by Des Pensable
‘It tried a domination attack as well.’ replied Aquitain.
‘Yes and I supposed you blocked that without any trouble. No wonder it used lightning. You’re lucky that you’re still alive. You’re not a field wizard. Don’t go trying any heroics. Field wizards have a high fatality rate even when they’re extremely well trained.’
‘You’re right. I guess I was a little over confident. I will try to be more careful next time.’ replied Aquitain realizing that Featherdown was quite concerned at his condition. ‘Have you heard from Miranda?’
‘No! What is she doing?’ asked Featherdown.
‘I sent her to the Wolf people they had a problem.’
‘Hmm. She’s on home ground there. She should be okay. I wouldn’t worry too much. She’ll report in a couple of days I suspect.’
‘Now tell me every detail about what happened!’ he commanded.
Aquitain told him about being contacted by Squalash then carried across the sea by Whooshoo, his meeting with Plogash and the cat and mouse game with the herder. He didn’t mention any of the stories he heard nor his thoughts along the way.
‘Very interesting! The land based little people seem to be immune to any division within their ranks so far. This aquatic little person herder is a sign that something is happening amongst them. The question is whether there is someone among them causing mischief or is it something more pervasive?’
‘If the herders are behind changing the taste of magic then who or what is prompting them to do it? I would have been much happier if you had caught a Yith rather than the herder. I was almost convinced that a few troublemakers from the Yith are orchestrating this whole prophecy thing. What they have to gain I don’t know.’
‘Neither do I but how do we counter it?’
‘Exposing the culprits is probably the best way, although that’s generally not easy as they are long gone before we come to examine the evidence. However, there have been a couple of possible sightings of Yith druids.’
‘Have you talked to the Druid Council about Miranda’s case?’ asked Aquitain changing the topic.
‘Yes I have. The new High Druid wouldn’t listen at all. I think he has some hidden agenda. The old High Druid apparently stepped down without a fight. That surprised me, as it’s not his style. He listened to me and laughed. He doesn’t believe Miranda is guilty of anything. Apparently you two killed half of the new High Druid’s supporters. He will readily pardon her when he gets back into power.’
‘Is that likely to be soon?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Unfortunately no.’ replied Featherdown. ‘Even worse, Curbut’s still at large and causing trouble. I know I promised to fix him and I will. He’s keeping well clear of me but I’ve set a trap for him. I’ll get him. He’s a marked man.’
‘I hope so.’ replied Aquitain. ‘However if I see him again I will take action.’
‘You will have no complaint from me. However, try to do it within the law if possible.’ said Featherdown.
‘Of course! He will be charged with breathing in a public place and if he resists I will ensure he stops.’
‘Don’t be overconfident Aquitain he is a very powerful adversary.’ ‘Most people don’t have princesses to resurrect them every time they die.’
‘I suppose you’re right.’ replied Aquitain.
‘Good. Now what are you doing next?’ he asked.
‘I’m going to track down the stolen sceptre.’
‘Excellent. I’ll inform you as soon as I hear anything from the Princess.’
‘By the way, you do realize that I can no longer officially employ you or the Princess in any capacity while the new High Druid heads the Council. Consequently, you cannot use the title wizard Captain or wizard Hound any more. However, I have advised my officers that you are under my employment as mercenaries and as such you should not be hindered in any way. If you need anything please ask.’
‘Thank you. You are most generous.’ replied Aquitain.
‘You’re welcome. Now may I ask a personal question? Chantalot told me that you referred to the Princess as your chosen yet I haven’t received any official notice from Queen Snowbelle about any joining ceremony.’
Aquitain smiled and said,
‘Miranda and I pledged to each other yesterday. She has parted ways with her mother. We know it has no official standing and is unlikely to be legally binding but we don’t care. It is our choice.’
