by MJ Schutte
Copyright 2013 by MJ Schutte
Smashwords Edition
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 1
Dark eyes watched from deep within the shadows as three farmers entered the Sword and Cane tavern. A light rain was falling, as was normal for this time of the year. Al’taish did not mind. He preferred the darkness of the night and his coat provided more than enough warmth.
‘Close the door!’ a woman’s voice shrieked.
The Sword and Cane was not the kind establishment frequented by wealthy business men. The patrons were a rough bunch, mostly farmers and mercenaries.
Al’taish settled down. He was waiting for one particular person to visit the tavern and since he disliked crowds, he decided to stay hidden across the road in a narrow alleyway.
He was a tall, slender young man with intelligent, watchful eyes and a boyish charm. His blond hair was short and his face was clean shaven. The dark, full length coat he always wore had a hood and wide sleeves.
As the evening dragged on, patrons kept entering the tavern. Al’taish was certain that the place was once again overflowing with drunk, rude farmers and half-naked girls trying to sell the only thing they believed could be of interest to a man. Al’taish shook his head in disgust just thinking of it. He was so consumed with his thoughts he almost missed the man he was looking out for.
‘Father would not be pleased if he knew I lost concentration like that,’ Al’taish muttered to himself.
The farmer walked at a brisk pace up the road and entered the tavern.
‘Close the door!’ the woman’s voice echoed from within again.
Al’taish sighed, pulled the hood of his cloak a bit tighter over his head and slowly made his way across the road. He would have preferred not to have gone into the tavern, but he needed some information and was certain that the man who had just entered knew something of value.
Al’taish opened the door just wide enough to slip inside and quickly shut it again. He did not want to draw any attention to himself. Inside it was every bit as noisy as the previous times he visited. Smoke and the unmistakable stench of strong beer clung to the air like an old, dirty blanket.
Al’taish quickly made his way to the darkest corner of the tavern.
A couple was already seated at the small table, but Al’taish sat down on the unoccupied chair as though he was invited.
The farmer did not notice the young man immediately since he was more interested in finding out how far he could get his hand up the young girl’s dress before she demanded payment.
The girl, however, did not enjoy having someone this close as she was trying to tempt the farmer into parting with his hard-earned money. She shifted away slightly and covered her legs with the dirty red dress she was wearing.
The man looked up and spotted Al’taish.
‘Go away!’ he snapped.
Al’taish did not respond or acknowledge the man. Looking down, his features knotted in concentration for just a moment. A look of confusion crossed the farmer’s face, and then he said, ‘Uh…I have to get home to my wife and children.’
The girl started protesting but then also got a confused look on her face.
‘Yes, I have to go too,’ she muttered.
Both got up and made their way to the door.
‘Amelia, where are you going?’ someone shrieked at the young girl.
‘Home. I no longer wish to work here,’ Amelia replied.
‘Get back here!’ the woman screeched, but Amelia kept walking, leaving the door open as she disappeared into night.
Before the woman could yell about the door again, a young man quickly kicked it shut. Al’taish shifted his chair so that he could see the entire tavern. Although he already knew the man he was looking for was sitting at the table next to his, he scanned the room anyway. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he settled down and concentrated on listening to the conversation between his target and three other men at the table.
A serving girl came up to him, but before she could offer him something to drink, Al’taish’s forehead creased for a moment with concentration. She briefly shook her head and then continued on to the next table.
‘Something to drink, gentlemen?’ she purred.
Al’taish almost laughed out loud at the thought of calling these brutes gentlemen.
‘You know what I want, Zania,’ one of the men grunted as he slipped his hand under her short skirt.
‘And you know the rules. I have to finish serving first before we can go to my room,’ Zania replied as she attempted to get his hand out from under her skirt.
This only encouraged the man to shove his hand up even higher. Although Zania did not show much reaction to this, Al’taish could see that she was disgusted at the dirty hand groping and squeezing her bottom. For a moment he was tempted to put a stop to it but realized that the man might leave and Al’taish still needed him to remain at the table for a while longer.
‘Just a round of ale, Zania,’ another man said.
‘Sweet berry wine for me,’ Al’taish’s target said quickly.
‘Is the ale too strong for you, Dan?’ the groper laughed.
‘Shut up, Arthur!’ Dan snapped.
The other two also mocked Dan for his choice of drink, giving Zania a chance to slip away. Al’taish knew he would have to steer the conversation in the direction that he wanted, but he waited until all four men had a mug in their hands before he took a deep breath and concentrated on Arthur.
Thus far the men had only spoken about crops and unreasonable taxes but as Al’taish concentrated on Arthur, he suddenly turned to Dan and said, ‘So, Dan, are you going to tell us more about this wizard that your great, great grandfather supposedly knew?’
The others went silent for a moment, and then a big roar of laughter erupted. Dan sat stone-faced staring at the table, his jaw clenched.
