'No!' Jemidon shouted. 'It is to be sorcery.' He stopped suddenly, embarrassed by the outburst that echoed off the stone walls. 'I am aware of the difficulties,' he continued after a moment in a softer tone. 'That is why I have come to you. I know that none of the other masters would choose to take me because of my age. But then, none of the others might feel so keenly about winning the supreme accolade in order to reestablish the standards for the art.'
'And the one gold brandel?' Farnel asked.
Jemidon breathed deeply, almost choking on the words. 'It is the most important of all. You see it around my neck on a simple loop, but somehow it is more intricately intertwined with my innermost being. It is for no ordinary barter; I can give it up only when the debt it was meant for has been fully paid.'
Jemidon started to say more, but the jangle of a key in the lock distracted Farnel's attention.
'Canthor, you come half a day early,' the master said, rising to his feet. 'I thought the penalty for wandering in the hills ran at least from sun to sun.'
Jemidon slowed the rush of his thoughts and looked at the figure swinging open the grating. The bailiff wore leggings and a sleeveless tunic. The skin of his arms was smooth and taut. Short bristles of hair, struggling back from a daily shaving, covered a shiny head. Only his face showed any aging; his eyes swam in a sea of wrinkles from a perpetual squint.
'The crude pranks of Gerilac's tyros are punishment for any man.' Canthor laughed. 'I dare wager that this lad will no longer take our warnings so lightly. No, now is the time to depart. Before Erid and the others think of coming here and sneaking in more practice.'
He waved Jemidon to the corridor with one hand and grabbed Farnel by the arm with the other. 'And as for you, my rough and unbending friend, far less bother would there be for me in the first place if the masters set decent examples for the tyros to follow. Gerilac told me of what you were attempting when I was summoned.'
Farnel shrugged. 'If what he built had some merit, it would not matter.'
'A soldier is measured by his most recent battle,' Canthor said, 'no matter how glorious were the ones that came before. If you wish to challenge Gerilac's ascendancy, it must be in the presentation hall, not with hot words shouted outside its walls.'
'Sage advice from one who has not raised a sword in true anger in many a year!' Farnel snorted. 'If that is so, why are you here instead of taking a side in the growing unrest in the northern plateau of the mainland? The high prince has need of men-at-arms.'
'The difference is that I am content with my lot,' Can-thor replied. 'As long as there is sufficient bread on my table and pulling masters apart does not occur too often, I do not care what the others may say behind my back.'
Farnel frowned and began to pace the room. 'It is too late in the season,' he muttered, 'and for too long have I not dabbled with the themes and forms.'
'Spend time in the bazaar,' Canthor said. 'Listen to the bondsmen prattie about their lords' latest fancies. You know that pandering to the popular tastes is how Gerilac achieves his successes. You could learn in a few nights what Gerilac guesses at for the entire year.'
'Yes, yes, I have thought of that idea often enough myself. But masters do not thread their way among the hawkers and imitation delights,' Farnel said. 'That is a job for a tyro, and there is none who would care to accept my tutorage.'
The master stopped suddenly and his eyes narrowed in thought. He looked at Jemidon and shrugged. 'I suppose an alchemist would say that some of the random factors have aligned,' he said. 'Very well; as Canthor says, it would be better than mouthing more words of protest that the others pay attention to less and less. I accept your proposition. I will begin your instruction as you desire. In exchange, you will spend part of each day in the bazaar, befriending the bondsmen and learning the latest gossips and popularities of the mainland. We will work together for a presentation to the high prince.'
Jemidon felt some of the pent-up emotion dissolve away. For once, things were going well. Perhaps this time there finally would be success. 'And after the prize is awarded, how long then until I can have my own robe with the logo of the staring eye?'
Farnel placed a hand on Jemidorfs shoulder. 'The agreement is that I will teach. I can promise no more. It is up to you to marshal the talents within that will make you a master.'
CHAPTER TWO
Test for the Tyro
JEMIDON slumped down on the stool in Farnel's hut. The last few months had been a blur. He had worked from sunrise far into the night, following Farnel's instruction, gathering information in the bazaar, and helping to prepare their audition. He was tired, yet at the same time mentally exhilarated. After four months, Farnel still accepted him as a tyro.
'A battle scene.' Farnel shook his head as he jotted a final note and tore the full sheet from the easel. 'Who would have thought that I would dabble in something so explicit and mundane?'
'But the whispers in the bazaar point consistently and clearly,'Jemidon said. 'Once you piece them all together, a pattern emerges. The high prince is troubled about the unrest in the wheatlands, and the crushing of the rebellion at Plowblade Pass three generations ago would be an excellent salve.'
He scooped up the outline as it fluttered to the floor and pinned it in line with the others already filling the walls in Farnel's small hut. A bed of straw, hearth of smoke-blackened brick, and bowl-cluttered table were at the far end. The coarse blankets under which Jemidon slept on the floor were pushed into a corner. On the longest wall, thin planking supported by tiers of stone sagged under the weight of bound parchment and furled scrolls. The rest of the space was a jumble of wadded paper and stacks of properties used in illusion making-model dragons, silks and furs, cameos of billowing clouds and stormy seas, glass trinkets, and sun-bleached bones.
'Yes, yes, I know.' Farnel slid from his high stool and stepped over the pile of swords, axes, helmets, and other weapons lent by Canthor to aid in the suggestions. 'Your sojourns to the bazaar indeed provided the focus for the path we should take. And your knowledge of the historical event has been most complete. The agony of the commander before ordering his followers to their death gives me sufficient scope to project something of a deeper meaning.
'Still, I am uneasy. We started so very late, compared with the others. They have had time to polish their presentations to a high luster, while we are not quite done with a complete structure from end to end. Had we been, I would have shown a rough outline to the other masters in the hall this evening. Already they are deciding which to reject and which to keep for presentation to the prince. And when the high prince comes, there will be no time left for more auditions. He is here for about a week only. If one is not ready for him, there is no point in continuing further.'
The master scratched the back of his neck. 'Yet there are signs of hope. Even Gerilac must have some concern that I am competing again. He was almost civil as he sat next to me at the council meeting when we had our morning meal.'
'Perhaps he begins to wonder what profit comes from my evenings in the bazaar,' Jemidon said. 'I have noticed Erid and the others cautiously following me from time to time. But it will do them little good. Tonight will be the last. I have only one more tent to visit, that of a trader named Drandor, at the end of the row.'
Jemidon paused and wrinkled his brow. 'He is a rather peculiar sort, to hear the others talk, not connected in any way with the affairs of the prince. But they also say the trip is worth it, just to see his pretty assistant, if nothing else.'
'I admit the value of your trips,' Farnel said, 'but sometimes I wonder if so many have been necessary to achieve the same result. Ordinarily a tyro's evening is spent practicing the charms his master has taught him during the day.'
'I have been studying,' Jemidon protested. 'And if there were more time, I would try to expand your outline into more detail and select the charmlets that will be used. Then we would feel more confident about the final
