I have the three documents in front of me, and they all tell me a story that I have heard before but whose meaning never occurred to me before. The King and Sharon Rey tell about Hans Jacobs' death by using almost the same words. Neither of them cite any eye witnesses or other extra sources, both just state the same facts. And the same is true for the short manuscript that I found from my file about Mary Shannon. The manuscript contained some technical information about Mary Shannon's later activities during the Archibald Rey's trial, when she already had taken her husband's name and was defending him. It also mentions Jacobs' death as it was obviously a key issue during the trial. All tree sources just state facts.
This means that none of the writers had direct evidence about the event. They had a common source of information and they just relied on that. It was probably some kind of official report produced by the prison commander about the incident; it was clearly his responsibility to report what had happened. It's strange that no one had questioned the report, even Sharon Rey whose husband was in danger to be punished about a murder that was documented only in that one report. It must be that she was so preoccupied about how that murder happened that she did not ask whether it did happen in the first place. Well, I never questioned that either, and to my knowledge no one has.
I hear the clock strike twelve and realise that I should already be in the fourth term class. I'm late from the class twice during the same day! This is really not my day. I start heading out to run to the main building, but for some reason the dagger hanging over the mantlepiece catches my eye. It has been there for ages and I haven't thought of it for years, but I have a strange feeling that I need to take the dagger with me. I take it from the wall and push it to the sleeve of my boot. Then I run to the school. Only once I'm outside my vague thought starts to get shape and I understand what I need to do - and why I need the dagger.
~x~
The fourth termers also looked surprised when I showed up a few minutes late, although not as much as the sixth termers, as I had thought to change into decent clothes and wash the mud away. And the surprise had quickly turned into long faces when I assigned an essay to write by Thursday. Even though I take my teaching duties seriously, the hours today are much more precious than any other day and they must not be wasted. I briefly popped into Almeron's office to tell him my plan, and then I took a horse from the school stable. He is my favourite, called White Diamond, and he would win a horse race any day. And actually he did a few years back, as the stable master brought him to competitions a few times. The white diamond-shaped patch of fur on his forehead clearly shines against his otherwise black fur and gives him the looks of noble breed.
I ride back to the road where I lost Jacobs' track this morning and continue toward the town. Although there are too many tracks to follow any individual, I can at least make that a single horse has not turned away from the road. And it is as I thought, everyone is either going to the town or coming from there.
Luckily the rain has stopped, so it is easier to follow the tracks. The wind is clearly rising and it is pushing the gray clouds away. I have a feeling that today some dark clouds of the history could be blown away by a brisk wind as well. When I approach the market square, the first sun beams appear past the clouds since Sunday. They start to warm up the tents of the merchants, and soon enough the bright sunlight illuminates the vapor that starts to rise from the roofs.
I dismount White Diamond and tie him to a pole. Then I walk to Mr Steinwyg, who sells vegetables and wooden supplies on the market square every single day, no matter what. Except never on Sundays. He is also the best source of information about the ongoings in the town. I look around to see if anything suspicious is going on before turning to him.
"Good morning, Mr Steinwyg" I say politely.
"Ah, good morning, professor Cole. Haven't seen you since Friday morning. You seemed very busy then, I hope everything is alright. You didn't even stop to greet."
I laugh. "I'm quite alright thank you. You know me, when I am running, there is no stopping me."
"Yes, I know that very well. But I cannot say that I understand. I like to stay in one place, and that place is here." Mr Steinwyg smiles and raises to his toes for a second, and pats his belly gently. He indeed likes to be in the place where everyone comes and shares their information with him. With his charming friendliness he organizes and informs and helps many people. And it is very good for his business too.
"Luckily we are not all the same. Who would sell me those delicious carrots if you were running with me in the outskirts of Lonchester every morning?"
He smiles brightly. "You are quite right. And how many do you want?"
"I'll take one bunch, please. Oh and by the way, has anyone been asking me today? I heard that an old friend is coming to the town, and I am pretty sure that he knows I am living here. I hope that I could meet him while he is here."
"Sorry, professor Cole. At least I have not heard."
"Ah, okay. He is a bit strange man. He used to have a brown horse with gray hair. He rides the horse but does not use a saddle."
"Oh, he does not? That is strange indeed. But you are lucky, I think your friend was here just an hour or so ago. I think he talked with Robert. Hey Robert! Could'ya come here for a while?" He waves with his hand to the man in the next tent, who looks up and approaches us.
"Did you talk with the man without a saddle? He is a friend of professor Cole's!"
