Farmers & Mercenaries (42 page)

A
warm glow still filled the tiny sitting room as Arderi Cor rose and took Master Clytus Rillion’s sword, Dorochi, from Ragnor’s outstretched palms.

My sword.

Looking up into the face of Ragnor, he saw a mixture of both joy and pain warring within the older man’s eyes. “I am sorry. Master Rillion told me nothing of what I am supposed to do.”

“Aye, lad. Imprinted upon the Silrith’tar that you did deliver, Master Rillion did tell me thus. His hope did be that eventually you would come to forgive him for what he did to you.”

Fear laced through Arderi’s heart. “What did he do to me?”

Ragnor’s dark lips parted in a warm smile, softening the man’s hard visage. “Please, Young Master, sit yourself down.” They both sat, and Ragnor stared out into the darkening corridor of the villa for a long moment before he spoke again. “You be familiar with the Shapers and how they Meld the Essence. Yet, that no be all of the Essence. It be so much more.”

Pulse racing, Arderi’s mouth went dry. “What else is it?”

Ragnor shook his head. “Alas, Young Master, I do no have the gift. I be a servant of the Order only. I did earn an honored privilege that few do get. I be a keeper of secrets, a holder of knowledge. Still, I have no the ability that Master Rillion did possess.” He turned and looked deep into Arderi’s eyes. “That you possess.”

Swallowing hard, Arderi rubbed his sweaty palm across his thighs. “And this is why I saw Master Rillion doing all those amazing things?”

“I, unfortunately, have no ever seen any of that, so I no have any knowledge of what you speak of. Yet, I do know who does.” Ragnor adjusted himself upon his chair. “The Tat’Sujen be a group of people who have a special gift. They use the Essence in a way that be wholly different from how the Shapers Meld it. The gift be very rare. Where only a handful of people manifest the ability of a Shaper, this number be infinitely large compared with those who be touched with the Sujen.”

“Yet, what power? I feel nothing.” Fear and excitement battled for dominance deep inside Arderi. “Why do I need to forgive Master Rillion? I do not see how he has wronged me.”

Raising his hands in surrender, Ragnor shook his head. “You ask what I can no give you. I be no Tat’Sujen. I do only pass along to you what Master Rillion did instruct me to.”

Aggravation swept through Arderi. “So you give me nothing except more questions!” He slammed his fist onto his thigh in frustration.

Ragnor looked at him with a stern gaze. “Calm yourself, lad. I did be instructed to take you to a place where you will find the answers you seek.” Ragnor stood. “Come.”

Getting to his feet, Arderi glanced around the room. “Now? I have been on the road for more than three moons.”

Nodding, a deep frown on his face, Ragnor placed a hand upon the boy’s shoulder. “Aye. Master Rillion did be quite clear about this. I am to deliver you to Bin’Satsu on the first eve you arrive in Mocley.” At Arderi’s inquisitive look, he sighed. “Bin’Satsu be a place of refuge for all Tat’Sujen. There be forces at work within our Plane unseen by most that live here. Master Rillion did no wish to take the chance of you stumbling upon something you no be ready to deal with. There be no safe haven for you here in Mocley. So I must send you to Bin’Satsu. At least until you be trained.”

Picking up his pack, Arderi paused. “What of the widow and the boy. Will they be all right?”

Arderi saw a sadness pass over Ragnor. The man’s head drooped, and his shoulders slumped as if a heavy burden had been placed upon them. Reaching out, he grabbed Arderi by the elbow and led him into the entrance hall. Instead of heading out of the villa as Arderi had assumed, Ragnor led him up a flight of stairs and out onto a balcony overlooking the back garden. In the far corner, almost completely hidden in the shadows of the late eve, a dark haired woman sat on a bench. With her arms wrapped around her waist, she rocked slightly back and forth as if pushed by a gentle breeze.

“Clytus did love Lilaith. He did love her more than most men have the right to love. They both did love little Sindian doubly so. It shall no be easy for either of them. Yet, Clytus did be no fool. He always knew this day would arrive and did plan for it for many a turn of the seasons.”

