The Young Magician tlt-1

by Michael Foster

  One of Orrell’s men had dropped one end of a rope down the well with a lantern tied to its end. The rope that had originally been used with the well was gone, which meant either that someone had removed it or the well was unused.

  ‘It goes down quite a way, Captain,’ the man said, peering down. ‘I think I can see water. Shall I go down?’

  Orrell nodded and the man prepared himself by taking off some of his light armour and removing his sword. They tied the top end of the rope to a great iron pin that was sticking out of the stones. The shaft was just the right size with rough stone walls, so that the man could press his back against one side and his feet against the other. With the aid of the rope, he began down.

  ‘What do you think made Sebastian lose his mind?’ Samuel whispered to Lomar beside him. ‘A spell?’

  ‘I don’t know, Samuel. I met him once, years ago, and he was sane then, but he could have lost his mind at any time. I wouldn’t trust anything he does or says. Still, I feel we must display caution here.’

  Samuel nodded.

  Grunts of exertion echoed up the shaft as the man steadily progressed down. ‘Hold on. I can see something moving!’ he called up. ‘Wait…there’s someone below!’

  ‘Captain,’ Master Glim urged. ‘Get your man up. If there’s someone down there, it’s not someone your man wants to meet alone.’

  ‘Get him up,’ Orrell barked out and then he called down the well. ‘Hold on tight. We’re pulling you up.’

  They began heaving on the rope.

  ‘He’s coming up after me, Captain!’ the man in the shaft echoed up. His voice was carrying some hint of alarm. Samuel looked to Lomar and Master Glim and they both look uneasy. ‘Captain, he’s…get me up! Get me out of here!’ The man in the well was now screaming frantically. ‘Hurry! Hurry up! It’s coming after me!’

  The men were all pulling and heaving as best as they could, while Captain Orrell peered down the well with concern etched on his face and one hand on the hilt of his sword. The frantic man could be heard climbing just below the top and Orrell’s hands went down to help him out. A pair of grubby hands came up and gripped the top of the well, followed by a terrified face as Orrell pulled his man out by the back of his shirt. The soldier toppled over the edge and sprawled on the ground, rolling away from the well and leaping to his feet with wild eyes.

  ‘It’s not a man!’ the soldier gasped between frantic breaths.

  Captain Orrell took a look down the well and quickly stepped back. ‘Get back!’ he ordered and everyone nervously took a backwards step, Samuel included. Swords hissed out of their sheaths. Samuel and the magicians moved further back as something came up from the well.

  A large, round, bald head, pale and swollen and devoid of ears, poked up from the shaft and eyed them with enormous, black, saucer eyes. It looked at them and it grinned as its oversized, tooth-laden mouth came into view. It was not human, and it was not animal. It was something else.

  Behind them all, Sebastian was thrashing on the ground, his bonds tearing at his skin with his wild eyes fixed on the rising thing.

  ‘What, by the nine gods of old, is that?’ Keller asked. He was on the opposite side of the well to Samuel, and his face had suddenly drained white.

  ‘Bowmen, ready!’ Orrell called and five of his men stepped to the front, putting arrows to their bows and drawing their strings tight.

  The creature continued up out of the well, carried by a set of long bony arms and equally disproportional legs. Its skin was a pasty white with long blue veins pulsing underneath, stretched tight over its bulbous, swollen sack of a stomach.

  ‘What is it?’ Samuel hissed.

  ‘Ti’luk,’ Lomar responded, his eyes never leaving the creature. Hungry.

  The men all stepped back further as the thing clambered over the well and regarded them eagerly with its glinting, saucer eyes.

  ‘Master Glim!’ Captain Orrell called across. ‘What is that thing?’

  ‘I don’t know, Captain,’ came the answer. ‘But I recommend you kill it quickly.’

  He had no sooner spoken than the creature snapped out an arm at blinding speed and grabbed Master Keller around the waist. Its reach was deceivingly far. He had no time to even scream as it pulled him in and bit into his shoulder. The limb snapped off in the creature’s mouth and it proceeded to finish it with a quick gulp. It was then that Keller began screaming, locked within its grip.

