Drakonika (Book 1) (3 page)

BAM!

As the door swung closed behind him, the room went completely black. For a second, Magnus didn't realise what had happened.
He groped at the handle with his hand, but the door was locked.

The only exit from this weird place and with it, the only ray of light were gone. In this kind of darkness, a blind man would be equal with him who can see. Magnus tried to focus his sight in vain, the darkness seemed deeper and deeper with every passing second. It made him feel that he was falling into it.

“Hello? Anybody here...?“ said Magnus carefully in the hopes of hearing a reply. And someone human, if possible. Nobody answered but Magnus still had an unpleasant feeling that something would attack him. The longer he stood there, the more he was shaking.

So much for my curiosity
, thought Magnus, seemingly lost in that place forever. That feeling was even worse than the thought of his memory forever lost. But he would not have dreamed of this thought being the first nudge to improve his situation. And not only that, it helped him get even more, much more.

Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air.

"Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back," a voice rolled unexpectedly.

Was it only his imagination or had someone just answered his thought? Indeed, Magnus was so confused already he wasn't sure if he hadn't said it aloud. “Excuse me...?” asked Magnus cautiously, as though he was  making sure that he really heard something.

“Yes, you heard me right. And I heard you fine too. So we both heard each other perfectly.”

Judging from what this man had said, he surely liked to preach at others. From his voice, Magnus could make out that he was probably older, located not far away from where Magnus was standing. In the next moment, he realised a few facts which helped him calm down a bit. First, the owner of this house was a human being. Second, he did not seem to be hostile. And third, he finally had hope of someone lighting up the room.

Magnus stepped forward but he immediately tripped over something. He didn't even have to see the surroundings to know that “order” was a word unknown in this place.

“
S-sorry,“ said Magnus shyly. “Could I please get some light here?”

In that moment, just like snapping your fingers, more than two dozens of white candles of different lengths lighted up. But not much more had to be done for Magnus to get a heart attack.

An old man was towering like a mountain before him whose white beard was so long that its owner was almost sweeping the floor with it. His emerald green eyes suited his heavy green robe which made him look like a majestic, powerful mage. Only the glasses of a university professor were missing on his long, straight nose. Hair as white as snow was resting on his shoulders, reaching to the level of his shoulder blades.

The long white hair, the long white beard, even the long robe made him look like a classic mage of Ragna. But something was strange about him. It was his hat – its tip was not pointing straight up, as usually was the case. It was folded down. But Magnus didn't stop to ponder about this fact at the time. He didn't even know how a Ragnan mage should look.

“BOO!“ rolled the mage's voice again.

Even though the room was already well-lit and even though Magnus could see the owner of the house, he still jumped in shock.

The old mage chuckled and walked slowly to a massive table on the other side of the room, which was full of various junk.

“
I knew this would work,” he murmured hoarsely.

Magnus felt his face turn red, though he wasn't sure if it was out of anger or out of shame. Who would have said that this was a manner of welcoming guests? When he looked around the room, he just verified his expectations from when it had been still dark. There was no order in this house. Various metal ingots were strewn across the floor, various tools and books were negligently stacked in shelves near the stone walls. There were also some items in the room which Magnus had never seen before. A big furnace was standing near the right wall.

I'll surely get a heart attack here in less than five minutes
, thought Magnus, annoyed.

The old man sat down in an armchair by the left side of the table and let out a sigh. “That means you're going to die quite young,” he said calmly, pouring hot tea from a little green teapot into a cup which was placed on top of a tiny plate. “Come and keep this old man company for a while. Sit down.”

At that moment, Magnus realised it was of no use trying to hide his thoughts. He also got a great craving for the tea and who knows, maybe that old man was hiding even more delicacies. It would be rude to refuse an invitation to the table!

    
Before the old mage could lift his eyes, Magnus was sitting in the armchair in front of him. He put down his dusty hat on the right armrest of the chair.

“
I've got to tell you, it looks like a battle has taken place here,” said Magnus, letting out a giggle, but soon he realised it wasn't the best joke for his host.

The mage smiled slightly and his wise, green eyes looked deeply into Magnus' silvery ones. The flames of candles were reflected in his mystic, deep stare. “You are a simple heart,” said the mage kindly. “But you should take care that your honesty does not hurt someone. Everything you want to say can be said in many ways and it is your responsibility to choose the right one. Each thought and emotion can bring joy or misery, it depends on how you express it,” said the mage mysteriously, lowering his gaze down to the cup of tea which was still hot and steamy.

Magnus was quiet for a while, thinking about what he had just heard. He didn't know it at the time, but the mage's words settled deep inside his heart, like a bright star in the night sky which would never go out. All of sudden, he felt inexplicable calmness inside that poured into all of his being.

“
Who are you?“ said Magnus curiously, with a hint of admiration in his voice.

The mage smiled again through his thick white beard. “Me? I am just an old man who lives in a stone house with no windows.”

This was surely not an answer Magnus was expecting. “I see. And may I know the revered name of this old man, who lives in a stone house with no windows?” Magnus repeated his question in a different way, hoping that this time it was good enough to be answered.

“
You're lucky my memory still serves me. My name is Valezar Idric. And yours is Magnus Il'idiel. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Magnus,” said the old mage, his eyes smiling at his young guest through the deep wrinkles on his face. Such wisdom and care was reflected in his eyes that nobody could doubt the good nature of this man.

Magnus couldn't hold back a happy smile.

“And I am very happy I wandered to your place. You can't imagine how much,” he said, hoping the mage wouldn't find the reason of his big relief. But Valezar's smile was a little too understanding.

