“Samuel!”

Samuel awoke with a shout, rolling out of his bed faster than he could have believed. The crystalline blade was in his hand already, lunging towards the strange mana in his room. In his half-awake state, he couldn’t tell it apart from the chaotic mana in his dream. He cut twice in a cross pattern at the intruder.

Tobi sidestepped the first cut with graceful ease, then stepped into Samuel’s reach on the second, grabbing hold of his wrist before he could swing the blade down. He gripped the wrist painfully hard, forcing Samuel to let go of the weapon, and slammed his shoulder into his stomach, knocking the mage back. He went sprawling back on his bed, the wind knocked out of him.

“Samuel, stop!” Tobi said in a fierce whisper. “It’s me!”

Samuel blinked rapidly, trying to clear his mind. He realized that he was back in the tavern room, not between those lakes with the chaotic mana devouring him alive. His body felt drained and sore, and not just from the shoulder slam Tobi had given him. He coughed roughly, his lungs trying to draw air in. It wasn’t until he regained his breath and looked around the room that he realized what was wrong. He had no mana.

“What happened?” Samuel asked, still breathing heavily. “Why do I have no mana?”

Tobi straightened from the half-crouch that he’d sustained after shoving Samuel back onto his bed. “You suddenly started shouting in your sleep.”

“I did?” Samuel asked, standing up himself. “What was I saying?”

“You weren’t speaking words,” Tobi said. “You were just shouting. Then your mana expanded, nearly burning me, and you created this sort of shell around you. I nearly couldn’t get into your room.”

“Mana Shield,” Samuel said quietly. “I’ve never used it on accident before.”

“Well, you did then,” Tobi replied. “You burned so much mana on it, I thought you would drain yourself completely. I broke into your room to try and wake you before you did.”

Now that Samuel had calmed down a bit, he could see the faint traces of mana that lingered around his body. It was nothing compared to the vast amount he’d possessed before, but here in the inn, safe from threats, that was inconsequential. Glancing back up at Tobi, he could see the signs of diminished mana there as well, where Tobi had unleashed spells, trying to break through Samuel’s mana screen.

“I don’t understand,” Samuel said slowly, as another thought occurred to him. “Mana Shield doesn’t use that much mana, even if I pushed it.”

“You didn’t use all your mana on it,” Tobi explained. “Shortly after conjuring it, you purged your mana. Lucky you did, because it allowed me to get in and wake you.”

“Purged?” Samuel asked. “You mean I got rid of it? I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Really?” Tobi asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “That’s strange. It’s one of the first techniques taught to apprentice mages so that you can protect yourself from over complete draining of a complex spell.”

“I’m guessing it was invented in the last hundred years?” Samuel asked pointedly. “While I was out of the world?”

“Oh, yes,” Tobi said slowly. “Apologies, I keep forgetting.”

“You’re forgetting you’ve known me less than a week now?”

“Yes,” Tobi replied with a grin. “Surely you feel like you’ve been back for years already.”

“That’s fair,” Samuel commented. He was calm now, and he offered his apprentice a grin. “Well, thanks for waking me up. Sorry I tried to chop your head off.”

“Emphasis on tried,” Tobi threw over his shoulder as he turned to leave the room. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Tobi closed the door behind him, and Samuel heard his footsteps retreating across the hallway back to his room. He sat back down on the bed, stretching out with a deep sigh. His body ached as badly as the first time he’d climbed Arcana’s mountain, and his ribs were sure to be bruised from where Tobi had struck him. He made a lazy hand gesture to dismiss the crystal blade from where it lay on the floor, and rolled over, falling back asleep at once.

“Yer the Archmage we be taking to Zaban?”

They were at the docks now. It hadn’t taken them long to find the ship they needed, thanks to written instructions Tobi had gotten from the Quartermaster. Samuel was glad hed thought to get those directions, as the port was bustling with activity when they’d arrived, despite the early hour of the day. Tobi had explained that the tide was about to go out, which meant that any ships that wanted to leave had to do so now, or be stranded in port for another few hours.

“Yes, that’s me,” Samuel said, extending his hand to the ship’s captain. “Samuel Bragg, at your service.”