  ‘Loose!’ cried Captain Orrell and the creature was an immediate pincushion of arrows as the bowmen released their missiles into it. Their empty bows hummed in their hands and the bowmen stepped back.

  Keller was skilfully avoided, but blood continued to gush from his ruined shoulder, spraying over the creature’s pallid skin. ‘Help me! By the gods help me!’ he screamed.

  The creature ignored the shafts that hung from its body and took another bite from Keller, this time putting his howling head into its gaping mouth and snapping it off with a single chomp. Keller’s thrashing body fell limp.

  Samuel could not believe his eyes. This hideous creature seemed born of his worst nightmares. How could such a thing exist? Not even in the spirit world of his dreams had he seen such a monstrosity. There, everything had been wispy and made of smoke, however horrible. This was all too real.

  ‘Kill it!’ Orrell ordered and a dozen men stepped in with their swords raised. The creature sprang up, dropping Keller’s lifeless body down the well as it leapt. It jumped clear over the swordsmen and landed amongst the astonished bowmen. Some found the sense to dive aside, but the creature grabbed a man in each arm and swung them both high into the air above its head and then back down into the ground with a spine-chilling snap of bones, its mouth wide open all the while with its horrid teeth laid bare.

  One of Orrell’s men darted in to hack at it with his sword but its head rolled around, spying him. Just as quickly, one of its legs flashed out and grabbed him with its finger-like toes. It pulled him in and threw its face down upon him, burying the man impossibly in its mouth. It then raised its head again and, with a rattling gulp and a shake of its belly, Orrell’s man was gone. There was no hint as to the soldier’s existence, except his sword lying on the bare earth.

  The man who had been down the well had found his feet and he ran for the gates, past other guards from outside, who were running in because of all the noise. Attracted by the attention, the creature dropped the two broken bodies and in three strides it was away from the group and had the fleeing man in its hand. It took only a snap of its neck and he was gone, vanished into its mouth as a chicken pecks up grain.

  ‘Cast your spells!’ Lomar said beside him, slapping Samuel on the arm as if to wake him, while Orrell and his men chased after the thing. They were slicing and hacking at it with their swords from all sides, but the creature avoided their strikes with lightning speed, retaliating with its arms, picking up the men one by one. Bodies flew against the keep walls with a terrible crunch of bones, or were picked up and shaken violently, breaking their backs and necks and ribs. The corpses were then thrown back at Orrell and his remaining men so that they had to avoid their own shattered comrades. When their swords did manage to meet the creature’s flesh, the blades bounced off as if striking the hardest of leathers.

  ‘Nothing works!’ Master Glim cried out. ‘I cannot harm it!’

  Spells were flying from all the mages, but the creature was similarly unaffected. Samuel shook away the fear and made his own, trying to bind the creature’s limbs. The spell had formed true, yet the demon thing continued to dash the men to pieces around it. It should have been held stiff by his spell. He should easily be able to seize a creature of its size, but his weaves slid through it as if it did not exist.

  ‘Get back!’ the mage, Tailor, cried. He had levitated the wooden stable roof over and with a final effort, sent it crashing upon the beast. Some of the men, Orrell included, caught the motion in the corner of their eyes and dived aside. Others were showered with the splinters and de
bris as the roof slammed into the creature and cracked in half.

  They scuttled back as the monster slowly pushed the roof aside and clambered unsteadily back onto its spindly legs. Bodies littered the ground all around and it surveyed the scene around itself calmly. Its face was devoid of emotion, yet it seemed to be searching for the source of its discomfort with its great unblinking eyes. It spied Tailor and a low, rumbling noise emanated from deep within its belly.

  Tailor sensed his peril with wide eyes and turned to run, but the creature bound past Orrell’s men as they hacked at it, and it had him by the leg.

  Samuel could see spells pummelling the creature from the Erics and Lomar and Master Glim, but the thing was undaunted as it tore the robes from Tailor’s body before dropping him into its gaping mouth to disappear into the depths of its stomach. It was barely twice the height of a man, and the impossibilities of its acts were perplexing. There was not enough space in its whole body to fit the men it had already swallowed, yet somehow, it had-and only wanted more.

