Authors: John Buttrick
“Why her instead of me?” David inquired. He did not seem upset, just curious.
“Because with the exception of Daniel who is immaculate, she has the cleanest apparel of those in our party and will make the best impression,” Jared explained, and he made a good point.
“Acquire however many coins of lesser value you see fit. And you, as account keeper, need to know these are all the coins in my possession but I have access to more gold if the need arises,” Daniel replied and turned to the crossbow-wielding-acrobat. “Are you willing to haggle for the horses?”
Silvia’s lips formed into a predatory smile and her eyes seemed to dance with delight. “Oh yes, I will get you the absolute best deal,” she replied and turned to Jared. “Give me six coins.”
The account keeper for the Daniel Benhannon estate, which included everything that can fit onto one horse, doled out six gold pieces to the Teki, and they all watched as she rode through the gate and up to the ranch house. Three quarters of a mark later she came back leading two Battencayan stallions, one jet-black and the other beige with a dark brown mane and tail. Both were saddled, ready to be ridden, looked healthy and well muscled, and good representatives of their breed. Daniel figured it would fall to him to decide which man would ride on which horse, but Marcus went for the jet-black at the same moment Jared began rubbing the beige on the nose, the choice was clearly made. They were still Daniel’s horses but these men were the ones who will be using them for as long as they are in his employ. He almost laughed at the notion of him employing anyone, and wondered what he would do with the animals if the others chose to part ways.
“The black is Nightwind and the beige is Sandstorm,” Silvia informed them and then handed a gold coin and two silvers back to the account keeper, whose eyes widened momentarily before he placed them in the bag, she was an excellent bargainer.
Daniel needed more bags to hold the lesser coins, but that would be taken care of when they reached Jeeter. With the additional horses and Silvia’s quick negotiation skills, the possibility of reaching the town before dark was suddenly back within reach. He congratulated her, as did David and Jared; Marcus was too busy
speaking softly to Nightwind.
Looking through the glass of the observation room, Sherree Jenna watched the five highly skilled Accomplisheds perform a delicate operation. The patient, a corpulent nobleman from the kingdom of Fon Kay, suffered chest pains while awaiting an audience with the Grand Maestro. Lance Constentine, a Three-bolt Accomplished born in the kingdom of Cenkataar, determined the man’s heart was enlarged, had a blockage, was scarred from past coronary events, and needed open heart healing. Fransheska Kabler, a Two-bolt Accomplished, assisted the more experienced Three-bolt by controlling the patient’s entire circulatory system. The ebony-skinned Ecoppian stood a full head taller than the Cenkataaran. Three One-bolt Accomplisheds stood on opposite sides of the patient, each responsible for maintaining a specific bodily function. Everyone in the room was glowing with potential. The entire area was bathed in violet, purple, green, blue, and yellow light as the surgical team labored over the nobleman.
Carl Bartesen used the spell, Breathe Deep, to control respiration. The Accomplished was slim with sand colored hair and blue eyes. A thick mustache covered his upper lip and yet in no way diminished the beak-like slant to his nose. His crimson on black silk shirt was a match for his pants and hooded cloak. The hood was swept back, leaving his head uncovered. His garments were a match for Sherree’s own, and every other Accomplished in Aakadon. His silver medallion with a golden
five-pronged plant representing the Aloe Guild was slightly smaller than the one Sherree was wearing. The medallion she chose upon entering the guild was large, mostly because she worked so hard to attain it, and wanted everyone out side of her affiliation to know how proud she was to be a member of the Aloe Guild.
Sarah Talisman was utilizing the spell, Easing
the Pain, to control the patient’s nervous system and numb his pain receptors. The spell also kept the patient immobilized. The hood of her cloak was up and covered most of her prematurely gray hair. The color had to be by choice because any Accomplished, especially one of the Aloe Guild, could have whatever hair color they wanted. Like Sherree, she was born in Lobenia, although in the rural area around Mount Shantear.
