villenspell: city of wizards - book 2 in the sojourn chronicles

Villenspell: City of Wizards

Book Two of the Sojourn Chronicles

Crystalwizard

Published by Ancient Tomes Press, an imprint of Cyberwizard Productions, 1205 N. Saginaw Boulevard #D, PMB 224, Saginaw, Texas 76179 This is a work of fiction. All the characters, places, and events portrayed in this anthology are either fictitious or used fictitiously. Copyright © 2008 Cyberwizard Productions First Edition: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in connection with reviews. ISBN: 978-0-9795788-4-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008907157 Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgements

Proofreading, editing and helpful comments: Jeff Vian Linda Notridge Jim Wade Kim Wade Special Thanks: Josh Davis for providing website space for sojourn.omnitech.net

The Sojourn Chronicles are: Book one - Wizard’s Bane Book two - Villenspell: City of Wizards Book three – Wizards and Wanderers Book four – Army of Misfits Book five – The Lost Lands Book six – World’s End

Table of Contents Chapter One _________________________________________ 1

Chapter Two _________________________________________ 7

Chapter Three ______________________________________ 15

Chapter Four _______________________________________ 19

Chapter Five________________________________________ 24

Chapter Six_________________________________________ 30

Chapter Seven ______________________________________ 37

Chapter Eight _______________________________________ 43

Chapter Nine _______________________________________ 52

Chapter Ten ________________________________________ 61

Chapter Eleven______________________________________ 68

Chapter Twelve______________________________________ 75

Chapter Thirteen ____________________________________ 78

Chapter Fourteen____________________________________ 87

Chapter Fifteen _____________________________________ 95

Chapter Sixteen ____________________________________ 101

Chapter Seventeen __________________________________ 107

Interlude __________________________________________ 114

Chapter Eighteen ___________________________________ 116

Chapter Nineteen ___________________________________ 120

Chapter Twenty ____________________________________ 125

Chapter Twenty-One ________________________________ 135

Chapter Twenty-Two ________________________________ 142

Chapter Twenty-Three _______________________________ 147

Chapter Twenty-Four _______________________________ 153

Chapter Twenty-Five ________________________________ 160

Chapter Twenty-Six _________________________________ 167

Chapter Twenty-Seven _______________________________ 176

Chapter Twenty-Eight _______________________________ 184

Chapter Twenty-Nine________________________________ 190

Chapter Thirty _____________________________________ 195

Chapter Thirty-One _________________________________ 201

Chapter Thirty-Two _________________________________ 207

Chapter Thirty-Three________________________________ 211

Chapter Thirty-Four ________________________________ 216

Chapter Thirty-Five _________________________________ 221

Chapter Thirty-Six __________________________________ 227

Chapter Thirty-Seven________________________________ 230

Chapter Thirty-Eight ________________________________ 237

Chapter Thirty-Nine_________________________________ 242

1

Chapter One

The night was growing old when the company arrived at Villenspell. Dale dismounted, then picked up a rock and swung it against the massive, locked iron gate with full strength. The rock shattered into powder, a booming noise echoed through the darkness and the gate exploded inward. Lights flashed on in the gatehouse as alarms sounded and people raced to the defense: weapons ready and spells sizzling. They slid to a halt beside the rubble and stared dumbfounded at the small group of six people waiting calmly outside. One of the warriors cleared his throat. “Did you happen to see what it was that just hit this gate?”

Dale straightened his jacket. “I knocked on it and it blew up. Do you always try to give your guests heart failure in this manner?”

The warrior blinked and turned to the wizard standing beside him. “What do I do now?”

“Take your men and go on back to your posts,” the wizard commanded in a deep voice. “I’ll deal with our visitors.”

The warrior turned to those behind him. “It’s a false alarm! Go back to your business. And someone turn those bells off!”

Within a few minutes, the only one left was the wizard who had spoken. He stuck his hands in his long, flowing sleeves and looked Dale up and down.

“May we come in?” Dale asked when the wizard said nothing else.

“That depends on whether you intend to knock on any other doors in this city.”


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“I wasn’t planning on it. I was simply trying to wake the gatekeeper. We didn’t want to have to stand out here until it was light.”

The wizard stared at the rubble and stroked his beard, then scratched the tip of his nose. “I’m at a loss,” he said as he raised his eyes up to Dale’s face, “to understand why the gate is laying in ruins if that was your only intention.” He narrowed his eyes and peered past at the company. “There is something very odd about you people...” the words were muttered, almost too low for Dale to catch them. The wizard scrutinized his uninvited guests for almost a full minute, before speaking to Dale once again. “Did you come through the woods down there?”

“How else would we have gotten to this gate?” “Did you meet with any trouble?” “Only a pack of wolves and an ogre. Why?” The wizard’s eyes glowed with deep amber light and his

eyebrows seemed to float upward toward his hairline. “Most interesting.” His eyebrows returned to their proper positions. He smoothed them down with a long-fingered hand, and then nodded. “I am Magister Rommalt, head of the college and Lord of this city. You may come in, however I require that you join me in my office for a short chat before you’ll be permitted to do anything else. Follow me, please?” He drifted up into the air and serenely sailed away, leading the company through the twisting streets of Villenspell.

“Horses are not allowed inside the college grounds,” he said as he settled to the pavement outside the college gates. “You may use the stables over there.” He waved a hand at a long building that butted up to the wall encircling the campus. The sleeve of his robe floated gently through the air and sparkled as it moved, as if it were composed of something other than heavily embroidered, brocade cloth.

The company dismounted, then led their horses into the stables and turned them over to a pair of bleary-eyed stable hands. Aerline flashed the men a disarming smile as she handed one of them her reins. “Don’t you boys go poking through our things while we’re gone.”

They leered at her and the larger one spoke. “Wouldn’t dream of it, miss.”

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“Good.” Aerline fluttered her lashes at them, then cupped her hand around her horse’s ear. “Keep an eye on them,” she said in a soft voice loud enough for the stable hands to overhear. “If they try anything, bite ‘em.”

The horse tossed its head and regarded the unfortunate men with a wicked eye. The stable hands started and jumped back a step, as though the beast had suddenly sprouted leathery, bat-like wings and belched black smoke from its flaring nostrils. The company left them to its mercy and followed the wizard through the gates.

~*~ A four-foot thick wall built of massive stones enclosed the

campus. Ornate brass gates set on either side of an intricately carved archway flanked the entrance and a long walk paved with mottled red brick ran from the archway past thick green lawns and ancient ivy-covered buildings to an ominous ebony door set into the base of a dull grey stone tower that soared into the sky.

The interior of the tower was as interesting as its outside was bleak. Display cases full of strange objects decorated the walls and a large carpet patterned with continually moving lines covered most of the floor. A glowing globe hung in the middle of the room for illumination, the color of its light slowly shifting through the spectrum. Shadows of wizards casting spells, fighting strange beasts and engaged in research danced over the walls.

Over-stuffed chairs full of snoring mages were scattered around the room next to tables piled with books, and a long set of spiral stairs jutted from the wall, disappearing through a hole in the ceiling above.

Magister Rommalt floated over to a wooden door in the wall opposite the stairs. “My office is on the top floor. We’ll take the lift.” He opened the door and drifted into a small shaft. As the others squeezed in beside him, the floor fell out from under their feet and they rose rapidly.

