Luck in the Shadows - Chapter Seventeen

[kalinara]

So last time, I mostly bitched about Nysander. Fucking cryptic wizard mentors. I'm going to take up a petition to replace every single crappy, cryptic, manipulative wizard mentor with Ted Lasso instead.



So we're back with our heroes. Alec's been taking care of Seregil, who is sleeping most of the time. His work ethic has earned the respect of the drysian, Valerius, while Nysander visits multiple times a day.

At some point though Seregil gets a new visitor: the old lady wizard Magyana. Magyana and Nysander seem to be about the same age, and she seems to be familiar with both Thero and Seregil. She thanks the Light that he's safe and tells Alec that she and Nysander would both be desolate to have lost him.

Seregil wakes up not long after this, which leads Nysander and Magyana to a secretive wizard's confab. We find out a little more about their specific relationship:

“My dear, you were away too long!” he remonstrated gently, slipping an arm about her waist and pressing his lips to her cheek again.

“Surely the lovely Ylinestra kept you occupied in my absence?” she shot back, returning the kiss.

“You impossible woman! You with your damnable celibacy. All these years I have filled my bed with lesser women and not a single spark of jealousy from you. You speak of them as if they were children, or lapdogs.”

“Have most of them been any more than that to you, you old rogue? But perhaps I do feel just the smallest spark, as you call it, toward this sorceress. I understand that she is as talented in the casting room as she is in the bedchamber. There, are you satisfied?”

“Perhaps just a bit,” Nysander replied, affecting a sulk. “The girl does have a head for magic, but in truth she is beginning to weary me with her demands, in bed and out.”

...wow. "Lesser women." Nysander's a dick.

Magyana's pretty cool though. She has no sympathy for Nysander's bitching. She's more concerned with what happened to Seregil. I suppose I'll give credit to Nysander for not being a snob, because he's as forthcoming with her as he is to the kids:

Pausing in the center of the immaculate workroom, Nysander watched as she set about the familiar ritual of tea making. “Evidently he and the boy stole something from Mardus in the northlands. It appears to be an object of little consequence but, as you saw, it proved to be extremely dangerous. I can tell you no more than that, I fear.”

Magyana however is equally as cryptic and just replies with "Oh, no!".

We switch scenes to Seregil and Alec. Apparently a few days have passed. Seregil's improving and now restless. He tries to get out of bed against Alec's protests and nearly passes out. Apparently he's lost a lot of weight during his convalescence and Alec has no trouble maneuvering him back into bed.

This gets Valerius's attention and he comes in to snark at Seregil. Seregil also notices the weird scar on his chest and wants answers. Valerius blames Nysander and heads off with a warning about not exhausting himself. Alec also can provide very little information, so Seregil has him fetch Nysander.

Nysander manages to distract Alec for a while by telling him to wait for Thero. He tries, but ends up wandering up a set of stairs that lead to a window with a spectacular view:

With a startled gasp, he caught at the ledge in front of him; the dome bowed out beyond the stonework, affording a view of the ground hundreds of feet directly below. He’d never been this far off the ground and the sensation was not particularly pleasant. Concentrating on the solid floor beneath his boots, he made himself look out over the city. Streets fanned out like spokes from circular plazas, or intersected to form ordered squares and commons. From this height he could also see past the citadel wall to the outer harbor, where boats bobbed at anchor in the shelter of the moles. On the landward side, open country quickly gave way to rolling foothills and jagged, snowcapped mountains beyond.

Rather cool. He heads back down only for Nysander to summon him to Seregil's room. They're arguing about something, but the argument seems to be pro forma. The real event is that Nysander is making Alec a job offer: he wants to make Alec a Watcher.

Alec asks if that means he'll finally learn more about what's going on and happily accepts.

So the ritual sounds pretty fun:

Seregil gave him a wink as Nysander took out his small ivory dagger and waved Alec to a chair. When he was seated, Nysander set the knife spinning end for end in the air mere inches from Alec’s eyes.

