A Sorcerer's Rings, page 22
part #4 of Song of Sorcery Series
“And Jac is?”
Ricky nodded. “I’ll have another conversation with Jac tonight. It won’t be pleasant.” Ricky also needed to have a conversation with Pira and Minnie. They had plenty of experience with scoundrels.
“What will you do while we wait? You don’t have the patience of a Vorrian.”
“Can you procure the alloy needed for wands in Okansil?”
“My supplier happens to live in the city. I can visit him this afternoon.”
“While I get some exercise,” Ricky said. “So, what do I do with you when we are finished in Vorria?”
“Take me to Duteria? I thought that was why you spent a fortune on me.”
“I won’t force you,” Ricky said. “If you want to stay in Vorria, I can just rip up the contract.”
“Don’t do that!” Wedo said. “At the least, you would have to cancel it in your own hand and leave me with a copy. Otherwise, Lord Rasso will haul me back to South Dimani where he can control my output.”
“Who made all the little carvings in your shop?” Ricky asked.
“A little diversion. You might call it a hobby. You could do the same.”
Ricky shook his head. “I’m afraid my creative talents lie elsewhere. Why don’t you purchase some dark dimani stock and carve to your heart’s content while we sit and wait for things to develop? How much money do you need?”
Dark dimani was expensive in Okansil, but Ricky gave his purse to Wedo. “Let’s get you back in business. This time we split the profits. Is that acceptable?”
“While I am still your contract servant?”
Ricky nodded. “I have a habit of investing in my servants’ projects.” He smiled. When the food came, Ricky quite enjoyed the Vorrian cooking.
~
Jac, I have some news that might or might not be correct. Ricky said.
We will be arriving in the capital in a few hours. I’d like to be informed.
Ricky told him about King Renako’s information about Jac’s father.
It isn’t a secret, Jac said, at least not in our family. I’m sure my father will be disappointed I’ll be showing up earlier than he intended. I won’t visit him in the capital, but I’ll head directly to the manor and write a letter to King Courer that I have arrived. I don’t want to be embroiled in something that keeps me from helping Mother.
Ricky felt a bit more relieved. Jac had a tough time ahead. Ricky asked his friend about what he should do.
Just don’t get emotional. You can, you know. Listen and think before you talk. Vorrians are the emotional ones. If you get them wound up, they will say more than they intend. I know most people do that, but especially Vorrians.
Thank you, Jac. You don’t have to let me know what happens, but I would like to know how you do with your mother. Apologize for my hasty retreat.
She’s very smart. Your leaving is a point in your favor. Wish me luck! Jac said.
He poured a glass of water and went back in the parlor, leaning his head on the back of the sofa.
The link quickly engaged with Minnie.
Where are you now? Minnie said. We can talk as long as you want. I just put Pirie to sleep and need a break from catching up with the business. Do you still have the wand-maker with you?
Ricky went over his adventures since the last time they had communicated. King Renako doesn’t have any misconceptions about Ducri Wamia, does he?
Not at all, Minnie said. I told you Wamia plays both sides. Since I was in the middle, I never had anything to worry about. I’m not Parantian, or Dimanian, or Vorrian, so I just kept his affairs in order and arranged things for him. I know what you may be thinking, but the man liked doing all the spying and double-dealing on his own. You just have to assume the worst, and Ducri won’t disappoint you. You have to remember he all but owned me.
I do. Do you have any advice about dealing with the Vorrian sorcerers?
Keep your shields up, one hand on your sword, and the other on your purse, Minnie said. Have you ever wondered why you found Wedo Sinkel in Dimani rather than Vorria? Ducri told me once that the sorcerers engineered Sinkel’s personal destruction, so they could sell him to Lord Rasso. That is how underhanded they are.
Why do sorcerers turn bad? Ricky asked. I don’t want to get that way.
Most don’t. If you want to be bad, being a sorcerer gives you more opportunities, I guess.
It reminds me of that woman who tried to kill me, Sorceress Benicci. Ricky said.
