The Unexpected Demon

by Simon Waldock

  "Master?" Chessina asked again.

  "Yes?" I answered.

  "How do wizards learn new words of power, that haven't been told to them by their masters?" Chessina frowned in thought as she asked this.

  "That's a very important question, Chessina," I replied, "And one I asked of my master Harmon. He told me that research was important, looking for clues in old books of lore, but that meditation and pondering on your understanding of the goddess was equally important. If you understand Arcana enough, she would gift you with another word."

  "Did Arcana ever gift Harmon with a word of power?" asked Chessina.

  "I asked Harmon that too," I answered. "He just smiled at me."

  I had already dedicated my life to the understanding of a mysterious and enigmatic woman, it seems I now had to deal with another one. Not that I was complaining in the slightest.

  Chapter 10

  We started next morning by cooking and consuming a large breakfast, for we would be many hours travelling to reach the Capital. We also spent time clearing up after ourselves, I had no desire to return to a stinking tower. I would be exceedingly glad when the cottage was finished and the servants could return to their usual duties. Chessina had spent the time while I was sleeping last night, adjusting clothes for us for our stay in the Capital, telling me that she didn't intend for us to be outshone at court. She had also sent a message to Dragovar informing him of our impending arrival.

  "We must go to the village first and tell the Headman and Wise-woman that we shall be away for a while," I said, "As they tend to go to the priestess first if they have any problems our absence should make little difference to the village, but it would be polite to let them know."

  "How are we getting to the Capital, master?" Chessina asked, "Do you have a rug of travel like Dragovar used?"

  "Yes, it's in a chest in my room, the one made of fragrant wood," I replied, "I know the tower will keep out destructive pests but extra precautions never came amiss. Besides the chest makes the rug smell nice."

  I carried the rug down to the vestibule and unrolled it. Chessina was carrying our bags.

  "It's rather small, master." said Chessina, looking dubiously at it.

  "It can expand to carry more up to a limit." I explained.

  I gestured at the rug and it expanded to a comfortable size for the two of us. I sat down and Chessina snuggled comfortably beside me. I touched one of the intricate patterns on the rug and it lifted into the air.

  "Touching that pattern puts one in mental contact with the rug and able to issue commands." I explained.

  "What do the other patterns do, master?" asked Chessina.

  "Some of them are those that imbue the rug with its abilities," I replied, "Most of the patterns are meaningless and exist only to confuse an onlooker. Wizards are cautious."

  I gestured to the door which opened and we flew through, the door closing behind us. I flew low and slow to the village, though still faster than a man can run. Most of those working in the fields were too busy to notice us, and people rarely look up. I brought the carpet to the ground outside the village.

  "There is no need to disturb the villagers unnecessarily," I explained, "I doubt if they will have gotten over the events of yesterday so soon."

  I shrunk and rolled up the rug and cast the spell summoning a temporary servant.

  "Hold this until we return," I instructed it, "And surrender it to no-one but us. At need, return to the tower."

  "I don’t think any of the villagers would interfere with a rolled carpet floating in the air," I explained to Chessina, "But one never knows."

  We quickly found Mattile the wise-woman, who greeted us with a smile, the other villagers kept their distance from us. I glanced at Chessina, yes she had remembered her horns and tail, good girl.

  "What can I do for you, Master wizard, Mistress apprentice?" Asked Mattile politely. "My husband is supervising the work in the fields."

  "We have to leave for the Capital, Mistress Mattile." I explained, "We are returning a favour to the Royal Wizard."

  "I wish you safe journey then," Mattile said, "Will you be away long?"

  "I don't know," I replied. "That depends on how great a favour the Royal Wizard reckons I owe him. How is Norva? Has she recovered from her fright yesterday?"

  "Mostly, Master Castamir," Mattile replied. "Youth heals quickly. Thank you for your concern, and your help."

  "You are most welcome, Mattile," I said. "We must be going. We have a long journey ahead of us."

