Akkarin was annoyed. He was sitting at the court in a rich decorated room and discussing the kings orders about the dwells. It was hilarious how far away the nobles opinion was from reality.
„There aren't enough Magicians to test all the slum-children", he said with calm voice, even he didn't feel calm. The discussion went in the same circles over and over again and there was nothing he could do about this.
„So you are saying it is impossible to test them all?", the king asked.
„Yes, I think it is impossible because of many reasons"
„So the guild will disobey my orders?", Merin asked slyly.
„The guild hasn't decided yet", Akkarin replied.
The king was silent for a moment, obviously thinking about the information he got.
„I expect the guild to at least try it", he finally ordered. Akkarin sighed and was about to answer when Takans Blood Gem caught his attention. His servant was at the market, buying some supplies for their dinner. Nothing unusual so far. It took him a moment to realise, that it was what Takan has seen: His Novice. What was she doing there? She should be in the guild and learn or read or something like that. But there was no time to think about this. He ordered his servant to follow her, then he snapped his attention back to the king.
„I am sorry your majesty, there is something which needs my attention immediately. I will give your words to the guild, of course. Am I dismissed?", he said and cursed silently. Sonea forced him to be rude to the king by her silly actions. How could she leave the guild without asking permission? Everything could happen to her, especially in the slums. There was a new Sachakans Slave murdering the dwells and she was a very strong magician. She would be a welcomed victim to his enemies.
„There is another thing I wanted to discuss with you", answered the king and frowned. „It is quite important"
Akkarin calmed himself. Finally he had teached her to shield and Takan was right behind her. If something went wrong he could act. And she lived all her life in the slums without getting murdered. Why should she meet this slave now?
„Of course, your majesty, what is bothering you?", he replied. He forced himself to not check the blood gem every minute and to concentrate on the kings words.
When the king finally dismissed him, he hurried back to the guild. His plan had been to follow her to the slums, but when he got away from the court she was already on her way back to the guild. He decided to wait for her in his guestroom and to confront her with her silly actions when she will be back.
He used the time to think about her punishment for her disobedience, but there was no satisfying solution. He put his usual glass of wine aside, when she arrived. The light was dim, but he didn't create a light globe. He often forgot about these things while thinking.
„Good evening Sonea", he said. She winced, but bowed immediately.
„High Lord"
He smiled a bit. It was time to remind her, that he wasn't just her guardian.
„How is your family? I hope they are well?", he asked. He didn't need to read her surface thoughts to know, she was frightened and confused. She pressed her lips together and raised her chin.
„As far as I know I am aloud to leave the guild grounds to meet my relatives"
He had to admit, that she had a good point.
„Nonetheless I expect you to ask my permission before doing so"
He could read in her surface thoughts, that she won't do so. He shook his head in disbelief. When had she started to disobey him so much? There were two options to ensure her obedience. He could suggest, he would do something to her relatives, but it would destroy their relationship in a way he couldn't fix. And he needed her trust for his plans with her.
The second option was a blood gem. It was as unpleasant as the first option. Staring at her he tried to figure out another plan. Maybe a reminder would help, he could create a blood gem later, if it didn't work.
„I am sure, I do not need to remind you, why you are my novice and of the consequences of your actions against my orders"
She pressed her lips together and stared at the floor.
„Of course, High Lord", she whispered a moment later. He should have been satisfied with her new found obedience, but it was a bitter triumph.
„You are dismissed", ordered Akkarin. Suddenly he felt tired. What was he doing? Forcing a young, talented woman to be his hostage, trying to get her trust to make her his accomplice. And he was sure she would Help him once she learned his reasons. It was in her character to judge fast but also to be forgiving, intelligent and willing to be wrong. And once she would have learned the reason behind all of this she would be as loyal as he could wish. A part of him wished, he hadn't read her mind. It would be far easier to deal with all of this. He would have never figured out such plans if he didn't know about the outcome.
It was late in the evening, but Lorlen was sitting at his desk in his office, a little globe light above his head. It had been a long day and he was exhausted, but he knew he couldn't sleep, also if he tried to. There was to much going on in his mind.
First of all he worried about Sonea. She worked hard to flee her torturer, but this Regin followed her. It was impressive how much he must hate her, to do so. For the moment he was distracted by his studies, but once he was on the same level as his new class he would start again. Lorlen was sure about that, Sonea was not the first student being bullied by her classmates.
But this wasn't his main distress. There was a murderer in Imardin, murdering with black magic. Some time ago he would have asked Akkarin for help without thinking twice, but now he wasn't sure what to do. There was the slight option, that Akkarin was this murderer. On the other hand, Akkarin had told him about the sachakan assassins. Maybe this was the work of one of this assassins. He rubbed his face and sighed. Why must it be so confusing?
