The Dotard

by Greg Curtis

  But he could at least create a means for the winged folk to speak with him. And if he fixed that maybe the winged folk would be able to understand what had happened. Maybe they could even focus on getting the wizard to fix his mess.

  It took a moment for Edrick to remember the spell. It wasn't a particularly complex one but it was a spell he'd never had much use for. Everyone spoke either Common or Rivernian. And it had been years since he'd even read it. Luckily, spells once they were learned, were never actually forgotten. It was like learning a foreign language. Maybe you couldn't remember the words at first. But when someone spoke the tongue to you, it suddenly came back to you.

  After a quick check to see that none of the townsfolk were there other than Carrie and Wilberton – both of whom knew his secret – Edrick brought to the front of his mind the book he'd learned the spell from, found the spell and then focused on one of the words of it. That first word led to a second, and those two dredged up a phrase. Once he had the phrase the gestures came to him.

  “Abu si lan der –.” He started reciting the spell, feeling the magic welling up from the depths of his being. And as the words rolled off his tongue his fingers and arms moved automatically in time with them. He knew the gestures were as much a part of the spell as the words. But of course he didn't know what either the words or the gestures meant. No one did. Magic was actually an ancient language of words and gestures. A long forgotten one. No one knew who the people were who had once spoken it or what it meant. The entire language might actually mean nothing at all. What he did know was that the words and gestures somehow connected to the magic, and that if the spellcaster got them right, the spell would work.

  Finally, with a cry of “herpsin dee” and a quick flourish of his fingers, Edrick finished the spell and the magic was released. A heartbeat later the arguments suddenly stopped as the winged people sensed that something had happened. He suspected they would now be feeling the prickle of magic against the skin just as the people in this realm did.

  A few moments later awareness of what had happened dawned on them as they heard the wizard continuing his rant against Edrick and realised that they understood what was being said. The magic had converted his words into their own tongue inside their minds.

  That was also when they realised he could understand them as well and started yelling at Wilberton with renewed urgency. Wilberton too understood what was being said. He wasn't grateful for it though. But even more than he disliked the winged people yelling at him for answers, he hated Edrick for what he'd done.

  “How dare you!” If he hadn't been angry before, he was then. “No one casts on me!”

  “Speak to them you halfwit!” Edrick responded harshly. “Tell them what they want to know. Like where they are and how they got here for a start. And most important of all, tell them what you're planning on doing about it!”

  Edrick did his best to remind the wizard what was important. But he doubted he succeeded. Wilberton was still staring at him with unbridled anger. But then Edrick’s actions had been an affront. He knew that. What he'd done might also have broken some laws. It was against the rules of the Wizards’ Guild for a wizard to cast a spell on another wizard without their consent. Not even when it was a spell they should have cast on themselves or it saved their lives.

  “Knave! You don't tell me what to do! I'll burn your bloody tongue out!”

  “And these people are going to tear your head off if you don't fix what you've done soon!” He wasn't too worried about Wilberton's threats. Partly because it would have gone against the edicts of his precious Guild of the Arcane. But mostly because the wizard would soon forget his anger. He couldn't remember anything for long.

  At that point the conversation between the two of them ended as the winged people took matters into their own hands, and suddenly surrounded Wilberton and demanded answers. The wizard quickly forgot about him as he found himself being mobbed. Unfortunately, Edrick suspected the wizard didn't have any answers for them. But at least they would now be able to understand that. Something that was especially important when there was another flash of light in the sky above them just then, and another of their people came gliding down.

  Things were probably going to get worse before they got better Edrick thought. But at least they could now talk. That might stop things from becoming any worse. For a while.

  “Do you know what's happened to us?” A winged woman abruptly grabbed his shoulder, startling Edrick. She looked terrified.

  “Yes. The old man with the shocking white hair cast a spell. And it’s gone wrong. He's dragged you here by accident.”

  “But what about my children?”

  “I'm sorry, I don't know.” Edrick held out his hands in helplessness. “I wish I could help. But he's the only one who knows the spell he cast and the only one who can fix things. And he's in his dotage.”

  The woman stared at him in horror when he said the last. And even if her features were slightly strange, her eyes solidly brown and slanted, her cheeks too prominent and her skin too golden, the emotion was only too easy to see. He wasn't surprised when she turned and started hurrying toward Wilberton, joining the others in demanding answers from him.

  “By the gods! This is bad, isn't it?” Carrie had returned, her face filled with worry.

  Edrick sighed and then stared at the ground. “Yes. I'm sorry. And the longer that portal remains open the worse it's going to get. But if you can keep your grandfather's thoughts on target – calm the people down a little and give him some space to think. If that happens then maybe he can at least stop this from turning into a complete disaster. Otherwise there's going to be bloodshed.”

