The Archmage unbound

Chapter 2

The hall was empty when I stepped out of the alcove in Castle Cameron. I felt a bit relieved actually. Lately I had been besieged by various people needing me to make decisions about this and that. The castle itself had survived our recent war with little damage, aside from the one wall that was breached. Repairs there were proceeding rapidly and soon enough I would have the workmen starting on a new outer wall to encircle the rest of the rapidly growing town of Washbrook.

With some luck I might be able to reach my workshop without encountering anyone needing me to make pressing decisions. I had taken over my father’s smithy and expanded it to suit my needs. I doubted I would ever become a master smith as he had been, but I did frequently work with metal and the forge was quite handy when I needed it. There might have been a few sentimental reasons as well, but I tried not to dwell on those.

I waved at Cecil Draper as I left the main door of the keep and headed across the yard. My luck didn’t hold though, Cecil left his post and ran up to me before I could get ten steps toward the smithy. “My lord! Sir Dorian asked me to let you know he was looking for you.”

I stopped and gave him a gracious smile, “And where would my friend be presently?” I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Dorian just then but I always tried to be polite in dealing with the people who supported, and were dependent, upon me.

“He said he would be at the tavern my lord,” Cecil replied quickly. I nodded and changed direction. The tavern he was referring to was operated and maintained by Joe McDaniel, a good friend of Dorian’s and also the head of our town militia now. After things had quieted down I had given him the house Penny and I had lived in (before the castle was completed) and he had made great strides in having it remodeled into a serviceable tavern.

I spotted the large wooden sign soon enough, gaily painted with a large pig covered in mud. The artistic rendering had been inspired by my first meeting with the Baron of Arundel, on which occasion I had slathered myself with mud to better make a good impression. Taverns traditionally had simple names that could be depicted with pictures since many people couldn’t read. This one had the words, ‘The Muddy Pig’ written carefully under the picture. It was a bit embarrassing that they had chosen my meeting with Arundel to use for the name of the tavern but hopefully people would soon forget the meaning behind the name.

I stepped through the doorway and let my eyes adjust to the somewhat dimmer interior; it was twilight outside and the lamps inside hadn’t been lit yet. The evening crowd had barely begun to gather so I didn’t have too much trouble spotting Dorian sitting at the end of the bar. “Ho, Dorian!” I shouted to catch his attention. “Cecil said you were looking for me?”

My large friend’s head turned as he heard my voice and his eyes lit upon me. “Mort! Glad you’re back. How did it go?”

Naturally he was referring to my visit with Cyhan. “I let him go and he told me I was a fool,” I said, summing up my previous conversation for him.

Dorian snorted, “You are, and a stubborn one at that. I still think it’s a mistake.”

“Only time will tell my friend, surely you didn’t want me just so you could nag about a mistake already made?” I hid my impatience poorly.

“In a hurry to get back to work again? Sit down, you can spare a few minutes. Have a drink.” He waved at Joe who had been listening intently and the older man went to draw a tankard for me. “It’s about Marc,” he added.

“Ariadne was asking about him as well,” I told him.

“She’s right to be worried, he isn’t getting any better.”

“He’s just depressed. He’ll snap out of it eventually. He seemed alright when we were together the other night,” I said.

“That’s the only time, when he’s with us, and drunk… we can’t do that every day,” Dorian answered. It was odd to hear him urging sobriety, since reaching his majority Dorian had shown a great fondness for drinking.

“Where is he today? I notice you’re sitting here alone,” I remarked pointedly.

“Joe asked me to come by this morning and take him back to his room. He passed out a little before noon,” he replied.

“Point taken,” I said, grimacing. “He hasn’t done that before has he?”

Dorian sighed, “It hardly matters. It’s almost random, he starts drinking whenever he wakes up, and usually that’s in the afternoon. You’d know this if you paid more attention.” I could hear a tone of rebuke in his voice.

“Look I’m sorry Dorian, I’ve just been busy. There’s so much to do…,” I told him, hoping he would understand.

“Yeah I know. There always is, but you have to make some time for your friends. What have you been working on anyway? Every free minute you have, you sneak off to the smithy.”

I was glad he had turned the conversation to a more positive topic. “Actually I was thinking of having you come over and look at it. I could use a second opinion,” I answered smiling. Of everyone living in the area Dorian was the first I wanted to see this new project. I took a long draught, trying to finish my beer quickly. “Now would be an excellent time, you should come see,” I said rising to my feet.

