The fall of skullkeep, p.5
The Fall of Skullkeep, page 5
A quick check of the clock standing in the corner informed him it was far too close to lunch to start any significant projects, and he decided he’d fill the short time between then and the midday meal by reading more of Marcus’s journal. So he set off for the library.
A short time later, Gavin sat in one of the library’s plush armchairs, one of Marcus’s journals splayed open in his lap. He knew he should be focused on the journal; it was the sole reason he sat in the Citadel’s library while he waited for lunch. But it simply did not hold his attention. His mind swirled around the question of what came after eliminating the Necromancer and re-taking Skullkeep. As much as he sort of enjoyed being Archmagister and effecting his vision of what the Society of the Arcane should be, it wasn’t what he wanted. Not anymore…
He and Kiri spent their days apart, and he nipped down to Vushaar as he could—usually on the ‘weekends.’ Still, though, the situation wasn’t ideal. The downside was that he wasn’t sure that stepping down from his position of Archmagister would help much. He still had responsibilities as Kirloth that would need his attention. And if he wasn’t Archmagister, what else would he do? How would he spend his days?
Another reason he wanted to keep his professional distance from Vushaar was that he knew Kiri would come to him with arcanist questions or needs before she went to Fallon… if he were readily available. She wouldn’t intend any slight toward Fallon at all, but she’d still naturally gravitate toward her husband.
Besides… even the most confident and mentally healthy mage would feel a little intimidated at having Kirloth so close at hand. He thought they had worked through all that before Bellos asked him to be the next Archmagister, but he wasn’t sure it would be wise to poke at old wounds. That rarely went—or ended—well.
Then, there was the matter of what to do with all of Marcus’s journals. As long as Kirloth was Archmagister—whether in the person of Gavin Cross or one of his descendants—those journals should reside in the Citadel’s library, for ease of access if nothing else. But if he was successful in turning over the gold robe to Lillian? Did she or future Archmagisters have any right to them? It was a tricky subject, but considering some of the events Marcus chronicled, he didn’t think so. It felt right to him that those journals remain with House Kirloth.
Gavin sighed, closing the book on his lap and placing it on the end table beside the chair. He would return to it when his mind was more settled, especially since he realized he hadn’t even moved the bookmark.
The library door opened, and Gavin turned to see Bellos stride into the room. He crossed to the sitting area and gestured toward the chair facing Gavin.
“May I?”
Gavin smiled. “Of course. As far as I’m concerned, you’re always welcome wherever I am.”
“Thank you,” Bellos replied. “You and I are brothers in a way, you know. You, Mivar, Roshan, my brother who inherited House Wygoth, Cothos, and I were all his apprentices. No one who hasn’t experienced that could ever understand.”
Gavin nodded. “I know what you mean. I have always felt that he and I barely had enough time together to scratch the surface of what he knew and understood about the Art. I would give a lot to have even another month with him.”
“He would appreciate that,” Bellos replied, adding a chuckle, “but he would pepper you with as many questions as you would seek to ask him. After all, he never completed a cross-planar portal.”
Gavin leaned back against his seat and gave Bellos a speculative expression. “You know… about that… it wasn’t especially difficult. Did he never complete it because he couldn’t? Or did he simply get nudged to focus on other matters?”
Bellos maintained a non-expression for several moments before he broke out into a huge smile. “Damn… you found me out. Balancing the connection between this plane and that of the refugee world was never supposed to be his task… not really. It wasn’t something Valthon and I explicitly planned for you, either, but one must strike while the iron is hot. So, what’s on your mind? I could tell you wanted to discuss something with me, but the particulars eluded me.”
“As soon as we’re stable after re-taking Skullkeep, I want to turn over the position of Archmagister to Lillian Mivar.”
Bellos’s eyebrows flicked toward his hairline for the briefest moment. “That… is rather unexpected. Will you explain your reasoning, please?”
