Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen (9 page)

He looked at the boy. “Give it a couple of hours and then put your handle in it.”

The old man stood there smiling. “Where did you learn to cool the metal in metal shavings? I have never seen that before. I can’t believe that isn’t a more commonly used technique. I have never even thought of that.”

“Actually
, I just recently learned that from a dwarf smith.”

The old man held out his hand.
“You are one of the most capable smiths I have ever met. I can’t believe you are so skilled so young. We have a deal. When you bring the money the shop is yours. My grandson will be better off under your tutelage than he was under mine. I think I am going to enjoy working with you.”

Cannen shook the man’s hand. “I will be back in the morning, and it will be an honor to work with you. I’m sure we will learn a lot from each other.” He patted the boy on the arm as he walked out of the smith.

His arm was stiff from swinging that hammer for hours. He had enjoyed it, though. As long as he took care of it, the boy could have that hammer for the rest of his life. He got back to his brother’s house and soaked his muscles. It felt good to use those muscles again, but it felt even better to soak them.

He got up at first light and headed to the Seven Cities Bank. He had only been to two of the seven cities, but the bank would transfer your credit to any of the bank
’s branches. He had had all of his money put into the bank and transferred to Ambar from Kampar. It was the safest way to move your money. They charged a fee to transfer your credit, but they also guaranteed your money. Cannen took out five hundred gold plugs. The bank offered him an escort, but he declined: it was better not to attract attention. Five hundred plugs was a lot, though. He had brought a heavy leather bag to put it all in, since he didn’t want to walk around the city with a bank bag— he knew he wouldn’t make it far. He put that bag of gold inside his leather bag and tied the cord. He had his hammer strapped to the outside. The bag was rugged and worn and it would just look like a bag full of blacksmith’s tools, which was, in fact, what he used it for. He couldn’t think of a better disguise for a bag full of metal then a bag full of metal.

He made it to the shop unmolested. When he got there the boy and the old man were waiting. He handed the old man the bag. When he looked inside his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“This is more then we agreed. How much is that?”

“It is five hundred gold plugs. It’s very heavy. We agreed on three for the shop. You have
also provided a smith and a skilled apprentice.”

“I can’t take this,” the old man said.

“You can and you will. I suggest taking it a little at a time though. Like I said it is very heavy. Halfway here I was wishing I had just brought the three hundred I promised you.”

“Thank you. I can’t believe you walked all the way through the city with this.”

“No one is going to try to steal a blacksmith’s tools. They wouldn’t make it two blocks before they were stopped by a mob. People still hold us in some regard, even if they don’t want to pay us.”

The old man had to smile. “I suggest you put that somew
here safe until you can move it.”

The old man smiled
more widely at that. “Well, now that the shop is yours I guess I should show you some of its secrets.” He went over to the floor next to the furnace. He slid his finger under one side of it and pulled. A metal door slid away from it, opening a hole in the ground next to the furnace. He dropped the bag in and pushed the hidden door closed. It was a good hideaway.

No sooner had the old man closed the door
than a man walked in. Cannen saw fear in the old man’s eyes. He lowered his hand to the enchanted knife his brother had given him. It wasn’t a fighting knife; it was a tool, but it was magically enchanted. It was stronger and sharper then any normal metal.

When
Cannen turned around he was staring into the eyes of a man wearing black pants and a long black shirt with a white dragon on the chest. “Is there something we can do for the Black Dragons?”

“You can come with me,”
the man said.

Cannen didn’t see a weapon, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think there wasn’t one. The boy was standing off to the side. Cannen saw him start to raise his hammer. “I
’ll go with you. Just leave these people alone.”

The boy looked at him, but he just shook his head. He wouldn’t just give in, but he didn’t want these
people to have the Black Dragons come down on them. He had been foolish. The Black Dragons were after Anwar, of course; he shouldn’t have been staying in his house. It wasn’t common knowledge that Cannen Callimorsi was Anwar Alamira’s brother, but it wouldn’t have taken much work to figure it out once they had seen him going in and out of his house.

Cannen walked out of the shop with the man. He knew
he wasn’t a mage, since mages wore black robes. I could get away, Cannen thought, but I might have to kill him. The Black Dragon was probably some kind of assassin or fighter and would not expect resistance. Cannen’s only chance was to surprise him. He just had to wait for the right moment.

Anwar led the way as they neared the trees. Once they were inside the tree line he dismounted. He didn’t want the horses to get spooked by something and run them into a branch; it was hard to navigate a horse through a thick wooded area anyway.

At first the forest seemed normal
, though the trees were older and bigger then any trees he had ever seen. Once they were a few hundred paces inside the edge of the forest, it began to get darker. The tops of the trees intertwined and blocked out the light. Anwar conjured a ball of light ahead of them, illuminating an area about a hundred feet around them. He was happy that, at least for now, his magic was still working.

Navaeh followed behind Anwar.
She had a connection with nature and, through it, she could feel the life of the forest like nothing she had ever experienced. Forests were always vibrant and alive, but she had never felt one like this. She could sense all of the animals around them, though they were avoiding Anwar’s light. She could feel Messah, flying through the woods. Navaeh connected with her for a moment, looking through her eyes. Seeing the way a hawk does in the dark was disorienting, though, so she released the connection.

Rundo had never truly been in a forest. Something about it was nice. He could feel the life here. The more time he spent with Navaeh the more he appreciated nature. He had spent most of his life in towns and cities. The closest he had ever truly been to nature before meeting her was sleeping on the ground on the side of a road. This was something different
, though. There was a purity here.

