Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, or Dragons Slayer. Others own them, and I only borrowed the concept and some characters, meddled with the plot (Which I suppose I own), and let you read the mess that came from it.
:}
The expedition had stopped at the free town Travmort, nestled in the foothills just before the Demonspine mountains. This was a trading town, where those who lived in the wild would come to trade what they've caught or made for the few comforts of civilization that might be found out here in the wild lands. The expedition was leery, looking to their leaders, the cousins Vic and Beck, to decide if the locals could be trusted.
"So, there a place to stay around here?" Beck asked a local, relying on the smooth charm that had won him the hearts of many a fair lass.
"The Berger runs the inn." The local said, not seeming to care for Beck.
"But do they take, um, coin?" Beck pushed.
The man, a worker, heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, even out here, in the wilds, we know how to use coins. Maybe I don't, since I'm paid in chickens, but the inn keeper, being a merchant, he'll know what those are used for." Sarcasm hid behind the rough day to day of life and barter.
"Thanks." Beck said, turning to head back to the expedition.
"Ah-hem." Vic cleared his throat. In a slightly odd voice, he asked "We're also looking for information."
"How so, youngling?" The worker asked, not bothering to stop what he was doing.
"We were told there might be a wizard..." Vic was saying when the worker dropped the load he was carrying, a look of disgust crossing his face.
"Looky here, young man. Wise people don't tread in the affairs of wizards." The worker snapped. "Now, if your quite done, I have work to do. Work that's better served without talking about dark mystics and the like."
Vic nodded. He turned to his cousin, motioning with his head for them to go. Beck, however, still had a question. 'Just, not for him...' The handsome boy decided. They walked their horses until they found someone who appeared to be a guard. "Excuse me, but how can we find the inn?" Beck asked.
"If'ns you don't have cash, it's better to see if someone will let you sleep on their floor." The guard said, only for something to catch his eye. "Is that a broad sword?" The guard was taking in the travelers cloaks and dress of the party, most of whom seemed to be armed.
"One would be a fool to travel unarmed in these dark times." Beck said, turning his normally calming smile into a more predatory grin. "We've come a long way on our quest, and yes, some of us are armed, so as to be safe on the road. And yes, we're still in our traveling clothes, so don't leap to any conclusions about if we do or don't have money."
"If you have coin, then maybe we can come to an understanding." The guard said, eyeing the group sideways.
"Or, we just go find someone willing to talk to us." Vic suggested. "I have no time for such petty greed."
"That's just it, we don't have a lot of time." Beck agreed. "So how about this. I'll give you a writ worth more then the amount of coin we can afford to pay right now. You just have to present it anywhere in the kingdom of Ardun, and they'll happily reimburse you. Or, if you were a merchant, you could go through your house..."
"Cash only." The guard insisted.
"Maybe it's the biggest house?" Vic suggested. "And if not, they can direct us, probably for a lot less then this worm wants."
"I'm warning you." The guard said, shaking his club.
"Vic, please." Beck held out his hand. Then he returned his attention tot he guard before him. "We need cash to complete our task, so… I know, come with us, guide us to the wizard who is said to live in those mountains, and we'll pay you what we'd intended to pay the guide."
"I'm not going anywhere." The guard stated. "And you'll have a hard time finding guides willing to go near the wizard. If your business is up there, you'll be going alone."
"Then we'll need a map. I'm betting we'll find someone willing to sell us one, if we just ask around. A hunter, maybe..." Vic edged. His thin face lit up in a smile.
"Let me save you all the trouble." A young man, maybe twelve, said. "For one coin, your choice, I'll lead you to the inn, and the best place to get your map."
"Why you..." The guard looked angry. However, he was also outnumbered, by armed man who seemed to be willing to defy the order of the Burger, a dangerous thing to do in the wilds. At least, as far as the guard knew.
"Deal." Vic said, and pulled out a small coin. The boys eyes lit at the sight of it.
Taking the coin, the boy said "Follow," then headed off through the town. It didn't take long for a new, tall building to come into view. "That's the inn, and the innkeeper works for the Berger. The Berger is the main merchant here in town, and he'll have the best chance of having anything you might need. He also runs the trading post, where the wild folk come to sell their stuff, and buy new stuff."
"Lots of stuff." Beck agreed.
Vic stayed close to Beck, leaning in to ask a question, his voice morphing back to it's normal, feminine tones. "So, didn't think I could do a mans voice, did you?"
