Wizard in the Woods

by Jeffrey M. Poole

“That’s no secret,” Delythia softly told Gareth. “Dinna and I already knew this.”

  “You did? How long have you known?”

  Adyna and her sister shared a conspiratorial smile.

  “For over a year now. I know you took your father’s disappearance very hard, Gareth. It would only make sense that you would go out to look for him. I can’t tell you how many times I had hoped you’d return with news that would either explain his disappearance or prove confirmation of his death.”

  Gareth was appalled. “You want my father to be dead?”

  “That’s not what she’s saying,” Mikal cut in, before either of the women could say anything. “She’s saying that she wants there to be closure once and for all. If your father is alive, that’s great.”

  “Provided he has a reason for disappearing,” Lissa added.

  Mikal nodded.

  “Exactly. But if you found confirmation that your father is dead, regardless of how it happened, at least you’d be able to stop searching. You could finally rest easy. You’re dwelling on his disappearance, and that, in turn, is why I think you were acting up.”

  “Acting up?” Adyna repeated, frowning. She glanced at her son, who immediately dropped his eyes to the floor. “Gareth, what have you done?”

  Gareth’s eyes lifted, but only enough to look at Lissa, who nodded her encouragement.

  “I was feeling bad,” Gareth began. “I missed my father.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Adyna responded as she folded her arms across her chest.

  “I’m the wizard everyone is looking for.”

  Adyna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She glanced at Delythia, whose own shock mirrored her own.

  “What? You’re the renegade wizard? You can’t be. Your jhorun isn’t that strong!”

  Gareth sprang to his feet and began pacing.

  “How would you know? You never talk to me anymore! All you do is bake, day in and day out. You only ever talk to her!” Gareth pointed at his aunt. Delythia’s eyes filled with tears.

  “I talk to you all the time!” Adyna snapped back, growing angry. “Every single day, Gareth. Where are these accusations coming from?”

  “No, you don’t, Dinna,” Delythia softly told her. “You might say hello, or ask how his day was going, but you don’t really talk to him.”

  Adyna’s face reddened.

  “I will not sit here and be accused of –”

  Mikal put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, silencing everyone. Peanut, on the other hand, having heard her signal to return to her owner’s side, was on her feet in a flash and had jumped up onto his lap. Mikal gave her a few pats on the head before he lowered her to the ground.

  “I know what it’s like to not have your father around,” Mikal began.

  “Oh, please,” Adyna scoffed. “You’re the prince. Your father is alive and well.”

  “That’s right,” Mikal agreed, “but for five years I had to live on another world away from him. Both of my parents. Your son has a remarkable talent. He has to be one of the strongest wizards I have ever –”

  “Stop calling him a wizard,” Adyna scolded. “This is my son we’re talking about. He’s no wizard. And if he was then I’m sure I’d know about it.”

  “Did you ever wonder why Shardwyn kept coming to your house and asking you all those questions about your jhorun?” Mikal asked her. “He was looking for the renegade wizard. He had the right house but was focused on the wrong person. Gareth was the one he was looking for but didn’t realize it since he thought Gareth was too young.”

  “He is too young to be a wizard,” Adyna stubbornly declared. “You still have the wrong person. Besides, his jhorun is the ability to remove the odor from dung. That’s why our barn always smells so nice no matter how warm it is outside.”

  Gareth shook his head.

  “It smells that way because I hate the smell of dung, mother. That was one of the first spells I ever cast. It’s still active, to this day. That’s why the barn doesn’t smell like anything, even on a hot day.”

  “So you say. I’m still not convinced, son.”

  Mikal glanced over at Gareth, who had now closed his eyes and was softly chanting. Recognizing that he was about to cast some type of spell, Mikal smiled. He sat back on the sofa and waited. Lissa, catching sight of what Gareth was doing, reached out to take Mikal’s hand. Together they waited for the demonstration Gareth was concocting.

