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The Duke, large, muscular and more than a bit intimidating, smiled down at Anders, as he stood in front of him, ready to ride out on Brownie, with Chestnut tied off to the other horse’s saddle already. She had a loaded pack on her back, with all of his travel gear carefully tucked away inside the canvas and leather. She was also carrying her own saddle, just in case she needed to be ridden for some reason.
“Going somewhere, Anders?” The voice was pleasant and not even accusing, for some reason. Anders didn’t feel bad or guilty about his plans, but was intelligent enough to realize he’d been well and truly caught sneaking away.
Still, he smiled back and nodded, as if he had every right to ride out without letting anyone know where he was going.
“The plan is to head north and east of here. To Ferlith? I’m heading that way to see about collecting an instructor for the new college, anyway, so plan to use that as an excuse to open the roads up. They won’t link to Dora, so shouldn’t put anyone at risk from attack in that direction. No more than already exists.” Any Doran forces dropping down far enough to use such an improved path would find themselves already fighting, after all.
Instead of growling about how Anders was needed there, or too young to travel alone, the man simply nodded.
“Ah? That sounds like a good use of time. You should take Prince Erold with you. He’s good in a fight, and can help work on camp chores. Maybe even take a turn or two in road building? Not that I’m giving you an order, Sir Brolly. Forcing him to stay here won’t aid him much, though. Really, we could send some of the Princesses, except that I really don’t want to risk any of them to your wiles.”
That he had those, wiles, was clearly a jest, even as the fellow didn’t bother to so much as lift the corner of a lip over the idea. Instead of denying it, he winked.
“I’ll ask if he wants to go? He might want to rest for a bit. We all pushed decently hard, getting here, after all. We can do that, though. I have no reason for going in alone. Not on this one.” The last trip he’d taken like that had been almost certain to end in his death. This time, he was really just going to see what was there, and make certain no one in Ferlith was planning anything against them. Even that probably wasn’t going to be needed.
Grandfather Snow, as related by Duke Cohen, sounded both strong and as if he truly wasn’t a threat, to anyone who didn’t create an issue for him. True, a lot of the language the man had used before dying had been meant to prevent attack on the Duke’s instructor, but that was a good thing, in Anders’ book. It meant that, whoever this man was, he was regarded well enough by Cohen to seek to protect him, even as he died.
Though, Anders had to figure that simply riding up to a kingdom and demanding to see anyone, probably wouldn’t work. Hence making certain he had a real reason to travel in that direction. Making the roads better. That way, if no one would see him on the other end, there would at least be something useful to show for his time spent.
The former guard captain smiled again. It seemed more or less real.
“Very well. When are you planning to be back?”
That was a thing that Anders didn’t know at all. He tried to guess, based on the fact that he didn’t want to be that far north when winter came. For one thing, he had a school to get ready and students to attempt to recruit, before winter.
“Call it ten days going out? Five to look around and seven back, so... twenty-two? Possibly less than that, really. I’m only planning to do the main road between here and there, this time. Then I’ll have to head right back to Istlan, for work.”
The man swatted his arm then.
“Understood. You have everything you need for such a trip?”
He tilted his head then.
“It could be a bit lean, if we aren’t lucky in hunting and gathering food. I should find Prince Erold?”
That, it turned out, wasn’t needed at all, since the very man came riding up, on his own horse, leading a spare, with a pack that seemed to be similarly filled with items as Ander’s own. He had a hard look on his face, glared at the Duke and then narrowed his eyes at Anders.
“I don’t know where you’re going, but...”
Anders smiled.
“The plan is for us, both of us, to improve the road going to Ferlith. There’s a bit more, but nothing really important. I’ll go over that when we take a break, later? I was just about to go and ask if you wanted to come.”
The Duke grinned then.
“Which sounds like a way to placate you, but he actually was doing just that. You should be back in just over twenty-two days? We have some local guard here, but I don’t know if we can invade a kingdom to save you, so, clearly, if you get into trouble, get yourselves out.”
Anders knew that one, so agreed, readily.
“I’ll be in touch, if that’s allowed? Using magic? Every few days, in the evenings? More if we have anything more to share than telling about how the road work went well.”
“Do it.”
The Duke waved and walked away, with Prince Erold seeming baffled as they started to ride off. This time the road work needed to be started at the castle’s outer wall. That, the wall around the whole compound, wasn’t that large, really. Tall, and thick, but the space it enclosed was only about a quarter that of what King Mathias had for his castle. That wasn’t done on accident or to prevent false pride, either. Just as there were two castles inside the space, both incredible to look at and very well decorated, both of them were small. The wall was about the fact that Duke Lister simply didn’t have that many men under arms, as of yet. There was a barracks for them, and he’d hired a few men at arms from the local area, but they were, more or less, farm boys who had their grandfather’s half rusted armor from five wars before.
