Choose Your Own Misadventure - 3

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Lorcan took a deep breath to calm himself. He was used to people being rude to him. He didn’t particularly like it, but growing up in a family filled with vulgar drunks had forced him to adapt. The villagers who came to buy alcohol were only marginally more polite than his relatives—they thought him odd and did their best not to interact with him. So if Luciana wanted to accuse him of being an evil traitor hell-bent on the destruction of humanity that was hardly to be considered unexpected.

“Listen,” he told her calmly, “why don’t I go with you and get this all cleared up with your father?”

Luciana eyed him suspiciously. “You would come with us willingly?”

“I would much rather get this over with quickly. Also, going with you now means I don’t have to worry about one of my uncles getting drunk and throwing up on your father’s shoes,” Lorcan said.

“Very well. Guard him closely,” she told her soldiers. Then Luciana mounted her horse and pulled Evie up to sit behind her. They all started down the trail that led back to Ostfield.

Lorcan had always been comfortable with long silences. In fact, he preferred them. As such, he rather enjoyed their walk through the forest despite the fact that he was being guarded by twelve angry men who believed he was an evil monster. He saw two deer, a woodpecker, and four rabbits. He was just starting to think that their entire journey would be a peaceful walk through nature when Evie hopped down from Luciana’s horse to walk beside him.

“Sorry about earlier. Anna is extra touchy about warlocks,” Evie explained. One of the soldiers had given her a cloak to keep the rain off. It was so comically large that it dragged along the muddy trail and threatened to trip Evie with every step she took.

Lorcan shrugged. Evie waited for him to respond verbally. Lorcan waited longer.

“She was engaged to marry a warlock. But nobody knew he was a warlock. Not even Mason,” Evie eventually continued. For some reason it appeared to be vitally important to her that Lorcan understand why Luciana acted the way she had. “He was trying to kill the Emperor and Luciana is friends with the Emperor’s daughter, so…” She looked up at Lorcan hopefully.

“So it’s understandable that she has trouble trusting people now.”

Evie breathed a sigh of relief. “Exactly! She loved Mason very much. Which is saying something, because Anna has never been really into the whole love thing. Even before she found out about Mason, she was still all business and no fun.”

“I…see.” Lorcan had no real desire to continue this conversation, but Evie seemed intent on prolonging it.

“We all liked Mason because he made Anna smile. She, uh, doesn’t really smile. Ever. You may have noticed she can be a bit…stern,” Evie muttered self-consciously.

Lorcan sighed. This happened occasionally. Without any provocation on his part, people would begin telling him their most secret dreams and fears. “I did indeed notice that.”

“She has new suitors now, but none of them make her laugh like Mason did. I miss seeing her laugh. I don’t miss her being engaged to a secret assassin, but the laughter was nice.” Evie looked quite sad for her sister.

“That’s more than enough of that, Evie,” Luciana said from behind them.

“Anna! How did you sneak up on us?” Evie asked, looking around guiltily.

Luciana shook her head. “You mean how much did I hear? Just about all of it. Now, go with the guards while I take Lorcan to see our father. You’ll have to wait here in the woods until we know it’s safe to take you back into the village.”

Evie did as she was told and Luciana gestured for Lorcan to lead the way. “Still don’t trust me to be out of your sight?”

“Something like that,” Luciana replied. They walked in silence until they reached the outskirts of Ostfield.

The village was evidently a small flyspeck of a town compared to everywhere else, but to Lorcan it was a bustling mass of people. Ostfield was noisy and everyone seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere else.

“You don’t realize what you did to Evie, do you?” Luciana asked as they stepped from the dirt trail to Weyrd Mountain onto the cobblestones of Ostfield proper.

“Did to her? No, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” Lorcan suppressed a groan. One of Julian’s many feminine admirers had spotted him and was rushing over.

“She won’t shut up around you because you charmed her with a spell. Probably when you gave her that cloak this morning.” Luciana’s tone was displeased, but under strict control.

“That again?” This time, Lorcan did groan. “For the last time, I am not a warlock. You probably couldn’t wake your men because part of Great Grandmother’s spell was to prevent them being woken by anyone who wasn’t her relative. She no doubt planned on standing at the window and watching you try in vain to rouse the soldiers for hours just for her own amusement.”

Luciana did not appear convinced, but she said nothing because Julian’s admirer had reached them. Lorcan tried not to notice how slim and pretty the girl was. Or how blue her eyes were. And he definitely didn’t notice how the rain made her cloak cling to the curve of her hips.

“You’re Julian’s cousin, right? La—um…Lanky?” The girl obviously did not remember his name.

