by Des Pensable
Rob crawled painfully to the nearest laneway wall, his head throbbing with pain. He turned to watch, while mentally struggling with the darkness that was trying to take hold of him.
Melanie stood slightly side on to the approaching group. She spread her legs a little, adopting a comfortable and relaxed fighting stance, and waited. The group slowed to a halt and five of the men formed circle around her while the sixth, who seemed to be the leader, stayed back.
‘What’s the problem, boys?’ she asked casually.
‘We’ve been asked to teach you two a lesson. You shouldn’t go around stealing goods from our friend,’ said the leader.
‘You have been given the wrong information. We have stolen nothing,’ replied Melanie defiantly.
‘You’re lying, bitch!’ he shouted and signalled one of his men to attack. A large bald brute lumbered forward with arms outstretched as if to grab her. She nimbly sidestepped his hopeful embrace, kicking him so hard in the rear that he seemed to fly a few paces through the air, landing in a heap face down on the ground. His uncouth friends laughed at his misfortune and suggested he have another try.
He bellowed in anger, raised himself off the ground and charged again, this time swinging at her with his meaty fists. She coolly diverted his clumsy attack and struck him a vicious blow to the throat. He staggered off, struggling for breath, and collapsed to his knees.
‘Get her!’ yelled the group leader, and all four charged in, one diving to grab her legs.
Melanie danced as elegantly as any artiste on a stage. She moved with a grace that was beautiful to watch, weaving and dodging amongst the four assailants with ease, diverting or blocking blows and returning a devastating pounding to all parts of their bodies. Her arms moved in a blur. Her feet struck with the deadly accuracy of a snake attack, but hit with the impact of heavy rock, stunning her attackers. In seconds all five lay scattered on the ground.
‘Have you had enough?’ she taunted as she turned towards the gang leader, but he wasn’t there. She adopted a defensive stance and waited and listened. A dagger flew from nowhere. Using one of the bracers on her wrists she deflected it and it fell to the ground. A second dagger followed and she deflected that as well. The gang leader was there somewhere, but invisible.
Moments later both daggers appeared to rise off the ground and began circling her as if watching for a breach in her defence. Melanie crossed her wrists and whispered an arcane word. The tortoise inlays glowed brightly and a small disk the size of a dinner plate of arcane energy appeared on each wrist. Her eyes glowed a dull purple colour momentarily and she adopted a stance with one disk facing forward and the other covering her back as she slowly rotated, looking for signs of the invisible controller of the flying daggers.
Both daggers attacked simultaneously, but deflected off an invisible shield around her body. She reached down and unsheathed a throwing dagger from her boot, and holding it firmly adopted her defensive stance, slowly turning, watching and waiting. The daggers resumed their circular orbit around her but increased their velocity until they seemed just a blur, then suddenly struck like angry hornets at her head. She ducked reflexively, and they passing over her head. She heard some arcane words, her mind went blank and she fell unconscious to the ground.
The leader appeared and walked over to Melanie with a dagger in his hand as Rob rose and propped himself up against the wall.
‘If I were you, I wouldn’t touch her,’ suggested Rob.
‘Why? You haven’t got her to protect you now. What are you going to do about it?’
Rob smiled as if talking to a friend and his eyes momentarily pulsed with a dull purple.
‘She wasn’t trying to protect me. She was trying to protect you, my good friend. She was afraid I might hurt you, but I won’t because we are friends. You and your unfortunate friends attacked us by mistake! Someone gave you the wrong information.’
The leader’s expression changed from one of aggression to one of friendliness as his eyes glazed over.
‘Yes. Yes you’re quite right. We were mistaken. I’m sorry about this.’
A whistle shrilled as several members of the City Watch came running round the corner and down the street towards them.
‘I hate to tell you this. The town watch sergeant said some terrible things about your mother. I think you should you go and have a stern word with him,’ Rob suggested.
‘Did he!’ said the leader. ‘I’ll fix that bastard!’ And he dashed off towards the town watch, shouting expletives at the sergeant.
