The Return

by Campbell, Sean M.

Taina stuck her tongue out at me and there was a chorus of “Don’t stick it out unless you intend to use it” from several of us. Everyone dissolved into giggles.

  I got up and started heading for the door. “I think we need some breakfast, and I need an outhouse visit.”

  Beth called out from behind me, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  I looked back at her “What?”

  “Pants.”

  I looked down and sheepishly headed over to my clothing. The girls all laughed as they started to get up and get dressed.

  Chapter Four

  I found myself walking through the streets of this city. This town was a busy place. I watched the pickpockets and thieves steal from the merchants. The merchants robbed the customers. The customers used every trick of graft and greed to take money from the thieves. What a vicious cycle of life it was here. I was headed to a particular place. I hoped it still stood after six thousand years. If it did, it would not be standing by the end of the day. I had left all of the girls at the inn. I had told them I was off to buy some supplies.

  As I turned the corner and saw the sprawling complex of the Mage's college, my eyes lit up with my planned mischief. I felt Likka brush up against me as she sat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Her words stung.

  I walked towards the front gate of the school. The guards looked at me with bored expressions and just let me by. I continued to the great arched front door and walked into the entry hall of the kings. I continued on through the hall and into the main corridor. Still, no one challenged me.

  I enter the huge door at the end of the hall to find the main auditorium. I moved down the steps to the stage below. Finally, as I walked up the stairs to the stage, one of the guards challenged me. “Only authorized professors and faculty are allowed to use the stage.”

  “I authorize myself. Now why don’t you toddle off and find a nice trash can to guard. Before you find out just how underpaid you are.”

  As he tried to draw his sword I flipped my hand, he jumped from the floor to the ceiling where he stood upside down looking down at me. “Don’t go outside now, it’s a long way up.” I chuckled as I walked onto the stage. The other guards were rushing towards me. I drew my bow and put and arrow through the shirt collar of the lead man pinning him to the pillar he was passing.

  I tapped the end of my bow on the stage and a peel of thunder rang out. I tapped and again there was a peal of thunder. With each tap, the peal would echo throughout the compound. Soon Mages started coming into the room -- from apprentice, through journeyman, to master they all came -- to find out what the commotion was.

  “Please come in and have a seat.” I said in a calm voice.

  The headmaster of the school came rushing in at that point. “How dare you disturb the studies at this imperial established school?”

  “First of all, this school is so much older than the empire. So old in fact, that the Mages that sit the throne were once students here. Second, I dare, because I am here to give you all a chance. My companion believes there might be some people here that are good people. Third, I dare, because I am Rhys David Cain. Now sit down!”

  “Arrest that man and execute him for daring to use the forbidden name!”

  “I see it is the hard way.” I muttered with resignation. The guards drew their swords and begin to advance. They almost managed a second step towards me before a flurry of my flechettes flew out at them. None of them would use their hands for a while.

  The Mage in front of me began to speak in a guttural language. I could feel him bringing his magic to focus on me. I waited tapping my foot. When the final word of his spell fell from his lips he made a throwing motion with his right. A ball of Mage Fire arced from him to me. I reached out my hand and caught it, as softly as one would catch a baby.

  “The amazing thing about Mage Fire is, if it is not contained it will consume even the caster. Oddly enough, that makes it rather safe to handle if you are gentle enough not to break the containment sphere.” I tossed the ball of contained fire up and caught it again. “It is kind of like playing catch with a soap bubble. Why don’t you try?” I tossed the sphere back to the Mage that had thrown it towards me. He moved out of the way letting it fall towards the students in the audience. A foot above their fear struck faces, the sphere stopped moving and just sat there.

  The Mage began to speak again in the language of magic. I placed my finger to my lips and made a shushing sound as I released my magic just a bit. The Mage stopped talking mid spell. His lips were still moving but no sound issued forth. “The problem with Magicians is you must be able to speak to cast.” I continued as the sphere began to float back towards me. “A Wizard must have a focus like a staff or a wand.”

  I reached out my hand and the sphere of mage fire came to rest gently on my hand. I looked at the sphere and it burst and flames began to dance in the palm of my hand. “While I can do both the magic of the Mages, and the Wizards, I also can do a magic no one else has ever been able to do until I. I can simple think my spell and it works.