She would be best forgotten, except she is in Paranty, and I’m sure she isn’t an ally.
I guess that is all for now. Say hello to Tobia, Kened, and especially Pirie. Ricky closed the link.
He paced the room for a bit before linking to Pira. He attempted to link, but it didn’t go through. His breath caught. She didn’t know how to keep him from linking, only how to cut him off. Ricky paced some more and poured more water drinking the whole glass at once. He sat down and before he fully swallowed his last gulp, a link he didn’t expect engaged.
How is my lord today?
Ricky spit out the water in surprise. Wet!
Did I catch you taking a bath?
No, no, no, no. I dribbled, he said making a face as he brushed water from his shirt and pants.
Ricky was punished by having to sense her laughter. Did you contact the person you sought in Okansil?
I did and… Ricky told her the same story he had told Minnie and Jac.
Are you seeking advice from little me?
Ricky smiled. I am. Is that permissible?
Today it is. I don’t know about tomorrow, Pira said. Don’t trust anyone. I’d even be leery of your sorcerer friend.
He’s my contract servant!
I didn’t say he was your enemy. You are surrounded by people with different agendas and motivations. One person may be your friend while your interests are aligned, and then when they aren’t, they may not turn on you, but they may withdraw as your support.
Ricky’s cheeks burned. Are you describing yourself? He sensed panic and general alarm.
No! If our interests aren’t aligned, I will change my interests to match yours. Ricky could feel her earnestness and let her continue. I am different from Jac or Ducri Wamia. Remember, Mara wasn’t an enemy of yours until you began to defend Dimani.
Eventually, any two people’s interests could diverge, Ricky thought, but he didn’t voice the notion to Pira.
I understand the concept of shifting allegiances, Ricky said. What should I do in my current situation? I’m only looking for your point of view.
What is your goal?
Ricky had to think a bit. To get out of Okansil alive, number one. Number two is to fulfill my Tower mission. That is my current goal. Long-term plans involve seeing you for more than a few minutes.
Let’s put aside the long-term for now. You have your goals clear, so you can map out your strategies from that. Always plan for more than one outcome. That’s what I have had to do lately. My days with the grand jokes are coming to a close. I can’t get away with them like I once did when I was younger. Our meeting wasn’t a joke, but a test.
For your escape from Sealio? What if you had been caught…what if I had been caught?
Ricky sensed that Pira felt pleased for some reason with his question. Then I would have used one of two alternates that I had worked out with Ciara. It worked. I don’t have your ability to freeze time, so you’ll have to promise to help me escape when the need eventually comes.
If I can make it, I will, Ricky said.
I’ll hold you to that. Will you be returning to Duteria via Sealio?
I can’t promise that, unless, of course, you need to escape.
Perhaps I will, but I don’t think either of us is ready for that, Pira said. You need to return triumphantly to the Tower at Duteria first. That is your short-term goal, and then we can think about longer-term goals. Perhaps a subject for another conversation.
Ricky could sense a sadness in her demeanor. By the way, who taught you to initiate a link?
I didn’t tell you. My guardian has hired a tutor to teach me enough sorcery so I won’t hurt myself. You know her, Sorceress Benicci, the woman who tried to have you killed. She is a little severe, but she is very knowledgeable. She thinks she needs to touch me to link, silly woman. I am practicing what I preach. The sorceress’s interests coincide for the present, but I’m afraid they will diverge soon enough. Take care, and know that I will. She broke the link.
That woman played with very hot fire, Ricky thought. He had had visions of Mara being an instructor, but Sorcerer Benicci was many times worse. He knew that Pira’s strong will wouldn’t put up with him trying to dissuade her.
The linking had worn his power down a bit. He decided to take a little nap.
Ricky woke to Wedo squeezing Ricky’s stockinged foot.
“Dinner is here. I would let you nap a bit longer, but I have something to show you.”
Ricky rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the sofa and was instantly drawn to Wedo’s new white shoes. Ricky couldn’t help but smile.
