Magic of Mirstone, page 6
“I take it you need something, then?”
“Yes,” I replied. His tone wasn’t rude, but more curiosity. “May I come inside?”
“If you don’t mind getting dirty. I’ve been rather busy and my shop is covered in this stuff.” Dorlin waved at the soot that covered his clothes.
“I don’t mind.”
“Well then, come in.”
He left the door, and I stepped inside. A glance showed he wasn’t exaggerating. There was soot everywhere. It stained the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Dorlin cleared a space on a table and looked at me expectantly. I retrieved a folded parchment from my coin purse and uncreased it, then laid it out on the table. Dorlin looked at it in silence, then eyed me with an air of annoyance.
“Is this a joke? Who put you up to this? Was it Feldon? By the whiskers of Idris, I’ll—”
“It’s not a joke,” I said. “I need a lamp.”
“My talents are highly prized here, my dear. I’m afraid making a lamp is … well, it’s not something I’m interested in.”
“It’s not a normal lamp. I need it to grant a wish.”
Dorlin’s face wrinkled. He looked at the design again, then shook his head. “I’m not sure what you were told, but I’m no summoner of magic. What do you want something like that for, anyway?”
“That’s my business alone,” I said. “I have plenty of coins.”
“It’s not about the coin,” Dorlin grumped. “It’s about the magic. I don’t know the first thing about spellcasting. We Tabaxi can do small magic, and only once a year. I wouldn’t use my magic on something this trivial. I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “Is there nothing I can do to persuade you? I’ll pay double your rate.”
Dorlin pushed the parchment across the table to me.
“It can’t be done.”
3
“I take it you didn’t find what you were looking for?”
The fisherman pulled his paddles out and dropped the ends into the water. Was the disappointment that evident on my face? I shook my head, not in the mood to talk.
“Ah, well. That’s life sometimes. Back to the mainland?”
I nodded, and the fisherman began rowing. He turned the boat around and we headed back to the coast. Once we docked, I left the boat and wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to figure out my options. Trigani had mentioned seeing a sorcerer in El-Tal. Perhaps it was worth checking out. I nodded to myself, making up my mind.
“El-Tal it is,” I muttered.
At the local inn, I found a merchant who was heading that direction and paid him a small fee to ride along. Five days later, I found myself standing outside the gates of El-Tal. It was the most exotic place I’d ever seen, though to be fair, I hadn’t traveled very far from home in my short life.
Guards stood at attention near the open gates, but I walked into the city without harassment. I’d heard many tales about the place, and none of them were good. Hope had a way of making me do foolish things, though.
“Excuse me,” I said, stopping a young woman who was carrying a basket full of fresh bread. The scent made my mouth water despite having already eaten.
“Where can I find a sorcerer?”
“The guild is that tall building there,” she replied, nodding toward it with her head.
I turned to look and spotted a tower that rose high into the air. It was cylindrical, with oddly shaped stained-glass windows that dotted the exterior like glimmering rose petals.
“Thank y—” my words faded as I turned to see that the girl was gone. I glanced around, but she was lost to the crowd that congregated among the market. I shrugged and made my way toward the tower. On the way, I stopped at a stall and bought a smoke-stick. The vendor lit it for me, and I puffed on it as I continued along the cobbled street. The aroma smelled of chocolate, which I found intriguing.
I reached the tower’s entrance and noticed guards in similar attire as the ones outside the main gates were on duty. There was something about them that I couldn’t quite figure out, but I shrugged the thought aside and stepped into the building.
The antechamber was a large space, filled with empty chairs in orderly rows. A desk was near a staircase that led up to the next level, and a black-haired woman in plain robes sat behind it. She looked up as I approached and I offered my best smile.
“I’m here to see a sorcerer,” I said.
“I would assume so,” the woman replied. “This is the sorcerer’s guild, after all.”
“Right. Is there someone available that can help me?”
“That depends. What do you need?”
“I’m looking to have an item created.”
The woman pulled a blank parchment from a pile and grabbed a quill, dipping it into an inkwell. “What sort of item?”
“A lamp.”
The woman scribbled something onto the parchment. “Do you have a specific design in mind?”
I pulled my own parchment out and handed it to her. She unfolded it and set it to the side, scribbling again.
“And what types of spells should the lamp be imbued with?”
“It needs to be able to grant a wish.”
I waited for her to say it wasn’t possible, just as the Marid had. Instead, she continued to write on her parchment.
“The cost will be steep,” she said.
“How much?”
“It depends on who crafts the item, but I’d say around 5,000 gold coins.”
My heart skipped a beat. That was much more than I expected. While I was carrying a small fortune for most people, it wasn’t nearly enough. I hadn’t even brought half that.
“Will that be a problem?” the woman asked.
I don’t know why, but I shook my head. “No, not at all.”
“Very good. And what is the intended purpose for this lamp?”
“Revenge.”
“Interesting. Revenge upon …?”
