Tak

The Master of Castle Nagra - Part 4

     Molos Gomm was quiet the rest of the day and Tak was able to have an early night, but he was woken in the middle of the night by Trobo's soft voice calling his name. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes wearily, and was surprised to see the houseman standing beside him, dressed in his proper uniform as if it were the middle of the day. Doesn't he ever sleep? wondered the young wizard.

     It occurred to him once again that he'd never seen the houseman out of his workclothes, that he'd never had to get him out of bed. He was always available at any time of the day or night, always fresh and alert as if newly risen. Always inscrutable and imperturbable as if in possession of secret knowledge. He'd never had a day off, for the love of the Gods! He didn't seem to have any life except that of serving the master of Castle Nagra! What kind of man was he? Was he, in fact, a man at all?

     He put these thoughts aside for the moment, though. Trobo knew how important a good night's sleep was to a wizard. He wouldn't have woken him unless it was something important. He groaned under his breath. What had old Gomm done now?

     "What is it, Trobo?" he asked blearily, lighting a candle with a snap of his fingers.

     "Forgive me for disturbing your sleep, sir," the houseman said in his matter of fact voice, "but we have visitors."

     "Visitors?" It took a moment for the words to register on Tak's still half asleep mind, but then he snapped fully awake with alarm and leapt out of bed, reaching for his clothes. "Jack Nowl! He's brought the townspeople to burn us out!"

     "It would appear so, Sir," replied Trobo emotionlessly, as if he couldn't care less. "They came most of the way on horseback, but left their mounts a mile or so back and are coming the rest of the way on foot. They appear to be moving with some stealth."

     "They wanted to catch us asleep in our beds," said Tak as he struggled into his clothes. "If you hadn't spotted them..." He froze in confusion. "Hey, wait a minute, how did you spot them? Why weren't you in bed as well?"

     "I was taking the night air on the battlements," replied the houseman. Tak didn't realise until later that he'd evaded the question. Tak had too much on his mind to pursue it at the time, and as soon as he was dressed he ran from the room, patting his pockets as he went to make sure he had all his spell components with him. "Take Molos Gomm to the dungeons and lock the doors behind you," he called back. "They won't be able to get you down there."

     He didn't wait for a reply but ran for the courtyard, knowing that his only chance was to get there before the mob. Once they started burning, there was no way he'd be able to stop them.

     Arriving at the inner bailey, he slowed to a dignified walk, to give the impression of confidence and power and quietly cast a Shield spell about himself. At his present level of power it would only last for a few minutes, but he didn't doubt that the issue would be decided, one way or the other, well before it expired. He had a few offensive spells he could cast at them, but he was mainly going to have to bluff his way through this. He was hoping that the sight of crossbow bolts bouncing off the magical barrier would convince them that he was an opponent they didn't want to mess with.

     The darkness hid him, but as soon as the townspeople appeared, climbing carefully through the rubble strewn gaps in the curtain wall he cast a light spell on the air above him, lighting the rough, grassy courtyard as brightly as day and giving the impression that he was appearing out of thin air. The townspeople gasped in fear and fell back, and if Jack Nowl hadn't been there to hold them together they might have turned and fled there and then.

     "Stand firm!" he cried however, recognising the figure standing before him. "It's not the wizard, just his apprentice. He can't hurt you." He was carrying a loaded crossbow and he raised it to point at the wizard's chest.