The Unsuspecting Mage (25 page)

As they prepare to travel, a long caravan trundles into view on its way north from Cardri. James counts fifteen wagons passing by in the early morning light with a dozen mounted guards accompanying it.

Miko gets the horse ready while he goes to the river to refill the water bottle. He puts the bottle in the water and while he waits for the bottle to fill he glances upriver. Not far from where he squats filling his water bottle, several people stand in the water, by the looks of it doing their morning business. A feeling of revulsion overcomes him as he looks at the river flowing past those people, toward him and into his water bottle. With visions of dysentery running through his mind, he stands up completely disgusted and pours out the water.

Looking down and across the river, he finds another group of travelers filling several earthen jugs with the river’s water, water that could very well be carrying bacteria and waste products from the people and animals further up the river. He comes to the realization that any and all water, or for that matter all things drinkable, could originate in just the same unsanitary and possibly parasitic infested place.

Remembering a special he saw on the Discovery Channel about parasites and how they get into your system and take up housekeeping, he decides he has do something about this.

Looking at the river, Miko says “The river is clean. Look, you can see all the way to the rocks on the bottom.” In truth, the water was flowing smoothly and the riverbed was clearly visible beneath.

James points upstream, Miko looks in the direction he indicates and sees the people getting out of the water. “They just fouled it, and look,” he says pointing at the people filling water bottles and jugs downstream, “those people down there are unaware of the contamination that may be making its way into their drinking water.”

“Contamination?” asks Miko. “What do you mean?” He looks at James and his expression shows that he doesn’t understand what James is trying to say.

“It’s hard to explain,” James says. “Let’s just say that contamination is something that can make you sick.”

“If you say so,” Miko says uncertainly.

James once again fills the bottle with water from the river, then finds a spot several feet away from the water’s edge and sits down, resting the water bottle on the ground before him. Miko sits opposite him and waits quietly to see what he’s up to.

A minute or so goes by then James begins casting a spell, all the while concentrating on the purity of the water and for the impurities within the water to collect on the sand beside the bottle. Miko watches and is astonished when a wet spot forms on the ground next to the bottle. An almost miniscule lump of brownish goop forms on the wet spot, giving off an unpleasant odor. When James finishes the spell, he brings the bottle up to his nose and sniffs. Seeming to be satisfied he takes a sip and a smile crosses his face. He hands the bottle to Miko who hesitantly brings it to his mouth and takes a small drink. Eyes widening, he says “Never tasted water like that before.” Taking another drink he exclaims, “Best water I ever had!”

“I doubt if anyone around here has had water like this,” remarks James. “That’s the way water where I come from tastes, most of the time anyway.”

James takes a small stick and pokes the brown goop. “This is what was in the water, the stuff that makes you sick,” he explains to Miko. “There are several ways to do this without magic but we don’t have the time or facilities to do it properly.” Taking the bottle from Miko he takes a long drink, emptying it.

James returns to the river and fills the bottle once more, then sits back down and purifies it with his spell. Miko watches in wonder as the brown goop forms once more on the ground.

When he’s finished, he packs the water bottle away and they return to the road, heading south once more.

As the day progresses there are more and more people on the road traveling in both directions. Many are simple farmers going about their daily routines, hardly noticing those around them.

Hours later, Miko suddenly asks, “What’s that smell?” He looks sidelong at James.

“It’s not me you smell,” James informs him, “that’s the sea.” The salty smell of the sea had been growing steadily stronger over the last hour but now is quite noticeable though they still are unable to see it. The terrain has become slightly hilly and for the last several miles James has been expecting to see the sea whenever they crest a hill.

Close to midday they top a rise and there laid out before them, is Cardri. Beyond the city stretched a great expanse of ocean extending to the horizon. Cardri is by far the largest city that James has seen since coming to this world. It must stretch a mile or two on both sides of the river.

On a hill a little inland from the harbor, but still within the city proper, rises a great castle. Shining white in the morning sun, it is an imposing sight, several towers and a great keep surrounded by a high formidable wall. Atop the highest spire of the tallest tower a flag bearing the crest of the Cardri line flutters in the breeze coming off the sea.

James looks to Miko and chuckles. Miko is standing there with his mouth hanging open, in obvious awe of the place. He reaches over and closes Miko’s mouth which snaps him out of it. He looks over at James and smiles, a little embarrassed.

“Pretty impressive, eh?” James asks him as they head down the hill toward the town.

“I’ll say,” Miko responds, “I always heard it was big, but I had no idea. I always thought of Bearn as a big city, but this makes Bearn look like a farming village.”

“It’s the capital,” explains James, “and I’m sure it’s also a major center of trade for the entire region. It would have to be big.” Moored at the docks of the harbor were dozens of ships of varying sizes, many with a buzz of activity surrounding them as sailors and porters load and unload their cargo.

They reach the outlying buildings a good two hundred yards before they even get to the outer wall that surrounds the city. Cardri has three defensive walls dividing up sections of the city. One encircles the castle proper and several large buildings which comprise the Castle Area. The second encompasses a much larger area and protects the homes and businesses of many merchants and wealthy individuals. The third is the outer wall and the primary defense for the city. Almost two miles in circumference, it boasts many towers spaced at regular intervals. Half seem to have some sort of siege equipment such as catapults sitting atop them for defense.

