Companion of MagesCompanion of Mages

by
Andrew Prentis
� July 1988
Triad sat as usual behind his polished mahogany desk, drumming his fingers,
waiting for Kallisti to respond to his summons. As soon as she opened the door,
he started:
"Listen Kallisti, I�ve got a very important visitor coming to stay this
afternoon. I�d like you to join us for dinner and escort him - you know the sort
of thing..."
"Oh yes?" she replied, raising one eyebrow suspiciously.
"You�ve got that sexy red dress I bought for you a few days ago. I haven�t seen
you wear it yet, so why not make this a special occasion?" he winked
suggestively.
"Very well." she sighed. "He had better be nice." she added, heading for the
door again. Triad smiled but remained silent. The afternoon passed in a whirl of
preparation. She was finally ready just before dinner and as instructed arrived
dressed - or almost dressed - in the red, backless dress, split to her navel.
The material was fine enough to be virtually transparent. Although Kallisti was
not averse to showing off her assets when required, even she felt somewhat
�under dressed� for the occasion!
"Ah my dear Kallisti, let me introduce you to Barre. He has come all the way
from Zethus - he is a Mage of the Black Rose." Triad rose to his feet as she was
shown into his study. The man was a short, pudgy, toad like creature whom
Kallisti took an instant dislike to him. His credentials were impressive. The
Order of the Black Rose was dedicated to preserving law and order in the whole
of Mardona. Of all the branches of the Order, it was said that the Mages held
the most power.
"G-goodness me," Barre stuttered as she curtsied to him, showing him a generous
amount of cleavage. "I did not realise you, had such b-b-beauty in Urswell. I
thought we had the lion�s share in Z-Z-Zethus." he kissed her hand. She tried
not to flinch at his touch - hot, sweaty and clammy. The odour that surrounded
him was like stale boiled cabbage. This was not going to be a terribly enjoyable
evening, she thought to herself.
"You�re not serious!" Kallisti hissed furiously some time later after dinner.
They were relaxing on the verandah of Triad�s country house, high up in the
hills to the north of Urswell, overlooking the town and the sea beyond. The sun
had set behind the high, purple mountains to the west, and the lanterns hung
from the ceiling beams were attracting hoards of flying insects. Each would
flutter around the light, until one would fly too close and fall to the ground,
crisped by the flames. Triad studied her coldly.
"I need favours from him. This is very important Kallisti, the most important
thing I have ever asked you to do. I need his influence and ear in the Order -
my old contact died last year as you well remember. I need a mage."
"But he�s revolting!" she complained, shivering and hugging herself even though
it was far from cold.
"In that case I�m sure he�d appreciate you�re attentions a lot more. After all
it can�t be often he has the chance to be �entertained� by a woman as beautiful
as you."
"Don�t try that on with me." she glared at him darkly. "Can�t you get one of
you�re contacts in the brothels to do this? Why me?"
"Why are you, being so fussy? Surely you weren�t so choosy before I took you on?
That must explain why you were so thin an ill-looking." Triad narrowed his eyes
at her. She scowled and looked away. He was deliberately reminding her of the
depths she had been driven to do after her father had thrown her out.
"I took you in Kallisti, if it hadn�t been for me, you�d still be on those
streets down there, earning a pittance and slowly killing yourself in the
process."
"Alright, alright, there�s no need to lay it on with a trowel. I know what
you�ve done for me, and I�m truly grateful - but you surely can�t ask me to do
this. I�ll do anything else..."
"This is what I require of you. I�ve brought you to where you are today. I�ve
given you everything you have. I can just as easily take it all away again, and
then you would be back on the streets. Is that what you really want?"
Kallisti drooped her head in submission. She shook it, her throat refusing to
form a word.
"Good that is settled then, and just in time, here comes our guest back. I hope
it was nothing to do with my chef�s cooking?"
"Oh no, n-n-nothing like that. It is this blasted heat. I will never get used to
it. Where I come from, the weather is cooler than this, even at the height of
s-s-summer."
