by P. S. Power
That got the man to smile again.
“I take it that you’re Bill? Will, or something along those lines?”
It was friendly seeming at least. Aunt Patricia went wide eyed her face seeming nearly scared.
“I didn’t realize. Is it…”
Timon nodded then.
“My nephew? The real one, as far as I can tell.”
The woman understood something that Willum just didn’t it seemed, since she looked a bit concerned.
“Oh, my. That’s different then, isn’t it?”
Chapter two
The truth of the matter was that, while it was kind of clear that the Wizard Timon had some kind of problem with him, the man wasn’t sharing what it could possibly be. That he’d guessed at Will’s name was pretty good, but didn’t actually take magic to understand. Indeed, he’d probably been told by Patricia that Clem had come and was going to bring his cousins. While it was possible that Willum might have been Carlisle, there was a fifty percent chance that he’d be the other boy. The slightly younger one.
Given that fact, Willum would have guessed at his own name as well. Probably being more correct than the wizard’s trick had been. That didn't explain the awkward looks he was getting suddenly from Aunt Patricia. Instead of giving that back to these new people, he chose to pretend not to notice what they were saying about him. Even if it did kind of seem that they were trying to accuse him of something.
“Well met. I’m Willum Baker. This is my sister, Diana.” That was polite enough, really.
Honestly, the tall man, who looked a bit like his own father, if his da had been stretched upward by nearly two feet, stopped his staring for a second then and nodded.
“Timon Baker. You met Patricia… Sorry about that a moment ago. We… Really, I need to talk to some people or this might get a bit messy. One second, please.” He was being polite, speaking in Standard very cleanly. As he pulled out a speaking at a distance device, the front door of the shop opened with a crash. It was hard enough that a shelf filled with tiles, ones that clearly had magic on them, clattered to the floor.
It made a sound like broken glass, even if nothing seemed to be ruined at first glance. Standing there, running in with something in their hands, were two black armored forms. Both were rather tall. Like Timon. Will couldn’t see faces, because there were flat masks in the way, made out of the dark, rather hard seeming material that covered them. From the way the air warped around them as they rushed in, they had shields on as well.
Not that he’d seen that kind of distortion before, but the smaller of the two people was moving so quickly that it bent the air. Then, that one also stopped first. Both of his armored hands moving up.
“Wait!”
Willum felt his neck being ripped at then. Stabbing him with pain and discomfort as first the one fellow, and he had no doubt that it was a man, then the second attacked him somehow. Probably with their minds. He had to slap at his own skin several times before they stopped doing whatever it was they had been to him.
Then, suddenly, the armor turned to dust, leaving both men naked for a moment, before clothing appeared. Right in front of his little sister. She’d looked away thankfully, afraid of the attackers. Not that they were pressing an advantage that way.
Angrily, Will moved forward.
“Here now! I don’t know what this is, but rushing around, coming at people like that is very rude where I come from!” The idea that he was going to fight them over their shocking behavior was laughable. Even to him. So it surprised Willum more than a bit when he moved forward and punched the taller man in the middle. He tried to anyway. It wasn’t a good blow, being that it hovered in the air well away from his body.
The shield was in the way, naturally.
That just got him to try the other man, then glare when it didn’t work. After all, he was being stopped from even protecting himself and his sister. That left him feeling rather enraged, if he were going to be honest about it. The taller man grimaced then, and stepped back.
“Sorry there. We heard that there was a possible attack going on…” Then the man bowed. “Which seems to have started one. Please forgive me.”
Willum glared for a moment, then nodded, his breath coming hard. Interestingly, Clemance moved forward, between the new people and himself. Facing them, making motions for them to back away. He glanced over his shoulder, smiling grimly.
“Cousin Will? You’re going into a combat rage again. Can you do what you did earlier? Control it? This was a mistake, not an attack. I’m sure that they’ll explain, in a bit?”
There was an odd tone to his voice, which got the not so tall attacker to move in then, bowing and standing almost instantly.
“Agreed. Sorry there. Forgive us, miss?” That was for Diana. Who had moved away, her face looking rather hard. She was sucking in air nearly as fast as he was, Will noticed.
Patricia furrowed her brow then.
“Did I do that? I thought the curse was gone, but… Both of them are triggered into a rage…”
Tim shook his head, even as Will tried to relax and let go of the anger he suddenly felt. Without waiting to see what was going on otherwise, he spoke.
“Diana, close your eyes and relax. Don’t give in to this. It’s just from the shocking behavior of these people. I don’t think they really meant to be rude.” That was a lie, but a polite enough one. Clearly they’d honestly intended what they’d been doing.
Still, it was enough for his sister to start calming herself, which took a while. Having done it earlier seemed to help him come back to his own center of wellbeing faster than she managed it. The whole thing was a bit strange to him however. He’d certainly felt such things before, but never twice in one day like that. Normally if he became angry or frustrated, he simply moved off to think about how he was failing the world. Then he came back, later.
It was what they’d been told to do as children, when they became upset. Diana had been schooled the same way, by their father.
After about ten minutes, the tall attacking man smiled.