Jarl stumbled and caught himself on the wall just before the lift came to an abrupt halt. “Lift? You mean launcher!” The wizard chuckled at him and calmly floated out the door.

Kheri took a step toward the door, stopped and bent forward, staring into a well that fell away into impenetrable darkness. He flattened against the back wall and shook his head at the wizard. Aerline rolled her eyes at Kheri and stepped out into


4

thin air. “It’s an illusion, Kheri. Honestly! You can’t believe the Magister would bring you up here just to watch you fall and go splat!”

The wizard’s eyes twinkled and a grin crawled across his face. “Come along please, my office is over there.” He pointed at a minute door hanging in the middle of the air a few feet away, turned around and began shrinking. Aerline began running in place and shrank with him. The rest of the company ran in place for several seconds, then Dale stopped and held up his hand. “This isn’t working. Whatever it is they did, we’re not doing. One of them is going to have to give us better instructions.”

A few moments later, the wizard slowly began to expand until at last he reached his original height. He stuck his hands into his sleeves and peered at the company. “Well? Why are you just standing around here?”

“Begging your pardon, Mr. Wizard,” Galdur said. “But we can’t seem to do what you’re doing.”

An expression of annoyance flew over the wizard’s face. “Not even first year students have difficulty with spatial movement! Keep your eyes focused on me, start walking and don’t think about anything else until we’re in my office!” He turned and drifted forward. The company stared at his back and tried to obey.

The light shifted through all the colors of the rainbow as they walked,, and the door slowly got larger. The wizard stopped moving after a few minutes and turned to face them. “You see? Nothing to it.” He opened the door and walked into his office without waiting for a response.

~*~ Light streamed into the room through tall, narrow windows

cut into three of the walls, while a thick, black curtain covered the fourth wall from floor to ceiling. A polished wood desk occupied one side of the room and several small chairs stood against the far wall. Rommalt wiggled his fingers and the chairs scurried into the middle of the room. “Everyone have a seat, please.” He sat down behind the desk and looked at his visitors. “So tell me, what brings you to Villenspell?”

Aerline bowed to the wizard with a formal, courtly reverence. “Magister Rommalt, I am Aerline, a former student here. Allow me to introduce my companions. This,” she walked around behind the chairs, then placed both hands on Dale’s

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shoulders and smiled, “is Dale, our leader. And this,” she moved behind Jarl and dug her fingernails into his shoulders, “is Jarl. He owes you, as well as the entire college, an apology.”

Jarl turned bright red with embarrassment. “Thanks a lot, Aerline,” he muttered. He grasped her hands and removed them from his shoulders.

“Oh?” Magister Rommalt peered at Jarl and allowed him to squirm for a few seconds. “I’m curious why he owes us an apology. Perhaps you would care to illuminate me?”

Aerline inclined her head to the Magister, and gave Jarl an ingratiating smile. “I would be glad to, Magister. When I was a student here, I bought a ring from Master Sourbane. He enslaved a demon and bound it to the ring with unbreakable spells. However, he did not make it impossible for the demon to speak without permission. It developed the most annoying habit of screaming obscene jokes in the middle of class. It insulted every one of my professors and....”

The wizard snickered. “Ah, yes, I distinctly remember that. Quite a commotion it caused. I had members of the staff up here every day, complaining. Do go on.”

Aerline cleared her throat and continued. “Through a series of unfortunate events, the ring was destroyed, but the demon in it was not. And it turns out that Master Sourbane didn’t get a real demon after all, he got him!” She smacked Jarl on top of the head with her open palm. Jarl winced and slid down in the chair.

The wizard burst out laughing. Tears of mirth spilled from his eyes and cascaded down his cheeks. “Sounds like a mistake Sourbane would make.” He chuckled a few more times, then grinned at Jarl. “So you’re the one that had my school in an uproar for an entire term. I don’t know whether to be angry... or thank you.”

“Huh?” Jarl straightened up and regarded the wizard with trepidation.

“You did cause a rather large riot and I did have several professors quit by the end of the term, but on the other hand it certainly was interesting around here for a while. It’s terribly dull most of the time.”

“Oh.” Jarl started to relax then caught the look in Dale’s eyes. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks burning. “I, uh, probably should apologize anyway.”


6

The wizard beamed a smile at him. “No need, but thank you for the offer. We’ll let it go.”

Dale released Jarl from his gaze and turned to the Magister. “We have to go visit Sourbane. The spell’s still affecting Jarl.”

The wizard dismissed Dale’s problem with a wave of his hand. “You’ll have to wait. He’s off on some journey and won’t be back until next week. Aerline, since you know your way around, why don’t you take your friends on a tour of the college while I speak with the leader of your little band?”

Aerline bobbed her head. “Certainly Magister, when should we return?”

“Never. We’ll meet you at the Dog and Duck when they open in a little while.”

Aerline giggled, gave the wizard a brief curtsey, then turned to the company. “Everyone come with me. This place is absolutely amazing.”

Dale dropped a hand on Jarl’s shoulder as he started to stand. “Not you. You’re staying with me.”

Jarl sank back down on the chair, trying not to look as if he were about to face a pack of ravenous rock badgers while wearing nothing but a loincloth. The others stood and followed Aerline out the door.

7

Chapter Two

The wizard rested his elbows on the desk, then steepled his fingers and regarded his two remaining visitors over them. “What brings you to my city?” His voice was hard and his face no longer smiling.

Dale crossed his arms and his expression became serious as he leaned back in the chair. He met Rommalt’s gaze without flinching. “We’re hoping to find some help against a rather large invading army.”

Rommalt allowed one eyebrow to move toward his hairline a fraction of an inch. “An invading army? What army and where is it invading?”

“It’s a rather long story.” “So give me the short version.” “Well...” “But,” Rommalt interrupted sharply. “Before you do that,

how about you tell me exactly who you are and where you come from.”

Dale stretched his legs out in front of the chair and crossed his ankles, relaxing in counterpoint to the wizard’s sudden shift to a stern demeanor. “Are you sure you want the answer to that question? You might find it hard to believe.”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want the answer.” Jarl snickered and imitated Dale’s posture. “Which

century?” “This one.” Dale held his gaze steady on Rommalt. “I don’t have a

home world. I move around a lot.”


8

Jarl nodded. “Yeah, I tend to do that too. Where ever there’s work, or seems interesting.”

The hint of a smile tugged at the right corner of the Magister’s mouth and he settled back in his chair, his attention focused on Dale. “Let’s start at the beginning. What brought you to this planet in the first place?”

“I was trying to close a space warp. I got caught by the energies and wound up in the middle of an alley instead.” Dale launched into a brief recitation of events leading to the destruction of Villenspell’s gate.

The wizard waited until Dale was finished speaking, then sat forward in his chair. “An intriguing story. I shall have to take a trip to the Wizard’s Cut one of these days.” He stood and contemplated the view through the window for a few seconds. “Your theory about this army, however, as well as why it is coming and especially who is controlling it, is absurd.” He turned around and stuck his hands in his flowing sleeves. “Absolutely absurd and totally without form, substance or merit. The ravings of a lunatic and a madman! I would be tempted to laugh except that you are far more correct than you could possibly imagine.”