  Captain Orrell and the remainder of his men had gathered together. Samuel and the magicians stood in a similar cluster, discussing the situation. The creature looked between them, twisting its pale limbs around itself and rubbing its belly as if in anticipation of its imminent meals. It reminded Samuel of a huge, hideous old man with demonic distorted features.

  ‘I think we now know what happened to the people here,’ Eric mentioned.

  Spying the still-bound, still-gagged body of Sebastian, the creature started leisurely towards him. In all the commotion, Sebastian had managed to wriggle some distance away and now, seeing the creature closing on him, he began wriggling frantically.

  ‘I’ve tried everything,’ Goodfellow said. ‘It seems impervious to sword and spell.’

  ‘But not physical blows,’ Master Glim noted. ‘That rooftop knocked it down for a moment. We need something similar…something larger,’ and he eyed the walls around him.

  ‘Let me try something first,’ Samuel said. He was not enraged as in the past, but he put his mind to summoning as much power as he could handle-he could feel the magic rushing into him, both terrible and sweet. The others stood back, sensing his summoning, but not knowing what to expect.

  Pushing a terrible torrent of energy between his hands, Samuel willed all the magic he could muster through his trembling body. The others took a further step back as his spell began to hiss and spit in his hands. Sparks arced between his fingers, snapping and flashing from finger to finger with azure brilliance. All at once, Samuel felt he was on the verge of losing control, his muscles trembled to contain the growing spell between his palms, and so he released it with a shout of exertion, throwing his hands out towards the creature at the very last instant. The spell flew like an unholy comet, warping the air with its vigour and heat and trailing tendrils of lightning behind it. It struck the creature as it was dangling Sebastian above its gaping maw. There was a flash and a boom and Samuel fell, his legs buckling, as the earth rocked back and forth. The others also stumbled around him as they struggled to remain afoot.

  A cloud of dust fell all around them. A building across the courtyard was half demolished, lying in ruins across the ground with one of the creature’s long legs jutting out from underneath. Sebastian’s lifeless body was hanging from the second floor, charred and blackened.

  ‘What was that?’ Goodfellow asked in disbelief, dusting himself off.

  ‘Just something I’ve been thinking about,’ Samuel replied groggily. His head already felt giddy and his muscles weak from the toll the spell had taken on him. He had used too much power and his debt had been accrued.

  The creature stirred beneath the ruins and began dragging itself from the rubble, groaning loudly from its belly.

  ‘Can you manage another one?’ Lomar asked.

  Samuel shook his head and almost fell over. Master Glim held onto him with both arms.

  ‘Then I think we’re in trouble,’ Goodfellow stated as the thing stood and took an unsteady step.

  It suddenly bound hissing towards them on its long legs and Master Glim threw Samuel aside as it landed amongst them. Samuel found his senses and rolled back to his feet, feeling something slap at his legs. He was thrown onto his face once more, sending pain through his neck as it bent at a right angle. With blurred vision, he could see the monster standing over him. Then, the shadow of something large flashed overhead and the creature disappeared with it. A great boom followed and echoed from all around.

  ‘Get him out of here,’ someone called as the ground still shook.

  Something gripped Samuel’s hand and began dragging him across the hard earth.

  ‘Get up!’ Goodfellow cried to him. He stopped pulling long enough for Samuel to find his feet and they both staggered into the building where Sebastian had hidden before. Goodfellow pushed him up the stairs and they went up into the attic to hide.

  Samuel’s heart was racing in his chest as they sat in the near darkness. Shouts could still be heard from outside. ‘What is that thing?’ he said after a few moments.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Goodfellow returned. His spectacles were missing from his face. ‘I just hope they can stop it. It took your spell and then Lomar threw a piece of that building into it and it still kept going.’

  ‘They must have summoned it from some hell,’ Samuel said.

  ‘I don’t believe in any kind of hell,’ Goodfellow stated plainly. ‘There’s no such place.’

  ‘Until now, I didn’t believe in devils, but there’s one just outside-or something like it.’

  ‘What are we going to do, Samuel? We can’t wait here until it decides to come for us.’

  ‘I know. Let’s help the others kill it.’

  ‘Are you well enough?’

