To take your mind off an imagined slight, said Caleb. If I let you drink alone two things would happen. He held up a finger, while he poured them another drink. Firstly, youd receive no end of teasing from the other men in town who know how youve been butting heads over Ellie for nearly a year. Secondly, youd just pick a fight with Grame.
The boys quickly drank the whiskey and seemed to be getting used to it. Caleb filled their glasses again. Here, have another.
The boys finished their fourth drink, and Tads eyes began to close. Youre getting us drunk. I can feel it.
Caleb filled the glasses yet again and said, One more should do it.
Zane asked, Do what? as his speech began to slur.
Caleb jumped down from the wagon bed. Get you too drunk to pick a fight. He pushed Tad who wobbled as he tried to compensate for being slightly off balance.
Come along, said Caleb.
Where? asked Zane.
Back to your mas, and into your beds. Youre going to pass out in five minutes and I dont want to carry you.
The boys had never drunk anything as potent as the whiskey before, and they followed Caleb quietly. By the time they had reached their home, both boys were unsteady on their feet.
Caleb ushered them inside and when he had seen them onto their sleeping mats, he left and returned to the festival. It took only a few minutes to find Marie and when she saw him, she said, What did you do with them?
Got them very drunk.
As if they needed any help doing that. She looked around anxiously. Where are they?
Back at your house, sleeping it off.
Her gaze narrowed. They havent had enough time to get that drunk.
He held up the whiskey bottle. It was nearly empty. When they just tossed down five double portions each in fifteen minutes, they have.
Well, at least they wont be troubling Grame and Ellie, said Marie.
Or us. Caleb said with a smile.
She said, I dont care how drunk they are, Caleb, if theyre in the house, then youre not.
He grinned. I already have a room at the inn. If we head over there now, no one will notice you come upstairs with me.
She slipped her arm through his. As if I care what people think. Im not a maiden trying to catch a young suitor, Caleb. Ill grab happiness where I can and if anyone cares, it doesnt matter.
Caleb pulled her close to him and said, And those who do matter dont mind.
They skirted the edge of the crowd and made for the inn.
Their lovemaking had an urgency to it that Caleb had not experienced before, and afterward, as they lay with her head on his shoulder, he asked, What troubles you?
She knew that one of the reasons why they had been drawn to each other was his ability to read her mood so accurately. Tad asked me if we were going to wed.
Caleb was silent for a moment, then he let out a long sigh. If I were the the marrying kind, Marie, it would be you.
I know, she said. But if you wont stay, marry me, and be a real father to the boys, you have to take them with you.
Caleb moved out from under her and levered himself up on his elbow. Looking down at her, he said, What?
You can see how it is for them, Caleb. They have no future, here. I had to sell the farm and that coin wont last forever, even if I grow most of my food in the garden. I can make do alone, but feeding growing boys And they have no one to teach them farming, and no guild to teach them a craft. Every other lad was apprenticed to a farmer, trader, sailor, or guild two years ago at the Choosing, but my boys stood alone at the end. Everyone likes them, and had they means to help, Tad and Zane would be apprenticed by now, but there just isnt enough work here.
If you dont take them with you, theyll become layabouts or worse. Id rather lose them now than see them hanged for robbers in a few years.
Caleb was silent for a long moment. What would you have me do with them, Marie?
Youre a man of some stature, despite your homespun garb and leather hunting togs, or at least your father is. Youve seen the world. Take them with you as servants, or apprentices, or take them to Krondor and find them work there.
They have no father, Caleb. When they were little a ma was all they needed to wipe their noses and hold them when they were scared. We did a lot of that after Zanes folks were killed in the troll raid. But at this age they need a man to show them what to do and what not to do, to knock some sense into them if need be, and to praise them when they do well. So, if you wont wed me and stay here, then at least take them with you.
Caleb turned, and sat with his back against the plastered wall. What you say makes sense, in a way.
Then youll do it?
Im not sure what Im agreeing to, but yes, Ill take them with me. If my father doesnt know what to do with them, Ill take them to Krondor and see them apprenticed with a trader or placed in a guild.
