Zombie Mage (11 page)

"Hello!" he called. "Is anyone
there?"

  After a moment's silence, a woman replied; her voice
was high-pitched, almost parrot-like.  "Ooh, yes. Is anyone there?"

"Yes.  I can hear you," Olligh continued.

There was another brief pause before she responded.
"I can hear you!"

"Good, would you please open the door and let me
in?"

The woman cackled and thudded against the door. 
"Open the door and let me in!"

"Who is that?"

"Who is that?" she repeated.

Olligh sighed and shook his head. "Are you
mimicking me for fun or are you merely slightly eccentric and
misunderstood?"

"Eh?"

  "Look, I know a good doctor who may be able to
help."

The woman screamed and Olligh could hear her footsteps
fade away as she ran from the door. 

"Wonderful.  How utterly wonderful.  My house is
now occupied by a rampant and obviously insane maid with a phobia of opening
doors."

Olligh rapped loudly on the door, hoping somebody else
would come to investigate.  His patience was rewarded when somebody with heavy
footwear clumped along the floor towards the door.  Something rattled and the
door was pulled open by a very tall, muscular and well-dressed man.  At least
Olligh presumed it was a man. With long bushy hair and what looked like blusher
on his cheeks, he didn't want to bet his life on it.  Strangely, the man didn't
appear fazed by Olligh's appearance.  He merely folded his huge arms and gazed
at him sternly. "No food for beggars tonight.  Go on, scram before I sock
you one!"

"What do you mean, sock me one?  I'm not a beggar
and actually, this is my house so, you're the one trespassing, not me."

The man chortled and wiped spittle from his mouth. 
"Look, I haven't got time for this. By the look of you, you obviously
haven't got long left in this world so clear off before I make you really
regret disturbing me."

Olligh gazed up at the man, deliberating whether or
not to teach him a lesson in magic and manners.  "You wouldn't really want
to hurt a defenceless old man now, would you?"

"Hah! Don't push your luck.  Now go on, bugger
off!"

As the man attempted to close the door, Olligh stuck
his foot in the gap.  "Let me in my house immediately!"

The man yanked the door open and grabbed Olligh by his
arm, dragging him into the house.  Before he had a chance to react, the man
slammed the door shut and turned the key in the lock.

"How rude!" Olligh remarked. "How dare
you treat me in this manner."

The man shrugged. "I don't particularly care what
you think.  You wanted to come in so, consider your wish granted. You've been
asking for this."

Feeling threatened, Olligh attempted to prepare the
words of power which he used on the Dark Cloaks in the graveyard but he
experienced a rather unfortunate and unsettling mind blank.  "Erm...
well... I didn't quite ask to be tortured and beaten."

The man approached Olligh, grinning wickedly. 
"Oh, don't you worry.  If you’re good I won’t torture or beat you.  You
can spend the rest of your days in here.  You'll find the other occupants have
a lot in common with you."

"Occupants?"

"Yes. You're in the Ekelton Asylum and,
congratulations, you're our sixth resident.  If you'd like to make your way
into the room over there, I'll go and get you a white robe."

Olligh shook his head. "You've got to be jesting
with me?"

"Not at all.  You're a perfect candidate for
asylum life and you'll provide me with a few extra silver pieces a week from
the foundation.  They won't argue with me.  You're obviously erratic and
impulsive.  You stink and you're ugly."

"How dare you.  I may not be looking my best and
perhaps I do need a wash but I'm certainly not erratic or impulsive."

"Are you going to do as you're told, and walk
over to that room over there, or do you want me to carry you?"

"I'm not going to be forced to do anything!  This
is my house and you shouldn't be here.  How long have you been using it as an
asylum?"

"None of your business.  It's my house now.
People shouldn't leave their homes empty for years and expect to return to
them.  Now move!"

Somebody laughed shrilly behind Olligh.  Turning, he
noticed a pale, gaunt looking woman poke her head out from behind a door at the
end of the corridor.  She pointed a long bony finger at him and grinned.

 "S-s-tinky face!" she yelled, before
laughing and running away.

Olligh gaped at the now empty doorway, a look of
disbelief on his face.  "Absolutely NO way am I going in there with those
lunatics.  They're completely insane!"

The man nodded. "Exactly.  You'll feel quite at
home then, won't you?"

Before Olligh had a chance to reply, the man grabbed
him by the waist and, with very little effort, hurled him over his shoulder.

"Let me down immediately!" Olligh yelled.

"I'm warning you, if you don't calm down, I'm
going to have to administer some special medication and then you'll really be
with the fairies."

Olligh kept quiet.  He didn't have the strength to
deal with the hulking brute and therefore decided to try and keep a low profile
until he remembered the correct words of power for his incantation.

"Right," said the man, "let's get a few
things straight.  I'm Master Bakkus and while you're here I expect you to refer
to me in that manner.  If you don't, you'll get tortured.  Is that
understood?"

"Erm... yes.  I'm not to call you Bakkus.  I've
got to call you Master Bakkus."

"Correct," Bakkus continued, stomping along
the corridor towards the doorway."And, what happens if you don't call me
Master Bakkus?"

"Erm... Good question.  Do you burst into tears
like a big baby?"

"Wrong answer," Bakkus snarled, deliberately
bashing Olligh's head against the side of the door.

Olligh rubbed his head. "Ouch! No need for
that!"

