Laz slowed down only when the barracks was out of sight and the mud caking onto his slippers could no longer be ignored. He stopped to catch his breath and rested against the fencing along the path leading into the market square. Sounds of the merchants calling out their deals to passersby mingled with laughing children, the general bustle of a crowded market, and the sharp but melodic singing of a young woman.
Between his gasps for air, he listened close for the sound of a trailing knight. What’s wrong with me? Why did I think a knight would ever be anything more than a power-hungry prick?
He thought back to the conversation he had with Calder the day before. How honest his soft brown eyes looked, even if the rest of him was covered in the king’s armor. Part of him was grateful his mentor wasn’t around to see him trust an outsider – and a knight, no less – with such an important piece of his knowledge. The focus is really gone. It was the last thing master tasked me with, and I failed him.
His breathing tightened as the morning sun crept over the horizon and shone on him. Laz blotted at his face with his tunic, hoping that when the sweat was wiped away the heat would leave with it. Just perfect, another hot day. Where’s that chill your mother promised, Bek?
The reality of the focus being gone started to set in. If Calder didn’t steal it, but also couldn’t find it, Laz’s time as a wizard was finished. Finding another gem like that, with the money he earned, would take years of saving and another few years just to track one down once he had the funds. The crops in Evermine would have a smaller window to grow, the people would be hungrier. He felt a hard lump forming in his throat.
“Laz, dearie, is that you?” A cheerful yet inquisitive voice said from behind him.
He recognized the voice without turning. It was Laurel, the tailor. In the past, Laz had been fond of her. Any garment she made was far more beautiful than what the other tailors in Evermine were capable of. Growing up, she encouraged him to wear whatever he felt comfortable in, and told off those in town who picked on him for wearing flowing robes and gowns. Of course, he still hardly wore anything like that outside of his own home. Though he had never experienced the specific familial bond, he assumed it was how one thought of an aunt, or maybe older sister. Much older. Their relationship had once been the closest Laz had outside of his mentor, Edre.
And then Laz almost burned down her home.
After he and half the town helped put out the fire and make sure Laurel was okay, Laz cried out an apology and had avoided her since.
I can’t let her see me, especially like this! He had considered speaking to her after enough time had passed. What he hadn’t considered was seeing her whilst covered in sweat and mud, in nothing more than a sleeping tunic, all on the brink of having a breakdown.
He coughed to try and clear away the built up tears. “Sorry, I’m very busy with my research. We’ll have to talk some other time!” As he spoke, he resumed his brisk pace back to his home.
“Oh, well, good luck!” She sounded altogether unfazed, either unaware she was being avoided or choosing to ignore how rude the once-friendly wizard was behaving.
Laz threw his hand up and waved. The guilt of his accident was reinvigorated in his mind.
“But dear, please don’t feel bad about what happened,” Laurel called out before Laz could disappear behind the corner of a house. “I miss having you in my shop! You’re still my favorite in town to sew for.”
His guilt reached a peak, and Laz stopped. Still without turning, he couldn’t help as some of the tears escaped from his eyes and settled on his cheeks. “I’ll be around again, soon.” His voice was quiet and trembling but he managed to be loud enough.
“Wonderful. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on.”
Laz smiled and waited to hear Laurel’s footsteps leave the path and enter the market with all the other voices. His joy was short lived, as he remembered why he was standing on the road home in his nightwear.
Home was only a few more minutes walk away. He knew Calder or another knight would walk by and wanted nothing less than to be seen by any of the laughing imbeciles again. So, doing his best to ignore how muddy his slippers were becoming, he jogged along the trail.
Thankfully it seemed most of the townsfolk were at the market or at least staying inside, and Laz encountered no one else on his way back. He did see a few honey bees buzzing among the flowers that sprung up on the side of the path. He was careful to not disturb any of them, as he wanted to avoid a sting as well as keep them happy enough to stay in his part of town and pollinate his raven lilies.
At last, he reached the stone walkway leading up to his ramshackle home. The cool stones, still in the shade from the trees, tempted Laz to sit on them and catch his breath again. He was in the middle of contemplating it when a sound came from inside.
A heavy thump against wood, with some light clattering that followed. Laz froze. Did the burglar come back for the rest of it? Do they want the spell book? Or just whatever savings I’ve stored up? On instinct, Laz reached for his right wrist, only to discover it was bare. Damn, I left my bracelet by my bed. Bet they’ll try and take that too if I let them leave.
