Triss’s heart was pounding in her chest as she walked briskly across the square. She kept to the side opposite the soldiers, who were browsing the wares at a small shop next to Jonal’s. None of them were looking her way. Instead, they were joking around with each other, pointing out different things for sale, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. One bumped into a small table set with knick-knacks, knocking several onto the ground.
Triss was so engrossed in watching the soldiers on the opposite side of the square that she failed to see the two other soldiers come around a corner in front of her. She ran directly into them, sending one sprawling backwards on the ground as he tripped over his own spear. She managed to stay on her feet, but a couple items tumbled out of her bag and onto the ground. She scrambled to pick them up, hurriedly throwing things back into the bag as she mumbled an apology. She reached out a hand to pick up her new notebook, which was the last item on the ground. The butt of a spear slammed into the book, pinning it down.
“You need to watch where you’re goin’ missy.” The soldier sneered down at her. He had greasy black hair that was in desperate need of a trim and a wash, and a thick black beard that hung down to the bottom of his neck. His teeth were gapped and yellowed, and he smelled exactly as he looked.
“I’m sorry?” She asked nervously. She took a breath and tried to steel her nerves. “You’re absolutely right of course. I should be watching where I am going. Very sorry.” She tugged gently on the book as she spoke, and finally managed to free it. She threw it in her bag and jumped to her feet. The soldier glared at her. “I’ll absolutely do better, watch where I’m going, all that.” She said hurriedly as she backed away. When she was out of arms reach she spun and walked swiftly away.
“Eh! I ain’t done wit you yet.” The soldier called after her. “You ain’t apologized to my friend here for knocking him over.” He started following her, several steps behind. “Ain’t that right Derrel?”
The other soldier, now on his feet, had caught up with his companion and was also following. “That’s right!” the soldier apparently named Derrel replied emphatically.
Triss turned and walked backwards, clutching her bag in front of her like a shield. “I’m sorry for knocking you over Derrel.” She plastered on a fake smile and answered as politely as she could. She spun back forwards and started walking faster. The soldiers kept calling to her, but she pretended not to hear them. She turned a corner, and took off running, hoping to put enough distance between her and the soldiers to get away. She didn’t think she could outrun them if it came down to that, but she hoped they wouldn’t find her worth chasing.
She, unfortunately, was wrong. As soon as they turned the corner and saw her fleeing they started pursuing her. Their hard soled boots clattered on the cobblestones as they ran, the harsh noise drumming off the walls at her. She ran as fast as she could, her legs and lungs burning with the effort. She came to a corner and turned down without hesitation.
The road ended at the outer wall twenty feet in front of her.
She ran up to the wall, hoping there was a ladder or something she could use to get away. Nothing. She turned as the two men entered the cul de sac. They were breathing heavily and sweating, and neither looked happy about having to chase her. Her mind raced, and she came up with one desperate ploy.
“You don’t want to do this.” She said. She stood up straighter. “I wasn’t running because I’m scared. I ran because I don’t like killing. I had hoped to spare your lives.” She tried to speak with an imperious tone like Percival had used. “But since you were foolish enough to pursue me, I shall be forced to end you.”
“Oh yeah missy?” The greasy man asked. “And how do you figure you’ll do that?”
“Don’t call me Missy.” She snapped at him, throwing herself into the role. “I am Beatrice Emily Lilian Mitchell the First, Dark Wizard of the Primary Order.” She declared. She held up one hand, a small flame glowing there.
The two men stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. Derrel nearly fell over he was laughing so hard, and had to clutch on to his spear for support. “Dark Wizard!” The greasy man said, nearly gasping for air. “Dark Wizard she says.”
Triss held the pose, hoping that somehow the ruse would suddenly start to work. It was, of course, a foolish notion. But she had precious little else at the moment.
Derrel and the greasy man finally stopped laughing. They started walking towards her. “You ain’t no Dark Wizard missy. Aint a wizard alive who’d hesitate to kill someone what threatens them, dark or no.” He sneered at her, then held up a hand. A tiny flame appeared in his hand. “Sides, even I can light a flame. You ain’t got no power.”