"I�m sure it is. Well, if you young things will excuse me, this old man is
feeling his age and must turn in. I�m sure Kallisti will be able to keep you
amused for the rest of the evening." Triad smiled to the toad-like Barre and
excused himself.
"Well, I m-m-must admit to being rather tired myself. All this t-travelling
about is very wearing on a body."
"Mm, I suppose it must be." Kallisti replied, not looking at him. "I would have
thought that you Mages would have been able to fly about from place to place
rather than have to travel around like normal people."
"Ah dear me no. If only that were t-true. I can use a spell to fly if I wish,
but it is a very difficult a t-t-tiring one to hold for any length of t-time. It
is easier in the long run to use normal means."
"Oh, I see. Well if you, don�t mind I�ll say g-goodnight." She ground her teeth
as she realised she was picking up his stutter. He kissed her hand again and
stroked her cheek.
"My, you are b-beautiful." he said softly. She swallowed hard and looked down at
the ground, hoping he would take it to be bashfulness rather than nausea.
Stepping backwards away from him, she left, clenching her fists in frustration.
It was not long after, that she found herself standing bare-foot in her
night-gown outside the visitor�s bed chamber. Triad�s words rang in her ears:
"I�ve given you everything you have. I can just as easily take it all away
again..." Taking a deep breath, she gently pushed open the door and went in.
Barre was sitting up in bed, his chest bare, displaying rolls of glistening pale
flesh. Kallisti closed her eyes for a moment. She heard his gasp of surprise,
followed by the creak of the bed as he rose out of it. She opened her eyes again
and was rewarded with the sight of him standing before her, completely naked. A
shiver ran down her spine. She allowed his hands to move over her shoulders and
down to her breasts. Then with a slight tug, he pulled her night-gown off her
shoulders. It whispered over her skin and fell to the floor at her feet.
"Oh my g-goodness!" Barre gasped, his breath coming in short pants. His hands
reached out for her again. She cringed at his touch, his sweaty hands, moving
over her smooth skin, revolted her. She closed her eyes and began to imagine it
was someone else rather than the loathsome Barre. It was useless. Even through
her closed lids, she could �see� him drooling over her. She opened her eyes just
in time to see him moisten his lips and begin to move toward her.
"NO!" she protested, driven finally beyond endurance. Barre glanced at her, but
continued to grope her. "Get off me you disgusting toad!" she lashed out at him,
chopping at his hands cupping her breasts. Her foot instinctively came up to
kick his groin before she could bring herself under control, and before she knew
what had happened, Barre was falling to the floor. She watched in horror as his
head crashed against the chest at the foot of the bed.
He remained motionless where he fell, blood seeping from the gash on his head.
Kallisti stood frozen in fear, her hand outstretched as if to try to halt his
fall. Finally she broke the spell and gathering up her night-gown, she bent over
the still form, testing the pulse. There was none.
"Oh holy Dravidi!" she groaned, sinking to her knees in despair. "Triad will
crucify me for this!" She glanced round, thinking desperately. Hurriedly, she
searched through his belongings, removing all the money and valuables she found.
In amongst them, she found his Mage seal, his symbol of authority, alongside two
scrolls and a very plain looking dagger. Quickly, she put all these into a pouch
and after snuffing out all the candles, slipped quietly out again.
There was quite a crowd near the marsh gates. They were all waiting for the
guards to open the gates. It was just before dawn and the sky in the east, away
out to sea was growing lighter by the second. It would not be long before a new
sun was born from the furnaces hidden by the sea, at the edge of the world.
The crowd was composed of the usual cross-section of travellers, merchants with
mules and wagons; nobles in fine carriages; mercenary Warriors on horseback,
alone or in pairs; pilgrims on foot or donkey; assorted travelling tradesmen and
one man standing aloof from the rest. He was dressed in the flaming scarlet
cloak that singled him out as one of the roving storytellers, a Sagabard. He
carried on his back the instrument and symbol of his profession, a Lubor. It was
a stringed instrument with a drum-like sound box, a cross between a tabor and a
lute.