Suddenly he stood up and left his office, calling for Akkarin with his mind. Maybe Akkarin was the murderer, but maybe he needed to get informed about the corpses to fight these people. Lorlen shook his head. It seemed unbelievable, but Akkarins story must be true. He had told him from mind to mind, there was no possibility, that he had lied. And therefore he must inform the High Lord about the murderer. In the end there was a risk to everything done in this case and Akkarin may be a risk he could control.
Akkarin was sitting in his preferred chair, a glass of wine in his hands. He put it aside when Lorlen entered the room.
"Ah, an unusual visitor these days", Akkarin said. "Do you want some wine my friend?"
"How could I refuse such an offer?", Lorlen replied.
He seated himself while Akkarin poured him some Anuren Dark. He felt a bit like the young boy he had once been, waiting for his punishment for skipping Lord Margens class. But this was not his old teacher and this wasn't just a thing done by little boys. They were grown up now, the most powerful men of the guild. And this was a real problem.
"So what is bothering you, Lorlen?", Akkarin asked.
"There is a murderer in Imardin" His friend rose an eyebrow, but said nothing. "It seems like he is murdering with black magic"
Akkarin nodded. "I know. He is in Imardin for two weeks now, but I couldn't get my hands on him"
Lorlen didn't know how to react. He has expected Akkarin to deny this fact and now he was overwhelmed by the information he got.
"How do you know?", he finally asked.
"I have my sources for such information. What do you know about these murderer?"
Lorlen felt the urge to roll his eyes about this answer. But he resisted it and told Akkarin all he had learned this afternoon.
"The murderer is not changing tactics, these are different murderers. Every time I kill one of them a new one will come and all starts again"
Lorlen nodded. It made sense. "And what will you do now?", he asked.
"The same thing I do every time. I will find him and kill him and there will be no murders until the next assassin arrives"
"Will all this ever end? What will you do, if there is no new murderer?"
Akkarin sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I do not know if this will ever end. I hope so my friend, but I fear if it ends there will be a greater danger threatening the guild. But if this will ever end I will never use black magic again. You have my word"
Lorlen felt strangely calm after these words. He believed him. He didn't know why, but he believed his former best friend to be honest with him. In the end Akkarin never truly lied about the things he did. He just never revealed the whole truth.
"I hope I will never be forced to reveal your crimes to the guild. And I hope, this will stop soon", said Lorlen.
"Me too Lorlen, me too", murmured Akkarin. A heavy silence fell between them. It wasn't the pleasant one they once shared so often. This silence was full of unspoken words. Lorlen shifted uneasy on his chair. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but none of them left his lips. It felt strange to him. Once there had been a time when he and Akkarin had shared everything. Now there was a huge gap between them and Lorlen wasn't sure if they would ever be able to overcome this gap.
When Lorlen finished his glass of wine Akkarin sat a little straighter and focused his gaze on the door next to him which led to the staircase. Just seconds later this door opened and Sonea entered the room, fully dressed with a book in her hand. She bowed.
"High Lord", she said, then she noticed him. Lorlen smiled at her. "Administrator Lorlen", she added.
"You shouldn't be reading anymore Sonea. It's late", Akkarin said in a voice, Lorlen never heard before. It was nearly soft and caring. He shook his head lightly. He must be very tired if he thought things like that. Sonea blushed a bit.
"I am sorry. I wanted to ask something about the topic we talked about earlier, I haven't noticed that you have a guest", Sonea answered. She shifted from one feet to another and everything on her was tense. It was obvious she felt uneasy under the High Lords piercing gaze.
"Go to bed Sonea. We will talk about this tomorrow and you need the rest. The High Lords favorite isn't sleepy at the university"
She bowed again. "Of course. Good night Administrator, High Lord" She left as fast as she was approached.
"She is studying very hard", Lorlen stated. Akkarin nodded and for a moment he seemed to be proud. It was strange for Lorlen to see such emotion in his friend. Normally his emotionless mask never faded.
"She is the High Lords Novice and the first Novice from the slums. She is intelligent enough to understand the position she is in"
Lorlen said nothing, cause everything he wanted to say would break their friendship a bit more and he didn't feel like discussing the topic of her guardianship again. There was nothing he could do about this. She was his hostage, his ensurance. He pressed his lips together. There it was again, the anger he always felt when he thought about this topic. Abruptly he stood up.
"I am also tired and will leave you now", he said. Akkarin smiled a bit.
"Sleep well my friend. And if you get new information about the murders, please inform me as well. The better I know his tactics and his victims the faster I can take care of him"
"Will you ever tell me the whole truth, Akkarin?", Lorlen asked. The smile faded away.
"I will. But not now"
Lorlen left without another word. Anger was boiling inside him. Why didn't he tell him the whole story? Why was Sachaka sending assassins? Where did Akkarin learn black magic? Why had he never talked to the higher magicians about the assassins? So many questions, but the High Lord wasn't willing to answer a single one.
