“Zhengdal, eh?” Teryn tried to recall where that was from his map lessons a few years ago. “Then you’re from the Fusong region?” The four nodded. “Nice to have you with us. And Dualcasters, to boot?” His eyes darted from one face to the next. “Are you all Dualcasters here, or just a few of you?”
“We’re pretty much all Dualcasters,” Tont mumbled, barely audible.
Teryn withheld a snicker. Communication was obviously one thing they would have to work on.
“Good, good. Well, I’m sure you’ll all be of great help in the journey ahead,” Teryn said as politely as possible, trying not to sound like a slave owner, even though that was what it felt like to him.
“My name is Jennifer, and I can use Elements and Enchantry,” the girl next to Tont said, getting things moving again. “Me and Emily down there, who can use Elements and Illusion, are the only two female wizards in the group.”
“How unfortunate that is. There aren’t anywhere near enough good female mages,” Teryn replied with a broad grin.
Valeria shot him an icy glare and his smile faded.
“Of course you’re one of them!” Teryn blurted out, his cheeks starting to burn. He hoped the other mages wouldn’t hear him, but from the chuckles he got, it was obvious they did. His cheeks turned red and he lowered his eyes for a moment.
Another mage stepped forward. “Hi, my name’s Bill, and I can use Elements and Knowledge magic,” the next person in line said with a thick, Byttan accent. It was heavy enough that Teryn almost couldn’t understand what he said. “This here’s Ted, who can use Elements and Enchantry magic, along with his friend Lionel. We’re all from the Tjurgh province in Bytt.”
Teryn nodded at them to welcome them rather than respond. He was still feeling the burn from his last attempt at pleasantries.
“I’m Aaron, and I can use Elements and Holy, and my pal here is Jim. He can use Knowledge and Elements, Mr. Teryn,” the mage next to Lionel said.
“Nice to meet you,” It was Valeria who said it this time, since Teryn was still tongue-tied. Aaron and Jim extended their hands in greeting to her.
Teryn sat there for a moment and stared at the last person in the line, who did nothing to introduce himself or even pretend to be a part of the conversation. Instead he stood there, looking lost in thought.
He did a double-take. This wizard was young. Younger even than he was, and about five inches shorter in height. He figured maybe the wizard was just shy. Everyone else started to give the last wizard in line weird stares and get a little edgy, so Teryn walked up to him and stood right in front of him.
“Might I have your name, sir?” he asked as politely as he could.
The last wizard sat there for another moment, not doing anything, so Teryn waved his hand in front of the kid’s eyes. This stirred motion in him, and all at once he jumped back into full consciousness, shaking and flailing his limbs.
“What? Oh, yes of course, my name. I am Aldrek, and I can use Elements, Illusion, and Enchantry,” the boy said at length.
Teryn was so surprised when he listed off a third college and was taken aback. After that, he just stared at the boy in disbelief for a moment, not because Aldrek was more powerful than he was, but because of how rare this whole situation was. Dualcasters and Trilobers were rare as-is. To have so many of the world’s most powerful mages all convened at one time couldn’t possibly be chance or coincidence.
He frowned again. Something big was happening and he for about the hundredth time that day, he felt like he was getting swept up in it instead of leading it.
Aldrek looked up at him and past him at the same time, not quite meeting his gaze. “I’m so sorry I didn’t mention my name earlier, but I was lost in thought. I’ll try not let it happen again, sir.”
Teryn patted him on the shoulder. The boy seemed to recoil a bit and he withdrew his hand. “Oh, that’s quite alright, Aldrek. I’ll make a few allowances for a Trilober. Just . . . don’t get lost in thought in the middle of a battle, okay?”
Aldrek nodded in agreement. “By the way, I’ve been told that I have a lot of talent, but I’m not too sure, myself,” he added, seemingly for no reason.
Teryn huffed. As a Trilober, the kid obviously had talent.
“Who told you this?” he asked, giving the boy a more critical stare that Aldrek seemed to miss entirely.
“Why, King Christopher told me. Who else?” the boy replied matter-of-factly.
Teryn almost choked on his own spit. “Here’s some free advice for you – if at all possible, never trust anything King Christopher says about anything. He may be right this time, but it’s a good rule to live by.”
The boy gave him a quizzical look. “Do you know him well, then?”
“Just met him. But sometimes that’s all it takes.”
Aldrek thought about that for a moment and nodded again. “I guess I’m rather gullible, then. That’s my problem, I’m too trusting of others.” He lowered his head in shame.
Teryn felt bad. He hadn’t wanted to hurt the boy’s feelings. But he had more pressing matters to deal with, so he shrugged it off. “Well, with that out of the way, who here knows why you’re all here?”
“Mr. Teryn, sir?” Tont piped up, his tone quivering. Tont appeared to be the most vocal of