“Always in a hurry aren’t you?” Dorian took a long breath and then finished his mug. “Alright, let’s see what monstrosity you’ve cooked up this time!” He rose and followed me to the door.

When we finally reached the smithy I spent a moment and a word to light the work area. I had installed several enchanted globes around the perimeter of the room for lighting. I could have made do by conjuring light myself each time but I had been experimenting again. These simple glass globes could be lit by anyone, provided that they knew the proper command word. I had initially created them with Penny in mind, but now that they were finished I was considering making more for our rooms in the castle. They might be useful for lighting the streets of Washbrook too, but I doubted I’d have time to start mass producing them.

“Those are really nice!” Dorian said looking at the enchanted glass.

“No not the lights… I made those weeks ago,” I told him. “This is something I think you will really appreciate.” I moved over to one of the long workbenches set along the wall. The top of it was covered with a large canvas drop cloth, concealing what lay beneath it. Dorian looked over my shoulder curiously. “You remember how I enchanted your armor?” I said reminding him.

“Of course, the damn stuff still hasn’t started rusting,” he remarked.

“This is like that… only better.” I drew the cloth back, revealing a beautiful set of armor. Unlike most of the armor currently in the keep this was actual plate armor, crafted from carefully shaped and articulated steel plates. Armor of this type was still extremely rare in Lothion, and usually reserved for the very wealthy. Technically I was currently one of the wealthiest nobles in Lothion, but given my outlaw status I really had no way to spend my money, or even access it, since most of it was still in the Royal Bank. But I hadn’t bought this armor; I had carefully crafted it over a period of two weeks.

“Holy… Mort where did you get this?!” Dorian exclaimed. I found myself pleased with his shock and surprise.

“I made it,” I said modestly.

“Seriously… where did you get it?” he repeated. Even as he implied that I had lied about the source he ran his hands over the greaves, marveling at the lovely maroon lacquer that had been applied there. The breastplate and vambraces were similarly adorned with matching patterns, highlighted by gilding around the edges and a golden hawk in the center of the breastplate.

“I made it Dorian. Look at the colors and the design,” I replied.

Recognition lit his face as he realized that the colors and design matched the Cameron arms. “It looks like your livery! How? You couldn’t have bought this.”

I was beginning to get exasperated with his continuing disbelief, “One more time… I made it.”

“Even your father couldn’t have made something like this!” he exclaimed. A look of embarrassment crossed his face as he realized what he had said. My father had died a few months prior, right before our battle with the army of Gododdin.

I gave him an even stare, “If he’d ever put his mind to armor crafting I don’t doubt but that he could have done so.”

“Sorry Mort, I wasn’t thinking. I just meant… well your father was much more skilled with metal and he never produced anything like this. How did you?” Dorian’s hands were still examining the armor.

I didn’t have the heart to get angry. Dorian and I had been friends most of our lives, and I wasn’t the only one to have lost his father. Instead I took up a small piece of scrap metal. “I have a lot of advantages my father didn’t have.” I set the metal in the cold ashes of the forge and heated it with a word and my power. Within a minute it was glowing brightly, close to the melting point.

“Normally I use the forge for heating the metal, but since it isn’t lit at the moment it would take too long to show you,” I continued. “ Na’Pyrren Ingak mai Lathos,” I intoned softly, blowing on my palms, and then I reached into the forge and pulled out the fiercely glowing piece of metal… with my bare hands.

Dorian flinched visibly when he saw me touch the metal with my naked skin, but he kept his tongue. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that he was getting more used to casual displays of magic. “Is that really necessary?” he asked. “There are plenty of tongs for that here.”

“The spell isn’t just so I can pick the metal up without being burned,” I replied and then I began kneading the metal with my fingers, as if it were a piece of very stiff clay. I had imbued my hands with an unnatural degree of strength and hardness, for even as hot as it was the iron would have been impossible to mold without using a hammer and anvil. I shaped the metal into a rod by rolling it between my hands, reheating it as necessary, and then I bent it into a circle, joining the ends with a simple lap weld. It only took me a couple of minutes since I was able to shape the metal quickly with my bare hands.

“Why did you set it in the forge if you were just going to use magic to heat it?” Dorian asked.

