"I'm confident that you have grown stronger and wiser and you should have no problems on this trip."
"What are you doing about Zhimosom?" Lorit demanded. "What about the Prince?"
"That is why we are gathered here," Rotiaqua said. "We are looking ... for both of them."
Neussul interrupted, giving Rotiaqua a sharp look. "The Council has business."
"There is one more thing before you go," Rotiaqua said. "Awbelser?" Rotiaqua nodded to the Wizard in dark blue robes.
"The Princess has begun her journey home to Veldwaite," Awbelser said. "She is still under a spell that we have not been able to penetrate."
"I was not able to remove that final spell."
"It still surrounds her," Awbelser explained. "She is acting contrary to her free will while under its influence. She must be freed of the spell that ensnares her. It is unclear what part she may yet play in your endeavor."
"What do you mean?" Lorit asked.
"The Princess you met and traveled with was acting under a compulsion. She was not herself," Rotiaqua explained. "If we can lift that final spell, she will be free to exercise her own will once again. Until then, she will continue to act as an agent of the Temple. The final spell must be broken."
Lorit looked around the table. He saw their resolve. He didn't think he was going to get any more out of them, but he had to try. "What about Zhimosom? There must be something you can do."
"We are doing all we can," Neussul said. He waved his hand and broke the connection. With a sudden jerk, Lorit found himself back in the inn.
The next day, Lorit inquired about ships headed to Wradon. There were none in port at the moment, but the harbor master told him that ships arrived every few days, depending on weather and the wind. If a ship ported that was heading to Wradon, he would send a boy to let Lorit know.
Lorit and Chihon decided to spend some time touring the city. On their last trip, they had been in a hurry and missed out on the sights. Nebrook was famous for its tourism. The city had avoided any conflict through its strict neutrality position. It sold its textiles to any and all buyers and did not favor any one kingdom over another.
In the center of the town was a large bell tower. It rose high above the city, to stand above even the tallest buildings so that one could look down on the entire city and surrounding countryside. It was claimed to be sixty five spans tall, requiring twenty flights of stairs to reach the balcony at the top. Every five flights there was a different dining establishment or a shop catering to the locals and guests.
Lorit and Chihon climbed the stairs in bursts, resting at each level to admire the view and the scenery below. When they reached the top, Lorit could almost make out a distant city across the Freshen Sea.
There were several large spy glasses near the wall that would afford the tourist a closer look at whatever caught their eye. One of these could be hired for only a small fee. Lorit wanted to see if he could recognize anything across the sea and approached a young boy sitting next to one of the unoccupied glasses. "How much for a look?" Lorit asked.
"Four coppers for a half hour of viewing."
Lorit reached into his pocket and pulled out the requested coins. He handed them to the boy and stepped up to the glass.
"I'll go get us a drink," Chihon said. "All that climbing has made me thirsty."
Lorit looked through the glass at the town below. He could make out the inn where they were staying. He located the wharf where the ships would port. The long wooden docks stretched out into the water, sheltered by the thick stone walls that made up the breakwater. The harbor was deserted at the moment, but when a ship arrived, it would be bustling with activity.
There was a tap on his shoulder. "Sir, the bells are about to ring," came the voice of the youth.
Lorit was engrossed in the view and ignored the youth. He could see for leagues across the land or sea. He searched the mountains to see if he could find one of the cities perched on the stone cliffs.
"The bells?" came the voice again. "Sir. You'll want to cover your ears when the bells ring."
Lorit swung the glass out over the water, heedless of the warning. This high up, he could just make out the buildings in the city across the Freshen Sea. It really wasn't that far across the sea, he reminded himself. It was just slow going when the winds weren't in your favor.
The unexpected peal of the bells tolling was so loud, it was painful. Lorit threw his hands up and covered his ears. The bells rang a short phrase and then tolled the hour. It seemed to go on forever.
When the sound died down, Lorit's ears were ringing, but he returned to his viewing, not wanting to miss anything before his allotted time ran out.
