The Cave Maze- Wizard Warrior Quest

by C A A Allen

  Moe skimmed his fingers over the feathers. It took him a moment to catch a breath. “And what of the ring?”

  Chawett nodded his head slowly. “That would be Talhoffer’s gold Ring of Enhanced Wizardry.”

  Moe leaned back and squinted. “Usually maze fresh Talhoffer items are contained in a nice oak box. Where is it?”

  I stepped up to the counter. “It was damaged in transit. Look Moe, these are authentic as could be.”

  He looked closely at both items. “The feathers are consistent with Goliaths I’ve seen before, but this ring doesn’t look like one of Talhoffer’s personal magic items to me.” Moe pinched the ring, lifted it up, and looked through the middle. “What you got here is a nice piece of Cave Maze treasure, but it’s a ring that has no magic power.”

  So why didn’t it turn to stone when Chaz got petrified? Was Moe trying to cheat us or did he really believe it was worthless? Chawett pressed his lips together. “Let’s just go through the authentication process before we rush to judgment Moe.”

  “Okay.” Moe reached under the counter and brought up a porcelain inkwell. It was the figure of a mange dog urinating into a bucket. “Dipping your feathers into albino bat’s blood will tell us the true story here.” He dipped the tip of a feather into the black liquid contained in the bucket, lifted it, and let a drop fall off onto the ring.

  Moe held the feather up high with the tip down and blew on it from top to bottom. He stared at it for a moment then shook his head. “Nothing’s happening.” He looked down at the ring. “Nothing’s happening to either item.”

  Tigress pushed her way to the counter. “What are you looking for them to do Moe?”

  His bottom lip protruded out. “If magic was present in these items something would happen. I can give you thirty gold coins for the ring. I don’t want the feathers. There’s just no magic here.”

  “Let me try a puff.” Tigress licked her lips and gently blew on the feather’s tip. It instantly shot upward out of Moe’s hand. A faint trail of purple glitter smoke smoldered as it floated back to the table.

  Moe wiped his hand across his face and smiled big. “You got some magical lips. It’s authentic, and that purple smoke indicates it’s of the highest quality. I can give you five hundred gold coins for each feather.”

  “Not enough,” Chawett said. “I personally know magic users who will pay double that for purple Goliaths. Nine hundred per is what we need.”

  Moe pushed the feathers away. “Put want in one hand, gold in the other, then tell me which one weighs more. I’ve got gold coins right here and now. I’ll go up to six hundred each, no more.”

  “Nobody’s brought purple Goliaths to market for a long time Moe,” Chawett said. “I know wizards tend to salivate over purples. Do eight hundred and they’re yours. I really don’t want to ask around the tavern for a buyer.”

  Moe’s eyes darted between the feathers. Chawett was making him nervous. That boded well for us. “I’ll pay seven hundred and fifty. I got real gold coins just a few seconds away from your hand.”

  “It’s a deal,” Chawett said. “Seven-fifty each.”

  Moe ducked under the counter and stacked up our gold payment. “There you go, fifteen hundred gold.”

  Dread hovered over the coins. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Looks like my first purchase with this gold will have to be one of those heavynesless bags. My pockets are going to burst under all this booty.”

  Moe scooped up the feathers. “So why don’t you blow on this ring for me young lady? Let’s see if anything magical happens.”

  I snatched the ring off the counter. “You’re probably correct about the ring Moe. For thirty gold I’d just as soon keep it. We will need that huo-yao sack, four heavynessless bags, and the glove on Chawett’s hand.”

  I led the team out of Moe’s store to the street.

  “What’s on your mind Raff?” Dread asked. “I was ready to see what kind of gold we could get for that ring. You already know it’s a real Talhoffer item.”

  “Before I get into that I have a question for our magic user. Chawett, how good are your magic powers going to be now that you only have five digits?”

  Chawett struggled to make a fist with his newly gloved hand. “My Cave Maze useful magic was shaky with all ten of my fingers intact. With only five, no accredited questing team will touch me.”

  “I’m thinking that total slaughter bet William posted would have paid out real big if it weren’t for you on our team. You saved our lives several times on this run. Dread, Tigress, I say we split the gold from the feathers amongst the three of us, and pay Chawett off with the ring. Would that be all right with you Chawett?”

  Chawett cracked a huge smile. “That would be more than all right! You would do that for me?”

  “You know we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Dread said. “Chawett you are truly my main magic man.”

  Tigress put her hand on my shoulder. “I love that idea Raff. Chawett, thank you for everything you did down there.”

  Chawett looked down at his gloved hand. “The ring will change everything for me. Wearing it will not only cancel out the negative effect of having burnt fingers, but it will increase my magic to the wizard level immediately. I will be a top ranked magic user in no time with the ring on any one of my five remaining fingers.”

  I dug the ring out from my pocket and held it up between my finger and thumb. “This is yours then Chawett. But you have to promise to be team Beeston’s magic user when we return to the Maze.”

  Chawett took off his hat and bowed our direction. “When Beeston’s best return, I’m your magic user.”

  Tigress stood in front of me with her hand out. I laid the ring in her palm. “Bless him with it Tigress.”