Jarl froze half way to his feet; a furious retort stuck in his throat.

Rommalt’s face crinkled and he chuckled. “Ah youth, always ready to defend themselves from a perceived insult. Perhaps you should learn to be slower about acting and faster about hearing lest you embarrass yourself without cause.” He stuck his eyebrows out at Jarl and waggled his nose.

Jarl dropped onto the seat of the chair, chagrin plastered across his face.

Dale stood, crossed his arms and glared at the wizard. “Now that you’ve had your fun with us, how about an explanation? We just spent weeks fighting to get here, and almost lost our lives several times, in the attempt to prevent a disaster.”

The wizard sat down in the chair, settled back and smiled at Dale. “Worry not, oh impetuous one, the explanation is forthcoming. Though perhaps after you hear it, you’ll wish you had not. As I told you at the gate, I am the head wizard here. I founded this college in the deep ages at the beginning of the world.”

“You were around during the Wizard’s War, weren’t you?” Jarl exclaimed, springing to his feet.

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Rommalt favored him with a lopsided smile and nodded his head. “Indeed I was. In fact, you might say... I started it.”

Jarl took a step forward. Dale grasped Jarl’s arm, restraining him from further action. Jarl jerked his arm away but refrained from moving closer to the wizard. “You started it? How? And more importantly, why?”

Magister Rommalt regarded his guests with a serene expression and motioned to their chairs. “You can both sit down. I am not the enemy. Besides, attacking me in here would be foolish. In this office I am invincible.” Two Gorg materialized in an abrupt flash of light as the words left Rommalt’s mouth. Dale grabbed his chair and held it up as a shield while Jarl flung himself to the floor in a rolling dive and fired his blaster at the intruders.

“Shardrath!” The wizard’s voice rang with power and both Gorg turned instantly to stone. He gestured and they shrank, floated across the room and settled down on his desk. He picked one up and peered at it. “Interesting. It appears my office is not quite as impervious as I thought. Some of the spells must be weakening; I’ll have to see to that.” He set the statuette down on his desk, and then leaned back in the chair. “They’ll make interesting paperweights, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Jarl said as he regained his feet. He reattached his blaster to his belt before sitting back down. “Can you do that to the entire army?”

“I could if they all decided to materialize in my office. However,” the wizard shook his head, “I would prefer to avoid that exercise if you don’t mind.”

Dale put the chair back on its legs and sat on it. “Let’s hope they don’t.”

The wizard chuckled. “Indeed. If there are as many as you say, I believe I would run out of desk. How old are the two of you?”

“I’m around three thousand years old.” Jarl gestured at Dale. “He’s closer to five. Why?”

“So young,” the wizard whispered. “So young... and so much like someone I used to know...” He shook himself back the present and studied his guests. “How much do you know about this universe we call home?”


10

“It’s full of galaxies, stars, planets and people,” Dale said, watching the wizard’s expression. “But somehow I don’t think that’s what you’re asking.”

“It’s a start. This universe is dynamic, full of energies of various sorts, which I’m sure you’re used to. From what happened to my gate, I’m equally certain you have a measure of control over some of them. But you’ve found you have very little power on this world, haven’t you?”

Dale nodded. “Yes. I assumed that was the result of falling through that warp.”

The wizard lifted one side of his mouth in a mirthless smile. “That I find improbable. To start with, you,” he pointed at Dale, “are affected by a very powerful spell. One I can sense even without casting a discovery. Also, this world uses what you refer to as magic as its main form of energy. There’s not much else for you to draw on, especially in the heights.”

“Yeah, we noticed,” Jarl grumbled. “Nothing worked up there.”

“That’s because your equipment isn’t designed to use it’s spectrum as a power source, and neither of you have been trained how to do so yourselves. You could probably learn, indeed given what you assuredly already know, I’m certain you could. It’s not that hard, although I swear some of our students go out of their way to make it incredibly difficult. But I digress.”

The Magister rose, floated to a window and contemplated the landscape for several minutes. “There is,” he lectured as he turned around, “a place where the energies you are used to do not exist at all.” He clasped his hands behind the small of his back and began pacing. “This realm is composed of floating islands suspended around each other in a complex, crystalline array connected by lines of magical energy. Every island tunes the magic passing through it to a unique pattern, which then matches perfectly with only one person at a time. A wizard on his island of maximum congruency is limited in power only by the island’s size and within its sphere, .is all-powerful. Wizards can increase their power by merging islands, but large masses repel others, often violently.” He paused in front of the desk and leaned against it.

“One wizard discovered that land from a different realm was not repelled, and at once cast certain spells to acquire it. He acquired a fair amount, but then realized that what he’d summoned

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provided no extra power. Frustrated, he decided to visit the place in person and so tore a hole in reality and stepped through, accidentally dragging the ordinary inhabitants of his island in his wake. Magic in the new land was not fine-tuned and everyone instantly became powerful wizards. They began draining the magic at a reckless pace and soon left him with too little to reopen the hole and go home!”

Rommalt walked around to the back of his desk and settled into the chair. “I was one of those sucked through with him. I had journeyed to his island to try to talk some sense into him. His actions were becoming frightening and everyone was sure he’d gone insane. They were correct and he refused to listen to me. He was mad for power and intended to get it at any cost.” He shook his head and picked up one of the statuettes.

“When I found myself in this world I realized he was going to continue his insane plans so I sent out a desperate call for help and someone responded. After I explained what was happening, they agreed he had to be stopped. The result was the Wizard’s War.”

His voice dropped to a whisper and he stared down at his desk. “It was terrible. Only a few survived and the world was rendered nearly incapable of supporting life. That was my fault, because I am the one who took him on in the final battle and ripped power from the land in a last ditch effort to stop him. It took the combined might of my spells, and everything our rescuers could unleash, but at last he vanished in a huge ball of fire, seemingly destroyed.”

The wizard leaned back and gazed at the ceiling. “We healed the land, the newly empowered wizards and I. We lifted the blasted earth high into the air and encouraged green things to grow on the newly revealed fertile soil. We were unable to return to our home, but the world healed became pleasant enough and most were quite happy with the turn of affairs.” He set the statuette down, rose to his feet and moved back to stare out the window.

“I was rather panicked, because new wizards can be very unpredictable and dangerous, so I established this college and convinced them to attend.” He turned around and perched on the windowsill. “Today the world is rich and pleasant and now you tell me my brother has returned to try and destroy it once again. I guess


12

I should have known that he still lived.” He gazed at his guests with piercing eyes. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

Dale jumped to his feet. “Your brother?” “You’re kidding!” Jarl exclaimed. “I wish I were,” the wizard replied with a shake of his head.

“But I’m not. It has ever been my misfortune to be related to him and I was never more relieved than when I thought he had finally been destroyed.”

Jarl winced and covered his eyes with his right hand. “Oh boy. This is getting messy.”

Dale ignored him and focused on Magister Rommalt. “He’s obviously been busy, wherever he’s been all this time. He’s figured out how to open warps, gotten hold of the Gorg and there’s no telling what else. We need to find King Yaybar, and fast. We also need help. Jarl and I cannot take on the Gorg army by ourselves, which means we need wizards. We need you, and every wizard you can scrape together, in this battle. We also need access to our own powers and weapons more powerful than a blaster, or a sword.”

