Hamilton Swoop, Wizard of Green Ridge (6 page)

"Well, Master Diamond only sent the letter requesting your presence two days ago."

"Letter?"

"Yes. Didn't you get it?"

"No. And I passed no mail rider on my journey."

"How strange. Perhaps we should leave now. Master Diamond is waiting."

Hamilton collected the box containing the contents of the trunk and the sack containing the remains of Obsidian. He removed the last of the breakfast from the Inn's cart and then placed his bag and box on top of it. Then he offered his arm to the girl. Together they left the room and headed down in the lift.

Whiskers’ words followed him. He could never escape the cat's voice intruding in his mind.
What about me? Are you going to just leave me here? I could starve here, you know.

I won't be gone that long. Besides, there's plenty of steak and eggs on the floor if you finish the fish
.

The carriage she took him to was not new. By the looks of it, it was even possible that he had ridden in it as a young man. There was a faded Guild symbol on the door. The driver ushered Hamilton and the girl into it. The coachman placed the bag and box on the top and climbed to his seat. He gee'd up the pair of horses, and they set off.

The interior of the carriage was every bit as shabby as the exterior. Hamilton sat across from Thalia and spent a few moments attempting to look at her without staring. “Tell me about your Master Diamond."

Her smile waned. “Master Diamond has been in charge of the Guild since Master Sapphire passed. That was about eight years ago."

"How long have you known him?"

"I met him for the first time last year. That's when he told me I could be a great wizard. He's a very wise and powerful wizard. He can do really good magic tricks."

"Tricks? He does tricks?” Hamilton turned away from Thalia, shocked. “Thalia, I know you have been taught not to speak ill of Master Diamond, but do you know what can happen if you lie to a wizard?"

"No. What?"

Hamilton wasn't prepared for that answer and there was an awkward pause. “Er, ah ... well, it isn't pleasant. Now, tell me about the real Master Diamond. You may rest assured that what you tell me will not be repeated."

The girl remained silent for a moment. “Well, when the brown plague struck, back in ‘46, Sapphire and many of the other senior wizards succumbed. Master Diamond, who was about 25 at the time, became the Guildmaster. His magic, I have been told, is not as strong as that of the old wizards. Since then, the Guild has tried to rebuild, but those with the talent have been hard to find. Many of the current members resent Master Diamond, but there have been no further major struggles."

"Why do they resent him?"

"From what I have heard, they resent the direction that Master Diamond has chosen. In the past, the Guild was revered for protecting the city populace and for our healing powers. Not the government, not even King Kang, himself, would have considered trying to overrule it, but things have changed."

"How so?"

"Now the Guild does little more than supply entertainment at festivals. They even rent out Wizards for birthing day parties. The only thing the Guild has done for the city of late was to try and stop the dragon and, in that, they, like the militia, failed."

The carriage hit a large bump, and both Hamilton and Thalia almost hit the roof.

She came down on Hamilton's lap, blushing as she disengaged herself.

"What exactly did they do in their attempt to kill the dragon?” Hamilton was doing his best to ignore stirrings in his body that had been absent for over a decade.

"I was not permitted to accompany the party. From what I was told, they attempted a freeze spell."

"A freeze spell? A freeze spell? In the middle of winter? What idiot came up with that?"

"Master Slate led the party, but he was following Master Diamond's plan. You should not speak ill of Master Diamond. He
is
the Guildmaster and deserves your respect.” Thalia's cheeks reddened.

"He deserves nothing from me. Did the freeze spell work at all?"

"No. It had no effect. When it failed, they set wards on the city's border."

"Did they work?"

"Not entirely. The attacks have been less frequent, but they have not stopped."

Hamilton sat back in his seat. On the one hand, he did not wish to offend the girl, but on the other, he realized that the Guild had lost much of its power.

After a few moments of silence, he decided to change the subject. “Is Master Diamond a good teacher?"

"He has tried, but I must not be that good a student. I have learned a few spells, and I do have the talent, but mostly he just wants me around to make him feel better."

