The Young Magician tlt-1

by Michael Foster

  ‘By the old gods!’ Samuel heard one sailor hiss as the situation became clearer. Mage-lights were darting all around overhead as if searching, but the magicians still on the shore side of the rocks could not be seen beyond the waves and spray. An upturned longboat and several men were floating nearby, some splashing, some still.

  ‘There!’ Samuel instructed, pointing his finger towards the floating men. The sailors leapt into action and began rowing as he directed.

  Three men could be seen grasping the side of their vessel and they struggled over to Samuel’s boat as he neared. Samuel quickly formed a spell and, with a gesture, turned over their craft and emptied it of water. Another sailor with a blood-seeping head swam nearby with the limp form of Master Glim floating in his arms. Samuel put them into the other boat with barely a thought. He did not have time to notice that his own four men were gawking at his spells with awe. Master Glim was alive, but clutching at his shoulder and gritting his teeth in pain, muttering to himself.

  ‘Over there!’ someone called and Samuel spied the two Adept and the remaining sailors all paddling towards them. It was miraculous that none of them had died, but the chunks of flesh-filled clothing that bobbed here and there spoke of a different fate for the sailors of the Merry Widow. Overloading the two longboats, they managed to recover everyone and they started back for the sheltered waters.

  Once again within the protection of the bay, Samuel let his spells fade, for his head now ached with the exertion and his limbs felt numb and stone-heavy. Shards of hull and mast and sail floated atop the water beside numerous bobbing corpses. The sailors at Samuel’s side used the last of their strength to get the low-lying boat back to shore, flanked by an escort of Masters.

  Samuel, first onto the jetty despite his unsteady legs, offered a hand to Master Glim, who was conscious, but obviously disoriented and groggy.

  Master Glim accepted Samuel’s hand and was up beside him, shaking his head. ‘A disaster,’ he managed to say with a raspy voice.

  ‘A disaster,’ Samuel agreed, wearily.

  Master Glim nodded. ‘I fear things could have turned out far worse for all of us. We were very lucky we didn’t all drown.’

  ‘I agree,’ Samuel nodded. The man did not seem to realise that Samuel had saved them all. The blow to his head must have dazzled the old teacher, but Samuel did not care. He was entirely spent and exhausted.

  ‘I must tell Grand Master Anthem about this,’ Master Glim said. ‘I’m sure he will be very angry. Many lives have been lost this night, not entirely because of those two foolish Adept, but their actions certainly did not help.’ He shook his head once more. ‘The task was way beyond us.’

  Samuel nodded. ‘I need to rest. I’m exhausted.’

  ‘As am I. That is the way. We have both spent too much power and our bodies must pay the toll. We need a little rest.’

  Master Glim turned and walked slowly down the pier, where he began talking with some of the other Masters who had gathered there. He had recovered surprisingly quickly, but Samuel still felt weary as if about to faint. He staggered, wet and shivering, towards the others, who were just climbing from their vessels.

  ‘What happened out there, Samuel?’ Goodfellow asked. He had his arms folded and was shivering. His glasses were speckled with seawater.

  ‘I’ll tell you on the way back to the school. There’s nothing else we can do here. The Masters have everything under control-and I think I’m going to pass out any moment.’

  Eric grabbed Samuel just as his knees were buckling, and helped him remain standing, throwing Samuel’s arm over his shoulder. Goodfellow went to Samuel’s other side, and together, they carried him between them, pushing through the crowd of onlookers and heading back towards the School of Magic.

  ‘What did those Adept think they were doing out there?’ Goodfellow asked.

  ‘Trying to get themselves killed,’ Eric commented.

  ‘They thought they could help,’ Samuel replied, ‘but they were foolish to think so. The sea was too rough. If not for Master Glim, they would have been done for. When the ship exploded, I did everything I could just to pick them all up and get back into the harbour.’

  ‘Do you think there will be punishment for the two Adept?’ Goodfellow asked.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Samuel said wearily. ‘I think rather that Master Glim will only tell them of their foolishness and warn them to act more wisely next time. Personally, I’d have them put in the stocks for a few days. They deserve much worse.’

