side and one opposite the door they just entered. Durren looked at the doors then turned back around to the man and gave him a questioning look. Mikel was surprised by Durren's appearance, it was not just the voice that was younger; Durren appeared to be about sixteen. He also had a small scar on his chin and his nose was slightly crooked. "Opposite door," said the man, pointing down the hall as he sat down on a stool that was next to the door. There was a crossbow leaning against the wall next to the stool.
"Thank you," said Durren. He headed down the hallway to the far door. The door was unlocked; Durren opened it and walked down the stairs. The stairs led down to large tavern in the basement of the building.
The tavern was dimly lit and had only a few customers due to it still being before noon. There was a bar on the wall opposite the stairs, flanked by an open doorway into a kitchen on left side and a small stage on in the corner on the right side. There were small alcoves with soft cushioned chairs and small tables lining the rest of the room. The alcoves had curtains that the occupants could close to provide some privacy. Tables and chairs dominated the floor of the rest of the tavern. Several lanterns hung on the wall between the alcoves providing the underground tavern its light.
Durren approached the bar stopping next to an elderly patron who was talking to a middle aged man behind the bar. "Pardon me for interrupting, but are you Gren? Jojik told me to find you if I was ever in the capital and needed work. He was my mentor until he passed away a couple months ago," explained Durren.
"Yeah, I'm Gren," replied the man behind the bar.
The older man gave Durren an appraising look and smiled, "You can interrupt me whenever you want boy." He turned and winked at Gren, "Hire the lad Gren and I'd love to see more of him around here." He picked up his mug and took a seat at one of the tables on the other side of the room.
Gren smirked at the man and then turned back to Durren. "What happened to Jojik, his age finally catch up to him or did some father do him in for corrupting his son?" asked the tavern owner.
"It was age, his heart finally gave out on him," answered Durren.
"So you were his apprentice. It's a shame I already have a minstrel staff and I don't need another. But, you are fairly attractive and I am always in need of new server boys. There is good coin in the tips being a server, more than you'd make playing music, especially if you're willing to provide some private services to the patrons," offered Gren.
Mikel began to feel the strain of continuing to channel magical energy into the book to power the illusion created by the symbols. It briefly crossed his mind that he should take a break but he was determined to learn more. The book was supposed to be the history of the Demon Prince, however so far it had just showed Durren's arrival at some tavern in the capital. Mikel wanted to have at least some useful information to tell to Rynil about the Demon. Thinking about Rynil seemed to give him some more strength and made the channeling of energy into the book easier.
Durren took the lute case off his back and set it on the bar. "If you would just give me a chance I am sure you would find that I could make you more coin by performing than by working as a whore," said Durren. As he was talking, he started to lightly tap out a beat on the top of the lute case, "I am sure Jojik was the most talented performer you ever saw and he taught me everything he knew before I started showing him what the power music can really do."
Mikel could see that Durren was using magic, channeled through the rhythm created by his tapping on the lute. The bard was influencing Gren's mind with the magic. Gren nodded, convinced of the logic of the bard's words. "Hmm, I might be able to give you a couple shifts to give you a chance to prove yourself," he said.
"Thank you. I would not require much in the way of pay, I would work for tips, meals, and a place to sleep. Surely that is fair and I can talk with your current minstrel to coordinate our schedules," offered Durren, continuing to tap out a subtle beat on the lute case.
"That sounds fair," replied Gren, fully under the influence of Durren's magic.
The vision became blurry and soon Mikel was not able to make out any details. Then it started to come back into focus. The tavern was more crowded and through the magic of the book, Mikel knew it was now nighttime. All of the patrons were men. They ranged in age from their late teens to well into their sixties. There were a few customers that appeared to be prosperous merchants, based on their fine clothes and smattering of gold jewelry, but the majority of the men appeared to be of average means. Mikel did not see anyone wearing any noble symbols or coats-of-arms.
