Merlin's Travels (An Untimely Error Book 2)

by Tom Larcombe

  “I can't convince you and I will not try. I've stated my name, if you will not believe me, it's upon you, not me.”

  “The Stone Seeker will perform a simple divination for me, then I shall ask you a single question. Your answer will be all I need for verification.”

  “So be it. I can understand caution in time of war, but...”

  “With a story like yours, I will verify it before I trust it. Seeker, if you would perform the Balance please?”

  The Stone Seeker pulled a variety of materials from a pouch. What he assembled from them was a simple balance scale. When he placed two items on it, one on either end, the balance shifted and he looked at Zuchter.

  Zuchter nodded.

  “Are you Merlin, the wizard who was born centuries ago and about whom tales are sometimes told? Answer with a simple yes or no.”

  “Yes,” Merlin said.

  With no-one touching the balance scale it slowly shifted until it was perfectly balanced.

  “Well then,” Zuchter said, “It seems I must apologize for my disbelief. Is there perhaps a small service I can do for you to make up for my previous conduct?”

  “Apology accepted. Aside from offering shelter to us and the refugees there is but one other service I can think to ask of you currently,” Merlin said.

  “Go ahead and ask.”

  “Would it be considered a small service to send a message to Verruckt and ask him if he would join me here? I've a story he requested and may have use of his particular talents.”

  “Consider it done. Now, if you like, I will show you, your wife, and companions to your accommodations.”

  Merlin marveled as he was shown the area under the hill. A mock village occupied the center of it, complete with truck gardens for each house. A cunning set of reflectors brought the sunlight in all day long and several holes in the top of the hill allowed the light to directly strike the plants in the gardens.

  Merlin stared at the houses, enough to qualify as a large village or even a small town.

  “Isn't there a problem with smoke?” he asked, looking at the chimneys.

  “No, those chimneys are all fakes. We've run ducting to all the fires and suck the smoke out. We disperse it into a nearby pond so it never shows in the air,” Zuchter said.

  “Ingenious,” Merlin replied.

  “Thank you. That part was my idea. The village itself was actually conceived of by Verruckt and two companions. That is how his story became well known, he and his two Gypsy companions came to warn the Dverger that it was time to flee the country.”

  “You mean Djordji and Pitti?” Merlin asked.

  Zuchter sounded offended.

  “I believe those were their names, but you've interrupted my tale,” he said.

  “My apologies, continue please.”

  “Many did flee, going into the deeper tunnels, while others stayed to aid in the resistance. His Gypsy companions saw our living areas under the hills, and between them and Verruckt, they planned a conversion so we could use them to help those fleeing the country. It also provides a residence for those aiding the ones who flee the country. They set to work with the first of the refugees we took in and this is the result. Smoke was a problem for a while, as you noted, but I solved that difficulty.”

  Merlin waited to be sure Zuchter was finished.

  “It's well done, both the original idea and your solution to avoid detection.”

  “The Dverger are renowned for their skills in engineering. I am proud to call myself an Engineer and that idea was what gained me the title.”

  “My congratulations then,” Merlin said.

  “Here is where you shall stay while you are with us. I do not know where Verruckt is currently so it may take him several days to arrive.”

  “That's fine, I don't know about my companions, but I could use a day or two of rest,” Merlin replied.

  Nimue and Gunter nodded. Anselm was distracted, looking around the village until he spotted a certain gypsy girl.

  “I'm sure Anselm won't mind either,” Nimue added with a grin.

  “What? Did I miss something?” Anselm asked.

  The others in the group laughed. Anselm had the good grace to look abashed when he realized he was ignoring his companions and had missed a question directed at him.

  “You'll have a few days to chase your friend there Anselm,” Nimue said.

  “Her name is Vadoma, she says she has the ability of Foresight and saw us coming to rescue them. That's why they were so calm when they were freed. They knew it was coming,” Anselm said.

  “She's prescient?” Merlin asked.

  “So she says, and the others treat her as though she's different. I don't care either way though, she's beautiful and quick-witted, that's enough for me.”

  “Be cautious about falling too quickly Anselm,” Nimue said. “You can't know how she feels.”

  Anselm shook his head and wandered away, looking for Vadoma. Zuchter also took his leave, promising to send word to Verruckt.

  “On the other hand, if she's really prescient and encouraging him, she might know something we don't,” Merlin said.

  “Don't start, Merlin,” Nimue said. “A pretty face is all he's seeing so far.”

  “He said she was quick-witted as well. Magical, quick-witted, pretty... I believe that Anselm thinks he's found the Nimue to his Merlin.”

  Nimue blushed, she opened her mouth to speak then snapped it shut again. After a moment's pause she tried a second time.

  “What am I supposed to do with you? You're just going to encourage him, aren't you?” she asked.

  “I don't think anything I say or do will discourage him, do you?”

  “Probably not. But he's so young,” Nimue said.

  Merlin burst into laughter. He tried to speak but was laughing too hard. When he finally regained his breath Nimue was glaring at him.

