From the Desk of Honor Raconteur
Chapter One
“So that be the wizard from the new country, eh?” Riona balanced easily on the tree limb, leaning forward slightly for a better angle through all of the leaves.
“No much to him, is there? Looks like a strong breeze would snap him in half,” her father commented.
Riona gave a “Heh” of agreement. Truly, the wizard didn’t have much girth to him. He was tall, thin, with platinum blond hair and pale skin. He’d blend right in with a winter setting. The way he felled one massive tree after the next with merely a spoken word and a gesture of his hand stated plainly he was not the pushover he appeared to be. But then, with a reputation like his, she hadn’t expected differently.
She glanced at her father. “Why are you on my branch?”
“It be a nice branch.” He grinned but didn’t look at her.
“And how do you know it can support both our weights?” Broden Ravenscraft was many things but light was not one of them. Standing at nearly six feet, he had the bulky build of a man that worked hard for a living. His swarthy skin and dark hair blended in well with the dark woods, only his grey eyes truly visible.
Broden shot her a grin. “Now, daughter, I do no hear creaking noises. It be safe enough.”
“The last time you said that, it creaked right afore we fell. Six feet. Onto no nice ground.”
He just chuckled, a low, rumbling sound.
Riona tossed a hand into the air, giving up. Fine, he could stay, but she wasn’t risking that again. As it happened, both of them had nearly broken a bone because of that poor decision. With a slight huff, she sprang off that branch and onto another, her gloved hands easily finding a purchase on the rough bark and with a flex of the shoulders, she swung herself on top of it. Really, ancient trees in a virgin forest really did offer the best perches.
Her hood slipped and she paused long enough to readjust it, hiding her flaming red hair. Red hair like hers was something of a rarity up here in The Land Northward, although according to her father, she’d inherited it from her mother. She had the blue eyes and fair skin to match it. Because of that, she took care to wear layers of browns and greens to make her blend in better with their forest surroundings.
Wizard Ashtian Fallbright had come to their village that morning and requested an audience with the village chief. No one had quite known what to make of him at first. He was famous, even all the way out here. The king he served, one Edvard Knolton, had just this year declared his separation from Iysh. The country of Iysh had been facing civil wars and internal conflicts for the past two generations, but no one had expected someone to have the guts to split off from it entirely. The whole world had waited with baited breath to see what would happen next. Bets were made on how long Edvard Knolton would get by with his declaration.
The Iyshian king had immediately sent out his troops to subdue the rebel. Only it hadn’t worked. Edvard Knolton had won, in an astoundingly short amount of time, and decimated the army sent to defeat him. Iysh sent another—and that army was defeated as well. A third army had not been sent, although no one was quite sure why. There was speculation of all sorts going around, though, which ranged from the Iyshian king giving up on the small part of land Knolton claimed to him not having enough troops to challenge the rebel again.
Personally, Riona bet it was a lack of troops.
But all the rumors did agree on one thing: Knolton had largely won because of two very strong Wizards that had fought with him. And one of those Wizards was no other than Ashtian Fallbright.
Strange, he didn’t look that intimidating out here cutting down trees.
When he’d met the village head this morning, he’d politely requested the right to lumber some of their property, even offering to pay for it. Of course, money was hard up in this area of the mountains, so the whole village had immediately agreed to the deal.
She and her father, not one to miss such a golden opportunity, had immediately approached the Wizard and offered their services as escort. Mountain bandits were no laughing matter up here in Cloud’s Rest after all. Fallbright had blinked, startled at their offer, but readily agreed. He said he didn’t want to watch his back while working.
Riona and Broden had packed up and escorted Fallbright to this area of the mountains, the perfect place to find good lumber and still have easy access to the highway. They’d been perched up in the trees for an hour now, eyes peeled for trouble. In that time, the Wizard had felled nearly three dozen trees, all of them stacked neatly in piles.
“How much lumber did he say he wanted?” she asked slowly. Surely that was enough for whatever project the man had in mind. These weren’t normal trees, after all. One trunk could build three cottages without strain.
“I do no think he mentioned an amount. Man knows how to work, I give him that.”
She could see the patches of sweat under his arms and down his back from here. “But how does he plan to move all of that? He did no bring wagons or any teams to pull them with.”
“Man’s beat two armies we know of. I do no doubt he will win against trees too.”
Good point.
