Chapter Thirty-Six - The Reward

  54th Day of Spring - Year 1758 of the Golden Era

  Shorefarm, Yellowfield, Draya Calyrex

  "How are you feeling?" Viridian asked. They had snuck out the back of the church, then moved with some speed away from the centre of town. There had been cries and angry shouts behind them, but those had stayed near the church.

  Now they were by the town's wall. A house near the wall had a shed built close enough that they'd managed to scale up and over, though Lazur had needed assistance.

  Lazur looked at Viridian, then down at herself. She was covered in a few scrapes across her wooden frame, and her gambeson had gained a few cuts, but those were nothing compared to her leg. The knee joint was broken. It looked, originally, like a complex but limited ball joint, with two interconnected pieces and a small cap over the knee for protection. The cap was ripped off, and the metal joint was bent out of shape.

  She could still bend her leg, but the range of motion was severely limited.

  "I can't feel pain," Lazur said. "So there's no need to ask how I'm feeling."

  "I know, but... it still hurts to be less mobile," Viridian replied.

  Her answer was a shrug. "I will endure until we are repaired."

  Viridian supposed that was a fair point. If all went well, they would be back at the Gentle Tidings by nightfall, and hopefully they could be repaired by then.

  "If you need help walking, let me know," Viridian said. "We don't want to stress your leg and have it break."

  Lazur nodded, and then they were off once more.

  The direct path away from the church had led them towards a part of the wall that wasn't as close to the road to the manor as they might have been. They had to circle around, and there was some worry that if they strayed too far, they might end up passing behind the manor, or missing it entirely.

  It was difficult to navigate in the thickly forested area around the town, and the more open areas where fields lay was no less confusing. So they remained within sight of the walls. It carried some small risk, but the town likely lacked anyone stronger than the high priest had been.

  On finding the manor road, they made good speed along it. Eventually, they found themselves at the mansion's front gate.

  It was barred now, and through its wrought-iron front, they could see that the courtyard held the same group of soldiers preparing for battle, though some of the alacrity had left them, and they were mostly lazing about.

  On being seen, the maid they had spoken to that morning was fetched, and the three were escorted past the young men who stared unabashedly at them. Viridian glanced down at herself. She was covered in blood, much of it soaked into her gambeson. And Carnel still carried a bloody sac that dripped with some regularity.

  "The Lord Goldfilius will see you immediately," the maid said. "He is in his study with young magus Clarthorn."

  "Is that the apprentice?" Lazur asked.

  "I... believe so," the maid said somewhat reluctantly as she led them up the stairs and finally to the office upstairs. She knocked, announced them, then stepped aside when the lord of the mansion told them to step in.

  Baron Goldfilius was seated at his desk still, and Viridian could imagine that he hadn't moved at all since they last spoke to him. Sitting across from him in one of the seats in front of his desk was another man. He was far younger, someone in his early twenties perhaps, with pale, wan skin and long gangly limbs. For all of the youth's height, he seemed to be holding himself like a mouse who'd been spooked by the cat.

  "Ah, you've returned," the baron said. "I take it that things have gone well?"

  Carnel grabbed the bag and turned it over. The High Priest's head hit the floor with a rather wet thud.

  The young magus stared for a couple of long seconds, then he slapped a hand over his mouth. Viridian was impressed by how much paler he became.

  "Turn the head over, I want to see its face," the baron said without a hint of concern.

  Carner did so with a foot, spreading fresh blood on the floor, but eventually aiming the head at the baron.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Yes, that's Highthorn," the man said. "Well done."

  "We've held our side of the bargain," Lazur said.

  Baron Goldfilius nodded. "Indeed, you have. And here I hold mine. This young man is Magus Discipulus Clarthorn. Apprentice to Magus Beornhelm the Reclusive. He is, as you can see, in good health."

  "Barely," the young man said. His voice was shaky and high. "I thought I was done for. Olivia... they just strung her up. That bastard." He grimaced at the head on the floor. "He was going on and on about heresy, but it's plain as day. The dragons have died. Their essence had turned wild, and unless we do something about it now, we're all going to twist and mutate and die."

  "The priest changed as we fought him," Viridian said. "He grew scales and became stronger."

  "A common trick for those who have an understanding of their draconic legacy," the baron said. "Nothing to concern yourselves over."

  Viridian felt like that was a little inaccurate, but she didn't speak up about it. "Thank you," she said instead. "We should go now. The town seemed very angry when we left."

  "I can imagine, yes," the baron said. "Now that Highthorn is dead, the people will no longer have anyone to rile them up. But what anger is stoked already will need to burn itself out. They might find that their hearts, poisoned by rebellion already, are set on a path of violence. They will be coming here."

  "Will you be safe?" Viridian asked.

  The baron eyed her for a long moment before replying. "I appreciate your concern, young automata, but there is no need to worry. Before you leave, I have two minor tasks for you."

  "Of course," Carnel muttered.

  The baron opened a drawer and removed two letters, each sealed with wax on their front and with a name scrawled on the page. "One of these is for Magus Beornhelm. The other is for Magus Maldrak. Please hand these over to the mages in question when you next see them."

  Viridian stepped up and accepted the two letters. She carefully tucked them into her gambeson where they would be safe, then turned to the Magus Discipulus. "Will you be accompanying us back to your master?" she asked.

  "I suppose I ought to," he replied before standing. The young man bowed deeply towards the baron. "Thank you for your hospitality, Baron. Without it I can safely say that I would be a dead man."

  "I did so freely, and yet expect repayment in kind," the baron said. "Don't disappoint me."

  "Yes, sir," the young magus said. He bowed again, less deeply this time, then turned to Viridian and her companions. "I'll be in your care then," he said.

  "Good," Viridian replied. "In that case, we will go. We have a lot of walking to do."

  The baron waved them off, and the three of them--now four--filed out of the room. "The Magus's tower isn't close," Lazur said. "We will have to walk around the town, to avoid trouble. We might get lost."

  "I know the way," Clarthorn said. "And I have a spell to point me home as well, if need arises. I just... I just fear walking back."

  "We'll keep you safe," Viridian said.

  Carnel made a huffing noise, but didn't protest as they made their way downstairs. No one got in their way as they quietly exited the front of the mansion, then slid out of the front gate which was relocked behind them by one of the soldiers.

  They started down the road, but were only a few minutes from the mansion when Lazur started to ask the young magus questions. She rather awkwardly started a conversation about magic. Viridian thought that she was going to subtly lead him to spilling some secrets.

  It quickly became obvious that Lazur just wanted to talk magic with someone who was more familiar with it than either Viridian or Carnel.

  The path over to Beornhelm's tower wasn't direct. They had to leave the road early on, before reaching Shorefarm, and then cut across several fields separated by low stone walls. Still, the walk was relatively uneventful. The only thing of note was a field where an entire flock of sheep was splayed out with their throats cut.

  Viridian decided not to view that as a bad omen.

  First, Beornhelm, then back to what might be her home and Magus Maldrak.

  ***