Wizard’s Alley
Book one: Wizard’s Alley
By: James A. Haddock III
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Copyright © 2019 all rights reserved
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
CHAPTER 1
I can't remember a time when I was not hungry, cold, and alone. I hid in the alley I called home. Huddled against the cold, waiting for dark so I could go back out looking for food in the trash behind the inns and taverns. It was harder to see the food at night, but there was less competition for the scraps then. Most everyone feared the darkness, but hunger has a way of pushing you past your fears.
Tonight, it was especially bad; it was raining as well as cold. In my hiding place against the temple wall I was almost dry, or rather, not as wet. I waited under a small overhang for the storm to pass. I hoped it would; the puddles were getting bigger. The storm was louder. The thunder and lightning were getting closer.
Lightning struck the temple grounds on the other side of my wall. The thunder was deafening and the lightning blinding. Two lightning bolts struck simultaneously in the alley—one blue, the other red. In that moment, the two lightning bolts became men.
They were hurling lightning bolts at each other, bolts of blue and red. The blue man was singing his chants, and the red man was cursing them. Their singing and cursing intensified, as did their lightning attacks. Neither could penetrate the other's defenses.
Objects flew around them—stones, pieces of clay pots, debris of all kinds. They threw debris at each other, but still nothing penetrated their shields. They closed on one another, striking at each other with their staffs. Each blocked the other's attack. The lightning and thunder grew more intense. They struck one another with mighty blows, using all their power. Suddenly, a wide band of natural white lightning struck between them and consumed them both. The band of white lightning, wrapped in blue and red streaks, traveled across the water-soaked ground and struck me. My world went from blinding white to sudden darkness...
***
The rain hitting my face woke me. My face hurt like I had a bad sunburn. I sat up slowly, looking to where the two wizards had been fighting. Around a smoking crater lay two broken staffs, jewelry, rings, necklaces, a coin purse, coins, and pieces of their cloaks and clothing, but no bodies. I felt the need to gather everything from around the crater for myself. It was somehow important; I had to do it. Not to sell or trade, but for my use. My protection. Someone would come looking for the wizards to see what happened, and I needed to be ready.
I got up, dizzily, and staggered to the crater. I started gathering everything and carried it back to the overhang. My hiding place. I made several stumbling trips, but I finally collected everything. All evidence that a battle took place here was gone, except for the crater and lightning scars on the ground.
There wasn't much room left for me with all my loot piled under the overhang.
“I need more room in here,” I thought.
My hiding place in the wall grew deeper. I jumped up, fell over, and looked back at my hide. There was a depression in the wall now, like a doorway with no door. “I need more room.”
“Deeper.”
It grew deeper.
“Now wider.”
It got wider further back, so I moved all of my loot deeper into my hide and sat down at the entrance. I was now completely out of the rain.
My mind was drifting in a daze, and it was hard to focus.
"When they come, they will see me." I looked at the ivy. If it covered the wall, it might hide me.
“Grow and cover the wall.”
The ivy started growing, but not just one sprig—all the ivy. It grew until it covered my end of the wall and my hiding place. It hung down like a green curtain.
I sat quietly, shivering in my scraps of clothes.
Scraps was the name I had given myself. Scraps. I wore scraps of clothes and ate scraps of food. I looked down at myself.
“Dry.”
My ragged clothes became dry. I tilted my head sideways, looking down at myself again.
“Warm.”
I was no longer cold, but I was still hungry. I decided to wait for the rain to stop before going to find some food. I dozed as I sat waiting; I was so tired.
Suddenly, I was startled awake and looked toward the alley entrance. Red Wizards were coming—three of them. The leader entered the alley, carrying his staff aloft before him. It held a glowing red stone. The other two stayed a couple of steps behind and out to his sides, looking around. All three had a red aura around them.
I looked down at myself once more. I had an aura around me too! Not red, not blue, but both. Purple.
They moved to examine the crater. "They fought here," the leader said, "but neither prevailed. They must have transported to another place to continue their battle. We must continue the search." And after a final look around, they left.
Less than an hour later, Blue Wizards arrived at the entrance of the alley. There were two of them. Both had blue auras and staffs that held blue stones. The one in the lead knelt beside the crater. He took a hand full of dirt, sang a chant, and blew the dust toward the crater.
Shadows of the two fighting wizards appeared. My hand rose unbidden, glowing purple. The shadows and the lightning strike rose upward and disappeared.
"They teleported again, neither overpowering the other," the second one said.
"So it would seem," the first one agreed, looking around.
"The Reds aren't too far ahead of us; let's see where they go." The first wizard nodded, and they left.
My hand stopped glowing, and I put it down. “What was happening to me? I can do things, but they don't seem strange to me. It's not scary or crazy; it just is. It's me, but a different me. It had to be because of the lightning strike that consumed the Red and Blue Wizards. Then hit me. That must be it. That’s the only thing that makes sense…if any of this makes sense.”
