Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (3 page)

Kazin gave Sherman a shot in the arm. “It’s nice to see you again, Sherm.”

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” said Sherman.

“Nearly two years.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Speaking of time,” interrupted Max, “It’s time I was heading home. I’m sure you guys have a lot of catching up to do. Nice finally meeting you, Sherman. Kazin’s told me a lot about you.”

“He has, has he?” said Sherman, giving Kazin a sly look.

“Mostly bad,” said Kazin, returning the look.

Sherman laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, I have a reputation to uphold.”

After bidding Max farewell, the two friends sat down at the bar to chat.

“You first,” said Kazin. “When did you get in?”

“Just now, as a matter of fact. We were ahead of schedule.”

“We?” asked Kazin, looking around the inn.

“My caravan,” said Sherman. “Our last stop was at this inn. I was unloading the last kegs of ale out back when I saw the waiter pouring some glasses of grape juice.” He nodded toward the now empty glasses on the bar. “I had a hunch you might be here so I asked the waiter who he was making the drinks for. He said he heard Barlow call you ‘Kazin’ so I knew I was right. Then I told the waiter there was a bad keg of ale and to call Barlow in to check it out. As soon as Barlow saw me, he let me in the back way and I sneaked up on you, and here I am.”

“Where have you travelled so far and what interesting things did you see?” asked Kazin.

“Let’s see, now,” said Sherman. “I’ve been west as far as the Tower of Hope, south as far as the guard post at the foot of the Five Fingers Mountains, and east as far as the Tower of Stars, with a view of Five Star Reef. I’ve seen many dwarves and elves and even a few goblins, minotaurs and ogres in the mountains.”

“Did you do a lot of fighting?”

“From time to time,” answered Sherman. “Mostly with bandits or thieves, but sometimes with angry creatures in the mountains; especially when we were carrying dwarven gems or magical artifacts.”

“Magical artifacts?” pursued Kazin, his curiosity intensifying.

“Yes, even artifacts,” said Sherman. “Most of them turned out to be fakes, though.”

“You mean you have no mages in your caravan to identify the real ones from the fakes?”

“No. That would only arouse suspicion. If nobody thinks we’re carrying magical artifacts, they’re less likely to attack us. Besides, mages have more important things to do than go travelling with caravans.”

“I guess that’s true. But you can’t sell fake magical items.”

“Yes we can.”

Kazin blinked. “But who would want—oh, I see—other unwary merchants.”

Sherman grinned. “Now you’re getting the hang of it.”

Kazin shook his head. “Not really.”

“Now it’s your turn,” said Sherman. “What have you been up to in the last few years?”

Kazin related the events of the past two years—his mage apprenticeship, making lightsticks in the local factory, and everything else leading up to the test which was coming up at the end of the next week. Sherman, as it happened, had some time off and vowed to be present at the completion of Kazin’s test.

“After all,” he added, “you might even get sent on a quest and you’ll need to hire a body guard.”

“I don’t think they’ll send me on a quest right away,” said Kazin, “but thanks for the offer; besides, I haven’t passed it yet.”

“You will,” said Sherman confidently. “Even if I have to drag you through it myself.”

Kazin smiled up at his friend. It was good to have him back.

Over in a dark corner of the inn, a grizzled figure sat hunched quietly over his glass of ale, murmuring softly to himself. “You don’t think you’ll be going on a quest right away? If you and your mage friend both ‘perfect’ the test, you’ll go on a quest that will end your questing days—PERMANENTLY!” Quietly, without drawing attention to himself, he rose and left the inn.

In another corner of the room, a burly man, young and clean shaven, had also overheard the two friends chatting. His interest, however, was not in the mage but in the warrior. So Sherman has returned home, has he? That should make things easier, at least for a little while. He rose and left, thinking of how to phrase his report to the boss.

The celebration that night was loud and boisterous. Mr. Takar and his wife Ezra were overjoyed at seeing their son and Ezra, being totally unprepared for this visit, bustled about nervously in her kitchen.

“Relax, Ezra!” shouted Takar from the sitting room. “I’m sure Sherman isn’t all that hungry right now.”

“It’s no trouble, really,” responded Ezra amid the clanging of pots and pans. “I’ll be done in a jiffy!”

“Really, Ezra-,” began Takar.

