Kingdom of Magicians

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The room into which they had teleported was dark and dry, with a cracked floor and ceiling. A large wood stove stood in one corner, although it did not appear to be active at the moment, and there were no windows, although there was a staircase that went up to the next floor, like they were in a basement. A couple of candles on a wooden table in the center of the room provided all of the illumination, which wasn't very much, though it was enough to see by, at least.

  Keo blinked as he and Maryal let go of Dlaine's arm. “Dlaine … where are we? And how did you find us?”

  Dlaine dusted off his jacket, an agitated look on his face. “I went to the northern gates like we agreed, but when you didn't show up, I went to the town square where the charity duel was being held. Saw the massive rioting crowd and immediately knew you were probably responsible for it, seeing as you can be pretty annoying sometimes.”

  Keo wasn't sure whether to be offended or not, so he said, “So you and Jola teleported us away?”

  “Yes,” said Dlaine, nodding. “Remember how I said that Jola can teleport limited distances? She doesn't like to do it because it's very draining, but she agreed to do it here because it was the only way to get you both out of there alive.”

  “Who's Jola?” said Maryal, who was still leaning on Keo for support. She coughed.

  “Who are you?” said Dlaine, looking at Maryal questioningly. “Keo's girlfriend?”

  “I am a Magician,” said Maryal, coughing again, probably due to the smoke from the fire getting into her lungs. “Magician Maryal of the Wind, to be precise. Ever heard of me?”

  “Nope, but I'll take your word for it,” said Dlaine. Then he looked at Keo and said, “What did you do back there? Moon the people? Insult their religion? Tell them that the Carrkian government is horribly corrupt?”

  Keo explained as quickly as he could what had happened. By the time Keo finished, Dlaine was shaking his head.

  “Goddammit, Keo,” said Dlaine, rubbing the back of his head. “I told you that we were only supposed to come and leave. I shouldn't have allowed you to go watch the charity duel. Should have known you would have gotten us into trouble.”

  “I did what I thought was right,” said Keo defensively. “Kraggan looked like he was actually going to kill her.”

  “And get arrested by the Enforcers for murder?” said Dlaine. He sighed heavily. “Keo, I know your heart is in the right place, but Kraggan isn't the kind of guy you cross.”

  “You've heard of him?” said Keo.

  “Of course I have,” said Dlaine, running his hand through his hair in exasperation. “Everyone has. He was brutal on the war front. I heard he used his magic to incinerate whole platoons of enemy troops. He doesn't take well to getting beaten or insulted by anyone, whether they're an enemy soldier or not.”

  “Your friend is right,” said Maryal. She coughed again. “Kraggan is incredibly vengeful and easily angered. I doubt he would have killed me back there even if you hadn't intervened, but now Kraggan will likely not stop until both of us are dead.”

  “Well, what was I supposed to do?” said Keo in annoyance. “Kraggan was still a jerk and Yanar didn't look like he was going to tell him to stop.”

  “Kraggan was technically supposed to win,” said Maryal, rolling her eyes. “I was paid off to let him win. I was supposed to put up a fight for the entertainment of the spectators, but I wasn't actually supposed to beat him.”

  “Then why did you knock him out with your magic before we escaped?” said Keo.

  Maryal shrugged. “Because he was going farther than I thought and I don't really like him all that much.”

  Feeling like a fool, Keo looked at Dlaine and said, “All right, all right. I made a mistake. But where are we? I don't recognize this place.”

  Dlaine opened his mouth to answer, but then the door at the top of the staircase opened and the voice of an elderly lady shouted, “Who's down there? Show yourselves or I'll have Ripper tear your throats out!”

  Dlaine grimaced, but then turned around and shouted back, “Galy, it's me, Dlaine! I'm back and I've brought, er, a couple of friends with me.”

  “Dlaine?” said the elder woman in confusion. “Didn't you just leave my house? How do I know you're not some kind of mimic trying to lure me to my death?”

  “Jola teleported me and my friends back in here because it was the only safe space I could think of,” said Dlaine. “Besides, you old crone, you know there's not a mimic in the world that could impersonate me.”

  “Good point,” said the elderly woman. “But who are your friends? Never mind. Let me come down and see for myself.”

