A tale of magicians, magick and a lost boy. This started off just as a one off story, but as I was writing ideas kept popping up and by the end of this first part I could see quite a long saga ahead. It is my very first time venturing into a realm of fantasy, a much loved genre, and I fear not doing justice to some of the wonderful writers who's works grace my bookcases. By saying this is a fantasy I don't really need to stress that it is a work of fiction. Set in a nameless land, maybe even a nameless world, our rules and conventions do not apply here. Another story I am writing (Tony & Rhys) has stuttered to a halt, I know the end and the things that are going to happen, but as much as I try it keeps coming out wrong. This story was a hopeful way of trying to knock through the wall that seems to be blocking Tony & Rhys getting to what makes them happy, but along the way of this it became another multipart story. (Spellings appearing strange to you are English (U.K)
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As evening fell, and the gloom in the cell deepened Jacob mouthed a silent incantation to warm the stone floor beneath him. He had lain unmoving for most of the daytime so his goalers paid him no attention. The noises from the prison slowly reduced as the routines of the day were done and put behind the guards and prisoners. When all was silent he projected out a sensing to learn more of the place around him. He had been taken by the city constables early in the day from the street market, as he had planned. Carelessly stealing a loaf from a baker's stall he had allowed himself to be held by angry stallholders and brought to the city goal.
It had been a long and fruitless task searching for the runaway boy, this was the fifth city he had searched but finally he learnt that a child of the same description had been rounded up during a recent sweep of beggars and urchins. For over four months now the boy had been missing from home, he had never referred to him by name or as the Prince in all that time. His father the King, along with the King's advisors, believed the boy had been kidnapped, but as Jacob's search had gone on he found no evidence to support that view, and now thought it was more likely a simple runaway. Over the years since he became one of the boy's tutors the thought had often come to him how unsuitable he was to follow his father and ascend the throne at some time in the future. A slight and quiet boy, not given to enjoyment of the martial training, the lessons of battle strategy or learning about the intrigues necessary to keep the Kingdom safe from it's enemies.
Jacob's careful probe of the the prison around him led him to sense the Overseer of the goalers, sitting at his cluttered desk with the remains of an ample meal spread carelessly upon it. He gently pushed feelings of tiredness into the Overseer's mind, and was rewarded by feeling the blurring of senses that come from a comfortable seat and a full belly. Once the Overseer slipped into a deep sleep Jacob slowly rocked the inkwell at the top of the desk until it tilted towards the open ledger, written in it the records of the prisoners brought into the goal. Drop by drop the deep black ink soaked on to the page, covering the script, and by doing so hiding the fact that Jacob had been caught thieving, a crime for which he would lose a hand, or even hang if dealt with by one of the stricter judges. He felt no remorse for the Overseer who would lose his position when found sleeping. If such a man took pleasure in cruelty to the poor and the unfortunate then he brought such punishment upon himself.
Maintaining his prone place on the cell floor Jacob scried further out into the prison, searching for the spark of life he would recognise as the boy's. Early in the boy's lessons he had taught the boy to feel the tutor's call, it had been needed for the boy was a reluctant scholar. Time was on his side now, when the change of goalers came with the morning he would set a warding in the corridor outside for them to pass by his cell without giving it thought, leaving him undisturbed. A sleeping mind was harder to find and he may need the time once the prisoners were roused. Jacob had the power to take this prison apart with the power of his magick, but for this task subtlety was needed. He couldn't risk the chance of his actions being a cause of suspicion falling on his master's kingdom. It was known that such magick as his was a rare gift. The mages in this land were of a much lower level, being not much more than hedge witches and simple healers, able to hasten the set of broken limbs and cure simple illness. What this place did have though was a very large and well equipped militia, and a will to use it whenever chance happened. Until he found the boy, and knew what the return journey would entail, he dare not risk a hostile act against his homeland if he was not there to assist in it's defence. It was some time before he found cages in a far part of the goal that were crowded with small children. Put together until there was enough of them to make a cargo of slaves, to be sold at the port he expected. So many small dirty bodies, the rags they wore gave no help in identifying the girls from the boys. He called the boy, not quite certain that one of these urchins was him "Be careful Your Highness. Give me a sign you hear me. Be careful Your Highness. Give me a sign you hear me" Pausing for a few moments after each call he kept calling, searching for the smallest move from any of the children. It was long minutes before he sensed movement as one ragged bundle turned slowly, and a dirty head was raised from the tangled mass lying on the cage floor. Reading the question in the boy's mind he answered that yes, it was he, Jacob. He called him to stay calm, be patient and wait. Retreating back from his search he allowed himself to slip into a watchful sleep, nothing would change until the daytime.
