by Aaron Thomas
“My dad sold off the entire stock, apart from what we use for breeding. You might be able to buy some from the peddler if he has a mind to sell’em but I heard him saying he could get twice as much in the next town. I’m sure he’s right too. That was a good bunch of horses. I’m not gonna have anything to do around here for a while,” Daniels speech was slurred as he spoke.
Bowie spoke before he could even finish, “There’s nothing of any worth left except farm supplies. You better just plan on picking up stuff in Basham. I’m sure that the peddlers couldn’t cart off everything in a city like that.” Bowie knew what Kilen was thinking and spoke before he could get his question out. “You can borrow what you need from me for the travel in the morning.”
Kilen seemed to come out of his self loathing about having a horse to ride, or having all the supplies he needed so he was free to explore Basham without having to collect supplies. “Chit leaving, eh? Too bad it had to happen the day before I leave. I would have enjoyed running the town with him gone.” Kilen smiled at the other two, and they nodded in agreement and smiled back.
Daniel tried to stand a little taller, “I guess that means I’ll have to hold things down until you get back. That will give me at least something to do.”
The rest of the town was now gathering in the city square. Shouts were being given by the mayor and boys had been sent off in all directions yelling that the festival was about to begin. Master Jay could be seen bringing up the schoolhouse children. Kara was there with a blue ribbon in her hair. Bowie passed Daniel off to Kilen and went to change his clothes, and Daniel updated Kilen on all that had taken place that day. Soon Bowie returned in a whole different outfit, just as shiny and expensive as the last. This one matched the red feather in his hat. They leaned Daniel up against a lantern pole, took a couple steps and looked back to see three girls pulling on his big arms to help him to his feet. He smiled and used a hand to wave them on. Seeing him well taken care of, Kilen made his way towards the front of the pavilion where a low stage had been set up.
On the stage was a table and chair, a covered plate of food and closed bottle of wine for the wizard. The wizard often ate while town’s ceremonies were conducted. The food kept them moving throughout the night and day until they could reach the ocean. Kilen told the mayor that he had wished to speak to the wizard about a blessing, and the mayor jotted it down with a handful of other requests. The mayor spoke with as much voice as he could muster, “Soon we will be visited by the Honorable Wizard of Water Twilix! Directly after that festivities will start. You can find the tavern loaded with thirteen different types of ale, six kinds of wine, and as a house special, mountain deer.” The mayor waited for applause to subside and looked in Kilen’s direction twice, holding his hands out as if he had brought the deer personally. “I would ask that everyone just wave to the wizard. Don’t overwhelm her with handshakes or questions. We have received news from the world to share, and I’m sure it will reach your ear soon enough.”
The sky darkened a little and the air seemed to thicken. Kilen wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed. As the moments passed, it became more evident that the weather was changing rapidly, but there was no wind to bring this change. The mayor looked up the road, fidgeting with his vest and tie. He moved to Chit and urged him to stand. “Gather in now closer, closer, the wizard comes to our humble town,” the mayor said.
The weather was changing too fast now. The fog appeared but didn’t roll in or blow in, it seemed to come up around the towns folk. As if the movement of their feet had caused fog to stir instead of dirt. It was so thick now that Kilen could only see the first six rows of people gathered around the stage. He could hear the sound of galloping hooves as they approached at a great speed. The sound echoed off the buildings and started a panic amongst the townsfolk. The sound of the horse seemed to be coming right at the gathered crowd in front of the stage. If the horse and rider didn’t slow down someone would get trampled. Townsfolk began to get frightened and were moving away from the sound of the approaching horse. People started pushing, and then shoving others from their way. The mayor shouted over them to be calm and to stay where they were. The Shouting was to no avail. She appeared out of the fog on a small black horse with a white patch on its forehead. The horse and rider didn’t seem to notice anyone in the way as she rode the only safe path through the crowd to the front of the stage. Kilen had realized that he was standing in front of her horse frozen again, just as he had been in front of the stag. She wore a crisp white riding cloak with waves crashing on the shore embroidered across the front. The hood was pulled deep over her face; she leaned forward on her horse to hand Kilen the reigns and whispered into the horse’s ear. “Mind my horse while I’m here, will you kind sir?” Her voice seemed to melt what fear he had and allowed his feet to move again. He took the reins and lead the horse off to the side of the stage while the tiny girl talked to the mayor. She took her seat and began eating the variety of cheeses, meats, and bread that were covering the table.
