Chapter 4

Mages and Fugitives

For once, Will was completely on his own. Garvain was a very patient man, Ilkar decided. They had all talked at once, telling him what they needed. He still stood there with the ghost of a smile on his face and waited for them to be quiet.

'We need a healer.' Ilkar managed to say into a momentary silence. The Unknown frowned and shook his head. 'You don't have to love him, but we can't let him die. It stands against everything I am.'

Garvain nodded at him. 'What's the injury?'

'Not an injury, that one's no trouble. Lockjaw.'

Garvain's eyes went wide. 'Since when?'

Ilkar shrugged. 'Caught the infection a little over a week ago, I suppose. And he's got it bad already.' He took a deep breath. 'I know you can't promise anything, but please try.'

Garvain took a deep breath. 'I will. I'm not a good healer, though. I can cast a basic healing spell without killing anything, but … I really can't promise that I'll be able to help.'

'Perhaps he's not supposed to live.' The Unknown had spoken very quietly, but they all stared at him as though he had yelled.

Thraun's eyes were red, but his depression was chased away and replaced with sudden anger. 'How dare you talk like that?' His deep voice was husky and strained. 'How dare you condemn him?'

Hirad stepped between the two quickly. 'Whoa. Thraun, he's shocked and he doesn't mean that. Unknown, I hope to all the Gods you really don't mean that. He's a person, not a rabid dog. Of course he's supposed to live.'

'Well, if he does, he can go wherever he likes, but not the same direction I do.'

'Surely this isn't something that should be discussed now,' Ilkar said sharply. 'Erienne, please bring Garvain up to Will. Thraun, I think you should go too. He might not live to see the end of the spell.' Thraun nodded and strode out of the room.

The Unknown rose. 'Garvain, this man's a murderer.' Ilkar glared at The Unknown.

Garvain raised his hands. 'I know how Balaian mages tick. If there's the slightest chance you can save someone, you're honour-bound to try. No matter what college, no matter if it's a nobleman or a smith or a whore. Our mages here could take a leaf out of their book. I'm going to help him. I don't care who he is.' He looked at The Unknown with some defiance. 'People tend not to trust me, and they've got a reason. Mages are feared everywhere, it seems, and it drives some of them to become the vile monsters the people think they are. They fight for their rights so much they forget that they're no longer fighting for something, but against the rest of the world. I lost friends that way. But if only one of them had showed regret and asked me for help, I'd have given it gladly and without question. So … I don't care what your guy did.'

Ϡ

Ilkar followed Erienne and Garvain upstairs. From what he had heard of Garvain, a few – very few – mages from Balaia had some magic here as well. He hardly dared to hope he would be one of them, but he'd only ever know if he listened into himself very cautiously and never gave up hope.

Garvain looked at the little man with some doubt. Ilkar couldn't blame him. Will's face was ashen, his breath ragged, and his skin hot and sweaty. 'Who's the one he trusts the most?'

Erienne smiled. 'That would be Thraun.'

'You've got to hold him down. I'll try and kill the infection and detect any damage to his spine. But whatever I can do, he needs rest. Emotionally as well as physically. Keep that big man away from him. Whatever happened, he can't have to deal with accusations now.'

'I'll keep him safe.' Thraun's voice was gruff.

Erienne placed a hand on his arm. 'So will I.' Thraun pulled away from her. 'No, hear me. I don't care. I know and love you both, no matter what he did.'

Thraun spun around and swept Erienne into a rib-crushing embrace. Ilkar smiled. 'Come on, Thraun, let's help Garvain here save him. We'll sort out The Unknown another time.' He took a deep breath. 'This isn't over.' Thraun released the woman and nodded to the native mage.

The young man pressed his hands together. 'Hold him down. He's got to …'

Thraun shook his head. 'I know.' He crawled onto the bed and caressed Will's cheek, his touch light enough not to harm him in his state. 'You hear me?'