  A second later, an elderly woman walked down the stairs into the basement. She looked much older than Dlaine—easily in her seventies or eighties—but was apparently still quite capable of walking on her own, as she made it down the stairs without any problem. She was very short, however, barely even coming up to Keo's waist, and she had large, round glasses that made her squinting eyes look ginormous.

  “Ah,” said the old woman when she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw them. “So it is you, Dlaine. And I see you've brought a couple of friends. Who are they?”

  “He is Keo of the Sword,” said Dlaine, pointing at Keo. “My friend and current traveling companion. And the young woman is Magician Maryal of the Wind, one of the participants in the charity duel. Keo, Maryal, meet Galy of the Medicine, an old friend of mine from way back when.”

  “Nice to meet you,” said Galy, nodding at them. Then she frowned. “The young lady looks like she just escaped a fire.”

  “She was dueling Kraggan of the Fire,” Keo said. “And he burned her.”

  “Then let me look at her,” said Galy. She gestured at a bed that was up against the right wall. “Lay her down there and I'll take a look at her.”

  Keo nodded and helped Maryal over to the bed. To his surprise, Maryal went along with it, perhaps because she was too tired and weak to resist. He helped lay her on the bed and then stepped back as Galy shuffled over to them. Galy pulled up a stool next to the bed and immediately started looking over Maryal's arms, which were slightly burnt.

  But Maryal was looking at all of them in confusion. She said, “While I'm thankful for your help, I realize that neither of you have introduced yourselves to me yet.”

  Keo looked at Dlaine. “Should we tell her?”

  Dlaine shrugged. “I don't see any reason not to. Unless she's planning to go back to the people of Carrk and tell them who we are.”

  Maryal shook her head weakly. “I have no plans to do that. After our escape, everyone probably thinks that Keo and I are working together, that I cheated in order to beat Kraggan. And it is against the law to cheat in a charity duel.”

  “Even though you didn't actually cheat?” said Keo.

  “They will never believe me,” said Maryal. She sounded bitter about it. “Kraggan's cult of personality is so powerful that many of his followers are incapable of believing that he did anything wrong or that anyone who beat him didn't cheat. As soon as they see me again, they'll probably lynch me in the streets regardless of what Magician Enira or the Enforcers think.”

  “Oh,” said Keo. “I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have intervened, then. Your life is now in danger and it's all my fault.”

  But Maryal shook her head again. “You don't need to apologize. Kraggan might very well have killed me anyway, despite killing your opponent in a duel being illegal. At least now the smoke from his fire won't destroy my lungs.”

  But Maryal didn't sound like she had forgiven Keo. Instead, she sounded angry, like she was annoyed at the fact that everyone in Carrk likely believed that she was a cheater now. It made Keo feel even worse, but he didn't see any point in pushing the subject anymore, so he didn't.

  Then Maryal looked at Keo and Dlaine again. “Now again, who, exactly, are you? A couple of mercenaries?”

  Keo briefly explained to Maryal who he and Dlaine were and what they
were trying to do. All the while, Galy looked over Maryal's arms and body, occasionally waving her hands over the parts that had suffered particularly bad burns and healing them, which meant that Galy was also a Magician. That made Keo wonder how many Magicians lived in Carrk, but then he realized that Carrk was very close to Capitika, which explained the presence of so many Magicians in this town.

  By the time Keo finished, Maryal was frowning and looked like she was not sure whether she should believe them.

  “So the demons from the old legends are going to return?” said Maryal. “And it will require the combined forces of the three factions to stop them?”

  Keo nodded. “Yes. We've fought and killed two demons already. Right, Dlaine?”

  “Right,” said Dlaine. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Fought one in the ruins of Castarious back at the Silver Falls. Killed it myself, in fact.”

  Keo expected Maryal to continue to express doubt about the return of the demons, as most people did whenever he told them about it, but to his shock, Maryal smiled and said, “I knew it.”

  Keo blinked. “Knew it? Knew what?”

  “That the demons are returning,” said Maryal. She tried to sit up, but Galy forced her back down and said, “Now, now, young woman, stay where you are. You need to rest after everything you've been through.”