Riona turned her head in a smooth, slow motion, eyes drinking in her surroundings, ears searching for anything out of place. Her father had trained her from the time she was knee high on how to read the moods around her. The forest here was thick, trees so massive they could crush houses, branches interweaved to block most of the sunlight, marking the forest floor in areas of twilight and shadows. The air had a pungent scent of earth and vegetation, mixed in with the faint scent of running water. This place had a stillness to it, an aura as if it were more ancient than she could ever guess. It seemed a little sacrilegious, somehow, to let anyone lumber trees from here.
That hadn’t been her call to make, though.
From the corner of her eye, she caught a color that was not found in nature, nothing more than a blur of blue. Her head turned sharply, trying to catch a better look, but it was gone. Brows compressing, she drew an arrow from her back and notched it in a smooth motion, but didn’t raise the bow just yet.
“Riona?”
“Something moved. My left, and just ahead.”
Broden immediately looked as well. “A few branches be swaying.”
“Opposite to how the wind is blowing,” she noted grimly. “We got bandits.”
Broden grunted, holding his peace for a long moment before offering, “I spy two. They be closing in on our Wizard. Down or up, daughter?”
Making a snap decision she said, “Down.” She couldn’t get any angle up here, too many leaves and branches and tree trunks blocked her line of sight. Maneuvering bow and arrow to her left hand, she hopped lightly down from her perch, fell to the one below it in a crouch, then sprinted down its length for three strides before taking another flying leap, this time using a branch closer to the ground as a springboard to halt her fall. She landed with catlike grace on the moss-covered ground, barely settling before taking off in a fast sprint toward Fallbright.
The man had stopped working, eyes following her as she moved toward him. Of course he’d noticed, the way she had noisily and hastily descended toward the forest floor. She paid scant attention to him, her eyes darting about, trying to spy the bandits her father had seen from above and any others that were closing in. She swore softly as two of them darted between the trees. They were closer than she’d thought.
“What—” Fallbright started to ask, tenor voice harsher than usual.
“Do no move,” she ordered sharply. Skidding to a halt, she snapped the bow back up, drawing the line taut this time, fletching to her ear. Breath in, hold, sight the target, release. The arrow whizzed past Fallbright’s head, barely two inches away from his cheek. A man’s guttural scream came as her arrow found its mark with unerring accuracy. Before the first one was fully released, she was already reaching for another arrow over her shoulder.
The Wizard froze, eyes glued to her, as she downed two bandits in the time it took for him to finish the sentence “—is wrong?”
“Bandits,” she supplied shortly.
He didn’t need her answer. His hands were already weaving in the air, leaving behind trails of light in strange patterns she’d never seen before. Fallbright fell into a fighter’s stance, which looked odd as he held no weapon. “Stand at my back,” he ordered tersely. “But stay two feet away, don’t come within my shield.”
As Riona had no inclination to be in front of whatever magical fury he unleashed, she promptly obeyed, leaving enough distance between them that she could stay out of that shield of his as commanded.
From above, she could hear the whistle of arrows being released, one after another. Her father must have a better vantage up there than she’d had. Then again, he had stolen her spot.
Her eyes searched for movement, instincts rattling. There. Years of experience let her sense the direction the wind was flowing, judge the speed of her target, and know where to aim. She took in a breath as she notched the arrow between two gloved fingers, then held it to keep her aim steady. Release. Her target tripped and hit the ground with a gurgling noise.
Riona’s attention only stayed on him long enough to assure he was down before she searched out any other threats. Notch, pull, release.
Again.
The once still air clamored with the thwang of bowstrings, the whistling of arrows flying, the meaty thunks of the injured, and the strange humming sound of Fallbright’s magical attacks. It sounded like a swarm of angry hummingbirds. That was the closest that she could come to describing the way the magic slashed through the air. It looked pretty though, from the glimpses she got of it. The air around him glowed like he was standing in a swarm of fireflies.
She pivoted in place, arrows flying, drawing her longbow and releasing it in an almost hypnotic rhythm. At all times, Riona kept the Wizard at her back, making sure that no one could target the man and sneak up on him. He, in turn, guarded hers as faithfully as her father would have. Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was a good fighter and a decent partner in a skirmish.
In minutes, they all stopped attacking and waited with baited breath. Nothing. Had they taken out all of them?
