He was still a little shocked from the morning’s events as he walked through the Commercial District. By now, the day was truly beginning and most of the workers of the Slums were off the streets. The merchants and guilds now made up the bustling streets of the city. The rain was still heavy, so everyone was rushing and the low grey clouds added their familiar ceiling to Qursa.

He scurried to a market and found a quiet section. He double checked his coin pouch, usually filled with nothing. There they were, three silver fullcoins. He hurried to a nearby stall and gathered some meat, vegetables and a small bottle of Plier wine. “How much?” He asked the market stall owner.

“A fullcoin and a half”.

“Daylight robbery. This is worth a halfcoin. If that.” Jano said. It had been a long time since he had been in any position to bargain.

The woman frowned. “A fullcoin then.” She said. “That wine has come all the way from Plier, halfway across bloody Qursa that has. You can’t knock me any lower or I’ll have to walk across the bloody Empire myself.”

He didn’t have the willpower to suppress his smile and he handed over the fullcoin. Even though it was a third of his meagre holdings, he couldn’t dismiss the small opportunity of a celebration. It had been so long after all. The market stall owner waved him away with a furrowed brow which made her rather large nose look frightening.

The Qursan Empire was large, and though Jano had certainly heard of Plier, he had no idea the real distance it was from the nominal capital he had resided in his entire life. He thought about the stall owner and laughed to himself. For all he cared, she could walk from Plier to Qursa city. It made no difference to him.

He tucked away his coin pouch and clutched the contents to his chest. He was holding them tightly. The rain continued to pour as he hurried home. He wondered if it rained so heavily in Plier, before deciding that it surely couldn’t. It wouldn’t be famous for producing such a smooth wine if it did. Then again, he’d never know, nor would many others, as travel between the cities of the Empire was heavily restricted to normal folk such as him. Only higher ranking Mages and their families, or extremely wealthy merchants were able to leave and move across the Empire as they wished. A large drop of rain pushed its way into his eyes and he quickly tried to rub them free. He only succeeded in rubbing more water into them and he suddenly had to stop to fix himself. After a few moments he had done so, and he continued on his way. The Slums always looked terrible in the rain, but after coming back from the Middle, it was all the worse. He barrelled through his front door, barely containing his excitement. The small house was empty. Alsace would be at work. He stored the food away and hid his extra coins under the floorboards. He lay the wine ready to surprise Alsace with. It was her favourite.

He slumped down and then realised he had the full day ahead of him. An experience he wasn’t used to. If he couldn’t find work, he would often look in the less respectable parts of the city to see if there was anything he could do which wasn’t too far across his moral compass. He thought about going out. But he couldn’t spend any more money and there wasn’t much to do in the city without it. It was also raining extremely hard. So that ruled out leaving the house. He started to think about what he might have to do for the Mage. He assumed it wasn’t going to be ordinary menial jobs or he would just ask a servant to do it.

He let his mind drift from potentially horrible tasks to about how long thirty fullcoins would last him. On top of Alsace’s wages of three fullcoins a week, he might even be able to find some cheap tools. He may not have his old power, but he could do the basics. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

The door opened and Jano jumped. Alsace gave him a weird look, she then grew sad. “Was there no work at the workhouse either? Things are just getting harder and harder.” She said as she shook her head.

He could barely keep the smile from his face. “Hang on, why are you back from work?” He asked.

She shrugged. “The master of the house was entertaining someone that wasn’t his wife. You know what it’s like. I’ve got to go back later and clean up.”

She went to check the cupboards and noticed the food he had stashed away moments earlier. Then she picked up the small carafe of wine.

“What’s all this?” She asked, she looked concerned, as if he’d stolen it.

He smiled and told her the story of the weird morning he had. She furrowed her brow and tapped her fingers on their cheap table as he talked. Her face gave nothing away, but every time Jano tried to read his wife’s expressions, he would usually linger too long and she would catch him in the act.

“So they are just going to give you this money?” She asked after he had finished. “What sorts of jobs does he want you to do?”