Will nodded. 'I'm awake, it's all right.' He opened his eyes and looked at Garvain. 'Can I die in the attempt?' The look he received in reply was all the answer he needed. 'Very well. Erienne … thank you. For your faith in me, for you friendship. If I don't get through this, keep Thraun safe.' The Dordovan nodded, her lower lip trembling. 'Thraun … You look after yourself. If I don't … no, you need to hear this. If I don't make it, you promise me to always remember who you are. You are a man, Thraun, and don't you ever forget it.' Thraun nodded, not daring to hold him, lest he cause one of the seizures. Garvain nodded at the big blond man, and Thraun leaned over Will, ready to keep him in place.

Garvain's eyes closed, his arms reached out to the two men on the bed, and he started muttering quietly under his breath. At first, nothing happened. Then a low humming sound came from Will, swelling into a moan and then into a low, suppressed scream. After a few seconds that seemed to last for eternity, the scream died, and Ilkar feared he had slipped away.

Then suddenly, violently, Will's back arched. An agonised wail emerged from his tortured, pained face, and Ilkar was certain that whatever Garvain was doing, it was killing the little man. If it didn't, his unnatural pose would. At last, after what felt like an hour, Will slumped onto the sheets. A trail of blood was running from his nostrils and his mouth, and he lay silent and motionless.

Thraun placed a shaking hand above his nose before he removed it with a deep sigh of relief. 'He's alive,' he announced. 'What happens now?'

Garvain opened his eyes and looked at the scenery before him as if he saw it all for the first time. 'He's not safe, the infection will come back. He'll be better for now, but I couldn't defeat the sickness. I am no healer. But he has more time for you to find one.'

Ϡ

Will had slept through two full days and nights. Garvain spent very little time in company, and if he did enter the guest room, silence fell almost immediately. Ilkar wondered if there was a reason for that, but then he decided it was probably just the fact he was a mage. Nothing new there.

The village they had come to was called Stonewash. They were very far up north, in a country called Kovir. According to the locals it was late autumn now, and a rather mild one at that. Ilkar dreaded the winter.

'What are you going to decide?'

Ilkar blinked and looked at Hirad. 'Regarding what?'

Hirad tutted. 'What I've been saying the last half hour or so. We'll all have to make a decision about Will. What's yours?'

'As long as he needs my pendant, he stays.' Hirad grinned. Ilkar had given the little man the pendant he was wearing after Garvain was finished with his spell. He had told Thraun Will shouldn't take it off but had refused to say more.

'Am I about to learn what that thing is, then?'

Ilkar offered an enigmatic smile. 'I don't think so. Let it be said though that Will won't die as long as he wears it.'

'So you helped him.'

Ilkar shrugged. 'I guess so.'

Hirad prodded him. 'You're on his side then.'

Ilkar sighed. 'I don't know. I don't know if I'll ever sleep easily sharing a camp with someone like that.'

Hirad leaned back in his seat. 'He didn't seem particularly murderous when we travelled with him. And from what I hear of Garvain, the heroes of this time aren't exactly known for their clean slate.'

Ilkar rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'I've heard the stories, too, Hirad. I don't know if I believe half of it.'

'Have you talked to him?'

Ilkar looked back up at him. 'No. And I don't want to, either.'

Hirad got to his feet and dusted himself off. 'Neither have I, but I'll do that now. Sirendor spent quite some time with him. He says he doesn't say it but he'd like to stay with us. He should, Ilks, think about it. He died. For us, protecting you mages.'

Ilkar took a deep breath. 'I know. If he's to stay with us, he's got to be able to keep up, and right now I doubt he will. I can't see myself trusting him like I should any time soon, and I will not make a stand for him.'

Hirad walked over to the door. 'Having designs on Thraun, are you?'

'Don't be ridiculous.'

Hirad grinned. 'Then I don't see why you should be worried. I'm going to tell him exactly what he's got to do to stay. And anyway, like you said, he's still got your pendant. We can't leave him.'

Ϡ

Will asked him to come in at once after he had knocked. Erienne was with the little man, searching him for any signs of lasting damage. 'Leave us, please,' Will said quietly. 'I wondered when you'd come.'

Hirad raised his eyebrows. 'Did you? Why?'

Will smiled sadly. 'Matter of time. You know about me and Thraun, I assume, and you cannot stand for it. I know the sort of punishment your people have for someone like me, but I ask you to refrain.'

'I don't have the proper training for that anyway.' He shook his head. 'I'm not here to hurt you. I want to talk to you.'

