by Victor Kloss
“He has a house on Vanishing Street?” Natalie asked.
“He does,” Joshua confirmed. “He is a hard man to track down, but we found the house of his choice for this particular month. If we can meet him, I am confident I can get an invitation to Vanishing Street.”
“How many houses does this man have?” Ben asked.
“He has one for each month,” Charlie replied. “In each of the primary Unseen Kingdoms.”
Ben sat up. “Who is this guy? He sounds richer than Bill Gates.”
“He comes close,” Charlie said. “And therein lies our first problem.”
“What's wrong with being rich?”
“Nothing,” Joshua said immediately.
“No, there is nothing wrong with being rich,” Charlie said, giving Joshua a pointed stare. “However, there are a few things wrong with running the largest illegal magic trade in the Unseen Kingdoms.”
“It's not all illegal,” Joshua said. “He has a perfectly legitimate business, which the Institute deals with on a regular basis.”
“They are either ignorant or turn a blind eye,” Charlie said. “Anyway, the point is, as befits someone dealing beneath the law, he has a bit of a thing on security. And he's also a bit mad.”
“So I guess walking up to his house for a quick hello is out of the question?” Ben said.
“Right. Think castles, moats, and all sorts of weird and exotic creatures protecting entry,” Charlie said.
Joshua cleared his throat. “The plan is to go tonight. We need to assemble a team, but I will be the only one visiting him. My family credentials will get me an audience.”
“Fine with me,” Ben said. “I'm not a big fan of barons anyway, to be honest.”
Joshua ignored Ben's comment. “I only want you, Krobeg and me on the mission.”
Ben frowned at exactly the same time Natalie voiced a fairly vocal complaint.
Joshua raised a hand. “Krobeg with his armour is like a one-man fighting machine. You are also useful in combat, Ben. Charlie and Natalie are surplus to requirements.”
“That is unfair,” Natalie said angrily. “Charlie and I are now well above third-grade level.”
Joshua gave an unimpressed smirk, and turned to Ben. Natalie and Charlie did likewise. Ben noted that Charlie wasn't really complaining.
“Okay, first of all, Krobeg isn't coming,” Ben said. “At least not with the breastplate. And though he's a great fighter without it, he would be too noisy at a time when I believe we need stealth.”
“Why can't he bring the breastplate?” Joshua asked. “What is the point of these artefacts, if not to use them?”
“The point in them,” Ben said, emphasising every word, “is to defeat Suktar. I won't risk them for anything else. If anything were to happen to them, we'd be in right trouble. On this I will not argue.”
To Ben's surprise, Joshua didn't complain. He might have been a complete pain in the backside, but at least he could see reason when it was staring him in the face.
“Secondly, Charlie and Natalie are coming with,” Ben said.
If Joshua took the first ruling without complaint, this time he was the complete opposite. “Why bring them? What do they add to the mission?”
“Friendship,” Ben said simply. “You might not value it, but it helps, especially if things get sticky.”
“Nonsense,” Joshua said, shaking his head vigorously. “You're letting your heart get in the way of reason. I will not stand for it. This is my shield, remember? I am responsible for finding it, and I won't have you messing it up.”
Ben knew Joshua was right, but he didn't care, and he certainly didn't show it. He needed Charlie and Natalie, and it wasn't for friendship, but for something else, though he wasn't about to tell anyone quite yet.
“They are coming,” Ben repeated. “Yes, it's your shield, but I'm the one responsible for gathering them all, not you. Trust me, Charlie and Natalie will be needed.”
As far as arguments went, Ben knew it was pretty lame, and he had to supplement it with a conviction and anger he didn't really feel.
Joshua stood up. “If they mess this up, I'm blaming you.” He marched to the door, and turned around just as he was about to leave. “This is exactly what Lord Samuel feared.”
The door slammed, leaving the three of them alone once more.
“Well, that was unnecessary,” Natalie said, flashing an angry glance at the door. “Still, it might be good for him to see how well we work together. Then he'll realise how ridiculous he's being.”
“That's the idea,” Ben said.
He avoided looking at Charlie. Even from his peripheral vision, he could read his friend's scepticism and he knew without asking that Charlie suspected another motive. Ben had long since given up trying to get anything past him, but he wasn't going to explain himself – not while Natalie was around.
Joshua avoided them most of the day, which suited Ben just fine. At least that meant he got no more badgering about his own search for the sword. There were only a couple of days left until Natalie was willing to use the memory spell on his grandma. Ben tried not to think about what would happen if that resulted in a dead end, and instead focused on their mission tonight. On impulse, he stopped off at Dagmar's office.
“Baron Vongrath?” she said, when Ben imparted the news.
Ben noticed that Dagmar no longer took to working when he stopped by, a sign that she was becoming increasingly involved.
“He is a peculiar man,” Dagmar said. “Certainly not a man to be trifled with. Alex knows more about him than I do, but he is not around at present, or else I would send you straight to him.”
“Is he a good sort or a bad sort?” Ben asked.