William Sloakum, a stocky fellow with thick bushy hair, kept one hand on the patient’s forehead while casting, Diagnosis, a spell that allowed him to monitor the patient’s body as a whole and determine if a life threatening imbalance has developed. The Demfilian-born Accomplished stood five and a half cubits tall and his arms were bigger around than Sarah’s waist. The powerful arms were a common trait among his countrymen, who mostly labored in the mining profession.
Sherree observed Lance’s precise handling of the slim surgical blade while listening to Barbara Cofer, a stout woman with long black hair; describe the procedure step by step in her thick Pentrosan accent. “He will now cut into the arteries and then draw out the fat using the spell, Storing The Lard,” she explained, although it was not necessary.
Sherree had read of the procedure the night before and knew what to expect, but listened politely to her mentor. The lead Accomplished had repaired all damage to the patient’s heart an
d was working on the blockages.
The Pentrosan Accomplished equaled her in potential but had four years experience in the guild, giving her seniority. Sherree was an Intern while Barbara held the title of Full Practitioner. The last five days were spent cramming Sherree’s head with new Melodies. She had mastered ten, considered herself familiar with another twenty, and aware of another fifty. This, along with the twenty spells from each guild she mastered to become an Accomplished, gave her a respectable
repertoire for a new affiliate.
“Notice how he trickles potential into the spell,” Barbara was saying. “This is to keep the arteries from collapsing. See how he cuts and cleans out one artery at a time and uses the spell, Mending
The Channel, to heal any damage done to the arterial walls,” she added while pressing her nose so close to the glass that it began to fog up. She must have seen the procedure many times yet still seemed captivated by it. “Did you catch how quickly Fransheska redirected the blood flow into the newly healed area?”
“Yes,” Sherree replied while
nodding her head for emphasis.
She was impressed by the teamwork, how each person knew what to do, and when. She was a little disappointed when Lance finished up using; Stitch The Rip, to close. She had spent a great deal of time searching the Aloe Guild Melody library for one spell that could do both heal and close at once. The diligence gained her knowledge of many types of healing spells, although not the one she sought. “I was hoping he would use one spell to heal and close,” she voiced her disappointment out loud.
Barbara turned; left eyebrow arched up. “I allow you to watch a procedure a full six months ahead of time and all you can say is; I was hoping to see it done with one spell?”
The statement sounded awfully ignorant after hearing it from her mentor. Sherree knew there were specific spells for each type of healing like; Cooling The Heat, for first degree burns, Chilling The Singe, for second degree burns, Freezing The Flame, for third, and the list went on and on. “I have seen it done befo
re,” she responded defensively.
Barbara slanted her head to the right and skepticism flashed in her eyes. “When would you have had the opportun
ity to see a heart operation?”
Each affiliation guards its guild specific Melodies with zeal and would under no circumstances, except perhaps the direst, allow a non-member to even glimpse any part of their library, let alone witness a demonstration of that power. Sherree bit her lip, face flushing with heat, realizing it was not a heart operation she witnessed, but a major healing of a different sort, performed by a certain Ducaunan mountaineer. She resented how easily thoughts of Daniel could cause this reaction in her and hoped Barbara would take the blush as
embarrassment over the remark.
Charlene and Joanna, who were still among the Talenteds, had made fun of her about the Potential she, Jerremy, and Samuel had discovered in Bashierwood. Through the years Sherree had managed to deflect the advances of more than a few male Talenteds who had not adjusted to the celibacy rules. She taught them the error of their ways and was so good a teacher in that regard, not even Samuel, whom she thought of as a brother, dared attempt to take advantage of her when they shared a room on the journey to
Mount Tannakonna.
