The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds (8 page)

“
Technically, this would be the first time
.”
He mumbled apologetically.

“
Purely a matter of semantics
.”
She scolded.

Gawin looked from the mother dragon to the old man and back again
.“
What are you tw
o…?”
he started to ask.

Kindra smiled and placed a kindly hand on his shoulder before he could finish
.“
Nothing to worry about, dearest. I
t’
s an old argument between even older friends. Everything will be fine. For the moment, I need you and the men to take Tep to that pub across the way and teach him the finer points of getting drunk. I believe that yo
u’
ll find Bendon holding a table for you already
.
”

“
But
I
…”

“
But nothing
.”
she said firmly
.“
Ther
e’
s nothing you can do here. We have the finest physician in the known lands to tend for your wife
.
”

Robert rose and placed a reassuring hand on Gawi
n’
s shoulder
.“
Go on lad. You add nothing to the process here. W
e’
ll call you when ther
e’
s some news
.
”

Gawin knelt by his wife and she smiled bravely
.“
Go on dear.
I’
ll be fine and Kindra has already blocked most of the pain
.
”

“
I love you
.”
He said with one final plea.

“
And I love yo
u…
Now go and get respectfully drunk. You and I will have lots to talk about later
.
”

“
Yes dear
.”
he offered meekly.

“
Come on laddie
.”
Sergeant Tolivier said cheerfully
.“
We got us some educati
n’
ta do
.”
He wrapped one meaty arm around both Tep and the lanky engineer.

Tommy closed the door behind them as the sergeant led the two out the door.   

GrimHolden shuddered. It was cold in the damp cell he shared with four well-fed rats. They were well fed because he had learned early on in his captivity that the gruel he was served in a cracked clay bowl once a day was tainted with potions that made him drowsy and compliant.

Twice after eating he had fallen asleep only to awaken with a lustful ardor in the arms of a girl who twenty years ago had been his first lov
e…
a girl he knew to be dead from a boating accident when she was but nineteen years old.

Altana was trying to fulfill a prophesy that required a pregnanc
y…
what scared him more than the weeks of torture he had already experienced was the thought that under the influence of the drugs he might have already given her the boon she sought.

The rats were all asleep so he knew the gruel was still tainted. He selected one of the unconscious animals and quickly dispatched it. He gently flowed the tiniest bit of magic to cleanse the poisons from the carcass and to cook the flesh. The technique was well known to all the Grimedian knights who often lived in the field. Once done he quickly consumed the morsel and disposed of the remains down the grate that served as his privy.

His plan for escape needed just a few days mor
e…
and, he admitted to himself with a grimac
e…
a definite turn of luck.

***

Bendon waved the men over as they entered the bar. Turning his attention back to the barmaid, he placed their order
.“
W
e’
d like five of you
r‘
mixed woodland creature
s’
plates, my dear
.
”

“
And a pitcher of ale
.”
Tolivier added as he arrived at the table and took a seat across from Bendon.

An agitated Gawin managed to contain himself until the rest of the group could get settled. Then moving his eyes quickly between Tep and Bendon, he cried ou
t“
One of you, for Go
d’
s sake, please tell me what just happened
?
”

Tep looked confused and a bit perplexed as if he did
n’
t understand what Gawin was talking about. Bendon seeing the desperation on Gawi
n’
s face and the puzzlement on Te
p’
s, broke out laughing. Wiping his eyes with a sleeve he continued
,“
Wha
t‘
jus
t’
happened is a matter of perspective. For you, Robert and Tommy, and for that matter the rest of the world... only a few moments have passed since the accident in the workshop... for you time has been pinched. For Tep and I
,…
and your wife time took a bit of a turn. We stepped back roughly eight or so months
.
”

“
Pinched
?
”

Bendon paused to consider how to best explain what happened
.“
Time and space are a fabric. Each of our lives is a single thread in that fabri
c…
now if you consider a single strin
g
… “

“
A single perso
n’
s life
.”
Gawin interjected as understanding dawned.

“
Yes my boy, a single perso
n’
s lif
e…
a single strin
g…
the length of the string is normal tim
e…
If you place a knot in the string i
t’
s shorter.  For those of us who were caught in the path of Robert
s’
s portal device the threads were knotted or pinched. I
t’
s as if we looped back in time eight months in the blink of an eye...

“
Sh
e’
s going to kill me
.”
Gawin whispered.

Tep grinned.

“
Oh, believe m
e…
If she knew the full scope of what happened or rather will happen in the past with Rober
t’
s portal sh
e’
ll want to kill the both of us
.”
Bendon added.

“
Why you
?”
Gawin asked.

The old man smiled at the young engineer and sipped his beer
.“
I
t’
s probably best I not discuss that ye
t
…
”
he hedged
.“
Besides dinner is here
!
”

Th
e‘
mixed woodland creature
s’
plate turned out to be a hearty venison, squirrel, and rabbit stew seasoned with wild carrots and leeks. Fire roasted potatoes were served on the side. The polenta thickened stew itself was ladled onto baked and halved bread truncheons.

