by Max Anthony
Viddo said nothing, and waited quietly while Rasmus unfolded the next one. The wizard’s lips moved again as he considered the arcane signs.
“This spell will allow the caster to know if the target of the spell is good, evil or indifferent. It is my personal least-favourite spell. When something comes running at me with a sword I don’t care whether it’s good or evil, I’m just going to blow it to smithereens.”
Realising he was becoming distracted, he unfolded the third scroll. Within moments, he’d jerked upright in excitement. “I don’t believe it!” he exclaimed. “A spell of teleportation!”
“Really?” asked Viddo. “Will it carry us both out of here?”
“What? Don’t be silly. This is a spell of single teleportation and will only work on the caster. Quickly, hand me those diamonds. I’ll catch up with you in Gargus.”
Viddo looked dumbly at the wizard, but nevertheless handed over the two diamonds, which had almost become unimportant in the face of their inevitable deaths. They weren’t quite fist sized, but they weren’t far off. Even Rasmus could see how the workmanship that had gone into their cutting made them special - even if one ignored their size.
“What about me?” asked Viddo in disappointment.
“You’re a thief, aren’t you? Hide yourself in the shadows till they’ve all got bored and wandered off. Now be silent for a moment while I cast this spell. I’ll meet you in the Five Hounds tavern a week from now.”
Viddo could only stare as the wizard muttered the words written on the scroll. A sound from above made him look up. It appeared that the lich had escaped from the maze into which Rasmus had deposited it.
“See you in a week,” said Rasmus.
Twenty
In the Five Hounds tavern, two men appeared without warning in the middle of the floor. There were few patrons in at this time of the day. One or two of them looked up with disinterest. Wizards were a familiar sight in the city of Gargus and most of the city’s people had become used to the unusual sights and sounds that accompanied the discharge of magic.
The first figure was definitely a wizard, even though he didn’t have a hat, nor a stave. His blue robes were filthy, speckled here and there with brown stains which looked suspiciously like excrement. This wizard made without hesitation towards the bar, limping slightly and fishing for coins as he did so.
The second man was almost certainly a thief – one could tell from the dark shade to his clothing and the fine-quality hand crossbow that dangled from his belt. There was something else about his face, that would have identified him as a thief even had he been wearing robes instead of his current garb. This thief opened his mouth to speak.
“You shit bag!” came these words. “You utter, utter shit bag!”
Unperturbed by this vituperation, the wizard located a coin – gold by its colour - and summoned the bar keep.
“Two mugs of your coldest ale please, and a roast chicken. My friend over there would like a pie filled with steak and gravy.”
The thief joined the wizard at the bar. “Make it two pies,” said the thief to the bar keep. “And this wizard is paying.” The bar keep nodded his assent and hurried off to fulfil the order.
“Well, my friend,” said Rasmus. “I think we did quite well there, all things considered.”
“Yes indeed. I am used to escaping by the skin of my teeth, but that particular escape ranks up there with the best of the lot.”
“It’s just a shame I didn’t get a chance to relieve that lich of his metal stave. I’m sure it would have served better in my hands than those cold, undead fingers.”
“I would have liked to have found a nice dagger to replace the one destroyed by slug acid.”
“We could sell these diamonds and purchase some weaponry through honest means,” suggested Rasmus, pretending not to notice the withering stare he received in response.
“Stuff that!” came the response. “I’m going back down there as soon as I’m able and I’m going to steal myself the best dagger I can find. I shall need companions to assist me, however.”
“Do you have room for a wizard in your expedition?”
“Of course I have. There’s always room for a wizard. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of levitate and teleportation spells with you next time!”
Soon, their drinks arrived and shortly thereafter a roast chicken and two pies. Wizard and thief sighed in happiness at their plans for the future.
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Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
