Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant

by Rodney Hartman

  “The guardians of this place were caught by surprise the last time,” said Shandria. “You have an excellent stealth shield. I don’t think they even knew you were around. I certainly didn’t. I also have a good stealth shield, but my Power reserve was low when we met. I was unable to adequately shield both myself and the two spheres. I believe that is the reason you sensed my presence before I sensed yours.”

  “Actually, I didn’t have all that much warning you was there,” Richard said. “I got lucky. But, you said you were low on Power. Is that why you nearly drained your jewelry and staff during the fight with the demon?”

  “Yes,” she said. “You detected that?”

  “I sensed it,” Richard said. “So did Nick.”

  “Well, if you can detect Power flows, Rick, then you must know that almost all of my Power went into maintaining my defensive shield. The demon would have destroyed us both if my shield had failed.”

  Ignoring his own ego, Richard nodded his head in agreement with her assessment.

  “Rick, I do not wish to belittle your part in the battle, but I noticed you didn’t put up your own defensive shield. You remained hidden behind mine.”

  Richard was momentarily too embarrassed to admit he had to be protected by a girl, but he shoved his outdated, masculine ideas about gender roles back into the depths of his self-consciousness where they belonged. The elf, this priestess, was better than him in many ways. He’d be a fool not to admit it.

  “I’m still a cadet,” Richard said. “In other words, I’m still a student. I haven’t been trained in defensive shields yet. I could have thrown up something and called it a defensive shield, but it would have been a waste of energy in that battle. I figured I could help most by keeping the riffraff off of you.”

  “You did wisely, Rick. I would have dropped my shield if that hell hound had found my throat. When I saw you move to intercept it, I somehow knew I could trust you to protect me. I’m not sure why, but I did.”

  That mollified Richard’s bruised ego a little.

  “I suppose we could attempt our escape from this place in a couple of days, Rick. However, I would like to propose an alternate plan. I too am skilled at monitoring Power flows, the same as you. I am also well versed in defensive shields. Would you be affronted if I offered to train you in their use? It might take a month or more, but the time spent might mean the difference between the success and failure of our quest.”

  Richard was shocked the elf would delay the completion of her mission for a month. She had the object of her quest in her grasp. Why would she wait? he wondered. He was confused. Sometimes he felt like he was in a continuous state of confusion.

  “Shandria, I wouldn’t be affronted. But, wouldn’t it be prudent to get out of this place as fast as we can. You have the third part of the seed. For all you know, the gate may be failing at this very moment. Surely time is of utmost importance.”

  The elf smiled and gave a good-natured laugh.

  Nickelo also laughed aloud via the battle computer’s speakers. “Rick, you really need to pay more attention to what people say. You can discover a lot of things if you listen more and put the tidbits of information you hear together.”

  Richard ignored his battle computer. At this moment, the elf seemed the kinder of the two.

  “Okay, Shandria,” Richard said, “I’ve obviously said something wrong again. What’s so funny?”

  “It’s not an unreasonable mistake, Rick,” Sandria said with a smile. “You admitted you had no knowledge of time-bubbles. The three time-bubbles created to hide the seed parts are all connected together. They are each separate and apart, but at the same time, they are one and the same place. The time that you and I spend inside this time-bubble does not exist. It is outside the normal flow of time. Master Nick told me you had been here a little over a week. I have spent over a year in each of the other two time-bubbles, and I have been in this one for almost six months. Yet when I exit the time-bubble, I will appear back at my village at the same moment I departed. No time will have passed.”

  Richard had trouble digesting the elf’s information. He was no dummy, but he had never been a fast thinker. He normally needed to absorb and mull over information before he could fully grasp it.

  Never mind, Rick, came Nickelo’s thought. I’ll explain it to you later.

  “Shandria, are you saying we could spend a hundred years here, and then we could go back to our own time and nothing will have changed?”