  As the audience watched the fire in my hand formed into a dancing fairy about five inches tall, still made of, and clothed in flame. I spoke to the fairy in my hand. “Why don’t you go find your creator, and give him a kiss?” She flew off my hand and towards the mage that had accosted me. He performed the better part of valor and fled the creature, retreating to the back of the room.

  “While she tries to steal a kiss from daddy, I will get to the point that brought me here. Just because you can do magic does not make you better than anyone else, it does however make you more responsible. It is time for that responsibility to come home, to most of you.”

  “The empire was founded by a group of Mages that killed the former rulers. They took dominion because they felt that power gave them the right to do that. Power does not give you the right to use it. It gives you the responsibility to use it.” The Mage ran behind me with the little fairy flying in hot pursuit. I held my hand out for the fairy and it came to me and landed lightly on my hand. “It seems your daddy does not love you enough to kiss you.” She fell to her knees in my hand and began to cry little flaming tears.

  I looked at the mage, panting in the corner. “Do you wish to be able to speak again?” He nodded in a near panic. “Then come over to me. As long as you act nice, I will not hurt you.” He walked over to me slowly. As he approached I raised my hand and showed him the little fairy. “This is a creation of your magic, it is your responsibility. If you ever cage her she will die within hours.” He felt a wrenching sensation, and he gasped as his voice returned.

  “Your magic is now tied to her, if she ever dies so does your magic. You must protect her and nurture her. She will become more than you could ever imagine in time.” As he looked at me in wonder the little fairy sniffled and wiped her face with a hand. I took his hand and held it palm upward level with mine. “Will you let your daddy take care of you?” The fairy nodded and smiled at him, I could see his look of wonder. She suddenly jumped into the palm of his hand and he stiffened about to panic. I would
not let him move his hand.

  She landed feather light on his hand and ran up his arm to his shoulder. Once there she put her hand on his ear and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. She then sat down on his shoulder, and began to sing a soft little song of freedom and joy. The mage looked at me in wonder as she sang.

  “I have come back to end the tyranny of the power mad. Stay out of my way, learn to use your power for the betterment of life around you, and you will be counted among my friends. Stand with the Mages that have taken power and become my enemy.”

  As I turned to walk off of the stage a young man came up to me. “Sir, are you really Rhys?”

  “I am.”

  “My grandmother used to tell me the legends of your fight with the Mage Kings, but said you just disappeared one night. I feel I must warn you there are mages here that follow the ways of the mage kings.”

  “I am counting on it. If they come looking for me, I don’t have to hunt them down.”

  “You invite the mage kings to come after you?”

  “I would invite them to all come to me at the same time so this can be ended for good or ill as quickly as possible. Would you be so kind as to pass the word that I am staying at The Golden Dragon Inn? That will save some time if any want to try on their own.”

  He looked at me wide eyed as I turned to Likka. Likka’s tongue lolled out as she stood and headed for the doorway.

  As I followed, one of the school guards stepped in front of me. “M’Lord, may I speak?”

  “I am not a lord, I am, Rhys.”

  “Rhys, we are not imperial guardsmen. We work for the school, but there are imperial guardsmen in the city. When they hear of this, they are going to come after you in force. Your magic was impressive, but there are over a thousand men stationed here.”

  I look down at his hand still bleeding from the wound I had given him. I reached down and took his hand, as he watched. I released a small burst of magic and healed the wound. “Good, then I outnumber them.”

  As we finally managed to walk out into the sunshine, Likka spoke to me in my head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I said to her in a deadpan tone. The look I got was worth the bite on my leg.

  The afternoon was spent moving through the vendors, and making myself rather obvious in the crowd. I needed to draw attention to myself. If my plan was to work, I had to create a lot of noise here, and make sure everyone knew I was riding south out of town when I left.

  After the third or fourth merchant was told about my plans to ride south, and gather up an army of the men from the jungle region, Likka spoke to me again in my head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I continued to shop in the marketplace for several hours. I Picked up odds and ends to make traveling easier, as well as several gifts for each of the ladies. It was almost time to head back to the inn when they finally showed up. A small group of twenty red armored Imperial Guardsmen stepped around a corner ahead of us. “Finally, I thought I was going to have to extend our stay before they got off their asses.” I told Likka, making her chuckle in my head.

