Ch 4 - Questions and Answers
A brusk wind, abruptly summoned from the depths of winter, swept through the daytime silence of the Magician's Guild. Classes were in session and the grounds were deceptively empty, most choosing to be inside rather than outside even after the bells singnaled the end of lectures. Though Kyralia was the southernmost country on the continent, the weather still managed a few solid weeks of frightening chill. As weak sunlight filtered in through the window screens of his room, Dannyl wished not for the first time in days that he were back in Elyne, even if the weather was no less cold. At least there he had Tayend's ever-optimistic company.
Dannyl had retired to his bedroom several hours ago with a manuscript Errend had lent him for the journey, something involving a current dispute back in Elyne. He had soon discovered that, like the wind, he could find no place to settle comfortably. Suddenly frustrated, he gave up resituating himself on his chair and rolled the paper up, placing it back into its tube. He would peruse it later when his mind had less of those other thoughts currently plaguing him. And what thoughts they were.
A week before, he'd been at the Great Library, consulting Irand about a particular historical matter when Tayend had entered and excused them both into a side room. At first, Dannyl remembered with a chuckle, he'd been irritated that Tayend would so blithely interrupt his work as Ambassador, even if the Library was their oft-chosen, favorite retreat. Irand had long ago given them full run of the Library and both of them had taken to using it to its fullest extent. But Tayend had had no such personal retreat in mind. No, he had brought a message from another Dem, a Dem that Dannyl had hardly come into contact with since his last arrival in Elyne after the Invasion. Dem Agerralin.
The Dem had asked Tayend to set up a private meeting with Dannyl at his earliest convenience. Neither Tayend nor Dannyl had any idea what could have prompted Agerralin to seek out Dannyl, especially considering the recent execution of Dem Marane by the Guild for willfully attempting to learn magic outside of the Guild's domain. Curiosity roused, Dannyl had agreed to meet with the Dem at an establishment in Elyne but on arriving and being issued into the reserved room, he found himself opposite someone who looked vaguely familiar but was clearly not the Dem.
Our apologies for this mild deception, Ambassador Dannyl, the man had said, But I was given charge of this message and was told to deliver it to you within a certain number of months of the High Lord's death. I merely called in a favor with Agerralin to get you here. In his hands, the messenger held out a tube to him. You must open it, please. I will explain anything I am allowed.
Dannyl's heart raced as he remembered taking the tube to open it, unrolling the missive within.
Dannyl -
If I am gone, then my messenger hopefully finds you well and the Guild intact.
The Guild will soon have need of the knowledge you possess about 'higher'
magic. You will find my copies of your work, along with another volume you
must locate, in my personal library. They will not have been tampered with.
See that this knowledge is not lost. When I return, we will have much to
discuss.
Akkarin
When he had finished reading, Dannyl had read it twice more. The handwriting was not Akkarin's, but everything about the message spoke of Akkarin. No one other than Lorlen and Rothen had known about Dannyl's extensive quest for ancient magical practices, that he had retraced Akkarin's steps through the mountains of Elyne and beyond. No, the missive was from Akkarin. But Akkarin was dead. Dannyl had looked up to confront the messenger, but had found the man smiling. You do not remember me, I see. And that is fine. Take your High Lord's words to heart. He knows you need him, will need him, and soon. Complete his request and go to Kyralia. The man had stood then and tipped his head in leavetaking, a glint of red reflecting from his hand as he did so. Dannyl was too dazed to stop him or question him further.
And now here he was, returned to Kyralia with too many questions and absolutely no answers. He had spent several days speaking to his old friends and colleagues, addressing the Guild and updating it on matters in Elyne, but he had yet to approach anyone regarding Akkarin's mysterious message. It was certainly possible that it was all a trick, yet he could see no purpose in it. That made it all the more frustrating. Taking a deep breath, Dannyl rose and moved to his table, sweeping a hand to his wine glass and taking a sip all in one gesture. Soon, he would have to address High Lord Balkan about this message and ask permission to access Akkarin's private library. But something had kept him from asking the current High Lord and that bothered him more than a message from a man that was dead and several months gone.
