The Pogrom of Mages: The Healers of Glastamear: Volume One (21 page)

After paying for the square rig, he walked back to Timothy’s for dinner. There was more talk of the project, and they decided to offer four, five, and six year leases with the shorter times available for the higher stories. That would allow the leases to be staggered so they all weren’t expiring at once.

They also discussed a counterweight lift system that would be powered by water. It could bring supplies and even people to the higher stories and make those apartments more valuable to renters and be quite helpful in the construction process. The lift would be a copy of one that had been installed in the Governor’s Palace of Southport the previous year. It would be only the second such lift in the whole of southern Glastamear and a fine amenity for future tenants.

Both Timothy and Carolyn asked about the cargo ship, wanting to know if it was to carry cargo for the construction at the hospital building, and Michael explained that he had other plans for it without giving any details.

Chapter 42

That night, Michael flew back to Dragon Crag to see Lady Barbara. In his pack, he carried clothing for himself, the three sets of sailors’ clothing, and the harness he’d had made as well as seventy gold films enchanted with
submerge manna
. Once he was on the island and dressed, he woke Lady Barbara and guided her to the side of the lake. He explained how he’d used
cancer reach
to put the enchanted gold sheet around his spleen. Lady Barbara used the visualization part of the spell to check his work.

Lady Barbara was impressed. “The spleen was a good choice, most of the rest of the abdominal cavity organs move too much. I can implant the enchanted gold films if you make them for us.”

“I have put seventy of them between the pages of this book. You can implant them at your leisure, but I hope to find three men with sailing experience to travel back to Southport and bring supplies in the cargo ship I’ve purchased for you. Those three will need to have their manna hidden tonight.”

Michael handed her a bag with over five hundred newly made gold coins. “Here’s the gold I promised for future purchases. You won’t need it for the first shipment.”

“Holy Father God, Michael; that’s an enormous amount of gold. Where did you get this fortune plus enough to buy a ship and fill it with cargo?”

“My lady, I made this gold, pulling it from the seawater with dwarfish magic and shaping it into coins. You should also take the time to make a list of things you’ll need: building supplies, lanterns and oil, spices and foods to vary your diet, cloth and supplies to replace your healer robes with some other style, windows and doors, and whatever else you think you may need before winter. Winter storms may reach these southern latitudes this far at sea, and the currents will bring fog and colder weather than Southport residents are accustomed to.”

An hour later Michael had the list of the commodities the settlement would need for the winter. Lady Barbara gathered everyone near a large bonfire on the beach where Lady Barbara introduced Michael.

“This is Michael Elf-Blood, the most powerful human healer in our two thousand year history. Father God has sent him at our time of greatest need. Do not be shocked by any magic he does; it may be unique and even frightening.”

Michael stepped forward and said in a calm voice, “My friends, I have a supply boat in Southport that can be filled with building supplies and other things to make your life on this island easier. I need three volunteers with sailing experience to return with me to Southport and sail her back here.”

Six men raised their hands as volunteers, and Lady Barbara picked the three with the most sailing experience. Explaining as she demonstrated, she used
cancer reach
to implant the gold films in each man. Once she was finished, Michael passed out the three sets of sailors’ clothing.

Jake of Conch Cove asked the obvious question after he was dressed as a sailor. “If the ship is in Southport, how do we get to it? I’m a strong swimmer, but not that strong.” That brought a laugh from everyone.

Michael smiled and took out the harness he’d purchased that afternoon. “I know it sounds impossible, but hold your laughter until I’m finish. I propose to change my form through some magic that I learned from the Fairies of Fay Woods. I will appear to be a giant black dragon wearing this stout leather harness. If all goes right, the three of you will hop onto my back grab the harness, and I’ll fly us to shore in less than an hour. As we get near the coast, I’ll cast the naiad spell
transparency
and we’ll all disappear. That will probably be the scariest part of the flight, but it will only last a few minutes. When the dragon lands, just slide down his side. As soon as you’re not touching me, you’ll become visible again. I’ll transform back into me, and explain where we’ll meet after you walk into town. Simple.”