From her position, in the middle of the lumbered clearing, whole armies could be hiding behind the trees and she wouldn’t see them. She called to her father, “I will guard him if you want to poke about!”
A low, mournful whistle sounded in the air, signaling his agreement.
Fallbright turned to her with an admiring look. “Your eyesight is excellent. I would not have noticed them until it was far too late.”
“I be used to this terrain,” she denied, although her cheeks flushed at the praise. “But thank you.”
“At first I was uncertain about hiring you and your father as escorts—I don’t have much experience working with archers, you see—but I’m now very glad I did. You just proved to be worth every deneres I’m paying you. But why do you think the bandits attacked? Surely not for the lumber.”
“No, for you,” she responded in amusement. “Wizard Fallbright, do you no know how famous you be? Even up here, we know you.”
He blinked, those clear blue eyes surprised. “Truly? Well, that’s certainly food for thought. So, they had ransom on their mind?”
“Belike.”
Fallbright shook his head, mouth quirked in amusement. “They’d have been sorely disappointed, then. New kingdoms are rather short on money, I’m afraid. Besides, Edvard and Ashlyn don’t take kindly to things like that. If they’d tried to ransom me, they’d just as likely been massacred for their trouble.”
With that group he served, that was likely the case.
From her right, Broden strode out of the woods and into the clearing. Fallbright immediately whirled in that direction, hand raised as if prepared to shoot off another spell, but halted straightaway when he saw who it was.
Broden lifted a hand and drawled, “I rather no be attacked by my employer, if it be all the same to you.”
“My apologies,” Fallbright responded, lowering his hand. “After being in two battles, it’s automatic for me to raise shields and attack…first…” He suddenly went taut, head snapping around to stare at Riona in wonderment.
She blinked up at him, not understanding why he was wearing that expression. “Eh?”
“I…had my shield up.”
Wasn’t that just common sense? To put up a shield while fighting? “And…?” she prompted after he stumbled into slack-jawed silence.
“No, you don’t understand,” he denied, hand slashing through the air. “Urgh, how to explain?” this was more muttered to himself. “How much do you know about wizards?”
“No a great deal,” Riona admitted frankly. “We never had cause to work with them. I think me village called them in about fifteen years ago, for some sort of help in finding a cure to an epidemic, but I do no remember much of it.” Considering she’d been just shy of seven at the time, that was understandable.
Fallbright leaned in closer, eyes and voice becoming intense. “Then, the basics. As formidable as magic is, we have many weaknesses too. We can’t do multiple spells at the same time, not spells of different types at least. For instance, I can’t use a fire-based spell and a water-based spell because they’ll cancel each other out. So I have to always choose what spell I want to use, then figure out what I can partner it with, otherwise I risk destroying my own efforts.”
“I think I follow.”
“Now, there are multiple shields that a wizard can use to protect himself, but we can’t use them all at the same time. So if I’m fighting another wizard, or I’m at risk of being hit by a magical backlash, then I must use a power shield. But doing that leaves me vulnerable to ordinary, weapon-based attacks. Someone can skewer me with a sword and I wouldn’t be able to shield against it.”
She blinked. “That’s…”
“Dangerous?” he finished for her with a wry smile. More of a grimace, really. “I’m well aware. Most wizards don’t care for leaving ourselves so vulnerable, so we partner with someone who’s a good fighter. A soldier, warrior, etc. Someone that we can trust to watch our backs as we work.”
“Makes sense,” she allowed. “So where be the problem?”
“Not many people can tolerate being within a wizard’s shields. The reactions vary, but I’ve seen everything from people screaming in pain or simply flinching away from it. Finding someone that can be within the shield who’s also competent at fighting is…” he let out a long sigh “…difficult.”
“That be a kind way of stating things,” her father said with a pensive frown. “I would say the odds of that be slim.”
“Very. So, when we do find someone,” his eyes went back to her with that fervent light, “you can imagine our delight and greed. And then there’s you. Someone who doesn’t just tolerate it, but you don’t even seem to notice it!”
She hadn’t, actually.
Grabbing up both of her hands, he pleaded, “Please. Please be my partner.”
Riona froze, unable to look away from those penetrating eyes. He was honest and sincere in his desire to be partners with her, which was a sensation that she wasn’t accustomed to. To have someone actively want her was a foreign feeling. It lit her blood like quicksilver, making her flush and stutter, unsure of how to respond.