  ‘Perhaps you will receive a reward for bringing them all back safely, Samuel,’ Eric suggested.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Samuel replied. ‘Master Glim was unconscious and didn’t know what was going on. I don’t think he realised I saved him at all.’

  ‘You should tell him!’ Goodfellow stated.

  ‘No,’ Samuel answered, barely able to keep his eyes open. ‘I’m just happy to be alive. I’ve decided I don’t like the sea as much as I thought.’

  The others nodded and they shivered their way back towards the School of Magic along the dark city streets.

  A few days later, Samuel was sitting downstairs reading over his notes and chewing on a hunk of bread, when two Adept came stomping into the dormitory to find him. They loomed over him angrily with their arms folded and brows furrowed.

  The two Erics were chatting idly at another table and they stopped to observe what was going on. Goodfellow blinked and adjusted his spectacles and Eric Pot looked on with concern.

  ‘You are Samuel?’ one asked.

  ‘That’s right,’ Samuel said, still chomping on his bread.

  ‘We are the ones you helped the other night, with the Merry Widow.’

  ‘Oh!’ Samuel exclaimed with sudden realisation. ‘Sorry. I didn’t recognise you. It was dark and wet. I didn’t have time to see who you were.’

  The two Adept looked at each other before the second one spoke. ‘We just want to clear things up,’ he said. ‘It’s something of a delicate matter. Of course, we’d like to thank you for helping us, but now we find ourselves in a rather embarrassing position.’

  ‘Robert!’ Eric called out. ‘What are you two on about?’

  ‘Shut your mouth, Pot!’ the second Adept, named Robert, called back, shaking his finger at him. ‘We’re speaking with Samuel, so it’s none of your concern.’

  ‘You two are idiots! If not for Master Glim and Samuel, you’d both be dead now,’ Eric replied, with a hint of anger, but Samuel calmed him with a raised hand.

  ‘It’s not a problem, Eric,’ he said calmly. ‘Let them go on.’

  ‘Well, there’s a small matter of our reputation to attend to,’ the first Adept, Artam, said to Samuel. ‘Word has somehow been passed around that we caused all this trouble and that we needed you to save us. Now our names are as good as rubbish. We just can’t have everyone thinking that we needed some foreign apprentice to get us out of trouble.’

  ‘Which you did,’ Eric called out.

  ‘Shut it, Pot!’ Robert shouted again, throwing a vile look, but Eric just laughed and shook his head.

  ‘And what about Master Glim?’ Artam continued. ‘We all know he was responsible for saving us all and all this talk is only soiling his good Turian name.’

  ‘I understand,’ Samuel said. ‘But I haven’t spoken to anyone about it.’

  ‘Good,’ Robert said. ‘Then I trust we won’t have to speak again.’

  The two Adept twirled in their cloaks dramatically and left.

  ‘They don’t seem very mature,’ Samuel stated.

  ‘That’s Artam Ritter and Robert Mundle,’ Goodfellow informed him. ‘They’ve always been troublesome and they don’t have many friends in the school. They like to make life difficult for any apprentices they come across, especially for us Outlanders. They’re both Imperials and they know it well. You’re lucky they haven’t bothered you before now.’

  ‘Well, they can do as they please,’ Samuel said, ‘as long as the
y don’t bother me any further.’

  Eric laughed. ‘Good for you, but I’m sure they’ll try to make things difficult for you when they can. Let me know if they do. I wouldn’t mind getting my knuckles dirty on those two.’

  Samuel laughed. ‘Very well,’ he replied, only just realising it had been a long time since he had been involved in a scuffle himself.

  Samuel only had to wait another day before meeting the two Adept once again. While striding across the school grounds, he was confronted once more by the two young men, each looking furious.

  ‘Now people are saying we were crying when we came back to the jetty!’ Robert declared angrily. ‘And we are the laughing stock of all the Adept.’

  ‘I told you,’ Samuel stated plainly. ‘I haven’t said a thing and I can’t help what other people say.’