  There was already anger. A lot of it. Violence would be just a short step away.

  Unfortunately Edrick wasn't completely certain that it would even be possible to keep Wilberton focussed. But even if they could, he had doubts that the man could fix his mess. Still, it was the best they could hope for. It was Wilberton’s lack of focus that generally led to his mistakes in spellcasting. Spellcasting required discipline and intense concentration. Cast while distracted and there was a strong chance that you would get the words or gestures wrong. And when that happened – that was when strange things like portals to other worlds suddenly opened up.

  “Can you help?” She looked at him, her big blue eyes filled with desperation.

  “No. I'm so sorry, but no.” Edrick shook his head sadly. “You know that. I have no idea what spell he's cast, or miscast. I mean, I know maybe a few hundred spells. He must know ten thousand! And he's had a century to work on them. He’s also much stronger than me.”

  “I couldn't undo his spell even if I knew what it was. You know that. I'm only a minor wizard. And every time your grandfather sees me he gets distracted and the only thing he can think of is how much he hates me. My presence just makes things worse.”

  “But I will tell the townspeople what's happened and that they need to stay indoors and avoid a confrontation. They need to know that these winged people are lost and frightened and that we need to keep everyone calm. Hopefully that'll help.”

  “I'll say a few prayers too. Maybe the Lady of Light can help. I'll also talk to the Priests at the temples for the Mother and Father. If nothing else they will help calm the people.”

  On that count Edrick had no doubt. Though he himself was a follower of Sirtis – the Lady of Light and Magic – he had great respect for the Priests of the Mother and Father, particularly their gift for keeping the town running smoothly. The town guards may have thought they were the ones who kept things in order, but it was really the Priests who stopped most of the fights and feuds before they ever got involved.

  Still, he had to wonder what the two temples could do. The Priests of the Mother and the Father were capable, but this was magic. A wizard's domain. If there had been a temple to The Lady of Light, maybe her followers could have done something. They were the only Priests who also had magic. But Coldwater only had a shrine to he
r, and a Priest who visited once every week or two to collect whatever coins had been thrown in the pool.

  “Thank you.” She smiled sadly at him. “You have a good heart – even if it's a lying one.”

  Edrick ignored the snub. She had good reason for calling him a liar. “I'll try and find the Mayor too. Tell that short wind what's happened. I wish I could do more, but I think this is another one of your grandfather's mistakes that'll just have to run its course.”

  Edrick left her then. He hated himself for leaving her in such a terrible position, but what else could he do? Just his being there made everything worse. Still, when he walked back into the town and the people came out to ask what had happened, he told them exactly what he'd promised Carrie he would. He was surprised that they listened to him – he was nobody special in Coldwater – but then he realised that it was probably because they'd seen him walking the little winged girl back to the wizard's a short while before. They listened closely enough that he hoped they might even do as he said. The town guards at least seemed to understand what he was saying, and they soon began getting the people off the streets and back to their homes.

  After that Edrick carried on to the temples of the Mother and the Father, and told the Priests what had happened. Not surprisingly they already knew some of it. They'd seen the winged people flying overhead. They'd heard the stories. Some of them had seen him walking the little girl back to the wizard's home.

  Order would be maintained in the town. For the moment. Of course, it all depended on how many more of the winged people arrived, whether the old fool could send them home, and how frightened and desperate they were.

  His duty done, Edrick went back to his steam wagon, and was both surprised and pleased to find it fully loaded as Vard had agreed.

  Quickly he climbed aboard, threw some more timber into the fire box and headed west. There was nothing more he could do and if Wilberton couldn't fix things and everything went wrong, he didn't want to be anywhere near Coldwater.

  And luckily even though his home was only a few leagues away, it was a world apart. He lived in the land of the ancient Faeries. He should be safe there.

  Chapter Two

  This time her grandfather had really done it, Carrie thought. The frogs and the green had been bad. The ducks had been a true nightmare. But now he was abducting people from other worlds! And she still had no idea how many more people his spell would end up dragging across. Or even if it would only be the winged people.

  The Mayor had a right to be angry. It came from fear and he had a right to be frightened too. But she wished as she stood there in the yard listening to him and watching him turn ever more red, that he'd stop shouting at her. She hadn't done anything wrong! And yet as the yelling continued, she found it hard to concentrate on what he was saying. All she could think about was her grandfather, who was busy yelling at people too. Winged people. The people he'd kidnapped from their home.

  He was losing his mind. Edrick was right about that, curse him! But it wasn't simply the deterioration of old age. Whatever was wrong with her grandfather, it was getting much worse much faster. And he was far too young to be a dotard!