"Where's your staff?"
Lorit could hardly make out what Chihon said, having yet to recover from the assault of the bells. He was preoccupied, gazing out at the landscape below. He waved his hand off to his left. "It's over there."
"No it's not."
Lorit pulled his eyes away from the glass. His staff was gone and so was the youth who had rented him the glass.
He panicked.
Where was the boy? He'd only taken his eyes off his staff for the briefest of moments. "Where did he go?" Lorit looked all along the wall that guarded the edge of the tower.
"I didn't see him. I was getting drinks," Chihon said, holding up a flagon of watered ale.
Lorit looked around frantically for the youth, but there was no sign of the boy, or Lorit's staff. He tried to relax and extend his senses. He saw a faint trail of magic leading towards the stairs. It had the same color as the magic of his staff.
"He stole my pack," someone cried from around the tower.
Lorit ran over to find a woman pointing towards the door. "He stole my pack."
The youth who had rented Lorit the glass disappeared down the stairs. Lorit dashed after him as fast as he could, pushing his way through the tourists. As he crossed the threshold and began the descent, he could just make out the youth ahead of him. The boy rounded a turn of the tower and disappeared below.
"Prohibere ubi sunt," Lorit said, holding his hand out, willing the boy to stop. He heard footsteps continue and raced after the boy. He rounded the bend to find an old couple sitting against the railing. The woman was tending to the man who had a gash on his head.
"He just shoved him down and ran right over us," the woman said.
"Are you alright? Do you need help?"
"My husband's been injured," she said.
Lorit looked ahead at the stairs. He knew if he stopped to help the man, the boy and his staff would soon be out of the tower and gone. He looked at the old man. Blood seeped from beneath a rag he held against his forehead.
Lorit looked once more down the stairs. He didn't want the boy to get away. He turned back at the man. "Here, let me see."
The wound was bloodier than it had a right to be. The old man had hit his head on the brick and cut it, but not as seriously as it appeared. Lorit held his hand over the man's head and let the power flow from him into the injury. He pictured the blood stopping and the skin knitting together to close the wound.
A slight golden glow emanated from beneath his hand as he imagined the healing process progressing. The skin was clean now and the scar fading. He probed the man for evidence of further injury. He had been bruised in a few places but nothing was broken and there were no more cuts or scrapes that needed attention.
He reached down. "Here, let me help you up."
The man was light as a feather and no trouble for Lorit to lift. He steadied himself against Lorit, accepting his help.
"Come on. The top's not far," Lorit had resigned himself to help the man and allow the boy to escape with his staff. He was worried about it, but the man had been in danger, and he knew he could track down the thief and his staff later.
"Thank you so much, young man," the woman said.
"Don't mention it. I was after that thief. It seems he has as little a regard for people as he does for their possessions."
The top was only one flight of stairs away. They reached it quickly to emerge on the platform. Chihon stood near the doorway as they stepped onto the deck.
"What happened? Did you catch him?"
"He got away." Lorit helped the old man sit at one of the tables and pulled out a chair for his wife. "He ran this poor old man over in his haste to get away. I had to stop and render aid."
"Are you alright?" Chihon knelt down to examine the old man. She passed her hand over his forehead, lightly tracing the faint scar that had recently been a bloody wound. She stood up and patted the old man on the shoulder. "You'll be just fine. Lorit did a good job on you."
She looked at the woman seated next to her husband. "Let me take a look at you." Chihon reached out and took her hand, but the woman pulled it back.
"I am fine, no need to worry about me."
Chihon leaned down next to her and reached out her hand once again. "Please let me take a look. You may have been hurt in the fall, too. It's better to be sure."
The old woman tentatively stretched out her hand. Lorit noticed the contrast between them as Chihon grasped the fragile wrinkled hand in her own. He could see Chihon relax and let her senses roam, examining the old woman. Lorit felt it himself as he was connected to her and knew what Chihon was experiencing. The woman had a disease that had invaded her entire body. He was amazed that she was still alive.
