by Beam, Brian
I changed into my spare shirt—a long-sleeved, gray wool one—having sicked up on my other one the night before. After retrieving another ewer of water to wash up the best we could and cleaning up Til’s pile of wood shavings, we went out to the common room to enjoy our breakfast together before braving the Wizard Academy. The food was terrible—stale biscuits with some sort of bitter blue jam and water—but we enjoyed each other’s company and the fact that it was free. We each took another of the meat rolls Ulys had given Til’ to make up for the poor breakfast while still having two left for Max. I hoped with all my heart that we’d actually have the chance to give them to him.
The common room was mostly empty, only our table and one other occupied. The other had three hooded wizards leaning forward and speaking conspiratorially. One of them kept glancing towards our table as if to make sure we weren’t attempting to listen in. Behind the bar, a large man—large as in thick muscled with a tree-trunk neck—cleaned the bar with a rag. I assumed he’d been the one who’d banged on our door. Though he never looked directly at us, I could tell he was observing both tables.
After I finished my meat roll, I started digging the shards of lantern glass from my backpack while Til’ and Briscott finished theirs. “Briscott, would you mind holding on to this while I’m gone?” I gestured to the backpack.
“Sure thing, Korin, but you better blighting come back for it,” he replied solemnly, his expression somber.
“Look, worrying about what’s going to happen isn’t going to do us any good, so let’s just assume that everything will go perfectly,” I responded with as much of smile as I could muster, though my nerves were worn.
I did have every right to be nervous, though. Even if I was able to get Max, Sal’, and Xalis, I still had the aftereffects of the potion to deal with. Those effects had been all but debilitating the night before. The remaining half of the potion, which I’d poured back into the bottle, weighed heavily in a pocket sewn into the waist of my pants.
Briscott leaned forward, his tilted eyes serious. “If something happens, we’ll respect your blighted wishes to not come after you the best we can, but I’d rather not have to be put in a situation where I might have to reconsider.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked back and forth between them. “There will be no reconsidering,” I said seriously. “Stick to the plan we discussed last night.”
Briscott shrugged. “I’m just saying, don’t put us in that blighted situation.”
“We’ll stick to the plan,” Til’ affirmed, his silver eyes meeting mine. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t spend our time trying to find another way to help you.”
With a sigh, I stood, putting on my backpack under my cloak. “Let’s go back to assuming all will go well.” I pulled the Vesteir-sigiled fortune block from under my shirt. “After all, I’ve got this, right? Anyway, take your time finishing up, and I’ll go see if Muscle Head over there can give me any information about the location of the laboratory.”
The big man behind the bar fixated his too-small eyes on me as I approached. Before I could get a word out, he placed both of his meaty hands on the counter, leaning forward with an intense gaze.
“Muscle Head, huh?” His rough voice sounded as if it held the promise of a good beating.
I swallowed, cursing my foolhardy mouth and Muscle Head’s superhuman hearing. “Uh, I meant it as a compliment?”
Muscle Head let out a snort that may have been laughter, but his expression still looked like an angry stone. “Whaddya want?”
After a bit of uncomfortable conversation in which I was threatened with having my . . . um . . . area kicked so hard it would come out my mouth if I spoke a word of what he’d told me to anyone, I walked away with the knowledge that the laboratory was in a thick-walled basement below the main building of the Wizard Academy. I decided to wait until we’d left the Lost Wizard to share my newfound information with Til’ and Briscott, not wishing to test Muscle Head’s threat.
As we were about to leave, I had a sudden realization. “We’re going to have to be really careful with the Wizard Guard after me,” I groaned. As I preemptively raised my hood to shadow my face, I noticed Til’ flashing me a giddy smile. “What?”
“You’ll see,” he replied excitedly as he rushed to the door ahead of us.