“Hello. I’m Tor? This is Dareg. Pleased to meet you? I honestly didn’t mean to startle you both like that. We’d heard that you were coming here, from Count Lairdgren. He recognized your description, Will. That… Well, we can go into that later? If that’s all right? It isn’t a secret or anything, but I don’t really want to be beaten for being rude, if I can help it?” The smile that came then from the almost womanly looking tall man was charming enough.
Not that he really looked like a girl. It was that his face seemed too smooth and nearly as if he was wearing makeup on his skin. The other men there were a bit like that, but not nearly as much. Patricia was, but he’d just assumed that she was made up for the day. It seemed that Tor, the wizard, was as well.
Willum bowed, trying to not be the one that destroyed the familial bonds that day.
“I see. Or… No, I really don’t.” He sounded short. Almost angry still. Worse, he couldn’t even manage to take it all back. Not yet. “We came to meet Aunt Trice. There’s a meal tonight? I don’t…” It was very hard to think, his head hurting too much for that kind of thing. Interestingly, the woman in question simply walked to one of the shelves that hadn’t been knocked over, grabbed two of the talismans and handed one to Will. The other going to his sister as she stared at the world, wide eyed and a little fearful now that she realized who surrounded them.
The youngest looking attacker, Dareg, waved at the things.
“Healing amulets. You’ll both want to use those. Combat rage is… Well, it’s a bit strange them having it, isn’t it?”
Tim Baker sucked in a huge breath, then shook his head.
“Not really. Both of them have greater than average reflexes as well. Will here is nearly as sensitive to magic as anyone I’ve ever seen. He registered as feeling our probes of him anyway. Without any training, as far as I know. So… If I had to wager, I’d suggest that they were genetically enhanced. Given the loc
ation of Pine Creek… It’s almost certainly down to Doris having meddled in their lives at some point.”
What was being said only made so much sense.
Will thought about it before speaking however, trying not to be taken off guard as much as he had been already. To buy time he activated the amulet in his hand. It was about the size of a silver coin, with the image of a commoner done in green on it in silhouette. It wasn’t until his head cleared, feeling much better, that he understood that it could have been a trick or trap. People had rushed them already. It wasn’t a bad thing, but his head had been pained enough to distract him from even normal levels of thinking.
The healing amulet was the real thing however, so he bowed to his Aunt Patricia. She was youthful seeming, with curly hair that was nearly as dark as his own. She did it back, smiling again, finally.
“Keep those. We should outfit you both… I can do that.” She glanced at the floor where there was a mess of glowing tiles by the door.
Willum took a deep breath then, fighting for calm.
“I’m sure that… Tor here and Dareg will pick those up. After all, they made the mess.” He was willing to insist on it if he had to. Even to fight both men, which was ridiculous, since they were both huge compared to him. Instead of making that happen, the smaller fellow nodded.
“Only fair. I’ll do that. Now… There’s a dinner planned?”
Instead of talking about how dangerous things had just been, Clemance acted like nothing had happened at all. It was a great trick, Will guessed. It really seemed like they were just going to pretend that nothing of note had taken place that day at all, so far.
“Yes. You’re all invited. At the Capital house at nine? Will and Diana’s father will be there. Count Lairdgren as well. Though… That might not be the best plan now.”
It was, interestingly, Timon who nodded and explained.
“He did rather set Willum here up, didn’t he? Without malice, I’m certain, but it still happened. We’re rather all off on the wrong foot, aren’t we?”
Aunt Trice, who was moving around collecting things and placing them in a decent sized cloth sack shook her head.
“Speak for yourselves. I’ve been nothing but kindness so far. Notice all the gifts? Polite words and everything. I’m nearly certain that I’m their favorite new relative. Right Will?” She dimpled at him in a way that was clearly meant to be playful. Flirtatious even.
Recalling the warning that Clemance had given him earlier, even if he’d misunderstood it at the time, Willum nodded.
“True. Please forgive my… Attempted violence. That was poor form on my part.” He probably sounded very stiff he knew. It wasn’t anger really, just him translating into Standard. That was how he was thinking about it that day. At that moment. It had been different a few seconds before, but being the evil one wasn’t his task there it seemed.
After the first few rough minutes, things did seem to be smoothing out a bit.
Interestingly, Tor, the wizard and Ancient of Vagus, if Mrs. Sams had been correct on that part of things, bowed again. Going very low.
“Please forgive my own abrupt behavior. I promise, it will make sense. Eventually. We could speak of it after the meal, perhaps?” This was directed at Clemance, instead of Will.
The younger boy nodded then.
“That would be welcome, I’m certain. I wouldn’t mind hearing the why of this, as well. It isn’t the welcome that I’ve ever received here. In fact, this is known to be one of the most peaceful places in three worlds. Now I get to try and sell that to my cousins, which might not be as easy.” The interesting part wasn’t that the boy, who was probably a year younger than Diana, making him about thirteen or so, was taking the adults to task, but that they ate it. Without so much as a hard face over the idea.
Tor just nodded.
“Again, we will explain all of it. For now… Well, Dareg and I should go and see if we can muster some dignity for later? I hope that this won’t sour our relationships?” He started to bow again.