“And about half a keg of beer,” Jarl muttered, rubbing his eyes.

The wizard grinned at him. “I can provide the beer but your powers I can do nothing about. I could teach you the basics of magic but that would do you no good against my brother.” He turned to gaze through the glass at the college below. “I will join your fight and I’ll send a call out to the surrounding lands.” He turned around and leaned against the wall beside the window. “The world is facing a greater danger from my brother, than it faces from the Gorg. Indeed, if they were the only problem, I’d simply send a few of the senior students to deal with them.”

Rommalt sat down behind his desk again and picked up a glowing pen. “Now I have a completely unrelated question. How is it you managed to avoid the attack spells in the forest below?”

“Eh?” Dale frowned, thinking back briefly to their journey through the woods. “We didn’t exactly avoid them... they sort of got stuck.”

“Oh? What happened?” “The lead wolf jumped into the road ahead of us, Kheri

stuck a sleep dart in it before it could spring and the rest just stood there. We left them standing there, growling at nothing. We didn’t

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see anything else until we passed the Ogre and all he did was toss a rock at us.”

“Most interesting. The ogre is just for show but the wolves should have attacked. I wonder if one of the students wrote that fuction.” He muttered strange words and made a few gestures in the air.

Lines of glowing letters appeared before him in the air and began scrolling up, disappearing from view a foot above his head, while more lines appeared from nothing just below his chin. Jarl got up, walked around behind the wizard and looked over his shoulder. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was source code.”

“You are correct.” The letters flashed past for a few more seconds, then halted. Rommalt pointed his pen at one of the lines. “This is the part of the spell that creates the wolves.”

“I wish I could read that.” The wizard turned his head and looked over his shoulder at

Jarl. “Can you read the language your machines speak?” “Some people can but not me. I have to write in a high

level language and use a compiler to get my programs into machine code.”

“The same is true here. Inexperienced wizards use potions or other ingredients when casting a spell, along with words and gestures. Once they finish the casting, the spell is converted into a form the world can understand and this is the result.” He gestured at the lines, then waved his hand and they vanished. “The truly experienced wizard uses this when casting.” He moved the pen through the air and glowing letters took shape behind it. He wrote several lines, finished with a flourish and snapped his fingers. A small spinning ball appeared, flashed green and yellow, and vanished.

Jarl eyed Rommalt’s pen. “I want one of those.” “They sell them in the shops in the city. Are you sure you

can use it?” “I don’t know, but I’d like to try.” Rommalt handed the pen to Jarl. “You can have this one. It

should last you for the next fifty years or so.” Jarl’s face glowed with excitement. “So those gestures and

words and other stuff aren’t necessary?” Rommalt chuckled. “They are if you think they are. They

are tools devised by others for various things. The only thing you


14

truly need is your mind, a grasp of the concept, the will to make it happen and a way to tell the world what you want.”

“I’ve got a grasp of the concept; I’m just not sure about the language.”

“Use what language you know best, but be warned. The world takes everything literally. If you demand something impossible, it will try to comply. The result will be unpleasant, or worse. For example, if you tried to make gravity work backwards in your spell, the result could be fatal for you.”

“Gives a whole new meaning to global variables,” Jarl muttered. “I’ll be careful. Thanks.”

“Any spell you write will also be available to everyone else. Most wizards protect their spells with strange names or secret words. I suggest you do the same. Here in Villenspell we keep the magic under strict control and unfortunate phrasings are automatically modified or disallowed, but once you leave the walls, such protection isn’t available. And even here, the safest place to practice is in one of the college labs.”

Jarl stuck the pen in his shirt pocket and nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Rommalt grinned at him, then grew serious again. “It will take me at least a week to talk to the wizards and locate King Yaybar. I’ll send word to the Mistress of Dorms and you can stay on campus while waiting and I’ll arrange for you to gain access to the labs, but for now....” He stood, walked over to a bookcase and touched one of the shelves. It swung open, revealing a stone archway with grass beyond it. “The Dog and Duck should be open and I would hate to be late meeting the rest of your party. Shall we go?” He ushered them into the archway and stepped through behind them, adjusted his robes and floated serenely around the corner of the tavern.

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Chapter Three

The Dog and Duck was crowded and the smell of roasting meat mingled with the darker scents of ale and beer. Jarl took a deep breath and smiled as if he’d just reached paradise. He glanced around for the bar. Dale dropped a hand on his shoulder. “One mug only and I mean one I’d consider decent sized.”

Jarl’s face fell into a pout. “Aw...I wasn’t gonna get drunk.”

“You never are, you just always do.” Jarl stuck his tongue out at Dale, then quickly looked away,

pretending he’d been interested in the ceiling all along. Dale resisted the urge to trip him, then followed the wizard to a table in the corner. Jarl tossed a rapid sneer at Dale’s back, then did the same. The others joined them a few minutes later.

“You should see the park!” Faran exclaimed as he took a seat, his eyes shining. “It’s amazing!”

“Yeah,” Kheri said as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “And they’ve got every kind of shop you can think of here!”

Words tumbled out of the boys, spilling over the table and mixing haphazardly into confusing sentences. Dale leaned his chin on his hand, listening to them and wondering what a spell made from their excited conversation would do.

“You’re not listening!” Faran growled suddenly, kicking Jarl under the table.

“Ow!” Jarl yelled, jerking his head around. “I thought you were talking to Dale!” He reached down and rubbed his leg.

“I was.” Magister Rommalt cleared his throat. “This tavern,” he

said, when he had their attention, “is frequented by most of the


16

beginning students. There is a lot of loose magic floating around in here at this time of the day and it tends to have a rather unsettling effect on those not used to it.”

Kheri reached over and smacked Faran on top of the head. Faran whirled around and swiped at Kheri in response. “What does it do?” Kheri asked, ducking out of Faran’s reach.

“Makes you act like an irresponsible college kid,” Aerline said as she pulled out a chair and sat between the boys. “Stop it you two. You have to fight it off or you’ll wind up starting a food fight.”

Jarl grinned. Dale crossed his arms and looked Jarl in the eye. “Oh no, you don’t. I’d prefer not to wear my lunch thank you.”

Jarl scowled at Dale. “You’re just taking all the fun out of life today.”

“Maybe you should go eat outside,” the wizard suggested. “It appears to have quite a hold on you already.”

“Naw,” Jarl grinned at Rommalt, his eyes twinkling. “I’m always like this when I’m in a bar.”

Dale snorted. “No you’re not. You’re usually worse.” “Humph,” Jarl grunted and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll

behave... this time.” “Thank you.” Dale watched Jarl stare around the bar at the

other customers for a few seconds, then turned to the wizard. “You said I had a spell on me?”

“Yes. A very powerful spell. I’m fairly sure it’s the reason you do not have access to your abilities.”

“Can you lift it?” “No. I’m truly sorry, but a spell powerful enough for me to

detect without even casting a discovery is one only the casting wizard could remove. Of course, his death would remove it as well.”

