The Sorcerer's Quest

by Rain Oxford

  Great. I had to get my wand, but saving these people after creating a monster that attacked their village was the last thing any sorcerer in the world would do. If my mother was here, she would be proud that I was finally able to cause mayhem and tell me not to worry about my wand. I had a staff, after all.

  But she wasn’t here, and I couldn’t just let the monster run rampant. I created him, and it was my fault he got free. I wanted to be a sorcerer, I really did, but this had been a mistake, and even sorcerers owned up to their mistakes.

  Although the castle could still be identified as such, several walls had been blown out by dragons. I entered the ruins through one of the massive holes in the side. On the ground floor, weeds had grown up through the cracks in the stone and wrapped around the old furniture. Almost everything wooden was molded, including some paintings from the original family who owned the place. It was dark, but moonlight streamed in through holes in the roof and fire from the nearby homes provided eerie, flickering light that made it look like things were moving.

  Where would the treasure be? That is where I’ll find my wand and the monster. My father used to tell me that some dragons liked caves, and some liked heights, which didn’t help at all. I either needed to find the dungeons or the tallest tower. There were five doors and two sets of stairs, suggesting that randomly searching this place could take much longer than I had. I couldn’t hear the monster, either.

  I dropped my bag and started to put down my staff to get my knife out when I got an idea. I held out my staff. “You got us into this mess. Show me where my wand is.” Nothing happened. “Fine,” I snarled at it. “Show me where the treasure is. If you don’t, you’re worthless to me and I’ll leave you here.”

  I felt the staff pulling on my magic before the crystal lit with a red glow. Just that. I was just about to put it down and grab my knife when the glow in the crystal narrowed to form a beam of light that pointed to one of the two sets of stairs.

  “Wow. I didn’t think that would actually work.” Before the staff could change its mind, I grabbed my bag and hurried up the stairs. On the second floor, the beam of light changed to point down the hall, where there was another staircase. Unfortunately, each floor was more dangerous than the previous. By the time I reached the last staircase, there were sections of it smashed so badly I had to balance on the handrail to get past it.

  The top floor was deplorable. There was a gaping chasm in the middle of the hallway. Most of the ceiling was gone, many walls had crumbled, and there was water damage on pretty much everything. I could see into many of the old bedrooms as I passed them and could only tell what they were by the fact that they had remnants of beds in them.

  I didn’t, however, find any treasure. “Where is it?” I asked the staff. The beam of light spilled across the floor and over the chasm. “Figures. Why isn’t the monster attacking?” Surely he knew that if I found my wand, I could control him. The staff didn’t answer.

  I examined the gap in the floor until I had a firm plan. I went into the closest room and found a broken bed leg. Then, I pulled some rope out of my bag, tied one end around the middle of the leg, and wedged the leg into the debris left of the wall. I tied the other end of the rope around myself and tossed my bag and staff across the gap. The wall beside the chasm had holes knocked out, so I used those to climb across. The rope was just for emergency. Fortunately, I made it to the other side with only a couple small slipups that took years off my life. I untied the rope and set a rock on the end so that I could use it to get back.

  When I picked up my staff again, the beam of light resumed… and led right out the window. I knew whatever it was would be bad, but I had no idea how bad. Outside the window was a tower. Across from me was a large window in the tower with part of a broken bridge hanging out of it. From my angle, I couldn’t see any way into the tower except through this window. Unfortunately, I was running out of time. Through the tower window, I could just make out the dull glint of gold.

  How am I supposed to get over there? I could have used Merlin’s advice. Since I didn’t have his help, I relied on what I did have. I dug through my bag, looking for a plan. I could throw a rock over with a rope attached, but I couldn’t throw one heavy enough to hold my weight. But maybe my staff can.

  Just as I raised my staff to try something, the building shook and I heard the eerie howl of a monkey. My skin grew numb as the staff made me impenetrable again. At least, I hope that’s what it was doing. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t protect me from being crushed under rocks.

