Looking out to sea, Lucius wondered what life must be like in that hostile wilderness, trusting chance as much as personal skill. The seamen of Allantia were renowned for their ability to master the waves, as were the barbaric savages of the Sarcre Islands, but there were few truly civilised men who were adept at reading the ebb and flow of the sea, and thus have a chance of making their destinations safely. Even the best captains kept close to shore, and no one knew for certain what lay beyond the horizon.
Adrianna had sped through the city to reach this place, and Lucius had been pushed hard to match her long, determined stride. They had not spoken further, and resentment once again began to flow through him as he realised she was dangling him on the end of a rope, possibly for her own amusement.
She stood, back straight and arms folded, as Lucius had seen her in the window of Brink's house. Not looking at him, she too stared out to sea, though he thought her mind was elsewhere. After a few minutes, his boredom got the better of him.
'Well?' he asked, not without a little sarcasm.
'Wait,' she said.
Lucius sighed and turned to walk slowly along the cliff. The immediate area was filled with cranes that leaned over the edge and a wide road that served as a loading area for wagons and carts, separating the cliffs from the row upon row of warehouses. He began to wonder whether his father's warehouses were close by — and who owned them now — when a pungent and heady odour filled his nostrils.
It reminded him of the scent that hung in the air after a storm but, looking back at Adrianna, he saw she had either not sensed it or was ignoring it. A low crackle reached his ears, and it seemed to come from all around. Looking around he tried to locate the source of the sound, but it proved elusive.
A brilliant blue-white flash in front of his eyes made him react, taking a step back. The dull light from Kerberos seemed to dim further for a moment, then another flash followed, this time from the side of one of the nearby warehouses. Lightning crackled around the walls of one of the buildings, shards of light playing across the wood and stone with a sizzling of high energy. With a low rumble of thunder, the electrical discharges coalesced into a tightly packed ball a yard from the ground.
Holding a hand over his eyes to shield himself from the glare, Lucius saw something move within the dancing light, a dark shape stepping through the flashes and sparks. He saw the form of a man walking down to the ground as if on a short flight of stairs. As he placed a foot on the cobbles, the lightning disappeared with the pop of air rushing into a vacant space.
The man was in his later years and wore a tightly-trimmed beard shot through with grey streaks but was otherwise completely bald. Dressed in the jacket and pantaloons of a wealthy merchant, he walked with a limp, leaning on a cane as he crossed the road to face Lucius. Still looking out to sea, Adrianna introduced the newcomer.
'Lucius, this is the Master of Shadows, Forbeck Torquelle.'
Eyeing the man warily, Lucius nodded slowly in greeting, but his suspicion seemed to bounce off the man.
'My dear boy,' the man said, extending an hand. 'I am so very pleased to meet you. Adrianna has told me a great deal about you.'
'I'll bet,' Lucius said cautiously as he accepted the man's hand and shook it. The Master's voice had the distinct ring of a Pontaine accent, which Lucius found attractive in women, but slightly effeminate in men. Despite the man's careful politeness, Lucius could sense the underlying power in his demeanour. This was someone who was used to getting what he wanted, smothering his iron hard will with a veneer of courtesy.
'I hope you will forgive my showy entrance,' Forbeck said apologetically. 'I normally reserve such things for weak-minded and superstitious fools, but I wanted there to be no doubt in your mind as to who I am and why I asked for this meeting.'
'And why is that?'
'We all felt your presence when you came back to the city, Mr Kane. We didn't know what was happening or what portent it held, until Adrianna first tracked you down. But once we discovered the truth, we just had to make contact.'
'We?'
Adrianna turned back to face Lucius. 'There is a new guild in the city. The Shadowmages are returning, and are slowly regaining both their numbers and their power.'
Lucius smiled at this and began to shake his head, raising a hand to forestall any argument. 'I'm sorry to have wasted your time — '
Forbeck overrode Lucius, speaking quietly but firmly. 'This is a new guild, Mr Kane, with a new attitude. We have been reforged from the disaster of Vos conquering this city and wiping out our old infrastructure. Not to mention many of the original members.'
'I already belong to a guild,' Lucius said.
'Yes, I know that. But ours is the only one of its type in the entire peninsula. Please, Mr Kane, walk with us for a moment.'
Forbeck turned and there was something in his voice that commanded Lucius to obey, despite his better judgement.
As they walked along the cliff top, deviating only to avoid cranes or piles of empty boxes, Lucius heard Adrianna's measured footsteps behind him as he kept pace with Forbeck.
'You see, Mr Kane, Shadowmages are unique individuals, having not only the very aptitude for stealth and secrecy that has lead you to find a place within the Night Hands, but also a natural affinity for magic. And I mean natural — it takes many men years and years of study and practice to harness the most basic of spells, if they are even capable of it in the first place. Men like you and I — and, sorry Adrianna, ladies too — can control the magic as easily as we breathe.' He laughed. 'Well, perhaps with a little more effort than that, but you do take my point.'
'I do,' said Lucius, wondering where this was going. He knew an offer to join the guild was looming, but he was perplexed as to why. He had already made his case for solitude to Adrianna, and he could not imagine for one moment that she had spoken up for him.
'The combination of stealth and magic is a powerful one, as our predecessors realised, but they never understood its potential. Mr Kane, a Shadowmage, properly trained and in full control of his abilities makes for an excellent — no, he makes for the very best — scout, infiltrator, thief, spy… assassin. The Empire of Vos fears us precisely because of this. That was why they worked so hard to eradicate our kind.'
'Well, I have those abilities now, plus the support of a decent guild.'
Forbeck shook his head. 'The Hands are decent enough, far easier to deal with than those rogues from the Guild of Coin and Enterprise, as Adrianna has recently discovered. But you are quite wrong in thinking you are anywhere near as good as you can be.'
He stopped suddenly, catching Lucius by surprise. His gaze was one of passionate intensity as he spoke. 'I see such potential in you, Mr Kane. I can feel the power and possibilities emanating from you as you stand there now. You have no idea of what you are really capable of.'
Coughing, Forbeck looked down at the ground briefly before raising his head again to Lucius. 'This is the purpose of the guild, you see. We need no guildhouse, membership roll, or shady deals to survive. Our magic and other abilities compensate for all of that, in one way or another. But we can work together for a common cause, and that, Mr Kane, is why you should be with us.'
'And just what is the common cause?' Lucius asked.
'That we share information on the practices of stealth and magic both, and through the accumulated wisdom of our members, we become an institution valued and respected. Imagine, Mr Kane, no more disguising the fact that you are more than a mere thief. Think of the lords and nobles who will line up to hire one of our number to engage in the most secret of commissions. Whether it is riches or arcane knowledge that motivates you, you will find it among fellow Shadowmages, not thieves.'
'I am not sure I would like serving two masters — remember, I already belong to the Hands.'
'Oh, you misunderstand me,' Forbeck said, brushing aside the argument with a hand. 'Stay with the Hands, you could not do better. I am sure you will learn many techniques in their service that will be of great interest to other Shadowmages. We have no dues to pay, and no chores to fulfil, Mr Kane. Our organisation is one of common accord, nothing more. We only have one ultimate directive.'
