The Archmage Unbound (54 page)

“Yes… and whoever has one of the boxes can tell by
the ruby on top whether a new note has been placed inside,” I added.

Rose’s face grew thoughtful. “What happens if both
boxes are opened at the same time? Can you see between them?”

I shook my head negatively. “Only one can be opened
at a time. If I had done things differently I could have made something like
what you described, which is essentially a portal between places, but it’s more
difficult. Instead I used a simpler teleportation enchantment. If both boxes
were to be opened at the same time it would break this enchantment entirely, so
I added another that will lock one lid in place when the other is open.” In
fact I was rather proud of myself for finding a novel use for the ‘self-locking
door’ schemata I had read about.

“You plan to use them for passing messages I
suppose,” Rose surmised sharply and before I could reply I heard a sharp intake
of breath. Looking up I saw her mouth had formed a round ‘o’ and her features
were lit with a realization. “That’s why you said three in the morning. You
can’t be in both places at once, so you intend to send them after Dorian and
Penny tonight.”

I struggled to keep my features calm, which wasn’t
easy considering the accuracy of Rose’s guesses. “You’re right,” I told her.
“I’ll send them after Penny and Dorian tonight, so they should reach them
before any alarm can be raised. Even if the priests or the King realize what
we’re about they should be hours ahead of any pursuit or counter-measure.”

“You keep saying, ‘they’,” Rose observed.
“Obviously you don’t intend to go with them. Do you mean to go to this meeting
with the King? Why? Penny and Dorian would be better served if you are there
to make sure they are rescued.”

“My role is secondary,” I answered. “Once I receive
the message that they are safe I will visit the King, whether it is time for
our meeting or not. Afterward he will no longer be king.”

“And if they don’t find them? When the King learns
of the attack on the Doronite compound he will assume it was you. Do you know
what he will do?” she said with an alarmed look on her face.

I winced, “I can’t be sure.”

Rose glared at me. “He will punish you, through
them. Have you considered all the various ways they could be mutilated?” she
said in a harsh tone.

“Yes,” I replied, “as a matter of fact I have given
it a lot of thought. That is the second reason I will be remaining here to
meet with the King. If I receive word that Penny and Dorian haven’t been found
I will make sure he can give no orders of retribution. They may die by some
precontrived plan, but they won’t be tortured.”

Her face was stern but it softened after a moment,
“Are you sure?”

“If it were you Rose, what would you want me to do?
Wait in fear and submit to the King’s demands, or risk everything on the chance
of freedom?” I asked seriously.

She paused, thinking and I held my breath until she
answered. “I would not wish to be used against my friends and allies,” she
said finally. “I would rather you took the chance.”

“Even if the chance carried a great risk of your
death if I failed?”

“Yes.”

“Then I have chosen correctly. Until this moment I
wasn’t entirely sure,” I admitted.

Rose stood and held out her hand abruptly. “When
did you last eat?” she asked.

That was a good question. “Sometime around noon
perhaps?” I said tentatively.

“It’s after eight o’clock now, let me feed you while
we wait,” she suggested. I could only hope she didn’t plan on cooking though,
her last attempt had almost put me off sausages entirely.

I needn’t have worried about the food after all.
Rose’s maid Angela took care of the preparations, which were primarily cold
cuts and leftover bread. Even so the food was good.

The others returned while I was still eating but I
sensed them long before they reached the door. I stood and rushed to answer it
myself, since I doubted Angela would understand opening the door for a group of
invisible people. They had arrived cloaked under Walter’s spell, and there was
an extra person with them… carefully bound.

I poked my head out the door after letting them in,
to give the watchers a visible reason for the door having been opened, then I
ducked back in. “You found him!” I declared hopefully.

Marc answered first, “Indeed we did. Surely you
didn’t doubt us?”

I hugged him, partly because I was glad to see him
and partly because I regretted my harsh words earlier. “The thought never
crossed my mind.” Their prisoner had the poor taste to start groaning and
trying to shout past his gag at that point. I turned to Walter, “Why didn’t
you put him to sleep?”

He held up his hands helplessly, “I never learned to
do that.”

I took him aside and whispered the word quietly in
his ear. “Just be careful how you use it,” I told him. “My friends wear
necklaces to protect them from mental spells but if you don’t consciously
direct that spell it will affect anyone nearby.”

“That spell would have been terribly handy in the
temple of Doron just now,” he reflected.

I chuckled, “Yes I can’t believe you have managed
this far in your career without it. It’s probably my most used spell. It
seems like you have a few holes in your education, and I never had one to begin
with. We should probably compare notes in the near future.”

Walter gave me an odd look, “I can’t believe you
trust me like this. I’ve given you little cause to do so.”

I shrugged, “I don’t have much choice, besides none
of this was really your fault. You just want your family back.”

“Do you really think they will be there?” he asked.

“I don’t know. If they aren’t I hope that they will
only suspect me, at least then your family won’t face any repercussions,” I
replied. “Either way, I’ll make sure he can give no more orders concerning
them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Follow me, I need to explain this to everyone
before we leave,” I said. I led him and the rest into the kitchen. Once they
had gathered I spoke up to make sure everyone could hear me clearly. “In a
moment Rose will take us outside the city to a quiet building. There I will
construct a circle to bring Duke Lancaster and some of his men here to assist
you. Then you will ride for the location of the Doronite’s hidden compound.”

Harold broke in then, “Won’t you be coming with us?”

