Sam looked at Desmon. “Not entirely,” Sam said. “We left before it became uncomfortable for foreigners to attend the university. It wasn’t easy to escape, and I’m afraid we got caught up in the war.”

  “Is that where you learned how to use wards?” Lord Dulaty said.

  Now Sam knew why they were asked to lunch.

  “We both learned about pollen at the university,” Sam said. “Wards were included in our pollen education. A band of bandits received a lesson on how well we learned when we traveled through Weeders Woods, yesterday.”

  “A mortal lesson, indeed. Why don’t you stay a while in Dulaty? I can use students from the University of Tolloy in my forces. I pay very well to those with unique talents.”

  “We have plans to end up in Baskin, and an extended stay would upset those whom we have contracted to meet,” Desmon said.

  “Contracted?”

  “Perhaps there is a better word, committed?”

  Lord Dulaty nodded his head. “If you won’t work for me, then I suggest that you leave my domain as soon as possible, but after lunch, especially if you have any war stories that might interest me.”

  Sam had guessed they would have to perform for their lunch. He looked at Desmon, who urged Sam to speak. Sometimes the Wollian had a playful streak that bordered on the mean.

  Sam talked about his trip with Glory and Mito from the Trakatan border to Alloren and back, leaving out all of the battle, but including the parts where they faced treachery. Although he stopped short of boasting, he made it clear to the lord that they weren’t defenseless. Of course, Glory had no role other than as a passenger, but she did in the story. Sam knew he could take care of himself, but he didn’t want the lord to get any ideas about abducting his old friend.

  “We tried to stay away from the worst of the fighting, and when the alliance won, we had had enough of Polistia and headed on the first ship to Toraltia out of Bliksa. It happened to take us to Renase,” Sam said.

  “If I were a wanted person in Toraltia, I would land in the West Countries and travel east. You aren’t wanted, are you?”

  Desmon laughed. “Of course we are wanted…by our contacts in Baskin,” he said.

  “Since I enjoyed your story, I will give you a piece of news. The Toraltian government has been purging your country of those who should be exiled. If you want to get a real picture of what awaits you in Baskin, you only need to go to Corliuse. It is close to the border, and it will serve as a gateway to Gruellia or Toraltia.” Dulaty stood up. “If you change your mind after you talk to exiled Toraltians in Corliuse, my offer still stands. There are few with the apparent skills with wards that you have.” He left the room, followed by his retinue.

  “Let's get going,” Desmon said. “I would rather not test the lord of Dulaty.”

  Sam had expected to be accosted by the lord’s guards at some point, but after two days of rushing towards the town of Corliuse, they were all relieved that the lord hadn’t tried to press them into his service when they passed into the next domain.

  Chapter Six

  ~

  T heir travels were uneventful the rest of the way to Corliuse, which was a good-sized market town plopped at the intersection of three domains and was administered as a free city. They were so close to Toraltia that Sam seriously thought about plunging ahead into the country that exiled them. They stopped at an inn within a city that was bustling with goods and people. The town was higher up in elevation, being in the foothills of the mountains that separated Toraltia from the West Countries.

  The bed was the best Sam had slept in since Lord Latruse’s manor, and after a very good breakfast that was a bit more Toraltian in style, the three of them decided to go to the market with Emmy. They could use a rest before they turned north.

  Desmon accompanied Glory, while Sam and Emmy strolled through the chilly morning air of the crowded market. Sam lost his two friends in all the activity, so he decided to roam the market and do some listening to see if he could hear anything about the state of Toraltia.

  He stayed in the center of the aisles, so people could walk around Emmy. After he found some spicy-hot sausages that reminded him of Tolloy’s cuisine, he heard someone call his name from behind. The voice was familiar, but he had to think for a bit, and then when recognition came, someone tapped his shoulder.

  “Sam, I didn’t recognize you, but how could I forget Emmy?”

  He turned and looked at Harrison Dimple, still wearing a white healer’s robe. A little gray had crept into his hair, but other than that he looked as Sam had remembered him. One big difference, Sam immediately noticed. He no longer looked up at Harrison Dimple, because after four years, Sam was taller than his first mentor.