"Better then I'd expected." Beck replied. "You noticed, that guard, the way he carried his weapons, he's not used to stopping a real fight. I'm guessing they just don't let trouble makers back in. That'd be deterrent enough."
"So, think we'll have any trouble getting rooms?" Tori, who'd been going by Vic for this trip, asked.
"No, but I'll want a private room for us." Beck insisted. "The men with us are good men, and can be trusted, to a point. But there was a reason we're dressing you as a boy."
"I can use a sword." Tori insisted.
"I know." Beck said. "But we're still not inviting trouble."
The guide walked them into the inn, and called out "Guests."
"I can see that." An older man said, a warm, welcoming smile crossing is face. Behind the man, two man in chain hauberk shifted, standing up and getting ready. Each wore their weapons, axes and clubs, in a much more relaxed fashion, more sure of themselves and their skill at arms. "So, if you have the coin, you'll find us hospitable as possible. If not, or if you make trouble, then my associates will have the job of tossing you out."
Tori shifted into her man voice "We have coin, and letters of credit."
"Letters of credit are only worth something if we give credit to the people who back the letters." The innkeeper said. "But we always take coin. Let me see."
Beck stepped forward, presenting his purse. "I have some coins. Lets just hope we have enough for what we need."
The innkeeper hefted the purse, and his eyes widened. "Y-You have gold…?" His eyes looked to the side, suddenly not totally trusting even his own guards.
"A little." Beck confirmed. "Treat me fair, and we'll pay fair prices. But that includes a map through the Demonspine mountains, including the wizard's stronghold."
"I… See. I'll tell the master. He's the only one who can sell such a map. In the mean time, lets bargain for the rooms you'll need." The innkeeper suggested.
Beck enjoyed the bargaining, even though he knew they'd lose. 'I'd already shown how much I could afford, so their gonna charge us more. However, we're getting what we needed, and Tori and I will have private rooms off a small main room, and a bath. Tori really wants a bath.'
In addition to the main room, they had a single room for the other eight men in their expedition, as well as food for the lot of them, and the right to stay in the common room. Beck and "Vic" would be allowed in the VIP section, mostly because they had money. Beck then gave each man an allowance to buy drinks, and set them free while he and his cousin settled in. Both would drop their things off in the room, have a quick bath, then they'd head down to the main hall, the common room, to await the Berger.
Once clean and dressed, Beck and Tori relaxed, as much as they could, enjoying the music and the laughter in the pub. They'd been told, more then once, that "The master is a busy man, but will come by once he's finished today's business."
"Excuse me, worthies, might I have a moment?" A worker asked. The man seemed to fit the description of poor country workers throughout the empire, and apparently beyond, in his homespun trousers and shirt under a heavy homespun jacket.
"We're waiting for someone." Beck stated.
"And I just wanted to tell you what this someone is like." The worker said, dropping his voice low. "The Berger, Master West, he's not the nicest of men. I remember, those eight summers past, he sold his own daughter to the wizard in the mountains. Not as a bride, mind you, but as a servant. Said he had no use for a girl child, and she'd best start paying her own keep. What kind of man would sell his own child, I ask you?"
"It's hardly that original." The waitress said as she let them know she was near. "Harry, leave these good people alone. They know that many a farmer, when unable to pay for their children's upkeep, may well sell off a daughter to a new life. Brides and servants and even girls of ill repute, those girls have a shot at something more then starving to death. Though, if this fine young man was buying, I'd certainly be selling."
Beck waved the girl off. "Thank you both for your advice and input, but we just need a map from the Berger."
"As you wish." Harry said. "You've been warned." He and the waitress drifted off to their own business, though the waitress stayed close in case they needed something.
A short time after the man left, and the barmaid retreated to help take care of the other patrons, the Berger of the town, Master West, showed up. He had a boy in tow, maybe thirteen years old, who was dressed almost as well as he was. "I'm Master West. Who might you be?" His introduction showed contempt for the travelers, knowing they may well be important where they came from, but in his town, they were nothing.
"I'm Lord Becket Oliver, son of Lord Darren Oliver and cousin to David Vega, Lord of the Vega clan and Baron of the dale of Vordnar." Beck said. "This is my cousin, Victor."
"At your service." Tori said, using her man voice.
"And what business does the kin of the lord of Vordnar have here, out on the borderlands?" Master West asked. His disposition hadn't improved.
