The Complete Series, page 39
part #1 of The Hidden Wizard Series
Just as well I was cautious, Celes thought. A few seconds later she ducked her head out and saw the guard turning another corner. Celes quietly dashed down the street, slowing as she reached the corner and followed the same process. As before the guard was carefully looking behind.
"The cat and mouse game continues," Celes whispered. After rounding the next corner there was a long straight road. The guard walked quickly, not looking back. Celes made sure that she walked near other people, or buildings so that she could hide herself if required. But the guard seemed to have decided that nobody was following and just charged ahead.
Celes noticed a building at the end of the street. It had a high pointed roof, with lavish stonework on the walls and a series of steps leading into the entrance.
"That looks quite formal, this is interesting," Celes said to herself. There was a steady stream of people filing in and out of the building, so Celes upped her pace and entered alongside another group. Inside she found a large open room, with benches all around the sides. It looked like there were public officials working there, making notes, and having conversations. She looked around the room, trying to spot the guard. It was almost too late, but she noticed the guard turning into a room at the end. Celes quickly crossed the space and glanced up at the sign.
Council chambers, this just gets even more interesting. She stepped inside, and looked around. There was no sign of the guard, but a door slammed in the distance. Celes approached the source of the sound.
At the end of the hall there were two doors, one on the left and one on the right.
Which one? she wondered as she crept down the hall. It wasn't obvious as she progressed, but she did hear voices coming from one of the rooms.
This must be it. Celes checked the other door, and it opened. Nobody was inside.
"That was lucky," she whispered. But she wouldn't be able to repeat her trick of listening in, because the rooms were on opposite sides of the corridor. She looked up at the ceiling and didn't notice any obvious places to climb up.
I just have to risk it, she thought and returned to the hall. She left the door open for the empty room and sidled up to the other door to listen closely. As she pressed closer she could make out the voices more distinctly.
"So, you have no leads at all then," a male voice said.
"I'm sorry councillor. We have exhausted all the avenues. It's not apparent how the intruder got access to a uniform," the female guard said.
"Unacceptable! Wraith will not tolerate this kind of failure. We need to deal with this quickly. Do you understand why we are meeting in person?" the councillor said.
"Yes, because we don't want to broadcast the fact that we have nothing yet.
"Exactly. Questions are being asked, we need something immediately. What's the best lead?"
"I've cross-examined all the guards. Everything was accounted for and verified. It can't be a guard. It has to be the blacksmith."
"But he's adamant about not creating more uniforms? Do you believe him?"
"Yes, I do. But maybe someone accessed his stocks. It's the only explanation available," the guard said.
"Go back there, and be friendlier this time. Try and find out how someone could have gained access. Maybe ask about unfamiliar faces showing up. We need to really work this, you don't want to see what happens to people who fail," the councillor said.
"I understand, I'll go back to the blacksmith with a new approach," the guard said. Celes quickly backed away from the door and returned to the other room. She closed the door as quietly as possible and waited to hear what was happening next.
A minute passed by slowly, and another. But soon she heard the sound of the other door opening and footsteps proceeding down the corridor. Once she decided that it was relatively safe she slowly opened the door enough to catch a glimpse of the person leaving. It was the guard, as expected.
The councillor must still be inside, Celes thought. But she didn't have a name or a face to identify him. She had to decide when to confront him.
I can't do it here, it's too public. I'll have to tail him and find an opportunity. She wanted to go warn Vincent that there would be additional questioning, but this lead was too important She had to follow the trail further.
He'll be fine, I'll check in later, she decided and waited for the councillor to make a move.
Within a few minutes, she heard footsteps and a door slamming. She listened to the steps retreating down the hall then snuck a peek. There was a balding man in a long black robe about to exit the hallway. She quickly retreated back into the room in case he looked back, then entered the hallway.
He had already left, so she made her way down the corridor as quickly as possible. She took care leaving the council chambers to make sure she was not watched. It looked safe so she quickly mingled with a group wandering through the hallway.
Searching the crowd, she spotted the councillor nearing the exit. She sped up, ducking in-between people, and trying not to draw too much attention.
I'm just someone late for an appointment, Celes thought. She had to make sure she caught up with the councillor once he left the building to keep on his trail. As Celes left the building she slowed then stopped. People were walking in all directions, some of them wearing the same black robe. Again and again she looked everywhere trying to find the balding man. Finally, she saw him turn into a side street and rushed to catch up.
I'm probably going too fast, she thought but it didn't matter. It was fine for people to notice her, it was so important to find this councillor. He was clearly high up in the group of Tainted and would have valuable information. Celes reached the street he had entered and stopped to assess. She was just in time to watch him enter a house at the end of the street.
Hopefully that's where he lives. She walked with more care down the street, trying to fit in. She looked over the houses, and noticed that they were all quite large and had gardens. It was clearly a special street reserved for people of importance who also had strong finances. As she arrived at the house she noticed that it had a large iron gate in front. The gate wasn't locked but it looked quite noisy. Celes walked up and down and found a smaller section that could be climbed.
