In Defence of the Crown (The Aielund Saga Book 2) Read online

  “I wonder if other sorcerers of note also had tattoos similar to hers,” Desmond mused to Harold, gesturing at the markings barely visible under the sleeves of her shirt. An idea seemed to spring into Harold’s mind, for his eyes lit up at the suggestion.

  “You know who these remind me of? Terinus,” he stated, receiving a surprised look from Desmond and one of confusion from Sayana and Aiden.

  “What is a Terinus?” Sayana asked warily.

  “Who, my dear, who,” Desmond corrected. “He is the King’s personal wizard, and one of the most accomplished practitioners of magic in the entire realm. He’s sometimes referred to as ‘Terinus the Black’, for he typically wears dark, heavy robes and gloves at all times.”

  “No-one ever calls him that to his face, mind you,” Harold shuddered.

  “I caught a glimpse of tattoos similar to yours on his arm after he had been wounded, a few years ago,” Desmond added.

  “Can I meet this man?” Sayana asked, a sparkle of hope in her eyes.

  “He would be very interested in meeting you, were he not accompanying His Majesty on his campaign in the west,” Harold explained. “I am sorry, but if you are still here when he returns, I will arrange a meeting.” With that, both wizards turned to their respective notes and began scribbling down information. Sayana gave Aiden an imploring look and he agreed that it was time to be going.

  “I think you’ve had ample time to study Sayana’s capabilities,” he said impatiently, “and since you’ve concluded she isn’t a risk, I think it’s time for us to leave.”

  “Hmm? Yes, of course,” Harold replied absently, grabbing a few scrolls from nearby and reading through them. On a reflex, Aiden shifted his vision and saw that they were magical scrolls, and a strange feeling of longing came over him.

  It wasn’t difficult for him to understand, for ever since this whole business had started, he had been close to death many times over. Making use of the power contained within the arcane writings gave him an edge, and if he were to face any more foes such as they’d met over the past few weeks, he wanted every advantage he could get.

  “Say, I don’t suppose I could obtain some of those arcane scrolls you have there?” he asked Harold tentatively as Sayana rose from her chair and walked to a nearby table to retrieve her belongings.

  “‘Obtain’? Do you mean purchase, or are you perhaps seeking some sort of gift from the University?” Harold inquired curiously.

  “I could purchase some of them,” Aiden clarified, recalling the small sum of wealth at his disposal, held in the local bank. He had the man’s full attention now, but Harold seemed very suspicious of his motives.

  “And what use would they be to you, sir?” he asked Aiden. “You have no formal training. I’m afraid that these scrolls aren’t for use by common folk, as the language is very difficult to learn and one misstep in the reading could have unforeseen consequences for you, and those around you.”

  “I’m aware of the risks, but I actually have had some training in the field and I’ve used them before with little -”

  “Training? What training?” Desmond interrupted, putting down his quill and glaring at Aiden directly. “To whom were you apprenticed? I have not seen you here in our halls over the past few years, and our numbers are not so great that I would have missed you in classes.”

  “Well, to be honest, I’m self-taught,” he replied honestly, deciding not to bother attempting to trick them with lies.

  “Self-taught?” Harold exclaimed incredulously. “Oh I see. Desmond, what we have here is a Hedge Wizard.”

  “What’s that?” Sayana asked, looking at Aiden strangely.

  “The term describes a peasant wizard, usually a commoner who stumbles across some old books and tries to teach himself, usually at the cost of his own life,” Desmond explained. “My dear boy, you’re lucky to still have all of your limbs attached if you’ve been going around reading incantations from scrolls like these.”

  “I had a few hiccups, but I’ve managed pretty well so far, actually,” Aiden said defensively, not pleased at being referred to as a Hedge Wizard. He knew enough about ‘peasant wizards’ to realise proper wizards used the term pejoratively. “I’ve mostly studied artefacts and magical lore, as well as the language itself.”

