Wizard's Alley

by James Haddock

  At dusk another man arrived. “Time to go,” the man said.

  Jacob drove the wagon, and the two strangers walked in front. The Rooma men stayed with the caravan. I followed underneath as they moved through the streets. I saw two other men following behind at a distance to make sure no Rooma men followed the wagon.

  They didn't go straight anywhere. They took several side streets and alleys before stopping at a warehouse. A man opened the main door, and Jacob pulled his wagon inside. There was another wagon and several masked, hooded men waiting for him. The men who had escorted the wagon from the yard left.

  One man stepped forward. “You have the ransom?” he asked.

  “Do you have my father?”

  The man waved his hand at the wagon behind him, and they lifted the tarp. An older version of Jacob sat there. He looked a little worse for wear, but other than that he was ok.

  Jacob nodded, getting down from the wagon. He walked to the rear and opened it. In a floor compartment was the gold. He stepped back and let the leader look inside.

  “As specified,” Jacob said.

  The other man nodded. “You'll take the other wagon and your Father, return to the caravan yard, and do your business as normal. Leave when the caravan leaves.”

  Jacob nodded and went to the wagon where his father waited. “You are well, Father?”

  “Well enough,” he answered.

  Jacob mounted the wagon, and they left. As soon as the door was closed behind Jacob, all the men took off their masks and hood.

  “Get the back door open, and let’s get moving,” he said, climbing up on the wagon. They left out the back, closing the door behind them. Two men walked with the wagon; the rest scattered about but stayed within eyesight of it.

  There was no attempt to hide their movement. This time they went straight to another warehouse behind the market district. They went in through the back of the warehouse and locked the doors. The men took up guard positions around the outside. More guards were waiting inside.

  No one said anything; they just waited. Before long three other men arrived. “All went well?”

  “Yes, Father, just as you said. He just wanted to get his father and leave.”

  The older man nodded. “The gold?” They opened the back of the wagon and showed him. The older man laughed. “Well done.”

  “We could have taken the son, too, and got more, or even taken over their trading house. Why send the old man home?”

  “Taking the son would have gained us nothing. They can borrow no more; they are ruined. Letting them go makes them think this is a hostile takeover by one of the larger houses. No one will suspect us. We don't want their trading house; we needed this money to pay us out of debt. With this money, we can start growing our house once more,” the old man explained. “Now, they will stumble around trying to discover who their enemy is. They'll be looking at everyone but us—a small but prosperous house minding its own business.”

  They closed the wagon. “Take this home and unload the gold into the house vault. I'll be home later, but I need to be seen around the market just in case.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  Smart plan overall. This gets them out of debt and casts suspicion on someone else. Looking at it from my side, they should have taken more precautions. I would be the fly in the ointment. I followed the wagon to the Dover Trading House. They pulled it inside their walled compound and began unloading the gold into their basement vault.

  It seemed the Dover House could not wait to celebrate their success. They held a victory dinner for close family. From within the walls, I watched and waited, listening to side conversations about upcoming business deals.

  While everyone was busy with their dinner, I read their accounting books. They did owe a lot of money, but the ransom more than covered it. I read through all their dealings and found where they were most vulnerable.

  Once the house was asleep, I moved up to the master bedroom. Master Dover and his wife were asleep, so I concentrate on him.

  “Give me all the information I need.” The Dover House prospered by cheating, swindling, and every other underhanded method imaginable.

  He was good at cheating people, but not an overly good businessman. His main rival was the Standman Trading House. He absolutely hated them. Seems they always got the best of him in any dealings they had, though apparently their ethics were little better than his. Dover dealt in deceit, so I thought I would too.

  I now knew where the Standman House was, so I paid them a visit. I travelled underground and entered their vault. They were doing okay—not rich but decent. Having been in their vault, I could now port in from a distance. I travelled back to the Dover vault.

  I stepped out of the wall, looking at the contents. I took a blank card from my bag and laid it on the floor, keeping my fingers on the card.

  “Store everything in this room.” Everything disappeared and became a drawing on the card. The vault was stripped bare. The only thing I left was dust; I dropped the card back into my bag.

  Now for the tricky part: I formed my magic specifically using red magic and teleported straight to the Standman vault.

  I hoped Dover would hire a wizard to find out who had robbed his vault, and that would lead them to the Standman's House. Taking suspicions from the Roomas, my Red memories approved of the plan. I cancelled the red magic I was using, stepped into the wall, and left.

  ***

  I used a spell to change my appearance and walked around the market. I bought a sweet roll for breakfast—I loved these things—and stopped where there were some merchants talking.

  “Has anyone seen any of the Dovers this morning?” They looked around, all shaking their heads. “I knew it. They consigned a shipment with me; now they say they cannot pay until they sell the consignment. Sounds like they have no money, and I'm not the only one they are doing this to.” I walked away in a huff.

  That was all it took. The news that the Dovers were broke swept through the market and the moneychanger like a wildfire. I went with the crowd to the Dover House, where there were shouts for them to come out and answer for their loans.

