by Des Pensable
‘I also thought about what has happened and why we are here. I agree with you that Grandad was panicked. I suspect he’s sent a message to my father saying that we are here. So if we sit tight my father is likely to get in touch with us and arrange a meeting.’
‘But how will you know if it’s your real father, not someone pretending to be your father?’ asked Melanie.
‘Once I mind link with them I will know,’ Rob assured her.
‘I hope so, I truly hope so.’ Melanie sounded not at all so sure. ‘Anyhow, what have you learnt since you’ve been here?’ she asked.
‘Not much!’ replied Rob. ‘It’s a nice quiet little town in the middle of nowhere.’
‘Well listen to what I found out last night while getting drunk. This town guards the only permanent gateway into this world. There are no roads to anywhere from here. They have a hundred soldiers, several journeyman wizards and two archwizards. That’s a lot of guards for a gateway in the middle of nowhere. They send out shipments of unknown goods through the gateway twice a week. These unknown goods are teleported here from some unknown location and stored in locked customs buildings out of sight.’
‘No one is allowed here by order of the Unity of Wisdom, as it is a conservation sensitive area controlled by a Council of Druids. You and I both know that the Unity of Wisdom hates druids and cares nothing about conservation. So why would they want to help these druids? What are they exporting? I don’t think that this place is what it seems to be. There is something strange going on here.’
‘That’s all very interesting, but what’s it got to do with us?’ Rob asked. ‘We’re here to keep out of the way, to hide while Granddad smooths things over. It’s about the last place anyone would expect to find us. I think we just act normally, keep out of trouble and enjoy ourselves until my father turns up or contacts us. But first we should talk to Granddad’s friend the High Wizard, and see what he suggests we do.’
‘Perhaps you’re right,’ replied Melanie. ‘I suppose we could have a bit of a holiday while we’re here. Perhaps go fishing and maybe do a little hunting in the jungle.’
‘Great. Why don’t you clean up, have a bite to eat and then we’ll visit the High Wizard.’
An hour later they were outside the front door of High Wizard Featherdown’s tower. This time the wizard’s doorknob asked them to state their name and business.
‘Zephira, gem merchant of Wolfram and Aquitain the Logicon to see the High Wizard of Mudrun on a social visit.’
‘Please enter,’ said the doorknob, and the door swung open to reveal a very small man only as tall as Zephira’s knee, clad in brown clothes and a green conical hat. Aquitain hadn’t seen a gnome for ages and was a little surprised to see one here.
‘Are you High Wizard Featherdown?’ he asked uncertainly.
‘No, follow me if you please,’ the little fellow said in a squeaky voice as he darted over to a golden pattern inlaid into the marble floor which Aquitain recognised immediately as a teleport circle. They followed the gnome and stepped onto the pattern, and moments later found themselves in a comfortable-looking room in Featherdown’s tower. The first gnome vanished and a second gnome appeared, carrying a tray with delicious looking cakes and biscuits and a jug of cool fruit juice.
They looked around the opulently appointed area. The High Wizard was obviously quite wealthy and prepared to show it. The floor was beautifully polished hardwood, covered with the skins of exotic animals. The walls were of white marble, and decorated with tapestries of battle scenes. One showed a wizard surrounded by a sphere of energy, hovering in the sky above an army of newmans. He was casting fireballs at an opposing army of horrible, monstrous creatures. On the ground lay the shattered and grotesque bleeding body of the creatures’ leader.
The High Wizard appeared silently behind them and stood weighing them up for a few seconds before announcing his presence. He was a tall, slim light tan skinned man, perhaps in his early thirties, with short brown hair and a neatly trimmed grey tinged beard. He wore a neck to ankle length long-sleeved gown of maroon silk, embroidered with the image of a red dragon that wrapped around his body. The eyes of the dragon’s head at chest height bore gems that shone with the colours of the rainbow. On his head he had a maroon skullcap bearing a complex symbol embroidered in gold.