“Lorcan,” he corrected. In all fairness, he had no idea who she was either.

“Yeah! Lurkan. Is Julian coming into town too?” She looked so terribly hopeful that Lorcan felt bad telling her the truth.

“No, just me.”

“Oh.” The crestfallen youth hurriedly left to go about her business without saying goodbye.

“Charming,” Luciana said with evident distaste as she watched the girl go.

“It will happen again,” Lorcan warned her. And sure enough, they were approached by seven more girls hoping to hear that Julian was on his way before they reached the inn. After the eighth girl had come and gone, this one close to tears after Lorcan told her the bad news, Luciana stopped him.

“Why do all these women keep harassing you about your cousin? Does he owe them money?”

Lorcan shook his head. “They’re just infatuated with him. There’s a festival in a few days and they’re all hoping Julian will ask them to accompany him.”

“All of them?” she asked, a tad incredulous.

Lorcan nodded. “Julian is very good looking.”

Luciana arched a skeptical eyebrow at that. “And where is your special little lady? Will she be hunting you down as well?”

“Special little lady?” Lorcan asked, very confused.

“The young woman you are courting. We’re about the same age, you should be well into your courtship by now. Or at least your first attempt.”

“Ummmm…no. Not really.”

Luciana stared at him for a moment. “I thought villages like this were obsessed with getting their young people paired off, isn’t that what they have all those festivals for?”

“Well…yes, that’s true.”

“But you have no one.”

Lorcan nodded. “Correct.”

“Are you at least pursuing a girl?”

“Not…really,” Lorcan admitted hesitantly. No one really pressured him to go courting like they did his older cousins. His family seemed to take for granted that his awkwardness would make him terrible at it.

Luciana’s eyes narrowed. “That is odd. Warlocks usually…well, never mind that. Come on, my father will want to know Evie is alright.”

The barkeep nodded to Lorcan as he entered. Anyone who made their living selling liquor was well acquainted with Lorcan and his family. After all, they made the best booze around.

Luciana pointed to the stairs and Lorcan went all the way up to the third story of the inn. He had never been anywhere but the common room, kitchen, and the storage cellar. Lorcan was surprised by how fancy and clean everything was. He’d had no idea the Old Fisherman Inn was capable of accommodating a more wealthy clientele than travelling merchants.

Still keeping an eye on Lorcan, Luciana knocked on one of the doors. The door immediately swung open and an armored man nearly as wide as the door greeted Luciana before stepping aside to admit them.

Lorcan looked around. This room was nearly identical to the one he had seen in Evie’s dream last night. A broad shouldered middle-aged man stood by the window. He was staring out at the village square with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Yuri, leave us,” said the man who Lorcan assumed was Luciana’s father. The massive guard left immediately. “I assume that your early return means you located your sister. Efficient as always, my daughter.”

Luciana addressed her father in very formal tones. “I brought the boy who healed Evangeline’s wound. He lived with three witches, just as you said he would.”

The Senator chuckled. “Still you doubt the prophecies of the Divinatrix. When you visit her in a few months you will learn the weight of her wisdom.”

“Yes, father.”

Finally, the silver-haired man turned around. He had the same pale green eyes as Luciana and wore a neatly trimmed goatee on his face. He gave Lorcan a look that was clear his worth was being measured. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Senator Garis Seafury. Might I know the name of the young man who tended to my daughter’s injury?”

Lorcan cleared his throat nervously. “Lorcan Moon, sir.”

“And do you know why you are here, young Lorcan?” Lorcan had thought Luciana’s gaze was penetrating, but she had nothing on her father’s piecing stare.

It was difficult to speak without stumbling over his words, but Lorcan did his best not to stammer. “Evie said you were searching for a warlock who lived with three witches here in the Reach. But I’m not a warlock! My great grandmother, great aunt, and aunt are all witches, but I’ve never done magic in my life.”

“And yet my daughter brings you here to me. She knows better than most the signs of a man capable of using magic,” Senator Seafury said in an even tone.

“It was just a quirk of Great Grandmother’s spell,” Lorcan protested. “She put the soldiers to sleep and made it so only one of her family members could wake them.”

The Senator shifted his gaze to his daughter. He said nothing, but his inquiry was clear.

“He charmed Evangeline by giving her a cloak and completely healed her wound overnight,” Luciana assured him.

Her father nodded. “And have you noticed any of the discrepancies yet?” he asked her.

Luciana did not hesitate to think before giving her response, she must have been ready for this question. “He doesn’t have a girl in town that he’s courting. Even a warlock who gave up his memories in his Dark Bargain will unconsciously or accidentally charm beautiful women into falling in love with him. It is possible that his cousin is a warlock. That one has at least eight attractive admirers.”

