The Wastes

by Alexey Osadchuk

  “Okay,” said Master Chi, rubbing his hands together. “Now that we’ve handled this one, let’s get to the next question.”

  He came to his table and opened a small bright-raspberry colored chest. Then he turned and called me:

  “Come here.”

  When I stopped a step from the table, the mage said:

  “Take out all your belongings and place them right here.”

  His manicured hand pointed to a meticulously polished tabletop. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice he’s wearing one signet ring on each of his fingers. His wide wrist is wrapped in a silver bracelet of exquisite handiwork. And it probably isn’t just simple jewelry...

  “If you try and act smart, I’ll punish you,” he warned, his thin brows furrowed. “I know that ratty knapsack is just a decoy.”

  With pain in my heart, I started taking out everything I’d so painstakingly accumulated.

  “Well, well!” the mage exclaimed when he saw the mountain of esses. “This is three hundred gold in experience essences alone!”

  When I set the Intellect tablets on the table as well, the master’s thin lips spread into a satisfied but restrained smile. To be honest, I was expecting a stormier reaction.

  But when I got to the items from the Stonetown arsenal, he shuddered.

  “Where’d you get this stuff from?!” he shouted, his voice quaking. “Answer in detail!”

  I winced. It was as if some invisible person was pulling the words out of me and assembling them into short, choppy phrases. The uncanny force made me tell the master everything that happened to me in the caverns.

  My latest captor listened carefully. At times he winced and others he smiled, rubbing his pampered hands together. From time to time, he would ask leading questions. In the end, he managed to get everything he was after. Well, almost everything...

  As soon as that thought crossed my mind, Master Chi said:

  “Very intriguing. I have much to consider. But there’s one thing you haven’t yet told me...”

  “What do you mean?” I asked quietly, my eyes pointed at the ground.

  “Don’t play stupid,” he menaced with a finger. “I would like to know how you got your hands on the iridescent tablets! Hehe! Or did you think I’d believe you were just born this way? Stop. Wait a second... I almost forgot!”

  The mage gently patted his forehead.

  “The artifacts of the ancients you have on — where are they from?”

  A cold sweat ran down my back.

  “My parents gave them to me,” I angrily spat out between my teeth.

  Paying no attention to my tone, the mage started thoughtfully stroking his chin and said:

  “Alright, you can keep them. I would rather not have to carry you around after all!”

  Then he boomed loudly:

  “Haha! Just imagine the scene! And all the questions! Haha! So master Chi, who you carrying there? Oh! This is just my slave! Haha!”

  After hearing the word “slave,” a lump rose up my throat. I wanted to wail in impotence.

  When he saw my gaze burning in indignation, the mage calmly said:

  “It’s good you’re angry, slave. Very soon, we’re going to need you mad. Shen!”

  “Yes, milord!” I heard a vile hissing voice to the right.

  Oh gods! That means we weren’t alone this whole time! The shock made me jump back.

  A short middle-aged man was standing perfectly still next to me. Gray hair. I’d even say pure white. The tips of his moustache slightly pointed. The gaze of his black squinting eyes turned me inside out. His pale face showed no emotion. All that created the impression that the entity standing before me felt absolutely nothing at all. Ghoulish, ravening and very dangerous. And for what it’s worth, he was level thirty-six.

  “How do you like our little hunter, Shen?” the mage chuckled. “He couldn’t even sense you. And incidentally, his reputation with the order is over three thousand points.”

  When I heard him mention the order and reputation, I tensed up.

  “He won’t be able to sense me anytime soon, lord,” Shen answered dispassionately.

  Master Chi snorted, nodded and said:

  “Why don’t you show him then. Let him know who he is dealing with.”

  “Yes, lord,” the gray-haired man answered calmly and his face began to shift.

  Oh, Great System! Just about every hair on my body stood on end! In the space of a few heartbeats, every trace of humanity fled Shen’s face. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to even call it a face now! His animalistic snout is a ghastly cross between the head of a bat and that of a snake. His wide mouth is packed with needle-sharp teeth. Triangular ears almost on his forehead. A broad flattened nose greedily pulling in the scent of prey. His black eyes harbor a desire to maim and kill.

  Only then did I notice that my mouth was filled with bitter saliva.

  “I have someone I’d like you to meet, slave!” the mage said, satisfied at my condition. “This is a blackblood! One of the most dangerous creatures of the Dark Continent!”

  Savoring the look on my face for a bit, Master Chi said:

  “Okay Shen, enough! We’ve had our fun. We have lots of work to do.”

  “Yes, sir,” the blackblood answered dispassionately, having changed shape again.

  “Tell the Baron I am returning home,” the mage started giving orders.

  “Young Corwin won’t like that,” Shen stated coldly.

  “That’s his problem,” the master waved it off, dumping all my belongings into the raspberry box. Seeing my heavy gaze, he gave a cheery wink.