“Can you tell who cast it then?” Magister Rommalt stroked his beard and squinted at Dale

through one eye. “I believe we know, though that is a guess. I could tell for certain, however there are certain dangers inherent in such an operation. The spell is assuredly linked with various protections. Given enough time to cast the discovery, I could probably get around those.”

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Dale turned around in his chair to face the wizard, ignoring Jarl’s attempt at flagging down a barmaid. “How long would you need?”

Rommalt stroked his beard a few more times and scrutinized Dale’s face. “Not terribly long. Perhaps no more than ten years.”

Dale blinked. “Ten... that’s not long?” “Not for spells such as you are under.” The Magister

relaxed and laced his fingers over his stomach. “I could hurry the discovery, but the less time I took with each step, the greater the chance would be of triggering one of the protections. The consequences would most certainly be less than pleasant, perhaps even deadly, for you. Ten years is the fastest timeframe I feel comfortable with, but it’s your life. You decide.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t have ten years to sit around while you cast spells.”

“Suit yourself.” Magister Rommalt smiled, his eyes crinkling with spidery lines. “The college will be here when you’re ready.”

“Who would put such a horrible spell on Dale?” Aerline interrupted, her eyes wide.

“Someone that wanted to ensure he wasn’t going to be a problem I’m sure,” the wizard said as he motioned to a waitress.

Dale sighed. He leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s probably the same guy that opened the warp I fell through and who is currently landing a Gorgian army on this world some where. I don’t particularly want to have to kill the guy, just stop him.”

Rommalt narrowed his eyes and for a moment, his face twisted into a mask of hatred. “You won’t have to kill him because I am going to.”

The waitress arrived at their table before Aerline could respond. “Welcome to the Dog and Duck. What’ll it be?”

Rommalt’s expression changed and a crinkly smiled covered his face. “Some of your finest fare. Put it on my tab and tell the cook I don’t appreciate his trying to short me on the onion rings.”

The waitress giggled, her ample bosom jiggling, and ran a finger around Rommalt’s ear. “I’ll tell him. And for these others?”


18

“They’ve never eaten here before, so just bring out a large sample platter of everything.”

“Right away.” She bent over to give him a look at her cleavage, pecked him on the cheek, and sashayed off toward the kitchen.

“If you want that beer,” Rommalt said as he wiped drool from a corner of his mouth and turned to Jarl, “walk up to that counter over there and tell the bartender I’d like a pitcher of his best. Get some mugs while you’re at it.” Jarl was on his feet before the wizard finished speaking. Rommalt chuckled, watching as Jarl made a bee-line for the bar. “Been a while since he’s had a drink eh?”

Dale snickered. “Yeah. He gets like that when he hasn’t had a drink in the last five minutes.”

“Oh surely not!” The wizard protested, staring at Dale in alarm.

Dale grinned at Rommalt. “Not really. He’s just a little more interested in getting drunk than he should be.”

Jarl returned a few moments later with a large pitcher of dark brown liquid and seven mugs. A platter piled high with an assortment of meats, cheeses, deep fat fried vegetable chunks and various breads reached the table a few minutes later, along with a stack of empty plates.

~*~ The food was excellent, the ale better and the weariness

from the road fell away as the company ate. It took them almost an hour to finish everything, then the wizard stood and motioned. “Come along and I’ll take you back to the dorms. You people look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet.”

Dale hid a yawn behind his hand. “We didn’t stop for the night last night. We were afraid to.”

“So we haven’t slept since yesterday morning,” Aerline finished for him as he yawned again.

The wizard nodded. “Understandable. If I were in your shoes yesterday, I might not have stopped either.” He led the way out of the inn and walked back with them to the college.

19

Chapter Four

The streets were a flurry of color and activity. Faran paused to wait for traffic and caught sight of a woman wearing a hat that screeched as she walked. He stared at her, watching with fascination until she was out of sight, then realized he had no idea where the others had gone or in which direction the college lay.

Great. Dale’s gonna shoot me. He flopped down and fumed at the ground. Of all the times to get lost in a city, it has to be when I’m tired and flat broke. Hope it doesn’t take too long for someone to realize I’m missing and come back for me. He sat cross legged on the grass and watched the traffic passing by.

“Hey kid,” a voice behind him growled a few minutes later. Faran swiveled his head and looked over his shoulder at two boys slightly older than himself. “What?”

The smaller boy turned his head and spit into the street. “Yer sittin’ in our grass.”

Faran rose to his feet and crossed his arms in imitation of Dale. “Your grass? I don’t see any sign with your name on it. How is it your grass?”

“’Cause it’s in our territory,” the larger one growled. “And ya gotta have our permission to sit on it...”

“Which I’m not doing at the moment,” Faran interrupted. “You gotta... err.” The smaller boy pointed at Faran’s feet and jabbed his

partner in the ribs. “He’s standing on it.” “And since yer standing’ on it...” Faran stepped off the

grass into the street. “You gotta... stop that!” The boy lowered his head and charged.


20

Faran dodged and grabbed him by the belt as his attacker stumbled past. He jerked, spun the boy around, and sent him sprawling onto the grass out of harm’s way. “Idiot! Why don’t you just run out into the street and get yourself killed?”

‘I ain’t no idiot!” The boy scrambled to his feet and charged at Faran again. Faran dodged, tripping him as he passed, and he crashed onto his face in the grass.

“Yer gonna pay for that!” the boy snarled as he struggled to his feet again. He spun around and froze.

Faran had drawn his sword and now held it inches from the boy’s chest. “I have had enough,” he growled, his voice low. “I suggest you and your friend turn around and go find someone else to annoy.”

The boy clenched his fists. “You don’t scare me none,” he snarled. “Just cause ya can steal yer old man’s sword don’t mean ya can use it.”

“Would you like to find out?” The smaller boy tugged on his partner’s sleeve, one eye on

the sword. “Come on, let’s just go.” “No! He ain’t gonna threaten me and get away with it!” “But you ain’t got a sword! Come on, let’s just go!” The larger boy glared at Faran, took off a glove and tossed

it on the ground between them. “I challenge you to a duel!” he snarled. “Yer a coward if ya don’t accept!”

Faran’s mouth fell open and he stared at his challenger. “A duel? Are you out of your mind?”

“No! You a chicken?” “Fine!” Faran slammed the sword into its sheath. “I’ll duel

you. Where and when?” “The Green. Tomorrow at noon.” Faran crossed his arms and looked the other boy up and

down. “And what are you planning on using for a weapon?” “Fists. To the death!” “You are crazy!” “You be there!” the boy shouted at him, poking him in the

chest with a finger. “All right!” Faran shouted back, slapping the boy’s hand

away. “Now leave me alone!” The boy snatched his glove off the ground and stomped off, his friend running beside him.

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Faran watched them go, shaking his head. “What an idiot,” he muttered. “What possessed me to go and accept his challenge?”

“I was wondering that myself,” Dale’s voice said behind him.

Faran whirled and threw his arms around Dale. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you!”

Dale hugged him, then held Faran at arm’s length. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”

“I was sitting here,” Faran gestured at the grass, “wondering how I was going to find the college and hoping someone would realize I was missing. Those guys,” he pointed down the street at the two boys who were still visible in the distance, “came up and told me that I was sitting on their grass. The big one threatened me so I stepped into the street. That made him mad, so he charged me. I jumped out of the way, grabbed him by the belt and tossed him on the grass. He charged me again, I dodged and drew my sword. He got stupid, challenged me to a duel and called me a chicken. I don’t know why I accepted, except that I just wanted him to go away and leave me alone.”

