The unsuspecting mage ms-1

by Brian S. Pratt

  “I doubt if anyone around here has had water like this,” remarks James. “That’s the way water where I come from tastes, most of the time anyway.”

  James takes a small stick and pokes the brown goop. “This is what was in the water, the stuff that makes you sick,” he explains to Miko. “There are several ways to do this without magic but we don’t have the time or facilities to do it properly.” Taking the bottle from Miko he takes a long drink, emptying it.

  James returns to the river and fills the bottle once more, then sits back down and purifies it with his spell. Miko watches in wonder as the brown goop forms once more on the ground.

  When he’s finished, he packs the water bottle away and they return to the road, heading south once more.

  As the day progresses there are more and more people on the road traveling in both directions. Many are simple farmers going about their daily routines, hardly noticing those around them.

  Hours later, Miko suddenly asks, “What’s that smell?” He looks sidelong at James.

  “It’s not me you smell,” James informs him, “that’s the sea.” The salty smell of the sea had been growing steadily stronger over the last hour but now is quite noticeable though they still are unable to see it. The terrain has become slightly hilly and for the last several miles James has been expecting to see the sea whenever they crest a hill.

  Close to midday they top a rise and there laid out before them, is Cardri. Beyond the city stretched a great expanse of ocean extending to the horizon. Cardri is by far the largest city that James has seen since coming to this world. It must stretch a mile or two on both sides of the river.

  On a hill a little inland from the harbor, but still within the city proper, rises a great castle. Shining white in the morning sun, it is an imposing sight, several towers and a great keep surrounded by a high formidable wall. Atop the highest spire of the tallest tower a flag bearing the crest of the Cardri line flutters in the breeze coming off the sea.

  James looks to Miko and chuckles. Miko is standing there with his mouth hanging open, in obvious awe of the place. He reaches over and closes Miko’s mouth which snaps him out of it. He looks over at James and smiles, a little embarrassed.

  “Pretty impressive, eh?” James asks him as they head down the hill toward the town.

  “I’ll say,” Miko responds, “I always heard it was big, but I had no idea. I always thought of Bearn as a big city, but this makes Bearn look like a farming village.”

  “It’s the capital,” explains James, “and I’m sure it’s also a major center of trade for the entire region. It would have to be big.” Moored at the docks of the harbor were dozens of ships of varying sizes, many with a buzz of activity surrounding them as sailors and porters load and unload their cargo.

  They reach the outlying buildings a good two hundred yards before they even get to the outer wall that surrounds the city. Cardri has three defensive walls dividing up sections of the city. One encircles the castle proper and several large buildings which comprise the Castle Area. The second encompasses a much larger area and protects the homes and businesses of many merchants and wealthy individuals. The third is the outer wall and the primary defense for the city. Almost two miles in circumference, it boasts many towers spaced at regular intervals. Half seem to have some sort of siege equipment such as catapults sitting atop them for defense.

  Though despite the awe inspiring length of the outer wall, it still isn’t large enough to encompass Cardri in its entirety. Originally it may have, but over the years, buildings have sprung up along the outside. Primarily comprised of poorer dwellings by the looks of them, many are obviously taverns and inns catering to those in need of accommodations, but the poor and slovenly appearance of most of them would keep James away unless he was very desperate.

  The gate through which the road passes holds two portals, one larger than the other to accommodate wagons and merchants, the smaller being for people on foot or horse. James and Miko move to the line at the gate for people and are soon approaching the entrance.

  Lining the road are many poor beggars who plead with all to give, most having lost limbs, eyes, or bore some other deformity. James is saddened by them and feels bad that he has to reject their pleadings for help.

  As the line continues drawing closer to the gate, James notices that unlike Bearn, the guards here are not asking questions of travelers before they pass through. This allowed the line of people waiting to get in to advance quickly. They took notice of everyone however, but beyond that scrutiny allowed all to enter unchallenged. The wall itself is about fifteen feet thick and as he passes through, discovers murder holes in the ceiling where defenders would be able to drop rocks or oil on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught inside.

  Once through the walls into the city proper, the state of the buildings improves somewhat over those outside, though they are still on the poorer side in James’ opinion. That made sense actually since the closer to the castle usually meant a higher social standing.

  Miko noticeably becomes more relaxed in these surroundings. As a city boy, he had been out of his element on the road. But now that he is once more within a city, feels at home. Walking down the street it seems almost as if he can feel the heartbeat of the city, the ebb and flow of its life.

  As they make their way through the crowded and noisy streets, James observes that the majority of the buildings in the outer ring are businesses with attached living areas. Inns and taverns are most apparent closer to the gate although some were still scattered about here and there as they moved deeper into Cardri.

  They continue following the main street until James finds what he’s looking for, a two story building with a sign hanging beside the door depicting three stacks of coins sitting on a table. He recognizes the symbol as being the same as the one that hung outside Alexander’s shop in Trendle.