  “And how goes the military campaign?” the blackblood asked. I was getting the feeling the mage was trying to force Shen to dissent and question him by some method I was unaware of.

  “Let him keep listening to Vestar the demented!” the master shot out in dismay. “They make a fine pair! A couple of idiots! They think the Bear ill and weak! Sure, Berence has grown old. But he’s still the same clever little snoop as ever. He’ll sit in his den and bide his time until guests show up. If only Valer the stupid pompous boy had ever once listened to my advice, he’d know now that one of Berence’s little sons is engaged to a daughter of Count Boarg.”

  “Are the Boargs allied with the Berences?” Shen asked dispassionately.

  “Imagine the surprise in store for our little upstart when the Bear and the Boar come from different directions to smash his army.” Master Chi chuckled. “Now do you understand why Corwin’s brigades are not encountering any resistance? It’s nothing more than a clever trap. And I’ll tell you one thing. This will not end with the upstart merely getting his feathers plucked.”

  “And you aren’t warning him?”

  “No, Shen. He made his bed, let him lie in it. I’ve had enough of that snot-nose. That ungrateful whelp made his choice in favor of a madman bent on revenge.”

  “I understand, sir,” the blackblood answered coldly. “Any other orders?”

  “Order a place made up for our newcomer. And treat him carefully. I have grand plans for the boy.” After he said that, Master Chi turned to me with strain in his voice. “Walk with Shen. Do exactly as he says.”

  Obeying the order, I followed the blackblood out of the tent.

  “By the way, I almost forgot!” the mage said as we were on our way out. “Shen, take care of Captain Morten and his rangers. I don’t need any witnesses.”

  “Yes, milord.” Finally I heard emotion in the blackblood’s voice. “You have my gratitude!”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw the creature’s thin pale lips spread into a bloodthirsty grin, revealing his sharp fangs.

  * * *

  Once upon a time, I was lucky enough to be able to visit the home of my school’s natural sciences teacher. A quiet, lonesome man who dedicated his entire life to collecting butterflies.

  He could be seen all kinds of different places, sometimes quite unexpectedly. Be it a meadow, a forest clearing or the terrace of
a fancy restaurant — in a word, he was everywhere his beloved insects might be found.

  Always wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, draped in all kinds of little boxes and holding a long butterfly net — the man had become something of a symbol of our city.

  In the winter, when there was nothing to catch, the teacher locked himself in his house and spent ages studying his catch in great detail. But there were also days when he put on public showings of his collection, which had specimens numbering in the thousands.

  One such day, I saw all his multicolored butterflies. Pinned to flat wooden boards in special glass cases and cabinets, they delighted the eye of his enamored visitors. Now, after seven days underway, I felt like just such an insect — an object of intensive study for Master Chi. Thankfully, we weren’t quite to the pinning stage yet.

  Every day he would summon me to his wagon and force me to tell him more of my story. Beginning with collecting the moss and ending with my exit from the caverns of the Crooked Mountains.

  Sometimes I would have to repeat all the system messages about my heroic achievements several times. My tale about the monster hunter markers merited particular attention, and specifically the fact that the ancient magic reacted positively to my blood.

  When I said that, Chi looked truly satisfied. His face gleamed like a freshly polished copper basin, a smile of joy plastered on.

  “Shen!” he said to his dispassionate servant. “This boy is truly the crown jewel of my collection! Keep him safe. He’s the apple of my eye!”

  “Yes, lord,” he answered melancholically.

  “Just imagine! We have every reason to believe ancient blood courses through his veins! I think the Great System tried to kill him when he was born, but Bug intervened and something happened that was not supposed to.”

  “He’s weak,” objected the blackblood.

  “True! But that is his advantage! Every time he gathers resources or fights, the Great System gives him the maximum possible reward! And iridescent tablets?! Given the right conditions, he’ll be able to bring them to me like mushrooms after a rainstorm! His blood can give us access to our world’s most ancient mysteries! Haha! If I told someone about this, they’d never believe me! Some pitiful zero is gonna make Master Chi Grand Magister! All the doors in the capital of the Kingdom will open for me! His Majesty will certainly want to get to know me!”

  My heart skipping beats, I was soaking up all the information the mage could spout. And with every passing day, I grew gloomier. But still I refused to believe that I was doomed to spend the rest of my days in servitude to this ugly bastard.

  Gorgie helped me not to break. My friend shared with me his confidence in the future, told me to keep my head down and, when the time came, to strike.

  And so I did just that. Kept my head down...

  * * *

  At noon of the tenth day, our journey was nearing an end. The mage’s train of five wagons accompanied by twenty well-armed soldiers reached its destination.

  I must note that all the warriors and servants on the way behaved similarly to Shen, silently and implicitly carrying out every order whether from the mage or his top assistant. It was like they didn’t notice me. Like I was just empty space to them.

