“That doesn’t really matter to me, Doctor. I have already accepted payment and I intend to earn it.”
She pulled out a thick file from a drawer and plopped it down on the desk. “You are a reckless man and I do not want you endangering this expedition. The Guild cast you from their ranks for a good reason. I see anything that would convince me why Mr. Aberland would hire you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not to hurt your feelings or anything, Doctor, but I don’t really care what you think. You didn’t do the hiring. I’m here and I’m your only option. The interview is over and I’ve got the check to prove it. What do you think you’re going to do, go swing by a charterhouse and pick up a dozen Wizards.”
She smiled, an expression I didn’t care for. “They only gave me two.”
I got a sudden sinking feeling, kind of like when you realize the solid ground you were standing on is really quick sand.
There was a knock at the door just before it opened. I felt the floor drop out from under me and tried my best not to let it show on my face.
Two individuals stood in the doorway, both unwelcome sights.
The first was a bear of a man, a full head taller than me with a barrel chest and thick arms. He was dressed in a grey suit and vest, his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up, revealing two of the largest forearms I’d ever seen. His blonde hair was close cut, military style, and a short, thick beard was similarly trimmed. He glared at me with cold, blue eyes.
In his right hand he held a thick, heavy staff of polished black walnut. Blue and green marble had been grafted into the wood from end to end in a spiral helix pattern, the end capped in a polished half sphere of stone.
Beside him was a small woman, younger than me but not by much. She was short, barely coming up past the waist of the giant, with the solid, healthy figure of someone who enjoyed being outside and made a regular habit of doing so. Her brown hair was tied in a braid that was slung over one shoulder, small wooden talisman knotted into the tail. She wasn’t so much beautiful as she was cute and she lacked much of the menace her companion seemed to reek of, amused green eyes taking in the scene.
In her hand she had a short walking staff, rugged and earthy, more a branch than a proper tool of the Guild.
Wizards.
In the back of my head I felt Al’s attention shift, all of his senses, all his various incarnations and mentalities, become painfully aware. My senses lit up, the whole world becoming more intense.
“Sorcerer,” the man growled. He planted his staff on the floor next to him. It wasn’t a direct threat, but the aggression was clear.
The woman next to him put her hand on the Wizard’s shoulder, drawing his attention away from me. That was good too because my hand was already wrapped around the handle of the weapon in my coat pocket. I wasn’t going to do anything foolish, but I wasn’t going to go down without leaving a crater behind either.
I tried my best to keep the shock off my face. I didn’t jump to my feet, didn’t shout, just sat there. “What ’s going on?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the Wizard but directing the question at Lambros. “Last I checked, I was invited here. I would feel a lot more comfortable if your dog wasn’t pointing his stick at me.”
To his credit, he didn’t react to the barb but I saw his knuckles turn white as he gripped the staff. I needed to keep my mouth shut. Even without the raw arcane power, his knuckles were the size of walnuts.
“As soon as the Arcus landed we were in negotiations with the Guild,” Lambros said. “Mr. Aberland was not partial to that idea, but never imposes limits on himself. Even after I had hired more…appropriate guides, he felt that we needed as much support as possible for this, and decided that you fit that category. I disagree with that, Mr. McDane. Mr. Dorne and Ms. Norwood are both perfectly
She pulled out a thick file from a drawer and plopped it down on the desk. “You are a reckless man and I do not want you endangering this expedition. The Guild cast you from their ranks for a good reason. I see anything that would convince me why Mr. Aberland would hire you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not to hurt your feelings or anything, Doctor, but I don’t really care what you think. You didn’t do the hiring. I’m here and I’m your only option. The interview is over and I’ve got the check to prove it. What do you think you’re going to do, go swing by a charterhouse and pick up a dozen Wizards.”
She smiled, an expression I didn’t care for. “They only gave me two.”
I got a sudden sinking feeling, kind of like when you realize the solid ground you were standing on is really quick sand.
There was a knock at the door just before it opened. I felt the floor drop out from under me and tried my best not to let it show on my face.
Two individuals stood in the doorway, both unwelcome sights.
The first was a bear of a man, a full head taller than me with a barrel chest and thick arms. He was dressed in a grey suit and vest, his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up, revealing two of the largest forearms I’d ever seen. His blonde hair was close cut, military style, and a short, thick beard was similarly trimmed. He glared at me with cold, blue eyes.
In his right hand he held a thick, heavy staff of polished black walnut. Blue and green marble had been grafted into the wood from end to end in a spiral helix pattern, the end capped in a polished half sphere of stone.
Beside him was a small woman, younger than me but not by much. She was short, barely coming up past the waist of the giant, with the solid, healthy figure of someone who enjoyed being outside and made a regular habit of doing so. Her brown hair was tied in a braid that was slung over one shoulder, small wooden talisman knotted into the tail. She wasn’t so much beautiful as she was cute and she lacked much of the menace her companion seemed to reek of, amused green eyes taking in the scene.
In her hand she had a short walking staff, rugged and earthy, more a branch than a proper tool of the Guild.
Wizards.
In the back of my head I felt Al’s attention shift, all of his senses, all his various incarnations and mentalities, become painfully aware. My senses lit up, the whole world becoming more intense.
“Sorcerer,” the man growled. He planted his staff on the floor next to him. It wasn’t a direct threat, but the aggression was clear.
The woman next to him put her hand on the Wizard’s shoulder, drawing his attention away from me. That was good too because my hand was already wrapped around the handle of the weapon in my coat pocket. I wasn’t going to do anything foolish, but I wasn’t going to go down without leaving a crater behind either.
I tried my best to keep the shock off my face. I didn’t jump to my feet, didn’t shout, just sat there. “What ’s going on?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the Wizard but directing the question at Lambros. “Last I checked, I was invited here. I would feel a lot more comfortable if your dog wasn’t pointing his stick at me.”
To his credit, he didn’t react to the barb but I saw his knuckles turn white as he gripped the staff. I needed to keep my mouth shut. Even without the raw arcane power, his knuckles were the size of walnuts.
“As soon as the Arcus landed we were in negotiations with the Guild,” Lambros said. “Mr. Aberland was not partial to that idea, but never imposes limits on himself. Even after I had hired more…appropriate guides, he felt that we needed as much support as possible for this, and decided that you fit that category. I disagree with that, Mr. McDane. Mr. Dorne and Ms. Norwood are both perfectly
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