“No,” I said immediately, “I will remain here to
deal with the King tomorrow once you have rescued our friends.”

“The journey is a ten hour ride according to Father
Jonas here,” said Marc, indicating their prisoner. “How will you know if we
find them there or not?”

I brought out the boxes I had enchanted and
demonstrated them again as I had for Rose. That won me several whistles of
wonder and appreciation. Walter was plainly awed with them and Marc was very
vocal in his praise. “You never fail to amaze, my friend,” Marc observed.

After a few minutes I had explained to them the
basics of the plan and we prepared to exit the house under cover of Walter’s
invisibility spell. Rose left instructions with Angela to keep lamps burning
to give the impression we were still there. Then we left via the garden door
and made our way quietly around the house to the street. From there we had a short
walk through the streets to the main city gate.

When we reached the gate I had an unexpected
surprise. I had forgotten that the portcullis was lowered, sealing the city at
night. While I could probably get myself past them, finding a way to do the
same for everyone in our party was a daunting task. Walter released the
invisibility spell so that everyone could look around once he realized I was no
longer leading us forward.

Rose saw the look on my face and laughed, “Don’t
worry Mordecai; I’ve already planned for this.” She led us to the door that
led into the main bailey that protected the gate. It was also the traditional
home of the Hightower family, her father’s residence. Minutes later she had
taken us past her father’s guards and down the corridors of the bailey.

Unlike the last time I had come with Penny, we
didn’t ascend any of the stairs. Instead she took us on a circuitous route
that led to a small protected doorway. “What’s this?” I asked her. My senses
had already confirmed that it led outside the city walls but I had to ask
anyway.

“A private door,” she answered mildly, “It leads
outside the city.”

“Wouldn’t that compromise the defense of the town
during a siege?” I asked.

She laughed, “Hardly. This door is outside the inner
portcullis, which is closed, but inside the outer portcullis which is usually
open. If this were time of war the outer portcullis would still be open and
the gates would be shut. If an invader did penetrate the gates the outer
portcullis would be dropped behind him and the murder holes above would ensure
he did not live long to regret his mistake. This sally door was built to allow
us to clear away the bodies, or to allow quiet egress at night.”

Her speech was matter of fact and I was reminded
that she had been raised by the family most responsible for protecting the
capital in time of war. I decided to stop asking questions and let her lead
the way.

Soon enough she was leading us down the dirt lanes
that were common in the ‘outer’ city. Though the city itself officially was
bounded by the large stone walls, it was surrounded on most sides by more
informal collection of buildings, houses and small businesses. After a short
walk she led us to a large wooden building with several large doors big enough
to drive a wagon through.

I had expected a warehouse or possibly even a barn
but the multiplicity of large doors seemed odd. “What sort of place is this?”
I asked.

“A carriage house,” she replied amicably. “One of
my father’s friends operates a business lending carriages for short term use.
Most of his customers are visiting nobility that don’t maintain a private
residence in the city itself,” she explained. Reaching into a small purse she
withdrew a large brass key and unlocked one of the doors.

Within, the large building was filled with carriages
of every size and description, but some of the stalls where they would have
parked were empty. Rose indicated one of them with her hand, “Will something
like that be sufficient?”

“More than sufficient, thank you Rose,” I replied.

“What now?” asked Harold.

“Now you watch and wait for a while. You will know
when I’m done,” I answered and hefting my staff I walked over to clear away the
floor in the stall Rose had chosen for us. Using the staff like a much larger
version of the silver stylus I began inscribing symbols on the smooth stone
floor with a thin line of fire. The work took me three quarters of an hour before
I finished and set the location keys for the circle to match those of a circle
I had constructed earlier in Lancaster.

Glancing up I saw the others were silently watching
me. “I’ll be right back,” I informed them and then with a word I vanished,
reappearing in Lancaster. I had made arrangements with James on my previous
trip and true to his word the Duke was waiting for me when I appeared.

“I had begun to doubt you would come,” he told me as
I stepped away from the circle.

Clasping his arm at the elbow I clapped his shoulder
with my other hand. “You should have known better than that,” I replied.
Looking around I could see he had twenty men and as many mounts armed and ready
to ride. Several men in the rear held the reins for their ten spare mounts.

“Are you sure this will be enough?” James asked me
as the men began assembling on the circle for transport to Albamarl.

“If it isn’t then an army wouldn’t have been
sufficient,” I said grimly. “If things go as planned even this is probably
more than we need.” Reaching into my pouch I drew out the small wooden boxes I
had enchanted and handed him one of them.

I spent the next several minutes demonstrating and
explaining their function to him. Thankfully the Duke was quick witted and had
little trouble adapting to new ideas. “Once we’ve secured the hostages I’ll
send word immediately,” he reassured me.

“Just be sure to take care of yourself James, the
future of Lothion will rest on your shoulders,” I replied seriously.

A pained look crossed his face. “I don’t like this
plan of yours Mordecai. You do not have the power to force this and you cannot
be sure of enough support. Without that it will mean war, and war of the worst
sort, with brother fighting brother. I am tempted to refuse.”

I’d had enough of self-doubt and striving to appease
those who had done nothing but attempt to manipulate me and my anger showed as
I answered, “You have no choice James Lancaster. I have been pushed and
prodded till my back is to the wall. They will accept this or I will make them
regret ever choosing to cross me.”

James stared into my eyes as if seeking assurance
but whether he found it I couldn’t tell. He nodded and looked away while I
returned to transporting his men and horses back to Albamarl.