Chapter 2 – Searching for Help
“A pox on dragons and everything they represent,” muttered the purple-robed wizard as he reached the foothill of Crasse’s mountain. He spat a thick wad of phlegm in disgust.
“What do I look like? A charity foundation?” he asked irately to no one in particular.
Of all the things the dragon could ask, why grandmas? Alamastir could understand if she’d asked for more treasures, magical items or even a magical favor. That was all worthy of a mage like himself. But grandmas? Who honestly cared about fulfilling their wishes? What was the crafty dragon cooking?
He shook his head as he readied a spell of telepathy. Now finally free of the dragon’s home, he could communicate via magic without spooking the dragon or risking her listening in.
The king of fairies appeared on a hovering purple circle. Clearly, he’d been woken up from slumber as his hair stuck out in every direction. The blue-eyed, half-naked monarch rubbed his eyes sleepily as he clutched a pink unicorn plushy.
“Who disturbs my slum, mah, mah,” he trailed off yawning. “Can’t you call in the morning?”
“Wake up you lout,” Alamastir berated. “It’s already nighttime.” Fairies were nocturnal after all.
“Is it?” the fairy questioned. He placed a slender finger over his lips. “I think I’ll take today off.”
“I have a proposition,” Alamastir began. “I need you to get a job done.”
“Hmm,” was all he heard when the video on the circle shifted violently. A pink unicorn sailed across the screen to who knows where, while the king of fairies waddled his way over to a wash basin where he promptly stripped and jumped feet-first into the water. Steam rose from the basin, and the fairy’s antenna lights blinked on.
“Ah, that’s more like it. All a guy needs is a hot bath and a full stomach,” he happily exclaimed to no one in particular as he settled into his miniature bath.
“Are you done with your piddling yet? Or do I have to find another person for the job?”
The fairy opened an eye questioningly. He waited for a moment before replying. “What could a mere fairy like me do for such a strong and powerful mage such as yourself?” He stroked his chin in absent thought. “Don’t make me hypnotize children again my good mage. I don’t know what you do with them, but I definitely won’t have any more to do with it.”
“W-what? Children!” Alamastir sputtered in outrage. “When have I ever made you hypnotize children?”
“Oh, that wasn’t you?” the monarch laughed. “My mistake. Must’ve been a relative of yours. I always mix you all up,” he said as he pulled a yellow rubber duck from underneath the basin. He squeaked the duck several times before beginning to dunk it in and out of the water.
“That’s a good duck. Swim, swim, swim now my darling. Soon you’ll be big enough to eat. Such a scrumptious meal you’ll make.”
Alamastir could only watch in disgust as he saw the supposed king of fairies act like a two-year-old child.
“Enough! Stop acting like a child!”
“But I am a child,” protested the fairy as he spiked up his blue hair into a giant triangle. “Dada, look.”
Alamastir glared at what he thought was clearly going to be the downfall of the fairy kingdom. “Look, just do something for me and I’ll make you and all your council as much of those darkstones that you all covet as you want.”
This caught the fairy monarch’s attention. “Darkstone?”
“It’s simple enough. And my task is even simpler.”
In truth, Alamastir already had quite a large stock of darkstone he’d made for another occasion. The fairies adored darkstone, using it to build buildings that would offset the natural light of their realm. They were too dumb to actually try to find the source of it though, so they settled with doing favors for mages like himself in return for some.
“As much as we want?” the monarch inquired.
“Sure, sure. So do we have a deal?”
“What is it you want?”
Alamastir scratched his chin thoughtfully. He could easily just not pay the fairies later on, but that would incur the wrath of the entire magical community. Deals were not easily broken. On the other hand, the fairies were too stupid to actually ask for more than he could procure. He would prefer it if he could delegate this assignment to the fairies while he concentrated on more important things. As easy as it sounded, assisting ten grandmas might take some time.
“You just need to fulfill the wishes of ten grandmas.”
“Any ten?” the fairy questioned. “What does that do for you?”
“Hmm.” It was now Alamastir’s turn to think. He hadn’t asked Crasse which exact grandmas he needed to help. At that time, he’d automatically decided that he himself wasn’t going to do the job.