  Maryal nodded, albeit reluctantly, and then looked at Keo and Dlaine eagerly. “It looks like I was right. All of those dreams … every one of them were true.”

  “What are you even babbling about?” said Dlaine. “What dreams? What made you think that the demons were returning?”

  “Okay, let me start from the beginning,” said Maryal. She tapped her forehead. “For about a year now, I've been having dreams about the return of the demons. Dark dreams, they are, with vile monsters worse than any ghost story slaughtering innocents. I've asked my interpreter what they mean and he told me they meant that the demons are returning, but no one has believed me even after I told them.”

  “Why are you having dreams about the return of the demons?” said Keo.

  “Because I've always had dreams about the future,” said Maryal. She gestured at her head. “I'm what you call a seer. That means that I can see some of the future, although only in my dreams and it isn't always obvious what they mean. It's a special ability that few Magicians are born with.”

  “How strange,” said Keo. “Dlaine and I are going to Capitika in order to tell the Magical Council about the coming demonic threat, and then we run into you, a woman who has been dreaming about their return for at least a year now.”

  “It must be destiny,” said Maryal. She sounded excited. “I can hardly believe it myself. I thought for sure that I was the only person in the world who even suspected that the demons were returning, but now I know that I am not.”

  “Well, that's interesting and all, but I don't see what this all means for us,” said Dlaine, putting his hands on his hips. “Just because you dream about them doesn't mean a whole lot, if you ask me.”

  “Don't you get it?” said Maryal. She sighed. “Look, this obviously means that the four of us are destined to travel together to Capitika. I can't be the only one who sees this.”

  “Lady, I think we can safely say you are the only one who sees this,” said Dlaine. “Because we sure don't.”

  Maryal rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Well, whether you guys see this or not, the fact is that I think it is pretty obvious that we should travel together.”

  “You seem awfully eager to travel with a couple of guys you just met,” said Dlaine.

  “Because it is obviously our destiny,” said Maryal. “How many times do I have to say that? And I have made a point of never going against destiny, especially when it's this obvious.”

  “Well, I don't see the harm in letting her travel with us,” said Keo, scratching the back of his head. “I think having a Magician, especially one as experienced as Maryal, on our side might make it easier for us to get to Capitika and fight any demons that might try to stop us along the way.”

  “Exactly,” said Maryal, wincing briefly when Galy pinched her arm. “See? Keo knows about the many benefits I would bring to your team if you let me join.”

  Dlaine folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “It's not that I am against having a Magician on the team. It's just that I don't want anyone slowing us down unnecessarily.”

  “I won't slow you guys down at all,” Maryal promised. “I can take care of myself. Besides, I like moving quickly, so you won't have to worry about me slowing you down.”

  Dlaine looked like he still wasn't enthusiastic about bringing Maryal along, but then he sighed and said, “All right. You can come with us to Capitika. Just don't be deadweight, all right?”

  “Of course,” said Maryal, nodding eagerly. “I'll be so useful that you won't even remember what it was like to travel without me.”

  “Sure,” said Dlaine. “Anyway, do your dreams tell us what is supposed to happen to us in Capitika?”

  “Nope,” said Maryal, shaking her head. “As a matter of fact, I don't even know how we're supposed to stop the demons. But if you guys are trying to stop them, then I believe this is destiny's way of telling me to go with you.”

  “Sounds like destiny can be pretty vague,” Dlaine said. “Anyway, now we need to figure out how to get out of this town without being caught and lynched by Kraggan's fans.”

  “Why can't Jola teleport us out?” said Keo, looking around the basement for their invisible friend, though he was unable to find her. “If she could teleport us in here, couldn't she teleport us out of Carrk?”

  “It isn't that easy,” said Dlaine, shaking his head. “Teleporting, even a short distance over a small period of time, is very difficult for Jola, and consumes a ton of her energy to boot. Teleporting all three of us plus herself out of Carrk would probably knock her out for a full week, maybe even kill her. That's assuming she succeeds; she might just end up teleporting us somewhere else in the town.”

  Jola, as usual, said nothing, but Keo figured that Dlaine was telling the truth, even if the truth was depressing. Yet there was nothing Keo could say or do to change that fact, so he started thinking about other ways they could escape.

