The Reluctant Mage: Book One in the Zandar Series (15 page)

“But it did not last. Does that mean I don’t have much capacity?”

“No. It only means that you stopped tapping into your reserve. I asked you to get angry because that is how your body tapped into you reserve in the past. You did it fairly easily in fact. That tells me that you have accessed essence before, even if you were not aware of it. As soon as you opened your eyes, your anger stopped. It is like blowing out a candle. The wick still glows for a few seconds.”

“Now, as I said before, using anger is a means of accessing your reserve is not practical. Let’s try some other emotions.”

They spent what seemed to Marko like several hours trying to duplicate his glow. Nothing came close to working. He tried laughing and even crying at one point. Stranac said that it would take time.

The next day, Marko was reviewing the manifest of the cargo for the return trip to Rau City. He was excited to get back to the orphanage and his friends. He was also a little worried about the classes he had missed. He had just made white; he did not want to embarrass himself in his new classes.

One of the House guards walked up to Marko. “Sir? Master Lemear asked for a few moments of your time if you are available.”

“Of course. Let’s go.” Marko wondered what the Master would want with him. Perhaps he would escort some people home?

They entered the main compound building. “Just up the stairs, sir. Third floor, turn to your right.”

“Thank you.” Marko walked up the polished wood stairs and viewed the paintings on the wall. They must have been famous House merchants, because all of them wore the House Lazard uniform like Marko. From the finery on their tunics, it was apparent that they were all masters. Marko climbed to the top of the stairs and began walking down a long hallway to his right.

“May I help you?” A young man was sitting at the end of the hallway, just outside a large wooden door.

“I believe so. I am Clerk Kunich. I was told to report to Master Lemear. Do you  know if he is available?”

“Please wait.” The man stuck his head around the door for a moment and then turned back to Marko. “Yes, Master Lemear is expecting you. You can go in, please.”

Marko entered a large office with a high coffered ceiling. As with the rest of the building, well oiled paneling surrounded the office. A large, gold scale sat on top of a table in the center of the office. A symbol for House Lazard.

“Good morning, Marko. Thank for responding so quickly. Please have a seat.”

Marko sat down on a green upholstered chair across from Lemear. His desk was massive, but held only a few sheets of paper and a small cloth bag.

“I am sure you are wondering why I called you in?”

“Yes, Master Lemear. I thought it might have something to do with the return caravan to Rau City.”

“Please call me Marcus. After all, we are House merchants. No, Maurice would have handled the details of that caravan. I called you in to discuss last night and your future.”

“You see, I purposefully did not dwell on your accomplishments last night. I hope you did not take it as a slight?”

“No, sir. I mean, I was glad that honor was brought to the House.”

“Rightly so, my lad, rightly so. As I said, I omitted singling you out on purpose. You already figured out the first reason. You were in fact recognized when the Colonel complimented the House. All of us were. The second reason deals with politics, I’m afraid.”

“Politics sir - I mean, Marcus? I don’t understand.”

“I am not surprised. You are too young to be worried about the intrigue us old men deal in. You see, Green and his officers still don’t know how a handful of merchants and house guards survived the attack. Oh, they understand how the Kastav soldiers retreated when they were leaderless, that’s human nature. No, they can’t figure out how YOU defeated their nemesis, the priest.”

“Wait. Before you tell me that it was luck, let me explain. Merchants are not supposed to defeat soldiers. We are supposed to die if and when our guards are overrun. We play no part in battle. That is where the intrigue comes in. Now the word is spreading throughout the outpost, and believe me it is spreading, that a lowly clerk took a priest prisoner and killed a couple of soldiers afterwards for fun.”

“Imagine what the other Major Houses are thinking right now? Especially since our House saved the lives of the Colonel’s family, not to mention our recent contract. Thanks to you by the way.”

“By not making a big deal of the event, I am sending the message that I am not surprised. That means I expected its outcome or at least I was confident in my preparations that our caravan could defeat an infiltration squad. Either way, it gives our competitors pause.”

“Now on to things that affect you personally. House Lazard was awarded a contract for two, heavy cannons. I recognize as do we all that the contract was due in part to the success of you, Maurice and Andre. That entitles you three to a commission on the sale. I have already advanced the others 20% of their commission. I have yours in this bag. It contains ten gold coins.”

Ten gold coins! That was more money than Marko had ever seen before. If he understood what Marcus said, he could expect to receive another forty gold coins in the future! With that money, Marcus could buy a modest sized house.

“Your remaining commission will be deposited in your House account. You will be able to withdraw it from our Rau City offices within a month.”

