01 - The Price of Talent (31 page)

              And with that Meredith turned and stomped off. I sat up and blinked a lot in the light. Eventually my eyes adjusted and I got a look at the room. I was in a small room with light pouring in through a window behind me. I was sitting up in a small single bed wearing nothing but my small clothes. Next to me was a bureau with a bowl of brown stew and a small bread loaf. Not knowing what else to do, and realizing that despite the warm sun I was feeling quite cold, I tucked into the food that Meredith had left behind. Once I was done I was feeling sleepy again, so I left the plates on the bureau and took a nap.

              I’m not sure how long I slept, but it was getting dark when I woke up again. When I did, I noticed Claudius had entered the room. He looked down at me with mixed emotions. Both resignation and annoyance were plainly evident on his face. But when he saw me looking at him his face went back to its usual implacable mask.

“Tyr, I think we need to talk,” he said.

“Uh… Yeah?” I said, not really knowing how to respond to that.

“Do you know how stupid you were being using magic in a cold room?” He asked.

“Yeah… Meredith already kind of dressed me down for that…” I responded.

“Good, then that spares me the trouble,” he said. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”

“I know,” I said. “Using magic in a cold room means you are tapping your own energies and that can lead to coma and possibly death.”

“So, you do know,” he said. “Then why in the world were you doing precisely that?”

“Uh… Just being dumb I guess,” I said.

“While I agree you were being dumb, I don’t think that was the reason,” said Claudius.

“You… Don’t?” I said, suddenly worried about what he was driving at.

“No,” he said, with a note of finality. “I think you were using magic in such a dangerous manner because you are like a bored child with a new toy.”

“I’m not a kid, I’m sixteen,” I said.

“Tyr, you have no idea how funny that sounds to someone my age,” said Claudius with a smile. “But my point was not really about your age, it is about your wanting to use your abilities. I think it is time that we provide you with a safer environment for you to practice the lessons I have been teaching you.”

“Does this mean, I won’t be locked in the cold room anymore?” I asked, unable to hide my excitement at the possibility.

“Yes, that is precisely what I’m suggesting,” said Claudius. “It’s always been my intention to let you join in group lessons with the other initiates when you were ready. Unfortunately, there has been some push back from the other Priests about when or if that should happen. Regardless, I think now they will have no choice but to go along with it. So, I’m going to be upgrading your living situation. When you are fully recovered, in a few days’ time, you will get your own room and access to parts of the castle where you can practice more safely.”

“I… I’m not sure what… Thank you…” I stammered out.

              This was more than I could have hoped for. If I had known putting myself into a virtual coma would get me out of that cell I would have done it sooner… And not by accident. Still, no point bellyaching over what could have been. I felt like I had just been given a great gift. The first step towards my eventual freedom. I had no doubt my actions were going to be monitored and that giving me access to an area I could practice safely also gave Claudius and the other priests a chance to spy on my activities, but it was a step in the right direction.

“Just remember, Tyr,” said Claudius, suddenly stern again. “This isn’t a reward. What you did was stupid and irresponsible. Meredith was right scolding you for it. Only reason I’m not is that I think a two day coma is adequate punishment. If you keep acting irresponsibly there will be consequences.”

              And with that he left me to my convalescence.

              The next couple of days passed quickly. Meredith dropped by a few times to reiterate that she thought I was a moron and to make sure I was eating. I spent much of those days sleeping and recovering. It’s surprising how much you can take out of yourself when you are using your own life force as the energy you are tapping to do magic. For all it seemed like excessive carefulness from Meredith and Claudius, the days of rest really did me good. By the morning of the third day after Meredith and Claudius chewed me out for being dumb, I was feeling quite well. This was a good thing as Claudius came in and woke me shortly after dawn.

“It’s time to wake up, Tyr,” he said.

              I’m not sure how I responded to this, as I barely remember it, but I know I turned over and tried to go back to sleep.

“Do I need to go get my shock wand?” Asked Claudius, not looking nearly as annoyed as his voice sounded. “Or perhaps get a guard to fetch a bucket of cold water?”

“Ok, ok, I’m up…” I said, uncovering myself from the bed.

“Then put this on, and join me in the hallway,” Claudius responded.

              Not having anything else to do, I got out of bed and looked for the clothes Claudius had indicated. It was just another pair of Monk’s clothes and sandals, not that this should have surprised me. After putting them on, I headed out to the hallway, where Claudius was standing.

“Follow me Tyr,” he said. “And I will show you to your new rooms.”

              And follow him I did. He took me out of the hospital area, and out onto the grounds of Caer Sud. The castle itself was situated in the foothills where the Eastern and Western mountains joined and surrounded by a pine forest on either side. Out the front gate was the end of the Eastern road that ran North to South along the Eastern woods between Sudchester and Nordshire. Though from my vantage point, I could not see Sudchester out the front gate, supposedly the town existed where the plains met the foothills right before getting to Caer Sud.