  “Actually, Rick,” she said. “I could spend a hundred years here, but you could not. Time moves on for us inside the time-bubble. We will age while we are here. You are a human. You would be dead in a hundred years. Although I am an elf, I would still be a hundred years older.”

  “I guess I understand,” Richard said. But he wasn’t ready to give up his argument to leave immediately. “But if we stay another month, won’t that give the demon and his servants that much more time to find us? We’ve been lucky so far, but who knows how long that will last?”

  “Shandria and I,” said Nickelo over the battle helmet’s speakers, “have discussed the room’s stealth shield at length. From the data collected by both your active scans and my electronic scans, we believe the shield is more than adequate to hide us for a considerable amount of time.”

  “I agree with Master Nick,” said Shandria. “I only found the other two seed parts by the use of a spell created especially for that purpose. Even then, it took me over two years to find the other spheres. Master Nick explained to me where this room is located. I’ve been down this same tunnel twice during the last six months without sensing anything. I was headed to these lower tunnels for a third pass when you encountered me.”

  Richard was impressed. He assumed the elf must have one heck of a stealth shield when she was at full Power to hide for months from the creatures in the tunnels.

  “Okay,” Richard said. “I’ll admit, we almost passed by it as well. But, surely someone knows where this secret room is. I mean, someone had to build it and hide the sphere here. Right?”

  “You are correct, Rick,” said Shandria. “But, I believe the creation of this secret room and of this time-bubble is well beyond the abilities of even a powerful demon like Efrestra. No, I believe the skills of a master demon, possibly even a demon lord, were needed to build this place. All I have learned suggests that demons are not trusting of each other. In all likelihood, the demon Efrestra and his servants were only given the responsibility to guard this place. I suspect they were not told its secrets. As long as the original builder does not return, I believe we’re safe.”

  Richard was unconvinced, but he could not argue against the elf’s logic. His knowledge of demons and magical creatures was a little on the thin side.

  * * *

  The next morning, Shandria awoke refreshed. She was able to move about by herself, although she was still weak. Richard summoned a portable bathtub and filled it with hot water and bubble bath. After he set up a privacy screen, Shandria spent over an hour getting rid of the accumulated filth of the past week. Finally, she stepped out from behind the privacy screen. She had put on her robe and jewelry. Richard had thought she was beautiful before. He thought she was even more stunning now.

  “Wow!” Richard said. “I hope your betrothed knows how lucky he is.”

  “He does,” said Shandria simply. But her cheeks reddened slightly at the compliment.

  “What’s first?” Richard said.

  “My spells,” said Shandria as she opened her pack. I lost all memory of them when I was contaminated with the ghoul’s poison. My Power reserve is full again, but until I rememorize my spells, I cannot use my Power.”

  “Do you have to rememorize a spell each time you use it?” Richard said.

  “No, silly,” laughed Shandria. “Once memorized, I can use it as much as I want as long as I have adequate Power. But some of them are very complicated, and all magic users have to refresh their memory from time to time. That’s why I c
arry copies of my spell books with me.”

  The elf pulled a book out of her pack. It had a plain black cover with no decorations.

  “I thought you were a priestess?” Richard said. “I thought only magic users needed spell books.”

  “Where did you get that idea, Rick?” said Shandria. “Maybe things work differently in your dimension, but in mine, spell casters of any kind need to learn spells. The only exception is magical creatures that are born with a natural ability to convert their Power into magic.”

  Shandria sat down on the edge of her bed and began silently reading her book. The only noise in the room for over an hour was the sound of their breathing. Even Nickelo did not disturb Richard with his thoughts. Finally, boredom got the best of Richard, and he went over and sat down next to the elf. It didn’t enter his mind she might resent someone reading over her shoulder. Apparently she didn’t, because she said nothing.

  Richard was intrigued by the writing on the pages of the book. He could see what appeared to be words in an unknown language on the paper. They seemed to move and change as he looked at them. The words had a Power of their own, and Richard was able to follow the flows of Power. The Power twisted from one word to another and back again forming intricate knots and flourishes. The flows of Power were interesting to watch, and Richard found himself leaning forward eagerly each time the elf turned a page.

