Path of the Magi (Tales of Tiberius) (26 page)

On the north road a few days later, Captain Darras Walker was making his own raid.  His men had spotted the goblin camp and now his riders charged in at dawn.  Darras demonstrated his skill with the lance was no fluke or mere sportcraft, as he skewered the goblin leader.  Then, drawing his sword, he rode down the next goblin.  His sword flashed, and the goblin fell down dead.  Then Darras gave a curse.  His sword had snapped cleanly in two on the goblin's neck.  He threw the worthless steel aside and ducked down to grab a goblin spear as he rode past.  It would do for a weapon for now. 

He looked up, though, and saw there was no need.  The enemy was all dead or fled.  His second came up beside him. 

“That was a little too easy,” Darras said. 

“What do you suppose has got into them, sir?  Finally figured out who you are?”

“I don’t think that could be it,” Darras said.  “They’ve never shown any hesitation about killing Rangers before.” 

“Something’s got them spooked.  Soon as they saw we were Rangers they practically fell over themselves running.  Didn’t even try to fight.” 

“I don’t know what it is, but we take advantage of it.  We’ll split into two squadrons.  It they’re going to run from the mere sight of a Ranger, we’ll accommodate them.  Try to find me a sword in their loot.”

“Don’t tell me you broke another one, Captain?”

Darras just shrugged.  It was getting annoying the way he went through swords. 

Later that month, Darras met El Gato in the fort.  He saw a huge pile of contraband being accounted for. 

“You had a successful patrol,” he noted.

“We had the magi with us.  He helped us ambush a few bands of goblins and bogies.”

“Who?”  Darras said.

“The magi, don’t you remember?  The occult expert they sent us.  He came right before we left.”

“Did he actually do anything useful?”  Darras asked, astonished.

“He’s worth a hundred men at least,”  El Gato said.

Darras looked at him like he’d lost his mind.  El Gato had his faults, but they weren’t on the battlefield.  Nor was he prone to exaggeration.  Darras sort of vaguely remembered the young man that had frightened off the sorcerer.  Was he missing something?  A wizard wasn’t likely to be any help to the work he was doing.  Or was he?  Merlin had helped Arthur after all.  More likely a wizard was in league with the enemy somehow.  Still, it was odd the way the goblins had started reacting.  He'd heard of Dallen, but he'd never given the more fantastic tales much credence.  This would bear watching.

Back at the castle one evening, Tiberius heard an alarm bell ring.  It sounded like the old fire alarm in Sherwood City.  He went to the walls and saw there was indeed a fire burning. 

With some of the troops he jogged down to the village, looking at the fire. 

Reverend McNair came up beside him. 

“Don’t just stand there; do something!”  McNair said.

“I’ll get a bucket,” Tiberius said.

The reverend grabbed his arm.  “Are you mad?  What are you waiting for?  Put out the fire!  Use your magic.” 

Tiberius looked back at the pastor, clearly torn.  “There’s no black magic at work, here, Padre.  It’s just a fire.  What right do I have to use magic to stop this?”

A flash of understanding lit in the padre’s eyes.  “What right do you have to stand by when people need your help?  Have you forgotten that it’s Sunday?  It is written that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.  These are people every bit as much in danger as if an army of goblins had swept though the village.  We can discuss the fine points of theology later, but for now do some good and put out this fire!”

Tiberius hesitated only a moment longer. 

“All right,” he said to the padre.  “Stand back!” he shouted suddenly.  “Forma akvo virina bonveno Murgen!”       

In answer to his words a water elemental climbed out of the river.  It was shaped like a mermaid only made of water.  It slithered quickly to the scene of the fire and it and Tiberius worked on sending jets of water into the flames.  The padre heard him shout "Akva jetu" as he sent each blast of water into the fire.  The flames were out in no time.  The elemental gracefully bowed to Tiberius and then dissipated into a pool of water.  A moment later there was some cheering.  Tiberius stood watching the remnants of the flames.  Padre McNair put a hand on his shoulder. 

“You did the right thing.  Any time you even think about going against the word of God, it’s wise to stop and think again.  But there is a big difference between trafficking with demons and developing your own mind so that you’re more in tune with God’s creative powers.”

“Is there really?  I wonder some times,” Tiberius said.

“Well, I’ve known Jesus pretty well over the years,” McNair said.  “He was never one to care about the little rules when the big rules were at stake.  He was willing to work to help others on the Sabbath.  You won’t do wrong to follow his example.  I don’t recall any demons in his day putting out fires, healing the sick, or defending the innocent.”