  “Sorry, sorry... Nimue, compared to us these Dverger, who appear to be a long-lived race, are babes in a cradle. Plus, how young were you when you first approached me?”

  Once again Nimue was caught speechless. It took her several moments to successfully reply.

  “See, this is exactly why I need you here, to ground me. No-one would speak to me like that for a very long time before you returned. We'll wait and see. Perhaps, like us, their attraction is true despite their youth.”

  Merlin chuckled inwardly.

  Like us, she says. You were young when our attraction formed Nimue. I was already six hundred years old, he thought.

  Merlin decided not to share those particular thoughts. Nimue seemed to be in a touchy mood for some reason and he didn't want to aggravate her more.

  * * *

  Zuchter sent a message that evening saying that Verruckt would arrive in two days. Merlin and his group spent the time with the refugees living in the underground village. They heard even more horror stories of the atrocities taking place in Germany.

  It seems that the destruction of the crystal and their occult research facility has not impeded their use of death magic much at all, Merlin thought.

  On the morning of the second day, after Merlin was recovered from the lingering affects of overexerting himself, Gunter approached him.

  “Merlin, I have a favor to ask of you,” he said.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “You said that the SS patrol was protected by shields from the crystals they wore, yes?”

  “They had shields against magic worked into the crystals, yes.”

  Gunter shifted his weight from foot to foot.

  “I was wondering if it was possible to put the other type of shield into one of those. The one against physical objects. I know you were shielding me during the storm. I saw debris that should have swept me off my feet bounce off of something and miss me.”

  Merlin looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “I should be able to do that. I'll have to figure a way for you to be able to trigger it, like we did with the flashlights for the
sun crystals or the cloaking shield with the coin. A physical shield uses far more energy so if we tried to just leave it up, it wouldn't last very long.”

  “I was thinking that with something like that, you wouldn't have to expend your energy on me during a crisis. I could use that shield instead. It would free you up to do more and that would be good.”

  “It's a good idea Gunter. I can certainly do it, but I'll need to give some thought as to how to trigger it. For example, I don't think you'd want to have to hold onto it like the coin if you're going to use it during a crisis.”

  “Good, if I'm supposed to be guarding you, but you need to use your energy to protect me, that makes both our jobs more difficult. I hope that this will be a solution to that.”

  “I'm sure our hosts have access to crystals. I'll see if Verruckt can get me a few to experiment with once he arrives.”

  Verruckt arrived that evening. He was alone when he knocked on the door of the cottage Merlin was staying in. The short, broad man on the doorstep had Verruckt's features, despite being much shorter and broader than Merlin remembered.

  I'm glad I saw his true form when he disrupted that spell during our escape, Merlin thought, otherwise I might not believe it was him despite the similarity in features.

  “Merlin, it's good to see you again. Long have I anticipated the story you promised me,” Verruckt said.

  “Verruckt, I will gladly share my story with you. It's possible, if you're willing, that you could get another story firsthand as well,” Merlin replied.

  Merlin invited Verruckt in.

  “You know Gunter and Anselm. This lovely lady here is my wife, Nimue.”

  “Congratulations Merlin! She's a fine looking woman.”

  Nimue glared at Verruckt.

  “What would you have me say Nimue? That if the old stories are true, you have a wit to match your beauty? That Merlin has found an appropriate wizardly match?” Verruckt asked.

  “The congratulations would have sufficed,” Nimue said. “I've heard of you. It's good to meet you and put a face to the stories.”

  Verruckt beamed at the mention of being part of Merlin's story.

  “So, I've been promised a tale should this meeting take place. Shall we break out some tidbits and hear it?” he asked.

  “Surely,” Merlin said, “I'll bring us some food and water then begin the story.”

  “Water?”

  “It's the only thing we have to drink here.”

  Verruckt winced but when he spoke, his eyes gleamed.

  “I'll take care of that. Zuchter, that old tightwad, has a well-stocked ale room. Give me a few minutes and I'll return with a small cask. You get the food and mugs, I'll take care of the drink.”

  As Verruckt listened to Merlin's tale, he was utterly still, his eyes holding to Merlin's face. The story took most of the night and the small cask of ale Verruckt appropriated was nearly finished when the tale ended. Merlin stood as he finished telling Verruckt of the storm he'd created and the refugees his group had rescued and brought to this underground hill.

  Verruckt blinked several times before stretching to ease the stiffness of sitting still all evening.

  “A fine tale that, I wonder what it will be worth? I may be able to trade that story at five to one,” he said.

  “Trade the story? What do you mean?” Merlin asked.

  “Well, we Dverger can always find more gold, or silver, or gems. When a race is endowed by their creator with the ability to sniff out the precious treasures of the earth, what are they to use as a means of exchange?”

  “I'd never even considered such a problem.”

  “Our race has decided that knowledge, true knowledge in all its forms, is to be our means of exchange. Skills and knowledge make up our currency. The most popular are true stories, especially those unheard before.”

  Verruckt grinned and rubbed his hands together.

  “Yours will garner me quite a bit of credit among my peers. You said something about there being more to the tale that I could learn?”

