The Baron entered his bedroom, Leena was already there in her elegant and provocative nightgown, her fiery red hair tied in a braid. If she were not his wife, he would either try to seduce her or run away from her. Before being his wife, Leena Maer was a very famous magician and healer in the north, although before she got married she was known by another name, the red witch, and it was not a very good reputation. The Baron had no doubt who Gael had gotten her character from. In reality, Leena had only accepted the position of court magician because of pressure from her father, if they had not fallen in love, Aulos had no doubt that she would have ended up leaving.
"Tell me Leena, what worries you..."
"I'm worried about Gael... After the summer Liz will take the tests for the magic school, I'm sure she'll pass, Duriam will also begin his mandatory service... He'll be alone, and controlling Gael will be more difficult than ever... Besides, I don't know how to teach him, I've never had problems with having so little mana... and he only has two years left... two years to face failing the school tests and not being able to study there..."
"Leena, it's not the end of the world, if the boy can't go to school at the great magic university we'll send him to another minor school, in Caletport or in Ifrías with my uncles..."
"If only we hadn't asked my father for help, if he could teach him in these years... maybe... maybe..."
"We did the best for him... Anyway, trust the boy, you see he has talent, he's learned basic commands just from listening to you when you put the mare to sleep to help her give birth..."
"It's not talent, that's what I'm doing... What Gael, Aulos, lacks is power..."
"And why don't we get him a teacher, one who knows how that boy feels the scarce mana he has, one with the same limitations, an arcanist?"
"Are you saying that I should ask Rilcar? But you know that he and I had... Won't it be uncomfortable for you?"
"Well... if it's for the sake of our son I'll be able to put up with your childhood friend, your ex-suitor and well, that commoner with a big mouth... by the way, have you heard anything from your father?"
"No, and no one knows anything about him, he left three years ago, he left his post and no one has heard from him again..."
"If he were still the rector, we wouldn't have so many problems..."
"I know... but since that bastard Soridam took over the university the exams have become harder, they don't think they'll waste time or effort on wizards who won't go beyond basic magical education..."
"Well, there's still time for that, tomorrow send a letter to my brother, I know that that rogue wizard often stops in Greenville on his travels..."
Leena gave her husband a passionate kiss, she knew how much he was giving in by proposing that of his own free will. That night was a good night for the Nolaks to expand their family...
*****************************
A few weeks later a traveling wizard's wagon entered Greenville, the summer season was about to begin, it was the best time to travel through the cold north.
The city was relatively small, although guarded by a good wall, most were farmers and hunters, but for a traveling wizard those were not bad customers, sick animals, loose monsters that escaped from patrols, and fields to fertilize, remove rocks, or peasants with feminine problems.
Anything went for a traveling wizard, he thought of stopping by the adventurers' guild to see the reward posters before setting up his stall in the market square, however a guard stopped him when he was about to enter the city gates.
The guard stared at him, medium height, brown hair, signs of incipient baldness, a scruffy beard several days old, and a head more typical of a hunter than a magician, it had to be him
Rilcar looked strangely at the man who was stopping him and had examined him in that way, since when had Baron Berius Nolak stopped allowing magicians free passage?
"Are you the magician Rilcar Guterrez?"
"Who asks? And what happens if I am?"
Rilcar had discreetly moved his hand to the hilt of the dagger he had behind his back...
"Are you or not? I have a letter for Rilcar Guterrez..."
"A letter... I should have said it before, man... it seemed like someone had put a price on my head..."
Rilcar saw the stamp and the return address and opened the letter quickly. It had been a long time since he had heard from Leena. He hadn't seen her since she went to the Nolak castle as a court mage. He only received letters from her from time to time.
But this wasn't a letter like the others... it wasn't a letter from old friends telling each other about their lives and wishing each other the best. It was a formal letter with the Nolak letterhead. They were inviting him to the castle in Ilentown... This must have been important, although the traveling magician was clear that he would rather die than be a court mage. He also doubted that the proud Nolak would accept someone like him in the court.
Changing his plans, he turned around and returned to the path that led out of the city. The green fields surrounded the road to the coast. The end of spring and beginning of summer in the north seemed like a fairy-tale landscape.
A week's journey separated him from Leena. His old horse couldn't go any faster, nor was it an urgent task. He was only summoned as soon as he read the letter. As a good arcanist, as a good sorcerer and magician, he knew that he was going to be asked for a favor. What Rilcar didn't imagine was that the favor was five years old and had an ungovernable character.