Authors: Rain Oxford
Still… he was more like a son to me than an
apprentice, and isn’t that confusing. I couldn’t stand most of my children. Oh,
I have lied and said I am unaccustomed to their needs, but in truth, I just do
not like being a parent.
It wasn’t that I disliked children. Every child I had
was because the mother or Erono demanded it. A baby relies on their parent
entirely for the first four years of their life. They never do things that make
any sense and they cannot be reasoned with. Teenagers were fine, but they
wanted nothing to do with me by that age. Then when they grew up, they
complained because I did not spend enough time with them.
Dylan was already an adult when he became my
apprentice, but just barely. He acted like my brother did at his age, and looks
extremely similar, but he is my brother’s son. With my brother gone, it was my
job to teach him and protect him. As long as Divina was with him, Dylan would
be fine.
We came to an incline plane of rocks; remains of a
cave-in. At the top, there was a small body of water. We were in a cave with a
wide open, sun-filled mouth, and the smell of salt told me that there was an
ocean nearby. Stalactites hung from the mouth and looked like large teeth.
Surely Dylan would have had something to say about that.
It took us a short time of walking carefully along
the rock ledge to clear the cave. Outside I could see the island, which was
basically rock cliffs with large white buildings built into the side, and quite
a few windows.
“Is the person we are looking for on this island?” I
asked. I took a small cloth out of my bag and a small, glass bottle of water to
clean all the blood off myself that I could. Cylo was at least presentable
enough to go into the city.
“No. We will need transportation. I have been to this
land a few times, so I know where to go. However, they took all of my money.”
“I still have some in my bag, but it is Duran money;
I doubt it will be accepted. The first thing we need to do is find me a shirt,”
I insisted. “Boots would be nice as well.”
He considered my lacking attire and smirked. “I am
not sure we will actually need money.”
We trekked slowly through pathways in the mountain
until we entered a vibrant city. And by vibrant, I mean colorful and alive.
There were people everywhere. The center of the city was a small canal, where
small, thin boats littered the water. People cluttered on bridges that looked
like they were made of nets. These bridges stretched from building to building,
as the buildings were all thin, flat-walled, and at least twenty stories. The
walls were the main source of color, seeing that each and every one of the
hundreds of different structures was a different color. Windows and glass doors
were the only things lacking color, and most of those were covered with paint
and décor. On the bridges, people were selling fabrics, clothing, jewelry,
foods, and more.
We walked along the very narrow walkway until we got
to a door. This door led to a room filled with short stalls. There were also
stairs going up on either side of the building. We pretty much walked building
to building, floor to floor until we found a small store that sold clothes.
The woman sorting clothes looked around Dylan’s age,
which I knew rarely meant anything. Magic could retain youth, or reduce it,
depending on how skilled the wizard and how he used his talent.
She turned to us and smiled. Her eyes were a very
appealing rust color and her hair was long and dark blue. While that was not a
terribly common hair color on Duran, I would be shocked if the people of this
land were less colorful than their homes. Her shirt hung off her shoulders,
seemingly fashionable. It was dark gray with what looked like paint splatter of
every color on it, and she had a wide gold belt wrapped around her waist. Her
skirt was short, tight, and color-splattered, too. It probably would have been
camouflage outside.
I walked up to her, purposely invading her personal
space. “Hello. Do you speak Lilat?” I asked, my voice rough and quiet.
“Yes,” she answered. I smiled and she shivered.
“I need a shirt,” I said.
She looked down at my chest, but did not step back.
“Yes.”
“And boots,” I added. She looked lower and blushed
before her eyes returned to my chest. “But my money is not Kahún currency.” I
would never tell a woman I had no money; instead it is better to say my money
is foreign.
She frowned, glancing at my face. “We take Vaigda,
Malta---”
“Do you take Duran money?” I interrupted. She winced.
Duran was a world unfriendly to visitors because they believed only the gods
had control over planetary travel.
“There is an extra fee for exchange.”