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As the last bell rang, signalling the end of morning classes, several novices quickly packed away their notes and cleaned their trays, depositing a few vials into a collection stand on Lady Katama's desk at the front of the room. Noting each novice's work in turn, she made a series of scribbles on her sheet and dismissed those students after finding their results satisfactory. Unlike the others, Sonea took her time in making sure each sheet of notes was in order and settled to her liking, carefully setting them in her box before wiping down her tray and taking her vials to the front. She was the last student in the class to bring up her results.
"Here are my vials, Lady Katama," she said, placing them in the stand on the front desk. "Did you need help with anything else?" Sonea's tone was hopeful. Anything to keep her mind off her current state.
Katama turned to face her pupil with a smile, but shook her head. "No, Sonea, I'm fine. You should be out enjoying this dry weather while it lasts..." She turned to look at Sonea's results, but a frown caught at the corner of her lip. "I think you might need to redo your last mixture. The fluid is supposed to be a few shades darker than you've got it here." Lifting the vial from the stand, she held it up in the light for consideration. Around the side of the vial, she peered at Sonea, adding, "Your mind has not been on my lectures lately." It was not a question, even if the tone was pleasant enough.
Gulping, Sonea managed a faint smile. "I'm sorry, my lady. I've been working at the hospital and keeping up with my studies, but..." she was going to continue, but seeing the look on Lady Katama's face, thought better of it and simply finished, "But you are right. My mind was not on today's lecture as it should have been." She looked away then, sighing, her eyes seeking the window of the second story room and the white sky beyond.
Shaking her head, Lady Katama exhaled a long breath. "Well I'll expect you here tomorrow morning before your first class to do it again. You may not be as inexperienced as the rest of the novices, Sonea, but these studies are important. You cannot continue into your next year Alchemy class without passing this one. You know that. Now..." she paused, gaining Sonea's attention again, "Go and see if you can pull yourself back to your studies. I'll see you in the morning."
Nodding her head once in a quick bow, Sonea said, "Thank you, Lady Katama. I will see you in the morning." Grabbing her box to her chest, she walked quickly from the room, exiting to the hallway as her throat constricted and her eyes began to tear. She'd been fine all morning, Why now? The hallway was filled with novices and teachers, she dared not start blubbering here. Stepping to the side to let a larger group of smiling, laughing students go by, she pretended to sift through her notes as if searching for something she could not find. A tight knot began to form in her chest and she knew she could not dare the Foodhall. Not now.
After the group had passed, she slipped down another passage that led back toward the Residences and let her feet guide her as thoughts prodded her mind for attention. All Sonea had been able to think about all morning was a way to get Dannyl's help without managing to attract attention. She couldn't go to Elyne and she wasn't important enough to request an Ambassador return from his duties. To top it all off, Lady Katama was right. It hadn't just been one class, but several days and weeks of her just managing to get by. Finally, one of her teachers had noticed a legitimate slip. She couldn't continue like this forever because, eventually, all her classes would suffer.
In a corridor on the lower level, when she was alone at last, a sob broke through. She desperately did not want to be found crying like a first-year away from home for the first time! Forcing her feet to move, sniffing back the wave of sadness that threatened to come down on her, she all but ran from the University and blindly headed for her room, hardly looking where she was going. The tears began to fall just as Sonea pulled open the door to the Magician's Quarters and ran right into a tall body in purple robes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I...I wasn't lookin..." she blubbered through her tears, not daring to look up.
"Sonea?" The incredulous voice jerked her chin up from where it had been plastered to her chest. An overwhelmed mess of tears, her eyes gazed up to find a surprised Dannyl with his hands firmly supporting her shoulders. Before Sonea could answer, her lips drew into an astonished 'o'. Letting out a cry of anguished joy, she pressed herself against Dannyl in a crushing hug, letting her tears fall regardless of who was watching, feeling his arms fold around her as she wept freely in the presence of another for the first time since Akkarin's death.
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Outside the walls of the Magician's Residence, the wind began to howl again and rain soon started to fall, pattering lightly against the windows of the building and quickly gaining in intensity. Already well past the lunch hour and afternoon classes now having begun, Dannyl found his mind reeling more now that it had been before he left Elyne. A few hours previous, he'd been contemplating several mysteries but now he had only one. Sonea.
