The Time Before

Trengin : Decisions

Chapter 3: Decisions

Having made my decision, I turned back from the window and fixed a stare at Roah.

"I'm not going to join you. Something may have to be done, but what you're suggesting isn't it. You're too few, making too much noise, and drawing far too much attention to yourselves."

"But…" Roah tried to interject, but I waved away his protests.

"No, my mind is made up. No quantity of good intentions makes your plans any wiser."

I busied myself making tea, trying hard not to vent too much at my friend. But Roah suddenly stood up, anger plain on his face.

"How can you be so blind? They won't stop at burning towns. Do you think they'll wait for mages to rally against them before they seek out our deaths? They will hunt you out and kill you, as they will me and all we know!"

"My mind is made up, Roah, getting ourselves killed won't help," I repeated calmly after a deep breath. But my calm had the wrong effect on the usually jovial Roah, and he made for the door.

"You can forget the tea; I'm clearly wasting my time."

He slammed the door as he left, and I was left feeling unsure. I'd heard the odd rumour of sporadic attacks, but Roah made it sound like a continent-wide war.

Tea forgotten, I moved to my chair and tried to organise my thoughts. They battled with those interjected by Roah as I tried in vain to reach the same clear decision I'd made only moments ago.

I was quite safe here, I was certain of that. Nothing short of an attacking army would stand a chance of surviving the magics I'd laced the area with. Another thought, sounding disturbingly like Roah's voice, countered: Your defences haven't been tested.

"Damn him and his Circle," I suddenly yelled aloud to the air in frustration. "All I want is a quiet life," I added in a whisper.

A new thought appeared rebelliously in my head. No quiet life would find me whilst I didn't know what was happening. I had no choice; I had to go and see for myself.

~

Roah's angry departure filled me with an urgency and I busied himself for several hours preparing to leave. Living alone meant there was no one to tell of my departure, but also no one to look after my house. After locking the shutters closed against the weather, filling the log bin, removing any perishable food from the larder and a hundred other little tasks I was finally ready to go. Shuting and locking the front door I closed my eyes and performed one more check of my defences. After extending them to cover the house I opened my eyes, sighed and walked south out of the small glen I had called home for nearly a decade.

~

My dark blue cloak flapped violently around my simple mage robes in the brisk wind as I walked along the dusty road. Small stones picked up by the wind hit me sharply in the face every few seconds. After an hour of this irritating assault I waved my arms around in a wide sweeping gesture. A tiny shield appeared, encircling my face, like an invisible mask. An opening at the bottom meant it protected my face but still allowing me to breathe. Feeling a lot better I picked up the pace towards the nearest town, the best source for local gossip and information.

The road busied as he approached Etonreh. With a little over a half a league to go I had to resort to walking in the grass at the side of the road or risk being run over by the many carts and carriages. The wind had dropped and I'd eagerly let go of the shield protecting my face. Using any spell for a long time was tiring and always ran the risk (although small) of causing the mage to lose himself in the magic. He would become an Emflikar just the same as if he'd over indulged in pleasure magics.

During his journey his thoughts had idled around what Roah had said about Emflikars. Lost in their magic Emflikars weren't aware of anything; nothing penetrated the haze of bliss surrounding them. Many forgot to eat, or sleep, usually ending in death. The lucky ones passed out from exhaustion, ceasing their trance, but should they awake they would find the spark of magic burntout of them.

It was true he had been closer to turning than anyone, but had saved himself at the last second before he forgot his identity. None had ever been bought back with their magic intact. But what if they could? Roah was right, it would give them a force to be reckoned with!

Jumping sideways to avoid a fast wagon, Trengin vowed to investigate the possibility next time he saw an Emflikar.

~

A short time later the impressive walls of the town reared up from the horizon. Whilst Etonreh was nowhere near the size of the major cities, the walls wouldn't have been out of place if it were a city. Well over thirty feet high of solid stone, expertly laid to leave a smooth finish, it curved very slightly outwards towards the top. This made it much more difficult to be scaled and also easier for the defenders.

The defenders were well trained soldiers payed by the City Council to protect and police the city. It was a highly paid and respected job and most young boys in the town grew up with ambitions of becoming part of the guard when they came of age.