  “And I can't fly all four of us out here, either,” said Maryal. “Well, unless you want to get carried by a tornado and risk crash landing on your skull, anyway.”

  Keo stroked his chin. “There has to be some way for us to get out of Carrk without anyone noticing. Dlaine, does Carrk happen to have any hidden underground tunnels that could lead us out of here?”

  Dlaine shook his head again. “Nope. It's got a sewer system, but there's no way we can use it to get out of here, because it's too small, cramped, and narrow for anyone larger than a toddler.”

  Keo cursed under his breath. “Then it looks like our only option is to try to sneak out through the streets to the city gates without being noticed. Maybe we can hide our real identities by putting on new clothes or something.”

  “They'll have all of the gates covered,” said Dlaine. “And the gatekeepers will be keeping a very close and careful eye on every person who tries to leave Carrk. We'll be found out in an instant.”

  “Then what do you suggest we do?” said Keo, throwing up his arms in frustration. “Sit down here in Galy's basement until everyone forgets about us?”

  “Nah,” said Dlaine. “We don't have time for that. I'm merely pointing out that all of your ideas just don't work.”

  “Well, I don't hear you offering any suggestions,” Keo said. “Of course, it is easier to criticize than to come up with your own ideas, so—”

  “Hey, Galy,” said Dlaine, apparently ignoring Keo now. He looked down at the elderly woman, who was still treating Maryal's wounds. “Any suggestions for how the four of us can get out of Carrk without being seen?”

  Keo had no idea why Dlaine was asking Galy about this when the old lady said, without turning to look at Dlaine, “Oh, that's ver
y simple, Dlaine. Just take the rooftops.”

  Keo blinked. “The rooftops?”

  “Certainly,” said Galy. She looked at Keo with her ancient gray eyes and pointed up at the ceiling of the basement. “No one will expect you to take to the rooftops. And what is even better is that it will make it harder for anyone to follow you, as few buildings in this town have easy ways to access their roofs.”

  “Okay,” said Keo, “but won't people still see us jumping across the rooftops? And won't they then chase us, maybe even catch us?”

  “Simply turn invisible,” said Galy. She nodded at an empty spot to Dlaine's right. “Like your friend Jola.”

  Keo looked at the spot Galy was nodding at. He realized that Galy was actually looking at Jola, as if she could see her, but that made no sense to Keo, because he thought that no one except for Dlaine could see her. Then again, Galy was a Magician, so perhaps her magic allowed her to see Jola. It made Keo wish that he was a Magician, if only so he could have the ability to see what Jola actually looked like.

  “That's a good idea and all, Galy, but I don't think it will be that easy,” said Dlaine. “Jola can't turn anyone else invisible except for herself. So, while that would be a good idea under certain circumstances, here it—”

  “I can turn you invisible,” said Galy. “All three of you.”

  Dlaine looked at Galy in surprise. “What? You never told me that.”

  Then it was Keo's turn to look at Dlaine in surprise. “You didn't know she could do that? I thought she was one of your old friends.”

  “Old, yes, but evidently not as close as I thought,” said Dlaine, looking at Galy in annoyance. “Why didn't you mention that to me before?”

  “Oh, I just learned the exact technique within the last couple of years,” said Galy as she rose from Maryal's side. “As a hobby, you know, since I am retired and haven't had much to do except sit around all day and read.”

  “Well, that sure makes things easier,” said Dlaine.

  “The only problem is that I haven't been able to figure out how to make it last longer than an hour or so,” said Galy. “Making people invisible is very difficult, at least for me. Perhaps some Magicians find it easy, but I don't.”

  “An hour?” said Keo. He looked at Dlaine. “Can we get out of Carrk in an hour?”

  “Possibly,” said Dlaine, though he didn't sound certain. “If we take the rooftops and don't waste time, then sure, we might be able to get out of town in under an hour.”

  Keo looked at Maryal. “Do you feel like you can come with us?”

  Maryal, unfortunately, shook her head. “Not right now. I need to rest.”

