He was miserable and bored...and confused. Despite travelling with a wagon they were making excellent time; he didn't understand how and thus he was confused. As his mind puzzled over this phenomenon, his misery slipped away. It was not that he did not miss or worry about Raven, it was simply that, well, there was nothing he could do for her but he could expand his learning at the moment.
"Korosh," a voice intruded his thoughts. The blond cellist looked up to see Merric riding next to him. "What's on your mind?"
"How are we so swift?" the blond asked. "It is virtually impossible for our horses to travel so far, so quickly. Our rate of travel is past the natural ability of horses, especially these ones...." The boy babbled, patting his mount. Merric could help but laugh.
"For all your scholarly talk, you really don't look at all the possibilities do you?" The blond teen looked at Merric accusingly, while the knight continued, "I'm not quite sure of the specifics but it's because of the feed that they can take this journey."
"The feed?" Even better quality food couldn't account for the speed at which they moved.
"Teron magicked it," Merric stated, indicating the wagon-driving knight. "Ah, here we are." He announced as they topped a rise to see an inn set into a forest.
The company of knights and musicians reined in beside the inn. It was close to midday and it was announced that they should stop for lunch. Iden and Warric herded the group into the inn, while the pair spread praises on the meals served at the particular public house. Soon Korosh forgot the horse issue and was focused on is meal and the antics of the energetic Cairn.
~~
Draguen pulled out of the group of knights as the entered the inn. Something had caught his attention, leaning over he grabbed the arm of the knight Prosper and asked, and "Do you see anything?"
The light-bringer examined the area where the blue-haired man indicated. "What am I looking for?" he asked quietly.
"Magic was done here," Draguen stated, his odd silver eyes examining a spot on the ground a few metres from the inn. The grass was slightly discoloured, a yellowish patch amongst very healthy emerald. The dead patch was a perfect circle with a two-metre diameter. Crouching, the violist put a hand onto the patch tentatively letting a little bit of ice blue light spread from his palm to cover the dry grass. Lifting his hand away, the blue magic faded to be replaced by traces of sparkling ebony fire. Seeing the black-coloured magic, Prosper came and crouched next to the violist.
The light-bringer recognized the swirling pattern left by the mage who had done this. "A portal..." he said quietly.
"Are you sure?" Draguen queried, the knight-mage nodded. The violist then stood and ran toward the forest, crouching again to examine another patch of grass. This one burned. "Prosper, you have to see this." He called.
The grass was scorched in a semi-circle spreading toward the tree. This was a pattern that he recognised, the wall of fire. Brennen Sie. Burn them.
"What is it?" the light voice of the knight asked walking over from the other spot he was looking at. That patch had been irregular, the grass shrivelled with traces of a sickly gold colour and more black fire. Their mage had summoned an immortal.
"Someone used a Word of Power," the blue-haired man responded as he let his Gift flowed over the scorched ground. As the pale blue faded, crimson fire showed. Unlike the black Gift, these traces rippled like a pond. Draguen also recognised this Gift. "She didn't..." he breathed out. Raven...she wouldn't do this; she knew the consequences of the Words of Power.
"Who? Who didn't?" Prosper's question fell on dead ears. Draguen was looking at a glowing red pendant. The knight grabbed the violist's shoulder and whirled the man around. "Who did this?" he asked again.
"My apprentice." It was Draguen who had instructed Raven in her Gift after the untimely death of her former teacher, Demetrus. He turned his silver eyes up to the light-bringer; they were fretful.
"Your apprentice?" Draguen didn't nearly look old enough to have an apprentice playing with Words of Power. "What about the black fire, do you recognize that?"
The violist nodded as he put the pendant away. The ebony magic belonged to His Majesty's pet mage, Draper. What had occurred here? Prosper was looking past Draguen, the violist followed the knight's gaze to a series of brown splatters just past the scorched ground. That wasn't...
"Blood." The knight stated. "Your apprentice seems to have been-" He was cut off by Esmond.
"What're you two doing out here? You missed lunch." The freckled knight asked striding over to the pair of crouching men. They rose to look at the approaching Nicoline-heir, Draguen waving a hand over the burned and bloodied grass. Prosper saw the burns and blood vanish from the ground.