  After making farewells and requesting that Theer, the carpenter make suitable furniture for the cottage, we returned to the unmolested rug and resumed our journey.

  oOo

  "Master, we are going very fast, and I don’t feel much wind. Why don't we get blown off?" Chessina asked.

  "The magic of the rug produces forces that direct the wind of our passage above our heads." I replied. "And also prevents one falling off, providing one doesn't lean over the edge too far. We will be many hours on our way, I will use the time to teach you the spell featherlight, just in case."

  oOo

  The flight lasted many hours, interrupted by brief landings for calls of nature, yes if we were in a great hurry we could have gone over the edge, but it's not very pleasant, particularly for anyone underneath. At length we could see the Capital. It was the largest city I had ever seen, far larger than the one I was born and brought up in. I could see the citadel and the royal palace beside it, in the city's centre. They were surrounded by what seemed a sea of red-tiled roofs, shining in the sunlight, broken here and there by the domes and spires of temples to the various gods.

  "Oh," said Chessina, "Is that it? It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be."

  I'm afraid I just stared at her with my mouth open, Chessina told me later I looked like a stuffed fish. The city of Adalsburg, named after the founder of the kingdom, rebuilt and enlarged many times was dismissed with, "Oh, is that it?"

  "I'm sorry I've offended you, master," Chessina said, sounding contrite. "But the demon prince's cities that I'm used to are vast in comparison and much more opulent. I mean the roofs here are all the same colour, more or less, and don’t make patterns, or have poems of loyalty to the prince on them. Everything there is opulent, even the slums are opulent. The inhabitants may live in filth and squalor, but the buildings are opulent."

  I steered the rug towards the high tower that stood near to, but a little apart from the palace.

  "Is that Dragovar's tower, master?" Asked Chessina.

  "Yes, that's the Royal Tower of Wizardry," I replied. "The lair . . . ah, residence of Dragovar the Royal Wizard."

  I saw servants, human servants in livery waiting for us.

  "By the Gods," I remarked. "Dragovar must be better off than I thought. Most wizards not only find human servants tend to get in the way of their experiments, but can't afford their wages."

  "Why is that, master?" asked Chessina.

  "Spell components, potion ingredients, rare books and parchment for a start," I answered enumerating some of a wizard's costs. "The only people with less cash than wizards are the nobility, and the King of course. Kings are perennially short of cash."

  "Master, if wizards, the nobility and the King are all short of cash, who has it?" Chessina asked.

  "The Merchants," I responded.

  As we landed, a person who seemed to be of some importance exited the tower and came towards us. I took him to be some sort of upper servant. His garb, though of excellent quality was sombre. He carried a short staff. I muttered a quick spell from the analytica aspect, no it wasn't magical. While this person was approaching, servants clustered round the rug, I gestured to reduce it, and it was rolled up and our bags taken.

  "Good day, and welcome to the Residence of Dragovar, the Royal Wizard, Towermaster." The personage bowed to me. And ignored Chessina, foolish man. "I am Ammand, major domo to the Royal Wizard. Rooms have been prepared for you, you will doubtless wish to r
efresh yourselves after your journey. This way"

  Ammand ushered us into the tower.

  What he meant by that of course was, "I am an important man around here, while you, jumped up near peasants, aren't fit to be seen by your betters of the nobility. Oh, and don't urinate in the corner." I wasn't going to take offence at this, but I could see that Chessina already had. I wondered what she was going to do to him. Judging by the cloud of multi-coloured vapour that drifted out of the rear end of Ammand's robe, she had enchanted his farts to begin with.

  Our rooms weren't quite palatial, that was next door, but were large, and to my mind opulent. Doubtless Chessina considered them little more than a peasant's hovel. Oh well, she seemed to like our home tower, and that was enough for me.

  There was a knock on the door and Dragovar entered.

  "Castamir, Chessina, I'm glad to see you," he said.

  "Any new developments?" I asked Dragovar.