Hamilton frowned. He glanced out the window of the carriage as they bore deeper into Center City. The snows were melting. The sun rose higher in the sky. There were more people on the streets here, and the carriage driver had to negotiate a path between carts, wagons, and populace.

Hamilton once more faced the girl. “Do you know why I was summoned?"

"Why, to kill the dragon, of course. Master Diamond said that you are the most powerful wizard in the land and that you could defeat the dragon."

"I wish I shared his confidence."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. How much further?” Hamilton was not familiar with their route.

Thalia glanced out the window. “We're almost there."

Soon the carriage arrived at the Guild Hall. The huge, two-story building looked pretty much the same as Hamilton remembered it, but some things had changed. Its smooth, once polished walls were now dull, and in places bricks were exposed where parts of the outer surface had fallen away.

The driver climbed down and held the door. Hamilton exited first and offered his hand to Thalia to help her climb down. He had expected Diamond to greet him, but no one was there. The driver climbed back up to the top of the carriage and passed Hamilton's packages to him.

Together, Hamilton and Thalia climbed the traditional thirteen steps to the main entrance. He opened the right side of the double doors and they entered.

Inside, the great hall stood empty. Their footfalls on the well-worn tile floor returned echoes. Thalia led him to Diamond's office, opened the door and bade him to go in. He entered and looked about the room. The girl did not follow. Instead, she closed the door.

A young man who looked to be about thirty was seated behind a wide and largely bare oaken desk. He rose and greeted Hamilton. “So good of you to come in answer to my request, Master Citrine. I am honored by the presence of such a venerable wizard as yourself."

Hamilton placed his packages on the floor and then studied the Guildmaster's face. To Hamilton, he looked like a boy. His beard was sparse. His curly blond locks were long and flowed down his back. This room, which Hamilton had been in before so many years ago, now looked somehow smaller. Many of the magic symbols and arcane objects that he remembered were missing. Behind Diamond was a shelf that had once held Sapphire's arcane library. Now there was nothing but a fish oil lamp and a pile of loose parchments.

"Please sit down, Master Citrine."

Hamilton sat in a dark wooden chair facing the desk. The Guildmaster resumed his seat behind the desk.

"How was your journey? You made very good time."

Hamilton scowled. “From what I hear, you expect me to kill a dragon. Is this true?"

"Yes, Master Citrine. We are counting on you and your abilities."

"Then you are in big trouble. I can't help."

Diamond looked shocked. “But were you not a student of Obsidian? Did you not learn the arcane secrets from him?"

"Listen, kid. I didn't say I wouldn't help. I said I can't. The only thing I can do to your dragon is throw rocks at it."

Diamond stood. Hamilton remained seated. “But your magic was reputed to be almost as strong as Obsidian's. Surely, you have the power."

"You were misinformed. I have no magical powers whatsoever. After Obsidian passed, I left the Guild. Master Sapphire decided that I should be punished for what he called ‘abandonment.’ He ordered that I be stripped of my powers. I was summoned here and a lock spell was put upon me by the Guild's wizards. I was told that if I would not support them, then I could not use magic."

"But, but that is terrible. Obsidian wrote in the records that you were the most powerful wizard he had ever taught. He said that you were a natural—that your talent even surpassed his."

"Really? He never said anything like that to me. He berated my abilities every chance he got."

"So you came all this way, in answer to my summons, just to tell me this?” Diamond's brows drew together to form one solid line.

"No. I did not come here in answer to
your
summons. I never received it."

"But then ... why?"

"I received a summons from Obsidian."

"Obsidian? But he's been dead for, for over 40 years."

"So? That didn't keep him from showing up three days ago."

"He ... showed up at your house? How is that possible?"

Hamilton removed the folded, mummified Obsidian from the sack. He sat the body on the floor. “Say hello to Obsidian."

Diamond stared at the desiccated remains and dropped back into his chair. “This ... is ... Obsidian?"

"In the flesh, or at least what's left of it. So, unless you know how to break the lock spell, I'll be taking my leave now."

