A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (15 page)

Wood hit his palm. Eric opened his eyes to see another staff
leaning into his hand. He smiled with relief and closed his hand. A gentle
warmth flowed up his hand, up his arm, and to the rest of his body.
Invigorating! Holding the staff, he felt capable of more than he could imagine.

“Congratulations. You're officially a mage.”

Eric scarcely heard him, so busy was he examining his new
staff. It was a head shorter than he and made of black oak with a scattering of
runes over its surface. One end had a fist-sized knot of wood while the other
was flat.
Hello. I'm Eric Watley, a Squad Three Novice in the Dragon's Lair
.
The staff grew slightly warm in his hands.

“Your teammates should be here somewhere,” Basilard said, “Ah!
There's one.”

Eric followed his mentor's gaze and there, standing next to
another rack of weapons, was a boy in his midteens. He had blue hair, evenly
trimmed, and his clothes were almost completely clean; “almost” because of
sticky white blobs of bird poop. The only thing that was completely clean was a
small pouch strapped to his waist. He was examining the guild's staves with a
critical eye, but there was already one slung across his back. It was made of
white rowan and one end was shaped like a scalpel instead of a mace.

“Nolien,” Basilard called. The boy stopped and faced him. “Where's
Tsilear?”

“On a mission,” Nolien replied. “He said and I quote, 'I
have better things to do than attend a pointless meeting.' He did, however,
drop me off here.”

“That does sound like him . . .” Basilard muttered. “I hope
he didn't skimp on your training.”

“No, Mr. Bladi. He dragged me all the way to Fort Honor near
the Stratos Ruins to suppress a Licshni outbreak. As for Proof of Skill, he
volunteered me for a weeklong hunter expedition to the Ogregg Marsh.” The young
healer unslung his staff. “I have already received training in Lifecraft and so
I brought my own staff. I hope you don't mind.”

“Absolutely not.” Basilard pushed Eric forward. “Eric, meet
Nolien, the healer of our team. It's his job to make sure you stay alive.”

Nolien held out his hand.”Pleased to meet you, Eric.”

Eric shook it. “Likewise.”

“One more,” Basilard said. “Follow me.”

Basilard led the two young mages to another section. There,
swords and pikes and axes and maces stood next to metal staves. In a practice
ring, a girl swung a moderate side-sword with great enthusiasm. She wore a
tunic and pants with a belt to secure the byrnie chainmail poking out from
underneath. Over her shoulders were two straps; one for a scabbard and another
for a targe shield.

Her most distinctive trait was her hair: it was literally
dirty blonde. As if dirt and grime were somehow braided into the hairs
themselves, streaks of blonde/black ran in odds places. It fell below her ears
and above her eyes; ragged and uneven. Her clothes were almost as dirty.

Feeling Eric's eyes, she stared back. “What!?”

“Now be nice, Cocoon.”

The woman next to her was middle-aged with shoulder-length
blonde hair. Unlike the girl, there were no grime streaks. A one-piece dress
fell to her ankles and her hands were stuffed in pockets. Eric couldn't see any
weapon, but spiders crawled up her neck.

“Stop calling me that!” the girl said, pink cheeked. “My
name is Tiza Sprial!”

“You're still my little Cocoon.”

Out of a sense of self-preservation, Eric bit his lip.

“Eric, Nolien meet . . .” Basilard glanced at the spider
lady, who nodded. “ . . .Tiza Sprial.”

“Pleased to meet you, Tiza,” Nolien said. She took pleasure
in squeezing his hand. Nolien didn't wince, but Eric wasn't so stoic.

“I'll take over from here, Sathel,” Basilard said to the
spider lady.

Locking eyes, she said with deadly severity. “Take good care
of my Cocoon.”

“Daylra!”

“I will,” Basilard replied, equally grave. “Don't worry.”

“I'll be working in Rlawader for the indeterminate future,” she
continued. “When I come back, I expect her whole and stronger.”

“I stake my sword on it.”

“Good.” Sathel noticeably softened and put a hand on Tiza's
shoulder. “Basilard is your Daylra now, but I can still be your mentor . . .or
. . .maybe—”

Tiza shrugged. “I'll call you 'Spider Daylra', and him
'Bloody Daylra'.” Sathel smiled, but it was bittersweet. She turned her back on
the new team and walked out of Storage.

“Was that your mother?” Nolien asked Tiza.