  “It has yet to transpire. I hoped that you would be willing to assist me in the recovery of the knife in the story. It was hidden in a crevice too small for a man to enter, I thought that tunneling to it might be an alternative.”

  “And so, despite being in the halls of the Dverger for less than a week, you find yourself also using stories for payment. I once disbelieved in the cleverness attributed to you by the old tales Merlin. Now I'm not so sure.”

  “I wasn't thinking of the tale as payment, perhaps as a bonus. You claimed you were in my debt, I thought that the tunneling would repay that.”

  “Oh, no such thing. For one of the Dverger, to create a tunnel is child's play. There will be no cancellation of my debt to you for such a thing. Living is not worth so little to me that a tunnel would cancel out the debt of my life and freedom. I'll gladly do it for the tale though.”

  “If you insist, I would accept it as repayment of the debt if you liked. Such a tunnel may be nothing to you, but not to me,” Merlin said.

  “Say no more. Do not value me so lightly. When shall we travel to this crevice?”

  “Perhaps another day or two, I'll need to discuss it with the rest of my companions.”

  “Then, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave and return tomorrow.”

  Gunter caught Merlin's eye.

  “One other thing Verruckt. I need to track down a crystal, about the size of my little finger.”

  “What type of crystal would you like?”

  “Simple quartz will do. I intend to imbue it with a shield for Gunter who is the only member of our party who cannot defend himself in such a manner.”

  “Ahh, I'll find you the finest one I can since that is a worthy use for such a stone. When I return tomorrow evening I'll bring another cask of ale and the stone you request. We'll decide then when to depart. At that time I may have a friend or two along to assist with the tunnel.”

  “Thank you Verruckt.”

  “It was my pleasure Merlin. As I said, your tale will enrich me.”

  In a joyful voice, Verruckt continued.

  “and there's more of it to come, and I shall be a part of it.”

  Verruckt took his leave. As he opened the door he was reciting a portion of Merlin's story, word for word.

  * * *

  The following evening Verruckt returned, true to his promise.

  He proffered a completely clear quartz crystal the length of Merlin's small finger and as big around as his thumb.

  “Will this one do for you?” he asked.

  Merlin took the crystal and examined it. So far as he could tell with his eyes, it was perfect. No occlusions and no cloudiness marred the stone. He sent his Senses into it and felt as though he were plunging into a body temperature, crystal-clear lake.

  “This may be the finest crystal I've ever seen Verruckt. Are you sure you won't take anything for it?”

  “No, quartz is common when you know where to look. There are caves in this country with crystals the size of trees. This one may be clearer than most, but I've others of a similar quality.”

  “If you're sure. Gunter, I'll have your shield crystal ready before we depart.”

  They sat down to a serious discussion of the next leg of the journey. From what Rein showed them, the crevice would be only slightly out of the way for a direct trip to the Harz mountains, which were their final destination.

  They agreed to leave after three more days of rest. Despite the short time spent traveling so far, Merlin was still working on bringing his power levels back up. He'd discovered that his scale possessed some sort of link, either to Wales or to Praesagium himself. It was charging itself back up, more slowly than in Wales but more quickly than it would have done without the link.

  Their plans made, the group settled in for the evening. Merlin and Verruckt swapped lesser tales as the others listened. The ale ran out before the tales did and, once again, Verruckt took his leave late at night.


  * * *

  Chapter 13

  Merlin spent the following day beginning to charge Gunter's crystal and setting it up to provide the shield as requested. It would need to charge more before it would be truly effective, but by the time Merlin finished with it, it could be turned on and off with a mental command.

  While Merlin was enchanting the crystal itself, Anselm and Vadoma, who were getting along very well, made a setting and chain for the crystal. Merlin used a touch of magic to ensure that the crystal never came loose from its setting before giving it to Gunter.

  Nimue's temper finally boiled over the second night when she was alone with Merlin.

  “I can't believe how we were treated by that guide. I've given good service to the Maquis. To be scorned by some woodsman whose talents only include guiding others...”

  She shook her head.

  “He may have been rude but he did get us to where we were supposed to go,” Merlin said.

  “Then he abandoned us, leaving us to defend ourselves on our own.”

  “You know he would only have been in the way. Didn't you just say his only talent was guiding others?”

  Nimue glared at him.

  “Don't use my own words against me like that.”

  Merlin returned her gaze and remained silent.

  “Okay, so maybe his leaving wasn't all bad.”

  “Nimue, what is it that's really bothering you? I can't believe it's all over that woodsman.”

  She sighed and lowered her head.

  “I hate how everyone treats you. No-one believes you at first when you tell them who you are, not until you do something to prove it. Then when you have to do something drastic, people fear you. That isn't how your life should be.”

  “Not everyone acts that way. Some of the wizards back at the base didn't require that I prove my identity to them. Most of the people that are worth knowing get over their fear also. If they see me for who I am and not what I can do, the fear fades.”

  “But it isn't fair to you.”

  “You've lived as long as you have in this world and you still expect things to be fair?”

  “No, not for myself anyhow. But it bothers me when you're treated that way.”