looked back at
the men, then turned and stumbled, tripping over his own feet, into the forest.
The forest would protect him, give him a place to hide, to wait, hidden, until
the soldiers tired of looking for him and went away.
He had not
walked far when he heard horses splashing through the shallow water on his side
of the river, they had swum across. He could see men climbing back onto their
horses, spreading out to search for him.
His life was
so unfair. Cursed to be a jinx. Exiled from his village. Abandoned by his
parents. Forced out of every village in the land. And now, hunted as a bandit.
What did it matter if he died now? Without the supplies in his pack, and with
an arrowhead in his shoulder, he wouldn ’ t
last long in the wilderness anyway. Good riddance to you, Koren Bladewell, the
world said to him, good riddance to the jinx, the world is better off without
you. Koren stopped, and faced the approaching soldiers, his back to a tree. The
arrow shaft brushed against the tree, and Koren ’ s knees buckled with the overwhelming wave of
pain. As the soldiers rode up to circle him, he pitched forward onto the
ground, and the world slipped away.
Lord Paedris
Don Salva de la Murta, master wizard and counselor to the throne of Tarador,
looked down with dismay at the hem of his purple robe, which was dark and wet
from trailing in the river. Certainly, Paedris would have preferred to simply
wear pants, much more practical attire for tramping about in the woods. Being a
wizard, however, indeed, the official court wizard of the land, he had to wear
robes, because that is what people expected. Half the power of being a wizard
was merely looking like a wizard, if Paedris dressed like a farmer then he
might have to turn a couple people into toads to get some respect. Not that he
would, or even could, turn people into toads; the threat was enough. He lifted
his robe out of the water, then dropped it, as he realized he looked like what
women did with their dresses when stepping over a puddle. Perhaps he could get
his robes shortened? He must speak with the royal tailor when he returned to
the castle.
“ Lord Salva? ” A soldier called out from
the riverbank.
“ Yes? ” Asked Paedris, without
looking up from the river. Paedris had mostly black hair, gone grey at the
temples, and he wore his hair long, like most men did, although Paedris did not
tie his hair back out of the way soldiers did. A mustache and a short, pointy
black beard added to the wizard ’ s
dignity. “ What
is it? ”
The soldier
held up a worn pack. “ I
found this in the woods, it could belong to the boy. Doesn ’ t look like the sort of
thing bandits would carry. ”
“ Very well. ” Paedris said, and
carefully stepped from one rock to another with long strides, back onto the
riverbank. The soldier, one of the royal guards, was one of the men who had
been in the back of the boat when it was attacked by the bear. The guard who
had been in the front of the boat was on his way back to the Duke ’ s castle. Paedris had
examined the man, he would have an impressive scar on his chest from where the
bear ’ s claws
had raked him, but otherwise should recover fully. “ Tell me again, from the
beginning. ”
The soldier
related how they had been on a picnic trip for the children, silly, really, but
that is what the princess wanted, and all had been well until the bear charged
out of the woods, with no warning.
“ And you say the boy held
his hand out, like this, and the bear fell over backwards? ” For Paedris, that
gesture, harm held straight, palm open, was part of a warding spell. Powerful
magic, that was.
“ Yes, my lord. The bear was
on its hind legs, the boy must have startled it. Although it did seem as if the
bear were flung backwards, almost, instead of falling. Then, the bear
swatted at its face, as though it were being attacked by bees, and it turned
around and ran back into the woods. It seemed to be blind, Lord wizard."
“
the men, then turned and stumbled, tripping over his own feet, into the forest.
The forest would protect him, give him a place to hide, to wait, hidden, until
the soldiers tired of looking for him and went away.
He had not
walked far when he heard horses splashing through the shallow water on his side
of the river, they had swum across. He could see men climbing back onto their
horses, spreading out to search for him.
His life was
so unfair. Cursed to be a jinx. Exiled from his village. Abandoned by his
parents. Forced out of every village in the land. And now, hunted as a bandit.
What did it matter if he died now? Without the supplies in his pack, and with
an arrowhead in his shoulder, he wouldn ’ t
last long in the wilderness anyway. Good riddance to you, Koren Bladewell, the
world said to him, good riddance to the jinx, the world is better off without
you. Koren stopped, and faced the approaching soldiers, his back to a tree. The
arrow shaft brushed against the tree, and Koren ’ s knees buckled with the overwhelming wave of
pain. As the soldiers rode up to circle him, he pitched forward onto the
ground, and the world slipped away.
Lord Paedris
Don Salva de la Murta, master wizard and counselor to the throne of Tarador,
looked down with dismay at the hem of his purple robe, which was dark and wet
from trailing in the river. Certainly, Paedris would have preferred to simply
wear pants, much more practical attire for tramping about in the woods. Being a
wizard, however, indeed, the official court wizard of the land, he had to wear
robes, because that is what people expected. Half the power of being a wizard
was merely looking like a wizard, if Paedris dressed like a farmer then he
might have to turn a couple people into toads to get some respect. Not that he
would, or even could, turn people into toads; the threat was enough. He lifted
his robe out of the water, then dropped it, as he realized he looked like what
women did with their dresses when stepping over a puddle. Perhaps he could get
his robes shortened? He must speak with the royal tailor when he returned to
the castle.
“ Lord Salva? ” A soldier called out from
the riverbank.
“ Yes? ” Asked Paedris, without
looking up from the river. Paedris had mostly black hair, gone grey at the
temples, and he wore his hair long, like most men did, although Paedris did not
tie his hair back out of the way soldiers did. A mustache and a short, pointy
black beard added to the wizard ’ s
dignity. “ What
is it? ”
The soldier
held up a worn pack. “ I
found this in the woods, it could belong to the boy. Doesn ’ t look like the sort of
thing bandits would carry. ”
“ Very well. ” Paedris said, and
carefully stepped from one rock to another with long strides, back onto the
riverbank. The soldier, one of the royal guards, was one of the men who had
been in the back of the boat when it was attacked by the bear. The guard who
had been in the front of the boat was on his way back to the Duke ’ s castle. Paedris had
examined the man, he would have an impressive scar on his chest from where the
bear ’ s claws
had raked him, but otherwise should recover fully. “ Tell me again, from the
beginning. ”
The soldier
related how they had been on a picnic trip for the children, silly, really, but
that is what the princess wanted, and all had been well until the bear charged
out of the woods, with no warning.
“ And you say the boy held
his hand out, like this, and the bear fell over backwards? ” For Paedris, that
gesture, harm held straight, palm open, was part of a warding spell. Powerful
magic, that was.
“ Yes, my lord. The bear was
on its hind legs, the boy must have startled it. Although it did seem as if the
bear were flung backwards, almost, instead of falling. Then, the bear
swatted at its face, as though it were being attacked by bees, and it turned
around and ran back into the woods. It seemed to be blind, Lord wizard."
“
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