  She slid the ring on Chawett’s finger. His eyes jolted into the back of his head. He jerked five times then stood calmly.

  “How do you feel?” Tigress asked.

  Chawett removed the glove to reveal five regenerated fingers. He rubbed his hands together creating a cantaloupe-sized lava sphere. With a swipe of his hands he flicked the sphere straight up into the air. A thunderous crack echoed through the valley. “Oh yes! That’s how a wizard does it!”

  CHAPTER 26

  We waved good-bye to Chawett as the owls took flight. I’d miss that guy. Already, I itched for another Cave Maze run.

  “I hope these owls get us home fast,” Dread said. “We only have until sunrise for our meeting with Joe. If my dad isn’t up for a late night session, we’ll be in deep neck-slitting trouble.”

  “I know that’s right.” I hunkered down on the owl. “Tigress, can you let our pilots know that time is of the essence?”

  “You just did,” she said.

  From below, Chawett thrust six spheres high into the air lighting up our way. The owls took a swift turn then dove downwind toward Beeston.

  I could just make out dense puffs of smoke coming up from under Uncle Mack’s porch. When the owls swooped down he stood up from his favorite chair.

  Dread jumped off his ride first. “Dad, we got the huo-yao.”

  Mack stepped to the edge of the porch. He dropped his pipe and rubbed his eyes with both hands. “Are you riding an owl? With elves?”

  Dread held up the sack of huo-yao and shook it. “Never mind that, did you hear me? We got the huo-yao.”

  “That’s my boy.” Mack said. “Bring that on in here son. I’ll get the paraphernalia ready.” He turned and made his way into the house.

  “Remember Dread,” I said. “We need those busters put together quick, there’re only a few hours until our deadline with Joe.” Despite the rush, our deadline seemed like a minor challenge compared to what we already overcame.

  Dread picked up his father’s fallen pipe, took a puff, and blew the smoke in a slow steady stream my direction. “I know.” He then smiled and waved. “Bye Tigress, bye Mustela.” He ducked into the house behind his dad.

  Mustela jumped on my shoulder and licked
my face. Tigress smiled. “Thank you for including me on this insane run Raff. I made more than enough gold to pay off all of our debt and purchase a new breeding sniffer. After I take care of things at home, I just might take the elves up on their offer to train me. Will you be available to escort Mustela and me back to the elves when I’m ready?”

  “You two were great in the Maze, and I’ll escort you to the edge of the earth if you want me to.” Should I tell her about our connection?

  “One good thing about you escorting me back there is that you would be able to see that elf girl I saw you hugged up on again.”

  The very mention of Porridge-despite Tigress thinking she was an elf-made me want to jump on an owl again and speed back to her. “Oh, about that—”

  “No need for explanations Raff. You’re a player just like your father, and I know it. Besides, dating you would be like dating my brother.”

  Imagine that. “We got a lot to talk about on that trip back to the elves Tigress. How do you feel about hooking me up with that brownie girl from your house?”

  “There you go again Raff. I guess your father would be proud. I don’t play matchmaker.”

  Tigress kissed me on the cheek then jumped on her owl. I missed her as soon as she was in the air.

  “Nephew!” Uncle Mack called out. “Stop playing the kissing game out there and come on in. We need some help to make these busters.”

  I took a seat at the table. There was a scattered mess of various papers, tools, and strings used in the making of our explosives.

  “The master is at work.” I said.

  “So did you get a kiss from that pretty little Tigress before she flew away?” Mack asked.

  “Yah Raff,” Dread added. “Did you get a little somethin’ somethin’ or not?”

  I sifted through the sack of huo-yao. “It isn’t like that between us. She’s like my sister.”

  Mack coughed and patted his chest. “I’ll let you tell it, nephew.” He scooped up some huo-yao and spread it across custom paper.

  Several hours later Uncle Mack rolled up the ninth buster. “Voila! Your neck-saving order is ready. Get up and go on you two.”

  Dread swung by the table and scooped up the package. “No time to waste, let’s get it.”

  * * * *

  As Dread unlocked our shop door, I looked over Village Square. With the sun coming up a bee flew by me on its way up into the trees. The buzzing seamed to vibrate through me. I really missed hearing the bees morning buzz. It’s good to be home.

  As I hoisted the window several horses arrived. Joseph stormed in the door. “Well, well, well. I did not expect to see you boys here this morning. Do you have my product?”

  Dread handed Joseph the bundle. “Here you go my man. Nine explosives, as promised.”

  Joseph slammed the package on a table and snatched out a buster. He pinched it in the middle and sniffed it from end-to-end. “These are fluffy, just the way I like them. Some rumors out of Chilwell said that you two headed up a questing team. I was worried you might not make it out of there alive to provide me with my order.”

  He wrapped up the package. “I apologize for the whole dagger to the throat thing Dread, but as we all know, you can never trust a Jenkins.”

  I shook Joseph’s hand and smiled. “Well, being a Jenkins is exactly what kept us alive on our run. The family name has some unpredicted pull in the field.”

  Dread took a seat on our bench, nodded his head and smiled. “Well-said cousin.”

  “I need to place another order,” Joseph said.

