Merlin's Travels (An Untimely Error Book 2)

by Tom Larcombe

  “Will-o-the-wisp.”

  “What?” Merlin asked.

  “The Will-o-the-wisp is a fable. It's a light, supposedly a sentient creature, that draws travelers into the swamps. It lures them along to their death. In this case, we just give him a Will-o-the-wisp to follow while we get our tickets and board the train. We use an illusion, one real enough to fool him into thinking it's an actual person using an illusory disguise, to lure him away from his position. We pass through while he's gone.”

  “That might work. Can you make an illusion that real? I don't know if I can.”

  “I'll do it,” Anguis said.

  “How can you do it?” Merlin asked.

  Anguis resorted to broadcasting his plan to them instead of speaking further.

  {Cast an illusion on me, either in my normal dragon form or, if you prefer, on a human form I can take. I'd be shorter than most humans but you could fix that with the illusion. He can't harm me unless he has some powerful magic or one of those anti-aircraft guns and, once the train has departed, I can fly to catch up. Besides I might find something to eat and help me heal along the way, I'm hungry.}

  The last part came out as a plaintive whine in everyone's brain.

  “I like your idea Nimue, but I'm not sure Anguis is the best way to implement it,” Merlin said.

  “Why not?” the dragon asked.

  “Because the last time you did something for me, you were injured. You're still hurt and I don't want to put you in a dangerous position.”

  The dragon's sibilance was pronounced as he replied.

  “Don't be angry with me, but I'm going to use your own words against you Merlin. I have just one question: do you have a better method to do this?”

  Despite racking his brain Merlin could come up with no better plan. He could do it himself with little risk, but would be unable to catch up to the train after. They wanted to distract the guard shortly before the train left since they didn't know when a replacement might arrive, so he couldn't simply draw him away earlier and return to board the train.

  After much discussion, and Merlin's requiring a promise from Anguis to be careful, they agreed on Nimue's and Anguis' plans combined. Anguis would take the form of a human since they thought the guard might not pursue if he saw a dragon beneath the illusory disguise. He would wear his illusion and stroll onto the platform. If the wizard guard came after him, he would flee back into the streets. He'd keep the guard occupied for at least fifteen minutes and then change back to his dragon form and catch up to the train by flying.

  {You're sure your injury won't give you problems flying?} Merlin asked.

  {I can reshape the wing, I just lose a bit of overall mass and my balance is affected. I couldn't do it last night because I was still in shock from the injury. I'll be fine.}

  The group moved through the city under Nimue's concealment spell. They went slowly and carefully since there were more people on the streets now. At eight o'clock they were within a block of the train station. A nearby alley provided a place for them to finish getting ready.

  Anguis shifted into a human-like form. He looked like a metallic twelve year old boy until he shifted his colors to match the flesh tones and clothing of his companions. Merlin was taking care of disguises for himself, Gunter, and Besnik. He planned on doing them all until Nimue pointed out that when he did so they all looked vaguely similar and that some variety would attract less attention.

  Finally Merlin put an illusion on Anguis, making him appear as an older man in an expensive suit, with jet black hair and a goatee.

  “Be safe,” Merlin told Anguis as he walked out of the alley.

  Merlin wasn't willing to leave anything to chance. He split off a portion of his awareness and used it to observe the platform again. As soon as Anguis ascended the stairs, the guard's attention was drawn to him.

  Anguis looked around and started to walk to the ticket counter. The guard moved to intercept him. When Anguis saw the guard coming, he turned and left the platform. The guard followed him out into the street.

  Merlin snapped his awareness back to his body.

  “Okay, Anguis has him leaving the platform now. First group, go.”

  They were going in three smaller groups to avoid looking like one large group traveling together. Anselm, Vadoma, and Besnik were in the first group, all disguised as businessmen. Rein was simply hidden behind a sight shield. He was asleep and would be silent throughout. Gunter was alone in the second group. He would be in the uniform of an SS NCO. The third group consisted of Merlin, Nimue, and Verruckt. Merlin and Verruckt were in suits like the businessmen, and since Merlin saw two women on the platform earlier, Nimue got to retain her gender and was dressed in a style similar to the women he had seen.

  Merlin walked towards the station and saw the guard chasing Anguis down the street. The dragon appeared to be having a grand old time.

  {This is fun Merlin. He's so slow, he'll never catch me.}

  {Watch out for magic. We don't know what he can do.}

  {I'm fine. Get on the train.}

  As soon as Merlin was seated he cast his awareness out again. He found Anguis leading the guard down an alleyway.

  {I'm here Anguis, just a couple of minutes before the train pulls out of the station.}

  {Good, I'm hungry though. What are guns made of? I know I can eat the ammunition for them.}

  {What are you thinking of doing?}

  {I was just going to eat his gun and ammunition.}

  {And how are you planning on getting it?}

  {Like this. Drop the illusion please.}

  Merlin was torn, he couldn't decide what Anguis was doing. He was afraid that if he didn't drop the illusion he might endanger the dragon. He was sure that if he did Anguis would endanger himself. The split second it took him to decide lasted an eternity. Finally he decided to trust the dragon and dropped the illusion.