Beck thought about lying, but his honest nature was already straining at hiding his cousins true gender. 'If only we weren't worried about the wizard not wanting to deal with anyone not of the line of David.' He cursed the air again. Sighing, he decided this man could be trusted. "We have business with the wizard." He admitted, thought what business he refused to say.
"Business he asked for, or were you going to surprise him?" The merchant asked.
"That'd be surprise." Tori said, not happy about telling this man so much. She was still using her man voice. "So, the map?"
"I could sell it to you for one hundred gold coins, and you'd possibly pay." The merchant said. He was in good shape, edging toward the end of middle age. "However, that would be a disservice to my son, Jasper. Jasper, theses are lord's Beckett and Victor." The boy nodded in acknowledgment. "Normally, I'd scold him on his manors. However, today he's right. We owe no lord any fealty, and show only respect to those who can pay. So we greet you as equals, even though here, we're the betters. But I digress. You want a map leading to the wizards stronghold. I'll sell you one, and for a bargain. You see, while I'd love to take your coin, I have no desire to upset him, should he decide he wants your business. Also, knowing he'll probably fry you makes me, um, happy. Yes, that's the feeling. Happy."
"How much?" Tori asked.
"Ten farthings." The Berger stated. "And you'll have your copy by morning. Just be warned, there are monsters and creatures that stalk the mountains. We have a wall for a reason. Pay now for the map, and we'll conclude our business."
Beck pulled out a single coin, offering it to the merchant. "Here, and thanks."
The merchant took the coin. "No worries. I like silver too. Jasper..."
"One moment, pa. I have a questioner for these two." Jasper told his father. Then, he leaned in and whispered to the two travelers. "If you can, I'd like to know if my sister is still alive."
Beck agreed. "If we see her, we'll bring back news." He promised.
Elsewhere, in the mountains, a young woman sighed as she watched the sunset. 'I hate how we only see part of it.' She thought. 'Then again, I've never really seen a full sunset. Now sunrises, those I've seen...' Her mind raced back to a place where her memories weren't too happy, but at least she was allowed to be a child. That changed when she was eight, half her lifetime ago.
'He told me he had no use for a daughter...' Her thoughts raced back, remembering how the man had dragged her out from her comfortable home. Carried, she was tossed into a wagon with several other children, all of them being being sent into the mountain. Her father watching with cold eyes, and her brothers… The look on Ryder's face. 'He wanted to protect me...'
There were few paths that could take a wagon into the mountains, but one pass was close enough. She remembered the three days they rode, slowly heading inwards. Her and the other children were prodded, while the man and his hirelings laughed. 'They told us the wizard would only take one, and the rest of us, they'd find some way to recoup their losses…' She felt the shudder that came with the thought, what happened to the other children, many from towns and villages further away then the one where she was from. 'Some day, I'm gonna have to pay a visit to Travmort, and let my father know his daughter wasn't sold into prostitution, thought it was close.'
The woman continued doing her menial task, kinda focusing on her work as he mind slipped back to another unpleasant moment. 'I turned twelve, and one of the older servants noticed I was female for the first time. Master Alister wasn't pleased when he was told, but it was old Bert who caught us, and saved me from the worst of the rape. Still...' She'd never truly recovered from the assault, saved from rape by an old man who had no right to have been able to pull the much younger man, who was still almost twenty years her senior, off from her and toss him away like that. She knew the old retainer was something special after that. More then just head of the servants, he was gifted, blessed by their master with the ability to defend himself and enforce the masters will. He'd proved it when he saved her virtue. 'Even if his reasons weren't moral, just because I was for the master...'
She could see them, those few other servants around her, all the time. She could see how old Bert would be watching her, making sure she did everything the master instructed. 'I'm not a virgin, but because of Bert, it was by choice, and to a slick talking traveler. I may have believed what he told me, but I could have said no. The master... no traveler is going to risk the masters wrath...' She looked up, at the tower where the master practiced some of his deepest sorceries. 'No, I was never a concubine. Who knew he'd find me so valuable. Still, kinda wonder, whatever happened to the others, the children he didn't have a use for…?'
"Dang it Jade, is your mind off in the past again?" Bert scolded her, shocking her only a little as she was kinda ware of his presence. "Finish your task. The master wants to see you. He said it's important."
"Then maybe I should just go…?" She gestured.
"He said it was important, but he's in no hurry. You can finish that first." Bert smirked. "Just be done soon. I have a feeling the master may be ready to test you."