“Hey now!” her father protested. “We did no agree to that.”
“I can’t leave her be,” Fallbright returned, never breaking eye contact with her. “I’ve spent the past decade trying to find a partner. And here your daughter sits, with all of the skills I need, and on top of all that she’s an easy woman to get along with. She’s a godsend! I do not exaggerate.”
Her? A wizard’s partner? It had never been an aspiration of hers to tie herself to just one person, but then, she’d never thought of it as an option before either. To top it off, it wasn’t just anyone asking her—a king’s Wizard himself was literally begging.
Her father hadn’t raised her to be a fool. Before deciding, she needed to ask more questions. So she swallowed hard and somehow found her tongue enough to request, “Raise your shield for me again.”
He blinked, head slanting slightly. “Why?”
“I did no truly see it before,” she admitted. “But it might have just been because I was so focused on the bandits. I want to feel it properly.”
“Oh.” Fallbright nodded, silently agreeing that was a good point to raise. Releasing one of her hands, he raised one and traced an ancient symbol into the air. A perfect circle of light surrounded them in the next moment, looking like sparkling fairy dust hovering about them.
She turned her head this way and that, taking it all in. How pretty. Her lips parted in delight.
“It really doesn’t bother you,” he said softly, eyes glued to her face.
“It feels nice, actually,” she responded absently. “Like standing in a sunny spot on a cool day.” Tearing her eyes away from it, she beckoned to her father. “Da, try it.”
With a wary look on his face, Broden gingerly stuck one hand inside. Then he blinked. “She’s right. This do no feel odd at all.”
The Wizard’s eyes snapped to the older man. “How does it feel to you?”
“Rather like sunlight on a cool day,” her father agreed in bemusement. “This bothers people, you say?”
“Yes.” Those clear blue eyes shot wide. “Both of you are potential partners. Ye gods!” His free hand reached out and snagged her father’s arm. “Broden. Please. Both of you are too valuable to the magical community to do just this one job and return to your home. Won’t you at least consider staying?”
Broden’s eyes met hers and she knew exactly what her father was thinking. What they had left behind—and more importantly, what they hadn’t. It was for that reason that they’d offered to escort the Wizard to begin with.
Searching their expressions, he pressed forward, “As partners of wizards, you’d be granted automatic citizenship rights, a monthly stipend, and considerable esteem by everyone. Wizards themselves will pay a small ransom just to have you, I promise. Especially in Estole. We’re so short on wizards right now, so short on manpower, that the king is very welcoming to anyone willing to work to protect the new country. He’s outlawed most of the usual Bindings as well.”
Riona’s eyes went huge. He’d outlawed the Bindings? Holy heavens…that was cause enough right there to go along.
Broden got that twinkle in his eyes that she knew well. “Be part of building a new kingdom, eh? Well, I admit that is an offer a man does no get every day. This new king—you know him?”
“Well,” Fallbright admitted, excitement growing. “We’re blood brothers.”
“Good man?”
“The best. Well, he has a bad habit of teasing people, but other than that….”
To her father, that was a point in the man’s favor. “What say ye, daughter?”
“We came looking for something worthwhile. I say this fits the bill.” Frowning, she added, “I just do no ken how this will work exactly. Will both of us partner with you? Or should we split up somehow?”
“I’m really hoping that one of you will partner with my sister,” he said optimistically. “She’s my twin, actually. We share the position of Court Wizard.”
Twin wizards? Their poor parents. The apprenticeship fees must have beggared them. “Da?”
Broden frowned, thinking hard. “This partnership thing, it work best if one person be dedicated to one wizard?”
“Yes. We form magical ties to them, you see, so that they’re automatically under magical protection.”
“Well, we do no know your sister.” She knew without asking how her father would feel on this. “So let us do this: we go meet her first, give us all a few weeks of working with each other, and figure out who mixes well. Then we decide.”
“Fair enough.” Fallbright lit up into a smile bright enough to shame the sun. “But shouldn’t you be asking me questions on salary and such?”
“We will sort that out as well in due time,” Broden rumbled. “Let us meet your sister first. If we can no work with the woman, no reason to argue about such things now.”
“Excellent point.” Fallbright rubbed his hands together, for all the world like a little boy that had just been handed two surprise presents. “I’ll quickly finish this up in the next hour and then, let’s go directly to Estole.”
