Merchants and Maji: Two Tales of the Dissolutionverse (Dissolution Cycle)

by William C. Tracy

  “Not completely. The Drain foiled their plan,” Origon mused. “A positive result, for an object so destructive. Without a majus, the crew would never have escaped.” He pounded one fist into his other hand. “I must be studying the phenomenon more. Where does it come from? Was there some catalyst on Ksupara?” He nudged the assassin’s leg with a boot. “If only this ‘holy vessel’ had not made its voyage yet.”

  Rilan looked askance at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Origon shrugged. “His last words. I assumed it was one of your religions.”

  “Not one I know of.” Rilan was silent a moment. “You don’t suppose he meant—”

  Origon looked down at the body. “The mayor as much as admitted the Drain was not to be his doing. But what if the assassin had other orders?” He ran his fingers down his moustache in thought. A holy vessel? Unholy, more like.

  “Rilan,” he began, “there is one more thing.” He described the urn, and how out of place it seemed with the rest of the supplies. His old friend listened, her face tightening.

  “The very act of creating this void in the Symphony keeps us from traveling to its location by portal,” Rilan said. “As if the thing was designed to prevent maji from investigating it. Where did it come from? How do we study something like that?”

  “We do not,” Origon said. “Not until we return to Ksupara.” He paused, as an awful thought occurred to him. Where had the urn come from?

  “What is it?” Rilan must have seen his expression change.

  “Or unless another Drain forms, elsewhere.” Now her face mirrored the horror he felt.

  “Vish preserve us, I hope not,” Rilan said quietly. “Let this be an isolated event. Are you sure it was the urn that created the void?”

  “Ah…no,” Origon admitted. “It could have been a natural event, or perhaps it was to be a reaction to what was in the urn.” No way to tell now, with the sole person who might have been connected lying dead at his feet.

  “There will be a second capsule built, now it’s proven possible.” Rilan gestured vaguely with one hand, encompassing all of Methiem. “We will discover more evidence the next time we get to Ksupara.”

  “Then I am supposing we must include a majus on the flight,” Origon told her. “Though it will not be me.” He looked out the room’s lone tall window. He could not see Ksupara in the day, but it was out there, waiting to be explored, as were the moons and solar systems of the other homeworlds. Even if the maji did not help, the ten species would go there eventually. And he would learn more about the Drain, one day.

  “Then we must leave the mystery of your void for now, and hope there’s no need to explore it further.” Rilan grunted as she began to heave the corpulent mayor to a sitting position. “For now, we have to deal with him. Help me out. We’ll bring him to the Council before he wakes and runs to his solicitors.”

  “Can you do that?” Origon tried to remember the councilor’s powers in an emergency situation.

  “I have some privileges, even if the other councilors ignore me as often as not. Come with me back to the Nether, Ori,” Rilan told him. “We’ll take the mayor and his plot to the Council now, today. And you could stay with me while you recuperate. It’s been a long time since we had a real chance to talk, and your apartment is probably full of cobwebs and spiders.”

  “Too long,” Origon agreed. “And what of the Drain? Shall we be discussing it with the Council as well?”

  Rilan hesitated, holding the unconscious mayor’s form up. “They’ll learn of it,” she said. “But maybe best not to press the issue for now. We have to hope this is an isolated incident.”

  Of course she was correct. Rilan’s position with the Council was tenuous enough without wild stories about voids that lacked the Symphony. She had been busy on the Council while he had been traveling the homeworlds. He could aid her out now he was back. Origon helped her lift the mayor. They would alert others to the mess in the room, make sure none of Nandara’s associates arranged the evidence against them. Origon would let his song regrow, and with that new music, discover what, or who, was behind the Drain.

  If you enjoyed this book, please leave a brief review at your online bookseller of choice. Thanks!

  Want to read more about the Dissolutionverse? You can sign up for my Mailing List and get a free short story – “The Symphony Eater.”

  Read about Origon and Rilan's first adventure in Tuning the Symphony or continue the story in The Seeds of Dissolution!

  Origon and Rilan will return in:

  The Seeds of Dissolution

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The second book is easier than the first. Not the writing part, which is still hard. But once the publishing path has been paved the first time, the next is a little easier.

  But there are many others who have helped me out. The first thanks always goes to Heather, for “letting” me do this, as well as for copy-editing. Second, a big thank you to my alpha and beta readers: Jeremiah Reinmiller, Courtney Brooks, Reese Hogan, Kaisa, Robin Duncan, Krystalynn, and Richard Pulfer. And thanks to all the folks at Reading Excuses for critiquing my submissions. Special thanks to Spieles for the orphans and throwing spice! Micah Epstein does awesome work and put together a great cover. Check out his paintings at micahepsteinart.tumblr.com. Also, thanks to Adam Riong for the interior art. Finally, many thanks to the members of the Writing Excuses podcast for spending their valuable time teaching and encouraging new writers.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I am a North Carolina native and a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy. In no particular order, I am a mechanical engineer, a karate instructor, a video and board gamer, a reader, and a writer. In my spare time, I wrangle three cats and one bald guinea pig, and my wife wrangles me (not an easy task). We both enjoy putting our pets in cute little costumes and then taking pictures of them repeatedly. You can visit me at williamctracy.com.

  What’s next? Stay tuned for Seeds of Dissolution, a full novel and the first of a series.

  Please take a moment to review this book at your favorite retailer’s website, Goodreads, or simply tell your friends!

  Thanks for reading!

  William C Tracy