“Not half as great as the Empire’s royal library,” Zolotais said, popping up by Tariel’s shoulder. Her glowing form flickered in the breeze as she floated next to them. “There are public libraries in every major city, so even commoners may come and learn. Education is highlyvalued.”
“Really?” Calrain asked, astonished. “Anyone can walk in and touch the manuscripts?” He shuddered a little at the thought of a grimy beggar coming in and laying filthy hands upon preciousmanuscripts.
Zolotais huffed. “The librarians do a good job of protecting the manuscripts from any harm,” she said. “Anyone can approach them so long as they take the proper precautions, though of course the magical texts are locked up, and require special permission toaccess.”
“I wonder if I will be able to get a look at them,” Tariel said. “It would be a joy to finally learn more about myabilities.”
“Of course you will,” Zolotais said, as if she were being silly. “Once you have proven yourself to be a mage, and have registered as an apprentice under an accredited master, you will have access to all thosetexts.”
Tariel went still. “A master?” she asked, somewhat taken aback. She had not thought that farahead.
“You will need someone to teach you the ways of magic,” Zolotais said. “You have done remarkably well thus far, but there is much you do not know. You have too much raw power to waste your time bumbling about with it forever. In time, you will be quiteformidable.”
“I thought she was already formidable when she collapsed that bridge,” Riann said. “I thought the witch hunter and his knights were going to wet theirbritches!”
“Ha!” Zolotais smirked. “That is because they are untutored barbarians, ignorant of magic’s full potential. If a real, fully trained Maroyan witch was among them, they would not stand a chance. Sir Jerrold and his men would quickly learn to respect mages, rather than hunt them down and killthem.”
“I don’t know about that,” Calrain said doubtfully. “I think their hatred of mages would double, and they would try even harder to bring themdown.”
“Then it is a good thing the Maroyan Empire cares little about Fjordland,” Zolotais said tartly. “If the queen truly decided she could no longer suffer these barbarians, she would have conquered them longago.”
“I’d say the queen’s lack of interference has more to do with Fjordland’s harsh climate and lesser resources,” Tariel said thoughtfully as she gazed out at the city again. It seemed so big and lively in comparison to Tyrook Village—she could hardly imagine what the Empire must be like, if it was even bigger and grander thanthis.
“True,” Zolotais said with a shrug. “The sooner we get out of here, thebetter.”
With that cheery note, she disappeared back into the abacus, which was tucked safely away in Tariel’s pack. The three of them exchanged uneasylooks.
“I don’t think Fjordland is all that bad,” Calrain finally spoke up, sounding a bit defensive. “We may not be as fancy and cultured, but that is because we prefer simplerlives.”
Riann snorted. “Speak for yourself. I’ve had a lifetime of simple fare and harsh climates—I’m ready to gosouth.”
He gripped the reins of the cart they were sitting in and spurred the horses forward. The three of them had found the cart by the road yesterday, and after hitching their horses to it, had decided to disguise themselves as farmers, and the warhorses as plow horses. They had carefully harvested cabbages from various fields they passed, taking care not to harm any one farmer too much, and they now had a sizable load to take into the city on the pretense of selling them at themarket.
The city gates were much larger than they had appeared from the hilltop, and Tariel had to keep the awed expression off her face as she stared up at them. At least thirty feet tall and three feet thick, the gates loomed over the cart as a bored guard waved them through. She imagined the castle’s perimeter was just as thick, making it very difficult to get to the royal family in the event of aninvasion.
Unless the invaders have magic,a voice whispered in her head. A shiver went through her at the thought of an army of mages descending upon the city in an avalanche of glowing magic. If trained mages were even half as powerful as Zolotais suggested, the city would be leveled within thehour.
Yes, the desert spirit was right. Fjordland was very lucky indeed that the Maroyan Empire held no interest in itslands.
The three of them found their way quickly enough to the market, the city streets wide enough for them to pass through with their cart easily despite the crowd. There, they sold the cabbages and the horses, then found their way to a modest tavern and ordered ale and muttonstew.
“Ahhh,” Riann said as he washed down a mouthful of stew with a swig of ale. “That really hits thespot.”
“It seems like forever since we’ve last had a decent meal,” Calrain agreed, “even though it has only been a fewdays.”
“It does seem like our time at Castle Tyrook was a lifetime ago,” Tarielsaid.
They fell silent, their minds going back to their old lives. Tariel felt a bit of melancholy from both of her men, and she reached out to take their hands inhers.
“We will build better lives once we are safely in the Empire,” she promised them. “Lives of such plenty that our time in Fjordland will become but a hazymemory.”
Calrain nodded. “I am looking forward to visiting the libraries,” hesaid.
“And I want to train with their swordsmen,” Riann said eagerly. “I hear they use strange, exotic weapons in the Empire—a curved sword that is smaller and lighter than what weuse.”
His hand went to the back of his chair, where Tariel knew his sword hung, though no others could see it. It would draw far too much attention for a farmer to be carrying a knight’s sword—someone might think he had stolen it, and then they would be in real trouble. Tariel was very glad they’d managed to sell the cabbages and the horses—Riann and Calrain had been unable to retrieve their purse during the escape from Sir Jerrold’scamp.
Still, they were down to a little less than half of what they’d had before they left. They would need to find a way to make more, at least enough to pay for passage to theEmpire.