  “I see,” Harold nodded condescendingly. “I’m very sorry, but regardless of how well you might think you understand such things, I cannot allow you to make use of these scrolls for your own safety, as well as the safety of those around you. Our students here train for a solid ten years before we let them at things like this, you know,” he added, patting the pile of parchments next to him. The wizard then turned to look at the table as if he’d forgotten something, and glanced at the objects lying around.

  “Is there something wrong?” Aiden asked, trying to cover up his disappointment and anger at being dismissed as an untrained simpleton.

  “Nothing, nothing really,” Harold replied absently, “I’m just missing one of my enchanted rings, is all. Never mind, it’ll show up! I’d forget my own nose if it wasn’t attached to the front of my face.” One of the objects on the table looked familiar to Aiden - a sceptre with crystals and gemstones encrusted in the head of it. He blinked in disbelief, for it was the same sceptre he had left behind at the Battle of Culdeny.

  “Where did you get that sceptre?” he asked quietly.

  “I brought it along,” Sayana replied, carefully sheathing her axe over her back. “I tried to use it when you were facing Commander Black, but it didn’t work.”

  “Yes, another task for a trained mind,” Desmond stated blandly, blowing smoke in Aiden’s direction with a spark in his eyes. “Wait a moment - did you use this sceptre prior to its arrival here?”

  “I used it to help rescue the princess from her captors, yes,” Aiden replied as he waved away the smoke, hoping to impress the wizards with the magnitude of the task he had accomplished with his ‘peasant skills’.

  “Good Lord, no wonder it’s all bent out of shape. It’s not a club, young man! This goes to show you what we mean by proper training - you broke a perfectly decent artefact, and quite a powerful one from what I could ascertain.”

  “Can you fix it?” Sayana asked curiously while Aiden struggled to find the words to answer the old wizard.

  “Most likely, though it will take quite a lot of time on my part, and I haven’t even begun to calculate the expense of replacing these crystals,” Desmond complained. “You clearly have some talent for breaking priceless artefacts, sir.”

  “Yes, I suppose I do,” Aiden mumbled, feeling humiliated before the sort of people whose approval he silently craved. “I think we’re done here, Sy. Let’s go.” He turned to follow her out the door, wondering why on earth Salinder had told him to speak with Desmond, for the man was a cantankerous old crank. But considering the unreliable nature of such minds, Aiden felt compelled to make one last attempt to speak with him about it. “Are you sure the name ‘Salinder’ means nothing to you, Desmond?”

  “There it is again, ‘Salinder’,” Desmond grumbled. “You really have a stake in selling those damn bevelling planes, don’t you? Well, I suppose it behoves me to help you keep a roof over your head since you don’t seem to have any aptitude for magic. I will take three of these ‘salinders’ of which you speak Aiden, but I expect a bulk discount.”

  Aiden stared dejectedly at the old mage for a moment in disbelief, and then simply shook his head and walked out the door without saying a word, hoping to put this whole experience behind him.

  “Next time, I’ll just let Val take care of situations like this,” Aiden growled as they descended the stairs. “That must have been unpleasant for you, being stuck in there with those idiots.”

  “They’re smarter than you think,” Sayana confided in him, “but their minds do tend to wander.” She held her hand out towards him, as if offering him something. Looking down, Aiden gasped when he saw that she had a whole sheaf of arcane parchments in her hand.
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  “When did you find the time to grab all these?” Aiden asked, looking around furtively to make sure they weren’t being followed.

  “When I was putting my equipment on and you were talking to them about scrolls, strangely enough,” she explained with a faint smile on her full lips. “As I said, their minds tend to wander.”

  “Sy, you’re a treasure,” Aiden laughed quietly, accepting the gift eagerly as they headed towards the large doors leading outside.

  Half of the compound had been cordoned off while men were clearing the remains of the rubble and as such, the University grounds were almost devoid of people. Outside the gates however, the narrow streets were packed with citizenry going about their daily business, oblivious to the events of that morning.