One other stood apart from the rest. Dressed in a long, hooded grey cloak, it
was impossible to see any feature under the hood. Only when the gates opened and
the crowd surged forward could anything be seen of the cloaked figure - long
slim legs appearing for an instant as the cloak flapped open, only to be quickly
drawn closed again.
There were two guards on duty at the gate, one standing on either side as the
group of travellers filled through. They spared only a cursory glance at whoever
passed between them. When the Sagabard reached them, they bowed their heads a
fraction in respect. He nodded to them and swept through. Just behind him came
the cloaked figure. The older of the guards, a grizzled veteran, barred the way.
"What is the matter?" came a female voice from under the hood.
"Ah, I see. Where is is you are heading Miss?" the guard nodded his head. "Would
you mind removing your hood?"
"I�m..." the girl began. Sighing, she pulled the hood back. Kallisti knew now
that her leaving Urswell would now get back to Triad. She had hoped to slip out
unnoticed, but she had been in such a panic she had not been able to put
together a good enough disguise. Under the cloak she carried a large pack
containing most of her possessions, including her disguise materials.
"Is there something wrong here?" another voice intruded. The guard looked round
at the newcomer. The Sagabard was glancing from Kallisti to the guard and back
again. "This is my assistant. Is there anything the matter?"
The guard looked puzzled for an instant and then withdrew a step. He shook his
head. "No Sir, there is nothing amiss here." He nodded to Kallisti to pass.
Letting herself breath again, she hurried past the guard and out of the town.
The Sagabard was at her side suddenly. She looked at him properly for the first
time. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she could not place
his face.
"Thank you for helping me." she said, smiling fractionally. "But why?" The man
smiled.
"No, I didn�t think you would recognise me again, especially dressed like this."
he replied. She frowned - he seemed to be talking nonsense, but then that was
sometimes the way with these storytellers.
"Have I met you before?" she frowned, tipping her head to one side. He nodded
then suddenly passed his hand over her face. She jumped at this sudden movement
and in an instant a dagger was in her hand.
"Ah, that�s the Kallisti I remember!" he smiled, a twinkle in his eye.
"Deldus!" She gasped, her memory returning. "What the... You cast a spell on
me!" she held the dagger up to him. Deldus raised his hands and stepped away.
"Whoa there... you�d better not let the guards see you threatening me like
that." He was still smiling though. "Where are you heading?"
"I - I don�t know." she sighed. Backing down, she slipped the dagger back into
the sheath on her thigh.
"Oh I see." Deldus read behind her words. Come on, wherever you�re going it�ll
be up this road, so let�s walk." He fell in beside her as they followed the road
out along the river, heading first south-west and then west towards the hills
inland of Urswell. For some reason, she found herself telling Deldus all that
had happened.
"Ouch!" he winced when she told him of Barre. "I can�t say I�ll miss him. I
always thought him a corrupt, loathsome reptile, but the other Mages are not
going to take too kindly to one of their number being killed, especially in a
house like Triad�s. I�m afraid your old master is gong to be in for a rough
time. He�ll have to explain what Barre was doing there in the first place, and
then try to account for the way he died - I think you might have sealed his fate
by taking Barre�s things though. I take it you�ve got his seal?"
Kallisti glanced at him sidelong. "Well..."
"Come on, remember what happened last time, you can�t lie to me." he reached for
her arm. She stepped away, out of his reach. He laughed. "My, you are quick.
Alright, honest, no more tricks." He held his palms out to her. Suddenly a white
dove appeared on them. "Oops!" Deldus shrugged as the startled bird flew off.
Kallisti could not stop herself laughing.
They came to a stopping place where there were some logs placed where one might
sit by the road. They were beginning to climb the low hills which would take
them further inland. There were a couple of travellers here, sharing a snack and
drink. Kallisti and Deldus stopped and she removed her cloak and opened her
pack.