  Before I could even think up a spell, the floor started to collapse, and I ended up rolling straight into the chasm. Fortunately, I caught the rope and saved myself from plummeting to my death. The rope held my weight and I held on no matter how much my hands hurt, because right below me, my monster was fighting none other than a huge brown bear.

  And the bear was losing.

  My staff fell to the ground harmlessly. I considered pushing away from the wall and letting go so that I could land near my staff, but when a swipe of the bear’s paw nearly got me in the abdomen, I started climbing the rope instead. And I nearly got to the top.

  Then the rope snapped, and I landed right between the monster and the bear. For one precious moment, they stared at me in shock. The bear then leaned over me until his face was so close to mine that I could feel his hot breath. I would have stopped myself from gagging if I weren’t trying so hard to control my other bodily functions. When the bear opened his mouth wide, displaying all his sharp teeth, I forgot to breathe altogether.

  And then he sneezed on my face.

  I made a sound I had never made before; it was something like a shriek of disgust, but with my eyes and mouth closed. I heard the bear’s roar of pain at the same time I felt him being thrown off me. I sat up and reached for my staff just as the bear was tossed backwards into it. Although the staff rolled away unscathed, I had to dive out of the way. The monster was tearing at him viciously. I once again tried to get to my staff. It was now in the far corner, balancing dangerously on the edge of yet another hole in the floor. If the monster or bear were slammed to the floor again, my staff would fall.

  The monster’s sharp claws tried to swipe at me as I passed, but the bear was closer and apparently faster. His front paw smacked into me from behind and I was propelled towards my staff, away from the monster. I landed rolling and went with it. The wall stopped my fall just as my staff began tipping into the hole. I pounced, knowing already that it was too late, because it was gone before I could reach the hole.

  But my body apparently didn’t know that, and I had my legs braced and my entire upper body through the hole before I knew what I was doing. I caught it. Barely.

  Gasping with relief and exertion, I climbed out of the hole and wiped sweat from my face. With the fighting bear and monster in front of me, I had every intention of running out of the castle and trying to find another way into the tower. Unfortunately, that was when the bear roared in pain. The monster had its claws around the bear’s front paws to prevent him from attacking and its tentacles were around the bear’s throat.

  A sorcerer was ruthless, manipulative, and self-centered. That was what my family was and that was what they expected me to be. Unlike my brothers, however, I didn’t think that included cruelty to animals. I might not have risked my life for the bear if I hadn’t created the monster myself… but I probably would have.

  Darting around the monster, I grabbed one end of the rope. I didn’t have a plan so much as a terrible idea that would never work. That was pretty much my life. With the staff in hand, I ducked under the monster’s arm and tentacles to put myself between it and the bear, then thrust the crystal of the staff towards the monster’s chest.

  “Get back,” I demanded.

  The monster did, though it was only from surprise that I would stand up to it. One of its claws swiped at my arm, but my staff’s magic protected my skin. I felt my magic bonding with the staff again as if even my magic knew
I was being threatened.

  I realized then what Dessa had meant. My staff was not just a tool of magic; it had its own awareness. It wasn’t like mine or another person’s, but it was enough that the staff knew what was happening. As the staff’s energy mingled with mine, it felt like it was trying to get to know me. As if it was trying to determine if I was a worthy master.

  That was really depressing, because I knew it would find me unfit, since it was a sorcerer staff and I was bad at sorcery. Here I was, putting myself in danger to save a bear.

  Don’t think about that. I have to do this. I will do this. Merlin is counting on me. The crystal started glowing more fiercely than I had ever seen it, but it was also lighter red. The monster sneered at me and his tentacles reached forth to take the staff from me. That wasn’t going to happen. The harmless glow swelled out of the crystal and struck as lightning.

  With a cry of pain, the creature was thrown back. I winced, sympathetic and even a little apologetic, because I had created it in the first place, and now I was attacking it for following its basic instincts.

