The Arcane Staff Trilogy Box Set

by Hans Bezdek

  Delvin shook his head. “No way.”

  “Why not?” asked Zeke. “They're the only one sitting by themselves.”

  “The book their reading is a spellbook,” he whispered. “Besides, we can’t even see their face from this angle!”

  Just because they could use magic didn’t mean they were working with Lord Kutarm, but Zeke let it go. He wasn’t a fan of talking to magic users he wasn’t familiar with. You could never know when one would have enough of you and turn you into a mouse or something.

  “So the table with just the two guys?” asked Zeke.

  “I guess,” mumbled Delvin, not happy with the limit options presented before them.

  The three of them got up and walked over to the table with the two men speaking quietly over drinks. The men stopped as Zeke caught their attention, turning to see what he wanted.

  “These seats taken?” asked Zeke, pointing at three empty seats around the same table.

  “What’s wrong with the table you just came from?” asked one of the men, this one wearing clothes two sizes too large. Zeke wasn’t sure if this was the fashion of the town, but it wasn’t appealing.

  “We wanted people to talk to,” smiled Sloane.

  “The other two ain’t enough?” asked the other man. This one had a nose that looked like it was broken one too many times and didn’t set correctly.

  “Actually, I think you’ll find we’re quite the conversationalists,” said Zeke, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “I think you’ll find us irresistible…”

  The two men exchanged a helpless look as Delvin and Sloane sat down as well. It appeared they weren’t in the friend making mood.

  “The two of us hadn’t seen each other in a few months and were hoping to catch up,” said Baggy Clothes. “I don’t mean to be rude but-”

  “We won’t take up too much of your time!” said Sloane quickly. “We were just passing through and looking for a place to stay.”

  Broken Nose sighed and shook his head. “Neither of us have the space to share, even if we wanted to. There’s an inn just a few blocks south of here that you lot might have some luck at. They ain’t big on giving handouts, though, let me warn you.”

  “You think they’ll resist our charm?” said Zeke, leaning forward and winking on the word ‘resist’.

  The two men exchanged an uncomfortable look.

  “Uh, is your friend okay?” Baggy Clothes asked Delvin.

  “The jury is still out on that one,” mumbled the gnome.

  “Seems like something might be wrong with him in the head,” added Broken Nose.

  “You know, that’s an interesting topic…” began Delvin, leaning in and grabbing the attention of both men.

  “Show them the thing,” whispered Zeke to Sloane.

  “What thing?” she whispered back.

  “The coin!”

  “Show them yours,” she shrugged.

  “I sort of... lost it,” mumbled Zeke. He hadn’t gotten around to explaining he accidentally flipped it into the ocean. The conversation just hadn’t come up yet.

  “How did you lose it?!”

  “J-Just do it, okay?”

  “Fine…” she said, pulling out her red Linsuk Resistance coin and placing it on the table.

  Neither of the men paid it any attention and instead continued to talk with Delvin. Zeke hadn’t been listening to what the three of them were discussing, but apparently the gnome was explaining to them intricacies of gnomish philosophy on mental illness.

  “Ahem!” said Zeke loudly, pretending to clear his throat as he pushed the red coin slowly towards them.

  The three of them turned to see what was wrong with Zeke. Broken Nose looked down at the coin and snarled.

  “Listen, you can off to pay us for lodging, but like I said, we don’t have no extra room!” said Broken Nose, getting frustrated.

  “Ha, double negative!” exclaimed Zeke, pointing at the man. “So you do have an extra room!”

  Zeke heard Sloane and Delvin sigh.

  “A double what?” asked Broken Nose, face contorting in confusion.

  Baggy Clothes placed a hand on Broken Nose’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go get the two of us another round while I get these three to bugger off?”

  Broken Nose, still confused, nodded and got up from the table. When the man was out of earshot, Baggy Clothes leaned in and hissed at Zeke. “Put that blasted thing away!”

  “Huh?” asked Zeke, as Sloane quickly retrieved the coin.

  “Even knowing what that thing is can be punishable by death!” the man continued.