I closed my eyes. My need for sleep was greater than my hunger. I dreamed, but they were not my dreams. I saw places I had never been and myself doing things I’d never done. The dreams seemed at odds with each other—some good, some bad.
I woke rested, warm, and dry. I don't know how long I slept, but the ground in the alley was dry. My hand rose and waved toward the crater the lightning strike had left. The ground became smooth, as if nothing unusual had ever happened. I sat thinking, trying to make sense of what was happening to me.
I had a bit of a headache, and my mind was confused as to who I was. I knew things I had never known and how to do things I’d never learned. There was so much I did not understand.
Starvation was setting in.
I thought about the coin purse and coins I had gathered from around the crater. They were mine now, as was everything else I had collected. I decided to go to the bakery to buy something to eat. I needed to be careful though. If anyone thought I might have money, I wouldn't have it long. I left all but two coppers in the purse and hid it in the back of my hide.
As I stood up, I did so slowly to assure I wasn’t still dizzy. I seemed to be alright, just hungry. I peered through the ivy curtain. I didn't see anyone, so I stepped out into the sunlight. I stood there a moment, feeling the sun on my face. My belly growled, reminding me of my hunger. I left the alley and he
aded for the bakery that was a few blocks away. I stayed to the side of the street, trying not to draw attention to myself.
I stepped into the bakery, and the woman behind the counter looked at me. "You got coin?" I lay a copper on the counter. She nodded, “What'll ya have?"
"Bread and meat, the day old please." The day old was cheaper, and I'd get more. She turned to fill my order, as I watched the door and windows. I didn't want anyone to come up on me unawares.
"Here ya go." She handed me a roll with a piece of meat in it. I stepped away from the counter and ate it as fast as I could. She watched me, shaking her head.
"Don't choke on it, lad," she said smiling.
I nodded, chewing slower. When I finished, I left and went to the fountain at the corner and drank my fill of water. I could have eaten more, but I was afraid it would make me sick. I had done that before; it was a waste of food. I'd wait a while and then get something else from a different place. I didn't want to be seen buying food for a second time today. Doing so would just invite trouble.
"Scraps!" a boy shouted.
I recognized the voice; he and his gang weren't friends. Without looking back, I ran away as fast as I could. However, I didn't run straight back to my hide. I had to lose them first. I knew these streets and alleys backwards and forwards, but they did too. It was to my advantage that I was smaller and could fit a lot of spaces they couldn’t, so I headed for a place I knew was a tight fit.
I dodged under carts, around horses and wagons, running as fast as I could. But bad luck caught up with me; my planned escape alley was blocked. I ran past it to the next alley and turned in without breaking stride. This one was a maze of trash and scraps of all kinds. My only chance was to hide and hope they would give up before they found me.
I looked for a hole low to the ground to climb into. I was betting on them thinking I continued on to the far end of the alley looking for a way out. I heard them run into the alley and was forced to take the first hole I came to. It was a tight fit, but I pushed myself as deep as I could into and under the trash heap. I scooted as my hiding place would allow, then went still. For better or worse, I was hidden. Now I needed to stay quiet.
I heard them talking. "You two, go around to the other end of the alley to cut off his escape. We'll drive him to you guys." As they moved through the alley looking for me, I listened to the sounds.
"Scraps, you might as well come out. We have you trapped. I have my boys at the other end of the alley. You can't get away.”
I remained still and quiet and listened to the sounds as they searched through the trash for me. "The longer you make me look the worse your beating will be."
I wasn’t moving from this spot; I was committed. They were getting closer to me, so I unconsciously pushed further back away from them. It would be harder for them to see me that way. But if they found me, I'd get a beating and likely surrender the one copper I had on me. I'd survive, but I wasn't looking forward to it.
My heart was beating so loudly I thought they would surely hear it. They were quickly approaching the opening I had crawled into. Then, I remembered I had not thought to hide the crawl marks I had made on the ground. When they saw them, I’d be finished.
I kept pushing back, thinking I’d eventually hit a wall. But when I pushed again, I was able to move deeper. The next time there was no resistance, and I slid deeper into the pile. I lay still, watching the opening. I felt like I had a chance now. It was so dark; the only thing I could see was the opening.
"Hey, look here. Someone's crawled in here; look at the marks on the ground." My heart sank, but I remained still. I could see faces at the entrance.
"You see anything?"
"Not really; it's too dark."
"Well, get in there and look. If he’s in there, drag him out."
I was trapped. There was no chance of getting out the way I came in, so I turned over to see if there was any light that may offer me an escape route. What I saw froze me right where I lay. I was looking into the kitchen of the house this wall belonged to. Though, I wasn't looking through the wall as much as I was looking out of it. I lay there blinking as I watched a woman cooking. She was humming to herself.
I looked over my shoulder. The boy who’d crawled in after me had worked his way into my hiding place, but I was looking at him out of the wall. As crazy as it sounds, I was inside the wall. How was this even possible? A memory told me it was possible. I didn't know what to do, so I stayed still.