“No, apprentice mentor,” Tiza said. “I have no idea who my
mother is.”

“I . . .see . . .” Nolien said.

“Now that we're all together, why don't we get to know each
other? I'll start. My name is Basilard Bladi and I am the sergeant of this
team. I'm also your mentor in your respective fields. I like raw meat. I dislike
control freaks. My hobbies are sparring and practicing bladicraft. I joined the
Dragon's Lair because it's family tradition. My dream is to pass on this sword
to my first born child.”

Nolien stiffened at the mention of primogeniture. “Tiza, why
don't you go next?”

“Fine. I'm Tiza Sprial and I'm the fighter of this team. My
likes, dislikes, and hobbies are none of your business. I joined ‘cause Captain
Blond Psycho noticed my amazing talent and begged me to.”

“I heard a different story,” Basilard said. “One where
Lieutenant Jemas caught you picking his pocket and dragged you to the guild to
treat your many injuries.”

Tiza froze, then turned a burning glare on him. “When I
become a paladin, she
will
recognize
my talent! And so will
everyone else!”

“Quite an ambitious young lady, aren't you?” Basilard
remarked, not at all phased by her outburst or her narrowed eyes.

“I'll do it no problem! Just wait and see!”

Basilard smiled. “I will, won't I?” Tiza sat down, crossed
her arms, and continued to glare.

“I'll go next. My name is Nolien Iteleh from Heleti and I
will be this team's healer. I like studying Lifecraft and dislike show-offs. My
hobbies include Chess, Go, and other games of strategy. I joined the Dragon's
Lair because I felt I could help more people here than at the Heleti General
Hospital where the rest of my family works. My dream is do as much good as I
can. I am pleased to meet all of you and I look forward to working together.”

“An idealist . . . I hope our line of work doesn't make you
jaded.”

“I will do my best, Daylra.”

Everyone looked at Eric. He jumped to his feet. “Oh! Ah . .
. I'm Eric Watley . . . I . . . I'm this team's battle mage. I'm Threan so I'm
still getting used to this world. I joined the Dragon's Lair because it was the
first job I was offered. I like corndogs and my hobbies are puzzles . . . I
don't have any dreams.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Basilard said understandingly. “But
they help. All right, it's time for your first mission.” He chuckled. “A time-honored
tradition in the Dragon's Lair, carried out by generation after generation of
novices—”

“Spit it out already!” Tiza shouted.

Basilard's smile widened. “You mission iiisssssss: collect
snacks.”

“WHAT!?” All three novices shouted.

“Each of you has to find out what snack your captain likes,
buy it, and bring it back.”

“Is this a real mission?” Nolien asked.

“Of course; you will be paid by the captains themselves,”
Basilard said. “Mia has it, so take the snacks to her once you get them.”

Tiza and Nolien grumbled all the way to the Squad One
Lounge. They went back and forth about it being a waste of their time and
talent, etc. Eric walked silently. Personally, he didn't mind because it wasn't
dangerous.
Until Squad Two . . .
Squad One's crest was a pair of crossed
swords.

“Let's get this over with,” Tiza groaned and pushed the door
open. They made slow progress, as everyone wanted to meet Eric and Nolien. When
they finally entered the captain's office, they saw Giji pushing papers with
two arms and juggling swords with the other two.

“Hey, Tiza, what can I do for you?”

“Captain, we need to know what your favorite snack is.”

“Ahh . . ..” Giji looked at the ceiling. “I must say I like
apples.”

“Thank you, Captain.” The trio left the lounge. “One down.”

“Do either of you know the location of the Squad Four
Lounge?” Nolien asked.

Both his teammates shook their heads.

“I can help you with that.”

A girl walked out from behind a corner. Eric recognized her
as the same girl that chased after the ghost. Her body was slender and her face
was delicately featured; her blonde hair was up in knee-length pigtails and she
wore a pink dress with a  high collar and long skirt. Altogether, she looked
too fragile to be in a warrior guild. Captain Giji was intimidating and even
Tiza looked tough enough. This girl looked like she would break if someone
poked her.

“The captain likes raisins,” she said and ducked back around
the corner. Confusion ran across Tiza's face and she ran after the strange
girl.

“Hey! How did you—” She cut off when she saw she was
speaking to an empty hall. She returned back to her teammates, even more
confused. “She . . .vanished.”