  “This won’t be too thrilling as I’ve used up most of my jhorun today,” Gareth softly announced, “but I do believe it will do.”

  He opened his right hand. A dancing ball of white light appeared on his open palm. He gave it a gentle toss into the air where it remained, hovering near the house’s exposed rafters. Peanut, thinking it was a toy ball, barked enthusiastically at the ball of light. The ball circled around the room. As it passed over each person a small section of the white ball broke off and remained hovering in place. Ten seconds later each person, including Peanut, had a small white ball of light gently pulsating over their heads, almost as if they were misshapen halos.

  Mikal opened his mouth to ask a question but before he could, each ball expanded in size and became a ghostly apparition of the person it was hovering over. Mikal gasped. A ghostly version of himself was grinning eerily down at him from above his head. A quick glance around the room revealed each person was doing the same thing he was: staring silently straight up. Even Peanut was watching her own doppelganger bound, upside down, around the ceiling, jumping over rafters, and silently barking at the other ghostly images.

  “There’s something you don’t see every day,” Mikal quietly observed. He felt Lissa’s grip on his hand tighten.

  Adyna was rendered speechless. She was staring, open mouthed, up at the ceiling as her own twin had taken a seat directly above her. Adyna’s doppelganger waved at her.

  “I can tell you right now that Shardwyn could do something like that,” Mikal told the group, “but not without a lot of time to do it. That took you what, one, maybe two minutes, tops?”

  Gareth shrugged. He blinked twice up at the images on the ceiling and they simultaneously winked out. A few seconds later Gareth morphed into the visage of an old man with a long flowing beard. Adyna and Delythia both gasped with alarm and leapt off the sofa. Peanut, who had never cared for sudden movement, started barking.

  “Shush, Peanut,” Mikal quickly told the dog.

  “This is one of the forms I have adopted when dealing with adults,” the old man said as he addressed the room. “Shifting forms comes quite easily to me.”

  “That’s impressive,” Mikal breathed. “I’ll be honest, Gareth. I’m jealous.”

  The form of the old man switched back to Gareth. A few moments later he rose up off the floor by several feet. Gareth slowly looked around the room. Each person he looked at floated up off the ground until only Peanut remained. She cocked her head to the left and then the right as she watched Mikal waving his arms through the air.

  Once they were all safely back on the ground Gareth waved a hand at the fireplace. A mass of smoke was pulled across the room until it resembled a large cloud just above their heads. After a few moments it slowly condensed itself until it resembled a griffin. The smoke griffin extended its wings and began flying around the room. After a few passes above their heads the teenager sent the smoke back to the fire and allowed it join the other smoke and vent safely outside through the chimney.

  “I could have given the griffin more detail but that’s about all the jhorun I can muster for right now.”

  Adyna slowly stood. She stared at her son in silence for a full minute before she timidly approached him. She raised an arm and reached for her son. Gareth nodded, figuring his mother finally believed him.

  “Aye, mother. That was really me. I’ve been able to do – hey!”

  Instead of reaching for her son Adyna had instead grabbed a cushion from the sofa and had smacked Gareth across the face with it, as tho
ugh they were in the middle of a pillow fight.

  “Are you kidding me?” Adyna shouted. She pulled her arm back and walloped Gareth a second time with the pillow. The pillow had hit Gareth’s face so hard that Mikal actually leaned forward to see if there were any facial imprints on the cushion’s surface. There weren’t. “All this time! The renegade wizard was you? You have caused so many problems, Gareth. Why? Why would you do this?”

  Gareth’s gaze returned to the floor.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? You need to do better than that, young man.”

  “I was bored?”

  “Bored children do not almost take down the entire wyverian population! I heard about that, Gareth. That curse you created for the zweigelans almost destroyed every wyverian there was! The valley is nearby, Gareth. The dragons are our neighbors! What did they ever do to you?”