I wonder how many of these I have climbed in my life, she thought with a laugh. In seconds, she was up and over, landing softly on her feet. She rocked a little, and regained her balance.
"Not as easy as it once was," Celes said to herself. But she had entered the property without alerting anyone. Rather than entering through the front door, she walked down the side of the house and looked for a servant's entrance. About halfway down she spotted a plain door and tried the handle. It was unlocked.
"Here we go," Celes whispered and entered the house. She could hear people milling about, and the sound of clanking pots and pans. Avoiding the kitchen, she headed towards what she thought looked like more formal spaces. She passed through two sitting rooms and spotted a library at the end of the house. She couldn't hear anything but decided to investigate anyway. In her experience, rich people liked to pretend the help didn't exist, and libraries were set up for that quite nicely.
She padded quietly down the hall, using the long rug to hide her footsteps. She kept her eyes and ears open, but couldn't notice any signs of life. But her instincts told her this was the right place, so she persisted. She couldn't move on until she had eliminated it as an option.
As she reached the doorway she noticed that a large reading chair had been moved and there was a man sitting there looking out at her.
"Please, come in," he said.
Not again. I must be getting sloppy. Twice now she had been caught snooping by Tainted.
"Did you prepare me a chair?" she said, acting like she expected it.
"Sorry no, I had no time to arrange for additional furnishings. You'll have to remain standing where I can see you," he said. There was a hint of venom to his polite talk.
"What would you like to discuss?" Celes said, giving him a chance to open the conversation. He gave her a positively evil grin.
21
The Mirage
The man before them was dressed in light sand-coloured robes. His hair was a mixture of black and grey, and was tied back but uncut. He had a wild beard and fierce green eyes.
"The desert wizard himself," Certan said.
"You have me at a loss. Yes, I am Ashra. Who are you? And I must repeat my question: how did you find this place?"
"We had directions. I'm Alrion and I am a wizard," Alrion said.
"I can see that. Very few people know how to get here. I'll need to find out more about those directions. But for now, why are you here?" Ashra said.
"We're heading to the desert temple, so that I can undertake the trial of the monks. I was hoping to get your help," Alrion said.
"Desert temple eh? I take it he's one of the monks. Looks a bit out of sorts though," Ashra said, pointing at Certan.
"Hello my name is Certan. I am accompanying Alrion to assist with his quest and will rejoin the monks," Certan said.
"Then who are you?" Ashra said to Lara.
"The name's Lara. I am a specialist in the art of acquiring hard to get things. I am also assisting with Alrion's quest," Lara said.
"A wizard, a thief and a monk. What an odd bunch. So, tell me, what is this quest you are all talking about?"
"I will cleanse the Blight from the world," Alrion said simply. Ashra was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Oh, that's cute. Cleanse the Blight from the world. You would sooner cleanse the air from it than accomplish that," Ashra said.
"My grandfather cleansed Avaria, I can recreate his spell. A key part of what I need is at the temple and guarded by the monks," Alrion said.
Ashra abruptly stopped laughing and started stroking his beard. "Granthion, yes I remember him. No doubt you want to master the power of Will, that's what the monks are known for. It would take great Will indeed to cleanse the Blight. Come back to the hut and tell me more about your journey so far and I will decide whether I can help you," Ashra said. He started walking off without waiting for an answer. Alrion looked at Certan and Lara for input.
"We've nothing to lose, let's see what he thinks," Lara said.
"Agreed. He seems to know about the monks, he may even be able to give us additional insights or advice in addition to any wizard training," Certan said.
"I hope he's not completely crazy," Alrion said and started walking. As they entered the hut they could see three glasses filled with water and a clear jug nearby also full.
"Drink your fill and tell me a story," Ashra said. He settled into some cushions in the corner. Alrion had to look again to trust his eyes. The hut seemed a lot nicer and much more furnished than when they had passed through.
"Just a parlour trick to confuse any that may stumble through here. Please sit," Ashra said. Alrion found somewhere to sit, and began to talk.
A few hours later, the three companions had shared their story. Ashra had been quiet and not asked anything.
"That's it?" he said.
"Yes," Alrion said.
"You're incredibly lucky, you should have died several times already," Ashra said.
"You're probably right," Alrion said.
"No, I'm definitely right. It's not just luck, there's something else at play here." Alrion didn't like the implication.
"What do you mean?" Alrion said.
"You have the mark of a wizard on you. Is Falric the only one you travelled with?"
"Yes."
"There was nobody else?" Ashra said. He stared intensely at Alrion.
"Just one thing," Alrion said reluctantly. He retrieved his notebook from his pack and showed it to Ashra.
"Ah, now this is interesting. It's a wizard communicator. You can share messages anywhere across the world. Where did you get this?"
"I found it in the wizard academy. As part of my initiation I was directed to select a relic at random from their store. This was it," Alrion said.
"And Falric knew about it?"