  “Sorry,” mumbled the three of them in unison.

  “You’ve no idea how close you came to getting the four of us sent to the executioner!” he hissed. “Don’t look now, but there’s a fae woman behind you. If she-”

  Zeke immediately turned around. He hadn’t seen a fae woman earlier when they were looking for someone that might be part of the Linsuk Resistance. His eyes fell on the figure in the blue cloak. The woman’s skin was a purple tint, and her eyes were pure darkness as she stared down at the book before here. Zeke knew there were star-like specks in her eyes, but couldn’t see them from so far away.

  Delvin quickly spun Zeke back around in his seat.

  “What’s wrong with you?!” demanded the gnome quietly.

  “I’m so sorry,” sighed Sloane, rubbing a hand over her face. “Our friend doesn’t take direction extremely well.”

  “Coulda fooled me,” mumbled Baggy Clothes, his glare hard on Zeke.

  “What?” shrugged Zeke. “She’s engrossed in that book. It’s not like she noticed me.”

  “What do you want to know so I can get you away from me as soon as possible?” asked the man.

  “We’re looking for a cheap place to stay tonight, and was hoping to do so with someone in the Linsuk Resistance,” explained Sloane. “We come from Nurem with news.”

  “Like my friend said earlier, I unfortunately don’t have any spare room,” said Baggy Clothes. “I know someone who might, though. His name is Jereod, and he’s the local blacksmith. He owns the Striking Hammer, which is a few blocks west of here.”

  “Great, thank you,” nodded Sloane.

  Broken Nose returned with two large, frothy mugs.

  “What are you two drinking?” asked Zeke. “That looks good!”

  “Leave,” demanded Baggy Clothes. “Now.”

  “Come along, Zeke,” said Sloane, grabbing hold of one of the elf’s arms as did Delvin. “Let’s leave these two alone to enjoy their drinks.”

  “I got it guys,” said Zeke, shaking the two of them off as they left the table. They might not have appreciated his friendliness, but they got what they came here for. Besides, it’s not like anything bad actually happened. Sure, the fae could’ve seen them, but…

  Zeke glanced over in the creature’s direction.

  The fae’s eyes were locked on his. She glanced up at the covered Staff on his back, then back to his eyes. A slight grin appeared, and she gave him a wink.

  “Zeke, quit stalling!” said Delvin.

  Zeke glanced ahead at Delvin and Sloane. The two were waiting for him in the doorframe. He looked back at the fae, unsure of what to say.

  The purple woman was reading her book again, not paying them any mind.

  Wait… had he been seeing things? Surely that wasn’t just his imagination...

  “Let’s go!” called out Sloane.

  Zeke gulped and followed the other two out.

  Maybe that hadn’t gone as flawlessly as he hoped it had.

  Chapter 2

  “What’s going on?” asked Sloane, looking Zeke over again. The elf had been moving slow and acting strange ever since they left the tavern.

  “N-Nothing,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “I, uh, just worry that maybe we cause more of a scene than we meant to.”

  “The only one close to causing a scene back there was you,” pointed out Sloane.

  “Wh
o looks over their shoulder immediately after someone says not to look?” laughed Delvin.

  “Good thing that fae didn’t notice us,” nodded Sloane.

  “Y-Yeah…” said Zeke.

  Sloane raised an eyebrow. What was his deal? Before she could ask him again, Delvin pointed up ahead and jumped excitedly.

  “There it is!” he said.

  Before them was a large smith, fire and smoke rising above it. A small tent was over it to protect it from the elements, with an enclosed building next to it. A sign over the building in the design of a hammer read ‘The Striking Hammer’.

  “Striking Hammer?” asked Zeke, reading over the sign. “I thought the guy said Smiting Hammer?”

  “You really need to work on your memory,” commented Sloane.

  “Yeah, well… you need to work on your… on your people skills,” said Zeke, smiling at the end as if he had won the argument.

  Sloane smiled back. That was more like the normal Zeke.