“He didn’t say, but I assume it’s not going to be easy.” He said. “Or probably legal.”

“What if he wants you to kill someone?” She asked.

The thought had crossed his mind. Other than convicted criminals, he was already the lowest of the low in the Empire. Would he do it? Would he have much choice?

“I’m sure it won’t come to that. As a Mage he could do it himself to most citizens if he had a real problem. Unless they were a similar class I suppose. Then, if they’re a higher class than me I couldn’t do anything anyway. They’d be too strong. No I’m sure it won’t be that.” He said.

Alsace seemed satisfied with that response. It did make sense. He put it out of his mind. He hoped it was true.

“I know you feel you need to prove yourself again. But please, just be safe.” His wife’s face was stone serious. “We’ll get through this, even if it feels a little bit hopeless at the moment.

“I will be.” He replied. “I promise.”

“You better be.” She said as she embraced him.

“Now can we please enjoy some of this food?” He asked, his smile returning.

His wife returned a small smile. “No we absolutely can not. You will have to wait until I come back from work, then we can eat and we’re going to drink all of that wine.” She smiled.

—-

Jano walked through the city once more. It was just after sunset and he was making his way back to the Middle. At least it had stopped raining. He thought back to last night as he walked. They had allowed themselves to eat most of the food and drink the entire bottle of wine. Even if it was small, the smooth alcohol went straight to their heads. They laughed, kissed and embraced all night. It felt good to have some small delights once more. They even allowed themselves to forget their bare surroundings.

He smiled as he thought about it. He couldn’t get the image of his beautiful wife smiling from his imagination. As he approached the end of the street and the small stone house. He forced himself to be serious. Remembering that he was there to work; and that he had no idea what that meant. He knocked powerfully on the thick wooden door. It was probably thicker than the wood that made up the walls of his home, he thought. It swung open and the robed man ushered him inside.

“You’re earlier than I thought. Good. Punctuality will get you far.” Darrel was smaller than Jano, but his voice and mannerisms exuded confidence and power. He quickly forgot the night before and focused on the Mage. He nodded in response to his comment, not sure whether he was permitted to speak. Darrel moved to the comfy looking fabric seat and sat down. “Please, sit. Relax.” He said.

Jano did as he was told. There was a small fire lit in the fireplace. The warmth was definitely welcome and Jano had always loved the smell of a fire. It was something he had always dreamed of having in a home of his own. Jano tried to focus on the Mage, but he couldn’t seem to get a good look, no matter the lighting. He dropped his eyes as soon as he realised he had been staring for what would usually be deemed an inappropriate amount of time.

“Do you like living in the Slums?” He asked after a moment of quiet. Jano glanced around the room, unsure of where to look.

“Not particularly. But there isn’t much choice.” He replied.

“No I suppose not.. It’s a shame the Empire can’t provide decent housing for everyone in the city.” Darrel seemed to be gauging his reaction. “What do you know of life outside the city walls?”

Jano shifted uncomfortably. “Close to nothing, we haven’t heard much news from outside for a long time. The Empire is strong. That is all we are told.” He replied.

“Most haven’t. Nor should they have any reason to. Outside of this city, there is a long stretch of wilderness. The Empire’s roads will take you from place to place, city to city, of course. But beyond the Empire’s reach, it’s a wild land. Filled with uncultured barbarians. There’s a reason only prisoners and criminals are permitted outside of the Empire” He said. “Or at least that’s what the Emperor tells us.”

Jano nodded and waited. The Mage was talking to him as though they were equals, politely engaging in conversation while waiting for food to arrive at one of the city’s many restaurants.

The Mage paced around the room, he was animated and his hands were waving as he talked. “No doubt you’re wondering about the sort of tasks I will require you to perform. Well, Jano. I’ll give you a hint. I picked you thanks to your particular gift for stonemasonry.” He said.

