“I was lucky. Ran into a rogue sorcerer and broke his neck.”
It was only then that I noticed the red gem, glowing with that effervescent light that told of its origin, set in a gold ring on his finger. His hand was wrapped around a clay tankard of watered wine; anything smaller than a tankard would just look stupid in his big hand. Not that the stone would be any use to him until he learned to use it; almost all nobles knew some magic, but I guessed Kerral would be the type to put his money and energies elsewhere.
“Is that it?" I couldn't help feeling his telling lacked polish.
He shrugged. “Pretty much.”
“How did you find him?” Sheo said.
Kerral shrugged. “I wasn't looking. Just out at night and saw him. He was using the power to lure a girl. It was obvious.”
“Not to mention base,” Sheo sounded genuinely offended.
I resisted the urge to shrug. Every noble-women in the city wears a charm that will protect her against such inimical magic. As for the commoners, well, who cares, frankly? I had to agree it was a pretty trivial use of magic, and a pretty stupid thing to die for.
“How ugly was he?”
Kerral laughed. “That's the funniest thing; he wasn't, you know,” he inclined his head toward Meran who was sitting a few yards away at the door. He watched us to see I was not molested but was not close enough to be privy to our conversation, “really ugly. Just a kinda ordinary looking Gerrian, really.”
“Retreni?”
Kerral looked puzzled. “Does it matter?”
“Not really, just wondered.”
“How would you know, anyway?”
I didn't feel it would help me at this point to ask if he had changed shape at all. Unlikely, as I'm sure Kerral would have mentioned it, as in “Strangled this shape shifting bastard,” for example. I thought it best to change the subject. “So you are a noble now! Congratulations, cousin!” Not all noblemen call each other that, but it's polite whether related or not.
“To the new knight! Welcome to the order.” It was the law that a commoner be raised to Knight status for services to the city, and taking down a rogue sorcerer who had been using our magic definitely counted as a service to the city. Bad enough that our potential enemies had spirit magic without them having access to the power of the stones. The magic that we dug from the volcano gave us powers we most definitely did not want to share. To sell a stone to anyone not of our own nobility was a crime punishable by death. Sometimes, through various means, foreign individuals would get their hands on a stone. Sometimes they caused problems, but large and powerful stones were rarely taken from the city, and then only in the hands of experienced and knowledgeable sorcerers. Getting one of them meant getting by the sorcerer. It doesn't happen often.
We drank a toast to our new cousin.
“Of course,” Kerral said, “I still need to make money, so I'm off to war!”
“War?”
Sheo looked disgusted. “Yes, Sumto, war. With the Alendi.”
“Oh.” It didn't seem like enough. “I've been busy.”
“You've been drunk. The patron Orthand is taking his clientele to war. Tulian too. I'm going, of course,” Sheo said.
Of course. He was a client of Tulian, of the right class and unable to give money instead of service. Being of a more illustrious family I was no-one's client. Technically I should be a patron and have clients of my own, but having successfully ducked military service I had not yet stepped foot on the lifelong Course of Honors, the political career that was my birthright and toward which my father's occasional stiff messages directed me. No one could make me do military service. I was a free born man of this city, my own master, and I owned no armor. My family occasionally had some delivered and I sold it. Weapons too.
“You should come with us,” Kerral said.
I'd known he would say it.
Sheo nodded enthusiastically. I had my cup to my face and was taking my time. They were both going to be disappointed, it was just a matter of how to say it without appearing spineless. Which I was, by the way. Have you seen what swords and axes, maces and spears do to a man? Well, neither have I, at least not that I remember well, and I have absolutely no desire to do so. I am fat and lazy and I like it, and anyone who doesn't can shove off, frankly. My family included. Uncles, cousins, the lot. But I didn't want to upset Kerral. He was my friend and had saved my life once. Sharp things, dark alley, bad people, I was drunk. “I'll see if I can get some armor.”
“Good man!” Kerral said.
Sheo was smiling. “And see if you can get your father to give you that two hundred you owe me while you are at it.”