  The three of them entered the blacksmith’s shop. Half-finished pieces of armor and weapons were scattered about on counters and the floor. Some impressively made weapons hung from the walls, no doubt items that the blacksmith was particularly proud of. There were ingots of various metals stacked on shelves towards the back of the room, along with a door that was half cracked open.

  “Hello?” called out Zeke. “Anyone home?”

  “Just a moment!” came a gruff voice from beyond the door.

  Delvin looked around the store as they waited, picking up a sword that caught his eye. Or rather, he attempted to pick it up.

  “Maybe try something a little smaller?” recommended Sloane.

  “You could borrow Lucky, if you’d like,” offered Zeke, reaching in his bag for his dagger.

  “It’d probably be safer for him to stick with the large sword…”

  “Oh, I-I don’t think I’d do well with any sort of physical weapon,” laughed Delvin. “I was just looking around.”

  “Nonsense,” said Zeke, giving up on finding his questionably named dagger. “What if something comes at you? You’ll need a way to defend yourself with something more than just illusions.”

  “My spells have kept me alive so far,” shrugged Delvin. “Besides, I don’t have any experience wielding any weapons. It’d just be a waste to carry one.”

  Zeke snapped his fingers. “I know! The next time we come across a magical weapon, it’s yours!”

  “W-What do you mean?” asked Delvin.

  “That’s actually not a bad idea,” nodded Sloane. “If we can find a weapon you can lift and is magical, that’ll make up for your lack of skill with it.”

  “I-I don’t know if-”

  Before the gnome could mount a defense, the door in the back opened up. A human man in his 40s appeared wearing an apron covered in dirt and soot. He was well built from his years working with metal in extreme temperatures, but there was somehow an air of kindness about him. Sloane had found this to be common in blacksmiths all across Linsuk, although there were always some outliers that tried to be as tough as they looked.

  “I’m sorry for overhearing, but the three of you are looking for magical weapons?” asked Jereod.

  “Not quite, unless you have some,” said Zeke.

  “I, unfortunately, don’t,” said the man with a shake of his head. “Those are hard to come by in this region. We don’t have many enchanters around. You might have better luck at Newbridge, if you’re headed that way.”

  They actually were, but Sloane was hoping to stay somewhere safe and warm for the night. “Thank you for your recommendation. We were actually told to come find you.”

  Jereod hesitated, looking the three of them over very carefully now. Sloane noticed a hand slip behind his back.

  “You were?” he asked. “Is something the matter?”

  “We know you’re with the Linsuk Resistance,” explained Zeke.

  That was the wrong thing to say.

  Jereod pulled out a large hammer from behind him, then chucked it at the elf’s face. Zeke quickly sidestepped and bent backward, easily avoiding the projectile. If it was anyone but The Elf Thief, they surely would’ve been hit by it.

  “Hey, watch it!” shouted Zeke.

  Jereod hadn’t been idle as the hammer flew through the air, instead running over to the wall next to him and taking off two sharp, curved blades.

  “You’ll never take me alive, you Kutarm scum!” he grunted, holding the weapon’s out threateningly.

  “C-Calm down!” pleaded Delvin.

  “What’s wrong with you?” asked Zeke.

  “We’re part of it too,” explained Sloane, trying to get ahold of the standoff before it turned deadly.

  “I don’t believe you!”

  Sloane slowly dug her Linsuk Resistance coin out, keeping her other hand up to show she wasn’t a threat, and then tossed the coin at the man’s feet. He glanced down at it, then back up at them. Seeing that no one was moving towards him, he quickly snatched it up between his free pinkie and ring finger. He turned it over a few times, then relaxed.

  “I-I apologize,” he said, putting the blades back on the wall.

  “It’s okay,” said Sloane, casting a glance at Zeke. “We could’ve had a better introduction.”

  “Hey, that wasn’t my fault!” complained the elf.

  “It wasn’t,” agreed Jereod, handing the coin back to Sloane. “I should’ve heard you out before assuming the worst. Sorry for trying to hit you with the hammer, elf. That was an impressive dodge, though.”

  Zeke smiled at that. Sloane had noticed even the smallest compliments went a long way for the elf. She should work on that.