  As soon as one showed his face, I shouted, “Where is our money?” Everyone else joined in.

  Old Man Dover raised his arms for quiet. “What is all this about? The Dover House has never defaulted on a loan.”

  “No excuses, where's our money?” The crowd was turning angry. I had done my part, so I backed away and melted into a wall.

  “Peace, be at peace. We will pay you this morning,” the old man said.

  “Pay us now, if you have the money,” came a shout.

  “Very well. Form a line here, and we will pay you, but I expect you to have the paperwork to show we've paid the debt.” They closed the gate, and the crowd began pushing and shoving to see who would be the first one paid.

  The city watch arrived, and I'd seen enough. This would turn ugly, and there was no need for me to be around for the final act.

  The Dover's ledger had listed a ship they were part owner in, but it needed repairs before it could start carrying cargo. It must have looked like a good buy at the time. I went down to the wharf to find the Beagle.

  When I found it, I had second thoughts about how good the deal might have been. She was half sunk, sitting on the bottom of the harbor. If it were not low tide, it would have looked worse.

  The crew was working on her, trying to seal the leaks and pump the water out of her. I watched for a while, having seen nothing like this. It was interesting to say the least.

  I thought I'd spread the good news. “That might be a waste of time.”

  “How so?” one man asked, as he kept his eyes on the workers.

  “If that's the ship the Dover House owns a share in, they just defaulted on all their loans. They have no money.”

  “What?” The man turned.

  I nodded. “I just came from the market. The news is all over. I doubt there's even a Dover House anymore.” Several of
the men left in a hurry, heading toward the market. I continued to watch them work on the ship.

  “I know little enough about ships, but this seemed to be a rather large one.” I said to no one in particular.

  “No, lad, she's only a middling one. There are much bigger that sail the oceans,” an older sailor said.

  “Will she sail again?”

  “Aye, she'll sail again, but she'll need a bit of work to set her right.” I nodded.

  News of Dover's default had finally reached the crew of the Beagle, and they stopped work.

  “So where do we get the money to finish her now?” one asked. No one said anything.

  “James, go see what you can find out about this. Not gossip, mind you, but truth.”

  “Aye, Captain,” he said and went on his way.

  “The rest of you knock off for now and check back this afternoon. We should know something by then.” The work party broke up, going their separate ways.

  As the captain passed, I asked, “What happened to her?”

  The captain never looked back. “She sank.” A little quieter, I heard: “Idiot.” I busted out laughing, and he stopped and looked at me. He was turning angry.

  “I'm sorry, Captain,” I said, holding up my hands. “I suppose that was an idiot question to ask.”

  He smiled. “Apologies, I should not have been so short with you, lad. I just learned I might have lost my backing to repair and refit my ship.”

  “If your backers were the Dovers; you lost your backing.”

  “Tis true then?”

  “It is; they have defaulted on their loans and are broke.”

  He shook his head. “I suppose I'll get scurvy next,” he said.

  I picked up a piece of rotten timber and concentrated on it.

  “Restore.” The timber became new.

  He looked at the timber, and then at me. “I can't do anything about scurvy, but I may can help you with your ship. How about we get a drink and talk it over?”

  He nodded and led the way to a tavern there on the wharf.

  Chapter 13

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “About which part?” He gave me the look I had seen Mrs. Mimms give the kids when she felt they had asked a dumb question.

  “About repairing my ship.”

  “I'll tell you what. I'll buy the loan the Dovers took. Then, I'll come back and fix our ship. If I can't, you owe me nothing, and I'll give you the papers showing the loan is paid off. She'll be all yours again. If I can fix her, I'll own forty-five percent of her.”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “Thirty-five or go buy the loan yourself.”

  He nodded. “Thirty-five, but you have no say in how I sail my ship.”

  “Agreed. I'm no sailor; I'd just get in the way of you making us money.”

  “I'll be back as soon as I can.” I left coins on the table for the drinks.

  I went straight to the moneychangers to ask about buying the loan on the Beagle. There was a line of people waiting to be seen. I spotted a fat man to one side, as he was watching the crowd. I got his attention by holding up a silver, and he motioned me over.

  I handed him the coin. “I'm told you hold the papers on the cargo ship Beagle. If so, I might be interested in buying the loan,” I said.

  “Yes, we hold the papers on her. We'll sell that to you at a discount of twenty percent.”

  I laughed. “Have you seen the condition of the Beagle?” He said nothing. “I'll save you a trip; it's sitting on the bottom of the harbor. Good luck selling that.” I turned to leave.

  “Wait!” I stopped. “You have gold in hand?”

  “I do.”

  “One silver to one gold for the loan,” he said.

  “One copper to one gold,” I countered.

  He shook his head. “It's a cargo ship,” he reasoned, spreading his hands.

  “It's a sunken cargo ship,” I countered.

  I finally got it for three coppers to one gold—a steal for what I was getting. I now owned thirty-five percent of a cargo ship and was rather proud of myself. Now I just needed to get her restored and floating again. No problem…I hoped.

  I went back to the wharf and found Captain Akins; he was standing alone looking at the ship.

