by Vance Huxley
“At least that gives us time to get that poor woman sorted out, and Claris back home.” Abel put the coin and letter back in the chest. “Jenny can have a look in town see if the place is still there? Then at Christmas we can take a trip. I’ll bury this in the garden.” Abel laughed. “With the sorceress’s glyph, the key, and this chest we’ll need that treasure map, Jenny.”
Despite a few tries at finding a way round it, everyone agreed they’d have to wait. In the interim there were glyphs to practice, and a frog-dragon to add to Bonny’s Tavern game because Jenny liked it. Somewhere along the line the parents would sort out if the church could be leased, which would give Kelis and her mum an emergency home if necessary. The break would also let everyone research property rights. If Abel could claim Castle House, would he have to wait until he was eighteen? Rob also reminded them to check the treasure trove option. There might be something valuable in there.
None of them were keen, but it looked like the exploration would be on hold for another five weeks. Jenny swore she’d keep her mouth shut, and by the time the five of them went back to school they’d sort of got used to the idea.
The next volume is being written as you read:
Ferryl Shayde III
A Very Different Game
Abel’s World
Brinsford - a small village in rural England, eight miles from Stourton
Consists of:
Main Street - with pub and small shop
Brinn Lane - off village green, leads to a small bridge then up valley to local farms
Riverside Close - a dozen council houses
Castle Road - road from village to main road half a mile away
Residents:
Abel Bernard Conroy - 16 - lives with Mum, Dad died - accident at sea
Christine Conroy - Chris - 41 - Abel′s widowed Mum, has part-time job
John Tyler - Rob′s Dad
Terri Tyler - Rob′s Mum
Rob Tyler - 16 - Abel′s best friend
Melanie Tyler - 14 - Rob′s sister
Samantha Tyler - 19 - Rob′s sister
Jessica Ventner - Kelis′ Mum
Kelis Ventner - 16 - Abel′s best (only) female friend
Stan - local pensioner and reputedly poacher - has a shotgun and an old Jack Russell called Bugsy
Mr. Copples - local farmer
Henry Copples - 16 - local bully
Tyson Copples - 19 - Henry′s brother - bully with crossbreed dog Cooch (Cuchelain)
Stourton - town eight miles from Brinsford
Kielby - village six miles from Brinsford - home of Jenny and Diane
Stourton Comprehensive - local secondary school
School year groups: 11 = GCSE year, 13 = A-Level year
Mr. Sanders - graphic art master
Mr. Beresford - sports master
Mrs. Svengy - biology teacher
Arabelle - 17 - one of the seraphims - Acro dancer - year 13
Claris Ellsworth - 17 - seraphim - bubbly redhead Acro dancer, likes the rugby players - year 13
Diane Forester - 14 - Jenny′s sister - year 9
Jenny Georgina Forester - 17 - seraphim - Acro dancer for school team year 12
Justin - 16 - beta in town - year 11
Laurence Horatio Sperrick - 17 - seraphim - minor nobility but not wealthy, attends local comprehensive - Acro dancer – year 13
Petra - 17 - game beta lives in a nearby village - year 12
Rachel - 14 - Justin′s sister - year 9
Sarah Russel - 16 - beta in town - year 11
Seraph Angelique Bellamy-Courts - 17 - wealthy young woman who manipulates the rich, influential, athletic and good-looking to form an elite, the seraphims - year 13
Una - 17 - game beta in town with character costume - year 12
Warren - 16 - game beta in town - year 11
Others
Local:
Eric - 20 - Warren′s big brother
Frederick - 53 - adult who sees magical creatures and has befriended a dryad. Lives near Elmwood Park in Stourton.