"Well, I kind of did. He really did not talk much, he seemed to be in a hurry. He just bought a knife and went on. He actually wanted a dagger but I don't have any."
"Did he ask for directions or anything? I don't think he knows this area well." I ask casually, although my heart is beating fast.
"Oh yes, he also wanted a bow and arrows to hunt for rabbits. That's what he said, although I thought that was kind of weird. Why doesn't he just use a snare like others?"
"So what did you tell him?" I ask.
"Well, I told him to go to the blacksmith at the end of the Birch Street. I think he is the only one who actually makes decent bows in this town."
"Did he go there, then? And did you see him talk with other people?"
"Yes, he left directly toward Birch Street from here. I saw him coming from the South Road, and I think he talked with those people before coming to me." Robert points at the merchants at the edge of the square.
"I think you don't need to find him, professor Cole. He will find you alright" Mr Steinwyg says brightly.
"Oh he probably will. But you see, I have to leave the town for a while and if I don't find him soon, I won't see him at all. And that would be a pity."
"Well, I agree with that. Seeing old friends is indeed a joy."
"Thank you very much for your help. It was very helpful talking with you, as always." I say and nod to them both.
"It's a pleasure. See you next time." says Mr Steinwyg.
I head toward the other merchants. I must keep calm, although it is now quite evident that Jacobs is not going to flee but instead is preparing for a fight. He did not have any arms in his wagon, so he clearly was not planning for this, but after seeing me, the first thing he does is to buy weapons. He wants me dead. That means that he thinks I am the only person who knows his true identity. Or the only person outside a conspiracy group?
I still don't have a clue why he is here in the first place, but that is a thing to be solved later. Now I must find him before he finds me.
"Good morning! A nice weather, finally," I greet the merchants.
"Good morning, professor. What would would you like?"
"I am actually looking for my friend. He was riding a brown horse without a saddle, maybe an hour ago."
"Yeah, he talked to us. He was asking where you live. Funny though, he was talking about lieutenant Herbert Cole, not professor. But it's you, isn't it?"
"Yes, he always calls me that. It's kind of an inside joke. So, did you guide him to the academy?"
"Oh yes. He seemed to be pleased with that information."
"Did you talk about something else?"
"Well he was asking about the surroundings of the Academia. I told him that it is a beautiful area. He has not been there before?"
"No, this is his first time here. And you gave him good instructions so that he can find there?"
"I hope I did, professor."
"Very well, thanks for your help."
Now I am in a hurry. Jacobs has a head start, but he went to buy a bow. Luckily the blacksmith lives in the opposite direction, so he has to go quite far around the lake and then come back. I must try to catch him before he enters the campus area. He is much too dangerous a man there.
I mount White Diamond and start to gallop towards the school a route that is different from the one Jacobs will most likely take from the blacksmith. This way, I will be between him and the school and know which way to go. I am glad I took White Diamond, because speed is exactly what I need now. Jacobs' horse is older, skinnier, and tired of pulling the wagon the whole morning and then escaping me. So I will be faster, if I just am able to cross his path.
When I come to the gate of the Academia, I notice that our gardener is still cutting trees and clearing bushes just beside the crossing outside the Academia wall. Lucky me.
"Hello, John!" I already should from the distance before stopping just beside him. "Have you seen anyone coming toward the Academia since I left?"
He looks up to me for a while, scratches his ear and says: "Well, several students have gone out, and professor Atwell came from the town. Are you looking for her?"
"No, I am looking for a man on a brown horse without a saddle. He was in the town maybe half an hour ago and he is probably heading to the Academia."
"No sir, I haven't seen anyone who's not from the school."
"Okay, now listen carefully. I need your help, and this is very important. This man is armed and dangerous but only when threatened. I will try to stop him, but if he comes here, he must be followed from a distance so that he does not notice. Don't try to stop him yourselves. If he comes to talk to you, don't let him know that he was expected."
"Oh gods, what is going on?" John looks worried but also excited at the same time.
"I have no time to explain. You must tell the principal and you must not let students know. And keep an eye on the road from the town."
"Yes, sir. I'll do my best."
John is a clever man, and I can trust that he will do what he promises. Now I head White Diamond to the other road that takes the lake route to the town. I need to avoid a situation where Jacobs would see me and have an opportunity to use his bow. So whenever I can, I ride small paths beside the road where I can quite well see the road but I am myself covered with the forest. I must still keep good speed, because the galloping of the horse can be heard and Jacobs gets some time to prepare.
