The Eighth Warden Ch. 021-022

Finally, the man coughed, then opened his eyes and pushed her hands off of him. "Who are you?" he asked in raspy voice. "Why are you in my home?"

"A wizard named Rallus sent us. Are you Lodarin?"

"Yes," the old man said, pushing himself up to his knees. "Rallus actually sent someone to help me? Imagine that." He swayed unsteadily, so Treya helped him up to a chair.

"He thought you were dead," Corec said. "He wanted us to bring back some of your things for safekeeping—your spell book, a gauntlet, and a scrying orb." He nodded to Shavala, who handed him the orb. He set it carefully on the bed. "If we'd known you were alive, we wouldn't have taken it."

Lodarin frowned and shook his head. "Safekeeping? Heh. I should have known. Rallus always was a greedy bastard."

"What happened to you?" Treya asked. "Why did he think you were dead?"

"The last time he was here, he said he was worried about my health, living all alone out here. He wanted to set up an alarm ward so he could send help if anything ever happened to me. I told him it was pointless, and Tyrsall was too far away to do any good, but he insisted, and I got tired of arguing with the old fool." The wizard's voice had gotten stronger as he spoke, and he glared around the room. "I don't like visitors. There are too many of you."

"I'll go downstairs," Katrin said, tugging on Shavala's hand to get her to follow.

"I suppose I will, as well," Bobo said, and went after them.

Corec stayed.

"What happened?" Treya asked again.

The old man grunted in irritation. "Tried to do too much. Some big spells, too close together. It put me in drain shock. I managed to make it up the stairs, but fell down before I reached the bed. Since I figured I'd be out for a few days, I triggered one last spell that I always keep active, so I wouldn't need to eat or drink while I was asleep." He looked proud. "I created that spell myself, but it must have triggered Rallus's ward."

"You would have recovered on your own?"

"Yes. I told him I didn't need any help. How long was I out?"

"We talked to him seven days ago," Corec said. "He didn't mention how long it had been since he found out."

"Heh. Side effect of the spell. It keeps you healthy while you're asleep, but it takes longer to recover. I should have known he was up to something. He just wants the spells I've been researching. Well, I'm not going to let him get his hands on my spell book or the gauntlet. I've warded them both—when I die, they'll burn to ash, so you can tell him he doesn't need to fear anyone else coming across them. I've already burned all my notes."

Treya glanced at Corec, who shrugged.

"Well, if you're feeling all right, I guess we should be leaving," he said.

"First, tell me how you got in here, and why all my skeletons are broken." The wizard's voice had continued to recover, and now sounded almost commanding. Treya wondered how he knew about the skeletons.

"Rallus gave us a gem," she said, holding it up. "He said it would get us through your defenses, but that we'd have to handle the skeletons on our own."

"I bound that gem to him. He must have figured out a way to make it work for other people. You risked your life to loot an old man's home because someone else asked you to?"

"We were trying to get his help with some magical runes," Treya said, allowing hers to flare to life.

"All three of the girls have one," Corec said, "and I've got runes on my arms matching each of theirs. We're trying to get rid of them. We thought they were binding runes, but Rallus says they aren't."

Lodarin stared at Treya's forehead for a moment. "They're binding runes, all right."

"He lied about that, too?" Treya asked.

"Words mean what we want them to mean. A binding rune marks a binding spell, and a binding spell binds two things together. This spell binds you together; therefore, it's a binding spell. Everything else is just pedantic arguments over definitions. It's not the type of binding spell Rallus knows how to cast, so he wants to give it a different name, but it is what it is."

"Do you know how we can get rid of it? He was going to cast a major banishing spell if we were able to bring your things back."

"Come here," the old man said to her, then motioned to Corec. "You, too."

When they both got close, he grasped their wrists in his bony hands and whispered words Treya couldn't hear.

After a moment, he stopped whispering and let them go. "It didn't work."

"You tried to banish it?" Corec asked.

"Yes. A regular binding spell is a weak thing, easy to remove. This one is rooted more deeply, with tendrils linked to something I can't see. The banishing spell can't see it at all, so there's nothing for it to work against. Rallus could have told you that with thirty seconds of effort. There was no need to send you all the way out here."

"Is there anything you can tell us about it?"

"What does it do?" Lodarin asked. "A binding spell always has a purpose."

"I can always tell what direction the girls are in, and they can tell what direction I'm in. So far, that's the only thing we've noticed."

Lodarin let loose with a wheezy laugh. "That's all? Hardly seems the sort of thing to be worried about."

"It keeps happening, and I don't know why, and I can't stop it. If I'm even the one doing it."

"If you don't want it to happen, then don't let it happen. You may not be a wizard, but you're a mage of some sort. Think about how it feels when you cast a spell, and then pay attention and make sure you don't feel that way when you don't want to cast one."

"I've never felt anything when it happens, at least not until my arm starts itching."

"Itching?"

"My arm itches, her head itches, and then about ten days later, the runes show up."

The wizard furrowed his brow. "I'm not familiar with the itching, and the binding spells I've used worked instantly, but I've never cast one on a person before. Some spells are more subtle than others, but if you're the one casting it, you'll be able to feel it."

"I'll try," Corec said doubtfully. "I mean, I'll try to stop it if I feel it."

Lodarin stood and stretched, then waved his hand in the direction of the fireplace and whispered a few indistinct words. A fire sprang to life, without any wood to feed it.

"Now, if you don't mind," he said, "I'm tired of talking and I want you to leave. You tried to heal me, so I'll forgive you for the skeletons—this time. Take the orb with you and give it to Rallus. You don't want him as an enemy, and I don't know how to use the bloody thing anyway."

"Shouldn't you come with us?" Katrin asked. "What if you get sick again?"

"There's nothing wrong with me other than age, and you can't heal that. I wager I've got a few more years left in me, but I don't like the city. Never did."

"We'll leave you alone, if that's what you want," Corec said.

"And give me back my gem. As soon as you're gone, I'm putting my defenses back in place. You can tell Rallus that when I die for real, they'll fade on their own, and he can ransack my house all he wants."