In at least one or two cases, that had been literal.
Muttering for about a minute, Anders pointed at the road and tapped Brownie with his heels, very gently. She wasn’t the kind of horse that had to be pushed to do her basic task. Since they had four war horses with them and none were too heavily loaded, they moved at a decent walking pace. That was nearly five miles per hour, which was a bit of a stress to Anders, but not so much he couldn’t keep up with the workload.
Two hours later, having eaten twice, Erold giving him some bread and cheese, they stopped to get some water, by a small stream. Without being asked, the Prince made a small structure, using a specific phrase that Anders didn’t know, to build it. A thing that he’d taught himself.
That was a cheery thing to see, so he nodded at the effort, when it was done.
“This is going well, so far. Let’s see if I can keep this pace up?” It turned out that he could, though they did stop after ten hours of riding, which was probably too much for the horses to have to do each day.
When they stopped, Erold built an inn, complete with water inside and a small stable out back, even if it was only for the two of them, and Anders poked around to see if there was anything to hunt. That, it turned out, was a problem.
Not because there were no animals. There were many of them, no wars having been fought in that area recently meant that the creatures living there hadn’t been killed for food by tens of thousands of hungry men.
No, there were many animals to use for food. The issue was that they could only carry so much of it. Anders had to pass by all the deer, elk and the single moose that practically begged him to kill them, and ended up with several masked raccoons, instead. They were large, and not his favorite kind of meat, but the three animals he caught, once cleaned and boned would allow them to freeze and more importantly, carry, meat to last several days.
He also collected greens, ripe apples and some honey. Not much of any of that, since he couldn’t really carry hundreds of pounds of things. As it was, the sticky honeycomb had to be tucked into his small pot, the lid tied on, to keep his gear clean.
Erold got wood in, but instead of sitting in the front room to eat, they just used a small table in the kitchen. There were also beds, which had to be created using materials from the forest around them. It was mainly pine trees, but that, it turned out, worked well for the types of things they were used to making for the inns.
They didn’t talk much, since they’d been together all day, but when they did it was Anders who pointed things out.
“We need to go a bit slower. It’s bad for the horses to push them too far each day. Plus, we have no need to rush, right now.”
There was a dark seeming chuckle at the words.
“So, when it’s my turn we get to go slower? I can’t say I was looking forward to driving a road as hard as you did today. I tend to breathe hard even doing it slowly. Princess Salina is strong that way, isn’t she? Princess Lissa, too.”
“Yes. Mathia is like that as well. Women are often stronger that way than men are. The only reason Sweyn isn’t, I think, is that she’s technically more powerful in dealing with dark entities. Riders? Her people seem to be that way, as a rule. I’d thought that meant those people couldn’t learn magic at all, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. She’s gotten stronger, as well, doing daily exercises. That means you can, too. It probably means that we all need to learn more about the other kinds of magic, as well.”
There was a slow nod then, from the Prince.
“Like necromancy and... Illusion?”
That wasn’t what he meant, but he nodded anyway.
“Those, but I mean things like resistance to magic. That is probably just a different kind of magic, rather than being dead to everything on a magical level. Moving a tree or rock isn’t harder than anything else, but killing animals often is. That could be about them organizing magical energy in a specific pattern. I don’t know that, but it’s the next thing I want to look into. Blood magicians can sacrifice animals to power spells, which means they have magic, on some level.” It was in the old texts that he had memorized on the topic.
Neither of them said anything for some time, Anders at least thinking about the ideas he’d been putting forward. Especially the idea that there might have been areas of magic that he simply hadn’t learned anything about, even in passing. It was really due to Duke Cohen and what he’d said on the subject of Riders. How they could learn skills, taught by the person ridden. How they could be welcomed, but also released, by the man or woman involved.
Depak had made it sound like the entities simply grabbed people and more or less did whatever they wanted. Cohen had made it seem more like they were friends. Companions that aided, instead of dark things that invaded and took.
Then, Depak, while a powerful magician and now a decent wizard, had focused his efforts in other areas his entire life. Indeed, while they had knowledge of the Slough in the southern lands, Farad had never even read of such things being used with the facility that Duke Cohen had shown at all. Nothing even close to that.
After a long while, Prince Erold sighed.