  “That you do, young lady, that you do,” said Galy. “But I believe my healing magic should have you on your feet in an hour or so. Thus, by then you should be able to—”

  Galy was interrupted by the thunderous sounds of what sounded like a large battering ram slamming against the front door of her house. Keo, Dlaine, Maryal, and Galy looked up at the ceiling of the basement in surprise as the battering noises continued without end.

  “What is that?” said Keo.

  “It must be the people of Carrk,” said Galy. She put one hand on her head, as if to steady herself. “Of course. They must be searching every house in the area for you four. I imagine the only reason they have not yet succeeded in knocking down the door is because I have cast a few spells to reinforce it, though I don't know how long they will last.”

  “Then we need to leave right away,” said Keo. “We have no time to lose.”

  Dlaine looked at Galy. “Do you think you can turn us invisible now?”

  “I think so, but Maryal is not yet ready to walk on her own,” said Galy, gesturing at the Magician lying on the couch. “She needs time to recover before she can go anywhere or do anything physically straining like jumping from rooftop to rooftop.”

  “You can't just leave me here,” said Maryal. She tried to sit up, but that was apparently too much for her, because she just lay right back down again. “If they catch me, they will kill me or imprison me for life.”

  “I'll carry her,” Keo said. “Maryal's not very heavy, so I should be able to carry her with me out of Carrk pretty easily.”

  “Are you sure you are up to it?” said Galy. “After all, you look rather tired, no doubt due to your fight with Kraggan. Even if she is light, it might be hard to carry her out of here.”

  Keo was tired, but he jerked a thumb over his shoulder and said, “It's all right. Back in the Low Woods, where I'm from, I've hauled much heavier things than Maryal over much larger distances. I'll be fine.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” said Dlaine. “Keo, pick up Maryal. Galy, cast the invisibility spell. Then we're getting out of here before the mob breaks in here and gets us.”

  Without hesitation, Keo went over to Maryal and picked her up and carried her on his back piggyback style, because he figured that that would be the best way to carry her. She was still very light, but also a lot more limp than before, probably due to the healing magic that Galy cast on her. Nonetheless, Maryal managed to wrap her arms under his neck tightly, though he could still breathe and move his head freely.

  “All right,” said Galy, even as the sounds of the bashing against her front door above became louder and louder. “Stand still. It won't hurt, but it may feel cold for a moment.”

  Galy raised her hands. Bright white light shone from the tips of her fingers and the next moment an intense coldness fell over Keo's body. He shivered, as did Maryal, whose shivering he felt against his back. Dlaine shivered as well, though he did not shiver as much as them, like he was used to the cold.

  In a second, the coldness was gone and Keo had returned to his original body temperature. He looked down at his body, wondering whether he could see through himself, but to his disappointment and confusion, he still saw his old traveling boots and brown pants. He looked at Dlaine and saw him just as easily as he always did.

  “Hey,” said Keo, looking at Galy, who had lowered her hands to her side. “I can still see myself and Dlaine. Are you sure you cast the right spell?”

  “I'm sure,” said Galy, nodding, though Keo noticed that she was looking slightly to his right. “The thing about the spell is that the target of the spell can still see themselves and other people who are under the same spell. While those of us who are visible cannot see any of you, you can still see yourselves and each other.”

  “Then does that mean I can see Jola?” said Keo, looking around eagerly, but seeing no one else standing in the basement with them.

  “No, you cannot,” said Galy. “Jola uses a different kind of invisibility spell that doesn't work the same way as mine. She is just as invisible to you as she always has been.”

  “Right, right, right,” said Dlaine. “Now that I think we all understand this, let's go. Sounds to me like your admirers are not going to be held back by Galy's front door for long.”

  “Yes, you four must go,” said Galy, gesturing at the stairs leading up from her basement. “I will try to delay them for as long as I can, but I cannot guarantee that they will not find out where you are going.”

  “Thanks, Galy,” said Dlaine, smiling at her. “Glad to know I can still count on you the same as always.”

  Galy smiled at Dlaine, which made Keo wonder what kind of personal history the two had together, but decided that it wasn't worth worrying about at the moment.

  So Keo followed Dlaine and Jola up the stairs, Maryal still clinging to his back, with Galy right behind them. He hoped that they would be able to escape Carrk alive, but he also had a sinking feeling that they might not.

  ***