"Just observing a few insects," Draguen answered, "It appears that there are some species here in Tortall that do not live in Maren. Prosper here was kind enough to tell me their names."
Esmond looked at them quizzically, he didn't know Prosper was into entomology. "Insects?" the freckled knight repeated.
Prosper, picking up his cue from Draguen, replied, "Yeah, it seems to be the reason why Maren's wheat and barley harvests are so successful. The beetle that gives our farmers difficulty doesn't live in the East." He then added, trying to be scholarly, "It's actually rather fascinating."
"Right, just letting you know that we will be leaving soon." The brunet turned and walked back over to the inn where, sure enough, the knights were beginning to saddle up their horses.
"Bugs?" Prosper asked incredulously once Esmond was out of earshot. "Why did you hide the burns?"
"We have no time to dilly-dally over some trivial magic issues." Draguen told the younger man coolly.
"What?" the knight whispered angrily, "Something big happened here."
"My apprentice was attacked and she won. Then she and the other mage utilized a portal to reach their destination without further interruptions. End of story." He then walked toward the inn, calling to the other Gifted knight, Teron, in an obvious attempt to forget the situation despite how correct he was. Inside Prosper fumed because he knew that he wouldn't tell.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Before her stood Corus, grand and beautiful. The walled city rose like a perfect model, rising from houses to stores to temples to the Royal Palace. She had made it. Recalling the dizzying portal ride that had brought her thus far she turned to Anelee.
"Thank you," she whispered to the mage.
"You're welcome," the Tyran woman replied. She then looked to Jeremy, "Shall we press on." The farmer nodded with a grin. "To the palace then." Anelee said.
The trio rode down the slope into the valley entering at the eastern gate. Hidden amongst the many others going in and out of the city, Raven went in unnoticed due to her lack of height. Anelee, beautiful and two inches above six feet, received a few catcalls.
"That is completely indecent," she muttered later as they began the ride through the lower city.
Raven grinned at the mage's complaints and looked about her while Jeremy tried to console the woman. The smile dropped from her ace as she surveyed the lower city as it began to merge with the market place. She saw pickpockets and dealers at work, fading in and out of the traffic with practiced ease to meet up in alleyways to compare their loot. She saw the signs of an organized system of thieves.
The streets of Corus faded to Raven as she saw only the thieves, the dealers, the prostitutes and beggars. There were no more honest workers in Raven's eyes, only those like how she used to be. Part of an Underground Court.
She was cold; she no longer saw the dishonest folk. She felt bruised, her hands were bloody and one of her eyes was swollen. It rained so she was wet; the excommunicated do not receive shelter. People had looked out there windows at the beaten child, clucking with sympathy until they saw her face. She was excommunicated, so they no longer cared. She no longer belonged. An enforcer nipped around the corner, she cried out to her comrade. He kicked her.
The memory was so real that Raven nearly fell off the grey gelding. She ached and Anelee caught her, easing her back into the saddle. A canteen was thrust into her hands so she drank. She was not in Berat, but in Corus.
"Are ye alright?" the old tanned man asked. His name was Jeremy. "You nearly fell off yer horse." Raven returned the canteen with a nod.
"Just memories," she said in a tone to indicate that it was not to be discussed any further. She looked about, they had led her to a wall. The crowd went about their business, ignoring Raven's lapse. All except for one man.
He was across the street and kept giving the girl odd looks, as though he didn't know what to make of her. Anelee saw the man and sent him a glare, a bit of ebony fire in her palm. The man jumped a little and returned to his business of selling fish. He did not look at them again.
"What did you..." Raven started. The mage gave her a look that said 'later'. Jeremy, watching them, shrugged, there were some things a man should not know.
They pushed off from the wall and continued up through the market towards the palace. Along the way, Anelee transferred a spell onto Raven that would cause strangers' gazes to fall elsewhere and forget that they saw her. They didn't need any more disturbances, she would tell the violinist later.
"Only a stronger mage can see you now," the Tyran whispered to her as they came to the Temple District.
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