The sounds continued, a series of bangs, crashes, and thuds all through his lab. If he wasn’t frozen with fright he would have winced at how much damage he pictured taking place. If the book gets stolen, or even destroyed…
He shook himself free from the grip of fear and tried to come up with a plan. On the side of the pathway was a small tin garden ornament with several glass beads hanging from it. His mentor took great pride in the appearance of their dilapidated shack, something that had gotten out of hand in his absence. The ornament was in a patch of overgrown prickle grass. At one point it had the appearance of a star but years of wind bent it over into an unrecognizable piece of scrap. Each tip of the star had a glass bead hanging down – the size of an acorn – and those were what caught Laz’s attention.
It’s not perfect but it’s all I have for now. He yanked one of the beads off the decoration and held it in his palm. Weak, but serviceable.
Glass was an awful material for a focus. Not only was it a pain to weave a spell inside of, but it had no durability whatsoever. Even a large glass orb, made by a true master of the craft, wouldn’t get more than two uses from it before shattering. And what’s more, the spell would be a shadow of what it’s truly capable of. Any trained wizard would know to only use glass in times where no other option is available. The only thing that would make it any worse would be attempting a new spell with it. Which was precisely what Laz was aiming to do.
Dazer, he thought to himself, hoping the knowledge would return. It was a spell of his own design, that he had never once pulled off successfully. The intention was to make a spell that could defend him in times of crisis. Something that would stun a pursuer long enough to make a getaway and find help elsewhere. His mentor had steered away from teaching Laz any spells that could harm others, going so far as to keep them in a separate book that he took with him to Devrune two years prior.
Laz, aiming to respect his mentor’s wishes, tried to find a middle ground. Dazer was defensive, not offensive. If performed properly, no harm would come to whoever it was used on. He supposed someone could use it as a way to attack a defenseless target but – so long as he never taught it to anyone else – he didn’t see the issue.
He held the glass bead between his thumb and first two fingers of his right hand. As he took quiet steps toward his front door, he begged his mind to recall the spell. It had been years since he tried to learn it, with Exchange Elixir taking priority and all of his practice afterwards.
Dazer, Dazer, come on, Dazer! I know I was so close to finishing it back then. I should have taken a few weeks to finalize it before working on that stupid elixir the whole time.
Inside, the noises quieted. No more knocking against the wooden floors or glass instruments bumping against each other was heard. No, they’re trying to leave out the window! They must have spotted me, damn it!
Laz bounded up the rest of the path and barged into his own front door. “Stop, thief! Don’t move, or I’ll cast a spell of instant death!” He held the bead in front of him, aiming it around in no specific direction.
To his surprise, the lab was not a complete wreck. To his greater surprise, all of the windows were still closed. The only oddities he noticed were a couple of broken vials on his desk. His hands fell to his side. What’s going on? Did they move on to my bedroom? Why haven’t they taken any–
His thoughts were interrupted by another crash, this time in his cabinet, only a few feet in front of him. Laz jumped back, letting out a soft yelp along the way. Now that he was closer, he could hear a new sound. A muffled chirping. Or was it growling? It was nothing he could recognize but it did tell him one vital piece of information: something alive, human or otherwise, was in the cabinet.
The sweat that had been causing Laz great discomfort all day – all his life, really – went cold. The small breaths he was able to take were shaky and far between. When the imaginary culprit was a person, Laz was frightened but knew he could perhaps reason with them, or intimidate them if he was lucky. Now, though, anything could leap out of the cabinet at him. Kradall had its fair share of dangerous creatures inhabiting it, and while none of them had been spotted in Evermine lately, every few years a dire fox or pantry bear would make its way into town and cause mayhem. There was no reasoning with a wild animal.
Stolen novel; please report.
Fear of the missing focus and gems disappeared, replaced with a fear of his life. From the cabinet, the strange growling turned into a guttural choking. Laz braced himself, prepared for the worst to jump and attack him.
“Laz! Oh, there you are.” The voice came from behind.
With a frantic spin, Laz turned and pointed the glass bead at Calder, who was now standing in the doorway, equipped with his usual plate armor and slicked hair.
Calder held up his hands. “Hey, listen, I’m not here to hurt you.” He stepped toward Laz as he spoke. “I have some of the other knights on the lookout for your thief. Sorry things got weird back there, but they’re just idiots. You have to ignore them to not lose your wits.”
Laz didn’t speak. He looked down to Calder’s waist where he kept his sword. A standard issue weapon for any knight, a steel blade with a puny ruby – or cheaper lookalike – set in the hilt. As ugly a weapon as it was, Laz was overjoyed to see it.
