To Challenge A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) Read online

  “I’ll do my best,” Daniel replied, and shook hands with the general.

  Tallen and his men were offered refreshments and led away to a guest facility by a small group of Talenteds. Non-Aakacarns, commoners, were apparently not permitted to wander freely about the city or mingle with the Aakacarns, unless in the due course of business. Tourists were not allowed. Only Accomplisheds could come and go without permission or having to state their purpose, Daniel remembered Samuel telling him about that between Tannakonna and the place they camped.

  Jason looked Daniel up and down and then frowned while shaking his head. “The first thing is for us to get you some proper clothing. Buckskins will never do. You must dress to fit your station.” he stated.

  Daniel looked down at his clothes and then looked at Tim. They did seem out of place, more so than during the journey with Tallen and his soldiers. Having to wear white silks for a while seemed to be a small price to pay to be rid of Tarin Conn. Daniel almost laughed. If he were to dress according to station, he would be putting on the red on black silks and have six golden lightning bolts on his shoulders. No one had mentioned his rank so Terroll must not have told them. Daniel decided to follow his former teacher’s advice and continue to keep his level of potential a secret.

  “You have much to learn about the proper behavior of a Talented,” Jason said, and his frown deepened. No doubt he was waiting for the correct response.

  This is not going to be easy, Daniel thought, and then bowed, but not quite so low as the three Talenteds had. “Yes, Accomplished,” he said, while biting his tongue to keep from saying the rest of what he thought of Aakadon and the egotistical Accomplisheds running it.

  Chapter Four: Settling In

  The horses were led away by a group of young Talenteds, probably first level. Daniel noticed older groups of Talenteds, ranging from sixteen to perhaps twenty one, possibly level three and level four mixed together, staring and pointing at the new comers. Most everyone since arriving addressed Terroll as Maestro. Evidently, the return of his repertoire propelled him to a higher status in Aakadon.

  “Maestro, have you been told of my problem?” Daniel asked, hoping his former teacher’s new status, leader of a guild, gave him access to greater knowledge.

  The pleasant smile vanished and Terroll took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His reaction answered the question before his mouth opened. More, it told the problem was beyond his ability to solve; or else he would not appear so solemn. “No doubt you are referring to the connection between yourself and the Dark Maestro. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to rid you of him, though I wish you had told me of this when we first met,” he replied.

  Daniel stopped; the abruptness caught everyone off guard. Tim bumped into him from behind and the rest walked on several paces before turning to see what the matter was. Terroll came to a stop as well. The news was bad; this trip would be all for nothing if no one could break the link. Besides, how was he supposed to have told something before it happened?

  “Terroll, there must be a way to break the link,” Daniel insisted.

  Jason’s left eyebrow arched up angrily, registering his disapproval. Let him. This was important and ego stroking could wait, though the Instructor did not appear to think so. “You are speaking to the Maestro of the Zephyr Guild and you will address him respectfully as such.”

  Daniel ignored Jason and fixed his stare on the Maestro. Terroll’s reply had a direct impact on how long this stay in Aakadon would be.

  The four-bolt Accomplished licked his lips; he and Tim knew what an angry six-bolt could do. “Grand Maestro Efferin Tames knows how to break the link.”

  The light of hope shined forth, the journey had not been in vain, and Daniel wanted to go immediately to the leader of Aakadon. He opened his mouth to ask where to find Efferin.

  “He is a busy man,” Terroll continued, as if anticipating the question. “The Grand Maestro has graciously agreed to accept your petition for an audience. At that time you may state your business.”

  The procedure was too complicated. Why couldn’t the man grant the favor and be done with it? Daniel shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. Unnecessary complications were unbelievably frustrating for a man short on sleep, but Daniel did his best to maintain self-control. “Maestro, does the Grand Maestro know about my link to Tarin Conn?” he said while trying to keep a civil tongue in his mouth, and not offend the Instructor any further than he already had. Shouting at people rarely put them in a mood to grant favors.