“Don’t ‘Really, Ezra’ me, Sam!” interrupted Ezra. “Just keep the guests entertained!”

Sam Takar sighed and smiled ruefully at Sherman. “Don’t ever get married, son.”

“I heard that!” shouted Ezra from the kitchen.

Sam quickly changed the subject, “Come, let’s all sit down by the fire. Randall, close those shutters over there. The breeze tonight is quite chilly.” Randall, Takar’s hired hand, quickly obliged.

When Kazin, Sherman, Max, and their families finally seated themselves in the sitting room—all except Ezra, who was preparing a feast, and Carla, who had gone to assist her—Sherman rose and raised his glass. “To home! May everyone always have a place to come home to!”

“Here, here,” agreed Calin, Kazin’s father.

An unreadable expression crossed Takar’s face for just an instant before he smiled and repeated, “Here, here!”

Everyone took a sip of their wine except Sherman, who downed his glass enthusiastically.

“How many times have I told you not to gulp your wine?” scolded Ezra severely from the doorway with a stack of plates in her hands. Everyone laughed except Sherman, who reddened. “Obviously living away from home has made you forget your manners,” she continued.

Sherman looked down, crestfallen. “Sorry, Mom.”

Then Ezra smiled, put the plates on a table nearby, and approached her son, stretching to her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Of course, on a special occasion like today, I’ll let you get away with that kind of thing. It’s not as if you’re home every day.”

Sherman smiled and hugged her, lifting her small, fragile figure up off the floor. “I promise I’ll come home more often,” he said, gently putting her back down again.

“You had better,” Ezra warned, returning to the plates. “Otherwise I might forget how to make all your favourite foods.”

Later as the party drew to a close and the last of the guests were leaving, Sam Takar drew Sherman aside in the hallway. “I know you’re on holiday, Son, but I need your help. I have to deliver a shipment of milk down to Arral. To ship the milk down the river by boat is costly, since most captains are more interested in shipping down to the elves where they’ll get paid a lot more. So I have to deliver it myself by road. I know you want a rest from your work and—”

“You want me to come along?” asked Sherman.

“If it wouldn’t be a bother. I need Randall to watch the farm while I’m gone and the roads aren’t as safe as they used to b
e—
.”

“I know all about that,” said Sherman. “Of course I’ll come; as long as I’m back by the end of next week. I promised Kazin I’d be there when he completes the test.”

“No problem,” said Sam. “Arral is only three days by road and when the shipment is dropped off we can head right back home. That should leave you two days to spare.”

“When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow around noon,” said Sam.

“O.K.” said Sherman. “It’s about time I came back to help you with your farm. This will be a good start.”

Sam smiled and slapped Sherman on the back. “It’s settled then. I’ll get Frosty to help prepare the shipment in the morning.”

“Frosty? Who’s that?”

“That’s Kazin’s young friend, Max. Some of us call him Frosty because he’s so successful with freezing spells. I spoke with him tonight and he agreed to give me a hand tomorrow morning. Now, let’s get back to that apple pie your mother prepared for us, shall we?”

“You mean for me,” chided Sherman.

“You won’t be able to eat all of it,” said Sam.

“Wanna bet?” said Sherman, stepping toward the dining room.

“You’re on,” said Sam, pushing his son aside and racing ahead of him.

“No running in my house!” yelled Ezra from the kitchen.

After the introductions earlier that evening Randall, the hired hand, quietly slipped into the background. It was easier to keep an eye on everything and everyone that way, particularly Sherman. Randall, like Sherman, was a solid, heavyset man. Although not as big as Sherman; few were that big; he was still powerfully built. He had dark hair and eyes and a penetrating gaze. He also appeared to be fairly young, perhaps in his early twenties. Anyone conversing with him got the impression that he was a pleasant, intelligent young man. That suited him just fine. They didn’t need to know his secret. Now he stepped from the shadows into the hallway where the father and son had just been talking. He overheard the entire conversation and was glad he had. He was surprised that Sherman was leaving so soon after arriving; he’d expected a longer visit than that. But maybe this would fit better into his own plans. In any case, he had a lot of work to do and needed some rest. He entered the dining room and approached Sam Takar, who was eating a large piece of pie. “It’s time I went to bed, Mr. Takar,” said Randall politely. “I’ll get up early and feed the animals so you can sleep in a bit.”

“Thank you, my lad,” said Takar. “Have a good night.”