As morning broke Jacob was roused by the shouts of the new goalers when they found the Overseer still snoring. The ledger a solid block of black, pages solidly stuck together with dried ink. Setting a ward on his cell door would be helped even more with the normal routine disrupted. As a much greater number of goalers was milling around he saw an opportunity to take advantage of the confusion. When the inspection of started Jacob saw that only one goaler was engaged in that task. Collapsing the ward he waited for the goaler to enter his cell. As soon as the door swung open he pushed hard into the goalers mind and commanded him to be silent, then placed the instruction to leave the cell and then return when he had checked all the other cells. After preparing a different incantation that would prevent the returning goaler from moving or speaking when re-entering the cell he silently took off the dirty beggar clothing he had been wearing. The cell door opened once again shortly afterwards, there was still shouts of anger and confusion directed to the truculent Overseer, and no attention was being paid to this end or the cell area, the goaler stepped into the cell and stood unseeing. Jacob gave him an instruction to undress and then put on the dirty, discarded clothing which was complied with without thought or question. Swiftly dressing in the goaler's uniform he caused the goaler to lie on the floor facing the wall. Leaving and locking the cell after himself he made his way to the open barred gate leading out of the cell area.
After spending some time walking around the goal to learn more about the fate of those children. He learnt that they were to be transported that very day, the slave ships would sail on the evening tide. Dressed in the goaler's uniform, he left and made his way to the house he had rented in the city. Quickly bathing and dressing in finery more in keeping with the rich Merchant he was posing as he went about the city and procured clothing for the boy. His intent was that the boy appear to be his apprentice, finding it humourous that for a short time at least the boy would be calling him Sire, learning to bow and be servile would be a new experience for a high born prince. During the return to his house he walked the route by which the cargo of children would be taken to the docks. For his plan to work he would have to cause the transport wagons to take a different approach than than the usual, that being a considerable distance from his temporary abode. His greatest chance of success was to spirit the boy away during a time of great confusion. And so he turned his ideas towards a way of releasing all the children. Having already chosen the best place on his alternative route to effect the release of the children he now needed to make the primary route, and any others, impossible for the heavy and cumbersome wagons to navigate. Sitting in the tea shop, his purchases neatly stacked at his side he watched the comings and goings from the timberyard on the corner of the street. His intent was to burn the yard, the large stacks of wood would take hours to be brought under control. The chaos would effectively block the whole of this side of the city, and take up the efforts of a great many of the city constables, leaving little choice for the prison wagons to be diverted through much narrower and winding streets near the house he was keeping. Now that the mental link between himself and the boy had been re-established it was easy to keep, and so, pushed to the boy the message to be aware, and be ready for things to happen on the trip to the docks. Sensing that the boy had understood, he could feel the questions the boy was forming. It was not a perfect form of communication, the mages had never been allowed to search the mind of a member of the Royal family, and he had not the power to undo the blocking put in place long ago by a mage of much greater power than he. There was a path for a Royal to allow this, but physical contact between the two was required at the time they both spoke the incantations needed.
The cages used to contain the children were also wheeled, all that was required was for carthorses to be harnessed to them, and then the large gates at the end of the building were opened and the journey through the city to the docks would be underway. The system had been in place for a long time now, and required only two guards per wagon, and as with every repetitive exercise, complacency had crept in. There was no outcry from the citizens at this barbarous treatment of children. Most looked upon them as beggars and cutpurses, a blight on the well run order of the city. At one time they had stoned the wagons or thrown buckets of filth, but nowadays the wagons were so commonplace that the practice had largely ceased, most didn't even notice the regular transports passing through them. There was nothing good to be said about a society that treated the poor and vulnerable with such callous and casual cruelty, Jacob felt no concern for taking an action that could leave a number of them dead or severely burnt. His prime concern was that it be looked on as nought more than accidental, so no hue and cry be raised to find the arsonist. The two incidents, the fire and the escape of the children, needed to be thought of as separate.