“Isn’t it unwise to rub it in?” He asked.
Wedo raised his eyebrows as if he was a little toddler caught eating something he shouldn’t. “A little, but I am a guild member if they wish to recognize me or not.”
Ricky wondered if Minnie’s suggestion about Wedo might be true. “You be the one to enjoy it. I’ll not be wearing white shoes like you.”
“Didn’t I see a robe of some kind with circles on the back?”
“Were you looking through my things?” Ricky asked, getting a little upset.
Wedo now looked like his hand had been slapped. “I asked if you wanted help unpacking.”
Ricky shook his head. “I’m sorry. I forgot. That is my Fifth Ring robe.”
“It is a little, uh, tacky for a meeting with the Guild. We’ll get one made up properly tomorrow, but tonight, let’s make the blade part of a wand and maybe a whole one.”
Ricky followed Wedo downstairs. Two billets of metal about two inches square and not quite a foot long lay on the kitchen table, together with a couple two-foot lengths of dark dimani about a half-inch square.
“That is all we need?”
“That and a prodigious amount of talent. Shall we get started right after dinner? You’ll need nourishment.”
Ricky stared at the materials while he and Wedo finished everything that had been delivered to their home. He felt full, but that state would dissipate as soon as he used a lot of his will.
The little sorcerer laid rags over the table and set the metal billets on top.
“We start with the blade. The first step—”
“Is to create the blade first and then change it to the core,” Ricky said.
Wedo smiled. “I’m happy you were listening. We will work on our blades, and then we will fix the pattern.”
Ricky and Wedo worked on creating a matched resonance.
“Follow me.”
Ricky looked on as the little sorcerer used the same technique Ricky had in making his sheath, but the form was much different. He started to match Wedo’s pattern. When he thought he had it, Wedo stopped him.
“Let’s go over the differences.”
Ricky now felt like the toddler as Wedo pointed out Ricky’s mistakes. Wedo made him fix the blade on his own.
“Now the edge. It requires a different spell.”
Ricky knew he worked with a master, as Wedo was more patient than Ricky would have been as he taught him the proper resonance for sharpening a blade. The Vorrian insisted Ricky try and try again until the edge was perfect.
Ricky had needed a break by the time his blade matched Wedo’s. Wedo spent half-an-hour on a blade and then another hour and a half helping Ricky make his. They had worked past midnight when Wedo said it was time for bed.
“We’ve done the hardest part,” Wedo said after a hearty breakfast the next morning. “Now this is the spell we use for fixing the shape, and that will be followed by creating the two spells to extend and retract the blade.”
The process went on for three hours. Ricky had never thought wood could be molded like Wedo did it. He had always assumed that the little wooden figurines in Wedo’s shop were carved, but they were fabricated with the same spell both of them had used to sheath their wands.
“Why is this spell so different from the one you taught me to make the metal covering?”
“Different materials react in different ways. Shaping metal is easy because of its structure. Wood is the hardest because the strength of the wood comes from the grain. It has to be maintained, and since it is, a wooden piece always looks like wood, if you’ve completed it properly.”
“What about the leather cases?”
Wedo laughed. “I had a tanner in the village make them.”
Ricky handled his wand. It looked much like the first one Wedo had given him except for the etching.
“I don’t need to etch the instructions,” Ricky said.
“But a special wand needs some special touches. We have a few scraps to practice colors and textures. Find one you like, and we will be done.”
Ricky had his metal wand, so he didn’t need another, but he could make a wand for Pira.
“What would be nice for a female?”
“Princess Pira?”
Ricky nodded.
Wedo took a scrap and created a few patterns of different styles. “Curlicues are always nice. They nearly look like the script, but they aren’t, except I could bury her name.”
“You are the master. Can you decorate this?”
“I will do so happily.” Wedo spent another half-an-hour working meticulously on Pira’s wand. He finished and yawned. They had worked all the way through another day. “Is this acceptable?”
“Could I have restored the wand you gave me?”
