It would be five years before he saw Castle Nagra again.

     By some miracle, he wasn't summoned back to Domandropolis once during that time. It was as if the rak King had forgotten he existed. Although that was an attractive idea, Tak didn't doubt that he was very much on Khalkedon's mind as his power continued to grow, to the point where he became one of his most powerful underlings. Once or twice he was sure he could feel eyes on the back of his head, a feeling he remembered from his childhood when Molos Gomm had been watching him in his crystal ball. Fortunately, those feelings came months apart, the rak King just checking up on him, and he could only pray that he wasn't under observation when he made his move against his chosen target.

     His cover was that of an independent wizard seeking employment, and travelling as he explored the possibilities of several small communities. All three of the young raks he had his eye on lived on the outskirts of medium sized towns. They liked their privacy and the safety of isolation but still needed the support of a nearby community as they continued the projects and researches they'd begun while still alive.

     Within just a couple of months, though, he'd firmly eliminated one of them for being too powerful and dangerous, even by rak standards. The town he depended on and into which he sent his terrible servants for supplies was full of tales of malice and cruelty inflicted upon those who aroused his displeasure, and his displeasure was apparently all to easy to arouse. Also, frightful tales were told by those who'd had the courage or the foolishness to creep up close to his castle and peep timidly through the narrow windows. The same could be said of any rak, of course, but the reputation of Bosk Blackheart was twice as bad as either of the other two and Tak crossed him off his list of possible targets without regret. He was nearly desperate, but not yet suicidal.

     That left two others, and Tak might have spent months or years weighing them up against each other if he hadn't had a sudden and amazing stroke of luck. He was in the town of Byspring, part of the domain of the rak King Saggaranta who ruled from the granite city of Graal. While there, he was approached by a gaunt, grey bearded man he'd seen several times before and whom he knew worked for Gannlow, the young rak who'd brought him here. The gaunt man, named Chilgrone, was Gannlow's houseman. He was also a wizard in his own right, as Tak had sensed the first time they'd met, and he'd known that the occupant of the dark and dreary coach had sensed him as well. The mutual recognition of two wizards close enough for the magic stored in their bodies to be perceptible to the other's magic sense.

     At first he'd thought Chilgrone to be Gannlow's apprentice, but from casual conversations in one of the local alehouses he'd since learned that the gaunt wizard had in fact arrived only a couple of decades before. Just passing through, it had at first seemed, but he'd made his way to the rak's mansion and stayed there ever since.

     "He was summoned," the town tanner had declared confidently as Tak downed his third pint of muskin. "Gannlow wanted him, and he sent out his power to bring him in. You heed my words. There's things going on in that house of evil that honest folks like us do well to stay out of. The Gods will judge them for their wicked ways. You mark my words."

     The other townspeople sitting around the table had nodded their sober agreement, but Tak had gotten the impression that, despite their words, they weren't really bothered by the presence of a rak on their very doorstep. Gannlow left them alone, for the most part at least, and they left him alone, and the rak had plenty of gold to pay for the tolerance of his neighbours.

     Now face to face with the rak's companion and housekeeper, Tak found himself being subjected to a close scrutiny by a narrow pair of sharp, grey eyes. Tak waited patiently for Chilgrone to conclude his examination of him, and took the opportunity to study the other man in turn. He was old. So old that he had to be well into the terminal decline of his powers, if indeed he could still practice magic at all. He had the thickest, bushiest grey beard he'd ever seen. A beard that seemed to have sucked most of the strength and vigour of his thin body into itself like some kind of monstrous parasite.

     His nose was long and hooked and patterned with a tracery of thin, red blood vessels and his cheeks were dark and sunken beneath the sagging folds under his eyes. There was an energy about him, though, and a sense of far off places and mysterious, exotic cities. He was surrounded by the spicy reek of spell ingredients that drifted up from the bulging pouches of the dark robes, and in one knobbly hand he held a thick, wooden staff that throbbed with enormous and barely contained magical energies. Tak found himself staring at it enviously. He'd have loved to have a magic staff of his own, but he'd never quite gotten the hang of how to make one and had finally given up after his last attempt had almost destroyed the laboratory he was working in.

     Chilgrone nodded to himself as he concluded his examination. "You are a wizard," he stated flatly. Tak nodded his reply. Such a self evident statement seemed unworthy of a verbal reply.

     "Is it your intention to remain long in this part of the world?"

     "That depends," replied Tak. He stopped himself from saying more. Some instinct warned him not to appear too eager and excited, but the possibilities he sensed in this meeting almost took his breath away.

     "On whether you can find employment," the gaunt man finished for him. "I have met your kind before. A wanderer. A free spirit. Out to see all the world has to offer."

     If only, Tak thought, but again he said nothing. He wasn't lying if he allowed the other man to come to the wrong conclusion.

     Chilgrone nodded again. "I was such a one, in my youth, but there comes a time when you have to settle down. You can't be a wanderer forever."