Two of Melanie’s assailants rose and hurriedly hobbled off down the street in the opposite direction from the town watch. The other three lay injured. Rob limped over to Melanie, touched her forehead and she woke instantly.
‘What happened?’ she asked immediately, noticing that Rob’s eyes were still brown.
‘He used some stunning magic on you. He’s quite friendly now and has decided to fight the town guard rather than us.’ Rob smiled.
‘Damn!’ said Melanie. ‘I was too busy watching those flying daggers. I must have let my guard down. You had to use your talent didn’t you? I’m sorry.’
‘The daggers were an illusion to keep your mind occupied while the fellow used some other magic on you. You’ll have to be careful of that in future.’
‘Let’s go,’ said Melanie, jumping to her feet and grabbing Rob by the arm.
‘Wait a moment!’ Rob cautioned, as he fumbled in his pocket for a magical stone. Moments later there was a surge of magic and they were teleported directly to the backdoor of Granddad’s shop.
‘Thanks,’ she said.’ I wasn’t looking forward to explaining to the Watch that we were the innocent victims.’
He smiled and opened his hand to reveal a transport stone. ‘You know Granddad’s motto. Always be prepared.’
‘Why didn’t you damn well use it earlier?’ she asked, a little annoyed, as she crossed her wrists, dismissing the arcane shields. ‘I wouldn’t have had to injure those idiots back there.’
‘I’m sorry. Normally I would have,’ he replied, ‘but when my legs turned to rubber and collapsed under me, it triggered such strong anger that I couldn’t think of anything other than trying to get it under control.
Then, with a smile, ‘That new style of shield work was very impressive.’
‘Thanks.’ she replied, excited that she had had a chance to show off her new skill.
‘These are the shields I trained with. They were included in the training fee. They work a little like a Levi disc. They have both repulsion and attraction fields. You can use them to repulse people or objects away from yourself, or to attract objects that have been directed at others, so that they miss.’
‘It’s a good thing I was there, Rob. Is your problem getting worse?’
‘Unfortunately it is, Mel. I’m having terrible mood swings too, and it’s taking much more time and effort to block them. Sometimes lately I’ve been falling asleep and not waking up for days. When I do finally wake up I’m tired. Can you believe that?’
‘Have you told anyone?’ she asked.
‘Granddad knows but says nothing. There’s something wrong with me but they can’t do anything Melanie.’ replied Rob.
‘I think you should talk to them about it, Rob. I felt your rage this time and it scared me.’
‘I’ll think about it. Let’s go inside - the others will be dying to see you and hear your tales.’
Rob hugged Melanie warmly, whispering his thanks once more; then faked a weak smile as he unlocked the rear of the shop, so that she could enter through the back door. It was great to have her home again. Inside they ran into his mother, Tina, who was overjoyed to see Melanie again, embracing her with an enormous hug.
‘You’ve come back to us at last,’ she cried.
‘I’ve only been away for a few weeks, Aunt Tina,’ said Melanie. ‘But it is good to be home again.’
Moments later, Granddad, a middle-aged man with silvery hair, neatly trimmed
beard, sparkling eyes and wearing an infectious smile, appeared out of nowhere with arms wide open for a warm hug. He hurriedly closed the shop, put on some water for hot drinks and disappeared again. Five minutes later he reappeared with Melanie’s grandmother and her parents, who carried large plates of cakes and pastries. After another round of hugs and kisses they all sat around asking her questions about her trip, talking, eating, drinking and laughing like old times.
For a brief moment in time, the family was together again and happy. That was, until Rob felt his anger rise again. His fingers on his left hand all melded together and then melted to form a spherical blob of flesh at the wrist. Why was this happening? Why now? What was causing it? He was growing both annoyed and concerned!
He stood in the middle of the room expecting surprise and loads of sympathy. His family could clearly see that his arm now resembled a club rather than its normal state. He expected his mother, Tina, who was a healer, to suddenly shout, exclaiming that he had some terrible disease but she didn’t.