Theyre like brothers now. It would be a crime to split them apart.
Ill keep them together. I promise.
She nestled closer to him. Youll come back from time to time and tell me how theyre doing?
Yes, Marie, said Caleb. Ill make them write to you often.
That would be grand, she whispered. No one has ever written to me before. She sighed. Come to think of it, no ones ever written to anyone I know.
Ill see that they do.
Thats lovely, but youll have to teach them to write, of course.
They dont know their letters? Caleb couldnt keep the surprise from his voice.
Who would teach them?
Dont you ?
No, never learned, she said. I can make out word-signs a bit, because Ive heard them at the shops, but Ive never really had a need for them.
Then how will you read what they send you?
Ill find someone to read them to me, I just need to know that theyre doing well somewhere.
Youre a rare woman, Marie, he said.
No, Im just a normal mother worried about her boys.
Caleb settled back into bed and let her return to the crook of his shoulder. Silently he wondered what he had got himself into.
CHAPTER TWO
Council
PUG HELD UP HIS HAND.
He was a short man who looked no more than forty years old. He was dressed, as always, in a simple black robe, and his dark eyes surveyed all the people who stood before him. His eyes were the one feature that betrayed the extent of his power. Otherwise he was, to all outward appearances, a very average looking man.
The cave on the north side of Sorcerers Isle had become the traditional meeting place for the Conclaves leaders. It had a narrow entrance, with a low ceiling. It was dry, free of moss and lichen, and from time to time, it was dusted to provide a modicum of comfort for those who met there. The cave was almost bare, save for two stone shelves and a few rocks which offered the only resting places. Light was provided by a spell that Miranda employed an enchantment which caused the walls themselves to glow faintly. Only one feature of the cave was unnatural: a bust of Sarig, the putative God of Magic rested upon a pedestal against a wall.
Over the years, Pug had slowly come to understand more about the way in which the gods died. Sarig was lost, and had been presumed dead since the Chaos Wars, yet Pug was coming to the conclusion that he still existed in some form and still had a hand in things. The bust flickered as the features of the icon shifted constantly, occasionally resembling Pug, or one of Pugs companions. Its changing countenance illustrated the theory that all magicians were avatars of the god in one manner or another.
Pug pushed his chronic curiosity over that artefact away, as he looked from face to face, seeing his most trusted advisors. All but two of them were former students. Those two Miranda and Nakor stood quietly to one side. Magnus, Pug and Mirandas son who had recently returned from the world of Kelewan, stood behind his mother. Pug caught a glimpse of resemblance between them in the faint light and smiled slightly. Magnus and Caleb were unmistakably brothers, save for their skin tone and hair colour Magnus was pale with white hair while Calebs skin was tanned and his hair dark brown but neither looked especially like their parents. There were hints and glimpses of similarities from time to time, but Pug had wondered more than once whether the boys might carry the look of one of their paternal grandparents, neither of whom was known to him.
Miranda had not changed since Pug had first met her over fifty years before. Her dark hair held only a fleck of grey and her eyes changed colour with her mood dark grey, to green, to brown-flecked hazel, to dark brown. She had high cheekbones and a determined set to her mouth that at times could undermine her regal beauty.
To Pug, she was always beautiful, even when he was angry enough to strangle her. It was her strength and passion that made him love her. Katala, his first wife, had possessed the same qualities in her youth. Pugs eyes locked with his wifes for a moment and they exchanged the silent communication they had shared for years.
Nakor settled down on a rocky ledge, and Pug wondered again if he would ever truly understand the strange little man. Nakor refused to accept the traditional concept of magic, always insisting that it was just tricks, the deft manipulation of some kind of mystical stuff that underpinned all things. There were moments when the bandy-legged little man drove Pug to distraction with his abstract musings on the nature of things, but at other times Nakor could provide insights into and had a grasp of magic that stunned Pug. The Isalani was also, to Pugs mind, potentially the most dangerous magician in the world.