  Jason nodded his approval, glanced at his three pupils, and then returned his attention to the conversation. Daniel was beginning to feel like a fox trapped in the middle of a wolf pack.

  “Your escorts have been sending reports twice a day, more often since the yetis attacked in the Battle of Bashierwood, and yes, the Grand Maestro is totally aware of what you have done and your situation,” Terroll informed evenly, showing no signs of being offended by the way he had been addressed.

  Daniel turned to Sherree. To think, he was actually beginning to like her. She avoided eye contact now. It was clear she could no longer be trusted, neither could Samuel nor Jerremy. Tim was the only person who was still trustworthy, thank goodness he came along. A city of traitors is a lonely place to be. Daniel would have to be on guard at all times, always assume that whatever he said or did would be reported directly to the Instructor and forwarded to the Maestros. He shook his head again, squashing the bitterness rising in his soul. Let it go, work with what you have, he told himself. “I see. Since my friends here have shared everything they know about me, is there any reason I can’t petition for the favor today?” he said out loud.

  Samuel stared as if he did not realize his duplicity. Jerremy understood well enough, refusing to look away, as if to say, he had done his duty and was not ashamed. Why should he be? Why should any of them be ashamed? The fact is none of them had claimed to be Daniel’s friend. What a fool. He had never trusted Aakacarns before, why had he started now? It was the lack of sleep, clouding his judgment, making him make mistakes. He glanced again at Tim. The drummer had not fallen prey to such a foolish notion, mistaking anyone from Aakadon of being a friend.

  “You are one Potential, not even officially a Talented until you are registered, seeking a favor among many,” Jason told him. “A great number of important people seek audiences with the Grand Maestro, Accomplisheds, royalty, emissaries from all over the world; each of them feels their need is the greatest. You will simply have to wait your turn.”

  “Instructor, please forgive him. He is not yet familiar with our customs,” Sherree injected into the conversation. She was a complicated woman, a compassionate spy, and not a friend, but not a foe. “Where he comes from people help each other immediately whenever they have a problem,” she added. Here Daniel thought she had stopped caring about him the moment his foot hit the dock. She had the right of it about mountain folk helping each other, although he failed to see why he needed forgiveness for having that nature.

  Jason glanced at his star pupil and his face softened a bit, not much, but some. He obviously held her in high regard. “I shall take your point into consideration,” he told her and then picked up where he left off. “Young man, you are not on Tannakonna any longer. This is Aakadon, the cultural center of the world. Following our rules is the best way to gain favor in this society, and to avoid unpleasantness. As an Aakacarn you are owed an education and nothing else. The fellow beside you has no business being here and I am all for sending him right back on that boat,” he explained while pointing to the Jennaeva.

  Daniel opened his mouth to protest.

  “Tim can stay,” Terroll said with unquestioned authority. His eyes focused on the drummer. “He has experience cleaning tables and floors. Let him work for room and board until he is ready to leave. Otherwise, Bashierwood is ninety-seven spans to the north, have a pleasant journey.”

  “I didn’t come expecting a handout,” Tim replied without hesita
tion. “Work is work. Show me to it and I’ll do it.”

  He was probably glad his staying had not come to begging as Jerremy suggested along the way. Daniel was grateful and mouthed the words, “Thank you Maestro,”

  Terroll acknowledged the gratitude with a quick nod and then smiled at Tim. “Good. I am glad you decided to stay. Now, I have guild business elsewhere. Jason, get Daniel settled in the dormitory. Tomorrow I want him to have a full schedule of classes. Do not look at me like that young man, you might as well be gaining knowledge while waiting for your audience with the Grand Maestro; think of it as a gratuity.”

  Daniel reluctantly nodded agreement, though seriously disliked the idea at first. After some thought he decided gaining knowledge was not such a bad thing. He might learn something useful. If Terroll had not taught him the original one hundred forty spells, everyone on Tannakonna would have been killed. Learning how to focus potential had been the most important lesson of all.

