Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion) (19 page)

The
sorcerer had hoped to develop Byrn into a well-regarded magician and ingratiate
him to the prince when he first made the offer of apprenticeship a year
earlier. They were of similar age and Sane thought that if Janus had a sorcerer
as a trusted companion or even friend, then he might look more kindly on
magicians as a whole. Of course that would never happen now. There was still a
small chance when Byrn was dutifully serving his penance in Baj, but now that
he somehow escaped during the recent prison break whatever hope remained was
now gone.

“
Do
not be foolish,” the king chastened his son, “Sane is a trusted adviser and has
dutifully served at my side for over two decades. He would not betray the
people of Aurelia for the sake of one boy. Would you, Sane?”

“
Of
course not,” said Sane, thankful that the king still had some trust in him, but
he dared not think he was out of danger yet.

“
Then
you must go and find him,” the king told him. His voice was calm, but behind
the king's eyes there was a piercing anger that was barely being held in check,
“and when you find him he must be executed. No one can escape from Baj and live
to tell the tale. If there is a perception of weakness in the kingdom it could
embolden the rogue magicians in hiding throughout Aurelia to begin hostilities.
We could even see a major magician rebellion on our hands.”

Sane
ventured, “Perhaps the occasional rebellions that spring up every now and again
are a sign that we keep a too tight leash on the magicians. Maybe if they were
shown some mercy or given the same rights as the non-magical citizens...”

“
Then
they would succeed in their attempts to unseat my father, unhindered,”
interjected Prince Janus. “If we eradicate them from our society, then the
uprisings would surely stop as well.” Seeing his father about to object the
prince continued, “Of course, I would not suggest such a course of action based
on the actions of one magician. I am merely making the point that the
sorcerer's suggestion is just as extreme a measure to appease a group comprised
largely of commoners with the power to rival an army.”

“
Enough,
the both of you!” bellowed the king shocking the others into submission, “My
order still stands. Sane you are to track down your missing apprentice and
execute him. It was decided long ago, that is the sentence for escaping Baj and
there is no reason for leniency in this case. Do it discreetly, but swiftly.”

“
Your
highness, may I speak to you privately?” the sorcerer glanced at Janus. “There
is some additional information that may affect your decision, but it is best
kept between us until I am certain.”

King
Kale looked at his adviser with curiosity piqued. “Janus, please leave us.” The
prince did as he was asked, but grumbled under his breath as he left. After he
was gone the king motioned for Sane to come closer so his guards would not
overhear. “What is this new information that is so secret?”

“
I
am not certain and this may just be a coincidence, but when I last spoke with
Byrn he told me something. He told me he was adopted.” Sane paused to gauge
King Kale's reaction. Seeing no change he elaborated, “Byrn is eighteen years
old and it was eighteen years ago that your second son died as a baby.”

Kale
grimaced. “We tested him secretly and found out he would be a magician when he
grew up. We had him killed.” The king was barely keeping his anger in check.
“What is your point?”

“
You
ordered him killed, but he was not. Knowing she would never be able to carry
another child, the queen begged me to take her son and spirit him away while he
was replaced with a commoner infant. She did not want to know where her son
went, just that he was safe. I took him and gave him to Kellen in Colum,
because I too did not want to know where the baby was for fear that I might be
forced to reveal it at some point.

“
After
Byrn told me he was adopted I visited Kellen and asked what he did with the baby
boy. He told me that he gave it to the orphanage in Colum. The same one that
Byrn Lightfoot was adopted from.”

“
So
if I order you to kill this young man, then I may be ordering my own son's
death?” the king shook with barely contained rage.

“
Yes,
your highness.” The sorcerer cast his vision downward so he did not have to
look King Kale in the eye.

The
king took a step towards Sane and punched him in the face knocking him to the
floor. “You have betrayed me, Sane.” His voice was measured, but he seethed hatred,
“I already ordered my son's death once. Now you have put me in a position where
I must wonder if I am doing so again. My order still stands: Kill Byrn
Lightfoot.”

Sane
got up and with a short bow to maintain proper royal etiquette he told King
Kale, “Yes, your highness.”

***

“
Have
you figured out how to get out of here?” asked Lora teasing her houseguest.

She
hid Byrn from the Kenzai guards ever since her daughter, Marisa, discovered him
in the stone circle four days ago. They were both born and lived in the domain
for all of their lives. Lora's parents met in Ilipse and she was born there.
Marisa's father was brought to the domain by the king's sorcerer, Sane, years
ago using the very rune marker that Byrn now found in his possession. Although
she was a spell caster she had never actually used magic. The same was true of
many of the residents since it was impossible for anyone who had been within
the domain for more than a few hours to use magic and most of those who were
brought in were still relatively young and inexperienced as the older and more
capable magicians tended to either be better at staying hidden or died when the
Kenzai tried to take them captive. Byrn discovered that despite his limited
experience he was one of the most knowledgeable magicians in Ilipse.

“
I
have an idea,” Byrn said with a hint of amusement. “The Kenzai have no idea who
I am or even that I am here. I have taken great care to avoid them since
getting here. So all I have to do is sneak into a merchant's cart the next time
supplies are delivered...”

“
...And
if the hunters find you, then they might simply think you are with the caravan.
Is that about it?” Lora finished for him. “How will you convince the other
caravaners that you are one of them? If you are discovered hiding, even if the
guards don’t recognize you, then they will still know that something is amiss.”

Byrn
frowned thoughtfully, “It is not much, I know and I have yet to figure
everything out, but I have to start somewhere. Whatever I do it must be soon.
Every day that I am in Ilipse the risk of detection grows.”