Several young men and older teens were working as serving boys, delivering drinks and food. They were topless and had loose fitting pants made of overlapping pieces of silk that had strategically placed gaps between the layers, allowing patrons to slip a hand inside to get a feel of the boys' merchandise.
Durren sat on a stool on the stage. He was humming along to a festive tune he was playing on his lute. Again Mikel could feel the magic in Durren's music. It was making everyone in the tavern feel happier and more generous.
Mikel started feeling dizzy and struggled to continue channeling energy into the book. He was exhausted and the reserve of energy he had drawn on, after thinking about Rynil, ran out. He collapsed, unconscious and the book fell from his hands, breaking the connection.
When Mikel woke up, he was lying on his sleeping pad in his room. He had a headache and was mentally exhausted. He had not done more than flex his muscles and stretch a bit by the time Sir Valen arrived a few minutes later trailed by a tray loaded with fruit and a pitcher of water. The unseen servant set the tray down next to Mikel while Sir Valen took a seat on the pad.
"I am glad to see you are awake. I had feared you might be unconscious for several more days. Let me have a look at you," said the wizard as he leaned over and looked at Mikel's eyes.
"What happened Master?" asked Mikel.
"You over exerted yourself. You also managed to reach out and draw power from Squire Rynil. Most impressive, you seem to have a talent for pulling energy," said Sir Valen. He patted the boy's shoulder, "Do not worry, Squire Rynil is fine. He recovered quickly and was even able to resume his training yesterday."
"How was I able to draw power from Rynil?" asked Mikel.
"Remember back when you first became my Squire, you offered to perform all the duties usually offered by a Squire to a Knight and I declined. I told you that if two people share a very close bond that it can present an opening through their defenses that their enemies could exploit. Well, you share a very close bond with Rynil and I sense that recently you have become even closer, exchanging parts of yourself with each other. Well, you used that bond to draw power from him. A subconscious part of you discovered that link and realized it would be easier for you to draw power through him," explained Sir Valen.
"Yes, I thought about Rynil and it took less effort. Why is that?" asked Mikel.
"Because I made it harder for you to draw energy the normal way. One of the defenses I put in place, after you drew too much energy into yourself and almost destroyed the Keep, was to put up barriers to your pulling magic directly from the plane of magic. You can pull small amounts normally but the more you try to pull the more resistance the defenses create. You had almost exhausted your own energies by fighting against these defenses when you found the easier path created by your bond with Rynil. After you depleted his energies you no longer had any of your own and your burnt yourself out. It will take a few days to recover, but you will be fine," said Sir Valen.
"I'm sorry Master, I was so focused on the vision from Durren's book that I wasn't paying attention to anything else," apologized Mikel.
"That is common with powerful illusions, particularly ones created by someone as powerful as Durren. Part of what makes them seem so real is that they divert your attention away from reality. Congratulations on figuring out how to work that book by the way," said the wizard.
"Thank you Master. Although I was not able to make much progress with it before I passed out. Have you read the book?" asked Mikel. He was hoping that perhaps Sir Valen could tell him why the story of the Demon Prince starts with Durren's getting a job performing in a tavern.
"I am not able to use that book. It requires the power of a sorcerer to reveal its story. The War Mages have some knowledge about the Demon Prince, but I believe you will be better served by learning the story from Durren, as he sees fit to tell it. There have always been many questions about exactly what happened when the Demon first appeared and Durren has never chosen to confide the answer to those questions to me," said Sir Valen.
Mikel sighed, "It will take me forever to get through the book."
Sir Valen smiled, "Well, if you tell me beforehand, I can remove the barriers I have put up around you, so you will find it far less taxing next time. Maybe this will teach you a lesson about playing with magical items without first talking to me. This could have all been avoided if you had talked to me before you started playing with that book yesterday."
"Sorry Master, I will remember next time," said Mikel.
"I doubt it," said Sir Valen, causing them both to laugh.