We stepped into the chill fall morning, the sky painted orange and red as the sun ascended over the jagged teeth of the Glacial Mountains. Directly in front of us was a red-painted carriage with gold-gilded accents. Two harnessed black mares stamped their feet impatiently before it. A man dressed in fine black livery, the tails of his long coat nearly brushing the ground, stood outside the carriage’s door. His curly brown hair was well-groomed, his boyish face clean-shaven.
“Hello, sirs,” he greeted in a monotonic drawl. His eyes matched the boredom of his voice. “I am here to provide your transport.” His eyes slid down to Til’ expectantly.
Til’ reached into his satchel and pulled out a piece of woodcraft—the hollow one that had impressed me that morning—and handed it to the stodgy carriage man. The man took it without a word, tucking it into his coat pocket as he opened the carriage door. He simply made a gesture for us to enter before climbing up to the driver’s seat.
“Take us to Augril’s Stables and Smithy, please,” Til’ requested.
After a grunt of acknowledgement from the man, we climbed the two steps into the carriage. The inside was not as extravagant as the finely painted outside had me expecting. Narrow wooden benches with no padding were built into either end with about enough leg room between them for anyone under the age of twelve. It was perfect for Til’, at least.
Once we were in, the carriage lurched forward. The carriage bumped and bounced on our way to Augril’s Stables and Smithy, despite Auslin’s smooth roads. I assumed that the carriage was one meant to provide an image of luxury to those on the outside, giving those inside the illusion of class. That way, people wanting to look important could do so for less coin. Oliphia-blooded idiots. She’s the goddess of vanity.
“So, Til’,” I began as I watched the Black Magic District pass by through the curtained windows, “care to explain this?”
Til’s ear-to-ear smile revealed how proud he was about our chauffeured trip. “Since Ulys was so happy to take that woodwork in exchange for the potion, I thought maybe she could set us up with transportation to save us time today if I offered her another piece. She said that enchanted Kolarin woodcraft—which is what she planned to create with what I gave her—sells for about a dozen gold.”
My mouth dropped. “Maybe I should rethink this quest. I could get Max to enchant your work and retire on the beach in less than a year.”
Til’ sucked in a deep breath in surprise. “Hey, but what about—”
“Til’, I’m joking,” I interrupted. “I think.”
Briscott gave a hearty laugh. “Sounds pretty blighting tempting.”
We all laughed at that and then fell into small talk on the trip to the stable. Til’ and Briscott were happy to hear that I had an idea on where the laboratory would be and had a great laugh about the threat I’d received from Muscle Head. I was just glad that I didn’t have to worry about being seen by the Wizard Guard. The carriage would keep us concealed on our way to the Wizard Academy.
As we exited the Black Magic District, the greater area of Auslin came into view. The buildings were made of the same reflective stone, but most towered several stories into the air, their roofs great, colorful domes that shone in the sunlight. The roads were also of the same material, though they had shining white swirls and decorative symbols adorning their edges. From when we’d been in this part of the city days before, I’d seen just how beautiful those glowing symbols were in the darkness of night. Through the window on my left, I could see the pointed tip of the Wizard Academy stretching into the morning sky, shining brightly in the rising sun.
Even though the Lost Wizard had been several miles from the stable, we seemed
to arrive way too early. Given how nervous I was, I probably would’ve felt the same even if we’d taken five days to make the trip.
The carriage came to a shuddering halt. We waited for several moments to see if the carriage man would open the door, but from the lack of noise from outside, it seemed he had no plans of leaving his seat. Til’ was the last to exit, and his foot was barely out of the door before the carriage started away without a single word from the driver.
“There goes a pleasant fellow. His mother must be proud,” I muttered sarcastically as the carriage turned a corner and rolled out of sight.
“He didn’t seem all that pleasant to me. He actually . . .” Til’ trailed off as he saw my expression. “Ohhh.”
With a laugh, Briscott clapped the Kolarin on the back. “I’m going to hate parting ways with you,” he said with a smile, though his words held the truth.