He noticed both Aquitain and Zephira looking at the tapestry.
‘Nasty battle that one,’ he said. ‘Our side lost nearly six hundred. The other side lost over two thousand. The tapestry makers got it wrong. I didn’t use fireballs. The enemy was quite resistant to fire, cold, lightning and acid. I used a nasty magic effect that sucks the water out of their bodies. They died of instant dehydration. I must have killed five hundred of them myself. The troops cleaned up the rest. That big ugly leader of theirs was a real nasty bit of work. It took quite an effort to overcome him. He caused most of the deaths on our side.’
‘Wasn’t it rather dangerous up there over the battle?’ said Aquitain, ‘Every wizard and every archer in the opposing army would be trying to bring you down.’
‘Quite right lad, it would have been quite foolish. In actual fact the wizard in the sphere was an illusion created and sustained by a young wizard on the ground. His job was to distract the opposing wizards and get them to waste their magic on it. It also had a wonderful effect on morale. I flew around invisible, much closer to the action, casting magic where it would cause the greatest damage. The troops didn’t know that, of course. All they cared about was that their wizard was up there fighting with them. Deception is very effective in battles.’
Zephira, wearing a dress for a change, curtsied to the wizard.
‘I’m Zephira a gem merchant, Your Excellency, and this is my assistant Aquitain the Logicon. We were told to see you when we arrived.’
Featherdown nodded and then asked for their real credentials.
‘I’m Melanie Darmon, Wizard Defender, granddaughter of Sol Theolaur, ArchMind of Panmagica, Your Excellency.’
‘I’m Robertus Theolaur, Mind wizard and Crystal Tuner, grandson of Sol Theolaur, ArchMind of Panmagica, Your Excellency.
Featherdown nodded again and surprisingly asked Aquitain to mindlink with him. Then through the mindlink he asked Aquitain to send him an image of his grandfather and then an image of the East Wind. The East Wind was their name for the gargoyle that guarded the eastern skyline of the mansion. Aquitain did this and the High Wizard seemed happy.
‘You seem to be the genuine article. Your grandfather sent me a message about the two of you.’
‘How long have you known our grandfather?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Quite some time.’ said Featherdown. ‘I ran into your grandfather during my travels and we were able to help each other against a mutual enemy. You know the old saying. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. He taught me a little about how mind wizards think. Fascinating stuff, I must say. I taught him a couple of unusual magical manipulations in return. We’ve kept in contact and done a little business.
‘Now tell me about your trip, how long you expect to be here, and what you propose to do while you’re here?’
‘Well, we left in rather a hurry and we haven’t decided yet what we should do, Your Excellency,’ said Aquitain.
‘Yes, something to do with an archon I believe. Nasty creatures, always surrender to them if you can, they’re sworn never to harm their prisoners but their enemies usually end up dead. I dare say your grandfather will get the problem sorted out eventually. However, your illegal entry here leaves me with a small problem with the Council of Druids who control this world. We will have to make it seem that I hired you to come here to help with local problems. That would also make you more acceptable with the locals and curtail any wild rumours.’
‘Zephira, your grandfather has praised your skills as a wizard defender. None of our guards here are trained for that role, and consequently our young wizards would be at risk in any major fight. I have a vacancy for a skilful wizard defender traine
r, with the rank of junior officer. Would you be interested?’
‘Aquitain, I believe that you are an excellent crystal singer. We have quite a number of items that need repairs, and an astute tradesman might also get some new commissions. I have a well-equipped workshop, which is currently lying idle in the tower basement and might be available for a nominal rental. I also have a very good library with some rare and unusual volumes, which might be of particular interest to a mind wizard. Would you be interested?’
‘I am a crystal tuner, Your Excellency. Most people get crystal singers, graders and tuners confused. Crystal singers find the mindspeak sensitive crystals in the wild, the crystal graders buy, grade and sell them and the crystal tuners use them to create magical items such as the common translator crystals. Tuners are the top of the pecking order. I can of course crystal sing and grade as well.’