“Both, and neither,” Dagmar said. “He is extremely wealthy and owns half the magic industry. We are aware that some of it is not ethical, and he sells to both sides. But we are his biggest customer, and are usually able to keep him in check. His industry has become so big now that if we wanted to shut him down, it would be almost as difficult as stopping the dark elves.”
“He sounds interesting,” Ben said.
“Eccentric would be a better word,” Dagmar said. “But Joshua is right: the baron will be impressed with his family history, and the fact that they own a house on Vanishing Street. It is best that Joshua visits him alone.”
“Will he be easy to reach?” Ben asked.
“We have never had to face his security, because Alex would always go on invitation,” Dagmar said. “I don't doubt security will be interesting, but you are no slouch anymore, Ben. You should be able to cope.”
“Joshua wanted me to take Krobeg and his armour.”
Dagmar nodded. “You were right to say no. The armour should not be risked.”
Ben smiled, then, thinking of last night. “Abigail found and saved me in the draymas last night.”
To Ben's surprise, Dagmar returned the smile – it was only a flash, but it lit up her stern face quite remarkably.
“That was a necessary risk, and a good test for Abigail. I am happy with her progress.”
“She's doing amazing,” Ben said with feeling. “Thank you for taking her on. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do.”
“You have enough on your hands,” Dagmar said, swiftly returning to her more familiar impassiveness. “Now, you should get going. You have a lot to prepare for tonight.”
Ben knew when he was being asked to leave, and went to find Charlie and Natalie. They were forced to spend a little time on their apprenticeship, lest they attract attention again from Draven for falling behind, but as soon as they were able, they dived back into the library to continue their research on Baron Vongrath.
“Where's Joshua?” Ben asked, not displeased to see that he wasn't around.
“He wanted to work alone,” Charlie said. “We are to meet him at the Dragonway at seven o'clock.”
Ben knew he shouldn't have been excited, as it was a da
ngerous mission and an important one, but he found that by the time seven o'clock came, his heart was beating that little bit faster, in a good way. After the frustration of the sword, it felt good to be doing something pro-active towards finding the next piece of armour.
Joshua met them with the mutest of acknowledgements and a barely concealed withering glance at Charlie and Natalie, though he held his tongue.
“The kingdom of Casteria, right?” Charlie asked, glancing towards Joshua.
“Yes. Platform four, at 7:13pm.”
“He owns the whole island, doesn't he?” Ben asked, as they boarded the Dragonway not ten minutes later.
“One of many,” Joshua said with an authoritative nod. “This one in particular is one of his smaller, more exclusive islands.”
“Isn't security going to be tight?” Natalie said.
“Yes, but not in the way you think,” Joshua replied. “You'll see when we get there.”
Casteria lay a hundred miles off the west coast of Ireland, and the dragon made the journey in good time. Ben always got a little thrill when he ascended to a station he'd never been to before. It was well into the evening and Ben feared they might not see much, but Casteria station did not disappoint.
It was located inside what looked like an old stone fort, built during mediaeval times, and had been sympathetically restored. The Dragonway track ran right through the middle of the fort, and they stepped out onto the platform, feeling as if they'd just gone back five hundred years. Old suits of armour sat in small recesses, and narrow window slits ran up and down the fort. The only real concession to magic was the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, lit by scores of candles.
The place wasn't empty, but there couldn't have been more than a couple dozen people around, and most of them seemed to be leaving. Ben noted they wore green uniforms, and were most likely employed at Baron Vongrath's main residence.
They tore their eyes away from the inside of the fort, and made their way to the exit, which consisted of nothing more than an open archway. The cool breeze hit them as they stepped outside, and their eyes adjusted to the moonlight.
“Well, I guess we know where to go,” Natalie said.
That much was obvious the moment they stepped outside. Before them stood a forest, with a large path running through its centre. The forest rose on a gentle incline, and beyond it was a mighty rock, towering over the trees. On top of the rock was a castle.
“I don't suppose they have a taxi service,” Charlie said, as he stared into the distance at the castle. It was an impressive sight, but Ben guessed it to be at least a couple of hours’ walking, and that was without interference.
“I'm sure there is some sort of transport for people who work here,” Joshua said. “But we are not here by invitation. We must walk.”
Charlie sighed. “Has anyone else noticed how many of these islands are basically just forests and hills?”
“England used to be one big forest,” Ben said, as they started walking. “That's what it's like around here, I guess.”
As soon as they entered the main entrance into the forest, the trees obstructed much of the moonlight, and all four of them lit their spellshooters. The pathway itself was wide and well used and, for the first twenty minutes, they had little difficulty navigating their way through. They saw a few employees coming their way, but nobody glanced at them with much suspicion, and it wasn't long before they walked alone.
As far as forests went, there was nothing particularly unique about it. In his recent adventures, Ben had been to bigger ones, scarier ones, and certainly many that were less inviting.
“This isn't too bad,” Ben said, giving them all an encouraging smile. “I'm starting to wonder why we bothered with all that research. I don't see anything that—”
“There,” Natalie said, cutting him off suddenly. She was looking ahead right down the path, and pointing.
Her part-elven eyes were so keen that it was another minute before Ben saw what she was pointing at.
“What on earth is that thing?” Ben asked.