“So that be the wizard from the new country, eh?” Riona balanced easily on the tree limb, leaning forward slightly for a better angle through all of the leaves.
“No much to him, is there? Looks like a strong breeze would snap him in half,” her father commented.
Riona gave a “Heh” of agreement. Truly, the wizard didn’t have much girth to him. He was tall, thin, with platinum blond hair and pale skin. He’d blend right in with a winter setting. The way he felled one massive tree after the next with merely a spoken word and a gesture of his hand stated plainly he was not the pushover he appeared to be. But then, with a reputation like his, she hadn’t expected differently.
She glanced at her father. “Why are you on my branch?”
“It be a nice branch.” He grinned but didn’t look at her.
“And how do you know it can support both our weights?” Broden Ravenscraft was many things but light was not one of them. Standing at nearly six feet, he had the bulky build of a man that worked hard for a living. His swarthy skin and dark hair blended in well with the dark woods, only his grey eyes truly visible.
Broden shot her a grin. “Now, daughter, I do no hear creaking noises. It be safe enough.”
“The last time you said that, it creaked right afore we fell. Six feet. Onto no nice ground.”
He just chuckled, a low, rumbling sound.
Riona tossed a hand into the air, giving up. Fine, he could stay, but she wasn’t risking that again. As it happened, both of them had nearly broken a bone because of that poor decision. With a slight huff, she sprang off that branch and onto another, her gloved hands easily finding a purchase on the rough bark and with a flex of the shoulders, she swung herself on top of it. Really, ancient trees in a virgin forest really did offer the best perches.
Her hood slipped and she paused long enough to readjust it, hiding her flaming red hair. Red hair like hers was something of a rarity up here in The Land Northward, although according to her father, she’d inherited it from her mother. She had the blue eyes and fair skin to match it. Because of that, she took care to wear layers of browns and greens to make her blend in better with their forest surroundings.
Wizard Ashtian Fallbright had come to their village that morning and requested an audience with the village chief. No one had quite known what to make of him at first. He was famous, even all the way out here. The king he served, one Edvard Knolton, had just this year declared his separation from Iysh. The country of Iysh had been facing civil wars and internal conflicts for the past two generations, but no one had expected someone to have the guts to split off from it entirely. The whole world had waited with baited breath to see what would happen next. Bets were made on how long Edvard Knolton would get by with his declaration.
The Iyshian king had immediately sent out his troops to subdue the rebel. Only it hadn’t worked. Edvard Knolton had won, in an astoundingly short amount of time, and decimated the army sent to defeat him. Iysh sent another—and that army was defeated as well. A third army had not been sent, although no one was quite sure why. There was speculation of all sorts going around, though, which ranged from the Iyshian king giving up on the small part of land Knolton claimed to him not having enough troops to challenge the rebel again.
Personally, Riona bet it was a lack of troops.
But all the rumors did agree on one thing: Knolton had largely won because of two very strong Wizards that had fought with him. And one of those Wizards was no other than Ashtian Fallbright.
Strange, he didn’t look that intimidating out here cutting down trees.
When he’d met the village head this morning, he’d politely requested the right to lumber some of their property, even offering to pay for it. Of course, money was hard up in this area of the mountains, so the whole village had immediately agreed to the deal.
She and her father, not one to miss such a golden opportunity, had immediately approached the Wizard and offered their services as escort. Mountain bandits were no laughing matter up here in Cloud’s Rest after all. Fallbright had blinked, startled at their offer, but readily agreed. He said he didn’t want to watch his back while working.
Riona and Broden had packed up and escorted Fallbright to this area of the mountains, the perfect place to find good lumber and still have easy access to the highway. They’d been perched up in the trees for an hour now, eyes peeled for trouble. In that time, the Wizard had felled nearly three dozen trees, all of them stacked neatly in piles.
“How much lumber did he say he wanted?” she asked slowly. Surely that was enough for whatever project the man had in mind. These weren’t normal trees, after all. One trunk could build three cottages without strain.
“I do no think he mentioned an amount. Man knows how to work, I give him that.”
She could see the patches of sweat under his arms and down his back from here. “But how does he plan to move all of that? He did no bring wagons or any teams to pull them with.”
“Man’s beat two armies we know of. I do no doubt he will win against trees too.”
Good point.
