by Brandon Mull
“And now you’ve come here chasing Humbuggle,” Virgil said. “Hoping to retrieve your lost memories.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not a rookie of Humbuggle’s Games,” Virgil said. “Just these particular Games. The Titan Games.”
“That might be true,” Seth said around a bite of fish. “Then again, thanks to my memory loss, I feel like a rookie at most things.”
Virgil jumped up, rubbing his hands with excitement. “Seth, you have come to the right place. There are those who say I’m crazy. But I’m just more awake than most students of the Games, willing to chase down odd possibilities. The Games are much more complicated than the vast majority imagine.”
“The Humburgh Mystery House claimed to have secrets about the Games,” Seth said.
Virgil huffed and shook his head. “This town has more suckers than an octopus. Starstruck hopefuls arrive eager to garner instant fame and fortune. A whole industry has sprung up to prey on their delusions.”
“The Mystery House is a sham?”
“Mostly,” Virgil said. “It’s better than some of the sideshows in town. Lots of people peddle the same generic information labeled as secrets. Some are total scams. This whole town is part of the Games, and legitimate hints can sometimes be found in surprising places. The Diviner inside the Humburgh Mystery House can provide real help, but good luck finding him.”
“Who is the Diviner?” Seth asked.
“We’re straying into advanced topics,” Virgil said. “Basics first. The Titan Games are portrayed as gladiator combat with the prize being the Wizenstone. If any combatant wins a hundred consecutive fights, the Wizenstone is theirs.”
“Did Humbuggle set it up recently?” Seth asked.
Virgil shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “No. The Titan Games have gone on for centuries.”
“But the Wizenstone was at Stormguard Castle,” Seth said. “People were competing for it there.”
“Exactly,” Virgil said. “Humbuggle has established multiple Games, all with the Wizenstone as the prize. Some are less possible to win than others.”
“How can simultaneous Games be played for the same prize?” Seth asked.
“Fair question,” Virgil said. “Ask Humbuggle. He has been doing it for centuries.”
“Does that mean the Games are rigged?” Seth asked.
“Not completely rigged,” Virgil said. “If there were no way to win, the magic sustaining them would unravel. But the Games are riddled with devious tricks and loopholes.”
“How much have you figured out?” Seth asked.
Virgil gave a huge laugh. “Not nearly enough. But at least I’m trying to make sense of the complexities. Plenty of people don’t even know to investigate.”
“I don’t have to win the Games,” Seth said. “I just need Humbuggle.”
“Good luck finding Humbuggle outside of his Games,” Virgil said. “I’ve never heard of it happening. All his time and attention are focused on the Games. We have only vague descriptions of what he looks like.”
“I’ve seen him,” Seth said.
“Don’t tease me,” Virgil said with a nervous laugh.
“At Stormguard Castle, when my sister sent the Wizenstone away, Humbuggle was there. He looks like a dwarf.”
“Everyone knows that much,” Virgil complained.
“If I had the ability to draw his face, I could show it to you,” Seth said. “He had a forked beard.”
“I’m impressed you have seen his true form,” Virgil said. “It’s a rarity.”
“If I need to enter the Games to find Humbuggle, what’s my next step?”
“First you need to learn all you can,” Virgil said. “The Games began ages ago. Originally the demon dwarf held them in the kingdom of Selona. Several hundred years ago, the Giant Queen invited Humbuggle to stage the Games here. I think she hoped it would give giants a better chance at obtaining the Wizenstone.”
“Did it work?” Seth asked.
Virgil shrugged. “The Giants do have more convenient access to the Games than most. Of course, in exchange for hosting the Games, the Giant Queen must admit an annual quota of participants and spectators into her sanctuary, which gives her the weakest borders of any enchanted preserve. She also gifted Humbuggle the land on which Humburgh stands.”
“Does he live here in Humburgh?” Seth asked.
“He has a mansion in town,” Virgil said. “I don’t know of anyone who ever saw him inside of it.”