  “Where do you three hail from?” continued the man. “Do you bring any news?”

  “There was a revolt at Nurem,” explained Sloane. “We fought there and helped drive Lord Kutarm’s forces out.”

  “Ah, so you were there,” he said, eyes going wide. “How exciting! Word of the uprising has been making rounds in the area, giving us in the Resistance hope.”

  “Glad to hear that,” said Zeke.

  “Regrettably, this has also caused Kutarm to send more men to all of the towns in his expanded territories.”

  “Not glad to hear that…”

  “That’s quite alright,” shrugged the man. “We have been under his dominion for some time, what’s a few more men? It’s not like we could ever do what you three and the dwarves did.”

  “Why not?” asked Sloane.

  “There Linsuk Resistance is spread thin here,” he explained. “If we tried to attack them all at once, we’d surely lose. We have maybe a hundred total that would be willing to fight. Kutarm’s men easily outnumber us three to one, and that was before the fae agents got here.”

  Sloane and the others exchanged a look.

  “Fae agents?” asked Sloane.

  “Yes,” nodded the blacksmith. “They came here after more of Kutarm’s men arrived a few days ago. While they haven’t actually done anything to us yet, we know they’re connected to the tyrant.”

  “It’s true,” nodded Sloane. “I fought with two fae mages back in Nurem. Kutarm has some agreement or control over them, along with demons and the undead.”

  “So I’ve heard,” he sighed. “Well, I’d be happy to give the three of you a room for the night, but after that I’ll have to ask you to keep moving on. I’m not looking to start any trouble.”

  “How… how can you say that?” asked Zeke.

  Everyone turned towards the elf.

  “Uh… Zeke?” asked Delvin.

  “How can you be complacent when evil forces are inside of your town, your home?” asked Zeke. The elf looked genuinely upset.

  “We should be nice to the man offering us free lodging,” whispered Sloane.

  “I told you, we are outnumbered,” shrugged Jereod. “There’s nothing we can do about that right now.”

  “The dwarves were outnumbered initially, too, weren’t they Sloane?�
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  “They were,” she conceded. She was surprised Zeke remembered that. After he and Delvin returned with the Arcane Staff, she filled them in on what they missed. He was so focused on playing with his new weapon that she thought he wasn’t paying attention.

  “When the fight was taken to the streets, the rest of the town joined them!” continued Zeke. “The same could happen here!”

  Sloane was surprised to see Zeke so motivated to press people into battle. When she had first met him, it seemed like the last thing he wanted to do was fight. Even when they first saw Delvin getting attacked by some undead, the first thing he wanted to do was leave! Something must’ve changed when he got the Arcane Staff. Did he just feel more confident with it?

  While she was happy to see it, she wasn’t so sure this was their best use of time. She felt like they were getting closer and closer to the Lost Citadel. While she was all for them helping out the Resistance when they were needed, it seemed pretty clear to her that the people of Tunil weren’t desiring their help.

  Jereod was quiet as he contemplated what Zeke said.

  “Stop! Please!” came a shout from outside.

  “That sounds like Cynthia, one of my neighbors!” the blacksmith cried, rushing past them. The three followed after to see what was happening.

  Across the street from them, a woman stood holding a baby in one arm and pressing a toddler close to her with her other. A man next to her struggled to get up as three men dressed in blue and black laughed at him.

  “Y-You can’t do this,” said the man as he got to his feet.

  “We can, and we have,” said one of Kutarm’s men. “We need lodging, and this place looks as good as any.”

  “But my family,” said the man, gesturing at them. “We need someplace to sleep. Where are we going to go?”

  “Sounds like your problem, not ours,” chuckled another of the men.

  “These streets look cozy enough,” added another.

  At that, the three men roared with laughter and entered the house, slamming the door behind them.

  “What was that about?” asked Delvin.

  “Rumor was that Kutarm’s men have been taking people’s homes,” said Jereod between gritted teeth. His hands were clenched into tight fists, his knuckles looking like they were about to pop off. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”