Grundel’s experience was much different. He had grown up in the dark
and was used to enclosed spaces. He also had stronger hearing and could hear the animals scurrying around them. There were animals all around them and above them and he didn’t know which, if any, were a threat. This whole thing was disturbing and uncomfortable. He wasn’t afraid, but he was alert. The forest was no place for a dwarf. Now he understood why dwarves hated nature. His father had told him he had come to enjoy the sky; well, you couldn’t even see the sky here. This wasn’t the same “nature” his father had learned to appreciate.

They had walked for maybe half an hour when Navaeh gasped.

“What? What is it? Do you feel something?” Anwar asked.

Grundel and Rundo had their weapons in hand and were scanning the area.

“No, I just lost my connection with Messah. She was flying just ahead of the light. That must be where the fairy forest truly begins.”

Sure enough, as they continued
, the light stopped pushing forward in front of them. When they got to the area where the light stopped, they stopped, too. They all checked their horses. Anwar took the reins of the horse Mariah was strapped to and wrapped them around one hand. He didn’t like that his magic wasn’t going to work here. He reached up and pulled his staff off of the litter. He might not have his magic, but at least he could fight with that if he needed to. He looked around at everyone else. They were all staring at him. He turned and stepped forward, past where his magic had ended.

When he did
, everything changed. There was a glowing to the trees. It was just enough to see by, coming from the blossoms of the flowers in the trees. He had never seen anything like it. His anxiety calmed a little. At least he could see.

Messah
descended and landed on Navaeh’s shoulder. She still couldn’t connect with her, but it was a comfort knowing she was there. She looked around mesmerized. The trees... she had never seen anything like them. All of her worries fell away. This was the most amazing place she had ever seen. Life radiated here. She could feel the life of the forest as if she were a part of it. Her connection with the land was amplified here. She couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful.

Rundo was amazed as well. He felt calmness here. This was a new kind of beautiful. This was peace. He felt hope. Somehow he was sure that Mariah was going to be fine now. That everything would work out.

Grundel looked around in amazement. He still wasn’t comfortable but he had to admit this place was special. It still wasn’t a place for a dwarf, but there was something magical about it.

Suddenly a woman appeared in front of them. She couldn’t
have been more than a foot tall, and she was glowing. She had wings.

“She’s beautiful,” Rundo heard himself say.

“Is that a fairy?” Grundel asked.

Before anyone could respond
, the fairy turned and started slowly flying away from them. She turned around after a few seconds, as if to make sure they were following.

Grundel looked around.
Rundo and Navaeh were mesmerized. He wasn’t sure if Anwar was mesmerized or just determined. Grundel knew this is what they came for, but he was still suspicious. Everyone they had talked to had warned them against this. He had to keep his guard up.

They followed the fairy for a long time before they finally stopped. They all stood there
, staring at the fairy. Then all of a sudden dozens of little women started glowing all around them. They flew down from the trees, all of them no more than a foot tall.

Rundo was enchanted. He had never seen anything so beautiful. It was like every one of them was perfect. Every time he looked at one he fell in love. He realized that he had never truly known happiness until this moment. He never wanted to leave.

Navaeh was exuberant. She was in the fairy forest. She was with the fairies! She had never imagined that she would know such beauty. She had actually dreamt of this, but even her dream had paled in comparison to the reality of it.

Anwar was amazed. They were beautiful. He couldn’t deny that
, but he wasn’t as enthralled as Navaeh and Rundo were. He looked at Grundel. He seemed to be impressed, but he was suspicious as well. That was good. Someone needed to be.

Then the one of the fairies flew forward
and lighted on a branch in front of them. When she spoke it was like music. It was the most beautiful sound any of them had ever heard. Well, any but Grundel. Her voice sounded beautiful, but something about her just seemed wrong to him. This wasn’t his world. He just didn’t belong here.

“I am Ingannatore. What has brought you so far into the forest?”

Anwar looked at his friends. Rundo and Navaeh were hypnotized by her. Grundel still seemed to be himself.

“We apologize for trespassing
,” Anwar said. “We wouldn’t have come if we had any other choice. It’s my wife. Her soul was ripped from her body. We were told the only way to reunite her soul with her body was to have a fairy guide it back from the waiting. I am here to beg for your help. If there is anything I can do to repay you, I will do it.”

“It is a risk to the fairy who does this. Before we do this for you
, one of you must give us a life.”

Anwar stepped forw
ard. “You can take my life. Please, just save hers.”

The fairy smiled. “You misunderstand me. We fairies cannot mate. We are all female. If I am to risk one of my fairies to the waiting
, one of you must give her a child first.”

Before anyone could respond Rundo stepped forward. “I
’ll do it!”

The fairy looked at him and smiled.

Navaeh had been completely hypnotized by the beauty of the fairy, and by her voice. Something about her request had broken that, though. It didn’t make sense; she just couldn’t figure out why.

One of the fairies flew up to Rundo
and began to grow. In seconds she was a full-grown woman. She stood naked in front of him.

Rundo was mesmerized. He stood staring at the most beautiful wom
an he had ever seen. Her skin still glowed and she had wings, but she was a woman. He looked down at her perfect feet standing there on green grass. His eyes traveled up her perfectly smooth legs. He could see the crease where her legs met. That was for him. His eyes continued up. She had a perfectly flat stomach; even her navel was sensual and inviting. He was already hard when his eyes came up to her breasts, her beautiful perky breasts. They were the size of small melons with hard, inviting nipples. Rundo was licking his lips. He looked up into her eyes. Her lips were coming to his. They were going to do this here in front of everyone, and it was going to be beautiful...