Picked me? He thought. Until now, Jano had thought it was a random encounter. He had to offer a guess. “Would you like me to build something for you sir?” He said, making sure his voice was confident and calm. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Erm, yes sort of. But also, no. I suppose I should explain. I found out about a particular stonemason, who had an almost extraordinary gift in magical design. A Class Seven stonemason and on the rise. Until an accident happened. A tricky situation which landed him before the Lesser Courts. His power was taken away, restricted if you will. Destined to be bound as a Class Ten for at least twenty years.”

Jano’s face reddened as he listened. He shifted and wrung his hands together. The Mage knew everything. He should have expected that much, after all, they had access to all records produced by the court. He looked up and found himself staring into Darrel’s eyes. Again he couldn’t get a good look, but they seemed to be deep pools of darkness. They were fixed on Jano. It was incredibly intimidating.

“The man withered, forced to remain in the Slums after he had dreamed of escape. His power was removed and all means of climbing the social ladder once more dashed. He has all the knowledge but none of the means. Forced to wait until his knowledge is worth nothing and he will remain a Class Ten for the rest of his life. What does that do to such a man?” He asked, still staring. “Other than perhaps, drive the man to less admirable methods of survival..”

Jano sat rooted to the spot. He had thought about these things over and over again, but he had never heard them articulated so clearly. He felt rage building within him at the sheer unfairness of it all. He sensed the Mage was building to something. So he answered.

“It destroys a man…. sir.”

Darrel smiled thinly. “I hadn’t expected such an honest answer. Well, I might have a solution for you. A reward for such honesty.” He relaxed further into his chair. Jano couldn’t help but watch the man’s hands which he moved as he spoke. “Well, as you know, essence is channelled through the Emperor and is passed along to us in a more palatable form. His representatives visit each child in their teenage years and they assess the child for magical ability. The representatives then draw up a contract with that child, in which the Emperor shares a portion of his more manageable magic with us, his citizens.”

“A Mage is selected due to a strong showing in those childhood assessments. If that person’s ability to channel essence from the Emperor is good enough, then formal training will be given to them. The stronger that person’s aptitude, the better the Mage may grow to be.”

Jano wondered where he was going with this. He nodded periodically, waiting for him to get to the point. Everyone knew about the contracts. They had all been assessed and signed them. Even Class Ten citizens would readily sign the contracts. It was almost unheard of that anyone had refused to sign and those that did lived on the very fringes of society. “Well, when I was tested, I had a lot of potential.” He said as a matter of fact. “Luckily for you, and me I suppose, I am one of the most powerful Mages in the empire. Unfortunately that brings a lot of speculation, and attention wherever I go. Which is why I need a helper. An off the record friend if you will.”

“So that’s where I come in?” Jano said.

Jano tried to study the Mage once more, though he still couldn’t get much of a read on him. “There’s an extra benefit in it for you, something which is not really well known.” Darrel said a little more quietly this time, as if he was afraid of being overheard, he moved to the side of the room and drew out some thin brown paper. “I can navigate around your little problem and temporarily share some of my power with you, so you can complete some of the more difficult tasks.” He said.

Jano’s stomach tightened, he frowned but not wanting to look ungrateful for the offer, he tried to relax. It wasn’t unheard of for higher ranked Mages to grant a temporary shock of extra power to others, but Jano had thought such options closed to him due to his conviction. “But, the Lesser Court removed my power. I thought I was bound by time?” He said.

Darrel looked amused. “Yes, that took a little thought on my part. Luckily, I have just the right friends to ask about getting around such… barriers. Also, I need to ask, can we stop it with the ‘sir’ nonsense please? It’s exceptionally too formal if we’re going to be working together, just my name will do fine.” He asked.

Jano felt his stomach flutter in excitement. He pushed it down. He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t override the Lesser Court. Could he? He thought. He nodded as he realised he hadn’t responded.

“Good. But before I do that. Your first task.” Jano’s stomach dropped a little as the reality set in. Though his mind raced excitedly, perhaps things weren’t as set in stone as he had previously thought. He dared himself to hold a tiny speck of hope in his heart as the Mage began to speak.