The Gem Lords

The Conference - Part 2

     Thomas slept for another eight hours, and Lirenna was still sitting there beside him when he woke again. She was still staring adoringly into his face, holding his hand, and he smiled with pleased surprise, remembering that the shae folk needed less sleep than humans and experienced the passage of time in a different way. If they became fixated on something, such as a pretty flower of the face of a loved one, hours or even days could pass without their noticing.

     They kissed slowly and tenderly, then arose and Thomas dressed himself in the clean, freshly pressed clothes he found beside his bed. Then they went in search of something to eat, Thomas discovering that he was ravenously hungry.

     He discovered that they were in the University's infirmary. The same place they'd found themselves after their disastrous and nearly fatal teleportation from Haven when they'd brought their son to be enrolled as an apprentice wizard. Thomas found himself contemplating all the things that had happened since then, how his knowledge of the universe and Tharian history had expanded, and he shook his head in amazement. How could all that have happened in such a short time? It seemed more like a whole lifetime ago!

     They found a cleric of Caroli in the chapel, kneeling in prayer before the altar, and they joined him there, thanking the Lady of Healing for their restored health and for all the help Her followers had given them during all their recent trials and adventures. They then thanked the cleric personally, who gave both wizards a final check over to make sure they really were fully recovered. He made Thomas strip to the waist so he could examine his side where the Firegore spell had hit him, then made Lirenna pull up her jacket and shirt so he could examine her stomach where she'd been stabbed.

     "Good," he said at last, satisfied. "I hereby pronounce you both fully healed. You might want to lead a slightly less exciting life from now on, though."

     "We intend to," replied Thomas as they left.

     Their next stop was the dining hall, where they discovered that it was mid morning and that most of the apprentices were in their classes, leaving most of the tables empty. They chose a table well away from the doors and the counter, where they wouldn't be disturbed by people coming and going, wanting to be able to talk in private. One of the serving girls, a pretty thing with sandy hair and a freckled face, took their orders and dashed off to pass them on to the cook.

     When she returned a few minutes later, Thomas looked at her fingers, looking for the stains left from potions and spell ingredients that would tell him that she was an apprentice wizard. Working to earn some starting out money for when she graduated and had to buy her own equipment and supplies. Her hands were pink and clean, though, and he decided instead that she was the daughter of one of the valley's contract workers, come with her father to avoid breaking up the family during the years he'd be there. The village of the mundanes, in the centre of the valley, was full of such families. Husbands, wives and children staying for between three and ten years. Often, the house was left standing empty after they'd left until another family moved in, but there were also several families who decided to stay permanently and it was possible that the serving girl had been born in the valley.

     It occurred to him that there might be people living in the village of the mundanes who never left the valley. People who were born there, lived their whole lives there and died there, never seeing the outside world. Much as the inhabitants of Haven did, although Lexandria was a much smaller valley in which to be cooped up. He almost stopped the girl to ask about her background, but she'd already scurried off to another table to clear away the half eaten food another wizard had left there.

     He put her out of his mind, remembering his hunger, and attacked his meal with vigour, and it wasn't until they'd satisfied their appetites and were sitting back in their chairs to ease their full stomachs that they spoke to each other again. Thomas thought again of everything that had happened to them over the past few days, and as he did so one memory in particular rose to torment him. Something he hadn't remembered until that moment, or maybe something he hadn't wanted to remember. Something that had the power to destroy them utterly.