They entered a large room with white washed walls and
a tiled floor, not at all like Olligh remembered it to be.  A large, black
circle was drawn on the floor and inside, some robed people were sitting
together; they appeared oblivious to everything, their heads nodding and
twitching in unison.  Bakkus ignored them and walked straight past towards some
cell doors.  He mumbled something under his breath and tried to pull open the
nearest door but it wouldn't shift.  Realising it was locked, he moved to the
next door and managed to yank it open. "You can stay here for a day or two
before I introduce you to the rest of the crowd.  I'll be back later with some
hot water, soap, a scrubbing brush and a clean robe.  If you're still alive by
then, that is."

Bakkus threw Olligh onto the damp floor but,
thankfully, it was padded and he didn't injure himself.  Grumbling, he glanced
around at his new accommodation.  The cell was small, about six feet across,
with padded walls and floor.  It was also cold and an unpleasant green mould
streaked from the top of the ceiling down towards the stained floor.  Olligh
wasn’t impressed with the general standard of cleanliness and was quite glad
his sense of smell had gone.  Bakkus fumbled with a set of keys and managed to
lock the cell door before wandering off, leaving Olligh alone in the damp room
with only a slight drip for company. 

For hours, he stared blankly at the white-robed
lunatics outside his cell while trying to remember some of the incantations he
so dearly needed.  At least the residents were mildly entertaining. They
shambled backwards and forwards in a comical manner, sometimes even managing to
bump into each other.  Other times they'd sit and huddle together inside the
black circle, gazing at nothing and twitching erratically.  Eventually, Olligh
shuffled to the back of the cell and shut his eyes in a last desperate attempt
to sleep.  He hoped that his short-term memory would return after some rest. 
Being able to summon and manipulate the power of the cosmos was something he
couldn't live without. A part of him also hoped that upon waking, he'd be
elsewhere and not still in the padded cell.  It'd been a while since he was
last whisked anywhere. Perhaps the only thing keeping him in the house was the
knowledge held within. He had to get out of the cell and search the house. 
Somewhere hidden inside were the answers he so dearly required.  The difficult
job would be getting out of the cell and finding them.

Sebastian Denlik was feeling rather excitable.  He stood, gazing at a
large crystal which Warden Philips held out in the palm of his hand.  Inside, a
blue mist swirled and glistened with trails of pure energy weaving back and
forth leaving an eerie glow on the walls of the chamber.

"It's fascinating, isn't it?" Warden Philips
announced.  "Our time studying the cosmos and our dedication to Chektri
has finally been rewarded."

Denlik continued to gape at the crystal, fascinated by
the insight it provided. "Indeed, and you say that each of these trails
are left by active Walkers?"

Warden Philips nodded and handed the crystal over to
Denlik.  The High Warden peered at it closely, studying the trails of energy. 
"I count only nine of them.  It looks as though you were wrong in your earlier
assumptions."

"Yes, but we now know the truth.  No more guess
work is required."

"Is the holding area still functioning as
intended?"

"Yes.  We're progressing well and the attunement
continues to hold which guarantees that they'll return to us rather than roam
the countryside feeding on innocent farmers and villagers. Nothing more can go
wrong."

Denlik nodded, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the
crystal.  Noticing an irregularity, he pointed at something.  "This trail
here, it doesn't go back and forth like the others.  It expands and constantly
branches out along alternative routes."

"Yes, a very good observation, Revered One.  We
believe that the Walker who belongs to that particular trail is Olligh
Selthnik.  You can see from the shimmer below the trail that he's still here,
in our world. It's the Walker we bumped into yesterday.  He’s the one that
disabled three of us and escaped."

"Indeed - I've had dealings with him.  His wife
is also under our care at the moment.  He's a powerful mage and we need to get
him back... and quickly.  He could be a way out of this dire situation."

"And what of the other?"

"As elusive as he is, we'll deal with him in
time, Warden.  At the moment I feel it would be best to study this crystal
further.  It would be good to learn more about where these trails lead."

"As you wish.  Out of interest, you'll be pleased
to know that we're doing all we can in our search for this mage."

"Who, Olligh?"

"Yes, High Warden.  We have a search party in the
woods and surrounding areas.  He's our main focus right now, especially
considering how dangerous he is."

"Again, this is partly our doing.  Somebody
should've been in attendance when he returned to ensure that no half-empty
potion bottles were left lying around."

"Yes, High Warden. I've already organised an
audit of the rota.  The Dark Cloak responsible for this lapse in security will
be punished.  It's vital that our followers understand the significance of what
has occurred.  Mage Selthnik could destroy our entire operation if he feels
that we are a threat."

  "Indeed.  A seasoned mage with a failing memory
can often be more dangerous than one of sound mind.  Have you tried his old
house near Ekelton River?  It's possible he will want to visit it if his memory
ever returns."

"Yes, we should hear back from them soon about
that.  I've also advised them to inform the new owner to watch out for
strangers."

Someone rapped loudly on the chamber door.  The
wardens exchanged curious glances, not expecting any visitors at this time. 
After a moments silence, there was another flurry of knocks.

"Who is it?" Denlik responded.

"It's Dark Cloak Matick, Revered One.  I have
news from the holding area."

"Well?"

"Veldrigg has returned.  I thought you might wish
to see him."

Denlik nodded at Warden Philips with a satisfied grin
on his face. "We'll be there in a moment, Dark Cloak.  Ensure that he's
secured in a cell.  If he escapes it'll be your head on the chopping
block."

"There's no chance of that, Revered One.”

“What do you mean no chance? He’s brutal and
dangerous. Last time he returned here he savagely attacked and killed three of
our order.”

“Well, I guarantee he won’t attack anyone this time. He's
a deader."

"Dead? Are you certain?"

"Without a doubt.  His corpse is in a bad
way."

Denlik frowned and stormed towards the door, agitated
by the news.  Just as things were beginning to get a whole lot better, this
news felt like a brisk kick in the teeth.