  “I now own the loan on the Beagle. Once I raise her, we'll draw up the rest of the partnership papers. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” he answered. I nodded.

  It was now high tide, and only the masts were above the water. I jumped off the wharf into the water. I could breathe underwater, just like I could underground. I went into the wood of the ship and sent my senses throughout the ship. Gathering my power, I concentrated on what needed to happen.

  “Restore.” The restoration started at the keel and worked its way upward through the ship. I made rotten wood and rope new. I sealed joints and made rusted metal new. I made sails that were in the hold and the copper bottom new. When I was finished, the Beagle was basically a new ship.

  I stopped, thinking I did not want to make the ship look brand new. So I let the old, worn appearance remain. People looking at the ship would see nothing new on the surface, but for all intents and purposes, it was a new ship.

  Once I was done restoring and sealing her, I thought, “Drain half the seawater from inside the ship.” The Beagle rose, and I walked out on deck, looking around at my work. She looked no different from before.

  Captain Akins stood on the wharf. When he saw me, he came aboard the ship.

  “I have restored the ship, but I left the appearance the same for now. I didn't want to cause a stir with a new ship suddenly rising from the harbor. I also left half the seawater onboard, so the men will have to pump the water out. Let everyone see us working on her.”

  He nodded, smiling. “You're a sneaky one, aren't you?”

  “I just don't like to attract unwanted attention,” I smiled.

  “The bottom?” he asked.

  “It’s new copper, and barnacles won't grow on it,” I said.

  “Let's take a walk around.”

  We inspected the ship; I showed him the renewed sails. They were still discolored, but the cloth was new. When he was satisfied, I asked, “Shall we go complete our paperwork?”

  “Yes. You've kept your part of the bargain,” he answered.

  We signed the papers, and I gave him a large purse to cover other expenses. “I'll be back in two days, and then we can talk about cargo.”

  “We'll be ready,” he said.

  ***

  I had completed all that the Roomas had hired me to do to get ten percent of the ransom. It was time to make some final arrangements with them and get my share. I went back to the caravan park and found their wagon.

  “You've bought a new wagon I see,” I said, as I approached.

  Jacob turned, looking at me, and then looked around. “Yes, we decided to sell the other and get a better one.” His father was sitting on the back of the wagon in the tarp's shade.

  I sent my senses out. No one was close enough to hear our conversation. I looked around to reassure them we were alone.

  “Jacob, who is your friend?” his father asked.

  “Father, this is Master Gray. Master Gray, may I present my father, Master Rooma?”

  “Well met, Master Gray,” Master Rooma said.

  I bowed. “And you, sir.”

  “We hired Master Gray to help us deliver the gold and get you back safely. He was also asked, if possible, to find out who was behind the kidnapping and recover the money,” Jacob answered.

  “Were you successful, Master Gray?” Master Rooma asked.

  “I was, sir. The Dover Trading House was behind your kidnapping and ransom.”

  They looked at each other. “I've heard the name, but as far as I know we've had no dealing with them,” Master Rooma said. Jacob shook his head.

  “I'm not surprised,” I said. “Their plan was to ransom you and let you look at all the bigger houses that may have had an ax to
grind against you. They would use the money to pay off all their loans, and then sit back and watch you twist in the wind.”

  “You recovered our money?” Jacob asked.

  “I have, and when they try to find out who stole their ill-gotten gains, it will point at one of their rivals.”

  Master Rooma chuckled. “Well done, Master Gray.”

  I smiled. “If you steal from thieves, they'll never call the city watch.” They laughed. “My next question is would you like to go home by ship or with the caravan?”

  “A ship, if passage can be arranged,” Jacob said.

  “A lucky happenstance, I was able to buy shares of a ship from a trading house that defaulted,” I said. “She sails in two days. If we go talk to her captain, you may be able to buy cargo to take home with you.”

  They laughed. “That was lucky,” Master Rooma said. “We'll need to have access to our gold to buy cargo.”

  “I can have your gold put on the ship, or wherever you say. It's up to you,” I offered.

  They nodded. “We'll go see your captain first thing in the morning and see what deals can be made,” Master Rooma said.

  ***

  We left the caravan park the next morning, walking to the wharf. “Will you be investing any of you reward in cargo, Master Gray?” Master Rooma asked.

  “Yes, I'd like you to invest my reward in whatever you are investing in. I know little of what a good cargo might be to take back to Midway.”

  “We would be glad to, and per our agreement, you will get generous terms whenever you deal with House Rooma,” Jacob said.

  “I would like to leave my money on account with your trading house to be invested and let the profits roll back into my account.”

  “We have several people who do that, and we have made them a good deal of money.”

  When the Beagle came into sight, there was a wizard there talking to the captain. I felt like we had met before.

  I turned us into a taproom. “There may be a bit of trouble. Wait here until I make sure everything is alright.” They took a table, and I went on to the ship.

  As I neared, I heard Captain Akins say, “Here he is now.” The wizard turned to face me. It was the Red Wizard I had seen at the inn.