‘Has that happened before?’ she asked calmly, and he angrily replied,
‘Yes, something similar, but not quite as bad, earlier this morning when I was in the market; and a few minutes ago my leg went all rubbery.’
‘Did anyone see?’
‘A merchant at the market and perhaps the two guards with me,’ replied Rob. ‘What’s wrong with me, mother?’
‘I think I know, but I would like to consult with some others first. Go to your room at the mansion and lie down.’
Melanie stood shocked for a few seconds then reached over and touched it. ‘It’s real, Rob. It’s not an illusion. Your hand has melted.’
‘I know Melanie, I know,’ he growled.
‘Calm down, Rob,’ said Grandad. ‘I think it’s time for a family meeting tonight after dinner at the mansion. Tina can you contact you-know-who and find out what he suggests we do? Rob, get some rest - it should turn back into your hand again. Melanie, save your questions until later.’ And he left with Grandma
Rob’s mother took his right hand and said, ‘Don’t worry Rob. I’m sure that it will be fine,’ then left.
Melanie’s mother, Flora, hugged him.’ Don’t worry Rob. Tina will look after you.’
Melanie’s father, Peter, had a close look at the blob of flesh, poked it, and muttering to himself teleported away with Melanie’s mother, leaving Rob and Melanie standing together.
‘What just happened?’ asked Melanie, incredibly surprised at the family’s response.
‘They all acted as if they knew what was wrong, but weren’t prepared to say it aloud,’ replied Rob.
‘That’s exactly what I think. They’re keeping some horrible family secret from us. I wonder what it is. I hope your hands and legs don’t all turn into turtle flippers or blobs at the same time, Robbie, you’ll have to flop around on the floor like some type of weird animal. It could be quite funny,’ she said impulsively, seeing some sort of dark humour in it.
Rob was not amused.
Meanwhile elsewhere in town High Priest Kelnor of the Temple of Spiritual and Financial Harmony sat crouched behind an ornate polished wooden desk that was trimmed with gold inlays. A skeletal scarecrow of a man, he stopped scratching at a parchment with his quill and curtly asked his assistant who was next.
‘We have Algrin, the merchant from the bazaar, Your Holiness. He claims to have valuable information on a potential plague within the city.’
‘Not another merchant trying to backstab a competitor I hope. Okay send him in.’
Algrin was brought in and the usual courtesies began.
‘As Your Holiness knows, I am one of our faith’s most obedient servants. Earlier today I witnessed what could be the beginning of a plague, or at the very least a horribly diseased member of the Merchant Wizards’ Guild wandering the bazaar in the Wall area, contaminating the people with his affliction.’
‘Really!’ said Kelnor. ‘And what evidence leads you to this conclusion? Was the person reeking with foul odours and covered in horrible sores?’
‘Not exactly, Your Holiness, he was a sickly man and had a horribly malformed arm which he hid from sight lest it worry all who saw it; and he feigned illness even to one of his friends who met him in the bazaar. Later, I had some of my friends who are members of our faith follow them, to see whether this man showed any other signs of illness. They said they saw the man fall to the ground groaning in pain, with spots on his face. When they approached to offer assistance, the friend of the ill wizard attacked them for no apparent reason, delivering them terrible blows and incapacitating them using a strange foreign form of fighting.
‘Then, for no apparent reason, one of my friends attacked and ferociously fought with the town guard that came to investigate a disturbance, while the wizard and his friend escaped.’
‘Are you suggesting that the wizard used mind magic on your friend? That is a very serious charge.’ said Kelnor looking concerned.
‘Perhaps, Your Holiness. My devout friend is not known for getting into fights, and he wasn’t drunk at the time. It would explain his bizarre behaviour.’
‘Hmm. It is a bit strange for one of our brethren to openly fight the town guard. Did this wizard wear a guild badge or display any family symbol?’
‘Yes, Your Holiness, The wizard wore a dark green flattened hat of wizard style, with a single yellow or golden stripe. I’ll draw the family symbol if you wish.’
Kelnor nodded, and the merchant sketched Rob’s family symbol.