Jake Forester - Jenny′s dad, a big builder and businessman
Mark - 18 - neighbour of Petra′s, devout catholic
Shannon - 17 - beta - church school - catholic - year 12
Shawn - 19 - friend of a friend of a beta
Kieran - 16 – First Taverner outside local area - lives in Hope Valley in the Pennines - year 11
Vicar Creepio Mysterio - Kelis′ name for a Peripatetic Archbishop interested in Castle House
Pendragon - local sorcerer who has a monopoly on magical contracts in Stourton
Elrond - a senior apprentice to Pendragon, not a favourite
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Ferryl’s World - Book II
Magic: A power that permeates the air, but cannot be utilised in its raw form. All living creatures absorb magic but plants are unable to dissipate it. Trees are the greatest natural reservoirs of magic, if old enough. Animals from insects to elephants will dissipate any surplus in an uncontrolled fashion, unless they are sentient and learn to utilise glyphs and store more.
Glyphs: Patterns drawn or etched on solid objects or in air or water, used to control magic and give it specific purpose. The strength of a scribed glyph depends on the magic put into it, and the medium it is drawn on. Glyphs inscribed in metal are the strongest, scribed in air the weakest. Effect of a thrown glyph depends on amount of magic, skill, and intent behind it. The four basic glyphs are air, fire, water and earth. Combined with each other and created glyphs of increasing complexity, almost anything can be accomplished. Conversely, a slight mistake can be catastrophic or fatal.
Veil: A concealment glyph that can be anchored to an object or a person. The amount of concealment depends on the intent and magic poured into it.
Spun slowly anti-clockwise a veil obscures living beings from unmagical sight though the magically aware can still see through it and will detect the veil itself as a shimmer in the air. Spun faster it conceals plants and manmade solids such as metal or glass, faster still dead organics such as wood and leather. Spun at very high speed the glyph uses impractically huge amounts of magic but can conceal anything, including even its own shimmer, from magic users. Beings made of almost pure magic can still detect the intense magical activity, but not the veil or what is concealed.
Another identical glyph spun clockwise at the same time extends the size of the globe concealed, faster means larger.
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Gods: Possibly originally sorcerers who have learned how to draw magic from worshippers using a symbol or mark. Their power grows with the number of prayers, but old gods act quickly to crush young ones. Gods fade away as worshippers decrease but are eternal as long as one worshipper still lives. Legend claims that the glyphs were stolen from the first God.
Sorcerer or Sorceress: Advanced glyph wielder who has learned how to prolong their life either with magic or at the expense of other living creatures. They are usually wealthy, live in a well-guarded home and keep a wide area clear of any large or particularly dangerous entities.
Witch or Warlock: Minor magic practitioner unable to progress to sorcerous glyphs. Sells charms and hexes, and removes or creates minor curses. They have a normal lifespan, usually training a replacement who will also support them in old age. The profession is dying out in the countryside and smaller towns due to the current disbelief in magic and magical creatures. There are fewer paying customers to provide a living so apprentices prefer to take up other jobs.
Bound Servant: A being branded with a mark allowing a glyph wielder to control them completely. Will ignore pain or injury, hard to kill because partly protected by brand.
Tethered servant: Usually a sorcerer′s apprentice. The tethering allows free will but can be used to communicate, inflict pain or death, or drain magic.
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Creatures visible to the non-magical
Dryad: Creature that utilises the magic gathered b
y trees to protect its home tree and prolong both their lives. Gnarled, bad-tempered, rude creatures, they can manipulate magic to create a veil to hide their surroundings or to change their appearance. Will sometimes trade answers to questions in return for honey.
Stout woody torso, no neck, eyes large, round and are different shades depending on tree. Chestnuts are chestnut brown, of course. Torso matches bark of tree. Legs are short, stout, no knees and end in roots that often embed in ground to help dryad stand. They usually live inside their tree. Arms are thin branches with long twigs as fingers, no foliage.
Can work simple glyphs using tree magic, and protect the tree against magic, rot and disease. Dryads control their tree enough to drop branches on attackers, strangle small creatures with roots or hit them with branches. Full control of the roots and branches takes many, many years of practice.
Asexual, though they can produce facsimile human features to lure humans close enough to steal a little magic. Will occasionally ripen young giving them a basic knowledge of the world, the glyphs dryads can work, and how to control a tree. Dryad seedlings blend into a young sapling and grow together. Both are very vulnerable until the young tree matures and accumulates surplus magic.