“A few different reasons. First, I am also Kirloth now; I don’t feel I can discharge the responsibilities of being Kirloth as long as I am also the Archmagister. Beyond that, I want to do other things with my life. I want to be a better husband to Kiri. I want to be able to visit my family on Earth without feeling like I’m ignoring significant responsibilities here. Bottom line… I don’t really want this job.”
“Do you have any idea how many people would wonder what’s wrong with you if they heard you don’t want to be Archmagister?” Bellos asked amid a hearty laugh. “And to give you a bit of insight, none of your predecessors wanted it, either. I have always been very careful to choose those who would see it as a duty and responsibility. Those are the types of people Tel and the Society deserve as Archmagister.
“Thank you, by the way, for sorting out the mess with the royal family succeeding to civil authority. I realize none of them were still alive after you ended slavery, but it’s good that mechanism was removed from Tel’s Constitution. Our mentor didn’t want it in there in the first place, but it was a sop to the surviving nobility of the area—at that time—to reduce the number of matters vying for his attention.”
Gavin chuckled and shook his head. “I always wondered how that slipped into the Constitution. Given what I knew of Marcus, I couldn’t see him willingly adding that provision.”
“Oh, no,” Bellos agreed. “I spent the better part of a week talking him down from his preferred response to the nobility’s demands.”
“Molten rock and charred earth?” Gavin asked.
“Quite.”
A silence descended on the pair for several moments before Bellos spoke again. “Have you discussed the matter with Young Mivar?”
“I have. She is not opposed to the idea, but she didn’t jump to agree, either. I think the thought that I considered her appropriate to succeed me intimidated—or maybe overwhelmed—her.”
Bellos snorted. “As well it should. You’re not proposing she take over some small social club. I will think on the matter and consider what I know of Young Mivar. I may further explore her character and integrity, but from what I know of her right now, I am not opposed to the succession.”
Gavin nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that. If it should come to pass, I’ve pretty much decided to relocate our mentor’s journals to the estate outside of Tel Mivar. After reading some of them, I don’t think it’s right that anyone outside House Kirloth ever read them.”
“Hrmmm…” Bellos vocalized as he scratched at his VanDyke beard. “You’re probably right about that. I haven’t read them, myself, but I am aware of many events and actions that—while imminently necessary—are not for general knowledge, even restricted to the Archmagisters.”
“So, what is tied to the Kirloth bloodline that you and Valthon needed me?” Gavin asked.
Bellos lifted his eyes to meet Gavin’s gaze but otherwise gave no visible reaction. After several moments, he said, “Figured that out, did you?”
“Granted, I could easily be wrong, but sometimes, the simplest explanations are the best.”
“Yes,” Bellos remarked with a sigh, “I suppose they are. The truth of the matter is that I’m afraid this is another situation where you are far better off without that knowledge. Events are unfolding that may force the knowledge upon you, but for the moment, let’s not kick that particular bear.”
Gavin took a deep breath with a slow exhalation. “So, it’s fairly major, then… whatever it is.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to,” Gavin countered, smiling. “The last time you used that particular answer, it involved me being dead for thirteen years—well, closer to eleven, at the time—before you and ‘the old man’ dropped me in that alley. If you stand me beside my daughter, I look young enough to be her brother. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that’s a damn major revelation. So, yeah… if you don’t want to talk about whatever it is, it’s fairly major.”
Bellos gave Gavin a mock glare. “Sometimes, you’re too smart for your own good, but I’m still not talking about it. It’s a matter of your possession of the knowledge changing how you respond to certain circumstances and events. It might change the decisions you make. So, no. We’re not discussing it unless there’s no other choice.”
“Fair enough, and that actually makes a certain amount of sense. The more I consider it, I’m probably better off not knowing.”
“Thank you,” Bellos replied, offering a nod as replacement for a bow. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m afraid I have other matters that require my attention. Thank you for the welcome and the conversation.”
