Free Temple of the Traveler: Book 01 - Doors to Eternity by Scott Rhine Page B

losers had their uses; Kragen wasted nothing.
    A payment schedule was established for each category of treasure brought up from the depths. A basket of red sand, a bucket of amber-colored glass, and small fossils each earned a gold coin. This inspired the young divers, but Humi knew they’d never be able to spend it. The real payment came two years later when she found one of the larger fossils. Kragen had been so overjoyed by her first big find that he’d kissed her full on the lips. On the second such occasion, when she found the human footprint, he was so pleased that he offered her anything in the palace as a reward.
    “Treat me as a full-blooded, Imperial woman for one night.”
    Since he was scheduled for a trip to Innisport, Lord Kragen brought Humi along. He ordered the shopkeepers to fit her with a fine kimono and had her hair done by the most expensive stylists in the port city. When she reched his table at the fine restaurant, Humi’s beauty took his breath away. True to his word, he treated her as an equal the whole evening. At his townhouse, when the powerful man escorted her to the guest room, he kissed her hand goodnight. The shuddering gasp she responded with led him to kiss her up to the elbow. When he stopped there, she removed the other arm from its sleeve, and placed it boldly in his hand. “The other one’s jealous.”
    By the time he reached her neck, the new kimono had fallen to the floor. Kragen never reached his own room. Upon their return to the Temple of the Unseen, her belongings were moved to Kragen’s tower.
    After that, she advanced his project with more single-minded efficiency than Kragen could have himself. Years of brutal labor later, she still loved him. Humi didn’t know what her lord did with the best fossils, and she didn’t care. However, as time progressed, the easy treasures had all been plucked. The ones that remained were deeper and more dangerous to reach, yet Kragen’s need was stronger than ever. The great, rose-colored lens had been constructed, and the mandala was nearly completed. The components had to be in place by this Emperor’s Day. His organization wouldn’t hold together for another seven years in his absence until the next such celestial event, and his ambitious apprentice would not be put off much longer.

Chapter 9 – Apprentice
     
     
    All wizards are convinced that they’re the Lords of Creation, and those of the True Blood were the greatest of them all. Tumberlin clucked his tongue as he scraped scum off the hull of the second-shift boat and refreshed the wards. He was overweight and sweated profusely with the exertion. How the mighty had fallen. The son of the ambassador to the Steel Court, he’d been groomed to become a court wizard. Because ten years ago Sandarac the Pretender had invaded the famed foundries of Kiateros, Tumberlin was stuck in the boondocks doing drudge work for people who failed to appreciate his finer qualities. He hated the incessant heat and humidity.
    Then Humi walked past him to ring the bell. Kragen’s apprentice admired her firm legs and the shine of her youth. He took time from his duties to watch her exquisite body until she passed into the dormitory. The heat had its benefits, requiring fewer and smaller clothes. Perhaps one day, when Kragen tired of her fare, the master would share her secrets as well. Tumberlin didn’t see her shudder with revulsion after she passed the threshold.
    Once the distraction was gone, Tumberlin returned to his rounds, checking spirit traps and other defenses. He also resumed his libretto of self-pity. His personal guards were the laziest men on the island. They refused to accompany him to other zones on the island unless they drew hazard pay. His provisions had run out twice in the last month, and Tumberlin suspected his chief steward of profiteering. Unfortunately, he had no time to run the blackguard to ground or lead a scavenging expedition himself. In addition to his normal