  The Maestro of the Zephyr Guild crossed the street and entered a topaz building that had to be at least several thousand paces wide and reached up into the clouds. A pearly white oval with a golden five-pronged plant, the symbol of the Aloe Guild, in its center, hung over a grand entrance. Terroll must be looking for a specialized healing for himself or someone else.

  Aakacarns representing every guild moved about the streets, as did Talenteds, who bowed deeply to the Accomplisheds. Everyone dressed alike, Accomplisheds in their red on black silks, and Talenteds in their whites, conformity was the rule. The only differences were, the number of golden lighting bolts, gender, size, and shape, otherwise there were no variations. The Royal Cavalry had uniforms, such was the norm for armies, but an entire city whose population dressed the same seemed out right strange.

  Jason led the way to the dormitory, a white building larger than the village of Bashierwood, consisting of ten floors above ground, and two beneath. Males occupied the odd numbered floors while females lived on the even. All Aakacarns are equal, but it seemed some among the Talenteds would violate the code of celibacy if given the chance. The Instructors worked to ensure such chances did not arise. The Instructor told of some particularly unpleasant disciplinary spells used against would be violators, not that Daniel had any intention of inviting anyone into his cabin. Especially since the dwelling now belonged to Tim and, in the near future, Gina. Jason needlessly emphasized the code of celibacy several more times while leading the way up the winding staircase. Sherree parted company on the eighth floor, Tim was sent to the basement.

  The ninth floor rooms were huge and white like the rest of the building Daniel had seen thus far. He once thought the Polkat Inn was the biggest building in the world; it was dwarfed by the smallest building in Aakadon, which also happened to be the dormitory.

  “This is your new home for awhile,” Jason said, spreading his arms expansively.

  Make it a short while, Daniel thought, and never would he consider this place home. The room contained fifty identical beds with an equal number of night tables and oil lamps. On the wall near the door was a flat round disk with twenty-four numbered marks and a silver rod in the center pointing half way between the eighteenth and nineteenth marks. Daniel wondered what it was. Jason noticed where he was looking.

  “That is a chrono disk. It measures time and is set by the Grand Maestro, as are all the time monitoring devices in Aakadon. You will be referring to it a great deal during your time with us,” Jason explained.

  Samuel and Jerremy went over to the two beds closest to the door and stood as if waiting for instructions. Daniel wondered if their placement had to do with class ranking.

  “I have assigned bed number one to Jerremy and bed number three to Samuel. Daniel, I have assigned you bed number two. It is my thinking you will be more comfortable being near people you are familiar with,” Jason said, magnanimously.

  “Thank you, Instructor,” Daniel replied, though it did not really matter to him who he slept beside, none of the Talenteds could be trusted; he would never make that mistake again.

  “I have been told you were taught the twenty spells from each guild,” Jason said, trying without success to contain his excitement, his eyes widened and he popped up on his heals twice.

  “Yes, Instructor, Maestro Terroll Barnes taught me,” Daniel replied, remembering to use the correct response.

  Jason seemed pleased by the manner in which the reply had been given, showing it with a quick nod of the head. “Your skills must be tested so I can properly determine what level to start you at in the morning,” he said, and then became very serious. “You should feel honored. Rare is the Potential who receives training from a Maestro.”

  “I am truly grateful for the training I received,” Daniel replied in all sincerity, many lives were saved because of that training. “I don’t believe anyone in Bashierwood or I, myself, would have survived if not for his teaching.”

  Jason nodded again and smiled. “Good. High praise is appropriate. Now, learn to show your appreciation for his teachings through respectful greetings,” the Instructor said, and paused, his eyebrows drawing down in warning. “The Maestro has told the Grand Maestro of your quick mind and artful playing of the guitarn, do not embarrass him.”

  “Daniel plays his instrument well,” the Serinian stated, matter-of-factly.

  “Ah, you must be good in deed to impress young Jerremy so,” Jason said, evidently such praise was a rarity.