  When it got back up, I waved the staff at it. Instead of attacking me, the creature took flight. Fortunately, my staff knew what to do; the other end of the rope shot up and wrapped around the monkey monster’s leg. He flew up, to the top floor, and out the window, dragging me out with him. Of course, when the beast flew from one window to the window of the tower, I fell. I was expecting it, though, so I held on and put my legs out to stop myself from crashing into the wall. It went perfectly; my legs braced me and the further into the tower the monkey went, the more he pulled me up and towards the window. Soon, I was over the lip of the window, balancing on the edge between safety and certain death. If the monster came at me instead of flying further away, I would have fallen. I just had to not look down.

  “Oh, gods,” I moaned when I saw the ground so far beneath me.

  The monster jerked suddenly and tossed me inside, where I landed face-first in gold coins and jewels. It hurt, but it meant that I was on solid ground, so I was okay with it. I started to get up, only to have to roll out of the way as the monkey dived at me. Lightning shot from my staff again, but the monster dodged it.

  “Where is the wand?” I asked my staff. It didn’t answer me, so I dug through the piles of treasure while evading the monster and shooting him with lightning whenever he got too close. He was no longer trying to claw me; he was learning. When he tried to drop a massive wooden chest on me, I gave up on my wand and faced the beast. “What is wrong with you?” I asked him. “I created you to help me.”

  This time, he didn’t dive at me or move away. In fact, he was staring at my staff expectantly.

  “What?” I closed my eyes, praying that he wouldn’t strike at that exact moment, and focused on the sensation of my magic flowing inside me and in the staff. The staff wasn’t doing magic itself, but it was certainly doing something. I opened my eyes and imagined the restraints around the monkey’s limbs and neck.

  Although I could see them clearly in my mind, it wasn’t what I expected. The restraints to his limbs and wings all combined into one rope that led to a pile of gold I hadn’t checked, but the rope around his neck was tied to the crystal in my staff. Suddenly, I understood.

  “I get it. I bet it’s hurting you, isn’t it? The wand is pulling you here and the staff is pulling you towards me. You probably don’t want me controlling you, but you don’t want it to hurt, either.” I moved towards the wand and the monkey snarled. I snarled back in attempt to show him I wasn’t going to submit and reached into the pile of gold. My wand felt warm when I pulled it out and the relief I felt bordered on irrational. It was as if I had lost something very important to me that I finally got back.

  With both my wand and staff in hand, I turned back to the monkey, who landed before me. I wished Merlin had shown me how to banish the creature before I came after it. “I banish you. Whether that means you leave or cease to exist, you are not allowed to hurt anyone. Don’t worry; I’ll call you soon and you’ll have the opportunity to cause destruction then. Go, and don’t return until I call you.”

  He closed his wings around him and dispersed. He just sort of poofed out of existence, but in a slow and detailed way.

  And then the tower rumbled and shook. Acting on instinct, I ran to the window just as the tower started to tilt towards the castle. Right before the tower actually crashed into the wall of the castle, I jumped from one window to the next. Because of the momentum and the narrower distance, I made it, but the tower still crashed, and since there was very little roof left, that all came down on top of me. I allowed myself to fall from one floor to the next to stay ahead of the destruction, but as I started falling faster and faster, everything became a blur. I couldn’t stop myself and between me falling on sharp objects and heavy objects falling on me, there was no telling how many bones I broke.

  After a while, I became aware that everything was still, although I had no idea how much time had passed. I was lying under a pile of rocks and dirt in a beam of light with no idea whether it was sunlight or moonlight. Then I saw one bear paw reaching out of the dark for me, and I passed out.

  Chapter 8

  I woke in a lot less pain than I had been expecting. Actually, I was just glad to be waking at all. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a warm, dark hut, on a soft bed instead of a pile of rocks in the castle. Something was on my forehead, but it was cool and felt good, so I didn’t try to move it.