              The hospital wing that Claudius and I were coming out of was an outbuilding attached to one corner of the larger castle complex. There was a large green out front with a stables attached to the front wall near the gate. Claudius led me across the green to another outbuilding attached to another corner of the castle.

“This building here contains the classrooms and the library,” Claudius said. “The library is on the first floor with storage in the cellar beneath it, the classrooms for students are on the second floor.”

“Will I be attending classes with the other initiates?” I asked.

“For now, no,” he replied. “While you far outstrip the initiates in your ability to control external force, and will receive private tutoring from me on this, you have not shown much aptitude for mental magic or healing magic. So, for now, you will not be receiving instruction in those areas. If you start showing some aptitude later, we might reconsider this.”

“Meredith said that she spends a lot of time working in the hospital wing,” I said. “Do other students also do chores as part of their training?”

              I asked this question nonchalantly, but I was very curious. First, because I wanted to know what my duties were going to be now that I was out of my cell. Second, and more importantly, if I had work to do, I might be able to use it as an excuse to escape this place.

“Well, normally, students do work according to their aptitudes,” he said. “Meredith is a gifted healer, so she works in the hospital ward. Students who are good with fire magic usually are in charge of lighting the candles and lamps that light the castle. But we have students involved in a variety of activities. Some less gifted work in the kitchen or do the cleaning. Really, if there is a need that someone can fill, they usually end up getting it as a job.”

“Will I be helping out with any of these jobs?” I asked, as a follow up.

“You… Are a special case,” he said. “Your talents recommend you for a different type of work. Your encounters with the Inquisitors shows me that our training, while reasonably tailored to apprehending your average gifted individual, is inadequate to capturing someone with more substantial talents. So, I want to use you to help train my Inquisitors.”

“In what way?” I asked, a little nonplussed. After all, I was not exactly anxious to help out the very people who were responsible for the death of my parents.

“Just some sparring sessions at first,” he said. “I want them to get used to having to tackle someone who has use of their powers already. After that, maybe some hide and seek where you are actively trying to evade them… We will have to see. This is a new area for all of us. Usually we manage to track down talented people before their powers have manifested themselves. This has led to complacency, which is one of the reasons I believe you were so successful in evading us.”

“I see,” I replied, purposefully noncommittal.

              We had just finished crossing the green between the hospital wing and the classroom wing. Claudius took me inside the library on the first floor. As we walked in the main entrance, we approached a desk that had an initiate sitting at it. Claudius nodded at him as we passed. Apparently everyone knew Claudius because the initiate just nodded back and didn’t challenge us. Beyond the desk in the main entrance there was a central area from which a corridor ran the length of the library. Off this corridor were row after row of books. I remember Ross mentioning the library and visiting more secret sections, but nothing on this floor looked secret. Aside from the initiate manning the desk, there didn’t seem to be any place we weren’t allowed to go.

Not wanting to indicate I knew anything about the library, I let Claudius show me around. Once he was done, we left through a rear exit directly opposite the door we came in from. This led to another green open area and yet another wing of the castle. The previous green had been by the main gate, and looked like it saw frequent use. This green looked more like a farm, with rows of herbs and vegetables growing in the sun.

“We are now approaching the dormitories for our initiates,” said Claudius. “Your room is on the second floor. This green is the garden area where we grow much of the fruits and vegetables we use at the castle. Obviously, we have to supplement some with supplies bought in Sudchester, but this area represents most of the vegetables we eat here.”

“Do you grow anything else on the grounds?” I asked.

“Yes, actually,” replied Claudius. “Had we exited out the back of the hospital wing, you would have found a farming area like this one where we grow much of our grains and brewery supplies; wheat, hops, barley, that sort of thing.”

“Do you have any vineyards here?” I asked.

“No, the soil here isn’t ideal for grapes and the castle walls means they would not get enough sun,” said Claudius. “We have to buy our wines in Sudchester, but the local farming community here does produce a halfway decent wine or two.”

“I’m surprised you do so much farming,” I said. “I would have thought your local tithes and taxes took care of all your needs.”

“While the locals complain about their taxes constantly, the reality is that it is not enough to meet our needs here,” he said. “Also, we need as much of that to supply our holdings on the coast, as they are surrounded by much larger cities which makes food much more expensive. Out here the governing council of priests believes we are better off growing as much for ourselves as we can.”

We then arrived at the main entrance to the dormitory. Claudius opened the door and let me in. Inside was a stairway leading to the second floor and a hallway that led the length of the wing. Claudius took me up to the second level, and then down a very similar hallway to the very end. He then opened up the door and showed me my new lodgings.

“Here is your new room,” he said. “It’s not high luxury, but a good deal more comfortable than your previous room.”

He wasn’t kidding. This was much more like my hospital room than my cell. Inside there was a sitting area and a card table just as you entered the door. Then off to the right was a bed and a wardrobe which I found was full of extra sets of monk’s clothes. The room also had windows, one on each wall except the one where we came in. The windows had shutters on the outside and curtains on the inside. The room also had a threadbare rug on the stone floor, presumably to help retain heat during the winter.