“
Actually, I can. And I am not surprised. This is the last place where the guards would come looking for you,” said the old mage.

Magnus smiled guiltily.

“Don't worry, we'll sort everything out. But first you have to eat something. You won't solve anything on an empty stomach,” said Valezar, laughing quietly. He didn't wait another second and poured hot tea into another cup. “Drink up,” he offered Magnus. It looked like he was really glad to take care of someone again.

Magnus dragged the cup closer to him, with words of thanks. Everything seemed extremely tempting. The colour and smell of the tea made him want to check if it tasted just as great. The only thing he was worried about was burning his tongue. But as soon as he took a sip, he realised the temperature was perfect, the taste was perfect, the smell, colour, – well, the whole moment was perfect.

SWISH!

Shocked, Magnus nearly spilled the perfect tea on his pants. Just around his head, something flew by and landed exactly in the centre of the table! It looked like a round porcelain lid of green colour.

Magnus wasn't sure if he understood what he had just witnessed.

“
All right, could you tell me what exactly you just did?” said Magnus, unsettled by the green lid in the middle of the table. It was hot and steaming.

Valezar gave a hearty laugh.

“What are you going crazy for? I'm old! I hope you don't expect me to stand up for every biscuit!” He removed the lid, his hand shrouded by the long sleeve of his robe.

Magnus' eyes bulged as he slowly put the cup back on the table. There was a pile of freshly baked, warm gingerbreads which smelled completely irresistible. They had so many shapes that Magnus didn't understand how Valezar could have so many different forms for baking. But then again, you could probably find anything in that mess. At first, he couldn't decide which one to eat but finally he reached out to take a gingerbread in the shape of a mage's hat. Magnus smiled, letting out a giggle.

“It looks like yours! Well, almost,” he said but then he stopped laughing. He remembered what Valezar had told him earlier about being too honest.

“
Hey!“ shrieked someone abruptly, in a shrill voice.

Magnus felt utterly bewildered. He looked at his host in confusion but Valezar's mouth was shut.

“Who do you think you are?“ the voice ringed again.

When Magnus realised what was happening, he let the gingerbread fall out of his hand. Who has ever seen a  talking gingerbread?!

The gingerbread leaped up with difficulties, a few crumbles falling off it in the process. “He even bangs me on the table, how terrible! The world is full of rascals!”

Seeing and hearing all that, Magnus felt as though he was dreaming.

Valezar smiled broadly. “You mustn't waver so much! These are nagging gingerbreads. Eat it quickly or you'll hear something even worse. Don't worry, they are not alive, they are just enchanted. There is a special magickal ingredient in them which makes their taste irresistible. However, it also causes their bad nature,“ said Valezar with bitterness in his voice, but he was still smiling.

“
Shut up old chap,“ said the gingerbread arrogantly and turned around to face Magnus again. “I don't even have to step outside to know that the world is full of good-for-nothings! And you are the worst of them!” it yelled angrily.

Magnus looked at Valazar again, as though he wanted to make sure that the gingerbread could really be eaten. An unspoken question got an unspoken answer. Valezar nodded slightly.

The gingerbread had no mercy. It went on screaming until there was a crunchy sound and then – silence.

Magnus was delighted by its unique taste. “Finally quiet,” he said with his mouth full and before he could even swallow, he immediately reached for another gingerbread. He was stuffing himself contentedly when it struck him; this man could read thoughts. Maybe he could refresh Magnus' memory! But before Magnus could even say the question out loud, Valezar shook his head in disagreement.

“No, my lad... I cannot read from a blank paper. When you remember, let me know, but by then you will not need my reading any more. So you see, telepathy really isn't everything.“ As he said that, Magnus saddened visibly and his gaze darted downwards as he gave a sigh. “But, I do know one thing
;
you
will
remember...“

Hearing that, Magnus looked up with hope.

“...one day,“ Valezar finished. Before Magnus could fall into despair again, the mage let out a false cough. “Anyway, are you planning on staying in the town for a bit longer?” he asked swiftly to make Magnus forget about the previous topic.
He could see great interest in his guest's eyes now. Finally something that Valezar
could
help him with!

The time spent in pleasant company went by faster than they realised. A short sitting with tea and gingerbread lengthened into a several-hour-long discussion about Ragna and its inhabitants, but to Magnus it felt only like moments.

After talking about the guilds in town and the jobs in Ragna, Magnus had another question on his tongue. He was going to ask about what this house had to do with the strange black box that Eagle used before, but Valezar was faster.

“
This house is the centre of The Telepathic Devices Company and I lead a team of mages who take part in development of more and more advanced telepathic devices. Not everyone knows this trade as well as I do,” said Valezar in a bright voice and winked at Magnus playfully.

Magnus looked dazed. “So, it was you? You made the thing that allows people to talk by thoughts!” he said eagerly.

“Well, yes. But I think that it's more important for you to get the permit to stay in Ragna now than contemplating about my company. We'll get to that another time.“

Magnus smiled disappointedly.

“To say the truth, Ragna is one of the most guarded cities of the Aria Kingdom,” Valezar went on, but Magnus interrupted him, his eyes wide and bright.

“
This Kingdom is called Aria? I didn't know that!” he said, looking dazed.

“
You have definitely forgotten a lot of things,” Valezar commented. “Again, you are lucky that you ventured here. Do you see this folded hat?” said Valezar and pointed upwards. “A folded magickian's hat means that I am... a former Mages Guild member,” he said, lowering his voice into a whisper, as though he didn't want anyone else to hear that, although there was only the two of them in the house.  “And I have a very friendly relationship with the Guild Master, I've always had.” A good bit of nostalgia could be heard in his voice.