“Habit… and I didn’t want to burn the workbench or risk damaging the anvil,” I said as I twisted the hot metal into a spiral.

Dorian watched the glowing orange iron in my hands with fascinated eyes. “What is that supposed to be?”

“Nothing,” I replied, “I was just making a point. Using magic I can shape metal almost like a potter shapes clay. It makes a lot of things vastly easier when you don’t have to use a hammer and tongs to do everything.”

“You always had clever hands,” Dorian remarked, “but somehow I thought you’d be doing something more productive than sitting around here creating new forms of art.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” I intoned solemnly, “that’s what this is.” I gestured at the armor still quietly gleaming on the worktable.

“Something like that would take one of the king’s finest armorers half a year to make,” Dorian stated, yet his face was full of doubt.

“I’m not going to try and convince you. Hold still for a moment.” I walked past him and picked something up from the table behind him.

Dorian’s head twisted to follow me. “Wait a minute there Mort! Don’t be doing anything strange now!”

I laughed inwardly. Have I mentioned that my friends trust me implicitly? “Relax! I’m not going to use any magic on you.” I bent over and reached for his ankle but my fearless friend sidestepped with an almost comical hop.

“What’s that?” he asked nervously.

“A tape-measure… hold very still or it might strangle you,” I remarked sarcastically. Taking another step I began measuring him carefully. After a moment he relaxed, although we did have an awkward moment with the ‘inseam’ measurement. I won’t go into that though.

“I’m still patiently awaiting your full explanation, are you planning to make another set of armor like that for me?” Dorian asked. Although he hid it well I could almost hear the secret desire in his voice. What warrior wouldn’t want a set of armor such as was lying there on the bench in front of him?

“Not exactly,” I said mysteriously. I knew the vague answer would drive him crazy but I couldn’t help but draw things out. “I copied one of the sets we stole from the king when we liberated my goods from his warehouse, but now that I’ve finished with it I think it could be improved.”

“How so?”

“Well, to begin with the enchantments I add give an exceptional amount of strength and integrity to the metal, so I think I can redesign some of the joints and remove some of the extra pieces they used to guard the underarms, the inside of the elbows et cetera.” I pointed to the wings that flared out past the piece of metal that guarded the elbow.

“You mean the couter?” Dorian asked, pointing to the articulated metal joint. I guessed that must be its proper name.

“Yes, the elbow and knee couters particularly,” I answered excitedly. I was glad to finally know the actual name for them.

“The ones at the knee are called poleyns,” he chuckled as he corrected me. It wasn’t often Dorian got the upper hand when it came to intellectual knowledge, but he knew the warrior’s craft far better than I did. Of course he was raised to it. “You shouldn’t get rid of the wings on them,” he added seriously.

“But they aren’t necessary,” I insisted. “The chainmail in those places will be strong enough to prevent any weapon from piercing the wearer there.”

Dorian sighed. “Mordecai, you are so smart that sometimes I forget how ignorant you can be. Those wings aren’t to prevent a cut or stab. What do you think a man wearing this sort of armor fears most?” He paused to give me a chance to answer but I wasn’t playing his game so I waited him out. Eventually he continued, “He fears the mace and the axe. Those wings are to keep a crushing blow from destroying his knee or elbow.”

“Oh…” I replied intelligently. “Does the same thing apply here?” I pointed to the round disks that were mounted below the pauldrons that protected the shoulders.

“Besagews,” Dorian supplied. “They’re called besagews… and yes the same reasoning holds true there, they protect the underarm.”

“You make do without them in your current armor,” I argued.

“My chain hauberk protects me from cuts and arrows; it does nothing to prevent broken bones. That’s the very reason they started designing ‘this’ sort of armor,” he replied.

Dorian’s knowledge was clearly superior to my own in this regard so I drew out my carefully done plans for the next set of armor and showed them to him. I began showing him my proposed changes to the design and after several hours he had talked me out of most of them. If my father had still been alive he would have laughed and told me that I should have consulted an expert in the beginning, but then I had always been one to make mistakes first and then learn from them.

We grew so engrossed in our discussion that the hours flew by and we were both late for dinner. As usual there never seemed to be enough hours in the day. When we entered the great hall, the conversation there dimmed for a moment as a hush fell over the assembled folk. That had bothered me at first but I had begun to get used to it. Now I merely nodded at everyone and made my way to my seat at the high table.