“Is it abandoned?” Seth asked.
“The house is fully staffed,” Virgil said.
“That might be a good place to investigate,” Seth said.
“They’re secretive,” Virgil said. “But anything is worth trying.”
Seth took another bite of bread and chewed thoughtfully. A few minutes before, it had seemed like he might never feel full again, but he was already almost sated. “Will I have to learn to fight like a gladiator?”
“That’s one option,” Virgil said. “It’s the most obvious way into the Games. We should go to the arena and let you watch a round or two before you make any choices in that direction.”
“You mentioned there are other Games,” Seth said.
“There have been, over the years,” Virgil said. “Stormguard Castle is one example. Before that there was the Travertine Library. There are many rumors of other contests.”
“So many Games for the same prize?” Seth asked.
“That is part of what makes winning complicated,” Virgil said. “When he uses magic to create a competition, there must be a real possibility to win. So Humbuggle’s goal is to make the Games almost impossible to win. It’s conceivable that winning certain Games leads to the start of others. Since the Games have continued for centuries, with a grand enough prize to draw some of the greatest heroes the world has known, I would say Humbuggle has accomplished his aim.”
“Have you discovered any of his deeper secrets?” Seth asked.
“Only hints,” Virgil said. “But Humbuggle openly adores tricks and riddles. You should do all the research you can before taking action.”
“Have you considered joining the Games?” Seth asked.
Virgil chuckled. “I know my limits. I’m a brilliant researcher. And a fan. I advise those who intend to join the Games. I don’t participate directly. That’s the only reason I’m still around.”
“If I want, I can go sign up and fight in the arena?” Seth checked.
“The arena is always accepting new combatants,” Virgil said.
“Can we catch a fight today?” Seth asked.
“It’s too late,” Virgil said. “We can go in the morning.”
“Are tickets expensive?” Seth asked.
“Do you have money?” Virgil asked.
“I’m broke,” Seth said.
“There are ways in without money,” Virgil said. “Do you have a place to stay?”
Seth shifted uncomfortably. “Not yet. We just got to town.”
“You can have one of my couches,” Virgil said. “It isn’t fancy, but you can’t beat the price.”
“Maybe I could get rid of wraiths for somebody,” Seth said. “Then I could pay you something.”
“The undead can’t enter Humburgh,” Virgil said. “You’ll have a hard time finding your kind of work here.”
Seth thought about Virgil’s assertion. Did a presence like Reggie not count as one of the undead?
“What about me?” Calvin asked from Seth’s pocket. “Could I sneak inside the Games as a passenger?”
Virgil gasped, then crouched to observe the pocket where Calvin was peeking out. “And who are you?”
“Calvin, the Tiny Hero, avowed liegeman of Seth Sorenson.”
“You must be a nipsie,” Virgil said.
“I can sometimes sneak past magical defenses,” Calvin said. “They’re not usually attuned to invaders my size.”
“You haven’t come up against Humbuggle,” Virgil said.
&n
bsp; “Actually, I sort of have,” Calvin replied. “I couldn’t enter Stormguard Castle.”
“I think it would go similarly if you tried to sneak into the arena,” Virgil said. “Humbuggle is remarkably thorough, especially where the Games are involved.”
“Calvin must like you,” Seth said. “He sometimes lies low.”
“Virgil is our kind of guy,” Calvin said. “It’s written all over him. You haven’t heard of other nipsies around here, have you? Perhaps a female named Serena?”
Virgil scowled in thought. “Now that you mention it, I heard tell of a nipsie spotted at Humbuggle’s manor. The rumor stood out because we don’t see your kind in Humburgh. Meeting a nipsie is a first for me.”
“I’m encouraged that you heard about a nipsie,” Calvin said.
“At least it’s a lead,” Virgil said.
“Thanks for your help,” Seth said.
“My thanks go to you,” Virgil said. “Without heroes who brave the Games, I would have nothing to study. We’ll help each other. Should we go find the hermit troll and the little golem?”