  Daniel thought of pleasant evenings at home with his parents and the music that filled their lives. “I was taught by a master of the strings,” he said, proudly.

  “His mother,” Samuel added, evidently feeling the need to elaborate.

  Jason reacted not at all, but then had never heard Miriam Benhannon perform. She was the best in the world, even if the world did not know it.

  “Instructor, you may test me now if you like,” Daniel suggested, both to change the direction of the conversation, and to get on with the task at hand; he needed no time to prepare.

  Jason pointed at the oil lamp on the table beside the closest bed, which belonged to Jerremy, and said, “Light it.”

  Daniel thought of, Spark the Flame, and summoned the potential. His blue aura appeared, a thin beam of light shot from his pointer finger, and fire burst into existence and burned brightly within the glass lamp.

  “Very good,” Jason said, as if a great conjuration had been done in his presence. He paused, apparently trying to think of a more challenging test, any second level Talented should be able to light a lamp. He smiled and nodded affirmatively after reaching a decision of some kind. “I dropped an amulet on my way up here, tell me where it is?”

  Daniel couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, “What does it look like?” he asked, keeping his tone of voice even to hide how he felt; having thought the test would require more than a slight effort on his part.

  “A sapphire in a gold setting,” Jason replied after a slight hesitation, as if he expected a different question.

  Daniel cast his Find spell and scanned the entire building. One amulet was on the eighth floor, another was at the bottom of the stairs, and two were in the room with him. He cast, Cushion of Air, on the amulet in the stairwell and guided it up to the ninth floor.

  “Well,” Jason prodded, “You have cast two spells, have you found it yet?”

  Jerremy’s mouth dropped open like a hinge gone loose, as did Samuel’s; both staring at the doorway as if they had never seen one before.

  “Yes, it is right here,” Daniel replied, while the amulet floated over the Instructor’s head and landed in Daniel’s hand. He gave the requested item to the Aakacarn, whose mouth dropped open, then added, “I found three others. Jerremy and Samuel each have one and the other is on the eighth floor, probably with Sherree.”

  Several long moments passed before Jason finally blinked his eyes and said, “I thought you would ask to hold an amulet first and was going to have Samuel give you the one in his possession. At that po
int I supposed you would focus a weak scan along our route through the dormitory. I know several full Accomplisheds who cannot locate an object they have never seen, let alone be capable of levitating the item from a place beyond their vision. In deed, the Maestro taught you well.”

  Daniel inwardly chastised himself. Terroll Barnes had only taught him the basic Find spell. Now a plausible explanation would be required to avoid any talk leading to rank. “I’ve handled gold before and Lydia Polkat has a sapphire ring she let me examine once. I just scanned for any object made from those materials. There is quite a bit of gold in this building by the way.”

  Jason’s eyes widened. He seemed to be even more impressed than before; worse, the explanation seemed to fill him with more questions. “Yes, but this means you scanned for two elements at once and then cast a levitation spell. You had to guide this amulet up the stairs, through the hall, and around several corners to get it here. How did you do that?”

  Being forced to come up with explanations was proving to be the more difficult test. It would help if he knew the limitations of Aakacarns of lesser potential, spells simple to him seem to be extraordinary to them. It is not as if he had thrown jets of fire or teleported, not that he had any desire to do either of those. Daniel struggled to come up with a plausible answer. He began slowly, speaking as the words came to him. “I have a good memory. We came by the same route, so I remember each step we took and what corners we turned to get here.”

  Jason nodded his head as if he now understood completely. “Oh yes, I remember the Maestro mentioned your memory has somehow been enhanced by a spell.”

  It seemed best to let the Instructor keep his conclusion, it was not completely accurate; but the man did not need to know more. “Still,” he said, “You performed an advanced spell that must be of the Eagle Guild. Talenteds are not usually taught spells capable of locating objects by content alone; such is not even in my repertoire,” he stated, paused, as if considering something, and then said, “I will place you in the fourth level advanced classes, including mine on spell theory.”