James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"Well, pleased to meet you," Lula said with a girlish giggle.

"My ship was delayed, so I'm afraid I couldn't get here sooner," he sighed. "But, at least I see that her Highness is behaving herself."

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Lula snorted. "Keritanima has been a very attentive and pleasant pupil."

"Really," Jervis said in a calm voice. "How do you like the grounds, your Highness?"

"They'll do," she replied in a distracted voice. "My room is entirely too small, but I can't make them furnish me with one more appropriate for a high Princess."

"Not your rooms, the grounds," he said.

"Oh. They're pretty, I guess," she replied in a vapid tone.

"Do you have any complaints?"

"Where do you want me to start?" she replied.

"Just have someone leave me a list," he said, waving her off with a hand. "Considerable, you say?" he said to Lula, using a rather annoying trick he'd learned a while ago, bouncing around in a conversation to try to catch lies and half-truths. "How considerable?"

"Very promising," Lula said, both of them missing Keritanima's murderous stare. "She's got alot of potential. She could rise very high in the Tower, if she applies herself."

"Unfortunately, her Highness has other pressing plans, I'm afraid," Jervis told her in an almost sincerely sad tone. "Perhaps her, gifts, could help her on the throne."

"I would dare say so," Lula said with a smile.

"Well, I have matters to tend, so I'll take my leave," he said, giving them both a deep bow. "Good morning to you, ladies."

Keritanima had no doubt that reports on her ability and what the Sorcerers were doing with her would be on her father's desk by tomorrow. The Tower wasn't the only magical order; no less than two priests of the Wikuni god were on the grounds. The chaplain for Keritanima's private guards and the Royal Marines garrisoned on the grounds, and also a cleric that served Jervis with his magic. One of the tricks of the clerics was that they could send messages over extreme distances. That information should be in the palace within the hour, she reasoned. Jervis would receive a response to it by tomorrow morning. It was still night in Wikuna, so they wouldn't wake her father up for something that wasn't urgent. Then they'd wait until a window when both the priest there and the priest here would be awake at the same time to send back any response.

She thought that it may be worth her while to get her hands on those reports. No doubt Jervis would uncover some tidbits that may be useful to her as well.

Tarrin caught up with Dar about noon that day, as he moved towards the main Tower to have lunch. He simply fell in step with the young Arkisian on the grounds, surprising him a bit.

"Tarrin!" he said in surprised happiness. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing alright," he replied with a smile. "I see you finally made it."

"I could have been here two rides ago, but they were holding all the Initiates back for some reason," he replied.

"How many?"

"Nine," he replied. "Remember that short blond that always stared at the floor?" Tarrin nodded. "She made it up here. I don't think you know any of the others. I know I don't."

"Well, I'm just glad to have another person to talk to," Tarrin said with a smile. "I miss all our talks."

"It seems strange to be in a room by myself," he said. "My closet-mate is a slack-jawed Torian with about half of his brain somewhere else."

Tarrin chuckled. Arkis and the city-state of Tor didn't exactly get along, but Dar was very much above judging people along socially drawn lines. The Torian probably was a slack-jawed imbecile. Dar was a very social person, and he enjoyed company. Probably a function of his youth and insecurity about his position. After all, what young person wouldn't feel insecure when about to travel down a road of power and danger. "Well, Keritanima tells me that you're next door to her."

"The obnoxious Wikuni? Yes," he replied.

Tarrin laughed. "She can be obnoxious, but for some strange reason, we're friends," he told the young man.

"You seem to attract non-human females, Tarrin."

"I happen to be a non-human, Dar," Tarrin replied with a wink.

"Sure, go and throw that in my face," the young man said, and then they both laughed. "Where are you at? I'd like to swing by and talk from time to time."

"Not far from the Headmaster's office," he replied. "Where he can keep an eye on me and Allia."

"I haven't seen her in a while. Do you know that she was actually nice to me when you disappeared?"

"She told me about that," he replied. "She's my closet-mate, so she's not very far from me."

"You mean they allowed that?"

"Allia didn't give them much choice," Tarrin chuckled. "You know how she is."

"Too well," he replied. "I kind of miss her. Guess I'm turning into a masochist."

Tarrin laughed. "She's not that bad."

"I seem to recall you telling me that once before," Dar said with a sly grin.

"Anyway, I hate to impose, but this isn't entirely a social visit."

"What's up?"

"I'd like you to do me a favor."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"There's a Novice that I'm friends with, the blond that came to the Tower with me," he began.

"Tiella? I know her."

"Good, because I'll need you to talk to her from time to time. It has to be where a Novice and an Initiate can speak without raising attention."

"The baths?"

Tarrin nodded. "She's doing something for me, Dar. She may have some information to give you from time to time, information that could get you in trouble if the katzh-dashi find out about it."

"That's not a problem, Tarrin," he said. "You know I'll help. You and I, we've been through alot together, and you're a friend. Friends help each other."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that, Dar," he said sincerely, putting his huge paw on the young man's shoulder. "You're one of the few humans around here that will even talk to me."

"That's their loss, Tarrin," he replied calmly. "Alot of them are afraid of you, but it's because they don't understand you. Not like I do."

"They never really gave you a choice."

"True, but things worked out anyway, didn't they?"

Tarrin smiled. Dar was young, but Tarrin had often been impressed at how mature and wise the boy was. His parents had raised him very well. He had a generous nature and an almost inhuman ability to accept others for who and what they are. Dar was everybody's friend and nobody's enemy. And that fact would help Tarrin right now.

"I guess they did," Tarrin said. "Anyway, enough chatter about nonsense. Tell me what happened after I left for the Initiate."

"It's only been a ride or two."

"Well, it feels like years," Tarrin told him. "Besides, we never really caught up after I ran away, so we may as well get ourselves current."

Dar laughed. "True enough."

They ran into Allia in the kitchens, and she invited herself to join them as they sat down in the small dining hall used by the Initiates. She listened quietly as Tarrin and Dar caught up on things. "So, was today your first day of instruction?" Tarrin asked.

Dar nodded. "The history they gave seemed incomplete," he said. "They made no mention of the Tower in Sharadar."

"You know about that?"

"I'm the son of a merchant clan, Tarrin," Dar smiled. "It's our business to know."

"I keep forgetting about that," Tarrin chuckled.

"A Tower in Sharadar?" Allia asked. "I have not heard of such a thing."

Tarrin briefly went over what Dolanna told him. "She said that the Tower up here keeps it quiet, because of how people feel about the katzh-dashi ."

"I don't see why," Dar shrugged. "Don't they send us to individual teachers tomorrow?"

Tarrin nodded. "When they've taught you a few basics, they're supposed to reassemble a class and teach weaves."