Before Gavin could respond, the God of Magic vanished in a small flare of gold light.
Lillian looked up from the notes in front of her when she caught movement in her peripheral vision and smiled when she saw Mariana standing at the edge of the table.
“Hi! When did you get back?” she asked the woman who had always felt like an older sister.
Mariana shrugged. “Not too long ago. I stopped by the family’s suite here in the Tower and dropped off my kit. The druids are making great strides out at the Foundry. You’ll have to visit sometime, especially since it’s in your family’s province and all. What are you working on?”
Lillian smiled. “I was talking with Braden the other day, and he got me thinking about creating a key for the manor gate that’s tied to the bloodline. Father shouldn’t have to ring the bell like some guest or courier to come home.”
“Ah. How is it coming along?”
“I think I have most of it worked out,” Lillian replied as Mariana sat in one of the chairs across from her. “Honestly, if Gavin coming back hadn’t done whatever it did to the ambient magic levels, I probably wouldn’t even consider attempting this. There’s no way I would’ve been strong enough even as recently as a year-and-a-half ago.”
Mariana chuckled and nodded for emphasis. “Tell me about it. He does more impossible things before breakfast than most people do throughout their entire lives. Say… have you talked to him about it?”
“Oh, no. He’s much too busy for something like this, and besides, he’d probably just wave his hand and do it. I’d like to puzzle my way through it and learn something. Mari… do you have some time to discuss something that’s been on my mind?”
Mariana nodded, her expression suggesting that Lillian shouldn’t have felt the need to ask. “Of course. What is it?”
Lillian shook her head. “Not here. It’s… well… it’s pretty high-impact.”
“Ah. Your place or mine?”
Lillian eased into one of the armchairs near the hearth in her family’s suite, just down the hall from the Kirloth suite where Gavin and Kiri had lived before the trip to Vushaar. Mariana occupied the other, and the notes on the gate key littered the top of the table behind them.
“All right,” Mariana said. “This is far more private than the library, so what’s on your mind?”
Lillian took a deep breath and released in a slow exhalation. “Gavin… well… the other day, he asked me what I thought about becoming the Archmagister.”
“What?”
“I know! Here’s the freaky part. Once our part of the world has stabilized after re-taking Skullkeep and ending the threat of the Necromancer, he wants to turn the position over to me. I… I don’t know what to think about it.”
Lillian watched Mariana stare into the inactive fireplace for several moments. “Well, part of me wonders how much of the smooth transition from the royal family’s authority to having an Archmagister once again has been the simple fact that Gavin could scare a corpse if he put his mind to it. I mean… he’s a true-born son of House Kirloth trained by the man who dueled Milthas and founded Tel. That’s a serious amount of inherent intimidation, right there. But aside from all that, I think it’s a great idea. I—”
“You do?”
Mariana nodded. “Of course, I do. The last six months or so before Gavin and Kiri came back, you pretty much ran things. Yes, Nathrac held the executive authority, but you consulted on everything. He never issued a directive or decision that didn’t go through you first. Plus, you’re the most level-headed of us. I love being a Battle-mage and don’t want to quit until age forces me. Braden’s head is so deep into the Foundry and everything that will be happening there that I’d be amazed if he’s aware the rest of us exist, and then, there’s Wynn…”
“Hey, now. That’s not exactly fair. Taking over Gavin’s apprentices worked wonders for him. He’s even slowed down enough to get engaged.”
“That poor woman has her work cut out for her,” Mariana remarked with a sigh.
If she were being honest, Lillian couldn’t deny that at all, but she felt like they ought to stick up for their childhood friend.
“But back to the matter at hand,” Mariana continued. “The simple fact is that you’ve already demonstrated you can handle the responsibility of being Archmagister. That position was never about being the best or most powerful arcanist. It was totally about being the person Bellos decided was best suited to guide and lead both the Kingdom of Tel and the Society of the Arcane. Yes… for the moment, that person is Gavin. There were a lot of things to fix in the wake of the royal family’s so-called stewardship, but there aren’t as many as there were. And if Gavin passes the office to you, he’ll still be around to act as a silent threat against anyone who might be a bad actor. So, yeah… I’m not really seeing a downside.”