“No.  No, I can’t believe what he meant by staying away from witches was to let your neighbors’ buildings burn down.  Maybe I’m wrong.  I can’t help that.  All I can do is put what knowledge and abilities I have in the service of my neighbors,”  Tiberius said.

“Loving God and treating your neighbor as you would yourself are the most important laws.  Remember that, Tiberius, and you won’t go far wrong.  God doesn’t expect you to be perfect.  He paid the price for your sins.”

“Maybe so, but I don’t like running the bill up any higher than necessary.  I’d better check on that fire.  I’m not entirely sure one water elemental was enough; that was a heck of a fire.”

At the end of the month, Tiberius walked down to the paymaster’s office to collect his month’s earnings.  The paymaster put down a sack of coins and then pushed a quill towards Tiberius to sign the receipt. 

“Hang on, this is too much,” Tiberius protested.

The paymaster just glared at him.  He quickly counted the gold coins out, checked the figures, and then pushed the sack back towards him.

“No.  That’s correct,” he said, bored.

“But my salary…”

“You’ve got salvage and prize money too,” he said.  “See, it’s right here,” he said pointing to the paperwork in his log book. 

“But this can’t be my share…”

“Some of it's voted, you know.  Seeing as you saved the lieutenant’s arse back there, he didn’t exactly figure on cutting you out.  The lads voted you a few extra shares.”

“But ...”

“Look, take the money will you?  You aren’t going to win any friends trying to muck up the prize shares, are you?  The lads depend on that you know.” 

“Oh, yes,” he muttered.  Tiberius still felt a little uncomfortable, as if somehow he hadn’t really earned all that money.  But he saw there was no point in arguing about it. 

“Be a good man and go drink it off like the rest of the lads,” the paymaster advised.

“I can’t drink,” Tiberius replied.

“We’ll, there’s always whoring.  Look, spending it’s your problem.  I’ve got other people to pay.”

Resigned, Tiberius pocketed the money and walked away.  He’d put the money in his travel fund for now.  If it kept up, he could always send some to his brother and sister.

Lord Brandon gathered El Gato, Darras, and Tiberius around a large map in the great hall.

“Darras, I want you to sweep the coast road to the northeast again.  This time, swing though some of the back trails and make sure the smaller villages are safe.  The dark folk will turn there now that they know the heat’s on.  Gato, you take the coast road towards Walsingham.  Units from the Third Cavalry should meet you part way.  Tiberius, I want you with Darras.”

Captain Walker gave a discrete cough.  “I don’t think that will be necessary, sir.  The Reverend McNair…”

“Isn’t available at the moment,”  Lord Brandon said, sharply.  “Gato should have a pretty clear run along the coast and most of all I don’t want the enemy to know where our magus is all the time.  The enemy has the idea he’s anywhere they see a Ranger and that is an idea I want to cement into their mind.  Anyway, I think you’ll find him useful.”

“Yes, sir,”  Darras replied.

“Darras,” Lord Brandon said, meeting Darras’ eyes, “the padre trusts him.  It wouldn’t hurt you to give him a chance.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You ok with this, Ti?”  Lord Brandon said.

“Yes, M’lord.  I welcome the chance to prove myself useful to the rest of the Rangers.”

“Good.”

“I do have a suggestion, however.  I can travel very quickly at times.  I might in the future want to detach myself from the patrols or at least swap teams in mid-patrol.”

Lord Brandon frowned at the suggestion.  “I don’t want any man patrolling on his own, not even you.  The idea has merit though.  Let’s talk about that later, after this patrol.  Maybe you can move quickly from tavern to tavern or something.  I’d like some details about what you can do.  For now, stay with Darras and his men.”

“Very good, sir.”

Next morning before dawn, Darras and his men were up and ready to go.  Tiberius was ready with them.  Darras road up and down inspecting his men.  At last he rode up next to Tiberius.   

“Try to stay out of the way, wizard,” Darras said.  Tiberius responded with a polite tip of his head.  After that, they were off.  The northwest road took them along the river towns.  These were generally fortified and garrisoned, both against goblins and any encroachment of elves from across the river.  Even in the darkest days these were some of the better protected areas of the border lands.  It didn’t hurt to show the flag here now and then, if only to keep an eye on the local politicians. 

