Every so often, she would point at a vase or a sculpture, and he would marvel at its construction with her. He didn’t want to spoil it by telling her any decent mage could have formed them with a few flicks of a wrist, so he just stared and smiled, taking it all in.
Before long, their dreamland ended and the three were confronted by a staircase leading to the throne room. It was beautiful, too, with all its finely crafted railings and regal red carpets, but it paled in consideration to the rest of the castle.
Still, he knew they weren’t here for a sightseeing tour, and he sobered up fast.
“Be on your best behavior, you two. The throne room is right up those stairs,” Talon told them as if they couldn’t guess it already.
A sudden tinge of fear came over Teryn as he walked up the stairs. It only now occurred to him that he had no real idea why the king of Coontan had wanted to meet, and he could only assume it was something bad.
The king had a bad reputation in the Guild. It was rumored he had gone to war with Fusong in an attempt to snuff out the wizards there, and from all appearances, he’d succeeded. Teryn had no way of knowing whether or not that was true, of course, and he doubted it – why snuff out one center of mages only to offer protection to another? But the thought was still chilling.
He took some deep breaths and said a prayer to calm his nerves, and then he was ready to face whatever came next. He slowly opened the door to the throne room and stepped inside, Valeria and Talon close behind him.
The doors closed behind them, plunging the three in darkness for a brief moment. Then he heard a clicking noise from a far corner of the room and a row of torches adorning the walls lit up, two at a time, revealing more of the chamber.
Even through the dim light, Teryn could see several fine swords and spears and the like all around the room. Some of them were probably even magical. Next to the weapons stood very nicely polished suits of armor that looked brand new. The king of Coontan was obviously trying hard to give off an unfriendly, war-like vibe.
It worked.
The king himself was sitting in a high-backed throne that looked a little evil save for the golden shimmer of the metal on the edges. It was hard to tell much about him while he was sitting, but he looked to be extremely tall for a human, well over six feet or so, and even through his clothing Teryn could see his large muscles that rippled with every movement he made.
He had the look of great wisdom on him, even though he only appeared to be in his late thirties, and he had a sense of mystery and aloofness as well. The king was accompanied by a rather suspicious-looking priest that stood slightly behind him as if acting as his protector, which was an odd posture for a person that would normally be a pacifist.
Teryn felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge. The sight was harrowing, indeed.
“Come in, come in,” King Christopher’s rich, deep voice beckoned to them as he motioned for them to come closer with one of his ringed hands. “Ah, Talon. So good to see you again. And I see you brought Mr. Auroch with you. Good, very good. I have been wanting to speak with you. And what is this, Talon? A girl? Surely you know that I do not desire prostitutes, not after Mary died five years ago.” As he said the last part, a tear formed in his eye and he bowed his head.
Valeria’s mouth dropped open and her cheeks flushed, but she remained quiet.
“Do not worry, my liege. The girl is Teryn’s companion. She is merely here to support him,” Talon reassured him in a calm, quiet tone.
The king simply nodded and kept talking. “I’m sure you are wondering why I have brought you here, Teryn,” he started. Teryn nodded. “To put it simply, I want you to work for me.”
Teryn balked and reared back a half step. His mind raced. He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but this was definitely not it.
“I’m sorry, what?” he said incredulously.
Christopher laughed a little. The sound was lilting and pleasant to the ear. “I want you to come work for me,” he repeated. “My spies in the Guild have kept their eyes on you. You are a very talented wizard. In short, you are the best. And I like to have the best. What do you say?”
“I’m . . . I’m not sure I really want to work for anyone,” Teryn stammered in reply.
“I see,” Christopher said slowly, the disappointment obvious in his tone. “But surely, there must be some sort of deal we can strike. Something I could give you to pique your interest, change your mind?”
Now’s your chance to ask for the sword, Terwain prodded him.
“Well, there is one thing.” Teryn took a deep breath and calmed his nerves. It was now or never. “The Sword of Power.”
Christopher let out a startled laugh. “The Sword of Power?” he said. He placed a well-manicured hand over his chest. “And why would I let you have a relic of that caliber? Especially if you do not want to work for me.”
Teryn cleared his throat and tried not to look into the king’s dark, prying eyes. “Well, sir. You see, I . . . I want to protect the ones I love and . . . I . . . I need . . . power to do that.”
Christopher nodded. “Hmm. A noble cause, to be sure. Not exactly a very inspiring speech, though. I am afraid I would need a better answer than