The Captain took his hand and shook it firmly, making Samuel wince. The man’s had was like a vice grip, hardened and strengthened by years as a sailor. When the handshake was over, Samuel discretely flexed his fingers at his side, not entirely sure they weren’t broken.

“Well, the Guild say you’ll be joinin us,” the captain said slowly. “We ain’t never had no Archmage on board.”

“Well, I’ve never been on a boat before,” Samuel said with a patient smile. “So this is a new experience for all of us.”

“This ain’t a boat,” one of the crewmen called. “It’s a ship!”

“Shut yer mouth, Seeley!” The captain barked, turning to the crewmate. “Get back to the barrels or I may just drop you in the ocean!”

The crewmate who had shouted went pale and scurried out of sight below decks. Muttering darkly, the Captain returned to the conversation with Tobi and Samuel. Tobi was standing slightly behind and to the side of Samuel, watching the interactions with a faint sense of amusement.

“Mind, it will be me and my apprentice,” Samuel said, gesturing at Tobi. “We’ll help out where we can.”

That seemed to take the Captain by surprise. He waved a hand hurriedly in dismissal. “Oh no, sir! We be your employees, so we do the workin here. You just lie back and relax once we leave port, like.”

“Nonsense,” Samuel said airily. “I may not know how to work a ship, but I can lend my hand to help with the simple things. My apprentice, as well.”

“Well,” the Captain said slowly, thinking it through. “I suppose if pirates come a-callin, you and the boy could help us fight ‘em off.”

“That we could,” Samuel agreed. “As well as anything else that needs done on the voyage.”

“Captain!” Another crewman called from the crow’s nest. “They be closin the gates in ten minutes!”

The Captain jumped at the words, a harried look replacing his uncertainty. “Damn! We’d better be off, or we’ll be stuck til mid-day!”

He sprinted over the thick board separating the ship from the docks. Samuel and Tobi stood stunned for a moment, then hurried after him. The second they were on board, two crewmen hauled the plank after them. Several other crewmen were already pushing against the docks with stout wooden poles, pushing the ship clear. Then the massive oars came out, and the Captain rushed to the wheel, already calling out orders.

“Sharp to starboard lads!” he bellowed, much louder than was needed in the calm waters. “Mind the other ships, I won’t be payin no fees!”

There was a chorus of rough laughs from the rowers on their benches. They spit on their hands, then grabbed the heavy oak shafts, readh. As the Captain called for them to turn, the men on the right side of the ship heaved back on the oars, while those on the left pushed forward. The ship turned neatly under their efforts.

“Push forward!”

The crew all lifted the oars back to the ready position, and, with one of them calling time, they began to stroke the oars through the water. They kept it to a slow pace at first, merely pushing the ship gently along towards the mouth of the inlet that housed the docks. They joined a crowd of other boats hauling their cargo and passengers out of Sheran.

Samuel and Tobi watched the other ships that passed them with interest. On every craft was the same hurried air. But each crew was master of their craft, and despite the large number of ships present, there was no risk of collisions. Samuel noticed that there seemed to be a sort of right of way for the smaller, faster ships. They were pushing ahead of the larger cargo ships, accelerating ahead and clearing the way.

They passed through the mouth of the inlet, and Samuel could see the gate the lookout had mentioned. Massive doors of wood on either side, with large bodies of men ready to operate them. There were stout chains that ran up from the water and into large cranks, obviously intended to close the doors in case of attack or bad weather. Men themselves couldn’t possibly move such massive objects, Samuel thought to himself. But as the last ship cleared the gate, he could see the men begin pulling on the cranks, ten or twenty to each side. Slowly but surely, the massive wooden obstructions were forced into place.

Then the Captain shouted more orders to his men, urging them to speed up and turn left, or portside, as he called it. The men went to it with a will, and the breeze picked up on Samuel’s face as the ship began to move faster and faster. After about two hundred yards, the Captain called a halt to the rowing, and the men scrambled about the deck to hoist the large square sail into place. The wind on Samuel’s face faltered, then died, then came again from the back, as they hit some unseen wind current. The ship lurched forward, and they were off.