A tale of magicians, magick and a lost boy. 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.
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ovote@unseen.is
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Jacob sat at the table watching the three children eating their evening meal with him. He noted Donae's sneaking looks across to him, copying his actions as he ate, her table manners had become so natural now she could sit at a royal banquet and not be out of place. Tancred and Jamil being much less restrained on the other side of the table. He wondered to himself how he had ever thought that the boy was unsuitable to rule when the sad day his father passed from them. It was coming towards a year since he had bolted from the palace, Jacob following in search of him. The time they had spent with each other had fully reversed his earlier thoughts How could I have been so wrong' he thought to himself. Stupid old fool, I must be getting past it' and then laughed silently as his next thought was how could an eternal man be past anything. He made note to bring up with the king, when they eventually returned to their home, the benefits to be had from schooling the royal children with other children from the land. This isolation is not best for them. For all his knowledge, and generations of experience, it had easy to forget that the one thing Tancred had been missing was friends, and friends who took him for who he was, not for his high position as prince and future king. No, he decided, it should not wait until they got back. He would broach the subject in his next long epistle to the king, pouring all the blame on himself and letting the notion sit in the king for a while. He would look back to his own childhood, and by the time they got home he would be likely to have thought through all Jacob had written and be in agreement. Enough of my wasteful musings' he thought to himself I've got work to attend to tonight when all are abed'
Only a slim crescent moon lit the sky as Jacob slipped quietly from the house and started his run through the city. Once arrived at the soon to be children's home he stood looking at the extended carriage house and the newly built livery stable attached to it. Zachary would not be disturbed by his visit here tonight. Entering the home he opened the way to the wine cellar and stood back as he spelled buckets of earth into the hole in the cellar floor. The earth, piled outside from where the footings of the new stable, would be soon cleared away, so while it was here and available he may as well make use of it and save the workmen some labour. Once brought back to the level of the floor he made good the damage done to the tiles on their previous nocturnal visit, and left the room. Turning away from his home when he left the grounds, he loped easily towards the large building he last went to as a guest of Sir Samuel. The club was silent and dark, only the exterior watchmen keeping it's privacy. And they were quickly sent into a deep sleep. The locks falling open to his touch he entered the building. Making his way through the rooms he soon arrived at the small office on the upper floor. In the locked safe he found the details of the next few events being arranged for the members. He was just in time, for two nights hence an evening's entertainment was arranged for a number of members, identified only by number he would be very interested in knowing the identities of those patrons. But he could not bear the consequences of just watching, silent and unseen, as they arrived. He assumed from the single mark M that a part of the night would again include the Mountain. Seeing this it concentrated his mind to bring forward his intention to deal with the man. What he had found here tonight had now made his plans change. Leaving and securing the club he left the grounds and went, instead of to his bed at home, into the bureaucratic quarter of the city. After attending to the new business he had set himself, then making his way home he settled himself in that comfortable bed for the remainder of the night.
The next day Jacob went about the city with Tancred and Jamil. His tasks about the house now being mostly carried out by the new handyman, and Jacob making no secret of educating him. Upon getting to the docks they saw a bustling busy place, the docks having re-opened that week, with three berths taken by ships unloading goods he knew as being for the king's trading house. Anticipating shortages of whatever had been carried by the slave ships he and the trading master has increased orders to be supplied to the house. Having only the knowledge of the trading master from previous years they could only make their best guesses, as to what should be bought in, and hope to be correct. There was already talk about the docks of the late arrival of the city's three ships. As soon as berths became available ships standing to outside the breakwater, awaiting a berth, would be making their way in to the docks. It was already known that some of those ships had embarked from the same port as the slave ships, so news would soon be out about them leaving days previously.
Jacob and the boys made their way over to one of the piazzas that lay against the city walls, and sat for tea, the boys tucking into cake as well. Shouts and a few cheers of encouragement started to be heard as the sight of the massive Mountain came pounding his way along the city wall. If truth be known these shouts were made in fear or warning, rather than celebrating him, as his character as a vicious bullying man was well known. He had been seen many times knocking someone to the ground if they had failed to notice him coming towards him, and he had to divert his paces to pass them. Jacob had chosen this particular spot because it was one of the places where the elevated walls came down to street level. Reaching the top of the steps, the Mountain took them two at a time ran swiftly through the piazza and was gone from sight. Tancred's eyes were as round as eggs, his mouth wide open showing his last bite of cake, as he watched the giant man make his way out of the square with the sack of rocks strapped to his back. He had not seen the Mountain making this run during the time he was in the streets, before he was rounded up and cast into the city gaol.
Jamil reached over placing his fingers under his chin, and pushing it upwards quipped "The flies will have that if you leave it open any longer" He then went on to explain to Tancred who the Mountain was, and what he was doing running through the piazza.
As Jacob finished his drink and they made ready to leave he spoke into Tancred's mind "That Mountain is a part of our plans, we will speak in the library this evening when Jamil spends time on his lesson for the day"
As they made their way back to the trading house, where they had arranged for Joshua to collect them, Jacob made conversation with some of the priests they met along the way. After using them to have soup kitchens spring up during the winter months he had decided to use their knowledge of the homeless children to find the first batch of residents for the home. His chats with them now were to find those who genuinely cared for the homeless and the destitute. He was not going to give opportunity to those who saw the mission as a way of proselytising impressionable young minds, or to fill benches and collection bowls. Whispering to mythical gods was nonsense to Jacob, he knew there were no gods. But he understood the human need to hope for something after being put in the ground. Just as long as the choice to do it was made by the person themself, and not planted as a seed to grow within a child that knew no better.
