James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"I'll come with you," she said, and they got up and darted away.

It took a bit of doing to get them to let Tarrin have the crossbow. It was found between two buildings, in a narrow alley, and Tarrin more or less threatened to maim anyone that wouldn't let him hold it. Tarrin put the stock near his nose, ignoring the scents all around him as he locked in on the scent of the man that had held it, and had shot it at him. Once he had it, he checked in the alley and found the scent trail. Five Knights, including Valden and Faalken, hurried along after Tarrin and Allia as Tarrin followed the man's trail. It played out, though, when it got onto the road that led to the main gate of the compound, and then outside.

"You there!" Faalken boomed at the gate guards. "Who's gone through here in the last hour?"

"Two wagons, five troops of guards, and ten visitors, sir," the gate sentry replied immediately.

"Anyone looking like they were nervous about something?"

"No sir," he replied.

"It had to be someone walking," Tarrin said. "I can still smell his scent. He walked through the gate."

"Who's walked out of here?"

"Just two troops of guards and one visitor," the man said. "It was a woman and her two bodyguards."

They looked at Tarrin, who shrugged. "Don't look at me," he said. "I just know it was a human man."

"It could have been any of them," Allia said. "Even one of the guards, or perhaps a man in a guard's uniform."

"Maybe," Faalken grunted.

"This isn't the place to discuss it," Valden said. "This place is in crossbow range of any of those buildings across the street."

Tarrin swept his eyes across the area beyond the fence. "Good point," Faalken agreed. "Let's get Tarrin back to the barracks."

Valden was one of the older knights, a gruff, no-nonsense kind of man that seemed to have absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever. He was held in very high regard among the Knights, though, because he was extraordinarily good at the small details that made a successful campaign, and he was a fearsome fighter. He was the most practical, sober man Tarrin had ever seen. Valden led them as the five Knights formed a defenseive perimeter around Tarrin, putting their steel armor in the way of another quarrel. Tarrin watched with an alert wariness, taking in and analyzing every sight and sound and smell for possible threat. They reached the barracks that served as the cadets' quarters. "We've got to tell the Keeper about this," Faalken said. "Someone is going to an awful lot of trouble to kill you, Tarrin. They've been trying since the day we left Aldreth, and they're not afraid to come into the Tower to do it, either."

"What can she do?" one of the other Knights, a hulking man named Umber, asked.

"We'll seal the compound if that's what it takes," Valden said in his no-nonsense voice. "These people have to be coming in from the outside. If they can't get in, they can't try to kill anyone."

"You can't get in here without-" Umber said, then he blanched a bit.

"That's possible," Valden said grimly.

"What?" Allia asked.

"That someone from the inside is bringing them in," Valden explained. "Nobody can come onto the Tower grounds without an invitation or a summons. For them to get in, someone has to be inviting them in."

"Maybe they just snuck in," Tarrin said. "I've done it. This place isn't as secure as you may think."

"You have certain racial advantages, Tarrin," Valden. "It'd take a man pole-vaulting to get over the fence without touching it. Not many people know how to do that. And you can't touch the fence, else you're stuck fast to it until a Sorcerer weaves a spell to release you."

"They must get tired of going out there to release the birds," Tarrin noted.

"It doesn't trap animals," Valden said absently. "It only-" He swore. "Garen, go find out if the fence works on Wikuni."

Faalken's eyes widened, then narrowed.

"But it was a human scent I smelled," Tarrin told them.

"Yes, but let's close that door before they find it open," Valden said. "I don't know how the fence works exactly. Since it doesn't trap animals, it may only trap humans. And that means that anyone else can climb it as they please." He pursed his lips. "There's really not much we can do at this point but alert the Keeper and have her take steps," he said. "There's no way to find out who brought the assassin onto the grounds."

"Well, until we talk to the Keeper, not much else can be done," Valden said. "Tarrin, go back to the Tower, and stay indoors. I suggest you stay in a public area as well. Try to keep people around you."

"Alright," he said. Tarrin was starting to get annoyed. That he had a name seemed to be something a step in the right direction, but he had nowhere to take it, and so long as he was in the Tower, he had no means to search it out. Tarrin didn't like being the target of someone's homicidal tendencies; at least someone he didn't know. Jesmind, he could understand, and he had hopes that the two of them could settle their differences peacefully. But this mystery man Kravon was an unknown, a stranger, and he had no idea how to make him stop other than to kill him. But he didn't know who he was. That was the problem.

If he only knew why they were after him, at least then he'd have some idea of what to do, how to make them stop. He was floundering around in a sea of possibilities, and it was a long way to shore. He couldn't think of anything he'd done to offend someone to the point where they would have him killed. It was maddening.

He sat in his room for quite a while pondering it, then finally gave up in disgust. Allia was meditating in her room, a private time that she needed to herself, so he decided to read a book until she came for him.

The door opened, and the Keeper entered his room. Tarrin stood hastily and bowed to her.

"I was told what happened," she said. "It won't happen again, I can assure you of that," she said in a flinty voice. "I'm having the compound searched at this very moment, and no visitor may enter armed from this day forward."

"That's all well and good, but that doesn't tell me anything," he said pointedly. "Why are they trying to kill me, Keeper? They've been trying for a very long time now. They must have a reason."

She looked him in the eye, but said nothing. "Don't concern yourself with it, Tarrin. You're under our protection, and we're going to protect you. Oh, I've received word that your parents and your sister are on the way here," she said.

That managed to sidetrack his anger. "They're coming here?" he said, his heart both leaping in his chest and sinking into his gut at the same time. He so desperately wanted to see them, but an irrational fear of how they would react to his new shape almost gave him the panics. If they rejected him, it may be more than he could bear. He knew his parents; he doubted they would do such a thing, but a part of his mind simply wouldn't stop thinking about it.

She nodded. "I got word yesterday that they were at Marta's Ford. By now, they are halfway to Ultern. They should be here by the Midsummer Festival."

"I can't wait to see them," he blurted.

"You'll have to wait until they arrive," she said with a smile and a wink. "The teachers tell me that you're doing well," she said, changing the subject. "Keep up the good work, Tarrin. Now, I must be off. Take care of yourself."

And then she left, leaving him somewhat giddy at the thought of his family coming to see him.

The door opened again. "Was that the Keeper I just saw?" Allia asked.

"It was," he replied. "My family is coming to the Tower to visit me," he told her.

"That is good news," she smiled.

"I hope so," he said. "If they see me like this and scream and run away, I think I'll kill myself."

"Do not get worked up over it," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "You are their son, and they love you for who you are, not how you look."