“My father’s killer. He was murdered.”
The woman pursed her lips. “Was the killer a man?”
“Yes.”
“That’s going to put a damper on things.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, we don’t like men. Or rather, we prefer to keep them only as slaves and lovers, but nothing more. You want revenge upon a man, which is a worthy cause, but it’s revenge for a man. That simply won’t do.”
“He was my father,” I protested.
“Even so, the laws of El-Tal must be followed. We are, after all, a matriarchy.”
Her words not only crushed my last bit of hope, but they didn’t make any sense. They refused to help me because the person I wanted to avenge was a man?
“There must be something you can do,” I said. “I traveled five days to get here.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ve come all this way for nothing.”
Tears of frustration welled in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I gritted my teeth and nodded, then turned to leave. What would I do now? There was no other place I knew of that I could go. Perhaps my desire for revenge was wrong. That would explain why every place I went had an obstacle that kept me from reaching my goal. I was almost to the door when the woman called out.
“Wait.”
I paused and tried to compose myself before turning around. The woman had left her desk, and she had something in her hand.
“Take this,” she said.
I realized I’d forgotten my parchment with the drawing of the lamp on it. I took it and offered a sad smile.
“Thank you.”
“Though we cannot help you with your revenge directly, perhaps this will guide you.”
With that, she went back to her desk.
4
I stood outside the tower, fighting against the overwhelming feeling of defeat. If only I’d have known that the women here didn’t like men, I could have lied about the purpose of the lamp. Then again, I didn’t have the exorbitant amount of money they asked for, either. I blew out a long sigh and unfolded the parchment.
At the bottom, a crude map had been drawn. I looked back at the tower, realization dawning on me. The woman had chosen to help me after all. Even better, the map’s location appeared to be just outside the city.
Welling with excitement, I hurried along the street to the city gates and left, turning right and following the worn dirt road that went south. I walked for an hour before I spotted the rolling green hills. On the map, there was a large X that marked the location. It was the centermost hill. I picked up the pace, jogging the rest of the distance.
When I reached the hill, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The hills were covered in tall grass that swayed gently, but there were no buildings or people. A sinking feeling filled my stomach and I assumed the woman had tricked me. Had she done this simply to get me to leave the city?
That thought took the forefront of my mind, but I refused to believe it. I stalked ahead, marching up the hill that the X indicated. Roughly halfway up, there was a small cluster of trees. I paused under them to get out of the sun and rest my legs. I folded the parchment up and stuck it into my coin purse, then sat down on the ground.
That’s when I noticed the hole. Or rather, the tunnel. It was outlined with stones that were clearly carved by mortal hands. I crawled toward it and stuck my head inside and listened. It was quiet, but that didn’t mean there were no animals inside. Since this was the correct hill on the map, this had to be the spot the X indicated.
I threw caution to the wind and crawled inside. After a few feet of darkness, the tunnel opened into a large cave. The ceiling was covered in moss that glowed with a bright green luminescence, bathing the chamber in a blanket of emerald light. I’d never seen anything like it before.
A stream flowed on the far-left side, the babbling sound of the water adding to the peaceful ambiance of the place. Carved stones, like those at the tunnel entrance, covered the floor. It was apparent that this place had been created by someone, though for what, I didn’t know.
I followed the stream with my eyes and saw that it came out of the wall. Assuming it was safe to drink, I walked over and knelt beside it, splashing water on my face and drinking a few handfuls. When I stood back up and turned around, I saw something that hadn’t been there before.
It was a stone column, roughly four feet high. Atop it, something was covered with a red cloth. There was no one in the chamber with me, yet I knew for certain the column wasn’t there a moment ago. Had it appeared by magic? My curiosity overrode my uncertainty and I slowly approached the pillar.
“Is someone there?”
The voice echoed off the walls and made my heart leap in my chest. I whirled around, looking for the source, but no one was there. Was I losing my mind?
“H-hello?” I called out.
“Aha! I knew these old ears of mine still worked.”
I surveyed the cave, turning in a slow circle. Still, I didn’t see anyone.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“I’m technically stuck in a metal case of emotions,” the voice replied, chuckling.
“I don’t understand.”
“Forgive me. It was a joke.”
“Right. Are you a ghost?”
“Hardly.”
“Then why can’t I see you?” I asked.
“Because you have to summon me. Do you see a lamp?”
“No.”
“It should be on a pillar of stone. It keeps me from, uh, falling loose. Yeah.”
I eyed the cloth covering the top of the pillar warily. I grabbed the edge of the cloth and slowly pulled it off. A gasp involuntarily escaped my lips. It was a lamp, similar to the one I had drawn.
“Are you inside the lamp?”
“That’s correct!”
“Are you a djinn?”
“Something like that. I’m a Marid.”
I did it. I found a way to get my revenge. Reaching out, I touched the handle of the lamp, careful not to rub it just yet. I’d heard that djinn were tricky beings and loved to grant wishes in unexpected ways.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let me out of this thing.”