There were smiles since almost everyone assumed it was a joke, a bad joke but at least some poor attempt at humor. They were waiting for the punch line.

Lady Barbara said, “I for one believe every word he just said. Jake, David, and Marin will be the first humans to ever ride a dragon. Think of the stories you can tell your grandchildren someday.”

“Except our grandchildren will never believe us. I’m willing to try it if I can keep my eyes closed during the whole flight,” David said. Marin and Jake soon also agreed.

“So if all the ladies will turn around, I need to get undressed before I transform.”

“Hell no, there’s no way I’m missing this,” Lady Barbara said to general laughter.

It was common for the people of Southport to swim at the local beaches in the nude, but Michael was from an inland province and not comfortable as he stripped and put his clothing into his pack. At least there were no giggles from the crowd.

There was a gasp from nearly everyone when he changed instantly into a giant black dragon. The three sailors reluctantly got onto the dragon’s back and held the leather handles in death grips as Michael flapped his wings and lifted above the lake. Michael could feel all three men shaking in fear, and he grew concerned that one might lose control and fall. He cast
calm soul
to help them deal with their fear. The flight was through calm skies but just his altitude and the speed of the wind caused the sailors’ hands to grow numb, and Michael cast
winter blanket
to help them hold on. He decided that if he ever tried this again, he needed a real dragon saddle.

They landed on an empty beach about two thousand paces from the southern causeway. It was about an hour before dawn. The men slid off his back while cursing with a skill that only sailors knew. Michael transformed back to normal and put the harness in his pack.

Martin said, “That was the craziest and scariest damn experience of my young life, never again!”

Jack said, “I can’t believe we really did that. Humans are not meant to fly.”

David said, “Michael what spell did you use to warm us. My hands were so numb I would have fallen off within minutes if you hadn’t used that magic.”

“I’m sorry for waiting. When I’m a dragon, I can’t feel the cold. When I noticed your distress, I cast a fire mage spell to warm you. This was my first time as a dragon with people on my back.”

“Now you tell us,” Jake said.

“I need to get back to my bedroom without being noticed.” He tossed a small purse of silver coins to Jake, and said, “I’ll meet you at the Horizontal Lady Pub in the warehouse district in about four hours. Try to avoid anyone in town who might recognize you.” Michael transformed into a Giant Ki Eagle and took off. He heard all three men cursing again about the weirdest healer in Glastamear.

Howard Stonemaster joined Michael, Timothy and Carolyn that morning with drawings of his proposal for the demonstration apartment. It seemed elegant without being ostentatious to Michael, and he asked that it be reproduced on his tenth floor. “I’ll also need separate small bedrooms for my five personal guards, and rooms for two chambermaids and a lady’s maid.”

“A lady’s maid. Is there something you haven’t told us Michael? Are you married?” Carolyn asked.

“I’m engaged. I hope she’ll be willing to make Southport our principal home, but that’s not decided yet.”

The builder explained, “I can use the central part of the floor for the guards with their own common room and bath. For the other servants, I suggest bedrooms near the banquet room or family dining room. That leaves the whole backside for a grand salon for entertaining and the west side for future expansion. Your apartment using a whole floor will be one of the largest in the city.”

“We’ll use that layout for now. Diana can change things around to her liking if she decides to live here full time while I’m on the road.”

Carolyn said, “I hope she does move to Southport. I’d love to introduce her and help her adjust in any way I can.”

“Well, she’s from a small town; I’m not sure if Southport will seem intimidating.”

They continued the discussion for another hour until Michael explained, “I have a lot of shopping to do today. I hope to sail in my little merchant ship The Silver Trident tomorrow. I’ll need to stable my horses someplace until I return.”

“Of course, you must leave them here. There’s no need to leave that magnificent stallion with a stranger. Do you need to draw on your letter of credit for your cargo?” Timothy asked.

“No, I have gold enough for that. Use whatever you need for our apartment project. I’ll deposit more if we need it when I’m back in town in about a month, two at the outside.”

Timothy patted him on the shoulder and said, “Ah, I was a young traveling merchant like you at your age. It’s a hard life, but most of us get started that way. You’re prosperous enough not to travel anymore, but I understand the need to find the next big deal.”