‘Come on Dan, tell us about it,’ one of the others prodded.
‘No! You will only mock me again,’ Dan grumbled.
Al’taish was expecting this reaction. A few days before, when he came to the tavern for the first time, he had overheard Dan speaking about a wizard and witnessed the others tease him endlessly about it.
Al’taish concentrated again.
Dan seemed to think about it for a moment and then conceded, ‘Ok, I’ll tell you but you have to keep an open mind.’
The others agreed with broad smiles on their faces. Al’taish knew that they were going to ridicule Dan about his beliefs for a long time to come, but he needed to hear what the man knew about the wizard.
He had considered using his
talent on Dan in order to retrieve the information, but the risk of Dan’s mind simply closing down was too great. Al’taish knew he had to be careful since he dared not disappoint Father. This was the first time since he came to this strange land that he had heard anything about the great wizard Father had sent him to find. If Al’taish ever wanted to be promoted into the Elite Corpse, he had to get as much information as he could from Dan.
‘It was not my great, great grandfather who knew the wizard, but my great, great, great grandfather’s father. He was a cook in the Palace of Mendin for Queen Ashley and General Donic, the queen’s husband. His name was Efra,’ Dan said in a hushed tone.
‘Dan, magic does not exist and neither do wizards! I’m not going to sit and listen to this nonsense!’ scoffed one of the men as he got up.
‘Then go, I’m not forcing you to stay here, but one day the wizard will return and you will all see that I was right!’ Dan snapped back.
‘Forget about him Dan, just tell us,’ Arthur said as he waved the other man off.
Dan nodded and continued, ‘In the time of the great war when the powerful sorceress Jaclyn came with her army to take over the four Kingdoms…’
‘Four Kingdoms?’ Zania asked. She had been standing close enough to the table to hear the conversation.
‘Yes, four Kingdoms. Many years ago the land we know now as Mendin was divided into four. The Mountain Kingdom, the Northern Tribes, the kingdom of Erostan and the old Mendin.’
Zania was fascinated by this. She sat down in the empty chair.
‘Mendin used to be the smallest of the four kingdoms but the great wizard united all four kingdoms under the rule of the royal family we know today. They are the direct descendants of Queen Ashley and General Donic, the first royal couple to rule the old Mendin,’ Dan explained.
A heavy set woman stormed up to the table yelling at Zania to get back to work but Al’taish focused his talent on her. He held his breath to escape the sour odor that followed the woman. She suddenly smiled at the young girl and, in a voice sweeter than honey, said, ‘You’ve been working really hard, Zania. If you want to sit with these gentlemen for a while, it would be fine by me.’
Al’taish could not help looking at Dan. He was hoping that the woman’s outburst did not distract the farmer.
Dan thought for a moment and then said, ‘Where was I? Oh yes, the royal family. They still live in the original palace that was built for Queen Ashley when she first became queen of Mendin. Her son from her first marriage, Prince Gary, never wanted to be king. Instead, he became the Commander of the greatest army Mendin had ever seen. General Donic and Queen Ashley had another son, Prince Brac, named after a very dear friend of theirs. He married Clarissa, who was supposedly the daughter of the wizard and roughly ten years older than him. They ruled for many years. They had four children of which the oldest, Princess Lilian, took over from her mother as queen. She never married but her twin brother, Prince Brighton married a serving girl he had met in a tavern in Fenton…’
‘Right here in Fenton?’ Zania asked in disbelief.
‘Yes, a serving girl from Fenton. If I’m correct it was in fact a girl that used to work at the -’
‘Skip that part,’ one of the men interrupted impatiently. ‘Tell us about the wizard.’
‘I don’t know much about him or the witch,’ Dan shrugged.
‘What were their names?’ the man asked.
‘No one remembers. The legend only refers to a great wizard and a dark witch. I do know that he had a magical cane that was always at his side and the witch carried a magical sword,’ Dan answered.
‘What kind of magic did they do?’ Zania asked.
Dan coughed a little and said, ‘Zania, my throat is very dry.’
Before he had finished the sentence, Zania was rushing to the kitchen. She returned moments later with three mugs of ale and one sweet berry wine. She sat down but forgot about her ale immediately, her attention focused on Dan.
Dan took a long sip of his wine before continuing, ‘I don’t really know much about magic - ’
‘Could they fly? Did they turn wood into gold?’ Zania asked impatiently.
‘Yes, I believe those were among the things the wizard and the witch could do. I’ve also heard that they could turn a man into a toad or any other kind of animal, throw fireballs and even make objects move with a mere thought,’ Dan answered softly.
‘This is nonsense. I’m going home!’ the one man exclaimed.
‘Yes, I’ve heard enough too,’ the last man agreed.
Both drained their mugs, got up and headed for the door.
