AA3 45 - Leaders

“We’re coming with you,” Gwen said, fixing Verdan with a stern look that told him the matter wasn’t up for debate. “I’ll ask Beska and Arlai to stay here and keep watch, but the other three of us are coming.”

“I will come as well,” Kai said, Dirk chiming in a moment later as well that he’d come.

Verdan couldn’t help but let a small smile slip out as they all declared how they’d be coming with him. “Well, I won’t stop you, but just consider that this may well be a trap. We’ll need to be ready for anything.”

“I’ll ready the rest of the thearns. We’ll provide close protection for Dirk and the Witches, if they have need of it,” Benlen said, looking questioning to Gwen, who reluctantly nodded.

“I’m probably the most capable of defending myself,” Gwen said, hesitating a little before continuing. “That being said, I know that I could get overwhelmed. Some assistance to help keep any Darjee at bay so I can focus on my magic would be good.”

Verdan nodded, pleased that Gwen wasn’t letting her pride blind her to her limits. It probably helped that he’d been advocating for mixed groups for as long as he’d known her, so she was aware of their strengths.

Benlen, Dirk and Gwen began to discuss the specifics, with the older Kranjir doing his best to guide Dirk through the decisions and give him the final say on what was happening.

While they were doing that, Verdan dropped back a little to walk alongside Barb, who raised a brow in his direction questioningly. 

Checking that the others were occupied with their discussion, Verdan leaned in slightly. “Earlier, Benlen referred to Dirk as Apprentice Wizard Svenstan in front of some of the thearns for other Chosen. It seemed like a big deal at the time, but he’s calling him by his first name now. I was hoping you could explain a bit of it.”

Barb had the same look of surprise as the Blades had earlier, and she gave Benlen an appraising look before turning back to Verdan. “Titles in Kranjir culture are earned as much as they are given. Chosen are picked by the Clan’s Keepers, but if they don’t live up to their role, they will only be referred to by their name, not their title. There’s more to it than that, but by acknowledging Dirk publically like that, he’s lent some legitimacy to both Dirk and to Wizards in general.”

“Oh,” Verdan said, understanding dawning on him as he followed the logic of what Barb was saying. “That’s a bit more far-reaching than I expected.”

Barb hesitated before continuing in a soft voice. “I think it’s more than you realise. Benlen is a Blade of Mhorgain and a leader of Thearns. His acknowledgement of Dirk could be interpreted as the same as he’d give to his Chosen, especially as he doesn’t have one. That puts Wizards on the same ranking of importance as Chosen and sets a dangerous precedent for them having their own thearns.”

“I see, but why does that matter?”

Barb frowned in thought for a few moments. “You have to understand that for a long time, only the Chosen have been able to protect the Clans. Witches have been as much a danger to themselves as an enemy, while Sorcerers are arrogant and prideful creatures. You are now offering a different path, and your Apprentice is the heir to at least two generations of Chosen. I’m sure there is more to it all that I’ve not considered as well.”

Verdan rubbed his face tiredly, resisting the urge to sigh heavily. He’d wanted to keep a low profile here, but it seemed that with everything he tried to do, that aim got further and further away.

He hadn’t really considered what the implications of his presence would be on a culture like the Clans, but then he’d had no idea that they would have such a limited amount of magic available to them.

“Thanks, Barb,” Verdan said absently, his mind already considering what else might change with Benlen’s change of attitude. To his mind, it was clear enough that this new respect was born from the healing he’d received, and with it being such an obvious change, that might well make things worse.

“No problem, Boss,” Barb said, her eyes flicking to Benlen and Dirk before she continued softly. “You should know that Chosen are the heroes of the Kranjir. They have strong traditions of service and sacrifice, so there will be some who react poorly to them being compared to anything else.”

“Hopefully, the comparison won’t prosper, then,” Verdan said with a shaky smile, knowing that it wasn’t as easy as that.

-**-

The following morning came faster than Verdan would have liked, but he had managed a productive evening of preparations and had supervised Dirk working hard on his gathering spiral.

Verdan’s young Apprentice was approaching the end of his fourth spiral and making good progress, considering how new he was to Wizardry. He wasn’t building on his spiral as quickly as Verdan had, but he was also learning the process as he went, so that wasn’t unexpected.

Dirk’s real limitation at the moment was the amount of Aether he could store, as his Aether spiral’s size limited it.

Verdan’s reserves were comparatively vast as, while the amount had dwindled, the capacity was still there from when he was at his peak of power.

Without that extra capacity, Dirk was far more restricted in how much he could do and couldn’t save up Aether to the same degree that Verdan did.

Verdan sighed and rubbed his face, trying to regain his focus. He was worried about bringing Dirk along, but he knew it was the right move. Holding his Apprentice back would only make Dirk try to get around him to put his spells to use.

At least this way, he knew that Barb and Benlen would make sure that no Darjee could lay a finger on the young Wizard.

A brief chuckle escaped Verdan’s lips as he wondered if he’d caused his own master this many headaches.

Turning his attention back to the group gathering outside of the town, Verdan found himself hiding a wince as he saw the clear divide between the two groups.

Maeve and Osran had both brought their full complement of thearns with them, but the two forces seemed set on not mingling and were waiting in separate groups while the Chosen spoke with the scouts.

The rest of the scouting groups had returned while they were preparing for this excursion, and their losses had been heavy. Barely half of those who’d gone out had come back, and only a handful had come back without injury or loss.

There were more reports of large creatures working alongside the Darjee as well, but few of them matched, with inconsistencies in size and shape between reports. The only thing they all agreed on was how tough the things were.

The consensus was that the Darjee were surrounding Dunkirn and that the only reason the losses among the scouts hadn’t been higher was the arrows that Verdan had provided.

The new information meant that their mission had evolved from investigating this village to testing the edges of this encirclement and finding out more about these creatures working with the Darjee.

Jarn had argued for them to increase the number of Chosen being sent, but he’d been overruled by the rest. After all, if too many of them left the town, it would be left vulnerable to attack.

Normally, that would be less of a concern, but the Darjee were acting anything but normally, and that had rattled the Kranjir.

The two Chosen had finished speaking with the leader of the scouts, a rugged-looking woman who had been among the few who’d made it back unharmed.

Something told Verdan that, in her case, it was skill, not luck, which had kept her safe.

Maeve and Osran returned to their respective groups to pass on the briefing while the scout they’d been talking to made her way over to Verdan’s motley group.

“Wizard Blacke, I’m Pathfinder Galstar. Holder Dunkirn and Keeper Macstan have given me overall control over the scouts.”

“Pathfinders are the equivalent to Blades, but for the scouts,” Barb supplied helpfully.

Verdan shot Barb a thankful look before turning back to the Pathfinder. “A pleasure to meet you. How can I help?”

The Pathfinder shook her head with a frown. “Your arrows saved lives yesterday, I wish only to thank you for that. Many of my people lost friends and family, but it could have been far worse.”

“I’m glad they could help, and I’m sorry for your loss,” Verdan said softly, wishing that he could have done more.

The Pathfinder’s frown didn’t abate, but she nodded slightly. “We’ll pay them back today. Rumour says you are our answer to the Bonecallers; if you need anything from the scouts to do it, call on me.”

“I will bear you all in mind,” Verdan said, thinking of what additional magic he could bind to their arrows if the need arose.

“Good,” the Pathfinder nodded firmly before taking a step back. “May Govannon not find you wanting, Wizard.” 

Turning on her heel, Pathfinder Galstar walked away, leaving a slightly confused Wizard in her wake.