  ‘We know it’s your damned friend Pot! Well, we’re going to teach you both a lesson,’ Artam hissed. ‘It’s bad enough we have to put up with you Outlanders in the first place. You’re lucky to even have a place in the Order. You’re lucky the Emperor didn’t put you lot in chains. This is the last warning you’ll get.’

  They turned and stormed away and Samuel shook his head before continuing on his way, himself.

  ‘What news of the boy?’ asked the thin voice of his dreams.

  ‘Stronger each day,’ replied the gruff. ‘He learns at a frightening rate. Some of his spells may now even eclipse mine. He only lacks confidence and experience.’

  Silence.

  And a moment later, ‘Can you control him?’

  ‘I believe so, but he grows ever sure of himself. He is not a child any more.’

  The thin voice sounded full of thought. ‘He shows great hidden potential as we expected, but still keeps much to himself.’

  ‘Yes…and I feel that he has reached only a fraction of that potential.’

  Still, Samuel was sure he knew who this gravelly-voiced speaker was, but the fog of his dreams kept him from putting the pieces together.

  ‘There are many mysteries around this boy.’ Again, long silence, then, ‘What about the ship?’

  ‘Nothing substantial, but I fear there was some interference from the Circle. Some of the sailors told of strange events in the few moments before it ran aground. Sailors are superstitious, but it could make sense.’

  ‘We should look into it. Seek Balten. The Archmage was not happy at all to lose his cargo and the loss of the books is a tragic blow. I cannot believe someone was not responsible for such misfortune.’

  ‘The Circle are never to be trusted,’ the gruff voice stated, ‘but we need them. Never forget that they may be playing us as much as we are playing them.’

  ‘We are all players and the played,’ the thin voice surmised. ‘All that matters is who finishes on top.’

  ‘And we play with dangerous company.’

  ‘Not for much longer.’ The thin voice carried no lack of satisfaction.

  It was a few weeks later, in the Great Library-Samuel was beginning to think that Robert and Artam had lost their venom-when their promised moment of comeuppance finally arrived. He was browsing through the library gallery when a dozen or so Adept came stomping in through the doors. Looking around, Samuel found that he was the only other soul there at such an hour, a situation that the grinning Adept had no doubt been awaiting. They had managed to raise a small group of followers, all Imperials by the look of them and all smirking and intent on misbehaviour.

  Samuel stepped away from the shelves as they gathered before him. They were all taller than him, and Samuel had little chance if it came to blows. He decided magic was best to decide this encounter and he began summoning his power. The magic felt thrilling as it filled him. He knew he should probably be nervous, but for some reason he did not feel the slightest bit threatened by these older boys once his magic had begun to come.

  ‘Have you heard of wet-beatings, Samuel?’ Robert asked, arms folded and standing tall before him.

  Samuel shook his head.

  ‘It’s when smart apprentices like you are put in their place. We hold you down and whip you with wet towels until you beg us to stop.’

  Samuel waved one hand, dismissively. ‘I don’t feel like it just now,’ he said. He was tired of their strutting and posing and wanted to teach them a lesson. Despite their numbers, he was sure his magic could handle them all.

  Robert signalled and a number of Adept stepped forward and took Samuel by the arms. He did not even attempt to resist.

  ‘You don’t seem to appreciate how much this is going to hurt, but you need to be put back in your place. And we’ll take care of Pot next. Take him outside,’ Robert ordered.

  With a grin, Samuel began to spell and, just then, Grand Master Anthem appeared behind them by the doorway.

  ‘What’s going on here!’ he bellowed and the Adept spun around to face him, releasing Samuel at once.

  Robert began to stammer a response while the Grand Master strode closer.

  ‘You will all be expelled for this!’ he bellowed.

  Samuel almost burst out laughing as the Adept shook with fear.

  ‘In fact,’ Anthem roared, his eyes wide and wild with anger, ‘I believe this calls for the harshest of penalties…death!’