Marco did not know to say. Before he could fix the dumb look on his face, Marcus cleared his throat politely.

“But I am not done with you yet. I talked with Colonel Green after dinner. You impressed him, that’s for sure. That’s actually a play on words because he had decided to Impress you for three months.”

“I don’t understand. What is that?”

“Well Marko, the Emperor passed a law two years ago that outpost commanders and ship’s captains can impress or force service on civilians if the need arose. It is designed to put people with needed skills to work on a short term basis until the military can move one of its own into the spot. I told Green that you were an intern at the House and that technically you did not qualify. You see, you have to be recognized by one of the guilds be it merchant, masons, etc. to qualify for impressment. He laughed and said that it was my problem.”

“But Marcus, I just started working for House Lazard. What kind of skill can I offer than others can’t? Does he want me to count his chickens?”

“I don’t think it matters what guild you are in and don’t worry about chickens. How many soldiers do you think Green has that have defeated a priest? Probably none. I would be surprised if there were more than five throughout the Empire. Mages are supposed to kill Priests, not soldiers. That makes you very valuable to him.”  

“Now to make this all official, House Lazard has to confirm you as a full Clerk of the House. That is Master Andre’s responsibility. I am sending a sheet recommending your promotion to him on today’s caravan. I am sure you will be confirmed. The House benefits. Your time of duty starts today. You are to report to Army HQ at the Keep immediately. All you need is your kit, sword and clothes on your back. The Army will take care of the rest of your needs. Oh, by the way, we still pay you. You also draw Army pay. As compensation for a guild member’s impressment the Empire pays us handsomely!”

“Thank you Marcus. I think you got the better part of the bargain but I will do my best at whatever my job is in the Army. It’s still a little confusing. There really are better qualified people. Uh, while I am away, can I leave this gold with the House? I am not sure if I trust myself with carrying this much money around.”

“That won’t be a problem. Talk to my assistant outside and he will give you a receipt for it.”

As Marko left the building, he did not know what to think about first. He was a full member of House Lazard! This was his dream. He was now on the path to become a master in one of the most respected merchant houses in the entire Empire! At the same time, he had to consider what got him his step up. He had never heard of the new law. Not that he thought Marcus and Green made it up, but Marko had no particular skill at trade. That only left one thing: he was impressed to fight. Suddenly Marko did not think that making Clerk was such a great thing. One thing he knew for certain was that he had better get over to the Army offices before someone got angry.

Marko knew the general direction he was supposed to go. After all the keep was on a hill and you could see it from anywhere inside the post. But every time he thought he was getting close, the street turned away from it. Finally he decided to just follow a squad of infantry that looked like they were going in from their watch.

He finally came to the keep’s gate. Several men were standing alert and looking at anyone approaching. Marko figured the direct approach would be best.

“Excuse me, Private. I am a merchant at House Lazard. I was told to report to HQ.”

“Usually guild members report to the Quartermaster in Compound C.”

“Oh. Sorry. I was told I was being impressed by Colonel Green.”

“Really? Well, if you say so. Not my position to judge. Follow me. I will take you to the adjutant’s office. They will sort you out. In the meantime, I must ask you to surrender your sword. I will have it stored here in the guardhouse.”

Marko followed the guard to a wood framed building just inside the walls of the keep’s compound.  There was a sergeant sitting at a counter in the main foyer.

“Sergeant. This here merchant claims he was impressed by Colonel Green. Know anything about it?”

“Merchant? Yes, Private. He is expected. I will take it from here.”

“Yes Sir.” The private saluted and briskly walked away.

“Clerk Kunich I presume?”

“Yes, sergeant. I was told to report immediately.”

“I am sure the Colonel appreciates your timely response. Unfortunately, he will not be able to meet with you today. He decided to ride patrol with B Company this morning. Instead, he asked that I introduce you to Lieutenant Le Clerc. You will find him in the training yard. That is behind this building.”

Marko thanked the sergeant for his help and proceeded around the adjutant’s building. The training grounds reminded Marko of the one at the orphanage. It was slightly longer but had a similar set up of benches and covered closets in one corner. Marko noticed several men were sparring, so he stood there and did not interrupt.

All the men wore leather armor dyed in black. Even their boots and scabbards were black. The sparring match looked to be a team competition. One group of three men seemed to be defending a man made out of straw. The other three men were trying to maneuver the defenders so that they could attack the practice dummy. Progress was slow because they all used wooden swords. Blows that hit someone’s armor just bounced off.

Marko began analyzing the match. It looked like both teams were acting as a group instead of individual matches. If a defender was forced out of position, the man next to him would move over to block the attackers from the dummy.

