Chapter Twenty Seven; A Master, a Mage and a Sorcerer.

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Lord Thom of Trebond rode his mount hard as he travelled south along the Great Road. He would be in Corus by sunrise the next day. He had sped his journey up by cutting across country, using small lanes, then rejoining the road as he passed his fief. Coram Smythesson was steward there, Thom left all the management to him and Maude the healer, he did not care for his childhood home, he rarely visited, the last time being when Lord Alan died.

Thom had never cared over much for riding, but according to Master Raquel, he must arrive in Corus as fast as he was able. He did not care at all for the problems in the capital, as long as they did not interrupt his studies and experiments.

After gaining the mastery of the Mithran Light, Thom had stayed on at the Cloisters. Truth be told the only reason he had come at Raquel's request was that he was bored.

If the sorcerer was as powerful as his former teacher claimed him to be, then this would be a challenge. His respect for the older man was also a factor. Master Raquel had learned magic from all over the Eastern lands and beyond. He knew Bazhir magic from the Great Southern desert, and had found rare spells in the Carthaki Empire and the Copper Isles. He had passed on this knowledge to his student.

So Thom rode through the night, lit only with the purple fires of his Gift, to help defeat an evil he didn't care about, and to save people he had no interest in.

Master Raquel sat in an upright chair before a banked fire. His face was deeply lined with age and care.

He fought a great internal battle, debating with himself as to whether he should tell Eleni Cooper, who had sent that strange man and girl to him, that he had summoned a mage from the City of the Gods to help defeat the sorcerer. In the end he decided that they would need all the help they could get. If Thom of Trebond was not here by midday, he would go to Mistress Cooper's home and offer his own services. He had not told his visitors everything he had read in the runes, and so he vowed to reveal that tomorrow as well.

Now his mind wandered back to the girl. She had spoken in a voice that somehow had seemed familiar to him, although he did not know why.

He would see her tomorrow perhaps, and ask her forgiveness for withholding information. Raquel suspected that she was the one who was mostly in control, as she had asked the questions and lingered after the man had left. She had walked with the unassuming poise of someone who was confident in herself, and knew how to handle herself in a tough situation. He sighed, it seemed that tonight would be another sleepless night, as he would be researching in his books, most in other languages to Common, to see if he could find any more small details that he had not known before about this variant of the Idramm gate.

It would be a long and hard battle and somehow, he suspected his last.

Duke Roger of Conté was furious, both with himself and with Balern, his manservant had let an unknown girl into his rooms. When he had discovered that some of his journals were missing, ones which if they were seen by certain people could incriminate and destroy him, he had acted recklessly. He had used a word of power to destroy the books. And they had burned. Whoever had them would find a surprise awaiting them if they did not already know. But because of his impetuousness, Roger did not know who had stolen the books. He hoped that the thief had been badly burned.

Roger could have reported the theft and had it investigated, but that would have raised too many questions for his liking. It was partially his fault, he had been too Gods cursed over confident and hadn't locked the books away. He had trusted too much in the fear the servants held him in. They wouldn't dare touch his belongings when it wasn't necessary, being the most powerful sorcerer in the Eastern Lands did have its advantages.

Balern could only tell him that the girl was quite short,  with dark hair. She had kept her head down turned so he could not see her eyes. But the man swore that he had only turned his back for a second to lock the workroom door, and she had been in full sight when he had checked on her.  So the servant girl was probably a hired mercenary, and an expert at the thieving. She would have fled the palace for certain, and most likely have left the capital city as well.

The Duke had checked his private room that no one apart from him had ever entered, all his spells were still in motion.

For the first time in many years, Duke Roger was disquieted and anxious, his plans however would to go ahead as usual. He would have to be far more careful. He swept out of the room, leaving a trembling Balern behind him, he had some decorating to do.

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