The Pogrom of Mages: The Healers of Glastamear: Volume One (5 page)

Chapter 10

Michael and Diana spent the whole night getting acquainted. It was clear to every healer onboard that they and found comfort in each other, and everyone left them alone to talk in private. The following morning at dawn, Michael with Diana by his side stood on the prow of the small sloop, watching in fascination as a giant conical mountain came into view.

“That’s Great White, an extinct volcano; my hometown of Rock Point lies in the circular harbor on the left.”

“The only thing I know about the town of Rock Point is that it’s where all the salt cod comes from.”

“Yep, that’s us. We sell cod and salt and salted-cod. The town always smells like fish and the sea. I’ve missed that smell. We almost never have visitors except for a few merchant ships in the summer. It’s as isolated as any place in Glastamear.”

Michael shivered and said, “I’ve never been this cold in the early autumn. It feels like winter.”

“The Ice Current flows past the peninsula. It keeps the town cool in the summer and much colder than the mainland or the rest of Mitchell Island in the winter. Those terraced fields will be in harvest now. In another month snows will cover the Great White down almost to town. It’s the Ice Current that carries the cod in such numbers that we can catch all we can eat plus all we can sell.”

“There are no Perry Ascendant priests?”

“No priests, but also no healers. There hasn’t been a healer living here for over sixty years. That’s why the whole village chipped in to help me get my training once they figured out I was born with a little healing manna.”

“They’ll be glad to see you back. You’ll be able to finish your apprenticeship with three expert healers here.”

Diana looked a little hurt. “Does that mean you’re not staying? I could learn a lot from you too.”

“Diana, I’d love nothing more than to spend a relaxing time with you here in Rock Point, but there may be other healers that need me to hide their manna from the Church. I’ll stay on the sloop with Obert till we get back to Black Sand Beach. Once there, I’ll make my way to Northport. When I find other healers, I’ll try and bring them to Rock Point if your people would welcome them. There is danger in defying the Church and King Richard the Vengeful.”

“The Church means nothing to us. Perry’s writ never reached here, and King Richard is just the Church’s puppet. There are lava-tube caves that go deep into the Great White. We can shelter healers with a thousand paces of rock to hide their manna when we see a ship approach. We have used those caves for storage and shelter from blizzards or raiders for six centuries, and there are comfortable rooms cut from the volcanic stone that include beds, kitchens, and hearths. Bring every healer you can find; they will be welcome.”

Two hours later they neared the entrance to the Rock Point Harbor, and Diana and Michael were still standing in the bow chatting about being apprentice healers. The huge sixty foot high circular basalt wall of the harbor was natural volcanic rock. Michael thought it looked as if a huge bubble of rock had burst and left this semicircle of stone. A twenty paces wide opening provided access to the harbor. Two dressed stone towers about ten stories high jutted up on either side of the opening, obviously designed to guide mariners into the harbor, perhaps as both lighthouses and fortifications.

When they entered the harbor there was a sudden rise in temperature. “What just happened; I don’t even need a jacket now.”

Diana laughed. “Now you know our secret. Rock Point is not nearly as cold as most people think. There are hot springs that flow into the harbor making the water much warmer than the open sea. Centuries ago, our ancestors channeled some of the springs into pipes that direct a flow of hot water under our houses, keeping us nice and warm all winter.”

Michael smiled. “You said no one ever visits in winter, so no one knows your secret. Everyone thinks you’re incredibly hardy souls when you’re actually just like the rest of us.”

“You’d love it here, even in winter,” Diana said.

“I think you may be right,” Michael replied as he gawked at the town.

There were three piers with perhaps fifty small fishing boats either attached or pulled up on the rocky shore. Racks of drying cod were visible on the beach opposite the town. Twenty, two and three story dressed stone warehouses lined the harbor. A large market building stood next to the largest pier.

