Yes, life as one of Olostin's raiders was veryfulfilling for someone like Cy. He had the freedom to do what he wanted, solong as it didn't directly contradict the orders he had been given, and he hadthe camaraderie of the other raiders. He had riches and wine, and from time totime he even had the affections of a lady or two. All in all, life was good.
"You're quite fast, Cy," complimented Lume.
Cy had woken just before midday, and after he haddunked his head in a rain barrel and re-bandaged his wounds from the fight thenight before, he went to see his captain.
"Thank you, sir."
Cy didn't have a military background, but he believedin giving respect to his elders. Lume was the captain of the raiding party andat least ten years older than Cy, so he figured the man deserved the title of" sir."
"Sit down, please." Lume pointed to a simplechair in the corner of his tent.
Cy nodded and did as he was told.
For a tent, Lume's place was comfortable and wellappointed. A hammock stretched from a pole holding up the center of the roof inthe middle of the tent to another support forming the corner. A desk sat in theopposite corner with a chair behind it and a large chest beside. Papers werestacked in neat piles on the desk, and a large water pipe sat near them. It waslit, and Lume took a few puffs on it while Cy got comfortable.
The captain leaned forward in his chair, bracing himselfagainst the desk.
"How long have you been with this raiding party,Cy?"
"About a year now, sir."
"Is that all?" he asked.
Cy nodded.
"You know, I hate to admit it, but I've beenworking for Olostin for fifteen years. I've been leading raiding parties foralmost five years now." He leaned back in his chair. "I'm afraid Ilose track of all of the young men whom I've seen come and go. I would havethought you'd been with this group longer, but I guess I'm just rememberingsomeone else."
Lume looked at the palm of his hand for a moment.
Cy shifted in his chair.
"Cy, I make no apologies for the mistakes ofother men. If a man in my party gets himself killed, then it's his ownfault."
He looked the younger man up and down then stared himright in the eyes. Cy held his gaze for a moment, then let if fall.
"If I can't remember how long you've been withthis group it's only because I've seen hundreds of others just like you getkilled. To tell the honest truth, I can't even remember any of their names. Tome, they could have all been named Cy."
Lume chuckled at this. Cy did not.
The captain became serious and once again looked Cyover.
"I'll come to the point, Cy. I have a job foryou."
"Sir," he said, not sure what else he couldsay.
"You're as good with that dagger as I've seen ina long while, and you managed to keep yourself alive last night. I'mhoping," continued Lume, "that you'll manage to get yourself out ofthis little project alive as well. Tell me, what do you know about ourillustrious leader Olostin?"
"Sir, I know he fights to stop the tyranny of thearchwizards, sir."
"That's a good practiced answer if I've everheard one."
Cy was startled and began to stand to defend himself.
Lume raised his hand and started to laugh. "It'sall right, son," he said. "You've got the basic idea."
Cy settled back down into the chair. He felt as if hehad been scolded by his father.
"Do you want to stop the. . tyranny of thearchwizards?" asked Lume.
Cy just looked at the captain, wondering where all ofthis was leading. For a man who said he was going to get to the point, he surehad a round about way of getting there, Cy thought, and all of this questioningof his loyalty and teasing about his age was starting to make him angry.
"Well, Cy?" The captain raised his voice."Do you believe in what we're fighting for?"
"Yes, sir, I do."
Cy gritted his teeth. He didn't think his performancethe previous evening had been as spectacular as the captain seemed to believe,but as Lume himself had said, he was still alive. Surely he didn't deserve areprimand for killing a skilled fighter in the middle of a raid. This meetinghad started so well, and now it seemed as if the captain was accusing him ofbeing a spy or something.
"Well, then, son," Lume said, his voicecalm, "I need you to assassinate the archwizard Shadow."
The journey to the floating city had taken Cy two dayson griffonback. The archwizard Shadow lived in Karsus, a city unlike any Cy hadever seen before. It floated, for one thing, but that was the least of theoddities this bustling town had in store.
The streets were lined with small gutters of runningwater. Brooms moved purposefully along on their own, sweeping dust and debrisinto the moving water as they went. Bridges lifted streets up over widerrivers, and passersby walked not only on top of the curved stone structures,but on the underside as well. Wizards, carefully carrying parcels of food orarmloads of books passed each other and waved as they casually walked upsidedown. In a city park, four elderly, robed mages rotated freely through the air,their attention focused on a globe the size of a maidensthigh melon thatfloated between them. Each took turns moving intricately carved gems across theglobe and laughing as the result of their moves changed the pitch, angle, orspeed of rotation of one of the other wizards playing the game.
It seemed everyone in Karsus used magic, for everythingthey did defied what little Cy knew about the world and how it was supposed towork. Children played games on the sides of buildings instead of on the groundor in a park. Water flowed uphill, and in some places through thin air. Thestrange canals that lined the streets didn't start or end anywhere, they justsimply continued to flush fresh, clean water through the entire city. Peoplewalked adolescent pet dragons through the busy city streets, waving and smilingas they went. Groups of wizards appeared-as if from nowhere-in mid-conversation,apparently unaware that their surroundings had changed. Bags and boxes floatedthrough the air, suspended by nothing, but bound intently for some destinationor another.
Cy tried not to gawk as he made his way through thecity. Across one bridge and down several blocks, he found a tall, narrowbuilding with dozens of doors stacked one on top of the other all the way upthe building's entire facade. A carved wooden sign on street level read: "The Charlesgate Inn," and robed mages floated casually out of thedoors on the higher levels, turning around, suspended in midair, to lock thedoors behind them.
Cy entered the bottom floor of the inn and rented aroom for a few days. He wanted to learn as much about his target as he couldbefore he had to face the man.
Hopefully, Cy thought, Shadow will be so engrossed inhis research that he won't see me coming.
It was the young assassin's only hope. In open combat,Cy may have been able to defeat that skilled fighter in Kath, but an archwizardwas an entirely different story. If he didn't get a quick, clean, surprisekill, he'd be done for. As he settled into his room, he realized he'd get onlyone chance at this assassination. He intended to make the most of that chance.
Before Cy had left for Karsus, Lume had opened theraiding party's store of materials and weapons to allow Cy his pick ofequipment. They had racks and racks of swords, armor, and bows, and even somethings Cy had never seen used before. The job he had been tasked with would bedifficult for sure, but extra gear wasn't going to make it any easier. In theend. He simply took with him a small crossbow, some magical leather armor, andhis own enchanted dagger. Better to travel light, he decided.