Dryads communicate somehow, though they claim to hear everything ′on the wind′ or through birdsong and mouse chatter rather than give details. They are sometimes overheard referring to The Wild Wood as if it is a sentient being.
Blood Leech: Old blood magic remnant that survives by possessing a human and feeding on fresh blood and the magic therein. A single Leech, a Firstseed, infects healthy humans to create a nest of Leeches. They are connected both by sensing each other and an affinity for the lair, the home of the Firstseed. All Leeches obey their Firstseed and will sacrifice themselves to defend it.
Adult Leeches prefer pale skinned hosts to shed excess heat and wear dark glasses because their eyes show red around the pupils. Most find a willing victim, usually demanding a fixed period of possession (forty years) for the curing of an otherwise fatal illness. Once vacated the discarded host should be left young and healthy but with no memory of the intervening years. If the Leech has kept the bargain they will then live out their lives normally.
Not all Leeches keep the bargain, some leaving the host barely alive and often infected with a seed. These also leave the host with full memories of forty years spent hunting humans and draining blood. If a seeded host finds enough fresh blood, another Blood Leech is created. Even if the host finds a priest or sorcerer fast enough, the seed will try to poison them as it dies. Even if the host survives, the memories may drive them insane.
Goblins: One of the few magical creatures visible to the non-magical because they eat large amounts of mostly non-magical food. Goblins eat almost anything humans or animals do but prefer junk food (or fruit cake) to raw meat. Raid rubbish bins, cat and dog dishes and bird tables but also eat magical creatures and small animals and birds.
Goblins have been hunted almost to extinction for two main reasons. Firstly, because their gastric juices and wind are very flammable, making them a severe fire hazard. Goblins sleeping near open fires could explode and set fire to the house if they passed wind. Sorcerers still believe a Goblin with indigestion started the Great Fire of London. As they were considered vermin, some sorcerers used captive goblins as entertainment at feasts. Guests would shoot burning arrows at tethered Goblins, or heat them slowly until they exploded. This was considered a public service.
The second reason for their extinction came down to numbers. In the past goblins could reach plague proportions as their melds (clan, family) keep expanding. Even the goblins have no way to limit their numbers except suicide. Sorcerers or the church used to mount hunts to scour the countryside, but if only one survived the meld would grow again. Without the fire hazard, this might have been tolerated, as a reasonable number of local goblins helped to keep rats in check. A Goblin infestation sweeping down from the north of England and wiping out the flea carriers might be why the Black Death petered out in the Midlands.
Goblins of all sizes are dark emerald green, potbellied munchkins vaguely humanoid. They have two short skinny legs with fat feet and five fat flat grasping claws - can be used for perching. Two long skinny arms end in small palms with four long knobbly clawed fingers and a very fat, short thumb. Wide mouth, lots of tiny teeth, long thin tongue and huge appetite. Round, dark green eyes, no apparent ears or nose.
Goblins live in melds (like a clan). The meld always regrows even if there is only one left. Old goblins are called Olds. Their skin crumbles after about fifty years and their internal gases and juices erupt in a small explosion, hopefully not near other goblins or anything flammable. Olds may look for the flame (suicide) if there is a food shortage.
Batlins - Smallest Goblin, their bodies are the size of a thrush. Look like all goblins except for large bat-like wings. Live in caves, barns and attics, very much like bats and usually fly at night to avoid notice.
Ratlins - Size of a large rat, not as rotund as other Goblins, live in burrows and often steal flower bulbs or gnaw roots on living bushes and unprotected trees.
Stonelins - About 1 metre tall. These goblins disguise themselves with a seeming, looking like gargoyles or grotesque garden statues and ornaments.
Hobgoblins - Bigger, tougher and scarier and were used by some sorcerers as guards. Lived in wild places and deep caves, but are now allegedly extinct.
Troll: There are several types, all allegedly destroyed by the church.