All those centuries before, when the gathering of the great mages had put on Jacob the burden of sentinel of the world, they had not the power to see into the future. They were as human as the mortal men they walked amongst. So Jacob had the same flaws within him as do all of us. Choices he had made during his escapades in the city would later show to be wrong, and there were some seeds he could have sown that would have made the future of the city come about with less harm to the people. Coming to realising some of these errors, during his walk through the city streets with the boys, on the way to the trading house he set about righting them. Sitting with the trade master he bade him to once again contact Captain Jard and arrange a further meeting in the same town as before. Also to send word to Simon and Thomas Alver asking them to travel to the same town to meet with Jacob. Both meetings to be arranged so it would involve only a single journey.
When the three arrived at the house they found Zachary sitting enjoying tea and some of Sarah's fresh baked bread in the kitchen. He had called to make known to Jacob he would be travelling to pick up two horses he had bought from a horse stud a way from the city. He would leave the next morning and be away overnight, he wanted either Joshua, or Toby the handyman, be sent to stay overnight watching for pilfering of the building supplies stacked at the mansion. Jacob, already knowing he would be kept busy for the day or so, asked Zachary to take Jamil with him on the trip for he wished Tancred to be with him most of the time. Once arrangements were made, both Jamil and Toby being sent to make up overnight packs, they sat to the evening meal with Zachary staying to dine with them. Dining finished, Jacob took Zachary to the library to appraise him of what would be happening during his little trip away. Tancred and Jamil took the opportunity to disappear to Tancred's bedchamber, where they passed the time engaged in things the two loving boys took every chance to practice. Though Jamil had been told to be ready to leave in one turn of the clock it still took a few calls to the upstairs floor before he appeared carrying his pack.
Joshua took Jacob and Tancred to the city early the next morning and deposited them a short way from the docks. It was fortunate that they had used the small carriage as the roadways near the docks were crowded with a lot more carriages that would be ordinarily seen. Going to the harbour master's office, as a merchant asking about the arrival of his goods, the talk was all about the late slave ships. Berths had become empty late the day before, and ships had made their way to dock from outside the breakwater. Two of those vessels had embarked from the same port as the three ill fated ships and followed the same course. No sign of any ships in trouble had been seen, and the realisation was coming to all that the ships were lost. Stood a little apart from the groups of men waiting for things to happen, though there was not much that could be done, four men would have been noticed by a careful observer. Armed men keeping others from being too close as they spoke quietly between each other. These were not men who were involved in maritime matters, or even with slave trading. One man was the Grand Duke's chief finance officer, another being the man in charge of all the constables and night watch. These were not men who commonly stood where the common people of the city were to be found. Upon being told his goods had not yet arrived, and that all berths becoming available were now allocated for ships of the city's navy to be provisioned and made ready for voyages searching for the missing ships, the merchant and his apprentice had no more call to remain at the docks so made their way back to the streets. On that walk into the main part of the city they were passed by an ornate carriage of the Grand Duke himself, carrying his four men back to the palace.
With the unexpected change in the routine of the house the night before Jamil had not sat at his lessons, and with the boys being busy in the bedchamber the matter of the Mountain hadn't been spoken about between Jacob and Tancred.
Sitting in a quiet part of the same piazza as the day before he now addressed this. "Yesterday you saw that giant, the Mountain, he is responsible for doing great harm to the young children of this city with the vile things he does to them"
Seeing Tancred's questioning look he first said "In years to come you will have to sit with men you may despise and hear them speak of matters that disgust you. At times like that you will need to have trained yourself to show no expression, your thoughts should not be read on your face. What I am going to tell you now will turn you, but this is one of those times you should show no feelings"
Having seen so much a boy shouldn't see when he was living in the streets the year before Tancred was well aware of men that sought out young bodies to satisfy their lust. He had seen children openly prostitute themselves, as the only way to get coin for food, many times.
Jacob left no detail unspoken when he related the tale of his night in Sir Samuel's company, even telling the boy of his part in the death of the man. Despite Jacob's warning about showing no emotion Tancred shuddered at the thought of poisonous ants biting their way all through the insides of someone, but he did so with a small smile of approval on his lips.
"We'll sit here for a while now, soon you will see a mountain become a volcano in front of all around. Surprise and shock at the sight would be good reaction when he erupts"
The Mountain pounded his way around the walls, his thoughts turned towards the rostering of guards for the meting of the Grand Duke's emergency council meeting later that day. He had ran this route so many times in the past he needed take no note of where he was, all knew he would be coming and move aside. As he approached the place where he jumped the steps to the lower level a sudden sharp pain burst through his thoughts of men and places to stand guard. Four or five long strides with his eyes squeezed shut brought him to the top of the steps. The pain was now so intense it brought him to a sudden stand. Hands to his head, he let go a loud cry of pain. Feeling the pain ease he took the first pace down. As he drew a long breath the pain came back doubled, and the bomb left deep in his brain by Jacob on that night exploded. Falling to his knees he tumbled all the way down those hundred steps, blood flowing copiously from his nose, and then joined by blood from all the parts of him where hard stone opened his flesh. The people in the piazza, brought to silence by the sight of his fall, heard his cries growing weaker and weaker until he lay unmoving before them.
The Mountain would not entertain that night or any other.
At about the same time as the Mountain was making his final appearance on the city walls a messenger arrived the the main constable house in the city. Carrying sealed orders he passed them to the Major in charge. A full platoon of men were to stand ready to be given special instructions that night. A further order would arrive in due course giving details of the task to be carried out. The order signed by the head of the force for the whole city, on official letter paper, was to be given top priority. For this had been Jacob's last task on his nocturnal work around the city the previous night. He had magicked his way to the headquarters of the constable force and wrote those two sets of orders, leaving it them to be delivered, at specific times, in the mail room before he went to his bed. That order had been been spelled so that the ink went from the paper after one day, and no trace of the words would ever be found for the Major to read again the following morning.