Wil stumbled out of the office on rubbery legs. It was done. At least, it was done for the day. With any luck he and Syl could unwind over a couple of drinks and swap stories. In a strange way, he envied the faun. Things would be harder for him in some ways, but he didn’t have family or a permanent presence in Calipan yet. Chances were they wouldn’t lock up the prince.
The office next to Pierce’s was open and empty when Wil peeked his head in. No lights, no life, no faun. It was startling at first, until he realized Syl probably just got finished first. He was probably waiting for Wil at that very moment in the lobby.
All the voices and signs of life didn’t seem so bad now that he was leaving. Wil walked through the offices, trying his best to remember the way out. After a couple of wrong turns, he bumped into someone his own age, who directed him to the front. He thanked her and went to the front.
Syl wasn’t there either, and neither was he outside when Wil opened the door. He turned to the receptionist. “Um, have you seen my friend?”
“You mean the seven foot tall goat man?” the middle aged woman said with a wry smile. “Hard to miss. He left about half an hour ago with an escort.”
“What!?”
“For what it’s worth,” she said in a soothing tone, “he didn’t look upset. On the contrary. He had a big smile on his face and was talkin’ the men’s ears off.”
“That’s Syl,” said Wil. “Damn. Okay, thank you.”
Chinis waited for him in the parking lot, leaning against their temporary car. “You look like hell, McKenzie. I take it they weren’t gentle?”
“According to the man I spoke to, they were.” Wil joined him and slumped against the car with a groan. “That was rough. And then I come out and Syl’s gone.”
“Yeah, he got taken to the Ambrose Estate as a guest of the president,” said Chinis with a shrug. “I guess Bullworth’s curious.”
Wil jolted to alertness. “Seriously? Syl is hanging out with the Big Bull?”
President Barry Bullworth was a contentious figure. Wil couldn’t say he was particularly fond of him or his policies, but as a master wizard and employee of Calipan, being vocal about politics was frowned upon. Most wizards cared more for which possible candidate was sympathetic to them and their causes. They had more prestige and power, at the cost of less freedom and uneasiness from society.
Calipan wasn’t a magocracy like old Ramenia had been before it fell, and some people worried about returning to the old ways. Bullworth and his cabinet hadn’t overtly increased the power or rights of those with magic, but he surrounded himself with grandmasters and archmages as his closest company. It was enough to make Wil nervous, but also hopeful.
“Seems that way,” Chinis said. “He’ll be okay. You ready to see your new home for the next year?”
“Don’t joke like that,” Wil said, making a face. “It’s not going to take that long. But yes, I would love to see Marlowe Manor.”
Syl was probably okay, and in any event, Wil had no power to change anything. He got in the car. Chinis followed, powering it up and driving them away from the office. After a few minutes, the constant, claustrophobic pressure eased and the two wizards breathed sighs of relief.
A minute later, Wil extended his senses to the city around him. It felt sickly and tired, depleted. It was still better than the awkward nothingness of the antimagic field. It got better as Chinis took them out of the city proper and out into the frozen wetlands nearby. The feeling of life returned, and Wil breathed it in.
He’d managed to finally relax when the dirt road spat them out into a massive clearing amidst the trees and bogs. Although winter had left a layer of snow on the grounds, it was kept neat and tidy by a team of workers, even now keeping the walkways clear. The house itself was about half the size of Saint Balthazar’s and had room for dozens of high ranking wizards to stay.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Chinis asked upon seeing Wil’s expression. “You’re gonna be stuck here a while, but at least you’ll have a library full of journals written by grandmasters. And the workshop. I’d come here for the workshop alone, if they’d have me.”
They passed the workshop, its own big building with open doors and windows and the sound of hammers on metal and a persistent whine Wil realized was from a magical device, possibly even an artisan’s prototype. The land around them felt better, more loved and lived in. And by the time they approached the main house, Wil felt Isom’s mental presence brush against his.
The wampus cat came running through the snow at the car, running past it and forcing Chinis to slam on the breaks and swear under his breath. “Stupid cat.”
“I think he’s just excited,” said Wil. “This place probably seems like a buffet to him, even more than the Madhouse.”
“Keep a short leash on him,” said Chinis. “For his own good.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The grounds here are lush, even in winter. There is prey to be found in the woods. Isom’s thoughts crashed into Wil seconds before he could get out of the car.
“I’m glad,” said Wil as he exited the car and looked around. “Have you been behaving yourself? If you don’t cause any trouble, we can see about letting you hunt.”
The wampus cat’s tail lashed out behind him with interest. He fell behind Wil and Chinis as they approached the house. Chinis answered the question Isom avoided.
“I told them he was yours and that he’s bound to do no harm, so I guess it’s working out well. But if he gets in the way of someone bigger and badder than you…”
“I understand,” said Wil. As worried as he was, the excitement at being there overrode all other thoughts. Even the day’s interrogations were far away now that he could feel the magic in the air, not quite as thick as Faerie but clearly changed by the presence of wizards.