"Gee, thanks for not making it too ominous." Jade teased. Despite that, she smiled. 'I'm not like the other servants. We'll, so far, I'm not like the other servants. But this test, it may well tell if that's gonna be true going forward.'
Jade finished her task, washing and placing the herbs out to dry. She made sure there was cloth between each type of herb as she carried them in to the drying room, hanging them in the right places, towards the back of their type, as was always done. 'Oldest and driest first.' She thought.
Then Jade raced out to of the tower, heading to the main building, where the other people lived. She passed the other current servsant, Martin, ten years her senior, and bounced up the stairs to the masters chambers. Knocking, she hesitated, waiting for permission to enter. "Master..?"
"Jade?" The master asked. "Jade West, daughter of the Harold West, the Burger of Travmort? If that's you, enter."
Jade entered, her head bowed low in respect, daring to glance up at the timeless man she called master. "Bert said you wished to speak with me…?"
"I'm sure he said something about a test." The old man replied.
"Yea, what..?" She started.
"I've decided to unbind your magics, see if you've learned that much as my apprentice." He continued. "This is a time that every servant fears, because this is the day we find out if your now close to being a journeyman, or if the magics in you just weren't strong enough to flare up as I need."
Jade held her breath. "Will it hurt?"
"Did it?" The old wizard asked. "I did it this morning. I just wanted to see if you'd noticed yet."
Jade's eyes shot up, worry etched into her features. "Don't worry if you haven't been doing anything magical yet. I've taught you to cast by will. Now then, cast a spell, and lets see how much work you still need."
Jade looked to the fireplace, where a warm fire both lit the room, and drove the cold out. Her mind reached out, shaping the flames, even as a small part of her reminded her that fire's hot, She wrapper her hand in imaginary energy, and used it to protect herself from the heat and fire. Then, she pulled at the hearth, and some small amount of fire leaped out to her, forming a small ball in her hand. A smile crossed her face. "Did I just…?"
"Would have been more impressed if you'd just conjured it, but that will do." Master Alister said. "Now dispel it." He watched as Jade gathered the small amount of magics she'd need. "Wait, change it to ice, then toss the ball out the widow towards the old creek bed."
Jade nodded, turning her focus to the task, and the dancing ball of flame shifted to a swirling ball of frost. Then, she tossed it out towards the old creek bed, and watched as it impacted some place, covering he ground with a thin layer of hoarfrost.
"I was afraid of that." The old man said, standing next to her. "You're strong. Stronger then you realized. Yes, you'll be a journeyman soon. Sooner then I'd like, I'll wager. But a task is coming, and it's both too much and too little for the likes of me. You'll have to be my agent." The old wizard hesitated, struggling with something. Jade waited, knowing he could be like that. "Also, Jade, I need you to know, you're going to be more like me then most. You do realize why Bert is so healthy at his age, don't you?"
"You like having him around, to deal with the servants?" Jade guessed. "I mean..."
"Every ten years, I have a merchant family bring me potentials, and choose the best option. For the last forty, they've brought me children they hope to sell someplace else. Many wind up apprenticed to shops that wouldn't have servants otherwise, but some wind up as slaves." The old wizard started. "Those I take, I offer them their freedom, after their time with me, their apprenticeship, is done. But most stay, because home is so far away, and they are hardly fit for the kind of life that a mere servant would have. I need my apprentices to be able to read, and many can perform small feats of spell craft."
"Doesn't explain why you keep Bert so healthy." Jade sniped. "No, you don't like dealing with your former apprentices."
"He's my lover." The wizard snapped. "I've known Bert a long, long time, and when I gathered such magics to keep myself alive, I shared it with him. Gave him the spirit of a bear, for when he needs strength." A dark chuckle crossed the old mans lips. "You should see him when he's ready to fight... But, I digress. I've looked into your soul, your dreams, and I can tell, you will fall for a young woman. Just wish I could see the potential, and if it'd be realized, of my students. Ah well, you'll discover, on this quest, that a young woman will seize your heart. Shake your world to the core, it will. But, they'l be needing magic, so I'll give you a gift, something of use for the quest. It will help you continue to grow as a sorceress."
Jade just nodded, not used to the full extent of her masters mind, but knowing that, when he got mysterious, things were getting very serious.
:}
Do I have your attention yet? Let me know what you think, and if you've seen Dragon slayer. This won't follow that plot. It just helped inspire the story. So, review.