Joanna and Charlene both had formed attachments to various males over the years, although never let those Talenteds know. Sherree always suspected Charlene was fond of Jerremy DeSuan, but doubted her friend ever told the Serinian, who was another person Sherree thought of like a brother. Perhaps it was their shared experience at the Battle of Bashierwood. She had told both girls over the years to forget about boys and concentrate on their studies. They would laugh at her and say, “One of these days a Talented will arrive, make your palms sweat, and cause your heart to go aflutter.” Well, she thought, the event her friends spoke of happened. Daniel made her palms sweat and her heart go aflutter. She found herself flirting to catch his interest,
caught it, even though she knew better, kept on doing it, only to watch him leave Aakadon at a gallop. Nothing could come of the flirting or the feelings she stirred in him or in herself, and those emotions still tugged at her heart. Her friends had noticed the flirting and teased her about it, sometimes in front of him, although he either did not notice or chose not to.
Burying herself in the library, studying journals, learning new Melodies, and striving to perfect her craft were some of the ways she avoided thinking of Daniel. Even so, thoughts of him crept back in from time to time and she would remember how good he felt in her arms when they hugged or his amazing ability to heal the most severe of injuries in mere minutes. The day he departed the city she almost kissed him, what a disaster that would have been. The mountaineer had gone from Potential, to Talented, to Accomplished so fast he never learned to fully accept the rules pertaining to celibacy. She knew he understood intellectually, but doubted he did emotionally.
She sighed, trying to think of something else, and suddenly realized Barbara was staring at her. “No, I have not seen this procedure before,” she told her and swallowed. “The operation I observed was completely different and it seemed the spell caster did it all with one spell.”
She did not want to say his name. Daniel healed General Tallen of Ducaun after the senior officer was injured in the Battle of Bashierwood. At the time she had watched in awe as Daniel healed the man’s spinal cord, vertebra, veins, muscle
s, and skin all with one spell.
Barbara leaned back against the glass while her lips formed into a smile. “The Ducaunan?” she asked and then nodded her head, answering her own question. Daniel did have a broad reputation; that was for sure. His brief career as an Accomplished was still on everyone’s lips. “That young man did some remarkable things. Maestro Terroll Barnes taught him well,” she said and then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Daniel Benhannon was strong and swift in the craft; perhaps he cast the Melodies so quickly it only seemed he was using just one.”
Sherree nodded as if in agreement. “Perhaps,” she said but did not believe it. “Thank you again for allowing me to observe the heart operation,” she added, both to express her sincere thanks and to get off the subject of Daniel. “This must be the best healing team in the guild.”
Barbara stepped forward while adjusting her black and crimson silk cloak. “You are most welcome and yes, I believe they are the best. We can all benefit from watching them,” she added while gesturing toward the operating room. “I’m glad you had the opportunity to observe this operation and the kind of teamwork involved. Especially since it may be a good while before you see the like again.”
Sherree began to worry. Did her flippant remark offend the Practitioner? As a mentor Barbara should expect the occasional ignorant statements of an Intern. Sherree wondered what it would take to get back into the Pentrosan’s good graces. Perhaps more diligence in study and an effort not to make flippant remarks, she thought.
“You are being assigned to another mentor and will be turned over to him in a matter of days,” Barbara told her in an even, controlled tone, as if making an ef
fort to hide her true feelings.
It was unheard of for a mentor to be changed. Usually, a mentor stays with the Intern until he or she reaches the level of Practitioner. Being dumped by her mentor after just five days was going to severely hurt her reputation; it could take decades to get over this. What did she do that was so wrong? Her career in the Aloe Guild, in spell casting in general, meant everything to her. All of her determination through the years to get to this point was so dogged not even her feelings for a certain Ducaunan could pull her from the course she had set. “If I have offended, please allow me to make amends,” she requested.
Barbara blinked and her expression softened. “No, you misunderstand. The Grand Maestro has ordered this,” she explained and her brown eyes were suddenly full of speculation. “Your new mentor is to be Senior Practitioner Fenton Chen, a Two-bolt Accomplished with thirty-five years experience, one of the most respected members of the guild.”