“I certainly hope not,” said Valdez.
Arch Mage Krendal cleared his throat. “How many tests are still underway?”
“Last time I checked, twenty-three.”
“Good. It’s almost concluded then. We’ll set the ceremony for seven o’clock tonight. In the meantime, I’ll dig up the old Book of Prophesy and see what it says.”
“O.K.” said Valdez. “I’ll see to the arrangements for this evening.”
Kazin didn’t have to look hard to find his friend in the hall, surrounded by other mages and proudly showing off his new rings. He drew Max’s attention and Max was surprised to learn of Kazin’s success. The two mages congratulated one another and decided to go exploring together.
“Let’s explore the artifact creation room!” suggested Max.
“Good idea!” said Kazin.
They slipped on their small rings and vanished into the inner sections of the tower.
Suddenly Sandor, their instructor, stepped from behind a pillar. So they both perfected the test, did they? Good. Now the other master mages would envy him. Only he could teach his students well enough to result in two students perfecting the test in the same year! He frowned and scratched his beard. He wouldn’t be able to bask in that envy for long. He had to begin plans for the two young mages. First, he needed the Book of Prophesy. Then he had to find a way to… He continued scheming as he slipped his master mage ring on and disappeared from sight.
“So this is where they make magical artifacts!” said Max excitedly, eyeing the long workbenches laden with all sorts of items and gadgets. “Look at that jewel-encrusted sword! And that shimmering triangular shield!”
“Amazing,” whispered Kazin. He was no less excited.
They walked slowly along one bench, then down the other end of the next, trying to look over the shoulders of the master mages who worked there. There were amulets, medallions, bracelets, and many other items, all glittering and shimmering with magical energy. At the end of one bench lay a plain, wooden staff with no markings of any kind to indicate that it was magical.
“I wonder what they’ll transform this old staff into,” said Max curiously, picking it up and examining it closely. Suddenly a bright blue streak of lightning erupted from its tip, bolting across the room and striking a large blue shield hanging on the wall. The shield exploded into a thousand tiny fragments, sending particles of glowing dust everywhere. There was a cry from one master mage who was working on another staff. Apparently it reacted to the magic in the air and shot a small fireball across his table. It bounced dangerously a couple of times before landing on a talisman where it was absorbed into its magical field. Most of the magical items in the room glowed with a dull blue, green, or red, all of them alive with magical energy. The master mages in the room stared at the two young mages.
“Oops!” said Max, putting the staff back down gently.
One master mage came up to them and sternly looked them up and down. “This area is restricted to master mages,” he said angrily. “What are you two doing here?”
“We—I—,” began Max.
“We are master mages,” interjected Kazin.
“Who gave you clearance to handle the staff?”
“N-No one,” stammered Max.
“Do you realize how many weeks of work you have just ruined?”
“No, sir,” said Max weakly.
The master mage sighed. “Well, what’s done is done. If you want to handle magical things, I’ve got some work for you.”
Max looked up hopefully. “What is it?”
“I need some help with an experiment I’m conducting. I’m testing a new kind of shield. But first, do you have any magical items on you?”
“Only these magical rings,” said Kazin, pulling out the ones the arch mage had given them.
“Put them down on the table,” said the master mage. “I don’t want them to interfere with the experiment.”
The young mages hesitated about leaving their rings lying around but they couldn’t pass up the chance to work on a magical experiment.
“We don’t have to hold up the shield while you shoot at it, do we?” asked Max as they headed over to another bench.
The master mage laughed. “Do you want me to shoot at you without the shield?”
The magical items nearby continued to glow dully and nobody paid attention to them as they momentarily brightened. That was just fine with Sandor as he moved his invisible body around the table to where the rings lay. He picked up one of the larger ones and put it on. Then he rubbed it and disappeared from the room. The magical items on the tables returned to a dull glow at the departure of the invisible mage.
Chapter 14
A knock sounded at the door, pulling Krendal away from his studying of the Book of Prophesy. “Come in.”
Valdez entered. “Sorry to bother you. There’s some discussion going on about the setup of the celebrations and the other arch mages would like your input.”
“Oh, very well,” said Krendal, shutting the Book of Prophesy with a snap. “I was getting tired of reading rhymes anyway. The gods must find it amusing to see us try to figure out prophetic rhymes.”
The arch mages left the chamber and Krendal set a ward upon his door. They went down a couple of hallways and stopped at a small alcove where some circles were marked on the floor. They stepped onto the ones with blue coloring and instantly disappeared. They reappeared in a hall where tables and chairs were being arranged in preparation for the celebration.
“What’s first?” asked Krendal.
“We’ll start with the seating arrangement for the clerics,” began Valdez. “We were thinking …”
Sandor watched from a doorway. It looked like Krendal was going to be busy for a few minutes. Excellent. He rubbed the large ring he was borrowing and reappeared in Krendal’s room. Sandor scanned the room for magical warding. The desk drawers emitted a dull green glow but the book on top of the desk was unwarded. He picked it up and read the inscription on its binding: “The Book of Prophesy.” How careless of Krendal!