“It’s actually a job someone else gave me,” the mage said. “A dragon of all things.”
The fairy king froze his frolicking in the water. “A dragon tasked you with this?”
“Yeah, stupid, isn’t it?”
The fairy king’s thin wings flitted out as he rose from the basin. His full face obscured the portal until only his scrunched-up nose could be seen.
“Nope. Not doing it,” came the reply.
“But why?” Alamastir asked as he was caught off guard. “Don’t you want darkstone?”
The fairy nestled back into his hot bath and flicked his hair off of his eyes. “I’ve learned long ago not to tangle with dragons. It’s a no-can-do. Sorry pal.”
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Alamastir was taken aback. It was such a simple task after all.
“So, you’re saying you and your entire species are incapable of fulfilling the wishes of ten measly grandmas?”
“No, no. Not incapable. Just one hundred percent unwilling. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?” the fairy asked as he hung his head over the wash basin.
The communication was cut short as Alamastir punched a fist through his own magic. What a waste of time. He should’ve known the fairies were too lazy to do any work.
***
It took only half of the next day to reach the nearest satyr compound. Alamastir had never contacted them, but he’d always known of their existence. They would surely be interested in his offers.
A spell and a quick bit of flashing lights, and Alamastir was standing in the middle of the satyr’s clearing. The ram-horned males snorted as one and the females bleated in alarm, scurrying for safety.
“Be at peace. I have no ill intentions. I seek your leader,” Alamastir commandingly proclaimed. He held both empty hands up, his staff left behind about 50 meters in the forest, in a sign of peace.
The satyrs stood still, watching him from behind tents and other supplies. The male satyrs remained motionless as they waited. After a few moments, two of the satyrs nodded to each other and took off into the forest at a run. Their hooves thudded on the ground as they sprinted out of the clearing.
Alamastir allowed his arms to drop. He sat on the ground and leaned against an empty cart. Closing his eyes he decided to wait.
Satyrs were trash in his opinion, but they weren’t as useless as fairies could be. They had magical ability as well as physical strength when needed. They also weren’t prone to cowardice like the fairies. Although he’d never really had much contact with satyrs, he realized that he should’ve come here first.
It took around ten minutes for the satyrs to return with another older satyr sporting and wispy white beard in tow. They bleated to one another in a language Alamastir couldn’t understand. Finally, he was approached by the elderly one whom he supposed was the leader.
“We are not used to surprise visits from the magically touched,” he said in an old and creaking voice. He sounded every bit the stern, old leader.
Alamastir stood, brushing his robes of any dirt. “I suppose it is a bit of a special moment for you. I’m Alamastir. As you can tell, I wield great powers that you can only imagine. I’m in need of someone to do a simple task for me,” he said expectantly.
The satyr elder politely nodded his head. His eyes never blinked in a creepily fashion. It made Alamastir feel gross.
“But what could you require from us?” the half-goat said. “Surely anything we can do would be better done by yourself or some of your servants.”
The mage gritted his teeth. He himself would never stoop so low as to complete the dragon’s assignment. It was beneath him and a total waste of time. The very thought of it made him heave. On the other hand, he didn’t have any servants free enough to complete the task. All of them were busy with their allotted tasks. He was even without his customary bodyguards.
“Be that as it may, I find that you and your kind would be the perfect fit for my task. I am willing to offer anything you could possibly need.”
The satyr elder tilted his head in thought, or maybe it was confusion? Alamastir couldn’t tell. After a long while he shook his head sadly.
“No, my dear mage. I do not understand what it is that you could offer us. We have plenty of everything here.” The satyr held out his hands to the others in the clearing. “I’m sure all will agree that we are quite satisfied with our way of life. Had we any need of a mage, we would’ve approached one by now.”
Alamastir rudely scoffed as he surveyed his surroundings. Most things were in need of serious repair. Worn tools, frayed clothes and tents, empty racks and most probably empty storages could be seen all around.
“This?” he questioned as he motioned to the worn-down camp. “You really think you don’t need anything while living in this hovel?”
The satyr nodded. “It is not the materialistic world that we seek. Maybe you would like to live with us and learn our way of life?”