‘Hmm. So you are now a pair and setting your own rules.’ said Featherdown. ‘I’m not sure it is wise but let me congratulate the both of you. I hope it works out. I have a little present for you both.’ and he pulled of a pocket in his gown a small scarlet silk covered ring box and handed it to Aquitain.
Aquitain opened the box and found a pair of exquisite rings, one cut from ruby and the other cut from emerald. Each would be worth a fortune.
‘They are royal betrothal rings. They were given to me as part payment for a job I did for a king on a small world many years ago. They were gathering dust in my collection so I thought they might be useful for you and the princess.’
‘Thank you, Featherdown. I’m … lost for words.’ replied Aquitain astounded at the generosity of Featherdown.
‘Let’s just say it’s a down payment for future favours. I’m sure that sometime in the future when you’re a king I’ll need your help. If you examine the rings closely you’ll find they have a special property but I’m sure that you’re quite capable of discovering what it is, so I’ll leave it as a surprise.’ he chuckled.
‘Now I’ve got plenty to do and I’m sure that you are interested in tracking down that stolen sceptre so let’s get moving.’
‘Yes, you’re right. Thank you again on behalf of both Miranda and myself. We won’t forget your kind wishes and this magnificent gift and you can be assured that you have our help and gratitude well into the future.’ replied Aquitain still a little shocked as he left the tower clutching the small box.
Chapter 12 The Trixie Unmasked
Aquitain met Chantalot outside Featherdown’s tower and found out that Granwell had returned. He changed to his gnome form and accompanied Chantalot to Granwell’s tower.
The wizard was surprised to see Chantalot leading an unknown gnome about in his tower.
‘Chantalot, who is this? I don’t want you bringing people I don’t know around here anytime of the day.’
‘Settle down Granwell, its Aquitain, the spider, remember he’s also a shape changer. This is his gnome form.’ Granwell looked closely at him.
‘Oh, Aquitain! Er ... why don’t you wear something that we can all recognize so that I don’t do something to you that I’ll regret later?’
‘Okay,’ said Aquitain and removed the scarf from around his neck to reveal his golden collar then mentally reshaped it to look like a necklace with a spider pendant dangling from it. ‘How about this?’
‘That’ll do nicely. My that’s a nice collar where did you get it.’ asked Granwell suddenly interested.
‘I made it.’ replied Aquitain with a proud look on his face.
‘Aren’t you a clever spider … gnome or whatever!’ said Granwell as he started to walk away.
‘Don’t you want to know what we’ve found out about the creature you have in the cage?’ asked Chantalot.
‘Oh, Yes ... the creature.’ said Granwell. ‘Very well, tell me what you have found out.’
Aquitain explained about mind linking with the trixie and discovering that it appeared to be a Newman that had some polymorphic transformation on it that confused and scared him. Granwell thought for a minute or two then said
‘I seem to recall hearing that some Elendari wizards like to use dual effects to torment their enemies. They would transform a creature into something that was completely opposite to its normal character and then inflict an effect onto it that would alter the victim’s perception of what they saw. This not only made everything they saw appear alien but would make friends seem like enemies and the li
ke. I’m sure that would cause a bit of fear and confusion.’
‘Wait here. I’ll get my rod of dispelling and we’ll soon find out.’
A few minutes later they removed the creature from the cage and it cowered against the wall. Granwell used the magic from the rod of dispelling on it and it transformed into a Newman cowering against the wall. Moments later, the man’s confusion cleared and he stood up and said.
‘What am I doing here and who are you?’
‘My name is Granwell. I am a wizard. You are in my tower in the town of Twin Towers. I have just removed a rather nasty transformation from you. Please tell me your name and the last things that you can remember.’
Chantalot nudged Aquitain and said.
‘Why don’t you try out that new lie detector thingy that you got?’
‘Will you two keep quiet.‘ grumbled Granwell. ‘I’m trying to find out what’s going on here.’
‘Okay,’ replied Aquitain, ‘Do you mind if I use a lie detector?’
‘If you must.’ said Granwell impatiently.
