James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"I must say, you two are alert," Tarrin said, making both of them jump. Nanna whirled around with her chopping knife held like a sword, then she took one look at him and laughed.

"Don't do that to an old woman!" she threatened, putting the knife down. Then she laughed. "Is Allia with you?"

"Not today," he replied, stepping forward and taking Nanna's hand.

"So this is Tarrin. I'm sorry I was too tired to stay up the other night," Deris said with a grin.

"Deris," Tarrin greeted calmly.

"Are you playing hookey again?"

"Yes and no," he smiled. "Are my parents here? I need to talk to them."

Eron is down in the cellar, teaching Janine how to brew his brandy. Your mother is in the parlor with some relative of hers."

"Relative? Mother-" Tarrin suddenly laughed, then left Nanna standing there as he rushed to the parlor.

Elke was sitting on the sofa, and a large, older man with steel gray hair and a powerful frame sat across from her. He had a patch over his right eye, with a wicked scar running up from his jaw, over his cheek, and under that patch. His features were rugged, almost brutish, and his body looked as intimidating as his face appeared. A beak of a nose was a bit red, and his single eye was just a bit bloodshot.

Anrak Whiteaxe, clan chief of the Whiteaxe clan, had a bit of a cold. That, or he was hung over. But he wasn't stupid enough to come into his daughter's presence after drinking.

"Grandfather!" Tarrin said in surprise, making both of them look at him.

"Tarrin, lad," he said in a voice roughened by a lifetime at sea, standing up. "Ye're as Elke described ye. I think ye look good that way."

Tarrin laughed, then rushed over and crushed his grandfather in a fierce hug. "When did you get in? Mother said you'd been visiting. How did you know to come here?"

"She saw my ship in the harbor," he replied, then he pushed him away enough to sneeze.

"I told you to do something about that, father," Elke told him.

"I will I will," he snapped. "Ye're lookin' healthy, me boy. Taller. And with fur."

Tarrin chuckled. "Well, that wasn't my choice, believe me," he said.

"Elke told me all about it," he said. "I been lookin' fer that Were-cat woman to give her a piece of my mind, but she's not showin' up in ports. She should save herself the trouble and come find me, so I can get her overwith."

Tarrin laughed. "Leave her alone, grandfather," he warned. "She's not worth your trouble, and I've more or less forgiven her for what happened. It wasn't entirely her fault."

"Me? Give up a grudge? I ain't that old, lad."

Tarrin laughed. He missed Anrak. The burly old sailor was quite a character. "How's the clan?"

"Doin' fine, my lad, doin' fine. Yer uncle Jarl is doing the paperwork for me while I keep us bringing in the coin. It's a good situation for both of us."

"I keep telling you that you're getting too old for wandering, father," Elke said sourly. "You should spend at least every other trip at home, so you have a chance to recover from your journeys. It's not healthy for you to be running all the time."

"I'll stop wanderin' when I'm dead," Anrak grunted. "And only cause dead men can't walk."

"Well, you'll stop wandering until I get rid of that chill," she said in a steely voice. "You can't go out on the winter seas with a cold. It'll go into your lungs, and they'll be throwing your carcass over the rail within a ride."

"I ain't the only one sick, so we're wintering here," he replied. "I ain't gonna risk my men to the chills, and there's already ice out on the seas. It's too dangerous to sail north."

"Already? It's not even winter yet!" Elke said in surprise.

"It's been a warm summer up north, hon," Anrak told her. "The ice flows have been breaking up, and the summer current's been haulin' them out of the Bay of Ice. There's been ice in the water all summer, but now that it's colder up north, it ain't breakin' up and meltin' like it was in the summer."

"Well, at least you'll be wintering where mother can keep an eye on you," Tarrin chuckled.

"Only cause my men can't sail," Anrak said with an evil grin at his daughter. "I'd rather spend my winter in Dayise, where it's warm all winter, and the ladies are much more friendly."

"Mother would kill you," Elke warned.

"Yer mother can't catch me," Anrak grinned.

"I can fix that."

"Ye wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Anrak gave Elke a sour look. "Ye're ruinin' my golden years," he accused.

"I'm making sure you live to enjoy them," she replied bluntly. "Mother would split your skull with a frying pan if she knew you were cheating on her."

"I ain't cheatin' on yer mother, Elke. I ain't that stupid."

"I thought not," she said with a slight smile.

"What brings you back here so soon, Tarrin?" Elke asked.

"I demanded to be let out-legally-and see you," he said. "It was generally just misdirection, because I can get out any time I want, but at least now I don't have to sneak over to see you. My escort is waiting at a tavern while I visit," he chuckled. "At least they were smart enough not try to follow me."

"Escort?"

"I can't leave without a Knight and a Sorcerer accompanying me," he told her. "Lucky for me they gave me a Knight that just got his spurs, someone I can effectively bully. And I get to choose the Sorcerer that comes, so I can always get someone that I can convince to let me go on alone. That reminds me. Have you and father given any thought as to where you're going to live? You can't stay here forever."

"Actually, we have," Elke said. "I haven't been home in years, and Jenna should meet the clan. We were considering travelling with father back to Dusgaard. We could hug the coast to avoid the ice, and be back in Dusgaard before the harbor freezes. After spending a year up there, we were going to go back to Aldreth."

"Ye never said nothin' about that to me," Anrak growled.

"That's because you'd just argue," Elke told her father with a false smile.

"That may be the best thing," Tarrin said. "We have to face facts. Because of me, you're in danger here. It may be best if you get some distance from me."

"Danger? From what?" Anrak demanded. Elke calmly related the story of the attack by the Doomwalker, and the many attempts on Tarrin. "By the ice, daughter, why didn't ye say so? We'll have ye home safe by New Year's Day."

"The only reason we're even considering it is because Jenna has proven she can control her gift," Elke said. "She can wait a year or two before going back to formally training with the Sorcerers."

"There's always room for one or two more, grandson," Anrak told Tarrin seriously. "If ye want protection, the Whiteaxe Clan always looks after its own."

"I appreciate that, Grandfather, but the Tower has a long arm," Tarrin replied. "I've already got somewhere much safer in mind, somewhere even the katzh-dashi won't go to unless invited."

"Allia's clan?" Elke asked.

Tarrin nodded. "Not even the katzh-dashi are stupid enough to come after us if we have the protection of the Selani," he told her. "They'd come over the Sandshield and wipe Sulasia off the map."

"No doubt," Anrak chuckled evilly.

"But we can't leave yet. Not until we have a full idea of what's going on."

"Any luck so far?"

Tarrin shook his head. "Keritanima's run into opposition. Someone keeps killing her informants."

"That's a Wikuni name," Anrak deduced. "By the sound of it, she's someone in a very high station. Nobility."

Tarrin nodded. "She's in this with us," he replied. "That reminds me. We might come visit in the middle of the night, or we might not. Either way, pretend that we were never here."

Elke gave Tarrin a slow grin. "That sounds underhanded."

"We do have some plans along those lines, yes," he agreed with an urbane smile.