‘Without him we are finished,’ continued Brackban. ‘We have a fledgling army, maybe three thousand men. They are good men for the most part, and brave. Edmund will have three, four times as many – and they are seasoned warriors. We have archers and foot-soldiers but he has cavalry, heavily-armoured knights who can strike fast and hard.’ He rubbed at his tired eyes. ‘What can we do, Owen? I am at the end of my strength. When word reaches the men that Mace is taken – or lost – then the desertions will begin. The lands will be open to Edmund. Have we done all this for nothing?’
‘I will do my best to find him,’ I promised.
He nodded. ‘You do not think he was captured, then?’I don’t know for certain what happened,’ I hedged, ‘but I will send a Search-spell. In the meantime, don’t say anything about his disappearance. Where was he last seen?’There was a map on the wall, black ink etched on pale leather. Brackban rose and walked to where it hung, stabbing his finger at an ornate triangle – the Angostin symbol for a city with a university. ‘He went to see the Bishop of Lowis; he is the senior tutor at the school there.’Why should Mace want to see a teacher?’Brackban shrugged. ‘The man sent him a letter. Mace seemed intrigued by it.’Where is this letter?’I have no idea.’Did you see it?’No. Mace merely said it was to do with some legend, some ancient artefact. I took little notice. God knows I have no time to study history, Owen. But I don’t think it was important; it was just a whim.’What do they study at the university?’Medicine, law and history. But do not concern yourself with that. We have maybe two weeks; then two armies will face one another. If Mace does not arrive before then . . .’He spread his hands.
‘What will you dp if he has been taken – or cannot be found?’What can I do? This is my land; they are my people. You think I will run away into the forest and leave them to their fate? I couldn’t do that, Owen. Death would be preferable. No, I shall take my men and confront the Battle King. Who knows, maybe God will favour us.’He spoke with little confidence for he knew, as did I, that where battles were concerned God tended to favour the army with the most lances. I left the house with a heavy heart and rode back to the village, seeking out Wulf and Piercollo. When I told them of Mace’s disappearance, Wulf was not surprised.
‘I’ve known him longer than any of the others,’ he said. ‘He’s a solitary man, is Mace. And he looks out for himself. He’s got courage right enough, but it’s not the enduring kind. You
understand me? It’s like the farmer who strjves year in and year out. Come plague, pestilence, drought, famine or locusts, he digs in and weathers the years. That’s real strength. Mace can fight -probably better than any man I ever knew. But he doesn’t have that strength. It was that way with Golgoleth. He went in to the city because he couldn’t have borne the waiting for Golgoleth to come for him.’There was no anger in the hunchback’s voice, no edge of bitterness.
‘I shall try to find him,’ I said.
‘Won’t do no good, Owen,’ said Wulf. ‘He’s turned his back on us; that’s all there is to it.’Even so, I shall try. Will you come with me?’Of course I will.’As will Piercollo,’ said the giant, smiling. ‘I am tired of all these people around me, the noise and the chatter. It will be good to hear the music of the forest. Where do we begin, Owen?’Tonight I will send out three Search-spells – north, west and east. By dawn I will at least know which direction to travel. As we move I shall send out other spells. Eventually we’ll find him.’How long is eventually?’ Wulf asked.
‘It could take weeks – months,’ I admitted.
‘Well,’ he said grimly, Til be with you for six days. After that I’ll make my way back here to join Brackban. I’ll not have it said that Wulf was afraid of the fight.’We set off to the north-west two hours after dawn. I was tired, for I had been awake all night, holding to the Search-spells and focusing upon the enchantment. The spell to the east showed nothing, but both north and west gave a glimmer of hppe. I have already explained the nature of search-globes, but when one casts such magick across large distances there is no immediate, visible sign of success. The magicker must attune himself to the spell and rely on his instincts. When I held to the eastern globe I felt only emptiness; this then was a cold route. At first the northern spell gave me a sense of warmth, but gradually this shifted to the western globe, thus giving me Mace’s direction of travel.