“I have weird friends,” Seth said.
Virgil smiled. “You can add one more to the list.”
Kendra waited on a bench near a towering urn in the study where she had first met Dectus, her arm bandaged. After receiving medical attention, she had been escorted here by the servant who had intervened with Ronodin.
The alchemist who dressed Kendra’s arm had commented that without his healing solutions, stitches would have been required. Instead he packed the gash with a gelatinous substance, glued the skin together, and wrapped her forearm with gauze.
She had been waiting for Dectus much longer than she expected. Had the giant been notified she was here? Did he not care?
Kendra took out Bracken’s first horn, gripping it tightly. Bracken had warned that even with the horn she wouldn’t be able to communicate with the Fairy Realm because it was too effectively sealed off from the mortal world. She wondered if Bracken was close to completing his work expelling the demons. She worried about the fire she had seen when crossing the Fairy Realm on her way to Titan Valley. And it bothered her that Ronodin seemed to know about the upheaval there.
Was it possible that Bracken really loved her? Could his full affection simply be on hold? Or was Ronodin messing with her mind? She knew she couldn’t trust anything he said.
Kendra gently scratched at the edge of her bandages. If she could leave her mortality behind and join the fairies, would she do it? Was the option even possible? What would such an action do to her ties with her family? Might it not be worth any cost if the transformation meant getting to spend eons with Bracken? Teens grew up to eventually leave home and become adults. In many ways Kendra was already on her own. Maybe her destiny would take her farther from home than anyone could have guessed. Kendra wondered if Bracken cared enough for the issue to ever be relevant.
Finally Dectus burst through the door. He relaxed a bit when he saw her, straightening his robe before closing the door gently. As he crossed to her, Kendra had a clear sense that he was trying to conceal how rattled he was.
“You’ve had an eventful time,” Dectus said, crouching to scoop Kendra into his palm.
“That’s one way to put it,” Kendra said, raising her injured arm. “The giant killer attacked me.”
Dectus carried her to his desk and set her down carefully. “I’m aware of the altercation. What did you learn?”
“He is Ronodin, the dark unicorn,” Kendra said. “He was behind the fall of Wyrmroost and other dragon sanctuaries.”
Dectus nodded. “That is useful information. Unfortunately, the Giant Queen has placed me on probation as a member of her Council.”
“Wait, why?” Kendra asked. “For protecting Titan Valley?”
“That isn’t how the queen views it,” Dectus said. “She thinks I encouraged you to create a scene that would make Prince Doranio look bad.”
“But you had no part in it!” Kendra exclaimed.
“Word of what the servant saw got back to the queen immediately,” Dectus said. “Everything her servants observe gets reported. She was angry with the giant killer, but he insisted she put a silver collar on him and then testified that you started the fight. The giant killer claimed he was only resisting your attack.”
Kendra opened her mouth to defend herself and then paused to reconsider her words. “I guess I did throw fruit at him. And I tried to whack him with a bowl.”
“Were you lying when you claimed he attacked you?” Dectus asked.
Kendra avoided his gaze. “Well, Ronodin has attacked me and my family in so many ways, but technically I fell and hurt myself while trying to hit him.”
“The Giant Queen knows the truth because Ronodin wasn’t strangled,” Dectus said.
“He kidnapped my brother,” Kendra said. “He destroyed Wyrmroost and got Agad killed.”
“I don’t like him either,” Dectus said. “But you must not make false accusations. To the queen, you have been established as disreputable. Your testimony against Ronodin will mean little.”
Kendra winced. She hadn’t anticipated the consequences of starting a fight with Ronodin, nor had she foreseen the implications of her false accusation. She had responded to problems of the moment instinctively and let her anger take over, and it had weakened her ability to help protect Titan Valley. Dectus had paid a price as well.
“I’m sorry,” Kendra said.
“Consider it a lesson in politics,” Dectus said. “If you claim the moral high ground, the chinks in your armor become targets. You mustn’t give your enemies wrong behavior to exploit.”