“Me too,” Til’ replied with a touch of sadness. “But I’m going to catch up with you guys later. I told Korin that I was going to go to Gualain with him, and I’m going to follow through on my word. Once I meet back up with you, Korin, we’ll all be back together again. Wait until you meet Sal’ and Max, Briscott. I think they’re going to like you.”
Til’ continued to ramble as we stood outside Augril’s Stables and Smithy, the smell of quenched iron and the clang of hammers on metal drifting from its windows. Our horses were stabled in a separate stone building behind the one used for blacksmithing. Down the street to my right, the Wizard Academy loomed, radiating like burnished metal.
Til’ had somehow gotten on the topic of flowers grown in Isaeron. Apparently gilli blooms were soon to be in season. “Til’, Briscott,” I said, cutting off Til’s rambling. “The sooner I get into the Wizard Academy, the better.”
I took off my cloak, wrapping it around my backpack and sword before passing the bundle to Briscott. I looked resolutely into Briscott’s green eyes. “I’ll be back for these.” My breath misted in the crisp morning air.
Briscott transferred the bundle to one arm and threw his other around me in a half hug. “Good luck in there. May Loranis bless your every footstep.” I realized how much I’d grown to care for Briscott when I realized that I didn’t even have a ghost of a derisive retort about his religious beliefs on my tongue.
Til’ threw his arms around my middle. “We’ll be waiting right here. I know you’ll be okay,” he said, smiling up at me. As he stepped back, I could see that his eyes did not share in his smile. He truly was concerned.
I tried to look confident with the smile I gave him. “Of course I will. I’ve got Vesteir on my side.” I put a hand to my chest where the fortune block hung. “That, and I’m Korin Karell. I always win.” My words had their intended effect and Til’ let out a laugh. I rustled his hair, again letting myself forget that he was a grown adult. The height and demeanor of the Kolari tends to make you look at them as large-eyed, pointy-eared children.
“See you in two hours or less,” I avowed, starting down the street with a final wave. In my mind, though, I made a mental sketch of their faces, in case it was the last time I ever saw them.
As I strode through the heart of Auslin, I tried to settle my nerves by taking in the city around me. Street vendors were set up on nearly every corner, selling everything from food and flowers to “magic” charms and wizard robes. Horse-drawn carts and carriages ran smoothly down the paved roads. The streets were bustling with both wizards and non-wizards going about their daily tasks. Some carried baskets or bundles, while others walked empty-handed yet with purpose.
I found myself smiling as I noticed two children running down the street. One was rolling a barrel hoop down the street with a stick. The other just held out one hand and carried some sort of lizard in the other, his hoop rolling along with no visible prodding.
Most importantly, I didn’t notice any members of the Wizard Guard. Without my hooded cloak, my face was fully exposed. The last thing I needed was to be recognized and chased again.
As busy as the streets were, the city was relatively silent. Street vendors in Auslin didn’t seem to have the same tendency to shout about their wares, instead just walking around the front of their stands and roping people who passed into practiced sales pitches. The rumble of multiple conversations among the streets was audible but more subdued than I was used to in large cities.
After a few blocks of walking, I arrived at the open gates to the outer grounds of the Wizard Academy. The outer grounds formed a large semicircle of perfectly manicured grass and landscaping. Paved walkways meandered through gardens of colorful flowers and under ivy- and rose-covered trellises. Sculpted shrubbery symmetrically dotted the area. Several groundsmen tended the landscaping with shears, trowels, and watering cans.
At the rear of the outer grounds stood the Wizard Academy, home to the only educational institution for wizards and to the Wizard Council itself. Its smooth, reflective walls shone with prismatic light, glowing metallically in the sunlight. With the Wizard Academy’s splendid grandeur looming before me, I found it hard to keep my jaw from dropping, even though I’d had plenty of time to see it when we’d first arrived in Auslin.
Though it was actually three separate structures, the whole of the Wizard Academy seemed to flow as one. There were two smaller buildings on either side of a larger central edifice. The walls facing the central edifice were flat, while the opposite sides rose at an upward, curving slant from the ground. The flat sides were connected to the central edifice by short walkways on certain floors.