I stopped beside my chair and glanced at the food already set before it on the table. I could almost feel Penelope’s eyes burning a hole through me as I gave her an apologetic look. “My dear lady wife,” I said loudly, making sure my voice was loud enough to carry, “I hope I didn’t worry you.” I turned and addressed the room, “Please everyone… eat!” I tried to make my tone amiable to reassure them. It seemed to work as the conversations around the room started up and everyone relaxed and began eating again. I had learned a lot watching how James Lancaster dealt with his people, but inwardly I still felt awkward.

Penny leaned toward me after I had sat down, “You’re getting better at that but it is still embarrassing when I have to start without knowing when you’re going to show up.” Her voice was pitched low enough that no one would overhear us and I could tell by her inflection that she was only mildly annoyed.

“Sorry,” I said sincerely.

“Just send me a note if you’re going to be late so I don’t have people standing around waiting for you before we just decide to eat anyway,” she replied. Since taking on the mantle of lady of the castle she had become markedly more demure and courteous… at least in public. I let my eyes wander over her, taking in the modest dress she wore. It was complemented by the sapphire earrings and necklace that she wore. Her attire was tasteful without being extravagant and I could not help but admire her beauty. Penny’s eyes met mine and she spoke again, “Stop staring… you’ll set people to talking.”

I grinned at her, “Let them talk. I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the world. It would be more unusual if I didn’t stare now and then.” I didn’t bother to keep my voice low either.

She blushed and gave me a look that told me I’d pay for embarrassing her, but it was a pleasant look. “What were you doing that was so important it kept you and Dorian from coming to dinner on time?” she said, changing the subject deftly. “Lady Rose was most disappointed when he wasn’t here at the start.”

Rose Hightower happened to be sitting next to her when she said that and she shot Penny a warning glance. “I was merely concerned,” she said, dabbing at her lips with a hand towel.

Dorian spoke up then, “Forgive me for worrying you lady, I was merely educating my good friend the Count as to the particulars of the armorer’s craft.” As usual he seemed completely oblivious. I was beginning to doubt he would ever realize his love wasn’t unrequited… then again perhaps he kept himself in the dark on purpose. If he ever admitted to himself that she felt as he did he might be forced to do something about it. That was probably a more terrifying possibility for him than facing the army of Gododdin had been.

“Armorer’s craft?” Rose said, lifting one eyebrow in an artful expression of surprise. “Is the good Count planning another war so soon?” As she spoke I watched her carefully, despite her conversational skills her eyes lingered on Dorian much longer than they did anywhere else.

“Stop that Rose, and you as well Dorian. I’ve told you both to call me by my name. This isn’t some state function, it’s dinner, and this is my home,” I said.

Dorian chuckled; they both loved teasing me with my newfound station. “Careful Rose, we mustn’t offend our kind host,” he said in mock seriousness.

“Very true Dorian! Please forgive us Mordecai,” Rose responded, joining him in the game. As she spoke she put her hand lightly across his forearm. It was a small gesture, one intended to emphasize her words, but I would have bet a pound of gold he’d never move that arm so long as her hand rested there. She probably knew it too. Women are devious.

I sighed, pretending to be annoyed so they could continue their game. “Could I get some wine?” I spoke loudly enough for the man passing behind to hear, for I assumed he was one of the serving staff. Yes, I do have serving staff now… not to mention hiring a full time messenger. Whoever it was ignored my request and continued on, passing through the doorway that led to the kitchen. “That’s odd,” I said to Penny, “Did I speak too softly?” I hadn’t bothered to turn my head so I wasn’t entirely sure who had ignored me.

She smiled at me, “It might help if there had been a servant near enough to hear you.”

“There was!” I protested, “A tall fellow, almost my own height.”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken this time Mort. No one has gone by for a minute or more, but I think I see one of the maids coming now…” She lifted her hand and waved one of our servers over, Lisette was her name I thought. She quickly hurried off to fetch a cup and some wine for me.

I frowned and closed my mouth. In point of fact I hadn’t actually looked around but I was so accustomed to using my ‘extra’ senses that I hadn’t needed to do so. I was quite certain a man had passed by, even if Penny hadn’t noticed him. There was little point in arguing though; in any case the wine was coming so I had nothing to complain about.