“I’m not really suited to magic, am I? I like to think that I’m clever and intelligent enough, but so many are more powerful than I am. Better learned and more capable of thought on the topic, as well.”
The words were slightly bleak, so, given the nature of their relationship, Anders snorted and grinned. It was a bit playful and a tiny bit mean. Worse, or better, it was meant to be.
“Oh, certainly. You’ve learned more of magic in a few months than most learn in a lifetime and call yourself lacking, because a few are stronger than you are. That or have gone first, so have a bit of practice more than you do? That seems correct. Best give over and never do anything, because someone else will always be better than you are.” He didn’t mean it, and wasn’t shocked when Erold moved over to him and pushed his arm rather firmly.
The Prince’s face was hard then.
“That wasn’t my point. I’m just used to being the best at things. Maybe not truly the top, but when I took lessons, I did well. At least I was told I was doing so. What if everyone lied to me? Told me that I was worthy, special, when I was merely the same as most?”
Instead of carrying on with the teasing, Anders stopped and thought about what his friend truly meant. It was, after all, very probable that tutors and even friends could have treated him rather carefully, since he was, like it or not, a Prince of Istlan.
“I see your point. In that case, you should redouble your efforts to learn magic. I won’t lie to you, if you aren’t doing well, after all. The thing there is that you really are doing pretty well. There is room to do more, if you wish, of course. Look at Princess Salina. She’s learning to be Barquea’s new Great One. That... It started out as a jest. Even Depak Sona was looking at it that way, at first. Then she started to do the work and that means it’s honestly being treated as if it’s a serious matter now.”
The Prince made a face at Anders then. It was a bit dark.
“But she started out very strong.”
He let his head bounce a bit, and glanced around the kitchen space. It looked like stone, a fire still burning in the bottom of the oven.
“You’re as strong as I am, in magic, you know that, don’t you? I’m not going to let the fact that someone is greater in power stop me from learning. Daren is very good, and is one of the weaker people I’ve seen that way, so far. So, you aren’t starting out at the very top, but... Why does that matter? Do you think that where you start from is the only factor in where you end up? I... Well, I guess I can see it. You started out as a Prince. You worked, but as you mentioned, you were never forced to work hard. Not until you went to war and everything was suddenly life and death. Or, now, when you’re on the road, actually working each day, instead of sitting in meetings or making babies with your pretty wife.”
The words didn’t seem to give the boy relief, but he did wave a bit, and seemed to relax a little.
“That’s a real problem. What if I’m not good enough to succeed, if I’m just standing on my own?”
“Then you’ll fail? I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, if you do the work and keep trying as you have been, but it’s always a real risk, for most people. Everything is. If a farmer raises a new cow, it could die or be stolen. If a cooper tries to make a new type of barrel, he loses time from making the ones he knows will work. Really, it’s that way, even for you, a noble Prince. You simply have less of a chance of dying if you ever miss your mark. Unless things go very wrong, of course. Then you might well fall even if it isn’t your fault. Like the relatives of King Yarler.”
The Prince swallowed then, his face bleak.
“I should have found a way to save them. That was... I think I may be evil, allowing that to happen.”
Instead of saying that he was naturally good, Anders sighed.
“I feel the same way. Even as Yarler died, I knew that wasn’t going to be a good thing. I can only take solace in the idea that he pressed my hand, so had to die.”
Prince Erold nodded then.
“Yes, saying he was going to rape and torture me was the wrong move on his part. Then pulling a knife on top of that... Thank you, by the way, for defending me. I didn’t mention it before. We were both too close to the battles then. If he hadn’t attacked, he still would have died for saying that, you know that, don’t you?”
Anders hadn’t really, but he nodded at the idea, since it made some sense, now.
Then, looking away, Prince Erold spoke, rather softly.
“I wonder, though, about all those people who ran away, into the night? The councilors and servants. Do you think they’ll be back? I know of those you removed, who plotted to kill Alpert. You told me about that. Did you do the same for the others? All of them, I mean? There were dozens...”
He could have lied about it, and was willing to, but there didn’t seem to be a real point to that.
“It shames me, but I did. No one will ever find more than ashes, buried well in the ground. It becomes easier, at times, to simply remove a problem than to deal with it in other ways. I’ve killed so many that it’s harmed my mind, I fear. That’s one reason why I can’t rule anything or anyone. What might I do, if given too much power?”
The other boy, his blond hair perfect, even if they’d been on the road all day, bowed a bit, in his wooden chair, by the kitchen window.