Starting at the height of the outer buildings’ peaks, the central edifice continued curving upwards to a sharp point that towered over the city below, giving it the appearance of a majestic, metallic mountain. With the backdrop of the shimmering Glacial Mountains several miles in the distance, I could imagine the Wizard Academy easily fitting in among its ice-covered peaks.
I’d been to a lot of places in my travels, but the mountainesque Wizard Academy was more awe-inspiring than most anything else I’d seen. The magnificent, uncanny beauty of the ocean was the only thing that truly compared.
At the base of the central edifice, an immense archway recessed into a long passage that led to a massive, double-door entryway. A closed, massive, double-door entryway, to be precise. The soaring stone doors were adorned with Idrolin’s sigil in red and white marble, half of the sigil inlaid on each.
Four members of Wizard Guard were posted outside the entryway, two on each side, in their blue and black tabards. The two wizards on the outermost edges of the doors had large black dogs on leashes resting at their sides. The leashes glimmered as if made from white crystal. I wondered if the strange leashes somehow allowed the wizards to draw energy from the animals without having to actually touch them. It was only a guess, but I had a feeling I was right.
There was no traffic going in or out of the doors; I assumed that mostly petitioners and guests normally used them. For me, that meant that the front doors were off limits. I could sneak past the guards with the invisibility potion easily enough, but there was no way to open the doors without drawing attention.
My eyes were drawn to a nearby line of horse-driven wagons turning to enter the open iron gates of the outer grounds. The wagons were loaded with crates and barrels. They looked to be delivering goods to the Wizard Academy. That gave me an idea. I had to act fast, though.
Turning on my heels, I sped back into the streets, ducking into a long alleyway. Near the back end of the alley was a large rain barrel. I crouched behind it and took out the potion bottle. With only a moment of hesitation, remembering my previous experience with the potion and the promise of a worse subsequent experience, I threw it back and swallowed before my nerves could get the better of me.
My breathing staggered. Worry that I was going to miss the narrow window of opportunity I’d gleaned consumed me. I held my hand before my face, but all I could see was flesh and bone. My mind seemed to distort time. Hadn’t the potion worked faster before? Wasn’t I n
early invisible by this point the night before? Though I probably hid behind the barrel for only moments, it felt like hours.
Just when I thought my heart couldn’t possibly beat any faster, the wall of the alley became visible through my hand. With a relieved breath and a quick survey to make sure there was nothing on my person that remained visible, I started back down the alley towards the Wizard Academy. By the time I was at the alley’s mouth, I was completely invisible to those who walked by.
Having at most an hour of invisibility, I sped into the street, dodging around people and carts as I made my way to the Wizard Academy. Several people turned their heads, having felt a gust of wind or the slightest brush of my arm as I passed, but no one gave more than a cursory glance before resuming their business.
The looming iron arch of the outer grounds’ gates passed above my head. The wagons had taken a side path around the grounds that led to the rear of the Wizard Academy. The last in the procession of four wagons was just disappearing from view. Hoping that no one would notice the impressions of footsteps in the grass, I cut straight through the grounds to save some time. Fortunately, none of the groundspeople or those strolling through the area seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.
By the time I’d caught up, the wagons had come to a stop outside the left building of the Wizard Academy and two hooded men in Wizard Guard tabards were approaching them. I stopped beside the lead wagon to survey the scene.
The lead wagon’s driver hopped down from his seat to meet the two wizards. Before a single word was spoken among them, all three men turned their attention to where I stood. For a brief moment, I worried that the wizards could see through my invisibility. Noticing that their eyes didn’t fall directly on me, though, I realized that they were just hearing my heavy breathing as I tried to catch my breath.
My last breath stopped short, my body yearning to draw more air into my tired lungs. I had to fight the urge. Aside from the sounds of a horse’s stamping hooves and the light breeze, the area was silent. The three men continued to stare for a moment, and one of the Wizard Guard wizards went as far as to take a couple steps towards me.