Aquitain pulled out the eye of perception and fixed it to his forehead. He was quite excited. He had tried other similar devices before but not one like this.
‘Lord Granwell, I have heard of you by reputation. Thank you for transforming me back to Newman again. My name is Garret Axegrinder. I’m a wizard and instrument maker from Templegate. I have a shop there. We make and repair minor magic items and by contract more powerful ones with the help of local mages. I have had several dealings with Riebrand the Blue. You might know of him. Last thing I can remember was giving my cat some warm milk, as one of those cold autumn breezes had been blowing all day and it looked like we were in for an early winter.’
Aquitain nodded his head. What the fellow had said was true.
‘Yes ... I’ve heard of Riebrand. Do you know it’s now Spring.’ said Granwell.
‘What?’ gasped Garret, ‘You can’t be serious? You’re trying to fool me. I couldn’t forget, half a year.’
Granwell asked him a few questions and these revealed that he had indeed lost the memory of the last six months. Aquitain showed him the ring of object location and asked whether he recognized it. He looked at it for a minute as if trying to remember then said.
‘No. I’ve never seen it before.’
‘Wrong!’ interrupted Aquitain. ‘You’re lying to us. Now tell us the truth.’
The man looked worried and asked to be told what happened first.
Granwell replied, ‘It’s simple, someone stole a sceptre of lordly might right out of a wizard tower here and I think you know or at least knew who, but it seems they may have erased some of your memory.’
‘Damnation.‘ cursed the man.
‘I thought that that wretched thing would cause me trouble sooner or later. It seems to be cursed although we’ve never been able to detect one on it. My granddaddy made it and the problems it causes keeps haunting our family. My daddy made the ring of detection when he last handled it. I guess he guessed we would be asked to find it one day. I had the ring locked away in my safe.’
‘It appears that someone knew you had a ring to find the sceptre and brought you here to use it.’ said Aquitain.
‘And since they turned you into a Moonmist outcast, and few people other than those in Moonmist know about them, it suggests that they could have come from there.’
Granwell continued. ‘It seems that your condition was a warning to us not to come after them. Otherwise they might just as well have killed you.’
There was something odd about this whole situation thought Aquitain and this stimulated a whole train of thought.
Miranda had said that her mother had taken it as a trophy from someone attacking her little kingdom. Then for some reason her mother had given it to the Crin. Then Alin Amber had stolen it off the Crin and left it for Aquitain to find.
If Alin Amber had returned after Aquitain had found and taken it he would have known that Aquitain had it. If he knew that Aquitain had died in the attack on the sanctuary then there was a reasonable chance that Miranda, Quab or Featherdown would have it. So they brought the ring here to find out who had it. So why did they steal it again and leave a clue as to where they were taking it. The answer seemed almost too obvious.
He was supposed to follow the sceptre and it was leading him to Moonmist. The question was how did Alin Amber know that there was a ring that would locate the sceptre?
‘Did you tell anyone that you had a ring that could locate the sceptre?’ asked Aquitain.
‘No. My daddy may have told some people but he died a few years back.’ replied Garret.
It was then that Aquitain noticed that Garret had lost part of his little finger on the left hand. That was the clue that Aquitain needed. Someone had wiped his recent memory so that he really didn’t know what had happened. They had cut off and taken a part of his finger so that he could be resurrected if he somehow got killed while in the horrible creature shape. They didn’t want him to die as he still had more to do.
This was probably a part of a contingency plan to reunite him with Alpha. It seemed almost as clear as if they had sent him the message ‘Follow the sceptre you idiot and we’ll try and get the mission back on track!’
‘Do you have a wife and children or perhaps partners and apprentices in your shop?’ asked Chantalot.
‘Last time I can remember, I worked in the shop with my brother and an apprentice. I was courting a woman. By the Powers, I might be married. If I am I will have forgotten all about my marriage and my wife. I’ll have to try to get my memory back. Is there any way Lord Granwell?’