  He goes up to the building and secures the horse to the post and then turns to Miko. “I’ve got some business inside,” he tells him, “you better stay here and keep an eye on our stuff till I’m done.”

  “Sure thing,” he says, taking a seat on the steps.

  James goes up to the door and enters. A bell attached to the door announces his arrival as the door opens. The interior of the shop is remarkably similar to that of Alexander’s in Trendle. There are several guards in the room and they turn their attention to him when he enters. Not seeing James as a threat, they go back to being disinterested, though they remain aware of his actions.

  A man pokes his head out of the window in the far wall and smiles when he sees James entering his establishment. James is startled for the man is the spitting image of Alexander.

  “Good afternoon my good sir,” greets the man. “My name is Thelonius and how may I help you today?”

  Coming to the window, James takes out his letter of account from Alexander and hands it to Thelonius. At the same time he asks, “Are you the brother of Alexander who lives a ways north in Trendle?”

  His face brightening, Thelonius replies, “Why, yes I am. Do you know him?”

  “I did have the pleasure of meeting him on two occasions,” he answers. “When he gave me that letter he asked me to tell you that ‘all is well here’.”

  “Ah, that is kind of you to deliver his message,” Thelonius says as he briefly scans the letter from his brother. “I am assuming that you wish to open an account here?”

  “Yes, I would,” replies James. “I also would like some coins as my trip down took all I had brought with me.”

  “Have you decided how much you will require?” inquires Thelonius.

  “I was thinking perhaps fifty golds,” James replies. “Say, five broken into lesser currency.”

  “Very good,” he replies. “I’ll be right back with your coins and the papers for you to sign to set up your account.” He then ducks his head back into the room and a minute, returns with a sack full of coins and several papers.

  Thelonius empties the sack onto the counter an
d together they count the coins, making sure the total equals fifty golds. Once counted and they are both satisfied as to the count, James takes the papers which are identical to the ones he signed back in Trendle. He signs his name and then hands them back to Thelonius.

  Taking the papers, Thelonius asks, “Now, is there anything else I may help you with?”

  “As a matter of fact there is,” James says. “Could you perhaps direct me to the Inn of the Silver Bells?”

  “The Silver Bells, eh?” Thelonius responds. “You can find it further toward the castle, past the second wall on Long Street. However, you may wish to stay elsewhere, it’s pretty expensive. It caters mainly to visiting nobles and the wealthy.”

  “Could you recommend one that would be nice but not too dear?” James asks him.

  Thelonius gestures to the right, “There is one down the street called the Dancing Squirrel,” he replies. “The place is kept well and the rooms are fairly priced.”

  Extending his hand, James says “Thank you Thelonius.”

  Taking James’ hand, he shakes it warmly, “You are welcome,” he says. “Should you ever need my assistance in the future, please call again.”

  James tucks the sack of coins within his shirt and exits out the front. Miko still sits upon the steps, idling away the time by watching the people passing by on the street.

  Hearing the door open, he turns his head and comes to his feet when he sees James coming out.

  “There’s an inn down the street that the fellow inside said would be a good place for us to stay,” James informs him. Untying the horse, he leads them down the street to the right. They don’t have very far to walk before James spies the inn bearing a sign depicting a dancing squirrel.

  James has Miko wait outside with the horse again while he goes inside to see about getting a room. The door opens onto the common room, and off to the side sits a long bar running half the length of the wall behind it. To James’ surprise and amusement, he finds a rather large, fat man standing on top of the bar, trying to coax a yellow cat down out of the rafters.

  “Come on kitty, kitty,” the man on the bar says to the cat. He has a bowl in his right hand and is passing it under the cat as if to entice it down for a treat.

  “Ahem,” James clears his throat to make his presence known.

  Startled, the fat man drops the bowl. It hits the edge of the counter and falls to the floor on the far side. The sound of shattering pottery tells its fate. The man turns with face turning red in embarrassment to find James standing there. Giving the cat a last look of exasperation, the portly man climbs down off the bar and comes over.

  “How may I help you today?” he asks as he approaches.

  Looking up at the cat, James says, “I was about to ask you that same question.”

  “Oh, that damn cat,” he curses. “She always gets up there and then expects me to get her back down. Sometimes I think she does it just to annoy me.”

  “Cats are that way I understand,” James replies sympathetically and slightly amused.

  “Yes, well, I’ll deal with her later. How can I help you?” he asks again.

  “I was hoping you might have a room available for me and my companion,” he explains. “Thelonius down the street said this would be a good place to stay.”

  “He did, did he?” the innkeeper asks. “I do have a couple of rooms available. How long were you planning on staying?”

  “Perhaps a couple days, maybe longer,” James tells him. “I also need a stall for my horse.”

  “It’ll be two silvers a night for a room on the bottom,” he says, “an additional two coppers for one on the second floor. For your horse, another three coppers a day and that includes food and exercise.”