“Calder!” He scurried behind the much larger frame of the knight. “Can’t believe I’m actually glad you’re here.”
“Excuse me?” Calder looked confused but still grinned. “What changed?”
Another raspy cough came from the cabinet, along with a shake that startled both of them. Calder’s hand went to his sword while Laz clung to the knight’s shoulder without realizing.
Laz whispered, “There, in the cupboard. Something’s in there.”
“Do you know what it is?” Calder asked. “Some sort of beast?”
“If I knew what it was I would tell you!” Laz let go of Calder’s shoulder, hoping he didn’t realize what had happened in the panic. “Go, deal with it. You’re a knight, after all.”
“Well, you have that little glass ball you aimed at me. Can’t you do anything with that?”
Laz scoffed and tossed the bead to the floor, where it rolled next to the silver ore from earlier. “No, ignore that. Just–”
The cabinet rattled once again.
“Please, okay?” Laz closed his eyes tight – from fear or embarrassment he didn’t know – and backed away. “Could you please go deal with whatever is in there?”
“Of course.” Calder didn’t say it with any smugness. He looked confident but not arrogant as he steadily walked toward the cupboard and grabbed the door.
Now that’s how a knight should be. Why doesn’t he ever act that way when he’s babysitting me?
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait outside?” Calder said over his shoulder in a hushed tone. “It could get bloody.”
Laz considered stepping outside. Getting sprayed with the blood of a wild animal, or even Calder, did not sound appealing. Yet, part of him wanted to be there in case the knight got injured. He’s doing this to protect me, I suppose. May as well be ready with a Rapid Refresh if things get messy.
“No, I’ll be alright.”
Calder nodded. With a deep breath and a quick swig of his arm, the cupboard swung open.
“What the hell?” Calder said. He didn’t drop his guard but didn’t seem very threatened.
Laz’s vision was blocked by Calder, making him unable to see what had puzzled the knight. “What is it? Is it a dire fox?”
“It’s…” Calder stepped back. “I’m not entirely sure. A snake, maybe?”
“What?” Laz hesitated before walking to the cabinet himself. “A snake doesn’t make sounds like that, you dolt.”
“Then what do you suggest it is, eh?”
Sure enough, when Laz pushed Calder aside to look at the cabinet, he saw a small snake-like creature inside. Or at least half of it. A white shimmering tail with a purple streak was hanging out of a small wooden crate where Laz kept his iron cooking tools. It flailed around, knocking the box into the walls of the cabinet.
“I think it’s stuck,” Calder said. He began to put his sword away.
Laz stopped his arm from fully sheathing the sword. “Wait, we still don’t know what it is. It could attack once it’s out.”
“Then pull it out and I’ll be ready to defend you.” Calder smirked, returning to his typical cockiness.
“Maybe it would be safer to kill it while it’s stuck?” Laz felt bad suggesting the slaughter of a confused creature. “Or lift the lid with your sword. Then if it attacks, you’re ready to strike.”
“Fine, fine.” Calder wedged his blade between the crate and its lid, where the mysterious beast seemed to be having trouble escaping. With a slow levering motion, the sword pried it off, freeing the not-snake.
Out of the box, the creature backed up until they could see all of it. It did look a lot like a snake, though much thicker and shorter. More of a worm than a snake. Its white shining body looked unlike the scales snakes typically had, instead looking like one solid, hard exterior. The purple from its tail ran all the way up its belly on the underside, and had a small patch on its head as well. Its eyes were large and bulged out of its head, more like a frog than a snake. They even had sideways pupils like the amphibians that favored the swamps.
All of that would have amazed Laz, if the creature wasn’t also in the middle of swallowing his cooking tongs. One end was down its throat, while the other stuck out, preventing them from being swallowed.
“Hey!” Laz reached his hand toward it but pulled back once he remembered it was an animal he had never seen before. Or, maybe I have? Something about it feels familiar.
Calder took action, picking up the not-snake with one hand and pulling out the tongs from its gullet with the other. He handed the slimy utensil to Laz. “Here, put these somewhere safe.”
Laz reluctantly grabbed the dry end of them and tossed them onto his desk, further shattering some of his empty vials. “What kind of stupid creature tries to eat metal?”