“Hmmm . . .” Nolien mused. “Well that makes two. Eric, lead
us to Squad Three.”

 It took two minutes for Eric to realize he was lost and one
more for his companions. “Ow!” he shouted and rubbed the spot on his head where
Tiza swatted him.

“Why didn't you tell us you didn't know where you were
going?!”

 Eric looked down sheepishly and muttered apologies.

“Now, now,” Nolien said. “The important thing is to find the
Squad Three Lounge. I'm sure we'll find someone to—” Tiza was already walking
down a random path. “Tiza, you're going to get more lost!”

 Tiza answered without breaking stride or looking back. “How
can we get more lost than what Dimwit here already made us?” Eric apologized
again and Nolien sighed.

So they wandered aimlessly through the many tunnels and
passageways of the Dragon's Lair. Eric had no idea how long they wandered
because the walls didn't have windows. They could have been lost for hours and
night could have fallen. He got sinking feeling in his gut. If they
had
been lost for hours, then the captain's meeting might be over and done with. He
could have made his team fail their very first mission! All because he couldn't
remember the location of his own lounge.

“Here we are!” Tiza declared; her voice dripping
satisfaction. “Told you I'd find it!” She pointed to the crossed black staff
design on the door.

“Find it?” Nolien asked skeptically. “That was luck.”

“You mean, woman’s intuition.”

Inside, the same thing happened as before; every mage wanted
to meet Tiza and Nolien. When they finally reached the Captain's office, Quando
did the same flashy routine and Eric had to shout their question over his
trumpets.

“Potato chips!” Four voices chorused.

“What kind?” Eric asked.

“Barbeque!” Mi shouted.

“Original!” Do shouted.

“Sour cream and onion!” Rei shouted.

“Cheese!” Quando himself shouted. They all glared at each
other.

“When a guy argues with his own puppets, you know there's
something wrong with him,” Nolien drawled. Tiza and Eric nodded.

“Just get a variety pack,” Esoli muttered.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” Eric said. They left with the captain
still arguing with his familiars.

Nolien knew the tunnels of the Dragon's Lair better than Eric
or Tiza and the team soon arrived at the Squad Two Lounge. In fact, it took
longer for Tiza and Nolien to get out of the lounge than for Nolien to guide
them to it. Eric stayed outside because he was afraid of being in the same room
as Hasina. When the pair finally emerged, Tiza said, “Captain Blonde Psycho
said she would tell us if we let her 'take a look at you.'”

Eric paled.

“Don't worry,” Nolien said quickly. “The lieutenant said she
liked chocolate. All we need now is Squad Five. Do either of you know where it
is?”

“Hey, lovely lady.” A man sauntered their way and kissed
Tiza's hand. “Might I be of service?” Tiza kneed him between the legs. He made
a funny nose, grabbed his family jewels, and fell over.

“That's two strikes!” Tiza shouted, “One more and I cut it
off!”

A woman with bunny ears ran by and stopped at the man
kneeling in male pain. “Does it hurt?” The man nodded. “Good.”

“But you're my lieutenant!” the man protested, “You're
supposed to be supportive of me!” Eric and Nolien turned to the paling Tiza.
She
kneed a captain!

“I apologize for the captain; he got away from me.”

“No, we're the ones who should apologize,” Nolien said. “It
was our teammate who kneed him.”

“He was hitting on me!” Tiza protested.

“That doesn't mean you should actually
hit
him,” Nolien
countered. Tiza crossed her arms.

“You must be from Squad Five,” Eric said.

“Why yes we are,” the woman said, “Why do you ask?” Eric
explained their mission. “I'm sorry, but his favorite snack escapes me. Follow
me and I'll show you.” She lifted the Captain of Squad Five over her shoulder. “By
the way, I'm Azir and the captain is Orku.”

With the Lieutenant of Squad Five leading them, the trio of
novices walked through a wooden door marked by a crossed sword and staff. Everyone
there wanted to meet all three of them. In the captain's office, Azir set Orku
on his chair and examined the pantry. She pulled out a box of crackers.

“Thank you,” Nolien said. “That's everything.”

From the Red Town of Sword and Staff they walked to the next
district of the city, the Yellow Town of Trade and Creativity. Eric was
relieved to see the sun still high in the sky and crowds still walking from
store to store. He hadn't been here since Redstreak escorted him. It was quite
a sight now that he had time to appreciate it.