  ‘I have to be,’ Samuel replied. ‘At least now I’m starting to see straight.’

  ‘I can’t,’ Goodfellow replied, waving his hand before his squinting vision. ‘Actually, I can still see as long as it doesn’t get too close, but then, I don’t want to see it if it comes that close.’

  ‘I’ve got an idea!’ Samuel suddenly said. He leapt to his feet and began down the ladder. ‘Follow me!’

  Treading carefully downstairs, Samuel was relieved to find that Master Glim and Lomar were waiting there, peering out the door and into the courtyard.

  ‘What’s it doing?’ Samuel asked and Master Glim nearly leapt out of his skin in fright.

  ‘Don’t do that, Samuel!’ the old teacher hissed, shaking his head. ‘You scared me half to death! It’s dropping the bodies down the well.’

  ‘A meal for later,’ Lomar added.

  ‘Where are the others?’ Goodfellow asked.

  ‘They’re trapped in another building,’ Master Glim replied. ‘I think that Eric is there, with Orrell and the last of his men.’

  ‘I have an idea,’ Samuel said.

  ‘What is it?’ Lomar asked, not taking his eyes off the door, lest the creature should come leaping through it.

  ‘Our spells don’t seem to affect that thing, but it’s still made of flesh and blood-of sorts. We know that by hitting it with something heavy enough, we can stun it, so if we can drop something even bigger on it, we may be able to kill it.’

  ‘That’s a logical assumption,’ Goodfellow stated. ‘But how can we get it to stand still while we push the walls in on it? It’s as quick as a fox.’

  ‘We need bait. I’ll go out and attract its attention while you all get everything you can and drop on it.’

  ‘And what about you, Samuel?’ Master Glim asked. ‘How will you stop it from tearing you apart and how will you not be crushed?’

  ‘I’ll form a spell shield. Everyone who’s been grabbed has been too terrified to protect themselves. If I make a strong enough shield, I can keep it at bay for long enough and the same shield will protect me from being crushed, as long as you dig me out as fast as you can afterwards. I should be safe.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous, Samuel,’ Ma
ster Glim said.

  ‘What else are we going to do? We can leap from the walls, but I’d bet that thing would catch us before we hit the ground. If we stay here, it will eventually come and find us when it’s hungry.’

  ‘True,’ Master Glim concurred. ‘Lomar, what do you think?’

  ‘It sounds difficult, but if we could get that thing to stay still long enough, I believe we can kill it. Samuel’s plan sounds fair.’

  Samuel nodded back at Lomar in agreement. ‘Very well. Are you ready?’ The others nodded. Master Glim did not look pleased and Samuel did not think he had ever seen Goodfellow looking so doubtful. ‘Just don’t forget to tell Eric. We’ll need everyone to crush that thing and then get me out from underneath as quickly as you can.’

  Samuel walked into the square. The creature was there, slowly dragging a couple of Orrell’s men towards the well without any hint of the vigour it had shown when killing them-there were few other bodies left. Samuel spied Orrell, peeking down from inside the half-demolished building. Samuel waved to him and Orrell returned a questioning glance.

  As the creature’s head appeared back atop the well, it saw Samuel approaching and a groan echoed up from its ever-hungry belly. It proceeded to clamber out, never taking its wide eyes off him. Behind him, Samuel could sense the others moving into position. Hopefully, Goodfellow had gone in to tell Eric what to do.

  ‘Hello, monster,’ Samuel said as calmly as he could manage. The creature squatted upon its perch on the well and watched him approach. Samuel could feel his friends beginning to spell. He could see the walls and roofs around beginning to tremble and loosen. Loud cracks and bangs sounded as their spells began to do their work. He hoped they made a good job of it. He did not want to die for nothing.

  He prepared his own spells, forming a firm barrier in the air before him, filling the spell with sand and grit, so it was not formed of mere magic alone. The creature took one tentative step down towards him, fixing him with its shiny gaze. There was a loud crack behind and Samuel winced. He turned and saw a portion of wall dislodge itself from the kitchen building and begin to rise into the air, but when he turned back, the monster was looming above him expectantly with its hundred-toothed grin.