“All right. At least he only wants a fist fight.” “Yeah. To the death.” Faran shook his head again. “What

an idiot. I had no business taking that challenge.” Dale patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, you’re tired

and I might have done the same myself.. Let’s go to the college and see what Magister Rommalt has to say.”

They dodged the traffic and made their way back slowly back to the dorms. Dale left Faran standing at the top of the second floor landing with instructions to go to bed, then walked across campus to the Wizard’s tower. The place was packed and he stopped just inside the entrance.

A rather large, bulky man dressed in a long black robe walked over and held out his hand. “I’m Gevarch.” He shook Dale’s hand with a grip that would have crushed an iron bar.

Dale winced and pulled his hand free. “Nice to meet you. Can you tell me where Magister Rommalt might be?”

“He just went upstairs a few minutes ago. I can ring him if you like.”

“Thanks. That would be most helpful.” Gevarch raised his hand and pointed toward the ceiling

then twisted his fingers into an impossible configuration. A far off


22

ringing sounded and Rommalt’s voice was heard, faint and far away.

“Yes?” Gevarch untwisted his fingers, cupped his hands around his

mouth and bellowed loudly. “There’s a visitor down here to see you, Magister.”

“Who is it?” Gevarch lowered his hands, looked at Dale in the eye and

leaned in close. “What’s your name?” he whispered. “Dale.” Gevarch stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth

again and inhaled deeply. “Says his name’s Dale,” he shouted at the top of his voice.

“All right,” the tiny voice responded. “I’ll be right down.” Gevarch flicked his thumb and middle finger at the ceiling,

and then motioned to a chair. “He’ll be right down,” he repeated, turning to Dale. “You’re welcome to have a seat.”

“Thank you. I’ll just wait for him here.” Gevarch shrugged and stuck his hands into his robe sleeves.

“As you like.” He turned on his heel and strode across the tower without another word.

Rommalt materialized a few seconds later and floated over to Dale. “I thought you people would be sound asleep by now, is something wrong?”

Dale sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Faran got lost on the way back and a couple of young thugs tried to pick a fight with him. He managed to avoid killing anyone, but the leader challenged him to a duel. With fists. To the death. Which he accepted out of anger.”

The wizard’s eyebrows rose half-way to his hairline. “When is it to be and where?”

“Tomorrow. On the green, where ever that is, at noon.” “The Green is the central square of the city. I wish the fight

wasn’t to the death.” “Faran’s capable of defending himself.” Rommalt shoved a loose hair under the brim of his pointed

hat. “Please let me explain. All contracts agreed to in this city are binding by law and a duel to the death is no different from any other contract. The magic which enforces contracts will ensure they do infact duel each other, and that one dies.”

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“The city’s magic enforces contracts?” “Yes.” Rommalt removed the hat and smoothed his hair

into place. “It’s much cheaper for spells to enforce the laws, rather than employee a large force of soldiers, lawyers, judges and so forth. It’s also more effective.” He settled the hat onto his head and stuck another loose hair under the brim. “Spells can’t be bribed like people can. It guarantees agreements will be met as long as the contract is worded without loopholes.” A shock of hair escaped from under the hat and dangled into Rommalt’s eyes. He growled, ripped the hat from his head, and ran his fingers through his hair.

Dale eyed Rommalt’s hat and tried to ignore the wizard’s fight with his hair. “I can’t let Faran be killed and I certainly don’t want him to kill the other boy. Nor does he want to.”

“I understand that,” Rommalt said as he settled the hat on his head once more. He stroked his long beard and frowned in thought. His eyebrows stuck straight out from his forehead, quivering. “I’ll have to give it some thought,” he said after almost a minute’s silence. His eyebrows settled down and went back to arching over his eyes. “I would be happy to cast a nullification spell, however that would take a minimum of a week and the duel is tomorrow.” The hat chose that moment to slide off the back of his head. He whirled and caught it in mid-fall. Bits of colored light scattered from his robes, covering everything with multicolored polka dots. Rommalt growled and jammed the hat on his head. His hair poked out from underneath it and curled tentacles around the brim, snatched the hat from his head and sent it sailing toward the tower steps. It caught a current, floated up through the hole in the ceiling, and vanished. Rommalt narrowed his eyes. “Give me a few hours to try and find a solution. I’ll come see you in the morning before ten and we’ll discuss it.” The wizard turned his back and bolted up the stairs without waiting for Dale’s reply.

24

Chapter Five

“But I’m not that good!” Galdur protested. The company, and Magister Rommalt, had gathered in Dale’s room and were discussing the upcoming duel. “I can’t heal someone that’s been killed. I’m not a miracle worker!”

“But there’s nothing else we can do,” Kheri argued. “Magister Rommalt just told us he worked all night looking for a loophole and there aren’t any.”

“I don’t care.” Galdur crossed his arms and scowled at Kheri across the room. “You can’t ask me to bring dead people back to life. I’m not a wizard, I’m just me!”

“Galdur,” Dale interrupted, “please calm down. We’re not expecting you to bring anyone back to life. Just stop him from completely dying. The spell just has to be satisfied that he’s going to die.” He glanced over his shoulder at Rommalt. “At least that’s what I understand you to mean?

The wizard removed a bit of dust from the sleeve of his robe. “Technically, yes. However, you didn’t permit me to finish.” He allowed his gaze to travel around the room. “There is a bit of a catch.”

Dale crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Think he enjoys being dramatic? Jarl’s thought whispered

through Dale’s mind. Maybe just a little bit, Dale responded, his thoughts colored

with irritation. Rommalt stuck his hands into his robe sleeves and rested

his gaze on each member of the company at the same time. “The wizard who wove the contractual enforcement spell was very detail

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25

oriented. The spell will not accept ‘almost die’ as satisfying the ‘to the death’ clause.”

“But you said...” Rommalt held up his hand and pinned Dale to the wall with

his gaze. “Wait! I’m still not finished. There is a way around this, but it’ll be tricky.”

Dale winced as the back of his head smacked into the plasterboard. “Let go! I’ll shut up and listen.”

Rommalt’s face crinkled into a smile and he released Dale from the wall. “Thank you, I do appreciate the courtesy. Now, where was I?” He stared at the ceiling and twisted the end of his beard between his fingers. “Oh yes, as I was saying more than fifteen minutes ago, I checked carefully and the wizard who wrote the spell didn’t redefine death.” He stopped twisting his beard and settled his gaze on Faran. “So I spent a few minutes researching the standard meaning of death, since that is what the spell will use. The standard legal definition is stated thus.” He reached into the air and pulled out a crisp piece of paper. “Death,” he intoned, his voice taking on a deep sonorous reverberation, “is a permanent state where-by, a person or thing, once living no longer has a life of its own.” He crumpled the paper and tossed it across the room. It hit the rim of the trashcan and rolled around the edge. He squinted at the paper through one eye and waggled his nose. The paper jumped into the air, did a triple flip, and landed in the can with a loud clank. Kheri jumped, retrieved the paper and turned it around in his hands. Rommalt chuckled and turned his attention to the rest of the company. “Here is where it gets tricky. If Faran can somehow force the other boy to yield his life to him, the letter of the law will be satisfied. The other boy will no longer have a life of his own... because it will belong to Faran.”