Seafury nodded. “We will investigate him then. But you are certain this is the boy who healed Evangeline?”

“Without a doubt,” Luciana replied.

“Then please, have a seat.” The Senator gestured to a pair of chairs for Luciana and Lorcan. “How well do you know your history, young Lorcan Moon?”

“Not well, sir. We have few books on Weyrd Mountain and most of them are about monsters. My sister hogs them for herself most of the time,” Lorcan said as they sat down.

“But surely you have heard of the war that the Seven Golden Empires fought against Death’s Legion?”

Lorcan nodded. “Some, yes. I don’t know which parts are true and which are just legends and exaggeration.”

Senator Seafury nodded appreciatively. “Smart lad. So few men know what things they do not know. Will you allow me to enlighten you?”

“Absolutely! I mean, of course, sir,” Lorcan said eagerly. He had always loved learning new things beyond the practical workings of the still and their farm.

“Well, as you can imagine, what is fact and what is legend is still very disputed in the Halls of Learning, but the story goes that long ago Death walked the land in the form of a man. Death could raise up the dead to fight for him. Now, whether this is literally true or if a powerful sorcerer simply discovered the secrets of necromancy for the first time, we do not know. It has been over a thousand years and certain stories take on a life of their own over time.

“Anyway,” he continued, “the Seven Golden Empires formed to unite humanity against Death. They fought for over a century, but were only victorious in the end because of the Sacrifice of the Sorcerers. You see, back then there were sorcerers, much as there are witches today. Men who could use magic without making a Dark Bargain. Every sorcerer alive who had not betrayed humanity came together to launch a final attack on Death’s Frozen Citadel far to the north. They succeeded in imprisoning Death forever, but every last one of them perished.

“As you no doubt know, being from a family of witches, magic is passed down from mother to daughter or granddaughter. With all the sorcerers dead in the Sacrifice, magic essentially died out on the male side. Despite the dreadful cost, the world celebrated its victory. That is, until the Last Sorcerer emerged. You have heard this story as well, yes?” Senator Seafury asked.

Lorcan nodded.

“Then you know that he was one of Death’s most powerful servants. He had even learned the secret of immortality. The Last Sorcerer struck while we reveled in our glorious victory. Our Empire was nearly destroyed, but we eventually managed to beat his forces back. We were never able to defeat him entirely, not when he had created warlocks and we had no more sorcerers to counter the more destructive magic that men wield.” The Senator laughed humorlessly. “Ironically, that is what saved the Empire. Without a constant threat to keep them strong, the other six Golden Empires crumbled over the decades and centuries that followed. Infighting, greed, and strife did what Death could not. Now we stand, the Last Golden Empire.”

Lorcan sat, speechless. Absorbed in the Senator’s story as he was, he had forgotten entirely about being thought a warlock and summoned here.

Luciana, however, had done no such thing. “You think Lorcan is a sorcerer, not a warlock.”

Her father nodded slowly.

Lorcan’s eyes bulged. “But I thought all the sorcerers were dead. Except the evil ones, I mean. Or, evil one, since he’s the Last Sorcerer?”

Senator Seafury spoke slowly and with great weight. “There was a prophecy made by the Divinatrix who lived at the time of the Sacrifice. She foretold that another sorcerer would be born to ensure that Death remained forever imprisoned. The Divinatrix has informed the Emperor that a time of trials is upon us. The Last Sorcerer has devised a way to free his master and so the Emperor has sent us to search for the sorcerer who was foretold. Prophecy says that he will be born in the Reach and dwell among three witches.” He looked into Lorcan with his piercing green eyes.

Lorcan gulped. “You think it’s me?”

“Time will tell,” Seafury answered. “When I was seventeen and visited the Divinatrix for the first time, she told me that I would find a man who could be the sorcerer who had been foretold. She said that he would heal my youngest child and that I was to offer him this talisman.” He pulled a necklace from his coat pocket. It was a disc with an intricate pattern cast into it and it hung on a sturdy silver chain. “She made special care to ensure I knew that I was to offer it, not force him to take it. She also told me what it does, though she did not tell me why he might need or want it.”

Lorcan’s heart thundered in his chest. Something about that necklace…called to him. He wanted it very badly and that worried him. With difficulty, he asked, “What did she say it did?”

“It will cause your strength as a sorcerer to grow infinitely faster.” Senator Seafury held the necklace out for Lorcan to take.

Does Lorcan take the talisman?

1)      Yes!

2)      Hell, no!