  After several hours, Richard’s stomach growled. He rose and set about heating some soup for lunch. Richard found it a little amusing that he was turning into quite the domestic type. He didn’t mind. He actually enjoyed cooking. It was relaxing. He often found himself thinking about what he could summon for the next meal.

  “Lunch,” Richard said.

  Shandria stopped her reading and joined Richard at the table. After she prayed, Richard said, “You’ve been studying a lot.”

  After blowing on a spoonful of soup before swallowing it, Shandria answered, “I’ve learned a lot of spells over the years, Rick. I’m not sure which ones we’ll need. I’m trying to memorize as many as I can. However, the incantations are magic themselves, and there is a limit to how many I can memorize at one time.”

  “Hmm,” Richard said. He had an idea, but he hesitated to say anything since he was not a magic user himself. After a moment’s reflection, he decided since their lives were on the line, he should just say what was on his mind.

  “Shandria,” Richard said tentatively, “I don’t mean to pry or sound like a know-it-all, because I know I’m not. But I was wondering, wouldn’t you be able to memorize more spells if they were shorter and less complicated?”

  The elf looked at Richard intently with a spoonful of soup halfway to her mouth. She did not answer his question immediately. Finally, she put the spoon back in the bowl and said, “Spell casters spend years creating and refining spells. They guard them jealously. Some of the more complicated and powerful spells have taken entire lifetimes by master spell casters to create. And when I say lifetimes, I mean lifetimes of an elf. I’m trying to hold my temper, Rick, since you have been so kind to me. But, it sounds like you think you know more about spells and magic than those who actually use them. Or have I jumped to conclusions?”

  Richard had suspected it was a touchy subject, and he’d taken the risk. But, he was not prepared to risk more. He beat a hasty retreat. “Sorry. It was just a question. I meant no disrespect, Shandria.”

  Richard went back to eating his soup. He kept his eyes on his bowl while insuring every spoonful contained just the right mix of vegetables and meat. But, he could feel the eyes of the elf on him, and he did not hear her eating.

  “Rick,” she said finally, “it is I who should apologize. Spell casters of any sort are very touchy about their spells. Even a slightly mispronounced word or stray hand gesture can have disastrous results. But if you have something to say, please say it. I promise not to take offense again.”

  “It was nothing,” Richard said as he continued to eat. “Forget it.”

  “Please, Rick,” said Shandria, “I apologized. Won’t you please tell me what you were going to say? I sense it was important. If it would help us in our current situation, we should discuss it.”

  Rick, said Nickelo privately, we’re in serious danger. If you have an idea that might lessen the danger, please share it with us.

  “All right, Shandria,” Richard said swallowing his pride. “I know you’re like four hundred years my senior, but I do have a thought. When I was reading along in your spell book, it seemed like some of the Power lines would loop back onto themselves or were more complex than needed. Parts of the incantations seemed like they were wasted effort. Did the writers not see the inefficient use of Power when they wrote out the words? It seems pretty obvious.”

  “Are you saying you can read the words, Rick?” Shandria asked.

  Richard thought he detected a little huffiness in her voice as if he’d insulted her. He listened nervously as the elf continued.

  “It took me almost a hundred years of study before I was able to make out the words of even a simple spell. But, obviously I’m in the presence of a master spell caster. You must have gained so much knowledge in just a score of years that not only can you read magic, but you can rewrite spells that we elves have struggled over for centuries.”

  Richard forced himself to control his temper. He wanted to remind her that she had promised not to take offense. Finally, he decided he’d be just as suspicious and insulted if the roles were reversed.

  “No, Shandria,” Richard said struggling to keep his voice even. “I cannot read the words. They keep moving around and changing.”

