Free The Last Guardian by Jeff Grubb Page B

lord,” said Khadgar.
    Lothar looked at the lad. “How old are you, lad?”
    Khadgar looked at the older man. “Seventeen. Why?”
    Lothar shook his head and grunted, “That might make sense.”
    “Make sense how?”
    “Med, I mean Lord Magus Medivh, was a young man, several years younger than yourself, when he fell ill. As a result, he never dealt much with someone of your age.”
    “Ill?” said Khadgar. “The Magus was ill?”
    “Seriously,” said Lothar. “He fell into a deep sleep, a coma they called it. Llane and I kept him at
    Northshire Abbey, and the holy brothers there fed him broth to keep him from wasting away.
    For years he was like that, then, snap, he woke up, right as rain. Or almost.”
    “Almost?” asked Khadgar.
    “Well, he missed a large piece of his teenage years, and a few additional decades as well. He fell asleep a teenager and woke up a grown man. I always worry that it affected him.”
    Khadgar thought about the master mage’s mercurial temperament, his sudden mood swings, and the childlike delight with which he approached battling the orcs. Were Medivh a younger man, would his actions make more sense?
    “His coma,” said Lothar, and shook his head at the memory. “It was unnatural. Med calls it a
    ‘nap,’ like it was perfectly reasonable. But we never found out why it happened. The Magus might have puzzled it out, but he’s shown no interest in the matter, even when I’ve asked.”
    “I am Medivh’s apprentice,” said Khadgar simply. “Why are you telling me this?”
    Lothar sighed deeply and looked out over the battle-scarred ridge. Khadgar realized that the King’s
    Champion was a basically honest individual, who would not last a day and a half in Dalaran. His emotions were plain on his weathered, open face.
    Lothar sucked on his teeth, and said, “To be honest, I worry about him. He’s all alone in his tower….”
    “He has a castellan. And there’s Cook,” put in Khadgar.
    “…with all of his magic,” continued Lothar. “He just seems alone. Tucked up there in the mountains. I
    worry about him.”
    Khadgar nodded, and added to himself,and that is why you tried to get apprentices from Azeroth in there. To spy on your friend. You worry about him, but you worry about his power as well. Aloud, Khadgar said, “You worry if he’s all right.”
    Lothar gave a shrug, revealing both how much he did worry and how much he was willing to pretend otherwise.
    “What can I do to help?” asked Khadgar. “Help him. Help you.”
    “Keep an eye on him,” said Lothar. “If you’re an apprentice, he should spend more time with you. I
    don’t want him to…”
    “Fall into another coma?” suggested Khadgar.At a time when these orcs are suddenly everywhere. For his part, Lothar rewarded him with another shrug.
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    Khadgar gave the best smile he could manage, “I would be honored to help you both, Lord Lothar.
    Know that my loyalty must be to the master mage first, but if there is anything afriend would need to know, I will pass it along.”
    Another heavy pat of the gauntlet. Khadgar marveled at how badly Lothar concealed his concerns.
    Were all the natives of Azeroth this open and guileless? Even now, Khadgar could see there was something else Lothar wanted to speak of.
    “There’s something else,” said Lothar. Khadgar just nodded politely.
    “Has the Lord Magus spoken of the Guardian to you?” he asked.
    Khadgar thought of pretending to know more than he did, to draw out more from this older, honest man.
    But as the thought passed through his head, he discarded it. Best to hold to the truth.
    “I have heard the name from Medivh’s lips,” said Khadgar. “But I know nothing of the details.”
    “Ah,” said Lothar. “Then let it be as if I said nothing to you.”
    “I’m sure we will talk of it in due course,” added Khadgar.
    “Undoubtedly,” said Lothar. “You seem like a trustworthy sort.”
    “After all, I’ve only been his apprentice