The newcomers to the Conclaves inner circle sat waiting for Pug to speak. They were: Rosenvar, a middle-aged magician from Salmater and Uskavan, a mindmaster from the world of Salavan.
Uskavan looked human but his skin had a decidedly magenta hue if you were close enough to notice. Pug had made contact with his homeworld a decade before, via the Hall of Worlds, and had agreed to let him study with the Conclave in exchange for sharing knowledge of his mind-magic. Uskavan could produce illusions so vivid in the mind of a subject, that they could cause physical reactions he could conjure phantom blades that could cut, or imaginary flames that could burn. Pug also found his alien perspective useful.
Uskavan had taken the place of Robert de Lyse, one of Pugs best students and a valuable servant of the Conclave of Shadows. Robert had died peacefully in his sleep the year before, though he had been less than seventy years old.
Pug began, I have spoken to each of you separately and now want to share some intelligence, so Ive asked you to join me today to sum up what we know regarding two issues of great importance.
The first is the matter of the Talnoy. He glanced at Magnus, who stepped out from behind his mother.
Magnus face was set in a concerned expression. The Tsurani magicians are as baffled as we are by the nature of the magic used to create these things.
The Talnoy were artefacts from another circle of reality, created by a race called the Dasati and were extremely dangerous. They were suits of armour powered by the imprisoned souls, or spirits, of the Dasati, and as such they were almost impervious to damage, immune to pain, and mindless in their obedience. According to what Kaspar of Olasko had told the Conclave about when he had brought the first Talnoy to their attention, Talnoy was Dasati for very hard to kill.
Magnus continued, They agree that any major incursion into our level of reality, for lack of a better term, would be catastrophic. As such, they are endeavouring to discover as much as possible about the wards we disturbed when we first discovered the Talnoy repository in the cave.
He glanced at Nakor who said, Nothing new to report, Im sorry to say. The self-proclaimed gambler who refused to admit that he was a magician, paused as he considered his words. Finally, he continued, Our girls and boys he referred to all the younger magicians on Sorcerers Island as girls and boys are trying very hard to understand these things.
The one good thing, he said with a grin, is that I think we have found a way to ensure that only we can command them should it come to a confrontation with the Dasati.
Pug said, Thats something at least. Ten thousand Talnoy under our command is nothing to be taken lightly. He ignored the impulse to add that against the hundreds of thousands of Talnoy controlled by the Dasati, that number would amount to very little. But I think our interests are best served if we can discover how they remained hidden for so long. In other words, if we can stay hidden from the Dasati, then we will have accomplished the most important task we have before us.
Our other task is hunting down Leso Varen.
Miranda said, Have we any idea to where he might have fled?
I have agents keeping alert for anything out of the ordinary concerning magic.
Mirandas dark eyes narrowed. Hes gone to ground for years at a time.
Pug said, But this time I think he will be anxious to re-establish his presence. He knows something important is out there, even if he has no idea what the Talnoy represent or how he might use them to his advantage. If nothing else, he will want to deny us something that powerful.
His attack on the island and Elvandar last year proved that he has grown bolder, and whatever tendency he had for stealth is gone. He re-manifested his powers quickly after his host was killed by Talwin Hawkins. I think its safe to assume well hear from him again, and soon.
Rosenvar said, Pug, what is it youve not told us?
Pug smiled. He had chosen Rosenvar to join the inner circle because the man had keen insight and an almost intuitive ability to glean answers from very scant information. It is nothing specific, really. Just some troubling dreams, and bad feelings.
Uskavans black eyes were wide as he said, Never ignore dreams, Pug. My people believe that parts of our minds are always at work, always seeking to understand things. Dreams are often the means by which some parts of the mind communicate what is about to become conscious thought; especially when the emotions are strong. Our races are not that different; when it comes to the workings of our minds we have much in common.
Magnus glanced at the alien magician and Pug could almost read his sons thoughts: few humans, including Pug, Miranda and Magnus, could even begin to approach the mind-discipline of a novice of Uskavans order. Salavan minds were far more complex than human ones, despite Uskavans insistence this was only because the Salavans were an older race and had been practising mental arts for thousands of years.