“That will be fine,” I said. I was very lucky that
anyone took Duran money. She grinned widely, as she probably thought I was
lacking in money, but I would show her otherwise. “So I need a shirt. Actually,
a few changes would be good.”
She led me over to the men’s clothes and I searched
diligently for the blandest clothes available. I tried a dark blue shirt on and
she decided to see if it fit by touching nearly every inch of my torso and
arms. I actually forgot about Cylo. With Dylan at home, I was rarely away long
or often enough to be with a woman.
I picked out several shirts, pants and a nice pair of
boots. She bagged them and I gave her money.
“I can take a break and we can go to my home,” she
said, frowning as I pulled a shirt back on. I opened my mouth to respond, but
Cylo interrupted.
“Would you like me to come back later?” he asked.
I weighed it in my mind; work, or pretty little
woman? I finally figured there were worse things I regretted. “I am sorry, but
I am actually very busy,” I said.
She pouted. “Maybe you could come back?”
“I would love to,” I said.
We left and Cylo waited until we did before
whistling. “You should have taken her up on her offer. You did everything from
sticking your chest in her face to letting her feel you, then you turn her
down? That was cruel.”
“Was it? I had not meant to tease her.” I tied the
sack of clothes to my book bag.
Cylo led us to another shop, but paused to ask me not
to proposition the travel assistant. I rolled my eyes, a bothersome habit I
picked up from my brother. However, upon entering the simple, sparsely
furnished store, I realized what he meant. The woman who greeted us was
exceptionally beautiful. She had long black hair, dark green eyes, and a
flawless, porcelain complexion. She was thin, but not unhealthy, well endowed,
and wore perfectly fitted clothing. She was young, but definitely a woman. Her
red blouse was a dazzling contrast to her hair and tight black skirt, and her
open-toed shoes had sharp heels.
She greeted Cylo fondly and by name before she turned
to me.
“Do you speak Lilat?” I asked.
She smiled welcomingly. “Of course. I am Meri. How
can I help you today?”
“My name is Kiro. We are trying to go somewhere. I am
not sure where, not from around here.”
She took a couple of steps closer to me. “I could
suggest a few nice tourist spots… or I can show them to you myself.”
“That would be great,” I answered.
“We are on a timetable,” Cylo said.
“You are interrupting,” she growled at him in perfect
Sudo.
“You speak Sudo?” I asked incredulously.
“Oh, yes, I know many languages. I especially love
learning otherworld languages. So, about that tour.” She wrapped her arm around
mine, then sighed. “I can show you---” she started.
“Really, Meri, we have to go to Revir today.”
“How do you two know each other?” I asked.
“Sometimes I need to change transportation in order
to get my cargo by undetected. I go to Meri when I need to go island to island
by ship,” Cylo said.
I gently and regretfully pulled my arm out of Meri’s.
“He is right; we need to go,” I said.
“Well, maybe you can come back this way and visit me
again,” she moaned. That gave me ideas, but I knew that they most likely would
never come to pass. “There is a small ship leaving for Jre, so you can take
that and get off at Revir.”
“Does that give us time to get acquainted?” I asked.
“No. You will have just enough time if you leave now
to make it there.” She went to her glass computer and created tickets.
I stayed back. Earth had computers similar and magic
usually made them crash, so I generally avoided any of them. She came back and
handed me the tickets. “How much?” I asked.
She smiled, leaned up, and kissed me. She could have
taught lessons on kissing. And if normal women on this world smelled like her,
every man would be in trouble. I wrapped my arms around her small waist and
pulled her closer. I was ready at this point to wait for the next ship. Or the
next moon.
All too soon, we had to stop for air.
Stupid air.
“Really? We have to go! Kiro, they took something
from me.” Cylo was getting frantic.
“Who took it from you? What is it they took?” I
asked.
He picked up the tickets that Meri had dropped. “I
don’t know who took it. I just know if I help you, I will find them and be able
to get it back,” he said.