"Here, you had better have this then." she handed him the seal.
"Good girl." Deldus accepted it and in a flourish it had vanished.
"What about the rest of these things?" she showed him. Deldus looked them over,
examining the scrolls.
"Hmm, these aren�t really of any use to you. They�re specialist mage scrolls.
I�ll tell you what, I�ll swap them for ones you�ll find much more useful."
Kallisti stared at him dumbfounded. "But these are stolen. I killed your
colleague and robbed him!"
"So? They�re your�s now however you came by them. Out of you and Barre, I know
who I�d prefer to have them." he winked at her. She laughed and squeezed his
hand. "Here, how about these in exchange?" He produced two scrolls in place of
Kallisti�s. "This one will enable you to climb any surface like a spider. It
makes your hands and feet grip like a spider�s claws. The second one will give
you the ability to camouflage yourself so that you cannot be seen. I�m sure
you�ll find them much more useful." Kallisti�s eyes were wide with amazement.
"Really... you�re giving them to me." she stuttered. "Oh yes, what�s the catch?"
she narrowed her eyes at him, her lips forming into a thin line. Deldus smiled.
"Nothing at all, except..."
"Yes?" she glared at him.
"Keep me company while we travel."
Kallisti scowled. "Really?"
Deldus nodded. "Really, and by the way, that dagger you took. It�s probably much
more valuable that you expect..."
"I told you we would be alright. Trust me, I know this road like the back of my
hand." Deldus reassured Kallisti. She had been worrying him about a place to
stay for the past hour. The day had been getting perceptibly darker, and as
night descended, she had found the sounds coming from the forest frightening,
even though it was a hundred yards from the road. "I would not have thought you
would be scared of the dark in your profession - I would have thought you would
welcome it." Deldus encouraged her to talk.
"I know." she glanced again at the shadows in the forest, her eyes wide and
panic-filled. "I�ve never felt frightened like this before." She moved closer to
him, brushing against him as they walked towards the welcoming lights of the inn
up ahead. "The dark never bothered me when I was at home - it was a friend I
knew well, but out here..." she shivered and clutched his arm. Deldus smiled.
"Even the bravest can be daunted by the unknown. There is nothing out here that
is anywhere near as dangerous as the animals your used to. You cope every day
with the most dangerous creature the gods ever created." Kallisti looked up at
him, frowning in puzzlement.
"What do you mean?"
"Man - it�s the most dangerous animal in the world!"
"Oh yes, very deep." Kallisti glanced at him sidelong.
The main room of the inn was dark and smoky. A fire burned sullenly in the grate
in the middle of the long wall opposite the bar. There were several tables and
benches in various corners of the bar room, but only a handful of people
occupied them.
"This is more like it." Kallisti relaxed visibly as they penetrated the smoke.
Deldus chuckled quietly. they went over to where the innkeeper stood leaning on
the bar. He gazed at them through one rheumy eye, grunting a welcome:
"Food, drink and a room?"
Deldus glanced at Kallisti. Her attention was elsewhere - a game of dice in one
corner. "Behave!" he hissed to her. She glared at him for a second but
reluctantly dragged her attention away from the money changing hands. The wine
was sour, the bread was stale and the meat tough and stringy.
"You, think that�s the worst of it?" Deldus said over his cup of wine. "The bed
will certainly have bugs and the innkeeper will charge us a fortune."
"THE bed?" Kallisti eyed him suspiciously. Deldus sighed.
"Will you get it through to that tiny brain of your�s that I�m not interested in
that. I�m your friend." Kallisti lowered her gaze.
"Hey Sagabard, how�s about a story?" one of the other travellers called out
across the room. Deldus raised his eyes heavenwards long-sufferingly.
"Very well, what would you have? The tale of Aslarn, last of the Griffins? Or
the story of Ragnara and the magical Unicorn that guards the treasure? Or how
about the mythical land of beautiful winged women, far to the east across the
sea?" The audience shouted its choice and Deldus began to tell the tale,
accompanying himself on the Lubor. Kallisti leaned back against the back wall
and sipped her wine. The sound of Deldus� voice and the Lubor was soothing and
she was very tired. She had not slept the night before and they had come quite a
long way today. Her eyelids were growing heavier and the sound of the bar room
were slipping away as she gradually dozed off.