‘What else?’ Zania asked breathlessly, hardly noticing her customers leaving.
‘Well, I’ve also heard that they live in the elf forest and that they can not die,’ Dan replied.
‘Are you saying they are still alive?’ Zania gasped.
Dan nodded as he drained his mug.
‘Where is this elf forest?’ Zania asked.
Al’taish held his breath. This was the information he needed. If he could verify that the wizard actually exists and get a clue as to his whereabouts, he would most certainly gain Father’s favor and get the promotion he had been longing for.
Dan looked longingly into his empty mug. Zania immediately jumped up and ran to the kitchen. She came running out of the kitchen holding another mug of wine, but as she sped past a group of particularly drunk men, one of them stepped back, right into her way.
Zania crashed into the man, spilling wine all over him. They went down in a tangle of arms and legs.
‘You clumsy cow!’ the man bellowed as he struggled to his feet.
‘I’m so sorry. I’ll go get a cloth,’ Zania quickly stammered.
The drunkard was not interested in hearing apologies. He grabbed Zania by the throat with one hand and tried to rip her dress off with the other.
‘I’ll use this as a cloth, just to teach you a lesson,’ he growled at her.
Although he was very drunk he was still far stronger than the young girl. She struggled with all her might but could not get out of his grip.
Dan swung a chair. The wood shattered into small pieces as it connected with the back of the man’s head. Letting go of Zania, he grabbed his head and howled in pain. As the man slowly turned around to see who attacked him, Dan quickly picked up a piece of wood from the broken chair to use as a weapon.
‘How dare you?’ the man growled at Dan.
‘Leave her alone,’ Dan growled back.
The man lunged at Dan, but was too slow. Dan sidestepped and swung the wood. Bones crushed as the wood connected with the side of the man’s face. Before Dan could take another swing three men rushed him.
‘Please, I’m just a farmer!’ he begged as he went down in a hail of blows.
Al’taish tried to concentrate on the attackers but noticed another man wielding a knife behind Zania. He was about to plunge the blade deep into her back when Al’taish’s talent connected with his mind.
Protect the farmer, the thought jumped into the man’s head.
He immediately turned his attention to the three men attacking Dan, slashing at them. A burly man brandishing a thick piece of wood like a club, who Al’taish recognized as the owner of the tavern, joined the fight. In moments he was the only man left standing.
‘Get out!’ his big voice boomed.
Turning to Zania he bellowed, ‘You too! Don’t ever come back here!’
All the men, except one, slowly got up and made their way to the door. Even in the dim light Al’taish could see that the still form left on the ground was Dan. He rushed over and knelt next to the farmer. Soft gurgling noises came from Dan’s throat as he struggled to breath.
Al’taish concentrated on Dan’s mind.
Tell me where the elf forest is.
Dan’s eyes fluttered open for a moment as he said something.
‘Where is it?’ Al’taish demanded.
Again Dan’s eyes opened.
&nbs
p; ‘Desert,’ he whispered.
‘No, not the desert, the elf forest. Where is it?’ Al’taish asked, struggling to keep his voice low.
He looked straight into Dan’s eyes as life left the farmer.
The owner of the tavern leaned over Al’taish and asked, ‘What are you doing?’
Al’taish quickly got to his feet and looked around. Almost everybody in the tavern was gathered around him and Dan.
‘I said, what are you doing?’ the owner asked again.
‘I was just leaving,’ Al’taish answered.
Quickly he stepped through the people still staring at the corpse on the ground and headed for freedom from the stench of sweaty bullies, beer and smoke.
‘Stop that man! I want to know what he asked the farmer,’ the owner bellowed.
A few patrons tried to stop Al’taish, but he was already at the door.
‘After him!’ the owner commanded.
Al’taish ran down the street, followed by at least fifteen men determined to catch him. He dashed into a narrow alley but a fierce looking mercenary caught sight of him and shouted, ‘He went in there!’
Al’taish ran only a short distance before he realized the alley was a dead end. A wall too high to scale stood like a silent enemy about twenty paces in front of him. He pulled his dark coat tight around him and melted into the shadows.
A man came rushing past, then another. They searched in the garbage stacked high against the wall, prodding and slashing with swords. More men joined the search but nobody noticed Al’taish hiding in the shadows, except one. As he opened his mouth, a thought entered his mind. Shaking his head in confusion, he looked back towards the street.
‘He ran past! This way!’ the man shouted and dashed out of the alley followed by the others.
Al’taish remained motionless and invisible until he could no longer hear any shouting. Slowly he stepped out of the shadows, breathing a sigh of relief.
It was time to leave Fenton and continue his search for the wizard elsewhere. Like a ghost, he disappeared into the cold, rainy night.
Al’taish looked up at the wall in front of him.
‘So, this is the fabled wall separating old Mendin and new Mendin,’ he mused to himself.