"Yes."
"When did you receive the first message?"
"After I visited the Pool of Knowledge. After Falric died. "
"Are you sure that Falric died? He was more of a thinker than a fighter. He would know how to use these quite effectively, and he might just continue to assist you with this," Ashra said.
"I have wondered, but I couldn't find any sign of him. But I can't help thinking that if these messages were from him, he would tell me," Alrion said.
"Perhaps, let's leave that as something to puzzle out later. But I definitely believe that a wizard is monitoring your progress. How did you get the directions to come here?" Ashra said.
"I found them," Lara said.
"Found them? Where?"
"Somebody was boasting that they had insider knowledge on the desert, and could find a wizard. I pickpocketed him," Lara said.
"No, that doesn't make sense. Show me the directions," Ashra said. Certan stood up and handed over the slip of paper.
"These are too specific meaning the person who wrote it must have knowledge of this place. Very few do, and they would not commit it to paper unless absolutely necessary. Something is wrong," Ashra said.
"Well that's what happened," Lara said, with an annoyed and defensive tone.
"If you insist, but I must wonder. Who really gave you these directions," Ashra said. He paused and stared off into the distance.
"Well, either way we made it here. Are you going to help us? We answered all your questions and told you everything," Alrion said.
"Maybe. I need to see something first," Ashra said.
"What?"
"I need to see you in action. Beat me in a fight and I'll consider helping you."
"Seriously? If I can beat you in a fight I probably don't need your help," Alrion said.
"Your journey of learning is never ended. I don't care if you drank from the Pool of Knowledge. There is always more to learn from others. There's a free lesson. But my requirement stands. You will get nothing from me until you beat me," Ashra said.
"If that's how it is, I'll just be leaving," Alrion said, standing up quickly. He had pinned so many hopes on finding this wizard, despite not really looking forward to it. But the wizard had just cast doubt on them all, and refused to help. He wasn't going to waste his time any further.
"By all means, show yourself out," Ashra said. Alrion stormed out of the hut and started walking. Lara and Certan quickly caught up to him.
"You're being impulsive, we need his help. You almost died fighting Branthor the first time. We couldn't really manage him the second time. What's your plan?" Lara said.
"She's right, Ashra must know a lot of useful information. Maybe there's strategies or special applications of your magic that will be key to our success," Certan said.
"He's just an arrogant loner who wants to show off. I don't have time for that. The sooner we get to the next trial, the sooner I'll learn something useful." Alrion increased his speed.
"We need to regroup, we cannot progress without proper water supplies and it's unwise to travel in the heat of the day," Certan said.
"I've left now, I don't want to go crawling back," Alrion said.
"We've come a long way, but we can't throw it all away now. Swallow your pride and don't risk our lives because of your childishness!" Lara shouted. She stopped walking. Certan stopped beside her.
Alrion stopped and looked back at them. He then looked ahead. Something was off. Alrion walked slowly forward. "Unbelievable," Alrion stopped and turned back to his friends. "Look at this wall. Does it look familiar?" Alrion said.
"That's the same wall that we came across at the mirage," Certan said.
"He's messing with us still," Alrion said.
"I'm impressed," Certan said.
"Clearly he doesn't want to let you go yet. At least talk to him again.” Lara had calmed down and looked Alrion in the eyes.
He could see the concern on her face. "Looks like I don't have a choice," Alrion said, and turned to head back. The other two followed close.
Certan marvelled at the illusion as they walked.
Ashra was seated casually on a pillow, and he appeared surprised that they had returned.
"Welcome back," he said.
"Nice trick," Alrion said.
"It's not a trick. How do you think I've lived here all these years?"
"So, I figured you weren't finished. What else was there to discuss?"
"I know I'm a little unorthodox, and you do seem a bit unsettled by my approach. But this is a necessary step. I must test you in the heat of battle, and you must hold nothing back. Can you do that?"
"I can. I just don't understand why," Alrion said.
"It's not a big thing, you won't be hurt. Is there something else troubling you?" Ashra said. He stared at Alrion, which made him feel as if the eccentric wizard could hear all his thoughts. Alrion felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
"I'm just a little nervous about my power. It's a little wild, and I've had very little training." Alrion found that very hard to admit.
"Don't you worry, that's what I would expect. Do you see an academy around here?" Ashra said, gesturing at the barren desert.
"No."
"Exactly. Here's an additional piece of information that may interest you. I have been in the Vault of Silence," Ashra said. Alrion was dumbstruck.
"How interesting. I was not aware of anyone doing that," Certan said.
"It's not something the monks advertise, perhaps contrary to what you have been told. But that's all I can say," Ashra said.
"You win. Let's get this over with," Alrion said.
"Excellent, follow me please," Ashra said. He jumped up from his seated position with startling agility and left the hut.
"Come everyone," Ashra said, and continued walking. They walked past where the mirage was, and continued down a tight winding path between sand dunes. There were rocky formations holding the sand at bay.