  Aiden wended his way through as best he could, looking for the path of least resistance with Sayana following in his wake. By the time they reached the inn, he was beginning to understand the virtues of a country life, for the smell of so many people living in a small space was rather ‘bracing’, to say the least. Sayana must have been holding her breath, for when they stepped inside the Fair Maiden she gasped and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

  “Are you alright?” Aiden asked out of concern. She nodded quickly in reply and waved him off, before his attention was caught by a cry of triumph from across the room. Valennia had thrust her fist into the air and called out to them, obviously expressing her joy over retrieving Sayana from the tower as if it had been some sort of challenge. The inn wasn’t particularly crowded at this time of day, but most of the nearby patrons looked at her with varying expressions of disbelief.

  As he walked over to their table, there was one issue about her that he couldn’t resolve and it was something he was going to address right away.

  “Val, I understand your people have a deep distrust of those that use magic, and yet you don’t seem to share that prejudice. Why is that?”

  “I used to think that way, Aiden,” she explained, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “When I was exiled from akora, I found the world beyond our borders intimidating and strange. Yet, in my first encounter with men of violence, a passing robed man offered me his assistance, in the form of strange magicks that paralysed my foes and allowed me to finish them off quickly.”

  “You didn’t find that dishonourable?” Maggie asked cynically, seated at the table next to Nellise.

  “The greatest honour is victory,” Valennia replied stridently. “Although sceptical of this frail young man at first, I soon discovered he was not the monster I had been taught from childhood to believe all magicians were. I am very open-minded by the standards of my people, so I rewarded his efforts with a night of ceaseless passion in the forest.”

  “Is that right,” Aiden remarked dryly, wondering if the poor chap had survived before noticing Sayana walking over to join them finally. “You know, Sayana originally came from Akora as well, though I doubt the two of you ever met.”

  “Yes, I hear a familiar accent to her voice,” Valennia divulged. “Though I do not know her, I will drink with her as if she were my own sister. Come, and we shall talk of home, and the miles between.”

  “I don’t drink,” Sayana replied weakly, obviously unsure if she wanted to endure the friendship of this loud woman.

  “Then you shall learn,” Val beamed, putting her arm around Sayana’s shoulder and gently moving her in the direction of the bar. Content to speak with Nellise for the moment, he pulled up a chair and slumped into it.

  “Quite a busy morning, yes?” Maggie observed wryly. Aiden wondered how she could still be in good humour, but then she wasn’t involved with two of the three problems Aiden had to contend with.

  “I trust Nellise has explained what happened in the cathedral?” he asked, receiving a quick nod in reply. “I had some difficulty with the wizards at the University. It turns out they don’t hold amateur practitioners in high regard.”

  “I sense you have a knack for understatement there, Aiden,” Maggie replied, sipping from a small cup that still seemed too big for her tiny hands.

  “You could say that,” Aiden sighed. “What a first day we’ve had, though. As soon as Ronan wakes up, I’ll need to talk to him about some of his contacts to get us back on track.”

  “That reminds me,” Maggie interjected, “what was that Salinder thing you mentioned earlier?” Aiden tensed up a little, not sure how much he should explain, having forgotten that their new little friend seemed to have a sharp mind and an excellent memory.

  “Oh, nothing important,” Aiden said as casually as he could manage. “It was a word I came across in my studies, and I thought Desmond might have some inkling about its meaning.”

  “I see,” Maggie replied easily, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. Nellise, having not said a word thus far, also gave Aiden a scrutinizing look.

  “I don’t know why you lied about that just now, Aiden,” the cleric remarked, “but I hope it isn’t something we should know about, for our own safety.”

  “I’m sorry,” Aiden replied hastily, realizing his mistake, “it’s something rather personal to me, but I swear it’s no danger to you or anyone else, for that matter. I was just looking for an explanation.”

  “Well that was the truth, at least,” Maggie observed.

