A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (58 page)

“Come quietly or we will use force.”

“Please let go.” The soldier twisted her arms behind her
back and handcuffed her. “Don't say I didn't warn you . . .” She continued in a
singsong voice.

The soldiers marched Mia to the door and off screen. Seconds
later, the novices heard a chorus of horrifying screams. Mia walked back into the
lobby, alone and unscathed, and sat down at her desk. Reaching into her pocket
dimension with cuffed hands, she pulled out a key chain. The video ended.

 “And then I dyed their armor pink!” Mia said with a giggle.
The novices were stunned silent. Mia went on to say that she'd called the
castle inquiring about the raid, but didn't receive an answer. “Oh! I should
call Basilard. He's been worried about you.”

 Not a minute later, the doors slammed open and Eric was
squeezed in the man's arms.

“You were that worried about me?”

“Don't be offended, Daylra,” Nolien said. “He asked the same
of us.”

Basilard hugged tighter still. “Of course I was worried. Why
wouldn't I be?”

“Uh . . .Well . . .I . . .” Eric was too ashamed to admit he
believed the Dragon's Lair was a cult, so he changed the subject. “Daylra, is
your brother a bandit?”

“Plas? Of course not. He's a land outlaw and a good one too.
Didn't they teach you the difference between rogues and outlaws in school?”
They did, but Eric wanted to continue the conversation so he shook his head. “Well,
then. I'll teach you; it's my duty as your daylra.

“Outlaws enforce our laws but they don't live by them. They
have their own. Rogues break one of these two and are therefore criminals.”

Basilard left out the history, culture, and rules of outlaws
because he didn't feel like reciting such a long story, and the Alliance
between the Outlaw Trifecta and Ataidar's Royal Family because that was even
longer. What he did explain was that the designation “outlaw” was created at
the Birth of the Avatar Alliance two thousand years ago. Queen Shalidthros
enlisted bandits and others to repel forces invading “Ataidar” and later made
them an official police force. In exchange, she legitimized their activities so
long as they agreed to a code of conduct. The ones that accepted this code and
captured those that didn't were called “outlaws”; those that live outside the
common law and within their own.

To prove themselves as outlaws each wore a magic tattoo on
the back of their left hand. This mark not only separated them from rogues, but
from other outlaws, depending on which of the Outlaw Trifecta they served: the
Bandit Empress, Pirate King, or Thief King. Any violation would  automatically
transform the mark into a black spot, which would signal their respective lord.
As two of the three lords were also gods of nature and the final was married to
one of them, black spots were guaranteed punishment according to their crime.

After his tale, Basilard told Eric something else he didn't know:
Team Four had a mission and all three novices were late. He promised a “special”
training session afterward and all, but Eric groaned. Compared to imprisonment
in the castle dungeon, intense training sounded wonderful.

The guild had become so important to him it was the
centerpiece of his Dengel-Trapping-Web. The first job he'd ever enjoyed, the
first one he'd had friends, and it all started with the lobby and Mia the
Mission Assigner. He never imagined himself a magical mercenary in college, but
now that he was, he couldn't imagine anything else.

The next day, they were called back to the castle by its
unofficial queen. On the way, Nolien was pooped on by the blue jay and the crane
on their way to the next castle.

The castle staff had done an admirable job cleaning up the
throne room. It
almost
didn't look like a battle had taken place the day
before. If only for the lingering smell of blood and rotting meat . . . Kasile
sat on the throne looking as regal as ever despite the fact that she wore the armor
from yesterday. The hole was still there.

“Welcome, Team Four. I summoned you because you ran off
without your reward.”

“I want gold so I can buy better equipment,” Tiza said.

“I domph.” Tiza's elbow cut Nolien off. “I mean . . .ditto.“

“I'm not sure,” Eric said.

“Then I will keep yours in reserve,” Kasile said. “On a
related note, there is one thing I can give you now.” She gestured an attendant
forward. “The trophy for the New Scepter Competition.”

On a pillow carried by the attendant was a statue as big as
her forearm. It was made of orichalcum and inscribed with the winner's name and
the date. The attendant presented it to Eric who looked at Kasile in confusion.

