I looked at the many homes carved into the walls, as I was led across a bridge. A river flowed beneath the bridge, at a speed that couldn’t be found on the surface. My feet were sore as the walking continued on and on, until we reached a large gated manor. It stood out among the numerous tiny homes that surrounded it. It was a big house in a small house pond.
Typically large houses decided to congregate together, so it was a bit peculiar to see one mingling with its smaller brethren. Even the gate that surrounded the manor, looked like it was more of a suggestion than anything to actually keep people out. I figured I could squeeze between the openings if I really needed to.
As if the owner of the fancy house knew we had arrived; the gates opened. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that it was magic that caused the gates to open. The mana the spell was constructed from was darkish blue in color.
“This is far as we go. Take those steps and knock on the door. And don’t try any funny business.” Commanded one of the guards.
My heart beat as adrenaline rushed through my body. I didn’t want to admit it, but the anticipation and dread I felt knocking on a door was far greater than any encounter I had with a lawyer.
Clunk. I knocked on the door, the chains wrapped around my hand rattled. Someone was at the door.
One click, Two plinks, And screeching and hissing came from the door. It rattled and shook as if trembling. This was an off putting door, I thought. No door should act like it wanted to be put out of its miserable existence.
It creaked open, revealing a Dwarf. He wore a monocle connected by a thin frame to a smaller monocle; it was something an artificer would wear. I did not know what an artificer was, so I assumed the dwarf just had incredibly poor eyesight.
I was glad the dwarf could not see me well, but his face was one of anger. Not the sort of light hearted anger you’d get after losing your box of chocolates, and not even the type of anger that comes from a friend betraying your trust. His anger burned so hot, that his teeth pierced his lips. My instincts told me to run, but my mind thought better.
“You. YOU. YOU!” The Dwarf shouted, louder with each word.
“Sorry, my name is Arthur. This, here, is George. I know we don’t have your money, but I’m sure we can come to an arrangement, or at the very least an understanding.” I tried to reason.
The dwarf wiped the sweat from his red face. He took in a large breath before breathing back out. This continued for minutes.
“I’m… It’s just… Brilliant…”
“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?” I asked.
“Come on in. Both of you. Make yourselves comfortable. There’s a few stools in the kitchen. I've had to sell off my cushions, so I’m sorry about that. Life hasn’t been good to me since I've lost all my coins. But you’re here to make that right. Right?”
I looked at George.
“Now, this might sound a little concerning, but I don’t even know what the money you owed my Master Alric, was for. I know the outcome, but I can’t say what he used your money on and what you were looking to get out of this. Frankly, you’re fucked.”
“Now, hold on. I’m not fucked, not yet. You don’t know that. Whose is this other fellow?”
“Oh, that’s George. He’s the zombie that Alric brought back to life, after seeking out advice from the Dark One. Too bad, the dark one got his head lopped off.”
“Ah, I told him asking the infamous Dark One wouldn’t go well, but I do admit that asking probably saved him fifteen years of testing ingredients. So this George, he has been fixed?”
“Well, there is an issue. Actually, there are multiple issues.”
The Dwarf rubbed his palms. I walked over to George and inspected the undead creation, running his arm down the side of him. I found it a bit creepy, but I wasn’t in a position to tell the Dwarf no, not when the Dwarf practically owned us.
“Magnificent,” whispered the Dwarf in a hushed tone.
“What’s wrong with him? Physically, he looks excellent. I see no signs of degradation and his death mana reserves feel almost limitless.”
“It’s more of his mental state that’s the problem. He agrees to anyone and anything. It’s been a problem. He already owes a couple priests millions of chocolate, a discount phoenix, and the 50 percent commission on all future dungeon crawls.”
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“And what did George get out of this?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
The Dwarf tried to put his hand on George's head but he was too short.
“Bend down, George. I need to look at your mind.”
George agreed and bent down.
The Dwarf placed his hand on George’s noggin and closed his eyes. It reminded me of a ritual that some of the Priests did when they visited Mudville from time to time.
“Hmm. Yes, there is a shroud of obedience mana circulating his inner noggin. This complicates things. Do you at the very least have the recorded recipe on how to raise another one?”
“That’s the other problem. When I was searching Alric’s possession after his death, I could find anything directly related to the summoning. Nothing seemed out of place in Alric’s lair, the cobwebs on the door suggested the place hadn’t been touched since he left it.”
“Most peculiar. He knew that scribbling down the process was necessary. It was a stipulation I imposed on him, before he left to seek out a cure.”
“Then someone grabbed the notes, or maybe he took them with him.”
“Yes, something is amiss.”
“Anyways, I have bigger concerns to focus on right now.”
“The lack of money?”
“How’d you guess?”