Lillian gnawed at her lower lip. “You’re not jealous that Gavin asked me?”
“Gods no, girl! Do you think I want to be the Archmagister? I’d lose my cool in less than an hour. I don’t see how you handled all the idiocy with the aplomb that you did, and don’t even get me started on Gavin.”
Lillian lost control of a snicker, and Mariana added her own. Amid the humor, Lillian replied, “There have been a few times Gavin’s handling of a situation was… uhm… a bit expedient.”
Mariana rolled her eyes. “Expedient? Really? I’ve thought more than once Gavin’s default reaction was simple obliteration. ‘Expedient’ seems a bit understated.”
“So, you’re really okay with me telling Gavin that I’ll do it? That I’ll be Archmagister?”
“Of course, I am. If Bellos goes along with it, it means there’s no chance he’ll ask me to do it… and… I think you’d be perfect for the job, too.”
Lillian gave her friend a mock glare. “It sounds to me like your support of me taking the job is just a bit self-serving.”
Marianna beamed. “Well, of course it is. As long as you’re the Archmagister, it means I’m free to stay with the Battle-mages, but in all seriousness, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have in the position. I know how much you care about the state of affairs in both Tel and the Society.”
“Thanks, Mari,” Lillian replied. “That means a lot.”
“You’re welcome,” Marianna said, then clapped her hands. “Now that we’ve dealt with the weighty matters, have you eaten lately? I’ve felt like I’m starving since I arrived.”
Lillian shrugged and stood. “Sure… I can eat. Dining hall? Or do you have some place specific in mind?”
“At this point, I’d eat a sickly horse,” Mariana answered as she stood. “Let’s see what the dining hall has, since it’s closest.”
As they left the Mivar suite, conversation moved on to the ‘catching up’ chatting between old friends.
CHAPTER 6
The horse clopped along the dusty road, the repetitive and consistent sound serving as a backdrop to the otherwise-pleasant morning. The sun wasn’t above the peaks of the Godswall Mountains yet, but the hues and gradients of color in the sky suggested it wouldn’t be long. Flowers dotted the landscape and provided a complex collection of scents that still carried hints of the morning dew.
Cyn rolled with the steady gait of her trusty mount, her mind more focused on the job than her surroundings. Trickster made good time as he carried her north on the east side of the Vischaene River. She might have preferred to head north on the opposite side of the river, but ferries became very few and far between for a considerable span anywhere close to the mouth of Hope’s Pass. The few ferries that did exist ‘enjoyed’ rather impressive Army garrisons, especially in the wake of the Necromancer’s attack on Tel a year or so ago. The small community across the river from Tel Mivar was now a military encampment, for all intents and purposes, and Cyn had used all her skills to get through the area without any undue notice.
How anyone could not know war with Skullkeep was coming escaped Cyn. Tel’s army started a massive recruitment drive, which was just starting to gain traction. The other members of the Old Alliance quietly mobilized, some not so quietly. If a person threw a rock in any direction within leagues of Hope’s Pass, it would hit three scouts watching the pass for any movement before landing on the ground.
Many people debated the question of whether Gavin would’ve pushed the Old Alliance into the build-up if the Necromancer had not attacked Tel Mivar, and from what Cyn could gather, the opinions seemed to run about sixty percent asserting that war became inevitable the moment Bellos chose a new Archmagister. Especially as more and more information became publicized about just how thoroughly the Necromancer had controlled the royal family prior to its demise. Given her status as a Wraith, she had access to far more of the information than what Gavin had ordered released so far, and the depth of Leuwyn’s betrayal was… well… ‘staggering’ was insufficient do describe how she felt when she stepped back and considered it all.