The not-snake let out a high pitched whine. It writhed around in Calder’s grasp until it slipped out and slithered to the chunk of silver ore. Its mouth opened wide, revealing no teeth but a white interior that matched its skin, just as glittery. In a slow, calculated motion it began swallowing the silver chunk, until it became too wide to fit. The beast wasn’t deterred, however, as it seemed content to sit and slobber on the metallic rock.
“What an odd little fella,” Calder said. “Looks like he thinks rocks are food. Pretty thing, though.”
Laz gasped out a laugh at the absurdity of what he was witnessing. “What are you talking about, ‘pretty thing,’ are you mad? We have no idea what this thing is! And now it’s trying to eat the only thing I have left to my name!”
“Right, I’ll get that for ya.”
Calder picked up the silver chunk, leaving the not-snake to lose its grip and release it from its mouth. It let out another whine – deeper this time – and glared its sideways eyes at him.
“I feel bad,” Calder said. “It’s like we’re starving it.”
The creature gave up its anger toward the knight and slinked toward the glass bead Laz dropped. In one gulp it was consumed. Unfortunately, the beast huffed in response, perhaps unsatisfied with such a dull meal. It approached Calder again, staring up at his sword with glistening yellow eyes.
Calder followed its gaze to the red gem on his sword’s hilt. “You want this, buddy?” He kneeled down and pulled the sword out far enough that the not-snake could reach it.
Laz watched in disgust as it crawled forward, showing no fear of humans in its movements. Once next to Calder, it pounced on the sword’s handle. A few seconds later, it let go, and the gem was no longer there.
“Oh no,” Laz muttered. “Oh no, you have to be joking, you must be!” He collapsed onto his desk chair and held his head in his hands. “This stupid thing is the gem thief! It’s what ate the gems, isn’t it!”
Calder gasped. “Wow, I bet you’re right. Good thinking, honestly, it would have taken me days to piece that together.”
The not-snake let out a different sound, this one cheerful and song-like. It reached out to Calder’s leg, and curled around it before laying its head down and appearing to fall asleep.
“Hah, look at that. He likes me!” Calder smiled at Laz. “Well then I guess I can call off the other knights’ search then.”
“How are you acting so calm around this thing!” Laz shouted, not caring about the napping beast. “Have you ever even heard of an animal that eats–”
Wait. I have heard of this before. Laz remembered when he was a child. His mentor would have him read books in his bedroom while he worked on perfecting spells and making notes. It was one of those dreary days when Laz learned about it. It was a weak memory, though. In a book about myths.
“Hold on a moment.” He ran to his mentor’s room and opened up his closet. It was packed with books, robes, stray papers, and cobwebs all the way to the top. Laz started on the bottom row, running his finger along the edges of all the book spines searching for anything that rang a bell. Though since he had read most of them, that happened more than a few times.
It was something about “myths” I know that for sure. He saw dozens of titles that caught his eye. Legendary Wizards, Bugs for Potions, The Tale of the Mad King. None of them were the one. After searching every large book with a visible spine, he reached for a small basket at the top. It was filled with smaller booklets that were only bound with twine.
“Hey, is everything alright in there?” Calder called out. “I think our friend will be asleep for a while and I don’t wanna move him.”
“I said to hold on!” Laz sat on the bed that was already covered in spare outfits. He dumped the basket out and scrambled to read the titles as fast as he could. In the middle of it all, he saw it.
Myths and Credibility: What’s real and what’s rumor?
With a genuine chuckle he grabbed it and rushed back to the lab where Calder was slowly dragging himself and the sleeping creature toward a chair. “Oh, please, could you slide that chair over to–”
“This should tell us what’s going on!” He held up the book for Calder to see and sat down in the chair he was inching toward. He flipped through the stiff, aging pages – there were less than forty total – until he spotted it. A faded drawing that resembled their not-snake all too closely. “See? This is it, right? The Jewelry Snatcher.”
Calder, finally close enough to lean against the chair, gave a nod. “Yeah, that’s our pal alright.”
“It was supposedly found in the mountains eighty years ago under Queen Deva’s rule. One report says it was found in a noblewoman’s jewelry box, back when nobles actually lived in Evermine. Then one day it was taken to the castle for research and that’s the last it was seen.” Laz couldn’t help but smile that his old research had come in handy. He looked over at Calder to see if he was impressed, but instead saw him with a drained look.
“Laz, do you see what that says on the bottom?” He laid his rough finger on the base of the page.
In plain letters, clear as day, Laz read:
While some experts disagreed at the time, it is now generally accepted that the beast was a dragon – perhaps the last of its kind.