I ride pretty far without seeing anything. I am already worried that I made wrong conclusions and Jacobs is actually elsewhere. If he is not heading to the school, where could he be?
Then, suddenly after a curve I see him. He has a bow on his left hand and a quiver on his back, and he sees me. I quickly turn the horse away from the road behind some trees but continue approaching him. Jacobs takes an arrow and prepares to shoot, but he cannot aim because of poor visibility.
"Jacobs, surrender!" I shout. "Several people already know you are alive! You cannot escape."
I don't see too well what he is doing, but then I hear a swish and a thud when he shoots his arrow, more or less in random, and the arrow hits a tree. Then I see him turning and galloping away. When I come out of the forest, Jacobs already is heading his way across the field on the other side of the road. I gallop after him. He has no chance to escape with a tired horse, and he cannot shoot when riding.
Jacobs aims directly to a nearby farm. He rides full speed to the yard, and I am very close but don't catch him quite yet. There is a maid walking on the yard, heading to the house with two buckets of water in her hand. Jacob rushes beside her, jumps off the horse and grabs the maid from behind her back. He has the knife in his hand, and he is keeping it on her throat.
"Nobody move!" Jacobs shouts.
The girl screams, and I stop my horse as fast as I can. I stare at Jacobs.
"Let her go, Jacobs." I say furiously. He has a determined looks in his eyes. Again, he is somewhere where he does not want to be, and he'll do anything to get out of there. He is now extremely dangerous. I raise my hands above my head.
"Look, Jacobs. I am unarmed. Let's talk." My dagger is burning in my boot, but of course he does not know it. And me being too far and him having the girl, the dagger is useless.
"Why did you come across my path? You should have left me alone," Jacobs says sourly between his teeth.
Suddenly there are voices around us. People heard her scream and now there are an old man and a young girl standing on the porch of the house, trying to understand what is going on. A farm-hand is coming from behind a storehouse behind Jacob. He sees him hold her, and starts running.
"Take your hands off her!" the farm-hand shouts. Oh no, he does not see the knife, he does not understand the danger.
"Stop!" I shout. "Everybody stop!"
He does not stop but runs madly at Jacobs. There is less than ten metres. Jacobs turns his head to see what is going on behind him and sees the farm-hand approaching. Oh my gods, why does he not stop? The girl will die! I feel the tickling behind my eyes stronger than for years. I point them with my right hand.
"Stun!" I shout. Jacobs, the maid, and the farm-hand all become limp and fall on the ground unconscious.
~x~
This is really a day for Chief Wismuth. Not only was he able to make an arrest by himself, but to arrest a man who almost killed a girl. These things don't happen often in our small town. He will surely forget to mention that the criminal was already lying on the ground when he arrived. On the other hand, the old farmer will most likely tell his version of the story to anyone in the bar for a beer. Indeed, he was standing just a few metres away when it happened, while the Chief only arrived afterwards.
But the best thing is that the Chief arrested a scary sorcerer with bare hands. I can already imagine him telling a story where stunning spells were cracking all around him but he just confronted the sorcerer and stymied him. I don't care about his ridiculous stories, as long as I can tell my story to Almeron.
"I must see the Academia principal immediately. It is urgent," I say to Wismuth.
"Well, I'll see what I can do." He replies lazily. He is not much of a help. Luckily Jacobs is no longer running loose. He is still weak and disoriented but already able to walk. Wismuth is giving him a helping hand as we walk down a corridor in the castle dungeon.
"I think you should tie our hands. Who knows what we might get up to when you turn your back," I say.
"Well well, you may be right. I must say that I couldn't have guessed what you were up to today. A respected professor, stunning innocent people with spells. Now I have seen it all."
He takes a rope hanging on a nail on the wall and ties my hands tightly. I try to loosen my hands but they are too tight. Wismuth knows his knots. Then he takes another rope and ties Jacobs' hands as tightly. That was exactly what I hoped for. I don't care for being with him if he is untied. Then Wismuth takes a large key from his belt and opens a squeaking door.
"Please welcome to our humble hotel." Wismuth says and points a windowless cell to us. The only one in the town, other rooms down here are used for all kinds of storage. We walk in, Jacobs still needing some guidance by Wismuth, and then he bangs the door closed and turns the key.
"I need to talk to the principal!" I shout through the door.
"I'll let him know." I barely hear Wismuth's voice through the thick door. I hope he does.
Then we are alone, just the two of us, in a dark cell in the castle.
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Your topic is Sunbeam.
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