  As soon as the illusion was gone, Angius transformed back into his true shape, but in a much larger size than normal. The dragon jumped over the wizard guard that was following him, turned in mid-air, and landed facing the guard.

  The wizard guard paled as he turned. He quickly tried a spell. The wizard put his hands in front of him, forming a triangle with his fingers. Flames gushed from the triangle and struck Anguis. The wizard's face went white when he found that the flames did nothing but cause sparks as they bounced off the dragon's skin.

  Anguis scorched the ground in front of the wizard's feet as he breathed a small jet of flame in return. He kept his sibilance to a minimum as he spoke.

  “The next one is at you, unless you drop all the metal you have on you.”

  The wizard guard drew his pistol. For a moment it looked as though he were considering trying to shoot it instead of drop it. Another small jet of flame from Anguis and the pistol was falling to the ground. The guard continued to divest himself of metals. When he stopped, Anguis spoke again.

  “Back up to the end of the alley.”

  The wizard complied and Anguis advanced on the metal. He leaned down and gulped the entire pile into his mouth. His neck snaked up and a large lump traveled down to his stomach. Anguis glared at the wizard.

  “I'm still hungry,” the dragon said.

  The wizard cringed and tried to tuck himself into a doorway. Anguis leaped into the sky and snapped his wings open. As he gained altitude, he shrank his size back to normal which had the side effect of making it look like he was flying much faster than he was. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his body only to find the train beginning to move.

  {We're moving Anguis. Wait until we're well out of town before rejoining us though. Don't want anyone to see you sneaking on board.} Merlin sent.

  He opened his window so when the dragon arrived, he could get into the train. He wondered for a moment if the opening was wide enough before recalling Anguis' ability to shift his shape. Twenty minutes later Anguis slid in through the window. There were only two other occupants in the car the gro
up was in and both of the other men were engrossed in reading.

  {Merlin, I could smell smoke in the air. It was from smelting. They're smelting metal around here someplace.}

  {Gunter did say there used to be a lot of mines around here. They're probably still in use.}

  {Do you think I could sneak out? They'd never miss a couple hundred pounds of metal, would they? I'd be careful.}

  {We'll be in the mountains for a while. I'm guessing we'll be able to find you something, but I don't think eating their completed product would go over very well.}

  {Ore will do if it has a high metal content.}

  {We'll find you something Anguis.}

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  The train began to slow for its stop at Nordhausen. It was mid-morning and in their haste to board the train they hadn't checked the departure times from Nordhausen to Brocken. When the train began to slow Merlin took it as a cue to cast his awareness out once more and check the schedule, he also wanted to view the platform at Nordhausen and see if it had its own wizard guard.

  The platform at Nordhausen was significantly busier than the one at Herzberg. Merlin managed to find the schedule and noted that if they could get their tickets quickly, they could be gone minutes after they arrived. He lifted his awareness up and viewed the platform with his Sight.

  Ah, they're more subtle here, he thought.

  A man in a business suit sat on a bench in a location that afforded him a good view of most of the area. He appeared to be reading but Merlin could see that he was actually peering over the top of the book, scanning the crowd. Like the guard in Herzberg, he kept glancing at anyone walking onto the platform from the street. He wasn't paying very much attention to the trains though.

  Merlin returned his awareness to his body.

  “Gunter, I've got another job for you. This time, no illusion though. Are you willing?”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “They have a guard here, less conspicuous than the one in Herzberg but performing the same function. Since he's probably scanning for magic, I'd like you to walk to the ticket counter and purchase our tickets for the rest of the train ride.”

  “You'll want to hold this for me then,” Gunter said, proffering his shield crystal.

  “Just come back to the train once you have the tickets. The watcher isn't paying attention to the trains so we'll just move from this one directly to the next. We'll have about twenty minutes from when we arrive to when the next train departs.”

  “I hope there isn't a line”

  “There wasn't when I was just checking. The platform is busy, but I guess most people have their tickets already. Do you need more money?”

  “No, I've got a pocket full of Reichsmarks. Haven't used any since we got here until that first train ticket.”

  “Meet us back here at the car then. We'll do something to slow our disembarkment.”

  Gunter stood and made his way to the door. The train was nearly stopped already.

  “Nimue,” Merlin said softly, “would you lose something so we can spend several minutes searching for it?”

  “Why, because I'm the woman?”

  “Because the conductor will be less likely to force us off the train if we're assisting a lady in searching for a lost item than if one of the men claims to have lost something.”

  She shook her head.

  “Fine, I'll do it.”

  The train stopped and Gunter immediately left. Merlin went around to the rest of the group and told them of the ruse. When the conductor came through the car, they were all searching vigorously.

  “Is something wrong?” the conductor asked.

  Merlin answered, unsure that Nimue could keep her temper under control.

  “My wife has lost her pendant. I'm sure she was wearing it when we boarded. These gentlemen were kind enough to offer assistance in our search.”

  “I can give you a few minutes to search but we'll need to clear the train soon. I'll come back once I've gone through the other cars. If you haven't found it yet, I'll help you look myself.”

