Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

‘You’ve been here all this time and that is all you have come up with? Getting into the dungeons is actually very simple,’ Balten said with a smug smile.

‘How is that?’ Lomar asked him.

‘Surrender, of course. The Queen is only keeping her hostages in hope of luring the Saviour of Cintar to their rescue. Here he is,’ he added, gesturing to the magicians. ‘She asked for him to be sent and he has been delivered. What better way into the palace?’

‘That is madness,’ Lomar responded nervously. ‘The Queen is renowned for torturing and testing her captors. The local people say it is better to die than be dragged into her cells. She pits her prisoners against each other for her general amusement. I think it better to avoid the dungeons at all cost.’

‘It’s true, getting out may be more of a challenge, but this is why we have come, after all. I will take Samuel to hand himself over and ensure that the guards know who he is. The others can wait here, in hiding, and come to our rescue when required. It may take some time, but once Samuel can retrieve the relic, I’m sure we can think of some way to escape the city and makeour wayback to the Valley of the Ancients.’

‘We also need to save the Empress and her son, and then slay the witch,’ Eric said. ‘We will need to tread carefully until we can free them. We cannot risk them getting harmed.’

‘True,’ Baltenagreed. ‘At present, the Queen possesses the greater advantage, but I think we will have littleopportunityto do much from outside the palace. As Lomar has said, sneaking in or out would be nearly impossible, and he is the only one who can move comfortably outside. We would be in constant danger of beingdiscoveredbecause of our looks andourinability to speak their tongue. In truth, I think we have little choice but to begin our task from the inside.’

‘I agree,’ Lomar said. ‘It will be dangerous. But here, everything is dangerous.’

‘Why just take Samuel?’ Eric asked.

‘Firstly, because he is the one she actually wants and,secondly, he also has the uncanny ability to remain completely invisible from magical detection. He can sneak about the palace to his heart’s desire once he is inside. The more of you that go with him, the more danger there is. I can escape at any time once the task has been completed, but I do not want anyone nearby at the time. It would be very dangerous for them.’

‘And what are we to do?’ the Emperor asked. ‘Just wait here?’

‘Yes,’ Balten replied. ‘Keep as quiet as you can and stay out of trouble. Let Lord Lomar take care of you and,whatever you do, never leave this refuge.’

Samuel considered the plan carefully. As long as he had his ring,he would not be worried and,with Balten beside him, the two of them would be more than a match for any witch. ‘Very well. I agree.’

They talked more until the cool evening came andthenthey ate cross-legged on the floor,devouringthe flat bread and tender,seasoned meat that Lomar fetched for them from outside. As darkness fell over the city, coloured lanterns were raised along the streets and music played from all corners-horns and flutes and stringed instruments, all playing their individual melodies, somehow in harmony. Male and female singers alike crooned and warbled aloud until late, when the sounds dimmed and the crowds began returning to their homes. One by one, the rescuers retired to bed, until Samuel was left alone with Lomar, standing atop the roof of their hideaway and looking over the sleeping city.

‘It will not be easy, achieving what we have set out to do,’ Lomar stated.

‘I did not think it would be, but we have little choice,’ Samuel replied.

‘You have always had a choice, Samuel, we all do, yet you have striven on, always doing what you felt as right. I had little idea when I first met you that you would become such a hero.’

‘I have never been a hero. I’ve only ever done what I had to. Few choices I have made have been for valiant reasons.’

‘Ah, but perhaps that’s what makes you stand out, Samuel. You feel you have made no choices, but it is your noble nature that drives you. A coward will always run from the difficult choices, but it is in your heart to run towards them.’

‘You give me too much credit, Lomar. Many others have done as much asI haveand more. In fact, many of those have sacrificed themselves so I can stand here today. All I have that has kept me alive until now is luck-and I hope it stays with me a little longer.’

‘Some would say luck, Samuel; others would say fortuneor fate, or perhaps even destiny.’

‘Don’t start on that,’ Samuel told him. ‘I’m not superstitious.’

Lomar only laughed. ‘Yes, I remember. Still, we all do what we can, don’t we? The mountain and the sky do not notice the affairs of men and to them our lives pass in the blink of an eye. Yet, occasionally, a man comes who can blot out the sky-who can move the very mountains that ignored him.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘We all sometimes do what we must, or avoid doing what we know we should do, but we cannot escape out destinies, Samuel. That is all I am saying. When I saw you becoming the great magician I had always hoped for, I was worried, for in every man is the seed of good and evil. I am glad you have turned out like this, but even a good man can be forced into making bad decisions. I just want to tell you this, because we have few true friends in life and you have become one of the bestin mine. We magicians know that well, always being buried in our studies and duties as we are. I don’t know what will happen in the coming days, but I am glad we met, Samuel. The world will become a better place because of our friendship. That is all I mean to say.’

‘Thank you, Lomar. I feel the same. Do you sense something bad in the air?’

‘Onthe contrary, Samuel. I feel something wonderful. I know that all this will turn out for the best. It is only the enactment that will be difficult for us. If we can get through that, I am sure happy days will be waiting for us. I have been thinking of that moment for a long time and I’m glad our struggle is nearly over.’

‘True. I can’t wait to put all this behind us. Everything has been too complicated for far too long and Icrave for a simple life.’

‘We are like trees, Samuel. We start off small, yet grow into great and splendid things. We can accomplish much in our lives, but even we magicians are still only made of wood. We grow our branches as full as we can, but the fire of our magic consumes them. We must keep growing if we want to feed that fire, but what a terrible equation it is. If our branches grow too heavy, we will crack; if the fire grows too great, we will be consumed. What a sorry life it is to be made of wood.’

‘What are you saying now?’

‘Only that I am tired, Samuel. Our obsession with magic consumes us,andone day, if we are not careful, it will burn us to our core. For once, I would like the chance to sit still and rest,and forget that I am a magician. Our duty has laden us with so many burdens, I feel my boughs are about to break.’

‘You surprise me, Lomar. I never thought I would hear such words from you, although I do not disagree with you. I am not sure if we can give up our ways. Magic is in our nature. It would be hard to separate the fire from the wood once it has begun to burn.’

‘But I feel the day is coming when this particular tree will be shedding its leaves andgettingready for winter. That will be a wonderfully dull time indeed. Our lives as magicians are set. We have access to all manner of powers and abilities, yet we can never share in some of the most precious experiences that the common folk enjoy every day.We cannever enjoy having a babe in our arms and having it look up at us with trusting, loving eyes. We can never experience that child growingupand fulfilling, even exceeding,our hopes. Nay, being a magician is a curse and we are denied the most sacred human act of creating young and prolonging our species. We are just drones to support the nest-watching, not being. What a curse it is.’