  "Nothing more about the demonology situation." He replied, "However Renilla, Pennover's mother wants to kill you."

  "Is she likely to try?" I asked.

  "Possibly, her or one of her satellites," Dragovar replied, "This being so I've some things for you."

  Dragovar handed Chessina and myself a ring each and then handed me an amulet on a chain.

  "The rings will provide you with some protection against bladed weapons, enough that a single thrust is unlikely to kill, and the amulet will protect you against poison. Chessina doesn't need one being . . . what she is."

  "Will it slow the effect of a poison that it doesn't totally protect against?" Chessina asked Dragovar.

  "Yes, it will," replied Dragovar, "But this protects against all poisons."

  "If it does, and these amulets are known to exist, why do demons do such a trade in poisons?" Asked Chessina, "There is a brisk trade in poisons in the bazaars of the Place of Orgiastic Excess where I used to live. I've even seen mortals there buying them."

  "Hm," said Dragovar, "It should slow it enough to buy time to get you to a magical healer. I have been asked by the King to present you at court tomorrow. Do you have any suitable clothing?"

  "We have a couple of costumes that I have worked on," said Chessina, "But if we are staying for a while, as we probably are, then we will need more. You'll need to send tailors and seamstresses to make them. You are paying."

  "I'll see you at dinner then," said Dragovar, and withdrew before Chessina made more expensive demands on him.

  Looking at the connecting door between our rooms, I said,

  "Chessina, there's something I've been meaning to tell you?"

  "What's that, master?" she asked.

  "Mortals, particularly humans, need sleep," I replied. "Not because it's the custom, not because we just like it but because if we don't get sufficient sleep we get ill. Much as I enjoy our nights together, I need at least one night a week that I can sleep through. I'll also need a full night's sleep before any important spellcasting or ritual."

  "Oww. All right master, if it will stop you getting ill," Chessina said. "Still, on those days we might take afternoon tea a little more . . . energetically than usual."

  I gazed into Chessina's eyes as she said this, and sure enough, it was physical reaction time.

  oOo

  The meal felt a bit odd, the food was excellent but being waited on by human servants was not something I was used to.

  "I need to tell you who you will be meeting at court tomorrow, so you know who the important people are," said Dragovar.

  "And you need to tell me where we stand in relation to them in the hierarchy," said Chessina, "That way I know who you need be haughty at, or deferential to, and by extension how I should behave. While we're at court master, let me do most of the talking, I know how to deal with people, you just stand there looking all enigmatic and wizardly, just back me up when I need it."

  "There will be the King and Queen of course," said Dragovar. "Silavar, the crown prince, there are other princes and princesses but they are either not here or in the schoolroom some of them, as this isn't a full formal court. Brandell, Duke of Osierleet, of course and his wife Duchess Renilla."

  Chessina and I made a face at this. Dragovar continued,

  “Duke Persoman of Mattledale and his wife Duchess Rohayne and Duke Ogier of the Western Marches, poor old boy." Dragovar said.

  "Why 'poor old boy'?" I enquired.

  "He lost his wife some years ago, and his son-and-heir last year. The lad came off worst in an encounter with a manticore," Dragovar replied.

  "What's a manticore?" Chessina asked.

  "Big, four-legged thing, lots of teeth, can fly and has a tail that fires spikes at you from a distance," I replied, "They eat human flesh by choice."

  "There will also be a number of counts and barons, but nobody will expect you to remember their names or titles," said Dragovar, "If you do manage to remember them, you've probably made a friend for life."

  "And where do we stand in relation to them?" asked Chessina.

  "I'll get onto that in a moment," replied Dragovar. "You need to understand a little about the Dukes so you have some idea what's going on."

  Dragovar paused for a moment, and then continued.

  "The Western Marches are the kingdom's border with the wildlands," explained Dragovar. "All sorts of unpleasant things live there from orcs to dragons. Duke Ogier is here to ask for more men to help patrol his lands. Duke Brandell is the person who will have to supply the men. His lands are very productive so he can afford to feed a lot of troops. That makes Duke Brandell the most militarily powerful duke. Duke Persoman's lands include Matlepool the biggest seaport in the kingdom, so he has the money to pay for the upkeep of the troops."

