Chapter 7 Part 2

The next morning they resumed their trip and once again Gage gave his apprentice a reading assignment. It was Dylan’s guess that they would discuss his reading on the Law of Conservation. But to his surprise, near midday, Gage turned the wagon onto a side road.

“Are we stopping so soon?”

“No,” Gage answered. “We are simply changing directions. We will be stopping at my uncle’s place about half a league from here.”

“Is that the master who attended your promotion?”

“Yes,” Gage answered. “His name is Armegon.”

“Isn’t Master Ultrecht your uncle too?”

“Oh yes. They both are, but it was Uncle Armegon who taught me magic.” Gage’s stomach growled. “Hmm,” he murmured. “I think there is some jerky in the cool box under the tarp back there. Please get us some and also get the flask of wine that is with it.”

Dylan and Gage rode on. A few hours later, the dense forest began to thin out and to give way to green fields on each side bordered by whitewashed fences. In the meadows, a herd of horses grazed serenely glancing up only on occasion at the passers by.

The rough road suddenly became well packed and smooth and a large building came into view amidst a grove of ancient oaks. “Is that it?” Dylan asked.

“That is it,” Gage answered. “I spent many summers here with my brother.”

“It’s beautiful,” Dylan added. “It’s as big as the plantations are.”

“Well, the only thing raised here are horses,” Gage told him.

As they pulled up to the front of the main building, Dylan could see that it once may have been a simple cabin but had been added on to often. An elevated wooden deck over which a roof extended surrounded the main door. On that deck were two men sitting in chairs with curved runners on the feet. The men were rocking back and forth in the shade of the porch.

“Well would you look at who has dropped by,” the man Dylan recognized as Master Ultrecht began. It had not been until he had spoken that Dylan had known who was seated in the rocking chair. The lack of the ceremonial robes and accouterments had fooled him initially.

“Good afternoon, Uncle Ultrecht,” Gage answered.

“It’s about time you came by for a visit,” the other man, obviously a halfelf, added. He was the man who Gage had apprenticed under, Master Armegon.

“Just stopped by on the way to Tycho, uncle,” Gage told them. “What is for dinner?”

“The man comes to my house,” Armegon told Ultrecht, “and demands lunch.”

“I have a starving boy with me,” Gage laughed. He leaned closer to Dylan and whispered. “Look hungry and weak.”

Dylan stifled a snicker and tried his best to put on a pitiful look.

Armegon left the chair and stepped out from the porch to greet his visitors. He inspected Dylan briefly. “Uh oh,” he said over his shoulder, “he has an accomplice.”

Armegon stood there for a moment. “Well we might as well feed you something. I don’t want it said that I turned a starving boy away.”

Gage disembarked and instructed Dylan to unload their luggage. Then he followed Armegon and Ultrecht into the house.

Dylan unloaded the bags as he was instructed and began to lead the mules to a nearby barn to stable them. He opened the door and led the mules inside. There he unhitched the wagon and led the animals to a pair of empty stalls. He made sure that they were well watered and had plenty to eat before pushing the wagon over to one side of the barn so that it was out of the way.

“It’s a good thing to see animals well cared for,” a voice called out.

Dylan looked in the direction from which he had heard the voice. There he saw the gate leading out to the corral. The gate was divided in two, the bottom half, was about five feet tall, and was closed. The upper half was open and standing in it from the waist up Dylan could see a very tall man.

“Good afternoon,” Dylan responded. “I didn’t see you there.”

“I’m one of Armegon’s caretakers,” the man said. “My name’s Kraal.”

“Hello,” Dylan said as he walked over to the door. “My name’s Dylan.”

The man reached down and swung the door open. Dylan was taken aback, from the waist down the man had the body of a horse. Dylan had heard of centaurs, but he had never met one.

Kraal laughed at the reaction. “I come from the Janus Valley in the far west. My people call themselves Janusians, but many other races prefer to call us centaurs.” He cantered into the barn. “I’m here serving Armegon and Ultrecht. They’re held in very high regard by my people.”

