Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,69

a round shield slung over his back, a short sword on his belt, and a spear in one hand.

“Trust me. I can get you over it.”

“You realize how much I weigh, don’t you? Add in all the metal I’m wearing, and I could probably balance a scale with a full-grown boar. You know what happens when heavy men fall, don’t you? Even ten feet might be enough to break something serious.”

“You won’t fall, you’ll stick to the wall like a fly.” Will stored Tiny’s shield and weapons in the limnthal temporarily, but it still took him several minutes of cajoling to get his friend up the wall after casting the climbing spell on him and explaining how it worked. Things got even more confusing when he added the chameleon spell and silent-armor spells on top of that.

He followed Tiny up and helped the giant negotiate the awkward moment at the top when he had to get his body over the edge and reorient for the descent on the other side. “I still don’t understand what’s wrong with the front gate,” complained the big man. “That’s what gates are for, right? People like me aren’t meant to be up this high.”

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“If you were my size, you would be too,” hissed Tiny. “If something goes wrong, whatever’s beneath me will stop being whatever it used to be and become rubble. At the same time, I will most likely break every bone in my body, if I’m fortunate enough to live to appreciate the extent of my injuries.”

“You can’t fall,” Will assured him. “Only one of your limbs can be away from the surface of the wall at any given moment. The spell won’t allow you to fall.”

Tiny was staring down at the ground nervously. “Easy enough for you to say. You’re controlling the spell. I’m having to take all this on faith.”

“You don’t believe in me?” asked Will with a grin.

“I’m up here, damn it!” swore Tiny angrily. “Shut up and let me focus.”

When they were finally on the ground once more, Will could see that his friend’s face was covered in sweat, not from the effort—climbing with a spell was relatively easy—but from nervousness. It was something he hadn’t really seen before from the usually quiet and easygoing soldier. Tiny caught him staring and looked away.

Will took out the letter Blake had given him and reread it to give his friend a chance to regain his composure. The message was from Lognion and had arrived while he was at the library with Janice. While it didn’t materially affect his plan for the evening, it did inspire a mixture of anger and anxiety in him.

William,

I send this missive to inform you that since you’ve taken it upon yourself to assume the protection of Mark Nerrow’s elder daughter, I have decided to withdraw the Driven from that area. Partly this is for your own protection, so we avoid any confusion between your movements and the activities of my men.

I do hope you’ve prepared yourself sufficiently, as you’ve chosen to take on a dangerous enemy, one that even I would hesitate to face without considerable support. I’m sure you wouldn’t attempt such a perilous duty alone. My daughter would be heartbroken if something terrible happened to you.

If you have any understanding of this foe, then you should be aware that this enemy bears similarities to a wound that has turned sour. Sometimes healthy tissue must be excised to save the host. As sovereign, I consider the city, nay the nation as a whole, as my own body. I will not hesitate to remove a rotten limb to save the rest.

Stand too close to the fire and you will be burned.

L.

Tiny noticed him reading it again and put a hand on Will’s shoulder. “Little does he know you actually do have support this time.”

Will nodded, grateful for the big man’s presence. But will it be enough if we actually meet one of them? What if there’s several? Lognion apparently had small squads of highly trained combat sorcerers hiding in various locations around the city. If the king felt the situation was