Willum shrugged.
“Perhaps not. Anyway, Count Lairdgren said that I should see if you’d part with some coin for Diana, while she attends school? I was planning to see if I could work for that, to earn it, but…” That seemed less likely at the moment for some reason.
After all, the man had clearly intended bad things for them not fifteen minutes before. Interestingly, he smiled then, his made-up seeming face happier.
“Not a problem at all, Diana. In fact, that’s a good idea. I can have that sent over in a day or two? When are you attending lessons? Which school, for that matter? Lairdgren? At least if the Count suggested you going…”
The man walked to the side with Diana, not touching her at all. Willum stood back, but watched them carefully, as was his duty. After all, this Tor Baker, while a relative, was still an unknown man. Interestingly, Tim moved over to him, smiling.
“That… He really didn’t mean any harm. This will probably leave him feeling a bit better. At least we haven’t destroyed all the family relationships. I need to make some more calls, like I suggested before? If we don’t want you hunted by Royal Guards later. I should see to that now, if that’s all right with you? I can also stay here, if you wish?”
Willum understood what was being suggested. Timon figured that the situation was safe enough. He was also willing to act as protection, if Will felt unsafe. Thankfully, so far, things hadn’t gotten too out of hand to come back from. Yes, he still felt a little bit upset by his treatment, but it was clear, now that his brain was working again, that things were different than they seemed. The activated healing amulet in his hand had helped that bit of things feel better, if nothing else. He turned it off with a tap, noticing that Diana did the same, over where she was standing. Even if she hadn’t bothered to look up at all first.
Tim noticed that as well, then nodded.
“I see. Well, we have some things to chat about. Honestly, I need to get Doris in as well. She has a bit of explaining to do, I wager.” Then the man shrugged. “Doris… She’s one of the few remaining old Ancients. One of her projects has been making genetic changes to our family line. I don’t know that she did the work on you and your sister, but it’s the right part of the world for her to have been doing that. We can ask. It isn’t as if she bothers to hide that sort of thing once confronted about it.”
Clem looked puzzled then.
“My English teacher?”
“Right. You and Dumas are taking lessons in that. It’s a good idea. Part of why Dare and Tor get to crawl around begging your forgiveness later, actually, Will.” He fought a smile then, as Tor looked over at his brother. Seeming a bit sour over that part of things.
Dareg however, was actively picking up all the tiles that had been sent to the hard stone floor and placing them in a small floating box that had appeared suddenly. That looked like it was made of black glass for some reason. It had the hollow feeling that things made of magic had though, so Will wasn’t fooled by the idea.
Not that the floating wasn’t kind of a giveaway as to that part of things.
Trice walked over, holding the sack in her hand.
“Clothing amulets, shields, a nice food unit, fire starters and handhelds for everyone in your family. Sorry that things are off to a rocky start, but remember, you and I are fine.” She handed the slightly fuzzy feeling sack over. Like the box across the room, it felt hollow. As if it wasn’t really there. The chips of focus stone inside were real enough, though they danced with energy. Inside of his head.
Instead of commenting on it, he nodded, forcing a smile to his lips.
“Practically my favorite Aunt. Why, you probably didn't even put a spy into Pine Creek to watch me or anything.”
She laughed a bit then, shaking her head.
“I didn’t… But trust me, that was an oversight, not a good thing on my part. If I would have known about you all, I would have had people in there already. I bet you Count Lairdgren did.”
His aunt nodded at him.
“It’s probably more or less just the truth. Not to put any of you down, but chances are you didn’t need to be watched all that closely, living off in the dark woods like you do. Not until you left. Now, today, you’re suddenly much more interesting. You mentioned that Lairdgren suggested that Diana go to school with him? Probably a good idea. I need to talk to her first however. What did he suggest for you?”
Thinking back, that part suddenly seemed far more sinister suddenly.
“That I meet with Tor and see about getting training. I don’t think that was meant for my benefit.” Why, he didn’t understand yet.
His aunt nodded, her face smiling. It wasn’t real at all. He could feel that much. It practically poured off of her.
“That… Honestly, you could do worse. You might also think about Timon for that? Tor is an amazing builder, but…” She stopped then, shook her head a little bit and grinned disarmingly. “Or… I think I know who to send you at for such things. I’ll get that around? Tonight, at that meeting? I think I have just the person for your training, actually. You should collect your sister now, before she falls in love with her Uncle Tor. That would be unfortunate. They’re not biologically close, but he won’t actually put out for her and he’s turning the charm on a bit too hard.”
Looking across the space, Willum actually understood that part of things. It was honestly happening, too. His little sister, who was a good girl from a fine family, was looking deeply into the tall man’s lovely eyes. He nearly got upset about it, but Clem smiled and swatted his arm.
“Different rules in different places, cousin. This is… Fairly normal for here.” Then he spoke a bit more loudly, projecting so that a certain besotted young lady might get the idea and leave with them. “We should go. There are many things to get to. For one, I need to call on my younger brother, since I’m going to be adding to the dinner party as much as I am. Can I get a count as to how many people will be attending?”