As Trengin got closer he could see the distinctive helm and red and black uniform of the guards standing by the main gate. A small line of wagons and people awaited entry into the town, as the guards inspected their belongings. Any weapons were identified and distinguishing features noted in a large ledger by an administrator.

Joining the back of the line Trengin listened to the small family of farmers in front. They were sat together on a large wagon, filled with various produce. A young man about twenty was talking loudly to his family, gesturing wildly. His mother and father listened intently, looks of horror on their faces.

"It's gone. All o'it. Notin' there but flies an' dead bodies."

"That can't be son, I were o'er in Frenquath just last week and it were busy as ever," what looked to be his father, cut in.

"I dids saw it Pa, wit' me own eyes. Marcus, he tried to make us go in, but I didn't wants to, so I stayed outside the walls. But I still saw it all."

I didn't hear anymore because at that moment a guard called the family forward for inspection, and another gestured toward me. I moved around the wagon and approached the young soldier.

"Any weapons to declare?"

"Nothing 'cept me wits."

"Ah - a smart mouthed mage - maybe I should call the Capt'n and make sure you ain't a spy."

I saw a vicious sneer appear on the guard's lips. This one clearly joined the guard for other reasons than to serve and protect. Knowing that the guard could make things uncomfortable for me I decided to be more humble.

"Not required young man, I mean no harm."

"Sure, and I'm a mermaid. All mages are trouble and everyone knows it. If I hear of any magic trouble in the town while you are here I will hold you responsible. I'll tell the Captain and he'll take as much pleasure as I will in arresting you."

Knowing argument was pointless, despite itching to teach the impudent kid a lesson, I just nodded in agreement.

"I won't be any trouble Sir."

The 'Sir' had the desired effect and the guard smiled coldly. He lifted his arm and pointed through the gates.

"Get going then," he snapped.

Wasting no more time I walked straight past him and into Etonreh. If I had thought it busy on the road, then it was chaos inside. Organised chaos, I amended, as I watched the action. Shops, stalls and street vendors were everywhere, but there was still room for two wagons to pass in the wide streets. Frowning slightly at the crowds after my years of quiet isolation, I made my way up the main street. My thoughts were more on what the farmer's son had been saying than my direction.

Frenquath was only a score of miles away from here. If it had been as damaged as the boy made out then it must have been Sempa. Nothing else could have caused such extensive damage to the town, although they must have wielded some mighty forces to do it. Why it was only a little smaller than Etonreh! I needed to find out more about this attack, and quickly. How had the Sempa gotten so close without me hearing sooner?

With a jolt I looked up from my thoughts and found myself off the main street and in an alleyway. In contrast to the bustle of the street the alley was empty, apart from various bits of rubbish and debris. Looking around I tried to remember the shortest way out. A strange confusion clouded his mind, and I felt lost. A mental alarm rang out and I suddenly realised I'd been duped by magic. Closing my eyes and gesturing quickly I released a spell to clear my vision. The veil lifted and once again I could see the end of the alleyway and the street beyond.

Behind me I heard the clattering of feet. I spun around quickly and saw a dark figure frantically running away. Alarm flooded my mind again and I quickly felt my pockets. It had gone. The small amulet that would prevent pickpockets had been helpful in the past. The magic would confuse the thief into stealing nothing but the amulet. A minute after the theft the amulet would cause the thief to vomit uncontrollably and it also sends up a fountain of coloured sparks to attract attention.

Adrenaline made my thoughts fly through my mind as I frantically tried to think what to do. My intuition told me that the mugger wasn't a mage, just a common thief. The magic that had clouded my mind wasn't generated from a spell, but from some talisman. Maybe the mugger had another, but again I doubted it. Magical talismans weren't exactly common.

If the pickpocket got away then the anti-theft amulet would cause a magical disturbance in front of many people. The snide guard at the gates would hear of it and have me arrested for 'disturbing the peace'. Could I risk more magic to try and stop the thief leaving the alley before the amulet did its work? It might stop the effect being noticed, but aiming would be hard and if I missed the spell could hit someone in the street causing even more problems. Maybe I could just leave the town now?