— Chapter Nineteen —
A Dangerous Journey
A rhinosaur,” Charlie whispered with a mixture of fascination and anxiety.
The description was apt. Ahead of them was something that looked like a small troll, with the head of a rhino, complete with mud-grey skin and a huge, pointed horn.
“Now what?” Joshua asked, looking at the rhinosaur with alarm.
Ben enjoyed the anxiety on Joshua's face. He might have shared it, if not for the rhinosaur's demeanour. In his hand was a clipboard, and he was writing on it, his short, stubby tongue sticking out in the process. There was no weapon that Ben could see, though Ben was fairly certain he rarely needed one.
“We talk,” Ben said.
Without waiting for a response, Ben walked right up to the rhinosaur. He must have been at least seven feet, with muscles that threatened to rip his shirt. His skin looked so hard that Ben wasn't sure if an ordinary sword would penetrate it.
“ID cards please,” the rhinosaur said in a deep voice without looking up.
Ben gave a quick look at his friends, who shrugged at him with varying levels of concern. With a subtle motion of his hand, Ben slowly eased his way down to his spellshooter.
“We were in a bit of a rush this evening, and left them at home,” Ben said.
The rhinosaur gave a bored shrug, still more interested in his clipboard than in them. “No card, no passage. You know the rules.”
Ben quietly searched his orb for a spell he thought might be suitable and get them past. He didn't want to make too much of a scene. He was still searching, when Joshua's voice rung out.
“I have a meeting with the baron. I cannot be detained any longer.”
The rhinosaur stopped being interested in his clipboard, and looked up, suddenly a lot more intimidating than he had been a moment ago. “Say that again?”
Joshua seemed to lose his voice. The rhinosaur clenched his fists, and lowered his head. He was going to charge, Ben realised with sudden horror, all because of Joshua's idiotic demand.
A flash of light exploded, and something hit the rhinosaur right in the chest. He froze in place, his eyes glazing over.
“Go – now!” Natalie said. “We've got less than thirty seconds.”
She dashed past the rhinosaur, spellshooter in hand, and started running down the path. Ben followed immediately, with Joshua and Charlie close behind. They ran hard until the rhinosaur was long out of sight.
“Are we safe? What did you cast?” Charlie asked, his hands on his knees, as he struggled for breath.
“Memory wipe. It cleans the last minute of his life, so the only thing he will remember is working on his clipboard, just before we turned up. It's only really effective against enemies with low IQ, but I thought he fit the bill.”
“Good job,” Ben said, smiling at Natalie. He turned to Charlie. “Might be time to dish out the gear, don't you think?”
Charlie nodded, and undid the backpack he had been wearing. He opened it up and started doling out large pouches for each of them.
“After doing the research, these are the spells I think will best suit us here. The baron doesn't like us killing his 'pets’, as he calls them, so there are a lot of stunning and sleeping spells in the pouches. There are also a few specialised spells, for certain enemies we might run into.”
“Good stuff,” Ben said. He turned to Joshua, and gave his pouch a wave. “Good thing Charlie and Natalie came along, eh? We'd already be in trouble without them.”
Joshua rose his chin a little. “I would have done the research myself, but I was too busy learning all about the baron.”
Ben rolled his eyes. “Let's keep going. It's only going to get darker and colder, and I don't fancy spending the night here.”
The path continued onwards, going ever upwards, but still at a gentle pace, and without danger. After all, this was still the ro
ute to the castle taken by the employees every day. Half an hour of gentle trekking passed, when the path came to an abrupt end. In its place, they spotted a railroad track that dug itself into the hill through a tunnel that had a pair of double doors barring entry. Just outside the doors was a miniature car that sat on the track, and was pointed right at the double doors that blocked the tunnel's entrance.
“Good evening, folks,” a cheerful voice said. From the shadows a small dwarf emerged, wearing green overalls and a matching green cap. “ID cards please; then we'll get going.”
He dropped himself into the driving seat without even waiting for a reply, and stuck a hand out, waiting for the cards.
Ben thought about coming up with some clever story, but he started to feel like it wouldn't matter.
“We don't have them today,” Ben said.
“What?” the dwarf said, his head whipping round, though he stayed in the front seat. “How did you get past Reggie, then?”
“We zapped him,” Ben said, holding out his spellshooter with a grin. “Which is, I’m afraid, what I'm going to have to do to you unless you give us a lift in that delightful car of yours.”
“Won't matter,” the dwarf said, staring anxiously at the spellshooter. “Can't start the car or open the tunnel without the ID cards.”
“There's no other way to get in?” Natalie said intervening.
“Afraid not, miss,” the dwarf said.
Ben glanced beyond the tunnel. The main path had ended, but the shrubbery and forest beyond were light enough so that they could continue their journey up towards the castle.
“Not a good idea,” the dwarf said, stepping out of the car. “Don't go up there, trust me.”
“We don't have an option,” Joshua said, his voice stern, as if it was the dwarf's problem that they couldn't progress. “I have an appointment with the baron.”
“Yeah, right,” the dwarf said with a sudden burst of laughter. “If that were true, he'd fly you up in one of his carriages. You wouldn't be scrapping your way through the forest.”