The three streets behind the commercial area grew up the side of the hill. They were lined with one or two story houses. The houses were all made with the same gray-black basalt as the towers at the harbor entrances, and most looked like they had been in place since time began. Moss grew on the slate roofs and carefully tended gardens with mature pecan, almond, plum, apple, or pear trees grew in small vegetable plots in front of each home. Flower boxes were at almost every home’s windows filled with pansies and other cold weather flowers.

Unlike every other town in Glastamear, there were no walls. There was no way to attack Rock Point from land, and since a chain could be drawn across the harbor entrance, there was almost no way to attack by sea. Michael thought it was the most charming and safest looking town he’d ever seen.

“What are those walls above town?” Michael pointed up the side of Great White.

“They’re more terraces for growing grapes, oats, and other crops. The mountainside is too steep to hold soil without those walls. We grow everything we need. We trade for metal items, ceramics, and luxuries, but we have sheep and goats and everything else we need for food and clothes.”

Someone ashore spotted Diana and started to yell hello. Little boys went running all over town to pass the word, and soon a crowd that seemed to be every person who lived in Rock Point was gathered on shore waving excitedly. Standing in front was a portly man who was dressed in a fine white fur robe with the gold chain of a mayor around his neck; next to him was a beautiful middle-aged woman who could only be Diana’s mother. They waved and shouted.

“You father’s the mayor?”

“Really he’s a fisherman, but when they found I had some manna and was going to learn to be a healer, the town selected him as mayor. He’s a dear sweet man who everyone loves, and I’m glad he doesn’t have to go to sea anymore.”

The welcome was warm. Everyone seemed glad to shelter the guild master and other healers, but the real star of the evening was Obert. The naiads were greatly loved and respected by fishermen all over Glastamear, and every man wanted to touch Obert for good fortune.

Even though the captain was anxious to sail with the evening tide, the mayor persuaded him to wait until morning so that he could join everyone in a feast of thanksgiving for Diana’s return. The celebration was also a welcome to the guild master and other healers. The captain and crew joined in the street festival. Every home moved its dining table to the street in front of their houses and filled it with food and drink. The whole town wandered the streets sampling each home’s fare. Michael had never tasted better lobster or crab, and he decided that the town’s food was astonishingly good. There was an occasional mutton stew, but everything else was from the local harvest or from the sea. There was no wine, but fine ale and hard apple cider were plentiful.

It was near midnight when Michael reluctantly said goodbye to Diana, promising to return to Rock Point as soon as possible. He was too bashful to try a kiss, but Diana made sure he didn’t depart without exchanging their first kiss. Again they both felt the closeness they had when holding hands on the ship. It was important to both of them.

He was sad to leave as he walked back to the sloop with Obert, but there were things that only he could do. He must save every healer he could.

Chapter 11

Michael didn’t sleep well. He had delightful dreams of Diana and nightmares of fire shooting knight protectors. He knew what he must do, but it would be so much easier to stay in Rock Point with his sweet Diana.

Before dawn he dressed warmly and walked along the path to the closer of the two towers that guarded the harbor entrance. It was a freezing walk along the top of the natural seawall because a stiff wind blew from the west bringing the cold of the Ice Current. He saw something swimming in the harbor, and as the dawn progressed, he realized that Obert was out for a morning swim. When Obert noticed him, he swam over to the wall and easily climbed the almost vertical slope to join him on the path.

Michael pointed to the eight foot waves pushed to whitecaps by the stiff wind. “Do you think the captain will sail in this? That sloop is so small.”

Obert said an elfish phrase. It was the spell
still waters
, and suddenly the waves disappeared from a semicircle of sea about a hundred paces in diameter and centered on the seawall where they stood.”

Michael laughed. “You could have stopped my sea sickness any time with that spell.”

Obert smiled. “I thought you would want the excitement of real waves on your first sea journey. The range of the effect is directly related to the power of manna you put into it. You can calm a much wider area than I. Give it a try. Put all you have in it.”

Michael cast the wave-stilling spell with every trace of power he could muster. After the cast, he felt completely empty of power and staggered slightly against the power of the wind.

Obert made a sound that was a naiad version of a gasp. The sea was mirror smooth for as far as the eye could see even though the wind still blew at near gale force.