Watching the woman grieve in silence by herself in the garden, Arderi now understood why Master Rillion had been so bent on completing his task.

Will I ever love so deeply?

Pulling his attention from the woman, he turned to Ragnor. “May I see the boy?”

“Sindian? He be asleep. The illness he has robs him of his strength.”

“I will not wake him. I would simply like to see him before I go.”

Nodding his head, Ragnor led Arderi down the hall to a dark room. A cool breeze wafted through the room from two large windows on the opposite wall. Waiting for his eyes to adjust, Arderi crossed the floor like a shadow to the form buried in the covers of the bed. He bent down. All that was visible of Sindian was a mop of sandy blond hair covering the boy’s head. With a gentle sigh, the boy rolled over, exposing his round face. The urge to reach out and cup the boy’s head in his palm bubbled up, almost overwhelming Arderi. He knelt there for many moments, studying the boy’s features.

I see much of your father in you, little one.

Something warm and wet landed on the back of Arderi’s hand causing him to start. Reaching up to his face, he wiped away tears from his cheeks that he had not known were there. A rustling from the doorway informed him that Ragnor was growing impatient. Reluctantly, he stood and returned to Ragnor’s side at the door.

Ragnor reached out and stopped Arderi by placing his hands upon his shoulders. He peered deeply into his eyes. “Once we leave, do no speak of the Tat’Sujen, nor ask me more questions. The wrong word heard by the wrong ear can be deadly. Do you understand me?” He kept his voice to a whisper, yet Arderi knew the man was deadly serious.

Arderi matched the man’s volume. “Aye, I will hold my tongue.”

With a heavy heart resting in his chest, Arderi strapped the sword, Dorochi, to his waist and followed Ragnor from the villa. Darkness had fallen in full, and lit torches now filled the courtyard.

A stablehand brought out two horses, each saddled and ready for travel. Ragnor reached over and took the reins of one, placed his foot in the stirrup, and swung his leg over the animal. Sitting comfortably, he gave Arderi an exaggerated look. “Well, lad. Mount up.”

Glancing from the horse to Ragnor, a sense of dread swept through Arderi. “I—” Swallowing hard, he chastised himself for being a country lout. “Master Ragnor, I do not know how to ride a horse.”

“You have no ever ridden a horse?” Ragnor laughed. “Well then, it be lucky we no have far to travel.” Dismounting, he handed the reins of both mounts back to the stablehand. “Let us be off, Young Master.” He clapped a hand on Arderi’s shoulder, and then walked out the main gate, disappearing into the dark street beyond.

Arderi glanced over at the stablehand leading the animals back to the stable and thought he saw the boy grinning. Breaking into a jog, he ran to catch up to Ragnor.

The late summer eve was a bit cool, and Arderi rubbed his bare arms as they walked along the mostly deserted streets.

“It be the Bay.”

Catching Arderi off guard, he looked over at his guide—the dark-skinned man barely visible in the low light. “What is the Bay?”

Raising an arm, Ragnor pointed off in the distance to his right. “The Glonlore Bay. It be the reason the eve be so chilly during this season.”

Nodding, Arderi tried to quell the chaos in his mind.

I have so many questions!

Picking out a thought at random, Arderi spoke to fill some of the silence that had fallen between them. “How long did you know Master Rillion?”

Looking over at him, Ragnor stared at him without answering as they strolled along. When he did answer, his voice quivered with loss. “For more winters than you did be alive, lad. Yet, if it no be for Clytus Rillion, I would be dead long before you did be birthed.” Gazing up at the sky, he ran a hand through his long hair. “I will miss him, make no mistake about that.”

The other questions racing through Arderi’s head were ones he promised not to ask, so he plodded along next to a man he barely knew, heading for a place that both thrilled and terrified him.

They did not walk far, and Arderi could not understand why Ragnor had wanted to ride such a short distance—barely a league. After about a quarter aurn, the two entered a brightly lit hostel. The sign above the door bore a picture of a sword embedded in a large reddish-tinted Crystal. The main room was a well-cleaned eating area. A large bar ran across the back of the room and a score or so tables and chairs were scattered everywhere else. Although the place was not filled, many of the tables held people, and several serving girls flitted about the room.

