Brian Pratt - The unsuspecting mage

The city jail lies within the second wall near the gate leading into the castle, not far from where he is now. The jail as it turns out is an imposing three story building with only the barest slits passing for windows on the ground floor. A very solid door stands ajar at the top of three steps, so he goes on up and walks inside.

Entering a large room, he sees a man wearing a constable’s uniform sitting behind a desk reading one of many papers stacked neatly before him. The sound of James entering draws his attention. As James approaches, the man sets the paper down and asks, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” replies James as he comes to stand before the desk. “A friend of mine was brought in by the city watch last night and I was wondering if it would be possible to talk with him?”

Setting the paper aside, the constable looks him up and down then asks, “And just who might your friend be?”

“His name is Perrilin, a bard,” James answers.

“There’s been no one brought in with that name,” replies the constable.

“But I heard that several constables came to the Silver Bells last night and dragged him out right in the middle of his performance,” he protested.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” the constable replies. “Nevertheless, he’s not here, sorry.”

“Where can I find him?” he asks.

“Don’t know,” the constable replies. He holds up a hand to forestall any more questions. “I am not privy to all that goes on. I just know he’s not here and I don’t know where he would be.”

James looks at the constable in quiet frustration. He can tell there will be no more help forthcoming. After a moment, he turns about and leaves the jail.

He walks across the street to an alley and takes a moment to make sure he won’t be observed. Reaching into his backpack, he draws out the compass he made earlier in Trendle. Using a variation of the spell he used while looking for Hern, he watches in surprise as the pointer turns and indicates a direction down the street. He had thought for sure it would point toward the jail.

Stepping back out of the alley, he turns in the direction indicated by the compass and proceeds down the street. Trying to maintain a course as true as possible to the direction indicated by the compass, he eventually comes to a dead end against the inner surface of Cardri’s middle protective wall.

The pointer continues indicating Perrilin’s position to be somewhere on the other side. James quickly makes his way to the gate and passes through Cardri’s middle wall and enters its outer ring. From there he once again allows the compass to lead the way.

Down several streets and passing around various buildings, his search comes to a stop again as he comes up against the inner surface of the outer wall. There is no denying the truth of what the compass is telling: Perrilin lies somewhere outside of Cardri. Making his way to Cardri’s main gates, James leaves the city.

The compass leads him through the buildings built outside the city’s protective wall, to the outskirts of Cardri. When he reaches the last building before entering the countryside, the compass still directs him on.

James contemplates returning to the inn for his horse, but discards that idea. Moving out, he enters the countryside with the plan to continue on until an hour before nightfall. If he doesn’t come across the bard by then, he’ll return to the inn and set out on horseback the following day.

Now that he no longer has to wend his way through crowded streets and around buildings, he’s able to progress much faster. Hours of trudging through fields later finds him cresting one of the many rolling hills dotting the area. He pauses when a farmhouse comes into view on the far side of the hill. A glance to the compass reveals the pointer directing him straight toward the abandoned looking building.

The farmhouse has seen better days. One side of the roof sags in precariously and the front door sits slightly askew, with only the lower hinge still attaching it to the door frame. The ground surrounding the house is choked with weeds and appears not to have been tended by anyone for quite a while. Behind the house sits a barn which is in slightly better shape, though still bears the appearance of disuse.

Despite the look of abandonment, a small plume of smoke makes its way from the farmhouse’s chimney. The faint sound of horses can also be heard coming from the barn. James quickly returns back down the hill until he no longer casts a silhouette against the afternoon sky. He then keeps low as he carefully makes his way around the farm, doing his best not to be observed by anyone that may be in the house or barn. As he circles around the farmhouse, he keeps an eye on the compass. As he moves, so does the compass, continuously pointing toward the structure.

Satisfied that he knows where Perrilin is, he finds a place amidst tall grass from where he can keep an eye on the house yet remain unobserved should anyone be about. The sun is low in the sky, he hadn’t realized that his trek out here had taken so much time, but it seems that sunset is only an hour or so away. He settles into his hiding place and waits for the coming of dark. If Perrilin is in that farmhouse then it can only mean that he’s in trouble and when darkness comes he’ll see what he can do. Guards on business of the city would have taken him to the jail. The fact that he was taken here could only bode ill.

He keeps an eye on the farmhouse for the next hour until the sun sets and the light begins to fade. Just as the sun dips below the horizon, a man emerges through the front door of the farmhouse and makes his way toward the barn. This is no farmer! The man has the look of a street tough and carries a sword at his hip. James watches through the tall grass as the man crosses to, and then enters, the barn. Before James can make up his mind whether or not to investigate what the man is doing, the barn door swings open and the man heads back toward the farmhouse.

What is going on? he wonders. And should he even get involved? If it wasn’t for the need he felt to enter the Royal Archives, he would turn around and get out of there. But, he needed information and it appeared Perrilin may be his only avenue through which he could get it. Plus, he liked the bard. During the evening they spent together on the road he found him to be a friendly, and good-natured individual. He couldn’t leave without finding out what was going on, things did not feel right. Settling down in the grass once more, he waited for the coming of night at which time he would find out what was going on. Making himself comfortable, he waited.

The barn was quiet as he approached under the cover of darkness. Peering through an open window, he discovered six horses occupying the stalls. Except for the horses the barn was deserted, their owners must be within the farmhouse. Leaving the barn, he carefully makes his way to the side of the farmhouse, doing his best not to stumble over anything in the dark. Coming to one of the windows through which light was emerging, he carefully looks through.

On the other side he sees an empty room with a single doorway on the opposite wall. The light coming through the window originates from the room on the other side of the doorway. It looks to be the main room of the house. Four men are taking their ease on a couch and a couple of chairs. A fifth man stands in the middle of the room with his back to James.

The man stands there for several seconds before stepping to the side. James gasps in shock to discover the man had been standing in front of a chair. And bound to the chair is the object of his search. Perrilin.

The bard looks the worse for wear. His left eye is swollen shut and what’s left of his shirt is red with blood. James watches while the four men joke and laugh but can’t make out what is being said. The fifth man returns to stand before Perrilin and says something to him. Perrilin doesn’t respond, simply sits there and stares at him with a defiant look. The man says something else then strikes the bard across the face, snapping his head to the side.