Kellen
and Sane examined the cell cluster looking for any clues as to how Byrn might
have escaped. The cluster was empty since the other prisoners in this group had
been moved elsewhere following the breakout.

“
Somehow
the prisoners in this cluster tricked the guards into letting them out,” Kellen
said to no one in particular as he tried to work through the sequence of events
that led to the escape. “They killed the warden and several guards. Then they
took the warden's skeleton key and started setting other prisoners free as they
made their breakout attempt.”

“
Byrn
must have been the one to lead them out,” Sane added hesitantly, “These
corridors are like a maze, but he has been through them enough that he must
have memorized the way to the main entrance.”

“
But
where did he go?” Kellen wondered. “He was not with the magicians when they
reached the hall. If he was leading them out would he have just disappeared?”

“
Maybe
he spied another way out and took a different path using the others as an
unwitting distraction?” offered the sorcerer.

“
That
does not sound like the boy I met,” Kellen entered Byrn's cell, “Admittedly you
knew the lad better than I, but from my brief time with him, Byrn was a
trustworthy, if somewhat foolhardy, young fellow. He did not strike me as the
type of person that would betray others to further his own goals.”

“
I
would have agreed, but then he betrayed me and left me to face the consequences
for his actions,” Sane said with regret. “At our last meeting, he thanked me
for everything I had done for him. I did not realize it at the time, but he was
saying, 'Good bye.' This was a planned escape.”

Kellen
knelt down noticing something in the boy’s cell. “Come. Look here,” he said
indicating a discolored spot on the floor. “Here, here, here, and here,” the
knight-captain said moving his finger from point to point as he spoke,
indicating various small dots of dark discoloration.

Once
he got closer Sane recognized the spots for what they were. “Dried drops of
blood.”

“
Yes.”

“
He
used magic to escape,” Sane said not sure whether to be proud or angry. In the
end he was mostly perplexed, “but how?”

“
Did
you teach him the transportation spell?” asked Kellen. Such a thing would be a
ridiculous notion, but it was the most likely option.

“
No,
no,” Sane protested angrily, “I would never do such a thing. Besides even if he
knew the spell he would have no way to cast it. Even if he did it immediately
following our training session the wards would activate the moment he entered
the cell and besides that he would need a rune marker.” Then the sorcerer
remembered his bag.
Was it possible that
Byrn took one of my rune markers and cast the transportation spell?
he wondered.

The
sorcerer dropped his bag on the floor and immediately began sifting through the
rune pouch checking them one by one. Normally he put the runes back in his
chest back at the palace, but had not had the time recently so the runes in the
bag were the same ones that were in it the day Byrn vanished. At first pass he
did not notice any missing, but then he counted them. There should have been
ten in the pouch. There were nine. Checking again he tried to remember where he
had gone recently. After a moment it came to him and the realization gave the
sorcerer a flicker of hope.

“
Byrn
is in Ilipse!” Sane announced excitedly.

“
Then
he should be easy to find,” Kellen slapped the sorcerer on the back. “He went
from one prison to another.”

The
closest city to Ilipse that Sane could transport to was Lion's Landing, a port
city on the southern end of the continent. From there he could reach the domain
in a day.

“
Are
you in the mood for a little travel?” Sane asked his knightly friend.

“
What
about Sari?” Kellen was a little surprised at the sorcerer's choice, “Her
tracking skills could be very helpful if Byrn finds a way out of the domain.”

“
Perhaps,
I had considered her abilities, but I would have to find her first and time is
of the essence. If Byrn is trapped in the domain, then it will not matter who
goes, but if I spend all my time looking for Sari and Byrn gets out of Ilipse
he will become much more difficult to find.” Sane hastily packed the runes back
into his pack, “Besides Sari also has her own student, Byrn's mother, Marian
Lightfoot. If I brought Sari to help hunt down my former apprentice with the
order to kill him on sight, then she would be put in the position of betraying
her student and I do not know if I can rely on her to do that.”

“
I
am none too pleased with the task at hand either, my friend,” Kellen said
lowering his voice. “What if we just let him go? He has made some mistakes. We
did too when we were his age if you recall, but this boy does not deserve the
fate that has been thrust upon him.”

“
You
think I am unaware of that?!” Sane snapped at him. He knew the knight-captain
was not accusing him, but the sorcerer still felt he was to blame in a way for
Byrn's imprisonment and now his forthcoming execution. Thinking better of his
tone, he relented, “I do not know what I should do when I find him. The king's
command is clear, but this whole situation just feels wrong.”

“
Then
let us go to Ilipse,” Kellen suggested, “and we will decide what to do once we
find Byrn Lightfoot.”

The
next caravan arrived in Ilipse the following day and Byrn was determined to be
on one of those wagons. Teamsters were unloading the wagons, bringing fresh
shipments of meats, fruits, bolts of cloth, lumber, and leather hides. The
citizens had taken up various trades over the years to make Ilipse a
functioning community like any other town, but supplies had to be brought in on
a regular basis. They also exported some of their wares to facilitate the
purchase of more exotic materials and spices that were not covered by the royal
stipend they received.

There
were five wagons in this caravan. According to Lora they were usually in and
out of the town in less than two hours, making the margin of error rather slim.
Byrn watched as one of the teamsters struggled unloading a box of hides that
was much too large for one person. The teamster was younger than Byrn. He was
probably only fifteen or sixteen just a few years into his apprenticeship. Byrn
approached the boy from the side of the carts and as it began to slip from his
hands Byrn reached him just in time to grab the other end.