"Hey, sleepy head, why don�t you go to bed instead of sleeping here?" Deldus�
voice appeared from the haze of sleep.
"Mmm?" she mumbled, dopily opening her eyes. Deldus sat across from her again,
smiling at the small pile of coins he had gathered from his storytelling.
"You�re tired, you ought to go to bed."
"No, I�m okay really." she insisted. Deldus shrugged. "Anyway, how come you are
a Sagabard now? I thought you were a Mage?"
"I am. I�m also a quite a distinguished Sagabard, although few have connected
the two identities. I�m called Delius when I�m working as a Sagabard."
"But how can you be both?"
"I trained first as a Mage, then when I graduated, I joined the Sagabard school.
Eventually, I graduated in that too." he explained.
"But... Kallisti�s mind was waking up now. "But that takes years... both those
things take years to do." She gazed at him suddenly very suspicious. "How old
are you?"
Deldus glanced around and gave a lopsided grin. "Probably a bit older that you
would imagine me to be. You probably would never believe me anyway." Kallisti
scowled. "How old do you think I am?"
"About thirty-ish."
"Mmm, that is about right." He leaned towards her. "Would you believe me if I
said I was nearer ninety?" Kallisti burst out laughing. "See, I told you so!"
"But that isn�t possible..." she protested. Deldus shrugged.
"Who is to say what is possible or impossible when you take magic into account."
"But it isn�t natural?"
"Natural? What is natural? Is it natural for pearls to give off light that can
be controlled by you? Is it natural that I can turn myself into a shadow..."
suddenly Deldus vanished. All that remained was a barely discernible dark space
where he had been sitting. He reappeared as suddenly as he had disappeared.
"Magic is the manipulation of the forces of nature to achieve feats that are not
possible except by distorting and transforming those forces to our own needs."
As they were talking, the door from the road opened to let in four men,
travellers by the way they were dressed. They headed straight for the
inn-keeper. While one spoke to him, the others looked around at the occupants of
the bar room. Kallisti gasped.
"What�s the matter?" Deldus asked her.
"Triad�s men!" she hissed, ducking low over the table to avoid their gaze.
"Don�t worry," Deldus quickly glanced over his shoulder, "they won�t see you."
"How can you be so sure?" she snapped. Then she saw his hand move in the air
between her and the men. The men glanced at them both but did not take any
notice.
"Natural forces used to produce unnatural results." Deldus shrugged.
"This is serious." Kallisti said. "Triad must have sent them out after me. Now
what?"
"Well, what were you, planning to do anyway?"
"I - I don�t know." she sighed. "I just had to get away, that�s all. I�m tired,
I want to go to bed."
"Your eyes look very puffy. I think it�s time you went. Come on." he took her
arm and lead her towards the stairs to the upper part of the inn. What they did
not see was the eyes of one of the newcomers following them, watching their
every move.
The bed was nothing more than a pile of rush matting in one corner of a dingy
room. The single lamp cast a smokey, flickering light into the dark corners of
the room. The single small window was shielded by a patched curtain to deaden
the draughts from the ill-fitting shutters. Kallisti was to tired to notice any
of this. Almost as soon as she lay on the coarse bedding, she was asleep. Deldus
sat beside her and watched her sleep.
A while later, Deldus� eyes were closed, but he was far from sleep. His senses
were alert, heightened by the magical aura that hung about him like an ethereal
cloak. The sound was faint and barely noticeable above the background noises
from the bar-room. It was a slight scrape of metal against stone from out beyond
the window. It was close by yet faint, as if muffled.
Deldus opened his eyes and turned his head toward the window. He twisted his
head from side to side to locate the sound, but it did not repeat itself. Just
to make sure, he quietly moved over to the curtain. Lifting a corner, he could
perceive the deep darkness outside through the cracks and gaps in the shutters.