He stuffed the book under his cloak and turned to leave by the doorway, but stopped short. The door handle glowed with a dull green light, a sign of warding! Heart pounding, he frantically thought of a way to escape the room. He tried removing his master mage ring but nothing happened. He rubbed the large ring he had stolen, but still nothing! He tried a tentative anti-warding spell on the door but it didn’t work either. He began to panic. He removed each of his other rings but nothing helped. Finally, he yanked the stolen ring from his finger and was about to throw it across the room in anger when the room shimmered and he reappeared in the artifact making room.
Max and Kazin were just finished helping the other master mage and were returning to retrieve their rings when they saw their instructor standing nearby. He waved them over.
“It wasn’t easy to find you two,” he said to them as they drew near. “I wanted to congratulate my brightest pupils but they seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth!”
“Thanks, Master,” said Kazin. “We owe you a lot for your valuable instruction. Toward the end I was wondering about your sanity in making us cast that flame in our palm over and over again, but it turns out you were preparing us for a real challenge.”
“Thanks for listening,” said Sandor. “By the way, you can call me Sandor. We’re both master mages now, so you can call me by name.”
“O.K. Sandor,” said Max, picking up his rings and slipping them on his fingers.
“What are your plans now?” asked Sandor.
“Right now we’re due to see the arch mage in his chambers. He’s giving us each a new cloak and staff. We’ll talk to you later.”
Kazin and Max rubbed their big rings and vanished.
“We’ll talk to you later,” re
peated Sandor. “Yes, you will!”
The two new mages appeared in Krendal’s room and saw him nervously pacing back and forth. He appeared angry at first but his features softened when he saw the boys.
“Ah. I almost forgot.” He opened a trunk at the side of the desk and withdrew a cloak and staff for each of them. “These cloaks are made from expensive materials and are much more comfortable than the ones you are wearing now. There are many pockets, both inside and out, which allow you to store your spell components separately, allowing you to prepare spells more quickly and efficiently. Some mages even like to keep components for each different type of spell in separate pockets. That way they don’t have to do an inventory check before knowing if they have all the ingredients for a particular spell. There are also some crests symbolizing your rank as master mages. The lines underneath indicate your eligibility to become arch mages. The straps on the back are for carrying your staff when you are not using it. It is much more practical than the clumsy leather sheath you have been using up until now.
“The staves are a little more elaborate than the plain ones you were given as apprentices. The engraving also indicates your rank. These staves are charged with a limited supply of magic and need to be brought to the tower for recharging every couple of months, or sooner if used abundantly. There is a three-pronged clip on top which allows you to attach a magical crystal if you can purchase or find one in your travels. You may have seen some master mages with entirely different staves. These they purchased from the guild or found in one of their quests. The staves and cloaks you had before will be donated to the next apprentices that are recruited. The reason I am giving these items to you before the ceremony is because you both deserve it and because I have a special surprise for you later.
“After the ceremony, you may have the next two days off to recuperate, and if something comes up before then we’ll send for you. After the break, you will be required to report to Arch Mage Valdez for your assignments, as will the other new master mages. The ceremony will begin soon so you’d better get some good seats. I’ll be there shortly myself.” Arch Mage Krendal took a deep breath and smiled. “Are there any questions after all that babble?”
Kazin grinned. “No, Sir.”
Krendal rose and came around his desk, handing them their cloaks and staves. He shook their hands. “Well done.”
“Thank you, Sir,” chorused the two young master mages.
“Now please hold out your hands with the rings that I gave you to get here. When I pull them off, you will return to the location you left when you came here.”
“That would put us back in the artifact creation room,” commented Max.
“Oh, you didn’t touch anything, I hope?” asked Krendal.
“Uh, no,” lied Max. “At least not until we helped Jarad with his shield experiment.”
“Hands on experience already,” remarked Krendal. “Good for you. Was it successful?”
“For the most part,” said Kazin. “The shield absorbed the impact all right but now he’s got to do something about the vibrating. It had a tendency to shake out of your hands.”
“I see. Well, fellas, I’d like to chat some more, but I’ve got some things to do. See you at the ceremony.” With that Krendal yanked off the rings and the boys disappeared.
“Now where was I?” said Krendal to himself. “Oh, yes. How could someone break in and steal the book without my knowledge and without disturbing the door’s warding?” He put the rings down on the desk and did another spell detect spell. The desk drawers glowed green, the rings on the desk glowed red—one much darker than the other, and the door handle glowed green. There was no other magical signature in the room. Everything was as it should be. Or was it?
He looked at the rings again. He was sure he charged them with enough magical energy to operate adequately, yet one was almost out of magic. Could one of the boys have used it to come to his room earlier? That would explain why it was so weak in magic. That would also explain how someone got into the room without being affected by the warding!