‘There is only one certain way that I know that would probably do it… a wish, and as you’re probably aware they’re somewhat difficult to come by, as they cause the wizard who casts the power to lose some of his own memory. I guess you could also go off world and find a powerful priest and pay for a miracle. That sometimes works, I’m been told.’ replied Granwell.
‘It’s also possible that a wizard or healer specializing in mind magic might be able to help if you can find one.’ said Granwell looking pointedly at Aquitain.
‘I think we should go and visit the shop in Templegate before chasing wishes and miracles and the like.’ suggested Chantalot.
‘We need to find out about the original buyer as they are the most likely to know about the ring.
‘I agree. Let’s go to Garret’s shop and see what we can find out from there.’ said Aquitain.
‘Right, and I suppose you want me to teleport you all to Templewood?’ stated Granwell.
‘Well we could take the commercial teleporter but it would take a while to arrange permits and the like. Time is of the essence if we wish to catch the thieves.‘ said Chantalot. ‘I can supply the blindfolds.’
‘A wizard’s work is never done!’ sighed Granwell muttering to himself.
Chantalot pulled a black velvet bag over Garret’s head and one over the head of Aquitain. They were shepherded to Granwell’s transport circle and transported to Templegate.
They arrived in the basement of a building. An alarm went off, and shortly thereafter they were led up three flights of stairs and out a door into a waiting coach. As they entered the coach Garret sighed
‘Ah. It’s great to be home again.’
‘How do you know where you are?’ asked Chantalot.
‘I know Templegate; I don’t have to see it. It’s got a smell all of its own.’
The coach drove around for about half an hour then pulled up. They got out of the coach and it drove away. Only then were they allowed to take off the hoods and see that they were standing in an alley off a main street in the trade district. Garret immediately recognized the street and started walking in a hurry towards his shop.
‘This way, come this way.’ he said urgently. ‘I must find out what has happened since I’ve been away.’
They walked down the main street about two blocks and into a shop displaying a variety of m
inor magic items in the front window. The sign over the shop front read AxeGrinder’s Quality Magical Supplies, Enter at your own risk.
Aquitain and Chantalot followed Garret as he stormed into the shop marched over to his brother and said
‘Hello Wolfram, how long have I been gone?’
His brother was a bit younger than Garret but the family resemblance was quite apparent. Surprised at this unusual greeting he said
‘A few days. Why? What’s happened?’
‘I’ve had my memory stolen. You’re going to have to fill it in for me.’
‘Oh ! That’s bad.‘ replied Wolfram. ‘How much did you lose?’
‘About six months I think.’
‘That’s very bad.’ said Wolfram.
‘You married Bettina about three months ago. I don’t think she will be happy about this.’
‘Who’s Bettina? I was courting Selina.’
‘That’s what I mean. Selina wouldn’t marry you. Then you met Bettina, her cousin, you fell madly in love with her and now you’re married to her … and you probably won’t even recognize her.’
Garret appeared stunned. Aquitain could clearly see what this meant. Garret would be ready to try almost anything to get his memory back.
Wolfram looked angrily at Chantalot and Aquitain the gnome and said.
‘Who are you two? Are you responsible for my brother losing his memory? If so you’re in big trouble.’
Garret came out of his shocked state and quickly explained.
‘No. They’re not responsible. They have helped me. You won’t believe what happened to me. It’s probably all my fault but I can’t remember what I did.’
Just then an attractive looking Newman woman came from the back of the shop and when she saw Garret she hurried over to him to give him a welcome home kiss.
‘Googy, you’re back again.’ she said with a warm smile, then noticing his cool response and strange look she quickly asked what had happened.’
‘You must be Bettina,’ queried Chantalot.
‘I’m afraid your husband has been through a horrible experience. He probably won’t be himself for a while. He’s forgotten a few things, so we’ve brought him here to help jog his memory. Can we go somewhere where we won’t be disturbed and we’ll tell you what we know?’