“What about the final event?”

“Ms. Selios forfeited. She said you deserve it more,” Kasile
explained, then cracked a smile. “
And
she refuses to leave the Royal
Archives. Take your prize, Mr. Watley.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Eric placed the elegant trophy on the mantle above his bed
next to the jar of Aio's ashes. It looked out of place with his simpler
treasures, but it went very well with his new door. Kasile ordered it fixed,
free of charge. Then she made it stronger with higher quality material and
reinforced with wards to prevent anyone from breaking in again. Similar runes
were added on the inside to strengthen the house further. She justified it as a
“public service expense” because Eric's house was a bridge. The door was now
the most valuable part of his home. Someone knocked.

 I don't have time for this,
Eric thought as he
opened it.
There's Kasile's coronation to prepare for, her father's funeral and—he
trailed off at the sight of the visitor. It was a girl, and not just any
girl, but the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

“C-c-can I-I-I hh-h- help you?”

The girl held her arms behind her back, tilted her head and
leaned forward. “I'm sorry to trouble you, but there's something you should
know: I am the one who hired you for the Joust.”

Joust; the word made Eric nostalgic. All his trouble started
there. His first synchronization with Kasile and getting tangled up in her
life. From there, he tried to prevent her kidnapping and, failing at that, he
promised to rescue her from the Black Cloaks. Instead, he taught her basic
magecraft and she escaped on her own. Then the magic contest and the coup de'ta
. . .

“T-h-han tank..thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Suddenly bold, she draped herself over him
and whispered in his ear, “I hope you appreciate the other things I did for you
more.”

“…..wahb . . .wha . . .”

“Oh dear me, I forgot.” The girl stepped back. “You'll
remember once I change into something more comfortable.” Eric almost passed out
from the blood rushing to his face.

 The girl's form blurred. Her face shifted. Her hair turned
white and her eyes turned pink. Most startling was her change to a
him
.

“Hi, Roomy!” Eric punched him/her so hard, she/he fell to
the dirt. “Oh, that brings back memories . . .You punched me the first time we
met, though that time was an accident.”

“No . . .” Eric said with barely controlled fury. “The first
time we met I was
several years older
!”

The albino smiled even wider. “Do you know how weird that
sounds?”

A vein poked up on Eric's forehead. “TASIO!”

The target of his verbal assault rung out his ears. “You're
no fun at all, Roomy.” He snapped his fingers and changed a second time. His hair
became a brilliant brown-gold and ears became pointed. The Trickster floated in
the air. “Better?”

“If you're here then who’s in my jar?”

“Aio Ricse,” Tasio replied.

“
You're
Aio Ricse!” Eric shouted.

“That's one of my aliases. Whenever I go undercover, I call
myself 'Aio Ricse.' I am also known as 'Patron of Inventors,' and
'He-Who-Can-Burp-For-Infinitely-Long-Periods-Of-Time.'”

Eric rubbed his throbbing forehead. “Why did you do all
this? Why!? Do you have any idea how torn up I was about Aio's death!?”

“Yeah, that was kinda graphic, but also fun because you
called my bluff, but I still out-bluffed you. In any case, my plan worked
because I killed someone who can't die instead of someone mortal.”

“Plan!?”

“Yes, to motivate you. You had such low self-esteem that you
would
never
have accepted the Kyraan challenge without a serious
motivation. Aio was created to be your friend, so the death of that friend
would be that motivation. Once you made other friends, 'Aio' outlived his
usefulness. I continued helping you under other guises.”

 A realization hit Eric. “You were in the Temple of Rebirth
. . .the voice of the pedestal . . .”

“Yep!” Tasio chirped, “I told the real Kyraan healer to take
a day off while I pretended to be her. That way I could persuade you to go to
the Altar of Rebirth and build your confidence. It was also a handy position to
give you Dengel's spirit.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. “You gave me an evil spirit mentor
that tried to steal my body?”

“Think of Dengel like training wheels. Once you had the
self-confidence to throw him out, you wouldn't need him anymore. Going into the
escort mission I was afraid that would never happen, so I suggested that
Basilard step back so you would have an opportunity to grow.”

