The Lost Mage (2 page)

“I would love to, tiny friend but alas, I’ve ssseen no cows or goats, nor any likely places to find such creatures.”

Um, yeah, no, dude. I mean could you, like, go to a store and buy me some?

“Ah, you wish me to procure you sssome from a shopkeeper?”

Yeah, sure. That would work.

“I fear I have no gold, kind sir.”

Whoa, dude, I want, like, plain old milk. Nothing fancy, you know, no designer stuff. Just milk.

“But would not a shopkeeper wish me to exchange gold for such goods?”

Oh, you mean money? Well, yeah, but not anything as expensive as gold, you see.

“Does this sssociety not use precious metals for currency?”

Well, they use some shiny stuff, but it’s definitely not gold,
the cat answered, fearing that he was not going to be able to get milk from this man.

“Hmm. How does one go about procuring such currency here?”

Well, one gets a job, I assume.

“Common work? But I am an elemental mage! I barter my services in summoning the elements in exchange for goods and other ssservices. I’ve never had any need for currency.”

Yeah, um, where are you from? ‘Cause there aren’t any what was it now – elemental mages? Yeah, we don’t have those here.

“But how do the farmers water their crops? How do the bakers summon fire for their ovens? How do the ships sail?”

Well, I don’t know about boats ‘cause I don’t like the water, but the rain comes and everything gets wet. Did I mention that I don’t like getting wet?  And the bakers, well, they could use magic wood sticks for one thing.

“Magic wood sticks?”

Yeah, they’re these wooden sticks that start fires when you hit them on the box they come in.

“What sort of treachery is this? Nobody but an elemental mage may summon fire. How could a simple stick start a fire?”

Like I said, they’re magic. Where are you from?

“I’m from, well, I was pulled through a portal, so that would suggest an alternate realm. Things are quite different here.”

Damn,
said the cat. He was very hungry.

The two sat in silence for some time.

Finally, the mage asked the cat, “Do you have a name?”

Yes,
replied the cat.
You?

“Yes, I do.”

That’s cool.
The cat licked at a dirty spot on his paw.

“My name is Darakin.”

The cat realized that the human wanted to exchange names. If he could, he would have blushed. It had been a long time since any human had cared enough to want to call him by his name.
Oh, my name is Mrowley.

“Nice to meet you, Mrowley.”

You too, Darakin.

“You don’t much like people, Mrowley?”

I used to. Had a family once, but they left one day. Guess there wasn’t room for a massive creature like me in the car.

“Car?”

Those things,
the cat lifted a paw to indicate a car parked at the curb.

“Ah, the mechanical beasts.”

Yeah, those.

“Several of those tried to attack me in the street before. They seemed to become enraged when I tried to speak their language. Isss their language sacred or something?”

I don’t know about that, but you have to watch out for them. I lost some good friends to them. And that’s what my family left in.

The mage was silent for a moment, thinking about the cat whose family had been lost to one of the mechanical beasts. “Sssorry about your family, Mrowley.”

The cat puffed up with pride.
Hey, no biggie. Can’t keep a tomcat like me cooped up for too long, anyway. I’d have probably run away from them by now.

Darakin let the cat’s obvious lie pass without comment.

“I find myssself in need of a companion. I won’t try to ‘coop you up’ or anything. I’d just like some company.”

Oh, sure, I mean, you know, if I’d be doing you a favor, sure.

“Thank you. Any advice you can offer would be appreciated.”

Well, you could tone down those esses for one thing. Kind of makes you sound like a snake.

“Snakes can speak here?”

Don’t know. Never met one, but that’s how people say they would speak – lots of long esses.

“Well, thank you. I’ll work on it. I guess I need to find someplace to stay. Are there any boarding houses anywhere nearby?”

Well, yeah, but they wouldn’t let me in. But hey, I’ll help you find one. You do know that you’ll need money to pay for the room, right?

“That’s a problem, then. Not only do I have no currency, but I won’t stay anyplace where my companion isn’t welcome.”

Again, Mrowley did the cat equivalent of blushing.
We’ll have to find a box then.

“A box?”

Yeah, we’ll find a big box that we can sleep inside for the night.

“Why would we need to do that?”

I don’t know, but that’s what all the humans that sleep on the streets do here. It’s just the way things are done.

Darakin had his doubts about the box, but he followed Mrowley anyway. After all, he didn’t have any better ideas and he did want to fit in rather than draw attention to himself.

The cat led him down an alley behind some retail stores. He stopped in front of a large box.
This one will do. Would you mind? It’s a little big for me to carry.

Darakin stepped forward and picked up the huge box, once again following the cat, who led him back to the park where he’d been summoned. Mrowley searched for a secluded area. When they found a suitable spot, Darakin placed the box on the ground.

Not that way, silly. Lay it on its side, so you can lie down inside it.

“You want me to lie down in the box?”

Yeah, it will keep the wind and stuff out.

Darakin stood tall and puffed out his chest in defiance. “I am an elemental mage, cat. I command the forces of Nature; I do not hide from them.”

Yeah, well that was wherever you came from. Have you tried commanding any forces or whatever here?

“Well, no …”

Go ahead, give it a try.
The cat sat back on his haunches and waited.

“Very well, I will summon fire.” Darakin picked up a stick and began an incantation in some strange tongue, holding the stick out in front of him.

After a few minutes, Mrowley spoke up.
Not working, huh?

Darakin’s shoulders slumped. “No.”

Well, how is it that you commanded these forces at home?

“The Elements were enslaved by the Kakdali eons ago.”

Kak … what now?
the cat interjected.

“The Kakdali. The elemental mages of Kwagl.”

Kwagl?
The cat rolled on his back and laughed.
What kind of a name is that?

Darakin put his hand on his hip in annoyance. “It’s the name of my homeland and it doesn’t sound silly in my language.”

The cat stopped laughing and sat up.
Sorry, that was mean. Don’t be mad at me, okay?

“I’m not. Actually hearing the way it sounds when spoken in this language, it does sound kind of silly.” He bent down and gave the cat’s belly a rub. “As I was saying, the Kakdali enslaved the Elementals and now we mages exchange our ability to summon the forces of Nature for goods and services.”

Oh. Well, I guess nobody’s enslaved the elements here. And since it doesn’t work, lie down in that box, okay?

“Fine.” Darakin crawled into the box.

Mrowley waited until he was settled and then slid in next to him.
I’ll just cuddle, ahem, I mean curl up by your belly here. It’ll help keep you warm.

Darakin started to protest that he wasn’t at all cold as it was early spring, but realized that the cat was trying to keep his dignity while fulfilling some inner need for companionship. The two soon fell fast asleep.

Chapter Three

When Darakin woke up, Mrowley was nowhere to be seen. “Damn, I’m going to miss him.”

Miss who?

Darakin crawled out of the box and looked around. Mrowley was sitting there, using his paw to bathe his face.

“You. I thought you were gone.”

Nope. Boy, do you have a short memory. I’m helping you out, remember? You need a companion.