  “What, you too?” Aiden asked incredulously.

  “Our faiths are not as different as you might think,” Maggie explained as if reading his thoughts. “We’ve been talking a little while we were waiting for you, and it turns out we have some things in common.”

  “Which is to say that we agree to disagree on a lot of issues,” Nellise corrected her counterpart.

  “When you get right down to it, the core ideals are the same,” Maggie contested.

  “What you call a god of nature, I just call God,” Nellise pressed, apparently picking up where they’d left off an earlier discussion. “You are praying to the same deity, Margaret, you just don’t realise it.”

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Aiden asked curiously.

  “It isn’t like I’ve been excommunicated,” she sighed, closing her eyes for a long moment. “Expulsion from the Chapter is one of the worst penalties a priest can be subject to. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do next, at least in terms of how my work with the Church will continue.”

  “What about joining a different Chapter?” Aiden suggested.

  “I briefly considered that option,” Nellise replied. “The other two Chapters only differ from the Heralds in location, not principles, with the exception of the Penitent Sisters and their vow of celibacy which I find a little extreme.”

  This made Aiden blink in surprise, for the way she spoke indicated that her previous chapter did not have the restriction, news that Pacian would find very interesting.

  “Can you stay with the church, but remain independent of the other chapters?” Maggie asked curiously.

  “For a time I may remain an Errant Priest, though I will eventually be asked to choose a path or leave the faith altogether,” Nellise replied solemnly. Aiden wasn’t happy to see her like this - indecisive, sad and without purpose. Her bravery and faith were the sole reason he was still alive at this point. She must have sensed he was gazing at her, for she looked up at him and they locked eyes for a long moment.

  “What?” Aiden asked, starting to blush from the scrutiny.

  “What is it you think I should do?” she asked him.

  “You’re asking my opinion because you value my input as a friend, or because you think God sent me to help you?”

  “It can be both,” she answered with a slight smile. One of these days, Aiden was going to have to disabuse her of the notion he met God, because sooner or later it was going to cause them some real problems. He wasn’t sure Archon Price had actually told her his thoughts on Aiden’s so-called divinity, but for now, she needed advice, and he had some for her.

  “Keep doing what you’ve been doing, but with no regret
s,” he told her after a moment’s consideration. “You’ve followed your heart this far, and although it might seem difficult for you, I can’t fault any of your decisions up to this point. Don’t pay too much attention to the politics of the Church. I’m sure His Holiness did what he needed to do for the sake of appearances. God is still answering your prayers, right?” She nodded meekly. “Then how can you question the direction you’re heading in?”

  “Nicely put,” Maggie remarked. Nellise nodded slowly and a faint smile creased her beautiful face.

  “That was some very poignant advice,” she said. “It was almost as if it were divinely inspired.”

  “It’s just me talking here,” Aiden suggested, slightly embarrassed. “Give it some thought, okay? I’m going to get a drink.” Making his way to the bar, he spotted Pacian staring intently a glass of amber liquid.

  “So how are the ladies?” he asked as Aiden pulled up a stool beside him.

  “They’re doing well, and Nellise seems to be taking the change of career in her stride,” he replied, looking at the tall pitcher of amber liquid sitting on the bench. “I’m more concerned about you at the moment.”

  “I’ll be better once this pitcher is empty,” he explained, pouring more of it into a tall glass and taking a long swig. “If I never see the dead walking around again, it’ll be too soon. I swear I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. Here, have a drink with me.”

  “I guess one or two wouldn’t hurt,” Aiden reluctantly agreed. “Nellise wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry she hasn’t been very talkative of late. For that matter, where do you two stand at the moment anyway?”

  “I’ve been giving her space,” Pacian told him. “She needed to get her head sorted out, and I didn’t want to be telling her ‘I told you so’ while she was coping with it all.”

  “That’s very gentlemanly of you, but I couldn’t help but notice that you’re talking in the past tense,” Aiden observed as he took a sip of his beer.