“Not so fast,” I replied.
“And why not? Do you know how long I’ve been in here?”
“No, and I don’t care. Before I let you out, I want to set some rules.”
“I’m listening.”
“Good. No tricks. Give me your word.”
“Tricks? What are you talking about? Marid don’t perform tricks. We grant wishes.”
“You know what I mean,” I said. “You may grant wishes, but you pervert the original intent.”
“I have never done that,” the Marid replied, sounding insulted.
“Be that as it may, I want your word there will be no trickery.”
“Very well. No tricks.”
“I also demand that you be honest with me.”
“Simple enough.”
That was easier than I expected. Satisfied, I rubbed the side of the lamp. It began to tremble, and I almost dropped it. A tendril of multicolored smoke snaked out of the lamp, forming into the shape of a man-like figure.
Fully formed, the Marid hovered in the air in front of me. He had an amphibious head and green skin, and he wore flowing, colorful clothing that made him look like a merchant. Where his legs should have been was nothing more than a churning blue dervish.
The Marid clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
“Let’s get started, then, shall we? You get one wish, and only one. What’s your wish?”
I smiled. “I want vengeance.”
5
“That’s a desire, not a wish,” the Marid said.
I considered how I wanted my father’s killer to die. Or did I want him to suffer instead? To let him feel the grief I had felt? Now that was an idea. Then again, I would feel a lot of satisfaction if I could take the killer’s life myself. There were so many possibilities I hadn’t considered before.
“I haven’t got all millennia,” the Marid complained.
“Sorry, I’m trying to decide.”
“Maybe I can help? After all, I’ve been around for quite a long time. What kind of revenge do you want? Something painful? I know plenty of torture methods.”
“I’ve spent all this time thinking about making him pay for what he did, but I haven’t thought about the exact method,” I said. “Perhaps you could bring him here and I could do it myself.”
“Is that a wish I hear?”
I paused. What if I couldn’t do it? Did I really have what it required to kill another person, regardless of my hatred for them? After a moment, I decided I didn’t.
“No, that’s not my wish,” I replied. “I couldn’t kill someone.”
“No? I’ve killed before. It’s easy once you get used to the screams.”
I stared at the Marid. There was a look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t lying. His looks alone were imposing, but he was also a magical being. Perhaps I should let him do it. I could even watch, to ensure he didn’t trick me into thinking my father’s murderer was dead.
“I like that idea,” I said.
“You may not have it in you to kill, but I do. I could give you my ability to do it, if you’d like? Then you get your revenge, and it would be at your hands. You would become me, and I would become you so to speak.”
Now that was an intriguing idea. If the Marid could give me his murderous desire and experience, my revenge would be perfect.
“I’m in.”
I considered how to word the wish. I didn’t want to be tricked, so I needed to be clear and concise.
“I wish for you and I to exchange …” Exchange what exactly? Powers? No, that’s wasn’t it. Desires? No, that’s wasn’t right, either. Abilities? Absolutely not. “Places?”
Before I realized I’d said the word aloud, the Marid grinned like a fiend.
“As you wish it, so it becomes,” he said.
He pressed his long fingers together, forming a dome, and I knew something was amiss. A light glowed within his hands, and then it exploded in a brilliant display that blinded me. I stood still, waiting for my sight to return. Once it did, I saw the Marid was gone. I didn’t feel any different, though. Would I experience murderous rage once I saw my father’s killer? I supposed that’s how it would work.
I headed for the tunnel that led out of the chamber. As I tried to crawl through it, an invisible force stopped me. I tried to force myself ahead, but whatever was in my way wasn’t budging. The green amphibious face of the Marid appeared at the end of the tunnel.
“That was easier than I expected,” he said. “Humans are always easy to fool, but you? You fell into that trap all by yourself.” The Marid laughed.
“What’s happening?” I asked. “Why can’t I enter the tunnel?”
“Did you forget your wish so quickly? You asked for us to exchange places. Now you are stuck here, and I am free to roam the world again. Foolish human!”
Gods, no. He was lying, he had to be. And yet, I knew the truth. He’d tricked me.
“Please don’t do this,” I begged.
“I didn’t do anything. It was you who made the wish.”
“Then I take it back.”
“Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. I hate to leave you like this, but I’ve got a whole world to see.”
With that, the Marid left. I stared at the end of the tunnel where he’d been, wishing that this was all a nightmare and that I would wake up, but no, it was reality. I was going to die in here, and no one would ever know. What had I done? There had to be a way to escape. I had no magical inclination, but that wasn’t going to stop me.
I was going to find a way out of here, and when I did, that Marid was going to regret it.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Fierce is the author of over 20 fantasy and sci-fi books, including his bestselling series Dragon Riders of Osnen. A recovering retail worker, he now works in the tech industry when he’s not busy writing.