  I turned to the doorway beside me, and started talking with the young girl there, trying to get customers to come into her coffee shop. “Could you do me a favor, dear lady?”

  “I can try, M’Lord.”

  I just shook my head. “Could you take your son inside with you, and get me a mug of your wonderful smelling coffee.”

  She looked over my shoulder and her face paled “Certainly, M’Lord.”

  “Rhys David Cain, you are hereby under arrest to be held for trial and execution...” A commanding voice said from behind me. I ignored him as I waited for my coffee. “Rhys David Cain, I order you to turn around and face me.”

  “If you want to order, you will have to wait for her to come back from getting my coffee, I don’t work here.” I said absently over my shoulder.

  I could feel the guardsman tensing up as I goaded him. When He grabbed my shoulder I grabbed his hand with my left hand and twisted up and back. I felt the bones in his wrist snap as I twisted. He screamed in pain as the bones of his wrist pushed through the skin and ripped his wrist wide open. I let go of his hand as he fell to his knees. I stood with my back to him and the other guardsmen, as I continued to wait for my coffee.

  When they got over their shock, they drew their long swords. I felt the first one advance, and swing a side strike towards my head, meaning to behead me in one blow. I dropped low and kicked back with my right leg. My foot connected with something hard and amazingly squishy at the same time. I heard the man grunt, then wheeze in pain as he dropped his sword. He grabbed for the items I had just crushed with the cod piece of his armor. I still had not faced the guardsmen.

  When the next man came at me with sword raised high, I finally spun to face them. In the process of facing them I had stepped back right onto the hand of the guard leader, and ground his hand into the cobbled roadway. I then stepped on his shoulder, as he screamed, and launched myself into a high kick. I heard the back of the third guard's head hit the back of his armor, as his neck cracked and his spine separated. I had started the dance.

  By the time the rest of the guardsmen came at me I had both long swords drawn. The first slashing attack was a backhand swing, past the lead man, and across the face of the next. I spun and kicked as the lead man came; completely moving past him and killing the two men behind him. As I brought my swords in a sweeping arc downward on the next man, I kicked back hitting the lead man in the back of the head. I stood up, driving my blades forward and out, running two more men through. Less than twenty seconds later all the men lay dead or dying on the ground, except for the one I had kicked in the head. He was groggily trying to rise to his feet. “Sit down, till your head quits spinning.” I watched him until I was sure he could comprehend what I was saying. “I want you to go back to the garrison, I want you to tell them that Rhys told them all to lay down their swords, and never touch a weapon again. Tell them they are cowards that do not deserve to be guardsmen at a midden. If they want to prove me wrong, I will be leaving the city by the south road at dawn, on the fourth day from now.”

  As I sto
od, the girl stuck her head back out the door and looked at me. “Is it safe to come out?”

  “That depends, did you remember my coffee. I get really grumpy, if I have not had my coffee.”

  “I will be right back with it, M’Lord.”

  A minute later she came out with a steaming wooden mug of coffee. I slipped a gold coin in her hand, and walked off humming the tune to a 70s rock song I am very fond of.

  A few hours later found me back at the inn, eating a large dinner with the ladies. The cook at this inn was top notch and made a meal of roasted lamb, with rice and turnips, that was just out of this world. Add a couple of bottles of wine, and we were all in a really mellow mood when the man in the red leather armor stepped into the inn. He walked up to our table and stood about eight feet away, I had to chuckle to myself. “May I help you Sergeant?”

  “My commander asked me to come to you, and issue his challenge of honor.”

  “A Man that does not have time to issue his own challenges should not be allowed to make them, nor claim any honor. What is your commander’s name?”

  “Armsmaster Avery Dane sir.”

  I stiffen at the mention of his name, my blood running cold. “When and where?”

  “The barracks parade grounds, at ten in the morning.”

  “Weapons?”

  “Freestyle.”

  “Stakes?”

  “He said he would discuss that with you in the morning.”

  “I will be there.”

  The guard bowed lightly and walked out into the night air. As he left the ladies around the table started talking all at once. “You’re not going to face him are you?” “Surely he wouldn’t do it.” “Rhys he is dangerous to you and your goal.”

  “This is something I have to do, it has been a long time in the coming, and I have to remove him from the upcoming battle. I just hope he does not want to go to the death.”

  Likka looked up at me from the floor.