  “Why are you here?” Sam asked, still trying to get used to reuniting with the man who had saved him from being an outcast of Cherryton, his hometown.

  “Same as you. The Toraltian government finally got the nerve to exile me. I thought you were living in Polistia.”

  “I was. I ended up graduating from Hizor Academy in Zogaz, fought another big battle, and left. I still haven’t found a place to settle, so I thought I would sneak back into Toraltia and become a hermit like you.”

  Harrison laughed. “I was never a hermit, exactly, but my attempt to keep a low profile finally caught up to me. Toraltia has changed a bit since you left.”

  “The king isn’t dead, is he?”

  “Not at all, but I would say he is not as strong a ruler as when he kicked you out of Baskin. There is a Court of Nobles, newly formed within the past year, that has strengthened its already-strong influence on my cousin.”

  “You never told me you were related.”

  “I didn’t want you to know. You would have treated me like royalty, and that would have inhibited your growth.”

  “But you are royalty.”

  Harrison smiled. “Exiled royalty. We need to exchange stories. I am sure yours are more exciting than mine,” he said.

  “Really? You’ve been exiled, too.

  “I didn’t take a ship to Tolloy like you did,” Harrison said.

  “How did you know?”

  Harrison smiled. “I keep track of my friends, and I hope I am right in still counting you as a friend. Where are you staying?”

  Sam told him the name of his inn.

  “I am currently living with some fellow exiles. Come to dinner tonight.” He gave Sam the address.

  Sam found Glory and Desmon looking at more clothes for her and told them of his chance meeting.

  “Harrison Dimple is here?” Glory asked.

  Sam nodded. “Lord Dulaty told us the truth about exiles. I don’t know any details and didn’t want to ask in the middle of a market. We are to go to his lodgings tonight for dinner.”

  “Do you think it is safe?” Glory asked.

  “What is safe?” Sam asked. “We could have been captured by Lord Dulaty—”

  “If it hadn’t been for your wonderful story. Even though you watered it down, I’m sure the lord had second thoughts about having us join his forces, and you didn’t even tell him of your role in stopping the Vaarekian Empire.”

  “I didn’t stop any empire,” Sam said.

  “Yes, you did,” Glory said. “I was there, remember?”

  “You killed the would-be emperor.” Desmon looked at the passers-by in the market.

  Sam shrugged. “Anyway, I’d like to talk to him about what we might expect if we enter Toraltia.”

  “I suspect he will tell you to skip Toraltia and head south into Wistall,” Desmon said. “We can talk of this after we return to the inn. I agree we should go there for dinner.”

  ~

  Sam knocked on the door to Harrison’s lodgings. The healer opened the door for them, and then Sam introduced his friends.

  “Glory’s name I remember. The Wheeler with the tires. They have become even more popular now that many are made of rubber, which comes from Wollia, Desmon Sandal,” Harrison said, smiling at the Wollian.

  “My friends are eating elsewhere, so it is our cook and me,” Harrison said. He called to the kitchen.

  A short young woman stepped out wearing a too-large white apron. Harrison made introductions. The woman’s name was Emmy. Sam groaned when he told her he had named his dog the same.

  She brightened up. “A Great Sanchian! I’ve only seen a pair of them in my life.”

  “In Mountain View?” Harrison asked.

  Her eyes flashed. “That is the place!”

  “Banna Plunk’s dogs,” Harrison said. “There were three, and Sam owns one of them.”

  “Banna Plunk was on the ship I took to Vaarek,” Sam said.

  Harrison looked shocked. “And you lived?”

  “We were all on that ship. Glory for a time, Desmon, and I.”

  Emmy, the woman, not the dog who was back at the inn, looked very interested. “If I may listen in, just give me a minute,” she said and disappeared for a while before returning. “I had to make sure dinner wasn’t about to burn the house down.”