Dale started to cross his arms, then shoved his hands into his pants pockets instead and stood away from the wall. “Why do I hear a catch in that sentence?”

The wizard grinned at him. “The problem is that the definition also contains the word permanent. Faran could never release the young man, as the spell would see such an action as invalidating the contract. It would consider the other boy’s “death” to be void and proceed to enforce the requirement once again.”


26

Faran sat down on the edge of the bed. “So? We’re not gonna be staying here very long. I can just let him go when we leave.”

“You could, however there are other spells which would track you down, bring you back here, and force you to fulfill the contract. As I said, the wizard who cast it was extremely detail oriented. He made certain that no one could break a contract by simply running away.”

Faran shrugged. “Ok, so I make him yield and don’t release him when we leave. What’s the big deal?”

Rommalt steepled his fingers, rested his elbows on the air and regarded Faran over the tips. “Not much, if you don’t mind him tagging along with you. If he yields his life to you, an ancient binding spell will activate and he will expire if separated from you by more than fifty miles.”

Faran’s mouth dropped open and he shook his head at the wizard. “That’s not fair!”

“And that spell,” Rommalt went on, ignoring Faran’s outburst, “was cast by a much better mage than the one who wrote the contract spell. Its range of effect is also world wide.”

“Who wrote it?” “Me,” Rommalt said. “I wrote it for a specific person

during the wizard’s war. I cannot break it, rewrite it or delete it from the world, and neither can anyone else. I did that on purpose to prevent certain foreseeable problems. I made one small mistake however and didn’t specifically declare who it would affect, which means everyone is affected... if the correct conditions are met.

Aerline gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “You were in the Wizard’s War?”

“He was,” Dale said, “but now isn’t the time to discuss that. It’s getting close to noon and we have to finish this first.”

“Why me?” Faran complained as he stood back up, frustration filling his voice. “What do I need some snot-nosed brat hanging around for?”

Dale crossed his arms and frowned at Faran. “Perhaps for the same reason I needed to have a snot-nosed brat hanging around. Someone obviously needs to teach him a lesson.”

Faran stared at Dale open-mouthed, then hugged his arms across his chest and glowered at the floor. “That’s hitting below the belt,” he muttered.

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“Well?” Dale held a hand out toward Faran. “His parents, if he has any, are certainly making a hash of him.”

“Yeah,” Faran looked back up, “but for the rest of his life?” He met Dale’s eyes and tried not to scowl.

Jarl walked over to Faran and dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Kid, you didn’t have to agree to that duel. You got both you, and him, into this mess when you did. This is the only way out. Do you really want him to die?”

Faran frowned at Jarl and crossed his arms tighter. “No.” Jarl dropped his hand and stepped back. “Then do what you

have to. Who knows, he might turn out to be a decent guy and maybe even save your life someday.”

“Yeah, but...” Faran shook his head and kicked at the floor. “It’s just not fair!”

Dale put a hand on Faran’s other shoulder. “Fair doesn’t enter into this. Fair is how you treat him after the fight is over.”

“But...” “And,” Dale said, ignoring Faran’s interruption. “He might

have a better chance at a decent life anyway. He doesn’t seem to be headed down the road to honest, upstanding citizen at the moment.”

“Yeah, but...” “Besides,” Dale said, derailing Faran’s second attempt at an

interruption. “If you’re going to be the Baron when your father steps down, you need to learn how to deal fairly with people over whose lives you exercise complete control. This could be a good chance for you to do that.”

“I’m not going to be the Baron. There’s twenty-seven others who are older than me.”

“What’s your father’s name?” “Alain Herauso Feliks the fourth. Why?” “And what’s your full name again?” “Alain Herauso Feliks the fifth. I already told you that.

Why?” “Any of the other kids named after your father?” “No. Just me.” Dale looked at his hands and picked a bit of dirt from under

one fingernail. “Seems strange for a man to name someone after himself that he doesn’t intend for his heir.” He raised his head and looked into Faran’s eyes. “Doesn’t it?”


28

Faran stared at him in shock. “But he never even knew I was alive!”

“I doubt that very much. He probably trusted his servants to care for you and got so caught up in running the Barony, he didn’t realize what was happening. He’s probably beside himself with worry, unless no one’s had the nerve to tell him you are gone.”

Faran dropped his head in his hands and flopped down on the edge of the bed. “Why me?” he muttered, his voice muffled. “Now I’m confused again.”

Kheri sat down beside him and put a hand on his back. “Come on, buck up. The world didn’t just come to an end, okay?”

“Yeah, but I feel like I just got hit with a tree!” Faran dropped his hands and looked at Dale. “All right, I’ll fight the duel and make him yield. But if he’s gotta come with us, I don’t promise not to pound on him a few times till he wises up!”

Dale grinned at him. “I seem to recall having to do that myself.” Faran turned bright red and Dale tousled his hair. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t take him very many sessions to get the message.”

Rommalt floated up from his chair. “If it’s settled, I should point out that it is now eleven am and it takes almost forty-five minutes at this time of day to get to The Green. We should be going.”

“You’re coming too?” Faran asked as he stood. “Of course,” the wizard smiled. “Likely half the city will be

there. A duel doesn’t happen often and the news spreads rapidly. The fact that you’ll be punching each other instead of tossing fireballs won’t matter much to the spectators.”

~*~ They left the dorms, headed for the campus trolley stop,

and waited impatiently. Almost fifteen minutes after the hour, a bright red and yellow horse drawn trolley approached the stop and paused long enough to let them on.

“Morning,” the conductor gave them a smile and tipped his hat. “Lovely day isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Rommalt handed him the fare. “Do you stop at The Green today?”

“We stop there every day. So happens we’re headed there right now.”

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“Excellent,” the wizard took a seat. “That is precisely where we wish to go.”

~*~ The trolley moved at a snail’s pace through the city streets,

and Faran found himself chewing on his fingernails as the time ticked toward noon. The trolley gave a lurch a few minutes before the hour and stopped. “All out, this here’s The Green,” the conductor called. “Or as close as we can get to it right now.”

Rommalt floated down the stairs and drifted to the side, waiting for the rest of the company to disembark. “That way,” he pointed once they joined him on the ground. “On the other side of that massive crowd.”

Dale stared at the crowd, then stepped onto the bottom stair of the trolley and shaded his eyes with a hand. “How are we supposed to get through there? That crowd must be twenty people deep.” He jumped back to the ground and moved out of the way of the trolley.

Magister Rommalt chuckled and floated serenely toward the spectators. As he neared them, his robes began to glow and a bolt of blue light shot from the point of his hat. It splattered on a small section of the crowd and they vanished, creating a wide alley to the green. Rommalt turned to the company and gestured at the opening. “There you go. Front row seats.”

Jarl grinned, walked into the alley and headed for the front. Faran followed reluctantly and the others brought up the rear.