“Your things are already here, and someone will show you to your room,” said Chinis. “Keep your head down, and maybe consider making use of the facilities while you’re here.”
They stopped in front of twin doors twice as tall as Will, framed by two columns on each side in the old style of Tragopolis temples. “Are you not coming with me?” Wil asked.
Chinis shook his head. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you, but as far as my bosses are concerned, my job is mostly over. I have to report in and discuss my next posting. I’ll probably try to keep it here, so I can see what they do to you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” said Wil.
Chinis flashed him a lopsided grin. “No problem. Take care, McKenzie.” He saluted Wil with two fingers and walked back to the car. Then it was just him and Isom.
“Alright, then. Do you think we ring or knock, or just go in?”
Isom tilted his head curiously. “Ring?”
“I don’t know why I asked you.” Wil chuckled, shaking his head. He rang the bell and waited. Not two seconds later, the door opened and an impeccably dressed maid with a blond bun beamed at him.
“You must be our new guest!” she squeaked in a voice sharp enough to make Isom’s ears flatten against his skull. “And with a handsome pet.”
“Wil McKenzie,” Wil introduced himself. “And Isom the wampus cat. I was told my room is ready?”
“It sure is! I’m Madeline, but you can call me Maddy!” Her enthusiasm was equal parts infectious and off-putting. “Come on in.” Maddy opened the door wide and ushered them in.
The inside was even better. The tiles on the floor formed an outward spiral from the center of the room, all different colors of the rainbow. Each arm eventually broke off down a hallway from the foyer. A crystal chandelier hung above them, a pulsing light casting dancing shadows over the walls. Little flying ships containing letters sailed through the air, carefully moving to avoid maids cleaning one stretch of the floor. Paintings on the walls moved in slow, jerky moments, acting out a gesture or expression for all eternity.
“Wow,” Wil breathed. “How enchanted is this place?”
“Enough to need an entire team of enchanters working round the clock to provide enough power and stability to keep everything running,” replied Maddy. She gestured to the hallway down to the left. “If you follow me, I’ll show you to your room.”
We are being watched.
Wil shook his head. Of course we are. This is one of the most prestigious, carefully taken care of magical resources in Calipan, and we’re under serious scrutiny.
He got the impression of Isom growling, as if he was being stupid, then silence. They followed Maddy down one corridor, which quickly became a windy, uneven tunnel, dark except for flickering balls of light in the air. Wil couldn’t help but say, “Wow, Marlowe really was a bit mad, wasn’t he?”
“We like to think of him as a genius with understanding of things beyond us!” Maddy recited for the umpteenth time. “Morgan Marlowe chose the location carefully and built it according to magical geometry only one or two people today understand. No matter how strange things may seem, you may be assured that Master Marlowe knew what he was doing.”
They passed by a hall of tall windows, each one showing a different landscape. Wil wasn’t sure how he felt about the story Maddy gave, but if the magic was based on geometry, perhaps leylines had something to do with it. He closed his eyes and probed for the nearest one. He found it almost immediately, and that alone gave him a start.
The leylines, multiple, were not close. Each one was miles away, but he could feel them clearly, and almost touch the power waiting. He didn’t dare try. Marlowe Manor itself had no leylines running through the main property, and instead sat in the middle of many of them. It didn’t make sense to Wil, but maybe there was something to the stories about the mad Master Marlowe’s brilliance.
Maddy directed them to a round, open room in one of the corners of the manor. Doors lined the wall, separated only by a couple feet, all facing to the recessed center of the room where cushions were laid down. Two middle aged men and one older woman sat in the pit. One of the men had a book open, while the other two talked in a hushed voice. They stopped upon seeing Wil and stared. Did they know what he had done?
“Here we are, number 18.” Maddy opened the door for him. Isom ran ahead, making the maid flinch.
Wil flashed her an apologetic smile and entered his room. It was about the size of the first floor of his home. There was a sitting area, a desk next to a line of bookshelves, a bed big enough for three, and a separate bathroom and small kitchenette. It took him several seconds of gaping before the obvious hit him: it was bigger on the inside.
The amount of constant magical power to keep all the enchantments going and the rune work impeccably preserved made Wil light headed. This was what the true masters of the craft were capable of. The ones capable of sensitive, intricate work. Wil could only dream of reaching that level.
“It’s acceptable,” Isom declared, jumping up on the bed and making himself comfortable.
“Sure, acceptable is a word for it.” Wil walked over to the closet, where his meager luggage had been opened and his clothes hung up. Not only that, but there were formal, expensive looking clothes he’d wager fit him perfectly.
“Well,” said Wil, breathless. “If I had to be stuck anywhere…”