“I haven’t known them for long,” Dylan admitted. “My master’s their nephew.”

“Gage is your master?” The tall creature laughed and his hooves shuffled. “Why I remember having to spank that little rascal so often that I wore out a whole forest of whipping sticks.”

He winked. “I hope your manners are better.”

“So do I,” Dylan agreed.

“Well it’s good to meet you,” Kraal said. “You go ahead and join Gage and the others. I’ll take care of the animals.”

Dylan hurried back to the main house and politely knocked on the door. It opened effortlessly though no one was there. Dylan started briefly then stepped into the house.

“Come in, boy,” Armegon invited. “There’s stew in the kettle over the fire and cold water in the pitcher on the table next to the window. The cups are on the shelf above the table.”
The room was close, about the size of the main family room of his parent’s home at Sandy Cove. There were two windows with the shutters open allowing the afternoon sunlight to brighten the other wise dark interior.

Dylan poured a cup of water from the pitcher and sat in a hard back chair next to the fireplace. Though it was still early in the harvesting season, there was a slight chill in the air and the fire felt good.

“Are the animals taken care of,” Gage asked.

“They are,” Dylan answered. “I unhitched and fed them. Then a centaur took over their care. He claimed to know you.”

“Is Kraal here?” Gage asked Armegon, who sat in a large cushioned chair that Dylan thought suspiciously resembled a throne.

“Yes, he’s here,” Armegon answered.

“We can’t get rid of him,” Ultrecht laughed.

“As if you wanted to,” Armegon responded. “Without him it’d be you out there working in the stalls and taking care of the chores.”

Gage watched his uncles volley their barbs playfully. It brought back many memories of his childhood. In a way he envied Dylan the experience. Dylan was being exposed to his uncles to learn magic at very nearly the same age that he had been himself.

“Dylan,” Gage addressed his pupil. “There are several hours until supper time. I want you to review the lesson I marked for you last night dealing with the Laws of Conservation.”

“Yes master,” Dylan.

Dylan retired to another room and did as he was instructed, although he really preferred to sit and listen to the conversation that was going on in the other room. The curiosity presented itself as a serious impediment to his studies. Try as he might, Dylan just could not concentrate on the matter of his reading. He read the words absently, without paying attention to what he was reading. Finally, he became frustrated and resolved to sit closer to the door and listen to the talk beyond. Technically it was eavesdropping, but Dylan self-justified it since it was distracting his regular studies.

“Just because the Godking and the gods are gone, doesn’t mean that the primary sources of evil have been done away with,” Ultrecht’s voice stated. “There’ll never be good without evil.”

“We’ve seen that over and over throughout time, but in this case if evil still exists, it’s keeping a low profile.” Armegon poured a cup from his wine flask.

“It’s not our responsibility to police this realm against evil,” Ultrecht warned. “Evil has its purposes.”

Armegon stared long and hard at his comrade. “You know better than that.” He took a sip of the wine. “Our operations are morally aligned towards good. Sooner or later evil is going to be in direct opposition to us.”

“I’m aware of that,” Ultrecht agreed. “I just want to make sure that you don’t go off on some crusade to purge the world of every brigand, pimp and politician under every rock. Not even you’ll live long enough to do all that.”

“I’ll do what I may whenever I can,” Armegon stated. “I know one person can’t stop all evil. Not even the Overlord could do that, and we should know.”

“I am concerned, however,” Ultrecht admitted. “After the Overlord destroyed the Abomination and after the Creator restored Gly-ou-vogue, and after the Creator restored His temple, there’s been no major outbreak of malevolence to be seen or heard of.”

“Count your blessings,” Gage added. “Would you rather see war and mayhem?”

“I almost would,” Armegon answered. “At least then I’d know what was brewing. As things are, I don’t know what may crop up or where.”

“Lassir is gone,” Ultrecht reviewed. “And this time it wasn’t just a banishment from this realm. The Overlord destroyed him. We’ll never have to deal with that monster again.”

