Wizard's Blood [Part Two] by Bob Blink Page B

into the other locations he’d really prefer to keep to himself, but that simply wouldn’t be possible.
    There was no doubt the country was at war. The road had been heavily traveled with wagons loaded with goods destined for Seret via the tunnel in Burar. The port of Cobalo was filled with ships, far more than he could ever remember. He suspected that a final push to get materials shipped before the winter months with the very strong winds was part of the reason for the number of vessels docked, but it was possible he was seeing the new norm for the port. If only they were winning, but universally he’d heard that Ale’ald was slowly taking control of more of Kimlelm, and no one seemed to doubt it would fall completely before the first winter snows. The leadership had already fled to Seret, and were trying to wage the war from there.
    Although he was tired from pressing hard the past five days, it was currently only midday and checking into an inn to rest, thereby postponing his visit to the College until tomorrow was a luxury he didn’t feel he should take. Instead he rode to the north gate and asked the guard to send a message to Mage Dibon that he was waiting to speak with him. Dibon was one of the good guys, and even if Jolan was not in favor, Dibon could be counted on to listen with an impartial ear.
    Dibon must have been hard to find because Jolan waited almost an hour before the man suddenly rushed into the waiting area looking pointedly for Jolan. Seeing that Jolan was still there, he visibly relaxed and hurried over.
    “ I’m sorry it took so long. I was in a meeting and the guard simply left the message on my desk rather than let me know.” He smiled, making Jolan feel welcome. He’d been starting to wonder if he’d lost the last of his friends here. “You look well. We’ve all been wondering where you got off too. No one has heard a word from you since you left back in the spring.”
    “ I clearly wasn’t wanted here, so I went exploring for something that came to my attention last spring. It took me well into southern Angon.”
    “ That’s changed. You are back in the good graces of the leadership.”
    “ That’s good to hear, but why?”
    “ You’ll understand in a bit. Come, there are people waiting to see you.”
    “ Wait. No one I’ve talked to seemed to know. How is Chancellor Vaen? When I left she was doing poorly and some didn’t expect her to live. I’ve wondered about her many times but there was no way to check.”
    “ She recovered. You will see in a minute. She’s the Chancellor again and that’s where we are headed.”
    Dibon wouldn’t explain further, indicating Jolan would see soon enough.
    “ What of the others?” Dibon asked suddenly. “Are they here in town with you? They have been sorely missed.”
    “ They are far from here taking care of something I’m pursuing.”
    Dibon nodded as if Jolan’s answer was not unexpected. They were keeping up a brisk pace, and soon entered the Council building. They headed up the stairs to Vaen’s office. Jolan knew the way as he’d been there often enough over the past year.
    As they entered her office, Jolan realized that his old advisor Ward also waited inside. Vaen looked up as he entered, and Jolan was surprised when she stood and walked out from behind her desk to embrace him, without her cane. He’d never seen her walk without it before.
    “ Thank the gods you’re back,” she said without preamble. “I was afraid you’d left and given up on us. When you disappear, you do a thorough job of it, don’t you?”
    Jolan was still looking at her, not really paying attention to what she’d said. She noticed his look and laughed.
    “ Yes, I do look good, don’t I?”
    Vaen wasn’t kidding. Jolan hadn’t ever seen her looking like this. She looked years younger, and since she had been aging at about one year for every ten she lived, that said a lot.
    “ Whatever it was they infected me with almost killed me, but once