“Mordecai, you never did answer my question,” Rose reminded me.

I was startled from my thoughts, “About?” It took me a moment before I remembered. “Oh, the armor!” I exclaimed. “I’d rather not talk about it here. I’d like to keep the details quiet until I’m ready to announce the plans. Perhaps we can discuss it later?”

“Ooh a mystery!” Rose replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

“It isn’t anything that exciting, trust me,” Penny assured her. “Of much more interest would be the topic of your visit with Cyhan today. You still have not told me how it went.”

Apparently Penny was not alone in her curiosity, for everyone leaned closer. I took a deep breath, hoping to finish the tale in one go rather than have to repeat myself. “It went about as well as can be expected. He and I agreed to disagree.”

Rose broke in, “That sounds remarkably civilized when the disagreement was over whether you have the right to continue breathing.” The humor in her voice was gone now. Rose had been quite angry about Cyhan’s decision to end our working relationship so violently. I wasn’t quite sure if it was because he had hurt Penny in the process or the fact that he might have killed Dorian in his attempt to get to me.

Dorian laid a hand on her shoulder, as if to calm her down. The gesture made the two of them seem very familiar; although I’m sure he didn’t realize it. “Rose, he may be our enemy now but to give the man credit he was only acting according to his oath and his principles.” I couldn’t help but wonder that just an hour or two prior he had been chiding me for letting my enemy walk free yet now Dorian was defending the man.

Rose gave him a sharp glance, “Honor be damned! He turned his sword against his student and his friend,” she said, looking at Penny and me each in turn, “and against you.” She punctuated the end of her sentence by jabbing Dorian firmly in the chest. “Any oath that requires such a thing needs to be re-examined. Blind obedience is the refuge of a fool too scared to think for himself!”

Penny’s face was a study in conflicting emotions but she put her feelings away and tried to steer the conversation back to practical matters. “All those things aside, what did you do Mort?”

“I sent him back to the king with a message,” I replied simply.

“A damn foolish thing to do,” Dorian supplied.

Rose snorted, “We agree on that at least.”

“You’re probably right, but I wouldn’t have the man executed for doing his duty,” I answered.

Dorian grimaced, “His duty will see you dead and he should not be taken lightly. I can respect his decision but when you have a sworn foe in your grasp you don’t hand him a dagger and turn him loose.”

“What message did you send him with?” Rose asked quietly.

“The king has asked me to meet with him, privately. I changed the time and place and sent the information along with Cyhan,” I said.

Penny looked at me sharply, “You said you weren’t going.” She kept her voice level but there was a certain amount of worry in it.

“I changed my mind. I’m still not going to meet him at the time and place of his choosing; rather I’ll meet him on my own terms.”

“That’s wise, since it’s even odds your meeting would be an ambush. Getting rid of you would solve a lot of the King’s problems at one go. Where do you intend to meet him?” Rose asked intently.

I smiled, “In his bedroom.”

“Somehow I doubt his majesty will agree to that,” Dorian observed.

“He won’t be given the option to decline,” Penny snapped at him impatiently. The tension in her shoulders was unmistakable. “Are you sure this is wise? This isn’t what we discussed earlier.” She and I had gone over the topic the night before and now I had changed the plan.

To give her credit, my wife is no shrinking violet. I had come to respect her as a woman of courage and determination, but she was sometimes a bit timid when it came to risking my health. I suppose that made some sense, considering she was expecting our first child. I glanced down at her already swelling waist. Looking up again I met her eyes, “I’m sorry love. I know you’re worried, but I have to clear things between myself and the king or we’ll never have peace. I think this is the only chance we’ll have.”

She saw the look in my eye and knew there was little sense in arguing. “You’d best be right, or I’ll make sure you spend whatever’s left of your life regretting it.” It was no idle threat coming from her.

“Our child will have a father,” I assured her. Penny’s determination was possibly one of her most beautiful qualities.

“A surprise meeting will introduce a certain amount of tension into your discussion. Are you sure that’s what you want?” Rose asked, breaking into the conversation again.

“Absolutely,” I stated. “Edward needs to understand that I’m negotiating from a position of strength or he’ll never respect any bargain we make.”

The discussion went on for a solid hour after that, but I had already made up my mind. When all was said and done, no one liked my decision but there weren’t any better suggestions made. Only the future would tell whether it was a good idea or not.