  “I made the curse but I didn’t invoke it!” Gareth protested, throwing his arms up as protection from the relentless pounding he was taking from his mother’s pillow. “It was nothing personal. I was asked to create a curse, and in return, I’d receive…”

  Gareth trailed off. He looked sheepishly at his new friends before closing his mouth with an audible snap.

  “You’d receive what?” his mother inquired, curious.

  “Umm…”

  “Gareth, spill. What were you promised? Better yet, what were you given?”

  Gareth quietly whispered something under his breath, completely forgetting his mother had much better hearing that he had ever given her credit for.

  “Treasure? You were given a treasure for that curse? Do you know how many dragons suffered??”

  Gareth’s head fell. His eyes filled.

  Mikal cleared his throat.

  “Gareth, you’re trying to make amends, is that right? Were you serious about that?’

  Gareth slowly nodded.

  “How serious?” Mikal wanted to know.

  The young wizard’s head lifted.

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “Because I just thought of a way for you to take the first step.”

  Adyna was definitely interested.

  “He’ll do it. I can promise you that.”

  Mikal noticed a defiant look creep onto Gareth’s young face.

  “Hold up. This is something we can’t force him to do.”

  “The heck I can’t,” Adyna disagreed. “He’s my son and if I say…”

  “Gareth is a young man now,” Mikal interrupted. “Let us see if he’ll willingly atone for the things he’s done.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Gareth sullenly asked.

  “Return the treasure to its rightful owners.”

  Nice.

  Pravara? Have you been listening again?

  Of course. If he agrees to return the treasure then he’s going to make three zweigelans extremely happy.

  I’ll see what I can do.

  “What?” Gareth demanded, outraged. “I worked very hard on that spell. It was some of my best work! It took me a full week to compose it and two months to imbue that metal fang with it. I provided a service. Shouldn’t I be paid for my work?”

  “If you’re worried about work,” Mikal began, “I can assure you that we can find some useful things for you to do. Perhaps you could give Shardwyn a few pointers. He’s always blowing stuff up.”

  “You want me to give up my treasure,” Gareth accused, growing angry. He rounded on Mikal. “I thought you were my friend.”

  “I am. I’m here to help you make amends with your family. And to help you find out what happened to your father. That’s why I’m here, Gareth. However, you need to prove to me your intentions are noble. Do the right thing. Give the treasure back to its rightful owners. I’m told you’ll make three zweigelans very happy.”

  Gareth paced the room as he considered.

  “Would it be that bad to give it all back?” Lissa gently inquired.

  Gareth scoffed. “You’re asking me to give up a lot.”

  Lissa gazed at him with an unreadable expression.

  “Do you feel comfortable with all that treasure knowing you caused harm to a lot of people? Dragons, too?”

  That drew Gareth up short.

  “You told me you really didn’t want to hurt anyone, but that’s what happened,” Lissa continued. “You’re a better person than that, Gareth. Show them. Show us. You’ll do it, won’t you?”

  Gareth sighed and sank back down onto his chair. Half a heartbeat later Peanut had jumped up onto his chair and was snuggling with him on his lap. The young wizard gave the friendly corgi a few scratches behind her ears.

  “Alright. I’ll do it. It’s just that… I was planning on buying them a new house, only…”

  “Only you didn’t know how to pay for it using dragon gold?” Mikal guessed.

  “It’s mostly jewels,” Gareth confessed, “but aye. There’s no one in the village I can trust. Presenting jewels larger than my fist was bound to generate a question or two.”

  “You were going to buy us a new house?” his mother softly asked, her temper diminishing. “That’s so sweet of you!”

  “That’ll never happen now,” Gareth sullenly told her. “With my treasure gone we’re back to having little to no money.”

  The zweigelans have been notified but there’s a problem.

  What?

  Each zweigelan is unwilling to agree on how much each contributed. They are now bickering amongst themselves, like dragonlets.

  What do we have to do? Get your father involved?

  Indubitably. He will not be thrilled.

  Why?