Alamastir shook his head in disgust. Drugs. “You didn’t even ask what the task was.”
The goat-head bobbed again. If he kept on nodding, Alamastir was going to have to play whack-a-mole with his staff.
“Fine then,” Alamastir said pulling away from the clearing. “Suit yourself. You’ve wasted my time. Be sure not to cross my path ever again.”
“We would never be so brazen as to bother such a great practitioner of the magics,” came the reply.
***
It seemed all were too cowed by his might to consider doing such a simple assignment for him. Which led Alamastir to his current position.
The cave of a basilisk was probably the wrong place to come to at night time, but he was done with parleying with small-timers. This was a glorious basilisk. The younger cousin to a dragon. A mage such as Alamastir could still control the creature, but only just. A battle would become a match of life and death.
Still, at least the beast would be prepared to do work for the mage. It would be an easy task and Alamastir could think of several things, magical and otherwise, that a basilisk might want.
A bright light popped into existence in the mage's hand as he cautiously entered the cave. The walls were lined with long scratches, smooth in some areas and rough in others, no doubt due to the frequent comings and goings of the basilisk. Water dripped from the ceiling into puddles on the floor.
Alamastir cursed as he stepped into one such puddle. He shook out his wet boot and continued onward. After just a few more steps he saw two red globes hanging in the air. A hissing sound filled the air as the globes ascended and approached.
Defenses were prepared, and Alamastir reached for his magic in preparation of an offensive spell. He might not be given a chance to speak.
The globes circled him until they completed a full circuit around him. He was surrounded, but it still didn’t worry him too much. One doesn’t become a master mage without gaining some composure.
“Mage.” The voice echoed across the cavern. “You cross boundaries with your entering my abode. What say you?”
His heart thudding in his chest, Alamastir felt his mouth go dry. What was that thing about composure again?
He pulled himself together, being careful not to stare too long into the basilisk’s eyes. It was said that those eyes transfer venom that would slowly kill its prey.
“I am Alamastir. A mage of great renown. I seek your powers in completing a simple task.”
“You will find no servant here,” the beast hissed angrily. “I am not your plaything, nor will I carry out your commands.”
Anger flared in the mage’s chest. “Hold your words serpent! Or else I’ll carve a throne out of your tongue.”
The basilisk hissed angrily but held back. He squirmed in place, a back-and-forth motion that caused Alamastir to feel sick.
“Then, what is it you want?”
“I have been given a task by Crasse the dragon. It is a simple task that I need done but don’t have the time nor the patience to complete. Complete the assignment and I will grant you something you require within reasonable limits.”
The cavern shook as the basilisk retreated. Alamastir could feel the outside air again as the coils of the serpent pulled away from him. The red globes suddenly disappeared.
“What a fool I would be to accept such a request. You are an even greater one for getting involved with the grandmother of dragons. She is not one to cross.” The globes reappeared but shook as if the basilisk was shaking his head.
Alamastir was at a loss for words. Even a basilisk wouldn’t take up the task?
“Mage,” the beast murmured. “Out of respect for your powers, I will let you live. Should I return to your presence, it won’t end well.”
With that, the basilisk rumbled away swiftly causing the walls to shake again. Rocks the size of Alamastir’s head fell to the ground. He brought a simple shield spell to avoid being brained to death.
“You’ll regret not taking up my offer, snake!” the mage shouted at the retreating serpent. “You had best watch your back.”
A deep chuckle reverberated throughout the cave, and with that, the basilisk was gone.
Alamastir took a long, deep breath before he pivoted and stalked out of the creature’s home. If the lowliest of the low wouldn’t be prepared to work for him, nor was the most powerful creature he could find ready, then he’d have to go for the other option. There was no way a distinguished mage such as himself was going to waste time on this venture. He could almost hear the sarcastic remarks other mages would make of him.
No, it was time to find the worthless of the worthless, the desperate of the desperate and the most disgusting creatures to ever grace the world. The diminutive and braindead creatures that one could reliably find bathing in mud springs and doing nothing of value. Never had they achieved anything except multiplying by the dozens. Nothing more than a pest to most of the world’s species.
Yep, it was time to find the goblins.