Riona turned her head in a smooth, slow motion, eyes drinking in her surroundings, ears searching for anything out of place. Her father had trained her from the time she was knee high on how to read the moods around her. The forest here was thick, trees so massive they could crush houses, branches interweaved to block most of the sunlight, marking the forest floor in areas of twilight and shadows. The air had a pungent scent of earth and vegetation, mixed in with the faint scent of running water. This place had a stillness to it, an aura as if it were more ancient than she could ever guess. It seemed a little sacrilegious, somehow, to let anyone lumber trees from here.
That hadn’t been her call to make, though.
From the corner of her eye, she caught a color that was not found in nature, nothing more than a blur of blue. Her head turned sharply, trying to catch a better look, but it was gone. Brows compressing, she drew an arrow from her back and notched it in a smooth motion, but didn’t raise the bow just yet.
“Riona?”
“Something moved. My left, and just ahead.”
Broden immediately looked as well. “A few branches be swaying.”
“Opposite to how the wind is blowing,” she noted grimly. “We got bandits.”
Broden grunted, holding his peace for a long moment before offering, “I spy two. They be closing in on our Wizard. Down or up, daughter?”
Making a snap decision she said, “Down.” She couldn’t get any angle up here, too many leaves and branches and tree trunks blocked her line of sight. Maneuvering bow and arrow to her left hand, she hopped lightly down from her perch, fell to the one below it in a crouch, then sprinted down its length for three strides before taking another flying leap, this time using a branch closer to the ground as a springboard to halt her fall. She landed with catlike grace on the moss-covered ground, barely settling before taking off in a fast sprint toward Fallbright.
The man had stopped working, eyes following her as she moved toward him. Of course he’d noticed, the way she had noisily and hastily descended toward the forest floor. She paid scant attention to him, her eyes darting about, trying to spy the bandits her father had seen from above and any others that were closing in. She swore softly as two of them darted between the trees. They were closer than she’d thought.
“What—” Fallbright started to ask, tenor voice harsher than usual.
“Do no move,” she ordered sharply. Skidding to a halt, she snapped the bow back up, drawing the line taut this time, fletching to her ear. Breath in, hold, sight the target, release. The arrow whizzed past Fallbright’s head, barely two inches away from his cheek. A man’s guttural scream came as her arrow found its mark with unerring accuracy. Before the first one was fully released, she was already reaching for another arrow over her shoulder.
The Wizard froze, eyes glued to her, as she downed two bandits in the time it took for him to finish the sentence “—is wrong?”
“Bandits,” she supplied shortly.
He didn’t need her answer. His hands were already weaving in the air, leaving behind trails of light in strange patterns she’d never seen before. Fallbright fell into a fighter’s stance, which looked odd as he held no weapon. “Stand at my back,” he ordered tersely. “But stay two feet away, don’t come within my shield.”
As Riona had no inclination to be in front of whatever magical fury he unleashed, she promptly obeyed, leaving enough distance between them that she could stay out of that shield of his as commanded.
From above, she could hear the whistle of arrows being released, one after another. Her father must have a better vantage up there than she’d had. Then again, he had stolen her spot.
Her eyes searched for movement, instincts rattling. There. Years of experience let her sense the direction the wind was flowing, judge the speed of her target, and know where to aim. She took in a breath as she notched the arrow between two gloved fingers, then held it to keep her aim steady. Release. Her target tripped and hit the ground with a gurgling noise.
Riona’s attention only stayed on him long enough to assure he was down before she searched out any other threats. Notch, pull, release.
Again.
The once still air clamored with the thwang of bowstrings, the whistling of arrows flying, the meaty thunks of the injured, and the strange humming sound of Fallbright’s magical attacks. It sounded like a swarm of angry hummingbirds. That was the closest that she could come to describing the way the magic slashed through the air. It looked pretty though, from the glimpses she got of it. The air around him glowed like he was standing in a swarm of fireflies.
She pivoted in place, arrows flying, drawing her longbow and releasing it in an almost hypnotic rhythm. At all times, Riona kept the Wizard at her back, making sure that no one could target the man and sneak up on him. He, in turn, guarded hers as faithfully as her father would have. Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was a good fighter and a decent partner in a skirmish.
In minutes, they all stopped attacking and waited with baited breath. Nothing. Had they taken out all of them?