  Amazed at how expensive it is, he says, “I’ll take the one on the second floor.” Pulling out his pouch, he removes seven silvers and hands them over. “I’ll take the room for three days and let you know if I need to stay longer.”

  The man takes the money and walks with James over to the bar where he opens a cupboard on the wall behind it. Inside are rows of hooks with room keys. He pulls out one of the keys and hands it to James, “You are in seventeen, top of the stairs and fourth on the left.”

  Taking the key, James says, “Thank you,” and then walks over to the door. Before leaving, he glances back to find the man starting to climb back up on the bar to once again attempt coaxing his cat down out of the rafters.

  Chuckling to himself, he goes outside and tells Miko they’ll be staying here for a few days. Untying the horse, he and Miko head around back to the stables.

  A large, muscular man is back by the stable shoeing a horse. When he sees them walking toward him he says, “Just a minute.” He takes another shoe nail and hammers it into the hoof of the horse, securing the shoe in place. The man then puts down the hammer and inspects the shoe, making sure it’s on secure and even. When he’s satisfied with it, he lets the hoof go and turns toward James and Miko.

  “Yeah?” he asks them in a surly tone. “Something I can help you with?”

  James shows him the room key and says, “Just need a stall for my horse.”

  “Got one,” he says as he gestures over his shoulder, “second from the front.” As if that ended the conversation, he turns back to the horse he had been shoeing. Taking the other fore hoof and a file from off a nearby worktable, he begins evening out the hoof’s rough edges.

  James leads his horse into the stable and finds the stall, second from the front. It’s a clean and roomy stall with shelves lining the rear wall. It takes them little time to get the horse settled in. Once the horse has been properly taken care of, they grab their things and exit the stable, making for the door to the inn. Outside, the man is still shoeing the horse and pays them no mind whatsoever.

  They enter the inn and go upstairs, finding room seventeen. Entering the room they are pleased to discover two beds, which brings a smile to Miko’s face.

  “No floor tonight,” he says to James as he places the bags on the room’s small table. He then crosses over and lies down on the bed closest to the door, “I could get to like this.”

  Taking the bed closer to the window, James places his backpack in the corner next to his bed, then lies down and literally sinks three inches into downy softness. “You’re right,” he says to Miko, “I could get to like this too. It’s far superior to any bed I’ve slept in for quite a while.”

  Before growing too comfortable and loses the ability to get back out of the bed, he gets up and goes over to the window. From their room they have a good view of the inner city and spires of the castle. The castle is very majestic, it reminds James of castles he’s read about and saw on documentaries. He seriously doubts if there are any tours of this castle he could take.

  Judging by the position of the sun, he figures they have close to two more hours till dark. Turning to Miko he says, “I’m going to go explore the town before dinner, want to go?” He sees Miko has already fallen asleep on the bed so decides to just let him sleep as he heads off on his own.

  Coming down the stairs he sees the innkeeper sitting at a table with the cat in his lap, stroking its back. “Finally got her down I see,” he says to him as he approaches.

  “She drives me crazy at times,” he says as he continues to pet the cat, “but I don’t know what I’d do without her. She was my wife’s you know, before she died. She’s all I have left to remind me of her.”

  “By the way,” James says as he gets close, “My name is James.”

  “I’m Inius, and this is Furball,” he replies as he continues petting the cat.

  “I’m going to see some of the city before dinner,” he tells Inius. “If my friend Miko should wake up, could you tell him where I’ve gone?”

  “If I see him, I’ll let him know,” Inius replies.

  “Thank you,” James says then heads for the door.

  Outside, the street remains fairly crowded with many people hurrying about their business. Figuring
one direction is as good as another, he takes off down the road to the right, gazing at all the sights and goods being offered by the various merchants.

  The shops lining the street have selections of their wares displayed on tables out front in the hopes of enticing those passing into buying. And if that wasn’t enough, most of them have a very loud spokesman, shouting the merits of whatever it is they are trying to sell.

  One such place is a seller of amulets. The man is portraying his amulets as powerful magics, each with a special property. Some to ward off evil, some to cure warts, and even ones to entice the charms of the one you love.

  James slows down as he looks over the various amulets displayed by the merchant. He soon realizes his mistake as the man, seeing that James has even the slightest interest in his amulets, comes over and attaches himself like a giant leech.

  “Sir, you’ve come to the right place,” he says, moving into such a position that James is forced to stop or run into the man. Holding up a small, well worn amulet he continues, “This amulet was charmed by an ancient wizard, it will keep evil spirits from causing you harm.”

  “No?” he says when he sees that James is not interested in that one. Holding up another, this one in the shape of a heart, he says, “This charm will make any lady you desire fall madly in love with you.”

  Looking closer at the amulet, James thinks he can make out teeth marks indenting one edge of the heart. “No thank you,” he replies. As the man begins to extol the virtues of yet another of his amulets, James holds up his hand, causing the man to cease in the praising of his wares and to listen to what he is about to say.