There's also a cool oath:

“Alec of Kerry,” Nysander intoned solemnly. “A Watcher must observe carefully, report truthfully, and keep the secrets that must be kept. Do you swear by your heart and eyes and by the Four to do these things?”

“Yes,” Alec answered quickly, steeling himself not to lean away from the spinning knife.

“Good!” The knife fell out of the air into Nysander’s hand.

Apparently if Alec had lied, it would have gotten messy.

So anyway, now that Alec's sworn in, Seregil can give his report. Basically, he's been gathering information about the movements of the Plenimarians in the North. They seem to be making alliance, but not everyone is fooled. He details the Plenimarian's methods, which he compares to "the old wishing mirror game"

Apparently the Plenimarians spend spies to find out what people want and then send in commanders who are able to tailor their empty promises to what the spies find out.

At some point, Seregil had apparently been captured by bandits, but was able to use his skills as a bard to avoid death and eventually get away. He learns that the Plenimarians are recruiting the bandits to make trouble.

Seregil then gives his version of the events we saw in earlier chapters: namely meeting with Erisa and Micum. He relates information from them as well. Most notable is Micum's observation that a company of marines are riding into one of the northern passes. Seregil can't imagine what they think they'll find there.

So now Seregil gets to the banquet. He relates the maps he saw, and also explains his conclusions about the highwaymen who have attacked. He says it didn't smell right, and Nysander notes that he trusts Seregil's instincts.

Finally, Seregil asks about the scar:

Nysander went to the window and gazed out. “I fear I must beg your forbearance regarding that. This matter is not to be spoken of to anyone, at any time.”

There was no mistaking the finality in his voice. Seregil’s brows drew together ominously over his grey eyes. “I just slept away the last two weeks because of this. Not to mention the madness that went before, or the nightmares and visions and the urge to kill just about every person I came within ten feet of, including Alec!”

“You must be patient.”

“What is there to be patient about?” Seregil retorted. “I want to know who did this to me! Do you know or not?”

Nysander basically tells Seregil he did it himself, since he'd taken it on himself to steal the thing. Wow. That's a dick move. Especially since Seregil took it so Nysander can see. And to be fair, Nysander admits that and says he's not chiding Seregil. But still.

Anyway, Seregil is annoyed at the subject change, and Nysander cryptically pulls rank:

“Seregil í Korit Solun Meringil Bôkthersa,” he said quietly, rolling the syllables as if they were a spell. “This is a matter which goes beyond any personal vengeance on your part. The mark you bear is a magical sigla, the meaning of which I am bound by the most dire oaths not to reveal.”

“Then why didn’t you let Valerius take it off?”

Nysander spread his hands resignedly. “You understand better than most the power of prescience. It felt unwise at the time to do so. Now that you are stronger, however, I shall cast an occultation over it.”

Seregil finally uneasily admits that he's had weird dreams, which alarms Nysander into shouting "Why did you not mention this before!"

...um. Wasn't he in a fucking coma? Seriously, dude?

Anyway, Seregil, suddenly looking ill, does his best to relay his perception while he'd been hallucinating. Then he gets to the dreams: being on a barren plain with just wind and grass. And that eventually someone else was there: gold. Eyes. Blue. Seregil suddenly faints. Melodramatic bastard.

Nysander and Alec rouse him with cool cloths, and Nysander urges him not to continue. Apparently even trying to remember causes "mental confusion" in some kind of magical way. That doesn't sound fun. Nysander urges that he rest. Seregil wants to know what is happening to him, but Nysander just says he has to meditate and leaves.

Seregil and Alec share a moment, and Seregil admits that Alec might have saved both their lives when he'd pulled the amulet off Seregil. Alec protests that it was just luck, but Seregil urges him to not question luck, just "give thanks and pray it doesn't run out!".

The chapter ends with Nysander examining the wooden disk and sealing it away before heading to the vaults for his "nightly constitutional"

Okay then. The chapter ends here.