Warlocks Index – Previous Chapter
Much of what happened thereafter is blurred in my memory as events happened around me, rather than including me. Toa Freyah occasionally addressed me directly doing little more than assuring me of things, and that they were working to secure my exit from the city. At some point, Graciul joined our retinue, hands bound and with a grim expression. We exchanged looks but no words, as we were led through back streets and to the city walls some distance from the main gates.
All too soon, we found ourselves outside the city standing beside our wagon which showed signs of having been thoroughly searched. Talish stood holding the reigns to the village workhorses that had led us here. She also wore a grim expression, which saddened ever so slightly upon seeing me.
The guards ushered Graciul and I forward, dropping their spears behind us, blocking the way to the Toa Masters. I turned surprised, but it only made reasonable sense. They had a directive to protect them over us. Toa Freyah looked sternly at me and mouthed something to me. It looked like Poh-eh to my muddled mind and I instinctively went to ask what she had meant, but she closed her eyes and turned away. The three masters vanished into the darkness of the wall gates, and I stood there no doubt looking like a lost duckling before Graciul, now free of his bonds, touched my shoulder lightly.
Talish was still there, holding onto the horses, waiting. Her gaze was penetrating.
“Thank you Master Talish.” I approached her, a slight anxious buzzing in the stomach. “Please know I continue to regard you fairly. You conducted your duty…”
“No more.” She said with more softness then I expected. “Be it known that my orders were twisted from my intent. I feared for your well being when I called the guard. I believed the youngling sought you. I never doubted your intentions, and I stand with the Masters of the Academy.” She held the reigns out to Graciul, who took them without issue and deftly mounted the wagon.
She held out her hand to me and I took it, to then utter a slight surprised grunt as she drew me into an embrace. Then she whispered into my ear, “Watch yourself out there, and mind the prize you have been given.”
She held me for a second longer before releasing me, gave me a smile, then a nod the Graciul, before heading back through the gates. The guards on duty let her pass before closing the heavy doors, with heavy clunks and clacks.
I stood for a moment pondering the parting words, then I also mounted the wagon, and Graciul lashed the horses into movement.
*****
Time and distance past in silence. I noticed that Graciul’s bow and equipment had been returned, and supplies for the journey home had been stashed securely. It felt like I should be taking the opportunity to reflect, yet try as I might, I could only find unease of the path ahead. The forest loomed in the distance, not yet to be seen, yet very much in the eye of the mind.
Night fell soon enough reminding me that we had spent less than an afternoon at Haven. It was only on half a sun cycle since we were fleeing along the very stretch of road. Now we were returning to danger, and I felt uncertainty in myself. I came with many questions and I felt I was leaving with few answered, and even more to ask. Only one thing seemed to persist in my memory, and that was the void in the face of the stranger. The trap that had been laid in my dream memories, and I had taken into the sanctum of the Toa Masters. Had that trap been meant for me, or more troubling, the Masters?
Graciul brought the horses to walk. Darkness was dimly held at bay by the waning moon and in the distance I could just make out the dark silhouette of the forest. Graciul took us off the road and the nearby rocky outcrop before bring all to a halt. For first time that I was aware, he seemed tired as he hunched forward.
Without looking at me he said, “Before we run the forest road, we should eat and rest.” He turned his head towards me. “I want to take advantage of the early morning. If we take our run in the early hours, we may catch anyone there in their sleep.” His words made some sense, and we quickly and quietly set a camp, ate, and prepared to sleep.
I removed my coat to wear as a blanket and noted a strange sense of weight that felt wrong. How I had not noticed it before I do not know, but in taking it off, it felt uneven. I padded down the sides and discovered a lump in one of the pockets. A vision of Toa Freyah mouthing Pocket came to mind, and I plunged my hand inside. What came out was a palm sized crystal. At first I could not make out the colour so held it up to dying light of the camp fire, and saw reflections of purple within. I held my breath in shock. What I held in my hand was a Master Crystal, reserved exclusively for the Toa Masters only. Talish’s words echoed in my mind. “Mind the prize you have been given.”
Suddenly I was scared. I bundled the crystal back into a pouch that had held a bedroll previously, and nestled it next to me, trying the string tie to my wrist, then draped the coat over me and the pouch. I looking into the dying embers of the campfire until I drifted to sleep. Graciul sat with his back against a rock looking like he was in some sort of meditative trance. I remember thinking that I wished I could do that too.
Reflection of a Ham 