Rising of a Mage (18 page)

“You’re going to come with me to present them to the king, aren’t you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but I can if you want,” was Anwar’s reply.

“Oh, you should definitely go. The king would not want to miss another chance to have Anwar Alamira, Savior of Kampar, as his guest again.” Mariah and Cannen both laughed. Anwar just shook his head.

“Tomorrow then.”

“Anwar, thank you again for this.”

“Anything for you, brother. Oh, here is that other sword you asked me about.”

He took a sword from a shelf across the room and handed it to Anwar. It was a short sword if you could call it that. It was a few inches longer than a short sword, but not near long enough to be a long or broadsword. The blade was plain and practical; it bore no engraving or design. The hilt, however, was designed as a rose like Mariah’s daggers.

“Who is this for? Too long for the beauty here, I would guess, and you have never been one to carry a sword with all that magic and your staff ‘n’ all.” “Jabaal is going to be leaving the city with us. I thought it might be a bit unfair if he was the only member of our little group who did not possess anything magical.”

“As good a friend as you are a brother! Oh yeah, Mariah, I have something for you as well.” He handed her the silver chain that he had made for her. “I made if from a solid length of silver boring out each link and then shaping them. It will be a lot harder to break then a normal chain.”

“Thank you Cannen. Now I can wear my rose necklace; it seems that is the theme of our little group here.” She smiles at Anwar.

“It was my pleasure.”

The next morning Anwar met his brother at the shop. Anwar carried the bundle that contained the six swords to the palace. At the gate they met the guards. To anyone watching, you would think Anwar was a king himself by the way the guard behaved, bowing and greeting him. They were escorted into the palace into an audience chamber. No one was allowed to bring weapons into the presence of the king. This was, of course, the exception. The king,naturally, was not present. He would not be seen waiting for an audience. A few awkward minutes passed and the king entered from a side chamber. Anwar and Cannen knelt until the king was seated. He motioned them forward. Anwar walked forward and laid and unrolled the bundle a few paces in front of the throne. The king stood, and walked forward.

“Let us dismiss formality for the moment.” He picked up each sword in turn. “Which of these is the original?” Cannen took this as compliment to his craftsmanship. Cannen lifted one sword and held it out for the king. “The craftsmanship is even better then I had expected. I believe I will look to your services in the future, Cannen Callimorssi.”

“Thank you, your highness. I am honored to be of service.”

“Master Anwar, if you could explain what it is you have done to these magnificent weapons.”

“Yes your highness. As promised by my brother, each sword has had two spells cast upon it. The first strengthens them. They cannot be broken, but by a very powerful magic, and the blades will never dull. The second gives them the ability to penetrate a magical barrier or magically enchanted armor. This is what gives them the ability to cut through metal so easily.” “An amazing weapon indeed. Have you created any others like these?” “Any that have been created will leave the city with me a few months hence. There will not be a blade in Kampar that will match them to my knowledge.”

This was true. The knife he had made for his brother was not made as a weapon, but as a tool and he did not believe it wise to make his brother’s possession of such an item known. It would likely make him the target of a number of would be-thieves or assassins, looking to possess such an item. “The rumors are true then. Our city’s great protector will be leaving us.” “I’m afraid it is so, your highness. My path leads me elsewhere.”

“A sad day for this city indeed,” the king replied. “On to a more pleasant topic then. I believe a demonstration is in order.” The king motioned to a servant at the door, and a moment later two men carried in a wooden mannequin wearing a thick plate of armor. The king lifted one of the blades from the floor, walked to the thing, and swung the blade in a downward slash. The armor was cut cleanly from top to bottom with a deep gash in the wooden mannequin underneath. “I believe these are indeed the fairest weapons in this city. Master Anwar, Cannen Callimorssi, I thank you for your service. These are more than worth what we agreed on. I believe that was four hundred and eighty gold coins, was it not.”