“Township of Humbridge it is my pleasure to introduce Water Wizard Twilix,” Mayor Bingham shouted so that all could hear. Kilen noticed that the fog had lifted so that he could now see the entire town square. The buildings at the edge of the square were still barely visible. It was if the fog was a dome covering the square protecting them from the outside world. He questioned himself; Is it protecting us or looming over us? He noticed he wasn’t the only one looking at the strange dome. Chit now stood in front of the wizard with fists on his hips trying to do his best to impress her. She continued to eat her meal until he was finished talking. She stood up and pulled back her hood revealing shoulder length golden hair, and raised her bright green eyes to meet Chit’s.
“Sit down boy,” she told him. Kilen knew that this was to be Chit’s big day. Oh, how that would anger him. Soon Chit backed away and she remained standing but spoke to the Mayor, “I will start with the blessings now Mr. Bingham.”
“Kilen Everheart, present your request to the wizard,” the Mayor flourished at the sound of his own voice.
“Please Mr. Bingham just have them line up to receive their blessings. I don’t have time for all the theatrics.”
“As you wish,” he directed his attention back to the town. “If you have a request for blessing, lineup here on the stage to receive yours.”
Kilen made his way up to the stage and stood just to the side of the table. He reached into his vest and pulled out the purple velvet pouch and poured the rings into his hand. He placed them on the table and asked quietly,” I wish to have my father’s earth rings restored to power.”
The wizard took them in her small hands and turned them over checking for the earth symbol on the inside of them. She stood and walked around the table to stand in front of Kilen. She was short and had a small frame to match. The more he looked the more he thought of her as a child. In fact he was sure that she was a child, only a couple years younger than he was now but still not an adult. She reminded him of his little sister still wearing a blue ribbon in her hair. “I can restore them for you, but I will charge you nothing for the service. They belong to you and I cannot ask you to pay for something that you already own.” She spoke only to him, but the people nearest the stage soon began to whisper she wasn’t charging for blessings. If they didn’t stop soon there would be the entire village lined up for blessings and maybe a riot. He had a quick thought to pay her anyways. He instead took three gold coins out of his coin purse, and handed them to her. The whispers seemed to stop, she noticed the entire village watching, waiting for her to reject the coins. She turned her focus back on the rings in her hand and for a moment he thought he saw her eyes turn blue and back to green. “Where did you get this gold sir?”
“I saved it, from hunting, and working in the town. My father gifted some of it to me so that I could start my journey in life, which I start today. I will be headed to Deuterium to study in the great libraries. I want to become a scholar.” He felt comfortable to speak
to her, and wondered if it was that way with all wizards or if it was a magic spell like the fog dome. She turned towards the village.