“She may not. Neither do you.”
Triss was shocked to see Reginald appear behind the men as suddenly as his earlier disappearance was. His hood was up so only his snout was visible, the rest of his face hidden deep in shadow. It didn’t seem as comical to Triss as it had before.
“Who the f-“ was all greasy man got out. Purple bands wrapped around his legs, mouth, chest, and arms. He collapsed to the ground like a felled oak, slamming hard against the cobblestones. Derrel followed a second later.
“Now. I have a couple questions. Who’s volunteering to answer?” He said to the men in a tone that made glaciers seem warm and fuzzy. Both men made frantic noises behind their gags.
Triss walked over to join Reginald. Her panic was subsiding quickly, and she was mildly surprised by that. Of course, I’ve been panicked so much that maybe I’m just used to it now. She thought. She pointed at Derrel. “That one looks like he might talk.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Reginald nodded, then knelt down next to Derrel. “Listen carefully Derrel. I’m going to removed the gag. Try to call your fellow soldiers, and I’ll make sure you have many wonderful and inventive reasons to scream. Understood?” He didn’t wait for a response before removing the gag. He sat on the mans chest and began to clean under his claws. “Now then, Mr….”
“Derrel.” Triss supplied helpfully.
“Excellent. Now then, Mr. Derrel. Let’s start with the basics. Who you work for, why you’re here, and of course, how many of you are there.”
“Uh, there’s about fifty of us. We’re mercenaries under Captain Thrend. Thrends Bloody Hand is the company name.” Derrel said hurriedly. “We…we was hired by Mister Grostel to catch some thieves that have been ambushing his shipments. They were near here last we heard.”
Reginald nodded. “And what about that position or charter gives you standing to bother the residents of Thalonia?” When Derrel’s only response was a blank look, Reginald sighed. “I mean what gives you the right to bother folks in town?” Derrel seemed deep in thought over that question, but after a moments consideration is only response was “What?”.
Reginald sighed. The gag around Derrel’s mouth was instantly back. “Well, they’re obviously useless. He pulled out a wand and pointed it at the greasy man. The purple bands began to constrict, crushing the man. He screamed against the gag as bones began to snap and crack under the immense pressure. Triss stood, too horrified to speak as the bands tightened further and further. The mans rib cage snapped suddenly, white bone stabbing out as blood began to gush onto the cobblestones. The gurgling scream cut off as the band around greasy man’s head finally snapped his spine. Blood washed out over the ground in a wave. The killing had taken less than two seconds.
Reginald turned to the other man. Derrel thrashed against his bonds, screaming ineffectually into the gag. Reginald raised his wand.
“No!” Triss screamed.
Reginald paused in surprise. “No?” He asked.
Sudden waves of heat wracked through Triss, and she felt the contents of her stomach forcing their way back up. She turned to the wall, and threw up. Again, and again. She gasped for breath, waves of hot nausea still coursing through her.
When she had recovered enough, she turned to Reginald. “What. the. FUCK!” She screamed at him. “You can’t just…just… FUCK!” She screamed again.She was pacing back and forth, hands on her head, eyes wide and wild. “Like, you just killed him!” She spun to face Reginald. “You killed him!”
“I’m well aware.”
She tried and tried to form a coherent thought, but all she managed was “Why?”
“Miss Triss. Look at me for a moment. Take a deep breath. It is difficult I know, but I do need you to try and settle down.” Reginald said calmly.
“Settle down? YOU KILLED A MAN!” She snapped, continuing to pace.
“Hardly a man, in my opinion.” Reginald replied, glancing at the corpse.
Triss walked right up to Reginald and pointed a finger right in his face. “Look, you may work for a dark wizard, but I don’t. I don’t want to kill people. I don’t want people killed! Just…Just don’t kill people!”
Reginald gently moved the finger out of his face with the tip of his wand. “So, you would like me to refrain from killing people. Because its wrong, and something only a dark wizard would do?” He asked.