Cannen bowed to the king as best he knew how. “It was, your highness.” He was uncomfortable here, but he knew if his brother had not been here he would have been downright scared. The king motioned to one of the guards who left through the door the king had entered by. He returned with a small chest on his shoulder. He set the chest on the ground in front of Cannen and then returned through that door again with an identical chest, setting it next to the first.

“Each of those chests contains two hundred and fifty coins. Five hundred seems a rounder number, I think. I assume you understand the need for discretion in this matter. Gossip is unstoppable; I will not be able to keep quiet the fact the Crown has purchased swords from you. I believe it is a fair assumption that the specifics of these blades will remain with those in this room.”

Anwar spoke for his brother. “You have our word. I am sure that the fact that the crown has employed us will cause more than enough talk around the city to get his new smith up and running.”

The king smiled. “I assumed there was a purpose to your proposal. Very well, I thank you both, and hope to see you again before you begin your travels, Master Anwar.”

They both kneeled. When then king sat on his thrown again, they rose. Each of them lifted a chest on to his shoulder and left the palace. “Anwar, do you think I could keep this at the guild with you? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.

“I will talk to Master Gabrielle. He has a couple of chest in his office. I don’t believe he would mind”

“Thanks, Anwar.”

The next few weeks were mostly uneventful. Anwar made the sword for Jabaal, but decided to wait to give it to him. Anwar taught a few more classes. Now that he had created so many magical items a lot more of the apprentices and students were asking for them, as well as the wizards. Mariah continued her training and daily routine. She tended to those who came to the guild for healing and trained and aided students in there healing spells. One day, while they were training with Captain Anthony and the others, an apprentice came running into the training ground.

“MIstress Mariah, Mistress Mariah, come quick.” Mariah asked no questions. She took off sprinting. The girl stopped in her tracks, turned and began running back into the guild. Anwar followed. Jabaal was running after them as well. He didn’t know why, but he felt that he should. They all soon realized why the girl had been so frantic. Lying in a bed were two parts of one body, severed at the waist. Anwar knew that there must have been a priest nearby to slow the bleeding or this man would not still be alive.

“Master Gibbins is away. You were the only one we thought might be able to help,” one of the priest told her.

“I will do what I can.” She looked at Anwar and Jabaal. “I’ll need your help. If you can line the body back up, I am going to try something.

“Mariah—”

She cut Anwar off. “It’s my turn to do something dangerous, and for once you’re going to have to watch.”

He nodded, taking one side of the body. Jabaal took the other, and together they paired the body back together the best they could. Mariah began chanting and waving her hands over the severed body. The priest gasped and Anwar and Jabaal’s eyes nearly leaped from their skulls as they saw organs and intestines and bone begin reattaching to each other. As the body began to merge back together, Mariah began to waver. Anwar motioned to Jabaal who reached across and steadied both sides of the body that was coming back together. Anwar stood behind Mariah, his arms around her, holding her up as she continued to cast. The body was nearly completely attached. As the skin began merging back together, Mariah lost consciousness. Anwar lifted her into his arms and carried her to a bed nearby. Two other priests stepped in and motioned for Anwar to stand aside, assuring him that he had done a good job. The man in the bed now had an open wound across his stomach. The other two priests cast their spells and the wound sealed. The man would continue to have a scar around his body where the two halves had been reattached, but miraculously he would live. Anwar went to Mariah’s bedside were he waited for her to recover. He now understood how she felt all of those time he had pushed himself to the limit of his abilities.

Two days later Master Gibbins returned to the guild from wherever he had been. He had obviously heard what had happened. He appeared in the room still wearing traveling clothes. He went to her bedside.

“She truly is amazing, isn’t she”

“Yes, Master Gibbins, she is. I have always known it; she just refuses to accept it.”

“Ah yes, one of the greatest traits of greatness. Modesty. Anwar, what she was able to do here far surpasses anything I have ever achieved. It was a good thing I wasn’t here; if they had summoned me first, that man would have surely died.”

“I have heard stories about you putting people back together before.”