Deep in the centre of the largest lumber stack the temperature rose, unseen by the toiling labourers the first wisps of smoke were carried away on the wind. The wood, dried by the long summer months, was eager fuel for the flame and yielded swiftly. Once reaching the outside of the stacked timber there was little anyone could do to combat the flames, and it took only minutes before the fire spread to adjacent stacks of wood, some piled against the yard's buildings. Obeying the calls to move to safety Jacob quickly gathered his purchases and left the tea shop. As he did so a part of the burning building's roof fell to the street, blocking the way completely. No wagons were passing here now, that was a certainty, even after the fire was beaten it would be many days before the debris would be able to be cleared from the streets. News of the fire reached the prison, and instructions were given to leave for the docks earlier, the only route left to the wagons being longer. Too much profit was made from the sale of these children to consider delaying the transport, and the head of the prison was one who lived a luxurious life with the gold slave trading brought him. The three wagons pulled away from the prison yard with the hot summer sun beating mercilessly down on the cages. The journey was a greater hardship than usual on the horses, and before too long there was a need to pause to allow them to drink from a horse trough in one of the larger piazzas. Focussing on the wagon that was in the lead Jacob gently manipulated the joints in one of the back wheels. As the wagons started their journey once more the stresses on those joints grew ever greater. Before too long the wheel was showing signs that it woul soon fail, and sure enough, part way up one of the long uphill streets two of the wheel's spokes sheared. The pressure put on the remaining spokes being too great they quickly followed and the wheel collapsed, throwing the wagon downwards on the rear corner. The guards from the other wagons went forward to see what had happened, leaving the children unsupervised but still locked in the cages. To release the locks securing those cages was something Jacob was able to do without effort. Once again sending out the mental message to the boy he attracted his attention, positioning himself where he needed the boy to head for he then released the locks and made the cage doors swing open. When the children saw the chance, being quick witted and used to surviving on the streets they lost no time in scrambling from the wagons and scattering in all directions. Even if the guards, older and slower than nimble children used to being chased if caught cutting purses, managed to seize hold of any, many of the others would be gone in an instant. When Jacob saw the boy jump down from the middle of the three wagons and head his way he turned and made his way off the piazza into one of the smaller walkways. The boy quickly caught level with him in the walkway and Jacob quickly passed to him a scrap of paper with a diagram showing the way to the yard of Jacob's house. Telling the boy to go ahead and don't be seen entering the yard he made his way, without showing any haste, towards his temporary home. Looking carefully around him when he arrived, he opened the door and motioned for the boy, hidden in the bushes, to come swiftly into the house. Closing the door behind them both he relaxed for the first time that day. The boy was safe -- for now!
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The first tasks for Jacob to was to get the boy clean, fed, and to ensure he carried no disease from the hardships of the last few months. He had left the house earlier having prepared the bathing pools with an incantation keeping the waters warm during the time he was absent. Showing the boy to the bathing room he left the packaged clothing for him to choose from and went to prepare food. One of the few good things he had discovered in this hostile land was their practices with regard to bathing, the custom being was for the houses to have three different baths, the first being of hot soap infused water. When finished in that bath you then moved to the second where the water was clean, and left you with none of the dirty, soapy residue on your body. The final bath contained sweetly scented water, leaving the bather fragrant and ready to dress in clean robes. It was an idea he intended to take with him to his home Kingdom, where they used more of a running shower arrangement.
In due course the boy appeared, looking more like the student he had taught, casting a critical eye up and down the boy he said; "The primary thing we need to do is ensure your appearance bears little resemblance to how you have been seen by any visiting dignitaries to our home lands, many will have seen you around the palace and even though your disappearance has been kept a closely guarded secret we don't want rumours to start"
He went on "I am a merchant, here to buy jewellery, glassware and decorative trinkets for ladies. You are my sister's boy, apprenticed to me and your name is Tancred. During the time we travel you will need to call me Uncle, or Sire if we are in a place where I am conducting trade. I think we need to lose that head of blonde hair, so when it has been cut short we will make it brown, or ginger if you prefer" Keeping a straight face he watched the emotions pass across the boy's face as he thought of himself as a ginger apprentice, the last part being intended to lighten the boy's feelings as much as a truth he needed to hear. Once they had finished a hearty meal, the boy eating enough to show he had had little during his time in the cages, they set to changing his appearance. The beautiful shoulder length blonde locks that Jacob liked so much were shorn and burnt in the room's fireplace, as were the filthy urchin's rags he had been wearing. Turning the boy's hair to a mousey brown colour and dressed as a merchant's clerk he looked much different from a prince of a powerful land. By now the hour was late, and the sounds from outside the house could still be heard. Shouts of constables could be heard as they continued the search for the long gone children. Hopefully most were well hidden in places they knew to be safe refuges from the cities night watch. Jacob decided to allow a little time to elapse before delving into the reasons for the boy's flight from his home, so showing the boy to the bedroom he had made ready they settled for the night. Closing the door on the boy he carefully warded the door and window, he was taking no chance on losing his new 'nephew' before the morning.
In Chapter 2: Jacob finds the reasons for the Prince leaving his home and learns some of the things that the boy went through during his journeys. They make plans for returning to their home kingdom, and Tancred (for that will be his name from now on) surprises Jacob with an audacious plan.
And what you may have been waiting for, sex, gives you a little teaser.