  “Thank you, that's very kind of you.”

  “It's alright, part of my job really. I'll be back soon.”

  The conductor left the car. Merlin kept an eye out for either Gunter or the conductor to return as he appeared to search. He saw both of them coming back at the same time, from different directions.

  “Quickly, Gunter is returning but so is the conductor. We've found the pendant and are leaving. Here Nimue,” Merlin said, handing her a small crystal, “flash this at the nice conductor as we leave the train.”

  Merlin assisted Nimue in disembarking first. She turned to the conductor and smiled as she held the crystal between thumb and forefinger, waving it back and forth. Meanwhile Merlin caught Gunter's attention and then glanced towards the other train. When Gunter didn't understand immediately, Merlin made the motion more exaggerated, shaking his head towards the other train.

  Gunter saw the conductor behind Merlin and nodded. He turned and slowly walked towards the train to Brocken, giving Merlin and the others time to catch up.

  “You found it sir?” the conductor asked.

  “Yes, we did. The pendant was a gift to my wife from her mother, who has passed on now. So she was understandably reluctant to leave without it. Thank you for your consideration.”

  “You're welcome sir, I'm glad she recovered her heirloom.”

  The conductor turned, propriety satisfied, and left for his other duties. Merlin and his companions separated into their smaller groups, both of whom walked briskly along the edge of the platform trying to catch up with Gunter while also trying to not draw any attention.

  “The watcher is behind that crowd now. We can move a bit faster,” Merlin said.

  They increased their pace and caught up with Gunter. As they passed him, Merlin held out his hand and spoke.

  “Slide me three of the tickets Gunter. Anselm will get the others. We'll stay in our smaller groups as we board.”

  {Anselm, watch what I'm doing and do the same.} Merlin sent.

  Gunter passed off three of the tickets. He maintained his slower pace as Merlin moved ahead. When they were boarding, the separation was sufficient that there was another pair of passengers between Merlin's small group and Anselm's. Gunter was right behind Anselm though, several passengers having stopped to let him get in line first when they saw his uniform.

  Once they were seated in the railway car, Merlin relaxed. Unless the SS started replacing railway workers with wizards, they were safe from detection now. The train started moving about ten minutes after they boarded and Merlin watched out the window as it began to move into the Harz mountains. The train from Herzberg had only skirted along their edge. This one would go deep into them and get them within twenty miles of their destination.

  * * *

  They passed several manufactories as the train made its way into the mountainous region.

  “Gunter, what are those?” Merlin asked.

  “I don't know, they weren't here the last time I was. I would guess that they're making equipment for the war and they built them here to be close to the raw materials.”

  Gunter's guess received verification before they traveled much farther. The passenger train they were on was shunted to a siding as a freight train, loaded with raw materials from the mines and smelters, passed by on the main track.

  “I think you're right Gunter, look at that,” Merlin said.

  Anguis was shuddering around Merlin's shoulders.

  {Are you alright Anguis?} Merlin sent.

  {I'm hungry Merlin, and just look at all those metals. I itch where I'm healing and I feel like I could eat a tank.}

  {I guess we'll have to let you contribute to the war effort some more tonight. If we're anywhere close to the mines when we stop for the night, I'll let you go see if you can't find a way to deplete their metal stockpiles.}

  The eagerness in Anguis' reply washed through Merlin, lea
ving him hungry from association.

  {Thank you Merlin, I'll try to eat a dent into their output.}

  {Be careful doing so, we don't want them to know we're up here and nosing around.}

  {I'll stay hidden, I promise.}

  Their train ride took them to the village of Schierke. As far as Nimue could tell, that was the nearest train stop to the location they needed to get to. Even so it would require several more days of walking to reach their destination.

  They arrived in the middle of the afternoon, after being shunted off the main tracks two more times. Merlin scouted the platform before they disembarked. It was tiny and there was no watcher at this station.

  “I wonder if there's a restaurant of some sort in this village,” Merlin said. “I wouldn't mind a hot meal before we continue on. We'll be roughing it the rest of this trip.”

  “It should have one but do we dare stop for something like that?” Anselm asked.

  “Why not? We've made it this far without being noticed. First they'd have to find out we're in the country and then they'd have to track us to this place before we're done eating for it to matter. Plus we won't have a chance like this again for who knows how long.”

  Most of the group was tired of traveling and eating on the road so Merlin's idea appealed to them. They decided to implement it.

  There was a small restaurant in the town. It wasn't in the best condition since it normally appealed to tourists and, because of the war, there just weren't many visiting the town currently. The proprietor apologized profusely for the condition of the restaurant and the limited menu. Merlin could see the relief in the man's eyes when he was asked if he could serve a party of seven.

  The proprietor left them to decide what they wanted and while they considered their options Merlin spoke.

  “Order as much as you like. From the look in the owner's eyes, he hasn't seen many customers recently. We may be the only thing keeping his restaurant in business this month.”

  Nimue looked at him strangely.

  {This isn't for general consumption so we'll keep it private this way. Why do you care what happens to some nameless German. We're at war with them remember?}