"Do you see him?" someone called from the alley.
"He's not in here," the boy, laying not an arm's length from me, shouted back.
"Well, come on out of there. Everyone, keep looking."
I watched as the boy backed out of my hide hole. I remained still, trying to make sense of what was happening. Okay, so it's possible to pass through a wall; and since I'm in here, I guess it's possible to stay inside a wall. When the boy was gone, I reached my hand out. It was like lifting your hand out of water, only not wet. I had not thought about it until right then, but I was breathing inside the wall. That scared me, so I pushed my face out of the wall and tried to breathe. When I calmed down, I realized it felt no different breathing inside or outside of the wall.
I turned back over to look in the kitchen. The woman was still there cooking. She had rolls stacked on a plate beside the wall. When she left the room, I reached through and grabbed one. I lay there eating and thinking. I need to learn more about this—what I was and wasn’t capable of.
When I finished my roll, I slowly sat up. The wall couldn’t be more than six inches thick, and probably less. My whole body was inside of the wall, and as long as I wanted to stay inside of it, all of me could.
I stood up, looked around, and began to walk along inside the wall that ran beside the alley they had trapped me in. I walked right into the wall of the next house like I was walking down the street. I could see they were still searching for me, so I stayed in the walls and went to the alley I had originally wanted to run into. No one was there now, so I eased myself carefully out of the wall. It was like passing through a curtain. I stepped back inside, and then out again. I shrugged my shoulders, left the alley, and headed back to my hide.
On my way, I thought I would buy some dinner. I stopped outside an inn. There was a blackboard out front with a menu written on it. About halfway through, I realized I was reading!
"I can't read, or at least I couldn't read," I thought to myself.
I looked at the board again. It was all as plain as day. I turned and started reading everything in sight. What a strange sensation it was. I went inside and bought a roll and meat. As I started to leave, I thought it would be nice to sit down at a table to eat. I looked around the room. The people at the tables had better clothes and were cleaner than I was. I would have to change before I could sit and eat, as to not draw attention to myself. There was a lot to think about.
***
I sat in my hide and meditated. I was changing; I could feel it. Not only was my body and mind changing, my thoughts were as well. I was starting to look at things differently. No longer was I satisfied with stealing to survive. I wanted more; I needed more. There was more to my life than hiding in a hole in the wall. I needed a plan. I couldn't just stroll about like a cock of the walk. As sure as I did, some gang would pluck my feathers.
I thought back to the people in the inn. They had better clothes than me and well-kept appearances. I knew the city watch paid little attention to those who were well kept and better dressed. A sneak thief I knew once said, “You need to look the part of a common citizen, not a common thief.”
I needed better clothes and a bath. A bath. It was winter, and I normally didn’t bathe in the winter. The water in the river was too cold, and you'd catch your death. There were the bathhouses, but that costs money. I'd also need to look a little better to even be let in there. I sat, studying the problem.
"I am an idiot," I said, shaking my head. "I can just walk through the wall of the bath
house. I'll take my bath, change clothes, and be gone. Although, I do need to get better clothes before I go to the bathhouse."
There was a clothes shop nearby. The owner was not a tailor, but he bought old clothes people wanted to sell. I'd look there first and see what he had.
At dusk, I made my way to the ragman's shop. He had closed for the day, so I walked down the alley beside his shop and moved back into the deep shadows. Looking around, I saw no one. I wanted to make sure I was alone. I put my hand against the wall and pushed. Nothing. I thought back on how I had got inside the other wall. Nothing specific came to mind; I just wanted to get away. I waited a moment, thinking. “I wanted to get away.”
I placed my hand on the wall. "I want to go inside," I thought to myself. When I pushed this time, my hand started through the wall, and I stepped inside.
I stopped and looked through the wall. The shop was dark, but I could see well enough to move around without tripping. I stepped from the wall and started looking around the shop. What the shop offered was little better than the rags I now wore. I guess I should not expect to find good clothes in a rag shop. I needed to find a tailor's place, which meant I would have to leave the district. But that was dangerous for me. I wouldn’t know any escape routes if I had to get away.
My thoughts stopped. I need not run; I could just step into a wall if I had to. But first, I would need to practice. Getting in here took too long. If someone had been chasing me, I would have been caught. I pushed back into the wall and out into the alley. I turned and pushed back into the wall. I did this several times. It was getting easier, but I was feeling the strain. It felt like I had been running for miles and needed rest. It would be foolish to start my trip exhausted.
On the way back to my hide, I stepped into the wall of an inn. From inside the kitchen wall, I took a meat pie and left a copper on the countertop. I sat in the wall to eat. I don't know why I left the copper. Normally, I would have just taken the pie without a second thought. I shrugged again. I guess this was part of the changes I was going through. I went back to my hide and slept.
Wizard's Alley Page 1