She had relayed to him her entire story of the many months since he'd last been in Imardin. With help, Sonea had set up the dwell hospital by the gates, had resumed classes and had been put under some sort of house arrest within the Guild grounds - for her protection as well as the city's. Unsure of what to make of all this he had encouraged her to continue. She then told him about the voices that plagued her, how she could hardly concentrate in her classes and, finally, about Takan's story that had made her believe all of this was somehow related to the black magic she and Akkarin practiced together. More than anything else, she wanted to move on in whatever way was possible which Dannyl thought very noble of her, all things considered. Only one thing stood in her way. Akkarin.
No longer the impudent, frightened child he and Rothen had rescued from herself in the slums almost four years ago, Dannyl found himself sitting across from a young woman completely beside herself. Normally he would suggest that such a girl move on and, in time, all would resolve itself. Such was not to be for Sonea, he now knew. Somehow, Akkarin had found a way to cheat death and was calling to her from where ever his spirit now resided. While that thought sent shivers down Dannyl's spine and did not bode at all well for the Guild or Sonea, it did answer how he was able to receive a missive in Elyne from a man supposed to be dead. As if that hadn't been enough, Sonea had been given Dannyl's name by what she thought was Akkarin's spirit, presumably as someone who could give her aide. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again having made up his mind. "I have something to show you, Sonea. I... I wasn't sure what to do with it, but I think this may be some small help to you." Pulling the missive from its tube, he offered it to her.
Wiping her eyes with a cloth, still sniffing, Sonea took the message and began to read, her face displaying a wealth of emotions Dannyl couldn't even begin to decipher. Instead, he spoke up. "Sonea, I know it must look strange, but... you probably would know better than I if... if this is from Akkarin."
Her mouth worked slowly over the words as she read them, again and again, finally looking up as if seeing Dannyl for the first time. "Where did you get this?" Her tone was full of sad wonder but suspicion sparked in her eyes.
Exhaling, Dannyl let his arms fall to his sides in a gesture of helplessness. "A man in Elyne delivered it to me. He claimed he had been instructed by the High Lord himself to deliver it to me a certain number of months after said High Lord's death." Pointing at the letter, he added, "You saw what it said there, about the private library and about him returning..." For the first time since he had read the letter, Dannyl felt a feeling of foreboding spread through his chest and wished Tayend was here. The scholar had a way of helping Dannyl to feel right, even when everything was going wrong. He sighed. "What should we do, Sonea?"
Lips pressing together, Sonea swallowed hard. "I...I.. believe you and I believe this is from Akkarin. And I believe we should bring this to Osen and Balkan. Balkan's living in the Residence now, with Takan. I suppose I could have Takan bring us the books without asking... assuming it is books we're after... but..." Her words drifted off as she continued to think, then let out a breath. "No," her eyes flashed as she looked up, locking gazes with Dannyl, "If we're to go about this the right way, we'll need them. The High Lord," she cringed, "At least, and also Osen." Handing back the message to Dannyl, she added with a lopsided smile. "They aren't going to like this, you know."
Dannyl let out a laugh, surprised that she could still find some humor, even under the weight of such burdens. "Oh Sonea, you are indeed a formidible woman. Poor Balkan and Osen!" Sonea winced at his reply, but her smile remained. "When shall we go?" he asked, tucking the message back into its tube but keeping a hand on it despite wishing he'd never seen it.
"We go now." Determination filled Sonea's voice and she stood, brushing the wrinkles from her robes and wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "Or I might lose my nerve. Are you coming?"
Standing, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips, Dannyl nodded, "Wouldn't miss it for all the world." As he followed Sonea out the door and locked his rooms with a thought, he couldn't help but feel as though time was running out somehow. Balkan was not known for being the most forgiving of people and Osen would likely bend to his will in a matter so odd as this. This is not going to be easy... he acknowledged, but knew that the worthwhile things were often not easy. His relationship with Tayend had not been easy to come to terms with, but he had done it. And in a way, he owed it to Sonea to help her in this as much as he could. Everyone deserved to feel the happiness he had with Tayend. He smiled as a memory of Tayend flashed easily into his thoughts.
Perhaps there would be a happy ending to this after all.