“Of course! You shouldn’t kill people. That’s like, rule number one of being a human! Don’t kill other humans!” She realized the problem with her statement the second she said it.
Reginald smiled tightly. “I understand you are new in this world, and it’s apparent that things here are different. Allow me to clear up a couple of misconceptions you seem to have.” He held up a finger. “One. I am not human, but a human in my position in this world would have done the same.” Another finger joined the first. “Two. Percival is the lord of Thalonia. It is his duty to protect the people of Thalonia. As the designated representative for the lord of Thalonia, I have dispensed his justice.”
“Justice? That was an execution!” Triss cried.
“Three.” Reginald continued, ignoring her outburst. “You are aware of what these men had planned for you, yes?”
“I had a pretty good idea, yeah.” She stood straighter, hugging her arms across her chest.
“Understand this then. You are a member of the household. You are an apprentice wizard.” He leaned forward, and his tone went ice cold. He looked deep into Triss’s eyes. “No one even attempts to harm you without deadly consequences.” He flicked his wand to the side suddenly, and Derrel spasmed.
Triss reacted before she could even think. She grabbed the wand. She and Reginald both looked shocked for a moment, then suddenly she was pulling the wand out of his hand, spinning away from him. She went to run, but a band of purple light was now surrounding her legs. She tripped, throwing her arms out to catch herself. The ground rushed up to meet her, and then stopped. She was floating in the air. Slowly, she was lowered to the ground.
“That was a mistake.”
***********
“Where is that treacherous wizard!” King Fontaine screamed, throwing open the door. “I’ve given you nearly a week to find him!”
Chancellor Kolan jumped at the sudden outburst, but quickly spun and bowed low to the floor. “I’m sorry, my Liege.” He said obsequiously. He straightened, and continued. “We have sent riders to every corner of the kingdom looking for him. We’ve had reward notices posted in all the inns and town halls. So far there have been no sightings.”
“Someone must have seen him! You need to look harder!” Fontaine continued yelling.
“At this time, the last sighting was just before he left the castle, my liege. No one has seen Crest since then.” Kolan knew he was repeating himself, but he figured it was better safe than sorry. Fontaine’s temper was legendary, and his wrath even more so. “If we had some help, it’s possible we could locate him. Has there been any response from the Wizards’ council?”
Fontaine nodded. “The representatives should be arriving in the next day or two. To fix your failure!”
Fontaine turned and stormed out of the room, and Kolan breathed a sigh of relief. That was typically the way with Fontaine. A man so busy and angry that he usually made swift rounds of the castle to yell at appropriate people. Kolan turned back to the map he was studying, full of markers showing where posters had been installed.
“Wherever you are Crest, I recommend staying there. I think the King would like to strangle you himself, wizard or not.”
**********
Thomas Crest smiled broadly, his white teeth contrasting sharply with a mud and dirt caked all over his face. “See?” He asked the skull. He pointed to the symbols floating in the air. “We can’t find the summoner’s location, but we can use this to point a straight line to the one he actually summoned!”
The skull, which sat on a wet mossy rock inside the dirty cave, said nothing. “What do you mean, so what? This is an incredibly complex bit of magic!” He glared at the skull, waiting for a reply.
“You never appreciate my genius!” Thomas snarled at the skull. He paced the cave angrily for a few minutes, hunched over to keep from hitting his head. He stopped suddenly, and turned back to the skull. He seemed to deflate a little. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should know better.”
He sat heavily on the ground beside the skull. “I don’t know how long it will take. I don’t have my maps, so I can only go off what I remember. If it’s on this continent, a month at most. A month would put us on the coast of the Elemental Sea. Of course, it could be anywhere between here and there. If its beyond the Elemental Sea, then it would be in the Hordelands.”
He paused to listen to the skull for a moment. “Yes, yes that’s true too. And besides, the chances of a wizard of advanced skill surviving in the Hordelands would be slim anyways.” He smiled. “Only a month at most then!” He stood, grabbing the skull and hugging it to his chest. “Only a month, and we can make you all better!”