‘Hmm … that’s most interesting,’ the High Wizard replied. ‘I didn’t realize that there was such a distinct hierarchy amongst crystal workers.’
‘Is the study of mind magic allowed in this world?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Yes, there are no restrictions on the use of any types of magic or magic abilities on this world. You are free to study what you will, within the limits of public safety of course.’
The two cousins conferred briefly about Featherdown’s proposal. Zephira was incredibly excited about the opportunity to show and teach her special techniques, but Aquitain was less excited. This wasn’t what he had come here for; but he could see that it would provide a good excuse to be here and a base for him seek more help with controlling his shape changing ability, and of course to find his father, so he accepted.
‘Excellent,’ said the High Wizard. ‘Welcome to the community!’
Then suddenly, becoming much more serious and official looking:
‘Now, a warning! The Druid Council of Mudrun controls this world. The story is that the druids found the world in a very damaged state a couple of hundred years ago. It had been mostly destroyed by a huge magic storm. They have spent every day since then restoring it to its current near paradise state.
‘They are extremely protective of it. You are likely to be executed if you are caught trying to harm or smuggle their exotic rare creatures off world. They will also probably execute you for trying to preach any non-nature-based religion. They don’t seem to worry too much about murder, rape or pillage amongst the settlers here, only the sanctity of nature. So take my advice. Care for the animals and plants and you will be a druid friend, abuse them and you’ll end up dead.
‘One thing more! I don’t know who or what was here before the druids found this world, but lots of strange things seem to happen. Nothing on Mudrun is what it seems, it’s truly a deceptive world, so keep an alert and open mind about everything you see and you’ll live much longer.
‘Now let’s go down and see the workshop, then I’ll find Senior Wizard Curbut and he’ll help Zephira to settle in at the Barracks. There’s a small bedroom attached to the workshop. I suspect that Aquitain will feel more comfortable there.’
‘What position does Senior Wizard Curbut occupy?’ asked Zephira.
‘He’s my second in command. Very little escapes his eyes or ears. Stay on his good side and you’ll have no problems.’
‘The people seem to speak good Galactic Trade Common here Your Excellency,’ said Aquitain, curious as to why that might be the case.
‘Really! They must be being polite to you as visitors. They generally speak what is known as Mudrun Common, which is a mixture of several languages, reflecting the nature of the people here. They are basically refugees from many troubled worlds, all with a past they wish to forget. I have been responsible for most of them coming here. I have met most of them personally and know of their backgrounds.’
‘I brought a master translator crystal with me which can be used to both upgrade the common translator crystals and learn new language variations,’ Aquitain said. ‘Are there any restrictions or problems about me recording the language variations?’
‘Thinking of making some gold out of us eh! Well I have no problem as long as you take account of the sensitivities of the people. However, you should realise that the population on Mudrun is only a few thousands of people, and almost none of them would own or need a translator crystal. You might do better searching for the raw crystal, as I don’t know of anyone that has actually looked for it on Mudrun.’
‘Thank you, Your Excellency.’ replied Aquitain, thinking of the possibilities of making a good profit while he was here.
Aquitain said little but thought a lot while he received instructions as to how to gain entry to the front door and the workshop two levels below ground. It was quite obvious that the High Wizard wanted to keep them close at hand. Whether this was a good or a bad thing was yet to be determined. Perhaps he wanted to see if they could be trusted, or perhaps he had other ideas. They had little choice so he decided to cooperate, at least for the present.
The workshop seemed reasonably well equipped, although he wouldn’t know exactly until he had done an audit. The place also needed to be cleaned and reorganised to his taste. The small room off the workshop was actually a safe room, equipped with a bed and some cupboards for clothes storage.
‘I’ll leave you to make the place habitable and introduce Zephira to the officers of the guard. Beware of tricks,’ he warned, and teleported away with her.
