“I suspect that the Gray Lord is being assisted by the Unbeliever,” said Tenebrous and chose his words with slow care.
Whitebone looked up sharply, “That is a matter more for your mistress than for you or me. I have no delusions about my own divinity and if Shinamar is able to disperse the power of the gods then so much the better for me.”
Tenebrous bowed as best a shadow might and offered one final piece of advice, “Shinamar, while not directly opposed to your interests is most powerful even in his current reduced condition. When he fled the vanished Das’von he took the magical tomes of Elucidor the Omnipotent, his former master. If he is aiding the Gray Lord and participated in the decision to send Jon Gray to Elakargul then this might be something of a concern for you.”
“It is not your business to tell me what is my concern and what is not my concern,” said Whitebone and stood, as the glare deep in his eye sockets glowed a deeper shade of red. “You have reported to me what you know. Now, get out of my site before I disperse you.”
Tenebrous’s shadowy form oozed out of the room and in a few moments Lord Whitebone sat by himself at his smallish stone desk. “Shinamar indeed… Jon Gray,” he said aloud and then threw back his head in laughter.
Chapter 6
Jon Gray sat in the small kitchen of the home of Sorus Brewer, sipped hot tea from a mug, and stared out the window at a small yellow bird that hopped along the ground and pecked at something with great vigor. “I wish I had something to do,” he said aloud just as a tall woman with long blonde hair emerged from another room and slipped on a light woolen jacket.
“I’d keep you quite busy again and again but I’ve got to get back to work or mother will have my hide,” she said with a smile and leaned down to give the boy a lingering kiss.
“You people are the most energetic bunch I’ve ever seen,” said Jon reaching around to grab the healthy young woman by the rear. She was taller than most girls, with a healthy tanned complexion that mixed well with her blonde hair.
“Weren’t you just complaining about being bored,” said the young woman and swatted away his hand. “Why don’t you go find Germanius, I’m sure he’ll have some scheme or another to get you killed.”
“That old kook,” said Jon with a laugh and tried to grab the girl around the waist but she proved too nimble, dodging away at the last moment and grabbing a biscuit from the pan on the stove as she turned to give him a wink and dashed out of the cottage.
“He’s not a kook,” shouted Titia her voice carried through the open window. “He’s just an old knight who wants to die in battle rather than in bed.”
There was silence for a moment and then her head popped into the window, “I’m serious, Jon. He’s a great hero from years ago. You could learn a lot from him. Go see him.”
“Fine, fine,” said Jon with a yawn and reached a hand out towards the biscuit pan on the stove but it was slightly out of his reach. He looked around the kitchen and spotted a broom. Using the chair opposite him he kicked it towards the broom which fell on the floor with a clatter. Then he grabbed another chair and used it to slowly scoot the broom towards him until it was within his reach. Then he used the broom as an extension of his arm, wacked at the pan on the stove, and sent it to the floor with a huge clatter. Finally, he dragged the pan, which fortuitously landed upright, towards him where he picked out one of the biscuits.
“What was that,” came Sorus Brewer’s voice from outside, and the boy opened the door and leaned inside.
“A pan fell,” said Jon and munched on the biscuit.
Sorus shook his head and stared at Jon for a long moment, “Why don’t you find something to do?” he finally asked.
“I’m waiting for the First Rider to come into town,” said Jon. “Odellius said that was the best thing and Sir Thorius won’t send out messengers looking for him because he thinks I’m a fraud. Half the town believes it now.”
“If you would get up off your butt and do something heroic people might think you were someone important,” said Sorus with steady eyes and an ever so slight shake of his head. “I mean, all you do all day is eat and drink and you don’t contribute anything. That’s not the way it works in Elekargul.”
“It’s the way it works in Tanelorn,” said Jon with a smile. “But, you’re right. My father always says I have a tendency towards sloth and my sister, well, you don’t want to know what she says about me.”
“So,” said Sorus and spread his arms. “Come with me to the Smooth Stride and you can learn about the brewing business.
“Yawn,” said Jon.
“Then go by the mason’s and learn about rock cutting. You seem to admire Odellius enough, I’m sure he’d be willing to give you something to do if only haul stones up from the quarry,” said Sorus. “Really, Jon, all you do is spend time with Titia and she was betrothed to Jatius before you showed up. That hasn’t helped your reputation in town either.”
Jon shrugged, “How is it my fault if she likes me better than him. Besides, I haven’t tried to pull anything with Shia so why are you complaining?”
Sorus suddenly blushed and shut his mouth tightly. “Fine, Jon. You just keep doing nothing and see if that gets you any closer to the First Rider. What would that father of yours, that you’re always talking about, say?”
Jon stopped the movement of his jaws for a moment and looked at Sorus, “Hey, it was a long trip here and not many men could have done it and survived,” he said. “I deserve a little break.”
“You’ve been saying that for near on a month now Jon,” said Sorus. “Maybe the First Rider isn’t here because he wants to see if you really are someone to talk to.”
Jon gave off a long sigh, looked at the pan of biscuits with a bit of a forlorn cast to his eyes, and then stood up with a great yawn. “Maybe I’ll go talk to that crazy old coot that’s trying to get himself killed. There might be something interesting there.”
“Sir Germanius isn’t an old coot,” said Sorus. “He’s a highly decorated knight of the realm but he’s gotten old and hasn’t managed to get himself killed in battle yet. It’s a stain on his reputation. The older he gets the more he wants to go out in a blaze of glory.”
“I’ll never really understand you people,” said Jon. “He should be laying back and enjoying retirement supported by all the people he’s helped over the years.”
“That’s not the way it is here in Elekargul Jon,” said Sorus. “But, you’ve been told that many times so I don’t see the point in repeating a lesson that won’t be learned. You should talk to him; see if you can find something to do with him. He’s a good old egg if you’d give him a chance.”
Jon stood up and grabbed a leather jerkin casually tossed over the back of a chair and noted a large yellow stain prominent on the front. He tried to brush this off, and managed to remove some of the crusty material, but what was left behind wasn’t any more appealing. Finally he gave up the attempt and threw the thing over his shoulder and left the house. He was pretty familiar with the town by now and walked directly to the tanner where Germanius lived and worked.
In the back yard four or five boys busied themselves with various tasks while the real operator of the shop, Titus Tanner, barked out orders and kept the young apprentices in line. He was a short man with some child of dragon blood in his veins as his neck had a few scaly spots as did his arms. “Hey Titus,” said Jon with a wave and several of the young boys looked at Jon their eyes alight with excitement. “Have you seen Germanius?”
Titus pointed with his head towards the grizzled old veteran whose gray hair was just visible from around the side of a shed. Jon ambled over in that direction and found the old man as he hobbled along with the help of a cane and tried to drag a deer hide to the back of the yard. “Let me grab that,” said Jon and took the thing easily in one hand and threw it over his shoulder. “Here, put your arm around me and I’ll get you back to your chair,” said Jon to Germanius.