Wedo shook his head. “You can smooth out the finish, but Ticco Griama’s sword removed too much wood. You can’t fuse new wood on the old, at least I’ve never been able to, and I’ve tried.” He called Ricky’s blade out of the core. “I wouldn’t have believed a sorcerer could pick up my spells as easily as you. Many have tried, and none have succeeded like you. Good work, Ricky. Now, let’s get to bed.”
Ricky took the blade-wand from Wedo and withdrew the blade and extended it a few times, testing the edge. His was as good as Wedo’s, but Ricky didn’t know how well he’d do when he created one on his own. He didn’t need to bring Wedo to the Ring after all. “You don’t have to come to Duteria, now,” Ricky said.
“I know, but I want to if you will have me. It’s nice to be a free man and see the sights. You will show me the sights, won’t you?”
Ricky nodded. “We’ll talk about it when we are ready to leave Okansil. I’m more than willing to legally cancel the contract.”
“Plan on me accompanying you,” Wedo said, “even with a canceled contract.”
~~~
Chapter Twenty-Six
~
R icky pulled out his transcriptions of ancient texts and pored over them for the guidance that had eluded him, so far. All he had gotten from his friends was to be wary of the guild. He needed something more.
As he examined the battle sorcery book, he read something that hadn’t seemed important before. The cacophonous sound could reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of spells. If songs couldn’t be internalized, resonance would be curtailed, and will alone couldn’t shape a spell.
He read in another sorcery book he had transcribed without caring to focus on what was written. He had looked for spells rather than history. It was time to examine histories.
He found an account of an army unit that was more like a band playing discordant music. It mentioned it was successful turning back an attack of sorcerers. He continued to read and learned more and more about actual battles. Sounds could counteract resonances, sorcery eliminated. This must have been how King Leon’s ancestors overcame the sorcerers who ruled Paranty and perhaps the rest of Kerrothia.
~
Ricky walked the wet streets of Okansil, with his gray velvet robe draped over his arm. He planned to put it on when they arrived at the Council Chambers. Wedo carried a sack containing his white shoes, claiming that any flaw in their attire would affect the Sorcerer Guild’s opinion of them.
They reached the Chambers without incident. Wedo put on his shoes, and Ricky donned his robe. The sorcerers hadn’t yet arrived.
“They could be up to an hour late,” Wedo said, “and I expect them all to arrive at once. They are bastards, every one.”
Ricky shrugged. It would just give them some extra time to go over their pitch or their threats, depending on how the meeting went. They were ushered into a waiting room.
“The Guild has arrived,” a council functionary said. “They are in the little chambers.”
Ricky looked at Wedo, who shrugged. “I’ve never been in this building before,” Wedo said. “Being a member of the guild and one of the guild leaders are two different things.”
They walked into a conference room with a long table in the center. Seven guild members clustered at the other end. Ricky had never seen so many white shoes before. He restrained a smile.
“You are Valian?” one of the guild members said. “We represent the Guild, and we all speak Parantian.”
“Hendrico Valian, Fifth Ring Sorcerer of the Duterian Rings.”
“We know you by reputation.” A sorcerer turned to Wedo. “And who are you? We didn’t know Valian was escorted by a guild member.”
“Wedo Sinkel, wandmaster, formally a contract servant to Lord Rasso of South Dimani.” Wedo gave them a curt bow.
“I remember you,” one of the sorcerers said. “I thought you were put away for good,” he sneered.
“I bought out Sorcerer Sinkel’s contract,” Ricky said. “We are on our way to Duteria, and King Renako suggested it would be polite to make contact with the Vorrian Sorcerer Guild before we left.”
“You can’t remove Sinkel from Vorria. He is our only wand-master,” the sorcerer who remembered the little man said.
“I own his contract. I didn’t purchase it in Vorria but in Dimani. I don’t see how you can claim you own him, since I do,” Ricky said. “Your reputation in the Tower will only be enhanced by his visit to Duteria.”