Chihon let her hand fall.
"See, Dearie, I'm just fine," the woman said. She looked over at her husband when she spoke, and Lorit knew it was for his benefit that she hid the fact that she was dying.
Lorit and Chihon sat at the table with the elderly couple.
"What brings you up here?" Chihon asked the old couple.
"We live on a farm a few leagues out. Every year on the first day of spring and the first day of fall, the shadow of the bell tower falls on our doorstep. We always wanted to see the view from the top, but we never had the time or money. This year, we finally made it." The old man reached out and patted the woman's hand.
"I won't be around much longer," he said. "I'm not getting any younger and Momma deserves to see this before I die and leave her all alone."
"The view is breathtaking," the old woman said. "I don't know why we waited so long to come up here. You can see the whole world from up here."
"Tell me about your farm. Is it just the two of you, then? You must have children, and grandchildren," Chihon said.
The old woman proceeded to tell Chihon all about herself and her husband, how they met and how they had been married, how their kids had grown up and now they had grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They sat on the balcony listening to the two old folks talk until almost sunset.
Lorit listened as Chihon drew the happy memories out of the woman by skillfully questioning her at just the right time and listening to her life's story.
Lorit watched Chihon reach across the table and take the old woman's hand in hers. He could feel her draw power from him. She focused it into the old woman. Lorit felt her probe for the sickness and slowly, carefully, replace the putrid decay with a fresh spring color. Chihon worked at it while they chatted away. She occasionally looked over at Lorit. He let her know that he was aware of what she was doing, and shared his power with her freely, so that she could do this for the woman.
At one point Chihon rushed the process a little and the old woman said, "I feel strange."
"How so?" Chihon asked.
"I don't know, strange. Like I was young again. Isn't that silly, an old woman like me feeling young?"
"You are young, Mother," her husband said. "You always were and always will be. Why, when I'm dead and gone, you'll be out there with the lads dancing and having a ball. You're as young as the day I met you."
Chihon kept it up, carefully removing every trace of the disease. Lorit knew it was hard work, and it drained her.
"You look like you haven't eaten in a moon," the husband said to Chihon. "You must have been starved."
"I'm fine," Chihon said. "I'm just a little tired. We've had a long day."
As the sun set, Lorit and Chihon made their way back to their inn. Chihon fell onto the bed and lay there exhausted as Lorit plopped himself into a chair. "That takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?" Lorit asked.
"It sure does. I learned those healing spells in the Temple. They taught me how to sacrifice animals to speed my recovery after I healed a young mother and her child."
"You sacrificed animals in the Temple?"
"Yes, to speed my recovery. I was totally exhausted after healing a young mother and her child."
Lori had been so excited over finding her, that he'd forgotten the images of her taking magic through sacrifices. It came back to him in a flash first she took the magic of the mini dragon, then of Prince Ghall. He felt betrayed. He had almost lost her over his attempt to take the Priest's power, yet here she sat calmly telling him how she had used Temple spells and accessed Temple magic.
"I can't believe you would do that!" Lorit looked away. He didn't want her to see the anger in his eyes.
"Do what? Heal a sick child?"
"No. You accessed Temple magic, to heal a sick child. You know how dangerous that is. You know where that leads." He tried to control his anger as he turned to look at her. All the rest of the visions had been true. Had he already lost her to the Temple? Was this just another trap they had set for him?
Tears welled up in her eyes and Lorit could see the hurt he had caused her. He wanted to reach out to her and tell her it was going to be all right, but he couldn't bring himself to. She had flirted with certain disaster. That one simple act could have cost her everything, cost him everything.
"Lorit. I didn't access Temple magic. I used a healing spell they taught me. I never took magic from the temple. They tried to trick me, but I refused; somewhere deep down inside me there was something telling me not to.
She reached out, but Lorit pulled his hands away before she could touch him. He didn't want to feel her touch.