“What might you do? What is needed, I’d have to wager. Now, instead of me sitting here and complaining that I’m too weak in magic, I should do something... Make some furnishings of note for this place, perhaps? Something a bit nicer than what we’ve been doing.”
That was how they spent their evening, until it was time to sleep. Anders checked the horses first, but they were fine, eating a bit of grass that he called for them, out of the forest. It wasn’t a simple thing to do, but for four horses wasn’t brutally hard, either.
They had a full trough of water, and were locked inside the stone barn, safely, for the night.
The next day was a repeat of the first, only a bit slower and with the magical roles reversed. They didn’t find any towns, though they did, eventually, near evening, pass by a tiny village. The people there didn’t rush out to meet them, even as a new inn grew, next to the new road for someone to use later, if it was needed.
The days passed after that, broken up only with sleep, occasional new spells being learned or dreamed up and more hunting. Without meaning to, they pushed a bit, which meant Anders was actually shocked when they entered Ferlith, proper. Indeed, they were in the mountains for days, winding the new road through, actually taking stone from the sides of the outcroppings in places to clear the way.
Then they rounded a single bend, and found their destination, laid out in front of them. Suddenly and without warning.
A great city, the likes of which Anders had never even imagined. It wasn’t far off, either. There, not a tenth of a mile in front of them was a grand, golden, wall. In the distance he could see down, into the city, showing it as being a thriving, wealthy looking place, at least from a distance. There were many towers, and brightly clothed people in the streets.
Blinking, several times, Anders laughed.
“I think we came in by the back way.” Indeed, they were on what was probably a goat path, that had become a full road, behind them. Instead of stopping, he simply rode on, moving slowly, in case they wanted to stop him before he got to the wall.
Making a full road was, after all, clearly visible and even if not impressive to these people, who were obviously wealthy, it showed that something unusual was going on.
No one came out, until they were almost to the grand gate of the place. That seemed to be made of solid gold, with a rather impressive design inlaid into it. Instead of ten guards, with blades bare and stern eyes coming out to greet them, there was only a single man doing it instead.
The man’s face was fine enough, if brown for the part of the world they were in. A dusky tan, faded from lack of the sun, but not the pale color that Anders was himself, by any means. More like what Ganges had going on, minus a bit of conditioning from having recently lived in a near desert.
His clothing was heavy, and seemed to be made of leather, with a bright red cloak and a thick green over shirt. The fellow didn’t seem youthful, looking to be about fifty years of age, but was very spry, perhaps even physically powerful, seeming. Thick with muscle that seemed off, of course. Truly, while short, being no taller than Anders was, the man seemed to be muscled like a warrior of note might be. His hair was a blond so light that it clearly was the reason for the name he was using. It wasn’t the white of age, being off of that by some shades, toward a very soft yellow.
Instead of speaking, leaving the door to the place open, showing that no one else was there to attack or fight them, the man smiled. It was a peaceful seeming thing. Kind and most likely polite.
When he spoke, the words were in something near Doran, which Anders didn’t speak at all, yet. Instead, he dismounted and bowed.
Then he spoke in Istlan.
“Sorry, I don’t know your language here yet. We probably know something in common.” He was ready to use all of the languages he knew, but had a very good idea of at least one that the other man was going to know, of course.
Surprisingly, the fit looking older man bowed, using a very good version of first courtly.
“We do, indeed have a common tongue then! I noticed that someone was doing magic out here... This is a rather fine path you’ve left for us! Coming from Istlan? That’s polite of you. Would you like to come in? Perhaps refresh yourselves after your efforts? This has the feeling of personal magic, which can take a toll in its use. No use of... Darker things, either. Impressive.”
Anders stood up, allowing the other man to do the same and noticed Prince Erold doing that as well.
“I’m Anders Brolly, this is Erold Caldas. You’re known here as Grandfather Snow?” It wasn’t much of a guess. Not having seen the other man’s face. He’d had to fall into a trance, to prevent passing out from the shock, but wasn’t surprised when the man simply smiled, rather beatifically.
“I am called that, at times. It’s a bit rude, don’t you think? Then, half the people in here are related to me. Indeed, Caldas, out of Istlan? We might be related as well. I was, once upon a time, the King there, after all.”
Erold seemed ready to take offense at the claim, but Anders bowed again, using second courtly.
“I see. It would be wonderful, to speak with you, if we may? We have some news. A man, Duke Cohen, mentioned you to us, before he took his own life. Poison. He’d been left blind, in a fight, and was abused by a servant, in an untoward fashion, in the days after his defeat. I managed to save that man, Len, when he was poisoned. His mind is gone now, from the damage. Another two had been hit with the drug, but they made a full recovery. A Baron and his daughter.”
