22 The Hill (2/2)
”Yes.” She sighed. ”When we get time.”
”There's a lot to discover. There are forests where spirits congregate in the Duchies, a crystal palace that has no entry somewhere deep within the Isles. The fractured lands still carry the taint of demonic corruption and the Avarian Council has set up dozens of beacon towers to aid in purification.”
”You've been there before?” She raised an eyebrow, bringing her horse closer in excitement.
”I saw some spirits in the Duchies.” Actually he did more than just see but that was still a secret from people. Nikolai rubbed the Primer Stone he carried around with him. It would be a few months still for the contract to come into force. ”The rest I've heard about. My Master wanted to go the Council lands at least once but he was forced to return home instead.”
”Your Master? I haven't heard about him before.”
”Master Etenani was a truly strange man.” Nikolai smiled at the memory of the absent minded old Mage. ”Knowledgeable, erudite and almost perfect. Except for his drinking. The man refused to take water as long as alcohol was around. Got him into all sorts of trouble.”
”He sounds like a great man.”
Nikolai shook his head and laughed.
”Not great at all. A pain in my neck, constantly on the hunt for new liquors.” Remembering the old man, Nikolai dug inside his cloak to find a small piece of cut glass, passing it to Elya. ”This is a Finding Stone. A basic magic that you can attune to let you know if something is around. Unfortunately you can only attune it to simple substances, like water, salt, sand and things like that. It glows brighter the closer you are to it.”
Elya glanced at the gem and raised it but there was no light inside.
”This one is my Master's. And it's attuned to alcohol. He used that Stone to dig through most of the Empire and half of the North for ancient wines and things.”
”How could you tell it's ancient?” Elya observed the Finding Stone curiously, trying to catch a hint of its abilities.
”Because we dug through ruins and tombs to find them. That's why we were in the Duchies. They're the best place to find ruins of the Reclamation.” He paused. That wasn't actually true. ”Well, unspoiled ruins anyway.”
”So you went through the trouble of digging through magical ruins just for some alcohol?” Elya rubbed her face, thumb glancing across the scar.
”It was what he wanted to do. It's hard to make a Mage follow rules, especially the older, powerful ones. But I got through it and learned how to handle myself in a fight. In a way, it's what prepared me for life in the army.” He shuddered at the memories of dangerous traps and undead horrors that stalked the corridors and passages from the Reclamation. Shades were equivalent to cats in front of those beings.
”It was bad?”
”Sometimes. But there were some rewards. Remind me to show you my collection. Outside of the Imperial Council of Mages, I may have the greatest collection of relics from that age.” He was very proud of what he'd found and he made it a point to show the collection off amongst his peers. He'd enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing those arrogant old men salivate in envy at the sight of some of the unique pieces.
”I'm not sure I should.” She'd backed away, observing him with a strange expression.
”Why not?”
”You had the most disgusting leer I've ever seen.”
”No no no!” Nikolai put on a stern grimace, trying to straighten his face. ”I was thinking about some people who I got even with.”
Elya snickered and continued to tease him until they reached fifth hill.