From her position, in the middle of the lumbered clearing, whole armies could be hiding behind the trees and she wouldn’t see them. She called to her father, “I will guard him if you want to poke about!”
A low, mournful whistle sounded in the air, signaling his agreement.
Fallbright turned to her with an admiring look. “Your eyesight is excellent. I would not have noticed them until it was far too late.”
“I be used to this terrain,” she denied, although her cheeks flushed at the praise. “But thank you.”
“At first I was uncertain about hiring you and your father as escorts—I don’t have much experience working with archers, you see—but I’m now very glad I did. You just proved to be worth every deneres I’m paying you. But why do you think the bandits attacked? Surely not for the lumber.”
“No, for you,” she responded in amusement. “Wizard Fallbright, do you no know how famous you be? Even up here, we know you.”
He blinked, those clear blue eyes surprised. “Truly? Well, that’s certainly food for thought. So, they had ransom on their mind?”
“Belike.”
Fallbright shook his head, mouth quirked in amusement. “They’d have been sorely disappointed, then. New kingdoms are rather short on money, I’m afraid. Besides, Edvard and Ashlyn don’t take kindly to things like that. If they’d tried to ransom me, they’d just as likely been massacred for their trouble.”
With that group he served, that was likely the case.
From her right, Broden strode out of the woods and into the clearing. Fallbright immediately whirled in that direction, hand raised as if prepared to shoot off another spell, but halted straightaway when he saw who it was.
Broden lifted a hand and drawled, “I rather no be attacked by my employer, if it be all the same to you.”
“My apologies,” Fallbright responded, lowering his hand. “After being in two battles, it’s automatic for me to raise shields and attack…first…” He suddenly went taut, head snapping around to stare at Riona in wonderment.
She blinked up at him, not understanding why he was wearing that expression. “Eh?”
“I…had my shield up.”
Wasn’t that just common sense? To put up a shield while fighting? “And…?” she prompted after he stumbled into slack-jawed silence.
“No, you don’t understand,” he denied, hand slashing through the air. “Urgh, how to explain?” this was more muttered to himself. “How much do you know about wizards?”
“No a great deal,” Riona admitted frankly. “We never had cause to work with them. I think me village called them in about fifteen years ago, for some sort of help in finding a cure to an epidemic, but I do no remember much of it.” Considering she’d been just shy of seven at the time, that was understandable.
Fallbright leaned in closer, eyes and voice becoming intense. “Then, the basics. As formidable as magic is, we have many weaknesses too. We can’t do multiple spells at the same time, not spells of different types at least. For instance, I can’t use a fire-based spell and a water-based spell because they’ll cancel each other out. So I have to always choose what spell I want to use, then figure out what I can partner it with, otherwise I risk destroying my own efforts.”
“I think I follow.”
“Now, there are multiple shields that a wizard can use to protect himself, but we can’t use them all at the same time. So if I’m fighting another wizard, or I’m at risk of being hit by a magical backlash, then I must use a power shield. But doing that leaves me vulnerable to ordinary, weapon-based attacks. Someone can skewer me with a sword and I wouldn’t be able to shield against it.”
She blinked. “That’s…”
“Dangerous?” he finished for her with a wry smile. More of a grimace, really. “I’m well aware. Most wizards don’t care for leaving ourselves so vulnerable, so we partner with someone who’s a good fighter. A soldier, warrior, etc. Someone that we can trust to watch our backs as we work.”
“Makes sense,” she allowed. “So where be the problem?”
“Not many people can tolerate being within a wizard’s shields. The reactions vary, but I’ve seen everything from people screaming in pain or simply flinching away from it. Finding someone that can be within the shield who’s also competent at fighting is…” he let out a long sigh “…difficult.”
“That be a kind way of stating things,” her father said with a pensive frown. “I would say the odds of that be slim.”
“Very. So, when we do find someone,” his eyes went back to her with that fervent light, “you can imagine our delight and greed. And then there’s you. Someone who doesn’t just tolerate it, but you don’t even seem to notice it!”
She hadn’t, actually.
Grabbing up both of her hands, he pleaded, “Please. Please be my partner.”
Riona froze, unable to look away from those penetrating eyes. He was honest and sincere in his desire to be partners with her, which was a sensation that she wasn’t accustomed to. To have someone actively want her was a foreign feeling. It lit her blood like quicksilver, making her flush and stutter, unsure of how to respond.