“Well, someone with money wouldn’t sell their cushions. That’s, in my opinion, the last thing to go.”
“You’re right. You see, not all of the hundred platinum were mine, only eighty of it. This would’ve been fine, if my artifice business didn’t take a major hit. Someone’s pumping the market with artifacts at an unprecedented rate, plummeting the prices of my goods. What they’re doing isn’t sustainable, but if they hold out for another two months, I’ll default on my loan. I’ll be like you two, completely fucked and owned by another idiot. And the cheap prices of my goods doesn’t explain why my biggest buyers in Nosturdam stopped buying.”
“Would those be the city’s guards?”
“Yes? How did you know that? I never disclose who my buyers are because I'm a professional. Do you know why they might’ve stopped purchasing my wears.”
“No, no idea… Where would that leave us? Would we be double owned.”
“I’m afraid that would be the case. Once someone enters a debt pyramid, it's hard for even the best to claw their way out.”
“Well, do you have a plan?” I asked.
“My plan was to retrieve George and use this amazing discovery to earn a lot of coins.”
“How were you going to go about that?”
“I don’t know. I would’ve figured it out as I went. Look, I’m an artificer, not one of those planners or worse clairvoyants. But I have a new plan now, one I just thought of. It could work. You’d get to be free of the debt and I’d get to avoid going into debt: a win-win.”
“Well, go on.”
“At the Academy of the Dark Arts, there is a tournament held at the end of every year. You win that tournament, that’s 25 platinum your fingers. You get to award any research project with the money. In this case, you'll gift the money to me. Whoever wins gets to pick, no matter if they’re a study aid or an actual student.”
“So if I win that platinum, we’ll be even?”
“Yes, if you leave George here, I can get my team to start researching how to fix him. I’d consider your debt whole.”
“Can I get your name?” I realized I had yet to ask his name.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll learn it when you attend the school. The sorting shoe reads thoughts and says inappropriate things. If it knows my name, then things could get awkward.”
“Fair enough. But I’ve also come to the Isles for more than paying back my debt. I promised to reunite my friend Rose with her family. And between you and me, if they’re as rich as she claims they are, then maybe they could help pay back your debt.”
“I’m listening.”
“She says she’s a half elven princess. They’ve got to have at least 100 platinum sitting in their vault.”
“I do like the sound of that. Did her family have a surname? There have been many elven transplants all throughout the Isles. It is one of the few places that doesn’t discriminate against their kind, well mostly. Although as a Dwarf…”
“Ok! I’ll let you know if anything pans out,” I interrupted.
“Yes, do that. Also, I was told to give you this address. The debt collector that found you is a nice lady. We chatted through the magic ley lines, and she already had the foresight to set you up with a student. Isn’t that marvelous?”
“Errr. Yes, I guess that is fortunate.”
“And do take care. You’ll need to thrive, if I’m ever able to buy my cushions back.” said the Dwarf.
I stared at the address on the paper as I walked out of the manor, feeling relieved that I wasn’t going to be turned into a Maid or worse a private actor. There were limitations on what I would do to pay back a debt. Becoming a dreaded actor was one of them.
By now, most of the guards had left. There was crime to be stopped, people to be shoved into dungeons, and dice games to be played while off duty. Only the guard with the strange artifact stood next to an impatient and nervous Rose and an expressionless Azog.
“So, how’d it go?”
“Good. It turns out that I’m only Twenty-five platinum in debt.”
“That’s a hefty number, Arthur. I didn’t think you’d sell George to ‘em.”
“No , don’t worry, I didn't sell George to the Dwarf. I gave George a safe place to live until we can figure out a cure. He’s going to run some magical tests, while I do some work as a student aid. I even get to take classes at the academy! It’s almost like I’m an actual student.”
“Ah, ok so you rented George out?”
“I didn’t rent George out.”
“You rented him out like a piece of meat?
“No, I didn’t rent him out like a piece of meat. The way you're asking these questions is making me feel like I’m a bad person. George is just as stuck in this predicament as I am, some would argue he’s even more responsible for my new debt. Also, you saw what those priests had him promise. He’s better off isolated in a rundown manor. Who's he going to talk to, the walls?”
Azog bristled, as he thought back to what the priests had told George. It was true that in George’s current condition, it was hard to take him out and about. Even with three pairs of earmuffs covering his ears, people still found ways to tell him what to do.
“I just don’t trust that dwarf like you do. You just met this man. Do you even know his name?”
“No… He wouldn’t tell me. But he had a good reason for that, just like he had a good reason to take George from me.”
“Just be careful, Arthur.”
“I will. Now, let's go find this, uh, student. I promise once we’re settled, we can figure out a plan to get me out of this debt and Rose back to her parents.”
“I’d like that.” Rose interjected.