“I should,” the young fisherman declared, “I make my living upon them. What’s it to ya?”
“I wish to rent your services for the day,” smiled the wizard.
“Ya do, do ya?” grinned the young fisherman expecting to barter a fair amount of coin for forgoing his daily chore. “Why would an old man want to go to sea?”
“I am dying,” stated Temiker, “and I wish to return home to die. I need a good sailor to get me there. ”
“You have a beautiful horse that can get ya there,” retorted the sailor. “She certainly looks strong enough to go a long ways.”
“She is at that,” smiled Temiker. “A pity that I will have to leave her behind though. Do you think you can care for a horse as fine as this one?”
The fisherman’s eyes widened as he took in the meaning of the old man’s words. The fisherman might be able to save enough to buy an old plow horse for a cart, but he would never own a good riding mare.
“I will pay you coin for the journey,” sweetened Temiker, “and leave the horse with you. I have no need for gold or horses where I am going.”
As Temiker expected, the young fisherman was beside himself with his good fortune. The other fishermen were babbling amongst themselves and the wizard listened to their remarks. Some felt as the young fisherman did, while others scoffed at the idea of a fisherman owning any kind of horse. There were a few older fishermen who voiced concern of a trick, but the younger fisherman had taken the bait and was ready to be reeled in.
“Just what do I have to do to earn this gold?” the young fisherman asked.
“Do you know of the island off the coast that is shaped like a butterfly and has two hills rising from it, one at each end?” Temiker asked.
“I do,” replied the young fisherman while pawing his chin. “That is a fair ways out from here. Not many fishermen are willing to go out that far. Some say the Motanga hunt out there. Your gold and horse will do a dead man no good.”
The Motanga were a reported civilization of intelligent ape people who supposedly lived on a very large island far to the East. Temiker believed the fairy tale was kept alive by sailors who lost their way at sea and were too embarrassed to admit it, so they made up stories about monster apes to turn the attention away from themselves. Still, that explanation would not suffice for a young fisherman.
“That is ridiculous,” offered Temiker. “I was born and raised on that island and have only been here for about five years. My family lives still on the island and we have never seen any Motanga. If you do not wish to sell me your services, merely say so. Please do not invent children’s stories to turn me away.”
The fisherman’s face reddened and Temiker could not tell whether he was angry or embarrassed. The wizard made like he was going to turn to leave the conversation and approach another fisherman when he felt the strong fingers of the young fisherman touch his arm lightly.
“I will take you,” the young fisherman declared. “I am not afraid of the Motanga or anything else that sails the seas. My name is Gerock and I will be ready to go as soon as I remove my fishing gear from the boat and get another lunch ready.”
Gerock started to empty his boat and the other fishermen returned to their chores, the excitement over. Temiker followed the young fisherman with the horse and when he found out which shack Gerock lived in, he tethered the horse out back of it. The wizard returned to the beach and watched the other fisherman set sail for the open water. Within a few moments, Gerock was ready to depart and Temiker boarded the small vessel. The fishing boat was a workboat and as such had no comforts at all. Temiker sat on an overturned bucket and smiled as he realized it had everything he required right now, a way to move over water.
The wizard watched the great ball of fire slowly rising over the sea as the new day dawned. The other fishing boats were scattering in every direction, seeking out their own secret spots to harvest the best catch of the day. Some went north and some south. Some stayed fairly close to shore and some went further out to sea. Gerock steered past them all and four hours later, none of them were visible.
“Gerock,” opened Temiker, “you said you knew these waters well. Do you know precisely where we are now that we cannot see land anymore?”
“Actually,” replied Gerock, “We can still see land. See that point on the horizon?”
Temiker followed the line of sight indicated by the fisherman’s finger and saw a tiny speck sticking up on the horizon.
“That is the spire of the Sun God in Alamar,” explained Gerock. “It is the tallest point around and I use it whenever I go far offshore. To answer your question, yes, I know where we are.”
“Are you familiar with a cove north of Alamar,” asked Temiker. “The cove that has a waterfall cascading into it?”
The young fisherman looked at the wizard skeptically. “I have been there but once,” Gerock replied. “I was a small boy and went with my father. I had a wonderful time diving off the rocks alongside the waterfall. Why do you ask me this?”
“That is where I would like to go,” Temiker smiled. “Will you take me there instead?”
Gerock stared at the old man. “I knew there was something strange about you,” he declared. “What game are you playing at? I have never heard of anyone living on the butterfly island and you do not look as though you are dying. I will have no mystery out of you, old man. I can leave you out here for the sea to claim and no one will be the wiser, so you had better start being truthful.”
“The truth it shall be then,” agreed Temiker. “I told you the story about the island so that none of the other villagers would know where we are going. I am indeed at risk of dying, but only if I do not get away. I have a rather large band of men hunting for me. I do not know who they are or why they want me, but I have barely escaped from them twice this morning. I did my best to cover my tracks to your village, but they may end up going there when they can find no tracks at all. If they do, they will find the horse I borrowed from them.”
“You stole their horse and tied it in my yard,” shouted Gerock. “And you say you do not know why they want you? Are you crazy old man?”
“Let me finish,” Temiker demanded. “You are protected from their wrath. That is why I approached you in front of the entire village. The worst they can do is take the horse back and I plan on paying you enough gold that you will not care. I will pay you enough to cover your earnings for a fortnight. You need not return to the village for days by which time they will have moved on whether they ever found your village or not. If they do get to your village they will know where I have gone, to the butterfly island. If they do not get to your village then you have gained the horse as a bonus. Either way you profit very well and your risk is limited to sea monsters.”
“Okay,” Gerock sighed as he calmed down, “but that does not explain what you did to have them after you. I do not like helping criminals even for good pay.”
“I am not a criminal,” the wizard stated. “I am a teacher, a teacher of magic. Last night I noticed many armed men gathering around my home and barely managed to escape before they broke in. I tried to flee the city only to find that they had men at all of the gates. The Imperial Guard did not know these men and have no quarrel with me. I could have gone to the Guard for help, but I fear the invaders would have killed them and I did not want that on my conscience. I have broken no laws except stealing a horse of one of the invaders and I know he will not report it because they do not want the Imperial Guard involved. I am as curious as you are to find out why they are after me, but I do not wish to die to find out.”
The young fisherman sat staring out to sea for a long time, digesting the wizard’s story. Finally he asked, “What is your name?”
“I am Temiker,” the wizard replied. “I am the founder of the magic school in Alamar.”