Tommy thoroughly enjoyed the hearty meal. The savory mix of flavors and textures was surprisingly good. In fact, it was perhaps a little too good. Tommy had the distinct feeling that Bendon was up to something. Hoping to catch him off guard, Tommy looked up from his plate and sai
d“
So wha
t’
s the pla
n–
o-wise and venerable one
?
”

Bendon and Gawin who had both been chewing on tough but tasty bits of venison, paused and glanced at Tommy.

“
Plan
?”
They said in union.

Tommy smiled and repeate
d“
Yes, plan, you old coot. W
e’
ve played enough cards for me to know when yo
u’
re hiding something up your sleeve
.
”

With this comment, the rest of the group turned their attention to Bendon; except for Tep who used the opportunity to steal one of the sergean
t’
s potatoes.

Bendon sighed and said
.“
Could you keep your voice down? No sense letting the world know of my skills with the card
s…
we still need to pay the rent after all
.
”

Tommy smiled and nodded for him to continue.

The wizard reached behind himself and dug into one of his red cloa
k’
s many pockets. Pulling something out, he glanced at it before returning it to the cloak. Turning back to the group, he sai
d“
After we finish here, we will use the portal symbols strategically placed by Jewel and myself over the past eight months while we waited to catch up with this timeline. They will take us both back four hours in time and instantly to Mortia. We will use those four hours before Gawi
n’
s daughter is born to sneak in, find Grim, sneak out and come back here in time for the birt
h
”

This statement was greeted with stunned silence by the rest of the group. A visibly perplexed Tolivier sat mumbling something abou
t‘
sub-decked tim
e’
while shaking his head. Gawin mumble
d“
I have a daughter
?”
The others, with the exception of Tep who continued eating calmly, just sat - stunned.

Bendon decided to follow Te
p’
s example and snatched the piece of venison out from beneath Gawi
n’
s hovering hand. He popped it into his month and chewed contentedly as he waited for the coming explosion.

***

Altana watched the grimy man who sat in the corner of his dank cell. Thomas Holden, GrimHolden for those in the monastic order he was the head o
f…
had been her prisoner for the better part of two months. She found herself strangely drawn to the man that was her enemy. He was a bastion for goo
d…
and sh
e…
well she was not.

In spite of this difference she was enthralled by his seeming lack of concern for his diminished station. He had been declare
d“
kin
g”
by the Archbishop of Vandenburg yet she treated him like common jailhouse dirt. Despite this, he respectfully thanked her for every meager meal she provided him. She found it frustrating and appealing at the same tim
e…
that of all the lives she controlled and ultimately crushed this one man would consistently defy her. Was it the challenge or the allure of what could not be owned? She sighed.

She had been drugging his food in order to force compliance. Raping a man was far more difficult than the reverse. Still she was determined that he would beget her son so that she and the child could fulfill a millennium old prophesy. The potion she had been using had initially been effective but she had recently noticed that it was no longer binding him to her desires. She found this odd because she had specifically charmed it against tampering until consumed. Still, it mattered not. She could feel the new life taking hold in her belly. Once she knew the pregnancy would carry to term she would decide what to do with this newly minted king.    She gave orders to double the drug dose in his food.

***

General Stanton looked every bit his nickname, the Reed, as he swayed while standing in a blustery wind that was tearing through the decimated corn field his soldiers had camped in the night before. The morning sun was already a han
d’
s breadth high but it brought little promise for warmth this day. His gaze turned westward, towards the capital city of Pershara. The word had come by runner the night before that the city was stirring and the king was raiding private storehouses and granarie
s…
impounding every foodstuff available in the city. It seemed Raymond Holden the pretender to the throne since murdering his nephew, King Randolph Holden, nearing twenty years ago was aware that an army loyal to the newly declared King Thomas Holden was marching on the city.

The general grimaced as he thought of how the people of that city were suffering because of the seizures. Anyone who wanted to eat had to be seen as loyal to Raymond's throne. Further, by housing all the food within the palace gates, the palace could survive a multi-year siege. The city itself would fall to pieces but Stanton seriously doubted this troubled the despot Raymond Holden one iota.

The sound of crunching cornstalks caused the tall man to turn. Duncan and Perela were walking up. Stanton knew they shared a tent for company but he also knew tha
t’
s as far as it went. Duncan was a monastic knight and a fully honorable man. Duncan would not be sharing Perel
a’
s bed until they were marrie
d…
a fate the general knew to be inevitable even if the younger knight had not yet fully realized it.

“
Ther
e’
s a cold bite to that wind
.”
Duncan said as he approached.

“
I
t’
s not just the wind that is bitter this morning
.”
The Reed mumbled half under his breath.

Perela placed a delicate hand on his shoulder
.“
Wha
t’
s happening in Pershara is not your fault
.
”

“
Is
n’
t it
?”
He spat back a little more harshly than he intended
.“
We saw the signs for years; Whole families disappearing; strange arcane runes painted in blood on the doors of houses not fully behind Raymond Holde
n’
s claim on the throne; the whispers of dark magics and forbidden ritual
s…
we saw it all and chose to look the other way
.
”

“
And what could you have don
e…
that you are not doing now
?”
Perela insisted.

“
Somethin
g…
anything
.
”

“
We can lament and anguish over the past or we can build the futur
e
…”

Duncan placed a friendly hand on the other ma
n’
s shoulde
r
…
“
Le
t’
s go build that future
.
”