“Kilen,” she looked at him making sure she got the name correct “has asked me to bless the entire town using money he has saved working for you. He has hunted and worked among you, and was gifted some money by his father and now he spends it willingly for blessings on this town. So because I am feeling the spirit of his actions, I am going to bless these children closest to me on stage. The three youngest only please, mayor, please see to them brought forward. Also, I am going to provide your town with three water rocks. If you drop them in the wells at the edge of the city your town will find that they will not have to re-dig any of the wells in the town for at least two years. These rocks will provide as much water as you need for that time and the magic will begin to dissipate after that. You should all find and thank him for the selfless act performed on your behalf.” Cheers rose from the towns folk, and she took three stones from her pouch and held them in her hand. He was sure he saw her eyes turn blue once again. The rocks in her hand were already trickling water onto the stage. The mayor brought a bucket and placed the rocks inside. Kilen looked around at the cheering crowd as she began blessing the babies brought forward. She still had his rings on the chain in her pocket and held up a finger for him to wait. Kilen stood at the back of the stage and waited looking over at Chit, who now was bright red with fury. His big day was now in shambles. His glory had been reduced to that of a simple man leaving town. Never had our town been blessed with any enchantments, or not to have paid taxes ever before. In a year’s time the town would prosper and grow. The towns folk wouldn’t have to scrimp and save every copper. They could afford to fill bathing tubs as much as they wanted with water from the wells.
The blessings were finished and she came to Kilen and held the rings in her hand. “Have you ever held a magic filled item before Kilen?”
“No,” he said flatly.
“Prepare to have your emotions altered and try and walk steady off the stage. I wouldn’t want you to look a fool, now that you’re a hero to this town. Please use this strength wisely. You could work longer and harder than any other normal man now.” She dropped the rings into his hand. Kilen almost felt himself jump off the ground, a rush of strength entered his body making him feel as light as a cloud. He felt as if someone had just lifted a pile of wood off his back when he was trying to go up a flight a stairs. He was without weight. No he had weight. It was just so small in comparison to what he had before the rings. Kilen felt as if he could run leagues and not be tired. In some small way he knew that he could. She was right he thought. It would take some getting used to this new found strength. He now found it hard to move the slightest muscle without big movements. The effect was dizzying. He tried to open his vest to put the rings inside, but it looked as though he tried to rip his vest off. As he dropped the rings inside the pocket, the effect vanished and Kilen almost fell under the effects of his own normal weight. “Very good, use those wisely. I shall not like to hear you mistreating a very powerful gift.”
“Thank you, I won’t.”
She held out her hand and in her palm was a gold crown, he saw just before he shook her hand. He returned his hand and the crown to his pocket and walked off stage. The crowd was overcome with thanks and congratulations. Kilen moved to the outside of the crowd near the edge to stand with Daniel and Bowie to watch the rest of the ceremony. The crowd watched as she drank sparingly of the wine and took a bit of the food and wrapped it up to go into her pouch. “Bring me the volunteer for the king’s army.”
Chit didn’t wait for his father to announce him as he stepped up to the wizard. She took his name down on her list. “If you have any gifts you wish to send with your volunteer you may present them now.” The stable master, Daniel’s father, Dean Peter walked up to the stage with a large stallion with a saddle.
“I’ve put grain and water skins in for you as your father asked. This is his present to you.” Chit nodded at his father but didn’t say thank you. Twilix bunched her eyebrows in confusion and then wrote something on her register next to his name.
Through the crowd Kilen saw his mother pressing towards the stage. He wondered what kind of gift that she could present Chit that would be of some help in the next year. She got to the top of the stage and presented the leather bound pouch that held his father’s sword. His mind raced as he screamed inside, She can’t give him that its dad’s. He tried to calm himself and gave the excuse that maybe she replaced it with a cheaper sword off the peddler. Chit un-wrapped the leather binding to reveal the sword, turned it in his hand, and strapped it on as if it was just another toy. That was exactly what the sword looked like, a toy and oddly out of place. “Any more gifts for Chit?” Twilix yelled out. No one stepped forward to offer any gifts. No wonder with the appreciation he had given out. Twilix turned to Chit, “Well hurry along, get going.” She didn’t even let him finish mounting his new horse before shouting orders at Chit. “You go straight to your king and report to the captain of the guard for duty. Don’t stop to drink ale. don’t stop to doddle with a girl. If I catch up to you on my way back to the castle, you will report to me every day for hard labor until I’m satisfied you can follow orders better. You have a horse which is more than others. If you should find others on their way to the King, help them.” He had finished mounting his horse and arranging himself then looked up at the wizard. “GO!!” she shouted, not letting him revel in any honor. The whole town watched him run the workhorse out of town.