“Someone like Ronodin will always take advantage,” Kendra said.
“Precisely,” Dectus said. “And a ruler like the queen has her biases, meaning even perfect arguments get ignored at times, leaving little chance for flawed ones.”
“Whether she knows it or not, with Ronodin here, Titan Valley is in danger,” Kendra said. “How long has he been courting the queen?”
“Off and on for several months now,” Dectus said.
“Does she trust him?” Kendra asked. “Does she share secrets with him?”
“The queen would not reveal matters of highest sensitivity to him,” Dectus said. “But he is in a position to learn much.”
“And Ronodin can figure out a lot from a little,” Kendra said. “Underestimating him could be a fatal mistake.”
“This sanctuary is mighty,” Dectus said. “Our dragons are in no position to make trouble. Scattered renegades in the back country remain free, but their liberty relies on hiding. Nevertheless, when a war is brewing, a responsible leader prepares for every contingency, eliminating weaknesses and shoring up defenses.”
“The Giant Queen does not act interested in protecting Titan Valley,” Kendra said. “Or in helping with the war. She would rather flirt with a spy.”
“The Giant Queen has little interest in any war outside of her boundaries,” Dectus said. “She knows her sanctuary is secure, and she intends to give any dragons who venture here the same treatment as the ones already in her care.”
“That might not be as simple as she imagines,” Kendra said.
“I agree,” Dectus said. “I want to help defend Titan Valley and to support the war effort against the dragons.”
“What can you do?”
“Much, if you help me first.”
“How?”
“You are new to Titan Valley. Do you know what this fortress protects?”
“The sky giants? The Giant Queen?”
“The entrance to Stratos,” Dectus said. “Terastios guards the only gap in the mountainous barrier that separates Stratos from the rest of the sanctuary.”
“Stratos is a land?”
“The realm of the sky giants,” Dectus said. “Long ago it floated high above the world, a vast island in the sky. That power was lost, and now our realm is grounded here in Titan Valley.”
“The s
ky giants still live there?” Kendra asked.
“Only we sky giants and our livestock. Animals on our same scale. Vegetables large enough to really feed us. It is where we properly fit. The one place where we really belong. Stratos is our true home.”
“Do you live in Stratos?” Kendra asked.
“As a member of the Council, I live here in Terastios,” Dectus said. “But I do have a modest home in Stratos. Immense by your reckoning.”
“It must be a big land,” Kendra said.
“Large enough to house the biggest citizens around,” Dectus said. “Kendra, I need something from Stratos. A treasure called the Waystar. I cannot obtain it myself. If you fetch the jewel for me, I can help with your war.”
“How will the jewel help?” Kendra asked.
“I have a great work for you and your friends,” Dectus said. “I believe in your integrity. You were the caretaker of a sanctuary. At least two of your comrades are members of the Knights of the Dawn. If you can accomplish this task, I will entrust you with a quest that could alter the war.”
“Is this a test?” Kendra asked.
“View it that way if the idea makes sense to you,” Dectus said. “Or else consider this the first phase of a greater mission.”
“Is the Waystar hidden?” Kendra asked.
“The jewel is in the possession of Madam Ladonna,” Dectus said. “The chief spellbinder of the sky giants.”
“We have to steal the Waystar from a giant sorceress?” Kendra asked.
“Borrow it,” Dectus corrected. “We won’t keep it or sell it. We just need it for a time.”
“How will I find it?” Kendra asked.
“Make a fist,” Dectus said.
Kendra held up a fist. Dectus leaned in for a close look.
“The Waystar is a beautiful gemstone slightly larger than your fist,” Dectus said. “It will be your favorite color.”
“How do you know my favorite color?” Kendra asked.
“I don’t,” Dectus said. “The Waystar always looks like your favorite shade of your favorite color. No matter who you are.”
“My favorite color changes sometimes,” Kendra said.
“If that is true, the Waystar will transform to suit your fancy,” Dectus said.