“Lassir wasn’t the only force of malevolence there is,” Armegon argued.

“You’re right,” Ultrecht agreed. “But he was the most active and definitely the most immediate danger.”

“True.” Armegon leaned back in his chair. “So who should we be concerned about now?”

“Probably someone we’ve never even heard of,” Ultrecht offered. “After the removal of the Blackheart Clan and Lassir’s influence, there was a void to be filled by any two bit villain with an ounce of ambition.”

“Well it takes more than ambition to make a villain a serious threat.” Gage interrupted. “I mean rogues and brigands can be handled by the common militia, and errant magic users are policed by the guild.”

Armegon nodded. “But if even a novice gets control of some item of serious enchantment, they could become a big problem.”

“Hey it’s not our responsibility to govern or police the world,” Ultrecht insisted.

“You’re right, but if we don’t make an effort to keep an eye on the spread of evil, then sooner or later we’ll have to deal with it directly and in a stronger form. And though I’m not worried about you or I taking care of ourselves, we have established families and friends here, and I don’t want to see any of them hurt because we made no effort to stop some wrong doings while it was small.”

“The most likely way that some rookie’s going to get the power necessary to cause major concern is through interplanar assistance or by gaining access to a self contained enchantment source.”

“You mean an enchanted item?” Gage asked.

“Right. Most enchanted items are fairly low powered. The more powerful ones tend to align themselves morally. It’s a result of the power levels used to create them.”

“I am not very familiar with this concept,” Gage admitted. “I have not done much research in the construction of magical items.”

“Well it’s really very simple,” Ultrecht explained. “Most magical items are simply self charging spell casting devices. For example, when you make use of a ring of speed, you simply place the ring on your finger. The ring’s charged with a spell that increases your metabolism for a short duration. Then when the spell expires, the ring will have to regenerate the spell before it can be used again.”

“But a more powerful magic item,” Ultrecht added, “has multiple functions and requires the incorporation of life force in its creation. The magic user who donates a part of his life force to the creation of a magic item, also contributes his morals.”

“So the magic item will tend to have an evil influence on its user if the magic user who created it was evil,” Gage finished.

“In other words, we need to concern ourselves with the possible influence of magic items created by persons with bad dispositions.” Ultrecht stood and walked over to the fireplace. He leaned against the hearth and stared into the fire. “How are we going to know and locate those items?”

“There’s a manuscript in Allentown,” Armegon claimed. “It refers to a text known as the Manifest of Constructions. It was written by a mage in Keron. It’s a research listing and description of magic items.” Armegon refilled his cup as he spoke. “Apparently this mage, Gessner, made a thorough research of legends and stories to compile an encyclopedia on enchanted items. In any event, in Keron exists a listing of the most dangerous magical items created. That would be a worthy study.”

That covers half the problem,” Gage noted. “But what of the interplanar influence?”
Ultrecht shrugged. “There’s little we can do about that until it shows up. Anyone with a talent for magic and the knowledge to do so can summon a devil or demon or any of the elementals.”

“Have you tried visiting any of the subplanes of this universe,” Armegon asked.

“Not yet. I haven’t even left the surface of this world yet. I need to construct a vessel first. Interested?”

“Not on your life!” Armegon snapped back. “I have no intention in letting you sucker me onto another spaceship ever again. Go find Avery. I think he liked those trips.”

“Okay, okay, no space exploring. Then what do you suggest we do?”

Armegon sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in that case.” He yawned. “In any event we need to consult that book.”

“So who is going to go and fetch this listing,” Gage wondered.

“Good question,” Armegon said staring back at him.

“Oh, no,” Gage objected. “I have a student to train.”

“He’s right,” Ultrecht interrupted. “He’s no longer your go-for. He has a very serious responsibility.”

“Of course,” Armegon agreed. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of that. You go ahead and go to Tycho.” He smiled at Gage. “Besides I’ve been wanting to go to Keron for a while.”

