Hall. Closing the book, he returns it to the shelf and then leaves the room. Speaking the word of power once again, the wall materializes.
He makes his way down to the bottom of the tower and crosses the courtyard to where the Great Hall lies on the far side. The summoning of Aekion takes three days. First the Hall must be prepared to hold him. Second, the plane of fire is accessed and a way created for Aekion to pass through. Lastly, the summoning of Aekion.
Each task takes its toll from the summoner and he must rest between each. For to attempt to summon Aekion in a tired or weakened state would surely mean the death of the summoner.
Entering through the massive door, he finds the masters and those of the Fourth Circle who are about to attempt to become full masters assembled. His footsteps echo through the massive rotunda as he passes through their ranks to the center of the Hall. Coming to rest on the Sigil of Power, he turns to the assembled mages and says, “We have work to do.”
Chapter Eighteen
Regaining consciousness with one dilly of a headache, James shields his eyes from the light coming in through the window. The palm of his right hand is bandaged and aches.
“You okay?” Jiron asks as he comes forward from across the room.
James turns his head and sees him approaching. Upon the table in their room are stacked several plates of food as well as a pitcher and three mugs. “A little thirsty,” he says, his voice rasping slightly.
Jared takes one of the mugs and fills it with ale from the pitcher. Bringing it over, he hands it to him.
Taking the mug, he props himself up against the wall at the head of the bed and takes a sip. “Ahhhh,” he says after downing the entire mugful of ale. He hands the mug back to Jared and says, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies. Filling the mug once more with ale, he hands it back to James. This time, he drinks it more slowly.
“You had us worried there for awhile,” Jiron says with a grin.
“I was too,” he admits. After taking another swallow of ale he adds, “I don’t think they found me. I couldn’t believe the power that was being used though. It was massive. If they would have narrowed their search down any further, I couldn’t have held them off.”
“Feel up to traveling?” Jared asks.
“Worried about being found out?” Jiron asks him.
“A little,” he replies. “I’ve already had several people ask about you two. One person heard you moaning.”
“What did you tell them?” asks James.
“That you’re sick,” he tells him.
“We’ll need some sort of cover story that’s believable,” he says as he thinks about it. Getting up off the bed, he wobbles over to the table where he starts in on the food.
“Eat what you want,” offers Jiron. “We already have.”
“Thanks,” he says through a mouthful of bread.
Jiron comes up with the idea of posing as merchants again but James shakes his head. “What would we use for wagons? Goods? Not to mention a letter of travel. No, we need something that will prevent anyone from asking any questions.”
“Like what?” Jared asks.
“Like this,” he says. Reaching into the pouch attached to his belt, he pulls out a necklace with a medallion attached to it. Upon the medallion are three dots forming the ends of a triangle with lines running between them, yet not touching.
Jiron recognizes the necklace James found on the body of a dead priest in the underground temple they discovered on their way back from Saragon. The symbol is that of the warrior priests who worship Dmon-Li. Nodding, he says, “That might do it.”
“What does it mean?” asks Jared as he stares at the necklace hanging from James’ hands.
“It means that I am a servant of Dmon-Li,” he says. “On business for the temple.”
“Isn’t that sort of dangerous?” he says. Then pointing to the necklace he adds, “I mean, what if the wrong person should see that.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Jiron comments.
James swallows a bite of chicken and turns to Jared. “Go down and get the horses ready. We shouldn’t tarry here too long.”
Jared glances to Jiron.
“Are you going to be able to ride?” Jiron asks. He remembers the other times when James had to be tied to the saddle after a magical effort such as he just underwent.
“I’m not feeling that bad,” he replies.
Jiron nods for him to go ahead and Jared leaves to get the horses ready.
Once Jared leaves, James holds up his bandaged hand and looks questioningly to Jiron.
“One of your crystals shattered in your hand,” he explains. “I think at the end when you began spasming was when it was cut.”
“Oh.” He finishes his meal in short order and then gets to his feet. “Shall we?” he asks.
“May as well,” Jiron replies.
They leave the room but not before giving it a once over to make sure they didn’t leave anything behind. That’s something his grandparents always instilled in him whenever they went anywhere. When the car was packed with everything from the hotel room, James was given the chore of returning one last time to check for anything left behind. Once in awhile his grandfather would leave something of James’ hidden in the room just to see if he was actually looking.
They reach the stairs and are halfway down when a man who may have been the proprietor meets them halfway up and asks a question. James feigns feeling unwell and Jiron simply shrugs as they continue on past. The proprietor continues to give them a puzzled expression even after they reached the bottom of the stairs and begin heading for the door.
“Wonder what he was trying to say?” asks Jiron as they hurry across the courtyard to the stables.
“Who knows?” responds Jiron. “Maybe just asking how you were doing.”
“Maybe,” he agrees.
At the stables they find Jared having already saddled their horses. It takes little time to secure their packs behind the saddles. Once they’re ready they waste no time in mounting and returning to the road.
When the small goat town is behind them, Jared says, “Several people asked if I had any word about what’s going on at Korazan. It appears word has already spread that something is going on there.”
“What did you tell them?” asks James.
“Just that we came the other way around the southern tip of the lake and didn’t pass by Korazan,” he explains. “And that we heard a large force had seized Korazan and were executing all the civilians.”
“Why did you tell them that?” James exclaims turning on him.
“Give them something to talk about among themselves and they won’t bother you anymore,” he relies. “It worked too.”
“Great,” sighs James.
Jiron chuckles beside him. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “By the time we’re done the tales will be spreading far and wide, none even close to the truth.”
“I suppose so,” he says with a sigh. They ride on in silence for awhile. After mulling it over, he turns to Jared and says, “From now on, stick to the truth, okay?”
Shrugging, he says, “Sure. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know. But either stick to the facts or stay quiet,” he states. “I don’t want any more wild rumors circulating about me and my doings than can be helped.” He stares into his eyes until he nods then turns back to the road.
Just after noon, they come to a sizeable town sitting at a junction where a road running north and south