30

Chapter Six

Faran stepped out onto the green at three minutes before noon and looked around. His challenger was at the far end, jumping and punching the air. Every few seconds the crowd near him burst into a round of applause and he faced them, held both fists up, and shouted loudly.

Faran scowled, pulled his shirt off, and dropped it on the ground. He placed his sword next to it, walked out to the middle of the green, and stood waiting. The city clock chimed noon and a cheer went up from the crowd.

The challenger’s eyes went wild; he put his head down and charged. Faran waited until the last second, stepped sideways and turned. His attacker’s hands closed on empty air and the boy stumbled forward. Faran grabbed his belt and yanked. The other boy’s feet flew out from under him and he hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud.

Faran drew his arm back, then waited until the challenger was on his feet again before slamming his fist into his opponent’s gut. The boy winced and threw a punch at Faran’s head. Faran blocked it, elbowed him in the face and caught the underside of the boy’s chin with the heel of his hand. His opponent’s head snapped back and he toppled over, crashing to the ground.

Faran waited while the other boy struggled to his feet once more, then smashed his fist into his opponent’s solar plexus and followed with an uppercut to the other’s chin. The challenger twisted sideways and hit the ground. Faran sucked air through his nose, stepped aside, and dropped into ready stance.

The wild look left the other boy’s eyes, replaced with wary caution. He forced himself to get back up, his gaze locked on

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Faran’s hands. Bad move, he thought, his heart pounding. Shouldn’t ‘a messed with this one. He’s too good. His eyes darted around the edges of the green, seeking an opening in the crowd and circling Faran to buy time. Nothin’. Everybody’s shoulder ta shoulder. I’d have ta run someone down and they’d stop me. I gotta finish this fight...‘cept I don’t think I can. He licked his lips and tried to ignore the fear gnawing at the base of his spine.

Faran noticed his opponent’s hesitation and relaxed. He’s scared. I’m better than he is and he knows it. The captain of the guard rose in the back of Faran’s mind. Keep the advantage, his oft-repeated lecture ran through the edge of Faran’s thoughts. Get your target off guard. Put the sun in his eyes. Use moves he won’t expect. Tell him that he’s failing. Do anything you must to undermine his confidence. The second he’s on the defensive, the advantage is yours. Don’t play with him and don’t give him time to recover. Strike, strike hard and take him down. There is no such thing as a fair fight when your life is on the line. Faran nodded to the memory and allowed a vicious smile to creep across his face. “You should have left me alone.”

“Shut up!” Faran narrowed his eyes and snickered. “You insisted on

this duel. You’re the one that said it was to the death. Remember?” “I said shut up!” The other boy gave ground and backed

away. Faran’s grin widened. “You can’t run,” he hissed. “And

you can’t beat me. Your life is mine!” The other boy swung his fist wildly. Faran caught the fist

and twisted it, slapped his free hand on the boy’s shoulder and pushed. His opponent gasped and fell forward onto his knees on the grass, leaning hard on his free hand. Faran stepped behind him, wrenching the boy’s arm back and upwards. He wrapped his right arm around his opponent’s neck in a chokehold and bent the boy backwards. “You’ve got a choice,” he growled, applying pressure to his opponent’s throat. “Yield your life to me or die!”

“No!” Faran snarled and gave in to the anger he’d been fighting

with all morning. He pulled his right arm up and squeezed his opponent’s throat with his full strength. His opponent cried out in pain and frantically tried to pry Faran’s arm loose with his free hand. “All right!” he gasped in panic. “I give! I give!”


32

“Not good enough,” Faran growled furiously. The boy’s face twisted into a mask of pain mixed with

terror. He clawed at Faran’s arm with his free hand and forced words out between clenched teeth. “What do you want?”

Faran fought against the spell and spit out angry words. “I told you to yield! I want to hear you swear your life is mine!”

“I swear!” “Say the words!” “My life is yours!” “For how long?” “I don’t know. How long do you want?” “Forever! Say it!” “Okay! Forever! My life is yours forever! I swear!” The relentless pressure vanished. Faran let go and his

opponent fell face forward into the grass. Faran closed his eyes, took a deep breath and relaxed, the stood watching the crowd as it broke apart and drifted away. He waited until most of the people were gone before relaxing. When there were only a few spectators left, he stepped back and looked down at his opponent. “On your knees!” The other boy stirred, struggled to his knees, and looked up with apprehension.

“I warned you, didn’t I?” Faran snarled, still seething with anger. “You thought you’d found a kid you could beat up and show off for your buddies with. You’d have killed me to make yourself look big!” He backhanded his prisoner sharply and the other boy’s head snapped to the side. The kid winced and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand, watching Faran warily. “I own you now,” Faran snarled. “I suggest you don’t forget that!” He clenched his fists and the boy threw his arms up protectively. Faran took a step forward and his prisoner dropped his arms and shook his head quickly; his eyes locked on Faran’s face. “I suggest you don’t forget why, either,” Faran growled, leaning forward.

The other boy gulped and shrank away. He’d felt the binding spell take effect when he yielded and now he knelt and knew with absolute certainty that if Faran wanted him dead, the spell would kill him instantly. “What are you going to do with me?” he whispered, watching Faran’s expression.

Faran forced himself to relax and unclenched his fists. “Get up. What I do depends on you. You behave, I’ll go easy. You challenge me, you’ll regret it. You disobey me, you’ll wish you’d

Chapter 6

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never been born when I get finished. You got family in this city?” The boy climbed to his feet and nodded. “Were they out here watching you throw your life away today?”

“No. Just the guys.” Faran pointed across the grass to the rest of the company.

“Move!” His prisoner ducked an imagined blow and stumbled across the grass.

~*~ Faran stopped him a few feet from the others and went to

retrieve his gear. As he reached down to pick up his shirt, he caught Galdur watching him. He straightened up and returned Galdur’s gaze. “What?” Galdur shook his head, spun around and walked away. Faran’s anger vanished, replaced by guilt and a sense of loss. He looked up at Dale, his heart sinking.

Dale’s looked down at Faran, his face devoid of expression. “Yes?”

Faran dropped his head and stared at the ground. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice choked with the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.

Dale dropped a hand on Faran’s shoulder. “You did what you had to, son. Some lessons aren’t easy to teach. However, there is a large difference between discipline and abuse. Don’t cross that line again.”

Faran swallowed and wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry. I tried not to, but I lost my temper.”

“I saw. Are you in control now?” “I think so,” Faran wiped his eyes again. “Mostly anyway.” “All right.” Dale patted him on the shoulder. “Then get

your stuff and let’s get back to the dorm.” Dale, Jarl’s thought came out of nowhere. We have

company. A short fat man was waddling across the grass toward

them, his face contorted with fury. He stomped up to Faran and shook his fist. “That was the most unfair fight I ever seen! You cheated every way from Sunday. You let my boy go or I’ll see you hang from the highest steeple in this town!”

“Perhaps your boy didn’t tell you the terms of the duel?” Dale interrupted, stepping in front of Faran.

The man squinted up at him. “Yeah. He told me.” “Might I ask what he told you?”

villenspell: city of wizards - book 2 in the sojourn chronicles

Documents

wizards bane book

city of wizards

lost lands book

saginaw boulevard

helpful comments

josh davis

ancient tomes press

retrieval system