"Wait, please wait.” exclaimed Diamond in desperation.

Hamilton sat back down. “Do you have the power to remove the spell?"

"I ... ah ... no. But permit me to consult our Archivist, Runemaster Argus. I will have him search the records. I'm sure he can find a way to break the spell. It must have been recorded."

"You have a Runemaster?” Hamilton rose and retrieved the paper containing the transcribed runes from the box he had brought. “Give him this. Maybe he can make something out of it. In the meantime, I'll return to the inn. Notify me if you find a solution.” He handed the sheet to Diamond. “If I don't hear from you within the week, I shall return to Green Ridge. Oh, incidentally, I've billed my room to the Guild."

Diamond's mouth fell open then snapped shut. “You'll hear from us soon."

"Us? Well all of you can take your time. I like the inn."

Diamond pulled a cord hanging from the wall behind him. There was an almost immediate knock on the door. “Enter."

Thalia opened the door, entered and stood next to Hamilton.

"Acolyte Thalia, have the carriage brought around. Master Citrine will be returning to the inn. Then locate Runemaster Argus and send him to me."

[Back to Table of Contents]

So, Old Man, what happened? Are you going to save the day?

"Seems unlikely, cat. The Guild is now under the control of a kid who does magic tricks for a living. I should just pack up and go home."

And give up all this good food and comfort? Must we?

"No, but I should. I've a shop to run but I've agreed to stay for a week. I doubt that they will come up with anything. Anyway, I'd like to see that Thalia again."

She's way too young for you. Way too young. Besides, she's afraid of you.

"Afraid of me?"

I can sense these things.

"Sounds to me like kitty is jealous."

Don't be silly. Why should I be jealous?
Whiskers jumped up on the couch and kneaded the cushion next to Hamilton with her front claws.
What are you going to do now?

"I thought I'd do a bit of investigating. See what I can find out about this Thermite."

Before you go could you just, well, scratch behind my left ear? Oh, that's perfect. Umm, great.

"Anything else?"

How about getting me some food before you go out? Some more of that lovely fish would be nice.

Hamilton gave Whiskers a final scratch between her shoulder blades. “Wait for dinner, cat.” He got up, donned his coat, and headed down to the lobby.

Thackeray stood behind the counter and Roscoe was seated by the front door. Roscoe rose as Hamilton approached. “May I be of service, Master Citrine?"

"Roscoe, have you ever seen the dragon?"

"Once, from a distance, sir."

"What did it look like?"

"It was huge. Almost 100 feet long, sir. Its body was quite thick. Its tail was long and thin. It had 4 transparent wings. I only noticed the wings when it lighted on a house and squashed it."

"It had ... four wings?"

"Yes, sir, four wings. I drew some pictures of the dragon, sir. Permit me to retrieve them."

Hamilton gestured approval and Roscoe ran to a cabinet next to Thackeray's counter. A moment later, he returned with several pieces of paper which he offered to Hamilton.

He examined the sketches. Though the boy was certainly no artist, the charcoal sketches showed a creature that looked nothing like the pictures of dragons he had seen in the histories. All the dragons he had read about were basically reptiles. But these pictures showed a dragon that looked like an overgrown swamp needle. It was obvious that thing was some kind of giant insect. “This thing breathes fire?"

"I have not seen it breathe fire, sir, but others have said that it is so."

"May I keep these?"

"I would be honored if you would, sir. I could draw some more if you wish.” Roscoe's face glowed.

"No, lad. These are fine. Who was it that saw the dragon breath fire?"

"Mr. Quinn, the Senior Messenger, told me that he had seen it do so."

"Where can I find this Mr. Quinn?"

"His offices are nearby. I will take you there if you wish."

"Yes, that would be most helpful."

"I will have to let Mr. Thackeray know where I am going, sir.” Hamilton nodded and the boy ran over to the manager. A moment later, he returned. Hamilton rose and followed the boy out the door.

A warmer sun shone down on them. They walked several blocks down empty streets. The melting snow had turned to slush and even the sidewalks afforded little protection from the water.