Grandfather Snow made a slightly hard face then.
“I have heard of this, of course. Alder told me. Duke Cohen? He returned here after his outer body died. Have you come to do battle then?”
Erold started to summon energy, to fight, but Anders waved that action away.
“Not at all. Cohen mentioned his training here in a rather positive fashion and I was hoping to entreat you to come and teach at the grand College of Istlan? A school of magic. At least it will be if I can get anyone to help me instruct the students. The building is decently nice? We have backing from the King. King Mathias. Erold’s father. We know nothing about the devic, as a magical skill. Until recently the people there were quite afraid of magic, for some reason.”
There was a sad face, for a few moments, but the man rallied and waved for them to follow along with him.
“This way. We can speak at my home. It isn’t that grand, but I don’t need much. I used to live in a cave, in the hills here, until about fifty years ago. Now, you want me to move, to teach in a school? That’s different! What subjects would you wish for me to go over?”
They all walked, the horses being led, into the city. The door closed behind them, with a flare of power. From an unseen being that stood beside it, glowing for a moment, in a pale green. The stones of the street were carved and seemed real, instead of placed by magic. To the left there was a small hill, which Grandfather Snow headed up, rather directly.
Speaking in a conversational tone, looking around, both at the splendor of the place and for possible attack. Nothing seemed to be arranging itself for that, thankfully. That being the case, Anders went over what he wanted from the man.
“How to gain the friendship of entities, and such related skills? Possibly combat, if you desire to do so? Again, your capability there was spoken of very highly. Honestly, anything else you desire for people to know, as well. The focus is on magic, but anyone learning there will be required to serve in time of war, and spend some time each year doing good works for the people there. We’re putting in roads, like the one we made coming here. That’s planned for Istlan, but also Yanse, already. Possibly Barquea, on the southern continent. Modroc as well, if we can entreat them well enough. They aren’t strong in magic. Did you used to be the King there, as well? Modroc, I mean. Not Barquea. Obviously.”
Prince Erold gave him a very strange look then, and for a moment Anders wondered if he was being rude. Grandfather Snow however, merely smiled in his direction.
“You know, I was in charge there, about a thousand years ago or so. That’s a bit of a leap to make, isn’t it, Anders Brolly? Why would you assume that?”
He shrugged, and kept walking.
“Two things, mainly. The first is that the Modroc are very weak in magic. Not with the riders, though. They use those well in battle, or so I hear. Not as well as Duke Cohen did, however. So, you led them away from magic, and toward that, but learned more in regards to such things, later?”
The man didn’t even bother to frown, simply waving ahead.
“My place is right up there. Near the wall. That, what you guessed at, is not incorrect. Go on?”
Anders kept walking, the horses making heavy clanking sounds on the stones under their shoes. It was familiar, and calming to him.
“The other thing is that you’re wearing the same face that I had, in my first life. That of Farad Ibn Istel. I’d been told that I was the only copy to have been made from the crystal that Ganges had put on my forehead, as I lay dying.”
For the first time, the man seemed mildly shocked by something.
“Oh? I... Actually, had forgotten about that. I was healed directly after that, by Ganges. Returned to youth. There was a... Red crystal, now that you mention it. So, you’re riding this boy now? When did that take place?”
Prince Erold, who had been listening, cleared his throat.
“A moment, if it’s possible? I’m to understand that you, sir, are the man that Anders has in his head and that you were both the King of Istlan once and of Modroc?”
The man regarded the Prince with a slow smile.
“That would be hard to take in, hearing of it like this. That is all true, however. I’m a little over sixteen hundred years old. Many things can happen in that time frame. I’m called Far now, by those who don’t rudely call me Grandfather Snow...” There was a playful and gentle tone in the words.
Anders went on then.
“I was placed into Anders, merged with him, about a year and a half ago, in Istlan. I went south, and found Ganges there. Alive, much to my surprise. He told me that you’d died, some twenty years after I did. He was rather clear on that point.”
For the first time, there was a frown from the other man.
“Horses around to the left. I have a covered area for them. It isn’t big, but should work, for the day.” Still not seeming pleased, he walked them around the rather fine seeming stone building. That was gray, but seemed carved out of the side of the mountain itself.
“Now, Ganges told you I died? That was true. I drowned, in the river. I don’t suppose he mentioned what took place after that? How he brought me back to life?”
Instead of answering, Anders simply shook his head. After all, he hadn’t been informed about that at all.