Cave Trolls still exist, hiding deep in the earth. An adult is the size of a truck with little magic outside of an affinity for strengthening earth and rock around tunnels. Trolls accrete rock and earth as they grow, bonding it into their skins as armour so most glyphs bounce off an adult. New-formed Trolls are about a metre tall, looking like a fat half-worm on end but twisted like a swirl of cream or soft ice-cream (or a dog poop).
Swamp Trolls, Water (Bridge) Trolls and Ice Trolls are probably extinct, as they were more visible and killed on sight.
Varglin - Almost a large wolf but sickly green mossy fur with long fangs and claws and a ruff of orange porcupine quills.
Amanatik - A spined, eight-legged two-metre long turtle with spiral tusks.
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The following are invisible, unless the human is awakened to magic.
Free Spirit: Any gust of wind, ripple of water or flicker of flame might pick up enough magic to persist, briefly. If that magic is the decaying remnant of a dead creature it creates a Free Spirit, the unthinking and usually short-lived amoeba of the magic world. They are completely defenceless, the favoured prey of many magical creatures especially small fae. Very rarely a Free Spirit absorbs more magic as it drifts here and there.
Feral Spirit: If a Free Spirit survives long enough it might grow to become a Feral Spirit. These feel hunger, seeking out the stray magic leaking from non-magical beings to keep growing. Gradually any who survive long enough, the rarest of Feral Spirits, learn to deliberately take magic from fish eggs or tiny insects. Over many years, possibly centuries, such Feral Spirits can become dangerous enough to kill larger prey for the magic. When threatened the strongest can kill animals up to humans. Even those vanishingly rare examples are still ephemeral in nature, with few defences, so any magic user or predatory creature might snap them up for their magic.
The final form, so rare it doesn′t have a name, is when a Feral Spirit becomes truly sentient. If it learns to possess flesh creatures it becomes harder to find and much harder to kill, and may learn enough magic to be truly dangerous. The church in particular will deliberately hunt down any such creature once they learn of it.
Skurrit: Pack hunter. Long thin low-slung body with a variable number of short legs and clawed feet, all covered with long, matted dirty brown fur. Has a light brown bald tail and a nearly bald head and snout each about 40 cm long. Tiny red eyes in a small skull with a long thin pointed snout, containing several rows of sharp teeth. Not easy
to kill. One alone will probably run from a cat, two or more might hunt it.
Globhoblin: Warty, globular creature up to the size of a football with multiple legs ending in clawed feet. Will eat discarded food but prefers to prey on the helpless like kittens, hamsters, and baby animals as well as small wildlife. Will also prey on drunks or the ill, using a stinger to draw magic directly. Easily killed by weak glyphs or banished by hexes.
Fursomnium: Dream Stealer or Eater. The creature spreads webs through bedroom walls to feed on the emotional magic given off by dreamers. If a Fursomnium eats well, for instance if someone goes insane nearby, it can sleep for many tens of years.
Gremlin: Tiny, creature whose skin and carapace look somewhat like a toothless old man in overalls. They live inside any type of machinery, including electrical equipment, and often cause malfunctions. Those are so that angry or frustrated humans touch the object, and the Gremlin can feed from the leaking magic.
Thornie: Prickly creature the size of a mouse, vaguely humanoid, prefers fruit but will eat most human food. Infest canteens and rubbish dumps.
Hoplin: Little creatures looking like a miniature armadillo hopping like a kangaroo, with a mildly venomous bite. Hunt in pairs that can kill rats, mice or a kitten. Useful for dealing with infestations of rats and mice.
Faerie: Very common rough-skinned creatures in shades and patterns of brown, with long, thin horny wings and a variety of limbs. Absorb the magic in grass or leaves, or sometimes fruit. Eat a little to help remain solid, which leaves tiny blemishes. Too many on one plant can kill grass or leaves.
Fae: Similar looking but leaner, predatory and larger than Faerie which they hunt. Some hunt small insects or even head lice and are harmless to humans. Larger ones have stings or suck magic from animals such as humans which can leave itchy marks. They can be dangerous in numbers. The natural magical food supply for larger versions is sucked like mosquitoes by the large magical creatures that browse on the magic in plants.