“Our whole pod casting in unison couldn’t have done that. I don’t know that even an elf or dragon could. Let’s climb the tower and see how far your spell reached.”

After climbing the long winding stairs inside the tower, they reached the top. A watchman stood in obvious shock leaning against the power of the wind but staring at the glass-smooth sea. When he saw Obert, assuming he had cast the spell, he bowed low and asked if he could touch the naiad’s hand for luck.

Michael and Obert looked across the western sea. For thousands of paces there were no waves. Far in the distance, they saw some sea foam blowing from the tops of waves. The cast had calmed the seas for at least a ten thousand paces radius.

They didn’t speak on the tower but headed back toward town.

“How long will that spell last?” Michael asked as they approached town.

“With that much power unless you use the cancel phrase, it might last one or even two days. You should probably reverse it now.”

After Michael cancelled the spell, Obert said, “You’ve heard of magic golden amulets and rings and other things that carry the power of a spell within their matrix.”

“I know there is said to be magic in Perry artifacts, and of course, there are the fables of magic rings, magic swords and such. Is it true that objects can be enchanted?”

“Dragons and elves can lock spells into artifacts of gold or into certain jewels like rubies and diamonds. Until I saw the power of your cast of
still waters
, it did not occur to me, but you may have that enchantment power. If you could bind the spell
submerge manna
into a ring or amulet, the healer wearing it could not be detected by a fire mage.”

“That is a powerful idea if I can really do it. I’d like to try, but I have nothing of value, just enough copper coins for a flagon of ale at an inexpensive inn.”

“I noticed that the guild master wore a silver ring with a ruby, and the Bursar had a simple gold medallion hung around his neck. Before we sail, you could try to enchant those.”

The enchantments worked, and before they sailed, Michael was able to bind the spell to hide manna to a ring or amulet for each of the healers remaining in Rock Point.

They sailed three hours after sunrise, and Obert was the one who cast the
still water
spell to ease their passage because they didn’t want the captain or crew to know of Michael’s water magic.

Two days later, as they approached Black Sand Beach, Michael asked Obert, “Can we trust this captain and his crew to keep Rock Point a secret?”

“If the Church takes any human to those cells under the temple, he will tell everything he knows. Good intentions will not stop the pain of Perry’s Fire.”

“It’s highly unethical to use except in guild approved circumstances, but all healers know a spell to help those who have undergone an incredible trauma.
Amnesia release
will cause someone to forget the past week or two. It’s use for people who have experienced terrible events that traumatize their minds, not for this kind of thing.”

“I think in this case your Guild Master would permit it if your spell will not hurt them permanently.”

Because of the reef, the sloop could not approach close to the beach. Obert and Michael would need to swim to shore. As they prepared to leave, Michael shook each crewmember’s hand, and each man forgot their recent trip. As Michael jumped into the sea for the swim, he noticed the puzzled looks on the crews’ faces; they didn’t remember who he was or why they were sailing near Black Sand Beach.

Michael immediately cast
water breath
. He followed Obert as they swam underwater through a hole in the reef that was five paces below the sea. Once through the opening, Michael saw the town of the naiads. It was built right into the reef and colorful fish swam everywhere entering the naiads’ rooms and swimming all around them. Obert took him to a small room deep in the reef. With shock, Michael realized that it was filled with the treasure of a hundred shipwrecks mixed with tens of thousands of pearls. It was treasure greater than the king’s.

Obert led Michael to the shore and spoke for the first time once they were on the beach. “We have no shortage of rings and necklaces with jewels for you to enchant. When you travel to Northport, you can go as a pearl merchant. You’ll need human money for horses and ships and such things, and we’ll supply your inventory of pearls. I’ll have some things put in your room in the tower.

In two or three days, you’ll have learned all the useful spells I can teach you, and you can head for Northport to begin your great quest. Someday, you’ll confront the red dragon and ask her to withdraw her curse, but that is for the future. For now, you must save the humans who can do healing magic lest that skill be lost forever from humankind.”