After he was gone Twilix wasted no time, she mounted her own horse waved to everyone. The fog came faster this time clinging to the wizard. The sound of her horse running on the towns cobble streets was the only sound they heard. Kilen could barely see his hands when he held them in front of his face. The fog lifted as quickly as it had come, and she was gone. Chit was gone too, with his father’s sword.
The mayor didn’t miss the opportunity to strike up the local musicians. The dancing started in an area set aside for a large group of people. Kilen was thanked left and right for his donation to the town. He was also questioned three more times about the deer he had surprise attacked out of a bush; No, jumped out of a tree on top of; No, lured him into a cave just to block the entrance and wrestle it. His mind was focused on getting to the dance floor where he could talk to his mother. His body moved with stiffness, still not use to its own weight, as if he had lived his entire life being lighter than a feather. He only had the ring on for a few moments but it was enough that his body seemed foreign. Kilen walked to the middle of the dance floor and turned around in circles, looking for his mother. His mood must have shown on his face, Several girls came to dance and turned around with the short look he gave them. Then he saw her, she smiled at him when she approached. “No one will dance with you with a look like that on your face, not even if you talk sweetly to them.”
“Why did you give Chit the sword? You know how I hate him. My father’s sword will be forever tainted by his hand. He will probably sell it off at the first chance.” He spat the words at her. He had never been so mad at her in his entire life. “You didn’t even give me a chance to protect it and honor it until dad could return. What if dad has need of it?” The dance area had become quiet because of Kilen’s shouting at his mother. He looked around slightly embarrassed, and the townsfolk slowly started dancing again.
She considered him quietly before speaking, “I did this for precisely that reason. The sword isn’t for you to care for. I saw the way you looked at it Kilen. You would have returned and taken it with you. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, but someday in a fit of fury you would have stolen it for your own whims. I had to do everything in my power to prevent you from becoming a soldier, which was your fathers wish, I remind you. I honor it now. Hate me for it if you wish, but it will not change my mind.” Sahara walked away with a single tear running down her face, and he stood watching as she left the festival.
He
felt bad for the way he had spoken to her, but a larger hatred burned because Chit was carrying his father’s sword. The sword was supposed to be passed to him at the proper age of becoming a man. He then remembered the rings in his pocket, the thought came to him in a flash, and then a plan formed. He could get it back, buy it or take it from Chit. Chit was no longer the strongest man in Humbridge. He pulled the rings out of his pocket, this time ready for the onset of strength. As soon as his fingers touched the metal chain, he felt the power surge through him. He tried to take a few careful steps before letting the rings fall back into his pocket. The dancing people whirled around him. Being strengthened, he felt as if he would surely hurt someone. He had to get out of the crowd before he used the power in the rings. He was stopped just at the edge of the clearing by his sister. She had prospects lined up to dance, and in the next couple years she would probably have found a betrothed from the town. Their parents obviously had pushed them to dance with her. They were all standing together looking at her, and back at their parents, hoping to be called off. “Please go dancing and have some fun. I have something I need to do,” Kilen told her.
“Wait, I want to dance with you first.” She held tightly onto my arm as she begged. He knew she would not let him go without an explanation. He hung his head, sighed, and decided to tell her the truth.
“I am going to chase down Chit and get dad’s sword back. I think it would be what dad wanted. I’m leaving for Basham tonight to catch up to him. I won’t have time to come back tomorrow. I don’t think that mother is happy with me anyway. I’ve already said goodbye to her,” he lied. “I love you, and I’ll write to you soon.” He hugged her and made his way to a peddler still manning his cart’s.
“I need a weapon please, any sword or knife you have.” He said nervously breathing hard, preparing for what the run would take out of him to catch up.