“Where I would save my friends from the xethras . . . and
then guide them out.” Eric realized. “The elemental fusion froze my magecraft .
. . so I would have to go through the Altar of Rebirth without it . . .You
planned all that out in advance!?”

Tasio shook his head. “Oh no, not at all. Have you forgotten
our chess games? I planned
something of that nature,
but I had no idea
you would sprain your soul.” The Trickster smiled brightly. “It worked out well,
though!”

“Worked out!? I could have died at any point!”

“No you wouldn't. I had faith that you would succeed. If you
failed, I'd save you. You're looking at the
original
Deus Ex Machina.
Fortunately, I only had to perform this role at the end.”

“Oh yeah, what
was
that thing? It looked like a
ghost.”

“That's a good label, but we called them 'enforcers'.
They're mindless drones for a controlling spirit, The Anti-Thesis of Mischief.
I'd been looking for it since Kyraa.”

“If Duke Esrah had something like that, why'd he bother with
the coup?”

“You're talking about a guy who anticipated his chief
accomplice, who happened to be his
only son,
betraying him and prepared
a countermeasure. He probably used the enforcer to prevent the king from
escaping or committing suicide and thus deny him the legitimacy he sought.”

“Why not just use the . . . enforcer?”

“Part of his contract with the thing was feeding it years of
his life. He had to make himself king in name while he had enough life left to
enjoy it.”

“He made a deal with a life-sucking evil spirit just to make
sure his plan worked?”

“It's called 'Crazy Prepared.'”

“You know a lot for someone who wasn't there.” Eric's eyes
narrowed. “Did you
know
the coup was going to happen?”

Tasio shrugged. “My sister is the Goddess of Gossip; how
could I
not
know?”

“Why didn't you do anything!?” Eric demanded. “You could
have stopped him! You could have saved all those people!”

Tasio waggled his index finger. “Helping would be kill
stealing. Kasile would be
devastated
if a Deus ex Machina resolved her
Royal Trial for her, Siron would be
tormented
by the skeleton in his
closet,
and
it proved a useful flashpoint for your Dengel test. Other
than that . . .” Tasio drooped and pawed the air. “Tricksters are helpers, but
those we help ultimately have to pass or fail on their own. We can't do the job
for them; it's both the pro and con of having free will.”

“Did you do anything
else
that I'm unaware of?”

“Weeelllllll . . .” Mischievous light returned to his eyes. “I
pretended to be the biology teacher to ask Annala to be your guide since she's
cute and sweet, and when you started crushing on her I told Basilard so he
would take you to her gallery for encouragement. When I found out that she took
a job with Tahart, I removed the sound-proof runes from his apartment so you
could be her Knight-in-Shinning-Armor, which would be the cornerstone of your
new confidence,
and
I tied your and Kasile's minds together so you could
get involved in her life and eventually the coup, where you kicked out Dengel.
You're welcome!”

Eric felt a scream building in his throat and even greater
rage building in his belly. His entire adventure had been a game of speed chess
and he a pawn for The Trickster! “Do you have any idea how much I want to
strangle
you right now?”

Tasio shrugged. “Go right ahead. I won't die.”

“More's the pity,” Eric said pointedly. “So this whole grand
deception of yours was all to motivate me to grow a spine?”

“I promised, didn't I?”

“All I wanted was help writing a documentation!”

“No, you sent out a general request for help. You didn't
mention exactly what for.”

Eric's forehead was now throbbing. “I meant what I said in
the dungeon: I don't want or need your help anymore.”

Tasio's eyes dimmed and his smile faltered. “Exactly. You no
longer need my help. You proved that when you cast out Dengel.”

“Great! Goodbye! Have a nice eternity. I have to get ready
for Kasile's coronation.”

“No, you don't . . .because you won't be here.”

Eric backed up nervously. “Tasio . . . what are you saying?”

“Since you no longer need my help, I have no choice but to
return you to Threa.”

“No! I have friends here! A lot of friends! A job I like and
Kasile will kill me if I don't show—”