“So when will you leave?” Gage asked.

“Probably after you do. Maybe in a day or so,” Armegon decided, “I want to take care of some things first.”

Ultrecht yawned. “I’ve got some things to do in Allentown,” he said. “I guess I’ll go there while you are away.”

Gage finished his drink. “We will be leaving tomorrow though,” he said. “I do not want to get settled down here. That would make it all the more difficult to leave again.”

“Would you do me a favor,” Armegon asked.

“What?”

“Will you take Kraal with you? He’s starting to get restless and a restless Janusian’s a very aggravating thing.”

Gage nodded. “I am sure that Dylan will be happy to have him along. He will not have to do the chores by himself.”

Dylan moved away from the door. He returned to his studies, though it was difficult to concentrate. His mind kept drifting back to evil and good and enchanted items. Eventually he gave up on trying to study and went to sleep.

When morning came, Dylan was awakened by the smell of bacon and eggs being cooked. He dressed in his highway clothes and went into the main room. There he saw Armegon eating his breakfast.

The halfelf looked up and smiled. “Hungry?” He nodded at a tray containing several fried and boiled eggs as well as a heap of bacon.

Dylan nodded and prepared himself a plate of the food. He ate in silence until Gage entered the room.

“Are you ready to hit the road?” he asked his apprentice.

“Yes sir,” Dylan answered as he finished his plate. “I’ll go and get the wagon ready as soon as I’m done here.”

“Good boy,” Gage answered. “Kraal will be joining us so you may very well find that much of that has already been done.”

Dylan cleaned his plate and then left the house. He made his way to the stable only to find the wagon already hitched and the mules quietly nibbling on hay.

“Good morning to you, boy,” Kraal offered as he emerged from behind the stable. “Are you ready to depart?”

“I suppose that I am,” Dylan answered. “Do you know how long it’ll take us to reach Tycho?”

“Several weeks I should think,” the big Janusian answered. “Maybe even a few months. Mules are good workers and heartily natured, but they’re rather slow.”

Dylan looked hard at the mules. They stared back blankly at him. “I’ve never noticed that they were heartily natured.”

“Oh they are that,” Kraal assured the boy. “They also like you.”

“They like me? How do you know?”

“They told me.”

“You can speak to them?”

Kraal nodded. His front hooves shuffled. “In a manner of speaking, yes. It’s more of a body language than any kind of spoken one.”

Dylan was impressed. “Would you teach me?”

“I don’t think you could learn it. Human don’t seem to have the ability to smell some of the scents necessary to understand the mule’s mood.” Kraal smiled apologetically.

Dylan puttered around the wagon for the next half an hour verifying that their luggage was properly stowed. He was about to return to the house when Gage came out with a large sack in his hand. He was dressed in riding clothes complete with a long gray hooded cloak and a floppy wide brimmed hat. He looked nothing like a master mage.

“Are we ready to go?” Gage asked as he mounted the wagon.

“I guess so,” Dylan answered. “What’s in the sack?”

Gage leaned close to his pupil and nervously glanced around. “Lunch,” he whispered. “I stole it from uncle Armegon’s pantry. Dylan could not help a slight chuckle.

“Are we ready to go, Gage?” Kraal asked as he cantered around from behind the wagon.

“Let us get out of here before Armegon discovers that I raided his pantry,” Gage urged.

“Oh ho,” Kraal laughed. “You still haven’t outgrown that little habit?”

“Do you want to catch dinner tonight?” Gage answered.

Kraal winced, nodded negatively and then strolled to the front of the team. He reached out and touched the mules. A snort and few grunting sounds occurred. Immediately the mules began to pull together following wherever the centaur led.

“Janusians,” Gage whispered as they rode in the wagon, “can speak to horses, asses, mules and the like. With Kraal along, we should not have to drive the wagon at all.”

“That’s a very handy talent,” Dylan agreed.

“So we will have much more time for your studies,” Gage added. Dylan sighed. It looked to be a very long journey indeed.