  “Rest. You are still healing.” Even though the voice was soft and feminine, it made my head hurt.

  “What happened?” I asked, trying to see the person without moving my head. There was a man sitting in a nearby chair, but he was asleep.

  A woman stepped into my line of vision. She was short and a little plump with dark blue robes. Although her hair was a smattering of silver and gray, her face and eyes looked way too young for her hair to have turned. It was oddly unsettling.

  “You were gravely injured while saving the town.”

  I tried to sit up, but she pushed against my shoulders and I was overcome with nausea. “My wand and staff,” I said. My voice was scratchy. The staff’s spell to protect me was also gone.

  “Bralyn got them. Your staff, wand, and bag are right here. You need to sleep and heal.”

  I didn’t know who Bralyn was, but it reminded me who was counting on me. “How long have I been here?”

  “Not long. I gave you a healing potion that should have you back together by sunrise.”

  That explained things; she was a mage. “It isn’t sunrise yet? Thank the gods. I have to go. I have to get to the Dark Forest by sunrise.”

  “There is no possible way you could make it.”

  “I will. I don’t know what they’ll do to Merlin if I’m not back, but elves won’t be merciful if I break a promise.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said as I pulled the wet cloth off my head and struggled out of bed.

  Vertigo made standing much more difficult than it should have been. Fortunately, the mage understood that I had something important to do, so she picked my stuff up and handed them to me, then helped me out of the hut. Outside, I faced a wall of villagers, who all hollered with delight.

  The sudden noise stabbed at my headache like a knife between my ears. My stomach rebelled, but since there was nothing to expel, I didn’t have to worry about puking in front of everyone. I’ve been there and done that; it was highly embarrassing. “What’s happening?” I asked, still not able to get my voice right.

  “When you destroyed the beast and brought down the tower, the treasure from the ancient dragons spilled out into the village. You made everyone rich along with saving us. I have never met a braver wizard.”

  “I’m not a wizard, I’m a… never mind.” I didn’t have the energy to explain. “I have to get to the Dark Forest.” The sky was already starting to lighten. I knew that I would never make it, especially since I was injured.

  I tried to th
ink of a spell, a curse, anything, that could help me. When I felt a nudge in my back, I ignored it. Then I had to duck out of the way before a sharp horn could impale my shoulder. “Not you again!” I said, exasperated. The unicorn was back. “Why do you follow me every…” I stopped and stroked his head as I realized what this meant. I couldn’t make it back to Merlin on time by foot, but surely a unicorn could. “Can you help me? I need to get to the Dark Forest elves by sunrise.”

  The unicorn tossed his head and knelt.

  “Thank you.” I had to have help getting on and even then I couldn’t sit up without a struggle. Obviously, the potion had a lot more work to do, because I wasn’t strong enough to hold three items. Making a quick decision, I tossed the bag to the ground and pocketed my wand. The bag had been mine for as long as I could remember, but Merlin needed help.

  As soon as I was relatively secure, the unicorn took off at a gallop.

  With every passing moment, the sky grew lighter and I grew stronger. By the time we reached the forest, sunlight was touching the tips of the trees. The unicorn was undeterred. He glided over roots and bushes that I would have struggled with, and I knew we would make it. We came to a clearing with only a single, small apple tree in the middle of it. He didn’t slow before stopping suddenly in front of the tree, but my blood felt alive like it only did when I faced death. I jumped down from the unicorn easily and pulled my wand from my pocket.

  “I’m here. Release Merlin,” I demanded. Elves suddenly appeared from the depths of the forest and tops of the trees. Most of them were difficult to differentiate, so I was only guessing that it was their king who stopped right in front of me.

  “You returned on time. I will release your companion, but you must break the curse on my daughter.”

  “Where is she?” I asked. He pointed to the apple tree. I should have guessed; it wasn’t like any of the other trees and for some reason, Gibus often compared women to apples. When the elven king took another step towards me, the unicorn tossed its head at him, as if telling him to get back.