“Ah yes, I have put a couple of arms back on. Even a leg once, but to reattach a body at the midsection. I could never have mended all of those pieces inside even with a team of priest aiding me. The concentration and energy that would have required are beyond me.” He moved his hands over her body and spoke a couple of words. “Her strength should begin to return to her in day or two.”

“Thank you, Master Gibbins.” He put a hand on Anwar’s shoulder, and then left him alone with the woman he loved.

Mariah woke the next afternoon. Anwar was sitting next to her bed eating some roasted chicken and peppers.

“Think I could get some of that?”

“Mariah, you are awake.” He set the plate down, threw his arms around her, and started kissing her face. “I love you, Mariah, I love you.”

“I love you too, but if you don’t let me eat some of that I might have to take a bite out of you.”

Anwar laughed. He handed her the plate, and sat next to her bed watching her eat.

“Did he make it?” she asked.

“He did.”

Mariah smiled and then finished the last few bites from the plate. Anwar spent the next couple of days in his bed or soaking in the bath. Anwar had been through similar recoveries, and he understood the soreness that accompanied them.

After several days of rest Mariah returned to her routine. She would train each day with Captain Anthony’s group. They had recruited a couple of new faces. Anwar, Mariah, and Jabaal would be leaving soon. One evening she returned to her room to find Anwar sitting on his bed; a bundle lay on the bed in front of him with a string holding it closed. “Your birthday was last week, but I could not give you your gift while you were asleep. She pulled the string away and unwrapped the bundle. Inside was the most beautiful sword she had ever seen. It was a short sword. The hilt was in the shape of a rose like that of her enchanted daggers. At the base of the blade, one side had the crest of the Kampar Priest Guild. “To remember where it all started.” She turned it over, and at the base of the blade was a rose with a circle around it. “To remember what we’re fighting for. It is enchanted with the same spells as your other blades. I did not want Jabaal breaking your new sword with his enchanted blade in one of your sparring sessions.”

“It’s beautiful, Anwar.” She took him in her arms and kissed him. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The next morning Mariah and Anwar went to meet with Jabaal. “Good morning, Mariah, how are you feeling?”

“Good as ever, thank you.”

“Mariah, I haven’t had a chance to tell you but that was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I was humbled to be a part of it.” She just smiled at him.

“I thought we would start talking to some of the merchants traveling to Ambar today, if you wanted to join us.” Anwar said. “It seems word has spread of our plans. Captain Anthony has been approached by a number of merchants heading to Ambar. He gave me the names of the four he said had the best reputation, and had also offered the highest prices for our services. If you want we could start with them.”

They met with each of these merchants. The fourth was a man Anwar had met before. The man was from Ambar and had been robbed on his trip to Kampar in the fall. He had stayed through the winter to collect what he could to take back to Ambar in the spring.

“I would be most honored to have your protection on my return to Ambar. I don’t have much to offer; due to my recent experience I will barely be breaking even. I can only offer a few gold coins apiece. I can offer you each a horse and provide you with your meals on our journey. I will take no offense if you choose one of the more substantial offers I am sure you have been given.”

“I think we have a deal, Mister Luda.”

“I am truly honored to have your escort, Master Anwar.”

“The pleasure is mine. When do you plan to depart?”

“We were planning on leaving in six weeks, but we can be ready sooner if you need to see Ambar sooner. A beautiful city it is, sir.”

“Six weeks will be as good a time as any, I think.”

Mariah, Anwar, and Jabaal spent the next few weeks making their final preparations. They were each going to be provided with a horse by Mister Luda. Anwar had a horse of his own, so the horse he was provided would be saddled as a pack horse to carry the chest of coins and the group’s gear. A few days before they were scheduled to make their journey, Jabaal asked them to meet with Captain Anthony and the rest of the raiding party. “They would all like to make their farewells together and in private, I assume.”

As they approached the city’s training ground Mariah and Anwar saw there were over a hundred of the city guards feasting, drinking, and dancing. Captain Anthony blew a horn once, and everyone went silent.