  Dread perked up. “I will have ten more fluffy busters just like those available in three days.”

  “Good,” Joseph said. “I’ll be needing more.”

  Another rider slid to a noisy stop in front of the shop. Jeevesekial Manor busted in and unsheathed his sword. “So it’s true. Team Beeston is back, but my brother is not! If anything bad happened to Chazsekial there will be a price to pay, and it won’t be payable in gold coins.”

  “Damn your cowardice brother,” Dread said.

  Jeeves scowled, raised his sword, and started toward Dread. Joseph pushed Jeeves back. “You know the rules of the Cave Maze game. If your brother didn’t make it out, then he didn’t make it out. We all know how death stacks up in there.”

  Dread stood with a throwing spike in each hand. He cocked one arm back in position. “Let him go Joe. We can settle this like cavaliers, or get into some dirty thief tactics. The choice is yours Jeeves, I’m right here.”

  Joseph stared at Chaz’s disgruntled brother and pointed outside. “Get on the road Jeeves. This is not how Questing University team members deal with Cave Maze death.”

  Jeevesekial stormed out but turned around at the door. “I’m on my way into Trosworth where I will get to the bottom of this. If I get word there was any foul play you two jesters are dead.” He pulled a scroll from his pocket. “That is if I can get to you first.”

  I was fresh out the Cave Maze. This blowhard didn’t scare me.

  He unrolled the scroll. “An ass-centaur has been posting these all over Broxington. According to this, Talhoffer is offering a reward for the head of one Raff Orcslaughter. Apparently Orcslaughter has stolen Talhoffer’s complete stash of huo-yao, and sabotaged a weapon that the good wizard says was sure to wipe out the Evons, and their threat of invasion. Anyone aiding the Evons is an enemy of us all. I wonder if you have any relation to this other Raff?”

  “Never heard of him,” I said.

  Jeeves’ eyes incinerated with disgust. “We will see. Talhoffer is missing huo-yao, and you just delivered huo-yao explosives. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.” He rode away laughing.

  Just as Dread and I walked Joseph out of the shop door Chancellor Liberi trotted up. “Joseph, what’s the matter here? We need to be on our way.”

  Joseph patted me on the back and mounted his horse. “I was just congratulating these young questers on their first in-and-out of the Maze.”

  “I got a question for you Mr. Liberi,” I said. “Are you still accepting new students?”

  The Chancellor looked at me with a furrowed brow. “I am.”

  “Well then I would like to enroll. I can pay my entire first year’s tuition up front.” I held a sack of gold up to the Chancellor. “The Cave Maze was very good to me, sir.”

  “I am well aware of your fighting skills Raff,” Liberi said. “A freshman student with an official in-and-out will be a first at my institution.” He accepted the sack then tossed it to a rider behind him. “Consider yourself enrolled at Questing University, Raff Jenkins. I will see you on campus in twelve days.”

  Joseph, Chancellor Liberi, and their entourage trotted off toward Trosworth.

  Dread put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m thinking the story of Chaz’s petrification will not sit well with Jeeves. You’re sure to have some problems with that bully at the university.”

  “Damn him,” I said. “Chaz got what he deserved. Now let’s go get what we deserve, some of that good honey mead.”

  As I helped Dread lock the shop door a familiar female voice came from behind us. “Don’t you think it’s too early in the morning for a drink?”

  I turned around, picked Porridge up, and gave her a long kiss while I spun her in a circle. “I am crazy in love with you right now girl. And that’s just how we celebrate here in Beeston, drinks all day.”

  I didn’t ask how she got here. I didn’t ask where she’d been. Frankly…I didn’t care. She was here and she was mine.

  “Well show me the way boo.” she said.

  “Who is this girl Raff?” Dread asked in his high voice. “And does she have any friends that look just like her?”

  I put my arm around Porridge and started towards the Skeppers Pub. “I’ll tell you all about this pretty young thing over that well-deserved victory drink cousin.”

  “Victory drink Raff?” Dread asked. “You mean two, three, four, or more victory drinks my man. The questers of team Beeston
are coming to celebrate!”

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  C. A. A. Allen lives in San Diego with his wife and six children. He is a freelance writer, local hip-hop mogul, and fantasy e-book author. He writes for many online entities, and has been published in the San Diego Reader, and CityBeat magazines. He has provided backup vocals, and performed as a “Humpty Dancer” for the multi-platinum hip-hop group Digital Underground. When he isn’t writing or spending time with his children, Mr. Allen enjoys horse racing, sports, and several different genres of music.

  Thank you for reading!

  I hope you liked the story. The Cave Maze: Wizard Warrior Quest is my debut novel and third installment in the four-part Wizard Warrior Quest universe. Note: Each book is a stand-alone and can be read and enjoyed without reading them in order. The first book in the Wizard Warrior Quest universe, Into The Game: Dungeon Crawl Quest: A LitRPG Adventure, is available on Amazon now!

  If you’d like to keep up with my progress in the Wizard Warrior Quest universe, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter or check out the blog on my Goodreads page for updates.

  Thanks again for questing through The Cave Maze!!!

  C. A. A. Allen

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