“What did they take?” I asked again. Instead of
answering, he walked out the door to street. “I am sorry, I must be off. I will
try to come back,” I promised. She said a quick goodbye before I hurried out
the door after Cylo. He was very upset, but looked like he wouldn’t talk in
public.
After leading us down many streets, each and every
one bleeding with color and population, we came to a shipping station. These
ships were all white and black, a relief. Cylo found the right dock and spoke
with the captain. The ship was very nice, not made of wood but of some type of
plastic and metals. It was large enough for maybe a hundred people above and
below deck, but not for overnight trips. Cylo joined me and the ship started to
move soon after. There were only a few people milling about. I suppose people
who live surrounded by water and the ocean every day would not be impressed
with the view of their oceanic back yard.
“I was minding my own business, transporting
documents. I felt off about them, like I shouldn’t have taken the job, but it
was a simple assignment. I was already halfway across the world. That is the
last thing I remember. I woke up in a cell and couldn’t even remember my name.
It has been a few weeks and half of my memories are still fuzzy. I remember my
parents and Kahún, but not specifics. When I try, I get a headache and things
get fuzzy. I almost remember my ship. I know I am missing something very, very
important. I could feel it from the moment I woke up. I dream about it… but I
cannot remember it.”
“Who do you think has it? I am going after the troll
king; you woke up in the goblin dungeons. Would the goblin king not be a better
target?” I asked.
“He does not have it. They tried to bring me before
the goblin king to be a servant, but I ended up demanding information. They
laughed and said they did not have my ship. I just feel very strongly that
helping you will lead me in the right direction. I have always trusted my
instincts… except when I took that last shipment.”
I was not one to tell someone to argue with their
instincts. The ship sailed for a long time before we came to an island. This
was not a grand place with architecture build high into the sky; all I could
see was trees. The boat silently pulled into the port and we were the only ones
to get off. When the ship left, the only sound was the ocean. No birds. No
bugs. No people.
We walked through the silent forest. “What kind of
place is this?” I asked.
“It is schooling city. People come here to learn and
train for things. The place is nothing but libraries, classrooms,
observatories, and laboratories. I know a woman who is a teacher here and would
know where to find the Stone of Iodus. She may want to know what you are going
to do with it before she tells you, though. You were really vague about how you
got locked up.”
“As you have figured out, I need some help from the
demons. To do this, I have to find the Stone of Iodus.”
“The Stone of Iodus can summon demons, but if you
take it, magic will return to the land.”
“Yes, and what is wrong with that?”
“Magic is not welcome on Kahún,” he said.
I stared at him. “But that makes no sense. You and
Meri know Sudo, which is a Duran language. The only way to get that language is
to get to Duran, and the only way to do that is through magic.”
“Before the magic was banned, there were travelers
who brought back information from other worlds. My mother was a traveler from
Duran. Magic users and foreigners are perfectly welcome here, except for people
from Duran, but magic is not.”
“Wizards accustomed to magic suffer when there is no
energy. What of your Noquodi?” Prolonged absence of magic would make me
physically ill. I couldn’t imagine Rasik dealt with this.
“Our Noquodi has some gift from God that gives him
power. Other magic users must suffer without. We have gotten used to it; there
has been no magic on this world for many years. Even before the magic was
banned, magic was outlawed. For many generations, using magic was grounds for
immediate death. Only with the absence of magic has the killing stopped.
Before, even the suspicion of magic was a sentence. The only one allowed magic
was the Noquodi, and only because no one could stop him.”
“The entire world is devoid of nominal energy?”
“Except for the Noquodi. It is said that trolls were
jealous of the magicians because they couldn’t use magic, so they tricked the
demons into creating the Stone of Iodus. The stone can call out demons to use
as servants, but it would break the deal and return magic to the world.”
Magic was the essence of every world. For the people
to be unable to use it was impractical. It was because of hatred like this that
I didn’t take Dylan to travel the worlds. Every world had had some degree of
prejudice and I didn’t want that anywhere near my… nephew.