Finally the attackers knocked two men down, opening up a path to the dummy. Instead of either of them running forward, one of the men pointed his hand. Marko felt heat build up in the man followed by a quick spurt of fire. The man was a mage! The dummy erupted in a spout of flames.

The man helped one of the defenders up. “You did better this time. You landed several blows that would have kept me from finding my target.”

The defender broke eye contact smiled slightly. The mage turned and looked Marko. “May I help you?”

“Yes sir. I was told to report to Lieutenant Le Clerc.”

He looked Marko up and down. “You must be Marko, right? Gentlemen let me introduce you to our new recruit, Marko Kunich. He is on loan from House Lazard.” 

A man to Le Clerc’s right murmured, “A merchant? Why would a merchant be assigned to us? No offense, Marko.”

“None taken. In fact, I was wondering the same thing.”

Le Clerc walked to a closet and put away his practice sword. “I think I can solve this mystery. Marko is here because he can spot a priest hiding in a forest at night.”

The man whistled. “If you can do that, I don’t care if you can’t fight. You pick out the priests and we’ll do the rest.” Several of the men laughed at his joke.

“You men go get cleaned up. You smell as bad as me. Marko, follow me.”

Marko followed Le Clerc back around the adjutant’s building and across the keep courtyard. They entered a small storage building. “We are going down to the cellar. Just follow me.”

He followed the mage around several crates that were neatly stacked in the building. Near the back, he bent down and pulled open a door in the floor. Marko could see a set of stairs leading down. “You first. I will close the door after you get to the bottom.”

Marko went backwards down the stairs, as there was no railing. The floor was made of dirt and pebbles. He could see perhaps halfway through the cellar due to the light coming in from the door. There were several barrels against a wall but most of the cellar was empty. He heard the trap door slam as everything suddenly went dark. He heard Le Clerc slowly descend the stairs.

“Don’t worry. I am not here to rob you. I just want to test your night vision. Picking up a priest at night is impressive, if not impossible. I just want to see for myself if the stories are true.”

Marko noticed that small amounts of light were now coming in through the seams along the trap door. He could barely make out Le Clerc as he stopped in front of him.

“Ok. I put several objects on the barrels over there along the wall. I also placed a barrel on the other side of the cellar. Let’s start with the close ones. First off, how many barrels do you see?”

That was an easy one. He had already seen them when the door was open. Marko looked over at them. It was certainly harder to see but three barrels were still reflecting the light from the door. “Three sir.”

“Very good. Now I want to you look at the tops of each. I put objects on them that you should be able to see from here. Which one is on the left?”

“That is easier to see than the barrels, sir. That metal plate is reflecting some of the light back to us.”

“So it is. So it is. How about the other two barrels?”

Marko had to squint his eyes this time. Eventually he was able to focus them and made out that each barrel had a dagger on them. When he told Le Clerc, he replied, “Can you tell the difference between them?”

“The one on the left has a leather wrapped handle while the other appears to be wooden. The leather one might be dyed black like your scabbard, but I am not certain.”

“That is understandable, Marko. In this cellar telling the differences between colors is difficult. Now, try to see if you can make out the barrel at the back of the cellar. Tell me if you can see anything at all.”

This time it took Marko much longer to focus. He could make out the barrel but it took him longer to figure out what was on top of it. “A rat sir. At least it looks like one to me.”

“A rat? Are you sure?” Suddenly a glowing white light materialized in Le Clerc’s hand. It moved slowly towards the barrel, just as the light encompassed the barrel, a rat looked up at it and raced away.

Le Clerc chuckled. “Well there
was
a chicken leg on that barrel. Still, you got it right. Congratulations.”

They walked out of the storage building and towards a small two story building. Next to the door was a plaque. It had a picture of an Imperial eagle holding a black circle. Below it were the words “We Own the Night.”

They entered the building and came to a small reception desk. A young lady also wearing black looked up when she heard them enter. “Sergeant Birini, this is Sergeant Kunich. He just joined us. Please help him to get set up. Uniforms should have been delivered already. I assigned him to Bilue’s old room.”

“Yes sir. Sergeant, if you would follow me?”

Sergeant?
He did not deserve that rank. He almost bumped into the woman as she stopped at a door. “This is your room, Sergeant ….?

“Marko. Please call me Marko.”

She smiled. “You can call me Miranda. Good to see you.” She turned to go.

“Wait. I am sorry Miranda, but I just reported for service. I don’t know anything about our group. What is our mission?”

She smiled and batted her eyes, “Why Mr. Marko, the Night Eagles are the Emperor’s assassins.” As Marko’s jaw dropped, she walked away.