  It wasn't just a misfiring spell here and there as it had been a few years before. They couldn't just replace Mrs. Thorm's front wall because he'd accidentally dropped a cow on it. The spells that were going wrong were growing bigger and more serious. He was also fixating on things. Mostly he was fixating on Edrick.

  At the start it had simply been that he didn't like the cocky young wizard. And he especially didn't like the fact that he hid his true name from them and his magic from the town. They were reasonable grounds for distrust, she thought. It wasn’t as if she liked Edrick's dissembling either. She truly hated having to keep his secret.

  It was only because her grandfather and Edrick were both wizard’s that they knew the truth. After all, even if Edrick wasn't a member of the Guild, there were still formalities they all had to follow. So, he'd introduced himself to the ranking wizard in the town when he had arrived ten years before, told them he wanted no one to know he was a wizard and that he wouldn't even share his name with the two of them, and from that moment on the dislike had begun. But now her grandfather’s dislike seemed to have turned to paranoia.

  For some reason, her Grandfather had become convinced that Edrick was plotting against him. That he'd committed some heinous crime.Carrie had tried on numerous occasions to talk him out of it. Even when she tried to explain that Edrick couldn't have possibly done whatever her grandfather thought he'd done because her grandfather didn't actually know what it was he thought Edrick had done, he couldn't seem to understand. Her grandfather would not be dissuaded.

  Many times she'd caught him up late at night, pacing as he fretted over whatever it was that he imagined Edrick was doing. He'd even gone to the Coldwater Town Council several times to demand that they lock him away for his crimes. Even though he couldn't tell them what crimes he thought Edrick had committed. And she couldn't stop him. Not even when that went against the rules of the Guild. Nor could she tell Edrick what he'd done, even though he surely had a right to know. She couldn't betray her grandfather.

  He’d sent letters to the Guild in Rivernia too. He’d informed them that Edrick was a rogue wizard and a danger to them all. He had demanded that they take action. The gods alone knew what action he thought they'd take. The Guild of the Arcane didn't do that and in any case Edrick wasn't a member.

  But lately she was beginning to fear that her grandfather would go further than just lodging complaints. She feared that one day he might actually try and harm him.

  His hatred had grown alarmingly.

  She should tell Edrick of her fears, she supposed. But how could she when it would betray her grandfather? And besides, he just wasn't a killer! He had always been a good man. Surely her fears were groundless? They had to be!

  For the moment though Carrie had to put aside her fears. Her focus had to be to try to get her grandfather to fix his latest mess. He was the only one who could. But he wasn't making it easy.

  Carrie sighed. He was arguing with everyone. The winged people, the Mayor, her. It didn't matter that he was in the wrong. Or that these new people were still arriving through his malfunctioning portal spell, or that there were now hundreds of them and they all wanted to go home. The only thing he could seem to say was that it was all Edrick's fault. That he'd done something. It wasn't true and even the Mayor knew it – and he generally knew nothing! But that didn't seem to matter to her grandfather.

  “Just fix it!” The Mayor shouted angrily at Carrie, louder than before and making her pay attention to him again. “For the love of the gods get him to just fix it!”

  “I don't think he can, Mayor Flint,” Carrie told him quietly, feeling like a traitor for saying it. But it was the truth. “This is out of his control.”

  “He's supposed to be the most powerful wizard south of Rivernia. How can he not fix this?” The Mayor turned to her, his face filled with worry. “How can he not stop that damned thing dragging these people here, and send them home? He built it after all!”

  Carrie's only answer was to raise her arms helplessly. She didn't know how he could or couldn't do what he did. His magic was both powerful and complex. But the mind behind it was failing.

  And yet it shouldn't have been. That was what she didn't understand. He was a wizard. He wasn't even a hundred yet. He should have had another hundred years at least. But his mind was failing as badly as that of any normal human being of his age. And even then, wizards – or at least the ones she knew from the Guild of the Arcane – didn't lose their minds the way her grandfather had. Mostly they just started forgetting to do things.

  “Then what do we do?” The Mayor's voice rose a little higher.

  “I think we find them somewhere to stay, and hope this ends soon.”

  “Hope?” Mayor Flint stared at her, his eyes widening until they were nearly as large as the spectacles on his bright red face
. “Now we just have to live in hope?!”

  Again, she could only shrug helplessly – even as another flash of light above their heads signalled the arrival of another of the winged people.

  “You're a wizard. Can't you do something?”

  “Not with this. The spell is advanced. Very advanced. I don't know it. What I do know is that it's actively hunting down people in the other world and dragging them across. Portals aren't supposed to be able to do that.”

  Which was a barely adequate description of what it was actually doing. From what some of the winged people had said, it had hunted them down even as they were fleeing. She'd never heard of a portal spell like it. It was more like a summoning spell, save that to summon you had to be able to concentrate on your target. This one was catching anyone and everyone it could find.