The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (novels in english .TXT) 📗

worn by the Knights of Stone—my armor. It was enchanted andsized to fit my frame.

I had created it to please Dorian, whoinsisted that, as a feudal lord I should have my own armor. Henagged until I had made it, mostly just to shut him up. After thathe had never found an occasion that I really needed to wear it. Atmost formal events noblemen wore fine clothes and fabric which,while uncomfortable suited me far better.

As a wizard I had avoided the armorbecause it blocked the easy flow of aythar. Being encased inenchanted plate restricted the range of my magesight significantlyand made even the simplest of magics difficult. It was roughlyanalogous to hiding inside a dark closet and looking through akeyhole. I had made a number of modifications to this suit toaccommodate my abilities, the most notable being the ability tomake my helm permeable to aythar when desired. That would allow mymagesight to operate at a level close to normal, but it would alsomake my true nature visible to any nearby wizard. The gauntletsalso had been created with built-in rune channels, and the matchingsword that I wore with it was also made to channelpower.

In most cases, my personal shieldswere far more effective for protection and they afforded me morefreedom of movement, along with not restricting my abilities. WhenI did need something more substantial I had my enchanted shieldstones. In almost every instance, the armor was more of a hindrancethan a help—until today.

Wearing this, I should be able toavoid raising suspicion should I encounter one of the Prathions.Their skill with illusions and invisibility made them somewhat moreperceptive when it came to detecting shiggreth. While it had takenme some effort to learn to spot the ‘empty places’, the voids, thata shiggreth created, Walter had noticed them immediately. Hischildren had been no different. With this on, I’d simply appear tobe one of the Knights of Stone. As long as I didn’t come into closecontact, I should be able to pass unnoticed by them.

One remaining problem was that thearmor was blazoned with the Cameron arms, declaring my identity toanyone who saw it. A small illusion would hide that however, solong as I didn’t get close enough to another wizard for it to benoticed.

Putting armor over naked skin wasnormally a big no-no, but thankfully, the arming gambeson waspacked in the same chest. A large quilted garment, it was meant tobe worn over a knight’s small clothes, to protect skin and bodyfrom the abrasions and pinches that full armor inevitably caused.It felt odd wearing it without trousers or an under-tunic, but Icould remedy that once I got to my personal wardrobe.

Once I had the armor in place, a taskthat took close to half an hour, I spoke the command word thatwould make the helm transparent to magesight. Examining the areawithin and without the castle I noted at least three of the Knightsof Stone in the vicinity. None of them had their helms on, so I wasable to identify them easily, Sir William, Sir Thomas, and SirEdward.

Sir William appeared to be headingthrough the gate and into Washbrook, so I chose him to impersonate.He had the additional advantage of being a known prankster, so anyunusual behavior on my part could be chalked up to someunfathomable joke. I created two illusions, the first within myarmor to make my face appear to be his. That would be needed onlyif someone asked me to remove the helm, something I’d have torefuse to do if either Walter or his children were in thevicinity.

The second illusion, which was much more awkward to create, was adisguise to change the external appearance of my armor. I disguisedthe Cameron arms and made them appear to be William’s. Such anillusion would have been easy normally, but making it while wearingenchanted plate was difficult. If you’ve ever tried to thread aneedle while wearing heavy leather gloves, you’ll have an idea ofhow frustrating delicate magic is under thoseconditions.

Once I was finished, I added the swordbelt and since I had been forced to remove the belt of poucheswhile armoring, I put it back around my waist. All told, I feltsignificantly less graceful and after I made my helm opaque tomagesight, I also felt half blind. I could still sense things withmy magesight, mostly through the various openings in the plate aswell as the eye-slits, but it limited my range to distances of lessthan fifty feet or so.

“I feel like an idiot wearing this,” Icomplained to no one in particular.

I left the workshop thesame way I had entered, using a crudely crafted spell to hold thedamaged hinges in place. The armor made even simple thingsdifficult. My best estimate was that the magic would last a fewweeks at best before it failed, and the door fell openagain. Then they’ll wonder who broke inand pillaged through my things.

From that point, I strode boldlyacross the courtyard, until I had reached the main door to thekeep. The doorman, a fellow I recognized but couldn’t name, held itwide for me. I nodded toward him as I passed, but I wasn’t sure howwell the gesture worked given my accoutrements.

Most of the people I met inside movedaside quickly when they saw me coming, hopefully out of deference.It was either that or they were worried my ridiculously bad fashionsense might infect them through sheer proximity. In my mind’s eye Ilooked like some absurd metal clad ape. I also noted many of themgiving my head a second look, no doubt wondering about the helm. Noone wears a full-face helm indoors, or outdoors either really. TheKnights of Stone usually put them on only when required to doso.

I made for the stairs as quickly as Icould. The fewer people who saw me, the smaller the chance that Imight be uncovered. I failed to realize the flaw in my previousthinking until I got to the upper floor where the door to my homewas located. Officially it was the door to our apartment, but inreality the portal enchantment on it led to a secluded home deep inthe mountains.

The outer door in the hallway had