Krendal slammed his fist down on the table hard enough to make the rings jump. If only he had put a warding on the book, the culprit would have been caught red-handed. Then he scratched his long, white beard. Max said they were in the artifact creation room with Jarad! He would have to pay Jarad a visit to see if he could get to the bottom of this!
That evening, Kazin and Max sat next to one another at a table positioned near the side of the stage where the arch mage would address them. The two hundred or so mages present made the room seem like it was filled with swarms of black beetles, buzzing with excitement and anticipation.
Finally the arch mage entered and climbed onto the stage. Krendal rapped his staff on the floor and the room descended into silence.
“Now,” said Arch Mage Krendal, eager to proceed with the ceremony, “before I allow Arch Mage Valdez to begin calling you each to the front to receive your new robes and staves, I would like to thank the clerics, on behalf of us all, for their support over the testing period and without whom we would all be in worse pain!”
There was a brief but hearty applause and the twenty or so clerics rose and gave a short bow. Arch Mage Krendal left the stage and Arch Mage Valdez took his place. He held a list in his one good hand.
“What happened to him?” murmured Max.
“I’m afraid that was my fault,” said Kazin.
Max looked at Kazin in shock. Kazin only shrugged. He couldn’t talk about it anyway.
Valdez began reading the names of each of the new mages, allowing them to come to the front to receive their new robes and staves from the arch mages positioned there for that purpose. When that list was completed, he began the list of new master mages, consisting of five women and four men. They received their master mage rings in addition to their cloaks and staves. After this was completed, Valdez returned the stage to Arch Mage Krendal.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” began Krendal, “we have arrived at the final part of the ceremony. Before I call up the two mages who perfected the test, I would like to call on their teacher, Master Mage Sandor, who trained them well in the arts of magic!”
There was modest applause as Sandor went up on stage. Krendal shook his hand and presented him with a small pendant. “This pendant,” said Krendal, “is a magical one which minimizes any damage done by fire. Use it well!”
Sandor thanked him meekly and returned to his seat. During the time he was on stage Krendal watched him closely but there was no sign of anything amiss. If Sandor had stolen the Book of Prophesy, he gave no indication of having done so.
Krendal turned to Kazin and Max. “I would now like to call on Kazin and Max to come on stage and receive their reward.”
The two young mages eagerly climbed the stairs and shook Krendal’s hand. “For you two fine master mages,” said Krendal proudly, “I present a magical book containing some very useful and very powerful spells, which I am sure you will learn over time. Congratulations!”
There was applause from the assembled mages and cheers from their classmates. Kazin and Max each took their books gingerly and slid them into the pockets of their new robes. They returned to their seats and Krendal tapped his staff on the floor to regain everyone’s attention.
“There is one more thing before you all go,” said Krendal. “Your names are posted on lists in the hall and they indicate when and to whom you are to report in the next day or two for your new assignments. Don’t be late! Thank you and good luck!”
Kazin and Max made their way to the hall to check the list. On the way they were congratulated several times by friends and classmates and even complete strangers.
After the ceremony, the square was crammed with new full-fledged mages and their families and friends. The din was almost unbearable. Everywhere there were celebrations. Food vendors scurried about ma
dly, trying to fill many more orders than they were accustomed to. Kazin and Max sought out their families amid the commotion and Kazin finally spotted Sherman, standing tall above the crowd near the mermaid water fountain.
The young mages pushed their way through the crowd, their rich ebony cloaks and elaborate staves causing a stir among those nearby. They finally broke through the crowd and Max raced over to his parents. Kazin’s parents were nowhere to be seen.
Sherman came over and slapped Kazin on the back. “I knew you could do it, Kazin!”
Kazin coughed and wheezed but finally managed a gasping “thanks”.
“Your parents couldn’t be here because they’re preparing a party in your honour,” explained Sherman. “Max is invited too.”
Kazin nodded. “I’m glad you could make it, Sherman.” He looked up at his friend. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t make it back in time.”
“Are you kidding? I told you I was gonna be here and I am. But it was a close call.”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you believe we were attacked three times on the way to Arral and once on the way back?”
“What?! What were you transporting? Gold?”
“You would think so. No, I was delivering milk. They didn’t seem to be interested in the milk, though. They seemed more intent on killing instead of stealing. My Dad’s got his arm in a sling and Mom’s upset to no end.”
“Is he O.K.?” asked Kazin.
“Yeah. The only thing hurt worse than his arm is his pride. I don’t think I ever saw a man fight as viciously as he did with only one good arm.”
“At least you survived all right. What about the bandits? Did they finally run away?”
“That’s the thing that puzzles me,” said Sherman. “They fought to the death.”
“That’s certainly odd. Usually when they’re outmatched, they turn tail and run.”
“Not this time,” said Sherman.
Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy Page 12