Ragnor caught the eye of the man behind the bar and headed toward him. Kicking a foot onto the footrest, he slapped some coin onto the counter. “Barkeep! My friend and I require food and a comfortable room for the eve.”

The barman nodded and scraped the coins from the bar. “Aye, sir. I have a room. If you will follow me.” The man stepped from behind the bar and headed off down the hallway that led deeper into the hostel. At the end of the corridor, the barman stopped at the last door on the right and fished out a ring of keys. Unlocking the door, he ushered them both inside. Instead of leaving, the barman entered as well and locked the door behind him. “Ragnor! What is the meaning of this?”

Glass containers, much the same shape as lanterns, flared to life as they entered the room, casting light that filled every corner, though Arderi could not say how they did so. The room the barman had locked them in reminded Arderi of the dining hall at his parent’s public home—only much smaller. A large table took up most of the room, cushioned chairs lining its edges. Opposite the door sat a large, cold fireplace. Tapestries hanging around the room completed the furnishings.

Taking the barman’s offered hand, Ragnor shook it with a smile. “Mort, it be good to see you after so long.”

“Aye, aye, and you as well, Ragnor.” Mort shot a glance at Arderi. “Yet, what brings you here?”

The smile slipped from Ragnor’s face. “I do come with a heavy heart, friend. Clytus… he be dead.”

Shock and horror filled the barman’s face. The man staggered backward and fell into a chair. “What? How?”

Taking a seat across from the man, Ragnor indicated for Arderi to join them. “He did fall in his quest to the Nektine.”

Mort covered his mouth with a hand. “Then young Sindian. He will not get what he needs?”

Shaking his head, Ragnor gestured at Arderi. “Nix. This young man did finish the task. Sindian shall live, the Gods willing.”

Looking at Arderi in awe, the barman reached out and took the boy’s hand. “My thanks to you, sir. You have done more than you will ever know.”

“I have additional news as well.”

A silence fell upon the room and the barman fidgeted. “Well, do not keep me in suspense!”

“Another has been found.”

Renewed awe sprang up in the barkeep and he looked back at Arderi. “You mean—”

“Aye, friend. Clytus did find him and send him here to me.”

Mort stood and paced the small chamber. “Are you certain? This is not something we can be wrong about. How I wish Master Rillion were here delivering the boy himself.”

Pulling a Crystal from his pouch, Ragnor handed it to the man. “You can hear it from Clytus’ own lips, if you must. Yet, the boy be of Sujen.”

“Have you lost your sense! Do not mention that before someone who is not bound!”

Ragnor raised his hands. “Settle yourself, Mort. The boy did be bound by Clytus.”

The man threw a hand to his head. “Before he was trained! What if he is found unworthy? Clytus has condemned this boy to death if he should fail.”

Condemned me to death if
I fail!

“I am no sure of all the details. Yet, I do know Clytus would no have done such a thing if he did have any other choice.”

Arderi had sat quietly, listening to the conversation as best he could. Yet, he could not stay his tongue any longer. “I am here! Do not speak around me!
What
has happened to me?”

The barman turned and looked at Arderi as if seeing him for the first time. His look softened, and a fatherly smile spread over his lips as he reached out and placed a hand on Arderi’s shoulder. “You are frightened—”

Batting the man’s hand aside, Arderi shoved him away. “I am not afraid! I just want answers!” Anger pulsed through his veins, and he noticed that his hand now rested on the hilt of Dorochi.

“Calm yourself, lad!” Ragnor stepped between the two. “You be here to find your answers. Do no belittle what you represent to us. We did no simply lose a friend. We did also lose one of the most powerful men of our Order. You must give us time to wrap our minds around what you do present to us.”

Arderi forced himself to calm down, yet he did not remove his hand from his hilt.

“The boy is not a fair trade for Master Rillion!” Mort brushed himself off.