  "And into all this Renilla intrudes with her . . . unwholesome hobby," I said.

  "Rundown on our place in the hierarchy, please Dragovar." insisted Chessina.

  "The King and Queen at the top, obviously. Then the Crown Prince," said Dragovar, "Theoretically, wizards are outside the noble rankings, but as far as influence goes, particularly as I'm Brandell's brother, I'm more or less equal to the Crown Prince. As I am going to show you respect, and the fact that we are on first name terms, means that you are roughly equal to a duke."

  "That's a lot to remember," I said.

  "I won't have any problems." said Chessina, "I'm good at remembering names."

  "All you need to remember Castamir," said Dragovar, "Is that anybody with a symbol like this," here Dragovar drew an illusory sign in the air, "Is a duke. Oh there will be a couple of other people there you should know about. There is Ondomarion, he's the Royal Chamberlain, he's a baron of somewhere forgettable, and Baroness Beretrulle. She's a priestess of the war god and General of the King's army."

  "Isn't that a little unusual?" I remarked.

  "Yes," replied Dragovar, "But as well as being a good warrior, Baroness Beretrulle is unsurpassed in the knowledge of supply and organisation of troops, and an inspiring leader too. Being the King's sister also helps."

  "The King's sister is only a baroness?" queried Chessina.

  "Half-sister, actually," Dragovar replied, "The Baroness' mother was married, but not to the Old King. And with all this going on, you can see why I want you here to at least keep Renilla in check. "

  "I wager that Renilla would be a lot less enamoured of demons if she was put into a pain organ," declared Chessina.

  "What's a pain organ?" asked Dragovar.

  I let Chessina explain the device. If Dragovar cared to be put off his meal, that was up to him.

  Chapter 11

  Shortly after an early breakfast and our spell review, the preparations for our first appearance at Court began. A modiste and a cloud of seamstresses descended on Chessina, and a tailor and a similar set of minions descended on me. After the tailor had measured what felt like every part of my body, actually there was one part he didn't measure, but he did ask what way it hung, the morning was half-over. The problems started after I had ha
d a cup of tea and a short rest. The tailor, he told me his name was Crond Scissorwise as though he expected it to mean something, had produced a kind of trial garment. This toile, as I was informed it was called, was too tight around the shoulders. When I informed Master Scissorwise of this, he informed me that,

  "This robe is of the most fashionable cut, most of the nobility will be wearing such."

  "Nonetheless, please make the shoulders looser so I have more room to move," I insisted.

  "Why?" he asked, rather rudely I thought.

  "Because if I find it necessary to turn anyone into an ass," I replied, looking pointedly at him (I was sure the story had got around), "And if I get the gestures wrong and turn them into a wild boar or a manticore, that will be a problem. So please make the shoulders looser."

  After much wrangling, we managed a compromise of a garment that he would deign to make as a personal favour to the Royal Wizard, and I would wear as a personal favour to the Royal Wizard instead of coming in my normal robe of unrelieved black.

  Master Scissorwise left, doubtless cursing me and nine generations of my ancestors to the Abyss, promising that the rest of my wardrobe would be delivered shortly.

  Soon afterwards Chessina made an entrance to our main chamber.

  I turned to look at her and my heart started pounding. While Chessina had that effect on me ordinarily, there was another reason for this. The gown was in rose-pink, which showed off her colouring so well and cut very close. Her assets were not blatantly displayed, Chessina was never vulgar, but they were more than hinted at, much more.

  "Do you like it, master?" Chessina asked, wriggling at me, "I thought the dress the modiste made was rather subdued, so I changed it."

  "Chessina you look stunning, as always." I replied, choosing my words with care, "But you can't wear it like that."

  "Why not, master?" Chessina sounded hurt.