Though despite the awe inspiring length of the outer wall, it still isn’t large enough to encompass Cardri in its entirety. Originally it may have, but over the years, buildings have sprung up along the outside. Primarily comprised of poorer dwellings by the looks of them, many are obviously taverns and inns catering to those in need of accommodations, but the poor and slovenly appearance of most of them would keep James away unless he was very desperate.

The gate through which the road passes holds two portals, one larger than the other to accommodate wagons and merchants, the smaller being for people on foot or horse. James and Miko move to the line at the gate for people and are soon approaching the entrance.

Lining the road are many poor beggars who plead with all to give, most having lost limbs, eyes, or bore some other deformity. James is saddened by them and feels bad that he has to reject their pleadings for help.

As the line continues drawing closer to the gate, James notices that unlike Bearn, the guards here are not asking questions of travelers before they pass through. This allowed the line of people waiting to get in to advance quickly. They took notice of everyone however, but beyond that scrutiny allowed all to enter unchallenged. The wall itself is about fifteen feet thick and as he passes through, discovers murder holes in the ceiling where defenders would be able to drop rocks or oil on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught inside.

Once through the walls into the city proper, the state of the buildings improves somewhat over those outside, though they are still on the poorer side in James’ opinion. That made sense actually since the closer to the castle usually meant a higher social standing.

Miko noticeably becomes more relaxed in these surroundings. As a city boy, he had been out of his element on the road. But now that he is once more within a city, feels at home. Walking down the street it seems almost as if he can feel the heartbeat of the city, the ebb and flow of its life.

As they make their way through the crowded and noisy streets, James observes that the majority of the buildings in the outer ring are businesses with attached living areas. Inns and taverns are most apparent closer to the gate although some were still scattered about here and there as they moved deeper into Cardri.

They continue following the main street until James finds what he’s looking for, a two story building with a sign hanging beside the door depicting three stacks of coins sitting on a table. He recognizes the symbol as being the same as the one that hung outside Alexander’s shop in Trendle.

He goes up to the building and secures the horse to the post and then turns to Miko. “I’ve got some business inside,” he tells him, “you better stay here and keep an eye on our stuff till I’m done.”

“Sure thing,” he says, taking a seat on the steps.

James goes up to the door and enters. A bell attached to the door announces his arrival as the door opens. The interior of the shop is remarkably similar to that of Alexander’s in Trendle. There are several guards in the room and they turn their attention to him when he enters. Not seeing James as a threat, they go back to being disinterested, though they remain aware of his actions.

A man pokes his head out of the window in the far wall and smiles when he sees James entering his establishment. James is startled for the man is the spitting image of Alexander.

“Good afternoon my good sir,” greets the man. “My name is Thelonius and how may I help you today?”

Coming to the window, James takes out his letter of account from Alexander and hands it to Thelonius. At the same time he asks, “Are you the brother of Alexander who lives a ways north in Trendle?”

His face brightening, Thelonius replies, “Why, yes I am. Do you know him?”

“I did have the pleasure of meeting him on two occasions,” he answers. “When he gave me that letter he asked me to tell you that ‘all is well here’.”

“Ah, that is kind of you to deliver his message,” Thelonius says as he briefly scans the letter from his brother. “I am assuming that you wish to open an account here?”

“Very good,” he replies. “I’ll be right back with your coins and the papers for you to sign to set up your account.” He then ducks his head back into the room and a minute, returns with a sack full of coins and several papers.

Thelonius empties the sack onto the counter and together they count the coins, making sure the total equals fifty golds. Once counted and they are both satisfied as to the count, James takes the papers which are identical to the ones he signed back in Trendle. He signs his name and then hands them back to Thelonius.

Taking the papers, Thelonius asks, “Now, is there anything else I may help you with?”

“As a matter of fact there is,” James says. “Could you perhaps direct me to the Inn of the Silver Bells?”

“The Silver Bells, eh?” Thelonius responds. “You can find it further toward the castle, past the second wall on Long Street. However, you may wish to stay elsewhere, it’s pretty expensive. It caters mainly to visiting nobles and the wealthy.”

“Could you recommend one that would be nice but not too dear?” James asks him.

Thelonius gestures to the right, “There is one down the street called the Dancing Squirrel,” he replies. “The place is kept well and the rooms are fairly priced.”

Extending his hand, James says “Thank you Thelonius.”

Taking James’ hand, he shakes it warmly, “You are welcome,” he says. “Should you ever need my assistance in the future, please call again.”

James tucks the sack of coins within his shirt and exits out the front. Miko still sits upon the steps, idling away the time by watching the people passing by on the street.

Hearing the door open, he turns his head and comes to his feet when he sees James coming out.

“There’s an inn down the street that the fellow inside said would be a good place for us to stay,” James informs him. Untying the horse, he leads them down the street to the right. They don’t have very far to walk before James spies the inn bearing a sign depicting a dancing squirrel.

James has Miko wait outside with the horse again while he goes inside to see about getting a room. The door opens onto the common room, and off to the side sits a long bar running half the length of the wall behind it. To James’ surprise and amusement, he finds a rather large, fat man standing on top of the bar, trying to coax a yellow cat down out of the rafters.

“Come on kitty, kitty,” the man on the bar says to the cat. He has a bowl in his right hand and is passing it under the cat as if to entice it down for a treat.

“Ahem,” James clears his throat to make his presence known.

Startled, the fat man drops the bowl. It hits the edge of the counter and falls to the floor on the far side. The sound of shattering pottery tells its fate. The man turns with face turning red in embarrassment to find James standing there. Giving the cat a last look of exasperation, the portly man climbs down off the bar and comes over.