  Sam gave Harrison an abbreviated version of his story, starting with his apprentice days and ending with Lord Dulaty’s offer. Dinner had been eaten and cleaned up in the meantime.

  Harrison sat back. “I have been doing what we did when you and I went on my Summer Tour. I collected herbs and helped in Cherryton before the Court of Nobles decided even that wasn’t benign enough. A month ago, I was in Mount Vannon when I heard that someone had burned my cottage down to the ground. Rather than going back, I decided to come here for a bit.”

  Emmy interrupted. “I run this house for Toraltian expatriates, loyal to you-know-who.” She looked at Harrison with a bit of adoration in her eyes.

  “So what should we do?” Sam asked.

  “Do you want to return to Toraltia?”

  Sam thought for a bit. “It is my home. I’ve visited lots of places, and I still like Toraltia the best.”

  “I will be going back. This is a strategic retreat for me,” Harrison said. “I thought I had given up any desire to rule Toraltia, but the Court of Nobles is not a good influence on my cousin, who is a bit addled as it is.”

  “Can I go with you?” Sam asked. He looked at his friends. “Can we go with you?”

  Harrison pursed his lips. “I’m not sure I’ll survive. My return to Toraltia might be a death sentence.”

  “So is mine,” Sam said. “I can make pollen, now.”

  “I still don’t believe it. Show me,”

  Sam made a brick of pollen and held out his hand. Harrison felt for the pollen and marveled at the feel of it in his hands. He accepted Sam’s spectacles and looked at the block.

  “White. Very fitting and invisible to everyone else. This has its uses,” Harrison said.

  “I’m still cursed because I am still limited in what I can do with it.”

  “But as a snoop, which I imagine you will continue to be, your ability to see through pollen and make invisible pollen is unique in the world.”

  “Other people can make invisible pollen,” Sam said.

  “But not a brick of it. I’m not so sure theirs is invisible as much as transparent, which is different.”

  “I can’t cover anything with a pollen patch,” Sam said, “like the maps that were manipulated by Banna’s pollen artist.”

  Harrison laughed. “I find that not being able to do such a thing will keep a young man on the straight path. Faddon Bentwick and his daughter should be arriving in a few days—”

  “Winnie? Coming here? I thought she would be married with children by now,” Sam said.

  “Faddon said she wanted to finish up at the University of Baskin before she settled down, and she is just finishing her studies,” Harrison said. “She wants to be a businesswoman of all things, Faddon says, so he is taking her on a field trip. You know her?”

  “She helped me along, with Keeta and Dickey Nail, when we had to live in secret. I didn’t tell you all my life’s history,” Sam said.

  “You have had a girlfriend all this time?” Glory asked.

  “No. She is nearly two years older than I,” Sam said.

  “An older woman, eh?” Desmon said. “You kept her a secret for all this time. Did you write to her when you were in Tolloy?”

  Sam shook his head. “No.” He was feeling a little picked on. “I haven’t seen her for four years.”

  “And a little more, but you are both graduates. That puts you on the same level,” Harrison said.

  “Enough,” Sam could feel his cheeks burn.

  “Until she arrives. You will meet with Faddon and me. He will be excited to see you. I want to make sure that I don’t want to pressure any of you to join me. This could turn into a rebellion at its worse.”

  “I just spent four years living in one,” Sam said. “I can do it some more.”

  Harrison nodded. “I think I have wasted enough of your time for tonight.” He looked at Emmy, the housekeeper. “And you need some time to clean up after dinner, don’t you?”

  Emmy turned red and gave a little laugh. “I am honored to have served you all tonight.” She got up and left before the others had a chance.

  Sam, Glory, and Desmon walked the dark streets of Corliuse.

  “I am stunned we met him,” Sam said.

  “Not so stunning since your king has gone crazy. I would imagine there are all kinds of coincidental meetings in this town,” Desmon said, looking around.

  Sam retired, thinking of his adventures with Harrison Dimple. He had missed his first mentor, but he wondered if it was prudent to join forces. It didn’t sound like the healer had maintained his popularity since Sam left Toraltia. The thought of seeing Winnie Bentwick frightened him. They both had to have changed a lot in four years. Perhaps she wouldn’t even remember him, or she might be totally different than his memory of her.