Will snorted. 'Yeah, right.'

'You've been sworn into The Raven. I won't have you kicked out. You've got me behind you, as well as Erienne, Denser, and Sirendor. Never mind Thraun and Jandyr. You want to stay?'

Will looked at him, holding his gaze for half a minute. 'I do. And I know I've got to get my strength back. What about Ilkar and The Unknown?'

Hirad shrugged. 'Six against two, and Ilkar … he doesn't know what he thinks.'

Will smiled. 'I can't blame him. Hirad, why don't you hate me?'

Hirad sat down on a chair next to the window. He looked at the little man, at the still white face and wondered what The Unknown would do if he actually bothered talking with him. But that was probably why he didn't. 'I can't hate you for loving someone. And that other thing … you're not a madman incapable of affection. If Thraun were to hurt you I don't know what you'd do, but I don't think we'll ever find out.'

'I'd never be able to hurt him.' Will looked at a point behind Hirad. 'I'd sooner do away with myself.'

Hirad clapped him on the shoulder. 'Don't. I have a feeling we'll need all the hands we can have. And we'll find a proper healer for you. Just you wait.'

Ϡ

Arriving in the small village named Stonewash, Thaler realised this was definitely the lowest he had ever fallen - covers notwithstanding. Shani looked calm enough, taking the change from one country to the next in stride. 'That's what you get for travelling with children.' Shani blinked at him, and he shook his head. 'Never mind. How can you be so calm? We set foot in Temeria, we're dead.'

Shani sighed. 'I know. One day we can go back. Right now we've got to make the best of the situation. And Kovir isn't the worst place to go, I think.'

'Declare yourselves!'

They both jumped at the harsh voice. 'Shani and Thaler,' she said at once. He wondered if that was a mistake.

'Can you verify your identity?'

Thaler's eyebrows shot up. 'Come again?'

'Can you verify your identity?'

A small hand reached for his arm, but he shrugged her off. 'Is that any way to welcome visitors? Who do you fucking think you are?'

One of the two men looked cowed, the other stood his ground. 'I am sorry, everyone has to be able to verify their identity, what with all the refugees. If you can't, you are asked to see the mayor to be registered.'

'Thaler, I'm certain it has nothing to do with anything.' He forced himself to look at Shani. 'Listen, they're a bit strange so far up north. And I've heard rumours that some odd magic has brought people from another world.' She looked at the guard. 'Is that true?'

The man nodded. 'Exactly. And the King has now decreed that all those not native to Kovir need to register. Everyone is, here.'

Thaler brushed him aside with a harsh gesture. 'These refugees, as you call them, have come thirty years ago. If I managed to pick up their language, you will have whatever information you need of them. Don't you do censuses here?' He didn't wait for an answer, interrupting the guardsman by taking a step closer and invading his personal space. 'I'm registered at home, in Temeria. You cannot get the information that I do, in fact, exist from there, by any chance?'

The guard shook his head. 'I am sorry, that's impossible.'

Thaler forced himself to look put off. He deflated visibly and stepped back again. 'Very well, then I guess we will see the mayor.' When the guard turned his back on them, he exchanged a glance with Shani, who grinned broadly. 'Perfect,' he mouthed soundlessly.

The mayor, it turned out, was a busy man. They weren't the only ones waiting to be seen, either. There was a group of five people already present at the office. They were quiet, the typical kind of quiet that indicated they had stopped in mid-conversation the moment someone entered. One man looked angry. Thaler offered a curt nod and decided to ignore them. The others did likewise before continuing in an undertone. Thaler had no problem recognising the language of Balaia, and he decided to listen. He sat down on a chair and leaned back against the wall. He shut his eyes as if to doze, but opened the left one by a fraction to watch them. Balaians were usually that easy to fool.

'Very well, Coldheart, let's get this settled right now,' the angry looking man growled. He had a shaven head and would be an impressive figure when he got to his feet. Another, an elf, Thaler noticed, smiled vaguely but remained silent.

Coldheart had a scarred face and shaggy braided hair the colour of rust. 'Right. We don't have to ask Thraun or Jandyr, can we agree on that?' The bald man nodded. 'Larn?' One of the group cringed. 'Come on now, you've got to pick a side.'