The flimsy wood shattered as a large gauntletted hand crashed through and
grasped his throat. The violence was so sudden that Deldus failed to react for a
split second and in that time he was lifted from his feet by the immensely
strong arm and pulled toward the window.
Just as suddenly, the door burst open, letting a flood of light into the room.
Kallisti woke with a start, but before she could move, a dark-clad figure leapt
on her. Her sleep fogged brain did not fully register the situation but reacted
instinctively. At a word, the pearl at her throat exploded with light,
surprising her attacker. With a grunt of effort, she pitched him off her and
rolled away, scrabbling to get her feet under her. Before she knew how it got
there, a dagger was in her hand. Her surprise was, of necessity, short lived -
survival being far more urgent.
Her attacker was crouched about to spring. In one smooth movement, she ducked to
one side and threw the dagger. Her attacker gave one gasping cry as the dagger
caught him at the base of his throat, just below his larynx. He toppled forward,
blood gushing from the fatal wound. Kallisti turned toward the door, just in
time to see another figure silhouetted in the light. The silhouette seemed
familiar, but the weight suddenly appearing in her hand made her glance down.
The dagger was again in her hand! She looked at her first attacker. He lay on
his side, staring at the wall, his throat slashed and pumping blood. The dagger
in her hand retained a few drops of his blood.
A loud crash alerted her to the predicament Deldus was in by the window. He was
still caught by the giant of a man who leaned in the window, and was barely
conscious. He vice-like grip of the man�s gauntletted hands were crushing the
life out of the mage so quickly that he had been unable to even cast a spell for
his own protection. Ignoring the threat from the figure in the doorway, Kallisti
leapt to Deldus� side. The man�s hands were protected by the metal gauntlets,
but his upper arms were enclosed in leather sleeves. She slashed down with all
her might, a vicious snarl on her face. The razor sharp dagger cut into the
tough leather and she was rewarded by a shout of pain from the dark, bearded
man. The knife bit deep, but not deep enough for all it did was enrage the
giant, who increased the pressure on Deldus� throat.
Deldus was gripping the man�s wrists, his eyes bulging and his face purple.
Suddenly, the man began to scream in pain. He released Deldus, shaking his hands
wildly. The metal around his wrists, where Deldus had grasped them was glowing
red hot. As he struggled to free them, the glow spread and intensified until his
hands were encased in semi-molten metal. He pulled himself back out of the
window. A loud crash followed as he toppled off the edge of the roof on which he
had been balanced.
Deldus collapsed to the floor, massaging his bruised neck. Kallisti turned once
again to the door. The figure had gone, but she suddenly realised why it had
been so familiar - Zandros! Triad had sent his master thief and assassin out
after her.
"Are you alright?" she knelt beside Deldus, keeping an eye on the door all the
while. Deldus nodded.
"As well as can be expected after being half-strangled." he croaked.
"It was Zandros."
"And friends! I don�t think it would be a wise idea for us to stay here any
longer. I would imagine he and the other one will be preparing something not
particularly pleasant for us."
"Will you, be alright to travel?"
"I�ll be fine, what�s a little strangulation between friends. Come on, we�ll
make a start right away." He got to his feet, a little shaky at first.
"The window." Kallisti quickly gathered up her belongings and made for the
window. Deldus shook his head but followed her anyway.
The road was dark ahead, and dark behind, but the light from Kallisti�s pearl
lit the area around them with a soft glow.
"So, now where do we go?" she said, wearily following the tall dark figure of
Deldus.
"Well, I�m heading for Zethus. Would you, care to join me?" He looked sidelong
at her.
"Zethus..." Kallisti pondered the name. "What is there in Zethus for me?"
"You�ll be surprised my dear Kallisti, you�ll be surprised." Deldus replied.
Kallisti smiled and picked up her pace, catching up with him. The road stretched
on into the dark...

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