  The Adept looked to each other with hideous disbelief. Struggling to withhold his laughter, Samuel made his illusion grow up to the roof, transforming the raging Grand Master into a horrid, red-faced creature that began spewing fire from its mouth. The Adept screamed and ran in all directions. One even passed straight through the illusion as it roared and clutched its claws out towards them. Samuel laughed wildly, finding it hard to keep his spell intact though his spasms of mirth.

  ‘Grand Master!’ Robert stammered, backing away from the great creature. ‘Please don’t kill us! Please!’

  Samuel could hold his spell no more and the demon vanished as he bent over laughing, slapping his thigh again and again. Artam and the others were still scattering out the door as Robert’s face went red with anger.

  ‘You!’ he declared, turning to Samuel.

  ‘Oh, Robert!’ Samuel said, still cackling. ‘You should have seen yourself!’

  ‘Why you-!’ Robert began, but he was still too terrified and angry to finish his words.

  Samuel regained his composure and decided it was time to teach this arrogant Adept a good lesson. He was sick of them harassing him and treating everyone from the territories as inferior. ‘That’s right, Robert. It was an illusion, but I could quite as easily have summoned the real thing, but I couldn’t have guaranteed who it would eat or not. You had better…’

  Robert’s fist flew up and punched Samuel squarely on the nose and Samuel staggered back, clutching his face in agony and complete surprise. His eyes filled with tears as Robert raised another fist before him.

  Samuel raised a hand himself, but instead of fighting, he cast a spell. A heavy book flew up from the table and crashed into the side of Robert’s head, knocking him to the floor. Samuel’s vision cleared as Robert crawled up from the floor. He was even more red-faced with fury.

  ‘You!’ was all he said, shaking with rage.

  A sudden spell came from him and the same book sprang from the floor back towards Samuel. Samuel stepped aside and the book flew far behind and bounced off distant shelving, leaving some of its pages fluttering loose to the floor. Samuel adjusted his shirt calmly as Robert spelled again and another volume came flying towards him. Samuel stopped the book with his fingertips just before his face and then waved it aside, where it waited, floating patiently. His head was swimming now with magic, for he was drawing as much power as he could. He wanted to show the arrogant Adept, once and for all, who was the more powerful.

  ‘Now, Robert,’ Samuel began to explain. He cast his spells out all over the room and Robert’s face filled with horror as hundreds of books and manuscripts began sliding out from the shelves and started floating slowly around below the library chamber ceiling. ‘I thought I would ha
ve a little fun, at first, but now it’s time to teach you a lesson. You seem to have some talent with Lifting spells, but you don’t realise how pathetic your powers really are compared to mine. You tried to lift the Merry Widow and you failed dismally and it nearly cost all our lives. Then you have the gall to blame me for your troubles, without any hint of an apology or thanks. You have no idea how powerful I really am. I have the power to crush you like an insignificant insect and I will not hesitate, should I choose to. This is no illusion, so I hope you are prepared.’

  More and more books flew from their shelves and joined the pageant of parading pieces in the air and Robert watched them, frozen in sheer disbelief, as they swam around the ceiling beams in magnificent procession.

  ‘If you speak to me ever again without just reason, or if I hear of you harassing anyone else for any reason at all, I will be forced to do something we both may regret. I will not warn you or threaten you; I will merely put you in your place without hesitation. Keep your mouth shut and keep out of my way! The next time, I will not be held responsible for what happens to you.’

  Robert turned and nearly tripped over himself getting out of the library. He ran to the great doors and darted out between them as quickly as he could. As the doors slowly creaked shut once more, Samuel could hold his spells no longer and the books all dropped from the air as one, spilling down onto the Great Library floor like a rain of paper. He had to cover his head with both arms to avoid receiving a concussion from some of the larger, leather-bound volumes.

  Samuel suspected he would not have any more trouble from any of the Adept, but now he had another problem. It would take him hours to put the piles of books that littered the floor back into their places. Some of them looked broken and loose pages lay all about. He only hoped no one else would come into the library before he was done cleaning up, or he would surely have more trouble than his little stunt was worth.

  Samuel was summoned to Grand Master Anthem’s chamber soon after. The old man had heard word of his exploits and did not seem the least bit impressed.