  My father doesn’t like to deal with petty affairs. If he’s forced to arbitrate this then he’s more than likely going to split the treasure between all wyverians.

  They’ve all suffered, Mikal agreed. Perhaps they should.

  I will suggest it. Do not say anything to the boy. This is not his problem.

  You got it.

  Mikal stretched and sat up straight in his chair.

  “Gareth, may I make a proposal?”

  The teenager glanced irritably his way, as though Mikal alone was responsible for the loss of his beloved treasure.

  “Go on.”

  “You’re a wizard. You no doubt possess a strong jhorun. Have you noticed anything different about it lately?”

  Gareth’s face darkened.

  “Why? What have you heard?”

  Mikal blinked a few times. That wasn’t what he had expected to hear.

  “The only thing I’m referring to,” Mikal carefully said, “is the fact that your jhorun probably isn’t as strong as it used to be.”

  Gareth crossed his arms defiantly across his chest.

  “There’s nothing wrong with my jhorun.”

  “Have you ever depleted your jhorun before?” Lissa asked. When Gareth didn’t say anything she continued. “I’m willing to bet you’ve been wondering why your jhorun’s stamina has been decreasing.”

  All eyes turned to Gareth.

  “Maybe. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Gareth, I believe you’re stronger than Shardwyn. Actually, I don’t think there’d be anyone that could refute that. Do you realize that? You’re the strongest wizard in Lentari!”

  Gareth shrugged.

  “Shardwyn can’t be as bad as you say. Crafting a spell is so easy. Anyone could do it.”

  Mikal grinned. “I’m going to have to disagree with you on that one.”

  “Why? Because Shardwyn has trouble composing a spell?”

  “Gareth, I’ve seen him blow up his tower on more than one occasion. In fact, the last time was about three months ago. It scared all of us. My father thought we were under attack and ordered the castle to be sealed. We should have known it was a faulty spell.”

  Gareth snickered.

  “Don’t get me started about his potions,” Mikal continued. “He typically burns every other potion he attempts, has his co
mpleted potions mislabeled, and all of his potion ingredients are probably stale.”

  Gareth elected to keep quiet but at least he was smiling.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Gareth. Shardwyn is a powerful wizard. He’s done a lot of good for my father. It’s just that… he’s… hmmm. How do I put this without sounding ungrateful?”

  “He’s a nincompoop?” Adyna suggested, eliciting giggles and chuckles from everyone present.

  Mikal smiled. “He’s a bit unorthodox at times but at least his heart is in the right place. What I’m trying to get at is we could use Gareth’s help in dealing with a problem that, uh, we are facing right now.”

  “You want to know why our jhorun is weaker than it normally is.” Gareth guessed.

  Mikal gave the teenager a triumphant look. Gareth scowled.

  “That doesn’t mean that I… blast. Fine. I have felt the effects on my jhorun, too. I just attributed it to mental stress.”

  “I’ve noticed it, too,” Delythia added. “I used to be able to predict what the weather would be like for the next week and now I can only accurately predict what the next two days will be like. I miss my jhorun. It isn’t much as far as jhoruns go but I would like it back to the same levels as they used to be.”

  “That’s what we’re working on right now,” Mikal told her. “My father is aware of the problem. In fact, he’s meeting with the Dragon Lord today to address this very problem.”

  “He’s probably already done with his meeting,” Lissa reminded him. “It’s past midday. At least I hope they’re done.”

  The meeting continues.

  “Pravara says they are still in their meeting,” Mikal announced.

  Gareth gave him a quizzical look.

  “How do you know this?”

  Mikal grinned.

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  The teenage wizard gave him an incredulous look.

  “Obviously.”

  “I’m chatting with Pravara. She just told me her father is still talking with my father.”

  “That dark green dragon is the daughter of Kahvel, the Dragon Lord?” Gareth asked, shocked. “Wizards be damned. Every dragon out there will be out for my blood after what happened yesterday.”

  “What happened yesterday?” his mother inquired, frowning.