Aquitain wasn’t sure he heard him quite correctly. What did ‘Beware of tricks’ mean? He thought about it for a minute, concluding that he must have misheard what the High Wizard had said, and decided to do some housekeeping and get the workshop reorganised to his satisfaction.
He walked around the room mentally working out what needed to be moved to where, and taking note of anything in excess, short or missing. He heard a scratching sound behind and turned to see a rat the size of a cat peering out at him from behind a bench. It didn’t worry him much as it couldn’t harm him, but it shouldn’t be in the room. He would have to clear it out.
He went towards the creature shouting ‘Shoo, shoo!’ and waving his arms to scare it. Rather than run it moved out in front of him and suddenly burst into flames, which didn’t seem to affect it? He quickly tried to remember anything about flaming rats but nothing came to mind. Alpha his memcrystal was inside his body shell. He asked it whether there was any special knowledge about flaming rats. It replied that there was none.
‘Oh well,’ he thought ‘It can’t be that dangerous.’ But he reached over and grabbed a length of iron rod just to be sure, and stepped forward to force it to leave. As he advanced it changed shape to a fiery dog with an evil look about it. The creature growled ferociously and stepped towards him. He could see small puffs of flame coming out of its mouth and the smell of sulphur was strong in the air. He asked Alpha about flaming dogs and this time Alpha had some information. There was a type of fire elemental that sometimes took the form of a dog. It could breathe out a short plume of fire.
‘By the Powers, what’s going on here?’ he wondered as he glanced around and saw several flammable items within the room. If they caught alight it could cause quite a fire.
‘Maybe I can draw it out of the room into the short hallway, then perhaps I can club it more safely,’ he thought, so he started backing away towards the door. The fiery dog stayed with him pace for pace, its eyes burning like hot coals, its breath steamy with wisps of smoke rising off its burning coat.
He reached the doorway and found there was no door handle. In fact the door had disappeared and looked as if it had been bricked up. Had he been a newman he might have panicked at this stage, but his Logicon altered mind started examining the logic of what was happening. It took only seconds to conclude that this whole event was highly improbable which meant he was being tricked. Then he recalled what the High Wizard had said and disbelieved that the fiery dog was there and the illusion shattered.
‘All right you had me tricked for a moment show yourself!�
�� he said standing blocking the doorway.
A large snake appeared near his feet and coiled up ready to strike him. ‘That won’t cause me any harm. My legs are made of metal and I’m immune to poison anyway. Show yourself, I won’t hurt you!’
The snake vanished and a little red haired female gnome appeared a few paces in front of him. ‘Hurt me. Ha Ha. That would be the day. I’m much too fast for the likes of you,’ she chuckled.
‘Who are you?’ asked Aquitain.
‘I’m the High Wizard’s apprentice. Jaztrix Boonswoggle is my name and illusions are my game. I also like riddles and practical jokes. You can call me Jaz.’
‘I didn’t know that the High Wizard was interested in illusion magic,’ said Aquitain.
‘He’s a Battle wizard. He specialises in explosions, lightning, fireballs, mass destruction and all that type of stuff, but he believes that deception can be just as useful as a fireball. He’s said that to me on several occasions he has.’
‘So you’re learning to be a Battle wizard?’
‘Of course not, that’s too crude for me. I play with people’s minds. It’s much more fun. I specialize in believable deceptions. Did you like my fiery dog?’
‘Yes it was very believable. The brick wall across the door was the clue that broke the illusion.’
‘Of course it was. It wouldn’t have been much fun if I didn’t give you a chance to disbelieve would it?’
‘So what are you learning while being his apprentice?’
‘I’m learning how to work with other wizards to create mass illusions that will fool the enemy into making mistakes, sap their morale and confuse them while the other wizards fry them.’
‘It sounds like you expect to fight a battle sometime soon,’ Aquitain said, somewhat surprised.
‘Master Featherdown says that you can never be too prepared.’
‘I suppose he’s right. I’m interested in illusion magic, perhaps you can show me how you do some of your tricks some time,’ Aquitain suggested.