After a couple of towns, they swung inland.  It didn’t take long before they heard more unsettling news here.  Goblins, bogies, and other dark folk had been seen.  They were pulling back from the Queen’s roads, but they were out there all the same. 

At one spot a farmer came up and complained of raids. 

“I lost nearly all my chickens,” he said, holding up one of the few remaining specimens. 

“Goblins raiding again, I suppose,” Darras said.

“I’m not so sure,” Tiberius interposed examining some chicken bones the farmer held out to them.  “Goblins do tend to cook their food.  These look like they’ve been eaten raw.  Goblins are clever, too; they don’t like to raid too close to their base and we’re pretty close now.  I’d risk a wager this is that pocket of bogies we’ve heard rumor of.”

Darras was about to ask how much he’d wager when one of his lieutenants piped up. 

“I think he’s right, sir.  I did a bit of scouting around.  Trail’s pretty old, but I did see a couple of bogey prints.” 

“All right, fan out.  See if we can pick up the trail.  I want them shut down.  Price of chicken’s too high as it is.”  

They split up the company and fanned out though the woods, with Tiberius following at a discreet distance behind Darras and his men.

Suddenly Tiberius gave a whistle.  Darras glanced back annoyed.  “What?!”

By way of answer, Tiberius threw a stick at a nearby tree.  Surprisingly, the stick did not strike the tree, but sailed right through it.  Darras rode up closer to it and looked incredulously at the illusionary tree.

“I think our trail lies this way,” Tiberius said.

“I can see it now, thank you,” Darras snapped, annoyed.  “You’d think God would give his servant the ability to see though the enemy’s deceptions.”

“He has.  He sent me, didn’t he?  Don’t expect God to do everything the way you want it done.  Just give thanks for revealed truth.  Now, you want to catch those chicken snatchers or not?”

Darras led his horse, Smoke, through the tree, signaling the others to come after him.  The trail was tricky, but a few curves later they came suddenly on a clearing and an encampment. 

A score or so of bogies lay about in the shade of crude lean-to’s built in the side of a hill.   

“Surrender in the name of the Queen!”  Darras called out.  His answer was a bogey rock bouncing off his helm.  It grazed against the metal and did Darras no harm, but it served as an answer.  Darras tipped his lance forward and charged.  His skill with a lance was not limited to rings and games.  A trained armored knight on a warhorse was a sight to behold.  Darras speared one bogey with his lance, then drew his sword and sliced the head off another.  Then he skillfully guided Smoke into lashing out with his solid hooves, putting another couple down.  There was nothing for Tiberius to do but watch, until Darras’ sword shattered on the neck of another bogey. 

Darras called out for a sword, but the words were no sooner out of his mouth when he saw a sword flying towards his hand.  Tiberius had spotted one in a pile of loot and sent it towards him.  Darras acknowledged the gift with a curt nod.  The Rangers rounded up the rest of the bogies.

In the aftermath, Darras looked over the remains of his broken sword. 

“Look at this,” he complained.  “Top quality workmanship, they said.  Breaks just cutting though bone.”

Tiberius gave it a glance.  “Looks like a clean break; I can fix it, I think.”

Darras shook his head.  “No point.  It’s my personal curse.  I break swords all the time.  This new one isn’t too bad.  What I really need is something special.  The kind of sword you find stuck in a stone, or floating down the river.  The kind you only get by following a white deer through the labyrinths of the forests.  When I get a little time off I’m going on a quest for a real sword.  I don’t suppose you’ve heard of anything like that?”

“Not around here, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.  What about dinner?  Day is getting on and I don’t know that we want to camp here.”

“Do you cook?”  Darras asked.

“Not really.  Only passably to feed myself at need,” he admitted.

“Me neither,” Darras said.  “I need to find a Ranger who can.  Well, no point camping out tonight.  There are plenty of farms nearby.  We’ll split up and ask for hospitality.  I know a good farm nearby.  Owner's a jousting fan; I can count on him for a good meal.  They owe us one after this,” Darras said.

With the company dispersed either escorting prisoners or seeing to their own provisions, Darras led Tiberius and a Ranger lieutenant up to the O’Connell farm.  Old man O’Connell greeted them warmly, and led them to a fine country dinner of ham steaks, grits, biscuits, apple butter, bacon flavored green beans, and warm apple pie.  Darras regaled the family with the story of the recent raid.  At the end of dinner, though, one of the hands came in and said something to O’Connell which seemed to perturb him.  He turned to Tiberius.

“You’re some sort of wizard, you say?  Good.  Maybe you can give me a hand with this.”