  The caged creatures the master caught before finding me were riding in closed wagons and not displaying any aggression. One of my travelling companions was a hexapod.

  The highly dangerous cavern monster was sitting with its long appendages folded and looking like a lifeless clump of fuzz. For the whole duration of our trip, it stirred only once — when a sheep was brought in for it to eat.

  The neighboring barony was no different from our own. The nature, architecture, people. If I didn’t know I was in a foreign land, I’d have thought we were somewhere to the west of Orchus.

  Based on the way the locals greeted our wagon train, Master Chi must have been a famed and influential figure here. Fear in the eyes of the city’s elders and leaders followed by flagrant bootlicking spoke to the fact that Master Chi also enjoyed a kind of infamy.

  When I saw the mage’s estate, I was slightly surprised. The manor was a fairly large two-story building with lots of light. He also had a smithy, a farrier’s, a manicured garden, an ovular fountain outside the front door, and plenty of white-sand paths both wide and narrow. Nearby and a bit to the right, I could see a pond with a white boathouse. To be honest, I was picturing the mage’s home very differently. I mean, Bardan’s manor looked grimmer with its window grates! But this... It’s the normal house of a normal landowner...

  His entire small staff came out to greet their master. They were just as silent and phlegmatic. Now that made my skin crawl. It felt like I’d just been brought to a puppet theater...

  Hm... And there’s the puppet master in the flesh. Smiling, he’s beckoning me over with a manicured finger.

  “Let’s go!” he called. “We have lots more work to do!”

  Slipping past the servants swarming around the wagons, I followed after the mage. I imagined slamming into him with a Ram and instantly felt more at ease.

  The house greeted us with ideal cleanliness and freshness. Bright walls, elegant furniture, everywhere vases containing fresh flowers.

  Following my gaze, Master Chi said in self-satisfaction:

  “Everything you see around you — this home, its decor, my very own orangery, the furniture, the sheets, the glass vases — was made by my workers.”

  Taken aback, I looked at everything again with different eyes.

  “Surprised?” the mage chuckled. “Let me tell you a secret. I was not born into wealth, but my father was a very practical man. Thanks to his thrift and stinginess, we never went hungry. Many considered him a miser. Fools! He was the very picture of good sense! It’s been two hundred years or more since he died and still I thank him for what he taught me almost every day!” Seeing incomprehension in my eyes, he asked: “What level do you think a carpenter must reach before they can make something like this?”

  The mage stopped next to a small carved chair and patted its lacquered back.

  “You may answer.”

  “I’m not sure,” I muttered and, frowning, gave a rough estimate: “Thirty? Forty?”

  Chi folded his arms across his chest and told me victoriously:

  “Not even close! Half that. And to be more accurate — eighteen.”

  I looked at the chair, perplexed. The warped carved legs, the dark burgundy lacquer, the neat upholstery, clean lines. This would have been quite expensive furniture. At the very least, my family home never had anything this nice.

  “And now answer this question for me. What’s better — to spend a huge amount of money on furnishings such as these or to make your own carpenter for no more than the cost of that sofa over there? Come now... Don’t frown. It isn’t my fault all these people ended up slaves. I bought them at the slave market. I gave them a roof over their heads, food, invested lots of tablets and essences into all of them!”

  Well, and you also made them your puppets, may the abyss swallow you up!

  “Alright,” said Chi. “Let’s go... Now it’s your turn.”

  I wasn’t totally sure what he was talking about but, obeying his order, I shuffled off after him, consumed by anger and hate.

  We went up to the second floor. We came across a long corridor and stopped in front of a large exquisitely-carved door.

  “Follow me,” the master commanded and stepped into a fairly spacious room.

  I looked around in a daze. No matter where I turned my head, I saw shelves laden with books and scrolls. At the far wall there was a huge table and large armchair covered in dark leather. There were also lots of unusual items around. From menacing skeletons of unknown beasts to little boxes and small chests.

  And the mage was heading for one such chest.

  “Shen is right,” he said as he walked. “You’re a weakling. A stiff breeze could blow you over. Before our endeavor may begin in earnest, I must attempt to improve
your figures.”

  Taking the little chest under his arm, Chi walked over to the table. Plopping down in the seat, he threw back its embossed lid and started digging around inside.

  “Where are you?” he muttered. “I’m certain I remember leaving it here. Aha! There you are!”

  A small fiery-orange sphere the size of a chicken egg appeared in the mage’s hands.

  “Here!” he extended it to me. “Read the description but don’t use it yet. I got it from an explorer fresh off a trip to the Dark Continent. You know, for the future. It cost me a pretty penny. It’s an unbelievably rare item, there are no more of them on our continent... Hm... Although your tokens and Hunter reputation are indisputable evidence that these lands still harbor some mysteries.”