Michael went to the Horizontal Lady Pub and found the three sailors having a drink on the first floor. He didn’t ask if earlier they had taken any of the ladies upstairs, but the purse he’d tossed to Jake had plenty of money for that if they had been so inclined.

They used the rest of the day to fill all of Lady Barbara’s requests. The three sailors would spend the evening and most of the night seeing that the stevedores stowed everything properly. Michael explained that he wanted to sail out of the harbor with them tomorrow before noon, but he would not stay on the Silver Trident after they were out of sight of land.

Michael had not yet investigated the throbbing heart of the Church of Perry Ascendant, the great city of Min Hollow. It was the location of greatest power for both the church and king. Five cohorts of knight protectors served as guards for the holy enclave around the Great Mother Temple of Min Hollow, and protecting the Royal Palace of the Anointed Kings was the largest unit of the royal army, more than five thousand professional soldiers.

Michael had often heard that the city was crowded with the poor of the whole kingdom because of the free rooms and free food provided by the king’s indigents’ stipend, which was only available to resident of the capital. Nevertheless, the city was still disturbed by regular food riots among the poor, and its streets at night were never safe without an armed escort. The kingdom’s gentry avoided it except for important tournaments in the spring and the annual Perry Night celebration in the summer. The whole city was usually inaccessible in the winter because of the heavy snows in the Mountain of Min.

Chapter 43

Michael slept poorly; a pleasant dream of Diana was followed by a nightmare of conflict between a red dragon and a black one. He dressed in his simple black travel clothing. He left all his other belongings in the storage room in his hosts’ house with a request that it be moved to his apartment when it was available.

At breakfast with Carolyn and Timothy, they had the final discussion of the hospital apartment project. Michael asked Carolyn to select furniture and decorations for his tenth floor apartment, choosing things that were suitable to a successful merchant, not furniture in the ornate gold-laden style loved by the southern gentry. He said goodbye to his hosts and went to the stable to say farewell to Black Dash and Stalwart using mage thought-talk to reassure both horses that he would return.

The crew of the Silver Trident was ready to sail. Every item on Lady Barbara’s list was onboard and properly stowed. After they were out of sight of land, Michael put his black traveling outfit into his pack, converted into a Giant Ki Eagle and flew north along the coast looking for healer manna and enjoying the view as the land changed from tropical plantations to fallow field and small villages celebrating their harvest festivals. He rested twice on trees before flying on to his destination at Min Hollow.

He turned inland and flew on through the night until he could see the fabled snowcapped Mountains of Min in the extreme distance. He stopped at the village of Crow Crossroads at sunset the following day. He was only an hour’s flight from the huge capital city, but he wanted to fly over Min Hollow in daylight. He had not seen a single healer manna sign on his two-day flight.

Since Michael was walking and dressed in simple black clothing, he decided to play the role of a pilgrim headed to the Most Holy Shrine, the cave in which Perry had been born two thousand years earlier. A visit to the shrine was said to be required for a fortunate reincarnation, so that most believers wanted to pray there at least once. It cost two golden crowns to be admitted to the Most Holy Shrine; the sum was so great that most farmers and working people would save money for many years just to be admitted. Michael fashioned an iron Perry Symbol by pulling the iron from the soil and pinned it to his shirt. It was the symbol of pilgrimage.

When he entered the Crow’s Nest Inn, Michael was surprised to find that the common room was almost empty. Two other pilgrims occupied a table by the only window and a couple of locals were busy getting drunk at the bar.

The innkeeper greeted him. “Good pilgrim, you’re most welcome at the Crow’s Nest. You’re fortunate that we have a private room available for only sixteen silver. It’s a slow time for travel because the snows are so near. The mountain pass to Min Hollow may close at any time. My wife is a wonderful cook and the room comes with both dinner and breakfast.”

Michael agreed to pay thirteen silver coins and found a table to test the quality of the inn’s dinner. Michael cast
hear the heart mummer
to listen to the conversation of the couple who were also pilgrims. He wanted to learn what they’d seen in their travels.