     "Not forever," said Tak. "Just for as long as it suits me."

     "But it suits you to remain here for the time being? A year or two at least?"

     Tak allowed himself an enigmatic smile. "Perhaps," he said.

     "On whether you can find work. Those willing to pay, and pay well, for the use of your talents. Am I right?" Chilgrone came to a decision. "I might be able to offer you employment. My master is engaged in a project that requires the assistance of a talented wizard. My years are drawing to an end. He requires the strength of youth. The energy and enthusiasm that is lost to the passage of the years. Would you be interested in high paid employment?"

     "Your master would be the rak Gannlow," said Tak, trying to give the appearance of wary hesitancy. Inside, though, he couldn't believe his luck. It couldn't be better if he'd planned it himself!

     "You fear raks?" said Chilgrone with a chuckle. "And well you might, for they are the most powerful and dangerous creatures to inhabit this sad and weary world of ours. You need not fear this proposition, however. His offer is a sincere one. An honest one. He merely requires assistance for a period of a few months, maybe a couple of years. Assistance for which you will be well rewarded. Perhaps you would like some time to think it over."

     "No," said Tak, not wanting to take caution to the extreme. Too much of an act might make the older wizard suspicious. "You're right, it was in the hope of finding work like this that I came here. We'll need to discuss the reward you mentioned, however."

     "Of course. You will want to talk it over with Gannlow himself. May I offer you transport to the mansion, when you're ready?"

     "I'm ready now. Let's go."

☆☆☆

     Gannlow's mansion was about seven miles out of town, at the end of a badly overgrown cart track that led deep into the surrounding forest. Had Tak been travelling that road alone, he might have given up and turned back before reaching the end, deciding that it led only to some farmer's field or perhaps just petered out into a footpath that led nowhere at all. Just as the yellow sun was losing itself in the swaying heads of the trees behind them, though, they turned a bend in the road and there was the mansion ahead of them. A magnificent dwelling that might have been the country seat of a duke or a prince.

     The entire population of Aldervale could have been housed inside its ivy covered walls. The stout oaken doors and narrow ground floor windows could have kept out a small army, and the stables that stood opposite, across the wide courtyard, could have stabled an entire cavalry regiment, although that particular building had a neglected, disused look to it. Only one small corner looked as though it was still used. It was to that part of the stables that the carriage came to a halt, and a groom emerged to look after the horses as Tak and Chilgrone stepped out.

     "Wow!" said Tak, considerably impressed. "Done well for himself, hasn't he?"

     "This was once the estate of the fifteenth Earl of Klasdia," replied Chilgrone as they walked towards the door, being opened for them by a man in a uniform. "My Lord was looking for a dwelling more suited to his station. He had money, and the fifteenth Earl didn't, so..." He shrugged. "The sixteenth Earl, his son, now occupies a considerably smaller place more in keeping with his income."

     Tak nodded, although he had trouble coming to terms with the idea of raks buying and selling their homes like ordinary people. This Gannlow certainly didn't sound like the raving monster Bosk Blackheart was. He sounded almost decent, in fact. He warned himself to keep always on his guard, though. A rak is a rak, he told himself. No matter how decent and reasonable he might sound, there was no doubt he'd be less than pleased if he discovered Tak's real reason for being there.

     The fact that their employer was an evil, undead creature didn't seem to worry the mansion's staff, though. The doorman seemed to be a normal, contented servant, doing his job as he would for any other rich householder, and as the greybearded wizard led Tak along the corridors and up a sweeping flight of stairs to the first floor, he saw a maid scurrying through a door carrying a rag and a can of polish.

     A young rak indeed, the younger wizard thought, pleased and relieved by the confirmation of what he'd heard. So newly transformed, in fact, that he still felt the need for human company. Still thought and behaved like a living human being. Give him another few decades, though, and he'd begin to wonder why an undead being still needed servants. Why he still needed to impress his visitors with a clean, tidy and well ordered house. A hundred years from now, this place will be neglected and deserted, he told himself, but Gannlow won't care so long as the basic structure of the building remains strong. A young rak, maybe less than ten years undead. Good. Excellent, in fact. He'd struck gold here!

     "This will be your room," Chilgrone said, stopping by a wooden door and opening it for him. "You'll find a bellrope beside the bed to summon a maid if you need anything. There will be a meal in the main dining room in an hour. Just return to the hall and take the corridor past the suits of armour. I'll tell the cooks if you have any special dietary requirements...?"

     Tak shook his head. He could eat just about anything.

     "Lord Gannlow will send for you tomorrow, and if he thinks you're right for his project he'll explain what it's all about and what your part in it will be."

     "I am rather curious," admitted Tak.

     "He wouldn't like it if I gave anything away now," said Chilgrone, catching the unspoken question. "He'll want to see for himself how you react to the information. Well, I'll leave you to get settled in."

     He turned and left, closing the door behind him, leaving Tak with a sudden feeling of apprehension. He'll want to see for himself how you react to the information. It sounded big, whatever it was.