  “Yes. I’m sure they do,” Shandria said as she nodded her head knowingly. “That’s how they are supposed to work. I had to learn to master the art of the words before I could learn to read or write them.”

  “If you can’t read them, Rick,” asked Nickelo trying to avoid a confrontation, “then why do you think they can be improved?”

  “Because I can see the Power lines clearly, Nick,” Richard said. “Because I can see how the Power is changed by the incantations. I can see the desired end result of the conversion from Power to magical energy. I can see how there is wasted effort. I can sense or see or whatever you want to call it, places in the incantations that can be made more efficient. It just jumps off the page at me. I don’t understand how the writers could not see it as well.”

  “How would you know what words to use, Rick?” asked Shandria. “You admitted you could not read the words.”

  Richard heard the strain in the elf’s voice. She was trying to control her own temper for the common good. Richard resolved to do the same.

  “I wouldn’t know what words to use or how they should be changed, Shandria,” Richard confessed. “But…,” he said quickly to cut off any protest, “I could show you the places that could be improved. You could make changes as you saw fit. Then I could tell you if the changes improved the spell or made it worse.”

  Shandria seemed to consider Richard’s proposal before speaking, “Rick, I too can see Power lines. I am a priestess after all. But, I cannot see them at the level of detail you are implying, nor have I ever heard of anyone who could. Can you truly see the ebb and flow of Power in the spells?”

  “I know what I see, Shandria,” Richard said. He left it at that. Either the elf would believe him, or she wouldn’t.

  Nickelo spoke up, “Shandria, I’ve found Rick to be unique in many ways. Without a shared space, I cannot verify his claim. But, I do know he has the best stealth shield and active scan I’ve ever encountered. Plus, I’ve never known him to lie or stretch the truth. He goes to great lengths sometimes to avoid dishonesty. I’d take what he says at face value. You might want to consider his suggestion.”

  Richard was humbled by his battle computer’s praise. Normally, Nickelo was pointing out his mistakes.

  “Let me sleep on it,” said Shandria. “Changing spells can have drastic and unforeseen results. The graves of m
any knowledgeable spell casters bear witness to the dangers of arrogance when attempting to modify existing spells.

  Chapter 22 – Advanced Training

  ___________________________

  The next morning, Shandria began Richard’s training in defensive shields. Actually, Richard found he had a combination of trainers. Nickelo gave as much input as the elf, and between the combined tutelage of both, Richard was soon able to put up a low-level defensive shield with semi-regularity.

  After lunch, the roles reversed. Shandria consented to an attempt to improve a spell. The elf allowed Richard to select one of the lower-level spells in her spell book that he thought might have room for improvement. By following the Power lines of the written incantation Richard pointed out one area of three words which were a complete waste of effort and two other places which had potential for improvement. Using trial and error, Richard and Shandria spent the rest of the afternoon rewriting the spell. Shandria used a special bottle of ink and quill to write out the words on a blank piece of parchment. By suppertime, the parchment was covered with more scratch marks than visible words. As far as Richard could tell, they were nowhere nearer to making a workable spell.

  Richard was forced to admit defeat. “I’m sorry, Shandria,” Richard said dejectedly. “I really thought it would work. I did think we were getting close a couple of times, but I guess not. It’s no use. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

  “Master Nick,” said Shandria with a shake of her head and a tired smile. “Is he always so impatient? How do you put up with him?”

  “It’s a challenge sometimes,” admitted Nickelo with a chuckle of his own. “And yes, he is always this impatient. He’d rather run straight into battle than take five extra minutes to make a workable plan.”

  Richard was confused. He didn’t think he deserved the double-teaming against him. “Now what did I do?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  The elf answered first. “I believe we made good progress today, Rick,” said Shandria. “True, the spell is not working yet, but you have convinced me the concept may eventually work. We just need to give it time. Do you not remember me saying some spells took the entire lifetime of the writer to get it right? I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. But like you, I think we came close today. With your permission, Rick, I believe we should continue trying at least a few more days.”