The woman said to her husband, “Your cough is getting worse. We should stay here for a few days until you’re better. Drink some more of the medicine we bought.”

The man coughed and replied, “We’re almost out of medicine. We need to ride on to Min Hollow tomorrow morning where we can get more.”

“My love, you heard the same story as I at our last stop. The city guards are not letting anyone into Min Hollow who has any sign of a cough. We’ll be turned back at the city gates and have to return here in any case.”

“I’ll save my last dose for just before we reach the gates. Then I’ll show no sign of the cough, and we can enter. We should at least try. I think a visit to the Most Holy Shrine will cure me.”

The couple had the accents of the north, perhaps Snowport or the White Mountains. He wondered how many others already had the cough. That night he waited until everyone was asleep and entered the room of the pilgrims. He cast
clear lungs
on both the man and his wife. She was already beginning to suffer from the same contagion. Once someone was cured of the disease, they usually could not catch the same version of the disease again. He hoped they were both immune now.

It would be a terrible winter if the disease spread. Min Hollow was the largest city on the continent, five times the size of Southport. Most people lived packed into small apartments and shared public baths and ate at the common dining rooms in their apartment blocks. One case would become ten on the first day and a hundred on the second day and a thousand on the third day. He had cured these travelers, but how many others might avoid the city guards.

The next morning at breakfast he overheard the wife say, “See my love; we only needed faith and prayers to Perry Ascendant and now you’re as well as ever.”

“We’ll be in the holy city by noon; thanks be to Perry,” he replied.

Michael enjoyed a delicious breakfast and walked until he found a rock outcrop to hide his transformation into an eagle. He flew high above the main road seeing only travelers and occasional fire mage manna signs along the road.

As approached the greatest city of mankind, he saw the huge black volcanic walls and the crowed stone buildings clustered inside for protection. The whole city was covered in a yellow cloud from the thousands of coal and wood fires. He could detect a foul odor carried on the wind even high above the city. The city was surrounded on three sides by snow-topped mountains, and the suffocating smoke and odors were trapped above the city most of the year.

In the distance he could see the massive bulk of the king’s castle, whose fortifications had withstood attacks without ever falling in the thousand years since King Vlad the First constructed it. In that long history, scores of battles between the three eastern kingdoms of men and Glastamear had raged over the city and the Mountains of Min, but no army had ever penetrated that vast fortification, and king’s castle had never fallen to a conqueror.

Even higher into the mountain pass, Michael saw the Great Mother Temple which was even older. A fifteen paces high black ebony wall that had also never fallen to an attacker also surrounded the whole religious compound, which included the Great Mother Temple, the palace of the Holy Sons, and housing for thousands of church officials and support people and their families. It was a fortified city within a fortified city.

The fire mage manna from the temple area was so intense that Michael could not identify single priests or knight protectors, but he saw one single healer manna sign next to the brightest fire mage manna he’d ever seen. He was certain it was the healer priest Toby standing with Most Holy Son of Perry Ascendant. He knew that Toby would be here to provide healing to the most important leaders of the church during the coming winter. He saw no sign of the sixteen young healers who had been abducted from their families to train as healer priests. They were not being trained in Min Hollow.

Michael flew three complete circles around the immense city before spotting a massive red shape flying toward him. The red dragon Firebreath spoke with a voice of thunder directly into Michael’s mind.

“
Child of the elves, I do not recognize your kind, but be warned of the coming storm, and be gone from the skies of this odious city. Soon pestilence will strike. It will be followed by war as the three kingdoms of the east unite to lay waste to it. Once it is ravaged, it will no longer pollute the skies with its coal fires and the rivers with its shit. Already a schism divides the children of the smelly bagger Perry although the fools below us do not realize it yet. The buffoons of his church don’t know they sealed their own fate when they killed their healers; the armies who will cross the Mountains of Min in the spring have more than their share of healers, and won’t suffer from the pestilence that comes in this Winter of Death. Schism, war, famine, conquest, and death are approaching, and the time of the disgusting humans of the Mountain of Min nears its end. For your own welfare, be gone from these skies!
”

Michael followed Firebreath’s command and turned and headed for the coast and toward Diana in Rock Point.