After bidding good night to Sam and Sherman, Randall left by way of the kitchen and ran into Ezra, who was putting away the last of the dishes.

“Turning in?” she asked.

“Yes. Good night,” said Randall.

“Good night.”

As Randall headed up the stairs, Ezra called, “Randall, wait! I almost forgot. Here.” She picked up a small covered dish and handed it to him. “It’s some leftovers for your pets. I’m afraid it isn’t much now that Sherman’s here.”

Randall smiled. “Thank you, Mrs. Takar. Good night.” He took the tray and climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

Ezra smiled after him. “Such a nice boy,” she murmured.

Shortly after he left, Sherman entered the kitchen with an enormous piece of pie in his hand. “What’s this I hear about pets?” he inquired, biting off a huge chunk.

“You were eavesdropping!” scolded Ezra.

“I know,” said Sherman after a moment, making sure to swallow before answering. “But I’m a little nervous about Randall. All evening I felt his eyes boring a hole into the back of my neck. It’s as if he was watching me or something.” He bit off another chunk of pie.

“He seems to be a nice young man,” said Ezra coolly. “In the last couple of weeks he’s been a big help to both me and your father. He is well mannered and sincere. If he was looking at you maybe he was wishing he could be our son too. His own parents died when he was still a child.” Seeing Sherman’s face redden, Ezra lightened her tone. “Maybe it’s just your imagination, Sherman. Your job requires that you be suspicious of everyone and everything.”

“You could be right,” admitted Sherman, stuffing the last piece of pie into his mouth.

“Anyway,” continued Ezra, “in answer to your original question, Randall keeps pigeons in the attic. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t allow such a thing, but it makes him happy so I let it go. As long as they don’t make too much mess, that is.”

“That seems harmless enough,” said Sherman.

“Of course it is. Want some more pie?”

“Sure!”

Chapter 4

T
he day dawned bright, but clear, as Max and Kazin entered the portal in Marral. For the last two years they had travelled by portal nearly every day with the exception of weekends, but the experience was still unnerving. Upon entering the portal, everything became pitch black. Then the temperature dropped to nearly freezing. Within moments, it would become unbearably hot. Just when it was almost too hot to humanly endure, it would rapidly become freezing cold once again. This procedure repeated itself several times until the rise and fall of temperature was almost instantaneous. At this point it was quite pleasant for the portal traveller, feeling like normal room temperature. Finally the rise and fall of temperature would slow down once again, ending on a cold draft that became warmer as the mage found himself standing just outside the portal at the destination. When returning the way he had come, the mage would experience the same thing as before but end up at the first portal. The portal only led to the one it was magically designed to link up with, never another one. Any number of mages could travel the portal in either direction but they would never encounter one another. Travellers were always isolated from each other.

When Kazin and Max arrived in the tower’s courtyard, Max arriving just after Kazin, they looked across to where the portal to Warral stood. At that instant a mage appeared, followed by another. Many apprentices were arriving today for the test. It was going to be a busy day for the tower. They started off toward the tower’s entrance right behind the new arrivals, with more appearing from the portal they had just vacated. The entrance to the tower looked dark and forbidding, but they confidently stepped through, instantly being whisked into a large inner lecture hall. Unlike the portals, this form of travel had no feeling. It just happened.

Kazin looked around the hall and observed the numerous other mages in the room. There appeared to be about one hundred or so apprentice mages present, both male and female, with more appearing every minute. The hall was beginning to get crowded, designed for a total of perhaps two hundred people. When all the seats were taken, several mages had to stand along the outside edge of the seating area. The murmur of voices combined with the scraping of chair legs on the floor generated so much noise that many didn’t notice the arrival of the arch mage.

The arch mage was an older man of average height with a slight stoop to his shoulders and a long, flowing white beard. His weathered face showed signs of strain due to years of spell casting but also indicated a ruggedness that came with experience. These features paled, however, when compared to his eyes. They were a penetrating dark blue and in them one could see a determination, an inner strength, and a youthfulness that belied his age. He calmly climbed the steps to the teaching platform and quickly but firmly rapped his staff on the table, drawing attention to himself and creating a hush in the lecture hall. This hall, like the other halls, had a built in loud spell on the platform. This spell amplified the voice of whoever was standing on it so that when the arch mage finally spoke, all could hear him clearly.