Larn took a deep breath. 'Just for the record, I hate you, Hirad, and I'll someday call in a huge favour for making me do this.'

Hirad Coldheart grinned. 'Right. Talk, Sirendor.'

'I think he would deserve a chance. But I also think he needs being watched. And trained. And I don't know if we can do any of that. I like him, but I don't think it is a good idea to keep him with us. Sorry, Hirad.' His eyes travelled to the fifth person, a tall man with black hair and a skullcap. He looked tired. 'What about you? Erienne's back at the inn with those three, we're not going to tell her what you said.'

The man snorted. 'That's likely.'

Hirad Coldheart smiled. 'He's right. I promise, I won't say.'

The man in the skullcap straightened himself. 'Very well then. I don't trust him. I don't know if I ever will. He should go. He said so himself, and with Ilkar that makes us the majority.'

Hirad looked crestfallen, and the elf raised both hands. 'He's still got my pendant, and I'll want that back. So unless you want to be murderers yourselves, you'll leave it with him for now, and that means we're stuck here.' He took a deep breath. 'That being said, I don't know. I really don't. There are two things I want you all to consider, though. You first, Unknown: If he hadn't died and we had learned about the murders now, if Will had been with us through all the time, would you still want him gone?'

The bald man made to answer, but faltered before he spoke. 'I don't think so.'

Hirad smiled at the elf. 'Thanks, Ilkar.'

The elf glared at them all in turn. 'And now you, Denser. What exactly is the reason you're not a bloody smear on a castle wall?'

The black-haired man blinked at him. 'Excuse me?'

'Remind me of our first encounter, Hirad. What did you think of our Xeteskian friend here?' Sirendor snorted but refrained from answering. Hirad merely shrugged. 'You wanted him dead. You wanted him dead so badly you would have killed him. After the battle, after your chat with your dragon. The only thing that stopped you was The Unknown.' Ilkar turned his gaze to Denser. 'Isn't that right? He'd have cut you open groin to throat if The Unknown hadn't been there, and that would have been murder. Yet you trust Hirad. Gods in the ground, we all do.'

'It's hardly the same thing.' Thaler had no idea why anyone would be referred to as The Unknown, but apparently the bald man was meant by that. 'Hirad was righteously angry and trying to wrap his mind around the death of one of us.'

Ilkar shook his head. 'My point is … the more I think about it, the more I think Hirad's got this one right. As Sirendor said, Will deserves a chance. And we haven't got anything better to do than to watch and train Will anyway, seeing how we have no money nor contacts nor any idea where we are, even. Sorry, Unknown. If the majority decides, Will stays.' Sirendor looked relieved, if anything.

For a moment it seemed as though The Unknown would protest, but then he gave a curt nod. 'Fine. Now let's drop this before it gets emotional. Those two must already think we're mummers.'

Ilkar's eyes flicked over Thaler and Shani. 'I don't think they understand us.'

The girl raised her hands. 'We … we don't want trouble.' Her use of her own language drew a grin from Hirad, confirming what Ilkar had said.

Thaler decided to disillusion them. He was aware he had an accent, but he found the words he needed all right. 'You're only half wrong. You're from Balaia, not from the northern kingdoms. Are you here to see the mayor?'

The elf sighed. 'We're from a north all right, but not from this north.' He rose and offered his hand. 'Name's Ilkar.' He glanced at Shani. 'The way you sound you already are in trouble. Need help?' Shani shrugged and looked at Thaler for support.

He frowned. 'No, we're fine.'

Hirad grinned at them. 'Well, if you change your mind, you find us at the tavern. Since there's only one, you're not going to miss it.' He seemed to hesitate. 'Look, I guess you're not from here, either, but you wouldn't know a healer? We have a very sick man with us.'

Thaler raised his eyebrows. 'What's he got?'

'Lockjaw.'

Thaler looked at Shani. 'Can you do something about lockjaw?' he asked in their tongue.

She blinked. 'I can try but cannot promise.' Thaler repeated this to Hirad. By now all eyes were on him. Thaler promised in Shani's name to go to the tavern directly after their meeting with the mayor. For some reason, however, he felt he didn't want to go anywhere near these people unarmed.