  He didn’t think he’d have to worry about this for months, yet Winnie Bentwick was going to show up in a few days. Then what would Sam do?

  ~

  A few evenings later, Harrison brought Faddon and Winnie to the inn where Sam, Desmon, and Glory stayed without first telling them. They took all the chairs in the inn’s small lobby and pushed them together, so they could talk without being overheard.

  “Sam,” Bentwick said. “You have grown into a real man. My Winnie was taller than you when you left, and now you tower over her.”

  Sam looked at Winnie, who didn’t appear to like the comparison.

  “Are you implying that I am too short?” she said.

  “Not for a woman, my sweet,” Faddon said. “Let’s talk about old times tonight over dinner.”

  “Won’t we bore Desmon and Glory?” Sam asked.

  Faddon laughter. “Someone is going to be bored, but it won’t be me.”

  “Why don’t you give us a quick story of what you have been doing since you left Baskin, since we all know you,” Winnie said.

  She didn’t look particularly excited to see him, but she had led a different life and probably had never thought she would see him again.

  Sam already had his shorter version of what had happened to him in his mind, and as he spoke, he included Desmon and Glory in his story.

  “You killed Viktar Kreb, the monster of Polistia?” Winnie said.

  “Glory was there. We were lucky.”

  “Sometimes luck is taking advantage of the situation you are in,” Harrison said. “You certainly did that.”

  “If I hadn’t had my pollen-making capabilities restored, Viktar Kreb might be living today. A string of situations can be disastrous or lead to success,” Sam said.

  “You will show me the letters of recommendation?” Winnie asked.

  “Only two are in Toraltian,” Sam said.

  “But I know Vaarekian well enough to read it.”

  “I’m sorry. I forgot all about court language.”

  “And you are thoroughly fluent?” Winnie said.

  Sam nodded. “Banna Plunk was strict about my diction when we sailed to Tolloy.”

  “I still can’t believe you struck up a friendship with her,” Harrison said. “I thought she was evil incarnate when I heard what she had done in Baskin.”

  Sam nodded. “I am, or was, still uncomfortable around her despite her feelings. She was so focused on destroying Viktar Kreb that she lost a great deal of perspective.”

  “I wouldn’t say just perspective. She was an amoral person who cared nothing about her fellow beings,” Faddon said.

  “I don’t agree that her single-mindedness justifies any of her actions. She caused the deaths of hundreds of people.” Sam said.

  “And between the two of you, hundreds of thousands of lives were saved. Without the alliance she bought with Toraltian gold, Viktar Kreb might be successfully invading his neighbors before he left Polistia and took over Wollia, my country, only to work his way up Holding to Baskin.”

  Harrison rubbed his chin with the back of his hand. “The Court of Nobles was in correspondence with Kreb seeking an alliance just before the rebellion, as you call it, began to make him retrench his ambitions.”

  “And that leaves us to today,” Faddon said. “I had a coded message waiting for me at Mount Vannon. My source thinks the Court of Nobles will displace the king and set up a dictatorship with the Court as its head within the year.”

  “They are already far down that path,” Harrison said. “I’m not going to sit by and let Toraltia sink into tyranny. My cousin does little enough damage to the country since his focus is on his fellow nobles in Baskin, but if the Court continues to expand its tyranny outside of Baskin, the country will fall into ruin.”

  Sam realized that he had truly left Toraltia behind when he left Baskin. He found he still cared for home, but he hadn’t given a single thought about what was happening in Baskin, and he found it wasn’t that much different than Tolloy when Sam had first arrived.

  “What can we do?” Sam asked.

  “We won’t discuss that here,” Bentwick said. “We have been free enough with our talk tonight. I, for one, am not certain how you can be used, but we will come up with something.”

  Harrison had already given his story to Sam and his group, so Bentwick finished the night with a quick rundown on the Royal Constabulary in Baskin.

 

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