“What seems to be the trouble?” Tiberius asked.  

“We’ve got a cow that isn’t quite right.”

“A cow?”

“I’m sure he’ll do what he can.  Always want to help folks, don’t you magi?”  Darras chimed in.

“Well, yes, but I don’t know a lot about cows,” Tiberius protested.

“This way then,” the farmer said, leading them to the barn.  Tiberius was not surprised to find it filled with cows and pigs.  It was a prosperous farm in spite of the occasional raids.  This was good country.  One of the cows did seem a bit listless, though.  O’Connell led him over to it, as Darras stood by watching the events. 

O’Connell indicated the cow and Tiberius stared at it.

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“That’s for you to tell me, isn’t it?”  O’Connell said.

“What makes you think there is anything wrong with it?”  Tiberius replied.

“I thought that would be obvious,” the farmer said suspiciously.  “Don’t you wizards know when folks are with child.”

“It’s a pregnant cow?” Tiberius asked. 

“Don’t you know?” the farmer said with deep suspicion. 

“Look, I haven’t done any magic yet.  I can learn things by magic but it’s easier if you just tell me.  I’d rather save my magic for fixing what’s wrong.  Honestly I don’t know much about cows.  I’m a city boy.”

“It’s in labor, but nothing’s coming out,” Darras offered. 

“You’re a cow expert?” Tiberius asked over his shoulder.

“I grew up on the Walker Family Vineyards.  Mostly we grow grapes, but we have a few cows about for fresh milk.” 

“If there’s nought you can do…”  the farmer said, looking despondent.

“Did you call the vet?”  Tiberius asked.

“He’ll come round when he can, but I reckon the knacker will be round first,”  the farmer said. 

Tiberius turned to Darras for a translation.

“The cow will be dead by the time the vet gets here.  The knacker salvages dead animals.”

“Oh,” Tiberius said.

“You don’t just know combat spells, do you?” Darras asked.

“No.  But I’m not a veterinarian either,”  Tiberius said walking around the cow. 

“I hear you patch up the boys when they get hurt,” Darras said.

“That’s just first aid; I’m not a doctor either.”

“Why don’t you try some first aid on the cow then,” Darras said smiling.

Tiberius turned back to the farmer.  “I can’t promise anything.  I honestly don’t know what will happen if I use some of this magic on a cow, but I’ll try.”

“Just do your best then.  No one expects more from you than that,” said the old man.   

“I’ll try a spell Messura taught me.  It will let me see if there are broken bones or anything,” Tiberius said.  “Ouch.”

“Now what?”  Darras asked.

“This bloody cow just stepped on my foot,”  Tiberius said.

Darras laughed.  “Could be worse, she might have kicked you.”

“I wish she had; that would have triggered my defensive spells.”  Taking a deep breath he said, “Dallen never said anything about doing this.”

Tiberius cast the spell, gesturing over the cow.  “Montras min kio estas malĝuste.  Montras min kio estas interne.”  Messura had such a drawn-out style for things.  Still he was efficient.  He was hearing something now.  Hmm one, two, … three heartbeats?  “I think it’s twins,” he said. 

“Twins?”  You sure about that, lad?”  the farmer asked.

“No, I am not sure of anything I’m doing right now.”  Images were forming now.  He could, by concentrating, see into the cow, but it was difficult.  “Hmm, looks like the umbilical cord wrapped around the wrong way.  This calf is all twisted.  Let me try a bit of telekinesis.  Might help.”   

For the next few moments, Tiberius was locked in concentration.  Fine manipulation inside another body was not easy, especially when he was ‘seeing’ by means of another spell.  There had to be an easier way of doing this … but … there!  A moment later the cow was starting delivery.  Nature took its course and a few minutes later two perfectly healthy calves were brought into the world.  Not before Tiberius got covered in cow blood, though.   

Darras came over to help with delivery.  The farmer proudly cradled one of the calves.  “Twins!  Well I’ll be.  Just like you said and both as healthy as horses.  You’re a right fine wizard at that, Mr. Tiberius.” 

“Thanks,”  he said, trying to wash himself in the bucket of ice cold water that the farmer had thoughtfully provided.  He gave up after a minute and cast a cleansing spell on himself.  Rolling his sleeves back down he said, “I’ve got to get a book on veterinary medicine; no one warned me that this was part of the job.” 

“Maybe not, but at least now I know you are good for something,” Darras said, laughing.