Chapter 8 Part 3

Tyson sat at a table near the western window in a tavern just outside of Ice Branch. Though not quite the size of Aspberg, the city was a military post and the massive population of off duty soldiers inhabited every nook and cranny of the streets.

Tyson was not about to deceive himself. He was scared. The Tome of Creation had disappeared from the vault in the Citadel of Aspberg. Evidence pointed to Avery as the culprit who had taken the thing.

Now that did not worry Tyson very much. The Tome in the hands of Avery was fairly harmless since Avery did not have ambitions toward power and he had the woman and Sam back. Oh, the ranger might read the Tome for its historical value, and he might even work out a way to make dandelions bloom in the dead of winter or teach animals to talk, but Avery was far from a power hungry magic user.

Armegon and Ultrecht were another story entirely. If either one of them got their hands on the Tome, and knowing Avery, the first thing he did was give it to them, then Tyson might be in real trouble.

Tyson had genuine respect for Ultrecht and Armegon. As mages their power, though different was awesome. Tyson could still see Armegon standing on the plains of Gly-ou-vogue casting that siege spell. The Tome in the hands of that much power had Tyson reconsidering his alliance.

He would help Blackheart as best he could, he had decided, but in the face of certain annihilation, he wanted to be able to vanish from sight and the best way to do that was join a monastery. He already knew that the Dancing Flames were a bunch of losers. Their ultimate goal was to die and take as many others as they could with them. Tyson's ultimate goal was to stay alive.

The second monastery he had considered, was known as the Hive. The monks believed in the teachings of the bees. They worked all day to gather gold and wealth and nurtured it for distribution to the poor. Like bees spreading pollen as they gathered nectar, the monks spread goodwill as they gathered money. The idea intrigued Tyson for should he get in on that action, he could line his purse as well as change his identity.

There was a third monastery he had heard of. It was located in Keron and he planned to visit it to get a first hand look at their work. They were simply known as the Scholars. It seemed that they specialized in the classification and care of knowledge. In fact Tyson learned that all librarians were brothers of the Scholars.

There were a few other minor brotherhoods, they all held some passing interest to him, but for the most part he had no intention in joining a lesser monastery. The only one that he regretted that he did not have time to check in on was the Order of the Compass Rose. They were located to the far west near the city of Pandara. All he knew of them was that they developed the skills of navigation and orienteering to a fine art. But Pandara was just too far away, on the other side of the world.

In Ice Branch, he had researched the Dancing Flames well enough that should he ever have to oppose them he would at least have an inside view of their ways. Soon he would leave for Tycho to research the Hive and then on to Freon. There he would pay respects to House Cadaver for Miguel and then move on to Keron to learn what the Scholars stood for.

Tyson toyed with the arm band Morteous had issued him. If worst came to worst, he could ditch the item and let the Blackhearts stand on their own. If he did, he had to make damn sure that they lost or else they would soon come after him. They would not be forgiving as Armegon and Ultrecht had been.

Tyson paid his tab and left the establishment. Ice Branch was much like the cities from his home world. The lack of a military presence in most of the cities had been strange at first, but he had gotten used to it. In Ice Branch, the old memories of cheating soldiers out of their pay came back to him, bringing a smile to his lips. His younger days, though less certain, had been more rewarding, because the smallest of victories meant much more back then. Youth was like that.

Tyson walked deeply in thought as he made his way back to the inn where he was boarded. He considered the possible futures. There could be a fight. If the Blackhearts win and he supports them, he would come out in good standing. If the Blackhearts lose and he supports them, Armegon, Ultrecht and probably Avery as well would hunt him down. If the Blackhearts win and he turned against them, they would do the same thing.

On the other hand, if the Blackhearts lose and when he turns against them, he would still not be forgiven. What he did to Sam and Nikki would be hard to forgive. The only saving grace would be that he had insisted on their safety. He might bargain with the others for his life on that basis. The last possibility would be a continuance of the status quo.

Five possibilities. Five outcomes. Two bad, one good and one unknown and one unchanged. Tyson was not too thrilled with the odds. He had to improve them. But how?

He controlled one factor. His loyalty to Blackheart. If he could procure an arrangement with Armegon, Avery, or Ultrecht for his life before the fight, he could improve his position. The problem would be to locate them, contact them, and keep the whole thing a secret.

There was a way. He was headed to Tycho anyway, so it would not be too difficult for him to drop by the cabin. He had a rough idea where it was. If no one was there, he could locate a personal item and attempt to use a spell to make contact with its owner. Morteous would sense it, but he could explain it away as an attempt to divine the owner's location if he had to. He could make the bargain and then decide his course of action.