“Hey now!” her father protested. “We did no agree to that.”
“I can’t leave her be,” Fallbright returned, never breaking eye contact with her. “I’ve spent the past decade trying to find a partner. And here your daughter sits, with all of the skills I need, and on top of all that she’s an easy woman to get along with. She’s a godsend! I do not exaggerate.”
Her? A wizard’s partner? It had never been an aspiration of hers to tie herself to just one person, but then, she’d never thought of it as an option before either. To top it off, it wasn’t just anyone asking her—a king’s Wizard himself was literally begging.
Her father hadn’t raised her to be a fool. Before deciding, she needed to ask more questions. So she swallowed hard and somehow found her tongue enough to request, “Raise your shield for me again.”
He blinked, head slanting slightly. “Why?”
“I did no truly see it before,” she admitted. “But it might have just been because I was so focused on the bandits. I want to feel it properly.”
“Oh.” Fallbright nodded, silently agreeing that was a good point to raise. Releasing one of her hands, he raised one and traced an ancient symbol into the air. A perfect circle of light surrounded them in the next moment, looking like sparkling fairy dust hovering about them.
She turned her head this way and that, taking it all in. How pretty. Her lips parted in delight.
“It really doesn’t bother you,” he said softly, eyes glued to her face.
“It feels nice, actually,” she responded absently. “Like standing in a sunny spot on a cool day.” Tearing her eyes away from it, she beckoned to her father. “Da, try it.”
With a wary look on his face, Broden gingerly stuck one hand inside. Then he blinked. “She’s right. This do no feel odd at all.”
The Wizard’s eyes snapped to the older man. “How does it feel to you?”
“Rather like sunlight on a cool day,” her father agreed in bemusement. “This bothers people, you say?”
“Yes.” Those clear blue eyes shot wide. “Both of you are potential partners. Ye gods!” His free hand reached out and snagged her father’s arm. “Broden. Please. Both of you are too valuable to the magical community to do just this one job and return to your home. Won’t you at least consider staying?”
Broden’s eyes met hers and she knew exactly what her father was thinking. What they had left behind—and more importantly, what they hadn’t. It was for that reason that they’d offered to escort the Wizard to begin with.
Searching their expressions, he pressed forward, “As partners of wizards, you’d be granted automatic citizenship rights, a monthly stipend, and considerable esteem by everyone. Wizards themselves will pay a small ransom just to have you, I promise. Especially in Estole. We’re so short on wizards right now, so short on manpower, that the king is very welcoming to anyone willing to work to protect the new country. He’s outlawed most of the usual Bindings as well.”
Riona’s eyes went huge. He’d outlawed the Bindings? Holy heavens…that was cause enough right there to go along.
Broden got that twinkle in his eyes that she knew well. “Be part of building a new kingdom, eh? Well, I admit that is an offer a man does no get every day. This new king—you know him?”
“Well,” Fallbright admitted, excitement growing. “We’re blood brothers.”
“Good man?”
“The best. Well, he has a bad habit of teasing people, but other than that….”
To her father, that was a point in the man’s favor. “What say ye, daughter?”
“We came looking for something worthwhile. I say this fits the bill.” Frowning, she added, “I just do no ken how this will work exactly. Will both of us partner with you? Or should we split up somehow?”
“I’m really hoping that one of you will partner with my sister,” he said optimistically. “She’s my twin, actually. We share the position of Court Wizard.”
Twin wizards? Their poor parents. The apprenticeship fees must have beggared them. “Da?”
Broden frowned, thinking hard. “This partnership thing, it work best if one person be dedicated to one wizard?”
“Yes. We form magical ties to them, you see, so that they’re automatically under magical protection.”
“Well, we do no know your sister.” She knew without asking how her father would feel on this. “So let us do this: we go meet her first, give us all a few weeks of working with each other, and figure out who mixes well. Then we decide.”
“Fair enough.” Fallbright lit up into a smile bright enough to shame the sun. “But shouldn’t you be asking me questions on salary and such?”
“We will sort that out as well in due time,” Broden rumbled. “Let us meet your sister first. If we can no work with the woman, no reason to argue about such things now.”
“Excellent point.” Fallbright rubbed his hands together, for all the world like a little boy that had just been handed two surprise presents. “I’ll quickly finish this up in the next hour and then, let’s go directly to Estole.”
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