‘My friends are in the city lockup if you wish to talk to them further.’
‘Okay, I’ll look into it, but I can’t promise that your friend who fought the town guard will get off lightly,’ replied Kelnor.
Algrin the merchant left with a smug smile, thinking that this would even up things with the thieving young wizard for stealing his amulets.
Kelnor called for his assistant to pull out the file on the owner of the family symbol drawn by Algrin. He was always interested in what the members of the Merchant Wizards’ Guild were up to; and to find that one with a possible deformity or disease who was potentially using mind magic was even more interesting. A few minutes later the assistant returned with a large book.
‘The symbol belongs to the merchant wizard Sol Theolaur. He is the Secretary of the Wizard’s Guild. He is not a member of our faith. He runs a Council licensed magic shop in the Central Circuit and has an estate in the wealthy district in the temperate zone. The wizard cap was of a base level wizard artisan, suggesting that it may have been one of his tradesmen. There are no serious infractions of the law recorded for the family, but there was a case several years ago where Sol Theolaur was believed to have used mind magic. The case was never proven, and was dismissed.’
‘I seem to recall we’ve investigated this man on several occasions before, but I can’t remember why. He is not considered a powerful wizard, yet he has considerable influence and wealth. Why is that? He is a model citizen, but very wealthy. He is hiding something, and perhaps we should look a little deeper. Get some of our agents to do a little snooping around and see if we can find out where his wealth originated. Maybe we can find a way to convince him to join our flock.’
‘As you wish, Your Holiness.’
Chapter 2 Family Secrets
The family mansion was a blatant expression of Granddad’s wealth. It was a large two-story granite building, built like a fortress and surrounded by wide lawns and gardens, with a high stone wall around the periphery. The interior had marble floors, a grand staircase, numerous rooms outfitted with expensive woodwork, rugs, tapestries and artwork. It was located among the mansions of other wealthy wizard merchants, and had a domestic staff of ten plus twelve guards, four of whom were always on duty, manning the front gate or patrolling the grounds.
As might be expected, the place was magically protected. There were gargoyles set into the corners of the building to watch for aerial intruders, and several statues scattered around the
gardens to detect those at ground level.
Inside the mansion was a magical alarm system which, when tripped, would create dense fog, hypnotic images and false illusory doorways and stairwells. There were also several newman-shaped constructs and statues, which could become animated and be directed to defend family members or attack intruders.
The family members took turns at managing the magic shop during the day, but always spent dinner and the evenings together at the mansion, where each had their own private rooms. It was an opulent life style but it all seemed lost on Rob at the moment, as he sprawled on his bed pondering his future. His hand had reformed but now one of his feet had lost its shape and he couldn’t walk. He was scared.
Rob, who was now twenty-two, had started working as an apprentice magic item maker in his grandfather’s shop when he was eight years old. They had discovered at an early age that he had a talent for grading and embedding magic into crystals, so he specialized in that area of magical art known as crystal tuning.
Rob had an extraordinarily good knowledge of both standard and mind magic theory, but unfortunately his source, the special internal reservoir of magic essence that set mind wizards apart from other magic users, was just too limited to sustain any real personal mental powers for any useful length of time. To offset this he had been apprenticed, and was now a journeyman wizard. This gave him a cover to keep his mind magic abilities hidden.
He had made quite a number of items approved by the Unity of Wisdom, but had recently turned his talents to making special magical items for more discreet customers, where the profits were much greater.
Once he had become a journeyman wizard, his grandfather wouldn’t allow him to learn any lethal magic, as he couldn’t control his anger. ‘An angry wizard is a dangerous wizard to both friend and foe,’ was Granddad’s favourite saying. ‘Defend and run Rob, that way you’ll stay alive,’ was another.
Rob spent countless hours in meditation, practicing mind control and harmony exercises. He learned strange mental defence techniques that weren’t in any textbook, and daily practiced defending against mind magic attacks on his mind from Granddad, until these skills were as automatic as breathing. Anyone trying to charm or mentally control Rob was in for a surprise.